Spanish Football | Soccer

BARÇA vs REAL MADRID HEATS UP

It´s heating up. Spanish sports daily AS gives us this picture - Barça Captain Pujol: "Keep an eye out on Ronaldo" & Real Captain Raul : "We need to win". Lastest news seems to tell us that Pablo Garcia will be called up & Ivan Helguera will be left out. This may cause Ivan to finally decide to leave Real: ¿to Barça next season? . Smells like a Figo operation by Real as happened to last season, just leave out the player you don´t want.

World Formula 1 Spanish Champion Fernando Alonso has finished 5º position in the 2º session of free training at the Melbourne AUSTRALIA Formula One Grand Prix.
Final days standings:
1. Davidson ( GBR ) - Honda
2. Wurz ( AUT) - Williams
3. Kubia (POL) - BMW
4.Button ( GBR) - Honda
5.Alonso (SP) - Renault
Interesting to see that on Top as full of "unusual" names. Sure will see the Kaiser, Montayo, Fischy & others lift tomorrow. Today many big names did not even bother to go out on track.

Spanish sporting daily AS highlights Real Madrid´s Captain´s comments; he enjoys watching Barca on the TV. Well with Raul in such poor form , he may well have to do just that , or at least watch from the substitution bench in tomorrows big clash against Barcelona.
But the injury to midfielder Guti , has opened up the possibility for him to play, how lucky, because Raul is not the player we have been accustomed to.
I´m a big fan of Raul, but frankly Real play better without him, as last Saturday proved with it´s 4-0 win against Deportivo.

For those who understand Spanish hear Raul speak about Real Madrid & his future in an interview for Radio Marca http://marca.recoletos.es/archivos_sonidos/raul_300306.html . Click , be patient & listen to the Captain speak.

On another issue French team Lyon is thinking of taking Real Madrid to the FIFA tribunal after Real Madrid President ( Fernando Martin) & Nº2 (Emilio Butrageño) meet with Lyon player DIARRA last Wednesday. This has upset somewhat the French team who does´nt want to lose it´s star player & does´nt like Reals under the table tactics.

Here this weekends Round 31 fixture & STRIKERS Tips, hope I improve as last week I managed 1 out of 10 ...: Osasuna - Getafe ( winner Osasuna); Mallorca - Espanyol ( Draw); Alaves - At Bilbao (Bilbao); Deportivo - Racing ( Racing); Valencia - Cadiz ( Valencia); At.Madrid - Celta (Draw); Betis - Sevilla (Draw); R.Sociedad - Malaga (R.Sociedad); Zaragoza - Villareal (Draw) & Barcelona - Real Madrid (Draw).

Got any tips?

Update: 18.46 Guti recovers from injury!!

The UEFA dream continues for Seville FC after defeating the Russian team Zenit St. Petersburg 4-1 in the 1º leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. The man of the match was Argentine forward Saviola who scored twice , with Marti (penalty) & Adriano adding to the Spanish tally . For the Russians A.Kerzharok scored their only goal , opening up a very slim chance of attempting a comeback in the 2ºleg away match to be played in St. Petersburg.

Lets hope that Seville does´nt spoil this great start & can manage to

get into the semis , as it´s wise to take it step by step & allow all the Seville followers to dream of a possible final birth & victory. Its up to them & there doing it right up to now.

See below 2 videos of past Barcelona vs Real Madrid matches

Real win in the first & Barca win in the 2º (the most recent clash)

Real Madrid lost to Italian club Bologne 66-61 & Barcelona lost to Unicaja Malaga 60-73, in the EuroLeague basketball competitions tonight. The Spanish outfit Unicaja is the only team that carried the flag high.

BARCA vs REAL : A TASTE OF THIS SATURDAY

Warming up this Saturday´s clash of Titans

See Real win here...see Barcelona win below the last match between both.

See more news below...

Spanish sports daily AS has just announced that English team Chelsea has made "an offer you can´t refuse" for Milan star Andrei Shevchenko. The sum mounts to ( allow me to place the zeros) 50,000,000 € plus either Drogba o Crespo.
Will Milan accept? Will Andrei wish to leave the club that has made him famous?
This is´nt the first time that Chelsea has gone after the Ukrainian, it´s long been known that Shevchenko is admired by Chelsea owner Abramovich & his coach Mourinho.

BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID THIS SATURDAY: "El Clasico".

Warming up this Saturdays game.

See how Barcelona won the last meeting 0-3

Enjoy! If your a Barca fan of course

¿who do you think will win on Saturday?

Although Inter Milan won 2-1 at San Siro ( 0-1 Forlan ; 1-1 Adriano; 2-1 Martins) their European Cup hopes are still alive. Remember the away goal is worth double.
It´s going to be tough, but while there is hope..... Go Yellow Submarines!

Check out the front page of Spanish Sports daily "Marca". Ex - Real Madrid player ( now Inter Milan) Luis Fijo says; "Madrid is a circus" in an interview given to the paper.

Why is this guy still hassling about? He seems to center his energies on "dumping" on his ex-club in every available opportunity. This man seems to be marked psychologically by his departure from the Spanish club & it looks like he still pocesses a serious grudge. Chill out!

I have followed this player since Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona , Real Madrid & now Inter Milan. He is one of the most talented wingers to come out of Portugal & Europe, his a real pleasure to watch play. But said this, his carreer has been full of whinging , crying, always on the floor, protesting ...in other words a real cry baby.

Mr. Figo, shut up, stop crying & do what you do best: play like an angel & show your worth on the field & act like a gentlemen off it.

His in great form, he is as the Americans say HOT!
His Spain´s best embassador of Basketball Internationally.
He´s Pau Gasol.
Last night he scored 44 points for the Memphis Grizzlies against the Seattle Supersonics in the Western Conference NBA match.
Although his team lost by 1 point ( 98-97) his 44 points was his hightest tally ever since arriving at the NBA. There is no doubt he is in "All Star" streak. Keep it up Pau!

0 - 0 DRAW
Intense match in Lisbon between local side Benfica & Spanish team Barcelona in the 1º leg of the European Cup quarter finals . The visitors missed plenty of goal chances - 2 posts - to really sink the sword into the Portuguese team, which lifted towards the end with lots of strenght .
This is a good result for Barca as it will enjoy the home advantage for the 2º leg & the return of important palyers as Pujol & Marquez.

Arsenal 2 - Juventus 0
In the other European Cup 1º leg match in London between Arsenal & Italian team Juventus, the story was different as Arsenal won in a great game full of action. The man of the match , I my opinion was 18 year old Spanish International Cesc Febregas, who scored the 1º goal & set up the 2º for Thierry Henry. This match confirmed Cesc as a true revelation & excellent mid-field player with vision & intelligent play. This guy is a real diamond folks!!!
Its going to be tough for Juve at home , but never , never underestimate " the old lady" in Euro Competition & specially on its home turf.

This goes out to all our International friends.

Its on again this weekend. One of the biggest matches in Spanish & World Football, the classic derby between the 2 giants - Barcelona FC & Real Madrid CF. Its more than just a game , it´s a clash between identities, cultures, prestige & dominance. It´s history!
Barcelona heads the League table by 11 points from 2º placed Real & looks set to take the title, but a win here for Real against the arch rival will taste as sweet as taking the League itself, & if you can beat them in their on gound even sweeter the victory. Heroes are born from these games.
So this Saturday at 22.00 hrs , the whole country will shut down for 90 minutes of intense & passionate football.

¿Will one of theses two stars settle the match?

He´s captain & Real Madrid´s image. He´s also the Spanish squad captain & greatest scorer, an example of the fighting spirit, team motivator & never die attitude. But he is beginning Real´s games on the substitution bench, & national coach Luis Aragones has pointed that he will only take to Germany thoses who are currently playing with their respective teams.
Raul has had 2 unsual seasons , a drastic drop in form, lower goal scoring numbers & a terrible knee injury that kept him out 3 months. He is not the same player that we all are used to, in some matches he has played terriblely . Last Sunday Real returned to form with a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad & Raul stayed on the bench, obviously tactically speaking, Real Madrid is a better team without him , will this be true as well for the Spanish squad?
One lesson learnt : never doubt the fighting spirit of this man, he´s like Lazarus , rises from the dead all the time & nothing like this Saturday´s Barcelona clash to do so.

ALONSO & RAIKKONEN FEEL GOOD

Spanish World Formula 1 Champion Fernando Alonso says he feels great, love´s the Melbourne Gran Prix atmosphere , is confident of doing a great race & reaching the podium in this weekend´s Australian Gran Prix race. But rival driver Kimi Raikkonen also let´s it be known that the Melbourne GP circuit is one of his favourite´s & also is confident . However , the Striker wants everyone not to forget the "Kaiser - Schumi", Fischella or Montoya who will be eager to get on the podium as well.

Its European Cup quarter final - 1º leg week. Two Spanish teams are playing their qualification race towards the final: Barcelona FC against Benifica in Lisbon (Portugal) tomorrow night & Villareal against Inter Milan on Wednesday at the San Siro stadium.

Theses 2 men: Riquelme (left) & Ronaldinho (left) with play a vital role for their respective teams in order to secure the away goal safety adavnatages needed, in order to play the 2 leg at home without stress or pressure.

Barcelona are favourites, but should not underestimate Ronald Koeman´s (ex Barca player) team & its home advantage. Villareal have a big job ahead of them as their record on Italian soil is not that great & the lack of experience at this height & the pressure of San Siro are factors that will work against them.

However , I will make a 2 tips : I think Barcelona will win in Lisbon & Villareal will draw in Milan. For thoses who are familiar with my tips lately , I´m not having a good run, but hope to change that this week.

Any comments from Portuguese or Italian web surfers?

It´s no secret that Real Madrid desires to have for next season the Brazilian & Inter Milan stiker Adriano.
Italian press are speculatating the possibility of a swap between Real Madrid´s Ronaldo & Adriano.

Adriano is not happy at Inter under coach Mancini & Ronaldo feels he is not appreciated by Real fans & this makes him unhappy. Solution therefore would be a swap, as insiders say, the Inter President Moretti has always had a soft spot for Ronaldo & may accept his return; the gap left in Madrid could be filled by Adriano.

Although both are great players, the problems will not disappear for either. My observations are that Brazilian football players have a "special" persoanlity, that needs constant attention, lots of love & plenty of care. They easily fall into "depression" when they are not the center of attention - it´s a personal opinion from my observations.

Lastly, we know how the football machinary operates, its full of daily rumours most of the time without solid proof. The upcoming World Cup will play a crucial role, specially in setting decisions & transfer prices. Stay tuned...

RONALDINHO.JUST FOR FUN.

Real Madrid & Ronaldo (pictured courtesy of La Vanguard daily (http://www.vanguardia.es) are happy again. The Brazilian striker is gaining form again & has scored in Real´s 4-0 victory over Deportivo.
Results
Malaga - Barcelona 0-0
At.Bilbao - Osasuna 1-0: Prieto
Villareal - Betis 1-2: Roberto 0-1, Roberto 0-2, Sorin 1-2
Real Madrid - Depor 4-0: Hector o.g, Ronaldo, Ramos, Baptista
Seville - Valencia 1-0: Jordi
Celta - Mallorca 2-0: Contreras, Baiano
Espanyol - Alaves 0-0
Getafe - R.Sociedad 2-1: Pernia 1-0, Gonzalez 1-1 , Guiza 2-1
Racing - Zaragoza 0-0
Cadiz - At.Madrid 1-1: Kazmen 0-1, Lobos 1-1

Classification Table: 1.Barcelona (68) 2.Real Madrid (57) 3.Osasuna (55) 4.Valencia (53) 5.Seville (51) 6.Celta (48)

Gol scoring ladder : Etoo 22, Villa 16, Ronaldinho 14, D.Milito 14, F.Torres 12.

As for my weekend tips (see below) I got 1 out of 10. Difficult week for betting.

Spanish 3 times road trial World Champion Oscar Freire won today for the 2º time in a row the "Flecha - Brabancona" Classic. With the big season races coming up soon, Oscar is arriving in fine form to tackle them in fine style.

Fantastic racing today in all the catagories of Moto GP in front of a record crowd of 135,000 fans at Jerez. In GP the Italian Loris Capirossi won ahead of an excellent Dani Pedrosa (Sp.) & 3º was American Nicky Hayden. Surprisingly the hot favorite, Valentino Rossi fell early on in the race.

In 250cc Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo ( Aprilia) won his first GP race ahead of Alex de Angelis (SAN/Aprilia), with 3rd Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda). Jorge showed maturity & complete control to claim that he is a serious contender.

In 125cc Spaniard Alvaro Bautista won with dominance ahead of Czech Lukas Pesek with 3rd place to Mattia Pasini (Ita.)

Next place will be Qatar 8.04.06.

Spanish TV station "TeleMadrid" has announced an exclusive, that there is an "agreement" between Milan´s Carlo Ancelloti & Real Madrid CF to coach the club as of next season.

This announcement will be made official after all the Italian League & European Cup obligations , therefore attempting to assure that this situation does´nt affect Milan´s performance , as well as Real Madrid´s local competition fight at the top of the ladder.

I know this has been said before, I realize that the rumours are hot, that everyday a new name pops ups, but this may have some truth behind it. Ancelloti´s name has been consistent & it is logical that they keep everything unwraps until their teams have secured their sporting objectives. In any case , stay tuned, as many rival teams may want to add fire so as to cause "problems" with both teams in their fight to eliminate them from direct competition.

The final positions for tomorrows GP Bikes Spanish Championships have been decided today. In the GP catagory Italian Loris Capirossi took pole position with some powerful riding with his Ducati bike. Here are the positions :
1. Loris Capirossi (Ita.)
2. Sete Gibernau ( Sp.) : very aggressive , very determined look on his face.
3. Nakano ( Jap.) : consistent as always
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) : great stuff from the American
5. Dani Pedrosa ( Sp.) : very good & watch out tomorrow for him.

World Champ Valentino Rossi finished a surprising 9th place, after falling earlier on in a multiple out of track moment as riders slid out due to oil on track. I think "The Doctor" is doing some psychological tricks here, although "offiicially" the reason was technical problems.

In the 250cc catagory Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, as accepted finished pole , followed by Japanese Takahashi & 3rd for Spaniard Hector Barbera.

Lastly in 125cc top spot went to Mattia Passini with 2º going to young Spanish talent Alvaro Bautista & 3º to the Chec lighting bolt Lukes Pasek.

So don´t miss tomorrow´s racing & it going to be a cracker in front of more than 100.000 race fans.

He may look like his been out camping for 6 months , but Spaniard Pau Gasol is hot & proving to be a star in the NBA. In front of the Madison Square Garden crowd , Gasol & his Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New York Knicks 75 - 91.
Gasol scored 39 points , showing again that he is one of the NBA MVP´s & the best Spanish Basketball export of all time.

The 2 Spanish tennis players meet in the 2 round of the Miami Tennis tournament.
This time Carlos Moya came out on top defeating World Nº2 Rafael Nadal
2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Good to see Carlos Moya getting back into form again. Perhaps the American surfaces are not to Nadal´s liking , perhaps too quick?

No, the keeper is not asking for some ice & coca cola. He is handing the ref the object thrown at him & players by some Atletico supporters in last nights match against Seville in Madrid ( picture courtsey of AS).

Spanish sporting dialy AS http://www.as.com has just informed us that Atletico has just been punished for theses hooligan actions with ONLY 3.000€!!! WHAT!!!
They wont even close the ground.

I repeat , a bottle ( picture ) was thrown , beer cans FULL!! & all sorts of rubbish; if it would have impacted it my have "killed" someone.
Spanish Football disciplinary authorities are not sending the correct message that this is unacceptable behaviour, as other incidents show, as Barcelona ´s Etoo anti -racist protests showed , by again not punishing Zaragoza in any substantial way as well. This is hurting the image of what is called "the best football league in the world". I am stunned & I am an Atletico supporter, & I don´t encourage this aweful behaviour at all.

BIG FOOTBALL WEEKEND & STRIKERS TIPS

Big matches this weekend in the Spanish League.

Here are my weekend tips:

Ath. Bil - Osasuna - winner Osasuna
Celta - Mallorca - winner Mallorca
Espanyol - Alaves - winner Espanyol
Racing - Zaragoza - Draw
R. Madrid - Depor - Draw
Seville - Valencia - winner Valencia
Getafe - R. Sociedad -winner R. Sociedad
Villareal - Betis -winner Villareal
Cadiz - Atletico M - winner At. Madrid
Malaga- Barcelona - winner Barcelona
Whats your Tips?

Spanish World Cup coach Luis Aragones may have given hints on a possible squad list. Speaking at a Communications & Sports Conference at the Madrid Compultense University, Aragones spoke in front of 100 s of students, about Spain´s chances & its players.
He commented that he is following closely Real Madrid´s Raul & Barcelona´s player Xavi ( currently recovering from injury) & they will only be called up if they are 100%.
Other players mentioned where Senna from Villareal , Pablo Garcia of Osasuna & the Valencian goalkeeper Cañizares , all of which are in excellent form with their respective clubs.

In reference to Spain´s chances, Aragones said , his intentions are to go & try to win the World Cup. He believes Spain´s chances are good but lacks in the physical strenght area , but is compensated with a strong technical ability, therefore he will work this aspect & encourage it.
Spain is in Group H with the Ukraine, Tunisia & Saudi Arabia.

In my opinion, this should be easy for them in theory, but Spain is traditionally a bad starter & have been beaten by "lesser" teams (eg Nigeria...) in the early stages. They have never really lived up to there potential in these types of competition, perhaps its a psychological /temperament issue that needs to be looked at more.

Atletico de Madrid asks that it be forgiven for last nights incidents at it stadium while playing against Seville.

As an Atletico fan I´m also embarrased , not all Atletico fans support this type of behaviour.

Fabio Capello has said NO, Arsenal´s Wegnar has said NO...

The list of names continues to expand as the rumours
continue building concerning Real Madrid´s next coach.

Uli Stielike, Real Madrid player & German International
was mentioned to replace current coach Caro, until the end of the session, & later continue as director of it´s junior teams. But Ronaldo´s last minute goal against Zaragoza gave Caro breathing space.

Bernard Schuster, current Getafe coach & ex-player of Barcelona, Real Madrid & At.Madrid, has been mentioned as a possible alternative.

Rudd Gullit ( not pictured) has let it be known that he is available if needed.

Ancelloti , hot favorite, is still Top of the list as it is said that
Berlusconi has given his ok, as long as this saga does´nt effect Milan´s League & Euro Cup aspirations.

Lastly, there is always that local favourite, Vicente Del Bosque, who is sure to be glad to take up the post of the team he most loves.
This is episode 25 , of what will be of many I´m sure ...

Barcelona defeated Greek team
Olympiakos 64-74 to
give it Top spot in its Group
& qualify for the quarter
finals in the Euro League.

Other Spanish teams that
won were Real Madrid 74 -
53 against Ulker, thus qualifying
as well for the quarters.
Unicaja Malaga won against Zalgiris
68-64, but was
eliminated along with Zalgiris
from Euro competition .

Pau Gasol´s Memphis defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 95 - 85 to secure its 5 place in the Western Conference. This means the 5th consecutive victory, as it attempts to secure the 5th spot from the Clippers & thus qualify for the play -offs
Pau´s stats : 15 points, 4 assits & 1 rebound.

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT

Surprising everyone, the referee decided to resume the At Madrid - Seville match after he suspended it. After 30 mins with the crowd leaving the ground , the match was resumed playing the remaining 15 mins. Quickly it worsened for At Madrid with 2 more expulsions : Petrov & Perea , joining the other Atletico expulsion Luccin.
Crazy game, crazy decisions, which will be costly for Atletico not only economically , but in losing 3 vital points , the chance to entre the Euro zone of the ladder & will miss 3 important players for the next match.

Final & definate score: Atletico Madrid 0 - Seville 1 ( & whiskey bottle!!)

Tonights final match of the mid week fixture between At. Madrid & Seville has been suspended at the 31st minute of the 2ºhalf , due to a rain of objects onto the pitch, one of those objects being a "whisky" bottle at Seville keeper Palop, which triggered the referee to stop play & suspend the match.

The incidents happened straight after Seville scored 1-0 (goal by Puerta) which was disputed as being offside, the referee Oked it after consulting the linesman. From my view it seemed to be a legal goal, but the events immediately sparked angry reactions from local supporters.

This now means that the match will need to be repeated in the future & played the extra 15minutes left. Obviously At.Madrid will be punished, but the problem is finding the time to replay the game, since the Spanish Liga /Cup schedules are extremely tight.

GP MOTO 2006 INTERNATIONAL PRESS DAY

Today GP Moto´s top riders did their
public relations job & posed for the
International media.
Here´s one of the many photos taken
courtesy of the official web page

http://www.motogp.com/es/motogp/motogp_news.htm?menu=news&news_id=16246

Tomorrow Friday it gets serious with qualifications before Sundays big race in front of more than 100.000 fans.
Which of these 5 characters do you think will win?

Premier League´s & Everton Spanish player Mikel Arteta (ex-Glasgow Rangers) is in the eyes of it´s arch rival Liverpool.
On the eve of this weekend´s clash between both teams located in the same city, rumours are hot that Liverpool´s Spanish coach Benitez sees this center midfield player as a possible valuable asset for the Reds .