ENGLAND 2 SPAIN 1 | SPAIN MISSES QUALIFICATION FOR U-17 EURO FINALS

Bad news tonight for Spanish Football fans from the U-17 Euro front. ENGLAND defeated SPAIN 2 – 1 to take the Top spot of the Group & thus qualify for the U-17 European Finals in Serbia later this year. Said in another way, Spain misses out.

Spain U-17 /photo Giovani de Paola

England was superior & Spain managed to keep things equal up until the 55th min mark when REDMOND scored for England, then the English got another goal in the 62th min via JACKSON. Spain tried hard to get something back & they managed a consolation goal in the last moments via IÑIGUEZ.


The other bad news directly related from this outcome is that Spain will neither be involved in the U-17 World Championships.

Details:

2 - ENGLAND:Pickford; Cousins, Jackson, Lundstram, Smith; Chalobah, Sterling, Powell (Caskey, min.74) Magri; Redmond & Magri


1 - SPAIN:Herrero; Caballo, Garrido (Calvet, min.72), Sáez, Arroyo; Deulofeu, Ñiguez, Íñiguez, Bardonado (Vico, min.63); Denis Suárez & Raúl de Tomás (Iker Hernández, min.56)


GOALS:1-0, min 55. Redmond.2-0, min 62. Jackson.2-1, min. 80+. Íñiguez.

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FC BARCELONA | THE "SECRET" TO THEIR SUCCESS

Just some informative & interesting observations from Spanish Sports paper "Marca" that I thought would tantalize FC BARCELONA fans around the World. Did you know that Barça hasn’t gone below 50% of ball possession,  that is,  total control of the ball in a game, in the last three years? That is,  166 games were the opposition Team hasn’t been able to get the possession of the ball beyond 50% of the time?

FC Barcelona 2011

The last time Barça was below 50% of ball possesion was back 16th of March 2008 with 49.5% against Valencia FC. Since then FC Barcelona have never been below 50% & have risen as high as 80.3% against Real Zaragoza this season & 80.2% against Inter Milan last season. The match average this season is 71.1% which is simply amazing.

These numbers illustrate very clearly the strenght of FC Barcelona. The opposition without the ball cannot play, added to which,  they are constantly running after the ball not with the ball.

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REAL MADRID | SERGIO CANALES | THE SHAMAN & THE DESERT

SERGIO CANALES arrived at REAL MADRID CF at a cost of 10M€ from Racing de Santander as a 19 year old midfield promise after having a wonderful & meteoric season 2009 – 2010. Now after more than six months the youngster has had just a few games ( mostly friendlies ) with Real Madrid & many observers had dubbed this “his lost season”, a term not at all positive for a young Football professional with serious long term ambitions.


Young Canales has a few names ahead of him at Madrid in his area of expertise: Ozil, Khedira, Granero & Pedro Leon, with the latter in an even “worst” situation. Apart from the mentioned names Coach José Mourinho hasn´t all the confidence in the player as he would wish, perhaps being Canales lack of big game experience. One may intuitively suppose that Mourinho ( his Football “shaman”) is making Canales go through a particular “40 days in the desert” scenario as a character building exercise that will make the 20 year old Spanish International stronger in the long run. Whatever the strategy there is only one sure way & method that truly works for a Football player, that is, field minutes & playing games.

Real Madrid player Sergio Canales

To this end the Club is thinking about giving the player options outside the Club, seeing that at Real Madrid the doors are currently shut. The Club could very well loan the player next season (or sell with a buy back option) so that Canales can continue with his “apprenticeship” & evolution elsewhere with guaranteed playing time.


A few names are appearing in the horizon as the rumour mills begins to churn as the season gets into its final sprint stage. Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea sound from England, while Sampdoria & Genoa sound in Italy. However, there is a Spanish option that has strength & may be more suited for Madrid & Canales: Getafe. Real Madrid is said to wish to recover “home grown Real Madrid junior” midfielder PAREJO for next season & may include Canales in the operation.


Whatever happens, we desire all the best for Sergio Canales because potential & talent are not missing from this extraordinary young player. I hope that he can get back to be a regular player as it would be an injustice to “lose” him in “the desert” of Football. Tweet

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LITHUANIA 1 SPAIN 3 | EURO 2012 GROUP I QUALIFIER RESULT

SPAIN managed to win away to LITHUANIA 1 - 3 in their EURO 2012 Group I qualifier to give them another victory, consolidate the Groups Top spot & put them nearly into the Euro Finals of next year. The match went ahead after UEFA officials & the French referee decided that the turf ( without grass ) was apt to play on & safe. Correct decision as no one from both teams were injured in a game played in good spirits as there was no difficult situations for the referee. 

Xavi scores for Spain: photo-J.A.Gracia/Marca

Spanish Coach Del Bosque put the following starting 11: Casillas; Iraola, Piqué, Albiol, Arbeloa; Xabi Alonso, Javi Martínez, Xavi, Cazorla, Villa & Llorente, with At.Bilbao defender Iraola winning an International Cap & other well know stars getting a rest.

The match was played well considering the circumstances of the surface with Spain dominating & with Lithuanian goalkeeper Karcemarskas stopping the Spanish forwards. The first goal came in the 19th min via XAVI HERNANDEZ which took a slight deflection to loop over the goalie.

The second half saw Spain begin well until Valencia CF defender & Lithuanian Captain STANKEVICIUS got onto a "cracker" from 30 mts to power drive passed Iker Casillas with an unstoppable goal. This raised the confidence of the home team & they put Spain under pressure & gave them their worst 15 mins of Football. Spain reacted with substitutions giving David Silva & Juna Mata a run & it paid off.

Spain scored their second in the 70th min via an own goal from defender KIJANSKAS who could do little as Llorente was in clear shot position, then JUAN MATA finished off a nice worked play with a third for Spain in the 83rd min.

Great result for Spain & even better was the fact that no one got injured playing on a "terrible" ground, that at least held out the full 90 minutes.

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SPAIN 1 BELARUS 1 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

The SPANISH U-21 FOOTBALL TEAM played a friendly match against BELARUS in Madrid with the final result a 1 - 1 draw. Spain used this match to fine-tune themselves for the upcoming U-21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS in Denmark next June where team also play for a place in the upcoming London Olympic Games.

Spanish U-21 International Bojan 

The Spanish team started with the following 11:

De Gea; Montoya, San José, Domínguez, Vila; Parejo, Fontás, Ander Herrera, Capel; Adrián & Bojan.


The Spaniards dominanted from start to finish the game but were not able to break through the tough & tactically positioned  Belarus side & their defensive wall. It was Spanish player & Getafe midfielder PAREJO who managed to score in the 67th min, to see REKISH equalize for Belarus in the 75th min.

Spanish Coach Milla gave everyone a run & the match finished with Spain having a good sparring partner to test things & see what they need to better if they are to do well in the Euro Championship & get a London Olympic Euro place.

The only bad news was the ankle injury that young FC Barcelona player Bojan received that may keep him side-lined a few weeks. At first sight it did nt look bad but needs to have the doctors have a look at his ankle.

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SPAIN 5 NORTHERN IRELAND 1 | EURO U -17 GROUP QUALIFIERS

The Spanish U-17 National Football Team played Northern Ireland today & won 5 – 1 in their Group qualifier for the upcoming U-17 European Championships. The Spanish Team clearly dominated & was 3 – 0 after 45 minutes. The second half saw Spanish Coach Gines take off some important players (the main name being Deulofeu) & give others a run. This did not seem to halt the Spaniards momentum as they scored two more goals, although Northern Ireland got a consolation goal.

Spanish U-17 International Deulofeu

Spain will meet England on Thursday which will be the vital match of the Group as it is more than likely that the winner here not only takes Top Group spot but puts one foot into the Euro Finals. 

Details:


5 - SPAIN : Herrero (David Gómez, min.79); Menéndez, Garrido, Sáez, Luque; Deulofeu (Moisés, min.50), Calvet, Íñiguez, Vico; Denis Suárez (Raúl de Tomás, min.74) & Iker Hernandez.


1 – NORTHERN IRELAND : Brennan; McLaughlin, Jones, Clarke, McNally; Barton, Wilson, Morgan, McElroy; Ball (McAllister, min.58) & McCartan.


GOALS:1-0, min. 19: Deulofeu; 2-0, min. 31: Denis Suárez; 3-0, min. 38: Iker Hernández; 3-1, min. 59: Morgan; 4-1, min. 68: Iker Hernández; 5-1, min. 84: Pol Calvet


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SPANISH FOOTBALL | UPDATE ON THE 2º DIVISION

Spanish Football Sports Blog is a "hobby" written by a Spanish Football - Sports lover who finds time to spread, contact with & let non-Spanish speaking Sports fans around the World,  who admire along with me my Sporting passions,  to stay in touch daily with the most important news. I would love to have more time to expand further beyond the popular news pieces & Clubs, especially the fantastic Spanish 2º DIVISION LEAGUE, but I don´t have a press department of 10 people to do so unfortunately & my "other" life also calls on me. I ask for your "forgiveness" :O)

Having said this,  I am well aware the many of you out there would love to get more news on the 2º Division & I thought that with the LIGA on hold due to Euro & National Team fixture/obligations, that tonight would be the perfect moment to post for everyone a quick update on how things are going in the "Platinum category".

Rayo Vallecano (white) wins Betis to take top spot
Spanish Football 2º Division 

As you may or may not know, the first 2 Clubs that finish the season on top of the classification ladder go straight into the Spanish 1º Division League - La Liga. The next four teams ( from 3 - 6 ) play an away - return leg clash to get 2 more teams that go up into La Liga. The relegation into 2ºB Division is for the last 4 Clubs who drop automatically.

With 31 Rounds already played Madrid Club RAYO VALLECANO is currently in Top spot, especially after defeating REAL BETIS tonight 1- 0, the latter currently second. What is remarkable about Rayo Vallecano is that its owner "Rumasa" (a Spanish Company) is bankrupt & has not been able to pay its players for weeks. Real Betis who are second aren´t that financially well off either, thus highlighting how the jump UP to "LA LIGA" is a way of economic salvation & it is showing in the admirable performances of both Clubs. 


Here is the current 2º Division ladder & how it stands right now after Round 31:

1 Rayo Vallecano 61 points
2 Betis 59
3 Celta 55
4 Barcelona B 51*
5 Elche 50
6 Cartagena 48
7 Granada 47
8 Girona 45
9 Valladolid 45
10 Xerez 44
11 Villarreal B 44
12 Numancia 42
13 Córdoba 41
14 Alcorcón 41
15 Recreativo 39
16 Huesca 38
17 Las Palmas 36
18 Gimnàstic 34
19 Salamanca 31
20 Tenerife 27
21 Albacete 25
22 Ponferradina 24

* FC Bareclona B can never jump up to La Liga...as their 1º st team is there. The B team is a "breeding" ground for future talent. The same would apply for Real Madrid B, At Madrid B & so on


I will try keeping you up to date with how things are going, but if you notice that updates are not as frequent as wished I ask for your apologies. If you have a real need to follow daily there are plenty of references in the Spanish press sites &/or even via the  search engine Google.


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FORMULA 1 SEASON KICKS OFF | ALONSO 4TH - ALGUERSUAR 23RD

The Formula 1 season kicked off in Melbourne Australia with Current World Champion Sebastian Vettel starting as he finished last season; untouchable & winning the Australian GP 2011. Englishman Lewis Hamilton came in second & the surprise was Petrov with his third.

Fernando Alonso : photo Ap

However, although I congratulate the winners, the main concern here for obvious reasons is to describe how our Spanish Sportsmen & Formula 1 drivers – Fernando Alonso & Jaime Alguersuar – faired in the race.


Two time World Champion & Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso finished fourth & nearly managed to overtake third placed Petrov in a stunning last part of the race. The Spaniard admitted in the post race press conference that his main big mistake was at the start where he was 5th & due to “traffic” problems made a “wrong” situation decision that put him behind the “8 ball” for the rest of the race. The Spaniard then managed to maintain his position, get into 4th  & nearly finished on the podium.


The other Spaniard Jaime Alguersuar finished 23rd after he collided with another car at the start that forced him into boxes which made it difficult to gain the lost time & places for points.


Next race: the Malaysian GP. Tweet

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BELGIUM 1 SPAIN 3 | U-17 EURO GROUP QUALIFIERS

European Nations in the U-17 catagories are playing their qualification Group matches in order to have the right to participate in the U-17 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS coming up in Serbia.

Gerard Deulofeu star for Spain 

SPAIN defeated BELGIUM away 1 - 3 with a comeback after the home team got ahead in the 48th min mark via CALVAHLO against the grain as Spain was dominanting. The goal motivated Spain further & especially FC Barcelona star youngster GERARD DEULOFEU who set up - with a goal included - the three that Spain scored there after to help the team take the match.

Here are details:


1 - BELGIUM:  Sven Dhoest, Ibrahima Cisse, Jordan Atheba, Bernard Malanda-Adje, Marvin Ofori-Appiah, Tika Musondo, Jordy Croux (Storm, m.66), Umberto Carvalho (Praet, m.72), Didier Cabumi, Tortol Lumanza Lembi & Nicolas Ducatteeuw (Brulmans, m.54).


3 - SPAIN :Alfonso Herrero, Oscar Arroyo, Carlos Garrido, Iván Saez, Saúl Ñíguez, Raúl De Tomas (Hernández, m.55), Denis Suárez, Pablo Iñiguez (Moisés, m.50), Iker Undabarrena (Vico Villegas, m.63), Gerard Deulofeu &  Diego Caballo.


GOALS:1-0, m.48: Carvalho; 1-1, m.72: Moisés Gómez; 1-2, m.77: Deulefeu; 1-3, m.85: Vico

Spain plays Northern Ireland next Monday who lost to England 2- 3, & later England on Thursday were both will surely be battling it out for the Top Group spot

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DAVID VILLA BECOMES THE HIGHEST GOAL SCORER IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM

SPANISH FOOTBALL player DAVID VILLA went into the History books last night against the Czech Republic for SPAIN after he become the "Highest Goal scorer in the History" of the Spanish National Team. He started the match equal with the last record holder, Raul, with 44 goals & finished the night as the new record holder with 46 goals.

David Villa has a few years left in his carreer & will not doubt add to this tally in a considerable way. From here, I congratulate David Villa for this impressive & historical achievement.

David Villa

TOP 10 all-time Spainish National Team Goal scorers:

1. David Villa 46 goals - 72 games

2. Raul Gonzalez 44 goals - 102 games
3. Fernando Hierro 29 - 89
4. Fernando Morientes 27 - 47
5. Fernando Torres 26 - 83
6. Emilio Butragueño 26 - 69
7. Alfredo Di Stefano 23 - 31
8. Julio Salinas 22 - 56
9. Michel 21 - 66
10.Zarra 20 - 20
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SPAIN 2 CZECH REPUBLIC 1 | EURO 2012 GROUP I QUALIFIER MATCH RESULT

The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM & current European & World Champions defeated the CZECH REPUBLIC 2 - 1 in a difficult & at times frustrating game as the visitors put Spain on the ropes for 69 mins before solving the "situation". The victory opens up a significant gap between Spain,  which now leads Group I ,  & second placed Czech Rep with a 6 point margin. 

There were two milestones tonight of worthy mention. The first was the 100th International Cap that XAVI HERNANDEZ gets onto his name & DAVID VILLA who surpassed mythical Spanish player Raul & become  the "all  time Historical goal scorer for Spain" with his two goals taking his tally to 46 goals for the Spanish National Football Team.

Plasil for Czech Republic

The Czech Republic had their ideas fairly clear from the start: DEFEND. I suppose they thought that If by doing so, they could find a counter-attack & get lucky, so be it, with defending the priority. Thus, it was so, with Spain controlling proceeding & Czech goalie Peter Cech stopping everything kicked/headed towards his goal. Then in the 28th min the Czech side attacked in a rare forward move & PLASIL tried his luck from outside the box that found the post & scored a "surprise" goal. First & only attack by the Czech side & a goal!

Obviously this motivated Spain further to attack more & the Czech team took their defending to the maximum level,  literally constructing a defensive wall.

Iniesta for Spain

The nerves set in onto the Spanish Camp & Coach del Bosque took some brave risks. He changed Xabi Alonso for Fernando Torres at the start of the second half & shortly later defender Capdevila for Cazorla. Spain continued dominanting the match entirely & smashing into the Czech Wall until finally in the 69th min Iniesta found DAVID VILLA who equalized & become the Spanish Team all-time Historical goal scorer. It was a big sigh of relief as Spain was seeing how time was flying by & the game was getting more & more complicated.

David Villa become Spain all-time goalscorer

Spain continued with their pressure as they wanted the victory & in the 73rd min Iniesta was fouled in the area & awarded a penalty. DAVID VILLA stepped up & scored the second for Spain & his 46th overall for his country.  There was a few more chances for Spain towards the end, especially one that Torres had stopped by team-mate Cech & the match finished happy for the locals.

Spain now plays Lithuania next week, after the latter defeated Poland 2 - 0 tonight in a Friendly...(thanks to the reader who brought it to my attention).


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LILILE PLAYER GERVINHO HEADING TO ATLETICO DE MADRID ?

Ivory Coast winger & French Club LILLE player GERVINHO has not as yet signed his renewal contract offer. This has been interpreted, especially by Spanish Sports press, that the player is seriously considering an apparent offer from Spanish Club ATLETICO DE MADRID.

Gervinho for Lille

The speculated price is around 10M€ & Lille would welcome the injection of cash. The player seems to feel that he is ready to make the jump to Spanish Football & has thus expressed desires with Atletico being in the front seat to gain his services. The forward is powerful, can play in various forward positions & even as a Centre Forward if needed. Stay tuned for developments.


Said this, there is another message not explicitly mentioned. What goes in goes out, therefore could that be Forlan, Aguero...or?

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FRANCE 3 SPAIN 2 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RESULT

The SPANISH U-21 NATIONAL TEAM played FRANCE in a friendly match & lost 3 - 2 to the "Blues". The Spanish side was a bit of an experiment with players lined up who habitually don´t play together, but this is no excuse at all. The French side played better & deserved to win, but suffered towards the end & were nearly equalized.

The French U-21 team were 3 - 0 up by the 35th min thanks to some basic mistakes by the Spanish defence & some bad coordination in midfield. Plus, Spain lost Juan Carlos to a Red Card in a vital moment just after the first Spanish goal & that left Spain with 10 men on the field.

Spain played better - & their Best Football - from the 37th min onwards when FRAN MERIDA scored the Spanish opener & then a second goal arrived with Spain down to 10 men via RIOS in the 60th min. It looked possible that Spain could turn things around & make an incredible comeback but it did not eventuate as France held out & stood firm to the Spanish pressure.

Great win for the French youngsters & encouraging comeback attempt under the circumstances by the Spaniards.

France u-21 defeat Spain in International Friendly: L´Equipe

Match details:

France 3: Gorgelin; Corchia, Stambouli, Mangala, Makonda; Guilavogui, Pajot (Varene, m.70); Saivet, Griezmann (Sylla, m.88), Gueye (Cabella, m.60); Riviére.


Spain 2: Mariño (Robles, m.46); Mario, Bartra, Ayala, Nacho; Camacho (Illarmendi, m.46), Recio (Ríos, m.58), Mérida (Pacheco, m.46), Juan Carlos; Álvaro Vázquez (Falque, m.75), Canales.


Goals: 1-0, m.10: Riviére; 2-0, m.18: Riviére; 3-0, m.35: Gueye; 3-1, m.37: Fran Mérida; 3-2, m.60: Rios
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SPANISH INTERNATIONAL PLAYER XAVI HERNANDEZ REACHES HIS 100th INTERNATIONAL GAMES WITH SPAIN

Tomorrow when XAVI HERNANDEZ runs onto the field to represent his country with the SPAINISH FOOTBALL TEAM that plays against the Czech Republic in their important Euro 2012 qualifying Group I match, the FC Bareclona midfielder will have reached a personal & prestigious milestone in his spectacular professional Football career: the 100th International Cap for SPAIN.

Xavi Hernandez with his brother, mother & father

The 31 year old born in Terrasa (Catalonia) & breed in FC Barcelona as a player, has become a fundamental piece & member of the Spanish National Football Team. The "brain" behind his Club & of the Spanish Team, Xavi Hernandez is currently considered the "Best Midfielder Player in the World" for his skill, touch & his extraordinary vision of play. Here is his list of titles won with the Spanish side:

FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1 1999

Olympic Silver Medal: 1 2000

UEFA European Football Championship: 1 2008

FIFA World Cup: 1 2010

From Spanish Football Sports Blog, Happy "100th game" Birthday tomorrow XAVI & may you play many, many more games.

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EURO 2012 GROUP I - SPAIN HINTS AT STARTING 11 AGAINST THE CZECH REPUBLIC

There is European Football action tomorrow & Saturday with Euro 2012 Group qualifiers & the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM & current FIFA World Champions in action. Their first scheduled encounter is tomorrow night in the magical Spanish city of Granada & against the fellow Group I squad of the CZECH REPUBLIC

David Villa & Fernando Torres

The Spain squad under Coach Vicente Del Bosque has been training in their headquarters at Madrid these last couple of days & we may already have a hint at the possible starting 11. Del Bosque has been practicing with block of 11 players repeatedly which has alerted Football media who follow & are close to the National team & players. This is how the SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM starting 11 may look this Saturday against the Czech Republic:

Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Pique, Capdevila; Xavi, Busquets, Xabi; Iniesta, Torres & Villa*

This is still speculation & may change

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos moves into a Central defender position to cover the absence of Carles Puyol & Chelsea FC forward Fernando Torres looks like he may start, although this is were there are some doubts. The inside observers can’t confirm 100% that Torres will be finally chosen as the central striker although he has been part of the 11 bock that has practiced tactics & strategy during training.

Spain continues with its Euro 2012 Group qualifiers after the Czech Rep. with a mid – week match against Lithuania.

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REAL MADRID 2011 | ANYONE KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH KAKA?

I am certain that you like myself are baffled or at least curious with what is going on with REAL MADRID Brazilian midfielder KAKÁ. The player has virtually "disappeared" from the Football Planet since his Coach Mourinho announced in a press confrence that Kaka was "dropped" from the squad & would only return we the player thought he was in condition to give his maximum. Since then "puff", disappeared as smoke.

Kaká

The truth is that there is a lot of secretism & mystery surrounding the player. No one really knows what is occuring. But the most significant news - or spectulation - coming out in the local Spanish Sports press is that some doctors are suggesting that he get his knee operated again. If this were true & this was in fact the only logical solution the mental blow to Kaká would be immense. This would practically mean another 4-6 months of recuperation.

There is another opinion - or again speculation - that Kaká has his sporting difficulties in his head. They suspect its psychosemantic - again speculate - & that the player does not feel up to it on the field in order to give his 100%, that his pains in the knee are mind induced.

Said all this , we can only guide ourselves with what we are allowed to see, that is, his last on field match performances. What I saw was a slightly overweight player, with loss of muscle in the leg area & very, very slow in movement. It was not the Kaka we all have seen in AC Milan & that fascinated the World.

I hope that the Brazilian gets back soon, simply for the good of Football. The rumour is however that the shadow of surgery is looming, I hope that can be avoided.
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LIONEL MESSI HIGHEST MONEY EARNER IN WORLD FOOTBALL 2010 | MOURINHO HIGHEST PAID COACH IN 2010

According to “France Football”, FC Barcelona Football player LIONEL MESSI repeats again in 2010 as the “Highest Paid Player in the World”. This takes into account his Club salary, different incentives & bonuses & other monetary concepts ( such as publicity, sponsorship, merchandising …etc)

Lionel Messi

Top 10 money earners in World Football Players:

1.Messi, 31 million €

2.Cristiano Ronaldo, 27,5

3.Rooney, 20,7

4.Kaká, 19,3

5.Beckham, 19

6.Ronaldinho, 18,3

7.Tévez, 15,4

8.Lampard, 14,2

9.Touré Yayá, 13,8

10.Henry, 13,2

Lionel Messi with his 31M€ makes him the 7th highest paid on the planet. First is Tiger Woods (Golf) with 53M€, followed by another golf player Phil Mickelson with 40M€, with F1 driver Michael Schumacher in third with (Auto) with 39M€.

Jose Mourinho

In the Coaching area, Real Madrid JOSÉ MOURINHO tops the list of Football Coaches for 2010 with 13,5M€. He is followed by:

2. Josep Guardiola ( FC Barcelona) – 10,5M€

3. Rafael Benitez (ex Inter Milan) – 10,2M€

4. Fabio Capello ( England National Team) – 8,5M€

5. Alex Fergusen (Manchester United) – 6,9M€

6. Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) – 6,6M€
 

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REAL MADRID HAS DE ROSSI ON THEIR AGENDA - AGAIN ?

It´s that time again of the season when it has turned the final curve & the finish line is in sight that Football Clubs begin to think about the next season & Football players representatives position themselves to put their "stock" on sale & in the prime points on the shopping shelves. REAL MADRID,  as always,  is talked about now & all year round, as rumours begin to appear on a daily basis.


There has been rumours that Real Madrid as asked - the word is asked - about Napoli forward CAVINI. However, Spanish Sports daily "Marca" have gone against the grain & given their apparent exclusive in reference to Real Madrid , as they "pride" themselves with this journalistic talent even if correct or wrong. At least we have this categorical  front cover to immortalize the paper as proof: if they get it right,  they deserve the Spanish Sports title, if they get it wrong, this front cover can join the many others that illustrates the speculative nature of the sporting press. 

Cover of Marca: 22 of March 2011

The story says REAL MADRID has chosen AC ROMA midfielder DE ROSSI with big titles: "DE ROSSI YES or YES", then in smaller titles: "25M€ is the maximum that Madrid will pay Roma". The description continues on saying:

"He has the profile wanted by Mou: creative, dynamic & determinate"
"The Roman midfielder takes the "pole" position over Cesc & Schweinsteiger"

So we have two other names, therefore its more a desire than a firm event.

De Rossi has been on the agenda of Real Madrid for many seasons & this alone gives this story some credibility & weight. However, as always, Football changes rapidly & what is white today is black tomorrow.

All I can say at this point is, stay tuned! This will not be the first name & the first cover that we will see as firm candidates for Real Madrid next season. Spanish Sports paper Marca will continue doing their investigative sports journalism & give us more fantastic covers i coming days, weeks & months.


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ATLETICO DE MADRID STARTING 11 - ONE OF THE MANY - TEAM PHOTO 2011

Found this photo of one of the many starting line-ups this 2010 - 2011 season of ATLETICO DE MADRID. One of the characteristics of current Coach Quique Sanchez Flores is his high number of differing starting line-ups; up to 59 different since he took over.

Here is one of the most recent ones for all the global Atletico fans.

Atletico de Madrid 2011

Top: De Gea, Forlán, Mario Suárez, Ujfalusi, Filipe Luis, Perea & Godín. 
Bottom: Reyes, Agüero, Elías & Tiago

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REAL MADRID 2011 | MESUT OZIL

Spanish Sports paper "AS" has given prime space on todays edition to REAL MADRID 22 year old German midfielder MESUT OZIL, & rightly so i my opinion. The youngster has settled in nicely to Spanish Football & with his team to cement himself a place in the squad. The player is important & has the full confidence of his Coach Mourinho, his team-mates & the difficult to please "Santiago Bernabeu" Stadium Club members & fans.


Ozil has skill, change of pace & most importantly global vision of the game which allows him to almost always make the correct choice of action. His quick thinking is only compatible to the great Football players & some have began to make comparisons with the great Zidedine Zidane. Premature in my opinion, but Ozil is still evolving & maturing & can any get better with the years.

Ozil for Real Madrid

The Spanish paper gives us some figures that I thought were interesting & that you may wish to know:

• Has given 10 assistances that have ended in goal. However he has given 83 passes that were not converted by others in a goal. If we add the Spanish Cup & Champions we would need to added 4 mores goal assists to his name.
• He has scored 6 goals in La Liga, 3 goals in the Spanish Cup & a goal in Champions
• 29 shots directly at goal, including 7 free-kicks of which one was a goal
• Touches the ball on average every 1,88 minutes. He has been active in 33 plays that ended as a goal - 5 in a penalty with him fouled. Plus involved in 237 actions that ended in direct shot at goal
• Played 29 Liga matches - 3.169 minutes

As we can see an important player in the current Real Madrid squad & a reason why great midfielders like Kaka (although with injury problems) , Granero, Canales, Pedro Leon ...must wait their turn.

Mesut Ozil, alias "Football Crack".

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TENNIS | NOVAK DJORKOVIC DEFEATS RAFAEAL NADAL IN FINAL OF MASTERS 1000 INDIAN WELLS

Spanish Tennis World Nº1 Tennis player RAFEAL NADAL could not manage to defeat a magnificent & strong NOVAK DJOKOVIC in the final of the MASTERS 1000 INDIAN WELLS Tennis Tournament. The Serb went from less to more taking Nadal to three sets & winning 6 - 4, 3 - 6 , 2 - 6  as the Spaniard experienced a radical drop in play & form after losing the second set. Djokovic finally manages to defeat Nadal in a final & break the "3 set" rule that said if taken to this number of sets Nadal always wins. 

Rafael Nadal 

The Spanish ace started on fire & took the first set relatively easily. The second set witnessed how the Serb got back slowly into the match frustrating the Spaniard into unusual unforced errors that lead to the loss of the set for Nadal. The third was for the confident & finely tuned Djokovic who overrun a radically different , lost & lethargic Rafael Nadal taking the set , the match & title.

Novak Djorkovic is currently at his best Tennis level after winning the this years Australian Open & will be a serious candidate  & threat in the upcoming European clay court circuit where there is no doubt he will again meet Nadal to fight out for more titles.

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SPANISH LEAGUE - FOOTBALL | ROUND 29 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE action tonight with all seven games left of Round 29 scheduled. Here is a brief summary of match events, the results & the scorers.

Racing - Real Sociedad

Great match between RACING DE SANTANDER & REAL SOCIEDAD with the home team taking the three points with a 2 - 1 result. A hard days work by both teams that saw individual actions sway things to one side or the other during the game. It was Racing that got ahead in the 42nd min via KENNEDY that "forced" Real Sociedad to risk more & look to equalize. Their efforts came to fruit with the equalizer for Sociedad coming via GRIEZMANN in the 72nd min, but young GIOVANI got the winner for Racing in the 77th min. 

De Las Cuevas scores for Sporting

Important win & three points for REAL SPORTING DE GIJON winning ALMERIA 1 - 0 thanks to the only goal from DE LAS CUEVAS early in the 13th min. Sporting breathe some relief as they  are fiercely fighting  to stay out of the relegation zone of the Spanish League ladder.

Xavi Torres for Levante

DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA lost at home to the much improved & positively transformed LEVANTE 0 - 1 with a last moment winner by RUBEN SUAREZ in the 90th min. A result that morally breaks your spirit as in the case of Deportivo who saw all their hard work slip in the end.

Hercules - Osasuna

Big goal scoring match with HERCULES receiving a "Football beating" by OSASUNA 0 - 4. The goals for the visitors came via CAMUÑAS in the 10th min, NELSON in the 35th min, VADOCZ in the 59th min & SOLA in the 67th min. No much to add, the score line says it all. So much so, that Hercules Coach Esteban Vigo was sacked after the match!

Rondon scores for Malaga FC

MALAGA FC finally got their act together & gave some joy to their fans after defeating 2 - 0 RCD ESPANYOL as they desperately fight to get out of the relegation zone of the Liga Ladder. Today they took a small step forward with Malaga player RONDON putting in a grand performance with two goals ( 7th min & 25th min) to help give Malaga three precious points.

Javi Martinez battles with Rossi of Villareal

ATLETICO DE BILBAO lost 0 -1 to VILLAREAL thanks to the visitors great goalkeeper Diego Lopez & their two Central Defenders Gonzalo & Musacchio, that stopped every Bilbao attack & neutralized the dangerous Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente.

Villareal left their attacking nature aside to brilliantly place a tactically defensive set up that frustrated & halted Bilbao the whole match. The winner came in the 58th min via M.RUBEN & it was enough to secure the victory.

Valencia Cf - Sevilla FC

VALENCIA CF lost 0 - 1 against SEVILLA FC & in doing so the 3rd place of the Spanish League table to Villareal. The home team played well & were very unlucky to not have at least finished with a draw. The game was action packed with three posts, Sevilla player Negredo in the 23rd min & then Valencia with Jonas in the 51st min & Mata in the 57th min hitting the "wood works".

The winner came for Sevilla via RAKITIC in the 70th min , while Tino Costa could have equalized for Valencia in the 93rd had he not missed a clear chance.  

The Spanish Football League takes a week break as the Spanish National Football Team has mid week & weekend Euro 2012 qualifying duties.

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MOTOGP 2011 | SEASON KICKS OFF IN QATAR | SPANISH RIDER NICO TEROL LEADER IN 125CC

Have to be honest, its been a too long a break & waiting for the start of the 2011 MOTOGP season. Tonight the season kicked off in Qatar under lights with mixed results for Spanish riders , but with an overall positive taste as we race through the summary of all catagories.

Jorge Lorenzo Qatar 2011: courtesy of motogp.com

The GP catagory saw Australian & new Honda rider Casey Stoner fly pass the checker flag to win & become the first GP classification leader for the new season. Honda has managed to "fine - tune" their machines in "lighting bolt" mode & it was a grand effort by second placed & current World Champion JORGE LORENZO to take his Yamaha bike into the silver position with some brilliant & outstanding driving as he was really pleased post-race. Spaniard & Honda rider DANI PEDROSA got in third after he felt some pain in his shouder as Lorenzo flew by him 3/4 of the way. 

Marquez crash: courtesy of rtve

Not so good news for Spanish riders in the MOTO2 catagory with the race finishing in this order: 1st German rider Bradl; 2nd Iannone & 3rd Luthi. The bad news was the spectacular crash from last years Spanish 125cc World Champions Marc Marquez. I have always believed that riders jump catagories too soon in the careers & these things happen. A 125 cc bike has nothing to do with a Moto2 bike as with a GP bike. It takes a lot of adaptation to get under control the new & more powerful bikes. The best placed Spanish rider in this category was Julian Simon in 10th place. 

Spanish 125cc rider Terol

The happy news for Spanish Sports was in the 125cc catagory with NICO TEROL winning ahead of Cortese & another Spaniard Gadea. Terol starts fantastically the season & looks great along with Gadea. The 125 cc has traditionally of late been a Spanish strong hold.

Next race: Spanish GP ( Jerez ) - 3rd of April

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SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA | ROUND 29 SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

Three games of Round 29 scheduled down tonight  of the Spanish Football League that included the big Madrid derby. Here are "bullets" of events at the three grounds, the final results & the scorers.

Real Mallorca scores goal

REAL MALLORCA defeated REAL ZARAGOZA 1 - 0 from a brilliantly taken free-kick in the 67th min by DE GUZMAN from the semi circle. Before this, Zaragoza goalkeeper Doblas cuased the foul on Mallorca forward Webo which lead to a red card to Doblas & left his team down to ten men. Mallorca scored & punished Zaragoza & took the match. 

Dani Alves FC Barcelona

FC BARCELONA had pressure before their game to make secure of a victory with Real Madrid close behind on the Spanish League ladder & to put a smile on team-mate Abidal face who I´m sure was watching from hospital. The end result was a well worked 2 - 1 victory at home against GETAFE with a brief scare towards the end of the match for the home side.

DANI ALVES delivered a "missile" in the 16th min to set Barça on course. Barça controlled & created chances that were´nt fully taken.

Bojan scores for FC Barcelona

Then young BOJAN put back on a comfortable course his team with his 50th min goal. Things looked comfortable until the last part of the match when Getafe pulled one back via MANU DE MORAL in the 86th min that lifted the hopes of the visitors, but nothing came from their efforts. Finally, just a mention, good match by the Barça defenders Pique & Milito who worked very well together.

Barça maintain their 5 point advantage over Real Madrid on the classification table.

Benzema once again for Real Madrid

The 11 year "curse" continues with ATLETICO DE MADRID losing the big local derby 1 - 2 to REAL MADRID with now 21 straight derby games without a victory for Atletico. Although Real Madrid overall deserved to win the "man of the match" was Real Madrid goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS who made - if I have not lost count - 9 crucial game saving stops that kept out Atletico & assured his teams victory.


REAL MADRID got ahead first via in form & reborn Frenchmen KARIM BENZEMA who scored in the 11th min. From this point & for the next 20 mins Atletico de Madrid dominated totally & was stopped by Casillas on 5 occasions.



Then German OZIL returned the calmness to his team with a majestic 32nd min goal that knocked the wind out of Atletico.

Sergio Aguero  scorer for At. Madrid

The second half was mostly dominated by Real Madrid which created chances but did not convert. Then in a radical change of events & after Real Madrid had substituted Benzema, Roanldo & Lass Diarra, Argentine forward & Atletico de Madrid player SERGIO AGUERO was finally rewarded for all his hard work with a 86th min goal. The next 8 mins was Atletico attempting the equalizer with Madrid against the ropes, but the visitors held out to take another derby.

Real Madrid stay in touch - 5 points - with FC Barcelona. Atletico, well, maybe next season.


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