Spanish Football | Soccer

VALENCIA, REAL MADRID & ATLETICO DE MADRID WINTER TRANSFER NEWS 2007/08

Tomorrow the "winter transfer market" opens & lots of teams are
moving & dealing to reinforce their sides half way through the season.
Here are three transfer pieces ( or rumours ) that involve directly or
indirectly Spanish teams Valencia CF, Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid.

VALENCIA CF wishes to incorporate immediately BOCA JUNIOR
midfielder EVER BENEGA after putting on the table a 18M€ offer.
The Argentine side asks for time to study the offer because it has
to ask Real Madrid for permission - they have preferencial option.
Also other clubs like Chelsea, Atletico de Madrid & Juventus have
put in offers.

According to Portugues daily "Diario de Noticias", REAL MADRID
forward ROBERTO SOLDADO will force his way out of the Spanish
club in order to go & sign with BENFICA. The Portugues club is
coached by ex-Real Madrid player & coach Camacho who has asked
specifically for the player.
Soldado came as a real alternative up front for Real but has not played
at all, this is frustrating the player & his carreer

Controversial & "undisciplined" ATLETICO DE MADRID midfielder
MANICHE is being followed closely by INTER MILAN & is set to
make a 6M€ offer, according to "Corrieri dello Sport".
The player is out of favour with coach Aguierre after repeated
"bad behaviour" ( late to training, drunk driving, late night binges,
...etc). This could be the right moment for the club to get "rid" of
the player & get some cash.

Stay tuned for developments.

CRISTIANO RONALDO SEES HIS FUTURE AT REAL MADRID

CRISTIANO RONALDO sees his future at REAL MADRID. The
Portugues & MAN.UTD forward told Spanish daily "AS" in an interview
that ( translated into English): "...next season I will be playing at Madrid"

Very interesting words from the young star, who also mentioned that
his contract with Manchester Utd. has a 70M€ release clause. He
believes that price will not need to be payed, as he thinks both clubs
could come to a fair understanding.

He also comments that he is happy at his current club, but sees that it maybe
the right moment to make a move & that could happen next season. So SFS
readers stay tuned on developments.

RONALDINHO TO MEET AC MILAN OFFICIALS

Its news all our Spanish media & half the world. FC BARCELONA
player RONALDINHO will meet with AC MILAN officials at
Port Alegre to study the Italian clubs offer of transfer, according to
the players own words after participating in a benefical game played
in Buenos Aires.

Although this is the primary contact phase, a transfer may take time

even if the player accepts, while both clubs "fight" it out over a transfer

fee. According to "Marca" the Italian giant wishes to incorporate the

player asap during the "Winter Market", & at a lower price than the 100 -
120M€ offered months ago when Ronaldinho was then recognized as the
Worlds Best Player ( which is not now the case).
So stay tuned, as it looks like that Ronaldinho´s days at Barça maybe
getting shorter.

Do you think this announces the end of the player at Barcelona?

ATLETICO DE MADRID has tied further its young Argentine star
SERGIO AGUERO today by increasing his contract release clause
from 36M€ to 55M€.
The contract improvement will secure the player at Atletico & keep
away potential pretenders from "touching" the star forward.

Aguero also gets a salary improvement. Good news for all Atletico
fans!

Total confusion at VALENCIA CF, with President Soler NOW saying
to media today that neither ALBELDA, CAÑIZARES & ANGULO

have been fired, dismissed or parted from the team. This goes totally

against what coach Roland Koeman communicated to the players
with the President´s backing. BAD NEW YEAR ahead for Valencia folks,

big problems in house.

VAN NISTELROOY: THE BEST Nº9 IN THE WORLD FOR 2007?

The title question is put & affirmed by Spanish sports daily "AS" today,
after REAL MADRID Dutch International forward RUUD VAN
NISTELROOY was listed by French Football Magazine, "L´Equipe", in
its DREAM TEAM for 2007 (see below post) yesterday.

The Dutchman was the Spanish League Top goalscorer for 2006/07
with 25 goals. Since arriving at Real Madrid Ruud has played 67 games
& has scored 45 goals.
Van Nistelrooy is also currently the 2º Top Historical goalscorer in
Champions League with 57 goals, just two behind leader & fellow teammate
Raul who has 59 goals.
It is a fact, that 2007 was a fabulous year for Van Nistelrooy & he is now
receiving the critical acclaim.

Do you think "Van Goal" is the Best Nº9 in the World for 2007?

Check out this great VIDEO of the player & his goals:

AC MILAN & RONALDINHO FOOTBALL HUMOUR

Here´s some good fashion humour from "Mundo Deportivo" & its
cartoon section "Pelotazos".
It takes a "shot" at the hot rumours at "Camp Barça", that its
star forward RONALDINHO may have his days numbered.

The cartoon shows a AC MILAN "person" on his way to Barcelona &
with a bag full of cash to do some fishing. We can all guess which fish
is the prized catch.

L´EQUIPE LISTS DREAM TEAM 2007: CESC FABREGAS ONLY SPANIARD

French Football magazine "L´Equipe" has released its list of players
they consider as this year´s "Dream Team", with CESC FABREGAS being
the only Spaniard on the list, apart from 2 other names that are based
in the Spanish League: Van Nistelrooy & Dani Alves.

Here is the full list:

G. Buffon ( Juventus)
Kaka ( Ac Milan)
Ruud Van Nistelrooy ( Real Madrid)
Cesc Fabregas ( Arsenal )
Dani Alves ( Sevilla FC)
William Gallas ( Arsenal)
D.Drogba ( Chelsea FC )
S.Gerrard ( Liverpool)
N.Vidic ( Man Utd)
C.Ronaldo ( Man Utd )
Patrice Evra ( Man Utd)

SFS personally misses IKER CASILLAS ( Real Madrid Goalkeeper) &
teammate SERGIO RAMOS.
It is SFS opinion that both deserve to be in the list.
Any thoughts?

According to "Marca", Atletico de Madrid is considering the

possiblity of signning Valencia CF "discard" ALBELDA for next

season.

The deal offered is said to be a 3 year contract with a salary around

1.5M€/year. Albelda is seen as a "bargain" at Atletico & they wish the

opportunity to finally have a player who can "destroy" the play of
opponents in the midfield, apart from control & an attacking reach.

Villareal maybe be the competitor to Atletico, as they also seem to be

interested in the player. Stay tuned!

SPANISH FOOTBALL XMAS 2007 NEWS BRIEFS: RONALDINHO, GIOVANI, SAVIOLA & CAÑIZARES

SFS is back & hopes everyone has had a great Xmas. While away the
Football World continued spinning with lots of news & rumours. Here
are just a few interesting news briefs to get back & rolling.

FC BARCELONA´s 0-1 loss to Real Madrid last Sunday &
RONALDINHO´s poor play & "not up to the occasion" attitude,
seems to have convienced Barça directives to sell the Brazilian asap.
The objective is to pull in the best price & transfer the foward. MILAN
& CHELSEA are in the box seat. Stay tuned for future developments!

According to "Sport" & "Marca", FC BARCELONA young Mexican
forward GIOVANI has been offered to REAL MADRID by his
representative. The "feel the vibe" reunion came about because
Barça is´nt repsonding to a contract renewal. The Madrid answer
was: "Not for the moment".
However, several English clubs are said to be interested. Stay tuned!

Staying with English teams & REAL MADRID, the rumour is (according
to "Sport") that BOLTON may make an offer for JAVIER SAVIOLA
in the next days. The Argentine has not got a good run since transferring
to Madrid for Barcelona & may see English football as the alternative.

Lastly, VALENCIA CF "reject", 38 year old goalkeeper SANTIAGO
CAÑIZARES maybe be the solution CHELSEA need to solve its
goalkeepers injury woes, according to paper "Daily Mirror"

UEFA CUP DRAW: RESULTS FOR SPANISH TEAMS

The final 32 teams in the UEFA Cup competition went into the draw

with the following results for the 3 Spanish teams: Atletico de Madrid,
Getafe & Villareal.

AEK Athens (Gre.) - Getafe
Bolton ( Eng.) - Atletico de Madrid
Zenit. St.Petersburg ( Rus.) - Villareal

1º leg - 13 Feb 2008

2º leg - 21 Feb 2008

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL 16 DRAW: RELATIVE GOOD NEWS FOR SPANISH TEAMS

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona & Sevilla FC have faired relatively well
in the Champions League final 16 team draw. Real Madrid will play
AC Roma, FC Barcelona plays Celtic & Sevilla will face Turkish team
Fernerbache.

See the full details below of todays draw.

FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID 2007

Things are heating up in Spain, Football wise, as everyone ( fans , that is)
are talking & speculating about this Sunday´s "Clasico", the FC
BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID clash.
Here are the official team photos of both side for the 2007/08 season.

UEFA CUP: ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - PANATHINAIKOS 1 VIDEO HIGHLIGHT

Great night for Atletico de Madrid with its 2-1 victory over Greek team
Panathinaikos. Here is the VIDEO highlight & check the great free kick
from SIMAO to give Atletico the victory.

UEFA CUP RESULTS - ATLETICO & VILLAREAL GO INTO NEXT STAGE

UEFA Cup results , very brief & quick. ATLETICO DE MADRID
2 - OLYMPIAKOS 1. Luis Garcia 73rd min & Simao 94th min.
Consolation goal Salpigidis 33 min & Atletico goes through into
next stage as group leader.

VILLAREAL wins 1-2 over AEK ATHENS , goals MAVUBA & TOMASSON,
& the consolation goal from RIVALDO for AEK. Also as group leader.

FC BARCELONA NEWS: WHO WILL REPLACE MESSI AGAINST REAL MADRID?

Next Sunday´s big game "El Clasico" between FC BARCELONA &
REAL MADRID is gaining media exposure, as things begin to really
heat up on all fronts.
The questions being put on the table bty everyone is : Who will replace
the injuried "key player" LIONEL MESSI? RONALDINHO, GIOVANI
or THIERRY HENRY

The debate is hot at the moment in media circles & at the street fan
level. Who do you think should replace Messi?

SPANISH CUP - THREE GAMES: REAL MADRID SCRAPE THROUGH

The fractured SPANISH CUP ended its last 32 teams 1º leg stage with
three games tonight, that highlighted how tough this competition can be
due to the unpredictable play of the "lower sides".

REAL MADRID travelled to ALICANTE with a "B-side" ( see above)
& scraped through with a 1-1 draw in the 1º leg. Alicante scored 1st in
the 60th min via BORJA & were on the way for a shock win, when in
the very last second substitute BALBOA scored to save the day. Spanish
daily "AS" resumes the match with "...now we understand why the above
side is the substitute team", referring to their dismal play.

ESPANYOL also drew 1-1 with DEPORTIVO with goals by CORO for
the former & SERGIO for the later. The 2º leg will determine who will
go through.

Lastly, REAL UNION lost to VALENCIA 1-2 with 2º goals from Valencia
forward ZIGIC. For Real Union GOIKOETXEA scored first, but Valencia
slowing got on top. This win will calm the rough waters at Valencia, who
are experiencing a "deep crisis" at all levels at the club. The rumours are that
next on the "cleaning list" are Zigic & Vicente.

UEFA CUP: GETAFE THROUGH TO NEXT STAGE AS GROUP LEADER

Its a paradox, in the local competition GETAFE are in the bottom end,
while in UEFA they have qualified Group G leaders for the next stage.

Getafe has defeated ANDERLECTH 2-1 with good play that was

lead by a fine HERNANDEZ who scored in the 5th min. Getafe

continued playing well & added the 2º goal in the 49th min via
CELESTINI. The visitors managed to score a consolation goal

in the last moment via THEREAU.

VALENCIA CF - THE MINI REVOLUTION CONTINUES

VALENCIA CF Coach Koeman shook Football circles with the decision
to "lock out" Goalkeeper CAÑIZARES & Captain ALBELDA ( see below
post) from the team , thus signalling the 180ºdegree turn in the clubs
direction.

Today the "mini-revolution" continued with MIGUEL ANGEL
ANGULO ( pictured above) also being parted "forever" from the
team.

All this head-cutting has lead star forward DAVID VILLA to announce
via his representative that his player will only stay in a strong club
& not one in a re-organisation stage .This has been intrepreted as a clear
message the Villa maybe unhappy with the clubs current situation &
may look elsewhere for stability in the near future.

Tough times ahead at Valencia. Stay tuned!

VALENCIA CF NEWS - CRISIS - CAÑIZARES & ALBELDA OUTED FROM TEAM

Things are hot in VALENCIA CF, one would go a far to say, that the
"shit" is really flying at the club.
According to local media, coach Koeman, with authorization from
President Soler has communicated individually to Goalkeeper
CAÑIZARES & Captain ALBELDA ( both pictured) that they will no
longer play with Valencia while he is coach.
Koeman even went further & recommended that they both begin to
look for new clubs.

Both are veterans & are very outspoken. Its difficult to know the real
reasons, however one can presume or imagen that their "mouth" has
put them into trouble, plus they maybe the "scapegoats" that the club
needed to show the fans & rest of teammates that changes are coming
& are for real.
Thats Football!

FIFA WORLD PLAYER 2007: KAKA

It was a well known secret, the FIFA World Player Award for 2007
goes to Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, aka Brazilian International
& AC MILAN star KAKA.

The award/s were handed tonight in Zurich in the FIFA Gala full
of the "creme de la creme" of World Football.

Young Argentine International & FC BARCELONA player LIONEL
MESSI was 2º ( a fantastic achievement for such a young player) &
3º place went to Portugues & MANCHESTER UNITED star
CRISTIANO RONALDO.

ATLETICO DE MADRID & Argentine International SERGIO
AGUERO was awarded the "Best U/20 World Player", another
fabulous achievement for this youngman, who won the U/20
World Cup with Argentina this year in Canada.

Lastly, Spanish Club FC BARCELONA was award with the "Fair Play
Award" for 2007

SFS wishes to congratulate all the above mentioned winners.

SPAIN: FOURTH IN FIFA RANKING FOR 2007

FIFA has released the World rankings for 2007, with Spain finishing
this year in 4th place with 1349 pts. The Nº1 nation in Football according
to FIFA was Argentina. See below the full Top 20 table:

1. (.1) Argentina 1.523 pts
2. (.2) Brazil 1.502
3. (.3) Italy 1.498
4. (.4) SPAIN 1.349
5. (.5) Germany 1.298
6. (.6) Chec Rep. 1.290
7. (.7) France 1.243
8. (.8) Portugal 1.241
9. (.9) Holland 1.170
10. (10) Croatia 1.129
11. (11) Greece 1.114
12. (12) England 1.113
13. (13) Rumania 1.088

14. (14) Scotland 990
15. (15) México 982
16. (16) Turkey 924

17. (17) Colombia 907
18. (18) Bulgaria 881

19. (19) USA 876
20. (20) Nigeria 875

SPANISH FOOTBALL: VIDEO HIGHLIGHT OF REAL MADRID 2 - OSASUNA 0 ( ROUND 16/ 2007)

If your a Real Madrid or Osasuna fan & you missed yesterdays game,
here is the VIDEO highlight of the two goals scored by Real via Van
Nistelrooy & Sneijder.

Real Madrid 2 - 0 Osasuna (1º goal Van Nistelrooy)

Real Madrid 2 - 0 Osasuna (2º goal Sneijder)

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 16/ 2007 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

Eight games, of the ten, are down this Sunday in Round 16 of "La Liga"
with its usual dose of goals, excitement & surprises that SFS summarizes
with its weekly resume of results, images & scorers.

Kanoute´s face (above) says it all, near miss & frustration, added to
which his team SEVILLA FC went down to 9º men with "Red Cards"
to Luis Fabiano & Fazio. The end result was a 0-0 draw away at
VALLADOLID, a reverse for Sevilla in their local competition
aspirations.

It was a different story from Sevilla´s other Football team REAL BETIS
who managed its second straight win over ALMERIA win a 3-1 scoreline.
Almeria started early & well with a quick goal in the 9th min via NEGREDO,
but it was equalized via EDU ( pictured above ) in the 27th min & PAVONE
added 2º more goals for Betis in the 50th & 82th min.
Good win & more needed oxygen for Betis.

VILLAREAL visited GETAFE & needed a win to keep in touch at the
top of the ladder, & they did not disappoint with a 1-3 victory. NIHAT
got things rolling with Villareal´s first in the 15th min & he managed
the 2º goal in the 78thmin , with CAZORLA grabbing the 3rd in the
83rd min.
Getafe managed to score a goal in the 85th min via KEPA & they also
missed a penalty.
Correctly won by Villareal, who stay high on the Liga table.

The MALLORCA 0-0 draw with ATHLETIC DE BILBAO was a
goalkeeper affair during the whole game. Goalkeeping saves galour
that keep the scoreline free from any goals.

DIEGO MILITO ( above) scored REAL ZARAGOZA´s first & only
goal to see later in the 52nd min DEPORTIVO equalize via
COLOCCINI. The game finished 1-1.

REAL MURCIA surprised the "revelation side" at home with a
2-1 victory over RACING DE SANTANDER. It was´nt until the
56th min the GOITOM scored first for Murcia, & that was quickly
equalized by Racing via SMOLAREK five minutes later.
However, veteran BAIANO secured the victory for Murcia with a
83rd min goal.
A much needed win for Murcia.

The picture above says it all, ATLETICO DE MADRID ran into the
RECREATIVO wall & their match finished in a 0 - 0 draw. The
problem was neither team knew how to finish off the plays & convert
them into goals.
This draw was not exactly the scoreline Atletico was looking for, as they
are attempting to consolidate their place up at the top of the ladder. They
are lucky to stay 3º for another week as Espanyol & Villareal are hot on
their heels, they need to play better.

Against the backdrop of the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium 60th Anniversary,
REAL MADRID maintains its leadership & 4ºpoint advantage over
second placed team & rival FC Barcelona, after beating OSASUNA 2-0.
VAN NISTELROOY who tonight played his 50th match for Real, scored
his teams first goal from a Sneijder free-kick when he managed to header
the ball into the net in the 16th min.
The 2º half saw Osasuna play well & take control until SNEIJDER
scored the second & final goal in the 75 min, to knock the wind out of the
Osasuna sails. Real Madrid go into next weeks "clasico" against Barça with
the confidence of being the Liga leader. A handsome advantage!

VALENCIA CF 0 - FC BARCELONA 3/ 2007: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GOALS

A few requests in from SFS readers who would like to see the goals
in yesterdays Round 16 Saturday match. Check out the first goal by
Eto ´o & the excited American commentators - Cool!

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 16/ 2007 SATURDAY RESULTS

FC BARCELONA won a very poor VALENCIA CF 3-0 at a big price,
specially if you take into account next week s "classic" against Real
Madrid: the injury of MESSI.
The young Argentine sensation will miss the big Real Madrid game &
another 3 weeks more of football with a torn hamstring.
Valencia CF also lost another man & added him to their long list of
injured men: Fernando Morientes.

The surprise at the start was that Ronaldinho started on the bench &
finally did´nt get a run. No doubt more controversy all next week.

The game was a one way street with Barça dominating the whole match.
SAMUEL ETO ´O ( above) was back in a big way scoring 2º goals, both
in the 12th & 26th min. The first is worth watching if you get the chance
as it was a real beauty. Then in the 2º half GUDJOHNSEN scored from a
Giovani pass in the 61th min.
Good confidence win for Barça & a terrible defeat for Valencia who
finished with their home crowd screaming abuse at the whole team

R.C.D. ESPANYOL get into Champions positions on the ladder with
another victory, this time over LEVANTE 1-0. The winning goal came
early in the 8th min thanks to JARQUE ( above).
Espanyol are having a great season & are the surprise side of "La Liga"
along with Racing.

ARJEN ROBBEN cost REAL MADRID 36,000,000€ from Chelsea FC
& the Spanish club was warned beforehand that the young Dutchman
was prone to injuries. The man of glass, that´s his nickman, is proving to
be correct, as Robben will not be able to play against Osasuna due to left
leg muscle problems. The talented player has only played 2 "liga" games
& it is a worrying sign.
Lets all wish Robben all the luck to be able to overcome the difficulties
& get back onto the field were he belongs.

REAL MADRID has been beaten by German giant BAYERN MUNICH

with the announced signning of young 18 year old Brazilian & SAO
PAOLO defender BRENO ( pictured below).
Real Madrid have been following the player for a while & was on their

list of future signnings, but this fish has got away!

SPANISH FOOTBALL HUMOUR: VALENCIA CF vs FC BRACELONA

Spanish daily "Sport" injects some humour ( & a warning) via its
cartoon section "Futbolitis" before tonights Valencia CF - FC
Barcelona match. Both coaches Koeman & Rijkaard are under
pressure to win, in the case of Koeman, to pull Valencia out of its
worry slump, while Rijkaard must prevent his team from falling
further behind in the the ladder to Real Madrid & to go into next
weeks Barça - Real Madrid derby with confidence.

Koeman: "Be careful with me my friend"
Koeman: "If you dont win tonight & lose against Madrid, you many
see fly your head"
Rijkaard:" Your also not in a situation to say much"

Surf into SFS late tonight for all the match details

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