Spanish Football | Soccer

REAL MADRID & OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE AGREE ON HEINZE

News just in & flying through the Sports media is that REAL MADRID
has come to an agreement with French Club OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
for the possible transfer of the 31 year old Argentine International
defender GABRIEL HEINZE.

What is needed now is that the actual player accepts the terms of the
French Club. It is expected that the player may fly to Marseille to shut
a 3 year deal, with his salary being the tricky area as he earns +4M€ at
Real Madrid.

The Real Madrid "exit operation" continues, stay tuned!

LATEST: Olympique has just announced on its WEB that the transfer is
100%

FC BARCELONA & ITS PLAN B FOR A MIDFIELDER

FC BARCELONA are looking for a defensive midfielder to accompany
&/or substitute players like YAYA TOURE when he & Keita leave in
January of 2010 to participate in the African Cup for 6 weeks. Barça
initially desire players like LIVERPOOL FC Argentine Captain
MASCHERANO or ARSENAL Spanish International CESC FABREGAS,
but their prices & the difficulty to get them out of their current
Clubs has forced Barça to elaborate a PLAN B. According to local
paper “Sport” Barça has 3 options up their sleeve that fit into the
"good & relatively cheap category" (around 10M€)

Here are the names:

MENDES DA SILVA - AZ Alkmaar - 27 year old midfileder

JAN VERTONGHEN - Ajax of Amsterdam - 22 year old Belgium
International midfielder

TOPAL – Galatasaray - 23 year old Turkish Internacional

Stay tuned!

FC BARCELONA has taken off on a plane to the United States without
midfielder ALEXANDER HLEB & defender MARTIN CACERES. The
former has decided to return loaned to his “old” Club STUTTGART
instead of Inter Milan, while the latter will be also loaned to
JUVENTUS.
(Alexander Hleb)

Both announcements will not be made official until the next 36 hrs
(if there are no problems) as Barça needs to renegotiate with Inter
Milan because Hleb was part of the original Eto´o – Ibrahimovic deal
& with Barça directives flying to the US Caceres will also have to
wait until Barça directives can get hold of a digital line, a fax &
connect to the local mobile net.
(Martin Caceres)

LIVERPOOL FC ANNOUNCE ARBELOA TRANSFER TO REAL MADRID

LIVERPOOL FC has announced on its web ( see top left side) the
transfer of their Spanish International defender ALVARO ARBELOA
to REAL MADRID.

XABI ALONSO next? Stay tuned!

FRIENDLY GAMES: WERDER BREMEN 2 - VALENCIA CF 2 ( 2- 4 penalty)

VALENCIA CF is in Holland doing its pre-season with cooler
temperatures & is taking advantage of playing some friendly games.
Yesterday they played against German Club WERDER BREMEN &
won (2-4) in thepenalties after both finished the regulatory 90
minutes with a 2-2 draw. Valencia CF Serbian forward ZIGIC scored
his teams two
goals.

Goals:
1-0: Almeida, m.29. 2-0: Özil, m.30 (penalty). 2-1: Zigic, m.57.
2-2: Zigic, m.76.

PEACE CUP 2009: REAL MADRID 4 - LDU DE QUITO 2 (VIDEO GOALS)

REAL MADRID defeated a good LDU DE QUITO 4-2 in the second
game of their PEACE CUP commitment & managed to qualify
(just) for next Fridays semi-final at Sevilla against JUVENTUS.

The highlights are that the Real Madrid team has improved
somewhat but have the habitual problems of set plays in defence
were they allowed Quito to score twice. The good news was that
RONALDO scored his first goal, youngster GRANERO scored & played
well, BENZEMA looked good before leaving the ground with a
hard knock & PEPE was enormous in defence & the man of the
match. Added to this but not least important MARCELO played
well & NEGREDO got a run & scored.

This may sound like everything is perfect, BUT there is still plenty
of things that need to be fixed before we can confidently say that
Real Madrid are fine. It´s obviously early in the pre-season &
everyone is still getting to know each other but there are lapses &
midfield loss of the balls that are worrying. However, if this game
is an indicator it was much better than their match last Sunday.

LDU DE QUITO played well & nearly pulled off a victory but
Real keeper tonight DUDEK saved the few opportunities they
enjoyed, & LARREA deserves a mention as he had a good
match & scored twice for Quito.

Here are the VIDEOs of all the goals:

1-0: Ronaldo 48m (p)

2-0:Granero 53m

2-1:Larrea 67m

3-1:Metzelder 71m

3-2:Larrea 86m

4-2: Negredo 89m

REAL MADRID: TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH LIVERPOOL FC FOR ALVARO ARBELOA

News in from the “AS” digital edition informs that REAL MADRID
has shut an agreement with LIVERPOOL FC to transfer their Spanish
International right-back defender ALVARO ARBELOA for 4 M€. The
player also has total agreement with the Spanish Club with a contract
for 5 years & it’s only a question of hours before both Clubs formally
announce the agreement on their Club web pages.

Alvaro Arbeloa finishes contract at Liverpool FC & the English Club
has decided not to renew, thus Real Madrid see in their ex-player
( sold 4 years ago) as the man to serve as alternative to Sergio
Ramos, & due to his versatility for any other defender that may
need to be covered during the season. Arbeloa is a regular player
in the Spanish National team & brings guarantees to the defence.

SFS FLASHBACKS: REAL MADRID 3 - MANCHESTER UNITED 3 - 1968 EUROPEAN CUP 2º LEG SEMI-FINAL

Situation: It was the 1967/68 season & REAL MADRID played
MANCHESTER UNITED in a historical 2º leg EUROPEAN CUP
semi-final clash at the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium" (Madrid). The
end result was a grand 3-3 draw, but Manchester United qualified
for the European Cup final because in the 1ºst leg at Old Trafford
they won 1-0 thanks to a goal from George Best.

Great Football Flashback!

REAL MADRID NEWS: XABI ALONSO IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS?

Spanish daily “Marca” puts on its cover that positions between
LIVERPOOL FC & REAL MADRID are getting closer, so much so that
according to the daily Liverpool has put a 48 hour deadline for the
Spanish Club to propose a “decent” offer for XABI ALONSO. The
desired price is reported to be around 30M€ + extras for incentives,
that is a reduction from the original asked price of 41M€.

(photo: marca.com)

Alonso has expressed to the Club that he desires to play at Real
Madrid & Liverpool has asked the player time to find a substitute
which apparently is AQUILANI from AC ROMA who has already
given his OK. Real Madrid desperately needs a player of Alonso´s
characteristics as they are weak in the play making & creative
midfield area as seen by their last two friendly games.

Staying with Liverpool FC, the signing of LIVERPOOL FC Spanish
International defender ARBELOA by REAL MADRID looks
imminent as well & is expected to be shut in the next days for
about 4M€

Lastly, while with Real Madrid, news is that AC MILAN is thinking
in HUNTELAAR.

Stay tuned!

The official presentation of ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC by FC
BARCELONA went behind schedule because their “ex-Lion”
(Eto´o) was still biting up to the very last second. The legal
formalities needed documents from Eto´o that came late
& put the show behind its schedule. About 50.000 fans
went to the “Camp Nou” to have a glimpse at their new
Nº9 who has signed for 5 years & will be operated tomorrow
of his hand facture, something that is minor & will not delay
too much his incorporation to his new team.

The man was humble in his presentation, full of ambition & thanked
everyone involved in the complex transfer operation ( from Inter
President Moratti , Barça President Laporta & his team , his
manager etc.) to get him to the team of his choice, were he
comes to learn, to better himself & give his best profile.

SFS welcomes Zlatan to Spanish Football & thanks him as well for he
can only lift further the “Liga” level & give all fans more joy in the
Sport they enjoy.

Here is the "ZLATAN SONG" you can learn & sing a long to:

U19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS: FRANCE 1 - SPAIN 0

SPAIN said goodbye to the U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS after
losing 1-0 to FRANCE this afternoon. France deserved to win with
a magnificent first half & comfortable second to go through to the
semi-finals along with its Group partner Serbia who defeated
Turkey 1-0 & finish on top.

Spain was slow, without ideas & didn’t take advantage of the little
chances they had throughout the game. The only goal came from
man of the match BRAHIMI in the 27th min with a brilliant one-two
that ripped the Spanish defence. France could have scored more
had it not been the woodwork & of range shots.

Spain is having a nightmare run in the "junior" levels & will need to

examine closely the cause for this drop of form.

GUARDIOLA ON IBRAHIMOVIC, HLEB & BARÇA´S FUTURE

FC BARCELONA Coach Josep GUARDIOLA gives his views on Zlatan,
Hleb & the future of Barça in his clear, smart & sensible gentemanly
manner as always:

PEACE CUP 2009: REAL MADRID 1 - AL-ITTIHAD 1 (VIDEO GOALS)

It was the first game of the “new” REAL MADRID project on their
home ground – Santiago Bernabeu – against Saudi Club AL-ITTIHAD
as part of the PEACE CUP. A match that finished in a 1-1 draw with
the Saudi´s actually having two magnificent chances towards the
end that could have given them the game. They should be happy as
they played well tonight.

Real Madrid looked good in the first half with Ronaldo & Benzema,
but fell in level & efficiency in the second half with Coach Pellegrini
making chances & giving Higuaín, Guti, Granero, young Agus & Robben
a run. In fact the first goal came before the changes in the 55 min
when Benzema set up RAUL to score. Then in the 64th min
ABOUCHEROUANE headed a fantastic equalizer from a free kick
that surprised Real goalkeeper Dudek.

In summary, Real are definitely in a process of team building with
so many new faces. They are still “slow” & that will change with
more games as they sharpen up. The constructive criticism is that
they lose too many balls in the midfield & need urgently a midfield
creative player; in this sense XABI ALONSO is the man. Obviously
the incorporation tomorrow after holidays of Kaká, Albiol, Casillas
& Sergio Ramos will be an enormous plus & will better things. It’s
too early in the pre-season to make any real conclusions but the
crowd expected perhaps a little bit more from Madrid, it’s a case
of patience for sure.

Special mention to LASSANA DIARRA, the man is a machine
omnipresent on the field & so early in the pre-season.

FRIENDLY: SUNDERLAND 2 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 0 (VIDEO GOALS)

English team SUNDERLAND has defeated ATLETICO DE MADRID 2-0
in today’s Amsterdam Tournament. That was not the only bad
news, young Atletico midfielder Jurado was injured & taken off in
the ninth minute. The two goals for Sunderland were scored by
KIERAN RICHARDSON in the 46th min via a penalty & in the 84th
min.
Richardson – 46m (pen)

Richardson – 84th min

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC ARRIVES AT BARCELONA

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC arrived today at Barcelona to shut a few
“little” points in the contract with FC BARCELONA that will unite
him to the Club for the next five years. Tomorrow Ibrahimovic is
expected to undergo the compulsory medical examine & be
presented officially in the afternoon as a new Barça player to
media & fans.

CYCLING: ALBERTO CONTADOR WINS THE TOUR DE FRANCE 2009

It´s the 4th year in a row that a Spanish rider wins the TOUR DE
FRANCE.This year ALBERTO CONTADOR won his second title ( last
time 2007) ahead of Andy Schleck & 7 time winner Lance Armstrong.

The curious episode was that the organization played the Danish
national anthem instead of the Spanish when Contador stood
bewildered as he watch the Spanish flag climb the mast to a
"different beat". No doubt this will create some interesting questions.

Other winners:
Today stage winner: Mark Cavendish
General - Regularity: Thor Hushovd
General- Mountain: Franco Pellizotti
General- Team: Astana

MOTO GP: TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE IN THE BRITISH GP 2009

It was a complicated day at the races for MOTO GP in all its
categories. The weather was the main protagonist at the BRITISH
GP at Donington Park as may riders, especially Spaniards were
floored.

The joy was in the 125cc category where Spanish rider JULIAN
SIMON managed to win ahead of another Spaniard GADEA &
Redding to consolidate further his overall lead in the World
Championship table.

Current World Championship standing:
1. Simon 154pts; 2 Gadea 104; 3. Smith

(J.Simón)

In the 250cc category Spaniard ALVARO BAUTISTA did a great race
to finish second ahead of Pasini & behind Japanese rider Aoyama
who opens a gap in the World Championship table.

Current standing:
1. Aoyama 159pts; 2.Bautista 144; 3. Simoncelli 115

In the GP category, Toni Elias & Jorge Lorenzo fell while in front
in what was a complicated race due to intermittent showers. Even
Rossi fell but he managed to get back on his bike that fortunately
was still operating to finish 5th. However the winner was
DOVIZIOSO who did an excellent race ro finish in front of Edwards
& De Puniet.

Current standing:
1. Rossi 187pts; 2.Lorenzo 162; 3.Stoner 150

There will now be a small summer break with the next race scheduled
for the Czech Rep (Brno) on the 16th of August

FRIENDLY - WEMBLEY CUP 2009: AL-AHLY 1 - FC BARCELONA 4 (VIDEO GOALS)

Second game for FC BARCELONA in the WEMBLEY CUP tournament
against Egyptian side AL-AHLY which they manage to defeat 1- 4 in
another display by the Barça youngsters.

Here are the video clips of all the goals with special mention to Pedro
who had a grand game & Ruben who scored Barça´s second goal which
should not be missed:

Bojan -15m

El Egezy – 30m

Ruben – 40m

Jeffren -55m

Pedro -66m

Staying with FC Barcelona, new signing ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC arrives
late this afternoon to the city & will be presented tomorrow to media
& fans

REAL MADRID: LATEST ON XABI ALONSO - 25.07.09

What´s better than reading the Sports papers? Hearing it from the
source, the "horses mouth", LIVERPOOL FC Manager/Coach Rafael
Benitez:

Is this a strategic tactic to "educate" the Liverpool FC fans that
Rafa is the nice guy & Xabi the bad guy? Or is it sincere? The fact
is XABI ALONSO is´nt talking with his Coach, there is zero relation.

Stay tuned!

FC BARCELONA WILL ATTEMPT FOR CHYGRYNSKIY A THIRD TIME

It maybe third time lucky,with the difference this time that the
player will now be pro-active & attempt to “force” his exit from his
team. This is the news from Barcelona media – e.g. Sport –
concerning the wished Central Defender DMITRO CHYGRYNSKIY
that FC BARCELONA has attempted already twice to convince his
Club UEFA Champions SHAKHTAR DONETSK to let him go & to transfer.

FC Barcelona has offered 15M€ for the 22 year old defender & it has
fallen to deaf ears. But this time the player has expressed to his
Coach that he wishes to leave & will communicate to Club
Directives that this is his true desire. With this “new” & "aggresive"
attitude from Chygrynskiy, Barça will return to the Ukraine Club
& again make an offer for the player.

Stay tuned, in the coming days we may have more news.

PEACE CUP 2009: SEVILLA FC 1 - JUVENTUS 2

GOALS: Amauri & Laquinta for Juventus & Squillaci for Sevilla
FC. See video of the goals:

FRIENDLY: AJAX OF AMSTERDAM 3 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 3 (VIDEO GOALS)

ATLETICO DE MADRID has played its third pre-season match against
AJAX OF AMSTERDAM at the Arena in Amsterdam in their yearly
tournament. The result was an exciting 3-3 draw with Atletico de
Madrid exhibiting all its fire power up front but showing its recent
weakness ( or lapses) in defence. The game was equalized in the
end by a controversial penalty awarded to Ajax that was not missed
by the Dutch & blemished a great Atletico performance tonight.

The goal scorers for Atletico were SIMAO, AGUERO & MAXI
RODRIGUEZ while for Ajax their scorers were CVITANICH,
ROMMEDAHL & SUAREZ (p)

Here is the VIDEO (with “interesting” audio) of the goals. Check
the defensive mistakes. Need to work on it Atletico, but there are
signs & good vibrations...

Details

Ajax 3: Stekelenburg; Van der Wiel, Wielart, Alderweireld, Vertonghen;
Kennedy (Rommedahl, m. 60), Aissati, Sno (Donald, m. 71), Emanuelson
(De Jong, m. 81); Luis Suárez & Cvitanich (Sulejmani, m. 65).

Atlético de Madrid 3: Asenjo; Heitinga, Perea, Juanito, Antonio López;
Maxi Rodríguez (Sinama Pongolle, m. 84), Paulo Assuncao, Cléber
Santana (Raúl García, m. 60), Simao (Reyes, m. 67); Forlán
(Borja, m. 81) & Agüero (Jurado, m. 76).

Goals: 1-0, m. 8: Cvitanich. 1-1, m. 29: Simao. 1-2, Aguero m. 41: m.
70: 2-2, Rommedahl. 2-3, m. 76: Maxi Rodríguez:
3-3, m. 90: Suárez, penalty.

VILLAREAL SIGN BRAZILIAN NILMAR

Spanish "Liga" Club VILLAREAL have signed Brazilian NILMAR da Silva
for 5 years at a price of 10M€ making him the highest transfer in
Villareal History. The 25 year old comes from Brazilian team PORTO
ALEGRE & is currently part of the Brazilian National Team that
recently won the FIFA 2009 Confederations Cup.

Welcome to Spain!

FRIENDLY - WEMBLEY CUP 2009: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS 1 - FC BARCELONA 1 (VIDEO)

First match of the new season for FC BARCELONA away at the
mythical (new)Wembley Stadium against TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS
in the “Wembley Cup” tournament that includes two other teams
which are Al-Ahly & Celtic Glasgow. The result was a 1-1 draw
with goals from BOJAN in the 31st min who put Barça ahead &
the equalizer from LIVERMORE in the 83rd min for Tottenham.

Tottenham 0 - F C Barcelona 1 - Bojan 31st min

Coach Guardiola put on a very “junior side” giving a to run players
from the "B team" that show promise & need games to continue on with
their development. The “experiment” was a total success with
youngsters Montonya, Pedro, Gai, Fontas & Sanchez playing maturely
& with confidence alongside the more experienced players like
Toure, Adibal & with the less called up players Caceres, Gudjohnsen &
Bojan. FC Barcelona without all its big stars & Spanish Internationals
maintained their characteristic style of play with possession & touch
Football which dominanted a more stable, stronger & already in the
working routine Tottenham team. In fact, watching the side the
Barça fans should be happy & comfortable knowing the future looks
excellent if the “senior” needs to call up any of tonight’s youngsters.

In the second half, FC Barcelona made more changes with more
“junior” players given a chance to show themselves along with other
habitual players who don’t get a regular run in normal circumstances.
Young promises like Muniesa, recalled on loan signing Henrique,
Espasandín, Dalmau , Rueda, Jonathan dos Santos; Jeffrén, Rochina
& Oriol all impressed in their play. Tottenham brought out stronger
players like Keane, Rose, etc & looked for the equalizer which
occurred late thanks to a header from Livermoore. The young Barça
players missed at this stage of the later part experience & were a
bit outplayed by the English physical game especially after they
equalized.

Tottenham 1 - FC Barcelona 1 - Livermore 83rd min

Result a 1-1 draw which should make Barça happier than Tottenham,
as the former have been back training only four days & didn’t put out
all the big guns.

The next match for FC Barcelona will be against Al-Ahly.

U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009: SERBIA 2 - SPAIN 1

SERBIA defeated SPAIN 2-1 in today’s second Group stage match in
the U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in the Ukraine.

(photo: uefa.com)

Spain got off the a great start thanks to JOSELU who scored early in
the 6th min. The Spaniards dominated most of the first half with
Serbia dedicating itself to defend & play the counter-attack.Then in
the 36th min a Spanish goalkeeping mistake allowed MILANOVIC to
equalize,while the heavens were opening with rain & lighting
happening all around the stadium.

Spain continued the second half with more possession, but in the
51st min MILANOVIC scored the winner from a corner with a header
that beat the Spanish goalkeeper who wasn’t having his best day.
The Serbs from the on held out with its leading result until the end
of the game with smart defensive work.

Spain now holds the second position behind Serbia in the Group
table & needs to win France in its next game if they are to go on
through to the semi-final stage.

REAL MADRID: TOTTENHAM & ARSENAL INTERESTED IN HUNTELAAR

Klauss Jan Huntelaar surprised everyone (again) when he withdraw
from his agreement to go to German Club STUTTGART a few days
back. The 25 year old forward wanted other options instead of
playing in the Bundesliga even if his salary at Real Madrid was to be
respected.

The man had a hunch; a last opportunity that needed a brave decision
& it seems that he may have done the right thing in reference to his
own personal professional interests. From England we get news that
Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has expressed their
interest in Huntelaar. But now there is more encouraging news for the
Real forward if we are to believe English paper “The Sun” which has
published that ARSENAL has entered in the push. According to the
daily Arsenal maybe about to offer REAL MADRID 19M€ for their
Dutch forward as they need to fill the position left open by the
departure of Adebayor to Manchester City.

For the moment Real Madrid have said that they have no formal offer
from either Tottenham or Arsenal on their desk, perhaps this may
change in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, STUTTGART look to another forward at REAL MADRID:
ALVARO NEGRERO. Spanish daily "Marca" publish that they offer 18M€
& see the Spanish player as the alternative to Huntelaar after the latter
rejected their offer

ETO´O - IBRAHIMOVIC TRANSFERS: FC BARCELONA PRESIDENT LAPORTA WAS CONFIDENT

No it’s not Zlatan Ibrahimovic, its FC BARCELONA President Joan
Laporta showing his stuff while he visited his team pre-season
training at Marlow (London) earlier today. If we are to take the
images & the smiles as an indication of the man’s mood one will
have to say his happy. That is, happy to have finally got rid of
Samuel Eto´o, & pleased to have secured Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his
place. Now the man can stick it up the enemy again. As Mel Brooks
once said "It´s great to be King again".

There are a few minor details still left between all parts involved
in the Inter-Eto´o - Barça – Ibrahimovic operation to be dealt with
but its 99.9% all shut. We suspect that President Joan Laporta
already knew it this very morning. Not bad skills from the man as
well.

INTER MILAN: TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH ETO´O: CIAO GOODLUCK IN ITALY

INTER MILAN & FC BARCELONA forward SAMUEL ETO´O have
come to an agreement to transfer over to Italy next season. In fact,
Eto´o will be an Inter player for the next 5 years & will earn 10.5M€
plus incentives. This shuts the whole long & complex process of
negotiations between the Italian Club & player that had on hold
(stand-by) & waiting ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC who will now fly to
Barcelona to sign his contract with Barça which has already been
worked out & agreed a few days ago.

It is speculated that Eto´o may fly into Milan in the weekend & sign
his contract next Monday where he will be officially presented to
the media & fans. The operation, which includes the loan of HLEB,
is finally valued at 87.5M€, a record for FC Barcelona.

So it´s GOODBYE to Samuel Eto´o, thanks for all your time here &
all your fabulous goals. SFS wishes Eto´o all the luck in the World in
his new adventure at Inter Milan.

FC BARCELONA MAKES OFFICIAL KEIRRISON SIGNING

FC BARCELONA continues with their new player signings. The Club
has announced officially on their web that they have signed young 21
year old Brazilian promise KEIRRISON da Souza Carneiro from
Brazilian Club PALMEIRAS

The transfer operation is estimated at 16M€ & signs for 5 years. The
most likely strategy of the Club will be to loan the player to a
competent European Club (BENFICA, OPORTO & AJAX is being
talked) so the forward can get European Football experience &
continue maturing as a player to then be called back & form part of
the Barça team.

FC BARCELONA: IBRAHIMOVIC A MATTER OF HOURS

It´s a question of hours, sometime during today that INTER MILAN
& FC BARCELONA will announce on their Web sites that ZLATAN
IBRAHIMOVIC is officially a Barça player.

Today SAMUEL ETO´O is expected to do his part & sign for the next 5
years for 60M€ with Inter Milan, & that moment Ibrahimovic will
receive a call to catch a plane from Boston (USA) & Fly to Barcelona.

It is the highest transfer operation in FC Barcelona History with a

suspected value that ranges from 80 - 92M€ according on which source

you believe: 50M€ in cash + Eto´o (estimated value 35M€) + Hleb
(value 7M€) = Total 92M€.

Stay tuned for the official announcement later.

INTER MILAN & ETO´O BACK ON COURSE AFTER "TECHNICAL PROBLEMS"

A new chapter in the space of hours with the Inter Milan – Samuel Etoó
– FC Barcelona – Ibrahimovic transfer operation. According to all the
news from Italy & picked up locally, there has been a significant
advance in the negotiations after Inter Milan Directives & Eto´o
representative unblocked certain issues (see below post) the hours
ago put the whole deal in danger, forcing FC Barcelona to make a
supposed 75M€ offer for Ibrahimovic.

The situation at this moment is the following:

1. Eto´o will not demand that FC Barcelona pay him 10M€ to end
his contract. This issue was the big problem as Barça refuses to pay
2. Instead to recompense that loss the player asks Inter Milan to pay
him 60M€ for the next 5 years
3. To make up that increase, Inter will up the transfer price of
Ibrahimovic for FC Barcelona. That is, Barça will pay the difference.
If it is true that under the pressure Barça offered 75€ for Ibrahimovic,
that has sent a message that money exists thus Inter will ask for more
(naturally the unofficial version)

Everything now points that Samuel Eto´o will end up at Inter Milan
& thus open the doors of FC Barcelona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The
Italian Club & Eto´o´s representative will meet tomorrow again to
hopefully shut the deal once & for all - hopefully!

REAL MADRID: HUNTELAAR SAYS YES TO STUTTGART ( A FEW HOURS AGO!!!)

LATEST - 23.00hrs - Huntelaar has BROKEN the agreement with
German Club Stuttgart in the last moment, thus his transfer. The
man is in a mental mess, he is obviously hoping for other offers
from England (eg Arsenal or Tottenham) were he prefers to play
over Germany.
Stay tuned!

Yes, no, yes, no ...it’s now official as Spanish daily “Marca”has
announced that REAL MADRID Dutch forward KLASS JAN
HUNTELAAR has said YES to German Club STUTTGART for next
season. Real Madrid will receive 18M€ + 2M€ for player priority
achievements (top goal scorer, Champions, German League
winner, etc.). The Dutch forward was holding out for possible
interests from Tottenham & Arsenal but has favoured the German
team instead after the latter made a serious effort with equalling
his salary at Real.

Huntelaar becomes the third player to leave Madrid so far, he joins
SAVIOLA & JAVI GARCIA who have gone to Benfica. There are more
player departures expected to be happening in the coming weeks.

THE INTER MILAN - ETO´O - FC BARCELONA - IBRAHIMOVIC TRANSFER OPERATION IN DANGER

A new & dramatic twist (click) to the Inter Milan – Samuel Eto´o
– FC Barcelona – Ibrahimovic – Hleb transfer operation. As
mentioned in the below post INTER MILAN & SAMUEL ETO´O have
an agreement & everything looked set to be shut in hours, the
only problem is with FC BARCELONA who refuse to pay the 10M€
that Eto´o asks for in order to give up his year of contract. The
original source is from Italy - "La Gazzetta dello Sport" - & Barça
officials deny offer & the story. Let´s suppose it true...

The NO from FC Barcelona has forced the Club to go after
IBRAHIMOVIC with Hleb still in the operation but WITHOUT Samuel
Eto´o. This radically changes the offer as Barça will propose to
Inter Milan 75M€ for Ibrahimovic plus the loan of Hleb with the
option of a buy. This obviously cancels the initial agreement between
Inter & Eto´o & puts onto the stage various questions

a) Will Inter want to sell Ibrahimovic if there is no guarantee
substitute for them?
b) What will Guardiola do if Eto´o stays? Apparently Eto´o wishes to

see Guardiola, hear his words & the reasons that he is not wanted.
c) Where will Barça get the money if they don´t sell Eto´o?
More debt?
d)Not willing to pay 50M€ for Villa, but 75M€ for Ibrahimovic?
Strange don´t you think? How does Villa feel at this moment?

As excepted Samuel Eto´o is proving to be a tough nut to crack,
as he has FC Barcelona by the balls. He knows that as of the 1st of
January 2010 he is a free agent to negotiate with which ever Club
he chooses & Barça sees zero cash, he can wait patiently but
Barcelona cannot.

It seems it is all payback time & suffering that is returning to
the FC Barcelona directives that have badly mistreated Samuel Eto´o
this summer & poorly handled the whole "contract - out the back door
situation".

Stay tuned for developments as things may EXPLODE in Barcelona.
SFS thinks (suspects) that Barça will be forced to pay Eto´o the 10M€ he
asks for & that Eto´o will finally go to Inter; or else it’s Samuel Eto´o
another year at Barcelona & with all the dressing room problems that it
will bring, not to mention the zero cash transfer from a free player.

INTER MILAN & SAMUEL ETO´O HAVE AGREEMENT

From Italy – La Gazzetta dello Sport – the news is that INTER MILAN &
FC Barcelona forward SAMUEL ETO´O have come to an agreement,
something that as yet hasn’t been picked up locally as certain.

The Italian information is that Eto´o will sign a contract until 2014 &
earn a cool 10M€/year in salary plus bonuses (incentives). It is
speculated that Samuel Eto´o may fly into Milan tonight for the
medical exam & could be announced officially in the coming hours.

Before this can happen & supposing our Italian friends are correct,
Eto´o will need to shut the final piece of the negotiations with
FC Barcelona. The player claims a premium of about 10M€ (SFS
suspects it could be higher) from Barça for giving up the year left
in his contract.

Stay tuned!

U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009: TURKEY 1 - SPAIN 2

SPAIN got off to a fine start yesterday in the U19 EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONSHIPS with a 1-2 victory over TURKEY. Spain held out
an impressive Turkish team that showed talent & a fierce attacking
character. The Spaniards had to counter all the first half to
eventually gain control in the 2ºhalf to score two quick goals
thanks to FALQUE & later SANMARTIN.

Spain now will meet Serbia & if they manage to win will go into
the semi-finals

Details:

TURKEY: Emirhan, Kurtulus, Çek (Parlak, min.57), Aziz, Osmanoglu
(zsevim, min.65) Aydogdu, Yildrim, Torun (Ayik, min.72) Albaryak,
Simsek y Uysal.

SPAIN: De Gea, Gaspar, Morgado, Pulido, Rochela, Oriol, Pablo
(José Ignacio Fernández, min.92) Sielva, Joselu, Falqué (Ruiz,
min.78) y Alcántara (Canales, min.64).

GOALS: 1 - 0. Min, 12. Albaryak.1 - 1. Min, 49. Falqué.
1 - 2. Min, 52. San Martín

FRIENDLY: BENFICA 1 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 (VIDEO)

ATLETICO DE MADRID begins warming up engines for the new season
when they travelled to Portugal & played a friendly against BENFICA
yesterday to achieve a 1-2 victory. The goals came from RAUL
GARCIA & FORLAN (pen.) for Atletico & OSCAR CARDOSO for Benfica.

Atletico have as priority the upcoming Champions League preliminary
games & are already heavy into the pre-season.

SHAMROCK ROVERS 0 - REAL MADRID 1: REAL LOOK GOOD

First point, excellent game from the Irish Football team Shamrock
Rovers, grand!

A few points from tonight’s first friendly for the Madrid team,
REAL MADRID are more competitive, their game has improved in
the touch Football aspect & the new players look good. The result
against SHAMROCK ROVERS 0-1 was not at all important, but the
connection of the players was the positive aspect of a team & that
in itself is to celebrate. The goal from KARIM BENZEMA was class
& for Real fans all promise & full of future glory.

It’s the beginning; the best is still to come, we think!

SFS FLASHBACKS: INTER-CONTINENTAL CUP - ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - INDEPENDIENTE DE AVELLANEDA 0

Internationally speaking, it’s the highest prize to date for ATLETICO
DE MADRID, the 1975 Inter-Continental Cup trophy won against
INDEPENDIENTE DE AVELLANEDA of Argentina.

Atletico who had lost the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich,
represented Europe after the German Club refused to participate.
Thus Atletico travelled to Buenos Aires (Argentina) for the 1º leg were
Avellaneda won 1-0. The 2º leg was played in the Vicente Calderon
Stadium in Madrid (Spain) were Atletico made the comeback thanks
to goals from Irrureta & Ayala & won 2-0 to give them the title with
a 2-1 aggregate score.

Here is the 2ºleg VIDEO:

Atletico de Madrid is the only Club in History to have won the
Inter-Continental Cup without previously having won the European
Cup

BAYERN THREATEN TO TAKE REAL MADRID TO FIFA: RIBERY IS FURTHER AWAY THAN CLOSER!

BAYERN MUNICH is getting tough, real tough with REAL MADRID &
FRANCK RIBERY after their President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
went publicly on the Sunday German paper “Bild am Sonntag”
threatening to take the Spanish Club to FIFA.

According to Rummenigge, Bayern Munich hasn’t given permission
to Real Madrid to talk to Franck Ribery or his agent on any transfer
matters. They demand that Real Madrid immediately stop their
attempts of signing their player & forget about the idea. They have
shut the “transfer window” opportunity days ago when they put
forward a price of 80M€ - take it or leave it – that Real hasn’t
replied too. However, everyone knows that this price was a
“smokescreen” as no one would pay it & Bayern would never
accept it if offered.

The player has let known that he wishes to leave for Real Madrid
& is angry at his Club for not at least allowing Real Madrid to
present an offer & then listen to it. The player is not happy &
this is making his German bosses even more irritated.

With this scene, the chances of Ribery going to Real Madrid are
slim, very unlikely at this point of time. However, things may
change as the transfer window closes on the 31st of August & no
one can predict the future especially in Football

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC TO FC BARCELONA: NOW IT DEPENDS ON ETO´O

Hi, back from a weekend in the countryside, back to the Spanish
Football posting & the FC BARCELONA news last Friday that with
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC both were close to commencing a new
relationship. Here is the latest situation: FC BARCELONA & INTER
MILAN has agreed to the idea of 45M€ + SAMUEL ETO ´O + a one
year loan (with buying option) of ALEXANDER HLEB. So what’s
stopping that it be officially announced & sealed ? The answer is
Samuel Eto´o.

The Cameroon forward needs to shut his particular deal with Inter
Milan, something that will commence as of tomorrow with face to
face meetings with Barça Directives & later with Inter Milan to
work out an agreement. Samuel Eto´o – according to “AS” – will not
make things easy for all the parties concerned as he will ask the
Italians 15M€ in transfer commissions & then a 10M€/year contract.
Of course, it’s a two way street as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have
to sit down with FC Barcelona & negotiate his conditions as well,
but the Swede will be easier than Samuel Eto´o.

Having written this most media observers believe the deal will
finally go through as FC Barcelona do not want Eto´o & Inter Milan
is the only existing option & Club with Champions participation &
sufficient Football prestige that wish his services for next season.

Stay tuned!

FC BARCELONA & INTER MILAN SHUT AGREEMENT FOR IBRAHIMOVIC: 40M€ + SAMUEL ETO´O & LOAN OF HLEB. GOODBYE DAVID VILLA

FC BARCELONA has come to an agreement with INTER MILAN for the
transfer of ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC as advanced last night & confirmed
this morning by Barcelona based daily “Sport” & TV news media,
although we haven’t as yet an official Club statement. Everything
occurred last night when Barça President Laporta & his team made a
stop from the Ukraine at Milan to have dinner with Inter President
Moratti where the operation was shut.

Beforehand two important things had to happen. Firstly, VALENCIA
CF rejected a 43M€ offer from Barça for Spanish International DAVID
VILLA, & SAMUEL ETO ´O accepted to leave the Club & be
transferred. With these two prerequisites in place FC BARCELONA
offered INTER MILAN 40M€ + SAMUEL ETO´O, plus the loan for one
year of its player ALEXANDER HLEB for the Inter Milan & Swedish
International ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC. The Italian Champion Club
accepted the offer with the authorization of its Coach Mourinho &
Ibrahimovic is said to have reduced his economic pretensions to be
able to land at “Camp Barça”. Now the final details of the operation
will be shut within the next 72 hours to make it all formal & 100%
water tight that will lead to an official Club presentation next week
at Barcelona of their "new" player.

All this means that DAVID VILLA has missed the second great
train of opportunity to play in one of Spain´s great Clubs. Firstly,
the operation shut with Real Madrid was foiled in the last minute by
Valencia, & secondly Valencia refused FC Barcelona´s offer of 43M€
wanting instead something above 50-55M€. In both cases, Real Madrid
& FC Barcelona had substitute plans & decided not to wait & be
“pushed around” to exercise their alternative operations in Karim
Benzema & Zlatan Ibrahimovic respectively. David Villa will be
steaming & angry with Valencia CF, but many suspect & confess that
the Spanish International was not pro-active enough in both said
cases & didn’t do enough to force the situation at Valencia, plus
many media sources blame the terrible management of his
representative Jose Luis Tamago, something that Villa should now
solve.

With Samuel Eto´o saying yes to the Inter Milan operation, FC
Barcelona avoids an explosive situation & avoids Eto´o turning up to
the beginning of pre-season training next Monday to confront his
now ex-Coach Josep Guardiola. Samuel Eto´o finishes his “golden
period” at "Camp Barça" in a not to glamorous fashion but at least he
goes to a Top European Team that is in Champions, a Club that will
pay him his economic pretensions & allow a new opportunity for
Eto´o to continue triumphing in World Football.

In the coming days we will receive more information of this lighting
transfer operation & receive the comments from Club directives &
from the actual players involved. Spanish Football gets another World
Class player that only lifts its level further & makes the beginning of
the new LIGA season more worthwhile & exciting for all Football fans.

DMYTRO CHYGRYNSKIY SAYS NO TO FC BARCELONA - AGAIN!

FC BARCELONA President Joan Laporta flew personally with his team
today to the Ukraine to attempt to convince central defender Dmytro
Chygrynskiy of DONETSK SHAKHTAR to sign for the new upcoming
season with the Spanish Club. Barça made a 15M€ offer & for the
second time both player & Club have said NO.

But the whole trip will not be wasted as it is said by daily “Sport” that
the Barça directives will make a stop at Milan to discuss the possibility
of a loan of their player ALEXANDER HLEB to INTER MILAN. Tomorrow
the FC Barcelona directives will then rush back to Barcelona to present
officially their first new signing for the new season the Brazilian
defender MAXWELL from Inter Milan.

REAL MADRID ALVARO NEGREGO ABOUT TO SIGN FOR TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS?

The 23 year old forward ALVARO NEGRERO had a fabulous season
with ALMERIA lifting him as one of the Spanish Leagues top goal
scorers with 19 goals, so much so that REAL MADRID recalled him
from loan & with a 5M€ payment. The youngster is now in Ireland
with the REAL MADRID squad doing their pre-training & the offers
keep on coming into the Spanish Club.

(photo: as.com)

Negrero was part of the failed David Villa operation as the Valencia
Coach wanted the forward in his squad & VILLAREAL has been
pushing hard to acquire his services for next season, along with
SEVILLA who see Negredo as substitute for Fabiano if he finally goes
to AC Milan. Now the news just out from Spanish radio “CadenaSer”
is that English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has
entered the picture with a 20M€ offer that has Real Madrid “excited”
& could come to good port in the next days.

Obviously a couple of things need to happen, that the other Clubs
interested don’t counter-offer & that the player says Ok to playing
in England. This last point is doubtful as it is rumoured that Alvaro
Negrero desires to stay in Spain, we can only wait to see how
things evolve & if the economic conditions are enough to change
the players mind.

Finally, it’s important to note that this is speculation & as of custom
rumours develop by the hour & fly by the miles. It’s Spanish radio
news sold to the public as a “scoop” that needs to be backed by
facts; future real events. Stay tuned?

TOP 10 REAL MADRID TRANSFER SIGNING FAILURES

While REAL MADRID smashes the current transfer market with Kaká,
Ronaldo, Benzema, Albiol & those still to come, here is an
interesting clip from American TV ESPN. They highlight the TOP 10
Transfer FAILURES from Real Madrid; interesting & plenty of
names that may surprise.

FC BARCELONA SIGNS INTER MILAN DEFENDER MAXWELL

IT´S OFFICAL . FC Barcelona announce on their web agreement!

FC BARCELONA wishes a defensive left back to take the place that
Slyvinho has left open with his departure, but they are experiencing
tense problems getting their chosen player, LUIS FELIPE of
DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA. Barça offers only 9M€ & Deportivo asks for
20M€, & the President of the latter is famously known as a very tough
& unmoving negotiator.

With this situation & with the team ready to kick off the pre-season
next Monday, FC Barcelona is looking for alternatives. According to
Italian press sources – & picked up here by “AS” digital edition – reports
that INTER MILAN Brazilian 28 year old MAXWELL maybe on the verge
of shutting a deal with Barça. The “leaked” news is that Barça
will offer Maxwell a 5 year contract with a 4M€/year salary, while
offering Inter 4,5M€ for the transfer. Let´s see what happens.

LATEST from elmundo.es. Maxwell has been signed by FC
BARCELONA.Thus he becomes the 1ºst signing for Barça for this
new season

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