REAL MADRID CF AWARDED BY THE IFFHS FOR 2014

The top "brass" of the FIFA backed "International Federation of Football History & Statistics" (IFFHS) made a visit today to Real Madrid CF during training to hand some Awards. 

Real Madrid received the "Best Football Team for 2014" after winning 4 titles: UEFA SuperCup, Champions League, Spanish Cup & World Clubs , gaining 381 points. Sergio Ramos as Club Captain received this particular IFFHS trophy.

On the individual front:

• Cristiano Ronaldo got 2 Awards: Highest World Soccer Goalscorer & Liga Goalscorer,
• Toni Kroos for Best Playmaker in World Football.

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REAL MADRID TOP REVENUE GENERATOR IN WORLD SOCCER 2013-2014

Spanish Football giant Real Madrid is the Club that most revenue generates per season in World Soccer for the tenth consecutive year, as shown in the report published by Deloitte. Real Madrid generated during the 2013-2014 season a total of 549,5 million euros between the stadium crowds-capacity (113,8M) , television rights & retransimision, the income from the Champions League (...both 204,2M€) & marketing/merchandising, 30 million more than English Club Manchester United, the second richest.

The next closest Spanish Football Club is FC Barcelona is in 4th place with a total of 484,6 M€ in generated revenue. Atletico de Madrid is further down the list in 15th place with 169,9 M€ in revenues.

World Soccer Top Revenue Clubs 2013-2014:

1 Real Madrid 549,5 M€
2 Man. United 518,0
3 Bayern Munich 487,5
4 Barcelona 484,6
5 PSG 474,2
6 Man. City 414,4
7 Chelsea 387,9
8 Arsenal 359,3
9 Liverpool 305,9
10 Juventus 279,4
11 B. Dortmund 261,5
12 AC Milan 249,7
13 Tottenham 215,8
14 Schalke 04 213,9
15 Atletico de Madrid 169,9
16 Napoli 164,8
17 Inter Milan 164,0
18 Galatasaray 161,9
19 Newcastle 155,1
20 Everton 144,1

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SPANISH FOOTBALL | LA LIGA BEST IN THE WORLD 2014

The FIFA backed "International Federation of Football History & Statistics" - IFFHS - has pronounced that the Spanish Football League - La Liga - is the "Best Football Competition" in World Soccer for 2014. The IFFHS has previous given Spanish Soccer the same honours in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 & 2013.

Surprising to see Argentina (4th) ahead of Germany (5th) on the table. 

Top 10 IFFHS list 2014:

1.- Spain 1.259 pts
2.- Italy 998
3.- England 958
4.- Argentina 938
5.- Germany 912
6.- Brazil 893
7.- France 871
8.- Portugal 758
9.- Colombia 697,5
10.- Paraguay 671,5

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TONI KROOS IFFHS BEST PLAY CREATOR FOR 2014

Spanish Football has been privileged to have on show week after week an extraordinary midfield & Football player like the German International Toni Kroos. The star signing for Real Madrid this season who has made everyone forget Xabi Alonso & has taken the midfield reigns.

The FIFA backed "International Federation of Football History & Statistics" - IFFHS - has named Toni Kroos the "Best Play Creator for 2014", just ahead of another Football giant like Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. 

The list for 2014 is:

1. Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid) - 110 votes
2. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) - 108 
3. James Rodriguez (Monaco/Real Madrid - 53
4. Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona) - 38
5. Neymar (FC Barcelona) /Modric (Real Madrid) - 21
7. Ratikic (Sevilla/FC Barcelona) - 5


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REAL MADRID BEST CLUB THE WORLD 2014 | IFFHS

The FIFA backed "INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FOOTBALL HISTORY & STATISTICS (IFFHS)" has updated their World Clubs Ranking. Spanish Football Club Real Madrid CF finished 2014 in 1ºst position thus claiming the "Best Football Club in the World" for 2014. Other Spanish Football Clubs like Atletico de Madrid, FC Barcelona & Sevilla FC are in the top 20, finishing third, fourth & in position twenty respectively.

IFFHS Ranking 2014:

1.- Real Madrid (Sp)
2.- Bayern Munich (Ger)
3.- Atletico de Madrid (Sp)
4.- FC Barcelona (Sp)
5.- Atletico Nacional (Colombia)
6.- Juventus (Italy)
7.- Arsenal (Eng)
7.- Napoli (Italy)
9.- River Plate (Argentina)*
9.- Salzburgo (Austria)
11- Chelsea (Eng)
12- Benfica (Portugal)
13- Paris Saint-Germain (Fr)
14- Cruzeiro (Brazil)
15- Oporto (Portugal)
16- Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)
17- Steaua de Bucarest (Romania)
18- San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina)
19- Sparta de Praga (Chec Rep)
20- Sevilla (Sp)

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THE UEFA IDEAL TEAM 2014

The voters - 8,6 million - on the UEFA website have helped chose the "Ideal 11 Team 2014" with three players from Real Madrid , 1 from Atletico de Madrid & 1 from FC Barcelona.

The voted Team :

• Neuer
• Lahm
• Godin (At Madrid)
• S Ramos (Real Madrid)
• Alaba
• Kroos (Real Madrid)
• Di Maria
• Robben
• Ibrahimovic
• Messi (FC Barcelona)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

The most voted player was Cristiano Ronaldo with 623,046 votes, second was Sergio Ramos with 584,373 votes & third Philipp Lahm with 504.446 votes.

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WORLD SOCCER | CRISTIANO RONALDO WINS BEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2014

The Soccer Magazine "World Soccer" has Awarded Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo their "Best Football Player of the Year 2014". CR7 was voted by 100 journalists & other World Soccer experts, ahead of Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer & FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

Traditionally, the winner of the "World Soccer" Player of the Year coincides with the soon to be announced France Football - FIFA Golden Ball winner. We will have to wait & see if this "tradition" continues.

World Soccer Best Player of the Year 2014 list:

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 928 pts
2 Neuer (Bayern) 789 
3 Messi (FC Barcelona) 593
4 Robben (Bayern) 458 
5 Muller (Bayern) 354 
6 Lahm (Bayern) 264 
7 James Rodriguez (Real Madrid) 243 
8 Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) 218 
9 Di Maria (Manchester United) 183 
10 Kroos (Real Madrid) 168 
11 Neymar (FC Barcelona) 166 
12 Diego Costa (Chelsea) 146 
13 Ibrahimovic (PSG) 138 
14 Agüero (Manchester City) 79 
15 Bale (Real Madrid) 78 
16 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) 69
17 Schweinsteiger (Bayern) 61 
18 Toure (Manchester City) 56 
19 Mascherano (FC Barcelona) 39 
20 Godin (Atletico de Madrid) 35 

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SPANISH FOOTBALL SPORTS

Taking some days off from posting & grabbing some Christmas time with the family. 

I wish all the regular readers of Spanish Football Sports - & visitors -  a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy this special time of the year with your loved ones. 

Will be back real soon! Cheers.

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THE MANCHESTER UNITED INTEREST FOR GARETH BALE

The news travelling out of England that Manchester United is willing to make a 150M€ offer for Real Madrid & Welsh international Gareth Bale apparently has truth according to local media sources.

However, the Premier League Club has two big obstacle:

• the 1,270 M€ contract release clause, seeing that Real Madrid does not wish to sell,
• the "NO" from the player who is reported to be happy at the Spanish Club.

This last point has caused confusion as UK sources claim Bale has given the green light. However, although it is true that adapting to a new country, language & city has not been easy for the Welshman, his 18 months at the Clubs has already given him Champions League, FIFA World Clubs, UEFA Super Cup & Spanish Cup titles, were he has been involved directly in the teams wins. Doubt Bale would want to go elsewhere.

Said this, where Manchester United may be successful if with Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao. The English Club was very close to signing the player in 2013 & still has interest. Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID 2 SAN LORENZO 0 | WINS 2014 FIFA WORLD CLUBS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Spanish Football Club REAL MADRID finishes their incredible year with another Title, the FIFA World Clubs Champions 2014, after defeating Argentine Club San Lorenzo 2 - 0 in tonights Final.

Fairly comfortable game for Real Madrid with San Lorenzo showing very little Football & more their attempts at "physical distraction". Their input was the amount of fouls committed & their at times "dirty tactics" that reinforced their lack of Football level. Bad image from the Argentine Club.

The two goals for Real Madrid came in the 37th min with a Sergio Ramos header, & the second in the 51st min through a Gareth Bale shot that the San Lorenzo goalie "swallowed" (slipped under his body) innocently. The other news was that Cristiano Ronaldo did not score, although he tried all night, but he was awarded later the "Silver Ball" (2º Best Player) of the Tournament.

Team-mate Sergio Ramos won the MVP of the Final & was award the "Golden Ball" as the "Best Player of the Championship". Another highlight was the 22nd straight victory of Real Madrid, the 700th match of Real Madrid goalie Iker Casillas & he lifting another trophy as the Club Captain. 

The only nnegativeaspect for Real Madrid was the injury to Marcelo, that did not look too bad at the end of the match. While on the opposite end Coentrao did a good job substituting the Brazilian.

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BEST GOALKEEPERS FOR 2014

UK paper "Daily Mail" has published their list of "The Best Goalkeepers for 2014". Bayern Munich Neuer tops the list, but Spanish International & Manchester United goalie David De Gea flys the Spanish flag high in the Nº 2 spot. Iker Casillas is ranked 7th while the other Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas is Nº 10. 

A sightly "Premier League biased" ranking, with Joe Hart of Man City perhaps over-ranked. 

Top 10 World Goalkeepers for 2014:

01.- Manuel Neuer (Bayern de Múnich)
02.- David de Gea (Manchester United)
03-. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
04.- Joe Hart (Manchester City)
05.- Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
06.- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
07.- Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
08.- Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain)
09.- Samir Handanovic (Inter de Milán)
10.- Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)

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REAL MADRID WINS 0 - 4 CRUZ AZUL IN FIFA WORLD CLUBS SEMI-FINAL

Real Madrid defeated Mexican Club Cruz Azul 0 - 4 in the first semi-final of the FIFA World Clubs Championships being held on Morocco. The Spanish Football Club goes into the final next Saturday against the winner of the other semi-final between San Lorenzo & Auckland to be played tomorrow.

Real Madrid had a fairly comfortable match except for a penalty that fortunately Iker Casillas stopped from Torrado in the first half, & a post in the second. Apart from this little more did Cruz Azul trouble Real Madrid. 

The other news is that Cristiano Ronaldo did not score, but he assisted in two goals which is positive for his team. The goals fell in the following order tonight:

• Sergio Ramos 14th min, 0 - 1
• Karim Benzema 36th min, 0 - 2
• Gareth Bale 50th min , 0 - 3
• Isco 72nd min , 0 - 4

Real Madrid now awaits its Saturday final opponent.

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UEFA BEST IDEAL XI TEAM 2014 CANDIDATES LIST

UEFA has made public the list of player candidates for the "2014 UEFA IDEAL XI TEAM". The voting is now open for UEFA website visitors, where 8 Real Madrid & 4 Atletico de Madrid players figure. There are 5 Spanish Nationals on the list.

Full list of candidates:

Goalkeepers:

Neuer (Bayern)

Courtois (Chelsea)

Buffon (Juventus)

Beto (Sevilla)

Defenders:

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Godin (Atletico Madrid)

Miranda (Atletico Madrid)

Kompany (Manchester City)

Boateng (Bayern)

Benatia (Bayern)

Alaba (Bayern)

Garay (Zenit)

Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)

Lahm (Bayern)

Zabaleta (Manchester City)

Carvajal (Real Madrid)

Midfielders:

Kroos (Real Madrid)

Modric (Real Madrid)

Di Maria (Manchester United)

Robben (Bayern)

Rakitic (FC Barcelona)

James Rodriguez (Real Madrid)

Koke (Atletico de Madrid)

Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid-Bayern Munich)

Reus (Borussia Dortmund)

Pogba (Juventus)

Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Arda Turan (Atletico de Madrid)

Forwards:

Bale (Real Madrid)

Diego Costa (Chelsea)

Thomas Müller (Bayern)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Ibrahimovic (PSG)

Lewandowski (Bayern)

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Benzema (Real Madrid)

Messi (FC Barcelona)

Jonathan Soriano (Salzburgo)

Tevez (Juventus)

Neymar (FC Barcelona)

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REAL MADRID SIGNS YOUNG STARS ASENSIO & PEETERS

Spanish Football Club Real Madrid does not stop working, nor stops planning for its long term future in order to guarantee its dominant position in World Soccer. Combing the National & International markets for the best young talents available, Real Madrid announce the signing of two Football pearls.

The first is the Dutch pearl from Ajax of Amsterdam, 16 year old Mink Peeters who is already "living" in Madrid & at the Real Madrid Football Complex of "Valdebebes". The second signing is "National product" & Mallorca pearl, 18 year old Marco Asensio who cost 3,5M€ but will stay on loan at Mallorca in order to insure his Football progression.

However, Real Madrid is not stopping with these two Football promises. Norwegian soon to be 16 year old promise Martin Ödegaard is said to be very close to accepting a Real Madrid offer of 5 years. While the next target is 17 year old midfielder Pedro Chirivella, originally from Valencia CF but now at Liverpool FC. Pedro has characteristic that reminds everyone of Xabi Alonso & Real Madrid is working to get the youngster on board.

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SAMI KHEDIRA HAS A PRE-CONTRACT WITH BAYERN MUNICH ?

Real Madrid & German International midfielder Sami Khedira becomes a free-agent as of the 1st of January, that is, the player can negotiate with any Club & leave free of a transfer fee at the end of the season. The German ends his contract with Real Madrid the 30th of June 2015 & has not renewed with the Club, in fact, Khedira has knocked back offers from Real Madrid all last season.

Spanish radio has commented that the midfielder has a "pre-agreement"/ pre-contract with Bayern Munich. The German Football giant are willing to pay Sami Khedira a more attractive contract now that the player can go over without a transfer. 

The injury of Real Madrid Croatian midfielder Modric - out for 8 weeks - has given back a protagonist role to Khedira. The player will have more playing time & Khedira himself has hinted that perhaps he should stay at Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid is reported to be "disgruntled" with the players early negative responses to their contract renewal offers & more so with his apparent "pre-contract" with Bayern Munich.

There is a list of ex-Real Madrid players who decided to risk & play "poker" with the Spanish Football Club that have lost professionally speaking: Higuain, Ozil, Di Maria etc. Sami Khedira may be regretting his strategy, but it may be too late to consider staying on at the biggest Club in World Football.
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LIONEL MESSI WANTS TO LEAVE FC BARCELONA ?

Alarm bells at FC Barcelona. The front cover of Spanish Sports paper "Sport" reflects it with the headline "Messi Worries". The Argentine opened the doors to a possible exit from FC Barcelona with comments in an interview to Argentine press. When asked about his future, Lionel Messi was "vague" & acknowledged that no one knows their future. A different tone to the past were his statements were more solid, convincing & left no doubt, plus it is a known strategy to voice different opinions outside Spain using overseas press as "speakers" for internal messages. 

However, this is not new. Many Football observers seriously believed that Messi would leave Barça last summer. In fact, the reason for not doing so is said to be his high transfer fee, & in the case of suspected 1º candidate, Paris St Germain, the limits imposed by UEFA on Club spending with privately owned  Clubs. 

The reasons for Messi considering his exit are many, intertwined & also outside of the Sport sphere. Here is a list of talked about reasons , not in order of importance:

• Messi knows there are Club Directives that want to cash in with his transfer. Some feel his "cycle" at Barça is coming to an end & now his market value is optimal,
• Messi thus feels, he is not appreciated at the Club,
• Not the main protagonist any more, not the nº1 star,
• Neymar is seen as the future star, the shadow of the Brazilian is hoovering, & his salary has also opened some jealous wounds, 
• New Coach Luis Enrique is not to his liking, as he plays out of his "normal position", the false centre forward. He prefers to have Xavi playing to serve him balls/passes, but Xavi is now more a "bench warmer", 
• Messi is tiring from the non-stop media surveillance, where his every move & mistakes are heavy criticised  & debated, 

Lastly there is another serious reason that is troubling Messi. His problems with the Spanish Tax Authorities many take him to court & sit in front of a judge. This scenario & real possibly is a nightmare for Messi as it will harm his reputation & image. The player wants to avoid this at all costs & could be "the" main reason to leave Spain & FC Barcelona. 

In conclusion, his press comments are a call for help? A threat ? Or the beginning of a strategic plan to smooth his exit for next season? Stay tuned...!

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SPAIN 0 - GERMANY 1 RESULT | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY GAME

Lots of hype before the match between Spain & Germany, but the end result was somewhat disappointing. The final result 0 - 1 to Germany with a late goal from Toni Kroos (88th min) that included a mistake from substitute goalie Casilla. The terrible weather conditions & wet turf did not help & Spain may well feel they were unlucky.

The Germans went in with only 4 "regular" names, while Spain gave some playing time to the players which normally sit it out. This & the terrible wet conditions took the glitz & "interest" out of the night. 

The starting 11 for both sides:

Spain - Casillas; Azpilicueta, Pique, Ramos, Bernat; Raul Garcia, Bruno, Busquets, Isco; Morata & Nolito.

Germany - Zieler; Höwedes, Mustafi, Rüdiger; Rudy, Khedira, Kroos, Durm; Müller, Götze & Volland

Overall very equal game with perhaps Spain with more goal opportunities, especially in the 2º half, were they failed to convert their chances & paid for it with the final result. Names to mention for Spain are Isco who is on a "roll" & Nolito who debuted in front of his home crowd & was enthusiastic-dangerous. Camacho, Casilla & Callejon got on in the 2º half & won their first Senior International Cap.

Conclusion, excessive prize for Germany as a draw would have been the more just result. But Spain sinned in not taking their chances.

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SPAIN - GERMANY | SPANISH FOOTBALL FLASHBACKS

Tonight in the Spanish City of Vigo, Spain meets the current FIFA World Champions Germany in an International Friendly. Top match beforehand even though the Germans visit with plenty of the players that won Argentina in the World Cup Final in Brazil out with "injury".  The Spaniards themselves are undergoing a "smooth revolution" with Coach Del Bosque injecting new blood to replace what many Football observers claim is irreplaceable: Xavi, Xabi Alonso, David Villa & Carles Puyol. 

Thought that the reminder of tonights game was a great excuse for a Spanish Football Flashback moment & relive on video when Spain defeated Germany 1 - 0 in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. The Spanish team then went on to win the World title, & the below moment, the Carles Puyol winning header goal is now a Historical moment & a visual experience of Spain at its optimal level as a squad & as a team.



Watching this still sparks off all the emotions. 

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SPANISH FOOTBALL LIGA | SIGNINGS NOT MAKING THE GRADE

Not much relevant & differing content from Spanish Football these days with the Liga on hold as the Football Calendar makes room for International commitments. However, Spanish Sports daily "Marca" publishes an interesting article worth a post. The paper looks at some of the big name signings for Liga Clubs this last summer & compares their playing time. Some names & their lack of team contribution will surprise.

Some notable examples, this summer FC Barcelona made a considerable economic effort to strengthen their defensive line. Two names Vermaelen &
Douglas were signed but have been virtually unseen, with the former with zero playing time due to injury & the latter just 73 min & a bad prformance in his only game to date. Another surprising name is Mexican International goalkeeper Ocha who has not played an official match as yet. This is surprising as he was a "revelation" in the last World Cup in Brazil. Lastly, another name to note - from the many - is Cerci who has only played 77 mins with Atletico de Madrid, he is currently a regular "bench warmer", but paradoxically has been called up to the Italian National Team.

Most of these names will have to lift their game & Club contribution as the "Winter Market Transfer" window opens the 1st of January & some may find themselves on the market as transfer opportunities or loan candidates.

Stay tuned. 

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SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM PHOTO 2014

The Spanish Football National Team is currently preparing itself for their Euro 2016 Group match next Saturday against Belarus, & the International Friendly against the current World Champions Germany the following 18th of November.

For the occasion they did a official team photo that I though I´ll post for all the World follwers. Missing were Diego Costa & Cesc Fabregas both injured, & as can be seen full of new faces as Spain looks to revitalize - rejuvenate the squad.  The Coach Del Bosque is still fine tuning pieces & is rewarding the good form of many players with a chance to prove themslves with the National side.

Top: Alcacer, De Gea, Juanfran, Pique, Busquets, Bartra, Raul Garcia & Camacho; 
Middle: Morata, Sergio Ramos, Del Bosque, Casillas, Azpilicueta & Pedro; 
Sitting: Callejon, Bernat, Koke, Isco, Jordi Alba, Albiol & Nolito.

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