SPANISH FOOTBALL | USA TV SHARE 2018

Found this interesting infographic (below) which highlights how Soccer (Football, in Europe) is growing in the United States. It is already well know that the major European Football Leagues (La Liga, Premier; Serie A ...etc) have put their focus onto the US market & are actively promoting & doing marketing to gain a further foothold.

Most European Leagues do their pre-season in the United States & play numerous matches. Spanish Football via La Liga is attempting to translate one of its official matches over to Miami-USA, but still has not convinced locally the Spanish Football Federation & FIFA. However, it will be a matter of time before they give their approval. 

Lastly, good to see the TV popularity of the Spanish Football Teams in the US.

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REAL MADRID WINS KASHIMA ANTLERS 1 - 3 | FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2018 SEMIS

REAL MADRID CF defeated KASHIMA ANTLERS 1 - 3 in the semi-finals of the FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP being held in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The Spanish Football Club will meet locals AL AIN next Saturday in the Final.

Real Madrid started with the above starting 11, again with Isco & Asensio on the bench.

The Japanese Club started well early creating very dangerous goal opportunities while Real Madrid looked out of place & somewhat lost on the field. Slowly & patiently Real Madrid began finding their Football with Benzema the main focus upfront playing well & connecting with team-mates. Gareth Bale went from less to more exploiting the left flank & putting the Kashima defender on the back foot on many occasions. 

It was not until the start of the 2º half that Real Madrid was able to breakaway & secure the result. Overall Real Madrid did not play great Football, in fact, they look nothing like the team of the past season. However, some loose Khasima defending & terrible mistakes allowed GARETH BALE to score a HAT-TRICK in the space of 10 minutes & it was enough. The Japanese team received a harsh blow to their spirits, but to their credit & image they managed towards the end to regain some of their Football & score a well earned consolation goal in the 78th by by SHOMA DOI.

The bad news for Real Madrid was the injury to Asensio just after 5 mins of coming on for Bale, while the good news was the return of Casemiro after his period of injury recovery. The names to highlight for Real Madrid was Benzema, Marcelo, Kroos,  Llorente ...apart from Bale

Goals:
0 - 1 (44') Gareth Bale
0 - 2 (53') Gareth Bale
0 - 3 (55') Gareth Bale

1 - 3 (78') Shoma Doi

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LUKA MODRIC | FRANCE FOOTBALL GOLDEN BALL AWARD 2018 WINNER

Croatian International & Real Madrid midfielder LUKA MODRIC has been proclaimed "FRANCE FOOTBALL GOLDEN BALL WINNER 2018" in tonight's ceremony held in Paris, France. The Croatian breaks the Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo 10 year straight hegemony to win at the age of 33 years & after an extraordinary Football year for the Croatian Captain.

Luka Modric was prized ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (2º), Antoine Griezmann (3º), Kylian Mbappe (4º) & Lionel Messi (5º).

The other winners tonight were:

ADA HEGERBERG player of Olympique de Lyon & Norway International won the first ever "FRANCE FOOTBALL FEMALE GOLDEN BALL AWARD 2018", &

KYLIAN MBAPPE player of Paris St Germain & French International won the "KOPA TROPHY" for the Best U21 Player in World Football.

France Football also dedicated part of the ceremony to praise the FRANCE WORLD CUP TEAM for winning the FIFA World Cup, something to expect under the circumstances & who the organizers are, France Football.

To finish, just two notes:

1. Hours before the ceremony & the official announcement of the Golden Ball winner, the list of players, placing & points was filtered out to media. Perhaps its a custom to "prepare" everyone for the occasion. Who knows.

2. Once again CRISTIANO RONALDO pulled his party trick. Knowing beforehand that he would not win, the Juventus FC player decided not to attend tonight's ceremony. This went contrary to 3º placed Griezmann who also knew beforehand he would not win a prize he has desired & called for himself, but attended keeping a smile & commenting he was there due to respect to the other players.

Cristiano Ronaldo once again shows his egoistic personality, & disrespect for other players & in this case, Luka Modric ex-teammate who helped him win his Champions League titles which contributed to his own passed Golden Ball Award title.

Cristiano Ronaldo has lost respect & if it would be possible, I would remove his passed Golden Ball Awards as his behaviour & actions go against the values of the Sport: team spirit, competitive but respectful & acknowledgement to those who are better.

To conclude, absolutely shameful & disgusting the attitude shown by Cristiano Ronaldo for not attending. 

From here congratulations to Luka Modric, his family, friends & Croatia will be proud & happy for this well earned Football Award. 

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SPAIN U-17 TEAM FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONS

Spanish & Female Football made history after SPAIN defeated Mexico 2 - 1 in the Final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Final. Spain finally win the World Championship after losing 2- 0 to Japan in the 2014 Final in Costa Rica.

Both goals came from Claudia Pina - 16th & 26th min - & she was also proclaimed player of the tournament.

Congratulations!

Details of the Final:

SPAIN 2: Catalina Coll; Jana Fernandez, Ana Tejada, Maria Mendez, Nerea Nevado; Eva Alonso, Irene Lopez (m. 76 Leire Pena), Paola Hernandez (m. 89 Paula Arana); Eva Navarro, Claudia Pina & Salma Paralluelo (m. 66 Aixa Salvador). Coach: Maria Antonia 'Toña' Is. 

Mexico 1: Jaidy Gutierrez; Reyna Reyes, Tanna Sánchez, Ximena Ríos, Nicole Soto; Nicole Pérez, Silvana Flores, Anette Vázquez (m. 46 Nayeli Díaz); Natalia Mauleón,  Denis Castro (m. 67 Aylin Avilez) y Alison González (m. 77 Fatima Arellano). Entrenadora: Mónica Vergara. 

Goals: 1-0, m. 16: Claudia Pino. 2-0, m. 26: Claudia Pino. 2-1, m. 29: Denise Castro.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM | LIST OF 24 PLAYERS FOR CROATIA & BOSNIA

Spanish National Football Team Selector & Coach Luis Enrique has handed in his list of 24 players for the upcoming UEFA Nations League match against Croatia & the International Friendly game against Bosnia Herzegovina.

Novelties are the call up of Celta midfielder Brais Mendez, Hermoso of Espayol & Formals of Villarreal. Isco. Iñigo Martinez, Diego Llorente & Sergi Roberto return after injury, while Jordi Alba also returns after gaining support from his exceptional return to form. 

Absent are Koke (injured), Thiago (injured) & Alonso.

List of 24 players:

Goalkeepers: David De Gea (Man United), Kepa (Chelsea FC) &  Pau Lopez (Betis).

Defenders: Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Iñigo Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad), Mario Hermoso (Espanyol), Jonny (Wolverhampton), Gaya (Valencia CF), Azpilicueta (Chelsea FC).

Midfielders: Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), Isco (Real Madrid), Saul (Atletico de Madrid), Rodrigo H. (Atletico de Madrid), Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelona), Busquets (Barcelona), Suso (AC Milan), Fornals (Villarreal) & Brais Mendez (Celta de Vigo).

Forwards: Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Rodrigo Moreno (Valencia), Iago Aspas (Celta) & Alvaro Morata (Chelsea FC).

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SPAIN 2 - ENGLAND 3 | UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

SPAIN hosted ENGLAND for their Group clash of the UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE. Important match for both as a Spanish win tonight would have put them directly into the final 4, while England needed to win to keep alive their chances & more importantly avoiding relegation to a lower Group.

The final result was Spain 2 - England 3 with the visitors doing the damage in the 1st half with all 3 goals. Spain put up a better performance in the 2º half scoring & creating chances but the English defended well & kept onto their earnt advantage from the 1ºst half.

Starting 11 teams:

SPAIN: David De Gea; Jonny, Nacho, Sergio Ramos, Marcos Alonso; Sergi Busquets, Saul, Thiago; Asensio, Rodrigo & Aspas.

ENGLAND:  Pickford; Trippier, Gomez, Maguire, Chilwell; Barkley, Dier, Winks; Sterling, Rashford & Harry Kane.

The 1ºst half was a shocker from Spain which was overpowered by the English counter-attacking system. Poor defending by all back four defending Spaniards, with Ramos & Nacho out of position & all slow. England pressured the Spaniards when they had the ball & forced mistakes which allowed them to take advantage of the spaces left unattended by Spain.

Harry Kane acted as the forward reference to get the ball & lay onto the speeding & attacking Sterling & Rashford to finish off the job. Plan worked perfectly for them as England was 0 - 3 by half time.

0 - 1 (16') Raheem Sterling
0 - 2 (29') Marcus Rashford
0 - 3 (38') Raheem Sterling

Much better 2º half from Spain with control of the game & creating numerous goal opportunities. Spanish Coach Luis Enrique made substitutes (Ceballos for Saul; Alcacer for Aspas & later Morata for Rodrigo) which gave Spain more vertical push forward & speed. 

The extra Spanish "aggressiveness"  & push gave their prizes when Paco Alcacer headed a goal to lift Spain & give them hopes of attempting a comeback.

1 - 3 (58') Paco Alcacer

The Spanish momentum continued & could have received a penalty when English Goalkeeper Pickford lost a ball to Rodrigo & fouled the Spanish forward before giving away a corner. The referee only saw a corner & denied Spain a penalty which could have really changed things.

From here onwards, barring an English occasion or two, Spanish attacked non-stop & bombed the English goal square, but were not able to finish off their opportunities, hitting the post etc. Spain finally managed a second goal late with a Ramos header in the last moment

2 - 3 (97') Sergio Ramos

England had defended well during the difficult last moments & managed to hold out the Spaniards to secure the victory & most importantly 3 points.

Great match, England played a top first 45 mins, while Spain showed "grit" & pride to at least pull back two goals. Spain will complain about the penalty not given but England takes the 3 points & gives Spain some things they need to rethink for future matches. Spain defensively was bad & is not fine tuned yet. 

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LA LIGA DOMINATES THE FRANCE FOOTBALL GOLDEN BALL CANDIDATES

France Football made public today their initial 30 candidates for the upcoming FRANCE FOOTBALL GOLDEN BALL AWARD 2018. The winner will be announced the 3rd of December in Paris.

However, the news from our point of view is the domination of LALIGA with 14 candidates, that is, 14 names that play in the Spanish Football League:

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Courtois, Isco, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Godin, Griezmann, Oblak, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suárez & Messi.

The next League with most candidates are:

• English Premier (11), followed by
• Ligue 1 France (3)
• Serie A Italy (2),

surprisingly the Bundesliga has none.

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FIFA THE BEST AWARD 2018 | LUKA MODRIC WINNER

Spanish Football & Spanish Football Clubs were protagonists & well awarded in tonights FIFA THE BEST AWARDS held in London. The FIFA THE BEST winner (men) was Real Madrid & Croatian Captain LUKA MODRIC, winning over Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo.

Best Goalkeeper went to now Real Madrid & Belgium International player COURTOIS

THE BEST WORLD XI , voted by the players FIFAPRO (World Players Association) are :

David De Gea (Man Utd, SPAIN)
Dani Alves (PSG , BRAZIL)
Marcelo (Real Madrid, BRAZIL)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid,  SPAIN)
Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, FRANCE)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC, BELGIUM)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea FC , FRANCE)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid , CROATIA)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real MAdrid/Juventus , PORTUGAL)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG , FRANCE)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona, ARGENTINA)

Real Madrid had a heavy representation in most men´s Awards as their UEFA Champions League 3 titles in row feat influenced in voting. 

As for the rest Congratulations to SALAH (Best Goal - Puskas Award), DESCHAMPS (Best Coach), REYNALD PEDROS (Best Female Team Coach -O. Lyon), MARTA (THE BEST FEMALE).

Lastly, once again CRISTIANO RONALDO did not attend. He knew beforehand he would not win tonight, plus has in mind a possible "FIFA Conspiracy Plot" against his persona. What it shows once again is his egotistical side & a lack of respect for team-mates & the profession as a whole. The man has a history of bad choices & childish reactions which lowers his credibility as a real GREAT Football Player. A shame a real shame as he needs to be advised better & learn some humility.

The next test is the FIFA GOLDEN BALL AWARD soon. Will he turn up here?

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SPAIN 6 CROATIA 0 | UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE RESULT

SPAIN has defeated FIFA World Sub-Champions CROATIA 6 - 0 at home in the city of Elche. Surprising result as one would have expected a "better" performance from Croatia before the kick off their UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Group A clash.

Spanish Selector & Coach Luis Enrique made some changes from the last game against England with the inclusion of defender GAYA, midfielder CEBALLOS & forward ASENSIO in the starting line-up. All three players proved their worth with excellent performances & Asensio getting into the goals.

Croatia started well pressuring the Spanish defenders & forcing errors. It seemed at this early stage that Croatia would give Spain a hard night & be more competitive than they actually turned out to be. The Spanish goal came in the 24th min with a SAUL header & Croatia disappeared from this point onwards in the game.

Spain took full control of the match adding 5 more goals to the scoreline, while Spanish goalkeeper DE GEA was hardly put under pressure most of the match. Spain has been criticised for their lack of goal effectivity & scoring power, but tonight they were 100% spot on. Hard to determine if Spain has improved their goal scoring capacity or that Croatia played so bad that they "allowed" Spain to score so many.  Croatia was a shadow of their World Cup performance tonight.

Here are all the goalscorers tonight:

1 - 0 (24m) Saul Ñiguez
2 - 0 (33m) Marco Asensio
3 - 0 (35m) (O.G.) Lovre Kalinic
4 - 0 (49m) Rodrigo Moreno
5 - 0 (57m) Sergio Ramos
6 - 0 (70m) Isco

As you can see another great night for Atletico de Madrid midfielder Saul who scored again. While Asensio was in the goals scoring in the 33rd min & the 35th min was virtually his as well after his long range shot hit the bar & rebounded of the Croatian goalie into the net. Even Spanish Captain & defender Sergio Ramos got his goal after heading home in the 57th min.

The only negative note is the Spanish defense that still needs work to solve concentration lapses & silly errors. Although the results may indicate elsewise when Croatia did pressure upfront (especially early on) Spain suffered defensively & with a more competitive team tonight things may have been different. 

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ENGLAND 1 SPAIN 2 | UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE RESULT

SPAIN has defeated ENGLAND tonight 1 - 2 at Wembley in their UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE match. Spain has not won England at Wembley since 1981 & tonights victory gives the "new" Spanish Football Team a confidence boost. 

New Spanish National Team Selector & Coach Luis Enrique started with the following 11:

De Gea; Carvajal, Nacho, Sergio Ramos, Marcos Alonso; Sergi Busquets, Saul, Thiago; Isco, Iago Aspas & Rodrigo Moreno.
The goalkeeper debate ended with De Gea keeping his place, while Aspas & Rodrigo surprised with their start. Correct choices by Luis Enrique as DE GEA was to be very important making 3 match saving actions & Rodrigo scoring the second & eventual winning goal.

Positive & encouraging match by Spain which dominated the 1º st half with possession Football & quick attacking incursions from the flanks. Dani Carvajal was very dangerous while midfielder SAUL was very active & causing all sorts of dangers. Said this England got ahead first in the 10th min through RASHFORD when defender Shaw made a clinical pass that broke the Spanish defense. 

The good news from Spain´s point of view was their quick reaction to the situation managing to equalize in the 12th min through SAUL. From this point onwards Spain took control putting England on the back foot & making them chase the ball. Valencia CF forward RODRIGO scored from an Isco free-kick in the 31st min that would turn out to be the winner.

England did have their moments through Rashford who was their most dangerous man, but Spanish goalkeeper DE GEA made 3 saves (hand, knee & leg) that kept out Rushford & avoided the few England equalizer attempts. 

Spain lost "gas" as the match went on in the 2º half & England pushed forward more looking for the equalizer. It nearly came but the offsides did not help & a disputed disallowed goal in the 96th min due to a foul on De Gea foiled England´s plans.

The moment of the night was the unintentional knock received by English defender Shaw by Dani Carvajal early in the 2º nd half that saw Shaw being attended 7 mins by the medical team & stretched off with neck brace & respiratory assistance. We believe it was precautionary & wish from here Shaw a speedy recovery.

In conclusion, good match & better start from Spain under new Coach Luis Enrique with his new players. There is still lots of work to do for Spain to better their play & secure the teams focus & concentration in the latter part of the matches where tonight they allowed the opponent to lift themselves & lose the grip of the match. England nearly managed to pull off the equalizer, thanks to their determination but also due to Spain's lack of ability to finish off the game with a third goal. 

Next match for Spain will be another UEFA Nations League Group game against Croatia.

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SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM PLAYERS LIST FOR UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

New Spanish Football Team  National  Selector & Coach LUIS ENRIQUE has handed in his first list of 24 players to make up the Spanish National Team Squad for the upcoming UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE competition with matches against ENGLAND & CROATIA.

As anticipated surprises with a Coach that has new ideas & a different viewpoint on how Spain should play its Football. Below is the full list with has missing up to 12 names from the squad that went to the Russia World Cup 2018 tournament. 

Retired are Pique, Iniesta & David Silvia... while notable players left out are Jordi Alba, Koke, Aspas, Pepe Reina... to mention a few. Below in the list of 24 players the newly called up ( some are new & others return) are in black: 

FULL LIST OF 24 PLAYERS:

Goalkeepers

De Gea (Manchester United)
Kepa (Chelsea FC)
Pau Lopez (Real Betis)

Defenders
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
Azpilicueta (Chelsea FC)
Albiol (Napoles)
Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad)
Nacho (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Iñigo Martinez (Athletic Club Bilbao)
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea CF)
Gaya (Valencia CF)

Midfielders
Sergi Busquets (FC Barcelona)
Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelona)
Rodrigo (Atletico de Madrid)
Saul (Atletico de Madrid)
Thiago (Bayern)
Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)

Forwards
Isco (Real Madrid)
Marco Asensio (Real Madrid)
Alvaro Morata (Chelsea CF)
Diego Costa (Atletico de Madrid)
Suso (AC Milan)
Rodrigo M. (Valencia CF)

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AT MADRID 4 REAL MADRID 2 | UEFA SUPERCUP FINAL RESULT

ATLETICO DE MADRID defeated 4 - 2 REAL MADRID in tonight's UEFA SUPERCUP FINAL played in Tallin (Estonia). First winning blow to Atletico over Real Madrid as the new 2018-2019 season kicked off,  with La Liga also starting this upcoming weekend.

Entertaining match that saw Real Madrid dominate the game up to around the 79th min to have later At Madrid comeback to equalize & force the extra-time. From here onwards Real Madrid was practically overrun as tiredness & defensive mistakes gave the upper hand to Atletico who never stopped fighting for every ball. Deserved & well earned just victory & title for Atletico de Madrid.

Atletico forward DIEGO COSTA was fundamental for his team tonight scoring his teams first goal in the 51st second of the game. He later was the key scoring the equalizer that forced the game into extra-time to give At Madrid the margin needed to finish off a tired Real Madrid.

Real Madrid played well & dominated the ball all the first half. They managed to score two goals via a BENZEMA header & a Sergio RAMOS penalty. Real Madrid could have shut the match & been on course to win had Marco Asensio managed to put into the net a fabulous opportunity created by a Gareth Bale pass to his feet. 

The 2ºhalf saw Atletico de Madrid lift themselves as Real Madrid clearly began to fizz out. The tiredness affected the concentration of the players & mistakes began appearing in their passing. Two changes - Casemiro & Isco - seemed to have lessened the effectiveness of Real Madrid, & while Modric came on he too was not finely tuned enough to lift his team.

In extra-time the freshness & greater determination of Atletico de Madrid was enough to "kill off" Real Madrid whose defensive mistakes allowed SAUL & later KOKE to score goals to shut the match & secure the UEFA SuperCup.

Goals scored:

0 - 1 Diego Costa 1min
1 - 1 Benzema 27min
2 - 1 Sergio Ramos (penalty) 63min
2 - 2 Diego Costa 79min
2- 3  Saul 98min

2 - 4 Koke 104min

Question now is will this defeat by Real Madrid motivate the Club to make a last signing effort to reinforce the squad with a "big signing". A pure goalscorer ( Striker ) would be very handy to counter-balance the loss of Ronaldo who guaranteed between 40 - 50 goals per season. It will be interesting to see the reaction by Real Madrid in coming days.

As for Atletico de Madrid, an excellent start to the new season which will boost their confidence. The Club has invested heavily with big signings & expectations are high. The new players will slowly find their groove in coming weeks while the backbone of the team looks solid as ever along with their trademark fighting spirit & grit. Positive beginning.
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SPANISH KEEPER KEPA TO SIGN FOR CHELSEA FC | KOVACIC ON LOAN

CHELSEA FC & Belgium International goalkeeper Courtois has a shut transfer deal with REAL MADRID weeks back. However, Chelsea would not make the transfer official until the English Club has shut a quality substitute to take the place of Courtois to defend their goal.

With the transfer window shutting the 9th of August & Courtois pressuring the London Club to be let go, Chelsea has moved fast, very fast, & set target on Spanish International & Athletic Club Bilbao goalkeeper KEPA Arrizabalaga. The young Spanish promise has a 80M€ contract release clause that Chelsea FC is willing to pay. Remember Kepa was on the Real Madrid agenda as a firm-shut signing target early this year but did not eventually go through.

The news right now is that KEPA seems to have agreed to make the move over to London & is currently in Madrid talking with his representatives to shut the deal. Right now everything indicates that Kepa will be the new Chelsea FC goalkeeper for 80M€ making him the highest goalkeeper transfer record in Football. This obviously will give Courtois the green light for the official announcement by Chelsea FC of his move to REAL MADRID.

Staying with Real Madrid, it seems Croatian midfielder KOVACIC will also be heading to Chelsea FC on-loan. The player has expressed that he wishes to leave Madrid because he needs to play more, have a stable & continuos participation, instead of sitting on the bench. Real Madrid does not wish to sell but understands the players desire & has offered the option of playing a year in London. Everything here at this moment indicates that the player will take up this option, although nothing is official from the concerning Clubs. Stay tuned here. 

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FIFA 2018 THE BEST 10 CANDIDATES LIST

FIFA has announced today their 10 Candidates for THE BEST AWARD 2018. There are no Spanish born players but as expected many who currently play professionally in the Spanish Liga competition. The full list of 10 names are:

• De Bruyne (Manchester City - Belgium)
• Rafael Varane ( Real Madrid - France)
• Mbappé (PSG - France)
• Griezmann (At Madrid - France)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Juventus FC - Portugal)
• Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
• Harry kane (Tottenham Hotspurs - England)
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid - Croatia)
• Salah (Liverpool FC - Egypt)
• Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC - Belgium)

The 2018 Russia World Cup will have a heavy weight in the voting, along with the Champions League & Europa League; the favourites are Antoine Griezmann & Luka Modric.

The note to observe is NO Neymar JR is present. This player is missing his "trains" of opportunities" it seems. 

From the 24th of July until the 10th of August a panel of experts elected by FIFA will reduce the list to 3 players. The winner will be announced in London on the 24th of Septembre during the FIFA THE BEST AWARD ceremony. 

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REAL MADRID | ICARDI - THE NEED FOR GOALS

Everyone is waiting for REAL MADRID CF to make a signing BOMB announcement. The exit of Cristiano Ronaldo lifts expectations as that the void left open needs to be filled with a player similar in status & "pulling power".  The fact is that there are only very few names in World Soccer that fill the profile; Neymar JR, Mbappé, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard ... & little more of which all are extremely difficult to pull out of their current Clubs.

The current state of affairs adds more difficulties & pessimism to the situation as Mbappé has stated he will NOT leave Paris St Germain along with team-mate NEYMAR JR who also has stated the he too WILL NOT LEAVE Paris St Germain (for the moment). The others like HARRY KANE is impossible due to his contract & market price, while EDEN HAZARD who wants to go to Real Madrid has Chelsea FC reluctant to let him go with a huge market price of around 200M€ that the Spanish Club does not wish to pay.

Putting aside these names & targets, from a tactical & practical point of view what REAL MADRID really needs to fill is a goalscorer, a Striker that can assure 25-35 goals a season, a feat that Ronaldo was achieving on a seasonal basis. This is the fundamental piece of the puzzle that is now missing & should be the main priority.

A name is now doing the rumour mill that can fit the profile & Club needs: MAURO ICARDI of Inter Milan. The 25 year old Argentine forward was on the Real Madrid agenda during the previous "Winter Market" & has scored last season 29 goals in the always difficult Italian Serie A. The player has an accesible 120M€ contract release clause that makes the forward a realistic target. We will have to wait on developments. 

The other option B is to fill the lost "goal quota" is Bayen Munich forward Robert Lewandowski a well known past target. While English Club Manchester United is apparently also interested & tempting the Polish International, the player may hold out if Real Madrid send over "positive signs" of a true desire.

So there you have it punters, the next Real Madrid signings could be diverting to other lesser "sounding" ( no less magnificent) names for a more practical approach. The other popular players already mentioned above have voiced their negative desire to make a move from their current Clubs, their huge transfer market price or difficulties make them a "discard" for the Spanish Club.

Just to end, I would not however discount Hazard just yet, although "tactically" for Real Madrid they already have Isco & Asensio for the same position. If the price is lowered Real Madrid may take advantage of the unique opportunity looking ahead long term.

Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID - HAZARD | PREPARING A 170M€ OFFER

With the exit of CRISTIANO RONALDO from REAL MADRID the Spanish Club has to "fill the gap" left open with a World Class Player,  & specially Goals. Cristiano Ronaldo guaranteed each season between 40 - 50 goals for Real Madrid & substituting this is currently not available in the World Soccer Market.

Two names come up when analysing this asset; Neymar Jr & Mbappe both currently at Paris St Germain. The feasibility of Real Madrid signing the above names are at this moment extremely difficult. However, Real Madrid is attempting to sign for this year Neymar & the operation could go over the 300M€ transfer price tag. Needs to be seen if this will happen. 

But there is a World Class player more accesible & himself willing to get to REAL MADRID: EDEN HAZARD. News out of the UK through the "Daily Mail" claims the Spanish Club is preparing a 170M€ transfer offer for Chelsea FC in order to lock down Hazard. The player has voiced his desire to get to Madrid & is "stalling" his renovation with Chelsea FC in hope of receiving the Real Madrid call. 

Obviously this possible signing would assure the "media impact" needed to counteract the exit by Ronaldo & lift fan-base hopes for the new season. Hazard is a wonderful player but will not cover the 40+ goals that Ronaldo gave each season. The Belgium International would also compete with Isco, Asensio & Ceballos & this may have to be previous looked at in depth by the technical team. 

What Real Madrid needs as a priority is a Centre Forward that can score 20-30 goals per season, a true Striker, & after this all the extras like Harzard etc would be an added plus.

Lets await developments theses coming weeks as the transfer market will be full of rumours, speculations & even "fake news". Stay tuned!

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GOODBYE CRISTIANO RONALDO

Its official, CRISTIANO RONALDO gets transferred to Italian Club JUVENTUS FC for 105M€ (or 112M€ with commissions & extras). So its GOODBYE Cristiano Ronaldo & thanks for your 9 years in Spanish Football. Said this, its a relief, now we can move on to bigger & better things. 

The fact is, that there was no fan manifestations hailing Real Madrid President Perez to stop the transfer. Most ( not all ) have become tired of the Ronaldo antics & yearly ego-trips & demands (demands always given by the Club). Yes, everyone is grateful & thanks the opportunity to have witnessed such Football talent. Real Madrid fans will have to recognise that the last few UEFA Champions League titles are thanks to CR7 in great part. The Portuguese star has craved a place in Real Madrid History as one of the Clubs greatest players.

Said this Cristiano Ronaldo says farewell with only a letter... a solitary letter. Coward.

What was really needed was to face the press & show your face to explain to everyone why you have decided to leave the Club. The fans & supporters deserve at least an explanation. However, many are not surprised, again the character of Ronaldo shines through brightly me , only me & me again. 

The "Goodbye Letter" transmits emotions & the desire to find new goals. Ronaldo admits he asked the Club to let him go & says thank you to everyone. This is the official line, the truth is that:

• his legal tax problems locally - 15M€ due to the tax office - weight heavily,
• the salary of Messi (40M€), Neymar (36M€) & Grizmann (23M€) outweight his of 21M€
  This lead to a "mini revolt" that lead later to alleged promises that were broken by Club etc & etc. The lastest is that Real Madrid equalled the Juventus FC offer of 30M€... you make up your own opinion.
• The possible coming of Neymar JR "hurt the ego". Ronaldo felt that his time was up as the most brightest star & that the possible coming of younger stars was not making him comfortable.

The truth, the real truth is that there is no single individual bigger than the Club. Real Madrid has members (paying members) as the true owners. This institution has survived more than 100 years & seen hundreds of Footballers , huge Stars, come & go. Cristiano Ronaldo will probably be surprised to see how Real Madrid continues operating the same or better after his exit.

So thanks & goodbye. Good luck with your next Club. Lets move onto newer & exiting developments in Spanish Football in coming days & weeks

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CRISTIANO RONALDO TO LEAVE REAL MADRID

Spanish TV via "La Sexta" channel & its afternoon "Sports News" has confirmed that CRISTIANO RONALDO will be leaving REAL MADRID CF. This news complements Italian news sources that JUVENTUS has made an offer that it seems has been accepted by Real Madrid & thus opens the door for Ronaldo to play in "Serie A" next season.

The details of the operation are the following; Juventus will pay Real Madrid 100M€ in concept of a transfer fee, while Juventus offers Cristiano Ronaldo 30M€ per season for a 4 year contract. The Portuguese star has commented to close sources that he will accept their offer & now awaits Real Madrid keeps their part of the deal. 

The 33 year old forward adds that it has nothing to do with money leaving Real Madrid, in fact the Spanish Club has equalled the Italian offer as the player too solicited an improvement. It has to do with the need to find a new stimulus & Ronaldo feels his "cycle" at Real Madrid has come to an end.

Months back Ronaldo voiced his "feelings" of leaving Real Madrid to President Perez & the Club responded that if they received an acceptable offer the Club would not put any impediments or barriers for an exit. The player is recognized as the most important & greatest Player to pass through the Club in the "modern era", Ronaldo for many has eclipsed Alfredo Di Stefano, thus the Club is empathic to the Ronaldo respuests.

The Juventus offer was already on the tables before the Champions League Final in Kiev & Cristiano Ronaldo looked favourably thanks to the Italians Club fans who rose & applauded his performance at Turin that included his now famous "overhead" goal in Champions League Q/Final. 

Real Madrid will now be looking to shut the deal & organize a huge goodbye event with all the fanfare that their Champion & Star deserves after 9 years ( & 4 Champions League plus 4 FiFA Golden Ball Awards) of brilliant service.

The news is not 100% official but the source is viable & traditionally spot on. However, one cannot help think that the above is the "official goodbye story" & that there is more to the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo than meets the eye. 

One unofficial said factor that could be crucial is the "obsessive" interest by Real Madrid for Brazilian NEYMAR. Real Madrid refuted a news piece yesterday that stated a massive 310M€ offer to Paris St Germain & a 45M€ / season contract for Neymar...a record breaker. It is obvious to all that Real Madrid sees in Neymar the "new Star", their "new Marketing & Income generator" & their key to future titles success.

Added to the above MBAPPE has also again entered the Real Madrid orbit & there are rumours that the French International & PSG youngster can be a target as he was last year.

In both cases, it is not strange to think, that both Neymar &/or Mbappe would look more favourably in accepting a Real Madrid offer if Cristiano Ronaldo was no longer at the Club to soak up all the spotlights. Both will demand to be starters in all matches & too many roosters in the hens den always leads to trouble.

Stay tuned the following days & weeks! Tweet

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REAL MADRID | JULEN LOPETEGUI NEW COACH

REAL MADRID has made official with an announcement on their website that current Spanish Football Selector & Coach JULEN LOPETEGUI will be their new Coach of the current Champions League Champions after the World Cup. 

Julen Lopetegui fills the "huge gap" left open after Zinedine Zidane announced weeks back that he was stepping down as Coach, leaving everyone at Real Madrid in "shock". The Spanish Football Club quickly put themselves to work to probe potential candidates, which for a Club at this level are only a hand full.

The first choice was Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham Hotspurs, but the Tottenham Coach had recently signed his renewal with the London Club & Real Madrid preferred not to enter into a negotiating "war" with owner Levy. Thus this choice was discarded. 

The other names were Liverpool Coach Kloop also with contract, Allegri of Juventus who said no due to personal reasons, German National Team Selector Low & Chelsea FC coach Conte. There was even a rumour that perhaps ex Real Madrid players Laudrup, Michel or even Guti would be given the position. In the end Real Madrid has surprised most with the Lopetegui announcement. 

Julen Lopetegui started his professional Football career as Goalkeeper at Real Madrid with 19 years of age, thus he is very familiar with the Club (apart later training as Coach of Real Madrid B) . He wasn´t able to consolidate his position due to the heavy competition from the then Real Madrid goalie Francisco Buyo. He was loaned out & later moved to other Clubs ( Logroñes, FC Barcelona & Rayo Vallecano) were he gained his prestige as one of Spanish Football finest goalkeepers reaching the Spanish National Team. 

He has Coaching experience, apart from the Spain National Team, with the U/19 & U/21 Spanish National Teams (winning European Championships) & Oporto. 

Although the news of the Lopetegui announcement has caught most "offside" their was talk that the Real Madrid players of the Spanish National Team ( Ramos, Carvajal, Isco, Vazquez, Nacho & Asensio) have recommended to Real Madrid Directives that Lopetegui was their man. If this is true, this may have weight heavily in favour of the naming. Julen Lopetegui had recently extended his contract with the Spanish National Team until 2020 but a release clause of 2M€ was included which Real Madrid have executed.

We wish the best of luck to Lopetegui on his new position, a job full of pressure & with the added shadow of the 3 straight Champions League wins under Zidane looming. 

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SPAIN 1 TUNISIA 0 | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY GAME

SPAIN won 1 - 0 TUNISIA in the last Friendly game before they start their WORLD CUP campaign next Friday the 15th of June when they play their Group opener against the current European Champions Portugal. Tough one for a starter.

The Spanish National Football Team Coach Lopetegui started with the above 11 (in photo), but later changed the line-up giving player Nacho, Koke, Asensio, Aspas, Diego Costa & Vasquez a run. 

Tunisia which is also a World Cup qualifier gave Spain a difficult time & was an excellent "sparring" partner to test the Spaniards which overall did not play well. Although no one can question their dominance with the ball, Spain has a long time problem that still has not been solve: the lack of goal. 

Spain was relatively slow tonight & their moves became predictable thus not really bothering Tunisia which pressured the Spanish midfielders forcing them to lose the ball & give the Tunisian forwards goal opportunities, especially in the first half. Luckily for Spain, Tunisia was not firing upfront on all cylinders & missed many occasions.

The match allowed Spanish Coach Lopetegui to experiment with players & tactical systems ending the game with just 3 defenders as Spain looked for the winner. The goal finally came after Diego Costa got the ball & after dribbling goalie & defender found ASPAS nearly outside the box who scored the 84th min.

A hard worked victory which opens more questions than gives answers. Spain will have to decide their final 11 starters & figure out how to lift the efficiency rate in front of goal, the only true area that leaves doubt over the team. Looked at it in a more "philosophical manner" tonights less than optimal performance by Spain will avoid the danger of the squad going into the World Cup Group stage with over confidence. This is positive.

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