SPANISH FOOTBALL | TOP GOALSCORER - BEST GOALKEEPER 2015-2016

With the Spanish Liga over for season 2015-2016 its time for the individual prizes. The two main awards, Spanish Liga top goalscorer & Best goalkeeper of the Spanish Liga, go to Luis Suarez & Oblak respectively. 

In the case of Luis Suarez, he also takes the "European Golden Boot" Award as the top goalscorer in European Football.

EL PICHICHI - Leading Goalscorer Spanish Liga 2015-2016

Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) 40 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 35
Messi (FC Barcelona) 26
Neymar (FC Barcelona) 24
Benzema (Real Madrid) 24

EL ZAMORA - Best Goalkeeper Spanish Liga 2015-2016

Oblak (Atletico Madrid) 18 goals 38 matches
Bravo (FC Barcelona) 22 32
Areola (Villarreal) 26 32
Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) 28 34
Iraizoz (Athletic Club Bilbao) 37 36

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THE RETURN OF LUIS SUAREZ | FC BARECLONA

The term, "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel", has never been so true for Uruguayan & FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez. The player ends his 4 month ban from playing football - official games - next Friday. Consequently, the next day Saturday, the first Spanish Football season "Clasico" between Real Madrid & FC Barcelona is scheduled, thus allowing Suarez to be available for Barça Coach Luis Enrique if he decides to use this valuable Football resource.    

The player has expressed to media that he is glad that this "personal nightmare" is coming to an end. Luis Suarez even feared for his Football future that perhaps FC Barcelona may have retired their original signing interest after his World Cup "biting incident".

The logic suggests that Suarez start on the bench next Saturday against Real Madrid & only participate perhaps the last part of the game. However, his Coach Luis Enrique may think otherwise  & go into the clash with all the available fire power up front. 

Either way, everyone is looking forward to seeing Suarez back on the Football field, playing in the Spanish Football Liga & watching his goal skills in action. From here we wish Luis Suarez good luck & can say officially, welcome to Spanish Football.

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LUIS SUAREZ CAN NOW TRAIN WITH BARÇA TEAM-MATES | CAS DECISION

The "Court of Arbitration for Sport" - CAS -  has just handed in its resolution to the appeal handed in by FC Barcelona for their newly signed player Luis Suarez. The "CAS" maintains the FIFA sanction & the Uruguayan cannot play Football until the 26th of October.

However, the good news is that the "CAS" has eliminated the part were the player cannot train or be present in a Sporting arena. This means that Luis Suarez can now train with his team-mates at FC Barcelona & do a proper pre-season. Plus be available to play non - official matches ( eg upcoming "Gamper Trophy"), be officially presented by his new Club & play with Barça - if Coach Luis Enrique desires - the first "Clasico" of the Liga season against Real Madrid CF the 27th of October.

In conclusion, good news for FC Barcelona & for Luis Suarez.

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FC BARCELONA ANNOUNCE LUIS SUAREZ SIGNING

FC Barcelona has announced officially that the Spanish Football Club has come to an agreement with English Premier League Club Liverpool FC to transfer Uruguayan International forward Luis Suarez. The player needs to pass the regular medical exam & could be presented in Barcelona as soon as next week. 

The 27 year old player signs for the next 5 years with Barça & the Club communicates that the transfer fee is 81M€ (others say 75M€). However English sources differ & comment that the figure could be more than 90M€. FC Barcelona is creating suspicion with its differing figures, as everyone still remembers that Neymar transfer. Back then, Barça said one thing & the official figures said something much higher & totally different. The "gap" caused indirectly the resignation of Barça President Sandro Rosell.

If Luis Suarez cannot change his FIFA suspension of 4 months (& from all Sporting fields), the forward will not be able to do pre-season with his new Club & would only then be active Football wise at the end of October.

Welcome Luis Suarez to Spanish Football!

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LUIS SUAREZ - RADAMEL FALCAO LATEST NEWS | SPANISH FOOTBALL

The big Spanish Football Clubs are making their moves to shut & securing their main signing priorities for season 2014 - 2015. FC Barcelona has put Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez as its main priority while Real Madrid CF seems to have focused on Monaco striker Radamel Falcao. Most of the Spanish Sports papers have been running with these stories for the past weeks & both have been gaining in strength along with credibility in the last few days.

The latest with Luis Suarez is that FC Barcelona representatives are in London at this moment negotiating with Liverpool FC. According to English paper "The Guardian" Barça has put up an initial offer of 70MGBP, that is around 89M€. Big figure that for the moment does not include any Barça player, although Liverpool FC may like the idea of Alexis Sanchez & thus lower the price for FC Barcelona.

This last "petition" by Liverpool FC depends if Alexis Sanchez accepts the move. The Chilean International is also desired by Arsenal FC & it seems Atletico de Madrid has also asked about the forward. Insiders indicate that the Chilean wants to stay at FC Barcelona.

Negotiations continue...

At Real Madrid everything indicates that the Spanish Football Club will make a bet on Colombian International & Monaco forward Radamel Falcao. In this particular case there is less "official" news coming out of Real Madrid while all the "talk" seems to be coming out of the players inner circle.

It is speculated that Monaco will facilitate the exit of Falcao & adhere to his wish to get back to Spanish Football, but at a reasonable price for Monaco. Insider comment that Monaco would look at with interest including Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata in the operation. However, Morata is very close to Italian Club Juventus & the players choice is Italy.

With Falcao there is no mention of transfer conditions or a firm players agreement. As said the "hype" is more a press generated phenomenon than a Club announced open move. Everyone however is confident that the operation will go through & Falcao end up at Real Madrid next season

Lastly, the name of another Colombian James Rodriguez is gaining hype-talk & association with Real Madrid. Stay tuned on this possible front in coming weeks.

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LOOKING FOR A STRIKER | FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID CF

Leaving aside the Luis Suarez "biting incident" & his severe FIFA sanction, the news is that FC Barcelona remains interested in signing the Uruguayan striker. The Barcelona based Spanish Sports papers are very adamant that Luis Suarez has given his OK to FC Barcelona & that the latter now only needs to begin negotiations with Liverpool FC. Barça from their end wish to take advantage of the Luis Suarez "biting rage" & force Liverpool to lower their initial asking price of around 85M€ to around 50M€. The Spanish Football Club feels that Liverpool FC is in a "must sell" phase after Suarez sank his teeth into Italian defender Chiellini.

However, other Football observers claim that Luis Suarez is NOT the Nº1 priority of FC Barcelona for their forward line. It is claimed that Napoli & Argentine International Gonzalo Higuain is the main target. It is claimed that Barça retired Captain - & now Club Nº2 Football Director - Carles Puyol shut an agreement with Higuain weeks back, & that it was now a case between Clubs to negotiate. Plus, Coach Luis Enrique & Club Directives want to keep Messi "happy" after losing "best mate" Pinto & Cesc Fabregas, with his current Argentine team-mate.

Luis Suarez, with this news piece, is the alternative for Barcelona, & some Club Directives are questioning the signing option with all the fracas associated with Suarez.  

The other option for Luis Suarez to play in Spanish Football is Real Madrid. The Spanish Football Club is patiently watching events as their main objective is to renew the contract of Karim Benzema. The Club is satisfied with their current forward line-up of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale & Benzema (the BBC). There is talk that Alvaro Morata may leave for Juventus FC & if so Real Madrid may sign a "young talent" instead of a consolidated striker. 

It is rumoured that neither Coach Ancelotti nor Cristiano Ronaldo feel comfortable with the possible arrival of Luis Suarez as his inclusion may ruffle feathers at the dressing room level. Said this a new forward has entered the picture - again - in the name of Monaco & Colombian International Radamel Falcao. 

Falcao seems to be confident that Real Madrid will make an effort this summer to sign him for next season. It has been written that Falcao has told Colombian (squad) friends that he is really close to Real Madrid for next season. 

In any case,  there is plenty of time to shut all these deals. I would think that the mayor Clubs will allow time to expire & thus make nervous players & their respective Clubs. Once nerve set in, the pretending Clubs can better leverage their position & bargaining strength to get their way.

Stay tuned, very interesting weeks ahead for Higuain, Suarez & Falcao.

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THE LUIS SUAREZ BITING INCIDENT A PLAN TO LEAVE LIVERPOOL FC?

Everyone knows that Uruguayan International & Liverpool FC forward Luis Suarez wants to leave English Football. Football insiders comment that Suarez included a "listen to offers" clause on his renovated contract with Liverpool last year precisely to allow his wanted exit.

There is one place that Luis Suarez wants to play, & that is in Spanish Football. The only two Clubs that the Liverpool FC forward aims at are Real Madrid CF & FC Barcelona. The former has shown interest but is debating about Karim Benzema & if Suarez is really needed. Real Madrid is currently in tough negotiations with Benzema to renew contract & perhaps right now is not the best moment to make a move on another forward. FC Barcelona has thus taken advantage of the "vacuum" left by Real Madrid & has approached Suarez showing interest to sign him for next season. The "big brake" is the 85M€ transfer figure that Liverpool FC places on their player, thus Barça wants to included players like Pedro, Tello & Alexis into the operation.

In Barcelona the local press are already claiming that Luis Suarez has given his OK to FC Barcelona, however other Football insiders claim that the real desire of the player is Real Madrid CF & Suarez maybe pressuring the latter to finally make a move & get out of the shadows to proclaim their interest. 

Whatever the real reasons or negotiation strategies going on, the 85M€ price figure is a serious handicap for Luis Suarez & both Real Madrid & Barça have the advantage to wait until the 30th of August to make a move if they decide to do it.

But what about the "biting incident" with Italian defender Chiellini? It´s the third time, a repeated "disgusting" & unsportsmanlike behaviour that has capture the Worlds attention & seriously blemished the reputation of the player. Obviously, the mentioned Spanish Football Clubs will now reconsider if Luis Suarez is a risk, in fact FC Barcelona has already discussed this issue internally. 

But there maybe another explanation, a far fetched theory that although unlikely due to its risks cannot be discarded. What if the "biting incident" was "planned" to ease & accelerate his exit from English Football & from Liverpool FC. The reaction to the Suarez-Chiellini biting incident has been savage in the UK with hard criticism from the media, Football players & general public opinion. Liverpool FC now sees Luis Suarez as a "problem" for next season & are more receptive to help in the players exit than to hold on to & extend possible negotiations. Another season of English Football for Luis Suarez would be unbearable, thus an exit is now a certainty. 

Will all this lower that initially asked 85M€ by Liverpool FC? If both Real Madrid CF & FC Barcelona wait, it may well force a lowering of price to get the player out of England & Liverpool FC as soon as possible. A far fetched theory? 

I leave it for your thought & realise its "risk level" makes it unlikely. Apart it is very Machiavellian & I doubt that Luis Suarez or his representative (the brother of Bayern Munich Coach Pep Guardiola) would have the nerve to think it. But what about the pretending Clubs? As an idea?

While the Football World awaits the FIFA decision on Luis Suarez, what the "incident" in itself has achieved is to guarantee that the Uruguayan will not be in England next season, nor will he be playing at Liverpool FC. The Football asset for Liverpool FC has now become a "hot potato"  & Real Madrid CF & FC Barcelona know it.

LATEST: FIFA has just handed in an exemplary sanction for Luis Suarez:

• 9 match suspension
• 4 months banned from any World Football field
• 80.000€ fine

This could halt any idea of being signed by Real Madrid & FC Barcelona, as the Club that signs Suarez cannot count on his services until November.

Uruguay will appeal the FIFA decision.

If the above Luis Suarez "biting action" was a plan it has backfired enormously. The "X-File" theory goes out the window. Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID PREPARING A 85M€ OFFER FOR LUIS SUAREZ?

The news out from the UK, concretely the English newspaper "Mirror", is an echo of what has also been sounding here in Spain for months. The UK source informs that Spanish Football Club Real Madrid is preparing a 85M€ offer for Liverpool FC forward Luis Suarez. This has been a constant rumour locally which has never gone away since last summer. This time around the speculation keeps growing in strength.

It is also added that to finance the operation Real Madrid would be willing to transfer/sell French forward Karim Benzema. Another English Club Arsenal FC is said to be very interested in the Real Madrid forward whose inconsistency & lack of decisive contribution in the big Football occasions has disappointed the Spanish Club & the Real Madrid fan-base. 

Said all this, it looks as if Luis Suarez could be this summers transfer "affair". Liverpool FC will be doing all in their hands to convince that their forward stay at their Club. While a spectacular upcoming World Cup performance from the Uruguayan may sky rocket his already elevated market price or attract other big European Clubs making the coming summer hot full of news stories & rumour.

Stay tuned! 

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EUROPEAN GOLDEN BOOT AWARD | CRISTIANO RONALDO, LUIS SUAREZ OR LIONEL MESSI

The English Premier League season finished with Liverpool FC forward Luis Suarez the top "EPL" goalscorer for season 2013-2104 with 31 goals. However, this weekend the Uruguayan International was not able to score & thus was not able to shake off Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo who also has 31 goals this season. Both players are currently locked in the top spot of the "European Golden Boot Award" season 2013 - 2014 with Cristiano Ronaldo still with a Liga match to play next weekend.

The Real Madrid forward did not play last weekend nursing a muscle/knee complaint & with the UEFA Champions League in mind. However it is strongly speculated that Cristiano Ronaldo will play against RCD Espanyol next weekend in order to try to score & become the solitary leader in the "Highest Goalscorer in Europe Award" & win the "Golden Boot" in solitary. 

Third place Lionel Messi also plays next weekend against Atletico de Madrid in the Liga decider & he has currently 28 goals. The Argentine would need to score 3 goals to equal both Ronaldo & Suarez or 4 ( or more ) to overtake & win the "Golden Boot", as long as CR7 does not score.

Stay tuned as we will soon know the winner/s of the 2013-2014 European Golden Boot Award in 6 days.

Current European Golden Boot Award standings:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, SP) = 31 goals = 62 POINTS
Luis Suarez ( Liverpool FC , ENG ) = 31 goals = 62 POINTS
3. Lionel Messi ( FC Barcelona , SP) = 28 goals = 56 POINTS
4. Diego Costa (Atletico de Madrid, SP) = 27 goals = 54 POINTS
5. J.Soriano (RB Salzburg, AUT) = 31 goals = 46 POINTS
6. C.Immobile (FC Torino, ITA ) = 22 goals = 44 POINTS
7. D.Sturidge (Liverpool FC, ENG) = 22 goals = 44 POINTS
8. A.Finnbogason ( Heerenveen, HOL) = 29 goals = 43,5 POINTS
9. Lewansowski (B Dortmund, GER) = 20 goals = 40 POINTS
10. Y Toure (Man City, ENG) = 20 goals = 40 POINTS

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SPANISH FOOTBALL LEADING GOALSCORER AFTER ROUND 31 | EL PICHICHI

The Spanish Football League is at the Round 32 stage with just 6 more Rounds left before the end of the season. Good moment to have a look at which players are leading the "Top Goalscorers" ranking. The title given to the Spanish League top goalscorers is "The Pichichi" Award.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo currently leads the "Goalscorers" table with 28 goals, followed closely by Atletico de Madrid season sensation Diego Costa. The player to watch is Lionel Messi with 23 goals & is making great advances with a high probability of taking over in the Spanish Liga goal "race". Below is the current standing after Round 31:

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 28 goals
Diego Costa (Atletico de Madrid) 25
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)         23
Alexis Sanchez (FC Barcelona) 17
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 17

The "European Golden Boot" is also very competitive this season. Uruguayan & Liverpool FC forward Luis Suarez is currently leading with his 29 goals ( 58 points ) over second placed Cristiano Ronaldo with his 28 ( 56 points ).

Some Football observers have noticed an increase in "anxiety" levels in the game of Cristiano Ronaldo with signs of obsession to score goals instead of perhaps assisting more his team-mates. They argue that the close goal numbers of his rivals in Spanish Liga & in the "Golden Boot" has focused his attention. 

Will be interesting to follow these last 6 Rounds & see how the goalscoring table evolves.

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REAL MADRID | FALCAO - LUIS SUAREZ "ON HOLD" JUST IN CASE

The "Transfer Window" has just closed & we are already in full flight for the next player transfer-signing window opportunity fixed for the 1st of January 2014 ( "Winter Market" ), in this particular case, in reference to Spanish Football giant Real Madrid.

Spanish Sports media picks up today on comments & rumours that have been doing the rounds these last weeks. Real Madrid has a real concern with their current forward Karim Benzema. The French International is not performing,  nor scoring goals as expected from a talent of his dimension. Many have voiced continuously that the true priority signing this season was a "pure Number Nine".

The names of Falcao, Suarez & Lewandowski have been sounding for months but in the end nothing came from the rumours. 

Now the news is that Real Madrid has 50M€ in "reserve" for the upcoming "Winter Market" in case Karim Benzema does not live up to expectations. Plus with the departure of Higuain, Real Madrid has only the youngsters Morata & Jese to fill any emergency gap.

Luis Suarez ( Liverpool FC ) & Radamel Falcao ( Monaco ) are still spinning around the orbit of "planet" Real Madrid. So much so, that in the case of Falcao some "insiders" say that there is a contract clause that releases Falcao from Monaco if Real Madrid makes an offer. 

In any case, pure rumour & speculation at this stage, but worth keeping an eye out during these months. Football changes on a weekly basis & nerves set in quickly at the Clubs. A bad start "streak" in Liga, bad start in Champions League or a serious injury to Benzema could set the alarms ringing at Real Madrid & put into motion "surprising & emergency actions".

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THE DIEGO COSTA - LUIS SUAREZ - CAZORLA TRANSFER OPERATION THEORY

This next piece is very interesting & worth a post. Very speculative & will need to be seen, but not impossible. According to Spanish Sports newspapers - "Sport" & "El Confidencial" a 3 band transfer move could be brewing between Atletico de Madrid Diego Costa, Liverpool FC Luis Suarez & Arsenal FC player Santi Cazorla.

Here is the theory:

• A 25M€ move by Atletico de Madrid player Diego Costa to Liverpool FC
• With the fresh 25M€, Atletico de Madrid would bid for Arsenal player Santi Cazorla
• Arsenal with the 25M€ would return to make a better offer for Liverpool FC forward Luis Suarez

The only unknown here is Diego Costa of Atletico de Madrid which beforehand wants to stay at Atletico. However, 25M€ is very tempting for the Club & the player would receive a salary 4 times greater than he wins now at Atletico de Madrid. The Spanish Club needs a "creative midfielder" as it is a "strategic position" for the Club & sacrificing Costa for Cazorla could occur even though the Club has officially announced that they count with Diego Costa,

Interesting speculation & days ahead. Stay tuned!

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REAL MADRID HAS A TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH PLAYER LUIS SUAREZ ?

Uruguayan International & Liverpool FC striker LUIS SUAREZ wishes to leave English Football & play elsewhere for reasons that most Football followers ( specially the English Premier League ) are familiar with & I don´t wish to analyse here.

Spanish Football Club Atletico de Madrid has targeted the forward to replace departing Radamel Falcao, but the 45-50M€ price tag has stopped cold this option. Real Madrid has entered the picture as the "Cavani option" has complicated itself with the arrival of new Coach Rafa Benitez to Napoles who puts as a condition the NO sale of Cavani. 

Luis Suarez has been throwing "kisses" to Real Madrid all week with press & radio comments & it seems they have made an impact. According to Spanish Sports paper "Marca" Real Madrid has come to an agreement with the 26 year old striker with a 4 year contract. The player has a "contract release clause" of 47M€ & Real Madrid will have to pay it if they wish to sign the player, because Liverpool FC it seems do not wish to negotiate at all or reduce the price.

So now its up to Real Madrid to put the cash on the table.

The thing that baffles me continuously is how Football Clubs negotiate & shut deals with players before negotiating with their paying Clubs. According to FIFA it is "illegal" to approach a player with contract, but we see that it continuously happens. Having made this observation, please keep in mind that the Football Transfer Market is very volatile & full of rumours, speculations & damn outright lies. The Luis Suarez & Real Madrid news is currently a rumour & even possibly a lie until one of the Clubs implicated - Liverpool or Real Madrid - officially make a formal comment.

Stay tuned!

LATEST : Bayern Munich may have entered the picture as Lewandowski may finish off his last year of contract left at Dortmund before going to Bayern. 

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ATLETICO DE MADRID | LUIS SUAREZ THE SUBSTITUTE FOR SERGIO AGUERO ? | MANCHESTER UNITED

Source : Sp Ftball Blog /
The sensation ( the vibe) here in Madrid is that ATLETICO DE MADRID Argentine International forward SERGIO AGÜERO has his immediate future somewhere else that is not his current Club. The player’s comments give the "vibration" that he isn’t shutting any doors & that ATLETICO DE MADRID is sending strategic signals to the fan base that the possibility of Aguero being sold for next season is a reality. The Club needs money & Aguero needs the guarantee of bigger things & better titles.

Two things to say here:

1. It is rumoured that MANCHESTER UNITED has already communicated to Atletico de Madrid that they are willing to pay the contract release clause of 60M€ to make the player their new forward for next season. The English Club would like to negotiate the 60M€ figure but do not eliminate the possibility of going straight in & taking Aguero. The deduction here is that the player is in accord with Manchester United

2. Today, Spanish Sports paper “AS”, publishes that Atletico de Madrid has its eye on Chilean ( sorry folks Uruguayian , thanks to the comment left by a reader) International & AJAX OF AMSTERDAM forward LUIS SUAREZ as the substitute for Aguero. The price being handled here is around 20M€ for the Chilean forward.

Stay tuned, as the World Cup will break much of the negotiations & the players will be concentrating solely on the tournament. But this story has plenty of mileage left in it before the start of the next season. Tweet

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FC BARCELONA: AJAX LUIS SUAREZ CLOSER?

It’s been on the rumour mill for some weeks & today Barcelona based
sports daily “Sport” adds wood publishing that AJAX OF AMSTERDAM
forward LUIS SUAREZ is very close to landing at FC BARCELONA.
The “word” is that the Dutch team is going through some financial
difficulties & may accelerate the selling of its “goal scoring machine”
for this upcoming “Winter Transfer Market”.

Having said this, there are other Clubs interested like ATLETICO DE
MADRID & MANCHESTER UNITED who may fork out a “rumoured” 40M€
to secure the services of the Uruguayan forward. However, the daily
“Sport” claims that Barça is in the front seat & well placed to get the
player over to Barcelona.

Stay tuned!

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SFS FLASHBACKS: LUIS SUAREZ

Luis Suarez Miramontes (1935 - ), a Spanish Football legend that
played for FC BARCELONA & later become the first Spaniard signed
by an Italian team, the famous INTER MILAN of the 60s. It was
precisely with Inter where he won in 1960 the “Golden Ball”
as Europe’s Best Football Player, making him the ONLY Spaniard to
date to have done so.

He remains associated with Inter Milan at the highest level.

Here is a video of the man in action with a demonstration of his
unique Football skills:

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