DROGBA WOULD ENJOY PLAYING WITH ETO´O, & FC BARCELONA ?

The message is clear, CHELSEA FC forward DROGBA intends to finish
his carreer away from his current club & will most likely end the
relationship at the end of the season. In an interview with English paper
"The Sun", Drogba spoke of his desire & wish to be able to play along side
FC BARCELONA forward Samuel Eto´o.

These words have been interpreted as a message to FC Barcelona that
the Chelsea forward would look favourably at a Barça offer. Local daily
"Sport" has taken this as the correct message & have published today
that a signning for next season could be on the cards.

The only handicap that SFS sees is the age of Drogba who celebrates his
30th birthday in March & that may not be Barça´s signning policy. However,
an excellent performance in the African Cup will be vital for his future

aspirations. Stay tuned!

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SPANISH CUP 2008 - LAST 16 TEAMS: 2º LEG WEDNESDAY RESULTS

The rest of the 7 games of the 2º leg of the SPANISH CUP have given
the following results with the surprise of the elimination of REAL
MADRID, as the most notable, as SFS gives a brief summary below.
























Valladolid 1 ( Llorente) - At.Madrid 1 ( Aguero)
Atletico go through to the Q/Finals with its away goal.
Controversial game, a "penalty" to Valladolid not given.

Levante 0 - Getafe 1 ( Gavilan). Getafe go through to the Q/Finals

Villareal 2 ( Senna; Rossi) - Recreativo de Huelva 0
Villareal goes to the Q/Finals.

Racing 4 (Tchite;Oriol;Serrano;Garay) - Zaragoza 2 (Oliveira;Milito)
Racing goes to the Q/Finals

Espanyol 1 ( Luis Garcia) - At. Bilbao 1 ( Iraola)
At.Bilbao goes to the Q/Final.

Real Madrid 0 - Mallorca 1 ( Ibagaza). Mallorca to Q/Finals
Real dominated & missed chances, Higuain above, up to 3 clear

opportunities.

Valencia 2 ( Zigic; Vicente ) - Betis 1 (Juanito). Valencia goes to Q/Finals.

QUARTER FINALS - 1º leg 23/01/08 - 2ºleg 30/01/08:

Valencia vs At.Madrid
Villareal - Fc Barcelona
Getafe - Mallorca
Racing - At.Bilbao

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SPANISH CUP 2008 - LAST 16 TEAMS:2º LEG TUESDAY GAME

The away goal with its advantage in the 1º leg 1-1 draw at Sevilla was
enough for FC BARCELONA to eliminate from the SPANISH CUP its
current holders SEVILLA FC after tonights 2ºleg return game finished
in a 0-0 draw.





















Great clash between two excellent sides that could be summarized in
the following manner: the 1º half was Barça´s & the 2º half was Sevilla´s
























The 1º half saw Barcelona with chances missed by INIESTA & HENRY
that left witnesses with OHHHHHHHH on their lips more than once.

The 2º half saw Sevilla go all out to attempt to take the leg but were
foiled by the post, a good Barça team & defensive effort & a disallowed goal
against Sevilla that will have the fans talking all day tomorrow.
DANIEL ALVES was outstanding & deserves a mention, but his efforts
went unrewarded.

















FC Barcelona scrap through & going into the Q/Finals.

Tomorrow the rest of the 2º leg games ( all 7 of them) will be played,
so make sure to surf into SFS late tomorrow night for all the results,
scorers & images. Tweet

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FC BARCELONA EYES BRAZILIAN MAICON

According to Italian daily "La Gazzette dello Sport", Brazilian
International right back, MAICON, is in conflict with his current club
INTER MILAN & may not continue next season. The problem is that
the 27 year old wishes more cash & Inter are not up for it.

This opens up speculation that FC BARCELONA are looking seriously at
the defender to replace Zambrotta who is almost certain to go to AC
Milan at the end of the season, as commented by said Italian daily & local
paper "Sport".
However, there is a competitor Chelsea who offered last season 35M€

for Maicon & may have set a standard too high to follow. Be that as it

may, Barça will continue to make its moves & try to convience the player

for next season. Stay tuned!

*SFS thanks "Mundo Deportivo" for its Barça head

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FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008: PINTO SEEN AS NEW GOALKEEPER

FC BARCELONA have been in the market to find a 2º goalkeeper
( 1º st is Valdez) after Albert Jorquera injuried his knee in a regional
game that has left him & team out for the rest of the season.
Well, according to "elmundo.com" Barça may have found their 2º
keeper, in the name of PINTO, currently with 2º Division side
CELTA DE VIGO (see picture below).

The news is that player & Barça have an agreement & need Celta to

give their Ok. The agreement could be a loan with option to a buy.
Stay tuned!

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FORMULA 1. FERNANDO ALONSO BACK AT WORK WITH NEW LOOK

Getting out of Football, SFS jumps into the Formula 1 arena were we
are fortunate to have a 2 time World Champion, FERNANDO ALONSO.
Naturally, he is a local heroe & has many many overseas fans that maybe
interested to see here how he is progressing in his "new" team.
























Well, Alonso & RENAULT have started work testing & tuning their vehicle
for the upcoming new season at the Jerez circuit (Spain). As you can see
Alonso has a new look uniform & of course, his new automobile.
The inicial reactions are good, although the team admits there is lots of
work to do. At least Alonso seems happy! Tweet

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FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008: AC MILAN WANTS ZAMBROTTA

News all over the local sports press ( As & Marca) & TV, that AC MILAN
have changed strategy & on their wish list: Ronaldinho is no longer the
wanted player, insisted it is his FC BARCELONA teammate the Italian
International defender ZAMBROTTA.

The words come from Milan President Berlusconi, & its coach Ancelotti
has shut the door on Ronaldinho to open them for the Italian. Barça

are willing to talk & if things go well, Zambrotta could be a AC Milan
player as of next season.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL LEADING SCORERS - "EL PICHICHI" - ROUND 19 /2008 (THE HALF WAY MARK)

Half way through the 2007/2008 Spanish League season & after 19 Rounds,
5 goal area "animals" are in the running to gain the leading goal scorer
title - "El Pichichi".








The currently nominees are:
1.Luis Fabiano ( Sevilla FC) - 12 goals
2.Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza) - 11 goals
3.Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid) - 11 goals
4.Raul Tamudo (RCD Espanyol) - 10 goals
5.Nihat (Villareal) - 10 goals

No doubt by the time the seasons ends there will be more goals & perhaps
new names. Who do you think will be "El Pichichi"? Tweet

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R C D ESPANYOL NEWS 2008: JARQUE IN TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS PLANS?

English Premier League club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has a problem
in defence that needs solving according to its Spanish Coach Juande
Ramos. To solve that, Ramos has advised the club to seriously looking at
DANIEL JARQUE, Central Defender for Spanish side RCD ESPANYOL.




















The news comes from English paper "The Times" & it has been picked
up here locally by "AS". Let´s wait & see how things develop, if Tottenham
can pull this deal they will have an excellent defender. Tweet

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ATLETICO DE MADRID NEWS: SISSOKO MADE AN OFFER

Although Atletico coach Aguirre commented a few days ago to press that
a "winter" signning was not a priority, Spanish daily "Marca" has published

today that Atletico has given LIVERPOOL an offer for its Mali
International SISSOKO.














Atletico are obviously looking for a replacement to take over midfield duties

from departed Portugues player now on loan to Inter Milan, MANICHE.

However, Italian team Juventus is in the front running as they have virtually

the deal tied up. Stay tuned!

*SFS thanks "Mundo Deportivo" for the At.M header

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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 19/ 2008 SUNDAY GAME RESULTS

Big day of Football for Round 19 & its Sunday games with lots of goals

& "colatetral damage"( Zaragoza coach has been substituted) that SFS
will summarize below with a run through of the clashes, their results &
images.

REAL MADRID went & visited LEVANTE to finally win after a torrid

75 mins were once again their goalkeeper Iker Casillas had to work hard
& do some great saves to keep out a fighty Levante all the first half.
However, Real Madrid managed to defeat last placed Levante 0-2 after
begin awarded a penalty for hand ball against Serrano that was converted
by VAN NISTELROOY in the 75th min. Then the Dutch secured his teams
victory after scoring from a Guti pass in the 87th min. This keeps Real
Madrid 7 points ahead of 2º placed Barcelona on the table.

VILLAREAL defeated troubled DEPORTIVO 4-3 in a "crazy game"
were apart from the 7 goals, we witnessed 3 penalties. It was a see-saw

game were Villareal´s Turkish star NIHAT ( pictured below) again was
decisive with his two goals ( 64th & 67th min); before Nihat his teammate
ROSSI scored first in the 30min with a penalty & TOMASSON put in the

4th goal in the 79th min
For Deportivo the scorers were SERGIO from a penalty( 26min),
PABLO (57th min) & GUARDADO ( 90th min). Deportivo did not win
but were unlucky not to have gone away with a draw, a tough week ahead
for Deportivo coach Lotina.



















OSASUNA lost at home to RACING 0-2 with goals from CORSA
(pictured below celebrating) in the 18th min & P.ALVAREZ in
the 83rd min. This win for Racing puts them in Uefa positions on the

table.

LLORENTE for VALLADOLID got a "Hat-Trick" to give his side a

3-1 victory over RECREATIVO. Llorente, pictured below, scored his 3

goals in the 7th, 22nd & 87th min.
For Recreativo its only scorer was CAMUÑAS in the 43rd min

ZARAGOZA & MALLORCA finished in a 2-2 draw. DIEGO MILITO
(pictured below) scored Zaragoza´s 2ºgoals with his head in the 23rd &
36th min.
The scorers for Mallorca were VARELA in the 17th min & GUIZA who

drew in the 61st min. Both teams are still in "no mans land" on the table,
so much is the concern that Zaragoza directives have "sacked" their coach
Victor Fernandez after the game.

UCHE, as seen below, gave ALMERIA the victory over ESPANYOL

1-0 & broke their unbeaten run. The winning goal come in the 86th min

adding the excitement until the last moment.

BETIS won GETAFE 3-2 in another "crazy game" that had Betis
praying to God for the game to end.
Betis started the scoring in the 3rd min via PAVONE, to latter have
DE LA RED draw 3 mins later. Then Betis had a magic spell that produced

goals from EDU in the 33rd min & BELENGUER in the 59th.
Then Getafe got control & pulled one back in the 77th min by DE MORAL,

to then have Betis Portugues goalkeeper RICARDO ( see below) save his

side with numerous saves that prevented the draw. Great win for Betis

who suffered but received some relief until next week.

ATLETICO DE MADRID have won 1-0 at home VALENCIA & give
them 3º valuable points to lift them into 3ºrd & a Champions League
spot on the table.
Atletico´s only goal was scored in the 27th min by its young Argentine
forward SERGIO AGUERO who pounced on a rejected ball in the
goal area.
Valencia & its coach Roland Koeman are under enormous pressure to
get out of the continuing terrible slump in results.

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - LA LIGA ROUND 19/2008: FC BARCELONA - MURCIA & AT.BILBAO - SEVILLA FC

In case you missed the goals in yesterdays 2 matches of Round 19
here are the Barça 4 - Murcia 0 & At.Bilbao 2 - Sevilla FC 0 VIDEOS.

Athletic Bilbao - Fc Sevilla 1-0 Yeste

Athletic Bilbao - Fc Sevilla 2-0 Susaeta

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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 19 / 2008: SATURDAY GAME RESULTS

Round 19 of the Spanish 1º Division - "La Liga" - celebrated with two
matches this Saturday.
Here are the results, scorers & images for SFS raeders & visiters.

FC BARCELONA played bottom classification team REAL MURCIA
at "Camp Nou" & won with a great 4-0 scoreline. It was important for
Barça to grab the 3º points in its particular catch up with current League
leaders Real Madrid. Barça went in without Deco, Ronaldinho, Toure,
Iniesta & Messi, & they managed to put in a grand performance without
the star names. Its not a surprise as Barça have depth in their second line
squad.



















GUDJOHNSEN (above) got things going for his team with the 1º Barça
goal in the 26th min.

Barça continued on their merry way in the second half & young BOJAN

(above) got on the scoring sheet with his 51st min goal to make it Barça
2ºgoal overall at that moment.

Then SAMUEL ETO´O turned on the magic in his final game for the next
month approx. ( he joins Camaroon for the African Cup Tournament) with
TWO goals ( 76th min & 86th min).
Although he did not score tonight a special mention should go out to
THIERRY HENRY who put in a great game with his work, participation
& goal passes to set up his teammates. This is good news for FC Barcelona
in its future encounters.

ATHLETIC DE BILBAO played against SEVILLA FC in front of its
home fans & did not disappoint. The "Lions"defeated Sevilla 2-0 in a
great game that showed the true spirit of a young veteran YESTE & a
young promise that is turning out to be an authentic discovery in the name
of SUSAETA.
Both mentioned Bilbao players scored tonight & put in their part in what
was a true team effort. Yeste scored first in the 27th min & Susaeta in the
67th min to give Bilbao the 3º valuable points.
For Sevilla this is a setback as they are´nt able to keep up a consistent
run of straight wins in the local competition. Tweet

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FERNANDO TORRES GOAL AGAINST MIDDLESBOROUGH 12.01.08 - SEE VIDEO

Apart from being an ex-Atletico de Madrid player, a current Spanish
International player & now Liverpool´s striker, SFS has always believed that
English Football was always going to be good for FERNANDO TORRES.

Here is an absolute "cracker" of a goal scored today against Middlesborough
to give his team Liverpool a 1-1 draw. Lets hope he carries this form into the
Euro 2008 competition.

Nice to see Fernando doing well, he deserves it.

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EURO 2008 PREVIEW SPECIAL:GROUP D TEAM PHOTOS - PART IV

SFS gives the last of its 4 parts dedicated to this years EURO 2008
competition with Group D. The other Groups are on the below posts
with A (Weds.), B (Thurs.) & C ( Fri.) available in case you missed them.

(European Nations Cup)









GROUP D: Its made up of Spain, Greece, Sweden & Russia. An open
Group for all with perhaps Spain & Russia standing out as favourites
to finish in the top 2º spots. However, Greece & Sweden will want to
have their say & will make this Group difficult for all.


















SPAIN: Experienced difficulties qualifying although they finished top
of their group. They are favourites beforehand to finish in the top 2
spots of their group. Talented side, they will need to get off their "chest"
the "great pretenders" tag that has haunted them in Football History.
Spain has amazing teams but fail to live up to expectations in the maximum
competitions.

GREECE: Current European Champions, finished top of their group.
However, this time around the competition is stronger & the team

is not so balanced & full of youth as in Euro 2004, although experience

is an advantage, it may not be enough.

SWEDEN: Finished 2º in their group where Spain finished 1º. Tough

physically & orthodox in their planning & method. Can have a magnificent

match as they can live a terrible game. Unpredictable.

RUSSIA: Dominated their qualifying Group. Solid team with talented

players that have put Russia back into the World Football stage.
A lot is expected from them & look good to take one of the top 2º spots

of the group.

This ends SFS Euro 2008 Preview Special in 4 parts , ask solicited by its
readers. SFS hopes it has been helpful & informative.

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ANDONI GOIKOETXEA THE 2º "HARDEST MAN IN FOOTBALL HISTORY"?

English sensationalist daily "The Sun" has released its Top 10 list of the
"Hardest Men In Football Histroy" with Spaniard & leyendary
ATHLETIC DE BILBAO defender ANDONI GOIKOETXEA being
named the 2º on the list. A "distinction" that was given to him after
injurying two mega-stars, BERND SCHUSTER ( knee) & MARADONA
( ankle), the latter almost ending his carreer.













Here is the VIDEO of the Maradona tackle that earned Goikoetxea the
unfortunate tag of "The Butcher of Bilbao". An extremely strong & red
card tackle indeed, that is no surprise given some tackles we see today.
If it was not Maradona the "victim" the world nor "The Sun" would have
known who this Spanish player was at all. In fact, another English daily
"The Times" named "Gioko" in the Nº1 place in History. SFS only adds
by saying that today "Goiko" is a highly respected football trainer &
expert,& in Spain his past football defending practices are seen as part
of his ex-job.

It just goes to illustrate the power of the media & the Worldwide spread of the
news. Take Italian defender Marco Materazzi, an ordinary player that would
have gone & disappeared in our memory & history except for a head-butt on
Zidane. If it was not Zidane & it was Thuram? This could become a trend; an
average player goes out consciously after the World´s Nº1 player: Kaka,
Messi, Aguero...& turns his poor professional life into a Mega-star of
Football...lets all be aware of this possibility!

Here is the Top 10 list given by "The Sun":

1º Grame Souness (Liverpool - 70/80)
2º Andoni Goikoetxea (Athletic - 80)
3º Dave Mackay (Tottenham - 60)
4º Romeo Benetti (Milan - 70)
5º Stuart Pearce (Nottingham Forest -80/90)
6º Roy Keane (Manchester - 90)
7º Norman Hunter (Leeds - 70)
8º Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon - 80)
9º Ron Harris (Chelsea - 70)
10º John Terry (Chelsea - actual)

Its interesting to see that out of the 10 names, 8 of them are English
Football based. Perhaps there is a message there somewhere.

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DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA NEWS 2008: AOUTE & MANUA FIGHT ( PHYSICALLY) FOR THE GOALKEEPING SPOT

It´s always said that competition is good & keeps the boys in shape. This
philosophy went beyond an intellectual level today when both of
DEPORTIVO´s goalkeepers, the Israeli DUDA AOUTE ( picture above)
& Uruguayian GUSTAVO MANUA ( pictured below) carried their
particular "battle" into the dressing rooms after training today. The result
was a fist fight between both that saw Aoute come out with a 6º stitch
injury. In coloquial terms, Aoute got the shit punched out of him by
Manua (see the bottom picture).

This all happens after Aoute publically critised his substitution at the goal
mouth after some basic "mistakes" that the Israeli could not understand,
& did not take at all into account the good & hard work up till now of his
teammate Manua.

Its obvious that this is a very real sign of the problems that Deportivo A
Coruña are having this year , who are currently at the bottom of the ladder
& in danger of heading for relegation if they do not pull their act together.
This incident also puts more pressure on coach Lotina who is on the wire
in being possibly sacked. Stay tuned!

LATEST NEWS: 12 January - Coach Lotina announce that niether will
again play this season!

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ATLETICO DE MADRID - REAL ROUND "DERBY" 2008: DAY & HOUR ANNOUNCED

The Spanish Football Federation with "LFP" ( Liga de Futbol Profesional)
have announced that the big clash & "derby" between two eternal rivals :
ATLETICO DE MADRID & REAL MADRID will be played Sunday the
20th of JANUARY 2008 at 19.00 hours.

The stage will be the home ground & stadium of Atletico de Madrid the
"Vicente Calderon" as pictured below.

SFS can only end saying, make sure you dont miss this game & GO
ATLETI!. Sorry, let the emotion get the better of me:)

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EURO 2008 PREVIEW SPECIAL: GROUP C TEAM PHOTOS - PART III

SFS continues today with its daily special preview of each group in this
years EURO 2008 competition. On the below posts on SFS you can see
Group A ( Wednesday) & Group B ( Thursday) in case you missed them,
with tomorrow featured the final Group D.
Today we preview Group C: Holland, Italy, Rumania & France.

(European Nations Cup)









GROUP C: The toughest group of all the tournament, also named the

"Group of Death". Very difficult to see a firm pre-favourite here as all

4 teams are strong, with perhaps Rumania being the lesser.
Independently, this group promises to give us some great games.

HOLLAND: True to their historical philosophy, they are all attack.
Strong team that needs to be aware in defence when their minds are

solely placed in scoring goals. Talented outfit.

ITALY: What more can be send about Italy? Current World Champions

that play unattractive football but effective. They seem to be the luckiest

team in the World & use all sort of "magic" to raise from the dead.
The complete team & most experienced!

RUMANIA: The have put back on the map their country. A talented

generation of Football players that may surprise, although they are

the less favourite in their group.

FRANCE: Tough time in the qualification leg. The change of guard
( Zidane & company) has left some big gaps to fill. However, they spill

talent & skill from all the places & have pride to take them far. Only
handicap, the inbalance of young & old, but that´s only an opinion that

can be fixed with a first game win.

SFS continues tomorrow with its Euro 2008 preview special with the

final Group D - Part IV: Spain, Greece, Sweden & Russia.

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REAL MADRID NEWS: DRENTHE NOT FOR SALE

News out of Italian, via the daily "Gazzetta dello Sport", publish that
Italian Serie A club FIORENTINA has put on the table a 10M€ offer
for REAL MADRID Dutch player ROYSTON DRENTE.

However, local paper "Marca" have announced that Real Madrid has no
intention of selling the young defender/midfielder. Although Drenthe is not
having his best "rookie" season, Real Madrid announced that they believe
in the player & in his future potential & talent. They wish to gradually
introduce the player so he can adapt over the mid term to Spanish Football.
Said this, that Real will not sell, the option of a loan is valid, if this means
that Drenthe can get more time on the field & football under his "wings".

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SPANISH CUP 2008: MALLORCA 2 - REAL MADRID 1 - 1ºLEG VIDEO HIGHLIGHT

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SPANISH CUP 2008 - LAST 16 TEAMS: 1º LEG THURSDAY GAMES

SPANISH CUP matches continue with two games scheduled for tonight,
Thursday, to put an end to the 1º leg round ( see below posts for details
of yesterday´s games). Here´s is a summary of the games played with
result, scorers & images.


















ATLETICO DE MADRID played VALLADOLID & the clash finished
in a 0-0 draw, taking all the action into the all deciding 2º leg match.
Atletico start strong with chances that were later matched by Vallodolid.
The local side even hit the post via Diego Forlan & were unlucky not to
score after a series of Luis Garcia attacks.

The 2º half saw Valladolid dominate the ball & were unlucky not to have
been awarded a penalty after Ze Castro fouled Ogbeche in the box.
Atletico reacted calling on Sergio Aguero to put some fire up front, but
that was in vain, as both teams finally settled for the draw to risk
everything for the 2º leg.
























The other game was the exciting clash between MALLORCA & REAL
MADRID which finished in a 2-1 victory for the home team. Lots of
merit for Mallorca that stood firm against a determined Real Madrid side
( Raul,Robinho & Sneidjer were on from the start to show the seriousness)
& managed to take the game. However, Real has the chance at the tie if it
can defeat well Mallorca at home in the 2ºleg.

Mallorca started well scoring first with a 22nd min goal from TREGO
pictured below.
























Real Madrid equalized almost immediately thanks to the goal from
HIGUAIN, as shown below.
























However, the 2º half saw Valladolid score its second via ARANGO in
the 49th min after some good individual play. That was enough, as
Mallorca managed to hold out the Real Madrid attacks & stand their
ground.

It will go down to the wire at Madrid with the 2ºleg. Mallorca for the
moment in the driving seat, the tie is in their hands. Tweet

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REAL MADRID TRANSFER NEWS 2008: DANIEL OPARE SIGNS FOR THE NEXT 4 YEARS

Spanish daily "As" have distributed the news, REAL MADRID have
signed the young 17 year old GHANA defender, DANIEL OPARE
(pictured below). The younger has caught the big clubs attention thanks
to his outstanding U/17 World Championship performances that had
Milan, Schalke 04, Liverpool FC & Real Madrid scouts following the
player for the last months.

The 17 year old is seen as a future prospect for the right-wing position,
plus an excellent investment for the future & is scheduled to join Real
next June for the new season. Real is currently working to fix all the
paperwork & to get him his passport.
His current club, ASHANTI GOLD, are in full accorde on all terms &
may help speed the players incorporation depending on factors like the
African Cup. In this way, if the player could come over earlier, it will
help accelarate the players adaptacion to Spanish Football.

*Thanks to "Mundo Deportivo" for the RM header.

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