FC BARCELONA | WILL GUARDIOLA RENEW AS COACH ?

Have received a few emails from readers asking what is happen at FC BARCELONA & in particular with their Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA. Firstly the only person that can answer this is Josep Guardiola, the rest is just supposition, rumour & invention. Secondly, although this is not an area that I am particularly well informed, I will write down the main points that has Barça on a limb & hanging in suspension on whether Guardiola renews his contract or not.

Josep Guardiola

In fact, this is what is happening at FC Barcelona, that Coach Guardiola has not as yet given his OK to renew another year at the Club. Guardiola has a professional relation with the Club were he renews every year as he does not wish to tie himself any longer. The 13 title winning Coach & voted "The Best Coach in The World" by FIFA this year is not too sure if he will continue. This has Barcelona nervous, or in any case,  some are nervous.

Here are the much written & talked about possible reasons that may lead to Guardiola not renewing his contract: 

• Family. The man eats, sleeps & shits Football 24 hours a day. Some think this has put some pressure onto his family. The man is married with three children.
• His best mate & second Coach Tito Vilanova. The man has cancer & is going through a difficult moment. Guardiola is worried & the situation has put life back into perspective for Pep. There is more in life than just Football
• Differences with President Sandro Rosell & some Directives. There is rumours that there is no "good vibrations" here & in fact, some Directives think that Guardiola has become "TOO BIG".
• The end of the winning cycle. Some commentators think that Barça is coming to the end of its historic streak of winning everything. Some key players ( Xavi for example) are getting on & some players may be losing their "hunger".
• Serious problems with certain players in the dressing room whose "private life" is not in accord with the Guardiola way of seeing & being of a "Football Professional". Names talked about are Gerard Pique, Dani Alves & Cesc Fabregas 
• Opprtunity & offers elsewhere. Inter Milan is sounding
• A year of to relax & grow back his hair. Being the Barça Coach is very stressful.

These are basically the main points that has Guardiola doubting if to continue or not. However it worth repeating that the only person who really knows is Guardiola.

To end I would like to put in my two bobs worth:

• could be all a tactical move to motivate his players for the rest of the season
• could be a call to attention to the "difficult players"
• could be that Pep is setting up his terms to which President Rosell & his Directives will have to adhere to & which will contain the "leaving" next season of a "sacred cow" 

Either way, everyone will have to wait.

Hope this helps explain a bit to the overseas readers what's up at Barça. Stay tuned!

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MANCHESTER CITY TARGETS REAL MADRID HIGUAIN?

There are rumours coming out of England that MANCHESTER CITY has its eyes firmly on REAL MADRID forward GONZALO HIGUAIN. These rumours are persistent & now Argentine & Manchester City out of grace player CARLOS TEVEZ comes into the equation.

Gonzalo Higuain

However, some local journos believe this could be a strategy by the representatives of Higuain to force, or let Real Madrid know, that a pay rise is in full order. This & the fact that the player would like to receive more playing time, which thus becomes an indirect message to Coach Mourinho. If it is the latter, it may lift eyebrows as Mourinho has been linked to Manchester City in the last weeks as some think - without solid evidence from Mourinho publicly - that he may leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. Still pure speculation to date.


Either way, it is just rumour & may be "dirty rumour", to which I would sit back & enjoy the rest of the Spanish Football League season & see what occurs in summer, if anything.

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CSKA MOSCOW 1 - REAL MADRID 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AWAY RESULT

It was always going to be a diificult away game for SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID at Moscow. Sub-zero temperature, artificial grass surface & a "rocky" CSKA MOSCOW that was not going to be allowed to be pushed around on home turf. The final result of this away CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ( last 16 ) match ended in a 1 - 1 result that although good for Real Madrid, leaves a sour & bitter taste on how the Russians equalized in the last moment.

Pepe for Real Madrid

Uncomfortable is the best term to describe this game for Real Madrid. This, with irregular bounce & a slow running ball that did not encourage any fast play or any beautiful executions. This obviously favoured CSKA Moscow which is accustomed to these conditions & feel like a "fish in water" at home.

So awkward were the conditions that Real Madrid player KARIM BENZEMA suffered an injury in the 9th min after shooting at goal that is typical of cold nights with a bad bouncing ball. This gave Higuain his chance to play a "full" match, which is great for the Argentine, but without the first worry of the Karim injury to the Spanish side.

Stalemate most of the first half as the Russians were playing counter-attacking Football & Real Madrid was looking for a quick adaptation to the circumstances, which came with a defensive mistake from Moscow which allowed CRISTIANO RONALDO to fire home the opener in the 28th min. Must congratulate Higuain who seconds earlier had recovered a lost ball to set it all up. 

Cristiano Ronaldo

The second half was 95% Real Madrid & they failed some clear chances ( Ronaldo twice) to have sealed this tie. But in Football, the Iron Law of  "you will pay for your missed chances", hoovered & was present to manifest itself in the last moment when CSKA Moscow equalized in the 92 min. It was a "fix play" - free kick situation with all the Moscow players in the Real Madrid goal square looking for "THAT" opportunity, which came when WERNBLOOM found a loose ball from previous headers to ram home the goal.

A harsh blow for Real Madrid which had previously put in a very good performance & very serious defensive effort ( last 91 mins), to watch how Moscow exploited fully their only real chance in the 2º half. This & the niggling thought that once again a set piece allowed their virgin net ( at that stage ) to be violated.

Said this, well done to CSKA Moscow for their perseverance. However, after watching this match, I do not see CSKA Moscow at a level to eliminate Real Madrid at the "Santiago Bernabeu" Stadium. As said, this final result is not at all bad for the Spanish side, they have an advantage & was superior for 90% of the game.

P.s Hope not to eat my final words :O)
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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 24 MONDAY NIGHT RESULT | ZARAGOZA 0 REAL BETIS 2

SPANISH FOOTBALL tonight with the Monday Night game that concludes Round 24 of LA LIGA. 

Real Betis scores

REAL ZARAGOZA looked last week as if they had made a timid step forward in their difficult endeavour of attempt to avoid possible relegation. Tonight they took two steps backwards as they lost 0 - 2 at home to REAL BETIS. The star was RUBEN CASTRO who scored both goals for Betis, the first in the 41st min & the second in the 66th min.

Well deserved win for Betis, while Zaragoza continue to push boulders uphill as their SPANISH LEAGUE future looks very dim.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE NUMBER TWO ACCORDING TO IFFHS

The FIFA backed "Internationational Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) has released another of its "Best of" lists. This time its the "Best Football (Soccer) Leagues in World Football" in what we have of this 21st Century. The English Premier League started strong this century & leads the classification, but has been caught by the Spanish Football League which is currently second & only 300 points behind. At this pace, & if The Premier League loses steam ( Euro titles etc for its Clubs ), La Liga may overtake & grab the top spot.


Stay tuned!

Spanish Football League

Here is the list of the Top 10 Football Leagues according to the IFFHS:


.1. England 12.619,0 pts
.2. Spain 12.314,0
.3. Italy 11.513,0
.4. Germany 10.115,0
.5. France 9.645,5
.6. Holland 8.039,0
.7. Portugal 7.703,5
.8. Belgium 6.776,5
.9. Greece 6.775,0
10. Turkey 6.774,5
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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 24 SUNDAY NIGHT GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL today/tonight with the continuation of Round 24 with six matches played of the SPANISH LEAGUE. Here is a resume of events, scorers & the final results.

Granada back in winning groove

GRANADA made a comeback in devastating fashion to win 4 - 1 REAL SOCIEDAD. The visitors got ahead in the 10th min via GONZALEZ & Granada equalized immediately a minute later via LOPEZ. Both sides tussled & fought for control until Granada turned the whole match around in half an hour. The second for Granada came in the 55th min via JARA & UCHE scored their last two goals( 60th & 66th min) to brush aside Sociedad & take the much needed three points.

Mallorca - Villareal 

REAL MALLORCA ended the winning streak of VILLAREAL with a convincing 4 - 0 win at home. The goals came quick & fast from the 41st min onwards with VICTOR scoring, followed by MARTI in the 53rd min , VICTOR again in the 65th min & lastly NUNES in the 67th min.

Muniain for Bilbao

ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO won 3 - 0 an irregular MALAGA that one week plays well & loses the next. The goals all happened in rapid fire fashion while Malaga collapsed in a short period of time , with AMOREBIETA opening in the 58th min, followed by SAN JOSE in the 60th min & TOQUERO in the 61st min.

Sporting - At Madrid

New REAL SPORTING DE GIJON Coach Javier Clemente seems to have motivated his team to be more aggressive as they played ATLETICO DE MADRID on par tonight & managed to hold them out with a 1 - 1 draw result.

Atletico started well with an own goal from Gijon player CANELLA in the 20th min from a Adrian shoot. But Gijon lifted & gave Atletico some trouble in midfield & defense & managed to be rewarded to equalize in the 36th min via EGUREN. From here Atletico once again paid dearly for not being able to finish their goal chances,  & the fact that Sporting goalie Juan Pablo saved everything to stop the Atletico victory.

Once again Atletico lose an opportunity to climb into the Champions League table positions.

Levante - Rayo 

LEVANTE was defeated by RAYO VALLECANO 3 - 5 in a top game of entertaining Football. Most of the real action happened in the 2º half  as Rayo poured on the goals.

Rayo got ahead first in the 34th min via LASS, & Levante reacted with an equalizer with a 49th min penalty converted by BAKERO. Then the goal "dam" opened with two goals by DIEGO COSTA in the 61st & 62nd min, followed by team-mate LASS again in the 69th min, with another by RUBEN SUAREZ & later in the 84th min DELIBASIC. Levante managed to clean their bad match image somewhat with a late 91+ min penalty converted by RUBEN SUAREZ.

Lionel Messi

FC BARCELONA defeated VALENCIA CF 5 - 1 in an exhibition match that could have had a greater scoreline in Barça´s favour had Valencia goalkeeper DIEGO ALVES not stopped so many chances. Said all this, Valencia played relatively well & held out as much as they could after getting ahead first via PIATTI in the 9th min.

However, the Barça machine & engine began to rev-up & gradually speed away with the game. Alexis put in a grand match (again) , but the star was LIONEL MESSI who scored a HAT-TRICK - in fact 4 goals; in the 22nd, 27th, 75th & 85th min. Then XAVI in the 91st min scored the fifth after just coming onto the field.

Valencia´s defence were "sloppy" & made too many mistakes, & as said, Their goalkeeper avoided a "scandalous" result.

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SPANISH BASKETBALL | REAL MADRID DEFEATS BARCELONA IN SPANISH CUP FINAL

Big SPANISH BASKETBALL afternoon/evening with the SPANISH CUP ( Copa del Rey ) Final between FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID. The final result of this "clasico" was BARCELONA  74 - REAL MADRID 91, thus giving the title to Real Madrid after waiting 19 years, as that was the last time they last lifted the Basketball Spanish Cup.

Real Madrid win Cup after 19 years.

Real Madrid dominated from the start & maintained a strong rhythm allowing them to break away up to half time. Barcelona made an effort to equal forces & closed the gap to 6 points before watching Real Madrid race away in the last quarter to seal the match & stamp their authority.

Barca-Real Madrid Basketball

The main names to note were the outstanding performances from Real Madrid players SERGI LLULL with 23 points,  with his team-mate JAYCEE CARROLL also scoring 23 points.
For Barça Boniface Ndong stood out with his admirable 19 point contribution.

Big celebrations happening at Madrid Club with their Basketball fans. Congratulations.
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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 24 SATURDAY NIGHT GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL tonight with three games scheduled as part of Round 24 of the SPANISH LEAGUE. Here is a brief summary of the main events, with all the final results & all the scorers.

Getafe-Espanyol

An evenly fought out encounter between GETAFE & RCD ESPANYOL which had its most exciting action the last half hour of the match. During this period the opportunities appeared & Espanyol got ahead via ALVARO in the 66th min, which was answered with the equalizer via MIKU with a penalty conversion in the 70th min. Final result 1 - 1 & shared points.

Di Maria scores

REAL MADRID are on a roll, literally, they have found "sweet form" patch & tonight defeated RACING DE SANTANDER 4 - 0 to open up a 13 point gap ( awaiting tomorrows results) over FC Barcelona which plays tomorrow. There was a controversial moment when Racing player Cisma was sent off with a red card just before half time. Leaving Racing down to 10 men did make it easier for Real thereafter, but this does not really take away any merit from Madrid as they were the better team by far.

The goals came from CRISTIANO RONALDO in the 6th min & he keeps his unbelievable "record-breaking course" rhythm. Tonight he got into the Real Madrid history books overtaking JUANITO the 80s legend & Club icon in goals numbers. The other goals came from KARIM BENZEMA, also on a personal roll, with two goals ( 45th & 90th min), & DI MARIA who returned from injury & brought the stadium down with his magical piece in the 74th min.

Real now focus totally for Champions with their "difficult" game at Moscow against CSKA on Tuesday under expected "freezing conditions".

Jesus Navas

SEVILLA FC urgently needed a positive result to get them away from the relegation area & lift Club spirits. They hosted "sticky" OSASUNA which also wanted a victory to jump into Champions table positions.

Sevilla began well with a MEDAL goal in the 15th min from a Negredo pass. From here more chances appeared which were on taken by the home team. This lifted Osasuna which lifted the pressure in the 2º half & may have equalized had Sevilla goalie Palop not made a "miracle" save. This was vital as Sevilla poured back the initiative & after a few more misses managed to get the second via TROCHOWSKI in the 91st min.

Final result 2 - 0 , & three important points.

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REAL MADRID FOLLOWING FEDERICO FERNANDEZ OF NAPOLES ?

Its rumour time again folks, & the end of this season is still months away. From Italy, we get the news locally that REAL MADRID is following closely 22 year old Argentine Central Defender for NAPOLES, FEDERICO FERNANDEZ. The Spanish Football Club has even put a price, 10M€ which will obviously now raise seeing it is Real Madrid showing the interest.

Ferderico Fernandez

If there is any truth at all to this rumour, it could signal the "end" of the road at Real Madrid for current defenders Albiol &/or Carvalho. The young Argentine will then come in to "rejuvenate" further the Real Madrid defensive line.

Stay tuned!
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YOUNG LIONEL MESSI

This post is purely for the fans, especially the LIONEL MESSI followers, although it is also a bit of a curiosity piece. Below is the Catalonian Football Federation card , with the Barça stamp, of today's Nº1 Football player & FC BARCELONA star, LIONEL MESSI

Messi

I personally find curious the signature, its very young man in its forms. I bet its much more sophisticated as he has plenty of practice these days; he signs 50 a day, a 100, 200 perhaps.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL | EUROPA LEAGUE RESULTS

Just got in, a nightmare day at the office, although I did see the matches. You will need to excuse me as this post will be super brief...family responsibilities :O)

LAZIO lost 1 - 3 to an very good ATLETICO DE MADRID, that did impress. The goals came via KLOSE who put Lazio ahead early in the 19th min, but Atletico took over the game via goals from  ADRIAN in the 25th min & FALCAO with two in the 37th min & 63rd min.

English Club STOKE CITY lost to VALENCIA CF 0 -1 with goal from TOPAL in the 36th min. Valencia are favourites with the home return leg advantage.

LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW won 2 - 1 ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO in the frozen ground of Moscow. Lokomotiv scored via GLUSHAKOV in the 60th via a penalty & CAICEDO in the 70th min. However Bilbao managed a valuable away goal via MUNIAIN in the 35th min that keeps this tie wide open. 

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM | RED ALERT?

All quiet - relatively speaking - on the SPANISH FOOTBALL front. Perhaps this has motivated Spanish Sports daily "Marca" to put the following "RED ALERT" warning on their front cover today.

Although the European Football Nations Cups is still months away, there seems to be some concern that the low form & string of injuries to "key players" of the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM may "weaken" the chances of the current European Champions renewing the title, or at least competing at the top level.

Marca

Pique ( low form & warned by Coach Guardiola), Xavi (niggling injuries), Iniesta ( recurring torn thigh muscle injuries), Torres ( non-existent at Chelsea), Pedro (injuries) & David Villa ( broken tibia), has everyone "nervous" , as they constitute the "hard-core" pieces of the Spanish National Team.

Although "Marca" may be the "messager" of this "nervous" concern by some, there are others in excellent form: Silva (Man City), Mata (Chelsea), Javi Martinez (At Bilbao), Soldado (Valencia Cf), Adrian (At Madrid), Cazorla (Malaga) Alba (Valencia Cf), Negredo (Sevilla Fc), Thiago (FC Barcelona)...etc.

As you can see, enough in reserve - I think - to keep the Spanish Team at top level.

Perhaps "Marca" does back my idea: ...all quiet at the Spanish Football front today.


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BAYERN LEVERKUSEN 1 FC BARCELONA 3 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1º LEG Q/FINAL RESULT

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE action was back after a break with Spanish representative FC BARCELONA travelling to BAYERN LEVERKUSEN for the 1º leg last 16 teams match. The final result was a 1 - 3 victory for Barcelona which "virtually" puts them into the quarter-final with the exception of a surprise result (possible) at "Camp Nou" in the 2º leg return match in two weeks.

Alexis

My perception was the Barça did not look to well tuned, especially the first half. But FC Barcelona is currently the "Best Club in The World" & their star players managed to pull the stones out of the fire to seal the result.

A hard worked endeavour as Leverkusen had some excellent chances & opportunities at goal that if converted would have radically changed the final score-line. They scored their only goal via a KADLEC header in the 52nd min & later had some "bad luck" hitting  Barça goalie Valdes & the post.

The difference was ALEXIS with two vital goals ( 41st & 55th min) & MESSI with the third in the 88th min. These guys don´t miss many opportunities & they took them with important away goals. Even at "half gas" they manage to pull things through.


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REAL SOCIEDAD 2 SEVILLA 0 | SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE ROUND 23 MONDAY NIGHT GAME RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the Round 23 Monday Night Liga game.

REAL SOCIEDAD defeated SEVILLA FC 2 - 0 with new Sevilla FC Coach Michel not being able to hit the correct buttons to get back the early season good Football of his new side. The novelty from Michel was the line-up of veteran goalkeeper PALOP which was interpreted as a sign of bring back some of the experienced  "old guard" to attempt to guide the new folk through the difficult moments. 

Palop for Sevilla FC

However, Sevilla did not count with the excellent midfield performance of Ruben Pardo for Sociedad & the great match from Sociedad youngster Vela who hit the post early to give a "warning" of what was to come.  It was VELA who would open the scoring in the 65th min & then RUBEN PARDO in the 68th min to seal the Real Sociedad victory.

Sevilla did not play that bad at all, but had an inspired Real Sociedad infront of them that was on a roll.


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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 23 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued this Sunday with six games of Round 23 scheduled in LA LIGA. Lets get straight into the round-up of the matches, the final results & all the scorers.

Espanyol - Zaragoza

RCD ESPANYOL lost surprisingly to bottom placed Club REAL ZARAGOZA 0 - 2. It was the first away victory for Zaragoza this season which is desperately attempting to string together some good games & wins in order to think about the possibility of avoiding relegation. Today was a good start for Zaragoza.

The two goals came via DA SILVA in the 56th min & JUAN CARLOS in the 90th min.

Michu scores for Rayo

RAYO VALLECANO gave a good performance to defeated city ( Madrid )neighbour GETAFE 2 - 0. The goals came in the 33rd min via MICHU & a second via Atletico on-loan player DIEGO COSTA in the 63rd min.

Malaga - Mallorca

MALAGA FC & their Coach Manuel Pellegrini have been under pressure this last week to better themselves or face some "consequences". The team reacted today with a very good 3 - 1 victory over REAL MALLORCA.

It was the visitors that started better & sent shivers through the Malaga stadium when they scored via PEREIRA in the 3rd min. However, Malaga reacted & took over proceedings with goals from SEBAS FERNANDEZ in the 10th min, TOULALAN in the 54th min & RONDON in the 67th min. 

Valencia CF scores via Feghouli

VALENCIA CF overcame their mid-week Spanish Cup semi elimination to win 4 - 0 REAL SPORTING DE GIJON putting the latter in further "deep shit" as Gijon are at the bottom end of the ladder & looking at the abyss of the 2 º Division.

Valencia was dominate tonight & the goals came via FEGHOULI in the 33rd min, an own goal by Sporting defender BOTIA in the 73rd min & two by JONAS in the 91st & 94th min as Gijon collpased in the latter part. Sporting managed to put up some "sort" of a fight mid - game but ran out of ideas & strenght as Valencia was too good.

Villareal - Granada

VILLAREAL continued with their "recovery" under new Coach Molina with another important victory, 3 - 1 , over GRANADA. Well deserved for the home side that put up the initiative from the start. The goals came via MARCOS RUBEN in the 15th min , to which Granada work to equalized in the 50th via IÑIGO LOEZ. However, that was all Granada did as VALERO put Villareal ahead in the 64th min & a third goal for Villareal came in the 73rd min via an own goal from Granada goalkeeper JULIO CESAR.

Celebration of CR7 goal

REAL MADRID "locked" tonight a 10 point lead advantage over second placed FC Barcelona on the Spanish League classification table, after defeating 4 - 2 LEVANTE in an entertaining match that was not so easy for the home side in the first half.

Levante brought back some past "ghosts" - & from a set play - when CEBRAL headed the opener for Levante in the 4th min. Real Madrid looked nervous but managed to calm their play & being looing for the equalizer. Levanted defended & defended hard, as Real attacked while Levante goalie MANUA stopped it all. The frustration was increasing for Real Madrid when a "crucial" event occured that changed the course of the match. Levente defender IBORRA clearly hand-balled in the penalty area & was given a yellow card which ( being the second ) turned into a red card, thus leaving Levante at a disadvantage. CRISTIANO RONALDO then converted the penalty & got the equalizer in the 44th min.

The second half saw Real Madrid dominate & CRISTIANO RONALDO put in his personal mini-show with a second goal in the 50th min & a spectacular long range shot in the 56th min for his HAT-TRICK. The man has now 27 goals in the Spanish League ( out of 23 games) & is heading to break again records at this pace.

While Real Madrid were celebarting , Levante did a perfect counter-attack in the 62 nd min with a goal from KONE to bring Real back down to Earth. Real Madrid then got back to its business & Ronaldo missed two sitters, Benzema missed a header & Ozil hit the post. But KARIM BENZEMA scored a "curler" in the 65th min to bring back the calm & tranquillity to the team. 

An important victory for Real Madrid that puts half a Spanish League title in the bag. BUT, the season has a way to go as yet & anything can still happen.

MONDAY NIGHT GAME:
Real Sociedad - Sevilla FC

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INDOOR SOCCER - FOOTBALL 2012 EURO FINAL | SPAIN 3 - RUSSIA 1

Great night for SPANISH SPORTS & FOOTBALL as SPAIN proclaimed themselves the 2012 EUROPEAN INDOOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS after defeated 3 - 1 RUSSIA in the Final tonight.

Spain Indoor Football Team: Euro Champs 2012

SPAIN keeps dominating this Sport in its Indoor category & gets its sixth European Title tonight.

Spain vs Russia : 2012 Euro Final

Russia got ahead via a 34th min goal by PULA, but Spain reacted quickly with two goals from LOZANO ( 39th & 48th min) with the third by Spanish Goalie LUIS AMADO in the last minute.

Congratulations to all the Spanish Indoor Football Team! Well done guys!
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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 23 SATURDAY NIGHT GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL tonight with three games of Round 23 scheduled of LA LIGA. Great matches, surprises & big news that I will get into now. Here is a brief summary of the events, final results & scorers.

Diego flys against Racing

RACING DE SANTANDER hosted ATLETICO DE MADRID & will be happy to have managed a 0 - 0 result. Atletico will be disappointed as they let go another chance to jump into Euro table positions. The summary can best be described as Atletico missing many clear opportunities & goals. Said differently, Atletico left off the hook Racing. A bad Football habit for Atletico that is costing them valuable points.

Messi wonders if the Liga title has gone

The news of the night comes from OSASUNA which defeated FC BARCELONA 3 - 2 in a fantastic match of Football. If rival Real Madrid manages to win their match against Levante tomorrow, Barça will be 10 points behind their maximum rival on the Spanish League classification table. Such a gap is considered by many as possibly bring the Spanish Liga title closer to the Real grasp.

The first half was all for Osasuna who came on the field on fire. Barça is not looking sharp & may be paying for the efforts in the Spanish Cup, but Osasuna got ahead with both goals from LEKIC in the 4th & 22 nd min that "rocked" Barça.

The second half was all Barcelona which knew that a loss would possibly make "fly out the window" this seasons Liga title. Barcelona played some marvellous Football with ALEXIS pouring on the play. He scored in the 50th min & it looked like a Barça comeback was in motion. But Osasuna was "inspired" tonight & looked touched by destiny as they scored their third goal via RAUL GARCIA in the 55th min.

Barcelona pulled from pride & lifted better & more strongly & Messi began playing & being dangerous. There was posts, Osasuna goalie saves, missed chances & young TELLO kept the "hopes" alive when he scored in the 72 nd min. Osasuna was now 99% defending & every second seemed a century as Barça looked for the equalizer. The controversy came in the latter part when the referee disallowed an Alexis "goal" that looked on-side. This will be the "heated" talking point all next week as Barça could not find the equalizer & ended losing.

If your a Barça fan, La Liga has a long way to go & Real Madrid has to win a difficult match tomorrow if they are to really enjoy the 10 point table lead.

Javi Martinez scores for Bilbao & later a RED CARD

Tense & entertaining game between REAL BETIS & ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO that finished in a 2 - 1 victory for the home team. Tough as with all Bilbao games, intense as with Betis that got ahead via CASTRO in the 10th min. However, Bilbao equalized via JAVI MARTINEZ in the 22 nd min.

It was a midfield tussle from here with chances to both sides, until JAVI MARTINEZ received a red card in the 64th min & this left Bilbao with 10 men. This slant the balance to Betis that lifted a "gear" as Bilbao did everything they could to keep them out. Then in the last moment , +91 st min, Betis scored the winner via NELSON . The roof lifted off the Betis stadium.

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FOOTBALL FINANCE | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA TOP INCOME EARNERS IN WORLD FOOTBALL

The prestigious International Consulting firm Deloitte has released its yearly study of the World Football Clubs with highest income generation for season 2010-2011. For the third year running both REAL MADRID CF & FC BARCELONA lead the list of top income generating Clubs. The tendency is that FC Barcelona has experienced a jump in income that has to do with their "winning ways", Global brand expansion & thus increased sponsorhip & overseas TV rights. So much has been the Barça income "improvements" that "Deloitte" has predicted that if things continue FC Barcelona could overtake Real Madrid CF next year.


For Real Madrid it is its seventh year consecutive as the Worlds Nº1 income generating Football Club, & thus a money making machine to always take into account.

Florentino Perez (Real Madrid) - Sandro Rosell (FC Barcelona)

The Deloitte Top list of income generating Clubs for 2010/2011 season:


.1. (.1) Real Madrid 479,5 millions of Euros
.2. (.2) FC Barcelona 450,7
.3. (.3) Manchester United 367
.4. (.4) Bayern Munich 321,4
.5. (.5) Arsenal 251,1
.6. (.6) Chelsea 249,8
.7. (.7) AC Milán 235,1
.8. (.9) Inter de Milán 211,4
.9. (.8) Liverpool 203,3
10. (16) Schalke 04 202,4
11. (12) Tottenham 181
12. (11) Manchester City 169,6
13. (10) Juventus 153,9
14. (15) Olympique de Marsella 150,4
15. (18) AS Roma 143,5
16. (n/e)Borussia Dortmund 138,5
17. (14) Olympique de Lyon 132,8
18. (13) Hamburgo 128,7
19. (n/e)Valencia 116,8
20. (n/e)Nápoles 114,9
.......
22. (17) Atlético de Madrid 99,9.

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REAL MADRID FOCUSES ON VAN PERSIE ?

Truth? Hype? The players representative pulling strings? Or just all Bullshit? The beauty behind Football & Spanish Sports paper "Marca" is that all four possibilities can exist &/or co-exist?

That REAL MADRID & FC Barcelona (also mentioned) are following, plus the latter thinking in signing next season the Dutch forward is not at all new. The last couple of seasons VAN PERSIE has sounded - & loud - through the SPANISH FOOTBALL speakers.


Stay tuned!

Front cover of "Marca"

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SPANISH CUP 2º LEG SEMI FINAL RESULT | FC BARCELONA 2 VALENCIA CF 0

SPANISH CUP ( Copa del Rey ) action tonight with the semi final 2º leg match. FC BARCELONA greeted VALENCIA CF (without forward Soldado, a last moment discard) with a 1 -1 "advantage" from the 1º leg, & ended up adding to it winning tonight 2 - 0 ( 3 - 1 agg ). Thus the victory puts Barça into the Final of the Spanish Cup were they will meet Athletic Club Bilbao.

Cesc Fabregas a happy man

Valencia CF started well & looked "face to face" Barça, but paid for not taking the chances when they were created. Barcelona shook off the initial Valencia intensity & CESC FABREGAS scored a 16th min goal that was a real gem. From here Valencia lost its inertia & began making some silly mistakes around the defensive area & made Valencia goalie Diego Alves work. They actually looked sloopy.

Barcelona gradually took control, with small bursts from Valencia,  that either Barça goalie Pinto, or defender Puyol or Mascherano, solved. But most of the action was at the other end as Messi failed some chances & even the wood-work was touched. Valencia then stupidly lost FEGHOULI to a red card in the 76th min that left his side down to 10 men & with an uphill battle ahead. 


Barcelona found more spaces & XAVI did his magic with a beautiful goal in the 81st min to put things totally beyond Valencia & sentence the tie.

Good match from Barça as we all have been accustomed too, but Valencia will be disappointed as more was expected from them.

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SPANISH CUP 2ND LEG SEMI FINAL MATCH RESULT | AT BILBAO 6 MIRANDES 2

ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO are in the final of the SPANISH CUP ( Copa del Rey ) after defeating 6 - 2 the  2º B Division Club MIRANDES ( 8-3 agg). The dream run for Mirandes hit the wall at the "San Mames Stadium" in the 2º leg return semi - final match after a fabulous & unforgettable run. Congratulations guys, thanks for the Football & courage displayed.

At.Bilbao scores

Athletic dominated most of the match (98%)  & deserved totally the victory. The goals came via MUNAIN in the 11th min, SUSAETA in the 14th min, AURTENETXE in the 22nd min,  LLORENTE twice in the 71st & 75th min & an own goal by Mirandes player CANEDA. Mirandes got two admirable consolation goals in the 58th min via AITOR BLANCO, & again the same player in the 86th min.

A great Spanish Cup semi-final match!
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TRIBUTE TO FRENCH SPORTS MEDIA

This goes to all the European brothers, especially to the French media LÉquipe , the populist "Le Monde" & Canal + TV France... France has´nt won anything significant in years.

Please don´t use our Sportsmen & teams...Alberto Contador , Rafael Nadal, the Spanish National Football Team etc & etc...to justify your poor Sports achievements. Absolutely pathetic all the French papers comments, French "has been" Sportsmen  & sick TV insinuations; no wonder 99% of the planet think in recent surveys that the French are "arseholes"... in my particular case , only the French Sports media. By the way, my wife is French so don't go down that road ...

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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 22 MONDAY NIGHT RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the conclusion of Round 22 of LA LIGA with the Monday Night match between GRANADA & MALAGA FC.

Granada - Malaga

GRANADA managed to lift a couple of gears in the second half to take this game 2 - 1 against a very inconsistent MALAGA FC. The Malaga defender Demichelis - again - received a red card to leave his side at a disadvantage in the 83rd min mark. However, Granada had done all the damage before this with two goals from IGHALO in the 57th min & IÑIGO LOPEZ in the 81st min.  Malaga forward RONDON managed an equalizer in the 68th min that did not mean much in the end.

Tomorrow Spanish Cup semi-final 2 leg action kicks off.
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IFFHS TOP COACH LIST | VICENTE DEL BOSQUE TOP SPANIARD

The FIFA backed "International Federation of Football History & Statistics" (IFFHS) has released its Top 10 list of World Football Coaches & Managers,  with Scotsman & Manchester United Coach/Manager Sir Alex Ferguson as the Top placed (Nº 1) so far this 21st Century. Ferguson leads by just 1 point Arsenal Coach/Manager Arsene Wenger with Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho in 3rd place.

The Top Spanish Coach is National Selector VICENTE DEL BOSQUE in 7th place with another Spaniard RAFAEL BENITEZ ( ex Liverpool ) in 10th place. FC Barcelona Coach, Josep Guardiola is placed in the 22nd place.

Vicente Del Bosque

Here is the Top 10 list as released by the IFFHS:


.1. Sir Alex Ferguson (SCO) 166 puntos
.2. Arsène Wenger (FRA) 165
.3. Jose Mourinho (POR) 154
.4. Fabio Capello (ITA) 135
.5. Guus Hiddink (HOL) 112
.6. Carlo Ancelotti (ITA) 108
.7. Vicente del Bosque (SP) 104
.8. Marcelo Bielsa (ARG) 101
.+. Luiz Felipe Scolari (BRA) 101
10. Rafael Benítez (SP) 97.

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SPANISH SPORTS | ALBERTO CONTADOR GETS HARSH PUNISHMENT FROM TAS

Sad & frustrating day for SPANISH SPORTS , Spanish Cycling & for World Nº1 cycle-rider ALBERTO CONTADOR after the "Court of Arbritration for Sport" (TAS) gave in their sentence of a 2 year penalty today. But if that was harsh they also retired his 2010 Tour de France & 2011 Giro de Italia title.

But there is more, Alberto Contador can begin riding again the 6th of August 2012, that means he will miss out on this years Olympic Games & Tour de France. A devasting blow.

Alberto Contador

I do not wish to get into the details of his "supposed" doping or the moral & ethical issues (read the 1000s of documents), except say that the Judge who handed in the final sentence - after an unprecedented &  very strange 565 day wait - Efraim Barak, said that the Tribunal could not prove beyond doubt that Contador did dope himself. Here is a new one that will give a "legal precedent", you can be sentenced without being proved guilty. 


Bullshit aside - & there has been plenty from the Tour de France organizers & the International Cycling Association (UCI) - what is clear as water is that this sentence has got nothing to do with finding "justice" per say. It´s got to do with finding a powerful "scape-goat" that will serve as an example, its got to do with power - politics & some very jealous-envious European neighbours which cannot stand to see Spaniards take their National Cycling Title every year. 

This would not have occurred if the cyclist in question (instead of being Spanish & who has the potential to win the Tour de France the next four years, Contador) was a Frenchmen ( Sarkozy would have fixed things ) , German ( Merkel would have cleared things) English ( Cameron would have spoken out) , Russian ( Putin would have cut off the gas to Europe) or American ( Armstrong has been under a cloud for years .... ). It is just a Spaniard that has a country in a debt crisis calling for favours of all sorts everyday. Nice moment to stick the boot in ... I am sure some of our European brothers will be laughing their "wheels" off.

I will like to send my support to Contador & hope he keeps his spirits ups & hope most Spaniards pass on the Tour de France this year as it has already lost its glitz & credibilty. Lastly, if your a cyclist , beware, a multi-vitamin complex may get you banned depending which country your from...

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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 22 SUNDAY NIGHT GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued today/tonight with Round 22 with four games scheduled of the SPANISH LEAGUE. Here are the final results & the scorers.

Carmelo scores for Sporting

REAL SPORTING DE GIJON had a new Coach & managed to draw 1 - 1 against OSASUNA. The locals started well & scored in the 31 st min, but then missed various occasions in the second half that made the team pay later when Osasuna equalized via LEKIC in the 77th min.

Like the Football saying goes..."if you don´t take your chances..."

Valero for Villareal

VILLAREAL seems to be slowly finding their "lost" style & form after defeating SEVILLA FC 1 - 2 away. The loss puts Sevilla Coach Marcelino under pressure & his future at the Club is in serious doubt.

Villareal got ahead via VALERO in the 20th min & was replied with an equalizer for Sevilla in the 32 min with an own goal by BRUNO. The 2º half was a real tussle between both teams & very equalled until CAMUÑAS got the winner for Villareal in the 81st min. Some serious "shit" happening at Sevilla.

Postinga contemplates the Rayo comeback

The REAL ZARAGOZA "nightmare season" is never ending as they watched how Madrid Club RAYO VALLECANO came back to defeat them 1 - 2. Real Zaragoza started well & was looking good against a very "sticky" & awkward Rayo. Their reward came in the 32nd min with a goal from POSTINGA.

But Rayo are a "tough nut to crack" & progressively began turning things around. In the 75th min Rayo equalized when DIEGO COSTA scored, & then went ahead when MICHU scored in the 82nd min to basically demoralize Zaragoza. 

At.Madrid - Valencia CF

The big Sunday LIGA match was between ATLETICO DE MADRID & VALENCIA CF which had play, close calls, great goalkeeper saves at each goal, missed chances, posts & serious entertainment , except goals as it finished with a 0 - 0 result. Deserved result when looked at globally when seeing Atletico missed some sitters, plus at least it also highlighted a much improved Atletico de Madrid team which, as said,  failed to define its chances & opportunities.  Valencia CF were solid & steady & managed to repel the Atletico advances - especially in the 2º half - along with same exceptional goalkeeping skills from Diego Alves ( Valencia CF) that kept his team alive & kicking. Shared points.

Monday Night Round 22 match:
Granada - Malaga FC

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