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Showing posts with label Real Madrid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Madrid. Show all posts

The terrific Draw between West Ham & Tottenham

12:19 PM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green made a series of fine saves to help West Ham earn a 0-0 draw against London rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Green was in unbeatable form and saved his best moment until the final minutes when he tipped Gareth Bale's free-kick onto the crossbar. The England international's man-of-the-match display ensured Avram Grant's side overcame waves of Tottenham pressure and moved out of the relegation zone ahead of Saturday's 1500GMT matches. Spurs were handed a tough task when they were pitted against Real Madrid in Friday's draw for the Champions League quarter-finals. But their focus was on this London derby as they tried to close the three-point gap on Chelsea in the race for a top-four finish. Make no mistake, there is no love lost between these two sides. There is a deep-rooted rivalry that has only intensified following the battle for the Olympic Stadium. Tottenham and West Ham both launched bids for the stadium in Stratford and the latter were successful. West Ham arrived at White Hart Lane in their best form of the season. Wins over Liverpool and Stoke in the Premier League have improved their chancaes of beating relegation.


However, they were missing injured striker Frederic Piquionne while Robbie Keane could not play as part of his loan agreement from Tottenham. Spurs' first shot at goal came from an unlikely source as defender Michael Dawson struck the bar with a shot from the edge of the box. Jermain Defoe then had his first chance when he connected with Bale's cross in the seventh minute but he was unable to direct his effort on target. Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart both had chances as Tottenham looked likeliest to break the deadlock. But West Ham had chances to score themselves. The best fell to Carlton Cole, which the England striker wasted when he shot straight at Heurelho Gomes with just the Spurs goalkeeper to beat. Defoe should have given Spurs the lead in the 40th minute. Aaron Lennon's effort struck the post and the ball rebounded into Defoe's path. However, the England international was caught off-guard and the ball bounced off his shin and wide. After the restart Cole had another chance for West Ham while Defoe was denied again, this time by Green, who saved with his legs. As Tottenham continued to squander their chances, West Ham started growing in confidence and the impressive Mark Noble came close to giving them a 56th minute lead with an overhead kick that was only just wide. Demba Ba was next to try his luck with a shot from the edge of the box that Gomes did well to parry. Both sides continued to press for an opening and made a flurry of substitutions to break the stalemate. Tottenham substitute Roman Pavly-uchenko looked the most threatening and had two shots inside a minute that forced Green to make two saves. Green then denied Bale again, as West Ham clung on for a point to help their relegation battle.

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Posted by sojib

Real Madrid reach into quarter final in Champions League

7:56 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Real Madrid put their recent European woes behind them to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2004 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday. Real Madrid had crashed out at the last 16 stage of the Champions League for six successive seasons, but new coach Jose Mourinho brought an end to that jinx. Goals from Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria secured victory as Madrid progressed 4-1 on aggregate. Brazilian full-back Marcelo scored his first Champions League goal on 37 minutes to break the deadlock, before Benzema netted his sixth goal of the competition on 65 minutes against his hometown club. Argentine Angel di Maria added a third on 76 minutes as Real took revenge on Lyon, who defeated them at this stage last season, and keep alive their hopes of a first Champions League title since 2002. Mourinho, who won the trophy with Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu last season, is looking to provide Real with their 10th European Cup and make history by becoming the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs. "We did what the manager wanted and went out to win the game," said Marcelo. "This victory gives us a lot of confidence and we owed it to the Madrid fans. We are not thinking about who we could get in the next round. We will just wait for the draw and see." Real welcomed back top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo from injury -- the Portuguese star having missed the last two league games with a thigh problem and the world's most expensive player was thrust into the starting line-up.


Lyon had never lost in their three Champions League trips to the Bernabeu but the French visitors knew they would have to score in the Spanish capital after the 1-1 draw in the first leg. Lyon welcomed back striker Lisandro Lopez and Brazilian captain Cris shrugged off a knock to start. Ronaldo tried his luck with a long range free-kick early on but his effort sailed over the crossbar. With four minutes gone Real almost scored but goalkeeper Hugo Lloris raced out to thwart German international Mesut Ozil, who had timed his run to perfection. On 21 minutes Madrid got a real scare when Argentine Cesar Delgado curled a shot towards the bottom-right corner but goalkeeper Iker Casillas got down to palm away. Real responded by upping their game and took the lead on 37 minutes thanks to a fine individual goal from Marcelo. The Brazilian exchanged passes with Ronaldo before surging into the area, cutting back onto his left foot and firing in a shot that deflected off Lloris on its way in. The relief was tangible and Benzema, in fine form with six goals in his last three league outings, was denied by Lloris four minutes later after latching onto a Marcelo cross. Benzema had the ball in the net 60 seconds later with a fine header but was flagged offside. Coach Claude Puel threw on striker Bafetimbi Gomis to give his side more firepower, but it was the hosts who looked the more dangerous, especially from set-pieces. Benzema had a penalty appeal turned down on 63 minutes but shrugged off the disappointment to score three minutes later. A defensive mix-up allowed Benzema a free run on goal and the Frenchman slotted home for his sixth goal in the competition this term.Lyon sensed the game was up and winger Angel di Maria went clean through on goal in the 76th minute before producing a neat chipped finish to complete the scoring.

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Barcelona seek home comfort

4:01 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


League leaders Barcelona look for a third league win in a week as they host strugglers Real Zaragoza at Camp Nou today. Barceona needed a late goal from top-scorer Lionel Messi, who has 27 league goals, to seal a vital 1-0 win at Valencia on Wednesday and the champions are keen to maintain their seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said ‘The Valencia win was a very important result. Points like these are what could win us the title.’ ‘There are still some difficult games to play. There’s a lot at stake. But we’re optimistic. We are pleased with the team dynamic, the way we’re playing and the attitude.’ Xavi returned from a calf injury against Valencia but Barcelona are still without goalkeeper Victor Valdes and captain Carles Puyol who are both doubtful for next Tuesday’s Champions League second leg at home to Arsenal. After difficult away matches at Real Mallorca and Valencia, Barcelona will be glad to be back at home although Zaragoza, two points above the relegation zone, are on a high after a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Real Madrid closed back to within seven points of Barcelona with an emphatic 7-0 home win over Malaga on Thursday to maintain their 100 per cent home record. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Madrid’s biggest win of the season and coach Jose Mourinho will hope his side can now improve on their erratic away form – they have dropped 14 points on the road – in Sunday’s trip to Racing Santander. Racing are unbeaten in their last five league outings under new coach Marcelino and they have only lost twice at home this season. Elsewhere, Valencia are at Real Mallorca as they battle to hold onto third and the final automatic Champions League place.


The 1-0 defeat to Barcelona was their first in the league in 2011 and Villarreal are now just a point behind in fourth.‘We are hurting after the Barcelona defeat but we competed with the best team in the world,’ said Valencia coach Emery. Villarreal closed to within one point of  Valencia and hope to stay on their heels with a win at Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Villarreal have been poor on their travels with just four away wins and Atletico Madrid will be full of motivation having moved to within three points of the top six. ‘It is a special game because there is a really good atmosphere at the (Vincente) Calderon,’ said Villarreal midfielder Borja Valero. European rivals Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla lock horns at San Mames on Sunday as the race for the European places hots up. Bilbao have lost their last four matches but are clinging to sixth place with Sevilla level on 38 points.‘When you can’t win you have to at least get a point,’ said Bilbao midfielder Carlos Gurpegui. ‘When you lose everything looks bad. Sunday is a huge game for us against a direct rival. We are in a good position in the league but we have to try and win against Sevilla.’Down at the bottom relegation rivals Hercules and Almeria face off on Saturday in a crucial six-pointer.‘Not scoring goals is certainly complicating things for us at the moment,’ said Hercules coach Esteban Vigo. Hercules have failed to score in their last three outings and are one point above the relegation zone, while Almeria prop up the 20-strong table.

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Real's magnificent victory on a half hattrick of Cristiano Ronaldo

3:15 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second half hat-trick to make it 27 league goals for the season as Real Madrid crushed hapless Malaga 7-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to seven points. Ronaldo had gone four games in all competitions without a goal - a drought by his high standards - but the Portuguese star hit the goal trail as Real ran riot. First half goals from French forward Karim Benzema, Argentine winger Angel di Maria and Brazilian full back Marcelo put Real Madrid into a commanding first half lead before Ronaldo took center stage in the second half to give Manuel Pellegrini a horrid return to the Bernabeu.Malaga coach Pellegrini guided Real to a record 96 points in the league last season only to be sacked after one season to pave the way for Mourinho's arrival.


Benzema started the match ahead of Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor and repaid the faith by opening the scoring on 27 minutes.Xabi Alonso delivered a free-kick into the box and Malaga defended it poorly allowing Benzema to stay onside and the Frenchman used the outside of his right boot to steer a volley into the roof of the net.Benzema had a second goal ruled out for offside minutes later after Mesut Ozil had crashed a left-footed free-kick off the post. Real Madrid were looking menacing and scored again on 35 minutes as Malaga were blitzed on the counter attack. The visitors were attacking with a corner but Real Madrid cleared and launched a speedy attack and some woeful defending allowed Angel di Maria to run clean though on goal. The Argentine showed good composure to side-foot home and then played a key role in the third goal on the stroke of half-time.


Angel Di Maria floated a neat pass to Marcelo and the Brazilian thundered a left-footed volley into the corner as Real Madrid went in 3-0 at the break.The second half belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's most expensive player bagged a 26-minute hat-trick.Ronaldo opened his account in the 50th minute and added his second from the penalty spot on 67 minutes with an emphatic spot-kick. The Portuguese star completed his hattrick nine minutes later after a good pass from substitute Sergio Canales and joins Barcelona's Lionel Messi at the top of the goalscoring charts on 27 goals. Benzema grabbed his second on 61 minutes and could have had a hat-trick himself, while Cristiano Ronaldo could have scored six or seven against a poor Malaga who stay second from bottom three points from safety. Earlier Almeria stay rooted to the bottom of the Spanish first division after a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Racing Santander on Thursday.

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Lionel Massi guides Barcelona thru

10:52 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lionel Messi scored his 27th La league goal of the season as champions Barcelona beat Valencia 1-0 at the Mestalla stadium on Wednesday to move ten points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the Spanish first division top. Messi netted a 76th minute winner as Barcelona continued their unbeaten away run and put Real Madrid under extra pressure to win at home to Malaga on Thursday. Messi had missed several chances in the first half but came better14th minutes from time slotting in a cross from Adriano to clinch a vital win.It handed coach Pep Guardiola his first ever victory at the Mestalla, which had been the only top-flight venue where he had failed to secure three points.For third-placed Valencia it was a first league defeat since early December of last year and Villarreal are now just one point behind them in fourth.It was an emotional first return to the Mestalla for Spanish super star David Villa, who spent five years at the club before joining Barcelona for 40 million euros in the summer, and the forward was given a warm reception from the home fans.Spanish playmaker Xavi Hernandez returned to the Barcelona starting line-up after recovering from his calf injury to join Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets in midfield.


Valencia decided to play with Juan Mata, normally a winger, leading the line and the hosts started at a high tempo to try and disrupt Barcelona’s possession game. Eric Abidal and Dani Alves were both forced to make crucial clearances for Barcelona early on before the champions found their rhythm.In the ninth minute Messi went clean through on goal but the Argentine fluffed a chance he usually buries on autopilot.Messi had three chances to score but missed them all with goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, third choice at the beginning of the season, standing tall.Valencia thought they had scored in the 20th minute but Jordi Alba’s goal was ruled out for offside.Just after the half hour mark Messi squandered another goalscoring opportunity when his lob landed on the roof of the net with only Guaita to beat.Villa and full back Adriano both went close before the interval but Barcelona went into the break frustrated at the 0-0 scoreline. Substitute Roberto Soldado volleyed just wide in the 51st minute for Valencia’s best chance of the match and Pablo Hernandez then curled inches wide of the post minutes later to give Barcelona a warning.The decisive goal came on 76 minutes with Brazilian Adriano cutting the ball across goal for Messi to arrive on cue to guide in with his trusty left foot.Earlier Villarreal ended a run of four league games without a win with a 1-0 home victory over promoted Hercules.Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi scored his 13th league goal of the season on 21 minutes to seal Villarreal’s 11th home win of the campaign as they got back to winning ways after collecting two points from the last 12.Elsewhere Athletic Bilbao crashed to their fourth successive league loss with a 2-1 reverse at Real Zaragoza.

Czech Jiri Jarosik headed an equaliser three minutes after the break and Nigerian striker Ikechuwku Uche scored the winner on 55th minutes as Zaragoza moved out of the bottom three.Bilbao, who could have gone above Espanyol into fifth, stay sixth but Sevilla are now level on points after their 3-0 home win over Sporting Gijon on Tuesday.In other matches, city rivals Getafe and Atletico Madrid shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Brazilian substitute Elias Mendes, only on the pitch for 14 minutes, grabbed an 81st minute equaliser for Atletico after Manu del Moral had put Getafe into a third minute lead.               

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Napoli face crucial test at AC Milan

9:36 PM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,


Italian club Napoli will find out if they are truly ready to challenge for the Serie-A crown this season when they travel to AC Milan in the crunch clash ties of the weekend.The game has been moved to Monday night to give the southerners an extra day’s rest following their Europa League exertions against Villarreal on Thursday.But the super-clash between the top two in the league will give Walter Mazzarri’s team the chance to show what they are made of.

In a season full of surprises that initially saw Lazio leading the table and champions Inter Milan struggling down in eighth place at the turn of the year, Napoli appear to have demonstrated that they have the staying power to go all the way.Still splitting the two Milan clubs with a mere 12 matches to play in the season, Napoli must genuinely be considered as very tide title contenders for the first time since the days of Diego Maradona.And although the club’s staff and players refuse to even pronounce the word title there is no denying that they are where they are on merit.

However, there has been one thing missing from their pursuit of glory this season and that has been the ability to cut the mustard against the very best.They may have done the double over Roma this season and thumped Juventus 3-0 at home in January but both sides are suffering from transitional campaigns and currently sit sixth and seventh respectively.When it mattered against the two big Milanese sides, Napoli came up short.

They lost 2-1 at home to Milan earlier on in the season despite enjoying a large part of the game and also proved frail defensively when they played away to Inter and lost 3-1.In two games against Liverpool in the Europa League group stage they also failed to secure a win.For them to go the whole way this season they are going to need to prove they can also come out on top in the biggest games where there is the most at stake.

They sit three points behind Milan and two ahead of Inter, meaning a win for Mazzarri’s team could result in the top three being separated by only two points when the weekend is up.If there is one thing in their favour it is that Milan have also proved susceptible to negative results in their biggest home games of the season.Not only did they lose 2-1 to Juventus and 1-0 to Roma but Tottenham came to the San Siro in the Champions League knock-out phase and also left with a crucial 1-0 success.

Milan also failed to beat fourth placed Lazio at home and needed a pair of controversial goals to sneak a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages.A sign that Milan may be feeling the strain came from vice-president Adriano Galliano who was at pains to tell Radio Italia that the game would be no more important than any other.‘It,s keenly expected because it’s top against second but there,s still just three out of the 36 points left on offer’ he said.

‘Lets not forget that a victory over Napoli won't mean we’ve won the title, and vice versa.’The later start to the game means Inter can leapfrog Napoli on Sunday if they win away to Sampdoria.Juventus host Bologna on Saturday night and Roma entertain Parma on Sunday as the two traditional heavyweights look to drag themselves back into Champions League qualification contention.

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Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football

8:45 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , ,


Brazilian legend Ronaldo has confirmed his retirement from football.The 34-year-old had a glittering career, helping Brazil win two World Cups and being named Fifa World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002. He had been expected to quit at the end of the season but the early elimination of his club, Corinthians, from the Copa Libertadores brought forward the date. "I wanted to continue, but I can't. I think of an action, but I can't do it the way I want to. It's time," he said. Ronaldo's career took him to some of Europe's top clubs, including Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Italian neighbours AC Milan and Inter Milan.But it was on the world stage where he made the biggest impact, scoring a record total of 15 goals at three World Cups. He also went to the 1994 tournament in the United States as a member of the Brazilian squad that went on to win the trophy, but the 17-year-old did not get on the pitch. However, four years later he scored four goals to help Brazil reach the final against hosts France. Mystery surrounded the match as Ronaldo's name was left off the teamsheet when it was issued 72 minutes before kick-off, only for an amended version to appear in time for the start of the game amid rumours of panic attacks and a dispute within the Brazilian camp. Whatever happened prior to the game, Ronaldo was below par and his performance was eclipsed by Zinedine Zidane, the only other footballer to have won the World Player of the Year title on three occasions.The Frenchman scored twice as France won 3-0. At the 2002 World Cup Ronaldo was at his imperious best, scoring in every game in Japan and South Korea, bar the 2-1 quarter-final victory over England. He grabbed both of Brazil's goals in the 2-0 win over Germany in the final to take his tally for the tournament to eight. 

In 2006 he scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Japan to draw level with Germany's Gerd Muller as the top scorer in World Cup finals history on 14, before breaking that record with a goal against Ghana. He ended his international career having scored 62 goals in 97 appearances. On the domestic front, Ronaldo first moved to Europe in the 1994-95 season, joining Dutch side PSV Eindhoven from Cruzeiro, scoring 30 league goals in his first season and 12 in 13 games during an injury-hit second campaign. Ronaldo's strike rate alerted former England manager Sir Bobby Robson, who signed the Brazilian when he took over as Barcelona coach in 1996 and the striker continued his impressive record at the Nou Camp, scoring 47 times in 49 appearances. 1998 - Zidane leads France to titleIn 1996, at the age of 20, he became the youngest player to win Fifa's World Player of the Year title and picked up the award again 12 months later. By that time he had moved clubs once more, this time joining Inter for a then world-record fee of £19m. He hit 59 goals in 99 appearances during an injury-troubled four years with the Italian side. He damaged his knee in 1999 and then again during his comeback in February 2000, which kept him out of the game for another two years. His next move took him back to Spain, where he joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2002 for £20m. Injury stopped him making his debut until October, but he scored twice on his first appearance to endear himself to the fans and netted 21 more times that season to help win the La Liga title. He also scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. He also helped the Spanish side win another league title in 2006/07 but further injuries and a lack of fitness led to him being deemed surplus to requirements and he returned to Italy in 2007, joining AC Milan. Another knee injury cut short his playing career at the San Siro in May 2008 and he returned to Brazil in 2009 to sign for Corinthians.
 

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We would not fear Barcelona "Arsene Wenger"

11:38 PM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,



Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he was not concerned by the prospect of possibly facing Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League.The Gunners may also face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Schalke in the last 16 after finishing second in Group H. "Barcelona is a super favourite in this competition at the moment but we take what we get," said the Frenchman after a 3-1 win over Partizan Belgrade. "If it's Barcelona, it is Barcelona. We played them last year. We will see." Last season, Barcelona knocked Arsenal out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, and although the 2009 Champions League winners are seen as the team to avoid, Wenger knows his side will have to be in good shape whichever team they face.

"Last year we went out against Barcelona," said Wenger. "I felt we had some room to do better because we drew 2-2 at home and over there we led 1-0 but lost 4-1."It depends whether you will have your best players available and a good level of confidence. "It's very difficult to predict how far you can go but now in the last 16 it becomes a cup competition. You go into cup mode and that means for 180 minutes you have to be at your top." The draw for the Champions League knockout stages will take place on Friday 17 December and Wenger added: "We have a 50% chance to travel to Spain and 50% chance to go to Germany. "If you ask me where we would like to go, I don't know. For the media they would maybe prefer Spain, but for us not necessarily."

The victory over Partizan confirmed Arsenal's place in the last 16 for the 11th successive season, but the Gunners were not at their best and endured some nervous moments before two goals in the last 20 minutes secured their passage. They took the lead through a Robin van Persie penalty and, after conceding an equaliser when Cleo's shot was deflected past keeper Lukasz Fabianski, it took goals from Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri to ease their anxiety. Wenger is aware his players will have to improve on that performance but, based on their position in all competitions this season, he has faith that they will. "Overall, we are in a strong position in the league, have qualified for the next stage of the Champions League, are in the semi-final of the League Cup and start the FA Cup in January," he said. "We have plenty of exciting challenges in front of us but there is room for improvement and I'm confident we will."

Arsenal's progression was tempered by left-back Kieran Gibbs being forced off with an ankle injury after 23 minutes against the Serbian side and a scan on Thursday will determine the extent of the damage. "He has a twisted ankle, an ankle sprain," said Wenger. "I don't know how damaged his ankle is - he will have a scan on Thursday. He is unbelievably unlucky." Arsenal will be without Bacary Sagna for the first game of their last-16 tie in February after the right-back was sent off towards the end of the game at the Emirates.

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Pep Guardiola agrees to extend Barcelona contract

7:18 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has agreed to extend his contract with the club until the end of next season.Guardiola's current deal was due to expire at the end of this campaign, and the Catalan giants have moved to prolong his thus-far successful reign. "The signing will take place in the next few days," the club said. The 40-year-old has won eight trophies, including successive La Liga titles and the 2009 Champions League, since replacing Frank Rijkaard in 2008.

Barca are currently seven points clear at the top of the table, and on Sunday, they became the first to win 16 La Liga games in a row with a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid. Guardiola will resume his push to win European football's top prize for a second time as a coach when his free-flowing side face Arsenal in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash at the Emirates on 16 February. Having impressed as Barcelona's B team coach, Guardiola was appointed first-team boss at the Nou Camp at the end of a trophy-less 2007-2008 season. The former Spanish international midfielder had emerged from Barca's youth system to win six league titles and one European Cup as a player with the Catalans. He resumed that trophy-haul in his first season in charge, steering his side to the Primera Division, Copa del Rey and Champions League. He added the Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup and the Spanish Super Cup to the trophy cabinet before the end of 2009. And last year Barcelona successfully defended their domestic league - with a record-breaking 99 points - and Super Cup titles. Fierce rivals Real Madrid, with former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho at the helm, trail Barcelona by seven points with the same number of games played. Sunday's historic triumph, when World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi netted all three goals, surpassed Real's 50-year-old record of 15 league wins in succession. Speaking after that game, Guardiola said: "We wouldn't be what we are without Messi. Without him we would be a good team, but he makes the difference." Meanwhile, Barcelona will drop the UNICEF logo that appears on the front of their shirts from July and replace it with the name of their new Qatari sponsor. Barca are one of the few clubs in the world not to have a corporate logo on their jerseys, instead displaying the name of the United Nations Children's Fund, for which they pay the organisation 1.5 million euros (£1.27m) a year. However, they last month agreed a record five-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment worth 30m euros (£26m) a season. "It has been decided that the Qatar Foundation logo will go on the front of the shirt, on the breast," Barca vice president Javier Faus revealed. "UNICEF will go on the back underneath the player's name." Faus, though, said it was not clear whether the UNICEF logo would be allowed to appear on shirts worn in the Champions League.

"What we can guarantee is that every FC Barcelona shirt that is sold around the world will have the UNICEF logo on the back," he added.

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Messi and Ronaldo

2:46 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


If Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to lay down markers ahead of the Barcelona v Real Madrid showdown at the Camp Nou on Monday, scoring hat-tricks in their final La Liga games before El Clasico was a typically sublime way to go about it.

Messi and Ronaldo are the two best players on the planet right now. They play weekly at a level most can only dream of, consistently overshadowing the abundance of world-class players who line up as their team-mates and opponents alike, reports BBC sports.

They are the last two winners of the Fifa World Footballer of the Year award and, despite being far from stereotypical centre-forwards in a positional sense, have each won a European Golden Shoe prize in the last three years.

They have scored 27 La Liga goals between them already this term - four more than the next top scorers in the division, Villarreal.

"What more can you say about Messi?" asked Barca colleague and Spain's World Cup-winning goalscorer Andres Iniesta in the aftermath of Messi's eighth treble for the Catalan club, in an 8-0 destruction of Almeria last weekend. "There are no words left. Let's hope he continues as he is."

After firing in three more goals in Real's 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao on the same day to stay one clear of his rival in the race for the Pichichi (Spain's top goalscorer), Ronaldo preferred to do his own talking: "I'm very happy for scoring three goals, but the important thing is that we continue being leaders. Barcelona's 8-0 win at Almeria doesn't tell me anything, Let's see if they score eight goals against us on Monday."

Monday is the day when Spain's top two meet for the first time this season, with Real Madrid a single point ahead of Barcelona in the standings.

It is a game customarily filled with intrigue and the pre-match phoney war will be taken to new levels this time around with Barca's arch-nemesis Jose Mourinho overseeing his first Clasico in charge of Real.

But when the talking stops and referee Eduaro Gonzalez blows his whistle at 2000 GMT, the focus will then centre around Messi and Ronaldo - the two proxy leaders of their teams, the men who are almost certain to have the greatest impact on the result and, longer term, the destiny of the Spanish title.

So much has been written about them both before, these two fascinatingly contrary figures: Messi, the shy, formerly-fragile boy from Argentina who packed his bags aged 13 and put himself in Barcelona's care; and Ronaldo, the perma-tanned Portuguese with the perfect physique and arrogance to match his £80m attributes.

Perhaps it is because they are so unique, as far removed from each other as they are from the mere mortals who seek to attain their greatness, that they are so open to comparison.

It is a point Noe Pamarot made to me when I asked the well-travelled Hercules defender to compare two players he has done battle with in La Liga in the past three months.

"The stats are amazing for both of them, it is incredible how many goals they score," said Pamarot, who also played against Ronaldo six times during a five-year spell in English football playing for Tottenham and Portsmouth.

"But they don't play anything like each other. They have both got the speed and the skills, but for me, Messi plays only for the team and that makes him a more dangerous opponent. He isn't always looking to score himself - if he isn't scoring, he is making an assist or having a big influence on the game anyway.

"They are comfortably the world's best right now. But Messi is very, very special. He is starting to prove weekly he is on a different level to everyone else. Can he be the greatest of all time? If he carries on like this for some more years, he can end up the same or even better than Diego Maradona and Pele. Why not?"

Pamarot's thoughts cast my mind back to a study of the pair conducted by the University of Coruna in Spain in April. It found that more than 80% of Barcelona's passing moves involved Messi, compared to 60% with Ronaldo and Madrid. When Messi gets the ball, his only thought is getting it into the back of his opponents' net; when Ronaldo picks it up, his is to put it there himself.

At a time when the fluid passing and movement style of Spain and Barcelona is fashionable and everyone wants to watch tiki-taka, Ronaldo's fearsome power and single-minded selfishness when he is within sight of goal is, to some, considered an inferior alternative, aesthetically-speaking anyway.

Another player who has been on the receiving end of the genius of Messi and Ronaldo is Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora. The 29-year-old played against Ronaldo five times in his three-year stint with Spurs and was in the Sevilla team that suffered a 5-0 defeat at Barcelona a month ago in which Messi scored twice.

"The two of them are very good, for sure, but I prefer Messi," said Zokora. "Messi is perfect in the art of dribbling, while Ronaldo's shot is incredible. It is very difficult to stop them, they are very, very fast. Could one of them go on and be the greatest? It is difficult to say it, but maybe..."

For now, it is far easier to let the numbers do the talking. Courtesy of Infostrada Sports, here are the pair's breathtaking goal tallies in black and white:

Lionel Messi:

- 22 goals in 17 games for Barcelona this season
- 54 goals in 48 games for Barcelona in 2010
- Has scored in nine consecutive games for Barca
- In last five seasons (this season last), has scored: 17, 16, 38, 47, 22

Cristiano Ronaldo:

- 16 goals in 18 games for Real Madrid this season
- 38 goals in 42 games for Real Madrid in 2010
- Has scored 14 goals in 12 La Liga games this term
- In last five seasons (first three with Man Utd), has scored: 23, 42, 26, 33, 18

Chalk and cheese they may well be, but in the prolific way they find the net these men - who rarely play as out-and-out strikers - do at least have something in common. And according to the University of Coruna's study, that's not all. They also believe Messi and Ronaldo to be the two fastest players in the history of the game in terms of running with the ball.

So who do you pity more ahead of the game the whole footballing world will be watching, the Barcelona backline or the Real Madrid rearguard? I asked Pamarot who it is easier to play against, and he laughed down the telephone at me. "Haha. Seriously? OK, I want to play against both because they are the ultimate test of your abilities."

Plaudits from pundits and their peers have not been in short supply as the build-up to the most talked-about domestic fixture on Earth grows ever closer. "It is clear to me, Cristiano is number one," said Mourinho.

After watching Barca and Messi rip apart his Panathinaikoas side in Europe on Wednesday, midfielder Luis Garcia purred: "Messi is a phenomenon. One can only enjoy his play. Such a player only comes by once in several decades."

Even the Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has got involved in the debate, claiming he prefers the "dribbles" of Messi to the playing style of Ronaldo, though his opinion should be taken with the caveat that the 50-year-old is a lifelong Barcelona fan.

On Monday, these two footballing phenomena go head-to-head before an expectant audience of about 98,000 people in Barcelona and tens of millions more on television around the world. They will both feel they have an extra point to prove, too: in seven games, Messi has never scored or had an assist against a Mourinho team; similarly in five, Ronaldo has never found the net against Barca.

With the likes of Maradona, Pele and Johan Cruyff all reaching the peak of their powers in different eras, perhaps we should be grateful that for this generation, the stars will collide in front of our very eyes.

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Posted by sojib

Ikar Casillas

7:12 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ikar Casillas debuted for the national team in the U–17 level. At age 16, he was the youngest player in the Spanish squad that placed third at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt. He was later made captain of the U-17′s. Two years later, he went on to win the FIFA World Youth Championship and the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup that same year. Initially second-choice, he soon worked his way up to first-choice and eventually earned his first senior cap following some brilliant performances at club level.
Casillas is currently the second-most capped goalkeeper in the history of the Spanish national team, behind Andoni Zubizarreta, who appeared in 126 matches. Following his full international debut at the senior level against Sweden (at 19 years and 14 days), Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000. He was part of the roster for the 2002 World Cup, initially as the understudy to Santiago Cañizares. Coincidentally, Casillas became the first-choice goalkeeper when Cañizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury from a freak accident. At 21, he was one of the youngest first-choice goalkeepers in the tournament. He gained hero status when he saved two penalties in the penalty shoot-out during the round of 16 match against the Republic of Ireland.
Casillas played in all eight Group six fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He kept a clean sheet in the second leg victory of the playoff against Norway which ended 3-0 in Oslo, and started all of Spain’s Euro 2004 matches. He was first choice for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, captaining the team twice, but could not prevent the La Roja from losing 3-1 to a Zidane-inspired France in the Round of 16.
With the exclusion of Real Madrid teammate Raúl from the squad for Euro 2008, Casillas was given the captain’s armband. He started the first two Euro 2008 Group D games against Russia and Sweden before being rested in place of second-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina for Spain’s group stage elimination of Greece. Casillas saved two penalties from Antonio Di Natale and Daniele De Rossi as Spain eliminated Italy in the quarterfinals with a 4–2 shootout win following a goalless draw on 22 June. Spain later went on to win the competition with a 1–0 win over Germany in the final on 29 June; Casillas kept clean sheets for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches, with Sweden’s first round goal by Zlatan Ibrahimović being the last one scored against him. In his 82 appearances for Spain, he has kept 42 clean sheets. On 29 June 2008 Casillas became the first goalkeeper-captain to lift the UEFA European Championship trophy when Spain beat Germany 1–0 in the final.
In October 2008, Casillas and deputy in goal Pepe Reina broke the national record for the longest time spent without conceding a goal. The pair went unbeaten for 710 minutes, longer than the legendary Andoni Zubizarreta and Paco Buyo.Wesley Sonck of Belgium ended their goalless streak when he scored against them a 2010 World Cup qualifying match.
One of his saves during the quarterfinals versus South Korea during the 2002 FIFA World Cup was rated by FIFA as one of the top 10 saves of all time.Iker Casillas was the highest ranked goalkeeper (4th place) in the 2008 Ballon d’Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and national teammate Fernando Torres.
He was named the world’s best goalkeeper in 2008 by the IFFHS. He also came in third place in the best goalkeepers of all time ranking; beating Oliver Kahn.

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