by David Wilson on January 31, 2012
Atletico Madrid‘s revival under new coach Diego Simeone continued on Monday as Diego Godin fired the winner in a battling 1-0 victory at Osasuna that lifted Atletico up to seventh in La Liga.
The Uruguay defender bundled in from close range at a corner just before the break and forwards Adrian and Radamel Falcao missed gilt-edged chances to extend the lead.
Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois, on loan from Chelsea, kept the visitors in the game in the closing minutes with string of excellent saves as Osasuna piled forward in search of an equaliser. Read more... (168 words, 1 image, estimated 40 secs reading time)
by David Wilson on January 30, 2012
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes says that his side cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to successfully defend their La Liga title this season.
Barca were held to a 0-0 draw against Villarreal on Saturday, a result that now leaves them seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid, who recorded a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza at the weekend.
“We have no more room for error,” Valdes told Sport. “We have dropped two important points against Villarreal. We have to win all the points that remain. And that’s what you get. If we want to fight for the league, we cannot fail anymore because there is a rival in front of us that is very strong.” Read more... (321 words, 1 image, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on January 30, 2012
Real Madrid midfielder Kaka has revealed that his future with the club has been assured by club president Florento Perez and coach Jose Mourinho.
Kaka has struggled with injuries since joining Real Madrid in 2009, but has periodically displayed his old skill in recent matches and had one of his best games games in a Real Madrid shirt in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Zaragoza.
Despite that, Kaka has admitted that he had been troubled by speculation that he would be sold during the winter transfer window. Read more... (193 words, 1 image, estimated 46 secs reading time)
by David Wilson on January 30, 2012
Third-tier club Mirandes’ improbable run in the Copa del Rey continues as they will meet Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday in the Copa del Rey semi-final
Mirandes has already eliminated topflight clubs Villarreal, Racing Santander and Espanyol to become only the third team below the second division to reach the last four.
The only other third-tier clubs to reach the semifinals were Figueres in 2002 and Deportivo Logrono, 81 years ago.
In the other semi-final Barcelona will be looking to shake off its recent woes away from home at Valencia on Wednesday. Read more... (224 words, 1 image, estimated 54 secs reading time)
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Barcelona v Valencia In Copa Del Rey Semi Finals
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by David Wilson on January 29, 2012
Barcelona might have won the latest el clasico, but it is Real Madrid who are threatening to run away with the La Liga title.
Real Madrid are now seven points clear at the top of the Liga after their 3-1 win over bottom side Real Zaragoza while Barcelona’s poor away form continued as they were held to a scoreless draw at Villarreal.
Madrid must have feared that their bad week was going to continue as they fell behind to an 11th-minute strike by Ángel Lafita at the Santiago Bernabéu. However, Mourinho’s side rallied from a goal down for the third league match running as Kaká levelled terms on 32 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 31st goal of the season and the Mezut Özil then early in the second half. Read more... (233 words, 1 image, estimated 56 secs reading time)
by David Wilson on January 26, 2012
Barcelona‘s Copa del Rey semi-finals win against Real Madrid has been tempered by a growing injury list that will make their clash against Villarreal on Saturday harder.
Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez both limped off in last night’s 2-2 draw, which secured a 4-3 aggregate win.
That means Barca will head to El Madrigal missing six players in total, as David Villa, Ibrahim Afellay and Andreu Fontas are already injured, while Seydou Keita is at the African Nations Cup.
“At the moment, we are not very many in number, but we must move forward,” said coach Pep Guardiola. Read more... (529 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on January 26, 2012
Real Madrid came back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Barcelona, but that was not enough as Barcelona progressed to the Copa del Rey semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.
Real Madrid will rue their missed chances, especially in the first twenty minutes when they had more than enough chances to win this match. The first chance came just 15 seconds into the game when Higuain was in alone one-on-one with Pinto, but he could not even put his shot on target. Read more... (423 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on January 25, 2012
According to media reports in Spain, Jose Mourinho will quit his job as Real Madrid manager this summer.
For the first time Mourinho was booed and whistled at by the Bernabeu faithful as rumors continue to swirl around the team of divisions within the squad.
The sensational claim that Mourinho will quit came from highly-respected Spanish football journalist Siro Lopez, who said after Real Madrid’s 4-1 win against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend that the former Chelsea boss will walk away from his £11.5 million-a-year job at the end of the season. Read more... (409 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)
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by David Wilson on January 25, 2012
What an amazing story Mirandes is. The club, stuck in the third-tier of Spanish football, came from a goal down to beat Espanyol 2-1 in their Copa Del Rey quarter-final second leg and progress to the tournaments semi-finals on the away goals rule.
Espanyol took a precarious 3-2 first-leg lead to Mirandés tiny stadium in Miranda de Ebro in northern Spain. Espanyol were well aware that Mirandes had previously knocked out Villarreal and Real Racing Club in the Copa del Rey this season.
Espanyol thought they were on their way to the semi-finals when Rui Fonte scored in the first minute of the second half to put them 1-0 up on the night and 4-2 on aggregate. Read more... (202 words, 1 image, estimated 48 secs reading time)
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Remarkable Mirandés Reach Copa del Rey Semi Finals
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by David Wilson on January 24, 2012
Granada have hired former Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino to replace the sacked Fabriciano Gonzalez and try to save the La Liga strugglers from making an immediate return to the second division.
“Granada CF announces the hiring of Abel Resino as the red and whites’ new coach until next June 30,” the club said in a statement on their website.
The 51-year-old, who also played in goal for Atletico, would oversee his first training session on Tuesday before being presented to the media, they added. Read more... (213 words, estimated 51 secs reading time)
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Granada hire former Atletico coach Resino
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Atletico Madrid‘s revival under new coach Diego Simeone continued on Monday as Diego Godin fired the winner in a battling 1-0 victory at Osasuna that lifted Atletico up to seventh in La Liga.
