Congratulations to Atlético Madrid for winning the 2013 Copa del Rey!! They beat Real Madrid 2-1 after a chaotic game and 30 minutes of extra time. This marks the first time Atleti have beaten Real Madrid since 1999. Atlético also ended Real Madrid’s 2 year home unbeaten streak (about 40+ games). At the end of this season Atleti will have claimed 3rd place in La Liga, qualified for next year’s Champions League, and won the Copa del Rey. Congratulations!
Atlético Madrid win 2013 Copa del Rey
On the flip side, this was a terrible ending to a terrible season for Real Madrid. They’ll finish 2nd in La Liga, 10 points behind champions Barcelona. They failed to come back against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semifinals and were subsequently eliminated. I don’t even want to talk about all the drama surrounding the club this season. And they just lost what looked to be their best shot at winning some silverware this season.
For the past two hours (and most of this season, really) my reaction to Real Madrid’s game looked something like this:
It’s hard to blame any one party for the way this season has gone and, if we’re being honest, finger-pointing usually goes badly. However, I’m going to ask you to give me a little bit of leeway because I’m hurting pretty badly after this loss.
The main target of my anger is the ref, Clos Gomez. He did make some good decisions every now and then, but he was inconsistent and clearly lost control of the game. By the final whistle, he had handed out 7 yellow cards to Real Madrid, six yellow cards to Atlético Madrid, and a red card each. I’m not even entirely sure why Gabi was sent off for Atleti. Half the time Gomez carded a player on their first offense; the other half of the time he waited until the 5th or 6th foul to show them a card.
He’s as appalled as I was.
The one sending off that really rubbed me wrong was José Mourinho. As far as I could see, it was the first time Mou had gotten up from his seat to yell at the pitch whereas Diego Simeone had spent the entire game standing! I guess Mou had to have said something terrible to warrant the sending off, but there’s no way Gomez would’ve heard it from where he was standing.
I kinda loathe myself for saying this but…Cristiano Ronaldo deserved his red card. The idiot kicked his opponent in the nose.
Above all else, pure luck was against Real Madrid. Los blancos should have easily won this game with as many shots as they had hit the post. That plus Thibaut Courtois’s phenomenal goalkeeping display stopped about 4 or 5 of Real Madrid’s closest chances. There was one period of a couple minutes where Real kept pinging the ball towards the net and it looked like a force field was over the line flinging the ball straight back. Unbelievable.
Now all we can do is wait. Wait to see if Mourinho goes or stays (my bet is he returns to England). Wait to see which players leave Real Madrid (unfortunately I think quite a few are on the way out). Wait to see if Atlético can hold onto Radamel Falcao (probably not). And wait for the start of next season which will hopefully wash away the remnants of a shoddy season for Real Madrid.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bury myself in comfort food.
Photos courtesy of www.ligabbva.com, www.guardian.co.uk, and tumblr.com. Check in with @AerysSoccer every day for the latest news on La Liga, the EPL, and MLS.
All hail the champions!! Barcelona have now won their 4th league title in five years. It’s absolutely incredible! This season may have been a bit weird for them, what with Tito Vilanova spending most of the season in New York for cancer treatment and the team suffering countless injuries. Nevertheless, Barça started the season strong and out paced the rest of the league by miles. Real Madrid, the defending title holders, barely put up a fight. On Saturday, Madrid’s feeble 1-1 draw with Espanyol sealed the deal for Barcelona and left a 10 point gap between 1st and 2nd place.
Tito Vilanova celebrates Barcelona’s 22nd League title in the city parade
It was pretty evident in the first half of the season that they would win the league when Barça reached the point where they were 16 points ahead of 2nd place (Atlético Madrid at the time). However, the Catalans had to wait until this weekend to celebrate. They deserved to win. There is no doubt about that. But something feels off.
Yes, they made it to the semifinals of the Champions League for a record 6th year in a row. Yes, Lionel Messi produced more magic to score against every team in consecutive games. Yes, Barcelona will equal the 100 point record mark set by Real Madrid last season.
But the champions have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason. They were absolutely steamrolled by Bayern Munich in the Champions League semis on an aggregate 7-0. Throughout the whole season their defense never seemed as solid as it should’ve been. Last season the question was “can Real Madrid feel satisfied in their League title if they never beat Barcelona?” (They eventually did.) This season Barça managed to draw 2-2 and lose 3-1 to Madrid in the Camp Nou in the League and the Copa del Rey, respectively. At the Santiago Bernabéu, Barça drew 1-1 in the Copa del Rey and lost 2-1 in the League.
Anyways, a huge congratulations to Barcelona on their 22nd League title!
In other news around the league, Real Sociedad and Valencia are tied for the last Champions League place, both with 59 points. Right now la Real just edges Valencia out of the spot on goal differential. With three games left, both teams are going to have to fight tooth and nail for that last golden spot. At the far end of the table, Mallorca, Celta Vigo, and Deportivo La Coruña are still stuck in the relegation zone (and Celta has already played an extra game). Real Zaragoza sits barely in safety just two points clear of danger. Here are the full results from the weekend:
Barça’s prize
Wednesday: Celta Vigo 1-3 Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid 6-2 Málaga
Friday:
Levante 0-0 Real Zaragoza
Saturday:
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Mallorca
Valladolid 1-0 Deportivo La Coruña
Osasuna 1-0 Getafe
Espanyol 1-1 Real Madrid
Sunday:
Rayo Vallecano 0-4 Valencia
Real Betis 1-0 Celta Vigo
Atlético Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Málaga 0-0 Sevilla
Monday:
Real Sociedad 2-2 Granada
The Copa del Rey final is scheduled for this weekend at the Santiago Bernabéu between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. The Madrid teams played Málaga and Celta Vigo, respectively, on Wednesday to clear their schedules this weekend for the Madrid derby with silverware on the line. This is the only chance for either team to win a trophy this season, so the match promises to be very enticing! Be sure to catch it on Friday at 3:30 pm ET!
Photos courtesy of www.fcbarcelona.com. Check in with @AerysSoccer everyday for news on the world of soccer!
Two epic showdowns, two remaining teams. After the two brilliant midweek matches, the final for the Copa del Rey is set: Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid. Now…where to begin?
Celebrations all around as los blancos win in the Camp Nou
Let’s start with el Clásico. If you’re a culé (Barça fan), then this game was pretty darn painful to watch. If you’re a madridista (like me), this game left you charged and ready to take on the world! The first leg of the semifinals ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from Cesc Fabregas and Rafael Varane. The last Clásico in the Camp Nou resulted in a 2-2 draw. Given the fact that their last two meetings ended in draws, it required a pretty special performance to win and progress to the final.
In the 13th minute, Real Madrid broke on yet another one of their lethal counterattacks only for Ronaldo to be tackled in the box by Pique. If the defender hadn’t taken down CR7, chances are the Portuguese striker would’ve still scored. Nevertheless, the ref awarded los blancos the penalty, Ronaldo sent Pinto flying the wrong direction, and Madrid were 1-0 up. Barça controlled play for a majority of the game, but had nothing to show for it. The best instance to describe how the game went for them was when the ref managed to get in the way and body block Messi from his run in the box. (For a more technical look at the game tactics, I highly suggest you check out Zonal Marking’s break down here.)
Real Madrid continued to compound their superiority as Khedira pinged a pass across the length of the field to Di Maria whose attempt on goal gifted Ronaldo the chance for his second goal. Then the newfound nightmare for Barça appeared for a soaring header to bring the score to 3-0. I’m referring to 19-year old Varane. The best part of the night happened a few minutes after his goal as he touched the part of his head the ball hit and slowly let a wide grin cover his face. Precious. Barça now have some serious questions to answer about their current run of form. After losing huge games to AC Milan and Madrid, critics are scrutinizing the inconsistency in coaching, February exhaustion, and poor tactical choices.
Man of the Match Diego Costa carries Atleti to the final
The other semifinal clash ended in a 2-2 draw between Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. The first leg ended in a 2-1 win for the home team Atleti. Yesterday in Andalusia, the loss came down mostly to Sevilla’s mistakes. Brilliant work from Diego Costa and Falcao put Atleti 2-0 up inside 30 minutes. By halftime, Jesús Navas had given the home side a ray of hope by bringing the score to 2-1. Unfortunately for Sevilla, everything collapsed for them in the second half.
I have never ever seen a ref take back a card once given, so if the ref shows you a yellow, it’s usually the smarter choice to say thank you and walk away while thinking mean thoughts in your head where no one else can hear you. Voicing your displeasure leads to situations like the one Medel found himself in as he collected his second yellow and consequent red card for arguing the first yellow. Then quite unbelievably Sevilla scored again in the first minute of injury time bringing the aggregate score to 4-3 in favor of Atleti. Not bad for a team playing a man down. If Sevilla could somehow manage to get the luckiest goal ever, the game would proceed to extra time. But no. Kondogbia decided to be a genius and stomped on Diego Costa and was rightly shown a straight red and effectively ending the match.
So congratulations to Atlético to holding on to their lead over the two legs and proceeding to the final. Congratulations to Real Madrid for their magnificent performance in Barcelona.
Now all we have to do it wait to find out where the final will actually be held.
Photos courtesy of realmadrid.com and LigaBBVA.com. Keep checkin’ in on @AerysSoccer for frequent updates on the always exciting, ever changing world of soccer.
A glorious team effort pulled Barça clear of Málaga in closing minutes of the match
The game looked inevitably headed to extra time with just under 15 minutes left and scoreline tied at 2-2. Both teams were going for the win, neither wanting to be eliminated. The third meeting between Barcelona and Málaga was always going to be epic given the nature of the first two clashes, Barça’s unstoppable attacking force, and Málaga’s immovable defense. But which way was the tie going to go?
It took sheer brilliance from Fabregas and Iniesta to give Barça the winning edge in the 77th minute. Fresh off their loss from the weekend, the blaugranas clearly were looking to turn things around. The first half of the match was a flurry of activity with a goal each within 4 minutes of each other, 5 yellow cards, and fouls raining down. The game looked dead even going into the halftime break.
At the start of the second half, both teams looked exhausted. However it picked up quickly again as Pique headed up the go ahead goal which took Málaga 20 minutes to respond to. In the end, Barcelona’s passing genius overran the solid defense and gave them a win on the 6-4 aggregate. Such a brilliant match and it’s a shame to see Málaga eliminated, but only one could survive.
The other quarterfinals were not quite as epic. Sevilla steamrolled Real Zaragoza after leaving the first leg as a dull 0-0 draw. Real Betis had only one goal over the two legs which came as a 90′ penalty kick. Atleti’s strong performance in the first leg was well enough to carry them past the 1-1 draw from this week onto the semifinals where they will face Sevilla. Valencia and Real Madrid met for their third clash with a bucket of drama to accompany them.
Though the game ended a 1-1 draw, the game saw Iker Casillas subbed off due to injury while los blancos ended the game with only 9 men thanks to red cards for Di María and Coentrão. Valencia, who collected 5 yellow cards themselves, played without captain Roberto Soldado and several members of their defense. All in all, it wasn’t that pretty of a game. Here are the full results from the quarterfinals:
Tuesday: Valencia 1-1 Real Madrid
Sevilla 4-0 Real Zaragoza
Thursday:
Málaga 2-4 Barcelona
Real Betis 1-1 Atlético Madrid
The semifinals pitch Atlético Madrid against Sevilla and provide a semifinal El Clásico for the second year in a row. This creates a bit of a nervy situation for the Madridistas out there as they see their team juggle 3 games against Barcelona and 2 against Manchester United in the Champions League without Casillas who will be out for 3 months due to a broken thumb. Ouch! Across the city however, excitement thrums for the Atleti fans who hope to see their team in yet another final with the possibility of yet another trophy.
Photos courtesy of LigaBBVA.com. Look for more stories from the world of soccer on @AerysSoccer.
Oh where to start?! So many good stories from the weekend, but my favorite is definitely Real Madrid’s 5-0 thrashing of Valencia (if you’re a Valencia fan, I am so sorry).
Real Madrid are flying high again
The Madrid team that showed up Sunday were unstoppable. They were the lethal counter-attacking team that ran riot in the league last year. The first goal was classic Real Madrid: it started as a Valencia corner headed away to Ozïl who spun away and ran downfield, delivered a stunning pass to Di María who then slotted it over to Gonzalo Higuaín who tapped the ball into the net. One second it was Valencia’s potential to score and, in the blink of an eye, Diego Alves is picking the ball out of his net.
The next four goals were all scored in the last 10 minutes of the first half. The speed with which Madrid moved was dizzying. With a brace of goals from both Ronaldo and Di María, my favorite was the fourth, aka the team goal. Higuaín, Di Ma, Ozïl and Ronaldo (scorer) all had one touch leading up to the goal. It looked more like table tennis *ping* *ping* *ping* all over Valencia’s box.
If Madrid have found their old form, they could win the Champions League, I think. Sid Lowe (La Liga correspondent for the Guardian) said on twitter if Real Madrid win the CL, the turning point in the season would’ve been Mourinho benching Casillas……..but it’s just a theory.
Bad luck for Barça who made it to Week 20 without a loss
The big news from Saturday: Barcelona’s first loss! *gasp* So much for my prediction that they’d go all season unbeaten. And it was Real Sociedad who beat them! For some reason, history shows that Barça always has problems playing at the Anoeta. Gerard Pique was sent off for two yellows (silly cards, but deserved), and left his team down a man to the team that almost managed to beat a 10-man Real Madrid in the Bernabéu. Mascherano also didn’t help the situation with an own goal. After the game, Messi was quoted saying “well it had to happen eventually” (that’s the gist at least).
Two other quick stories from the weekend: Falcao will be out for about three weeks with an injured hamstring. Usually, one would expect this to shake Atléti, but not this year. They will carry on with strength and await his return. At the other end of the table, Espanyol struggled to clear the relegation zone for most of the first half of the season. Then they fired Pochettino (who now manages Southampton in the Premier League) and brought in Javier Aguirre. Since his hiring in early December, they’ve started winning games and are now four points clear of the drop zone! Here are the results:
Friday:
Espanyol 3-2 Mallorca
Saturday:
Granada 2-0 Rayo Vallecano
Getafe 1-1 Sevilla
Real Sociedad 3-2 Barcelona
Málaga 1-1 Celta Vigo
Sunday:
Osasuna 2-1 Deportivo La Coruña
Valladolid 2-0 Real Zaragoza
Valencia 0-5 Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid 2-0 Levante
Monday:
Real Betis 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
The Copa del Rey is back in the midweek with the third of three clashes between Real Madrid-Valencia and Barça-Málaga. Who will win the deadlock between Sevilla and Real Zaragoza? Will Real Betis be able to overcome their deficit and beat Atlético Madrid?
Photos courtesy of LigaBBVA.com and Real Madrid. Tune in to @AerysSoccer for continuous updates on the world of soccer!
Barça are on track for a record breaking season as they finish the first half unbeaten.
I knew it! I told you so! The Málaga-Barcelona game was incredible. Both teams brought their A-game and what a spectacle it was!
It was always a far off chance that Málaga would be able to beat Barcelona. Nevertheless, Málaga came out strong and matched Barça attack for attack, each side looking equally likely to score first. Demichelis, Isco, Buonanotte, Eliseu and Willy Caballero all had a fantastic game for Málaga, but their heroics were no match for the brilliance produced by Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, and Xavi. The speed at which they pinged the ball around the field was jaw-dropping. Willy Caballero made sure the scoreline stayed even. That was until Messi snuck up on the defense and stole a pass to Caballero and, with a quick feint sending Willy in the wrong direction, scored into the gaping net.
Considering Barça’s smothering dominance, the game went into the halftime break with a 1-0 scoreline. Unfortunately for Málaga, further brilliance from Fabregas and Thiago Alcântara put the game beyond their reach. Buonanotte put a stunning free kick into Victor Valdes’s to give his team a bit of pride. What a performance.
Down at the other end of the table, last-placed Osasuna managed to hold Real Madrid to a disappointing, ugly 0-0 draw that saw Kaká make an appearance after several months on the bench only to be sent off with two yellows after 17 minutes. Mallorca, also strugglingly heavily, fell away 3-1 to Valladolid. After a wonderful start to their season, Mallorca hit a long-lasting period of bad luck and poor form to drop them into the relegation zone.
Valencia received a boost after defeating Sevilla 2-0 at home. However, this season’s Valencia-Sevilla city rivalry hasn’t focused on Valencia and Sevilla; instead it’s Real Betis in Sevilla and Levante in Valencia who have produced the better results so far this season. Sevilla now sit in 12th place with only 19 points. The club’s directors have had enough with the poor showing, fired the manager, and brought in Unai Emery (formally of Valencia) to turn their season around.
To wrap it up, Rayo Vallecano pulled off another incredible win beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in San Mames. The tiny team from Madrid now sits in a European spot, even on points with Málaga. Truly inspiring. Here are the rest of the results from the weekend:
Once flying high with success, now struggling to escape the relegation zone.
Friday: Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Saturday:
Osasuna 0-0 Real Madrid
Valladolid 3-1 Mallorca
Espanyol 1-0 Celta Vigo
Valencia 2-0 Sevilla
Sunday:
Málaga 1-3 Barcelona
Real Betis 2-0 Levante
Real Sociedad 1-1 Deportivo La Coruña
Atlético Madrid 2-0 Real Zaragoza
Monday:
Getafe 2-2 Granada
The quarterfinals for the Copa del Rey kick off this midweek. Málaga travels to the Camp Nou to take on Barcelona again as Madrid and Valencia start their 3-match duel. These two games could quite possibly lead to an El Clásico for the semifinals yet again. On the other side, Sevilla travels to Zaragoza as Real Betis attempts to win in the Vincente Calderon where Atlético Madrid has been so lethal this season.
As the Round of 16 in the Copa del Rey comes to a close, the remaining eight teams to meet in the quarterfinals are all in the Primera Division. This isn’t entirely surprising, but it would’ve been nice to have a Cinderella story in the competition (kind of like Bradford City in England’s Capital One Cup.)
We almost had a Cinderella team in Las Palmas who narrowly lost 2-1 on aggregate to Real Betis. The second leg of the draw saw Betis control play and create the most chances. However, Las Palmas held their own and kept the scoreline at 0-0 until the 86th minute when Rivera managed to slip through the defense and carry Real Betis onto the next round.
The midweek fixtures started with Málaga vs Eibar which saw Eibar leading Málaga 1-0 for most of the match. It wasn’t until the last 15 minutes of the game that the Champions League contestants let the flood gates open and found some incredible way to score 4 goals in the closing minutes of the game. I guess they finally woke up from their extended winter break!
The most disappointing game came from the Atlético Madrid and Getafe match up. Not only did the game end 0-0, but the whole affair was about as dull as watching paint dry. No real urgency from Atléti, who were already up 3-0 on aggregate from the first leg, nor from Getafe who just looked tired.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid blew away their competition with relative ease thanks to a few key performances. For Barça, David Villa got a starting spot for the first time in a while and scored a brace in spectacular fashion. For Madrid, Cristiano put out another outstanding game to carry los blancos in a 4-0 win to Celta Vigo. For all the recent troubles in Madrid’s back line, Sergio Ramos did nothing to help as he received two yellow for stupid challenges then accrued a 4-match ban for insulting the referee. What an idiot. Here are the rest of the results from the midweek:
Tuesday: Málaga 4-1 Eibar
Valencia 2-1 Osasuna
Barça rolls over Córdoba as Villa makes a strong case for starting role
Wednesday:
Real Madrid 4-0 Celta Vigo
Sevilla 1-2 Mallorca
Real Zaragoza 2-0 Levante
Thursday:
Barcelona 5-0 Córdoba
Getafe 0-0 Atlético Madrid
Real Betis 1-0 Las Palmas
The resulting quarterfinal match-ups look like this:
Real Madrid – Valencia
Barcelona – Málaga
Atlético Madrid – Real Betis
Real Zaragoza – Sevilla
The draw between Málaga and Barcelona means these two will meet 3 times in the next two months: twice at La Rosaleda and once at the Camp Nou. Málaga already defeated Real Madrid, and now they have three chances (the first of which is this Sunday) to figure out how to stop the team in Spain that so far is unbeatable. Sounds pretty exciting to me!
Photos courtesy of LigaBBVA.com. Follow us at @AerysSoccer for updates on all your favorite teams and leagues!
Wow what a week in Spain! My head is still reeling from all the happenings.
And another record bites the dust
Starting off last weekend, Lionel Messi finally broke Gerd Müller’s 40-year record of most goals scored in a calendar year against Real Betis: 85 goals. Then he surpassed it. On Wednesday in the Copa del Rey, he added on to his total. He said he wanted to make it harder for the next person to break. He may very well succeed in that goal since he still has a few games left until the end of the year. But Messi wasn’t the only profligate scorer in Spain.
Radamel Falcao. I cannot stress enough how important this player has become this season. Last season, we knew he was good. This season, he’s showing us how good he is and can be. On Sunday, Falcao had a total of five shots against Deportivo La Coruña. All five shots went in. That’s 100% efficiency from the Colombian. Wow! After the game, he said it was one of the greatest days of his life. Diego Costa also scored for Atlético Madrid, but no one could see anything other than Falcao’s fantastic five.
The fantastic five
On the other hand, Real Madrid aren’t doing so hot. First they lost away to Real Betis 1-0 then came back the next week in the Madrid Derby to beat Atlético 2-0. Last week, Los Blancos had to fight tooth and nail, throwing on all their attacking power, with only Pepe and Xabi Alonso defending, to beat Valladolid 3-2. On Tuesday, Celta Vigo beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the Copa del Rey midweek fixture.
What happened to the record-setting, invincible Real Madrid from last year?! The 2011-12 Real Madrid team would obliterate teams away from home and in the Santiago Bernabéu. Now they’re losing 2-0 to a team ranked 15th in the league. It’s probably just a tad hysterical to be saying #RealMadridinCrisis, but it’s kind of how I’m feeling. Kaká’s still sitting on the bench…maybe bring him on to solve some problems? Maybe Higuaín just needs to heal faster to provide some extra attacking spark? Or possibly keeping the team so similar to last year has dulled the ambition of the team overall?
Barcelona, on the other hand, are continuing their incredible unbeaten record in league play. This weekend they take on Atlético Madrid. While the Madrid Derby was a bit of a let down in terms of exciting play, maybe this fixture will make up for it. Real Betis put up on hell of a fight last weekend, and Barça only just got away with a 2-1 win. Can Atlético pull off the impossible with goal-addicted Falcao at the helm?
The most surprising thing I saw over the weekend fixtures came from Rayo Vallecano where the fans protested rising ticket prices, Monday night matches, and the handling of their club in general:
Rayo’s fans show strong protest through empty stands
In other news, Valencia fired Pellegrino after a disappointing start to the season and registered their first win against Osasuna under their new manager Valverde. I wonder if the owners are rethinking their decision to fire Unai Emery who kept Valencia in 3rd for so long. Mallorca went from a great start to their season to a horrible string of losses. They need to figure out what the problem is soon in order to turn their season around. Here are the full results from league fixtures and the Copa del Rey:
Friday: Espanyol 2-2 Sevilla
Saturday:
Real Sociedad 1-1 Getafe
Málaga 4-0 Granada
Real Valladolid 2-3 Real Madrid
Osasuna 0-1 Valencia
Sunday:
Levante 4-0 Mallorca
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Celta Vigo
Atlético Madrid 6-0 Deportivo La Coruña
Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona
Monday: Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Real Zaragoza
Tuesday:
Osasuna 0-2 Valencia
Wednesday:
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Eibar
Cordoba 0-2 Barcelona
Mallorca 0-5 Sevilla
Atlético Madrid 3-0 Getafe
Celta Vigo 2-0 Real Madrid
If you’ve watched any games from La Liga in the past few years on GolTV or on beIN Sport this year, you’ll know there’s one incredibly distinctive voice that rises above the rest: Ray Hudson. This exuberant commentator was born in Britain, played for Newcastle for a bit before embarking on an interesting soccer career here in the States. He even managed D.C. United for a couple years. What makes him unique, however, is his ability to create poetry out of thin air. It’s an absolute delight to listen to Ray Hudson and Phil Schoen team up for La Liga matches. His favorite teams are clearly Real Madrid and Barcelona. After listening to him commentate countless games, I just needed to make sure you all knew who he was. Here are a few of his sayings from the current season, followed by a excerpt from a 2007 Real Madrid game against Mallorca:
On David Villa – “A thousand exorcists couldn’t get rid of this demonic skill!”
On Andrés Iniesta – “He takes the full moon into consideration, the absolute gravitational pull, for this pinpoint precision!”
On Gonzalo Higuaín – “‘Anything you can do, I can do better,’ Gonzalo says to Lionel. Los Blancos fans celebrate this time.”
On a more serious note, the boys in Spain have been very busy lately playing with league matches and Copa del Rey fixtures. Málaga had a rather hard time beating Cacereno but just managed to squeeze a narrow 4-3 win in the end. Osasuna is really starting to depress me; these guys can’t win in the League or in the Copa del Rey. Here are the plethora of results from the Copa del Rey:
Tuesday:
Llagostera 0-2 Valencia
Alavés 0-3 Barcelona
Wednesday:
Almeria 2-0 Celta Vigo
Cacereno 3-4 Málaga
Jaen 0-3 Atlético Madrid
Real Zaragoza 1-0 Granada
Las Palmas 1-0 Rayo Vallecano
Alcoyano 1-4 Real Madrid
Thursday:
Eibar 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
Valladolid 1-0 Real Betis
Melilla 1-0 Levante
Córdoba 2-0 Real Sociedad
Ponferradina 0-4 Getafe
Sevilla 3-1 Espanyol
Sporting Gijón 1-0 Osasuna
Deportivo de La Coruña 1-1 Mallorca
Poor Falcao didn’t score and got kicked in the head
Now the results from the weekends start to look a little funky. Of the three powerhouse goal scorers, neither Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, nor Radamel Falcao managed to score. I guess Messi has a viable excuse: he did become a first-time father last week, so that’s probably going to throw off his game a tad. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid had run-away successes, but Atlético Madrid were handed their first defeatfrom Valencia.
The strides Atleti have made since last season are so impressive that this first loss doesn’t faze them at all. Manager Diego Simeone really has managed to turn this team around completely since he took over almost a year ago. The worries will come at the end of the season when the bigger clubs from around Europe try to steal their star Falcao. Also on the losing side were Málaga who fell 2-1 at home to Rayo Vallecano. Apparently this was the first game Málaga’s owner has attended all season. Just their luck that they lose when he decided to show up. On the flip side, Athletic Bilbao finally achieved that much needed win. Maybe now they’ll start to build some stability and rhythm as a foundation for the rest of the season.
Saturday:
Málaga 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Barcelona 3-1 Celta Vigo
Real Madrid 4-0 Real Zaragoza
Valencia 2-0 Atlético Madrid
Sunday:
Real Sociedad 0-1 Espanyol
Deportivo de La Coruña 1-0 Mallorca
Osasuna 0-1 Valladolid
Granada 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Sevilla 0-0 Levante
Monday:
Getafe 2-4 Real Betis
After that extremely busy week, the Spanish teams have to gear up for the fourth round of group play in UEFA. Can Real Madrid pull off a crucial victory as Borussia Dortmund visit the capital? Can Málaga remain unbeaten in the Champions League? Will Athletic Bilbao be able to translate their win over the weekend to some success in the Europa League? Hopefully they’re not too tired from last week to take on the best of Europe!
We’ve reached that part of the week where the footy headlines become a little less important and more quirky. Today we feature Real Madrid’s 110th birthday, the new association between Roberto Mancini and Mario Balotelli and AC Milan’s Maxi Lopez’s secret addiction. All in today’s Daily Kick Around!
La Liga
Yesterday Real Madrid celebrated their 110th birthday. Within those historic 110 years, they’ve won 9 European Cup titles, 3 international cups, 2 UEFA cups, one Euro Super Cup, 31 Spanish league titles, 18 Copa del Rey trophies, 8 Spanish Super Cups and one Spanish league cup. And to honor the amazing history of the greatest club in the world, here’s a video of the clubs greatest moments.
Gerard Pique could be facing suspension after yelling at the ref that his send-off during Saturday’s match against Sporting Gijon was “premeditated.” La Liga’s Refereeing Technical Committee is asking for the defender to be punished saying:
“Pique’s comments are unfortunate and very serious. They make your blood boil, sportsmen must respect each other. His comments affect the state of refereeing and we will obviously report him.”
Ashley Young warned Manchester City that United will win all the remaining fixtures, only to lift the trophy once again at the end of the season. Young, who scored 2 of the 3 goals in Sunday’s match against Tottenham, says that the Red Devils have what it takes to win their 20th championship. United are currently two points behind league leaders, Man City and will face West Brom Sunday as City faces Swansea. There’s still plenty of league left–at this point, it’s anybody’s game.
Managing a football club is never easy, but Avram Grant says that Chelsea’s next manager will have it “easy” after Andre Villas-Boas was axed after 8 months. As of now, Roberto Di Matteo is in charge of the Blues until the end of the season, with the club looking for a more permanent replacement. Chelsea is looking for their 8th coach in eight years and Grant says that it won’t be hard to do a better job than AVB. Ouch. Ironic how AVB lost his job but the Blues still pay Fernando Torres to not score goals.
