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.

Okay, we don’t know about you guys, but the Euro 2012 have not only fired us, but our computers decided it would be cool to just, you know, not work too. But now we’re back! And we’re pretty excited because there has been SO much going on in the footy world. Mangers are coming and going in the EPL, Euro 2012 is battling racism unfortunately and tons more. Here’s your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

Grygoriy Surkis, president of the Ukraine soccer body, said the racism threat was overblown in Ukraine and urged everyone to turn their attention from politics to sports.
“There can be individual cases of racism in Ukraine stadiums and that needs to be stopped,” Surkis said Tuesday. “But it is important we focus on the most important thing – football … We should not keep talking about racism in Ukrainian football. The tournament is about football, not politics.” 

Good morning everybody! The future of Pep Guardiola is still unsure while Mourinho signs a 4 year extension, also we cover everything international with friendlies beginning before the Euros start. All in this morning’s DKA!

La Liga

With his departure from FC Barcelona, Pep Guardiola is open to job offers from other leagues, more-so offers from Liverpool and Chelsea. Even though Pep stated that he would take a season off to rest, his comeback could be sooner than expected.

“For the next months I have to charge my batteries,” he said. “I will rest and I will wait. I will be ready, if one club wants me, if they seduce me, I will train again.”

With a newly signed four-year contract, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has said that the club is the perfect challenge for him and his managing career.  Staying until 2016, Mourinho is thinking long-term with Real Madrid:

“I’m delighted to stay on and plan the sporting future of Real Madrid’s first team, and we know we must obviously focus more on the short term and talk little about the distant future.”

Congratulations to FC Barcelona on winning the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on Friday after a 3-nil victory!

English Premier League

I ask you one thing footy fans. What’s more important, club or country? Just ask Johan Djourou, who was asked by his Switzerland coach to step down from Arsenal FC. Ottmar Hitzfeld has urged Djourou, who has 14 starts in the 2011-2012 campaign, to consider his future with the Gunners if he wants to be a part of the Switzerland NT. Generally, players get called up to the national team by the amount of play time they receive at their clubs. Djourou is barely getting playtime and is by far, Switzerland’s best player. But unfortunately for Djourou, he signed a contract extension, good until 2015.

International Friendlies

With Euro 2012 kicking off in 12 days, a lot of national teams are beginning their international matches in preparation for Euros & the Olympics.

Yesterday Spain beat Serbia 2-0, the US beat Scotland 5-1 (read the recap here!) and England beat Norway 1-0. But for today’s friendlies, France are looking to beat Iceland while Mexico face off against Wales in a match that was postponed.

As June begins, you can follow Aerys Soccer for al your Euro 2012 coverage!

Major League Soccer

Only one match today in MLS with Sporting KC taking on the San Jose Earthquakes at 4:30 pm from the beautiful Livestrong Sporting Park. Stay tuned to a recap post match!

Toronto, Toronto, Toronto, what are we going to do with you? First your own player labels you the worst team in the world and now you go and actually win something? We’ve got that story, plus lots more before you kick off your weekend. Here’s your Daily Kick Around Friday edition!

MLS

Toronto FC has won the Canadian Championship after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps in a 1-0 win. Toronto is currently 0-9-0 in league and it’s a miracle that they’ve actually won something. Toronto will be representing Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League this years with the win.

The Timbers played Valencia CF on Wednesday in a friendly, losing 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Aduriz in the 41st minute. Spencer, coach of the Portland Timbers, called it a tremendous learning experience.

Today, MLS salaries were released. Though, even though taken with a grain of salt, it’s not surprising to see superstars from New York and LA topping the list. Toronto also makes a surprise appearance with of it’s players making the top ten most paid players in the league.

La Liga

Pep elaborates that he’s taking a break and says he could be coaching again after next season.

International

Sepp Blatter has called for an alternative to penalty shoot outs. Not that he hasn’t before. Not that anyone else hasn’t before. But is there really any better way to decide a match that has gone 120 minutes? Making the athletes go any longer would be dangerous. And penalty kicks are the only part of the game that can be used in such a manner.

Euro 2012

The Russia and Uruguay game ended in a 1-1 tie today. Keeper John Ruddy has been ruled out of the English team after breaking his finger. And Ukraine’s president says that people will come to Ukraine’s home games despite the other leaders boycotting the country.

It’s soccer Saturday! MLS is packed today, there are a few games across other leagues and tons of things are happening, but how is that different from any other Saturday? In today’s Daily Kick Around, we have news about ex-England manager Fabio Capello, Rooney’s massive bicycle kick from last year’s Manchester derby, and tons more!

English Premier League

There are been numerous amazing goals in EPL; too many to probably keep track of. However, if you watched Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney perform an amazing overhead kick in the derby against Manchester City last year, then you witnessed the best goal in the EPL. Votes were cast by the public and I kinda have to agree with them. The goal was amazing.

The domestic rights to televise EPL games are going up for auction. That’s right, BSkyB, you might just have some competition.

Fabio Capello, former manager for the English National Team is still in need of a job. And he knows exactly where he wants to go – EPL.

“All the benches in England are busy,” Capello said. “But if someone offers me the possibility to be competitive, then why not?”

Maybe he could keep his eyes on the revolving door at Chelsea? Just saying….

La Liga

Now that things are pretty much wrapped up in the race for the La Liga title, it’s pretty obvious that people will be focused on the last Barcelona home game this weekend – the last of Pep Guardiola’s games with the Catalans.

“I don’t like farewells, but I have been a person in the public eye,” he said on Friday ahead of his final home game. “I hope the people react as they always do, in a natural way.

As for Real Madrid, I think the players and staff’s heads are still spinning a bit with the win of the club’s 32nd league title. Jose Mourinho admitted it was the toughest title he’s ever had to win. I think that says something about Madrid’s accomplishment this season. Congrats Real!

Major League Soccer

Chicago Fire disappointed Chivas USA last night as a curving shot from Macro Pappa sank in the net for a stoppage time win for the Fire. Things were just rough from the get-go for both teams, but as the match wound down, Chivas pushed forward for the end goal. Unfortunately, Pappa beat them to it.

Tonight is full of games, so make sure to catch your favorite teams as they square off through the day! And keep with the ladies of Aerys Soccer for all your recaps and news!

Photo courtesy of http://hgm-vds.tumblr.com/

In today’s DKA, we’ve got some somber news for Barcelona fans. Unfortunately it’s something We’ve kind of been expecting to happen….

La Liga

I don’t know about you guys, but I woke up this morning to my phone buzzing with tweets and text messages centering around one topic: Pep Guardiola stepping down from Barcelona. Yup, unfortunately the rumors are now a reality for Barca fans as the coach that has brought so much glory to Camp Nou over the past few seasons held a press conference this morning to announce his leaving. It’s something that’s been heavily speculated as Pep has been loathe to sign a permanent contract with the Catalans, leaving fans and players alike wondering what his final decision would be.

“I would like you to understand that this is not an easy decision for me, but I would like to explain my reasons for this decision,” he said. “I have always wanted short-term contracts. Four years is an eternity as Barca coach. In the month of October I announced to the president and to the sporting director that I thought my spell was coming to an end. The main reason I have taken this decision is because four years is many years. I have given everything and I have nothing left and need to recharge my batteries. The demands have been great and I have not been able to rest much. I have to recover and the only way I can do that is by distancing myself. Otherwise, we would have ended up damaging each other. I know that I’m leaving the best place to work in. I am very satisfied with the result we have achieved. I have had the great privilege of coaching fantastic players. I want to thank them.”

As Pep says goodbye, the club have some pretty big shoes to fill. They announced Pep’s assistant coach, Tito Vilanova, would take on the role of first team coach starting next season. Pep seems confident in him as does the club, so we wish the best of luck to him in his new role. And also to Pep as he moves on from Barca.

But of course, the speculation isn’t over yet – Where will Pep go when he wants to start coaching again? The revolving door of the Chelsea manager job is already starting to squeak a bit. Roman Abramovich, owner of the Blues, is apparently putting the pressure on Pep to not take a break from footballing, but to jet to England and take over Chelsea. Pep has pretty much stayed his ground so far and said no, he will not be coaching any time soon. But when has that ever stopped Abramovich?

Abramovich will test that resolve with the promise of not just a multi-million pound salary but the mandate to overhaul the Chelsea squad and create what one source said would be a “young, hungry new team” centred around whoever Guardiola wanted to attract.

Rumors are also up in the air that the FA are trying to convince Pep to take over as manger for the England National Team. Good luck with that one lads! An official decision on who is to be boss of England’s NT is required by May 13.

Happy Thursday? Are you still nursing hangovers from those Champions League games? I ate a bowl of ice cream to try to over come the feelings. But it’s games like those that remind us why we love this game! Today, we’ll talk a bit about the Champion’s League Real Madrid v. Bayern penalty shootout, Pep Guardiola possibly taking a football hiatus and a west conference MLS team signs a big Brazilian name. Here’s your Daily Kick Around!

Champion’s League

Just as we were starting to get over the fact that Chelsea pulled a great win over Spanish giants Barcelona, we got hit with another stunner yesterday as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid faced off in what was guaranteed to be a fight to the end. I don’t know about you, but I knew Real would have a hill to climb with Bayern. And just as Madrid went up two goals thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern had a strong answer.  Alas, it was the end that killed us. After extra time and a tied aggregate score, the game went into penalty kicks. Manuel Neuer really stepped up for his team, pulling out some great saves against Ronaldo and Kaka. A sky-rocket from Sergio Ramos and a cool hit from Bastian Schweinsteiger later and it was all over – Bayern was in and Real was headed home.

So, now the focus is on the final between Chelsea and Bayern – each with a handful of players banned from playing the game due to card suspensions. International players’ union FIFPro appealed to UEFA to lift their cumulative yellow-card bans on the players, stating it was unfair they couldn’t play because they had too many yellow cards. UEFA wouldn’t back down though, and told the union they would not allow the players special privileges. I honestly am glad they aren’t playing – you did the crime, now do the time.

Major League Soccer

Annnnnnnnnnnnd the retro bans continue. So we might as well get use to the idea. Oh and look out coaches and staff, you could be next too.

The Colorado Rapids are getting an exciting addition to their team in the form of Brazilian forward Edu. He’s played in La Liga and Champion’s League competitions and will start with the Rapids as soon as his visas clear. Congrats Colorado!

FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake faced off last night in a not-so-pretty 1-1 draw. Get the run down of the match here.

La Liga

Could this be the end of the Pep Guardiola/skinny ties empire of Barcelona? Media reports are literally swarming today as the talk is Pep will pass on renewing his contract with the Catalans. Apparently he would like to take a year out from football, and who could blame him? Either way, we wish you and your stylish wardrobe the best, Pep!

English Premier League

I know some Liverpool fans that are going to be pumped for the summer. Not only is the popular English club touring the States this summer, but cameras will be following them around, providing an exclusive glimpse behind-the-scenes as they tour America. Sounds pretty awesome!

Finally on today’s DKA, you have got to check out this amazing article I found through The Shin Guardian. It’s a story from Chandrima Chatterjee – director of Street Soccer USA – talking about her time working with Yuwa, a football program based in India that is changing many lives of young women there. It’s definitely a great read!

The Road to El Clasico. Well, it’s not really a road, more like a hop, skip or jump because EL CLASICO IS TOMORROW!

Yes, that’s right folks, the day where Real Madrid fly to Barcelona to face their heated rivals at Camp Nou.

Not too bad, really. However, via Twitter, the favors are running high on Real Madrid’s side. My opinion is that I want a clean match, but given past Clasico history (and the current Barcelona lineup and Real Madrid’s Pepe and Angel Di Maria) that probably won’t happen.

Here’s where things get interesting. This could be the last time these Spanish giants face each other this season, UNLESS they both advance to the finals of Champions League. As of now, Real Madrid are Liga leaders, with a steady 4-points ahead of Barcelona.

Either way, a win or a loss, wouldn’t effect Real Madrid’s lead. It would either put them up an extra 3 points, or drop them to a 1-point lead. To keep Liga interesting and supporters biting their nails, a draw would do both clubs good. Frankly, I love having the competition, not knowing who is going to come out the champions. However, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want Real Madrid to show Barcelona whose really the Kings of Spanish futbol.

Now, let me just say, I checked Bleacher Report earlier and they had a poll going on the odds of Real Madrid winning or Barca winning. Their results?

In previous El Clasico articles, I’ve thrown around million of stats around that probably have everyone whose not a regular supporter of either clubs, confused. So this preview shall be nothing of the sorts. Using my knowledge of both clubs and this current season, I’m going to put together a pros/cons for each club, things for you, the viewer, to watch out for when watching this big match-up on Saturday. For once, I’m going to take away my biased opinion and focus on observations I’ve made throughout the season. Sound fair? Let’s get started!

Real Madrid Pros

• Madrid’s Fabulous Trio – Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema are in the Top 5 of La Liga’s Top Scorers this season
• Alongside the forwards, we have a pretty strong midfield that are just as capable of scoring goals
• Mesut Özil has 15 assists this season & would be a key player if he started Saturday
• It’ll only take one goal for Real Madrid to break their goal of 107 goals in one season
• Right now, their season stats are 27 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses

Real Madrid Cons

• Pepe – Grant it he is one of the best defenders in Liga, he still has some major anger issues he needs to sort out before Saturday. We don’t want another Messi incident.
• Angel Di María – Don’t do anything stupid.
• The defense is struggling, let’s face it. With any hope of winning, Madrid’s defense needs a readjustment, which means Álvaro Arbeloa needs to start focusing. We can’t rely on Sergio Ramos all the time.
• Yellow cards. We’ve racked up a lot, the past couple weeks, so in order to keep the same lineup for every match until the end of Liga, Madrid need to veer away from contesting or any fouls. Cristiano Ronaldo especially, one more yellow & he’ll miss the big match against Sevilla next week.

FC Barcelona Pros

• Lionel Messi – Tied with Cristiano for most goals this season (41) and is Barça’s main goal scorer.
• Defense – If Piqué is playing, Madrid will have problems finding the back of the net.
• Barça have won their last 11 matches and will have the home advantage
• They know how to beat Madrid

FC Barcelona Cons

• Sergio Busquets – Stay on your feet, great defender, but the football pitch isn’t a place for theatrics.
• Cesc Fabregas – Lately Fabregas has been falling into the mist in the midfield, never to return again.
• Offense – Everyone needs to help Messi out Saturday. He can’t be the only one scoring
• When something doesn’t go their way, prepare for a cloud of Barça players contesting every foul that comes their way.

Also, watch out for the ref. In El Clasicos, it has been known that refs get a little card happy towards both clubs.

My predictions:

Real Madrid Starting 11: Iker Casillas (G); Álvaro Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo (D); Xabi Alonso, Angel Di María, Mesut Özil, Kaka (M); Cristiano Ronaldo & Karim Benzema (F).

FC Barcelona Starting 11: Victor Valdes (G); Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets (D); Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Thiago (M); Lionel Messi, Pedro (F)

Final Score: 2-1 Madrid OR a 2-2 draw

It’s no doubt that tomorrow will be a fantastic and exciting match-up with a side of feisty, but it’s also one of the most pivotal matches of the season, so enjoy El Clasico! You can watch it on ESPN3.com at 2 p.m. ET.

Welcome back fútbol fans! This past week of La Liga has been a crazy one with matches Monday-Thursday!

Current standings for the 2-12-2013 campaign are as follows:

On Monday, Málaga beat Racing Santander 3-nil with goals from Santi Cazorla, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Isco. Málaga, who were almost relegated last season, has improved tremendous amounts and will begin the weekend sitting at 4th.

Barca faced Getafe, a club who they lost to earlier in the season, came up on top as they scored 4-nil at the Nou camp with Alexis Sánchez rounding out with two goals. Barcelona are still within a 4-point reach of current leaders Real Madrid, with only 6 matches left of the season and a huge El Clasico coming up next Saturday.

Espanyol lost 2-nil to Osasuna while Real Sociedad and Real Betis drew at 1-1.

Wednesday was a whole different ballgame as all four matches were very entertaining to watch. First on the list was Atlético Madrid – Real Madrid in El Derbi Madrileño. It was a do or die match for Real, who could have seen their title hopes fall out of place. Falcao scored the lone goal for Atléti off a header from Adrian Lopez in the 55′, but it was Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo who made headlines with his 7th hattrick of the season. José Callejón scored their 4th goal minutes after Ronnie’s penalty kick.

Valencia proved why they’re sitting in 3rd after a 4-1 victory against Rayo Vallecano at the Mestalla. After a couple rough weeks, plagued with bad form, Valencia opened up the scoring in the 41′ by Jonas. Jordi Alba, Pablo and another goal by Jonas gave Valencia their win. Diego Costa fired low into the corner giving Rayo their only goal.

Granada drew with Athletic Bilbao 2-2 and Sporting Gijon beat Levante 3-2.

Thursday was another high-scoring day of fútbol as Sevilla sank Zaragoza at home with 3 goals, two from Álvaro Negredo and one from Federico Fazio. Santander lost to Mallorca 3-nil while Villarreal beat Málaga 2-1.

This weekend is another busy one for the players. Real Madrid face Sporting Gijon at the Bernabéu, hoping to pull off a victory. The whites can’t afford to be down ANY points. If Madrid grasp a victory but lose during El Clasico, they’ll still be Liga leaders, even if it’s by one point.

Levante play Barcelona Saturday as well and that match will be broadcasted on ESPN3.com at 4 p.m. ET. Levante have had a fantastic season so they’ll give Barca a little difficulty at the Ciudad de Valencia.

On Sunday, all the other clubs face off with the televised matches being Espanyol – Valencia on ESPN Deportes at 6 a.m. ET and Rayo Vallecano playing Athletic Bilbao on ESPN Deportes at 3:30 p.m. ET.

On Monday Getafe will play Sevilla at the Coliseum Afonso Perez which is a must-watch match as Getafe’s defense are a perfect match for Sevilla’s fast offense.

Ever wondered how Messi & Ronaldo match up? Just check out this video for some interesting statistics!

http://youtu.be/2SiOoiPc03Y

In other news around Liga, Villarreal took a huge blow today as Giuseppe Rossi tore his ACL in training. Rossi, who was on his way back to a good form after suffering an injury in October, will miss Euro 2012 for Italy who were to face Spain in the tournament opener.

We have an update on Barca defender Eric Abidal, who underwent a liver transplant Tuesday. Barca manager, Pep Guardiola (King of the Skinny Ties) stated that the French international was recovering well and that everything is going as planned. It’s unlikely he will return this season, let alone represent France in Euro, but we all wish his a fast recovery!

Twitter is a pretty interesting place to find weird news. Today I noticed a hashtag called #footballermovies. Some of my favorite La Liga inspired ones are ‘Guti & The Beast,’ ‘Lionel King,’ ‘Cesc & The City,’ ‘One Flew Over the Kaka’s Nest,’ ‘Xavitar,’ and ‘Don’t Messi With The Zlatan.’

Good morning football fans!  Don’t worry if you missed any of the exciting Champions League or FA Cup tournament matches from yesterday.  Get over the mid-week hump by checking out recaps of last night’s pivotal matches and previews of what should be a captivating second day in a row of first leg Champions League quarterfinal matches.  It’s sure to get your Wednesday off and running like a double shot of an espresso.

Champions League

A second half goal from Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou wrapped up the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal over Benfica 1-0.  Both teams will meet again April 4 to determine who advances.

Cypriot underdog APOEL Nicosia fell to Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of Champions League quarterfinals thanks to a goal by Kaka and a Karim Benzema brace.  APOEL, who is being dubbed the Cinderella team of the tournament, held onto a scoreless draw until the 75th minute.  The two teams meet again in early April.

Today’s Fixtures

Today’s AC Milan v Barcelona match should be an exciting one to catch.  Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic left Barca last year for Milan due to problems getting along with Pep Guardiola and fellow Barcelona players.  He is looking forward to proving a point in today’s match up.  For a preview of what to expect when AC Milan host Barcelona, look here.

Coming off seven club defeats in a row and plagued with injuries, Marseille has a challenge on their hands as they meet in form Bayern Munich today in today’s first leg of Champions League quarterfinal.

FA Cup

Tottenham looked the better side as they breezed past Bolton 3-1 yesterday.  Spurs now move on to face their London rival’s Chelsea in the FA semifinals.  Hats off to Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, who had a tremendous game until he was beat three times in the final 20 minutes of the match.  Prior to the start, White Hart Lane paused for a moment of silence remembering Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba.  Muamba suffered a heart attack last week, causing the first attempt at this pairing to be suspended until last night.  While recovering in the hospital, it was reported that Muamba was well enough to sit up and watch the match from his bed.  I’m sorry there weren’t better results for Fabrice, especially as I am not a fan of Tottenham.

The other half of the FA Cup equation involved Sunderland, who hosted Everton last night.  Although the Toffees were the superior team on the pitch and should have scored a number of times, the two goals they did get past the keeper helped them advance to the semi finals.  Next, Everton will face their Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Wembley.  That will surely be a great match to catch as well.