Nuri Sahin - New Real Madrid Acquisition

Bundesliga Champ, Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin has become the new Real Madrid acquisition. He signed up a six-year contract and left Dortmund (the recently crowned Bundesliga Champions). It seems that the Los Blancos is not on a cash strapped season and there’s no ending of player spending. Last season, they have signed up several players for a multi million deals and that’s not to include the multi awarded coach Jose Mourinho.

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Sahin is known to be a master at free kicks and had an impressive record sheet under his shoe. In fact, he became the youngest player to ever played and score in the Bundesliga at the age of 16 years. Sahin’s addition will augment the midfield area along side Xavi. He added that the reason he is leaving Dortmund is because of Mourinho and the opportunity to play at a prestigious club.

Real Madrid was able to salvage the season by winning the Copa del Rey against archrival Barca, ending a two seasons trophy drought. But Barca took a more aggressive stand by ousting them at the Champions League semifinals that resulted in both teams lodging complaints to FIFA.

The Thrill of European Football Leagues

This blog has become a sports niche blog and if you have noticed in the recent posts that I had, 90% of it, I have been writing about sports and majority of it is on a sport that I haven't played a single game ever in my life. I have been writing updates, news and previews about football since March 2011 from the La Liga to Serie A that extends towards the European Champions League games with a brief stopover in the Premier League.

But most of what I wrote is about my favorite team Real Madrid, which you might notice that I have been very biased at some point. There’s just so much to say about the Los Blancos especially their rivalry against Barca and take note that there have been four El Clasico that happened in less than a month. They met each other in three different league games starting from their second Clasico in La Liga going to the finals of Copa del Rey and it ended at their Champions League semifinal meeting that provokes unwarranted circumstances.

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Most of the European League at this time is almost finish and there are only two or three games left to go but only in Serie A that a definite champion is proclaimed already whatever is the outcome of Inter Milan’s game. Even if they will win, there are no enough points to surpass city rival AC Milan in claiming the Scudetto for the first time since 2004. It is even sweeter for they stopped the 5 year reign and dominance of Inter in the domestic league.

Other interesting matches to watch are the games of ManU and Chelsea and Barca against city rival Espanyol. The odds are, if ManU wins it will set them six points clear from Chelsea and needed one more point to claim a record breaking 19 Premier League trophies with two more games remaining. While Barca on the other hand, if they win, it would be near impossible for Real Madrid to catch them up and they can claim the La Liga trophy with a draw at Levante mid of this week.

AC Milan Clinch Serie A Title

AC Milan did not prolong the agony of waiting for another game to be crowned Serie A champions. The Rossoneri did not waste time in ending the five year dominance of city rival Inter Milan by clinching the Scudetto with a 0-0 draw at Roma. Milan won the Italian title for the first time since 2004 in just several minutes ago. Although Inter still has three more games left and if they win in all of its remaining matches, they could still tie AC Milan in 78 points (even if they lose in their last two games) but Milan holds the tie breaker advantage by sweeping both their league matches.

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The Serie A title is decided by the head-to-head record if teams finish level on points unlike in the Premier League that uses goal difference in deciding in case there’s a need for tie breaker.

While in Spain, Real Madrid kept their slim chance of claiming the La Liga title with a thrashing 6-2 win at Sevilla and hoping Barcelona will lose at home against city rival Espanyol on 8 May. A Barca loss will give the Los Blancos another day of hope knowing that there are still nine more points left to grab. If Barcelona won, the slim chance will become so dim that it is near impossible for Real to catch up unless Barca loses in their last three games. Which is very unlikely to happen for they only lost twice this season and with the kind of form they are playing they probably will win two major trophies this season.

ROUND 35 SPANISH LEAGUE FOOTBALL SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL & its LEAGUE was super emotional as Clubs put in the extra effort to either avoid relegation into the 2nd Division & fight it out for the limited European places at the Top of LA LIGA ladder. Seven games played tonight in Round 35 with nerves, frustrations, controversy & for some,  complete joy. Here is a summary of todays events, results & scorers.



Barral scores the equalizer

European Football News and Previews

The Champions League game last night between Manchester United and Schalke came into conclusion in a fantastic fashion of football skills. Although it has long gone decided who would be in the finals after ManU defeated their opponent 2-0 at Veltins Arena. And I thought the game at Old Trafford would just be a formality considering that there are several key players who did not show action and was left to rest for their upcoming Premier League match with Chelsea on Sunday, 8 May. The game is crucial for both teams since ManU is only 3 points clear from the Blues.

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Any slip up could mean disastrous to any of the two but more importantly to the Red Devils. Aside from protecting the 3 points lead, it will also be the deciding factor if Chelsea won and both emerge victorious in their own remaining 2 games. In that case, Chelsea will have an advantage since they could move ahead in goal difference as they are currently tied at 38. But the way ManU are playing last night’s Champions League match, they played a superb and nearly flawless game by thrashing Schalke 4-1. More so that the Red Devils is unbeaten at Old Trafford this season and they have defeated Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals and a draw in their first game at Stamford Bridge.

But the Blues are not quite ready to hand over the Premier League title yet, for they have the momentum at their side. The fact sheets would tell that they are unbeaten in their last 11 games and on a 5 games winning streak.

Nonetheless, it is not the only game that a must see match for AC Milan is also banking for its first Scudetto since 2004. And they could clinch it on Saturday by just a draw at AS Roma despite having 2 games more left to play after that as goal difference does not apply in Serie A but the head to head record, instead. A draw will tie them with Inter, granting the Nerazzurri will win their remaining 3 games, but the Rossoneri had a head to head advantage by beating them in their 2 games.

The European football has been jumped packed with superlative football actions starting last month in La Liga with the rare four El Clasico.

Barcelona reached Champions League finals

The last of the four Clasicos came to an end in a stalemate but Barca still advance to the Champions League finals through a superior quotient after beating archrival Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, 2-0. The match in Madrid on 27 April was full of controversies that leads both teams raising complaints to the UEFA. If you are watching last today's rain soaked game at the Nou Camp, it was relatively a different game with less infractions but I still could see some resemblance of what happened last week at the Bernabeu. It is sad to see Madrid's exit from the Champions League but they are playing without their tactician on the pitch and was reported no where to be found on the stands. The Los Blancos are also without defender Pepe and Ramos, the crucial element of the Merengues defensive wall.

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It was after Pepe was sent off that Barca was able to score its first goal, penetrating the once sturdy wall of the Los Blancos. Subsequently, Mourinho got his own red card too right after the call when he argued the uncharacteristic sending off of his ever reliable defender. Many have said and believe that Barca is playing or is good at diving acting (not on playing the game of football) during the match and was highly favored by the referees. This leads to the complaints filed by both teams but was later turned down and denied by the governing body (UEFA).

Barcelona are not awaiting the winner between ManU and Schalke on their own second leg tomorrow at  the Old Trafford. ManU is protecting a 2-0 lead after humiliating Schalke right at their own home pitch last week. A ManU win or even just a draw is enough for them to advance in the finals to face Barca and this could be a rematch of the 2009 Champions League finals at Stadio Olimpico, in which Barcelona won. Then Barca earned a historic treble in that season by winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey, to add to its Champions League silverware. But this time, even Barca will win in the finals there will never be a treble again for we all know who won the just concluded Copa del Rey at the Mestalla.

Messi Beats 10-man Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s chance for a treble has farther lost its grip as the Los Blancos succumb to the pressure during its first leg semifinals Champions League game at the Bernabeu, losing 0-2 in the third El Clasico. Although they have taken already the Copa del Rey but they are also 8 points behind Barca in La Liga with only 5 more games left to play. And going to Nou Camp, on 3 May for the second leg, down by 2 goals is hard to imagine if Real still has hope of advancing to the finals at Wembley. What disturbs me is Real finished the match again with 10 men on the pitch and eventually was beaten black and blue by Barca.

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It seems that Iker is not Paul eventually. He slipped for the first time in his predictions or was it caused by other factors such as the referee, who have given Pepe a straight red card. That also triggers the sending of Mourinho to the stands. Would the game be the same if Real Madrid is not short handed? I doubt but not very certain also because Champions League competition is a different level. But we have seen Real Madrid fought back with a 1-1 draw last 16 April and eventually diffuses Barca’s resilience in the Copa del Rey finals, three days back and claim Mourinho’s first silverware in Real Madrid. Aside from it is the third Clasico, what is common amongst the three is Real finished the game again with 10-man for the fourth time. There have been several reactions about game officials officiating, favoring Barcelona’s way and mainly the reason why Mourinho was sent off.

I wonder if Barca will be able to score those two goals if it was against 11 men on the pitch. Barcelona is the best team right now but many would refute for they might just be good actors in acting diving. Those were just hypothetical but nonetheless were shared by many others. The return leg next week on 3 May is a difficult stride for Real Madrid to overcome since they will be playing without Ramos and Pepe and a tactician who can’t be on the bench.

Champions League Semifinals - Third El Clasico

The Champions League finalist are starting to shape up with ManU’s 2-0 win away at Schalke gives them the upper hand in the return leg on 4 May at Old Trafford. While tomorrow’s third El Clasico has been predicted by Iker (the Octopus) for Real Madrid to win the first leg at the Bernabeu. So far, with Iker’s predictions in the recent Clasicos came out with good outcome and is a perfect 2 out of 2 correct results. He may have predicted correctly the previous two games but tomorrow’s game is a different story.

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Barcelona would slug it out again after losing in the Copa del Rey finals at the Mestalla but they struggled in beating Osasuna in their La Liga game last Saturday. While archrival Real Madrid hammered Valencia 6-3 at their own turf when they came back in the Mestalla after winning the Copa del Rey three days earlier.

The Copa del Rey win was the first silverware for Madrid under Mourinho. It is also their first win against Barcelona in seven attempts. Losing to Barcelona came to a halt after a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu for the first of four El Clasicos. And they are hoping that tomorrow’s third Clasico will roll on the winning ways against their archrival. I want to see the Merengues in the Champions League finals at Wembley Stadium but the Blaugranas are trying to do the same. Or I would say, take revenge for they were eliminated by Mourinho (with Inter) in the same stage last season.

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE ROUND 33 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE action this afternoon - night with the Sunday Round 33 schedule matches in play. The main highlights are the Clubs fighting to get out of the relegation zone, those attempting to assure their place next season in LA LIGA & thoses teams fighting it out for the limited Euro places on the Spanish League table. Here is a summary of events, results & the scorers.



Real

Real Madrid Ripped Off Valencia at the Mestalla

With the Copa del Rey celebration may now be over but the excitement probably is not finished yet. I’m sure you know already who won and brought the Super King’s Cup trophy home. The game is one of the arch-rivals fantastic games and in fact it needs an extra time to decide who should be raising the silverware. I believe Real Madrid deserves to grab its first silverware under Mourinho and it’s their first after a long 18 years of drought.

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And it really seems that the Los Blancos is not over yet in their quest for more silverware as they return to the Mestalla Stadium for their La Liga game with Valencia. The goal scores showed how they needed to win more games in order to catch up with Barcelona in the leaderboard and possibly grab one more trophy. But the hope of a treble starts to fade after Barcelona won its game at home against Osasuna with 5 more games left yet 3 of it are against lower half teams.

Real displayed another thrashing game by scoring 6 goals against Valencia’s 3 when they visit the Mestalla again despite playing with mostly second tier players. And Valencia was torn apart with the explosive pace of the Merengues counter attacks.

While another game to watch is on 27 April when they meet each other again for the Champions League semifinal first leg at the Bernabeu and the return game will be on 3 May at the Nou Camp for the last of four Clasico.

Copa del Rey - Real Madrid beat Barcelona

Iker, the successor of Paul (I'm sure you know who Paul is) proved that his first prediction in last Saturday's match between fierce rival Real Madrid and Barcelona is not a fluke and not just a onetime success. The other day, he predicted Real Madrid to emerge as winners in the finals of the Copa del Rey at the Mestalla and it proved to be right. And at the moment he is already two out of two correct predictions when Real Madrid beat Barcelona to win Copa del Rey.

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Iker was named after Real Madrid's goalkeeper Iker Casillas, Spain's captain during the World Cup in Africa. Paul on the other hand became so famous when he predicted correctly all eight important games, in as many match, in the 2010 World Cup in Africa, including Spain's first World Cup trophy.

The match did not produce any winner, not until in the added extra-time when Ronaldo superbly executed a perfect header following a pinpoint cross from Di Maria and beat Barca’s keeper in the net. It was all enough to give Mourinho his first silverware since joining Real Madrid and it is also Real’s first Spanish Cup in 18 years. And as usual, the Los Blancos finished the game again with 10 men after Di Maria brings down Messi and once again failed to finish a game in 11 men.

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Nonetheless, the dramatic finale of Copa del Rey brought glory to the Merengues again and is more special considering that it was their archrivals Barcelona that they have defeated. But it’s not the end of it as they still have remaining two matches to fight in the Champions League semifinals which will start of 27 April. It is again another interesting match to watch and if Iker will continue his prefect predictions.

Quatro El Clasico Had Just Started

With the first of the four Clasico between bitter rival Barcelona and Real Madrid ended in 1-1 draw, it would still be difficult to gauge who will emerge winners in the next three important games in two different competitions. Both teams will see action again at mid-week in the finals of the Copa del Rey and the remaining two games, for the Champions League semifinals.  Although Barca had an upper hand in last Saturday’s game but Real fought back relentlessly in the second half with just only 10 men and salvage a draw.

The draw put Barca closer in winning a third straight La Liga title and preserved their 8 points lead with only 6 games remained. Although, mathematically, there are still 18 points for grab but the remaining 4 games of Barcelona are against those from the lower half of the table. While Real Madrid has 3 games against top five teams and on top of it, the Blaugrana’s has been defeated only once this season and have drawn 4 times. So, the Los Blancos should win all of their remaining games and hoping Barca will slip up and at least get a draw in five games. Which I believe is less likely to happen.

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I believe at the moment Jose Mourinho is concentrating on winning his first silverware with Madrid in the upcoming Copa del Rey finals on Wednesday and also in their Champions League semifinals showdown in the next two weeks. Perhaps, Real Madrid had boosted their confidence with their 1-1 draw in the second Clasico despite playing with only 10 men in the second half. And Barca was unable to capitalized and beat 10-man Real Madrid. But the next three games were in a different level of competition and I believe, of greater magnitude as well.

See you on 20 April (Copa del Rey) and 27 April / 3 May (Champions League semifinals).

Second El Clasico - The Classic Derby

Tomorrow's second Clasico is not just an ordinary El Clasico for there are so many at stake whoever emerges victorious in the derby. More so for Real Madrid who has been demolished by Barcelona in their first Clasico last 20 Nov 2010 at Camp Nou. The second Clasico will be a barometer in their next three encounters and El Clasico will no longer be just a local engagement but was brought to a higher level in the European competition.

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Real Madrid will not just seek revenge from their 0-5 demolition, they will also have a psychological edge going to the Copa del Rey finals four days later. Then there are more things to prepare for another classic matchup in the Champions League semifinals. The pride of the Merengues is at stake in the four El Clasico. If ever Real Madrid won on 16 April, they will cut the lead of Barcelona in the Primera Liga in 5 points and there are 6 more games left to go. If Barcelona won the second Clasico, it will further bury Real Madrid and extend the gap for 11 more points. And if that’s the case may be then the Los Blancos and Jose Mourinho are less likely to achieve the treble that they are much longing to have.

Whoever is your bet for tomorrow’s second Clasico, I want to see the Los Blancos in the finals of the Champions League. But what hampers on their way is the hard fact that Real Madrid haven’t won the El Clasico for 2 years now.

El Clasico Extends to Champions League

The line for the Champions League semis has been drawn already and it is confirmed that Los Blancos and the Blaugrana are going to face each other not just in the local league. They are going to test each other in the European competition as well and they will meet four times in less than a month. They're going to start it with the second Clasico this coming weekend and will be followed by the finals in Copa del Rey then the first leg of the Champions League semis will start in the Bernabeu on the 27th of April. Comes 3rd May, is the second semis leg and this time will be at the Camp Nou.

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The El Clasico derby is no longer confined in Spain and it have been extended outside of its boundaries, the Champions League. This is very interesting to watch since Real Madrid has been demolished by Barca at Nou Camp but that was in the first Clasico yet. I believe what will be the outcome of the second Clasico matters in the outcome on the succeeding games ahead. One of them will face ManU or Schalke, who are also trying to out-clash each other in the other semifinals slot which will start on 26 April at Veltins-Arena and will be finished at Old Trafford on the 4th of May.

Although I want to see Real Madrid to advance in the finals but it is quite difficult to just dispatch Barca that easily. It is possible for ManU and Barca for a two-peat.

Deciding Day for Champions League Second Semifinalist

The second string of semifinalist to be had just started and upon writing this post it's already half way in the first half and nothing happened yet. In Real and Hotspur's side, it seems the latter is doing good in their game of trying to over come a 4-0 deficit even though it's a difficult but they are trying and not losing any hope. One bad thing though is that, so far in the history of European competition, no teams has overturn a 4-0 deficit. So it's a challenge for Tottenham to defy the odds and beat Real Madrid and face Barcelona in the semis (which I doubt).

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On the other game between Schalke and Inter, the latter needs to produce at least 4 goals to keep up with its own deficit. They were defeated in the San Siro, 5-2, in the first leg. It is indeed a lot to make and before I finished this post, Raul had just made a GOALLL...! And the hope of advancing to the semis is fading slowly for Inter. They now need 5 goals to survive and perhaps upset Schalke but it is unlikely to happen at the moment. The relentless attacking of Schalke is producing some juice while Inter is a different team right now after Mourinho relinquish his post, leaving the treble last year behind. Inter was never been the same since the departure of Mourinho.

So you hang in there and let's watch the second half for its starting already.

Deciding Day for Champions League First Semifinalist

ManU versus Chelsea and Barca versus Shakhtar, four teams are vying for the first two slots for Champions League semifinals. They are playing later tonight in their second leg quarterfinals. Chelsea was humbled by ManU in the first leg right in their own turf and they will go to the Old Trafford to try to overturn the 1-0 deficit. While Barca will visit Shakhtar with high hopes of going through without any trouble after a 5-1 demolition of Shakhtar in Camp Nou. After Barca’s win last week, many believe that and think that they are just waiting for the results of Real Madrid’s game with the Hotspur tomorrow and that they are already assured to reach the semifinals.

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On the other hand, Madrid will visit the White Hart Lane tomorrow to try to secure and wrap up the game after thrashing the latter at the Bernabeu, 4-0 and it’s almost certain that they are already out of the competition. Tottenham needs a miracle to upend their big deficit in Madrid to reach the semis while many reports suggest that Madrid can remain complacent ahead of their second Clasico meeting three days later. Then they will meet again at the finals of the Copa del Rey four days later. While it is a stiff uphill climb for Tottenham to upset the Los Blancos and history is not in their side either. No team has overturned a 4-0 first leg defeat in European competition. It seems that both Real and Barca are certain to face each other again in the Champions League semis. And if that’s the case may be then Barca and Madrid will be facing each other four times within a month starting from its second Clasico this weekend.

I want to see Chelsea in the semis but it’s hard to beat ManU at Old Trafford. And I think Shakhtar’s day in the Champions League have been decided already.

Serie A - The Race for the Scudetto Goes on

In the past five years when Inter brought home the Scudetto and dominated all opponents, there are only 2 teams competing for the top position. And with six more games left to play, (statistically) there are six teams competing for this season’s Scudetto and the point’s difference is very close. Any single mistake could be a big thing and possibly not claiming the silverware. There are still 18 points left to grab and with this game so tight, every team is aiming for a win each time they play and every single game is so important.

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Despite Roma being at the bottom of the six, it is still possible for them to take home the Scudetto although a very slight chance. While the top three teams only holding a slight advantage too with a single game slip up could cause them to lose the lead. At the moment Milan is on a three point lead from Napoli, who took advantage of Inter’s loss last week at the hands of city rival Milan.

In the next two games of AC Milan is crucial since they will be playing the lower tier teams and that would mean additional 6 points. And for the next four games Milan will be playing without the suspended (again) Ibra. And I think it will go down the wire at the very last game of the season before a champion could be decided.

Go Rossoneri…!

ROUND 31 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS SPANISH LEAGUE FOOTBALL

SPANISH LEAGUE action today with the scheduled Round 31 Sunday games of Spanish Football. Plenty of hard fought out matches as the bottom classified teams on the Liga ladder fight with "tooth & nails" to avoid the "relegation zone". Here is a brief run down of todays Liga events with the results & the scorers.



Felipe Luis scores for At Madrid

ATLETICO DE MADRID have one blind objective to

16 April 2011 : Not Just Second Clasico

For the El Clasico fans and followers, mark your calendar as 16 April 2011 is the date that everyone should not miss. It is not just the second Clasico but it could be the deciding factor if Real can still catch up the chase with Barca in the championship race. If Real wins, statistically, the race is still on but judging with the way Barcelona have been playing and the 8 points gap is doubtful and near impossible to overcome.

What’s more interesting is that four days later they will face each other again in the finals of the Copa del Rey. So, who ever get the three points on 16 April will have a psychological edge going into the next big games.

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And you think the thrill and excitement just ends right there?

With both teams thrashing their respective opponents in the Champions League first leg quarters by a considerable big margin then there’s a big possibility that both teams will face each other again for the third time in just one month. It could be the fourth Clasico then. It will be decided and wrap up midweek next week whether they will meet each other again in the semis.

If Madrid lost again this weekend’s second Clasico, it is virtually impossible for the Los Blancos to overtake the Blaugrana even if they are going to fight for it until the end. There are only six more games left and the road for the treble is not in Real Madrid’s side for they still have games against top five teams.

FRANCE 3 SPAIN 2 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RESULT

The SPANISH U-21 NATIONAL TEAM played FRANCE in a friendly match & lost 3 - 2 to the "Blues". The Spanish side was a bit of an experiment with players lined up who habitually don´t play together, but this is no excuse at all. The French side played better & deserved to win, but suffered towards the end & were nearly equalized.

The French U-21 team were 3 - 0 up by the 35th min thanks to some