The Pass Master
Hola,
It is not often in football that you will be able to feel the effect of a particular player on a team as a whole. And that’s what makes Xabier Alonso Olano is one of a kind. Better known as Xabi Alonso to us and born to a man who represented Barcelona as a professional footballer, Xabi has become one of the mainstays of both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team thanks to his ability to control the game from midfield. Playing the role of a footballing ventriloquist, Alonso can run a show of his own kick starting attacks and dictating the pace of the game.
Spotted in the Sociedad youth system by former Real boss John Toshack, our very own pass master became the captain of Sociedad’s senior team at the tender age of 19. His best season for the Basque team though came in 2002-03 when they finished second in the league – two points behind, yes, you got that right, Real Madrid. Xabi though was rewarded for his sensational performance winning the Best Spanish Player award by Spanish sports magazine Don Balón. He also netted 12 goals in all competitions and made over 140 appearances for his childhood club. And thanks to that he earned his first international cap under Inaki Saez against Ecuador.
But his prime time would be else where. During Liverpool’s intermediate transition from being The Reds to La Roja, Xabi Alonso was signed by yet another former Madridista Rafael Benitez and brought to Anfield. Xabi’s impact was immediate as Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in dramatic fashion at Istanbul against AC Milan on penalties after Xabi had netted the equalizer. Till date Xabi claims that to be the most memorable moment of his career. The season after he brought to Anfield the FA Cup as well. Alonso, alongside Gerrard, was the driving force behind the Merseyside team and even played a part in dismantling Real a couple of years back in a UEFA Champions League tie. A year later things changed. The apparent talk of the arrival of Gareth Barry unsettled Xabi and thus the Spanish international handed in a transfer request. Real Madrid was his preferred destination, a club where he wanted to play even before joining Liverpool. Real too had wanted Xabi back then but had failed to meet Sociedad’s asking price. But this time Florentino ensured that he had his man promising Xabi and he wanted to make him the pillar of his new Real Madrid drawing comparisons to Cesc and Arsenal, Xavi and Barcelona, Pirlo and Milan and so on and so forth.
Xabi arrived at Madrid and his first season under Manuel Pellegrini saw him settle into the Real Madrid side becoming a permanent fixture in the line up. And slowly people started realizing the importance of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid despite the presence of stars like Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema. The season went past without much success despite being close and then arrived Jose Mourinho.
Arguably one of the best passers of the game Xabi does not have a variety of skills. His style of play is to keep it simple, striking passes, rotating the ball around the field. His passing range is one of his most important asset, something which only top-notch midfielders have. Xabi can play a diagonal from the left to the right or a through ball dissecting the center halves. Alonso is stable and knows how to go about in different situations and what pace to set. He is also a good destructor intercepting key passes that our adversaries make. Alongside Sami Khedira, Xabi is turning out to be the lynchpin of this young and rejuvenated Real Madrid side and is forming a strong partnership. Xabi Alonso might not be as flamboyant as Zinedine Zidane or as tidy as Makelele or as inspiring as Raul but Xabi Alonso is definitely a force to reckon with. His effect on the team is such that it just cannot be seen when he is there but is crystal clear in his absence. His creativity, the ability to orchestrate a team the way a manager would want to makes him one of the best midfielders Real has ever had and will ever have.
Of all that we need from Xabi the most immediate requirement would be tomorrow night when Real play Murcia in the Copa Del Rey – a tournament that we have not won since 1993. The aggregate stands at 0-0 as we welcome them home for the second leg of the last 32 tie. As minor opposition as they might be they were able to keep us from scoring for one whole game at the Jose Rico Perez. And what Real lacked the most there, as Jose Mourinho himself later admitted, was Xabi Alonso’s creativity in midfield. This time around he would be there to help us and hopefully we will be able to evade the third division curse that has been cast upon us lasting over two years now. The season before last it was Real Union, last time Alcorcon. Will it be Murcia this time? Only time can answer.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
One Pedro For Another | Ins and Outs | S02P02
Now that the World Cup is over the media has shifted its attention on the transfer window again. Real Madrid who have been active on and off this time around having acquired Angel Di Maria and having recalled Sergio Canales back from his loan spell at Racing are being linked as usual to every one who is on the market. I shall, though, limit myself to tangible rumors.
#1
Getafe confirmed the transfer of Pedro Mosquera from Real for an undisclosed fee. The 22-year-old was presented to the media and fans earlier today. Mosquera, who was the captain of Castilla for most of last season also made his First Team debut as well last season. But in all the midfielder managed only one appearance in La Liga. The move, reports say, comes as a result of lack of regular first team action and I am unsure about any buy-back clause included in the deal. I shall update this post as soon as I can with further details.
(more…)
Its the Internatio-dull break and hence loads of comments
Morning all,
Xabi Alonso, Bernd Schuster, Rafael van der Vaart, Miguel Torres, Iker Casillas, Franck Ribery, Jorge Valdano, Florentino Perez, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi – the list goes on. Everyone has something to say. Lets just look at a few of them who have spoken about Real Madrid over the past week or so.
Xabi Alonso has revealed that he first came to the conclusion he was ready to leave Liverpool when the club tried to sell him last summer. He told Sky Sports News:
It was a very difficult decision for me to make. After five years I have experienced wonderful nights at Anfield, to have experienced the support of probably the best fans in the world. That’s why I have always been very grateful and I will always have them in my mind and it has been a pleasure. Last summer the club proposed me that I might have to be sold to find funds for new players.
It was a difficult decision or difficult moment to accept that. I accepted that as a professional and that moment probably changed my mind and I thought that maybe from that moment that maybe it was time for a change.
Alonso has since admitted that his relationship with Benitez deteriorated when he demanded to leave but the Spain international reveals that their relationship was always a professional one. He added:
There has been a lot of rumours but I have always said that it has been simply a professional relationship. I have always tried to do what he asked to do. What he asked of me on the pitch, to do the talking on the pitch, and that’s that.
All that I can say is that he has made the right decision.
Profile: Xabi Alonso
He sees the game like none other, he’s got a cannon of a leg and he can anticipate moves better than all the rest. Xabi Alonso (Tolosa, 25/11/81) is a veteran international who is more than familiar with European football and a mainstay on La Roja. His arrival will boost the Real Madrid midfield and will instantly make Alonso one of Pellegrini’s playmakers. Never a major goal-scorer, he has become free-kicker maestro and his powerful shots from outside the box are absolutely deadly.
Born into a family known for its football prowess, Xabi Alonso came into this world on 25 November 1981 in the Basque town of Tolosa. Following in the footsteps of his father, Periko Alonso, Xabi lived in Barcelona until he was six before moving to San Sebastian, where he began his career as a footballer.La Playa de la Concha, the famous beach in San Sebastian, was the first pitch used by the Madridista and the site where his passion for the game grew. Along with his best friend, Mikel Arteta (now playing for Everton), Alonso began laying the groundwork to enjoy the same success that his father had achieved as a professional in the 1980’s.
Xabi Alonso’s youth career began at Antiguoko, where he quickly stood out for his football prowess. Real Sociedad soon came calling, and his progress through the ranks culminated in his first team debut in Copa del Rey action against Logroñes. By the age of 18 he was easily the best player on the academy squad, so Real loaned the player to a Segunda Division side where he could better develop his skills. It was his first stint with Eiber, who he left in 1998 to debut in Spain’s top flight with Real Socieded before returning again in 2000. The following year marked his definite return to San Sebastian, where he played until 2004 and led the team to a second place finish in La Liga.
Prior to the 2004/05 season, Alonso completed a switch to Liverpool, where he dazzled Kopites with his incredible vision and eye for the pass. Additionally, his powerful long-range shot converted him into one of Europe’s best centre midfielders.
Still in his first season in England, Alonso had his ankle broken and was sidelined for three months. He managed to return for the quarterfinal round of the Champions League and helped guide Liverpool to the final against Milan. The Italians led the match 3-0 before halftime rolled around, but the Reds were able to do the unthinkable and forced extra time, where they defeated Milan in the penalty shootout for the club’s fifth European Cup.
Xabi Alonso has featured for Spain since debuting in 2003. He participated in both the 2004 and 2008 European Championship as well as the 2006 World Cup. His career high was no doubt the 2008 Euro won by Spain. Alonso was also named Man of the Match in the third group stage game against Greece.
An eye for the pass, speed in distributing, vision for the game, a powerful shot… just some of the attributes of the Basque footballer who managed to conquer English football. He has now landed at the Bernabeu to play for Real Madrid, who in a matter of weeks he will accompany to the city and stadium that witnessed his rise. And that is because the Whites play Real Sociedad on 15 August as part of the Txuri-urdin’s centenary celebrations.
Honours
- Club
- Real Sociedad:
- La Liga (Runner-Up): 2003
- Liverpool:
- UEFA Champions League: 2005
- European Super Cup: 2005
- FA Cup: 2006
- FA Community Shield: 2006
- UEFA Champions League (Runner-Up): 2007
- FA Premier League (Runner-Up): 2009
- Real Sociedad:
- Country
- Spain
- UEFA European Championship: 2008 (winners)
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009 (3rd place)
- Spain
Xabi Alonso becomes a Madridista!
Liverpool have reached an agreement to sell midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real, subject to a medical. The fee is reported to be in the region of £30m but Liverpool said the terms of the deal would remain confidential. A statement on Real’s website read:
Real Madrid C.F. and Liverpool F. C. have agreed to the transfer of Xabier Alonso Olano (Xabi Alonso). The player will arrive in Madrid tomorrow to undergo the required medical.
XABI ALONSO IS A MADRIDISTA. ITS OFFICIAL!!
A statement on the Reds’ official website reads:
Liverpool Football Club this evening confirmed they had reached agreement for the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, subject only to a medical. The terms of the deal will remain confidential and undisclosed.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Michel Salgado coy about future + other rubbish
Hola,
Let me get straight into the issue.
Michel Salgado is reported to have negotiated his release from Real Madrid. After spending 10 glorious years at Santiago Bernabeu the veteran accepts that the time has come to move on. Reports say that the acquisition of Arbeloa has persuaded him that his future lies away from Real.
Salgado was contracted to the club until the summer of 2010, like Guti and Raul, but both sides have agreed to end that agreement prematurely. The player was apparently given the choice to decide whether he would prefer to have the final year of his deal paid off or accept the offer of a testimonial. Marca reports that Salgado will say goodbye to the fans on August 25 when Real play AC Milan to retain the the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy.
His agent Gines Carvajal though is said to have already been approached with a number of interesting proposals. One such offer is reported to have come from Arab outfit Al Rayyan of Qatar. Real Zaragoza are also said to have expressed an interest, and a move to La Romareda would allow Salgado to remain in the Primera Liga.
Either way Michel Salgado will be looked upon as a legend. I still can remember those days when he used to rattle opponents dominating the right wing from back to front. I hope he still remains a part of Real Madrid.
You can find St.Iker’s comments down below.
Steven Defour has admitted a move to Liverpool would be an opportunity he couldn’t turn away. The dynamic youngster is highly respected by Liverpool and it is believed the Merseysiders could make a move if Xabi Alonso departs to Real Madrid. The youngster is quoted in The Daily Mail as saying:
I have an agreement with Standard Liege that I could go to a top club, and Liverpool fit the bill.
We too have shown an interest in acquiring the 21-year-old and Defour’s agent, Paul Stefani, confirmed that both clubs were interested in his client. He said:
Steven’s name has been mentioned not only at Real Madrid, but also at Liverpool, they are looking at him too. Normally he would stay for another year, but nobody could say no to clubs like those, and Liege would not stand in his way.
The Belgian international has made close to 100 appearances for his club and has become a regular with the national side. I just hope Liege give him a better deal. All this talk seems to be only because of a need of an improved contract.
Alvaro Negredo is unlikely to stay at Real Madrid this summer, according to a particular rumor, as he faces competition for a place up front from the likes of Raul, Benzema, Higuain, van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo. The player’s agent, Alejandro Camano, spoke about his client’s links to Serie A side Roma earlier today.
In Rome I only spoke with journalists. Now I am in England and speaking to four or five English clubs, but I didn’t hear anything from the Giallorossi. Real would let go of the player, but not sell him. Their goal is to sell him on a temporary basis and then redeem him later. His assessment is around €18 million.
Negredo, who bagged 19 goals in 34 appearances with Almeria in 2008-09, would allegedly ‘be honoured’ to join the Serie A side.
Italian football is very important. Along with Spanish and English it is the best in the world, but there is nothing concrete with any Italian team. Roma is a great team, they have [Francesco] Totti, who is one of the strongest players in the world. For Negredo it would be an honour to play for club’s at that level. He is a player capable of scoring 20 goals per season and showed that at Almeria.
It seems that Real are looking to make a similar deal as they did when they sold him to Almeria, including an option to buy him back in the future. I’ll simply pass this rumor.
Liverpool want 38m for Xabi Alonso. Real have come up to 27m. The situation seems to have hit a deadlock. I’ll prefer to wait on it.
Till I return with more bullocks,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Xabi Alonso and the Mystery Man Steven Defour
Good morning,
Liverpool have finally confirmed that they are in talks with us over the proposed transfer of a certain Xabi Alonso, with the man involved welcoming the discussions over his future. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez who was initially unwilling to part company with the Spaniard, softened his stance when the former Real Sociedad man handed in a written transfer request.
We have so far been unwilling to meet Liverpool’s asking price for the Euro 2008 winner, which is believed to be in the region of £30million. Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow met with our executive director Jose Angel Sanchez in Barcelona (yeah, Barcelona) on Sunday to discuss Alonso where Liverpool are for a friendly against Espanyol.
Purslow confirmed to Spanish newspaper AS that he had spoken with Sanchez but that no agreement had been reached. He admitted that the meeting had been arranged by Benitez, with everyone at Anfield becoming frustrated with the ongoing press speculation over the possible switch. He said:
This (meeting) has only served to put our positions on the table. We need to continue talking. Rafa arranged this knowing what was coming. It was important that we know. So far, most of what is being said is a lie. We were negotiating through the press. It makes no sense. Now, I have been impressed by Madrid and Jose Angel. They are friends and will remain so.
Meanwhile. Alonso claimed he was unaware of the meeting but added:
It’s reassuring to know that Madrid and Liverpool are talking seriously now. I decided a long time ago to stay on the margin of everything that was happening. My stance has been clear, as you all know. I’m a professional and I must wait for an agreement to be reached, but I hope it is resolved soon, for better or for worse.
Ergo, he wants to come to Madrid. Liverpool want a lot of money. A possible solution should be finding a replacement to the club which does not have Xabi Alonso by the end of this tug of war. Liverpool seemed to have found one in Alberto Aquilani whom Marca claim to be a Liverpool player already. Real though have a certain Steven Defour in mind. The Belgian midfielder who was voted by Belgium as the best player of last season was handed the award by Zizou. This triggered talks about Real looking at him as a possible replacement if we miss out on Xabi Alonso.
Standard Liege’s, the current employers of Defour, chief Dominique D’Onofrio is not surprised to see Steven Defour linked with Real Madrid. D’Onofrio admits he is not shocked by the reports (linking the midfielder to Real and Liverpool) given Defour’s standing as one of the most highly-rated young midfielders in world football. But he insisted Standard will not be selling this summer. D’Onofrio told Het Laatste Nieuws:
We haven’t been contacted, but it won’t surprise me if Steven is mentioned at Real. Zinedine Zidiane is an advisor of Real and he is following Defour since he gave him the Golden Boot (for best player in Belgium). We are very proud Steven is wanted in the market. Defour is ready for a top team, but because of that we won’t let him leave. Defour is part of the backbone of our squad. He is not for sale, we won’t talk about a transfer.
But the 21-year-old, who is reportedly valued at €20 million, insists he has held no talks about a possible move away from the Stade Maurice Dufrasne. Defour said at a press conference:
For now, I have not signed with any club. So it is useless to talk about that now. There is a good relationship with Real, in particular with Zinedine Zidane, who even came here [in April 2008]. But apart from that there is nothing.
When asked about whether he would prefer to join Real or Liverpool, Defour said:
I have no preference. I am just happy that there is interest in me. Standard want to keep me. I feel fine here. Now, if a big club come knocking and want to take me right away. A choice will have to be made, whatever the circumstances… In any case, if I leave Standard, it will be with regret.
A nominee for the rumor of the season.
Moving over to the rumors about Wesley Sneijder’s possible move, the player’s agent has rejected claims that the midfielder is set to sign for Inter Milan. Reports have suggested an agreement has been reached between the two clubs over a summer switch. But Sneijder’s agent, Soren Lerby, has dismissed claims that the Holland international is poised to join Inter. Lerby told La Gazzetta dello Sport:
We have an understanding with Real Madrid that Wesley can’t leave the club. And nothing has changed there.
Pheew! Thats the last thing I wanted. Sneijder has to stay. Period.
That is about it for now.
Till next time,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
P.S: Aston Villa beat Juve to lift the Peace Cup through penalties. I recommend readers to watch the penalty shootout and especially Alex Del Piero’s penalty. Hahahahaha!
Raul pelle canna delpi + the Dutch exodus
Haha.. Confused you, didn’t I? If not I beg you to forgive me. But hell after making more than 950 posts I can bet that anyone will struggle to give suitable a title for your posts especially when there is not much to talk about. This is one such post. I just wanted to talk about last night’s rodeo against the bulls (I’d say bullocks) from Turin before I headed out to grab a sub and take a nice peaceful walk on the shore.
Anyhoo, getting back on track, both Manu Pellegrini and El Capitan have given their reactions to our first loss of the season. The coach’s reaction can be found here. He says that he is really concerned about the way on which we are defending set pieces. 5 goals conceded this season and all five from set plays. But what he also says is that the team hasn’t worked too hard on it. D’oh! We can see that Manu! When are we ever gonna change?!
If one person knows how to exploit us through set pieces it is Fabio Cannavaro. Hell, he was a part of the god damned tradition of conceding from set pieces for three whole years and I wasn’t surprised when I saw him jump up and grab himself a goal something he couldn’t do for us for three seasons. One other difference I noticed in him was that he was defending his heart out. Well, yeah, once you ditch The old lady for money and you want to get back with her you’ve got to do stuff you’ve never done before. I shant blame him. He had a few words to say after the match as well. Speaking to some random press guy immediately after the game he said:
It’s always good to win in the pre-season. We came up against a great Madrid side, a very strong team. But we will only see them at their best in September, once the pre-season is over.
The ‘Berlin Wall’ then admitted that he did not celebrate his goal in the third minute when he nodded in Alessandro Del Piero’s freekick out of respect for old former team-mates and fans, although he did assure that it was a weird feeling scoring against former club. Bah! He should’ve celebrated. he should’ve piled those clowns in grey and stood on them like he did in once here at Real. It was super funny to see that.
Moving on, Alex Del Piero insists Juve are better than Real. I don’t think we can talk about it. Three out of the last three for them. Patience amigo, patience. Il capitan as the Raul-wannabe is called, told the press:
These are emotions that are always pleasing and you can never get used to them. We did really well and we were organised and compact, giving the impression that we are more of a team than [Real Madrid] are. These are important wins that always give you motivation. We have shown that we can play at the highest level against any team.
I don’t give two hoots about losing right now. I hope we lose all the games we are destined to lose in pre-season itself. Its the real season that matters. If this had been the season in proper I’d have been ranting by now. I just hope things change and for the good.
El Capitan as usual was made to speak to the press in order to pacify the fans as we lost last night. He told AS:
There needs to be calm. We are still absorbing some concepts and some new ideas. It’s a long process, but we are on the right track. There have been noticeable improvements in every game. There’s no doubt that it will be a great year for Madrid.
In Raul we believe. Period.
But what that loss doesn’t have an effect on is the transfer market. Players will be sold. Liverpool will be stupid. And you know the usual rumors will fly around. Both Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart are linked with moves to Inter Milan. The former though is wanted by a host of other top European clubs including Chelsea and Bayern. The player’s representitive, Soren Lerby, has revealed the midfielder could be tempted by a move elsewhere if he believes his first-team opportunites could be under threat in 2009/10.
The Galacticos have built a team which can compete in all the competitions, but you need good players to rotate. So Wesley doesn’t feel out of place because he wants to give everything for them. At the same time a big player needs to play regularly and that may not happen at the Bernabeu. If Wesley was to leave Spain he would only do it for one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
All this only means Sneijder needs more allowance which I am sure will be taken care of. On the other hand Rafael van der Vaart who surprisingly was left out of the Peace Cup squad (which only meant his services have been deemed unnecessary) is on the verge of a loan move to Inter with an option to sign him for 5m euros come end of the spell. Thats less than half of what we spent on him.
The other Dutch player leaving is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Ajax, Arsenal and Tottenham are interested in him. There are rumors that he could be a part of the Xabi deal but Rafa insists that he is not interested in any of our players and is thus demanding 40m euros for the Basque. We on the other hand are only willing to spend 25m.
Thats about it for the day. I’m running out of stuff to type and I’m growing hungry by the second.
Cheers,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Just a confirmation…
Gabriel Heinze has officially left the club. The statement on the club’s website read:
Real Madrid and Marseille have reached an agreement for the transfer of Gabriel Ivan Heinze to the French club.
The 31-year-old will sign a three-year deal with l’OM, but the transfer fee remains undisclosed. Heinze, who was already in Marseille to complete his medicals and contract signing before the formal confirmation was released, said during his presentation:
The club’s sports project convinced me and from there, the negotiations were concluded quickly. The objective is clear and that’s why I am here. All the great clubs are always fighting for titles and that is what I will work for.
He then revealed that his decision to leave the Santiago Bernabeu was his choice, and not solely because he didn’t fit into the plans of coach, Manuel Pellegrini.
I’ve enjoyed two tremendous seasons at the club, but the life of a footballer is such. We are made to change clubs. I am proud to be here and I will give everything I have.
Good. Now over to the Xabi Alonso thingy.
Xabi Alonso is due to fly back to Spain with Liverpool on Saturday as the negotiations over his possible transfer drag on. Liverpool are playing in a friendly against Espanyol on Sunday to open the club’s new stadium and at the moment Alonso is expected to be in the travelling party.
A final decision is likely to be taken after the squad have trained on Saturday morning ahead of an afternoon flight.
Alonso is known to want to make his Madrid debut in his home town of San Sebastian on August 15, when the we play in Real Sociedad’s centenary match. Alonso started his career with the Basque club.
So I shall keep you guys posted.
Till then,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Good news?! Its Great news!
You think that it is your day when the headlines reads Alonso ‘requests transfer’. You definitely know that it is your day when it reads Heinze se marcha al Olympique de Marsella. The latter can be translated as Heinze goes to Olympique Marseille or simply Heinze is no longer a Real Madrid player for its official! Now isn’t that brilliant?!!
If that is brilliant then wait till you hear this, Xabi Alonso has handed in a written transfer request to Liverpool. Even though we have no official information as of yet, the news is apparently out on Liverpool Echo, one of the most trusted Liverpool tabloid. So I guess the news itself can be considered genuine. Speculation suggests a deal for the midfielder will be struck with Madrid within the next couple of days for a fee reported to be in the region of £25m. This is simply superb. I say superb because I felt that Xabi Alonso was the missing piece in the Real Madrid jigsaw and now that his arrival is on the cards I think that success is almost inevitable for this great club. Heinze out => Xabi Alonso in. Sensational!
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Profile: Alvaro Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa Coca was born on 17 January 1983 in Salamanca, Castilla y León. He began his footballing days at Zaragoza. He eventually joined Real Madrid B in the 2003/04 season and got promoted to the Second Division with the team. He made his mark in the First Division at Deportivo La Coruña and became a household name in Europe with Liverpool. He’s been an undisputed international for Spain since 2008. Arbeola’s versatility allows him to play anywhere in defence. He is a very regular and consistent player that thrives in one-on-ones.
Raised in Zaragoza, Alvaro started playing football in his school, joining Zaragoza’s youth systejm when he was 12 years old. He stayed at the club until the 2001/02 campaign, during which he was signed by Real Madrid’s Under-19 side, then coached by Rafa Benitez. His hard work got him promoted to Real Madrid B -now known as Castilla-. He became the team’s captain and helped it reach the Second Division at the end of the campaign with team-mates such as De la Red, Javi Garcia, Soldado, and Juanfran. Arbeola made his first team debut on 16 October 2004 against Betis when he replaced Mejia. He played one more game with the first team before rejoining Real Madrid B.
Arbeola made one of his most important decisions in 2006 when he decided to sign for Deportivo La Coruña in order to gain experience and have continuity on a First Division team. In 2007, just six months after the move, he joined Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool, making his debut against Newcastle on 10 February and becoming an undisputed starter for the Reds. He didn’t win any titles with Liverpool, but he reached the 2006/07 Champions League final. He played 49 Premiership games -scoring two goals-, 20 in the Champions League, 3 in the League Cup and 1 FA Cup match.
Arbeola was an international for Spain on every youth national team before joining the first team, with whom he made his debut in March 2008 in a friendly against Italy. He had been called-up for a previous match against France, but an injury on his abdomen prevented him from making his debut then.
Alvaro was one of the 23 Spanish players who won the 2008 Euro in Germany. He only played against Greece, but he became an essential player both for Luis Aragones and current coach Vicente del Bosque, who called him up again to play in the Confederations Cup, in which Spain won the Bronze Medal.
Three seasons after leaving his home, Alvaro Arbeola returns to Real Madrid. He is the fourth Spanish arrival on the team since Florentino Perez became President.
Honours:
Spain:
- UEFA European Championship
-
- Winner (1): 2008
Liverpool:
- UEFA Champions League
-
- Runner-up (1): 2007
Alvaro Arbeloa becomes a Madridista!
Just a confirmation. We’ve already spoken enough about this. The official statement was released a few hours back. It read:
Real Madrid C.F and Liverpool F.C. have reached an agreement for the transfer of Alvaro Arbeola to the Spanish club. The player will sign a five-year contract with Real Madrid.
The deal is supposedly worth 4.5m euros. He can play on either side of the defense. He probably should sport number 27. Moreover he was Pellegrini’s personal choice at full back so there is no question as to what his role would be. He has gained all the experience needed at the top level with Liverpool and I see him as a good signing. But his arrival makes the exit of one or two of our players imminent. Heinze anyone?
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Arbeloa is almost a Madridista again
Alvaro Arbeloa is almost a Madridista again. Yep. The player claims he is close to finalizing his anticipated move to Real Madrid. Arbeloa has been linked with a move to Real throughout the summer with his chances at Liverpool likely to be more limited this season following the signing of Glen Johnson. It is a known fact that Real are also chasing Arbeloa’s team-mate Xabi Alonso.
A £4.5million fee for Arbeloa has been mooted and the Spain international believes talks over a move to Real are making positive progress. He told Spanish Marca:
At the moment I am focused on Liverpool, but it is true that the deal is close to being completed. We’ll see what happens in the next few days, if we can all make an effort so the the negotiations come to a good end, and we all come out having benefited, which is what everyone wants. I insist that everything is going forwards and everyone is in agreement – I am the one who has the most desire to sign for Madrid. I don’t know what the likelihood is in percentages, it’s a question more for the clubs. But, as I understand, it seems everything is going well and there is little left to resolve. It could all be sealed this week.
Arbeloa has made almost 100 appearances for Liverpool since joining the Premier League club from Deportivo La Coruna in January 2007. He signed for Deportivo from Real, having failed to make an impact in his first spell at the Bernabeu after playing in the youth team for current Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez.
The arrival of Arbeloa will give me joy on two fronts. One, that it would make the exit of Gabriel Heinze imminent and two, it would mean more Spaniards in our first team squad. Last season it was four in Dani Parejo, Ruben de la Red, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. Now we have Albiol, Granero, Negredo and if what Arbeloa claims is true then Arbeloa.
Though Arbeloa’s arrival makes me happy its Xabi’s arrival that I’m looking forward to. Florentino Perez insists he will not pay over the odds for players, amid reports from Spain which suggest Rafa Benitez has put a 48-hour deadline on their pursuit of Xabi Alonso. Perez told the Daily Telegraph:
Some people obviously thought that because we said we wanted more Spanish players, they could ask for fees which don’t correspond to reality. A year ago, certain players we’ve asked about would have cost less than half the price we’re being quoted now. If necessary, we’ll find the Spanish players we would like for the squad in our youth system.
I couldn’t agree with him more. Liverpool thinks we mint money. We’ve got our own debts you red morons!
Anyhoo, a crunch Peace Cup game tonight. The preview to follow.
Till then,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Huntelaar out => Arbeloa in
A nice and warm evening out here, I hope its the same there,
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is leaving. The final nail in the coffin of the whole Huntelaar saga was Pellegrini’s statement in his press conference earlier today that read:
I’ve spoken to every player and Huntelaar knows what I want. We have many strikers on the team and they can’t all stay. Everybody knows how good he is. We have an excess of strikers right now and he knows there is no place for him.
Now that was frank. I am quite sure that neither Schuster nor Juande would have put across the message that way. They would have been coy before actually saying such stuff. And this just makes me like Manu Pellegrini all the more. Infact I would like to go on record saying that I am officially a fan of his.
Anyhoo, coming back to Huntelaar, I do feel sad for the bloke. He spent only half a season here at Real and scored 8 good goals. He has an eye for goal and would definitely have done much better if he had been given the time and the opportunity. It is sad that he has to leave. But now the question is where? It is imminent that he doesn’t want to move to a non Champions League club after he rejected Sttutgart’s bid. Sp*rs were after him apparently. But Harry Redknapp has admitted that striking a deal will be difficult due to the Dutchman’s wage demands. That’s true. Paying him as much as Real is will be tough but he has to move somewhere. AC Milan too were looking to sign him but it was only on loan and that too broke as they went after Luis Fabiano. He basically is running out of suitors. Nevertheless I just hope things are sorted out soon and that we know what our squad is going to be like ASAP.
If Huntlaar’s departure is inevitable so is Arbeloa’s return, apparently. The former Madridista is likely to be the third returning Madridista after Negredo and Granero. Arbeloa’s representative, Manuel Garcia Quilon, remains in discussions with the Primera Liga giants and expects a conclusion by the start of next week. Quilon told The Sun:
Discussions with Real are not over and I expect a solution early next week.
Jorge Valdano has also confirmed that the 26-year-old, who played for the club in 2004-05, remains a transfer target. Valdano said:
Arbeloa is a basic part of our plans.
Arbeloa has one year remaining on his contract at Anfield and faces a fight for a first-team place on Merseyside following the arrival of Glen Johnson.
Xabi Alonso saga is still going on as Benitez is now trying to convince the ace midfielder to stay at Anfield. More on that on Marca.
The Peace Cup has commenced. Last night Juve beat Sevilla 2-1 in Group A and Liga de Quito beat Al-Ittihad 3-1 in Group B in which we are the third team. We kick-off our campaign tomorrow night against Al-Ittihad.
More on that game later,
Till then,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
The Spanish tinge to Real Madrid
Note: Spain lost to the U.S.A. You can read the match report which is right below this post. I am on the verge of tears. If I talk anymore about the defeat I will cry. So I shall zip up about Spain and all the talk shall be about Real Madrid alone.
Hello,
It has been quite a decent day at the transfer market for us. There are quite a few rumors on hand right now. And I must say that they are good ones. Good as in good for the club not the ‘Stephen Lichensteiner is wanted by Real Madrid’ kind. OK. Time to kick-off.
Raul Albiol has been signed by Real Madrid. The actual signature nor the medical hasn’t taken place but MARCA reports that Valencia and Real Madrid have agreed upon a deal worth around 15 million euros which sees the young Spaniard play the next five seasons at the Bernabeu if alls well. It also says that a week long negotiation has been going on between the two clubs and that the deal is finally complete. The player though is yet to comment as he is away on international duty with the Spanish national team. If all has happened as reported then Albiol will be the second Spaniard to be signed by Florentino following Sergio Ramos (in his previous stint as President) and his third acquisition of his current spell. Both AS and MARCA had earlier said that Albiol was close to signing for Real Madrid and this news comes in as a little less of a surprise. There are no official statements out from either camp yet.
One other Spaniard who just might wear white next season is Alvaro Arbeloa. The versatile full-back who is currently plying his trade with Liverpool is being rumored to be on the verge of signing for Real Madrid. With Liverpool signing Glen Johnson this week and with only one year left in the player’s contract it was said that his agent was in Madrid to conduct talks with the Bernabeu officials. Arbeloa welcomes the transfer talk and concedes that it is not certain he will be plying his trade with Liverpool next season. He said:
I am especially proud of what the club is doing. It is a big project with the return of Florentino (Perez) – and obviously if Madrid is fixed on you it makes you proud.
Arbeloa added in Marca:
I would be lying if I said I was sure to start the season with Liverpool. I’ll be able to think about all this by next Monday.
We have also been linked with Liverpool’s midfield pair of Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso. The Argentine is flattered about the rumors linking him with us and Barcelona. He has been tipped to join the Camp Nou outfit this summer while his representative, Walter Tamer, is understood to have jetted to Catalunya to hold talks last week. But it is Alonso on whom we are keen on. Valdano while speaking to AS said:
We have possibilities there but I don’t want to say anything that will make the negotiation more difficult. We will wait a reasonable amount of time.
Valdano had a few words to say about Arbeloa as well. He added:
The lad only has a year left on his contract with Liverpool and this gives us more possibilities. He can play in two or three positions and this versatility is good. He is another option to evaluate.
The arrival of Arbeloa and Alonso could spell the exits of one Gabriel Heinze, who admitted that he would consider moving back to the Premier League if we are looking at selling him. Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham are the clubs which are said to be interested in him. Please take him. I beg you. Continuing with England, there is a rumor about Michael Essien saying he would find it tough to resist a move to Real Madrid. The arrival of either Xabi or Essien would spell the exit of Rafael van der Vaart who might just go back to where he came from, HSV, only after a year that too. At least that is what MARCA says. But this they’ve been saying for ages.
One player who is definitely staying is Iker Casillas. He was behind the microphone of Al Primer Toque, where he made it very clear that his future is with Real Madrid following reports linking him with Manchester United.
I am very happy at Real Madrid and thrilled with the project. I have no intention of leaving. I was raised at Real Madrid and it is where I want to be. I worked hard to reach the first team and have been here for ten years now.
The long wait to decide the future of Franck Ribery could soon be over after the player’s agent revealed that the Frenchman wants to sign for Real Madrid. Ribery has his pick of Europe’s top clubs this summer, but appears set on a move to the Bernabeu. This is some fantastic news. I will wait till I hear more on this.
But he isn’t the only Frenchman who wants to be come to Real. With having ended the David Villa pursuit Real were planning to spend the money that Valencia was supposed to get on Lyon’s Karim Benzema, who has been a target for sometime now. However, the French striker will prove to be a difficult target for Perez and co. Lyon have insisted that they will keep hold of Benzema, but their statements have always ended with a ‘but anything is possible’. president Jean-Michel Aulas said:
Karim has long expressed his desire to remain with Olympique Lyonnais. The club wants him to stay and restructure around him. Now it’s true that the transfer market is very surprising and the news from Real, Chelsea and Manchester United makes me very perplexed. No-one is in-transferable, but knowing Karim, if he did leave, it would be to Real Madrid. For the moment, we are not talking about transferring Karim.
Benzema is valued at €40 million, with rumours indicating that Lyon would have to take on a cash-plus-player deal Arjen Robben or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. BOLLOCKS!
Fiorentina are believed to be keen on signing Dutchman Royston Drenthe, initially on loan for a season with the option of a permanent deal at the end of the 12 months. His agent Ernesto Bronzetti claims Real would be happy to let Drenthe leave, but only for a considerably higher fee. He explained:
I had a chat with Pantaleo Corvino and he admitted he wants Drenthe. They want to loan him and then buy him for £6m. Real Madrid are OK with the loan but they would like more money for the permanent transfer.
Bronzetti also warned Fiorentina they could face competition for Drenthe, who has been linked with Genoa and Tottenham. He said:
Royston is young and talented. Perhaps he is Real Madrid’s most wanted player so Fiorentina will have to make an effort to buy him.
BOLLOCKS again!
One person who has left officially is Julen Lopetegui. He has been fired by Real Madrid as the coach of Real Madrid Castilla. An official announcement on the club’s website read:
Real Madrid CF wishes to announce that it has reached a deal with Julen Lopetegui for the latter to leave the club. Lopetegui signed on in 2008/09 to coach Real Madrid Castilla, who he nearly led to the playoffs of Segunda Division B. Real Madrid would like to thank the coach for his services and expresses its best wishes for future success.
Away from transfers, the 30th edition of the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy will be contested by A.C.Milan. Yeah. It was confirmed on the official website here. I just can’t wait for that! I just can’t! Kaka versus Milan!
Oh yeah, there is a rumor or two about the prospective signing of either Godin or Gonzalo from Villareal. But nothing solid can be said about it yet.
I’ll post as soon as anything about the Albiol move comes out.
Till then,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Ronaldo edges closer to a move & other stuff
Hola,
Let me get done with this fast cause I haven’t had my breakfast yet. I just sipped a cup of coffee and I am super hungry now. So here we go. We don’t have much to brag about today. I guess Valdano and Florentino have been on a holiday at least for the past week or so as we are being linked with the same players again and again and… wait for it… again. Ergo today we have more of genuine stuff than rumors. More of quotes than fantasies and more of sugar than spice. Lets get started with the post damnit!
Cristiano Ronaldo is on the verge of signing for Real Madrid. Well that has been the case for a year now. But this time, according to MARCA at least, he is just days away from being presented at the Presidential Balcony at the Bernabeu. Speaking to the press in Portugal, where he is on a holiday, Ronaldo revealed that although negotiations are still ongoing with Madrid, he is eager for his new life to begin at the Bernabeu.
As I’ve already said in every interview. Real Madrid is the club in which I’ve always wanted to play. It will be good to play with Kaka, a player who was the Ballon d’Or, the best in the world, but also with Raul, (Iker) Casillas and Guti. If I’m allowed, now I want to rest, because the negotiations are still not concluded. I want to start pre-season well, that’s what I really want. The truth is that I’m eager to start.
He added that he is still looking out for a house in Madrid and is eager to learn Spanish. He doesn’t know Spanish!?! Ronaldo also confirmed that he had undergone medical tests with Real, saying:
Everything went perfectly.
Ronaldo admitted that it may take him a while to adapt to life in La Liga after so long in England, but that he is confident of a successful switch. He also said that does not yet know what shirt number he will wear at Madrid or when he will be officially presented. I guess Ronaldo doesn’t read MARCA (not even when it is translated into Portuguese). It says that Cristiano will be presented on July 6.
The Spanish U21 team was knocked out of the UEFA U21 European Championship despite winning against Finland by a two goal margin. Amongst others representing the young La Roja squad is our very own Miguel Torres. The player in an interview with Realmadrid.com has said that he would return to pre-season training on time even if it would mean giving up on holidays. When asked whether it was normal for a person to give up on his holidays he replied saying:
I don’t know if it is or not, but that’s what I’m going to do. I haven’t been lucky enough to play in the Under-21 Euro yet, so I must think about my immediate future, which involves returning to Real Madrid in the pre-season. I will rejoin the team on 10 July, like many of my team-mates. I don’t want to miss a single minute.
That probably is because of Alvaro Arbeloa. According to MARCA the representative of Arbeloa is in Madrid. Now that Liverpool have signed Glen Johnson I am sure Arbeloa is looking for other options. Don’t blame him, anyone would prefer warming the Real Madrid bench to warming the Liverpool bench. Money people!
The reason behind Miguel Torres’ reply might also be Maicon. According to reports emanating from Spain, Inter sporting director Marco Branca held talks with Real Madrid executives last week. And Inter President Massimo Moratti brushed aside speculation that those negotiations involved Zlatan Ibrahimovic‘s possible transfer to the Bernabeu.
Branca’s trip to Madrid had already been fixed for some time and the reason was Maicon.
But what he also said was:
But Florentino Perez is not that interested in defenders, fortunately for us, because Maicon is one of the best in the world.
Classic Perez isn’t it? Not interested in defenders. Haha! One defender who is linked with us is Juan of the AS Roma fame. The player himself later denied it.
In other news, Real’s first pre-season friendly will be against Shamrock Rovers from West Dublin which, if all goes well, would be the debut of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. Talking about Kaka he has suggested that Andrea Pirlo could be joining him at the Bernabeu. But that I am sure he meant it to be a joke.
Another Real Madrid player at the Confederations Cup who has been speaking is Iker Casillas. Amongst other things he spoke about how only the best can play for Real Madrid.
I think it’s fantastic to sign great players because the best should play for Real Madrid. Such an amount of money was paid in the past for men like Zidane, who was an amazing player and a great person. The same goes for Beckham. I don’t know Kaka, but I’m told he is a great guy and that’s important.
Talking about Iker Casillas, Realmadrid.com rubbished the rumor that Man United are trying to sign our Saint.
Sergio Ramos too took time to speak to Cuatro about Spain reaching the semi-finals where they will face the U.S of A.
We are happy with the situation we’re living on the Spanish national team. We are concentrating on the Confederations Cup and we’ll fight to reach the final. We have deep respect for USA, just like for any other team, but we’ll try to play as well as we’ve done so far to be in the final.
With that the post ends. I shall post the preview for the Spain game by tonight or tomorrow morning.
Till then,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
An early morning brain wave
Its sometime around 0730 or 0800 or whatever here and I am up already. Hell I am getting no sleep. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah. I could go on and on like this. But this isn’t about that. I’ve got a lot of other stuff to talk about
For the past few weeks or so I’ve been concentrating too much on the big names like Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery and David Villa the former pair have been signed and the latter duo have been strongly linked with us. But what I seem to have forgotten already was the fact that we do have other players on our team who have been linked with moves away from the club (Six in-Nine out Policy of Florentino) and plus there are millions of other European quality players.
So without further adieu lets get rollin’…
This is what David Villa told the press following the game in Bloemfontein after again being quizzed about his future:
I have made my decision. My agent knows my wishes, and he is now working on that – so I am relaxed. There is no deadline on the subject, and I really do not have any more details as this whole thing is not totally dependent on me.
We are hearing this amongst the rumors that the striker wants to stay in Spain and that only Real Madrid and Barcelona are contenders to sign him. At the same time there have been other rumors as to the only club Villa would move to would be the one in which his La Roja strike partner Fernando Torres is in at the moment. Well, just because they celebrate every goal of theirs like they’ve just given birth to a new baby, it doesn’t mean… Hell.. what am I saying?! This is a future Madridista we’re talking about. But why is he linked with Barcelona?!?
Anyhoo, moving on, the next rumor is about an exit from the Bernabeu concerning a one Mahamadou Diarra who was sitting at home throughout last season nurtuting an injury. The Malian central midfielder has been linked with a move to Juventus who are very keen on the 28 year old. Diarra is said to have been recommended to the Bianconeri by Fabio Cannavaro. He knee injury is unlikely to scupper any potential deal.
Diarra admits he would be willing to discuss a move to Italy, but insists any such agreement will rest in the hands of his current employers which is ofcourse Real Madrid. Speaking to skysports.com he said:
I am feeling very well at the moment and I hope to come back even stronger next season. Real are recruiting a lot of big stars at the moment and I am looking forward to the next campaign.
Thats nice to hear. But he did have a few words to say about Juve:
Juve? They are a great side, one of the best in the world, so to be linked with them is fantastic.But to play there, I don’t know yet. We will have to wait and see what the new officials at Real have planned.
It is true that we are having an abundance (of players) in the middle of the park with Lass, Gago, De la Red, Kaka, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Guti, Parejo, Javi Garcia which means that we will sell one or two or maybe send them on loan. Diarra is a good player. No doubt. And it is very obvious that he is our most mature defensive midfielder with the lesser mature being the likes of Lass, Gago and Javi Garcia. So do we sell him?
For sometime now The Offside guy has been whining to get to back the Cantaneros who are doing so well now at every other club (almost (OK, exaggeration)) other than Real Madrid. One such player who has been linked with us is Álvaro Arbeloa of Liverpool. The player has admitted that he would consider a return to Spain as he believes he has a point to prove in his homeland.And also there is this little fact that he has only one year left in his contract and Liverpool are close to signing a certain Glen Johnson who too plays in the same position as our young Cantanero. Anyhoo, Arbeloa has been talking and we too have been talking about a right sided player (God knows why). He told Elmundo while on international duty at the Confederations Cup:
I am happy at Liverpool, but I have something to prove in Spain as I did not show my best form in La Liga. One day, I’m sure I will return.
It is always nice to be linked to big teams – even to this Madrid side in a time of transition. They are working hard to build a great team.
I have one more year remaining on my Liverpool deal, but anything can happen. A contract renewal is in the air. I am contracted for one more year, but if Liverpool get an offer they will consider it. It is all in the hands of my agent.
If there is one Cantanero whom I would never want Real to sign it would be him. First of all he is cheap and second of all he has played for both Deportivo and Liverpool. And ofcourse there is obvious reason that we don’t need a Right sided defender who can do nothing but play on the Right side.
And if there is one Cantanero whom I want us to sign ASAP it would be Esteban Granero. But Getafe president Angel Torres has said that Granero would be made to stay for another year atleast despite being linked with swap deals to Valencia and Villareal.
Bayern Munich is confused. Der Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer is yeah, senile. Franck Ribery is AWESOME. Even though these three phrases don’t sum up to mean anything they are independently true.
It was Beckenbauer who told Bild that:
We discussed the issue at our last board meeting and we all agreed that, if he really wants to leave, then we will deal with the issue.
Immediately reports emanating from Spain suggested that Real are leading the chase for the sought-after Ribery by offering Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder as makeweights in the deal which is SO BLOODY FOOLISH. And Zidane was quoted as saying:
We will do whatever it takes to make Ribéry come to Real Madrid. It is the voice of Florentino Perez and mine.
But then Bayern made all this just a little more than a speculation by releasing an official statement that said:
There is no such resolution by the advisory board of FC Bayern Munich AG which includes the issue of a sale of the player Franck Ribery. The transfer (sale) of a player does not need the approval of the advisory board, according to the constitution of the FC Bayern Munich AG board of directors. The FC Bayern Munich AG board of directors have made the overwhelming resolution that the player Franck Ribery is not for sale.
There are several reasons as to why you can love Arjen Robben and there are several more reasons why you can love Hans Robben, Arjen Robben’s father, who is also the Dutch International’s agent. The following is one amongst them. He told Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad:
There are reports currently circulating on the internet that the agent of Arjen has confirmed there are talks with Spurs. But the only who is representing him is me and I don’t know anything about it. At the moment we are not in action with any other team than Real Madrid.
Robben Senior is adamant his son will not be playing under Harry Redknapp next season adding:
I even want to bet on a bottle of wine Arjen won’t play there.
Staying with England, Tottenham have put in a 30 million pound bid for Real Madrid trio, Arjen Robben, Gabriel Heinze and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Sportsmail revealed that Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy is in Madrid along with finance director Matthew Collecott to meet Florentino Perez.
Harry Redknapp’s priority this season is a winger, striker and left-back. The White Hart Lane boss has already gone about trying to get hold of another Madrid player, Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the Dutch striker’s wage demands are too high for the North London club.
F*ck you Tottenham! F*ck you Redknapp! F*ck you North London!
Oh talking about North London, we are apparently vying for the signature of Arsenal’s French full backs Bacary Sagna and Gaël Clichy. Sagna went from ‘not against’ Real deal to ‘deny any knowledge of link to Madrid‘. But then again why are we after a right back? And about the other Gunner, he straightway declared that Arsenal is his only club but at the same time he is flattered that he has been linked with Real Madrid.
Another player of ours who is linked with a move to England is Royston Drenthe. After Barry’s move to Man City the player has been linked with a move to Villa Park to play under Martin O’Neill. Villa have supposedly made a bid close to 5 million euros. Reject it immediately. Period.
Luis Antonio Valencia is still linked with Real Madrid. Its false. Don’t believe it.
I wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Luca Dürholtz. This is a kid who plays under-17 football with Bayer Leverkusen and is considered to be the next Bernd Schuster (ofcourse he has blonde hair). We are apparently ready to pay 700,000 for the youngster to lure him into Castilla. He is a German international at the U-16 level and plays offensive midfield.
Staying with Castilla, Real Valladolid are targeting Alberto Bueno, Miguel Torres and Dani Parejo. The wage structure of Dani Parejo though doesn’t match with his suitors. But one kid who will be staying at Real Madrid when he grows up will be World Champion Pablo Sarabia. The youngster has declared that his goal is to play at the Bernabeu.
Now that was a lot of rumors considering it being a single post. *Sigh*
I’ll make sure that it isn’t the case next time out. And yeah, Hala Madrid will be following a new format soon (tentatively from 1st of July). The changes will be obvious and so I am not going to list out all the changes and stuff.
Until then, Cheerios!
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Post-match comments
Juande Ramos offered his point of view following Real Madrid’s elimination from the Champions League. Sergio Ramos and Pepe apologized to fans for the defeat suffered at Anfield, but both insist the team will do whatever it takes to win La Liga. Cannavaro and Marcelo described the team’s spirits and apologized to Madridistas after giving up four goals to Liverpool. Real Madrid Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic gave his impressions of the Liverpool-Real Madrid match upon its conclusion. The all-time top scorer of the Champions League, Raul apologized to fans and thanked them for their support.
Juande Ramos:
We conceded two early and doubtful goals. The first after a foul and the second a penalty that shouldn’t have been. We took too many risks hoping to equalise and they scored two more off the counter. They deserve to go through and should be congratulated.
Two teams play each match and they were the better side. After they scored twice it was hard for us to battle our way back. The team did the best they could do. Reaching the quarterfinals means you must beat Europe’s very best. There is so much parity.
Before risking a serious injury I preferred to replace [Robben] with another player on the left wing.
The team is sad and unhappy. We must think about the next match and not keep our heads hung.
We must go back out there and fight for the league with all our might. We will do whatever it takes to finish as high as we can in the table.
Sergio Ramos:
Hats off to the opponent for the match they played. We were eager to turn the tie around, but they took us by complete surprise. I’d like to apologize to the fans for not giving them the win we all wanted. We are standing tall because we gave it our best effort. The minor details determine the result and they benefitted; in this case two controversial calls that resulted in the first two goals. Nothing happened the way we thought it would in the opening minutes. We wanted to surprise them along the wings thinking they would retreat. We don’t like losing by such a large margin in a competition we wanted to win. We haven’t been lucky in Europe in recent years. We must continue working hard for La Liga.
Pepe:
The referee should have called a foul before Torres scored. The game changed course from that moment. I was the last player and I felt I was pushed. Liverpool started off well. We had been warned that they would pour on the pressure in the first 20 minutes. We are sad about the score. We’d like to apologize to our fans. It’s the only way I can thank them for their support. We weren’t able to come back and win. We are hurt, but we must move on and make up ground in La Liga. Real Madrid players must be proud to wear this shirt.
Cannavaro:
We started off on the wrong foot. Liverpool attacked well from the beginning, pressured us and were the superior team. It was the strangest thing I ever saw. It was very difficult after the penalty.
The team isn’t in good spirits, but we must get over it because we have another tough match on Saturday. We feel sorry for Real Madrid fans, who were very excited about the Champions League. Now we only have La Liga to play for. We must be a better, stronger team.
Marcelo:
It’s a shame. It was a sad match. Going home after conceding four goals isn’t fun, but there are times like tonight where you just can’t do anything.
We tried it from the left, from the right and from the middle, but we weren’t able to score. The match would have been much different had we scored first.
We must now focus on La Liga and retaining the title. We’ve lost a little ground to Barcelona, but I am sure we will cut into their lead and catch them.
Mijatovic:
It was sad and painful. Once again we were unable to make it past the last 16. Liverpool played well in both legs. We weren’t in the match throughout its entirety. We are worried. We didn’t play well at all.
We must tip our hats to Liverpool. We must apologize to our fans who came to see us and who watched us on television. It’s a real shame.
We must speak, make assessments, and reflect on what took place. I am not mad because we were inexistent.
We have won this competition more than any other team. We won it after 32 years and then we won three. Now we haven’t made it to the quarterfinals in five straight years. I don’t know what to say. Perhaps we needed to be more focused.
Raul:
Liverpool were better in all facets. That’s another goodbye to the Champions League. We need to thank our fans. We were all excited, but Liverpool were the better team. There are no excuses. Congratulations to them.
Losing 4-0 in the Champions League is painful, but we must pick ourselves up. We still have La Liga and we must leave our pride aside and try to win it. We’re only six points off and we can’t just give it away.
This is just a cycle and we have to accept it. Real Madrid hadn’t won this competition in 32 years, then managed to always reach the semifinals. Now it’s time to suffer, but we must continue working.
We have hard days ahead, but we must stay calm. We have another match coming up at another tough stadium. We know we must win to stay alive in La Liga.
Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid
There’s no need to question Liverpool’s four goals against Real Madrid. The Reds gained the upper hand in the first leg and took control of the second with an early goal by Torres followed by a penalty. Gerrard bagged the third and the uphill battle was too steap to climb. The Madridistas gave it their best shot until the final whistle, but Dossena put the nail in the coffin with Liverpool’s fourth.
The only new face in the lineup for Real Madrid was that of Wesley Sneijder, who stepped in for Marcelo. On the other bench, no surprised faces as Fernando Torres made his way onto the pitch. Things didn’t start exactly how the Madridistas had hoped. Seconds into the match, Lass cleared to corner the first attempt by Torres. Liverpool took quick control and attacked with the Gerrard, Babel, Torres and Kuyt foursome. On 3′ Gerrard dribbled by Lass inside the box and provided the Spanish striker with a perfect ball to sned home. Mascherano produced a brilliant volley one minute later. Later Gerrard was responsible for a free kick from three yards outside the top of the box. Casillas. Casillas. Casillas.
Real Madrid first opportunity was a Ramos header following a Sneijder free kick on 8′. With almost a quarter hour gone by, Pepe tried to clear the ball which reached Kuyt, who put it on a silver platter for Torres to steer into the back of the net. Real Madrid were unable to exploit the flanks. Robben was shadowed all night and Higuain couldn’t avoid Mascherano and Xabi Alonso.
The referee pointed to the penalty spot believing Heinze had gotten a hand on the ball. Gerrard converted to put Liverpool up 2-0. Reina responded on the other end and cleared a powerful shot by Sneijder on 29′, a crossed shot by Higuain on 30′ and another by Sneijder following a pass by Robben on 41′.
Things didn’t get any better in the second half. Babel galloped down the left wing and passed the ball back to Gerrard, who closed out the tie with a volley on 46′. Real Madrid needed four goals to pull level, but not much changed after Marcelo stepped in for Robben. Ramos curled in a cross that Raul sent into the stands (50’) and Liverpool responded with a counter thwarted by Casillas (53’).
Liverpool were in complete control despite allowing Madrid to possess the ball. The Whites overtook the midfield with Xabi Alonso now on the bench but were unable to produce any results. They stood tall until the final whistle despite having their hearts ripped out and being eliminated from the Champions League.
Lineups:
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Fabio Aurelio, Mascherano, Xabi Alonso (Lucas Leiva 62′), Gerrard (Spearing 75′), Kuijt, Babel, Torres (Dossena 86′);
Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Heinze, Cannavaro (Van der Vaart 66′), Lass, Sneijder, Gago (Guti 79′), Robben (Marcelo 48′), Higuaín, Raúl;
Goals:
1-0, 16′ – Torres
2-0, 28′ – Gerrard (Pen)
3-0, 47′ – Gerrard
4-0, 88′ – Dossena
Liverpool vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League | Knock-out Phase | Last 16 | Second Leg | Preview
Liverpool and Real Madrid will clash at Anfield tonight at 20:45 CET. It’s a must win situation for the Whites if they are to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
The time has come. Anfield is getting ready to greet a very special guest: Real Madrid. The Whites will try to score goals as soon as the game starts, looking for Liverpool’s first home defeat of the season. Despite the 1-0 defeat in Madrid and Steven Gerrard’s presence, the Madridistas will pull rank to reach the next round.
Pepe will return to the defensive line; Gago and Lass will have to face Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Mascherano in midfield; Robben will take on the right wing; and Higuain and Raul will try to drive the local defence crazy in their search for goals. Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun, who scored the strike at the Bernabeu, will miss the game due to an injury. Fabio Aurelio will take his place. Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger will also miss the match, and Skrtel may take Arbeola’s position as right back.
The Reds have only won two of their 12 home European games against Spanish sides. If anyone can pull off a comeback at Anfield, that’s Real Madrid.
Pepe, Sneijder, Torres and Saviola on the list
Pepe, Sneijder, Torres and Saviola return to Juande’s squad list for Tuesday’s 20:45 CET match in Liverpool. Salgado, Drenthe, Garcia, Parejo and Huntelaar will mis the clash due to coaching decisions.
SQUAD LIST:
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Codina, Dudek;
Defenders: Ramos, Torres, Pepe, Cannavaro, Metzelder, Heinze;
Midfielders: Gago, Lass, Guti, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Marcelo, Robben, Faubert;
Forwards: Raul, Saviola, Higuain;
First Leg Result: Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool (Benayoun 83′).
Its not just a field, its just Anfield!
It was a disastrous result wasn’t it last night? Whats more irritating is that it was sheer luck that they got the all important away goal right at the end despite both teams playing equally abject football. What this means is that we travel to Anfield in two weeks’ time a goal behind on aggregate with the slightest hopes of overhauling the daunting task that lies ahead of us. It is intimidating.
Liverpool minus Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres is as harmful as a Butterfly. If we are capable of losing to them at home just imagine how bad we really were. Arjen Robben was no where close to living to the tag line of ‘Real Madrid’s answer to Lio Messi’ despite many declaring him as our M.O.M. Guti and Heinze were pathetic and I mean pathetic. I cannot believe I am saying such a thing about Guti of all people. Raul and Higuain posed no serious threats. Lass was as usual hard working and he along with Sergio Ramos, according to me, would be the only two players who turned up to play a serious champions league game last night. Marcelo was good but he clearly didn’t have the experience required to play such a crunch encounter.
I don’t know what got into Juande’s head. I don’t know why he did not even bother to bring on Van der Vaart and Sneijder if not start them. If its form that he is looking at, then he must learnt by half time that we had left our form from the Betis game in the dressing room itself for we looked really bad. Nothing was working. Why did he try to be defensive? Why was he saving up Sneijder and Van der Vaart two of our best players?! He could’ve taken off Higuain or Raul or even Robben for that matter just to shake things up a bit couldn’t he? There are so many more questions that we can raise at this moment but one thing is for sure, its an uphill task now for us to travel to England and turn the tie in favor of us. Only one team in UEFA Champions League history – AFC Ajax in the 1995/96 semi-finals – have recovered from losing the first leg at home to progress. But then again we have had more than one setback this season. And every time we have come back stronger than ever before. All that I hope is for this to be yet another situation in which we’ve shown to the world the grit and the determination that we have.
But on the other hand, our players would be traveling to not some field. Its Anfield. One of the toughtest grounds to play football not because of the field but simply because of the crowd, The Kop so on and so forth. Do we have the players on whom we can rely on to go out and do the job for us? Chelsea couldn’t do it for sometime until last year (thanks to John Arne Riise), Barcelona too had a go but failed miserably*. Arsenal failed despite trying their best to overcome. Do we have the match winners on our side which those giants to complete the Liverpool job? We are bigger than any of the above clubs aren’t we? We are second to none when it comes to the best club in the world. We are Real Madrid and I am a madridista. I am not going to lose hope just because some short Israeli came home and snatched an away goal. We have Raul Gonzalez, the player with the most number of goals in Champions League history. We have the best keeper in the world in St.Iker. We have one of the best defenders of all time in Fabio Cannavaro. We can do this can’t we? Raul needs just two more goals to equal Gerd Mueller’s record number of European goals. We need just two goals with conceding a maximum of one or for that matter even without conceding to go through. Does El Capitan still have it in him for yet another memorable European night? He does doesn’t he? Not that I doubt his capabilities, I’d be a fool to do that for he has proven to everyone in this world as to how good he still really is. On the other hand Fabio Cannavaro’s last European goal came against Liverpool only – for Juve though. None of us would mind a repeat of the same feat come the return leg of the fixture.
But what also needs to be thought about here is the return of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Both are world class players. Given a chance they know how to make their presence felt. And they would definitely play key roles inn deciding which way the tie goes. Also, Albert Riera will be suspended and that means Little Yossi should start barring any injuries he sustains in between now and Anfield. We have Gago out injured. He’s missing the Espanyol clash and Lluís Companys – which would be our last clash against them at the Olympic style stadium – but I doubt if he would be out for so long. We do not have any other injuries (of course barring Ruud’s, Diarra’s and Ruben’s). It all doesn’t depend on our form in the league. It only depends on how much our players want to achieve. Its human to lose hope but its insane to not try and get something out of nothing. All I want is an repeat of what we saw at the Camp Nou earlier this season. We might have lost but certainly did put up a very good fight that too despite fielding a second string side. If we can bring the mighty ‘in-form’ Barca to the edge we sure can knock the stuffing out of the Merseysiders. If Everton can beat Liverpool we can. If Man United can beat Liverpool we can. If John O’Shea can score against Liverpool, hell even Gabriel Heinze can! All we need to have now is hope. And I am hoping for the best to happen.
Irrespective of what the result of the return leg is,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
*There is only one compliment that I can think of from the stat, Barca gave away two away goals though they got themselves one goal at the Camp Nou. We gave away only one goal despite scoring none. Goals given is in the ratio 2:1 in favor of Barca.
Post-match comments
Juande Ramos believes a 1-0 defeat is a bad result, but also that the team can win in Anfield. Pedja Mijatovic shared his views on the match when it was over. Arjen Robben was very active against Liverpool. The Dutch forward believes the team can make a comeback in Anfield.
JUANDE RAMOS:
The game had few chances on goal and Liverpool scored from a free-kick when the match was was tighter. Whenever a team scores it can pursue more options to do well. Our intention was to score a goal in order to have a good advantage in the second leg. We hardly had any chances and they scored from a set piece, but I believe a 0-0 score would’ve been fair because neither side had many chances. We’ll fight hard to win in Anfield. This is a bad result for us, but we believe we can win there. We are very excited about this competition and this intial result isn’t all that bad, but it does complicate matters. Both sides are important and we’ll have to play very well in order to win in Liverpool. You take more risks as a visiting side. Liverpool were very well organised in defence tonight; they played a game that suited their interests and managed to score close to the end of the match. I don’t think they deserved such a good result. It’s the players who do their best to earn good results.
MIJATOVIC:
We still have options to win the tie despite this 1-0 defeat. It will be hard to come back from that, but the tie is 180 minutes long and there are still 90 left. We played well. Both teams were well positioned and looked for a spark to win the game. In the end, it was Liverpool who found it. We still have hopes. We are a strong team, but this is the worst result we could’ve had. We knew the match would be difficult. We didn’t make good use of our chances and we’ll now have to make a comeback. Liverpool are a very good team, but anything can happen. The fact that we must win will surely motivate our players. I believe we can reach the next round. We’ll have to think about La Liga now. Our minds will set on Liverpool when we face them again. I don’t think it’s a disastrous failure not to reach the next round because the team hasn’t reached the quarterfinals in five years. We’ll talk about it after the second leg.
ROBBEN:
We are in a difficult situation because we wanted to win the game. Liverpool are an English side, which means they are very strong at a tactical level. It simply didn’t happen. They defended very well and scored a goal. It will be complicated to turn the score around in the return leg, but we’ll sure try. We’ll have to move the ball fast and have as many chances on goal as possible in Anfield in order to win there. Liverpool defended very well because they wanted to avoid conceding any goals. They are stronger at their stadium and it will be hard to defeat them, but I believe we can achieve something important. I knew I was going to be fiercely marked, but I had to try to pull off some plays. I tried my best, but I was marked by two or three players at times. I’ve had some chances from which I would’ve scored on a different occasion. It just didn’t happen tonight. We’ll have to try our best in Anfield. We have nothing to lose and we’ll be confident about reaching the next round. I’m sure we can reach the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool won the match thanks to a goal by Benayoun despite Real Madrid dominace. Strategy took center stage in the first match of a tie that will be decided in Anfield.
Steven Gerrard was not a starter and Benayoun took his place in an unusual 4-4-2 system for a team that usually uses a 4-2-3-1 scheme. Real Madrid also used a 4-4-2 and had the first chance when Raul controlled the ball inside the box after receiving a pass from Robben down the right wing. The captain’s shot was saved by Reina.
The Whites kept possession and looked for room to create chances on goal, but this proved difficult against Liverpool’s impeccable organisation. Benitez’s pupils never faltered and stayed for the most part in their half of the pitch. It was hard to have a shot on target, but Marcelo managed to pull one off when Raul gave him the bal on the 15-minute mark; Reina saved the day again, but not without some problems.
Liverpool waited in defence for the chance to counterattack quickly with long passes to midfield hoping to make good use of the speed of their forwards. Torres and Benayoun had two good chances on target, but their shots were met by Casillas. Real Madrid had the reins of the game and were proving to be dangerous down the right wing, where Robben -who was fiercely shadowed- and Ramos thrilled the crowd with their dribbling and crosses. The only way out Liverpool found was a precise shot on goal by Xabi Alonso from his half of the pitch that Casillas managed to clear.
Guti came on in the second half for Marcelo in order to try to unlock Liverpool’s defence. The game looked more open, but Liverpool still based their game in counterattacks and Madrid theirs in speed down both wings. Robben played down both looking to surprise his opponent, while all of the Reds’ chances were thwarted by a brilliant defensive line led by an amazing Pepe.
Real Madrid’s possession increased and their chances on goal happened more frequently. Robben had a shot off target after an incredible run and a pass to himself, and he came close to scoring with a shot on goal moments later (70′). Fernando Torres had left the pitch four minutes before because he felt some pain on his right ankle and was replaced by Ryan Babel.
Liverpool’s goal came just when the game looked better for the Whites; Fabio Aurelio served a free-kick and Yossi Benayoun sent the ball to the back of the net (81′). Liverpool didn’t do much to win the game, but for some teams only a little is enough. Real Madrid tried hard to score an equaliser, but in the end the Reds won the day. The tie will be decided in Anfield.
Fernando Gago sprained his left ankle. He will be monitored in the next few days to see if he can face Espanyol on Saturday.
Lineups:
Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo (Guti 46′), Lass, Gago, Robben, Higuaín, Raúl;
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Fabio Aurelio, Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Riera (Gerrard 88′), Benayoun, Kuijt (Lucas Leiva 92′), Torres (Babel 62′);
Goal:
0-1, 82′ – Benayoun
Tuesday round up
Happy birthday Sergio Ramos,
It will be a shorty today. So let me get started straight away. And its Seydou Keita who has made the first cheap shot at Real ahead of El Clásico. The Malian midfielder while speaking to the press ahead of Barça’s game at Arsenal was asked about Real’s triumph at home against Atlético. Like the smug son-of-a-b*tch that he is, Keita’s reply was:
And when asked what his comments were based on he quoted Michel’s statements prior to the Getafe game when he said Madrid were going to win La Liga. How more lame can he get?
Retaliation was mandatory. And it was Raúl who did the honors. Not El Capitan but Raúl Garcia. And I must admit for a Rojiblanco it was a pretty smart one. He said:
It was indeed lack of respect but since the feelings are mutual I don’t think we need to bother.
Its official. Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos got their fifth booking and thus will miss the Racing game via suspension. Real Madrid returned to training today to prepare for the weekend’s game at El Sardinero. Albiol was out with a niggle. While Benzema, Kaká, Garay, Drenthe and Pepe were still in the gym. The atmosphere in training was apparently celebratory as the team congratulated Sergio Ramos on his birthday and Xabi Alonso on becoming a father for the second time. Hala Madrid passes on its own congratulations.
And finally a Goal.com special to round off this post. Read this.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
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March 30, 2010 | Categories: Comments, Happy Birthday!, News, Transfer Rumours | Tags: Álvaro Arbeloa, Liverpool FC, Raúl Garcia, Raúl González Blanco, Seydou Keita | Leave a comment