Official 07-08 La Liga Thread (Barcelona sign Seydou Keita)

[efil 4 rekal]

An encore will be shown at 5PM EST. That's when I'll be watching as I am not a morning person.

Congrats to Robinho.

I think he surpassed Totti this past year in thumb-sucking celebrations!

 

[i3]

Showing 6.55am in New Zealand..

Cant wait.

 

[xblaze23]

Players To Watch:

Offensive

Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona The former Real Madrid youth player is back, and already in form. He sent a warning to Los Merengues with twoexcellent goals vs. Valencia. Historically, hes been very successful goal wise vs. Real Madrid with Mallorca, and Barcelona. We should expect more fromEto'o with Messi out.

Robinho (Real Madrid If you've seen Real Madrid this season, you've seen the transition of Robinho from good to worldclass.Barcelona will have a difficult time taming the Brasilian. Its unclear who will play RB. Whether its Puyol or Zambrotta.. Robinho has a speed advantage. Hisunderstanding with Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy could prove deadly.

Defensive

Pepe (Real Madrid The 30 Million Euro man has been very impressive for Real Madrid. This time, he'll have the luxury of containing oneof the better strikers in the world in Samuel Eto'o at the Camp Nou. If he wants to prove to the world that he was worth his transfer fee, this is the gameto do it.

Yaya Toure (FC Barcelona The Real Madrid midfield has been inconsistent. However, its improved in the last few matches paticularly due tothe resurgance of La Bestia: Julio Baptista. Toure is new to El Clasico but he'll have the responsibility of winning the midfield vs. Mahamadou Diarrawhilst containing players such as Guti, Sneijder, or Baptista. Toure has been solid all season


Key Points:
Gabriel Heinze is expected to play LB for Real Madrid.
Guti will be ready to play for Real Madrid.
Thierry Henry is available to play for Barcelona.
Ronaldinho will most likely start for Barcelona.
Deco will most likely be on the bench for Barcelona.
Julio Baptista will partner Mahamadou Diarra in midfield for Real Madrid.
Projected Starting lineup:

Barcelona

------------Valdes-------------
Puyol---Marques--Milito---Abidal
-------------Toure-------------
----------Xavi---Deco---------
Iniesta------Eto'o----Ronaldinho-

Real Madrid

----------------Casillas-----------------
S.Ramos---Cannavaro--Pepe---Heinze-
-----------------Diarra-------------------
----------Sneijder----Baptista-----------
--Raul---------Ruud---------Robinho---

 

[pimpster88]

i cannot find anywhere to watch this barca/madrid game....FSC never shows la liga

 

[xblaze23]

yeah they only have tv rights for the English Premier League and now, Serie A.

Gol TV will show the game, you can try streaming Gol TV at 1pm Eastern. If you dont know how, look at the instructions on the bottom of the first page.

 

[pimpster88]

yeah i've been searching for a live stream for like twenty minutes now haha, thanks man for the heads up. this week has been lame, i even missed thegunners/spurs game i was dying to see...

 

[xblaze23]

FT: Barcelona 0, Real Madrid 1

Gol: Julio Baptista (36')


Subsitutions:

Barcelona

Deco

Giovani(58')
Puyol

Zambrotta (77')
Xavi

Bojan (82')

Real Madrid

Sneijder

F.Gago (79')
Robinho

Robben (85')
S.Ramos

M.Torres (88')


Yellow Cards:

Barcelona
Puyol (27')
G.Milito (68')

Real Madrid
S.Ramos (45')


My Take: Awesome effort from Real Madrid as a whole. It paid off. Every player from Cannavaro to v.Nistelrooy put up a defensive effort whichwas needed to silence the Barca attack. We should have killed this game off sooner with the chances present (paticularly counter attacking ones.)
Pepe was incredible, as was Casillas. Raul was invisible. Surprisingly, Guti didnt play.

On the other side, Deco was subpar, Ronaldinho put alot of effort but it just didnt amount to anything. Barcelona brought out the best in Casillas in the earlyparts of the game. Henry didnt play. Iniesta was good. I felt Eto'o was nullified by Pepe and Cannavaro, especially in the 2nd half. Abidal was solid asusual. There may be injury concerns for Carles Puyol (FCB) and Sergio Ramos (RMCF.)

 

[i3]

Are there any in-depth football forums around?

I think the referee was poor this match, both ways, Iniesta was chopped down a few times..


What do you think about Rijkaards future? - He was substituting the key players that got Barca were they are today, Puyol? Xavi? Deco? (understandable)

I think Rijkaard may go certainly before Ronaldinho, there is something brewing behind closed doors, obviously Ronaldinho is not at his best and niether hasBarcelona who have only shown a snippet of what their really capable of..

Obviously Messi was missed this Clasico.


Even though I am a Barcelona supporter, Madrid played well, Baptista's goal was nice.

 

[i3]

I think Pepe was magical too.. Abidal hasn't really impressed me so far..

 

[xblaze23]

I agree with you, the Ref was lacking. Spanish ref's are some of the worst.. lol There was questionable no calls for both teams.

The thing with Rijkaard's subbing was Puyol was injured, and he already had a yellow card. A less than 100% Puyol with yellow is dangerous vs. in formRobinho. I thought Xavi was solid but at the 82nd minute, putting Bojan in is understandable since he adds speed and hunger. For example, last year, we alwayssub'd in Higuain in the 80+ minute because he brought that extra life to our team when we needed it. Thats what I think Rijkaard was trying to do. Deco wasjust plain subpar.

Ronaldinho isnt the same player. Im a fan of his, and have been for some time. However, hes just not the same guy. Its hard to explain. Messi is the drivingforce of Barcelona. When he went down, my confidence that Madrid would get a result increased. His speed and control, he helps free up others and breaks downdefenses.

Madrid's defense came up big. I was really impressed by our strikers coming back and helping out. Dont let the idea that we overpaid fool you, Pepe is forreal. Our attack was lacking though.. Raul in paticular. Man of the Match for me was Pepe, Casillas as the runner up. Im really happy with the result. I cannow relax this Christmas.


as far as soccer forums, you can try www.soccerpulse.com and www.bigsoccer.com.

edit: forgot to mention

Even though I am a Barcelona supporter, Madrid played well, Baptista's goal was nice
thats class.

 

[efil 4 rekal]

Barca looked pitiful. Ronny only managed to beat his man once theentire match.

@ Canna telling him to get the **** up.

I doubt Messi could've done much better tonight, too many walls the Merengues were throwing up. MoM for Barca tonight was probably Krkic and he only played10 min.

With all the money these 2 clubs spend there shouldn't bemuch of a drop in talent when injuries take place, Madrid would do just fine w/o Robinho, Schneijder, or Ruud, and they have shown that.

7 pts clear, have fun battling Espanyol for 2nd.

@ Henry. The warmups stayed on today. He's a has-been. Trezeguet> Henry

 

[xblaze23]

Heres La Bestia's Gol, Ill post full game highlights when they become available.

 

[ronald0]

Originally Posted by EFIL 4 REKAL

Barca looked pitiful. Ronny only managed to beat his man once the entire match.

@ Canna telling him to get the **** up.

I doubt Messi could've done much better tonight, too many walls the Merengues were throwing up. MoM for Barca tonight was probably Krkic and he only played 10 min.

With all the money these 2 clubs spend there shouldn't be much of a drop in talent when injuries take place, Madrid would do just fine w/o Robinho, Schneijder, or Ruud, and they have shown that.

7 pts clear, have fun battling Espanyol for 2nd.

@ Henry. The warmups stayed on today. He's a has-been. Trezeguet > Henry

I agree with everything.

 

[xblaze23]

El Clasico Highlight�(Courtesy of YouTube's HorseydelMadrid)
P.S. = the song stops before the game highlights lol

Rumors/News

Marca reports that a representative of Giovani Dos Santos (FC Barcelona) has offered the player to Real Madrid. The reason being that Dos Santos has yet toreach a contract renewal agreement with Barcelona and thus wants to see if there are further options. Real Madrid have rejected to his opportunity at thispaticular time.

Villareal and Valencia are interested in FC Porto's captain Lucho Gonzales. Porto�has shot back�by�saying�there is absolutely zero chance that Gonzalesleave in January. However, Valencia are keen to change their mind. The Argentine will cost Los Che at least 20 Million Euro.

Valencia are interested in Mikel Arteta (Everton)

Sport.es reports that Several English clubs led by Bolton are interested in Real Madrid striker, Javier Saviola. The combination of Nicolas Anelka potentiallyleaving Bolton during the winter transfer window and Saviola's lack of playing time in Madrid is the reason for the link.

Real Madrid Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic has denied the possibility of selling striker Roberto Soldado during the Winter transfer window.
Soldado has been heavily linked to SL Benfica.

Real Madrid have revealed interest in Croatian midfield star Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb) by sending scouts to monitor the player. The player who has attractedChelsea and Arsenal has attracted the biggest clubs in La Liga (yeah that includes FCB & RMCF) after saying that it is his dream to play in La Liga.

When asked about Ruud van Nistelrooy's contract renewal, Ramon Calderon (President of Real Madrid) responded "We'll renew his contract, noquestion."��

The Catalan press reports that�one of either Rijkaard or Ronaldinho may face the axe. They ask the question "Who is responsible?"

Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona) is very close to renewing his contract till 2014.

Julio Baptista has called his Goal vs. FC Barcelona in El Clasico "The most important goal of my career."

Daily Mirror reports Chelsea FC could be interested in bringing in Valencia's blacklisted GK Santiago�Canizares.

After numerous rumors regarding his future, David Silva has committed himself to Valencia.

AC Milan awaits update from Barcelona regarding Ronaldinho's situation.

Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona) will be inactive one week after suffering an injury during El Clasico.

 

[xblaze23]

Rumors/News:

Real Madrid sign Chilean Striker Sebastian Pinto on free. The player will join Real Madrid B His immediate future as far as first team action will depend on the fate of Roberto Soldado. If Soldado is sold to Benfica or any other club.. Pinto may be promoted to Real Madrid's first team.

According to AS, Real Madrid's 2008 transfer objective: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United.) The heat will be turned up after C.Ronaldo's statement in which he dreams of a La Liga move. You may be asking, well what about Kaka'? Ramon Calderon seems to have discarded the chase of the Brazilian after his inability to force a move from the Rossoneri. The Spanish Giants have a vision of an attack force led by Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul, Robinho, and C.Ronaldo. Arjen Robben's ability to impress and settle in La Liga will prove critical as to whether or not they go for the Portugese Winger. The club will finance most of the fee via sales including that of Roberto Soldado, Javier Saviola, Arjen Robben*, and possibly Royston Drenthe*. The two Dutchmen's future is not yet decided as they will have time to settle in and prove their abilities. The potential fee could reach 60-70 Million Euro. Real Madrid management and scouts feel that this price is reasonable as C.Ronaldo could control the RW position for the next 7-8 years.

Valencia are looking to swoop Boca Juniors Defensive Midfielder Ever Banega. The Problem? Real Madrid alledgedly hold first option which was acquired during the Fernando Gago transfer. Regardless, Boca Juniors has asked for time before accepting any offer from Los Che.

According to Sport.es.. Real Madrid ponder the idea of signing Valencia outcast David Albelda in efforts to solidify the defensive midfielder position while Mahamadou Diarra is gone for African Cup of Nations. My take: Never! Albelda is a cool guy but hes not Real Madrid quality.

Sport.es has released a list of players that interest Barcelona in 2008 and the future, they are:

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Alexander Hleb (Arsenal), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Willy Sangol (Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich). Note: These players are simply players that interest Barcelona for gaps that need filling or players that have impressed Barca Management. Obviously some more unrealistic than others.

Real Madrid Present Ramon Calderon: "Dont worry Ruud, we'll renew your contract in January."

Atletico Madrid have upped Sergio "Kun" Aguero's release clause to 55 Million Euro.

Manchester City's Rolando Bianchi would "love" an Atletico Madrid move.

Chelsea are wanting to acquire a worldclass Right fulback thus a shortlist has been created which features Maicon (Internazionale Milano) and Dani Alves (Sevilla.) Chelsea are rumored to have 75 Million Euro to play with for the January Transfer window.

AC Milan are rumored to be chasing Ronaldinho during this Winter transfer window. Chelsea are also rumored to be interested. However, due to dip in form, both clubs are seeking a reduced transfer fee.

Real Madrid are rumored to have contacted Olympique Lyonnais over the pricing and availability of their two young strikers: Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa.

Deco hints Barcelona exit if no trophies are won. He also backs Jose Mourinho for Barcelona.

UPDATE: Valencia have officially signed Central Midfielder Ever Banega from Boca Juniors. The reported fee is around 17 Million Euro. Details to come.

Brief Player summary:

Ever Maximilliano Banega
Position: Midfielder (Defensive)
Age: 19
Nationality: Argentina

 

[xblaze23]

Copa Del Rey Round 5 Drawing:

First Leg to be played January 9th
Second Leg to be played January 16th

Recreativo Huelva vs. Villareal

Sevilla vs. Barcelona

Real Zaragoza vs. Racing Santander

RCD Mallorca vs. Real Madrid

Athletic Bilbao vs. Espanyol

Real Betis vs. Valencia

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Valladolid

Getafe vs. Levante



Lastly, L'Equipe's Best XI of 2007:


Keeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Sevilla), William Gallas (Arsenal), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Kaka' (AC Milan)

Forwards: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

------------------Buffon-------------------

Alves-------Gallas-----Vidic--------Evra

C.Ronaldo--Gerrard--Fabregas--Kaka'

--------V.Nistelrooy----Drogba-----------


My Take: With all respects to Steven Gerrard or Cesc Fabregas, I'd put Lionel Messi or Fransesco Totti in front of either of em (change it to 4-3-3 if need be.) Gallas is worldclass but a questionable addition imo because of his frequent injuries in 07. I would have put Ricardo Carlvaho instead. Sergio Ramos or Phillipp Lahm also are deserving of a nod. Buffon is argueably the best keeper in the world but he spent most of 07 in Serie B.. surely Petr Cech or Iker Casillas are worthy of arguement.

 

[i3]

Havent checked in a while here.

But great updates xblaze23!

I alway look forward to reading your updates

 

[xblaze23]

yessir, updates will be plentiful as the winter transfer market is open, and we got Copa Del Rey//La Liga games coming up.

Two Liga games were played today:


RCD Mallorca 0 - FC Barcelona 2

Barcelona Goals: R.Marquez (63'), Eto'o (91')

Barcelona Subsitutions:

Gudjohnsen

Bojan(45')
Dos Santos

Henry(64')
Yaya Toure

Edmilson(70')


RCD Espanyol 3 - Villareal CF 0

Espanyol Goals: Tamudo (9'), Lopes Rocha (14'), Tamudo (36')

All the other fixtures are tomorrow including Real Madrid vs. Real Zaragoza.


News/Rumors

Real Madrid are close to signing Ghana International Daniel Opare (Ashanti Gold.) The 17 year old Right Fullback impressed at the Fifa U-17 WorldCup. His playing style is being compared to the great Brasilian RB, Cafu. Rumors are contradictive at the moment.. some suggest the player has already beensigned while others suggest that there has been finalization. Updates to come when available.

Several Premiership clubs have turned up interest on Barcelona's Giovani Dos Santos. Rumors suggest that Chelsea are willing to pay 10 Million GBP for the18 year old Mexican. Perhaps, Chelsea are interested due to their assistant Coach Henk Ten Cate? who knows Giovani from his time at Barcelona. ManchesterUnited are also monitoring the situation.

Bolton Wanderers is rumored to be interested in Real Madrid sub striker, Javier Saviola. The Argentine has failed to see consistant playing time as he playsbehind two strikers who have had excellent seasons thus far, Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Bolton are preparing the sale of Nicolas Anelka who will most likelyend up with a "Big Four" club (cough Chelsea cough.) Thus they are seeking a replacement and Saviola may be their man. The bidding begins at 7Million Euro.

Ever Banega has signed a 5 year contract with Valencia after passing Medical.

Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro has not ruled out the possibility of retiring at the Bernabeu.

Valencia midfielder Manuel Fernandes is most likely going back on loan to Everton after a series of events that caused a rift between player and club. Theplayer was rumored to be unsettled after the sacking of Quique Sanchez Flores and the hiring of Ronald Koeman. Combine this with his love for the Valenciannight life and the fact he spent a night in a holding cell recently.. well.. you get the idea.

Update at Half Time: Real Madrid 0, Real Zaragoza 0

Madrid started the game off right but its been Zaragoza on the pedal for most of the half. Gabriel Heinze had to be subsituted due to injury. Sergio Ramosmoved to centre back and Miguel Torres entered the game to play right full back. Madrid are fortunate to be tied 0-0 going into half. Imo, things wentdownhill once Heinze had to leave the game. Definitely will see a half time sub.. im guessing Guti in for Sneijder.

 

[i3]

What happened to Heinze? He just came back.

 

[xblaze23]

Its unfortunate cause he plays so well when hes on the field. Hes a safer defensive option than Marcelo which allows Ramos to play a more offensive role. Plus,he plays well as a Centreback with Cannavaro when Pepe is out. Specifically.. the injury is a ruptured leg muscle (left leg.) He'll be out for 1 and a halfto 2 months. Fabio Cannavaro also suffered a sprained ankle. Its not as serious but he'll be examined on Tuesday. I think Sergio Ramos is suspended for thenext match because of yellow card accumulation (5) so we have some defensive worries. Pepe should be fit soon. God knows where Metzelder is. Maybe a dip intothe transfer market?

I'll post up the vids of the Barcelona//Real Madrid games soon.

Edit:

Real Madrid vs. Real Zaragoza

 

[xblaze23]

Mallorca vs. Barcelona



News/Rumors

Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to sign the contract extension that will keep him at the Bernabeu till the summer of 2010 sometime this week.

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are pondering the idea of acquiring Real Madrid veteran fullback, Michel Salgado.

Barcelona's Ronaldinho is expected to miss the Copa Del Rey clash vs. Sevilla.

Real Madrid LB, Gabriel Heinze is expected to miss one and half to two months after suffering a ruptured leg muscle vs. Zaragoza.

Valencia's new signing, Ever Banega continues Valencia's controversial trend after a racey�"R-M rated" video featuring the Argentine isfloating around the internet.

Marca claims that Real Madrid subsitute striker, Roberto Soldado wants to be loaned out to Getafe.

According to Sport, Kaka' does not want Ronaldinho at AC Milan.

Atletico Madrid's Maniche nearing Internazionale Milano move.

Lionel Messi has begun touching a soccer ball as part of his recovery.

Real Madrid continue the run to sign Ashanti Gold's youngster, Daniel Opare. Liverpool is showing interest as well.

 

[i3]

Barca 1 - 1 Sevilla - Copa Del Rey.

 

[xblaze23]

good result for Barca. They come away with an away goal.

First Leg of Copa Del Rey Round of 16 (January 9th 200:

Athletic Bilbao 1, Espanyol 1
Bilbao Goal: Susaeta (73')
Espanyol Goal: S.Casas (69')

Getafe 3, Levante 0
Getafe Goals: Albin (36'), Casquero (72'), Hernandez (78')

Real Betis 1, Valencia 2
Valencia Goals: Joaquin (4'), Joaquin (12')
Real Betis Goals: M.Pavone (48')

Real Zaragoza 1, Racing Santander 1
Zaragoza Goal: R.Oliviera (23')
Santander Goal: E.Garay (74')

Recreativo Huelva 1, Villareal 0
Recreativo Goal: Caceres (2')

Sevilla 1, Barcelona 1
Sevilla Goal: D. Capel (44')
Barcelona Goal: Henry (24')


Tomorrow (January 10th, 200

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Valladolid
RCD Mallorca vs. Real Madrid


in other news..

:

Ruud Van Nistelrooy extends his contract with Real Madrid

Real Madrid President Ramón Calderón and Ruud Van Nistelrooy today signed a contract extension that will keep the Dutch striker in the Spanish capital for another two years.

Van Nistelrooy arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu at approximately 17:15 and was welcomed by President Ramón Calderón, Sports Director Pedja Mijatovic, and his assistant Carlos Bucero. Following the signing, Calderón congratulated the Dutchman with a sincere handshake.
Van Nistelrooy joined Real Madrid prior to the 2006/07 season and will remain a Madridista through 2009/10.

The striker has scored 46 official goals since landing in the Spanish capital and ran away with Pichichi honors last season. He has scored 15 times during the current campaign and has become an integral player for manager Bernd Schuster.

- RealMadrid.com

 

[i3]

Good on Real... RVN in fantastic form.. probably the most inform striker last year and this year

 

[xblaze23]

Mallorca 2, Real Madrid 1
Mallorca Goals: Trejo (22'), Arango (49')
Real Madrid Goal: Higuain (24')

Atletico Madrid, 0 Valladolid 0


Lil bit of News/Rumors:

AS claims that Real Madrid have reached a total agreement with Ashanti Gold over the transfer of young Ghana International, Daniel Opare. The 17year old RB will arrive in Madrid in June. Although, he could possibly train with the team sooner. The contract length being discussed is 4 years. Right now,Real Madrid is working on the passports of Daniel and his brother. Opare requested that his brother join him in Spain for he did not want to venture out to anew country by himself. Potential proof of the agreement stems from the fact that Ashanti Gold have dropped the player from their roster for the AfricanChampions League. If confirmation is released, Real Madrid would have beaten Schalke 04, Liverpool, and AC Milan for Opare's signature.

Barcelona's search for a new backup goalkeeper continues. This time, Nuno (FC Porto) is being discussed.

Former Real Madrid player, Cicinho (AS Roma) has shot a warning "Roma will eliminate Real Madrid" (from the Champions League.) Cicinho was sold toRoma prior to the start of the 07-08 season.

Real Madrid President has rewarded the team for their win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Each player will receive 20,000 Euros.

Barcelona Midfielder, Edmilson suffered a muscle tear on his left leg during Barcelona's Copa Del rey match vs. Sevilla.

Thierry Henry (Barcelona) has not discarted a return to Arsenal as part of the Coaching Staff or other behind the scene position.