Last night Real Madrid convincingly beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp for the first time in many years. The Catalans were beaten 3-1 at the Nou Camp in the Spanish Cup, just a week after being beaten relatively easily by AC Milan. If there is one thing Barcelona fans enjoy more than beating Real Madrid, it is defeating Jose Mourinho. [...]
Barcelona, as usual seemed to draw an relatively easy group and should qualify without too much difficulty, indeed with the Catalan club always keen to give their youth factory valuable experience, so it may also well help them regain their local Spanish championship from Real Madrid, being able to rest valuable players against much weaker opposition during Champions League weeks. Real [...]
Group A: Porto, Dynamo Kyiv, Paris Saint-Germain, Dinamo Zagreb Group B: Arsenal, Schalke 04, Olympiacos, Montpellier Group C: Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, Malaga Group D: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund Group E: Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Nordsjaelland Group F: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, Bate Borisov Group G: Barcelona, Benfica, Spartak Moscow, Celtic Group H: Manchester United, Braga, [...]
The holidays are over (for us all, including me) and the Spanish league has begun…. A week earlier than usual, with suffocating heat (August is hot usually, but on top of that there is a heat wave), with some games starting at 23.00, to be able to accommodate all the PPV (pay per view) games. Barcelona beat Real Sociedad comfortably, [...]
Midweek fixtures – decisive in the title battle for La Liga. As usual, ‘down to the wire’ title battles in Spain narrow down to Barcelona and Real Madrid. With midweek fixtures this week and the ‘Clasico’ between Real and Barsa less than 2 weeks away, there is still everything to play for. Barcelona won their match last night at home [...]
I have been saying for a long time that Spanish football needs a major overhaul. If you read my previous article about TV rights in Spain, you will know that the “big” two, Real Madrid and Barcelona, take most of the TV revenue (300 million between the two of them) – leaving the rest of the clubs in La Liga [...]
Diego Simeone, ex idol on the pitch at Manzanares, has taken over as head coach at a time Atletico Madrid is desperate for a miracle. Diego Pablo Simeone, (b. Buenos Aires 28 April 1970), also known as “El Cholo”, is a fond name in any Atletico heart. He was an inspirational member of the double (Spanish League and Cup) winning [...]
Most important cities in Europe boast 2 major soccer clubs; Madrid have Real and Atletico, Manchester City & United and Milan, AC and Inter are but a few examples. Valencia, in sporting terms, has been reinforced on the world map with the Amercia’s Cup and the Formula One G.P. However, what about football? Valencia CF has always been a top [...]
Barcelona and Real Madrid – love them or hate them. In a previous article, I explained some of the massive differences between the big two in Spain and the rest of La Liga. In fact, I am absolutely sure that no one will argue with me that we watch two separate leagues in Spain, the Championship between Barcelona and Real Madrid and a competition between [...]