Iain Rogers

Real Madrid and coach Manuel Pellegrini were on the business end of some damning newspaper headlines on Wednesday after their humiliating exit from the King's Cup at the hands of third-tier Alcorcon.

In the build-up to the match, Kaka suggested pride and the club's history would inspire the players to a dramatic comeback from the 4-0 away defeat in the first leg.

But Real only managed to win 1-0 on the night at the Bernabeu and crashed out to the tiny Segunda B side, who play in the same division as Real's youth team and have an annual budget more than four hundred times smaller than the La Liga giants.

Even the Madrid-based sports papers showed no mercy, as club and fans woke up to the fact that their expensively assembled squad can no longer match the title treble of Champions League, La Liga and King's Cup achieved last season by their arch rivals Barcelona.

"Complete disaster," screamed the headline in As.

"Unprecedented farce," bellowed Marca above a picture of the celebrating Alcorcon players. The paper said it refused to put any photos of Real on the front page as they did not deserve it.

Fans chanted for Pellegrini to quit when he brought on defender Marcelo for midfielder Lassana Diarra with around 20 minutes left and the Madrid papers focused much of their ire on the hapless Chilean.

Why were the uninspiring midfield pair of Mahamadou Diarra and Fernando Gago included in the starting lineup and striker Karim Benzema and creative midfielders Xabi Alonso and Guti left out of the squad altogether, asked Delfin Melero in Marca.

"The final whistle made possible an unprecedented situation," Melero wrote. "The Bernabeu booed its own team and coach and gave an ovation to Alcorcon, a team with spirit that demonstrated to Madrid that without pride and without a plan you're going nowhere."

Tomas Guasch, writing in As, said it was "completely unacceptable" that Pellegrini had changed the starting lineup he used for the previous three matches and was beginning to gel.

"And that there wasn't a single forward on the bench is absolutely unacceptable too," he added.

El Mundo columnist Orfeo Suarez noted that Real president Florentino Perez was not known for his loyalty to coaches and said the spectacle of the fans calling for Pellegrini's head did not bode well for the Chilean.

"Madrid will make an effort to back the coach and quickly turn the page but wounds left behind can fester," he wrote.

Many papers did not miss the irony of an appearance by Perez on television earlier on Tuesday in which he played down the club's trophy expectations this season.

"We are at the start of a new project. We are giving it stability," the construction magnate told Cuatro. "We aren't going to get nervous because it hasn't all come together perfectly in the first year."

PHOTO: Real Madrid's Kaka reacts during their King's Cup soccer match against Alcorcon at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid November 10, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

The prospect of seeing Sergio “Kun” Aguero pulling on a blue shirt next season instead of the red and white stripes of Atletico Madrid must be a mouthwatering one for any Chelsea fan.

The 21-year-old Argentina striker, nicknamed "Kun" after a Japanese cartoon character with a similar hairstyle, showed why he remains a target for top clubs when he came off the bench and scored two superb goals in the 2-2 draw at the Calderon on Tuesday.

Cash-strapped Atletico turned down offers for him over the close season including, reportedly, one of around 35 million euros from Chelsea. His contract includes a buyout clause worth 60 million.

The London club are waiting to hear the result of their appeal against FIFA’s transfer ban and could make another move for Aguero either in the January transfer window or next summer.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said this week he could see Aguero playing alongside Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba but added that he thought it would be hard for Chelsea to snare the Argentine.

The contrasting playing styles of the pair were evident on Tuesday.

Aguero, with his low centre of gravity, is hard to shake off the ball and is at his best running at defenders. On his day he is a deadly finisher, as Barcelona found out to their cost last season.

Drogba is all about muscle, which he used to good effect on Tuesday when he outjumped the Atletico defence to score a header and then bulldozed his way through to net a second.

Aguero fathered a son, Benjamin, with Diego Maradona's daughter Giannina in February and Maradona, who is also Aguero’s boss as Argentina coach, advised him last year to seek a move to Inter Milan.

Atletico, 18th in La Liga after nine matches with just one win, are almost certain to miss out on a Champions League spot for next season, making it much more likely Aguero will move on from the Spanish capital.

PHOTO: Atletico Madrid's Sergio "Kun" Aguero (L) scores with a free kick against Chelsea, Nov 3, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Has Lady Luck deserted holders Barcelona as their players suggested or did Rubin Kazan coach Kurban Berdyev and his players pull off the tactical masterstroke that has eluded so many others since Pep Guardiola took over at the Nou Camp at the start of last season?

It was probably a bit of both that led to Barca’s 2-1 defeat on Tuesday, their first Champions League reverse in 10 matches and a first home defeat in any competition since they lost to Osasuna last May when they had already secured the La Liga title.

The match was reminiscent of last season’s semi-final first leg against Chelsea, when the visitors defended stoutly in numbers and several times came close to grabbing a goal on the break.

Rubin went one better than the London club, exploiting the indifferent form and lack of pace of Barca’s Mexican central defender Rafael Marquez for Gokdeniz Karadeniz’s excellent winner on the counter attack.

The wily Berdyev, an intensely private man, watched impassively from the sidelines fingering his prayer beads, and Barca’s rivals, both in Spain and beyond, will doubtless try to learn from his success.

Whatever the reasons for Barca’s shock defeat, the hacks at the Madrid-based sports sheets were rubbing their hands on Wednesday, gleefully pointing to last weekend’s goalless draw at Valencia in La Liga and proclaiming the demise of Guardiola’s record-breaking side.

“Russian revolution at the Nou Camp!” trumpeted Marca.

“The ‘Pep Team’ lost their identity and were unable to produce the rhythm the match required. This Barca is not the champion,” was the headline in As.

The Barcelona-based papers preferred to focus on the fact that the European champions remain top of Group F after three out of six matches and have their fate in their own hands ahead of the trips to Kazan and Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan’s visit to the Nou Camp.

“Crisis? What crisis?” asked Gabriel Sans in El Mundo Deportivo. “Barca have lost some fluidity and tactical freshness but their fate still depends on their own results.

"The glass is half full and they’ll drain it in Russia and drink to the health of whoever wants it.”

“Damn woodwork!” wrote Sport, referring to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s acrobatic volley that shook the crossbar in the second half and Yaya Toure’s header at the death that crashed against a post.

Guardiola seemed to take the loss in his stride, although he had a minor altercation with a Russian journalist at the post-match news conference when he was bizarrely asked if he even knew Berdyev’s name.

“This is why football is special,” he said of the match. “In any other sport, with our statistics, we would have won.”

PHOTO: Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic reacts as Rubin Kazan's Vital Kaleshin (R) gestures during their Champions League soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, October 20, 2009. REUTERS/Albert Gea

"Of course I would like to play for Barca, who wouldn’t? We could have a lot of fun. It would be a pleasure to play with Messi, with my colleague Alves, with Xavi, Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, with all of them. They are a brilliant team.

"I have played against them and I know their quality. But at the moment I can only do it on my Playstation."

Manchester City’s gifted but controversial Brazilian forward Robinho was thus quoted in Barcelona-based newspaper El Mundo Deportivo on Thursday.

According to the paper and its fellow Catalan sheet Sport, Robinho could join Pep Guardiola’s European champions on loan in January and has asked City for permission to leave.

Sport reported on Tuesday the deal would cost Barca 3.2 million euros ($4.8 million) and they would assume the payment of his current annual salary of 6.2 million.

A transfer had also been mooted, according to Sport, that would see Barca pay City 35 million euros and Robinho agree a contract through 2014.

Robinho, full name Robson de Souza, told El Mundo Deportivo he knew nothing about a possible deal.

"I assure you that as of this moment my father, who is my only representative, has not told me anything about Barca," he said.

"Out of respect for Manchester City, which is my team, it should be the two clubs that talk about my loan or transfer and then tell me.

"It’s not right to talk about this hypothetical transfer or loan until there is something more concrete. I repeat: I don't know anything, believe me."

Robinho has been dogged by controversy on his journey from Brazil to Manchester via Real Madrid.

The word “unsettled” has stuck to him throughout his career but Sport reckons he wants to spend the second half of the season at Barca as a springboard for next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

City’s assistant manager, Mark Bowen, has said the club want to hold on to him but made it clear he will have to fight for his place in the side when he returns from injury. He has been sidelined since August with a stress fracture and Craig Bellamy has impressed on the left wing in his absence.

“Robi is one of those players who will always be surrounded by rumour and speculation,” Bowen said on the club’s website .

Guardiola is known for his man-management skills but his decision to sell Samuel Eto’o showed he is ready to stand up to anyone who threatens dressing-room harmony.

With France forward Thierry Henry out of sorts, Robinho could be deployed on the left wing to create a formidable forward line with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Argentina forward Lionel Messi.

El Mundo Deportivo said Henry was open to returning to England and could form part of a swap deal.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain has said Barca are looking to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window.

"He (Robinho) is a very interesting footballer and could play (for us) in the Champions League,” he told Sport.

The paper has rowed back somewhat from their banner headline on Saturday of “Robinho loan deal in January” to Thursday’s “He wants to come to Barca” but the prospect of Robinho, Ibrahimovic and Messi tearing defences apart is a mouthwatering one.

PHOTO: Brazil's Robinho stands of the field before the World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match against Argentina in Rosario, September 5, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

An unusual headline in Spain’s El Mundo newspaper caught my eye this morning: “Real Madrid threatened by wizard.”

According to the respected conservative daily, the La Liga club has received a letter from the magician, whom it did not identify by name, warning that he has been contracted to cast a spell that would inflict injury on their Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I can’t promise that it will be a serious injury but he’ll certainly be out of action more than playing,” El Mundo quoted the wizard as saying.

He told the paper he was unable to reveal the identity of his client “because I am a mixture of priest and doctor and I have to respect the confidentiality of my followers.”

El Mundo said it was the third time the wizard had threatened Real after targeting players including David Beckham and Ronaldo (the portly Brazilian version) in 2003 and Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Cannavaro and Raul in 2006.

The wizard has apparently already begun the process of casting his spell over Cristiano Ronaldo using photos of the world record signing spread out around his “laboratory”.

“It’s a step-by-step process and depends on various factors so the result you are looking for is achieved sooner or later,” El Mundo quoted the wizard as saying.

He pointed out that Ronaldo’s run of a goal-a-game had ended against Tenerife at the weekend and he had been angry at being substituted by coach Manuel Pellegrini in the second half.

Real are not taking the threat seriously and have dismissed it as “the kind of craziness we deal with on a daily basis”, according to El Mundo.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Ronaldo in the next few weeks but in the meantime can anyone think of anything similar happening in other leagues?

There are plenty of superstitious soccer players out there but someone being targeted by a wizard really is bizarre.

PHOTO: Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during their La Liga match against Tenerife at the Bernabeu, Sept. 26 REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Spain's qualification for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa has brought a welcome distraction to a nation suffering more than most of its European peers from the economic crisis.

Wednesday's 3-0 win over Estonia put the European champions through as Group Five winners and Vicente del Bosque's highly-fancied side will be competing in their ninth straight finals since 1978 and attempting to win the World Cup for the first time.

The Spanish FA (RFEF) opted to play the Estonia qualifier in the ancient Roman city of Merida, capital of the struggling Extremadura region, and the local fans gave star players like Fernando Torres, David Villa and Iker Casillas a hero's welcome.

Hundreds turned out in the blazing sunshine to welcome the players at their hotel on Tuesday afternoon and the 15,000-seater Estadio Romano was packed with boisterous fans for both Tuesday's evening's training session and the match.

Unemployment in Extremadura, the dusty region between Madrid and Portugal, is running at more than 20 percent compared with around 18 percent in Spain as a whole and the scores of empty shops in Merida, which boasts some of the world's best-preserved ancient Roman ruins, are a stark reminder of economic hardship.

"We want to use the Estonia match to promote Merida and Extremadura," city mayor Angel Calle said. "We will welcome the players as if they were 21st-century gladiators."

The RFEF policy of playing matches away from major centres like Madrid and Seville is much appreciated by Merida locals, who rarely, if ever, get a chance to see star players in the flesh.

"I've never seen anything like this here in my life," said 82-year-old fan Juan Jose Garrido Carroza outside the stadium on Wednesday. "This is a really big event, it's hugely important for sure."

The Spanish national side is not as popular in regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country but the cries of "Espana! Espana!" that rang out around the stadium at the final whistle in Merida are proof that in Extremadura at least they will always be welcome.

PHOTO: Spain's Cesc Fabregas celebrates after scoring against Estonia during their World Cup qualifier at the Romano stadium in Merida, Sept 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro

Real Madrid's expensive new team boasts an awesome array of attacking talent and huge goal-scoring potential but their defence looked worryingly porous in their opening match of the La Liga season on Saturday.

President Florentino Perez spent 250 million euros ($359 million) to bring excitement and spectacle back to the Bernabeu after two barren years and judging by Saturday's 3-2 win over Deportivo Coruna, when Real twice surrendered the lead and created a host of chances, the fans will not be disappointed.

The return of the suspended Pepe and injured pair Christoph Metzelder and Sergio Ramos may help to eradicate the errors that blighted their performance.

However, Real's hopes of mounting an effective challenge to treble-winners Barcelona seemingly rest on the ability of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and their team mates to score more goals than are inevitably conceded.

Sports daily Marca said in an editorial on Sunday that Real were following a script against Depor that the fans had become well used to over the years.

"An opponent with a solid back line who refuses to be intimidated by so many star players and knows how to exploit the whites' defensive weakness but who ultimately yields to massive firepower," the paper wrote. "This (Real) promises excitement."

Perez's latest creation resembles the band of "galacticos" he assembled during his first stint in charge in 2000-2006, who included Zinedine Zidane, Figo, David Beckham and Brazilian striker Ronaldo.

DYNAMIC SIDES
El Pais soccer correspondent Jose Samano said that coach Manuel Pellegrini was under orders from Perez to focus on attack because the president had grown up watching dynamic Real sides including players such as Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas in the 1950s and 60s.

"Over time soccer has become more conservative but not in the mind of (Perez)," Samano wrote.

"Manuel Pellegrini has no other option than to field as many defenders as attackers, a gamble that almost got them into trouble against Depor," he added.

"Madrid were struggling to dictate the game and obviously won't be a balanced and well calibrated side anytime soon but their box of tricks is limitless."

Writing in El Mundo, Orfeo Suarez said that the new-look Real side were "terrific going forward and vulnerable at the back".

"That's the conclusion to be drawn from the start of the second Florentino Perez era; understandable because it's a project under construction," he said.

"Madrid kept Depor's hopes alive because they are not yet a team and perhaps never will be, and some of the stars are still not firing on all cylinders."

PHOTO: Real Madrid's Raul celebrates his goal against Deportivo Coruna with Karim Benzema (L) and Kaka (C) during their Spanish first division soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid August 29, 2009. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Watching Cristiano Ronaldo getting the rock star treatment at a packed Bernabeu stadium on Monday night, I found myself thinking back to the U2 concert I had been to at Barcelona’s Camp Nou last week.

At a record $130 million, the Portuguese winger has cost Real considerably more than the Irish band’s entire world tour, which kicked off in the Catalan capital and is reported to be their most expensive to date at an estimated $100 million.

Industry publications believe the 360 tour could earn Bono & co. as much as $400 million, while Real president Florentino Perez is banking on Ronaldo and fellow new signing Kaka shifting enough shirts and other merchandise to maintain the club’s place at the top of the rich list.

He also hopes to use his new signings as bargaining chips to help him negotiate lucrative contracts for marketing and audiovisual rights.

Bono donned a Barcelona shirt midway through last week’s concert and praised the club for being the only one to carry the Unicef logo.

But at the Bernabeu on Monday it was all about showing off the most expensive and glamorous player in the world, reportedly on an annual net wage of 13 million euros.

“I have always said that if a club wants the best players it has to pay,” a beaming Ronaldo told reporters at a post-presentation news conference. “I am happy to be the world’s most valuable player and I feel proud.”

Perez the showman has successfully stolen the headlines from arch rivals and last season’s treble-winners Barcelona in recent weeks.

He has also managed to deflect attention from the fact that his previous attempt to build a team of superstars ended in failure and he abandoned the club in early 2006 as they headed towards a third straight trophy-less season.

We’ll have to wait until the next campaign begins to see whether his latest attempt will prove more successful.

The signings of Ronaldo, Kaka and France striker Karim Benzema have created a spectacular forward line but the rest of the side still looks rather ordinary.

Writing in Marca newspaper on Tuesday, former Spain coach Javier Clemente said Real needed to strengthen their central midfield and defence.

“If they don’t build a stronger and more stable defence than last year I don’t know if the magnificent players they have bought will be much use,” he wrote. “The great teams are built from the back.”

He added that it was odd that Barcelona had remained so quiet in recent weeks and had yet to make any forays into the transfer market, but noted that they did not really need to make any changes.

"Luckily for Barcelona, these recent victories for Real Madrid are not sporting results and don’t bring points in the league table. They (Barca) are still the team to beat."

PHOTO: Real Madrid's new Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo greets the crowd during his presentation at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, July 6, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Pau Gasol's triumph with the LA Lakers has prompted more articles in the Spanish media celebrating the country's incredible run of sporting success.

Gasol was a vital cog in the Lakers machine this season and joins a long list of Spanish champions in individual and team sports.

Spain's soccer team, after winning Euro 2008, has cemented its hold on the number one ranking by extending its unbeaten run to 33 matches, Barcelona strolled to the Champions League title last month with a humbling of holders Manchester United, Rafael Nadal is the top-ranked men's tennis player and Spain Davis Cup champions, Jorge Lorenzo is joint leader in the MotoGP world championships and Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France, the third Spanish victory in a row.

"Another success for Spanish sport," Nadal wrote of Gasol on his website on Tuesday. "It's hard to take in everything that we are achieving," he added. "We should be very proud."

"Gasol has passed a new milestone for Spanish sport, even if there are not that many goals left to achieve," said sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky.

Writing in Marca newspaper on Tuesday, columnist Santiago Segurola said the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 were a turning point for the country, changing the way people outside Spain viewed the nation and laying the foundations for today's sporting achievements.

While Spain might not be the strongest sporting nation overall, it was among those that produced the widest variety of champions, almost all in sports with huge media impact, he added.

However, the recent success of athletes like Gasol and Nadal could be a mixed blessing for the team bidding to bring the Olympic Games to Madrid in 2016.

It helps raise the nation's global profile but also serves to underline the relative weakness of Spain in the key Olympic sports of athletics and swimming.

"We are enjoying the luxury but lacking in the basics," Segurola wrote.

Spain's performance at the last Olympics in Beijing, where they came 14th in the medals table behind the likes of Jamaica, Netherlands and Ukraine, underscored their athletes' deficiencies, Juan Bautista Martinez wrote in Tuesday's La Vanguardia.

But at a time of economic crisis, with unemployment soaring and firms closing down, sport had become a kind of motor of society that had helped lift damp spirits, he said. "When everything is going down the tubes, sport comes to the rescue."

Whether or not Madrid pips Chicago, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to win the right to host the 2016 summer Games, the elusive dream for many Spaniards remains winning the soccer World Cup for the first time.

If Fernando Torres, David Villa, Xavi and Andres Iniesta maintain anything like their current form, South Africa next year could well be the icing on the cake for this over-achieving nation of 40 million people.

PAU: Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol reaches for a rebound in the 3rd quarter during Game 4 of their NBA Finals series against the Orlando Magic in Orlando, Florida June 11, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Kolczynski

INIESTA: Barcelona's Andres Iniesta holds the trophy after their Champions League final victory against Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Pep Guardiola’s superb Barca side four clear at the top with five games left to play. Champions Real in second on a run of 17 wins and a draw in 18 matches since a 2-0 loss at the Nou Camp in December and refusing to capitulate. The nation’s arch soccer rivals locking horns. Spain versus Catalunya.

The stage was set for my first “Clasico” at the Bernabeu.

I had read about the great matches of the past and seen the headlines: “The match of the century!”, “The greatest show on earth!”.

It was time to experience it for myself.

I hopped off the bus near the stadium and fought my way through the throng of Real faithful, already in good voice and enjoying the evening sunshine more than an hour-and-a-half before kickoff.

A policeman waved me through the barriers holding back the crowds and I collected my accreditation and took the lift up to the press tribune on the fifth floor.

It was oddly quiet inside the mammoth arena, a few photographers and officials milling about by the pitch, and the muted sound of the boisterous supporters outside punctuated by the occasional firecracker and police siren.

Fabio Cannavaro, Arjen Robben and a few other Real players strolled out on to the pitch for a few minutes and Royston Drenthe posed for some photographs as I leafed through the media notes.

Biggest home defeat for Real in “El Clasico” 5-0 way back in February 1974, four days before I was born. Probably won’t be needing that particular stat.

When the spectators were finally allowed in, the atmosphere quickly warmed up and any attempt at singing by the small knot of Barca fans high to my right was met with a chorus of whistles and hoots.

The volume of noise was rising all the time and reached a crescendo as the two teams marched on to the pitch and the spectators held up pieces of card that turned the stands white. Game on.

“You don’t want to do that,” I thought as Sergio Ramos gave the ball away to Lionel Messi in a dangerous position in the first minute, perhaps a sign of things to come.

The Real faithful went nuts when Gonzalo Higuain grabbed the lead but it wasn’t long before Barca asserted themselves and Real’s chances of defending their league title were fast receding.

As the goals rolled in, a colleague in the press box, a lifelong Real fan, was growing increasingly despondent and the invective issuing from the mouth of the Spanish journalist behind us, mostly directed at the referee, was increasingly extreme.

When Messi scored to make it 5-2 with around 15 minutes left, waves of shell-shocked Real fans started heading for the exits.

The referee did not prolong the agony, ending the match on 90 minutes, and I quickly filed my first take and a rapid update before dashing down to the press conferences with a beaming Guardiola and a glum Juande Ramos.

Eight goals scored by some of the most exciting players around, tons of chances, plenty of controversy, passionate fans in a stunning soccer arena and a famous result in one of the most intensely contested fixtures in world sport.

The kind of match you don’t forget in a hurry.

PHOTO: Barcelona's Lionel Messi (L) celebrates his goal against Real Madrid during their match at the Bernabeu, May 2, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina