Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Thursday – United roll on

Manchester United just keep on winning despite a sluggish season by their usually high standards and will now face Barcelona in the Champions League final on May 28.

Predictions? Hard to see even a full strength United keeping Messi and co at bay, especially as Barca coach Pep Guardiola will be seeking to continue his love affair with Wembley.

Next up for Alex Ferguson’s men is the visit of title rivals Chelsea on Sunday, certain to be a much stiffer test than a disappointingly lacklustre Schalke 04 on Wednesday. Will United’s formidable home record count in their favour?

Staying in Europe, and Thursday is Europa League day. Porto take a 5-1 lead into the second semi-final leg against Villarreal, while compatriots Benfica beat fellow Portuguese club Braga 2-1 at home.

Braga, less fashionable than their illustrious rivals, play their home games at the Quarry. Could be an explosive match.

Taking a look at a wider football issue, are tickets too expensive? Read here for what Arsenal are doing to combat the rise in prices.

And finally, referees have a hard time, especially with the stakes so high in Europe, but read here to find out about a New Zealand official’s ‘empty net’ penalty decision.

One down, three to go…..

In our latest Monday post on Spanish soccer, Mark Elkington in Madrid reviews the first of four games in three competitions in 18 days between arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid and takes a look at surprise La Liga package Levante.

One down, three to go

Real Madrid and Barcelona achieved their primary aims in Saturday´s 1-1 “Clasico” draw, the first of four titanic clashes between the arch rivals in 18 days.

Barca maintained their eight-point advantage at the top of La Liga and with six games left to play surely have their third consecutive league title in the bag.

Madrid did not get beaten. After five consecutive defeats against Pep Guardiola´s team they avoided a repeat of the 5-0 rout they suffered in Nou Camp last November and gave themselves the belief they could maybe upset Barca in the coming games.

Saturday´s match was like a warm-up for Wednesday´s King´s Cup final in Valencia and the Champions League semis which start next week.

Jose Mourinho ditched his standard 4-2-3-1 formation, bringing extra muscle into the midfield in the shape of centre-back Pepe and dispensed with his playmaker Mesut Ozil as he “parked the bus” (in front of their own goal) as they say in Spain.

Real in fine fettle ahead of four-game Barca showdown

In our latest Monday Spanish soccer post, Iain Rogers in Madrid looks at the calm before the “Clasico” storm, Johan Cruyff”s latest musings on the Real-Barca rivalry and the recent fine form of Valencia and striker Roberto Soldado.

Real in fine fettle ahead of four-game Barca showdown

With an unprecedented four “Clasicos” in 18 days just around the corner (unless something very strange happens in the Champions League quarter-final second legs), Real Madrid and Barcelona had a final run-out in La Liga before they meet next weekend, wins for each meaning Barca will travel to the Bernabeu with an eight-point lead with seven games remaining.

Jose Mourinho took a calculated risk by leaving Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Xabi Alonso and Marcelo out of his starting lineup for Real’s game at Athletic Bilbao. What was essentially his B-team secured a comfortable 3-1 win against a disappointing Bilbao, with Kaka netting two goals from the penalty spot and providing a splendid assist for substitute Ronaldo that suggested he may be starting to get back to something near the form that won him a World Player of the Year award in 2007.

The Brazilian playmaker, who cost Real 65 million euros from AC Milan at the end of the 2008/09 season, has taken longer than expected to recover from the knee surgery he needed after the World Cup, leading to questions over his commitment and long-term fitness.

“I am happy, smiling,” Kaka was quoted as saying in local media on Monday.

“Scoring two goals gives me more confidence for the future, even if they were penalties,” he added.

Barca closing in on La Liga title

In our latest Monday Spanish soccer post, Mark Elkington in Madrid reviews the situation in La Liga after Real Madrid’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to Sporting Gijon and looks ahead to this week’s Champions League action.

La Liga is Barca’s to lose

In a week when Real Madrid were reported by local media to have vetoed the playing of any Shakira songs in the Bernabeu because of her romance with Barcelona’s Gerard Pique, the Spain defender gained more than ample revenge.

Pique scored the only goal as the leaders survived their toughest remaining game in La Liga this season -– aside from the eagerly-awaited “Clasico” at Real in two weeks time -– volleying in the decider against Champions League qualification-chasing Villarreal.

The 1-0 win at the Madrigal put the champions on 81 points with eight left to play and they moved eight clear of Real, who were upset 1-0 by relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon at home earlier on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho was without joint La Liga top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, in-form Karim Benzema and Marcelo due to injury, while Xabi Alonso was suspended, and it was Miguel de las Cuevas who made them pay with a well-worked goal near the end.

“If Barca don’t win the league it will be because we have lost it,” Barca’s David Villa, a former Sporting player, said on Monday.

New Reuters Spanish soccer blog

Starting today, Madrid-based Reuters sports correspondents Iain Rogers and Mark Elkington will be writing a regular Monday column on La Liga for the Reuters soccer blog.

In its inaugural edition, Iain looks at the how the great rivalry between Spain’s dominant clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid has taken on an added piquancy this season and reviews some talking points from the weekend league action.

Barca and Real facing off on three fronts

Catalonia versus Spain. Barcelona versus Madrid. Pep Guardiola versus Jose Mourinho. Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo. Sandro Rosell versus Florentino Perez. Victor Valdes versus Iker Casillas and so on and so on.

The well-documented and often bitter rivalry between Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid stretches back many decades and across many levels.

This season, however, “El Clasico”, as matches between the country’s two dominant clubs are known, has taken on a greater significance than perhaps ever before.

Barca and Real are fighting on three fronts in the domestic league and cup and the Champions League and fans of Spanish soccer are licking their lips at the prospect of at least two, and possibly four, meetings between the pair in coming weeks.

Relief in Barcelona as Guardiola extends contract

During Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp last Saturday, which set a Spanish record of 16 straight La Liga victories, there was one thrilling passage of play which perfectly illustrated the work ethic Pep Guardiola has instilled among his squad of wonderfully gifted players.

The ball was played into space for Atletico forward Sergio Aguero. Lionel Messi suddenly appeared, sprinting back into defence. The World Player of the Year ran shoulder to shoulder with his Argentina team mate, stole the ball, beat Felipe Luis with an audacious piece of skill and started yet another assault on the visitors’ goal.

Atletico coach Quique Sanchez Flores said after the match it was that commitment to the team that showed why Messi is the world’s best player and why Barca have been destroying decades-old records over the past two and a half seasons.

The 23-year-old Messi was an Alfredo Di Stefano for the 21st century, added Sanchez Flores, like Di Stefano a former Real Madrid player.

Messi’s brilliant rearguard action also partly explains why under Guardiola, who extended his contract with the La Liga champions until the end of next season on Tuesday, Barca have won eight of the 10 trophies they have contested since he succeeded Frank Rijkaard at the end of the 2007-08 season.

The softly-spoken and respectful former Barca and Spain midfielder has lived and breathed the Catalan club since he joined their youth school in 1984 at the age of 13.

His success as a coach has brought praise from all sides for his refusal to compromise on Barca’s deeply-rooted style of entertaining, attacking football.

Happy Birthday Pep. Now, about that contract…

Birthday congratulations have been pouring in all week for Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who turned 40 on Tuesday, and it is worth taking a moment to reflect on his phenomenal record since he took over from Frank Rijkaard at the end of the 2007-08 season.

The softly-spoken former Barca and Spain midfielder has helped lift the Catalan club to unprecedented heights, winning eight of the 10 competitions they have contested, including a treble of Spanish league and Cup and European Champions League in his first season and an historic six trophies in 2009.

Records have tumbled during his short reign. They amassed the highest number of points and goals for the first half of a season in La Liga this term: 52 and 61 respectively, with a goal difference of plus 50. They have won all their away matches, surprisingly slipping up twice at home with defeat to promoted Hercules and a draw with Michael Laudrup’s Real Mallorca.

Perhaps most pleasing for the Barca faithful, maybe even more than the silverware, his team have won all five “Clasicos” against great rivals Real Madrid, a run that included a 6-2 success at Real’s Bernabeu stadium in May 2009 and last November’s crushing 5-0 romp at the Nou Camp.

Guardiola has lived and breathed Barca since joining their youth training programme at the age of 13 and his success as a coach has brought plaudits from all sides for his refusal to compromise on the club’s deeply-rooted style of entertaining, attacking football.

Watching players like Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique — all graduates of the youth school — as well as imports including David Villa and Daniel Alves week in week out is a genuine pleasure for all soccer fans.

Argentina forward Messi, winner of the past two World Player of the Year awards, has blossomed under Guardiola’s guidance and acknowledges his coach’s influence.

Five things we learned, or had confirmed, in Monday’s “Clasico”

1. Lionel Messi is a more effective “big game player” than Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese may be the world’s most expensive player but Argentina forward Messi has got the better of the man whom he succeeded as World Player of the Year on their last four meetings.

Starting with the 2009 Champions League final in Rome, when Messi scored Barca’s second in a 2-0 success, and continuing through the last three La Liga “Clasicos”, the 23-year-old from Santa Fe has produced the goods when it counted.

Although he did not score himself on Monday at the Nou Camp, his two assists for David Villa early in the second half made it 4-0 to the hosts and effectively killed off the game.

Madeira-born Ronaldo, 25, was largely anonymous after the break and made a poor impression with a needless shove on Barca coach Pep Guardiola that sparked a brief pitchside fracas and earned him a yellow card.

2. It may take longer than we thought for Jose Mourinho to mould Real’s expensively-assembled squad into an effective team capable of ending Barca’s two-year reign as Spanish champions and restoring the Madrid club’s fortunes in Europe.

The self-styled “Special One” has repeatedly said it himself but Real remain a work in progress while Barca are the finished article. They were superior in almost every department on Monday. Real’s Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Angel Di Maria were totally outplayed and fellow new signings Pedro Leon and Sergio Canales did not feature.

The strange story of Ibra and Pep

As Barcelona close in on the signing of Javier Mascherano from Liverpool, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s future at the club seems to becoming ever more complicated.

Coach Pep Guardiola’s decision to move for the combative Mascherano is understandable after Yaya Toure’s departure to Manchester City.

Added to the signings of David Villa, a proven goalscorer already familiar with half the squad from Spanish international duty, and the versatile Adriano Correia, who can cover Dani Alves at right back or play in midfield, they look like sensible choices.

But can Guardiola’s judgement be questioned is in his handling of the Ibrahimovic conundrum?

The hefty Swede was Guardiola’s choice to replace the prolific but problematic Samuel Eto’o a year ago and set Barca back serious cash in an eye-watering swap deal with Inter Milan.

Ibra responded by scoring 21 goals in all competitions, a tally not to be sniffed at, yet he clearly slipped to second choice at number nine during the title run in last May behind teenager Bojan Krkic.

Benitez leaves Liverpool, next stop Inter?

After months of speculation, Liverpool have confirmed that coach Rafael Benitez has left the club.

Disagreements with the owners and a poor season for the Reds have led to the decision to part company by mutual consent. Do you think it was inevitable?

Inter Milan, without a coach after Jose Mourinho joined Real Madrid despite Champions League glory and an unprecedented Italian treble, are looking for a another high-profile boss and Italian speaker Benitez fits the bill.

First target Fabio Capello has committed to England while Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola and Fulham’s Roy Hodgson, both highly-rated by Inter president Massimo Moratti, look tied to their clubs.

Guus Hiddink has only just linked up with Turkey so it leaves Benitez as the clearest candidate for Inter, especially after praise from Moratti.

But what about the Liverpool job? Martin O’Neill? Mark Hughes? You could argue it is not a great time to be taking the Anfield hotseat if there is limited cash to spend.