Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Real Madrid’s Alonso maturing like a fine wine
Xabi Alonso’s 30th birthday on Friday has prompted an avalanche of praise for the Real Madrid midfielder and has also served to highlight the former Liverpool man’s importance in coach Jose Mourinho’s plans for Spanish and European domination.
Widely regarded as one of the finest players of his generation, as well as one of the most astute purchases by big-spending Real president Florentino Perez, the quietly-spoken Alonso has gone from strength to strength since joining Real for a fee of 35 million euros ($47 million) at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Spraying passes around the pitch from the centre of midfield with consumate ease and unleashing a crunching tackle when necessary, he is the well-oiled cog at the heart of Mourinho’s Real machine and it would be hard to see them mounting a realistic challenge to great rivals Barcelona without him.
Mourinho has used him more than any other player this season, more even than captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Alonso has spent 1,626 minutes on the pitch, (1,110 in La Liga, 421 in the Champions League and 95 in the Spanish Super Cup, compared with Casillas’s total of 1,592 minutes.
Alonso’s role in the Spain team is no less vital. Alongside Barcelona’s Xavi, the world and European champions surely have two of the best midfielders ever to have played the game, capable of orchestrating long periods of ball possession before unlocking the meanest defence in the blink of an eye.
Among Alonso’s attributes, Spanish media commentators picked out his calm demeanour, leadership qualities on the pitch and the fact that he is able to live his life away from soccer well outside the glare of the media spotlight.
Five moments of Spanish glory captured in paint
Pressed to name the five key goals in the history of the Spanish national team, most soccer fans would easily be able to pick the two most recent.
The deft chip on the run with which Fernando Torres beat Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to seal Spain’s 1-0 victory in the final of Euro 2008 gave the success-starved Iberian nation their first major trophy in 44 years.
The best was yet to come of course, Andres Iniesta’s dramatic stoppage-time winner in Johannesburg last year securing a first World Cup triumph.
Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar commissioned an artist to capture those two landmark goals and three others and the five paintings were presented at a gala ceremony on Thursday at the RFEF’s training facility outside Madrid, with Torres, Iniesta and their team mates present.
Also immortalised on canvas in striking detail were Telmo Zarra’s effort against England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, which put Spain through to the last four; Marcelino’s header which won the 1964 European Championship final against the Soviet Union and Kiko Narvaez’s winner against Poland to give Spain gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The paintings, by Andres Sanchez, will go on display at the federation’s museum at Las Rozas outside the Spanish capital.
“In the football world past events are sometimes forgotten,” Villar, who is also a vice president of FIFA and UEFA, told the audience.
Might misfiring Torres miss out on Euro 2012?
In our latest post on Spanish soccer, Mark Elkington in Madrid raises the prospect of out-of-sorts striker Fernando Torres missing out on the Euro 2012 finals as competition for places heats up.
Fierce competition for places in Spain’s frontline for Euro 2012 has increased the pressure on misfiring Chelsea striker Fernando Torres.
Some are even suggesting the hero of Spain’s triumph at Euro 2008 may not even make the squad for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine next year and have speculated coach Vicente del Bosque could pick strikers including Alvaro Negredo (pictured) and Fernando Llorente ahead of the former Liverpool man.
The world and continental champions thrashed Liechtenstein 6-0 on Tuesday to qualify for the finals, but Torres was left to watch from the stands as David Villa, Spain’s all-time top scorer, and Negredo both netted doubles.
“There were ten players who didn’t play,” Del Bosque said when asked afterwards about the surprise decision to leave Torres out.
“He is an important player but the people selected for the national team are those who do well for their clubs, not the other way round.”
Torres has scored 27 goals for Spain, including the winner in their 1-0 Euro 2008 final victory over Germany, but was short of match fitness after injury and contributed little to last year’s victorious World Cup finals campaign.
Villa is certainly outshining him in all areas and Villa can also play out wide if needed which Torres cant
La Liga’s great divide
The red carpet was out in the VIP lounge at the Bernabeu last week and four immaculately-dressed Emirates air hostesses helped usher in the dignitaries as Real Madrid presented a new sponsorship agreement with the Dubai-based airline.
No financial details were given, but the five-year deal will no doubt further boost the coffers of the world´s richest club by revenue.
The drawing power of Real and Barcelona, who are second in the Deloitte “Rich List” rankings, continues to dwarf that of their La Liga rivals.
The European and Spanish champions, Barca, announced a record five-year shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment worth 30 million euros a season a few weeks ago.
On the same day of the plush Emirates presentation, promoted Rayo Vallecano, who are based five kilometres down the road from Real, received some good news as well.
The debt-ridden club had applied to go into administration before winning promotion from the second division, and administrators finally lifted the embargo that had been placed on all transfer dealings.
Rayo, who can now start planning properly for the new campaign, are one of five La Liga sides in administration along with Real Betis, Granada, Racing Santander and Real Zaragoza.
Future looks bright for ambitious and deep-pocketed Malaga
In our latest post on Spanish soccer, Iain Rogers in Madrid looks at Qatari Sheikh Abdullah al Thani’s ambitious plans for Andalusian club Malaga and an impressive victory for Spain over United States that underlined the world champions’ strength in depth.
Future looks bright for ambitious and deep-pocketed Malaga
It’s been a long road back since they went into voluntary administration in late 2006, but for Malaga the future looks extremely promising.
Sheikh Abdullah al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family who bought the south-coast club last year, appears genuinely ambitious and looks to have deep enough pockets to turn his plans into reality.
Certainly if his choice of automobiles is anything to go by.
On a visit to the club’s La Rosaleda stadium last week to interview vice-president and CEO Abdullah Ghubn, we passed through the car park where several of the sheikh’s prize possession were being housed — including a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a Pagani Zonda.
We were in Malaga for the inking of an agreement between the club and UNESCO and also happened to be there on the day Ruud van Nistelrooy turned up to put the finishing touches to a deal to join from Hamburg SV.
Bad Spanish blood boils over into Champions League “Clasico”
In our latest Monday post on Spanish soccer, Iain Rogers in Barcelona muses on the ill-tempered Champions League clash between arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid and the possible repercussions for the Spanish national team and looks at the unrivalled brilliance of World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.
Bad Spanish blood boils over into Champions League “Clasico”
Last week’s Champions League semi-final first leg between Real Madrid and Barcelona made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The bad blood that had boiled up between the arch rivals before the game at the Bernabeu, watched by millions around the world, spilled over into some ugly scenes on the pitch.
Tension had been building between the Spanish giants after last month’s 1-1 La Liga draw in Madrid and the King’s Cup final in Valencia, which Real won 1-0 in dramatic style thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s header in extra time.
Real’s outspoken coach Jose Mourinho upped the ante before the Champions League game by baiting his Barca counterpart Pep Guardiola, who abandoned his customary restraint and lashed back at the Portuguese at his own pre-match news conference.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA opened probes into both clubs the day after the match, which included a scuffle at halftime that resulted in a red card for Barca reserve goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto, the sending off of Real’s Pepe for a wild tackle on Daniel Alves and Mourinho being dismissed from the bench for protesting the decision.
Soccer Break Friday
The first day of the fourth month means April fools day, so we would really love to hear from you if there are any dubious stories doing the rounds.
Here are some. Frank Lampard’s ‘goal that never was’ at the World Cup is to be finally given. Ronaldo will start playing for Spain. And here is a list of five other classics from the past.
How about Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho for Manchester United? Or do you agree that West Ham United would have been in the hunt for Europe bar refereeing decisions?
Back to this weekend, and the title races in Spain and Italy are really hotting up as our previews will tell you. In Germany, Borussia Dortmund are still well clear but need to steady the ship.
Breaking news on Friday was the joint announcement by FIFA and UEFA that Bosnia were being suspended from international competition. Stay tuned for more including a chat with the Bosnia coach.
Finally the latest on Chad Ochocinco as the debate rages on…can athletes successfully transfer their skills in one sport to another?
Kevin Fylan adds: All betting fans, please also check out the latest edition of our sports spreads show on Insider: Click here for our lightning look at the Premier League programme and the cricket World Cup final.
Soccer Break Wednesday
Now the international period is over we can focus on domestic issues again, or can we?
Tuesday’s matches provided plenty of drama, from the battles Spain and the Netherlands had to fight to get through tricky Euro 2012 qualifiers, to Ghana’s lighting up of London, to Australia’s World Cup revenge against Germany in a friendly.
Brazil’s two-goal hero against Scotland continues to grab the headlines. Would you be interested in signing the talented 19-year-old Neymar?
For two of Europe’s biggest clubs there is bad news. The strike that could have seen the cancellation of La Liga matches this weekend has been called off, so Real Madrid must play three days before their Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Staying with a North London theme, Arsenal could be without striker Robin van Persie after the Netherlands forward was injured against Hungary in the 5-3 thriller. No doubt Arsene Wenger will have something to say so keep your ears open.
And what about Jens Lehmann? Gunners fans…would you trust him in goal over Manuel Almunia?
Some good news now. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says the game is developing well in the United States, though there’s always a flip side. After the encouraging 1-1 draw against Argentina on Saturday, the U.S. lost 1-0 to Paraguay on Tuesday.
TV spat threatens La Liga matchday 30
In the latest edition of our Monday Spanish soccer blog, Mark Elkington looks at a dispute that threatens the next round of La Liga matches, Spain’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Lithuania and the problems affecting second-division leaders Rayo Vallecano.
Courtroom drama
Many of La Liga’s finest packed their bags and headed off to represent their countries last week while the action in Spain switched from the pitch to the courtroom.
The professional soccer league (LFP) voted last month to postpone the 30th round of matches due to be played on April 2/3 unless the government scrapped a rule that one La Liga game per weekend be shown on freeview television.
The league argues that removing the obligation to show the free game would strengthen their position in negotiations with media companies on selling audiovisual rights.
Negotiations between the LFP, the clubs and the government have yet to yield a solution, and have been complicated by the decision of six teams to break away and challenge the “strike” action.
The so called G6, which includes heavyweights Sevilla and Villarreal, have challenged the postponement as illegal and a judge is set to hear the case for and against on Tuesday, with a decision due to be announced on Wednesday.
Soccer Break Monday
Welcome back to another week of digesting the global game, and where better to start than with a look at the Lionel Messi effect on the sport.
The wizard-like Argentine is a joy to watch and by playing in countries such as the United States, where soccer is not the main sport, he can only have increased enthusiasm for the round ball game.
The U.S. will also face world champions Spain in June.
In Europe, while Spain huffed and puffed and finally blew the Czech Republic’s door down for a 2-1 win in Granada with yet another mesmerising display of quick passing, there was little else to go crazy about.
In fact, UEFA president Michel Platini fears that Euro 2012 qualifiers are becoming a little boring, and he is concerned that players look forward more to Champions League matches than internationals.
Brazil were another big name to take to the field and win at the weekend but despite their 2-0 loss at the hands of the five-times World Cup winners, Scotland’s Charlie Adam said his team had learnt some valuable lessons.
Other people who could be a taught a lesson are the laser users at the Wales-England match and the fans who were noisy during the minute silence for the Japan earthquake and tsunami victims at the U.S.-Argentina game.
Good stuff
http://www.suite101.com/content/scotland -v-brazil-review-a362234
