Cristiano Ronaldo is hoping that Manchester United can end their European exile and qualify for the Champions League this season. The Red Devils face Manchester City on Sunday, hoping their late draw with Chelsea last week will spur them on against their out of form rivals. Whilst 9 points off of leaders Chelsea, United are looking to firstly step back into Europe, having invested heavily during the summer. Under David Moyes, United missed out on European qualification last season and now find themselves in the unusual position of watching Europe's elite on TV every fortnight. Ex-United man … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2014
Sociedad to dispense with Arrasate
Real Sociedad will sack manager Jagoba Arrasate this week after the side continued their awful start to the new season. Former Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel is the favourite to take over at the Anoeta, with ex-West Brom and Real Betis manager Pepe Mel also in contention. The news comes following Sociedad's weekend draw with Cordoba as La Real conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with the newly promoted side. With that result, Sociedad extended their winless run to seven games and dropped down to 17th place, yet to win since their 4-2 victory over Real Madrid. Arrasate, who took on the role of … [Read more...]
How Barcelona built Real Madrid
To understand the rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid you must travel back to the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Francesco Franco that followed the war. In July of 1936 Franco led a coup against The Second Spanish Republic that had been in power since 1931. During the following Spanish Civil War, Catalonia became the center of Socialist thought and Barcelona became the capitol of the Spanish Republican (People’s) Army that opposed Franco’s Spanish Nationalist Army. … [Read more...]
La Liga team of the week
igaIt was the round before El Clasico, and the big guns certainly didn’t disappoint. Real Madrid were away in Valencia against Levante and they hit 5 goals past their hapless host. Barcelona meanwhile showed supremacy at the Camp Nou versus newly promoted Eibar. In goal for this week’s team of the round is the man who was between the sticks in unarguably the weekend’s biggest upset. Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Fabricio was in top form in their 3-0 home win at Raizor against high-flying Valencia. The Spanish goalkeeper inspired confidence from behind to ensure The Turks kept a clean sheet … [Read more...]
The struggle at Sociedad
A painful last few minutes for Real Sociedad against Getafe have left them just outside the relegation zone with five points from eight games. It has been a dreadful start from the white and blue which they need to turn around quickly if they are to challenge for a place in Europe. Pablo Hervais’ tap-in 82 minutes in looked to have sealed all three points for the royals but two quick goals in stoppage time from Getafe striker Yoda snatched the win for the away side. … [Read more...]
El Clasico Preview
Barcelona's trip to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday needs little introduction. The La Liga leaders travel to Real Madrid with a four-point lead over their fiercest rivals, and boasting an unbeaten record in the league so far this season. Adding to the intensity of this already fraught fixture is the prospect that Luis Suarez could make his debut for the Catalan club, following a lengthy ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay's World Cup win over Italy way back in June. … [Read more...]
Madrid bag another 5
Madrid are on top form at the moment, two 5-0 wins in La Liga either side of the international break mean they are closing in on Barca who are in top spot. Carlo Ancelotti’s men strolled to victory against Levante. Another brace from Ronaldo takes his tally for La Liga this season to 15 goals, an incredible start which is almost unimaginable in the modern game. … [Read more...]
10 of the best Messi moments from his Barca decade
Lionel Messi celebrates 10 years since making his full Barcelona debut this week, having broken all sorts of records in the decade in between. His career has been littered with trophies, goals, scintillating play and the occasional bit of heartbreak. However, here are 10 of the moments that stand out most of all. Debut vs Espanyol The world was shown its first glimpse of Messi on this day ten years ago, when the 17-year-old was sent on by Frank Rijkaard in the La Liga game against Espanyol. Messi had come a long way to make his debut, despite becoming the youngest Barca player to appear in La … [Read more...]
The Irish-Spaniard
Who is the only Irish manager to manager successfully in Spain? That man is Patrick O’Connell, also known as Patricio O’Connell, who managed successfully at both Real Betis and FC Barcelona. But, who was he? Where did he make his name? Patrick O’Connell was born on the 8th of March 1887 in Westmeath, Ireland, playing the position of wing half. His playing career included playing for: Belfast Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City and Manchester United. As an Irish International, his honours include captaining Ireland to the British Home Championship in 1914. … [Read more...]
Are Valencia back?
After a hugely disrupted season which ended with two managerial changes, an eighth place finish in La Liga, missing out on European football and losing key players in the summer transfer window, no one had really expected Valencia to achieve much this season. Despite all this, the club currently sit 2nd in the Primera Division winning five of their seven league games and have yet to taste defeat. Last seasons’ struggles, both on and off the field, seem a thing of the past after Peter Lim bought a 70% stake in Los Che in August. New manager Nuno Espirito Santo came in relatively unknown to … [Read more...]