Cristiano Ronaldo was the deserved winner of the Ballon d'Or in Zurich last night. As he fought back tears, the Real Madrid wizard described it as “a very emotional moment.” Fifa had produced a very strong shortlist this year: Ronaldo, Barcelona's Lionel Messi (winner on the last four occasions), and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich. Despite this high quality opposition Ronaldo had been as short as 100 to 1 ON to win the award, and it's not hard to see why. Ronaldo scored an incredible 66 goals in 56 appearances for club and country during 2013, and picking up his second Ballon d'Or cements … [Read more...]
Ballon d’Or: Ronaldo v Messi?
The two greatest players in Spanish football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, go head to head tonight to see who will be crowned the greatest player in the world. It's an El Clasico being held in Zurich. The Ballon d'Or (or golden ball) is given to the player who has been the world's best player during the previous calendar year. Ronaldo was distraught at missing out to his arch rival Lionel Messi last year, but could this be the year that he snatches it back? La Liga blog assesses the contenders. Ronaldo is the heart beat of the Real Madrid side. He is a formidable striker of the ball, … [Read more...]
Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid clinched a vital victory over Espanyol last night to move to within three points of La Liga pacesetters Barcelona and Atletico, but they made hard work of it at the Cornella El Prat stadium. With Atleti and Barcelona playing out a goalless draw on Saturday it presented a real opportunity for Madrid to drag themselves back into the title race. Espanyol are either quite decent or very bad, there's no in-betweens for Javier Aguirre's side. Unfortunately for Madrid they met Espanyol on one of their better nights. Espanyol were resolute at the back, goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was on top … [Read more...]
Manchester United Lead Race For Niguez
Saul Niguez is the hottest prospect in Spanish football at the moment, and it seems that Manchester United have taken the lead in a three way race to secure his signature. The 19 year old midfielder is currently plying his football on loan at Rayo Vallecano, having been sent there to gain first team experience by Atletico manager Diego Simeone. Niguez has grabbed the chance with both hands and has been the outstanding player in a Vallecona side struggling at the foot of La Liga. Niguez has scored one goal in his sixteen appearances for the Vallecanos, but it his passing vision and composure … [Read more...]
Barcelona’s Sanchez makes our La Liga team of the week
Enough of Santa’s gifts and all the celebrations that comes with the festive period, the league resumed over the weekend and clubs hit the ground running immediately. At the top, there was certainly no margin for error, and that was very evident in the way Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid dispatched their opponents. … [Read more...]