Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has spoken out against recent criticism concerning the club's Castilla team. The Portuguese boss had come under scrutiny recently because of supposedly blocking aspiring players from the B team from playing in the first team. However, Mourinho has responded to these statements by blaming the club's youth system and Castilla head coach Alberto Toril. The Spanish soccer press had been stirring up accusations all last week accusing Mourinho of buying his way out of trouble and … [Read more...]
Falcao – will El Tigre leave?
As speculation continues and nearly all of Europe has picked up on it, we can now see that Radamel Falcao's move to the Premier League is a high possibility. Since the Super Cup against Chelsea where Falcao nabbed a hat-trick, there have been a few clubs that have announced interest. The most likely suitors are Manchester City and Chelsea. Who wouldn't want Falcao? … [Read more...]
La Liga dominates Ballon d’Or shortlist as 7 Spaniards vie for title
FIFA has announced a 23 man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or award which will be announced at a gala on January 7th 2013. Included in the list are seven players from the victorious Euro 2012 Spanish squad whilst 12 of the 23 selected ply their trade in La Liga. 6 Real Madrid players are named and 5 from Barcelona with Atletico Madrid's Falcao being the sole candidate exempt from the big two teams. FIFA and a group of experts from France compiled the list for national team coaches, captains and various journalists to vote from. … [Read more...]
Can Atletico really challenge for the title this season?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece documenting the recent rise of Atletico Madrid and their desire to qualify for the Champions League next season. However since then, Atleti's form has been nothing short of scintillating, featuring 8 successive league wins and in Europe the club have been similarly dominant with Radamel Falcao at the helm. Currently level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga, Atleti's blistering start has given them reasons to be cheerful amidst rivals Real Madrid's patchy form but can they sustain it throughout the season? … [Read more...]
Barca win late but Real slip up – European round up
Seven La Liga sides were in European action this week with five of them picking up valuable wins in both the Champions League and Europa League. There were no draws between the teams from Spain and anyone else, sadly for Real Madrid who lost to Borussia Dortmund, but one game almost shocked the football world which had remained level up until the dying seconds. Barcelona's narrow victory over Celtic very nearly had the Nou Camp raging but a 94th minute goal from Jordi Alba ensured … [Read more...]