F.C. Barcelona go into today's clash in Vigo against a Celta side that have been making noises in the Spanish media claiming it is the perfect time to face the League Champions elect. As much as the Catalans may see this as a lack of respect from the Galician outfit, circumstances going into the game would appear to back their claims up. … [Read more...]
Messi rises from the bench to revive Barça morale
F.C. Barcelona tonight recorded a 2-0 win against Deportivo la Coruña, a result that leaves them further ahead of their league rivals before they have had a chance to play and with the peace of mind now to think about the task ahead against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou. … [Read more...]
El Clasico, let the battle commence
Tonight sees the renewal of hostilities between the big two in Spain, el clásico, between Futbol Club Barcelona and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. Many in the country itself believe that they are the two biggest clubs in the world, many more around the world would find it hard to disagree. Vicente del Bosque, Spain's National Coach and a former Real Madrid player and coach, yesterday received a medal of honour from the autonomous community of Castille and Leon for his services to the game. The great man himself couldn't split the big two and only hopes for a match that will promote the high … [Read more...]
Real Sociedad v Barcelona match preview
Barcelona will be looking to continue their 19 game unbeaten streak in the Primera Division this weekend as they face a trip up north to the Basque country's very own Real Sociedad in what should be a comfortable encounter for Tito Vilanova's men. … [Read more...]
Lionel Messi – is this the peak of his career?
You don't need a Spanish football blog to tell you that Lionel Messi has had an unforgettable year. With 91 goals and a third successive Balon Dor prize in the bag, it's a shame his club side Barcelona put a slight dampener on his incredible achievement by losing out on retaining both the La Liga title to fierce rivals Real Madrid and the Champions League to unlikely winners Chelsea. … [Read more...]
Lionel Messi – What Next?
At just 25, very few can claim to have rewritten history by their mid-twenties but Lionel Messi, as we are so often reminded, is not a regular human being. Whilst many of the same age look to grow up and plan for the next step though, Messi too has to enter a new phase of his career. Finished with 'Gerd Muller's Guide to Scoring Goals in a Calendar Year', Messi faces no choice but to divulge himself in another chapter of life like many of us have had to at some point. … [Read more...]
My Top 5 Ballon d’Or Nominees
As we get closer to finding out who the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or will be, I have narrowed my list down to 5 people, from the 23 man shortlist. … [Read more...]
Messi closes in on Muller’s record
A brace against Zaragoza took Lionel Messi to within just 7 goals of Gerd Muller's world record of 85 strikes in a calendar year. Messi scored the opener with a lovely left footed finish after a 1-2 with Jordi Alba and then curled in a lovely shot to make the scoreline 3-1. He also had a hand in the other goal, Alex Song's winner, as Messi laid the ball back for the Cameroonian midfielder to score. Now on 78 goals in 2012, Messi has roughly 7 or 8 games left to break Muller's record and stake another claim to being perhaps the greatest striker ever to have graced the game. … [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...]
Lionel Messi wins goal of the week with a thunderous strike against Real Madrid
After an exciting weekend of La Liga action in which the shares were spoiled in the all too anticipated El Clasico, we decided that Lionel Messi's second goal - a perfectly placed free kick to take Barcelona into a 2-1 lead in the second half of Barca v Real is our goal of the week. Barca fought back from a one goal deficit after Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Jose Mourinho's side in the opening twenty-five minutes. … [Read more...]