Cristiano Ronaldo was overjoyed at winning his second Ballon D'or in Zurich last night, in the process beating Lionel Messi – the record breaking four times winner of the most coveted prize for individual footballers. So who is the greatest, and where doe they stand on the list of all-time greats? Goalscoring The most incredible thing about both players phenomenal goal scoring records is that neither player is a conventional centre forward. Ronaldo is often found out on the wings whilst Messi sits in the centre of midfield or operates as a 'false number 9'.Just look at their stats: Ronaldo … [Read more...]
Ronaldo’s Emotional Moment
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...]
Match Preview: Atletico Madrid v Barcelona
Tonight sees the most hotly anticipated game of the La Liga season so far – El Clasico has been knocked, temporarily, off its perch as the eyes of Spain and the footballing world turn to Atletico Madrid v Barcelona. Barca and Atleti sit on top of the La Liga table this morning, five points in front of Real Madrid. They have identical records: both sides have an identical record having won 16, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their games so far. Barcelona are on top thanks to a slightly superior goal difference but that could all change tonight as they travel to the Vicente Calderon. Barcelona are in … [Read more...]
Copa Del Rey Round-Up
There were four matches in the Copa del Rey last night and La Liga Blog, your first stop for all the latest Spanish football news, brings you the details here. AD Alcorcon 1-0 Espanyol The Madrid based minnows Alcorcon made light of their Segunda Division form, they are currently in a lowly sixteenth position, by taking a one nil victory over Espanyol in the first leg of this round of 16 match. The goal was scored by second half substitute Dani Pacheco, once of Liverpool, but they will have it all to do on their return leg in Barcelona next week. Real Betis 1-0 Athletic Bilbao Real Betis, at … [Read more...]
Messi To Make His Comeback Against Getafe
Lionel Messi makes another step on the comeback trail tonight when he takes his place in the Barcelona squad for their Copa del Rey clash against Luis Garcia Plaza's Getafe side. Arguably the world's greatest footballer (although a certain Real Madrid player may beg to differ), Messi has been missing from action since picking up a thigh injury during a 4-1 victory over Real Betis in November. Many people wondered how Barcelona would cope without their talisman but Neymar and Pedro have stepped up to the plate in wonderful fashion. Nonetheless the Barcelonistas will be ecstatic to see the … [Read more...]
The best La Liga players of the 21st Century
La Liga is arguably the biggest and best league in the world, with the attraction of Real Madrid and Barcelona, along with the draw of a fantastic climate and more lax tax laws, it is easy to see why the Spanish league has the best players in the world participating in it week in, week out, however, the biggest argument against La Liga is the lack of competition outside of the top two, Real and Barca. Since the turn of the millennium, the history of La Liga, I think, can be split into three periods of dominance for various teams, not based on who won the league, but who was seen as “the … [Read more...]
La Liga Team of the week – match week four
The league has started to heat-up, as teams start to drop points, play some desperate football and have their character tested. Atletico Madrid and Champions Barcelona still maintain their lead at the top of the table after securing maximum points as Real Madrid and Villareal cancel each other out-resulting in their first dropped points of the season. … [Read more...]
Neymar ready for Barcelona challenge
Whilst it has been two years in the making, Brazilian starlet Neymar has finally become a Barcelona player this week and left native club Santos for an undisclosed fee. His new side Barca have been licking their wounds recently after finding themselves caught in the middle of a wave of German footballing dominance but the Catalonian giants will be hoping the 21 year old Samba star can lead their quest to reclaim past glories and take the pressure off the heavily relied upon Leo Messi. … [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...]