With the reinstitution of the Galáctico policy following Florentino Pérez's return as President of Real Madrid last summer, Pérez wasted no time in the second construction of his universe-beating side.  Lost in the shuffle of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, and Xabi Alonso joining the club, Karim Benzema quietly transferred from Olympique Lyonnais to Real Madrid, if […]

Depending on the results of the final round in La Liga this upcoming weekend, Atlético Madrid can finish as high as ninth and as low as eleventh in Spain.  Fulham completed their 2009-10 in the Barclays Premier League in twelfth position.  All mattered not as they both navigated through massive European obstacles to arrive at […]

A ridiculous question with what should be a simple answer.  First, a cursory investigation.  Is Barcelona on top of the standings in La Liga?  Yes.  Has Barcelona obtained sixty-one points from twenty-four matches, one more point than it had at the same point last season?  Check.  Does Barcelona have the edge in its UEFA Champions […]

This weekend, the focus will be on those teams who will play in European competition in the following midweek.  The question of domestic vs. European responsibilities remains an individual club decision, but for some teams, choices become more plentiful than others. Real Madrid faces Xerez at El Chapín, but Los Blancos have the capability to […]

As La Liga heads into the midway point of the season, these next few rounds are some of the hardest of the campaign because the toil of playing for five consecutive months begins to wear on the players and the coaching staff both physically and mentally.  Motivation is a hard concept to renew during these […]

Only the players know whether Los Magos (The Magi) left them with treats or a lump of coal in their shoes on Epiphany, but with this weekend's matches upcoming, they can begin the process of maintaining their good form or making up for their naughty play from last year.  The preeminent fixture will be the […]

As 2010 arrives through the doorstep, La Liga returns with a vengeance from the winter break that seemingly flew by so quickly.  As soon as these players finish their grapes and cava to ring in the new year, the focus needs to return to their football responsibilities. Nearing the conclusion of the first half of […]

Barcelona's star Lionel Messi has capped his great week with two goals to lead the Catalan side to a 3-1 victory over Deportivo La Coruna. Several days ago he was named the Ballon d'Or winner after a stunning year during which he led Barca to three titles- Champions League, la Liga and Copa del Rey. […]

As expected Lionel Messi succeeded Cristiano Ronaldo as the winner of the Ballon d'Or award. The Barcelona star comfortably won the prize but he admitted his surprise at the margin of victory as he received 240 points more than Cristiano Ronaldo who finished second. Messi was quite close to winning all 480 points  possible as he finished with a […]

Denial Although Real Madrid needed five goals to overturn their Round of 32 tie with Alcorcón, a certain sense of denial was important in this particular situation so that they could believe that their task was not impossible.  Kaká stated, "For the pride and for the history of Real Madrid, we have to win this […]

Halloween will arrive in a few days, but for Atlético Madrid, this season has been a complete nightmare from the beginning.  Los rojiblancos hit their low point with a dull thud on Saturday when they could not fend off a nine-man Mallorca team and settled for a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón.  Even though […]

Athletic Bilbao would have no problems with the proposed UEFA plan of mandating eight homegrown players in the squad of eighteen for every match or the theoretical 6 + 5 rule, where six players of the starting eleven would have to be eligible for the national team of their club's country.  Athletic Bilbao refuses to […]

Ladies & Gentlemen as you well know FC Barcelona completed their greatest season ever by defeating Manchester United 2-0 in the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Final. The win gave them their 1st ever treble as Barcelona became the 1st Spanish team to win a treble. Barca captured La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and the Champions […]

Yesterday was the draw for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League, the last hurdle before the group stages commence. There are plenty of interesting ties (Steve McClaren's FC Twente vs. Arsenal topping the list), but in pure footballing terms the best fixture pits Schalke 04 against Atletico Madrid. Neither is the most accomplished […]