REAL MADRID & OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE AGREE ON HEINZE

News just in & flying through the Sports media is that REAL MADRIDhas come to an agreement with French Club OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLEfor the possible transfer of the 31 year old Argentine Internationaldefender GABRIEL HEINZE.What is needed now is that the actual player accepts the terms of theFrench Club. It is expected that the player may fly to Marseille to shuta 3 year deal, with his salary being

FC BARCELONA & ITS PLAN B FOR A MIDFIELDER

FC BARCELONA are looking for a defensive midfielder to accompany&/or substitute players like YAYA TOURE when he & Keita leave inJanuary of 2010 to participate in the African Cup for 6 weeks. Barçainitially desire players like LIVERPOOL FC Argentine CaptainMASCHERANO or ARSENAL Spanish International CESC FABREGAS,but their prices & the difficulty to get them out of their currentClubs has forced

FC BARCELONA: HLEB & CACERES GO ON LOAN

FC BARCELONA has taken off on a plane to the United States withoutmidfielder ALEXANDER HLEB & defender MARTIN CACERES. Theformer has decided to return loaned to his “old” Club STUTTGARTinstead of Inter Milan, while the latter will be also loaned toJUVENTUS.(Alexander Hleb)Both announcements will not be made official until the next 36 hrs(if there are no problems) as Barça needs to renegotiate

LIVERPOOL FC ANNOUNCE ARBELOA TRANSFER TO REAL MADRID

LIVERPOOL FC has announced on its web ( see top left side) thetransfer of their Spanish International defender ALVARO ARBELOAto REAL MADRID.XABI ALONSO next? Stay tuned!

FRIENDLY GAMES: WERDER BREMEN 2 - VALENCIA CF 2 ( 2- 4 penalty)

VALENCIA CF is in Holland doing its pre-season with coolertemperatures & is taking advantage of playing some friendly games.Yesterday they played against German Club WERDER BREMEN &won (2-4) in thepenalties after both finished the regulatory 90minutes with a 2-2 draw. Valencia CF Serbian forward ZIGIC scoredhis teams twogoals.Goals:1-0: Almeida, m.29. 2-0: Özil, m.30 (penalty). 2-1: Zigic, m.57.2

PEACE CUP 2009: REAL MADRID 4 - LDU DE QUITO 2 (VIDEO GOALS)

REAL MADRID defeated a good LDU DE QUITO 4-2 in the secondgame of their PEACE CUP commitment & managed to qualify(just) for next Fridays semi-final at Sevilla against JUVENTUS.The highlights are that the Real Madrid team has improvedsomewhat but have the habitual problems of set plays in defencewere they allowed Quito to score twice. The good news was thatRONALDO scored his first goal, youngster

REAL MADRID: TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH LIVERPOOL FC FOR ALVARO ARBELOA

News in from the “AS” digital edition informs that REAL MADRIDhas shut an agreement with LIVERPOOL FC to transfer their SpanishInternational right-back defender ALVARO ARBELOA for 4 M€. Theplayer also has total agreement with the Spanish Club with a contractfor 5 years & it’s only a question of hours before both Clubs formallyannounce the agreement on their Club web pages.Alvaro Arbeloa finishes

SFS FLASHBACKS: REAL MADRID 3 - MANCHESTER UNITED 3 - 1968 EUROPEAN CUP 2º LEG SEMI-FINAL

Situation: It was the 1967/68 season & REAL MADRID playedMANCHESTER UNITED in a historical 2º leg EUROPEAN CUPsemi-final clash at the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium" (Madrid). Theend result was a grand 3-3 draw, but Manchester United qualifiedfor the European Cup final because in the 1ºst leg at Old Traffordthey won 1-0 thanks to a goal from George Best.Great Football Flashback!

REAL MADRID NEWS: XABI ALONSO IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS?

Spanish daily “Marca” puts on its cover that positions betweenLIVERPOOL FC & REAL MADRID are getting closer, so much so thataccording to the daily Liverpool has put a 48 hour deadline for theSpanish Club to propose a “decent” offer for XABI ALONSO. Thedesired price is reported to be around 30M€ + extras for incentives,that is a reduction from the original asked price of 41M€.(photo: marca.com)

FC BARCELONA: IBRAHIMOVIC THEIR NEW Nº9 (VIDEO OF PRESENTATION)

The official presentation of ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC by FCBARCELONA went behind schedule because their “ex-Lion”(Eto´o) was still biting up to the very last second. The legalformalities needed documents from Eto´o that came late& put the show behind its schedule. About 50.000 fanswent to the “Camp Nou” to have a glimpse at their newNº9 who has signed for 5 years & will be operated tomorrowof his hand

U19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS: FRANCE 1 - SPAIN 0

SPAIN said goodbye to the U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS afterlosing 1-0 to FRANCE this afternoon. France deserved to win witha magnificent first half & comfortable second to go through to thesemi-finals along with its Group partner Serbia who defeatedTurkey 1-0 & finish on top.Spain was slow, without ideas & didn’t take advantage of the littlechances they had throughout the game. The only goal came

GUARDIOLA ON IBRAHIMOVIC, HLEB & BARÇA´S FUTURE

FC BARCELONA Coach Josep GUARDIOLA gives his views on Zlatan,Hleb & the future of Barça in his clear, smart & sensible gentemanly manner as always:

PEACE CUP 2009: REAL MADRID 1 - AL-ITTIHAD 1 (VIDEO GOALS)

It was the first game of the “new” REAL MADRID project on theirhome ground – Santiago Bernabeu – against Saudi Club AL-ITTIHADas part of the PEACE CUP. A match that finished in a 1-1 draw withthe Saudi´s actually having two magnificent chances towards theend that could have given them the game. They should be happy asthey played well tonight.Real Madrid looked good in the first half with Ronaldo

FRIENDLY: SUNDERLAND 2 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 0 (VIDEO GOALS)

English team SUNDERLAND has defeated ATLETICO DE MADRID 2-0in today’s Amsterdam Tournament. That was not the only badnews, young Atletico midfielder Jurado was injured & taken off inthe ninth minute. The two goals for Sunderland were scored byKIERAN RICHARDSON in the 46th min via a penalty & in the 84thmin.Richardson – 46m (pen)Richardson – 84th min

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC ARRIVES AT BARCELONA

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC arrived today at Barcelona to shut a few“little” points in the contract with FC BARCELONA that will unitehim to the Club for the next five years. Tomorrow Ibrahimovic isexpected to undergo the compulsory medical examine & bepresented officially in the afternoon as a new Barça player tomedia & fans.

CYCLING: ALBERTO CONTADOR WINS THE TOUR DE FRANCE 2009

It´s the 4th year in a row that a Spanish rider wins the TOUR DEFRANCE.This year ALBERTO CONTADOR won his second title ( lasttime 2007) ahead of Andy Schleck & 7 time winner Lance Armstrong.The curious episode was that the organization played the Danishnational anthem instead of the Spanish when Contador stoodbewildered as he watch the Spanish flag climb the mast to a"different beat". No doubt

MOTO GP: TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE IN THE BRITISH GP 2009

It was a complicated day at the races for MOTO GP in all itscategories. The weather was the main protagonist at the BRITISHGP at Donington Park as may riders, especially Spaniards werefloored.The joy was in the 125cc category where Spanish rider JULIANSIMON managed to win ahead of another Spaniard GADEA &Redding to consolidate further his overall lead in the WorldChampionship table.Current World

FRIENDLY - WEMBLEY CUP 2009: AL-AHLY 1 - FC BARCELONA 4 (VIDEO GOALS)

Second game for FC BARCELONA in the WEMBLEY CUP tournamentagainst Egyptian side AL-AHLY which they manage to defeat 1- 4 inanother display by the Barça youngsters.Here are the video clips of all the goals with special mention to Pedrowho had a grand game & Ruben who scored Barça´s second goal whichshould not be missed:Bojan -15mEl Egezy – 30mRuben – 40mJeffren -55mPedro -66mStaying with FC

REAL MADRID: LATEST ON XABI ALONSO - 25.07.09

What´s better than reading the Sports papers? Hearing it from thesource, the "horses mouth", LIVERPOOL FC Manager/Coach RafaelBenitez:Is this a strategic tactic to "educate" the Liverpool FC fans thatRafa is the nice guy & Xabi the bad guy? Or is it sincere? The fact is XABI ALONSO is´nt talking with his Coach, there is zero relation.Stay tuned!

FC BARCELONA WILL ATTEMPT FOR CHYGRYNSKIY A THIRD TIME

It maybe third time lucky,with the difference this time that theplayer will now be pro-active & attempt to “force” his exit from histeam. This is the news from Barcelona media – e.g. Sport –concerning the wished Central Defender DMITRO CHYGRYNSKIYthat FC BARCELONA has attempted already twice to convince hisClub UEFA Champions SHAKHTAR DONETSK to let him go & to transfer.FC Barcelona has offered

PEACE CUP 2009: SEVILLA FC 1 - JUVENTUS 2

GOALS: Amauri & Laquinta for Juventus & Squillaci for Sevilla FC. See video of the goals:

FRIENDLY: AJAX OF AMSTERDAM 3 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 3 (VIDEO GOALS)

ATLETICO DE MADRID has played its third pre-season match againstAJAX OF AMSTERDAM at the Arena in Amsterdam in their yearlytournament. The result was an exciting 3-3 draw with Atletico deMadrid exhibiting all its fire power up front but showing its recentweakness ( or lapses) in defence. The game was equalized in theend by a controversial penalty awarded to Ajax that was not missedby the Dutch &

VILLAREAL SIGN BRAZILIAN NILMAR

Spanish "Liga" Club VILLAREAL have signed Brazilian NILMAR da Silvafor 5 years at a price of 10M€ making him the highest transfer inVillareal History. The 25 year old comes from Brazilian team PORTOALEGRE & is currently part of the Brazilian National Team thatrecently won the FIFA 2009 Confederations Cup.Welcome to Spain!

FRIENDLY - WEMBLEY CUP 2009: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS 1 - FC BARCELONA 1 (VIDEO)

First match of the new season for FC BARCELONA away at themythical (new)Wembley Stadium against TOTTENHAM HOTSPURSin the “Wembley Cup” tournament that includes two other teamswhich are Al-Ahly & Celtic Glasgow. The result was a 1-1 drawwith goals from BOJAN in the 31st min who put Barça ahead &the equalizer from LIVERMORE in the 83rd min for Tottenham.Tottenham 0 - F C Barcelona 1 - Bojan 31st

U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009: SERBIA 2 - SPAIN 1

SERBIA defeated SPAIN 2-1 in today’s second Group stage match inthe U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in the Ukraine. (photo: uefa.com)Spain got off the a great start thanks to JOSELU who scored early inthe 6th min. The Spaniards dominated most of the first half withSerbia dedicating itself to defend & play the counter-attack.Then in the 36th min a Spanish goalkeeping mistake allowed

REAL MADRID: TOTTENHAM & ARSENAL INTERESTED IN HUNTELAAR

Klauss Jan Huntelaar surprised everyone (again) when he withdrawfrom his agreement to go to German Club STUTTGART a few daysback. The 25 year old forward wanted other options instead ofplaying in the Bundesliga even if his salary at Real Madrid was to berespected.The man had a hunch; a last opportunity that needed a brave decision& it seems that he may have done the right thing in reference to

ETO´O - IBRAHIMOVIC TRANSFERS: FC BARCELONA PRESIDENT LAPORTA WAS CONFIDENT

No it’s not Zlatan Ibrahimovic, its FC BARCELONA President JoanLaporta showing his stuff while he visited his team pre-seasontraining at Marlow (London) earlier today. If we are to take theimages & the smiles as an indication of the man’s mood one willhave to say his happy. That is, happy to have finally got rid ofSamuel Eto´o, & pleased to have secured Zlatan Ibrahimovic in hisplace. Now the man

INTER MILAN: TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH ETO´O: CIAO GOODLUCK IN ITALY

INTER MILAN & FC BARCELONA forward SAMUEL ETO´O havecome to an agreement to transfer over to Italy next season. In fact,Eto´o will be an Inter player for the next 5 years & will earn 10.5M€plus incentives. This shuts the whole long & complex process of negotiations between the Italian Club & player that had on hold(stand-by) & waiting ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC who will now fly toBarcelona to sign his

FC BARCELONA MAKES OFFICIAL KEIRRISON SIGNING

FC BARCELONA continues with their new player signings. The Clubhas announced officially on their web that they have signed young 21year old Brazilian promise KEIRRISON da Souza Carneiro fromBrazilian Club PALMEIRASThe transfer operation is estimated at 16M€ & signs for 5 years. Themost likely strategy of the Club will be to loan the player to acompetent European Club (BENFICA, OPORTO & AJAX is

FC BARCELONA: IBRAHIMOVIC A MATTER OF HOURS

It´s a question of hours, sometime during today that INTER MILAN& FC BARCELONA will announce on their Web sites that ZLATANIBRAHIMOVIC is officially a Barça player.Today SAMUEL ETO´O is expected to do his part & sign for the next 5years for 60M€ with Inter Milan, & that moment Ibrahimovic willreceive a call to catch a plane from Boston (USA) & Fly to Barcelona.It is the highest transfer operation

INTER MILAN & ETO´O BACK ON COURSE AFTER "TECHNICAL PROBLEMS"

A new chapter in the space of hours with the Inter Milan – Samuel Etoó– FC Barcelona – Ibrahimovic transfer operation. According to all thenews from Italy & picked up locally, there has been a significantadvance in the negotiations after Inter Milan Directives & Eto´orepresentative unblocked certain issues (see below post) the hours ago put the whole deal in danger, forcing FC Barcelona to make

REAL MADRID: HUNTELAAR SAYS YES TO STUTTGART ( A FEW HOURS AGO!!!)

LATEST - 23.00hrs - Huntelaar has BROKEN the agreement with German Club Stuttgart in the last moment, thus his transfer. Theman is in a mental mess, he is obviously hoping for other offersfrom England (eg Arsenal or Tottenham) were he prefers to playover Germany.Stay tuned!Yes, no, yes, no ...it’s now official as Spanish daily “Marca”hasannounced that REAL MADRID Dutch forward KLASS JANHUNTELAAR

THE INTER MILAN - ETO´O - FC BARCELONA - IBRAHIMOVIC TRANSFER OPERATION IN DANGER

A new & dramatic twist (click) to the Inter Milan – Samuel Eto´o– FC Barcelona – Ibrahimovic – Hleb transfer operation. Asmentioned in the below post INTER MILAN & SAMUEL ETO´O havean agreement & everything looked set to be shut in hours, theonly problem is with FC BARCELONA who refuse to pay the 10M€that Eto´o asks for in order to give up his year of contract. Theoriginal source is from Italy -

INTER MILAN & SAMUEL ETO´O HAVE AGREEMENT

From Italy – La Gazzetta dello Sport – the news is that INTER MILAN &FC Barcelona forward SAMUEL ETO´O have come to an agreement,something that as yet hasn’t been picked up locally as certain.The Italian information is that Eto´o will sign a contract until 2014 &earn a cool 10M€/year in salary plus bonuses (incentives). It isspeculated that Samuel Eto´o may fly into Milan tonight for themedical

U19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2009: TURKEY 1 - SPAIN 2

SPAIN got off to a fine start yesterday in the U19 EUROPEANCHAMPIONSHIPS with a 1-2 victory over TURKEY. Spain held outan impressive Turkish team that showed talent & a fierce attackingcharacter. The Spaniards had to counter all the first half toeventually gain control in the 2ºhalf to score two quick goalsthanks to FALQUE & later SANMARTIN.Spain now will meet Serbia & if they manage to win will

FRIENDLY: BENFICA 1 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 (VIDEO)

ATLETICO DE MADRID begins warming up engines for the new seasonwhen they travelled to Portugal & played a friendly against BENFICAyesterday to achieve a 1-2 victory. The goals came from RAULGARCIA & FORLAN (pen.) for Atletico & OSCAR CARDOSO for Benfica.Atletico have as priority the upcoming Champions League preliminarygames & are already heavy into the pre-season.

SHAMROCK ROVERS 0 - REAL MADRID 1: REAL LOOK GOOD

First point, excellent game from the Irish Football team ShamrockRovers, grand!A few points from tonight’s first friendly for the Madrid team,REAL MADRID are more competitive, their game has improved inthe touch Football aspect & the new players look good. The resultagainst SHAMROCK ROVERS 0-1 was not at all important, but theconnection of the players was the positive aspect of a team & thatin

SFS FLASHBACKS: INTER-CONTINENTAL CUP - ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - INDEPENDIENTE DE AVELLANEDA 0

Internationally speaking, it’s the highest prize to date for ATLETICODE MADRID, the 1975 Inter-Continental Cup trophy won againstINDEPENDIENTE DE AVELLANEDA of Argentina.Atletico who had lost the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich,represented Europe after the German Club refused to participate.Thus Atletico travelled to Buenos Aires (Argentina) for the 1º leg wereAvellaneda won 1-0. The 2º

BAYERN THREATEN TO TAKE REAL MADRID TO FIFA: RIBERY IS FURTHER AWAY THAN CLOSER!

BAYERN MUNICH is getting tough, real tough with REAL MADRID &FRANCK RIBERY after their President Karl-Heinz Rummeniggewent publicly on the Sunday German paper “Bild am Sonntag”threatening to take the Spanish Club to FIFA.According to Rummenigge, Bayern Munich hasn’t given permissionto Real Madrid to talk to Franck Ribery or his agent on any transfermatters. They demand that Real Madrid

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC TO FC BARCELONA: NOW IT DEPENDS ON ETO´O

Hi, back from a weekend in the countryside, back to the SpanishFootball posting & the FC BARCELONA news last Friday that withZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC both were close to commencing a newrelationship. Here is the latest situation: FC BARCELONA & INTERMILAN has agreed to the idea of 45M€ + SAMUEL ETO ´O + a oneyear loan (with buying option) of ALEXANDER HLEB. So what’sstopping that it be officially

FC BARCELONA & INTER MILAN SHUT AGREEMENT FOR IBRAHIMOVIC: 40M€ + SAMUEL ETO´O & LOAN OF HLEB. GOODBYE DAVID VILLA

FC BARCELONA has come to an agreement with INTER MILAN for thetransfer of ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC as advanced last night & confirmedthis morning by Barcelona based daily “Sport” & TV news media,although we haven’t as yet an official Club statement. Everythingoccurred last night when Barça President Laporta & his team made astop from the Ukraine at Milan to have dinner with Inter PresidentMoratti where

DMYTRO CHYGRYNSKIY SAYS NO TO FC BARCELONA - AGAIN!

FC BARCELONA President Joan Laporta flew personally with his teamtoday to the Ukraine to attempt to convince central defender DmytroChygrynskiy of DONETSK SHAKHTAR to sign for the new upcomingseason with the Spanish Club. Barça made a 15M€ offer & for thesecond time both player & Club have said NO.But the whole trip will not be wasted as it is said by daily “Sport” thatthe Barça directives will

REAL MADRID ALVARO NEGREGO ABOUT TO SIGN FOR TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS?

The 23 year old forward ALVARO NEGRERO had a fabulous seasonwith ALMERIA lifting him as one of the Spanish Leagues top goalscorers with 19 goals, so much so that REAL MADRID recalled himfrom loan & with a 5M€ payment. The youngster is now in Irelandwith the REAL MADRID squad doing their pre-training & the offerskeep on coming into the Spanish Club.(photo: as.com)Negrero was part of the failed

TOP 10 REAL MADRID TRANSFER SIGNING FAILURES

While REAL MADRID smashes the current transfer market with Kaká,Ronaldo, Benzema, Albiol & those still to come, here is aninteresting clip from American TV ESPN. They highlight the TOP 10Transfer FAILURES from Real Madrid; interesting & plenty ofnames that may surprise.

FC BARCELONA SIGNS INTER MILAN DEFENDER MAXWELL

IT´S OFFICAL . FC Barcelona announce on their web agreement!FC BARCELONA wishes a defensive left back to take the place thatSlyvinho has left open with his departure, but they are experiencingtense problems getting their chosen player, LUIS FELIPE ofDEPORTIVO A CORUÑA. Barça offers only 9M€ & Deportivo asks for20M€, & the President of the latter is famously known as a very tough& unmoving

REAL MADRID: FRANCK RIBERY ACITIVATED AGAIN?

Alarms that something big may happen are sounding in SpanishFootball media (click) as they announce that FRANCK RIBERY´srepresentative Alain Migliaccio has travelled urgently to the Cityof Munich to supposedly meet BAYERN Directives. It is speculatedthat Ribery´s representative has flown to Germany to convince hisClub to accept the REAL MADRID offer suspected to be around 55M€.(photo: marca.com)

DAVID VILLA SAGA V: ITS A LAUGH

The DAVID VILLA situation with his Club VALENCIA CF is a mess.His Club stopped at the last minute a move to Real Madrid - when previously agreed - & now stops a move to FC Barcelona. Valenciaasks for a transfer figure of between 50-55M€ to be able to change its mind & FC Barcelona hasn´t the liquid cash ( Eto´o not sold & doesn´t look like) & will NOT go as far. Barça has announcedalternatives to

FC BARCELONA WILL NOT PAY 50M€ FOR VILLA & LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES

After receiving the news directly yesterday evening from the currentVALENCIA CF President Manuel Llorente that DAVID VILLA will notbe sold unless his Club receives an offer of between 50-55 M€, FCBARCELONA President Laporta has spoken out this afternoon.(photo: elmundo.es)FC Barcelona will not go beyond the supposed 42M€ offer alreadymade for Villa & they are already looking at alternatives. One

SFS FLASHBACKS. ITALY 2 - SPAIN 1 - 1994 USA WORLD CUP Q/FINALS

It was the World Cup Quarter Final of USA 2004. ITALY playedSPAIN in what turned out to be a “pitch battle” with the Italiansgetting away with a 2-1 victory “their way” & eliminating Spain.There was the controversial elbow by Italian defender TASSOTIthat broke the nose of Spaniard LUIS ENRIQUE that wasn’t sanctioned& the penalty not given. Plus there was the 85 min miss by Spanishforward JULIO

REAL MADRID: LIVERPOOL FC WILLING TO LET GO ALONSO FOR 37M€ & A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT?

The English newspaper “The Times” (click) has more credibility thanmost other English papers; however this news piece on LIVERPOOLFC & XABI ALONSO still needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Thedaily publishes that Liverpool FC will be willing to let go & sell itsSpanish International midfielder Xabi Alonso for 37M€ & a publicannouncement from the player expressing his desire to leave

VALENCIA CF TELLS DAVID VILLA NO TO FC BARCELONA

Spanish International forward DAVID VILLA met yesterday in the cityof Madrid with his Club President Manuel Llorente to discuss his future.The player expressed his wish to leave VALENCIA CF for FCBARCELONA.The answer was NO. Valencia CF President told Villa that in thesporting area he was a vital piece of the next season project, plusthat the Barça offer was too low. The Catalan team will need to

ATLETICO DE MADRID PRESENTS OFFICIALLY SERGIO ASENJO

He comes from VALLADOLID, is the Spanish U21 Internationalgoalkeeper & has called onto be the future goalie of the SpanishNational Team. His name is SERGIO ASENJO, is 20 years of age &was officially presented today as the new goalkeeper of ATLETICODE MADRID.(photo: josé.a.garcia/marca.com)

SEVILLA FC: MANCHESTER CITY GO AFTER LUIS FABIANO

After telling FC BARCELONA forward SAMUEL ETO ´O that they couldnot wait any longer, MANCHESTER CITY is reported - (click here)via local daily “marca” – to have set its sights on SEVILLA FCBrazilian International striker LUIS FABIANO. In fact the news is thatthe English Club has already contacted the player offering the doubleof what AC MILAN is willing to pay the player.(photo: juan flores/

FRANCK RIBERY - THE MAN ...& ARTICLE 17

FRANCK RIBERY, a clip to get to know the man. Listen to his wordstowards the end of the clip:REAL MADRID has 55 million reasons to make you feel good…,assuming that is the Club Ribery truely wishes to go. Plus “Article17” of the FIFA players statute in accordance with European Unionrules – also known as the “Webster Case” - may give incentivefor Bayern Munich to sell this year by grabbing the

SFS FLASHBACKS: LIVERPOOL FC 4 - REAL MADRID 0 2009 VIDEO

Glorious night for LIVERFOOL FC in this years Champions Leaguewhipping 4-0 REAL MADRID. This was one of the main reasons -apart from FC Barcelona brilliant year & Liga whipping 2-6 - thathas lead the Madrid team to "revolutionize" the Club.I was so happy for Torres that night!

REAL MADRID: WESLEY SNEIJDER TO STAY

One man who should be smiling with new found relief is REALMADRID midfielder WESLEY SNEIJDER after new Coach ManuelPellegrini commented in today’s post training press conferencethat he counts with the Dutchmen for this season.It’s common knowledge that Real Madrid has to let go players ofwhom the majority are from its Dutch contingent. Real Madrid hasan agreement with German Club Stuttgart for

SKATE HOCKEY: SPAIN WORLD CHAMPIONS

A sport that does not get much media space is skate (roller) hockey.In the Spanish case, SPAIN is quiet good at it; in fact they are WorldChampions. Spain defeated ARGENTINA 3-1 to take the WorldTitle yesterday, their 3rd in a row & their 14th in the History ofthe competition. If compared with other sports Spain is theequivalent of what Brazil is for Football - leyendary

RAFAEL BENITEZ, XABI ALONSO, MASCHERANO, RIBERY, VILLA, REAL MADRID, LIVERPOOL FC, FC BARCELONA, BAYERN MUNICH...& THE "ARTICLE 17" OPTION

Not every piece of news comes out of Spain only, SFS surfs the netto read English, Italian media & when possible understand German& French media. Here is an interview from “YouTube” withLIVERPOOL FC Coach RAFAEL BENITEZ with his latest views onXABI ALONSO & JAVIER MASCHERANO both on the agendas ofReal Madrid & FC Barcelona respectively. In colloquial terms; here´swhat comes straight out of the

REAL MADRID: THE TIGHTENING & SOFTENING OF THE XABI ALONSO NEGOTIATIONS WITH LIVERPOOL FC

According to local sports daily “AS” there could be ripples ofmovement again between REAL MADRID & LIVERPOOL FC in thetight negotiations for Spanish International midfielder XABIALONSO. Two pieces of news – if true – give a small glimpse ofhope; that Liverpool FC is willing to lower the transfer pricefrom 48M€ to 35M€ & most importantly that Xabi Alonso haspersonally asked his current Coach

FC BARCELONA: MANCHESTER CITY WITHDRAWS OFFER FOR ETO´O

News from England (click) & concretely MANCHESTER CITY via itsexecutive Garry Cook informs that the English Premier League Clubhas withdrawn its interest in FC BARCELONA forward SAMUELETO´O. The English Club gave Eto´o an ultimatum to make adecision as Man City could not wait any longer. The officialcommunication expresses that Eto´o is a great player but thecircumstances surrounding his Club &

ATLETICO DE MADRID PRESENTS 18 YEAR OLD LEANDRO CABRERA

Real Madrid is not the only Club with new player presentations,ATLETICO DE MADRID presented earlier in the week defenderJUANITO & today another defender 18 year old UruguayanInternational signing LEANDRO CABRERA from Uruguay ClubDEFENSOR SPORTING.The player did not have the fanfare similar to other signings thisweek from neighbour Club nor the same media impact, but enoughto highlight the more

REAL MADRID NEGOTIATING WITH UDINESE FOR GAETANO D´AGOSTINO

REAL MADRID Football Director Miguel Pardeza surprised manythis afternoon after commenting in a press conference that theSpanish Club is studying the possibility of incorporating 27 yearold Italian Club UDINESE Captain & Italian International midfielderGAETANO D´AGOSTINO.This afternoon we see via “AS” online edition that effectivelyUdinese President Pozzo has said to Italian TV Sportmediaset

SPANISH FOOTBALL: LA LIGA 2009 - 2010 FIXTURE

The Spanish 1ºDivision League fixture for season 2009 – 2010 has todayjust been announced. Here are details to highlight:Start: 29-30-31st of August (FC Barcelona plays Monday due to EuroSuperCup participation)Finish: 16th of MaySpanish Cup Final: 26 of MayThe first round see that following games:Real Madrid-DeportivoBarcelona-SportingValencia-SevillaMálaga-Atlético de

SAMUEL ETO´O IS TIRED OF THE LIES & WILL LEAVE FC BARCELONA NEXT SEASON

SAMUEL ETO ´O has had enough according to the daily “Sport”.Enough of the lies, the “shocking” PR campaign being built &distributed by FC BARCELONA Directives – especially PresidentLaporta – to create the image that Eto´o is a conflictive character,an individualist & doesn´t renew because he is a money grabber.Add to this, it’s the second time that the Club wishes to “kick”the player out the

REAL MADRID: PRESENTS KARIM BENZEMA IN FRONT OF 20.000 FANS

REAL MADRID C F presented tonight its 4th signing for the newseason the 21 year old French International KARIM BENZEMA. Arelative excellent turnout of between 15-20.000 fans turned outto see Benzema dress in white & speak some Spanish words learntbeforehand to thank everyone. An observation, the playerpresented himself without a number on his shirt as Real Madridhas a small problem with

FOOTBALL FINANCE: TRANSFER MARKET UPDATE - REAL MADRID, FC BARCELONA, DAVID VILLA, RIBERY, XABI ALONSO...

REAL MADRID is suffering from its initial success in the transfermarket, dragging along everyone else in this globalized planet.At every door Real Madrid goes knocking to ask for a price theonly answers they receive are inflated figures that lead themrunning away. There is an entrenched idea that the Spanish Clubhas clear publicized necessities & that to achieve them they arewilling to pay

FERNANDO TORRES BECOMES A FIRST TIME DAD. CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Spanish International & LIVERPOOL FC forwardFERNANDO TORRES who has become a first time father today.His wife Olalla Dominguez has given birth to a 3,7g girl in the cityof Santiago de Compostela in the Galician region of Northern Spain.(photo - Torres with wife Olalla)SFS knows that Fernando Torres has millions of fans around the World& they should be happy to hear this grand

CESC FABREGAS ENTERS THE REAL MADRID ORBIT?

Spanish daily “Marca” must have the direct channel to REAL MADRIDas they keep on surprising us on the upcoming transfer moves &grooves. This morning they put on their cover that Real Madrid wasgoing after AC ROMA midfielder DANIELE DE ROSSI as an alternativeto their prime objective XABI ALONSO of Liverpool FC who hasdrifted due to the high economic pretensions of Liverpool FC.(photo: Pablo Garcia

SEVILLA FC SIGNS TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS MIDFIEDER ZOKORA

SEVILLA FC has announced the signing of TOTTENHAM HOTSPURSIvory Coast International midfielder DIDIER ZOKORA in a 4 yearcontract deal with a 8M€ transfer operation cost.Sevilla FC Directives flew today to London to shut negotiations forthe 28 year old player. Zokora is the first “big” signing for the newupcoming season, a player specifically asked for by Sevilla CoachJimenez.

REAL MADRID 2009: WILL RAÚL ACCEPT TO BE THE 12TH MAN?

SFS doesn’t promote multinational sportswear companies directly,except indirectly if there is something out of the normal toillustrate, which is the case with this latest TV ad that seems tohave an element of uneasy clairvoyancy, I presuppose that it isunintentional by the people who created it. The big debate herein Spain is: what will happen with Raul? Will the REAL MADRIDCaptain have a place

REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA: TRANSFERS COMPETITION - FRANCK RIBERY, XABI ALONSO, DE ROSSI & CESC FABREGAS

The signing season still has a way to go – until 31st of August - &anything can happen, however for the moment REAL MADRID ishaving difficulties with two key prospects. Firstly FRANCK RIBERYis drifting further away on a daily basis, with a hard-line BAYERNMUNICH that does not wish to sell the German – or at least to RealMadrid - & have put a “mind blowing” 80M€ price tag. Real MadridGeneral

CRISTIANO RONALDO: VIDEO TOP 10 GOALS

Found this video surfing “YouTube” & typing in CRISTIANO RONALDO(thanks to “teleESPECTADOR”). Here is a VIDEO of the Top 10 goalsfrom the Portuguese International & current FIFA World Player/FranceFootball Golden Ball. These are the 10 reasons why REAL MADRIDpaid 94M€ for the man:

REAL MADRID: AGREEMENT CLOSE WITH STUTTGART FOR HUNTELAAR?

The latest speculation which is brought to the forefront of publicknowledge by Spanish daily “AS” is that REAL MADRID Dutch forwardKLASS-JAN HUNTALEER is closer to German Club STUTTGART morethan ever. Real Madrid has priced their forward between 20 – 25M€& the German Club is said to have put on the table an offer that maylead to a full agreement between Clubs. In the next hours or

BAYERN MUNICH GIVES REAL MADRID NINE DAYS TO PAY 80M€ FOR FRANCK RIBERY - OR SHUT UP!

According to news picked up here from German paper “Bild”,BAYERN MUNICH wishes to shut all controversy before the startof the Bundesliga & has given REAL MADRID an ultimatum. TheGerman Club has given 9 days to Real Madrid to make a frightening80M€ offer for FRANCK RIBERY or withdraw as the Germanswill then shut the door.New Coach Van Gaal & Captain Van Brummel have already told theClub that the “

ATLETICO DE MADRID: GERVINHO & JULIO CRUZ?

It´s common knowledge within ATLETICO DE MADRID circles thatthe Club wishes to get rid (sell) its current Captain MAXI RODRIGUEZ.Having said this, the Madrid Club is already searching the market fora substitute & Atletico has put its eyes on 22 year old LE MANS IvoryCoast midfielder GERVINHO. The player, according to “Marca”,wishes to play in Spanish Football & the price to get him there couldbe

REAL MADRID: CRISTIANO RONALDO PRESENTED IN FRONT OF A + 80.000 CROWD (SEE VIDEO)

A never seen before greeting to a Football player that surpassesthe welcome that Diego Armando Maradona received when hejoined Napoles. More than 80.000 people filled the “SantiagoBernabeu” Stadium - estimated 10.000 left outside - to welcomethe new REAL MADRID player CRISTIANO RONALDO. Along withthe crowd there was more than 500 accredited media from aroundthe World, plus LIVE TO AIR television

SPECTACULAR INDOOR FOOTBALL GOAL FOR BRAZIL BY FALCAO (VIDEO)

Here is another example of Football (Soccer) acts that transcendfrontiers & slogans to convert them into Universal.Brazilian Indoor International Falcao scores this spectacular goalin the Indoor Tournament (Grand Prix de Futsal) where Brazil won12-0 Romania. Best Goal ever in Indoor Football History?

FC BARCELONA: CARLES PUYOL PLAN B FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

MANCHESTER CITY has its eye & bank account aimed at CHELSEAFC Captain & Central defender JOHN TERRY. To tempt the EnglandInternational to leave London the salary promise is that he will bethe highest paid player in the World, more than Ronaldo of RealMadrid with 13M€/year. Chelsea FC is not going to sell, butManchester City has a PLAN BFC BARCRELONA Captain CARLES PUYOL is the chosen

TOTTENHAM OFFERS 15M€ FOR ATHLETIC DE BILBAO FORWARD LLORENTE

News from Spanish daily “AS” brings our attention to a supposed15M€ offer by English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURSto ATHLETIC DE BILBAO for its star forward FERNANDO LLORENTE.The English Club has Roman Pavyluchenko on the market & believethat the Spanish International is the new man they are looking for to fill the gap.However, Bilbao considers Llorente to be a vital piece in their

CRISTIANO RONALDO WILL HAVE THE Nº9 AT REAL MADRID

CRISTIANO RONALDO will wear the Nº9 on his back. The PortugueseFootball star & new REAL MADRID player will be presented tomorrowat 21.00 (Sp Time) in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in front of anexpected +70.000 fans. The other number that he liked was Nº17 hisnumber at Sporting, but he accepted happily the Nº9.The Nº9 is now vacant after SAVIOLA left it recently with his transferto Portuguese

REAL MADRID: WESLEY SNEIJDER IN THE MIND OF CHELSEA FC?

According to English paper “News Of The World” ( that in itselfmaybe dodgy) , CHELSEA FC has shifted its interest for BAYERNMUNICH Frenchmen FRANCK RIBERY & placed its sights on REALMADRID midfielder WESLEY SNEIJDER.Real Madrid paid 27M€ for the Dutchmen & is on the “list” of playersfor sale. However, Sneijder has already expressed his desire to stayat Real Madrid, but a good team & offer may

SFS FLASHBACKS: SPAIN 1 - GERMANY 0: FERNANDO TORRES EURO 2008

It was over a year ago that SPAIN made the jump into the WorldFootball elite defeating GERMANY 1-0 in the Final of the EuropeanChampionships. The only goal came thanks to FERNANDO TORRESwho managed to beat defender Lahm to "clip" the ball over the goalie & guide the ball into the net. Spain, European Nations CupChampions 2008, a great SFS Flashback moment to remember.

ATLETICO DE MADRID THINK IN AC MILAN MIDFIEDER PIRLO?

Spanish daily “Marca” publish that ATLETICO DE MADRID has thoughtabout the possibility of acquiring the services of AC MILAN starmidfielder PIRLO. The Italian Club has declared Pirlo transferable &has placed a price of about 18M€, plus the Italian International hasexpressed a desire to continue his Football in Spain.Atletico de Madrid will have to sell players before they can makethis wish a

REAL MADRID PRESENTS OFFICIALLY RAÚL ALBIOL

REAL MADRID presented tonight its new Central Defender boughtfrom VALENCIA CF, 23 year old Spanish International RAÚL ALBIOL.The turn out was quiet impressive, 8.000 fans to see a relative youngpromising & National Football player that understandably hasn´t theprofile of Kaká who drew a 50.000 crowd.(photo: elmundo.com)The layout was exactly the same as for Kaká as Real Madrid doesn´t wish to

REAL MADRID: FRANCK RIBERY - "...I WISH TO LEAVE...REAL MADRID OR NOTHING"

According to alleged comments picked up in the French sports daily“L´Equipe”, BAYERN MUNICH French forward FRANCK RIBERYhas done what Valencia CF player David Villa did not do & wasexpected. In the first day of training for the new seasonfor Bayern Franck Ribery told his new Coach Luis Van Gaal(translated) “… I have made up my mind, I wish to leave”, whenVan Gaal asked what his desires were for

DAVID VILLA: THE STORY & SITUATION WITH THE TRANSFER SAGA: PART IV

The DAVID VILLA transfer saga continues with FC BARCELONA now taking the limelight after REAL MADRID has shown its alternativepreference with the signing of KARIM BENZEMA. SFS will now givebelow a full summary, in point form, on the situation with two sections:pre- Benzema & post - Benzema. Hopefully the SFS readers will findthis useful as a form of staying up to date with this complex &

SEVILLA FC: AC MILAN & MANCHESTER UNITED PUSH FOR LUIS FABIANO

The 29 year old Brazilian & SEVILLA FC player LUIS FABIANO isconsidered a Top level Goal scorer in European Football afterdemonstrating his class in the recent FIFA Confederations Cup withthe Golden Ball Award. So much so, that after Italian Club ACMILAN knocked back the economic pretensions of Arsenal StrikerAdebayor, Fabiano is now a priority.However, there are difficulties that AC Milan need

FC BARCELONA GOES AFTER DAVID VILLA

With the door apparently shut for DAVID VILLA at REAL MADRIDdue to the foiled transfer attempt weeks ago with Valencia CF &the signing – although not officially confirmed as yet – of KARIMBENZEMA by Real Madrid, FC BARCELONA has gone knocking at the“door” of Villa to convince & shut a deal with the player sohe can end up playing at “Camp Nou” next season. The Barcelonabased Sports daily “Mundo

ATLETICO DE MADRID SIGNS JUANITO

ATLETICO DE MADRID has signed Spanish International & ex – REALBETIS defender JUANITO for the next two years. The player comesfree of transfer fee as his contract expired at Betis & the latterdidn’t renew their deal.Juanito will add experience to the Atletico defence, an area thathas been criticised lately & many stamp as the true "Achilles heel" ofthe Madrid team. From SFS, I would like to send

FIFA RANKING: SPAIN LOSE TOP SPOT TO BRASIL

A "costly" loss against the USA at the FIFA Confederations CupTournament at South Africa with SPAIN losing its Nº1 FIFA rankingto BRASIL won won the competition.(Spain line-up against South Africa)FIFA RANKING & CLASSIFICATION:.1. Brazil 1.672 pts..2. Spain 1.590..3. Holland 1.379..4. Italy 1.229..5. Germany 1.207..6. Russia 1.161..7. England 1.135..8. Argentina 1.091..9. France 1.082.10. Croatia

REAL MADRID SIGN OLYMPIQUE DE LYON FORWARD KARIM BENZEMA

Spanish daily “Marca” has just announced it, now another Spanishdaily “AS” has announced it & it looks official. REAL MADRID hascome to an agreement with OLYMPIQUE DE LYON for the servicesof 21 year old French International forward KARIM BENZEMA fora transfer price of 35M€ plus incentives for titles & a 6 year contract.Real Madrid accelerated the process after it was rumoured thatManchester

REAL MADRID: KARIM BENZEMA COULD SIGN WITHIN HOURS OR DAYS?

REAL MADRID President Florentino Perez answered a question last
night on Spanish radio that has lifted eye brows & expectation. On
Radio SER the Real President was asked if there were more signings
in the pipeline, the answer was that within the next 24-48 hours
there could be an announcement & that he could not say more
because it wasn’t yet closed. The words here are in the next 24-48
hours!