Champions del real madrid

Atlético Madrid have done it. A year after they went to the Santiago Bernabéu and took the Copa del Rey from Real Madrid, they came here and took the league title from FC Barcelona. It is their first in 18 years. Next they travel to Lisbon to play their first European Cup final for 40 years. What Diego Simeone and his side have achieved is barely believable. Barcelona's supporters recognised the magnitude of what they had witnessed: when the final whistle went here, they immediately broke into applause. Spain suffered a collective coronary as the season headed into the final minutes of the final day with a single moment sufficient to change the destiny of the title. Barcelona's goalkeeper, José Pinto, was even up for a corner that almost dropped his way. But in the end Diego Godín's header from a corner was enough to clinch a 1-1 draw that means that for the first time in a decade Spain has a champion that is not Real Madrid or Barcelona. Simeone's side have taken … [Read more...] about Atlético Madrid celebrate La Liga title after draw at Barcelona

They came in pursuit of what Gerard Piqué called “perfection” and, once again, they left the distinct sense this is the team that takes football to its highest levels. Lionel Messi and his exquisitely gifted team-mates put on a masterclass at times. They did not seem to care they were facing reputedly the best defence in the competition and it was a thrilling way to complete the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and now the trophy that means more to this institution than anything else. It was not quite perfection, perhaps, bearing in mind that spell in the second half when Álvaro Morata equalised and suddenly, for the first time, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba were emboldened to think they could take control in midfield. That, however, was only a small chunk out of the night. Juventus simply could not cope otherwise with the most devastating forward line on the planet and, on the balance of play, Barça should really have made it a more stress-free occasion before … [Read more...] about Luis Suárez’s strike rewards Barcelona’s dominance to break Juventus

Their manager described it as nothing more than anecdotal but it was historic too. This was an achievement, even for the club that reached a Champions League semi-final despite being from a town so small that every person resident there could go to the Camp Nou and they’d still leave 50,000 empty seats. The club that left behind a quarter of a century in tercera, Spain’s “third” division which is really anything from its seventh to its 24th, to play 16 seasons in primera and 12 in Europe, boasted a European Golden Boot and made three European champions and a World Cup winner. They’d been to the San Siro and Old Trafford but they’d never been here before: Villarreal are top of the league for the first time ever. Villarreal have been Copa del Rey semi-finalists, European Cup semi-finalists, Europa League semi-finalists and La Liga runners-up. In 2006, Juan Román Riquelme missed that penalty and they missed out on the European Cup final. Every time … [Read more...] about Villarreal sit top of La Liga for the first time in their history … and it matters

There was a glint in Nolito’s eye and grin on his face. “A turd,” he said. “A turdy turd”. It was the build up to Barcelona’s visit to Balaídos and the Celta Vigo forward was sitting in the sun at the club’s A Madroa training ground, a camera pointing his way. “If Messi, Neymar and Suárez are the MSN,” he was asked, “what does that make Aspas, Nolito and Orellana?” Going by the initials would have been bad enough – a, n and o spells anus in Spanish – but Nolito went further, before then adding: “OK, let’s just say we have a little something, we understand each other well and we try to score goals to help our team. [But] Messi, Suárez and Neymar are the best attackers in the world.” The fact that he was asked at all underlined that Iago Aspas, Nolito and Fabián Orellana have more than a little something; together they’re one of the most exciting, dynamic forward … [Read more...] about Celta Vigo cut Barcelona off at source as their attacking trio outshine MSN

SERGIO AGUERO, Gareth Bale and Mesut Ozil were all tipped for glory when they were included in World Soccer's 'Top 50 Most Exciting Teenage Footballers in 2007'. They have lived up to their hype with each player winning an abundance of trophies during their career so far, but as expected, most of the starlets failed to hit the heights expected of them. Here SunSport looks at those that have went on to become world class players, flattered to deceive and those that struggled in the limelight.HITS Karim Benzema, now age 31 The French striker - currently at Real Madrid - was named in the list whilst he was at Ligue 1 side Lyon. Four consecutive league titles earned him a move to Los Blancos in 2009, where he has won two La Liga titles and four Champions League titles. He is currently on 228 goals for Real - the same amount Thierry Henry netted for Arsenal during his two stints with the Gunners.Benzema is sixth on the list of all-time top scorers for Real - cementing his legacy as a … [Read more...] about The world’s top 50 most exciting teenagers of 2007 and where they are now including Bale, Ozil… and Fellaini