Friday 27 March 2015

Rumurs or Truth that Barca Legend Xavi Leaving the Club ?


Xavi's agent has declined to comment on reports the Barcelona midfielder is set to leave the La Liga leaders at the end of the season and sign a lucrative contract with Qatari side Al Sadd.
Xavi, 35, has played for Barca a record 751 times since he graduated from the academy to the first team in 1998 but has had limited playing time this season under coach Luis Enrique.
His agent, Ivan Corretja, told Reuters on Friday he had no comment on reports in Spanish media that Xavi was poised to agree a three-year deal with Al Sadd worth 10 million euros ($10.8 million) a season with an option for a further season.
One of the most decorated footballers of all time, Xavi defined Barca and Spain's spectacularly successful 'tiki-taka' possession-based playing style.
He represented La Roja 133 times, a record for an outfield player and only bettered by goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas, and was a key figure in Spain's glittering run when they won the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.
Xavi, who has won three Champions League crowns, seven La Liga titles and a host of other trophies with Barca, made his debut for Spain in a friendly against the Netherlands in November 2000.
He played in four World Cups and three European Championships and won 100 of his 133 matches for the Iberian nation, controlling play from a central position, regularly providing assists and also scoring the occasional goal.
His last appearance for Spain was a bitter 5-1 reverse to the Netherlands in their opening Group B match at the World Cup finals in Brazil in June.

Al Sadd were AFC Champions League winners in 2011 and also triumphed at the Asian Club Championship in 1989.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Real Madrid Suspend Club Member after Gareth Bale’s Car Targeted...


Real Madrid have suspended a club member and banned him from their facilities pending an inquiry after three men insulted players and struck at least one of their vehicles as they were leaving the training ground on Sunday.

Gareth Bale
Players including Gareth Bale and Jesé were targeted along with the coach, Carlo Ancelotti, after they arrived back in Madrid following their 2-1 defeat at barcelona in the clásico.

Footage published in Spanish media showed one man striking Jesé’s car window and yelling insults. When Bale and Ancelotti left they were also insulted and two men tried to punch and kick Bale’s vehicle as security guards looked on. Sergio Ramos stopped to ask the men what they were doing before driving on.

Real said one of the three men had been identified as a club member and had been suspended pending a disciplinary committee hearing which would decide whether to expel him.

“Real Madrid has also informed the National Antiviolence Commission of the incidents and identified the perpetrators, asking that the sanctions they consider appropriate be applied,” the club said.

Real’s defeat at the Camp Nou left them four points behind the leaders, Barça, with 10 games left.
Footage published in Spanish media showed one man striking Jesé’s car window and yelling insuBale and Ancelotti left they were also insulted and two men tried to punch and kick Bale’s vehicle as security guards looked on. Sergio Ramos stopped to ask the men what they were doing before driving



Sunday 22 March 2015

Barcelona take lead to a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Clasico..


Ex-Liverpoolstar Luis Suarez scored the winner on Sunday, threadingthe needle to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Clasico. The win solidified Barcelona’s grip on the La Liga title and kept an out-of-sorts Real Madrid side firmly in crisis.

But this 230th meeting of what is simply the greatest club game in the world also lived up to expectations. For much of the match, it was a scorching game largely free of the extracurricular activities that have marred past meetings between the two sides. Featuring two of the best attacking tridents anywhere in world football – and the two greatest living players – this was a Clasico that lived up to its billing.
Real Madrid had won this fixture in October by an impressive 3-1 margin, dealing Barcelona what was at that time their first loss of the season. And that helped spark a run of form that saw them reel off 22 straight wins – and spark talks of crisis at Camp Nou as the New Year rang in.
But entering this game, the teams were heading in opposite directions, with Real crashing out of the Copa del Rey, falling behind in the La Liga race, and getting walloped by cross-town rivals Atletico in the derby. Cristiano Ronaldo was seen mouthing obscenities at his own fans after Madrid made heavy weather of Champions League play against Schalke, and there was a feeling of gloom setting in.
In contrast, Barcelona have picked up steam and looked brilliant in Europe, taking apart an expensive Manchester City side with a performance that was simply a next-level thrashing. Lionel Messi, once looking jaded, has exploded of late, and it was expected that tonight he would pull the strings to fine effect.
Messi met those expectations, as Barcelona came out early and looked to put pressureon Iker Casillas from the kickoff . Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez almost forced a goal inside of three minutes, and Neymar and Suarez would run a tricky set of one-twos that had Casillas fuming at his back line. But Neymar’s final touch was often too heavy or awry – a theme that would continue throughout the match as he left several chances lie fallow, and opened up more questions about his ability to finish.
It was Ronaldo who would actually come closest to scoring early as he sidefooted a volley off the underside of Claudio Bravo’s crossbar in the eleventh minute. Collecting a lovely long, searching ball from Marcelo, Karim Benzema found himself in space on the left side of the area and stopped, thinking he must be offside. He wasn’t, and with Barcelona’s back three converging on him, he clipped the ball over them to a waiting Ronaldo at the far post. He was unlucky not to draw first blood, and was left with a wry smile on his face as Bravo went tumbling.
The first goal, instead, would come from Lionel Messi after a soft, and somewhat silly foul from Pepe, who went into the back of Suarez. Lining up a free kick near side, about 25 yards out, Messi blew in a head-high cross that caught Real’s back line flat. Jeremy Mathieu simply ran onto the ball and nodded it to the far post, leaving Casillas helpless.
But the turning point of the match might have come on the half hour mark, when Neymar had a chance to put the game if not to bed, then more firmly into Barca’s corner. With Suarez tumbling, the Uruguayan flicked a fine square ball to Neymar, all alone with but Casillas to beat. Instead, the young Brazilian tamely kneed the ball right to the keeper, who immediately started a lightning break.
At the other end of the field, off service from Luka Modric, Benzema took the ball in stride and clipped a backheel into the path of Ronaldo. With a slide, he tucked the ball through a tangle of legs and into the back of Bravo’s net.
For the remainder of the half, Barcelona looked very uncomfortable as Modric drove Real’s midfield right through Barca. Gareth Bale nearly doubled their lead on 40 minutes when he steered the ball home after a Ronaldo flick-on, but the linesman had his flag up. It was a dubious call, as it appeared Ivan Rakitic had held both men on, but it would not count. Ronaldo would then force Bravo into a brilliant finger-tip save over his own bar with a lash from some 35 yards out that was heading into the net.
But after the break, the game changed: Barcelona simply became vastly better against Madrid and should have come away with far more in this game.
Suarez would seize the lead back for Barcelona in the 56th minute, finishing off an incredible 60-yard pass from Dani Alves with a low roller through Pepe. Collecting the ball over his shoulder in full stride, he somehow shook off both Sergio Ramos and Pepe to slide the ball to the far corner, past a despairing Casillas. It was a brilliant outlet ball, delivered with a precision so rare in the modern game when it comes to direct play.
RealMadrid were down but not entirely out. Benzema would see his shot well-saved by Bravo after it took a wicked cut off Javier Mascherano; only the keeper’s positioning saved a sure goal. And Neymar’s wastefulness kept Los Blancos in the game; he muffed two gilt-edged chances at the near post, and ignored a wide-open Suarez before finally getting the hook.

But quality showed: Casillas was forced to save Messi twice late in a yeoman display as Real started to dissipate under what became withering pressure. By the end of the game, Madrid looked a team with a crumbling sea wall, and Barcelona were able to move through them at will.