Posts Tagged ‘la liga’

How Joan Laporta Saved FC Barcelona

Monday, December 5th, 2011

FC Barcelona is currently one of the greatest teams in the world, with a trophy cabinet that is bursting with the silverware won over the course of the previous couple of years. While Bara could be very preferred at the moment, they have experienced something of a metamorphosis of the previous couple of years.

In fact it might be fair to say they've experienced a renaissance ever since Joan Laporta became president in 2003, and after him his previous chum and now sour enemy, Sandro Rossell.

When Laporta arrived at the club they had not won a major title since 1999 and the self-confidence of the squad had plummeted. He brought on board Frank Rijkaard as team coach, who after a slow start started winning matches; and his right hand man (at the time, until they fell out and he resigned from the Barça board) Sandro Rossell used his contacts to sign Ronaldinho.

While the Brazilian player certainly had talent [*COMMA] he had not necessarily done much with it. However , he did show plenty of flare with FC Barcelona even if they weren't making the turnaround needed.

That turnaround occurred when Barça signed Edgar Davids for the second 1/2 the season. Whether it was his arrival at the club, or whether his arrival coincided with everything coming together is impossible to claim. What is certain though is that the club started winning game after game. And at last the downtrodden Barcelona rose up again and started to become the team it is today.

The club went from strength to strength after that, though Davids decided to return to his old club after the half season loan. While he could have been missed, the fortunes of the club continued to improve and Barcelona won the second season under Laporta. After the team continues to go ever upwards and unde Pep Guardiola were the 1st tea, to win the treble – la liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

To buy Barcelona tickets for forthcoming matches check out Simply Barcelona Tickets, or check out availability of FC Barcelona tickets for La Liga matches at the Nou Camp.

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Will Jose Mourinho survive the 2011-12 season at Real Madrid?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Jose Mourinho is famous for his psychological posturing against opponents in press meetings and often comes across as barely in charge of himself. Having won a major battle at Real Madrid in the dismissal of General manager Jorge Valdano, his hardest internal critic, and therefore securing more power for himself as Madrid’s coach this is the season he should deliver the products.

But while Madrid started out well and we are just a few matches in, his dream seems to have begun to unravel. He has famously said that his 2nd season in any club is when he delivers, but with his complete focus appearing to be on arch-rival FC Barcelona he has just had two gigantic problems that he can barely afford.

First Real Madrid was beaten by Levante, a team that's the polar opposite to Real Madrid, with low paid players and a hardly functional team that's fortunate to be in top flight Spanish football. And then they drew with Racing Santander, losing some vital points which they may well need in the long haul.

A poll by Sporting paper AS which backs Madrid discovered that a lot of its readers laid the blame completely at the feet of Mourinho; while seeking to shift the blame to referees and opposition players he has not been able to accept responsibility himself for what many consider a gloomy start. And we're starting to hear talk about another crisis year at Real Madrid.

Nonetheless what proportion of a crisis is it really, when a team like Real Madrid comes second in the league after a much superior teams such as Bara? While fans might be disappointed their side is still principally delivering the goods.

Mourinho’s major issue will be the patience of Florentino Perez, Madrid’s president. While he has backed “the special one” so far in his career at Madrid there will come a point when he will snap. Mourinho is Real Madrid’s eleventh coach in seven years, so that the club doesn't flinch in making such changes. Can Real Madrid’s fortunes change before that happens?

For Real Madrid tickets and other sporting events see Euro Sports Events website.

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Real Madrid’s true foe isn’t FC Barcelona – it’s the rest of the Spanish League

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

It is a funny old game is soccer, or “soccer” as it is more usually known in North America. You simply need to have a look at some of the recent leads to the Spanish League, where bitter rivals FC Barcelona and real Madrid are slugging it out, in spite of not essentially facing one another for the first time until December.

While both teams started out well, FC Barcelona slipped when what should have been a reasonably comfortable win against Real Sociedad turned into a draw. And just when they wanted something to show they hadn't lost that special something they once again drew, this time against AC Milan in the Champions League, thanks to an injury time goal before the final whistle.

Critics immediately laid into FC Barcelona, asserting they’d lost their touch; 2 lackluster results is all that it takes to call a crisis. Nevertheless they replied with an 8-0 win against Osasuna, their best result since the 90s, straight away silencing their critics again.

While it looked rosy for Barcelona, things all of a sudden went extremely wrong for Real Madrid. While they had won their first 2 matches and sat at the head of the classifications they then lost 1-0 against Levante, a team that should hardly be in the 1st division such is its poor state.

This is supposed to be Real Madrid’s year, the second season under Jose Mourinho. Nonetheless you can’t help thinking that his total concentrate on what Barcelona are doing is his greatest weakness. Fielding an under-strength squad against Levante showed big audacity, that's not in doubt.

But what will lose Real Madrid the league again this season isn’t what FC Barcelona does or does not do. It is down to how many points Real Madrid can gain, making absolutely certain that they beat teams like Levante and all the remainder of the clubs at the base of La Liga. If Mourinho is to bring the success that Real Madrid needs he needs to shift his focus, fast.

You can order FC Barcelona tickets for la liga and get the latest FC Barcelona news from Simply Barcelona Tickets.

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Spanish Soccer : Who Are The Best Players?

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

There are plenty of soccer superstars plying their trade in Spain’s top division, and it is rightly regarded as the number one domestic league in the world. Listed below are the players who are widely regarded as being the best in Spain…

Messi : Spearheading Barcelona’s treble winning team of 2008-09, Argentinean Lionel Messi dazzled Europe with his creativity and flair. Even though he is just 22, he is the current “World Player of the Year” and, if he remains injury free, he is likely to chalk up awards, goals and assists for many years to come.

Cristiano Ronaldo : Blistering pace and explosive power are the qualities that first alerted veteran manager Alex Ferguson to Cristiano Ronaldo’s outstanding talent.Now sporting the colors of Real Madrid, Ronaldo is hoping to make as big an impact for el Madrid as he did in the famous red shirt of Man Utd.

David Villa : Playing for one of La Liga’s less glamorous teams, Valencia, David Villa Sanchez (to give him his full name) boasts an absolutely outstanding goals to games ratio. He was the winner of the “Golden Boot” for Spain at Euro 2008 and is expected in the near future to become Spain’s all time highest goal scorer. Villa consistently attracts attention from Europe’s top clubs, who are all eager to land this prolific striker’s elusive signature.

Kaka : Brazilian midfielder Kaka, is a creative genius. Able to make pinpoint passes across the entire length of the field, or dribble past players to create a chance or score a goal, Kaka was the darling of AC Milan and led them to “Champions League” success in 2007. Now one Real Madrids so called “Galaticos”, he aims to bring the La Liga title back to the Bernabau (where Real Madrid play their home games) after a few years absence.

This article is brought to you by http://www.carhiremalaga.org.uk, a spanish car hire site with Malaga airport and tourist information.

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