Re: La Liga

Valverde: Manchester United want to buy one half of La Liga, Bayern Munich the other

Athletic Club Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has admitted that his team being 4th in La Liga could be seen as reaching beyond their first expectations this season, but has added that he always felt they were capable. He’s also tired of the daily rumours, linking his players with moves elsewhere.

Ahead of Sundays trip to the Mestalla and when it comes to holding on to fourth position in La Liga, Ernesto Valverde acknowledged that their game against Valencia, followed by their next away at Villarreal, will both be critical.

“We’re talking about games where all the teams concerned have much to play for. They’re both direct rivals. Even though Valencia are fifteen points behind us, I still consider them direct rivals. They’re both great teams and they’ll be big games. I don’t think they’ll be decisive, but they will be important.”

Valverde left Valencia at the end of last season, to take up his post at Athletic Club Bilbao, but explained that he really enjoyed his time at the Mestalla.

“I really enjoyed myself there. I have much to thank Valencia for. The working atmosphere I found there was unforgettable and the environment around Paterna, is amongst the best I’ve ever had. I had great players at my disposal. It’s a shame that in the end, we couldn’t reach the Champions League. I know the fans there are very demanding, but that obliges you do to a lot and it’s a good factor. They always treated me phenomenally well.”

As for what reception he’ll receive, from the Mestalla crowd this Sunday, he suggested that it’s not something he can control, but felt that he’d made the right choice to switch clubs when he did.

“It’s not something I can do anything about. I was very happy there. We talked about renewing my contract, but the project changed. I took the decision I thought was for the best and now I’m manager of Athletic Club Bilbao. I left behind a lot of good friends. The fans can do whatever they see fit. I’m trying to do the same thing at Athletic now, as I was trying to do there, to make my club much greater.”

Recent reports have linked Valverde as a possible replacement at Barcelona, should Tata Martino leave. Amidst that speculation, Athletic president said this week that his manager doesn’t have a release clause. Asked about whether he can guarantee his future at the Basque club, Valverde pointed out it’s difficult to know what the future holds, but assured that at the very least, his desire is to see out his contract until June 2015.

“For a manager to guarantee that is difficult. It’s a unilateral decision that’s taken with the club. If I were to say that alone, it would be venturing too much, but I would like to fulfil my contract here.”

Continued speculation also links several key Athletic players with moves elsewhere. Valverde noted that there’s little truth to any of the rumours reported in the gossip columns.

“We’re in an age when there’s always rumours. It seems like Manchester United want to buy one half of La Liga and Bayern Munich, the other half. They’re just shots in the air from journalists, so that if they ever happen, they can turn around and say: ‘I told you so’.”

Ahead of facing former club Valencia on Sunday and even with the fifteen point difference in points, Valverde still sees them as direct rivals in the chase for fourth position.

“Out intention is to win the game, just as Valencia will be looking to do the same. They’re a team I see as direct rivals, even with the fifteen point advantage we have. Their aim is to get into the Champions League and right now, we’re the team occupying fourth place. As such, they’ll see this as an ideal opportunity to shorten the gap in points.”

Asked about how things have progressed at Athletic since his arrival last summer, Valverde admitted that being in fourth spot in La Liga, is perhaps higher than they had realistically expected to be, but pointed out that it was always amongst their ambitions for the team.

“I was hoping that the team would play well and would be up there in La Liga. When I first came here and after the team had been in the lower half of the table, speaking of Europe may have seemed risky, but I did think that we could be up where we are. In that sense, perhaps we have exceeded expectations, including our own.”

Re: La Liga

Xavi: I’d love to manage Barcelona one day

Barcelona midfielder, Xavi Hernandez is nearing the last several years of his playing career, and while he admits that he’d love to manage the Catalan giants in the future, he still believes he and Barcelona are still capable of winning many more titles before he hangs up the boots for good.

In an interview with Jamie Carragher for the Daily Mail, Xavi began by discussing their recent 0-2 Champions League win over Manchester City and believes that City have the talent and the players with the right technical abilities to mirror Barcelona’s trademark tiki taka style.

“We were expecting they would want to have more of the ball. The way they set up surprised us a little too. They weren’t defensive but they were sitting back.

“Pellegrini’s teams normally want the ball and to take the game to the opposition. He normally likes to play football, open up the game down the wings and press high up the pitch. In a way, this time they did neither. They have players for a style more like Barcelona so it was a bit of a surprise.

“They have players like Yaya Toure, Nasri and now Navas and Negredo who are top-quality footballers who play the game the right way. And Pellegrini is a fantastic coach, with the way in which he wants to play football right from the back. For example, he has brought in Demichelis. He has been criticised but he can bring the ball out well from the back in order to get the team playing football. He has plenty of good footballers to play a passing game. But it’s another thing when they come up against Barca as we have seven or eight players of our own who hardly ever give the ball away.”

Xavi went on to insist that he doesn’t feel like Barcelona’s cycle of success is coming to an end, as many of the club’s current stars are just now reaching their prime.

“No, absolutely no. I don’t think so. We have an excellent generation of players. Since Cruyff changed the history and philosophy of Barcelona, over the last five years, that philosophy has gone ‘boom’! It’s really exploded and we have made history, but Barcelona can carry on winning trophies. We won’t suddenly be down here (points to floor). This is a spectacular crop of players. Look at the ages of the players: Fabregas, Messi, Iniesta, Alves, now Neymar, Jordi Alba and Pique — they are all around 26, 27, 28 29 years old. That’s a great generation of footballers.

“The period with (Pep) Guardiola was unique. Under him we were ‘ding, ding, ding!’ Ringing the bell all the time, the football was so good. The key point is if you try to compare what we are doing now to that fantastic time under Guardiola, you are going to lose comparisons.”

On the topic of Pep Guardiola, the talk moved to his current side, Bayern Munich , who gave Barcelona their worst defeat in recent memory in last season’s Champions League semi-finals, something Xavi is eager to put behind him.

“There is no question we were not at our best. We arrived at that point of the season tired. The big difference was that Bayern had a massive physical advantage on us and the result was huge.

“The difference between the squads isn’t huge. The big thing for me was the physical gap. We didn’t reach our standards but we were pushed aside. Now the gap (between the two squads) isn’t so big but the problem is when we face another team like that, they are physically superior. Why? (points to himself). Look at me! (he is 5ft 7in) Look at Iniesta, Alba, Fabregas. It means we always have to play so much better to win these big games.”

Xavi went on to discuss the Spanish national team, why it took so long for him to make his debut and the moment everything changed for La Roja.

“The trainers before preferred other players. That happens. The change for me came when Luis Aragones became national coach (in 2004). Aragones took me to one side and he said, ‘You are better than him, and him. You are better than the ones who have gone to play in Germany and England. You are playing for me.’


“From that point my confidence and self-belief rose. Without Aragones, this grand leap ahead would not have been possible.

“The penalty shoot-out against Italy (in their Euro 2008 quarter-final) could have changed history. Spain’s history had usually been pretty negative. But then, boom! Spain go through. Wow! (He gets animated as he explains.) It’s like lifting a millstone from around your neck. That’s when our winning mentality began.

“We were no longer happy with getting through the quarter-finals. From then on, we were obliged to win. Everyone — the press, supporters — now really believe in the team.

“Before that, they didn’t! You’d go to the airport and people would say: ‘Look! there is the team who won’t get past the quarter-finals!’ Now it’s, ‘We’ve got three titles, why not four?’ It’s all positive.
If you look beyond football, Spanish history is all about sport. Football makes up 80 per cent of that. Radio stations, TV channels, fans — they all want to see Spain win.

“There had been so many years of football culture where Spain had won nothing that there was a huge demand for success from the media and the fans. This made the players feel a bit like, well, we’ve won in motorcycling, basketball, in every sport apart from football up until 2008. It was like the country needed it so much we said to ourselves, ‘Hey, come on! We need to win! Everyone else has except us!’ And the sheer demand of the whole country also makes people become winners.”

After years of struggle, Spain are now at the top and advised fans of England that they must accept that the current generation players are who they are or adapt.

“Hey, listen, with all the humility in the world, I don’t want to tell England how to do things, but England has to see its current generation of players exactly how it is.

“For example, you have wide players with real pace. You need to play a passing game, keeping possession, but then concentrating on getting the ball into wide areas. You have footballers who are extremely quick. I think they ought to play in a more direct style but without losing the energy they’ve always had. What’s good about them is that they are competitive and aggressive. You mustn’t lose that English football culture has always been exemplary for us, the way in which you compete, so clean and with a sense of fair play. It has always been an example to us. Always. Never lose that intensity.”

Xavi concluded by stating that although he respects English football, and the teams who have been interested in him throughout his career, he has dedicated his life to Barca and even hopes to manage the club in the future.

“I’m Barcelona through and through and have always wanted to stay here. But I do love the English game. The stadiums are always full. You have that feeling you are really in football, everything is pure.

“Manchester, Liverpool, the supporters, you can’t hear yourself in the stadiums. It’s fantastic. When I go to England, I get the feeling that you are part of football history.

“It’s quite sensational. They are a real example, how they behave, the desire to win, the fans, it’s a big event, everything is like you’re in a film. In England there is a lot of respect for professional footballers, in the Latin Hispanic world, less so. People respect players a lot more over there than they do here and that’s why I think so highly of it.

“I’d love to one day manage Barcelona, yes. I’d like to remain in football forever. It would always have to be with Barcelona. That’s where my heart and feelings are, just like you with Liverpool. But that (management) is for the future. Right now, I love to play football siempre, siempre (always, always). When you’re a kid playing, you enjoy having the ball, don’t you? All I ever want to do is have the ball at my feet, bossing the game.

“I’ve been brought up with that style, it’s my football education. I can’t see any other way to play.”

Re: La Liga

Atlético dumps ball boy who pranked Ronaldo

A self-confessed "Atleti fan and player from the age of 9", Iván, the ball boy who baited Cristiano Ronaldo and then tossed the ball away to prevent the Portuguese star taking a throw-in, has paid a high price for his act of defiance.

In the days after the event, the youngster, egged on by a number of people who got in touch with him, bragged about his actions on social media. Now, however, he has been hit with the news that he has been pulled from first-team duty.

It is too late to take back what he did, but Iván has at least expressed some remorse since. He has deleted all the messages he wrote in the aftermath of the game and posted an apology in their place: "I apologise for anything I said about the derby match, because that's not the Atlético de Madrid ball boy way. Come on Atleti!"

Though the 'Rojiblancos' have come down like a ton of bricks with their punishment, they are also upset with the abuse that has been aimed at Iván - including several put-downs from the media. They believe that although the scenes were regrettable, the culprit is still just a kid.

That said, Atlético has also expressed its gratitude to Cristiano for taking Iván's actions in such a good spirit.

Re: La Liga

Real Madrid to Arsenal: €30 million for Alvaro Morata

Real Madrid have reportedly informed Arsenal that if they wish to pry the Spanish U21 striker, Alvaro Morata away from the Santiago Bernabeu, it will cost them a total of €30 million (£25m).

According to English daily, Metro, Morata has already given his consent to make the move to the Emirates, with the two sides even agreeing to personal terms, but the two teams must now negotiate what will be a very costly transfer fee, with the Spanish giants demanding some €30 million for one of their top youth products in recent memory.

The high price tag, according to the report, is due to the fact that the transfer will not include a buy-back option, which is often placed in the contract in the sale of Real Madrid youth products (Dani Carvajal to Bayer Leverkusen).

Arsenal were hoping to land the coveted striker on loan this past January, but due to the lack of depth at the position this season, Real Madrid opted to keep him and look at their available options this coming summer.

Re: La Liga

Xavi wants to become Barcelona boss when he retires

Barcelona midfielder Xavi says he wants to take over as the Catalan club's head coach after he retires from playing.

The Spain international, 34, has spent his whole career at Barca, making 700 appearances and winning 22 trophies.

"I'd love to, yes... but that's for the future," Xavi told the Daily Mail when asked if he wanted to coach the club.

"I'd like to remain in football forever and it would always have to be with Barcelona. That's where my heart and feelings are."

The Catalonia-born playmaker's contract at the Nou Camp expires in 2016 and, although he wants to move into management in the future, he is focused on playing for as long as possible.

"Right now I love to play football. When you're a kid playing, you enjoy having the ball, don't you? All I ever want to do is have the ball at my feet, bossing the game," he added.

Xavi joined Barca's famed La Mesia academy as an 11-year-old in 1991 and was given his first-team chance under Dutch coach Louis van Gaal in 1998.

Re: La Liga

Barcelona admit they need to more than tweak their squad this summer

Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes: Leaving Barcelona this summer

Barcelona admit that replacing Victor Valdes and Carles Puyol will mean they need to do more than just 'tweak' their squad this summer.

Valdes and Puyol have both confirmed they will be departing the Camp Nou in the summer when their respective deals expire.

The departure of 32-year-old Valdes and 35-year-old Puyol will mark a real turning point for Barca, as they will be the first players to depart from their side which has become one of the most successful in footballing history.

In the last nine years, Barca have won six Spanish league titles, two Spanish cups and three Champions League successes.

Puyol: The heart of Barca

"We knew that Victor Valdes wasn't going to stay, now we know that Carles Puyol isn't going to either," said sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.

"They have been two obvious references in our squad. Just taking these two players into account, I would say that it's already now more than the tweaks we had envisaged."

Zubizarreta has stated that they have already a player lined up to replace Valdes, who has been strongly linked with a move to England.

"I already know the name of the goalkeeper who is going to replace Valdes and he's practically already signed," he told Catalunya Radio.

"We just have to give it a little more time, before we make the announcement."

Whilst Puyol's departure is certain - with a likely move to America or Asia - Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez still feels there is some doubt about Valdes' departure.

"It remains to be seen if Victor Valdes will leave Barcelona, he might not. He hasn't left yet. Yes, he said he would, but we'll just have to wait and see," said Perez.

Re: La Liga

Barcelona’s issues are a reflection of the past’s mistakes

Barcelona’s recent fall from grace didn’t just happen overnight, but has been several years in the making.

If you watch the Champions League final 2011 with your eyes closed, even for a few minutes, a frequent, steady sound of the ball being passed around sets the rhythm. One pass, two pass, an olé from the crowd, another pass, one after another and so on. It goes on and on, and it doesn’t stop. That match was arguably one of the greatest exhibitions we’ve witnessed in the modern football. The absolute peak of a team polished to its prime. Triangles here, there and everywhere, positional balance adorned by some of the greatest individual talent of our time. Truly spectacular.

The Barcelona that lost to Valladolid on Saturday afternoon is a mockery of that Barcelona. Close your eyes and what you hear is a pass, a long pause, another pass and then a loud cheer by the home crowd that tells you the hosts won the ball. Open your eyes and you don’t see organized triangles, not a balanced platform nor a clear structure or a core, you see a chaos sitting near the halfway line waiting for a path to heaven to open up out of nowhere. You don’t see players that know their exact mission, you see players roaming here and there, looking confused as to where they’re supposed to be and how they’re supposed to unlock the aggressive defense blocking their way. Once they lose the ball, they’re too far away from each other to start pressing, positionally too imbalanced to win the ball back, and more often than not, forced to defend 1 on 1 with an attacker running at the defense.

It almost looks as vague as a plate of porridge, and at a quick glance it’s hard to tell exactly what’s wrong: the recipe, the quality of the ingredients, or the one stirring the pot. It looks like someone trying to break through a concrete wall with individual fist punches here and there.

“We lacked ideas and made too many mistakes”, said the coach Tata Martino right after the loss. Indeed, they did make mistakes. A total of 77 missed passes in the opponent’s half was more than ever before during the ongoing league campaign. Even the goal they conceded was clumsy, nearing an embarrassment. Even their shots were either way off target or straight at the keeper. No in-between.

If Wembley 2011 represented the peak of the Barcelona now crawling, the one seen at Nuevo Jose Zorilla along with the ones witnessed at Anoeta earlier this season, or more radically, at Allianz Arena exactly a year ago, represent the very bottom of it. In three years, Barcelona has been in a slow downhill, during the course of which they have still managed to win titles, but the downhill has inevitably become more abrupt with time and eventually left the side to look for any dry land to fall back onto.

The lack of structure in the side at present is inevitably a flaw that falls on the manager Tata Martino. The positional play seemed to take steps forward in the beginning of the season but the development hasn’t been as positive as expected. A part of it is surely down to physical issues that are hard to dodge with a squad as small as Barça’s. Pressure to win, play the “right kind of football” and keep the players fresh has undoubtedly affected Martino as well, and the manager has been seen seemingly stressed in front of the press, dodging questions about his Barcelona future. But how much of it is down to Martino, after all, or is he just a casualty?

Let’s roll the tape back to Wembley. The celebration, the praise, the press bowing down to the team’s feet and hailing it as the best ever to grace the fields of Europe. And perhaps they weren’t wrong. But one thing people in Barcelona forgot is that stalling in the world of football is an equivalent to falling behind. The Barcelona board lead by Sandro Rosell had inherited the greatest team in the club’s history, but instead of seeing it as an opportunity to cement the side’s position on top of Europe, the board saw it as an opportunity to cement the club’s brand as the greatest in the sporting world, to spread its influence across all continents, and to make Barcelona the greatest and most profitable business in the world. The business began to run the sporting project.

The glaring need to sign a center back was shrugged upon, “we did win a Champions League after all”, and according to the narrative, it turned into a glaring need to print a sponsor on the club’s jersey for the first time in its history, in order to “stabilize the club financially”.

Meanwhile in Barcelona B – the side that had brought up the likes of Busquets, Pedro, Bojan and Thiago Alcantara to the first team in the recent years – Luis Enrique left after a successful spell and the job was taken by former Barcelona player Eusebio Sacristán. Since then, the B-team has drifted further and further away from the playing style of the first team, and at the same time, has fallen deeper in the Segunda. The gap from the B-team to the first has become evident, the jump from one side to the other no longer is as effortless as it should be in order for the academy to feed its club in the ideal way. But to this day, Eusebio still has his job.

And after 2011, the downward spiral started to gain momentum. The seasons following the dream of the Wembley weren’t what was expected, Barcelona no longer was superior in comparison with its rivals and was knocked out of its throne in both Spain and Europe. The easy escape route was to blame it on lack of motivation. “These players won it all”, they said, rationalizing that they no longer had the hunger. It was too simple. But it wasn’t ever that simple.

The players Barcelona have signed after 2011 are Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fábregas, Jordi Alba, Alex Song and Neymar. The first two were criticized a lot in their first seasons, but have slowly started to earn their spots in the team and in the big scale of things, certainly represent the future, as well as Neymar does. Jordi Alba arrived for little money and his Catalan background made him an ideal signing, but knowing the health problems of Eric Abidal and Dani Alves’ cemented spot in the team, a small, attacking fullback wasn’t exactly what Barcelona needed. Alex Song never seemed much more than a last-minute panic buy in lack of a new center back that had been hunted the whole summer, and as we now, a year later, know, the twenty million spent on the Cameroonian could probably have been spent wiser.

And how about a center back? How about a striker, the need of one Pep Guardiola already saw in 2009? How about a midfielder to take the reigns from Xavi? What perhaps speaks the most volumes about the abysmal investments made in the team since 2011 is the fact that Thiago Alcantara, the club’s very own answer to the problems related to Xavi’s aging, the perfect (and cheap!) replacement, the example of how well the club’s own academy had filled up for the need of the 1st team, was let go of for no more than twenty million. The same amount that was paid for Alex Song a year earlier. And as it all happened so easily, one is left to wonder whether Thiago’s value to the club’s future was ever really even grasped. Whether the board really even knew what was going on.

Today, although ex-president Sandro Rosell stepped down, his board now lead by Josep Maria Bartomeu still continues. The last weeks have been spent presenting the new stadim remodeling project, “Espai Barça”, and it still remains unclear whether there will be a new presidential election in the summer or whether the current board will indeed continue until 2016 as announced upon Rosell’s resignation.

So after all, the mess that Barcelona currently is on the field is no more a mess than the one in the boardrooms. Should a new board be named in the summer, a new coach would most likely arrive as well to take Tata Martino’s position. Considering this, how surprising can it be that the Argentine feels uncomfortable talking about his future to the press, or that he feels stressed and tired under the circumstances he himself has not created?

Back on the pitch, much of the issues can be explained with a look back in the past. Against Valladolid, Barcelona’s positional play looked much like a disorganized chaos, and to the Catalans’ shock, they in fact lost the battle in the midfield where the game, too, was lost. To react to this, Martino dropped Leo Messi in the midfield behind a front three of Alexis, Pedro and Neymar (and later Cristian Tello) and tried to cover up for the lack of precision play in the midfield. As result, like so many times when Messi has dropped deep, Barcelona lost their reference point up top and looked toothless in attack.

How long is all this Martino’s fault? The lack of investments in the sporting project has been overshadowed by the individual brilliance from time to time, but as the issues become more and more evident and opponents evolve at the same time, there’s only so much the likes of Messi, Iniesta and Neymar alone can do. And in the long run, such irresponsibility leads to wasting what is arguably one of the most talented generations in Barcelona’s history.

Not even the greatest diamonds shine without polishing, even the strongest metals rust without proper care, and even the strongest of forces weaken with time if they’re left to starve without feeding them the proper fuel. And that is a lesson that could prove costly for Barcelona, who crumble in desperate need of changes, starting from the men in the boardroom.

Re: La Liga

Busquets: La Liga has changed, we must adapt

Barcelona midfielder, Sergio Busquets lamented his side’s 1-0 loss to Real Valladolid on Saturday evening and insists that they must move on and prepare well for Wednesday’s Champions League match.

In his post-match interview, Busquets spoke about the shocking loss and the need to find solutions to their problems.

“It was a hard day, there’s very little left in La Liga and we can’t afford to lose points. The difference could be significant, four points.

“It’s clear that La Liga has gotten more difficult, we didn’t play well and it’s a new competition, so we need to think differently. We have to learn from our mistakes. Valladolid was more involved in the match and more eager to score. We didn’t reach that level until the second half.

“What we need to do is have that eagerness right from the start going into the match, to be better than our opponent and that’s what we’ve been looking for. We have enough with this defeat. We must prepare for the match on Wednesday. By all indications, we’re four points down and will need to go into the Santiago Bernabeu thinking about getting a win.”

Busquets couldn’t justify the loss and insists they must play better.

“This is a painful defeated and we were bad, but starting tomorrow, we need to begin preparing for the Champions League and improve certain aspects. We have a good lead and we need to go to the quarterfinals.”

Re: La Liga

Thibaut Courtois reportedly informs Atletico Madrid that he’s made a verbal commitment to join Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois has reportedly informed Atletico CEO, Gil Marin that he has come to an agreement with Real Madrid and has verbally committed to joining Los Blancos when his contract with Chelsea expires in June 2016.

According to José Ramón de la Morena of Spanish radio station, Cadena SER’s ‘El Larguero’ programme, Courtois will sign a written agreement after informally giving his verbal agreement to join the club in the summer of 2016.

The report goes on to say that Atletico Madrid made a bid to Chelsea to make the Belgian international’s three-year loan spell become a permanent arrangement, but that has been rejected by the English club, who are determined to keep the 21-year-old until 2016 or for top money.

Once Courtois’ contract expires, Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez will, likely, no longer be a part of the club, allowing the player to become the undisputed starter.

However, Courtois has continually expressed his love for Atletico Madrid and his desire to spend more of his career under the guidance of manager, Diego Simeone, who have helped the player become one of the best goalkeepers in the world at just 21 years of age, which brings the validity of a report that has him turning his back on the club and joining their cross-town rivals, into question.

Re: La Liga

Schuster: We are masters of our own destiny

Malaga manager, Bernd Schuster is eager to face Osasuna on Monday evening at La Rosaleda and insists that in their current condition, they aren’t in a position to lose any more points.

In his pre-match press conference, Schuster spoke about their previous meeting the Copa del Rey and how he will use that against them.

“We played very well, and tomorrow we’ll do the same, with the inclusion of some new players.

“We’ve had a lot of time in which we’ve been the masters of our own destiny, and tomorrow we’ve got another chance to move up the table. We’ve then got a difficult phase coming up which could bring up a whole host of surprises, like Real Valladolid yesterday. Maintaining our determination for victory tomorrow will be crucial, in order to claim three important points and move three points away from the relegation zone.”

Schuster went on to discuss the meeting they had earlier in the week and hopes it will serve to correct their errors.

“We were insistent on what is necessary at the moment. We talked about the mistakes we’ve been making as well as the things we’re doing right. The players’ reaction was very positive, as were their opinions. It’s vital now that we stick together and all feel responsible for our situation.”

Schuster concluded by discussing a gesture made at Real Valladolid, which the German contest was unintentional and not mean to offend anyone.

“It wasn’t directed at anyone, and certainly wasn’t meant to offend. For me, the fans are very important, and play a fundamental role in their support of the team. My role here is to ensure Málaga CF wins, that’s the most important thing.”

Re: La Liga

Getafe to present Cosmin Contra as manager on Tuesday

Getafe have announced that following the dismissal of Luis García, Romanian coach Cosmin Contra will be officially presented as manager, on Tuesday.

Cosmin Contra, popular at Getafe as a player, now the man chosen to halt their slide as a manager.

A short whilst after Luis García bade farewell to Getafe, following a press conference after his sacking, the club have announced that former player Cosmin Contra has agreed terms to join as manager, with his official presentation taking place on Tuesday 11th March, scheduled for 13:00 CET.

Contra was a popular player for Getafe between 2005 and 2010 and following his first foray into management, had a spell coaching youngsters at the club. With a contract due to expire with Petrolul Ploiesti in Romania, in June of this year, he has managed to secure his early release in order to make his return to La Liga.

Getafe have also announced that Contra joins them on a contract for two seasons, plus what remains of this current campaign, with his task to keep the club in the Primera.

He will have little time to settle in and quickly start turning things around, with his first game in charge being the visit of Granada on Friday.

Re: La Liga

Getafe goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà suffering a long-term injury, has forced the club to seek a replacement, with former Benfica and Granada keeper Julio César having now been signed until the end of the season.


A knee injury suffered in the match against Espanyol, forced Getafe keeper Moyà to be replaced during the game and following further analysis, he had to undergo surgery. The following prognosis was then announced that he would miss the rest of the season.

With Codina the only alternative option between the posts for Getafe, they have had to find a reinforcement and with the transfer window closed, the only option was to search amongst free agents.

Having rescinded his contract with Benfica last September, Brazilian keeper Julio César was available and as such, Getafe have moved swiftly to secure his signing until the end of the current season, after he passed a medical on Monday.

César found it difficult to secure himself a regular spot with the Portuguese side, but this isn’t the first time he’s experienced life in La Liga, having spent the 2011-2012 season on loan at Granada. Though he didn’t get much action at the start of that campaign, when first-choice Roberto suffered a back injury, the now 27-year-old proved a capable stand-in, albeit after a somewhat nervous first couple of games.

Coincidentally, César will go straight into the squad Getafe’s squad for their next game, against Granada at the Coliseum. His arrival also comes at a time of upheaval at the club, following the announcement that manager Luis García had been sacked on Monday.

Re: La Liga

Alexis: Barca lose a game and it’s like someone has died

Barcelona forward Alexis Sánchez insists that despite the defeat at Real Valladolid over the weekend, it’s not the end of the world and their bid to retain their La Liga crown is still very much alive.

At a press call on Monday, Chilean forward Alexis Sánchez explained that manager Tata Martino has told the players move on quickly from their defeat at the weekend.

“Real Valladolid had a good game, but we’ve got to turn the page and not sit here complaining about it.”

Asked what the Barca fans might be thinking now, after the four defeats this season the team has suffered, Alexis wouldn’t refer to the other games lost, preferring to think more positively and that his team will push ahead still, whilst they have three trophies to fight for.

“Which four games? We’ve only lost one. I think we’re all calm, with the normal pressure of winning our next games. We are where we are, we’ve lost a game and it’s like someone has died. We’re all a part of the same thing at Barca and we go ahead in the same direction.

“Things can change in La Liga. When Real Madrid were nine points behind us in the first half of the season, then people were saying we would be champions. Now we’re four points behind us and people are saying we’re dead.”

“Barca are in the final of the Copa del Rey, we’re in the Champions League, there’s still plenty ahead of us in La Liga and we’ll be giving it everything to win all three trophies.”

“The team doesn’t lack confidence. The team looks confident to me and we’re fine.”

At the suggestion that the Barcelona team is relying more on their veteran players, than the younger talents, Alexis defended his more senior team-mates and their hunger to win.

“Since I came here, we’ve always trained the same way. I live every day with them, I’m with them more time than I am with my own family. They still have the same ambition as always. I’m not in their minds of course, but I know they want to keep winning. I don’t see any lack of motivation from any of them.”

Alexis also expressed that he’s completely happy at Barcelona and doesn’t see there being any direct competition for a place in the team, between himself and Neymar.

“I’ve adapted to the club, I feel comfortable with Barca and my team-mates. All I want to do is offer what I can to help win trophies, this season and in the future. I’ve scored sixteen goals, I feel fine, I’m happy with the team. There’s no competition with anyone here, we’re all trying to do our best for the team.”

Looking ahead to the Champions League return leg against Manchester City, knowing they’ll be keen to make a comeback and that with fellow Chilean Manuel Pellegrini at the helm, they have a great manager.

“City will be really motivated for the game, so we’ll have to play with the same enthusiasm we did at their place. I’ve already played against Pellegrini when he was at Málaga and this game isn’t more important because of that. He deserves the respect of all Chileans. He’s done really well at City and also before, at the other clubs he’s managed.”

Staying on the theme of Chileans, Alexis also spoke highly of Arturo Vidal, who has recently been linked with a move from Juventus to Barcelona.

“I’ve known him since we were kids and with the national teams. He’s a really important player for Chile and could slot straight into any team in the world. He’s got great passing and play. Obviously I’d love to share a locker room with him and he’d have my backing, wherever he goes.”

Finally, Alexis was asked for comparisons between Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova and Tata Martino.

“Guardiola was motivational towards the players, Tito knew when we should attack or not attack. Tata is also motivational and all three are great managers. Guardiola and Tata are more about motivating players.”

Re: La Liga

Valencia welcome Oriol Romeu back to full training

Valencia welcomed Oriol Romeu back amongst their ranks, with the midfielder enjoying a full training session with his team-mates.

A training ground knee injury at the start of February, was bad news for both Valencia and midfielder Oriol Romeu, particularly with the player in a rich vein of form. Days later, he underwent surgery to repair the damaged meniscus in his right knee, with consultant specialist Dr. Ramón Cugat declaring that treatment had been successful. The player then headed to London, where he began his recovery process.

On Monday however and slightly ahead of expectations, Oriol Romeu returned to full training with Valencia in their morning session at the Paterna training complex.

Whilst this is certainly good news for manager Juan Antonio Pizzi, there is no indication as to how soon Oriol Romeu will be cleared for a return to match action, but having shown no ill effects in his first sessions back, whilst also participating in an extra fitness session along with Javi Fuego, Pablo Piatti and recovery coaches, it can’t be too far off.

Currently on loan from Chelsea, at the end of January, the 22-year-old former Barcelona youth product declared his desire to make his move to Valencia permanent, having enjoyed his time with the La Liga club.

Re: La Liga

Real Valladolid announce ‘Ebert Case’ is now closed

Real Valladolid have issued a statement on Monday, to announce that they won’t be proceeding with legal action against Patrick Ebert, after Spartak Moscow agreed to pay them compensation for his exit.

The relationship between the Patrick Ebert and the Real Valladolid had been stretched for some months, with the player keen to exit. It then worsened when he allegedly refused to play in their match against Villarreal, at the end of January.

Having failed to force his exit via normal means before the January transfer deadline, the German midfielder then stunned Real Valladolid at the start of February, when he walked out of the club and announced that for his part at least, he was terminating his contract. Waiting in the wings to complete his signing, were Russian club Spartak Moscow.

Understandably, with his contract not due to expire until June 2014, Real Valladolid were furious at the actions of the player and as well as issuing a fine for his refusal to play, also prepared to launched legal proceedings for his breach of contract, though club president Carlos Suárez remained hopeful that it wouldn’t go that far.

Today however, Real Valladolid have issued a statement to announce that what they refer to as the “Ebert Case” and which was in the hands of lawyers, is now finally resolved.

Legal proceedings have been withdrawn, with Real Valladolid expressing their gratitude in particular to Spartak Moscow, who have agreed to pay an undisclosed compensation figure to the La Liga outfit, which will permit the Russians to conclude the signing of Ebert, without further delay.