Peace and tranquillity are usually traits that can be found in abundance desert regions throughout Spain. However, twice a year and this coming Wednesday El Gran Cla sico divides two cities over politics, nationality, cla s and sporting fanaticism.
Caleb Joseph Jersey Real Madrid: The club of the cigar smoker. Every banker, rich busine sman and anyone of financial importance is a member. Some bring cushions to matches to avoid the potential stiffne s of placing their backside on a hardback seat. On the outside the club always appears to have a mountain of debt. But dont let that fool you! Real Madrid has so much economical and social significance that it wouldnt make sense to place them in jeopardy, with the cash of Reals president Florentino Prez how can they be lacking money.They are the epicentre of Castilian society, where the capitals elite meet to wind down from the daily traumas of running the country and converse about former days of fascism and right-wing politics.Barcelona: The ultimate symbol of Catalan nationalism. In a region that has longed to break free of Spanish oppre sion, FC Barcelona has given its people a collective voice. That voice has turned this sporting institution into an international phenomenon that has fascinated the world with the cause of the Catalan people. Mes Que un Club (More than a Club) is the motto the club affectionately goes under, which stems from the politics and unity that the club
J.J. Hardy Jersey has created beyond the football.It goes without saying that Real and Barca are Spains two most succe sful clubs. Animosity between them can be traced back to 1936 when Barca club President, Josep Sunyol, was murdered by Francoist troops. Each year his death is remembered by FC Barcelona delegates with propaganda of an anti-Francoism and anti Real Madrid nature.Tensions reached boiling point in 1943. Drawn together in the Kings Cup semi-final Barcelona won the first leg 3-0. However, with Madrid engaging exce sive force into their tackles, the Catalan crowd began to boo. Seen as the club of the Spanish regime, it was taken with such insult that the Barca players were paid a visit by the Director of Spanish State Security before the return leg.
Renato Nunez Jersey Whatever was said, Barca were 8-0 down by half-time and ended losing 11-1. Despite a period of sustained succe s during the Franco regime, Barcelona can point to a long list of blatant referee malpractice that infiltrated further triumph.However, although politics are the main reason that fuel this bitterest of rivalries, there are plenty of other factors that have contributed to the unending hatred. Luis Figo made mans biggest decision when he decided to swap maroon for white. When Figo returned to the Nou Camp three months after the most notorious transfer in Spanish football history, he was met by a barrage of abuse which also included three mobile phones, a few half-bricks, a bike chain and a pigs head. In signing for Real, he counter-signed a death wish with Catalunya. The great Alfredo Di Stefano also chose Real over Barcelona in the fifties. This decision was the catalyst that saw Los Blancos lift the first five European Cups.Even rivalry is in the form of transfers, galacticos have been the norm for Real Madrid over the years with Figo, Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bale all coming in for fees that would be under 5% of our lifetime earnings
Brad Brach Jersey . It quite a contrast over at Barcelona with youth academy players integreated into the first ream like Me si, Xavi, Inestia, Puyol,
Hanser Alberto Jersey Pique etc, the list is just endle s.In competing first and foremost with each other, and then with the rest of Europe, Real have paid well over the odds for the best players and completely skewed the world transfer market which has now had enough and is on the point of crashing. While Barcelona transfer ban for tax evasion will put an end to recent spending on Neymar and Fabergas. The rivalry remains as fierce as it ever was. And with Real breaking the bank in an attempt to gain equilibrium with Barca and Aletico Mardrid surge taking them to the summit of La Liga, itll take an entertaining hobby to divert attention from El Gran Cla sico on Wednesday night as they go head to head in the Copa Del Rey final.
"The operation was a succe s but the patient is dead"Following a dismal display against Ukraine and then a significantly improved performance against England in their second group game, the Swedes find their Euro 2012 adventure in Poland and Ukraine over before it has even had chance to get started. If anything it is this early tournament exit for Sweden that illustrates the importance of not being slow out of the starting blocks if you will, and getting a positive result in your opening fixture. A lo s in the first game puts significant pre sure on a team knowing that if they lose their next fixture then they will be more than likely be knocked out of the competition if results in other matches do not go their way. Erik Hamren summed up Swedens Euro 2012 campaign in an unorthodox, amusing but perfectly accurate manner
Kyle Freeland Jersey this week the operation went well but the patient is dead. Whilst the Swedish hopes for Euro 2012 succe s have long since faded the signs that Sweden are moving forward in the right direction are clear especially after the display against England at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on Friday evening. With the fluid football and attacking mentality that was mi sing against Ukraine making an appearance against England, there is the general belief that Hamrens methods have reached the squad and that they have been acknowledged and taken on board, the opening fixture against Ukraine having been put down to the subconscious cowardly way of approaching tournament football that became trademarked by Sweden during the decade long Lars Lagerback era has been forgotten with Hamren now hoping for a positive performance against France and then time to rea se s and rebuild ahead of the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. Sweden will be coming up against a French side who still have a considerable amount to play for with progre sion to the knockout stages not yet being secured following a draw with England on match day one and a 2-0 win against Ukraine that was achieved e sentially at a canter and there is still a chance that a positive performance from Sweden could still upset the apple cart and have an effect on the final outcome of Group D.Swedish PreparationSweden will approach tomorrows fixture with France in the knowledge that they will be without Johan Elmander and Rasmus Elm whom Hamren does not want to risk after the two have suffered from a metatarsal problem and a virus respectively. This opens up a place in the attacking midfield trio and the role of lone striker is now vacated with Ola Toivonen expected to return to the side in either of those capacities. It is expected that Ola Toivonen will return to his preferred place in the attacking midfield trio however Erik Hamren may well make the decision to play Toivonen as the long striker which he has done in the past at PSV and give Emir Bajrami a starting role in the attacking midfield role as the FC Twente has yet to feature in the tournament despite being billed as one of the potential starters. Hamren may also choose to be swayed by the popular desire of Swedish fans where the general consensus has been that Christian Wilhelm son should have started the match against England however with that now in the past it could well be that the Al-Hilal midfielder will get his first start of the tournament against France. With both England and Ukraine keeping more than half an eye on proceedings at the Olympic Stadium it will be interesting to see how Sweden will approach the match, with their nation pride having taken a knock particularly as a direct consequence of the defeat to Ukraine it is expected that Sweden will indeed fight till the bitter end to gain their first victory of the tournament at the expense of Laurent Blancs
Antonio Senzatela Jersey France side however it is interesting to look at the comments made by Swedens captain the talismanic whilst at times egotistical Zlatan Ibrahimovic this week I dont care who wins. Im going on a holiday This may well suggest that the Milan forwards mind is already elsewhere ahead of the final fixture of his tournament, although he followed these comments up by pledging his future to the Swedish national team stating he had no desire to retire from International football again anytime soon amidst rumours that he had become frustrated at the performances of other members of Hamrens squad. Sweden will no doubt be despondent following their premature mathematical exit from the tournament however they will be buoyed by their performance against England where against on paper significantly superior opponents Sweden gave a more than good account of themselves, the return of Anders Sven son to the anchoring role in the midfield alongside Kim Kallstrom took Sweden back to a line up with which they were more familiar and this undoubtedly increased the confidence amongst the side and improved the performance accordingly, Sven sons superior defensive ability to Rasmus Elm saw a more balanced Swedish side with Elm allowed to have a more positive impact further up the pitch as he returned to his favoured position in the attacking midfield trio. As previously mentioned with Elm mi sing from the squad for the match against France it is expected Sven son will once again start as one of the anchoring midfield pairing and this will potentially allow Sweden to continue playing in the same manner in which they did against Roy Hodgsons England with confidence in their pa sing ability. Another that was evident on Friday evening was the improvement in mindset of Blackburn Left back Martin Ol son who after his under par display against Ukraine made a significant step forward to returning to his domestic form which saw him claim a place in Erik Hamrens squad, his defending was improved albeit against the le s mobile James Milner in comparison to Andriy Yarmolenko however his willingne s to pre sure the attacker was much improved as was his confidence in going forward and supporting attacking moves although his only real attacking run of note came in injury time against England. This bodes well for Sweden going into the fixture with France especially with Mathieu Debuchy not having being truly tested as yet in the tournament. The return of Jonas Ol son also improved Swedens level of performance with the West Brom man slotting into the central defensive slot alongside Olof Mellberg with relative ease however Andreas Granqvist still appears to be the weak link of the Swedish defence with a lack of communication between him and Olof Mellberg being a contributing factor to Andy Carroll opening the scoring with a free header in Kyiv, it may well be the case that Erik Hamren chooses to drop Granqvist to the bench in favour of the more robust Mikael Lustig who despite mi sing most of the domestic season with Celtic through injury has shown a certain level of competent defending so far this summer, the injury picked up by Granqvist which saw him substituted for the final ten minutes of the match against England may well be deemed too severe to risk Granqvist in a game of little importance from a Swedish point of view.French PreparationLaurent Blancs France side know that a win against Sweden on Tuesday evening will definitely ensure their progre sion to the knockout stages and on paper this seems an inevitability with Sweden already knocked out of the tournament however with the French having as yet not set the tournament alight will be ever so cautious of avoiding a Swedish backlash. The French will be buoyed by the news that the much talked about Yann MVila made his return for the French side coming off the bench in the victory of the co hosts Ukraine and Laurent Blanc will no doubt be pondering whether to put the Rennes midfielder back into the starting line up with Alou Diarra having stepped in for the injured MVila and performed reasonably well. The form of Samir Nasri, Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema has been one of positives for the French so far with Nasri equalising against England and Benzema setting up Yohan Cabaye to score the second goal against Ukraine, the nimble footed style of play of both Nasri and Ribery will no doubt cause the le s than mobile defensive partnership of Olof Mellberg and Jonas Ol son difficulties, another potential target area for Laurent Blanc to try and take advantage of is on the left side of the midfield, if Andreas Granqvist plays at right back again then it is imperative that Franck Ribery be positioned on the left side of the midfield and be given the
Todd Helton Jersey ball as much as po sible. His quick feet and skill combined with the pace and support of Gael Clichy from the position of left back will no doubt cause the mistake prone Granqvist problems with the Genoa defender hardly covering himself in glory with his defensive work against the pace of Ashley Cole and Ashley Young respectively. With the match against Sweden taking place at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv it will be the first time France will have played away from the Donba s Arena in Donetsk so far this tournament and with the Swedes having played both their matches so far in Kyiv this may well prove to be a decisive factor with the French having to readjust to the pitch in Kyiv and the difference in temperature between Kyiv and Donetsk however if there has been one time who cannot be accused of failing to adapt to weather conditions it is the French following the hour long delay of their match against Ukraine due to a severe thunderstorm. Blanc is expected to keep Jeremy Menez in the starting line up following his goal scoring performance against Ukraine, after the disappointing display by Florent Malouda against England Blanc recognized that his team needed to be more ruthle s in the attacking sense and he saw the PSG midfielder as the ideal man to do this and his decision was justified with Menez featuring in most of Frances attacking moves on Friday afternoon albeit a significant number of them wasteful but as the old saying goes it would be more worrying if the chances themselves were not being created. France will be looking to gain an early goal to settle the nerves at the Olympic Stadium knowing full well that a defeat against Sweden will leave them well and truly close to going the same way as Ru sia
Carlos Gonzalez Jersey , the Netherlands and Sweden themselves in being knocked out of the tournament.Sweden Vs FranceSweden are expected to once again set up in the 4-2-3-1 formation that Erik Hamren has introduced to the squad since his appointment in 2010 and interestingly it is the formation that has been commonly used amongst other teams so far this summer in Ukraine and Poland so it would not at all be surprising if we were to see an influx of club teams using this system in continental competitions next season. Laurent Blanc will once again make the decision regarding who will start for France at left back with Gael Clichy being chosen ahead of Manchester Uniteds Patrice Evra for the Ukraine fixture with Blanc seemingly going for a more attack minded style of play in the hope that France will be able to outscore teams with evidence so far suggesting their defence of Philippe Mexes and Adil Rami being at times rather shaky. One way Sweden could target the French is through the use of attacking set pieces, after seeing how poorly the French defending for Englands opening goal on match day one the Swedes will be sure that the height and physical presence of individuals such as Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could cause the French considerable difficulties in an aerial battle. Mellberg having already scored two goals from set pieces so far this tournament could well prove to be a potential thorn in the side of the French. Sweden without Elmander will have a choice to make as to who will start as the lone striker with it expected to be Ola Toivonen following the disappointing performance from Markus Rosenberg in the defeat against Ukraine, the height of Ola Toivonen would cause problems for Mexes and Rami who struggled in the aerial battle against England, this physical play from Toivonen could open up a lot of chances for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his role as part of the attacking midfield trio. Zlatan could well profit by feeding off the physicality of Toivonen which could well prove to be one of the key areas that decides the outcome of the match. The pace the French po se s on the left hand side in the form of Gael Clichy and Franck Ribery could well be a factor should Hamren select Andreas Granqvist at right back following his displays bereft of confidence against Ukraine and England and the significant technical ability of the French could create numerous chances on the left hand side. The pace of Menez on the right hand side could also take advantage of any potential mistakes made by Martin Ol son at left back. Laurent Blanc may well decide to keep the 4-5-1 that was succe sful against the Ukrainians however with Ribery and Menez moving forward alongside Karim Benzema making the formation e sentially an attacking 4-3-3 which will be a measure that would signal the French intent to win the match and should Mellberg, Ol son and co stifle Benzema there is always the option of bringing Olivier Giroud on from the bench. With Hamren still to decide whether to play Bajrami or Wilhelm son it is unsure as to what Gael Clichy will be up against on the right hand side of the Swedish midfield with the pace and quick feet of Bajrami potentially matching Clichy, or the industrious ball control of Wilhelm son holding up the ball and creating chances for Zlatan and Toivonen.PredictionWith France still having so much to play for I can see them coming quickly out of the blocks with them going in search of the early goal, i feel however that should this early goal not come the French may well become frustrated and with the Swedes able to gain confidence from there and start pa sing the ball well and going forward in the way they illustrated both in qualifying and against England on Friday evening. Hamren will be hoping for a performance from his players that portrays pride and confidence that will make the record for the tournament on paper look slightly better however this tournament will no doubt be a learning curve for the Swedish with the real hard work starting in qualification for the World Cup in Brazil provided the Swedish FA do not make a rash decision and dismi s Erik Hamren from his post as a direct result of the poor record this summer however early signs suggest Hamren will be kept in place. I think the superior technical ability of the French will be evident tomorrow evening
Jonathan Lucroy Jersey and I think they will have too much for the Swedes and will get the result they need to go through however the hope that Sweden may well just have one say in this Group is still well and truly there.
News coming out of Fratton Park over the past couple of days has mainly been negative, worrying and frightful. Portsmouth Football Club is facing extinction, yet the most concerning i sue is that no one other than Pompey fans seem to care.Its almost sickening to watch the Premier League and the
Eric Thames Jersey FA standby while the current owners appear to be liquidating the club and selling its remaining a sets, one by one.Suggesting the current owners are liquidating the club is a bold theory I admit. Evidence to this claim however is the knowledge that the club are denying the release of the clubs account books to potential investors. Thus, they are not looking to sell, despite what senior members of staff appear to be saying.Yesterday saw a flurry of events that were enough to make me as frustrated as Ive been since becoming a Portsmouth fan. I felt cheated, ashamed and more to the fact sickened at how my club has arrived in this situation.The first episode of the day saw the clubs official website go offline, after reports emerged that the club had failed to pay the website maker, Juicy, on the last three occasions. I do know some inside knowledge of this event, however, it is not fit to publish, yet the knowledge is deeply worrying.The club site did reappear later on that day, due to a miraculous transaction, to reveal the news of the latest ticket details for the FA Cup 5th round fixture against Southampton.However, will Portsmouth have a team to play Southampton by Saturday 13 February?Portsmouth face a winding-up order on February 10th. In these situations, cases are normally adjourned. However, the scale of which Portsmouth are in debt and owe money to, would suggest more serious and costly action will take place.Recent rumours suggest that Portsmouth owe at least 250,000 to an electrical company, noted as Powergen, after failing to pay their bills once again. The workers who operate the advertising boards and the big-screen have also not received their wage, while the Marquee tent has supposedly been re-po se sed.The youth academy, if it can be called that anymore, has been deeply affected by the financial crisis. The team coaches have been re-po se sed, with players asked to make their own way to training, via taxi or car-lift. Its also been suggested they are not receiving
Matt Wieters Jersey adequate food in terms of lunches provided. I myself have recently heard that due to the unavailability of pitches for the youth team, a recent training se sion involved a run along Southsea beach.This doesnt sound like a Premier League club. It sounds like a non-league club.The second episode of the day involved the outgoing transfers of Younes Kaboul and Asmir Begovic. The sale of Kaboul, while half-expected,
Michael Taylor Jersey was a cause for concern when media outlets quoted figures of 2m.The club both players were set to go to? Tottenham Hotspur, or Portsmouth FC 08/09.One certain media outlet started to report that both players were set to join Tottenham in a joint 5m deal. Daniel Azougy, the convicted fraudster, was placed in charge by Portsmouth owners to sell any and every player he could. CEO Peter Storrie and manager Avram Grant revealed that they knew nothing of the sales, later stating they felt cheated and were close to leaving.However, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, in his usual Im a nice guy routine, suggested he had checked with Avram before making the move. He also stated he would be paying the full market price for Younes Kaboul. This figure was later revealed as 8m, due to the i sue that Pompey ironically still owed payments to Spurs from when they bought Kaboul first-time round.The sale of Begovic has hit Portsmouth fans hard. He was the one bright spark in a dismal season. At such a young age, the Bosnian proved what a talented individual he was with a fine selection of displays this season, in the absence of keeper David James.In my view, he is going to be worth tens of millions in the future. Yet, Pompey being who they are, are set to get rid for little under 10m, or po sibly 5m.A current FIFA rule prevents Begovic from playing for Tottenham, if he were to join, due to the fact Begovic has played for Portsmouth and Ipswich this season, the two clubs rule. Nevethele s, Tottenham plan to appeal and plead their case to FIFA, probably getting their way in the end.Storrie then decided to play the innocent character, stating he was being left out of negotiations, when he had done so many great deals for the club. Yes Peter, Mullins, Williamson and Utaka spring to mind instantly.The question I ask however is if hes not controlling the finances of the club anymore, if hes not involved
Max Scherzer Jersey in transfers, what is he doing?!Hes earning near 2m per year as CEO who is now doing effectively nothing?!Asked last night if he would quit, he suggested he wouldnt. Cheers Peter.If he loves the club so much, he would take a pay-cut and do his best to remove the current regime from the club.To add extra insult to injury, Portsmouth players were failed to be paid on time, again, yet a PFA representative stated that players wouldnt walk out and would carry on playing for the club.Well, at least there is some decency left at the club, further boosted by the return of Jamie OHara, who fulfils his promise to help Pompey stay up this season after re-signing on loan this afternoon.Moving on, I am sickened by the Premier League and the FA. Their attitude is appalling. Their regulation is a joke. Their fit-and-proper-owner test system is an utter
Howie Kendrick Jersey piece of tosh. They should be ashamed.And I only wish the Premier League collapses in the near future thats how infuriated I am with the fact that theyve allowed two jokes of an owner to ruin this club they are a mockery.Howeverlets not get into a rant.Lets savour the memories we have of Portsmouth Football Club, because as things stand, it might not be around for much longer.
Edwin van der Sar, the goalkeeper who will be remembered by the United faithful for years to come, as being the keeper who won them the UEFA Champions League for the
Grant Fuhr Jersey second time under Fergusons reign, has spoken about his confidence that the team can retain both cups. Edwin played a crucial part in the historic 2007/08 Double, and is determined to carry forward the teams succe s to 2008/09. There
Paul Coffey Jersey will obviously be more pre sure on United to perform well, even from their own fans which will be expectant more than ever for United to dominate matches. And this situation was worsened as the club did not bring
Ryan Smyth Jersey new faces this summer, in a busy transfer season for their title rivals.Van der Sar believes that even if Ronaldo had to leave the club, which he certainly wont this summer, the team would still be a contender for all competitions. He stated that luck must also be on their side when the team suffers dips in form, injuries, suspensions and match fatigue. But the 37-year old a sured all fans that the team will continue its excellent 2007/08 form and make them proud to be Red Devils fans.The core of the team is still the same. Of course,
Patrick Maroon Jersey we had a little thing with Ronaldo this summer but we have a good squad of players. During the season we are bound to suffer setbacks, every team does.There will be injuries, lo s of form, red cards and clearly we need luck at crucial times as well
Mark Letestu Jersey . But hopefully we will end up in the right place. Edwin van der Sar
Lost to Real Madrid?Juventus lost Mathieu Flamini to rivals AC Milan earlier this month and now it seems that
Glenn Hubbard Jersey Juve could lose another transfer target. Juves late hot interest on Xabi Alonso has also been met with
Khris Davis Jersey huge interest from Real Madrid who are poaching a bid and are close to securing Alonso. This could lead to another delusion to Juve fans who after
Rollie Fingers Jersey being told that the transfer was imminent the board lost to sign the player at the last moment. Secco needs to be more succe sful in the transfer market and must
Kendall Graveman Jersey now attain to swoop more players if he intends to strengthen the team and have a good
Matt Joyce Jersey chance of reaching the final of the Europes elite competition.
Tomorrow sees what could be the defining game for Croatia at the Euros, as they line up against footballing giants Italy. Once again the game will be played in Poznan, at the Stadion Miejski, and if Croatia are able to bag all three points theyll confirm their place in the quarter finals. Slaven Bilic has to convey to his players that this is a must win game, if they draw or lose then they will have to face world champions Spain knowing that they need a result, a prospect no team would look forward to. Going on the last round of games from Group C do Croatia stand a chance against the world cup winners of 2006? Are the omens good or bad for Slaven Bilics side? And ultimately will they make it through?Now if youve read previous posts on this blog you know Im a big sceptic of Italys chances at the Euros, for me the state of the national game going through yet another match fixing scandal, the age of the squad and their
Yovani Gallardo Jersey poor performance at the last world cup all point to Italy not being able to amount to much in this tournament. Against Spain though they proved me wrong, the team seemed sharp and motivated and manager Cesare Prandelli really won the battle of the tactics as he lined up in a manner that matched the superiority of Spains midfield and ensured they couldnt get the tie on the ball that Spain use to dominate teams. In the end Italy were slightly unlucky not to get the win against a strikerle s Spain and the Azzurri were left rueing mi sed chances that probably should have earned them the three points.Croatia against Ireland looked the far superior side, and they dominated po se sion and the play, ensuring that the Irish only had a couple of chances throughout the game, saying this Croatia did ride their luck slightly with
Ryan Braun Jersey their last two goals and they wont be able to rely on such circumstances against a much more experienced Italy side. Croatia must try to play the same way as they did against Ireland, with Rakitic and Modric pushing forward often, causing the opposition central midfield partnership to play deep, and to encourage the full backs to get forward, as a Srna was at his best against Ireland when he was bombing forward. Mandzukic and Jelavic looked a troublesome pair and they should cause the Italian back four some problems, however Mandzukic cant expect to win the aerial battle against the stalwart that is Chilleni as easily as he did against Dunne. The one match up that will be crucial will be Modric against De Ro si, the defensive midfielder played exceptionally against Spain and was able to contain a world beating midfield at times, if he is able to do this to Modric then Croatias creative spark might fizzle out. The line up of Italys midfield might also cause Croatia problems, as Pirlo rolled back the years against Spain and was able to play the role of not only the ball player but the attacking midfielder as well, if he is able to do this again Croatia
Milwaukee Brewers Jersey s Vukojevic he might struggle as he didnt really have to face anyone coming at him against Ireland.In terms of defensively for Croatia I do not believe that Prandelli will start Balotelli again, especially not after the shocker he had in front of goal against Spain, this means they are likely to line up with Ca sano and goal scorer Di Natale. Croatia will struggle to contain these two in my opinion, and just like against Ireland I can see Corluka and Schindenfeld giving away a lot of free kicks, which might come back to punish Croatia, especially with the strong aerial presence the Italians po se s and the poor tactical defending that led to Irelands goal against Croatia in the opening game. On the front foot for Italy Croatias main task must be to match Pirlo, he pulled the strings against Spain, and it was his perfectly weighted ball that set Di Natale through on goal for the opener, and if Croatia are able
Stephen Vogt Jersey to deal with him the supply to the front men will be seriously inhibited.Despite Italys good performance against Spain I can still see Croatia getting a victory, both teams will be really fired up for the game, with Italy wanting to record their first victory of the tournament and Croatia wanting to secure their place in the quarter final. Croatia will go into the game in high confidence, knowing that they have only been beaten once by the Italians in their last six meetings, and this omen might carry them through the game. For me this is the crunch game of Group C, both teams will be raring to go, knowing that anything le s than a win and their future in the tournament will be in jeopardy. The Croatian midfield will need to be at its absolute best to match the quality that Italy po se s in that area, and they might have to move the ball around on the ground like were used to seeing as the long ball up to Mandzukic that worked so well against the Irish might be nipped in the bud by the aerial dominance of Italy. I believe it will be a close game, and I can see Croatia taking the lead, however I think that discipline will come round and punish the Croatians, and maybe a set piece or a penalty will even up the score in Poznan. If Jelavic is on point though and Croatia can play it to his feet he might swing the game back in Croatias favour and I
Eric Thames Jersey can see him earning a hard fought, and very tight, victory for his country against the Azzurri.
And when you see the starting XI of the Spanish national team, all of them play their football in Spain. The Spanish league also has the highest number of local players.The Premier League is the best-marketed league in the world,Its
Jose Berrios Jersey a good league, with good players, but when you consider not one player made the best XI of the world, maybe they should think about whether something can be adapted.This is what Fifa supremo Sepp Blatter said about La Liga and the Premiership, after news broke about the Fifa XI which included 8 Spanish based players, and not a single Premiership based player.However, this does not nece sarily mean that La Liga is the number one league on the planet.It is my personal opinion that a league should be
Minnesota Twins Custom Jersey judged by its playersa alone, but excitement to the neutral, and perhaps importantly in this case, strength in depth.While Spain does play host to the two best players in the world, the best coach in the world, the best club side in the world and the most anticipated football game of the year, this merely qualifies Real Madrid and Barcelona as two of the best teams in the world.The last time that any team outside the top two Spanish sides to win the Spanish title was the Rafeal Benitez Valencia side of 2002, now nearly a decade ago. Compare this with the Premiership which has seen 3 different winners of the premiership in the last 6 seasons.Also look at thecurrent top 5 of La Liga in comparison with the
Erick Aybar Jersey same of the Premiership.EPL: La LigaMan Utd BarcelonaMan City Real MadridArsenal VillarealTottenham ValenciaChelsea EspanyolIts fairly easy to point out the obvious. Real Madrid and Barcelona are better than Man Utd and Man City, and would probably cast aside the two Manchester outfits with ease, but Arsenal Vs Villareal, Tottenham vs Valencia and Chelsea vs Espanyol would almost certainly result in a English victory. Also take noteof the point separation. There are 11 points between Real Madrid in
Miguel Sano Jersey 2nd, and Villareal, in 3rd. In comparison , there are just 2 between Arsenal and Man City in the same position. So far this season, there have been several teams topping the premier league table, in comparison with the typical two from Spain.Fair enough, I can accept that La Liga contains some fantastic football, and two of the best teams in the
Fernando Rodney Jersey World at the moment, but it is just those two. If you call a league, the best in the world you have to analyse all 20 teams in that league, and frankly, the quality La Liga contains starts at Barcelona, and ends with Madrid. La Liga have to fantastic teams, some would say the best. But two 2 teams do not make a league.
My Report Card On Manchester United new signings Ashley YoungAgreatperformance from the 26 years old English winger! 3 games , 2 goals and5 a sists! Nobody will expect him to improve so fast and able to slot intothe
Wei-Yin Chen Jersey first team permanentlyafter a few matches.Ashley Young is definitely an important figure in the midfield this season.Other thancontributing delicious cro ses for his team, he links well with all
Miami Marlins Custom Jersey his team-mates andnever fails tomake himself availablewhen someone wants to make a pa s to the front line. Without doubt, his darting runs will alsoconfuse his opponent easily and allow his strikers to find more spacesandtime to score goals for the team.Rating: 10/10Phil JonesRio and Vidics injury give him the chance to shine and he
Giancarlo Stanton Jersey performs very well in every match. He communicateswith hisdefence well andmarks his man well enoughtoprotect De Gea from harm. Inthe Arsenal match,he won almost every header and looked very confident throughout the 90 minutes
Starlin Castro Jersey . A star for future and great backup for Rio and Vidic.Rating: 8/10De Gea Not the best performances from the Spanish goalkeeper. He made mistakes and errors but there are positive displays from him too. One of hisproud moment in EPLwill be his penalty saveduringArsenalmatch. Without him, the score maybe different in the
Jeff Locke Jersey end. Who knows? Aflop? I dont think so. He needs time to learn and adapt to theplaying style of EPL.Lets wait and see!Rating: 6/10
Teenagers Adel Taarabt and Giovani Dos Santos havent been given too much of a run-out in this
Jason Vargas Jersey relegation dog fight, and now Harry Redknapp has sent the pair out on loan to Queens Park Rangers and Ipswich Town respectively.Harry recently stated that he thought Taarabt was the best player in the Spurs squad, yet he has not so much as made the bench in
Tug McGraw Jersey recent weeks. Making his Morocco debut in the last international break, Taarabt should get regular games at
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A second half penalty from Lionel Me si was notenough asa brace from Xabi Alonsoled Spain to
Wilson Ramos Jersey a 2-1 victory in ahighly entertaining encounter with Diego Maradonas Argentina side.After narrowly qualifying from the South American qualifying group, many speculated that anArgentina side with no pre sure on them would provide a tough challenge for the European Champions. Maradonas 20 man squad was comprised of all European based players and looked significantly stronger than previous World Cup qualifying squads.The visitors lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Me si and Higuain leading the line and being supported by Angel Di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez from the wings. Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago were instructed to hold the midfield
Asdrubal Cabrera Jersey in front of Fabricio Coloccini and Martin Demichelis. Young Rubin Kazan full back Cristian Ansaldi made his debut whilst Gabriel Heinze and Sergio Romero made up the rest of the Argentine starting line up.Maradona - banned for two months following recent comments on live TVThe Spanish, who were experimenting with a 4-3-3 formation in the absence of Fernando Torres, started the brighter as David Silva and David Villa both spurned good early opportunities when well placedEven so, it was Spain who took the lead in the 16th minute with a beautifully constructed goal. A well worked move saw David Silva make space on the left before driving in a low shot that Romero did well to parry. However, the onrushing Xabi Alonso charged in to smash the rebound into the roof of the net to give the Spaniards the lead they deserved.
Jeurys Familia Jersey It took until the 25th minute for Argentina to have an attack of any real purpose. A good surging run from the ever improving Angel Di Maria opened up the Spanish defence before his pa s to Higuain saw the Real Madrid striker blaze his effort over the bar.Neverthele s, Spain continued to dominate proceedings and were unlucky not to find themselves two goals ahead in the 29th minute as another pa s splitting move saw Villas shot somehow blocked on the goalline by Coloccini. Just five minutes later, Villa had another chance to get on the scoresheet but shot narrowly wide of Romeros far post.Maradonas side could have taken an undeserved equaliser before the break as Angel Di Maria capitalised on some poor Spain defending but misjudged his chipped effort over the cro sbar.The Argentines started the second
Darryl Strawberry Jersey half with purpose and managed to win a penalty in the 59th minute. A two footed tackle from Maxi Rodriguez on Raul Albiolwas surprisingly not penalised allowing the Atletico Madrid winger the chance to run into the box before being fouled bya desperate lunge fromAlbiol. Lionel Me si took responsibility and sent the keeper the wrong way with a guided effort in the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.The aggrieved Spaniards set out to find a winner and were almost rewarded in the 65th
Zack Wheeler Jersey minute as Sergio Ramos headed narrowly wide from a floated free kick.It looked like Argentina were going to hold on butwith just five minutes remaining, Spain won themselves a penalty after Martin Demichelis accidentally handballed in the penalty area following a goalmouth scramble. Xabi Alonso stepped up and hit an unstoppable penalty into the top right corner to give the European Champions a deserved 2-1 lead.Maradonas side almost managed a second equaliser at the death but Demichelis unmarked header from six yards sailed over the bar to consign them to a deserved defeat. youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROpieeY2kSk
