Awards are for the vain folk that feel the need to be rewarded for greatness. An award, usually
a piece of precious metal, is handed to an individual, usually a sentient homo sapiens, based on
that individual's contributions to a particular endeavor. Subjectivity underlines the entire
process. Humans clasp at the material to the detriment of the abstract.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
All American eyes Friday are on Goodison Park, where Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey do battle
in Everton and Fulham's FA Cup match, but there's another game in Europe that is of importance to
Americans abroad as well.
Timmy Chandler's FC Nurnberg and Steve Cherundolo's Hannover 96 are slated to go up against one
another in a Bundesliga match that should be featuring the present and future of U.
Barcelona's Copa del Rey semi-finals win against Real Madrid has been tempered by a growing
injury list that will make their clash against Villarreal on Saturday harder.
Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez both limped off in last night's 2-2 draw, which secured a 4-3
aggregate win.
That means Barca will head to El Madrigal missing six players in total, as David Villa, Ibrahim
Afellay and Andreu Fontas are already injured, while Seydou Keita is at the African Nations
Cup.
It's been an incredible eighteen months for Gareth Bale and a period that has ended with our
Welsh left winger being named as the only British player in UEFA's team of 2011.
Bale took his place among the likes of Barcelona's Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres
Iniesta and Lionel Messi as well as Real Madrid's Cristinao Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Marcelo.
Real Madrid need a late winner from Jose Callejon to beat Real Mallorca and ensure they
continued with their amazing streak that has seen them win 3 fixtures since their infamous 3-1 home
loss to Barcelona.
Madrid do not seem like letting go of the top spot at least for now and though their arch rivals
Barca are yet to play, a win for the Catalans will only bring them to within 5 points of
Madrid.
Real Madrid need a late winner from Jose Callejon to beat Real Mallorca and ensure they
continued with their amazing streak that has seen them win 3 fixtures since their infamous 3-1 home
loss to Barcelona.
Madrid do not seem like letting go of the top spot at least for now and though their arch rivals
Barca are yet to play, a win for the Catalans will only bring them to within 5 points of
Madrid.
By Chris Wright
Athletic Bilbao tonked third-tier side Albacete (bit of trivia: Andres Iniesta is the club's
majority shareholder) 4-0 in the Copa del Rey at the San Mames last night, with the third goal of
the night being scored by forward Gaizka Toquero a man who, to quote Wikipedia, is 'blessed with
few technical skills but is a tremendous hard-worker'.
Iker Casillas
Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Nemanja Vidic, Dani Alves
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi.
"Rooney and Vida In FIFA World XI" was originally published at The
Republik of Mancunia.
Lionel Messi won the FIFA Balon d'OR for the second consecutive time after the inception of the
award last year. With this victory he has won the FIFA World Player of Year and Balon d'Or for the
third consecutive time. It was a no btainer from the time the three man shortlist was
announced.
Las clasificaciones siempre van a dar de que hablar, generan polemica, hasta las que hace la
FIFA.
Por eso aquí están los 11 mejores jugadores del año según el máximo mandato en el futbol
mundial. Fueron anunciados en la gala del dia de hoy.
Los futbolistas del Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso e Iker Casillas, no
viajaron a Zúrich porque mañana enfrentan al Málaga por la Copa del Rey.
Lionel Messi was voted World Player of the Year for the third year in a row with Cristiano
Ronaldo and Xavi a distant second and third respectively. Barcelona's Pep Guardiola won the manager
of the year awrd having guided Barcelona to a unique double of La Liga and Champions League titles,
Sir Alex ferguson who received an award for services to football was second and Jose Mourinho third
in the Manager's list.
As if Lionel Messi needed any more evidence to prove that he is greatest player in the
world.
Messi captured the Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year, beating out Cristiano Ronaldo and
Xavi to add yet another item to his trophy case. The 24-year-old Barcelona maestro received
47.
The debate whether or not he's the greatest ever may never be resolved, but he is certainly well
on his way to being the most decorated. The gentleman from Rosario won his third consecutive Ballon
d'Or at the ripe old age of 24.
And he did it showing up in purple velvet.
By Chris Wright
This lo-res candid photo is doing the rounds today after being released into the wild by
Barcelona's official club photographer, one Miguel Ruiz.
It shows a distraught Lionel Messi, alongside the void Andres Iniesta and the thoroughly
knackered Javier Mascherano, struggling to stave off the waterworks after Barca's last-minute 1-0
defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in last year's Copa Del Rey final (e.
After witnessing Manchester United defeat against Blackburn Rovers for our New Year's Eve match, I
would touch on another significant matter to the football world, the opening of the transfer
window....
Continue to the full story
SPANISH SPORTS papers become creative during the Xmas Break as Football "stops" but the selling of
papers continue. One inventive daily is Barcelona based "Sport" which comes up with interesting
content, this case, an info-graph dedicated to FC BARCELONA crack ANDRES INIESTA. The diagram is in
Spanish but I believe it is intuitive enough for non-Spanish readers to get the gist.
FC Barcelona resumed domestic action last night following their triumph in the FIFA Club World
Cup and helped themselves to a 9-0 rout over third tier side L'Hospitalet in the Round of 32 of the
Copa Del Rey (Spanish Cup).
Barcelona, who already led 1-0 from the first leg of this tie, played a relatively strong side
against their Catalonian neighbours and had Pedro to thank for getting the ball rolling after just
11 minutes when converting a penalty to open the scoring.
By Chris Wright
After just pipping the first leg 1-0, Pep Guardiola covered his arse by naming an incredibly
strong side in the return leg against Hospitalet at the Camp Nou last night and it payed off, with
Barcelona crushing the third-tier outfit thanks to goals from Pedro, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and
braces from three players aged just 20: Isaac Cuenca, Thiago Alcantara and substitute Cristian
Tello.
It's Christmas week... la semana de Navidad! In the Premiership,
however, life goes on for Kun Aguero and co', who scored in City's 3-0 victory
over Aston Villa last night. Kun scored a brace, and the goal celebrations had
everything except Dani Alves' brilliant Santa hat.
Santos - FC Barcelona0:4 (0:3)
FechaSede / EstadioHoraAsistencia
18 diciembre 2011 Yokohama / International Stadium Yokohama19:3068166Goles marcadosLionel
MESSI (BAR) 17', XAVI (BAR) 24', Cesc FABREGAS (BAR) 45', Lionel MESSI (BAR) 82'Santos
[1] RAFAEL CABRAL (GK) [2] EDU DRACENA (C) [3] LEO [4] DANILO (-31') [5] AROUCA [6] DURVAL [7]
HENRIQUE [9] BORGES (-79') [10] GANSO (-83') [11] NEYMAR [14] BRUNO RODRIGO En el banquillo [12]
ARANHA (GK) [23] VLADIMIR (GK) [8] ELANO (+31') [13] BRUNO AGUIAR [15] ANDERSON CARVALHO [16]
VINICIUS [17] FELIPE ANDERSON [18] IBSON (+83') [19] ALAN KARDEC (+79') [20] Wason RENTERIA [21]
PARA [22] DIOGO Entrenador Muricy RAMALHO (BRA)
FC Barcelona[1] Victor VALDES (GK) [2] DANI ALVES [3] Gerard PIQUE (-56') [4] Cesc FABREGAS
[5] Carles PUYOL (C) (-85') [6] XAVI [8] Andres INIESTA [10] Lionel MESSI [11] THIAGO (-79') [16]
Sergio BUSQUETS [22] Eric ABIDAL
En el banquillo [13] PINTO (GK) [25] Oier OLAZABAL (GK) [7] David VILLA [A] [9] Alexis SANCHEZ [14]
Javier MASCHERANO (+56') [15] Seydou KEITA [17] PEDRO (+79') [18] Jonathan DOS SANTOS [19] MAXWELL
[21] ADRIANO [24] Andreu FONTAS (+85') [27] Isaac CUENCA Entrenador Pep GUARDIOLA
(ESP)
Amonestaciones
Gerard PIQUE (BAR) 39'
, Javier MASCHERANO (BAR) 71'
, GANSO (SAN) 73'
, EDU DRACENA (SAN) 74'
Expulsiones
Cuerpo arbitral del partido
ÁrbitroRavshan IRMATOV (UZB) Assistant Referee 1Abdukhamidullo RASULOV (UZB) Cuarto ÁrbitroYuichi
NISHIMURA (JPN) Assistant Referee 2Bakhadyr KOCHKAROV (KGZ) Quinto ÁrbitroToru SAGARA (JPN)
Santos (BRA )EstadísticasFC Barcelona (ESP)8Disparos163Remates a puerta90Goles413Faltas
cometidas1311Faltas recibidas132Saques de esquina41Tiros libres ejecutados (al arco)10 /
0Lanzamientos penales (Goles/Remates)0 / 00Fueras de juego60Goles en propia meta02Tarjetas
amarillas20Segunda tarjeta amarilla y tarjeta roja00Tarjetas rojas018Tiempo real de
juego4529%Posesión del balón71% Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol
photo credit: prettyfriendshipThanks to Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and, of course, Lionel Messi Barcelona
won the World Club Cup at a canter. Santos, arguably the best team in South America at the moment,
were disposed of as though they were an irritant to Barcelona. This Barcelona side take no
prisoners.
Inocentemente millones de aficionados brasileños y otros mas internacionales, creían que
Santos y su estrella naciente Neymar estarían a la altura del mejor equipo del mundo, que
equivocados estaban.
El Barcelona llego a la cita de este domingo, para demostrar una vez mas que esta hecho para la
grnadeza historica, para que otras generaciones hablen de esta escuadra.
En Eurosport han sacado el recuento de Los 10 mejores goles de la Champions League 2011 fase de
grupos, como ya lo han de saber la Champions League es el mejor torneo de clubes de futbol en el
mundo. Esto sucede cuando buenos futbolistas se esfuerzan al maximo de sus capacidades.
10.
En Eurosport han sacado el recuento de Los 10 mejores goles de la Champions League 2011 fase de
grupos, como ya lo han de saber la Champions League es el mejor torneo de clubes de futbol en el
mundo. Esto sucede cuando buenos futbolistas se esfuerzan al maximo de sus capacidades.
10.
Como pasa con muchos jugadores de futbol actual, pasan desapercibidos por poner atención a los que
las marcas deportivas nos quieren hacer ver como los unicos, los iluminados, Andres Iniesta pasaria
como uno mas,pero no es así. Recordemos que el futbol es un deporte de conjunto, donde las
individualidades brillaran siempre y cuando su equipo lo desee asi,por meritos y por grandes
momentos y hazañas.
Como pasa con muchos jugadores de futbol actual, pasan desapercibidos por poner atención a los que
las marcas deportivas nos quieren hacer ver como los unicos, los iluminados, Andres Iniesta pasaria
como uno mas,pero no es así. Recordemos que el futbol es un deporte de conjunto, donde las
individualidades brillaran siempre y cuando su equipo lo desee asi,por meritos y por grandes
momentos y hazañas.
Dani Alves may not qualify.
Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta's ghostly spirit rides the Tokyo underground. The man couldn't tan on
Mercury he'd probably do really well as an actor in the Asian horror movie scene.
There were a number of solid performance in the weekend's Clasico, but as the game wore on, the
untanned genius that is Andres Iniesta began to take over the show entirely. It was a maestro's
performance worthy of its own lens on the internet.
And look at that.
Sit back and enjoy.
There were a number of solid performance in the weekend's Clasico, but as the game wore on, the
untanned genius that is Andres Iniesta began to take over the show entirely. It was a maestro's
performance worthy of its own lens on the internet.
And look at that.
Sit back and enjoy.
When Karim Benzema scored the opener for Real Madrid inside the first minute, some assumed it
was going to be a long night for Barcelona's players and the club's supporters. However, the
Catalans eventually turned the result around in another painful defeat for outspoken coach Jose
Mourinho who, as expected, pretended the loss was not damaging.
Mais um jogo amistoso, foi disputado no dia 02/09/2011, na cidade de St. Gallen-SUI, onde jogaram
as seleções da Espanha (2º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção do Chile (11º no ranking da
FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copa do Mundo2010Tshwane/Pretoria 25/06/2010 CHI1:2 (0:2)ESP First stage1950Rio De Janeiro 29/06/1950 ESP2:0
(2:0)CHI Group matches
Amistosos2008Villarreal 19/11/2008 ESP3:0 (1:0)CHI 1993Alicante 08/09/1993 ESP2:0 (0:0)CHI 1981Santiago De
Chile 05/07/1981 CHI1:1ESP 1960Santiago De Chile 17/07/1960 CHI1:4ESP 1960Santiago De Chile
14/07/1960 CHI0:4ESP 1953Santiago De Chile 12/07/1953 CHI1:2ESP
Mundial Sub-202005Doetinchem 14/06/2005 CHI0:7 (0:1)ESP Group matches1995Doha 19/04/1995 ESP6:3 (3:0)CHI First
stage
Jogos Olímpicos2000Melbourne 17/09/2000 ESP1:3 (0:2)CHI First stage
O árbitro desse jogo, foi:Jerome Laperriere-SUI
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Mauricio Isla, aos 10 minutos do primeiro tempo, sendo seu segundo
gol pela seleção chilena.
Christmas Gifts for the FC Barcelona Fan
The holiday season is upon us and if you are or have a FC Barcelona fan in your life then we
have put together a list of gifts that any culé would love.
Relive the magic of Barcelona's 2010-2011 Champions League winning season with this Lionel Messi
Signed Framed Barcelona Champions League Final Jersey 2010-11.
Barcelona recovered from the quickest El Clasico goal in history to end Real Madrid's 15-match
winning run and land a big blow in the La Liga title race.
Madrid entered the match as favourites based on their 15-match unbeaten run and they got off to
a perfect start when Karim Benzema cashed in on a Victor Valdes error after just 23 seconds.
Lawro on Euro 2012: Golden Silva will take the tournament by storm
Mark Lawrenson assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the top players from the big nations
going for glory at Euro 2012... SPAIN Because of the season David Silva is having in the Premier
League, the Manchester City star could be Spain's main man in the Euros.
A finely chiselled and beautifully honed conductor of electricity and heat. And the LFP Award for
best goalkeeper. Image via totalbarca.
After a busy week that saw Cesc Fabregas crumble under the intense pressure of our whining, a
reveal of the strange bathing predilections of the Portuguese NT and a few choice players sharing
what they don't want for Christmas, we are pleased to finally be able to bring you some proper
football news.
Alexis scores against Rayo (Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea)
Barcelona returned to their winning ways on Tuesday night with a four-goal thrashing of La Liga
minnows Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou.
The word echoing through the stadium: maravilla.
Between cheers for David "Mara" Villa, Alexis Sanchez, "el niño maravilla" of
Chile, and the sheer majesty of Messi's highlight-reel goal, one couldn't help but marvel.
It was October 20, 2004, when Milan welcomed FC Barcelona to the San Siro on match-day three of the
Champions League. Much like today, both teams were clearly the best two in their group. Much like
today Barcelona sat in first position, Milan were in second. And much like will be today, the team
that [.
Big news today from the defending Spanish and European champions that Andres Iniesta will miss
the huge champions league tie with AC Milan on Wednesday with a thigh injury.
A statement on the club's website confirmed that the midfielder will not travel to Italy as "a
precaution", joining the suspended Dani Alves and injured duo Adriano and Ibrahim Afellay on the
sidelines.
Euro 2012 Nations A team by team preview - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Update: Groups Draw details and the official match ball of Euro 2012 added.
Scroll down to view.
With the 16 teams competing in Euro 2012 now selected and the qualifying process complete, all
eyes look to Poland and Ukraine as time ticks down.
Spain's 2-2 draw with Costa Rica last night, and their 1-0 loss to England on the weekend,
suggest that the European and World champions have become too predictable. Only a David Villa goal
three minutes into injury time in San Jose prevented them from being embarrassed twice in four
days.
