11.02.2012 - Con goles de Ruben Castro (´10) y Nelson (´91), Betis venció (2-1) al Athletic (Martinez ´21) como local y lo bajó de posiciones europeas.
Mucho, demasiado frío en Europa. Unos 35.000 espectadores llegaron al (estadio) Benito Villamarin en la noche de 5º.

Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) Match Predictions 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below are predictions for all the La Liga matches on February 11, 2012. Times listed below are GMT or local UK time.

Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) Match Predictions

Saturday, 11 February 2012

Racing Santander v Atletico Madrid, 17:00 Atletico wins 2-1

Osasuna v Barcelona, 19:00 Barcelona wins 2-0

Real Betis v Athletic Bilbao, 21:00 1-1 Draw

Follow @jrf90thminute

Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) Match Predictions 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Buenas! The realists and statisticians among you won't be surprised that Barcelona defeated the very loveable Valencia 2-0 last night. But as it seems, Madrid are frontrunners to win the La Liga, so el Blaugranas will be hoping to take home their 26th Spanish Cup title title.

Cesc Fabregas and Xavi guide Barcelona to their 12th Copa Del Rey final. Leo Messi had a hand in both goals. Gol TV's inimitable Ray Hudson, "Messi, like a gazelle through the cheetahs" couldn't have said it better. They meet Athletic Bilbao in the final most likely on 25th May.

Barcelona are through to the Copa Del Rey final where they will play Athletic Bilbao after a 2-0 win over Valencia at the Camp Nou. Goals by Cesc Fabregas and a late strike by midfield maestro Xavi helped seal a 2-0 win (3-1 on aggregate) for the Spanish champions. Pep Guardiola's men will now face [.

The inevitable African Cup of Nations championship matchup between the continent's two powerhouses has made way for a title game involving an underdog side that is a win away from capping off a Hollywood-worthy script.

Upstart Zambia shocked favored Ghana, 1-0, to advance to the tournament final and prevent the Black Stars from seeking redemption for their loss in the 2010 final.

STARTERS
Fabio Capello has quit as coach of England, over the FA's decision to not allow the idiot John Terry to be captain.
-I guess Capello felt undermined by the decision and could not be in charge of his team at Euro 2012.
-Stuart Pearce has been named interim head coach.

Valencia's Aritz Aduriz articulates far more succinctly that we ever could why base layers are bad. Bad, we say! Image: JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images.

Sometimes, it's the little things that make life worth living, isn't it?

Alright. And maybe some slightly larger things.

Serie A

Catania 1-1 Roma

There were only twenty-five minutes to play in Catania and Roma's rescheduled match from January, but this was long enough for Erik Lamela to show off his assets to the fullest.

There is plenty of high-profile soccer going on around the world this Wednesday, but perhaps no games carry as much significance as the two African Cup of Nations semifinals. Ivory Coast and Ghana took care of business in the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals with matching 3-0 victories, and all that stands in the way of a star-studded tournament final is one more win for each team.

Mirandes, the giant killing third division Liga club bowed out beaten by Athletic Bilbao, 6-2, in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey (8-3 aggregate). Fernando Llorente showed why he's on the wishlist of some of the world's biggest clubs by scoring a brace. Athletic also got goals from Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta and defender Jon Aurtenetxe.

07.02.2012 - Con goles de Muniain (´10), Susaeta (´14), Aurtenetxe (´22), Aitor (´57), Llorente (´71 y ´75) y Caneda (e/c ´88), Athletic venció (5-2) a Mirandés (Blanco ´50 y ´85) en San Mamés y se clasificó como primer finalista de la Copa del Rey 2012.

#AupaMirandes (Come on Mirandés!)

Miracle is the word that comes to mind as Mirandes go to Bilbao in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. Marcelo Bielsa's Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 at Mirandes' Estadio Anduva last week, and the odds are overwhelming leaning towards them to reach the final, where they'll play Barcelona or Valencia.

#AupaMirandes (Come on Mirandés!)

Miracle is the word that comes to mind as Mirandes go to Bilbao in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. Marcelo Bielsa's Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 at Mirandes' Estadio Anduva last week, and the odds are overwhelming leaning towards them to reach the final, where they'll play Barcelona or Valencia.

Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oscar de Marcos insists his side will show Mirandes total respect on Tuesday night as the two clubs clash in the Copa del Rey semi-final.

Athletic, whose record of 23 Copa titles is second only to Barcelona (25), are favourites heading into the semi-final second leg after earning a 2-1 lead from last week's first meeting at Mirandes' Anduva stadium.

04.02.2012 - El Athletic de Marcelo Bielsa y el Espanyol de Mauricio Pochettino dieron un desigual espectáculo en San Mamés, empatando en 3 un partido cambiante (box to box) y con todos los condimentos.
Bielsa "es mucho más que un entrenador... Me unen lazos emocionales muy fuertes.

Clint Dempsey will try to keep his torrid hot streak in the English Premier League going against a Manchester City side looking to hold on to first place in one of today's best matches.

The Cottagers are in need of points to move further away from the relegation zone, but earning any in Manchester against a City side coming off a loss to Everton won't be easy.

Not too long ago, Chelsea and Manchester United were fighting each other for league titles and UEFA Champions League superiority. Now, the Blues are just hoping to chip away at a 12-point table deficit that keeps mounting by the week.

The two English giants battle Sunday at Stamford Bridge in a nationally televised game on the Fox network, with United looking to maintain its place atop the league while dealing perhaps the final blow to Chelsea's faint title hopes and forcing the club into a fight for a place in Europe next season.

Friday, February 3
2:30pm Nürnberg vs Borussia Dortmund GolTV
8pm Altamira vs Irapuato GolTV
9:10pm Estudiantes Tecos vs Atlas Galavision

Saturday, February 4
7:30am West Ham United vs Millwall FoxSoccer.tv, Fox Soccer 2Go
8am Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
9am Cesena vs Catania RAI Internazionale
9am Roma vs Internazionale Fox Soccer Plus, RAI Internazionale, ESPN3 USA
9:30am Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
10am Wigan Athletic vs Everton FSC, Fox Deportes
10am Stoke City vs Sunderland Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer.

Two goals from Fernando Llorente has given Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 first-leg advantage in their Copa del Rey semi-final against giant-killers Mirandes, and seriously dented the Cinderella dreams of the third division team.

Llorente scored twice in the first half to seemingly put Athletic firmly in control of this tie.

Chasing the Big Leagues Real Valladolid and the contenders (Spain Segunda) is a post from: Just Football

Just Football's Tales from Tier Two series, in association with @tiertwofooty, continues now as we continue with Spain's Liga Adelante. First we assessed the promotion chances of Deportivo La Coruña in Spain's Segunda Division:

Real Valladolid

Real Valladolid have been in and around the top six all season in Spain's Segunda Division following a run of just 2 defeats in 22 games since kicking off the season with a 3-0 win at Gimnastic Tarragona.

As we enter February, the shortest month of the year (let me be the first to remind you that this year February has 29 days), Valencia's coaching staff must think this is some kind of sick joke. 8 games in 29 days. It's been done before, of course. But not quite like this. To start the month, Valencia host Barcelona at the Mestalla in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.

31.01.2012 - Con goles de Fernando Llorente (´18 y ´27), Athletic venció (1-2) al Mirandés de Segunda B (Lambarri ´91) en Anduva (Miranda de Ebro) por la ida de semifinales de la Copa del Rey.
Unos 500 vascos entre 6000 espectadores pudieron saborear (no sin sufrir) la victoria del Athletic en el modesto estadio Municipal de Anduva ("el pequeño Anfield").

Mallorca keeper Juan Calatayud could benefit with the Ne‎w Euro 2012 ball for his control after this gaffe cost his side a 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao last week.

The buzz surrounding the Spanish Burgos province these days has been remarkable. They are of course, home to Mirandes, the Spanish third-division team that have made it to the semi-finals of the Copa del Ray! Mirandes will meet Athletic Bilbao tonight at their modest 6,000-seater stadium, which was expanded yesterday to accommodate another 1,700 visiting fans.

29.01.2012 - Con (3) goles de Fernando Llorente (`15, `22 y `68), Athletic Bilbao venció (2-3) a Rayo Vallecano (Michu ´10, Arribas ´25) en Vallecas por la jornada 21 de la Liga española y vuelve a puestos de Europa League.
En un campo pequeño como el de Vallecas y ante un equipo (Rayo) de despliegue físico como método de supervivencia, pudo el Athletic salir airoso gracias al triplete de Llorente (primero de su carrera en Liga).

29.01.2012 - Con (3) goles de Fernando Llorente (`15, `22 y `68), Athletic Bilbao venció (2-3) a Rayo Vallecano (Michu ´10, Arribas ´25) en Vallecas por la jornada 21 de la Liga española y vuelve a puestos de Europa League.
En un campo pequeño como el de Vallecas y ante un equipo (Rayo) de despliegue físico como método de supervivencia, pudo el Athletic salir airoso gracias al triplete de Llorente (primero de su carrera en Liga).

The fallout from last week's El Clasico loss was astounding. The fallout from the coming El Clasico – should we lose (which is a likely event) will perhaps be equally astounding. . The players are shit – we need to buy 6 new players. We need a new defense We need a new midfield, We need better strikers.

A pair of heated English derby match-ups headline today's action, and both will have added subplots that will only make things more intense.

Manchester United and Liverpool clash in their first meeting since the controversial match where Luis Suarez allegedly used racial slurs against Patrice Evra; while London rivals Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers meet for the first time since John Terry allegedly used a racial slur against Anton Ferdinand.

Friday, January 27
11am Niger vs Tunisia Al Jazeera Sports USA
2pm Gabon vs Morocco Al Jazeera Sports USA
2:30pm Hannover 96 vs Nürnberg ESPN3, ESPN Deportes
2:45pm Watford vs Tottenham Hotspur Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer.tv, Fox Soccer 2Go
3pm Everton vs Fulham FSC
8pm USA vs Costa Rica concacaf.

By Eric Beard

Doesn't vehement hatred get kind of boring after a while? I mean, sure, if you want to let a little schadenfreude and anger out a couple of times a year, that's fine. Everyone's entitled to their fair share of irrational fandom. Maybe I'm not as creative as the Spanish press and [insert name of your Superclub]'s fans, but hatred gets kind of circular after a while.

25.01.2012 - Con gol de Ramis (en contra ´77), el Athletic de Marcelo Bielsa volvió a derrotar (1-0) al Mallorca de Joaquín Caparrós (ahora en San Mamés) y pasa la serie con puntaje ideal y valla invicta (global 3-0) para meterse en semifinales de la Copa del Rey, donde espera el pequeño gran Mirandés.

A couple of big-name matchups in 2nd legs of domestic cup competitions coming up later today:

Carling Cup semifinal Manchester City vs Liverpool 8:45pm CET / 2:45pmET / 7:45pm GMT (USA TV: FSC): We didn't see the 1st leg of this semifinal tie earlier this month, which somewhat surprisingly went 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.

By Chris Wright

There were amazing scenes in Spain last night, where third tier part-timers CD Mirandés beat La Liga side Espanyol 2-1 in injury time at the tiny, 6,000-capacity Anduva Stadium to secure themselves a 4-4 aggregate (away goals) win and a berth in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in the process.

Real dissension in the ranks?

The Real Madrid fans are in a barracking mood, just like the fans giving stick to Arsene Wenger. The Barca game blew up in their face because Mou decided to stick 11 men behind the ball and with the exception of an 11th minute of enterprise, played like he was afraid to lose which is exactly what happened.

According to media reports in Spain, Jose Mourinho will quit his job as Real Madrid manager this summer.

For the first time Mourinho was booed and whistled at by the Bernabeu faithful as rumors continue to swirl around the team of divisions within the squad.

The sensational claim that Mourinho will quit came from highly-respected Spanish football journalist Siro Lopez, who said after Real Madrid's 4-1 win against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend that the former Chelsea boss will walk away from his £11.

According to media reports in Spain, Jose Mourinho will quit his job as Real Madrid manager this summer.

For the first time Mourinho was booed and whistled at by the Bernabeu faithful as rumors continue to swirl around the team of divisions within the squad.

The sensational claim that Mourinho will quit came from highly-respected Spanish football journalist Siro Lopez, who said after Real Madrid's 4-1 win against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend that the former Chelsea boss will walk away from his £11.

What an amazing story Mirandes is. The club, stuck in the third-tier of Spanish football, came from a goal down to beat Espanyol 2-1 in their Copa Del Rey quarter-final second leg and progress to the tournaments semi-finals on the away goals rule.

Espanyol took a precarious 3-2 first-leg lead to Mirandés tiny stadium in Miranda de Ebro in northern Spain.

And so the roulette wheel continues to spin.

Paris St.-Germain have pulled out of talks with Manchester City to sign striker Carlos Tevez. The Ligue 1 leaders were considered the front-runners after talks with AC Milan broke down last week. PSG's sporting director Leonardo and new manager Carlo Ancelotti met with Tevez's advisers but couldn't come to terms

"There was an opportunity, we have studied it, we made a good offer but failed to agree a deal," Leonardo told L'Equipe.

By Chris Wright

Seems like the apology worked as it's been confirmed by the Spanish FA that Real Madrid bottom-feeder Pepe won't be punished for stamping on Lionel Messi's hand during the most recent El Clasico tie last week not that the Real Madrid fans themselves are quite so ready to forgive and forget.

Iker Casillas played down divisions between the Spanish and Portuguese players in the Real Madrid team after Sunday's win against Athletic Bilbao saying:

"We can't start losing our minds and pointing the finger at each other. Whistles are really aimed at all of us. We must all be united, team and fans alike.