Second place Barcelona face a tough fixture tonight when they host third place Valencia at the Nou Camp. The leagues top scorer Lionel Messi who has scored 19 goals so far will be up against David Villa who is not to far off behind with 16 goals to his name. It will not only be a battle for the all important 3 points, but also for league supremacy as a Barcelona win coupled with a defeat or draw for Madrid at Valladolid will propel the Catalans back to the summit of La Liga.

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Liverpool's visit to Romania ended up in them scoring a sum of three goals for the first time since September last year. A relief after one of the dull matches of this season at Eastlands. Although a lot of interest is generated towards City after their FA cup exit� at this post, lets take a ride with some of the fun filled Europa moments from yesterday night.

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Defending European champions Barcelona held out for a 1-1 draw in Germany against a a very impressive but unlucky Stuttgart. This was the first time in a very long time that i have seen Barca outclassed.

The Catalans were reduced to mere spectators in the first half as Stuttgart tormented Barca defenders Puyol, Pique and Busquets for long periods of time.

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Three time FIFA World Player of the year Ronaldo Nazario De Lima has decided to end his illustrious career on December 31st 2011. One of the all time greats and a legend by any standards, Ronaldo has decided to end his career in his native Brazil with Corinthians.

Ronaldo's Resume is a marvel to behold.

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A weekend with no English action, but there was plenty in the Spanish and Italian leagues.
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
Atletico Madrid re-opened the title race after defeating Barcelona 2-1, Barcelona had a makeshift back four with Jeffren at right-back, Puyol and Milito center-backs, and Maxwell at left-back. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona� have yet to suffer a defeat in la Liga and will complete half of their season's fixtures this weekend. In 18 matches played, the Catalans have won a remarkable 14 matches and drawn the remaining four games. Barca have the best defensive record with a mere 10 goals conceded and have scored a league high 46 goals.

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Barcelona's quest to repeat their incredible feat of winning six titles this season seems to have taken a major knock when they were humbled by Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp in their 1st leg tie of the last 16.

The Andalusians were the first to score on the stroke of the hour thanks to Diego Capel.

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Former FC Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff marked his return to the sidelines by leading Catalonia (or Catalunya) to a 4-2 victory over FIFA World Cup-bound Argentina today at the Camp Nou. Sergio Garcia, Bojan Krkic, Sergio Gonzalez and Moises Hurtado scored for the Barcelona player-laden Catalans in front of 53,000 spectators that included Argentina coach Diego [. Click to continue reading...

Once again it's that time of year when we like to kick-back and ask "where did that one go?", break out the Christmas spirit, and reflect on the football year that was. What were our highs and lows? Who stole the headlines and, more importantly, who won the prizes and is most deserving of our applause, however begrudging an exercise that may prove to be at times.

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If you would have told me in August that Group F would be the most competitive in this year's Champions League I would have laughed in your face. But the Champions from Russia and the Ukraine have made life miserable for two of Europe's best sides creating all the drama a football fan could wish for.

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A great weekend full of upsets and big matches and missed penalties, especially in the Premiership.
Roma - Lazio *ROMAN DERBY SPECIAL*
A derby which could be described as a game of two halves, the first half was rather dull and boring with both clubs unable to scare each other. Click to continue reading...

Brazilian striker Kerrison could be on his way to Anfield in January according to reports.The 21 year old Barcelona player is currently on loan at Benifica but is finding it difficult to break into that side.
Liverpool tried to sign him in the Summer but he chose to join the Catalans in a £12 million deal. Click to continue reading...

Ruud van Nistelrooy

A bit of good news everyone, although some may beg to differ with me. Arsene has ruled out a move for one of the 'Greatest Cheats' in the history of the Premier League. We are in dire needs of an established hit-man to marshal our attack, but not at the cost of buying has-been's.

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Rafa Benitez is braced for a £30million New Year showdown with Barcelona over Javier Mascherano.
Liverpool boss Benitez has warned the La Liga champions they're fighting a losing battle in their ongoing efforts to lure the Argentinian to the Nou Camp.
Benitez will also deliver another blow to the Catalans by securing Pepe Reina's new deal after Christmas. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona came through and won the Copa del Rey last season after a drought and now to defend their title they will need to go through some very murky/shark-infested waters to even get back to the final.� As the draw came out the Catalans found that repeating is MUCH harder than winning.

Standing in their way is Sevilla and Valencia.

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Real Madrid mouthpiece Marca has officially become El Sun. The Madrid rag relegated the news of Lio Messi winning the Balon D'Or on their front page to mentioning that the Merengue players were attacked by "an organized group of fans"with lasers. This affected both Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. Click to continue reading...

Forget Everton v Liverpool or Arsenal v Chelsea, there is one fixture that is the must watch this weekend, Spanish footballs uncivil war, FC Barcelona v Real Madrid CF. A derby where the two teams are not even from the same city or region and where pigs' heads are showered to welcome former players. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona have tough assignments ahead of them in the next couple of days. First and foremost, the Catalans are facing an early exit from Europe's lucrarive tournament the Uefa Champions League if they do not beat an impressive Inter Milan on Tuesday night and only a few days later, they entertain los merengues in the el clasico on Sunday.

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The Hands of God: Part II

With barely 15 minutes remaining on the clock, with a place in the WC Final's at stake, an incident took place. An incident which apart from deciding the eventual outcome of the game, became instrumental in tainting one of the most decorated sportsperson of our times.

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Liverpool are not expecting any fresh interest from Barcelona in Javier Mascherano in January.
Weekend reports suggested the midfielder's advisers had already negotiated personal terms with the Catalans in advance of a transfer fee being agreed with the Reds.
However, there has been no contact between the clubs since the summer when Barca were informed Mascherano was not for sale. Click to continue reading...

This is the picture that was promised to the Oranje fans in 1990 and 1994... Obviously, with a naranjita jersey, but hey... It's 2009 now... 19 years onwards and the Catalans are loved more by the Football Gods than the Dutch... A great day for them, a sad day for us :-). And Click to continue reading...

Latest rumours in the press are that that the Liverpool owners want to replace struggling Benitez with Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, it is believed Hicks & Gillette are impressed buy the way the Irishman has built a strong squad on limited funds from Randy Learner and is riding high in the Premier League. Click to continue reading...

Russian champions Rubin Kazan ensured that they remain unbeaten against UEFA Champions League holders FC Barcelona over the two games played on opposite ends of the continent.

A goalless draw in overcast conditions in Central Stadium Kazan ensured that Rubin remain tied on points with the Catalans.

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Sometimes it is very easy to tell merely a couple of months into the season whether or not the current league leader will run away with the title come the business end of the season. However, as fans of the sport, we often hope that a title race is full of twists and turns all the way till it reaches a dramatic finale.

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I have always wondered how come everyone is so fascinated by Van Gaal. We all remember Ajax from the mid90s but that story lasted briefly and they had the system to thank for the fame not the coach. As soon as big clubs got the idea to buy everyone that was worth something in that team, things fell into place.

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Catalan paper Sport has recently featured secrets from inside Barca's dressing room, where Pep continually strives to instill team unity between the players and blend all their personalities and egos into harmony.
From the more withdrawn players like Abidal and Keita to pranksters Pique and Dani Alves, the players get along great and there's always a friendly atmosphere in the locker room. Click to continue reading...

What a shocking couple of weeks it had been for the Catalans.

They have torn through all and sundry in La Liga up until their hosting of Almeria at the Camp Nou on October 4th.� They may have come away with the result but it's a sign of the times that ONLY a 1-0 win for Barcelona is considered a bad performance.

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What words do we need to describe the genius that is Cesc Fabregas and for the first time on Saturday, he seemed to be enjoying his football, and I do believe him now when he says that he wants to stay. Why? well the lure of the catalans is great, but at Barcelona, he would be one addition to the rank of mega personas that the Spanish giants feel necessary to accumulate.

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What words do we need to describe the genius that is Cesc Fabregas and for the first time on Saturday, he seemed to be enjoying his football, and I do believe him now when he says that he wants to stay. Why? well the lure of the catalans is great, but at Barcelona, he would be one addition to the rank of mega personas that the Spanish giants feel necessary to accumulate.

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Chester Stadium currently under construction. (Photo via Philadelphia Union)

Editor's Note: Geoff Reid appears on WVHooligan each week. Today he is back to discuss something that is very close to home, the soon to be expansion Philadelphia Union. Geoff lives just 15 minutes away from the new club.

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Although it is early, the league is already tight up top and no one will catch Real Madrid and Barcelona. Both sides were once again convincing as the Catalans gave a clinic in Santander, while the Merengues deep sixed the Yellow Submarine in Castellón.

Lionel Messi earned a brace while Cristiano Ronaldo led the pace of his team and neither were able to be stopped.

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A moment of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka's first competitive goal for his new club secured Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal in the Primera Liga on Wednesday evening.

Ronaldo struck early after a brilliant turn on the halfway line saw the Portugal international escape the attentions of his marker before he raced towards the penalty area, stepped inside two defenders and drilled a low 20-yard shot past Diego Lopez.

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With the upcoming opening round of Champions League fixtures imminent, perhaps the most mouth watering tie will see Inter Milan face the current Champions Barcelona. An intriguing contest on so many levels, not least to assess how the contrasting styles of both teams will fare, nor how the cross Mourinho seems to carry from his days with Chelsea will manifest itself when it comes to facing the Catalans once again in European Competition.

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Inter striker Mario Balotelli could have been playing for the opposition in next week's clash against Barcelona, according to� El Mundo Deportivo.

The Spanish paper claims 'Super Mario' was on the verge of joining the Blaugrana three years ago, when he was playing for Serie C side Lumezzane in 2006.

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Sir Alex showed much interest in the young striker three years ago.

Inter striker Mario Balotelli could have been playing for the opposition in next week's clash against Barcelona, according to El Mundo Deportivo.

The Spanish paper claims 'Super Mario' was on the verge of joining the Blaugrana three years ago, when he was playing for Serie C side Lumezzane in 2006.

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Zlatan on the scoresheet for the Catalans. Click to continue reading...

With both teams fielding weakened sides for the annual Joan Gamper pre-season friendly in Barcelona. Man City pulled off a shock by beating Barca 1-0 with Martin Petrov scoring the only goal of the game.
Despite being roared on by 90,000 Catalans and with the debut of Zlatan Ibrahimacvic, Barcelona were kept out by a superb display by Shay Given. Click to continue reading...

European champions Barcelona ended their dominant pre-season with a frustrating 1-0 defeat at the hands of a defiant Manchester City side in front of around 90,000 fans at Catalonia's huge Camp Nou Stadium. While I will stay consistent with one of my previous articles by conceding that pre-season results carry little materiality, tonight's game should go a long way in demonstrating just how foolish it is to write off Mark Hughes' flamboyant, new-look Sky Blues.

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That noise you can hear Mr. Hleb is the sound of the smallest Violin playing a song, just for you!

Alexander Hleb admits he made a mistake in leaving Arsenal last summer.

The Belarus midfielder has returned to Stuttgart, four years after he left the Bundesliga side, on a year-long loan deal after a difficult season at Barcelona.

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Is it possible to have TOO much money?

Manchester City are ready to pay £150m for Lionel Messi, according to Spanish newspaper Marca. The world record bid would eclipse efforts to sign Kaka and Samuel Eto'o earlier this year and follows reports at the weekend that City were trying to guarantee a first refusal should the Catalans ever decide to sell the Argentina superstar.

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