A year before the 2014 World Cup: Argentina are favourites - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
On Wednesday, it will officially be one year before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil gets under way. Despite a number of highly impressive sides around at the moment it is Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, who look favourites to lift the World Cup trophy on 13th July 2014.
The defending World and European Champions have announced that they will play Haiti on June 8 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami as part of their preparations for Confederations Cup in Brazil. Buy Spain v Haiti Tickets
Spain will spend a week in Miami training at Barry University before travelling to Brazil for the 2013 Confederations Cup, a 2014 World Cup tune-up that runs June 15-30.
France and Spain prepare for vital Paris showdown - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
While many are talking about the importance of England's trip to Montenegro on Tuesday night in their 2014 World Cup qualifier, the real crunch tie comes at Stade de France between France and Spain, two of Europe's heavyweight sides.
Footballers on Holiday 2013 'The Boys of Summer' - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
It's the holiday season for the professional footballer. A time to slip off the boots, slither out of the muddy jersey, and jet off on ahard-earned vacation of sand, sea, and hard-earned recuperation. Fans will be flocking to Twitter to see the sneaky snaps of their favourite stars in unfamiliar territory.
Spain plays Haiti today in an international friendly at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. The match, which kicks off at 4pm ET, will be televised live on beIN SPORT.
Featured among the 26 players called up to the Spain squad for today's match are 19 that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 20 that won the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.
Barcelona reached 100 points on the final day of the season in Spain, while Jose Mourinho signed off with a win. Real Sociedad pipped Valencia to the final Champions League place, but Mallorca, Zaragoza and Deportivo La Coruna were all relegated.
Goals from David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Martin Montoya and Andres Iniesta gave Barcelona a resounding 4-1 win over Malaga at Camp Nou to bring up 100 points for the season, matching Real Madrid's achievement of last season.
Barcelona reached 100 points on the final day of the season in Spain, while Jose Mourinho signed off with a win. Real Sociedad pipped Valencia to the final Champions League place, but Mallorca, Zaragoza and Deportivo La Coruna were all relegated.
Goals from David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Martin Montoya and Andres Iniesta gave Barcelona a resounding 4-1 win over Malaga at Camp Nou to bring up 100 points for the season, matching Real Madrid's achievement of last season.
Rejoice. I have returned to my Chelsea. It is a very emotional moment. I am the same Mourinho as the last time I was here, but I am much more mature now. I have survived Iker Casillas tormenting me with his sadness and puppy eyes at Real Madrid and I feel I am stronger for it. Now I look forward to having a goalkeeper who does not look like a single teardrop with a beard and making Arsene Wenger develop an eye twitching disorder.
Jose Mourinho won his final match with Real Madrid, beating Osasuna 4-2 to a mixed reception at the Bernabeu. With his final act of vengeance against Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas coming in the form of leaving him out of the squad completely and starting fourth-choice keeper Jesus Fernandez from the B team, Mourinho waited until the last possible moment to emerge from the tunnel before the match.
Goalkeeper Diego Lopez has handed Liverpool a transfer blow by revealing his desire to continue at Real Madrid. The Reds are preparing for the possible departure of long-serving Spaniard Pepe Reina to his former club Barcelona and Lopez is thought to be on their list of potential replacements.
Jose Mourinho's reputation precedes him. Known as one of the best managers in this era, if not all time, Mourinho no doubt has been extremely successful. His relationship with legend Sir Alex Ferguson is well documented, and the Scotsman has not been short of praise for the Portuguese manager.
Spain v Ireland in New York a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Barcelona and Real Madrid stars - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Football fans in New York are set to be spoiled this summer, with two high-profile games to be played at the Yankee Stadium in the European off-season. Chelsea and Manchester City are set to do battle on May 25th, and the first international fixture at the historic stadium is set to be played between world champions Spain and Ireland on June 11th.
So imagine you are a soccer player who takes his place on the bench for a game, in full uniform, only to find out you weren't selected to even be in uniform for that match.
That awkward situation happened to Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao before their recent match against Espanyol. He turned up on the Real Madrid bench only to be told by Iker Casillas that he didn't belong there.
There was hilarity on the Real Madrid bench at the weekend when left-back Fabio Coentrao kitted out in his sub's gear took his seat. Everyone on the bench apart from Coentrao seemed to know that he hadn't been named as a sub. Those who were legitimately warming the bench, including Iker Casillas and [.
Fabio Coentrao was not selected for the Real Madrid squad that faced Espanyol on Saturday, yet he still took a seat on the bench anyway. When his teammates who were supposed to be there caught on to his mistake, they had Iker Casillas inform him. Coentrao gave him a blank stare before laughing at his error.
Jose Mourinho may already have started packing ahead of his impending departure from Real Madrid at the end of this season, but it seems that a section of 'Madridistas' are already getting impatient. Yes, they want him out of Madrid NOW!
Los Blancos played out to a 6-2 win over Malaga at the Bernabeu yesterday, which buys them time before Barcelona pick up the La Liga title.
Jose Mourinho has made headlines this week with some of the more interesting quotes of his career. Not only has he responded to quotes from Barcelona rival Andres Iniesta, he's also gone as far as calling his own players out. After Portuguese defender Pepe hit back at Mourinho essentially calling his comments about Casillas disrespectful, Mourinho lashed back at the veteran defender.
Diego Lopez or Iker Casillas? Under pressure at Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho comes out swinging... is a post from: Just Football
The temperature continues to rise for Jose Mourinho in Madrid. After elimination in the semi finals of the Champions League courtesy of a brilliant Borussia Dortmund side, and with the league title all but conceded back to Barcelona, the pressure on Mourinho is building as speculation increases that this will be his final few weeks as head coach at Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho's future at Real Madrid has been discussed throughout the season and has only heated up as the summer nears. The manager of Los Blancos has been looked upon under a microscope throughout his career but has never been afraid to speak his mind. Just last week, the Portuguese tactician revealed that his decision to hold off on signing Diego Lopez was certainly regrettable.
Sergio Ramos and former French international, Christian Karembeu, have both addressed the bewildering situation faced by Iker Casillas' at Real Madrid at the moment. As you may know, the goalkeeper has been controversially frozen out by Jose Mourinho at the club for most of the season.
On Sunday morning, Jose Mourinho was spotted at Ikea. He reportedly bought €200 worth of boxes, tape and other packing materials. This was determined to be news. It was also determined to be proof that Mourinho is, in fact, leaving Real Madrid for a return to Chelsea this summer despite his recent claims of being unsure of such a move.
Real Sociedad are on the verge of making club history by earning a Champions League qualification spot for the first time in nine years after coming from behind to beat Valencia 4-2 at Anoeta last night. The last time the Basque side played in the elite competition was in 2003/04, where they scored 71 goals in total, and only five points separate it from fifth place Malaga at the moment.
Borussia Dortmund beat Real Madrid 4-1 to follow up on Bayern Munich's 4-0 win against Barcelona to bring the Champions League semifinal first-leg aggregate score to Germany 8, Spain 1. Since the second legs of each tie will likely be formalities on the way to an all-German final, let's go back take one more whiff of the faint scent of competition before it completely disappears.
Raphael Varane: A world-class defender in the making - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
When Real Madrid face Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League semifinal first leg clash on Wednesday at the Bernabeu, an array of world-class, household names will be on display. Amid this talent, will be a 19-year-old centre-back by the name of Raphael Varane, who looks set to become a footballing phenomenon over the next decade.
One person who will be happy to see Jose Mourinho leave Real Madrid at the end of the season is Iker Casillas, who has been relegated to the substitutes bench this year. Despite being fully fit, there is a good chance that Casillas will not play again for Real this season.
In recent days both Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque andBarcelonastar Xavi Hernández have publicly supported Casillas.
Two of the best teams to have graced not only La Liga but the world football stage are undoubtedly are the 'first' galacticos of Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola's Barcelona team of recent years. But which team exactly boasted the best possible squad? Starting with Real, huge fortunes were spent on the likes of Luis [.
There's not a chance in this world the tech firm which created this robot isn't snapped up by Real Madrid in the coming weeks or at least a decent effort is put in. Finally, someone who can stop Lionel Messi...for a little bit, anyway. And Iker Casillas, after being replaced by more than one in human form this season, will finally be replaced by a mechanical hunk of technology.
A bizarre poster depicting Adolf Hilter and Jose Mourinho on either side of the words "Heil Mou" and Real Madrid's logo was hung outside the Santiago Bernabeu prior to Real Madrid's match against Levante. It's unclear who put the banner up before Madrid's 5-1 win or what their motivation was.
That said, Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas once again did not play as Mourinho continues to favor Diego Lopez in goal.
Real Madrid kept up their winning ways on Wednesday with a complete team performance that has them looking like a favorite to be at the Champions League final next month.
In Wednesday's other quarterfinal action, Borussia Dortmund and Malaga played out a scoreless draw that was marked by several missed chances from Dortmund's attacking trio of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski.
David de Gea has been called up to the Spain national team for their World Cup qualifying games against Finland and France, following the injury of Real Madrid's Iker Casillas.
"I am very pleased and happy," he told As. "This is a special moment for me and a big step in my career.
Iker Casillas traveled with Real Madrid to watch them knock Manchester United out of the Champions League and advance to the quarterfinals. The club's captain hasn't played since fracturing his hand in January and in the last week alone, he's only been able to sit by and watch as his side beat Barcelona twice and now Man United at Old Trafford without him.
Michael Carrick of Manchester United (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Champions League Round of 16 action resumes on Tuesday as Real Madrid travels to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. After a 1-1 first-leg draw at the Santigo Bernabeu, the Red Devils realize that although a crucial away goal was accounted for courtesy of Danny Welbeck, Real Madrid will likely come into the match with the same passion and fire displayed in El Clasico as Jose Mourinho's side dismantled Barcelona.
Head coach Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho didn't do himself any favors when he gave himself the moniker, "The Special One." Mourinho may have one of the biggest egos in world football, but throughout his career, the Portuguese tactician has proven himself as one of the best coaches in the world.
