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.
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 fÃsico como método
de supervivencia, pudo el Athletic salir airoso gracias al triplete de Llorente (primero de su
carrera en Liga).
Rumours, rumours, every where; nor any drop to drink. Oh, wait, there's some bourbon. Which must
mean it's time to dip into the sordid world of transfer rumours to see who's being linked to
Liverpool to replace you-know-who, as focus shifts from talk of luxury acquisitions and South
American starlets to Liverpool's sudden need for a bit of steel in midfield.
I've watched Diego Maradona's final World Cup match (a 2-1 victory over Nigeria played in
Boston) at least ten times. Nigeria pushed Argentina back early with plundering counter-attacks,
one of which led to the match's first goal a sumptuous chip that had more than a whiff of offside
to it. Maradona was imperious that day though, Napoleonically strutting around the confetti-flaked
pitch, drawing fouls, and making key passes for both of Argentina's goals free kicks finished by
Claudio Canigga.
Manchester City join the £34m race for Javi Martinez
Manchester City have sounded out Athletic Bilbao over Spain Under 21 captain Javi Martinez. The
midfielder, 23, is also coveted by Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
View the full story here: The Mail
A news article on 2011-11-11 22:20:40 from: The Mail
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
Fans sing there's "No One like El Loco Bielsa" as Athletic Bilbao head to the Camp
Nou
When Barcelona kickoff against Athletic Bilbao, all eyes will be on 24-year-old Lionel Messi.
Standard, really. However, for another Argentine from Rosario, namely 56-year-old Marcelo "El Loco"
Bielsa, this could be a defining moment in his first season as the manager of Athletic.
Athletic Bilbao showed further signs of adapting to new coach Marcelo Bielsa's philosophy by
beating Osasuna 3-1 Monday after first-half goals from Iker Muniain, Igor Gabilondo and Javi
Martinez.
Muniain opened the scoring in the 30th minute, Gabilondo added the second in the 38th and
Martinez headed in the third at the back post in first-half stoppage time.
Raul, one of the Spanish NT trainers, got up close and personal with Javi Martinez? Fernando
Llorente? Oh what does it matter, you're too busy feasting your eyes and not reading already. Image
via Bellazon.
We'll take any excuse to use and stare at this photo. Any excuse.
Happy (belated) birthday one of our favorite undies models, Javi Martinez, who turned a spry 23
last week (02.09.2011)! The Spanish International and Athletic Bilbao man has a very promising
future full of features in this fine publication.
Second-half substitute Cesc Fabregas scored twice as reigning European and FIFA World Cupâ„¢
champions Spain fought back from a two-goal deficit to beat Chile 3-2 in an international
friendly.
Vicente Del Bosque's side were punished for a slow start as Chile raced into a 2-0 lead thanks
to goals from Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas, but the introduction of Andres Iniesta at half-time
reinvigorated the Spanish midfield.
By Kaushik Lakshman, our new La Liga expert. Give him a warm welcome!
The new season of La Liga is almost upon us and there has been a lot shake-ups in several
squads. The big two have gotten stronger, but there have also been significant improvements in the
next rung of teams.
After what seems an eternity in the thrall of Sky Sports News and their incessant pimping of
Modric across London, it's finally time for the boys to pull on their new shirts (they'll be
wearing the more appealing Investec sponsored ones for this competition) and get on the pitch.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Every summer, a large majority of 'ballers migrate down to Ibiza to bask in the hot Spanish sun,
hit the clubs and enjoy their time off. While we strive to bring you the cream of the ab-tastic
crop, sometimes it's hard to keep up.
Kickettes, it's time to bow down to the supremely smart people who manage the official La Liga
Web site.
When Kenny Dalglish took over in January, there were many eager to portray him as a footballing
dinosaur who had lost touch with the game after a decade out. This was a sentimental choice, we
were told, and he would soon be found out.
As Liverpool improved beyond recognition in the following months, those who had been critical slunk
away.
Best XI: Under-21 European Championship Team of the Tournament 2011 is a post from: Just
Football
As is custom, Just Football kept a keen eye on proceedings out in
Denmark at the 2011 Under-21 European Championships. We put together a list of
players to watch beforehand; now without further ado we present to you our Team of the
Tournament.
Spain grabbed control of Group B with a comprehensive 2:0 victory over the Czech Republic
in Viborg.
Deportivo La Coruna marksman Adrian grabbed a goal in either half to condemn the Czechs to their
first defeat in two years and place Spain a point ahead with a game to play. Valencia midifelder
Juan Mata supplied the bullets with two killer assists for Adrian.
Welbeck & De Gea: Opponents on Sunday, Teammates in the Future
We posted on Sunday ahead of the Spain-England Euro U21 Championships matchup, which ended up in
a surprising 1-1 draw a very good result for England. We got this recap of the game from a
longtime ManU supporter that many of know as Meathead (aka @tetedeviande most recent tweet: "Wesley
Sneijder would be a welcome addition to Utd, if for no other reason than Yolanthe Cabau"):
Barcelona may have had their way with Man United, but United boy Danny Welbeck notched yesterday
for the England U21s vs Spain!
1. A handball goal for Spain and an offside goal for England: sometimes football does even itself
out. 2. And sometimes it doesn't. Like the possession stats, for instance. Spain were totally
dominant. 3. The likes of Javi Martinez must wonder just how much they would be worth if they were
moving between two English [.
Herning, Denmark, 20:45 CET
Starting Lineups:
ENGLAND (4-2-3-1) - Frank Fielding, Michael Mancienne, Ryan Bertrand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones,
Jordan Henderson, Daniel Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Kyle Walker, Thomas Cleverley, Danny Rose
SPAIN (4-1-2-2-1) - David de Gea, Alvaro Dominguez, Javi Martinez, Jeffren, Adrian, Juan Mata,
Martin Montoya, Didac Vila Rosello, Ander Herrera, Thiago Alcantara, Alberto Botia
Tags
World Cup Pens
World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football
Emerging talent: 12 players to watch at the Under-21 European Championships 2011 is a post from:
Just Football
The 2011 UEFA Under-21 European Championships get underway this weekend in
Denmark. This year's edition includes some surprise names, such as Belarus and first-time
qualifiers Iceland, as well as some big name absentees like Italy, Holland and 2009 winners Germany
who all failed to qualify this time around.
Emerging talent: 12 players to watch at the Under-21 European Championships 2011 is a post from:
Just Football
The 2011 UEFA Under-21 European Championships get underway this weekend in
Denmark. This year's edition includes some surprise names, such as Belarus and first-time
qualifiers Iceland, as well as some big name absentees like Italy, Holland and 2009 winners Germany
who all failed to qualify this time around.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Spotted on ontd_football
For busy journalist types like us, a typical work day will inevitably involve a lot of
internet surfing. At Kickette, we tend to favour videos of cute animals doing amusing things, but
occasionally a piece of film finds it's way to our desktops that stops us in our tracks and makes
us appreciate the majesty of the human form, rejoice in the thousands of years of evolution it took
to hone it to such perfection and speculate excitedly at what can be contained in a pair of
stylish briefs.
Xavi & Javi Martinez jostle for the ball. You would have to be a dangerous perv to think anything
other than this is taking place in this picture. Okay?
Having a smutty mind is a formal requirement for anyone hoping to write for this esteemed
publication. As well as a liver the size of a peanut, a comprehensive knowledge of bars that do
‘Happy Hour' in the local area and a good lawyer, obviously.
Ladies and gents, please welcome to a special edition of our celebrated (mainly by us) 'Tuesday
Torso' feature, in which we discuss the merits of various football players' abdominal muscles in a
post feminist, totally scientific manner.
Due to the plethora of nummy tummies presented by players desperate to be included this weekend,
we have expanded our usual format to include a further two (yes, that's two!
