News from Italy, concretely from "Tuttosports" & picked up locally via Spanish Sports daily "As", mentions that JUVENTUS has REAL MADRID forward GONZALO HIGUAIN as mximum signing objective for next season. But there is more, in case it all gets difficult , Juventus has a Plan- B , that is, KARIM BENZEMA.

News from Italy, concretely from "Tuttosports" & picked up locally via Spanish Sports daily "As", mentions that JUVENTUS has REAL MADRID forward GONZALO HIGUAIN as mximum signing objective for next season. But there is more, in case it all gets difficult , Juventus has a Plan- B , that is, KARIM BENZEMA.

Image: Lexpress.fr.

Today's fashion and design news presented in order of our excitement levels.

Meh: The French prostitute at the centre of the French NT scandal involving Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema debuted her own line of lingerie at Paris Couture Fashion Week today.

El Barcelona sufrió el miércoles como local y empató 2-2 con el Real Madrid para clasificar a las semifinales de la Copa del Rey del fútbol español, en un partido en que el equipo blanco se recuperó de una desventaja de dos goles y tuvo varias opciones para ganar.
El conjunto catalán, que pasó de ronda con un marcador agregado de 4-2, tuvo muchos problemas ante su clásico rival, especialmente en defensa.

Thank God, It's over, that definitely was the reaction of every Barca fan once they heard the final whistle. I don't remember that in recent history we coming out with such a reaction towards the end of any match. That was the way we performed in this match, may be that's how they performed.

Thank God, It's over, that definitely was the reaction of every Barca fan once they heard the final whistle. I don't remember that in recent history we coming out with such a reaction towards the end of any match. That was the way we performed in this match, may be that's how they performed.

More than any other matchup, the coming together of Barcelona and Madrid forces apart the usually shared preferences of the cultfootball brain trust. So today's match was one where both sides could come away feeling they'd won some important battles, if not the war.

The game was not 90 minutes of pure flowing football.

Barcelona [2 : 2] Real Madrid
No. of Yellow Cards : 9
No. Of Red Cards : 1

Somewhere beneath this 'Blaugrana Happiness Pile' lies Pedro, who scored the opening goal in Barca's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at the Nou Camp last night.

Abidal fires the winning blast to defeat Real Madrid (Photo: REUTERS/Susana Vera)

Barcelona mounted a second half comeback to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, extracting a measure of vengeance for their defeat in last year's Copa del Rey Final at the hands of their eternal rivals.

In a game filled with attacking superstars, it was a pair of gritty defenders that decided the latest edition of El Clasico.

Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal turned around a 1-0 halftime deficit as Barcelona defeated eternal rivals Real Madrid, 2-1, at the Estadio Bernabeu in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Real up in the 11th minute as he took advantage of the gaping hole between Jose Pinto's legs to swing the ball through after Karim Benzema sprang him free from midfield. That was it for Real's endeavours. Barca momentarily stunned took over the match keeping Iker Casillas busy.

Como Manolo, yo no había visto este chiste montado de Benzema, curioso el vídeo, a mi me hizo reír en este miércoles de clásico español, ¿Quien reirá al ultimo?.

Disaster for Malaga's goalie as Karim Benzema's speculative shot results in the ball squeezing past his arms and legs and trickles into goal. A case of the willies? It was actually the only blemish in an otherwise fine performance by Willy Caballero to keep Real at bay.

The 1-0 victory in the second leg gave Real a winning aggregate of 4-2 advancing them to the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals where they are almost sure to meet Barca, 4-0 winners against Osasuna in their first leg.

Real Madrid progressed to the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey after a 1-0 win over Malaga courtesy of a goal by Karim Benzema. More accurately put a dreadful mistake by Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero in the 72nd minute proved decisive after Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema fired a timid shot which squirmed beneath Caballero [.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are expected to lose a number of key players this month as another of their brightest talents Angel Di Maria said to have welcomed offers from both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Along with Kaka and Esteban Granero, Di Maria is the third player who could possibly leave the Bernabeu this month.

Brazilian Swag King Neymar arrived in Barcelona from Zurich last night to ... (*drumroll courtesy of Sandro Rosell*)... film a sports commercial. Unfortunately, he won't be staying in the city for very long and you can imagine how paranoid Santos is about keeping him anywhere near the Blaugranas, especially since they both share similar sponsorship agreements!

Real Madrid set up a potential Copa Del Rey quarter-final against FC Barcelona after a 1-0 victory against Málaga earned the Whites a 4-2 aggregate win.

It was a tense night as Malaga only needed a 1-0 victory in order to advance on the away goals rule. In a very tactical first half the best chance fell to Sergio Ramos, whose header right before half-time just missed the target.

Malaga vs Real Madrid 0-1 Highlights 2012 Copa Del Rey Karim Benzema Goal Video Arbeloa Red Card is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Malaga vs Real Madrid 0-1 Highlights 2012 Copa Del Rey Karim Benzema Goal Video Arbeloa Red Card is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Malaga vs Real Madrid 2012 ( Malaga Real Madrid Copa del Rey video below) Final score and result:- Malaga vs Real Madrid 0-1 ( Karim Benzema) Estadio [.

Football resumed in Spain after the short winter break, and it did not take long for the first upset of 2012 to occur, as a late equalizer from Espanyol in the Barcelona derby dented Barca's title hopes.

Real Madrid started off 2012 like they ended 2011, scoring goals. This week Madrid beat Granada 5-1 with Karim Benzema scoring twice and Cristiano Ronaldo hitting his 21st league goal of the season.

Real Madrid consolidated their position at the top of La Liga after a 5-1 win over Granada thanks to goals by Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain and a double from Karim Benzema. In what turned out to be a routine performance and a routine win for Jose Mourinho's men, mid-table Granada were blitzed aside [.

Real Madrid secured top spot in the Spanish La Liga for another week with a 5-1 thrashing of promoted Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Karim Benzema opened the...

Real Madrid was stunned and in serious trouble after conceding two set-piece goals in the opening half of its Copa del Rey Round of 16 first-leg encounter with Malaga Tuesday.

All it took was one 10-minute stretch for the cup holders to turn things around. Sami Khedira, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema scored between the 68th and 78th minutes to completely change the club's fortunes and tournament outlook.

L'Equipe seems to have loads of credibility, a word rarely attributed to sport-based broadsheets in general. That may or may not extend to their ability to whittle the great from the good, but it sure allows them the opportunity to try.

There are due to be bajillions yes of year end lists coming out over the next week plus.

It is not uncommon for teams to lose their composure when adversity strikes in a match. Whether it be conceding a goal at an inappropriate time in the match, an injury or a player being sent off.
The truly special teams are able to keep cool and stay in the moment when adversity arrives, and Barcelona's performance versus Real Madrid last week was a clear illustration of why they are the gold standard in world football.

It's nearly the end of 2011 (already!), which means its time for leagues and/or associations to bestow some shiny medal to a few of footy's fiercest faces and bodies. Personally, we can't say we have a storied past of winning things and thus, know how it feels since most of the plaques stored beneath our desks say "Dirty Tackle" on them, but we (like most girls) have practised our beauty queen waves all the same.

This must be what football journos mean when they say a team 'jubilates' after winning. Image Credit: AP Photo/Andres Kudacki.

Missed any important action this weekend? Well, firstly you should be ashamed of yourselves, as we slaved over a hot Weekend Preview post so that wouldn't happen.

Second, why don't you just pop to the off-licence, purchase a bottle of their finest champers and Fed-Ex it to Kickette HQ by way of apology?

By Chris Wright

The 'Anti-Gouge Mourinho 3000′ blew a fuse part-way through the second half

Barcelona made an inauspicious start to the first league 'El Clasico' match of the season, conceding the fastest goal in the history of the fixture when Karim Benzema capitalised on Victor Valdes' immense cock-up after just 23 seconds, but fought back to take the honours at the Bernabeu, end Real Madrid's 15-match unbeaten streak and replace Los Blancos at the summit of La Liga courtesy of goals from Alexis Sanchez, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas his tenth goal in 11 starts for Barca.

While Barcelona's Clásico win at Real Madrid captured headlines around the world, it was not the only significant result in Europe this weekend.

Spain
The Liga focus fell squarely on the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend as Barcelona injected fresh drama into the title race with a 3-1 comeback win at Madrid.

Jose Mourinho believes the outcome of Saturday's Clasico could have been different had Real Madrid not wasted some glorious opportunities.

Karim Benzema fired them in front after Victor Valdes scuffed a clearance and the Barca defence were unable to clear their lines. Real had chances to double their lead during an end-to-end opening half-an-hour, with Cristiano Ronaldo uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal.

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.

Kashiwa Reysol and Al Sadd have booked their semi-final places in the FIFA Club World Cup following hard fought victories over Monterrey CF and Esperance Tunis respectively.

Kashiwa, representing the host nation Japan as the 2011 J-League champions, needed a penalty shoot-out to get past North and Central American champions Monterrey after the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw.

Karim Benzema's record making goal was not enough to keep Madrid's impressive home record intact as Los Blancos suffered a 3-1 home defeat to arch rivals Barcelona last night.

The win saw the Catalans pip Madrid into first place although both clubs remain level on 37 points.

Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Eurocopa de 2012, foi realizado no dia 02/09/2011, na cidade de Tirana-ALB, onde jogaram as seleções da Albânia (57º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da França (15º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Eliminatórias Continentais
1992Paris 30/03/1991 FRA5:0 (4:0)ALB Group matches1992Tirana 17/11/1990 ALB0:1 (0:1)FRA Group matches
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Aleksei Nikolaev-RUS
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Karim Benzema, aos 11 minutos do primeiro tempo, sendo seu 13º gol pela seleção nacional.

Barcelona came from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals by Alexis Sanchez, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas. Pep Guardiola's men suffered a massive shock early on when they went a goal down after 22 seconds after Karim Benzema seized on Victor Valdes' mistake. Still, the champions fought [.

Barcelona came from 1-0 down to win 3-1 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu thanks to goals by Alexis Sanchez, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas. Pep Guardiola's men suffered a massive shock early on when they went a goal down after 22 seconds after Karim Benzema seized on Victor Valdes' mistake. Still, the champions fought [.

Real Madrid got off to the perfect start with a goal after just 22 seconds from Karim Benzema who took advantage of a terrible mistake from Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal, however Barcelona again showed their class to come from behind to win the El Clasico 3-1 with goals from Alexis Sanchez,Xavi via a massive deflection off Marcelo and a wonderful diving header from Cesc Fabregas.

szólj hozzá: Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

There are fewer joys in the world than the spectacle of seeing Barca coming to the Santiago Bernabeu and beat the crap out of Jose Mourinho's brownshirts. Which they proceeded to do summarily in the first edition of this year's El Clasico.

Real is considered favorites to win La Liga and the Champions League this season but they need to solve the riddle that Barca poses them.

Finalmente la fecha marcada en el calendario llega de nuevo para el enfrentamiento esperado entre el Real Madrid y el F.C. Barcelona. Regresa este apasionante duelo luego de aquel póker de clásicos en abril y de los duelos de la Supercopa de España en agosto, donde las mayores alegrías fueron culés con el pase a la final de la Champions League que posteriormente ganaron, la consecución de la Liga y la misma Supercopa, en cambio los merengues si bien pudieron vencer en tiempo extra en la Copa del Rey y terminar la racha de seis partidos sin lograrlo, quedaron aún mermados por la continuidad de la hegemonía culé un año más.

Top Christmas Football Deals - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The best part about holiday shopping is the amount of discounts you can find. It is very important to go around the market before buying something because you never know, you might find it for cheaper elsewhere.

Keeping that in mind, I looked around for quality presents with good discounts and picked, what I thought, were really good bargains.

By THOMAS FLOYD

Perhaps the fiercest rivalry the beautiful game has to offer will be renewed at the Bernabeu on this weekend, and -- what's new? -- the stakes are high.

With Real Madrid three points clear of FC Barcelona with a game in hand, Saturday's Clasico (4 p.