Pues bien, Rafael Márquez no aguantó más y explotó contra el futbol mexicano mediante una entrevista que concedió al diario El país.

Bueno, yo creo que Rafa tiene mucha razón en lo que dijo. El futbol en México se ha manchado de una manera casi irreversible.

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Hay noticias curiosas, otras divertidas,extrañas, otras mas importantes y entretenidas en el mundo del fútbol, pero esta no se en que categoría entraría. Ya que me sorprende que Rafael Marquez antes de un mundial quiera grabar un disco, no se sabe ciertamente cuando lo haría, pero vaya usted a saber que saldrá de esto.

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Después de unas merecidas vacaciones para nuestros mexicanos en la Liga Española de a poco van regresando los jugadores a sus planteles y tanto Rafa Márquez como Andrés Guardado han regresado a los entrenamientos de cara a sus compromisos del próximo fin de semana en la jornada 16 de la Liga Española.

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El Atlante futbol club salio concentrado y con un bonito uniforme azul cielo, para no confundirse con los colores del Barcelona, los dos equipos azulgranas, el Atlante tuvo 30 minutos de gloria, Guillermo Rojas anoto apenas iniciado el partido y sorprendio al estadio completo, Pep Guardiola no lo podía creer y el ¨Profe¨Cruz no gritaba un gol así desde la final con Pumas UNAM.

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FC Barcelona would eying to capture their sixth trophy in a near perfect season. This is one Championship which Barca hasn't won in its history. On the previous occassion we have lost in the final - In 1992 when the cup was called Intercontinental Cup, Sao Paulo beat us 2-1 and in 2006 we were done in by another Brazilian club, Internacional. Click to continue reading...

Atlante Campeón I, originalmente cargada por Aleksu.

En el dia de la virgen de Guadalupe los atlantistas dieon una alegria a los guadalupanos y aficionados mexicanos, derrotando categóricamente 3 goles a cero al equipo neozelandes Auckland City.

Arreola , Christian ¨Hobbit¨Bermúdez y Lucas Silva los anotadores de los goles azulgranas, el tercero en el minuto 91, dando muestra de muchas ganas de destacar por parte del cuadro del Profe Cruz.

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The countdown to the World Cup has officially begun. Six months separates us and the opening match between the host nation South Africa and Mexico in Johannesburg on 11 June.

Every football fan from Paris to Pasir Ris had their eyes glued to the screen to see Charlize Theron play with balls and FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke crack jokes that were not even worthy of pity laughs.

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There's no rest for Barca as they continue the campaign to defend their Liga title, as they're set to face Deprtivo La Coruña tonight. The boys departed earlier today for Coruña, but just-in reports are that the team's plane had to return to El Pratt airport in Barcelona due to technical problems - hopefully whatever's going on will be cleared up in time for the boys to make their match. Click to continue reading...

Group A contains host nation South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France. South Africa is a very weak #1 seed at at the moment, France and Mexico must be favored to move on.

A look at the teams in Group A

SOUTH AFRICA

Manager: Carlos Alberto Parreira
Key player: Kagisho Dikgacoi
Best: Round one (1998, 2002)
World ranking: 86

Qualifying as hosts has its obvious advantages giving straight passage without having to kick a ball in anger.

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Today's StB features added Thierry Henry sadness, which I'm sure many of you will enjoy. But who's the fella giving D-Trez a gentle shoulder squeeze?

Previous answer: Rafael Marquez

Spotter's badges: Squelch (first, but with his second guess, tbf), mareantheone, Pauleta

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France v Ireland, originally uploaded by toksuede.

La polémica de la mano mas famosa en los últimos tiempos no termina y amenaza con no hacerlo. Ya han dicho en declaraciones oficiales que Irlanda no ira al mundial 2010.

Resulta ser que Thierry Henry aparece en la publicidad de Gillete junto a Federer,Tiger Woods y en México Rafael Marquez.

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Rafael Marquez's new deal with the club is officially signed, sealed and stashed away for safekeeping until 2012.
Says Rafa: "I knew that at first there might be differences, but we should reach an agreement. So I never doubted the renewal option. When you have stability in your work you feel much calmer. Click to continue reading...

With important elements of Barca's sqaud possibly sidelined for tonight's match, and given how important it is for us to win and who we are up against, we can't help but be nervous. Inter Milan are no easy opponents, and Barca are in need of a win to favor qualification to the next stage of the Champions League
It's going to be tough. Click to continue reading...

Oh dear - Barca boys Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure have been diagnosed with H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu. The club's medical staff are doing everything they can by way of treatment as well as prevention for the other players; but other reports suggest that Rafael Marquez may have already caught it. Click to continue reading...

Well now! A lot has gone down with the Barca boys during our little hiatus, from Gerard Pique coming out number two in Don Balon's sexiest Spanish footballers - hell yeah! - to Argentine fans deciding that Leo Messi should go Maradona with his hair - the thought of which is making us shudder.
We once read that Pep takes to calling his players at their homes at random hours of the night, to make sure they're tucked away in bed getting their much needed rest and not off partying somewhere; and he's also prone to forbidding them from attending endorsements and other events when there's a tight match schedule. Click to continue reading...

Barca Captain Carles Puyol has officially put pen to paper and signed his new contract with the club, until 2013. Puyol's as happy as could be, and thanked everyone for having the confidence to keep him. As if it could be any other way!
Meanwhile, Puyol's fellow centerback Rafael Marquez is very close to signing his own brand new deal with the club. Click to continue reading...

"Tevez: � Pippo! If both of us marry, a kid with my work rate and your goal rate would be born who would go onto become one of the finest strikers in the world. What do you think?

Pippo: But what if the reverse happens you fool?"� �

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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � A LETTER TO CASTROL

Dear officer concerned,

� I can understand that this entire manufacturing of lubricants is a boring business.

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Nothing wrong with this picture whatsoever. It's a novel idea compile a ranking which will help determine the world's best player. Castrol did it for the Confederations Cup and now they're unleashing for all of world football. Well, by "world football" they mean "Europe's top 5 leagues" Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France. Click to continue reading...

Joigaram pelas eliminatórias da Concacaf, na Cidade do México, no estádio Azteca, para um público de 104.000 pessoas, as seleções do México (18º no ranking da FIFA) e El Salvador (82º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copas do Mundo: 07-06-1970 - México 4x0 El Salvador
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo: 8 jogos, 5 vitórias México, 0 empates, 3 vitórias El Salvador, 18 gols México e 8 gols El Salvador
Copa Ouro: 2 vitórias México - 3 gols do México
Amistosos: 15 jogos, 13 vitórias México, 1 empate, 1 vitória El Salvador, 48 gols México, 8 gols El Salvador. Click to continue reading...

Javier Aguirre desbordó alegría al comparecer ante los medios tras la clasificación mexicana al Mundial de Sudáfrica 2010 y dentro de sus agradecimientos y comentarios del partido dijo:

En México tenemos ídolos futbolísticos, gente que tiene ese don que le agrada al mexicano, ese es mi Cuau, aunque sea pedote, aunque sea lo que sea, ése es nuestro Cuau.

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PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images

According to Sport.es Barcelona have become increasingly concerned about Carles Puyol and Rafael Marquez contracts and have issued an ultimatum to the defensive pair. The two have been exteremely loyal to Barcelona in the past but as January 1st approaches the players can begin to talk to other team about contracts for next season.

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Y si Rafael Márquez dijo lo contrario, sus razones tendrá. Yo creo que no fue un error, y lo creo por la declaración de un jugador mexicano que desenmascaró la más pura verdad del fútbol mexicano:

Sabemos que los mexicanos debemos estar detrás de uno para que lo hagan, Eriksson tenía la mentalidad de trabajar con el europeo que le dices una cosa y la hace, y aquí necesitas estar detrás de uno para que lo haga

.

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Barcelona star Andres Iniesta has said that he could sign an improved deal with Barcelona within the next two weeks. Barca have been working hard to tie their bunch of treble winners to long-term deals.

They have already improved the contracts of Lionel Messi, Victor Valdes and Xavi while talks are ongoing with Carlos Puyol, Rafael Marquez and coach Pep Guardiola.

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Tirar la piedra y esconder la mano es de cobardes, eso lo tengo muy claro, pero no tener los pantalones suficientes para decir que los culpables de que el boleto a Sudáfrica no fueron nuestros seleccionados de la época de Sven-Göran Eriksson es cosa de infames.

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AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

Rafael Marquez spoke to the media in Mexico as he prepares for international duty with the Mexican national team in World Cup qualifying. Marquez talked about his contract with FC Barcelona which ends in June of 2010.

Marquez has seen less playing time over the past season and a half due to injury and the emergence of Gerard Pique.

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There were once a bunch of douchebags who were openly laughing at Puyolita at a dingy pub we went to. One our amigas couldn't help it so she yelled : "He's a Spanish and European champion. Are you?!!!!" We left early that night.

Anyway, Goldilocks is so important to the club that Xavi wants him to put pen to paper now and renew his contract!

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The highly anticipated Champions League showdown between Barcelona and Inter, Ibrahimovic and Eto'o, and Guardiola and Mourinho ended in a scoreless stalemate, but what if it continued?

97′ Barca's fluorescent orange kit is discovered to be emanating high levels of radiation when Rafael Marquez spontaneously grows a baby arm out of his forehead.

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Perhaps one of the most exciting matches we will see all season, our first Champions League test has us facing Inter Milan, where players from both sides will be set against their old teams and Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola go head to head...
This match promises excitement and entertainment, we're sure it'll be a hell of a spectacle given the circumstances. Click to continue reading...

This match has got us both excited and nervous. The first, because it's been a while since we last saw the boys play, and we've missed it. The second, because no way is this going to be easy.
Getafe are a tricky team, and we usually have a hard time against them. The fact that most of our squad is just returning from international duty doesn't help either, especially with our star Leo Messi bound to be feeling glum what with Argentina's qualification struggles. Click to continue reading...

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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Photo by ISIphotos.com

As important as Saturday night's match vs. El Salvador is to the U.S. national team's quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, another match that night will also have serious ramifications.

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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Photo by ISIphotos.com

As important as Saturday night's match vs. El Salvador is to the U.S. national team's quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, another match that night will also have serious ramifications.

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- Looks like Leo Messi's been feeling kind of frisky lately - apparently, this photo of Xavi was taken by Leo himself, having snatched the camera from one of the photographers at a recent training session to snap a picture of his teammate. Leo couldn't possibly be any cuter, and he's got some serious camera skills too! Click to continue reading...

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

With only three days rest following their win in the UEFA Supercup, FC Barcelona was back to work this time opening up their 2009/2010 La Liga season at home against Sporting Gijon.

Manager Pep Guardiola was without key players Lionel Messi, Rafael Marquez, Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry, who started on the bench.

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FC Barcelona will travel to Monaco today in preparation for their match against Ukranian side Shaktar Donetsk on Friday in the UEFA Super Cup.

For those not familiar with the Super Cup, it is a yearly match that takes place at the beginning of the European domestic season between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of the UEFA Europa League (formerly know as UEFA Cup).

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Joleon Lescott was introduced as Manchester City's latest signing on Wednesday and wasted no time having a go at former Everton manager David Moyes.

No, Lescott didn't do a Tevez and completely bash his former manager, but he did take issue with comments made by Moyes during the whole transfer process, including denying claims that he disrespected Everton and his former teammates during the process.

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