Posts Tagged ‘la liga’

FC Barcelona’s First Season Under Joan Laporta

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

FC Barcelona is at present one of the greatest groups in the world, with a prize cupboard that's bursting with the silverware won over the course of the previous couple of years. While Bara may be extremely favored at this time, they have been through something of a alteration of the previous few years.

In truth it'd be fair to say they have experienced a renaissance ever since Joan Laporta became president in 2003, and after him his former chum and now sour enemy, Sandro Rossell.

When Laporta arrived at the club they hadn't won a major title since 1999 and the self-esteem of the squad had plunged. He brought on board Frank Rijkaard as team coach, who after a slow start started winning matches; and his right hand man (at the time, until they fell out and he resigned from the Barça board) Sandro Rossell used his contacts to sign Ronaldinho.

While the Brazilian player certainly had talent [*COMMA] he had not always done much with it. However , he probably did show a large amount of flare with FC Barcelona even when they weren't making the turn-around required.

That turn-about occurred when Barça signed Edgar Davids for the second 1/2 the season. Whether it was his arrival at the club, or whether his arrival coincided with everything coming together is very unlikely to claim. What is certain though is that the club started winning game after game. And at last the downtrodden Barcelona rose up again and started to become the team it is today.

The club went from strength to strength after that, though Davids decided to come back to his old club after the half season loan. While he may have been missed, the fortunes of the club continued to boost and Barcelona won the second season under Laporta. After the team continues to go ever upwards and unde Pep Guardiola were the 1st tea, to win the treble – la liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

To buy Barcelona tickets for forthcoming matches check out Simply Barcelona Tickets, or check out availability of FC Barcelona tickets for La Liga matches at the Nou Camp.

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Can “the special one” shrug off a poor start to the season?

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Jose Mourinho is well known for his psychological posturing against opponents in press conferences and often comes across as hardly in charge of himself. Having won a major battle at Real Madrid in the dismissal of General manager Jorge Valdano, his harshest internal critic, and so securing more power for himself as Madrid’s coach this is the season he must deliver the goods.

However , while Madrid started well and we are just a few matches in, his dream appears to have started to disentangle. He has famously said that his second season in any club is when he delivers, but with his entire focus appearing to be on arch-rival FC Barcelona he has just had 2 big problems that he can ill afford.

First Real Madrid was beaten by Levante, a team that is the polar opposite to Real Madrid, with low paid players and a barely functional team that is fortunate to be in top flight Spanish football. And then they drew with Racing Santander, losing some imperative points which they may need in the long run.

A poll by Sporting paper AS which backs Madrid found that the majority of its readers laid the blame fully at the feet of Mourinho; while looking to shift the blame to referees and opposition players he has not managed to shoulder responsibility himself for what many consider a dismal start. And we are starting to hear talk of another crisis year at Real Madrid.

Nonetheless how much of a crisis is it truly, when a team such as Real Madrid comes 2nd in the league after a much superior teams like Bara? While fans might be disappointed their side is still largely delivering the products.

Mourinho’s major difficulty will be the patience of Florentino Perez, Madrid’s president. While he has backed “the special one” so far in his career at Madrid there will come a point when he can snap. Mourinho is Real Madrid’s eleventh coach in seven years, so that the club doesn't flinch in making such changes. Can Real Madrid’s fortunes change before that happens?

For Real Madrid tickets and other sporting events see Euro Sports Events website.

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Why Real Madrid needs to change its focus

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

It is a funny old game is football, or “soccer” as it is more often known in North America. You simply need to take a look at some of the recent ends in the Spanish League, where bitter rivals FC Barcelona and real Madrid are slugging it out, notwithstanding not actually facing each other for the 1st time until December.

While both groups began well, FC Barcelona slipped when what should have been a fairly cushty win against Real Sociedad turned into a draw. And just when they required something to show they hadn't lost that special something that they once again drew, this time against AC Milan in the Champs League, thanks to an injury time goal before the final whistle.

Critics straight away laid into FC Barcelona, asserting they’d lost their touch; 2 lackluster results is all that it takes to call an emergency. Nonetheless they replied with an 8-0 win against Osasuna, their best result since the 90s, straight away silencing their critics again.

While it looked rosy for Barcelona, things suddenly went extremely bad for Real Madrid. While they'd won their first two matches and sat at the head of the classifications they then lost 1-0 against Levante, a team that should barely be in the 1st division such is its poor state.

This is supposed to be Real Madrid’s year, the second season under Jose Mourinho. Nonetheless you can't help thinking that his total concentrate on what Barcelona are doing is his best weakness. Fielding an under-strength squad against Levante showed large arrogance, that's not in doubt.

But what will lose Real Madrid the league again this season isn’t what FC Barcelona does or does not do. It is down to how many points Real Madrid can gain, making absolutely sure that they beat teams like Levante and all the rest of the clubs at the bottom of La Liga. If Mourinho is to bring the success that Real Madrid needs he has to shift his focus, fast.

You can order FC Barcelona tickets for la liga and get the latest FC Barcelona news from Simply Barcelona Tickets.

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A Rundown Of The Best Soccer Players In Spain

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

There are lots of of soccer superstars playing in Spain’s top division, and it is rightly regarded as the number one domestic league in the world. Listed below are the players who are widely regarded as the best of the best…

Messi : At the forefront of Barcelona’s unique treble winning team of 2008-09, Argentinean Lionel Andrs Messi dazzled fans and opposing players alike with his creativity and flair for goals. Even though he is just 22, he is the current “World Player of the Year” and he well on the way to acquiring the legendary status of all time great Pele and Maradona.

Cristiano Ronaldo : Explosive power and blistering pace are the qualities that first alerted veteran manager Alex Ferguson to Cristiano Ronaldo’s outstanding talent.Now playing for the mighty Real Madrid, Ronaldo is hoping to make as big an impact for el Madrid as he did in the famous red shirt of Man Utd.

David Villa : Playing for Valencia, who are not one of the most glamorous teams in the league, David Villa Sanchez boasts an absolutely outstanding goals to games ratio. He was the winner of the “Golden Boot” for Spain at Euro 2008 and is closing in on Spain’s all time international scorers record. Villa consistently attracts attention from Europe’s top clubs, who are all eager to sign-up the prolific striker.

Kaka : Brazilian midfield maestro Kaka, is a creative genius. Able to make pinpoint passes across the entire length of the field, or dribble past several players in a row, Kaka was the darling of AC Milan and led them to “Champions League” success in 2007. Now one of the jewels in Real Madrid’s crown, he aims to repeat the success he enjoyed with the Rossoneri in Italy and fire his new team to title glory.

This article is sponsored by ‘Car Hire Malaga‘, a site offering car rental bookings in Malaga and Malaga tourist information.

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