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Real Madrid defender Marcelo has been recalled to the squad for friendlies against France and Chile later this month.

The left-back hadn’t featured for national team boss Dunga since he took over for a second time following last summer’s disastrous showing at the World Cup for the hosts.

Marcelo, who has featured consistently for Carlo Ancelotti’s side this season, was part of the Brazil team that lost 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals and was one of the many victims to lose his place in the squad as Dunga swung the axe post tournament.

When he took over, Dunga was critical of the Real man, saying: “How many goals did he score or assist? None. How many times was our defence caught out with balls over the top? Three or four. You have to be efficient.”

But speaking to the press after announcing his latest squad, his last one before the Copa America takes place in the early summer, Dunga said he had been impressed by Marcelo’s form and fitness this season.

“Marcelo has become a consistent starter for Real Madrid, demonstrating regularly solid performances. He has experience with the national team and in the World Cup,” he stated.

In his first stint as boss, Dunga often criticised Marcelo, and didn’t pick him for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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The final of this year’s Copa del Rey looks likely to be played at either the Mestalla in Valencia or La Cartuja in Seville as the Santiago Bernabeu is ‘unavailble’, according to reports.

Finalists Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao both want the game, which takes place on May 30th, to be played in the Spanish capital because of the good transport links to the Spanish capital from both cities.

But according to various newspapers in Spain, Real president Florentino Perez is unwilling to have a final played at the ground between a Catalan and a Basque outfit.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid will deny the use of their stadium as they plan to have the pitch relaid at the end of the campaign so the ground will be out of action by the time the final is played. AS claims that the 10-time Champions League holders want to use the stadium themselves should Real Madrid Castilla be involved in the Segunda B play-offs – which take place the same weekend as the Copa del Rey final.

The last time the final was played between Barcelona and Bilbao, in 2012, it was played in Madrid, but at the Vicente Calderon, as the Santiago Bernabeu was undergoing some renovations. With an AC/DC concert due to be held at Atletico’s ground this year, and Real seemingly making up any excuse to prevent Barcelona or Bilbao celebrating a trophy win on their ground, the final will have to be played elsewhere!

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Toni Kroos has said he is happy with life in Spain and is keen to help the team be successful come the end of the season.

The 24-year-old joined Los Blancos last summer from Bayern Munich and despite him only being in the Spanish capital for nine months, is already part of the furniture at the Santiago Bernabeu after a seamless introduction.

The cultured midfielder has already helped the team to two trophies this campaign – the European Super Cup and the World Club Cup – and told the UEFA.com website he wants to ensure Real are successful in La Liga and the Champions League too.

Speaking about his first nine months in the Spanish capital, Kroos said: “It has been a good start for me. I have been here a while now, so [my start] is in the past. It’s gone well from the off. For the time being, we are first in our league and still in the race for the Champions League, and I hope we will be successful. As far as I am concerned, I hope to contribute to that success.”

Discussing his calm disposition on the field and with the press, Kroos said Carlo Ancelotti has played a big part in helping him feel settled.

“[Ancelotti] trusted me from the beginning in a position where I hadn’t played that much, which was nonetheless in midfield. I enjoy playing in this position. Our relationship is good. We communicate a lot before each game. We discuss how I have to approach each game according to the opponent we’re facing. I still don’t know every team that well, which is normal. But he tries to fill in the gaps.”

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Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has claimed he could have moved to Real Madrid when he was still playing for Marseille.

The 27-year-old began his career at his hometown club before making the switch to the FA Cup holders in 2008 for a fee of around 16 million euros.

But speaking to Le10SPort, the France international claimed things could have been different had it not been for then Marseille president Papa Diouf.

Nasri said:“An interest from Real Madrid? There were some negotiations for me in the past. Pape Diouf, who was Marseille President at the time, said that a player would be allowed to leave.

“In the end it was Franck Ribery, who signed for Bayern Munich, so I had to stay at Marseille another year and then I went to Arsenal.”

Nasri played 166 times for his hometown club before moving to the Emirates Stadium. In his first two seasons in north London he did very little to convince the Gunners faithful that he could be the long-term replacement for Robert Pires. In his final season though, he had a decent spell before bottling numerous chances in big games – most notably the 2011 Carling Cup final. Unwilling to take any responsibility for his part in the team’s failure to win trophies at that time, he requested a transfer to City, claiming he wanted to be at a big club.

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Real Madrid defender Pepe is set to sign a new contract for the club, according to reports.

Madrid-based daily, Marca, says the Portuguese centre back will put pen-to-paper on a new two-year deal taking him to the end of the 2017 season. He current contract expires at the end of next season.

The 32-year-old has been subject of much transfer speculation in recent transfer windows, with Premier League champions Manchester City being heavily linked with the defender, perhaps because of the links with former Los Blancos boss Manuel Pellegrini.

But concerns over the long-term fitness of French defender Raphael Varane have prompted Madrid to tie Pepe down to a new deal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Although it hasn’t been signed yet, the club is confident Pepe will sign, with the only sticking point being the length of the deal. Pepe is keen to get an extra year – to the end of 2018. Marca says he will remain on his current salary.

The Portugal international has played a key role in the Los Blancos side since his arrival from Porto in 2007. He was instrumental last year’s success in the Copa del Rey and Champions League as well as the European Super Cup and Club World Cup earlier this season.

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Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid expect Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos to be fit and ready for first team football by the time they take on Barcelona in the Camp Nou in just over two weeks time.

Los Blancos currently lead the Catalans by two points in La Liga and the clash on March 22nd is seen by many as the title decider. Boss Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to have as many of his first team squad available with Los Blancos having suffered on the injury front since Christmas.

Modric has infact been out of action since November with a thigh injury picked up on international duty. The Croation had been in fine form for Los Blancos and formed a key role on the side that went on to eventually win 22 games in a row. But the 29-year-old was forced to miss the Club World Cup, which Madrid won.

Ramos picked up a hamstring strain last month and has been out of the side ever since. French defender Raphael Varane has stepped in for the experience defender but Ramos will be keen to win his place back in the side for the visit to Real’s fierce rivals.

Colombian James Rodriguez remains on the sidelines and is not expected to be fit in time for el Clasico.

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Former Barcelona player and manager Johan Cruyff has hit out at Real Madrid over their handling of ZInedine Zidane’s appointment as manager of Real Madrid Castilla despite his lack of coaching badges.

The Frenchman took over the role in the summer having worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti with the first team last year. But he and fellow coach Santiago Sanchez were banned for two months by the Spanish authorities earlier this season for not having the correct coaching badges.

Madrid launched and appeal claiming Zidane had gained the correct badges through the French Football Federation and the ban was overturned, allowing the 1998 World Cup winner to continue in his role.

Speaking to AS, Cruyff said the situation was a mess and Real Madrid should have known about the situation before even appointing Zidane.

“Why didn’t they say anything? It’s a lack of dexterity on their part. After all the years Zidane played and having been Ancelotti’s assistant, who has anything to teach him?” he stated.

And he added: “I don’t understand why it all came out two months after the event. That’s what annoys me. Madrid have made a mess of the whole thing because whoever is in the office should have told them with a phone call.”

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Porto are keen to extend the loan agreement with Real Madrid for midfielder Casemiro, reports in Portugal have suggested.

The youngster joined Julen Lopetegui’s side last summer and has been in impressive form at the Estádio do Dragão. The Brazilian has made 28 appearances so far, three more than he made for Madrid all season last year, and has won many admirers for his effective and intelligent defensive displays.

Porto president Nuno Pinto da Costa told sports paper O Jogo that the club would be keen on extending Casemiro’s deal beyond the end of the campaign and that he’d be calling his counterpart Florentino Perez to discuss the situation.

“We treat our loan signings within the time frame agreed. But that said, yes, we are interested. If it was possible we’d like to keep them, they are players that we are interested in holding on to but now is not the moment,” he stated.

Casemiro joined Los Blancos initially on loan in January 2013 and did enough to persuade them to sign him from Sao Paulo for around five million euros that summer. He featured for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League last season prior to his switch to Porto.

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Gareth Bale has confessed he “loves” his life in Madrid in an interview with British football magazine Four Four Two, although he finds some of the aspects of playing at Real Madrid “surreal”.

“I love my life here playing in La Liga, although I find it a bit surreal being called a ‘galactico’,” the Welshman said.

Many expected the 25-year-old to struggle to adapt to life in Spain, since British footballers have often failed to reach their best level when they have moved to La Liga.

Bale admitted he’s enjoying the good mood in the team, especially in the training sessions: “Whenever someone gets nutmegged, we’re all jumping and joking around. If you get ‘megged, or you go 20 passes without touching the ball, you stay in for an extra go. They’ll do anything to keep you in the middle.”

Speaking of the problems of living in Madrid, Bale said “the one thing you don’t want is to be on the end of a nutmeg. Especially with rows of cameras. We’re always getting killed out there – I just try not to let it be me.”

The Welshman also confessed he’s finding too many spiders in Spain, which is a problem for him: “Spiders… terrible. I call out to somebody, anybody, to come and deal with a spider, just so I don’t have to.”

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Colombia and Sevilla forward Carlos Bacca has said compatriot James Rodriguez is not taking any risks as he looks to recover from his broken metatarsal.

The 23-year-old picked up the injury in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Sevilla last month and has been out of action ever since. He is not expected to make a first team return until the end of March at the earliest, or early April perhaps.

With Madrid hopeful of progressing to the latter stages of the Champions League and looking to win their first league championship since 2012, and with the Copa America coming up in the summer, Bacca said last summer’s World Cup top scorer wants to ensure he is fully fit and won’t suffer any setback.

Speaking to Win Sports, Bacca said: “James is fine, he is in good spirits and he is in no rush to speed up his recovery process”

“He says that these kinds of injuries take their time to heal and can be difficult because you can be tricked into thinking you are progressing quicker than you are – you gain a week in the recovery time then suddenly, you’re four weeks behind schedule. We need him to be 100 per cent fully recovered for the Copa America.”

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