Page 500

By -
1

Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo handed Real Madrid a hard-fought victory in their first game of the new La Liga campaign against Cordoba.

Los Blancos dominated the first half, but found goalkeeper Juan Carlos in a good mood. The Spaniard denied Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo in quick succession, while the Portuguese also headed wide early on.

However, minutes later Kroos provided the assist for Benzema to score the opening goal. The Frenchman rose high to meet the midfielder’s corner to give Los Merengues a short half-time lead.

Cordoba’s striker Mike Havenaar tried his luck with a brilliant header in a corner kick, but his effort failed to trouble Iker Casillas, who started in goal ahead of new signing Keylor Navas.

As the second half got underway, the away side created two openings, but again Havenaar failed to hit the target, while Ryder Matos shot straight at Iker Casillas.

Cordoba had a few more chances, but they made a mistake in the last minutes that ended their hopes of savaging a point. Isco stole a ball and handed it to Ronaldo, who drilled the ball into the corner of the net from 30 metres out to seal the points.

By -
2
Iker Casillas

Walter Zenga, the former Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeper, has backed Iker Casillas and said the Real Madrid shot stopper doesn’t deserve as much criticism as he gets.

The 54-year-old as been in Madrid to watch both Real and Atletico train after being invited by both managers, took time out to speak to Marca about his few days in the Spanish capital.

And when asked about Casillas and his form during the World Cup and in the Spanish Supercopa, Zenga said whenever a team concedes or loses, the coach and the goalkeeper take the blame while everyone else avoids criticism.

“It’s always either the goalkeeper or the coach’s fault at the end of the game. In football, it’s always that way, that’s life. When I was the best goalkeeper in the world, I thought everything was going well, and when my career began to go downhill, I never thought it possible that I wouldn’t be able to play for Inter, but sure enough, my time at Inter was up,” he said.
And he added: “I’m not saying that’s the case with Iker, but they have another very good goalkeeper. A team like Real who play in the Champions League, ‘Copa del Rey’… It’s normal to have two top-class goalkeepers.”

He also went on to talk about Spain’s woes at the World Cup, claiming Casillas can’t be blamed for everything that went wrong.
“A goalkeeper is only as great as the team in front of him. Spain weren’t what they were four years ago at this World Cup. Buffon is an amazing goalkeeper and Italy went home in the last two World Cups, because we didn’t have the team,” Zenga commented.

By -
5

It’s a busy day for Real Madrid as they get their La Liga season underway tonight against Cordoba, who are making their first visit to the Santiago Bernabeu in 42 years.

But before that game takes place, the main news is the transfer of Angel di Maria to Manchester United. Niether club has confirmed the deal yet, but it could be announced as early as today with the two teams having agreed a fee in the region of 80-millio-euros.

Whatever stage it’s at, di Maria certainly is heading for the exit after a number of Los Blancos players took to social media to wish him well. Marcelo, Nacho Fernandez and Xabo Alonso were just some to post messages on Twitter to him, with the former LIverpool star saying: “I wish you all the best, even if it’s at Manchester United!”

In his press conference before the opening match in the league, Ancelotti also spoke about the signings he has made this summer and told Marca and AS among others thet James, Kroos and Navas all make the squad stronger than last year.

Finally, there is coverage in both Madrid-based papers of Zinedine Zidane’s first match at home in the dugout for Real Madrid Castilla. Unfortunately, his side suffered a 2-1 loss to city rivals Atletico B.

By -
1

Monaco forward Dimitar Berbatov has said he knew former team mate James Rodriguez would end up at one of the world’s top clubs from the first time he saw him in training.

The ex-Tottenham and Manchester United forward joined the Ligue 1 side from Fulham in January initially on loan before making a permanent switch this summer.

And he told reporters that from day one he could see Colombian playmaker Rodriguez had something special about him. The 22-year-old signed for Los Blancos in July in an 80-million-euro deal.

Prior to his switch the to Santiago Bernabeu, Rodriguez had secured the Golden Boot at the World Cup, with six goals in five games for his country, including the goal of the tournament – a spectacular long range effort against Uruguay in the second round.

Berbatov told journalists: “From my first training here, if you understand football, you could see James Rodriguez is a special player. The way he passed the ball, the way he touched the ball. The way he moves on the pitch. You could see the way he was thinking.”

And he continued: “Personally, for me, it was clear that he was going to go to the biggest club. Manchester, Real Madrid, Barcelona, whatever.”

By -
0

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Angel di Maria will leave Real Madrid in the next few hours, and Sami Khedira will stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Italian manager came clear in a press conference prior to Los Blancos start of La Liga against Cordoba. “Di Maria hasn’t trained, it’s not official yet, but his transfer is close. I thank him for everything he’s done for this club. Personaly, I’ve had a good relation with him, he’s done a fantastic job,” Ancelotti told the journalists.

Madrid’s coach admitted “it has been Di Maria’s decision” to leave. “The club has done everything possible to keep him. We wish him good luck,” he added.

Spanish sports newspaper Marca has claimed the Argentinian is close to completing a 70-million-euros move to Manchester United. The player’s manager Jorge Mendes will meet next week with the Red Devils representatives to close the deal.

Ancelotti also spoke about Khedira’s situation. The German international was rumoured to move out of the Santiago Bernabeu following his decision to reject a contract renewal with Real. However, Ancelotti revealed “he is happy, and he’s staying.” “He is very important for the team,” the Italian added.

* Get all the latest Real Madrid news by following us on Twitter: @realmadridnewsw

By -
0
Daniel Carvajal

Real Madrid full-back Daniel Carvajal has congratulated Atletico de Madrid on winning the Spanish Supercopa, but urged his own team mates to cut out the mistakes.

Diego Simeone’s side secured a 1-0 win at the Vicente Calderon on Friday night and a 2-1 win overall to secure the title, preventing Carlo Ancelotti’s men winning their second trophy of the season.

In the first-leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, a defensive lapse late on allowed Raul Garcia to score late on, a mistake that would eventually be Los Blancos’ undoing.

And speaking to reporters after the game at the Calderon, Carvajal, who has made the right-back slot his own in the team, said the players need to cut out errors if they are to be successful this season.

“They’ve won the Supercup and you have to say well done. The goals are our errors, and we have to correct them. We knew that we had to score at the Calderón and we didn’t,” he commented.

Carvajal also said the two teams played very different styles of football with Los Blancos being the more elaborate.

“Both at the Bernabéu and here each side used their weapons. We tried to elaborate and use our width. Atlético played to pass the time and for second balls around their forwards,” the 22-year-old said.

By -
6

The biggest story to break over the past 24 hours was that Angel di Maria looks set to move to Manchester United.

Until now, the Red Devils have denied any interest in the winger, but have changed their stance and said they would make no comment on talk of a transfer happening in the near future. A deal for the Argentinean player could cost as much as 70 million euros, along with a wage packet of close to 200,000 euros a week.

AS carried out a poll among its readers, and a huge 83.5% of them said they want the 27-year-old to stay at the club. Many Los Blancos players have also spoken in recent weeks about the value di Maria brings to the team, but it appears he will be off in the near future.

Elsewhere, AS looks at the goalscoring problem, seeing as Karim Benzema’s last goal for Real Madrid came four months ago. The Frenchman has gone 15 games without a goal and Los Blancos could do with getting some back up to help him.

Finally, there are still concerns over Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness. He is set to make his 250th appearance for the club on Monday against Cordoba, but the Portuguese has yet to complete a full game for Real this season and a decision should be taken on resting him so he can recover fully from his fitness issues, Marca says.

By -
0

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has lamented the Spanish Supercopa loss to Atletico de Madrid but says the players will move on and go for other targets in their sights this season.

Los Blancos missed out on their second trophy of the season, going down 1-0 at the Vicente Calderon and 2-1 overall against their city rivals.

But speaking to journalists after the game, the central defender said some perspective needed to be added and the players could be proud of what they have achieved in recent months. Despite the loss to Diego Simeone’s side, Real have won the Copa del Rey, Champions League and European Super Cup in the past four months.

And Ramos said the team will work hard to achieve more trophy success this year.

“You have to congratulate your opponents and not take anything away from them. When one loses, everything is an excuse. Now we have to move on. It couldn’t be, but we are proud to have won the Champions League and the Copa del Rey and to play the European and Spanish Supercups. We have to carry on working. We are up for a successful season and we want the season to start,” he stated.

Explaining the loss on the night, Ramos said finals are decided by small details, and Los Colchoneros started the game quicker of the two.

“When you play for a title and lose it’s a shame. The first half saw us create good chances but final are decided by small details. They went ahead early and took the game where they wanted,” he added.

By -
0

Reports in the UK claim FA Cup holders Arsenal are back on the trail of Sami Khedira.

The Gunners, who also lifted the Community Shield (England’s equivalent to the Supercopa) earlier this month, had been linked with the German World Cup winner in the summer but talk of a deal had cooled in recent weeks.

Following an injury to captain Mikel Arteta that is set to keep the midfield out of action for a few weeks, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is said to be keen on resurrecting a deal for Khedira, the Mirror suggests.

The 27-year-old defensive midfielder has just one year left on his deal at the Santiago Bernabeu, and has so far yet to speak to the club about a new contract. His path to the first team has been blocked by the arrival of countryman Toni Kroos, while Ancelotti prefers Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric to make up the rest of the midfield ahead of Khedira.

Speaking to the press on Thursday, the Italian boss admitted both Khedira and Angel di Maria could leave the club in the next couple of weeks.

The German would be available at a cut-price 15 million euros – something that Arsenal are more than willing to match. They could face competition from Chelsea and Bayern Munich for his signature though.

By -
0

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted his side did not play well enough in the Spanish Supercopa to deserve the title.

Los Blancos suffered a 1-0 loss at the Vicente Calderon as they went down 2-1 overall. The 10-time European champions tried to take the game to their hosts in the first half but looked to tire in the second period as Diego Simeone’s men closed out the win.

“In the first half we played to a high level, but in the second we gave Atlético more chances. We lost control of play, with a lot of long balls. It was difficult for us and for that I made changes. I changed the positions of the three central midfielders,” Ancelotti told journalists.

He also said that if he had to pick, he would have preferred to lose the Supercopa than the Champions League, and that the players will now go for other targets this season.

“The new season is going to be interesting for us. We have a side full of quality and we are going to try and do what we did last year. None of us have spoken about winning six titles. We will try and win all the titles we can. Now we start a new season and are looking forward to it. There are every competitive sides to come, like Atético and Barcelona,” he told reporters.

1...499500501...733Page 500 of 733

www.gambleaware.co.uk or www.gamcare.org.uk
Please gamble responsibly