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Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has confessed 2013 has been a good year for him, in an interview with Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

The Croatian international believes Los Blancos would have won trophies this year had they been luckier in key games.

“I think the team was somewhat unlucky in key games and that cost us winning any trophies. I’m sure that 2014 will be better,” he told Marca. “We should win the club’s tenth Champions League title for the fans, they deserve it,” Modric added.

“It’s been a good year for me personally. Things started going well for me with the game at Old Trafford and the [Copa] win over Barcelona and I’m in great form right now,” he confessed.

When asked about the reasons of his good state of shape Modric said: “Playing in pre-season was important for me. It’s key to have the coach’s full backing and trust. That’s why I’m playing better. I also have a great relationship with the fans. They’ve always had my back and that has made things easier for me.”

The Croatian also praised the work of the new managerial staff, with special emphasis on Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.

“Ancelotti is an amazing coach. I can say that he has complete faith in me. He believes in me, and that’s very important,” Modric told Marca.

“Zidane helps us a lot. It’s great having him, he teaches us so much. We stay behind with him after training to practice our shooting. It’s a pleasure to work so closely with him,” he concluded.

Modric has become a crucial piece of the team, especially since Sami Khedira’s injury, forming a superb midfield pair with Xabi Alonso.

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Madrid press report 28-12-2013

Spain’s most sold sports newspaper, Marca, claims today that Xabi Alonso has decided to sign a contract extension with Real Madrid to continue playing at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Yes, he wants [to stay],” Marca titles. “A Christmas gift for Real,” they state. “Xabi has started to negotiate his renewal and the club will do the impossible to reach an agreement,” Marca reports.

The other main Madrid-based sports newspaper, As, brings to its front page the fact that Los Merengues have shown an interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan.

“Madrid thinking of Gundogan,” they title. According to As, the player’s father has said: “Madrid are intensely interested in my son, but Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are also interested.”

The Madrid daily points out Gundogan is a 23-year-old midfielder whose contract with Borussia expires in 2015.

Both Madrid sports papers highlight in their front pages the fact that Real Madrid basketball team have reached a record 24 consecutive victories after beating Joventut. The have won all their games this season.

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The Italian and French newspapers La Gazzetta dello Sport and L’Equipe have included Cristiano Ronaldo in this year’s best starting lineup.

The Real Madrid player was the only one La Liga footballer picked by La Gazzetta, but not by L’Equipe. The Italian sports daily excluded Barcelona’s star Leo Messi.

La Gazzetta emphasized Los Blancos player overall accomplishment in 2013 with his national team, Portugal and his club, Real Madrid.

The Italian newspaper named in their starting lineup German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, German defender Philipp Lahm, Serbian Neven Subotic, Brazilian Thiago Silva, Austrian David Alaba, German midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, and French winger Franck Ribery.

L’Equipe also mentioned six of the players included in La Gazzetta’s eleven: Neuer, Ribery, Lahm, Cristiano Ronaldo, Schweinsteiger and Thiago Silva.

The players not mentioned in La Gazzetta, but included in the French newspaper’s team of the year are Belgian defender Vincent Kompany, Spanish left-back Jordi Alba, Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure, German forward Gerard Muller, and Leo Messi.

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Real Madrid have Sevilla’s defender Alberto Moreno on their radar, according to Spanish digital newspaper ElConfidencial.com.

The Madrid-based website claims Carlo Ancelotti is seeking for a quality replacement for Marcelo, since Fabio Coentrao’s injuries are forcing the Italian to frequently line-up Alvaro Arbeloa as a left-back.

Ancelotti is very happy with the performance of Arbeloa and Daniel Carvajal on the right-back, and he would like to have the same choices for the other side of the defence.

ElConfidencial.com states Alberto Moreno is Real’s first option at the moment to replace Fabio Coentrao. The Portuguese has recently signed a contract extension with Los Blancos, but the directors would be willing to let him go if a good offer arrives.

Manchester United, Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain have already showed their interested in signing Coentrao.

Moreno was first linked to Real Madrid last summer, when Coentrao was about to sign for the Red Devils and Los Merengues reportedly considered bringing either Guilherme Siqueira or Moreno as a replacement.

The Spanish international has recently signed a new contract with Sevilla, increasing his buy-out clause from 12 million euros to 30 million. Madrid would try to cheapen the Andalucian’s transfer.

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Real Madrid players Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez joined the Bwin Skills Series, showing their accuracy when playing with different sized balls.

At first, they played with a squash ball, showing brilliant skills to keep it in the air for a while. They also tried an exercise balloon, which they also managed to keep in the air with precise touches.

At the end, Bale showed his teammates some rugby skills. “In Wales we don’t play football, we just play rugby,” he said. “It’s the only sport there,” Modric joked.

They all end up playing a game in which they have to hit the bar with a rugby kick, and there is one clear winner. Can you guess who this is?

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Real Madrid press report 27-12-2013

Madrid-based sports daily As claims today on its front page that “Iker Casillas has decided to leave in June if he keeps on warming the bench.”

“The Casillas dilemma,” they title, highlighting “he is the goalkeeper with the best statistics in the Champions League, over Victor Valdes and Petr Cech.”

The other main Spanish sports newspaper, Marca, puts its focus on Xabi Alonso’s contract renewal.

“Xabi don’t go” it their main headline. “He’s teammates insist on asking Alonso to stay,” Marca reports.

“There’s certain despondency over the player’s renewal due to his reluctance to negotiate,” the Madrid daily claims.

“Carlo Ancelotti sees him as the architect of the team,” they point out. “His possible replacement Ilkay Gundogan’s injury has made Real directors worry,” Marca adds.

“Just like Alonso, other 73 La Liga players could start negotiating with other clubs from January 1st,” Spain’s most sold newspaper publishes.

Marca also reveals that “Real Madrid have received several offers for Alvaro Morata.” Several “European clubs are interested in his situation,” they claim.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

After 11 years of trying and failing to claim La Decima, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said players and fans may be a bit preoccupied with reaching the milestone.

In his annual Christmas message, Perez acknowledged that there is pressure to claim a record 10th European Cup victory.

“All Madridistas want to win titles,” he said. “Maybe we’re a little obsessed with La Decima, but that is because it is the title we want the most.”

Los Blancos currently hold a record nine combined European Cup and Champions League trophies, the last one coming in 2002 against German side Bayer Leverkusen on a legendary winner by Zinedine Zidane. They have not progressed to the final since that victory, and they have sputtered in the semifinals in each of the past three years.

In 2012, Madrid fell in a penalty shootout to eventual runners up and 2013 champions Bayern Munich, and the next year, Los Merengues could not mount enough of a comeback in the second leg and fell 4-3 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund.

Former manager Jose Mourinho was brought in with an eye on his Champions League record, but he was unable to succeed, and current manager Carlo Ancelotti will hope to surpass his predecessor.

Ancelotti’s first Champions League campaign for Madrid begun well enough, as the team qualified with the most goals as a unit — and an individual group stage goalscoring record from Cristiano Ronaldo.

They will meet yet another German side in Schalke 04 in the round of 16 hoping to produce a better result than against Bundesliga teams in recent years.

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Brazilian prospect Everton Ribeiro has admitted he’s willing to turn down a move to Real Madrid in order to sign for a Premier League side.

British newspaper Daily Star has reported Ribeiro, who has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, aims to play at Manchester United.

With David Moyes eager to sign a central midfielder in the January transfer market, Ribeiro could be set to complete a 8.3-million-euro transfer to Old Trafford.

“Yes, I would prefer to join Manchester United,” Ribeiro reportedly said. “The structure they have in place is one of the best in the world. I have been there already and went to a lecture by Alex Ferguson when I was younger”, he explained.

“I feel I’m ready to play in any part of the world. If you play for Cruzeiro, you can play in any place. I would fit in any part of the midfield. I would do well as a playmaker to support the attack,” Ribeiro said.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed a successful campaign in Brazil, winning the Brasileiro Seria A title with Cruzeiro. His good performances have attracted European clubs attention.

United have reportedly started talks with Cruzeiro since they want to sign him as soon as possible. However negotiations could turn complicated, since the Brazilian club only owns 60 per cent of the player’s rights, with a third party owning the other 40 per cent.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has been the best goalscorer in 2013. The Portuguese has netted 69 goals in 59 appearances, beating Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 47 and Leo Messi’s 45. The fourth scorer of the year is Luis Suarez, with 42 strikes.

Ronaldo might not be the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, a prize that will very likely be awarded to Franck Ribery or Messi. However, he the Frenchman has only scored 23 goals this year.

Real Madrid’s forward has beaten his personal record of 63 strikes netted in 2012. He also made 60 back in 2011, for a total 192 in the last three years.

Ronaldo has scored 38 goals in La Liga, 15 in the Champions League, six in the Copa del Rey and ten with Portugal’s national team.

The Portuguese star has only failed to score in 17 games. However, he’s scored ten braces and seven hat-tricks in 2013. One of them was an impressive performance in Sweden to bring Portugal to the World Cup.

His injury problems at the end of the year stopped him increasing his stats even further.

Ronaldo has become Real Madrid’s fourth all time goal scorer in La Liga, beating Hugo Sanchez’s 164 mark. Only Carlos Santillana (186), Alfredo di Stefano (216) and Raul Gonzalez (228) are over him in the list.

His arch-rival Messi has missed more matches through injury, but his goal rate per game is worst that Ronaldo’s: 0.95 against 1.16.

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Real Madrid press report 26-12-13

Spain’s most sold newspaper, Marca, publishes today an exclusive interview with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric. The Croatian told the Madrid daily: “Carlo Ancelotti trusts me, and that’s why I’m playing better.”

“Playing every game makes me feel in a good state of shape,” he added.

“Modric looks at 2014 full of self-confidence and ambition,” Marca claims. “The celebration in Mestalla shows how united we are as a team,” Modric told the paper.

When asked about former Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Gareth Bale, now at Real Madrid, Modric stated “we’ll see the best Bale after Christmas.”

Marca also publishes a special report on Los Blancos main defensive weakness. “The danger comes from air balls,” they title, pointing out the last four goals Madrid have conceded have been in corner-kick situations.

Meanwhile, the other main Spanish sports newspaper, As, reports that Cristiano Ronaldo has been picked in La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Best XI of the Year. “The Italian newspaper has left Leo Messi out,” they highlight.

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