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The Collins Column

So there we go. The title race is over and Barcelona have been crowned champions for the 22nd time.

It was hardly surprising to most football fans around the world that Barca would lift the trophy for the fourth time in five years given that Madrid meekly surrendered the title they won last year.

Damaging defeats and draws earlier on in the campaign meant the title was all but over before the winter break arrived.

It meant Los Blancos could focus on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

Although they could yet win the latter, it was the humiliation against Dortmund (let’s face it – Madrid were only in the tie for about seven minutes at the end of the second leg) that will lead to questions being raised.

And the main question on the lips of Madrid fans is “where do we go from here?”

The squad that has underperformed in the league and that was embarrassed in Dortmund is largely the same as the one the broke all sorts of La Liga records last year and narrowly lost out to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi final 12 months ago.

The main difference has been a lack of passion, desire, and poor attitude. That stems from the manager, Jose Mourinho, who’s been at war with most of if squad, the press, referees and UEFA at various times this year.

If most press reports are to be believed, the lack of desire will be fixed once Mourinho ends his three-year stint and Madrid and head back to London with Chelsea.

On the playing side of things, not much needs to change. The new manager needs to decide who the number one striker is between Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, while Xabi Alonso isn’t getting any younger in the middle of the park. The right back position has been a problem for Madrid this year and needs to be addressed this summer too.

While on the face of it, Madrid’s problems seem to run deep, not much really needs to change.

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Real Madrid blog

If Real Madrid fail to beat Atletico de Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, they will end the season with the distant Supercopa as the only title won.

Not good enough according to many, especially for the Madrid press, but is it really that poor if we take in account what Los Blancos have achieved this season?

Real have reached the semifinals of the Champions League for the third consecutive year. As Mourinho said, in the previous 21 years Los Merengues had only reached five semifinals.

It is true that from those five semifinals, Real won three titles, and this time the long awaited Decima hasn’t arrived at Bernabeu’s trophy museum. But is that enough to be satisfied? Most of Real fans wouldn’t think so.

Mourinho’s side lost their chances in La Liga very early in the season, and that helped them focus on the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, resting key players in the league matches.

With only those two competitions on their mind, Real threw all their previous effort into the bin during that disastrous match in Dortmund, where they lacked the attitude and the courage that fans expected of them.

The exhibition they gave at the Bernabeu against Borussia can’t hide the fact that the team underperformed at the most crucial game of the season.

Now their only chance to leave the fans with a certain feeling of satisfaction would be to win the Copa, especially since it will be played at Santiago Bernabeu and against city rivals Atletico.

A loss at home against their regional enemies would be very humiliating for both the team and the fans, and would certainly leave everyone with the feeling that the season has been a failure.

If Real win the three remaining matches of La Liga, they will end with 93 points, a number the club has only beaten twice in their history. But nobody will notice that. The last year of Mourinho as manager will probably be of sad memories for the fans if the Copa doesn’t return to the Bernabeu.

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Liverpool are preparing at bid to take Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol to Anfield in the summer as they look for a replacement for Jamie Carragher who is set to retire at the end of the current campaign.

According to sports website Tutto Mercato Web, the 27-year-old is keen to leave Madrid in search of regular first team football as he eyes a place in the Spain squad for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Albiol ahs only made 11 starts in La Liga this year and seen young French defender Raphael Varane overtake him in the pecking order at the Bernabeu.

Following Varane’s injury against Espanyol on Saturday, Albiol may be given the opportunity to stake his place for more playing time in the final of the Copa del Rey.

But speaking to the club’s official website, he expressed his sympathy for the 19-year-old defender.

Albiol said: “It is unfortunate for that to have happened to a team-mate, whether it was Raphael or anyone else.

“It could be me or one of my team-mates who replaces him, so we must all train well and be ready for if the coach decides that we are playing.”

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Raphael Varane will miss the Copa del Rey final and probably the rest of the season after the MRI confirmed he’s got a torn meniscus.

The French international will undergo surgery to repair the knee injury. Real Madrid doctors have said he is expected to be sidelined between four and six weeks.

That means Varane will not be fit to play the Copa del Rey final and the next two La Liga games. If he recovers fast, he could return for the last match of the championship, but it seems very unlikely that Mourinho will take any risks.

The centre back suffered the injury during Saturday’s La Liga game against Espanyol. He now looks set to miss the rest of the season.

Mourinho losses Sergios Ramos defense partner for the crucial match against Atletico de Madrid and a player who has had a brilliant performance this season.

Now the Portuguese manager will have to decide whether to pick Raul Albiol or Pepe as replacements. The Spanish defender has more chances at the moment after the confrontation that Pepe and Mourinho had last week.

Another possible candidate for the centre back position is Ricardo Carvalho. The Portuguese said in Realmadrid.com that Varane will be a big loss. “He’s playing very well and is very important to us”, he admitted.

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Madrid’s two sports dailies have plenty of coverage of the fact that Barcelona have been crowned champions of Spain for the 22nd time.

It followed Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Espanyol, ending their faint title hopes once and for all.  Los Blancos are seven points behind Barcelona in La Liga but have just two games to play.

Both Marca and AS said Los Blanos were below par at Cornella El Prat, only really coming into the game in the second half.

Still focusing on football matters, there is plenty of concern regarding the fitness of Raphael Varane, who was injured early on in a collision with Wakaso and is now a major doubt for the Copa del Rey final on Friday.

‘Bring home the ninth one’ and ‘Basketball to the rescue’

With little to celebrate for Madrid in terms of football, both Marca and AS opt for the Real Madrid’s final against Olympiacos in basketball’s European Cup as their front pages.

Both are hopeful the Spanish side can secure their 9th European Cup win, and first in 18 years.

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Young Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane could be in danger of missing the Copa del Rey final  after being forced to leave the field during his team’s 1-1 draw with Espanyol.

The 19-year-old, who has become an instrumental part of Jose Mourinho’s side, injured his right knee in a collision with Wakaso Mubarak in the 15th minute of the match at Cornella El Prat.

After receiving attention on the sidelines, the decision was quickly made to replace him with Xabi Alonso.

According to Cadena SER and Canal Plus, the Frenchman suffered an injury to the meniscus, which could see him face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Real Madrid play Atletico de Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey on Friday night at the Bernabeu.

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Real Madrid dropped two points against Espanyol that allowed Barcelona to celebrate the La Liga title with three games still to play.

The Blaugrana will be given the traditional guard of honour for the champions by Atletico de Madrid at the Vicente Calderon after Los Blancos failed to find a winning goal in the second half.

Stuani gave Los Periquitos the lead in the 22nd minute with an easy shot after Real’s defence failed to clear a corner.

Jose Mourinho’s side had an eye on the Copa del Rey final and that allowed Espanyol to dominate in the first minutes.

Stuani should have given their team a second goal after he met a pass from Verdu, but Diego Lopez cleared the chance with a good save.

Madrid kept on struggling, but the worst news for them had come earlier, when Raphael Varane left the field injured. He is reported to have damaged his meniscus and will be tested to get a further diagnosis.

In the second half, with Los Blancos still in trouble, Mourinho brought on Cristiano Ronaldo and Real changed drastically.

Higuain eventually drew the sides level when his header hit the back of the net after a cross from Modric in the 58th minute. The goal encouraged Los Merengues who got the total control of the match.

But the failed to find a goal that would give them the victory and ended their challenge for the title. Now, they look at the Copa del Rey final as their chance to save the season.

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Espanyol vs Real Madrid La Liga preview

Real Madrid will rest a number of key players for tonight’s match against Espanyol to prevent them picking up any injury and keep them in good shape for the Copa del Rey final.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been suffering muscular problems in his left leg, will probably not feature in the game. Los Blancos will also preserve Mesut Ozil, who suffered a minor ankle sprain against Malaga, and start him on the bench.

Sergio Ramos, Khedira and Marcelo, who have been recovering from spells out of the side, will be on the squad, but are not expected to start at Cornella El Prat stadium. Mourinho will miss Arbeloa, who isn’t still completely recovered from his injury.

Real face the game in good shape, having dropped only one point since February. In addition, they have not lost against Espanyol since October 2007. A draw will secure the second place in La Liga for Los Merengues.

Espanyol to keep European hopes

Espanyol have only got three wins in their last ten matches, but they still harbour hopes of reaching eighth spot, which could give access to European competition if Malaga is finally banned by UEFA for their financial problems.

The Barcelona-based side sit 11th in La Liga, four points behind Getafe, who hold that 8th position. With four games to the end of the season, they are six points behind the 7th spot held by Betis.

Javier Aguirre will miss Cristian Alvarez, Felipe Mattioni and Simao. The goalkeeper is out with a torn hamstring, while Mattioni and Simao are yet to return to training from their injuries.

Aguirre will select his usual 4-2-3-1, with Joan Verdu as playmaker and Sergio Garcia up front. A loss would probably mean goodbye to a Europa League qualification for the Catalan side.

Possible lineups
Real Madrid: Lopez; Coentrao, Albiol, Varane, Nacho; Essien, Modric; Morata, Kaka, Di Maria; Higuain.
Espanyol: Casilla; Capdevilla, Moreno, Colotto, Lopez; Sanchez, Forlin; Mubarak, Verdu, Stuani; Garcia.

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Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has admitted he has a “bad feeling” about next Friday’s Copa del Rey final against city rivals Atletico.

The two teams meet at Real’s home stadium, the Bernabeu, in what will be the last available opportunity for Los Blancos to get their hands on some silverware this season.

Speaking at an event organised by Mahou ahead of the final, Casilla said he was keen for Los Blancos to erase the memory of the 2002 defeat to Deportivo de La Coruña.

In Madrid’s centenary year they lost the Copa del Rey despite playing at home and being overwhelming favourites.

Casillas said: “Maybe it’s the nerves. The Bernabéu perhaps had an influence: it was weird to see the fans split 50-50. I was stunned. I don’t know, but it gives me a bad feeling.”

He added that he had faith in his teammates, and that the squad would do all it can to secure the trophy.

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Karim Benzema could be set for a move to Manchester United in the summer if the Premier League champions decide to cash in on Wayne Rooney, according to a number of reports.

Many British newspapers claimed finding a replacement for the unsettled Rooney will be the first task for new boss David Moyes when he starts life at Old Trafford in July.

And should he decide to sell Rooney – with PSG, Bayern Munich and Chelsea believed to be among his admirers – Moyes could be on the phone to Madrid about a £30 million offer for Benzema.

United have had a long-term interest in the French striker, who has scored 19 goals in 47 appearances this season, having first expressed their desire to sign him in 2009 before he made his move to the Spanish capital.

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