Transfer news: Jordi Alba goes home

Photo via El País

After several weeks of negotiation, Barcelona has signed Jordi Alba on a five-year contract. Alba played for the Barcelona youth team, but was dropped at the age of 16 because he was too short. For Barcelona. At 1.70 m (5’7″), Alba is the same height as current Barça stars Pedro, Alexis, Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi. (To be fair, defenders are usually expected to be taller.) Anyway, Alba’s performances with Valencia and the national team (he has been excellent in the Euro Cup) impressed Barcelona enough that they’re willing to spend €14 million to bring him back.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to La Liga! The 2011-2012 season was supposed to kick off today, but the players are on strike. Fingers crossed everything will be back on track by next weekend.

Since I lied when I said I’d keep you all updated over the summer, let’s see what we missed.

International

UEFA U-21 Champions! Photo: Getty via Daylife.

A great many congratulations to Spain, who are 2011 European Champions three times over! Spain won the UEFA Under-21, Under-19, and Women’s Under-17 Championships.

Our beloved Rojita defeated Switzerland 2-1 in the U-21 final, with Barcelona’s Thiago Alcántara scoring the game-winning goal. Adrián Lopez earned the Golden Boot with five goals.

In the exciting U-19 final, our boys beat out Czech Republic in extra time. Valencia B’s Paco Alcacer was the hero of the match, scoring two goals in added time. Real Madrid Castilla’s adorable Álvaro Morata won the golden boot, contributing six goals in the tournament. It appears Spain’s national team will remain successful (and good-looking) for years to come.

Finally, the young ladies of the U-17 defeated France in the final, with Alba Pomares scoring the only goal of the match. Let’s hope this means better things to come for the Spain NWT, who failed to qualify for the 2011 Women’s World Cup.

Copa América

This picture is pretty adorable, but would it would be even better if Diego Forlán had taken off his shirt. Photo: Getty via Daylife

The Copa América doesn’t have much to do with La Liga or Spain, but I wanted to give a shout out to La Liga’s Diego Forlán, Diego Godín, Martín Cáceres, and Sebastián Eguren, who were on Uruguay’s winning squad. Also, congratulations to Paraguay’s Justo Villar, who was named best goalkeeper of the tournament. Villar plays for Real Valladolid in Liga Adelante.

International Friendlies

 

Reunited and it feels so good.... Photo via Iker Casillas' Facebook

Real Madrid were champions of the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge, squeaking by Manchester United in goal differentials. The friendly tournament was held in North America and featured MLS and Mexican Primera División teams as well as clubs from England, Spain and Italy. Barcelona didn’t do so well without Messi (who was recovering from Copa América), but they’ll be back to their fearsome selves in no time. Players from both Real Madrid Castilla and Barcelona B got plenty of chances to shine. Little Joselu scored a goal for Madrid, and Thiago impressed Pep Guardiola enough with his performance in the U-21 squad and in the preseason that he will be joining Barcelona’s first team this season.

While Barcelona continued touring North America, Real Madrid traveled to China. They beat two Chinese teams by six goals each, but their most interesting friendly was played against 109 children in Guangzhou. Adorable. Valencia stayed in Europe, where they had a successful preseason against the likes of AS Roma and Sporting de Lisboa.

Supercopa

Garbage. Photo: Getty via Daylife

Well, the first leg went well. With their fresh new look and strong midfield, Real Madrid dominated possession, but Barcelona struck with deadly efficiency. Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso scored for Madrid, Messi and Villa for Barcelona.

The second leg at Camp Nou was more of the same. Goals for Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema, Iniesta and Messi. When Messi scored a second goal in the 88th minute, it looked like Barcelona would win the 2011 Supercopa with little incident. But of course we cannot have a clásico with little incident. With one minute of stoppage time left, Marcelo decided Cesc Fàbregas, who had been playing for Barça for all of ten minutes, needed to be hurt. Marcelo was given the red card he deserved and all hell broke loose. Özil and Villa were sent off for fighting with each other (although I strongly suspect Özil’s red should have gone to Higuaín), and Mourinho will likely be suspended for a few weeks. It should be the referees who are on strike, because they’re not paid enough for this. Personally, I would have sent the lot of them off and have Athletic Bilbao and Málaga (who are slated to play Real Madrid and Barcelona next, respectively) win their first fixtures of the season by default. I pray that I don’t have to see more than the minimum two Clásicos this season, and I’m afraid to think of what even those will bring. Anyway, rant over. Barcelona won fair and square, Cesc is no worse for wear, and there won’t be another Clásico until December.

And with that, I’ve had enough for the day. Transfer highlights and football-related gossip to follow.

 

2010-11 Season Wrap-Up

Well, that’s it for this season of La Liga. So here are where things stand:

The Basics

Photo: El País

La Liga champions: Barcelona (96 points). Congratulations!

La Liga runners-up: Real Madrid (92 points)

Copa del Rey champions: Real Madrid (huzzah!)

2011-12 Champions League: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal

2011-12 Europa League: Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, Atlético de Madrid

Relegated to Second Division: Almería, Hércules, Deportivo La Coruña (better luck next year boys!)

Match results: El Clásico (1 of 4)

Hey ladies, sorry I’ve been away in the middle of this exciting time. You know, exams and that. Anyway, here’s a quick update of last weekend’s Clásico.

Cristiano Ronaldo is pretty sure his short tent is bigger than an entire Messi. Photo: AP Photo via Daylife.

El Clásico

The first of four faceoffs (woo, alliteration!) in three weeks between archrivals Real Madrid and Barcelona went down on Saturday, and it looks like it’s going to be a tense series. Although Barça dominated possession, Madrid didn’t allow them to keep up their usual tiki-taka style and the first half ended with no score. Shortly after the break however, things took a dramatic turn when Madrid’s Raúl Albiol (very stupidly) fouled against David Villa inside the penalty area. Albiol was sent off, leaving Madrid a man down, and Barcelona was awarded a penalty kick. Lionel Messi’s shot went in, and things were not looking great for Los Blancos. A few minutes later though, Carles Puyol (who has spent the last three months recovering from a knee injury) had to be carried off the pitch with a strained hamstring. (It looks like Puyol will be fine to play in tomorrow’s Copa del Rey final, though.) Anyhoo, skip to the last ten minutes of the game. Real Madrid was awarded a penalty kick after Dani Alves brought Marcelo down inside the box. Cristiano Ronaldo very happily took the kick and scored, ending the match in a 1-1 draw and leaving a big question mark for the next three Clásicos. The results of this match don’t really matter since Barcelona is set to win the league cup, but it does set the tone for the upcoming Copa del Rey final and Champions League semifinals.

Fresh meat: Ibrahim Affelay

I’m not going to say anything about the friendly between Portugal and Spain today. It’s too painful. I’m sure Con la roja can supply you with all the gory details, if you must know about it.

Photo via AllSportsPeople.com

So, let’s talk about something happy. With the winter transfer window approaching, negotiations are in full swing. Right now most of it is still up in the air, but Dutch hottie Ibrahim Affelay’s move to La Liga is all but confirmed. His current club (PSV Eindhoven) and FC Barcelona have already agreed terms for a January move to Spain.

I’ve been watching Affelay since the World Cup. In fact, I chose him as my Dutch hottie of the Cup, over such usual suspects as Wesley Sneijder, Robin Van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart. I mean, look at him. And you can look guilt-free, despite the baby face – he’s 24.

Champions League catch-up

Sorry ladies, I was feeling a little under the weather so blogging activity was reduced. Here are the rest of the Champions League results for this week. I will post Europa League results tomorrow.

Photo: Getty Images via Daylife

Champions League (Wednesday)

Rubin Kazan 1 (Christian Noboa penalty) – Barcelona 1 (Villa penalty). Barcelona and Rubin were pretty evenly matched for this one. Dani Alves tackled Vitali Kaleshin 30 minutes into the match, and Noboa scored the resulting penalty goal. Thirty minutes later, the tables were turned when David Villa made his penalty shot after Lasha Salukvadze brought down Andrés Iniesta. Very symmetrical. Lionel Messi is back from injury, having replaced Mascherano on the pitch just after Barça’s goal. Barcelona slips to second place in Group D, behind Copenhagen.

Valencia 0 – Man. United 1 (Hernández). Although Valencia have been having a great season and Manchester United have been struggling, the English side managed to pull through with a solid defence and a late goal from Chicharito. Valencia’s own Hernández (Pablo) had the best chance for the home side a few minutes later, but didn’t manage to get the equalizer. Sorry, valencianistas. Better luck tomorrow when Los Che face Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Sunday results: Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona

Photo: Getty Images via Daylife

I’m giving this much-anticipated match its own post. It was a rough game, with nine yellow cards and one red handed out. Barça (debuting their awful scrub-coloured away kits) dominated from the start, and Messi scored an early goal. Although Atlético were not at their best (except for 19-year-old goalkeeper David De Gea – more on him later), midfielder Raúl García headed a shot past Barcelona keeper Víctor Valdés. The visitors managed to regain the lead before half-time though, as defender Gerard Piqué controlled a beautiful kick past De Gea.

Right after half, Atlético’s Kun Agüero limped off the pitch to have his knee iced. The Argentinian forward suffered a bruised knee during last week’s match against Bilbao, and was obviously not ready to be back on the field (although manager Quique Sánchez Flores had insisted Agüero would only play if he had fully recovered). From that point, Atlético’s performance suffered even more. Striker Diego Forlán, who has already scored three goals this season, was barely a blip on the radar. Barcelona failed to use their advantage for another goal however, as De Gea continued to shine throughout the second half. Young De Gea is the first keeper for Spain’s Under-21 squad, and he is widely considered to be Iker’s heir on the senior national team. The lanky teen may not be hot, but he is ridiculously cute.

Anyway. Throughout the second half, yellow cards kept coming for both sides (even gorgeous but cranky Valdés managed to get one), and finally a straight red card was given to Atlético’s Tomáš Ujfaluši for a nasty tackle to Lionel Messi in stoppage time. Messi’s ankle swelled up immediately, and was obviously in a lot of pain, having to be carried off in a stretcher. It turns out the injury is not as bad as it could have been. Messi’s ankle is not broken, but it is sprained, and he is expected to be out for 10-15 days, missing at least the next two games.

Photo: AP Photo via Daylife

Tuesday results – Champions League

Now THOSE are thighs. Panathinaikos' Sidney Govou cops a feel from Eric Abidal. Image: AP Photo via Daylife.

Both Spanish sides playing today destroyed their opponents. After a single goal from Panathinaikos’ Govou, Barcelona immediately started striking back, with two goals from Lionel Messi and one each from David Villa and Pedro Rodríguez. Dani Alvez topped it all off in stoppage time, bringing the final score to 5-1.

Champions League newcomers Bursaspor were clearly outmatched by Valencia. Tino Costa scored a lovely long-range goal early in the game, and Valencia dominated thereafter. Aduriz, Pablo Hernandez, and Soldado all scored goals, ending the game 4-0.

Saturday results

Hércules 2 Barcelona 0

Image: Reuters via Daylife

Yes, you read that right. In a fascinating match at Camp Nou, newly-promoted Hércules defeated defending champs Barcelona 2-0, despite only having about 20% possession. Paraguay’s Nelson Valdez scored both goals for the visitors. Barcelona had a number of chances, but just wasn’t playing at full potential. Hércules, on the other hand, proved they deserve to be in the first division, with exceptional performances by Valdez and goalkeeper Juan Calatayud. Calatayud and Piqué suffered a nasty collision (warning: there is quite a lot of blood) during the second half, but Calatayud came out no worse for wear, and Piqué (trooper that he is), returned to the pitch with a bandaged head and fresh shirt. Bless.

Osasuna 0 Real Madrid 1

Cristiano Ronaldo misses yet another shot. Image: AP Photo via Daylife

After a decidedly unthrilling first half, Real Madrid’s first goal of the season was scored by defender Ricardo Carvalho, strangely enough. Strikers Gonzalo Higuaín and Cristiano Ronaldo are still not performing (Cristiano’s shots were waaaay off), and Osasuna’s Ricardo displayed some superb goalkeeping. Mesut Özil seems to be settling in at his new club though, and played some lovely football for Real Madrid. Today’s win was good for Real Madrid, but it was harder than it should have been.

The rest

Diego Forlán (R) battles with fantastically-named young 'un Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora. Image: AP Photo via Daylife.

Atlético Madrid 2 (Forlán, Tiago) – Athletic Bilbao 1 (Llorente). Kun Agüero out with knee injury; expected to miss at least two games.

Racing 0 – Valencia 1 (Maduro). Hang in there, Racing.

Featured Club: FC Barcelona

THE BASICS

Full name: Futbol Club Barcelona

Location: Barcelona (Catalonia)

Kit (Barcelona always seem to have awful away and third kits):

Images: newsonf1.co.uk, myfootballtops.co.uk

Nicknames: Barça, Blaugrana (Blue and dark red)

Last season: La Liga Champions, Supercopa Champions, FIFA Club World Cup Champions (damn you, Barça!)

THE TALENT

Image: EPA via guardian.co.uk

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Big names: Seven Barcelona players started for Spain in the World Cup final (Andrés Iniesta, David Villa, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, and Pedro Rodríguez. Also, freakin’ awesome Argentine Lionel Messi.

Former big names: Again, too many to count. Ronaldinho would probably be the biggest one in the last decade.

THE “TALENT”

You're checking out Puyol (L), rather than Piqué, aren't you? (Image via theberry.com)

Hottest player: You tell me: Víctor Valdés or Gerard Piqué

Cutest baby: Bojan Krkić

My personal fave: Carles Puyol (as ONTD Football and Kickette explain, he’s an acquired taste)

Overall rating: Not too shabby

THE SCOOP

With so many players united by Spain’s World Cup victory and Catalan heritage (Barcelona has more Spanish players than it’s had in years), Barcelona should have no trouble working as a team. Coupled with back-to-back league titles, this means that Real Madrid had better get on track quickly to compete with Barça.