Cristiano needs stitches; Real wins 1-0

Real Madrid opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory but their star winger Cristiano Ronaldo required stitches in his ankle following the match with Dinamo Zangreb. Cristiano called the referee’s performance “shameful” and when asked why other players seem to go after him much he said, “I think it’s because I’m rich, handsome and a great player. They envy me – there’s no other explanation.” Real’s left back Marcelo was sent off during the game and assistant Aitor Karanka said, “It’s worrying to see Marcelo was sent off when Cristiano Ronaldo is receiving stitches in the dressing room. All players should be equally protected.” I agree with Karanka and it is obvious when some refs are biased against a team or player. FIFA needs to start punishing these refs and/or get some new ones in because a player should not be receiving stitches after a game, whether its Cristiano or a youth player.

Cristiano, Real Madrid defeat Barcelona, win Copa del Rey title

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6397884/cristiano-ronaldo-wins-copa-del-rey-real-madrid-extra-time

Real Madrid fought hard for 120 minutes and came out victorious in the Copa del Rey final over their arch rival Barcelona. After an action packed 90 minutes of scoreless football (Or soccer for my fellow Americans), the game went into extra time where in the 103rd minute Angel di Maria’s cross found the head of Cristiano Ronaldo who slammed it in the back of the net. This cup was Madrid’s 18th Domestic Cup, and the first since 1993. Jose Mourinho had made a point to winning everything this season, and with the league all but out of reach, he nailed down the Copa del Rey and will have his sights on the Champions League, where they face Barcelona Wednesday to kick off the semi finals. Hala Madrid!

Darren

Ronaldo has officially retired from football

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6120565/lack-fitness-led-retirement-18-seasons

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima has officially retired from professional football after a tremendous that lasted 18 years. Ronaldo started his senior career with Cruzeiro in 1993 and would play for PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan and would finish his career in his native Brasil, playing for Corinthians. Ronaldo did everything in his career any player would dream about. Winning two FIFA World Cups with Brasil, three FIFA Player of the Year awards, numerous league titles, scoring titles and countless individual awards, Ronaldo is on everyones list of all-time greats and is arguably the greatest striker to play the game. Ronaldo not only did wonderful things for his club teams, (352 goals in 515 appearances), but he also was a masterful with Brasil. Along with his two World Cup titles, Ronaldo has the record for most all-time World Cup goals with 15 to his tally and has scored 62 goals in 97 caps for the squad.

Ultimately Ronaldo will be remembered for multiple reasons. Not only will he be rememebered for all the great goals he scored, the water like fluidness of his “silks”, but also he’ll be rememebered with the “What if?” factor. Hard to believe with a guy with so much on his resume. Ronaldo suffered three severe knee injuries during the course of his career and still came back every time and competed at a high level. Ronaldo’s mental toughness along with his physically was seemingly unmatched by anyone before, during, or after his prime. Ronaldo was always one of the biggest and fastest players in the world which resulted in countless mismatches. Teams would often send multiple defenders after him and many times he either shook em off and kept going, or he found a teammate in open space to get another goal for his team. It will be strange not seeing El Fenomeno no longer on the pitch, but the memories he’s left us are amazing.

To Ronaldo, Thank you for everything you’ve done for the sport, and personally I thank you for being a great person to look up to. I’m glad I have a hero like you who played the game with passion, respect, honor and integrity.

Darren

Torres ineffective, Chelsea falls to Liverpool

In his first outing as a Chelsea player, Fernando Torres faced off with his old club Liverpool and it didn’t go according to plan. The man many, including myself, thought was transferred for a ridiculous fee didn’t make much of an impact on the game. Only taking two shots, Torres was subbed off in the 65th minute and was forced to watch as Liverpool’s Raul Meireles scored a goal minutes later to give the Reds the victory.

I know it’s only the first game but when you are transferred for $80 million, you need to make an impact immediatly. Is Torres fully fit? Did Liverpool intentionally transfer him to a Premiership foe? Questions like these will be asked until Torres displays the skills that have made him one of the world’s best strikers. Chelsea will either hit the jackpot with Torres or go bankrupt and aren’t off to a great start.

Darren

Adebayor loaned to Real Madrid

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has been asking for reinforcements, and is finally getting one. Emmanuel Adebayor, a striker for Manchester City, is coming aboard on loan til the seasons end. Having come over from Arsenal to City just 18 months ago, Adebayor started off scorching hot, but after a switch in managers and the acquisition of Mario Balotelli, Adebayor had became an afterthought. Hopefully the Togo international can come in and learn the Spanish game, and produce as well as force Karim Benzema to kick his game into high gear and have Los Blancos firing shots into the back of the net.

Darren

Kaka returns

After a long rehab process, Brazilian midfielder Ricardo Kaka is making his long awaited return to Real Madrid. Kaka was placed on the squad list for tomorrows match against Getafe, after a whopping 238 days out due to a kneee injury. When healthy, Kaka is arguably the best player in the world (He was endorsed as the best by the great Pele), and pairing him up with Cristiano Ronaldo only makes a deadly Madrid side even more lethal and dangerous. We shall see #8 take to the pitch tomorrow and work his craft and hopefully enjoy a Real Madrid victory in the process. Welcome back Kaka and Hala Madrid!

Darren

Champions League knockout rounds opening draw

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/851008?cc=5901

Some intriguing matchups were made yesterday when the Champions League draw was announced. After Robin Van Persie stated he’d like to take on one of the Spanish League giants Real Madrid or Barcelona, Arsenal’s fate was put into question and sure enough they were drawn Barcelona in the round of 16. Barcelona is a heavy favorite to win that game and I believe they do so. Real Madrid, group plays top points getter, drew Lyon for the second straight year. This round has always been a thorn in the Spanish clubs’ side but Madrid should be able to pick up the win, especially since they’ll have one of the world’s best players in Kaka back in form by then. Reigning champ Inter Milan will face Bayern Munich in a rematch of last years final. Inter won the FIFA Club World Cup today but have looked lackluster at times this season and our 7th in Serie A. Munich has been playin very well and will look to take down the Italian club this go around. Another matchup that catches my eye is Marseille vs Manchester United. As Man U center back Rio Ferdinand tweeted ( www.twitter.com/rioferdy5 ), “So we got Marseille in the CL, decent draw. Will be a tough game out there, never many goals between us + french teams.” He is right but I believe they ave enough firepower and are in form and should make it past a game Marseille. The remaining matchups are as follows: AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma vs Shaktar Donetsk, FC Schalke vs Valencia, and Copenhagen vs Chelsea. The first leg of games will be played on February 15/16 and 22/23 while the second legs will be played March 8/9 and 15/16. Get ready for some great games and we’ll see who’s still standing into the round of 8.

Darren

Carlos Tevez wants out of Manchester City?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=852780&sec=transfers&cc=5901

Manchester City star Carlos Tevez wants out after a little over a year with the club. Up to date, Tevez has scored 33 goals in 50 games with the club, including 10 in 15 games this season. Tevez is one of the world’s best strikers, but controversy is nothing foreign to the Argentinian. First was his bitter ending with Corinthians when he refused to play and forced a transfer (Tevez ended up with West Ham). Then there was a transfer issure when leaving West Ham to Manchester United as FIFA was needed to be brought in to make a ruling. Now Tevez has handed the club a hand written transfer request, citing family reasons and a breakdown in “relationship with certain executives and individuals at the club.” Some speculation is Tevez is eyeing Real Madrid, Barcelona and a couple top teams from Serie A in Italy.

Barcelona and Real Madrid would both be good fits for Tevez. Real Madrid is in need of another striker as Gonzalo Higuain is out with a back injury, Karim Benzema has been very inconsistent, and Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo were once teammates at Manchester United. Barcelona would be a good fit as they have fellow Argentinians Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Gabriel Milito for Tevez to play with. Whoever lands Tevez (If anyone), will receive a heck of a player, who can burn defenses and reign terror on opposing goalkeepers. I think Tevez gets transferred, but in my opinion it will only be between maybe 5 or 6 teams as he will carry a hefty price tag that many squads won’t be willing to pay.

Darren

Cristiano stars in October for Madrid

In the month of October there was one football player who’s name was brought up seemingly daily, Cristiano Ronaldo, and for good reason. Cristiano did something in October that was truly magnificent. CR7 as he’s commonly referred to, scored an amazing ten goals over four consecutive matches, breaking the Real Madrid record of nine previously held by three former Madrid players. Overall, CR7 tallied 13 goals over nine matches, setting a career high in goals for a month, including a career high four goals against Racing. Next on his sight is breaking Puskas’ record of 13 goals over seven consecutive matches. Is it possible? Definately. CR7 has dominated so far this season in both La Liga play as well as in the Champions League. Arguably the world best player, C. Ronaldo has shown everyone exactly why with beautiful scoring touch, great passing, lethal set piece kicks as well as hustle. There isn’t much the 25 year old winger can’t do and expect another record to fall as CR7 continues his World-Class play.

Darren

Real Madrid thrash Depor

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=301960&cc=5901

Real Madrid came into yesterday’s game having only scored nine goals in seven games this season. Facing a much weaker Depor side, Madrid came out firing on all cylinders and scored in the 4th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner. From there it was “All systems go.” Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain would all score before an own goal by Depor knocked them down to 5-0. Juan Rodriguez would get one back after capitalizing on one of the very opportunities his team had and then finally Cristiano would score a vintage Cristiano goal and cap off the scoring and the game at 6-1. This was only the 2nd time Madrid had put up a half dozen goals on Depor, the last time coming in 1945. Jose Mourinho gave Juan Carlos a cap, his La Liga debut, and also gave Esteban Granero and Lass Diarra some much needed minutes. Juan Carlos’ appearance came at the expense of Karim Benzema who has been involved in many rumors and speculations. Real Madrid can now look ahead to their Sept 17th matchup with Malaga who sit tied for 10th and with 7 points.

Darren