Barca and Real will clash in Copa semis
BARCELONA, Spain ● Lionel Messi scored on his 15th straight start to seal a thrilling 4-2 win for Barcelona at Malaga on Thursday, sending the defending champions through to a Copa del Rey semifinal against archrival Real Madrid. Barcelona broke a rare two-game winless streak by outgunning Malaga to reach its sixth semifinal in seven [...]
Modric wins Super Cup during Real debut
MADRID, Spain ● Real Madrid took advantage of quick goals plus an early sending off to beat 10-man Barcelona 2-1 Wednesday to win the Spanish Super Cup on away goals after the two-legged tie ended 4-4. Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid in control with goals inside 23 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu to [...]
Barcelona’s Puyol returns after knee surgery
BARCELONA, Spain ● Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has returned to the pitch after recovering from surgery to his right knee. The Barcelona captain saw his first playing time this preseason in a friendly match against PSG in Paris on Saturday. Barcelona won on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regular time. Puyol’s injury in May [...]
Barca’s Villa gets permission to play
BARCELONA, Spain ● Barcelona’s team doctor says striker David Villa has recovered from a broken leg. Ramon Cugat said Tuesday that Villa has “recovered from the injury, but he is still not 100 percent ready.” The Spain striker had been sidelined since surgery on his left leg in December and still needs time to get [...]
Louis The Builder can set the record straight
COMOX, BC ● The Netherlands have appointed Louis van Gaal as their new head coach. Well, in fact not that new, as the 60-year old already had a stint with the Dutch twelve years ago, when he became the last coach who failed to qualify with The Netherlands for a major tournament, in [...]
No tweets from Spanish players during Euro’s
MADRID, Spain ● The players on defending champion Spain have been banned from tweeting during the European Championship. Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas wrote on his Twitter account that beginning Friday ”we are not allowed to use social networks.” Gerard Pique tells his fans he won’t be in touch during the tournament that runs from June [...]
Spain striker David Villa to miss Euro 2012
BARCELONA, Spain ● Spain striker David Villa ruled himself out of the European Championship on Tuesday after failing to recover from a leg injury that forced him to miss much of the last season with Barcelona. Barcelona striker David Villa will miss the European Championships because of a fractured left shin he suffered in the [...]
Messi hits 50 as Pep says adios to fans
BARCELONA, Spain ● Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored all four goals in a 4-0 rout of Espanyol to bring up his half century in La Liga and take his total goals tally for the season to a record-breaking 72 on Saturday. In what was Pep Guardiola’s last home match in charge at the Nou Camp, [...]
