LA LIGA & REAL MADRID

[Madeus]

OT:

Arsenal 3-0 Blackburn

Le Bob (Pires) can still play! I saw interesting things happened when he started to run with the ball.

Van Persie is class, specially with his first goal. He costed 1.5M pounds acquired from Feyenoord.

Now that is what I called bargain.

OOT:

I guess we need we thread for those who likes English Football. I just opened a thread for it. Check: http://forums.istorya.net/viewtopic.php?t=31632

[raul julia]

Real Madrid, who beat Barca 4-2 at the Bernabeu last weekend, had heaped pressure on their arch-rivals when a Ronaldo double gave them a 2-0 win at Bernd Schuster's Levante.
The Brazilian grabbed his first by smashing in from six metres shortly before halftime and took his season total to 15 with a superb solo effort in the closing minutes.
Real were given a tough time by Levante in the opening minutes in Valencia and former player Alberto Rivera was denied a goal by a spectacular one-handed save from Iker Casillas when his shot ballooned off a defender towards the top corner.
Although Levante put together some neat passing moves in the centre of midfield, Real needed just one more opportunity to snatch the lead.
Full back Michel Salgado burst down the right, cut inside to the area and fired in a cross to Ronaldo who pulled away from his marker before swinging a firm right-foot shot past Mora.
Casillas then produced a sharp block to stop a fierce drive from defender Pablo Pinillos and made a brilliant recovery to get his hand to a goal-bound shot from Vladimir Manchev after the Bulgarian striker appeared to have skipped round him at the near post.
Levante had several more scoring chances midway through the second half but Ronaldo who put an end to any hopes of a comeback when he struck again seven minutes from time.
Latching on to a first-time pass from substitute Luis Figo, the Brazilian charged down the centre of the pitch, outpaced defender Jesule, swerved past Mora and guided the ball into the empty net.

[raul julia]

So this Sunday it will be Real Madrid hosting Villareal, and Barcelona away to Malaga, with Barca still six(6) points up......

[Von!-x]

OT:
I guess we need we thread for those who likes English Football. I just opened a thread for it. Check: http://forums.istorya.net/viewtopic.php?t=31632

@Madeus - no need to open another thread as we have blessings from fingolfin (mod) to discuss about football on this thread even if we're EPL fans. No need to write OT too. See previous posts on this thread.


I think Man U needs to buy Ronaldinho or any of similar caliber in order for them to be at par with Chelsea or with the other high-profile teams in Europe. Liverpool will be a force to reckon with next season. They're currently fighting for a place in Europe next season which, I believe, they can achieve in the remaining games.

As for Arsenal, they're as deadly as ever but a weakling in Europe. I don't know why.

[raul julia]

Walay nay thrill sa EPL kay klaro na Chelsea ang champ karon na season....Sa LaLiga og Seria A ang lalisonon pa........

[raul julia]

UEFA approves new player rules!

A rule designed to increase the number of locally trained soccer players was unanimously approved Thursday by European soccer federations.
Starting next season, teams will be required to have a 25-player roster that contains at least two players trained at their own academy. An additional two must come through systems of clubs from the same country.
Although the rule applies only to UEFA's competitions, including the Champions League and UEFA Cup, European soccer's governing body urged its members to adopt it in domestic competitions.
The quotas, approved at UEFA's annual conference, will increase to four club-trained players and four from the home country in 2008.
The measure is an attempt to reverse the effects of a 10-year-old European Court decision outlawing limits on nondomestic players within the European Union.
The Bosman ruling, named for the player who prompted the change, allowed wealthy teams such as Real Madrid to assemble talent from all over Europe and neglect the development of young players. Smaller clubs found it cheaper to employ players from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson said some of Europe's wealthiest teams, such as Chelsea and Barcelona, balked at the new ruling because it will restrict their ability to field the best team possible.

[raul julia]

Sidelined Figo hints at possible international return

Portuguese winger Luis Figo is reconsidering his decision to retire from international football after being dropped by Real Madrid.
The 32-year-old also hinted at a possible premature departure from Real before his contract expires at the end of next season.
"I left the national team because I was tired and wanted to concentrate on playing for my club," he told a news conference on Wednesday. "But as I'm not playing at the moment my feelings have changed.
"I know that I can play at the top level for another two more years and I will do that wherever I feel useful."
Figo was dropped by coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo from the starting line-up for the Primera Liga clash against his former club Barcelona this month. He also started on the bench for last week's match against Levante.
The former World and European Player of the Year, who withdrew from international football after Euro 2004, said he was not angry at being dropped but was disappointed by the way the club handled the decision.
"I haven't asked for any explanations when I've played and I'm not going to do so now," he said. "But there is a difference between asking for explanations and being kept informed.
"I just think that I deserve to be told if I'm going to play or not rather than find out through the media -- that's all I'm asking for. I'm not looking for any controversy, I'm not playing and I respect those that are."
Figo, who joined Real from Barcelona for a then world record fee of $56 million, said he hoped the decision to drop him had nothing to do with the fact that his contract expires in June 2006.
"I want to believe that my relegation to the bench is for footballing reasons alone because any other reason would be illogical," he said. "I hope that this is just the coach's decision.
"I am a professional and my intention is to see out my contract and I'm not setting any deadlines but when you sign a contract there is always a chance that one of the two parties does not want to see it out to the end.
"I feel that I can still be useful to the club, but not if I only play 10 minutes in each game. If the club no longer considers me useful then I will leave."

[Madeus]

Nangluod na gyud si Figo.

Saon man nga onse ra man ka player ang football.

Remember Figo in Euro2004, he was one of the best.

[raul julia]

bitaw, he was really great at Euro'04, sayang limited nalang iya time this days sa pitch....

[Von!-x]

Maayo pa mobalhin ug EPL si Figo. Teams like Liverpool and Everton need international talents, to be more competitive sa Champions League or the UEFA cup