Football News

Real Madrid are coming to town and the city of Barcelona is buzzing with anticipation. However, it is not FC Barcelona that the visitors will face, but a Clasico of a slightly different nature as Espanyol prepare to open their brand new stadium, the Estadi Cornella-El Prat, for official competition.

The match has all the hype of the more famous Clasico though, as confrontations between Espanyol and Real Madrid tend to be, this could well be one of the most competitive fixtures that La Liga has to offer during the course of the season.

In this encounter, the ‘Floren Team’ of Galacticos inaugurate the new Perico stadium, providing added incentive for Espanyol to treat their fans, who will have paid a pretty penny (or more precisely, centavo) for tickets and the team hopes for a memorable beginning to a new era.

Besides the a star-studded Madrid coming to town, the match has earned a good deal of international attention, especially in Japan, as Japanese superstar Shunsuke Nakamura makes his home debut for the Blanquiazules. Days in advance of the match, Barcelona has been bouncing with members of the Japanese media and the Saturday’s duel will be broadcast live in Tokyo as fans in the Far East are to be treated to a mouth-watering combination of their idol, top-class Liga football, and a world-renowned Real Madrid.

Finally, Espanyol fans will be given to chance to christen their new stadium by paying tribute to the fallen Dani Jarque after the former captain tragically died of a heart attack during the team’s preseason tour to Italy. A minute of silence will precede the match, but one can be sure that the following 90 minutes will be anything but silent and the new stadium will likely shake in its foundation as fans drive their team on.

Stars Return to the Galaxy

After a week-long international break of World Cup Qualifiers, which left the Madrid training pitch in Valdebebas with only 11 first-team players, Los Blancos could have some problems with fatigue in matching up against a Catalunyan side that has had far more time to prepare.

Thus far, Los Merengues have performed well, having looked strong throughout the pre-season and fighting with admirable zeal to defeat bogey team Deportivo La Coruna in the Liga opener. But in the hiatus of international matches, the Spanish press has had time to develop storylines analysing the team’s new stars, with most popular headlines being speculation over the amount of time it will take for Cristiano Ronaldo to adapt to the style of Liga football.

Unable to provide a convincing performance to lead a lacklustre Portugal to an emphatic victory in the week’s World Cup Qualifying matches, CR9 will be anxious to recover the form of his Manchester United days and a goal from a free kick would serve as a way to begin recovering this confidence.

FORM GUIDE

RCD Espanyol

29/07/2009 Preseason Palafrugell - Espanyol 1-2
02/08/2009 Preseason Espanyol - Liverpool 3-0
05/08/2009 Preseason Napoli - Espanyol 0-0
22/08/2009 Preseason Girona - Espanyol 1-2
30/08/2009 Liga Athletic Bilbao - Espanyol 1-0

Real Madrid

7/08/2009 Preseason D. C. United-Real Madrid 0-3
15/08/2009 Preseason Real Sociedad-Real Madrid 0-2
19/08/2009 Preseason Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid 0-5
25/08/2009 Preseason Real Madrid-Rosenborg 4-0
29/09/2009 Liga Real Madrid - Deportivo 3-2



TEAM NEWS

RCD Espanyol

Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino is set to employ his ‘Barcelona recipe’—a high-pressure system of play in which his team pursues the ball well into the opposition’s half of the pitch; it is this strategy that saw Espanyol beat a seemingly invincible Barca by a 2-1 scoreline at the Camp Nou last season and Madrid showed problems coping with such advanced pressure last year.

Morale is high in the Espanyol camp as the squad is intent upon paying tribute to Dani Jarque and players like striker Luis Garcia have shown confidence that they will beat Madrid to open their new stadium. Pochettino is likely to repeat the same starting XI that played last week against Athletic Bilbao with the hope of achieving a different result than the 1-0 defeat last week at the San Mames. Ivan de la Pena will likely see action off the bench; the aging 'Buddha' tends to play very well against top-class competition and Saturday should be no different.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Kameni – Pillud, Forlin, Pareja, Chica – Moises, Verdu – Luis Garcia, Ivan Alonso, Nakamura – Raul Tamudo.


Real Madrid

The big news in Madrid has been the recovery of Sergio Ramos after the player spent over two-and-a-half months out with tendonitis. However, the Sevilla youth product has been left out of the squad for the trip to Barcelona, instead, according to coach Manuel Pellegrini, to debut in next week’s match. Also not making the trip are Rafael Van Der Vaart, who again seems not to fit into Pellegrini’s plans, and Fernando Gago, who has been given a cold shoulder since the Chilean coach arrived at the helm. Pepe also continues to be out, serving the last four matches of a ten-match suspension.

Those that have been included in the squad have been Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mahamadou Diarra who have both recovered from their long-term injuries and are fit enough to play. Both could see extensive action in Saturday’s highly anticipated affair.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-2-2): Casillas – Arbeloa, Albiol, Metzelder, Marcelo - Xabi Alonso, Lass - Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo; Raul, Benzema.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RCD Espanyol

Former Real Madrid youth product Luis Garcia is a player of exceptional talent and is due to have a season similar to the one that saw him earn a call-up to the Spanish national side two years ago. In goal, Kameni will likely see a barrage of shots come down on his net and the Cameroonian goalkeeper will be called upon more than once to pull out the spectacular saves he frequently makes. Finally, Ivan de la Pena will come off the bench in the hope of adding new life to his team’s attack in the second half. Against Barcelona last season, the Buddha was pivotal in leading Los Pericos to victory.


Real Madrid

After a brilliant showing with Brazil in the World Cup Qualifying match against Argentina last week, Kaka will be looking to continue his awesome form against an Espanyol side that will not easily back down. Cristiano Ronaldo will also be worth one’s eye as the Portuguese will be looking to score his first free kick for Los Blancos. After inexplicably playing only 17 minutes total in the World Cup Qualifying matches with France, Karim Benzema will be fresh and ready fire away at Kameni’s goal. Raul also has a penchant for scoring against Espanyol and it would not surprise if the captain were to find the back of the net again. Finally, the return of Van Nistelrooy and Diarra to official competition could be noteworthy—the former single-handedly won matches for Madrid last season and the latter was an absolute rock in defence before going down with an injury.


PREDICTION

Security is high and tensions are even higher as Madrid come to Barcelona to take on Espanyol in their new stadium’s inauguration. With a minute of silence in honour of Dani Jarque, the ambiance surrounding this encounter has the makings of a real classic.

Espanyol will likely come with everything they have and should Madrid’s expensive star power falter in La Liga, the press will pick up on the story and the pressure will mount. Thus far, Los Blancos have performed well and while, despite the international break, there is no reason that should change, Los Pericos could surprise.

Real Madrid have been named as the best club of the 20th century after an exhaustive study by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

The Spanish giants finished out in front of Juventus, who were second, while Barcelona, Milan and Bayern Munich completed the top five in the historic record books.

In recent seasons the IFFHS have judged clubs in order of merit, but have only done so in the Club World Ranking that began in 1991.

Demand was high for a ranking based on titles won, placings in competitions and other factors over the entire 20th century, and now the IFFHS have explained how they reached their conclusion.

"For some years now, the IFFHS has been asked by clubs, sports journalists and fans to determine the clubs of the century for the individual continents but on a realistic basis without imaginary values and subjective influences," the statement on the IFFHS website explains.

"The rankings published so far have been based on the number of titles won or placings or marathon tables in competitions.

"Because the Club World Ranking (by IFFHS) has been determined monthly only since January 1991, it cannot be used as the basis for determining the club of the century.

"The IFFHS has decided these continental clubs of the century and with it continental rankings of century to determine exclusively on the base of individual match results of the continental club competitions.

"The national competitions are merely a prerequisite to qualify for the continental club competitions. Intercontinental club competitions were not taken into consideration."

A point system saw clubs rewarded for their performances in the Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, Mitropa Cup, Copa Latina and the European Super Cup.

Below are the top ten clubs of the 20th century:

Points Club
563.50 Real Madrid
466.00 Juventus
458.00 FC Barcelona
399.75 AC Milan
399.00 Bayern Munich
362.00 Inter
332.75 Ajax
300.25 Liverpool
299.00 Benfica
231.00 Anderlecht

Espanyol face Real Madrid in the Primera Division on Saturday, and their captain is puzzled by the criticism that los Merengues' Portuguese star has received from some quarters.

"Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have to prove anything," Ivan de la Pena stated in an interview with AS.

"I saw him play against Deportivo La Coruna and I liked him. The fact is any Real Madrid player can turn a game: [Karim] Benzema, Kaka, Cristiano, Raul...

"Xabi Alonso gives the team a lot of options," the 33-year-old added.

While the 'Little Buddha' was full of praise for Saturday night's opposition, he is also quietly confident that Espanyol could find a result against their illustrious opponents.

"We must be ourselves and play our football. If we are able to play a good game, we will get a good result. We want to play a part," he declared.

Juande Ramos has admitted that he is not happy that Real Madrid were paired against Liverpool in the first knockout round of the Champions League in Switzerland on Friday.Los Merengues' coach had hoped to avoid English opposition and he stated that he was not pleased, but did consider that Rafa Benítez would also not be satisfied.

It will be an even contest though as Ramos knows Liverpool well from his time at Tottenham, while the Reds' manager knows Madrid as he was a coach there before."We have not liked the draw that we have been given and I suppose that they will not have either," Ramos told reporters.

"Rafa Benítez knows Real Madrid very well and I also know Liverpool and Benítez well from my time in England."

Although he is not pleased with the draw, Ramos admitted that while Liverpool are a strong side Madrid should not worried about playing any team in particular.

"They are a complete and difficult team and have some very good players," he continued. "But Real Madrid cannot fear anyone and we have the same chances as them to go through."

12:20 CET: Well, what can we take from this? At this stage it's churlish to try to select a "tie of the round" due to the sheer strength of the teams involved, but there are three English teams meeting three Italian teams here in what will surely be huge matches right across the board. Villarreal-Panathinaikos could potentially provide a surprise semi-finalist, while Lyon-Barcelona could be especially intriguing if the French champions get a good first leg result.

That's it for our live coverage, but join us throughout the afternoon and beyond as we bring you the latest reactions from inside the clubs, not to mention our unsurpassed editorial content. And remember, the Goal.com forums are just waiting for your contribution! Goodbye!

12:19 CET: That's the draw complete - here it is in full:

Chelsea - Juventus
Villarreal - Panathinaikos
Sporting - Bayern
Atletico Madrid - FC Porto
Lyon - Barcelona
Real Madrid - Liverpool
Arsenal - Roma
Inter - Manchester United

12:18 CET: And then ARSENAL meet ROMA by default, leaving one more tie - INTERNAZIONALE meet MANCHESTER UNITED!

12:17 CET: Struggling REAL MADRID remain a massive test for... my, oh, my! LIVERPOOL!

12:16 CET: OLYMPIQUE LYON are out next. Lyon are going to face FC BARCELONA!

12:15 CET: And then ATLETICO MADRID are drawn to face... well, it's none other than FC PORTO! Once again it looks like big guns versus big guns are coming up soon - but both of those sides will feel that this tie is winnable!

12:14 CET: Next up is SPORTING CP. They will face... BAYERN MUNICH! Well, this leaves several of the bigger guns free to be drawn against each other!

12:13 CET: VILLARREAL are next out. Who will Manuel Pellegrini's side meet this time? It's... PANATHINAIKOS. (Scroll to the foot of the page to see the whole draw, by the way, as it happens._

12:12 CET: AND WE'RE UNDERWAY! The first team out is CHELSEA. And their opponents... JUVENTUS! Claudio Ranieri meets his old side!

12:11 CET: The UEFA boffin is explaining the different draw permutations. Of course Goal.com has already kept readers informed of who can meet whom here (opens in a new window), so feel free to take a little two-minute snooze until the draw takes place!

12:09 CET: And now a UEFA functionary has appeared to conduct the draw. There are just minutes to go but, curiously enough, the presidential seating at the front of the room is nowhere near full, but the press area at the back is chock-a-block...

12:07 CET: Now we take a moment to remember the contributions of Bruno Conti. The former AS Roma legend is now a UEFA Champions League ambassador. He spent seventeen years with the giallorossi, believe it or not, in a wildly successful career. He may not have ever won the European Cup but he did finish as a runner-up...

12:06 CET: We're now midway through one of those highlight reels that UEFA do so well, in which the 16 remaining sides are being showcased. Of course it's hard to draw too many conclusions from a 20 second clip of each side, but Panathinaikos, despite their relatively modest stature, look to be a force to be reckoned with...

12:02 CET: Mr. Taylor reveals that of the 16 remaining teams, no fewer than 13 are past finalists of Europe's premier competition. I'll let you rack your brains to see if you can work out which three have never made it to the last two...

12:00 CET: And we're underway! UEFA General Secretary David Taylor of Scotland is waxing lyrical about the Champions League's unique charm. Michel Platini, the UEFA chief, sends his apologies - he's at the Club World Cup in Japan at the moment, preparing to cheer on Manchester United (apparently.)

11:59 CET: I'll be watching this article's comments as the draw takes place, so keep them coming. Above all, though, you should think about getting involved with your fellow fans on our Goal.com forums (opens in a new window), where the Champions League is just one of many topics. And, as always, our FREE Goal.com Manager (opens in a new window) game brings you the best of the Champions League excitement.

11:57 CET: Indeed, while Barcelona's draw may be considered "easy", another look at the teams involved suggests that there is no simple passage to the next stage. After all, even those names considered less than huge on the continental stage have their advantages. Panathinaikos, of course, managed to win their group ahead of Inter. The Italian champions thus can only meet Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, or Porto. Not long to go now!

11:53 CET: Just seven minutes to go until the ceremonies begin. The draw itself will follow after the usual pre-amble. Barcelona president Joan Laporta has more reason than most to be nervous at the moment: such is his side's seeding that they can only be drawn against Chelsea, Inter, Lyon, or Arsenal. But, as the cliché goes, to be the best, you have to beat the best...

11:46 CET: The great, the good, and the not-so-great of European football are assembled in Nyon to follow the draw, which, in true UEFA fashion, is somewhat Byzantine in its structure. It's not as simple as two sets of seeds being drawn against each other. Instead ther are certain stipulations: teams from the same group must avoid each other, as much those from the same national league. Our Goal.com guide to the qualifiers is here (opens in a new window) if you want a last-minute look at who can face whom.

11:44 CET: Welcome to Goal.com's LIVE coverage of the UEFA Champions League draw in Nyon! I'm Ewan Macdonald and we at Goal.com will be with you every step of the way as Europe's top 16 teams learn their fate on a cold, Swiss afternoon...

DRAW

Chelsea - Juventus
Villarreal - Panathinaikos
Sporting - Bayern
Atletico Madrid - FC Porto
Lyon - Barcelona
Real Madrid - Liverpool
Arsenal - Roma
Inter - Manchester United

Real Madrid are reportedly lining up a bid for Portsmouth's French midfielder Lassana Diarra, according to Sky Sports News.The former Arsenal and Chelsea player has been the subject of almost constant transfer speculation this season, particularly after the departure of Harry Reknapp from the Portsmouth manager's job.

Rumours of financial instability continue to surround the Fratton Park outfit, and the cash that a club like Real could pay would be very much appreciated by Pompey.The Spanish giants could face some significant English competition for the player's signature from newly wealthy Manchester City though, whose manager Mark Hughes is keen to boost his midfield options.

New Madrid manager Juande Ramos is reportedly an admirer of Diarra, having seen the player in action whilst he was the manager at Tottenham Hotpsur. With Mahamadou Diarra currently unavailable at El Santiago Bernebeu due to injury, Ramos is keen to bring in a defensive midfielder and the Portsmouth man would seem to fit the bill.

Diarra joined Portsmouth for £5 million in January 2008 but would likely jump at the chance of playing for the Spanish giants.

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón has insisted that the Spanish giants only pursued Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer because the player told them that he wanted to join them.Los Merengues' supremo recognised that it could have damaged the club's relationship with the Premier League oufit, but stated that he only pushed because he thought the Portuguese star would do the same.

The Ronaldo saga lasted throughout the pre-season transfer window and dominated sports pages around the world, only for the whole thing to collapse when United stated that they would not sell.Now Caldéron has reflected on the relentless chase and admitted that the only did it because he believed that he was helping the player to make his dream come true.
"We have left that, it has been a very big story, which we didn't provoke," he told Sky Sports News. "The player said he wanted to come here, a dream to come to Real Madrid and we received and we were happy to know that.

"After that I talked to Manchester [United] but [chief executive] David Gill was very clear and said they did not want to sell at all.

"We want to have a good relation with all the big clubs in Europe and Manchester [United] is one of the best and I would like to have a good relationship with them forever, and they said for the moment no.

"I know the media in general like to give excitement to their readers and listeners and Cristiano Ronaldo is a fantastic player and he has won the Golden Ball - and I congratulate him on that and I wish him the best - regardless of where he is going to be in the future."

Real Madrid and Ajax have officially confirmed they have reached an agreement over the transfer of forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The 25-year-old is going to cost the Bernabeu club €20 million up front, with the total fee potentially rising to €27m with additional clauses based on appearances and his levels of success with Los Blancos included in the deal.


The transfer will take place subject to Huntelaar agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, with Madrid set to sign the striker on a four-and-a-half-year contract, running until the summer of 2013.
If everything goes as planned, the player will join Madrid on January 2.

Huntelaar, who will be eligible to play in the Champions League having only played in the Uefa Cup with Ajax this year, has earned former club Heerenveen €2.5m as part of a sell-on clause they held from his sale to the Amsterdan giants in 2005.

Madrid’s official statement read: "Huntelaar is the new Real Madrid player. Real Madrid and Ajax Amsterdam have reached an agreement for the forward.

"As usual, the deal is dependent on the player passing a medical and the signing of his contract with Real Madrid.

"Klaas Jan Huntelaar will be tied to Real Madrid until June 30, 2013."

Los Merengues have acted in the transfer market after a season-ending injury to Ruud van Nistelrooy left them short on striking options, with another signing expected to be announced for the January transfer window.

Huntelaar scored a superb 75 goals in 90 league games and a total of 100 strikes in 120 appearances in all competitions for Ajax, following up from a successful spell with Heerenveen where he netted 34 league goals in 46 matches.

The prolific striker also has 18 international caps for the Netherlands and has already scored 10 times for his country.