madristar

Emery rues record breaking Raul Unai Emery admitted Valencia's chances in the Champions League have been seriously dented by Raul's record breaking goal. The contest started well for the home side with Roberto Soldado oepning the scoring against Schalke, but it was only a matter of time before Spanish legend Raul fired home a vital away goal for to earn a 1-1 draw for the Germans. The goal was Raul's 71st in top European competitions, breaking Gerd Muller's long-standing record. "If it hadn't hurt us so much we would be the first to congratulate him," Emery told Skysports.com "I think both teams deserved credit. Vicente Guaita made a lot of saves for us but in the end they managed to score. We also missed a lot of chances." Meanwhile, Schalke coach Felix Magath was obviosuly delighted to see his summer signing score. "He showed the class he has always had. He exploited his talents, not only for the goal but all the work he put in during the match," Magath was quoted as saying. The return leg in Germany will be held next month.

Emery rues record breaking Raul Unai Emery admitted Valencia's chances in the Champions League have been seriously dented by Raul's record breaking goal. The contest started well for the home side with Roberto Soldado oepning the scoring against Schalke, but it was only a matter of time before Spanish legend Raul fired home a vital away goal for to earn a 1-1 draw for the Germans. The goal was Raul's 71st in top European competitions, breaking Gerd Muller's long-standing record. "If it hadn't hurt us so much we would be the first to congratulate him," Emery told Skysports.com "I think both teams deserved credit. Vicente Guaita made a lot of saves for us but in the end they managed to score. We also missed a lot of chances." Meanwhile, Schalke coach Felix Magath was obviosuly delighted to see his summer signing score. "He showed the class he has always had. He exploited his talents, not only for the goal but all the work he put in during the match," Magath was quoted as saying. The return leg in Germany will be held next month.

He also shared some story about his struggle to return back on the pitch, as well as his opinion about Jose Mourinho and team mate Karim Benzema. “My return was very difficult, not just from a medical standpoint, but from a motivational one as well. I always like to play. Playing football puts a smile on my face. These five last months of the season are crucial because all will be decided. We can do a lot of great things this year. We must win a title.” “Real Madrid has and always will be demanding. Winning is a requirement. This team has the talent to win all three competitions. I hope I can make fans happy doing what I know best. I am a more mature player and I think I have a lot to offer when healthy. I have to work, work, work to get to where I want to be.” “Mourinho is helping me a lot and giving me the playing time I need to reach peak condition. I put a lot of pressure on myself and I know I am not in top shape, but I am working hard and I think I will improve in no time.” “Mourinho is a leader and a great coach. When we need to laugh, he makes jokes. When he needs to be tough and motivate us, he does. I find him very motivated because his job is very challenging. Mou is building a team and is doing a great job, but sometimes things take more than year.” “Mou was very straightforward with us. He said, “I am your coach today and we are going to do our best to win. We will see what happens at the end of the season. I am here and I will give you all that I have got.” He is a great coach who wants to succeed with this team.” “The coach must decide if there is need for a striker. I am here to help on the field. I will be very happy if Ruud van Nistelrooy comes. He helped me a lot during the time we coincided here. He taught me a lot.” “Benzema is a great forward, but he sometimes isn’t completely involved in the game and we think he can do a little more. He has the talent. We see how good he is during training. He can be an important player for Real Madrid. It’s up to him.”

Kaka’s interview with BWIN, the Real Madrid sponsor, discussing about the upcoming La Liga match against Mallorca. “It was a long recovery process, but I think I can do a lot of good for this team between now and the end of the season. I am happy to have rejoined the team, returned to the playing field and to know that my teammates believe in me.” “I promise to do my very best to help this team. I want to score again in the Bernabeu. I always try to be an active participant in the team’s wins, whether it is by scoring or providing assists.” “Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the league because he is the complete package. I train with him day in and day out and I know what he is capable of. I would love to be remembered here as a winner that accomplished many things.” “The three points against Mallorca are crucial, especially because we play at home, where we are obligated to win. We need to win by playing our game.”

@ Szilvia All are reposts.You can check Carols thread in Other Females Of Interest.

@ Szilvia All are reposts.You can check Carols thread in Other Females Of Interest.

Fulham vs Chelsea Preview Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed £25million signing David Luiz will play against Fulham. Centre-back Luiz is expected to come in for Jose Bosingwa, who has a knock, with Branislav Ivanovic moving to right-back. In attack, the Italian looks set to persevere with a front three of £50million former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. Fulham's Eidur Gudjohnsen could make his first start for the Cottagers. The Iceland striker made his Cottagers debut as a late substitute in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa and will be pushing for a spot in the first XI against his former club. Dickson Etuhu (hamstring) and Philippe Senderos (Achilles) are likely to miss out again, while Bobby Zamora is still two to three weeks away from fitness after recovering from a broken leg.

Ancelotti: Chelsea title hopes are over Carlo Ancelotti may be ready to introduce another new signing on Monday, but he has conceded Chelsea are out of the title race. Ancelotti will give a full debut to £25million defender David Luiz at Fulham, having blooded £50million striker Fernando Torres last week against former club Liverpool. But despite boasting such world-class reinforcements, Ancelotti appears to have accepted a Champions League place is the best he can hope for in the Barclays Premier League. The Blues failed to sustain a bright start to the season and a series of poor results have left them fourth in the standings and 10 points adrift of Manchester United. "For us it is difficult to think we can come back to fight for the title. It is better for us to think game by game," he said. "We have to reach fourth place in the table, minimum. It is better to think game by game because to close the gap is very difficult. "We must be honest, the most important step is to reach fourth place and we have to fight with other teams (to do that). "The surprise was that the bad moment we experienced was too long." Luiz, meanwhile, is looking forward to being part of the star-studded Chelsea dressing room and believes it will help him grow as a player. Ancelotti already rates the January recruit from Benfica enough to spend heavily on him, but the Brazil defender believes there is plenty to learn from his new team-mates. One of those is, of course, Torres, whose record move from Liverpool somewhat overshadowed the Luiz deal. Luiz is used to strikers getting the lion's share of the publicity and is happy to be sharpening his defensive skills alongside an attacking group that also includes Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda. "Usually it is the strikers who get the spotlight because they bring the joy and the goals to clubs," he said. "I'm just happy to be here to help Chelsea conquer their aims and be successful. I want to become a better player. "It is certainly easier to play alongside them in training; I had the privilege to play against Torres when I was at Benfica and it was much harder. "I can only learn from the best and it is a great pleasure to play alongside great players." Another Blues icon Luiz is hoping to strike a partnership with is captain John Terry. Luiz is expected to start alongside the England man in central defence on Monday and he is simply pleased to at the same club. He continued: "Football in general admires John Terry, not just me. He is an amazing player who has won a lot. I would like to learn from John Terry and have the same success he has had for many years."

Ancelotti delighted with squad depth Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti is happy with the squad at his disposal before the clash with Fulham on Monday. Chelsea's loss to Liverpool last week left their title hopes hanging by a thread - but a look at the players they have shows they can explode at any time and regain their early season threat. In comments reported on the club's official website, Ancelotti said: "Now we have a strong squad with David Luiz and Torres, we've improved our ability and we have more power. The squad was good, but now it is even better. "This week Ramires has recovered and is able to play so we have a lot of options, he is improving game by game because he takes more confidence on his play and combinations with the other players so it will be good to have him back. "In attack we can choose whether to play with two up front or with the Christmas tree, it depends on the game that we want to play. When we play with two strikers Nicolas Anelka can be in the number 10 position, in the hole, but with one striker he can play on the right. "Florent Malouda can also play there, and sometimes we tried last year Lampard at the beginning of the season which was not bad. Malouda can also play in the Christmas tree, but I don't need to think of him as a central midfielder because we have a lot of options there." Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic recently signed a new deal which will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2016. Ancelotti was understandably delighted given the quality and versatility the Serb brings to the table. "We are very happy because Ivanovic has signed a new contract and with Davd Luiz, and Alex, he is young. We will not have a problem in the centre of defence in the future," declared the gaffer. "Ivanovic is important because he can play centre-back or right-back without a problem. He has a body that can recover very well from matches, and he has played more than any other player this season." Chelsea face the Cottagers on Monday knowing that anything but a win would see them drop out of title contention.

Positive precedents against Espanyol Diego Jabalquinto / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell Tomorrow's match will mark the 154th fixture to pit Real Madrid and Espanyol against each other. The Whites have won eight of the last ten pairings, drawing and losing the other two. They've also scored 25 goals and conceded only 8. The Madridistas won the first leg match at the Bernabeu 3-0 thanks to goals by Ronaldo, HIguain and Benzema, and have earned this score against Espanyol in their last three league ties. REAL MADRID vs. ESPANYOL P W D L GF GA 153 88 31 34 329 184 REAL MADRID NUMBERS IN THE LAST TEN GAMES W D L GF GA 8 1 1 25 8 SEASON GAME SCORE 2005/06 Real Madrid-Espanyol 4-0 2006/07 Espanyol-Real Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid-Espanyol 4-3 2007/08 Espanyol-Real Madrid 2-1 Real Madrid-Espanyol 2-1 2008/09 Real Madrid-Espanyol 2-2 Espanyol-Real Madrid 0-2 2009/10 Espanyol-Real Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid-Espanyol 3-0 2010/11 Real Madrid-Espanyol 3-0

Guardiola unhappy with a point Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was not satisfied with his side's 1-1 draw against Sporting Gijon. The draw ended Barca's record-breaking 16 match run in La Liga and gives Real Madrid to cut the gap at the top to five points when they play Espanyol on Sunday. In fact, for a long time it looked like Gijon might pull off a shock upset - but David Villa scored with a superb chip late on to grab a point for his side. Understandably, Guardiola was not very happy with the match outcome. In comments reported by the club's website, he said: "I am not satisfied with a point. If you don't win it's not a good result. I'd have been satisfied if things hadn't gone as they did. The Spaniard admitted it was not always a given that his side would win. "Just because we're Barça doesn't mean we should always win, we can lose or draw if that's how it is. Insisting, insisting and insisting," he said. Gijon were intent on defence for most of the game and Guardiola praised them for executing the plan well. "I think Sporting played perfect, Manolo approached the game well. We didn't win but we did all we could to do so. It is not easy to attack against ten defenders. The coach refused to give the midweek internationals as an excuse for his side's below par display. "At Barça you have to go out and compete every three days and these players have shown they can do that millions of times. "I know why this game was much harder for us, it's a question of movements and we were lacking depth, we're not unbeatable. "I have no complaints. We go all around Spain showing people who we are and that is already enough." Finally, Guardiola gave his comments about Barcelona's winning run finally coming to an end. "When a run like that comes to an end you value it even more, because we have won at grounds like this. "We should have to play in more places like this where the team plays for their lives. It's terribly tough to have to compete with them." Barcelona next assignment is a tough Champions League encounter with English side Arsenal on Wednesday, February 16.

Sporting Gijon 1-1 Barcelona Barcelona's record 16-match winning run in La Liga came to an end as they were held to a draw by lowly Sporting Gijon. The result also meant Barcelona failed to win away in the La Liga for the first time this season. Relegation-threatened Sporting took the lead through a fine David Barral effort after 16 minutes, and looked as if they may hold on for a shock victory until David Villa's sublime chip against his former club rescued a point for the Catalans. With his side's Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at Arsenal coming up in London on Wednesday night, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola opted to rest several of his regular starters. Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Eric Abidal were all left on the bench, with Ibrahim Affelay, Javier Mascherano and Maxwell drafted into the starting line-up. There was also a place for Argentinian defender Gabriel Milito, in for the injured Carles Puyol. Andres Iniesta tried his luck for Barcelona early on, but the visitors were not having things all their own way and Maxwell had to be alert to deny Nacho Novo a shooting opportunity after 12 minutes. And four minutes later, Sporting stunned the league leaders as they took the lead through Barral. It was a fine individual strike from the Sporting forward, who took up possession on the left flank and beat both Gerard Pique and Milito before drilling a precise, angled shot low past Victor Valdes and inside the post. Sporting had won three of their previous four league matches to move out of the relegation zone, but the northerners had been widely expected to lose this one against a side who arrived in Gijon with an unblemished away record and a seven-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Sporting had lost 1-0 at the Nou Camp earlier this season, but were later accused by Madrid coach Jose Mourinho of facilitating a Barcelona victory by resting eight first-team players for that clash. Sporting coach Manolo Preciado defended himself vehemently against those accusations, claiming he sent out the team he thought had the best chance of getting a result at the Nou Camp. Just maybe, however, Preciado will have felt he had a point to prove in this match. That was apparently transmitted on the pitch as his players continued to look relatively comfortable following Barral's strike. Nevertheless, they needed a fine save from goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to deny Iniesta 12 minutes before the break. Cuellar was the hero again 13 minutes into the second period, when he got down well to deny Dani Alves after the Brazil right-back had stormed into the area unchallenged. The Sporting goalkeeper also saved twice from Lionel Messi as Barcelona, improved since the half-time introduction of Pedro in place of Affelay, pressed for an equaliser. It finally came 11 minutes from time when Villa, who began his career at Sporting, latched on to Messi's through-ball and chipped exquisitely over Cuellar, who had come racing off his line. Xavi went close with a long-range effort at the death, but Barcelona were unable to secure a 17th straight La Liga win or what would have been an 11th consecutive away victory in the league. The result means Madrid can close to within five points of the Catalans with a win at Barcelona's city rivals Espanyol on Sunday.

Ronaldo: Mourinho best in the world Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo believes he is being managed by the best coach in the world. There has always been mutual respect between Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, with both eager to acknowledge the genius of the other. Speaking to Antena 3, the player reinforced that impression, saying: "I consider Mourinho to be the best coach in the world. The titles he's won show how experienced he is. He is a natural born winner and everything is easier with him." Ronaldo then went on to shower praise on everything associated with the club. "I play for the best club in the world and I have the best team-mates in the world," he said. "We mustn't think the league is lost. We have to believe it's difficult to win, but also possible. "We'll have to fight to the end. Barcelona are very strong, but so are we. We are going to fight." Real's hopes will have received a boost after Barca dropped two points against Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Saturday. Now the gap at the top is five points and does not appear to be nearly as insurmountable. Of course, los Blancos other great hope of a trophy this season is the Copa del Rey where they will again meet their bitter rivals in the final. "I think we are going to win the Copa del Rey final. We have to think we will; it would be better to stay home if we didn't. Barcelona are a great team, but we will do everything we can to win the Copa," said Ronaldo. "The thought of not winning a title this year does not enter my mind. It could happen, but I'd rather not think about it. I'm optimistic and I'm convinced we'll achieve it by the end of the season." Real have a Champions League encounter looming on the horizon against Lyon - the team that beat them in last year's competition at the same stage. Ronaldo and his teammates will be eager to take revenge for the reversal.

Cristiano Ronaldo: "I've never seen a club as great as Real Madrid" "I always try to do my best to win with my team" Edu Bueno / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell Cristiano Ronaldo talked shop and about his beginnings as a player on Cadena SER. "I've never seen a club as great as Real Madrid. It is impressive on all levels: in its greatness, in its fanbase, in its history... The reaction we get is incredible wherever we go." "I'm used to dealing with unpleasant situations. I sometimes get bothered by things I hear or that people say to me, but they're part of my life. I'm still fighting. I only listen when they say 'This Portuguese player is very good.' I don't need people to annoy me in order to play well. I always try to give my best when I'm on the pitch and I try to help my team win with goals, passes, etc. I always try to be the best." "Look at my legs and see how bruised they are. But that's normal. I'm used to being challenged. I try not to answer back. I get up and continue playing. I was kicked around the same way when I was a kid, and I got up and carried on because they were all bigger than me." "In order to be successful you have to believe and feel you can become a footballer. If you work hard I'm sure you can achieve what you want. Everyone has one chance in their lives and they have to make good use of it. I started out when I was very young. I left my home when I was 12 years old and went to Lisbon from Madeira. It was difficult. I cried every day because it was the most complicated time in my life, but I had faith in myself and I wanted to achieve important things. I am grateful to my family for letting me go: if they hadn't I wouldn't be who I am today." "I don't feel tired. I feel very well. I've felt even better in the last stretch of the championship. I think this is obvious on the pitch." "We will win the Copa del Rey final and I will try to score." "I was a good student, but starting out so young made it difficult to play and study at the same time. I like marketing and I wouldn't have minded becoming a PE teacher. I don't think about what I'll do when my career is over because I can still play at the highest level for seven or eight years." "I'm not a football geek. I like to practice other sports, such as basketball and table tennis. I also like to study English so I don't forget how to speak it. I'm always curious and like to learn things. I consider myself to be a good person. I'm not false or hypocritical. I say things to one's face and I always try to behave correctly. I am very good to those who are good to me."