madristar

Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea Arsenal moved back to second place in the Premier League after finally beating title rivals Chelsea. The 3-1 scoreline was the first time Arsenal had beaten Chelsea since November 2008 as the Blues' poor run continued. The Gunners had lost each of their previous five matches against Chelsea, but Alex Song put them ahead before half-time, with quickfire strikes from captain Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott giving Arsene Wenger's side a three-goal cushion. Chelsea reduced the deficit through Branislav Ivanovic, but there was no way back for Carlo Ancelotti's men, who have now taken just six points from their last eight league games - the club's worst run since 1998. Arsenal, beaten at Manchester United in their previous game, were positive during the opening exchanges. Robin van Persie almost collected Song's chip into the box, but the ball bounced just ahead of the Dutch striker. There was a warning with Chelsea's first meaningful attack as Didier Drogba - with 13 goals in as many games against the Gunners - shrugged off his marker to drag a 20-yard shot wide. John Terry pulled back Van Persie as the Gunners looked to break on the half-way line, but a stern talking-to from referee Mark Clattenburg was all the Chelsea skipper received. The home side continued to press, and had a penalty appeal waved away when Florent Malouda looked to have made some contact with Van Persie at the edge of the box. Nasri's 25-yard free-kick was on target, but held by Petr Cech. Walcott latched on to a long ball over the Chelsea defence, but just as he aimed to cut back into the area, his touch was poor and Terry recovered to clear. On 29 minutes, former Gunner Ashley Cole went into the referee's book for tripping Walcott as his England colleague turned him on the right touchline. Van Persie was then put through into the left by Nasri after some clever one-touch passing, the Dutchman snatched at his angled shot, which flew high and wide. Salomon Kalou was perhaps fortunate to receive only a yellow card after jumping in, studs up on Gael Clichy. Arsenal increased the tempo as half-time approached. Walcott scampered into the right side of the Chelsea penalty area and was blocked by Cech at the near post before the goalkeeper turned over Nasri's chip which was looping into the top-left corner. The Gunners finally made the breakthrough after 43 minutes. Jack Wilshere and Song exchanged passes on the edge of the area, with the Cameroon midfielder carrying the ball into the box. Paulo Ferreira slid in and tripped Fabregas, but Song had the presence of mind not to wait for a whistle and swept a low left-footed shot across goal and into the bottom right corner. Chelsea made a change at the start of the second half as the creative Brazilian Ramires replaced John Obi Mikel. Arsenal, though, had a two-goal cushion after 51 minutes. Van Persie held the ball up 30 yards out, and, as he was closed down, Michael Essien's challenge inadvertently pushed the ball straight to Walcott clean through on goal. The England winger dashed to the edge of the box, where he drew Cech before sliding the ball along to Fabregas and the Arsenal skipper made no mistake from 15 yards. Chelsea had little chance to recover, as Walcott smashed in goal number three just 90 seconds later. Walcott robbed Malouda and fed Fabregas, who repaid the favour by sending the Arsenal winger away down the right for him to slot a low shot into the bottom left corner. Ancelotti had to do something, and sent on Gael Kakuta, replacing Malouda. Chelsea snatched a lifeline after 57 minutes when Drogba's free-kick floated through to the six-yard box, where it was nodded in by Ivanovic. Given Arsenal's recent record of failing to hold on to winning positions, the visitors rallied. Chelsea made a final change when Ferreira was replaced by Jose Bosingwa. Arsenal just about weathered the storm as the contest entered the final 20 minutes. Nasri should then have done better when Kakuta's tame back-pass presented him with the ball 10 yards from goal, but Cech was out quickly to block. With 18 minutes left, Walcott was replaced by defensive midfielder Abou Diaby who made his first appearance since mid-October, before Marouane Chamakh came on for Van Persie. Diaby's close-range effort was blocked by Frank Lampard and Kakuta's bundled effort was ruled out for offside as the Gunners closed out for a long-overdue victory against their championship rivals and moved within two points of leaders Manchester United, albeit having played a game more.

Higuain happy with recovery speed Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain is satisfied with the pace at which his injury is healing. Higuain has been sidelined with a back-injury since the early part of December. The Argentinean has been Real's top-scorer for the past two seasons and his absence has seen the mantle of goal-scorer fall heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo - who is carrying a few niggles himself. Thus, coach Jose Mourinho will be pleased to hear the striker is making a speedy recovery. In comments quoted by Marca, Higuain said: "My treatment is progressing at a good pace and I hope to be back playing as soon as possible. But with this injury I need to be patient. "I feel fully integrated in Real. I had to work and fight a lot to achieve where I am today, and I want to go on in this squad to win many titles." Real are currently two points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.

ya ,i heard too...but it was just a forum rumour nothing more than that. PS sorry,i was so dumb,didnt know it was MadridGirl...lol...GG

Mou, in an interview with Portuguese paper Record, he said that Cristiano Ronaldo “surpassed all his expectations” and that Ángel di María had “achieved the most difficult task, winning over the Bernabéu crowd.” High praise indeed for these two players.

ya ,i heard too...but it was just a forum rumour nothing more than that. PS sorry,i was so dumb,didnt know it was MadridGirl...lol...GG

Mou, in an interview with Portuguese paper Record, he said that Cristiano Ronaldo “surpassed all his expectations” and that Ángel di María had “achieved the most difficult task, winning over the Bernabéu crowd.” High praise indeed for these two players.

The girl ure talkin about GG,in the yellow shirt is his sis

http://www.sportyou.es/blog/home/otros-med...rez-258946.html

Damn...he's so rude

"Give award to Xavi, Messi & Iniesta" Barcelona defender Gerard Pique thinks the Ballon d'Or should be given to all three of his teammates. The Barca trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta has been nominated for the prestigious award. All three players have been absolutely crucial in their club's La Liga success in 2010. Xavi and Iniesta were also integral parts of the Spanish World Cup winning squad, but Messi is widely seen as the best player in the world. It's not an easy choice and one that Pique is not willing to make. Instead he feels the award should be shared between all three. In comments quoted by AS, the former Manchester United man said: "I would give the Ballon d'Or to all three. Messi is the best in the world without question, but for winning the World Cup, the award should be between Xavi and Iniesta." Pique was unable to establish himself at Old Trafford but has since become the first-choice central defender for the Spanish champions. And he is aware of the quality in the side - something that was reinforced during last month's clash with Real Madrid. "In El Clasico, I realised that I play next to the best players," he said. Barca ran out 5-0 winners against the los Blancos.

Ancelotti: Results not everything There is a famouse quote "Winning isn't everything - it's the only thing". But Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti clearly disagrees. Ancelotti has tried to play down his side's worst Barclays Premier League run for more than a decade by claiming winning is not the most important thing in football. The under-pressure Blues boss believes results should be secondary to the general progress of a club, saying: "I don't think it is the most important thing, to win. "I know that a lot of managers are judged just on the results. "Maybe in the future I will be an owner of a club. "I will judge my coach not just on the results." Expanding on the factors he would consider, the Italian added: "The philosophy of the team, the philosophy of the club, the atmosphere. "There are a lot of things that you can judge." Ancelotti was responding to a question about whether he needed to win the Champions League to remain at Stamford Bridge in the long term. Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is thought to be obsessed with the competition and, asked if his boss shared his philosophy, Ancelotti said: "You have to ask Mr Abramovich, not me!" The Italian cited Arsenal's Arsene Wenger has the perfect example of a manager who has enjoyed the kind of leeway he would like. Wenger has not won a trophy for five years and Ancelotti said: "Arsenal are playing without victory very good football. "The fans I think of Arsenal are happy to watch their team play, that they are playing good football." Abramovich has dispensed with more than one of Ancelotti's predecessors over statistically less alarming dips than the one the current manager has overseen. The former AC Milan coach has no intention of walking away himself following a week of reports speculating he was becoming disillusioned with life at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti, who won the double in his first season in charge, reiterated he wanted to stay for 10 years, saying: "I maintain the same idea. I am feeling good here and I would like to stay here if it's possible. "The first year here was very good and I think we need to maintain the same level this season and the other seasons. "It depends, obviously, on the results. This is normal." But Ancelotti is highly unlikely to be in charge as long as the man he will face this weekend when Sir Alex Ferguson brings Manchester United to west London. Ferguson will overtake Sir Matt Busby's record of 24 years, one month and 13 days at the helm of United tomorrow. "I'm coming from Italy and for me it's impossible to think one coach could stay for 24 years," said Ancelotti. "For me, he never lost his passion, he never lost his ability to manage the team and he's a fantastic example for every coach to follow. "Obviously, everyone I think hopes to have the same career at one club." He added: "If Sir Alex was able to do this, why is another manager not able to do this?"

Ancelotti: We need Drogba at his best Carlo Ancelotti admits Chelsea are a different side without Didier Drogba and hopes he returns to his best soon. The Ivory Coast international has not been in his most prolific form this season, scoring just five times since the opening match against West Bromwich Albion - where he bagged a hat-trick. He has since suffered a spell on the sidelined with malaria and was confined to the bench in recent weeks. He did get back to scoring ways last week after coming on to score the equalizer in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur but missed the chance to win it for the Blues from the penalty spot. Perhaps a sign that he is not back to his best yet, Ancelotti believes the 32-year-old is slowly getting there. "Obviously we need him to get back to his performances of last year. "There was a lot of time that he was not able to score so I think the goal against Tottenham was very good for his attitude." After scoring against Spurs, Drogba celebrated in a bullish manner - seemingly as a gesture towards Ancelotti for not starting him at White Hart Lane. But the Italian dismissed the celebration and insists that the striker has yet to reach full fitness. "I am not interested if it was against me or against the fans," Ancelotti explained. "It doesn't matter. What matters is the fact he played well and that he reacted well when he came on. "I spoke with him a lot of times because I understood he was not in condition, that he has difficulty to play with malaria because he was not 100 per cent fit. "When he had the problem Didier was very clear with me. He said 'I am not 100 per cent, I am not able to play at my best'. "He was tired, he had difficulty training but I put him in the last game because we needed to have his character, we needed to have his personality." Drogba finished as top scorer in the Barclays Premier League last season and Ancelotti hopes he can repeat the feat for the Blues this season. He said: "Last year he scored 37 goals which were all very important for our season. "A lot of times he didn't play so well but he was still able to score in nearly every game. "In the games without him we play differently. We could not use his power up front. "It's a different team without him." Chelsea are currently in their longest winless streak in a decade and have slipped from top-spot to fourth in the league.

Mou: Navidad en EEUU en busca del anonimato El portugués quiere pasar desapercibido. José Mourinho no ha salido a dar una vuelta por Madrid desde que se instaló en la capital de España el pasado mes de julio. Ni siquiera sale de paseo por Pozuelo de Alarcón, la localidad más próxima a su domicilio. Las veces que ha acudido a un restaurante han sido en el par de comidas que ha tenido con la plantilla. Ha desechado las constantes invitaciones de los restaurantes futboleros porque dice que no quiere que hagan publicidad a su costa por su mera presencia en esos locales. A su esposa, según le confesó a De la Morena en El Larguero, le molesta sobremanera que la gente le aborde por la calle, en los restaurantes, en el cine o en un cualquier tienda. Por este motivo, Mourinho ha decidido pasar sus vacaciones navideñas en Estados Unidos. Se marcha a Nueva York en busca del anonimato. Aunque no haya cultura futbolística en USA, será muy complicado que pase desapercibido en la ciudad de los rascacielos. La comida de la RFEF bendecida por dos curas. Angel María Villar, como buen cristiano, decidió que la comida que la Real Federación Española de Fútbol ofreció a sus directivos fuera bendecida por dos curas. El Padre Daniel, capellán del Atlético de Madrid, y el Padre Iñaki Orduña fueron los encargados de ir bendiciendo una a una todas las mesas de la comida navideña de la RFEF. El presidente Villar se ha comprometido con ambos curas a llevarles a la recepción que Su Santidad el Papa Benedicto XVI ofrecerá a la Selección española de fútbol el próximo 14 de febrero. El christmas de Pelé. Edson Arantes do Nascimento siempre ha cultivado su imagen. Y a sus 70 años lo sigue haciendo. Para estas navidades, Pelé ha enviado un christmas personalizado (ver foto de arriba). Además, acaba de estrenar su marca de ropa, Pelé Sports, inaugurando una tienda 'on line'. El COE ignora a la Federación de Baloncesto. Que las relaciones entre Alejandro Blanco, presidente del Comité Olímpico Español, y José Luis Sáez, presidente de la Federación Española de Baloncesto, son muy malas no es noticia. Pero que el COE ni invite a la FEB, una federación que hace destacar al deporte español en los Juegos Olímpicos, a su gala es una decisión poco elegante de los dirigentes del olimpismo español. La discreción de El Fenómeno. Ronaldo Nazario da Lima, el auténtico Ronaldo, ha estado en Madrid una semana y pasó desapercibido a pesar de hacer mucha vida social y verse con gente del fútbol y ex compañeros del Real Madrid. Ronaldo siempre que puede se escapa a la capital de España donde tiene casa. El Fenómeno volverá el próximo verano.

Ancelotti eyes three Xmas presents Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has three major stars in his Christmas shopping list for the January transfer window. Blues owner Roman Abramovic has promised the Italian of fundings to boost the faltering squad as they seek to get their title defence back on track. The reigning champions are currently in their longest winless streak in a decade and have dropped down from top spot to fourth in the league. And according to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Ancelotti has pin-pointed three players whom he wants at Stamford Bridge in January. However, all three have recently signed new deals at their respective clubs. Newcastle striker Andy Carroll, regarded as the up-and-coming England number nine, has signed a five-year-contract to remain at St James Park two months ago. But Ancelotti is not put off by that and sees the 21-year-old as a replacement for Didier Drogba. Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger have dashed the hopes of many suitors by penning a four-year contract with the German giants - but not the Chelsea boss. Likewise, Dutch midfield maestro Wesley Sneijder has extended his contract with Inter Milan by a further two years. Despite the apparent setback, Ancelotti is adamant he can still get his men as the clubs will not rule out selling their players at the right price.

Europa Press | 26/12/2010 El técnico del Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho , ha realizado un repaso de lo sucedido durante el 2010 en donde destaca su llegada al Real Madrid, donde espera "cumplir el contrato de cuatro años", y la gran frustración que le produjo no poder dirigir a Portugal en los partidos ante Dinamarca e Islandia. "Fue la frustración de este año", reconoce el técnico del Madrid que no recibió permiso por parte del Real Madrid, en el pasado mes de septiembre, para dirigir a la selección de Portugal en dos partidos de clasificación para la Eurocopa de 2012. La Federación Portuguesa trabajaba en la búsqueda de un sustituto de Carlos Queiroz, y pensó en el técnico del Real Madrid, para finalmente fichar a Paulo Bento. Por otra parte, Mourinho considera un punto de inflexión su fichaje por el club blanco, donde ha llegado con ganas de títulos. "No podría pasar toda una vida aquí sin ganar títulos, espero cumplir el contrato de cuatro años con el Real Madrid", comenta el portugués en una entrevista concedida al diario deportivo de su país 'Record', donde hace un pequeño balance de un gran año que termina. Además y a modo personal, el técnico hace un especial reconocimiento a dos de su jugadores, su compatriota el delantero Cristiano Ronaldo del que asegura ha "superado sus expectativas", y del argentino Angel Di María, quien ha logrado "lo más difícil, ganarse al Bernabéu". El técnico madridista hace referencia al 5-0 sufrido en el Camp Nou como punto negro del año. "El año deportivo hubiera sido perfecto de no haber sido por la derrota sufrida en Barcelona". Sin embargo, Mourinho cierra el 2010 habiendo conseguido con el Inter de Milán el triplete (Serie A, Copa de Italia y Champions), y con todas las esperanzas puestas en su nueva etapa en el Real Madrid.

Ancelotti: This game will be different Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti believes the addition of Marouane Chamakh has added a new dimension to Arsenal's attack. Chelsea have lorded it over Arsenal in the past six years, losing only two out of the eleven Premier League meetings since 2004. The Gunners had entered a period of rebuilding after enjoying great success in the early part of the decade while Chelsea have been on an upward trajectory ever since they were bought over by Roman Abramovich. In the past two or three years though, Arsenal fans have become increasingly impatient with the club's lack of silverware and manager Arsene Wenger's insistence on developing young talent rather than buying outright superstars. But with the arrival of Chamakh this season, Ancelotti feels the Gunners pose more of a threat than in previous years. In comments reported by Chelsea's official website, the Italian said: "I think Arsenal changed a little bit compared with last season, not just because they were able to buy [Marouane] Chamakh who is a very good striker but also because they improve their experience. It could be a different game compared with last season. "To have a strong team who can take advantage against Arsenal you have to be able to defend well because Arsenal use very well their skills and ability up front. "This year they have a different opportunity to score because Chamakh is a different player compared with last season, he is able to play with his head so they can use more crosses compared with last season. The right way to win against them is to defend well." Chelsea's match is the first of a hectic period during which they will play four games in ten days. While many coaches have said the load is too heavy, Ancelotti says he enjoys the festive matches. "It is not too much. 'It is difficult to manage the team when you don't have time to recover. It is very difficult to manage the team when you have play on the 27th and the 29th, obviously you have to use rotation in this period, but I am not surprised we have to play in this period. "I think that Italian football would like to play in this Christmas period. The clubs would like to play, and if there are players that don't like to play in this period then they don't want to play football. "It is a very good for the image of the Premier League outside of this country." Finally, the former AC Milan coach looked back on 2010 - a year in which he completed a historic double with the Blues. "2010 was a fantastic year for Chelsea and for me. My dream was to start well my new experience and I will have always fantastic memories of this year. We were able to win the Double and this year our dream is the same - to win something." A win over Arsenal on Monday will go a long way in realising that dream.

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Kate Middleton raises a smile... despite spending Christmas without William as his RAF duty calls By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 3:00 AM on 26th December 2010 * Comments (20) * Add to My Stories It was their first Christmas as a betrothed couple – but Prince William and Kate Middleton did not spend it together. Kate was with her family in Berkshire, while William volunteered to be on call with his search-and-rescue squadron at RAF Valley on Anglesey. It will probably be the last Christmas Kate will spend with mother Carole and father Michael – as next year she will be expected to be with the Royal Family. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...l#ixzz3K3UKotQf

Handwritten MJ Note -- I'm Gonna 'Make Huge $' 12/23/2010 9:35 AM PST by TMZ Staff Michael Jackson planned to "make huge $" before his death last year -- at least according to a note handwritten by the King of Pop himself that recently sold for a ton of cash. The memo -- which was just auctioned off on eBay for more than $3,000 -- was allegedly found in June 2009 by staff working at MJ's home in Holmby Hills. The note -- purportedly handwritten by MJ -- seems to reference his then upcoming "This Is It" concert series in London -- "One year in London 3? International # 1 2 3 4 5 albums and single." The note -- written on Dr. Arnie Klein's stationary -- continues, "Talk to digital people, Universal, Warner ... make huge $" ... followed by the words, "Who's doing sculpture for Halloween special." FYI -- the red stuff on the note ain't blood ... the seller claims it's simply a drink stain. \more on TMZ