madristar

Caparros chides chatty Mourinho Athletic Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros has taken a swipe at Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho over his spat wtih Sporting Gijon’s Manuel Preciado. Mourinho had earlier hinted that Preciado fielded a weakened team ahead of Sporting's recent fixture to Barcelona, an accusation which was flatly rebutted by Preciado. In an interview with AS, Caparros offered his own take on the spat. He said: "Mourinho has spoken about a line-up and Preciado has been forced to defend himself. "All coaches should respect their peers. We must strengthen our profession. Mourinho did not have to show that attitude to a colleague. "Manuel is a guy who I know well and he is very noble. Maybe he is at a team that does not win titles, but does that give him less merit than a coach who has won the Champions League? It was a delicate situation. "Sometimes we get into situations where we need to respond to other parties, and I know what Preciado's motives have been by responding." Mourinho, who was forced to sit in the stands when Real faced Sporting on Sunday due to a two match ban for seeing red against Real Murcia in midweek, came away unscathed with a hard fought 0-1 triumph thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain strike.

Caparros chides chatty Mourinho Athletic Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros has taken a swipe at Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho over his spat wtih Sporting Gijon’s Manuel Preciado. Mourinho had earlier hinted that Preciado fielded a weakened team ahead of Sporting's recent fixture to Barcelona, an accusation which was flatly rebutted by Preciado. In an interview with AS, Caparros offered his own take on the spat. He said: "Mourinho has spoken about a line-up and Preciado has been forced to defend himself. "All coaches should respect their peers. We must strengthen our profession. Mourinho did not have to show that attitude to a colleague. "Manuel is a guy who I know well and he is very noble. Maybe he is at a team that does not win titles, but does that give him less merit than a coach who has won the Champions League? It was a delicate situation. "Sometimes we get into situations where we need to respond to other parties, and I know what Preciado's motives have been by responding." Mourinho, who was forced to sit in the stands when Real faced Sporting on Sunday due to a two match ban for seeing red against Real Murcia in midweek, came away unscathed with a hard fought 0-1 triumph thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain strike.

"Mourinho isn't affected by bad press" Maradona: "He will bring a Champions League to Real Madrid in no time" Realmadrid.com After attending Real Madrid’s final training session prior to Saturday’s match against Athletic, Diego Armando Maradona sat down with Realmadrid.com to discuss matters concerning the club. What are your thoughts on Mourinho’s coaching methods? Sensational. He lets his players have fun, but he is also the best at instilling discipline and fielding a team. There is great camaraderie, which is due to Mourinho. From the outside looking in we see that Real Madrid is comprised of many great people, but we don’t get to sense the great atmosphere that exists. Mourinho deserves the credit. What did the players you talked with tell you? How did you find the team? It looked good to me. I spent time with Ronaldo, Pipa, Di Maria, Garay and Ramos. I even got to talk to Casillas. There is a great atmosphere. The session was full of good vibes and everyone wanted to participate. That is the healthy competition created by Mourinho. Real Madrid fans are relaxed, and I remember when they weren’t. Before they were focused on the names of the players and if the team was good enough. Now fans go to the stadium with peace of mind. What are your thoughts on Mourinho? He is among the top two or three coaches in the world along with Pep. They have both had incredible careers. Mourinho and I are friends since I went to visit him in Italy. We spent close to three hours talking. He explained a lot to me about players and his methods. He respects football players. Sometimes we get it wrong. Coaches shouldn’t always be liked by the press or fans. We must primarily be liked by our players. If a coach has a good relationship with his players, he will then have a good relationship with the crowd, the media and the whole world. Is all bad press he has been getting justified? I don’t think he is affected by it. He is above it all. It’s not about name-calling. Mourinho wins everything and he does what he thinks is best for Real Madrid. And he does so with an incredible personality. He deserves a lot of credit. Whoever understands this sport knows that coaching a team isn’t easy, especially with players such as these. More cannot be asked of him. Do you think Real Madrid will win the Champions League this year? Mourinho needs time so that the players understand one another. It’s what happened when he was at Inter and the team went on to win its first European Cup in more than 50 years. If people are patient, I am convinced Mourinho will bring a Champions League to Real Madrid in no time. How does the team look heading into the Clasico? I don’t think so much has ever been at stake. Barcelona are playing well and Mourinho’s team is solid. This match will break the deadlock. It will show just how reliable Mourinho and Barcelona’s football are. Whoever plays with more attitude will win.

"Ronaldo or Messi to decide Classico" Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria believes the El Classico will be decided by Cristiano Ronaldo or Barcelona's Lionel Messi. The Argentinean will get his first taste of the much famed El Classico on Monday after signing for Madrid during the summer. And the 22-year-old, who has scored four goals for the Galaticos this season, is hyped up for the clash and reckons the result will be decided by either of the two best players in the world. "It is a cute game. We know that Real Madrid has gone a while without a win over Barcelona, and we will have to give everything to beat them," he told Spanish publication AS. "[Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo] are the best in the world, and they will be key in the Clasico." Di Maria also spoke about the impact of coach Jose Mourinho, who made him his first signing since taking charge at the Santiago Bernabeu. "He has given me confidence and makes me more at ease. He has taught me to sacrifice more for the team. He takes the responsibility and it takes the pressure off of the players." Madrid head into the mouth-watering clash just one point ahead of their rivals Barcelona.

Dr Martens “Kakà is fine” According to Marca (again!), Kakà will be back soon… but not as soon as we expected. Although there is still no official date for his return, doctors agree that if there is no last-minute setback, the player will play again in early January. On Monday, Valdebebas Sports City was the witness of a summit vital to the future care of Kaka. Medical services in Madrid and Brazilian footballer himself have met with Dr. Marc Martens, the Belgian surgeon who operated on Kaka on 5 August and Turibio Leite, a Brazilian doctor who has Kakà’s confidence. The meeting began at 10.30 am and lasted three hours. 180 minutes which began to shape the player’s return to the pitch. For all the news about the health of the Brazilian were positive. As anticipated Dr Martens on Saturday, the cartilage of Kaka is fully regenerated. The Belgian surgeon who has followed the rehabilitation of Kaka all the week, yesterday gave his approbation to all the work that the player has done in the past three months and gave the green light to change the pace of work. The player, who only missed two of the last 103 days to the Valdebebas Sports City, left the meeting fully satisfied with an important boost. This Monday, the Brazilian doctor Turibio Leite was confident. “Kaka is going well, he is in the final stretch of his recovery phase. He works to restore muscle balance and thus being back the player that he was in 2007. He will be back the best player in the world“. The doctor also assured that the groin injury that had bothered the player throughout last season, is also to forget.

Ramos nominated for Solidarity Award The Madridista defender makes the shortlist along with Tania Elesegui, Pau Gasol, Jorge Lorenzo and Tommy Robredo Realmadrid.com Having collaborated on numerous initiatives to assist the less fortunate through sports, Sergio Ramos has been nominated for the second annual Solidarity in Sports Award. Other finalists include Tania Elesegui (golf), Pau Gasol (basketball), Jorge Lorenzo (motorcycling) and Tommy Robredo (tennis). The winner will be determined by a panel of sports icons including Emilio Butragueño on 15 December. Organized by the Fundacion SOS, the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Spanish Paralympic Committee, the awards are divided into three categories: the most supportive NGO, company and athlete. During the event, the Fundacion SOS' "Doce Meses, Doce Derechos" ["Twelve Months, Twelve Rights"] calendar will be unveiled; another initiative that Ramos has taken part in to promote the inalienable rights of children.

Kakà, back soon? According to Marca, Kakà’s recovery takes a good turn! The cartilage of his knee is completely regenerated, doctors have confirmed that the player, after examining the knee, is progressing satisfactorily. Kakà is optimistic and he could run again November 22. This means that the quality of training sessions will change soon and will take place on the pitch. Ahead, there is still work in the morning and afternoon sessions, but Kakà begins to realize that the return is near. This test represents a giant step in the recovery of the Brazilian, who yesterday was particularly pleased and happy. For the first time in a long time, the knee really begins to evolve. The last three months have been very long. Always the same routine and unrelated to the dynamic of the group, Kaka has suffered like never loneliness, due to his injury, in his career.. Since last August 5, there has not been a day that has passed through Valdebebas. The Brazilian worked in sessions of six hours per day, which allows him to have an optimal recovery. But this workload, however, has also discourage the player. Kaka has spent nearly two months doing the same thing, but he didn’t receive good news from his knee. “I knew that rehabilitation was on the right path, but the regeneration of cartilage is so slow that it was impossible to receive good news each week.” Therefore, the news is welcomed with the best of his smile. He knows that he may return soon on the field to face the final phase of his recovery. Run again in 10 days. If Kaka’s knee does not suffer of any problem in the near future, Kakà could start running within 10 days, just a week before el- Classico. November 22 is the date marked in red for the #8 of Madrid to jump on the field. But of course, in the case of a complicated lesion, this date can always undergo some changes, both to advance or move backward the return

Mourinho and Preciado face sanctions After a war of words between Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Sporting Gijon's Manolo Preciado, the Spanish FA will step in. According to an official statment from the Anti-Violence Commission of the RFER (Spanish Football Federation), they will look at possible punishments for the two managers, after Mourinho suggested that Preciado had "gifted the game" to Barcelona in Sporting's 1-0 loss. In asking the governing body to apply "the appropriate disciplinary measures" to the case, the commission concluded that the two coaches had "contributed to a hostile atmosphere between the participants and spectators, the result of which being that the match has been reclassified high-risk. "It is necessary to catch these incidents to avoid them being able to occur in the future." The combative Preciado reacted furiously to the Portuguese's remarks, calling the Madrid boss a "swine" and "bad colleague," before adding, "who the hell is this guy to think and say that? Where is he coming from?" Mourinho has previously crossed swords with several other managers in other leagues, most notably Arsene Wenger in England and Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian was running AC Milan.

Maradona backs Mourinho for glory Former Argentina coach Diego Maradona has backed Jose Mourinho to win the Champions League with Real Madrid. If the Portuguese indeed does so, he will become the first ever coach to win the European Cup with three different clubs. And Maradona is confident the 'Special One' will achieve the feat. "He will give Real Madrid the Champions League title," Maradona told the club's official website. "You have to give Mourinho time though so that the players can understand what he wants. That's what happened at Inter and the Italians won the European Cup after more than a 50-year drought. "If they wait for Mourinho, I am convinced he will give Real Madrid the Champions League in no time." The Argentinean legend went on to praise Mourinho's training methods and player management skills. He added: "Mourinho's methods are sensational. He allows the players to enjoy themselves but when he has to rule with an iron first he does exactly that and when he has to motivate them he knows how to do it better than anybody. "He is among the top two or three coaches in the world along with Pep [Guardiola]. They have both had incredible careers. Mourinho and I are friends since I went to visit him in Italy. He explained a lot to me about players and his methods. "There is a great atmosphere. The training session was full of good vibes and everyone wanted to participate. That is the healthy competition created by Mourinho." When asked on his views regarding next Monday's 'El Classico' between Barcelona and Madrid, the 50-year-old is torn between the two but believes the hungrier side will be victorious. "Barcelona are playing well and Mourinho's team is solid. This match will break the deadlock. Whoever plays with more attitude will win."

Sweden 0-0 Germany Sweden and Germany ground out a yawn-inducing draw in Wednesday's friendly in Gothenburg. Star names were missing from both sides, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic absent for the hosts and Mesut Ozil, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski all out for their opponents. The game missed their quality, with neither side seriously threatening despite a handful of hopeful efforts. Things started slowly, neither side getting the ball into the danger area in the opening minutes. Sebastian Larsson found some space in the eighth minute but could not beat Heiko Westermann with his cross. A 13th minute corner from Sebastien Schweinsteiger forced Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson into action and he punched clear before an attacker could meet the ball. Marko Marin was looking livelier than most but the Werder Bremen man was struggling to produce a final ball. With 20 minutes gone things had not improved much, a series of free-kicks failing to open the game up. Westermann was proving effective in clearing Sweden's attempted attacks but after 27 minutes the hosts finally created something. Larsson was the provider, crossing for Pontus Wernbloom who could only manage a weak shot that bobbled wide from 12 yards. That spurred on Germany and moments later debutant Lewis Holtby forced Isaksson into a smart save from 20 yards. Marcel Schmelzer followed suit from even further out but Isaksson was again up to it. There was one change at the interval, Germany sending Andreas Beck on for Jerome Boateng but - one snap shot from Marin aside - the game quickly took on a familiar look. The visitors attempted to push the pace, Anders Svensson blocking a Sami Khedira shot and Holtby twice firing unsuccessfully at goal. After an hour Joachim Low withdrew Schweinsteiger, Marin and Khedira, with Sweden following suit soon after, taking Mikael Lustig and Ola Toivonen out of the firing line. The substitutions continued at regular intervals thereafter, increasing the sense that both sides were happy with a stalemate. As such there were few genuine chances in the last half an hour as the game fizzled out to a low-quality draw.

Kaka travels to Brazil to undergo functional evaluation studies Real Madrid player Ricardo Leite 'Kaka' will travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to be subjected to functional evaluation studies like those he had three months ago. The tests will determine the progress of recovery of his knee injury. It will be an objective evaluation to determine the medical treatment to be followed in the final stages of recovery. The Sanitas-Real Madrid Medical Services, Doctors Marc Martens and Turibio Leite, and Kaka are in agreement and completely coordinated regarding the different recovery stages that must be tackled. The player will return to Madrid to finish his recovery process after receiving the test results.

vs Portugal

vs Spain

she applied too much foundation on her face,i think...

Di Maria participated in Argentina’s 0-1 win against Brazil

Di Maria participated in Argentina’s 0-1 win against Brazi,

no,she's not....she is talking about the message Cris' ''friend'' posted on facebook....

Llorente: "Es duro para nosotros perder así" RFEF - 18-11-2010 Los futbolistas de la Selección Nacional acabaron fastidiados tras la derrota ante Portugal. Saben que no hicieron un buen partido, reconocen la superioridad en intensidad del rival, y aún siendo un amistoso, se muestran dolidos: "No fue nuestro día", reconocieron. Aún con el mal cuerpo de la derrota, los jugadores de la Selección ofrecieron su punto de vista sobre el encuentro ante Portugal. El delantero del Athletic quiso explicar lo sucedido: "es preocupante lo que ocurrió en Argentina y lo sucedido hoy. Se jugó mal, nos ha faltado intensidad en todo. Portugal ha sido superior y listo. Ha sido un día nefasto. No hemos afrontado el partido como debíamos desde el principio, Portugal estuvo en todo momento echándole más intensidad al partido que nosotros. No hemos jugado como otros días y en ese sentido, nos han superado. La cosa estaba difícil. Lo hemos intentando, pero hoy no hemos tenido nuestro día. Es duro para nosotros perder así. No deja de ser un amistoso y cuando lo hemos tenido que hacer bien lo hemos hecho". Otro de los jugadores que ofreció sus impresiones fue Santi Cazorla: "el lado positivo es que éstos son amistosos. Está claro que tampoco se puede pasar por alto el resultado como si no hubiera pasado nada. Siempre es doloroso perder con España, y más si lo haces por cuatro a cero. El entrenador no ha dicho nada. Estará reflexinando sobre el partido, y es un hombre que sabe mantener la calma". Por último, uno de los veteranos, Carlos Marchena, se encontraba igualmente contrariado: "nos hemos encontrado con un gran equipo y sin embargo nosotros no hemos estado finos. Sabíamos que era un equipo complicado y fuerte, pero está claro que no esperábamos este resultado"

Khedira started in Germany’s 0-0 draw versus Sweden,

Fabregas apologises to Spain fans Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas failed to find any positives from his side's 4-0 friendly loss to Portugal. Jorge Carlos Martins fired the Portuguese ahead on the stroke of half-time before second-half goals from Helder Postiga, Spain defender Sergio Ramos, who put through his own goal, and substitute Hugo Almeida sealed a deserved win for the hosts. The victory allowed Portugal to gain a measure of revenge for their World Cup exit at the hands of the Spanish, having lost 1-0 at the last-16 stage, and saw new coach Paulo Bento earn his third successive win since he replaced Carlos Queiroz in September. For Spain, it was the second heavy friendly defeat in the space of two months following their 4-1 loss against Argentina, and Fabregas, who replaced Xavi at half-time, admits it was a night to forget. "We're hurt. It's been a big scoreline but we have to lift ourselves. We wanted to finish the year well but now we have to wait until February," the Arsenal playmaker told Spanish television channel TVE. "It's not been our best game but you also have to know how to lose. "The truth is it's a match where we can't take anything positive. They played better than us, they had a lot of desire...." Fabregas. who also feels that many of the Spain squad are still trying to get back to peak fitness following their heroics in South Africa this summer, added: "Now we need to apologise to the fans and continue forward." Spain coach Vicente del Bosque admitted: "We couldn't have played any worse than today. "We had a very weak second half and I have to recognise that Portugal have been better than us. We have no excuses. I'm very upset because it was an important game and it hasn't been our day. "We had good intentions but the reality is today we haven't been good either on the pitch or on the bench."

Argentina 1-0 Brazil Lionel Messi struck a superb stoppage-time winner to give Argentina their first victory over Brazil since June 2005. Brazil, looking to build on promising early results under their new coach Mano Menezes, were the strongest side for most of the match which was staged in Qatar, but they could not stop Barcelona superstar Messi from pinching the late glory. Messi collected Ezequiel Lavezzi's clever flicked pass before slaloming past four defenders and stroking the ball home into the bottom right corner of the net. Brazil had the best chances of the first half, with Ronaldinho prominent on his first international appearance in 19 months, back in favour after a spell out of the team. He linked up well with Robinho and Neymar and only a fine performance from Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero prevented them from opening the scoring. Andre Santos had the first chance, shooting wide after a free-kick from Ronaldinho. A couple minutes later and AC Milan playmaker Ronaldinho played in Neymar, but Romero dealt with the danger. In the 18th minute, a shot by Dani Alves came back off the crossbar, after a good combination with David Luiz inside the box. Two minutes later Benfica central defender Luiz headed wide. Ronaldinho continued to threaten, and a free-kick by Robinho forced Romero into another save. Argentina had only a couple of long-distance shots, one by Javier Zanetti and one by Messi. Brazil began the second half brightly and a couple of free-kicks from Ronaldinho threatened to bring about the game's opening goal. Argentina slowly improved, and Lavezzi's introduction off the bench in place of Gonzalo Higuain improved their attack, with the substitute causing trouble down the right. Ronaldinho and Neymar were substituted with 15 minutes remaining, with a goalless stalemate apparently looming. However Messi had other ideas and with the 90 minutes up he played a sharp one-two with Lavezzi before surging forward from midfield, snaking through the Brazil defence before planting his shot clinically into the net.

Benzema scored in France’s 1-2 win against England.

Improved Portugal humble world champions Spain 4-0 Reuters Helder Postiga scored twice as a vastly improved Portugal side crushed world and European champions Spain 4-0 on Wednesday in a friendly international. Portugal took a deserved lead just before halftime when Cristiano Ronaldo beat Sergio Busquets on the left and sent a powerful drive towards Iker Casillas which the Spain keeper could only block. The ball fell for Carlos Martins to fire in from near the spot. The hosts added their second five minutes after the break when Joao Moutinho and Nani combined to feed striker Postiga, whose goalbound backheel was helped in by Sergio Ramos's desperate clearance. Postiga netted again with a simple strike in the 68th minute and Hugo Almeida completed the rout deep into second-half injury time after Pepe led a counterattack. Portugal were strong from the start and did not show any of the caution that marked their 1-0 defeat in the second round of the World Cup to the same opponents. Nani had the first chance but his drive from outside the box flew wide of the right post. The winger also put Postiga through on 20 minutes only for his chip to be blocked by Casillas. The game, held to promote the countries' joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup, was at times an intense affair, with Busquets and Ronaldo picking up yellow cards for challenges on each other. Portugal midfielders Raul Meireiles and Moutinho worked tirelessly, preventing Xavi and Iniesta from deploying their trademark "tiki-taka" one-touch style, with Spain's only real chance in the first half a David Silva header that went wide on 31 minutes. Five minutes later Ronaldo's trickery left Gerard Pique sitting on the turf and the forward's sumptuous lob was flying in over Casillas but Nani, who was offside, touched it in and the goal was disallowed. Ronaldo was one the many players replaced at halftime, but Portugal continued to drive forward. The Spaniards failed to lift their game and their rare chances in the second half were shots from Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas and header by Fernando Llorente, all of which went wide.

"Spain were lazy against Portugal" Vincent Del Bosque was furious with his Spain side that crashed to an abject 4-0 loss to Portugal at the Estadio da Luz. This result marked Spains worse defeat in international fixtures in 1961 and is a second trouncing in an international friendly this year, when they lost 4-1 to Argentina in September. "Spain did not play as well as Portugal and were very lazy. We have no excuse because we gave them many chances," Del Bosque told Marca after the game. "We could not have played any worse today and I am upset because it was an important game." The game marked La Furia Roja's last international fixture in 2010, and the side will take a four month break, when they will next take on the Czech Republic in an important Euro 2012 qualifier.

Republic of Ireland pair ruled out Republic of Ireland were dealt a blow when Sean St Ledger and Paul Green were both ruled out of Wednesday's friendly against Norway. The Preston defender and the Derby midfielder both had scans on knee injuries and will not be involved in the game at the Aviva Stadium. That means eight of the original squad of 27, as well as Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark, who was called up on Friday, are now unavailable.