March 22, 200817 yr Cannavaro On Juve, Inter And RaúlFabio Cannavaro has given his verdict on this weekend’s big match in Serie A between Inter and Juventus, and believes that if the Bianconeri stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic they will go a long way to beating the Nerazzurri.Real Madrid star Cannavaro will have a particular interest in tomorrow night’s game at San Siro, as he played for both Inter and Juventus earlier in his career. "It will be an open game, with an equal chance of either side winning or losing,” said the Italian national team captain. "Del Piero and Ibrahimovic are the key men. There is a substantial difference in favour of Juventus though. If they can stop Ibra, then Inter have less alternatives, while there are players for the Bianconeri like Trezeguet, Nedved, Camoranesi that can transform such games. “I am not saying that Juve are favourites but Inter will have to watch out.” Inter and Juve have developed into the bitterest of enemies since the Calciopoli crisis, with Bianconeri fans almost unanimous in believing that the Nerazzurri were behind a conspiracy to get them relegated. "There is a lot of poison, but not just for what happened two years ago,” said Cannavaro. “The rivalry between Juventus and Inter has always been there, and will always be.”Better If Raúl Does Not PlayThe 34-year-old is in his second season in La Liga and is looking forward to playing against Spain in the international friendly later this month.Cannavaro believes that if Luis Aragonés continues to omit Raúl then the Azurri visitors to Elche will find the game easier."They have a great team,” he said. "Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and then the attackers. "It will be better for us if Raúl is not playing. His situation is similar to Alessandro Del Piero when he was out of the Italy squad."Both players are great professionals that continue to do great things and have always scored goals and broken records."Finally, Cannavaro reflected on the upturn in fortunes that Fernando Tores has performed since he moved from Atlético de Madrid to Liverpool.“Torres has made an incredible qualitative leap. Last year I saw someone who hid somewhat during games. He went to the Premier League and in English football he has discovered you cannot hide.”
March 22, 200817 yr Real Madrid vs. ValenciaGoalkeepers: Casillas and Dudek;Defenders: Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, and Heinze;Midfielders: Diarra, Gago, Robinho, Robben, Guti, Baptista, Sneijder, and Drenthe;Forwards: Higuain, Raul, and Soldado.
March 23, 200817 yr ITALY: THE CALLED UP PLAYERSGOALKEEPERS: Amelia (Livorno), Buffon (Juventus)DEFENDERS: Barzagli (Palermo), Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Grosso (Lione), Materazzi (Inter), Oddo (Milan), Panucci (Roma), Zambrotta (Barcellona)MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini (Milan), Aquilani (Roma), Camoranesi (Juventus), De Rossi (Roma), Gattuso (Milan), Perrotta (Roma), Pirlo (Milan)STRIKERS: Borriello (Genoa), Di Natale (Udinese), Iaquinta (Juventus), Quagliarella (Udinese), Toni (Bayern).
March 24, 200817 yr REAL MADRID: Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo; Robinho (Higuaín, 77’), Gago, Guti, Sneijder, Baptista (Robben, 62’) and Raúl.VALENCIA: Hildebrand; Miguel, Albiol, Marchena (Iván Helguera, 32’)y Canería; Maduro, Banega (Baraja, 64’), Silva, Arizmendi, Mata (Morientes, 64’) and Villa.GOALS:0-1. Min. 35. Villa1-1. Min. 36. Raúl2-1. Min. 55. Raúl2-2. Min. 67. Villa2-3. Min. 88. ArizmendiREFEREE: Carlos Clos Gómez. Booked Marchena (19’), Pepe (83’), Cannavaro (83’), and Marcelo (90’).NOTES: Matchday 29 of La Liga played at the Santiago Bernabéu.
March 24, 200817 yr Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2-3 ValenciaCasillas — 5: Made a great save from Villa and was powerless to stop the first goal. Had put in a good shift up until the 88th minute, when he came out carelessly, allowing Arizmendi to beat him at his near post for the match-winning goal.Ramos — 7: Back like he'd never been gone. Ran tirelessly, looked a threat going forward and took care of ex-Madrid man Mata fairly well.Cannavaro — 3: Caught napping practially every time he needed to be awake. More crucially, his individual, unforgivable and basic errors gifted Valencia not only their equaliser but their match-winner. The defender, who once rightly held the title of the best in his position in the world, has had a very inconsistent time in Spain, but this has to go down as his worst performance yet. Shocking!Pepe — 6.5: Like his defensive partner, was caught out from time to time. His size, athleticism and strength coming out of defence with the ball meant he provided much more than the Italian.Marcelo — 4.5: Like the man he replaced in the team, Gabriel Heinze, he is prone to errors - but at least he offers something going forward. Was caught out and played David Villa onside for the goal and was lax marking Arizmendi for much of the game - which included falling asleep when the forward broke up the right for the match-winner. A decent contributor in attack, but clearly needs to learn how to defend. Sneijder — 3.5: Squandered possession and looked uncomfortable from time to time, even when given a free role on the edge of the area, he failed to make any sort of impact. Was dreadful from his supposed trademark set-pieces as well. Very disappointing.Gago — 5: Didn't play much of a traditional pivot role as he was found wandering from time to time. Passed well but lacks the size and presence of Diarra, which was somewhat exposed by the likes of Maduro in the midfield battle. Toward the death when Madrid had to push for a goal he was lacking.Guti — 6: Had a few good runs with the ball and trademark passes, particularly in the first half. However, his lack of defensive ability was exposed when his side were without the ball. Nevertheless, a good assist for Raul's second.Baptista — 5.5: Put in an hard working shift being played out of position wide right. Chased everything down and even did his best to beat his man when coming inside. But not enough bite.Raul — 8: Did his best to lead the line though it's not his natural game. Showed strength and awareness to grab the equaliser as well as his second that put Real Madrid ahead. Played brilliantly and had chances to grab his hattrick, which would have been well-deserved. Definitely led by example and, for those looking for a scapegoat, today it was not Raul. Would have probably been Man of the Match had his team at least drawn the game, and certainly if they had won it.Robinho — 6: Flattered to deceive mostly on what was a below par evening for him, but delivered a beautiful cross for Raul's equaliser to save his rating. Was substituted by Robben.Substitutes: Robben — 5.5.
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