Village Idiot

I'll clean that list up and add only active footballers (so they technically can still achieve it)

Has only Spain and Italy. He also has the Eredivisie but I don't count that as a "big league".

Good call. And he's still pretty young.

I was discussing this with a mate yesterday, thought I would bring it here. Has there been a player that has won at least 3 out of the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A? Can think of lots that have 2 titles: Thierry Henry (Spain and England, never won it for Juve) Owen Hargreaves (Germany and England) David Beckham (England and Spain, now at Milan) Gerard Piqué (England and Spain) Arjen Robben (England, Spain, now at Bayern) Ruud Van Nistelrooy (England and Spain, now at Hamburg) Christoph Metzelder (Germany and Spain) Claude Makelele (England and Spain) Mark Van Bommel (Spain and Germany) Fabio Cannavaro (Spain and Italy) Hernán Crespo (England and Italy) Etc... Can you think of one that has three? EDIT: We have a winner! Jens Lehmann with Milan, Arsenal and Dortmund.

Your injury luck is reaching new heights, now your realistic transfer targets are the ones getting injuried.

This is funny (wikipedia image so assume free to post) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/53/Zola_%26_Benetiz_Upton_Park_09May09.jpg/800px-Zola_%26_Benetiz_Upton_Park_09May09.jpg

That's pretty much a spot on comparison. His Valencia was a mean machine but a f***ing bore to watch. The first time he won the league he did it with the lowest amount of goals scored for a champion in decades.

I think Benitez is rubbish in the transfer market but you have to give him credit re: Torres. At £20m it was a definite risk since, despite the hype, he'd never been that prolific even in Spain. So him coming to a more physical league and doing way better than he ever did for Atletico was a gamble that paid off. I voted for Pompey btw. Ashley has done a bad job and played a big part in you going down but at least he stabilised the finances which weren't looking too clever. Portsmouth might not even exist soon. Benítez made a name for himself buying dross and making them perform like world class. Seems that touch has abandoned him. I think that most modern clubs have already adopted many of his "innovations" that weren't that common (at least in Spain) in the early 2000s (carefully planned rotations, prozone and similar analysis of performance) so he doesn't have that edge anymore.

The players at R.Madrid know that whoever is the current coach is more than likely gone after 1 season so they can do what they want. Where at MUFC they have to do things SAF way as he is not going anywhere soon. And that obviously if Madrid have to choose between Cronaldo and Pellegrini, well... Meanwhile SAF is king there.

Confirmed that Cronaldo broke Mtiliga's nose with his elbow. Cronaldo has apparently apologised to him after the game. Watching the replay again, it doesn't seem *that* intentional, though (as in, he was looking to get the guy off using his elbows, but doesn't look as much as a reprisal as the first time I saw it). Still, he really is a hyper. I guess SAF got him on a shorter leash at ManU.

Fuck me, looks like this ACN final is a terribly amusing game yet I can't find it shown anywhere here in the US.

De Gea, Spain U-19 keeper that has been fighting for first-choice status at Atlético this season, linked with Manchester United. Incidentally, De Gea's nickname is "Van De Gea".

Incidentally, even though Madrid have easily won this, they could have played a training cone instead of Benzema and achieved roughly the same result. There's a rumour (although the guy that told me is actually a Barça ITK) that Ronaldinho faked his age and he's really 32, which would explain his spectacular physical decline.

He had been pulled and answered by hitting the guy on the face. Pretty nasty looking. Oof, will he be banned for 1 game or more? That's the picture I get with Ronaldo though even more so than when he was at Man U. This is the second time he's scored a couple then got stupidly sent off, it's like he wants to be the centre of everything there and that it all must be about him. 1 game automatic, then we'll see what the disciplinary committee decides (I'll tell you now: fuck all).

He had been pulled and answered by elbowing the guy on the face. Pretty nasty looking. The other guy was bleeding.

Was sort of rooting for a Milan win there. Don't have anything against Inter, but would have injected a bit of life into the title race.

Pending the finish of the Real Madrid - Málaga (which the white scum is winning) I'm going to do a bit of a wrap up of the first half of the season. 1) FC Barcelona(49, +39): so far so good. We don't look as relentless as the last season, but we still are pretty good and have flashes of sheer brilliance. Last year we finished on 50 points, this on 49. 2) Real Madrid (44, +29): they are obviously much improved over the last year, and admittedly the team hasn't gelled yet, and Pellegrini hasn't really figured a formation or an XI yet. They will be there at the end of the season. Yes, Cronaldo is good. 3) Valencia (39, +17) : they have been able to put their financial problems behind and surge back to their expected level. The Silva/Villa/Mata trident is as good as any in the league, and Bánega's emergence has been a pleasant surprise. They still lack the consistency to really mount a title challenge, though (this week they just conceded a 0-0 draw against a team in the relegation zone) 4) Mallorca (34, +12): the surprise of the season so far, with a 100% home record. Still, they have benefited from a hugely favorable calendar (easy teams at home) and they away record is pretty bad. I expect them to settle for a respectable midtable finish when this ends, but given the turmoil at the club it's very good news that they won't be sweating over relegation this season. 5) Deportivo (34, +4): Good season so far built over a very good defensive record. I see them dropping down a bit later in the season. 6) Sevila (33, +8): Sevilla has faltered this last two months, after a great start. The ACN has been particularly harmful (lost all but one of the matches while it's been playing), but they should recover and challenge for a top 4. No title challenge despite their president's early words this season. 7) Getafe (30, +3): So far their best season of all time. They deserve it since they play some nice football. 8) Athletic (30, +0): Good season for them, looks like they won't have relegation worries and keep once more their 100% record at the top division with only local players 9) Villarreal (26, +4): They are recovering after a dreadful start. They should be challenging for Europe by the end of the season. 10) Sporting Gijón (24, -1): Good season for them, they seem to be avoiding a relegation scrap. 11) Atlético Madrid (23, -1): A shambles. They have improved somewhat after firing Abel, but not nearly enough. Missing out on Europe would be a financial disaster for them. 12) Osasuna (23, -3): As expected. 13) Racing Santander (23, -4): Canales' explosion has saved them from a horrendous start, but the team has to improve massively if they don't want to depend on the boy to get them out of relegation. 14) Espanyol (20, -13): Awful, truly awful. They can't score for their lives (Messi alone has scored more goals than their entire horrendous team), and they need to solve that if they don't want to be dragged into relegation, since they are living off a string of 1-0s they nicked at the start of the season. 15) Almería (18, -11): Funny team. They always look tough to beat (and they put both Real and Barça in trouble at their turfs), yet they are always beaten. They are feeling the loss of Negredo since nobody has stepped up to the scoring plate. New manager Juanma Lillo should, however, provide tons of entertainment off the pitch and with a bit of luck inside the pitch, too. 16) Málaga (17, -5): Doing the Málaga thing. Which is to look good and lose. 17) Valladolid (17, -12): Doing the Valladolid thing. Which is to look bad and lose. 18) Tenerife (17, -20): Further proof that silky football with a shoestring budget gets you mauled. Second worst in goals against, third worst in goals scored. It's a pity though, I wish they did better since they do really attempt to play a very nice brand of football. 19) Zaragoza (14, -21): Shambolic, truly shambolic. The squad is actually talented, but they seem to be completely shot and without an ounce of morale at the moment. Opposition rips through them like paper (average two goals against per game, highest in the league) and they just seem a squad of headless chickens at this point The managerial change doesn't seem to have helped a single bit and I don't know what it would take for them to get out of there. 20) Xerez (8, -26): Relegation certainties since pretty much the start, now remains what kind of record they are able to achieve.

Atlético loses 1-0 to Getafe, in yet another disappointment for the colchoneros. And I was wrong, since Kaká seems to have been shipped to the left wing.

Real Madrid in a sensible formation shocker, apparently: Marca reports Benzema up top, Cronaldo right wing, Kaká on the hole. I wish it wasn't the case, but they should tear Málaga a new one.

Zaragoza down 3-0 after 45m against Villarreal. They had a midtable team on paper but look truly hopeless this season. "Star" signing Pennant riding the pine.

audere ets facere. Isn't that their motto?

He seems to be having a meh season so far, good for him (I personally think he's a bit of a twat, but he's good).

I guess to follow the trend of "tough" men singing love songs to support their clubs (ala Liverpool, ManCity, etc...). They've been singing it for donkeys years. Didn't say it was a *new* trend. It beats the shitty anthems of Spanish teams, I admit.

I guess to follow the trend of "tough" men singing love songs to support their clubs (ala Liverpool, ManCity, etc...).

Just looks a different player. To be honest I always thought he was massively overrated. Lots of pace, little skill. His injuries have hampered his development on that department (while Lennon is much, much improved)