Village Idiot

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)

We tried to sign him this summer, but didn't meet Depor's valuation (€15m). Totally gutted about his injury, I really like him and I was hoping he made the WC squad. yeah you guys went for the cheaper option in Maxwell. How is is doing since he left Inter? Don`t think he was that impressive there IIRC. Filipe and Dani Alves as left/right back respectively would have been fantastic to see despite the holes there would inevitably be at the back. Abidal has been truly excellent this season, so so far no regrets about our LB. Maxwell is decent as backup but nothing else, but he was very cheap (€5m). Of course Filipe Luis would still have been a cracking signing.

He was playing for Villarreal B, which is a bit shocking given the amount of money they paid for him and that he's not *that* young (23). He was doing pretty well at that level though.

B sides cannot play in the same tier as the mother club, and are not eligible for promotion if the mother club is at the next tier. So in this case, both would be relegated and no "swap" could be possible (as the B side wasn't able to get promoted in the first place).

I must admit that had I not been born there, I probably wouldn't care a single bit. It used to be better, but the level of competiveness amongst the league has nosedived this decade. Basically is now a competition to see who between Real and Madrid drops a bollock against the other teams, and who gets the most points from head-to-head games. There's a reason why both teams have been shattering several league records these past years.

We tried to sign him this summer, but didn't meet Depor's valuation (€15m). Totally gutted about his injury, I really like him and I was hoping he made the WC squad.

For some reason I'm watching Bremen - Bayern , I haven't watched a Bundesliga game in ages. Pretty entertaining game too, 1-2 to Bayern so far.

Talk about tempest in a teapot, given the fuss you lot are making one would think he's pissed on SBR's grave or something. I enjoy him.

Marca understands that ManCity will offer €15m for Fernando Gago today through the Argentine's agent, who's set to meet with Florentino and Madrid's DoF, Jorge Valdano.

Grand, here's our number: (34) 93 496 36 00 We also do gift packaging.