Fútbolita

Huntelaar and Raul in one season! What’s all this Überraschung der Deutschen?!! Schalke fans must surely be brimming from ear to ear with this Huntelaar coup. Even better, The Hunted said that :“It is true I never wanted to leave Milan but that changed when Zlatan Ibrahimovic came from Barcelona.” Oooo, prepare the popcorn NOW amicis.

Individually, these two just can’t be compared to each other. In our humble opinion, Huntelaar was plain overrated while Raul the Great One left a legacy behind. Don’t say a mean word… King Juan Carlos‘ aides are standing by the door now!

Here’s Elano,  sporting his favourite “deer in headlights” look for the cameras! If you had approached him with some hotdog buns, we swear he’d have thrown you a different look.

Anyway, mano was seen attending a game from the World Basketball Championships yesterday. The tournament is now taking place in Istanbul, where Elano plays for Galatasaray. Alex also attended the games, refuting claims that the club president wants him to leave Galatasaray’s rivals, Fenerbahçe.

Oi Slash! Is that you trying to creep up to Chicharito? Sheesh, the kid is signing autographs… the least you could do was to rip out your electric guitar and do a solo right there and then. Ok, enough of all estas bromas. Chicharito attended a Nike Mexico event to promote their new “Tiempo Legend” boots yesterday where he signed autographs for all his fans. Ya’ll better appreciate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKexlBT0MMg

via Skysports, Globoesporte, Nike Futbol

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Eva Langoria has been neglecting her old friend, Rafa Marquez in favour of the new Ferosh Kids, IkerBonero. Well, it appears that she has not forgotten him at all.. because they met at the Red Bulls-La Galaxy game over the weekend!

Marquez was with his namorada, Jaydy Mitchel, a Mexican singer and actress. Of course, her husband Tony Parker also attended the game purely for the debut of Titipo Henry. You gotta show your good friend some support, eh?

Here’s a photo of Arjen-We-Still-Don’t-Forgive-You-Robben with a message to his former colleague, Raul the Great One at Schalke! You all know how much Bundesliga loves the Real Madrid legend now, but Robben thinks that Bayern will be title champs again este ano!

He wrote: “Welcome Raúl, and good luck. But we will be champions. Greetings, Arjen!” And with that, he proceeded to dive over the pavement with the letter.

Here are two video featuring your highness Greaseano and the adoooorável Fabio Curly da Silva discussing ‘their game’.  Greaseano seems a little bit aggressive in his explanations, but that’s just cos’ he can’t wait to go on that lunch date with Irina. As for Fabio, queremos beliscar suas bochechas!

via Bild, Jundabean, Nike Futebol, HOLA!

We remember when we used to be so crazy about Sr. Raúl over here (aka “The Nose Model” according to mamá) and cried como un idiota when Spain lost on penalties to South Korea in 2002. Back then, he and Morientes were making boys like Fabregas and Blondie Torres drool over their TV sets. Guess what?! Morientes came to see his old best friend at the launch of his autobiography “Raul- El Triunfo” or “The Triumph”.

Also, Senhor Mourinho looks a little too patient for his own good but that’s besides the point. It’s always very nice to see good friends like Morientes and Raul again together even though none of them are playing for Del Bosque now (he coached Madrid when Morientes was still playing for them).

(via Gettyimages/AFP)

So the Champions League trophy finally arrived at the Bernabeu yesterday and tres amigos came together to commemorate its arrival next to President Panda Perez. And in case you’re wondering, Greaseano is talking to Raul the Great One about the new fruit blender that’s out in the market right now because THAT’S exactly what they have in common! Anyway, mujer on the left looks incredibly cheesed off… hermana, chillax! You’re walking in front of Kaka por el amor de dios… there’s no need to rush this one!

via AP/AFP

You know Potter Perez had plans to marry his daughters off to these three jugadores but they all politely declined! Ok, maybe not. Raul already blacked out when he saw Mamen serving cocktail back in 1999 so there was no way he was going to marry El Presidente’s daughter (kkk, except Salgado). Plus, no one is holier than Senorita Celico – no matter how hard you try, and Kaka already made up his mind. So that leaves us with Greaseano and in the spirit of Christmas, we will refrain ourselves….

Anyway, here they are toasting to a great new year in front of that sparkling Christmas tree! “We have one more (kid) this year,” said Raul. “We will enjoy the time to relax in everybody’s company and to eat and laugh a lot. I will also take advantage of the time we all have off to spend every minute with my kids.” Added Greaseano : “I will celebrate Christmas with the whole family. It is a very special time that I thoroughly enjoy because I am unable to be with my family throughout most of the year. For all of us to be able to come together makes us very happy”.

And here’s BoBojan doing a charity dive to raise awareness of the environment in Barcelona! Gotta love the six fingers. Molt adorable, si?

Photos via Alejandro González & Reuters

Alonso’s gone all “Damn gurrrl, you’re marking me to death” in that photo but of course, everyone knows that if you shut him, Diarra (and probably Greasy Babe) down, you effectively pull out the life line that is Real Madrid’s attacking midfield. A few of you may think they play as if they’re training with clowns at Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas but we assure you that it’s only a matter of time, and the only clown on the field is probably one of Potter Perez’s experiments.

Anyway, the Greaseano is back for real and this time, his irrepressible pride got in his way again – so he just had to score a brace against Marseille! Damn, cara, you just couldn’t give the ball to Higuain, could you? Gabriel Heinze (remember him?) tried his best to contain Greaseano but everyone knows that’s not possible. “I hit the ball well today, but it has nothing to do with the fact that the Champions League ball is different to that in La Liga. My touch was good. I’m happy with the two goals,” he declared.

Albiol netted in the other goal for Real and celebrated with a big smile on his face. Unfortunately, we weren’t treated to another one of the classic Raul/Morientes Meet Again sequences, which would’ve been sweet otherwise.

Felicidades to Raul and Mamen on the birth of their new daughter, Maria Gonzalez Redondo!! Haven’t you heard, Posh Beckham? It’s “Fifth Time Lucky” these days… and you must also spend your days watering Luis Figo’s plants (all his kids are pretty meninas!) Anyway, this Madrid SuperCouple (yes Guti, you could take a leaf out of Raul’s book) who celebrated their tenth year anniversary last July, have been trying for a girl since forever. In Mamen’s own words, the house desperately needed the arrival of another girl.

“I am delighted that it’s a girl. All day I used to see my sons play football, fight and do all those boys things,” she said. Quick! Do you think Maria and Luca Celico Leite (Kaka’s son) have a future together? Or will Enzo Zidane be her knight in shining armour…. Bobojan help us! We want a FlashForward.


So the Brasileirao Awards were held last night (remember last year’s edition) and since we’re on the issue of children here, Hernanes brought his son up to stage to receive his award! Muito adorável!! The entire Flamengo team also went up to stage to celebrate their Championship trophy in front of the other award recipients, of course. We can only imagine the pain of the people on the four (seriously, manos from Gremio, Sao Paulo and Internacional were all there!)

Anyway, Adriano did not attend the event (and immediately after, supermarkets reported an increase in sales of beef) but players were rewarded the gold, silver and bronze awards respectively based on their performances throughout the season.  In the Best Striker category, Adriano came in the first position, followed by Ronaldo Lima and Goias’s Larley. Sao Paulo swept the most number of individual awards, with Hernanes winning the gold trophy for the third year in a row.

Leooonardo! You look like a soap opera star with the hair and flawless face…. He could be one of the doctors on General Hospital with Kayky Brito playing one of his interns. Anyway, the Rossoneri will apparently be in hot water if Real Madrid lose to Marseille later today (and Morientes does not hug his former bestie, Raul). FC Zurich will play his boys today, and unfortunately, they won Matchday 2 at San Siro which makes this even scarier!

“We don’t care what happens in the other game: we want to write our own positive story. I have seen Zürich’s recent results, but I don’t pay attention to them. We know what they are capable of. They will be motivated and we will have to keep our concentration. We are a mature team that has played important games before and we have to keep moving forward,” said Leooooonardo.

Photos via AP, UOL and Hola

So here comes Higuain, looking as suave as ever on the streets of Madrid. Lovely…! Anyway, the Madridistas all came together to attend Guti’s dinner celebration that the Fallen Favourite held to honour his “14 years at the club in the number 14″ on Wednesday. Raul The Great One couldn’t attend it because he had to be with his wife, Mamen, who is expecting her fifth child. Greaseano gave it a miss too because he was experimenting on the effects of Clear Shampoo on Mama Dolores’s new pet poodle. Kkkkk, the truth is his ankle injury is still being a bitch so he stayed at home cutting vegetables.

Nevertheless, everyone else (who was important to Guti) came and that included Iker Casillas, Kaka, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Pepe, Karim Benzema, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Lass Diarra and (gasp) Gago. According to the gossip rags, no one stayed up late to partaaaay because of the morning training session they’re having today. Yeah right – you can bet Gago went to Pacha to look for Pellegrini.

Disculpe but Wedgiellas looks like a washed-out 72 year old David Hasslehoff clone…

Images via Hola

Incrível! We guessed right… and Milan pulled off a shock 3-2 win over the Madridistas thanks to Pato’s killer last night. He’s going home to cry on his webcam now, but he can do whatever he wants! O Stef, bring out the candles… two goals against Real Moneda is something to scream about. Judging from the match last night, desculpe but Kaka didn’t shine as much as ya’ll expected. The Rossoneri actually played with some heart last night – save for The Dinho’s pathetic pace and Dida’s mistakes (actually, other than that, he wasn’t sleeping)

Also, we’ve established that Raul The Great One needs join King Juan Carlos’s court as a jester because his acting skills supersede that of Al Pacino. The Pied Piper of Higuain is a million times better than him and would have created more opportunities. Breaking out into a fight with Nesta was totally unnecessary. Quit being arrogant – you’re the capitano!

Said Kaka : “It was an evening full of many emotions. I found many (of) friends on the field. But the result was not good – we wanted to win. Right now we lack an identity - I knew Milan and I did not expect a team in disarray. Of course I was surprised to see them so aggressive in the beginning. As for Pato, he’s only twenty years and as I said, do not give him too many responsibilities: Give him time and you will see his talents. Tonight, he made he clear what he could do.”

Also, did you see how Pirlo and Ambrosini anticipated Kaka’s movements on the field? They are grandfathers all right, but they did not forget those six years Ricky spent training at Milanello!

Even Kun Aguero can’t help but look up – terrified – at Greaseano’s facial expression in that photo. Cara‘s using up every possible facial muscle and it’s a look that Nereida has not seen so ya’ll better just sit down and enjoy FutbolWood’s new Muscle Hulk!

Anyway, Los Blancos started their European campaign yesterday with a 5-2 victory over FC Zurich. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a 27th-minute free-kick and added in another two minutes before the final whistle. Raúl, the Pied Piper of Higuaín and Guti netted in the other three goals. “The most important thing was to win the first game and start well in Europe, and we have achieved this. The team worked very well and I am happy with the result,” Ronaldo said to AS.

Yeah, they’d better deliver or else…

via AP

Ah, muy bien! Ya’ll know Marcelo is keen on the high-five action above but Greasy and Kaka are having too much of an intense celebratory moment right there.

Anyway, Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 5-0 yesterday in an exhibition match to commemorate the German’s side 100th anniversary. The goals came from Granero, Robben, The Pied Piper of Higuain, Kaka and King Raul. A momentous occasion indeed….

“Despite the 5-0 defeat the fans gave the team a very heartfelt applause. Tonight was a very special moment in my career. I began to play football in Dortmund and this is a very special club to me. This was my first team and those were my first supporters. I am always grateful for their affection,” said Metzelder.

via Fotonoticias

Raul The Great has finally spoken out and insists that he’s “not afraid” of the new Galacticos who’ve joined in recent weeks. Uh, what he really means is that he’s already decided who’ll be getting invites to Mamen’s Christmas parties.

“Cristiano is a wonderful boy and has a very good relationship with the group. Benzema has a bright future ahead. And we have a  coach who knows the Spanish league and has great power. I see (that) we have everything to achieve a great season,” he said.

Then of course, naturally, he spoke of himself. “I spent 15 years fighting. In all seasons, I had to fight. The more competition there is, the more commitment you need to earn your space, and this means that each individual grows. What is important is the team,” he said.

Well, we still have doubts about Raul because we met the man four years ago and he’s not exactly Mr. Amable. (**Mr Friendly)

Via Javier Soriano for AFP

Manuel Pellegrini commenced pre-season training with Los Blancos on Thursday and based on that photo above, he knows his job pretty well. Be nice to Raul, smile at Raul and look fondly in Raul’s direction…. or you’re out next season! Ironically, el capitano was the first to report for the 8.30am training. Hard to tell but is that a sarcastic smile?

Anyway, the grey-eyed Chilean treinador probably doesn’t know what he’s in for with Galacticos 2.0. He still goes home and eats his wife’s cooking. The only thing that changes is the fact that his sobrinos and their friends get to choose box seats for el clasico next season. Exciting!

In the words of Vicente Del Bosque : “For Madrid to succeed Pellegrini must be allowed to exercise his own ideas and follow his vision. He (Pellegrini) has been the most brilliant overseas coach over the last few years and all he needs is the kind of support that he had at Villarreal.”

We don’t feel very good about Madrid’s chances in tonight’s encounter against Liverpool but don’t let Sergio’s hopeless facial expression fool you into thinking it’s over!

Grandma Juande believes that his side are ready to turn the scoreline in their favour and Raul agrees.

“The possibilities and the options are there. We may have the disadvantage because we only have three days to rest while they would have had seven. But our desire is there and we can make anything happen. Besides, in these types of games, the psychological element far outweighs the physical factor,” said Ramos.

“We have a clear idea of what we have to do – score twice,” added Raul. “The other day we were hit strongly by the defeat (against Liverpool), but we know we are going to have our chances and we are not going to give up. We are capable of beating Liverpool at Anfield. Since the arrival of Juande Ramos we are more disciplined.”

This Valentine’s Day, Futbolita and Marca take a look at a special group of players who’ve remained committed to their respective clubs in the wake of a crisis. With this rare breed of individuals, there are no dodgy transfer deals, problems with their respective coaches (well, maybe the slight controversy) or excuses. These players have become symbols of their clubs for a simple reason – their love for football.

Paolo Maldini (24 seasons with AC Milan)
A Living Legend. The Italian defender has played the most games in the history of AC Milan and is a legend in world football. He is considered one of the best defenders and has won everything with the Rossoneri outfit.

Jorge Costa (20 seasons with Porto)
This Portuguese defender suffered a series of ups and downs that eventually led him to leave his home club, Porto on three different loan spells. However, Jose Mourinho chose him to be the squad’s captain which led him to lift the Champions League at a club he has been playing for since 1989.

Ryan Giggs (19 seasons with Manchester United)
Nearing 37 years of age, this man from Cardiff has extended his contract to play for one more season with Manchester United. He has won the most number of titles with the Red Devils.

Francesco Totti (16 seasons with AS Roma)
Since his debut for the club in March 1993, Totti has performed crucially well for the club – particularly in Europe. He became a target of many big clubs but preferred to remain at Roma, his childhood team which nurtured him into the player he is today.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Gonzalo Higuain scored against Racing Santander last night to ensure a seventh successive win for the Madridistas. The ball was headed into the striker’s path by none other than Raul.

“The team put in a big effort tonight. I am always happy to score and if I do it at home, even better,” Higuain said after the game.

Why do all strikers always end up saying the same thing over and over again? “Always happy to score,” “I am very happy where I am now,” or “I do my best.” They never talk about their underwear colour or Grandma Juande’s dentures. Come on guys… work with us here and give us better quotes.

There are a lot more muito cliché statements but we can’t think of them for now. Higuain has temporarily shrouded our thinking cloud.

Real Madrid’s Golden Boy, Raul, visited prisoners at a jail cell last week where he also responded to their questions (ala press conference… albeit in a prison room!) Whoever came up with this concept must’ve been running out of ideas.

Of course, in order to ‘relate’ to these prisoners, the Real Madrid striker spoke about the difficult times in his career. The club’s 2-1 victory over Vasco in 1998 was thanks to Raul’s goal, which he used it to turn things around.

“This goal was (my) reward for everything that had passed. It was the hardest moment of my career, where I saw my family suffer like never before,” he said.

The prisoners also asked him what it was like as a youth at Real Madrid. Well, we all know how that works out, but as Madrid’s pin-up/PR extraordinare, Raul said : “I arrived (when) I was very young and I got a spot. It’s a good place to play.”

Well, we have to give the striker some credit though. Last Saturday, he equaled Alfredo Di Stefano’s record of 307 goals for the club. And he’s in a great position to surpass that against Racing this weekend.

Tonight’s match against Mallorca will mark Raul’s 500th game in the La Liga. And considering the fact that Senor Gonzalez has not amassed a single red card during that time, it makes the achievement a lot sweeter!

In his 499 matches so far Raúl has scored 211 goals. He needs five more to become Real Madrid’s best striker in the tournament. The holder of that title is Alfredo Di Stefano, who has 216 goals to his name.

“It is incredible what he’s done. Raúl has achieved all records,” said Argentinean striker Fernando Gago to Spanish newspaper ‘Marca’.

Yes, Raul.. keep scoring and kissing that ring in homage to Mamen!

When I was 13, Raul Gonzalez used to be my favourite striker. These days, futbolitas, watching him score is a rarity but it seems like Good ol’ Raul may be picking up from where he left off. Favouritsm, club politics and dodgy antics aside, Raul was once considered the Golden Boy of Spain, favourite of King Juan Carlos (and his wife, so we hear) and former shirt obsessed president Fiorentino Perez. In fact, there were whispers that the king himself had a say in Spain’s starting XI.

Of course, we won’t digress, but Raul netted in two goals and set up Robben’s third, to secure his team a 3-0 win over Zenit in last night’s Champions League match.

We suspect Juande Ramos had more time to look into the mirror before he put on his suit last night. “The most positive thing today is a victory. A clear and convincing victory, which motivates the team for the el clasico on Saturday. The points were not so important. I really enjoyed the performance of the players,” said Ramos.

As Marcelo will not be able to play on Saturday, Ramos has another problem on his hands. “We must find a solution (to replace the Marcelo). In the coming days, we’ll work on it.”

It seems that watching Real Madrid these days only leads to disappointment and a whole load of questions. Iker Casillas – though you can’t always blame the keeper – was a shadow of his normal self in last night’s 3-4 home loss to Sevilla.

Sevilla’s Adriano fired in the opening goal for his side, which was quickly levelled by a near-post header from Raul. The joys were shortlived, however, as Ndri Romaric rose above Los Merengues’ defence to score, before Frédéric Kanouté scored the third. Unperturbed, Gonzalo Higuaín fired in from distance midway through the second half (mind blowing goal, Futbolitas!) and Gago headed in his first goal for Madrid two minutes later to make it 3-3. Somewhat unecessarily, Arjen Robben was sent off at the 77th minute with Renato heading in the winner from a Kanouté cross.

As usual, the board and Spanish press are making sure they don’t waste time putting the blame, yet again, on coach Schuster. But it’s not entirely his fault, although blatant pessimism is already sinking in. The coach told reporters that Real have no chance of beating Barcelona next weekend. “The game against Barcelona worries me less than any other game. It is not possible to win because Barcelona are in devastating form and I believe that this is going to be their year,” Schuster said. “The team that (Barça) have can do well there, but I cannot say any more about that.”

The Spanish press are saying that Schuster only has the Barcelona game to prove himself – a ‘deadline’ set by Calderon’s men. Still, he’s not going to walk out. “I am not going to resign because the players are giving everything that they have. We just need a change of fortune and something going for us would be important.”

As they say, it takes a brave man to be coach of Real Madrid, and we hope the players are rallying him on because it’s clearly never always the coach’s fault.