Fútbolita

So the day belonged to Juan Mata and David Silva (who is half Asian by the way… although he failed to emphasize on it when we asked him more about it last year!) as they sailed to a nice 2-0 victory over Almeria last night.

Of course Unai Emery would like to give a hug to all the die hard fans of Los Che who stayed on despite the downpour. What a show of bravery! “The fans have been with the team on a day where it has rained non stop. All the team has taken responsibility and we have won the game,” he declared

via Levante

The Messiah struck again in last night’s demolition of Valencia and for the record, David Villa no iniciar el juego. Of course, how can you possibly deny this man (on the pitch, we mean!) Winning 3-0 was largely thanks to his hat-trick but the very charming Senor Valdes also delivered when they needed him most. Buen trabajo, tipos! On a note, Titipo Henry deserves a standing ovation for pulling his shorts like that. Spandex, anyone?!

“During the first half we have been comfortable, but then the circumstances of the side and the merits of our rivals, with Messi captivating the audience, swung the balance in their favour,” said tio Unai Emery.

via Reuters, Gettyimages, El Mundo Deportivo

Yes dear amigas, we had the honour of speaking to a Futbolita Favourite : Senor David Villa himself last Friday! And he knows about all you passionate chicos & chicas and spoke about everything about La Seleccion to his two adorable daughters Zaida and Oyala. Here are excerpts from our interview with him including bits on his love for Valencia and Nando Torres. As usual, we’ll post the full version later. Esperamos que os guste!

On Futbolitas 

“I think it’s wonderful to see more women attending matches every time. Football is a universal sport for both men and women. I think women are very passionate when they are encouraged (to play) on the pitch so it’s also positive for us.”

On his Family & La Seleccion

“I would love for my daughters to come along and see me at the World Cup but that is not possible. Olaya only turns one in the summer and I don’t think it’s good for them to travel so far just to watch me. But I still dedicate every goal I score to them and my parents might come and watch me in South Africa.”

“I think Spain (is in) a tough group as all other groups. When you go to the World Cup final phase, there is no easy group and no easy opponents. We’re playing a few games within a short time and will have to do very well to beat any team. Hopefully, we can win and achieve something important!” 

 On his David Villa Camp

“It’s one of my personal projects. To me, education is very important to children. So from day one, I wanted to build a campus, where we can educate children on the values of coexistence, respect and solidarity. This year marks the third year and we have many people from all around Spain and even abroad,” he explained.

On Loving Valencia

“I only have good things to say about Valencia and its people. I have been here in this city for five years and from day one, I was received with open arms and the fans have shown me their affection every day,” he said. “So yes, they make me feel at home and it is true that this is my second home. I just want to show my appreciation by putting in my best efforts.”

Photos via Reuters & AP / Interview © Futbolita

Ooooh, our Sunday Senor from last week has done it again for Sevilla! Aplausos para Álvaro Negredo and his TWO GOLS against Valencia last night, please! His transformation from being part of Real Madrid’s B squad to a Sevilla hero is truly an achievement. Now Fabulouso better get excited because he has a new striking partner. It’s impossible to bench this man now, Manolo Jimenez. Everyone’s busy APPRECIATING. Tal vez, llorando también.. ha-ha.

Here are the goals and the obligatory random photo of Alvaro.

via AP

Ok, Albelda looks like he’s enjoying a rave right in that photo – so be quiet until the moment passes! Tres, dos, uno… ok, here we go. Los Che pulled off a nice 4-1 victory over Villarreal last night (poor, poor Nilmar) and damn, the goals were coming at you like there was no tomorrow! From the two Davids to former Boca kid, Éver Banega, everyone wanted the win desperately. Sure, their young defender Kiko (it isn’t just Macheda’s nickname, you know) was slapped with a red card but the boys sailed on con orgullo!

“I think against an opponent who have played some good matches so far, we’ve been very focused and very compact in defence and attack. Furthermore, after the sending off and 2-0 in our favour, we were able to stay on top,” declared Senor Unai Emery.

As a bonus, here’s Albelda with his mujer, Vicen!

via Reuters, AP

Look, even David Albelda can’t help himself from smiling for the cameras! And you can’t really blame him, after Los Che battled back from a goal down to win this away match against Athletic Bilbao last night. Goals by Villa and Mathieu cancelled out 16-year-old Iker Munain’s strike (the young striker is a cross between the Pique and Torres breed, in case you were curious and even if you were, shame on you for checking out jailbaits).

Also, Queridos futbolitas, everyone loves The Villa at Valencia, so if all goes as planned, he’s all set to be a One Club man ala Raul The Great One. Ignore the calls from distant lands, tipo! We can’t imagine him elsewhere. The only image in our minds of Villa is the exact same one portrayed in that photo above…. where he’s smiling blissfully in a sea of sunflowers.

Roma wins Il Derby Capitolino

We thought Juventus’s Chiellini was the real Phantom of the Opera, but damn, De Rossi has the moves to pull it off! Anyway, Roma’s fans will definitely be celebrating their victory over their fiercest rivals, Lazio in the city today. Their ultras went berserk again – letting off firecrackers and fighting in the stands, but like the Messiah (below), they all wanted to see the Opera.

Nevermind that – Marco Cassetti’s only goal was enough to secure all 3 points for Totti’s side. Even he couldn’t help himself during the celebrations by taking off his shirt – but Cassetti went one step further by knocking down the advertising billboards. Dude, ti credi di essere cool? (dude, you think you’re cool?!)

Ei chicas, you have to admit that front page image with David Villaaaaa in his Kung-Fu pose is muito legal!!! He looks ferosha… come on, his daughter already thinks it’s cool and has started to draw on it with her red Crayola. Anyway, Villaaaa opened the scoring against Osasuna in the sixth minute thanks to his outstretched boot (talk about being at the right place, at the right time) last night. David Albelda and Carlos Marchena scored the other two goals.

“This is a tough place to come and we played really well to win the game,” said Albelda. “We are growing as a team and just have to keep going the way we are and see what happens.”

Also, David Silva’s hair is calling out to be in a Sunsilk ad…. seriously, darle una oportunidad!

Nilmar’s Brace Sinks Valladolid!

So tipo over here was the hero for Villarreal yesterday, following a bad start to their season. Nilmar didn’t even have to change the colour of his jersey… all he needed was two goals bebes! Thanks to him, it looks like El Submarino Amarillo are slowly starting to find their pace again, scoring 14 goals in their last four games.

“Despite the result it wasn’t easy,” said Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde. “I liked what I saw of my team and think we were better so we are happy with how we played as well as the result.”

Photos via AP, Villarreal

Oh, Senor Pep! Ha sido un largo tiempo! Now that the internationals are over and done with, Barca’s Babes are getting ready to face the exciting Valencia tomorrow. As expected, the Messiah flew back via private jet which was provided by the club. Everyone else had to walk and among the last to arrive were Piqué, Busquets and Iniesta. Meanwhile, Ibracadabra arrived at the Ciudad Deportivo Joan Gamper with some ‘discomfort in the knees’. Come on, ya’ll all know what he was up to on the dancefloor…!

Meanwhile, Robinho has expressed his interest in the Catalan giants… “Of course I would like to play for Barca, who wouldn’t? We could have so much fun. It would be a pleasure to play next to (Lionel) Messi, to my compatriot (Dani) Alves, Xavi, (Andres) Iniesta, (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic… with all of them. They are a great team,” he said.

“I’ve played against them and I know their quality. But at the moment at the moment I can only do it (play with them) on the PlayStation. It’s an honour that a coach like him (Guardiola) speaks highly of Robinho, and rates me as much as I read he does.”

A little humble pie goes a long way, gato...

via Gettyimages

Ah, que fantástico! David Villa struck twice yesterday to help Valencia to a neat 4-2 win at Valladolid. The other goals came from Juan Mata and David Silvaaaaa.

“My players made a big effort and by the end, they were very exhausted. Looking back at it now, you can see just how difficult it was,” said Unai Emery after the game.

Anyway, it’s always nice to see Los Che winning, particularly since there was so much talk of them offloading their top players last season to solve their financial problems. Silva was said to be interested in a move to England, but it was all tabloid trash. Why leave when you’re truly happy where you are?

In other Sunday match-ups, Depor and Sporting Gijón managed 1-0 wins at Malaga and Almeria respectively while Villarreal played out a 1-1 draw against Mallorca at the badly-maintained El Madrigal.

via Reuters

The Valencia kit designers obviously had too much of a Dark Knight experience…. so it doesn’t matter if Juan Mata and David Silva look like they have extra chest hair. Valencia defeated Sevilla 2-0 and Freddy Kanoute was sent off for two “unfair” challenges in Unai Emery’s opening test of the season yesterday. The other goal came from Pablo Hernandez.

“We have passed one test and will continue studying for the next one,” said the Valencia coach.

Meanwhile, poor Atletico fell to a 3-0 defeat at Malaga which saw goals from Nabil Baha and defender, Manu (in his full league debut) before Xavi Torres added a third. ¡que pasaaaaa la gente?!

“It was our worst game since the pre-season,” said coach Abel Resino. “We have to keep working to rectify these mistakes because the league has only just started.”

Villa looks like he’s about to go rob a bank in the photo above… but sadly, it was announced today that Barca are not willing to pay 50 million euros for him. Now, someone needs to rob Real Moneda’s bank! Potter Perez should be surrounded by the dancers on Chiambretti Night and maybe Laporta can get at least 30m.

“We will not (pay) beyond (what we) proposed,” declared Laporta. “We have to get the players that interest us under reasonable conditions. I always said that Villa is a player who is interested in the conditions.”

Villa met with Valencia’s president, Manuel Llorente, yesterday to request a transfer from the club. And since we’re on the topic of David Villa, check out his look-alike here (thanks Anton!)

Fútbol’s Biggest Douche, Greaseano, is expected to choose his all-important Real Madrid number within the next week. Since Raul The Great One is already wearing number 7, his new teammate will have to settle for either 9 or 10. He can’t choose 17 either because Parejo is using it but knowing Flo’ Perez, he’d do anything to make his expensive buys a little happier. This means that the former U-13 player may have to give up his number for Senor Red Shorts above.

On the issue of David Villa coming to Madrid, Perez is taking a ‘reasonable’ approach to the situation.

“We have the whole summer to explain to Valencia fans that everything we do will be done based on friendship and not confrontation. It is not a movie with good guys and bad guys. It’s about two prestigious institutions that are rivals and that will compete for the league title. Off the playing field however we are capable of sitting down and reaching an agreement,” he said.

[Photo via Just Jared]

Wait, is Marca now giving away free Greaseano cards with this issue? And they claim that he’s preparing for ‘life in the Spanish League’, and we know he’s not because the “dream is dead.” Somewhere in America, Adam Lambert just LOL-ED.

The other big story is that Marca caught David Villa in Madrid! Holidaying in Madrid = a move to Real Madrid. There is absolutely no other reason for him to be in the city, according to the newspaper. Along with his heavily pregnant wife, Villa was seen dining at a restaurant near the Bernabeu. “Villa’s visit comes shortly after Florentino Perez announced his candidacy,” wrote the newspaper.

We’re willing to bet over Bobojan that if Villa had walked into the stadium, Marca would’ve prepared a special noon edition detailing his ‘new kit number’ at Real Madrid, complete with photoshopped images of him hanging out with H.Potter Perez.

Poor David Villa. He’s tired of all the transfer speculation but Harry Potter Perez refuses to leave him alone!

“Florentino Pérez contacts me every day – more or less, four to five times,” revealed the Spanish striker who has scored 25 goals for Valencia this season. The Real Madrid president is set to contest his presidency next week and wants Villa to come to the team to strengthen his campaign – and generate more votes, obviously.

“I am tired of so much speculation. I’m just working hard for the next four games of the championship. I don’t care about the rest,” he said.

What does he mean by ‘the rest’? Surely Villa knows he can’t afford to be vague when it comes to Real Madrid! Remember Hair Grease? He doubted Foreignchester United last July and everyone at the Bernabeu went berserk. “He will come!” they cried. “Ronaldo will be ours!” screamed the fans. And now, it’s “não há necessidade…”. Disappointing!

It’s always nice to see Valencia winning especially since we know that they genuinely deserve it. Last night’s 4-1 victory over Getafe – and a Villa double – was a welcome boost from all the negativity surrounding the club as of late.

“I think the biggest problem would be if we did not win. If we do things right, the team will settle down and take on a positive momentum and don’t have to worry about other things. The important thing is that we recover. Let’s see if these two victories mean that we have put (the) rough patch behind us,” said Unai Emery.

“Let’s be careful, because it is difficult. They gave us an oxygen of 6 points, the team is still alive and that’s the most important thing.”

Poor David Villa! He scored and got sent off in the same game.

The striker’s 24th minute goal put Valencia in the lead against Deportivo last night but after a collision with keeper Daniel Aranzubia, he was promptly sent off for a second bookable offence.

Piscu headed home an equaliser for Deportivo and the match ended 1-1.

Well, you know the real truth was that Villa wanted to go home at half time and watch the red carpet arrival at The Oscars.

Both David Silva and David Villa scored in Valencia’s 3-1 demolishing of Atletico Madrid last night.

Valencia opened the scoring 34 minutes into the first half with a penalty converted by striker David Villa. The hosts did not take long to repeat the feat and and David Silva was well-placed in the area to score. The Spanish international scored again in the second half. Atletico were only able to pull back courtesy of a Diego Forlan penalty.

Said Unai Emery : “Atletico were not able to play because of our intensity, and the result is a reflection of our merits than their mistakes. In the last two games we have given a good impression, as we always have except for the losses to Barcelona and Real Madrid. We played well at home and there was good chemistry with the fans.”

Gonzalo Higuain’s goal was enough to secure a Real Madrid victory over Valencia last night, in Juande Ramos’ debut La Liga game as coach. Juande is beginning to look like my neighbour who has six cats and still finds the time to throw my shoes away.

“It was very important that we won, we had three points in our hand and if we had only managed a draw in the end it would have been a big problem,” said Ramos. Indeed, we’re glad he understands that.

Real had chances to add to their lead but Higuain and Guti in particular missed excellent chances.

Poor Miguel Palanca also had to leave the pitch after injuring his head.

Ola Futbolitas! Today isn’t a slow news day but I had to do a lot of spring cleaning so pardon the delay in posts! Let’s get down to it shall we. Barcelona literally thrashed Valencia 4-0 in last night’s La Liga game, with a hat trick from Thierry Henry (Who needs Claire Merry now!) and another goal by Daniel Alves.

Even coach Unai Emery was speechless at the Catalan’s side impressive display at the Camp Nou. “We came to the game well aware of how well Barca have been playing,” he said. “We knew we had to play at our best to win, but they hit the post with their first chance and then they scored the next two.”

Of course, you don’t leave a team like Barcelona chances to score – because it can be detrimental. The result shows that Henry is capable of creating goals for Barca even without Samuel Eto’o. Barca look to remain strong at the top of the table, and if all that talk of Kun Aguero coming to Barca next summer turns out to be true, you can expect the best upfront!