LA LIGA & REAL MADRID

[raul julia]

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in my opinion they dont need another striker......and besides if they do get one,im afraid they might bench raul........

[raul julia]

Real-ity check for Real Madrid's Four Musketeers

LISBON (AFP) - Any hopes England, France, Spain and Portugal had that Real Madrid's form slump would not be reflected by their star turns at Euro 2004 has been brutally shattered during the tournament.

The Four Musketeers' motto was 'one for all and all for one' and that still stands for the Real Madrid version as Raul, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham will all be sitting at home cheering on their last teammate standing - Luis Figo.

However he too could be sitting watching from the subs' bench as Portugal aim to set aside years of under-achievement by landing the trophy in their own backyard.

While Figo did a modern-day version of Achilles sulking in the dressing room after being substituted, Beckham was missing the first of the penalties in the shootout defeat to Portugal that was to prove to be another false dawn for English trophy hopes.

How Beckham must have wished for a miracle to be worked by the 'Our Lady of Fatima' icon that Figo was holding at that very moment, representing the shrine in Portugal where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.

Spain captain Raul departed even earlier as his shooting powers drew blanks and coach Inaki Saez lost his job, partly because he couldn't bring himself to drop the Real Madrid great.

Neither will Beckham face such a humiliation as was visited on Figo on Thursday - at least as long as Sven-Goran Eriksson is in charge.

"Yes" said the Swede without a moment's hesitation when asked if Beckham would remain captain.

Whether Figo gets another chance under Luiz Felipe Scolari after his fit of Dutch-style petulance is open to question.

Allied to Figo's comment that Brazilian-born Deco shouldn't play for Portugal because he wouldn't have the same level of commitment - which must have gone down well with 'Big Phil' who is himself Brazilian - he, like previous captain Fernando Couto, may have to watch from the sidelines.

As for Zidane his peerless gifts were largely absent throughout the tournament, apart from the two minutes of hell he imposed on England in the opening match when he showed Beckham how to take a penalty successfully after the England skipper had seen his brilliantly saved by Fabien Barthez.

A peripheral figure throughout the 1-0 defeat by Greece, 32-year-old Zidane may at last be showing the effects of long years of service to club and country at the highest level.

Raul blamed his lack of goals on 'fate', Beckham his penalty miss on a dodgy clump of earth that adorned the penalty spot, and Figo his removal on a sense of injustice. Zidane simply said that the team didn't get out of first gear.

"Is this the end of an era? We'll have to see," was Zidane's response when asked whether the glorious core of the French team would soon be a thing of the past.

To the majority of viewers and spectators it must have seemed that the end is nigh for four players who are footballing icons in their respective countries.

[raul julia]

The President of Real Madrid firmly denies the information given by some media today regarding the Club's interest in hiring Gianluigi Buffon.

Florentino Pérez has stated several times that Iker Casillas is, in everybody's opinion, one of the best, if not the best, goalkeepers in the world. Consequently, this position in Real Madrid's lineup is perfectly covered.

[kobe]

REAL MADRID FULL OF ALL-STAR CAST! MURAG L.A LAKERS!!!! PERO WA KA DAOG SA LAST UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.. AMBOT OG NGANO

[raul julia]

maybe of the same reason why the lakers didnt won the championship....buts thats all in the past, we can only hope for the future

[raul julia]

Raúl keeps breaking records. The White captain played his 75th game with Spain yesterday against Portugal. He is now level with former Madrid player Rafael Gordillo as the most capped Spanish player. Camacho, Hierro and Zubizarreta are the only players that stand ahead of Raúl, though without the possibility of adding more games to their records. The forward enjoys the advantage of his age in these standings, as he still has a few years ahead of him to pass the mentioned top three players. Raúl is very likely to stand as a landmark in Spanish football. No wonder Hierro gave him the nickname Ferrari a few years back. He made his international debut on October 9th, 1996 and now stands as top scorer of the national team with 38 targets.

[fingolfin]

............kobe, blame it on the manager and Raul Bravo, Quiroz didn't rotate his players and Bravo is a poor defender.............


.............and as for the REal-ity article, this euro 2004 is full of up sets, all the great nations have fallen, world cup finalists germany, england, defending champions france, mighty italy. This tournament will not affect the individuals "galactico" of madrid. .............

[raul julia]

He kept us all waiting, but Walter Samuel finally arrived in Madrid. He had to wait for quite a while in the line for passport control at Barajas Airport. His wife, son and players adviser Javier GarcÃ*a Coll were with him. Real Madrid’s first signing finally appeared amid some great expectation at 15:25. Many fellow countrymen of his welcomed and cheered him up just ahead of the beginning of such an adventure. Then, he went to Hotel Eurobuilding, where he will be staying until he will find a home in the Spanish capital. The player is to join the team’s work next July 12th just like Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.

[raul julia]

Real Madrid presidential candidate Lorenzo Sanz said on Tuesday that he had reached agreements to sign Czech Republic internationals Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky as well as Portugal midfielder Maniche.

"We were at the final of Euro 2004 and made important agreements with three players while we were there," Sanz told a news conference at his election headquarters.

"If we win the election, Maniche and Baros will be at the disposal of Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho from next Monday. Rosicky will be available to sign for the club in a year's time."

When pressed on the exact terms of the agreements Sanz said that with regard to Porto midfielder Maniche he had approved the deal with both the player and his club.

[raul julia]

Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez says that after his landslide victory in Sunday's presidential election he is now aiming to recruit one of the world's top players to join the club before next season. Perez, who won over 90 percent of the votes of club members in Sunday's election, declined to reveal the names of the potential new recruits but said that he was not put off by clubs who said their players were not up for transfer.

"There are no players that are not for sale," he said. "The only problem is the money." Perez was scheduled to meet coach Jose Antonio Camacho on Tuesday to discuss the players they would like to recruit before the start of next season.