Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is encouraged by his improving partnership with Robin van Persie at Arsenal. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7646853.stm Robin Van Persie is embroiled in a war of words with Holland team-mate Wesley Sneijder. The pair had a public falling out over a free-kick both players wanted to take for the national side during Euro 2008. Click to continue reading...

How 'bout this for a team: Defense consisting of Chivu, Van Damme, Heitinga, Nigel de Jong MIdfield: Maduro, Sneijder, Van der Vaart (Pienaar on the bench) Offense: Van der Meyde, Zlatan, Ryan Babel (with Mido and Tom de Mul benched). I guess you could win a Dutch title with these lads, if you Click to continue reading...

So, La Liga is starting two weeks late as per usual. There are some positives though. I'm back from any holidays in time to watch it for one. Teams also start with there full squad, rather than half the Premier League teams who look to buy in players in the last two weeks of the window. The english scum who go to places like the Costa del Sol and Benidorm are out of the country. Click to continue reading...

Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka, Sneijder, Pirlo, Torres, Fabregas and Ferdinand may be the best players in the world today. They have scored 42 goals, beat 50 players a game, be the current holder of the aforementioned award or magically create clean sheets. None of them though, are as talented as the ex Barcelona reserve who scraped together a paltry nine goals last year. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid's love affair with Brazilian footballers seems to be slowly coming to an end. At its height, back in Florentino Pérez's last season as club president, the squad boasted five Brazilians in its ranks: Roberto Carlos, Cicinho, Baptista, Robinho and Ronaldo. As of today, with the sale of Julio Baptista to Roma for €12 million, this number now stands at two: Robinho and Marcelo. Click to continue reading...

A recap of the events of the last seven days saw Real Madrid play two friendly games in London for the Emirates Cup with contrasting results, a serious knee injury to one of its most in-form midfielders, the announcement of a signing that had been widely heralded, and the retirement from international football of one of the top strikers in the game. Click to continue reading...

La Roma andrà nel fine settimana a Madrid per acquistare Julio Baptista, scrive il quotidiano spagnolo Marca. Presto, quindi, Pradè dovrebbe incontrare Mijatovic per chiudere l'affare. Le Merengues - prosegue il giornale iberico - vorrebbero intascare 12 milioni di euro per la Bestia, il club giallorosso sarebbe disposto a spenderne meno di dieci. Click to continue reading...

Both Marco Van Basten and Paul Ince have begun new managerial jobs and so far have had different results. Van Basten is remaking Ajax into the club that we have all grown to know them as throughout their history. He is discarding veteran players that don't fit his vision and adding younger players that he can mold into what he hopes will be champions. Click to continue reading...

Due notizie arrivate da Madrid avvicinano Julio Baptista sempre più alla Roma: la lieve entità dell'infortunio di Sneijder e l'acquisto di Van der Vaart. Resta da superare lo scoglio riguardante la formula del trasferimento; il Real vorrebbe cedere subito l'attaccante brasiliano a titolo definitivo, la Roma insiste per il prestito con diritto di riscatto fissato a 14 milioni. Click to continue reading...

This isn't exactly a shocker, but today Ruud Van Nistelrooy retired from the Dutch national team. Its a bit of a shame that Ruud wasn't able to achieve more with the national team during his time there. His goal scoring record of 33 goals with 64 caps is very good, but never was able to achieve the same sort of success as his predecessors. Click to continue reading...

Il fantasista olandese Rafael Van der Vaart, intervistato da As, conferma la sua voglia di trasferirsi a Madrid: "Io sono un giocatore dell'Amburgo, pero` spero che tutto si risolva in fretta e che i due club raggiungano un accordo. Rispetto la societa` che mi ha sotto contratto, ma credo che il Real sarebbe la soluzione migliore per tutti. Click to continue reading...

During this interminable summer transfer saga that is Cristiano Ronaldo, it has at times seemed like Real Madrid were putting everything on hold, waiting for him to either arrive or decide to stay at Manchester United. Whether because there's just over a month left of the transfer window, or because Real know that there's a good chance they won't be getting the Portuguese winger this summer, it now looks like Mijatovic has decided to make his first move in the market (if you don't count Garay, back in May). Click to continue reading...

This Euro had England's pundits a twitter with the perceived lack of quality players in their national squad. Who could blame them? Spain, perennial underachievers, finally broke the hex leaving England in dire straits as the only big country with a big fat doughnut hole in recent accomplishments.

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Hey remember Nike's "Take It To The Next Level" Commercial? That cool first-person ad featuring Wenger, Gallas, Fabregas, C-Ron, Sneijder and van Nistelrooy (among others)? You know, the one directed by Guy Ritchie, that cool dude behind movies such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch ? Click to continue reading...

Yesterday, Euro 2008 concluded with Spain's deserved win over Germany. The match was very technical and tactical and I really enjoyed it. Any soccer player would have loved how precise and skillful the game was, and any sports fan could have appreciated the action.

The opening five matches of the tournament were boring, including some snoozers with Austria, Switzerland, and France vs.

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The Real Madrid midfielder dismissed rumors that he would be used as bait in Real's attempt to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. "I'd like to comment briefly on the reports and rumors that I might be going to Manchester United as part of some kind of exchange deal, as I've said already, when I left Ajax, all [. Click to continue reading...

We say goodbye to the first batch of Real Madrid players after the quarter finals, with the surprising elimination of both Portugal and Holland, two of the more fancied sides after their group games. Aside from Spain's first defeat of Italy in official competition for 88 years, all the group winners fell at the quarter final stage. Click to continue reading...

I can't say that I am shocked, but I am a bit surprised that Russia pulled it off. Holland had so much momentum going to the game that I really thought it would carry them through to the semi-finals at least. Full credit to the Russians, who played a terrific game, constantly attacking the Dutch and their one true weakness - their defense. Click to continue reading...

I can't say that I am shocked, but I am a bit surprised that Russia pulled it off. Holland had so much momentum going to the game that I really thought it would carry them through to the semi-finals at least. Full credit to the Russians, who played a terrific game, constantly attacking the Dutch and their one true weakness - their defense. Click to continue reading...

Though half of the national sides taking part in Euro 2008 have now been eliminated, all of the Real Madrid players who started the tournament have booked their ticket to the quarter finals with varying degrees of brilliance. Rubén de la Red, back from his season-long loan at Getafe, and still a Real Madrid player (it's not yet clear whether he will feature in the transfer market this summer) Click to continue reading...

Although Wes Sneijder has claimed the Man of the Match Award in both of the Netherlands' games in the European Championship final phase so far, Dirk Kuyt has also been outstanding. And he's looking forward to more of the same as the tournament unfolds.

The past few months have been tough for the Liverpool forward after he lost his father last June. Click to continue reading...

Matchday 2 of Euro 2008 has already seen some of the nations eliminated, while others have secured their passage into the knockout stages. At this point, we have not yet said a definitive goodbye to any Real Madrid players, although some have not yet guaranteed their place in the quarter finals: Pepe (Portugal): no goals this time (though he did come close on one occasion), but another solid Click to continue reading...

The Dutch players celebrate with their children last night in Berne. Honestly, have you ever seen so much pink-cheeked, flaxen-haired adorableness in your life? (And I'm definitely not talking about Dirk Kuyt.) Let's give the Oranje the trophy right now simply on the basis of baller loin production of the most superior quality.

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GROUP C
June 13, 2045 CET, Berne (Switzerland)
France1
VS
Netherlands 4
Hanry 71' Kuyt 9'; Van Persie 59';Robben 72';Sneijder 92'

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Our midfield... The preparation towards Italy was hectic, to say the least. First Babel's injury, then Arjen Robben. Rumors in the press off Van Persie injuring Sneijder and the conclusion that Robin wouldn't be fit in time. Who to play? How to play? A draw would be celebrated as win. We Click to continue reading...

In a team that is notorious for imploding and infighting, it is reassuring to hear today from Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who believes that the team is experiencing an unprecedented atmosphere of solidarity.

"We have the possibility to win Euro 2008 and we all feel that we can do it.

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As all the nations complete their first game in Euro 2008, those Real Madrid players involved in the tournament made an immediate impact. Well, those who weren't injured, at least: Pepe (Portugal): scored his first international goal in his first major championship and opened up a potentially tricky tie against Turkey, momentarily taking everyone's attention away from Cristiano Ronaldo. Click to continue reading...

Highlights from the Holland vs. Italy match on Day 3 Footytube Holland 3 - 0 Italy Van Nistelrooy 25 (H), Sneijder 31 (H), Van Brockhurst 80 (H) Holland: Van der Sar; Ooijer, Mathijsen, Bouhlarouz (Heitinga 77), Van Bronckhorst; De Jong, Engelaar; Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Kuyt (Afellay 81); Van Nistelrooy (Van Persie 70) Italy: Buffon; Panucci, Materazzi (Grosso 54), Barzagli, Zambrotta; Click to continue reading...

In what probably was the best game of the tournament so far, Holland battered my 'adopted' team Italy 3-0 last night, with goals from Van Nistelrooy (definitely offside), Sneijder and Van Bronckhurst. Had Van der Saar not made a series of fine saves, the scoreline would not look as convincing as it does. Click to continue reading...

Italy 0-3 Netherlands (Nistelrooy 26′, Sneijder 31′, Bronckhorst 79′) Group C Stade de Suisse, Berne 9 June 2008 Kick-off: 20:45 (CET) Preview: The Group of Death rears its ugly head as two world-class championship contenders go head-to-head in this opening round match. The main storyline coming into this match was about the players who aren't going to play, rather than [. Click to continue reading...

It was more than the kickabout that was feared when the Levante players went on strike earlier in the week, though there was not a great deal of tension on the pitch with nothing competitive to play for from either side. The game was on, the party atmosphere was palpable from before kick-off and continued until the final whistle. Click to continue reading...

Despite playing almost the whole of the second half with 10 men, Real Madrid managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit with less than 10 minutes to go and win their thirty-first league title. It's the first time they have won back-to-back titles since 1990 (though that was the last in a run of five consecutive champioships), when John Toshack was in charge. Click to continue reading...

The best Racing side in living memory went into their clash with Real Madrid on Sunday knowing that a win would lift them up to fourth in the table and into Champions League territory. Atlético's surprise defeat at home to Betis on Saturday motivated the Cantabrian side to come out all guns blazing, much like one of those Atlantic gales that regularly hit Santander. Click to continue reading...

Former Spain coach Javier Clemente made his intentions clear prior to Murcia's visit to the Bernabéu on Sunday: they were going to "park the bus" in front of their goal and hope this was enough to keep Real out. While few would argue that second from bottom Murcia did not truly expect to win in Madrid, it is perhaps not the best strategy for a team facing relegation. Click to continue reading...

Mallorca, the team responsible for dumping Real out of the first of three competitions this season, caused motormouth president Calderón to ask for help from on high (presumably the Spanish Federation and referees are not trustworthy enough): "I am afraid of all our opponents. It's very hard to win in Mallorca an I'm very happy with the draw because this point could prove to be very important at the end of the season. Click to continue reading...