4 seeds are the new 3 seeds; or, Transylvanians, Cypriots & Belarusians are legit. BATE were very fortunate to be eying a blonde Austrian rather than a turban-sporting Italian in net, but they were never predicted to sneak a deserved point. Cluj proved their Roma win was no fluke, even if they used a vastly different [. Click to continue reading...

FC BARCELONA may have started their 2008/2009 Spanish League campaign with a "goal drought"& with harsh criticisms from media & fans on new coach Guardiola´s strategy & line-ups, but it... Read all the news, results, details & comments in English on Spanish Football & Sports Click to continue reading...

Xavi and Samuel Eto'o share an extra special embrace during their game against Sporting Gijon today - closeup of the passionate duo after the jump. There were a lot of these moments to be had, what with Barca winning 6-1 away and all. Let's hope they didn't spill over into the team hotel. (AFP/Miguel Riopa) Click to continue reading...

Man, I never woulda had Roma losing to Cluj, a Romanian side, at home.

Christian Panucci had the favored side up 1-0 with a header in the 17th minute, but Emmanuel Culio bagged the next two with goals at 28' and 49' to give the visitors a shocking win.

It wasn't undeserved either, the underdogs played well enough to win and deserved the three points in Group A. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Marquez
Originally uploaded by It's el BOFO!!!!! Con un gol del mexicano en la victoria del Barcelona en la Champions League se festejo el 16 de Septiembre en España.

Barcelona 3 - Sporting Lisbon 1 (Champions League, Septiembre 16, 2008)
Rafael Marquez anoto el primero Samuel Eto'o anoto el segundo Moutinho metio el gol para el Lisboa y Xavi realizo el tercero. Click to continue reading...

(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

More World Cup Qualifiers means more recaps. I think Abby will have some post gushing about Theo Walcott, so I'll only briefly mention him here. And post a picture. Lot of Gunners in action, and from what I've heard, no major injuries.

Robin Van Persie
Started and played 69 minutes for the Netherlands in their 2-1 win against FYR Macedonia.

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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...

The Good Brazilians in London: Yeah yeah, Portsmouth ain't exactly on their level, but Big Boss is going to be mighty pleased this season with Luiz & Deco running the show at Stamford Bridge. See, money can buy happiness. HSV: Hamburger just lost their most bestest player and quite possibly the finest WAG in the Bundesliga, only [. Click to continue reading...

(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

(Summary is not available.) Click to continue reading...

Barcelona star Xavi could be on his way to Newcastle, or so the People newspaper is reporting today. Xavi - Euro 08 Player of the Tournament on way to Newcastle? Click to continue reading...

I got to see most of this game, man it was fun to watch Barca move the ball. Here's an AP recap.

Very reminiscient of Euros, with Xavi and Iniesta dominating the run of play.

Eto'o looked to be in fine form and maybe the Spanish side could make a splash in the Champions League and dethrone Real. Click to continue reading...

Image via Wikipedialast night saw a huge crowd come out to giant stadium (oh, if only we could get such crowds for our home games - it might inspire the team) to see fc barcelona play the new york red bulls in a friendly.

and if they came looking for great goals, they got it. 8 goals total were scored - 5 in the first half. Click to continue reading...

Samuel Eto'o scored two, Xavi, Hleb, and Caceres put in one each to give Barcelona the 5-2 victory over CD Guadalajara in front of 40,717 at Soldier Field Sunday.

CD Guadlajara battled valiantly as Jesus scored for Chivas in the 59th minute...Jesus Padilla that is...as well as an 88th minute header from Javier Hernandez, but by then it was much too little much too late as Barca had stamped their authority. Click to continue reading...

Does MARCA have anything better to do?

The veritable Spanish sports daily/bird cage liner must be bored after the exaltation of the Euro 2008 championship. When they're not trying to speed the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to their beloved Real Madrid or trying to coax Raul onto the national team, they grow bored and despondent.

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AUSTRIA - FUTBOL EUROCOPA 2008
Originally uploaded by BLOGARJONA Dos de los que aparecen en la fotografía son serios aspirantes al premio para mejor futbolista mundial 2008 en el ya clásico premio balón de oro.

Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas, Andrei Arshavin y Leo Messi son los candidatos mas fuertes al Balón de Oro 2008, todo en la revista francesa L'Equipe. Click to continue reading...

EPL Talk reader Alan Jacobs posed an excellent question about Euro 2008 and Xavi. Here's the question: Alan Jacobs: I have scanned the papers and blogs and, while I have found many all-tournament teams, I have yet to find a single one that names Xavi. Conversely, almost everyone (rightly in my view) singles out Senna for [. Click to continue reading...

I always think that international competitions like Euro or the World Cup provide much needed correctives.

Fernando Torres muscled his way past Philip Lahm in one of the more indelible images of Euro 2008 to provide Spain's winner. The Liverpool striker was one of the heroes in his country's win against Germany.

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Those ever inventive advertising types at Adidas have done it again. As part of their rather nice ‘Impossible is Nothing' campaign, they have roped in Barcelona team-mates Leo Messi and Xavi to go bowling, only kicking footballs at the pins. Obviously. There's much more else to say about it really, other than the lads display a few mad skillz but ultimately are a bit rubbish at the game's fundamentals. Click to continue reading...

Barca stars flout bowling alley rules In which Xavi, Euro 2008's Player of the Tournament, takes on Barca team-mate Lionel Messi at ten-pin football.... 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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Spain claimed their first major title for 44 years after winning Euro 2008 with a deserved victory over Germany. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was Spain's goal hero, striking after 33 minutes when he cleverly lifted Xavi's pass over Germany keeper Jens Lehmann.

Spain dominated the final throughout, with Torres heading against the post and Marcos Senna almost adding a second from close range after 80 minutes. Click to continue reading...

Breaking News: German goal keeper Jens Lehman blames the referee for their loss in the Euro Final. It was not Lehman's crappy play on the game winning goal that caused it! Hahahahahahaha. And good times were had by all.


UEFA European Championship 2008

The Final
-Sun Jun 29
Spain 1-0 Germany - Spa goal by Fernando Torres. Click to continue reading...

Well, this is embarrassing. I did a quick rundown of Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament candidates last night, and there was one name I forgot: Xavi Hernández.

And guess who UEFA has named as player of the tournament this morning? That's right: Xavi Hernández.

I'm pretty sure UEFA did this just to make me look bad.

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UEFA voted Spain's Xavi as the Euro 08 top player of the tournament. Andy Roxburgh who was a member of the selection group said that, "We have chosen Xavi because he epitomizes the Spanish style of play. He was extremely influential in the whole possession, passing and penetrating kind of game that Spain played. Click to continue reading...

I have a quick thought on Andrei Arshavin's current popularity and impending sale (although the stars of the day are deservedly Torres and Xavi)

H.U has already posted that Arshavin is, while a very good player, not a consistent performer at the highest level. I would agree that the evidence points in this direction - Arshavin can certainly be expected to produce, but not dominate day in, day out. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the European Champions now over, it is time to look back at the players who made the tournament one to remember.

From the daring Turks to the high-flying Russians to the dynamic Dutch, there were plenty of standout players in the tournament, but only 11 can make the Euro 2008 Best XI.

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Uefa have named Barcelona and Spain playmaker Xavi as the best player of Euro 2008.

The midfielder has been outstanding in his team's tournament triumph. I have previously called Xavi the best midfielder in the world. His display in Euro 2008 reinforced my opinion. Of course he was the leading passer in the whole tournament, as he is in every tournament in which he participates. Click to continue reading...

Those of us who regularly watch and follow Barcelona are well aware of the craft and alchemical transcendence that Xavi and Iniesta can conjure up on a weekly basis. They work as a team within a team--quick thinking, fleet of foot, unselfish, and daring enough to slip passes through a clomp of defenders when it seems most unstable, almost ruinous to do so. Click to continue reading...

Fernando Torres sinks Germany as Spain take UEFA 2008

Fernando Torres struck his second goal of the tournament to down Germany and take Spain to the 2008 UEFA Championship.

Spain have at last fulfilled their potential at a major tournament, and with the squad they have at present, it's about time too! Click to continue reading...

UEFA has handed in its EURO 2008 Team (Squad) of 23 players. That is, the Best 23 players that have participated, & according to the Uefa select experts. The big news is that Spanish... Read all the news, results, details & comments in English on Spanish Football & Sports Click to continue reading...

The official Euro 2008 team of the tournament: Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands). Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Carlos Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Carles Puyol (Spain), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia). Midfielders: Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Luka Modric (Croatia), Marcos Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernández (Spain), Konstantin Zyryanov (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Cesc [. Click to continue reading...

To put the finishing touches on Euro 2008, here's my tournament all-star team and MVP. I'll go with an aggressive 3-5-2 formation, which should be fine since the defenders are so good.

Goaltender: Iker Casillas, Spain
Defenders: Hamit Altintop, Turkey; Carlos Puyol, Spain; Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Holland
Midfielders: Andrei Arshavin, Russia; Michael Ballack, Germany; Luka Modric, Croatia; Wesley Sneijder, Holland; Xavi, Spain
Forwards: Semih Senturk, Turkey; David Villa, Spain

It's a testament to Spain's team that I'm having such a hard time picking a tournament MVP. Click to continue reading...

Goals:
Torres 33'

The first thing I voiced after starting these Spain reviews was the worry that my support for the Spanish squad would jinx their chances. After the conclusion of the tournament, I'm happy to say the opposite turned out to be true.

As I'm sure you've read multiple times by now, this is Spain's first major trophy in 44 years. Click to continue reading...