Real Madrid and Madrid City Council have come to a compromise over the €400million renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu with the Spanish La Liga club accepting a court decision and modifying the construction plans now set to begin in 2017. Madrid president Florentino Perez first announced a rebuild of the stadium back in 2004, with […]
via Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Renovation To Begin 2017 — newfanzoneblog
Top representatives of the governments of Nigeria and Spain were on hand to witness the landmark signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a five-year technical and commercial partnership between the League Management Company of Nigeria (LMC) and the Spanish League Board (LFP) on Tuesday, April 26, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. While Shehu […]
via LaLiga sign Five-year Technical and Commercial Partnership in Abuja — newfanzoneblog
…,As La Liga President arrives on Monday A delegation of the Spanish League (La Liga) Board will arrive in Nigeria on Monday for a bilateral meeting with the League Management Company (LMC) to conclude discussions on collaboration between the two leagues which began during a similar visit by the LMC to Spain earlier this year. […]
via LMC, La Liga Set To Seal Partnership Pact In Abuja — newfanzoneblog
Barcelona Midfielder Sergio Busquets has revealed that Current Bayern Munich Coach Pep Gaurdiola (who happens to be on his way to the Etihad to coach Man City next season) and his wife are the only two people who have got the power to make him leave his current club Fc Barcelona.
Busquets who has been promised an enormous pay rise by his current employers revealed this to ESPN stating : “I’ve always said that there are only two people that can change my decision to be here. One is my wife, who right now is here and is a Barcelona fan, so I don’t think there is going to be a problem on a personal level,” Busquets told ESPN.
“On a sporting level the other person would be Guardiola.
The midfielder might be one of Guardiola’s early recruits at City given the the fact that some players are definitely going to be shown the way out when Pep resumes at Man City, Notable amongst the players expected to leave is City Ivorian Yaya Toure, there’s definitely no love lost between Toure and Guardiola, And Player like Busquets will definitely make fill the void that Yaya might leave.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he is “hopeful” Gareth Bale’s latest calf injury is not too serious after the Wales international scored but then limped out of Sunday’s 5-1 La Liga win over Sporting Gijon at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Gareth Bale opened the scoring with his 11th goal in his last eight games with a header just seven minutes in and was heavily involved as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema both notched quick doubles as Madrid went 5-0 ahead before the break. The Wales international did not make it to out for the second half, however, as he appeared to suffer another calf muscle problem, while Benzema was also substituted during the second half after suffering a bang on his ankle in an accidental collision with teammate James Rodriguez.
Asked about the injuries at his postgame news conference, the Los Blancos coach said Benzema appeared to be fine but there was concern that the Welsh winger had suffered what would be a fifth calf muscle injury in his two-and-a-half years at Real Madrid.
“Karim is just a bang, thankfully. Gareth’s is a bit more difficult, calf muscle, on the
left, another problem. But we will see the scans tomorrow, and hope it is a small one.” Zidane said
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi picked up a “small strain” against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday while Jordi Alba has been ruled out for 10 days with a hamstring injury.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique allayed fears about Messi’s fitness by insisting he took the Ballon d’Or winner off at half-time only as a precaution.
The Barcelona coach withdrew Messi, who scored the first of Barca’s six goals against the Basques by netting from the penalty spot, for Arda Turan at the end of the first half with a right hamstring strain, but he hinted that the forward could still feature against Athletic Bilbao in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey quarter final first leg at San Mamés stadium.
“Messi will have tests tomorrow, he has a small strain and had a little discomfort so we preferred not to take any risks,” Luis Enrique said in a news conference.
“We spoke about it at half-time and with the scoreline as it was we did not want to take risks. I don’t like taking risks with any player, so imagine what it’s like with Messi.”
However, Barcelona confirmed on their official website that Jordi Alba, who pulled his hamstring in the 69th minute against Athletic Bilbao, is expected to be sidelined for 10 days.
Paul Ayorinde
Real Madrid have parted ways with Coach Rafa Benitez following yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Valencia. Rafa Benitez becomes the second high profile manager to loose his job this season following Jose Mourinho’s sack by Chelsea a few weeks ago.
Rafa Benitez had recently pleaded for more time to turn the fortunes of the Madrid club around.
Real Madrid are currently placed third on the Primera Liga table with 37 point, 2 points behind rivals Barcelona with 39 points in second place but with a game in hand. Local rivals Athletico Madrid currently top the Liga with 41 points.
Benitez’s plea for more time seems to have fallen on deaf ears as Club President Florentino Perez has wielded the big stick seven months after becoming the Coach of Real Madrid. His defensive style of play and his alleged fallout with some of the top players in the Los Blancos are believed to be mainly responsible for his Sack.
While Rumour has it that former coach Jose Mourinho might make a return to the Bernabeu its Former Madrid legendary player Zinedine Zidane who currently coaches Madrid’s B Team Castilla is expected to replace the sacked Spaniard.
Top 5 performers in Europe’s top 5 football leagues (2015/2016) the story so far…,
We have put together a list of Europe’s top 5 leagues top 5 performers, our focus is on a few highlights of the game, mainly goals, assist and discipline for individuals and for teams it’s got to do with their positions on the Log, comments are welcome and hope you find this useful.
Please note that this is based on results as at the 9th of December 2015 and the Leagues are arranged in no particular other…,
Serie A Table
R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Inter Milan 15 10 3 2 18 9 +9 33
2 Fiorentina 15 10 2 3 30 12 +18 32
3 Napoli 15 9 4 2 28 12 +16 31
4 Roma 15 8 4 3 30 18 +12 28
5 Juventus 15 8 3 4 22 11 +11 27
Top Scorers
R Player Team Goals
1 G. Higuain Napoli 14
2 C. Eder Sampdoria 10
3 N. Kalinic Fiorentina 9
4 P. Dybala Juventus 9
5 L. Insigne Napoli 7
Assists
Player Team Assists
R. Saponara Empoli 5
G. Bonaventura AC Milan 5
R. Meggiorini Chievo 5
M. Pjanic Roma 5
L. Insigne Napoli 5
Disciplinary (bad boys)
Player Team Yellow card Red card
M. Iturra Udinese 8 0
M. Pinilla Atalanta 5 1
Mauricio Lazio 5 1
A. Struna Palermo 5 1
K. Koulibaly Napoli 6 0
Spanish Primera Division Table
R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Barcelona 14 11 1 2 34 13 +21 34
2 Atl.Madrid 14 10 2 2 20 6 +14 32
3 Real Madrid 14 9 3 2 32 12 +20 30
4 Celta Vigo 14 7 4 3 25 22 +3 25
5 Villarreal 14 7 3 4 18 15 +3 24
Top Scorers
R Player Team Goals
1 Neymar Barcelona 14
2 L. Suarez Barcelona 13
3 I. Agirretxe R. Sociedad 11
4 C. Ronaldo Real Madrid 10
A. Aduriz Athletic Bilbao 10
Assists
Player Team Assists
G. Bale R. Madrid 5
Nolito Celta Vigo 5
R. Soldado Villarreal 5
Neymar Barcelona 5
M. Asensio Espanyol 5
Disciplinary (bad boys)
Player Team Yellow card Red card
G. Escalante Eibar 10 0
E.Bailly Villarreal 6 1
Recio Malaga 7 0
N. Cases Sporting Gijon 7 0
S. Mustafi Valencia 7 0
German Bundesliga Table
R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bayern Munich 15 13 1 1 43 8 +35 40
2 B. Dortmund 15 11 2 2 42 20 +22 35
3 B. Monchengladbach 15 8 2 5 31 23 +8 26
4 Hertha Berlin 15 8 2 5 20 18 +2 26
5 Wolfsburg 15 7 4 4 24 17 +7 25
Top Scorers
R Player Team Goals
1 P. Aubameyang B.Dortmund 17
2 R. Lewandoski B. Munich 14
3 T. Muller B. Munich 13
4 Y. Malli Mainz 8
M. Reus B. Dortmund 8
Assists
Player Team Assists
D. Costa B. Munich 9
Raffael B. Monchengladbach 8
H. Mkhitaryan B. Dortmund 7
M. Ginter B. Dortmund 6
S. Kagawa B. Dortmund 6
Disciplinary (bad boys)
Player Team Yellow card Red card
S. Die Stuttgart 6 1
G. Xhaka B. Monchengladbach 4 2
Wendell B. Leverkusen 6 0
H. Seferovic E. Frankfurt 6 0
C. Fritz W. Bremen 6 0
French Ligue 1 Table
R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 PSG 17 14 3 0 40 8 +32 20 45
2 Angers 17 8 6 3 16 9 +7 30
3 Caen 17 9 2 6 20 18 +2 29
4 Monaco 17 7 6 4 24 23 +1 27
5 Lyon 17 7 5 5 21 16 +5 26
Top Scorers
R Player Team Goals
1 Z. Ibrahimovic PSG 12
2 B. Moukandjo Lorient 11
3 M. Batshuayi Marseille 5
4 E. Cavani PSG 9
5 H. Ben Arfa Nice 7
Assists
Player Team Assists
A. Di Maria PSG 6
Z. Ibrahimovic PSG 6
W. Khazri Bordeaux 5
M. Batshuayi Marseille 4
J. Seri Nice 4
Disciplinary (bad boys)
Player Team Yellow card Red card
G. Sio Rennes 7 1
A. Biyogo Poko Bordeaux 5 2
S. Boufal Lille 6 1
J. Lemoigne Ajaccio 6 1
R. Bensebaini Montpellier 7 0
English Premier League Table
R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Leicester City 15 9 5 1 32 21 +11 32
2 Arsenal 15 9 3 3 27 13 +14 30
3 Manchester City 15 9 2 4 30 16 +14 29
4 Manchester United 15 8 5 2 20 10 +10 29
5 Tottenham Hotspur 15 6 8 1 25 12 +13 26
Top Scorers
R Player Team Goals
1 J.Vardy Leicester 14
2 R. Lukaku Everton 11
3 R.Mahrez Leicester 10
4 O.Ighalo Watford 9
5 O. Giroud Arsenal 8
Assists
Player Team Assists
M. Ozil Arsenal 12
R. Mahrez Leicester 7
D. Silva Man City 6
K.D Bruyne Man City 6
Deulofeu Everton 6
Disciplinary (bad boys)
Player Team Yellow card Red card
A. Tettey Norwich 7 0
J. Colback Newcastle 6 0
Lucas Liverpool 6 0
J. Milner Liverpool 6 0
C. Adam Stoke 4 1
Top Goal Scorers in Europe
R Player Team Goals
1 P. Aubameyang B. Dortmund 17
2 R. Lewandoski B. Munich 14
J. Vardy Leicester 14
Neymar Barcelona 14
G. Higuain Napoli 14
Most Assist in Europe
R Player Team Assists
1. M. Ozil Arsenal 12
2 D. Costa B. Munich 9
3 Raffael B. Monchengladbach 8
4 R. Mahrez Leicester 7
H. Mkhitaryan B. Dortmund 7
· Club Administrators for understudy programs in Madrid
· Players’ development, Stadium Security on the cards
Following discussions finalized at the sidelines of the 2nd World Leagues Forum in Paris, France between the League Management Company (LMC) and the Spanish La Liga, Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Clubs’ officials will early next year undergo capacity building programs through conferences and workshops on sports development, marketing, financial control, club administration, stadium security and players’ development.
Chairman of the LMC, Shehu Dikko, who was one of the 23 heads of leading global national leagues in attendance at the meeting held on December 1, said the program is the outcome of his meeting with Javier Tebas, chairman of La Liga.
Further to the discussions which pre-dated the meeting in France, Dikko disclosed that “the LMC has already received a working document and what we did at the meeting in Paris was to agree to next steps including the arrangements to send our delegates to Madrid. They are also waiting on our dates which I think we are considering early February”.
Giving further insight into the contents of the agreement, the LMC Chairman said, “we concluded collaboration between the NPFL and the La Liga towards assisting the NPFL in its developmental programs in areas of capacity building that will be achieved through conferences and workshops on technical matters such as Coaching, match administration, marketing, financial control, stadium security and players’ development etc”.
He said there also will be programs on knowledge exchange between the La Liga Clubs and the NPFL Clubs, noting that “this will involve the participation of club administrators, coaches and technical personnel from the NPFL Clubs to Spain for technical understudy with La Liga Clubs. They also will from time to time send their own officials here”.
Initial contact with the La Liga was made at the first World Leagues Meeting in England and while extensive discussions were held between officials of the LMC and the La Liga, the Spanish league extended an invitation to the LMC for concretization of the mutual pact.
Dikko said, “The LMC will continue to explore bilateral beneficial pacts for the growth of the league and more especially for our Club Managers who are the spine of the structure of any successful league. We must translate the leaps at the LMC to administration at the club level and this we seek to achieve through collaborations with some of the world acclaimed successful leagues”.
The LMC Chairman was among the 23 Chairmen of the leading world leagues that met in Paris, France on Tuesday, December 1 to form the World Leagues Association, an umbrella body that will interface with FIFA on matters relating to professional football in the world. Five members led by the head of the Mexico’s Liga MX, Enrique Bonilla were selected to develop a final framework for the association. Other members are Commissioner of the United States’ Major League Soccer, Don Garber, Mitsuri Murai of Japan’s J-League, Christian Seifert, the Chief Executive of German Football League and Frederic Thiriez, the President of the French League
Happy Days are here again for Liga BBVA Clubs as the League announced a new domestic Tv deal worth 2.65 billion euros for 3 seasons.
The English Premiership still remains the league with the biggest Tv deal in the world with a deal worth approximately 6.9 Billion Euros. But this new Spanish League deal is a welcome development, following a law that was passed earlier on in the year that makes it mandatory for all the clubs to collectively bargain for this type of deals.
The two top teams in the Liga BBVA used to get the largest chunk of such deals before leaving whatever was left to the other clubs, but this new arrangement will see more money get to the other clubs in the top flight of the Liga, while performance in the last five season will also influence how much each club will eventually get.
The Segunda Division will also get ten percent of the Tv deal money a development that will see many more spanish clubs empowered to do more in the transfer market and this can only augur well for the Spanish game.
Gary Neville has been appointed as Valencia’s head coach until the end of the season.
The former Manchester United captain, who has been working as part of Roy Hodgson’s England backroom staff, replaces Nuno Espirito Santo who resigned on Sunday.
Gary Neville joins brother Phil who has been assistant coach at the La Liga club from the start of this season.
In a statement on the club’s official website, Neville said: “I am excited and I am proud to have received this huge opportunity with Valencia Football Club. It is a huge club, of immense prestige and I remember well from my time as a player, the passion and loyalty of their fans. “
“I’m looking forward to working with them, I know it’s a group of very talented players. I am very excited about the challenge that lies ahead.“
Valencia president Chan Lay Hoon added: “We are delighted to have been able to have Gary as quickly. He is a person who combines technical expertise as part of the coaching staff of the England team and a brilliant playing career at Manchester United.
“Throughout his career, Gary has always shown a high level of leadership on and off the field. He is greatly respected in English football and these qualities have convinced us that it is the right choice to lead the team until the end of season.”
Valencia are currently ninth in La Liga while they are third in Champions League Group H, a point below Gent with one match to play.
Neville’s first match in charge of Los Che, will be at home against Lyon in the Champions league on December 9th.
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has given under-pressure Manager Rafa Benitez a vote of confidence after the 1-4 humiliation at the Santiago Bernabéu by bitter rivals Barcelona.
Real Madrid Fans protested the loss with some fans calling on Pérez to resign, some critics have called for early elections but the Real Madrid president as rejected such calls claiming that the protest was spearheaded by the Club’s Ultras whom he believes should be kept out of the stadium due to their “violent nature”.
On Benitez Pérez said: “Rafa Benítez is the solution, the manager has my full support”
The Real Madrid president accompanied by the members of the club’s board of directors said: “Rafa has just started his job here, let him keep working, and he will achieve his objectives.”
Football pundits and analyst were expecting Benitez to get the sack after a recent slump in form which as seen the Madrid team loose two games on the bounce to Sevilla and Barcelona.
Pérez also denied plans to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to PSG stating that he had no such plans as Ronaldo is an integral part of the Los Blancos.
Benitez took over from Carlo Ancelloti who was fired in the off season and he definitely got his job cut out for him with Barcelona Currently on top of the Liga with 30 points from 12 games while Real Madrid are currently 3rd with 24 points the same number of games Rafa Benitez Might get the same treatment as Ancelloti.
Real Madrid will next play Eibar away on Sunday, Nov 29 2015.
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