Ronaldo´s Real held to 1-1 Peace Cup draw by Al-Ittihad

July 27, 2009

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Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi side Al-Ittihad in the Peace Cup on Sunday as Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make an impact in his first match at the Santiago Bernabeu with the Spanish giants.

Real captain Raul put the Spanish giants in the lead in the 55th minute after getting the ball from new team-mate Karim Benzema and fending off Obaid Alshamrani to send the ball past the keeper from 12 yards out.

Six minutes later Real’s Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder had a go from 25 yards out but the ball flew over and behind the net.

Hicham Aboucherouane equalized for Al-Ittihad in the 64th minute with a header into the top corner of the net after beating Fernando Gago to the ball following a free kick by Al Saqri from the left flank.

Benzema and Ronaldo, who was presented before nearly 80,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium earlier this month after he completed his transfer from Manchester United, were both substituted with 25 minutes remaining.

Real beat Irish champions Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in their first pre-season outting on July 20 in which Ronaldo also failed to make an impact, missing two free kicks before being substituted at halftime.

Real’s other big name new signing Kaka and Raul Albiol are still on holiday due to their commitments at the Confederations Cup earlier this summer, as are Spanish internationals Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.

Pepe, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mahamadou Diarra are deemed not fit to play at the moment.

Twelve teams from around the globe, including Sevilla and Aston Villa, are taking part in the fourth edition of the pre-season tournament.

There are four groups with three teams in each. The top team in each group goes through to the semifinals which will be played on July 31. The final takes place two days later in Seville.

Lyon won the last edition of the Peace Cup in 2007.

MADRID (AFP)

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Higuain unfazed by presence of star signings

July 17, 2009


Real Madrid’s Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, the club’s top scorer last season, is unfazed by the prospect of facing more competition for a place in the starting line-up due to the arrival of stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

“Very good players have joined the squad and it will be hard to earn a starting spot. We’ll have to do our best and show the coach he can count on all of us,” he said at the club’s pre-season training camp at Maynooth near Dublin.

“It naturally makes me happy when people want me on the starting 11, but we must respect the choice of other players. I will fight hard to be a starter, but the coach ultimately decides what to do,” the 21-year-old added.

New Real coach Manuel Pellegrini has lined up Benzema, who joined the club from French side Lyon for a reported fee of between 35 and 41 million euros earlier this month, and Real captain Raul as strikers during training.

But Spain’s sports press have reported that Higuain, a fan favourite, still has a chance to be in the starting line-up if Pellegrini decides to play 4-4-2 where he can partner with Benzema or Ronaldo.

Real have spent around 220 million euros (305 million dollars) on new recruits since construction magnate Florentino Perez returned to the presidency of the club last month.

In addition to Ronaldo and Benzema, the club have signed Spain’s Raul Albiol and Brazil’s Kaka.

“We have new players of the highest order, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have any before. Those who have joined us this summer did a lot at their previous clubs and we hope they do the same at Real Madrid,” said Higuain.

Real will play a friendly match against current Irish champions Shamrock Rovers on July 20, two days before its training camp in Ireland ends.

MAYNOOTH, Ireland (AFP)

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Real captain heaps praise on ´super nice´ Ronaldo

July 15, 2009


MAYNOOTH, Ireland (AFP) – Real Madrid captain Raul heaped praise Tuesday on his new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, calling the Portuguese international winger “super nice” and a “hardworking”.

“He is super nice, normal and very harworking,” he told a news conference in Maynooth, Ireland where the club began a nine-day pre-season training camp on Tuesday.

“He is integrated. He seems very happy. In the media it seems like everything he does and says, every gesture, has a lot of meaning but he is much more normal than people think,” the 32-year-old added.

Real signed Ronaldo from Manchester United last month on a six-year deal worth around 94 million euros (131 million dollars) and he will reportedly be paid 13 million euros each season, making him the most expensive player in the world.

The 24-year-old, was officially unveiled before some 75,000 ecstatic Real fans on July 6 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, is being protected by several security guards during his stay in Ireland.

Real will play a friendly match against current Irish champions Shamrock Rovers on July 20, two days before its training camp in Ireland ends.

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Real head to pre-season training camp in Ireland

July 14, 2009


Real Madrid departed Monday for Ireland where the Spanish giants will stage a pre-season training camp in the wake of a recruitment drive that saw them sign Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

New coach Manuel Pellegrini took 30 players with him to Dublin for the nine-day camp which gets underway on Tuesday and includes a friendly match against current Irish champions Shamrock Rovers on July 20.

But Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who Real are seeking to sell, stayed behind at the last minute, the online editions of sports dailies AS and Marca reported, suggesting his transfer may be imminent.

Spanish media reported over the weekend that Real and German side VfB Stuttgart had agreed a fee for Huntelaar.

Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who Real signed from AC Milan for 65 million euros, will also miss the training camp as will Spanish internationals Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Raul Albiol.

The four players were given extra vacation time since they played for their national teams at the Confederations Cup in south Africa. They will join Real at the end of the month.

Pellegrini said Sunday that he hopes the squad will be completed when all of the internationals return to the squad at the end of the month. He said the team needed two midfielders and a full back.

“The sooner the better. July 27 would be good because that’s when all our internationals return,” he said when asked for an ideal date to have his squad finalised during his first post-training press conference as Real’s new coach.

Among the candidates cited as possible recruits are France’s Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich, Spaniards Xabi Alonso of Liverpool and Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal as well as Italy’s Gaetano d’Agostino of Udinese.

Real have spent around 220 million euros (305 million dollars) on new recruits since construction magnate Florentino Perez returned to the presidency of the club last month.

The club’s spending spree on Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzima, Raul Albiol and others has created congestion in the locker room and it hopes to unload about a dozen players, which is proving to be difficult under current market conditions.

Among the possible departures are Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo and Malian defender Mahamadou Diarra.

MADRID (AFP)

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