Fran: ‘Real depend on Ronaldo’

January 29, 2010

Real Madrid hopes to sink Deportivo la Coruna to stay in touch with league leaders Barcelona. But they could face a daunting task when they are without Cristiano Ronaldo, according to former Deportivo captain Fran.

Ronaldo received a two-match suspension this week for a red card he picked up at the weekend, during the match against Malaga (2-0). The Portuguese winger was sent off after a stray elbow caught Danish defender Patrick Mtiliga.

Madrid’s initial appeal against the ban was rejected by the Spanish football federation’s appeals committee on Thursday, but the club have now taken their case to Spain’s sporting disciplinary committee (CEDD) in a bid to have the former Manchester United man available for the Depor match.

If they won’t succeed then according to Fran, their hopes of picking up a first win at the Riazor since the 1991/92 season will be all but extinguished.

“It (Ronaldo’s absence) would be key because they depend on him while the others are not at their best,” said club legend Fran, who played over 400 games for Depor between 1988 and 2005.

“Hopefully he will not be here, although Madrid will still give it everything. That’s obvious because if they don’t win, the difference to Barcelona will be very big,” he told AS.

“I think it would be difficult with Cristiano (in Madrid’s team), but if he doesn’t play then the curse will continue; they will go away empty-handed once more. I have faith in Depor.”

Real coach Manuel Pellegrini will travel to La Coruna without Rafael van der Vaart, who’s still troubled by a knee injury he sustained three weeks ago during the match against Mallorca.

Ezequiel Garay, Lassana Diarra, Gonzalo HiguaiÂn, Mahamadou Diarra en Fernando Gago are also not available for different reasons.

The several absences have forced Pellegrini to add four players from the academy to his squad.

Deportivo lie fifth in the Primera Division, ten points adrift of Real Madrid.

Tags: appeals committee, Barcelona, captain Fran, daunting task, different reasons, disciplinary committee, ezequiel garay, fernando gago, football federation, initial appeal, knee injury, la coruna, league leaders, MADRID, mahamadou diarra, Malaga, manchester united, manuel pellegrini, Patrick Mtiliga, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, riazor, ronaldo, spanish football

Hamstring injury rules out Higuain

January 12, 2010

Real Madrid will be without Gonzalo Higuain for the next three weeks. The Argentine striker suffers from a hamstring injury.

Real’s top scorer played the full 90 minutes on Sunday against Mallorca but tests have revealed he has sustained a left foot injury that will sideline him around three weeks.

Higuain’s injury comes as a big blow to Madrid, with the youngster having scored 11 goals in his last 10 matches. It should see more playing time given to Karim Benzema, who admitted on Monday to feeling somewhat frustrated with his current role as substitute at the Spanish giants.

Real, who will also be without injured playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, are two points behind leaders Barcelona at the top of the league.

Tags: Argentine, Barcelona, foot injury, giants, Gonzalo, Karim Benzema, left foot, MADRID, Mallorca, playing time, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, Real, real madrid, sideline, striker, top scorer, Vaart, van der vaart

Calf injury for Van der Vaart

January 11, 2010

Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart may have to miss several matches after suffering a calf injury in Sunday’s league game with Real Mallorca.

Only 18 minutes had been played at Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, when Van der Vaart needed to be stretchered off.

Tests pointed out that the player suffered a calf injury, although it is still uncertain how serious it is.

Madrid went on to beat Mallorca 2-0, with goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Esteban Granero.

Tags: bernabeu stadium, calf injury, Esteban Granero, league game, MADRID, Mallorca, midfielder, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, real mallorca, Vaart, Van der, van der vaart

Arsenal may swap Fabregas for Higuain: report

January 7, 2010

Arsenal may be ready to sell Cesc Fabregas to Real Madrid — if they get Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain in return, a Spanish sports newspaper said Thursday.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger “is only willing to part with his captain if Real includes Gonzalo Higuain in the deal,” said Marca, which did not indicate its sources.

It said Real would prefer to offer Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart to the London club, and would only release Higuain for 35 million euros, 10 million less than they would pay the Gunners for Fabregas, Marca said.

But competition for the 22-year-old Spanish international from bitter rivals Barcelona may force their hand, it said.

In comments on the UEFA website, Higuain said he would like to end his career at Real Madrid, “the team and the city are my second home, and it would be fantastic.”

Fabregas, Arsenal’s top scorer with 12 goals, is under contract with the Gunners until 2014 but his future has been the subject of much speculation this season.

The player himself last month played down talk of a move back to his native Spain, saying that his future lies in the English Premier League.

Fabregas began his career with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003.

The following month he became Arsenal’s youngest ever player in any competition when he appeared in a League Cup tie against Rotherham aged just 16 years and 177 days.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: 10 million, Argentine, Barcelona, bitter rivals, coach, cup tie, English Premier League, euros 10, fabregas arsenal, gunners, london, london club, MADRID, marca, midfielder, premier league, Rafael van der, real madrid, Spain, spanish sports, speculation, top scorer, uefa, Wenger

Van der Vaart tips Spain, Brazil as WC favourites

January 7, 2010

Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart has named the countries he expects to be in contention for this year’s World Cup honours. The Real Madrid midfielder didn’t mention his homeland the Netherlands among the favourites.

“Spain is one of the favourites along with Argentina and Brazil,” said Van der Vaart at a press conference.

“Spain is a very good team but the World Cup is different. At Euro 2008 they were lucky because the Netherlands had a bad day against Russia.”

The 26-year-old midfielder returned to Real’s starting lineup recently, partly because of the injured Kaka’s absence. The Brazilian midfielder is on the verge of a return for Los Merengues but Van der Vaart doesn’t fear his comeback.

“I can also play with Kaka, not a problem, that is a decision of the coach.

“I have the skill and quality to play for Real Madrid.”

Tags: absence, Argentina, bad day, brazil, conference spain, contention, dutch international, euro 2008, favourites, kaka, MADRID, merengues, midfielder, netherlands, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, russia, Spain, starting lineup, the Netherlands, Van der, verge, World Cup

Kaka back in action during training

January 1, 2010

Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder Kaka touched the ball during a training session on Thursday for the first time since he was sidelined at the end of November with a hernia, the Spanish club said.

“Kaka appears to have recovered from his sports hernia and today got his first feel for the ball in several weeks. He and Cristiano Ronaldo teamed up during the second half of the session to work on various drills,” the club said in a statement.

Real will hold two more training sessions before it faces Osasuna in the league on Sunday in Pamplona and it is not yet clear if the 27-year-old will be called up for the squad for that match.

The Spanish giants have won all four of their matches in Kaka’s absence, leading some in the Spanish media to suggest that Real play better without the 65-million-euro (93.5-million-dollar) summer signing from AC Milan.

But Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who has replaced Kaka during his absence, is also in doubt for the match as is Spanish midfielder Guti.

Real went into the Christmas break two points behind leaders and champions Barcelona in the Primera Liga.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, Barcelona, Cristiano, cristiano ronaldo, doubt, giants, hernia, kaka, MADRID, osasuna, pamplona, Primera, primera liga, Rafael van der, real madrid, real play, ronaldo, second half, sessions, spanish club, spanish media, training session

Van der Vaart pledges his loyalty to Real

December 21, 2009

Rafael van der Vaart has been a regular starter at Real Madrid for the last few matches and that has changed his situation at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Dutch midfielder will only leave Real if the club tells him to go.

His recent performances for Los Merengues have strengthened Van der Vaart’s confidence. The attacking midfielder has rejected any possible move in January.

“My intention is to finish the season here and see out the contract that I have with Real Madrid,” Van der Vaart told Dutch paper De Telegraaf. “I am very happy and believe I am playing very well at the moment.

“I’ve been a starter for the last four matches, we played well and we won them all.

“Only if I’m forced to leave, I will go,” added the former Hamburger SV midfielder. “But the club have insisted that they don’t want to sell me.”

Tags: confidence, de telegraaf, dutch paper, hamburger sv, intention, loyalty, MADRID, midfielder, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, Santiago, santiago bernabeu, Van der

Higuain warns rivals of a rising Madrid

December 21, 2009

Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain believes Real Madrid are getting better all the time after they ended 2009 with a 6-0 demolition of Real Zaragoza at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even without key duo Kaka and Pepe through injury Madrid were still far too good for sorry Zaragoza, and the game was over as a contest inside the opening 35 minutes after the hosts stormed into a 4-0 lead.

Higuain and Rafael van der Vaart shared those goals equally between them before big-money summer signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema added two more strikes in the second half.

Madrid have had their critics this season but last night’s win was their biggest since trouncing Sporting Gijon 7-1 at the start of the last campaign and saw them close the gap on leaders Barcelona to two points.

It also means Madrid have won eight of their last nine games, with their only slip-up coming against Barca at the Nou Camp, and Higuain feels things are now gradually coming together for the Spanish giants, who spent around 250million euros on new talent this summer.

“We are playing better every day,” said the Argentinian, who has scored 10 goals in his last eight league games for Madrid.

“I’m very happy with the result and with the performance of the team. We played a very good match and we hope to continue on this path. We were solid and we took advantage of scoring so early on.

“It was very important to defeat Zaragoza in order to be just two points behind Barcelona. We depend on ourselves to catch up to them.”

World-record signing Ronaldo also feels he is improving.

The £80million summer arrival from Manchester United missed two months of the season due to an ankle injury and was back on the sidelines for last weekend’s trip to Valencia because of suspension.

However, he was back in the side for the Zaragoza match and his second-half goal took his tally to 13 strikes in 12 competitive games this season.

“I’m working well and I will do even better with the help of my team-mates. I want to carry on like this until the end of the season,” he said.

“I’m doing better every day. Two months out is a long time and coming back was difficult. But things are going well for me, I’m scoring goals and I hope to continue like that.”

He added on his club’s website: “It was important to end the year with a victory, so we are happy about that. Now we have to think about next year, which we must start as well as we’ve ended this one.”

Tags: ankle injury, Argentine, Barcelona, cristiano ronaldo, getting better all the time, kaka, Karim, Karim Benzema, last campaign, league games, MADRID, Manchester, manchester united, nou camp, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, real zaragoza, ronaldo, Santiago, santiago bernabeu, sporting gijon, summer arrival, summer signings, team mates, Valencia, world record, Zaragoza

Ronaldo back as Real close in on knockout stage

November 26, 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo ended two months of injury torment with a 20-minute appearance as Real Madrid put one foot in the Champions League knockout phase with a 1-0 Group C home win over FC Zurich on Wednesday.

A 21st minute goal from Argentine Gonzalo Higuain secured a narrow victory for Real who now lead the group, two points ahead of AC Milan who drew 1-1 with Marseille, and need just a point in the final game at Marseille to secure qualification.

“I am scoring some goals which is nice but the most important thing is we are winning,” said Higuain. “This win boosts our chances of qualifying for the next phase of the Champions League and also gives us confidence for the Barcelona game at the weekend.”

Ronaldo, top-scorer in this season’s Champions League with four goals in two games, came on in the 69th minute after eight weeks out with an ankle injury and is now ready for ‘El Clasico’ against Barcelona on Sunday.

Real lead the Spanish table by one point from champions Barcelona going into the duel at Camp Nou.

The Zurich match was a landmark game for Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas who was making his 100th Champions League appearance putting him third in the all-time list led by captain Raul on 129.

Raul had been on the substitutes’ bench for the past three consecutive league games but returned for the Zurich game with French striker Karim Benzema making way.

Just four minutes into the match Brazilian Kaka showed quick feet to create a shooting chance and his left-footed drive was tipped over.

Zurich had caused a major upset by beating AC Milan 1-0 on their own patch but were cautious at the Santiago Bernabeu putting numbers behind the ball and playing on the counter attack.

Real probed and got the early breakthrough they craved on 21 minutes with Kaka stealing possession and threading a pass to Higuain who finished with aplomb to enhance his claim for a starting place against Barcelona.

Xabi Alonso, celebrating his 28th birthday, almost scored his first Real goal with his 26th minute drive pushed wide by goalkeeper Johnny Leoni.

A training ground routine almost provided the second for Real with Higuain cutting a corner back to the edge of the penalty area and thundered a volley against the post in the 36th minute.

Zurich had offered little and a decent long distance shot from Alexandre Alphonse was their only effort of note but Casillas always looked in control.

After the break Real went in search of a second goal while Zurich continued to offer little from an attacking point of view.

Ronaldo warmed up on the touchlines to draw applause from the home crowd.

However, Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, playing for his future at the club, was the first substitution replacing Alvaro Arbeloa close to the hour mark.

Real were struggling to create chances and Zurich grew in confidence with the impressive Alphonse causing some problems with his running from deep.

After 69 minutes Real coach Manuel Pellegrini delighted the home crowd by introducing Ronaldo – missing for the past ten games – with Raul coming off.

Ronaldo, who showed some nice touches, came through the match unscathed which was the most important thing from Real’s point of view.

The former Manchester United man almost scored in the final minute after a good one-two with Esteban Granero but his left-footed shot lacked the power.

All in all the second half display was below-par from Real and they will have to raise their game for treble winners Barcelona on Sunday.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: 28th birthday, ac milan, Alexandre Alphonse, Alonso, ankle injury, aplomb, Barcelona, camp nou, captain Raul, consecutive league, Esteban Granero, fc zurich, final game, Gonzalo, Johnny Leoni, kaka, Karim Benzema, landmark game, league games, MADRID, Manchester, manuel pellegrini, Milan, minute goal, narrow victory, Rafael van der, real madrid, ronaldo, Santiago, spanish table, top scorer, xabi alonso, ZURICH

Real Madrid offer Van Der Vaart to Chelsea

October 26, 2009

Real Madrid has offered Dutch midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart to Chelsea.

The 26-year-old is out of favors at Real Madrid and eager to change clubs as he seeks playing time before the World Cup.

The Spanish giants are looking to recover a portion of their vast expenditure over the summer months, and have already allowed Arjen Robben to move to Bayern Munich, while Wesley Sneijder vacated the Santiago Bernabeu to switch to Italian giants, Inter Milan.

Van der Vaart has been on the periphery of the first-team this season and coach Manuel Pellegrini has previously stated that he would be willing to let the player leave the club incase a suitable offer arises.

The 26-year old is reportedly unhappy with his current role with Los Blancos and since he has not appeared in the Champions League, Van is eligible for European football after Christmas, if he manages to move clubs in January.

However, his move to Chelsea looks doubtful since the Blues have been smacked with a transfer ban by FIFA and barring a successful appeal, the Merengues may have to take their business elsewhere.

Anurada Bhat