Primera Division 2010/2011 Thread

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Royal Emirates Group buy Getafe

Royal Emirates Group signed a deal to buy La Liga club Getafe for up to €90 million with the Dubai firm targeting a top 6 finish next season for the relegation-haunted Spanish outfit.

The club will be renamed "Getafe Team Dubai" following the acquisition by Royal Emirates, an investment firm chaired by Sheikh Butti Bin Suhail Al Maktoum.

Getafe finished 6th last season but are languishing in 14th place this term, 4 points above the relegation places, while the club, located in Madrid's suburbs, attract the lowest attendances in the Spanish top flight.

Yet Dubai officials seem undeterred. Suleiman al Butti, Royal Emirates project manager, earmarked qualification for Champions League, Europe's elite club competition, within 2 seasons.

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La Liga - Team of the Week 33


Valdes (FC Barcelona)



Nunes (Real Mallorca) - Botia (Sporting Gijon) - Demichelis (Malaga)



Kaka (Real Madrid) - Tiago Gomes (Hercules) - Perotti (FC Sevilla) - Messi (FC Barcelona)



Baptista (Malaga) - Aguero (Atletico Madrid) - Higuain (Real Madrid)

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La Liga - Team of the Week 34


Tono (Racing Santander)



Ujfalusi (Atletico Madrid) - Hernandez (Sporting Gijon) - Gonzalez (Real Sociedad)



Cejudo (Osasuna) - Cani (Villarreal) - Xabi Prieto (Real Sociedad) - Gabi (Real Zaragoza)



Baptista (Malaga) - Aguero (Atletico Madrid) - Lafita (Real Zaragoza)

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Real focus on Ronaldo scoring record



POZE MECI

With the La Liga title effectively in Barca's hands, Real Madrid are doing their best to help Cristiano Ronaldo set new goal-scoring records as their campaign draws to a close.

The Portugal forward bagged his second hat-trick in as many matches in the 4-0 demolition of Getafe at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, making it 7 scored in the last 4 days and taking his league tally to 36.

He set a new club record of 49 goals scored in all competitions for a season, passing the previous best of 47 set by Ferenc Puskas in 1959/1960.

Ronaldo is also just 2 short of matching the league record of 38 achieved by Real's Hugo Sanchez in the 1989/1990 campaign and Athletic Bilbao's Telmo Zarra in 1950/1951.

"Our objective now is to help Cristiano to be league top scorer", Gonzalo Higuain said.

Ronaldo moved 5 ahead of his rival Lionel Messi, who has 31 league goals so far, but he is still 3 short of the World Player of the Year's season tally in all competitions of 52.

Real's players were clearly looking to set up Ronaldo at every opportunity against Getafe as the 26-year-old scored with a header and a goal off each foot.

"We still have one objective which is to ensure Ronaldo finishes as league top scorer", assistant coach Aitor Karanka said.

"It's logical that some of his team-mates look for him."

"The goals record is down to the unity of the team and the enormous potential that he has. We don't know where Cristiano's limits are."

Real and Ronaldo have 2 league matches left this season, away to El Madrigal and at home to Almeria.

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Real Betis climb back into La Liga

Second division leaders Real Betis secured promotion to La Liga after Celta Vigo drew 1-1 at Salamanca on Thursday.

The Seville-based club moved on to 76 points from 28 matches with a 3-1 victory over Tenerife on Wednesday and Celta were the only club who could mathematically deny them promotion.

With 4 matches left to play, Betis are now 13 ahead of third place Granada. The top two clubs go up automatically.

Betis won La Liga back in 1935 and the Copa del Rey in 1977 and 2005, and competed in Champions League in the 2005/2006 campaign before being relegated in 2009.

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Sanchez Flores to leave Atletico

Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season.

"This Sunday will be my last match at Vicente Calderon", Sanchez Flores said.

Sanchez Flores guided Atletico to victory in Europa League and a runners-up spot in Copa del Rey last season but they have failed to live up to expectations this term and the best they can hope for is a place in next season's Europa League.

With 2 matches left, they are in 7th, Spain's last European qualification berth, on 52 points, 3 ahead of eighth place Espanyol.

A former Real Madrid and Valencia defender who was also capped by Spain, Sanchez Flores was appointed to replace Abel Resino in October 2009.

De Gea to decide future in June

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea will make a decision about his future at the end of June.

De Gea has been closely linked with a move to Manchester United in recent months, while Atletico are keen to tie the 20-year-old down to a new contract, with his current one running until 2013.

However, De Gea insists he is putting any thoughts about where he might be playing next term aside until after the season, with his current aim being to help Atletico get into Europa League.

When asked about the speculation regarding his future and what his decision would be if a club paid the €25 million buy-out clause in his contract, De Gea told Marca: "I've not thought about this at all. I have a contract here and I will decide my future on June".

He added: "I'm calm. So many things have been said about me that now I could be at any team. I don't think that talking so much is good for anyone, I could be at any team but I'm at Atletico Madrid".

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Ronaldo equals La Liga record

Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the La Liga record for goals scored in a season when his brace in Real Madrid's 3-1 win at El Madrigal took his tally to 38 in 33 matches.

The Portuguese former World Player of the Year smashed in a trademark free-kick in the 22nd minute and followed up with a similar effort in second half stoppage time to complete a 3-1 victory.

His second of the night equalled the record jointly held by former Real striker Hugo Sanchez (1989/1990) and former Athletic Bilbao forward Telmo Zarraonandia, known as Zarra (1950/1951).

"The run I am on is good, not for me but for the team, because scoring so many goals is very good for everyone", Ronaldo, who has netted 9 goals in his last 3 matches, said.

"I am pleased on a personal level, although not completely because we wanted to win the league and the Champions League", the 26-year-old former Manchester United player added.

Ronaldo has scored 51 in all competitions this season, including 6 in Champions League and 7 in Copa del Rey, and can set a league record with a goal in Real's final match of the season at home to Almeria next weekend.

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La Liga - Team of the Week 37


Mario Fernandez (Racing)



Caceres (FC Sevilla) - Pepe (Real Madrid) - Dominguez (Atletico) - Lopo (Deportivo)



Lafita (Zaragoza) - Thiago (Barca) - Pedro Rios (Getafe)



Piatti (Almeria) - Kanoute (FC Sevilla) - Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

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Dudek to play last match for Real

Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek will play his last game for Real Madrid at home to Almeria in La Liga on Saturday.

The 38-year-old has been the understudy to Spain and Real captain Iker Casillas for the last 4 years, after leaving Liverpool for Santiago Bernabeu in 2007.

Dudek, who won 59 caps as an international with Poland, was a part of the Real squad that won La Liga in 2008 and the Copa del Rey last month.

He is perhaps best remembered for helping Liverpool win the Champions League Final against AC Milan in 2005, when his goal-line antics and saves in the penalty shoot-out helped deliver the trophy to the English club.

Adebayor wants Real deal

Emmanuel Adebayor is still hoping to turn his loan move to Real Madrid into a permanent switch this summer.

Adebayor joined Real on a 5-month loan from Manchester City in January and has made 21 appearances for Jose Mourinho's side in all competitions, scoring 5 goals.

"I did it to come here and I would do it again. Whatever is necessary, there's no better club in the world", the 27-year-old told AS.

"I love Madrid, I want to continue. My friends tell me that I seem happier, even when I'm on the bench."

Asked if City might be willing to lower their asking price, Adebayor added: "I hope so, it's an intelligent club".

"They have many players and not everyone can stay. Hopefully they will be prepared to negotiate."

[portughezu']

40 goals Ronaldo

[FanStiintza]

poate sa dea si 100 daca nu castiga UCL sau campionat, degeaba

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Deportivo La Coruna down, Ronaldo breaks record

Deportivo La Coruna have been relegated from La Liga after a 2-0 home loss to Valencia on Saturday.

Their loss meant that Real Mallorca and Getafe will keep their spot in Spanish football's top flight despite their failure to win on the final day of the season.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for most goals scored in a league season with a double in Real's 8-1 humiliation of bottom side Almeria.

But there were tears for Deportivo - a semi-finalists in the Champions League in 2004 and a consistent top half finished in La Liga in recent seasons - who enter in Segunda Division for the first time since 1991.

Real Zaragoza, who began the day in the bottom three, won 2-1 at Levante thanks to a double from midfielder Gabi.

In Madrid, Ronaldo's double allowed him to finish the campaign with an incredible 40 goals, two better than former record holders Hugo Sanchez and Telmo Zarra.

The goals came easy in the 8-1 rout, with Portugal forward opening his account after just 4 minutes and sealing his brace with 13 minutes to play.

Real finish the season having scored 102 league goals - the second time in succession they have hit 3 figures in a campaign.

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Rayo Vallecano promoted

Rayo Vallecano secured automatic promotion to La Liga with a 3-0 victory at home to Xerez.

Oscar Trejo, Emiliano Armenteros and Nestor Susaeta scored the goals that set the party going at Teresa Rivero stadium, to the south-east of Madrid's city centre.

Rayo are second in the standings, 3 points behind already promoted Real Betis, with 2 rounds still to play.

Their promotion was achieved against a background of financial uncertainty with the owners being forced to apply to go into administration back in February, while players and staff continued working without getting paid.

The Ruiz-Mateos family sold their majority stakeholding to local businessman Raul Martin earlier this month.

Rayo become the 4th club from the Spanish capital in the top flight along with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Getafe, and they return after an absence of 8 years.

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Deportivo part ways with Lotina

Head coach Miguel Angel Lotina has left Deportivo La Coruna after the club were relegated from La Liga on Saturday.

Depor's 20-year stay in the Spanish top flight came to an end with a 2-0 defeat at home to Valencia on the final day of the season.

Coupled with Real Zaragoza's 2-1 win over Levante, the defeat left Depor 18th in the table - the third and final relegation place.

Lotina joined the club in 2007, overseeing respectable finishes of ninth, 7th and 10th in his first 3 seasons at El Riazor.

But the 53-year-old will not be in charge when they join fellow relegated sides Almeria and Hercules in the second division next season.

Depor reached the semi-finals of the Champions League as recently as 2004, knocking out holders AC Milan along the way.

They are also the only team other than FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia to win the La Liga title in the last 15 years, following their league championship success of 1999/2000.

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Puyol out for 2 to 3 months

FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol will be sidelined for 2 to 3 months after having surgery on his troublesome left knee on Wednesday, the Spanish and European champions said.

The 33-year-old defender, unavailable for Spain's friendlies against United States and Venezuela this month, missed most of the second half of the season due to the recurring injury.

He was left out of the starting 11 for Saturday's 3-1 Champions League Final victory over Manchester United but was given a run-out in place of Daniel Alves in the 88th minute.

"The injury lasted about 4 months and had a number of phases", doctor Ricard Pruna told a news conference.

"The player decided to wait until after the Champions League Final and that was the right decision", he added.

Puyol is likely to miss most of Barca's pre-season friendlies, including a match against United in Maryland on 30 July.

Messi a câştigat Trofeul Di Stefano

Internaţionalul argentinian Lionel Messi, câştigător al Ligii Campionilor cu FC Barcelona, a cucerit pentru a treia oară consecutiv Trofeul Di Stefano, ce îl recompensează pe fotbalistul sezonului în Spania.

Messi, care a câştigat cu Barca şi campionatul Spaniei, i-a devansat în topul celor mai buni jucători pe portughezul Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) şi pe colegul său de echipă Xavi Hernandez. Podiumul din acest an este identic cu acela din sezonul 2009/2010.

Trofeul Di Stefano a fost câştigat prima dată în sezonul 2007/2008, de Raul Gonzalez.

Cititorii Marca sunt cei care stabilesc lista celor mai buni jucători din campionatul Spaniei, după fiecare sezon, iar apoi lista respectivă este supusă atenţiei unui juriu de experţi.

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Pedro Leon will leave Real Madrid

Pedro Leon will not be at Real Madrid next season after he was told that he would not be required at Santiago Bernabeu, according to reports in the Spanish press.

Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho has made it clear that the former Getafe winger was not part of his plans for the forthcoming campaign.

The 24-year-old midfielder has been out of favour with Mourinho, featuring in only 14 games in all competitions throughout the season.

As reported in AS, despite limited gametime the ex-Spanish U21 representative has stated in a meeting with club officials that he does not want to leave the La Liga runners-up and is willing to stay and fight for his place.

The matter may be taken out of his hands however, as the player is likely to be placed on the transfer list.

Club president Florentino Perez has fashioned deals to bring in widemen Jose Callejon and Hamit Altintop this summer, which would restrict the former Valladolid man's chances of first team football in 2011/2012 making a move away from the capital almost inevitable for the winger.

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Manzano named Atletico boss

Gregorio Manzano has been confirmed as the new coach of Atletico Madrid on a one-year deal.

The much-travelled 55-year-old returns for a second spell in charge at Vicente Calderon having guided the club to a 7th place La Liga finish in the 2003/2004 season.

A statement on Atletico's website read: "Atletico de Madrid have reached an agreement with Gregorio Manzano to become the new coach of Atletico for the 2011/2012 season".

"He will be formally presented in the coming days."

Manzano, who has taken charge of 16 clubs in a managerial career dating back to the early 80s, was most recently in charge at fellow Primera Division outfit FC Sevilla.

He guided the Andalusian club to fifth place and a spot in next season's Europa League but was nevertheless told that his contract would not be renewed.

Manzano arrives at Atletico as the replacement for Quique Sanchez Flores, who stood down at the end of last season.

Barca reveal transfer bounty

FC Barcelona have announced their summer transfer budget after confirming they are taking measures to reduce their debt.

Javier Faus, the European champions' vice-president of the finance department, said on Wednesday night coach Pep Guardiola would have €45 million for new signings, plus money that may be obtained from sales.

The announcement has already led to speculation Barca will not be able to move for targets such as Cesc Fabregas, although income could be generated from sales of the likes of Bojan Krkic, Jeffren and Maxwell.

In announcing a reduction in the amount the club owe, Faus said: "The gross debt has been reduced from €532 million to €483 million and the net debt from €431 million to €364 million".

"We want to decide our future and to do so we must reduce the debt to acceptable levels."

"There has been a great effort, which will continue over the next 2 years, to reduce this debt... a millestone that is essential and indispensable."

"This will make FC Barcelona the most financially solvent club in the world in 2 or 3 years."

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Granada promoted to La Liga

Granada won promotion to La Liga for the first time in 35 years after a dramatic 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory against Celta Vigo.

The second division play-off semi-final, second leg ended 1-0 to the home side after 90 minutes, levelling the aggregate score on the night.

Fabian Orellana restored parity for Fabriciano Gonzalez's side after 22 minutes and the hosts could have taken the lead on aggregate, but Dani Benitez missed his big chance from the penalty spot on the hour mark.

Celta Vigo had Roberto Lago sent off in the first period of extra-time after receiving his second yellow card of the game.

And in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, Granada secured a 5-4 success to reach the top flight after a long wait.

Just 3 years ago, Granada were playing the third tier of Spanish football.

But after returning to the second division after 22 years, Chairman Quique Pina will be delighted with the side from Andalusia, who will play alongside FC Sevilla and Real Betis in the top flight once again.

[deangel9]

Kanoute decides on Sevilla stay

Frederic Kanoute has decided to stay with Sevilla, the La Liga club have confirmed.

There had been speculation that the 33-year-old Mali striker might leave this summer after six years at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

However, Sevilla announced that Kanoute, after being given some time to consider his future since the end of the season, has now committed himself to the club.

"Kanoute will continue at Sevilla. The striker, in a meeting with sporting director Monchi, has expressed his desire to continue at Sevilla, forming part of the project and fighting for the exciting objectives of next season," the club said on their website .

Sevilla, who recently installed Marcelino Garcia Toral as their new coach following the departure of Gregorio Manzano, finished fifth last season to secure themselves a Europa League berth.

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Thiago agrees new deal

Barca's highly-regarded midfielder Thiago Alcantara has agreed to extend his contract by 2 years to June 2015.

The 20-year-old playmaker, who is of Brazilian origin and had sparked interest among Barca's rivals, is seen as a long-term replacement at the Catalan club for Spain international Xavi who turns 32 in January.

Thiago helped Spain to a 2-0 victory in Saturday's European U21 Championship Final, scoring an audacious 40-metre free-kick against Switzerland.

He made his debut for Barca in a league match at Real Mallorca in May 2010 but has played mainly for the club's B side the past 2 seasons.

Racing appoint Cuper

Racing Santander have appointed Hector Cuper as coach in succession to Marcelino Garcia.

Cuper, who has previously been in charge of Inter Milano and Valencia, resigned from his post at Greek Super League side Aris Thessaloniki in January.

He coached Valencia from 1999-2001, guiding them to successive Champions League Finals in 2000 and 2001, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munchen respectively.

Marcelino walked away from Santander after leading them to 12th place last season and joined La Liga rivals FC Sevilla.

He accused Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed, who bought the club in January, of breaking promises.

Santander have asked the regional government of Cantabria and the previous owners to step in if Ali Syed does not honour his financial commitments.

Ali Syed has been quoted in local media as saying he intends to make good on pledges, including helping to settle a debt of around €13.5 million with players and one of around €9 million with the Spanish tax authorities.