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Can a two-man Madrid really stop Barcelona?

First it was Cristiano Ronaldo who was going to bring the title to the capital, now it is Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo who will bring the title to the capital. Can they really stop a star-studded Catalan army? Professional Football Players Observatory (PFPO) and RunningBall developed a new statistics model for football and the…

All is well at Camp Nou…for now

El Mundo Deportivo’s website exclaimed “Exhibición.” Sport asked the question, “Who ever doubted this Barca team?” Yet, perhaps the Madrid based Marca said it best: “Una ‘manita’ para olvidar las penas.”  A short term reprieve to help fans forget the recent pains (of the loss to Hercules). As a proud culé, I could not agree more…

Pep’s still working out his Plan B

It was 16 months in the waiting but on Saturday night Pep Guardiola and Barcelona experienced their first home defeat in La Liga and it was to the most unlikely of opponents. Newly promoted Hercules came to Camp Nou with more hope than expectation but left this great stadium with the 3 points after a…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Parting Shot Leaves A Bitter Aftertaste

There are a myriad of ways you could describe AC Milan’s much-travelled show-pony Zlatan Ibrahimovic (lolloping gobshite, work-shy flake, disruptive semi-megalomaniac, self-important tossweed) but ‘likeable’ or even ‘affable’ probably wouldn’t be the kind of characteristics that would be on the tip of your tongue if you were asked to outwardly assess his personality. His talent…

How Can Mascherano Best Fit Into Barcelona’s System?

When does Barcelona NOT strike fear into clubs worldwide? They do it so well on the pitch and this summer, they did it through their use of the transfer market. The signing of David Villa to spearhead such an already petrifying forward line is something that has to have La Liga teams and Champions League…

The Soap Opera Continues: Mascherano Vows To ‘Reveal The Truth’

There is a fairly good chance that you may have caught wind of Javier Mascherano‘s tempestuous transfer between Liverpool and Barcelona this past month, as the myriad of developments and setbacks ensured that the protracted saga was omnipresent from the beginning of July onwards. The good news for fans of media-saturation masochism everywhere is that…

Mascherano saga nears end as Barcelona agree fee for Liverpool star

It appears that the Javier Mascherano saga is finally about to come to an end, and the Liverpool midfielder is going to get the move that he’s wanted for more than a year. Liverpool have agreed a fee with Barcelona for the Argentina captain, and the 26-year-old is now set to have a medical and…

Fifa 11 Shirts/Kits/Boots – Most realistic ever

The release of FIFA11 is getting closer, and the excitement is really starting to build up around the game. Besides some sick tutorials being posted online from the game, the new features seem very exciting, including even goalkeeper control. While the features are always a big talking point of a new EA Sports Fifa release,…

Lionel Messi’s Liverpool Plea Has A Familiar Stench

It seems that, along with teaching exemplary ball control and a mastery of intricate passing triangles, Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy runs weekly ‘The Futility Of Contracts’ and ‘Barca – Your Self-Entitlement Complex Explained’ seminars to run alongside their fastidious footballing workshops. You only have to go back a couple of weeks to see when…

Inter Milan submit official bid to Liverpool for midfielder Mascherano

Inter Milan have confirmed that they have made an official bid for wantaway Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano and that they are awaiting a response from Liverpool. Mascherano, who missed the first leg of Liverpool’s Europa League playoff round tie against Turkish side Trabzonspor last week, refused to be selected for Monday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester…