Real set to build academy in Saudi Arabia

MADRID: Real Madrid have reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Salman Foundation to build a sports academy in the Middle Eastern country.

Madrid president Florentino Perez (pic) – who also heads Spanish construction giant ACS – says the academy will help “to serve 300 children and will help establish a relationship with the country”.

Arsenal and Inter Milan already have sports academies in the Middle East.

Madrid are one of world football’s richest clubs and claim to already have 68 academies across 32 countries. 

  

Spanish champs insist Fab transfer deal is dead – for now

GENEVA: Barcelona described any deal for Cesc Fabregas as “dead” on Tuesday and admitted that next week’s Champions League tie against Arsenal had been a draw they wanted to avoid.

Raul Sanllehi, Barcelona’s director of football, was involved in the effort to bring Fabregas back to Spain last summer but, with Arsenal having rejected two bids, there are no plans to revive their interest.

“Cesc is a great Catalan player.

“He played for us as a kid and he will be welcome back at Barcelona for the Champions League match,” he said. “Right now, everything is dead regarding a transfer.”

He added that Barca were wary of the threat posed by Arsene Wenger’s side.

“Arsenal are one of the challengers for the trophy,” he said. Arsenal will take Sanllehi’s remarks about Fabregas with a pinch of salt after receiving a similar message from Barcelona last year prior to a concerted attempt to buy their captain.

However, Barcelona’s financial situation makes it difficult for them to fund the sort of deal that might tempt Arsenal.

According to their president, Sandro Rosell, Barcelona recorded a loss of £65mil for 2009-10 and had debts of £272mil. Rossell has said that Barcelona would not pay more than £42mil for Fabregas.

Arsenal are certain to reject any renewed offer that falls below £50miln, particularly given the recent values that have been placed on leading Premier League players. 

  

Barca to drop UNICEF logo from first-team shirts

MADRID: Barcelona plan to drop the UNICEF logo from the front of their first-team shirts from July and replace it with the name of their new Qatari sponsor, a vice-president of the La Liga club said on Tuesday.

The Spanish champions are one of the few clubs in world soccer not to have a corporate logo on their shirts, instead displaying the name of the United Nations Children’s Fund, for which they pay the organisation 1.5mil a year.

However, they last month agreed a record five-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment worth 30mil (US$41mil) a season and will have “Qatar Foundation” emblazoned on their shirt fronts from July 1.

“It has been decided that the Qatar Foundation logo will go on the front of the shirt, on the breast,” Barca vice-president Javier Faus said at a news conference.

“In the end, there will be only two words ‘Qatar Foundation’ in yellow,” he added. “UNICEF will go on the back underneath the player’s name.”

The sponsorship deal, the biggest for any soccer club, will net as much as 170mil, including 15mil for commercial rights for the current season and a bonus for winning titles that could be as much as 5mil.

  

Alves: I’ve been victim of racism in Spain

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil rightback Daniel Alves has been the victim of racism throughout his time in Spain with Barcelona, he said in an interview published on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old described how he had been called a ‘monkey’ by fans of Barca’s rivals at many grounds in Spain.

“Sadly, I’ve learnt to live with it,” he told the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo while preparing for Brazil’s friendly against France in Paris yesterday.

“I live with it in all the matches but I don’t feel offended. They insult me, they call me monkey,” said Alves, who has established himself as one of Barcelona’s key players since joining them from Sevilla in 2008.

“The fans do it, the players are against it ... My family are unhappy, they complain but I try to distance myself from it.

“I consider those people uneducated and don’t give them importance.”

Alves, from a poor background in the northeastern interior of Brazil, said that despite the efforts of La Liga to sanction fans for racist behaviour, racism “is uncontrollable. It will never stop”. 

  

Santander fires coach Portugal after winless run

SANTANDER, Spain (AP): Racing Santander has fired coach Miguel Angel Portugal following a seven-match winless run that has left the team only a point above the relegation zone in the Spanish league.

Santander announced the decision in a statement on Monday.

Portugal is the fifth coach to lose his job this season in the Spanish league and his dismissal is the first major move by new owner Ahsan Ali Syed, who took over the club near the end of January.

Portugal previously worked as Real Madrid's technical director during the 2008-09 season.

  

Real win big to keep pace with Barcelona

MADRID: Real Madrid responded in style to Barcelona’s record breaking, 16th consecutive league victory with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Ronaldo was charged up for the game after being criticised for not scoring in four matches and having seen Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

That victory saw Pep Guardiola’s side surpass the run of 15 victories set by Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid team of 1960-1961 and put them ten points clear at the top.

“I have already said that even if Ronaldo’s season ended now it would still have been fantastic. He always works hard and gives everything for the team,” said Real coach Jose Mourinho after his side cut the gap to Barcelona back to seven points.

“It is more difficult for players up against him because they are afraid to tackle in case they don’t get the ball. They kick him but he is strong and can cope with it.”

Real, with Emmanuel Adebayor given a starting place, pressed forward from the start with the visitors encamped in their own penalty area.

Sociedad were nervous in possession and a poor clearance from Gorka Elustondo fell to Kaka and the Brazilian slotted the ball into the corner after just seven minutes.

Ronaldo was toying with the Sociedad defence and showing his full repertoire of flicks and back-heels.

He turned his man on the edge of the area and was given time to find his spot with his left foot to add to the lead.

Before half-time, he powered home a header from a corner to notch up his 25th goal of the season and retake the lead in the goal-scoring charts from Messi. Sociedad, who pulled a goal back with a rare foray forward. Raul Tamudo’s shot was blocked by keeper Iker Casillas but the rebound cannoned off Alvaro Arbeloa into goal.

Adebayor had the last say for Real with a cool finish in the final minutes.

Valencia kept up their impressive form with a 2-0 win over Hercules and moved onto the shoulders of third-placed Villarreal.

Valencia have now won six of their last seven games and took full advantage of Villarreal’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to lowly Levante.

Sevilla were left to rue wasted chances as they could only draw 0-0 in the Andalusian derby with bottom side Malaga and have lost further ground in the hunt for a European place. 

  

Real Madrid beats Real Sociedad 4-1 in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double to lead Real Madrid to a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday as the Spanish giants stayed seven points behind league leader Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho's team had to win after its fierce rivals opened up a 10-point gap through their league-record 16th straight win on Saturday.

Madrid responded to the challenge with a convincing performance to stay perfect in 11 games at Santiago Bernabeu stadium this season.

"We know our margin of error is limited," said Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, who started his career with Sociedad. "The important thing is the victory and to keep earning points."

Kaka opened the scoring in the eighth minute, placing a left-footed shot into the far corner after Sociedad midfielder Gorka Elustondo had erred in clearing a cross and the ball fell to the Brazil playmaker in the area.

Ronaldo blasted in the second in the 21st, feinting with his right, before crossing to his left and firing in from outside the area and ending his four-game scoring drought.

The Portugal forward then headed home a corner by Mesut Oezil in the 42nd, and Emmanuel Adebayor capped the win in the 89th with his first league goal since joining Madrid on loan from Manchester City.

Real Sociedad got its consolation goal when a shot by Raul Tamudo was blocked by goalkeeper Iker Casillas but rebounded off Alvaro Arbeloa and into the net in the 72nd.

Casillas played his part in Madrid's victory by twice denying Tamudo from point-blank range in the first half.

Mourinho said he was focusing on his own team's performance, rather than catching Barcelona.

"I am here to end in first place, but if we end up second, it's not a problem," he said. "The only thing we can't do is give away the competition."

Elsewhere, Valencia beat Hercules 2-0, while Sevilla and Malaga drew 0-0 in a dull Andalusian derby as both teams let important points slip.

After dropping five of its last nine points and struggling to score, Mourinho deployed his most attacking starting 11 of the season with Ronaldo and Kaka playing alongside Oezil, and Adebayor leading the attack.

The new-look lineup showed immediate results, Kaka sending a shot just wide of the left post 20 seconds in. And the former AC Milan star soon put his team ahead.

Sociedad looked to counterattack and came close to surprising the hosts moments after Kaka's opener, Casillas spilling a cross but quickly recovering to make a great save of a strike by Tamudo.

After a week of speculation about Ronaldo's form, he answered his critics by peppering Sociedad's goal with shots and made it 2-0 before Casillas again saved a stabbed shot from Tamudo from inside the six-yard box.

"Going into halftime up 3-0 was very good and (Casillas) was largely responsible for that," Alonso said.

Ronaldo's second pulled him level with Lionel Messi on 24 goals in their personal duel to be top scorer. Messi had provisionally moved ahead of Ronaldo with his hat trick against Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo has 34 goals in all competitions, compared to Messi's 40.

Madrid could have made a rout of it in the second half. Ronaldo came close to a a third, Kaka hit the crossbar and Oezil had a goal disallowed for offside.

At Mestalla stadium, Aritz Aduriz scored Valencia's opener two minutes before halftime, controlling a pass by strike partner Roberto Soldado and tapping past goalkeeper Juan Calatayud for his ninth goal of the season.

Tino Costa made it 2-0 with a curling left-footed free kick in the 53rd.

With its sixth win in seven games, Valencia closed to within one point of third-place Villarreal, while Hercules slumped to a fourth straight defeat.

After an uneventful first half at Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, Sevilla improved following the restart but could not break through as Alexis Ruano and Frederic Kanoute missed clear-cut chances.

Malaga's best scoring opportunity came near the final whistle, when Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop had to save Weligton's header.

Sevilla moved into seventh place but remained six points away from the Europa League positions.

"These slip ups are moving us farther away from our goal (of playing in Europe next season)," said Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano. "We have to try harder to convert our scoring chances."

Last-place Malaga fell four points from safety as its relegation rivals_ Levante and Almeria_ won this week.

  

Messi hat-trick sends Catalans into the record books

MADRID: Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona made history on Saturday by winning a record 16th successive Spanish League match to beat the previous best of Alfredo Di Stefano’s 1960-1961 Real Madrid.

Messi scored all the goals in the 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou as the defending champions opened up a 10-point lead over Real Madrid who face Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Argentine magician Messi waltzed through the Atletico defence to give Barcelona the lead in the 17th minute and, after wasting a further chance, he pounced again in the 28th minute.

Atletico came out of their shell at the start of the second half but it was Barcelona who had the cutting edge with Messi scoring again from close range 11 minutes from time.

“We wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for Leo in our team,” said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola of his Argentine superstar.

“Without him we wouldn’t have won so comfortably. You always need to have players who can do something different.

“Real Madrid won 15 because they had Di Stefano.

“We have now won 16 because we have Messi.”

Atletico coach Quique Sanchez Flores was full of praise for Messi.

“He is the best player I have seen – the Di Stefano of the 21st century.”

Earlier on Saturday, a fine Valmiro Valdo finish gave Levante a shock 1-0 win in their derby clash with Champions League-chasing Villarreal. Struggling Levante were given little hope going into the game against third-placed Villarreal, who had not been beaten at home since May last year and had only drawn one game this season against Valencia.

Levante got the only goal of the game two minutes into the second half with Valdo rounding the keeper and then sliding the ball home with aplomb. 

  

Barcelona beats Atletico Madrid 3-0, sets record

BARCELONA, Spain (AP): Barcelona earned a record 16th straight win in the Spanish league by beating Atletico Madrid 3-0 with a Lionel Messi hat trick on Saturday.

The historic win provisionally lifted Barcelona 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of its fierce rival's match against Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Messi decided the contest with two goals before the half-hour mark and added a third in the second half. Barcelona's streak surpassed the 15 wins by Alfredo Di Stefano's Real Madrid 50 years ago.

"It is an honour for this team to have surpassed a record that had stood for so long," Messi said. Pep Guardiola's team has outscored its opponents 60-6 during the winning run that is the 10th longest in European history.

Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores left striker Diego Forlan out of the starting 11 and reinforced his midfield with former Barcelona youth academy product Fran Merida. But the move did not pay off, as Barcelona controlled the ball from the opening whistle.

Atletico resisted until Messi broke through for the two-time defending champions in the 17th. Messi cut back from the right flank across the edge of the area, leaving behind three defenders before firing a left-footer into the right corner of David De Gea's goal.

Messi's second goal was product of a great team buildup. After Antonio Lopez touched it but could not clear, Pedro Rodriguez linked up with David Villa, who slipped the ball between two defenders for Messi to punch in.

"We would not be who we are without Messi on our team," said Guardiola. "To be a great team you need to have a standout player. We have won 16 games because we have Messi."

With Forlan coming on after the restart, Atletico had a good beginning to the second half and Barcelona center back Gerard Pique saved a strike by Filipe Luis on the goal line in the 53rd.

De Gea swatted a Messi header over the crossbar in the 73rd, but six minutes later Messi pounced to tap in a ball that De Gea blocked but could not hold.

Messi has 40 goals in 33 games in all competitions and his 24 league goals put him two ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo for Spain's leading scorer.

With 167 goals for Barcelona in all competitions, Messi moved past Josep Escola (164) into sole possession of fourth place on the club career scoring list, trailing Cesar Rodriguez (235), Laszlo Kubala (196) and Josep Samitier (178).

"Messi is the best player I have ever seen," said Sanchez Flores. "He is the Di Stefano of the 21st century." Messi said he wasn't "worried about leading all scorers in Spain. What concerns me is that the team continues to play like this and maintains its distance over the rest of the field."

Barcelona set a club record of 28 games without a loss earlier this season and stayed on pace to break a whole set of other records, including season points total, victories in a season, goals scored and fewest goals allowed.

Earlier, Levante handed Villarreal its first loss this season at El Madrigal Stadium with a 1-0 win, and Athletic Bilbao beat 10-man Sporting Gijon 3-0 to move into fifth place ahead of Espanyol, which lost 3-2 at Almeria.

Villarreal had previously dropped only two points at home, but Levante's line of five defenders succeeded in disrupting the "Yellow Submarine's" normally potent attack, and Valmiro "Valdo" Lopes scored the visitors' winner in the 49th minute.

Villarreal remained in third place, but let escape a great chance to close on Real Madrid, which stayed six points clear. At San Mames Stadium, David Lopez put Bilbao in front in the 16th from the penalty spot, Gaizka Toquero doubled the lead in the 27th, and Llorente scored his 13th this season to cap the win in the 74th.

Bilbao has won four straight games for the first time 1997. At Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium, Marcelo Silva, Kalu Uche, Hernan Bernardello put Almeria ahead 3-0 in 18 minutes.

Joan Verdu and substitute Alvaro Vazquez cut the deficit for Espanyol, but Almeria held on for its second home win. Also, Getafe downed Deportivo La Coruna 4-1, while Mallorca drew 1-1 at Osasuna and Racing Santander drew 1-1 at Zaragoza.

Adrian Colunga scored twice and Nicolas "Miku" Fedor added another goal before halftime for Getafe. Pedro Rios sealed the win in the 57th, and Ivan "Riki" Sanchez-Rico scored Deportivo's consolation goal in the 69th with a penalty.

At Reyno de Navarra Stadium, Osasuna went ahead in the 8th when Miguel Flano finished off a rebound in the area, but Gonzalo "Chori" Castro equalised for Mallorca in the 37th.

Zaragoza winger Sad Boutahar cancelled out Christian Fernandez's 14th-minute opener with a goal in the 40th, but his team saw its winning run end at three games. Also on Sunday, Sevilla faces Malaga and Hercules is at Valencia.

  

Mourinho says Spanish league is not lost

MADRID (AP): Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says the Spanish league title is not lost, even though his team could provisionally fall 10 points behind if leader Barcelona beats Atletico Madrid.

Mourinho says "we cannot forget the league" as "the numbers say we can still win it." Madrid has dropped five points in its past three matches ahead of its home match against Real Sociedad on Sunday. Barcelona plays later Saturday.

Mourinho also defended striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not scored in his last four outings, saying "if Cristiano didn't score another goal in the rest of the season, we would still have had a fantastic season."

Ronaldo has scored 32 goals in 34 games so far this campaign.

  

Pandiani: Cocky Ronaldo has a screw loose

MADRID: Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo “has a screw loose“, Osasuna forward Walter Pandiani blasted on Wednesday after the pair clashed during Real’s shock weekend loss.

Ronaldo and Pandiani reportedly exchanged angry words during half-time in Osasuna’s 1-0 victory over Real Madrid, which left Real’s arch-rivals Barcelona seven points clear at the top of the league.

According to media reports, Ronaldo sparked the row by asking Pandiani how much he earned, and the Osasuna player replied by mentioning the trophies he had won.

“You have to be more humble. When he wins the Supercups, the King’s Cups that I have in Spain then maybe I will listen to him,” Osasuna’s Uruguayan striker told a news conference.

“As a footballer he is a phenomenon but to do the things he does, maybe he has a screw loose,” Pandiani added.

“With his gestures and his cocky way of acting, he is the one who creates all the problems every weekend.”

Pandiani advised Ronaldo to learn from Barcelona’s Lionel Messi who he described as “the best in the world.” 

  

Barcelona goes for record 16th straight league win

MADRID (AP): Barcelona will look to make history Saturday against Atletico Madrid when the Spanish leader goes for a record 16th straight league win.

Barcelona tied the mark of 15 straight wins set by Real Madrid 50 years ago against Hercules, a victory which also allowed it to stretch its lead over Madrid to seven points in the standings.

Madrid knows it can ill afford to drop points over the second half of the season to keep the pressure on the two-time defending champions.

Jose Mourinho's side looks to rebound from last weekend's defeat at Osasuna against Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where Madrid is 17-0 this season.

Third-place Villarreal looks to maintain its best-ever season against Levante.

  

Striker Aguero commits to Atletico until 2014

MADRID: Sergio Aguero ended speculation linking him to the Premier League on Monday by signing a contract extension that commits him to Atletico Madrid until 2014.

Tottenham reportedly lodged a club-record £38.5mil for the Argentina striker, who agreed to a two-year deal.

Last week, Atletico said it turned down big-money offers from Chelsea and Real Madrid for the 22-year-old Aguero.

Aguero said his desire to remain with one of the world’s best clubs inspired the extension, but wouldn’t close the door on a future move.

“If I wanted to leave the club I wouldn’t have re-signed with only 11 months until my contract expired, when I could have left for free,” Aguero said from Vicente Calderon stadium. “I’ll leave Atletico when I want to leave.”

Aguero nor the club revealed the price of his buy-out clause.

“Now is not the time to talk about that. Like I always said, the day that I want to leave the club I’ll take the decision, not my club nor my agent,” Aguero said. “I’m happy here. What’s going through my head is to keep on doing things well so we can take points, which is what we need.”

Nicknamed “El Kun,” Aguero has been one of Atletico’s few standouts in another inconsistent campaign.

The former Independiente striker who joined the club in 2006 has scored 13 goals this season. — AP

Results

South America Under-20 World Cup qualifying: Uruguay 1 Colombia 0, Argentina 0 Ecuador 1, Chile 1 Brazil 5.

Turkish Div 1: Eskisehirspor 1 Konyaspor 0.

Leading standings: Trabzonspor 43, Bursaspor 41, Fenerbahce 39, Kayserispor 36, Besiktas 31.

  

Valencia spoil Racing party with late equaliser

MADRID: Valencia grabbed a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at Racing Santander in La Liga on Monday, putting a damper on the festive atmosphere at the Sardinero following their takeover by an Indian businessman over the weekend.

Ahsan Ali Syed has bought the majority shareholding in the north-coast club and could be seen celebrating in the stands when striker Ariel nodded them in front after a corner in the 32nd minute.

Racing were seeking their first win in 2011 and had already hit the post earlier on, but Valencia have made a habit of scoring late goals recently and steadily improved in the second half.

Tino Costa levelled 12 minutes from time with a fierce shot into the top corner and the visitors had Ricardo Costa sent off in the 89th minute.

Racing’s Medhi Lacen was also sent off soon after in the frenetic closing stages, but the hosts held on to end a run of five consecutive wins for Valencia.

The visitors strengthened their hold on fourth place and the last Champions League qualification slot with 41 points from 21 games. Racing are 17th with 21 points.

Barcelona top the standings with 58 points, seven ahead of second-placed Real Madrid after notching their 15th consecutive victory with a 3-0 win at Hercules on Saturday.

Real were surprise 1-0 losers at Osasuna on Sunday. 

  

Real Madrid's title hopes written off in Spain

MADRID (AP) - The pressure is on Jose Mourinho to prove to the Spanish football world that he is indeed the "Special One."

Spanish media have already written off Real Madrid's title chances after a 1-0 loss at Osasuna left the club trailing two-time defending champion Barcelona by seven points in the standings.

"Seven Points - Too Much" sports daily AS splashed across its front page, while Marca said it was time to focus on the two other trophies still available in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Barcelona-based daily El Mundo Deportivo was succinct: "League KO."

Mourinho, the self-anointed "Special One," was hired by Madrid to snap two-plus seasons without silverware. The Portuguese coach led Inter Milan to a treble last season but has come up against a Barcelona team that just equaled a league record with its 15th straight win.

Madrid went into Sunday's match against Osasuna at the Reyna Navarra Stadium stating it needed to win all of its remaining games to keep up the pressure on Barcelona. But even new signing Emmanuel Adebayor couldn't make that happen.

"It's our second league loss, and it leaves us in a much more difficult position in respect to the standings," said Mourinho, a former Barcelona assistant coach who is in his debut season with Madrid.

Barcelona is on course to set records in most domestic categories if it continues on its current run, which included a club record 28-game unbeaten run in all competitions until a loss to Real Betis in an already lopsided domestic cup series win.

"This year we can win the treble," Barcelona defender Eric Abidal said Monday, "but the journey will be very long and we'll have to work hard to the very end."

A victory against Atletico Madrid on Saturday would see Barcelona set a record of 16 straight league wins to topple Real Madrid's mark from 1960-61, which it tied with Saturday's 3-0 win at Hercules. The club's 10th straight road victory leaves it closing in on another record for consecutive away wins to start a season.

Barcelona is also poised to break season points total - it set the current total of 99 last season - victories, goals scored and fewest conceded. It has outscored opponents 67-11 with 17 games to play as it sets its sights on Madrid's record of 107 scored in 1989-90.

Barcelona's 5-0 win over Madrid earlier this season was Mourinho's most lopsided loss in a career that includes two Champions League titles and league titles in Portugal, England and Italy.

At this same juncture of last season under former coach Manuel Pellegrini, Madrid trailed Barcelona by five points.

"A league cannot be over at the halfway point for a club like Madrid," director general Jorge Valdano said. "The result is really tough, but not definitive."

Even if Mourinho is able to avenge that loss and snap a record five-game losing run against its biggest rival, Madrid now needs Barcelona to slip up to give it a chance. Barcelona has dropped only five points all season.

"There's still 17 games left to play," Madrid captain Iker Casillas said.

Barcelona could even stand in the way of the other two cups. Madrid and Barcelona are both poised to reach the Copa del Rey final, which would be played three days after its second "clasico" match of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on April 17.

In the Champions League, if Madrid gets past Lyon and Barcelona beats Arsenal, the pair could be drawn in the quarterfinals, possibly setting up an unprecedented four head-to-head matches in two weeks.