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Real Madrid host Manchester City in the second leg tie of the UEFA Champions League semi final.
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Fernando says Manchester City ‘s players are ready to “write our names in history” tonight when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.
Brazilian midfielder Fernando will be charged with the task of anchoring City’s midfield, along with compatriot Fernandinho, the pair facing the challenge of thwarting Cristiano Ronaldo and his marauding Real team-mates.
But Fernando believes City are capable of pulling off a shock by overhauling favourites Real over the two legs of their semi-final and reaching the final at Milan’s San Siro on May 28.
“It’s a great competition, the best in the world, and we have reached the semi-finals,” said Fernando. “So we want to do our best and try to reach the final, to write our name in history.
“It’s a competition in which every player wants to play, and one everyone wants to win, so I’m pleased to be here.
“It will be difficult against Real Madrid but we also have great players who are in a good moment, and I hope we can surprise them at home and then go and have a great game in Madrid as well.
“The crowd made a great difference against PSG and we hope on Tuesday they can push us through this time as well.”
Fernando has emerged as a key man for City in recent months and has forged an impressive midfield partnership with Fernandinho, providing the platform for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Sergio Aguero to flourish.
Cristiano Ronaldo deserves more respect from Real Madrid fans, according to former team-mate Kaka.
The Portugal captain joined from Manchester United in 2009 for a then-world-record £80million transfer fee before going on to become the club’s record goalscorer.
The 31-year-old has scored 354 goals in 338 games and has 41 to his name this term yet still finds himself on the receiving end of jeers from some sections of the Madrid support.
Kaka, who played for Madrid between 2009 and 2013, told Cadena Cope: ‘Cristiano is a great player, I am not just talking about his quality, but in terms of what he has contributed to Madrid.
”I would like to see the fans have more respect for Cristiano for what he has done for this club. Sometimes I hear whistles against Cristiano and it’s not good after all he has done.”
A 24-year-old man has been arrested after a football dispute ended up with his friend dead
A man has killed his friend in an argument over who is better of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The row, which Spanish news agency EFE reports as having taken place at a birthday party, was between two Nigerian men living in Nalasopara, an area of the Indian city of Mumbai.
Local police chief Kiran Kabadi revealed that a man known as Obinna, who was celebrating his 34th birthday, threw a glass at Cristiano Ronaldo fan Nwabu but missed after a heated discussion over the players’ respective merits.
The 24-year-old Nwabu picked up a piece of the broken glass and attacked Messi enthusiast Obinna, gashing him and leaving him to die on the floor of his apartment.
Both footballers had stellar weekends, with Messi back to his best in a 4-0 destruction of Eibar in the Basque Country.
The Argentine forward scored a wonderful solo goal, as well as a penalty, to ensure Barcelona finished the weekend eight points clear of nearest rivals Atletico Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, scored four goals in the 7-1 destruction of Celta Vigo.
The Portuguese was jeered by the Bernabeu crowd as Real Madrid laboured in the first half. But the Portuguese turned it on in the second period to fire Zinedine Zidane’s men to a convincing victory.
Source: Mirror
Cristiano Ronaldo is being lined up for a return to England – and it could be at Old Trafford. The English Football Association chiefs have held discussions with their counterparts from the Portugal Football federation about a friendly ahead of the France Euro 2016.
A source in Portugal has confirmed negotiations had taken place between the two football associations although no contracts have been signed they (Potugal) are keen on facing England.
If negotiations end successfully that would mean former Manchester United star and club icon, Ronaldo will be a big attraction in one of England’s three pre-tournament friendlies. The FA know Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo would be a huge attraction and guarantee a popular sell-out.
It is rumoured there is also a chance of the Three Lions facing Argentina who boast of 2015 World Player of the Year – Lionel Messi.
Over the last few months, more than 20,000 professional footballers from around the globe have been casting their votes for the 2015 FIFA FIFPro World XI.
Revealed at Monday evening’s FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala, the team of the year looks like this:
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer,
Defenders: Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Dani Alves
Midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Luka Modric, Paul Pogba,
Forwards: Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Assistant manager of the Netherlands and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Marco van Basten said: “I think if you have a team with all these champions, as a coach it’s good to be quiet! Wish them good luck and enjoy themselves. They’re all winners, they know exactly what to do.”
For the last seven years FIFA and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) have been selecting the team of the year on a joint basis, inviting footballers from around the world to choose a goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.
Once the votes are counted, the winners are announced at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala, held this year at the Kongresshaus in Zurich.
Lionel Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world for the fifth time, while US midfielder Carli Lloyd has claimed her first-ever FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award.
FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique Martínez and US national team coach Jill Ellis have also been named for the first time as FIFA World Coaches of the Year for Men’s and Women’s Football respectively.
The winners were chosen by the coaches and captains of the national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA and France Football. The entire electoral procedure was overseen and monitored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC).
The awards were presented on Monday evening (11 January 2016) during a 90-minute show at Zurich’s Kongresshaus that was hosted by Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt and British journalist Kate Abdo.
The musical entertainment for the 1,100 guests and TV viewers in over 190 countries and territories around the world was provided by British pop star Leona Lewis and young Croatian cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, known as 2CELLOS.
This year’s FIFA Fair Play Award was presented to all the football organisations and clubs around the world that are working to support refugees. Former German international Gerald Asamoah, who campaigns for the welfare of refugees, received the award from former South African icon Lucas Radebe on behalf of all the awardees.
This year, the world has witnessed a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe because of conflict in Syria. Many innocent people have fled their homes in desperate conditions to find safety for themselves and their loved ones. Society has responded and the world of football has also contributed to the cause.
Clubs and football organisations all over the world have acted to help welcome and support refugees as they integrate into local communities.
International players’ union FIFPro received votes from 26,478 professional players from around the world for the FIFA FIFPro World XI, the best team of 2015, with the following result: Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich) in goal; Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid) and Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) in defence; Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid) and Paul Pogba (France/Juventus) in midfield; and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona) and Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona) in attack.
The FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year was also presented after 1.6 million football fans cast their votes on FIFA.com, FIFA on YouTube and francefootball.fr.
This award, which is a tribute to Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the 1950s Hungary team, was won by Brazilian Wendell Lira from Goianésia, who topped the poll with 46.7 % of the votes ahead of Lionel Messi (33.3 %) and Alessandro Florenzi (7.1%).
The king of world football will be crowned later today and among the shortlist of FC Barcelona/Argentina Lionel Messi, Real Madrid/Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo and FC Barcelona/Brazil Neymar Junior, it is the Argentine who stands out to be crowned for a record fifth time as world best footballer.
footballcrusader.com shares images of the three finalists arrival in the Swiss capital and headquarters of FIFA.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best footballers of their generation if not ever. This statement many will disagree but the pair are a breath of fresh air to watch on the field of play. Like all mortals, they are fallible, as is the case when they represent their respective Argentina and Portugal. But in the coulours of the Blaugrana (Barcelona) and Los Merengues (Real Madrid), they are ‘immortals’ and their performances.
In this review, footballcrusader.com will focus on la liga, champions league and Other Cups (Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup) appearances excluding international or national appearances .
Lionel Messi ended the 2014/15 season with FC Barcelona as a treble winner – La liga, UEFA champions league and Copa del rey. The Argentine made a total of 57 – appearances in all competitions. His competitor, if not ‘enemy’, Cristiano Ronaldo, went the 2014/15 season trophy less with a combined club appearances of 54.
Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Real madrid
In the 2014/15 la liga season, Cristiano Ronaldo made 35 – appearances and scored 48 – goals making him the winner of the ‘pichichi’ – spanish goal king crown. He ended the season with 16 assists, something many question his desire towards and as a result has been tagged by many as a ‘selfish’ player more than a team player.
Lionel Messi, four times Fifa world player of the year winner made 38 – la liga appearances – three more than his immediate competitor and scored 43-goals – 5 fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo and had a credit assist of 18.
Reigning Fifa world player of the year, Ronaldo, made 12-appearances in the 2014/15 UEFA champions league and scored 10-goals and made 2-assists. This was not enough to help the Madrid based team retain the Europe crown they won for a record 10 – times. Lionel Messi, had a much successful UEFA champions league after his 10 – goals and 5-assists in 13 – appearances helped Barca win the champions league crown.
Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi
In other cup competitions (Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup) the duo made a total of 13 – appearances, Six for Messi and 7 appearances for Ronaldo. The former scored 5 – goals to the latter’s 3 – goals and made 4 – assists and 2 – assists respectively.
From August, 2015 to December 31, these two football geniuses have been at it again battling one another ‘knowingly or unknowingly’ with impressive and record-breaking performances.
Still early days into the 2015/16 season, Messi has 6 – goals in 11 la liga appearances. The Argentine has been out injured for 8 weeks. so one then may jump to his defence for the low number of goals scored. On the Madrid side, Ronaldo seems to be keeping Rafa Benitez at post with an impressive 14 – goals in 17 – la liga appearances and on par with Messi on 4 – assists made.
In the just ended UEFA champions league group stages round of matches, Messi made 3 – appearances and has scored 3- goals and 1- assist to his name. Ronaldo, 30, played in all six group stage matches and is leading the goal king chart with 11 – goals and 3 – assists.
Messi, 29, has been involved in the Spanish Super Cup final, which Barcelona lost to Atletico Bilbao on aggregate after losing the first leg by 4 – goals to nil and has also played in the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
The Argentine number 10 has made a total of 4 – appearances in other cup competitions and scored 4 – goals.
We end the year 2015 and leave you our cherished readers to answer who among the two is the king of world football?
Real Madrid defeated Real by 3-goals to 1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday to commence the return of the Spanish league after the Christmas break.
A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and an icing on the cake and a debut goal from Lucas Vazquez secured under pressure manager, Rafa Benitez’s side all the three points.
Referee Gonzalez Gonzalez surrounded by Real Sociedad players after Madrid had been awarded a penalty
Ronaldo missed a penalty kick, his first this season but the decision by referee Gonzalez Gonzalez to award the penalty is what got Sociedad’s president furious.
Los Merengues were awarded another penalty in the second half but this time was turned in cooly by Ronaldo to make the scoreline 2-1 after he had tapped in a cross to give Madrid the lead.
Real Sociedad club president Jokin Aperribay
Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay Bedialauneta, waited for the referees at their dressing room door when he he unleashed the statement; “This is a disgrace, you’ve come here to rob us. I’m going to report you to the police”.
Many teams have questioned the loyalty of officiating officials in games involving Madrid and especially at the Santiago Bernadette.
Rafa Benitez’s side took full advantage to move top of the la liga log for just some few hours until Barcelona and Atletico madriid honour their respective matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid earn a 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Wednesday evening at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. Ronaldo converted a first half penalty before his match-winner, which was later followed by a Lucas Vázquez insurance goal, to give Los Blancos all three points against a very solid Real Sociedad side.
Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Real madrid
Rafa Benítez made just one change from the 10-2 win over Rayo Vallecano, with Nacho in for an injured Sergio Ramos in defense. Real sociedad’s goal keeper, Rulli, put in a shift that reduced the scoreline to a more decent one than it would have been. Real were in desperate need as the atmosphere at the Bernabeu was turning ‘toxic’, their superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped forward and rescued Rafa Benitez, as he hammered in a shot off a Marcelo free kick in the 68th minute.
It was a stellar goal from Ronaldo, and his 14th of the season in La Liga, and more importantly a goal that may have saved Benítez’s job. With the 2-1 lead, Real were more comfortable in their play, and a Benzema shot almost made its way in just a minute after Ronaldo’s score, but Rulli was there to make the save.
Lucas Vazguez celebrates scoring his first goal for Madrid
There were a few late moments from Real Sociedad, who sought an equalizer, but substitute Vázquez extinguished any hopes of a late draw in the 86th minute by slotting home with aplomb a shot after a Bale cross from the left to give Real the 3-1 final.
David Moyes’ former side, Sociedad, continue to languish in the bottom half of the table and winning just once in their last four La Liga games, leaving them two points above the drop zone.
Dutch legend and former Juventus defender Edgar David’s has declared in his opinion who the world’s best footballer is – and the winner Lionel Messi.
Dutch legend, Edgar Davids
FIFA shortlisted Argentina and Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, club mate and Brazilian forward Neymar Jr. and Real Madrid and Portuguese attacker Cristiano Ronaldo for the ballon d’or award for the 2014/15 football season at a an official ceremony on 11 January 2016.
Real Madrid and Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo
Edgar Davids who over the course of his 23-year professional career, has played alongside a handful of players who have been crowned in FIFA’s yearly gala – Davids was team mate of 1998 world cup winner with France and FIFA ballon d’or winner Zinedine Zidane.
FC Barcelona and Brazil forward, Neymar Jr.
The former Ajax player spoke highly of his former colleague when he said, “He won the award and a couple of days later he showed up at Juventus’ training camp with a gift for each member of the squad, including the kit manager, or the lady who helped us with administrative matters. I’ll never forget that. That’s Zidane,” he remembers.
The former Dutch international, now 42 years old, has shared the football pitch with the likes of FIFA World Player of the Year winners George Weah and Ronaldinho, and he discussed what it meant for two players to dominate the fight for the sport’s highest individual accolade in the way that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been doing since 2008.
“It’s unbelievable what they have accomplished so far and still are accomplishing. I love Ronaldo, because he’s amazing: he works so hard. If Messi is not sharp he’s right there, prepared,” says Davids, whose favourite to be crowned at the Gala on 11 January in Zurich is quite clear, though. “If he’s fit, most of the time it’s Messi. But he is an anomaly.
The rest will have to wait until he falls off a little bit.”
