Barcelona’s squad contains a number of talented individuals such as Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas as well as the world’s best player in recent years Lionel Messi; however, this season the Spanish league title went to a deserving club: Real Madrid.

There are several reasons as to why Los Blancos triumphed in La Liga following Barca’s recent domination on both the domestic and European fronts. Below are the most significant reasons:

a) Away Record: Real won a stunning total of 16 matches out of 19 played away from Madrid. Los Blancos only conceded 13 times away from home. In addition, the biggest away win was the triumph at the Camp Nou which effectively sealed the title for the club.

b) Cristiano Ronaldo: CR7 has scored a remarkable 45 goals in only 37 games in La Liga. What is even more remarkable is the fact Ronaldo did not miss a single match which shows how dedicated and fit he has been this season. Add to that an impressive tally of 12 assists in the league and one can clearly see why he is considered as one of the best players in the world along with Barca’s Messi. Ronaldo’s most important goal came against Barca as he registered the winner in the 2-1 away triumph to end the Catalans’ dream of repeating as champions.

c) Attacking Firepower: Real managed to score a record 117 times (with one remaining fixture to play. Ronaldo might have scored 45 goals, but two of his teammates Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema combined for 42 goals with Higuain scoring 22 goals in just 17 league starts. Higuain came off the bench on 17 other occasions.

d) Mesut Ozil: The German midfielder contributed to the Real cause with 17 assists. Ozil was behind Ronaldo’s winner at the Camp Nou when he provided the great assist for the Portuguese star to finish off Barca’s hopes of winning the title. It is important to note that Angel Di Maria was as crucial as Ozil this season with the Argentina international assisting his teammates on 15 occasions.

e) Jose Mourinho: The Portuguese coach remains a controversial figure with his outspoken criticism of referees and opponents as well as his use of psychological warfare to engage with competitors and officials alike. However, Mourinho has relatively toned down his rhetoric and has focused more on getting the results this season. His tactics foiled bitter rivals Barca at the Camp Nou and he was finally able to lead Real to a win against the Catalans in the league.

Mourinho’s ability to get the best out of his players and his anti-Barca strategy have been successful this season as he brought the league title back to Madrid following a few years of domination by the club’s Catalan rivals.

It’s been a brutal weak for Spanish soccer, but La Liga fans can at least look forward to this summer when Spain plays in the Euro 2012 tournament.

In keeping with Euro 2012, EA Sports has released their UEFA Euro 2012 video game which is available to FIFA 12 users.

Here’s a video promoting the game and Spain’s involvement.

The stage is set. Barcelona need to win by a two goal margin to qualify for the Champions League final, Chelsea will do with a draw or scoring one less than Barcelona in a defeat.

Chelsea have had a perfect week, winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge and then nullifying Arsenal at the Emirates despite playing their second-team. The star players are well-rested, they know the art of frustrating their opponent as well as they know themselves. Mourinho taught them well, and managers who have ‘continued’ with those principles have seen relative success at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona on the other hand have had a horrible game. It’s the first time under Guardiola that they’ve lost two big games of such importance back to back, and against Madrid they seemed toothless for most of the game despite the odd foray forward or the insanely high (and completely useless) passing and possession stats.

And yet, for all the bullish talk from Chelsea and navel-gazing by Barcelona, nothing has changed. Barcelona always knew that they had to win at home to progress – they knew that they would need to win by a goal, probably two, with anything gained at Stamford Bridge a nice bonus. Chelsea on the other hand always knew that avoiding defeat at Camp Nou was central to their chances, and for them the job is far from done.

Guardiola will adapt his strategy to counter Chelsea’s approach to the game – not so much in personnel or formation but in how they go about attacking Chelsea. With a packed midfield / defence that is adept at dealing with crosses, Guardiola’s team need more creativity and focus in the middle, not width, to push through.

It means attacking Chelsea at their strongest point and finding a way through. Xavi is not likely to miss another sitter like he did against Madrid, Messi is a more potent threat at home and if Sanchez starts, there’s more opportunity for Barcelona to create and finish chances against Chelsea.

Some people have suggested that Barcelona need an early goal – perhaps, but it’s more important for Chelsea to start fast and try to nick a goal in the first 15 minutes, giving them an away goal and leaving Barcelona with three to score. While Chelsea will still be defensive, the threat of that goal will mean that Barcelona will be more measured in their approach, and

Chelsea are built to negate the exact qualities that Barcelona value – and this is a by product of Mourinho’s era. Even now, without the fast wingers and with the star players older and slower, Chelsea are well-equipped to hold Barcelona off for another 90 minutes.

For that to be true though, Barcelona will have to fluff their lines for a third game in a row. The higher they rise, the harder the fall, and a Barcelona defeat will have the critics out in full force – even if on balance, Barcelona have had a better season than Chelsea.

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Barcelona’s disappointing loss to Real Madrid was a result of a number of factors which went against the Catalans. No doubt Real’s players and coach Jose Mourinho deserve credit for properly implementing the plan to contain Lionel Messi and for using the perfect tactics to neutralize Barca’s other key players such as Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

However, there are a number of factors which gave Los Blancos the initiative from the start:

1) Josep Guardiola’s Lineup: Guardiola opted to rest Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez ahead of the return leg against Chelsea. Clearly Guardiola’s focus was turned to the Champions League. This was a decisive factor in favor of the visitors. Nothing ought to be taken away from Real’s victory but had Guardiola selected his strongest lineup then the final outcome might have been different.

2) Cristian Tello: Guardiola made a mistake starting the inexperienced Tello in such a decisive match. The occasion ended up being too big for the young player. He has the talent but he made several poor decisions when given the chance to produce goals or assists. Tello went on to waste at least a couple of scoring opportunities by himself or for his teammates. Another starter, perhaps Pedro would have probably provided a different dimension and a scoring threat in such a crucial match.

3) Lionel Messi: The Argentine wizard was surprisingly subdued for such a big match but he has often been the focus of some of Mourinho’s anti-Barca tactics which emphasize reducing the danger posed by the Catalans by eliminating Messi’s threat. Messi was surrounded by at least three players whenever he set on one of his trademark forays into Real’s penalty area. He was unable to create much and his most notable contribution was the one pass to Xavi who wasted a great scoring chance.

4) Victor Valdes: The goalkeeper could have done better on both goals had he been positioned in a more effective way. For the corner, he appeared to be lost and was caught in two minds forcing him to unconvincingly palm away the header which eventually fell to Sami Khedira to score Real’s first and to practically undermine Barca as Mourinho’s emphasis must have been on scoring first and relying heavily on counter-attacks.

For the second goal, Valdes appeared to be stuck in no man’s land as he should have either stayed further back or rushed even closer to Cristiano Ronaldo in order to close down the space and angle for Ronaldo. The Portuguese star did finish with aplomb but frankly Ronaldo had it easy once he noticed Valdes’s ill-advised positioning.

5) Strikers: In recent years, Barca’s triumphs have relied heavily on the possession game and the intricate passing as well as the superior talent of the squad. All these points of strength fail to conceal one major weakness in the team. Barca lack a true striker who can finish chances. Perhaps the failed attempt to integrate Zlatan Ibrahimovic has left Guardiola unwilling to experiment again, but since the departure of Samuel Eto’o, the Catalans have not had a true striker who fits their scheme of play. This has been costly this season, in particular in El Clasico this weekend and during last week’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in London.

Real’s players deserve praise for outwitting the superior Barca players in Catalonia but it must be said that some of Guardiola’s decisions made it easier for Los Blancos to triumph against the Catalans and to effectively seal the fate of the Spanish league title.

With so much riding on the line for this year’s El Clasico, you would expect the US networks that are showing the game would be screaming from the rooftops that soccer fans in the United States can watch the game on their network. However, the lack of promotion and advertising by both networks have been embarrassingly poor.

The game kicks off at 2pm ET and will be shown live in the United States on:

• GolTV,
• ESPN Deportes, and
• ESPN3.com

GolTV kicks off its coverage of Barcelona against Real Madrid at Noon ET.

Who do you think is going to win El Clasico? Vote below.

On April 7, 2012, a new 24/7 sports network named Univision Deportes will launch in the United States.

Univision Deportes, which is touting itself as the new way to see sports, will broadcast in Spanish. There’s quite a lot of anticipation building for the new network.

The sports network will broadcast soccer matches from Mexico’s Primera Division as well as FIFA World Cup 2014. The network will be available on select TV providers across the United States including DISH Network.

What are your thoughts about the launch of Univision Deportes? Are you excited by the channel? Do you think Univision Deportes will try to win future soccer TV rights to other leagues? Which ones would you like to see on Univision Deportes? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

Barcelona’s controversial win over Milan secured a fifth consecutive semi-final appearance in the Champions League to tie the record set by bitter rivals Real Madrid over 50 years ago. Ironically, the Spanish giants might end up clashing in the final in a European version of the famous El Clasico.

Barca’s path to Munich appears to be much easier than that of Real because the Catalans will face Chelsea, the English club with an aging squad and inconsistent results as shown by the results in the English Premier League, while Los Blancos will have to overcome Bayern Munich in the semis.

Bayern will be determined and desperate to oust Real since their arena will be the venue for the final in what is club football’s most prestigious trophy. Real will have to keep an eye on the triple threat posed by Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Mario Gomez. Both Robben and Ribéry have managed 11 goals in the Bundesliga with the Frenchman providing another 11 assists while striker Gomez has managed to score 23 goals in 27 league matches in addition to 11 goals in just 8 games in the Champions League. Bayern’s quality extends beyond their star trio to include established players such as Philipp Lahm and Thomas Müller.

Clearly Real’s task will be a difficult one but coach Jose Mourinho has already tasted success against Bayern while in charge of Inter, the Italians triumphed over the Bavarian club to win the European trophy in 2010. Mourinho has been less than animated this season with Real having a great run in La Liga and in Europe, however, the failure to defeat Barcelona has taken away some of the luster from Madrid’s surge to the top of the Spanish league.

Bayern will likely find it tough to contain Real’s own triumvirate in the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain. Ronaldo is having another phenomenal season and if it were not for Lionel Messi’s amazing numbers, Cristiano’s achievements would be receiving more media coverage and much more attention from experts and fans alike.

How intriguing would it be if Chelsea did pull off a major upset to eliminate Barca and play against former coach Mourinho and his Real side? It would be wrong to overlook Chelsea but at the same time it does appear that only Bayern can stand in the way of another El Clasico. The stakes will be even higher for the two Spanish giants if they do meet in Munich. If they do meet and Real triumph, then Mourinho might opt to move away from Madrid just like he did after achieving European success with Inter.

Mourinho’s destination will most likely be the English Premiership with a number of clubs rumored to be interested in his services, including his former club Chelsea. For now, Mourinho’s eyes will be on dethroning Barca as La Liga and European champions. With a six point advantage in the league, Los Blancos remain the favored club to clinch the title but it could be a different story in Europe with German giants Bayern standing in the way of Real and another European final.

Suddenly, and in less than one week, Real Madrid’s comfortable 10 point lead has shrunk into a mere 6 point advantage with Barcelona in hot pursuit of the top spot in La Liga. Barca’s star Lionel Messi has been in top form in recent weeks as confirmed by his scoring exploits in both the Champions League and in Spain.

As for Real, the 11 match winning streak came to an end over the weekend after a disappointing home draw against Malaga. This was followed by another draw away to struggling Villarreal.

Below are some of the reasons why the league title will still end up in Madrid despite those two disappointing draws:

1) Six Point Lead: Real remain on top with 10 matches left. Even if Los Blancos lose at the Camp Nou, Barca will only be able to cut the lead to three points. Real could win their remaining fixtures or Barca might drop a few points in the last 10 games.

2) Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese star has been scoring on a regular basis and he already has scored 32 times this season in La Liga. It is difficult seeing opposing teams being able to stop Ronaldo from scoring.

3) Away Record: Los Blancos have won an impressive 11 matches out of the 14 fixtures played away from Madrid. That is by far the best away record in La Liga.

4) Goals Scored: The Madrid side has the best attack in Spain with 90 goals with Barca’s attack coming in second place with 82 goals. Jose Mourinho has capable scorers in Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema who have scored 17 and 14 goals respectively in La Liga. On the other hand, Barca’s attack seems to be much more dependent on Messi who has managed 34 goals while Xavi is the club’s second top scorer with just 10 league goals.

Below are some reasons as to why the league title will remain in Barcelona for another season:

1) Messi: The attacking wizard has been unstoppable in recent weeks with records continuing to fall as a result of Messi’s scoring exploits. Lionel is already Barca’s all-time leading scorer while his 5 goals in the return leg of the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen proved once again the young genius can achieve almost anything on the pitch when he is at his best. Supporters and pundits as well as opposing fans have run out words to describe the great Argentine star.

2) Home Game vs. Real: Barca will host Los Blancos at the Camp Nou on April 22nd. This is perhaps the biggest opportunity to inflict a morale damaging defeat upon bitter rivals Real. If the point difference stays the same ahead of this clash, then a home win for Barca can slash the gap to just three points with four matches to go before the end of the season. The reason this is a crucial match is because the Catalans have had the advantage in league play since Mourinho took over in Madrid.

3) Real’s Lack of Discipline: The clashes in El Clasico have shown that players from both clubs tend to face difficulty controlling their temper when playing against each other. However, Real’s players seem to be more prone to making mistakes while displaying erratic behavior. Real’s Pepe infamous stamp on Messi’s hand is one obvious example of the reckless approach of certain players under Mourinho’s charge.

Losing your temper in a top clash might make sense, but to lose two players against Villarreal and in the last 5 minutes is unacceptable. Both Sergio Ramos, a volatile defender who has often been involved in controversial incidents, and Mesut Ozil were sent-off towards the end of the 1-1 draw in Villarreal.

4) Ease of Schedule: The Catalans have an easier schedule with their most important clash, the one against Real of course, being at home. On the other hand, Los Blancos must still host third place Valencia as well as play away against city rivals Atletico Madrid. A trip to face ninth-place Athletic Bilbao might prove tricky too for Mourinho’s squad.

The next few weeks should prove to be interesting in Spain following Real’s unexpected struggles against Malaga and Villarreal. Both Real and the Catalans are still in Europe so fatigue might not be a factor at this stage. Barca’s Copa del Rey final fixture will not take place before the end of the league season which means it will not alter the weekly preparations for the Catalans or force them to rest players in advance of the Spanish Cup final.

This season, more than any other, legitimate questions have been asked whether Lionel Messi is better than Diego Maradona. Part of that reason has been Messi’s incredible form for Barcelona in both the Champions League, cup competitions, el Clasico matches and La Liga. But how much weight does the argument hold?

Watch the above video, vote in the poll below, and then share your opinions regarding why you believe Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona is the better soccer player.

While Barcelona’s historic run in the last few years and Lionel Messi’s mesmerizing form have gotten most of the coverage in the media, one player appears ever closer to helping Real Madrid dethrone the Catalans as La Liga champions. This star player is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo who has flourished and has been on an absolute tear since moving to Los Blancos after a successful spell with Manchester United.

What the Portuguese forward has done in terms of scoring goals surpasses even the great Lionel Messi. While Messi is undoubtedly the world’s best player and perhaps one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game, Ronaldo was the Spanish league’s top scorer last season. Below is a list of his achievements since joining Los Blancos:

1) Ronaldo has scored an incredible 98 goals in just 89 La Liga matches. Last season, he achieved a remarkable tally of 40 league goals in just 34 matches. This season, he has already managed 32 goals in just 26 league games.

2) In three years, he has scored 19 goals in just 24 European matches. Ronaldo won the Champions League with Manchester United but his objective is to lift the European trophy with the Madrid side. That would be a historic achievement since it would reaffirm Real at the top of European football with a total of 10 European Cups if they can win this season.

3) In the 2010-11 season, Ronaldo became Real’s all-time leading scorer for a single season with a total of 53 goals in just 54 matches in all competitions. That surpassed the previous record of 49 goals for a Real player set by the legendary Ferenc Puskas.

4) Last season, Ronaldo also broke the record for all-time goals scored in a single season in La Liga. His 40 goals were two more than the previous best record achieved by two players, including Real’s Hugo Sanchez.

5) Ronaldo has won the Golden Shoe award twice, once each with Manchester United and Real. In doing so, the Portuguese star became the first player ever to win the award in two different European leagues.

There is no doubt Ronaldo has been one of the world’s best players in the past several years. He has won almost every individual award there is in football and has achieved remarkable things as an individual with both Manchester and Real. However, and despite his many trophies with Manchester, his trophy stint in Spain has so far yielded just the single Copa del Rey triumph last season.

Ronaldo will be measured by the league titles and the Champions League trophies he wins with Real. At this point, he has been overshadowed by Messi and rightfully so. Los Blancos have not been able to defeat Barca in league play since Ronaldo joined the club a few years ago. Real’s sole triumph over Barca was last season’s Copa del Rey final. Otherwise, the Catalans have eliminated Real in the Champions League last season and in the Spanish Cup this season while beating their bitter rivals at their home turf in Madrid earlier in league play this season.

Ronaldo still has the chance to achieve a league win over Barca when the two clubs meet at the Camp Nou. He can finally displace Barca as champions in the domestic league barring a sudden collapse by Los Blancos. Real’s lead in the league is comfortable enough for the club to afford a defeat in Barca and still win the championship as long as Jose Mourinho’s players remain consistent in the other fixtures.

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