Category: Spain

Dani Alves prepares for the Champions League final by being weird on an escalator

The day before the Champions League final is an important and nerve-wracking day for the participating players. It’s their chance to make their final preparations before the most important match of their season. Or, in Dani Alves’ case, work on a pre-match intimidation routine that will ensure that no one wants to ride the escalator with him.

Dani Alves: Master of the game before the game.

Barcelona make Xavi cry some more with special tribute event

Barcelona’s determination to drain all the tears from Xavi’s body continued on Wednesday with a special tribute event. Xavi’s friends, teammates, and other Barcelona officials were all present as Andres Iniesta said a few words to begin his long-time teammate’s half hour of crying. A couple of touching videos were also shown and, finally, Xavi gave an extended farewell speech as he prepares to play his last match for Barca (Saturday’s Champions League final) before joining Qatari side Al Sadd.

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The Rafa Benitez guide to becoming Real Madrid manager

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Rafa Benitez is officially Real Madrid’s next future ex-manager. He has been given a three-year deal by the club where he started both his playing and coaching careers (both with the B team). And no, it’s not still 2006.

Winning two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup with Valencia, then the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool gave him impressive credentials that still seem to overshadow what he’s done since getting sacked by Liverpool in 2010. That was five years ago. So what was his five-year plan to fall ass backwards into the dream job he wanted all along? Lets take a look.

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Lionel Messi’s first Copa del Rey final goal was as stunning as Dani Alves’ haircut

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the Copa Del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilboa with a typically spectacular solo goal in which he completely baffled four or five defenders along the way. He later help set up Neymar to score Barca’s second goal before halftime.

Meanwhile, Dani Alves decided that this was a proper occasion to present his personal tribute to the poop emoji.

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Watch Thomas Vermaelen celebrate a Barca title you had just as much to do with as he did

Former Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen moved to Barcelona in a £15 million deal last summer, but injuries have prevented him from playing a single minute for his new club this season. Despite this, when Barca clinched their 23 La Liga title after beating Atletico Madrid 1-0, Vermaelen was out on the pitch celebrating with his theoretical teammates, wearing his Barca away shirt maybe for the first time ever (coincidentally he wears No. 23).

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Why Cristiano Ronaldo’s petulance doesn’t bother Real Madrid

It’s a now familiar scene: Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate scores and while everyone else celebrates, he pouts because he felt it should have been him. It happened again when Alvaro Arbeloa (of all people) came sliding in to finish what Ronaldo thought would be an easy tap-in for Real Madrid’s final goal in a 3-0 win against Almeria.

As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Ronaldo was visibly upset — presumably because he missed out on his 40th La Liga goal of the season to go two ahead of Lionel Messi as the league’s top scorer. He furiously kicked the ball back at the net and shook his head as Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao embraced behind him.

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