Anonymous Blog : Zinedine zidane:

Anonymous Blog : Zinedine zidane:: There is an aura of optimism around the Bernabau as their former Galactico " Zizou" has been appointed to take the hot spot ...

Fifa Ballon d'or 

As the ballondor gala is near the gates we can feel the tension mounting in the footballing world. This year Neymar , Messi and Ronaldo are nominated.

Let us see how the Ballondor works and ask ourselves does it actually worth the hype it creates or its just a political drama.

The FIFA Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation)  ​"Golden Ball"  is an annual association football award given by FIFA to the male player considered to have performed the best in the previous calendar year. It is awarded based on the votes from national team coaches and captains, as well as journalists from around the world.

It has became the hallmark of  success and a proof  that you were above the rest in that specific year .This competition has been existing since 1966  when evergreen English player Stanley Mathews  at the age of 41 won for the first time

As it is rightly said every coin has two sides. For some it is the most prestigious award while for others it is just an undeserved greatness .Since the creation of the Golden Ball 59 years ago, many  high-profile football stars complained that the Fifa Ballon d'Or is a political award.

However, many have started sniffing around to check out if FIFA’s is transparent enough in giving out this award. Many analysts are yet to understand the criteria that the football government uses to pick the world's best. But FIFA’s criteria for picking the Ballon d’Or winner include: performances in major tournaments; individual and team honors; individual talent; skill and fair play; their overall career and finally personality and charisma.

With 209 member nations, each country has three votes: one for the national team coach, one for the national team captain and one for a designated member of the media.But the recent winners of this prestigious award have raised some eye brows.

So I will throw some light on the recent Ballondor events when this golden beauty should have gone the other way

2011

Criteria	Messi	Ronaldo
Appearances	47	44
Goals	43	48
Assists	21	17
Trophies	Champions League, La Liga, SuperCup	---

2012

Criteria	Messi	Ronaldo
Appearances	71	69
Goals	91	65
Assists	21	14
Trophies	---	La Liga, Euro Semi

In 2010 it was crystal clear that messi would win the award but when he won back to back in 2011 and 2012 eyes were raised

(Messi showcase his fourth ballondor most by a player in football history)

In 2011, Ronaldo scored more goals than Messi but Messi won the Ballondor because of his silverware sucess but in 2012 Ronaldo was the part of the team which  won the Spanish Laliga and he lead Portugal to euro semifinal in which they dramatically lost in penalties against mighty Spain but again Messi got the award because of his goals. He did not win tournament with this national team or with his Club Barcelona.

In the span of two years the criteria was changed from silverware to goals which raised many speculations over the criteria which FIFA sets for Ballondor

Manuel Neuer

Goalkeeping is a disregarded art. Those who choose to do it are misfits, the sort of people who enjoy wearing a different outfit to everyone else.

Neuer has forced football to notice that a goalkeeper can play a significant part in a football match, and that's a triumph in itself. His excellence was a vital part of Germany's victory in the Wold Cup of last year and of Bayern Munich's victory in the Champions League of 2013; he had a blinder in the final and that made the difference between the two sides. In 2014, he conceded 14 league goals and in 62 matches in the same year he conceded just 40 goals in total.

      ( It was all Germans in the world cup thanks to decisive Neuer between the sticks)

Neuers stats 2014

Games played	51
Saves	28
Clean sheets	122
Keeper sweepings	95
Honours	Fifa World Cup, Bundesliga, Golden Glove, German Cup

Inspite of these spectacular stats of Manuel Nuer, Cristiano Ronaldo won the award with his blistering 61 goals and winning the dream LA decima for real Madrid. CR7 successfully defended his world player of the year status convincingly in Zurich

Adding salt to Nuer's wounds, Lionel Messi was ranked second. Frankly he shouldn’t have been in the top 3 places. Neither did he lead Barcelona to any titles, nor did he excel at the World Cup. There are many players who were more deserving such as James Rodriguez, Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Arjen Robben or Javier Mascherano. Apparently, the brands “C. Ronaldo and Messi” are too appealing after all.

The voters should have set the example because Football is a game that involves 11 players on each side, and victory can only be achieved by combining their talents.

            ( Neuer unbelievable save against higuain led Germans to lift the world cup)

But when it comes to subjective awards the biggest respect, the World Cup, is not enough to win the Ballondor. Just because he was a goal keeper he doesn’t qualify for recognitions like this is really heart breaking.

These are just a few recent examples of Ballondor blunders and the dark side of FIFA. There are many more like these when you dig down the history.

The great personalities about Ballondor

 Frank Ribery (when he was named third in 2013)

"I learned a lot during last year's Ballon d'Or gala. As soon as I got there, I told my wife that I would lose,"

"I saw how Sepp Blatter was hugging Ronaldo and how his entire family was there. I'm not stupid. It was clear that he had to win it. He wouldn't have brought his entire family with him otherwise.

 Manuel Nuer

"But I fear it will be about politics again. The Ballon d'Or is no longer for the best player. It's all about politics. Fabio Cannavaro won it in 2006 because he won the World Cup, that's all.”

 Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

"Cristiano Ronaldo can have the Ballondor, I already know that I am the best"

 Ricardo Kaka ( on winning ballondor  against messi and Ronaldo)

‘I'm the last Ballon d'Or winner 'born on this planet'

 Arsene Wenger

'Im not too much of a fan. I'm against the Ballon d'Or. I'm against all these things. I've seen careers destroyed because the players are too much obsessed to get individual rewards.

'I feel sometimes it encourages selfishness and people inside the game to go too much for their own sake when some partners are in a better position.

 Cristiano Ronaldo ( when messi won third ballondor in a row )

“It’s not a question of life and death – it’s not the end of the world. But I still haven’t understood the criteria. One year it’s about performance, the next it’s about

 silverware.”

 Jose Mourinho (on Ronaldo coming runner up in 2012)

"If Messi is the best on the planet, Ronaldo is the best in the universe. It would be a crime if Ronaldo did not win the Ballon d'Or."

"How can you win the Ballon d'Or without collecting titles, without winning anything important? Don't come to me telling me about the Intercontinental Cup or the Supercup, this is small stuff. Tell me about fat titles,"

Moreover, the truth is that the Ballon d’Or, like most awards of this nature, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The people who vote like captains of respective nations, Media, coaches, shouldn't be biased about their favorites and should vote on the basis of facts rather than making school elections. 

Anonymous Blog : Fifa Ballon d'or 2016

Anonymous Blog : Fifa Ballon d'or 2016

Barca shines as they demolish the real madrid!!!

El Clásico, Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona: Match Review

The Uruguayan Bagged a  double as Luis Enrique's side ran a riot in Santiago Bernabau

After such an abysmal performance by Rafa Benítez's men it's hard not to wonder how can this Real Madrid team play this bad. Not one player seemed to care a single bit as Barcelona completely dominated the whole match effortlessly by keeping the possession and hurting Madrid with dangerous counterattacks as soon as Los Blancos tried to attack without tracking back. That same pattern was repeated over and over again until the final whistle. One of the worst performances by Real Madrid in a very long, long time.

(Suarez bottom opened the flood gates by scoring a fantastic goal in the left corner)

                        

Barcelona's opening goal was well deserved and scored in the 11th minute of the game. By then, Real Madrid had already shown worrying signs with the ball, being unable to keep it for longer than 20 seconds while it's true that Barcelona also seemed toothless prior to that goal. It would be reasonable to say that Real Madrid rolled over after that but it would be way too generous with their first 11 minutes.

      ( Neymar gliding towards the goal before squeezing the strike under oncoming Navas)

Barcelona scored their second goal and virtually put the nail in Madrid's coffin in the 39th minute, something that infuriated the fans at the Bernabéu. The players left the pitch after the half-time whistle listening loud jeers while some fans also blamed President Florentino Pérez by singing "Florentino dimisión -- Florentino out --". Real seemed to start the second half way better but their charge ended very soon and Barcelona had time to score two more. Luis Suárez and Iniesta were just too much to handle for a careless side like Real Madrid.

The blame should be shared. Benítez decided to start a very attacking-minded lineup and there was no midfield to contain Barcelona's possession game. This made no sense as neither James, Bale, Benzema or Ronaldo helped Modric and Kroos. That's arguably Benítez's fault and something that needs to be addressed if these 11 players are going to start again. That thing said, the players simply did not care enough and their effort has to be questioned. Kroos, Danilo, Marcelo, Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo did not try their best and that's something Real cannot afford in El Clásico.

  ( Iniesta firing A sensational finish in the top right corner)

The fans have the right to blame Florentino Pérez's decisions last summer. The team did not end the season well under Carlo Ancelotti but if firing the Italian was the right choice, hiring Benítez certainly wasn't. He wasn't a coveted coach in European football and only West Ham United were interested in his talents. That says something. Assembling this roster and putting it in Benítez's hands was a mistake to say the least.

All in all, turbulent times ahead for Real Madrid. How will Pérez react to the fans' complaints? How much credit left does Benítez have? It all remains to be seen, but it sure looks like this personnel will not end the season together.

 Andres Iniesta

9.4

Minutes played: 76

Touches: 78 no

Passes: 68

Pass Accuracy: 96%

Shots/Shots on Target: 1/1

Fouls Won: 0

Turnovers: 2

Successful Dribbles: 4

Key Passes: 1

Tackles: 1

It seems that whenever Iniesta sees the white of Madrid, he takes his already high level up another notch. This time was no different. Given freedom to move, he looked the happiest man on the pitch. Pinging cross field balls, sliding eye-of-the-needle passes and dribbling with ease through the Madrid defence, Iniesta was at his mighty best. He registered his first league assist of the season, a delicately placed ball to Neymar that beat the offside trap by the nearest of margins and to top off a stellar performance he got his first goal of the season. He released the ball to Neymar and burst forward to get on the end of the return pass before, without a moment’s hesitation, rifling the ball high into the top corner. Given a standing ovation from the home crowd as he left the field.

Claudio Bravo

9.4

Minutes played: 90

Touches: 54

Passes: 33

Pass Accuracy: 70%

Shots Faced: 7

Saves Made: 7

Interceptions: 1

  

( Bravo denying Ronaldo from scoring a consolation goal for Madrid)

                   

Bravo had to be on his game to prevent the hosts from scoring in the El Clasico, and boy was he ever on his game. Making seven saves on the evening, Bravo had a largely uneventful first half, though he did cause some unnecessary danger by dropping an easy cross minutes before the halftime whistle, but the Chilean was tested often after the break. He had to make a strong stop early in the half, denying James Rodriguez, before twice frustrating Cristiano Ronaldo, both times from up close, and also made a superb save on a Karim Benzema header. A truly brilliant performance between the sticks.

Luis Suarez

9.3

Minutes played: 90

Touches: 51

Passes: 32

Pass Accuracy: 56%

Shots/Shots on Target: 4/3

Fouls Won: 1

Successful Dribbles: 1

Key Passes: 1

Turnovers: 3

Clearances: 4

The Uruguayan may rub me up the wrong way with some of his antics, but my goodness, he knows how to score goals. And important ones at that. His brace was the individual highlight of the match as he displayed icy composure to finish a couple of one-on-ones with statistically the best keeper in La Liga, at least headed into that match.

 After Match Reactions

Sergio Ramos

"We have to ask the Real Madrid fans for forgiveness for our poor performance."

"With this pain comes an opportunity to exact revenge in a few months' time.

Marcelo

                                              

( Marcelo crying after being substituted  when Suarez made it 4-0)

"We have to face the music and ask the fans for their forgiveness. We'll keep fighting",

Sergio Busquets

" We no longer fear Madrid"

Rafa Benitez

 "I must say I chose the wrong XI."

Dani Alves

" CRISTIANO likes to be the protagonist. If you want to be like that, when you win they speak about you and put you in the limelight but, if you lose, you must take the flak."

El Clasico ! Everything you need to know about.

       El Clasico(The Classic)          

     

   El Clasico is one of the most iconic and ferocious matchups in soccer celebrating the intense rivalry between FC Barcelona And RealMadrid . It is the biggest football club game in the world ,And it is recorded among most viewed annual sports events about 500 million viewers.

The stage is set for this year's El clasico and the players can feel the heat. Teams will not be fighting for the Spanish League title alone. They will be fighting for pride and respect. Many of us are still not clear about the origin of this rivalry. Is it only the on field rivalry which leads to such a hype before every El clasico or is their a historical significance to this rivalry. This article is all about the history of El Clasico, how this rivalry was born and how it became so intense that every football lover waits for this event.                                                      

                                                    

    (Match stopped due to violent behavior of Both the teams)

• Political War

              blessed with linguistic and cultural independence from Spain. The Catalán people resided in their own sovereign state and had even installed a functioning government. Unfortunately, a 15 year war between the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties resulted in Catalonia losing its sovereignty after a two Well over three centuries ago, Catalonia(Barcelona) was year siege of Barcelona on September 11th, (a date synonymous with our own American tragedy) 1714. The war’s true ramifications, however, would not be felt for years to come.

           As Catalonia’s desire for independence from the Spanish capital grew, so did Madrid’s opposition. Madrid believed that it was their patriotic duty to keep them unified as one entity and allowed itself the privilege of doing what was necessary to keep the status quo. Eventually, the Castilian government imposed the Spanish language upon them by outlawing Catalán in all federal documents, schools, and the media. Catalonia, on the other hand, spent the next two hundred years unwillingly accepting Madrid's oppression and attempted exorcism of the Catalán culture. Sadly, the political schism that gripped the country would soon rear its ugly head once more in the form of one man, General Francisco Franco.

During the next 46 years, Real Madrid was pushed into the forefront of football as Franco’s preferred team and was recognized as a symbol of the regime’s power and desire for a unified Spain under Fascism. On the other hand, Catalonia’s capital city of Barcelona and its band of culés represented the oppressed liberalists who simply wanted to be free from the generalísimo’s dictatorship and live under a democracy. It is for this reason, more than any other, that the clash between these two Spanish titans is a rivalry of unprecedented importance to the clubs, cities, political parties, and cultures involved.

                

•  1943 Copa Del Generalisimo Semi-Final (Copa Del Rey)

 

In one of the most controversial encounters between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Copa del Rey or Generalissimo as it was called in the days of General Franco was Real’s biggest ever win over Barca.Franco was rumoured to have told his troops and followers to threaten the Catalans to lose the match or face lifetime imprisonment. The scoreline suggests they did just that with the referee also subject to threats from the regime

 13 June 1943, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11–1 at home in the second leg of a semi-final of the Copa del Generalísimo, the Copa del Rey having been renamed in honour of General Franco. The first leg, played at Barcelona's Les Corts stadium in Catalonia, had ended with Barcelona winning 3–0, and it has been suggested that for the second leg in Madrid, Barcelona players were intimidated by police,including by the director of state security who "allegedly told the team that some of them were only playing because of the regime's generosity in permitting them to remain in the country. The Barcelona chairman, Enric Piñeyro, was assaulted by Madrid fans. According to Spanish journalist and writer, Juan Carlos Pasamontes, Barcelona player Josep Valle denied that the Spanish security forces came into the Barcelona dressing room before the match. Instead, at the end of the first half, Barcelona coach Juan José Nogués and all of his players were angry with the hard-style of play Real Madrid was using and with the aggressiveness of the home crowd. When they refused to take the field, the Superior Chief of Police of Madrid appeared, identified himself, and ordered the team to take the field.

 

                                                 ( Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11-1 in most controversial Clasico)

   

A newspaper called the scoreline "as absurd as it was abnormal".According to football writer Sid Lowe; "There have been relatively few mentions of the game since and it is not a result that has been particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11-1 occupies a far more prominent place in Barcelona's history." Fernando Argila, Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper from the game, said: “There was no rivalry. Not, at least, until that game.

De Stefano's Transfer

The rivalry was intensified during the 1950s when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano had impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid while playing for Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Bogotá, Colombia, during a players' strike in his native Argentina.Both Real Madrid and Barcelona attempted to sign him and, due to confusion that emerged from Di Stéfano moving to Millonarios from Club Atlético River Plate following the strike, both clubs claimed to own his registration.After intervention from FIFA representative Muñoz Calero, it was decided that both Barcelona and Real Madrid had to share the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona's humiliated president was forced to resign by the Barcelona board, with the interim board cancelling Di Stéfano's contract. While the club's official website bitterly bemoans this incident as "a strange federative manoeuvre with Francoist backing", Real Madrid deny having received any assistance from General Franco. This ended the long struggle for Di Stéfano, as he moved definitively to Real Madrid.

( De Stefino  helped Real Madrid's unrepeatable feat of winning five consecutive European Cups)

 
 

De Stéfano became integral in the subsequent success achieved by Real Madrid, scoring twice in his first game against Barcelona. With him, Real Madrid won the initial five European Champions Cup competitions. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and Barcelona winning in 1961. 

·      Luis Figo's Great betrayal 

For Barcelona fans, an epic betrayal of cinematic proportions was complete when Real Madrid made Figo an offer he couldn't refuse.

Despite warnings to the contrary from Perez, few really saw the transfer as a likely scenario before Real produced the world record 10 billion peseta (£37.5 million) necessary to activate the player's buyout clause. The completion of the deal was a brazen display of power, orchestrated by Real's incoming president. Eyebrows had been arched during Perez's campaign when the candidate claimed to have signed a pre-contract agreement with Figo's agent - a claim denied by both the player and the incumbent Real president, Lorenzo Sanz, who had overseen Champions League victories in 1998 and 2000. Though Sanz was sceptical, Madridistas were seduced - perhaps by Perez's pledge to refund all 70,000 season-ticket holders if Figo did not arrive - and the charismatic challenger won the election.

After 172 La Liga games for Barcelona, 30 goals, two league titles, two Copa del Reys and a Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the stylish, elegant midfielder and recent star of Euro 2000 provoked fury in Catalunya when honouring his agreement with Perez and invoking his buyout clause to join Madrid. New Barcelona president Joan Gaspart, who had pledged to keep Figo in his election manifesto, described the deal as "immoral", adding: "I'll not forget this. Whoever is responsible for this will pay for it. We'll see how and when. Figo gave me the impression this morning that he wanted to do two things - make more money and stay with Barcelona. He thinks money can do everything in this life."

( Luis Figo Signing for Real Madrid)

His first chance to return to his former club came in October of 2000 in a Primera Division fixture at Camp Nou, and the judgement delivered by the 105,000 in attendance was emphatic. According to those present, Figo attracted the worst reception of modern times at Camp Nou, eclipsing that reserved for Michael Laudrup, who crossed the divide in 1994. As well as an visceral audible protest, Barca supporters made their feelings perfectly clear with a series of pointed banners - the most pertinent simply reading: "We hate you because we loved you so." A perfect expression of heartbreak and betrayal.

Two years later, and with Real reigning European champions following Zidane's goal against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow, the hatred had only intensified. The build-up to a league meeting between the sides on November 24 was coloured by debates over whether Figo would be detailed to take corners - a responsibility that he had been spared in 2000. It may seem like a trivial debate, but Real's decision to place him on set-piece duty - after Marca's front page demanded "Take Them, Luis" - would invite accusations of provocation and spark a shameful response from the massed ranks of home supporters. It would also result in the head of an animal being cast onto the turf.

In the second half, Figo strolled over to take a corner at the end of the ground populated by Barca ultras and was pelted by various missiles, including golf balls, lighters, plastic bottles and a glass whisky bottle. As Figo attempted to clear the pitch and held up objects for the match referee to see, more missiles rained down and it took the Portugal star two minutes to execute the corner. In a cruel twist of fate, his in-swinging delivery was tipped over the bar by Barcelona goalkeeper Roberto Bonano. Figo was forced to trudge across Camp Nou to the opposite side of the pitch to take another corner, this time from the right, and another showed awaited him.

(Barcelona Fans throwing whiskey bottles, cigarette lighters, golf balls and, most famously, a pig’s head at Luis Figo)

Carles Puyol tossed detritus off the pitch and appealed for calm, referee Luis Medina Cantalejo was forced to suspend play for 12 minutes and riot police shielded Real's players from further attack as they sat in the dugout. The final result - 0-0 - was fairly incidental as one aspect dominated the post-match coverage. Marca described it as "the derby of shame", while El Periodico de Catalunya shunned understatement by insisting "every corner [was] a Vietnam". In the aftermath of such scandalous scenes, a volley of accusations as dense as the wave of debris pouring down from the stands submerged the key protagonists, and dominating the debate was a shot of a pig's head, turned upwards towards the sky, a pitiful look upon its face.

"Figo provoked the fans," Barca coach Louis van Gaal said. "He walked over to the corner really slowly, picked up the bottle slowly, went back to the corner ... and all this consciously and deliberately, without the referee doing anything to stop it." For president Gaspart, "Figo's provocation was out of place and totally unnecessary. I won't accept people coming to my house to provoke."

Even a man as mild-mannered and respectful as Xavi felt his former team-mate "could have helped more", with those in Catalan colours convinced that by fulfilling his professional duty and taking set-pieces, the hated Figo had raised a red rag to a particularly enraged bull.

But Figo's days of being Barcelona's hero were a distant memory - a simple, evocative pig's head, discarded to the floor, was enough to demonstrate his new status in the eyes of his former devotees.

•  Clash of Ego

   Ronaldo vs Messi
  The Cristiano Ronaldo–Lionel Messi rivalry is a rivalry in association football between two perceived rival players. Ronaldo and Messi are both regarded as being among the all-time great players in the sport, having won a combined seven FIFA Ballon d'Or awards. Both players have scored in two UEFA Champions League finals and have regularly broken the 50 goal barrier in a single season.

  
  

  See what some great names in footballing word think about them

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Luis Figo
  
  
  "Ronaldo can do whatever he wants as a footballer. There are some things he does with the ball that make me touch my head and wonder how he did it."

  
  

  
  
  
  
  Zlatan Ibramovich
  
  
  "Ronaldo is a lucky guy.

  Always gets first row tickets to see Messi win his

  
  

  awards.''
  
  
  Didier Drogba
  
  
   "Everyone knows Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Messi, not only me, but for some it's hard to recognize that."
  
  
  Arda Turan
  
  
  "Messi or Ronaldo best player in the world? In the world, I would say Ronaldo. Messi is from another planet.”
  
  
  Mario Gotze
  
  
  "Messi? No. I want to be the German Cristiano Ronaldo"
  
  
  Jurgen Klopp

        "Cristiano Ronaldo is so fast, so strong, so incredible, but he          has one problem - Leo Messi."

  

   Neymar vs Bale

(Clash of Highest spending Bale €91 and Neymar €86.2 million)

This rivalry was created when, in the summer of 2013, Neymar made his long-awaited transfer to Barcelona. This was closely followed by Gareth Bale's record breaking transfer to arch-rivals Real Madrid after months of negotiation.

Suddenly it was not Messi vs Ronaldo anymore, but rather a debate about which of these multi-million transfers would pay off in the end or which duo could take Europe by storm in the coming season. In a way, Neymar vs Bale is a carbon copy of Messi vs Ronaldo.

Messi and Neymar are comfortable with the ball at their feet and will keep hold of possession, draw defenders in and then either take it past them with exquisite close control or play a through ball which leaves the defence gawping.

Bale, like Ronaldo, focuses more on pace, power and strength. They do not dawdle but rather try to break as quickly as possible hoping to catch the opposition unawares.

The age old rivalry between these two Spanish Giants was taken to the next level when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 as a direct counter to Messi in Barcelona. Now it remains to be seen that after these two greats, will Bale and Neymar rise to the occasion and show the continuation of this intense rivalry.

 

Ramos vs Pique

   

This rivalry came to notice when GERRAD PIQUE  came in support of Catalonia Independence  and after he allegedly commented trash on Real Madrid  when he  was booed and jeered by his own national fans in the stadium. Real Madrid  captain didn't like it and oppsed what Pique said and there was  a frequent war of words  between both  Spanish legends .

Pique on Madrid

    "I'll always want things to go bad for Madrid. I wore a Buffon shirt during the Champions League semi final [last season] and always want Madrid to lose. That's the way the Madrid-Barça rivalry is."

Pique after winning 5-4 to sevilla in Uefa super cup

“ Fuck those from Madrid, let them see us celebrate.”

Ramos on Pique's 

"I've already stated that whether or not we agree with those actions, it doesn't help the reception. But it doesn't surprise us coming from him [Pique]."

“Because of the rivalry between Barca and Madrid, those latest actions from Pique wont  help him playing  with SPAIN"

So heartbeats would be running high 500 million eyes will be gued on tv there will be joy and heartbreak depending on which side of the table you are ......