Mourinho Makes Dinamo Changes

Jose Mourinho is set to ring the changes as Real Madrid host rock bottom Dinamo Zagreb knowing a draw will probably be enough to see them finish on top of Group D.

The Spanish giants have already qualified for the knock-out stages of the competition thanks to their 100% record in the pool games and sit five points clear of second placed Ajax.

Injuries have started to take their toll, though, and the former Chelsea manager will be without a handful of first-team regulars including Alvaro Arbeloa (hamstring) and Marcelo (thigh) who have joined Kaka (calf), Angel Di Maria (hamstring) and Ricardo Carvalho (back) in the treatment room

This will give Mourinho the chance to give some much needed Champions League experience to his squad players with Lassana Diarra and Nuri Sahin, a summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, likely to start against the Croatian minnows.

He said: "They are the Croatian champions and they have 10 points more than the second-placed team in their league. I have to make changes in my team because I have very tired players, not because the opponents will be easy.

"We need one point more to advance as group winners and that is what we have in mind right now. That said, we felt like we were favourites last season and we know what happened in the semi-finals [losing 3-1 on aggregate to FC Barcelona].

"My players don't know the starting line-up yet but in the last four matches the player who came to the press conference with me, in this case, Nuri Sahin, then started.

"I have to make some changes to my team because some of the players are very tired, but Lass [Diarra] can play in every position and will play tomorrow."

The hosts are the only club yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season and start the game as huge favourites against the only side not to have hit the net in the competition.

Their cause will not be helped by injuries to the defensive pair in Sime Vrsaljko (hamstring) and Josip Simunic (calf) while Mathias Chago (back) and Igor Biscan (left ankle) are still out and have yet to feature this season.

But boss Krunoslav Jurcic is able to call upon Mehmed Alispahic and Tonel who returned in Friday's 3-0 win over RNK Split.

"This is something we expected," he said. "You arrive at a temple of football and play against one of the best teams.

"We have a lot of respect but nevertheless come to compete. I have asked my players to leave an impression and I hope they use this occasion to showcase the best of Croatian football. We know it will be tough but we expect to get our first point in the Champions League.

"We have great players who have played a lot of important matches in great stadiums. I don't think that the Santiago Bernabeu is going to overawe them.

"We are back in the Champions League after 12 years and it has been like going to university for us. Now we want to pass our exams to come back with more options someday."

Real Madrid Opening Zaragoza Rout

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick to lead Real Madrid to a 6-0 rout at Zaragoza to open the Spanish league season.

Jose Mourinho's team displayed the same verve in attack that led it to a second-place finish last season and made it practically unbeatable for any side other than Barcelona.

Ronaldo opened the scoring and Marcelo doubled Madrid's lead at La Romareda stadium before halftime.

Xabi Alonso then extended the lead midway into the second half before Ronaldo scored again, and Kaka came off the bench for a goal of his own and an assist for Ronaldo to cap the victory.

Madrid squandered numerous chances to add to the rout, while Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was never troubled.

"Scoring six goals away from home is difficult," Ronaldo said. "But the team is playing well and creating chances. I have to thank my teammates. We all win and lose together."

Later, Sevilla hosts the revamped Malaga. Three-time defending champion Barcelona plays Villarreal Monday.

The scoring display could not have come at a better for a team once again criticized for its abrasive antics-- above all those of its head coach-- during the recent Spanish Supercup loss to archrival Barcelona.

Zaragoza goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez saved early tries by German midfielder Mesut Oezil and Karim Benzema and blocked a free kick by Ronaldo, but he could do nothing when the three combined for Madrid's 24th-minute opener.

The France striker robbed the ball in midfield and passed to Oezil, who calmly threaded an assist through the defensive line for a streaking Ronaldo to drive home.

Four minutes later Marcelo doubled the score when Ronaldo missed with an acrobatic bicycle kick and the ball fell to the Brazil defender to sweep into the right side of the net.

"We are in the same league but we had absolutely no chance," Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre said. "They beat us in every aspect, and I, as the coach, am responsible. I didn't do my job well."

Ronaldo, who set the Spanish league scoring record with 40 goals last season, peppered Roberto's goalline with more dipping free kicks that the Spanish goalie did well to keep out.

Angel Di Maria and Benzema both missed clear chances to extend the lead right after halftime, but Alonso put the game beyond question in the 64th when his blast from well outside the area took a friendly deflection off a defender before skipping into the right corner of the net.

Zaragoza's defence then completely crumbled as Di Maria picked out Ronaldo striding through the area in the 71st for the Portuguese star to tap in.

Kaka added to the rout with a well-placed curling strike into the top corner in the 82nd and minutes later sent another cross behind the demoralized Zaragoza defence for a wide-open Ronaldo to complete his ninth hat trick since arriving at Madrid two summers ago.

"If we won by this score it is because we played well," Mourinho said. "Zaragoza is a team with 10 new players, it has changed a lot and needs time. Roberto made good saves, in the six goals he couldn't have done anything better."

Earlier, Atletico Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw by Osasuna, while Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 with promoted Rayo Vallecano.

Atletico created more chances throughout-- hitting the woodwork twice-- but missed the scoring touch of Diego Forlan and new signing Radamel Falcao as Osasuna held firm to split the points at Vicente Calderon stadium.

Uruguay striker Forlan was left out of the squad amid expectation he will soon sign with Inter Milan, while Falcao was unavailable due to a delay in his transfer from FC Porto.

Meanwhile in Bilbao, the Basques showed they still need time to assimilate coach Marcelo Bielsa's new possession-based attacking style.

In a glimpse of what the Argentine manager has in mind, Ander Iturraspe finished off an impressive team build up in the 56th, only to the 36-year-old Javi Movilla equalize for Rayo six minutes later.

Mallorca beat Espanyol 1-0, and Levante drew 1-1 at Getafe.

Mourinho Gains as Valdano Departs

Mourinho and Valdano

It was an office battle that only one could could win and for a time during the season the tension was more than palpable between Jose Mourinho and the Real Madrid director general, Jorge Alberto Valdano.

But it all ended on Wednesday night when Valdano was sacked by the club, which will now allow Jose Mourinho to wield more influence at the club.

"We have decided to end the contractual relationship with Jorge Valdano," president Florentino Perez said at a hastily-convened press conference at the Bernabeu following a meeting of the club's board of directors.

As a former team manager Valdano has struggled to accept his off the field role over the years and enjoyed fractious relationships with most of the recent coaches. Probably a reflection of the politics of survival at the club, especially during the trophy less years. However the relationship with Mourinho never really got going since the "Special One " arrived from Inter Milan in the summer.

Although reappointed to club affairs when Florentino Perez returned to the club in 2009 he did not agree with the appointment of Mourinho.

It did not help that Mourinho was reportedly harbouring a grudge over a newspaper column the Argentinian wrote several years ago criticising his tactics as manager when he was as at Premier League club Chelsea.

The row was then complicated when the pair clashed after Valdano questioned Mourinho's request for another striker to be brought in as cover for the injured Gonzalo Higuain.

In the end after winning the Copa del Rey this season it was clear that Real Madrid would hold onto Mourinho, despite not winning La Liga or the Champions League semi final to Barcelona. So for many observers the departure of Valdano was the only possible outcome.

At the press conference on Wednesday night President Perez also stressed that Mourinho had not asked for more power at Madrid, saying “Mourinho did not make any demands. He asked for more autonomy in line with how English clubs are organised.

'I will not hide how painful the departure of Jorge Valdano is. We have come a long way together. But my feelings cannot be a reason for not fulfilling what I believe is my obligation. Jorge, I appreciate all your hard work and dedication.'

"Everything that we do, we do because they are the right decisions that do not take into account personal sentiment."

However Jorge Valdano gave another verdict.

"I am not the one who turned Real Madrid into a battlefield," said the Argentine in a media briefing that followed that of Perez. "All my efforts this season were directed toward restraint.

"It has been a long time since I have spoken personally to Mourinho. We greet each other politely, but he sought to deal with people other than me. My responsibilities with the first team were reduced. I did not feel comfortable in that situation."

Despite that verdict Valdano believes Real Madrid will progress under the Portuguese trainer.

"I believe Jose Mourinho staying on is good for a club that's been unstable in the past,” he said. “It needs to settle for a reasonable period of time. He's done a good job, I believe he is a good coach and I find it normal that he stays on.

For Valdano, a world cup winner with Argentina in Mexico 1986, it ends the link with Real that has existed since he moved from Real Zaragoza in 1984.

At the time he joined when Real were enjoying the success of the Quinta del Buitre - the graduates of the real youth team that included Michel, Butragueño, Pardeza, Sanchis and Martin Vazquez.. As part of the tea, Valdano won the UEFA Cup in 1985 and 1986, scoring once in the 1985 final and twice in the 1986 final. 

After contracting Hepatitis, he decided to retire in 1988, and became a sports commentator also maintaining a link with the club as youth team coach. In the 1991/1992 season he became CD Tenerife's coach, helping it avoid relegation, and qualifying them for the UEFA Cup.

But the following season he returned to the Santiago Bernabeu as coach and won la Liga in the 1994/1995 season.

In 1997 Valdano became Real Madrid's Sporting Director until his resignation in June 2005. Then in June 2009 he came back to Real Madrid as Director General and Presidential Aide when Florentino Perez returned to the club.

Altintop Makes Madrid Move

Hamit Altintop

Real Madrid CF have confirmed their second signing in preparation for next season after Turkish midfielder Hamit Altıntop agreed to join on a free transfer from FC Bayern München.

Hamit Altıntop has followed Turkish international team-mate Nuri Şahin to Real Madrid CF after agreeing a free transfer from FC Bayern München.

The midfielder will sign a four-year deal at the Santiago Bernabéu when his contract expires with the Bavarian club on 30 June. The 28-year-old becomes José Mourinho's second capture ahead of next season's UEFA Champions League campaign after confirming the arrival of Şahin last week from German champions Borussia Dortmund.

Altıntop, who began his career with SG Wattenscheid 09, joined Bayern in 2007 following four campaigns with FC Schalke 04 and went on to win two Bundesliga titles and two German Cups. He started the 2010 UEFA Champions League final defeat against Mourinho's FC Internazionale Milano at the Santiago Bernabéu but has not held down a regular starting role at Bayern in recent seasons.

German-born Altıntop has played 63 times for Turkey, scoring seven goals, and was a member of the UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament after his country reached the semi-finals. Madrid will play in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage with the club guaranteed to finish second to FC Barcelona in the Spanish Liga this term.

Real Madrid lose at Home to Gijon

Jose Mourinho

"Football is football. We had many chances to score one, two, three, four and five metres away from target. Sporting defended, defended and defended... and then they scored a goal. We had six chances on goal, but we were unlucky. That's football for you."

"I wanted to play with two fixed forwards. We lacked our most creative players and we knew it. Only Ozil was out there. Cristiano, Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Marcelo are our most creative men. Lacking creation against a team that defends fiercely forces you to play a straightforward game. I took off Granero because he hasn't played enough."

"Our opponent hardly attacked. We didn't have to pressurise more in attack nor defend more strongly. We simply had to score a goal. We tried to play a more straightforward game. If I had wanted to draw the game 0-0 from the start I would have done so. We will have chances to win against Tottenham Hotspur if we play a solid game and don't have problems in attack. It wouldn't be dramatic to draw against them at home."

"My men know they can win or lose. You win and lose one way or another, but you can lose with dignity. We were aware of our limitations before the game. Luck plays a role in this game and our opponent had all of it tonight. Our only problem was the absence of creative players. Xabi Alonso will play on Tuesday and he's the only one who can change our style a little. We can earn a different result on Tuesday with the same players."

"Cristiano Ronaldo will play if he and his coach decide to take a risk. The decision of risking it belongs only to him and to me. I may risk it..."

Real Madrid Hoping for a Busy April

Real Madrid will play at least seven games in April: four in La Liga, the Copa del Rey final and the two legs of the Champions League quarterfinals against Tottenham Hotspur 

If Real Madrid were to eliminate the English side, they would then  play the first leg of semifinals on 27 April at the Bernabeu, which would force them to face Zaragoza in Madrid on 30 April, as the return leg would take place on 3 May. If that were to pass, Mourinho's men would play a match every three days.


Related articles

• Mourinho tells Tottenham: Real Madrid will knock you out of Champions League (sportingo.com)
• Ronaldo out for 3 weeks (twoliverpoolfans.wordpress.com)

Real Madrid Win at Espanyol

Real Madrid taught a very important lesson to all those who said La Liga isn't a priority for this team anymore. Iker Casilla's red card on the 2-minute mark forced the Whites to showcase many of their values (hard work, epic nature, sacrifice, winning personality) to earn a very important victory over Espanyol tonight that reduces their distance with the leaders to 5 points.

Iker Casillas was sent of for marginally kicking Callejon on his right foot as he tried to clear the ball right outside the box. Other teams would have deflated following such a decision, but Real Madrid pulled rank and doubled their efforts to win.

Di Maria had to come off for goalkeeper Antonio Adan, who made his First Division debut tonight. Khedira soon had two chances to score the opener. Marcelo would net the only strike in the evening from a fantastic shot near the left post, after being assisted by Ronaldo (24'). Adebayor then had a chance to seal the match on the 39-minute mark, but his lobbed shot hit the crossbar.

Real Madrid concentrated hard in the second half and sycronised their movements in defence and attack, making extraordinary efforts to thwart Espanyol's counterattacks.

The Whites continued to have most of the chances on goal in the game. Adebayor came close to netting a second strike twice more, but Kameni defeated him on both counts. Espanyol didn't have many chances, but Adan proved to be a solid keeper, clearing all the shots that were on target.

Real Madrid made a great impression and took three very important points that keep them five points behind the leaders. They will now concentrate on defeating Levante next week at the Bernabeu.

Espanyol - 0  Real Madrid - 1

Real Maintain Bernabeu Record

Ronaldo

Not since the 1985/86 season have Real Madrid remained perfect at home through 22 weeks of La Liga action

No team this season has been able to leave the Santiago Bernabeu with points in hand. Real Madrid have won all 18 matches played at home and have scored 61 goals in doing so. The Whites haven’t lost a game on their home turf in ten months; a feat last accomplished by Luis Molowny’s men in 1985/86. That same year Real Madrid ended up winning all their matches at the Bernabeu and conquered La Liga and the UEFA Cup.

Madridistas have been privy to excellence at the Santiago Bernabeu this season. Whether it has been in La Liga (11), the Champions League (3) or the Copa del Rey (4), Real Madrid have had little trouble taking care of business on their home turf.

Not since the 1985/86 season have Real Madrid remained perfect at home through 22 weeks of La Liga action. With twelve league wins and three UEFA Cup victories under their belts, Luis Molowny and company went on to win both competitions and didn’t lose until a League Cup match on 18 May 1986.

The current streak, which now is in its tenth month, began last season. Not since Week 31 of the 2009/10 season has a team left Santiago Bernabeu Stadium rewarded for its football.

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