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Jose Mourinho is facing failure for the first time in his managerial career after it emerged Real Madrid’s hierarchy are growing increasingly impatient with the endless swirl of controversy generated by the Portuguese and are prepared to end the Special One’s reign at the Bernabeu if his second season at the club does not bring tangible success.
The former Chelsea manager was once more at the centre of the storm on Wednesday night as his Real side lost the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona, a result marred by a mass brawl on the Nou Camp pitch in which the Portuguese appeared to eye-gouge the European champions’ assistant manager Tito Vilanova. Mourinho then proceeded to label his conquerors “a small club” in a frenzied outburst after the game.

Such antics have long been associated with Mourinho in his spells at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, but it is believed Real’s president Florentino Pérez is unimpressed by actions he perceives as damaging to the club’s reputation.

The notoriously implacable construction tycoon is likely to tolerate them only as long as Mourinho is successful, raising the possibility of the 48 year-old being sacked for the first time in his illustrious career should he fail to topple Pep Guardiola’s side either domestically or in Europe this season. (continue reading…)

MADRID — He has a contract with one of soccer’s biggest clubs and the same long, floppy hair and nickname Leo of his idol, Lionel Messi.

It may take awhile, however, before Leonel Angel Coira can match the wondrous Messi: He is 7 years old.

Real Madrid said Monday it signed the Argentine prodigy to its youth academy after seeing him in tryouts. He will start training with Madrid’s youth team Sept 6.

Coira hopes to follow the path set by Messi, a countryman who joined Barcelona from the Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys as a teenager and has gone on to win the World Player of the Year award two times.

“(My) dream is to meet Messi, play in the first division with Madrid and for Argentina in the World Cup,” Coira told the Spanish newspaper ABC.

The signing underscores the tactics of top teams scooping up fresh talent as early as possible to avoid paying huge transfer fees when their potential blossoms. And the Spanish soccer power didn’t have to look as far as Argentina to find this gem.

Coira’s family moved to Madrid three years ago after his father, Miguel, was offered a job in the Spanish capital. Miguel Coira coaches a local youth club where Leonel played and first caught the eye of a Madrid scout.

The 7-year-old was then invited to a trial with Madrid and signed a one-year contract with the club’s youngest team, the “Benjamin” squad, made up of mostly under-9 players.

Madrid reportedly made the push to sign Coira because Atletico Madrid was also pursuing the youngster.

“After tryouts with both clubs, he felt more comfortable with (Real) Madrid,” Miguel Coira told ABC. “I trust the club a lot. I know they will take good care of him.”

Club spokesman Juan Tapiador said Coira wasn’t the youngest player ever to sign with Madrid, although he couldn’t name anyone younger. He said players of any age can join Real Madrid, with one stipulation.

“They only have to be a standout,” he said. “We look for something different, that quality or talent that makes them stand out from the rest.”

Signing children is nothing new in soccer, where almost every professional club has an extensive youth academy — like Barcelona’s famous “La Masia,” where dozens of young players live and train from the age of 11. Coira even looks downright old compared to the 18-month-old toddler that Dutch club VVV Venlo signed to a largely symbolic 10-year contract this year after seeing his ability to kick a soccer ball.

While many of the young talents never develop into professional players, clubs are constantly hoping to strike gold with the next Messi, who has already helped Barcelona win 15 trophies, including three Champions League titles and five Spanish league championships.

Miguel Coira said his family receives no financial compensation from Madrid, but the team does “pay for transport.”

“The contract is for one year and if everything works out it can be renewed for another,” he said. “When he is 16 years old, he can play in the first division and then the terms are different.”

The Real Madrid youth squad will play in a league of seven-a-side teams in Madrid, which also includes Real’s cross-city rival, Atletico. The youth squad usually has about 18 players split into two teams. Every year, the club reviews each player’s development and a decision is made on whether he should continue.

Madrid has dozens of scouts on its payroll scouring the capital for the next great star, and many more across Spain and other countries.

“It is an important network for capturing talent,” Tapiador said, adding that scouts draw up reports on possible targets and confer with youth coaches on which players to approach and possibly sign.

Goalkeeper and senior team captain Iker Casillas, for example, began training with Madrid’s youth system when he was 9.

Last week, Coira told the Argentine sports daily Ole that his favorite move is the “cano” — a difficult dribbling maneuver in which the ball is passed between the legs of an opponent. He prefers to “provide the pass” rather than score.

Coira has a Facebook page featuring photos of his visit to Real Madrid. He also has an older brother who plays for the Spanish team Real Valladolid.

Juanjo Montaner, a spokesman for the Spanish professional players association, told The Associated Press that Coira is not a member of the group and there is no organization that represents the interests of youth players.

“Obviously, he is not affiliated,” he said. “He must be in the top three divisions, and no child is.”

Nine minutes were all Real Madrid needed on Wednesday night to take care of business and leave the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie against Levante all but in the bag. Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo both notched hat-tricks as the Whites earned their 13th win in 13 attempts at the Santiago Bernabeu this season.

Real Madrid wanted to strike soon and Mourinho lined up the best eleven possible in order to do so. Five minutes in, Benzema managed to steal the ball heading into the final third of the pitch and after several step-overs to lose his markers the Frechman found the back of Munua’s net with  a powerful strike. With Levante still in a state of shock, Cristiano Ronaldo forced a turnover of his own, broke into the box and found Ozil, who put Real in control after several nice moves.

Down but not out, Levante went on the offensive only to see the strategy backfire. Cerra misfired on a clearance on 31’ and the ball landed perfectly in front of Benzema to fire home and put Real up 3-0. The visitors fell apart, and one minute before halftime, Benzema capitalized on another defender’s mistake, made his way into the box and found Cristiano wide open to push the ball into the net. (continue reading…)

Barcelona guaranteed they will go into Spain’s mid-winter break as leaders of La Liga after a thumping 5-1 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol on Saturday night.

Pedro Rodriquez and David Villa scored doubles with midfielder Xavi also on target in the 10th successive win for the all-conquering champions which left them five points clear of Real Madrid at the top.

Real are at home to Sevilla on Sunday as they bid for a win to keep pace with their arch-rivals.

Barcelona went into the match at the Cornella-El Prat stadium expecting a tough battle as Espanyol had compiled a flawless seven wins in a row at home in the league.

But once Pedro had shot them in front after 19 minutes, set up by Lionel Messi, they never looked back.

Midfielder dynamo Xavi gave Pep Guardiola’s side a 2-0 lead before the break and the pattern of dominance continued in the second half. (continue reading…)

Pep Guardiola was proud of his players’ performance at the Nou Camp on Monday night and claimed: “we had a good time tonight and that makes all our hard work worthwhile”.

Speaking to a packed press room after his team’s demolition of Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola expressed his satisfaction as he chalked up his fifth win against Madrid and explained that for him the key to the win was his insistence on maintaining the team’s trademark attacking identity.

Time to enjoy the win
Pep Guardiola was happiest with “how we did it - that makes us proud. Now just let us sit back and enjoy that win - we’ll reflect and look at the whole game, but now it would be wrong not to revel in the win. Games like that happen very rarely indeed”.

True to club’s traditions

Guardiola stressed that the win was very much in the Barça tradition:“Cruyff and Rexach were the first to get that way of playing started. That’s the track to take and those of us who have come after them must be loyal to that. It’s an idea that we shouldn’t betray – it has been implanted in this club for a long time now”. (continue reading…)

Javier Mascherano has experienced games between big rivals in the three countries he has played and even an Argentina v Brazil. So he is well groomed for Barça v Madrid.

Mascherano’s first taste of such a game was none other than River Plate v Boca Juniors. Having come up through the ranks of the Millonarios, from 2003 to 2005 he got first hand experience of the Buenos Aires derby. “River v Boca were the most special clásicos I have played so far. It’s where I was born and bred as a footballer” he said.

Brazil and England
He then moved to Brazil, to join Corinthians, where in 2005/06 he faced their big city rivals, Palmeiras, three times. Then in England, he played six games for Liverpool against their northwest enemies, Manchester United. “They perhaps got more media attention than the others, but there’s a lot of rivalry because the cities are so close together and because they are the two biggest clubs in the Premier”.

Lucky man

Now Javier Mascherano is preparing for the biggest match in Spain. “Everyone is talking about it, because of the quality of the players, because the teams are playing so well, but we then players tend to forget how lucky we are to have everybody watching us … I just want to enjoy it as much as I can”.

The winger struck twice in each half, with his fourth goal coming from a 55th-minute penalty, with Gonzalo Higuain and Mesut Ozil also netting.
Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show with a four-goal haul as Real Madrid walloped Racing Santander 6-1 at home to restore their one-point La Liga lead.

“I am really happy because I have never scored four goals,” said Ronaldo.

Earlier, a Lionel Messi brace helped Barcelona beat Real Zaragoza 2-0 as they temporarily assumed top spot.

Messi’s double, however, was eclipsed at the Bernabeu at the end of a week when Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney had been linked with a January transfer window reunion with Portuguese winger Ronaldo. (continue reading…)

Real Madrid  boss Jose Mourinho has revealed he would be interested in signing Wayne Rooney and partnering him with former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo if the striker does leave Old Trafford.

The Portuguese tactician, speaking after Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Milan in the Champions League, conceded that Rooney is likely to stay with the English giants.

But Mourinho was quick to remark that a host of top clubs would be interested in securing the English superstar should he be allowed to look for another club, which United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed is the striker’s wish in explosive revelations on Tuesday.

“My thoughts are he will stay,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“He probably wants to leave for some reasons, but I believe he belongs to Man Utd, he belongs to Man Utd fans, he belongs to Old Trafford. (continue reading…)

Arsenal’s chances of signing Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz could founder on Barcelona’s search for back-up to Victor Valdes.

The Gunners’ Spanish scouts have been impressed with Iraizoz’s consistent displays as Arsene Wenger mulls his troublesome goalkeeping situation.

Fulham No 1 Mark Schwarzer looks most likely to sign on at the Emirates Stadium in January, but the Craven Cottage hierarchy resisted all bids in the summer and may dig their heels in again when the transfer window reopens.

Iraizoz, 29, is in the final year of his contract and could be available for a knockdown fee, which has also attracted Barca.

There is concern at the Nou Camp that the only quality cover for Valdes is 34-year-old Jose Manuel Pinto, whose days at the club are numbered.

The champions of Spain are interested in brilliant Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea, but a deal for the 19-year-old would be expensive and competition comes in the shape of Manchester United.

Rather than buying a direct rival for 28-year-old Valdes, reports in Spain say Barca will instead turn to either Iraizoz or Real Sociedad’s Chile international Claudio Bravo as back-up for their first choice.