“We have a lot of players who have played finals at top level we know how to deal with the situation even though we have only one player who has played in the World Cup final. Schweinsteiger was keen to higlight Mascherano’s challenge on Arjen Robben in the dying minutes of Argentina’s 0-0 draw with Holland i nthe semi-final. Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has called Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano “the leader of a pack of wolves,” as his country prepares to take on Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday night. 12/07/2014 The 29-year-old insisted that Germany are not feeling any pressure though, and that they are confident of the challenge which awaits them at the Maracana. “We have to remain calm, be patient,” the Bayern Munich player said. “Right there he demonstrated his attitude and how he is far he will go to defend his country,” he added. “We only think of one thing – to get the job done. When the whistle is blown the head will only have to think about playing football.” Upd. at 21:25 “Argentine deserve to be in the final, they have world-class players: [Lionel] Messi, [Angel] Di Maria, [Sergio] Agüero and Mascherano, who is the leader of a pack of wolves.” CEST Sport EN “I don’t think that we have any pressure,” he continued. 
Atletico’s Koke a huge doubt for the Madrid derby
CEST Atletico go into the derby on the back of two successive defeats, but they had a good record against their neighbours last season in the league. Diego Simeone should have the rest of his squad available to him, including Fernando Torres, who trained in the gym on Thursday but returned to normal training on Friday. The midfielder is recovering from a muscle injury picked up in the win against Eibar. He has missed the last three games — against Getafe and Villarreal in the league and Benfica in the Champions League. EFE
02/10/2015 Upd. at 22:18 Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke trained alone on Friday in the 15 minutes which were open to the press and he remains a doubt for this Sunday’s derby against Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. 
Gerard Pique misses Spain training and is a doubt for Ukraine
Upd. at 19:49 Gerard Pique didn’t train with the Spanish national team on Sunday afternoon as they prepared to face Urkraine on Monday. Sport EN He’s not yet been ruled out of the Ukraine game, but he is a major doubt and it’s unlikely he will play given the circumstances of the fixture. 11/10/2015 The Barcelona defender played 90 minutes against Luxembourg as La Roja secured their place at Euro 2016 with a 4-0 win on Friday. 
Barça’s Marc Bartra is fit, though, and is expected to continue in the middle of the back four. Vicente del Bosque will definitely be without Sergio Ramos, who pulled out of the squad last week with a shoulder injury. CEST There’s not yet been any official confirmation, but reports suggest Pique has a muscle problem and didn’t want to take any risks, given Spain have now qualified. 
Isco and Saul chopped as Del Bosque confirms Spain squad
Midfielders: Bruno, Koke, Busquets, Thiago, Iniesta, Silva, Pedro, Fabregas The La Roja coach had already named 19 players earlier on Tuesday, leaving just four places up for grabs for the Real Madrid and Atletico players who had not joined up with the squad yet due to their participation in the Champions League final. Forwards: Aduriz, Nolito, Morata, Lucas Vazquez. 31/05/2016 Ruben Moreno Saul has been one of the revelations of the season. The Atletico midfielder has been decisive during key moments and has shown a clear progression in his game, catching the attention of the biggest clubs in Europe. Upd. at 23:49 Meanwhile, Isco’s campaign has been slightly below what was expected. Neither with Rafa Benitez nor with Zinedine Zidane could the Madrid midfielder find any continuity and he has not demonstrated the same quality as in previous seasons. Therefore, Del Bosque’s 23-man squad for Euro 2016 is: Vicente del Bosque has given his list of 23 names for next month’s European Championships in France. The final places have been filled by Sergio Ramos, Lucas Vazquez, Juanfran and Koke, meaning Isco and Saul Niguez will miss out on the tournament. Defenders: Pique, Alba, Juanfran, Bartra, Ramos, Azpilicueta, San Jose, Bellerin CEST Goalkeepers: Casillas, De Gea, Rico
Guiseppe Rossi signs for Celta Vigo from Fiorentina
“I’m very excited to wear this shirt, I hope that I can help the team as much as possible,” added the Italian striker. Sport EN Upd. at 19:42 Giuseppe Rossi has joined Celta Vigo from Fiorentina. The forward was on loan at Levante last year and previously played in Spain with Villarreal between 2007 and 2013, scoring 80 goals in 181 games. 29/08/2016
He has joined them on a one-year deal with the option to add another year at the end of that period. Rossi said he was “very happy” to sign for Celta “who had a very good season last year”. CEST
Spain 3-0 Italy: La Roja edge towards World Cup with dominant win
@jordigil Isco scored twice as Spain beat Italy 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday to move one step closer to securing their place at next summer’s World Cup in Russia. Björn Kuipers (Holandés). TA: Verratti (4′), Bonucci (12′) ESP De Gea, Carvajal, Piqué, Ramos, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Koke, Iniesta (Morata, 71′), Isco (Villa, 87′), Silva, Asensio (Saúl, 78′) 3-0 Spain’s dominance continued after the break and they got their third goal via substitute Morata. Italia Jordi Gil Árbitro Goles ITA 02/09/2017 Buffon, Darmian, Barzagli, Bonucci, Spinazzola, De Rossi, Verratti, Candreva (Bernardeschi, 69′), Insigne, Immobile (Gabbiadini, 77′), Belotti (Éder, 69′) MATCH FACTS FASE CLASIFICACIÓN RUSIA 2018 Santiago Bernabéu, 73.628 espectadores Morata had a second goal ruled out for offside, before David Villa, back in the national team despite playing his football in the MLS, was handed a late cameo, much to the delight of the supporters. Alvaro Morata scored the third in the second half and there was a late return to international football for David Villa as La Roja moved three points clear at the top of Group G. CEST Upd. at 22:48 1-0, Isco (13′); 2-0, Isco (40′); 3-0, Morata (76′) España se acerca al Mundial con exhibición al ‘tiqui-taca’ Isco opened the scoring with a fine free-kick in the 14th minute after Asensio had been brought down, although Gianluigi Buffon could have done better. IN SPORT.ES It was a tactic which very much worked and Spain dominated the first half, with Marco Verratti overrun in Italy’s midfield. Lopetegui picked a midfield-heavy team, with the front three combining David Silva, Marco Asensio and Isco. Behind them were Barcelona duo Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets and Atletico’s Koke. Incidencias España Chelsea’s new front man played a one-two with Sergio Ramos, with the defender returning the ball perfectly for a tap-in from two years. With just three games to go, startign with Liechtenstein this week and followed by Albania and Israel in October, Julen Lopetegui’s men have put themselves in a strong position. The Real Madrid man added his second just before the break, ducking inside before rifling low into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. 
Barcelona player ratings after 4-2 win over Tottenham at Wembley
IN SPORT.ES Sergio Busquets 8 – Total sacrifice for the team. Luckily stayed on after appearing to suffer an early injury, had a great game. 03/10/2018 Upd. on 04/10/2018 at 11:55 CEST Marc-Andre ter Stegen 6 – Gives huge calm to the team, although they didn’t help him that much and could do nothing about either of the two goals. Jordi Alba 7 – Read the movement of Messi and beat Lloris to set up the first goal for Coutinho. A huge problem for Tottenham to deal with. Nelson Semedo 4 – Chose to avoid adventures in attack to concentrate on defence, however he played with doubts and is in poor form. Beaten by Kane for his goal. Clement Lenglet 7 – Had bad luck deflecting Lamela’s shot in, but otherwise was good beside Pique, reliable. Rafinha 6 El 1×1 del Barça ante el Tottenham Luis Suarez 7 – Even though he didn’t score, his work helped his team-mates succeed. Some good dummies to help create goals without technically getting the assist. Thomas Vermaelen 5 SUBS Lionel Messi 10 – A spectacle without pause. London saw The Best in action. Scored two goals and set up the first. Played several more superb passes. Ivan Rakitic 7 – Started off cold but changed some details and scored a sensational volley to put Barca 2-0 up. Worked tirelessly. Arthur Melo 7 – Valverde opted for the touch and possession player and he helped Barca move the ball about well. There’s no player more similar to Xavi. Philippe Coutinho 6 – Opened the scoring and set up Rakitic, good attacking influence, but still has more to add to Barca’s overall play. Arturo Vidal 6 Gerard Pique 7 – Started shakily with bringing the ball out, but found his footing and he needed to. Little he could do about the goals.
Messi and Suarez toast Barcelona’s manita against Real Madrid
IN SPORT.ES 29/10/2018 The Barça striker celebrated the goals with his kids and later relaxed with his friend over a glass of wine, as his teammate revealed on social media. “Celebrating the triumph and the three impressive goals!!! Congratulations to everyone,” wrote Messi, sharing the photo of him and Suarez. Upd. on 30/10/2018 at 14:32 CET Messi y Suárez brindan por la manita al Madrid
Sport.es Suarez scored a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 5-1 win over Madrid, with Messi in the stand with his son Thiago — where two of Suarez’s three children (his third was born last week) were also sat, Delfina and Benjamin. A few hours after the spectacular triumph over Real Madrid in the Clasico, Lionel Messi published a photograph on his Instagram account with his teammate and friend Luis Suarez. The two were toasting the win with a glass of wine. This time, neither player’s partner, neither Antonela nor Sofia, were at the ground. Sofia has just given birth to Lautaro, who Suarez dedicated his first goal to with a T-shirt.
Karim Benzema was on the verge of re-joining Lyon last season
Rubén Hidalgo 12/03/2019 CET Upd. at 19:10 The impossible XI ‘The Sun’ thinks Real Madrid will have in 2020 IN SPORT.ES Those bad moments with Madrid, where he was accused of lacking a ruthlessness in front of goal, opened the door for a move away last season. Florentino Perez was open to letting the French man leave and Jean-Michel Aulas, Lyon’s president, told ‘Tout Le Sport’ that conversations over a deal took place. “We spoke with him last season because he had decided to leave but we couldn’t agree personal terms. Of course it would have been great to have brought him back home.” If it wasn’t for his high wage demands, Benzema could be playing under Bruno Genesio today. Benzema se planteó volver a Lyon el año pasado RELATED STORIES Karim Benzema was close to re-joining his former side, Olympique Lyonnais, last season. The Real Madrid striker swapped France for Spain 10 years ago but his performances have often been criticised. In the last few seasons he’s been singled out for not being good enough, despite registering a decent goal return.
Chelsea edge past Slavia Prague to fix their date with Frankfurt
Advertisement 85w9NBA Finals | Brooklyn Vs1w6Wingsuit rodeo📽Sindre Ec9lw( IG: @_aubreyfisher @imraino ) 40cpWould you ever consider trying this?😱ytn20Can your students do this? 🌚w7ld8Roller skating! Powered by Firework Chelsea were victorious against Slavia Prague in the Europa League quarter final. The Blues will now face the German side Frankfurt in the semifinal. Frankfurt staged a brilliant comeback in the quarter final against Benfica. They were 4-2 behind after the end of the first leg. However, they won the match with a margin of 2-0 at home.Advertisement The Blues were also holding a lead of 1-0 after the first leg against Slavia Prague. Things were looking too easy for the Blues in the first half of the second leg. Within 27th minute of the match, they scored four goals. Pedro opened the scoresheet for the Blues at the 5th minute of the match. Simon Deli’s own goal helped them to double the lead. Olivier Giroud scored his 10th goal of the campaign at the 17th minute of the match.Advertisement The away side tried to make a comeback in the match with a goal of Tomas Soucek. However, Pedro scored another to make it 4-1 for the Blues at the half time mark. In the second half of the match, things changed drastically. Slavia Prague scored two goals in the second half and they were sensing to make a comeback. However, the Blues were able to hold the lead and they went to the semifinal with an aggregate scoreline of 5-3 in their favour.Liverpool take down Chelsea 2-0 in title race crunch fixtureAdvertisement Advertisement