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Barcelona holds a 4-3 aggregate edge in the second half of their return trip to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, thanks to the illusionist Lionel Messi setting up Pedro for the initial score and then a blistering strike by Dani Alves off a free kick rebound. The goals set up a 4-1 aggregate edge that would have pretty much eliminated Los Blancos from any Copa del Rey dreams if not for two quick scores to equalize in the second half. [GOLTV/ESPN Deportes] More »
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Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal, Barcelona claimed the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Madrid on a Eric Abidal goal set up by Lionel Messi—a goal that came ten minutes after Real's Pepe stomped on Messi's hand in an act that sent commentator Ray Hudson into apoplexy. [GOLTV] More »
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It's a Copa del Rey quarterfinal matchup between Real Madrid and Barcelona, one on which Cristiano Ronaldo made an early mark with this nifty goal between the legs of Barça's José Manuel Pinto. [GOLTV] More »
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Spain's all-time record scorer David Villa will be off the pitch for months after suffering this nasty broken leg during Barcelona's FIFA Club World Cup match against Qatari side Al-Sadd. More »
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Didn't take long for the reigning Best Club Team In The World to bounce back from an unexpected loss to Getafe over the weekend. Three days, actually. Against patsy Rayo Valllecano. More »
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"The reason [Frederic] Kanoute got so worked up was that after Sevilla worked so hard to hold Barca scoreless for 90 minutes, they were awarded a very soft penalty when Andres Iniesta went down in the box. Kanoute earned his first booking when he knocked the ball off the penalty spot as Lionel Messi prepared to take the kick just before he took his attempt at mind games a little too far with the Cesc attack. It also proved completely unnecessary because Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas completed his performance of a lifetime by saving Messi's shot to retain a point for his side." [Dirty Tackle] More »
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Your morning roundup for Oct. 16, the day we learned that people can actually be crueler to others than we'd imagined they could. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. More »
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Your morning roundup for Oct. 2, the day we mull parole eligibility for cannibal ladies. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. More »
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Coming off a week that saw them muddle their way to a pair of draws, Barcelona defeated Osasuna 8-0 in La Liga action today. Lionel Messi had a hat trick, David Villa added a pair and Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and an Osasuna own goal rounded out the scoring. Unfair, the talent disparity in that league is. More »
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Extra time in today's Spanish Supercup second leg went like this: Barcelona was up 3-2 on Lionel Messi's wonderful second goal of the match. So, Real Madrid defender Marcelo decided it would be a good idea to take a cheap shot at just-got-into-the-match Barca noob Cesc Fabregas. That's when the benches cleared and shoving, throat grabbing and whatnot ensued. At one point, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho seemed to aggressively pinch (or possibly deliver a wet willy to) an assistant Barcelona coach and got a head shove in return. More »
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This was Marco Fabian's second goal for Chivas de Guadalajara in its friendly vs. FC Barcelona tonight. In the end, it was the game winner, but Chivas would score another pair for good measure. More »
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With his Barcelona side down a goal in the 70th minute against Man U in D.C. tonight, Thiago took a shot from about 20 yards out. It went upper 90 with the quickness. Poor David De Gea, the new Reds keeper, moved about a twentieth of a foot before the goal netting snapped back. More »
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Your morning roundup for July 30, the day we're provided with living proof that 32-year-old women are, in fact, into 83-year-old men. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. More »
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On Tuesday, Yahoo's soccer blog posted a seemingly innocuous article on Lionel Messi's loyalty to Barca. "When I eventually pass on, I will only play ghost football at Barcelona. I am happy there. No amount of spirit money will tempt me," he supposedly said. More »
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Lionel Messi has never really known a scandal in his young life, and so it is about time that the Argentinian tabloids create one for him: Libre reported this week that the 23-year-old had attended a party with "sexo, alcohol y cumbia." ESPN's Off The Ball blog has Messi's reaction to the accusations: More »
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Your morning roundup for May 29, the day Roger Ebert inexplicably gave two thumbs down to those who blatantly allowed two eyes to check out two foreign boobs. More »
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Final score: Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1. In retrospect, the game ended the moment Lionel Messi seized the Best Player In The World chatter and made it reality. More »
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Best I can tell from the handy 'Countdown to UEFA Champions League Wembley London Final 2011,' the FC Barcelona v. Manchester United game should kick-off at precisely 2:45 p.m. eastern. It's a match between the two best club teams on earth, worthy of not only U.S. network coverage but a day when there are no pesky distractions involving men throwing balls through hoops or skating around on ice hitting rubber with wood. More »
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Your morning roundup for May 26, the day after Disney realized that it probably wasn't the best of ideas to trademark American heroes for profit. More »
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Your morning roundup for May 12, the day old coot Yogi Berra will come up with something witty to say about turning 82, even though he's only 81. More »
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Real Madrid's official website has produced a short video purporting to show that Pepe didn't deserve his red card in yesterday's Clásico, complete with zooms, isos, and super slow mo shots. They've also cited the learned opinions of the legends of the game, like Rio Ferdinand and, er, Chad Ochocinco. More »
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Lots of really awesome and famous soccer players will play soccer against each other in Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. Cristiano Ronaldo will wow. Lionel Messi will wow. And the two team coaches, er, managers, will definitely wow. They always do. Sometimes the action on the sidelines is just as entertaining as the wow on the pitch. Above is a little taste of Pep Guardiola giving Jose Mourinho the high hat, which is not an easy thing to do to The Special One. More »
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Your morning roundup for April 23, the day we hear about how a Tennessee woman's heart stopped beating for five minutes as a Lady Gaga tribute. More »
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As we alluded to earlier, Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos dropped the team's fresh Copa del Rey trophy off the top of a promenading bus in Madrid last night. Just hours after the team earned the title for the first time in 18 years (thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's header against Barcelona), Ramos let go. The front wheel of the bus ran over the trophy once, and it is "not in good shape," according to a team spokeswoman. And so we remember Ramos and el Copa in tiempos más felices. More »
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The Spanish Superbowl enters its second stage today in Valencia. This one is for the championship of the Copa del Rey. On Saturday, Real Madrid managed a shorthanded come-from-behind 1-1 draw in a league game. Over the next two weeks, the teams will play twice more to decide a Champions League semifinal. Today's game, however, is about swarthy Iberian pride. And don't the coaches know it. Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola engaged in a little sideline jousting while remarking on the last match, with Guardiola's disdain coming out ahead: More »
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Lionel Messi has always been seen as the exception to the rule that to be a proper good footballer you needed to be a bit of a 'orrible git. You needed to like head-butting people (Zidane), make well-late tackles (Scholes), be outrageously arrogant (CR7), shag prozzies (Wayne), or just do loads of drugs (Maradona). Messi was simply a nice little lad who liked playing football really well. More »
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Here we were thinking VCU fans were having "riots" last week, but they're nothing compared to Panathinaikos BC fans. In this European basketball game last Thursday against Barcelona, Greek basketball fans torched their own stadium. Yes, what you see above is a basketball game — not a race riot. More »
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Technically, Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi dove a few times, in a literal sense, as he was hip-checked, tripped up and otherwise impeded by lesser talents. Problem is, Messi missed several opportunities to flail about to pad his stat sheet. He is the Best Soccer Player On Earth. More »
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The most amusing thing about this jokey dubbed-over video is that it's probably accurate. Ibrahim Affelay is from Holland, the new signing by Barcelona, potentially a good one and clearly not versed in Catalan. Is nobody studying Dutch in grade school anymore? More »
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Last night Barcelona looked like one of the truly great football teams, which got The Spoiler to thinking: how many of them would make it into an all-time Barcelona XI? More »
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This photo of Barcelona's Gerard Pique and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been making the rounds, with the expected chatter. Ibra had this to say to a reporter: "Come to my house with your sister and see if I'm queer." [via Dirty Tackle] More »
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Of course, the law dictates that you can't just shoot people in the face for getting on your nerves any more... More »
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During the second set of the French Open, Roger Federer was hassled by a person waving a Barcelona flag, who somehow managed to make his way onto the Roland Garros court and get all up in Federer's face. More »
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Barcelona is on the road to face Real Madrid in El Clasico, the marquee match on this weekend's schedule. Plus a full slate of action in the English Premier League. More »
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Once again the eyes of a soccer fans across the world will be on Spain as Barcelona and Real Madrid square off at Camp Nou in El Classico (Spanish for "huge fucking game"). More »
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