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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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A major blunder by Barça's Victor Valdes let Real Madrid's Karim Benzema sneak one into the goal as scoring in one of the most-anticipated matches in recent memory got underway less than a minute into the contest. [ESPN Deportes] More »
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After Lionel Messi's hat trick Tuesday—his second consecutive match with at least three goals—the world turned to Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo for a response. He delivered early in RM's Champions League match at Lyon, with a blistering free kick that had the Lyonnais seeking shelter and OL keeper Hugo Lloris diving weakly at a kick nearly past the goal line before he could react. More »
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Start this one at the 0:23 mark. You'll see the cheeky celebration, then the goal. Actually, it's a filthy good goal, too. Here's the first part of the hat trick, and here's the second. More »
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The Real Madrid star at least was honest last week, when he expressed why he feels opposing fans heckle him, thus reinforcing those fans' notion of him as an arrogant prick. Here, he shows his appreciation for all the love, though he later was less than forthright by lamely trying to explain it away as mere clowning around with a teammate. But come on, Cristiano. We know you think those poor, ugly saps who can't play the game envy you because they're losers whose lives just plain suck. Show them you mean it and stand by it. More »
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A year ago, Levante earned a draw against Real Madrid, the best, wealthiest, handomest team in all of La Liga. It was a big moment for the Levante Granotes (that means frogs): Striker Rafa Jordá likened the 0-0 decision to "chewing the face off your girlfriend." (We'll blame shaky translation for that one.) Winning, however, would have been something else entirely—"like kissing Miss Spain," according to head coach Luis García. More »
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"I think that because I am rich, handsome and a great player people are envious of me. I don't have any other explanation." [Guardian] More »
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Your morning roundup for Sept. 10, a day when it's apparently illegal for wannabe vampires to bite homeless men outside the neighborhood Hooters. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. 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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The financial situation in Europe is so screwed up that soccer players are being used as collateral. Bankia, a troubled seven-month-old Spanish banking group, is trying to shore up capital by going public and getting a big loan from the European Central Bank, the EU's equivalent of the Federal Reserve. But the ECB isn't going to offer a large amount of credit for nothing. So Bankia's collateral package included the most expensive player in the sport's history: More »
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Last night, Real Madrid closed out an undefeated American tour with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. The MLS side ceded those goals early. The scores were impressive, the type you'd expect from a world powerhouse. More »
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Your morning roundup for July 23, the day after we learned that high-school tennis coaches really might want to stay away from strip-club ownership. More »
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Your morning roundup for July 9, the day Detroit teaches us to respect the crackheads who walk among us. More »
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After knocking in these two free kicks against Villarreal yesterday, Ronaldo upped his goal tally to 38 on the season, tying the record set by Athletic Bilbao's Telmo Zarra in 1951 and matched in 1990 by Real Madrid's Mexican striker Hugo Sanchez. Ronaldo also opened up a 14-point lead in the Golden Shoe rankings. He has a chance to break the Spanish record next weekend in Real Madrid's final match of the season, against Almería. More »
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This one's for all the skittles. Real Madrid must overcome a two-goal deficit in Barcelona to get into the Champions League final. No easy task, not when Barcelona defends by keeping possession. The clásicos have been oddly disappointing so far, as Brian Phillips points out at Slate: More »
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Your morning roundup for May 1, the day after Seth Meyers said Weekend Update stuff to people's faces. 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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FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, unarguably the best soccer player on the face of the Earth, scored two goals within 11 minutes during Wednesday's first-leg UEFA Champions League semifinal match against Real Madrid. 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 24, a day Gabrielle Giffords continues struggling to recover, but recovering she is. 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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Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey over blood rival Barcelona 1-0 on an extra-time goal by pretty boy Cristiano Ronaldo. Great, chippy game settled on a header in the 103rd minute. As it stands, Real now leads the four-pronged El Clasico 1-0-1. 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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Big game's about to start. (GolTV's pregame show starts at 3 p.m. eastern; game itself an hour later). FC Barcelona's beaten up enough on defense to give Real Madrid a legitimate shot at avenging their 5-0 throttling from earlier in the season. More »
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Your morning roundup for April 15, the day after Walter Breuning died of natural causes. He was 114 years and 205 days old. More »
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Two games on this afternoon: Shakhtar Donetsk takes on Barcelona at Donbass Arena, and Manchester United hosts Chelsea at Old Trafford Stadium. They both start at 2:45, and with Chelsea down a goal on aggregate, they must win to advance. But Wayne Rooney, threat to already-cursing children everywhere, is allowed to play in Champions League games , and he's totally ready to be martyred. The Barca game might not have the same top billing, but it is Barca, and it is a warm-up for a potential semi-final match with Real Madrid — a game that makes our own Brian Hickey "tingle inside with joy." Enjoy. More »
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Your morning roundup for April 3, the day it became clear that 16-year-old girls at meth labs hope you have rabies. More »
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Your morning roundup for Feb. 23, the day Rahm Emanuel starts cursing at the phrase "staggering unfunded pension liabilities." More »
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Seriously, what is it about Real Madrid? EVERYONE hates them. More »
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This post, written by Richard Anderson, is republished with permission from The Spoiler. Go there often if you like soccer stuff. More »
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When you sign Cristiano Ronaldo, you don't just get an oily gentleman who looks like he belongs on the Jersey Shore, you also get goals — absolutely loads of them. More »
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This post, written by Josh Burt, is republished with permission from The Spoiler. Go there often if you like soccer stuff. More »
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The next few times Cristiano Ronaldo scores a goal and starts doing his "I'm great, me!" celebration shtick, look closely. What's wrong with the picture? Oh yeah, that's it. More »
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This post, written by Josh Burt, is republished with permission from The Spoiler. Go there often if you like soccer stuff. More »
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Those of you who study Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho closely will have noticed that, when he isn't chewing gum, yelling, or shooting smouldering looks at people, he likes to write a lot of stuff in his Real-branded notepad during matches. More »
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Infamous pitch invader Jimmy Jump—not to be confused with the Laurence Fishburne chraracter from the Schooly D-heavy King of New York—claimed another scalp last night during the titanic clash between AC Milan and Real Madrid in the Champions League. More »
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