Just Real Madrid News

It could not have got much worse for Real Madrid last night, as Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo were both sent off and Real were beaten by their fierce city rivals Atletico. The fact that the Copa Del rey final was held at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium only increased the misery.

Ronaldo, who else, had given Real an early lead, but Atletico were tough and organised and it was their main star, Radamel Falcao that brought his team back into it. The Colombian used all his strength and guile to hold off two Real players and then produced a perfect pass to Diego Costa. Lopez got his hand to Costa’s shot but only tipped it onto the post and in.  ......Read more...

The Spanish cup final tonight is the last chance for Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho to finish the season in a positive way and they are favourites to do so. Tonight’s opponents and fierce city rivals Atletico Madrid are determined to spoil that, however, and their Argentinean coach Diego Simeone has got his players believing.

Atletico have not lost many games this season, especially at home, but they have lost both La Liga games against Real. Despite this, and the fact that tonight’s final is at the Bernabeu, Simeone knows that anything can happen in a one-off match.  ......Read more...

There seems to be all sorts of things going on at Real Madrid at the minute, with different rumours every day about Mourinho, the players and who will go, who will stay and who could be coming to join them. Despite this and the selection problems caused by injury and disagreements between coach and players, Real Madrid are still seen as nailed on favourites to win the Copa Del Rey final on Friday night.  ......Read more...

The question for Jose Mourinho to answer is whether he really wants to leave Real Madrid having just won the Copa Del Rey, or is it more important to him to assert his authority. We will know on Friday when Real Madrid and their city rivals Atletico run out onto the Bernabeu pitch for the Spanish cup final.

Mourinho publicly slammed his Portuguese central defender Pepe after Pepe said that Iker Casillas deserved more respect than he was getting. Mourinho replied by saying that Pepe was only upset because he had lost his place to the 20-year old French defender Rafael Varane.  ......Read more...

There is still almost ho hope that Real Madrid can defend the Spanish Primera Liga title, but at least the players made sure that Barcelona would have to earn it. Anything less than a victory against Malaga at the Bernabeu last night would have meant the Catalan club sealing the league without playing.

It could have been a difficult night for Madrid, with feeling running high, especially against Jose Mourinho. The rumours of discordance in the dressing room and the fact that Malaga were desperate for points in their bid for Champions League football next season made it a potentially awkward encounter, but everything turned out great. (see highlights below)  ......Read more...

It seems to be the worst kept secret in the world that Jose Mourinho will not be the manager of Real Madrid next season, although there has been no official announcement. I don’t know what he is trying to do, but Mourinho’s comments to the Spanish press have been getting more and more bizarre, while the players and coaching staff are also starting to say things that are normally kept behind closed doors.  ......Read more...

One of the main reasons Jose Mourinho was brought to Real Madrid was to win the Champions League. Having already won it with Porto and Inter Milan, Mourinho was seen as having a fantastic pedigree in the competition and so would have a great chance or winning a record 10th European cup for the club. It is now more than 10 years since Vicente Del Bosque led the Galacticos to success in 2002.  ......Read more...

The Spanish international midfielder Xabi Alonso has a contract with Real Madrid until next summer, but it is far from certain whether he will complete it. The 31-year old may be waiting to see what happens at the club in the summer, which itself could depend on the outcome of the remaining games this season.

Alonso spent five seasons in the English Premier League with Liverpool and it has been suggested that he could return there to finish his career. He was, apparently, happy at the club and only left after his relationship with Rafa Benitez, who was the manager at the time, deteriorated following his decision to miss a game to attend the birth of his first child. There are also reports that Benitez could be re-appointed as Liverpool manager and that may also have some bearing on Alonso’s decision.  ......Read more...

The past and the present of Real Madrid came together this week, as the legendary Madrid player Alfredo Di Stefano presented Cristiano Ronaldo with a personal award. The Spanish newspaper Marca awarded the Portuguese striker with the award for the best player in La Liga last season. Ronaldo was asked about his future at the Bernabeu afterwards, but did not want to talk about that particular subject, instead concentrating on the current situation.

“Much remains,” said Ronaldo. “We are in the Spanish cup final, and have taken a major step in the Champions League.  ......Read more...

Real Madrid overtook Atletico Madrid for the first time this season with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo (see highlights below). It was far from straightforward, but the man of the moment Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up once again and scored twice to secure the victory. The stand in keeper Diego Lopez also had a fantastic game between the sticks to prevent Celta causing an upset. Unfortunately the win did not close the gap on Barcelona at the top, but Ronaldo is closing the gap on Lionel Messi in the scoring charts.  ......Read more...