jose - soccer

 

Sustaining international excellence is hard. There is a constant tug of war between continuity and adaptation. The more success a team has the harder it is to make (or to even see) necessary changes. There is the fickleness of soccer and tournament play. Players age and, having success at club and International level, rack up mileage. That’s before you get to the trouble of motivating players who have done it all to keep hitting that prime level of focus and dedication. There’s a reason three of the past four World Cup champions (and three of the past four European champions) crashed out in the group stage at the next World Cup. Winning one tournament makes you a legend. Winning three is absurd. In retrospect, phasing Xavi out after Euro 2012 would have been a wise decision. After that tournament, Xavi’s decline was hypothetical. The past season at club level it has been manifest. He was no longer in a position to carry Spain. As they showed in the second match against Chile, the Spanish had no conception of a way to play without him.

The same goes for Iker Casillas. He was once among the world’s best goalkeepers. But, for the past two seasons, he hasn’t been the starter at Real Madrid. He looked unsure in the Champions League Final. That form extended into this tournament, where his flubs were responsible for multiple goals. It’s easier on paper to remove Xavi (most influential Barca player) and Casillas (most influential Real Madrid player) than in practice. But necessary decisions are seldom easy. A national team coach should have been prepared to make them. Some of Spain’s problems were uncontrollable. The Spanish had no ready replacement for Carlos Puyol at center back. Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué did not work well together. Playing an unfit Piqué in the first match was a bad option. Playing an out-of-form Javi Martinez there in the second was not that much better of one.

Iker Casillas, Spain’s bedrock in goal since the 2002 World Cup, wound up with a day to forget vs. the Netherlands. Four years ago San Iker came up with huge save in Spain’s win in extra time against the Netherlands, helping the country win its first World Cup and third straight major tournament. Before everyone rushes to write off Spain, remember it lost to Switzerland in its 2010 World Cup opener and went on to win the tournament. Casillas will catch most of the flack, but the miserable days from defenders Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique shouldn’t be overlooked. Integrating striker Diego Costa who hasn’t logged very many games alongside the Real Madrid and Barcelona players who comprise the core of the Spanish team, looks like it might not have been as easy as most pundits assumed, too. (thebiglead.com)

Dortmund also have been disappointing of late, and are finding a third consecutive Bundesliga title a very long shot, and so their form should not keep Real up at night. But even so, Real’s poor history in Germany and Dortmund’s undeniable talents have combined to give Mourinho something to think about.

Mourinho may have a word with his two German internationals, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, in preparation for tonight’s intriguing tie at Signal Iduna Park. And Khedira will tell him that Real will have to play as well, if not better, than they did in the second-half against Manchester City, if they are to break their duck in Germany. (soccerladuma.co.za)

Los Blancos have won just once in 23 previous competitive fixtures in Germany. That's 16 losses, six draws and just the one victory on German soil - and that came 12 years ago thanks to a 3-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in 2000. That's a bad record for any side, but for a club such as Madrid, nine times European champions, it's a shocking one. Jose Mourinho and his men don't have to cast their minds back too far for the last loss in Germany, of course. It was one of only two losses in all competitive matches in the second half of last season and it was one that, in part, denied them a romantic Champions League final date with Mou's old club Chelsea and the crack at a tenth European crown. A 2-1 defeat in Munich against Bayern. As well as inflicting woe on Madrid in Bavaria, Bayern knocked Los Merengues out on penalties at the Bernabeu in the second leg. As if German teams having the upper hand on German soil wasn't enough. 

So Los Blancos travel to Dortmund on Wednesday night not only looking for three crucial points in Group D that would edge them closer to qualification for the knock-out stages, but to make sure that poor record just gets that little bit more meaningless. 

The task won't be an easy one, despite facing a Dortmund side that sit fourth in the Bundesliga and go into the game on the back of a weekend defeat. The steep banks of the Signal Iduna Park stadium will be intimidating for Los Blancos. Borussia has one of the best supports in Europe, let alone Germany, and they'll be well aware of the importance of Wednesday night's match, the illustrious visit of Europe's most successful team aside. They'll lift their team and they'll do their best to put Madrid off its stride. (soccernet.espn.go.com)

in order to understand is colorful news we must explain to the unsuspecting that since 2003 Audi is one of the official sponsors of Real Madrid, which is why in many of their advertisements appear the stars of the Galaxy team, this time the protagonists are Ricardo Kaka and Xabi Alonso, who have been at the wheel of the splendid Audi Q5 hybridtrying to show off their skills behind the wheel and the efficiency of their driving, playing to achieve the lowest possible consumption. (motorhq.org)

Anyhow, the boys were challenged to see who could be more efficient and use less fuel during the circuit. Xabi won the coin toss and got to drive first, but in the end, it was Kaká who won the contest by using 6.7 liters per 100 kilometers (Xabi measured in at 6.9 liters per 100 kilometers). (captainwag.com)

the winner has turned out to be Kaka, the Brazilian has managed an impressive time and a wonderful consumption level. This event has been referred to as Audi Q5 hybrid Challenge and as mentioned it the Brazilian Player has achieved an impressive consumption, that has maintained an average of 6.7 litres per 100 kilometers, while Xabi has risen this index up 6.9 liters, in the event you can listen to the talks between the Spanish soccer stars and all the secrets that reveal his teammates and the team in general.