Catania sign 2 Argentine players – goalie Albano Benjamin Bizzarri and midfielder Cristian Ezequiel Llama.
The Sicilians are eager to strengthen their team after only avoiding relegation on the final day of the season.
Bizzarri puts pen to paper on a one year deal with an option for a 2nd after his move from Spanish club Gimnastic Tarragona.
'After having signed the contract, my 1st sensations were of joy and enthusiasm,' mentioned the 29 year old.
'The Spanish Liga is not so different to Serie A, even though Italian football is more competitive, especially with the return of Juve and Napoli.'
He started his career at Racing Club in Argentina, then spent 2 seasons as a reserve goalie for Real Madrid, making a total of 7 appearances, before Valladolid and Gimnastic Tarragona.
'I have never had problems settling in to new environments. I hope to learn the language quickly and I think I am the right age to experience this amazing opportunity of Italian football,' added Bizzarri.
'I am ready to prove my worth. A goalie has 2 missions – to give the defence and therefore the whole team a sense of calm and to guarantee points in the difficult moments with vital saves.'
He is joined by fellow Argentine Llama, a 21 year old left sided midfielder who signed a 4 year contract from Arsenal Sarandi'.
25 June 2007
Christian Abbiati has the all clear to remain at Torino after he turns down offers from Spain.
The goalie had already spent this season on loan at the Stadio Olimpico and was set to be recalled to the Rossoneri.
'Milan have stated that Abbiati will decide his future. I think he will do so this week, making his decision between Torino and the proposals from Spain,' mentioned director general Ariedo Braida.
'If Abbiati chooses Toro, then he will stay with them. I do not see problems in extending the free loan deal.'
The shot stopper did not wish to play 2nd fiddle to Nelson Dida and has spent the last 2 campaigns on loan in Turin – 1st to Juve and then Toro.
'As far as we are concerned, talking to Abbiati and his agent was a pleasure,' explained GM Stefano Antonelli.
'The negotiations were constructive and positive. I found Abbiati totally ready to understand our needs, and also our ambitions and proposals. I spoke to a player who is eager to continue his Granata adventure.'
Meanwhile, Catania have chosen Albano Benjamin Bizzarri to be their new goalkeeper.
The 29 year old Argentine has played for Valladolid, Racing Avellaneda and was the reserve at Real Madrid under both Bodo Illgner and Iker Casillas.
He will make the transfer to Sicily from Spanish club Gimnastic Tarragona.
19 June 2007
Los Angeles Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas will be paying close attention to any updates from Spain on David Beckham's condition after the player's final game for Real Madrid was cut short by injury.
Beckham limped off in the 66th minute of Real's decisive 3-1 triumph over Mallorca at the Bernabeu Sunday. Madrid overcame a 1-0 deficit with Beckham watching from the sidelines.
Lalas admitted that he remains in the dark on the extent of the injury.
'Right now he's still a Real Madrid player,' Lalas said. 'We have not had any indication on the nature of the injury.'
Beckham seemed to aggravate his troublesome ankle injury and after the game the 32 year old mentioned he has felt the ankle 'snap'.
'There was a lot of pain,' he said.
Beckham is now due to join up with the Galaxy in mid-July to start a 5 year contract worth up to $250m (€186m).
Inspite of such a significant investment, Lalas was not concerned that Beckham had played for Madrid carrying an injury originally suffered playing for England on June 6.
'I do not think anything was going to keep him out of that game,' Lalas said. 'He was obviously carrying an injury however it is nice that he can now have a rest and recuperate. He's going to require it.'
It was Beckham's replacement in the game, Jose Antonio Reyes, who scored 2 goals as Madrid rallied for the win. With FC Barcelona posting a 5-1 triumph at Gimnastic Tarragona, Madrid had to win to seal the title.
The 2 clubs finished level on 76 points, however Madrid claimed their 1st La Liga title since 2003 – and 1st since Beckham joined – thanks to a superior head to head record against their arch-rivals.
'It is wonderful,' Lalas said. 'We would not be happier for David and Real Madrid, and we send our congratulations to him and his team. It was an amazing finish to an amazing season and it is a wonderful way for him to end his time in Spain before he heads off to the U.S for a new adventure with the Galaxy.'
18 June 2007
Real Madrid finished their 4 year trophy drought when they won the league title for the 30th time after a dramatic 3-1 comeback win over Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu Sunday.
The 9 time European champions topped the final standings by virtue of a better head to head record against arch rivals FC Barcelona, whose 5-1 win at already relegated Gimnastic Tarragona was to no avail.
For over an hour the title looked to have slipped from Real Madrid′s grasp as they trailed to a 17th minute strike from Mallorca′s Fernando Varela, whilst FC Barcelona overpowered Gimnastic.
But Real produced their by now customary late show to storm back to a 3-1 triumph and snatch the title from FC Barcelona′s grasp in a match that marked the final appearances of David Beckham and Roberto Carlos.
Jose Antonio Reyes equalised a minute after coming on for Beckham, and Mahamadou Diarra put Real ahead and back on top of the standings when his close-range header bounced off Mallorca′s Angelos Basinas and over the line 10 minutes from time.
Reyes made sure of the win 4 minutes later with a good strike from the edge of the area to spark wild celebrations among the 76,000 fans at the Bernabeu.
17 June 2007
Real Betis left it late however preserved their Primera Liga status Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 triumph at Racing Santander.
Edu scored twice in the last 10 minutes to enable the Seville based club to remain up at the expense of Celta Vigo, whose 2-1 defeat of Getafe was not enough to grant them survival.
Real Sociedad joined Celta in the Segunda Division next season after a 3-3 draw at Valencia.
Rock-bottom Gimnastic Tarragona′s fate was sealed several weeks ago.
It looked bleak for Betis with Celta and Athletic Bilbao both winning entering the latter stages of their games.
It meant Betis also had to win and they managed it thanks to Brazilian forward Edu. He headed home the opener with 10 minutes to go and drilled home a 2nd in the closing stages.
Celta went into the final day 3rd from bottom however with genuine hope of staying up. It didn′t start well for Hristo Stoichkov′s men against Getafe, however, Pablo Redondo putting the visitors ahead.
But Habib Bamogo equalised and Matias Lequi then scored to hand Celta a triumph which ultimately proved futile.
Athletic were also in danger at the start of play, they were only a point ahead of Celta, however they saw off Levante 2-0 thanks to an own goal by Jose Manuel Serrano and an Igor Gabilondo header.
The odds were stacked against Sociedad even though they went out with a battling display at Champions League qualifiers Valencia.
Gaizka Garitano and David Villa exchanged early goals before a Victor Lopez own goal put Los Che in front.
Inigo Diaz de Cerio equalised only for a Mikel Alonso own goal to restore the hosts′ advantage.
But another own goal, this time from Emiliano Moretti, at least allowed Sociedad to depart with their heads held high.
Sunday afternoon′s other early game finished in a 3-1 triumph for Deportivo La Coruna at Espanyol.
The Primera Liga title will be decided later Sunday.
If Real Madrid beat Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu, then they will claim the crown for the 1st time since 2003. Should they lose defending champions FC Barcelona and Sevilla can snatch the trophy.
Barcelona visit Gimnastic whilst Sevilla host a Villarreal side chasing a UEFA Cup spot.
17 June 2007
David Beckham has shaken off a niggling ankle injury and will be fit to play his final match for Real Madrid in today′s title decider against Real Mallorca.
"I spoke with him after training and he mentioned that he felt very good and could have no problems in playing," Real coach Fabio Capello asked a news conference on Saturday.
The Italian, who sidelined Beckham for a month after the midfielder said he could be joining L.A. Galaxy at the end of the season, paid tribute to the 32 year old when asked about his contribution to Real′s late season revival.
"I think Beckham was a very important player and in the last 3 months he has recovered the psychological and physical condition that was missing before," he said.
"I would put him up amongst the best players I′ve ever coached."
Beckham suffered a recurrence of an injury to his left ankle during last Saturday′s 2-2 draw at Real Zaragoza and had trained on his own for the majority of this week.
But he joined in with the rest of the team in Saturday′s final training session and gave the thumbs up to reporters when asked if he could be ready to play at the Bernabeu.
Beckham, who will hook up with the Galaxy in July, will triumph his 1st significant trophy since joining Real from Man Utd in 2003 they beat the islanders Sunday.
Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra also trained with the team after being given permission by FIFA to return from international duty with Mali ahead of their African Nations Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.
Arch rivals FC Barcelona, who would still win the title if Real slip up against Mallorca, will be missing left back Silvinho, midfielder Edmilson and forward Eidur Gudjohnsen for their final game at Gimnastic Tarragona.
Sevilla, who also have an outside chance of winning the league, will be without 6 1st-choice players that included wingers Jesus Navas and Adriano Correia and defender Daniel Alves for their match at home to Villarreal.
14 June 2007
FC Barcelona forward Ronaldinho admitted that that poor levels of fitness were responsible for his failure to live up to expectation this season.
"Personally I haven′t been in good shape this season," the 27 year old Brazilian asked sports daily Mundo Deportivo in an interview Thursday.
"I think I can work much harder and I would like to make sure that I′m at the same level as the rest of the team next season."
The Brazilian mentioned the chief reason behind his decision to opt out of the Brazil team for the Copa America was his wish to be in top physical shape for next season.
"I renounced the Copa America because I would like to make sure that I′m physically fit so that I can play more comfortably. I will be like I was before."
Ronaldinho missed last week′s 2-2 draw against city rivals Espanyol through suspension and his side can now only win the league title if arch rivals Real Madrid slip up at home to Real Mallorca in the final match of the season.
He mentioned that a combination of inconsistency, injuries and misfortune was responsible for the side′s failure to remain ahead in the title race.
He mentioned he was hoping that his team would turn the tables on Real on the final day of the season.
"We′ve had some good moments, some bad ones, some injuries to important players and some bad luck," he said.
"We′ve got one match still to play and we must triumph it and then see what happens.... I think in miracles."
Barcelona play fellow Catalans Gimnastic Tarragona in their final match of the season Sunday.
13 June 2007
FC Barcelona must sort out dressing room divisions if they would like to return to being successful again, Brazilian midfielder Edmilson has said.
The defending Primera Liga champions were dogged by complacency, inconsistency and ego-driven disputes throughout their campaign, which Edmilson thinks has damaged their push for trophies.
′I′m not going to go into details however there are things which everyone knows about and which have come out in the press,′ Edmilson was quoted as saying in the Spanish media Wednesday.
′We have played in 7 competitions and only won 2 (the Catalunya Cup and the Spanish Super Cup), which is not a lot.
He added, ′I can′t said what they must fix, however we all know what the problems are. When things don′t go well, you must put them right.′
Barca′s last chance for a major trophy this season relies on league leaders Real Madrid slipping up in their last game at home to Real Mallorca Sunday.
Frank Rijkaard′s side are level on 73 points with Real however 2nd due to their inferior head to head record. Barcelona visit relegated Gimnastic Tarragona.
Sevilla, who are 2 points back in 3rd, are at home to Villarreal.
