Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo has been on hiatus for the past two months after suffering a minor ankle injury. The coach only played Ronaldo for 25 minutes in the second half just to get his legs back into the game. No one expected him to operate at his optimal performance but many are hoping that Ronaldo will be back to his old playing self in time to win the Champions League title as well as play for his home country of Portugal in the World Cup Qualifiers.

Image: TSN.ca

Post from: The Footie

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup over LA Galaxy

Some called it a game of Russian Roulette where both teams were so clearly equally matched and that in the end the win came by the shear luck of the draw. Well after this whole ordeal Beckham was able to set aside his differences with his team and prove that he was devoted to them despite wanting to take off to Real Madrid this past summer. Well LA Galaxy, better luck next year…

Image: TSN.ca

Post from: The Footie

Cristiano Ronaldo

But now all of a sudden he’s up and ready to play when his home country of Portugal calls on him to help them get through the World Cup Qualifying matches. Without Ronaldo who knows if they’d be able to bring it but it is proving to be highly unfair for the general managers of Real Madrid who forked out $148 million to have him on their team. Portugal on the other hand will pay him nothing.

Sorry Ronaldo but when it comes to loyalty you have to go with the one’s who are paying you more. You made the choice of loyalty when you signed a contract with Real Madrid, they should then be alowed to dictate what you do to suite their best interests. You are a product now and they own you.

Image: TSN.ca

Post from: The Footie

Kaka - SEPTEMBER 20, 2009 - Football : Spanish 'Liga Espanola' match between Real Madrid 5-0 Xerez at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, Spain.

A fan decided to put up a video on YouTube that compiles some of Kaka’s greatest soccer moves and goals. The move on this kid shows how good he is at what he does. Another great feature about Kaka is his calm disposition. He adds a sense of maturity to a team that is full of hot heads and overly ambitious players.

Here’s a video ode to Kaka, so check it out after the jump….

Image: Newscom.com

Post from: The Footie

15 September, 2009 - Cristiano Ronaldo goes down in the early minutes during UEFA Champions League Group Stage at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland.

Co-striker Kaka on the other hand is said to be more laid back and relaxed on the field. The contrast between the two doesn’t show when they are playing, though fans do catch glimpses of Ronaldo’s competitive nature when he misses a goal.

Ronaldo was always seen as being highly competitive and serious about his soccer career. He shocked fans after getting into a serious accident in his Ferrari, walked away and went strait away to practice.

Well lets hope that for Real Madrid sake he can calm himself down a bit. His anxiety might just be a symptom of his age, being that he may be able to relax a bit as he gets older. This is a good lesson though for anyone who plays competitive sports – play for fun and deal with whatever success comes if it does. There’s no need to take it so seriously, you’re not curing cancer or achieving world peace.

Image: Newscom.com

Post from: The Footie

The four star players have a newly combined salary of €217 million ($324 million US), making up a huge portion of the debt. The spending spree came just after Florentino Perez became the new president of Real Madrid. Like a true businessman Perez defended the spending on the grounds that you have to spend money to make money, and he believes that his new team can make more money now than ever. Well good luck with that Real Madrid. Though wouldn’t it be embarrassing if they didn’t win any championships? Sometimes putting together a ‘dream team’ is counter productive as they all try to hog the spotlight rather than work as a team.

Image: Newscom

Post from: The Footie

Despite the fame end glory. Ronaldo stays true to himself reaffirming to reporters that he is a respectable person who likes to stay out of the spotlight. After being called a mama’s boy by Paris Hilton it’s hard to see how he recovered from such a public social blow. He now says that he is proud of the way he is and wants to be a role model for all young aspiring soccer players.

Image: Newscom

Post from: The Footie

Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo (L) vies with DC United's Chris Pontius (2nd L), Christian Gomez (2nd R) and Ben Olsen (R) during a friendly match on August 9, 2009 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, as part of Real's pre-season tour of Canada and the US.

72,368 fans made it to the FedEx Fields in Washington DC Sunday night to catch a glimpse at Real Madrid’s MLS tour. They played Toronto FC which ended in a 5-1 attack. After realizing what the typical MLS teams were up against it wasn’t surprising that they won last nights game with Washington. What was surprising was that they were able to fend them off for the first half of the game.

Though last nights game ended in a 3-0 shutout (excuse my hockey lingo) it was still great to see a great MLS player like Josh Wicks find out what he’s made of. And at the end of the day that’s what this friendly Real Madrid tour is all about. Playing against the best to see what you are capable of.

Image: Newscom

Post from: The Footie

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo slips the ball past Toronto FC's Marvell Wynne at BMO Fields, Toronto - August 8th, 2009

Toronto FC new they were in trouble but they did the best they could to fend off the waves of attacks. The game ended 5-1 with goal being made by the heavy strikers.

Tourism Toronto have announced that the game has added a significant boost to their local economy. $10 million is added revenue to be exact. The money is welcome news after organizers had to bend over backwards to have the two team play in Toronto. They had to add temporary sod over top of the false turf Real Madrid refused to play on. The sod ended up costing the club $250,000 but it will be put to good use by donating it to local schools to build soccer fields.

Watch all the goal highlights below.

Image: Newscom

Post from: The Footie

Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo pictured during the team's practice in Toronto, August 6, 2009. Real Madrid will play a friendly soccer match against Toronto FC August 7.

In preparation for the game Toronto’s home, the BMO Fields are covered their false turf with sod. The turf is always criticized by international players as being hard to play on and was a requirement for Real Madrid’s visit.

18,000 Torontonians showed up at the BMO Fields last night to watch Ronaldo and team practice. The show of support must have been exciting for a team who did not expect much out of their Canadian visit.

After the two play their friendly match tonight the sod will be removed and donated to help construct more soccer field in Ontario.

Check your local sports networks to watch the game live which kicks-off at 7:30pm ET. Or you can check it out via live streaming at LiveBallLive.webs.com

You can get up to date information on the game at MLSnet.com

Image: Newscom

Post from: The Footie