Gol TV strikes again ladies and gentlemen. Rather than getting a bit of Spanish classicism from the best league in the world, I get stuck watching U-20 South American kids; which I’ll say is perfectly good if you like living in that head space where you watch a player and wonder whether he’ll be any good in 4 years, when you barely remember him, but right here right now you just wonder why you’re bothering to watch sub standard football.

So rather than watch Real Madrid at a decent hour, I’m watching it at 1 in the morning right before bed. Some reflections early on:

• Soria is a very small venue to watch a first division game. I wonder if they can build a sustainable model of top flight football at Numancia with that small stadium?
• Fernando Gago continues to be late reacting to the ball and continues to come in late for tackles. He’s no Fernando Redondo, no matter what people say about resemblances.
• I don’t like to criticize people covering games, but Phil Schoen on Gol TV made me laugh when he mentioned the great players that Real Madrid have in their “cantina”. No wonder they all play sluggishly.
• Wesley Snejder is a great talent but there’s something wrong with him still. He should have waited to make his comeback. He’s great on the set pieces but he’s lost a step in the run of play.
• Numancia don’t play like a promoted side looking for a break. They dominated possession in the first half and should have scored off the header by Javier del Pino.
• The first goal, the record breaking one by Raul, was set-up by a darting inside run by Robben who layed it off to Higuain who shot, it was blocked and Raul poached it. Nice form for a guy who doesn’t have the skill anymore of a quality support striker but isn’t physical enough to really handle the #9 role all by himself. The forgotten man though was Lass. It was he who won the ball for Robben, who I assume realizes that if he stays by Lass, he’ll get the ball soon enough.
• The second goal was typical Robben. He may not be Lionel Messi but he’s the only player they have that can break a man down all by himself and he showed it. Higuain comes close, but this is the real failure of Pedja Mijatovich, he continues to bring in players that have no business wearing the classic white shirt.

The story of  the match was Raul’s reaching for Alfredo DiStefano’s club record for goals. “It is a beautiful thing”, he remarked to himself primarily, as DiStefano was nowhere to be found. I realize he’s getting on in years but Don Alfredo’s been a constant presence there for decades. I wonder if there’s a bit of crankiness there for a man known for his crankiness. Wouldn’t surprise me. That's Real Madrid.

Aupa: La Liga

Gol TV strikes again ladies and gentlemen. Rather than getting a bit of Spanish classicism from the best league in the world, I get stuck watching U-20 South American kids; which I'll say is perfectly good if you like living in that head space where you watch a player and wonder whether he'll be any good in 4 years, when you barely remember him, but right here right now you just wonder why you're bothering to watch sub standard football.

So rather than watch Real Madrid at a decent hour, I'm watching it at 1 in the morning right before bed. Some reflections early on:

• Soria is a very small venue to watch a first division game. I wonder if they can build a sustainable model of top flight football at Numancia with that small stadium?


• Fernando Gago continues to be late reacting to the ball and continues to come in late for tackles. He's no Fernando Redondo, no matter what people say about resemblances.


• I don't like to criticize people covering games, but Phil Schoen on Gol TV made me laugh when he mentioned the great players that Real Madrid have in their "cantina". No wonder they all play sluggishly.


• Wesley Snejder is a great talent but there's something wrong with him still. He should have waited to make his comeback. He's great on the set pieces but he's lost a step in the run of play.


• Numancia don't play like a promoted side looking for a break. They dominated possession in the first half and should have scored off the header by Javier del Pino.


• The first goal, the record breaking one by Raul, was set-up by a darting inside run by Robben who layed it off to Higuain who shot, it was blocked and Raul poached it. Nice form for a guy who doesn't have the skill anymore of a quality support striker but isn't physical enough to really handle the #9 role all by himself. The forgotten man though was Lass. It was he who won the ball for Robben, who I assume realizes that if he stays by Lass, he'll get the ball soon enough.


• The second goal was typical Robben. He may not be Lionel Messi but he's the only player they have that can break a man down all by himself and he showed it. Higuain comes close, but this is the real failure of Pedja Mijatovich, he continues to bring in players that have no business wearing the classic white shirt.

Aupa: La Liga

Gol TV strikes again ladies and gentlemen. Rather than getting a bit of Spanish classicism from the best league in the world, I get stuck watching U-20 South American kids; which I'll say is perfectly good if you like living in that head space where you watch a player and wonder whether he'll be any good in 4 years, when you barely remember him, but right here right now you just wonder why you're bothering to watch sub standard football.

So rather than watch Real Madrid at a decent hour, I'm watching it at 1 in the morning right before bed. Some reflections early on:

• Soria is a very small venue to watch a first division game. I wonder if they can build a sustainable model of top flight football at Numancia with that small stadium?


• Fernando Gago continues to be late reacting to the ball and continues to come in late for tackles. He's no Fernando Redondo, no matter what people say about resemblances.


• I don't like to criticize people covering games, but Phil Schoen on Gol TV made me laugh when he mentioned the great players that Real Madrid have in their "cantina". No wonder they all play sluggishly.


• Wesley Snejder is a great talent but there's something wrong with him still. He should have waited to make his comeback. He's great on the set pieces but he's lost a step in the run of play.


• Numancia don't play like a promoted side looking for a break. They dominated possession in the first half and should have scored off the header by Javier del Pino.


• The first goal, the record breaking one by Raul, was set-up by a darting inside run by Robben who layed it off to Higuain who shot, it was blocked and Raul poached it. Nice form for a guy who doesn't have the skill anymore of a quality support striker but isn't physical enough to really handle the #9 role all by himself. The forgotten man though was Lass. It was he who won the ball for Robben, who I assume realizes that if he stays by Lass, he'll get the ball soon enough.


• The second goal was typical Robben. He may not be Lionel Messi but he's the only player they have that can break a man down all by himself and he showed it. Higuain comes close, but this is the real failure of Pedja Mijatovich, he continues to bring in players that have no business wearing the classic white shirt.

Aupa: La Liga

Match Day 22: Juventus Lose Second To Cagliari

1/31/09 by: Special K 

Oh dear Juventus is faltering. The Bianconeri squandered all the good results they have achieved during the month of January after closing the gap between themselves and Inter to 3 points. Today's disappointing 2-3 result to Cagliari on home turf is the second loss for Juventus striker Del Piero (pictured/Reuters) and company while front runners Internazionale have righted their ship, winning the last two against Catania and Sampdoria. Tomorrow the Milan club plays lowly Torino who are currently in a tailspin and should have no problem in stretching their lead to 9 points. Torino having not won in the last 4 Serie A outings must look as far back as December 21, and their home defeat of Napoli for any consolation.

Note: Cagliari (away record, 3-2-6) have now won 2 on the road beating Lazio last week at the Stadio Olimpico 4-1, prior to that win the club had only one additional victory away from home at Torino back in October.

Juventus vs Cagliari Highlights

In other news stunned Napoli gave up a 2-0 lead after home sons Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella helped to equalize for the visitors giving Udinese the 2-2 draw. (Both players come from the Naple region)

The San Paolo hosted a great game on Saturday evening, Napoli was punished by two Neapolitan players who play for Udinese, Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella.

Napoli took a 2-0 lead in the first 27 minutes of the game on goals by Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik. Hamsik returned after missing two games because of the suspension he received after his red card in Verona.

In the 24th minute , German Denis took the ball at the midfield circle and carried it to kist outside the Udinese penalty area before passing to Lavezzi who whistled a shot past Andonovich 1-0 Napoli.

Just three minutes later Hamsik put a header past  Andonovich  off a free kick from Walter Gargano 2-0 Napoli.

But Udinese would answer when in the 31st minute, Paolo Cannavaro chased a ball in the Napoli area, but in the process tripped Isla, Gervasoni gave the penalty, Di Natale converted, 2-1.

In the 38th minute Lavezzi was tripped in the area by Isla but Gervasoni did not give the penalty, instead giving Napoli a corner kick.

Then in the 45th minute Fabio Quagliarella scored what I consider the prettiest goal of the Serie A season so far. On a pass by Isla he turned and shot from just outside the box, beating Navarro 2-2.

Watch Quagliarella's goal

The second half Napoli attacked consistently, Lavezzi had 2 chances Zalayeta one and Hasek another but nothing.

In the 90th minute Udinese almost stole the game on a shot by Giovanni Pasquale that went just past the post.

Juan de la Cruz Ramos Cano is the new manager at Real Madrid of course and many of you will be looking on that appointment with a distrustful eye. He has a reputation of being a good Cup manager and not very attuned to the vagaries of winning league titles. He did well at Sevilla under the auspices of technical director Monchi but he was clearly out of his element at Tottenham Hotspur and failed miserably leading the "big-London club" into the maw of a relegation thunderstorm.

Now I won't deny that he had uneventful years at Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, Espanyol and even Malaga before being tipped to head Sevilla and he isn't necessarily the most vocal or exciting leader for a club that is known for its extreme personalities, but I'm of the opinion that Juande Ramos is exactly the sort of manager that Real Madrid need right now.

Here are my reasons:

1. He was handpicked by captain Raul to right the sinking ship. Now that is usually the wrong reason to appoint a coach, the idea that if the club captain likes him then the rest of the squad might turn around, but in this case it is the most important reason. As I said before on the podcast, Raul's legacy is not only to take over Alfredo DiStefano's place as the club's all-time top scorer, but also  as the face of the club once he retires. Club presidents and coaches come and go, but I'm sure Raul's political clout at the club will continue.


2. He's an experienced coach who has proven himself at a top four club, and no Spurs haven't been a top club in decades so you can't count that. Despite his failure in England, he is still well respected in Spain for taking a very talented club in Sevilla and winning the UEFA Cup following that up with a Copa del Rey win as well. He is tactically sound and a risk taker who believes that playing aggressive, attacking football and winning aren't mutually exclusive. His influence on the pitch was immediately felt: he reorganized a leaky defense that seemed


3. He won't upset the apple cart in the dressing room and will create a bubble protecting the club from further embarrassment. After two coaches more noted for their explosive personalities than their diplomacy, Juande Ramos will bring his flavor of coaches' double-speak and obfuscation to the media room. "Today we played well, we had endeavor, lot's of endeavor, we kept possession, we defended, and we were fortunate to come out of the match with a favorable decision..." Yawn, but that's exactly what Los Blancos need.

Juan de la Cruz Ramos Cano is the new manager at Real Madrid of course and many of you will be looking on that appointment with a distrustful eye. He has a reputation of being a good Cup manager and not very attuned to the vagaries of winning league titles. He did well at Sevilla under the auspices of technical director Monchi but he was clearly out of his element at Tottenham Hotspur and failed miserably leading the "big-London club" into the maw of a relegation thunderstorm.

Now I won't deny that he had uneventful years at Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, Espanyol and even Malaga before being tipped to head Sevilla and he isn't necessarily the most vocal or exciting leader for a club that is known for its extreme personalities, but I'm of the opinion that Juande Ramos is exactly the sort of manager that Real Madrid need right now.

Here are my reasons:

1. He was handpicked by captain Raul to right the sinking ship. Now that is usually the wrong reason to appoint a coach, the idea that if the club captain likes him then the rest of the squad might turn around, but in this case it is the most important reason. As I said before on the podcast, Raul's legacy is not only to take over Alfredo DiStefano's place as the club's all-time top scorer, but also  as the face of the club once he retires. Club presidents and coaches come and go, but I'm sure Raul's political clout at the club will continue.


2. He's an experienced coach who has proven himself at a top four club, and no Spurs haven't been a top club in decades so you can't count that. Despite his failure in England, he is still well respected in Spain for taking a very talented club in Sevilla and winning the UEFA Cup following that up with a Copa del Rey win as well. He is tactically sound and a risk taker who believes that playing aggressive, attacking football and winning aren't mutually exclusive. His influence on the pitch was immediately felt: he reorganized a leaky defense that seemed


3. He won't upset the apple cart in the dressing room and will create a bubble protecting the club from further embarrassment. After two coaches more noted for their explosive personalities than their diplomacy, Juande Ramos will bring his flavor of coaches' double-speak and obfuscation to the media room. "Today we played well, we had endeavor, lot's of endeavor, we kept possession, we defended, and we were fortunate to come out of the match with a favorable decision..." Yawn, but that's exactly what Los Blancos need.

This week Hannah, Mando talk about the happenings in Spain and look at the games from the weekend. Kevin joined us to talk about the weekend's action in Italy. Get the whole episode here, direct download here or subscribe in iTunes. Check out our new site ForzaFutbol.com and follow us on Twitter.

Forza Futbol’s Mando talks to Tim Vickery about South American players in La Liga and Serie A.