Real Madrid has finally completed the registration of its players for the Champions League.

There had been long discussion about whether Real should register Lassana Diarra or Klaas Huntelaar who both were signed in January. However, it now has been confirmed that Lass is the one who will play in the Champions League.

Full List

Goalkeepers
No. Name
1 Iker Casillas »
13 Jordi Codina »
25 Jerzy Dudek »
29 Felipe Ramos *
30 Antonio Adán *

Defenders
No. Name
2 Míchel Salgado »
3 Pepe »
4 Sergio Ramos »
5 Fabio Cannavaro »
12 Marcelo »
15 Royston Drenthe »
16 Gabriel Heinze »
21 Christoph Metzelder »
22 Miguel Torres »
26 David Mateos *
27 Javier Velayos *
32 José María Antón *

Javier Saviola: an unhappy spectator

The English press is reporting that Liverpool could sign Javier Saviola from Real Madrid on a loan-deal as a temporary replacement for Robbie Kean.

"The Rabbit" as dubbed by many of his fans, moved to Real Madrid in 2007 from Barcelona but failed to reserve a position in the starting lineup mainly due to the presence of players like Van Nistelrooy, Higuain and Rau'l.

Also the signing of Huntelaar has made it pretty difficult for Saviola to fight for a place in the forward line.

Juande Ramos even suggested publicly that Saviola should look for another club. To make it worse for the talented striker, he was excluded from Real Madrid's Champions League squad.

As you can see, Saviola is clearly "unwanted" at the Bernabeu, and I personally think that he has been unfairly treated. First by Schuster who asked the club to sign him, but rarely counted on him and when he did, Saviola impressed and sometimes scored.

It is sad to see the talent of such a player being wasted at big clubs. First at Barcelona and now at Real Madrid. The only thing I have to say to Saviola is to go to a club where they "guarantee" him a place in the starting eleven but I'm not sure Liverpool is that club.

What do you think?

Hala Madrid!

A legend congratulating another.

Numancia 0-2 Real Madrid

One of the things that I like about Juande is that he is pragmatic. He deals with everything objectively and he knows that there is no room for experiments so the first thing he started to do is to have a "fixed" starting lineup and yesterday's team had started in the three previous encounters something that hadn't happen since 2002. This brought stability, familiarity and harmony to the team.

Juande also brought results to the club. The freedom he gave to Robben has helped the team tremendously. We also have to mention Lass and Gago and their partnership in the midfield; it has had a big impact on our performances.

First Half

Juande started with Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Lass, Gago, Sneijder, Robben, Rau'l and Higuain.

Numancia were the first to attack when Boris found Barkero's cross only to send it straight into Casillas' hands.

They continued putting pressure on us as their back line advanced to tighten the lines, giving us little room to work with. Gago had a go from the top of the box in the 18th minute but struck the ball poorly and sent it wide of goal.

Del Pino came closer to striking gold but could only watch in dismay as his shot hit Casillas' far post (26’).

In the closing minutes of the first half we regained possession, and we could have gone into the break with the advantage had Dimas not cleared Heinze's shot off the line.

Real Madrid has officially announced that the club signed French winger Julien Faubert from West Ham United on a loan-deal that will see him at the club through the end of the current season.

Numancia Vs Real Madrid - La Liga | Saturday, 31 January 2009, 22:00 CET | Los Pajaritos

Although Juande Ramos' men have won five consecutive league matches so far, they haven't yet overtaken Barcelona as the arch-rivals have also been winning matches and in style as well.

And since Real's fixture list is similar to Barca's, with the Whites taking on the team Barca have faced in the previous match, it is then Numancia's turn to host the Whites who have one goal in mind; winning and taking the three points.

While it seems difficult to win the league, the team should continue playing well as that will help them prepare for the Champions League clash against Liverpool. And you never know, Barcelona might slip up and the point difference gets reduced.

Numancia

Numancia are still the only team who managed to beat Barcelona. That was in Round 1 of La Liga when Barca weren't well-prepared to say the least.

Although they had a good first half against the Catalans in their recent fixture last Saturday, they eventually went down 4-1. Still they are a team not to be underestimated and they'll prove it tomorrow night -- it is not easy to play them at their own stadium. We also have to consider that they have won all of their recent three home matches.

Recent Matches

• Jan 24 Barcelona 4-1 Numancia
• Jan 17 Sevilla 1-0 Numancia
• Jan 11 Numancia 2-0 Getafe
• Jan 04 Recreativo Huelva 3-1 Numancia
• Dec 21 Numancia 4-3 Real Valladolid

I haven't posted that much recently mainly due to the fact that a family member passed away and I didn't have time to go online. Anyway, I just thought you might like to see the team's official 2008/09 photo.

I couldn't find a larger version so If anyone of you guys has it, please link to it in the comment section and I'll upload it here.

Hala Madrid!

P.S: I'll be back to regular posting starting from tomorrow.

Real Madrid Vs Deportivo La Coruña - La Liga | 25/01/2009 - 21:00 CET | Santiago Bernabeu

Real Madrid take on Deportivo La Coruña tomorrow night at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. 

Juande Ramos has announced his squad list which excludes Marcelo and Saviola (who is unhappy at the club -- and he has the right to be) as well as the injured folks (Ruud, Diarra and De La Red). 

However, both of Drenthe and Torres return to the squad.

Goalkeepers: Casillas, Codina

Defenders: Salgado, Pepe, Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Torres, Metzelder

Midfielders: Lass, Gago, Sneijder, Robben, Drenthe, Van der Vaart, Javi García

Forwards: Raúl, Huntelaar, Higuaín

Lineup

Fabio, although included in the list, is still doutbtful for the clash. He may play and he may not. Regardless of that, I think Juande will pretty much stick to the lineup he has used in the last few matches.

Casillas

Ramos   Cannavaro/Metz   Pepe   Heinze

                Gago  ----- Lass

Robben                      Sneijder

        Higuain ---- Rau'l

In football, what matters the most is the result. Some might argue a team should play very well and win. Some might say that you must win no matter how and tonight was a proof. Real did everything they could to win the game.

Juande Ramos started with Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Lass, Gago, Sneijder, Robben, Rau'l and Higuain.

Everyone before the match had been wondering if the resignation of Ramon Calderon would have had an impact on the team's performance, and initially, that seemed to be the case, however, Ramos managed to tweak his team and snatch the three points.

Osasuna dominated the first half, attacking well and not giving us the opportunity and space to pass the ball. There was strict control and moderation over Arjen Robben, which as a result, slowed down our attacking efforts.

Ramos scored a goal off a corner-kick but it was ruled offside.

Javad Nekounam scored for Osasuna from a header in the 20th minute. Real made a few chances, but they couldn't capitalize on them.

Real Madrid Vs Osasuna - La Liga | 18/01/2009 - 17:00 CET | Santiago Bernabéu

One of questions that I keep asking now is will the resignation of Ramon Calderon have an effect on the team's performances? Normally, such a change in the club won't have short-term effects because the coach, the players and the staff are still the same, but there might be some long-term ones. However, since we are not there, we can't certainly know what's really going on in the dressing room.

Tomorrow's match will be ab an excellent opportunity for Juande Ramos' men to continue their impressive form and reduce the gap with league leaders Barcelona.

Real have won three consecutive games with three clean-sheets, something which under the era of Bernd Schuster seemed very difficult.

Injuries, oh injuries, we just can't seem to get rid of them. The new additions to the sickbay are Guti, Dudek and Parajeo. The second captain has suffered a grade two muscle tear in his left calf and he will now be sidelined for up to a month, while the Polish will be out for three weeks. Parajeo, who returned to the club this January, is still recovering from his injury.

Lineup

The squad list has been announced and it excludes: Torres, Salgado, Saviola and Drenthe for technical decisions. However, there is some good news for Marcelo's fans, as the Brazilian left-back is back on the squad after being left out in the last few games.

Goalkeepers

Casillas, Codina

Defenders

Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, Heinze & Metzelder

Midfielders

Lass, Gago, Senijder, Robben, Van der Vaart, Javi García & Palanca

Strikers

Raúl, Higuaín & Huntelaar