This season it is the second meet for the two teams. The Real Madrid had won by 3-2 in the first encounter.

Well, let us not forget that Madrid will be on the field without Kaka and Karim Benzema, the two top players of the club. The two have been sidelined due to a groin injury and adductor muscle problem respectively. By the South African schedule they will be returning back in form and it will not hamper their world cup ticket prospects. We would be following them at the world cup as well as just last night we booked our tickets at worldcuptickets.biz.
The squad of Manuel Pellegrini will make sure of continuing their winning streak. They have won the previous five matches of theirs even though their exit from the Champions League was shocking two weeks
ago.

Gonzalo Higuain, the Argentine striker, scored 22 goals in just 18 league games. It is presumed that he will be in form and he is only 3 goals behind Lionel Messi, his Argenitenean fellow player, at Primera Division’s top position.

The world renowned player Christiano Ronaldo is also unstoppable. He had scored 2 goals on Thursday in their 4-2 spanking of Getafe.

The underdog will be Athletico in this game. He is on the 12th position of the score chart.

Antonio Lopez, the captain of Athletico, had said that when they meet the Madrid, he is desperate of taking all the 3 points this weekend.

On the official website of the club he said, “I am not afraid of facing Real Madrid. The games are always very nice and we expect a result different to that of recent years. I do not care if it makes a difference to the league for Madrid, I just want to take all three points.”

Midfielder Wesley Sneijder interviewed with reporters on the 22^nd of October to discuss the Real Madrid soccer team’s stunning loss to the Italian Soccer-Juventus in Turin on Tuesday the 21^st of October. He commented on the team’s performance, their motivation, and the future matches the team had coming up. When asked why the Real Madrid soccer team performed so poorly against underdog Soccer-Juventus, Sneijder replied that the Italian team had executed its tactics much more effectively than the Real Madrid team had expected. The result was that the Spanish soccer team’s playing style was greatly restricted, a development they didn’t expect from the Italian team which had lost the previous five games they had played. But Sneijder also noted that despite these surprises, the Real Madrid soccer team had bounced back in the second half of the soccer match that day. Still, Sneijder found that it was a shame that the team squandered so many chances to come back during the game. The loss has motivated the team to do even better in their future matches and to not enter into any contest overconfidently.

Wesley Sneijder was then asked about the contributions and importance of forward Arjen Robben, a fellow Dutch player on the Real Madrid team. Sneijder responded that he felt Robben was an important part of any attack that Real Madrid executes during a game. Sneijder noted that Robben is very fast, especially when he is healthy, and that he’s got everything it takes to be a great forward. In referencing the team’s performance against the Italians, Sneijder went on to say that Robben is a very good player and did an excellent job on Tuesday, noting that Robben is at his peak physically.
Despite the injury that had side lined Wesley Sneijder during the entire game against Soccer-Juventus, he had bounced back and was ready to play on Sunday against Bilbao. When asked how he was able to recover so fast from his injuries, he said that his two month long injusry was shortened because he worked hard at rehabilitating himself, usually opting to double his sessions in hopes of making it back to the active roster sooner.
Sneijder was then asked about the upsetting send off of fellow team mate and Dutch player Ruud van Nistelrooy. Nistelrooy had received a red card with ten and a half minutes to go in a match against Atletico’s Netherlands international. The team rallied despite the loss of the star striker to beat the opposing team two to one; van Nistelrooy had actually scored the first goal for the Real Madrid soccer team within the first sixty seconds of the match. Sneijder noted that Nistelrooy had felt the red card violation was unjustified and that the striker was still upset at the call which removed him from the game and resulted in a one game suspension. The suspension means that van Nistelrooy will be unavailable for the Sunday game against Bilbao. Despite this set back, Sneijder noted that van Nistelrooy was still training as if he were still going to play on Sunday. The rest of the team, including Sneijder, felt that the infraction warranted a yellow card at most and that the red card was an over reaction by the judging official.

In a recent interview with Real Madrid soccer team player Raul Gonzales Blanco has revealed much about the way that they view the team and the potential legacy the Spanish franchise has in the upcoming years. Having been named La Liga’s greatest scoring team with a stunning 95 total strikes to their credit, Real Madrid’s forward sat down with an interviewer for Realmadrid TV. Asked which match was his favorite one of all time, Raul immediately responded that the 1999 Intercontinental Cup match was his absolute favorite. Raul has scored the winning goal in that match, surprising everyone even himself. He had recently come back from a painful groin injury and was not in the most ideal form during the game. That goal was important not only to Raul, but to the team because it was the first Intercontinental Cup the Real Madrid team had won in several years. Raul was then asked if he is an active and excited fan when he watches soccer matches when he is not actively in the game. Raul said that rather than become agitated, he likes to relax while he watches the games. He said that it was better than getting agitated while sitting on the bench because there is nothing he can do about the situation on the field. When most players are on the side lines, they want to get into the game, argue with the officials, or even protest what is happening. He does, however, get agitated when watching other sporting matches, such as tennis.

Raul Blanco then went on to note that the greatest challenge for the Real Madrid soccer team was to continue its winning tradition by securing titles. He said that the team’s greatest achievements will be the La Liga and Champions League titles, if they are able to win them. But he also mentioned that the King’s Cup was a thorn in the Real Madrid side because they have never won it, despite all the great players they have on their team. This year would be a blessing, considering the recent announcement of the Real Madrid’s efficacy as an aggressive attack-oriented team with such a high goal count. Raul Blanco’s  personal goal is what keeps him motivated to stay on top of his game. He hopes to match Don Alfredo di Stéfano’s career goal-count. Raul hopes that his example is an inspiration to the kids in the Youth system to show off their talents and to work hard. He noted that Real Madrid is always looking to promote first-rate talent and become integral players on the Real Madrid soccer team some day soon.

Raul Blanco said that the Real Madrid fans were the best of any team, packing the Bernebeu stadium on every game and giving the Real Madrid team all their love ans support. Raul promised that the Real Madrid team appreciated the support of its fans and that it would always strive to deliver the thrills and action that the fans have come to know and love. The more titles the Real Madrid team wins each year, the more they want to keep winning for the fans’ sake and for their franchise’s glory.

Real Madrid has been named the most scoring soccer team in all of the 2008 La Liga season on October 23^rd. According to the report, no other soccer team has scored nearly as many goals in La Liga this season as has Real Madrid. The Spanish soccer team has a stunning 20 strikes under their collective belts. Star players such as Raúl, Van Nistelrooy and Van der Vaart are sitting atop the team’s goal-scoring rankings, but Heinze, Robben , Guti and De la Red have also scored. Some have speculated that if this scoring streak continues unabated, the Real Madrid soccer team will end the season with an astounding 95 total goals. This is a figure very close to the league’s 107-strike record achieved by the Madrid Real soccer team back in the 1980’s. Real Madrid’s performance has prompted analysts to assert that the Spanish team is proving to be the most efficient and aggressive attacking team in the entire championship. In fact, the nearest competitors to Real Madrid are arch rival Barcelona with a distant ranking of 19 strikes total. Next is Valencia who follows Barcelona slightly by netting a meager 17 strikes thus far. Two soccer teams, Sevilla and Atletico, have netted 13 goals each to tie for fourth place. Sporting Gijon and Villarreal round out the list with 10 and 9 strikes respectively. This announcement places Real Madrid soccer team close to other European super teams such as Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim.

Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim are the only other European teams that have scored more goals than Real Madrid in their leagues so far this season. Werder Bremen currently has 117 strikes netted thus far. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, is very close to the top as well having netted 116 goals this year. Soccer team Lazio tops the Italian ranking with a total of 15 strikes. Meanwhile Olympique Marseille are currently the top-scoring French soccer team with only 19 total goals this season. Manchester City’s 20 strikes, on the other hand, puts them in the lead of the English ranking.

Things are looking up for Real Madrid, who was handed a stunning loss by the underdog Italian team Soccer-Juventus on Tuesday. The two to one loss was especially sad because the Turin team had lost five consecutive soccer matches prior to Tuesday night’s game. Despite the loss, Wesley Sneijder announced that he has bounced back from his injury and stated in an interview on the 22^nd of October that he is confident about the rest of the season despite the loss to Juventus on Tuesday. When asked about the stunning upset against the Soccer-Juventus team, Wesley Sneijder reportedly demurred, saying that the Italian team was tactically better than the Real Madrid soccer team had expected. Sneijder reiterated that the Real Madrid soccer team was a very strong team and remained so even after the loss. He then pointed out that despite the Turin team’s restriction of Real Madrid’s performance on Tuesday, the team had bounced back and did much better in the second half of the soccer match.

In 2006 before international soccer star and sex symbol David Beckham moved to Los Angeles to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Forbes.com had rated the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid as one of the most successful soccer franchises of all time. The franchise was considered Spain’s most successful team ever, having won a record nine European Champions Cups. Forbes went on to say that the Real Madrid soccer team was  arguably Europe’s most storied soccer club, if not the entire world’s. Real Madrid’s long success on the field, immense financial resources and a history of acquiring superstars made Spain’s Real Madrid a magnet for players and fans alike. Real Madrid’s closest rival is also another Spanish team, Barcelona, and is constantly being compared to the port town’s soccer team, usually unfavorable akin to a younger brother who can never step out of the shadows.

That was then, and considering Real Madrid’s stunning upset against underdog Turin’s lackluster football team on Thursday October 21^st, one wonders if the rising star that once sported “Becks” is on the wane. Before entering into the match against Italy’s Soccer-Junvetus, Real Madrid had won an easy victory against Atletico’s Netherlands international despite the red card ejection that forced star striker Ruud van Nistlerooy from the game. The two to one victory against The Netherlands international had even jeopardized the career of Atletico’s Mexican coach Javier Aguirre. That victory seemed to pale in comparison to the humiliating and wretched defeat of Real Madrid at the hands of a franchise which had lost five matches in a row. However, some analysts have noted that the club’s league form has been good despite the loss. Spain’s Real Madrid soccer team has lost only one time in the Primera Liga soccer league thus far this season. That particular defeat came on the opening day at Deportivo La Coruna. Since that match, Bernd Schuster’s side has won five and tied one to sit three points behind the league’s leader, Valencia. Real Madrid also beat local archrival Atletico Madrid two to one last weekend. The victory was due to a 96th minute penalty scored by Gonzalo Higuain. The Spanish champion Real Madrid now faces Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, October 26^th. The match will occur without the suspended star striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Of the other Real Madrid players, it is doubtful as to whether we will see the return of Higuain, but Guti and Mahamadou Diarra could return for the Sunday game. This game may be the one that brings the team back from its stunning loss to sit where it once was in 2006; the stakes look promising for yet another European Champions Cup, but only if they can keep other underdogs from upsetting their plans. 

Ruud van Nistlerooy is appealing his suspension in hopes that he will be able to play with Real Madrid in Sunday’s match against Bilbao. The appeal is a risky gamble because the Spanish League’s forum does have the power to increase the automatic one game suspension if it feels that the appeal was unjustified.

According to Britain’s Independent, the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid will be launching an appeal to gaming officials over the controversial red card violation given against star striker Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy. The appeal comes in spite of the two to one derby win for Real Madrid, facing off against Atletico’s The Netherlands international. Ruud van Nistlerooy helped The Madrid Real score its first goal of the game within sixty seconds of the opening of the derby. Ruud van Nistelrooy was sent off with a red card later on in the first half of the game. Ruud van Nistelrooy had made a hasty and perhaps unwise challenge on Atletico’s Portuguese midfielder Maniche ten and one half minutes before the end of the first quarter. This stunning development angered the Real Madrid soccer team who insisted that their star striker should not have been ejected from the game for the infraction, asserting that Ruud van Nistelrooy should only have been booked for the challenge. The red card may turn out to be devastating for the Spanish Real Madrid team in the near future. Because of the in-game violation, Ruud van Nistlerooy will not be allowed to take the field at all in the upcoming game against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu. If Ruud van Nistlerooy were to win his appeal, he would be able to lead his team on the upcoming match against Bilbao, however. The move is seen as a very risky strategic gamble by the Spanish Real Madrid team because, should the appeal be ruled invalid and unjustified by the Spanish League’s disciplinary forum, they do have the power to make the penalty even harsher. Instead of a one game suspension, Ruud van Nistlerooy could fame an extra game suspension or more on top of the one he already is appealing. Ruud van Nistlerooy had formerly played in the United Kingdom with famed Manchester United soccer team where he was also a striker.

At the same time, there are reports suggesting that Atletico, The Netherlands international’s Mexican coach Javier Aguirre may be close to losing his job. The loss by Atletico’s team against the Real Madrid soccer team represents the fourth such defeat for the struggling team in the past seven La Liga matches. The loss by The Netherlands international has officials and heads of Atletico considering a radical change and Javier Aguirre may be the first to go of the coaching staff, especially since Atletico The Netherlands international’s loss comes immediately following a serious drubbing theu received at the hands of Barcelona. That match resulted in a humiliating six to one loss for The Netherlands international. Though Atletico’s Netherlands international official John Neitinga tried to deflect these persistent rumors by backing Javier Aguirre, stating emphatically that “He (Javier Aguirre) is a good coach. He has already been at the club for three years and he is doing good work.”

Meanwhile, hopes were high in Madrid that they would be vindicated in their challenge and would soon have their star striker back on the field for the upcoming game at the Bernebeu.

There are not too many times when Spanish soccer power Real Madrid wants a player and they don’t get him. This time, they couldn’t land their man, though. The team went after French forward Santi Carzola, but for one reason or another, the player decided to stay put on his own team. Despite the chance to play with some of the best players in the world and the opportunity to make much more money, Carzola simply declined.

Some are speculating that it may have been because Real Madrid was the only team pursuing the 23-year old forward this time around. Next year, the player’s value figures to be even higher if he can put together another successful season. That will mean that there will be other European soccer powers trying to court him and because of that, the money will be even better than it was this time around.

It is hard to blame Carzola for holding out until next summer, though this move certainly leaves Real Madrid with some major holes to fill. They had counted on landing the player to secure their offensive attack and add a little bit more balance to the squad. Where they go from here is a little bit uncertain, though they do have the resources to go out and get pretty much whoever they want. At least that was the case until they were turned down by the young Santi Carzola. Some fans are concerned that this might not be a one time, isolated incident and instead, it could be something of a pattern.

Still, the team won’t know until the next time they try to go after a big time free agent, which doesn’t figure to happen until next summer when they really need to get some more firepower for the run through La Liga.

The first stadium of note for the Real Madrid club was Estadio Chamartin, a place where they really took to thriving. Though the club did play for about 20 years in different stadiums before moving to Estadio Chamartin, they really started to see success in that home. It was one of the first huge stadiums of that time, holding more than 20,000 fans. This remained the home of the Real Madrid club for more than 20 years and they saw some of their best triumphs there. It wasn’t until 1943 that they moved to a large venue.

That home is where they still play today. It is known as the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It was a huge super stadium and it continues to be an impressive home even today. If you follow a lot of European soccer, then you will understand why Real Madrid has become so comfortable playing their home games at this spot. It now has a capacity of well over 80,000 and it was recently named one of the elite soccer stadiums in the world by FIFA. This honor is a worthy one for this great venue that has housed some of this great team’s most famous moments over the years.

When you think about one of the most dominant soccer clubs in European history, Real Madrid will immediately come to mind. In order to truly understand what Real Madrid is now, you have to be able to understand where they have come from. A study of the history the Real Madrid football club in Spain will lead you to some interesting conclusions. It has not been easy to climb to the top of the mountain in European football, especially with so many clubs and so many nations trying to tear them down. Still, they have somehow managed to climb that mountain and more importantly, stay there.

The earliest origins of the Real Madrid football club trace back to 1897, but the more modern history begins with the official founding of the club on March 6, 1902. With the club being around more than 100 years, there has been plenty of time for them to establish a legacy and further, establish dominance over every team around them. The club really began to compete on a high level with the founding of the Spanish Football League in 1929. They nearly won the first title of that league, but came up one point short of Barcelona, a team that would become their biggest rival.

Their dominance over the rest of Europe began with the founding of the UEFA Champion’s League in 1955. This gave all of the best clubs in all of Europe the chance to play against one another in a highly competitive format. The club won each and every one of these competitions between the years of 1956 and 1960 and since then, the rest has been a foregone conclusion. That time period set them apart from all of Europe and established them as a permanent team to beat in the world.