EL CLASICO

Fourth 5-0 win over the eternal rival

Real Madrid CF's unbeaten opening to the Liga campaign came to a shuddering halt at Camp Nou as FC Barcelona crushed José Mourinho's men 5-0 in the season's first 'Clásico'.

Josep Guardiola's team never looked back after storming into a two-goal lead inside 18 minutes with strikes from Xavi Hernández and Pedro Rodríguez. David Villa's double in the space of four second-half minutes underlined the superiority of the home side on the night with Jeffren ensuring Madrid were toppled from the summit to two points behind an irrepressible Barça.

Barcelona quickly forced their rivals into retreat and Lionel Messi's brilliance almost broke the deadlock after five minutes, his sublime curling effort striking the far upright. The Catalan faithful did not have long to wait for the opener, though, as Andrés Iniesta's purposeful burst and incisive pass allowed Xavi to poke past Iker Casillas from close range in the tenth minute.

Ángel Di María tested Víctor Valdés as Madrid attempted to establish a foothold but instead the rug was pulled from under them as the hosts added a second. Xavi fired a cross-field pass that found Villa in space, the striker darting past Sergio Ramos and driving in a low cross that evaded the grasp of Casillas leaving Pedro the simplest of finishes.

Mourinho shuffled his pack at the interval with Lassana Diarra replacing Mesut Özil but the Blaugrana continued to dictate with Villa thwarted by Casillas and Xavi slicing into the side-netting with the goalkeeper scrambling back shortly after the resumption.

The third goal, ten minutes after half-time, came as no surprise with Messi's scything pass controlled by Villa and the Spain striker finishing with aplomb across the face of Casillas. Los Merengues were shell-shocked but Messi and Villa were relentless, another through ball from the Argentinian schemer dispatched by his strike partner on 58 minutes to send the Camp Nou supporters into early victory celebrations.

There was time for a final hurrah in stoppage time as Bojan Krkić sped down the right flank and crossed for fellow substitute Jeffren to flip a nonchalant fifth past a bemused Casillas. Madrid's misery was compounded when Sergio Ramos received a red card to complete a remarkable evening's entertainment.

VIEW THE GOALS !!!

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Barça bounce back in style (5-1)

Barça bounce back in style (5-1)

FC Barcelona have started their Champions League campaign with a more than convincing 5-1 win over Panathinaikos. Messi (2), who also missed a penalty, Villa, Pedro and Alves were on target.

On Tuesday night, Barcelona showed that they have regained everything that was missing at the weekend. Guardiola’s side played its characteristic passing game, using the wings effectively, displaying grit and determination, and also coping admirably with the adversity of going a goal behind. Ignoring that initial setback, Barça went on to steamroll their way past Panathinaikos on the basis of simply exquisite football. Messi was also back to his subliminal best, and could have completed a hat trick had he converted a second half penalty. Villa scored his first European goal for his new club, and Pedro and Alves rounded off a wonderful evening at the Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona go top of the group on goal difference ahead of Copenhagen, who also have three points after scoring a late winner against Barça’s next opponent, Rubin Kazan.

Govou puts Greeks ahead

Barça soon put the nightmare of Hercules behind, and took the game straight to a Panathinaikos side that seemed happy to speculate. Neither was the Greek outfit the tough-tackling kind of opponent Barça often have to deal with, for they didn’t even commit a foul in the first quarter hour. But just when it looked like the Catalans were in for an easy night, a long clearance from goalkeeper Tzorvas found Cissé, whose classy backheel put Govou in a wonderful position, and the French international made no mistake.

Immediate reaction

There was no way Barça deserved to be behind, and they knew it. Determined not to allow any repeat of Saturday’s debacle, the home side responded straight from the restart. Within a minute, Xavi had found Messi, and the Argentinian stroked home the equaliser. Twelve minutes later, Xavi was involved in another goal, this time sending in a corner that Busquets nodded on to Villa, who slotted home from the far post.

Messi shows his class

It was just before the break that we witnessed the goal of the night, and it was that man Messi again. Moments after inexplicably hitting the crossbar, an intricate series of one-twos with Xavi and Pedro left the Greek defence in total disarray. From going a goal down, it had taken Barça just 24 minutes to as good as assure themselves of victory.

Two more gifts

It was more of the same after the break – one way traffic heading towards Greek stopper Tzorvas, who despite conceding five goals was probably the best player in the visiting side. It was he who saved an uncharacteristically sloppy spotkick from Messi, but there was nothing he could to stop Barça’s fourth. Messi looked to have cheekily scored from an insanely narrow angle, but the ball bounced off one post and then the other before landing in the path of Pedro, who simply had to tap it home.

It looked like it was going to end 4-1, but Barça still had another ace up their sleeve. Three minutes into injury time, Messi placed the ball on Alves’ head, and the Brazilian sent the ball looping overt the flailing keeper and into the Panathinaikos net. An altogether extraordinary performance from Barcelona, which leaves them riding high at the top of Group D

SPAIN QUEEN OF THE WORLD

INIESTA WINNER CROWNS SPAIN WORLD CHAMPIONS

Netherlands 0-1 Spain (aet)
European titleholders Spain won the FIFA World Cup for the first time thanks to Andrés Iniesta's strike in the second period of extra time.

Andrés Iniesta scored a 116th-minute winner as Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating ten-man Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg.

Having been played in by substitute Cesc Fàbregas, Iniesta drilled across Maarten Stekelenburg with penalties looming at Soccer City. That came seven minutes after John Heitinga was dismissed for pulling down the FC Barcelona midfielder. Arjen Robben had earlier squandered the best chance of normal time for the Oranje when one on one with Iker Casillas, a miss which was ultimately to prove costly as the European champions condemned their opponents to a third World Cup final defeat and became the first nation to win the crown after losing their opening game.

Sergio Ramos almost headed Spain into the lead inside five minutes, forcing Stekelenburg into a diving save from Xavi Hernández's delivery. Spain were showing few signs of nerves in their first World Cup showpiece, with Ramos again to the fore soon after, skipping past Dirk Kuyt and driving in a shot which Heitinga scooped over his crossbar. From the resulting short corner, David Villa volleyed into the side netting.

The Oranje gradually found their feet but any attempts either side made at settling into a rhythm were hindered by a plethora of fouls in midfield, resulting in five bookings by the 28th minute. Save for Spain's early opportunities, neither team had functioned as an attacking force, though Casillas had to be alert on the cusp of half-time to turn away Robben's near-post shot.

Little had been seen of two of the players leading the tournament's scoring charts, five-goal duo Villa and Wesley Sneijder, until the latter's perfectly weighted pass fashioned the best chance of the match. However, Robben, with time to pick his spot, had his effort kept out by Casillas' outstretched right leg.

That was the cue for the game to open up, with Villa next to wonder how he failed to score midway through the half, Heitinga atoning for miscuing Jesús Navas's cross at the far post by somehow blocking the striker's shot. Like his team-mate, Ramos had his head in his hands moments later after nodding over Xavi's corner when unmarked eight metres out. With extra time approaching, Casillas was quick to smother at the feet of Robben after the winger outstripped Carles Puyol.

Fàbregas passed up the clearest chance of extra time when he was denied by the legs of Stekelenburg, who was then thankful for Giovanni van Bronckhorst deflecting Navas’s shot wide. Heitinga was dismissed in the 109th minute but just as it seemed penalties would be required, up popped Iniesta to win it for the European champions

SIMPLY THE BEST! CONGRATULATIONS SPAIN! FOR THE NEXT 4 YEARS,SPANISH WILL BE THE MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE !

Netherlands and Spain WC FINAL 2010

Netherlands and Spain poised for final act

Bert van Marwijk wants his Netherlands team to shrug off the magnitude of the final and be themselves against Spain, whose coach Vicente del Bosque feels both sides are "almost identical".

Spain striker David Villa feels Spain must demonstrate their much fabled ability to keep possession to prevail in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final, while Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst admits he is dreaming of following in the footsteps of some vaunted names in lifting the coveted trophy.

The maiden global finals to be held in Africa are already guaranteed to produce a first European winner outside their own continent, but such records are far from the minds of Vicente del Bosque and Bert van Marwijk, the latter of whom is calling on his team to stamp their mark on the occasion.

"It is important everyone is himself, certainly against a top side like Spain," said the Oranje coach, who welcomes back the suspended Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong. "There is no need for me to motivate the players. We are two sides who are very organised, with players in both teams who can decide it. I think the best two teams are in the final, underlining the word 'team'".

Such sentiments are echoed by Villa, top scorer in Spain's triumphant UEFA EURO 2008 campaign and once again topping the table – along with Wesley Sneijder, Diego Forlán and Thomas Müller – in the race to be this tournament's most prolific marksman. Should he find the net in the showpiece Villa would also draw level with Raúl González as Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals.

"[In the semi final] Germany wanted to have the ball, but in the end they were forced to retreat because of our game," said the new FC Barcelona recruit. "The Netherlands will also want to have possession and to attack but we're hoping it will be extremely difficult for them to get the ball off us."

Van Bronckhorst will retire after the denouement in Johannesburg and has his sights set on bowing out on a high by taking his country, beaten finalists in 1974 and 1978, one step further. "In the past I saw players like Maradona, Cafu and Dunga lifting the World Cup, so it is a dream to also lift it ourselves," said the former FC Barcelona defender, whose side have followed a 100% qualifying record with six wins out of six in South Africa. "It will be fantastic for the whole of the Netherlands to win the World Cup for the first time."

Spain dazzled with their style of play in Austria and Switzerland two years ago and are looking to become just the second side in history – after West Germany in 1972 and 1974 – to lift the World Cup on the back of success in the European Championship. Del Bosque, though, is quick to dismiss the notion they are overriding favourites.

"We're playing against a rival who deserve to be here," he said. "It will be a game between two sides who have quality players and play nice football. The two teams are almost identical in terms of the style they play. I think the Netherlands have a predetermined style and they won't change when they face us."

Something, though, will have to give with one country set to become the eighth winners of the global football championship, and one forced to wait at least another four years to break their duck.

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Uruguay-Germany 2-3

Khedira kills off Uruguay resistance

Published: Saturday 10 July 2010, 21.15CET

Uruguay 2-3 Germany

Both sides held the lead in an enterprising game before Sami Khedira's late header assured the three-time winners of third place.

Three-time FIFA World Cup winners Germany came from behind to prevail 3-2 against Uruguay in the third place play-off in Port Elizabeth.

Joachim Löw's side initially took the lead in the battle of the beaten semi-finalists but Thomas Müller's close-range strike was swiftly cancelled out by Edinson Cavani. Diego Forlán's superb volley put Uruguay in the ascendancy and drew him level on five goals with Müller, David Villa and Wesley Sneijder in the race to be top scorer, but Marcell Jansen equalised before Sami Khedira finally decided matters with an 82nd-minute header.

Germany had swiftly made up for their lack of possession against Spain and almost went ahead just ten minutes in, Arne Friedrich heading Mesut Özil's corner against the bar. They did go in front nine minutes later, though, when Fernando Muslera parried Bastian Schweinsteiger's long-range shot, Müller stroking in the rebound.

Uruguay looked bereft of inspiration before sparking into life on 28 minutes when Schweinsteiger was uncharacteristically dispossessed. The ball found its way to Luis Suárez and the AFC Ajax striker laid on a perfectly weighted pass which Cavani consummately slipped past Jörg Butt. Suárez himself was less precise either side of half-time, firstly snatching at his shot when through on goal before then being denied by Butt. His strike partner, Forlán, was far more clinical on 51 minutes, showing exquisite technique to volley in Egidio Arévalo's cross from the edge of the penalty area.

Parity was soon restored again, however, Jansen heading in at the back post from an inviting Jérôme Boateng cross from the right. Butt again kept out Suárez soon after and it was a stop that proved decisive because, with eight minutes left, Uruguay failed to deal with a corner and the ball popped up to Khedira, who adroitly sent a header looping over Muslera. Forlán so nearly had the final word but hit the bar from a free-kick which proved to be the last act of a pulsating match.

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Netherlands hold firm to reach final

Published: Tuesday 6 July 2010, 22.15CET

Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben were all on target as the Dutch reached a first final since 1978.

Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands (Highlights)

The Netherlands reached the FIFA World Cup final for the first time since 1978, goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben seeing off a determined Uruguay in Cape Town.

Uruguay had won three of the sides' previous four meetings but it was their opponents who struck first, captain Van Bronckhorst marking his 105th international appearance with an unstoppable drive from long range in the 18th minute. Uruguay, champions in 1930 and 1950, swiftly regrouped and responded with a goal from distance of their own through Diego Forlán shortly before half-time. Both teams had chances in the third quarter of the match, but goals in the final 20 minutes from Sneijder and Robben sent the Oranje into a final against Germany or Spain in Johannesburg on Sunday despite Maxi Pereira's added-time effort.

In their first semi-final since 1998, the Netherlands began the brighter, Dirk Kuyt shooting too high following a fourth-minute corner. Both teams had chances to launch promising attacks in an open start, but when the first goal arrived it came out of the blue. The Netherlands worked the ball to Van Bronckhorst and the left-back let fly from more than 35 metres out, his unstoppable effort leaving Fernando Muslera clutching at air and finding the top corner.

Only a superbly-timed challenge from Martín Cáceres on Robben prevented Bert van Marwijk's team from doubling their lead, and Uruguay promptly threatened a goal of their own. Only the sheer weight of numbers prevented Edinson Cavani's cross reaching Forlán, who headed just wide moments later, yet there was to be no denying the Club Atlético de Madrid striker five minutes before half-time. A thunderous left-foot shot from range escaped Maarten Stekelenburg for Forlán's fourth goal of the finals to level the scores.

Van Bronckhorst then headed Álvaro Pereira's shot off the line with Stekelenburg stranded before the goalkeeper dived to his right to push away Forlán's curling free-kick. At the other end, Muslera was equal to a low effort from substitute Rafael van der Vaart, yet he was powerless to keep out Sneijder's deflected low effort from the edge of the penalty area 20 minutes from time.

The Netherlands – who won all eight qualifying games and now all six of their matches in South Africa – made the game safe three minutes later, Robben heading in Kuyt's inviting cross, although they were made to endure a tense finale after Maxi Pereira finished off a well-worked free-kick two minutes into added time. The Dutch held firm to earn the chance to at last consign their defeats in the 1974 and 1978 finals to history.

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WORLD CUP PROGRAM

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FIFA WOLRD CUP 2010 START

World primed for a football feast

The waiting is almost over. The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ begins on Friday when the tournament hosts take on Group A rivals Mexico in the magnificent surroundings of Soccer City in Johannesburg, the first match to be staged at this impressive arena.

No host nation has ever lost their opening game in the world finals. Though this is new territory for the South Africans, the Mexicans have had the honour of opening up the competition on four previous occasions (1930, 1950, 1958 and 1970), although they failed to win any of those games.

Villa is ours !

David Villa has signed with FC BARCELONA

Villa: “I will give everything to the club”

David Puig

David Villa could not hide his excitement as he was presented as a new player of FC Barcelona on Friday morning and revealed his desire to follow in the footsteps of his heroes Quini and Luis Enrique.

After admitting he was slightly nervous, Villa said that he was proud of joining the reigning champions of the Spanish league as he met the press in Camp Nou for the first time since penning a four-year deal. "It is an honour and I am proud of this very important move," he said. "I have to thank so many people for this transfer to Barça. My family, Barça, Valencia and everyone that made it become a reality. I am very proud and will give everything to this club."

Barça effort

"Barça showed clearly that they wanted to sign me," Villa continued. "I could say about the million little things that they have done to bring me here and that helped me in my decision to move."

Easy integration

Familiarity with so many of the Barça stars through his time with the Spanish national team was also a big factor in helping Villa decide. "That was one of the key reasons," he commented. "I know a lot of the players personally. There will be no problems fitting in. They have already helped me a lot even before I signed and became a Barça player."

Villa then praised Barça and their star names, in particular Messi. "I am conscious that I am joining the best team in the world and that they have won everything," he continued. "I want to help them become a little better. Messi is the best player I have ever seen and I will be proud to share a dressing room with him and to wear the same shirt."

Winning trophies

"No promises of how many goals he would score next season were forthcoming. "I am here to score goals that will help the club to win things and to contribute what I can to the team," Villa explained. "I have not won many trophies in my career, two Copa del Reys and one Super Cup, although I cannot complain and am proud of those. But I come here with a desire to win even moer and, if possible, the Champions League."

Quini and Luis Enrique

Following in the footsteps of his heroes Villa will become the eleventh Asturian to play for Barça. Names such as Quini, Abelardo and Luis Enrique are well known and he wants to add his to the list. "Everyone knows my idols were Quini and Luis Enrique," he added. "Both had great success with Barça and I want to follow them. I want to be remembered like them when I finish my time here."

President pleased

Barça president Joan Laporta thanked everyone that made the signing of Villa possible as he addressed the media in the Sala Paris above the club shop. "I want to thank Txiki Begiristain and Raül Senllehi for their work and for Valencia for the way that the talks were conducted and to Villa's father who worked tirelessly to help us sign his son."

Perfect player

Begiristain stated that he felt that Villa had the right profile for Barça. "He is the perfect player to play up front for Barça," he explained. "His movement across the front line, as well his ability to play down the left and in the centre stand out. He is a player that will give us so many options going forward. With Villa we have an impressive front line."

Villa should feel at home

Edgar Fornós

David Villa will be coming to team where he already knows a large number of his future team mates, either from international duty or from different publicity spots, something that’s bound to help him settle into the club quickly.

Villa will be travelling to South Africa this summer with Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio and Víctor Valdes, who he also knows from Spanish Under-21 duty. He was at Zaragoza with Milito and has taken part in a number of publicity acts with Messi, who is sponsored by the same sports outfitting company.

Future teammates’ support

In his press conference on Friday, Villa expressed his satisfaction with the support he’d received from his future teammates ahead of his signing: “I’m lucky to know a number of players here and I am good friends with some of them. I’ve felt very good about the support I’ve got from them, even before I signed and I’m very grateful to them for that”.

European Champions

One of Villa’s most memorable, moments as a player was alongside Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta when Spain won the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland in 2008. Villa was the tournament’s leading scorer with 4 goals.

Whilst at Zaragoza, Villa and Milito won the 2003/04 Spanish Cup under ex-Barca man Victor Muñoz, beating Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. The two played one more season together until Villa moved to Valencia.

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