Real Madrid annihilated Real Zaragoza at the Bernabeu in this six goal drubbing.
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1-0 Higuain
Pepe Guardiola’s Barcelona side overtook Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with this impreious display against Zaragoza. Seydou Keita scored a magnificent hat-trick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed a brace and Leo Messi scored to hand the Catalan giants a fabulous win over very weak opposition.
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The Aussie is beginning to make Gareth Barry and Jermaine Pennant look good!
The Independent reckons that Newcastle United have missed out in their quest for Pablo Aimar’s signature. [Read the rest of this entry »]
Kevin Keegan must wonder what he has done to upset world football. Newcastle fans will jump on my back with this statement, but it seems that as soon as they are linked to a player, he joins someone else. Tottenham player Luka Modric is a high-profile example of this.
Pablo Aimar has rejected the chance to don the famous black-and-white stripes, agreeing to join Portuguese giants Benfica for €7.5 million, around £6.25 million. The Real Zaragoza forward was heavily linked to the Magpies throughout the week, with Everton also mentioned, but it appears that the lure of St James Park was not enough as Aimar chose Champions League football.
Zaragoza communications director Luis Sol told Portuguese website maisfutebol.iol.pt:
He is about to sign a contract with Benfica. Between Zaragoza and Benfica everything is sorted out. The doors are open for Aimar to become Benfica player.
Keegan is also eyeing West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand, who also looks set to snub a move north. Having sealed the signing of Danny Guthrie from Liverpool and Jonas Gutierrez from Real Mallorca, are Newcastle fans at all worried about the ‘targets’ that King Kev is missing out on? Or are they happy with the squad they have, considering there was a late-season burst of form from the Magpies?
Word on the street is that Davie Moyes is starting to warm ever so slightly to the idea of letting Andy Johnson leave Goodison Park, and it might have something to do with the fact that he has his eye on this Argentine replacement. [Read the rest of this entry »]
The Sun reports that David Moyes will make a bid for an exciting midfielder, but he’ll have to overcome a number of obstacles first. [Read the rest of this entry »]
Man City have been hot on the heels of a certain Spanish striker for the last couple of weeks, and after fighting off other potential suitors left and right, the club looks to be in line to finally get their man. [Read the rest of this entry »]
If King Kev gets his way, Newcastle could be only set to make their move for a midfield ace that could surely improve their squad. And to think, all it took was a little bit of bad karma at a recently relegated La Liga club to their potential dream a reality.
The Daily Mirror is reporting that Keegan is prepared to use Real Zaragoza’s drop from the La Liga to his advantage and make £6.5m midfielder Pablo Aimar his top signing of the summer.
The Newcastle United manager wants to sign Pablo Aimar, the Argentina midfielder, after Real Zaragoza put him up for sale at £6.5m. (Daily Mirror)
In terms of quality, Aimar would be leagues ahead of any other midfielder Newcastle currently has on the team; plus he has the pace and quality that Keegan has been desperately searching for this summer.
Would Newcastle supporters welcome Aimar to the squad? Is this the type of player the club needs to make a serious push for a top 6 finish?
Manchester United defender Gerard Pique might be struggling to earn games under manager Sir Alex Ferguson this season but the Spanish Under21 international isn’t giving up hope on his Man United career. The youngster who was on loan to Spanish side Real Zaragoza last season has made just 10 appearances all season in all competitions for the Red Devils but remains confident of breaking into a regular central defensive position in the first team:
They complement (Rio Ferdinand & Nemanja Vidic) each other very well,” Pique told Inside United.
They’re two of the best centre-backs in the world, both strong in the air and good on the ball. And they show their qualities all the time, not only in games, but every day in training. They’re always striving to improve.
I know I have to work just as hard, if not harder than they do if I want to play and that’s what I’m trying to do.
You can look at it both ways.
In one way, it’s frustrating because I’d like to be playing every week, but at the same time I’m learning from two of the best.
I’m confident my chance will arrive. So I have no problem with it.
But how long would you sustain the frustration, Pique? He is still young and on a learning curve and maybe he needs to find a club that can guarantee him regular football.
FansFC reports that Liverpool are eager to take on board the 24-year old Real Zaragoza midfielder Sergio Garcia in the summer. Garcia is a product of the Real Madrid youth system but couldn’t manage to thread his way through into the Madrid first team and constructed his name at tiny Levante.
Lasts season Sergio Garcia was one of the best players for Zaragoza and although he hasn’t been able to reach that same peak this time around, he is certainly someone whom Liverpool Rafael Benitez thinks is worth a try.
But of course he wouldn’t come cheap. £12million is said to be price and you wonder whether Mr. Gillett and Mr. Hocks would be eager to rack up that amount for another Spanish import.
Tribal Football reports that Manchester City have launched a £8 million bid for Real Zaragoza striker Diego Milito. Although the site cannot always be relied upon, this time it could have well have reported something substantial.
Milito is an Argentine international who has remained one of the top strikers in La Liga for several years now. He has been a revelation at Zaragoza and was linked with a move to FC Barcelona in the summer but instead it was his brother Gabriel who switched from Zaragoza to Barca in the summer.
City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson desperately seeks a striker to bolster his team’s fourth place finish in the Premiership this season but unfortunately for the Swede his other potential signings have all fallen through. Although Zaragoza are not eager to sell any of their players this month, the current managerial problems for the club that is struggling just above the relegation zone in the league table and who have just appointed their third manager in about a fortnight might not dissuade from joining the Premiership high flyers.
Liverpool Daily Post specuates that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is contemplating signing Pablo Aimar from Real Zaragoza as the January transfer window shuts down fast.
Aimar is currently playing for Real Zaragoza in Spain but is ruled out at the money because of injury. The Argentine international and Rafa had worked together previously and now that Aimar is reported to be up for sale, Rafa has been alerted.
Liverpool could well do with a player like Pablo Aimar. Although the Argentine hasn’t been able to be at his scintillating best for Zaragoza since being transferred from Valencia in the summmer of 2006, he certainly has class and quality encrypted in his DNA. There’s no doubt that Aimar would be a massive signing for the Reds.
When Javier Irureta was dismissed by Real Betis in December 2006, very few thought he would ever return to football management. Yet the former Deportivo la Coruna coach, who has spent most of his managerial career in northern Spain, is back into the frying pan – this time as boss of Real Zaragoza.
Sky Sports reports that Zaragoza have appointed Irureta as their third manager in the space of nine days. A statement of the club’s website stated:
”Javier Irureta has signed a contract with the club until the end of the season.”
The appointment of Irureta, who was the creative mind behind Deportivo’s extraordinary rise to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s and who won the Galician club their only La Liga silverware in 2000, comes just a day after Ander Garitano resigned from the post, citing personal reasons. Garitano was in the job for just eight days.
Zaragoza lie 11th in the table but are just three points clear of the trouble zone. Yet with Irureta in charge and a squad that is oozing talent and quality from every pore, there’s every chance that they will improve in the second half of the season.
Real Zaragoza are in a mess. The club touted to fight for a UEFA Champions League spot this season are hovering just above the relegation zone (although it would be naïve to suggest that they will still be fighting for survival at the end of the season) and have lost two managers in the space of just eight days.
Sports Network reports that Ander Garitano has resigned after just over a week in charge. He was appointed manager after the club got rid of Victor Fernandez.
Garitano said:
”My decision, however surprising it might appear, is due exclusively to personal reasons.”
So Real Zaragoza have to start the search for a manager all over again. Who will they go for now?
At the start of the season, Real Zaragoza were touted as potential challengers for La Liga title after finishing in a promising 6th position in the league last season and had somehow been able to retain virtually their entire squad, especially the likes of Andres d’Alessandro and Gabriel Milito. But 19 games into this season and Zaragoza have not only been stripped of that challengers tag but have been forced to sit near the relegation zone.
As in similar cases, the manager has to foot the bill and Victor Fernandez has done so. Sky Sports has reported that Zaragoza have sacked their 47-year coach following a disappointing 2-2 draw with Real Mallorca in the Spanish first division on Sunday. So far this season, Zaragoza have just 22 points and are 12th in the league but more crucially and ridiculously just 2 points off the relegation zone.
Zaragoza haven’t won in 9 matches and are also struggling both at the back and in attack. The players have lacked spirit and coherence is a forgotten word for them. Fernandez becomes the fourth coach in the Spanish top flight this season to be gifted the sack. Abel Resino (Levante), Quique Sanchez Flores (Valencia) and Hector Cuper (Real Betis) are the other casualties in La Liga so far this season.
Poor old Gabriel Heinze. Literally walked to the border by Manchester United, the Argentine defender must have thought himself lucky when he was rapidly gathering games under Bernd Schuster at Real Madrid. Indeed, his successive good performances in La Liga must have cemented his starting place in Schuster’s large but somewhat unsettled squad.
Now ESPN Soccernet reports that Heinze will be out of action for at least five weeks with a torn muscle in his left leg – an injury sustained in the 2-0 win over Real Zaragoza at the Bernabeu on Sunday. The versatile defender, who can play at left-back or as a central defender, has managed just six starts since his move from Manchester United in the summer but was gradually grooving into the Real side.
His absence wouldn’t quite lead to Schuster reshuffling his backline but the five-week absence could prove detrimental to Heinze’s chances of regaining first-team football. Schuster has an array of defenders waiting in the wings and shouldn’t miss him. Royston Drenthe, Miguel Torres and Marcelo all are capable players who could easily fill the left-back slot.
Real Zaragoza might not have been contenders for the Spanish league title at the start of the season but they were certainly touted as challengers for a UEFA Champions League spot. But 18 matches into the season and they are struggling even for a UEFA Cup spot.
And much of the meltdown in form can be credited to the absence of their influential midfielder Pablo Aimar. According to a SkySports report, the Argentine international midfielder could be out for the next three months. Aimar is supposed to undergoing an operation on a pelvic injury and that will bar him from taking onto the pitch.
Although Zaragoza have not revealed how long the player will be out of action, the Spanish press suggests that Aimar wouldn’t be able to play any football for at least three months. This is a huge blow for Victor Fernandez’s side which is currently languishing in 10th in La Liga.
Aimar was instrumental last season when Zaragoza played wonderful football and finished 6th in the table. Aimar was signed by Zaragoza in the summer of 2006 from Valencia and instantly clicked with the likes of fellow Argentines Andres d’Alessandro and Diego Milito in attack. Last season Aimar scored 5 times in the league and this time around he has started 11 matches this season and has appeared as a substitute on 3 other occasions but is yet to register any goal and has provided just 3 assists. In all likelihood, Zaragoza will miss Aimar and creativity from central midfield.
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