The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Real Madrid

  • 1,000 injured during Turin stampede, Italian police say

    1,000 injured during Turin stampede, Italian police say

    About 1,000 people were injured after a firecracker provoked a stampede on Saturday night in the Italian city of Turin, police say.

    Thousands of football fans were watching a live relay of Juventus’ UEFA Champions League final match against Real Madrid in Cardiff, Wales when a bang was heard.

    Rumours of an explosion quickly spread to worsen the situation and provoke a stampede.

    At least two people, including a seven-year-old child, were seriously hurt in the incident.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that title-holders Real Madrid of Spain beat Juventus of Italy 4-1 to win the Champions League for the 12th time.

    With 10 minutes of the second half remaining, crowds rushed away from the centre of Piazza San Carlo, crushing people against barriers.

    Bags and shoes were left scattered on the ground as people ran screaming out of the square.

    A seven-year-old boy is reported to be in critical condition in hospital with head and chest injuries.

    Some of the injuries occurred when a barrier around the entrance to an underground car park gave way.

    For some Juventus fans, the incident brought back traumatic memories of the 1985 Heysel stadium disaster in Brussels, where 39 people were killed, with most of them being Italian fans.

    A wall had collapsed on them before the European Cup final match against Liverpool.

  • Record-breaking Real Madrid beat Juventus, retain Champions League title

    Record-breaking Real Madrid beat Juventus, retain Champions League title

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as holders Real Madrid of Spain on Saturday emerged champions of Europe for a record 12th time after overwhelming 10-man Juventus of Italy.

    In a high-quality UEFA Champions League final match in Cardiff, the Portugal captain put Real Madrid ahead with a first-time finish from 16 yards before Mario Mandzukic equalised.

    He scored from just inside the area with a sensational overhead kick beyond Keylor Navas, a goal that should stand out as one of the best.

    But Real took control of the game after the interval, with Brazilian midfielder Casemiro’s deflected shot restoring the lead.

    Ronaldo then sealed victory for Zinedine Zidane’s side after poking home from close range following Luka Modric’s cross.

    Juventus played the last six minutes with 10 men, after substitute Juan Cuadrado got booked twice inside 18 minutes, before substitute Marco Asensio hit the fourth after Marcelo’s fine pass.

    Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has now won back-to-back Champions League titles since he took charge in January 2016.

    In addition to this, the former Real player won the season’s La Liga title.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Juventus, who are the Serie A champions, have now lost five Champions League finals since they last won the competition in 1996.

  • REAL MADRID WIN 11TH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE

    REAL MADRID WIN 11TH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE

    CRISTIANO Ronaldo fired Real Madrid into the history books as they beat Juventus at the Millennium Stadium.

    The Portugal skipper scored twice as LaLiga champions Madrid swept aside the Serie A champions 4-1 to become the first team to ever retain the Champions League.

    And in the process he notched his 600th career goal as well as becoming the first player ever to score in three Champions League Finals.

    Ronaldo fired Madrid ahead in the 20th minute when Daniel Carvajal’s cross was steered home by the current Ballon D’Or holder Ronaldo.

    It meant Los Blancos had scored in every match they have played this season – all 60 of them – and for Ronaldo it was a 41st goal of the campaign and a 104th in the Champions League.

    But seven minutes later Serie A champions Juve were level with a wonder goal.

    Mario Mandzukic arrowed a bicycle kick into the top corner, his 11th goal of the season – and a second Champions League final goal. He also became the third player ever to score for two different clubs in a final, having also netted for Bayern Munich against Dortmund in 2013.

    After such a terrific first half, the second half was much slower. Neither team wanted to commit to finding a winner with so much at stake and the match was much tighter.

    But on 61 minutes, Casemiro’s 25-yard shot was deflected past Gianlugi Buffon by Sami Khedira, and Real Madrid regained the lead out of the blue.

    Three minutes later Ronaldo added his second of the night from close range to make it 3-1 – his 600th career goal.

    Things got even worse for Juve when substitute Juan Cuadrado was sent off for picking up a second yellow card following a challenge on Sergio Ramos.

    In the dying seconds, substitute Marco Asensio completed the rout with the fourth goal.

  • No cheap legs on the pitch in Champions league final

    No cheap legs on the pitch in Champions league final

     

    It is battle for supremacy as Real Madrid tackle Juventus in today’s UEFA Champions league final. It is different stoke for the two teams.  While Real madrid are gunning for their 12th title, Juve are hoping to increase their tally which and for Buffon an excellent opportunity to enjoy the glory. What is the sum total in cost of the players on the pitch today.  Certainly these are no light weight players;

    Real Madrid’s Champions League squad is worth over €200 million more than that of their opponents in Saturday’s Champions League final, Juventus.

    While most pundits agree that there is little to choose between the two clubs in a sporting sense, it is clear from the value of their respective panels that los Blancos are operating a different financial level to the Bianconeri.

    The reigning champions’ 25-strong squad was assembled at a cost of €638.2 million and features the second and third most expensive players of all time in Gareth Bale (€100.8m) and Cristiano Ronaldo (€94m).

    Bale, of course, is unlikely to be fit enough to start in his native Cardiff and is expected to be joined on the bench by €80m man James Rodriguez, underlining the incredible strength in depth available to Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

    While Juve’s squad is worth ‘only’ €422.03m in terms of overall transfer fees (which, it is worth noting, were calculated by including previous loan fees and bonuses), the Italian champions have a couple of big-money signings of their own.

    Indeed, Gonzalo Higuain was signed from Napoli for €90m, while captain Gianluigi Buffon remains the most expensive goalkeeper in history – which is staggering given he arrived in Turin from Parma 16 years ago.

    The Italian’s €53m now looks like a bargain and it is worth pointing out that Juve’s recent resurgence can be attributed to the shrewd work done in the transfer market by CEO Beppe Marotta and sporting director Fabio Paratici.

    Juve’s famed ‘BBC’ defence was acquired for a grand total of €23.6m, which is less than Madrid spent on either Danilo or Fabio Coentrao

    Still, it is worth noting that Madrid have made a couple of prudent signings themselves in recent years, most notably Dani Carvajal and Marcelo, both of whom were bought for €6.5m.

    Even the relatively small amounts of money spent on the likes of Keylor Navas (€10m), Raphael Varane (€10m), Toni Kroos (€30m), Isco (€30m) and Luka Modric (€35m) represent excellent pieces of business, given what they have contributed to Real’s recent triumphs.

    The fact remains that Real have always spent big in pursuit of success and they will be hoping that their colossal outlay on this current crop of superstars will once again pay dividends.

    Will that happen? Only time and in fact few hours will tell.

  • SWAN calls on state governments to encourage sports talents

    SWAN calls on state governments to encourage sports talents

    The President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Honour Sirawoo, has called on state governments to adopt policies that would discover sports talents to boost tourism and employment.

    Sirawo, made the call in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday when he led SWAN national officials on a courtesy visit to Kebbi Gov. Alhaji Atiku Bagudu.

    “Sports has gone beyond recreation and past time to the level of revenue earner and encourages tourism, if the states can tap the talent of their sportsmen and women,” Sirawoo said.

    He urged the governments to invest heavily in sports to facilitate the socio- economic development of the country.

    “If one should draw an instance from Christiano Ronaldo, a Real Madrid footballer, one can simply understand the impact of talent in a country.

    “Ronaldo was a secondary school drop out, but because of his talent, he now earns about 500,000 Pounds per week and another 600,000 Pounds as match bonus.

    “More so, in our local example, 19 year- old Kelechi  Iheanacho, who plays for Manchester City earns about 85,000 Pounds per week, which goes to show that sports brings economic prosperity to the people,”  he said.

    According to him, SWAN officials were in the state to mobilise the state government in its efforts to revive sports.

    He acknowledged the efforts of the government for improving agriculture and electricity supply.

    The president also explained that the association was created in 1964 with the aim of promoting and developing sports activities in the country.

    In his remarks, Gov. Bagudu, represented by Alhaji Babale Yauri, Secretary to the state Government, said that government would strive to revive sports.

    “The government is now committed to energizing the Ministry of Youth and Sports to explore talents that will represent and win laurels for the state in national and international competitions,” he said.

    He revealed that the government would rehabilitate facilities and provide modern sports facilities.

    “This is in furtherance of our governor’s commitment to the development of sports,” he said.

  • Ronaldo tax debts put at €8m

    Ronaldo tax debts put at €8m

    Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly defrauded the Spanish state out of a figure in excess of €8m.

    According to Cadena SER, Spain’s Tax Agency has forwarded the reports on its investigations into Ronaldo’s tax returns for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 to the prosecutor’s office for financial crimes.

    In its report, the treasury’s inspectors allegedly saw “indications” that the Portuguese committed tax offences, amounting to €8,260,477.

    However, he has attached details of his contracts since 2014, possibly suggesting he was not deliberately hiding his income, which would mean that he is only liable for an administrative offence.

    In order to be guilty of a tax offence in Spain, it is necessary that the amount defrauded exceeds €120,000 and intent can be proved.

    AS explains the biggest difference between the cases of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is that the former made a voluntary payment of €6m in 2014, while the latter refused to comply with the Treasury.

    Messi’s case worsened after he created a partnership in Panama “to continue invoicing behind the Treasury’s back”.

    Furthermore, the Argentine is a tax resident in Spain, thus it is implied that he must pay tax on what he earns overseas to the Spanish Treasury.

    Ronaldo, meanwhile, is under the Regime of Expatriates and only taxed on what he earns in Spain.

  • Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid won their first La Liga title since 2012 thanks to a final-day 2-0 victory at Malaga on Sunday and in spite of FC Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Eibar.

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored early in the game to settle the nerves, latching onto Isco’s through ball to step around Carlos Kameni and tap into an empty net.

    Karim Benzema then added their second goal after the break after Kameni had parried Sergio Ramos’ shot.

    Real, who had only needed a draw to win the title, now face Juventus in the Champions League final aiming to complete a double

    FC Barcelona, who had won the past two titles, came from 2-0 down to beat Eibar 4-2 at the Nou Camp.

    But they had also needed Real to slip up if they were going to retain the trophy.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Real Madrid finished with 93 points, while FC Barcelona ended with 90 points to stay second.

    The result means Zinedine Zidane, in his first full season as Real boss, has recorded another first.

    He is the first manager to lead Madrid to the Spanish league title since Jose Mourinho did five years ago.

    If Real beat Juventus in Cardiff, they will become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League.

    Zidane had won the tournament six months into the job last summer.

     

     

  • Real Madrid are La Liga champions

    Real Madrid are La Liga champions

    Real Madrid have won their 33rd La Liga title, and their first since the 2011-12 season, after recording a 2-0 win over Malaga in Sunday night’s decisive fixture at La Rosaleda.

    Los Blancos knew that a point would be enough to take the title away from Barcelona, but a defeat would open the door for the Catalan giants to retain the title at the final moment.

    Meanwhile, Barcelona spectacularly came from two goals behind to beat Eibar 4-2 on home soil, Real Madrid’s two-goal victory ultimately saw them finish three points clear at the top of La Liga.

    It took Real Madrid less than two minutes to make the breakthrough with Ronaldo racing onto an excellent through pass from Isco before rounding Carlos Kameni and finding the back of the net.

    Five minutes after the away side had opened the scoring, Barcelona, needing to win to stand any chance of landing the title, fell behind at home to Eibar courtesy of an effort from Takashi Inui.

    Malaga had a half-chance to level the scores in the 12th minute when Jony found space in the final third before striking towards goal, but his effort was always moving away from Keylor Navas’s post. Former Barcelona forward Sandro was next to try his luck, bringing a decent stop from Real Madrid’s Costa Rican goalkeeper.

    Benzema came close to scoring a second for the visitors in what was an open first 20 minutes, but the Frenchman’s close-range effort was deflected wide of the post.

    Sandro thought that he had levelled in the 21st minute when his dipping free kick headed for the top corner, but Navas flew across his goal to make a wonderful save, injuring himself in the process after colliding with the post.

    Neither team really had control of the contest as the first period approached its final 15 minutes, with Sandro threatening for Malaga, and Ronaldo causing problems in a central position down the other end of the field.

    Indeed, Ronaldo came close to sending Real Madrid 2-0 ahead 10 minutes before the break after meeting a cross from Benzema, but the Portuguese could not find a route past Kameni from close range, with the Cameroon international dropping low to deny the forward a second goal.

    Kameni was again called into action late in the first period to keep out a long-range strike from Kroos, but Malaga remained a serious threat down the other end, with Sandro hitting the crossbar in the 38th minute, before Keko headed just wide of the post moments later.

  • Ronaldo, Benzema seal title for Madrid

    Ronaldo, Benzema seal title for Madrid

    Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid a 2-0 victory away at Malaga and secured the La Liga title.

    Going into the final day Real’s job was simple, avoid defeat at Malaga and they would be crowned champions.

    They got off to the best possible start when Ronaldo rounded Carlos Kameni in the Malaga goal to open the scoring within the first two minutes.

    Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo scores during the Spanish league football match Malaga CF vs Real Madrid CF at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga on May 21, 2017

    Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo scores during the Spanish league football match Malaga CF vs Real Madrid CF at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga on May 21, 2017Getty Images

    Benzema doubled their lead after the break and despite some good chances for Malaga the leaders weren’t overly stretched.

    In the other title match Barcelona came from behind to beat Eibar 3-2 but they finish three points behind the champions.

    Real can now turn their attention to the Champions League final against Juventus.

  • Demichelis to retire at end of season

    Demichelis to retire at end of season

    Malaga defender Martin Demichelis announced on Monday he would retire at the end of the season.

    The 36-year-old left Manchester City last summer and joined Espanyol, before starting his second spell at Malaga in January.

    His final game, if selected, will be Sunday’s home match against Real Madrid, who could win La Liga.

    Demichelis, who also play in midfield, won 51 caps for Argentina and also played for River Plate and Bayern Munich.

    “Unfortunately this day comes to us all. I’ve been deliberating it for some time, as I have always been very worried about the end of a professional football career.

    “I am grateful to the profession, and in this case Malaga in particular, because they extended my career as a professional footballer,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Martin Demichelis played 106 times for Manchester City between 2013 and 2016.