Morning Papers in Madrid 6.15

Marca.com
Real Madrid: 30 Mil for Kaka: The player: "I'm not going, I'm not going." A huge offer from Inter for the Brasilian. Leonardo has asked for him specifically. Moratti wants to deal an effective blow to Milan. There have already been contacts between clubs. Real Madrid are pushing for a minimum of 40 million euros. Atletico Madrid: Manzano counts on Forlan for his new project. He has asked the club to let him continue. Granada and Elche: adding them up and its 57 years since they were in the first division. Barcelona: AC Milan's defender Thiago Silva reveal that they have been negotiations with Barcelona.

Reaction: Right now any money for an injured commodity is better than paying him to sit. Cut the losses. He came two years too late. He'll never be the player he was. Let him return to the slower pace of Italy where it suits him.

As.com
Real Madrid: Neymar Tangle: "With Madrid I have nothing signed." In Italy they have the case practically sealed and signed for five years. Bronzetti (his agent) called it closed at first then cleared himself. Santos and the player deny it and Real Madrid aren't talking. Atletico Madrid: Nilmar and Guiza as alternatives to Osvaldo. Atletico like the Brasilian but the Spaniard is more attainable.

Reaction: the more I think about it, the more I'm taken back to the signing of Robinho out of Real Madrid six years ago. Similar players, flashy and with mad-skills, but slow to fit into the team structure and the refereeing of European Football. Plus, other than the fact that they'd like to hide young players and keep them from the Champions League rivals, I see no use for him.

Around La Liga 06.14

Valencian Community:
Valencia: French defender Adil Rami who played at Lille for the last few years has signed with los che for around 6-10 million euros. With Llorente paying it's probably more 6 than 10.

Villarreal: the club have stated that no offers have come in from FC Barcelona asking for Giuseppe Rossi. It's probably on hold as an option if the Cesc Fabregas deal falls through. Santi Cazorla and now Borja Valero are also being shopped. Valero is now one of Gregorio Manzano's first "I wannas" now that he "runs" Atletico Madrid. That said, La Repubblica in Italy is reporting that if Rossi goes, that the club have contacted Fiorentina for the services of Alberto Gilardino. Marcos Senna could have something to do with the transfer.

Levante: Jefferson Montero, who is owned by Villarreal but played this past year on-loan at Levante, has said in an interview that it would not be an unpleasant option to continue at Orriols.

Andalusia: 
Real Betis: Getafe defender Mario Alvarez has signed on a free transfer for the next two years. It shores up a defense for a club that does lack for quality up front.

Sevilla: after succeeding at Racing and becoming one of the jewels of the Gold Cup for Mexico, Gio Dos Santos has become one of the options on Marcelino and President Jose Maria Del Nido's table. "We are not going to spend seven or eight million euros on anyone", added Del Nido, "it also depends on Kanoute." 

Malaga: With the signings of Valencia's Joaquin, Nacho Monreal of Osasuna and Lyon's Jérémy Toulalan imminent, reports are also flooding into different sources that the club is trying to bring a "bomba" or massive signing in. Speculation is ripe that it is on the level of a Tevez, Cazorla or Pastore but could it be Ribery from Bayern Munich? I guess you have to take the twitterati with a grain of salt but it does seem their ambition is picking up.


Madrid: 
Atletico de Madrid: I love Pablo Aimar. He is one of my favorite players of the last 10 years. He was Messi before Messi essentially but his skill is more tranquil, lucid and deliberate. He is a great passer in the tradition of great player to wear el diez or number 10 for Argentina. I just don't think he fits with Atleti or with Manzano. Sorry. Stay in Benfica Pablo. Please.

Real Madrid: Neymar or Aguero? For 45 million euros which is around what both agents are asking for, I take Aguero in a heartbeat. Neymar is flash and promise, but El Kun is already a champion; and he's a better goal-poacher than any of the guys they already have at the 9. Yes, he's better than Pipita.

Getafe:Getafe sold Dani Parejo to Valencia, but in return they have received goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya from los che to cover for injured keeper Oscar Ustari who tore knee ligaments with Argentina in preparation for the Copa America.

Rayo Vallecano: Barcelona B player Jonathan Soriano has denied any link to either Luis Enrique's AS Roma squad or to Rayo Vallecano. Chances of signing the much needed player a "practically nil" according to the Rayo Herald.

Asturias:
Sporting de Gijon:  Sporting have apparently inquired about Barcelona defender Marc Bartra in an apparent approach to reopen and facilitate the signing of left-back Jose Angel. Barcelona have declined the offer.

Cantabria: 
Racing Santander:  So let me get this straight, according to Bloomberg, Ali Syed says he has paid about 2.5 million euros and 1.4 million euros of the club’s tax debt to the regional government, but that he hasn't paid player wages owed because after buying Racing from Jacobo Montalvo's stock portfolio, the former investor failed to resolve what he called "a family dispute that was “hidden” from him until the night before his acquisition." What a mess, and all this on today, the 98th anniversary of their founding.


Pais Vasco: 
Athletic Bilbao: Josu Urrutia is a name you will be hearing a lot about in the next few weeks. He is a former Athletic player and plans to run against current President Fernando Garcia-Macua. He wants to more ambition from Athletic and his campaign slogan is “commitment, experience, capability and values for an Athletic with ambition.” While outside sources have speculated wildly that names like Rjkaard, Van Gaal or Bielsa might be taking over at San Mames, Urrutia made his intentions clear by naming ex-player and former coach Ernesto Valverde as his candidate. Valverde has a spotty record but is as beloved by the supporters as current coach Joaquin Caparros is not. Does Garcia-Macua continue on with the status quo or does the Andalusian get the axe?

Real Sociedad: as discussed above with Levante, Jefferson Montero may be seen as a likely transfer for La Real, especially if rumors persist that Barcelona will make an offer for French sensation Antoine Griezmann.

Navarra:
Osasuna: while Tenerife forward Nino was in the sites at Deportivo, Osasuna have apparently pipped them for his services.

Aragon: 
Real Zaragoza: Real Zaragoza have joined 20 other clubs in La Liga (clubs like Real Betis, Albacete, Cádiz, Granada, Poli Ejido, Mallorca, Recreativo, Xerez and Córdoba) in the Ley Concursal, the Spanish insolvency law, and have administrators in place to advise them.

Catalunya:
Barcelona: the one player (Cesc Fabregas) who could not be tied down to an FC Barcelona contract in Joan Laporta's last days at Barca is now pretty much done at Arsenal. His signing could be announced as soon as formal talks end.

Espanyol: the seven year of Carlos Kameni at RCD Espanyol is apparently over, a "total divorce" as Sport are reporting, and due to his recent statements deriding the club and its administrators for their "lack of ambition." The club have closed their doors to him, Pochettino prefers to hand the reigns over to back-up and fellow Argentine Christian Alvarez, get Kiko Castilla back from Cartagena where he's been on-loan as his back-up, and promote competition from their youth-team. As for Kameni? Is he headed finally to England? Spurs have been aware of him for years.


Mallorca:  
Real Mallorca: the club have announced that they will have an operating budget well below their current one and will likely lose many of their top players like Webo. German Lux and Ayoze have already been released. Are they prepared to bring in the likes of a Dani Guiza and Nelson Valdez from Hercules on the cheap?

Friends of Forza Futbol 4.29

A new feature here at Forza Futbol, FFF or Friends of Forza Futbol, will be a weekly article that publicizes the best blogs in English about the Spanish game.

World: First of all, before you do anything, point your clickers to Futbolita´s site. Her Picture of the day shows a very subdued pair of royal ushers. Is that Posh and Becks? Becks looks like Ricky Gervais even. Hmmm. Must be. For a more global perspective as well, check out our friends at Global Football Today. They have a very interesting take on the Real Madrid/Barcelona debacle. The guys at La Celeste Blog cover it too, and they seem to think that the press is making a meal of the idea that the tie is already Barcelona´s. Can Real Madrid come back from 0-2 down to go through? Read the article here. At the La Lambretta Blog, our friend Eduardo has posted an audio link to the call by announcer Antonio Heredia of Lionel Messi´s wonder-goal. Pure passion. At Vaishali´s Blog, we go back to her report on the aftermath of the Copa del Rey final win by Real Madrid. Great analysis by our favorite Four Four Two pundit.

Spain: At Glasgow Sports, they have a very detailed article about FC Porto´s next wanted man Andre Vilas-Boas, the coach that humiliated a very good Villarreal team in this week´s Europa League clash. La Liga the Midlands have a very detailed match analysis of Raul Gonzalez Blanco´s Schalke squad and their frustrating first leg tie at home against Manchester United. Our friends at Spanishfootball.info are covering the Spain U-20´s draw. A very favorable group of games. The guys at Madrid Atleticos are previewing the match against Depor, once a great artitistically appealing side, the Galicians are now snore enducing. For more crazed, pepino goodness check out the Ooh Betis Blog. they will obviously be returning to Primera soon. Read more on them here. And as always, for the best coverage of Villarreal´s Yellow Submarine, check out Villarreal USA. Send them a line of condolences from us. It was a sad day to get taken down by the Dragons.

Monday Morning Papers 3.21

Marca.com
Real Madrid: Pepe Renewed: signed on Friday to extend his contract by four years. The portuguese defender will charge 4 kilos net per year. He'll be the sixth best paid defender in the world. Mou considers him key for his project. Cristiano: expects to be ready for Tottenham. Dominguez: "It's better that I wasn't there when CR7 started doing his little touches."

League: Hercules 0-4 Osasuna: Osasuna provokes the firing of Esteban Vigo. Sporting 1-0 Almeria. Racing 2-1 Real Sociedad. Malaga 2-0 Espanyol. Sthletic 0-1 Villarreal. Deportivo 0-1 Levante. Valencia 0-1 Sevilla

Reaction from Forza Futbol: think things haven't changed at Real Madrid? In the old days under Don Florentino there was absolutely no way a defender like Pepe would have gotten even this negotiated settlement. He would have been sold straight off. As for Esteban Vigo getting fired? As Edu said yesterday on La Lambretta Radio, if Hercules can't win at home, considering their poor away record, then that's when they need to panic. Seems like they did.

Sport.es.
Barcelona: Cesc, free access: Arsenal accept the negotiation and will set a price for the player at 50 million euros. Barcelona offered 40 million last year for his signing. Real Madrid: Mourinho supports himself on Cristiano. Espanyol: Malaga 2-0 Espanyol, continue without a win away from Cornella.

Reaction from Forza Futbol: you can thank the international break for the return of the Cesc to Spain story. I think this is a non-story. They won't pay 40 million euros and at are at least contemplating other players like Alexis Sanchez of Udinese, or Rossi and Nilmar from Villarreal. In a real sense, Barcelona have moved on, whether truthfully or as a negotiating ploy.

Around La Liga 3.06

FC Barcelona:  Tito Vilanova: "I told him, calm down Pep, I'll get up, but he couldn't sit still." The Barcelona second-in-command has no doubts that Pep will be ready for Arsenal at the Camp Nou as Guardiola was feeling much better than last week at Mestalla. Is anyone tired of the, Pep has backache stories? Call me cynical, but isn't it all about the players?

Real Madrid: When asked if he would have signed Kaka for 65 million euros, considering the fact that the Brasilian is out indefinitely with more complaint Jose Mourinho responded with, "Let's stop with the nonsense."  I agree. Let's not ask him about Kaka. Instead, let's ask him why he insists on playing Cristiano Ronaldo full minutes of a 7-0 debacle.

Valencia:  Valencia players wore black armbands against Mallorca in honor of goalkeeper Renan Brito who plays on-loan with Internacional of Porto Alegre who lost his mother in a recent traffic accident and whose father is hospitalized from the same incident. Condolences all from everyone here at Forza Futbol.

Sevilla: Gregoriio Manzano: "The club knows what is my mood, nobody will see me work for the gallery." Sure, but will he last until Summer? They had better get into Europe or the financial fit will hit the shan.

Mallorca: "In football there is no justice, but the feeling is that it has been far too hard a punishment." That was Real Mallorca coach Michael Laudrup lamenting the loss to Valencia. My feeling is, why is no one talkin about the great job the former Danish international is doing? Here's a guy who deserves a shot at a bigger club.

Getafe: "The atmosphere at El Molinon is a great advantage for Sporting": Getafe coach Michel. The former Real Madrid player recognizes that the game against Sporting de Gijon will be especially tough not only because of the motivated players but a crowd that is one of the best in Spain.

Villarreal: Giuseppe Rossi: "You’re always going to watch an English game or a Spanish game before Serie A and this is because they were both able to evolve." I don't think the problem is style of play, but lack of quality players.

Athletic Bilbao: The big news this week was that Fernando Llorente had finally gotten on the radar of some big English clubs. The problem is that of all the players likely to move this Summer, Llorente looks to be the one least likely to leave Spain. If they sell, as Florentino Perez is wont to do, look for the big man to be the new Spanish galactico at the Bernabeu. If not, he'll stay with the promising leones.

Atletico de Madrid: All anyone wanted to talk about were reports coming out of the Vicente Calderon that players were consciously trying not to pass the ball to "la rubia" or the blonde as some of his team-mates call him derisively. The center of the problem is with Jose Antonio Reyes apparently. When will it ever stop for Atleti?

RCD Espanyol: 45% of all the goals allowed by Espanyol this year were goals from set-pieces. Are we in denial about the need to maintain a consistent group of defenders? Another reason to criticize.

Osasuna: It's normal. Why are you going to kill yourself at the Bernabeu (on Wdnesday) with those who are going to play for you on Sunday, so that you can lose 3-0 instead of 7-0?" Manuel Pellegrini got a lot of criticism for leaving out starters in Madrid, but Osasuna coach Jose Luis Mendilibar agrees with him. Ion the other hand, don't. You play your best players every week, or at least your best rotation of players every week.

UD Almeria: Jose Luis Oltra, Almeria coach: "This is a final for Hercules as much as it is for us." For those who think that there is no drama in Spain, look to the relegation battle that will draw to a close in the next 12 match days. Like last year's that was decided in the waning minutes of the last few matches on the last day of Spanish football, the relegation battle this year looks to be even more complicated.

Real Zaragoza: Zara coach Javier Aguirre: "This Barcelona can't be beaten." I beg to differ Javier, but I see your point. Barca can break down even the stingiest of 5 man defenses. Maybe you should have tried to hit them on the break more? Maybe use an extra midfielder instead of three centerbacks?

Sporting de Gijon: Sporting winger Canella says, "We need to be careful of Colunga. He has loads of quality and can cause a lot of damage." I agree. Look for elbows to fly in the Asturian night.

Racing Santander: This week marks the first time Sergio Canales has returned to Cantabria against his former club. He left as one of the most promising players to come out of the Racing academy in many years. He returns a little used bench-warmer. It must be nice to be called a genius even though you make so many mistakes.

Malaga CF: The papers are calling the 7-0 defeat at the Bernabeu a gift for los blancos from ex-coach Pellegrini who defends his choice to start a second tier squad in hopes to better prepare his squad for Sunday's match in "the other league" against Osasuna at home. I think it's a mistake. Losing is contagious. You never want to gift points away when relegation looms.

Real Sociedad: After 17 years carrying the shirt sponsor Astore, La Real have signed with Nike for the next four years. Good to see some of the other squads in Spain getting some love from multinational sponsors.

Hercules Alicante: When a team is struggling for points, injuries often accompany the struggles. For Hercules, Rufete, Tiago Gomes, Drenthe, Valdez and Peña are out against Almeria. At least they have Farinos returning.

Levante: Felipe Caicedo has scored a goal at home in every Levante match. He is doubtful after an inopportune injury this week.

A Ransom for Racing Santander

Last week the Spanish papers were following a story that saw Racing President Francisco Pernia was in Bahrain negotiating with the business interests of an Indian financier named Ahsan Ali-Syed for the take-over of the Cantabrian club. This was the same businessman who failed in his attempt last year to secure a bid for the sale of Blackburn Rovers from the family of the late Jack Walker.

The effort to acquire one of the oldest clubs in England was successfully blocked, but Ali-Syed's purchase of Racing Santander has seen very little resistance. In cash strapped Spain, where everyone wants a Malaga marvel of their own, a magic bullet to shoot-through the economic constraints that affect every Spanish club, there are few people questioning whether this a Manchester City miracle or a Portsmouth mishap.

There is plenty to evaluate. He was born, or so he claims, in Bhongir, India to a rich, agricultural family and left at the age of 16 to make his fortune in investments, consulting with the rich and the royalty of the world. He states that his personal assets are in the range of 3.0 to 3.5 billion dollars and that he plays a role in over 133 companies world-wide. The BBC investigated him last year and found that much of it just wasn't true. No one in the regional government in India seems to have heard of him, no one in his hometown knows who he is, and his wealth seems to be built on a foundation of sand.

According to the BBC, for the past decade Syed has apparently struggled with solvency, has taken over companies that he has then run into the ground, dissolving their assets without paying returns on them, and has moved on to the next investment without punishment. He is being investigated in the UK, Canada, as well as in Bahrain for unpaid rent, unpaid taxes, and penalties accrued in financial markets amongst a litany of other damages.

I realize that Spain is hurting as are its football clubs. The world-wide financial crisis has hit them hard, and it would be crazy to forgo a helping hand, but it is often in dire financial times when the sharks are out because they smell blood in the water. There are real assets in Spanish football, especially at Racing Santander; the history, the supporters, and their collective memory are as valuable as the steel, mortar and concrete that built the Sardinero. There is a permanence there certainly, going back generations, but ask all those fans of clubs that were in the Primera in the last 30 years that were saddled with incompetent management, what of their club? What of their memories?

It's not just a club like Real Betis, who have struggled in Segunda over the last few years, or yo-yo clubs Numancia and Recreativo de Huelva, but clubs like Logrones, Burgos, Merida, Extremadura and Compostela who were once Primera clubs themselves but through financial mismanagement fell into a pit that they have never come back from. Some are struggling in the lower leagues, others have folded and have been replaced by other local clubs with similar names, and others still have disappeared into memory. Think of their supporters who followed them down the Spanish football pyramid.

Are Racing too big to follow suit? Maybe, but all it takes is a bad chairman or unresponsive fans to see them tumble.