CA Osasuna New Kit/Nueva Camiseta 2011/2012

Osasuna has released their new kit for the upcoming season. The manufacturer is Astore. They currently do not have a shirt sponsor. The home kit is the traditional red kit with black shorts and socks. (See prodigal son, Raul Garcia, back on loan, donning the home kit).

The away kit is a sky blue with white trimmings, and a v neck, along with white shorts and socks. (See captain Paxti Puñal modeling the new uniform).

Both jerseys looking smart, sleek and simple. I personally like the new look. What do you think? Do you like these soccer kits?

La Lambretta Radio: La Liga Bilingual Podcast #8

La Tertulia guests today: Mix Master Emcee, Edu aka @lalambretta, Writer extraordinaire from elblaugrana.com, Inma aka @inmazv, Ravi aka @aupasubmarino from Seattle via India, el Colchonero y cantador from @thisisatleti and @estoesatleti podcasts, Ricky, and yours truly, Forza Futbol's very own, Elisa, debate and discuss Spanish football!!


Some of today's highlights:

o Does Quique v Forlan remind us of Pellegrini v Riquelme?
o Is Málaga the Manchester City of Primera La Liga?
o Is Valencia's Vicente the misunderstood genio or a rebel without a cause?
o Is Bojan due for a transfer to a club with less pressure?

Plus much, much more.


A great way to learn Spanish or English on the topics we know and love!


Listen below, on itunes, ivoox or here

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FORZA FUTBOL on LaLambrettaRadio Bilingual La Liga Podcast no 1a & 1b

We had the pleasure of doing a LIVE bilingual Internet Radio show on La Liga today with our friend Edu Pérez Suárez from La Lambretta Radio.

Topics covered:

o Live commentary on the March 20th La Liga early fixtures of Jornada 29
o Chatting about the historic potential El Clásico guantlet - 4 games in 3 weeks
o Discussing the exciting relegation battle that covers half the La Liga table.

The podcast is for English learners and Spanish learners. We hope to do more of this including roundtables in the near future.


You can also find LaLambrettaRadio and our bilingual podcasts at their site and on itunes. Enjoy!

PART 1~
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PART 2~
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P.S.

Some of the Lambrettinas having a great time at the Malaga game. I think the sheik with the suitcase has some influence over the players :P.





Holy Crap the Sheik made the big time on El Dia Despues! Awesome!

PREMIERSHIP RUMORS: Summer Transfers

Rumblings and rumors out of Spain are pointing towards several tasty transfers that could take place this summer. What are your thoughts on the following speculation?


Raul Albiol to Chelsea?
The central defender is no longer a starter for Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid. As expected, the Valenciano is chomping at the bit for more playing time. He also wants to solidify his spot as the heir apparent in the Spanish National team, for the aging Marchena and Puyol. Chelsea needs a younger replacement for John Terry and has a strong desire to shore up the backline. Possible?


Nacho Monreal or Jose Enrique to Liverpool?
The team from Merseyside is in desperate need of a left back. Monreal is young and talented and let's get real, Osasuna is a selling club. If the right offer comes along, and it is not from Athletic Bilbao, then they are more than willing to part ways and rebuild. Monreal is on the fringes of the Spanish National team and is looking for ways to advance his career and become a big star. On the other side you have Jose Enrique who is already playing in the Premier League with Newcastle. He has the experience of playing in the physical, fast paced rhythm and dynamism of the PL. The only downside is his price tag, which will be vastly inflated. (See Andy Carroll) Do you go for potential and a more reasonable price tag? Or do you vie for experience and less risk at a steep price?


Fernando Llorente to Tottenham?
Harry Rednapp came to Spain midwinter, in search of a "bride", but came away empty handed. Speculation is that he will return in the summer for the big prize and with the big bucks. Unfortunately, this time he will need to compete with Real Madrid. The Athletic Bilbao striker is the Lion King at his current club. He is used to being the top dog. However he does pine for bigger things and has mentioned the Premier league quite often, as the style is much to his liking and talent. T'Ham would be a good match, provided the club is involved in European competition. ACB President Macua could sell, if the price is right, especially after the summer elections. Probable?


Diego Lopez to Manchester United?
All the transfer rumors are talking about David De Gea to ManU to replace the retiring Van der Sar, but the young Atletico player still lacks the big game experience, particularly in Europe. That said, a goal keeper with the experience of the underrated Diego Lopez would fit in perfectly, in my opinion. A solid offer could sway the Villarreal hierarchy. A transfer in the making?

LA LIGA Team of Round 24

The relegation battle continues, fixture congestion ensues. It's the business time of the season and only 17 goals this past weekend in the Spanish league. Osasuna win with a festival of goals? What the heck is going on?


GOAL KEEPER: DANI ARANZUBIA (DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA)

The Basque shot stopper made some incredible saves against Alméria, but what earned the player the accolades this week, is the 95th minute power header a la Fernando Llorente to equalize. A golden point for Baby Depor. Gutsy.


RIGHT BACK: DANI ALVES (FC BARCELONA)

Alves constantly beated Athletic's Koikili and reminded us how dangerous he could be as a playmaker from the right. Two assists for the samba crack. Sublime.


CENTER BACK: RIKKI CARVALHO (REAL MADRID)

He can play with Pepe, he can play with Albiol. The versatile veteran was solid in the back and eked out a goal from a set piece to seize the game against Levante. Reliable.


CENTER BACK; ALBERTO BOTIA (SPORTING GIJON)

The young ex La Masia product played a near perfect game, to keep out the fire power of Aduriz, Mata, and Soldado. His positioning was key. Impressive.


LEFT BACK: ALBERTO DE LA BELLA (REAL SOCIEDAD)

Solid on the left, he neutralized the counter attack and wing play of Mallorca admist the rain, wind and cold. Formidable.


RIGHT MIDFIELD : GIOVANI DOS SANTOS (RACING SANTANDER)

Only his second game and Dos Santos has become somewhat of a super sub. His velocity and danger on the counter attack earned a penalty and a disallowed goal (which was legal to me). Promising.


CENTER MIDFIELD: JAVI MARTINEZ (ATHLETIC BILBAO)

Even though the Basque team failed to win, they played well against the league leaders. The backline was sturdy and Javi Martinez was instrumental in the midfield, stealing balls, tackling, and allowing very little space and time on the ball. Courageous.


CENTER MIDFIELD: IVAN RAKITIC (SEVILLA)

The recent arrival has finally put on his shooting boots and is starting to see eye to eye with his teammates. The pace and style of Sevilla, suits him well. The Croat's combination play between Negredo, Fabiano, and Navas was impressive and resulted in the game winning goal. Trajectory.


LEFT MIDFIELD: JAVAD NEKOUNAM (OSASUNA)

The arrival of new coach Mendilibar has really ignited los rojillos, particularly Iranian International Neko. The midfielder netted a brace and initiated the goal fest. Heroic.


CENTER FORWARD: LIONEL MESSI (FC BARCELONA)

Athletic took the game to the blaugrana at the Camp Nou and made it extremely difficult to break them down. As the game progressed, it looked like Barça might split the points with Bilbo, which would put them only 3 points ahead of El Madrid. La Pulga pulled threw with an incredibly important game winner. Stellar.


CENTER FORWARD: SERGIO AGUERO (ATLETICO MADRID)

A very even match, that could have gone either way. Aguero willed his team back into the game with an individual piece of brilliance. Dynamic.

LA LIGA Team of Round 21

Let's go with a 4-3-3 this week. Yes finally 4 defenders! This week is a tribute to some of the journeymen in La Liga.


IN GOAL: DIEGO LOPEZ (VILLARREAL)

The Spanish International was on his game, in a thrilling 0-1 win at fortress Cornellá Prat. This was a very important win, as Villarreal had been shakey away, in the first half of the season. The shotstopper produced several critical saves on Callejon, Javi Marques and Verdú.


IN DEFENSE: IRAOLA (ATHLETIC CLUB), SERGIO (OSASUNA), ABIDAL (BARCA), CANELLA (SPORTING)

Iraola has been performing at an extremely high level. He is one of the reasons that Athletic Bilbao is vying for a European spot this year. Two assists to Toquero that resulted in a brace. Add to that, solid defending in ACB's away win at the Vicente Calderon.

Osasuna's Sergio had an amazing game keeping Benzema, Cristiano and Adebayor at bay. Numerous shots on goal, but the team from Pamplona refused to budge. He was a wall.

With the injury to Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal needed to step into the center of defense and pair up with Pique. No problem for the French International. It took awhile for the blaugrana to breakdown Hercules, but the speedy defender never faltered.

Roberto Canella has earned back his starting place at left back for Sporting Gijón. Against the Barallets, he was a dangerous threat on the left, even forcing Kevin to score an own goal. The kid's kind of special.


IN MIDFIELD: CAMUNAS (OSASUNA) JAVI MARQUES (ESPANYOL), BERTOLO (ZARAGOZA)

The underrated Camuñas was a constant threat to the Madrid backline and wings. He played with stealth, speed and intelligence and earned the game winning goal. Tremendous work rate.

Not sure why Pochettino took off Javi Marques in the 60th minute against a very difficult Villarreal, as he was the best player on the pitch. He consistently pushed the team on, to attack Diego Lopez' goal. Marques is one of the many young revelations at the club.

The on loan Argentine striker from Palermo, Nicolas Bertolo, played hard and eked out the equalizer against Málaga. It was the adrenaline shot that spurred on los Maños to an eventual away win and 3 golden points, in operation salvation.


UPFRONT: CAICEDO (LEVANTE), TAMUDO (REAL SOCIEDAD), NEGREDO (SEVILLA)

The player with the highest rate of success in front of goal this season is Felipe Caicedo. On loan from Manchester City, he garnered another fabulous performance for the struggling Valencian side. 3 essential points against a free falling Getafe at home, was a necessity. Caicedo produced a lovely assist and a goal to top it all off.

With the recent back injury to Joseba Llorente, the ex Espanyol veteran Raul Tamudo, finally got a start for La Real. He came out flying. Initially taken aback as the referee failed to call two clear penalties. The Spanish International took fate into his own hands and produced an assist and a goal. The latter in the midst of a torrential rain storm. No matter, 3 points for the Basque club puts them ever closer to safety.

A red card to Andres Palop early in the game and going two goals down by the 60th minute, one might think that Sevilla were going to go home without any points. But Alvaro Negredo fought tooth and nail and earned a brace. The first goal was very opportunistic, while the second goal that put 10 men Sevilla ahead, was a bit of class. At the end, Depor's Laure equalized, so they split the points. But the ex Rayo Vallecano canterano put on an amazing fighting display.

Best XI of Round 18 in La Liga

Week 18 in Spain, brought us lots of goals, 34, in fact. The home teams were very prolific in fact, for the most part. Lots of thrills, and a big Monday upset.

Here is my best XI from the round in a 4-4-2 formation.


GOAL KEEPER:

Ricardo (Osasuna)- the ex Manchester United 3rd striker had a blinder at the Reyno de Navarra up against Getafe. Particularly at the end when the Azulones pummelled his goal mouth. Too bad his team weren't able to score.


DEFENSE:

Martin DiMichelis (Málaga) - the newcomer shined in his debut. After some early nervousness, the solidified the defense with his leadership and positioning. Plus he netted a goal. I am sure his happy to be back with his old River Plate coach, Pellegrini.

Ivan Ramis (Mallorca) - consistently impervious at the back when playing at home. The Barralets have only conceded four at home, which is the 2nd best record in La Liga, after Villarreal. A leader, plus he scored one from a set piece this week.

Cata Diaz (Getafe) - some call him a thug, but he was a wall against Osasuna. Sure he received another yellow card, but he is a key part of the madrileños back line.

Martin Caceres (Sevilla) - Strong, versatile, quick and ballsy. The Uruguayan intervened with some decisive tackles and blocks and helped keep a very difficult Real Socieadad at bay.


MIDFIELD:

Luis Garcia (Espanyol) - The veteran has really improved his game this year and plays with confidence and guile. Even with the injury to Osvaldo, Luis Garcia and the Pericos destroyed Javier Aguirre's Zaragoza. Fortress Cornellá continues.

Duda (Málaga) - The Portuguese winger and dead ball specialist has returned from injury with a vengeance. His pinpoint crosses create a constant aerial threat and he was responsible for the opening goal. Now if his team would practice their finishing.

Iniesta (Barça) - No Xavi, no problem, the illusionista took control of the midfield and created some beautiful plays against Depor. This wasn't enough for the Balon d'Or runner up, he wanted a goal of his very own.

Messi (Barça) - Balon d'Or, two assists and a goal, the complete player, nuff said.


STRIKERS:

Freddy Kanoute (Sevilla) - The veteran has a nose for goal. The Mali international is trying to pick up this team, shake the bad patch, and get back into Europe. Looks like the Nervion is finally starting to gel.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - Los Merengues were up against a very tough Villarreal, but CR7 never let up. He kept running, pushing forward, leading the counter attack. His reward for hard work was a hat trick for the day. His fitness and form always kept Los Blancos in the game.


Agree? Disagree? Any surprises> Any unjust omissions? What do are your thoughts?

Forza Futbol 119: Focus on Osasuna

Kieran Canning: Glasgowsportsguy.blogspot.com

Today we are joined by Kieran Canning, the Glasgowsportsguy of Glasgowsportsguy.blogspot.com. As his website says, he is a recent ¨law graduate who is now trying to forge a career in journalism.¨ The reason why this is an Osasuna focused show is that Kieran spent a time in Navarra in school and saw plenty of matches both in Pamplona and also in nearby Bilbao. He also writes for us at Forzafutbol.com.

Listen Now:

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Keeping Up with the Joneses Part 3

Keeping Up with the Joneses Part 3 – Attendance & Stadium Ownership

This is the third part in a series where we look at areas where the Spanish League can improve and learn from football leagues and other sports abroad. In part 3, we take a look at attendance and stadium ownership.

Spain pales in comparison to the German and English top leagues, is in the area of game day attendance. German stadiums are the best attended games in Europe. Their games are well attended and the price of a ticket is very affordable. England on the other hand is well attended, yet the price of the ticket is very expensive. The English league is more of a franchise that is concerned about the business and merchandise side of the game, whereas the German league still stays true to it’s grassroots and concerns of their supporters. True, football is more of a religion or way of life in Germany and England than in Spain, but much can be learned from how they are able to bring in a constant stream of revenues from game attendance, especially in smaller to mid-size cities.


To read more please go here:

CA Osasuna Preview

Coach: Jose Antonio Camacho, ex-Real Madrid and Spain MNT coach
Stadium:Estadio Reyno de Navarra, (19,800).
Region: Navarre
Nickname: Los Rojillos (The Little Red-Ones), Gorritxo
Derby: Athletic Bilbao
Sponsor: Yingli Solar, a Chinese solar power company
Kit Description: Home: A very nice red Diadora with dark blue shorts and white striping. Blue sockes with red trim as well. Away: An all white kit with red trim and striping throughout. Third: An all dark-blue kit with red trim on the socks. Note: The Osasuna kit's sponsor Yingli Solar is one of the nicest logos I have seen on a football kits ever. A really nice design and it adds so much to the kit, it's amost like another badge. Diadora did a great job on Osasuna's kit.
History: The club was founded on some unrecorded date in 1920. The Sociedad Sportiva was incorporated first to be able to collectively buy a ball and some kits. The club was given its name, Osasuna, which means health, force or vigor in Euskara. They have spent 31 of their seasons since in the first division with their highest finish being fourth on two occasions, once in 1990-1991 and in 2005-2006 which qualified them for the UEFA Cup which they then advanced to the semifinals eventually losing to eventual winners Sevilla. Last year however, they were in danger of relegation for much of the last part of the season being saved on the last day of the season, they were going down considering that they were also losing 1-0 to Real Madrid, but they came back with two goals in the second half with the decider coming from ex-Madrid cantera product Juanfran.
Trophy Room:
* 4 UEFA Cup participations
* Copa del Rey runner's up: 2005

Famous Former Players: Michael Robinson, Javier Aguirre, Carlos Vela, Manuel Almunia, Jon Andoni Goikoetxea
Main Story from last year: The incredible last day of the season where they saved themselves from relegation, but the story of the year was what a local farmer in Osasuna did to push his club on. They were at the bottom of the table for 11 weeks but if they managed to beat Real Betis, he was going to donate one suckling pig for every first team player. It was all over the local news, the videos of the cute little piggies, the players were up for the match and the rojillos drew to the beticos but a week later, after a long week of gastrointestinal motivation, the players beat Espanyol at home and they feasted on the little porkers. The End. I guess alot of you have these visions of Charlotte's Web and saving Wilbur, but we all motivate ourselves by whatever means is necessary. Send complaints care of CA Osasuna in Spain.

Transfers: Signing MF Calleja from Malaga for two years on a free from Malaga. They also bought FW Carlos Aranda from relegated Numancia who like Calleja is an ex-Real Madrid youth team product.

Squad Overview: If people thought Osasuna were in trouble last year, they'd be hard pressed to find anymore optimism for this coming season either. They've brought in some experience in Calleja and Aranda, but they have lost a ton of players like Sunny, Tiago Gomes and Hector Font who all returned to their former clubs when loan spells ended. The club will be younger, they had a productive set of games at the end of the season when Camacho brought in some younger players who played well.

Prediction: They don't look any stronger than last year, but this will be another atrocious year at the bottom of the table in Spain with maybe 10 teams vying for 3 relegation slots. I don't have much faith in Osasuna, but I think there are huge problems in Gijon, so I think Osasuna because of Camacho who is a top quality coach save themselves and finish 15th.