Real Madrid: UEFA Champions League Top Seed

Real Madrid returns to the cup of the most important teams, the top seeds, in the draw for the Champions League to be held in Monaco on August 25. It is seventh in the UEFA ranking teams. Has risen six places in this season after reaching the semifinals of the top competition and lost only one match (against Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, 0-2) of the 12 that played.

The white set has managed to 33.6428 points and has been only exceeded by the champion (Barcelona, 36.6428) and runner-up (Manchester, 36.6714). Of the top teams is the one that has evolved most. (Tottenham, his opponent in the quarterfinals, climbed 12 places).

The club coefficient rankings are based on the results of clubs competing in the five previous seasons of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League (Real Madris played always Champions League). Clubs' coefficients are determined by the sum of all points won in the previous five years, plus 20% of the association coefficient over the same period (33% before 2009).

The rankings determine the seeding of each club in all UEFA competition draws. Real Madrid will be top seed in the Champions League draw with Manchester, Barcelona, Chelsea, Porto and Inter. Bayern and Arsenal will be the other two if they pass the previous round.

UEFA Ranking 2010-2011

Real Madrid: Transfer News

Real Madrid is planning the 2011-12 season with the intent to arrange at least six lay-offs on the current template. Jose Mourinho's idea is to have a large group of 23 or 24 players, but currently has 28 players under contract.

Lass wants to leave the Real Madrid

To the 23 players from 2010-11 season (excluding Dudek, who has not renewed the contract, and including Adebayor, whose loan agreement ends on June 30) are added the signings of Sahin, Altintop and Callejon, with the return of the loaned Mateos and Drenthe. The first four will continue at Real Madrid next season. The Dutchman, however, no.

Madrid has to take a decision with Adebayor. The purchase option is 16 million euros and the player is willing to get off the salary to continue in the club. Manchester City is not interested in him and Mourinho wants that he continues, but Real Madrid will never get to what the English club asks for him, or to maintain the current salary of Togo player. With this background, the lineup of transferable players is; Garay (by the way, yesterday the Argentina Football Association included him in the list for the Copa America as a Benfica player rather than Madrid), Lass, Drenthe, Gago, Canales and Pedro León.

On the other hand, Mourinho has requested two additional reinforcements: Coentrao and a striker, if at the end of the summer there is no agreement with Adebayor. Although the shopping list can increase depending on the players who leave the club.

THE STATUS OF THE PLAYERS

- Garay: Currency

Is under contract until 2014. Pepe, Carvalho, Mateos and Albiol refuse to buckle under. This year has played only eight games. Can be used as currency for another signing. Included in the list of Argentina for the Copa America.

- Drenthe: Italy deals
Mourinho wants no part of him. Drenthe has one year left on his contract after playing this season on loan at Hercules. Real Madrid is looking for a transfer. Several Italian clubs have asked about him: Genoa, Napoli and Juventus.

- Lass: He wants to go out
Mourinho counting on him for the 2011-12 season, but to the player it does not care. He does not understand the signing of Sahin and considers that he should have more minutes than Xabi Alonso and Khedira. This season he has played 2,374 minutes, but he does not consider it enough. Madrid paid for him 19 million euros in December 2008. Inter follows him closely. And in England has a good lineup...

- Canales: Looking for more minutes
Canales wants to leave the team to add minutes (this season has played only 527). The club seeks a loan or a transfer with repurchase option. Villarreal, Valencia and Schalke are the most interested. The player will spend this week in the office.

- Pedro León: Does not want to leave
The Murcia player has advised his agents that he does not to leave Madrid. The club is surprised by this decision, because with Mourinho he has only played 581 minutes and most of the matches was not called.

- Gago: Batista counting on him
Gago has suffered four injuries this season (195 days off) and has only played seven games with Mou. Has been listed by surprise in the first list of Batista for the Copa America. PSV, Milan and Valencia follow him.

Legends: Alfredo Di Stefano

ALFREDO DI STEFANO

Alfredo Di Stefano

Alfredo Di Stefano was born on July 4, 1926 in the neighborhood of Barracas, where was the port of Buenos Aires. There, the English sailors introduced the football in Argentina. His grandfather Miguel was the first Di Stefano who arrived in the country, from Capri (Italy). His father, Alfredo, married Eulalia Laulhé who had French and Irish origin. They had three childs; Alfredo, Tulio (left midfielder footballer) and Norma (she was a basketball player).

"Little Tow" (Estopita: His grandfather placed him this nickname due to the old yellow mops that were used on ships) grew up playing with neighborhood kids on vacant lands in "the academy of the street", with rubber balls that cost two cents. His first organized team was called "Unidos y Venceremos", before moving to the "Flores" neighborhood, where he played for "Imán".

In 1940, his family moved to "Los Cardales", in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. His father was a collector of cereals and worked in the field. Alfredo left school and began working to help the family finances. That would have been his future if he had not followed the footsteps of football, a flame which, fortunately, was installed in his heart deeply. Football was his irrepressible passion. On Sunday he played with his brother Tulio in a local league and in the afternoon he went with his father to see River Plate (he was member from seven years). His amazing play and talent did not go unnoticed. In 1944 he made a test for River Plate and was quickly accepted in the youth team.

Real Madrid: Universal Club

Hamit Altintop and Nuri Sahin have preceded Callejon as the first two signings of Real Madrid for season 2011/12. The new white midfielders come from the Bundesliga, but it is not the only commonality between them. Both make history by becoming the first Turkish Internationals among the 146 foreigners who at some point have been part of Real Madrid. A declaration of intent for the future.

The Real Madrid is the world's most universal club. This assertion is evidenced not only by the tremendous global reach of the institution but also by the mix of nationalities that comprise it. The arrival of Sahin and Altintop strengthens the globalization of Whites and the two new players in the squad, that Jose Mourinho manages, become in the first Turkish players who join the best team in the history of the twentieth century.

Argentina and Brazil, nations with more presence. Of the 30 different nationalities that have taken place in the Real Madrid in these 109 years of life, stand out from the rest Argentina and Brazil, which are the only ones that have reached the twenty players (Argentina -29- and Brazil -20-). Behind we find two European countries: France (16) and England (11).

On the other side and after the arrival of Sahin and Altintop, Turkey equals Poland and Colombia and surpasses countries which have had only one member in Real Madrid; Bosnia, Chile, Scotland, Slovakia, Mali, Mexico, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland,Czech Republic, Togo and Montenegro.

In the current squad also highlights Argentina. Higuain, Garay, Gago and Di Maria make Argentina the country that have more presence in the current squad. Then there is Portugal (Cristiano Ronaldo, Carvalho and Pepe) and behind them, a quartet of countries formed by the Germans Khedira and Özil, the Brazilians Marcelo and Kaka, the French Lass and Benzema, and the newcomers, the Turkish Sahin and Altintop. The Togolese Adebayor would be the other foreigner of Real Madrid.

List of the 146 foreigners who have been part of Real Madrid

• Argentina (29): Anzardo, Bizzarri, Cambiaso, Di Stefano, Dominguez, Esnáider, Guerini, Imbelloni, Mas, Miguel Pérez, Navarro, Olsen, Redondo, Rial, Roberto Martínez, Rocha, Ruggeri, Samuel, Solari, Touriño, Valdano, Wolf, Zarate, Gago, Higuain, Saviola, Heinze, Garay and Di Maria. 
• Belgium (2): Goyvaerts and Maertens. 
• Bosnia (1): Baljic. 
• Brazil (20): Baptista, Canario, Didi, Evaristo, Flavio Conceicao, Giudicelli, Julio Cesar, Ricardo Rocha, Ze Roberto, Cesar Prates, Roberto Carlos, Robinho, Rodrigo, Ronaldo, Savio, Vitor, Cicinho, Emerson, Marcelo and Kaka. 
• Chile (1): Zamorano.
• Colombia (2): Congo and Rincon. 
• Croatia (3): Jarni, Prosinecki and Suker. 
• Czech Republic (1): Daucik. 
• Denmark (3): Gravesen, Jensen and Laudrup. 
• England (11): Beckham, Cunningham, Johnson, Lindsey, Linney, McManaman, Owen, Stampher, Vickerstaff, Wallace and Woodgate. 
• France (16): Parages, Faurie, René Petit, Juan Petit, Hon, Luciano, Normand, Raymond Kopa, Müller, Karembeu, Anelka, Makelele, Zidane, Lass, Faubert and Benzema. 
• Germany (8): Breitner, Illgner, Netzer, Schuster, Stielike, Metzelder, Khedira and Özil. 
• Hungary (6): Alberty, Buzássy, Kaszas, Kellem, Nemes and Puskas. 
• Italy (3), Panucci, Cannavaro and Cassano. 
• Mali (1): Diarra. 
• Mexico (1): Hugo Sánchez. 
• Montenegro (1): Mijatovic.
• Netherlands (8): Metgod, Seedorf, Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Drenthe, Robben, Van der Vaart and Huntelaar. 
• Paraguay (3): Agüero, Fleitas and Maldonado. 
• Poland (2): Rozitsky and Dudek. 
• Portugal (5): Figo, Secretario, Pepe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carvalho. 
• Romania (1): Hagi. 
• Serbia (4): Jankovic, Ognjenovic, Petkovic and Spasic. 
• Scotland (1): Watson. 
• Slovakia (1): Dubosky. 
• Sweden (1): Simonsson. 
• Switzerland (1): Germann. 
• Togo (1): Adebayor.
• Turkey (2): Sahin and Altintop. 
• Uruguay (7): Acosta, Britos, Diogo, Pablo Garcia, Ramos, Rodriguez and Santamaria. 

Cristiano vs Messi: Draw

End of the season, time to take stock. First conclusion: two football giants have been focused during the season; Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Their goals and assists were crucial to drive Real Madrid and Barcelona far above the other clubs.

As a significant number, the scoring production: 53 goals each. More equality is impossible. The Portuguese gets the honor of the Spanish Cup and the Golden Boot with 40 goals in the League (one goal every 72 minutes), the Argentine reached only 31 (one every 83 minutes), but can boast of adding the Spanish League and the European Champions League to his curriculum.

Cristiano and Messi, in the order you prefer, have stunned the football world from the Spanish Championship and the Champions League. The Real Madrid star has risen from 26 League goals last season to 40 of this just finished. The Barcelona player has dropped three in the League (from 34 to 31) but ... added four more in the European Cup (8 to 12) and there is an argument for the recently conquered title by Barcelona at Wembley. Messi was named best player in the UEFA Champions League final.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

The sum of 72 goals in the Spanish League signed by Cristiano and Messi shatters all European data. In no other tournament has been anything like it. Di Natale (Udinese) and Cavani (Naples) added 54 in the Scudetto. As a reference, saying that Eto'o has managed 35 goals in all competitions, Agüero reached 27 and Ibrahimovic 22 as Milan striker.

But there is more equality and success of Messi and Cristiano. Average goals scored and minutes played, give an almost identical result: a goal every 86 minutes. To be exact, Messi win for the invaluable difference of 86.2 minutes vs. 86.8 of Real Madrid player. This ratio includes the three goals that Messi scored in the Super Cup of Spain.

In short, we see two stars of world football. They will return to fight for the top international awards next season. Messi has the advantage of the newly acquired Champions League title, while Christian has the top scorer trophy (Pichichi) in his pocket and the European Golden Boot. Bipolarity in Spanish football also has two names.

Altintop: "I will not disappoint Real Madrid fans"

Hamit Altintop

You are a versatile player. Do you think that this has been the key to your move to Real Madrid? Mourinho values highly this virtue...

It is going to appear arrogant, but I consider myself a player desirable, especially for my knowledge of the football and my position on the pitch. I think it's normal that I had drawn interest from several clubs and Real Madrid is the icing on the cake, the greatest team. But again, I reserve, for my first press conference with the club, the issue of my signing for Real Madrid.

It's interesting that you go from play a few games this season with Bayern Munich to sign for a big club like Real Madrid...
I have no bad words for Van Gaal, but I think he was wrong on several things, including my absence in many games. I consider myself a good professional footballer, who can be adapted to any system and any situation. I will never complain about the style of play of a team. But, I think Van Gaal should have given me more opportunities.

What do you think about the play system that uses Mourinho, your next coach?
I prefer not to say much about the Real Madrid until my official presentation, but of course I have no complaints. I'm very excited.

Do you fear that in Madrid you will not enjoy many minutes, as happened at Bayern?
No. I think that things will go well in my new stage. My head is just to help the team.

Have you spoken with Mourinho?
Of course I talked to him several times. Indeed, that was a major factor in my signing for Real Madrid.

Despite being concentrated in Turkey, you have back problems. Is your injury important?
No. I do not know if I'll play the game against Belgium (next Friday) but we will see. If I do statements after that meeting, I will not talk about my future at Real Madrid. I look forward till the day of my presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Altintop, Sahin, Özil... Real Madrid has never tasted so Turkish...
It is exciting to play in Madrid and with these partners. They're great people and we have also shared history in Germany.

You will talk more on the day of your presentation in the Santiago Bernabeu but, do you have a first message to the Madrid fans?
Yes. I will show them all of what I can do next season. I will not disappoint them.

Coentrao: "I would just leave Benfica to go to Real Madrid"

Fabio Coentrao

How have you felt with the excitement around you these days?

All is well. I take it very happy because it is Real Madrid. I like it. It is normal to be happy because it is the best club in the world, but I must be calm because nothing is done yet.

There are many teams interested in you. What is your first choice?
First and foremost is Real Madrid, with the best coach and best players in the world. There are also many friends playing there. But nothing is done. Of course I like the Madrid and I hope that from now on everything goes well.

Do you feel ready to play in Madrid?
All players must be prepared for everything and I am in all aspects of my life. If this situation goes on I will face it with all my power.

Are you a defensive end or midfielder?
I am a football player, either as a defense, as a midfielder or as a striker. I just want to play, and when you're part of a team, as this case is Benfica, you have to respect your coach and what he needs. Obviously I've been stressing two years as a defensive end, playing at avery high level, and of course I want to give continuity to this position.

Have you talked with your friends in Madrid?
There is always a word here and another there. But as I say there is nothing done. I play for Benfica, and the main thing is that there is an interest of Real Madrid. For my part, I say that I am interested in playing for Real. I'm in a great club and not change it for any other not be the Madrid. It has the best coach and best players and I just want to go there.

In spite of strong competition with Marcelo?
The first thing I would want is to go to Real Madrid, and then work hard. Marcelo is a great player. Everybody knows it. I am humble in my work. I would go to help.

Do you think that to pay 30 million euros for the transfer is too much?
I no longer rests with me. I say I want to be a good deal for Benfica. Benfica deserve to do good business with me. I will be grateful to this club all my life. They deserve respect.

What about Real Madrid?
It is a great club. Everybody knows it. Benfica told me they wanted me to stay, but they fully understand my decision. I told them that if I leave, can only be at Real Madrid and they have been happy with this.