Alvaro Arbeloa renewed until 2016

The international Spanish defender, Alvaro Arbeloa, has renewed his contract with Real Madrid until 2016, as announced today the club in a statement through the official website. Arbeloa had contract until 2014.

Alvaro Arbeloa 

"I'm more than happy. It is my pride and honor to be in this club. To be able to extend my contract two years, until 2016, is a source of absolute joy. I am delighted with the faith of the club in me and I hope to continue to enjoy", said Arbeloa in an interview to the media.

"It comes at a good time. Things are going well for me and I am proud to be here. I am very happy because the club trust me", commented the right-back, who still does not raise the possibility of retiring in Real Madrid: "It's hard to retire at this club by the requirement that entails. Here are always the best players in the world and when one reaches an age it is difficult to keep up. Today more players extend their careers and hopefully not the last renew with Real Madrid".

Permanent in the starting lineups in Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, Arbeloa lives a good time under the command of Jose Mourinho: "I'm feeling very well under the orders of the coach. He always gives me a lot of confidence. There have been times when I've played more and others that I have played less, but I always felt the coach's confidence. Mourinho has managed to get the better of me".

"We have a coach that demands always 100% both in matches and trainings. Mourinho has a winning mentality and that's absolutely what he always perfectly has transmitted us. Mourinho made ​​me a better player and has done that I increased my football level. I am, of course, very grateful", added Arbeloa.

This season, Arbeloa arises the same goal "of every year" as he says. "We play for Real Madrid and we have to fight for every title. We know the difficulties involved, but last year we were close in all competitions and this season we should do the same. It is clear that for the fans the Champions League is special but we also want to win again the Spanish league, which is the most difficult tournament because of the regularity you need, and the Copa del Rey. Hopefully we can win those three titles. We will fight for it", he concludes.

Zidane will work with the Real Madrid youth teams

Zinedine Zidane will work this season with the youth teams while finishes a training course for coaches. "The Real Madrid website announced yesterday in a statement the new role of the former player, the only staff member who did not travel to the U.S.A. Tour with the expedition. Zidane no longer is listed as "first team sporting director" in the chart the club displays on its website. It was changed yesterday. "And this year, Zizou will finish the training course for coaches which he has started a few months ago, which certainly allows him to establish a preparation and knowledge which enable him to fulfill the desire that he expressed in the press conference where he announced his retirement in April 2006: Working with Madrid's youth system", finished explaining the brief statement.

Zinedine Zidane will work with Real Madrid junior teams

It was Mourinho who convinced the French former player and Real Madrid former to work with to the football section: "I want Zidane to be closer to me and not to my president" he said in an interview in the 'TF1' TV channel. Since then, Zidane (who had been counselor of president) began traveling with the team in the movement of Champions, and was frequently seen in the dressing room in Valdebebas. He had much to do in the psychological work that was done with Benzema. But he never was involved in the controversial statements in arbitration and other in which Mourinho became involved. Now, Zidane will complete his training as a coach with the Real Madrid junior teams while completes the training course.

Mourinho presented ​​his tactical board in Los Angeles

In October 2010 some Spanish cameras caught Mourinho when he was writing notes during a Hercules vs Real Madrid match. The coach did not like it and from that moment he thought of inventing a formula more convenient to communicate with his players and avoid leaving tracks on the Press. He got in touch with Portuguese Pedro Araujo to launch a software to manage the tactics of his team: Mourinho Tactical Board.

Mourinho with his Tactical Board

Yesterday, at UCLA, Mourinho gave a conference to 200 coaches of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America to present the new version of the software. Attendees paid 595 dollars for this two-day course at UCLA. "We had some meetings in Valdebebas and the first version of the program was launched in April 2011. Today we present the pro version at UCLA with the best coach in the world. This program is currently used by over 1,000 teams worldwide. It's great to all levels, especially for children because there are many drawings and animations", says the creator, Pedro Araujo.

Jose Mourinho was accompanied by Rui Faria, Aitor Karanka, Silvino Louro, Luis Campos, Santiago Lozano, Carlos Lalin and Jose Morais. Coaches, who witnessed the double training session of Real Madrid at the North Athletic Field, attended this course in which the Portuguese showed his working method. "It's worth paying that much money to see Mourinho. Is the best in the world", noted Dagobert, a coach of Indianapolis.

Minor, a coach from Costa Rica, emphasized that "the image of Mourinho that people see is wrong, because he looks like an approachable person, interested in the family and see his talk was a great experience". Fidel, a coach in New York, also was surprised with the empathy of the Real Madrid coach: "He showed us his philosophy of working with his staff. He is very proud of them".

Jose Mourinho said in his talk that: "The secret of our success is a complicated issue, I've been asked many times in my life, especially by the press. Quality, passion, work method ... there is no single reason, nor two. There are many important things to be successful and all they are related".

Ricardo Carvalho is training in Porto and will not return

Ricardo Carvalho is still not included in the pre-season training of Real Madrid and is in Porto awaiting for his destiny. The white player and the club have discussed about his situation and the central defender will not go back to Madrid and will not be incorporated at no time to practice with the white squad.

Carvalho training with Real Madrid last season

The Portuguese is still thinking about his new team and it could be Milan. Carvalho has been very close to be 'rossoneri' player in recent days. Carvalho liked Milan but there was no agreement between the clubs. Milan wanted a transfer in exchange for taking charge of his salary (1.8 million euros), but the Portuguese ends his contract in June 2013 and Real Madrid would not perceive anything in that way. Therefore, the white club is only interested in the sale. In 2010 the whites paid 8 million euros to Chelsea for him and want to enter any amount.

The Portuguese center has received permanent green light by Mourinho for not having to join the team training so he has no undue haste in finding new accommodation. Carvalho is still looking for a club in the Premiership, where he left good memories with Chelsea, but for now, at the Bernabeu offices have not come any interesting proposals.

Meanwhile, Carvalho tries not to neglect his physical condition in the gym doing exercises and awaiting news on his mansion in Porto. He is 74 days of vacation and his last game was almost three months ago, May 5 at Granada (1-2) with the League title already won. In addition, he spent a season with little playing time. Only played 1,052 minutes divided in 8 league games, 2 Champions League matches, 2 in the Spanish Super Cup and 1 in the Spanish Cup. He began the year in the staring lineup against Barcelona in the fight for the Super Cup, and played the first four games of the season but was suffering various injuries, including a back pain that left him 119 days without playing.

Since September 21 (league match against Racing) until the duel against Barca in the Copa del Rey (January 19), Carvalho was not available to Mourinho. During this period, the Portuguese coach placed Sergio Ramos as the replacement in the middle of the defensive line and the Spanish player had a sensational performance next to Pepe. Carvalho has lost importance in the team and that is evident in the numbers. In the 2011-12 season he played 3,235 minutes less than in his first year in Madrid.

The squad supports Kaka at UCLA

He does not have his continuity ensured, not at all, but Kaka did not miss the smile on the first Real Madrid training at UCLA. The Brazilian is backed by the rest of the squad as we saw in the first working session at the North Athletic Field. The club is seeking the best for him while his teammates support and want him to play for Real Madrid.

Ricardo Kaka

Players like Cristiano, Ramos and Iker talked to him several times during the morning. And the fans who were outside the premises sought his continuity. "Kaka, do not go" read a banner in Spanish. The Brazilian playmaker will play against Milan on August 8 in New York. He will face a team for which he wants to play but given the difficulty in reaching an agreement with his contract, Kaka works as the other players of the squad.

Mourinho's players began the pre-season stage in Los Angeles with a first training an hour and a half. Casillas, Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa, Albiol, Cristiano, Pepe and Coentrao returned to work after vacation. The Portuguese coach divided the workforce into different groups and after ten minutes of specific physical work, players always worked with the ball. Interestingly, Sahin and Kaka, the two players who could leave the team in the coming days, trained on the same group. Also, due to the double session, there was a group that worked with a slower pace: Higuain, Di Maria, Granero, Callejon, Lass and Varane. Goalkeepers (Iker, Adan and Jesus) trained with Silvino Louro. The homegrown players Morata, Alex Fernandez and Jesse were fully integrated into the group.

Real Madrid denies the agreement by the Croatian Modric

Real Madrid denies that it has completed the signing of Luka Modric for 45 million euros, as was claimed yesterday from England and Croatia. The reality is that the offer presented by the white team is 30 million euros with variables (games played and titles achieved by the Croatian player with the Real Madrid jersey), and Daniel Levy, on Friday, gave up and almost signed the transfer but then the leader of Tottenham drew back, hardened the negotiations rising the financial claims and the light at the end of the tunnel dissapeared. Mourinho was close to fulfill his desire: to have Modric to the U.S.A Tour.

Luka Modric training in London

The Sun newspaper claimed in yesterday's edition that the white club had reached an agreement with Tottenham for the transfer of Luka Modric. The newspaper explained that the signing was closed on Saturday night and that Real Madrid had agreed to pay the 45 million euros that, since the beginning of the negotiations, Levy requested based on a previous offer of the French PSG. The leadership of the Real Madrid had breakfast yesterday in Los Angeles with this information and refused it.

Since Croatia has been said that the Tottenham player can now be considered as a new player for Real Madrid. Zoran Mamic, manager of Dinamo Zagreb, also said in the newspaper Sportske that the white team has paid about 45 million euros for the midfielder. Of that amount, just over 3 million, would go to the Croatian team.

Real Madrid wants to reactivate the operation to close the Modric's transfer and is taking advantage of the two teams are these days in their U.S.A Tours to accelerate the pace of negotiations, only by telephone so far. Meanwhile, the Croatian midfielder is in London working on his physical waiting for his move and thus to have the opportunity to travel to America as soon as possible, but to the Real Madrid's preseason, not to the Spurs'.

Iker Casillas: "The club was right to hire Mourinho"

Iker Casillas was the first Real Madrid player to appear in front of the media at the UCLA facilities. The captain, who joined the team at the Los Angeles pre-season meeting after winning the European Championship in Ukraine and Poland, spoke about Mourinho, who begins his third season at the club: “Until you meet him you don’t realise that he is nothing like what you read about him in the press. He is a committed manager and has got the best from every single player. The club was clearly right to hire him. He has a goal in mind and he feels at home here. We hope that lasts a long time”.

Iker Casillas

The Real Madrid goalkeeper analysed the season that has just started and admitted that his team wants to win all the titles on offer: “We want to go one step further, as we have done over the last two seasons since Mourinho arrived. We want to strengthen the team and we have more responsibility, more experience and we want to win all the titles: the Spanish Super Cup, which is the first title up for grabs, defend the Spanish league title, the Spanish Cup and we want and hope to win the Champions League having not won it these past years".

Casillas is convinced that the squad is skilled enough and prepared to win the Tenth: “With the team we have, the players, the fans and the stadium, this team deserves the European Cup. The steps we are taking are the right ones and we have a young and very experienced team. Two years of experience are very useful. Winning it is not an obsession since we must concentrate on wining the first league match and then Super cup”.

The captain, as well as his teammates, is going to do everything in his power to win titles: “We have an established squad, with good players and more experience than two years ago. All the players are important and all of them will get an opportunity in the matches. The season is going to be very long, but I’m convinced that with the squad we have we can fight for all the titles”.

The goalkeeper praised his fellow defenders and highlighted Sergio Ramos’ evolution into a central defender: “I think that with Pepe, Sergio, Varane, Albiol, Arbeloa, Coentrão and Marcelo we don’t need any to bring in more defenders. Ramos last season was incredible. He has adapted extremely well to central defence and last season he was magnificent. We are happy to have discovered this central defender who brings a very important balance to the defence”.

When asked about the Madrid youth teams, the goalkeeper revealed his satisfaction at the good results they achieved last season and the work that is being carried out with the first team: “I’m very happy for Real Madrid Castilla, who gained promotion to the Liga Adelante, and also for Real Madrid C, who will play in the Second B Division. It will be very important for them and will help them to mature. This is extremely important for the future because they develop as players and become more mature. The youth teams are important for us”.

With regard to Barcelona and the possible rivalry between the two teams to win titles, Casillas stated: “In my mind it is very clear that Real Madrid has become stronger and taken important steps towards the future. We beat them in the Spanish Cup two years ago and beat them fairly in a difficult league that I think we deserved to win. My team and my players are the best in my opinion”.

When asked about the Ballon d’Or and his nomination to be awarded it, Casillas defended the importance of goalkeepers in football: “It always important for people to talk about you and goalkeepers always have a part to play in this game. I’m not a fan of when people say that football is a game that is just played with your feet. Defence is as important as the person making a pass or the person scoring a goal. We’ve got to look at things more fairly, although everyone is going to look at Cristiano and Messi, who are above everyone else. Spanish footballers are making more and more appearances on the nominee lists for these awards”.

Two other names also made an appearance: Kaká and Modric. With regard to the Brazilian, he stated: “We want to help him. It is important for us that a player of his stature is part of this squad. We want, as teammates and professionals, the best for him. He is an example for all of us”. About the possible signing of the Croatian, he added: “I know him and he’s a great player. He performed quite well at the European Championship and if Real Madrid and Mourinho think he will be a good signing for the club then there is a reason for that. The manager always has the good of the club in mind and if Modric can help us go that step further then he will be welcomed”.

Casillas also spoke about the encounter in Las Vegas against the Mexican outfit Santos Laguna: “We want people to enjoy themselves in a city that has a different atmosphere. We’ve come here to get ready, to prepare for the first title of the year and the first match in the League. Santos Laguna have already started their League and it’s not going to be easy. We saw that already against Benfica. They are going to try their best”.

Finally, when asked about the European Championship that he won with the Spanish national side, he shared his delight with that of the rest of the country: “When you win titles you think less about you and more about the people. I’ve been fortunate to win many titles with my club and country. Making those people happy makes it worthwhile. It is worthwhile having that ambition every year and the day I wake up without that drive I shouldn’t be here”.

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