Real Madrid 5 - 2 APOEL Nicosia (UCL Quarterfinales 2nd Leg)

Real Madrid sealed their passage to the Champions League semifinals with an impressive 5-2 victory over APOEL Nicosia at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Whites will fight with old UCL foe Bayern Munchen for a spot in the final.

Great comeback by Di Maria

Despite the first leg's 3-0 score, Jose Mourinho used a strong starting lineup tonight, with Sahin in midfield and Varane paired up with Pepe in the centre of defence. The Whites dominated from the start while APOEL waited for them in their half of the pitch. Higuain had a chance only two minutes into the match and Pardo cleared a Ronaldo shot two minutes later.

The Portuguese striker tallied the first by finishing a Marcelo cross with his right knee (26') and APOEL continued to pose little threat to Casillas' goal due to Real's strong pressure. Kaka scored the scond from an amazing shot outside the box, sending the ball through the top right corner of the goal (36'), and the Madridistas continued to dominate until half-time.

Callejon came on for Marcelo in the second half and Di Maria replaced Higuain on the 53-minute mark. Albiol came on for Granero just before Manduca managed to nutmeg Casillas (65') and the strike spurred the visitors to pursue an equaliser.

Cristiano Ronaldo dampened their spirits with an impressive free-kick strike, which was his eighth in the championship this season (74') and was a turning point in the match, which sort of became crazy from then on.

Callejon tallied a fourth on the 78-minute mark with a good shot on the area border and Solari netted another for APOEL from a penalty just two minutes later. Di Maria eventually sentenced the match with an incredible lobbed shot seeing that the goalkeeper was badly positioned (84').

Summary

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu
Attendance: 60,000
Goals: 1-0, m.26: Cristiano Ronaldo. 2-0, m.36: Kaká. 2-1, m.65: Manduca. 3-1, m.74: Cristiano Ronaldo. 4-1, m.78: Callejón. 4-2, m.80: Solari (pen). 5-2, m.84: Di María.

Real Madrid follows the wake of Ferrari in the Middle East

A big business, though not very original. These few words are enough to define the new Real Madrid business challenge, that from 2015, can boast of being the first football team in the world with a theme park with its name. Location, of course, in the United Arab Emirates.

Real Madrid Resort Island

Great, but not original, because the white team follows the trail of what he did two years ago, Ferrari. The sports car manufacturer has a similar structure in Abu Dhabi. But, how does the club chaired by Florentino Pérez take advantage of such a project? Who holds the weight of investment in the park, estimated at about 1,000 million dollars (750 million euros)? Obviously, the team, whose debt stands at close to its annual turnover (nearly 500 million euros), can not sustain such investment.

Thus, even in the business model, Real Madrid has been inspired by Ferrari. As has happened with the "Cavallino Rampante" Park in Abu Dhabi, local authorities put the money to build the facilities and the Real Madrid club, its brand, gaining a percentage of park revenues.

Industry experts agree: the model Ferrari-Real Madrid is a very special sports sponsorship. A backwards sponsorship, in which teams or companies put their marks on facilities, earn money and do not pay for it. A sort of luxury sponsor that only global marks have access to draft. "In a situation where gate receipts and TV rights tend to decrease while increasing the pressure of European sports associations to clean up balance sheets, sponsorships become the key to maintaining economic sustainability", explains a consultancy specializing in sports. "A strong and global brand is necessary to get good sponsorship".

Thus, the economic power of Real Madrid and other big names like Ferrari, is precisely the appeal of its brand. With such names, known worldwide, attract sponsors from emerging countries alleviates significantly the acute pressure that teams suffer due to lower other income, interest payments on debt and a wage that can reach 80% of turnover.