SPANISH PRIMERA - Game 1

zocoss SG

SPANISH PRIMERA

Saturday, 25 August 2007

R Madrid - Atlético
Sevilla - Getafe

Sunday, 26 August 2007

Athletic - Osasuna
Racing - Barcelona
Murcia - Zaragoza
Mallorca - Levante
Valencia - Villarreal
Deportivo - Almería
Espanyol - Valladolid
Recreativo - Betis

MADRID DERBY TAKES CENTRE STAGE

Two of Spanish football's big summer spenders clash at the Bernabeu on Saturday as the Primera Liga season kick-offs with a mouth-watering Madrid derby between champions Real and Atletico.

With this week's agreements for Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze, the Spanish media have estimated Real will have spent well over 100million euros this summer, with the club having already brought in Christoph Metzelder, Pepe, Javier Saviola, Jerzy Dudek, Royston Drenthe and Wesley Sneijder.

Meanwhile, Atletico have not been slow to splash the cash either, with the Rojiblancos snapping up the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Diego Forlan, Luis Garcia, Jose Antonio Reyes and Raul Garcia. That ensures there should be plenty of new faces on show at the Bernabeu on Saturday, while a few old favourites will also be missing for both clubs.

The departure of captain and star striker Fernando Torres to Liverpool this summer beckons a new dawn for Atletico, while another favourite, Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov, has left for pastures new as well. For Real, no longer will long-serving trio David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Ivan Helguera be seen gracing the famous white shirt following their departures.

There is also a new face in the Bernabeu hotseat, with Bernd Schuster the man tasked with mounting Real's title defence following the exit of Fabio Capello.

Among the remaining eight opening-weekend fixtures, a powerful-looking Barcelona travel to Racing Santander. Barca only missed out on the league last season due to an inferior head-to-head record against Real, but they will fancy their chances of reclaiming the title after adding Thierry Henry, Eric Abidal, Yaya Toure and Gabi Milito to an already-impressive squad this summer.

Two other teams who are expected to be challenging near the summit this season meet at the Mestalla when Valencia host Villarreal, clubs which finished fourth and fifth respectively last term.

Saturday, 25 August : (Sun Morning)

Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Ch 22 - 2:00am - (Live) (CANCELLED)

Sevilla v Getafe - Ch 22 - 4:00am - (Live)

Sunday 26 August : (Mon Morning)

Racing Santander v Barcelona - Ch 22 - 1:00am - (Live)

zocoss SG

New Real Madrid signings Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze will not feature in Saturday's season-opener at home to city rivals Atletico. "Both arrived late and neither has done a proper pre-season so we've given them specific plans to get in shape and right now they aren't in the right condition," coach Bernd Schuster told a news conference on Friday.

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas needs a late fitness test after bruising his knee while training with Spain. New signing Jerzy Dudek stands by. Winger Jose Antonio Reyes believes his new Atletico side have the edge over his former club. "Atletico have a great team and all the players have settled in well but Real are not yet ready because they have signed players so late," Reyes said. "Atletico will win 2-0 and I will get a goal."

Coverage of a host of games on the opening weekend has been threatened by a dispute between television firm Sogecable and production company Mediapro.

gangsterkillar SG

First day already got riots & stuff to make the matches delay ..or is it postpone ...... or is Seria A instead?? Question Surprised

zocoss SG

Spanish football fans were yesterday left panicking about whether they would get televised games this season after the owners of the league rights said they had cut off the feed to a major broadcaster.

Spanish fans had been looking forward to returning to their sofas - or their favourite seat in the bar - to watch the stars of La Liga return to action. But the chances of seeing the likes of Barcelona stars Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry or Real Madrid's Raúl and Robinho, are now being threatened by a dispute between the owners of the rights and the production company that distributes the matches.

The former has cut off its service to the distributor, claiming that it is owed 58m (£40m) from last season. In the complex world of televised Spanish football, that kills off the free-to-air matches shown every weekend by national television station La Sexta.

The row, sparked in part by a titanic struggle for control over television rights in future seasons, also threatens to disrupt pay-TV matches.

brokenluv SG

damn those ppl lah now we all no la liga to watch! sian…fans all over the world ll be disapointed man. walao dey all show the matches den solve the dispute later mah nb..i want to watch madrid derby 1…barca oso

zocoss SG

Brief reports of Primera Liga matches played on Saturday:

REAL MADRID 2 ATLETICO MADRID 1
Real got their title defence off to a winning start when a deflected shot from new signing Wesley Sneijder 10 minutes from time sealed a comeback victory. Atletico went ahead when Argentine youngster Sergio Aguero stole in at the far post to head in a corner inside a minute. Real levelled 14 minutes later when Raul headed in a cross by Sergio Ramos.

REAL MURCIA 2 REAL ZARAGOZA 1
A second-half strike by new signing Fernando Baiano gave Murcia maximum points on their return to the top flight. Former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Mejia put the home side in front with a header on 17 minutes but former AC Milan and Real Betis striker Ricardo Oliveira equalised with a curling shot into the top corner on the half hour. Zaragoza's new striker Matuzalem was sent off for a foul on midfielder Mario Regueiro after 73 minutes.

SEVILLA 4 GETAFE 1
Michael Laudrup's Getafe went in front in the second minute thanks to a free kick from Pablo Hernandez but fell apart when midfielder Francisco Sousa and defender David Cortes were sent off in separate incidents before halftime. Sevilla took full advantage in the second period with goals from Jesus Navas, Luis Fabiano, Frederic Kanoute and Alexander Kerzhakov, three coming from crosses by Portuguese winger Duda.

SoccerExpert SG

Racing 0-0 Barcelona

Barcelona draw 0-0 with ten man Racing! such a shocker!

SoccerExpert SG

MADRID, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A lethargic-looking Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by 10-man Racing Santander in their opening match of the season on Sunday.

The Catalans, who spent over 65 million euros ($88 million) on new players including France striker Thierry Henry during the close season, were outplayed by their modest opponents who are one of the lowest spenders in the Primera Liga.

Barca dominated possession but their sluggish passing and lack of spark up front meant that Racing had little problem holding them even after Polish debutant Ebi Smolarek was sent off midway through the second half.

Villarreal, who ended last season on an eight match winning run, picked up where they left off with an emphatic 3-0 victory over regional rivals Valencia, who were reduced to nine men after red cards for striker David Villa and winger Joaquin.

Danish international Jon Dahl Tomasson opened with a cool finish on 16 minutes, striker Giuseppe Rossi added a second from the penalty spot and Santi Cazorla wrapped up with a classy third.

All three promoted sides got off to winning starts, Almeria trouncing Deportivo Coruna 3-0 in their first top flight game in 26 years, Valladolid edging a 1-0 win away to Espanyol and Real Murcia beating a much-fancied Real Zaragoza 2-1 on Saturday.

Barca coach Frank Rijkaard left Henry on the bench at the Sardinero, preferring instead to stick with last season's strike force of Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

But if the build-up to the match was dominated by talk of Barcelona's "Fantastic Four", the reality on the pitch was very different.

STRONG START

Racing started strongly and Barca had several scares in the opening minutes, midfielders Oscar Serrano and Aldo Duscher both denied by sharp saves from keeper Victor Valdes.

Their best opportunity came midway through the first half when Gonzalo Colsa rifled an angled shot against the base of the post after the Barca defence were caught off guard once again.

Barca's only chance of the first period came two minutes before the break when Xavi had a lofted shot cleared off the line after racing into the area to meet a long pass from Ronaldinho.

Rijkaard threw Henry on in place of Messi with just under half an hour to go, but it was Racing who continued to carry the greater threat in attack.

The Cantabrians suffered a blow when they lost Smolarek for a foul on Eric Abidal, but the closest Barca came to cashing in on their numerical advantage was when Henry hit the base of the post with a dipping shot five minutes from time.

alwaysdisturbed SG

cannot even watch. stupid schedule bluff me.

the match was replaced by murcia vs zaragoza