LA LIGA SUMMER TRANSFERS 2010/2011

Now the World Cup is done and dusted expect teams across La Liga to part with some serious cash as they seek to bolster their squads ready for the start of the 2010/2011 season. There had been a few transfers before the South African showpiece, David Villa and Fran Merida among them, with Real Madrid now clicking into gear with the recent signings of Angel Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Sami Khedira. With Barca having signed Adriano from Sevilla and still chasing Cesc Fabregas and Real Madrid in the hunt for Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil there promises to be a few more big money signings before the start of the season. It's been rather quiet on the Sevilla, Atletico and Valencia front, although yesterday did see Valencia part with around €4 million to sign Aritz Aduriz as they seek to replace the unreplaceable, Mr Villa. And of course it's out with the old as we welcome in the new. Thierry Henry has already sealed a move to New York as he winds down his career with Guti (Turkey?) and Raul (United States/Saudi Arabia/Premiership?!) expected to follow suit in the coming days.

A couple of Liga transfers that raised my eyebrows were those of Yaya Toure and David Silva, both off to Manchester City in the Premiership. In the case of David Silva I see it as a total waste of talent. Should have stayed in Spain where they'll nurture that fantastic talent. Many here are likening it to the transfer of Gaizka Mendieta who went to England and his career spiralled out of control.  As for Yaya Toure, I had thought they had made a massive blunder letting the big man go, but after the form of Sergio Busquets in the World Cup, I've changed my mind!

Nowhere near as active as the famous Florentino summer of 2009. Will we ever see another summer like it? Doubtful.

ALMERIA:
In: Leonardo Ulloa (€900k, CD Castellon), Michael Jakobsen, Aalborg BK), Miguel Angel Luque (free, Barcelona), Diego Valeri (loan, FC Porto), Marcelo Silva (€1.3m, Danubio)

Out: Domingo Cosma (Free, Racing Santander), Fernando Soriano (Free, Osasuna), Natalio Lorenzo (free, Tenerife), Guilherme Oliveira (loan, Albacete), David Rodriguez (free, Celta Vigo), Chico (€5m, Genoa)


ATHLETIC BILBAO:

In: Mikel San Jose (€2.74m, Liverpool), Igor Martinez (€200k, Alaves), Ibai Gomez (Free, Sestao River Club), Xabier Etxeita (Recalled Loan, FC Cartagena), Raul Fernandez (Recalled Loan, Granada CF)

Out: Julen Goni (Loan Signing, Barakaldo CF), Xabier Etxeita (Free, Elche), Iban Zubiaurre (Loan Signing, Albacete), Inaki Munoz (free, FC Cartagena), Ander Murillo (free, Celta Vigo)

ATLETICO MADRID:

In: Fran Merida (free, Arsenal), Mario Suarez (€1.8m, Mallorca), Keko Gontan (Recalled Loan, Valladolid), Roberto Batres (Recalled Loan, Shanghai Shenhua), Filipe Luis (€12m, Deportivo La Coruna), Diego Godin (€8m, Villarreal), Tiago Mendes (loan, Juventus)


Out: Roberto Jimenez (€8.5m, Benfica), Ruben Perez (loan, Deportivo La Coruna), Cedric Mabwati (free, CD Numancia), Jorge Molino (loan, Real Murcia), Leandro Cabrera (loan, Recreativo Huelva), Eduardo Salvio (loan, Benfica), Ibrahima Balde (loan, Albacete), Jurado (€7 Schalke 04)

BARCELONA:

In: David Villa (€40m, Valencia), Henrique (Recalled Loan, Racing Santander), Adriano (€10m, Sevilla), Javier Mascherano (€17.5m, Liverpool)

Out: Alberto Botia (Free, Sporting Gijon), Yaya Toure (€34m, Manchester City), Dmytro Chygrynskiy (€15m, Shakhtar Donetsk), Keirrison (Loan Signing, Santos FC), Thierry Henry (Free, New York Red Bulls), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (€17m AC Milan)


DEPORTIVO LA CORUÑA:

In: Michel Herrero (Loan Signing, Valencia), Yves Desmarets (Free, Vitoria Guimaraes), Jonathan Urretavizcaya (Loan Signing, Benfica), Stopira (Free, C.D. Santa Clara), Ruben Perez (loan, Atletico Madrid), Felipe Ramos (free, Real Madrid Castilla), Claudio Morel Rodriguez (free, Boca Juniors), Knut Olav Rindarey (loan, Molde FK)


Out: Brayan Angulo (Recalled Loan, Leixoes), Mista (Free, Toronto FC), Rodolfo Bodipo (Loan Signing, FC Vaslui), Alex Bergantinos (Loan Signing, Granada CF), Filipe Luis (€12m, Atletico Madrid), Sergio Gonzalez (free, Levante), Ivan Perez (loan, SD Ponferradina), Jairo Alvarez (free, CF Palencia), Ruben Castro (€1.5m, Real Betis)

ESPANYOL:

In: Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Extended Loan, Bologna), Gregory Beranger (loan return, UD Las Palmas), Valdo (Recalled Loan, Malaga), Milan Smiljanic (Recalled Loan, Sporting Gijon), Jesus Datolo (Loan Signing, Napoli), Felipe Mattioni (free, Mallorca), Sergio Garcia (€1.8m, Real Betis)


Out: Gregory Beranger (Free, Elche), Fernando Marques (loan, Parma), Ben Sahar (loan, Hapoel Tel Aviv), Milan Smiljanic (loan, FK Partizan), Angel Martinez (loan, Girona FC), Nicolas Pareja (€10m, Spartak Moscow), Roman Martinez (loan, UANL Tigres), Valdo (free, Levante), Moises Hurtado (€2m, Olympiakos)

GETAFE:

In: Borja Fernandez (Free, Valladolid), Ivan Marcano (Loan Signing, Villarreal), Franck Signorino (Recalled Loan, FC Cartagena), Pedro Mosquera (Free, Real Madrid), Adrian Colunga (€2m, Recreativo Huelva), Victor Sanchez (loan, Barcelona)

Out: Joffre Guerron (€1.2m, CA Paranaense), Pedro Leon (€10m, Real Madrid), Miguel Pallardo (loan, Levante), David Belenguer (free, Real Betis), David Cortez (free, Hercules), Kepa Blanco (free, Recreativo Huelva), Adrian Gonzalez (free, Racing Santander), Roberto Soldado (€10m, Valencia)

HERCULES:

In: Olivier Thomert (Free, Le Mans), Matias Fritzler (loan, Lanus), Abel Aguilar (€1.5m, Udinese), David Cortez (free, Getafe), Cristian Pulhac (loan, Dinamo Bucharest), Nelson Valdez (€3.8m, Borussia Dortmund), Mohamed Sarr (€300k, Standard Liege), David Trezeguet (Juventus), Royston Drenthe (Loan, Real Madrid)


Out: Edu Moya (Free, Xerez), Sergio Diaz (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Ionel Danciulescu (free, Dinamo Bucharest), Jorge Alonso (free, Real Valladolid), Gerardo Noriega (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Rodri (free, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Andrija Delibasic (free, Rayo Vallecano), Dani Bautista (free, Girona)

LEVANTE:

In: Xavi Torres (Loan Signing, Malaga), Miguel Pallardo (loan, Getafe), Sergio Gonzalez (free, Deportivo La Coruna), Christian Stuani (loan, Reggina), Gustavo Munua (free, Malaga), Valdo (free, Espanyol), Nano (free, Real Betis), Javi Venta (free, Villarreal), Ignacio Gonzalez (loan, Valencia), Asier del Horno (loan, Valencia)


Out: Javi Guerra (Recalled Loan, Mallorca), Pau Cendros (Recalled Loan, Mallorca), Jorge Pina (free, Albacete), Albert Serra (free, Girona FC), Manu Herrera (free, AD Alcorcon), Angel Sanchez (free, AD Alcorcon), Daniel Carril (free, UD Las Palmas), Marc Mateu (loan, Real Union Irun)


MALAGA:

In: Eliseu Pereira (€500k, Lazio), Edinho (Recalled Loan, PAOK Salonika), Javier Malagueno (€2m, Indios de Ciudad Juarez), Salomon Rondon (€3.5m, UD Las Palmas), Sebastian Fernandez (€2.5m, CA Banfield), Rodrigo Galatto (free, Atletico Paranaense), Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (free, Al-Sadd Sports Club)


Out: Milan Stepanov (Recalled Loan, FC Porto), Roberto Santamaria (Recalled Loan, Las Palmas), Valdo (Recalled Loan, Espanyol), Felipe Caicedo (Recalled Loan, Manchester City), Victor Obinna (Recalled Loan, Inter Milan), Fernando Forestieri (Recalled Loan, Genoa), Xavi Torres (Loan Signing, Levante), Javi Lopez (loan, SD Ponferradina), Pere Marti (free, CD Castellon), Miguel Angel Lozano (free, SD Ponferradina), Gustavo Munua (free, Levante), Jordi Pablo (loan, FC Cartagena), Daniel Toribio (loan, SD Ponferradina)

MALLORCA:

In: Felipe Mattioni (€1m, Maga Esporte), Javi Guerra (Recalled Loan, Levante), Pau Cendros (Recalled Loan, Levante), Oscar Diaz (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Jonathan de Guzman (free, Feyenoord)

Out: Mario Suarez (€1.8m, Atletico Madrid), Borja Valero (Recalled Loan, West Bromwich Albion), Aritz Aduriz (€4m, Valencia), Fernando Varela (free, Kasimpasa SK), Julio Alvarez (free, Tenerife), Javi Guerra (€300k, Valladolid), Oscar Diaz (free, Xerez), Felipe Mattioni (free, Espanyol), Javi Castellano (loan, Real Union Irun), Oscar Trejo (loan, Rayo Vallecano), Juanmi Callejon (free, Cordoba CF)

OSASUNA:

In: Fernando Soriano (Free, Almeria), Asier Riesgo (Free, Real Sociedad), Dejan Lekic (€2.5m, Red Star Belgrade), Nicolas Medina (Recalled Loan, CD Castellon), Damia Albella (loan, Real Betis), Lolo (free, Sevilla)


Out: Cesar Azpilicueta (€7m, Marseille), Dady (Free, Bucaspor), Jorge Galan (Loan Signing, Huesca), Oscar Vega (Loan Signing, Huesca), Jokin Esparza (Loan Signing, Huesca), Andres Fernandez (Loan Signing, SD Huesca), Roberto Fernandez (Free, Granada CF), Roversio (loan, Real Betis)


RACING SANTANDER:

In: Francis (Free, Xerez), Domingo Cosma (Free, Almeria), Kennedy Bakircioglu (Free, Kayserispor), Henrique (loan, Barcelona), Ariel Nahuelpan (free, Coritiba), Alexandros Tziolis (loan, Siena), Adrian Gonzalez (free, Getafe)


Out: Nasief Morris (Recalled Loan, Panathinaikos), Juanjo Esposito (Loan Signing, Watford), Jose Moraton (free, UD Salamanca), Toni Moral (free, FC Cartagena)

REAL MADRID:

In: Angel Di Maria (€25m, Benfica), Sami Khedira (€10m, Stuttgart), Pedro Leon (€10m, Getafe), Mesut Ozil (€15m, Werder Bremen), Ricardo Carvalho (€7.5m, Chelsea),

Out: Miguel Palanca (Free, Elche), Pedro Mosquera (Free, Getafe), Raul (Free, Schalke 04), Guti (Free, Besiktas), Christophe Metzelder (Free, Schalke 04)


REAL SOCIEDAD:

In: Joseba Llorente (€2m, Villarreal), Francisco Sutil (Free, SD Eibar), Diego Ifran (€1.5m, Danubio), Jeffrey Sarpong (free, Ajax Amsterdam)


Out: Asier Riesgo (Free, Osasuna), Franck Songo’o (Recalled Loan, Real Zaragoza), Inigo Sarasola (loan, Real Union), Iosu Esnaola (loan, Real Union)

REAL ZARAGOZA:

In: Abel Aguilar (Loan Extended, Udinese), Pablo de Barros (Recalled Loan, Gimnastic de Tarragona), Braulio Nobrega (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Franck Songo’o (Recalled Loan, Real Sociedad), Leo Franco (Free, Galatasaray), Toni Doblas (Free, SD Huesca), Matteo Contini (€2.1m, Napoli), Nicolas Bertolo (loan, Palermo), Adam Pinter (free, MTK Budapest)


Out: Adrian Colunga (Recalled Loan, Recreativo Huelva), Humberto Suazo (loan return, CF Monterrey), Eliseu Pereira (Recalled Loan, Lazio), Ruben Pulido (free, Eskisehirspor), Pablo Amo (free, Panserraikos), Pablo de Barros (loan, Cruzeiro)

SEVILLA:

In: Mouhamadou Dabo (Free, St. Etienne), Tiberio Guarente (€5m, Atalanta), Arouna Kone (Recalled Loan, Hannover 96), Luca Cigarini (loan, Napoli)

Out: Marius Stankevicius (Recalled Loan, Sampdoria), Francisco Javier Barranco (Free, Osasuna B), Marc Valiente (Free, Valladolid), Adriano (€10m, Barcelona), Emiliano Armenteros (loan, Rayo Vallecano), Jose Angel Crespo (loan, Padova), David Prieto (free, Tenerife), Tom de Mul (loan, Standard Liege), Javier Chevanton (free, Lecce), Lolo (free, Sevilla)

SPORTING GIJON:

In: Gaston Sangoy (€1m, Apollon Limassol), Ayoze Garcia (Free, Tenerife), Nacho Novo (Free, Rangers), Alberto Botia (Free, Barcelona), Sebastian Eguren (Free, Villarreal),

Out: Milan Smiljanic (Recalled Loan, Espanyol), Kike Mateo (loan, Elche CF), Jose Maldonado (free, FC Cartagena), Gerard Autet (free, Xerez)

VALENCIA:

In: Mehmet Topal (€4.2m, Galatasaray), Roberto Soldado (€10m, Getafe), Renan Brito (Recalled Loan, Xerez), Thiago Carleto (Recalled Loan, Sao Paulo), Nacho Gonzalez (Recalled Loan, Levadiakos), Asier del Horno (Recalled Loan, Valladolid), Alberto Costa (€6.5m, Montpellier), Aritz Aduriz (€4m, Mallorca), Sofiane Feghouli (free, Grenoble)

Out: David Villa (€40m, Barcelona), Michel Herrero (On Loan, Deportivo La Coruna), Nikola Zigic (€7m, Birmingham City), Renan Brito (On Loan, Internacional), David Silva (€30m, Manchester City), David Lomban (free, Xerez), Carlos Marchena (€2.2m, Villarreal), Aaron Niguez (free, Recreativo Huelva), Ignacio Gonzalez (loan, Levante), Asier del Horno (loan, Levante)

VILLARREAL:
In: Sofiane Feghouli (free, Grenoble), Ricardo Costa (free, Lille), Damian Escudero (€2.5m, Boca Juniors), Sebastian Eguren (loan return, Lazio), Borja Valero (€6m, West Bromwich Albion), Carlos Marchena (€2.2m, Valencia)

Out: Ivan Marcano (Loan Signing, Getafe), Joseba Llorente (€2m, Real Sociedad), Sebastian Eguren (free, Sporting Gijon), Ariel Ibagaza (Free, Olympiakos), Diego Godin (€8m, Atletico Madrid), David Fuster (free, Olympiakos), Javi Venta (free, Levante)

SOURCE: http://soccerlens.com/spanish-la-liga-transfers/

SPAIN WORLD CUP WINNERS 2010: What a journey

What can you say after that last week and a half? Spain are 2010 World Champions! Spain won the World Cup! After that corker of a game against Portugal we had Paraguay. A heart attack of a game. Spain were average by their own standards but they were made to look poor (I say that relatively speaking!) by a hard-working and determined Paraguay side. That match really could have gone either way. Luckily San Iker was on hand with a penalty save and a last minute block from Roque Santa Cruz. David Villa got the late winner once more.

Next up in the semis was many peoples new favorites. Germany. Spain was simply magnificent that night. They didnt give Germany a chance. Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets played blinders. The passing was as crisp and accurate as it's ever been. Germany were passed off the park with Spain reaching their first ever World Cup final thanks to a bullet header from Carlos Puyol. A flying ball of muscle and hair that the German defence left completely unmarked at a late corner. The country erupted. The real Spain had come to town. Just when it mattered most.

Then the final. Spain v Holland. Not a great match, thanks largely to some unorthodox tackling from Mark Van Bommel and Nigel de Jong. Spain showed glimpses of their quality but by the end of 90 minutes it was Arjen Robben who was left to rue two failed one on ones with Iker Casillas. The first was a sensational stop from Iker. For me it was as important if not more so than the late winner that would be provided by little Andres Iniesta. Extra time was simply unbearable. Penalites loomed, until sub Cesc Fabregas slipped in Iniesta and the rest is history. Literally. Spains first ever World Cup triumph. The first time a European team has won the World Cup outside of Europe. In a repeat of Vienna two summers ago Iker Casillas stood reached to the skies with silverware (or should it be goldenware) in his hands. What a moment for Spanish Football.

I was lucky enough to watch the match in Cádiz. Was an unbelievable atmosphere with everyone, myself included, treating themselves to a post-match dip in the sea once the trophy had been passed over by Señor Blatter. Then the party really kicked in as it suddenly hit home that Spain had actually won the World Cup. An unforgettable night. Yesterday saw the squad wind their way through a fan-filled Madrid before Pepe Reina, Spains very own master of ceremonies, took to the mike infront of thousands of fans in what is becoming a biannual celebration. Too much to say, too little time, but I hope you all enjoyed what turned out to be a fantastic World Cup. Only a few weeks and we'll have La Liga back in action ;) Some videos for you to enjoy including the highlights of the final, Ikers special post-match kiss with girlfriend/journalist Sara Carbonera and Pepe Reinas fantastic introduction to Spain 2010.