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Boy I'll tell you what, it's been an interesting week around these parts. Hasn't it? And it's only going to get more interesting with the fact that the away leg of the quarter finals for the Copa del Rey are tomorrow at the Nou Camp. Which as you can imagine has Madridistas all kinds of on edge. But can you blame us?
More on that in another post....
Right now, lets get to some news with Bernabeu Bites.
Cules from around the globe have their collective boxers in a bunch over this. Apparently those are FC Barcelona's kits for the forth coming 2012/2013. Temper your outrage would ya? I guess most fans of the Blaugrana have already forgotten that they've already sold out selling the front of their kits.
Something they've been above for years. It's all about marketing and making money, why do you think football teams come out with new kits every season?
Wake up. This is nothing new. Wow, now you're like the rest of us lowly teams.
Once again it seems that Marca and AS like to make things up, you know, like the divide in the los blancos dressing room. It seems it's a race war between the Spaniards and Portuguese. During the routine day before a fixture press conferences, Real Madrid's skipper Iker Casillas sets the record straight.
"I don't have a bad relationship with any team-mate. We coexist in training sessions, pre-match gatherings and games, like all other squads," Casillas told the club's official website. "I may get angry with someone one particular day, or someone may get angry at me, but it's not something to dwell on.
"There are no problems between the Spaniards and Portuguese on the squad. I find it quite absurd also because there happens to be Brazilian players amongst the so-called Portuguese group."
Zinedine Zidane has come to the defense of both Real Madrid's manager Jose Mourinho and Pepe, who seems to be in the spot light for all the wrong reasons.
"I think all the criticisms aimed at Madrid, their coach and the players are very unfair," the former Real Madrid and France midfielder told sports daily AS on Friday. "Pepe is a player you almost never hear a squeak from off the pitch. Obviously he has apologised for what he has done, but Pepe is a player who gives his all on the field of play, and sometimes he goes to the limit," added Zidane.
It seems that everyone is getting in on the Pepe ordeal, even people it doesn't affect in anyway. Like say, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Who took to twitter to voice his opinion.
A stunned Rooney tweeted: "Pepe. What an idiot. Sometimes people wind u up. "Must be difficult to ref this game. Madrid v barca." Then when Barca struck, Rooney added: "Haha. That goal serves pepe right."
This coming from a guy, who's team crashed out of the Champions League in wonderful fashion. Hey Wayne! How's the Europa League doin' for ya?
According to striker Karim Benzema there is a chink in FC Barcelona's armor that needs to be exploited. It's one they failed to capitalize in the first leg, and one they're hoping to use against the Blaugrana tomorrow. Honestly it's something I've seen too -- they are overly weak when it comes to set pieces.
"We have to be much more efficient when trying to score goals from set pieces because I think that is one of the parts of their game which is more fragile. In dog fights, they are not strong, we must seize the opportunity," the forward told AS.
Former Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon has made some pretty interesting accusations about what's going on in the Madrid locker room -- well not so much the locker room. This one is more aimed at (no surprise here) Jose Mourinho.
"The players are no longer happy. He [Mourinho] hasn't spoken to Kaka once in the last four months," Calderon said to Ona FM. "The Spanish players are unhappy with their situation because of the privileges Mourinho gives to the Portuguese players. "And then there's the situation of Sahin. The reason he doesn't play is because Mourinho doesn't like him."
To me it sounds like a old man, who while no longer a president of the club -- wants his voice heard. I find it laughable that he (Mourinho) hasn't talked to Kaká in months. Though maybe it does explain why we haven't seen hide nor hair of midfielder Nuri Şahin?
And we know that Sr. Casillas has already debunked the whole Spaniard/Portuguese split in the locker room. Personally I'd take Iker's word before the ramblings of a former President of the club.
If you haven't heard by now, Granada CF have gone forward with sacking Manager Fabriciano Gonzalez. This according to an official statement via their official website.
"After a meeting held this afternoon between our sporting director, Juan Carlos Cordero, and the coach of the first team, Fabrician Gonzalez, it was decided to relieve him of his duties, with this being a painful decision for the board members of the club," .
The sacking comes after the newly promoted side lost three fixtures in a row. That same day, Granada CF went ahead and announced Gonzalez's successor, former Athletico Madrid manager Abel Resino. His contract runs until the end of June. He has the hard task of keeping the promoted side up, and not be relegated to the Segunda.