Atletico Madrid – Sports Africa

This Week in LaLiga

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Several more transfers were completed by LaLiga Santander clubs this past week, as well as a significant contract renewal at Real Sociedad.

There were also more pre-season fixtures for Spanish teams, including a meeting between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Las Vegas. All of these storylines and more are discussed in greater detail below.

FC Barcelona win ElClasico in Las Vegas

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid met in a pre-season ElClasico in Las Vegas this past weekend, with Barça winning the contest 1-0 thanks to a stunning top-corner strike from summer arrival Raphinha. More than 60,000 fans packed into the home stadium of the Las Vegas Raiders to take in the match.

Robin Le Normand commits his future to Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad and Robin Le Normand have agreed a contract extension, with the centre-back putting pen to paper on a deal that’ll run until 2026. This is great news for the Basque club, as Le Normand has been one of the best defenders of LaLiga Santander for some time and even won the October Player of the Month award last season.

Kubo makes the move to Real Sociedad

There was another piece of astute business at Real Sociedad this week, as they secured the signing of Japan international Takefusa Kubo from Real Madrid. The 21-year-old winger has previously played at RCD Mallorca, Villarreal CF and Getafe CF and is now ready for another challenge in LaLiga Santander.

Muriqi is staying at RCD Mallorca

In just a few months, Vedat Muriqi became a fan favourite at RCD Mallorca while on loan at the island club during the second half of last season. He scored four goals that helped keep the club in LaLiga Santander, even winning the May Player of the Month award. Now, RCD Mallorca have acquired the striker on a permanent transfer from Lazio, with Muriqi signing a contract until 2027.

Carlos Clerc moves across the Valencian Community

Carlos Clerc has completed a transfer across the Valencian Community, moving from Levante UD to Elche CF. As such, the talented left-back is staying in LaLiga Santander and will reinforce Los Franjiverdes’ defence.

UD Almería win the race for Kaiky

Several top clubs across Europe were trying to sign 18-year-old centre-back Kaiky, one of the top young talents in Brazilian football, and it’s UD Almería who have won the race. The newly promoted LaLiga Santander club reached an agreement to sign him from Santos, with the defender putting pen to paper on a contract until 2028.

RCD Mallorca make progress on their stadium redevelopment

There is an ambitious project taking place in Mallorca right now, as RCD Mallorca are redeveloping their stadium. The work at the Visit Mallorca Estadi is on schedule and all the deadlines so far have been met, meaning the ground is on track to host RCD Mallorca vs Real Betis in Matchday 2 of the new LaLiga Santander season.

A new era for Atlético de Madrid’s stadium

Atlético de Madrid announced the new name of their stadium this week, revealing that it’ll now be called the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, after having been called the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano over the previous five years. The club also presented its ‘Ciudad del Deporte’ development plan, that’ll transform the area around the ground to include more sports facilities and a hotel.

Conclusion of the LaLiga x Bloomsbury Football League Finals

Over the past few weeks, a tournament has been held for youngsters in London called the LaLiga X Bloomsbury Football League Finals. The various teams of local schoolkids represented different LaLiga sides and it was the team wearing CA Osasuna shirts that won the competition.

A LaLiga space is inaugurated in the Rafa Nadal Museum

There is an exciting new development at the Rafa Nadal Museum in Mallorca, as a LaLiga exhibition has been installed, containing club jerseys, interactive screens, trophies and more. The tennis superstar is a big fan of Spanish football and his uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, even played for RCD Mallorca and FC Barcelona.

Juventus and Atletico Madrid to meet in Israel

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Juventus and Atletico Madrid Friday announced that they will lock horns in a friendly match next month.

The fixture will be staged at the 29,400-seat Bloomfield Stadium in Israel’s coastal city of Tel Aviv-Yafo on August 7.

“Having previously hosted Champions League matches in recent years, Bloomfield will be the venue for an enticing appetizer before the new season for both sides,” Juventus said in a statement.

“It’s a pleasure to return to Israel to play a match like this, against an important rival with whom we have already faced on several occasions in the Champions League,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

“Facing a club with a great tradition and international prestige is always stimulating,” added Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri. “It will be a prestigious test ahead of the start of the season, in front of a passionate public.”

Both teams will begin their league journey eight days later, with Juventus taking on Sassuolo in Serie A, whilst Atletico will visit Getafe in La Liga.

Israel will also host a friendly match between AS Roma and Tottenham on July 30, and the French Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Nantes the following evening.

Atlético de Madrid vs Sevilla FC: A battle for third place in the season’s run-in

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Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla FC will face each other this weekend with a lot still to be decided in LaLiga Santander. The team from Madrid have already secured their qualification for next season’s Champions League, while the Andalusian outfit still need one more point to ensure they finish in the top four too.

Past action between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla FC

This head-to-head clash is one of the most exciting matches remaining in this LaLiga Santander campaign and it could be decisive in determining who’ll complete the 2021/22 podium to finish in the top three alongside Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

These are two clubs that have been fighting at the top end of the table week after week, while the two teams have built up a great rivalry between them. As we reach the final two rounds, there is just one point separating them in the standings. The quest for third place, therefore, could be decided in this match.

The Rojiblancos come into this penultimate round of the LaLiga Santander season with their place in the Champions League assured, after their win against Elche CF in Matchday 36, so they can enjoy the peace of mind of having secured their position in the top four.

Sevilla FC, meanwhile, will visit the Wanda Metropolitano needing just one more point to book their ticket to the top continental competition for another year. Only one more Champions League place is still to be awarded and it will definitely go to a team from Seville; Sevilla FC come into the matchday with 66 points, while their city rivals Real Betis are the team chasing them on 61 points. This battle is one of the many to be decided in the season’s run-in.

In this final stretch of the season, Yassine Bounou, widely known as Bono, will be one of the most-watched players, especially in this match. The goalkeeper is close to winning the Zamora Trophy – the award given to the shot-stopper with the best goals-conceded record in the competition – for the 2021/22 season and he should be important in this game, as he has been all season. With 23 goals conceded in 29 games, he has a record of just 0.79 goals conceded per game.

He’ll be looking to secure this award against an opponent who knows what it is like to lift this trophy multiple times. That man is Jan Oblak, Atleti’s goalkeeper, who has won five of the last six Zamora Trophies.

This match will also see Atlético de Madrid bid farewell to their fans at the Wanda Metropolitano until next season. They’ll be looking to put the finishing touches on their home campaign and say goodbye to the season with their heads held high. This has been a season in which they have always remained close to the top positions, the ones that provide access to European competitions, and in which they have once again achieved their objective.

Atletico Madrid edge Elche to seal Champions League spot

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Atletico Madrid beat Elche 2-0 on Wednesday night to move into third place in LaLiga, securing a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

The result which came thanks to goals from Matheus Cunha’s 28th-minute goal and a second-half effort from Rodrigo de Paul, assures Atletico’s place in next season’s Champions League.

Sevilla dropped to fourth after drawing 0-0 at home to Mallorca, with a result that leaves Sevilla (who visit Atletico on Sunday) with work to do to assure a top-four finish, while leaving Mallorca in the bottom three and still in deep relegation trouble.

Sevilla had most of the chances and were close to taking all three points in injury time when Mallorca keeper Manolo Reina produced a spectacular save to tip Youssef En-Nesyri’s header over the bar.

Alaves climbed off the bottom of the table and kept their slim hopes of avoiding relegation alive until the weekend with a 2-1 win at home to Espanyol.

The team from Vitoria reacted well to their defeat in Vigo at the weekend and opened the scoring in the 7th minute thanks to Miguel de la Fuente.

Raul de Tomas leveled from the penalty spot soon afterwards, but Espanyol’s options weren’t helped by Yangel Herrera’s red card at the start of the second half and Gonzalo Escalante sealed the win just before the hour.

Getafe edged another point closer to safety with a 1-1 draw away to Osasuna after a solid defensive display in the second half.

Oier Sanjurjo Mate, who announced his retirement earlier in the week, opened the scoring in an emotional moment in the 9th minute, but Lucas Torro’s own goal in the 20th minute saw the points shared.

LaLiga Santander Matchday 36 preview: it’s all on the line in midweek

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The last of the midweek rounds of the 2021/22 LaLiga Santander season is taking place this week, with Matchday 36 being held across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Given that this is the third-last round of the campaign, there is a lot at stake as all the teams in Spain’s top tier try to finish as high as possible in the standings.

The round begins with what is a repeat of the Copa del Rey final, as runners-up Valencia CF host the cup winners Real Betis on Tuesday evening. Los Che will be out for some revenge after their heartbreaking penalty shootout loss, while Manuel Pellegrini’s side will hope for another triumph over this opponent as they continue their pursuit of Champions League football.

LaLiga standings heading into 36th round

There are two more matches on Tuesday night, with Granada CF vs Athletic Club next up. After their momentous 6-2 win over relegation rivals RCD Mallorca on Saturday, Granada CF will be bursting with confidence and hoping their veteran striker Jorge Molina can lead the team to another night of goals. The Basques have a lot to play for too, as they can still qualify for Europe.

FC Barcelona vs RC Celta then follows at 9.30pm CEST, which should be an entertaining game as there are always goals when these two sides meet. These two haven’t had a goalless draw this century, while their past 15 matches have produced an average of 4.3 goals.

Four more fixtures follow on Wednesday starting with Deportivo Alavés vs RCD Espanyol as the bottom-placed side come into this round knowing they could be relegated if results don’t go their way. Getafe CF, meanwhile, look like they should be safe, but will want to make sure when they pay a visit to CA Osasuna. Then, RCD Mallorca are the team currently occupying the final relegation spot and the islanders need every point they can get, although it won’t be easy as they have to travel to Sevilla FC.

Atlético de Madrid are in action in the last of Wednesday’s matches, with that kick-off at the 21:30 CEST time slot, as they pay a visit to Elche CF in search of three points that could see them finish in the top four. They met back in Matchday 2, when Ángel Correa earned a 1-0 win for Los Rojiblancos, and now these two hot and cold sides will face off again.

Real Sociedad vs Cádiz CF is the first of Thursday’s three matches, and La Real will hope to end a poor run of four matches without a victory. The Basque side’s problem is that they have many absences in attack, which Cádiz CF will look to take advantage of as they aim to stay outside the bottom three.

The LaLiga Santander action then stops by Vallecas, where Rayo Vallecano take on Villarreal CF. It’ll be a duel between two intelligent Basque tacticians in the Spanish capital, as Andoni Iraola pits his wits against Unai Emery.

The round then concludes at 21:30 CEST at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, where the champions Real Madrid will host second-bottom Levante UD. Although these sides are at opposite ends of the table, this promises to be a thrilling game since Levante UD are in good form as they look to pull off what would be a miraculous escape from the drop zone. Furthermore, the Granotas have a good record against the top teams. They held Real Madrid to a 3-3 draw earlier in the season, while they have already won in the capital this year as they defeated last season’s champions Atlético de Madrid 1-0. Now, José Luis Morales and co. will aim for another three-point haul against the new title holders.

Carrasco’s penalty seals Atletico’s derby win

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Yannick Carrasco’s first-half penalty was enough to hand Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory over neighbors Real Madrid in a fierce city rivalry clash on Sunday night.

The Belgian slotted home from the spot five minutes from time after Matheus Cunha had been caught by Jesus Vallejo to give his side three points which takes them closer to assuring a place in next season’s Champions League.

With nothing to play for, Real Madrid made seven changes to the side that beat Manchester City on Wednesday night and it showed, especially in a disjointed first-half performance.

Antoine Griezmann went close twice for Atletico in the second half and Carrasco hit the post, while the only saves Jan Oblak made were long-range efforts from Fede Valverde and Marco Asensio.

On Saturday, Jordi Alba scored a volley in the last minute of injury time to give FC Barcelona a 2-1 win away to fifth-place Betis that strengthened their second place in La Liga, dealing a blow to Betis’ chances of finishing fourth.

Ansu Fati’s deflected goal opened the scoring in the 76th minute only for former Barca stopper Marc Bartra to head home and equalize three minutes later and for Alba to decide with a second left on the clock.

Granada climbed out of the bottom three with a 6-2 win away to Mallorca, who drop into the relegation zone.

Luis Suarez struck for Granada in the sixth minute although Salva Sevilla’s excellent goal leveled the score before halftime.

Sergio Escudero and Antonio Puertas made it 3-1 before Antonio Raillo pulled a goal back for Mallorca, but two goals from Jorge Molina and one from Myrto Uzuni rounded off the rout.

Getafe still have work to do before they certify their survival after they were held 0-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano, although the point edges them a point closer to safety.

Valencia frustrated Athletic Club Bilbao with a 0-0 in the San Mames Stadium. Thanks to Valencia keeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, who twice denied Inaki Williams while Asier Villalibre rattled the crossbar in injury time.

Villarreal missed a chance to strengthen their place in seventh as they were held 1-1 at home to Sevilla with Jules Kounde canceling out Giovani Lo Celso’s 85th-minute opener for Villarreal with the virtually the last action of the match in the fifth minute of injury time.

The result leaves Sevilla needing just one point to assure a place in next season’s Champions League, while Villarreal will think they deserved a lot more for their efforts.

Levante kept their survival hopes alive with a 2-1 win at home to sixth-place Real Sociedad, thanks to goals from Jorge Miramon and a Gonzalo Melero penalty in injury time.

That result leaves Alaves bottom after they were hammered 4-0 away to Celta Vigo, with Iago Aspas scoring twice, along with Thiago Galhardo and a Ximo Navarro’s own goal.

Alvaro Negredo, Ruben Sobrino and Choco Lozano scored three goals in the last 10 minutes to give Cadiz a vital 3-0 win at home to Elche.

Finally, Espanyol and Osasuna drew 1-1 with Nico Melamed canceling out Kike Barja’s opener for the visitors, who saw how Chimy Avila’s powerful shot hit the Espanyol crossbar in the last minute of play.

Five things you may not know about the Madrid Derby

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With the city of Madrid boasting two of the very best teams in Spanish and European football history, the capital city rivalry is an exciting and fascinating one. So much history… but here are five things you might not know about the fixture.

Atlético were formed in reaction to Real Madrid

A group of Basque students living in Madrid attended the first ever Copa del Rey final in 1903 between Bilbao’s Athletic Club and Madrid FC, the team that would go on to become Real Madrid. They disliked the way Madrid FC played and 18 days later created a Madrid-based subsidiary of Athletic… which would go on to become Atlético de Madrid.

Atlético once went 14 years without a derby win, but it’s a very different story now

Between 1999 and 2013, Atlético de Madrid endured derby hell. They didn’t win in 25 meetings with Real Madrid, until the arrival of Diego Simeone eventually changed their fortunes. Since that Rojiblancos victory, the derby balance has shifted; they’ve won 9 of the 31 derbies played since then, while also drawing 11 and losing 11 (all competitions). The record in LaLiga Santander is 4 victories and 5 defeats in 16 derbies.

Atletico fans began the tradition of celebrating at Cibeles fountain, not Real Madrid!

During the 1970s, the tradition of celebrating titles with fellow fans of your team at certain points in the city began to emerge in Spanish football. The Cibeles fountain, located in the very centre of Madrid, emerged as an ideal meeting point for such fans and though today closely associated with Real Madrid it was actually Atleti fans to first started to hold their celebrations there, after a LaLiga title win in 1977. Over time, other fans began to copy them and it became the fan meeting point in the city for title wins; throughout the 1980s, Real Madrid fans would celebrate the victories of the iconic Quinta del Buitre generation there. By the time Atleti won another title in 1991 – the Copa del Rey – Cibeles had become so closely associated with Real Madrid that their fans decided to move their celebrations 600 metres down the city’s Paseo de la Castellana avenue to Neptune’s fountain.

This used to be a bigger fixture than ElClasico

Today Real Madrid’s arch rivals are FC Barcelona but the Madrid derby was a bigger deal in the first couple of decades after the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939. As the all-time great Alfredo Di Stéfano once said: “Forget Barcelona… the team that can frustrate us is Atlético.”

Nine of Atlético’s Copa del Rey wins have come at the Bernabéu

Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium is, funnily enough, a very special place for Atlético de Madrid fans. Los Colchoneros have won the Copa del Rey on 10 occasions, with a remarkable nine of those successes coming at their arch rivals’ stadium. Of their 10 cup final successes, only the 1996 victory against FC Barcelona was held at a different ground: Real Zaragoza’s La Romareda.

Real Madrid title charge continues, Barca put Atletico Madrid to sword

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Real Madrid continued their title charge after a slim victory on Sunday night.

Marco Arsenio’s excellent 74th-minute goal gave Real Madrid a 1-0 win at home to Granada.

The forward’s powerful shot into the corner of the Granada goal gave Madrid a win they deserved for an improved second-half display after an even first 45 minutes and moves them six points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Real Madrid were without Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema for the game and in the first half especially they struggled without the Frenchman.

FC Barcelona moved into fourth place in LaLiga after a thrilling 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Camp Nou Stadium.

Atletico opened the scoring after a neat combination between Luis Suarez and Yannick Carrasco saw the Belgian beat Marc Andre Ter Stegen after just eight minutes, but Barca were quickly level after Jordi Alba’s volley just two minutes later.

Adama Traore was enjoying a happy return to Camp Nou and his pace was vital as he beat Mario Hermoso in the 22nd minute to cross from Gavi to head in Barca’s second and just before halftime Barca breached Atletico’s defense a third time.

Gerard Pique headed against the bar and after Ferran Torres was unable to turn the ball in, Ronald Araujo provided the finish to make it 3-1.

Dani Alves rifled a loose ball home from outside of the penalty area to make it 4-1 in the 49th minute after Atletico again failed to clear a ball into their area.

Luis Suarez then nodded Atletico back into the game and Atletico’s chances of getting a point increased when Alves was then sent off for putting his studs into the back of Carrasco’s calf.

The game got increasingly bad-tempered with several bad challenges but Barca held on while Atletico will be worried about new signing Daniel Wass who looked to suffer a knee injury in a bad challenge from Torres.

Villarreal continue their climb up the table with a 2-0 win away to third-placed Betis thanks to a Pau Torres header just before halftime with Etienne Capoue sealing the win with seven minutes left to play.

Valencia rested several first-team regulars ahead of their forthcoming Copa del Rey semi-final in Bilbao next Thursday for their 0-0 draw at home to Real Sociedad in a match that had more chances than the final score suggests.

Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera saved Ivan Rakitic’s 92nd-minute penalty to hold second place Sevilla to a 0-0 draw in the El Sadar Stadium on Saturday night.

A draw was a fair result as Sevilla looked flat against a well-organized home side and the result sees them lose ground on Real Madrid.

Two goals from Brais Mendez gave Celta a 2-0 home win against Rayo Vallecano, who made had several changes to their team ahead of next week’s Copa del Rey semi-final.

Two controversial penalties helped Mallorca to a win in their relegation duel against Cadiz, with the spot-kicks taken by Silva Sevilla and new signing Vedat Muriqi overturning Ruben Alcaraz’s seventh-minute goal for Cadiz.

Elche made it five games without defeat as they came back from conceding a goal to Joselu to beat Alaves 3-1. Pere Milla netted twice after the break and Fidel added a third with five minutes left to play as Elche extended Alaves winless run to 11 matches.

On Friday two early goals from Enis Unal and a late strike from Carles Alena gave Getafe an easy 3-0 win at home to a Levante side that looks doomed to relegation at the end of the campaign.

Five things you might not know about Luis Suarez

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His long road to reunite with his family, a decades-long relationship with international teammate Edinson Cavani, his outrageous goalscoring record…

He comes from a footballing family

Luis hails from a big footballing family. The Atletico de Madrid striker is the fourth of seven brothers and many of his siblings have also played professional football in Uruguay and across Latin America, among then Paolo, Maximiliano and Diego. ‘El Pistolero’ – ‘the gunfighter,’ in English – is by the far the most successful of them all, though!

He followed his childhood sweetheart all the way to Barcelona

Luis has known his wife Sofía since they were teenagers. Her family left Uruguay for Barcelona when they were both young, however, putting their budding romance on hold. He knuckled down and focused on his career, hoping that his talents could one day take him to Europe and then, if possible, to Barcelona. And that’s exactly what happened, via Groningen, Ajax and Liverpool. “Playing and living in Spain, where my wife’s family live, has been a lifelong dream and ambition,” said Luis after joining the blaugrana in 2014. Suarez moved to Madrid with Atleti in 2020, but Barcelona remains a very special city for the family.

He has a decades-long connection with Edinson Cavani

Luis and Edinson Cavani have been leading Uruguay’s attack for several years, but their connection goes back decades. Both strikers come from the city of Salto, a small city of approximately 100,000, and were born just 21 days apart in 1987. And get this… they grew up within just six blocks of each other.

He’s a two-time European Golden Shoe winner

Everyone knows Luis Suarez as a prolific goalscorer, but his record is actually so impressive that he’s won the European Golden Shoe, the award for Europe’s leading goalscorer, twice: first in 2013/14 while at Liverpool, then again in 2015/16 at Barcelona. He’s also the only man not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to have won the Pichichi award for LaLiga’s top scorer in the past decade.

He’s scored 10 LaLiga hat-tricks

Luis is one of just 12 players in history to have reached double figures in top-tier LaLiga hat-tricks. He arrived just seven years ago but has quickly racked up 10 three-goal hauls, scoring his first against Cordoba CF in 2014/15. His most recent came on the biggest stage of them all: against Real Madrid in Barcelona’s 5-1 El Clasico victory back in October 2018.

Atletico Madrid acquire services of Daniel Wass

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Atletico Madrid have acquired the services of Daniel Wass.

La Liga champions confirmed Friday the signing of Danish international Wass from Valencia for a fee of around 2.5 million euros.

The move sees Wass end his three-and-a-half-year association with Valencia, who he joined from Celta Vigo and the 32-year-old has agreed a contract until the end of June 2023 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Wass has made 41 appearances for his country and can play at right back or in midfield. He is also highly effective taking free kicks and corners.

The club signed him to replace Kieran Trippier, who left earlier in the month to join Newcastle United, leaving them lacking cover on the right of their defense. This need has seen them bring forward the signing of a player who would have cost them nothing in the summer when his contract with Valencia was due to expire.

Wass has been playing in midfield for Valencia this season and the club coached by Pepe Bordalas has moved to cover his departure by signing Swiss central defender Emay Comert. They are also close to sealing a loan deal for former FC Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba from RB Leipzig, where he has not played much since abandoning the Camp Nou last summer.

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