ANCELOTTI ASKS THEM TO SWITCH OFF

NO PLAY ONLY FUN

"No thinking about football" was the Christmas message from Ancelotti to his players. And there were no restrictions to avoid becoming unfit and no dietary advice to avoid putting weight on.

The manager wants them to switch off, enjoy themselves and rest. To feel free to recharge their batteries any way they want, and do what they like. There'll be time enough when they come back to reconnect with the club dynamic.

Ancelotti knows well that his side have reached the Christmas break stretched to the limit, that the players have been putting in a terrific effort ever since August. On 12th August they won their first title of the season and on 20th December they finished another competition with a win.

Over the last few weeks, injuries have meant that Ancelotti has had to squeeze every ounce out of his players. There have been lots of games and not many chances to spread out the effort needed. In this holiday week, then, before training recommences on 27th December, Ancelotti wants his players to switch off as much as possible.

After they start up again, January will be non-stop and Ancelotti is not going to do what he has told his players to do. He will not switch off completely. League games will be interspersed with cup games and good planning is going to be vital.

"There are people who see holidays as a time for resting. Others never stop eating and drinking. They'll probably come back here slightly different", was Mourinho's comment after the Christmas break. That won't be happening now, but Carlo trusts them and wants them to enjoy themselves.

FLORENTINO HEAPS PRAISE ON CRISTIANO RONALDO

HIS BEST SIGNING

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has again said that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best and most complete player in the world.

"Of course he's the most complete, and not only for what he's achieved [...] without a doubt he's the best", Pérez said of Cristiano during a visit to Panama City, where he was named a Guest of Honour and given a ceremonial key to the city.

Pérez is in Panama to extend an agreement between Real Madrid and the office of the country's first lady, Lorena Castillo de Varela, which will see the continuance of a social and sporting academy which the La Liga club established in 2006.

Florentino also noted that 2014 has been "a good year" for the club, in which they not only won four titles, but were also able to win the hearts of the masses, transmitting values such as honesty, solidarity, sacrifice and respect for the opposition.

"This effort is not only to win games, add another title to our trophy cabinet and to continue to grow the legend of Real Madrid - who greatly help the world from a sporting point of view -, but it also allows us to pass on our values, especially to children", he added.

To conclude, he said that Latin American football has improved and that proof of that is the fact that Real Madrid have three of the region's players in their ranks: Colombia's James Rodríguez, Mexico's Chicharito Hernández and Costa Rica's Keylor Navas.

HIS CONTRACT EXPIRES ON 30TH JUNE BUT KHEDIRA KEEN TO STAY

NEW CONTRACT ON THE WAY

Sami Khedira made it clear in an interview with a German newspaper that if it were up to him, he would stay at Real Madrid beyond the duration of his current contract, which expires at the end of the season. "I'd be happy if we found a solution", the midfielder told Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

Having put his latest injury behind him, Khedira is up for the fight for a place in Carlo Ancelotti's side: "I'm in good shape again and so I'm very confident that I'm going to get my chances to play very soon", the former Stuttgart man noted, adding, "I'm a fan of fierce competition".

Khedira also lavished praise on Toni Kroos, his compatriot, who is shining in the middle of the park for Real Madrid: "He's doing really well. He's only been here for half a year and he's already a key cog in our system".

MORE PLAYERS ON THE SIDELINES THAN USUAL FOR REAL MADRID

TOO MANY GAMES ???

Nobody is more surprised by the number of injuries that have ravaged the Real Madrid squad so far this season than the players themselves, especially considering the club boasts a vast medical team.

'Los Blancos' have been outsourcing medical services for over five years with Sanitas overseeing the players' well-being. The man in charge of this operation is Carlos Díez, although he has spent less and less time with the first team recently.

A new medical branch has been in existence since last year, however, which involves more direct contact with the players. Jesús Olmo, who appears in photos of the team celebrating in Marrakech, is the head having joined the club through Jerónimo Farré, who is a cardiologist at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation and a Real Madrid board member.

Within the realms of causes of injury, there are several factors to analyse. Rest time, diet and training methods can have an influence. With regard to player diets, for example, a new team has been in place since Ancelotti's appointment.

Mino Fulco, the Italian coach's son-in-law, is entrusted with that role. Physical training, which is key to preventing injury, is down to Giovanni Mauri, who works alongside his son and Ancelotti's too.

Training methods are Paul Clement's forte, which is of little surprise given the Englishman was Ancelotti's assistant during his time at Chelsea and has not relinquished the role ever since. Jack Nayler is also part of the team as a player data analyst.

PORTUGUESE MANAGER BACKS HIS COMPATRIOT

another Ballon D'or on its way

The Portuguese manager André Villas-Boas, who coaches Zenit, has backed his fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or and praised the way that he has developed in areas such as his behaviour on the pitch.

"Even his body language on the pitch has changed, and that favours him even more, both as a player and a sports personality", he remarked in an interview with the Portuguese website Maisfutebol and the Portuguese television channel TVI.

Villas-Boas, who has managed Académica de Coimbra, Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham, stressed that his opinion is "sincere", because there have been years when he thought that the Barcelona star Leo Messi was a cut above Real Madrid's Ronaldo.

"In the past two years, I've seen a change in attitude in Cristiano Ronaldo; an incredible dedication to his job, an impressive desire to win, even though his value has been questioned because of the quality of his closest rival (Messi)", he went on to say.

The 37-year-old also revealed that there is no bad blood between him and Mourinho. The pair worked together for five years at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, and he assured that he would be happy to sit down for a drink with his former mentor.

"If the opportunity arose again, why not? I get asked that question a lot, as if there were some animosity. We spoke recently. There's a mutual respect between us and we haven't forgotten the important moments we experienced", he finished by saying.

SECOND CONSECUTIVE AFTER THE ONE AGAINST ALMERÍA IN LA LIGA

back to his best

The captain once again filled his goal to stop a penalty, four days after doing the same thing in Almería.

Cruz Azul could have put themselves in the game. Ramos' challenge on Pavone wasn't a penalty, but the referee blew. Gerardo Torrado took responsibility and he's likely to have felt a lot like Verza did a few days ago. He will have felt very small when faced with Iker Casillas.

This time, Iker dived to his right and got his new gloves to the ball for the second penalty in a row that he has faced. He now has 15 penalty saves as Real Madrid's shot stopper.

REUS TO JOIN REAL MADRID,DUMPS BARCELONA

 to real madrid ???

Marco Reus is in the footballing shop window. The tough time Borussia Dortmund are having right now means they will almost certainly be waving goodbye to the Germany international. Real Madrid are already manoeuvring, with a meeting with the player's agent in Germany scheduled. At the Bernabéu they fancy their chances of sealing his signing after their most recent talks, something which Barcelona and their president Josep Maria Bartomeu have had to watch from the sidelines due to their FIFA transfer ban.

Interestingly the Catalan club was among the first to approach Reus as they see in him someone whose style is closely matched to their understanding of the game. Barcelona now, in view of the fact they cannot make any signings next summer, have asked the player to wait a year until they regain the right which FIFA has withdrawn from them, for their questionable practices in the signing of young players.

Reus, however, has it in mind to move clubs next summer and Real Madrid are well placed to triumph in any auction for his services. The tacit agreement with Dortmund to have the chance to match any offer received for the attacking midfielder leaves them feeling confident of making him one of their star signings next summer.

ANCELOTTI HAPPY THAT REAL MADRID KEEP PLAYING AND WINNING

man with a mission 

Carlo Ancelotti is a small step closer to clinching another title with Real Madrid.

"The team is doing well. We keep playing and winning and that's what's important", said the Italian at the end of the semi-final of the Club World Cup.

He picked Casillas for praise: "At a key point in the game Iker was right on the money and saved the penalty. At 2-0 the game seemed to be over and they could've got back into it".

Cristiano Ronaldo turns provider: "He played very well. He's given assists for his teammates and had a very effective game although he hasn't scored. He's saved a goal for the final, no doubt".

The match: "It's never easy, but the team played well and won. Now we'll see how we do in the final. We were strong, organised, focused and gave our best".

Sergio Ramos' injury: "I don't think it's anything to worry about as it's just fatigue. He should be ok in couple of days and be available for the final".

22 STRAIGHT WINS WOULD LEAVE REAL MADRID TWO SHY OF GUINNESS RECORD

well oiled machine

A vastly superior performance saw Real Madrid thrash Cruz Azul 4-0 and take their outstanding winning streak to 21 straight victories.

Carlo Ancelotti's side cruised past the Mexicans 4-0 in the Club World Cup's first semi-final.

Goals from Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Isco saw 'Los Blancos' through to the final, where they will face the winner of the game between San Lorenzo and Auckland City FC.

If Real Madrid lift the title they will take their winning streak to 22 competitive games, just two shy of Coritiba's run of 24 straight wins, the current Guinness world record for consecutive victories.

In order to equal the record, Real Madrid will have to beat Valencia in the league and Atlético in the Spanish Cup.

Dortmund rejected an offer from Real for me - Gündogan

injured boy

"Real Madrid made an offer for me but my club rejected it. At that time I still had two more seasons left on my contract. But also, my injury wrecked it all. I wasn't able to play for 14 months", the German international midfielder said.

"Now I want to look towards the future and make up for lost time with sporting success. Playing abroad has always been one of my main objectives. If I do leave here one day, I'd like to play in Spain or England", the Borussia Dortmund player added.

CRISTIANO RONALDO TESTED TO THE LIMITED

REAL ONE GAME FROM MATCHING MOU'S WINNING STREAK

willpower and concentration

Real Madrid keep marching on and, on a night when all the talk was about Leo Messi's historic feats, Carlo Ancelotti had a personal record of his own to celebrate. The fixture in Eibar was his 50th league game in charge of 'Los Blancos' and he has racked up 37 victories, his best-ever mark at this stage, beating the 36 he managed at Chelsea.

The Italian has forged a unit that is running as smoothly as clockwork, whoever's in the line-up. Indeed, Luka Modric's absence wasn't felt in the slightest in the Basque Country.

This Real side are nothing if not consistent and Ancelotti now looks poised to set a new longest winning streak at the club. He is currently on 14 wins in a row, one behind the record of 15 shared by Miguel Muñoz and José Mourinho. He has the chance to match this tally in Wednesday's trip to Basel and then move out ahead with another victory away in Málaga.

One of the lads
Leaving aside his tactical acumen, Ancelotti has won over the squad due to his human qualities. He is a natural leader and his open, approachable attitude and sense of humour make him an extremely popular boss.

The good vibes in the Real dressing room were illustrated by two episodes involving Cristiano Ronaldo during the Eibar match. First Carletto could be seen imitating the star's celebration when CR7 made it 2-0 and then the Portuguese ace winked at the coach after being substituted shortly after scoring his second goal.

CR7 ON HIS WAY TO BEING A 60-GOAL PICHICHI

sky is the limit

Ronaldo picked up a brace against Eibar and there isn't a rival in la Liga that can resist him.

29 out of 29 in Spain. Wearing the white shirt, he has racked up 50 victims out of the 51 rivals he has faced in total. Only Dinamo Zagreb has managed to keep all his efforts out of the back of their net.

Against Eibar, Cristiano scored his first just before half time, with a right-footed rocket of a shot that flew into the corner. Carvajal took the ball to the goal line and passed back to the Portuguese, who knew exactly what to do. That was his 19th goal from his 11th league game. To come would be his 20th, from a penalty, making this the best start to a season in the history of the Spanish league.

Ronaldo is running amok, tearing records down, threatening to become the league's top goalscorer of the season with, if he carries on at this rate, a total of 63. Mind-bending figures, Ronaldo is not of this world.

Just a couple of goals away from the 200-mark, the player picked up a brace and would have gone for the hat-trick if Ancelotti hadn't decided to rest him. After scoring his team's 4th he marched off to the dugout for a little r&r, the game now a done deal. Apart from his two goals, he had also served up an assist to James. A perfect performance that Ancelotti and his assistants congratulated him for. He left Ipurúa with 198 goals from 176 matches. Welcome to planet Cristiano.

REAL MADRID ARE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

well oiled machine

Real Madrid were poetry in motion with Modric and Kroos in midfield.The Croat's injury set the alarm bells ringing, but after the game against Eibar it is clear that the 'Los Blancos' goal machine is running like clockwork, and also has the advantage that you can change out some of the pieces and its precision does not falter.

There is no more room for the debates over the system or the best players to fit into the formation. Ancelotti reverted to a 4-3-3 after the classic 4-4-2 had been imposed by an absolute majority.

Real dominated possession with a new face in the position where Modric used to play. It was none other than Isco, who is determined to triumph with 'Los Blancos' no matter how many obstacles are placed in his path.

The Spaniard stepped into Khedira's shoes and worked just as hard, if not harder, managing to steal 12 balls. In addition, he showed his class at holding onto the ball and distributing it via the correct channels, supported by Toni Kroos, who by the looks of things is set to achieve much greater things than his predecessor in the position, Xabi Alonso. Real Madrid have hit cruise speed and it appears that no amount of turbulence is going to throw them off course.

Ancelotti's side have scored in every game and all of their victories have been by a margin of more than one goal.

An easy win against Eibar

another great win

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace while James and Karim Benzema also found the back of the net to give Real all three points against the newly-promoted side from the Basque Country.
Isco who was chosen to fill the Croatian’s traditional role in the center of the pitch alongside Toni Kroos
With midfielder Luka Modric sustaining an injury while on international duty, manager Carlo Ancelotti had to make a tweak to his normal starting XI, and it was Isco who was chosen to fill the Croatian's traditional role in the center of the pitch alongside Toni Kroos. Out on the flanks James manned the left while Gareth Bale was stationed on the right with the Colombian and Welshman tasked with helping Ronaldo and Benzema up front in attack. In defense it was a full-strength back four consisting of Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo in front of goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Eibar looked very much up for the task in the first 20 minutes as the modest Basque club went toe-to-toe with their illustrious visitors. The best chance early on came from Bale whose long-range free kick rang off the crossbar after a touch from Eibar goalkeeper Xabi Irureta. The rebound fell to Ramos but the Andalusian defender failed to hit the target.
The Ballon d'Or favorite struck a spinning shot that rolled into the top right corner of the net to make it 2-0
Good fortune was on Real’s side in the 23rd minute and it helped them open the scoring with a James header. Carvajal led a charge into the Eibar area and fed Ronaldo on the right. The Portuguese passed to a clearly offside Benzema, but the ball simply hit off the Frenchman and back to Ronaldo. Right as the ball was about to roll over the end line, Ronaldo lifted a ball back across at the far post and James was there to nod it in.
On the half hour mark Eibar had the equalizer on the boot of Saúl after a brilliant cross in from Ander Capa, but Casillas timed his block to perfection to deny the Asturian striker. Eibar were left to rue that missed chance as Los Blancos doubled their lead a minute before the break. Carvajal did well to cross for Ronaldo and the Ballon d'Or favorite struck a spinning shot that rolled into the top right corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Real looked to salt away the match in the second half and Benzema nearly did so in the 54th minute, only for Irureta to come up with a big save to keep his side in it. But the former Lyon man would get another chance in the 70th minute and this time he did not
waste the opportunity in slamming in a shot after a nifty pullback by James which Eibar thought had gone out of play.
Ronaldo made it four by converting an 83rd minute penalty after the Portuguese's previous free kick had struck the arm of Eibar's Raúl Albentosa in the area. Ronaldo swept in the spot kick into the lower left corner of the net past Irureta to complete the scoring and sending Real on their way back to the Champions League on a winning note.

real madrid vs eibar live stream link

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/campeonx1

CR7 Museum to sponsor second division side União da Madeira

great job cristiano

The Cristiano Ronaldo museum in Funchal will sponsor Portuguese second division side União da Madeira for the next three seasons. The team will wear the CR7 Museum logo on their shirts from their next league match on 29th November.

On the decision to sponsor the Portuguese side, Hugo Aveiro, Ronaldo's brother and manager of the museum, said: "The president of União proposed the idea to me. I talked to Cristiano and he liked it. They were the first to propose this plan. União are trying to revive themselves. The CR7 museum will help the team as much as it can". However, the amount of sponsorship money agreed on is unknown.

Khedira,still a GENIUS...

time to prove

Sami Khedira brings to the team whatever his coach asks of him, whether that be Mourinho, Ancelotti, Löw, or even Guardiola who wants to take him to Bayern next year.

He isn't a big-name player. He never has been. Even less so now that the Bernabéu faithful have bowed down to Modric and Kroos' all but perfect partnership, to Isco's magic and to James Rodríguez's sheer class, but Khedira offers guaranteed results as soon as he strings two straight games together. He always delivers.

He carries in his DNA a quality that every coach has wanted from him: an uncanny ability to bring a huge dose of balance to the team. His tactical awareness and physical fitness make up for and compensate for those players whose game lacks his unique talent and he does so in two key aspects of the game, attack and defence. When Khedira puts an opponent under pressure, he rarely comes away without the ball.

When Khedira sprints the length of the pitch from his area to the opposition's, it isn't pretty, but he will probably arrive at his destination poised and ready to shoot or pass the ball.

In terms of tactics, Khedira is a very important player. He has the discipline and mental strength to put the good of the team before his own.

Early recovery for Modric.....

early comeback

Luka Modric is hoping that the worst diagnosis of his injury and its corresponding recovery time turn out to be exaggerated. With this is mind, the player has paid a visit to Doctor Mikel Sánchez, a pioneer in stem cell and growth factor treatment. Modric went to the specialist in Vitoria to discuss an alternative that might allow him to be back on the pitch sooner than conventional wisdom dictates – up to four months, according to the latest tests.

The Croat is looking for the most effective remedy to his problem. A possibility is to go under the knife, but the player, for now at least, has put that idea on the back burner. The latest possibility that Real Madrid and the player are looking into is that proposed by Mikel Sánchez. Rafe Nadal, José Manuel Calderón and Fernando Llorente have all been patients of his at the USP clinic's Arthroscopic Surgery Unit in Vitoria.

Basically, the procedure is to develop a treatment based on the patient's own extracted blood. The blood undergoes a centrifugal process to separate the red and white blood cells and plasma with the platelets. The medicine derived from this technology stimulates the growth of tissue in the patient.

Ronaldo considered receiving treatment from Doctor Sánchez, but the aggressiveness of the treatment ruled out the idea of being injected with these growth factor.

No Space For Bale To Repeat Cup Final Heroics

catch me if you can

The distance between the touchline and the first row of fans at Eibar's cosy stadium is a measly 95 cm, so we can rule out a repeat of Gareth Bale's incredible Copa del Rey final winner.

During that iconic run in Valencia, the Welshman veered so far off the pitch that he actually set foot in the technical area. If the final had been staged at Ipurúa rather than the Mestalla, Bale would have had to hurdle the seats in the away dugout - located just 50 cm from the sideline - while Marc Bartra would have faced a much easier task to block the Real Madrid speedster's path along the warm-up area.

Leaving aside the playing surface, Eibar's ground is cauldron-like because of its compact layout, which leaves the supporters breathing down the players' necks.

And you can rest assured the place will be rocking for Real Madrid's visit. No one wants to miss the occasion: the club has been inundated with media requests and tickets have been sold out for a week, meaning all 5,907 seats - a figure bolstered this season by the installation of temporary stands - will be occupied.

The Basque minnows had as few as 350 tickets to put on general sale, at prices ranging from €40 to €90, and these were all snapped up on the first day. Some fans had even camped out by the stadium overnight to make absolutely sure they would get to see the European champions.