Relief ran through Spanish ranks after Gerard Pique's late header secured a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic in their opening Group D match at Euro 2016 on Monday.
On the eve of the big game, the Malian footballer tell Rediff.com's Norma Godinho why Real Madrid are favourites and what is plaguing Barcelona this season.
Barcelona snatched a place in the Champions League final in dramatic fashion on Wednesday when a last-gasp goal from Andres Iniesta earned a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and victory on away goals.
In a video, released on Thursday, Neymar thanked his famous former Argentine teammate and the Catalonian club for the wonder years.
Barcelona, fielding a side full of youngsters from the club's academy, routed Catalan neighbours Hospitalet to complete a 10-0 aggregate win over the third-tier side to reach the last 16 of Spain's King's Cup on Thursday.
The suggestion that Spain need to change their playing style is already meeting resistance even though another disappointing performance at a major soccer tournament suggests that tiki-taka has run its course. In many countries, a defeat as comprehensive as the one Spain suffered against Italy in Euro 2016 on Monday, when they were outplayed and lucky to lose only 2-0, would have led to calls to knock everything down and start again. In Spain, however, where many are proud of having such a distinctive style of play, there are plenty of voices calling for the team to continue trying to pass the ball all the way into the goal.
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If Barcelona fail to secure their eighth consecutive UEFA Champions League quarter-final appearance, Lionel Messi's failed penalty at Manchester City on Tuesday could well prove their "what if" moment.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for 2012/13 ahead of the usual contenders Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
For all Vicente del Bosque's confidence that he has the right balance of experience and youth to return Spain to their familiar place on the winner's rostrum, questions remain about his best starting line-up ahead of Euro 2016.
A Xavi free kick and an exquisite lob from Lionel Messi fired Barcelona to a 2-0 win at Sevilla that cut Real Madrid's lead at the top of La Liga back to seven points on Saturday.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has reassured his club's supporters that Lionel Messi's new contract has been signed, albeit by the player's father.
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will be competing with the likes of tennis star Rafael Nadal and Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel for the 2011 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
Michael Jordan needed a Scottie Pippen, so did Lionel Messi with an Andres Iniesta by his side and Suresh Raina is that glue that admirably stuck around with Mahendra Singh Dhoni in highs, lows, and from Saturday, in retirement.
Xavi brought his glittering Barcelona career to a fitting and emotional end when he hoisted aloft the European Cup following a 3-1 victory over Juventus in the Champions League final.
Tennis ace Rafael Nadal pipped star footballers Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta to clinch the World Sportsman of the Year, whilst the World Cup winning Spanish football side expectedly walked away with the World Team of the Year trophy at the Laureus World Sports Awards night in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
With Barcelona already through to the Champions League last 16 as Group D winners, Pep Guardiola gave several young players from the club's academy a chance against Rubin Kazan on Tuesday and they did not disappoint.
Like an ailing heavyweight, Spain and their hopes of a third straight European title ended in a tame surrender as their 2-0 defeat by Italy represented the definitive end to a golden era in their footballing history. A first-half effort from defender Giorgio Chiellini and a stoppage-time goal by striker Graziano Pelle sent the Azzurri into the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 and left Spain to mull over a second successive failure on the international stage.
Spain gloried in a first World Cup triumph that finally buried their decades-old tag of international underachievers, but it was more agony for the Netherlands after a third defeat in the final.
World Cup winners Spain have seven players featured in a 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or unveiled by soccer's governing body and France Football magazine on Tuesday.
Spain must ignore external criticism and show faith in the playing style that has served them so well for Friday's showdown against Group H leaders Chile, according to midfielder Andres Iniesta.
Neymar scored twice as Barcelona reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Spain will enter the World Cup fray with a swagger despite question marks over the fitness of Fernando Torres and Andres Iniesta when they face Switzerland in their opening Group H match on Wednesday.
David Villa equalled Raul's Spain scoring record of 44 but the world and European champions had to withstand a Scotland fightback before Fernando Llorente's late goal secured a 3-2 win in a Euro 2012 qualifier on Tuesday.
Barcelona cranked up the pressure on Real Madrid by moving seven points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday after sweeping aside Racing Santander 3-0 at the Nou Camp.
Russian side Rubin Kazan continued to frustrate Barcelona by holding the Spanish side to a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group D on Wednesday.
David Villa struck just after halftime to lift champions Barcelona to a laboured 1-0 home win over his former club Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi celebrated a second successive World Player of the Year award with a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed second division Real Betis 5-0 in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
Barcelona's Xavi, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta are on the shortlist for the first FIFA Ballon D'Or award for the best player in the world to be presented on Monday at a ceremony that gets bigger by the year.
'It has been good on pitch and off pitch,' Lampard said.
A former midfielder for Sporting Gijon, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Luis Enrique won two Liga titles, one Champions League and three King's Cups as Barca coach between 2014 and 2017.
Spain's dramatic defeat by Russia on penalties in the World Cup round of 16 on Sunday ensured that at least one of this year's finalists will not have reached the title decider for half a century, if at all.
Barcelona striker David Villa has said that he will do everything he can to persuade Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas to join him at the Nou Camp.
The World Cup has been a great showcase for the game. There have been many a high and low points in the tournament. We bring you the heroes and villains that grabbed the headlines over the last month.
David Villa and Wesley Sneijder, with five goals each, head the list of the goal scorers at the 2010 World Cup.
Spain owe a large debt of gratitude to their World Cup final opponents Netherlands because of the strong Dutch influence at Barcelona down the years, according to midfielder Sergio Busquets.
Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol scored to help Barcelona to a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Valencia on Saturday, but it was Real Madrid who moved to the top of La Liga with a 4-1 win in Malaga.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique declined to say if he will still be at the helm next season after leading them to a treble in his first season including Saturday's Champions League triumph over Juventus.
The list of candidates to win the 2009 Ballon d'Or award was reduced to 10 men on Sunday, with Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi the overwhelming favourite.
So Spain are the new World champions. The 'tick-tackers', known as the best passers in the game, outlasted the Netherlands in a game that can be best described as scrappy.
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