Xabi Alonso expects to slot straight into the role of 'conductor' at Real Madrid after completing his desired move from Liverpool on Wednesday.
Lee Bowyer will serve a three-match ban after his claim for wrongful dismissal against Liverpool was rejected
Spain secured third place at the Confederations Cup on Sunday when Xabi Alonso curled home a long-range free kick to give them a 3-2 win over hosts South Africa after extra time.
Liverpool battled to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Hull City on Saturday to keep the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League. Chelsea maintained third place on 71 points with a low-key 1-0 victory at West Ham United courtesy of Salomon Kalou's goal.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said he hoped the Football Association would overturn the red card shown to midfielder Frank Lampard on Sunday.
Arsenal skipper and playmaker Cesc Fabregas will be out with a medial knee ligament injury for up to four months, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Spaniard, who was named Arsenal captain in place of William Gallas a month ago, was injured in a 50-50 challenge with Spanish team mate Xabi Alonso during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
Arsenal skipper and playmaker Cesc Fabregas will be out with a medial knee ligament injury for up to four months, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters on Tuesday.
Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1 at Ewood Park on Saturday to stay top of the Premier League and increase the pressure on Rovers manager Paul Ince whose team have now gone 10 league matches without a win.
Chelsea's long unbeaten home record in the Premier League ended on Sunday when Liverpool earned a 1-0 victory to take over at the top of the standings. Xabi Alonso's deflected first-half shot sealed the points for the visitors, who move three points clear of Chelsea with 23 points from nine games. It was Chelsea's first home reverse in the league since February 2004, a run of 86 unbeaten matches.
Liverpool's stay might only last for 24 hours until overnight leaders Chelsea visit Aston Villa on Sunday.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is one of five players who have begun talks over new contracts.
Liverpool moved up to third in the Premier League after they won 3-0 at Charlton Athletic and rivals Arsenal could only draw 2-2 with Portsmouth after being two goals down on Saturday.
Goals from Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso helped Liverpool secure a 2-0 home win.
Morientes was one of four Liverpool players named in the 22-man squad for a friendly against Uruguay.
Xabi Alonso scored twice as the European champions rallied from 1-3 down to win 5-3.
A 3-1 victory set up a meeting with Brazil, who they beat in the final of the 1998 World Cup.
Liverpool climbed to fourth place in the English Premier League after a 2-0 victory at bottom club Sunderland.
German champions Bayern Munich are close to signing former World and European champion Xabi Alonso from Champions League winners Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo will avoid serving a 23-month prison sentence after agreeing a deal.
German champions Bayern Munich will continue to reap the benefits of manager Pep Guardiola's coaching even after the Spaniard leaves the club at the end of the season, midfielder Xabi Alonso has said. Guardiola, who has won numerous trophies with Barcelona and then Bayern, will take over as head coach of English Premier League side Manchester City from July. The Spaniard, who will be replaced at Bayern by Italian Carlo Ancelotti, looks set to lift his third successive Bundesliga in his final season and Alonso has hailed the manager's influence. "Pep is ahead of his time. He is very demanding of himself and his players, but once you get to know it (the style), then it is the way we like to play," Alonso told Sky Sports on Monday.
Spanish prosecutors have brought tax fraud charges against three former Real Madrid players, Xabi Alonso, Ricardo Carvalho and Angel di Maria and opened investigations into two other players, a prosecution source confirmed on Wednesday.
Images from the Europa League semi-final first leg matches on Thursday.
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has claimed that star forward Cristiano Ronaldo could make a return to Manchester United because he is disillusioned at the La Liga side.
An all-conquering Spain side were on the crest of a wave last time they faced Germany on the way to winning the 2010 World Cup but they now meet on Tuesday in what will be a stern test for a new fledgling team.
Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has dismissed complaints about a Nigel de Jong tackle during Tuesday's friendly match against Bayern Munich by saying that "football is not ballet."
Europa League kings Sevilla breezed past Manchester United into the semi-finals of their favourite competition as Youssef En Nesyri scored twice
Liverpool are determined to end the trend of selling their best players during the close season in order to build a squad capable of consistently challenging for major honours, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has had successful surgery on torn knee ligaments and he may be available for the World Cup, according to Germany team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win at Hamburg SV on Friday that stretched their lead at the top to 11 points as the Bundesliga resumed following a one-month winter break.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona's pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid.
Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw in Nyon on Friday.
Former world champions Spain will have to wait to regain their past glory but they need not discard their attractive brand of football that earned them fans and laurels, World Cup-winning defender Joan Capdevila told Reuters in an interview.
Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped give coach Carlo Ancelotti a flying start to his first Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich cruised to an easy 6-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
Bayern Munich's surprise 3-1 Champions League loss to Porto was the price the five-time European champions paid for a string of injuries and a tired squad.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Arjen Robben scored a 90th minute winner in their 2-1 victory at Mainz 05 on Friday to send Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich into the winter break with a commanding 14-point lead.
