World champions Spain held on for a 2-1 win over Haiti in a friendly as they warmed up for this month's Confederations Cup. After
Fernando Torres went close with a spectacular volley, Vicente del Bosque's team grabbed the lead in the eighth minute with a low drive from 25 yards by
Santi Cazorla. The Spaniards doubled their advantage in the 19th minute when
Juan Mata chipped the ball to
Cesc Fabregas, who glanced in a header.
Almost a month after his last game in the Calderón, Leo Messi made his comeback after injury on Friday evening in Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Columbia in Buenos Aires (0-0). Mascherano captained Argentina and played in midfield. Meanwhile, Alexis Sánchez and the Chile enjoyed an important away win against Paraguay (1-2) and continue in fourth place, which will put them through to Brazil 2014. The Barça striker played the full 90 minutes and was substituted in injury time. He took part in the build-up to Chile’s second goal scored by Arturo Vidal.
Xavi has laughed off suggestions that
Barcelona's dynasty is over, claiming it comes from people who do not want the club to succeed. "I laugh whenever I hear it. Years ago I was hearing this and it seems that it will never happen, unfortunately for some," Xavi told Sport. Xavi also argued that Bayern Munich are not the dominant force in European football despite suffering a 7-0 aggregate defeat to the Bavarians in the Champions League semi-final.
Former Champions League semi-finalists
Villarreal have been promoted back to the top flight in Spain at the first time of asking after they beat promotion rivals Almeria 1-0. The sides were level on points lying in second and third in the second division before kick-off, with the winner guaranteed promotion to La Liga. Jonathan Pereira's goal was enough for Villarreal to take second spot and promotion behind champions Elche.
‘Quit Smoking with Barça’, promoted by FC Barcelona and the European Commission, is a campaign designed to help people give up smoking. This week it has received no fewer than four awards. Three of them were announced on Friday at the CCB (Creative Club of Belgium) awards gala, and emphasised the creativity and originality of the publicity.
Celta Vigo have confirmed that former Roma boss Luis Enrique will be their coach next season after parting ways with Abel Resino. Enrique's appointment on a two-year deal was announced on Saturday just hours after the club had said they had split with Resino due a difference in philosophy.
La Liga ideal eleven - MARCA.com (English version)
Over 150,000 MARCA.com readers selected what they believe to be the best eleven of the 2012/13 Spanish league. It consists of four players from Barcelona (Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi), three from Real Madrid, two from Atlético and two from Real Sociedad.
Arsenal keen on signing Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain - Telegraph
Arsenal’s interest in Gonzalo Higuain was gathering pace on Friday, with the Argentina striker reiterating his desire to leave Real Madrid in a deal that would cost around £20 million. Higuain’s father, Jorge, was on Friday quoted in Spain as confirming that Arsenal and Juventus had already been in contact. "He wants to go to a team in Europe where he is a main player and is shown affection," said Jorge Higuain.
Spartak take Tino Costa from Valencia - UEFA Europa League - News - UEFA.com
FC Spartak Moskva have made their first major signing of the summer after securing midfielder Tino Costa from Valencia CF for a fee thought to be in the region of €7m. The 28-year-old, capped twice by Argentina, has signed a long-term deal with the Russian side that finished fourth in the Premier-Liga last term. Costa will join compatriots Nicolás Pareja and Juan Insaurralde at Spartak and arrives with nine seasons of European football under his belt since starting out in the French lower leagues in 2004.
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