Real Madrid Crushes Atletico’s Dream… Again

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

My pint glass of Sam Adams has seen its last drop, and what little is left of my voice was used to call out of work on account of “food poisoning.”

Yes, one of the strangest seasons in club soccer history came to a thrilling and unpredictable end yesterday evening.

Your La Liga Postseason Awards

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

It was a heck of a ride, but La Liga is out for the summer, so here are our end of the season award winners.

Player of the year: Luis Suárez (Barcelona)

No, you’re not drunk.

It's true, someone other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is actually the La Liga player of the year.

Your Champions League Semifinal Primer

Can Ronaldo carry Real Madrid to a Champions League title?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial) and Alejandro Vargas (@callmejandro)

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals saw two huge upsets as Barcelona and PSG crashed out of the tournament, setting the stage for a fascinating, yet unpredictable round. The draw kept apart the two teams from Madrid, and denied Pep Guardiola the opportunity to face his club for next season, Manchester City, at least until a potential final.  

Who will be able to fight off their nerves and progress to the final in Milan? Alejandro and myself examine… 

Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich / 1st leg April 27th 2:45 PM in Madrid/ 2nd leg May 3rd 2:45PM in Munich.

Overview

League standing: Bayern Munich 1st, ahead by 7 points. Atletico Madrid 2nd, even on points with 1st.

Diego Simeone's Atlético have reached the last four for the second time in three years, while Bayern are appearing at this stage for the fifth season in a row. This is Atlético's fifth European Cup semifinal appearance, and their record is a respectable 2-2. The Spanish side have not lost at home in a European Cup semifinal and are unbeaten in their last five home matches against German clubs. Bayern have won only two of their last 12 trips to Spain, and have not won any of their last seven knockout games away from home.

Did you know?

Simeone and Guardiola were regular opponents as players, playing in ten club matches when Simeone was with Atlético and Sevilla FC, and Guardiola was at Barcelona. Simeone recorded three wins to Guardiola's four, although the Argentinian did come out on top in the 1996 Copa del Rey final, with Atlético winning 1-0 after extra time.

Probable Starting XI

Atlético Madrid: GK Jan Oblak RB Juanfran CB Jose Gimenez CB Stefan Savic M Saul M Gabi LW Yannick Carrasco RW Koke F Antoine Griezmann F Fernando Torres

Bayern Munich: GK Manuel Neuer RB Philipp Lahm CB Medhi Benatia CB Javi Martinez LB David Alaba M Arturo Vidal M Thiago M Douglas Costa M Mario Gotze F Thomas Muller F Robert Lewandowski

The La Liga Title Race is Officially On

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

It took only seven months to get here, but we did it -- We finally have a title race.

On behalf of soccer fans everywhere, thank you.

1st place and 2nd place are separated by 6 points or more in all of Europe’s Top-5 leagues, except one: Spain's La Liga.

An Odd Clasico

Could this be Cristiano Ronaldo's final Clasico?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Sitting here, just a mere three days from one of the world’s biggest games, and something feels off.

That burning sensation of anticipation at the depths of my core? Gone.

Getting my jersey ironed and ready? Too lazy.  (Ed. Note- You iron your jersey? That's commitment)

Prepping my sangria and spirits list? Ok, well that’s still alive and well.

Is It Time for Real Madrid to Sell Cristiano Ronaldo?

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Fresh off another comprehensive defeat at the hands of cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo begrudgingly stepped into the mixed zone, armed with some razor sharp commentsfor the unsuspecting reporters.

"It annoys me that they say that Cristiano has dropped his level, and that is why Madrid have dropped their level," Ronaldo said, with third-person usage that would make Floyd Mayweather Jr. proud. "If they were all at my level, we would be first."

Ronaldo later clarified that he had been referring to the side's injury issues this season, and that in singling out Mateo Kovacic, Jese and Lucas Vazquez, he was merely referring to the absence of key players from several games this season.

"I don't know if it is for bad preparation at the start of the season, but we are having many injuries and that is hurting us," Ronaldo said. "I don't want to knock anyone, no teammate, but when the best are missing... I like to play with [Gareth] Bale, [Karim] Benzema and Marcelo. I don't want to say that Jese, Lucas [Vazquez] or [Mateo] Kovacic are not good players -- they are very good -- but ... to win a competition, you need to have your best players."

Making excuses, or refreshing honesty?

That’s for you to decide.

What is not up for debate, is that any sliver of hope for a Real Madrid title suffered a slow and arduous death Saturday.

White House Down: Real Madrid's Faithful Turn on the President's Box.

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Incompetent. Lacking foresight. Dominated by the people we hate.

These were just some of the words splashed over all of the papers describing a president and the white house he rules with an iron fist.

Only this time, they weren't coming from a Donald Trump rally, or your “patriotic” friend on Facebook cluttering your timeline with impending armageddon.

Barcelona won Saturday's Clasico 4-0, seemingly undressing Real Madrid in the process, leaving their flaws exposed for all of the world to see. From the second the ball was kicked off from the center circle, Barcelona were in control.

A Nation Divided: The Past, Present and Uncertain Future of Barcelona and Real Madrid's Classic Rivalry

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

ri·val·ry
ˈrīvəlrē/
noun
noun: rivalry; plural noun: rivalries
  1. competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.

Twenty seven miles outside of Madrid in the small pueblo of Yuncos, I woke up, sun shining on my face. On most Saturdays, I would be awoken by the yells of my uncle Juan, “Churros are here chaval!” - but this wasn’t most Saturdays.

Ever since the age of three, my parents made it a mission that I travel to Spain. Three weeks to entire summers were spent under the watchful of eye of my grandmother Eusebia. During the summer months club teams observe their offseason. Because of this, I generally missed out on the games, passion, and legend that was birthed from within them. With my parents wanting me to experience the holidays in Spain, I packed my bags and headed for Madrid, winter be damned.

The date was January 8th, 1994 and it was my first taste of El Clasico - The classic.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 10 Greatest Goals

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's Champions League match against Malmö, reaching two historic milestones in the process.

With his first goal, Ronaldo joined the illustrious 500 goal club, becoming its 25th member all-time. With his second, he equaled Raúl’s club record of 323 goals for Los Blancos. Raúl’s tally was achieved in 741 appearances, while Ronaldo took a mere 308 to match him.

In honor of the prolific forward's historic milestones, we countdown the Top-10 goals of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career.

La Liga Week in Review: 9/22

Fernando Torres celebrates after his goal in a 2-0 win at Eibar.

 By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

Who's rising and who's falling in Spain's largest soccer classification? Find out below.

 
Stock Up    


Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)

How’s this for a story? You’re the starting goalkeeper for perennial doormat Levante, yet you played so well that you were awarded La Liga’s goalkeeper of the season award. As a result, you attract the attention of one of the world's biggest clubs in Real Madrid, who then sign you for 10 million Euros. Once there, you’re buried on the bench behind club legend Iker Casillas, subsequently only appearing in a grand total of 11 games.

Your Champions League Primer: A European Football Frenzy!

The Champions League Draw. Click to enlarge.

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

The Holy Grail of football tournaments returns today as 32 teams battle it out for a chance to hoist the 73.5cm tall trophy into the Milan sky.

This year's edition sees the return of English heavyweight Manchester United, along with five Spanish clubs, a tournament record for single country. Before previewing the groups, I have added a short explanation of how this particular tournament operates (It’s not rocket science people, though some make it out to be).

La Liga Week in Review: 9/2

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

It was a bounce back week for Welshman Gareth Bale, and a week of (relative) struggles for the world's two top players.

Here's who is rising, and who is falling, in the top tier of Spanish soccer.

Your Spanish Soccer Primer: ¡Viva La Liga!

Widely thought of as the world's two best footballers, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Barcelona's Lionel Messi (right) will likely continue their rivalry at the top of La Liga this year.

Ed. Note- SuiteSports would like to welcome our newest contributor, Mr. Justin Sherman. Justin is an avid fan of the beautiful game, and will be bringing you top-flight analysis of all the world's best league's throughout the upcoming season. So yeah, follow the dude on Twitter and come back for more soccer (er, football) goodness.
-Joe

By Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)

There’s an old saying that only two things in life are guaranteed; Death and taxes.

However, I think we need to add a third to the list, and that is constant soccer. Do these guys ever get a break? Seriously, it seems like just yesterday Barcelona were hoisting their fifth UCL trophy into the starry night in Berlin. Between Copa America and club friendlies, we’ve been soccer deprived for about a whole week this calendar year.

So, gentlemen, wash that champagne out of your hair and toss out the confetti, because new hopes and campaigns are upon us. With that, we preview the 86th season in Spain’s top flight- La Liga. 

The Suite 16: Part II

By Jeremy Conlin

Joe kicked us off with the first half of the Suite 16 yesterday in our continuing coverage of March Man Crush Madness. I'm here with the second half, covering the next round from The Leo Bracket and The JT Bracket. Here we go:

The JT Bracket - Round 3