Madrid: A Copa del Rey final defeat against Atletico Madrid capped the worst season of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho's career, the Portuguese said on Friday after the 2-1 loss left him without a major title this season.
Widely expected to move on at the end of the campaign and linked with a return to Chelsea, a grim-faced Mourinho gave little away about his future but said Real, the world's richest club by income, had suffered a "disastrous" season, with only a Spanish Super Cup added to the trophy cabinet.
The extra-time defeat to city rivals Atletico, all the more painful as it came at Real's Bernabeu stadium and included the dismissal of Mourinho from the bench in the second half, followed defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
They also failed to defend their La Liga crown, with Barcelona wrapping up a fourth title in five years last weekend....
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09:18 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was sent from the bench for protesting a referee's decision in the second-half of Friday's Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid. The Portuguese reacted furiously when the official awarded a free kick to Atletico with around 15 minutes remaining at the Bernabeu, racing to the edge of his technical area and gesticulating wildly. Cristiano Ronaldo had put Real ahead in the 14th minute...
09:01 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: The Copa del Rey trophy was supposed to be coach Jose Mourinho's parting gift for Real Madrid, or at least a consolation prize after a season that will be remembered for his abrasive antics and his team's failure to win silverware. Instead, Atletico Madrid ended a 14-year winless run against their city rivals by taking the title on Friday, coming from behind for a cathartic 2-1 win in extra...
07:30 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: Better known for his tough tackles, powerful heading ability and nerves of steel when taking penalties, Sergio Ramos appeared in the conference room to represent the club and deftly handled a string of awkward questions. "If I am here it is for a reason. I can also answer questions just like the boss," Ramos said. "We are here to talk about football, and not about controversy or the future...
09:38 AM, May 17, 2013
Barcelona: With a return to England looking likely, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho can go out a winner when his team plays crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid on Friday in the Copa del Rey final. Luckily for Mourinho and Madrid, Atletico have been incapable of winning a Spanish capital derby so far this millennium. Atletico's last victory over their city rivals came 14 years ago, in 1999. Since then, Madrid have...
09:37 AM, May 17, 2013
London: Some up and downs in the career of David Beckham, who said on Thursday he would retire from football at the end of the season: Up: Signs professional contract with Manchester United in 1993 and helps team win Premier League-FA Cup double in 1996. United wins league title again a year later. Down: Gets red card for kicking Diego Simeone in England's second-round match against Argentina at 1998 World...
10:21 PM, May 16, 2013
Madrid: Jose Mourinho faces ending a season without a major trophy for the first time in a decade if his Real Madrid side fail to beat city rivals Atletico Madrid in the King's Cup final at the Bernabeu on Friday. Since starting out in his first full season as a coach with Porto in the 2002/3 campaign, through spells with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real, the Portuguese has amassed two...
05:53 PM, May 15, 2013
Madrid: Barcelona have confirmed that striker Leo Messi will miss the rest of the season as a result of the muscle injury which forced him out of his side's 2-1 win away over Atletico Madrid. The fact that Messi's injury is a relapse of the hamstring problem, which he originally suffered in the quarter-final of the Champions League April 2 and which has troubled him ever since, is a key...
01:16 PM, May 14, 2013
Paris: Paris St Germain have rejected a bid by Real Madrid to hire coach Carlo Ancelotti, club president Nasser al Khelaifi said on Monday. "They (Real) came and I discussed it with them. He's got a contract with us for one more year...for me, he's here next year. He's a fantastic guy and I'm sure he'll respect his contract," Al Khelaifi said. Ancelotti refused to confirm he would stay at...
10:35 PM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane will have surgery on his right knee and will be out of action for four to six weeks, Spanish media reported on Sunday. The France international stumbled awkwardly while making a tackle during Real's 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Saturday and had to be substituted after 19 minutes. "I am sad! The tests today have revealed an injury to the meniscus. They are going...
09:11 AM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Not even an injury to Lionel Messi in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday could dampen Barcelona's celebrations at winning their 22nd Spanish league title. Messi started his first match in six rounds because of a recurring right hamstring injury, but he left the field in the 68th minute with Barcelona trailing 1-0 to Radamel Falcao's 52-minute goal and having made all three substitutions. However, Alexis Sanchez...
08:04 AM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday for the Madrid Open championship. Cheered on by the home crowd at the Caja Magica, the fifth-ranked Nadal cruised to his 55th career title and extended his head-to-head record with the Swiss to 9-0. Nadal grabbed the first set in just over half an hour and closed out the...
09:40 PM, May 12, 2013
Madrid: Defending champion Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday to both retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title. With the top ranking at stake, Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve. The second-ranked Russian briefly recovered her poise in the second set, but Williams' form never dipped as she eased...
06:34 PM, May 12, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Uruguay international striker Diego Forlan has lambasted former club Inter Milan, claiming he was made to feel like an outcast by the Italian Serie A outfit. The 33-year-old, who joined Inter from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011, managed just two goals from 18 matches in a forgettable season at the San Siro, reports Xinhua. He said his requests to say goodbye to the club were...
03:00 PM, May 12, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal reached his seventh consecutive final since returning from a knee injury, brushing aside wild-card entry Pablo Andujar 6-0, 6-4 at the Madrid Open on Saturday. Nadal had little trouble extending his winning streak in clay-court semi-finals to 46 matches, quickly finishing his over-matched countryman after winning the first six games. Nadal can win his fifth title since coming back from seven-month layoff healing his left knee. "I...
10:01 PM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Andy Murray complained he has been failing to take his chances but said his clay season was "going in the right direction" following the failure of his latest bid for a maiden title on his least favoured surface. Murray lost 7-6, 6-4 to Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday but will at least have the consolation of climbing above Roger Federer to number...
08:27 PM, May 11, 2013
Barcelona: Barcelona will be without goalkeeper Victor Valdes and defender Eric Abidal for Sunday's match at Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club said that Valdes has not recovered from a left-foot injury that kept him out of last weekend's game also. Abidal will be sidelined after hurting a muscle in his left leg during Friday's training session. Abidal recently returned from a liver transplant. Barcelona can clinch the Spanish league title...
05:18 PM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will play for the No. 1 ranking and the Madrid Open title after winning semifinals in straight sets Saturday. The top-ranked Williams will have a chance to win her 50th title after beating Sara Errani of Italy 7-5, 6-2. No. 2 Sharapova got her 500th win at all levels after defeating Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-3. Sharapova has won all 10 sets she has played...
05:06 PM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Indian Challenge ended at the Madrid Open with the straight set defeat of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna at the hands of unseeded team of Jeremy Chardy and Lukas Kubot, here. An off-colour Indian team squandered all the six points it earned in the second set to suffer a 2-6 4-6 defeat against the French-Polish combo in the quarter-finals of the euro 4,303,867 clay court tournament. The Indians could...
10:42 AM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal fought back to beat David Ferrer 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0 in Friday's quarter-finals of the Madrid Open, keeping alive his bid to reach a seventh straight final since returning from injury. In a meeting of Spain's top ranked players, Ferrer's baseline game on the red clay almost proved too much for the fifth-seeded Nadal. But Nadal held on to force a third set and won six straight...
10:02 PM, May 10, 2013
