Gareth Bale has been presented to Real Madrid supporters following his world record £85.3m (100m euros) transfer from Tottenham.
The Wales forward received a rapturous reception after stepping out on stage in a dark suit in front of more than 20,000 fans at the Bernabeu Stadium.
Speaking in Spanish, the 24-year-old told fans: "It is a dream to be here in Madrid. Thank you for this welcome."
Bale was then paraded on the pitch wearing the number 11 shirt.
Bale's arrival in Madrid was so popular that fans had to have tickets to get into the Bernabeu
Bale, who scored 21 league goals for Tottenham last season, agreed a £300,000 per week, six-year deal with Real on Sunday evening and passed a medical on Monday morning.
Confirmation of the transfer, which eclipsed the £80m Real paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, followed a summer-long saga involving extensive negotiations between the player, Spurs and Real.
Real fans queued up outside the Bernabeu on Monday before flooding into the stadium to greet their new idol.
They wore replica shirts emblazoned with the player's name, waved scarves and chanted Bale's name during a 10-minute welcome speech from club president Florentino Perez.
"Bale is an exceptional player," said Perez. "The negotiations have been intense, complicated and prolonged, but finally we have achieved our aim and we are delighted to welcome him as part of our team."
Bale juggled a ball on the pitch before kicking several into the crowd
Addressing Bale directly, he added: "We are the most demanding club in the world but we will always be by your side.
"Many of the best players in the world have graced this pitch and you are now following in their footsteps.
"This is your stadium, this is your shirt, these are your supporters. From today on, this is your home and that of your entire family. Welcome to your team, welcome to Real Madrid."
After a short address in Spanish and English, Bale was joined on stage by his family, including baby daughter Alba Violet, for photographs, before heading off to change into his new kit.
On Monday Vladimir Kramnik won the World Cup in Tromsø, Norway. The 14th World Champion easily held a draw with the black pieces — in fact when Dmitry Andreikin realized he was getting into trouble, he offered a draw on move 34.
Photos by Paul Truong
After 23 days of chess, and a tournament that started with 128 players from all over the world, the FIDE World Cup finally came to an end on Monday. Dmitry Andreikin needed to beat Vladimir Kramnik to force a tiebreak, but didn't manage to do so. In a much better position, Kramnik accepted his opponent's draw offer with a smile and became the winner of the 2013 World Cup. A deserved winner!
Andreikin's strategy for that last classical game made sense, and was somewhat similar to Garry Kasparov's opening choice in 1987 in Seville, when he needed to beat Anatoly Karpov to tie the match and keep his title. A quiet English opening (Kasparov also played 1.c4!), some manoeuvring, and trying to get something going.
Andreiking managed to get a lively position, and when he pushed his g-pawn he was quite optimistic, but Kramnik always felt comfortable and the computer agrees.
The World Cup will be starting in Brazil in 2014 and in terms of preparations for the African Champions ,Super Eagles of Nigeria, it has been so far so good. The qualifiers have provided a sturdy test and judging by her performance with a depleted side at concluded Confederation Cup showed that , with her best players, the Super Eagles can compete with the world's greatest teams.
Nigeria surely can what no African nation has done: which is win the World Cup. But they need to have the right blend of players. With hordes of players scattered across the globe, it would not a mean feat to select the best to spear head the challenge for the World soccer title.That is what I have a taken the liberty to compile - The Team list of Nigerian players that could win the world cup for her.
Goal Keeper Enyeama Victor
Since 2002, he has played for the national team of Nigeria. He currently plays for Lille OSC who he signed for in June 2011.Enyeama was selected for the 2002 World Cup as a cover for Ike Shorunmu. He only played one match in that tournament, keeping a clean sheet against England, and took over the spot after Shorunmu's international retirement. Since then he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team, playing in the 2004 African Cup of Nations, 2006 African Cup of Nations, and indeed all African Cup of Nations till 2013 except for the 2008 edition in Ghana where he lost his position to Austin Ejide. In the 2006 CAN, he stopped three penalties in the quarter-final against Tunisia, but could not prevent a loss to Côte d'Ivoire in the semi-final. Goalkeeper Enyeama turned out the hero for the Nigerians as he saved Thomas Nyirenda's spot kick after both teams had scored their previous three kicks. He put his own kick past his opposite number Mweene in a battle of the goalkeepers, after Mweene had scored his seconds earlier, to set up a semi-final clash with Ghana, which Nigeria lost 1–0 only to end up settling for the third place by beating Algeria by a slim 1–0 victory margin.
Vincent Enyeama justified claims as one of the best shot-stoppers in football at the moment, with a defiant display to restrict Argentina to a 1–0 win in their Group B 2010 FIFA World Cup match.
Echiejile(Defender) Echiéjilé simply known as Elderson, is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for S.C. Braga in Portugal, as a left defender.Elderson was a member of the Nigerian U-20 team at the 2007 World Cup in Canada, playing five matches and scoring once. Having made his debuts for the senior side in 2009, he was picked for the following year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa, appearing in two group stage matches in an eventual group stage exit.
Ambrose(Defender)
plays as a centre back or right back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Nigeria national football team.Ambrose has represented Nigeria at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the Summer Olympics and at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Omereuo(Defender)
On 9 January 2013, at the age of 19 he played for the senior team for the first time in a goalless draw against Cape Verde. He then went on to play in all of Nigeria's matches at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as Nigeria went on to win the competition for the third time
Sunday Mba (Central Midfielder) He was a member of the Nigeria C team that won the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup. He made his senior debut in the Eagles' 0–0 tie against Angola in January 2012. He scored a brace against Liberia in his next game.He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.He scored the winning goal in Nigeria's 2–1 quarter-final win over Côte d'Ivoire. On February 10, 2013, in the final against Burkina Faso, he scored the first and only goal of the game, to hand Nigeria their third Africa Cup of Nations title.
Nosa Igiebor (Central Midfielder)
commonly known as Nosa or Nosa Igiebor, is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Real Betis as an attacking midfielder.He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Musa Ahmed
Musa represented the Nigeria national under-20 football team in the U-20 World Cup held in Colombia, where he scored three goals in five matches. Musa was included by FIFA in shortlist of 10 candidates for the Adidas Golden Ball, which was awarded to the most outstanding player of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.On 7 December 2011, Ahmed Musa was one of the four nominees named for the Confederation of African Football Most Promising Talent Award, however the award went to Tottenham Hotspur's Souleymane Coulibaly. He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Mikel Obi (Attacking Midfielder)
In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament until Nigeria reached the final, where they lost 2–1 to Argentina. Obi won the Silver Ball after being voted the tournament's second best player.
Victor Moses (Attacker) plays for Chelsea. Moses can play in a variety of positions, but in the first-team games he has taken part in so far, Moses has mostly played as a winger. Born in Nigeria, he has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, but opted to play for the Nigerian national team as opposed to being fully capped for England.
Uche Nwafor (Attacker) Is a new comer to the scene .Scoring a brace in Nigeria victory over rivals, South Africa,in the Mandela Challenge 2013.Nwofor also announced his arrival in Europe by scoring on his debut for VVV Venlo in a thrilling 3:3 home draw with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch top-flight.
Emmanuel Emenike (Attacker)
He scored in Nigeria's opening AFCON match against Burkina Faso in a 1-1 draw. He also scored the first goal in the quarter final match between Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire which Nigeria won 2-1. On 3 February, Emenike scored a 30-yard free kick giving his country a 2-1 win over Côte d'Ivoire in the African Cup of Nations.
In 2013, he became part of the third Nigerian team to win the African Cup of Nations - Nigeria's first continental victory since 1994. His four goals proved crucial to Nigeria's progress through the tournament, and he was named to the team of the African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.However, Emenike wasn't included in the final, due to thigh injury.He also received the Pepsi Tournament Top Scorer, with four goals, along with Ghana's Wakaso Mubarak. This secured him the Pepsi Tournament Top Scorer with four goals and three assist, having played fewer minutes than Mubarak, who also had three goals and no assist.Emmanuel Emenike was also part of the Nigerian team that won the tournament in 2013.
Rumors has it that Real Madrid is trying to sign Gareth Bale for $105million to kick a round leather ball. If all goes according to plan,then it will certainly be the world record for the highest transfer fee for a soccer player. Which begs the question, is Bale really worth that much or in fact is any player worth that much? Obviously not!
One factor responsible for the high transfer fee is the escape clause in Bale's contract.Since his contract expires a long time from now, Tottenham are in no hurry to sell. And would love to hold on to their star man for a while longer in their quest for a top four finish.
But that does not fully explain why a Real Madrid would need to cough such an astronomical amount of money for a player. It is Real Madrid and not some newly bought small club with a sugar daddy looking to increase their profile? Juxtapose that with Barcelona's bid for Fabregas where Barca's clout reduced the true cost of their target man. Real Madrid have the same clout if not more. The desire of any player to play for such an illustrious club, should surely trump over a quick pay day?
Besides Uefa's financial fair play has been thrown out of the window. As wenger described it, a joke. The laws due to start next year, was put in place to curb this sort of reckless player purchases. And if nothing is done ,it will only confirm what it felt in some quarters that it was meant to stop the dominance of English clubs.
Ronaldo could be making his way back to Old Trafford for $80 million. Thereby offsetting the cost of the Bale transfer. This is unlikely since Ronaldo is part of Real's per-season tour and he has been their highest goal scorer since his arrival at the Bernabeu. Madrid need for a marque signing after losing out to perennial rivals Barcelona for Neymar's signature, might also have instigated this move now. There is nothing the Bernubeu faithfuls would love more than getting one over the catalans. Makes one wonder where Bale will fit in a crowed team where the likes of Kaka, Modric and Ozil struggle to find playing time.The Galatico bug seems to be catchy as Baracelona have now followed the same model in their $60 million pursuit of Brazilian star man Neymar.
Either way, Bale is an asset for any team and in a Galatico-studed side,could very well provide the missing piece in Real's jigsaw quest for the elusive tenth Champions League trophy.
It's better late than never. This is my take on the 2012-2013 premiership which Manchester United were worthy champions. It was a no contest after Christmas when Man City failed to put up a meaningful defence of their title.That sort of shifted everyone's attention towards the relegation battle and the frantic tussle for the remaining two Champions league spots. At the end of it all,Chelsea and and Arsenal managed to get those spots but only just ,as Tottenham pushed them all the way.
THE TEAM OF THE SEASON
My team will be sporting a 4-1-2-3 formation
Asmir Begovic (Stoke City) -Stoke City's shot shooter was phenomenal this season and his efforts would definitely earn him a move to a top four side.
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham)- Liverpool wanted him at the start of the season but Tottenham "stole" him under their noses. It didn't take long to show everyone why. Jan is a versatile player capable of playing as a centre- back and left-back.
Leighton Baines (Everton)- The powerful left-back has really been a revelation this season where he created 116 chances for his teammates which earned him a place in 2013's PFA Premier League Team of the Year .He also won Everton's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards .
Pablo Zabaleta (Man City)- Ever surging right back.Pablo scored crucial goals especially against Manchester United. After a superb season, Zabaleta was voted 2012–13 Etihad Manchester City Player of the Year.
Jonny Evans (Man United)- John was a much improved defender this season. Stats show that Manchester United conceded less goals when Evens was on the pitch.
David Luiz (Chelsea) - The Brazilian has a superb reading of the game with a rate of 2.3 interceptions per match.Although his aerial dominance is quite weak at 55% he makes up for it with excellent 93% tackling rate.
Marouane Fellaini (Everton) - A top performer and well known for his Afro-hair style.He has been ranked as one of the top 60 footballers in the world by The Guardian (Wikipedia).
Juan Mata (Chelsea) - has enjoyed two excellent seasons in the premiership. His mercurial ball skills and vision helped Chelsea in the capturing the automatic Champions League spot.
Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) - The most sought after talent in the world right. Rated along side the two greats:Ronaldo and Messi. Bale is a torment -in-chief of defenses and this season raked in 21 goals to take Tottenham to the brink of a Champions League finish.
Luis Suarez (Liverpool) - Is one of the deadliest footballers in the Premiership. A fact sometimes overlooked by those who rather focus on his sometimes flawed eccentrics. He seems to make headlines for the wrong reasons. His goals this season carried Liverpool to 7th seventh place .Way short of their Champion League target. Sadly, He will start next season on the stands after receiving a 10 match ban for a biting incident.
Robin Van Persie (Man. United)-
One thing is clear. ManU might not have won this season's league title so convincingly without the goals of Van Persie. The man is simply a goal scoring machine. His move to Manchester albeit controversial, was inspired as he finally won a Premier crown after many years of disappointment with Arsenal. A bit reminiscent of Lebron taking his "talents" elsewhere.
Asmir Begovic
Pablo Zabaleta Jonny EvansJan Vertonghen Leighton Baines
Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory was historic,ending a 77 year wait for a British man to win what is arguably the most special Championship in world Tennis. My heart was in my mouth throughout the riveting match. It was certainly a joy to watch history being made.
The Championship point was so close yet so far. At some points in the game,it felt was never going to come sooner. Andy had already taken the previous two sets 6-4,7-5 against the reigning number one Djokovic.
In the prelude to the championship point,Djokovic had recovered from 0-40 deficit to tie or deuce the game.
That certainly sent shivers down the anxious fans watching near London's Tower Bridge and Dunblane. Echoes of Djokovic's spectacular victory over Federer when he came from two sets down was lurking at their minds.
With the entire nation behind him, Andy Murray found the extra will to turnaround the second set and finally get the championship point.
It was clearly well deserved after the heart break of losing in last year's final to eventual winner Roger Federer. After that tournament, first runners-up had prophetically claimed that he was getting closer to his rivals. And right he was, with the Olympic Gold and U.S Open championship to prove it.
He can now claim to having won the championship that has eluded even some of the greatest players including his coach Ivan Lendl.
Larry Bird Vs. Magic Johnson
Two of the greatest talents ever to play the game of Basketball dueled in the 80s. Their highly publicized rivalries brought glamor back to the NBA . Some go as far as saying that they saved the NBA from bankruptcy.
2
Kasparov vs Karpov
This is probably the greatest rivalry in Sport. It was a bitter rivalry that spanned 25 years.The interesting the thing was the clash of styles. Karpov was positional and intuitive while Kasparov was played very attacking and calculative chess. They provided great entertainment for fans through the years especially in the late 80s when it all started.
Karpov fought Kasparov in three more world championship matches in 1986 (held in London and Leningrad), 1987 (held in Seville), and 1990 (held in New York City and Lyon). All three matches were extremely close: the scores were 11½ to 12½ (+4 −5 =15), 12 to 12 (+4 −4 =16), and 11½ to 12½ (+3 −4 =17) (Wikipedia)
One particular tournament ,Linares 1994,Kasparov had said several days before the tournament that the winner could rightly be called the world champion of tournaments. Perhaps spurred on by this comment, Karpov played the best tournament of his life. He was undefeated and earned 11 points out of 13 possible (Wikipedia)
3
Barcelona vs Real Madrid.
They call it EL-Classico. This very celebrated match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is a money spinning encounter. It began with the battle over the transfer of Di Stefeno with Real Madrid dominating in the 50s and 60s. Johan Cruyff's Total football yield success with the 1992 Champions League victory. Certainly, this fixture has influenced policies of both clubs in trying to outdo each other. From the Galacticos era to the hiring of the Special One, Mourinho. It also showcases some of the best talents in world football like Messi, Ronaldo etc.
4
Steffi Graff vs. Monica Seles.
A Rivalry so fierce that one almost paid the ultimate price. Monica Seles was stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan in order her the advantage.She would later recover and make a come back but would never reach the form that made her a threat to Graff's total domination of the female tennis.
5
Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson.
Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis rivalry provided high drama during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
6
Chris Evert Vs. Martin Navratilova
Notable tennis rivalries were Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Boris Becker and John McEnroe. Nadal and Federer provided the latest splats.
7
Arnold Schwarzenegger Vs. Sergio Oliva.
Oliva then went on to win the Mr. Olympia title three years in a row, at 5 feet 10inches and at a contest weight that went from 235lbs up to his most massive at 255lbs. Oliva's 1968 Mr Olympia win was uncontested. A Guinness World Record that stands to this day. In 1969 he won his 3rd consecutive Mr Olympia by beating a Mr Europe, Mr International and Four time Mr Universe winner Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold tells of their first encounter in his 1977 autobiography 'Arnold the Education of a Bodybuilder'. "Then for the first time, I saw Sergio Oliva in person. It was as jarring, as if I'd walked into a wall. He was so huge, he was so fantastic, there was no way I could even think of beating him. I admitted my defeat and felt some of my pump go away. I tried. But I'd been so taken back by my first sight of Sergio Oliva that I think I settled for 2nd place before we walked out on the stage... I never like to admit defeat, but I thought Sergio was better. There were no two ways about it."However, Schwarzenegger won his first Mr. Olympia title by edging the Myth the following year with a score of 4-3 when Joe Weider switched judges at the very last minute. (Wikipedia)
8
Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier.
The Fight of the Century and The Thrilla in Manila catch phrases that announces their fights. Both pugilists demonstrated a certain amount animosity against each other. The media naturally feed into the hype to create possibly the greatest rivalry in professional boxing.
9
India vs. Pakistan
Definitely no love lost here. India and Pakistan have fought three major wars, making for heated exchanges when they've faced off in the field of sports — most notably the eight times they've competed against each other in the Cricket World Cup. The Indians hold a 8-0 record against their arch-rivals in those contests, with an estimated 1 billion people tuning in to watch some matches.(Fox Sports)
