MADRID - Zinedine Zidane said on Monday he had stepped down as Real Madrid coach as the club's hierarchy did not have enough faith in him to rebuild an aging squad.
Zidane, who returned to Real for a second spell in charge in March 2019, won two LaLiga titles and three Champions League crowns during his two stints as coach.
Real Madrid finished the 2020-21 campaign without a trophy. Second in LaLiga and the Champions League semifinals are not good enough in the Spanish capital, especially when city rival Atlético Madrid won the league. As if Madridistas needed any further sign their club was struggling, the famed Estadio Santiago Bernabéu caught fire on Wednesday during ongoing renovations.
On Sunday, beIN SPORTS broadcast its final LaLiga matches. Next season, ESPN will take over the U.S. TV rights to Spain’s top flight, ending a nine-year stretch where beIN SPORTS was the only way to watch Lionel Messi every week in the States. More than that, it’s the end of an era for Ray Hudson, who remains the only person who has yet to run out of words to describe Messi’s indescribable brilliance.
MADRID — A 14-year-old Atletico Madrid fan died after he hit his head on a wall while leaning out of a moving van in central Madrid on Saturday, emergency services said.
The boy suffered a cardiac arrest and despite efforts to revive him, he was declared dead an hour after the accident occurred at 9:20 p.m. local time, a source from the Madrid emergency services said.
The teenager was travelling with family and friends when the accident happened.
The 2020-21 season was a banner year for Americans abroad. USMNT players have been winning trophies all over Europe, including regulars at Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund; in a week, we’ll see an American win the Champions League for either Chelsea or Manchester City. But Saturday was not a great day for keeping U.S. internationals in Europe’s top flights, with a number of Americans relegated to lower tiers or unable to gain promotion.
Hoy hay fiesta en la Fuente de Neptuno. El Atlético de Madrid es campeón de España por primera vez desde la temporada 2013/14 y por segunda vez en la era de Diego Simeone. Los colchoneros lograron el título tras vencer por 1-2 al Real Valladolid que, en contradicción, lloró su descenso.
La obtención de la corona fue muy a lo Atlético, llena de sufrimiento. Los colchoneros dominaron gran parte de LaLiga, sacando una gran ventaja de puntos, pero paulatinamente fueron perdiendo gasolina y casi despilfarran el campeonato ante la presión del Real Madrid y el Barcelona.
EIBAR — An acrobatic late strike from Antoine Griezmann saw Barcelona confirm their third-place finish in LaLiga on Saturday, as they crept past already relegated Eibar 1-0 in their last match of the season.
They end the campaign on 79 points, seven behind champion Atletico Madrid and five off second-placed Real Madrid.
"We didn't do the business in important games this season," matchwinner Griezmann said.
Let’s just go ahead and say it: Barcelona made the dumbest transfer of the year — maybe ever? — when it sold Luis Suárez to join rival Atlético Madid for the paltry fee of $7.7 million. Suárez, who won four league titles with Barça, left the the club in tears in September but ended the season with the the biggest, toothiest smile in Spain.
Pura emoción en la jornada 37 de LaLiga, la penúltima de la temporada. Con todos los partidos a la misma hora, el Atlético de Madrid consiguió una épica remontada ante el Osasuna para mantener el liderato y soñar con un título que no consigue desde la campaña 2013-14.
Real Madrid, que venció al Athletic Club, es el otro candidato. Los merengues, eso sí, necesitan un desliz colchonero para tener una chance. ¿Barcelona? Cayó ante Celta de Vigo y quedó completamente out.
¿Cómo sucedió todo? Más o menos así:
Matchday 37 of Europe’s best title race arrived on Sunday with the added spice of simultaneous kickoffs across Spain. At the Wanda in Madrid, leader Atlético welcomed 11th-place Osasuna. In Bilbao, second-place Real Madrid accepted the challenge of ninth-place Athletic Club. At the Camp Nou, Barcelona said hello to eighth-place Celta Vigo.