Spain

Barcelona To Go On Strike For One Day Following Violence Surrounding Catalan Independence Referendum

Barcelona have announced the club will join a Catalonia-wide one-day strike that will take place Tuesday, Oct. 3. 

A release on Barcelona's website said the strike was called by a group called "Taula per la Democracia" (Table for Democracy), which is made up of variuos Catalan trade unions.

Gerard Pique To Play For Spain Despite Stance On Catalan Independence

Gerard Pique has never been one to shy away from his political views. An outspoken supporter of Catalan independence, Pique has drawn a lot of ire from fans of the Spanish National Team, especially with Catalonia trying to vote on a referendum to decide whether to declare independence from Spain.

Pique's stance on the referendum will have no effect on Pique's role with Spain, said Spanish National Team manager Julen Lopetegui. 

Master Class From Ronaldo, Real Madrid Puts Borussia Dortmund On Champions League Brink

Borussia Dortmund may be just about perfect in the Bundesliga, but the Champions League has been a different story. Real Madrid may be struggling in La Liga, but it’s business as usual in the Champions League. Real Madrid walloped Dortmund 3-1 on Wednesday at Signal Iduna Park, leaving the German side in danger of missing out on the knockout rounds. 

Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi Pay Homage To Mexico Earthquake Victims

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have proven once more that they are not only great on the field, but also off it. Both stars have reached out to express their solidarity with and condolences to Mexico with regards to the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck central Mexico last Tuesday

Why Man-Marking Lionel Messi Is Always A Terrible Idea

Conditions conspired to give us a glimpse of a rarely used, outdated tactic on Saturday: an authentic and faithful use of man-marking during Girona’s hosting of Barcelona at the Estadi Montilivi. What this means is that Girona defender Pablo Maffeo was entirely sacrificed to negate the influence of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi — wherever Messi went, there was Maffeo. When Girona were in possession, Maffeo continued to mark Messi. In fact, Maffeo was substituted in the 78th minute after recording only 10 touches. 

Valencia Coach Pops Hamstring Celebrating Glorious Last-Minute Winner

Valencia maintained their unbeaten start to La Liga play with an impressive 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta on Sunday. With the score level at 2-2 and both sides down to 10-men, Italian striker Simone Zaza hit the game-winner in the 85th minute with the assist provided by 20-year-old Portuguese attacker Goncalo Guedes.

Levante Center Back Chema Hits One Of The Nastiest Volleys You’ll Ever See

Real Sociedad have quietly gone about assembling one of the strongest squads in all of La Liga, but their promising start to the season was brought to a halt by Levante center half Chema Rodriguez last night. Levante would ultimately win 3-0, but it was Chema’s wonder goal on the stroke of halftime that put his side ahead for good.

Atletico Madrid Reach Agreement With Chelsea For Diego Costa, Will Now Be Spicy

Chelsea wantaway striker Diego Costa appears to have finally wrangled the move he has been angling for, back to Atletico Madrid and their shiny new stadium.

The statement on Atletico Madrid's website:

Against Real Betis, Real Madrid Proved Sometimes Being Outrageously Good Isn't Enough

Real Madrid came into their match against Real Betis Wednesday four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, needing a win.

Fortunately, they got Cristiano Ronaldo back from suspension, and he showed during the Champions League last week that he hadn't accumulated any rust during his break.

Cristiano Ronaldo Ruins One Of The Greatest Assists Of All Time

First things first: clickbait! But not really. In soccer, had Cristiano Ronaldo converted, this wouldn’t have been an assist for Isco. But if we’re talking hockey, yes. The confines of a rink are intensely intimate, so the preceding pass is usually as important as the ultimate one. In soccer, we know that’s less frequently the case.

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