Sport Be Sporty: November 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

History: 1931-1940

All signs pointed to the great launch of Real Madrid as the best Spanish team. At the beginning of the decade, team earned two consecutive victories in the recently released “Liga” (1931-32 and 1932-33). Also won the title of Spanish Cup in 1934 and 1936. But, when all smiled at Real Madrid, Spanish civil war came ...

A bar at the Club

At the start of 1931, Real Madrid renewed their headquarters on "15, Caballero de Gracia" Street. The Club expanded its offices and bought new furniture. President Luis de Usera and Technical Secretary Pablo Hernández Coronado had new offices built, but the greatest novelty of them all was the construction of a bar in which visitors could refresh their dry throats during football gatherings.

Real Madrid lose their crown

On 14 April 1931, the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic deprived Madrid of its royal title and the crown was taken off the logo. From then on, club went back to be known as Madrid Football Club.

League champions on Barcelona's field

Real Madrid won the first of its 31 League titles in the 1931/32 season. League championship came to be threatened by a coming strike of referees, but their disunity made it fail. Throughout the campaign there was an intense side by side between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, which was not resolved until the last day, when the Basques were defeated in Santander and Real Madrid tied at two goals against Barcelona in the old field “Les Corts”. After the trip to the capital of Spain, Madrid dispatch was received at City Hall by the mayor, who officially welcomed them, saying, on behalf of the people of Madrid, gratitude for the conquest of this honorable title. Real Madrid had written an epic, not only having won the title but to do it without losing a match. The solid defensive trio formed by Zamora, Ciriaco and Quincoces -the team only conceded 15 goals-, had a great share in the success.

Ciriaco, Zamora and Quincoces

Second straight title

With great football, focusing on the fighting spirit and the quality of the players, the champion did not give options to its rivals, although it started and finished the tournament with defeats. During the campaign, José Samitier, until then Barcelona idol, joined the roster and with his refined technique and vision of the game enhanced the template. The championship was another hard fight with Athletic Bilbao, which exceeded at the final by two points, giving them their second consecutive league. Olivares, with 16 goals, was the top scorer in the championship.

Nearby was the team to repeat at the next three seasons, but in all team was left with honey on lips and with the "title" of runners, at the distance of one point of the winners, Athletic (1933-34 and 1935-36 ) and Betis (1934-35). However, on May 6, 1934, Real Madrid won the Cup tournament after 17 years of drought in this competition. In the final, defeated Valencia 2-1, goals scored by Hilario and Lazcano.

Alberty, the first foreigner at Madrid Spanish football had opened itself to the rest of the continent, and on 12 June 1934 Madrid went on a European tour. During the trip, they signed Fortuna Dusseldorf's Jacob Bender, but the German FA eventually didn't allow the transfer. Months later, on 20 December, a team comprised of Spanish players faced the national team of Hungary at Chamartín Stadium in honour of the Spanish international players that took part in the Italian World Cup. After the game, Hungary goalkeeper Gyula Alberty Kiszely, signed for Madrid and became the first foreign player to play on the team in the Club's history.

The first Madrid-Barcelona Cup final

On June 21, 1936, Real Madrid and Barcelona faced in the Spanish Cup Final. A large highly anticipated match that raised enormous expectations. With Valencia as a backdrop, both teams, and then the most representative of Spanish football, left the skin on the pitch to get the win. The Real Madrid started the match with great success, achieving two goals by Eugenio and Lecue. Then Escolá got catch up. And under a deep domain of Barcelona, came the great leadership of Ricardo Zamora with an anthology stop -which would be the last with the team in an official match-and gave Madrid the title. Real Madrid won 2-1, but had 10 players. Escolá hooked a powerful shot that went straight to the net. And there was Zamora, emerged from a cloud of dust to stop the poisoned shooting. That sensational speech marked the end of a player and the beginning of a legend. Men who achieved the historic feat were: Zamora, Ciriaco, Quincoces, P. Regueiro, Bonet; Sauto, Eugenio, L. Regueiro, Sañudo, Lecue and Emilín.

Seized by the Popular Front

The war started on 18 July 1936. The same day, the Club, along with every other sports entity in the country, was seized by the Popular Front who appointed their own people to run it. That's how Juan José Vallejo came to run the Spanish FA, the Football Association of Castilla and Madrid FC at the same time. Madrid kept functioning as always at the offices on 4 Recoletos Street with Pablo Hernández Coronado acting as Secretary and Head of the sports side of the Club, and Carlos Alonso being responsible for Chamartín Stadium.

Madrid vetoed by Barcelona

Pablo Hernández Coronado tried to make Madrid survive during the war, but the three steps he took trying to do so failed. He couldn't manage to get the team to play in the Valencia Championship and the Catalan Championship and his project for a European tour collapsed. The Catalan Championship started on 4 October 1936 with the following teams: Barcelona, Español, Sabadell, Gerona, Granollers and Badalona. Madrid coach Paco Bru managed to get the Catalan teams accept having Madrid in the tournament, but Barcelona vetoed them and they weren't allowed to take part in the Championship in the end.

Establishment of the Salvation Committee

The Salvation Committee was created when the war ended on 1 April 1939. It was presided by Adolfo Meléndez and it comprised Mssrs. Parages, Urquijo, Oliver, Coppel and Ortiz de Zárate. Its Secretary, Pablo Hernández Coronado, called up a meeting at 8 Fernanflor Street. After reviewing the appalling state Chamartín Stadium was in, Pedro Parages said: "This will be a complicated problem to solve because we will need approximately 300,000 pesetas to rehabilitate the stadium, an exorbitant sum these days".

The first full house of the post-war period

Chamartín Stadium reopened on 22 October 1939 to hold the first derby of the post-war period. It was a Regional Championship fixture in which Madrid defeated Atletico 2-1. Support for football didn't decrease with the war, and despite the fact that the cheapest tickets cost five pesetas -a price heavily criticised back in the day for being too expensive- the stands were full of fans that fervently rooted for their team.

Chamartín Stadium during Spanish Civil War

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Monday, November 29, 2010

Pakistan Hockey Pictures

The Pakistan Hockey Federation came into being in 1948, following the independence and partition into Pakistan and India. Prior to this players from what is now Pakistan had competed internationally alongside players from what is now India. In the beginning, the Federation's membership included the Provincial Hockey/Sports Associations of West Punjab, East Bengal, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bahawalpur & Services Sports Board. Pakistan played their first international in London when they defeated Belgium 2-1 in 14th Olympic Games hockey tournament on 2 August 1948.
Pakistan hockey team made it to the finals of the Asian Games after a lapse of 20 years – the last time they did so was also in China in 1990 – with goalkeeper Salman Akbar the hero of the day for saving the last South Korean strike in the semi-finals shootout.Pakistan win Final against Malaysia.

Pakistan Hockey Players

Pakistan Hockey Against Australia

Pakistan Hockey Team

Pakistan Hockey Player

History: 1921-1930

In this third decade, Real Madrid has become an international benchmark, thanks to the tours made by several European countries. In addition, the team made a successful American tour. In the brief period of one year, the Real Madrid stadium changed twice. The last year comes to Madrid the legendary Ricardo Zamora.

Santiago Bernabéu joins Atletico for a year

Prior to the start of the 1920/21 season Santiago Bernabéu left the Real Madrid team, for the first time since his arrival in 1912, although fans saw him play in several friendlies with the “eternal rival” shirt. In 1921, and after donning the Atletico Madrid shirt for a match against Español, the Spanish FA denied Santiago Bernabéu the authorisation to play in the semifinals of the Spanish Cup, because had not passed one year since his departure from Real.

The first team to wear black armbands

Nowadays it's very common to see teams wearing black armbands as a sign of mourning. Madrid was the first team ever to wear the armband for such use, and it was seen for the first time, in a match against Atletico Madrid on March 5, 1922, in honour of the deaths of "Madridista" player Sotero Aranguren and Bilbao player, Rafael Moreno “Pichichi”.

Ruete keeps off Bernabéu of the national team

After being called up several times by the national team, Santiago Bernabéu could have made his debut with Spain against Portugal in Lisbon on December 17, 1922. He was all dressed to play when national coach, Julián Ruete, gave Pagaza the nod instead. “I was surprised that they called me up, but even more that they allowed me to dress, but coach didn't want to play with me”, stated Bernabéu.

One year at the Ciudad Lineal Velodrome

Real Madrid were forced to leave O'Donnell field in 1923 because the owner wanted to develop the land. Therefore, the team moved to the Velodrome at Ciudad Lineal which was the first grass playing field they had ever used. The grounds belonged to Arturo Soria's heirs, who then rented it to Real Madrid. It measured 108 metres long by 68 metres wide, and had enough room for 8,000 spectators.

Chamartín, a crazy undertaking

Less than a year later, on May 17, 1924, occurs the opening of Chamartín field, with capacity for 15,000 spectators, built by José María Castell. Real Madrid paid tribute him in his dual capacity as former Real Madrid player and architect. It was inaugurated on May 17, 1924 with a match between Real Madrid and Newcastle United. The hosts defeated the English side 3-2 in front of 15,000 onlookers. The new Madridista field was full-capacity for that match. In 1947, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was built on top of parts of this land.

Chamartín Field

The first English tour

Businessman Enrique Alcaraz was responsible for getting Real Madrid to play in England, the birthplace of football, for the first time. Despite the fact that every match against the English teams ended in defeat, the British press unanimously praised Real Madrid's talent and playing style.

Pedro Parages banishes black shorts because they are jinxed

Real Madrid had always dressed in white, until the 1925/26 season, when the shorts of the official kit were changed to black. A string of bad results led the Club President, Pedro Parages, to leave the black shorts idea because he thought they were jinxed.

Coach Santiago Bernabéu

In 1926, the head coaching job was given to Santiago Bernabéu when President Luis Urquijo decided to replace Juan de Cárcer. Then, in 1928, he was in charge of the team for three months after coach José Ángel Berraondo. During the 1932/33 season, Bernabéu became interim coach for one month between the departure of Lippo Hertzka and the arrival of Robert E. Firth.

American tour stirs excitement

Real Madrid's first American tour was a big hit in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Cuba, Mexico and the United States. During three and a half months the team was on the two continents when they won 16 of the matches they played. José García Echaniz was responsible for the Madridista expedition and Santiago Bernabéu was the Club representative.

League Championship: “La Liga”

On February 10, 1929 there is a milestone in Spanish football, with the dispute on the first day of the new League Championship. It is established the First Spanish Division with ten teams: the six champions of Spain, among whom was the Real Madrid, the three runners, and the winner of a qualifying tournament among a dozen teams; Racing Santander won the tournament. It was made a championship that gave a definite boost to Spanish football. The Real Madrid debut is settled with victory over Europe 5-0. The Real Madrid is the first leader of the league. Good start in a competition that will bring fans great satisfaction.

The first Madrid-Atletico derby

Madrid and Atletico met for the first time on February 21, 1929, in matchday 3 of the League Championship at the former Chamartín field. It was the first official derby of the new tournament, and Madrid won 2-1 thanks to a double by Triana, while Marín scored the lone strike for the Rojiblancos.

First League runner-up

Real Madrid led the first Spanish football League for the first ten match days, and it looked like they would easily win the League title. But the Madridistas were surpassed by Arenas de Guecho and Barcelona. Madrid retook the lead in the second part of the tournament by defeating Arenas, in what was their best game of the season. But the loss against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés in the last match of the season kept Madrid from winning the title. They had to settle for runner-up, just one point behind Barcelona.

Zamora signing has national impact

The negotiations between Pablo Hernández Coronado and Damián Canellas, technical secretaries of Real Madrid and Español respectively, produced the transfer of the legendary keeper to the White Club. The Zamora signing caused a national stir, because Madrid paid to the Catalan Club, the astronomical figure of 150,000 pesetas (900€). “The Divine,” as Zamora was also known, made his Real Madrid debut on October 5, 1930 against Atletico Madrid in matchday 4 of the Regional Championship.

Ricardo Zamora

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

stephanie rice pics

stephanie rice

laure manaudou wallpaper

laure manaudou

History: 1911-1920

The second decade of life of Madrid begins with an acute crisis that gets into the minds of fans and players. The prayers of the president to replace him are not taken into account. Consumed more than half a decade, the team returns to winning ways sports.

Only the energy of a few people, Padrós, Parages, Aparici, Chuilla, Saura, Prats and some others, contains the defections. The president, Adolfo Melendez, back and forth to Morocco, and his repeated prayers to replace him are not taken into account, as this would have seemed a tough call in these circumstances. It is at this time, early years of the decade, when there is a qualitative leap in the emerging sport. After the first moments of curiosity about the new sport, started the task of keeping sports and corporate efforts. The leaders noted that to overcome the economic instability it is necessary to increase the social mass of spectators who come to the field.

The Bernabéu family sets foot in the Club

Antonio, Marcelo and Santiago Bernabéu joined Madrid Football Club at the start of the 20th Century and forever left their mark on its history. Antonio had the organisational talent: he was a founding member of Bologna FC and later became President of the Spanish Football Association. Marcelo was an outstanding player, and Santiago was everything possible for the Club: player, delegate, director, secretary, and President.

Bernabéu debuts at the age of 16

Santiago Bernabéu made his Madrid debut on March 3, 1912 when he was only 16 years old. It was in a friendly match against English Sports Club, and it took place at the "Pradera del Corregidor", along the Manzanares river in Madrid. The Madridista squad defeated the English side 2-1, and Bernabéu, playing as a left midfielder, scored the winning goal.

Creation of the Regional FA and his first tournament

Adolfo Meléndez, two-time President of Madrid (1908-10 and 1913-16), presided the meeting hosted by Madrid, during which, the Madrilenian FA was created. Acting as Secretary, the main overseer of the Club signed the accord which, among other agreements, established the first competition between teams from the city, and whose winner would be elegible to play in the Spanish Championship.

Inauguration of O'Donnell Field

October 31, 1912 witnessed the inauguration of O'Donnell Field. The playing field was sandy and had a size of 115 meters long by 85 wide. The stage was packed into a true team effort. The majority of partners-including Santiago Bernabeu, his brother, Marcelo, Pedro Parages, Chulilla, etc .- are put to work clearing the land, driving stakes or arranging seats. The increasing influx of spectators forced to take a measure of some significance: separating players from spectators by a physical barrier. Thanks to the alms of the partners and a loan that made Parages, Revuelto and Juan Padrós as well as the material provided by the timber handler Adrian Piera, was built the first fence to prevent the invasion of fans to the field. This work marked the transition from a precursor game to a mass show and represented one of the large disbursements of that prehistoric Madrid.

Two days later, the headline of Spanish daily ABC said: “The match between Sporting Club of Irún and Madrid, was held at Madrid's field and was a booming success. Sporting Club is one of the best teams to visit Madrid. They pass very well and have a beautiful aerial game. Perhaps they missed in the sandy pitch. Madrid deserve the most profound congratulations for playing against a team as fine as Sporting".

The regional tournament decked in white

The Regional Championship of the city will always be linked to the history of Real Madrid. While Adolfo Meléndez, President of the Club, pushed for the creation of the tournament, the Madridistas became its domineering participant, winning 12 of the 18 editions.

Madrid-Barcelona: Eternal, epic qualifier

The semifinal of the 1916 Spanish Cup between Madrid and Barcelona turned into an eternal and epic elimination round. In those days, goals difference didn't count so the teams had to play four matches to determine the winner. Barça won the first game in the "Ciudad Condal" 2-1. Then Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-1 on the field of the Spanish Capital. The last two matches were played at Real Madrid's field. By the end of regulation time in the first, the score was a draw 4-4 and ended 6-6 at the end of extra time. Finally, Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-2 in the fourth match and qualified for the final.

The hostilities begin

In the final match of the mentioned 1916 Cup semifinals, Barcelona players walked off the pitch with seven minutes remaining in protest of the fourth goal, which they considered to be offside. During the final between Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, hosted by Español in Barcelona, the "Guardia Civil" (Spain's Civil Guard), had to protect Madrid players on their way into the dressing room. Later on, rocks and stones were thrown at the bus that transported the team to the hotel. The hostilities between the two clubs had begun.

Alfonso XIII grants the title of Real

On 29 June 1920, the club received a communication from the Primary Superintendent of his Majesty the King Alfonso XIII, which granted Madrid the title of Real. The decision, which would change the entity's original name, was eagerly anticipated by the Madridista Director.

The first tour takes place in Italy

In 1920, Madrid went on its first tour, comprised of five matches in Italy. The trip was organised by Natalio Rivas, another of the founding members of Bolonga and Madridista player. The budget for the expedition was very small, so the team was forced to eat at the cheapest restaurants they could find.

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