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CRISTIANO RONALDO

Real Madrid to get Bale boost in weekend clash

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale is looking to build on by far his best week since arriving in the Spanish capital when Carlo Ancelotti's side host Real Sociedad this weekend.

Published: 8 November 2013 10:02 CET
Real Madrid to get Bale boost in weekend clash
Here's looking at you kid: Real Madrid's Gareth Bale (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo will face up to seventh-placed Real Sociedad this weekend. Photo: Dani Pozo/AFP

The Welshman opened his Champions League account for the club he joined for a reported 91 million euros ($122.8 million, £76.4 million) in September with a wonderful strike in Madrid's 2-2 draw with Juventus on Wednesday that all but secured the Spanish side's place in the last 16.

Bale also scored twice and provided four assists in Real's previous two games against Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano as he, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema begin to forge a deadly combination up front.

Ronaldo was also on target in Turin to take his tally for Madrid to an incredible 222 goals in just 215 games and he believes Bale is beginning to find his feet.

"He is very important for us and I think he is going to help us a lot.

Things are going well for him at the minute," Ronaldo said.

Ronaldo has already found the net 21 times in 16 games this season but insists his personal statistics will mean nothing if Madrid end up empty-handed again come the end of the campaign.

And with Los Blancos already trailing Barcelona by six points at the top of La Liga, he knows there is little room for error against their Basque visitors on Saturday.

"Personally, I am very happy, I am in a very good moment in my career. All my teammates and the fans are supporting me.

"I try to do my best every year and I need to demonstrate that I am a great player and give my best.

"Records don't excite me. What excites me is that I want to win things, I want a future that is better than the present."

Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema are expected to start once more up front, and Sergio Ramos is Ancelotti's only major absentee as he is suspended so Dani Carvajal or Alvaro Arbeloa will return at right-back.

Real can provisionally close to within three points of Barca and two of Atletico Madrid with a win as neither of the top two are in action until Sunday.

The Catalans travel to struggling Real Betis boosted by the return to scoring form of Lionel Messi, who found the net twice in Wednesday's 3-1 win over AC Milan to book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Messi has gone four games in La Liga without scoring for the first time in over two years, but he believes it has just taken him some time to recover from two muscular injuries he suffered earlier in the campaign.

"I'm calm about my recuperation from injury. I'm getting my rhythm back bit by bit and I think it really helps to have 90 minutes, then another 90, back to back so I can gradually re-establish the tempo and the form I had before the injury," he told Uefa.com.

"It just helps physically. This time there have been two injuries really close together and that kind of impact you do notice. But I'm definitely getting past it and I'm happy with my form."

Gerard Pique is the only major doubt for Gerardo Martino's side as he continues to struggle with a groin problem so Carles Puyol could partner Javier Mascherano in defence.

The game of the weekend, though, sees in-form Atletico travel to fourth-placed Villarreal.

Atletico also booked their place in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Austria Vienna with Diego Costa netting his 16th goal in as many games this season.

And Costa's fantastic campaign continued on Thursday when he was called into the Spain squad for the first time by coach Vicente del Bosque.

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JUVENTUS

Ronaldo set to begin Italian adventure in intimate alpine friendly

Juventus fans will get their first glimpse of superstar summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo in rarified surroundings on Sunday, when he makes his debut for the Italian champions at the foot of the Alps a week before the start of the new Serie A season.

Published: 12 August 2018 10:15 CEST
Ronaldo set to begin Italian adventure in intimate alpine friendly
Juventus fans celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in July. Photo: AFP

Ronaldo, who signed for Juventus from European champions Real Madrid in a shock 100 million euro deal exactly a month ago, will wear the Juventus kit for the first time in the club's traditional pre-season friendly

between Juve's first XI and a “B” team in Villar Perosa, a small town 40 kilometres west of Turin.

Set in a valley at the foot of the Italian Alps, Villar Perosa (population: roughly 4,100) is the home of the family estate and summer retreat of the powerful Agnellis, who, apart from a brief period around the Second World War, have run Juventus since 1923 and established the traditional alpine curtain raiser.

Members of the industrial dynasty — founders of Fiat car manufacturers and often called the “Italian Kennedys” — have lived at “The Castle” in Villar Perosa since the 19th century, while deceased former club chairman Gianni Agnelli was town mayor between 1945 and 1980.

Used to imposing arenas such as the Old Trafford and the Bernabeu, current Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo will take his first steps in black and white stripes at the town's compact ground, named after notoriously brutal Italy centre-back Gaetano Scirea.

There should be more fans at the match than the entire population of Villar Perosa, with the 5,000 tickets available long-since sold out and even more supporters desperate to try and catch a glimpse of their new idol.

Such is the enthusiasm for Ronaldo's debut, special security measures were drafted in the town for the match, including a complete ban on the sale of alcohol from Saturday.

Ronaldo's arrival had sparked rumours that the match would be moved to the Allianz Stadium, but the club decided to stick with the traditional bucolic setting.

That could mean Ronaldo gets even more up close and personal with Juve fans.

Established custom dictates that five minutes after half-time fans invade the pitch, bringing the game to a halt as fans charge after and greet their heroes.

Ronaldo joined the team for training on Wednesday after their return from the International Champions Cup in the United States.

His domestic form last season — despite scoring 26 goals in La Liga — was below the almost superhuman levels that had characterised his time in Spain as Madrid finished third behind local rivals Atletico and a whole 17 points behind champions Barcelona.

Juventus, though, have signed Ronaldo not to cement their domestic dominance, after winning seven straight league titles, but to boost their international profile and bag their first Champions League triumph in over two decades.

In 2017/18, Ronaldo was his usual dominant self in Europe as he smashed 15 goals to top the Champions League scoring charts and fired Real Madrid to continental glory for the third straight year.

Interest in Juve and in Italian football has spiked following Ronaldo's arrival. July visits to the club museum shot up 15 percent compared to last year, and were nearly a third more than in 2016, and the over 29,000 season tickets available to fans have been sold despite a deeply unpopular 30 percent price bump announced before Ronaldo's arrival.

READ ALSO: 'I want to show I'm not like others': Ronaldo gives first official speech after arriving in Turin