Phillip Cocu: "Cristiano Ronaldo is a different player this season"

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The former Barcelona player, Phillip Cocu, granted an interview to "MundoDeportivo.com" and as expected, he talked about Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and a few other topics concerning Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Phillip Cocu represented Barcelona between 1998 and 2004, so the Dutch player will be naturally rooting for Barça, on this weekend's "Clasico". Cocu believes that his former team will be the favorite to win this Saturday clash against Real Madrid, even though he recognizes that the Merengues have improved a lot since last season. As a proof of how better Real Madrid has became this year, Cocu pointed the name of Cristiano Ronaldo and stated that the Portuguese is now a very different player, who is more concerned with the team objectives.

Phillip Cocu career highlights and best moments:

Cocu was born in 1970 and was a versatile player back in the days where he played for Barcelona. He's currently an assistant manager in PSV and in the Dutch National Team. The Dutchman had 292 appearences for the Blaugrana, which will remain being a club record when regarding exclusively foreign players, at least until next Saturday. The reason for that is the Argentinian Lionel Messi will pass that mark when he steps up in the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend, in order to play in the "Clasico" against Real Madrid. Cocu assures he's not sad to see his record being beaten and specially because the author of such achievement is one of the best players in the World, Lionel Messi.

Cocu: "I'm not upset for losing this record. It's perfectly fine. It's always good to have such a long-term mark in a club as great as Barcelona, but if a player likeLionel Messi breaks it, it's just another proof of how valuable it is. I'm happy that it will be Messi doing it, since I rank him as the best player in the World", said theDutch former player.

One of the topics approached by Cocu was precisely this Saturday's "Clasico" and even though he thinks that Real Madrid is currently on a better form thanBarcelona, he remains confident that his former team will be able to fight the adversities and come on top at the end of the day. Cocu: "Real Madrid seems to be slightly better at this point of the season, but in my opinion, the favorite will remain being Barcelona and they should be able to grab the 3 points. I believe that the recent games between the two clubs are still an important factor and the truth is thatBarça has won most of the latest "Clasicos". Barcelona always play very well in theSantiago Bernabéu and that allows the team to be very confident, at the same time as it frightens the hosts", pointed out Cocu when anticipating troubled times toCristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid.

However, Cocu recognized that Real Madrid has improved a lot when compared to the last season and underlined how different Cristiano Ronaldo is this year. Cocu: "Real Madrid is definately a lot better than it was last season. They play better as a group and they all seem to be focused in helping the team towards its objectives.Cristiano Ronaldo is the best example of that change, since he's very different this season. He's a tremendous football player, but he used to be more selfish and now he's more interested in helping the group and assisting his teammates", noted Phillip Cocu.

Real Madrid next game is against Ajax, for the UEFA Champions League, this Wednesday. Cristiano Ronaldo won't travel with the team to Amesterdam, since Mourinho has given him some rest, in order to be in top shape for Barcelona this weekend. Tonight, you can watch Ajax vs Real Madrid, as well as Basel vs Manchester United and Manchester City vs Bayern Munich for the UEFA Champions League. All these games are available from our soccer live streams section.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona kick-off time (10-12-2011):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 04:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 22:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 21:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 19:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 13:00
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 13:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / mundodeportivo.com

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Not that it was a big surprise, but this Monday,FIFA revealed the final 3 candidates for theBalon d'Or 2011 award (FIFA Best Player in the World 2011) announcing the names of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Xavi. The winner will be known on the 9th of January 2012.

The 2011 FIFA Balon d'Or, also known as FIFA Best Player in the World award, will be delivered on the 9th of January 2012, but this past Monday the nominees have been cut to just 3 names. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Xavi will be the target of a voting poll leaded by National Team coaches (~33%), captains (~33%) and a few selected journalists (~33%). Besides Ronaldo,Real Madrid will also be represented in the FIFA Coach of the Year 2011 category, with José Mourinho being included in the final list, alongside with Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who is the best player in the World?:

The 2011 Golden Boot/Shoe winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, scored 40 goals in La Liga2010-11 and 53 goals in all competitions last season, helping Real Madridconquering the Copa del Rey against Barcelona. However, CR7 is still seen by many as less favorite to win FIFA's Balon d'Or than Lionel Messi. The Argentinian player has led the Blaugrana to glory in both the Spanish League and the UEFA Champions League, besides having won the last two editions (2009; 2010), that have ranked him as "FIFA Best Player in the World".

To complete the roll, there's Xavi, Barcelona's midfield maestro, seen as a major underdog since this seems to be a fight between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. But the Spanish player actually has a trump card, since he's the only one that seems to keep his performance levels constant, in both club and National Team. Anyway, bookies and sports experts insist on claiming that this will be a "bipolar" decision, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi drawing all the attentions and votes. No need to say who we will be supporting, but since this is such a subjective award (based on journalists, National Team managers and captains votes), we fear that an unfair outcome could be in the way...

For the second year in a row, FIFA will also hand the Best Coach in the World award, and José Mourinho's name is once again included in the announced final list. However and similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese coach also faces serious competition as Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson complete the candidates list. In a week where Real Madrid andBarcelona face each other for "La Liga" in the Santiago Bernabéu, these kind of nominees lists announcements are probably the less of the worries in José Mourinho's mind. We'll be posting an "El Clasico" preview in the next days, so that our readers won't miss a single bit of this long awaited clash.

Here are the four FIFA awards categories and the final nominees for 2011:

FIFA Balon d'Or (FIFA Best Player in the World 2011)
Player Name	Nationality	Club
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portuguese	Real Madrid
Lionel Messi	Argentinian	Barcelona
Xavi Hernandéz	Spanish	Barcelona

FIFA Women's Balon d'Or (FIFA Best Player in the World 2011)
Player Name	Nationality	Club
Marta	Brazilian	Western NY Flash
Homare Sawa	Japanese	INAC Leonessa
Abby Wambach	North-american	MagicJack

FIFA Coach of the Year 2011 (Men)
Player Name	Nationality	Club
José Mourinho	Portuguese	Real Madrid
Pep Guardiola	Spanish	Barcelona
Sir Alex Ferguson	Scottish	Manchester United

FIFA Coach of the Year 2011 (Women)
Player Name	Nationality	Club/National Team
Bruno Bini	French	France
Norio Sasaki	Japanese	Japan
Pia Sundhage	Swedish	U.S.A.

Real Madrid next game is against Ajax, for the UEFA Champions League, on the 7th of December, 2011. There's a good chance that Cristiano Ronaldo could be spared from this match, if Mourinho decides to rotate the team. This Tuesday, you can watch Barcelona vs BATE Borisov and the day after, you can follow Ajax vs Real Madrid, and Basel vs Manchester United also for the UEFA Champions League. All these games are available from our soccer live streams section and you can check how much time is left for the next Cristiano Ronaldo game, by looking at the countdown timer, placed on the top right corner of all pages.

Ajax vs Real Madrid kick-off time (07-12-2011):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 17:45
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 11:45
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 11:45

Sources: ronaldo7.net / goal.com / publico.pt

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"Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle" released for iPhone/iPad and Android

Cristiano Ronaldo is more than a simple brand these days and it keeps expanding as thePortuguese player will now have his own game available for iPhone, iPad and Android systems. The videogame is called "Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle" and it's already available on Applestore for a price of $2.99 (£1.99/€2.39).

Earlier this week, the new "Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle" video game has been released for iOS platforms (iPhone/iPad) and will also be available for Android later in December. This is an interesting video game that allows users to do several freestyle tricks when playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, and at the same time they are asked to synch their moves with soundtracks that are being played in the background. "Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle" has been developped by an American company called "Digital Artists Entertainment" and the Portuguese, "Biodroid". You can find it inApple store, at the following link: "C. Ronaldo Freestyle" Apple store, costing $2.99/£1.99/€2.39.

"Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle" gameplay footage:

It's obviously not the first time that a sports figure or an athlete give name to its own and personal video game. Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, will also have a video game copyrighted with his name: "Mourinho Special One", which was also developped by the Portuguese company, Biodroid and have a release date announced to January 2012. However, it's this new Cristiano Ronaldo video gamethat is sparking a lot of interest among football fans, as well as in those who appreciate everything that is made available for Apple's iPhones and iPads.

In a quick attempt to describe "Cristiano Ronaldo Freestyle", we can say that it is more of a rhythm and dancing game, where the user is intended to play at the sound of a background music and on-screen commands. We'll list below some of the features included in this game:

- There are 5 gameplay modes to choose from:
Hype Endurance: The user can perform hype tricks, while he juggles the ball to get the crowd's attention as quickly as possible.
Time Attack: The objective is to obtain as many points as possible in the period that the song lasts.
Freestyle Battle: You're asked to compete in a 1-on-1 situation.
Don’t Drop the Ball: As the name implies, you're asked to keep the ball far from the ground.
Freestyle Showdown: You're granted 15 seconds to show your best moves.

- You can unlock and obtain a lot of cool stuff to change your Cristiano Ronaldocharacter, like making him wearing different shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses, shoes or force him to use a new hairstyle.

- Shuffle Mode: An option to randomly pick a different level in the game.

- Play soccer in "samba-style": A very nice feature that allows the user to play withCristiano Ronaldo, while he dances to a Brazilian beat.

- 25 challenges in 6 unique world locations: Play against other opponents, who have their own characters and from several different countries, such as England, France,USA, Japan, Spain and Portugal.

Real Madrid next scheduled match is against Ajax, for the "UEFA Champions League", on the 7th of December, 2011. There's a good chance that Cristiano Ronaldo could be spared from this match, if Mourinho decides to rotate the team. This Tuesday, you can watch Barcelona vs BATE Borisov and the day after, Ajax vs Real Madrid, and Basel vs Manchester United, all games for the "UEFA Champions League". They are all available from our football live streams section and you can check how much time is left for the next Cristiano Ronaldo game, by looking at the countdown timer, placed on the top right corner of any page.

Ajax vs Real Madrid kick-off time (07-12-2011):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 17:45
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 11:45
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 11:45

Sources: ronaldo7.net / gamasutra.com

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Real Madrid

Real Madrid doesn't slow down and Sporting Gijón was nothing else than the 14th victim in a row. Angel Di María, Cristiano Ronaldo andMarcelo scored the goals for Real Madrid, who will now host Barcelona next Saturday, with a 3-point lead margin, but still with a one game less disputed.

Real Madrid defeated Sporting Gijón by an unequivocal 0-3 win and extended the winning game-streak to 14, just 1 week before hosting Barcelona in the Santiago Bernabéu. The "Merengues" showed to be tremendously focused on this game and pulled off a valuable win in a pitch where it's never easy to get the 3 points. Angel Di María scored the opener and was followed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo, who dictated the final result into a 0-3 victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Sporting Gijón vs Real Madrid
Watch Sporting Gijón 0-3 Real Madrid goals and highlights:

As expected, the game wasn't easy and Real Madrid struggled to find the best way to put Sporting Gijón into trouble. Every play was being disputed with a lot of intensity and close to the 30th minute, there were already 5 yellow cards shown to several players. The Merengues would put themselves in the lead near the 34th minute, afterAngel Di María seized an opportunity in the left wing, originated by a mistake from a Sporting Gijón defender. The Argentinian was fast to react and stole the ball to his opponent, which allowed him to then trick the goalkeeper with a shot using the outside part of his foot. The half-time would arrive 10 minutes later, with Real Madrid preserving the precious lead.

The match wasn't settled and the 2nd half was promising an exciting show. Sporting Gijón was granted with their best goal scoring chance around the 57th minute, butManuel Preciado men couldn't reach the equalizer after a Barral header miss, only by a few inches. Real Madrid proved that they keep maturing as a team as they didn't miss their chance to extend the lead, in another goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, after being assisted by Angel Di María. The Argentinian was keen to spot Ronaldo's movement on the defenders back and allowed CR7 to score his 21th goal for Real Madrid this season and his 17 in "La Liga".

From that point on, few certainly still believed that Real Madrid could let this win slip away. José Mourinho replaced Di María, Higuaín and Ozil further on and theMerengues not only sustained the lead, as they would still extend it to 0-3 just before the final whistle. In a scrambled play from Karim Benzema, Marcelo received the ball already inside the area and managed to put himself in front of the goalkeeper. The Brazilian left-back showed that he also knows how to strike and left no chanceJuan Pablo to stop his crossed shot. Real Madrid preserved their 3 points lead overBarcelona, but the Merengues still have 1 game less than the Blaugrauna. Both teams will face each other on next Saturday's "El Clasico".

Real Madrid line-up vs Sporting Gijón:

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Lass Diarra
Midfielders: Sami Khedira, Fábio Coentrão, Ozil
Attackers: Di María, Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuaín

Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
Sporting Gijón	vs	Real Madrid
0	Goals	3
0	Assists	2
9	Shots	22
3	Shots on goal	6
2	Corner kicks	8
18	Fouls commited	12
4	Yellow cards	3
1	Red cards	0

Real Madrid next match is against Ajax, for the "UEFA Champions League" in the 7th of December. It's very likely that José Mourinho could give Cristiano Ronaldosome rest for this match, since next weekend Real Madrid will host Barcelona for "La Liga". This Tuesday, you can watch Barcelona vs BATE Borisov, and the day afterAjax vs Real Madrid, as well as Basel vs Manchester United, all available from ourfootball live streams. You can see how much time is left for the next Cristiano Ronaldo game on the top right corner of all pages.

Ajax vs Real Madrid kick-off time (07-12-2011):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 17:45
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 11:45
Beijing (China) | GMT-8: 11:45

Sources: ronaldo7.net / record.pt

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