I've just found out from Nic over at FCBNews that the Copa Del Rey draw for the last 32 was made today. We will play Real Union a club who was among the pioneers of the Spanish football and was one of the founding members of La Liga in 1928. They play in Segunda División B and they are based in the city of Irún in the Basque Country.

The first leg is on 29 October at Gal Stadium; the return on 12 November at the Bernabéu. In the meantime, here is the full draw - thanks Nic ;)

Poli Ejido - Villarreal
Real Unión - Real Madrid
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Spanish newspaper "AS" not "ass" claims that Real Madrid will sign French striker, Karim Benzema, when the transfer window re-opens in January.

The price? 50m euros demanded by Lyon, the club where Benzema plays. The negotiator? Jean Michel Aulas, Lyon's supreme, a guy who is tough and hard to negotiate with. He is known to be a man who get what he wants, in the way he wants, thanks to the super-expensive buy-out clauses he ties his players with.

That's a tough question because it depends. It depends on the team you are playing, on the players you have and on other factors, but If you were Bernd Schuster, and you had everyone fit, who would you lineup?

Okay, lets assume that I'm Bernd – my lineup would be like this:

 4-1-4-1

Casillas:
Obviously, everyone will pick up Casillas. Not only because he won the Euro 2008, but because he is always consistent and is a goalie that you can truly count on.

Ramos:
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So, captain Rau'l scored two goals, huh? Yeah, I know, I hear you saying that I should shut up but wait -- Rau'l gave a good performance and scored because he benefited so much from the rotation system I talked about.

I have criticized him on many occasions on this blog and I was right when I said he should be benched sometimes and tonight was a proof. He was fresh, focused and eager to improve. He really played well tonight.

Unfortunately, we were the ones who needed to comeback -- and not just once but twice. Tamudo put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute of the first half from the penalty spot. It was legitimate and Heinze was stupid - end of discussion.

Sneijder is Back!

Real Madrid vs Espanyol | La Liga | 05-10-2008  21:00 CET | Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

Following their Champions League win against FC Zenit, Los Blancos take on Espanyol tomorrow night at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and they are fit and ready to take another three points.

Marca claims that Real Madrid's midfielder, Wesley Sneijder has recovered from his injury and started training with the team "normally". However, according to the same paper, Sneijder won't be a starter against Espanyol but he might make the squad.

I have been talking about the idea of installing a fair and effective rotation system that would keep the players fresh and the team in top form for sometime now.

Relying on players like Rau'l, Guti, Salgado..etc all the time is never good, because, although they are among the world's best in their respective positions, they can't always give their best.

What I have been discussing specifically is the Rau'l - Higuan/Saviola thing. Rau'l is undoubtedly a legend, a player that compares to the likes of Zidane, Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

An own goal from Hubocan and a goal from Ruud Van Nistelrooy gave Real Madrid another win in the Champions League as they successfully accomplished their mission in Russia.

It was a great match with both sides showing quality, brilliance and determination. 

FC Zenit vs Real Madrid | 30/09/2008  20:45 CET | Petrovsky Stadium | Champions League

Real Madrid take on FC Zenit, the Russian club who won last year's UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup after they beat Manchester United 2-1.

However, this year, they have sucked both in their domestic league and in the Champions League, at least, so far.

In the domestic league, they are sixth in the table with 14 points. In the Champions League, they lost to Juventus and will likely be beaten by Real Madrid tomorrow night If Bernd Schuster's men focus and don't underestimate them.

Bernd Schuster's men has snatched another three points as they beat Real Betis 1-2 in a thrilling battle in which Van Nistelrooy scored his 60th goal in the white shirt.

Schuster started as usual with Casillas in goal, Ramos on the right, Heinze and Pepe in center of defense and Marcelo on the left.

In midfield, there was De La Red and Diarra. VDV & Robben played on the wings. As in upfront, Ruud partnered captain Rau'l.

The first half was pretty good for Real. Both of De La Red and VDV played very well in the midfield and did a good job.