Mijatovic: Last night good for Raul

Real Madrid sports chief Pedja Mijatovic says last night's low-key 2-0 win over BATE Borisov was ideal for Raul's return.
"He has had minor problems, but this match was good for him to find his rhythm. Raul will do the same thing as he did last year, scoring many goals," said Mijatovic.
"We could have scored more goals. It's important Real Madrid have a great Champions League this season."

Match Report:Real Madrid 2-0 BATE Borisov [Champions League] [Highlights]

Match Report:
Real Madrid had many chances to score against BATE Borisov, but only two materialised. The Whites dominated thorughout the encounter and took their first three points in the competition.
Teams:
Real Madrid:Iker Casillas,Sergio Ramos,Cannavaro,Heinze,Marcelo,Van der Vaart,Gago(sub.35'Diarra),Guti(sub.71'Higuain),Robben(sub.63'Drenthe),Raul,Van Nistelrooy,

Highlights:

Match Report: Real Madrid 4 - 3 Numancia [La Liga] [Highlights]

Mijatovic explains Real Madrid transfer failures

Real Madrid sports chief Pedja Mijatovic has explained their failure to land Valencia striker David Villa and Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla in the summer.

On Villa, Mijatovic said: "We made an offer to Valencia because we liked him. Valencia made a counteroffer to us which made us believe there was no point and that is why we withdrew."

Regarding Cazorla, Mijatovic insisted: "We are a club that does not want to be in conflict with any other. So we refused to pay his buyout clause. We will not go crazy, no matter how much we like the player."

Usain Bolt will train with Real Madrid

Usain Bolt, who swept the sprint titles at last month's Beijing Olympics in world-record time, will train with Spanish soccer champion Real Madrid. The 22-year-old Jamaican, who claimed gold medals and world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400-meter relay in Beijing, said Real had invited him to train with players including Raul Gonzalez and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. ``I'll definitely take up the offer,'' Bolt said in an interview on the Laureus Web site. ``Raul and Van Nistelrooy are some of the best goal scorers ever. I look forward to meeting these guys.'' Bolt, who lowered his own 100-meter record to 9.69 seconds in Beijing before breaking Michael Johnson's 12-year-old 200- meter standard with a time of 19.30, didn't specify when he would train with Madrid. Bolt could have run the Olympic 100 in 9.55 had he not celebrated prematurely in the final 20 meters, New Scientist magazine reported two days ago, citing research conducted by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo.

Sneijder back in training

Real Madrid received a fitness boost when Wesley Sneijder started running again on Tuesday after more than five weeks out of action with an injury.

The Dutch forward suffered a blow to the ligaments in his left knee during the pre-season friendly with Arsenal and he was told that he would be out for two months.

With Bernd Schuster having fewer players in his squad that he wanted due to the club's inability to sign a new forward, Sneijder's absence has been even more noticed.

After making his way out on the to pitch at Madrid's Valdebebas training complex, he was applauded by the first team players present.

After being advised that he would not be back until October, Sneijder could be ahead of schedule in his race to regain his full fitness and to start playing again.

Running is another step in his recovery, but the former Ajax star is also having to work almost full-time in the gymnasium with the club's physiotherapists.

Madrid lost their opening game of the season when they were beaten 2-1 by Deportivo in Riazor and, following the international break, entertain Numancia this weekend.

Schuster under pressure

Reports in the press indicate that the days of the German trainer may be limited at Real Madrid. El Mundo newspaper reports today that the Chairman of Real Madrid, Ramón Calderón, has not included the club’s German trainer, Bernd Schuster, in his future plans, but at the same time he does not want to publically give that impression.Schuster has told the press recently that he feels sometimes that they want him to go, complaining about the lack of support he is receiving from management. The paper says they have shown him the door after ignoring his recommendations for the side.

Real Madrid rejects Nistelrooy offer

There’s no denying that the Abu Dhabi United Investment Group is planning for previously unfancied Manchester City to take over the footballing world.
Their intentions and impact were made clear immediately after taking over the Eastland club when they stunned football fans by signing Robinho from Real Madrid minutes before the summer transfer window closed for a British record ₤32.5 million transfer fee.
And just to further highlight how serious they are to take City to the very top, it has been reported that the investment group, headed by Sulaiman Al-Fahim, also tried to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy from Los Merengues by offering the Spanish giants an “extraordinary amount” of money.
Although the exact figure is unknown, Madrid-based daily Marca reported that Al-Fahim handed a cheque to president, Ramón Calderón and sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic but the Bernabéu hierarchy did not fall for the temptation as they rejected the offer.
It is also believed that the ‘White House’ was also approached by Zenit St. Petersburg for the services of Gonzalo Higuaín. A €25 million bid was tabled for the 20 year old but Madrid also bluntly turned down the offer.

Ramos wants to end his career at Real Madrid

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has welcomed the club's declaration that they are preparing to offer him a deal to keep him at the club for life.
The Spanish titan's sporting director Predrag Mijatovic revealed earlier this week they would like to tie down Ramos to a new ten-year deal to secure his long-term future.
Ramos admits he would be happy to pledge his future to the club and he could see himself retiring at El Santiago Bernabeu.
"It's been some great news. I'm very happy in Madrid and it's my desire to retire at this club," Ramos told AS.
"I feel happy here with the club, the city and with the fans.
"Now my objective is to play as well as possible and help the national team and Madrid to achieve their goals. I'm going to give everything for Spain and Real, that's for sure."

Fernando Alonso defends Robinho

The top Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, a Real Madrid supporter, has defended the Brazilian superstar for his actions in wanting to leave this summer.He becomes the second famous person to spring to Robinho's defence after Roberto Carlos spoke out earlier against the "disrespect" that Madrid showed to one of their star players.When Alonso was asked today whether he thought Robinho was a "mercenary" he said: "I don't use that word. He wanted to leave Madrid, so in the end he left Madrid.""I think that Madrid also came out as winners, though, because any player who doesn't want to be there could be detrimental to the squad."Plus, the amount paid for Robinho wasn't bad at all."Alonso himself has driven for three different teams in the last three years, so he knos what he is talking about!

Robinho signs Manchester City not Chelsea

Robinho has signed Manchester City unexpectedly.All we suppose him to sign Chelsea but he signed Manchester City which was bought by Arabians.
After becoming the most expensive signing by a British club when City spent £32.4million to bring in the 24-year-old from Real Madrid, Robinho met manager Mark Hughes on Tuesday.
Robinho said: 'I knew that Manchester City is a very big club, there's a great team there already and this is an exciting project.
'I liked the project, and when City made the offer to Real Madrid, I decided to come here. I liked the plans that Manchester City have and I want to succeed with them.'
The Abu Dhabi United Group have announced plans for City to become the world's biggest club and Robinho has bought into the ambitious plan though. He stated his approval at the response to his signing by the City fans, who have been buying up tickets and club merchandise.
'That makes me very, very happy, and I want to repay this excitement by performing on the pitch, and scoring a lot of goals for the fans,' he said.
Robinho confirmed the presence of his international team-mates Jo and Elano at City was a factor in his decision to sign, even though Chelsea appeared a more likely destination at the start of transfer deadline day.
'I met with the manager today and it went very well,' said Robinho of Hughes.
'I know that he was a great player and I think that will be a big help to me. I want to help the manager and the team to win the Premier League, that's my ambition here.'