As we know, the former Liverpool full-back won the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa with Spain and speaking after being honoured with the prestigious award, Arbeloa expressed his delight and pride.

“It is an honour to be awarded this medal in my own city where I grew up,” Arbeloa is quoted as saying by Madrid’s official website. “For many years I played in this school because I used to live nearby, which is why it is so special for me.”

Álvaro spoke about Madrid’s emphatic 6-1 win over Deportivo La Coruña  on Sunday evening and said that “It is always useful to win before a break. The squad played well against Deportivo and scored, which was the only thing missing.

“For the moment, the anxiety we had has disappeared with our victory last Sunday. Every single one of us played very well and we hope to continue at this same level for the rest of the season. We keep improving every day and I think we are just going to get better.”

Information from: Goal.com

Real Madrid took the pitch with an offensive look about them with Higuaín, Özil, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in attack. The argentine stricker had two chances to open the score, but non of them got into the goal line.

After the second match of the league, Real Madrid lies third on the BBVA League behind Atlético de Madrid y Valencia.

Is was a match with chances for both teams neither could break the deadlock. Despite of that, Cristiano Ronaldo played a grate game creating a high number of opportunities combining well with Gonzalo Higuain. Mallorca were looking for a counterattack, but the backline composed by Álvaro Arbeloa, Carvalho, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo held firm and didn’t give chance to the opposing team.

One point and the worst part of the match were the injury of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lass.

Although Álvaro was born in Salamanca, at the age of four years old, he came with all his family to Zaragoza (Aragon’s capital).

In the official website of the Government of Aragón they have said that they want to recognize ‘the personal achievement of an Aragon’s athlete formed in our base footbal teams, participating in the Aragonese and with a relevant background in Spanish and European soccer (…) being an example of effort and participation in the field of sport. ”

Congratulations Álvaro!

Casillas, Reina, Valdés, Albiol, Arbeloa, Capdevila, Marchena, Piqué, Puyol, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fábregas, Iniesta, Javier Martínez, Silva, Xavi, Navas, Mata, Pedrito, Llorente, Torres y Villa. This are the 23 of Del Bosque, this atre the names we’ll rememeber for years, this are the Champions!

Ceremony was a beautiful start of a magic night with the presence of Nelson Mandela and Shakira’s world known Waka-Waka. In the stadium, much more Holand supporters than Spanish.

The fixture started with an unsporting behaviour of Holand, despite of that, Sergio Ramos and Villa made several announcements. 117 minutes had to run till Iniesta, controlling a pass from Cesc in the center of the area, dropping the ball shooted cross the goal. Was the winning goal.

Fair play didn’t seem to be for Holand, never mind, spanish team knew how to play against it, with class and style, as always playing the ball.

And finally, after a month of unforgettable football, our number one, our captain, raised the World Cup.

Congratulations and thanks Álvaro!

The 23 international football players posed with the coaching staff and the official shirt their going to ware in South Africa. Álvaro is playing with the dorsal 17, the day of his birthday.

The list is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

* Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
* José Manuel Reina (Liverpool)
* Victor Valdés (Barcelona)

Defenders:

* Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)
* Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
* Gerard Piqué (Barcelona)
* Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid)
* Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)
* Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
* Carlos Marchena (Valencia)

Midfield player:

* Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
* Xavi Alonso (Real Madrid)
* Xavi Hernández (Barcelona)
* Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)
* Cesc Fábregas (Arsenal)
* Javi Martínez (Athletic)

Forwards:

* Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
* David Villa (Barcelona)
* Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona)
* Jesús Navas (Sevilla)
* David Silva (Valencia)
* Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia)
* Fernando Llorente (Athletic)

To meet him was Álvaro, who acted as host due to his high knowledge of English after passing through Liverpool.

Here is the picture of Russell and Álvaro

Picture from www.realmadrid.com

]]> http://www.arbeloa.com/english/russell-crowe-visits-valdebebas/feed/ 1 http://www.arbeloa.com/english/71/ http://www.arbeloa.com/english/71/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:06:24 +0000 admin http://www.arbeloa.com/english/?p=71

It was an special match for Arbeloa, he returned home after leaving Real Zaragoza at the age of 18.

Before the fixture, Arbeloa started that his parents and friends life in Zaragoza, where is last game was before going to Liverpool. Due to it, the game had an special motivation for the player.

Real Madrid needed to win the three points if they wanted to keep their title hopes alive. Tow goals, one from Raul and the other achieved by Kaká, maintain the distance of one point between F.C. Barcelona. Colunga scored for the home team.

The first half began with no continuity in the game, although Real Madrid was dominating possession. Álvaro was, as always, convincing at the back of the field. In the 24^th minute, he was penalized with yellow card.

At the end of the second half, Real Zaragoza battled back and the “White Team” continued pressing on till they broke the draw with Kakás goal (81^th minute).

Now, time to think in the next match against Osasuna, a difficult team that’s trying to certificate their seat in the ‘Liga BBVA‘.