Fear of Falcao keeps Mourinho up all night

 

This weekend, the Santiago Bernabeu plays host to one of the most hotly-anticipated Madrid derbies in years, with Jose Mourinho's struggling Real taking on Diego Simeone's in-form Atletico.

The fixture has traditionally been something of a mismatch, with Real invariably enjoying comfortable victories over a succession of talented but underachieving Atletico sides.

This season, however, the tables appear to have turned. Real lie eight points behind their Madrid rivals, having already tasted defeat three times this season.

Atletico, however, have established themselves as Barcelona's closest La Liga challengers, inspired by their prolific Colombian striker Falcao, who has already netted 11 times in the league this season.

Mourinho is a known admirer of Atleti's irrepressible No9, labelling him "forbidden fruit" earlier in the campaign, and it is Falcao who will surely have been keeping an anxious Special One awake this week.
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Bah Humbug - Ronaldo a 'Christmas wish' too far for Sir Alex Ferguson & Manchester United

 

He would be quite the stocking filler for Manchester United but even Sir Alex Ferguson admits the prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford is just a "Christmas wish".

Last week, Sir Alex claimed the door is always open for the Portuguese international to make his return to United, although the 70-year-old conceded the forward would be "unbuyable" from Real Madrid.

With Roberto Di Matteo possibly bolstering his Chelsea ranks with the perfect festive gift in the form of Atletico Madrid ace Falcao, Sir Alex may have to poke around the January sales to find ways of improving his side.

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Ronaldo's stars align as he tops the Goal.com 50

 

This year's Goal.com 50 has been announced with Cristiano Ronaldo revealed as the top player of the past 12 months.

Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas was surprisingly placed second with Lionel Messi shunted down to third after Los Blancos' title-winning exploits in La Liga last term.
The list has sparked debate and intrigue among fans and pundits alike, and is likely to continue to do so for time to come.

Not everyone has the time to pore over the facts and stats of the list in full so we have brought the entire 50 to you in the simplest of forms.
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Falcao leaves Bilbao's kids in tears

 

Atletico Madrid secured Europa League success with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening and Radamel Falcao was instrumental in his side's showpiece triumph.

The Colombian opened the scoring with a superb curled effort before completing his double 11 minutes from half-time with a sharp turn and finish from close range.

Falcao has enjoyed an extremely positive first season with the Spanish club following his arrival from Porto in the summer, notching 35 goals in all competitions - and now he has brought the Europa League trophy with him.
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2011-2012 Europa League Final

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