Atletico Madrid Could Lose David De Gea and Sergio "Kun" Aguero

David De Gea has apparently already joined Man Utd.

Atletico Madrid have had a fairly quiet season, especially compared to last season when they won the Europa League. While at the beginning of this season Atletico won the UEFA European Supercup over Inter Milan, after that they went on to place seventh in La Liga, not qualifying for any European competitions for next season.



In that European Super Cup victory two stars played exceptionally, helping Atleti win the trophy. Sergio Aguero scored one of the goals in the 2-0 victory, and David De Gea saved a crucial penalty taken by Diego Milito. Now, Atletico Madrid could see both of those key players leave the club over the summer. Throughout this season, Sergio Aguero and David De Gea have proved to be important, maybe even irreplaceable players.



Aguero has scored 27 goals in all competitions for Atletico Madrid while providing six assists as well. As the season's top goalscorer for Atleti, Aguero has dribbled around the best defenders in the Champions League and La Liga, attracting the attention of many clubs for years now. He's still a young player soon turning 23 years-old, and while about a month ago he said he wanted to stay at Atletico Madrid, he has now seemingly changed his mind.

Aguero might sign for city rivals Real Madrid!

He says it's the right time to go for him, and that it has nothing to do with money. While Atletico Madrid fans might be slightly confused and unhappy with the mixed messages the Argentine has been sending out, it's important to remember that Aguero has scored over 100 goals for Atletico since joining the club.



Atletico might be losing Kun, and it's almost certain that their 19 year-old David De Gea will be leaving Madrid. It has been revealed that he has practically already signed for Manchester United, and all that is missing are the official announcements. The fee is rumored to be around 16-19 million Pounds, with which potential added bonuses could turn out to be quite a hefty profit for Atletico Madrid. While De Gea has a few things to sort out with his agent, Sir Alex Ferguson seems happy to have signed what should be Edwin van der Saar's replacement.



Regarding who Atletico Madrid could buy to replace the pair, most of the news has been about replacing "Kun" Aguero. Espanyol's Italian-Argentine Osvaldo could join Atletico for around 10 million Euros, but there have also been murmurs regarding Diego from Wolfsburg and Porto's Falcao or maybe even Hulk.



It will be a big blow for Atletico losing Aguero, especially if he joins the city rivals Real Madrid. But there are other clubs keeping an eye on him, including Chelsea who want the player to take a pay cut to join. If "Kun" decides to sign for Real Madrid, we could be in for a few very interesting upcoming Madrid derbys. And if Aguero does join Real, and De Gea leaves for Manchester United, who will be between the sticks to stop Aguero from scoring against his former club?



If you're interested in following all things Atletico Madrid, check out Madrid Atleticos. Some great writers there who report anything regarding Atleti.

Real Madrid and Barcelona Draw In Foreshadowing Clasico

Guardiola awkwardly watches Sergio Busquets and Mourinho

nuzzle noses in a memorable moment of the match

After my makeshift preview of El Clasico, things turned out exactly as I didn't think they would. While I was expecting an exciting battle between two sides wanting to crush each other, it turned out to be a fairly tiring affair to watch, especially the first half. The game eventually finished 1-1, with two goals scored from the penalty spot.



While Barcelona are a wonderfully inventive machine, it seemed as if Real Madrid had gotten themselves stuck inside the cogs of Barca's very technical system. Real started as a nuisance to Barcelona, nothing more nothing less. While Barcelona did their best to keep possession, Real defended deep and scrappily, stopping the game often for petty free kicks and other useless happenings.



Jose Mourinho's mastermind idea of putting Pepe into the midfield worked out perfectly, as the Portuguese-Brazilian was merciless in his aim to kill everything blaugrana. Alongside Khedira and Xabi Alonso, a three man wall was formed in front of Madrid defence, giving Barcelona a very tough job to do. While Messi's brilliance was shown in spurts, forcing Casillas to a good save as his defence panic, the Argentine was unable to stamp his authority on the first half.

Casillas got a hand to but was unable to save Messi's penalty

Yet Real Madrid were also fairly dangerous when they wanted to. Their cautious play was only effective going forward from set pieces, where they came very close to scoring with headers flashed wide. But Barcelona were dangerous as well, with David Villa brought down by Casillas in the box, risking a penalty for the Catalans. Simply stated, I've seen penalties given for less. But the first half drew to a close, Mourinho's mind churned through tactical systems and inequalities while Guardiola's speakers blasted out inspirational Coldplay in the dressing room.



The second half was sparked to life a few minutes in, when Raul Albiol's snake-grapple-takedown on David Villa resulted in his direct expulsion and a penalty for Barca. With laser pens flashing into Messi's concentrating eyes, the Argentine coolly trotted his run-up and put the spot kick into the back of the net. It was a disappointing start of the second half for Real, and things didn't look to get much better as Barcelona began to express themselves artistically in dominant possession.

Pepe wildly celebrating Ronaldo's equalizer

Jose Mourinho decided that it was all or nothing, and he substituted Benzema with Ozil and Di Maria with Adebayor. The pair of substitutes provided a necessary hunger which revived their teammates into a frantic push in the final ten minutes of the match. All this newfound Real pressure culminated when Marcelo earned a penalty as Dani Alves brought him down. Not to be bested by the short Argentine, Ronaldo smashed the penalty into the top corner in the 82nd minute.



The final minutes were the exciting frenzy I had been longing for. Real Madrid were fearless in their pushing, and Barcelona weren't really taking advantage of all the width of the field as their opponents were a man down. The match finished 1-1, with two slightly disappointed sides with some positives to take from the foreshadowing of the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-finals.

El Clasico And Its Many Battles

El Clasico seems like an eternal fixture. No matter how much change we see in a season, it's this match which captures the attention of just about every soccer fan around the world. Admittedly, El Clasico has been slightly one-sided these past few seasons, with Barcelona having won the past five encounters. Yet maybe this match will see a change for Real, with Jose Mourinho surely preparing his players not to suffer another 5-0 defeat like they did previously this season.



Snooping around on the Spanish sport websites, there's quite a rift regarding bias in case you didn't know. In the end, there are Real Madrid newspapers, and then Barcelona newspapers, and reading only one newspaper can provide you with quite the skewed view of what should be, in Guardiola's words, "the match to decide La Liga". And while AS talks about the possibility of La Liga becoming winnable for Real Madrid if they win El Clasico, El Mundo Deportivo simply states, "Messi, Better than CR7". Truly unbiased reporting, isn't it?



Yet when I visited MARCA, a relatively Madrid biased newspaper, I found probably the best summation of El Clasico I could hope for. The strip at the top of the website shows four key battles which will inevitably decide the match. The technicians (Jose Mourinho vs. Josep Guardiola), the stars (Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo), the brains (Xabi Alonso vs. Xavi Hernandez) and the goal (Iker Casillas vs. Victor Valdes). What better way to sum this match up I'm not sure, but if I were to add something to the equation, I'd throw in the fullbacks, Marcelo vs. Dani Alves. While Dani Alves has always been a fearless machine of a fullback, providing a new way to unlock sides for Barcelona, Marcelo has grown to be one of Real Madrid's best players this season, especially going forward.

The two stars, Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (right)

While I often try and delve into a well thought out prediction, I think I might refrain this time around. There are simply too many game-changing factors. While in other big match-ups we see two or three star players which can change the game in a moment of brilliance, Barcelona and Real Madrid are simply too filled too the brim with sheer quality. Whether it be a Mourinho tactical masterclass, a Guardiola inspirational performance, a curled goal by Messi, or a blasted free kick by Ronaldo, there's too much to consider when trying to decide a winner.



So to make things easier for you (and me) I advise you not to worry about the result until the match is over. If anyone asks a prediction, simply state, "An enjoyable 0-0, with a goal or six thrown in". Because ultimately, I'll be watching El Clasico for entertainment, and I highly suggest that you do too.