Real Madrid, Spain dominate European club scene

by Andy SCOTT

Thursday, December 18, 2014    

If, after years of unbridled success, 2014 was brutally disappointing for Spain on the international stage, it was a glorious year for the country at club level.

A thrilling title race in La Liga, home to the world’s best player Cristiano Ronaldo and his great rival Lionel Messi, made it the envy of the rest of the continent, while Spain took a clean sweep of the European trophies and Real Madrid are in line to cap it all by becoming club world champions.

More than anyone else, it was a year to remember for Real, who finally won the European Cup for an unprecedented 10th time, ending a 12-year obsession with ‘La Decima’.

After years of frustration since Zinedine Zidane’s stunning volley in Glasgow secured their ninth European Cup in 2002, and more than a billion euros spent in the transfer market by president Florentino Perez, Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat city rivals Atletico 4-1 after extra time in a pulsating final in Lisbon in May.

It was so nearly a nightmare for Los Blancos, with only a stoppage-time equaliser by Sergio Ramos keeping their hopes alive before they ran away with the game in extra time once Gareth Bale had put them ahead.

“This squad is full of young players, talent and desire. This can be the start of a great cycle,” coach Ancelotti ominously declared later, having matched former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley’s achievement of winning three European Cups.

“When I signed for Madrid the Champions League was the primary objective for this season. Here the history with ‘La Decima’ made it even more important,” added the Italian.

So much so that Casillas, who would later endure a disastrous World Cup as the holders were eliminated in the group stage, said the night in Lisbon felt “like something even bigger than winning the World Cup.”

For Atletico, meanwhile, it was a reminder that they remain the David against their city neighbours’ Goliath and could only continue to upset the odds for so long.

Diego Simeone’s side have been a breath of fresh air across Europe and their Spanish title triumph, secured with a final-day draw away to rivals Barcelona, came against all odds.

After almost a decade in which Real and Barcelona had utterly dominated La Liga, Atletico broke the mould with a side led by the bruising centre-forward Diego Costa.

It seems hard to believe that such a story will be repeated any time soon, however, making their failure in the Champions League final all the more agonising.

An elite few continue to dominate in Europe’s leading leagues. Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich may have been humbled by Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League semi-finals, but they won the Bundesliga in record quick time and conceded just three goals in going unbeaten through their opening 16 games of this season.

Overcoming the blow to their prestige of seeing president Uli Hoeness jailed for tax evasion in the spring, Bayern’s all-conquering team are being taken to new levels by Guardiola, of whom Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “I have never seen such diligence in any other coach.”

In France, Paris Saint-Germain won last season’s Ligue 1 title with a record points tally from Monaco and remain favourites to win this season’s crown, despite Marseille’s revival under Marcelo Bielsa.

And in Italy, the country’s richest and most decorated club Juventus won the league with a record tally of 102 points last season, and few would bet against them winning another Scudetto in 2015.

But on the European stage, Spain has outshone the rest, with Sevilla winning the Europa League and then losing to Real in the final of the European Super Cup.

Spain has dominated the transfer market too, with the biggest moves seeing Colombia World Cup star James Rodriguez join Real from Monaco for 80 million euros ($99m) and the controversial Luis Suarez leave Liverpool for Barcelona for a similar amount.

And while Italy was as active as anywhere in terms of coaching changes, with Massimiliano Allegri replacing Antonio Conte at Juventus, Filippo Inzaghi taking over at AC Milan and Roberto Mancini returning to Inter, the highest-profile appointment came at Barcelona, where former player Luis Enrique arrived in the summer.

The Catalans, after a glorious era under Guardiola, are currently playing catch-up with their great rivals Madrid, though, just as Messi has played second fiddle to Ronaldo, at least at club level.

While Messi reached the World Cup final with Argentina, Ronaldo was eliminated at the group stage with Portugal, but he has broken the 60-goal barrier for a fourth calendar year in a row, and his goals have powered Real on an incredible run of 21 straight wins, with a Club World Cup final still to come.

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Real Madrid, Spain dominate European club scene

Cool Shade heating up on the gospel scene

Contributed

Cool Shade

Horace Fisher, Star Writer

Gospel artiste Orville ‘Cool Shade’ Sutherland, second-place winner in this year’s Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Gospel Song Competition handed Clarendon back-to-back podium finishes, following Owen Brown’s triumph in 2013, and a platform to accelerate his career.

Sutherland, whose entry was a song called Cool Shade, is basking in his new found fame.

He will record two new singles On Calvary and Silver and Gold at the Tuff Gong Recording Studio this week.

“I just started my singing and recording career like a couple of months ago, so second-place finish in the completion is an enormous achievement. I feel really blessed,” the former studio engineer said. “It is a massive shot in the arm for my career.

The gospel singer insisted that music is in his DNA. He is from a family of gospel ministry achievers.

“My younger brother, Bradley, won the JCDC’s Children’s Gospel Song Contest in 2010 and my sister Sadra was a winner of the 2013 Clarendon Music Award Best Gospel Song category,” he shared in a recent interview with the Star.

The gospel artiste worked on productions for secular artistes including Cashew Man, Kamanda and Queen Ifrica, among others, while employed to Air Waves Studio in May Pen. He said his involvement with some of the secular artistes led to a strong appreciation for cultural music, which he began writing.

The Jamaica Theology Seminary student suggested that with the success of Cool Shade, and the scheduled releases, he is hoping to attract a manager who will guide his music to an international audience.

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Cool Shade heating up on the gospel scene

Teflon doing well on int"l scene

With his sophomore album, ‘Next Dimension’, weeks away from hitting stores, ‘Yard A Love’ recording artiste Teflon continues to make major strides on the international scene.

The St Mary native is the latest in a selected group of Jamaican entertainers to be featured in an Israeli publication.

The reggae crooner is featured in the latest edition of Israel’s Kaboom magazine, in which he spoke on a variety of career topics – from the perils of his musical infancy to gaining global recognition and recovering from the recent death of his road manager and friend, Ricardo Lowe.

Alluding to the question and reoccurring trend of Jamaican artistes gaining recognition, yet failing to maintain relevance, Teflon told Kaboom, “That is the musical environment in Jamaica is extremely competitive, where the strong survive and the weak fades. As an artiste, I cannot be complacent if I want to remain relevant and conquer this business. So the onus is on every artiste to make a concerted effort to put in that extra effort where needed.”

Promoting singles I‘m Sure and the collaborative effort, Same Struggle, featuring ‘fireman’ Capleton, Teflon and his management are working assiduously to raise his profile, especially in European and African markets where he enjoys a growing fan base.

Locally, the Rastafarian singer is booked to appear at the ‘One Love Caf?’ launch at Bob Marley Museum today. Tomorrow, he headlines Suncity Radio’s ‘Summer Is Here’ at Bob Marley Beach, Nine Miles, Bull Bay.

Amid working on his second album the Love & Adore You singer recently inked a major distribution deal with US-based company, New Millionaire Entertainment (NME).

The deal sees NME being exclusive agent, handling both digital and physical distribution for Teflon, along with marketing, throughout the world, for downloadable, mobile and video contents. The dissemination will be done in conjunction with Universal Records.

View the original article here

Teflon doing well on int"l scene

Teflon doing well on int"l scene

With his sophomore album, ‘Next Dimension’, weeks away from hitting stores, ‘Yard A Love’ recording artiste Teflon continues to make major strides on the international scene.

The St Mary native is the latest in a selected group of Jamaican entertainers to be featured in an Israeli publication.

The reggae crooner is featured in the latest edition of Israel’s Kaboom magazine, in which he spoke on a variety of career topics – from the perils of his musical infancy to gaining global recognition and recovering from the recent death of his road manager and friend, Ricardo Lowe.

Alluding to the question and reoccurring trend of Jamaican artistes gaining recognition, yet failing to maintain relevance, Teflon told Kaboom, “That is the musical environment in Jamaica is extremely competitive, where the strong survive and the weak fades. As an artiste, I cannot be complacent if I want to remain relevant and conquer this business. So the onus is on every artiste to make a concerted effort to put in that extra effort where needed.”

Promoting singles I‘m Sure and the collaborative effort, Same Struggle, featuring ‘fireman’ Capleton, Teflon and his management are working assiduously to raise his profile, especially in European and African markets where he enjoys a growing fan base.

Locally, the Rastafarian singer is booked to appear at the ‘One Love Caf?’ launch at Bob Marley Museum today. Tomorrow, he headlines Suncity Radio’s ‘Summer Is Here’ at Bob Marley Beach, Nine Miles, Bull Bay.

Amid working on his second album the Love & Adore You singer recently inked a major distribution deal with US-based company, New Millionaire Entertainment (NME).

The deal sees NME being exclusive agent, handling both digital and physical distribution for Teflon, along with marketing, throughout the world, for downloadable, mobile and video contents. The dissemination will be done in conjunction with Universal Records.

View the original article here

Teflon doing well on int"l scene

Cop remanded after allegedly leaving gun at crime scene

News

Tanesha Mundle Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A police constable who allegedly left his service pistol at the scene of a robbery at a wholesale in Harbour View, St Andrew, was on Monday remanded in custody when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.The police officer, Patrick Ingram, allegedly carried out the early morning robbery with the help of two civilians, one of whom was also remanded.The officer, who was assigned in the Kingston Eastern Police Division, was remanded along with his co-accused Brandon Nelson on charges of robbery with aggravation, receiving stolen property, and aiding and abetting robbery with aggravation.Another civilian, Bryan Barnes, was also charged in the incident but was offered bail on medical grounds. His bail was extended.According to police reports, on July 29, about 10:10 am, Ingram and one of the civilians went to the complainant’s business place and told him that they were both police officers and were investigating illegal cigarettes.The men reportedly held the proprietor at gunpoint and robbed the store of $100,000, cigarettes and other items before leaving.However, it is reported that Ingram left his pistol and when he returned for it he was held while the other two accused were later accosted.When the case was mentioned, the prosecutor informed the court that Ingram is to face an identification parade in relation to other issues in another parish.However, the attorneys representing Ingram and Nelson informed the magistrate that they would be applying for bail on the next court date, scheduled for September 20.Police process a recent crime scene in the Corporate Area (Observer file photo)

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Cop remanded after allegedly leaving gun at crime scene