Madrid

Madrid

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  Barcelona starts toughest stretch at Malaga

  Runaway Spanish leader Barcelona travels to fourth-place Malaga on Sunday to enter its toughest period of the season with five of its next eight games ... 

• Spaniard in Cuba death may get work release

  A Spanish man involved in a traffic crash in Cuba that killed a prominent dissident may be allowed to serve out his four-year sentence in his country ... 

• Madrid defender Ramos suspended for 5 games

  Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has been suspended for five games after he insulted the referee who sent him off during Wednesday's victory over ... 

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  Madrid into Copa last 8 by beating Celta Vigo 4-0

  Cristiano Ronaldo steered Real Madrid into the Copa de Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday by completing his hat trick in a 4-0 win against Celta Vigo ... 

• Spanish banks meet unions to discuss huge layoffs

  Representatives of two of Spain's biggest banks are meeting with labor unions to discuss massive layoffs, hours ahead of protests by bank workers in ... 

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  Madrid outlines plans for hosting 2020 Olympics

  Hosting the Olympics in 2020 would help create jobs in a country grappling with recession, a deep financial crisis and 25 percent unemployment, ... 

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  Madrid health center directors quit en masse

  More than 300 directors of some 140 health centers in Madrid resigned from their posts Tuesday to protest plans to partly privatize the region's ... 

• AP Global Football 10 Quotebox

  Julian Bennetts, Hayters news agency, England. "Lionel Messi has officially been named the best player in the world once again, which is enough to ... 

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  Column: Ronaldo, not Messi, should be Ballon d'Or

  The Ballon d'Or went to the wrong guy. Lionel Messi most definitely is the world's best footballer. He will, for many fans of football become the best ... 

• Rayo Vallecano beats Getafe 3-1 in Spanish league

  Two goals by Francisco 'Piti' Medina helped Rayo Vallecano to a 3-1 home win over Getafe in a Madrid derby on Monday in the Spanish league. 

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  Messi wins record 4th world's best player award

  Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award on Monday as an expected reward for his astonishing 91-goal year for Barcelona and Argentina in 2012. 

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  Large Spanish protest against health privatization

  Thousands of Spanish medical workers marched through downtown Madrid on Monday to protest against budget cuts and plans to partly privatize their ... 

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  3 bid cities submit 2020 Olympic files to IOC

  Exactly eight months before the vote, the race for the 2020 Summer Games moved into a crucial phase Monday when the three candidate cities submitted ... 

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  Real Madrid hosts Celta Vigo in Copa del Rey

  Real Madrid has an opportunity to quiet recent fan criticism when it takes on Celta Vigo in a must-win Copa del Rey match at the Santiago Bernabeu ... 

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  Messi, Ronaldo score in prelude to Ballon d'Or

  Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored to help their teams win in the Spanish league on Sunday, a day before the two stars and Andres Iniesta ... 

• Ronaldo to miss Madrid's match at Osasuna with ban

  Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will miss his team's next Spanish league game at Osasuna serving a one-game ban. Ronaldo picked up his fifth ... 

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  Spain's 'El Nino' lottery hands out $1.1 billion

  A lottery showered €840 million ($1.1 billion) on ticket holders in five regions of Spain on Sunday, in the midst of a deep recession and high ... 

• Deportivo beats Malaga 1-0 for 1st win in 2 months

  Deportivo La Coruna beat visiting Malaga 1-0 thanks to Luis "Pizzi" Afonso's second-half goal, giving new coach Domingos Paciencia a victorious debut ... 

• Spanish cities, towns packed for 3 kings parades

  Thousands of children and parents are thronging sidewalks in cities and towns across Spain to watch parades marking the eve of the Epiphany — a ... 

• Mourinho won't attend FIFA awards gala

  Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he won't be attending the FIFA gala on Monday where he is a finalist for the coach of the year award. 

• Higuain to return for Madrid after 2 months out

  Striker Gonzalo Higuain has made Real Madrid's squad for the first time since being sidelined with a leg injury two months ago. The Argentina ... 

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  Messi aims for historic 4th world player award

  Lionel Messi can break another footballing record on Monday by being named the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth time. The Barcelona and ... 

• Atletico gets Filipe Luis back from injury

  Atletico Madrid says defender Filipe Luis is fit to play after being sidelined for almost three weeks with a leg injury. The Brazilian left back ... 

• Madrid aims to erase dire end to 2012 vs. Sociedad

  Battered by poor results, dressing room strife, and now injuries, Real Madrid will return from a much-needed winter break in the Spanish league to ...