Good Arbeloa interview

[johngibo YPC]

Plenty on Liverpool

Here

[fred milne]

He comes across well.

 

Interesting about his contract situation at Liverpool too.

[CarraLegend]

Cool, think he's bulls***ting about staying if we hadnt signed Johnson though.

[CaptainXabi]

Cool, think he's bulls***ting about staying if we hadnt signed Johnson though.

Absolutely. He often played LB and everyone knows you'll get plenty of games with Aurelio around.

[Woodsyla]

Absolutely. He often played LB and everyone knows you'll get plenty of games with Aurelio around.

Yeah, it felt a bit like, the club dithered with my contract and Xabi told me he was going to Madrid and they wanted me too.

 

He says nice things about us though.

[drdooom]

He does the white and in a bottle thing too.

[Maldini]

He does the white and in a bottle thing too.

 

He's clearly cracking up

[Mike]

He does the white and in a bottle thing too.

 

bad racist s*** that

[Walrus]

Maybe it's some weird Spanish sex game?

[Swipe]

A Tiger would kick the s*** out of a Lion.

[Kahnee]

A Song of Ice and Fire. It's a series of books and I'm on the third one.

 

Gonna try this

[stressederic]

Gonna try this

 

They're good.

[ifanew]

A Tiger would kick the s*** out of a Lion.

 

with one swipe of its paw

Edited April 1, 2011 by ifanew

[Montse]

This was from yesterday...

 

Alvaro Arbeloa hopes to keep firm grip on Tottenham's Peter Crouch

The Real Madrid defender's PlayStation alter ego is the Spurs striker, but now he has to face him for real in the Champions League quarter-finals

 

Sid Lowe in Madrid

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 16.02 BST

Article history

 

When Alvaro Arbeloa, left, takes on his Spain team-mates on PlayStation he always plays as England and always sticks the Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch on up front. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

When the final whistle blows on Tottenham Hotspur's visit to the Bernabéu on Tuesday night, Alvaro Arbeloa will head straight for Peter Crouch and ask his former Liverpool team-mate to swap shirts. When the final whistle blows on Real Madrid's visit to White Hart Lane eight nights later, he will do the same. One Crouch shirt is not enough: Arbeloa is after two.

 

It is not because they are friends – Arbeloa describes Crouch as a "fenómeno" but he says that he has not spoken to him since the Champions League quarter-final draw – it is because he needs it. And because Raúl Albiol does too. When the world champions meet, it is not unusual to find two white England shirts among Spanish red and blue, cheering on Inglaterra. Who says England played no part in South Africa?

 

"During the World Cup we were on the PlayStation constantly," Arbeloa smiles. "It was always el Chori [Raúl Albiol] and me against Sergio Ramos and Jesús Navas. They were Spain, we were England and it got pretty intense. We always put Crouch up front – and he scored loads. We bought ourselves England shirts. You'd be there in the Spain hotel and there were two guys in white, "Gerrard" and "Crouch" on the back.

 

"Spurs might not be as famous as Chelsea or Manchester United but they will be very dangerous," he continues. "I wasn't pleased with the draw because it was easy but because I wanted to play in England. And when I saw Spurs, I said to el Chori: 'We're going to get Crouch shirts, so we can play in them – real ones, this time.' It'll be a bit big on me, but still ..."

 

First, though, Arbeloa's side must stop his alter ego. The Tottenham striker has scored only two league goals this season but it is different in Europe, where he has seven in nine games. In total, he has scored 28 in 55 European games. He also has 22 in 42 England matches. Then there's the ability to bring others into the game: he has provided three Champions League assists.

 

"Maybe in England they're more used to players like Crouch," Arbeloa says. "Players who are tall, strong, good in the air. England is much tougher, physically. They know how to deal with players like Crouch. In Europe, it is harder to face him. Centre-backs don't like it – that could be an explanation for the difference.

 

"We believe we're ready for that because we have players who are strong in the air and Ricardo Carvalho has played in England but we can't play to Crouch's strengths. We have to push the defensive line as high as possible, to keep him away from the area. He's tall but not that quick. We can risk giving him space in behind but we can't risk him receiving in our penalty area: that's where he causes problems, with knockdowns, second balls and headers.

 

"Spurs suit him. They are a side who are characterised by the width and speed, and deliveries into him – [Aaron] Lennon and [Gareth] Bale are the key, although I also admire [Luka] Modric and [Rafael] Van der Vaart, who I think would have played a big part if he had stayed here. And yet, they have alternatives too. You think about Crouch and then they go and play [Jermain] Defoe, which completely changes their approach. Spurs are a team with many faces."

 

They are a team who Van der Vaart famously said play with freedom because Harry Redknapp does not "bore" players with "tactics". Arbeloa, who worked with the ultimate tactician in Rafa Benítez, laughs. "Well, it's not good to bore anyone with anything. If a coach is pesado [heavy going] a player can tie himself up and doesn't have the freedom to play. What I see is a Spurs team that's open, happy, exciting – that will play and let play."

 

"But," Arbeloa adds, "I think that's been exaggerated. I'm sure they work on tactics. Besides, I heard Harry say they will be more defensive against us here. They know, like we do, that the order of the matches conditions everything. With the second game away, we're the ones obliged to go for it.

 

"Against Lyon we protected ourselves in the first leg; now, we have to get a lead. We don't want to have to go to White Hart Lane needing to rescue the tie."

ere

 

It was followed up on twitter by Xabi...

XabiAlonso Xabi Alonso

@aarbeloa17@sidlowe This is the missing photo for the article. http://yfrog.com/gzpppbxfj

[épieur]

A Tiger would kick the s*** out of a Lion.

Not to mention lions' natural habitat is the plains and savannah and they hardly ever venture into forested areas. Unlike tigers who are in fact kings of the jungles. Not only are are certain species of tigers notably larger than lions, but all tigers have substantially larger brains than lions as well. Not to mention being more versatile predators. Tigers would kick the s*** out of lions in a fight.

 

 

Footballers are unbelievably thick.

 

 

[Epic Swindle]

Think you can point to his departure for a lot of our defensive issues. No frills, solid, versatile full back, one of Rafa's best buys imo.

[Raj]

Think you can point to his departure for a lot of our defensive issues. No frills, solid, versatile full back, one of Rafa's best buys imo.

 

Agree. Very underrated. Me and Will loved him, especially his goal celebrations.

[The Hitman]

Good player-need players like him in a top side.

A big loss imo,especially given our problems at left back.

 

Seems like a great lad too.

[Epic Swindle]

What did he cost, 3.5 million?

[Maldini]

What did he cost, 3.5 million?

 

£2.6m

[yellow jumper]

my madrid mate hates him. but he's spoilt.

[New York Red]

Not to mention lions' natural habitat is the plains and savannah and they hardly ever venture into forested areas. Unlike tigers who are in fact kings of the jungles. Not only are are certain species of tigers notably larger than lions, but all tigers have substantially larger brains than lions as well. Not to mention being more versatile predators. Tigers would kick the s*** out of lions in a fight.

 

 

Footballers are unbelievably thick.

 

But what about a Tiger vs a Polar Bear?

 

That's a very tough call...

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

I think it's settled

[épieur]

But what about a Tiger vs a Polar Bear?

 

That's a very tough call...

Polar bears are obviously bigger and stronger, although not as much as one might think (Siberian tigers can grow huge). A tiger might be able to compensate with fighting experience. Tigers fight not just among themselves but also with canines and bears (albeit smaller ones than polar bears) and generally come out on top. And they are of course faster, more agile and more adept predators than bears. The real question to me is to what extent the tiger is actually capable of hurting a polar bear. It seems very well armoured and is obviously built to take some punishment.

 

 

I reckon the tiger would win most fights out of a 100. But the polar bear would get in more licks than a puny lion.

 

 

[stressederic]

But what about a Tiger vs a Polar Bear?

 

That's a very tough call...

 

People used to fight bears versus lions & tigers in circuses and the bear always won.

 

Lions and tigers are powerful, but their skulls aren't particularly strong. The way bears put a huge amount of power into the swipes of their paw used to crush the skulls of tigers and lions.