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Pre-season Fixtures

As usual there will be an intensive programme of pre-season matches, this year starting mid July and going on to the 21st August, when the league season begins again (a week earlier than in previous years). We set out below the most important games involving La Liga clubs, and will be publishing regular updates when more information is known. NB. Games completed in red, pending in blue, changes since our last report highlighted in bold. See also friendly fixtures section for matches which took place during the league season. (27.08.11)

10 Jul - 12 Aug Atlético Madrid summer programme
Start training as usual in Segovia, but pre-season conditioned by early participation in the Europa League third qualifying round, with previous friendly matches against Arcángel de San Rafael 10/07, W 1-19 (Reyes 2, Pedro 4, Filipe Luis 2, Collado 3, Keko, Fran Mérida, Gabi, Diego Costa 3, Saúl Ñiguez 2), Gimnástica Segoviana 14/07, W 0-8 (Regalón, Filipe Luis, Collado, Pedro, Diego Costa 2, Juanfran, Fran Mérida), Alcalá de Henares 16/07, W 0-1 (Pedro), and triangular tournament against hosts Granada, L 1-0 (Romero) and Besiktas 21/07, L 1-0 (Ernst). Europa League qualifiers against Norway's Stromsgodset, 28/07, W 2-1 (Reyes 2), and 04/08, W 0-2 (Adrián, Reyes). Took part in the Colombino trophy against Recreativo Huelva on 12/08, W 1-2 (Alvaro Vega / Adrián, Salvio), then had Europa League play-offs against Vitoria Guimaraes 18/08 (W 2-0) and 25/08 (W 0-4). See below.
13 Jul - 13 Aug Mallorca summer programme
Michael Laudrup's side started early once again, with participation in the Stockholm Football Trophy in Sweden. Played Hammarby 13/07, D 0-0, and Leicester City 14/07, D 1-1 (Hemed). Brief return to Spain before going on to train in Oosterbeek, Holland, where they play Zwolle 21/07, L 1-0, Heerenveen 23/07, W 0-2 (De Guzmán, Pereira), NEC Nimega 27/07, W 0-1 (Casadesús), Go Ahead 29/07, L 3-1 (Chori Castro), and Groningen 31/07, D 2-2 (Nsue, Casadesús). Hosted their Ciudad de Parma trophy 13/08 against Napoli, L 0-1 (Zuñiga).
14 Jul - 31 Aug Sevilla summer programme
Trip to Costa Rica called off due to contract incompliance, and stayed at home to play local rivals Roteña 14/07, W 0-9 (Armenteros, Acosta, Koné, Fazio, Negredo 2, 1 pen, Rodri 2, Alfaro), Atlético Sanluqueño 17/07, W 1-3 (Kanouté 2, Rodri), and UD Pilas 21/07, W 0-4 (Navas, Negredo 2, 1 pen, Manu). Visited Xerez 28/07, W 0-3 (Kanouté 3), Córdoba 31/07, W 1-4 (Negredo, Trochowski 2, Navas), then hosted their own Antonio Puerta trophy against Espanyol 04/08, W 5-0 (Rodri 2, Manu, Kanouté 2). Visited Napoli 07/08, W 1-2 (Coke, Kanouté), and invited to Depor's Teresa Herrera trophy 14/08 which they won on penalties after drawing 1-1 (Riki / Coke), after which they concentrated on Europa League qualifier against Hannover 96 18/08 (L 2-1) and 25/08 (D 1-1) - see below.
15 Jul - 13 Aug Getafe summer programme
Start training in Segovia again,and open pre-season at Toledo 15/07, W 1-2 (Mané, Pedro Ríos). Then on to Benelux, with games against Leuven 23/07, W 0-4 (Diego Castro, Colunga, Mosquera, Rubén), Gent 24/07, D 1-1 (Lopo), Kayserisport 27/07, L 3-0, Charleroi 29/07, L 3-1 (Albertazzi), and Venlo 30/07, L 2-0. Travelled to Greece to meet AEK Athens 06/08, W 0-1 (Miku), before triangular tournament 10/08 against neighbours Leganés, W 0-1 (Miku) and Alcorcón, D 0-0. Invited to play Elche 13/08, D 1-1 (Angel pen / Abel).
16 Jul - 09 Aug Espanyol summer programme
As usual started training locally in Perelada, with games against regional sides Perelada 16/07, W 1-5 (Dátolo, Raúl Baena, Osvaldo 2, Rui Fonte), Palafrugell 20/07, D 0-0, and Llagostera 23/07, W 1-2 (Thievy, Osvaldo). Played their Ciutat de Barcelona trophy 27/07 against Boca Juniors, W 3-1 (Osvaldo 2, 1 pen, Verdú pen), and then travelled to Sevilla to meet hosts in their Antonio Puerta trophy 04/08, L 5-0 (Rodri 2, Manu, Kanouté 2). Played Catalonia Cup 08-09/08 in Tarragona which they won, beating Barcelona 3-0 in the final (see below). Then went on to play in presentation matches of newly promoted neighbours Sabadell 12/08, W 1-2 (Bueno pen / Florian og, Thievy), and then Zaragoza 15/08, D 1-1 (Obradovic / Márquez), Zaragoza won on penalties.
16 Jul - 12 Aug Real Sociedad summer programme
Friendly games near to home to begin with, with fixtures against Beasain 16/07, W 0-3 (Ifrán, Agirretxe 2), AC Ajaccio in Azpeitia 23/07, W 4-0 (Labaka, Agirretxe, Sutil 2), and Toulouse 30/07, L 1-0. Then on to Italy to play Pescara 07/08, D 2-2 (Zurutuza, Sarpong), Bari 09/08, L 1-0, and Lazio 11/08, L 2-0.
16 Jul - 13 Aug Málaga summer programme
Pellegrini's "petro-dollar" squad start training around Almería, with match against regional opponents Horadada 16/07, W 1-4 (Duda, Van Nistelrooy 2, Málquez og), and then Qatar's Al Rayyan in Marbella 20/07, W 6-1 (Demichelis, Buonanotte, Van Nistelrooy, Maresca, Joaquín, Toni), before being invited by Xerez to their Vendimia Trophy 23/07, W 0-1 (Samu). Travelled to Holand to play Utrecht 27/07, W 0-3 (Duda, Baptista, Van Nistelrooy), Roda 29/07, W 1-2 (Baptista pen, Buonanotte), and Feyenoord 31/07, W 0-2 (Monreal, Kris), then back to take part in Cádiz's Carranza Trophy 4-6 Aug. 05/08: Málaga v Sporting Lisbon, W 3-1 (Baptista 2, Van Nistelrooy); 06/08:Final, Cádiz 2 - Málaga 0. (see below). Hosted Costa del Sol Trophy 13/08 against Peñarol, W 4-0 (Baptista, Van Nistelrooy 2, Seba).
16 Jul - 24 Aug Real Madrid summer programme
Returned to USA this summer, playing friendlies against LA Galaxy 16/07, W 1-4 (Callejón, Joselu, Ronaldo, Benzema), Chivas (in San Diego) 20/07, W 0-3 (Ronaldo 3), and Philadelphia Union 23/07, W 1-2 (Callejón, Özil). Returned to Europe to play Hertha Berlin 27/07, W 1-3 (Ronaldo, Benzema 2), and Leicester City 30/07, W 1-2 (Callejón, Benzema), and then off again to China, where they met Guangzhou Evergrande 03/08, W 1-7 (Khedira, Özil, Benzema 2, Ronaldo, Jesé, Di María), and Tianjin Teda 06/08, W 0-6 (Kaká pen, Di María, Higuain, Ronaldo, Benzema 2). After that they meet Barcelona in the two-leg Spanish Supercup 14/08, D 2-2 (özil, Alonso / Villa, Messi), and 17/08, L 3-2 (Iniesta, Messi 2 / Ronaldo, Benzema), and finished with their own Bernabeu trophy 24/08 against Galatasaray, W 2-1 (Ramos, Benzema) - see below for details.
16 Jul - 24 Aug Villarreal summer programme
Training in Ireland, with match against University College Dublin 16/07, L 4-3 (Borja Valero, Marco Rubén, Cazorla), then on to Aberdeen to play in Darren Mackie testimonial match 19/07, W 0-1 (Rossi). Travelled to Wolfsburg 24/07, D 2-2 (Camuñas, Rossi), and return home to play XIIth Ceramica trophy against Lazio 31/07, W 3-1 (Rossi, Cani, Wakaso). Then had games in England against Everton 05/08, W 0-1 (Rossi), and Wigan 07/08, L 1-0. Came back to play Elche in their Festa d'Elx Trophy, W 0-2 (Zapata, Gullón), then Champions League qualifier against Odense 17/08, L 1-0, and 23/08, W 3-0 (Rossi 2, Marchena) - see below for more details.
17 Jul - 12 Aug Levante summer programme
Train locally at first, with match against local side CD Minera 17/07, W 0-3 (Barkero, Valdo, Dani Galán). Go to Benelux to play Circulo Brugge 23/07, D 1-1 (Barkero), Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring 24/07, W 2-6 (Wellington, Xavi Torres, Farinós, Jordà 3), and NAC Breda 26/07 (match abandoned at 0-0 due to player brawl on pitch!). Returned to Spain to play Teruel 30/07, L 3-2 (Barkero 2, 1 pen), then presentation match 02/08 vs Peñarol, L 0-2. On to UK to play Bolton 05/08, W 0-1 (Iborra), and then went to Italy to play Parma 12/08, L 1-0.
17 Jul - 14 Aug Racing Santander summer programme
Pre-season in Oberhaussen, Germany again, where they play Wacker Burghausen 17/07, D 0-0, Nuremburg 23/07, L 1-0, and Hoffenheim 24/07, L 3-2 (Borja García, Javi Martínez). Invited to Barakaldo to play in international trophy against Al Jahra 28/07, W 6-0 (Bedía 2, Ebrahim og, Kennedy, Alvaro, Arana pen). Travelled to Italy to play Chievo 06/08, D 2-2 (Adrián, Arana) and Ferrara 07/08, D 0-0, then on to Logroñés 10/08, L 1-0, and Osasuna 14/08, L 3-0 (Lekic, Cejudo, Annunziata).
19 Jul - 6 Aug Athletic Bilbao summer programme
Pre-season training near Valencia, where they played Alzira 20/07, W 0-3 (Gurpegui, Llorente 2). Played triangular tournament in Southampton 23/07, against Werder Bremen, W 1-2 (Gabilondo, Toquero) and hosts, W 0-2 (Igor Martínez, Iraola), then Numancia (A) 27/07, D 0-0, Catania (in Lasesarre) 31/07, W 3-1 (Javi Martínez, Susaeta, Ander), Amorebieta (in Urritxe) 01/08, W 1-2 (Susaeta, Ibai Gómez), Tottenham (A) 06/08, L 2-1 (Crouch, Defoe / San José), Sestao River (A) 08/08, L 2-1 (David López), Valladolid (in Burgos) 11/08, D 2-2 (Toquero, Iturraspe / Marquitos 2), and Lemona 12/08, L 2-0. Had Europa League qualifier 18 + 25/08 against Trabzonspor, but after drawing first leg at home 0-0, they were given a bye as Trabzonspor were upgraded to the Champions League (see below).
19 Jul - 7 Aug Osasuna summer programme
Start locally, with games against Logroñés 19/07, W 0-3 (Flaño, Soriano, Nino), Eibar (in Lerín) 23/07, D 1-1 (Leka), and triangular trophy in Irún 25/07 against hosts Real Unión, D 0-0, and Betis, W 1-0 (Puñal pen) - Osasuna winners. Then on to Italy where they played Lazio 28/07, W 0-1 (Nekounam), Chievo 31/07, L 3-2 (Nino, Leka), Varese 04/08, W 1-2 (Leka, Annunziata), and Novara 07/08, D 0-0. Back to Spain afterwards for games against Huesca in Tafalla 11/08, W 2-0 (Puñal pen, Annunziata), and Racing Santander at home 14/08, W 3-0 (Lekic, Cejudo, Annunziata).
19 Jul - 12 Aug Valencia summer programme
Pre-season training in Klagenfort, Austria, where they play friendlies against PSV Eindhoven 19/07, W 0-2 (Piatti, Aduríz), Leicester City 23/07, W 0-1 (Jonas), and Rapid Vienna 26/07, L 4-1 (Pablo). On the road to visit Sporting Lisbon 30/07, W 0-3 (Bernat, Soldado, Piatti), Hamburg 02/08, W 1-2 (Mata, Bernat), and Liverpool 06/08, L 2-0 (Carroll, Kyrgiakos), then hosted their own presentation match (Trofeo Naranja) against Luis Enrique's Roma, 12/08, W 3-0 (Viviani og, Soldado, Alcácer). Finish at Almería 14/08, D 0-0, Almería won on penatlies.
20 Jul - 6 Aug Betis summer programme
Celebrate return to top flight taking part in Bayonne Cup in France, with matches against Olympique Marseille 20/07, L 1-0 (Valbuena), and Girondins Bordeaux 23/07, L 2-0. Took part in triangular tournament in Irún 25/07 with hosts Real Unión, W 0-2 (Pereira, Pozuelo) and Osasuna, L 1-0 (Puñal pen), then on to UK to play a couple of games. Confirmed to date at Portsmouth 30/07 against Havant, W 0-7 (Castro 3, Molina 2, Pereira, Salva Sevilla), then Neath, W 0-8 (Pereira 7, Salva Sevilla), and Swansea 06/08, L 1-0 (Graham). Afterwards visit Coría 11/08, W 1-4 (Momo 2, Isidoro, Sergio), and Juventus in Salerno 13/08, D 0-0.
20 Jul - 13 Aug Sporting Gijón summer programme
Training at home and play at Langreo 20/07, D 1-1 (Sangoy), Sporting B, W 3-0 (Barral, Menéndez, Trejo), Ponferradina 27/07, D 1-1 (De las Cuevas), and Marino de Luanco 30/07, D 1-1 (Nacho Novo). Trip to France cancelled and played against Valladolid in the Ramón Losada Memorial in Luarca 02/08, W 3-2 (Carmelo, Mendy, Sangoy / Bueno pen, Aquino), then games at Salamanca 03/08, W 0-4 (Barral, Ayoze Castro og, Sangoy), Paços Ferreira 05/08, L 3-0, Celta Vigo (Ciudad de Vigo trophy) 06/08, W 0-1 (De las Cuevas), and Rayo Vallecano 10/08, D 2-2 (Piti, Rafa García / Ayoze, Bilic pen). Hosted Villa de Gijón trophy 13/08, against Genoa, L 1-2 (Sergio Alvarez).
21 Jul - 1 Aug Under 19 European Championship
Spain's under 19 side took part again in this summer's edition, which was played in Romania. Opponents at the group stage were Belgium 21/07, W 4-1 (Sarabia pen, Paco, Muñoz, Morata), Serbia 23/07 (Morata 3, Juanmi), and Turkey 26/07, L 0-3. 29/07. Beat Eire in semi-finals 5-0 (Deulofeu, Sarabia, Juanmi, Morata 2, 1 pen), and 01/08 won final against Czech Republic, with goals from Artenetxe and two from Paco in extra time. See separate section for details.
21 Jul - 8 Aug Granada summer programme
Celebrate return to top flight with triangular tournament against Atlético Madrid, W 1-0 (Romero) and Besiktas 21/07 (D 0-0). Granada beat Besiktas on penalties. Played regional sides Maracena 27/07, W 0-4 (Matías Alonso, Goku. Carlos Calvo pen, Ighalo), and Jaén 30/07, W 1-2 (2 own goals), then triangular tournament 03/08 in Totana with Lorca, W 0-1 (Ighalo) and Olimpico Totana, W 0-4 (Ikechi 2, Matias Alonso, Sanchón). Training in La Manga afterwards with games against Almería 06/08, D 1-1 (Boateng / Ulloa), Hércules 10/08, L 1-0, and Cádiz 12/08, L 2-4 (Jaime Romero, Lucena).
21 Jul - 13 Aug Rayo Vallecano summer programme
Continuing financial problems means training locally despite promotion, with away games against La Granja 21/07, W 0-1 (Susaeta pen), Palencia 24/07, W 0-2 (Diego 2), Gimnastica Segoviana 27/07, W 2-3 (Piti, Movilla, Leo), Valladolid 30/07, L 3-2 (Jofre, Bueno, Guerra / Casado, Delibasic), and Pozoblanco 04/08, W 0-3 (Lass, Movilla, Susaeta). Played Deportivo in the "Trofeo de la Galleta" (Biscuit trophy!) in Aguilar de Campo 06/08, L 0-1 (Bruno Gama), then visited Cagliari in Sardinia 07/08, L 2-1 (Leo), before returning home to play Sporting 10/08, D 2-2 (Piti, Rafa García / Ayoze, Bilic pen) - Rayo won on pso. Last pre-season match at Hércules presentation 13/08, L 3-1 (Adrián, Callejón pen, Brian / Arribas).
22 Jul - 6 Aug Deportivo summer programme
Training locally in Vilalba, and play local side Viveiro 22/07, W 0-3 (Riki 2, Saúl), Vilalbés 24/07, W 1-5 (Lassad 2, Jesús Vázquez, Riki, Juan Carlos). Then met Negreira 27/07, W 0-7, (Riki 3, Laure, Cubillas, Salomao, Saúl), and As Pontes 30/07, W 0-3 (Pablo Alvarez, Alex, Riki). Matches at Lugo 02/08, W 0-2 (Pablo Alvarez, Saúl), and Oviedo 04/08, W 0-3 (Lassad, Riki, Bruno Gama), before taking part in the "Trofeo de la Galleta" (Biscuit trophy!) in Aguilar de Campo against Rayo Vallecano 06/08, W 0-1 (Bruno Gama). Invited to Racing Ferrol's Concepción Arenal cup 10/08, D 1-1 (Riki) - Depor won on pso, and then hosted the 66th edition of their famous Teresa Herrera trophy against Sevilla 14/08, D 1-1 (Riki / Coke). Sevilla won pso.
23 Jul - 26 Aug Barcelona summer programme
Started busy pre-season at Hadjuk Split 23/07, D 0-0. Took part in Audi Cup in Munich against Internacional de Porto Alegre 26/07, D 2-2 (Thiago, Jonathan Dos Santos), W 4-2 pens, and Bayern Munich (who beat AC Milan) 27/07, W 0-2 (Thiago 2), Barça winners. Travelled to USA to participate in "World Football Challenge", where they met Manchester United in Washington 30/07, L 2-1 (Nani, Owen / Thiago), Chivas in Miami 03/08, L 4-1 (Villa), and América in Dallas 06/08, W 0-2 (Villa, Keita). Returned to Europe to play Copa de Catalunya 08-09/08, lost final 3-0 to Espanyol (see below). Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid 14/08, D 2-2 (Özil, Alonso / Villa, Messi), and 17/08, W 3-2 (Iniesta, Mess 2 / Ronaldo, Benzema), Gamper tournament on 22/08 against Napoli, W 5-0 (Fàbregas, Keita, Pedro, Messi 2), and European Supercup 26/08 against Porto in Monaco, W 2-0 (Messi, Fàbregas). (see separate sections below).
24 Jul - 20 Aug Under 20 World Cup
Almost simultaneously with the under 19 European Championship, Spain's under 20 side are taking part in this summer's youth World Cup in Colombia, with warm up game in Perú 24/07, D 0-0. Opponents in the group stage were Costa Rica 31/07, W 4-1 (Rodrigo 2, Koke, Isco pen), Ecuador 03/08, W 2-0 (Canales, Alvaro), and Australia 06/08, W 5-1 (Roberto, Vázquez 3, Canales pen). Beat South Korea 7-6 on penalties after 0-0 draw in first knock-out round. Got through to quarter finals to play Brazil 14/08, but lost on pso after drawing 1-1 (Rodri). (See separate section for details).
28 Jul - 25 Aug Europa League play-off rounds
Atlético Madrid finished seventh in the league this season, and they entered the competition at the third qualifying round stage, with matches against Norway's Stromsgodset on 28/07 (H), W 2-1 (Reyes 2) and 04/08 (A), W 0-2 (Adrián, Reyes). They won through to the play-off stage, where they beat Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 (Elías 2) in first leg on 18/08. Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 at home to Trabzonspor, but were then given a bye through to the league stage after their opponents were upgraded to the Champions League. Sevilla lost 2-1 to Hannover 96 (Kanouté) in their first leg match. Return legs 25/08, Guimaraes 0 - Atlético 4 (Gabi pen, Adrián 2, Salvio); Sevilla 1 - Hannover 1 (Pogatetz og). Atlético and Athletic go through to the league stage, but Sevilla are out. See separate section.
30 Jul - 6 Aug Zaragoza summer programme
Training locally and then based in Birmingham, with fixtures against West Ham 30/07, L 2-0 (Taylor, Sears), Norwich 03/08, D 1-1 (De Laet / Braulio), and Wolverhampton 06/08, L 2-0 (Elokobi, Fletcher). Returned to Spain to play Numancia 10/08, D 2-2, (Cedric, Jaio / Larrea og, Lafita), then hosted presentation match (City of Zaragoza trophy) against Espanyol 15/08, D 1-1 (Obradovic / Márquez), Zaragoza won on penalties.
4 - 6 Aug Ramón de Carranza trophy, Cádiz
Cádiz once again host this prestigious trophy, which this year will celebrate it's 57th edition. Club are currently in 2B, but have still invited top teams. First match 04/08 Cádiz 0 - Udinese 0 (Cádiz win on penalties), then 05/08 Málaga 3 - Sporting Lisbon 1 (Baptista 2, Van Nistelrooy / Diego Rubio). 06/08, third-fourth play-off, Udinese 2 - Sporting Lisbon 2 (Udinese won on pso), and final 06/08, Cádiz 2 - Málaga 0 (Juanjo, Dioni). Barbecue on beach afterwards for fans.
8 - 9 Aug Catalonia Cup
Squeezed this tournament in again in the summer, hosted this time by Gimnastic Tarragona. Semi-finals 08/08, Nàstic 1 - Espanyol 2 (Eloy / Osvaldo 2), and Barcelona B 2 - Girona 1 (Lobato, Riverola / Saizar). Final 09/08: Espanyol B 3 - Barcelona B 0 (Thievy 3). Both teams fielded virtual B team line-ups in the final.
10 Aug Spain friendly match
Spain played Italy away in Bari in a pre-season warm up. L 2-1 (Montolivo, Aquilani / Xabi Alonso pen). See separate section for more details.
12 Aug Colombino trophy, Huelva
Recreativo hosted 47th edition of major summer competition, which changed from a 4 team format to a single match on 12/08. Atlético Madrid were invited again this year, and won the trophy for the 6th time. Recre 1 - Atlétic 2 (Alvaro Vega / Adrián, Salvio).
14 and 17 Aug Spanish Super Cup
Two leg fixture which this year was between league champions Barcelona and cup winners Real Madrid, with the first leg in the Bernabeu and the return in the Nou Camp. Real Madrid have won the previous four meetings between these two mega-giants in the competition, the last time in 1997. First leg 14/08 Madrid 2 - Barça 2 (Özil, Alonso / Villa, Messi). Second leg kicked off at 23:00 on 17/08 to avoid clash with Champions League qualifiers. Barça 3 - Madrid 2 (Iniesta, Messi 2 / Ronaldo, Benzema). See separate section for more details.
17 and 23 Aug Champions' League play-off round
Villarreal made it up to the fourth Champions League spot, and they had to play a qualifying tie over two legs. Opponents are Denmark's Odense. First leg 17/08, Odense 1 - Villarreal 0. Second leg 23/08, Villarreal 3 - Odense 0 (Rossi 2, Marchena). Villarreal go through. See separate section for details.
22 Aug Gamper tournament, FC Barcelona
46th edition of FC Barcelona's annual tournament. Date fixed for 22nd August, opponents were Italy's Napoli. Barça won 5-0 with opener from Fàbregas, goals from Keita and Pedro and two from Messi.
24 Aug XXXIII Santiago Bernabeu trophy
Real Madrid hosted this tournament once again. Wanted to bring Raúl's Schalke or Guti's Besiktas, but due to availability invited Galatasaray. Real Madrid 2 - Galatasaray 1 (Ramos, Benzema / Inan).
26 Aug European Super Cup
Spanish presence once again, this time FC Barcelona as Champions League winners. Their opponents were Porto, who won the Europa League. Barça won 2-0, with goals from Messi and Fàbregas, to take the title for the fourth time.