Juande Ramos set to take over in Madrid

Former Tottenham and Sevilla manager Juande Ramos will take charge of Real Madrid today; his managerial debut will be a UEFA Champions League match that could have Madrid finishing atop their group with a win. Ramos must be enthusiastic about the opportunity with a top flight club, but his tenure with Madrid may prove to be anything but long term. Ramos is contracted for only a 6 month period and Madrid is notorious for discarding managers. Ramos will be Madrid's 11th coach in the last 10 years.

Madrid takes on Zenit St. Petersburg today in UEFA Matchday 6. Ramos will want a strong performance from his side, but the performance to watch might be that of Zenit's Andri Arshavin. Ramos has called him "magical" and may be looking heal some of Madrid's injury woes by bringing Arshavin to Real during the transfer window.

Jozy Altidore sold to Villareal

La Liga's Villareal reportedly purchased former Red Bull forward Jozy Alitdore for a fee of 10 million dollars. The European transfer window does not open until July 1st, but sources close to the Red Bulls have reported that the deal has been agreed upon by both parties. Jozy is expected to join the Yellow Submarine soon after the transfer window opens.

Jozy's transfer fee of 10 million dollars makes him the most expensive player to ever come out of the MLS. The previous record was held by Clint Dempsey who was bought for 4 million dollars in 2006 by Fulham.

I think this is a great move for Jozy; he is finally free of the continual transfer speculation that has continued to haunt him. Hopefully he will be able to adapt to the Spanish league, and continue to develop and mature as a player. The National team needs you Jozy--Good Luck!

Unai Emery Selected as Valencia's New Coach

It has been a long season for Valencia. They have shed three coaches and ended in a disappointing (albeit safe from relegation) 10th position in Spain's La Liga. I really hope this coach is the answer to Valencia's problems because it doesn't make sense how a team with so much talent can play so inconsistently. Hopefully Emery will be able to lead the team through the off season and provide them with hope for next season.

Under Emery in the 2006/7 Segunda Division season Almeria finished as runners up and were subsequently promoted to La Premera division for the first time since 1981. Emery's success as a manager continued in La Liga as he was able to lead the Andalusian side to a surprising finish in 8th place.

Valencia Wins Copa del Rey

Valencia's disappointing season was given a much needed shot of optimism this week as they defeated Getafe to win the Copa del Rey tournament. It was Valencia's first trip to the finals since 1999 when they defeated Atlético Madrid. One might say that this victory "saved" Valencia's season as they are awarded a spot in next years UEFA Champions Cup.

Unfortunately Valencia's season was marked inconsistent play despite having a talent-filled squad. But fear not! Since we are always the optimists here at Soccer on the Brain we feel that with Valencia's recently booked spot in the 2008/9 UEFA Cup, the Spanish side can confidently say "there's always next year."

Liverpool Fans Propose Club Buyout

Liverpool's ownership saga is shrouded with more drama today as fans of the club have stated that they are seeking to buy the club back from American owner's George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

A group known as "Share Liverpool FC" is slighted to release their plan to raise the necessary £500m in order to buy out the American's. This comes on the heels of the news that Gillett and Hicks are not going to sell the club to the Dubai's DIC group, and have week finished a £350m refinancing of the club.

The article states that Share Liverpool FC would probably use similar tactics to those used by FC Barcelona fans to raise the money. If successful, Liverpool would become the first EPL team to be owned by its fans. Fan ownership is slightly more common in La Liga where the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Osasuna and Atletico Bilbao are all owned in some way by their fans. Here in the United States the most well known fan owned professional sports team is the Green Bay Packers.