Real Madrid

One of the biggest questions of the 2015 summer transfer window was: Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid? In the earliest weeks of the window, the big rumor was that Ronaldo was upset that manager Carlo Ancelotti had been sacked and replaced by Rafael Benitez. There were also rumors of a row of sorts between Ronaldo and fellow Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale, who made it clear that he wanted to be the Vikings center forward. The speculation at the time was that Ronaldo might transfer to Manchester United during the summer, but no such move ever transpired.

Of Contracts and Transfer Fees

Fast-forward to now, and rumors about Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Spain are on the table once
again. It's not even October, and Real Madrid still have a long way to go before the end of the campaign. Chatter about losing their best player could keep Vikings fans from really enjoying the 2015 2016 soccer season.

Still,

It's been a surprisingly subdued first month of La Liga 2015 - 2016 competition. Reigning champs FC Barcelona are back in the lead and have won all four of their games so far, but aren't quite firing on all cylinders just yet. In fact, Barca have only scored eight goals in their four matches-less than the teams in second (Real Madrid), third (Villarreal), and fourth place (Celta de Vigo). Real Madrid's Vikings, meanwhile, have been on blast offensively but are lagging behind Barcelona thanks to a scoreless season opener against Sporting Gijon.

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Barcelona's Slow Start

To say that Barca have had a "slow start" in the 2015 2016 La Liga may be a bit of an exaggeration. After all, they've obviously done enough to put themselves back in the frontrunner position for this

September 15th was an exciting day for soccer fans in Europe, as the 2015 2016 UEFA Champions League officially got underway. Tuesday saw the first matches in groups A through D, with many heavyweight teams coming out of the woodwork to play. But what did we learn from Champions League 2015 - 2016 Group A day one, and which teams that won big in their first group stage matches will still be hanging around when we reach the late stages of the knockouts?

Ever since the UCL group stage draw at the end of August, soccer analysts have pointed to Group A as one of the most predictable in the competition. They've had a point: Group A, which features Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, Malmo FF, and Shakhtar Donetsk, has a clear divide between heavyweight football clubs (Real Madrid, PSG) and also-rans (Malmo FF, Shakhtar). Unsurprisingly, that divide was on display as group stage play began.

Real Madrid vs. Shakhtar Donetsk <

What is the Sergio Ramos saga 2015? It looked like Manchester United had nailed down a deal with the Real Madrid defender, offering him £9.8 million a year (or £200,000 per week) to play in England. That would have been a significant step up from what Ramos is currently making with Real Madrid, and seemed to be enough to lure the 29-year-old Spaniard away from the football club where he has spent the past 10 years of his career. In fact, the rumor was that Ramos actually agreed to United's high-paying deal, before backing out and deciding to stay at the Santiago Bernebeu. Now, Sergio is reportedly preparing to sign a brand new contract at Real Madrid.

To be fair, it may have been Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, or even new club manager Rafael Benitez, who threw a wrench in Sergio's plans to leave the Spanish La Liga in his rearview. After all, in 2011, Ramos extended his contract with the Vikings to run until 2017. In other words, even if Sergio really d

UEFA has officially announced the shortlist for the 2015 "Goal of the Season" award, choosing 10 goals from UEFA competitions (including the Europa League, the Champions League, and U-17 or U-19 tournaments) for contention. We've highlighted each of the nominated goals for the UEFA Goal of the Season 2014 - 2015 award below, as well as a link where you can vote for the goal as your favorite of the season, and UEFA's own description of the goal in italics.

"Kobin's Brilliant Bicycle Kick"

Legia Warszawa v FC Metalist Kharkiv

Vasyl Kobin scored this brilliant acrobatic goal for Metalist, one of only three goals the Ukrainian side would register in their 2014/15 UEFA Europa League campaign.

We don't see bicycle kicks nearly enough, even at the highest levels of professional football, but when a well-executed one comes along, it's tough not to recognize it as one of

Getting antsy without consistent La Liga matches to watch or game outcomes to monitor? Can't wait for when FC Barcelona and Real Madrid get back into weekly action? You're in luck: we're less than a month away now, from the August 23^rd commencement of the 2015 2016 La Liga season, and on July 15^th, the La Liga 2015 - 2016 opening day fixtures were officially announced.

Who will win? Who will lose? Which football clubs will establish themselves as clear contenders for the season to come? Read on for our preview of La Liga's 10 opening day soccer matches!

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The Big Games

As with every other football division, the Spanish La Liga has some top-tier teams that everyone will be
paying attention to on opening day-regardless of club allegiance.

The most obvious of these

Real Madrid won their second International Champions Cup title in a week on July 30^th, beating AC Milan in a hard-fought penalty kick shootout to claim victory in the International Champions Cup 2015 China incarnation of the football tournament. Just days before, on July 24^th, the Vikings had beaten Manchester City 4-1 to clinch the Australian incarnation of the 2015 ICC.

Unfortunately, Real aren't participating in the third and final edition of this year's International Champions Cup, which is currently taking place in North America and Europe. Still, two tournament victories in a single month is nothing but good news for the 2014 2015 La Liga runners-up, and shows that Cristiano Ronaldo and company haven't lost a step in the transition from Carlo Ancelotti to new manager, Rafael Benitez.

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The China ICC

Real Madrid technically walked away with the trophy at this year's International Champions Cup 2015 Australia, but there was a real spreading of the wealth as far as wins and impressive pre-season moments were concerned. Spread across three games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the International Champions Cup Australia played out like a round robin group stage style competition between Real, Manchester City, and AS Roma.

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Things to Prove

All three soccer clubs arrived in Melbourne for the International Champions Cup with a thing or two to prove. For Real Madrid, the International Champions Cup Australia marked an initiation of sorts for new manager Rafael Benitez. The Vikings hadn't played a single match since the end of the 2014 2015 La Liga season

24th July 2015
Last year, Real Madrid's away jersey was one of the most eye-catching uniforms of any football team, a vibrant pink design that stood as a thoroughly unique entry in the club's ever-changing away shirt series. This year, the Vikings have gone a completely different route with the Real Madrid away kit 2015 - 2016, opting for a muted silver-gray design with fluorescent yellow striping. Real Madrid officially launched the new kit in June, and the design is now available for purchase on the Soccer Box website.

Silver Glory

According to Real Madrid's website, the choice to use silver-gray as the color for this year's away shirt was not a random one. Instead, the color of the new jerseys

Real Madrid has been at the center of a lot of press conversation since failing to win the 2014 2015 La Liga title-first with the controversial sacking of manager Carlo Ancelotti, and later with the equally controversial appointment of new coach Rafael Benitez. There were also rumors that Cristiano Ronaldo, unhappy with Benitez as a managerial choice, was considering a transfer to a new club. And now the question of who will be Real Madrid captain is hanging in the air. Luckily for fans in the Real Madrid home jersey 2015 2016, the Ronaldo rumors are dying down, following a press interview where Cristiano himself refuted the claims and claimed to be "very happy at the best club in the world."

Still, the period