Forlan on playing well: “In order to play well you must work on your speed and power, and in order to do that you need to be toned from the best training. A good abdomen is the basis of all good movement, as it’s essential to sprint, move your waist and pick yourself up from the ground”

Forlan on his abs: “I confess that my genetics are important, honestly more than any workout secret, and with very little work you can see them”.

So in order to get as good as Forlan, you need to get abs. And in order to get those abs, you need to either a) work your ass off at the gym or, b) be Diego Forlan and not do have to do jack shit. Once you do either, you’ll score 35 yard screamers in no time.

Maybe a “for the ladies” disclaimer would have been appropriate, but screw it:

I’m not an albiceleste but it’s an absolute joy to watch football this pretty.

This is completely off topic from anything Atlético (or is it?) and I wouldn’t do this unless I knew that I’d get some good tips from you guys. I’ll be heading to NYC at the end of the month for a few days. Unfortunately, I don’t know crap about the city.

In those few days, I don’t know what I’ll be doing aside from the usual tourist attractions and a few restaurants. As some of you are from the NY area, please pound me with tips on what to do and where to visit. Yes, I said pound. Anything from the Statue of Liberty to that cool little cafe down the street, let me know. I know city life so no tips on looking like a tourist, please. I’ll be staying at some hotel in Manhattan and I plan on using public transit to travel (obviously). Yes, it’s four days and not much can be done, but that’s why I ask you guys so I can squeeze as much into my agenda!

And I love restaurants. Recommend some. Also, it’s going to be international break so I can’t catch any Atlético matches at Nevada Smiths. Shame. I’ve always wanted to.

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I’ll make this post up with some Diego Forlan comedy:

You thought that he just started to miss easy shots just now? Check this miss out from his Manchester United days:

And he can’t seem to put on his shirt.

“Nunca Tendré” by Coti.

If you haven’t seen it already, here’s a recent Nike commercial featuring our beloved Kun, with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola also making an appearance.

No, this is not a sign that Agüero is going to Barca. Sorry.

Kun Agüero chose his team, surprisingly leaving Messi out of it when Messi put Kun in his. Nothing that can’t be settled with an old fashioned text message war. Way too much Man United on the list as well.

So here it is, Sergio Agüero’s team of 2008:

Goalkeeper: Petr Čech (Chelsea FC)
He has all the qualities that a good goalkeeper should have: the physique, reflexes, confidence and personality.

Right-back: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal FC)
He has everything you need to be a Premier League right-back; he is steady in defence, especially man-on-man, and makes no mistakes in attack.

Central defender: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United FC)
He is the rock in Manchester United’s defence. He’s great in the air and his personality is strong too.

Central defender: Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC)
The Portugal defender has a great presence and he covers his team-mates’ backs well.

Left-back: Patrice Evra (Manchester United FC)
I like the attacking side of his game. He is good in the air and has lots of power. He gives my team security.

Right midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC)
Considered by many to be the best player in the world, it is a pleasure to watch him play. Anyone who pays to go and watch him will be rewarded by his dazzling skills. He’s an exceptional player.

Central midfield: Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona)
He is the best central midfielder I have seen in recent years. Barcelona’s most colourful play starts at his feet. He always has excellent positioning.

Attacking midfield: Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal FC)
He is of the same school of thought as Xavi and is the key man for Arsenal and it’s the same for Spain. He always leads the team forward.

Left midfield: Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München)
He is Bayern’s biggest threat and was voted best player in the Bundesliga in 2007/08. His style of play reminds me a lot of Carlos Tévez.

Forward: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
Inexhaustible, he never gets tired of scoring. His quality is evergreen. It is his strength that has allowed Juventus to take big steps in the UEFA Champions League.

Forward: Zlatan Ibrahimović (FC Internazionale Milano)
He has the ability to destabilise opponents. Next to Ronaldo he is the best player in the world at the moment. He is the complete striker.

Coach: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United FC)
I revere Sir Alex. He is a true gentleman at all times. He never loses direction and, according to my team-mates that have played under him, he always has just the right words to order the team when they’re on the pitch.

The bear and the stars is basically taken the Madrid city coat of arms.

The symbol on the top-right shows a bear reaching for a strawberry tree. This symbol dates back to the 13th century, in which there was an abundance of bears and strawberry trees. Alfonso XI even described Madrid as “a good place for pork and bear”.

The seven stars respresent the Ursa Major, with the seven brightest stars forming the Big Dipper. Ursa Major is Latin for “Great Bear” so the bear reference is still there. The points on each star represent the five neighboring provinces to Madrid: Segovia, Ávila, Guadalajara, Cuenca and Toledo.

This is the coat of arms:

The red and white stripes were put onto the logo because of the color of the team’s jerseys. The original color of the Atletico Madrid jerseys was half-and-half between blue and white, ala Blackburn Rovers. This was also the color that Athletic Bilbao used on their jerseys, as Athletic Bilbao and Athletic de Madrid (Atlético’s original name) were technically the same club but separated into different branches.

According to legend, a member of Bilbao went to England to purchase Blackburn Rovers jerseys but could only find Southampton FC jerseys and purchased those instead. Athletic Bilbao have used these colors ever since, the red/white jerseys and black shorts. An Athletic de Madrid director traveled from Bilbao with extra jerseys and used the same red/white jerseys but used the Blackburn blue shorts instead. And voila, the Atleti jerseys were formed.

The red and white is also said to have been the colors of the string used in mattresses, with the material being used to make more jerseys. The color of the jerseys were compared to those of mattresses, giving Atlético the nickname los colchoneros, the mattress makers.

Smoosh them into a crest, and you get this:

And here are the other past Atlético crests:

First:

Second:

As you can see, the wings and the crown were taken off the second crest and the logo has been the same ever since.

See, history doesn’t always suck!