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OK the guy is not quite a kid but he seems to have transformed Tottenham from being perennial underachievers to winners once again. In this article, I delve into this pro manager’s past to see where he gets it from.

Like most managers, Ramos used to play for several top sides but his career was cut short by injury.

He coached a number of teams since 1993, the most famous being Betis and Espanyol, however his achievements with Sevilla are what brought him to the attention of the international football scene.

First of all, Ramos took Sevilla to two consecutive UEFA cup wins and a third place in La Liga, the Spanish domestic league. This propelled him to the top of the second tier of world club managers today.

Despite Sevilla playing in the Champions League in this current season, Ramos was flattered by an incredible 6 million Euros per year offer from Tottenham that he simply could not refuse.

Incredibly, Ramos has transformed a team that have always had talent but underachieved into successful winners as seen by their recent Carling Cup win. Along the way he has claimed scalps such as a 5-1 thumping of their greatest North London rivals, Arsenal.

It seems that Ramos is a great manager and able to extract the best from his players. Just look at this quote from an interview during his time as Sevilla manager: «Sevilla don’t have any stars but we win the games on the basis of humility and a level of physical exertion that is very, very high.»

This typifies Ramos’s style and it is said that his approach to fitness and diet since joining Tottenham have played a very large part in their recent turn of form.

Last Sunday Real Madrid got back their advantage of seven points as well as the leadership of the Spanish Liga rankings, but the team struggled during great part of the game against Real Zaragoza before winning 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Real Madrid’s accurate effectiveness gave the team the advantage at the 65th minute thanks to the Dutch Ruud van Nistelrooy; practically the first clear attack in all the game; followed by a goal from the Brazilian Robinho assuring the locals triumph.

The game’s top player was with no doubt Real Madrid’ goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The visiting team dominated the game for more than one hour, but without any effectiveness due to Casillas’ outstanding performance.

Madrid extended their perfect record playing at home and keep heading the championship with 44 points, seven points above FC Barcelona; team that won last Sunday’s game as well against the Real Mallorca. In third position is the Espanyol after their victory on Saturday against the Villarreal as locals, and in fourth place the Atlético de Madrid.

The Catalonian team is just one point behind Barça; these teams continue the battle closely following the steps of the Real Madrid.

Despite; Real Madrid’s laborious triumph against Zaragoza there was a black spot which concerns the team; the Argentinean defense Gabriel Heinze suffered a thigh tear and will have to remain inactive during at least three weeks.

In other games of the day, Real Valladolid beat 3-0 the Getafe as the visitor, Racing de Santander won 1-0 over Atlético de Bilbao at home and Real Murcia surpassed by 2-0 the Osasuna like locals. In the meantime, Recreativo de Huelva and Almería draw 1-1.

The Atlético celebrated a remarkable defeat 3-0 against the «Depor» as visitors, headed by Diego Forlán and Sergio Aguero. Forlán assured to change the scoreboard at the 6th minute after the break.

On the other hand, the Argentinean Aguero did shine on the field in a display of talent to add a spectacular goal. And only 12 minutes later midfielder Jurado set the final figures after the local defense could not clear a corner shot.

It’s not for nothing that Barcelona is the second most popular weekend getaway in Europe. Whether you want to enjoy the sights of old Gothic or contemporary architecture, chill out at pubs and cafes, enjoy fine dining, or go sightseeing, Barcelona would make sure that you don’t have a dull moment. There are a million exciting ways of spending weekend breaks in Barcelona. Here’s what you can do in Barcelona:

Barcelona Sightseeing

• l La Sagrada Familia – the giant temple by Antonio Gaudi, which has been under construction since 1882 and it won’t be another 50 years maybe before the construction finishes
• l La Pedrera (Casa Mila) – also by Antonio Gaudi, is known for its wavy brick construction and multicolored tiles
• l L’Aquarium de Barcelona located at Port Vell
• l Barcelona FC Museum – the huge football museum is also a tourist attraction
• l The Spanish Village or the Poble Espanyol de Montjuic – the village has houses that look like architecture in different parts of Spain
• l The Barcelona Zoo – apart from animals, has picnic area, shops, and electric cars
• l The Picasso Museum – has the master’s paintings in chronological order from his earliest works till his final ones
• l Miro Museum
• l National Museum of Art of Catalunya
• l The Magic Fountain of Montjuic
• l La Rambla Street

What makes spending a weekend, especially if it’s a long one, in Barcelona more special is its mild weather that lasts through the year. Winters here are also mild and summers are sunny because of the seas.

Barcelona Nightlife

Barcelona is also a perfect place for night crawlers who like to let their hair down at discos. Café de les Delicies, and the silver fish-sculpted Peix on the 43rd floor of Hotel Arts are two hotspots in Barcelona. The city does not sleep and the party goes on till even 6 am! The night clubs are trendy, hip and spectacular. Some other Barcelona Night Clubs are:

Ø Razzmatazz

Ø Moog

Ø Elephant

Ø Piratas

Ø Pacha

Ø Shoko

Barcelona Bike Tours

Barcelona bike tour is also a great way to see the city from a different and fresh perspective. These bike tours are given by guides. They take you through medieval lanes in the Gothic Quarter, the Olympic Village, the modernist edifices by Gaudi, and beaches. You don’t even need to make a reservation with some of the tour providers; you can just get there 10 minutes before the tour begins.

Barcelona hen weekends:

Barcelona is an irresistible land that will lead you straight into temptation especially if you indulge in Barcelona Hen dos. There are innumerable packages where you will be pampered like you cannot imagine. Some of the services provided are:

u Luxurious apartments and hotel accommodation

u Spa

u Sightseeing and bike tours

u Hen meal and cocktails

u Salsa class and entry in the hottest salsa club

u Tapas cuisine

Once you go to Barcelona for a weekend, the longer it is the better and more fun for you!

One of the ironies of Samuel Eto’o playing for FC Barcelona is that he originally joined arch-rivals Real Madrid, who immediately put him out on loan; first to second division CD Leganes; then to first division Espanyol after playing just one league match for Madrid; and finally to Mallorca. He did so well at the latter club that they signed him for a club record and became the highest scorer in the history of the club with a total of 54 goals between 2000 and 2004.

The Cameroon striker signed to FC Barcelona after a series of negotiations between Barcelona, Mallorca and Real Madrid who had retained an option on him. On one hand Madrid didn’t require him in the team as they already had two strikers in the form of Ronaldo and Raul; on the other hand they didn’t want him to play for Barcelona, a club that was looking for a quality striker to cement the attack after they were unable to come to an agreement with midfielder Edgar Davids, who had spent the second half of the 2003-2004 season on loan to the Catalan club.

With Eto’o in place as striker and Ronaldinho as attacking mid-fielder, Samuel Eto’o quickly proved to be good value for money and scored a total of 24 league goals in the 2004-2005 season. Although he helped FC Barcelona to take the league title, he narrowly missed the title of top goal scorer in La Liga.

However, at the celebrations that followed at the Nou Camp he gave speech in which he openly criticised Real Madrid, apparently venting the bitterness he felt for being passed over by the club in favour of being put on loan. He later had to retract his statement and issue an apology.

The following year Samuel Eto’o was able to improve of his league score and with a total of 26 goals he narrowly took the «Pichichi» crown, just one goal ahead of David Villa from Valencia. His strong performance on the pitch saw him also score six Champions League goals, helping to propel Barcelona all the way to the final against Arsenal. He was strongly implicated in the result as first the Arsenal goalkeeper was sent off for a foul against Eto’o in the first 20 minutes; failing to capitalise on the one man advantage, Eto’o equalised in the 76th minute from a pass from Larsson and Belletti scored the winning goal a few minutes after.

On the basis of a strong season Samuel Eto’o was awarded the title of UEFA Champion’s League Best Forward as well as Best African Player for the third year running.