Spain

- Marquez did not play midweek in the Champions League, but participated 60 minutes against Almeria.

Spain

Rafael Marquez(Barcelona)- Barca destroyed Real Madrid 6-2 in El Classico. On the same day Marquez had a surgery on his meniscus that looks to keep him out for at least 3 months. However, as Barca look to win La Liga, and hopefully advance to the Finals of the Champions League he can be proud to know that he was an important component during the season.

Guillermo Franco(Villarreal)-Franco wasn’t able to overcome an injury and was kept out of the squad for the 2-0 loss against Sevilla. This is Franco’s last season with Villarreal.

Andres Guardado(Deportivo)-Guardado played all 84 mins against Vallalodid as Depor won 1-0. The team sits in 7th place.

Hugo Sanchez(Almeria)-Hugo accomplished what he was hired to do and saved the team from relegation with a 2-0 win over Racing Santander this weekend. Almeria sit in 10th place.

England

Carlos Vela(Arsenal)- Vela played all 90 mins in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Portsmouth this weekend. The Gunners have now cemented their finish in 4th and will look to challenge for third as well as going for a place in the Champions League Final hopefully beating Man U in the semis. After being quarantined early in the week for having visitors from Mexico and the scare of the H1N1 flu, Vela was selected for this weekend’s game. He terrorized the Portsmouth defense with his speed. Vela also scored his first goal with Arsenal in the Premier League.

Giovanni Dos Santos(Ipswich)- Gio played 64 mins in the 2-1 win over Coventry City, scoring the first goal.

Germany

Ricardo Osorio(Stuttgart)- Osorio has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Stuttgart drew 2-2 against Arminia Bielefield.

Netherlands

Carlos Salcido(PSV)- Carlos Salcido played all 90 minutes in the 1-1 against NEC Nijmegen. The team will not be in the Champions League this season.

strong>Maza Rodriguez(PSV)- Maza stayed on the bench during the last game of the season.

Hector Moreno(AZ Alkaamar)- Champions of the Eredivisie. Moreno is still recovering from injury.

Turkey

Antonio De Nigris(Ankaragucu)- De Nigris didn’t play in his team’s 1-0 win.

Ukraine

Nery Castillo(Shakhtar)- Nery didn’t even make the bench in his team’s 1-0 win over Kryvbas Krivyi Rig. Shakhtar will face Dynamo Kiev in the semis of the Uefa Cup this week.

Ricardo Osorio has also undergone knee surgery to correct a knee injury that he’d picked up while on international duty. The Stuttgart player had repeatedly made his way on to the bench, but never went on the field because he wasn’t deemed fully fit. He will miss the rest of the season too.

And some good news. Carlos Vela was placed under quarantine by Arsenal management after receiving visitors from Mexico in the previous week. It was merely a precaution and he was given the all clear to participate in the game against Manchester United in the Champions League.

Rafael Marquez(Barcelona)- Marquez played all 90 mins in the 2-0 win over Recreativo Huelva. Barca holds the top of the table with 6 points ahead of 2nd place. They will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek but Marquez will be out of the 2nd leg quarter final because of YC accumulation.

Guillermo Franco(Villarreal)-Franco played 35 minutes in the Yellow Sub’s 2-0 defeat to Malaga. Villarreal drew 1-1 against Arsenal at the Madrigal and head to the Emirates on Wednesday to see out the Champions League Quarter Finals.

Andres Guardado(Deportivo)-Guardado provided an assist to Deportivo’s lone goal in their 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Hugo Sanchez(Almeria)-Hugo’s Almeria lost 2-0 against Mallorca and remain 4 points above relegation.

England

Carlos Vela(Arsenal)- Vela did not come off the bench in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Wigan. The Gunners have midweek action against Villarreal at home in the Champions League. The Quarter Final draw is currently at 1-1.

Giovanni Dos Santos(Ipswich)- Gio played all 90 mins in Ipswich’s 1-3 defeat to Doncaster Rovers.

Germany

Ricardo Osorio(Stuttgart)- Osorio did not play in Stuttgart’s 1-0 win over Hamburg.

Netherlands

Carlos Salcido(PSV)- Carlos Salcido played all 90 minutes and scored his team’s first goal in the 45th minute during their 2-0 win over Utrecht.

strong>Maza Rodriguez(PSV)- Maza did not play in the game.

Hector Moreno(AZ Alkaamar)- AZ Alkaamar postponed title celebrations, but are the uncrowned champions of the Eredivisie. Moreno is closer to coming back, and may feature on the bench next weekend. He has been playing with the reserves team as he recuperates from injury.

Turkey

Antonio De Nigris(Ankaragucu)- De Nigris did not make the bench in his team’s 2-0 defeat to Bursaspor.

Ukraine

Nery Castillo(Shaktar)- Castillo played 46 minutes in Shaktar’s 3-0 win over Arsenal Kiev.

Rafael Marquez(Barcelona)- Marquez didn’t have a great weekend in Barca’s 1-0 win over Valladolid. Barca will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek.

Guillermo Franco(Villarreal)-Franco played 35 minutes in the Yellow Sub’s 3-0 defeat to Hugol’s Almeria. Villarreal will play Arsenal midweek in the Champions League.

Andres Guardado(Deportivo)- Andres Guardado played all 90 mins against Espanyol, but was unable to do much as he saw his team go down 3-1.

Hugo Sanchez(Almeria)-Hugo is helping Almeria achieve what he was brought in to do; save them from relegation. He managed to get them closer to definite salvation with a 3-0 win over Villarreal.

England

Carlos Vela(Arsenal)- A Vela-less Arsenal won 2-0 over Man City. They face Villarreal in the Champions League quarter finals during the week.

Giovanni Dos Santos(Ipswich)- Gio was unable to shake off an injury that’s been plaguing him and did not play with Ipswich.

Germany

Ricardo Osorio(Stuttgart)- Osorio was not called to play against Bochum because of his long journey back to Germany.

Netherlands

Carlos Salcido(PSV)- Carlos Salcido played 90 mins in PSV’s 2-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam.

strong>Maza Rodriguez(PSV)- Maza did not play in the game.

Hector Moreno(AZ Alkaamar)- AZ Alkaamar won 4-1 against ADO Den Haag to maintain an 11 point lead in the Eredivisie league. Moreno remains out.

Turkey

Antonio De Nigris(Ankaragucu)- De Nigris played 75 minutes in the 4-0 win over Kocaelispor to push their way up the table and stay further away from relegation.

Ukraine

Nery Castillo(Shaktar)- Nery was left off the team sheet because of the long flight home. His team lost 1-0 against Metalurh Zaporizhya.

Spain

Rafael Marquez(Barcelona)- Marquez played all 90 mins as Barca defeated Almeria 2-0 and went 6 points clear of Real Madrid. Barcelona also advanced to the quarter finals of the Champions League.

Guillermo Franco(Villarreal)-Franco entered the game against Atletico Madrid at the 64th minute but his presence wasn’t enough and the game ended in a 2-3 loss. Villarreal advanced in the Champions League.

Andres Guardado(Deportivo)- Andres Guardado returned from injury and was included in the starting XI. He came off in the 55th minute and saw his team lose 2-3 against Real Sporting de Gijon.

Hugo Sanchez(Almeria)-Almeria couldn’t cope with Barcelona at home, and that resulted in a 2-0 loss at home for Sanchez and his team. Almeria are 12th in the La Liga table.

England

Carlos Vela(Arsenal)- Carlos Vela came in against Blackburn Rovers in the 80th minute. With his little time on the field, he still managed to contribute by winning a penalty. Arsenal won 4-0 against Blackburn, and now sit 4th place. Arsenal advanced in the Champions League.

Giovanni Dos Santos(Ipswich)- Giovanni was sent on loan to Ipswich in the English Championship, the tier below the Premier League. With his new team Gio was able to play 19 minutes after coming on in the 71st, as his team defeated Reading 1-0.

Germany

Ricardo Osorio(Stuttgart)- Osorio played all 90 mins but was unable to help much as his team fell 4-0 against Werder Bremen.

Netherlands

Carlos Salcido(PSV)- Carlos Salcido played all 90 mins as his team fell 1-0 against Feyenoord.

strong>Maza Rodriguez(PSV)- Maza did not play in the game.

Hector Moreno(AZ Alkaamar)- AZ Alkaamar set a record as they went 25 games without defeat. Moreno continues to recover, but he seems to be on track for his first Championship in Holland.

Turkey

Antonio De Nigris(Ankaragucu)- De Nigris played all 59 minutes as his team fell 2-0 against Sivasspor.

Ukraine

Nery Castillo(Shaktar)- Castillo remains out injured and is expected to until April.

Rafael Marquez(Barcelona)- Rafa scored the team’s first goal in the 21st min by a header. He came into the area unmarked and pushed it into the left post. Later however he gave away Sporting’s goal as he left his man unmarked. Overall had an ok game in which he scored 1 goal in Barca’s 3-1 win over Sporting.

Carlos Salcido(PSV)- In my opinion looked defensively sound but the team couldn’t cope with Kun Aguero. He played all 90 mins in the 0-3 loss to Atletico.

Francisco “Maza” Rodriguez(PSV)- Made his Champions League debut during the 74th min for Brechet. I didn’t see this part of the game but there are no reports of him seriously impacting the game.

Guillermo Franco(Villareal)- Played against current Champions Manchester United in a 0-0 draw. In the 35th he was given a yellow after a challenge on Evra. He had a very good back heeled shot which came off the inside of the post during the 60th min. In the 77th he came off for Llorente.

Carlos Vela(Arsenal)- The youngest of the Mexicans and his first game as well in the competition. He came in during the 84th min for Van Persie but didn’t have a big impact on the game. Arsenal drew 1-1 with Dynamo Kiev thanks to a 88 min Gallas goal.

Javier Aguirre(Atletico Madrid)- Debuted as a manager in the competition and won big thanks to Kun Aguero. Atletico scored 3 times on PSV on their return to the competition since the 90’s.

Marquez hasn’t played for Barcelona in a while and last night he was called upon to take Puyol’s place(the captain had been out because of suspension). I’ve got to admit that I was a little nervous with Marquez at back because this hasn’t been his best season. Shortly after the start however, my nerves were eased when it was Milito who gave away the penalty that Ronaldo missed and not Marquez. Later, Marquez also took the free kick but shot it low into the wall wasting a good chance for Barcelona to score early on. Marquez was however a thorn in Ronaldo’s side not letting him enjoy much free space and constantly being bugged by him. Marquez did however come close the conceding a penalty as he pushed Ronaldo slightly while heading into the penalty area which resulted in the Portuguese coming down and appealing for the call.
It may have worked on another referee but Massimo Busacca did not give Man U another spot kick. In the 44th min however, Marquez was cautioned for kicking out and taking down Ronaldo and will unfortunately miss the 2nd leg of the semis at Old Trafford.

Overall Marquez did a good job. He went forward a lot and was continually up the field and in close positions of scoring during corners. Marquez also seemed to control Ronaldo’s usual antics and was a good inclusion to the team. It’s a shame that he’s out due to the silly mistake of kicking out at Ronaldo and he’ll now miss the 2nd leg on 4/29/08/. Mark that date so you won’t miss it too.

Giovanni Dos Santos did not play but he was on the bench.