Robinho Voted Player of the Year

The readers of All In White have voted, and their verdict is that Robinho has been this season's most valuable Real Madrid player. The results, based on the total votes collected throughout the season on a month by month basis, show that Robinho received 65 out of a total of 394 votes cast, or about 1 in 6. Despite this, recent reports have linked Robinho with a move to either Chelsea or Manchester United, the latter as a possible player exchange for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The top three Real Madrid players were:

• Robinho - 65 votes
  
• Casillas - 62 votes
  
• Raúl - 53 votes

Robinho was also the only player in the whole squad to receive at least one vote every month between September 2007 and May 2008, showing that he is consistently well regarded by voters, even though his form dipped in the run up to the end of the season. Robinho also won the monthly accolade twice during the season: in November and March. The Player of the Month awards are listed below:

• September 2007 - Sneijder
  
• October 2007 - Raúl
  
• November 2007 - Robinho
  
• December 2007 - Van Nistelrooy
  
• January 2008 - Casillas
  
• February 2008 - Guti
  
• March 2008 - Robinho
  
• April 2008 - Raúl
  
• May 2008 - Higuaín

Of the 25 players in the squad, only three received no votes: Salgado (no surprise there), Codina (who only played one game all season) and Balboa (whose chances were more restricted in the second half of the season, when more votes were cast). The results for the whole squad were:

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Party night

It was more than the kickabout that was feared when the Levante players went on strike earlier in the week, though there was not a great deal of tension on the pitch with nothing competitive to play for from either side. The game was on, the party atmosphere was palpable from before kick-off and continued until the final whistle. Seven goals later, the party itself could start: the lights, the music, the fireworks...

Levante played with more verve and vigour than might be expected of a squad not just worried about where their next paycheque could be coming from; they also did not train all week, as they made it clear they would not be deflected from their intention to refuse to play if no agreement was reached. In fact, the kind of spirit they showed against Real Madrid makes one wonder if their results were more conditioned by their psychological state than by any intrinsic lack of talent compared to the other sides in the Primera División.

On the day however, the difference between first and last was too much for Levante: a brace each from a clinical Van Nistelrooy and an exuberant Sergio Ramos, plus an absolute scorcher of a free kick from Sneijder that was as good as, if not better, than anything David Beckham could have done. Levante's goals were both by Geijo, although it was the provider on both instances, Courtois, who should take most of the credit. This is not to take anything away from the young reserve keeper Jordi Codina, who acquitted himself well and shows that there's plenty of Spanish goalkeeping talent coming up through the ranks.

The next few days and weeks will see the usual media speculation about who's going, who's staying , and who's joining, with a 3-week hiatus in June for Euro 2008. For now, however, it's time to celebrate the first back-to-back titles in 18 years. Coincidentally, Bernd Schuster was a Real Madrid player for those two seasons between 1988 and 1990 and this hat-trick makes him the fifth person to win the title both as player and coach. He joins the illustrious ranks of the legendary Miguel Muñoz, as well as Luis Molowny, Jorge Valdano and Vicente del Bosque.

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