Winnipeg Blue Bombers

When the ball is kicked off for this Thursday's game between the nearly perfect Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos, we can say that we're pretty much half-way through the grind of the 2008 CFL season.

And what a season it has been.

The reigning Grey Cup Champion Roughriders have surprised many critics in the CFL world.  Many thought that the breakdown of the Riders offense, with the departure of Kerry Joseph along with other key players in the Riders march to their 2007 Grey Cup victory, would sink the Saskatchewan team to the cellar of the West Division.

So far, the Riders have exceeded expectations far and above anything anyone could have imagined.  With two solid QB's making a difference in Darian Durant and Marcus Crandell, the Riders have marched to a 6-1 record through seven weeks and look to put another in the win column against Danny Maciocia's 4-3 Edmonton Eskimos.

In Eskimo land, the state of head coach Danny Maciocia has been in constant rumour-mill.  Will he stay after this season or will he go?  After a rookie season that earned him a 2005 Grey Cup, Maciocia has failed to even make the playoffs since, including ending the Eskimos 20+ year-long playoff streak.

Can Ricky Ray help out his bench boss?  With a 66.3% completion percentage so far this season for 2389 yards, with 12 TDs and 6 INTs, Ray has been trying to elevate his game to get the Esks back to the post-season and into the CFL limelight once again.

Meanwhile, south of the Oil capital, the Calgary Stampeders are making noise in the West themselves.  QB Henry Burris has been on fire all season long with a 68.5% completion rate so far with 13 TDs and 8 INTs for 2159 yards.  The Stampeders are one of the highest scoring teams in the CFL and are dangerous on every drive.  

The Stamps 4-3 record shows no indication at all about how explosive their offense can be on any given night.  And with a receiving core stabled around seasoned veteran Jermaine Copeland and Kenyon Rambo, the Stamps are a certain threat to go to this year's Grey Cup playoffs.

BC has made some noise in the West too.  Despite losing Dave Dickenson to the Stamps, the Lions have moved on from that era of their franchise and into the Jarious Jackson era of Lions football.  Wally Buono has his Lions clawing their way through the West standings to a respectable 4-3 record log-jammed with both Calgary and Edmonton.

BC's defense seems to be the weakness, with the offense only scoring five more points than their defense is stopping.  If the Lions are to make any noise in the West late into the season, their defense has to stop the ball and force turnovers and interceptions.

East of the packed West Division, the East has never looked so bleak in comparison.   The well-oiled machine known as the Montreal Alouettes has been revived from the ashes and Anthony Calvillo is playing the best football of his life at age 37.

The Als offense is the highest scoring offense with 268 points so far this season.  And their defense isn't too shabby either, allowing only 192 points, the least among East Division teams and third fewest in the CFL.  Calvillo's 20 TDs leads the league and along with his 67.8%, he is in the running for player of the year if he can keep up the magic with receivers such as Ben Cahoon and Kerry Watkins.

In Toronto, a new coach can make all the difference.  Or maybe acquiring last year's player of the year can too.  Both helps and it certainly shows in Toronto.  Despite a 3-5 record, the Argos are second in the East and are looking good.  Kerry Joseph's rise to take over the starting QB position has many questioning whether former starting QB Michael Bishop will end up elsewhere.  But where?  Hamilton?  Winnipeg?

Despite being the new QB in town, Joseph still has to show up and produce as he did last year.  So far, he has only 4 TDs and 6 INTs with a 56.2% completion rate for 1735 yards.  If Joseph can pick up his game, the Argos will be in the running right alongside Calvillo's Alouettes.

In Hamilton, it's the same old story.  Charlie Taaffe's time in Hamilton may be numbered if he can't get the once great TiCats out of the East basement for once.  The TiCats last winning season came in 2004 when they bowed out to Toronto in the East Semis after a 9-8 season.  Since then, the TiCats have won a combined 14 games from 2005 until Week 8 this season.

For Hamilton, it is all about consistency and it just isn't there.  After a huge win over the Argos, the TiCats had a great opportunity to climb higher in the standings when the visited the struggling Winnipeg Blue Bombers, yet lost the game and now are still being chased by the revived Bombers.  Whether it be Casey Printers or Richie Williams at the helm as QB, the TiCats need to start winning and doing it every week.

In Winnipeg, the bye week came on a sweet high note.  With only one win in the first six weeks, the Bombers finally scrapped out a win against the TiCats in Week 7 to go to 2-6 going into the CFL's second half.  After controversy in the QB slot, Kevin Glenn was replaced by Ryan Dinwiddie, only to come back into the starting role and lead the Bombers to their second win.

Yet, in Winnipeg, the Bombers have two reliable QBs going into the second half.  Dinwiddie and Glenn are both capable of playing in the CFL and the Bombers boast one of the most deadly 1-2 QB punches in the league.  With Charlie Roberts revived last week and Milt Stegall returning to form, the Bombers should be fun to watch in the second half.

Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans got exactly what they were looking for Thursday night - a win.

That's all that mattered.  Forget the interceptions or dropped passes - they got a win - a 37-24 triumph over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and for this team, that is huge.

After digging a deep hole in the first half of the season, winning was really the only solution for the Bombers coming into the matchup with Hamilton.  And after six failures to do that in seven games, a win is something that is going to have to become a habit with this team.

There is a tremendous amount of good that can be taken out of this victory for the Bombers.  Aside from the fact that they won, how about Charles "Blink" Roberts?  The Bombers star running back, back with the Bombers, looked like his old self Thursday in accumulating 182 all-purpose yards (145 rushing) and two touchdowns.

How about Joe Lobendahn?  He has stepped in for Barrin Simpson and was a huge force, perhaps turning the game around Thursday with an 84-yard fumble recovery in the second quarter that led to a Roberts touchdown.  In fact, a big kudos goes to the entire Bombers defence, which was stingy as ever in causing two turnovers that both resulted in or led to a touchdown.

The defence helped a struggling offence regain some confidence by giving them a very short field to work with.  And finally how about Kevin Glenn, while he started off shaky throwing an interception that resulted in a Zeke Moreno touchdown he settled down nicely and finished the night 24-37 for 285 yards and a touchdown. 

The two biggest issues in this game were the kicking game and some of the receiving. When you think about it, the 37-24 final was somewhat flattering to the Ti-Cats, as Alexis Serna missed two field goals and Stegall and Armstrong had some key drops, though Armstrong made up for his.

But, in the grand scheme of things, who the hell cares? The way the season has gone so far, I'm sure most fans wouldn't have cared if Serna missed all his field goals; the Bombers won a football game, and that's all the fans, players and coach Doug Berry have wanted. 

The win improves the Bombers to 2-6 in a tie for third in the East. The Bombers now have a much-needed week off before back-to-back games against their prairie rivals, the Riders. 

After yet another disappointing loss last Friday, Coach Doug Berry is making another change at quarterback, naming Kevin Glenn as the starter for Thursday's game against Hamilton.  The decision comes after two very dismal performances by Ryan Dinwiddie in back to back losses which have dropped the Bombers to dead last in the East. 

While Berry felt that Dinwiddie helped give the team a spark, he said he felt like it was time for a change, "When it became evident that it wasn't happening, I just felt it was time to go back to who I believe to be our No. 1 quarterback," Berry told the Winnipeg Sun. "Nobody knocked out the champion."

It is no secret that the Bombers need a win in the worst way and they, will be relying on last year's East division MVP to turn this season around. 

Glenn seemed very positive and optimistic about coming back as the number one, "This is an opportunity to go back and help the team get a win," Glenn told the Sun. "That's the most important thing." 

The Bombers team right now is in complete disarray and hoping Glenn can somehow derail this runaway train that is their season thus far.  A team that was picked by many to return to the Grey cup is quickly becoming the joke of the CFL, and has to come up with something in a hurry.

Glenn will be bolstered by the likely return of Milt Stegall and Terence Edwards at receiver, which should help the cause.  The signing of Jason Armstead should also help an offence and a special team that has been non-existent to this point of the season. 

Let's hope Glenn has learned something on the sidelines the past three weeks and that he plays to his full potential that made him a stand out in the CFL last year.  Glenn will need to spread to ball around and use all the weapons available to him in order to be successful; something Dinwiddie was unable to do the past two weeks. 

The Bombers face a tough test taking on a Ti-cats team very inspired of late and looking to win for the ill Ron Lancaster.

But forget the new additions, forget strategy and technique, only one thing matters right now in Winnipeg, winning.  They can't worry about how well they're offense is doing, or getting Roberts back to form, they just need to win plain and simple.  There is no room for error any more, it's time for this team to just go out there and do it. 

No more excuses, no more thinking about adjustments, just win baby!

The image above shows what seemed to be a frequent event during the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game against the Montreal Alouettes last Friday. It happened approximately three times. Doug Berry is fed up with Alexis Serna missing field goals, and Bomber fans are, too. The only difference is, Berry can do something about it.

And he did.

On Sunday, Kicker/Punter Warren Kean landed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adding onto the Bombers' current kicking saga. Kean has been placed on their practice roster, but if he performs well in practice this week he could be moved up to the starting K/P position for Thursday night's game against the Hamilton Tigercats.

Kean recieved the CIS All-Canadian Award while kicking for Concordia. He was also the second overall draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos in 2007. Kean is primarily a placekicker, but has the ability to punt as well.

It seems this has all come after everyone's frustration with Alexis Serna's poor performance in Friday night's game. Serna was good on only one of his four attempts, missing 49, 40, and 49 yard field goals.

He has missed eight of his last 15 field goals. Although he was good on his first seven field goals in the CFL, he just isn't cutting it for the Bombers.

Serna is last in the league in all kicking stats, including a 31.7-yard net punting average and a 42.5-yard punting average. Serna's current field goal percentage is sitting in the CFL basement at 63.6 percent and this is simply not good enough for the Bombers players, coaches, and fans.

Berry seems to be trying to put some pressure on Serna to perform by bringing in another kicker to challenge his starting position. This Bombers kicking saga has been going on since the preseason, and Berry must be wishing that the horror would end.

"I've just got to keep working and do what I've got to do and just get better every week," Serna said after practice Sunday. "[The last two games, in which he's gone just two for six] is in the past. I'm just trying to get ready for Hamilton this week and trying to get prepared."

It all started when the Blue Bombers released 17-year team veteran Troy Westwood. After signing Duncan O'Mahony the Bombers were forced to sign Serna when O'Mahony broke his toe in his house at night. Since then, Alexis Serna has been the starting K/P for the Bombers.

It seems that may change again if Warren Kean can prove himself in practices this week.

He sat on the sidelines for the past week, watching his team get its first win of the season, then continue on with two straight loses. People have been wondering if last year's Eastern Division MVP had "lost his spark".

After last week's game, it seems maybe not. Kevin Glenn led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offense down the field, 80 yards in seven plays, capping off the drive with a seven-yard TD pass to Derick Armstrong. Glenn scored the only TD pass of the game for the Bombers, and he definitely showed that he wants his starting position back.

And he got it.

However, Glenn seemed to be focused and concentrated on getting the win against the Hamilton Tigercats this Thursday night. When asked about his feelings after being named the team's starting quarterback, Glenn said "Umm...I mean, what can you say? It's an opportunity for you to go back in and ah, you know, help your team get the win. That's the most important thing."

When Glenn was asked if he should perhaps be a vocal leader, he said "I've never thought that words win games, so as far as vocals goes, if that's your nature, then that's what you do. We have to go out, everybody has to go out, and step it up and play as a team, and our actions on the field need to show, and thats what will produce wins, not just talking about it."

Doug Berry has also announced that Glenn will be calling his own plays on Thursday night, but Glenn seems a bit worried about the idea.

"Uh yeah, so, we'll see how that goes. You know, I'm 50-50 on it, sometimes it's at a disadvantage for a quarterback to do that kind of stuff, instead of worrying about the game, you're worried about other things as far as what play to call, and if this is the right play, and am I satisfying everybody getting the ball."

Glenn also seemed to have no hard feeling about being benched for the three games.

"Like I said, you always learn, you know, whether you're on the field or off the field, you always learn, you always can sit back and you can watch the games, and take notes from other guys that are playing...no one wants to sit on the bench, and everyone wants to play, thats why we play this sport, because we're competitors."

Doug Berry was also still pleased with Ryan Dinwiddie's performance, and is happy he has some experience in the backup QB now.

"You know, we played with Ryan Dinwiddie, and we got the spark we were looking for from him. We hoped we would be able to get it for another game, and when it was evident after two more that it just wasn't happening, I just felt like it was time to go back to who I believe to be our number one quarterback, unless he was taken out, and nobody's knocked out the champion."

"He still has tremendous respect from his teammates and the coaches, so, we'll put a little bit more onus on him now that he's back, and I think he's gonna look forward and relish this opportunity."

Bombers fans all over are hoping that Glenn can relish this oppurtunity and get the Bombers their second win against the season against the Hamilton Tigercats this Thursday night.

And some hope from Kevin Glenn, who said himself that the Toronto Argonauts started off the season at 2-7 and were able to make it all the way to the first place spot in the Eastern Division, and lost in the Eastern Final, which was hosted in Toronto.

As the janitors pick up the last few popcorn boxes and hang up the brooms and mops, the parking lot of Canad Inns Stadium empties. Another day in Winnipeg has come to an end.

As we fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers set our alarm clocks for the morning and shut off the lamp on the bedside table, we must go to bed disappointed once again.

This week at Canad Inns Stadium the Bombers had what many would call a “must win game.” However, in their current state, it seems every game is a must win game for the Bombers. And they were up against the Montreal Alouettes, a team looking to fly into first place. No pun intended.

So folks, it was time for another edition of Wendy's Friday Night Football on TSN, and wow, what a start. The first quarter was definitely a sleeper, and I'm sure many fans had to be woken up after the first 15 minutes.

The only scoring was a 33-yard field goal by Montreal Alouettes K Damon Duval on the opening drive of the game. For the remaining 10 minutes and eight seconds, there was no scoring.

So, after everyone was woken up, the second quarter began. The first play was another Damon Duval field goal, this time from 42 yards out, making the score 6-0 for the Montreal Alouettes.

And, to make matters worse, Dinwiddie would go three-and-out on the next drive, and Montreal Alouettes QB Anthony Calvillo would capitalize on the turnover, throwing a 54-yard pass to Kerry Carter. This put the Montreal Alouettes on the one-yard line, and after one incomplete pass, Adrian McPherson ran in the one-yard score, making the score 13-0 for Montreal.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers would get a single point in the half, however, and in a quite comical event that made me laugh, the fans in Canad Inns Stadium sarcastically applauded their single point. Before the half, Damon Duval would connect again, making the score 16-1 for the Als at the half.

Winnipeg would, however, come out strong in the second half, scoring their only field goal of the game thanks to Alexis Serna. In a horrific event, Serna connected on only one of his four attempts on Friday night, missing from the 49, 40, and 49 yard attempts throughout the game.

The Alouettes matched their field goal on the next drive, however, making the score 19-4.

After Winnipeg’s third missed field goal of the night, Anthony Calvillo would move the ball down the field with a combination of running and passing 74 yards before throwing a 29-yard pass to Brian Bratton for the touchdown. The score was 26-4 for the Bombers going into the fourth quarter, and folks, this game was definitely over.

After the kickoff from the Als' touchdown, Ryan Dinwiddie threw an incompletion on first down before throwing an interception on second down. Doug Berry had had enough, and sent Kevin Glenn out on Winnipeg’s next drive. Damon Duval connected on yet another field goal before Kevin Glenn made his way onto the field, however.

Then, Kevin Glenn gave Doug Berry and his offensive staff something to think about. He showed us all that he badly wants his starting job back, as Kevin Glenn moved the ball 73 yards down the field with some help from Charles Roberts before throwing a seven-yard TD pass to Derrick Armstrong.

Damon Duval then connected on his sixth field goal of the game, a career best for him, making the score 36-11 with just over two minutes left in the game. Then, after a third down in completion for Kevin Glenn, the Montreal Alouettes charged up the field for another touchdown. The game ended with a score of 39-11.

So, as the clock struck 0:00, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers went 1-6 and the Montreal Alouettes took the lead in their division thanks to a Toronto loss from the Hamilton Tigercats.

And Winnipeg fans will have more to talk about in the office on Monday, including K Alexis Serna kicking one of his four field goal attempts in, and who they think should start on Aug. 14 against the Hamilton Tigercats.

Player of the Game

My player of the game award for this week goes to Damon Duval. Not only did he have a career-high six field goals in the game, but he also had a career-long 52-yard field goal in the second quarter. Congratulations to Damon Duval on a game to remember.

As we all know, a season of great expectation for the Bombers has so far been disappointing. Many predicted the club to be the East Division Grey Cup finalist, but at the pace the team is at, it looks like the Bombers will be the worst team in the entire league when all is said and done.

With all that said, questions now arise for the Blue Bombers. Will Berry be able to finish the season without being canned? Will a new QB be brought in? Will the Bombers have any, and I mean ANY chance of making the post-season? This article will answer 5 questions about the Blue Bombers that you might be clamouring to know the answer to.

#1: What went wrong?

Answer: No single unit has been solid all season, but perhaps the worst units have been the Rushing Game and the Secondary. But why criticize the secondary, a unit which has had 12 interceptions over 7 games? While the secondary looks decent on paper, it has given up way too many big plays to be effective as a whole. As for the offensive weak link, look no further than Charles Roberts and the rushing game. Roberts sits in 5th place with 324 rushing yards (49 more than Calgary QB Henry Burris), and has gained 4.3 yards per carry, far off his career average of 5.4 yards per carry. Just as important, he has not been effective in getting the ball to the endzone with only 2 TDs in these first 7 games. Although injuries to the O-Line may have hurt the rushing game, if Charlie can't run, it hurts the passing game, and the entire offense can't function well.

#2: Should Winnipeg trade for an experienced QB, such as Michael Bishop?

Answer: Absolutely not. Despite the quarterbacking woes this season, there are too many other gaps needing to be filled on the team for the Bombers to go after a big-name QB right now. The Argonauts would likely demand at least one decent starter in return for Bishop not to mention draft picks/young talent on the bench. It would not be good for the Bombers to sell the farm in return for any marquee player, even a QB.

#3: If another QB isn't being brought in, who should start at QB?

Answer: Kevin Glenn. He was the East Division MVP last year and doesn't deserve to ride the pine the entire season. He will come along eventually as his talent is too good for him to continue to stink up the turf. Dinwiddie is a solid QB, but he has been inconsistent in his 3 starts this season and is better off as a 2nd stringer.....for now. Also, Kevin Glenn has more cohesion with his current receiving corps, especially holdovers from last year such as Milt Stegall.

#4: How long until coach Berry is canned?

Answer: Not until the end of the season. Berry is a valuable talent developer and should not be fired less than a year after a Grey Cup appearance. He has been overall much better than his predecessor, Jim Daley. However, coaching is an unpredictable business and Berry could be canned anytime to give the team a jumpstart, as players will begin to feel a sense of urgency once their coach is fired (the Bombers haven't found their urgency yet, otherwise they would be making the games at least close). If Berry can get the Bombers to .500 or the playoffs before the end of the season, expect him to be kept. If not, expect him to get fired.

#5: Speaking of playoffs, what is the probability of the Bombers making the postseason?

Answer: About 30%. This is partially due to the unpredictability of the Eastern Division, in which a sub-500 team can make the playoffs. However, the Bombers will have to ramp up their game against their divisional rivals, which they have been 0-4 against. As well, the QB situation will have to be settled: the Bombers will NOT make the postseason using a quarterback carousel. And the defense will need to stop giving up 30 points every game. And the O-Line will need to start creating holes for Charles Roberts. And the list goes on and on......

After an impressive 32-28 come from behind win two weeks ago, the Bombers looked to be turning the corner.  The defence looked stronger than ever, and a sputtering offence seemed to be getting their groove back. 

They were amazingly only one game out of first place before last weeks match up with the Argos and full of confidence with they're new spark Ryan Dinwiddie.  After last weeks 19-11 loss to the Argos there is once again doubt that the Bombers are back.

While the defence looked extremely solid only allowing 12 points (the rest coming of a Dorsey kick return).  Clearly whatever confidence the offence got two weeks ago left with the devastating loss at the Rogers Centre.  So now the big question is, "Who is the man?"  As in, "Who is the QB that can lead this team, and get them out of this hole they have dug themselves?"

Can Dinwiddie regain that confidence he had two weeks ago, throwing for 450 yards and a td, or will he be the Diniwiddie we saw last Friday and in last years grey cup, the cocky young QB who looks to one receiver always and makes it too obvious to the defence what he is doing. 

Will Kevin Glenn see the field again?  While he has been shaky this season, he is much more seasoned in the CFL game and has proven he can bounce back.  The one thing every team does not want to have appears to be happening in Winnipeg: controversy. 

It is clearly a tough call for Bomber fans, players, and coach. Berry, who is the guy you believe in at this point in time? One thing is for certain, one of these men has got to step forward and lead this team and accept the challenge cause this Bombers team is too talented to be in the position they are.  With a one and five record and a strong West division, the margin for error is very slim. 

Whoever Doug Berry decides to go with has to be ready to lead by example, and has to get the respect of his entire offence to get the job done.  The defence has clearly done their job the last few weeks, it is up to a struggling offence to give the defence a break and get this team out of the current tailspin they are in. 

This Bombers team needs to rally around whoever is in there and they have to know that they must improve and that at this point in time, losing is not an option.

Only one win.

And now you're playing one of your divisional rivals.

Les Alouettes de Montreal.

Big game.

Biggest game of the year?

So far, yes.

Enough is enough.  The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the potential to be a Grey Cup winning team.  They showed that potential last season, even without Kevin Glenn at the helm for the final Grey Cup game.

This season, however, the team seems like a large, powerful whale that jumped a little too far out of the water and got beached.  A sputtering offense with glimpses of potential combined with some atrocious defense at times, and the Blue Bombers are in the hole.

And they're in the hole with the cellar dwellers from Hamilton—the Tiger-Cats.  You know you're doing badly when you're within the vicinity of that team.

A win please!

Bomber players are pleading with fans to stick with them in this troubling time.  This morning on Winnipeg's CJOB 680 radio station, a very vocal spokesman for the players, Dan Goodspeed, showed his deepest hope that the fans can stick around and support the Bombers so that they can turn things around.

Ryan Dinwiddie is back at the helm and only 1-1 this season.  If he were the starter and those two games were the only two of the season, we'd be in an alright spot.  To take a glimpse at the situation through these glasses makes the Bombers' predicament less desperate and pitiful.

Dinwiddie is the man.  He has shown his potential, now he has to deliver on a weekly basis and become a bona fide CFL quarterback.

And what about Charles Roberts?  Where has he disappeared to?

With apparent injuries to all-star Milt Stegall and Arjei Franklin, Dinwiddie may be looking to Romby Bryant and Derick Armstrong this weekend.

Cross your fingers!  Les Alouettes are coming to town, baby!

Real Madrid have completed the signing of Rafael Van der Vaart from Hamburg. The Spanish giants have been linked with the Dutch star off and on in past months and will be relieved that completing his signature was a lot easier than that of Cristiano Ronaldo, who looks set to stay at Old Trafford for another year.

The deal for Van der Vaart is reported to be around 13 million euros, which is about at least a fifth of the price it would have taken Madrid to sign Ronaldo from Manchester United. That is if they would even accept an offer of any price for their star man.

Madrid’s interest in Ronaldo may diminish, or at least be put on hold after signing Van der Vaart. The 25-year-old will undergo a medical in Spain tomorrow before being unveiled to the media. Ronaldo is prepared to meet with Sir Alex Ferguson in the next couple of days, where he is reportedly planning to announce his wish to join Real Madrid.

Van der Vaart’s move to Madrid will be good news for Manchester United, who are desperate to hang on to Ronaldo. With Madrid not as likely to pursue Ronaldo with the same urgency as they have in the past few months, Sir Alex Ferguson may end up retaining the services of his star man for yet another year.

Roman Caledrom, Madrid’s President, is still anxious to sign Ronaldo but with Madrid already bolstered by the signing of Van der Vaart, it remains to be seen if he will continue in his pursuit of the Portuguese winger.

Caledrom recently said if he failed to land Ronaldo he would not attempt to sign any other players this summer. But after signing Van der Vaart, it will be interesting to see if Caledron makes another bid for Ronaldo.

Van der Vaart’s arrival couldn’t come at a better time after his Dutch compatriot Wesley Sneijder sustained a knee injury in a friendly on Sunday and could be out for as long as six months.

After three years in Germany with HSV, Van der Vaart is delighted to have completed a move to Madrid and has even labeled it as a dream come true.

"Last night everything came together, and I am now moving to Real Madrid," Van der Vaart said on his personal Web site.

"As everybody might know I have always wanted to move to Spain, because I have a strong bond with that country. Now I'm going to play for Real Madrid. It's a dream comes true!”

So as one players dream comes true, another player’s dream may be all but over, at least for the time being.

Ronaldo once claimed it was his dream to play for Real Madrid, but his chances of doing so next season may have taken a big blow.