| Friendly matches | Regional internationals etc. | 21-31 Dec |
| First division | Day 16 | 2/3 Jan |
| Copa del Rey | Fifth round, first leg | 5-7 Jan |
First division match round-up, day 15
One of the most interesting years for some time ended on rather a dull note after Deportivo and Valencia drew 0-0 in the last match before the two week winter break. The Galicians began the day two points behind their rivals, and a win would have taken them above their opponents in to the top four. And they had the better chances in the first half, Adrián bringing a good save out of César and Valerón heading against the bar. David Villa did cause some problems for the local defence, but Valerón and Sergio could have won it for Depor had they been able to find the target when free in front of goal after the restart. (20.12.09)
Breaking news: Almería fire Hugo Sánchez.
Club World Cup Final
Estudiantes de La Plata 1 - Barcelona 2 (after extra time)
Barcelona are the new world champions after beating South American champions Estudiantes on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi! The Catalans had the better of the first half, but Xavi had a clear penalty appeal turned down, and shortly before the break Boselli got between two defenders to head Díaz's cross past Valdés. After that the Argentinians sat back to defend, and although Ibrahimovic, Pedro and Piqué all had chances, things were looking bleak until Pedro looped a header over Albil with only two minutes left on the clock. That took the match in to extra time, and with ten minutes to go Messi flung himself forward to chest a Dani Alves cross past the keeper. Barça had their record sixth title of the year, and the usually cool Guardiola was in a flood of tears as emotions spilled over after the final whistle. (19.12.09)
Europa League day 6
Valencia will join Athletic, Villarreal and Atlético Madrid in tomorrow's draw after a last minute 1-2 win at Genoa. The Spaniards needed at least a point to be sure of going through, and Bruno headed them in to the lead on the stroke of half time. Crespo levelled the scores though soon after the restart, and there were some nervous moments until the fourth minute of injury time when Villa (who had missed an earlier penalty) took advantage of a mistake by Scarpi to score the winner.
Villarreal themselves lost 0-1 to Salzburg later in the evening, an early strike from Svento keeping the Austrians ahead of Valverde's side in their group. (17.12.09)
Athletic Bilbao had to make do with second spot in their group after a 0-3 defeat against Werder Bremen on Wednesday. A young side needed a two goal victory to overtake their German rivals, but headed goals by Pizarro and Naldo in the first twenty minutes put paid to any hope, and Rosenberg wrapped things up with ten minutes of the first half still remaining. (16.12.09)
