Bale to miss Copa del Rey clash due to injury

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Gareth Bale will miss Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash with Olimpic de Xativa due to injury.

The Santiago Bernabeu side were held to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the round of 32 tie and they will be without the Wales international when they attempt to book their ticket for the final 16 later this week.

Bale picked up a minor knock in Tuesday's training session and will be replaced by Angel Di Maria for the encounter in the capital.

'Gareth has picked up a small injury during training and will not be available for Wednesday's game,' Ancelotti said at a press conference.

'Di Maria will take his place in the starting XI. Angel didn't play well against Osasuna, but he will get another chance on Wednesday.

'We will have to wait and see how Bale's injury develops, but I do not expect any problems for Sunday's game against Valencia.'

Ancelotti then went on to discuss Madrid's title credentials in La Liga and claimed they will have to get close to a record points tally in order to reclaim the title.

'We all know that we will have to get around 100 points in order to win La Liga,' added the Italian.

Madrid currently sit third in the league table with 38 points from 16 games, trailing joint leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid by five points.

This Royal Necklace is Actually from Zara

By: Amy Medhat

What do Mary Berry and Kate Middleton have in common? They are both British royalty (of sorts) – Mary Berry being the queen of English bakery and HRH Kate Middleton as the duchess of Cambridge. And they both share an impeccable sense of style.

Earlier this week, Kate stepped out wearing a statement necklace along with a cream Roland Mouret “Lombard” dress at the premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.  Four days later, Mary Berry appeared on the Graham Norton show wearing the same necklace with a black cut out dress.

At first glimpse, you would probably mistake the neckwear for a sequence of exquisite, precious stones. Well, you’ll be surprised to hear that this is a $35.90 necklace from your favorite clothing and accessories retailer Zara. The exquisite part is still right.

By: Amy Medhat

What do Mary Berry and Kate Middleton have in common? They are both British royalty (of sorts) – Mary Berry being the queen of English bakery and HRH Kate Middleton as the duchess of Cambridge. And they both share an impeccable sense of style.

Earlier this week, Kate stepped out wearing a statement necklace along with a cream Roland Mouret “Lombard” dress at the premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.  Four days later, Mary Berry appeared on the Graham Norton show wearing the same necklace with a black cut out dress.

At first glimpse, you would probably mistake the neckwear for a sequence of exquisite, precious stones. Well, you’ll be surprised to hear that this is a $35.90 necklace from your favorite clothing and accessories retailer Zara. The exquisite part is still right.

The necklace is made up of five rows of clear crystal beads. It used to be sold at Zara and retails for just 20 British pounds, or $35.90. The royal piece has sold out online, but you might be lucky enough to find a piece or two still in stores.

This is not new for the 31-year-old fashion icon, who always makes headlines for her available yet fabulous style pieces, like a $42 ASOS dress she wore previously and the $55 TopShop maternity dress she wore while she was pregnant with the young prince George.

Mary is a huge fan of Zara as well. She wore a floral silk bomber Zara jacket on The Great British Bake Off back in 2012. When she was asked about it, she said, “Obviously, I want to look good. You’ll always see me blonde, I’ll tell you that much!” The chic bomber retailed for 20 British pounds, but in a matter of days it was sold out and only found on eBay for more than six times the ticket price.

The necklace is made up of five rows of clear crystal beads. It used to be sold at Zara and retails for just 20 British pounds, or $35.90. The royal piece has sold out online, but you might be lucky enough to find a piece or two still in stores.

This is not new for the 31-year-old fashion icon, who always makes headlines for her available yet fabulous style pieces, like a $42 ASOS dress she wore previously and the $55 TopShop maternity dress she wore while she was pregnant with the young prince George.

Mary is a huge fan of Zara as well. She wore a floral silk bomber Zara jacket on The Great British Bake Off back in 2012. When she was asked about it, she said, “Obviously, I want to look good. You’ll always see me blonde, I’ll tell you that much!” The chic bomber retailed for 20 British pounds, but in a matter of days it was sold out and only found on eBay for more than six times the ticket price.

Choosing the Right Belt for Your Abaya

Women these days are interested in modernizing their abayas, and are looking for different accessories, fabrics, and cuts, to have a stylish and elegant abaya.

When it comes to wearing belts with your abayas, there are some tips and tricks you should know about:

Colors: Metallic, gold, and silver belts look great on black abayas. If your abaya has a colorful design or embroidery, you can also choose the belt color in the same color of the design on your abaya.

Fake Belts: You can add an embroidery, fabric, or design on the waist of your abaya to create the illusion of a belt and smaller waist.

How to wear your belt: If you are skinny and have a slim figure, a belt on your waist will give you a curvy shape. If you have a full figure or if you are heavy around the stomach area, avoid a belt at the waist, instead use a thinner and more flexible belt, or wear your belt a bit lower than your chest and higher than your waist.

There will always be a place for Guardiola at Barcelona – Rosell

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell says he would gladly welcome back Pep Guardiola to the club at any point in the future.

The 42-year-old, now coaching Bayern Munich, spearheaded a highly successful period for the club which saw them win a wave of silverware including three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.

He left the club amid reports of bad blood with Rosell back in 2012 but the Camp Nou chief says there will always be a place in Catalunya waiting for him.

'The doors will be open for him for life,' he is quoted as saying by Marca. '[He was] by far the best coach in the history of the club.'

Despite his admiration for Guardiola, Rosell went on to voice his delight with how Tata Martino has fared since taking over as coach from Tito Vilanova over the summer.

'Tata is a very brave person, with a lot of knowledge of football. He has vindicated out decision to sign him.'

Finally, the 49-year-old backed Lionel Messi to retain the Ballon d'Or ahead of Franck Ribery and Cristiano Ronaldo, despite an injury-hit 2013.

'If people vote for the performances last season, then, no doubt, Messi was the best. He won the last four awards and when you see the same face again and again, people will look for a change.

'It's human. But I believe it should again go to Messi.'

Six Tips To Make Your Workout Fun, Challenging and Effective

By: Shireena Galal

1. Stretch before and after your workout

It is essential to stretch before and after you workout especially if you are a girl, because this helps tone rather than bulk your muscles. Stretching before you start warms up your body and prepares it to endure high-intensity training. It also spares you from the soreness you wake up with the next day.

After you’re done, stretch again to tone and avoid bulking up certain areas. It will also help align your muscles keeping your body lean and flexible and absolutely sore-free!

2. Fluctuate your heart rate

To get the best out of your cardio training, fluctuate your heart rate with interval training, raising your heart rate from high to low, speeding up your metabolism and fat burn.

Basically, it’s more effective to run using interval training (run, walk, run, walk, etc..) than to keep running at a steady speed for 30 minutes.

The best way to keep playing with your heart rate is with music!

3. Amp up your playlist

When you work out, pretend you’re dancing. The music gets faster, so do you. It slows down, so will you! This way your body is focusing on matching the beat, your brain is focused on your favorite song and making sure you are in sync with the music, taking your attention away from how much longer you have or how long you have been doing this. Before you know it, your 40 minutes are over!

4. Lemon-ize your water

Squeezing a lemon in your water does more for you than you think. First of all, it gives your water a refreshing flavor. That’s something you need when you’re drained! It also cleanses and detoxifies your body.

5. Take a group class

If you hit the gym unwillingly and would rather do absolutely anything else in the world than be there, but think to yourself, “at least I’m IN the gym!” Then I would suggest you take a group fitness class! A class where if you’re not at the same energy level as the others, you feel awkward and are forced to put in effort – that is the class for you. I would prepay as well to make sure you go!

6. Change your routine regularly

Coming from the most easily-bored person in the world, changing up my workout, even my gym, helps me start over and get in a new mindset. I change gyms every month. I change workouts from aerobics to running to spinning to yoga to HIIT. Never gets boring that way. I look forward to exploring what else there is to do every month and do it full heartedly. A new environment, a new activity helps you work different muscles and shocks your body, making your work out more effective and challenging!

Djokovic hires Becker as head coach

Novak Djokovic has hired German tennis legend Boris Becker as his head coach ahead of the Australian open in January, the Serbian player announced on his website Wednesday.

'I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with Boris,' Djokovic said.

'He is a true legend, someone who has great tennis knowledge and his experience will help me win new trophies from the grand slams and other tournaments,' the world number two said.

Six-time Grand Slam champion, 46-year old Becker said he was 'proud Novak invited me to become his head coach.'

'I will do my best to help him reach his goals, and I am sure we can achieve great things together,' he said.

Becker will join Djokovic's coaches Marian Vajda, Miljan Amanovic and Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, the website said.

Vajda, who has worked with Djokovic for almost eight years, welcomed Becker into the team, saying it was a 'good solution' to choose the German player.

'I realised that Novak needed a new head coach in order for him to continue improving certain parts of his game,' Vajda said.

Becker will link up with Djokovic and his team for the year's first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 13.

'Boris brings a new and fresh approach, and together with Vajda he will make a winning combination,' 26-year old Djokovic said.

He said his goal for 2014 'is to play my best tennis and to get in shape for the Grand Slams and Masters.'

'These tournaments have the most weight in our sport, and I want to prove my worth at them. The team is now strengthened and we hope for maximum results,' he said.

Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for the third year in a row, but he was defeated in the semi-finals of the French Open by Rafael Nadal and lost in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open to Andy Murray and Nadal.

The Spaniard also took back the world number one spot from the Serb before Djokovic produced a superb finish to the year winning the World Tour Championship in London.

Becker won 64 ATP titles in his career, including six Grand Slam singles titles.

The move to hire a tennis legend like Becker mirrors Murray's successful linkup with Ivan Lendl, which resulted in the Scot winning the 2012 US Open and this year's Wimbledon.

Premier League: Top 10 highest earners

10 Samir Nasri 
The 26-year-old moved to Manchester City from Arsenal for £24million in 2011, as he wanted to compete for trophies after the Gunners had gone several years without winning a piece of silverware. 
Money also probably played a big part in Nasri's to swap north London for Manchester as the Frenchman earns a reported £140,000 at the Citizens. 

9 Steven Gerrard 
Liverpool's captain fantastic is the highest paid footballer at Anfield, earning £30,000 more than Luis Suarez per week. 
England captain Gerrard, 33, is said to be on an incredible £140,000 a week. 

8 David Silva 
The Manchester City playmaker moved to the Premier League from Valencia for a fee believed to be in the region of £24million. 
Silva, who has scored five goals in 13 games for the Citizens this season, earns £160,000 per week. 

7 Mesut Ozil 
Arsenal forked out £42.4million on former Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil and also broke their wage structure. 
Arsene Wenger's side are said to be paying Ozil £160,000 per week. 

6 John Terry 
The Chelsea defender, whose current contract runs out at the end of the season, has been a terrific servant to the west London side. 
Blues skipper John Terry earns a reported £175,000 per week. 

5 Fernando Torres 
The Spaniard has failed to replicate his outstanding goalscoring record at Stamford Bridge - but seems to have grown in confidence under Jose Mourinho. Torres earns £175,000 per week - putting him on a par with John Terry. 


4 Robin van Persie 
The Dutchman was an instant hit at Old Trafford - helping the Red Devils win their 20th domestic league title. Van Persie is said to be on the same weekly wage as fellow Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney - taking home £180,000 per week. 

3 Wayne Rooney 
Rooney earns the same amount of money per week as Robin van Persie - with both players pocketing £180,000 per week. 

2 Yaya Toure 
Former Barcelona midfielder Toure takes home a staggering £180,000 per week. 

1 Eden Hazard 
The Premier League's highest earner is said to be Chelsea's Eden Hazard, who is paid a reported £185,000 per week.