Birmingham boss McLeish proud to beat Benfica for Hleb
Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish admits new signing Alex Hleb has always been a long-term target.
Hleb arrived this week on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
Eck told bcfc.com: "He was always been on our list, because Paul (Montgomery, Blues' chief scout) kept putting him on, but what chance had we got of getting someone like Hleb?
"Hleb was a little bit of a pipedream over the past couple of years, but all of a sudden, in the last three or four days, we were told it was possible and the board made it happen."
Hleb's decision to move to the Midlands came despite interest from Portuguese champions Benfica.
"With the feedback we were getting, he was delighted to come," added McLeish.
"To go back to England, that was his first choice and to pip Benfica to get his services is a bit of coup.
"They are Portuguese champions, in the Champions League; they had a brilliant season last year and are a quality side."
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Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Feb 11th | |||
| Racing Santander | Atlético Madrid | 0 - 0 | 17:00 |
| Osasuna | Barcelona | 3 - 2 | 19:00 |
| Real Betis | Athletic Club | 2 - 1 | 21:00 |
| Villarreal | Granada | - | 23:00 |
| Málaga | Mallorca | - | 23:00 |
| Real Madrid | Levante | - | 23:00 |
| Rayo Vallecano | Getafe | - | 23:00 |
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 23:00 |
| Valencia | Sporting Gijón | - | 23:00 |
| Espanyol | Real Zaragoza | - | 23:00 |
| Sun Feb 12th | |||
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 00:00 |
| Racing Santander | Atlético Madrid | - | 00:00 |
| Osasuna | Barcelona | - | 00:00 |
| Real Betis | Athletic Club | - | 00:00 |
| Espanyol | Real Zaragoza | 0 - 2 | 11:00 |
| Rayo Vallecano | Getafe | 2 - 0 | 15:00 |
| Málaga | Mallorca | 3 - 1 | 15:00 |
| Valencia | Sporting Gijón | 4 - 0 | 17:00 |
| Villarreal | Granada | 3 - 1 | 18:45 |
| Real Madrid | Levante | 4 - 2 | 20:30 |
| Mon Feb 13th | |||
| Real Sociedad | Sevilla | - | 20:00 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 22 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 54 | 58 |
| Barcelona | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 47 | 48 |
| Valencia | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 40 |
| Levante | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 32 |
| Espanyol | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | -1 | 32 |
| Atletico Madrid | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 31 |
| Malaga | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | -4 | 31 |
| Osasuna | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | -9 | 31 |
| Athletic Club | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 30 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | -5 | 28 |
| Getafe | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 27 |
| Sevilla | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | -2 | 26 |
| Real Betis | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | -6 | 26 |
| Villarreal | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | -7 | 26 |
| Mallorca | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | -9 | 25 |
| Granada | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | -14 | 25 |
| Real Sociedad | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 24 |
| Racing Santander | 22 | 4 | 11 | 7 | -8 | 23 |
| Sporting Gijon | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | -23 | 19 |
| Real Zaragoza | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 | -20 | 15 |
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