La Liga news round-up

It almost seems like there's more news in the off-season than during the actual season itself. Maybe it's just everybody going transfer crazy, plus all the sacking and hiring going on. Whatever it is, here's another news round-up, and as usual - no baseless rumours.

Starting at Real Madrid, where despite the lack of an annoucement everyone and their dog knows that Bernard Schuster of Getafe is going to be unveilled as the next coach soon. There's an interesting article from the Times discussing the fate of Capello and other Real coaches in the last 10 years or so. They're certainly not alone in having a rapid turnover of coaching staff - in fact, I'd say that most Spanish clubs have similar tendencies. It's just the fact that they've famously sacked winning coaches twice since the beginning of the new century.

Whether the decision was the right one or not - and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of what I've read from Madridistas sugges they're not that impressed - it's a done deal, and now the priority must be to have Schuster appointed so that they can get started in the transfer market. Robinho, for one, welcomes his new German overlord (sorry). More on him later in my Copa America post.

Not much Barca news today after the initial flurry of transfer activity. Having been designated surplus to requirements, Thiago Motta is eager to get a decent move abroad, and has demanded that Barca let him go on a free transfer. For once, I'm sympathetic to this argument. I think I'd like to get some cash for everybody else (Belletti, Edmilson, Giuly, possibly Gudjohnsen and Ezquerro), but Motta came up through the youth system, so he didn't cost the club a lot of money, and he's lost what seems like the majority of his playing career to injuries. When he's played in the last 2 seasons, his ratio of good games to disastrous ones has been about 50:50. (You may think I'm being harsh, but a look around any Barca fan forum will tell you that I'm being kind compared to some of the vitriol that's directed at him and Oleguer when they have hapless games.) He's not going to get a good deal if we slap a large price tag on him.

Still on the topic of Barca and transfers, I don't usually touch transfer speculation, but this article about how Barca must sign Frank Lampard seems so misguided that I feel the need to respond to it. My personal nightmare scenario for this transfer window is the Deco-Lampard swap. I've already written about why Deco should stay, but I thought the 'why Lampard should not be signed' part was kind of obvious. Apparently not.

This article made me laugh, which is possibly a bit mean spirited, but the comment from an unnamed Barca executive pretty much sums it up:

There is no other option. He has been offered to us, Milan, Inter and Real Madrid. Basically all of the big clubs. But none are interested. We are the same as those clubs are, we're looking for a player who is more creative and has a greater technique than Lampard. So it looks like he will go nowhere.

Don't get me wrong, his statistics speak for themselves, but contrary to what is claimed by the article championing Lampard, Deco, Xavi and Andres Iniesta can and do score goals. Maybe not as many as Lampard, but neither do they take as many potshots that go nowhere instead of passing to someone in a better position. The type of midfielder preferred by Barca is best exemplified by the ones steadily produced by the youth system: the likes of Pep Guardiola, Ivan De La Pena, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Fran Merida and Marc Crosas. People who have a sound mind for tactics, a team mentality and a killer pass off the first or second touch. Not Frank Lampard.

On to Valencia, who've finally off-loaded Tavano, the Italian striker signed by former sporting director Carboni against coach Quique Sanchez Flores' will. His destination is Livorno, having had a season of largely being left on the bench in Spain. Valencia have done some sensible business post-Carboni and moved fast in erasing all signs of his overt influence. I'm impressed.

The big transfer saga of the last few days has been the Torres to Liverpool deal, which at the time of writing is still rumbling on. Atletico have signed Diego Forlan from Villarreal for (allegedly) 21 million euros , which has been seen by many as a sign that Torres is definitely leaving. I'm a bit puzzled by why Forlan left a club who have consistently been playing in European competition in the last few seasons for one which, well, hasn't. It's a good bit of business for Villarreal, who paid only 2 million pounds for him, got quite a lot of goals in return, and now a large profit from his sale. The question for them will be how to replace him. On the Atletico side, they as always seem to have cash to spend, and at least it's being spent on a player who has proven that he can score goals in La Liga.

Staying with Atletico, it appears that while the Torres deal isn't done yet, the semi-attached deal for Luis Garcia to move the other way is. Garcia has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for Atletico again, having had a good spell there on loan from Barcelona before he went to England. I don't know if Liverpool fans are happy about this move, but he's surely repaid his transfer fee with all those goals on important occasions. He'll probably do well for Atletico, actually. They've got themselves a very nice squad on paper for next season, but then I said that at the beginning of this season too, and look how that turned out.

The last two items both involve two very different Argentinean defenders. Real Zaragoza have indicated that Gabriel Milito will definitely be leaving the club, and that Juventus are the only club to have submitted a bid, which they found to be unsatisfactory. They're basically inviting Barca to start a bidding war for his services. I have a feeling that he'd be too expensive for what we're looking for, given the prices we've been quoted as offering for Chivu. We'll see, but my early guess is that he ends up at Juve in the end, given the above and his previous run-in with Real Madrid when he nearly signed for them but for a failed medical that he's disputed ever since.

The second Argentinean defender under discussion is the former West Ham, Deportivo La Coruna and Racing Santander defender/winger Lionel Scaloni, who has been signed by Lazio. Apparently he'll be their first choice full-back. I can imagine the expressions of surprise on the faces of any West Ham faithful who witnessed his performances for them, and it's the same expression I had on my face when I read about this transfer, having seen him play for Argentina and Depor. Easy as it is to make fun, for the few times I saw him play for Racing he actually looked decent as a right winger. Maybe Italy will suit him.

To wrap this up, here are some interesting numbers: how much each club collected out of the marketing pool for this season's Champions League.

(I'll start referring to 07-08 as 'this season' when Primera clubs begin their pre-season.)

La Liga news round-up

The Spanish teams may have been slow starters in the transfer market because the league finished late, but they've sure moved fast since then. It is the policy of this blog to discourage baseless speculation - by which I mean anything that doesn't have quotes from a club official attached to it - so you won't find any of that in my news round-ups. So let's see what's actually been going on in La Liga.

Atletico Madrid have repeated their line that whether Fernando Torres goes or stays is entirely up to him and said that they are preparing themselves for life without him. Towards that end, they confirmed that they have an interest in Villarreal's Diego Forlan, currently suffering with the rest of the Uruguay NT in the Copa America.

The Madrid club's own fans don't seem too pleased at the prospect of selling their club captain, though. Fair enough.

Staying with Atletico, (very) occasional Argentinean international Luciano Galletti has sealed a move to Greek side Olympiakos, pending agreement from his former club Zaragoza. He's not had a good season, having stepped in for Maxi Rodriguez when he sustained his knee injury, but those are some big shoes to fill.

Over in Real Betis, Argentine Hector Cuper has been named their new coach. Cuper has had extensive experience in La Liga before with Real Mallorca and Valencia. Good luck to him, because that's definitely not an easy job.

Speaking of difficult jobs, there's been nothing official yet, so I won't say anything about the Real Madrid Capello-Schuster dilemma and just direct you to the excellent All In White for the latest on who will be coaching Real next season.

Update: annnnnd there's been an official announcement. He's gone, but Getafe have denied reports that Schuster will succeed him. I have to agree with Gonzalo's take on this. I completely understand that Real Madrid, being Real Madrid, have to strive for more than just winning games. Barca are the same way, after all. But having said that, an institution like Real probably shouldn't be seen to be firing coaches who achieve their targets and so lacking in stability (Beckham's 'I would like to thank my 6 coaches...' comes to mind). Although, if the plan was to bring Capello in, have him trim the team down to size, then dump him for a more exciting coach, well, the board were certainly very smart. They've achieved their aim.

From a Chelsea site of all places there's an interesting post discussing the recent study of the levels of fan support for each team in Spain. It makes some really interesting points by comparing the situation in La Liga to the Premiership. The one I find most fascinating and in need of more analysis is the fact that while fan support is far more spread out in the Premiership, the Champions League entrants from Spain are far more variable than the equivalent 4 teams from England.

I only just discovered the excellent Inside Arsenal through the Henry transfer. This post in particular touches on a topic that I feel is unjustly neglected by comparing the youth systems of different leagues. Earlier in the 06-07 season, the debate which was stirred up by Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho's suggestion that youth teams should be allowed to compete in lower leagues was abortive at best, as it was entirely eclipsed by the usual war of words between bigger, richer clubs who are seen as arrogant and smaller clubs who are seen as bitter. I personally feel that youth development is an incredibly important aspect of a club's operation and of the national team's success, so it's good to see intelligent discussion on the topic.

(I've been trying to compile a post about the Barca youth system for ages, but finding information in English is a struggle. Expect to see that post eventually, though.)

Lastly, I've been looking forward to these. Here's Sid Lowe's always entertaining awards of the Liga season, and as usual I broadly agree with his choices (having made quite a few similar ones in my own season review). While we're on the subject, here's ESPN Soccernet's Phil Ball's team of the season, and La Liga Loca's.

Barca news

Barcelona have been authorized by Roma to speak with Christian Chivu and his agent about personal terms, indicating that the two clubs have come close to an agreement regarding the player, where there was a reported difference in the two sides' valuations.

While we're on the subject of Barca, AC Milan seem to have finally gotten the message that neither Ronaldinho nor Eto'o are up for sale after months of our club officials hitting them repeatedly with the clue bat. Good for them.

Less satisfying to hear is Ludovic Giuly's agent 'slamming' Barca for slapping a 5 million euro price tag on his client's head. (Not literally, because then I'd understand his outrage.) It is his opinion that Giuly should be allowed to leave on a free transfer. I really like Giuly, and if he has to leave, I would want the parting to be an amiable one, so this is a real shame. It is understandable that the club would want a few million euros for him, though. Surely he's worth that much? Far lesser players are going for outrageous prices left and right, after all.

On a slightly different note, while the majority of footballers would probably rather be lying on a sunswept beach, the great Lilian Thuram spends his holidays giving talks on violence while touring West Africa as an United Nations goodwill ambassador. This is why he is one of the most awesome people ever.

Lastly, this post echoes my own fears regarding the Thierry Henry transfer perfectly. I would say that it probably isn't necessary to deploy Henry on the wing to accommodate all four players (you could have Henry partnering Eto'o, with Ronaldinho on one wing and Messi on another, for example), but I'm really not sure how Rijkaard is planning to play this, so we'll just have to hope that our worst fears don't come to pass.

Who wants a decent striker?

It seems like a lot of Europe's big names do this season. Some of them have already done their business: Barca with Henry, Inter with Suazo (if that deal sticks), Bayern with Toni, Chelsea with Pizarro, Juventus with Iaquinta. Then there are the big clubs still looking for someone to lead their frontline.

AC Milan

Yeah, they've got a player who used to be the world's greatest striker in Ronaldo, but Inzaghi isn't getting any younger, Gilardino isn't a sure thing, especially in the Champions League and Oliveira's just been useless since his move from Spain. Hence their stalkerish pursuit of Samuel Eto'o, despite the player repeatedly rebuffing their advances. Might I note once again that this behaviour is still on-going from Milan, despite repeated statements from both the club and the player that he is not for sale.

Update: those pesky Milan suits never give up, do they? Here's an article quoting vice president Galliani, who restates his interest despite Barca and Eto'o's frequent 'back off' signals. Geez, they're really like a persistent suitor who can't take no for an answer. Worth reading for the hilarious quote from Laporta about the possible personal consequences for him if he sells Ronaldinho.

Fortunately, coach Ancelotti is more realistic and further contends that they'll be fine even if they don't sign anyone.

Those Sheva rumours never go away, but since Chelsea are apparently suing people for saying that he's going to go back to Milan now, I'm guessing that's not likely to happen. The latest seems to be a rumoured bid for David Villa, which is highly unlikely to come off given who they're dealing with. Valencia are a big club, and for the most part they are not a selling club. Especially not their best player.

Arsenal

Having lost Henry, the search for a striker would seem to be a priority for Arsenal. The most persistant rumours involve Nicolas Anelka, now of Bolton. Given his past history with Arsenal, opinion seems to be divided on the appropriateness of his return. He's certainly a talented player, but I don't know what Bolton think of selling and therefore won't comment on the likeliness of this transfer. (Tabloids of England, Spain, and Italy need to 1) learn to fact check, and 2) learn to say 'we don't know'.)

While we're on the subject of Arsenal, there's a lot of debate about the club's future going on right now. I wouldn't presume to comment, but I did like this Guardian piece about Cesc Fabregas and his potential leadership role within the team. Fabregas is probably the former Barca youth player I would most like to come back and play for us again someday, but I wish him a long and successful spell at Arsenal before that.

Update: here's another Guardian piece, this time on the possible replacements for Henry.

By the way, AS (otherwise known as Real Madrid's mouthpiece in the same way that Sport is Barca's) is apparently perpetuating the ridiculous rumour that Arsenal were offered Eto'o in a swap deal with Henry and refused in favour of getting the cash. Really? 1) Barca are not keen to offload Eto'o since he's the president's pal, and 2) you're telling me Arsenal wouldn't like getting a younger, and also a proven big name striker if they had to lose Henry? 3) There's no way anybody would be prying Eto'o off Barca's hands with just the 17 million pounds we eventually paid for Henry.

Lastly, here's Henry's last interview given to Arsenal's official website. It's clear he's trying to make the farewell as amiable as possible, and who can blame him for that given his many years of glory at the club? He's probably given his best years to Arsenal, after all.

Liverpool

It has been said many, many times by various commentators, but Liverpool really need a top-class striker. They've got a great, world-class midfield, a solid defence that I envy, but watching the Champions League final their lack of a lethal finisher was painfully apparent. And no, much as I like Peter Crouch, he is not that man. Same applies to the hard-working Dirk Kuyt.

Given Rafa Benitez's Spanish connections, everyone assumes he's going to sign Fernando Torres of Atletico Madrid or David Villa. I already covered the unlikely nature of the Villa deal above.

Like the other clubs covered here, Liverpool has its own draws because of the nature of the club as an institution of European football. They're also apparently very popular in Spain, so that's convenient if you're trying to sign Spanish players. I bring this up because I've see the photo in which Fernando Torres' captain's armband slips and the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone' are revealed to be printed on the reverse side. The Torres to England rumours do seem to run every summer, but this time I think it might be for real. His buy-out clause is not prohibitive and though he loves the club, their failure to clinch an UEFA Cup spot this season has got to be galling. If he wants to go, the club have said they will not stop him. He's not had a great season, though. Maybe Benitez would bring the best out of him.

Update: Atletico claim that they've received no bids for Torres so far.

Liverpool have also been linked to Diego Forlan of Villarreal. The thing about Forlan is that his club have a very clear transfer policy regarding him: meet his buy-out clause. Luckily for any would-be suitors, it's not prohibitive. I'm just not sure Liverpool are actually interested.

Manchester United

They've already done several pieces of big, flashy business in this transfer window, but apparently they're not quite done. Given the injury-prone nature of Louis Saha, the effects of cruel age on Ole Gunnar Solskjær and the possibility of Alan Smith leaving the club, United could do with someone to lead the line.

There have been tons of rumours linking them with many different strikers, but as none of them seem substantial so far I won't mention any. One note on the Fabio Quagliarella saga - Udinese don't seem very keen to sell now that they own the player entirely, so that would seem to be that.

Real Madrid

I thought Real would have been set next season, at least striker-wise, but apparently Ruud van Nistelrooy's injury sustained on the last day of the season has got those in charge of the Bernabeu thinking otherwise. Actually, we're not sure who is going to be managing Real next season just yet, so that could be a barrier towards any significant moves until the Capello-Schuster mess is sorted out. Then again, transfer policy at Real - as it is at other Spanish clubs - isn't entirely dictated by the coach.

Van Nistelrooy's injury isn't very serious, but it is the type of muscle problem which is prone to recur, and while he's still a fine player he isn't getting any younger. The same could be said for Raul, although his value is of course greater than his tangible contributions on the pitch. Higuain and Robinho are talents rather than established names, and Cassano has just fallen apart completely. They won the title with this group, so they may not necessarily need anyone new, but they've got to be planning for possible injury problems next season.

They've been persistently linked to Barca's departing striker Javier Saviola in the Madrid press. If those reports are true I would personally be very unhappy, but then Barca did make the decision to let him go. Where he goes now is his own business.

By the way, I was quite impressed with this Capello interview. Ignore all that talk about Kaka, since everyone knows that already. The way he spoke about why people might not have warmed to his style (which says to me that he 'gets' Spanish football) and his pride in Real's title triumph and the fans' reactions was quite refreshing. You might not agree with him, but at least he says what he thinks and doesn't whine a lot about refereeing.

A early look at the title races and relegation battles: Spain

Over in La Liga, it's still very tight at the top of the table, but a gap is starting to open up between the first 3 teams and the rest of the top 10, who are very closely packed together. I think the battle for a European place will be just as fierce as the title race this time around.

While Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Madrid try to keep pace with each other at the top, Real Zaragoza, Celta Vigo, Atletico Madrid, Getafe, Valencia, Villarreal, Deportivo La Coruna and even newly promoted Recreativo de Huelva all have a good shot at the European places if they don't screw themselves over. Down in the relegation zone, things are already looking bleak for several 'contenders'.

the title contenders

Even with an injury crisis up front, Barcelona aren't going to give anything away. My primary worry is that the team will run out of steam as the season goes on, due to FIFA's insistence on making the Champions League winners play a whole lot more games than everyone else, thus stunting their actual chances (no wonder no defending champions have won again after the Champions League was re-organised). Everybody else will have a Christmas break while Barca has to go off to Japan to play the World Club Championship.

Personally I want Rijkaard to field non-starters only, unless we reach the final. Nice as it would be to win the only international title Barca don't have yet, it's not worth risking other, bigger, titles for. On the other hand at least Eto'o, Messi and hopefully Saviola will be fresh for the last few months of the season.

Sevilla's title challenge seems to be real, as they're only 1 point off the top after 12 games and have dealt well with the loss of Jesus Navas. They have the best home record of any team in the league and some great results away as well. With Barcelona struggling to stay in the Champions League and the squad thinned up front through injury, this could well be Sevilla's year.

On the other hand, Real Madrid are well and truly back - if not to playing good football, which they are some distance short of achieving, but to getting vital results week in, week out. The next few matches are important to them given that their only playmaker Guti is suspended and injured. It will be interesting to see how Capello copes - I suspect he knows that the approach he took at Valencia isn't the actual solution.

european candidates

Zaragoza have some wonderful players, and enough overall quality to take them into the Champions League. Their problem is the leaky defence, not to mention a poor disciplinary record. They also need to work on consistency, which I suspect is as much a mental problem as anything else. Hopefully they won't crash and burn like last season and will make a European competition, be it the UEFA Cup or the Champions League.

I'm not sure what's going on with Celta. They have great away results due to their slick counter-attacking system, but home form has been rather more wobbly. There's a lot of quality in the squad, and the team itself is well organised. Their coach is a smart guy. Probably not quite good enough for a Champions League place, but they certainly have enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup yet again.

Atletico Madrid had a great squad at the beginning of the season, and played very well indeed. They looked good for Champions League place. But as we all know, they're the 'cursed' team of La Liga. Something always happens. They now have a rash of injury problems, Fernando Torres has been a little hit-and-miss, and you can't blame an inability to put the ball in the back of the net on the referee. (Seriously, Atletico supporters seem to insist on a referee conspiracy against them more than any other club's supporters, almost as much as Barca fans did during the bad old barren years. I'd say the problem is deeper than that.)

Getafe are an odd team, in a lot of ways. Their manager Schuster loves running his mouth off, but the former Barca and Real Madrid player also seems to have acquired a knack for turning unknown players from the bench of a small club or one in the second division into gems. That's the key to Getafe's incredible success given their modest means. They're well-organised, defend very well and have players who can capitalise on the counter. Having lost many of their best players (most of whom have Schuster to thank for their career) this season, they simply keep grinding out results. Not quite good enough for the Champions League, but the UEFA Cup certainly looks possible.

Valencia are watching their title chances disappear over the horizon right now. At the beginning of the season, they looked like the ones who were going to give Barca and Real a run for their money, alongside Sevilla. Sure, injuries were mounting, but the squad was so big that they were dealing with it fine.

But as the ridiculously long injury list got longer, they began increasingly relying on their two strikers, both of whom had so far avoided the dreaded treatment room, to get them out of jail. The problem with that is once those strikers get injured, then you're really in trouble - and that's what happened against Real Madrid. I know the Real defence isn't that great, but you still have to have an actual striker if you want to score against them.

As the squad is worn down to its bare bones, it's now clear that the club's sporting director and former player Carboni has bought very badly. Not only did he clash repeatedly with coach Flores over who to sign, the players he did sign have not exactly been a success. Morientes has done well, sure, but any idiot knows that El Moro is a great striker going by his record in Spain. England just didn't suit him.

Look at Carboni's other signings. Del Horno hasn't played a single minute, spending all his time in the treatment room and operating table. He's out til January. Tavano wants to go back to Italy because Flores would rather play a winger up front than use an actual forward like him. Joaquin has carried over his poor form from old club Real Betis and is increasingly being squeezed out of the starting eleven. Given how much he cost (almost as much as Samuel Eto'o's transfer to Barca), this is a real disaster for the club.

I really don't know what's going to happen to Valencia. They might rally and get themselves up into the Champions League places again once the injuries blow over, but a valid title challenge looks a little unlikely, given the unstable internal situation within the club.

Villarreal have a host of problems of their own. The team and the fans aren't getting along so well, for one. Forlan was booed for playing like his Manchester United self at the beginning of the season, which Riquelme, amongst others, took offence to. Now Riquelme himself is unhappy with the way the team have been getting booed as a whole.

I think the behaviour of the fans is ridiculous. Villarreal aren't playing all that badly. If they're having trouble, maybe that's because they have their own injury crisis to deal with. The loss of Gonzalo Rodriguez has left a hole in a formerly watertight defence - and replacements Fuentes and, er, Pascal Cygan haven't really been impressive. Up front Robert Pires, who was supposed to replace Sorin, is out with a long-term injury. Other new signings Cani and Nihat have only impressed in flashes, and now the latter is injured too.

Most importantly, Riquelme is going through a bad patch, and Riquelme's mood affects the whole team. They're not in a good place mentally right now. Without Roman, they let their heads drop far too quickly against Barca - which you're not supposed to do at the Camp Nou, because then the hosts will hammer you. At times like these they really need the support of their home fans to get their heads right again. A couple of victories should set them on their way, and they might very well snatch a European place, but that all depends on the form of one man. Let's hope Roman is up to it.

Depor are yet another oddity. They have great form at home and were well on course to a European spot until they seemed to hit a stumbling block a few weeks ago. The recent defeat inflicted on them by the previously dire Osasuna was an alarming sign of decline. Even away, 4-1 should not have been the scoreline if Depor had played anywhere near their normal standards.

I really don't know what's going to happen there - they have so many new players and such a young squad that it's hard to tell if they're going to be able to find some consistent form and keep it through the season. Maybe a UEFA Cup spot is possible, but anything higher looks unlikely - perhaps next season, after the young squad has had more time to grow together?

This season's surprise fresh-promotee success Recreativo may also have a shot at Europe, but it remains to be seen how ambitious they are, and if the squad is big enough to go further than just avoid dropping down, which looks like a easy task for them at this point.

relegation bait

Poor Real Sociedad have been rooted to the bottom of the table for quite an impressive length of time. They still haven't won a game and only have 5 points, but seem to be improving under new coach Lotina. Against Atletico they produced a solid defensive performance which saw them finally move off the bottom of the table, albeit only on goal difference. I think their season may very well pick up from here. They'll be in danger all through it because of their exceptionally poor start, but things are getting better. Sociedad only have to look at the way Mallorca play - grinding out results by playing as many men behind the ball as possible - and how well that has served the island club to see how their present system might produce similar results. It won't be pretty, but I have a feeling that barring an implosion, they will manage it.

New promotees Gimnastic have not found life in the top flight pleasant at all. The third Catalan team in the first division has struggled to adapt and now lie bottom of the table with a goal difference of -15. Pretty appalling, but then they have played a lot of top sides and were unlucky to lose out a few times. Given that they've just fired their manager (impressive trigger-happy tendencies from La Liga boards, as usual), I don't foresee a real upturn in their fortunes. Definite relegation candidates at this point.

Athletic Bilbao rounds off the bottom 3. Now, personally, I would hate for Athletic to be relegated. They have maintained the proud record of having never been relegated while sticking to their unique Basque-only selection policy, which hasn't been easy in the last couple of seasons. Losing key players such as Ezquerro and Del Horno has not helped, as recruitment is a lot more difficult for them than for your average club. The last time I saw them play, I thought that they had a few quality players, particularly up front - Llorente is a pretty good youngster, and Yeste can be brilliant sometimes.

Perhaps they lack a bit of quality at the back, but that's certainly not what their coach was saying - about 24 hours before he got the sack. I hate the way La Liga treats managers, by the way. I really don't think he deserved to go, as there wasn't much he could really do, at least from where I'm standing. Much as I hate to say it, it looks like Athletic will struggle again this year, even if they do manage to bring in some reinforcements in January. Fingers crossed they won't be going down.

The case of Real Betis is a strange one. They shouldn't be in relegation trouble at all, given the quality of their squad and the displays they can put in. Losing Oliveira was a big blow, but Joaquin hadn't been playing well for ages anyway, so selling him should hardly be the cause of their misery. Reportedly it's the club owner's interference in selection and transfers that has bought all this about, which is predictable enough in a league where semi-crazy dictator-style men with no understanding of football get all the power. City 'rivals' Sevilla's great fortunes must also be getting them down.

I'd be surprised if they were relegated, because of the amount of talent and potential in the team. Betis won the Copa del Rey in 04-05, least we forget, and finished 4th in the league. The season after that they were relegation battlers, but still managed to beat Chelsea in the group stages of the Champions League along the way. It would be a shame if they couldn't arrest their downwards spiral.

the coming winter

The fixtures before Christmas are crucial to the shape of the top of the table. Real Madrid and Sevilla will play each other, while other top clashes include Valencia v Depor, Valencia v Zaragoza, and Celta v Villarreal. It is very important to Barca that they pick up as many points as possible during this period, since it gives them a chance to build up a cushion before the clash with Atletico Madrid, which they will probably lose. The only team to beat Barca at home in all competitions last season comes to the Camp Nou on the 20th of December. Barca must ensure that they can afford to drop a few points by then.


(I'm writing a less in-depth version of this for both Serie A and the Premiership as well.)

previews of the big la liga games this weekend

Atletico Madrid v Sevilla

The big news on Atletico's part is the return of Fernando Torres, which is likely to see Mista dropped to the bench to allow Sergio Aguero to partner Torres in attack. The young Argentine has more than earned a starting place with his virtuso display against Athletic Bilbao and if he continues along the same vein then Sevilla may find their unbeaten run so far threatened.

Sevilla have a couple of injury worries with striking pair Ernesto Chevanton and Luis Fabiano likely to miss out. They still have on-form Frederic Kanoute, though. It's hard to see this team getting beaten with the way they've been playing recently, to be honest, but their backline while solid isn't unbreachable. Should be a cracker of a game, too bad no one will be able to watch it. A high-scoring draw looks likely, if Atletico don't self-destruct.

Villarreal v Real Zaragoza

The Yellow Submarines have to start winning games sometime around now. Unfortunately, Zaragoza aren't the easiest opposition, but if Villarreal want to return to Europe they're the kind of team the Submarines have to beat. This match can now be called the Battle of Argentina, with both sides likely to field at least 3 Argentine players. Villarreal have significant injury problems with most of their defence out as well as Frenchman Robert Pires. Their problems are compounded by the fact that their match-winners Riquelme and Forlan both seem to have hit a spell of bad form.

Zaragoza on the other hand are a club on the up with the Argentinean axis of Aimar and D'Alessandro driving the attack and Gabriel Milito marshalling the defence. Unfortunately his brother, the excellent striker Diego Milito is out with an injury, but otherwise the club go into this match with a fairly complete squad and high expectations. My heart says a desperately needed win for Villarreal, but my head thinks that Zaragoza will probably edge it.

Barcelona v Valencia

The biggest match of the week sees two potential champions battle it out for the right to retain a 100% record. Valencia have quite a few injury concerns with Marchena, Baraja, del Horno and Tavano all out, although only Baraja out of those would affect the starting line-up. Raul Albiol and David Villa are both doubtful, though Villa looks more likely to start now after earlier signs that he could miss the game, which if true would have certainly made Barca 'keeper Valdes relieved because of his tendency to feed Villa goals under pressure. If Villa is not fit then David Silva will partner Fernando Morientes up front instead, with Navarro replacing Albiol in center defence with Roberto Ayala. Captain Albelda has recovered from his cheekbone injury sustained while on international duty and will start in central midfield, with Vicente and Angulo patrolling the wings.

Barcelona have only one injury worry in the form of Santi Ezquerro, who has been left out of the 18-man squad with Saviola slotting into his place on the bench. Rijkaard will field his strongest team, albeit with one eye on the Champions League game in mid-week by resting players such as Motta, Sylvinho and most significantly Thuram, who will most certainly start the Bremen game. The more defensively sound duo of Zambrotta and Gio will be used at fullback, with Puyol partnering Marquez in central defence and Edmilson in the holding midfield role. The golden midfield combination of Deco and Xavi should start again, although I have a hunch one of them could be replaced by Iniesta at around after the hour mark to rest them. No one knows whether it will be Giuly or Messi starting on the right wing. Giuly seems to be in better form but after Rijkaard's remarks announcing that he will be keeping faith with Messi despite his quiet game against Racing I'm not too sure what's going to happen. Rijkaard may want to start Giuly in the Champions League game instead. If Messi does play it will be his first game against Valencia since the 04-05 season, having missed out both times last year through injury and ineligibility respectively. To round things off Ronaldinho and Eto'o will lead the attack, with Gudjohnsen possibly coming off the bench later on for the latter.

My guess as to the starting eleven (4-3-3): Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Marquez, Gio; Deco, Edmilson, Xavi; Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto’o

I remain somewhat unconvinced by the new and improved Barca backline's ability to hold off the likes of the fabulous David Villa and the formidable Morientes, not to mention Vicente and Angulo who have been in such good form. The addition of Zambrotta should help, as long as the central pair have their usual proficient game. The attacking players will do the rest, although it won't be easy against a very strong Valencia defence marshalled by the excellent Roberto Ayala, who can keep world-class forwards quiet for the whole game through tight marking and aerial dominance. They'll have to do better than they have so far, especially that poor initial display against Racing before they picked it up.

No predictions since this game involves my club, but this is the most nervous I've been about a game since the beginning of the season. Barca have done badly against Valencia in the Camp Nou for the past 3 seasons, and there's no denying the potential of the squad Quique Sanchez Flores has managed to assemble. Both clubs will take the game very, very seriously, which should make for a great contest.

What's wrong with Villarreal?

A break from my series of posts on the future of the Argentinean NT as I ponder the shifting fortunes of my club, Barca, and my second club Villarreal in La Liga, starting with Villarreal's Saturday game.

Villarreal lost 2-0 against Deportivo La Coruna, which means that they have only one point from three games - ironically, from a draw with title contenders Real Madrid - and sit 16th in the league with the rest of the teams yet to play. As a fan on one forum pointed out, the Yellow Submarines have a proud tradition of starting seasons badly, gaining just 2 points from their first 4 games last season.

They've been extremely unlucky with long-term injuries to center-back Gonzalo Rodriguez and midfielder Robert Pires, although I think of the two Gonzalo's injury is the more worrying. The coach has a different perspective though and is busy searching for a Pires replacement in the short window granted by the Spanish FA to sign a replacement.

To me, Gonzalo's injury is the more significant one because he has become a defensive mainstay since arriving from San Lorenzo, playing consistently well. The back-line of Arruabarrena, Quique Alvarez, Pena and Javi Venta hasn't really looked all that convincing this season, in contrast to the side that was known for its defense last season, keeping many clean sheets against the likes of Manchester United, Lille, Benfica and Inter in the Champions League.

The preferred strike pairing up front seems to be Nihat and Forlan, although any and all combinations of those two, Franco and Jose Mari has been tried so far without success. Nihat in particular has played the most without much to show for it so far. The lack of goals from the strike force is the most worrying aspect of Villarreal's start to the season, with the midfield incapable of chipping in with goals to cover the lack as they did last season.

By 'they' I mean Juan Roman Riquelme. 12 goals last season, including long-range stunners, penalties, glorious freekicks and a couple that came straight from corners. 15 in 04-05 (and an incredible number of assists, helping Forlan become top scorer), the best season he has ever had in Spain in which Villarreal finished a miraculous 3rd. Roman's form or lack of is always going to be the subject of intense scrutiny because of the way that Villarreal (and previously Argentina) are built around his play. What is obvious from his disappearing act against Deportivo is that with his mother's illness he has too much on his mind to concentration on the game. Much as I love him, maybe it's time Roman's dropped for Cani for a few games until he gets his head sorted out.

The more defensive midfielders fared well, Senna and Somoza both continuing to put in competent performances. The same cannot be said of the creative side of things, and not all the blame can be laid on Riquelme. With the injury to Pires the club's decision to let Sorin go to Hamburg for considerably less than what I consider his true worth looks increasingly suspect. Playing on the left side of midfield he could have lent some much needed pace and creativity to the team, not to mention how well he works with Riquelme both in open play and with deadball situations.