The UEFA Champions League is, without doubt, the most enjoyable and exciting club soccer tournament in the world. Some loyalists and hipsters might claim the Copa America is more entertaining, but nothing can rival the Champions League in terms of the quality of both individual players and the teams that participate in the tournament. Originally known as the European Cup, it was rebranded in 1992. In that time, there have been 13 different winners, with the clubs coming from seven different nations; Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, France, England and Spain. Yes, there are some teams … [Read more...]
What could be the reason behind La Liga viewing figures being down in 2021?
The last 18 months have been tough on us all. The majority of the world has seen people having to spend large portions of time indoors, unable to go outside and spend time with friends or family. It frustrated us all, as getting some fresh air and socialising is a key part of keeping our mental health in check. Instead, our sofas became our new best friends, as with nothing else to do, it forced people to spend more and more time in front of the television. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime saw a huge number of people sign up to their services, to watch shows like Tiger … [Read more...]
Inspirational Iago: Celta Find Form
In the previous years of the Premier League when you thought of Arsenal, many would of joke of the number four conundrum, the fact no matter how well Arsenal performed throughout the season they would always wind up fourth. The same can be said in La Liga in recent years for Celta Vigo and the position of 17th, just one place above the relegation zone narrowly avoiding the drop into the Segunda Liga. The past two seasons the Galician side have found them selves finishing the campaign in 17th place, being involved in a relegation dog fight through out the season. However, the 2017/2108 saw … [Read more...]
Diving Deep into the Mediterranean: UD Ibiza’s Rapid Rise
Ibiza is often described as a millionaire’s playboy paradise, a scenic marvel and a house music pilgrimage, but a footballing haven? Not a chance at all. Although over the past few seasons with some heavy investment, Union Deportivo Ibiza Eivissa are rapidly rising through Spain’s lower divisions. Currently sat top of the table in the Segunda B, Ibiza are in fine form both home and away, only drawing one game and powering on unbeaten. Last season the sky blues made the play-offs, however it was fellow Ibizan islanders Sporting Club Deportivo Pena who would advance, only to lose in the … [Read more...]
Who do you think you are: Real Sociedad?
At the time of writing Real Sociedad sit pretty at the top of La Liga (although Atletico does have two games in hand on them) and riding a crest of a wave that has been a couple of seasons in the making. After spending many seasons threatening the top half then scattering away again, the club from the Basque country is finally finding some consistency and head coach Imanol Alguacil getting the most out of his financially smaller assembled squad than some of his upper La Liga echelons rivals. So, who is this club looking to cause an almighty shock in Spain? And where did they come … [Read more...]
Real favourites for back to back titles
Yes, the season may well have just finished, but the odds are in for next season, and Real Madrid are instilled as the early favourites to make it back to back titles. Perhaps understandably after Los Blancos claimed the crown by a five-point cushion over great rivals Barcelona who could end the season pot-less in what would prove to be a disappointing campaign for the Catalan giants. The early prices have Real at just slightly odds on at 9/10 with Barcelona hot on their heels at evens. As we have come to expect, Atletico are priced as the best of the rest at a rather tempting 10/1 … [Read more...]
The 3 games you cannot afford to miss this weekend
The season is finally drawing to a close and by the time the action gets underway this weekend, most of the sides in La Liga will be onto their final five fixtures of the campaign. As we enter ‘Squeaky bum time’ each game has so much riding on it so what are the key fixtures that could shape the destiny of the 20 sides this weekend? Celta Vigo v Real Betis – Saturday 4th July Perhaps not a standout tie at the start of the season, but close to the end of it, quite another story. Just three points separated Vigo and Betis but more importantly is that the home side 17th in the league and … [Read more...]
What are the First Games Back in La Liga?
On June 11th Spanish topflight football returns to action following the Corona Virus pandemic. The resumption also comes with the announcement that next season will begin on the 12th September subject to the current campaign being able to finish by the 18th/19th July. So, with La Liga action just over a week away, who plays who in the return to action and what is riding on each match? Sevilla v Real Betis High-flying Sevilla host mid-table Real Betis in the first game back on Thursday 11th June. Sitting in third, Sevilla have everything to play for whilst Betis in 12th sit eight … [Read more...]
La Liga winners and losers if the season ends now
We have seen the cancellation of the football season in the Netherlands with the season null and voided and we have seen it in France with the season ended and PSG crowned champions. That means there is a real possibility of La Liga coming to an end sooner rather than later despite the desire by all to get the campaign completed. However, with 27 games completed, if the season were to be declared over and current positions taking as they are, who would be the big winners and who would be the big winners? Who is crowned champion? The table doesn’t lie and as it stands Barcelona with … [Read more...]
What happened to Racing Santander?
Throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, Racing Santander were a regular feature in Spain’s topflight, but since relegation in the summer of 2012, the club based in the Cantabria community has seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. It was a dramatic decline for Racing after a decade uninterrupted in La Liga as 20th place in the topflight in 2011/12 was followed up by a 20th finish the next season in the Segunda Division thus confirming back to back relegations. A familiar tale of economic issues was the main reason for the plight of the club and in January 2014, things reached boiling … [Read more...]