Asier Illarramendi is reportedly a target for Arsenal, but the midfielder may have to wait until the summer to complete a move to the Emirates Stadium. Illarramendi has been linked with a number of clubs after struggling to break into the team this season, with Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Inter Milan leading the chase to sign him. However, Marca has today reported that Arsenal are monitoring the 24-year-old's situation, but won't be signing him until the summer. This is because Arsene Wenger is focussed on bringing in a defender rather than any other player, making steady progress in … [Read more...]
Ronaldo – redefining what it is to be a winger
There is something called the ‘Commentator’s Curse.” This is where a fan or pundit begins talking about how good a player is, and then oddly enough, the player flops at that particular moment. Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this. It’s 2005, Manchester United are playing away from home in blue and red kits. In this case, my brother was going to play the role of the commentator doing the a-fore-mentioned cursing. He began telling to me about a player on United who had a certain spark to his game; he was talking about a certain Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo. At the time though, he was a youngster … [Read more...]
It just gets better for Eibar
A few years ago, barely anyone could even contemplate a La Liga fixture between Espanyol and Eibar. Espanyol have been a team sitting comfortably in the top flight, whilst until recently Eibar, were scrapping around the lower divisions. It has been an incredible journey for the club who play their home games at the 'Iperua' stadium, infront of just over 5000 fans. A team once squashed out of the picture by locals; Bilbao and Real Sociedad, they now sit above their city dwellers in a comfortable eighth position in the league standings. … [Read more...]
The Yellow Submarine is rising again
On 13th May 2012, 88 minutes into the final game of the Primera Liga season Villarreal were holding Atletico Madrid to a goalless draw, a result that would have secured their survival and a 13th consecutive campaign in Spain's top flight. However just as it looked like one of La Liga's most colourful chapters was about to be extended Radamel Falcao leapt to power a header past Diego López and break the hearts of almost everyone inside El Madrigal. The Villarreal fairy tale was over or so it seemed. … [Read more...]
La Liga Writing Competition – win a retro football shirt of your choice!
In conjunction with Campo Retro, La Liga Blog are pleased to announce a free writing competition exclusively for all our readers! The premise is simple. Submit an article for La Liga Blog between now and the competition deadline on Monday 5th January at noon and the writer of the best article will win a personalised, Campo Retro shirt of their choice! … [Read more...]
La Liga team of the week
League leaders Real Madrid were not in Valencia this round due to their Club World Cup engagements (which they unsurprisingly won), therefore it was an opportunity for Atleti and Barcelona to close up the gap at the top. Both teams didn’t disappoint. The league goes on break – albeit a short one – for Christmas and will resume in the first week of January. … [Read more...]
Atletico Madrid v Villarreal – Match Preview
Champions Atletico Madrid host Villarreal at the Estadio Vicente Calderon on Sunday evening as they look to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 7 games. Both sides featured in Europe this week, with Atelti drawing away to Juventus having already qualified for the Champions League knock out stage, whilst Villarreal travelled to Cypriot outfit Apollon Limassol and gained a 2-0 victory which ensured they go through to the last 32 stage of the Europa League. … [Read more...]
Which WAGs Would La Liga Ban?
Following the news that Serbian TV journalist, Katarina Sreckovic, has been banned from Red Star Belgrade's stadium for being too attractive, we thought we'd take a look at some of Barcelona's finest and ask: Which players’ wives would be banned from the Nou Camp? Of course, judging the beauty of anyone is a subjective process, but as a benchmark we thought we'd use Topless Casino as a guide. The new gaming platform appears to employ some of the best looking croupiers in Europe, so we thought that if a WAG is good enough to deal some cards at Topless Casino, then she'd be good enough for a … [Read more...]
Former Man United and Everton Manager set to take charge of Real Sociedad Until 2016.
La Liga club Real Sociedad say they have hired former Manchester United manager David Moyes as their new coach, giving the Scotsman a chance to revive his career after his failed stint at Old Trafford. Sociedad said on their website on Monday night that Moyes signed a deal to coach the club until June 30, 2016, although there were reports that minor contractual details still had to be confirmed. … [Read more...]
La Liga team of the week
igaIt was the round before El Clasico, and the big guns certainly didn’t disappoint. Real Madrid were away in Valencia against Levante and they hit 5 goals past their hapless host. Barcelona meanwhile showed supremacy at the Camp Nou versus newly promoted Eibar. In goal for this week’s team of the round is the man who was between the sticks in unarguably the weekend’s biggest upset. Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Fabricio was in top form in their 3-0 home win at Raizor against high-flying Valencia. The Spanish goalkeeper inspired confidence from behind to ensure The Turks kept a clean sheet … [Read more...]