Athletic Bilbao's resounding victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday sent shockwaves of fear reverberating around the Primera Division. In a repeat of the 2012 Europa League final, Bilbao gave Atletico a real lesson and a slice of revenge for the humiliation in Bucharest last season, winning 3-0. We saw shades of Bilbao returning to the force they once were and the team we'd yearned to see for so long, but can the team achieve moderate success in light of their outstanding season in 2011/12? … [Read more...]
5 La Liga stars who could be on the move this January
Having arrived on British shores unknown in the summer, Swansea striker Michu has exploded onto the scene, briefly topping the Premier League scoring charts with 13 goals to his name. Priced at roughly £2m, he is proving to be the bargain of the season and other clubs have begun to focus on what gems could be unearthed beneath the Barca-Real dominance. We detail 5 potential exports who could make a similar impact in foreign leagues from some of the unheralded La Liga teams. … [Read more...]
What has happened to Athletic Bilbao?
Since losing in two major cup finals last season, Athletic Bilbao have disappeared from the the footballing radar of late. The Basque side are well off of the pace in Spanish La Liga and tumbled out of the Europa League on Thursday despite not travelling to a war troubled Israel for their game. This is the exact team who humbled Manchester United in the competition last season, so why have the club faltered so much lately? Bilbao suffered defeat in both the Europa League and Copa del Rey finals and a summer exodus of their impeccably talented roster … [Read more...]
Athletic Bilbao Season Preview
The escapades of last season surely ranks as one of the greatest years in Bilbao's recent history as they watched their prodigious squad reach two major finals (Europa League & Copa del Rey) as well as challenge briefly for Champions League qualification. Alas however Los Leones failed in all three pursuits, having the carpet pulled from underneath just as glory beckoned. Pride remains the predominant keyword associated with Bilbao despite the agonising lengths the club went to in their unsuccessful efforts for victory. Born and bred Basque blooded battlers both on and off … [Read more...]
Three Spanish bets you should consider for this year’s European Championships
With the titans of Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid now left with nothing to play for this season following their dramatic Champions League exits and Madrid's La Liga title clincher last night, the attentions of Spain will now turn to their national team, in their bid to win back to back European Championships in Poland and Ukraine next month. España of course go into this competition as favourites with a price of 5/2 with Bet 365 to win the tournament outright but we've highlighted three other bets you might be tempted to place during Spain's defence of their European title. … [Read more...]
Euro 2012: Time for Spain’s unknown quantities to make a name for themselves
Fernando Llorente, Iker Muniain and Roberto Soldado have only 24 international caps between them, yet with David Villa on the treatment table and Fernando Torres and Pedro enduring torrid seasons, these three must be ready to be called upon to join David Silva and Juan Mata in Spain’s Euro 2012 front line. Probably not exactly household names for most, they soon will be if they shine in Poland and Ukraine. Let’s run the rule over the pretenders to La Roja’s attack. … [Read more...]
Athletic Club: A model for all to follow
I must confess, I knew very little about Athletic Bilbao before I witnessed their footballing master class against Manchester United in the Europa League earlier this year. How glad I am that I flicked over to Channel 5 that night to gaze in awe as the Basque side put English football’s finest to the sword. Quite a spectacle it was. … [Read more...]
Torres omitted from Spain squad
Fernando Torres has been left out of Vicente del Bosque's squad for the Venezuela friendly next week due to his woeful form for Chelsea in front of goal this season. The Spanish striker has scored just 4 times in 29 games this season adding to his sole goal at the end of the last campaign, and has failed to find the net in over 5 months. Del Bosque told Spanish media that his performances of late had 'been a bit irregular' and that he would like to reward other strikers who merit a place in the squad more than the man who's goal won the Euro 2008 Final. As a result, Roberto Soldado, Iker … [Read more...]
Calling all budding journalists! Write for La Liga Blog today!
To all those Spanish football enthusiasts out there who have an opinion or two they'd like to share, why not try your hand at writing for La Liga Blog?! If your article's are original and related to either La Liga football or the Spanish national team then we'd like to hear from you! … [Read more...]
La Liga weekend previews and predictions
The La Liga season will finally get under way this weekend after an agreement was reached between the Spanish football league and the players’ union over unpaid wages which saw the original planned start to the La Liga season delayed. With plenty of highly-anticipated matches to get our teeth into including an Andalucian derby between Seville and Malaga, here's our previews and predictions to the weekend's matches. … [Read more...]