Jose Mourinho is set to bring in his second signing of the transfer window – Real Sociedad's young Frenchman, Antoine Griezmann. Juan Mata will be leaving Stamford Bridge within 48 hours, although it's still not certain to be Manchester United rather than Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho is moving swiftly to secure a replacement. Griezmann has youth on his side. Aged only 22, he has already made over 160 appearances for the San Sebastian club, scoring 42 goals in the process. He can play as a centre forward, although he is more often deployed as a left winger. This has been a breakthrough season … [Read more...]
Mata Move To Manchester May Be Off – Atletico Await
Spanish midfielder Juan Mata's move from Chelsea to Manchester United could be scuppered in the unlikeliest of ways – by Manchester United manager David Moyes. Talks are at an advanced stage between Mata and Manchester United advisors. His relationship with Jose Mourinho has broken down, and Mata doesn't feel that he will get the chances that he deserves at Stamford Bridge this season. There is fierce competition for a place in the Spain midfield at this summer's World Cup, and Mata knows that he needs to grab as much game time as possible before then with him currently at 6/4 to make the … [Read more...]
Juan Mata To Move From Chelsea To Atletico
Rumours continue to circulate that the mercurial Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata is set to sign for Atletico Madrid. Mata is still hugely popular among the Chelsea fans but he is becoming an increasingly peripheral, and agitated, figure at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho likes players who work hard and he has reportedly criticised Mata for not tracking back enough and not making enough runs. Mata was substituted on New Year's Day during a game against Southampton and he made no attempt to hide his disgust at the decision. Mourinho insists that Mata is not for sale but we all know that there can … [Read more...]
Spaniards in the Prem – Mata omitted as Michu stars
The Barclays Premier League has seen a recent rise in Spanish players, especially during the summer transfer market. Here we provide a round-up of their performances over the weekend. Of all of the Spaniards who played on Saturday and Sunday, the one who made the most headlines was someone not even selected on the bench. Juan Mata found himself out of Chelsea's squad for their game against Fulham which has caused quite an uproar. The diminutive playmaker has all the attributes which has helped Chelsea to two European titles but is being frozen out by Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. … [Read more...]
The power of the supporter is the saviour of Spanish football
Spain has an unwavering obsession with football; especially its own. Barcelona and Real Madrid, the crown jewels of the country’s favourite sport, undoubtedly epitomise what every football club in the world aspires to be, paving the way in terms of status and superiority. On top of this, they manage their fierce political rivalry, which passionately divides Spaniards. … [Read more...]
San Jose and Thiago to miss Olympics
Spain's Olympic football hopes have been hit in the last few days due to injuries which will rule out two of their star players. Mikel San Jose has joined Thiago Alcantara on the flight home from the base in Las Rozas as coach Luis Milla prepares to trim his 22 man squad to 18 in the coming days. Athletic Bilbao centre-back San Jose has contracted chicken pox and was forced to leave the training camp urgently to avoid spreading the disease on Monday whilst Thiago is still recovering from a tibia injury. … [Read more...]
The reign in Spain occurs mainly on the pitch
Last night Spain rewrote history as they became the first team to retain the Henri Delaunay trophy and in some style too as they thrashed Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final and put forwards their claim to be the best team of all time. Vicente del Bosque's men won their third consecutive major tournament and in an invigorating, attractive way thanks to Silva, Alba, Torres and Mata goals. Spain strode out onto the Olympic Stadium turf riled by growing criticism of their play and a desire to change that. Their dominant and patient traditions of playing had been scrutinised and labelled … [Read more...]
How to level the financial playing field in La Liga
The first thing you usually hear when someone mentions La Liga to you is the response: "oh, well, it's just Barcelona and Real Madrid competing every year for the title". And while those two teams are undoubtedly the best in the planet, most football fans would agree that La Liga is not the deepest league. Serie A and the English Premier league have more teams capable of doing well in Europe and going after world class players. Outside of Malaga and the Big Two, we don't see great players going into other teams. Instead we see players like Juan Mata, David Villa, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and … [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...]