The international break has shown its face for the last time until March (thank goodness!) with plenty of celebration for the La Liga contingent in the World Cup qualifiers. Victory was around in abundance, none more so than in the Portugal camp where Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the shining light, after his late goal in Lisbon he grabbed a hat-trick in the second leg in Stockholm sending Portugal to the World Cup finals in Brazil. Pepe and Ronaldo’s Real team-mate Fabio Coentrao also played a part in the thrilling match which finished 3 – 2, seeing Portugal victorious by a 4 – 2 … [Read more...]
La Liga Team of the week – match week four
The league has started to heat-up, as teams start to drop points, play some desperate football and have their character tested. Atletico Madrid and Champions Barcelona still maintain their lead at the top of the table after securing maximum points as Real Madrid and Villareal cancel each other out-resulting in their first dropped points of the season. … [Read more...]
Gareth Bale – would he fit in as a Real Madrid player?
“Real Madrid offer world record offer for (insert player name here)” has been a common headline since the “Galacticos” era of Real Madrid under the stewardship of Florentino Perez. In came world record transfers Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane, followed eight years later by Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo for a combined £136 million. Real have always had the allure of attracting the world’s biggest and best, since the glory days of European domination in the 1950’s right through until the present day. … [Read more...]
Mourinho exit rumours put Chelsea’s Roman on red alert
José Mourinho could well have reached the end of his tenure at Real Madrid, considered by many as the world’s biggest club, with his third exit at the semi-final stage of the Champions League against Borussia Dotmund on Tuesday. The dream of winning la Décima, the tenth, European Cup will have to wait another year, but the weight of expectation would appear to have buckled the back of the self proclaimed "special one". … [Read more...]
Can the ghosts of the past inspire a Real Madrid fightback?
After their defeats at the hands of the top two in Germany last week, the Spanish big two must produce comebacks of epic proportions if they are to realise their dreams of a Clásico final at Wembley in the Champions League showpiece event. For tonight’s match against Borussia Dortmund, a communication went out to all Real Madrid club members asking them to wear their white shirts and have their Madrid scarves at the ready to create as much of a hostile atmosphere in an attempt to intimidate their teutonic opponents. The current Spanish champions will rely on memories of great battling … [Read more...]
Does LFP need to reformat its premier division?
La Liga has two representatives in the UEFA Champion’s League semi-finals and an all-Spanish final might occur for the second time in the competition’s history. However, this, we argue, does not reflect the superiority of the Liga BBVA as a whole… ‘Two-horse race’ is often the most common description of the La Liga title race, which, even to those of us who defend the league, appears to be undeniable in recent years. … [Read more...]
Punto Cuarto – the race for the fourth La Liga spot
The football season has witnessed a lot of ups and downs for many teams. La Liga is no different. With Barcelona having virtually sealed their 22nd domestic crown and the Madrid clubs vying for the 2nd and 3rd spot (automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League), the fight for the 4th spot (punto cuarto) is all set to be a nail biting affair. … [Read more...]
San Iker No Longer Worshipped By “The One” And All
Iker Casillas finds himself at the centre of most of the media talk in the Spanish capital this week, but for reasons he would rather not be concerned with. All of the talk in the press, radio and TV is about why Casillas is not in Mourinho's plans and might he not even feature again this season? The rumours have created many a heated debate and the Madrid faithful appear to be worryingly split down the middle. With the medical green light for him to start training having been given a couple of weeks ago and the doctors and technical staff allegedly having given him the go ahead to start … [Read more...]
Messi, The Perfect 10, Sets Yet Another Record
Lionel Messi completed the perfect personal half of a la Liga season on Saturday evening, in the process setting another record, by scoring against all 19 Primera opponents in consecutive matches (coincidentally, 19 was his squad number before being given the coveted number 10 shirt on Ronaldinho's departure from the Camp Nou). Cristiano Ronaldo scored against all 19 opponents in Madrid's record breaking last season, but not in consecutive matches. … [Read more...]
English Euro Crisis Boosts Spanish and German Fortunes
With no representatives in Friday's quarter final draw of the UEFA Champions League, can the English Premier League still seriously lay claims to being the best league in World football, or is it time to acknowledge that they have slipped behind La Liga and the Bundesliga (with 3 and 2 clubs representing each respective domestic league). … [Read more...]