Spanish minnows Huesca are celebrating after achieving promotion to the top table of Spanish football for the first time in the club’s history after a 2-0 victory over Lugo in Spain’s second tier Segunda division was enough to see the side claim enough points to guarantee promotion. With two games still to go, Huesca will now aim to win the Segunda title ahead of Rayo Vallecano who they have a two-point advantage over. A Long Road to the Top The club is notable for their similarity in kits to the mighty Barcelona who they will be mixing it with next season and can trace their heritage … [Read more...]
Late strike sends Las Palmas into La Liga on away goals
Sergio Araujo's 84th minute goal helped Las Palmas beat Real Zaragoza on away goals and promotion into La Liga for the first time in 13 years. Zaragoza travelled to Gran Canaria as favourites having won the first leg 3-1, but Las Palmas recorded a 2-0 victory which saw them through on away goals. Roque Mesa opened the scoring on 33 minutes to give the hosts real belief of finding a second as Araujo left it late to clinch promotion. The moment was sweet for Las Palmas boss Paco Herrera who previously managed Zaragoza between June 2013 and March 2014. Veteran Juan Carlos Valeron, the … [Read more...]
Zaragoza close in on La Liga with first leg victory over Las Palmas
Real Zaragoza went one step closer to a return to La Liga as they came from behind to win the first leg of the play-off final last night. Goals from Diego Rico, Pedro Sanchez and Willian Jose gave them a 3-1 win over Las Palmas with the return leg to be played on Sunday. Fresh from a dramatic 10 days in the Segunda, Zaragoza found themselves 1-0 down at La Romareda courtesy of a strike from ex-Valencia man Jonathan Viera. However, having come from 3-0 down against Girona in the first leg of the semi-finals, Zaragoza roared back and ensured that they will travel to Gran Canaria with the … [Read more...]
Barça Rest Key Players With Bayern In Mind
FC Barcelona will go into Sunday's match away at Real Zaragoza missing a number of 1st team regulars. With the semi-finals of the Champions League in just under two weeks, a number of stars will be rested and rotated in the matches before the two clashes against Bayern Munich. The highest profile absentee is Lionel Messi. The Argentine was on the bench for Wednesday's 2nd leg of the quarter final against Paris Saint-Germain, but was required to make an appearance in the 2nd half with the Catalans losing 0-1 and looking to be on their way out of the tournament. … [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...]
Mallorca’s winless streak continues – could they be going down?
Mallorca missed out on a chance to go three points clear of the relegation zone after another lacklustre performance at the Iberostar Stadium. Their winless streak in La Liga stretched to nine games as they drew 1-1 at home to Real Zaragoza in a game which should have seen them emerge victorious. … [Read more...]
Opening La Liga weekend in threat of strike action for second year in a row
A dispute between 13 La Liga clubs and their broadcasting partners is putting the first round of matches at risk. Should an agreement not be reached then strike action could postpone the opening round of fixtures for the second season in succession. Clubs are unhappy with a number of factors with 11pm kick-off times causing the greatest amount of fuss. Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Betis, Celta Vigo, Espanyol, Getafe, Granada, Mallorca, Osasuna, Vallecano, Soceidad, Sevilla and Zaragoza all attended a meeting in Madrid today demanding changes to agreements between themselves and two media … [Read more...]
Rayo Vallecano Season Preview
As the scoreboard at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas ticked beyond the ninety minute mark a wild cheer could be heard even amongst the celebratory Madridistas in the Spanish capital. Fans burst onto the pitch sporadically but soon continuously, screaming their emotions to the sky as the final game of the season effectively ended with the decisive final kick. Rayo Vallecano fans roared in triumph with their hero Raul Tamudo, yet it could all have been so different. Winning a game deep into injury time ranks highest in football fan euphoria … [Read more...]
Zaragoza Season Preview
Of the names to have left La Romareda fans of Los Blanquillos have reasons to be both delighted and dismayed at two people who have committed to staying at Zaragoza for next season. Detested President Agapito Iglesias has refused to sell and leave the club having piled debt onto the exasperated balance sheets and made no real attempt to rid them. Thankfully however he brought in manager Manolo Jiminez who steered the club to La Liga safety in spite of the appalling circumstances and has decided to remain and avoid relegation once again. … [Read more...]
Barca’s Lack of Depth Gives Madrid a 7 Point Lead in Title Race
SkySports bosses would have been licking their lips earlier this evening at the prospect of both Real Madrid and Barcelona facing off against two teams in the bottom four of La Liga, especially without BBC’s weekly Match of the Day stealing homesick viewers; though the night disappointed those in search of plenty of goals. Just 4 came in total, all of which from the Santiago Bernabeu, meaning that one of the top two had to settle with a deadlocked 0-0. That team was Barcelona who fell 7 points behind leaders Real Madrid as Villarreal outfought their fatigued, injury stricken opponents and … [Read more...]