Calling all Madridistas to the West Coast!

Pre-season friendly time is nearly upon us and some fantastic news, Real Madrid is returning to the West Coast of the USA. They will be based at UCLA for pre-season training and staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

They will play three friendlies. The first date, just recently announced, is Saturday July 16th LA Galaxy v Real Madrid in Los Angeles at the LA Coliseum. The second date is Wednesday July 20th is Chivas Guadalajara v Real Madrid in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium as part of the World Series of Football. The last and final date is still to be determined. Tickets on sales are still pending.


Real Madrid plans to be on the West Coast from July 11th through July 24th - 15 days!!! Four more days than last year!


The team will then fly back to Europe to play Hertha Berlin on July 27th. Thereafter they will then fly to China for two friendlies on August 3rd against Guangzhou Evergrande FC and August 6th versus Tianjin Teda FC. Afterwards the players will return home for the Santiago Bernabeu trophy against Schalke and go straight into the double header Super Copa against Barça (August 14th and 17th). The start of the season will be the weekend of August 20-21, early, due to Euro 2012.

Phew! How exhausting! Los Merengues have a full pre-season schedule with plenty of frequent flyer miles.


Mourinho loves So Cal and UCLA, and I for one am elated to welcome Mou, the RM staff, and the boyz back to Cali.


So if you are interested in some RM magic with some R & R in Southern California, c'mon down! If you are a local or from the surrounding areas, let's party! You know that I will be there, once again, to support the club, and gather, meet and share war stories with Madridistas!

Please contact me if you are participating or getting together for this Merengue extravaganza: @eu_forzafutbol on twitter, medelliae on facebook or medelliae@gmail.com!

While I am on this topic, I wanted to let you that one of my dreams is to start an official Real Madrid penya in the Los Angeles area. It really is a shame that we don't have an LA chapter of supporters to share interests, get together for games, and celebrate our love for the biggest club in the world. I mean there is a fabulous RM NYC penya that works closely with the club. Heck, there is even a LA Cule penya. But no RMLA penya? How can this be?

I am serious, I want to bring together our passionate fans to debate, discuss and celebrate the richness of El Madrid! If you want to be part of the LA RM Penya, please contact me as well.

It's going to be a great summer for Los Blancos fans. Hala Madrid!

Update: ~ 05.20.11: Real Madrid v Philadelphia Union Saturday July 23rd!! Just announced.

Update ~5.21.2011: Go to our Real Madrid LA Peña facebook page!

Summer Exodus Abroad?

The Spanish Player's Union (AFE) recently announced that there were 300 unpaid players, the majority in Second division and that if nothing is going to change, a strike would be eminent the first week of the 2011-12 season.

The Spanish economy is not getting any better. Unemployment is at an all time high at 20%. The Euro continues to lose buying power. Spanish club indebtedness is at an all time high. Meanwhile, a potential labor strike is looming once again because teams are not paying their players timely, or at all.

Rumors continue to persist that a mass exodus of Spanish players abroad will occur this summer. Spaniards are quite versatile and very adaptable on the pitch as well as to other cultures. Players from all levels, from the stars to journeymen to canteranos and veterans are playing in England (Jose Enrique), Greece (David Fuster), Ukraine, Romania, Hong Kong, Turkey (Guiza) and the Middle East (Yeste). More are expected in Germany (Jurado), France (Azpilicueta), Italy (Victor Ruiz), Portugal (Javi Garcia), Holland, and Russia. Hey, even Sergio Koke, Malaga canterano, fresh from Aris in Greece, and still only 27, is playing in the MLS at Houston Dynamo!

But Spain are the World Champions, with the two biggest and best club teams in the world! Spain has arguably the best youth and coaching development in Europe. How could this happen?

Well, both players and coaches want a guaranteed paycheck and are attracted to the quality of life abroad. Many countries or cultures respect the privacy of players and coaches much more than in Spain, where the daily paper is big business. Some argue that cheaper South Americans and African players are squeezing out the journeymen. Whereas big name foreigners are also squeezing out the marquee players from the top teams in Spain. This is especially the case when only Real Madrid and Barcelona can afford you - see David Silva. More Spanish and ex La Liga coaches are moving abroad and making it easier to move. Ernesto Valverde and Manolo Jimenez are working in Greece, while Juande Ramos is plying his trade in the Ukraine. Bottom line with such a short sporting life, it makes career and family sense.

The perfect case in point is Schalke in the Bundesliga where you have the star veteran, Raul, journeyman, Jurado, and canterano from a smaller club who had little chance of 1st team Primera football, Sergio Escudero. I totally expect to see more and more transfers abroad this summer. But it just doesn't sit right with me. Frankly I am torn. Global experience is good for the game, coaches and players. But what ever happened to the best league in the world? Shouldn't the best league retain and promote their own players?

What do you think? Will this happen? Is this good or bad for Spanish football? I want to hear from you.

TV REVENUES - A Comparative View

There were threats of a strike in Spain by the club owners, but it never happened. The Spanish clubs are still pursuing laws that will ensure that the clubs get a piece of the internet gambling pie. In addition, the clubs will revisit the weekly free to air game in the summer.

But lurking in the background were the G6 or 7, depending who you ask, who stood up against the strike. The middle class clubs (Villarreal, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Real Zaragoza, Espanyol and Malaga) making a stand against the current individual TV revenue distribution and the proposed collective deal, that maintains the status quo.

Mando has quite eloquently covered the this whole situation, but I thought it was time to take a look at the big European markets and compare and contrast the various TV deals. (Source: Futebol Finance) These figures are only for Domestic markets.


PREMIER LEAGUE
Domestic TV Licensor: Sky Sports
Television contract: from 2009-10 through 2012-13
Total Value: 3.538 million euros
Annual breakdown: 1,179 million euros
Teams: 20

SERIE A
Domestic TV Licensor: Sky-Italia and Mediaset
TV Contract: 2010-11 through 2011-12
Total value: 1,822 million euros
Annual breakdown: 911 million.
Teams: 20

LIGUE 1
Domestic TV Licensor:Canal Plus and Orange
TV Contract: 2008-09 through 2011-12
Total value: 2,672 million euros
Annual breakdown: 668 mill.
Teams: 20

BUNDESLIGA
Domestic TV Licensor: Premiere AG
TV Contract: 2009-10 through 2012-13
Total value: 1,648 million euros
Annual breakdown: 412 mill.
Teams: 18

LA LIGA
Domestic TV Licensor: Mediapro
TV Contract: 2009-10 to 2011-12
Total value: 1,500 million euros
Annual breakdown: 500 mill. (280 To Real Madrid and Barcelona)
Teams: 20

EREDIVISIE
Domestic TV Licensor: RTL-Nederland
TV Contract: 2008-09 through 2010-11
Total value: 300 million euros
Annual breakdown: 100 mill.
Teams: 18

What is wrong with this picture? The Spanish League earns less in Domestic TV Revenues than Serie A and Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga is not far behind. This doesn't even take into account that the lion's share of the revenues from Mediapro goes to the big two giants. It seems that La Liga is selling their product short.

The disparity between the top and bottom of the league is enormous in Spain. 140M Euros of Domestic TV revenues goes to Real Madrid and Barcelona, where as bottom dwellers, Sporting and Malaga received 12M in 2010. Look at the competition during this same time period. In England, Manchester United received 58.2M Euros, where as Middlesborough received 34.9M. In Germany, Bayern received 28.1M compared to Hoffenheim at 13.3M. In France, Marseille received 49.9M versus relegation battlers Le Havre at 13.9M.

Redistribution of tv rights needs to be a priority. A competitive league makes a strong, financially stable, league.


Another factor that needs to be taken into account is the debt of the Spanish clubs. As reported by Punto Radio, La Liga clubs as of June 2010 were 3.526 million Euros in debt. This includes unpaid transfers, player salaries, social security, and back taxes.

Here are the top ten clubs:

-Real Madrid: 683 millon €

-Valencia: 550

-At. Madrid: 511

-F.C. Barcelona: 489

-Villarreal: 240

-Espanyol: 165

-Racing: 137

-Sevilla: 122

-Deportivo: 120

-Mallorca: 85


Catch 22? I am not anti-debt, it is a part of life, but Spanish teams need to start living within their means. A league wide austerity plan is way over due.

Improvements are needed in the earnings and spending arenas. Where is the Federation and League wide leadership when you need it?

Is this the League you Want?

Well, well, well, 12 games in and guess who is on top? The title race is basically a foregone conclusion. Real Madrid or Barçelona will take the spoilers and the Clásicos will decide it. So sad, that there is little chance that anyone else can vie for the title, once again (!) and that it is decided way too early.

Sure the competition between 3 - 8 is intense for European spots and the relegation battle is always tasty in La Liga. Anyone from 10th on down can fall into the abyss. But the gap between the top two aka duopoly, and the rest of the league is glaring, disturbing and threatening the competitiveness of the league.

And it's no wonder! if you look at the way the TV Revenues are distributed or lack there of, in Spain. Compare Spain to the other big leagues in Europe, you will see that it is so unfair. In fact is is a joke.

Look at the diagram below (source ligajusta). Real Madrid and Barcelona receive 50% of the TOTAL kitty. No wonder no one can compete for the title.





In England, revenues are well distributed, the same applies to France and Germany. And look at the bottom of the table in the chart. In this particular year the bottom in France, Germany and England grossed more monies than the bottom half of the table in La Liga. In fact the last place team in England earned more than 5th place (!) Villarreal - outrageous.

Sure the beautiful passing and possession based football on display in Spain is sublime. The youth development is second to none. Spain is the world champions. But with the emergence of the financial fair play rules in European competitions and the continuation of the same old TV revenue rules, as proposed by Barça and Real Madrid, the future looks quite bleak and boring. Spain will lose their co-efficient to Germany and possibly even France. La Liga will start to become even more predictable and non competitive than it will hurt the big two. Do you really want a league where there are only two competitive matches a year for the title?

A strong league top to bottom is what is needed. The proposal by the "renegade" group lead by Sevilla's Jose Maria Del Nido is what is needed. 40% evenly spread to each team. 60% based on audience, league performance, and legacy points. This model is based on the Premiership, France, Germany, and Russia's model. Even Italy has changed to a collective, equitable basis with a portion based on results. I don't even want to bother outlining Real Madrid and Barcelona's proposal, because it is the same old thing. Check out Mando's previous posts if you are still interested.

The depressing thing is that Madrid and Barça have convinced most of the Second division teams to go along with them, because of the offering of a parachute payment. Anything is better than nothing? Live for the moment? I guess these teams don't see a future competing in La Primera. Not good.

The power of the people and the internet is ours and our voices of disapproval must be heard. The future of the beautiful game in La Liga is at stake. Is this the League you want? The Status Quo? Barça and Real Madrid the perpetual winners? I doubt it...