La Liga Week #1 Kick-off times

And finally they are here.

The self-proclaimed "best league of the world" has announced the kick-offs for Week#1 of the season 11 days ahead of the games. Incredible. Irony aside, let us look at the kick-offs

Game	Date	East coast	West coast	local (CET)
Espanyol x Granada	20-Aug	Noon	0900	1800
Levante x Zaragoza	20-Aug	Noon	0900	1800
Villarreal x Sporting	20-Aug	1400	1100	2000
Osasuna x Valencia	20-Aug	1600	1300	2200
Rayo Vallecano x Mallorca	21-Aug	0600	0300	Noon
Racing x Getafe	21-Aug	1000	0700	1600
Real Madrid x Athletic	21-Aug	Noon	0900	1800
Málaga x Barcelona	21-Aug	1400	1100	2000
Betis x Sevilla	21-Aug	1600	1300	2200
Real Sociedad x Atlético	22-Aug	1500	Noon	2100

Major changes from last year.

1. No 5pm (local) kick-offs on sunday.
2. 9 different kick-off times
3. The noon kick-off is geared at the Asian markets, they tried a game last season at this hour, Mallorca x Villarreal. Probably the wrong game in the wrong town at the wrong time. Fans and players alike seemed to have played through that game, hung over.
4. The Andalucian derby is scheduled for the 10pm kick-off on Sunday. Sensible because the temperatures in Andalucia are close to 40s in the early evenings in August
5. The other two big games, Madrid x Athletic and Málaga x Barça are also on Sunday.
6. Villarreal play on the Saturday as they have the return leg of the CL playoff on Tuesday Aug 23rd.

It will be interesting to see how this spread-out kick-offs work. It will definitely screw up schecule of the radio programs like Carrusel, Marcador, Tiempo de juego etc.. because now they have to spend more hours and with less games going on simultaneously.
All in all, glad that the schedule is out, now let us see if they do kick-off with the players union threatening a strike.

¡¡¡Viva La Liga! Viva España!!!

Forza Futbol Spain La Liga Tour 2012

Hola chicos y chicas, yours truly, Elisa from Forza Futbol is heading on a dream trip back to España to drink wine, eat pintxos, take in some Picasso and Gaudi, relax on the beach and most importantly see some LIVE football! La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Europa League, Segunda, La Roja, La Rojita are all a possibility!

The plan is three weeks, four cities, football, culture, travel, and food. Madrid, Bilbao, Barçelona and Valencia are the targeted cities. Hopefully I can watch at least one game per city, but you never know. I am trying to get press credentials for each game too!!



Draft itinerary: March 7th – 27th


Valencia: Fallas, Valencia game at Mestalla (Valencia v Mallorca) and meet up with friends for coffee. (March 8th – 13th)

Bilbao: Athletic Bilbao game at San Mames (most likely Athletic v Valencia), Stadiurm Tour, visit San Sebastian and Pamplona, pintxos! (March 14th - 19th)

Barçelona: Barçelona game at Camp Nou (Barçelona v Granada), Gaudi, Costa Brava, and Las Ramblas (March 19th – 23rd)

Madrid: Real Madrid game at the Bernabeu (most likely Real Madrid v Real Sociedad), Stadium Tour, meet up with friends for drinks, el Prado, and Bull Fight!! (March 23th – 27th)


What am I missing? It’s been a loooong time since I have been back to Madrid. This will be my first time in Bilbao, Valencia, and Barçelona. The last time I visited Spain, I spent all of my time in Andalusia. Let's meet up!

I most likely will only have 5 days per city, but I want to eat and drink may way through Spain and get the most bang for my buck from a football and travel perspective. I most likely will be traveling from city to city via AVE or fly.

I want to hear from you guys! What are the must dos in Spain? What are your suggestions to make this trip as smooth as logistically possible? What are the best airlines, especially considering intercity jumps? What are the best places to stay, central, safe, but cheap? Is there such a thing? Apartment or BnB? What are the best restaurants and sights? What are the keys to the stadiums, tours, photos, access, contacts and media credentials, you name it! Help me out here! How can I make this the trip of a lifetime?


Please comment below, send me a facebook message (forza futbol page), send me a tweet (eu_forzafutbol) or an email (forza.futbol@yahoo.com). I am counting on you to get the inside scoop!

Real Sociedad Kits 2011-2012

They released the Real Sociedad kits for 2011-2012. You can see by the picture below that it is even scarier than at first imagined from the unveiling. It is a typically beautiful blue-and-white striped shirt, I am particular of course to blanquiazul so sue me, but Nike are really starting to bother me with their design choices. The stripes are fine in width, I like the thicker blue and white lines, but why electrify them? Which Nike guru approved this monstrosity? The white shorts are classy, but I dislike the blue rectangle on the back of the shirt. Stripes are good. Stripes are nice. Leave them alone. I commend what Atlético Madrid did with their kit by basically telling Nike, ¨No, we don´t like the cellphone stripes that you gave us. No, I don´t care that FC Barcelona got theirs that way. Just `cause you think it´s all the rage, doesn´t mean we do. Switch it back to a classy look. Thank You. As you see by the other post today, they did.¨

As for the other kits, what can I say. Nothing memorable. The yellow on the secondary kit is almost flammable or ready to wear for roadside clean-up. The third kit and the goalkeeper´s kit look almost cut from the same cloth except for the blue swath of color in the front of one or the other. I don´t know which is which honestly.

In the end, a very pedestrian set of design choices by one of the leading kit design firms in the world. Frankly, I don´t know how they keep getting work.

La Lambretta Radio: La Liga Bilingual Podcast #7

Roundtable guests today: The man at the controls, Miami Sound Machine aka Edu, Real Valladolid fan boy aka Eugenio, and La Jefa aka resident Malagueña, Inma, from La Lambretta Radio de España. La Lambrettinos are joined by Villarreal groguet Ravi aka @aupasubmarino now sleepless in Seattle, el Juez Jose aka Sportinguista Judge Joe, living in Madrid, and yours truly, Forza Futbol's very own, Elisa, to debate and discuss Spanish football.


Some of today's highlights:

o Saturday's relegation battles: where Malaga rocked Atletico, Racing striked back, Getafe showed they are not dead, and Sporting brought Depor to tears.
o We said adios to Almeria and Hercules.
o We pondered whether Xabi Prieto is a one club man?
o And we consoled Ravi as he recalled the Europa League match.

Plus much, much more.


A great way to learn Spanish or English on the topics we know and love!


Listen below, on itunes, ivoox or here.


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The Trapdoor Is Opening

After my last article on the promotion race in La Liga Adelante, I decided to have a closer look at the Primera Division relegation battle.

With just four rounds of fixtures left to play, the relegation picture is still somewhat unclear. While Almeria are certainly going to be playing in the Segunda next season, the other two positions are looking like they might not be decided until probably the final round of fixtures.

Almeria's 0-1 reverse at home to Sevilla, coupled with wins for Racing, Malaga, Real Sociedad, Real Zaragoza and Osasuna has left them 12 points adrift of Osasuna and Deportivo with just four games to go. They do have superior head-to-head records against both clubs.

The biggest shocks of the weekend were Zaragoza's 3-2 win at the Bernabeu, and Real Sociedad's come-from-behind 2-1 win at Anoeta against Champions Barcelona, both of which occurred on Saturday night. As an aside, it is the first time both Real and Barca have lost in the same round of games since the weekend of 16/17 May 2009.

Malaga's victory came at home to fellow strugglers Hercules, which has now left the latter in serious trouble. They could get cut adrift next week if they don't get three points from their match against Racing Santander. The side from Alicante are five points away from safety, and are more than likely going to join Almeria in the Segunda next season. There are a few fixtures between those fighting for their Liga lives next week. In addition to Hercules v Racing, Getafe can relegate Almeria when the two teams meet in Madrid, and Zaragoza will hope to follow up their superb victory in the capital when they entertain Osasuna.

In total, there are probably seven teams in danger of joining Almeria to go down. Racing Santander are not 100% safe in 13th. They currently have 40 points. An argument could be made that as far up the league as Sporting Gijon are still in danger. Sporting currently sit in tenth with 42 points, but if results go against them in round 35, they could be pulled back down into the mire. Levante, one place and one point better off, should be safe now.

My predicition, though, is that it will be Hercules, along with one of Osasuna or Getafe that join Almeria in the bottom three after the 38th game has finished.

FORZA FUTBOL on La Lambretta Radio - Spanish Football Bilingual Podcast no 4

Today, Edu and La Jefa Inma Zaragoza from La Lambretta Radio, Villarreal fan Ravi from Seattle, and yours truly Mando AND Elisa talk about the following topics:

o El Clásico: Mou's and Pep's tactics
o Malaga's recent win and the return of Julio Baptista
o Why players like Baptista and Reyes need a little TLC?
o Our relegation picks revisited

and much more.

A great way to learn Spanish or English on the topics we love!

Listen below, on itunes, ivoox or here.

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FORZA FUTBOL on LaLambrettaRadio Bilingual La Liga Podcast no 1a & 1b

We had the pleasure of doing a LIVE bilingual Internet Radio show on La Liga today with our friend Edu Pérez Suárez from La Lambretta Radio.

Topics covered:

o Live commentary on the March 20th La Liga early fixtures of Jornada 29
o Chatting about the historic potential El Clásico guantlet - 4 games in 3 weeks
o Discussing the exciting relegation battle that covers half the La Liga table.

The podcast is for English learners and Spanish learners. We hope to do more of this including roundtables in the near future.


You can also find LaLambrettaRadio and our bilingual podcasts at their site and on itunes. Enjoy!

PART 1~
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PART 2~
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P.S.

Some of the Lambrettinas having a great time at the Malaga game. I think the sheik with the suitcase has some influence over the players :P.





Holy Crap the Sheik made the big time on El Dia Despues! Awesome!

LA LIGA Team of Round 24

The relegation battle continues, fixture congestion ensues. It's the business time of the season and only 17 goals this past weekend in the Spanish league. Osasuna win with a festival of goals? What the heck is going on?


GOAL KEEPER: DANI ARANZUBIA (DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA)

The Basque shot stopper made some incredible saves against Alméria, but what earned the player the accolades this week, is the 95th minute power header a la Fernando Llorente to equalize. A golden point for Baby Depor. Gutsy.


RIGHT BACK: DANI ALVES (FC BARCELONA)

Alves constantly beated Athletic's Koikili and reminded us how dangerous he could be as a playmaker from the right. Two assists for the samba crack. Sublime.


CENTER BACK: RIKKI CARVALHO (REAL MADRID)

He can play with Pepe, he can play with Albiol. The versatile veteran was solid in the back and eked out a goal from a set piece to seize the game against Levante. Reliable.


CENTER BACK; ALBERTO BOTIA (SPORTING GIJON)

The young ex La Masia product played a near perfect game, to keep out the fire power of Aduriz, Mata, and Soldado. His positioning was key. Impressive.


LEFT BACK: ALBERTO DE LA BELLA (REAL SOCIEDAD)

Solid on the left, he neutralized the counter attack and wing play of Mallorca admist the rain, wind and cold. Formidable.


RIGHT MIDFIELD : GIOVANI DOS SANTOS (RACING SANTANDER)

Only his second game and Dos Santos has become somewhat of a super sub. His velocity and danger on the counter attack earned a penalty and a disallowed goal (which was legal to me). Promising.


CENTER MIDFIELD: JAVI MARTINEZ (ATHLETIC BILBAO)

Even though the Basque team failed to win, they played well against the league leaders. The backline was sturdy and Javi Martinez was instrumental in the midfield, stealing balls, tackling, and allowing very little space and time on the ball. Courageous.


CENTER MIDFIELD: IVAN RAKITIC (SEVILLA)

The recent arrival has finally put on his shooting boots and is starting to see eye to eye with his teammates. The pace and style of Sevilla, suits him well. The Croat's combination play between Negredo, Fabiano, and Navas was impressive and resulted in the game winning goal. Trajectory.


LEFT MIDFIELD: JAVAD NEKOUNAM (OSASUNA)

The arrival of new coach Mendilibar has really ignited los rojillos, particularly Iranian International Neko. The midfielder netted a brace and initiated the goal fest. Heroic.


CENTER FORWARD: LIONEL MESSI (FC BARCELONA)

Athletic took the game to the blaugrana at the Camp Nou and made it extremely difficult to break them down. As the game progressed, it looked like Barça might split the points with Bilbo, which would put them only 3 points ahead of El Madrid. La Pulga pulled threw with an incredibly important game winner. Stellar.


CENTER FORWARD: SERGIO AGUERO (ATLETICO MADRID)

A very even match, that could have gone either way. Aguero willed his team back into the game with an individual piece of brilliance. Dynamic.

La Liga Team of Round 23

Round 23 was very exciting and a hard fought bunch of games. There were several relegation 6 pointers, as well as some difficult away fixtures for the top 4 teams. Only 22 goals this week and 4 clean sheets. Here is my best of the weekend:

Goal Keeper: Dudu Aouate (Mallorca)

The underrated Israeli had another solid game. The Barrallets managed an early goal. Soon afer, the three pronged attack of Iker Muniain, Javi Martinez, and Fernando LLorente pummelled the Mallorca goal. Dudu made save after save.

Defenders: Marc Torrejón (Racing Santander), Pepe (Real Madrid), Jose Angel (Sporting Gijón)

The ex Espanyol defender, Torrejón, was immense this weekend as he lead the 10 man Racing Santander defense against Sevilla. His best game to date. His team garnered 3 golden points in operation salvation.

Pepe returned after injury to the Real Madrid starting 11, against a very determined Espanyol After the early sending off of Iker Casillas in goal, Pepe stayed calm and was quick to intercept many threats on goal. He deserves that contract renewal asap.

Young canterano Jose Angel was a threat for Sporting Gijón, in defense and attack. He utilized his pace to full effect and contained the best right back in the world, according to many, Barçelona's Dani Alves. Who says you can't play Jose Angel and Roberto Canella!

Midfielders: Juan Rodriguez (Deportivo), Kennedy (Racing Santander), Francisco Farinós (Hércules), Francisco Portillo (Málaga), Joaquin (Valencia)

So difficult to choose one midfielder, so I picked 5. La Liga is midfielder heaven.

Juan Rodriguez, who is rumored to be going to Getafe in the summer, was instrumental in Depor's upset over Villarreal. He was a constant danger on the right and made sure that his team took all 3 points in operation salvation.

Kennedy has been a revelation in the midfield for Racing this year. He was extremely impressive, as he contained the Sevilla attack.

The veteran crack, one of the top Spanish transfers in the modern era, from Valencia to Inter Milan. Farinós,the old timer, now at Hércules, initiated the come back against follow relegation rival Real Zaragoza, with a goal and an assist to Trezeguet. His first start this season was one to remember.

The Málaga canterano, Portillo, with very limited primera experience, was instrumental in the midfield. He was key in the comeback against Getafe that ended with a point. Definitely one to watch.

The veteran winger, also one of the most expensive Spanish transfers, is finally playing to his potential. Joaquin, the captain and ex Betico, led the comeback against Atlético Madrid away, and netted two quality goals for the win.

Strike Force: Raúl Tamudo (Real Sociedad), Felipe Caicedo (UD Levante)

Basque derbies are extremely physical and rife with anti-football. But it was only a matter of time that La Real, with all their chances, would score. Tamudo came through with a cheeky goal. His first attempt was blocked, but on the rebound, he managed to pull off a hospitable ball into the back of the net, with his back to goal.

Felipe Caicedo has been immense for the Valencian team, who are now on a bit of a run. A 6 pointer against Almerîa, with controversy. Caicedo came through with the only goal. Clinical.


3-5-2: AOUATE; TORREJON, PEPE, JOSE ANGEL; JUAN RODRIGUEZ, PORTILLO, FARINOS, KENNEDY, JOAQUIN; TAMUDO, CAICEDO

LA LIGA Team of Round 21

Let's go with a 4-3-3 this week. Yes finally 4 defenders! This week is a tribute to some of the journeymen in La Liga.


IN GOAL: DIEGO LOPEZ (VILLARREAL)

The Spanish International was on his game, in a thrilling 0-1 win at fortress Cornellá Prat. This was a very important win, as Villarreal had been shakey away, in the first half of the season. The shotstopper produced several critical saves on Callejon, Javi Marques and Verdú.


IN DEFENSE: IRAOLA (ATHLETIC CLUB), SERGIO (OSASUNA), ABIDAL (BARCA), CANELLA (SPORTING)

Iraola has been performing at an extremely high level. He is one of the reasons that Athletic Bilbao is vying for a European spot this year. Two assists to Toquero that resulted in a brace. Add to that, solid defending in ACB's away win at the Vicente Calderon.

Osasuna's Sergio had an amazing game keeping Benzema, Cristiano and Adebayor at bay. Numerous shots on goal, but the team from Pamplona refused to budge. He was a wall.

With the injury to Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal needed to step into the center of defense and pair up with Pique. No problem for the French International. It took awhile for the blaugrana to breakdown Hercules, but the speedy defender never faltered.

Roberto Canella has earned back his starting place at left back for Sporting Gijón. Against the Barallets, he was a dangerous threat on the left, even forcing Kevin to score an own goal. The kid's kind of special.


IN MIDFIELD: CAMUNAS (OSASUNA) JAVI MARQUES (ESPANYOL), BERTOLO (ZARAGOZA)

The underrated Camuñas was a constant threat to the Madrid backline and wings. He played with stealth, speed and intelligence and earned the game winning goal. Tremendous work rate.

Not sure why Pochettino took off Javi Marques in the 60th minute against a very difficult Villarreal, as he was the best player on the pitch. He consistently pushed the team on, to attack Diego Lopez' goal. Marques is one of the many young revelations at the club.

The on loan Argentine striker from Palermo, Nicolas Bertolo, played hard and eked out the equalizer against Málaga. It was the adrenaline shot that spurred on los Maños to an eventual away win and 3 golden points, in operation salvation.


UPFRONT: CAICEDO (LEVANTE), TAMUDO (REAL SOCIEDAD), NEGREDO (SEVILLA)

The player with the highest rate of success in front of goal this season is Felipe Caicedo. On loan from Manchester City, he garnered another fabulous performance for the struggling Valencian side. 3 essential points against a free falling Getafe at home, was a necessity. Caicedo produced a lovely assist and a goal to top it all off.

With the recent back injury to Joseba Llorente, the ex Espanyol veteran Raul Tamudo, finally got a start for La Real. He came out flying. Initially taken aback as the referee failed to call two clear penalties. The Spanish International took fate into his own hands and produced an assist and a goal. The latter in the midst of a torrential rain storm. No matter, 3 points for the Basque club puts them ever closer to safety.

A red card to Andres Palop early in the game and going two goals down by the 60th minute, one might think that Sevilla were going to go home without any points. But Alvaro Negredo fought tooth and nail and earned a brace. The first goal was very opportunistic, while the second goal that put 10 men Sevilla ahead, was a bit of class. At the end, Depor's Laure equalized, so they split the points. But the ex Rayo Vallecano canterano put on an amazing fighting display.

BEST XI of ROUND 19 in LA LIGA

The hallway point in La Liga and there were a lot of thrills, spills, and surprises. Let's take a look at who were the best of the bunch of this past weekend's matches.


GOALKEEPER

DAVID DE GEA (ATLETICO MADRID) had an incredible game against Mallorca. The score line is quite deceiving as this was a game of end to end attack. But De Gea kept out all of the Barallets dangerous shots including saving Pierre Webo's penalty.


DEFENSE

JAVIER CHICA (ESPANYOL), IVAN HERNANDEZ (SPORTING GIJON), CARLOS DIOGO (REAL ZARAGOZA) and JEREMY MATHIEU (VALENCIA)

Chica had a stellar game vs Sevilla. The Perico full back was immense, keeping out Sevilla's attacks especially on the wings. Young Hernandez had a howler last week, but solid this week in the rojiblanco defense, intervening at critical times against Trezeguet & Co at Hercules. Diogo is normally not mentioned in the best lists of late, but he played extremely well in the fog, hanging on to the 1 nil scoreline in a six pointer against Levante. Lastly, Valencia's Mathieu was brilliant in defense and attack and managed to slip in a goal from a very narrow angle.


MIDFIELD

PABLO PIATTI (ALMERIA), SERGIO BUSQUETS (BARCELONA), BORJA VALERO (VILLARREAL) and XABI PRIETO (REAL SOCIEDAD)

Little Piatti was amazing against the Madrid giants. He was the energizer bunny, causing mischief and 100% responsible for Almeria's goal. Busquets controlled and manhandled the Malaga midfield. He was a big part of the reason that the malagueños got very little time on the ball. Valero is just on fire this season. He was involved in every single goal in Villarreal's 4-2 thriller against Osasuna. When you think leader and Real Sociedad, only one name comes to mind, Xabi Prieto. He started the away goal fest against Getafe with a penalty and then executed the final pass on each subsequent goal.


STRIKE FORCE

JOSE MARIA CALLEJON (ESPANYOL) and DAVID VILLA (BARCELONA)

31 goals this week and both Callejon and Villa bagged two a piece. With Osvaldo missing, Callejon, normally a winger, stepped into some big boots, but was able to show his finishing skills in a critical game for the European dreaming, Espanyol. El Guaje is starting to warm up and fine tune is mind reading skills with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Pedro. His goals looked so easy. You gotta love the nutmeg to Asenjo in the 2nd goal. Pure class.

La Liga Team of the mid-season (excluding Barça & Real Madrid)

Well punters, I thought I would make things a little more interesting. Here's my La Liga starting 11 for the 2010-11 halfway point, excluding any of the super power teams aka Real Madrid & Barçelona.

Here we go:

Goalkeeper: Diego Lopez (Villarreal): overlooked, underrated, brilliant stops and positioning, need I say more.

Defense: Angel (Villarreal), Forlín and Victor Ruiz (Espanyol), Jose Angel (Sporting Gijón): Solid, consistent games for all of the above. Jose Angel playing out of his skin and only 21. Once the understudy for the injured Canella is the go to left back for los Gijóneses. Angel is another solid journeyman, who has really stepped up this year. The Espanyol dynamic duo are simply sublime and a wall in the perico defense.

Midfield: Xabi Prieto (Real Sociedad), Borja Valero (Villarreal), Tino Costa (Valencia), Chori Castro (Mallorca): Each of these players have been a key part of their team. Xabi Prieto, a veteran, leader, creator, who reads the game sublimely. Borja Valero just keeps getting better and better like a fine bottle of Rioja. Tino Costa, has this killer knack for goal. I call his shot,the blaster. The Argentina man played in France and Guadeloupe?? What a revelation! Chori Castro, the Uruguayan has had two break out years for Mallorca and will probably be moving to a bigger La Liga team in the summer. He is pacy, wily and intelligent.

Forwards: Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), David Trezeguet (Hercules): Fer has had an awesome year, ever since the World Cup. He has been prolific in goal, physical and a constant threat. Look out for those elbows. The "old French man" has demonstrated to the world that he still got it! His physical presence in front of goal. His futbol IQ has really made a difference for the team from Alicante. I am so happy that he is playing in La Liga de Estrellas!

Coach: Garrido (Villarreal) for promoting youth and beautiful football.

This is my mid season best XI. Do you agree? Give me yours.

Spanish Referee pulls a Graham Poll

Does Racing Santaner's Colsa and Kennedy lookalike? Check out the video below as referee Alvarez Izquierdo cards Racing Santander's Kennedy twice in the Round 10 game at Anoeta against Real Sociedad. The ref forgets to red card the player, cautions another player for mouthing off, and then apparently recalls that he forgot something and cautions a different Racing player,Colsa for the hand ball. Confused? Nuts.

UEFA Financial Fair Play and La Liga: Bad Moon Rising

With Mando's recent interview with Leander Schaerlaeckens of football finances, I decided to do a bit of research and read UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules. Here's a summary.

Based on the Bundesliga financial regulations, UEFA has enacted Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations that all clubs involved in European competitions must adhere to by the 2012-13 season.

Some of the key points are:

1) Teams who file for voluntary administration aka bankruptcy cannot play in Europe. We have already seen Mallorca was not allowed to play in Europe. Other teams such as Real Sociedad, Malaga, Levante, and close to filing Sporting Gijón would not be allowed to play in any European competitions, should they earn a place.

2) Teams will be required to break even. The latest figures released in May 2010, for the 2008-9 season indicated that only three teams were in the black in La Liga: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Numancia. Numancia has since been relegated. So much for financial prudence. Real Madrid and Barcelona earn 53% of La Liga revenues.

3) Teams will not be allowed to owe any past due payables towards football clubs IE transfer debt. This would detrimentally effect most La Liga teams. Just a quick example, Mallorca still owes 4 million dollars to Athletic Bilbao for the sale of Aritz Aduriz, who now plays his trade at Valencia.

4) Teams will not be allowed to owe any overdue payables towards employees and social/tax authorities. Recently, Valencia was unable to pay their players, in fact they paid them late. In this case, would Valencia be knocked out of Europe? According to the UEFA FFP regulations, the answer would be yes. Spanish La Liga debt in total amounted to $4.65 billion for the 2008-9 season.

5) Expenses that will NOT be included in the break even calculation, as they are encouraged for the good of the game, include: expenditures on youth development, expenditures on community development, and expenditures or costs related to facilities and infrastructure i.e., stadiums.

6) Loopholes: Single entity aka sugar daddies can invest in the club to the tune of $57M Euros in the first three years, and $38M in subsequent three years. in exchange for shares. The big boys (Real Madrid & Barcelona) will have an out to make the new laws work. In addition, their are no regulations to force clubs to reduce their debt. That said, it will be extremely for La Liga clubs to enact and adhere to these regulations, without losing a competitive edge.

If we look at the current European contenders only Barcelona and Real Madrid would qualify for Europe. Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Villarreal all operate with huge loses. In fact salary and wages for Valencia, Sevilla, Real Betis, and Atlético Madrid are higher than revenues generated by the clubs. The only reason that these clubs manage to limit their losses is from the sale of players and real estate transactions. The bottom line is that the day to day business of football in La Liga, cannot cover costs.


There has got to be a grandfathering and adjustment period for La Liga, as well as exceptions and concessions, if not I do not see how any other teams,10- aside from the big two will be able to compete in Europe.

Sources: UEFA.com, Professor Jose Maria Gay on Spanish Football Finances, Cinco dias, Soccernet, Sport und Markt, Four Four Two

LA REAL SOCIEDAD'S ANTOINE GRIEZMANN GOAL CELEBRATIONS

Check out Antoine Griezmann's goal celebration after Real Sociedad's 2nd Goal against Deportivo La Coruña. The young phenom and other players go into a car that is on display for commercial purposes and pretend they are driving and honking, like they won the car LOL.



Not to be outdone, check out another Antoine Griezmann goal celebration from last year, at the 92nd minute against Cadiz. Love the snow dive! The boy loves to show off!

La Liga, Round 3: Who's ready for Derby Time?

This weekend in La Liga was packed with plenty of derbies and oodles of morbo, or intense rivalry. The games contained all the ingredients for a proper derby as they were heated, tight, controversial, and very physical.

In the Battle Real, a team that defended and attacked as a team (Real Sociedad) were very unfortunate not to get a draw, against an individualistic, slow starting team (Real Madrid). Moments of individual brilliance (Di Maria's goal) a lucky deflection (Ronaldo's free kick), and three missed clear-cut, early opportunities by a young startlet (La Real's Griezmann) was the story of the game. That's two dropped points by the team from San Sebastian. Mourinho's brood are still a work in progress. FT 1-2 (RS: Tamudo, RM: DiMaria, Ronaldo)

To read more go to: http://www.globalfootballtoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=378:la-liga-round-3-derby-time&catid=3:laliga&Itemid=22

Kits!

Real Sociedad 2009/10 Home and Away Kits









Photos courtesy of Football Fashion

Málaga 2009/2011 Home Kit





Photos courtesy of Football Fashion

Financial Problems in Spain's Second Division

Running a Football club is extremely expensive. Most clubs in La Liga, are run at a loss. Some clubs still choose to expense their debt over future periods, rather than as they are incurred. This is extremely misleading and doesn't show the clear financial picture of a club. In addition, La Liga continues to allow clubs to negotiate their own Television rights locally and globally. This means the big clubs get the lion's share of the local and foreign revenues, whereas the smaller clubs are fortunate to get their games on the air.

The Spanish second division is even more precarious. Prior to the start of each season, the Spanish RFEF reviews the clubs to ensure that they have met all their financial obligations, including payments to players. This year the deadline is July 31st. If they cannot meet these obligations, they will be relegated. How do clubs avoid this punishment? Well, they file for protection from creditors under the Spanish "Ley Concursal", similar to the U.S. equivalent of Chapter 11. Currently, both Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad are far behind in their payments. But unlike in other countries, in Spain, they can avoid any sporting penalty, if these two club file for protection under Ley Concursal. Las Palmas and Alaves both filed under this law, avoided relegation and the court sided that they could not pay their players while under administration. Sound fair? What about the players? Levante could follow suit. Salamanca, Elche and Albacete, among others have been reported to the player's association (AFE) for non payment of wages and salaries. How many other clubs will fall and file for protection? No wonder the players are threatening with a strike.

The big clubs and star players are fine, but what about the career of the workman players, the regular joes trying to make end's meat. And what about the future stars? . How can they pay their bills and support their family? The disparity is appalling. What can the Spanish RFEF and Player's Association do to improve this situation? What about TV revenue sharing similar to the Premiership and soon Serie A? Will this help at all? What about stronger financial oversight, accountabily, and assistance? What about a sporting penalty IE relegation or deducting points for any club that files for protection, similar to Serie A? Isn't the strength of the top league and youth system, depend largely on the strength of the Second division? Or is it survival of the fittest in a global economy? What do you think?