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!

VIDEO: Loco Bielsa transforms the Athletic Club bench

Calm, mild mannered, relaxed? Not Marcelo Bielsa! Check out some footage from pre-season at the helm of Athletic Club. It's in Spanish and demonstrates the passion of the great man (along with a little bit of the sweet side). If he gets this worked up for a friendly, I worry about him when the league starts. Enjoy!

Athletic Club 2011-2012 first kit revealed

After all the craptastic disasters Nike (who owns Umbro BTW) has designed this season, I didn't have high expectations about the new first kit for the team, specially not after the beautiful ikurriña-based shirt that is our away kit.

Well, I was proven wrong.

The new kit keeps the same red and white lines, without any electric based theme (yes Real Sociedad, I'm looking at you), last season's shirt had a polo neck, this time it is a deep collar in black, the sleeves also have some black on them, Petronor keeps being the sponsor (€2.5M/year).





The shorts keep being black, with the Umbro brand embroidered in gold and the club's shield, both opposite to the placement in the shirt's design.



The best part was the socks though, many of us didn't like the black socks so we were very happy to see how the original txurigorri socks made a triumphant return.



The goalkeeper's kit is completely light grey with black collar and cuffs.

What do you think of the kit? I quite like it and it has a refreshing old school style, reminiscent of the last Liga won by the team.

Chivas v Real Madrid ~ San Diego time!!

This is my last post on RMA and their pre-season in LA. It has been one of the best 10 days of my life. Following your team is just one of the best experiences ever. I got a sense for the trials and tribulations of being associated with this great club and how down to earth the players really are. They are just normal people. I want to thank Peggy van Huizen and Leo Gutierrez for the great coverage and for being part of the Forza Futbol dream team. Hopefully we can do it again next year! Look out España for Forza Futbol La Liga Tour March 2012!




Match Report


Chivas is starting their new season this weekend and have a lot more games under their belt. The crowd was 60% Chivas fans and 40% Real Madrid.

Players missing from the game for Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos (back spasms), Khedira (toe), Sahin (knee), Alonso (back pains)

First half thoughts: Chivas playing a very defensive game. They defended in packs and gave RM very little space in the midfield. They produced continuous tactical fouls, which impeded Los Blancos from playing their game. Chivas stole a lot of balls, and provided several long balls over the top, catching RM unawares. RM was not able to capitalize on their chances. Carvalho looked a bit slow at the back. Kaka appeared to be out of sorts and rather tired. RM passing was a poor. Chivas began the first half at a frentic pace and then slowed the game down, and controlled the tempo of the game.

That said, Adan played done well in goal. Cristiano was his effervescent self and Varane impressed with his speed and ability to make key interventions in front of goal. The 18 year old defender read the game well, had a few close scoring opportunities from set pieces, and performed admirably overall. Still, Coach Jose Luis Real was very happy that his team kept the game at 0-0 at halftime.



Second half thoughts: Wholesale substitutions were made by Real Madrid after halftime. No problem, because they have a solid bench. Some key entries were Pepe, Callejon, Albiol and Casillas. As previously mentioned, Chivas starts the Mexican league this weekend against Atlante, so coach Real made two critical substitutions to preserve his backline from injury. Those two substitutions also allowed Real Madrid to win the game.

Gold cup winner Hector Reynoso was taken off at the 54’. Cristiano scored his first goal, assisted by Benzema, in the 72’. Miguel Ponce, another defender, was substituted in the 74’. A minute later, Pepe was taken down in the penalty box. The referee pointed to the spot and Cristiano converted it easily in the 75’. Steam roller Real Madrid carry on, in their devil may care way, in the 81’. This time Ozil provided an exquisite pass to Cristiano who closed the game with a beautiful finish. Hat trick. Full time RMA 3-0 Chivas.


Kudos to Cristiano: I have really been impressed with Cris’ performances and willingness to please the crowd and put on a stellar display. Some notables:

The versatility of Cristiano Ronaldo. The first goal was scored a la Llorente from Athletic Bilbao. Cris moved into a center forward (no 9) position, between two Chivas defenders and physically muscled his way through to score. His penalty was pure power and his last goal was a work of art.

For Cristiano, there are no friendlies. The Portuguese International put on his A game in San Diego and in LA. He picked up the team by the scruff of their necks in the second half and claimed a hat trick in the process. No surprise, Cristiano was voted hands down the man of the match.


Food for thought: Back to the game, the bottom line, is that Chivas came to play a complete game, not an open game on the counter like the LA Galaxy, but a full on tactical game, and if not for their defensive substitutions in the second half, the scoreline might have been different. Real Madrid without Xabi Alonso, Khedira, and Sergio Ramos is just not at the same caliber or world class level. This was only a friendly and a pre-season game. However, the first half performance is definitely something for Mourinho and staff to take note as food for thought.


Chivas Guadalajara: Luis Michel, Esparza, Reynoso (Magallón, 54 '), Medina (Gallardo, 67'), De Luna, Araujo, Mejia, Fabian (Jesus Sanchez, 78 '), Ponce (Ledesma, 74'), Medina ( Nava, 83 ') and Arellano (Antonio Salazar, 78').

Real Madrid: Adan (Casillas, 46 '), Arbeloa (Nacho, 46'), Varane (Albiol, 46'), Carvalho (Pepe, 46'), Marcelo (Casado 82'); Coentrao, Granero, Kaka (Callejon, 46'), Özil (Joselu, 82'), Benzema (Jese, 78) and Cristiano.

Goals: 0-1 (72') Cristiano. 0-2 (75'): Cristiano, penalty. 0-3 (81') Cristiano.

Referee: Ricardo Salazar. Booked Mejia (35 '), Arellano (42') and De Luna (55 ') for Chivas and Coentrao (40') and Cristiano (55 ') for Real Madrid.

Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium. 38,211 spectators.



Post Game Press Conference: Jose Mourinho



Asked about Coentrao: “ We brought him here because he can play a lot of positions and not just to be competition for Marcelo. Coentrao had never played as a holding midfielder, that position is different for him. Alonso, Khedira and Granero are midfield players, positional, fixed pivots, whereas Coentrao, is accustomed to playing in more lateral positions, deeper, dynamic, something different from what I have in the team. I did not want to play 90 minutes, but 45, because he had already played the whole game against the Galaxy, but the problem of Xabi Alonso has pains in back. The third game against Philadelphia, Fabio will be rested as he has already played too many minutes. "

With the midfield injuries of Sahin, Khedira, and Alonso, do you need another midfield or will you call back up Lass or Gago? "What Sahin has is an injury. We hope that he can play in China or at the start of the season. But Xabi is not an injury, he has back pain, and Khedira is a small thing. The majority are not real injuries. Today we were missing all of them and were able to play with Coentrao and Granero. If necessary, we can play Pepe in the midfield. Varane also told me he has played enough games player in midfield and is available. We have the players we need. There is time until August 31, to obtain one more striker. I don’t want to even think about asking for anyone else, because the club has made great strides in this area. " (So Pepe, Coentrao, Varane and of course Granero are options in midfield to play a holding role.

On Pedro Leon and other players that Mou does not counted on this year. “I do not like to call them "dropped." "That's not a good name, just the coach has a way of working with a small squad, each day I work 10 v 10 drills. I like to have a squad of 21, open to the youth team, when an injury, I want to have a Castilla player step in to play. " He continues: "These footballers have to decided if they want to play at a team, where they will not have a lot of chances to play, I don’t like to call them “dropped” or say they are not good.... The first thing is to be professional, they themselves must be smart and think that if they will not play and do not like this situation, Real Madrid is working to find solutions. Garay understands that playing alongside Pepe, Carvalho, Albiol and Nino, we have enough in that role. If he gets an opportunity to go to another great club or country (Benfica), where there are more options to play, then he will look for a new life or career. For me this is good for him. Because staying in Madrid, to train every week and when you don’t play and go home, this is not good for a professional. The players have until the end of August, to accept one of the many options to go to a great club. But calling them “dropped”, no that is not the right word, the correct word is players who will not get playing time. " (So Mou is encouraging the “lost boys” to accept one of the transfer or loan options to go abroad or to another team in La Liga. Very interesting indeed and well said by Mou.)

Asked about his thoughts on the Chivas game and performances: “It was a great game, fabulous fitness training. For many years I have come to the US with Chelsea, Inter, and RM, every year we play against MLS and Mexican teams, against both Chivas and Club America. These teams play well and with a lot of fouls and this is what we need. We don’t need easy games or boring games. We need to play against teams that give us a difficult time and Chivas was very successful in giving us a difficult time.”

About Kaka: "He had six years without a proper preseason between World Cups, Copa America, injuries, his move to Madrid ... Now he is with us from day one, without missing a beat. He participated in all 12 training sessions completely. He played 45 minutes against Galaxy and 45 against Chivas and I hope he will play 45 against Philadelphia. He has a proper preseason and that is what he needs. His body needs that."

About CR7: "Cristiano is Cristiano, always with ambition, with motivation, with a joy of playing, and pride of playing well, whether in China, Japan or the United States. He always wants to play well and score. He knows how to win and get three goals to score as many points, as the rules of the tournament with 3 points for every goal. He has played with this mission. It's great to have. "

On comparisons to Phil Jackson, coach of the LA Lakers and the fact that Mou has coached many years with big teams and personalities. Should we call him the European zen master? “Noooooo. Basketball is Basketball. Soccer is Soccer. NBA has special rules in the basketball world. Impossible to compare. Of course I have read a few things and I know that he is such a big coach. Basketball coach is a basketball coach…”




For more youtube videos of Mourninho’s press conference, go to Forza Futbol’s youtube page.

As always you can find numerous more photos from the San Diego game day at Forza Futbol’s facebook page.

By the way the mixed zone, where the players come out was great with easy access to the players. I was able to ask both Iker and Chori about Xabi's injury. It made my day.


ADDED BONUS: FORZA FUTBOL ON REALMADRID.COM

Forza Futbol gets quoted in English and Spanish on realmadrid.com. Check this out! Our very own Peggy is a reference for the club!! Incredible!

Athletic Club Cantera Work Part Deux: International Guys

In the last Athletic post I talked about how the club cemented most of their existence in the cantera work, how the philosophy made the youth system vital for Athletic's survival.

Now, many people might think that we sign players just because they are Basque born or raised but not because of their technical qualities. Nothing can be farther from the truth than that.

Athletic's youth system is a dog eat dog world, where kids from all over Euskadi work gruesomely for the dream of making it to the first team, some stay due to their willingness to put on some hard work (and you have people like Koikili or Toquero in the first team to show that) but it is mostly based on two characteristics: physical strength (Basque football is uniquely based on power due to the size of the players) and ball technique.

Sometimes we get good generations, sometimes we get bad ones, all in all we've never been relegated to La Liga Adelante.

The success of a cantera is shown on how many people made it to the first team (7/8 players out of Athletic's Starting XI are from the youth system) and how many people are singled out for the National Teams, with the quality Spain has now, being called is a huge honor and the following Athletic players have been called in the 2010/2011 season:

Senior Squad: Fernando Llorente, Javi Martínez (WORLD CHAMPIONS), Andoni Iraola
U-21: Javi Martínez, Mikel San José, Iker Muniain, Ander Herrera (EURO CHAMPIONS), Ander Iturraspe, Igor Martínez
U-20: Aitor Fernández.
U-19: Enric Saborit, Sergio Mendigutxia, Jon Aurtenetxe, Diego Royo, Eric Morán, Jonás Ramalho.
U-18: Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Urtzi Erleaga.
U-17: Aymeric Laporte, Guillermo Fernández, Néstor Salinas.
U-16: Iker Undabarrena, Aitor Seguin, Markel Etxebarria.

As the call-ups show, Athletic has now a young competitive club and the younger guys are slowly but surely stepping up to the plate, there's a good present and a bright future for the club and for our National Team.

Athletic Club: Philosophy and Cantera Work

Many people has asked me about the philosophy behind the club and how it has shaped the way Athletic is seen by the fans and the media.

The club was founded by English immigrants who came to work on the Basque Country (Biscay is one of the biggest industrial regions of Spain) and many of them played football on the side.

Later, the club stated that only footballers born in Biscay were eligible to play for the club, the pickings weren't that good and after a while the club started to get people who were either born in the Basque Country (including the French part of it) or that were formed as canteranos in Euskadi.

In the first case you have Ander Herrera, whom grew up in Zaragoza but was born in Bilbao and for the second one you can have David López, who was born in La Rioja but was formed in Osasuna (Navarra is included as part of the Basque Country and feeds lots of players to the club).

It's hard to keep it that way because that doesn't allow the team to get south american or african or even european players from countries that aren't Spain or France, in Athletic you have to work with what you have and see if there are people in Euskadi that can move to the club or not.

Because of that Athletic has strengthened their youth system, right now Lezama is along with La Fábrica and La Masía the top of canteras in Spain; kids get there with 11-12 years from feeder clubs and start their formation as Athleticzales, it isn't just footballing, it is a way of life, they are taught to love and respect the institution and they became a part of a large family.

Many of those kids have to leave their parents and to make the transition easier, they stay with surrogate families in Bilbao, create tight bonds with them and when they are a bit older (16-17 years old) they move to the club's residencies.

The kids start to move up the ranks, from the u-12 to the last youth team just before they go to Baskonia (the second subsidiary team which plays in the Third Division of Spanish football) and then to Bilbao Athletic, the B-team.

If kids make it to the BA, then they are considered as a part of the club and are invited to train and spend time with Athletic, there's a tradition on which kids from Bilbao Athletic have breakfast everyday with the first team during the season, you see seasoned pros like Aitor Ocio or Pablo Orbaiz sitting with them and teaching them the ropes, showing them what is like to be a part of the institution, giving advice and listening to their questions.

This cantera policy has also strenghtened the economy of the club, due to the fact that there are barely buys during the season, the ones that are approved are usually under €10m, so the debt is practically non existant and the club has a good economical situation (I will write another article about that particular subject and its relation with the new stadium and the future of the club)

There are many issues with the other Euskadi clubs (Real Sociedad and Osasuna) because they feel Athletic "steals" talent from there, kids want to come to Athletic because it is the biggest club in the Basque Country and there's a chance to play in Europe, not to mention that since they are local product, they are more likely to start in the club than in RS or Osasuna who actually buy foreigner players to cover for the places they need.

From the most widely used starting XI of last season:

Iraizoz - Canterano

Iraola - Came from Antiguo'ko (the club that formed Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta) but was involved in Athletic's youth system, played in Baskonia and all, so according to UEFA's norms he's a Canterano as well

Ekiza - Canterano

Amorebieta/San Jose - both are Canteranos

Castillo/Aurtenetxe - the first one came from Real Sociedad, the second is a Canterano

Gurpegui - Canterano

Martínez - came from Osasuna's youth system but was bought at 17 before he debuted with them

López - came from Osasuna

Muniain - Canterano

Llorente - Canterano

Toquero - formed in Real Sociedad but went through many Euskadi teams before finishing in Athletic

Between 7-8 players of the starting first team come from the cantera; Athletic has representatives in the Spanish squads at all levels: 2 of the players were in the WC winning squad (Llorente and Martínez, Iraola plays some matches with La Roja as well), 4 were in the U-21 team who won their Euro (Martínez, Herrera, San Jose and Muniain), 1 will be the GK at the U-20 WC (Fernández) , another two are playing the U-19 Euro (Aurtenetxe and Ramalho).

It is a testimony of how well the youth system has been working in the last decade or so, also it is worth of notice that Athletic is one of the three clubs (along with RM and BCN) that has never left La Liga since it started.

We might not be winning tournaments left and right but the club shows that if you believe in something and stick to it, are organized and work hard, you can fight and get to high places, this is a very competitive squad exclusively made of Spaniards and we as fans won't change the philosophy for anything, prefer to be suffering with our own than betray what has made Athletic as great as it is.

Josu Urrutia: Athletic Club's New President

The Challenger defeats the Incumbent and Josu Urrutia becomes Athletic Club's 31st President after beating Fernando García Macua in the Summer Elections of 2011.

This particular campaign had a definitive political component, both candidates got support from different government/enterprise sides and in the media there was more interest about the coach signing and the future of San Mamés Barria (the new stadium) than on the projects each candidate was presenting.

Also there were calls of foul play, specially since Macua was called in a tax evasion process about town-planning in Barakaldo (my hometown), many people said that the timing for those accusations to show was too coincidental with the elections and that Urrutia's team was behind it, nothing was proven.

Urrutia had gotten more signatures to support his candidature so he was a slight favorite but most polls declared a technical tie and that the people who still hadn't decided who to vote for will turn the election around.

These last days, many Athletic associates received phone calls and letters asking to vote for one or other candidate, that is a matter for concern because only the club has the database for all that private data and many of us weren't exactly happy about it, it was considered an intrusion.

As usual, the election day was tranquil and no incident happened, at morning hundreds of people got in line to vote at the Ibaigane Palace which is Athletic's administrative HQ.

One of the problems faced by the elections was the fact that you cannot vote by mail if you're outside of the Bilbao area during them, you have to go and sign something at the HQ to be able to send your vote later, it is not fair for many of us who are living outside of Spain and that's one of the suggestions we have for the next elections.

My family did vote, all of us are socios and have always been active in the club (a couple of my nephews are playing at the Alevín categories) and were really interested in the future, what could happen now since the team is in its best moment since we ended up second in la Liga in the 97-98 season, we now have the tools and the players to get farther up and have great expectatives about this team.

Josu has to deal with the pressure, because Athletic is a team that utterly belongs to the fans and we are very vocal when things don't go the way we want to, he has to take the reigns of one of Spain's biggest clubs without administrative experience, one of the best youth systems in the country and will have to lead the way in the construction of the new stadium, he has to be very careful there because the money involved is big so both the Government (who's paying for most of it) and sponsors like Petronor will be checking his every move.

He's already made his first bold move by bringing the first non-European coach to the club: Marcelo Bielsa; many of us are on the fence about it because we can't say if he's gonna fit the club, he won't have the same freedom to choose as other coaches do since we don't sign foreigners or people who haven't spend time in Basque youth systems, I think we have a very balanced squad, specially now that Ander Herrera is up, all we need is to get a decent left back (I wanted Monreal but the Anti-Athletic clause made him unattainable by the club) and maybe get Aduriz back so Llorente can have some rest, he's been playing all the matches in all the competitions so his body is usually spent at the end of the season.

Bielsa plays with a 3-1-3-3 formation, so I think we might get something like this as starting XI:

Gorka Iraizoz as GK

Andoni Iraola - Borja Ekiza - Fernando Amorebieta in the back

Carlos Gurpegui/Pablo Orbaiz as pivot

David López - Javi Martínez - Ander Herrera as midfielders

Gaizka Toquero - Fernando Llorente - Iker Muniain in the attacking line

I loved Josu as a player and I hope he's as dedicated as President as he was when he was wearing the club's colors.

Aupa Athletic!!

VIDEO: Athletic's hymn in English!

Just in time for the summer friendly against Tottenham? No, but a brilliant rendition of el himno del Athletic Club in English! Honoring the history of Athletic Bilbao and celebrating the current crop of young, talented players. Enjoy! Gives me chills!! Sing along y'all!

Athletic Bilbao Elections

So Marcelo Bielsa has been offered the Athletic Bilbao job, or at least that’s the way the half-hearted journalists who cover the sport are playing it. Yes, Josu Urrutia, the challenger in the upcoming Presidential elections at San Mames, has (should he win) offered the role of guiding the club should into their new stadium not to veritable outsiders like Frank Rjkaard or Louis Van Gaal as many expected, but to a guy like Bielsa hasn’t coached a game in over a year and hasn’t run a club in over a decade?

It’s a risky proposition for Athletic. Under García-Macua´s guidance over the last four years, the club have gone from certain relegation fodder to serious challengers in that secondary league below the big two. He´s well aware of the clubs accomplishments in that time, the growth in financial circles and in player development, not to mention the diminishing of club debt, building the new San Mamés stadium and he takes credit as he should, but let´s not forget the accomplishments of Joaquin Caparros.
Caparros´s style may be dull or infuriating at times, but it was under his watch that young players like Mikel San Jose, Javi Martinez and Iker Muniain were given much more than a passing opportunity. As we saw with his success at Sevilla, he can build a club with youngsters and a smattering of smart buys, but he can also get lost amongst flashier competition. I mean, a couple of days ago in an interview on Onda Cero, García-Macua was asked point blank by the host if Caparros was his coach, and he tip-toed all around the question. ¨Unlike other candidates, ours is backed by the project of four years of credibility he said. That may well be, but his competition is young, energetic, a club legend and former club captain, and his coach is Marcelo Bielsa, one of the top coaches on the market today.
You can look at Bielsa´s record and question the choice. For the last 13 years he´s spent his days training international squads and what has he won? An Olympic medal in 2004 with Argentina? His club career is even spottier. He book-ended stints at Newell´s Old Boys and Vélez Sársfield in Argentina, after a four years stint in the Mexican League with Atlas of Guadalajara and Club América, but he didn´t really make a name for himself with results. He made a name for his ability to rebuild and resurrect. Like him or not, his innovative tactical and training methods have made him highly sought out: a coach´s coach; a guru of free-flowing attacking football in this sea of tactical negativity.
It´s for that reason that I´d like to see Bielsa direct a club under the circumstances that he has run the Chile squad. He´ll be able to mould his young players to play his system, an exciting 3-1-3-3 that bothered even Spain at times, and he´ll get the most out of them.
I question though his choice of this club and of these players. The club already has an identity, a style of play and a youth-team structure unparalleled in Spain. It is the place where the idea of cantera, which means quarry in Spanish, where club directors in theory if not fact only would dip into their quarry and bring out a a sturdy defender or a nimble midfielder fully-formed in times of need. Bielsa is the man to impose his will and renew a club with his system. I love Bielsa. Sevilla would have been a good fit, or even Getafe with their influx of money, and Inter Milan is a dream job for most people, but Athletic? To give the radical Bielsa the keys to the hyper-conservative Athletic is a mistake.
One can only hope for the best for García-Macua in the July 7th elections.

Athletic Bilbao 2011 - 2012 Second Kit

With the regional flag kits, the latest rage in Spain. I realized that I forgot to give Athletic Bilbao's presentation of their second kit for the 2011 - 2012 based on the Ikurriña (Basque region or Euskadi flag) from April, it's proper due. Current President Macua most likely decided on the early release to kick start his election campaign.

Petronor (the local oil company) is still the sponsor and Umbro is the kit maker. The new away shirt has a green color with a crew neck collar. The are two white and red horizontal stripes across the chest. The Umbro logo is on the right side with the club’s badge on the left. The black track suits (were by the lads) were also presented, along with the light grey goal keeper outfit.


The traditional red and white striped jersey will be retained as the 1st kit. The official presentation of all three kits will occur after Presidential elections in July.

Do you like the second kit based on Basque flag and colors? What do you think of the current regional flag kit fashion?

Damn lies and Statistics: La Liga Year End Stats!

It's that time of the year again. The end of the 2010-11 La Liga season and I love the numbers game. I wanted to share a few interesting stats, along with the usual suspects. So hear we go!


Stadium Attendance aka Where the atmosphere lives!: What were the top 5 stadiums that were filled to capacity and most well attended? Not the biggest or prettiest, but the most well attended (some may say the most loyal fans). Well, this may surprise you, but here is the top five.

1. San Mames, Athletic Bilbao's stadium - 40,000 seater, 19 games, 691,000 attended, 91% capacity.
2. Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid's arena - 80,000 seater, 19 games, 1.359.500 attended, 89% capacity.
3. El Molinón, Sporting Gijón's home - 25,885 seater, 18 games, 405,100 attended, 87% capacity.
4. El Madrigal, Villarreal's stadium - 22,000 seater, 19 games, 355,500 attended, 85% capacity.
5. Reyno de Navarra, Osasuna's arena - 19,800 seater, 19 games, 305,979 attended, 81% capacity.

Assists aka Goal Creators Who were the Top 5 players with the last passes that ended up in the back of the net?

1. Messi BAR - 17 assists in 33 games
2. Ozil RMA - 16 assists in 36 games
3. Mata VAL - 12 assists in 33 games
4. Dani Alves BAR - 12 assists in 36 games
5. Xabi Prieto RSO - 12 assists in 37 games


The Bad Boys of La Liga - Who were the top 5 players with the most Yellow Cards? Quite indicative of the most defensive and in your face teams.

1. Puñal Osasuna - 16 out of 33 games
2. Gurpegui Athletic Bilbao - 15 out of 31 games
3. Lopo Deportivo La Coruña - 15 out of 33 games
4. Ponzio Real Zaragoza - 14 out of 32 games
5. Diogo Real Zaragoza - 14 out of 33 games

The Villains of La Liga - Who were the top 5 players with the most Red Cards? More indicative of a rush of blood to the head, in my opinion.

1. Xisco Nadal Levante - 3 out of 25 games
2. Castillo Athletic - 2 out of 11 games
3. David Navarro Valencia - 2 out of 17 games
4. DeMichelis Malaga - 2 out of 18 games
5. Stankevicius Valencia - 2 out of 21 games


The Marathon Runners aka the Iron Men - Who were the players that played the most minutes on the pitch? (excluding Goalies). Impeccable athletes with very little injury problems. Quite impressive!

1. Iraola Athletic - 3,290 minutes played
2. Bruno Villarreal - 3,274 minutes played
3. Xabi Prieto Real Sociedad - 3,236 minutes played
4. Gabi Real Zaragoza - 3,229 minutes played
5. Jarosik Real Zaragoza - 3,197 minutes played


Mr. Penalty Kick - Who were the top 5 players that scored from the spot?

1. Ronaldo RMA - 8 out of 8
2. Gabi ZAR - 6 out of 6
3. Nekounam OSA - 5 out of 5
4. Diego Castro SPO - 5 out of 5
5. Tied with 4 out of 4 - Xabi Prieto RSO, Rossi VIL, Messi BAR, Luis Garcia ESP


Pichichi - Top Goal Scorers

1. Ronaldo RMA - 40
2. Messi BAR - 31
3. Aguero AMD and Negredo SEV both at 20
5. Tied at 18: Villa BAR, Rossi VIL, Soldado VAL, LLorente ATH

Ronaldo with a historic goal tally in the League.
Lots of goals scored this season in the Spanish League, for the most part.


Zamora - Least amount of Goals Allowed

1. Victor Valdes BAR 16/32 games
2. Iker Casillas RMA 32/35
3. Dani Aranzubia DEP 32/36
4. Diego Lopez VIL 38/44
5. Ricardo OSA 38/46

Valdes the clear leader, head and shoulders above the rest.


(SOURCE: DON BALON)

Transfer Targets: Chelsea FC

After years of relatively tepid summer buying, unless you consider the talent binge that Manchester City have been on, this looks to be a slightly better than average transfer market, especially for the big clubs in England. While any other year the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool might look to find a hidden gem coming out of the relatively inexpensive French or German markets, maybe a darting winger or a stern defender playing in the Russian League, they might be for the first time looking at Spain for the same sort of deals. Spanish Primera clubs have never been more productive at developing young talent, the first-teams on down are brimming with domestic signings, but due to a perfect storm of circumstances, an ever-worsening economy and a highly unequal profit sharing scheme, the best players in Spain will leave sooner rather than later and England is looking more and more to be a financially stable destination, even if the weather leaves much to be desired.

Chelsea FC: you win a domestic double one year, league champions and repeating as FA Cup winners, you would think that Carlo Ancelotti would have been give a respite from the speculation that has effected Chelsea managers since well since the day that Roma Abramovich bought a debt riddled club and pulled them up into the upper echelons of European football clubs. With Carlo Ancelotti set to leave, more than likely to AS Roma where he captained the side in his playing days, the first order of business is set. Find a manager.

Manager: André Vilas-Boas is the hot choice. Jose Mourinho´s former assistant has done well winning the Europa League wit FC Porto and was seen as a perfect fit for the departing Ancelotti, but he has back-tracked and has stated his intention in staying and giving the Champions League a whirl. With a 15 million pound buy-out apparently, it would be prohibitive to release Vilas-Boas from his contract, if this were any team but Chelsea. Guus Hiddink would be an obvious choice, either as a temporary solution for a year or so, as a hand-picked successor became available (like Marco Van Basten or Frank Rijkaard), or in a longer-term deal. He has the pedigree and he´s worked for Abramovich, but is he ready at his age to return to the pressure cooker of top-flight club coaching? Floating the idea of Gianfranco Zola for a Chelsea return is laughable. He needs to prove himself before he can be handed the reigns of a big club. I think Hiddink takes his turn.

Striker: I know there is a huge impetus to sign Sergio Kun Agüero to bolster an attack that has been sputtering under Ancelotti but I think that would be a mistake. Agüero is young and a dangerous finisher but his skills duplicate those of a player they already have under contract: Fernando Torres. I know there is some bias with Torres, the Liverpool association and his lack of scoring over the last part of the season, but Chelsea supporters have not seen the best of Torres. This summer will include his first restful break since after the 2007-2008 season. Can he play alongside Kun? They did that already at Atlético Madrid, it didn´t work, plus Agüero has pledged to stay and win trophies at the Vicente Calderon. Just because his agents are putting his name in the papers does not mean that the player wants to leave.

Midfielder: Chelsea would be better served in getting a complementary player, one who could work in the space behind Torres and was an effective passer, like Gerrard or Xabi Alonso was for him at Liverpool. Kaká from Real Madrid? Too much of an investment for a part-time player. Same thing for Snejder. I like Javi Martinez out of Athletic Bilbao or Borja Valero from Villarreal.

Winger: Bringing Neymar out of Santos directly to England this early in the Brazilian player´s career and you risk stunting his growth. It´s another Robinho to Real Madrid situation writ all over again. It doesn´t make sense economically. I´d actually like to see what real, old-fashioned wingers like Diego Capel or Jesús Navas do in the Premier League again. I know they are both either too slight (in Navas´s case) or small (in Capel´s case) to be effective centrally or tracking back, but on an island up front on the wings they would make loads of space for Chelsea strikers, they are great in one-on-one situations and are pin-point crossers. I know, that´s a bit of a reach.


Again, this isn´t a collection of transfer rumors, nor is it real speculation about players who might end-up at Chelsea, just my own opinion about the sorts of players who I think would thrive at Stamford Bridge. Let us know what yours is.

Next up: Liverpool

SPOTLIGHT ON YOUTH: Futbol Draft & U21S

Fútbol Draft 2011 announced the Gold, Silver and Bronze finalists. The best canteranos of the year who will be honored in a year end gala and all star game. As you can see from the 33 finalists, the majority play in the first division in Spain, 9 Primera clubs are represented in the Gold best eleven, of which three are from Barça.

The finalists are:


GOAL KEEPERS

David De Gea Quintana 1990 At. Madrid GOLD
Diego Mariño Villar 1990 Villarreal SILVER
Joel Robles Blázquez 1990 At. Madrid BRONZE


RIGHT BACK

Mario Gaspar Pérez 1990 Villarreal GOLD
Martín Montoya Torralbo 1991 Barcelona SILVER
Hugo Mallo Novegil 1991 Celta Vigo BRONZE


LEFT BACK

Antonio Manuel Luna 1991 Almería GOLD
Jon Aurtenetxe Borde 1992 Ath. Bilbao SILVER
Víctor Álvarez Delgado 1993 Espanyol BRONZE


RIGHT SIDED CENTRAL DEFENDER

Marc Bartra Aregall 1991 Barcelona GOLD
José Ignacio Fernández "Nacho" 1990 Real Madrid SILVER
Sergio Gómez Solá 1992 Barcelona BRONZE


LEFT SIDED CENTRAL DEFENDER

Jordi Amat Maas 1992 Espanyol GOLD
Marc Muniesa Martínez 1992 Barcelona SILVER
Ignasi Miquel Pons 1992 Arsenal BRONZE


RIGHT SIDED MIDFIELDER

Thiago Alcantara do Nascimento 1991 Barcelona GOLD
Sergio Roberto Carnicer 1992 Barcelona SILVER
Rubén Pardo Gutiérrez 1992 Real Sociedad BRONZE


LEFT SIDED MIDFIELDER

José García del Pozo "Recio" 1991 Málaga GOLD
Jorge Resurección "Koke" 1992 At. Madrid SILVER
Alejandro Fernández Iglesias "Alex" 1992 Real Madrid BRONZE


RIGHT WINGER

Francisco Femenía "Kiko" 1991 Hércules GOLD
Ezequiel Calvente Criado 1991 Real Betis SILVER
Gerard Deulofeu Lázaro 1994 Barcelona BRONZE


LEFT WINGER

Iker Muniain Goñi 1992 Ath. Bilbao GOLD
Juan Carlos Pérez López 1990 Real Madrid SILVER
Jesé Rodríguez Ruíz 1993 Real Madrid BRONZE


MEDIA PUNTA/SECOND STRIKER

Sergio Canales Madrazo 1991 Real Madrid GOLD
Francisco Román Alarcón "Isco" 1992 Valencia SILVER
Pablo Sarabia García 1992 Real Madrid BRONZE


CENTRAL FORWARD

Bojan Krkic Pérez 1990 Barcelona GOLD
Álvaro Vázquez García 1991 Espanyol SILVER
Álvaro Morata Martín 1992 Real Madrid BRONZE



U-21 CHAMPIONSHIPS AND OLYMPIC QUALIFICATIONS LOOMING

Luis Milla has named his provisional list of 40 players, which will be narrowed down to 23 later this month. Included in the list are World Cup winners: Sergio Busquets, Juan Mata and Javi Martinez. Several of the call ups have been selected as part of the Futbol Draft above. The European Championships will take place June 12th through 25th.

Provisional Squad of 40:

Goalkeepers: De Gea (Atlético), Joel (Atlético), Tomás Mejías (Castilla), Rubén Miño (Barcelona), Diego Mariño (Villarreal)

Defenders: Mario (Villarreal), Fontás (Barcelona), San Jose (Athletic), Botía (Sporting), Marc Bartra (Barcelona), José Angel (Sporting), Dídac Vilà (Milan), Azpilicueta (Marseille), Domínguez (Atlético), Victor Ruiz (Napoli), Montoya (Barcelona)

Midfielders: Koke (Atlético) Canales (R. Madrid), Pacheco (Norwich), Thiago (Barcelona), Rubén Pérez (Deportivo), Baena (Espanyol), Diego Capel (Sevilla), Javi Martínez (Athletic), Illarramendi (R. Sociedad), Parejo (Getafe), Jonathan Viera (Las Palmas), Ander Herrera (Zaragoza), Matilla (Villarreal), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Busquets (Barcelona), Mata (Valencia)

Strikers: Muniain (Athletic), Adrián (Deportivo), Rodrigo (Bolton), Álvaro Vázquez (Espanyol), Juan Carlos (Castilla), Jeffren (Barcelona), Emilio Nsue (Mallorca), Bojan (Barcelona)

La Lambretta Radio: La Liga Bilingual Podcast #8

La Tertulia guests today: Mix Master Emcee, Edu aka @lalambretta, Writer extraordinaire from elblaugrana.com, Inma aka @inmazv, Ravi aka @aupasubmarino from Seattle via India, el Colchonero y cantador from @thisisatleti and @estoesatleti podcasts, Ricky, and yours truly, Forza Futbol's very own, Elisa, debate and discuss Spanish football!!


Some of today's highlights:

o Does Quique v Forlan remind us of Pellegrini v Riquelme?
o Is Málaga the Manchester City of Primera La Liga?
o Is Valencia's Vicente the misunderstood genio or a rebel without a cause?
o Is Bojan due for a transfer to a club with less pressure?

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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Forza Futbol & La Lambretta Radio - Spanish Football Bilingual Podcast no 3

Today, Edu from La Lambretta Radio, el Doctor Julio from Santander, and yours truly Elisa talk about the following topics:

o Relegation battle and remaining fixtures
o Edu's trip to Madrid to see Sporting v Real Madrid with Inma
o Where should Fernando Llorente play?
o Is it fair that B teams cannot get promoted to Primera division?
o The Marcellino revolution at Racing Santander
o Liga Adelante


and much more.

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

Listen below, on itunes, ivoox or here.


Ir a descargar

SPOTLIGHT ON YOUTH: International Callups and more

U-21 Friendlies vs France and Belarus

Spain U-21 coach Luis Milla has the luxury of calling up two different squads to each game. What can I say but the Spanish clubs are doing an amazing job at producing the next generation of footballers. The game against France will be played March 24th away and will not be the usual suspects. The game on March 28th will be a home fixture in Madrid and will be comprised of the best eleven.

Below are the team selections for each game:

France Fixture; Lots of Yellow Submarines and Merengues

Goalkeeper: Diego Mariño (Villarreal), Joel Robles (Atletico),

Defenders: Carles Planas (Barca), Daniel Sánchez Ayala (Derby County), Kiko Femenia (Hercules), Nacho (RealMadrid), Marc Bartra (Barca), Mario Gaspar (Villarreal)

Midfielders: Francisco Mérida (Atletico), Álvaro Vázquez (Espanyol), Recio (Malaga), Sergio Canales (R. Madrid), Asier Illarramendi (R. Sociedad), Iago Falqué (Villarreal), Nacho Camacho (Malaga)

Strikers: Daniel Pacheco (Liverpool) , Juan Carlos (R. Madrid), Rodri (Sevilla).


Belarus Fixture: the Usual Suspects and very Blaugrana

Goalkeepers: David De Gea (Atletico) , Ruben Miño (Barca)

Defenders: Mikel San José (At. Bilbao), Alberto Botía (Sporting), Álvaro Domínguez (At. Madrid), Andreu Fontás (Barca), Dídac Vilà (Milan)

Midfielders: Thiago Alcántara (Barca), Martín Montoya (Barca), Rubén Pérez (Depor), Dani Parejo (Getafe), Jonathan Viera Ramos (Las Palmas), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Ander Herrera (R. Zaragoza).

Attackers: Iker Muniain (At. Bilbao), Bojan Krkic (Barca), Adrián (Depor), Emilio Nsue (Mallorca), Diego Capel (Sevilla).


The One that Got Away

Many of you may have noticed that there were three Spaniards on the pitch playing for Schalke 04 when they beat Valencia in the round of 16 game in Germany. We all know Raúl and Jurado, but the new shining star at left back was young 21 year old Sergio Escudero. Escudero was a canterano at Real Murcia, who Schalke purchased for $2.5M Euros this past summer. Real Murcia, now in the third division, is experiencing deep financial troubles and this transfer was manna from heaven. But what concerns me is why didn't any of the Spanish leagues' Sporting Directors identify this diamond in the rough? Why wasn't their an offer on the table from a Spanish club? What happened to the great scouting networks? Why did the youngster have to leave Spainfor Germany to find fame and fortune? This is very worrisome indeed. On the positive side, at least he is being mentored by Raúl and Jurado.


U-17 European Championships Mini Tournament

Youth Football at the National level is an extremely important part of development of future generations. Even though one could say that U-17s are still very rough and immature, the RFEF and coaches take it very seriously. The U-17s will need to play three consecutive games this week to qualify for the U-17 European Championships. Spain's under 17 side have been drawn together with Belgium, England and Northern Ireland in Elite round group 5. Matches will take place in Belgium from 26 to 31 March, with the winners going through to the finals in Serbia.

Coach Gines Melendez' roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers: David Gómez Vázquez (Deportivo La Coruña), Alfonso Herrero Peinador (Real Madrid).

Defenders: Carlos Garrido Serrano (Sevilla), Diego Caballo Alonso (Real Madrid), Antonio Luque Quintero (Sevilla), Sergio Menéndez Fernández (Sporting Gijón), Óscar Arroyo Font (Espanyol).

Midfielders: Denis Suárez Fernández (Celta Vigo) Iker Undabarrena Martínez (Athletic Club) Pol Calvet Planellas (Barcelona), Federico Vico Villegas (Córdoba), Pablo Iñiguez de Heredia (Villarreal).

Strikers: Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona) Iker Hernández Ezquerro (Real Sociedad) Raúl de Tomás Gómez (Real Madrid) Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético Madrid) Iván Sáez Jiménez (Real Madrid) Moisés Gómez Bordonado (Villarreal).

Interesting four players from Los Blancos.



Futbol Draft 2011 ~ The Second Cut

Futbol Draft 2011 came out with their next "cut" honoring the best youth players in Spain. They took down the list from 132 to 77. The best in each position will be honored at the end of the season at a gala event. Take notice of the players already playing in the first team of their respective clubs, players called up to the U-21s and U-17s as noted above. De Gea, Thiago, Canales, Isco, Morata, Bojan and Juan Domínguez are some of the talents selected. The future Spanish National Team of 2020? Perhaps. Youth development aka la cantera is truly on the rise in Spain.

DRAFT 77

GOALKEEPER: David De Gea Quintana- At.Madrid, Aitor Fernández Abarisqueta -At.Bilbao, Alex Sanchez Benítez- Zaragoza,
Joel Blazquez Robles- At.Madrid, Edgar Badia-Espanyol, Adrian Orton Vaño -Villarreal, Diego Mariño Villar-Villarreal

RIGHT BACK: Hugo Mallo-Celta Vigo, Joel Johnson-Valencia, Albert Blázquez Robles-Espanyol, Daniel Carvajal Ramos-R. Madrid, Martin Montoya Torralbo-Barcelona, Mario Gaspar Pérez-Villarreal, Moises Jimenez Nieto-Sevilla

LEFT BACK: ,Jon Aurtenetxe-At.Bilbao, Eric Saborit-At.Bilbao, Carles Planas Antolínez-Barcelona, Diego Alonso Caballo-R. Madrid, Antonio Manuel Luna-Sevilla, Antonio Luque Quintero-Sevilla, Victor Alvarez Delgado-Espanyol

CENTRAL DEFENDER RIGHT FOOTED: Marc Bartra Argal-Barcelona, Jonas Gimeno Ramalho-At.Bilbao, David Rochela Calvo-Dep. Coruña, Iqnasi Miquel Pons-Arsenal, Sergio Gómez Sola-Barcelona, Bernardo Victor Cruz-Córdoba, Jose Ignacio Fernandez 'Nacho' -Real Madrid

CENTRAL DEFENDER LEFT FOOTED: Marc Muniesa Martínez-Barcelona, Israel Puerto Pineda-Sevilla, Jorge Pulido Mayoral-At.Madrid, Ekhi Senar Rekondo-Osasuna, Jon Aranda Goenaga-R. Sociedad, Jordi Amat Maas-Espanyol, Iñigo Martínez Berridi-R. Sociedad

RIGHT SIDED MIDFIELDER: Jorge Resurrection (Koke)-At.Madrid, Sergio Roberto Carnicer-Barcelona, Oriol Romeu Vidal-Barcelona, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta Etxeberria-At. Bilbao, Ruben Pardo Gutierrez-R. Sociedad, Iker Undabarrena Martinez -At.Bilbao, Jon Miquel Toral-Arsenal


LEFT SIDED MIDFIELDER: Fran Merida Perez-At. Madrid, Rafael Alcantara Do Nacismento-Barcelona, Ignacio Camacho Bartola -Malaga, Asier Illarramendi Andonegui-R. Sociedad, Alejandro Fernandez Iglesias -R. Madrid, Sergio Alvarez Diaz-Sporting Gijon, Jose García del Pozo "Recio"-Malaga


RIGHT WINGER: Sergio Gonten Gallardo-(Keko)-Girona, Kevin Lacroix Coscolina-Zaragoza, Fran Pastor Bautista-R. Madrid,
Francisco Femenía (Kiko)-Hercules, Juan Miguel Jimenez-Juanmi-Malaga, Ezequiel Calvente Criado -Betis, Julián Luque Conde -R. Santander

LEFT WINGER: Iker Muniain Goñi-At.Bilbao, Iago Falque Silva-Juventus, Pablo Sarabia Garcia-R. Madrid, Daniel Pacheco Lobato -Liverpool, Gerard Lazarus Deulofeu-Barcelona, Juan Carlos Pérez López-R. Madrid, Jesse Rodriguez-R. Madrid


SECOND STRIKER: Sergio Canales Madrazo-R. Madrid, Thiago Alcantara Do Nascimento-Barcelona, Francisco Román Alarcón (Isco)-Valencia, Alejandro Serrano (Mino) -Sp. Gijon, Juan Dominguez Lamas-Dep. Coruña, Denis Suarez Fernandez-Celta, Luis Alberto Romero Alconchel -Sevilla


CENTER FORWARD: Bojan Krkic Pérez-Barcelona, Guillermo Fernández Hierro-At. Bilbao, Borja González Tomas (Baston)-At.Madrid, Alvaro Vazquez Garcia-Espanyol, Álvaro Morata Martin-R. Madrid, Francisco Alcacer García -Valencia, Jairo Morilla Rivero-Sevilla

PREMIERSHIP RUMORS: Summer Transfers

Rumblings and rumors out of Spain are pointing towards several tasty transfers that could take place this summer. What are your thoughts on the following speculation?


Raul Albiol to Chelsea?
The central defender is no longer a starter for Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid. As expected, the Valenciano is chomping at the bit for more playing time. He also wants to solidify his spot as the heir apparent in the Spanish National team, for the aging Marchena and Puyol. Chelsea needs a younger replacement for John Terry and has a strong desire to shore up the backline. Possible?


Nacho Monreal or Jose Enrique to Liverpool?
The team from Merseyside is in desperate need of a left back. Monreal is young and talented and let's get real, Osasuna is a selling club. If the right offer comes along, and it is not from Athletic Bilbao, then they are more than willing to part ways and rebuild. Monreal is on the fringes of the Spanish National team and is looking for ways to advance his career and become a big star. On the other side you have Jose Enrique who is already playing in the Premier League with Newcastle. He has the experience of playing in the physical, fast paced rhythm and dynamism of the PL. The only downside is his price tag, which will be vastly inflated. (See Andy Carroll) Do you go for potential and a more reasonable price tag? Or do you vie for experience and less risk at a steep price?


Fernando Llorente to Tottenham?
Harry Rednapp came to Spain midwinter, in search of a "bride", but came away empty handed. Speculation is that he will return in the summer for the big prize and with the big bucks. Unfortunately, this time he will need to compete with Real Madrid. The Athletic Bilbao striker is the Lion King at his current club. He is used to being the top dog. However he does pine for bigger things and has mentioned the Premier league quite often, as the style is much to his liking and talent. T'Ham would be a good match, provided the club is involved in European competition. ACB President Macua could sell, if the price is right, especially after the summer elections. Probable?


Diego Lopez to Manchester United?
All the transfer rumors are talking about David De Gea to ManU to replace the retiring Van der Sar, but the young Atletico player still lacks the big game experience, particularly in Europe. That said, a goal keeper with the experience of the underrated Diego Lopez would fit in perfectly, in my opinion. A solid offer could sway the Villarreal hierarchy. A transfer in the making?

LA FURIA ROJA: Euro 2012 Qualifiers - Call ups

This week Vicente Del Bosque announced his squad list for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers: March 25th in Granada against the Czech Republic and March 29th in Kaunas against Lithuania.

In form Athletic Bilbao right back, Andoni Iraola is returning to the team. VDB wants options in defense due to the absence of still injured Barcelona player Carles Puyol.

While Valencia midfielder Juan Mata and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez who have been spending their national team time assisting the U-21 team qualify for the Olympics and upcoming European Championships, have been called up to step in for Barcelona's Pedro and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, who are also not available due to injury.


Here's the complete list:


Goalkeepers: Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Liverpool), Víctor Valdés (Barcelona).


Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Albiol (Real Madrid), Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Piqué (Barcelona), Marchena (Villarreal), Capdevila (Villarreal), Iraola (Athletic)


Midfielders: Iniesta (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Cazorla (Villarreal), Javi Martínez (Athletic), David Silva (M. City), Navas (Sevilla)


Strikers: Llorente (Athletic), Torres (Chelsea), Villa (Barcelona), Mata (Valencia)

Spotlight on Youth in La Liga

The Case for a Level Playing Field

Better late than never? Well, the transfer of Jon Miquel Toral to Arsenal from Barçelona has come and gone. Another youngster has been lured to the money and glamour of the Premier league. Toral is half English, so this could be considered a different case than Cesc, Merida, among others. My biggest pet peeve is the disparity amongst federations aka the legal age that someone can sign a European player to a professional contract.

I thought that UEFA was trying to level the playing field and encourage European players to develop locally with the recent Home Grown Rule (see my previous blog from earlier this year). I would like to see canteranos stay at their youth club until the age of 18. At that time, they could decide to sign a professional contract, or move on. I was under the impression that UEFA was going to do something to protect youth and the development of players. Obviously I was wrong.


Record Buyout Clause for a Youngster

Up in the north, Athletic Bilbao continues to weave their magic by scouting, pinching, and developing their young. This month, Athletic broke all records by signing young 16 year old defender Aymeric Laporte, a French Basque to a semi professional contract with a buyout clause of 18 million! The contract runs through 2014. The club has high hopes for the defender, who is breaking all records in the juvenil ranks.

Athletic decided recently to sign their cadets and juvenil players to semi professional contracts with buyout clauses, to fight off the big clubs like Liverpool, PSG, and Arsenal, from stealing their future. They want to avoid what happened in the case of San Jose and Berchiche who were signed by Liverpool and Tottenham for only 400,000 Euros each. San Jose was repurchased later for 2.7M Euros by ACB. Since then, Bilbo has contracted Iker Guarrotxena (young midfielder), Eric Saborit (youth side from Espanyol), Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta (cadet brought midfielder Eibar) and Jonas Ramalho (central cadet). Each player has a 10M Euro buyout clause.


Football Draft 2011

Each year the Spanish FA, and EA Sports recognize the cantera and top young players in Spanish football. Players are nominated and selected by a prestigious group of ex coaches, staff, and players. The winners are honored at the end of the season at a gala event. Last year the winners were Bojan Krkic (Barça), Sergio Canales (Racing Santander), Dani Parejo (Getafe) , David De Gea (Atlético Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), and Alvaro Domínguez (Atlético Madrid).

Among the selected players being nominated this year are previous winners Bojan, Canales, and De Gea, as well as Thiago, who just signed with the Barça first team. Lesser know players such as Marc Bartra, a defender who Guardiola has already debuted in Primera, Real Madrid canterano Pablo Sarabia and Valencia starlet Isco. Special praise was given to the great youth work occurring at Real Sociedad, Espanyol, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.


Here's the complete list:

DRAFT 132

GOALKEEPER: David De Gea Quintana- At.Madrid, David Gómez Vázquez- Dep. Coruña, Pol Ballesté López -Barcelona,
Aitor Fernández Abarisqueta -At.Bilbao, Alex Sanchez Benítez- Zaragoza, Alfonso Herrero Peinador-R. Madrid,
Joel Blazquez Robles- At.Madrid, Edgar Badia-Espanyol, Adrian Orton Vaño -Villarreal,Fernando Pacheco Flores -R. Madrid,
Diego Mariño Villar-Villarreal, Urtzi Erleaga-At.Bilbao

RIGHT BACK: Hugo Mallo-Celta Vigo, Joel Johnson-Valencia, Albert Martinez Dalmau -Barcelona, Albert Blázquez Robles-Espanyol, Daniel Carvajal Ramos-R. Madrid, Fernandez Jose Ignacio (Nacho) -R. Madrid, Jonathan Castro-Celta Vigo,
Martin Montoya Torralbo-Barcelona, Mario Gaspar Pérez-Villarreal, Manquillo Javier Gaitán-At.Madrid, Eduard Campabadal-Barcelona,Roy Alejandro Gajon-Zaragoza

LEFT BACK: Marcos Alonso Mendoza-Bolton, Angel Martinez Ortega-Espanyol, Brian Oliver Smith-Barcelona,Jon Aurtenetxe-At.Bilbao, Eric Saborit-At.Bilbao, Carles Planas Antolínez-Barcelona, Diego Alonso Caballo-R. Madrid, Alejandro Grimaldo-Barcelona, Antonio Manuel Luna-Sevilla, Antonio Luque Quintero-Sevilla, José Luis Gallart-Valencia,Victor Alvarez Delgado-Espanyol

CENTRAL DEFENDER RIGHT FOOTED: Marc Bartra Argal-Barcelona, Jonah Gimeno Ramalho-At.Bilbao, Rochelle David Calvo-Dep. Coruña, Sergio Rodríguez Sánchez-Celta Vigo, Iqnasi Miquel Pons-Arsenal, Carlos Garrido-Sevilla, Oscar Arroyo-Espanyol,
Derik OSED Prieto -R. Madrid, Sergio Gómez=Barcelona, Victor Bernardo Cruz-Córdoba, Sergio Menéndez-Sporting Gijon,
Paul Insua-Dep. Coruña

CENTRAL DEFENDER LEFT FOOTED: Porcelli Ignacio Sanz-Valencia, Marc Muniesa Martínez-Barcelona, Puerto Israel Pineda-Sevilla, Unai Bilbao Arteta-Barakaldo, Roger Riera Canadell-Barcelona, Pol García Teva-Barcelona, Rubén Sánchez Duarte- Espanyol, Jorge Pulido Mayoral-At.Madrid, Jon Gaztañaga Arrospide-R. Sociedad, Jon Aranda-R. Sociedad, Jordi Amat Maas-Espanyol, Iván Jiménez Sáez-R. Madrid


RIGHT SIDED MIDFIELDER: Aitor Castro-R. Sociedad, Álvaro López Bermejo-R. Madrid, Jorge Resurrection (Koke)-At.Madrid,
Sergio Roberto Carnicer-Barcelona, Oriol Romeu Vidal-Barcelona, Antonio Jesus Cotán-Sevilla, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta-At. Bilbao, Ramon Arcas Cardenas-Rac. Santander, Ruben Pardo Gutierrez-R. Sociedad, Saul Ñiguez-At.Madrid, Iker Undabarrena -At.Bilbao, Fernando Quesada-Barcelona


LEFT SIDED MIDFIELDER: Fran Merida Perez-At. Madrid, Rafael Alcantara Do Nacismento-Barcelona, Ignacio Camacho Bartola -Malaga, José Gómez Campaign-Sevilla, Asier Illarramendi Andonegui-R. Sociedad, Eduardo Ramos-Leganés, Juan Muñoz Gallego-Sporting Gijon, Alejandro Fernandez Iglesias -R. Madrid, Carlos Lazaro Vallejo-Valladolid, Sergio Alvarez Diaz-Sporting Gijon, Pablo Iñiguez-Villarreal, Pol Calvet-Barcelona


RIGHT WINGER: Sergio Gonten Gallardo-(Keko)-Girona/At.Madrid, Kevin Lacroix Coscolina-Zaragoza, Pastor Fran-R. Madrid,
Paul Hervías-R. Sociedad, Francisco Femenía (Kiko)-Hercules, Cristian Tello-Espanyol, Juan Miguel Jimenez-Juanmi-Malaga,
Calvo Ezequiel-Betis, Juan Mera-Sp.Gijón, Hector Vellerín-Barcelona, Julián Luque Conde -R. Santander, Vadillo Alvaro Cifuentes-Betis


LEFT WINGER: Iker Muniain Goñi-At.Bilbao, Iago Falque Silva-Juventus, Pablo Sarabia Garcia-R. Madrid, Daniel Pacheco Lobato -Liverpool, Gerard Lazarus Deulofeu-Barcelona, Juan Carlos Pérez López-R. Madrid, Eneko Chapel-R. Sociedad, Alvaro Bustos -Sport. Gijón, Vico Federico Villegas-Córdoba, Suárez Zambrano Jossmar-CD Tenerife, Alvaro Alcaine-Zaragoza, Miguel Angel Saiz -Rac. Santander


SECOND STRIKER: Sergio Canales Madrazo-R. Madrid, Samuel Castillejo-Malaga, Joel Valencia-Zaragoza, Thiago Alcantara Do Nascimento-Barcelona, Francisco Román Alarcón (Isco)-Valencia, Jesus Fernandez - Suso -Liverpool, Alejandro Serrano (Mino) -Sp. Gijon, Juan Dominguez-Dep. Coruña, Rodrigo Moreno-Benfica, Jesse Rodriguez -R. Madrid, Denis Smith-Celtic,
Luis Alberto-Sevilla


CENTER FORWARD: Bojan Krkic Pérez-Barcelona, Guillermo Fernández-At. Bilbao, Borja González Tomas (Baston)-At.Madrid,
Alvaro Vazquez-Espanyol, Rubén Sobrino-R. Madrid, Álvaro Morata-R. Madrid, Rubén Rochina Naix-Barcelona, Jorge Orti-Zaragoza, Francisco Alcacer García -Valencia, Jairo Morilla -Sevilla, Raul Thomas-R. Madrid, Sergi Enric Ametller-Mallorca


Obviously the big clubs' PR departments are very productive. But isn't it wonderful to see so many players nominated that are already playing in the first team at their clubs, or for Spain at the youth level? The future looks bright!

Can WAGs and team rankings provide reliable statistics?

Let me set one thing straight: I deal in stats -- cold, objective data. Anything you can think to track about a sport, I find interesting. I'm not talking about just the basics, such as how many passes were completed or who scored and assisted. I'm talking about the nitty-gritty, the kind of information you can't believe found its way onto paper. For example, Ronaldo hasn't scored (a goal) since his girlfriend, Irina Shayk, pictured more modestly here, landed the SI Swimsuit cover. Has his mind been too preoccupied for his body to perform on the pitch? I'll let you decide, but it certainly adds a story to the mix. And it's something that can be tracked.

Nothing delights me more than to think I have an original idea. I started a blog, Yahoo Fantasy Football Stats, because I couldn't find a site that covered the info I wanted. And with my passion for stats, I found ways to extract data from data sets, to highlight some arcane matter in hopes of finding perfection, that ever elusive correlation coefficient of 1.00. A stat I find unique to my site that has shown some fascinating patterns is team performance against other teams ranked whatever: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20. The implications of this one stat could influence casual fans, fantasy football managers, and gamblers alike.

Take Barcelona and their performance across the season. Now that their home winning steak is over, where are you supposed to turn for certainty, insofar as stats may be able to provide it? Would it surprise you to learn that Barca have won every match, home or away, against opposition not ranked 11-15? It's true, the three times they have slipped up this season, they've done so to teams ranked 11-15, losing at home to no. 14 Hercules in week 2, drawing at home to no. 11 Mallorca in week 6, and drawing away at no. 13 Sporting Gijon in week 23.

Coincidence, perhaps? Could be. But take a look at some other coincidences, if so:

- Athletic Bilbao have earned just 1 win but 6 losses against opponents ranked 1-5; 2 wins, 2 losses against those 6-10; 5 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses against those 11-15; and 4 wins and 1 draw against those 16-20. The results form a clear-cut pattern of wins, draws, and losses.
- Atlético Madrid are 0-1-5 (W-D-L) against opponents 1-5.
- Espanyol have lost all five matches against opponents 1-5, but have won all six against those 6-10.
- Mallorca buck the trend against opponents 1-5, with a fairly even and respectable 3-2-3 record. But against those 6-10, they're 0-0-4.
- Real Madrid remain perfect against one set of opponents, those ranked 6-10: 9-0-0.
- Real Sociedad against opponents 1-5: 0-0-5.
- Sporting Gijon have not won a match against the lowest-ranked set of opponents, 16-20, earning 3 draws and 1 loss. Against the next highest group, 11-15, they're 1-4-1. So why might Gijon be flirting with relegation? Answer: They can't put away teams in the bottom half of the table!

The same trends occur in the English Premier League, the other league I track. Some notable results:

- Arsenal appear to struggle with opponents ranked 6-10, with a pedestrian 2-3-3 record, but they look stellar against bottom dwellers, winning 8 and drawing 1, with 0 losses.
- Chelsea have earned just 1 win in four matches against opponents 11-15.
- Fulham have lost only one match all season to a team ranked 6-10, 11-15, or 16-20. In other words, they're rubbish against the top quarter of the table, with an 0-4-5 record.
- Liverpool have the opposite problem and have lost merely once to opponents 1-5 or 6-10. They struggle with the bottom bracket of teams, apparent again recently versus West Ham, with a 2-2-4 record.
- Man City have earned 22 of 24 points against opponents 6-10.
- Man U's record against top-five oppositions, in order: WDWDW. I'd say they're in for a draw against Chelsea. Any takers?
- Tottenham, like Liverpool, struggle with bottom teams -- they're 1-1-3. But against opponents 6-10, they're the bullies of the schoolyard: 7-2-0.
- West Brom have 0 wins in eight matches against opponents 16-20, with an 0-4-4 record. Their companions in misery, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have fared about as well against the same set of opponents, with an 0-3-3 record. Are these abysmal records foreboding, in terms of the teams' prospects of avoiding relegation?

Why don't professional sports journalists track these data, if they're so useful? My guess is that it has to do with the fluctuating nature of the rankings, and to be fair, I should point out that I base rank on how things stand prior to the first match of a game week. To the skeptics out there, I will say that it's true, sometimes a team's performance against a certain set of opponents yields a hodgepodge of results. Case in point: Deportivo's record against opponents 16-20 is 2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. But this only serves to illustrate the shortcomings of blind devotion to any one statistic. If Deportivo were coming up against a bottom-quarter team, how would I make a call? This is where other stats -- goal differential, home/away record of each team, last five results, and more -- come into consideration, providing a composite correlation that casts a metaphoric stone into one pan or the other . As a season plays out, the stats grow more reliable. Or at least, that's what any responsible stats-tracker goes for, picking up threads along the way and dropping others as they become less promising. For now, I'll let the jury be out on WAGs' influence on scoring (or defending), the impact of shooting a work-placement student, and the many other bizarre elements of football. One way or the other, you can be sure it won't stop me from taking note.