Hay Liga! La Liga Season opening schedule

A week late, after a lot of handwringing, the players union AFE and LFP burning a lot of midnight oil, we have an agreement to play football. Week#2 is the new Week#1.
Here is the game slate for this weekend

Game	Day	Spain	Eastern	Pacific
Sporting x Real Sociedad	27-Aug Saturday	1800 CET	1200	0900
Valencia x Racing	27-Aug Saturday	2000 CET	1400	1100
Granada x Betis	27-Aug Saturday	2200 CET	1600	1300
Atlético x Osasuna	28-Aug Sunday	1200 CET	0600	0300
Athletic x Rayo	28-Aug Sunday	1600 CET	1000	0700
Mallorca x Espanyol	28-Aug Sunday	1800 CET	1200	0900
Getafe x Levante	28-Aug Sunday	1800 CET	1200	0900
Zaragoza x Real Madrid	28-Aug Sunday	2000 CET	1400	1100
Sevilla x Málaga	28-Aug Sunday	2200 CET	1600	1300
Barcelona x Villarreal	29-Aug Monday	2100 CET	1500	1200

The best games are back-loaded.

Sevilla - Málaga promises to be a cracker. Málaga might have lost out on the 5-star start of opening with champions Barcelona at home but an Andalucian derby at the Sanchez Pizjúan isnt a bad compromise

Barcelona - Villarreal has catapulted into one of the best fixtures of La Liga in the recent times. This fixture almost always guarantees delightful football with the level skill on display in both these sides. Barcelona will be on short rest after playing the European Super Cup against FC Porto on Friday.

Among others, Granada x Betis is another Andalucian derby. This was a Liga Adelante (2nda division) derby last year but both teams got promoted into Primera this year. Should be a good game.

Happy that La Liga is back! Now lets relax and enjoy. Forzafutbol will bring a lot of great content every day of the season, as usual.

Viva La Liga!!!

REAL ZARAGOZA new kit 2011-2012

Los Maños have released their new jersey, continuing with Adidas. The home is the traditional white with blue trimming and blue shorts. The away kit is the return of the "bee". Yellow and black stripes with yellow sleeves and black shorts and yellow piping. Yellow socks complete the look. The away kit is another retro or traditional look for Los Blanquillos. For the first time, Zaragoza has released a third kit. The all orange uniform with a black collar is NOT a fan favorite at all. In fac,t it reminds the supporters of a certain team just to the south east (a-hem Valencia).

Check out the added bonus video too!



What do you think of the new shirts? I think they are pretty sweet and show a lot of character. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Kaka & Cristiano Rolando pledged as collateral?

Some of you might have heard of this new item already on financial papers. Marca and As didnt seem to cover it in detail, as one would have expected. The story goes something like this.

About 2 years ago, Real Madrid took a loan of €76 million from Caja Madrid one of the Banks of Bankia group to finance the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo and the Brazilan Ricardo Kaka together for about €160 million euros. The financial situation in Spain has only worsened since then leading to the bankruptcy of many Spanish banks. This past week, crisis has finally hit home with Bankia Group.

Bankia asked for help from European Central Bank (ECB) for an urgent injection of funds to keep the bank's Credit to reserve ration above the safe thresholds. As ECB is not a money printing machine that queues up orders and delivers freshly printed euro bills, they asked Bankia for a guarantee. Bankia submitted the loan of €76mil that they gave to Real Madrid as the collateral.

What does this mean? This means if Bankia fail to repay ECB and were to go bankrupt(unlikely), Real Madrid is liable to repay the loan. In the hypothetical case of Real Madrid not being able to repay the loan or meet the conditions of ECB, we end up with a weird situation on hand. Kaka & Cristiano Ronaldo could be 'seized' by the ECB just like a house or property. But obviously we are talking people, who probably have no idea of what this means or why this is happening.

Let us ignore the worst case scenario, because the chances of it happening are very slim. What really worries me about this is are the following:

1. How many other clubs are in similar situation with other banks?
2. What will happen if the economy in Spain continues to deteriorate and more banks get into precarious position vis-a-vis their CRR and need the support of ECB to survive?

For #1 I am sure there are more such cases, but may not be of the same magnitude but teams like Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia etc. have huge debts on their books and some if not most of it must be from banks. El Pais reports that Real Madrid took a similar loan from Banco Santander to make the two deals. This means Real Madrid signed the two players worth 160 million euros with almost zero money from their pocket. The report also goes on to add that Real Madrid is supposed to pay the principal in three installments in June 2012,2013 & 2014.

It is evident that Spanish football clubs are deeply entwined with banks, while this is not a novelty by any means and it is the case in other countries with the top level football leagues, the level of leverage seems to be very high and that is never a good news even when the economy is healthy.

As for #2, this could get real ugly very quickly if the situation worsens. As more banks declare bankruptcy and/or seek the protection of ECB or Banco de España, more clubs and in turn players might end up on the books of these central banks as collateral, assets etc..

All this left me wondering: Why do banks lend huge sums of money to clubs for signing new players?
Agreed that Real Madrid and Barcelona generate a lot of revenue, but still financing deals like this where the club is not even putting 20-30% of the total worth of the deal? RM's revenues this year were ~ 450million(not profit, just revenue), so 2 years ago let us assume that is in the 300+ range. This means Caja Madrid and Banco Santander approved a total of about 160 million in loans which is almost 50% of the revenue generated by the loanee here. I wonder what will happen should Banco Santander need funds and they put their loan with RM as collateral. I am not a financial expert by any means but this seems like a recipe for disaster.

I just hope that this was a thing of the past and banks dont do it anymore.

Going on a tangent here, in the same week we saw the transfer of Santi Cazorla, an iconic player at Villarreal to Málaga for about 20 million euros in cash. There was a lot of disappointment and anger among the fans of the Yellow Submarine. The club president reasoned that this sale is to keep generate enough funds to keep the rest of the stars of the team and be on a good financial footing in the next few years when he expects the financial troubles in Spain and La Liga even worse.

If more presidents of football clubs in Spain think on the lines as Mr. Roig does, we might be able to avoid situations like this in the future.

To reiterate, none of big banks of Spain are in bankruptcy trouble, however they could struggle to keep the CRR above the thresholds if the economic situation deteriorates further.

The Roberto Martínez effect

Saturday 21st May 2011 - Six sides battled it out to remain within the Primera Division. One side lost that battle - Deportivo La Coruna. The next day another Spaniard had he's own relegation fight on his hands in England. A one-off match; winner takes all and even that might not be enough. This time five teams were vulnerable but two could fall through the trap door, a seasons worth of games boiled down to ninety minutes of football. Wigan survived, Martínez was a hero !

Roberto Martínez was born in Balaguer, a small town in Catalonia. In 2009 the census came back with a population of around 17,000, a little more than what can be expected at the DW stadium on match day. He signed for his hometown club and learnt his trade through the ranks for the 3rd division club until the team he supported as a child Real Zaragoza came calling. Following in his fathers footsteps of playing for both Balaguer and Zaragoza, he made a number of appearances for the B side but only one for the first team of the Blanquillos in his three years at the club. He then returned to his local side, it was here he got his first taste of management as he ran a football school for the club as an alternative to military service alongside his first team duties.

In 1995 he joined Wigan Athletic who at the time were in England's 3rd division, with chairman Dave Whelan then owner of JJB Sports owning four shops in Spain. The general director was based in Zaragoza and played a key role in bringing the midfielder to the Latics. Roberto couldn't have asked for a better start as he finished the season as the Fan's Player of the Year and the club's leading goalscorer. His next season wasn't bad either as the side gained promotion, six years in total the Spaniard spent at Wigan. A short spell in Scotland with Motherwell followed, where he met his wife, and then to West Midlands side Walsall, both times rarely making an impact. A move to Wales revitalised his career once more as he joined Swansea City. He wrapped up his playing career with a year at Chester City having spent three seasons at the Swans.

In 2007 he was offered the Swansea City managerial position, his first appointment at just 33 years old. In his first full season he won promotion to the Championship gaining 92 points over the season, the highest ever by a Welsh club in the Football League. In 2008/09 they finished 8th in the Championship. It wasn't just the results that were good, a style of football was pushed onto the club which is still evident to this day. Quick passing and possession based football when in the ascendancy, with high pressing looking to win the ball back quickly when without the ball; sound familiar ! His win percentage for the club only being bettered by current manager Brendan Rodgers who has taken the side into the Premiership for the first time. Martínez certainly left the foundations for which Rodgers has built on, with an indifferent Paulo Sousa in between. Roberto was critical of players that wanted to leave for more money or other clubs but this came back to bite him.

In 2009 he joined Dave Whelan once again at Wigan, obviously Swansea fans were not best pleased, some going as far as to label him 'El Judas'. Whilst he certainly owed Swansea for giving him his first opportunity as a coach, he had left them in good condition. He also felt that he owed Whelan as much if not more for bringing him to England in the first place. The lure of the Premier League being the deciding factor. Wigan had previously been in the Premiership for four years prior, two under the tenure of Paul Jewell and two under Steve Bruce. Average attendances at the side have dropped 3,400 since their first season in the top flight as the recession has took hold. Four out of there six seasons they have been bottom of the attendance statistics, with only Portsmouth and Blackpool ever having had marginally less. With a town that is more known for its Rugby and neighbouring giants Manchester United and City, it's an uphill battle for it to improve. Despite having the lowest win percentage of the three managers at the club, Roberto last season achieved Wigan's lowest amount of defeats in one season since being in the top flight. Going against the media clichés for a team in their position, "keeping a team organised" or "playing scrappy football to get results" neither have been applied here. Just being in the Premiership is a success for a club of Wigan's size.

The money has hardly been flowing either, using the figures from transferleague.co.uk Martínez has both a smaller gross and net spend than he's predecessors. Under Jewell they had a gross spend of £27.05 million, whilst Bruce had one for £27.01m leaving Martínez trailing behind having just spent £15.8m. At a club like Wigan where players will come and go in order to survive, then buying low and selling high has to be part of the realistic ambitions. In terms of net spend Jewell parted with £9.25m, Bruce spent £0.65m and Martínez was £7.95m in profit. Roberto clearly benefiting from Manchester United's decision to part with £16m for Antonio Valencia (in the interests of fairness - 2 years in charge of Wigan at the top each - I haven't included the recent signing of goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi believed to be for a fee of around £4 million). It's not just at his own club where he has had less money, when comparing the last two seasons net spend of -£7.95m against their relegation rivals of last year he also scores favourably. With Blackpool (£4.175m), West Ham (£17.7m), Wolves (£25.4m) and Birmingham an unbelievable (£36.525m). It's clear to see why Aston Villa wanted to take the Spaniard to the Midlands this summer.

But is it shrewd business moves on Roberto's part or has he been assisted by a number of good signings from Steve Bruce. Perhaps it's a bit of both with top players Hugo Rodallega, Charles N'Zogbia and Maynor Figueroa having arrived before Martínez took charge but all benefiting from his style of play. The signings of current captain Gary Caldwell (free) and young highly rated Liverpool target James McCarthy (£1.2m) shows it wasn't just his ability to attract his wife that he learnt whilst in Scotland. The signing of Argentine striker Mauro Boselli (£6.5m) last summer suggests he has some learning to do in the mid-range transfer fees (although looking at Boselli's record in Argentina it's clear to see why he made the signing). Martínez has himself admitted that 'loan signings' will be key this summer whilst youngsters will be keen to fit into the passing system as United's Tom Cleverley did last season. "Getting young local players into the squad is my ambition; youngsters born in Wigan being in the squad will show a great sign of improvement." The progress of youngsters such as Callum McManamen, Lee Nicholls and Jordan Mustoe, all from the Merseyside area not to far away, show a willingness to build for the future.

So what does the future hold for Señor Martínez ?

Well another season at Wigan is the immediate aim having turned down Randy Learner's advances and once again a realistic finish for Wigan is just to stay in the Premiership. Talk of five-year plan where Wigan aim to crack the top ten is both ambitious but achievable. Next year will be crucial to Martínez in terms of profile, if unsuccessful then he would be relegated from the potential pool of top young managers. His friendship with Dave Whelan is so good that he allowed him to speak with Aston Villa. Whelan has said that he would allow Martínez to leave for a top club, whether that's in England or Spain only time will tell. He is clearly happy in Great Britain and doesn't seem to be looking for a path home. It's difficult to see a club of a top six stature taking the punt on a manager from Wigan, so he may have to move to another league. Perhaps opportunities may present themselves at Tottenham or Everton in the coming seasons only time will tell. A move to one of the Old Firm in Scotland would seem to be a good fit for all parties.

2011 Gold Cup Final - Remember the Alamo?

The last time that Mexico faced the USA in Los Angeles was in 2001. It was Landon Donovan’s debut and the score ended up being 2-0 in favor of the USA. I was there and it was a great day for American soccer. The US Men’s National team generally doesn’t like to play in Los Angeles, because of the large immigrant population who are mad about soccer and anyone but the US. If you go a Chile vs USA, there are more Chilenos. If you go to a Sweden vs USA, there are more Swedes. LA is a melting pot and soccer is still a niche sport in this country. Sure a lot of people support the LA Galaxy and such, but a lot of those Americans do not support the US Men’s National team. That’s just the way it is.

So knowing the fact that we were going to be in the minority sitting with 90,000 Mexico fans, was not going to be a problem for us. We wanted to support the red, white, and blue in hostile territory. Concacaf decided to for financial reasons to hold the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, right in my back yard, and I was ready for this adventure. This would be my second time watching the USMNT live, up close and personal in June 2011. As an added benefit I was excited to see La Liga’s Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña), Giovani Dos Santos (ex-Racing Santander), Hector Moreno (now at Espanyol), Rafa Marquez (ex-Barçelona), and Gerardo Torrado (ex-Sevilla & ex-Racing). While both Efrain Juarez and Pablo Barrera are rumored to being going to Real Zaragoza.

The tailgating was great. The atmosphere was intense and impressive. 95% Mexico fans versus 5% USA fans was my estimate. We did not encounter any problems for the most part. Both the Mexican players and fans were shocked that the USMNT pocketed two early goals. Both goals were very lucky opportunities to be fair. The small amount of USA fans went crazy in celebrations. The stadium was silent. But it was only matter of time that a huge comeback from Mexico was due. Guardado, Giovani and Barrera attacked the weak left side of the USA and were unrelenting and punishing in their methods. The Mexico fans were ecstatic and celebrated with a crazy frenzy. The Rose Bowl became a mini Azteca. The beer spilled on our heads. (At least it was not urine). We were taunted by the surrounding Mexican fans with jeers of “USA, I can’t hear you”, “USA, I can’t see you” and “Boring Boring USA football”. It really upset me and struck a chord during the game, but now I can look back and just laugh in hindsight and realize that’s football.

We felt humiliated, pissed off, and ready to fire Bob Bradley, but at the end of the day I realized that Mexico was and is the better team. The fruits of the U17 golden generation, has finally arrived. But at least I wasn’t afraid to come out and support my team in the good and the bad, fully aware that we are the underdog and the minority at the stadium. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we will be seeing the USMNT in SoCal in the near future.


See more photos from the pre-game atmosphere and training at our flickr page. or forza futbol facebook page.

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.

Team Dubai in Spain: Getafe, Zaragoza, or another club?

For a league that was almost ludicrously devoid of foreign investment a mere 16 months ago, it seems that someone at the RFEF has opened up shop and has been inviting potential investors to offer their bids. First Malaga by the Qataris, then Racing by Ali Syed and now Royal Emirates Group, the investment arm of the Dubai royal family, have bought an unnamed club in Spain and are miracle of miracles, making us wait until a Thursday press-conference to reveal the identity of the club?

Speculation centered around Real Zaragoza at first and then just as suddenly it switched to Getafe, and even that seems to have been nixed in some circles. All that has been said is that it is definitely a top-flight La Liga team that has enjoyed modest success and has even tasted some European challenges in recent years. The Dubai group have paid around 90 million euros for a club that is also ¨not saddled with debt.¨ The most controversial part of the deal is the idea that the club would be re-branded to include Team Dubai in the name, as in [insert club name] Team Dubai, on their kits, on their stadium, in fact on every bit licensing that the club own.

What clubs in La Liga fit the bill then? Very few clubs run themselves at an equilibrium between costs and profits. Why also spend 90 million euros if your club is being tested by relegation? Real Madrid, Barcelona, Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao are out of the question because of ownership restrictions, are . Remove Atletico de Madrid, Valencia and Depor because those clubs are swimming in debt. Why also would successful ownership groups in Villarreal or Sevilla sell as well? In fact, it would be easier to name clubs that didn´t fit the criteria rather than the other way around.

You can turn yourself inside trying to solve the puzzle, but I couldn´t help but think of my own club: Espanyol. I know, it doesn´t really fit us either, but hear me out.

A few weeks ago there were rumors of Espanyol chairman Dani Sanchez-Llibre running off to the Middle East to secure funding. His destination? Dubai. Then, a very interesting editorial on Cronica Perica appeared. The author suggested that Espanyol were about to be sold. Here are the key elements: The club is in pretty dire financial straights. Debts aren't being paid for both players and employees in a timely fashion. The club began to amplify their capital, bringing in new members, but the supporter's groups were left out of the loop. Rumors were also circulating that some local business-men had been told that their shares in the club would ¨soon be worth much more.¨ The author stresses that this well could be just late-night paranoia, you could say about me as well, but he had some interesting points over-all.

You could make a case for it. I realize that Espanyol´s debt is also out of control, but much of that is from the new stadium at Cornellà; that is manageable debt over time. It is a big stadium and there is direct possibility for growth; a situation much further along than the Qatari group face with Malaga. Barcelona is a big city; it would be tough to compete for supporters with FC Barcelona but over-time it could work. Espanyol have had European success to a certain extent and (except for a few blips) they have been consistently mid-table for much of the decade. Most importantly, does it seem odd that they´re waiting until after the Copa del Rey final to announce the deal? Wouldn´t it create problems for Barca before tonight´s match if they had released the information sooner?

As much as I know that in the end it´ll probably be Getafe that wins the Dubai race, I have to say that it is a very interesting rumor to sink your teeth into if you are an Espanyol fan.

Welcome to La Otra Liga

More than halfway through the season in La Liga and surprise, surprise, Barcelona and Real Madrid are at the top of the league, with very little chance of dropping any points. Hence the title race in Spain is over for any other team but the duopoly.

Other rumblings on my facebook page/community are complaining about the Spanish league getting boring, non competitive etc. Especially today, there were three games, and quite frankly the first two, Valencia - Sporting Gijón and Real Madrid - Levante were snorefests.

At least Real Zaragoza - Atlético Madrid had spice, physicality, counter attacks, scoring opportunities, grit and a fairly even game. Los Blanquillos most probably will feel hard done by, as they so easily could have won that game. Leo Franco was amazing against his old side in goal, Gabi the captain and playmaker was brilliant and Nico Bertolo completely changed the game when he came in as a sub. But Atléti played a solid tough game too. Ujfalusi and Perea were hard men in defense. Reyes was sublime and created space for his forwards and Kun Aguero stepped up his game and scored the winner.

Back to the first two borefests, well what do you expect? Valencia is coming off a midweek Champions League game, while Sporting is fighting tooth and nail for every point. The Asturian club will continue their La Liga catenaccio style until it fails to produce results. Hey it worked on Barça! We will see more small teams play a physical, anti-football game.

Real Madrid steamrolled over Levante at home. After the first two goals, Levante, after a mini meeting, basically packed their bags, agreed to keep it respectable, but don't let anyone get hurt, cause their is a relegation battle to be had. Scratch this one off as no chance. May I remind you about the TV Revenues deal and the fact that Real Madrid earns the most and has the biggest budget in Spain, if not World football, while Levante has the smallest. We will see more teams, do the same. I see it as a form of protest too. Can't compete, why bother.

Now, I still believe that La Liga has the best quality on the pitch, juego bonito, technique, tactics, etc. It also produces so many fantastic young players locally and those brought in from overseas, that can flourish and have every opportunity to fight their way into the first team. Each team has their cantera or quarry and maintain paid reserve teams (see B and C teams). The B teams are playing competitive games, day in and day out, in either Segunda B aka the reserve league or Segunda A, which is an extremely vibrant contest, just below Primera, where you can find Villarreal B and Barça B.

So La Liga fanaticos, let's admit that this is a three-tiered league and that the reason we love La Liga is for the style of play and beauty on the pitch. It's time to inundate ourselves in La Otra Liga or the Other League. La Otra Liga is 3 races. The race for the 3rd and 4th UCL positions, which quite frankly looks like Valencia and Villarreal are in the driver's seat. As well as the battle for the Europa League, which is 5th - 7th place this year, due to the duopoly presence in the Copa del Rey final. Anything goes in this race, as 3rd - 11th all have a chance of earning those spots. 3rd and 4th, am I crazy? Well, there are 14 more La Liga games, fixture congestion for those involved in Europe, meanwhile any bad patch, (see Angel-less Villarreal), and you just never know. The relegation battle is on! This year, like last, is one big huge mess! Mathematically, teams from 12th - 20th are treading on thin ice. Expect more catenaccio, physical play, anti-football, draws, and even snoozers. It's a dog eat dog points game, my friend.

All in all, there are no foregone conclusions or easy rides. This is far from an egalitarian league. You want equality, go watch MLS or the Mexican playoffs. This is La Liga, with the haves and have nots, the juego bonito, the passes, the dribbling, the wingers, the false nines, the defenders who attack, the attackers who defend, the playmakers, and the young stars who grow and excel in front of your very eyes.

Is their an imbalance and a risk of the league losing it's lustre? Indeed. Is there a need for drastic change and a tv revenues revolution? No doubt.

But this is La Liga and I love it.

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.

REAL ZARAGOZA Team of the Decade: 2000 - 2010

Continuing our series, guest blogger, Spanish virtual pub fellow podcaster, and friend of Forza Futbol, Steven Abrams of livinlaliga.com give us his best Maños of the Noughties:


GK: CESAR LAINEZ

During the last decade there have only been two noteworthy goalkeepers at La Romareda. While Cesar Sanchez is undoubtedly a solid enough goalkeeper, the guy is far too error prone, and so the position goes to a local hero in Cesar Lainez. Commanding and with stunning reflexes, Lainez made his way through the ranks to debut in the first team during the 2001/2002 season. Although that year Zaragoza were relegated, Lainez played a pivotal role in helping the club win immediate promotion back to La Primera, before leading them to a comfortable mid-table position and a historic Copa del Rey win over Real Madrid in 2003/2004.

LB: JAVIER PAREDES

Perhaps my difficult choice. There havn't been a great number of left-backs at the club during the decade, so the position goes to the dependable Javier Paredes. Known as 'El Jabalí', Spanish for wild boar, Paredes brings pace and power to the table. Always gives 100% to the cause and has been a loyal servant to the club, helping Zaragoza back to the top flight after relegation in 2008.

RB: CARLOS DIOGO

What a character. As hard as nails and as crazy a footballer as you'll find, Diogo is also an extremely useful right-back. While he scores extra points for a bizarre punch up with Luis Fabiano in 2007, Diogo is a monster of a man who offers just as much in attack as he does in defence. Defensive positioning was never his strong point, but he more than made up for it with his last-ditch tackling and whole-hearted approach to defending. He's also capable of racing down the wing to send over wicked crosses for his frontmen. Full of energy and full of fight, there's no such thing as a lost cause for Carlos Diogo.

CB: GERARD PIQUE

Unfortunately for Real Zaragoza, Gerard Pique only ever enjoyed one season in Aragon, but what a season it was for the young defender. Having only played for the reserves at Manchester United, he was sent to Zaragoza on loan during the whole 2006/2007 season to gain first team experience. Displaying the class that has made him one of the worlds best now at Barca, 'Piquenbauer' formed a formidable pairing with Gabby Milito which lead Real Zaragoza to 6th place in the league. He was also used a defensive midfielder in his time at La Romereda, which also shows the versatility of the man. He returned to Manchester in 2007 and the Zaragoza defence has never been the same since.

CB: GABRIEL MILITO

A rock of a defender that spent four incredible seasons at Real Zargoza from 2003 to 2007. Milito was nothing short of an icon during his time at the club, winning the Copa del Rey in his first season and generally offering much the same as Carlos Puyol does at Barcelona. A clever defender and dominating in the air, Gabriel Milito reads the game perfectly, while also wearing his heart on his sleeve with a full-on, committed approach to defending. The fans still chant his name which shows just how they rate the man they call 'The Marshal'.

CM: ALBERTO ZAPATER

Another local boy, Alberto Zapater was the architype combative midfielder, who shielded his back four as if his life depended on it. With a strong range of passes and an eye for a goal or two, Zapater spent five successful years at Zaragoza, helping the club to UEFA Cup qualification in 2006/2007 and was instrumental as they made an immediate return to La Liga after relegation in 2008. Once famously labelled 'The Bull' by Diego Maradona, Zaragoza still miss his huge presence in the middle of the park.

CM: PABLO AIMAR

What Zapater offers in defensive stability, Pablo Aimar offers in creativity. Signed for a then club record 12 million euros in 2006, Aimar was sensational during his first season at the club. Scoring four and with 6 assists, the little Argentine lit up La Romereda with his brand of attacking flair that provided the perfect platform for Zaragozas strikers to feed off. A crowd pleaser who was unfortunate to miss most of Zaragozas relegation season through injury. How they missed him.

CM: CANI

With his first touch in a Zaragoza shirt, Cani nutmegged Michael Reiziger of Barcelona and so started a career that was characterised by attacking verve and stunning technical ability. Able to play behind the front two, or on either wing, Cani enjoyed his best season in 2005/2006 when he provided the highest number of assists in La Liga. An exciting talent, capable of troubling the best of defences.

RM: SERGIO GARCIA

Having just failed to make his name at the Camp Nou, after scoring close to a 1000 goals in the junior teams, Sergio Garcia rocked up at Real Zaragoza in 2005 eager to prove he had what it took to succeed in the top flight. Three years later he was part of the Spain Euro 2008 Championship winning squad. Sergio Garcia was electric during his time at the club, reeking havoc down the right and through the centre with his searing pace, trickery and neat finishing. The perfect foil for Diego Milito and by far the most exciting player I witnessed during my time at Zaragoza.

CF: DIEGO MILITO

They didn't call him the 'Prince of Zaragoza' for nothing. As clinical as they come, Milito joined Real Zaragoza in 2005, and scored a total of 61 goals in 125 matches over the course of his three seasons at the club. Capable of scoring with either foot and strong in the air, Milito was considered one of the most lethal marksmen in the country during his time in Spain and narrowly missed out on the 'Pichichi' trophy in 2006/2007. The only thing the Argentine lacked was raw pace, but he more than made up for it with his exquisitely timed runs. Fantastic striker.

CF. DAVID VILLA

Raised at Sporting Gijon, and having scored bagfuls of goals in 'La Segunda', it was at Real Zaragoza where David Villa really made a name for himself in the top flight. Full of promise, the young striker arrived at the club in 2003 and went on to score 38 goals in 96 appearances, earning his first cap for Spain in the process. Part of Zaragozas Spanish Supercup winning team of 2004, Villa exhibited the sort of form that would eventually lead him to be considered one of the top strikers in world football.

Best XI of Jornada 17 in La Liga

Spanish Football returned to our HDTVs, computers, and local stadiums. Here is my list of top performers from the first round of games in 2011.


Goal Keeper:

RCD Mallorca's Dudu Aouate easily saved and contained all of Hércules shots on goal. Consistent and solid, day in and day out.


Backline:

With Messi out, Dani Alves took over as provider, and tracked back to keep out a very difficult Levante. Two assists, what can you say. He owned Del Horno.

Some people call Málaga's Weligton a cheat, a hard man, and a pain in the a**. This past weekend he was solid defensively, scored a goal and was a critical piece of the 6 point game against Sporting Gijón in Asturias.


On loan from FC Barçelona, Racing Santander's Henrique was a wall in the backline. He was instrumental in keeping Kun Aguero & company away from Toño's goal. The kid is only 24 years old and has a lot of potential.


Midfield:

Valencia's Juanín Mata lifted this team on his back after Los Che was harshly taken down to 10 men. He lead attack after attack until lady luck intervened with an offside goal. But well what do they say, if it's only offside, if the ref calls it.

The biggest signing of the winter transfer market for Sevilla is the return of Jesus Navas. The quicksilver winger just brings so much pace and danger to the team. He created multiple chances, including the game winning goal. Welcome back Jesuscito.

The unsung destroyer, ball stealer, and Villarreal's king of the midfield, Bruno Soriano is the heir apparent to Marcos Senna.

Is he a winger or a support striker? I'm not sure even he knows, but he will need to continue his versatility throughout the second half of the season. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was decisive and clinical against a a tough to beat Getafe.


Strikers:

Named after a renowned 7th century cleric from Zaragoza, Braulio appeared out of nowhere in stoppage time to earn only the second win for los maños. That said, Javier Aguirre's men are looking hopeful.

The often forgotten striker from Asturias has awaken at the perfect time for Deportivo La Coruña. Adrian is on a bit of a streak now and had a solid game in San Mames.

No Messi, no problem, never fear, Pedro's here to save the day. Barça started flat, so Pedro took the bull by the horns, along with the aforementioned Alves, and with an individual piece of brilliance and clinical finishing. Pedro's star just keeps rising.



Aouate

Dani Alves - Henrique - Weligton

Navas - Bruno - Mata - Ronaldo

Pedro - Braulio - Adrian

Hala Madrid: Breaking a Wall of 5

Tactics in any league are cyclical. One year a five man mid-field is all the rage, anti-football reigns supreme, and the next year a five-man attack is en-vogue. It isn´t better or worse, just the results of changing head-winds, coaches that seize an opportunity or are backed into a corner and so they go off into the back-corners of their training manuals and bring back often forgotten nuggets of tactical genius that are effective more often than not simply because no one has seen them for awhile and the lessons to unlock them have to be dug-out themselves from equally forgotten training manuals and of course practiced both on the training ground and in live-game simulations.

Which brings me to what happened in A Coruña about two months ago, and what seems like an emerging trend that the rest of the league is going to have to deal with sooner or later. Deportivo La Coruña were struggling. Seriously struggling, and coach Miguel Ángel Lotina was feeling the heat from a winless stream of six games to begin the season. More troubling was that they scored three goals and gave up 11 culminating in a 1-6 debacle against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. President Lendoiro gave the well-respected Lotina the dreaded vote of confidence. The journalists were circling like vultures and it was in that zone of pessimism that Lotina decided to switch from four at the back and add another central defender. It worked. Since then they have given up only nine goals in 11 games, less than a goal a game, and surprisingly (considering the ultra-defensive nature of the formation) they have scored 12. More importantly, a club that had meandered in and around the relegation slots, is now four points clear of the drop ahead of five other teams.

So successful have they been that another relegation threatened club has now decided they might have to take the baton and play five at the back as well: Javier Aguirre´s Real Zaragoza in preparation for today´s match against Real Madrid. If they do, they´ll have enough players to seal off the center from Real Madrid, a guy like Ozil might have it extra difficult to manufacture anything through the middle, but width will be the key in this game, playing into Karim Benzema´s strengths as a target man and a goal poacher, and highlighting coach Jose Mourinho's preferred style of play that features a more direct game with quick counter attacks led by Cristiano Ronaldo.

It will be a more difficult game than expected for Real Madrid, but they should win handily. Zaragoza on the other hand needed something, anything to change their fortunes. If they do use five at the back, and if it works, look for more clubs to follow suit.

Viva la Revolución

There is a revolution going on in La Liga, especially with the TV Revenues renegotiation and the pervasiveness of the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barçelona. The other clubs, fans, and players are speaking out about disparity, three leagues, the referees, and the predictability of the league.

I recently read on a Real Zaragoza forum an article in reaction to the 0-8 thrashing by Barçelona on Alméria. It's called the Antidote in the Face of the Madrid-Barça Duopoly.

Barça just won 0-8, the opponent is not important. I resent a league that is so lopsided, so uncompetitive. We have endured many years where the title is won by either Real Madrid or FC Barçelona. We are mere extras in this pantomime league, which serves as vehicle for TV news reports to drool and recount the exploits every Monday on the super teams. For them, the other teams do not exist.

Having said that, it is impossible that this will ever change, as they have the best players, best coaches, biggest budgets, biggest sponsors and the national press love them.

But there is something that we can do, for the sake of football and the other 18 teams in La Liga.

Each time a team goes to the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp, play your cantera:

1) This will take away the joy and merit of winning for the super teams

2) People will lose interest in these games

3) Less people will attend the match

4) The big two will lose revenues, stop attracting the big transfers

5) It is a method of protest and maybe just maybe, the super teams will get frustrated and form a super league.

In truth, if the big two are excluded from our league, it would become more competitive, equal, fair, and more exciting.

The title really has no meaning for them anymore.

Crazy no? Do you agree? What do you think?