laligaweekly

The second half of the season is upon us.  The Copa del Rey is in it’s final swing and Champions League and Europa League will return soon.  That said, this week’s fixtures bring more intrigue, 6 pointers, and two Andalusian derbies!!  Real Betis face Granada with new coach Abel Resino (ex-Atletico) while Malaga take on Sevilla, two direct rival showdowns so to speak and the crazy thing is all of the matches will be televised on US TV if you have the Sports and Spanish packages.

Here’s the fixture list:

Saturday, January 28th

Espanyol v Mallorca 18.00 CET, 12pm EST, 9am PST  ESPN Deportes, Espn3.com

Rayo v Athletic Club 18.00 CET, 12pm EST, 9am PST  GOLTVUSA

Real Madrid v Real Zaragoza 20.00 CET, 2pm EST, 11am PST   GOLTVUSA

Villarreal v FC Barcelona 22.00 CET, 4pm EST, 1pm PST   ESPN Deportes, Espn3.com

Sunday, January 29th

Real Betis v Granada 12pm CET, 6am EST, 3am PST    Directv Sports

Levante v Getafe 16.00 CET, 10am EST, 7am PST   Directv Sports

Real Sociedad v Sporting Gijon 16.00 CET, 10am EST, 7am PST    Directv Sports

Racing Santander v Valencia 18.00 CET, 12pm EST, 9am PST   ESPN Deportes, Espn3.com

Malaga v Sevilla   21.30 CET, 3:30pm EST, 12:30pm PST   GOLTVUSA

Monday, January 30th

Osasuna v Atletico Madrid  21.00 CET, 3pm EST, 12pm PST    GOLTVUSA

Dave Reay is back with a look at the return of a rojiblanco hero.  Enjoy!

The return of Diego Simeone to Atletico has been a welcome breath of fresh air for the Rojiblancos. “El Cholo” aka “The Chief” was once described as a man who plays “like he has a knife between his teeth” and it certainly seems that Atletico have got their bite back. 7 points out of 9 and 3 cleans sheets is a fantastic turnaround for a team who have been struggling.

Is this just the “honeymoon” period though? We all know a club legend can reunite the fans and bring a new, vibrant atmosphere to the club but will these results last?

 It was a similar situation with Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool. Straight away he got the fans and players singing on the same hymn sheet and brought some renewed optimism to the club. But on the other hand, we only have to look at when Alan Shearer joined Newcastle for the end of the 2008/09 season. The Toon Army welcomed their hero back with open arms but they were relegated soon after. There was no blame issued to the former no.9 but the fact that Shearer had no previous managerial experience was ignored due to the blind faith that the club had placed in a former club legend. Even “King Kenny” has recently come under scrutiny for his underperforming players despite having a great managerial record. Are Liverpool being too loyal?

Simeone has previous when it comes to management but it’s a mixed bag of success and failure. In only his second job he rejuvenated an aging Juan Sebastian Veron and led Estudiantes to the Argentine league title. His third job at River Plate resulted in more success as he led them to the title as well. Since then though, it has not been as successful as he would’ve liked. Jobs at San Lorenzo and Catania in Serie A were hardly flattering for the CV even though he helped the Italian side stave off relegation. The move from Argentina to Spain could be a chance to not rebuild his reputation as such, but to prove himself on a much bigger stage.

Atletico have plenty of quality in their squad, its just a matter of getting the best out of those players and Simeone is the sort of manager that players respect because of his management style and his previous achievements as a player. He has just lost Jose Antonio Reyes to Sevilla, which is a blow as on his day, Reyes can be world-class, but lacks consistency. Atletico are not exactly flush with money but are not afraid to spend big if and when they need to. After all, they paid €23/£18m for an 18 year old Sergio Aguero back in 2006 when others were afraid. Rafael Benitez at the time said it was too much money for an unproven player. 5 years on and Aguero was sold for €45/£38m. That money was swiftly reinvested on Radamel Falcao who is back to scoring for fun since Simeone took over. Diego too, looks like a new player; almost like the player he was when he was at Werder Bremen before his move to Juventus.

After such a positive start, it’s important that the fans don’t expect so much of a club hero whilst also not looking at things through rose-tinted glasses. Atletico should be aiming for one of the Europa League places as a minimum. A late charge for that 4^th Champions League spot is feasible as it is there for the taking but consistency is the key and whether Simeone can provide that is yet to be seen.

The future looks brighter for Atletico and for Simeone.

Though very happy to have won on over 3.5 goals and Llorente anytime in Real Madrid vs Bilbao last weekend, I was dismayed with Rayo and Racing’s home defeats at the hands of Mallorca and Getafe respectively. After all, Racing had just ended Osasuna’s long running unbeaten home league record the week before and Mallorca, who usually struggle away, were expected to lose to an in-form Rayo team who’d recently defeated Sevilla.

  That’s football you might say, but in a league where you used to be able to back the home team with fair confidence in clashes between middling or weak teams, there have been too many unexpected surprise away wins so far this season. Indeed, so much so that I’ve decided to write more of a guide to betting on most of the Primera games this weekend.

  Betting on LaLiga, bar the obvious picks, is getting harder and harder. I hope you enjoy my insight and find it of use when planning your bets. Good luck.

Espanyol v Mallorca Certainly you’d expect Espanyol to win this one, but assuming that their injury problems haven’t eased up in forward positions they might struggle to score against a Mallorca side who, though blunt in their Copa clashes with Athletic, did score and win away to the previously in-form Rayo last weekend.

Both the Catalans and Islanders played and lost in the Copa midweek so this could end in a sleep inducing 0-0 or see tired players make mistakes and allow for an open game, but you can’t be sure until you’ve watched some of it.

If I have to I’ll pick a home win, but I’d recommend watching the game and betting in-play. In an inconsistent La Liga season so far, I’ve realised that this has to be the way forward in clashes between teams that aren’t on a streak of some sort.

Rayo Vallecano v Athletic Bilbao Rayo disappointed me by losing to Mallorca in what looked like a straightforward home team wins pick. I mean I’d heard that one of the Madrid side’s defenders had been shipped off to Belgian football recently, but I didn’t expect them to lose.

Oh well, Rayo did at least create the better chances during the game, but in the end it counts for nothing with stakes and trust lost. Interestingly, Bilbao beat Mallorca on the Island in the cup on Wednesday night and Mallorca couldn’t score against them, so logic suggests Bilbao will win to nil today.

Of course, it isn’t as simple as that in reality and you could also argue that Athletic’s tiredness could lead to this ending 0-0 or, indeed, Rayo getting back on track to defeat the Basques!

Madness isn’t it. Perhaps if you must, and take note that I mustn’t, betting on both teams to score might be a good move.

Real Madrid v Real Zaragoza Short and sweet here: Many internal problems at Real – some between coach and established players – but credit to Los Blancos for coming back to draw with Barca in what was fantastic game. Anyway, I’ll be betting on goals pre-match in today’s contest with Zaragoza, and probably more goals in-play! Certainly if there aren’t two by half time, I’ll bet again on at least two more. I might also have a bet on Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick – will need to see more prices released to decide though. For now, try the bet beneath.

Recommendation: Over 1.5 first half goals (5/6)

Villarreal v Barcelona This used to be a game in which I’d go for the value in Rossi or Nilmar to score at anytime, but neither will play in this game and Villarreal – getting weaker and weaker each season – have failed to score in their last two meetings with Barcelona.

At a stretch, the set piece and long range shooting prowess of Borja Valero or good form of Marco Ruben might be able to give you a decent priced anytime scorer with Barca possibly tired after the Clasico, but you’d be pushing your luck.

What I suggest here is that you give Barca some time to get into the game and then bet in-play on them to lead at half time when the price is around evens.

Real Betis v Granada Oh we like Betis here; they rode their luck yet won 1-0 the last time these two met in Granada, but I expect repeat business and probably under 2.5 goals in the game.

Worth a punt: Dutch 1 and 2-0 Betis (6/1 and 13/2).

Levante v Getafe Levante, as we’ve seen recently, are fading quickly and should slide gradually down the table between now and the end of the season. Getafe, though often inconsistent, won away at Racing last weekend so why not take a small punt on them winning away at goal shy Levante today.

Worth a small punt: Getafe (11/5)

Real Sociedad v Sporting Gijon Should be straight forward home win here, Sporting were virtually devoid of any threat going forward away to Villarreal last Monday night so why should they do anything on the road this time. Probably an under 2.5 goals game, can’t say I’m interested in betting pre match. As is the theme in this week’s previews, just saying – trying to be helpful to punters more than anything.

Racing Santander v Valencia Now then, Racing are somewhat of a bogey team for Valencia, often defeating or drawing with Los Che, so i’d recommend treading carefully in this one. In their last match at the Mestalla, Racing took a shock 3-1 lead only for Valencia to come back and win 4-3 with an amazing comeback (so quick that the betting didn’t un-suspend for long enough to bet on after 3-3!) in the last few minutes of the game. I think I’m going to cut this short and say that anything is possible so sensible betting should be done in-play, but given that Soldado scored a hat-trick and an own goal in the 4-3 win mentioned above, soldier boy to score the first again is worth a punt.

Other than that, you could hope history repeats it’s self and back Racing half time/Valencia full time at 33/1. You never know. Worth a punt: Soldado to score first (5/1).

Malaga v Sevilla Another local derby for Sevilla after their 1-1 draw with top rivals Betis last weekend. Malaga are coming off the back of a heavy home defeat at the hands of a Messi inspired Barca, but did at least score and impressed in parts of the game. I expect this game to end in a draw, but it seems safer to bet on both teams scoring given that this bet has won in five of the last six clashes between these two. It’s very short priced though.

Recommendation: Both teams to score (3/4)

Osasuna v Atletico Madrid Gifted an early lead from the penalty spot, Atletico impressively demolished Sociedad 4-0 in San Sebastian last weekend. Amongst the goals was top scorer Falcao – a player who looked a lot happier with the counter attacking style employed to great affect by new coach Diego Simeone.

Indeed, I really enjoyed watching Atletico here, despite not being brave enough to actually bet on them pre-match. But am I brave enough to bet on them in today’s match? Hmmm, no is the truthful answer – not pre match anyway. The reasoning is that Osasuna (as documented many times) don’t lose too many games in Pamplona. Sure, they’ve shockingly lost to Racing and only salvaged a draw via a late goal against Valencia in the last fortnight, but the former was through two penalties and Osasuna were very unlucky in the latter.

If Atletico can win in Pamplona, then we can start betting on them to win away every week – and what a delight that would be with Valencia sometimes iffy and over goals in Real/Barca home games the only close to bankable bets in today’s La Liga.

Anyway, back to reality and given Osasuna’s hard to beat at home tag while factoring in that Atletico have yet to concede under Simeone, a shocking 0-0 could be on the cards. Of course, you could also argue that with Osasuna conceding recently it might end 1-0 Atletico with Falcao again on the scoresheet.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my opinion on this game and consider the counter arguments when choosing a bet, but the safest betting option is to wait and see what happens so we can judge Atletico in a clearer light next time they take to the road.

Craig Williams (twitter:  @onlyscotinsama) is back to give praise to the often under appreciated Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona’s home win against Real Betis marked a milestone 100th game for midfielder Sergio Busquets in the colors of the azulgrana, one that, at least by my reckoning, represents a cause for small celebration.

When you think Barcelona you think of Messi, you think of Xavi, Iniesta, Villa and Pique, even Puyol. Only after that do you think of Busquets. I guess this lies in the fact that Busquets isn’t he who does the tricks, scores the goals, casts his spell on opposing teams. If its possible to do “dirty work” within a Barca team as good as this current one, then its Busquets who holds that office as a job for life.

Strip back the beauty of the intricate, delicate and at times mesmerizing possession football, and here you have in Busquets, the clogs of the machine, and the catalytic converter of the sports car. Take that away, and well, who knows, a foul smell might begin. Barca might lose.

It can be argued that more than any other player it’s Busquets who carries the stamp of La Masia, Barca’s conveyor belt of producing talent. The system operated on not giving the opposite team possession. Pep´s best “discovery”, his “best kept secret”, or better said, Pep’s pied piper.

It can be said that Xavi is Xavi, Messi is Messi, and so on, but Busquets is Guardiola’s. Less an individual than a truly team player, his progression as a player ties in with that as a manager. Although it was Rijkaard who ushered Busquets into full squad set up, providing him his debut in the Copa Cataluña, the credit for his trajectory is the work of Pep. If you gave Pep some Plasticine, he´d make you a Busquets. You get the picture.

The recent media attention provided with this milestone (or lack of it) has been surprising, bringing with it both vehement support from some circles (mainly Barcelona based, as per) against some strong “denial” of his worth and value to Guardiola’s all conquering eleven.

For me, out of this current Barca side he seems to be the player that is given the least plaudits, he whose job isn’t the most noticeable. This is a role, that which Busquets performs, that mirrors the man off the park. In press conferences he comes off as a quiet, gentile and studied young man, a man that just wants to play football for the team he loves, nothing else.

So is it valid to ascertain that Busquets is “mediocre”, a player that is lucky that his game represents a glove fit into Pep’s system, and a player who would never triumph elsewhere. Does it matter? Some sections of the press/blog circuit seem to think so. I am not one for hypothesizing, all this “he wouldn’t be this, he wouldn’t be that”, and this “Messi against Stoke” garbage. Let’s focus on the here and now, lads, shall we?

Certain theatrics aside (aka the Inter/Madrid Champions League matches) he is disciplined and tactically astute.  His avoidance of the long pass shows that he doesn’t complicate things. For that comparisons with Xabi Alonso are not merited, of that which there are many. Similar in some respects, especially in regards to their “clean” tackling and interceptions, they are for the most part different players, different viewpoints of the game honed under different masters.

Xavi, whom Busquets advises has been his “tutor”, to Pep’s “master” in his time at Barca, notes that he provides a balance to the team, an essential, and somewhat underutilized, word in the footballing vocabulary book.

When he first burst onto the scene many regarded him as a “player in black and white” in reference to his style of play, a style that mirrors that of the days when color televisions didn’t exist. Even Del Bosque, himself a deep lying (slow) central midfielder, advises that if he was to be re-incarnated as a player in today’s game, he would be Busquets.

His progression itself merits mention, from his beginnings within the Barcelona B setup to his role as a first name on the team sheet, whether for Barca or for Spain. A short search through the recent past brings up some interesting details. Let’s say the 8th June 2008. On this day Busquets was getting on a bus taking the B team to Barbastro (Google Maps needed) for a 1st leg playoff to go into the Segunda B (third tier). Fast forward one year, he was stepping onto a plane taking the national team to the Confederations Cup. Some turn around of events.

Indispensible as he was at the World Cup – he played all but 28 minutes of the tournament – he isn’t that name that springs to mind like the others do, but he should be. His master class against the German team propelled Spain into the final, in a game where they played their best football of the tournament. In the final he did his job, and did it well. The man who snuffed out Sneijder.

Just as well then that the hiccups that appeared with his contract renewal in 2008 subsided. He could have left at the end of that season for free, and there was even talk in the Spanish press of Wenger´s “vultures” swooping in and taking him to London. Barcelona´s initial (rejected) offer to Busquets, bonuses based on wins and a start-game ratio of 60% gives a slight insight into the possibility that even they didn’t give full consideration to how essential a player he was going to be. And with an $80 million release clause on his head, any admirers will have to pay big bucks to take him away from the bosom of Pep.

Perhaps now, since this milestone has been reached, more people will realize the role he plays within the side, the role he has been shaped into, made his own, the ‘quitanieves’, snow plough that clears the way of any danger. Forget your Messi, Xavi and the rest; it’s all about the Busquets baby.

Forza Futbol welcomes Allen Dodson from VillarrealUSA (twitter: @groguet01). He will regularly contribute on a monthly basis on Football Finances.  Enjoy!

UEFA released their annual report on the state of European club football finances today. “The European Club Footballing Landscape”, which incorporates data, aggregated by country, from 90% of top division clubs across Europe. Of course, Europe-wide numbers are dominated by clubs from the top five leagues (Spain, England, Germany, Italy and France).

In this first post I’m going to briefly cover the data for Europe as a whole; I’ll look at the data for Spain in more detail in a second article. *Europe-wide trends: higher revenues, higher losses*

In spite of a fairly upbeat introduction (“from 2006 to 2010, aggregate income of football clubs increased by a remarkable 42% at a time when Europe’s economies expanded by just 1%”) the data presented here show European football rests on a pretty precarious financial footing.

Aggregate income has increased (led primarily by an increase in broadcasting revenues), yet net losses have grown– from €216m in 2006 to €1,641m in 2010. Much of this loss is due to transfer activity–€933m in 2010, double that of 2009. (It should be noted when the transfer market slows down, as it did in 2010, ‘transfer activity’ is dominated by amortization of transfer fees paid in previous years, rather than moneys received in the year under consideration, so is not necessarily “cash flow” in that year).

For most clubs in Europe, including over half in La Liga, “operating profits” are actually positive, while about 20% show large losses. But this measure is only relevant if you have a team fielding totally home-grown talent. Once you add in transfer fees (costs of “player trading”), most clubs showed losses or very small profits, and on a league level, only 4 of the top 30 leagues operated with a profit (and the largest of the 4 was Belgium).

In other words, in spite of five years of booming revenues, even the top leagues, considered as a whole, are losing money. Within those leagues, most clubs are operating at or around breakeven, or worse, with only a few making profits, and most of that has come from developing or selling players or other assets, not from the “core business” of football. (Since individual teams aren’t identified, it’s not possible to track one team’s profit or loss across years).

If you look at the overall results, the “typical” European club spends 113% of its revenue. Player salaries and net transfer costs take up 71% of revenues; operating expenses (which include everything from directors’ salaries to youth football, sales and marketing, and much else) take up 39%, and net finance costs make up another 3%.

*Can clubs easily increase revenues?*

Of course, increasing revenues while keeping expenditures constant is one way to solve this problem. But can clubs do this? Probably not. Matchday attendances in the big five leagues are essentially flat, and in England and Germany most teams fill their grounds, so there’s no ability to easily add more fans. Spanish grounds are only 70% full, but Spain and England charge the highest price per ticket (€50), so increasing prices is probably difficult. As for sponsorship and commercial revenues, while in theory there should be room to increase these, as we’ve seen in La Liga this year sponsorship money has dried up, with three of the Spanish teams competing in Europe having no shirt sponsors.

Television revenues have been responsible for the major increases in revenues across European leagues over the past five years, but here too the potential for continued growth is questionable. Within Europe, broadcasters are less interested in splashing large amounts of money for rights to sporting events given the economic slowdown, especially when many broadcasters are in financial trouble themselves.

Promoting EPL or La Liga football to audiences overseas (especially in China and other Asian markets) seems to be everyone’s potential ‘pot of gold’, but will those expectations be realized? It’s certainly not clear at this point that they will.

Cutting costs is of course possible, but often brings undesired consequences on the pitch. It is true though that over the longer term, if the transfer market remains depressed perhaps player salaries and transfer fees will at least level off. Nonetheless, for the best players, demand will continue to be high.

*Covering losses and Financial Fair Play (FFP)*

The report notes that overall, about half of the clubs surveyed have improved their balance sheet, and on aggregate there has been a slight increase in financial health, or at least in the net equity of clubs. How, given the magnitude of losses? The simple answer is that wealthy owners have pumped in money to subsidize losses. Of course, UEFA’s FFP regulations are designed to limit this, and in fact 6 teams that qualified for Europe this season wouldn’t qualify under the planned rules—the losses they’ve run up have been too large.

Further, if the regulations were already in effect, over half of the clubs competing in Europe this season would have failed at least one test under these regulations. (This includes not just limits on capital injections and losses, but limits on what percentage of revenues can go to pay salaries and so on). That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be allowed to compete, though they would have to provide satisfactory “additional information” before they could do so. Nonetheless, it’s a striking indictment of the current system.

Martin Devlin (twitter: @PucelaEscosia) is back with a wrap up of the Spanish Second division.  Enjoy!

Friday 20^th January 2012

Alcoyano 2 Manuel Gato 58; Wellington Silva 84

Almeria 2 Jose Ulloa 9; Henok Goitom 61

An enthralling encounter at El Collao marked the start of Week 21 in the Segunda Division. Alcoyano and Almeria slugged out a 2-2 draw on Friday night, which saw the hosts rescue a point late on. Heavily fancied Almeria took the lead inside 10 minutes; top marksman Jose Ulloa added to his impressive hat-trick against Guadalajara last week by firing Lucas Alcaraz’s side in front. Ulloa sits atop the scoring chart with a haul of 17 goals to date. Alcoyano limited his chances however, and put on a display which defied the 11 league places between the two sides going into this fixture. They were rewarded shortly before the hour mark, when Manuel Gato levelled things up. However, the visitors pressed and reclaimed the advantage just three minutes later. Henok Goitom got his name on the scoresheet last week, and repeated the trick by netting here – proving that he and Ulloa are a pairing to be reckoned with. Credit must go to David Porras’ side though for continuing to battle, and Wellington Silva scored with six minutes remaining to ensure a share of the spoils.

Saturday 21^st January 2012

Deportivo 1 Florian Lejeune 76 (OG)

Villarreal B 0 (Kiko S/O 51)

Deportivo ended the first half of the season on top of the pile with a 1-0 win against Villarreal B at the Riazor. However, they were made to work for their victory by a spirited Yellow Submarine side who played most of the second half a man light following Kiko’s straight red card. The home side had climbed to the summit last week, and consolidated their place atop the Segunda when Florian Lejeune’s second half own goal proved to be the only score in this match. However, going into their next fixture against lowly Cartagena, manager Jose Luis Oltra will be hoping for an improved performance, especially with a host of clubs breathing down their necks.

Girona 1 Jandro 12

Murcia 1 Dani Mallo 35 (OG)

Josu Uribe’s first match in charge of struggling Girona saw them claim a point against eighth-placed Murcia in Catalonia. Uribe, who replaced Raul Agne last week following Girona’s tenth league defeat, might well feel aggrieved after an own-goal ensured that his side did not get more out of this performance. Jandro put the hosts up after 12 minutes, but the unfortunate Dani Mallo put through his own net after the half hour mark to level the score. However, with only three points separating Girona from 17^th place, the new man in charge may have seen enough of his charges to feel that they can escape the relegation zone. A change of manager may be the spark needed to lift their fortunes. Murcia will see this an an opportunity missed to leapfrog Cordoba into sixth and reignite their playoff ambitions.

Gimnastic 1 Alvaro Rey 26

Elche 0

In what was without doubt the shock result of the day, Gimnastic welcomed Elche to Tarragona, and promptly sent them packing with a 1-0 win for the hosts. The Catalan basement side took the lead when Alvaro Rey netted on 26 minutes and they refused to relinquish that advantage, successfully frustrating Pepe Bordalas’ high-flyers. This result meant Elche slipped two places to fourth and, although Nastic remain in last place, this display against the promotion chasers will fill their squad with hope for the second half of the campaign.

Guadalajara 0

Valladolid 3 Oscar 35; Jofre 50; Nauzet Aleman 55 (Pen)

Valladolid shook off more speculation of their financial state and kept up the pressure on leaders Deportivo with a dominant performance on the road against Guadalajara. For all their possession, Miroslav Djukic’s Pucela only had a one-goal cushion going into the break, courtesy of Oscar shortly after the half hour mark. However, the visitors upped the pace following the restart and Jofre doubled their lead ten minutes into the second period. Nauzet Aleman capped the scoring five minutes later with a penalty. This win, coupled with Elche’s unexpected defeat in Tarragona, saw Valladolid move up to the automatic promotion places and are only three points off top spot.

Alcorcon 2 Paco Montanes 4; Miguelez 45

Numancia 2 Juanjo 49, 71

Alcorcon and Numancia shared the spoils in a pulsating encounter at the Santo Domingo, which saw the visitors fight back from two goals down and withstand a heavy onslaught from their opponents. Paco Montanes had given the hosts an early lead through Paco Montanes, before Miguelez netted for the second consecutive game to put Alcorcon in a commanding position at the break. However, shortly into the second half Juanjo replied for Numancia to spark a revival. It was Juanjo again with less than twenty minutes remaining who levelled things up, but the action was not finished there. Alcorcon were not giving up without a fight and pressed hard for a winner, but Pablo Machin’s side were resolute in defence and left with a thoroughly deserved point.

Sabadell 1 Florian 15

Las Palmas 1 Juan Pedro Ramirez Lopez 90; (David Gonzalez S/O 80)

Las Palmas travelled to Sabadell having convincingly beaten Barcelona B in last week’s fixture. They emerged with a draw, but will count themselves lucky to have done so. The Sabulluts took the lead when Florian fired in after quarter of an hour. Neither team seemed to take a command of the play and it looked increasingly like the Catalan side were on their way to victory when their guests saw David Gonzalez sent off for his second bookable offence. However, the team from the Canary Islands snatched a late equaliser through Juan Pedro Ramirez Lopez.

Hercules 2 Samuel Llorca 61; Tote 87

Huesca 0

Hercules put the disappointment of last week’s shock defeat at Xerez behind them to see off Huesca at the Jose Rico Perez stadium. However, they were made to work for their win and it was not until just after an hour had gone before Samuel Llorca fashioned the breakthrough. Tote made the scoreline a little more flattering to the hosts with a goal three minutes from time, but manager Juan Carlos Mandia will expect a little more from his troops ahead of next Saturday’s visit to Villarreal B.

Cartagena 3 Juan Collantes 35, 69; Nicolas Raimondi 65

Recreativo 1 Bonaque 75

Cartagena moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a comfortable 3-1 win over Recre in Murcia. A Juan Collantes brace either side of a Nicolas Raimondi strike ensured the hosts were cruising, and Bonaque consolation failed to throw the Albinegros off their rythmn. A confident display from Cartagena to move them up two places and a point clear of the drop zone while Recre dropped one place to mid-table.

Sunday 22^nd January 2012

Cordoba 0

Celta 0

Celta fell further behind in the title race with a stalemate on the road at Cordoba. However, rather than view it as two points dropped, the Galicians may count themselves fortunate to have picked up a draw as the home side peppered the Celta goal throughout the course of the game. The Andalusians took the game to their opponents early on, but found the Celta defence in stingy form.

Barcelona B 2 Christian Tello 39; Rodri 58

Xerez 0

Eusebio Sacristan’s Barcelona B jumped two places into the mid-point of the table, following a comfortable victory over Xerez at the Mini Estadi. The Xerecistas had produced a shock last week, knocking off high-flyers Hercules at home, but found their Catalan opponents a different proposition. A goal in each half saw Barca B take maximum points. Christian Tello opened the scoring, and was unlucky not to double his tally after the break. However, a Rodri strike shortly before the hour mark sealed the points

We talked to Arch Bell, an expert on 2nda division (aka Liga Adelante). Arch is a regular contributor on ESPN Soccernet, La Liga Weekly and a host of the Austin’s Futbol En Vivo-91.7FM among other things. You may follow Arch on twitter at @ArchBell.

Download this episode (right click and save)

iTunes

Agenda

1. Segunda vs Primera – what is the difference?

2. Candidates for promotion to Primera

3. The excitement brought out by the play-off system for the last promotion spot.

4. What are the suprise teams in Segunda this season?

5. The biggest disappointments of this season.

6. The story of Mirandes – Pablo Infante, the Pichichi of Copa del Rey.

7. What are the biggest problems in Segunda division?

8. Lack of exposure to the Segunda clubs beyond Spain

9.  Arch’s candidates for relegation and promotion

10. Copa del Rey recap

Here’s how the power rankings stand, both Barca and Madrid have won 5 games out of 6, the difference being that Barca is unbeaten, whereas Madrid lost vs Barca in the league.  From Espanyol to Betis, the teams have won 3 out of 6 games.  The teams ranked higher have more draws than losses. From Athletic Club to Rayo, the teams have won at least two out of 6.  From Villarreal to Granada the teams have won 1 out of 6.  The bottom two are winless in 6, yet have garnered 2 draws.  As you can see teams that get on any type of run can move up or down the power rankings like a yo-yo.  The European and relegation places in La Liga are very volatile.  The only consistency seems to be among the big two.  It’s crazy.  Espanyol jumped 7 positions, Atletico 5 while Sporting and Villarreal climbed 4.  Real Sociedad dropped 7 places, Granada 5, whereas Osasuna, Sevilla & Valencia dropped 4 positions.

The placards of support that once decorated the ground had been replaced by whistles. His staunchest of supporters seemed to have deserted him. Mourinho stands alone, or so it seems. Reports of divides amongst the players and bust ups at training are denied but those denials are not fully believable. For once it seems that Marca are telling the truth. A team sitting 5 points clear in the league seems to be in crisis, only in Spain, only at Real Madrid.

  The shadow of Barça had grown past Spain, across Europe and was slowly taking over the world. Like in an 80’s film Florentino was left with the question: Who you gonna call? There was only one man for the job, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’. The fact that Jose Mourinho had a few grudges against Barça sweetened the deal, the fact that he had beaten Barça in the semifinals of the CL, whilst with Inter at the Camp Nou, and got soaked as he celebrated under the sprinklers was the icing on the cake. If there was any one who hated Barça more than a Real Madrid fan, it was Mourinho. Even knowing it was a Faustian pact, Florentino signed him. He signed the man, his reputation, his success rate and the circus that accompanies. It seems that circus may have become a burden now.

  Mourinho is a writers dream. Even if he turns on the  press now and again, all is forgiven because with Jose there is always a story. But in Spain he found things a little different. Papers saddled up with clubs and defend player’s actions even if defense of an action isn’t logical, Manager’s words are treated as Gospel, Presidents words are treated with even higher esteem. On one side of the press you are a king, whilst on the other you are a villain. The eye poking incident in the Spanish Super Copa is the best example of this. Mourinho is an expert and knows how to use the press just as they know how to use him. It is a quid pro quo relationship and it has worked very well for him in the past. He has always managed to keep his players protected, no matter what, by letting the story focus on him. The result? Friendship and loyalty from players such as Lampard, Terry, Materazzi and Carvalho to name a few who would throw themselves under a bus for their Coach. But, Jose would never let them do that. But, in Spain the players want to be part of the story and there Mourinho has had problems. As in England, Portugal and Italy no one would dare go above the manager and speak to a journalist, the attitude amongst Spanish players is ‘Just watch me’.

There are 2 Mourinhos. The one that likes to cause controversy in front of the cameras and the other side, a unseen side, who phoned a fellow manager to express his support whilst the other manager was suffering a personal grief. This side isn’t seen much but those who know Mourinho outside football talk about a man who is warm, friendly and relaxed. In public and in the limelight he appears almost Shakespearean and the quote from ‘As You Like it’ could best sum him up ‘All the world’s a stage…..’ Apart from one or two examples Mourinho has always enjoyed unity at his clubs. Players believe in him and why wouldn’t they, he delivers success. But, at Real Madrid it is different, so very different, even if you are sitting 5 points clear in the league.

  When Mourinho came it was rejoiced that a new era had begun. Real had sold its soul somewhat. Perez didn’t care, he wanted Mourinho badly. But, Mourinho followed his own rules, rules that had lead him to many successes. Florentino played along, Valdano didn’t and Valdano found the exit. Mourinho carries no one; it’s all or nothing, one for all….etc. but was Real Madrid the right team to adopt this mentality? This a club where players deal with a President, often bypassing the manager who at times is only just a mere puppet but this wouldn’t happen under Jose. Their sheer eagerness to overthrow Barça allowed them to believe that Jose would change everything. Dissenters were ridiculed and cast aside. History is the past, this is the present and you are either with us or against us was the belief being installed everywhere around the club. An almost Big Brother attitude had grown around the club where some felt afraid to speak their mind for fear of being called an anti-Madridista.

Last year’s Copa Del Rey success showed they were on the right path although it was taking a little longer than some expected. The wheels started to come off in December. Real Madrid started the league in spectacular fashion, playing some of their best football and earning well deserved plaudits. Then came Barça. It wasn’t simply the fact that they lost to Barça, it was that they didn’t play at all. This time there was no referee, linesman, player or UEFA conspiracies. It was simple, Barça were better and when AS and Marca praise the mighty enemy you know you are in trouble. Mourinho held things together. Madrid were still leading the league. When the Copa Del Rey draw was made it was seen as a chance to get some revenge. But it would end up being pretty much the same story, just a different day.

  The aftermath has been amazing. Mourinho once seen as untouchable is getting blamed from all corners. The players too are getting their fair share. 3 pillars which Mourinho believed he could always count on, C Ronaldo, Pepe and Carvalho, are crumbling like sandcastles in the sea. Ronaldo once fan favourite has been whistled at from some sections for his poor performances in the El Clasicos, Carvalho has issues off the field and well Pepe, is just Pepe. Other players are speaking out and leaking arguments. Rumours of divides between the Portuguese and Spanish players are becoming more frequent. It seems that Mourinho doesn’t have the loyalty that he had at previous clubs and this has disappointed him to no end.

But are the players to blame for not being fully behind Mourinho? Ramos and Casillas have possibly lost count on the amount of managers that have come and gone at Real Madrid. Is it any wonder that they are cautious when it comes to another ‘New era’? For them Mourinho is just another face off Florentino Perez’s conveyor belt of managers. This time it was supposed to be different but where in Florentino has be vociferous in his support in Mourinho in the past, lately he was been unusually quiet and more interesting is that this silence is happening when Marca seem to be upping it’s criticism of Mourinho and some players. It is whispered that whatever is published in Marca must get Florentino’s approval. There is no evidence to suggest this is 100% true, but there some substance to the rumour which is quite worrying considering some of their recent headlines. Some expect all this to blow over. Real Madrid sit 5 points clear, some say this could be just another Mourinho tactic, but like the players denials of divisions we just don’t believe it.

  As for the man himself he is still holding on to the belief that he had in Italy and still holds in Spain, that his future belongs in England. Rumours around Spain suggest he will leave at the end of the season. Should he go it will Spain’s loss and England’s gain. Maybe next week it will be all forgotten but only for a while. To repeat it once again:  All of this and Real Madrid are enjoying one of their best seasons and sit 5 points clear at the top of the table! Only in Spain, only at Real Madrid. Other News: 7 goals, 7 points and no goals conceded, the Simeone effect lives on. A Falcao hat trick, Adrían on the score sheet again, young Koke off the bench and makes a great contribution and all this in a ground where Atletico have only one once since 1993. Ole, Ole, Cholo Simeone! But for how long with the honeymoon last? Results played into Atlético’s hands. Osasuna and Valencia drew, Barça beat Málaga, Zaragoza held Levante and Betis were the toast of the Rojiblanco side of the Madrid as they held Sevilla. Great to see the Sevilla derby back. Great atmosphere, great game and great for La Liga. Fabri is gone. The grumpy old neighbour has been given the boot. He leaves Granada just hovering over the relegation zone. Ex Atleti Coach Abel Resino is reported to have been contacted to replace Fabri.

  Results: Real Sociedad 0-4 Atlético, Betis 1-1 Sevilla, Espanyol 3-0 Granada, Racing 1-2 Getafe, Osasuna 1-1 Valencia, Rayo 0-1 Mallorca, Málaga 1-4 Barcelona, Levante 0-0 Zaragoza, Madrid 4-1 Athletic, Villarreal 3-0 Sporting Gijon