by Cyrus Malek, goal.com
After a summer of blockbuster transfers, dramatic inter-organisation rows, and pre-season friendly matches, all of which together seemed to last for an inordinately prolonged period, La Liga is back for what has been touted as one of the most exciting seasons in years.
Unfortunately, the first matchday of the season fell some way short of that billing in the excitement stakes. While both the Big Two won, Real Madrid and Barcelona earning the three points by beating Deportivo La Coruña and Sporting de Gijon, respectively, it must be said that the Spanish giants were a bit lacklustre in their Primera Division openings.
In the maiden match of the season on Saturday evening, Manuel Pellegrini made his coaching debut for Real Madrid as Los Blancos hoped to entertain an expectant Santiago Bernabeu against bogey team Depor. Madridistas were still reeling from the shock sale of mercurial winger Arjen Robben (who, by the way, scored two dazzling goals in a dream debut for Bayern Munich), but it became clear that the Flying Dutchman was already history as Karim Benzema took the pitch wearing the vacated number 11 shirt.
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Madrid played well enough and created a host of chances, almost scoring in their first attempt on goal as Kaka flashed his wayward shot across the face of the net. But the defence, which consisted of three new summer signings in Alvaro Arbeloa, Raul Albiol, and Ezequiel Garay, gave up two careless goals to the Galician visitors as Andres Guardado, Riki, and Juan Carlos Valeron (the latter two were goalscorers) flustered the three defenders.
Marcelo, however, despite questions about his defence last season, looked solid at the back while Raul made a strong case for himself in the starting XI with a brilliant goal that demonstrated his persistence and professionalism—a Kaka pass that crept between the legs of two defenders found Benzema, the Frenchman’s shot thudded off the post, and while the Depor back line stood staring blankly at the assistant referee for the off-side flag, Raul snuck in and slotted home the rebound.
Moreover, ‘El Capitan’ had a hand in the second goal, winning the penalty that Cristiano Ronaldo did well to convert, despite immense pressure. In the first match of the season, Raul has made a statement that it is his starting job to lose, leaving Gonzalo Higuain with it all to do in order to break into a starting role.
The Man of the Match though was the same player who stole the show last season as the best player in the squad, Lassana Diarra. In just six months of play in the Spanish capital, Lass has won the affection of fans by relentlessly pursuing the ball and recovering possession with remarkable consistency, and he is now beginning to make a name for himself as a goalscorer, bursting the net in Madrid’s last pre-season game against Rosenborg with a stunning strike, while burying the winning goal on Saturday with a driving shot into the bottom-left corner.
How Madrid are able to perform in their future matches remains to be seen. The regular season has proven to be slightly more difficult than the pre-season cakewalk and already the pressure has been ratcheted up with the rise in expectations. With Florentino Perez having been unable to make a last second push for Franck Ribery (although Rafael Van der Vaart has, in the end, stayed at the Bernabeu), the Floren Team have much to prove as they attempt to take the trophies that are, somewhat deservedly, expected of them.
Casual Cules
Yesterday, in the final match of the first Liga weekend, Barcelona took to the Camp Nou pitch to tackle Asturian side Sporting de Gijon—a side who were only afforded another season in La Primera by virtue of finishing one point above the relegation zone cut-off.
Pep Guardiola’s defending champions featured a starting line-up without superstar Lionel Messi as the little Argentine had left for his home country in preparation for a World Cup qualifying match against Brazil. In his stead was the newly promoted canterano, Pedro ‘Pedrito’ Rodriguez, who scored a brilliant goal in the European Supercup tie against Shakhtar Donetsk to give Barcelona their second title of the season. The side also featured new signings Maxwell (the left-back who left the match with an injury) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the star striker eager to begin his Liga campaign with a goal or two.
Although he rarely looked interested in the match, ‘Ibra’ duly got his debut goal and Barcelona dispatched Sporting by a 3-0 scoreline; but while the box score may indicate a dominating performance, those who watched the encounter saw a different story.
At times during the match, Barca looked every bit as impressive as the side that easily won the Triplete last season, connecting passes through the midfield, drawing their adversaries away from their area, exploiting the space opened up by the hapless visitors, and creating a good deal of pressure on the opposition goal. But during other long spells, the Blaugrana gave the ball away much too easily (a very atypical occurrence under a Guardiola-coached side) and looked as if they were still shaking off some pre-season rust.
It does need to be said that both Messi and Henry were out of the side with the former in South America and the latter being rested after playing much of the European Supercup tie, but if Barca are to claim the rest of the four titles for which they are eligible, Sunday’s performance will simply not suffice.
Surprises in Spain
Outside of the Big Two, however, there were a few shocking results in La Liga. Malaga, a side that took an impressive 8th place last season after being promoted from La Segunda, shocked Champions League-quality competition, thrashing Atletico de Madrid with a 3-0 scoreline. If the first match of the season is any indication, Los Boquerones could be a force to reckon with.
Osasuna, a side that was battling relegation last season, severely tested Europa-League qualifiers Villarreal in a 1-1 draw, showing improvement over their play last season. Valencia also dispatched an undermanned Sevilla side as youngsters Juan Mata and Pablo Hernandez helped Los Che begin their quest to be mentioned with the Liga elite.
But the surprise of the weekend came in the form of Getafe’s 4-1 demolition of Racing Santader in El Sardinero, with Madrid youth product Roberto Soldado scoring a hat-trick to become La Liga’s leading scorer through the first weekend. Aside from Soldado, Dani Parejo, also of the Madrid youth academy, was one of the best players of the match, as Getafe coach Michel, formerly of Real Madrid Castilla, put the 20-year-old in charge of orchestrating the Getafe attack. In the final hours the transfer window, Getafe also secured the signature of Madrid right/left-back Miguel Torres, effectively making Los Azulones a second Madrid youth team for developing talent.
As it stands after one weekend, Getafe sit in first place waiting to take on second place Barcelona two weeks from now at the Coliseum. Malaga sit in third place while Valencia have climbed into fifth place, up a spot from their finish last season. Winning only by one goal, the Real Madrid of the second Galactico era sit in sixth place, Villarreal’s Yellow Submarine has sunk to 10th, Sevilla sit in 16th, and Atletico languish in the relegation zone in 19th place.
But thankfully the season does not end with three points and with only one weekend of La Liga in the books, we still have 37 more Liga matches to enjoy before we head into a summer that should feature some of the best football the world has ever seen in World Cup 2010. So despite the slow start, it promises to be a very good year for football.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Laporta: Fabregas a special case
fourfourtwo.com
Barcelona president Joan Laporta says the Catalans' interest in Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is different from any normal transfer deal.
The 22-year-old midfielder has made 163 league appearances for the Gunners since arriving from the Camp Nou club's youth ranks in 2003.
Fabregas has long been linked with a big-money move back to his former club, with the European champions believed to have been weighing up an offer for his services this summer.
Emirates Stadium supremo Arsene Wenger recently criticised the policies of Spanish sides, claiming their political approach can have a negative effect on the country's rising stars.
And Laporta has now apologised for causing any offence following his comments regarding the Spanish international, but insisted Fabregas was a special case, who will always have Barcelona running through his veins.
"I apologise if I bothered Mr Wenger, because I respect him very highly and the job he is doing," he said.
"But he knows perfectly that the case of Cesc Fabregas is special.
"He is a Catalan player from our youth team and it is not a secret that we love this player."
Barcelona president Joan Laporta says the Catalans' interest in Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is different from any normal transfer deal.
The 22-year-old midfielder has made 163 league appearances for the Gunners since arriving from the Camp Nou club's youth ranks in 2003.
Fabregas has long been linked with a big-money move back to his former club, with the European champions believed to have been weighing up an offer for his services this summer.
Emirates Stadium supremo Arsene Wenger recently criticised the policies of Spanish sides, claiming their political approach can have a negative effect on the country's rising stars.
And Laporta has now apologised for causing any offence following his comments regarding the Spanish international, but insisted Fabregas was a special case, who will always have Barcelona running through his veins.
"I apologise if I bothered Mr Wenger, because I respect him very highly and the job he is doing," he said.
"But he knows perfectly that the case of Cesc Fabregas is special.
"He is a Catalan player from our youth team and it is not a secret that we love this player."
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Del Bosque: Bojan is Ours
www.sportinglife.com
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has issued a hands off warning to new Serbia boss Radomir Antic over teenage striker Bojan Krkic, insisting "the player is ours".
Antic hinted earlier this week that he might attempt to persuade the uncapped Barcelona ace to play for Serbia, but Del Bosque is adamant the 17-year-old's future lies with Spain.
"We consider Bojan our player, he feels identified with Spain, is a great guy and we count on him," said Del Bosque.
"Bojan will play with Spain in the future, (although) such decisions are very personal and must not be imposed, they must be made free and personal by the player."
Bojan was born in Spain to a Serbian father and a Catalan mother, and he has represented Spain at both Under-17 and Under-21 level, winning the European Under-17 title in 2007.
He was called up by former Spain coach Luis Aragones prior to Euro 2008, however illness prevented him from playing a friendly against France and he withdrew from consideration for the European Championships, citing fatigue.
The youngster was also included in Del Bosque's first Spain squad for last week's friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen, but did not play.
Del Bosque is due to name his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying double-header against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Armenia on Friday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has issued a hands off warning to new Serbia boss Radomir Antic over teenage striker Bojan Krkic, insisting "the player is ours".
Antic hinted earlier this week that he might attempt to persuade the uncapped Barcelona ace to play for Serbia, but Del Bosque is adamant the 17-year-old's future lies with Spain.
"We consider Bojan our player, he feels identified with Spain, is a great guy and we count on him," said Del Bosque.
"Bojan will play with Spain in the future, (although) such decisions are very personal and must not be imposed, they must be made free and personal by the player."
Bojan was born in Spain to a Serbian father and a Catalan mother, and he has represented Spain at both Under-17 and Under-21 level, winning the European Under-17 title in 2007.
He was called up by former Spain coach Luis Aragones prior to Euro 2008, however illness prevented him from playing a friendly against France and he withdrew from consideration for the European Championships, citing fatigue.
The youngster was also included in Del Bosque's first Spain squad for last week's friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen, but did not play.
Del Bosque is due to name his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying double-header against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Armenia on Friday.
Robinho set for Blues move
www.4thegame.com
The agent of Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Robinho says that his client is finally poised to seal his big-money move to Chelsea.
The 24-year-old is desperate to join up with the Blues, despite both Real president Ramon Calderon and coach Bernd Schuster insisting that they wanted to keep the South American at the Bernabeu.
Robinho's representative, Wagner Ribeiro, told The Guardian: "A deal is about to be reached.
"Robinho's time in Spain has come to an end and he is looking forward to being part of a new project."
The player himself had recently confirmed that he wanted to leave the Bernabeu and take up an offer to move to Stamford Bridge.
"It's not my objective to continue at Real Madrid," he told Spanish media.
"I highly respect the club, the players and especially the fans, who've always treated me well, but that's not my objective.
"I have an offer which is good for me and the club. I dream of playing in the English league. Chelsea have a great squad and a great team.
"My objective is to play there. I've got nothing against Real Madrid, but I hope to resolve this situation as soon as possible.
"It's not about money, I simply want to leave. I want to be the best player in the world and that isn't possible at Real Madrid.
"I've come to an end of a cycle. I've played three seasons at Real Madrid, I've given my all. I think that my time here has now come to an end."
The agent of Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Robinho says that his client is finally poised to seal his big-money move to Chelsea.
The 24-year-old is desperate to join up with the Blues, despite both Real president Ramon Calderon and coach Bernd Schuster insisting that they wanted to keep the South American at the Bernabeu.
Robinho's representative, Wagner Ribeiro, told The Guardian: "A deal is about to be reached.
"Robinho's time in Spain has come to an end and he is looking forward to being part of a new project."
The player himself had recently confirmed that he wanted to leave the Bernabeu and take up an offer to move to Stamford Bridge.
"It's not my objective to continue at Real Madrid," he told Spanish media.
"I highly respect the club, the players and especially the fans, who've always treated me well, but that's not my objective.
"I have an offer which is good for me and the club. I dream of playing in the English league. Chelsea have a great squad and a great team.
"My objective is to play there. I've got nothing against Real Madrid, but I hope to resolve this situation as soon as possible.
"It's not about money, I simply want to leave. I want to be the best player in the world and that isn't possible at Real Madrid.
"I've come to an end of a cycle. I've played three seasons at Real Madrid, I've given my all. I think that my time here has now come to an end."
Guardiola satisfied despite defeat
www.sportinglife.com
Pep Guardiola was in upbeat mood despite suffering his first defeat as Barcelona coach on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants' impressive pre-season winning streak under their new boss came to an end as a strong Barca team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Polish side Wisla Krakow in the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.
However, with a 4-0 advantage from the first leg Barca were still comfortable winners overall and will be gracing the group stages of the competition for the fifth successive season, which Guardiola points out was always their main target.
"I'm very satisfied with the behaviour of the team. Our objective was to get into the Champions League and we have achieved it. I'm delighted with life," said Guardiola
"I am so happy the team is in the Champions League. We've knocked out a good side.
"I've seen so many ties of this type which have ended up being very difficult," added the coach, who had won each of his first seven matches in charge of Barca since replacing Frank Rijkaard.
"What happened is we did not know whether to attack or defend the result. We played thinking about the 4-0 in the first leg.
"It's clear that losing hurts, but regarding this match there is no possible need to reproach anybody. Generally we played a good game."
Barca striker Thierry Henry added on his club's website: "It was a somewhat strange game because we had a lot of chances but they scored the goal and we were not able to do anything.
"For the club the most important thing is that we are in the Champions League."
Looking ahead to this weekend's Primera Liga curtain-raiser against Numancia, the Frenchman added: "It will be a very tough game because I saw them play last season in the Segunda Division."
Pep Guardiola was in upbeat mood despite suffering his first defeat as Barcelona coach on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants' impressive pre-season winning streak under their new boss came to an end as a strong Barca team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Polish side Wisla Krakow in the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.
However, with a 4-0 advantage from the first leg Barca were still comfortable winners overall and will be gracing the group stages of the competition for the fifth successive season, which Guardiola points out was always their main target.
"I'm very satisfied with the behaviour of the team. Our objective was to get into the Champions League and we have achieved it. I'm delighted with life," said Guardiola
"I am so happy the team is in the Champions League. We've knocked out a good side.
"I've seen so many ties of this type which have ended up being very difficult," added the coach, who had won each of his first seven matches in charge of Barca since replacing Frank Rijkaard.
"What happened is we did not know whether to attack or defend the result. We played thinking about the 4-0 in the first leg.
"It's clear that losing hurts, but regarding this match there is no possible need to reproach anybody. Generally we played a good game."
Barca striker Thierry Henry added on his club's website: "It was a somewhat strange game because we had a lot of chances but they scored the goal and we were not able to do anything.
"For the club the most important thing is that we are in the Champions League."
Looking ahead to this weekend's Primera Liga curtain-raiser against Numancia, the Frenchman added: "It will be a very tough game because I saw them play last season in the Segunda Division."
Monday, August 25, 2008
It's A Pity Drogba Did Not Join
By Angel Fernandes
www.premiershiplatest.com
Barcelona’s Yaya Toure claimed that he was very disappointed that Chelsea ace Didier Drogba did not join them during the summer.
All through the summer the Ivory Coast international was linked with a switch to Camp Nou, however later the player insisted that he wanted to stay on with the Blues.
Toure insisted that he was looking forward to compatriot Drogba arriving in Spain. However, he is glad with Samuel Eto’o decision to stay back at Camp Nou.
"Yes, it's a pity. I would have loved Drogba to join me at Barcelona," Toure told L'Equipe.
"I give thanks to God that Eto'o is staying. He is not far away from being the best striker in the world.
"With all these great players, and especially with the mindset that we have, I do not see how we can fail."
www.premiershiplatest.com
Barcelona’s Yaya Toure claimed that he was very disappointed that Chelsea ace Didier Drogba did not join them during the summer.
All through the summer the Ivory Coast international was linked with a switch to Camp Nou, however later the player insisted that he wanted to stay on with the Blues.
Toure insisted that he was looking forward to compatriot Drogba arriving in Spain. However, he is glad with Samuel Eto’o decision to stay back at Camp Nou.
"Yes, it's a pity. I would have loved Drogba to join me at Barcelona," Toure told L'Equipe.
"I give thanks to God that Eto'o is staying. He is not far away from being the best striker in the world.
"With all these great players, and especially with the mindset that we have, I do not see how we can fail."
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Calderon ends Kaka talk
football.co.uk
President Ramon Calderon has finally ended speculation linking Real Madrid with a move for Kaka after insisting he has no plans to sign the Brazilian star.
The newly-installed European and world player of the year has been mentioned as a possible target for the Spanish champions since helping AC Milan win last year's Champions League final.
However, Calderon has attempted to draw a line under the speculation by insisting he has no interest in the Brazil international.
Recently, the outspoken president claimed Kaka would even struggle to get into the current Real squad.
"I'm not going to sign any 'galactico' now," he revealed.
"I was criticised for saying that I wouldn't have Kaka in this squad, but what I wanted to put across there was the faith that I have in the current players.
"Any change at all would be bad. The 25 that we have are 25 reasons for this club to be proud."
President Ramon Calderon has finally ended speculation linking Real Madrid with a move for Kaka after insisting he has no plans to sign the Brazilian star.
The newly-installed European and world player of the year has been mentioned as a possible target for the Spanish champions since helping AC Milan win last year's Champions League final.
However, Calderon has attempted to draw a line under the speculation by insisting he has no interest in the Brazil international.
Recently, the outspoken president claimed Kaka would even struggle to get into the current Real squad.
"I'm not going to sign any 'galactico' now," he revealed.
"I was criticised for saying that I wouldn't have Kaka in this squad, but what I wanted to put across there was the faith that I have in the current players.
"Any change at all would be bad. The 25 that we have are 25 reasons for this club to be proud."
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