Juan Ramón López Muñiz brought Málaga into La Liga in 2008 after a two-year hiatus in the second division.  Throughout his playing career, he played on teams constantly scrambling either to stay in La Liga or to be promoted to the first division.  He knows the mentality that a team needs to eschew whatever poor results it had throughout the season and focus on the final few matches of the campaign that define a team.

When Marcelino García Toral left sixth-place Racing de Santander in 2008 to resurrect Real Zaragoza from the Segunda División, López Muñiz jumped at the chance to train a team at the top half of the table, a sensation he had never felt in both his playing and managing stints.  An added perk with the high-flying Asturian side included their first UEFA Cup berth in the club’s history due to their sixth place position from a season ago.

Entrance into the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup went to the final group matchday, and while López Muñiz’s men took care of business at El Sardinero with a 3-1 victory over a Manchester City side that already secured qualification, Péguy Luyindula’s 86th minute goal for Paris Saint-Germain against FC Twente gave the Parisians a 4-0 lead and the one goal they needed to edge Santander in goal difference.

Racing Santander never fully recovered from that European night when they came within a few minutes of reaching the next phase of the UEFA Cup, and they strolled through the rest of the La Liga campaign comfortably in mid-table, never threatening to qualify for Europe for the second consecutive year.  Racing chairman Francisco Pernía released López Muñiz from his contract at the end of the season, fairly or unfairly, but either way, López Muñiz failed in his first tour with a team in the top division.

Just as Marcelino García Toral abandoned Racing to revive Real Zaragoza, a perennial La Liga team who had fallen to the division below, Antonio Tapia, the man who replaced López Muñiz at Málaga in the summer of 2008, deserted Málaga after the 2008-09 season to rejuvenate Real Betis, another big club that suffered relegation.  Tapia left a team that hovered around the European places for a vast majority of the season, and when Málaga chairman Fernando Sanz asked López Muñiz to return to the helm as Málaga manager, López Muñiz welcomed the second opportunity.

Sanz was a loyal servant to Málaga as a player for eight years after he could not break into the Real Madrid starting eleven, the club that, at the time, was directed by his father Lorenzo Sanz.  Immediately after retiring in 2006, Fernando Sanz was established as the club president after father Lorenzo bought nearly all of the shares associated with the club.  Sanz’s first action involved the signing of Juan Ramón López Muñiz, a former assistant of Juande Ramos when he coached Málaga in the 2003-04 season.  Experiencing what López Muñiz accomplished in his two years in Málaga, lifting the club back into La Liga, Sanz was not hesitant in rehiring the man that left him the previous season.

López Muñiz’s squad, however, was not nearly as talented as the one Antonio Tapia’s squad worked with in the previous season.  Lolo returned to Sevilla after his year-long loan, Nacho moved to Real Betis, Javier Calleja signed with Osasuna, and Eliseu Pereira, now with Real Zaragoza, transferred to Lazio for €1 million.

Málaga started this current campaign with the surprise of Jornada 1 when they comprehensively dismissed Atlético Madrid 3-0 at La Rosaleda.  Hindsight says that Atlético’s inconsistent form in La Liga has diminished Málaga’s win, but after that first weekend, López Muñiz’s could not fly any higher.  Then reality punched them in the mouth, and the Andalucians would not collect their second win until Jornada 15, a span of fourteen matches and nearly four months.

With nine different sackings in La Liga so far this season, López Muñiz would have been expected to be one of those firings, but Fernando Sanz kept faith in his man, although Sanz’s normally placid demeanor became increasingly frustrated every time the cameras would focus on the presidential boxes at various stadiums around Spain.

Málaga would improve, but their tenuous margin above the relegation zone continued to dwindle, and at the start of Jornada 34, Málaga was only one point ahead of 18th place Tenerife, and the bottom three clubs were ascending at the perfect time, whereas Málaga’s dip came at the worst time possible.

Málaga’s recent form did not suggest any positive result as they traveled to the Balearic Islands and encountered Mallorca in the ONO Estadi.  Mallorca had won fourteen of their sixteen home matches, their only losses coming at the hands of Barcelona and Sevilla.  With Mallorca fighting for the final Champions League berth with Sevilla, Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao, they could not afford to slip up against a desperate Málaga side.

López Muñiz’s strategy in the first half was to muck up the play in the midfield and prevent Borja Valero and Gonzalo Castro from providing pinpoint service to Aritz Aduriz, and Málaga employed this tactic perfectly.  Víctor Casadesús and Castro could not fly down the wings, and Apoño and Juanito snuffed out Valero’s creativity in the midfield.

When Felipe Mattioni floated a long cross from the right wing in the 44th minute, it seemed a harmless ball, but Málaga goalkeeper Gustavo Munúa failed to get any contact on it.  The ball bounced in front of the six-yard box and struck the left far post.  Aduriz headed the rebound off the post for a sure goal, but Málaga central defender Milan Stepanov, the only Málaga player that could have prevented Aduriz’s header from crossing the line, stuck out his arm to stop the ball, and referee Manuel Mejuto González immediately sent him off with a straight red card.

Stepanov’s handball was a killer blow for Málaga because they worked their boots off to limit Mallorca’s goal-scoring chances, and to concede a penalty as well as go a man down so late in the first half could have understandably crushed Málaga’s shrinking spirit.  Munúa, however, saved Chori Castro’s mediocre penalty, and that momentum carried them through the second half, when after defending for the whole half and ceding nearly 70% possession, Victor Obinna scored in the 86th minute to give Málaga a stunning 0-1 advantage.

From a hopeful Jesús Gámez cross, José Luís Martí half-heartedly cleared it with the back of his foot but only into the direction of Obinna in the box, and he smashed his first-time effort into the bottom corner of the right near post.  The exasperated fans could not believe their eyes, and they immediately started to file out in silence.

The Mallorca players kept with the fight, and equally stunning was their equalizer in the first minute of stoppage time.  From Julio Álvarez’s free kick, Nunes headed it off Rubén’s head and into the direction of Aduriz who scored on a header of his own from a few yards away.  Gustavo Munúa protested to referee Manuel Mejuto González that Mallorca striker Alhassane Keita took him down in the box and prevented him from challenging Aduriz’s header, but Munúa’s objections would only lead to a yellow card for dissent.

The incident could have gone either way.  Iván González pushed Keita down, and while he was sprawled on the floor, Munúa stumbled over him as he tried to contest Aduriz for the ball.  Mejuto González ruled that Keita did not purposefully attempt to trip Munúa, and it was unfortunate that he was in Munúa’s path towards Aduriz.

1-1 fulltime, and Apoño and Gustavo Munúa could not contain their anger, both spewing abusive profanity and needing their fellow players and staff to hold them back from reaching Manuel Mejuto González.

While Mallorca manager Gregorio Manzano will consider this result as two points lost, Juan Ramón López Muñiz will also believe that his team left two crucial points on the pitch.  Fortunately for Málaga, Tenerife lost to Atlético Madrid 3-1, so Málaga’s point at the ONO Estadi moved them two points above the relegation zone, but Real Valladolid notched a vital win at El Molinón and defeated Sporting Gijón 0-2 to join Tenerife on thirty-two points, two points behind Málaga and Real Zaragoza from safety.

Málaga’s run-in includes two home games against Sporting and Real Madrid and two away games at Athletic Bilbao and Getafe, so Málaga will likely need other results to favor them because of their tough schedule.  Whether or not Málaga stays in the top flight, Juan Ramón López Muñiz’s status as manager is in serious doubt at this moment.  Fernando Sanz might look kindly on López Muñiz due to his history with the club, but these last four matches will be the true test of whether or not the players will truly fight for their boss and their La Liga lives.  If they lay limp, Málaga will fall to Liga Adelante, and Juan Ramón López Muñiz’s second chance will end prematurely.

Fueras de Juego

- Xerez’s last call came at the Camp Nou, where they succumbed to FC Barcelona 3-1 on Saturday evening.  Xerez stands seven points from safety with only twelve points for which to play.  In the opening minutes of the second half, Xerez had three golden opportunities to equalize at 2-2 but could not capitalize, and when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored Barça’s third in the 56th minute, Xerez began to realize that their foray in La Liga would only last one year.  Xerez took out their frustrations on Barcelona, earning six yellow cards and two red cards over the final 23+ minutes, when the match devolved into a cheap shot affair.

- The late Sunday kickoff between Getafe and Sevilla provided all of the ingredients needed for a thrilling match: great individual play, crucial defensive mistakes, end-to-end play, and controversy.  Dani Parejo scored the penalty in stoppage time to give Getafe the 4-3 lead and the three points, but referee Carlos Clos Gómez stood at the penalty spot and waited for Getafe’s celebrations to cease because he called for the penalty to be taken again.  Two Getafe players encroached in the penalty area before Parejo took the penalty, and Clos Gómez made the correct call.  Parejo, with the calm of a lazy day at the beach, took the ball from the referee a second time and coolly slotted it past Andrés Palop a second time to assure Getafe’s intentions for a European spot.

- The golazo of the week has to go to future Real Madrid and current Racing Santander talent Sergio Canales.  Channeling his inner Maicon, he played keepy-uppy a few times inside the D before pirouetting and striking his volley so cleanly past Villarreal goalkeeper Diego López that Canales was in his celebrations before López realized what had just happened.  Villarreal would come back to defeat Racing 1-2, but the brilliance showcased by Canales whenever he runs on the pitch is exactly why Real Madrid snapped him up at such a young age.

- Osasuna 0 – 0 Athletic Bilbao.  This was not why the Monday night football match was reinstituted.

The Roman Theater in Málaga was discovered in 1951, and its origins date back to the time of the Roman Empire and Caesar Augustus.

With El Clásico in the rear-view mirror, La Liga continues forward with a mid-week round that will help shape the European and relegation battles.

For Real Madrid, a mid-week match should be good for them so that they can move on quickly from a mentally and physically draining edition of El Clásico.  With Barcelona holding a three-point lead and the head-to-head tiebreaker over Real Madrid, Los Merengues know that any slip-up in their final seven matches will spell certain doom if they have any aspirations of reclaiming La Liga from Barcelona.  They journey to Andalucía and encounter an Almería side that were played off the pitch by Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Despite that setback, Juan Manuel Lillo has led Almería to a second-half renaissance and sit a comfortable eleven points above the drop zone.  He will have to right his defense that were dizzied by Athletic Club to counter an angry Real Madrid.  Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín, and their teammates will want to prove a point that they have not given up on the season, and Manuel Pellegrini knows that if he does not win out, the axe will likely fall on him.

A few weeks ago, the teams involved in the fight for the final Champions League spot and the two Europa League berths mired in mediocrity, as none of them seized the race by the throat.  Those same teams will regret not taking advantage of the previous situation because they now are all playing well with the season peaking to its climax.

Villarreal and Getafe currently stand as the first two teams outside of the final Europa League place, and they meet in the late Tuesday kickoff in a critical match that could eliminate the loser from European contention.  Getafe has only lost one of their last seven matches with a 3-3-1 record.  Getafe has adjusted well without Roberto Soldado as their lone striker.  Miku continues to deputize for Soldado, and Manu and Pedro León have stepped up to share the scoring load with Miku in Soldado’s absence.

After Real Madrid obliterated Villarreal 6-2 in late February, the Yellow Submarine has sailed smoothly in La Liga.  Villarreal has played even better than Getafe recently, losing only one of their last eight matches with a 5-2-1 record.  Juan Carlos Garrido shifted from Ernesto Valverde’s 4-2-3-1 to a more attacking 4-3-3, and their recent results speak for themselves.  The forward trio of Joseba Llorente flanked by Nilmar on his right and Giuseppe Rossi on his left has given stability to an attack that sputtered throughout the majority of the season.

Villarreal has only won twice in fifteen away matches this season, but they won their most recent away trip at Real Valladolid.  While Getafe is light years ahead of the supine Pucela, Villarreal’s confidence remains at a season high, and it will be the jobs of Derek Boateng and Fabio Celestini to disrupt Villarreal’s passing football in the midfield.

Athletic Bilbao, in opposition to Getafe and Villarreal, control their own destiny in terms of European qualification.  Two points ahead of Villarreal for the final Europa League spot and three points behind Sevilla for the final Champions League place, Joaquin Caparrós’ squad looks poised to return to Europe next season.  At this point of the calendar last season, the only objective was the Copa del Rey final because they were well behind the European spots as well as far enough above the relegation zone to be secure in the top flight.

Athletic Bilbao travel to the Mestalla on Thursday night to face a Valencia club whose seemingly inevitable third place finish has suddenly come into question.  Gutted by their elimination from the Europa League by Atlético Madrid, Los Che were a shell of themselves on Sunday when they lost to Mallorca 3-2, a score that hid their deficiencies that night.  Sevilla and Mallorca are only five points behind them for automatic qualification into the group stage of the Champions League, and Valencia cannot continue to dwell on their continental dismissal.

Valencia’s defense took another injury hit when Hedwiges Maduro was forced to leave the Mallorca game early, and when midfielder Manuel Fernandes filled in for Maduro in central defense, the results were horrific.  Already missing Bruno Saltor, Carlos Marchena, Jérémy Mathieu, Ángel Dealbert, and Miguel Monteiro, Valencia cannot afford to add Maduro to the training room staff’s responsibilities.

Although Éver Banega has apologized for his petulant behavior following his substitution in the second half of the Mallorca game, that ugly episode is an instance of the growing frustration in the Valencia squad over their recent poor play, and if they do not significantly improve by 10:00 PM local time on Thursday night, Athletic Bilbao will roll past them and give Sevilla and Mallorca a chance to move within two points of Valencia.

The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Note: ESPN 360 has rebranded itself as ESPN3.

Apr. 13

Real Valladolid vs. Sevilla – 1:45 PM on DirecTV channel 456

Getafe vs. Villarreal – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Apr. 14

Racing Santander vs. Espanyol – 1:45 PM on DirecTV channel 456

Osasuna vs. Málaga – 1:45 PM on DirecTV channel 457

Atlético Madrid vs. Xerez – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Mallorca vs. Real Zaragoza – 1:55 PM on Gol TV

Barcelona vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Apr. 15

Almería vs. Real Madrid – 1:55 PM on Gol TV

Valencia vs. Athletic Bilbao – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Unfortunately, the Sporting Gijón – Tenerife match at El Molinon will not be shown on US TV.

Throughout Barcelona’s two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as a tactician tended to be undervalued.  He reinstituted the “Total Football” concept that Johan Cruyff, Guardiola’s former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player and a manager at the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room.

He sent bad influences Deco and Ronaldinho away, and he brought a sense of discipline and accountability that the club lacked at the end of the Frank Rijkaard era.  When it came to the X and O’s of a match, however, most defined the team in his reign as a beautiful machine that only possessed a “Plan A” of ball possession and incessant attack.

If anyone still doubted Pep Guardiola as a tactical grandmaster, the last two matches against Arsenal and Real Madrid should validate his place as one of the top managers in world football.

Debuted against Arsenal during the second half of the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, Guardiola insisted on the 4-4-2 formation to handle Real Madrid’s abundance of offensive talent.  Partly forced by injuries but mostly a tactical decision, the Barça starting eleven was a departure from the norm.  Guardiola brought Dani Alves forward as a right midfielder/winger and positioned Seydou Keita as a left midfielder.  Carles Puyol went to right back, and Gabriel Milito filled in alongside Gerard Piqué in central defense.

With Éric Abidal reinjuring his thigh against Arsenal, the question surrounding the left back position was if Maxwell would receive the nod against Real Madrid.  Maxwell is the natural replacement, but in some instances this season, the opposition caught him out of position when he would make his forward runs.  With Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo racing down the left flank, there would be a decent possibility of a defensive breakdown with Maxwell absent from the action.  Rather than putting Carles Puyol in a left back role that he rarely ever plays, Guardiola kept faith with Maxwell in their most important match of the La Liga season.

The first few minutes of the match suggested that this pivotal game would be more akin to the tightly contested edition in November than the open affair at the Bernabéu last May.  The suffocating Barça press swarmed even harder, and the Real Madrid tackling came with more regularity and venom.

Guardiola positioned his team to quell Real Madrid’s lightning counter-attack, and apart from a couple of instances when Cristiano Ronaldo’s pure talent and speed would defy any defense, Barcelona’s defensive organization and discipline kept firm.  A clean sheet through forty-five minutes and zero shots on goal allowed testified to the Blaugrana’s security in the midfield and in front of Víctor Valdés.

With a one-goal lead to start the second half, Guardiola readjusted his formation, bringing Dani Alves back to his usual right back role and moving Carles Puyol into central defense, creating a five-man back line to consolidate an already strong defense.  Guardiola knew that his counterpart Manuel Pellegrini would send wave after wave of attacks in the second half to score the equalizing goal, and he felt a reinforcement to stem this oncoming tide would be prudent.  Hardly characterizing this change as protectionist with Dani Alves and Maxwell still marauding both flanks, Real Madrid found Puyol, Piqué, and Milito to be uncompromising and intelligent in their tackling and positioning.

Two clean sheets against Real Madrid this season substantiated Barcelona’s claim as more than a club who only worries about scoring goals.

Manuel Pellegrini is no fledgling manager either, and with Real Madrid’s midfield and defensive organization at its season best, it would take more invention and guile than individual splendor to break down their white wall.  Who better than Xavi Hernández to solve the problem.

For a player that has and continues to receive numerous accolades throughout his illustrious career, Xavi does not get the full credit for his contributions to Futbol Club Barcelona.  He always had a transcendent talent on his team that would garner the headlines: first, it was Rivaldo; then it was Ronaldinho; and now it is Lionel Messi.  Others would scoff at their teammates for stealing the limelight, but Xavi would want nothing more than to provide assists for his fellow colleagues as well as deflecting praise to them and his manager.

For Xavi’s first masterpiece, he executed a cheeky lofted ball over the Madrid defense to perfection.  Constantly scanning the field for any potential passes to befuddle the opposition, he saw Messi make a run from the corner of his eye.  He had two options: an incisive through ball in between the defenders or a ball over the defense.  He chose the latter (the much more difficult option), and Raúl Albiol watched in horror as the ball floated over his head onto the chest of Messi, who chested it to his right to create space and smack it past Iker Casillas for the vital first goal.

Xavi’s second offering early in the second half sealed the match.  Again, he spotted a run of his teammate in his peripheral vision.  Pedro made a diagonal run, and Xavi obliged his effort by slotting a perfect through ball that hit the moving target as well as directing it into a position where Álvaro Arbeloa could not come around Pedro to tackle the ball away.  Pedro curled his shot past Casillas, and the 0-2 lead proved insurmountable.

Besides his inventive and sagacious ball distribution, his ability off the ball remains underrated.  Sergio Busquets and Touré Yaya are known to be the pivots of the Barça midfield as well as the protectors of the back four, but Xavi is the epitome of a box-to-box midfielder.  His harassment of any Madrid player on the ball forced them to rush their movements, causing a few turnovers in compromising areas of the pitch.  On several occasions, he fully committed to decisive tackles that broke up feasible goal-scoring opportunities for Real Madrid.

It is no coincidence that Xavi Hernández and Josep Guardiola would mastermind a crucial victory in Barcelona’s attempt to repeat as Spanish champions.  When Barcelona won their first European Cup in 1992, Guardiola led the midfield as that deep-lying playmaker that controlled the game without having to score.  As Guardiola started to age, Xavi became the natural successor to Guardiola in his position, and Xavi’s teams have won two UEFA Champions League titles, the second with his former teammate Guardiola as manager.

Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodríguez scored yet again in an important match, and the plaudits showered on these two for their brilliant individual moments are richly deserved.  Behind all great forwards, however, are the midfielders that provide them with the potent ball to pierce the defense.  While Messi creates opportunities for himself due to his amazing ability, he would be the first to say that without Xavi governing the midfield as a maestro and conductor and Pep Guardiola continually instructing in training and in the heat of a match, he would not have matured into the historic figure he has already become.

Fueras de Juego

- Cristiano Ronaldo played his part, consistently flying down both flanks in search of any opening that Barcelona allowed, but his anxiety to prove he is better than Lionel Messi and worth the €94 million transfer fee left his teammates out of the loop as he single-handedly tried to beat Barça on his own.  Gonzalo Higuaín supplied the most disappointing performance for Real Madrid, as he could not carve out a decent chance against Puyol and the gang.  Although it was not entirely his fault, the papers will again spout out how he flatters to deceive in the grandest occasions despite scoring a tremendous amount of goals.

In case of El Clásico blinkers, there were other matches in La Liga this weekend.

- Sevilla defeated Málaga 1-2 in an Andalusian derby, but both Andrés Palop and Gustavo Munúa provided classic moments for those blooper highlight reels.  For Palop, he failed to secure a routine shot from Duda, and the ensuing spill gave Felipe Caicedo a simple tap-in for Málaga to take the lead.

Sevilla’s equalizer from Juan Cala came about from an embarrassing error by Munúa.  Ivica Dragutinovic’s free kick floated straight into Munúa’s chest, but he somehow fumbled and mishandled it as if he caught a burning rock, and Cala could not believe his luck as he tapped in his goal.

Málaga was disgraceful with their constant play-acting and time-wasting tactics, and cosmic justice reigned supreme as Lolo headed the winning goal late in the contest.

- Athletic Bilbao notched the most comprehensive victory of the weekend with their 4-1 drubbing of Almería at the San Mamés, and the score flattered Almería.  Javi Martínez exhibited why Rafa Benítez and Liverpool are following his every move closely.  Two goals and industry in the midfield further cemented him as one of Liverpool’s summer transfer targets as the Reds try to find the replacement for Xabi Alonso that Alberto Aquilani has failed to achieve to this point.

Bilbao pelted Almería goalkeeper Diego Alves with twenty-six total shots, thirteen on target, but the most impressive stat of the match for Athletic Club was that they committed only nine fouls for the whole ninety minutes.  Nine fouls in ninety minutes for Athletic Bilbao would be analogous to Barcelona only having 50% of the possession.  It hardly ever happens.

- Valencia’s Manuel Fernandes might want to hide under a rock tonight after a torrid game against Mallorca.  Admittedly a midfielder forced into central defense due to a host of injuries, Fernandes committed elementary errors in defense, including getting continually beat over the top and stranding his own keeper César Sánchez a couple of times with short back passes.

The coup de grâce came when he netted into his own goal from a Gonzalo Castro cross to hinder any chance for Valencia to salvage a point.  To cap off a miserable performance, Fernandes was sent off late in the match for a clumsy tackle on Aritz Aduriz.

Pablo Hernández scored late for Los Che to intensify the last few minutes, but Mallorca dominated Valencia despite the 3-2 final scoreline, and Valencia’s miserable week ended with a thud at the ONO Estadi.

The Sevilla Trio in more harmonious times.

When Sevilla hosted cellar-dweller Xerez on Tuesday evening, an aura of uneasiness surrounded the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.  In the front of the Sevillistas‘ minds was the poor form of their team.  An extended run of indolent performances culminated on Saturday evening with a 2-0 debacle against Espanyol, where Sevilla would lose Jesús Navas for a month with an ankle injury.

Sevilla manager Manolo Jiménez refused to participate in a pity party for his team, rejecting notions that injuries are the main reason for their current slide.  When he spoke to the club’s website about the current situation, he remarked:

“We’ve gotten ourselves in this situation, and it’s us who has to drag the team out of it.  We must seek solutions and not make excuses.  If we now use the problems as excuses, we are not going to go anywhere… I fear nothing.  We will reach third place.”

Sound and logical words from the boss, but in this business, where results remain the only true capital, his team has not recently provided the wins necessary for a club with such high expectations.

When former Sevilla manager Juande Ramos resigned in October 2007 to fill the job opening at Tottenham Hotspur, Sevilla promoted Manolo Jiménez from its reserve team Sevilla Atlético with the hope that Jiménez would continue their upward ascent as a burgeoning Spanish and European force.

This ascension started under Joaquin Caparrós, when he led Sevilla to the Segunda División crown in 2001 and was promoted to the top flight.  With homegrown talents José Antonio Reyes, Sergio Ramos, Antonio Puerta, Antonio Barragán, etc. flooding the Sevilla cantera, there was no chance that Sevilla would struggle to remain in La Liga.  After an eighth-place finish and a tenth-place finish in their first two years back in La Liga, Sevilla finished the 2003-04 season in a landmark sixth-place, earning a ticket into a European competition, specifically the UEFA Cup, for the first time since 1995.

Sevilla president José María del Nido, however, refused to be caught up with his team’s triumphs.  With Real Madrid and Barcelona receiving the vast majority of the TV broadcasting money, del Nido knew he had to sell his most prized assets to infuse extra cash into the team and ensure future success domestically and internationally.  He sold José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal in the 2004 winter transfer window for €25 million, and in the 2005 summer transfer window, del Nido sold Sergio Ramos to Real Madrid for €27 million, then a record fee for a Spanish teenager.

To fill the absence of these wonderful talents, del Nido, along with sporting director Ramón “Monchi” Rodríguez, brought in players from around the world at relatively inexpensive prices.  These players included Dani Alves, Frédéric Kanouté, Christian Poulsen, Seydou Keita, and Júlio Baptista.  All of these players, except for Kanouté, who still plays for the club, were eventually sold at a much higher price tag than at the price for which they were bought, and the Sevilla boardroom continues to be fiscally responsible to this day.

Del Nido made another change that at the time seemed to be a bit of a gamble.  He replaced Caparrós before the 2005-06 season with Juande Ramos, an unremarkable manager whose last indentation on La Liga before del Nido bestowed the Sevilla job on him was leading Málaga to a ho-hum tenth place finish in the 2003-04 season.

In the next two and a half seasons, Ramos reached heights that this club never fulfilled in its history.  Two straight UEFA Cups, consecutive top five finishes, a UEFA Super Cup over Champions League winners Barcelona, a Copa del Rey, and their first berth in the UEFA Champions League when they finished third in the 2006-07 season.

Ramos’ team played with a relentless style that flourished in the final third while simultaneously kept firm in their defensive half.  Two new kids from the youth system began their journeys with the first team: Diego Capel and Jesús Navas.  Ramos never hesitated to employ his young talent, and knowing that at some point his veteran players would be sold, it was somewhat necessary to bleed in these youth players into the squad.

Leaving Sevilla to follow the money at Tottenham (although who would not be tempted with a four-year contract worth €9 million a year), in stepped Manuel Jiménez Jiménez, a Sevilla lifer.  He was Sevilla’s first-choice left back for nearly fourteen years from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s and after retirement as a player, he coached Sevilla Atlético for seven years, nurturing the Sevilla youth talent as they made their way into senior-team prominence, such as Carlos Marchena, Jesús Navas, etc.

With the keys to the car, Jiménez knew he had to impress immediately because his initial contract as the first-team manager was to expire at the end of the season.  Topping their Champions League group with five wins out of six and relegating Arsenal to second place in the group helped Jiménez’s cause.  Although Sevilla would lose to Fenerbahçe in the first knockout round on penalties and finish fifth in La Liga because Atlético Madrid held the head-to-head tiebreaker over them, del Nido was convinced that Manolo Jiménez was the right man, and he gave Jiménez a contract extension.

A third-place finish in the 2008-09 season, including one of the matches of the year when they defeated Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu 3-4 (a win, along with comments about Real Madrid having no shot to beat Barcelona in El Clásico the following week, that cost Real manager Bernd Schuster his job), gave Sevilla another chance to improve on their previous Champions League effort.

Through February 20 of this year, Sevilla achieved a place in the Copa del Rey final in May, their run capped off by dismissing title-holders FC Barcelona, first place in their Champions League group, handing Mallorca its first home loss in the league, and constancy in the top four of La Liga.  Everyone involved with the club sought even higher aspirations in this campaign.

Then the slide commenced.  A four-game winless streak in La Liga before the match with Xerez and a languorous effort in their second-leg defeat to CSKA Moskva that eliminated Los Rojiblancos in the first knockout round for the second time in three years threw the team into a black abyss.  Surely, a home match against Andalucian neighbors Xerez would become the perfect antidote to cure Sevilla of its current malaise.

Through 90+ minutes, Sevilla looked to be on their way to a much-needed win.  Although far from impressive, Frédéric Kanouté’s 62nd minute penalty seemed to be the decisive blow against a desperate Xerez squad that needed points wherever they could find them.

Marius Stankevicius gave away a cheap foul deep in the right flank, and although Fabián Orellana’s free kick was headed away into touch, the resulting throw-in by Sidi Keita led to a penalty box scramble, in which Xerez defender Leandro Gioda capitalized on the loose ball and slotted it past Andrés Palop.  1-1 final.  It was only Gioda’s second goal this season for Xerez, the other coming in Xerez’s only away win this season, a 2-4 victory over Málaga.

Gioda might just be the kiss of death for the opposition when he scores, but that was little consolation for Manolo Jiménez, who could feel and hear the unerring venom from the Sevillistas at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, whistling and chanting for Jiménez to be sacked.

Their wishes came true on Wednesday, when Manolo Jiménez became the eighth manager fired in La Liga this season.  In the press conference that confirmed Jiménez’s dismissal, sporting director Monchi commented:

“He (Jiménez) has done everything possible and impossible, and we only have words of appreciation for his work because he could not have been more professional.  It is time to rejuvenate the team.”

Sevilla’s first-choice replacement, Luis Aragonés, did not accept the job, apparently quibbling with del Nido and Monchi over the length of the contract.  Aragonés wanted the assurance of being contracted through the end of next season, but del Nido would only guarantee Aragonés through the end of this current campaign.

Michael Laudrup seems to be the second choice, although Sevilla has denied of any talks with the former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder and former Getafe coach.  Whatever decision the Sevilla brass makes, the incoming manager will know that the Sevilla job has reached the point, at least in the mind of José María del Nido, where a Champions League spot is necessary and progressing beyond the first knockout stage of the Champions League is paramount.

For Manolo Jiménez, his first stint as a manager in a top-flight division can be classified as a success.  No one questioned his passion for the game or his commitment to his players.  For those who grew up in the Sevilla academy under Jiménez, like Jesús Navas and Diego Capel, this decision will affect them both professionally and personally.  There is little doubt that he will manage again, possibly as soon as next season, but for a person that gave more than twenty-five years of his life to Sevilla, the hurt he feels at this moment will take time to heal.

Fueras de Juego

- Coming into this mid-week round, the top three teams had the top three defenses in terms of goals allowed, but who had the fourth-best defense?  The men from Pamplona.  Osasuna’s defensive line of César Azpilicueta at right-back, Nacho Monreal at left-back, and Miguel Flaño, Josetxo, and Sergio González as central defenders have propelled their team to a relatively comfortable gap above the relegation zone.  With the third-worst attack in La Liga, their defensive intensity is essential to their success, and Barcelona certainly knows what kind of defense Osasuna possesses.

In October, Osasuna held Barça to a single goal, and a Gerard Piqué own goal in stoppage gave José Antonio Camacho’s men a share of the points.  On Wednesday evening, credit is due to Osasuna’s defense more than the Blaugrana being off their game, and even though Barcelona would eventually win 2-0, Osasuna proved to be one of Barça’s fiercest competitors this season.  Any team that can hold Lionel Messi scoreless twice in one season should be commended.

- Racing Santander, who has the worst home record in the league, hosted Mallorca, who had only won twice out of twelve away matches, on Wednesday evening.  A 0-0 draw was inevitable, and that is exactly what happened.  A valuable point for Mallorca at this stage of the season, but this chasm of a disconnect between home and away form is astonishing.  Mallorca has earned a staggering thirty-six points while only gaining eleven points on the road, a point difference of twenty-five.  Only Villarreal has a similar gulf in La Liga, with the Yellow Submarine garnering thirty points at El Madrigal while attaining only seven points away from home, a difference of twenty-three points.

- Valencia distanced themselves from the pack with their 1-0 win over Málaga and now possess a six-point lead over Mallorca for third-place and an automatic berth into the group stage of next year’s Champions League.  As for the final Champions League spot and the two Europa League places, every team involved for those European invitations apparently wants to back into those invites rather than earning them.  No team ranked fourth through ninth won in Round 29, and these teams have been so mediocre that Atlético Madrid, the model of inconsistency this season, now sits in eighth place after they defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Thursday.

- Getafe manager Míchel provided the quote of the round about his own dismissal late in his team’s 2-4 pounding by Real Madrid:

“All I said was, ‘If you were from Madrid you’d have protested it.’  The linesman understood that I disrespected him, and I was sent off, but I have never spoken about referees or shown disrespect.”

George Orwell would be proud of Míchel for his valiant attempt at doublethink.

The Almería – Barcelona match had not concluded when Real Madrid took to the pitch, but a few minutes into their match with Sevilla, they knew that Barça slipped at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos and dropped two points with a 2-2 draw against Almería.  Expectations were that Real Madrid would not have the chance to grab at least a share of the lead away from the Blaugrana until the second Clásico meeting on April 11, but this unforeseen gift, wrapped in a bow by their archrivals to the northeast, laid at the doorstep of the Bernabéu for the Madridistas to open gleefully.

Unfortunately, Xabi Alonso put it into his own net in the 10th minute, and Ivica Dragutinovic scored an unlikely free kick that was meant to be crossed into a flood of players.  Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso looked at each other with contempt as both expected one another to handle the harmless ball.  Xabi Alonso let the ball sail over his head, assuming that Casillas would catch it on the bounce.  Casillas anticipated Xabi Alonso to head the ball away to safety and therefore did not cover the left post.  The ball furtively sneaked into the bottom left corner of the net, and Sevilla held a 0-2 lead at the Santiago Bernabéu with 38+ minutes remaining.

A loss for Real Madrid against Sevilla, even in the capital city, would not have been a shocking revelation, and a defeat to the Andalusians would still have Los Blancos a mere three points behind Barcelona with thirteen matches left to overturn the deficit. Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini entertained zero options of settling, as he removed Álvaro Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra from the action in the 55th minute and sent in two creative midfielders, Rafael van der Vaart and Guti, to revitalize the incessant but stagnant attack.

Observing that Sevilla had only one shot on target in fifty-five minutes, the unlikely Dragutinovic goal, Pellegrini concluded that there was little need for a second defensive midfielder and a stay-at-home left back.  Real Madrid played intricate football in the middle of the pitch, used both flanks effectively, and dabbled in a more direct, long-ball approach up to that point, but Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop and his defensive line held firm without a breach of goal.  Los Nervionenses cared little that their two goals came courtesy of a Xabi Alonso own goal and miscommunication between Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso on a Dragutinovic free kick.

Rafael van der Vaart and Guti certainly have the fecundity to create and exploit any gaps within the Sevilla defense, and each had differing problems with Pellegrini this season.  Van der Vaart was supposed to be gone in the previous summer transfer window.  He was not in Pellegrini’s blueprints to the point where Esteban Granero was given van der Vaart’s number 23 in the preseason.  Wesley Sneijder, exiled by Real Madrid and eventually sold to Inter Milan, more than suggested to van der Vaart that he should leave to join a club that wanted him.

Van der Vaart stubbornly stayed with Madrid, feeling as though he was good enough for the team and wanted to prove his Madrid doubters wrong.  While he has fought injuries throughout the season, van der Vaart showed himself to be the third attacking midfielder with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká.

As for José María Gutiérrez Hernández, that man known as Guti, Guti is and will always be Guti.  Perpetually and chronically incorrigible, he has gotten under the skin of every Real Madrid manager since he first made it to the senior squad.  If anyone tugs on his gossamer robe, he lashes out and leaves no one in his wake.

For a character like that, he should have been booted out years ago, but he still roams the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu because of his truly world-class vision and passing distribution.  The term “world-class” is bandied around quite frequently, but for Guti, the label fits.  If he did not possess this type of talent, there is no way manager after manager would have kept this turbulent truculent on their squads.

Manuel Pellegrini could have easily phased out both van der Vaart and Guti if he let his ego get the best of him, but when the bell rung, he employed the players best suited for the situation rather than use others just because they did not vex him.  What Madrid needed in the final half-hour against Sevilla were players that forced Sevilla’s defensive and midfield lines to lose their shape.

Sergio Ramos getting R-rated after heading in the equalizer.

Whereas the field tilted toward Andrés Palop’s goal in the first half, this Madrid torrent in the second half completely inundated everyone with a red tinge.  A 60th minute Cristiano Ronaldo strike that benefited from a wicked Marius Stankevicius deflection and a 64th minute Sergio Ramos header from a van der Vaart corner turned the match completely around in the ten minutes since the substitutes entered the match.  Guti struck the crossbar, and Gonzalo Higuaín hit the post and the crossbar on two separate shots in the ensuing ten minutes after the Ramos equalizer, but Pellegrini was not done with his tinkering.

In the 75th minute, he made the bold move of withdrawing the €65 million Kaká in favor of Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer Raúl, who has made very few appearances since losing his starting spot early in the season.  Kaká had a decent game, but van der Vaart and Guti accomplished more in twenty minutes than Kaká did in seventy-five.  Pellegrini, soft-spoken but strong in his convictions, knew the gravity of the situation and wanted no less than three points.

An ultra-offensive 4-1-3-2 formation proved to be too much for Sevilla, as Rafael van der Vaart outmuscled Stankevicius for a rebound from three yards out and converted his scoring chance after Palop understandably gave up a rebound from Higuaín’s header in the second minute of stoppage time.

The euphoria felt and created by the players sent the Madridistas into a higher state of consciousness as they witnessed the most electric thirty minutes of the La Liga season.  Pellegrini, always the levelheaded statesman, put this match into its proper perspective when he spoke with Spanish sports daily Marca:

“There are still 39 points to play for.  These are three important points.  We will only be happy when our final objectives are obtained.  Now we depend on ourselves.”

With all the emotion spent on conquering this two-goal deficit against Sevilla, Real Madrid will have little time to recover because they host Lyon on Wednesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie down a single goal.  Whether they maintain this surging momentum into that match remains to be seen, and for all the plaudits and accolades they received on Saturday, a deluge of harsh criticism will be levied upon them if they fail to defeat Lyon and advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

That discussion, however, is for another day.  Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied at the top of La Liga with thirteen matches remaining.  Barcelona has the edge because they defeated Real 1-0 in November, and as the famous Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once quipped:

If you are first, you are first.  If you are second, you are nothing.

Real Madrid would not want it any other way.

Fueras de Juego

- Athletic Bilbao’s resurgence this season is due to many factors, including a stellar home record and Fernando Llorente leading the line, but some credit has to go to Gaizka Toquero, the perfect wingman to Llorente’s hold-up play.  Once a lower division vagabond with such illustrious clubs as SD Lemona, Sestao River Club, and SD Eibar, he caught the eye of Bilbao, although he was not in manager Joaquín Caparrós’ plans when Toquero first arrived in Bilbao.  He scored both of Athletic’s goals in their routine 2-0 win over Real Valladolid on Sunday, including a clinical finish off the short-hop to give his team an insurmountable two-goal advantage.

- Felicitaciones to Xerez as they won their first match away from home in the top flight after defeating an in-form Málaga 2-4 in a match that featured two red cards, nine yellow cards and a penalty miss and a penalty make by Xerez winger Momo.  Xerez manager Néstor Gorosito had an impossible task of keeping Xerez afloat after he replaced José Ángel Ziganda in January, and while Xerez is still ten points adrift of safety, Gorosito has instilled confidence in a team that had none before he arrived.

- The weekly drama that is Atlético Madrid came up with another plot twist, as Ibrahima Baldé scored in stoppage time to give Los Colchoneros an undeserved 1-1 draw.  A poor match in terms of quality, Diego Forlán was livid when he was substituted with thirty minutes left, and Atleti seemed to release the guillotine on itself after José Antonio Reyes received a straight red card for flailing his arm at Eliseu Pereira, although what little contact Reyes made on Eliseu sent him into “unfathomable” pain.  Clearly frustrated by Zaragoza’s bounty on him, he decided to take the law into his own hands in a half-hearted attempt to send a message.  If Atlético manager Quique Sánchez Flores has not already been prescribed Thorazine, Zyprexa, or any other antipsychotic drug because he has to deal with this club on a daily basis, he needs them now.

The Sevillana, one of the variants of the iconic Flamenco style of dance that the city of Sevilla made famous, normally gets confused with the traditional Flamenco dance.

The marquee matchup of the weekend is the late Saturday kickoff between top four teams Real Madrid and Sevilla.  The reverse fixture in early October was one of the matches of the season, and while Sevilla’s title chances faded away during the dregs of mid-season, they still lie fourth in the league, they have the away-goal advantage in their Champions League tie with CSKA Moskva, and they made it to the final of the Copa del Rey.  Their second leg with CSKA will not commence until March 16, whereas Real’s second leg with Lyon occurs on Wednesday, four days removed from this important La Liga match.  Real will likely field their strongest eleven against Sevilla, but how that will affect their performance against Lyon will be unknown until Wednesday night.

Another compelling match this weekend pits Atlético Madrid visiting Aragon to face Real Zaragoza at La Romareda.  With their glamorous conquests of Barcelona, Valencia, and Galatasaray comes their disappointments against Málaga, Almería, and Racing Santander, all within the span of one month.  Where Zaragoza has something for which to play (top-flight survival), Atlético’s hunger in La Liga waned eons ago.  A true iconoclast of conventional thought, however, Atlético Madrid may just play at the level they perform against top teams to show the doubters that they do not play to the level of their competition (Logic with this team does not work, so any maniacal theory fits in this situation).

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Mar. 6

Deportivo La Coruña vs. Tenerife – 11:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Almería vs. FC Barcelona – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Madrid vs. Sevilla – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 7

Espanyol vs. Villarreal – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Mallorca vs. Sporting Gijón – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Osasuna vs. Getafe – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Valladolid – 12:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Zaragoza vs. Atlético Madrid – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 8

Valencia vs. Racing Santander – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Unfortunately, the Málaga – Xerez matchup at La Rosaleda will not be shown on US TV.

UEFA Champions League

Staring elimination in the first knockout round for the sixth consecutive season, Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid did not assemble this second galáctico generation to bow out unceremoniously yet again.  A 1-0 deficit to overturn at the Santiago Bernabéu hardly constitutes as an overbearing chore on its own merit, but the expectations set by the Madridistas, the board, and the players’ own internal goals have Los Blancos in a more anxious situation than all of their past five Champions League failures combined.

Barring any injury in this weekend’s top-four clash with Sevilla, Real Madrid will have a nearly full squad from which to choose against Lyon.  The only significant injury issue for Los Merengues is Karim Benzema’s hernia.  Although he most likely would not start ahead of Gonzalo Higuaín, he can be a great option off the bench if Madrid still needs a goal with half an hour or less remaining.

Although it would be pusillanimous to blame Manuel Pellegrini should Real Madrid fail to advance to the quarterfinals, there would be little surprise if the generally capricious nature of the Real Madrid brass decided to fire him at the end of the season, regardless of his results in La Liga.

Mar. 10

Real Madrid vs. Olympique Lyonnais – 2:30 on Fox Soccer Plus (5:00 PM on delay on Fox Soccer Channel)

UEFA Europa League

With Wolfsburg and Anderlecht enervating what little vitality Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao contained in their respective second legs, Atlético Madrid and Valencia will have to carry the torch for La Liga in the Europa League.  Romelu Lukaku, the Anderlecht 16-year-old wunderkind, torchered the Bilbao defense throughout the match, the pinnacle of his contributions being the fourth minute goal that gave his side the edge in the tie.  Unsurprisingly, he caught the eye of some top European clubs, including Barcelona and Real Madrid.

For Atlético Madrid, the wave trajectory continues, as they head up their highest amplitude this season.  Wins over Barcelona, Valencia, and Galatasaray within the past few weeks gear Los Colchoneros into their most important matches of the season.  They will not reach any of the top four spots in La Liga to secure a Champions League berth, and with Sevilla virtually guaranteeing themselves a spot in European competition next season, Atlético Madrid will grab a Europa League spot due to reaching the final of the Copa del Rey.  Thus, the Europa League is Atleti’s most important objective until the Copa del Rey final, whose date is still up in the air.

Atlético Madrid’s opponent in the Round of 16, Sporting CP, can commiserate with Los Rojiblancos because their season has not met expectations as well.  Although they stand fourth in the Portuguese Liga, they are nine points behind FC Porto for the final Champions League place with only nine matches remaining.  Like Atlético, however, their most impressive results occurred in the past few weeks, with their victories over Everton in the Europa League and a shock 3-0 depredation of FC Porto.  A team with Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, and Liédson can never be underestimated despite their uneven results in their league.

Valencia had to break through one of the great goalkeeping performances in recent European history when they finally blasted Stijn Stijnen’s brick wall in extra time to defeat Club Brugge in the Round of 32.  With the lineup of teams in the Europa League Round of 16 nearly as strong as the final 16 in the Champions League, Valencia’s tie with Werder Bremen is one of the star attractions of this round.  It matches the third-ranked attack in La Liga versus the third-ranked attack in the Bundesliga.  With both teams having the affinity to play better in the counter-attack, it will be interesting to see which team decides to take the majority of possession and how they react to this responsibility.

Mar. 11

Atlético Madrid vs. Sporting CP – 12:45 PM on DirecTV channel 462 (462-1 for HD) (8:00 PM on delay on Gol TV)

Valencia vs. Werder Bremen – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 462 (462-1 for HD)

For a city world-renowned for its production of sherry, Jerez de la Frontera may be more famous for the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, where the ancient art of Spanish Baroque horsemanship is taught to this very day.

Two clubs pulled the plug on their managers after a string of poor results that came to a head in the last round.  Ernesto Valverde’s Villarreal suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Osasuna, and Jose Luis Mendilibar’s Real Valladolid could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against fellow relegation strugglers Almería.  Villarreal promoted their “B” team coach Juan Carlos Garrido to the senior team, and Real Valladolid did the same in promoting their reserve team coach Onésimo Sanchez to the first team.  They may be temporary solutions until the end of the season, but both clubs hope that they make a similar impact that Josep Guardiola made when he was promoted from the Barcelona B team to the senior team.

Both of these coaches will be thrown into the fire in their first matches as Villarreal travels to Mallorca, where Les Barralets have won every match in La Liga this season, and Real Valladolid visits the Mestalla, where Valencia will hope to take their anger from their defeat against Sevilla last week onto their Castilla y León visitors.

The Athletic Bilbao – Xerez match is off the radar for many La Liga viewers, but Athletic should be wary of the Andalusians, who notched only their second win of the season when they defeated fourth-place Mallorca 2-1 last weekend.  The win might be a product of how abysmal Mallorca is on the road, but a new-found spirit instilled by the new manager Néstor Gorosito has given a glimmer of hope to a club who looked destined to return to the Segunda División next season.

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Feb. 6

Valencia vs. Real Valladolid – 11:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

FC Barcelona vs. Getafe – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Madrid vs. Espanyol – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Feb. 7

Athletic Bilbao vs. Xerez – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Mallorca vs. Villarreal – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Almería vs. Sporting Gijón – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Málaga vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 10:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Zaragoza vs. Sevilla – 12:55 PM on Gol TV

Racing Santander vs. Atlético Madrid – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Unfortunately, the Osasuna – Tenerife match at El Reyno de Navarra will not be shown on US TV.

Copa del Rey

Ninety minutes away from the Copa del Rey final in May.  Sevilla has one foot in the door already with their convincing 2-0 win over Getafe, but Getafe’s star striker Roberto Soldado again failed to capitalize on a couple of opportunities that would have seriously tested Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop.  Soldado’s positioning and anticipation are impeccable, but his finishing technique remains to hold him back from becoming a true factor in La Liga and the Spanish national team.

Atlético Madrid and their fans, Los Colchoneros, can book their travel plans for the final in May, as they thrashed Racing Santander 4-0 in the first leg on Thursday.  Schizophrenic Atlético brushed off their poor performance against Málaga over the weekend and outclassed the Asturians.  It will take a monumental comeback for Racing to make the second leg competitive, but they can look at their opponents, who had to overturn a three goal deficit against Recreativo Huelva in the Round of 16 and won 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Feb. 10

Getafe vs. Sevilla – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360 (Getafe 0-2 Sevilla after the first leg)

Feb. 11

Racing Santander vs. Atlético Madrid – 3:55 PM on Gol TV (Racing Santander 0-4 Atlético Madrid after the first leg)

What a way to celebrate Raúl’s 500th appearance in Spanish first division.  In addition to achieving such a milestone, Raúl also scored his 212th career goal in the 16th minute courtesy of a Gonzalo Higuaín pass into the box and the Madrid starlet took advantage of the jewel.  Juande Ramos’ system of simplification seems to have worked and Real Madrid are on a tear.   The reigning champs have not lost a game since their game at the Nou Camp and seem to be regaining the swagger they had last year.  Although Mallorca should not have been a litmus test of any sort.  They instead showed every reason why they are in second place if futility Madrid did what they had to do-pummel.  Their performance was quite important, it was the best team performance so far this year and all of a sudden the Merengue fans are believing.  Their 3-0 win on the island put Madrid was their first on the road in close to two months and it put them in second place; only by one goal in the goal difference category over a ten-man Sevilla side that won 3-1 against upstarts Deportivo at The Riazor.  Enzo Maresca’s sending off in the first half seemed to have energized the Nervionenes.  Add to that Frederic Kanouté’s entrance in the second half and he seemed to give Sevilla the edge that they needed.  The Mali international was the make of the match as he assisted on all three second-half goals that helped them stay in the fight for the league title.

Even though they might have their spirits high, the reality is that they are still 12 points behind Barca.  For a while it was thought that the lead would be cut to nine, but history trumped necessity this time around.  Xavi made his 300th appearance for the blaugrana and scored the equalizer against complicated Osasuna side.  Although the game started out in what was going to be a clinic on style and a graceful football.  Lionel Messi gave people reason as to why he should be the FIFA Player of the Year with a brilliant performance.  The Argentine international scored the game-winner in the 85th minute after being denied by both the Osasuna goalkeeper Roberto and the right post early in the match.  They also made history by becoming the team with the most points in the league ever since they changed to the 20-team format.  They surpassed the point total that was established by the Barcelona side that earned 46 points back in 2005-06.

Málaga continued to make their surprising run towards European Cup spots as they went into the Manuel Ruíz de Lopera and beat a relegation-compromised Betis side. Their 2-1 win put them two points away from the final UEFA Cup/Intertoto places.  They further compromised Atletico Madrid who do not seem to find their way this season.  After being one of the hottest teams in Spain, they have all of a sudden fallen on a funk both in league and Cup play.   They are falling behind the pace as far as Champions League positions are concerned. After the day is done.  They in hand helped Athletic Bilbao who are suddenly one of the hotter teams in La Liga right now.  Their 3-2 win at the Vicente Calderón put them in 11th place with 23 points- 17 away from the “magic number” that teams strive for in order to stave off relegation.

Two other teams that are going through tough times are Villarreal and Valencia and they gave football fans one of the most exciting games so far this season.  The Submarine emerged from a 2-0 deficit during injury time with a goal by Fuentes, then equalized in the second half with a goal by Llorente.  This was the beginning of a scoring blitz that would continue with Edu who gave Valencia the lead six minutes later.  But Medina Cantalejo has a way of becoming a protagonist in every game he referees.  A non-existent penalty was easily cashed in by Italian international Giuseppe Rossi from 12 steps away as Villarreal would steal a point on the road in the Valencian derby.

Status Quo Down Below- Yeah, Right!

With the exception of Almería, the bottom looks pretty much the same.  Hugo Sánchez’  side seems to be the that is currently getting out of the clear on this one right now.  Their performance at the Olimpic Montjuic is just another nail in the Espanyol coffin, for about 94 minutes. If there was a game that could have been put in the fantanstic finish category it was the Espanyol-Almería match.  Almería jumped out to a 2-0 lead thank to an Kalu Uche brace, but Román Martínez opened the scoring for the Pericos, but a dramatic free kick by Nicolás Pareja that broke the heart of Almería.  Although Espanyol is still in the relegation zone, they get a point closer to Recreativo who are currently with 17 points.

Saturday 

Deportivo 1-3 Sevilla

DEP: Bodipo(33´)

SEV: Luis Fabiano (50′), Renato (78′), Diego Capel (90′+3′)

Valencia 3-3 Villarreal

VAL: Baraja (1′), David Villa (10′), Edu (78′)

VIL: Fuentes (45′+1′), Llorente (76′), Rossi (83′pk)

Sunday

Numancia 2-0 Getafe

NUM: Barkero (7′), Díaz (80′ og)

Mallorca 0-3 Real Madrid

MAD: Robben (2´), Raúl (16´), Sergio Ramos (67′)

  Atlético 2-3 Athletic

ATM: Antonio López (15´), Forlán (90′+2′)

ATB: Koikili (45´+1′), Domínguez (50′og), Llorente (66′)

Betis 1-2 Málaga

BET: Apoño (37´)

MAL:  Emana(18´), Eliseu (90′+2′)

Sporting 2-1 Valladolid

SPO: Carmelo (18´), David Barral (35´)

VLL: García Calvo (88′)

Racing 1-1 Recreativo

RAC: Johnathan Pereira (32´)

REC:  Camuñas (42´)

Espanyol 1-2 Almería

ESP: Martínez (62′)

ALM: Kalu Uche (3′, 54′)

Osasuna 2-3 Barcelona

OSA: Flaño (63´), Pandiani (73´)

BAR: Eto´o (45´), Xavi (80´), Messi (85´)

Standings

As if their lead was not wide enough, Barcelona could really seem uncatchable with only two weeks left in the first half of the season.   It’s not going to be easy for the blaugrana as they will face current cellar dwellers in Osasuna.   These are the kinds of matches that can be very tricky for a team like Barca.  Remember the old adage… hunger and necessity always trump history.  Right now Osasuna are in danger of relegation and justa  point against the league leaders will be more than enough at the Reyno de Navarra.  There is a chance that they could get all three as El Rojillo are one of those teams that have given Barcelona fits in recent years.

The win will keep pressure on the peloton that are behind them; but there are certain results that must emerge. Valencia know that only a win will help as they have Real Madrid and Sevilla breathing down their necks.   Los Ches will host a Yellow Submarine that have quickly deep-sixed in the past two months.  Villarreal are winless in their last four league matches and have struggled since their last road win at Recreativo on November 30th.

La Liga history will be made on Sunday.  Real Madrid head to Mallorca to face another relegation-compromised side; and there is no pleasure in this trip.  For Madrid, the Mallorcans are a tricky on the road.  Raúl will make history in Spanish football this weekend as he will become the sixth player in league history to play in 500 games.  He will also become the youngest to reach that number.  The last player to reach this milestone was a former teammate of the Madrid demigod, Nano Soler.  The veteran journeyman achieved this in the 1995-96 season when he was in the final stage of his career defending the colors of Mallorca. If all goes well for the Madrid striker he could surpass his former teammate in the when they travel to Gijón in February.

All-Time Appearances

1. Andoni Zubizarreta (622)

2. Eusebio (543)

3. Paco Buyo (542)

4. Manolo Sanchís (523)

5. Nano Soler (504)

6. Raúl González Blanco (500)

9.  Xavi Hernández (300)

Sevilla seem like they are going through déja vu as they play Deportivo again.   Baby Depor could end up in third place by the end of the weekend if they win and Madrid and Aleti loses to Athletic Bilbao.  In La Coruña, this team is starting to reminisce about its teams from back in the 90′s and earlier in the decade.

Saturday 

Deportivo- Sevilla

Valencia – Villarreal

Sunday

Numancia-Getafe

Mallorca-Real Madrid

Atlético-Athletic

Betis-Málaga

Sporting-Valladolid

Racing-Recreativo

Espanyol-Almería

Osasuna-Barcelona

According to reports on Efe confirm that the problem was based on the “inability for the Kenyan team to arrive in Jaén on time.”  The Andalucian Football Federation (FAF) decided to call off the match in a prudent amount of time so sponsors and fans would.

The FAF tried to have their team have an opponent during the Christmas break, but finally it fell through.  Their original effort was to get the Malinese national team to play at the Estadio La Victoria in Jaén.

Things are not going well in the autonomous season.  A few days ago Euskadi had to cancel their upcoming friendly with Iran due to internal problems going on as far as the naming of the select side.

As far as teams like Catalunya, their friendly against Colombia is still on for December 28th at the Nou Camp