Under trainer Mauricio Pochettino, Espanyol has gone through one of these hot streaks in every season he has managed the club.  After the club fired José Manuel Esnal “Mané” in the middle of the 2008-09 season, they hired Mauricio Pochettino to get out of the relegation zone.  As late as Jornada 30 in that season, Espanyol propped everyone at the foot of the table, ominously looking at the Segunda División for the first time since 1994, but the Catalans won eight of their last ten matches to finish in a comfortable tenth.

Last season, Espanyol only lost two of their first eight matches and never felt the fight for relegation because of their decent start as they finished a mediocre eleventh place, eight points above the drop zone.

It would be easy to write off Espanyol as merely an early season surprise that will return to its place in mid to lower table as their campaign wears on into the winter months.  They have achieved a fourth-place position based on their stellar six-for-six home record with only Real Madrid able to keep up with such solidity at home, but away from the Cornellà-El Prat, los periquitos have been less than ordinary, racking up a paltry four points out of eighteen heading into the Vicente Calderón on Saturday night against Atlético Madrid.

For many teams that find themselves in the top four of a league, they have a defined identity that characterizes why they are playing well.  Taking the top four currently in La Liga, Barcelona’s identity is a possession team that continually prods the defense until they see a tiny opening, when their talented players exploit such weaknesses to the maximum.  Real Madrid’s identity directly comes from their trainer José Mourinho, who emphasizes defensive reliability, then lets his players flourish in the opponent’s final third.  Villarreal’s identity is based on their slick, short passing game and their ability to thrive through the middle of the pitch despite playing narrower than most teams.

What is Espanyol’s identity?

They are not particularly physical, like Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao.  They are not overtly defensive, like Deportivo La Coruña or Mallorca.  They do not play with a flair like Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Villarreal.  They are not schizophrenic or wildly inconsistent like Atlético Madrid, Málaga, or Sevilla.  They do not have an outspoken, demonstrative manager that inspires them like Manolo Preciado for Sporting Gijón or Unai Emery for Valencia.

What is Espanyol’s identity?

They are that anonymous team that no one really notices, but when people look at the results, they scratch their heads and ask from where did they come?

They are the master of the close matches, as five of their seven victories were won by a single goal, including four 1-0 victories.  When they lose, they tend to get blown out with three of their four losses coming at a three-goal margin or higher.

If they were located in another city in Spain, Espanyol would have more press about their impressive start, but they are situated in the city of Barcelona, where their city rivals FC Barcelona completely engulf El Mundo Deportivo and Sport, the two main sports daily newspapers in Barcelona, and quite frankly, Espanyol does not mind that they are in the shadows of their more famous neighbor.  They do not carry an inferior complex like their opponents on Saturday night, Atlético Madrid, have with their local rivals Real Madrid.

The 2-3 victory for Espanyol over Atlético Madrid on Saturday felt like that other matchup between the other two teams from their respective cities, and El Clásico on Monday night will find it hard to live up to this undercard at the Vicente Calderón.

Quique Sánchez Flores, for the first time all season, could name the same starting eleven as the previous round with Sergio Agüero and José Antonio Reyes continuing their good form while Diego Forlán has recently come out of the doldrums with three goals in his last two matches against Osasuna and Real Sociedad.

Mauricio Pochettino also had the luxury of naming consecutive starting elevens, and his cradle of young footballers have matured at a high rate and now lead a talented group that could see Espanyol compete for European places on a regular basis.  Cantera products Dídac Vilà, Jordi Amat, Javi Márquez, etc. now feature regularly in Pochettino’s lineup, and with Boca Juniors import Juan Forlín, they had the responsibility of containing Atlético’s rampant attack.

After a frantic opening five minutes, where turnovers in the midfield led to scoring opportunities for Forlán and Pablo Osvaldo, the match settled down to a muddle in the midfield until the 20th minute, when referee José Antonio Teixiera Vitienes whistled and pointed to the penalty spot in favor of Espanyol.  José Callejón’s free kick hit José Antonio Reyes in the wall that was inside the penalty area, but in trying to protect himself from receiving a beaning from the free kick, he lifted his arms to shield his face, and the ball hit his arms.  Teixiera Vitienes judged that he made himself bigger by raising his arms and thus the penalty had to be called.  Luís García blasted the penalty kick down the middle, hitting the underside of the crossbar, and scoring Espanyol’s second away goal of the season.

Comfortably holding that one-goal advantage despite Atlético slightly controlling both the possession and the flow of the match, Espanyol looked poised to go into halftime with the 0-1 lead, but in the final ten minutes of the first half, Atlético ramped up the pressure ten-fold, camping inside Carlos Kameni’s penalty area, and in the final action of the half, Atlético equalized despite the heroics of Kameni.

?Kameni did the best he could, first stopping Tiago’ header from Simão’s corner from six yards out and then blocking Diego Godín’s follow-up from point-blank range, but he could not stop Tiago’s second effort from just in front of the goal line as his defenders complained more about an offside call than trying to clear Kameni’s lines.

If a person went to Ladbrokes, Bwin, or any other betting place at halftime, the odds of Atlético Madrid winning the match would likely have been at even money or below.  In Espanyol’s lone away win against Mallorca, they took the lead with another Luís García penalty and never conceded the lead.  With such a devastating blow in the final seconds of the first half, few would have bet their savings on Espanyol to recover and win the match.

Espanyol struck again nine minutes into the second half due to a goalkeeping gaffe by the young starlet David de Gea, as a usually routine save on Pablo Osvaldo’s shot was bumbled away by de Gea to the right far post, where Joan Verdú ghosted in and cleaned up the mess.  Unlike after Espanyol’s first goal, where the lead seemed secure, the 1-2 scoreline looked like it would not hold up as Atlético pressed on to equalize again, and a classic Forlán – Agüero hookup in the 66th minute made the game all square for the second time.

Surely, Atlético would now deliver the final blow on an Espanyol club that fought well but would ultimately come up short on the road yet again.  After los rojiblancos blew three more scoring chances following their second equalizer, Pablo Osvaldo sealed the win for Espanyol with an outstanding volley that took all the technical skill he could muster.  Luís García’s cross from the right wing was slightly behind Osvaldo, and he knew that controlling the ball would have killed any chance of scoring, so he struck the ball sweetly with the laces of his boots to the upper right corner of the goal, and de Gea dove in vain as Espanyol showed for the first time this season the persistence and resiliency that comes with winning tough away matches.

Emotions and passions will run high in El Clásico on Monday night, but they will not likely spill over like the fracas that occurred at the end of the Atlético Madrid – Espanyol match, when Quique Sánchez Flores went ballistic on Luís García after Diego Godín clattered Javi López on the sideline.  Sánchez Flores claimed that García laughed at him and suggested to López to stay down to waste more time.  Sánchez Flores attempted to lift López off the ground, and the Espanyol players took exception, with Mauricio Pochettino coming into the scene to diffuse the situation and keep Sánchez Flores back from doing more harm than he had already done.

2-3 fulltime, and Quique Sánchez Flores continued his tirade at Luís García, and both his coaching staff and Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni had to restrain him from getting near García.

The little episode at the end of the match should not cloud the extraordinary performance of Espanyol, who dispelled some of the insinuations that they could not win away from home against the upper echelon clubs in Spain.  Will Espanyol finish in the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history?  Likely not, but unlike some of the talented Espanyol teams of the past decade that fell short of expectations, this team has a core of young stars that do not fear success.

While Raúl Tamudo will always be a club legend for Espanyol, the drama that surrounded him in the past two years, including his manager and former teammate Mauricio Pochettino phasing him out of the starting eleven as well as contract disputes with the board, needed to dissipate so that these young players could move on, and Pablo Osvaldo can now play with a freedom, knowing that Tamudo is not in his rear view mirror anymore.

With Pochettino’s young energy and the team’s young blood coming through the Espanyol academy into the first team, the future of Barcelona’s second club looks bright.  El derbi Barceloní between Espanyol and FC Barcelona will occur in Jornada 16, and while this match is usually played for pride rather than table positioning because Espanyol normally occupies the lower half of the table, the 153rd edition of the derby might be the most significant derby in decades.

Monday’s El Clásico can only hope to live up to this match between a Madrid and a Barcelona team.

Fueras de Juego

- The knives were out for Míchel González after Getafe went through another lifeless half against Sevilla, but somehow, with the help of a complacent Sevilla, Míchel’s team overturned the 1-0 deficit with three goals in the second half, including a Pedro Ríos shot that could have easily ripped through the back of the net because of it exhilarating velocity.  Sevilla has become the Atlético Madrid of this season, notching impressive wins over Valencia and Atlético Madrid while inexplicably losing to Hércules and Sporting Gijón by multiple-goal margins.

- While the neutrals will want a winner in El Clásico on Monday night, the one team that wants the match to end in a draw is Villarreal.  They took care of Real Zaragoza at La Romareda 0-3, and they currently stand four points behind Barcelona and five points behind Real Madrid.  The Yellow Submarine does not want either team to go too far beyond them, with the dying hope that they still have a chance to finish inside the top two.

- Whether Roberto Soldado meant to or not, his first goal in Valencia’s 2-1 win over Almería deserves the golazo of the week with an incredible bit of luck/skill to set up his shot at goal.  Bruno Saltor’s cross from the right wing came just a shade short for Soldado to head it toward another teammate, so Soldado backheaded it to himself to control the ball, then he juked a couple of Almería defenders and shot it past Diego Alves for the 1-0 lead.  If Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Lionel Messi performed such a skill, no one would question that they did it deliberately to control the ball, but gangly and awkward Roberto Soldado could not have possibly done that on purpose, or did he?

]]> 0 http://www.laligatalk.com/la-liga-jornada-8-review-villarreal-announces-their-intentions-for-la-ligas-crown-3755 http://www.laligatalk.com/la-liga-jornada-8-review-villarreal-announces-their-intentions-for-la-ligas-crown-3755#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:00:25 +0000 Andy Pineda http://www.laligatalk.com/?p=3755

The first year of the post-Manuel Pellegrini era commenced with a startling thud, as through seven rounds last season, Villarreal propped every other Primera División team up at the bottom of the table.  This smooth, plucky team from the Valencian Community had not felt such futility since they made their maiden voyage to La Liga in the 1998/99 season.  In that campaign, Villarreal was relegated to the Segunda División after losing a relegation playoff to Sevilla, the last year that La Liga had a relegation playoff.

Staving off relegation never entered the mind Ernesto Valverde’s team, and they steadily improved through the next several months.  The upward curve plateaued, however, and in January 2010, the board sacked Valverde and promoted Villarreal “B” coach Juan Carlos Garrido to manage the senior team.

The unassuming yet intense Garrido knew that his time from January to the end of the season would become a de facto audition to keep the job.  He settled the squad, and Villarreal finished a respectable seventh place despite their torrid beginning.  Chairman Fernando Roig Alfonso rewarded Garrido for his work and extended his contract to June 2011 so that Garrido could have a full season to show his worth.

Garrido took that vote of confidence from the board into this season and returned Villarreal to their normal perch in the highest percentiles of Spanish football.

Even though Villarreal has been known for maintaining shrewd financial stances when it comes to signings and transfers, Fernando Roig Alfonso gave Garrido a decent transfer kitty with which to work this summer, but Garrido felt that the players he currently had were more than enough to threaten for a top-four position.  Garrido and Sporting Director Fernando Roig Negueroles believed that they only needed a couple of reinforcements from the summer transfer window.  They did not even need to use that budget because they earned enough from the transfers of Diego Godín, Damián Escudero, and Joseba Llorente to achieve for what they set out in the market.

Both of Villarreal’s summer signings, €2.2 million Carlos Marchena and €6 million Borja Valero, have made instant impacts with the team.  Specifically, Borja Valero’s sparkling play on both flanks has given both Joan Capdevila and Ángel López extra potency from their fullback positions because Borja’s combinations with them have created openings deep inside the opposition half that only enhances Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi’s chances of finishing these moves.

Because Villarreal only signed two players for this season, Garrido felt that the players currently in the squad would raise their games and expectations from the last campaign, and they have not disappointed.

After a year of fighting major and minor injuries, Santi Cazorla has restored his place in the Spanish national team with sprightly, ebullient play for Villarreal.  Whereas Ernesto Valverde marginalized Cazorla to an extent by forcing him more into the central midfield, Garrido reinstituted Cazorla back onto the wings with the freedom to cut inside when necessary, and Cazorla has thrived under Garrido’s system with two goals, three assists, one behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Özil for the league lead, and countless numbers of pinpoint passes and unselfish runs that keep Villarreal flowing fluently.

Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar have made themselves into the second most prolific tandem statistically with a combined ten goals through eight matches, only behind Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín’s fourteen goals.  The previous season’s trio of Rossi, Nilmar, and Joseba Llorente looked formidable on paper because of Llorente’s height and strength as the center forward with the smaller, faster Rossi and Nilmar supporting on either side of Llorente.  With Nilmar adapting to Spain after his record €11 million transfer from Internacional, Rossi dealing with constant transfer rumors, and Llorente failing to feature in half of Villarreal’s fixtures due to injury and managerial decisions, they could not score consistently, even though Villarreal scored a respectable fifty-eight goals.

The most improved part of Villarreal’s team runs down the spine, as Villarreal “B” graduate and central defender Mateo Musacchio has admirably stepped into the void left by Diego Godín after his transfer to Atlético Madrid and central midfielder Bruno Soriano has controlled the center of his park by supporting the defense with his ball-winning as well as instigating counter-attacks with his array of passes.  Spanish national team coach Vicente del Bosque has been so impressed with Bruno that he called him up to the squad for their friendly against Mexico as well as their two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Scotland.

With all these ameliorative properties syncing together, Villarreal has won five of its first seven matches in La Liga, with only one loss to Real Sociedad in the opening round of fixtures, and currently lead their Europa League group with six points from three matches.

Villarreal, like their provincial neighbors Valencia, played through a fairly soft schedule and racked up a point tally that could compete with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona through the first seven rounds in La Liga.  Valencia has fallen back after sitting on top to their more familiar territory below Madrid and Barça due to consecutive losses to Barcelona last week and Mallorca this weekend.

After failing to claim the first position when they could only draw 2-2 against local rivals Hércules on Monday, the late Sunday kickoff against Atlético Madrid would start a stretch of five matches in the league that would truly delineate Villarreal’s odds of staying within striking distance of not only a UEFA Champions League berth but the alien concept of ripping the champion’s trophy away from Barcelona.

Villarreal could not count on the services of Mateo Musacchio and Borja Valero because of their suspensions stemming from their red cards against Hércules, but Gonzalo Rodríguez and vice-captain Cani were more than capable replacements for the pair.

For Atlético Madrid, they sent out their normal starting eleven with one exception: Diego Forlán sat on the bench for the second straight La Liga match in favor of Diego Costa.  Whether Quique Sánchez Flores kept Forlán on the sidelines because he had just played in the Europa League against Rosenborg on Thursday or because of generally poor form, the increasingly agitated striker has now become transfer speculation with links to Liverpool, Juventus, and other top European clubs.

Fortunately for Villarreal, Atlético Madrid played with a strange disinterest after the first twenty minutes that made work for the Yellow Submarine minimal to come out with a victory at home.  Cani was involved in both Villarreal goals, providing the end product after Nilmar terrorized Atlético with pure speed and composure on the ball to slot in Cani inside the box, and creating the second goal for Giuseppe Rossi after cutting in from the left wing to slice the Atlético defense yet again with a telling through ball into the penalty area.

Unfortunately for Villarreal’s perception throughout the country, Atlético Madrid did not provide the stern test that they forced Barcelona and Valencia through when they played those teams.  This match against Atlético was supposed to supply evidence whether or not Villarreal was for real.  Villarreal will have to wait to show their merits for the championship until November when they face Athletic Bilbao at home, Barcelona at the Camp Nou, and Valencia at home in consecutive weeks.  What transpired on Sunday night did not sway opinion one way or the other about Villarreal, but it did point out one glaring detail: Atlético Madrid’s schizophrenic personality has not been cured after a summer of therapy.

Fueras de Juego

- Luís Fabiano awoke from his slumber to score his first two goals of the season in Sevilla’s topsy-turvy 4-3 victory over Athletic Bilbao.  After all the summer haranguing about wanting to leave Sevilla, Fabiano stayed with the Andalucian club, and in his prior appearances before Sunday’s match against Athletic, he played and acted like a pouting schoolboy.  He actually looked interested throughout the match today, and when Fabiano cares, to no surprise, he produces with devastating aplomb

- Speaking of occasionally moody players, Cristiano Ronaldo poured in four goals in Real Madrid’s 6-1 drubbing of pathetic Racing de Santander.  While Ronaldo will receive the deserved plaudits for his outstanding performance, the man of the match was €25 million summer signing Ángel di María.  Besides assisting in two goals, he created Ronaldo’s fourth goal when Domingo Cisma felled di María in the penalty area and played an excellent left back, a position foreign to di María, when Pedro León replaced Marcelo with twenty minutes remaining.

Di María’s early struggles (he had only played in three matches for Real, mind you) had the Madridistas worried that he would become another flop.  His “Welcome to Madrid” moment came against Real Sociedad, when he gave his team the lead with a spectacular curler to the top right corner with his “weaker” right foot.  Ever since that point, he suddenly became indispensable to the starting eleven, and when a player receives the full confidence of José Mourinho, it will only help spur on his game.

- César Santin, the Brazilian forward for FC København, made himself an object of ridicule against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night when he stopped playing with a two-on-two breakaway with teammate Dame N’Doye, thinking he was called offside.  The assistant referee did not raise his flag, and referee Stéphane Lannoy did not blow his whistle.  That opportunity ended up as one of only two or three chances that København had of threatening José Manuel Pinto’s goal that entire night.

The situation took a turn to the weird when København lodged a formal complaint to UEFA on Friday, stating that Pinto simulated the referee’s whistle in order to dupe Santin.  Pinto could face a two-match European ban for this alleged “violation of decent conduct.”  With all the whistles that rain down from the crowd every match, Santin should not get his signals crossed with the real whistle, but if Pinto has the ability to whistle just like a referee’s whistle, full credit to Pinto for such a ruse.  Unsportsmanlike behavior, absolutely, but would not pride prevent Santin from admitting that Pinto fooled him into grinding to a halt?  Pinto could not even make the halfway line with his goal kicks, so apparently, he allegedly needed to use the last item in his bag of tricks to keep FC København at bay.  More column space about this delicious “Whistle-Gate” side story to come.

Gregorio Manzano took the reins of Sevilla FC one week ago from the sacked Antonio Álvarez, and he did not inherit a club that inspired any confidence from los nervionenses that filled the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday afternoon.  Although the Andalusians only lost one of their first five matches in La Liga, two draws against cellar-dwellers Racing de Santander and Deportivo La Coruña and a loss to newly-promoted Hércules prompted Sevilla chairman José María del Nido to act swiftly and hire the man that was the betting favorite to become Sevilla manager during the summer months.

Last season, Manzano led Mallorca, a club that fostered mediocre expectations at the commencement of the campaign, to the brink of the UEFA Champions League, when, ironically, Antonio Álvarez and Sevilla broke los barralets‘ collective hearts with a stoppage time goal against Almería that propelled Sevilla into the playoff round of the Champions League and dropped Mallorca into the playoff round of the UEFA Europa League.  Besides a fourth-place finish in La Liga, Álvarez and Sevilla defeated Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final to add to their trophy case.

Del Nido faced a similar situation that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich endured in 2008, when the managerial mid-season replacement accomplished feats that would make it hard for the owner to supplant him.  In Abramovich’s case, Avram Grant led Chelsea to the Champions League final, and save for a John Terry penalty kick that hit the post, Chelsea would have won the trophy that Abramovich most desired.  In addition, Chelsea harried Manchester United to the final matchday for the Premier League title, where Chelsea eventually capitulated when they could only draw 1-1 against Bolton Wanderers, whereas Manchester United defeated Wigan Athletic 2-0 to win the league by two points.

Amidst a groundswell to retain Grant as the manager, Abramovich made the decision to release Grant three days after the Champions League heartbreak and eventually hired Luiz Felipe Scolari later that summer.

When Mallorca released Manzano not due to performance but due to financial difficulties that eventually led to administration, José María del Nido wrestled over the future of his team’s managerial leadership between Manzano and Álvarez, but unlike Roman Abramovich, del Nido rewarded Álvarez for his work after replacing Manolo Jiménez and extended his contract through at least the end of the 2010-11 season.

After the ignominy of failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage at the hands of the little Portuguese team that could in Sporting Braga before the start of the La Liga season, Álvarez’s leash shortened considerably, and any other slip-up would be the impetus for Sevilla to fire Álvarez.  The 2-0 defeat to Hércules last weekend became that tipping point.

Amazingly, no team hired Manzano in the offseason, but he likely was biding his time until the Sevilla job opened, and immediately after Álvarez received the axe, Manzano accepted the position.

Manzano’s first test in La Liga came against an Atlético Madrid side who dearly wants to right the wrongs of last season’s domestic campaign.  While they marveled as a cup team, winning the UEFA Europa League and reaching the Copa del Rey final, their indifferent form in the league equally flabbergasted as they finished ninth, their worst finish since 2006.  Atleti has returned to their normally solid play in La Liga this season, sitting in fifth spot prior to the match against Sevilla.  The schizophrenia that marred this team last season has not completely left the brain, as their Europa League form reeks of indifference and middling.

Los colchoneros were not at full strength against Sevilla because José Antonio Reyes was serving his suspension for a red card he received in the previous match against Real Zaragoza and Sergio Agüero suffered an injury to the gluteus maximus muscle of his left buttock (no joke) in Friday’s training session.

For Sevilla, Manzano’s team started to come back to a good bill of health as Abdoulay Konko, Frédéric Kanouté and Renato returned to the starting eleven.  When Sevilla has been most successful, they played in a classic 4-4-2 formation with Jesús Navas and either Diego Perotti or Diego Capel flying down the wings to provide service for the two forwards Kanouté and Luís Fabiano.  While Navas did not play due to a thigh strain and Fabiano sat on the bench due to poor form, Manzano returned Sevilla to the 4-4-2 with Capel and Perotti on the wings and the maligned Álvaro Negredo pairing with Kanouté up front.

After the opening hour where Sevilla slightly wielded the upper hand, Sevilla scored twice within a span of six minutes to break open a tight affair.  In the 29th minute, Diego Perotti cut from the right and brought defenders with him, and when he made the reverse pass to his right for Álvaro Negredo into the penalty area, Negredo found some valuable space in which to work.  Negredo was not quite set for the shot, so he took a vital touch to his left to set himself up and create space from the two Atlético defenders that were scrambling to close down Negredo.  He curled the shot toward the left far post, and de Gea had no chance of getting a hand on it.

Six minutes later, Diego Capel’s feathery touch sent in Frédéric Kanouté into the box free and unmarked, and de Gea did well to rush off his line and close down the angle to save Kanouté’s shot.  The rebound from the save, however, lofted to Perotti just beyond the “D,” and Perotti took the shot on first-time, deflecting off Paulo Assunção to the left side of the goal, and de Gea was frozen once the ball took the deflection.

Save for a period of ten to fifteen minutes in the second half when Atlético Madrid scored their only goal of the match, Sevilla controlled the flow and never felt threatened by the rojiblancos.  The search team could not find Diego Forlán throughout the match as he continually looked a frustrated figure, and while Filipe Luís and Diego Costa provided a small spark coming off the substitute’s bench to start the second half, the same team that struggled to secure a draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday showed up against Sevilla on Sunday.

Sometimes, managers receives too much credit or blame for what their players do on the pitch, but the eleven that Manzano put out against Atlético Madrid played with a freedom and desire that was achingly unapparent under Antonio Álvarez.  As with José Mourinho with Real Madrid, a managerial change can affect the group of twenty-five players in a positive manner if the manager commands the respect of those players immediately.  While Gregorio Manzano does not own the sprawling curriculum vitae of Mourinho, Manzano’s achievements at Mallorca certainly deserve credit.  When he inspired his Mallorca team to perform at their best when the players were not getting paid, that might be the toughest task to do with professional footballers.

After Sevilla goes to El Molinón to play Sporting Gijón after the international break, their following three fixtures will determine if they will be a genuine factor at the top of the table: home against Athletic Bilbao, at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona, and home against current league leaders Valencia.  If Luís Fabiano brightens his moody attitude and avoids injuries that have plagued him in the past year and a half, his combination with Frédéric Kanouté, as proven in the past, can turn into the lethal force once again.  With Real Madrid and Barcelona slightly more vulnerable than at any point last season, Sevilla must seize this tough stretch by the neck and play without fear in order to attain at least six points out of nine.  Gregorio Manzano is the right man to motivate this team and lead them for the foreseeable future.

Fueras de Juego

- Scoring problems?  What scoring problems?  Real Madrid laid the 6-1 hammer down on pathetic Deportivo La Coruña in the final match of the round, and Gonzalo Higuaín got off the schneid with his first goal of the season.  This match was Real Madrid’s first since the club replaced their “potato field,” as José Mourinho coined it, with imported Slovakian grass, and the pitch looked and played just as fine as its owners did.  Despite the six-goal outburst, Mourinho will not be happy that they conceded a late goal to Juan Rodríguez.

- Mallorca has gone two for two against Real Madrid and Barcelona as Mallorca held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou.  Mallorca also drew with Real 0-0 in their opening match of the season to steal two valuable points against the royalty of Spanish football.  For Barcelona, the same story keeps being told: numerous golden and silver chances but unable to capitalize on enough occasions.  Last year, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was supposed to give the Catalans a different element with his size and aerial ability.  This year, David Villa is supposed to be the savior as the center forward in the front three.  The ghost of Samuel Eto’o continues to loom, as Barcelona has not been as clinical in front of goal since Eto’o went to Inter Milan.

- Almería played the best football of the twenty teams this weekend but somehow managed to only draw against Málaga 1-1 at home in their newly-named arena Estadio Juan Rojas.  Ten ocasiones de gol (scoring chances), twenty-six shots overall, and a leaky Málaga defense that conceded the most goals in La Liga prior to this round of matches should have equaled an easy win, but three efforts off the woodwork, a missed penalty by Kalu Uche, and various other misses that avoided the target by a couple of yards or less conspired to split the points with an undeserved Málaga.  These types of matches hurt the most, especially for a team that could be in the relegation fight throughout the course of the season.

Depending on the results of the final round in La Liga this upcoming weekend, Atlético Madrid can finish as high as ninth and as low as eleventh in Spain.  Fulham completed their 2009-10 in the Barclays Premier League in twelfth position.  All mattered not as they both navigated through massive European obstacles to arrive at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg on Wednesday evening to compete for the inaugural UEFA Europa League final, the newly reorganized UEFA Cup.

At the dawn of this season, Atlético Madrid held high aspirations domestically and internationally.  Los colchoneros qualified for the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons on the final matchday, holding off Sevilla in 2008 and Villarreal in 2009 to finish both years fourth in the league.  In addition, Atlético progressed easily through the Champions League group stage the previous campaign and lost on away goals to FC Porto in the first knockout round, so they expected to get at least that far if not farther.

Mediocre in the league and underwhelming in this year’s Champions League group stage, and Atlético struggled to achieve a draw against Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia in the final group stage match just to receive the parachute to the Round of 32 in the Europa League.

Sergio Asenjo, their twenty-year-old goalkeeper of the future whom they bought from Real Valladolid for €6 million, struggled mightily and eventually sat on the bench in favor of nineteen-year-old David de Gea.

The team coped with unrest in the coaching ranks as Abel Resino was sacked in late October following Atlético’s horrendous start in favor of Quique Sánchez Flores.  Sánchez Flores could relate to Resino’s position, as he was also fired after a poor beginning to the 2007-08 season by Valencia after he guided Los Che to consecutive Champions League appearances.  Valencia would regret that decision because they chose Ronald Koeman as Quique’s successor, and coupled with Valencia’s growing financial problems, the Koeman era turned into an unmitigated disaster.

Realizing that any potential accomplishment in La Liga would be a fruitless endeavor, Atlético Madrid started to focus on cup competitions to salvage any sort of pride in this season.  This change in priority and the new influence of Quique Sánchez Flores heightened the waning confidence and play of the squad members.

Despite this expected rise in form, Atlético president Enrique Cerezo Torres and the Atlético technical staff must have shaken their heads and pulled out their hair numerous times because of their team’s schizophrenic personality.  Inexplicably pathetic matches against lower table teams such as Tenerife, Almería, and Real Zaragoza would follow inspirational performances against Sevilla, Barcelona, and Valencia.  Playing to the competition is usually portrayed as a pejorative because it implies that the team takes inferior opposition for granted while gearing up for tougher clubs, but in this particular case, for some strange reason, Atlético Madrid effectively employed this policy.

On their path to the Copa del Rey final, they encountered only one La Liga team, Racing Santander, and only in this tie did Atlético perform up to their capabilities in the first leg, dismissing the Cantabrians 4-0 to render the second leg virtually meaningless.

With the quality of teams they opposed in the Europa League, however, they could not help but play at a high level since their adversaries were such accomplished teams.

Galatasaray, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Valencia, and Liverpool.  Winners of fourteen different European trophies.  In recent years, facing these types of teams in succession would occur in the Champions League knockout stages. not the UEFA Cup/Europa League, but they did not faze the men from the capital.  As many have pointed out, Atlético Madrid did not win a single match in the Champions League group stage, and they only won two matches out of eight in the Europa League knockout stage on their way to the final.  Cup competitions, however, comprise of a completely different mentality and strategy than league play, and in all four knockout ties, it would be hard to argue that Atlético Madrid was not the better team over two legs in each tie.

Rarely does any team convincingly win every round, and Atlético was no exception.  They advance on three separate occasions on the away goals rule, and in the semifinal, it took extra time to settle the tie.  In the final against Fulham, in a match destined for penalties, Atlético scored what proved to be the cup-winning goal in the 116th minute, the 26th minute of extra time.  Three different times during their run to the Europa League crown, Atlético needed a late goal in the 90th minute and beyond.  There was only one man that scored all three: the indomitable Diego Forlán.

Notoriously nicknamed “Diego Forlorn” for his goal-scoring inadequacies at Manchester United, Diego Forlán worked tirelessly to shake this reputation when he made his move from Manchester United to Villarreal in 2004.  Three successful seasons at Villarreal substantiated the talent that United saw in him when they signed him from Independiente in 2003, including the Pichichi trophy (top goal-scorer in La Liga) in 2005 and a semifinal run in the 2005-06 Champions League where they topped their group while Manchester United finished last in that same group.

Forlán, always the humble and consummate professional, never said a venomous word about his former employers, especially when Villarreal and Manchester United played twice in the group stage.  He actually praised Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United fans for their support during his two season stay despite his difficulties, but deep in his heart, he must have felt a little glee about preventing United from proceeding to the knockout stage.

When Fernando Torres moved to Liverpool for a club record £26.5 million in the summer of 2007, Atlético Madrid used some of that money to buy Forlán for €21 million from Villarreal.  86 goals in 153 appearances in all competitions for Atlético demonstrated further his status as a world-class striker, but his match-winning exploits in this season’s Europa League enhances his standing as not just a goal-scorer but also as a forward who scores the most important goals.

In the 90th minute of the second leg against Galatasaray at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul, appropriately nicknamed “Hell” because of its intimidating atmosphere, Forlán clinched the tie that was a couple of minutes away from extra time.  Quique Sánchez Flores did not include him in the starting eleven against Galatasaray, and he only came in after Sergio Agüero suffered a facial injury near the end of the first half.  No complaints or attitude came from Forlán, and he scored the ticket into the Round of 16.

Against Liverpool in the second leg of the semifinal at Anfield, Forlán stuck the lance in Liverpool’s side again with an extra-time winner in the 102nd minute that scrapped any semblance of a successful season for Liverpool.  One of Forlán’s few positive achievements at Manchester United was a two-goal effort at Anfield to defeat Liverpool 1-2, and the Manchester United faithful still laud that accomplishment, and as the chant goes, “He came from Uruguay, he made the Scousers cry.”  If Manchester United were not to win a European trophy, it was imperative for United fans that Liverpool did not win either, and the former United man was more than willing to haunt Liverpool yet again.

In the final against Fulham, the pre-game ceremonies contained more action than the first thirty minutes of the match because both teams showed their fraying nerves about competing in a European final.  Only three players from both teams’ starting elevens had competed in a showcase final of European club football, José Antonio Reyes with Arsenal, Mark Schwarzer for Middlesbrough, and Danny Murphy with Liverpool.  Elementary errors from both sides littered the opening stages of the match, and an errant pass by Paul Konchesky ultimately led to Atlético’s first goal that was scored by none other than Diego Forlán in the 32nd minute.

The goal came from a quick counter-attack, and it started with Reyes rampaging down the right flank and passing it into the center for Simão Sabrosa who purposefully made a lung-bursting run down the center of the pitch.  Simão then passed it first-time in the air to Agüero at the D; Agüero headed it down and took the shot off the volley, but he completely mishit it.  Luckily, it went into Forlán’s direction, and Forlán directed it to the left far post past a helpless Schwarzer.  It was debatable whether Forlán was offside, but Forlán’s positioning saved Agüero’s shot from rolling harmlessly wide and ascended Atlético in the lead.

After Simon Davies’ clinical volley five minutes late equalized the score at 1-1, balance reigned the rest of regulation, and extra time loomed in Hamburg.

Five minutes away from penalty kicks, Fulham looked tired and played for penalties.  Fulham’s journey to the Europa League final began on July 30 in the third qualifying round in Lithuania against FK Vètra, and sixty-three matches later and 115 minutes into the final where they left every last part of their energy on the pitch, no one would question them if they wanted to go into penalties.  Diego Forlán, however, prevented the lottery of penalty kicks with the cup-winning goal in the 116th minute.

Kun Agüero did most of the work on the left flank, making one last oxygen-inducing run to keep Antonio López lead pass from crossing the end line for a goal kick.  One-on-one with Fulham central defender Aaron Hughes, Agüero’s cross at the six-yard box was back flicked by Forlán, and it took a slight deflection off Brede Hangeland and into the back of the net.

A last flurry from Fulham in the second minute of stoppage time went for naught, and Atlético Madrid won its first European trophy in forty-eight years when they won the 1961-62 European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Amidst the immediate joy once referee Nicola Rizzoli whistled for fulltime, Diego Forlán merely raised his arms in the air and instantly went to hug and shake the hands of his opponents, specifically Chris Baird and Aaron Hughes.  He could have ran to the center circle and celebrated with his teammates, and no one would have blamed him, but the class that he carries at all times signals the kind of man and player that young player should strive to emulate.

This column would be remiss not to laud Fulham FC for its fairy-tale run from near relegation from the Football League in 1996 to seventh in the Premier League last season to a European final this season.  Roy Hodgson deservedly received the LMA Manager of the Year, voted on by his fellow managers in the Football League, and no one will ever forget their run to the final, toppling European powers Shakhtar Donetsk, Hamburg, and Juventus.

The night, however, belongs to Atlético Madrid.  If one said that a Spanish and an English team would meet in a European final, and the team from Madrid won, probably the last answer purported would be Atlético Madrid defeating Fulham in the Europa League final.  For a few days and months, Atlético own the city of Madrid over their eternal rivals Real, and if Atlético complete the cup double with a win over Sevilla in the Copa del Rey next Wednesday, they will have accomplished one of the unique coups in Spanish football history.  What other team than Atlético Madrid to complete such a bipolar season: average in league, perfect in cup.

The Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, built in the 2nd century CE, is the oldest Roman lighthouse currently in service.

There will be a Spanish team in a European final, but it is not the team that many expected.  Atlético Madrid completed their strange and wonderful trip to the Europa League final with an extra time goal by Diego Forlán against Liverpool.  As per usual, Atlético did not win the second leg of their Europa League semifinal against Liverpool, losing 2-1, but for the third consecutive round, Los Colchoneros progressed on the away goals rule.  Normally, if a team only wins twice throughout its whole European campaign, it has a million to one shot of advancing to a European final.

Who better than the 2009-10 Atlético Madrid team to defy any logic.

Only receiving the parachute from the Champions League to the Europa League with a last matchday group stage draw against APOEL Nicosia, Atleti completed the Champions League group with zero wins and three draws.  Their only two wins in the Europa League knockout phase came against Galatasaray with a Diego Forlán goal at the death and against Liverpool with another Forlán late show goal.

Although standing a mediocre tenth in La Liga, Atlético looks forward to their hectic May schedule with two cup finals scattered among their final four league matches.  The 2009-10 Atlético Madrid team is reminiscent of the 2000-01 Liverpool team that won the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup, and the League Cup but only finished third in the Premier League.  Atlético would have certainly taken third place in La Liga, but cup triumph is in the forefront of their minds, and they will likely be a shell of themselves when they face Sevilla on Sunday afternoon.  Atlético has nothing for which to play in the league, and Sevilla continues to fight Mallorca and Villarreal for the final Champions League berth.

Do not be surprised if Sevilla runs over Atlético Madrid with ease.

Then there is that other Spanish team that competed in a European semifinal.  Barcelona failed in its attempt to win consecutive European Cups since the AC Milan teams of Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten completed the double in 1989 and 1990.  The vaunted attack could not break through Inter Milan’s brick wall, and now they have seventy-two hours to recover from their Champions League hangover to encounter a Villarreal outfit that has enjoyed a renaissance under their second trainer of the season, Juan Carlos Garrido.

After their disastrous start to the campaign, Villarreal has climbed to within four points of Mallorca for the final Champions League place, and while they have recently done well on their travels, Villarreal relies on its solid home record, earning thirty-nine of their fifty-two total points at El Madrigal.  Because they dug themselves such a cavernous hole early in the season, they cannot afford to lose any of their last four matches if they have any inkling of joining Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Valencia in the Champions League next season.

Barcelona could only muster a draw at the Camp Nou at the beginning of the new year against Villarreal because of an inspired performance by the Yellow Submarine, David Fuster in particular, so the question arising from this match is if Barcelona can recover and regain their wits about them to focus on their slim one point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga, or will Villarreal derail the already faltering Barça train with their new-found confidence and panache.

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.

May 1

Málaga vs. Sporting Gijón – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Real Valladolid vs. Getafe – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Tenerife vs. Racing de Santander – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Deportivo La Coruña vs. Real Zaragoza – 11:55 AM on Gol TV

Espanyol vs. Valencia – 1:55 PM on Gol TV

Villarreal vs. FC Barcelona – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

May 2

Sevilla vs. Atlético Madrid – 10:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Real Madrid vs. Osasuna – 12:55 PM on ESPN2 HD/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Athletic Bilbao vs. Mallorca – 2:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Unfortunately, the Xerez – Almería match at El Chapín will not be shown on US TV

Halloween will arrive in a few days, but for Atlético Madrid, this season has been a complete nightmare from the beginning.  Los rojiblancos hit their low point with a dull thud on Saturday when they could not fend off a nine-man Mallorca team and settled for a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón.  Even though Abel Resino received a vote of confidence from the Atleti boardroom earlier in the season, those kinds of assurances were fleeting at best, and when Atlético delivered an impotent performance in the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League, the writing was clearly on the wall for the former Atlético goalkeeper.

More often than not, a mid-season coaching change leads to a temporary spike in results.  Recent examples include Espanyol when Mauricio Pochettino replaced José Manuel Esnal, Real Madrid when Juande Ramos replaced Bernd Schuster, and Abel Resino himself when he replaced Javier Aguirre in the middle of the last campaign.  The jury is still out on the new Quique Sánchez Flores era, but from the showing Atlético Madrid displayed against Mallorca, Sánchez Flores has plenty of work to inspire these dispirited players.

Temporary manager Santi Denia had very little time to prepare this team after the sacking of Abel Resino, but he made a couple of adjustments to the starting eleven by preferring Raúl García over Cléber Santana in the center of midfield as well as starting eighteen year old David de Gea in goal instead of the number one Sergio Asenjo.  That change did not matter much in the early parts of the match as de Gea had little to do.  For the first twenty-five minutes, the atmosphere on and off the pitch was very muted.  Anxiousness permeated the Vicente Calderón as the uncertainty of the future for Atlético made the supporters and the players uneasy and unenthusiastic.  Then the break Atlético Madrid desperately needed fell right into their laps.

Mallorca right back Josemi, trying to prevent a Simão pass from reaching Diego Forlán, struck the ball with his bicep inside the box, and referee César Muñiz Fernández immediately pointed to the penalty spot.  Having already received a yellow card earlier in the match, Muñiz Fernández awarded Josemi a second yellow card for the incident, and Mallorca was down to ten men.  Forlán stepped to the mark, and…

it went wide of the post.  This ominous occurrence only helped in prolonging the growing despair.  With a 0-0 score line at the end of the half, the vociferous whistles rained down on their beloved Atlético, and Mallorca could not have written a better script after the unfortunate ejection of Josemi.

If Atlético Madrid did not want to take advantage of a fortuitous break, Mallorca gave them a second chance when Iván Ramis received a second yellow card for another handball inside the penalty area.  The ball seemed to play the arm rather than vice versa, but nevertheless, Ramis was gone, Mallorca had to play the final 40+ minutes with only nine men, and Atlético was twelve yards away from basically sealing the match.  Unfazed by his earlier penalty miss, Forlán coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net, and it was not if they would win but by how many.

Strangely, Atlético, whether by the instructions of Santi Denia or by the players’ own apprehensions, protected their 1-0 lead instead of trying to increase it.  They dominated the possession, as they should with a two-man advantage, but rarely created significant goal-scoring opportunities that would ruin any chance for Mallorca to get anything out of this match.  Forlán hit the target a couple of times, Simão forced Dudu Aouate into some good saves, and Cléber Santana’s header from a set piece traveled inches over the crossbar, but their attacking play, as a whole, appeared stunted compared to normal circumstances.  Their careful and cautious attitude would prove costly when Mallorca amazingly equalized in the 91st minute to earn a point that should not have been there to retrieve.

From José Luis Martí’s free kick at midfield, Atlético somehow allowed Borja Valero to control the ball with his foot near the byline.  Valero’s ensuing ball was meant to be a cross across the six-yard box to Pierre Webó, but in attempting to smother that cross, David de Gea allowed it to go between his legs.  If the ball went straight through his legs, Webó and Atlético defender Álvaro Domínguez each would have had a 50/50 chance at it, but as the ball squeezed through de Gea’s legs, he diverted the ball off its path with his left heel into goal.  Would Sergio Asenjo have committed the same error?  Call it fate, destiny, the football gods, or any other supernatural event; Atlético Madrid could not win a match that Mallorca tried to give away.

As absurd as this may sound, Mallorca actually deserved to merit a result from this match.  The equalizer transpired from a slice of good fortune, but their tireless work ethic and their unending belief gained many admirers, and they dug themselves out of a hole they created instead of slumping their shoulders and admitting defeat before the match was over.

What does this mean for Atlético Madrid going forward?  Quique Sánchez Flores has had successful spells with Valencia and Benfica, but he faces the most challenging managing job of his career.  Initially competing to retain its Champions League place, Atlético’s goals for the season need to be scaled back slightly.  The sale of John Heitinga in the last minutes of the summer transfer window to Everton may not have been a glaring loss at the outset, but Atlético has employed three different right backs this season, including lifelong central defender Tomáš Ujfaluši.  None filled the position adequately, and a weak link in a defensive line cannot be masked when a decent attacking team puts pressure on them.

For an attacking force that includes Argentine budding superstar Sergio Agüero, Simão Sabrosa, Maxi Rodríguez, Jurado, and current European Golden Shoe winner Diego Forlán, ten goals in eight matches in La Liga as well as zero goals in three Champions League group stage games fall well below their high expectations.  The service from the midfield is of mediocre quality, and the intricate passing game in the final third lacks the fluidity that they showed last season.

While Sánchez Flores and his technical staff can work out these problems on the training ground, instilling the poise and confidence that Atlético used to possess will be their most arduous task as they try to lift los rojiblancos from the dregs of their current form.  Without these intangible traits at full tilt, they will continue to surrender meekly against their future opponents.  All is doom and gloom at the moment, but fortunately, they will not have too much time to mull over their soul-crushing draw as they have their Round of 32 Copa del Rey cup tie against Segunda División B side UD Marbella on Tuesday.  Atlético Madrid will likely use many of their young and bench players against Marbella, but any potential win at this point can be used as a confidence-booster in their long journey from the abyss.

Fueras del Juego

- It is more of relief than congratulations for Villarreal as they recorded their first victory of the season 2-1 over Málaga on Sunday.  It was also a first for Villarreal record signing Nilmar as he netted his first La Liga goal for the club.

- El Golazo de la Jornada goes to Pablo Hernández, whose forty-yard effort floated over a humiliated Diego Alves as Valencia beat Almería at the Estadio Mediterráneo 0-3 on Sunday.  Alves was clearly out of position, but the foresight and technical skill necessary to execute the shot by Pablo was exquisite.

- Before the Racing de Santander – Osasuna match, there was a minute of silence for the recent death of José Manuel López Alonso, former president of Racing.  Near the end of the minute, referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez was about to blow the whistle when he realized the minute was not quite over.  Luckily, he did not blow the whistle at that moment, but his facial expressions of surprise and embarrassment were priceless.

Based on their records coming into this fixture, the Valencia – Atlético Madrid Saturday fixture did not look to be an appetizing match, but knowing each team’s penchant to go forward, their stature in Spanish football, and their performances over the past few years, this game was the one to watch, and they did not disappoint.

From the opening moments, the predictable and customary caginess that occurs in a big match was absent as both teams looked to score immediately.  Sergio Agüero obliged with a 7th minute goal whose build-up was more impressive than the actual finish.  Making a run on the perimeter of the penalty area, Jurado took two defenders with him and audaciously back-heeled a pass to Diego Forlán inside the box.  In plenty of space, Forlán squared a ball to Agüero who finished the attack with aplomb, and it was 0-1 to the visitors.

As is typical with this Atlético squad, a one-goal lead was not safe by any means, and Los Che responded with opportunity after opportunity without any tangible result to show for them.  Atlético almost made Valencia pay for their lack of finishing in the 20th minute when Agüero intercepted a pass from Alexis at the midfield line and stormed toward the Valencia goal.  Outpacing Alexis, Agüero was one on one with Valencia keeper Miguel Angel Moyà, but Agüero took the ball too close to Moyà, and he closed the angle just enough to have his shot roll by the right far post.

In a span of two minutes, Valencia showed why Atlético accumulated only two points from their first four matches.  In the 25th minute, Éver Banega lofted a ball over the Atlético defense onto Pablo Hernández’s run into the penalty area.  Atlético captain Antonio López was able to contest Pablo in the box, but Pablo’s touches bamboozled López, and Pablo was able to get by him and score from three yards out for the 1-1 equalizer.  Two minutes later, Valencia would take the one-goal advantage when David Silva sprung David Villa open with a cutting ball through the heart of the Atlético defense.  Taking a couple of dribbles into the left side of the box, Villa executed a clinical finish that explained why the big European clubs clamor for his services.  As he was about to take the shot, he opened his body as if he were to go for the right far post.  Atlético keeper Roberto, who is deputizing for Sergio Asenjo because of his involvement for the Spanish national team in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt, saw Villa’s body actions and leaned toward that direction.  At the moment of impact, Villa closed his foot, lifted the ball to the near post, and slotted it past Roberto; Roberto thought he did everything correctly, but the brilliance of Villa made Roberto’s efforts seem feckless.  The Atlético Madrid defense was supposed to be improved from last year’s forgettable fifty-seven goal tally, but thirteen goals in five matches does not bode well for an Atlético side looking to keep their Champions League spot for next year.

Throughout the rest of the match, there was always a feeling of inevitability that Valencia would concede as Atlético pressed for the second goal.  With a man advantage for 65+ minutes against Sporting Gijón last Sunday, Valencia had complete control, but a 86th minute goal by Grégory ruined their 100% record and made David Villa publicly criticize manager Unai Emery’s tactics concerning their play when it was 11 vs. 10.  Both teams equally fought for the next goal, with Villa hitting the post from an outrageous jumping back-heel in the 53rd minute and a trio of clear-cut goal-scoring prospects missed by Forlán, Cléber Santana, and Maxi Rodríguez.

In the latter stages of the match, Valencia continued to play a no holds barred style as they looked to salt the game away with a third goal rather than sit on the 2-1 advantage.  While this strategy was commendable for its ambition rather than its cynicism, it left them with holes in the back from time to time, and Atlético capitalized in the second minute of stoppage time when Maxi scored to gain a valuable point and a 2-2 draw.  Antonio López crossed from the left flank, and Alexis’ header failed to clear the ball towards the midfield.  Instead, it flicked on to a wide-open Maxi, who was free on the right post to take the shot first time and beat Moyà.  Valencia left back Jérémy Mathieu, who had a solid game before the second goal, was equally culpable as he fell asleep and gave Maxi the space when the ball arrived at his feet.

Usually the match of the week on paper does not fulfill its promise as such, but Valencia’s 2-2 draw with Atlético Madrid on Saturday night at the Mestalla proved its worth.  With Los Colchoneros in the relegation zone because of earning two points out of the first twelve, Valencia knew to be wary of Atlético not only because of their attacking prowess but also of the wounded animal theory.  In short, an animal is most dangerous when it is hurt because it will fight back with all its might just to survive.  Atlético needed to embrace this attitude and that they certainly did; however, Valencia had the one-goal advantage into stoppage time and looked to win the three points.  Another last stage goal concession by Valencia leaves them seven points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, and with no signs of either club slowing down, the four points needlessly dropped against Sporting Gijón and Atlético Madrid should prove lethal in Valencia’s attempt to win La Liga for the first time since 2004 and possibly a Champions League spot.

"Please, no acclaim, I'm just a humble footballer... who scored twice from two incredible free kicks."

The group stage of the Champions League began on Tuesday evening, and two La Liga outfits looked to initiate the exorcism of their personal demons.

Real Madrid and its galácticos played its first Champions League match of the season against an upstart FC Zürich team who, before the match, seemed more interested in whom they would swap shirts.  It is no secret of Madrid’s lack of success in the Champions League in the past five seasons, and even more than recapturing La Liga from FC Barcelona, Madrid desperately wants to regain their status as THE team in Europe.

For the first twenty-five minutes, the team in white played as though it showed why it spent millions of Euros to bolster its squad.  The only caveat was that FC Zürich wore the white kit and did not seem the least bit intimidated by Real Madrid, the men in black.  Rather than resorting to a direct, long ball approach with physicality as the answer, Zürich displayed a flowing game of football, including an audacious attempt at a back-heeled goal in the ninth minute.

The fans chanted, the electric atmosphere buoyed Zürich to outplay their modest abilities, and they truly believed they had a legitimate chance to obtain a result against Real.  Then Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take a twenty-five meter free kick and struck it with venom past Zürich keeper Johnny Leoni.  From that moment, Madrid stepped on the pedal and suffocated Zürich with their relentless offensive pressure.  By halftime, Real Madrid engineered a 3-0 advantage at the Letzigrund Stadion, and Zürich looked like the long shots that the odds makers thought of them.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, it was more of the same from Real Madrid.  Then on a sliding tackle of Johan Vonlanthen, Xabi Alonso apparently injured his right ankle, and Fernando Gago replaced him in the 59th minute when it was clear that he could not carry on anymore.  Madrid lost focus as they cruised with their three-goal lead, and in a span of one minute, they conceded two goals to Zürich, which gave them life once again.  While the first goal came as a result of a dubious penalty, similar to the Eduardo situation against Celtic, Real’s concession of a second goal less than a minute later against an inferior team was inexcusable for a club that has Champions League aspirations.  Real would score two late goals, including another free kick from Ronaldo, but they still have yet to show that they can consistently keep a tight defense.  Until that happens, the demons will hang around within the team.

"We could not score against APOEL at home!?!?"

Atlético Madrid’s demons were more of a recent phenomenon.  They tried to forget a horrendous 0-3 beatdown at the hands of Málaga and a lackluster 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón against Racing Santander by capturing a win against the Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia.  Even though APOEL was the bottom seed in Group D alongside Chelsea, FC Porto, and Atlético Madrid, none of those teams should underestimate this plucky side from Nicosia.  Only look to last season’s Champions League when group stage newcomers Anorthosis Famagusta wreaked havoc on a group that included Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, and Panathinaikos.

The first half was tactical with few chances.  The two best opportunities fell to the boot of Constantinos Charalambides, who made Atlético keeper Sergio Asenjo generate a terrific stop at his near post in the 8th minute and missed a splendid chance in the 43rd minute when a one bounce cross found his run inside the six-yard box and missed wide from four yards.  Sergio Agüero was the bright spot for Atlético as his tireless engine created space for his teammates as well as set himself for shots on goal.  Diego Forlán and Simão Sabrosa were held in check for the most part due to APOEL’s discipline and organization in defense.  Already under fire for their mediocre performances this season, the fans at the Vicente Calderón whistled at the players going into and out of the dressing room for the second half and deemed a 0-0 score unacceptable.

Atlético manager Abel Resino made an early substitution in the second half, sending in winger Maxi Rodríguez for the defensive midfielder Cléber Santana in the 51st minute because Maxi would bring more punch in the final third, and Atlético showed that they would be able to put the clamps on the APOEL attack without the extra defensive midfielder.  For the rest of the match, Atlético continually assailed the APOEL penalty area and goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis.  APOEL rarely had possession, so this forced a strategy to camp ten men behind the ball in the hope that they would somehow protect a 0-0 draw and gain a point away from home.  Resino further added to the attack in the 67th minute by taking out right back Luis Perea in favor of forward Florent-Sinama Pongolle.

Atlético had seventeen shots, nine of those on target, in the second half but never breached the APOEL goal.  Man of the Match Dionisis Chiotis made some spectacular saves; the most important of those saves came in the third minute of stoppage time when his leaping save prevented another Forlán rasping bullet from heading toward the top corner of the net.  Forlán also had a free kick that struck the intersection of the post and the crossbar in the 84th minute.  Not withstanding Atlético’s poor start in La Liga, dropping points at home against APOEL when they also have to face Chelsea and FC Porto twice is the worst kind of start possible.  With Chelsea looking as the favorite to win Group D, these two points dropped could be crucial in deciding the second team in the group to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Sergio Agüero and Atlético Madrid cannot see or find their form.

Atlético Madrid prolonged their faltering start with a 1-1 draw against Racing Santander on Saturday.  Even with a man advantage for the majority of the second half, they lacked the finishing touch to nip the win from a feisty Santander side.  Racing came off a 4-1 drubbing at El Sardinero by Getafe, including a hat trick by Soldado, so Racing did not have the greatest levels of confidence leading into a match against a highly explosive offensive team.

Atlético had many of its players participate in the two World Cup Qualifying matches in the previous weekend, so they were not at full strength.  Diego Forlán sat on the bench after playing for Uruguay, Simão Sabrosa started but played in Portugal’s two qualifying matches, Maxi Rodríguez was not in the eighteen as he picked up a muscle strain with Argentina, and Sergio Agüero also participated in the two Argentina matches.  This clash with Racing also commenced an era without John Heitinga, as he made a €7 million move from Atlético to Everton, and starting at right back for Los Colchoneros was Juan Valera, who interestingly enough played for Santander on loan last season.

For the first half hour, Atlético had the better of the play, but both teams were lifeless.  Paulo Assunção fizzed a shot past Santander keeper Toño in the ninth minute but also breezed just wide of the post.  Sergio Agüero fired a shot in the 21st minute but headed straight towards Toño and was able to make the save.  Despite Atlético controlling the ball at a two to one ratio, Racing created the best chance in the first thirty minutes as talisman Pedro Munitis provided a lovely through ball into the box for Alexandre Geijo.  Geijo, however, was caught in between taking the shot and crossing the ball back to Munitis, and Geijo’s effort flashed across the six-yard box, went wide of the post, and was too far for Munitis to get on boot on it.

After this opening stanza, Atlético seemed to get their legs under them and began an assault on Toño’s goal.  Simão missed a golden opportunity in the 34th minute when he shanked a shot from twelve yards after Agüero slipped in a beautiful ball into the penalty area.  José Jurado rifled a shot towards Toño’s near post after a quick dribble and run in the 38th minute, but Toño parried it away successfully.  Florent Sinama-Pongolle made a run into the six-yard box, and if it were not for a desperate yet timely challenge by Sepsi László, Sinama would have Atlético up 1-0.  With all this attacking pressure by Atlético, that left gaps in the defensive line, and Geijo almost made Atlético pay for their men going forward in the 38th minute, but a last ditch sliding tackle in the box by Tomáš Ujfaluši took the ball from Geijo’s boot.  Racing made another foray into Atlético’s box in the 41st minute, and Oscar Serrano’s combination with Manuel Arana sent Arana towards goal, but a kick save by Sergio Asenjo stopped the attack.

Atlético finally took advantage of a goal-scoring opportunity when they scored in the 43rd minute to give the supporters in the Vicente Calderón something about which to cheer.  Off a corner kick, Racing headed the clearance out of the penalty box, but only towards Jurado, and he took the ball first time on the volley and breached the Racing defense and Toño’s goal.  As Atlético is wont to do, they conceded a goal within a few minutes of scoring themselves.  The build-up to Racing’s goal started with a hopeful long ball into the box for Geijo.  He laid the ball off for Arana who in turn laid the ball off to Serrano, and his late run gave him the space to shoot and score.  The Atlético defensive pressure was lacking, and their attempts to stab tackle the ball away from Racing were deemed fruitless as Racing equalized one minute into first half stoppage time.

To jump-start the attack in the second half, Abel Resino substituted Agüero out for Diego Forlán.  Atlético missed his prowess towards goal as well as his off-the-ball runs, and it was clear that Agüero ran out of steam by the end of the opening forty-five minutes.  When José Ángel Crespo received a red card in the 47th minute for illegally tackling Simão when he had a clear goal-scoring opportunity, Atlético’s second and third goals became inevitable.  These goals never materialized, as Santander’s defensive discipline kept Atlético out of their net.  Atlético constructed some offensive attacks but never really put their boots on Racing’s throat when they had the man advantage for nearly the whole second half.  Atlético’s best chance occurred in the 58th minute when Forlán’s swerving free kick hit the post.  Atlético played as though they already had the lead and merely tried to sit on the score line.

After being humiliated by Málaga 3-0 in the opening weekend, many expected Atlético to fight back and take out their anger on a Santander team who were embarrassed themselves by Getafe.  At the end of the match, the players were clearly frustrated, but that frustration did not compare to Los Colchoneros in the stands, who whistled, heckled, and demanded the immediate dismissals of club president Enrique Cerezo and general manager Miguel Ángel Gil Marín.  It may be hyperbole to talk crisis in the south of Madrid, but Atlético’s history shows that this type of situation is ripe for internal and external turmoil.  Soon, the chants for Abel Resino’s head will commence and all of this occurring when they kept their two stars Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán.  Atlético Madrid has a Champions League group stage match against APOEL Nicosia on Tuesday and then a collision with La Liga champions Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the weekend.  If they do not beat APOEL and get some sort of result against Barcelona, all hell may break loose within the boardroom and the Vicente Calderón.