When the Racing de Santander board fired Juan Carlos Mandiá on November 9, the team had only won one game out of ten in La Liga, and they had lost the first leg in the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey against UD Salamanca, a mid-table club in the Segunda División.  This job was Mandiá’s first in the top flight, as his previously managed teams, Logroñés, Hércules, and Real Madrid Castilla, were all in the lower divisions of Spanish football.  Mandiá looked overmatched by his managing brethren, and the players never looked to respond to their newest coach.

In the last fifty-five years, Racing de Santander has only finished in the top ten three times in La Liga.  Some of those years were spent in the lower divisions, so expectations were not necessarily sky high in Santander.  Two of those three top-ten places occurred in the last three years, including a surprising sixth and a UEFA Cup spot in the 2007-08 campaign, so when Racing was in 17th heading into the international break on November 9, the Cantabrians had enough of Juan Carlos Mandiá.  Racing chairman Francisco Pernía turned back to the future, as he bestowed the reins of his club to Miguel Ángel Portugal, who guided Los Verdiblancos to a respectable tenth place finish in the 2006-07 season.  The goal was simple for Portugal: avoid relegation.

Coming off the international break, Racing faced two difficult foes in succession: Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña, two teams flying high in the top five of the table.  Although Racing lost both of these matches, Portugal’s stamp had been sealed on the team in a short amount of time.  The defensive ineptitude that clearly marred Juan Carlos Mandiá’s reign at the club was all but abolished as both Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña fought hard for their 1-0 victories.  Even Depor’s manager, Miguel Ángel Lotina, felt as though his team was lucky to earn all three points against Racing.

If Portugal and Racing de Santander were not favored to garner any points against Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña, the three matches leading into the Christmas break were crucial for Racing’s fate in La Liga.  They played an Espanyol team who lost their last three matches, scoring zero while conceding seven.  Racing dismissed Los Periquitos with shocking ease, as homegrown wünderkind Sergio Canales scored his first two goals for the club in a 0-4 romp at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat.  Admittedly green, both figuratively and literally, this eighteen-year-old, who grew up within walking distance of El Sardinero, had been thrust upon the watching eyes of Spain by his stellar play.

Los Racinguistas brought their momentum back to their friendly confines in Santander, and with a match against 20th place Xerez, confidence was at a season high.  Apparently, someone forgot to tell Xerez that they were supposed to lie down at Racing’s expense, and with a quarter of an hour remaining, it was 2-2.  Even more amazing than the score itself was that Xerez had only scored once away from El Chapín all season, and they doubled this amount in sixty-nine minutes.  An Alexandre Geijo header in the 82nd minute, however, foiled Xerez’s attempt at a third road point, and Racing Santander rose from the relegation places to a tenuous fifteenth in the table.

Racing would have done well to get a result at El Sardinero against Villarreal to end the 2009 calendar year, and while they forced Villarreal to play for some stretches of the match, Villarreal comfortably dismissed the Cantabrians 2-0 in a match concerning two in-form teams.  Despite the loss, six points out of nine going into the Christmas break gave Miguel Ángel Portugal and his men the impetus to continue with their decent play.

A hard-fought 2-0 win at home against lower table rivals Tenerife to start 2010 showed that Racing could string together a series of results.  Looking at the situation with a skeptical eye, they achieved their wins against teams in the bottom rungs of the ladder, and their one truly quality opponent in this stretch, Villarreal, ran them off the pitch.  Many, if not all, would have had little faith that they could stay with title contenders Sevilla at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán this past Saturday.

Sergio Canales received the backing of his manager, started in the trequartista position just behind the lone striker Xisco, and was flanked by Pedro Munitis on his right and Óscar Serrano on his left.  While Sevilla dominated possession and bossed the game in Racing’s own half of the field, the Cantabrians were the ones who capitalized on their chances in the first half.

Before Canales scored the opening goal in the 26th minute, he fired well wide on three separate occasions, and while he can be faulted for his errant boot, he worked himself into the right positions to take the opportunities at goal.  His positional sense rivals that of a world-class veteran, and at such a young age, this is truly remarkable.

The move started with Gonzalo Colsa, who played a diagonal ground ball from the midfield line to Pedro Munitis.  The wily Munitis then played a through ball that sliced the Sevilla back line and sent Canales free for a one on one with Andrés Palop.  At the vital moment, Canales decided to chip it over Sevilla goalkeeper and captain Andrés Palop, and that finesse shot was a wonderful finish.

As was their modus operandi throughout the match, Manolo Jiménez further enforced the attack, and Racing Santander’s second goal in the 38th minute further faded Sevilla’s increasingly slim hopes of a La Liga crown.  Racing shredded the defense again, and Canales’ cool composure revealed the precocious nature of his ability.  On the counter-attack, Munitis was fouled, but referee Manuel Mejuto González played the advantage, and Xisco’s cutting through-ball sent Canales on another free run.  Palop decided to rush off his line, but Canales saw this and went around him, then cut back again when a Sevilla defender nearly caught up with him, and shot at the open net for the implausible 0-2 lead for the visitors.

Racing Santander had to hold on for the entire second half, as Sevilla put severe pressure on the Racing midfield and defense.  Sevilla did get one goal back from Racing goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti’s minor error, but they held on just long enough to secure their biggest win of the season.  As for Sevilla, they continued their slump in La Liga; their momentum from their Copa del Rey first leg win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou did not carry over, as again, they did not defeat a team they should beat.

Is it the inspiration of the new manager, Miguel Ángel Portugal?  Is it the infusion of youthful exuberance with Sergio Canales featuring more in the starting eleven?  Is it the relatively poor play of their opponents during this streak?  As with most situations, there is always a combination of factors that contribute to success, but the defensive discipline instilled by the manager has been one of the major keys in Racing’s hot run.  They love to counter-attack, especially with Munitis, Canales, and Serrano’s speed, but in order to best use their abilities, the defense needs to stand firm.  Pablo Pinillos, the Racing captain and leader of the defensive line, has inspired a previously lifeless group, and their effort and spirit has led to more scoring chances.

The big European clubs are queuing up to snare Sergio Canales, but as most transfer news is merely distraction in January, Racing de Santander will only look forward, as the cliché goes, one game at a time.  Despite the recent euphoria in Santander, they are only five points above the relegation zone, and a momentary dip in form will see them back in the dogfight to stay in Spain’s top division.  They have to keep believing that they are fighting relegation throughout the rest of the season, even if they are in a nominally comfortable twelfth place as of this round.  They cannot afford to rest on their laurels, but a galvanizing Racing de Santander brings an exciting element to La Liga for those who tire of the Barcelona – Real Madrid melodrama.

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.