UEFA Champions League

The tie of the round begins at the Emirates Stadium (Arsenal Stadium according to UEFA) as Arsenal and FC Barcelona meet in the knockout phase of the Champions League for the second consecutive year.  When Arsenal failed to win their group, the Gunners always knew that there would be a chance that they would get Barcelona in the Round of 16 draw, and the fates heeded such a matchup between two of the best footballing sides in Europe.

Compared to last season’s tussle in the quarterfinals, the most significant changes between then and now come up front for both teams.  For Arsenal, Robin van Persie did not play in either leg against Barça and now is actually healthy and on fire in front of goal.  Since the beginning of the new year, when he firmly established himself in Arsène Wenger’s starting eleven after easing himself into match fitness in the previous month and a half, he has scored ten goals in nine matches in all competitions.  Marouane Chamakh, who has lost his place in the lineup to van Persie, has had nothing but praise for his teammate, believing van Persie is currently “walking on water” and stating that Arsenal is much better with van Persie than with himself at this moment.

Remember Zlatan Ibrahimovic?  He used to play for Barcelona, and he scored twice in the first leg in London against Arsenal to give the blaugrana a 0-2 lead before Arsenal stormed back late in the second half for a 2-2 draw.  Ibra is now leading the line for AC Milan, and David Villa steps in as the center forward flanked by Pedro Rodríguez and Lionel Messi.  Messi torched Arsenal in the second leg of their quarterfinal with a four-goal romp through their leaky defense, and with Arsenal likely to focus much more manpower on Messi this time around, it will be up to Villa and Pedro to create chances on their own to afford Messi that extra foot of space to work his magic.

Before Arsenal and Barcelona meet on Wednesday night, Valencia and Schalke 04 will perform as the opening act at the Mestalla on Tuesday evening.  Los che return to the knockout phase of the Champions League for the first time in four years, and only five players still belong to the club since Chelsea knocked them out in quarterfinal stage in 2007: Joaquín Sánchez, Miguel Monteiro, David Navarro, Vicente Rodríguez, and David Albelda.  The current striking pair of Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz might not be as fearsome as David Villa and Fernando Morientes were four years ago, but Valencia’s two new additions provide a physicality and an aerial presence that suit Unai Emery’s more pragmatic system.

Schalke’s mediocre form in the Bundesliga has been juxtaposed by their impressive cup play.  Similar to Atlético Madrid last season, where los colchoneros could not find their feet in La Liga yet won the UEFA Europa League and lost in the Copa del Rey final to Sevilla, Schalke sits a middling tenth in the league yet has reached the semifinal of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and won their group in the Champions League.

Die Knappen has more than a tad of Spanish flavor in their squad with Spanish natives José Jurado and leading goalscorer and Real Madrid legend Raúl and former Real Madrid players Christoph Metzelder and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.  Schalke will keep it tight in the midfield, especially away from home, and with their last five Bundesliga matches ending with only one goal in each of those games, expect a tactical affair, especially with Felix Magath and Unai Emery at the helm of these two teams.

Feb. 15

Valencia vs. Schalke 04 – 2:30 PM on FSN HD (5:00 PM delayed on Fox Soccer Channel HD and Fox Deportes)

Feb. 16

Arsenal vs. FC Barcelona – 2:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD and Fox Deportes

UEFA Europa League

The defending champions Atlético Madrid fell meekly out of the competition in the group stage, and Getafe simply was not good or deep enough to make it out of their group, but the two strongest Spanish representatives in the Europa League, Villarreal and Sevilla, made it through to the knockout phase.  Villarreal travels to the Stadio San Paolo to face Napoli in the tie of the round in a matchup of devastating front lines: Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar for Villarreal against Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Marek Hamšik for Napoli.

Napoli’s stellar surprise season has been headed by Italy’s top scorer Edinson Cavani, but the knock on the Neapolitans has been that they could not win against the top clubs in Serie A.  They went into the Stadio Olimpico against AS Roma on Saturday in the Derby del Sole, where they had not won since 1993 and thoroughly deserved their 0-2 win against a Champions League-caliber team.  With Walter Mazzarri successfully staying with his attacking 3-4-2-1 formation, Napoli has reemerged as a team worth reckoning in European competitions.

Villarreal has taken a downward trend in the past couple of weeks, inexplicably losing consecutive league matches to Levante and Deportivo La Coruña, and trainer Juan Carlos Garrido has had to motivate a suddenly disinterested team on the pitch.  A European night against the number two team from Serie A should instantly pique the players’ interest, and especially the atmosphere that will be created by the Napoli faithful at the San Paolo will only help to help Villarreal focus as their minds have meandered from the task at hand in recent times.

Feb. 17

Napoli vs. Villarreal – 12:50 PM on DirecTV channel 481 (481-1 for HD)

Sevilla vs. FC Porto – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 481 (481-1 for HD) (delayed at 5:00 PM on Gol TV HD)

With Real Madrid already qualified for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona and Valencia could also seal their berths into the knockout round with wins in their group match this midweek.  Barcelona will travel to Athens to face a Panathinaikos club that did not win either of their two previous home matches in the group stage against FC København and Rubin Kazan.

Barcelona cannot overlook Panathinaikos with Real Madrid looming next Monday in El Clásico, and while a draw against Panathinaikos would not necessarily hurt the Catalan club, they do not want their last group game against Rubin Kazan to matter.  Barcelona has failed to defeat Rubin in their three meetings in the past calendar year, so Pep Guardiola will likely send out a strong team against Panathinaikos to take care of business, also hoping at the same time that no one gets an injury or a knock that will force the player away from action against Real Madrid.

For Valencia CF, they need to win at home against Bursaspor to give themselves the optimum chance of advancing to the next stage of the Champions League.  Valencia demoralized the Turkish club 0-4 in their first ever Champions League group stage game on Matchday 1, and Bursaspor has not played much better since that match, losing their three subsequent matches in the group to maintain their 100% losing record.

A Valencia win forces Rangers to defeat an indomitable Manchester United club, and although Rangers will have the slight advantage of hosting Manchester United at Ibrox Park with its atmosphere, especially for European nights, the chances that the Scottish champions will defeat the Red Devils are not very high.  With this in mind, the usually conservative Unai Emery should and will likely deploy both Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz as a pair against Bursaspor because Bursaspor has not scored a single goal in the group stage, and a second holding midfielder would not be necessary to quell an impotent attack.

Nov. 23

Ajax vs. Real Madrid – 2:30 PM on Fox Deportes and DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD) (delayed at 5:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

Nov. 24

Panathinaikos vs. FC Barcelona – 2:30 PM on Fox Deportes (delayed at 5:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

Valencia vs. Bursaspor – 2:30 PM on DirecTV channel 485 (485-1 for HD)

UEFA Champions League

While Real Madrid and Barcelona can earn their spots into the knockout round with wins against AC Milan and FC København, respectively, and will likely qualify even without victories in Matchday 4, Valencia does not have that margin of error as they play their reverse fixture against Rangers on Tuesday night.

Ever since Barcelona surged in the second half against Valencia to turn a 0-1 match into a 2-1 victory for los culés, Valencia has not won in La Liga or the Champions League.  Their only win during this period was a 0-3 first leg win in the Copa del Rey against Segunda División B side UD Logroñés, who were founded only one year ago.

With Manchester United likely garnering the three points against pointless Bursaspor in Turkey, Valencia and Rangers will fight it out for second position in the group, and if the first match between these two clubs is any barometer of future happenings, Valencia cannot afford to play less than their “A” game if they want to record a win over their Scottish rivals.

Criticism has rained down on trainer Unai Emery despite their fourth place position in La Liga because of Emery’s supposed conservatism when it comes to formation and tactics.  Juan Mata certainly has not helped Emery’s cause, as his poor form has relegated the Spanish international to the substitute’s bench in favor of Vicente Rodríguez.  Emery will have to open up their play against Rangers, as they should expect the men from Glasgow to play defensively and break on the few counter-attacking opportunities they will fashion against Valencia.

While Rangers will likely not completely sit back in their own half as they did against Manchester United when they came out of Old Trafford with an admirable 0-0 draw, they will not be as cavalier as they were at Ibrox when they drew with Valencia 1-1, a match Rangers should have won.

Valencia should be extra wary of Rangers because they lost their 100% record in the Scottish Premier League when Inverness Caledonian Thistle striker Eric Odhiambo equalized in the 81st minute and handed Rangers its first draw of the season.  The match was the classic “look ahead” match, as Rangers probably had one eye on their game at the Mestalla against Valencia and did not fully focus on Inverness.  Rangers will definitely have their full attention against Valencia, and this match should produce fireworks on both ends of the pitch.

Nov. 2

Valencia vs. Rangers – 3:30 PM on Fox Soccer Plus HD

FC København vs. FC Barcelona – 3:30 PM on Fox Deportes and DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD)

Nov. 3

AC Milan vs. Real Madrid – 3:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD

UEFA Europa League

Villarreal and Sevilla look comfortable in their groups to earn their spots into the final thirty-two of the Europa League, but the two Madrid clubs, Getafe and Atlético Madrid, have the most to lose on Matchday 4.

Getafe has only earned three points from three matches, and they sit six points behind group leaders Stuttgart and three points behind second place Young Boys.  With Odense as the whipping boys of this group, Young Boys will likely win in their reverse fixture against Odense, which would give the Bern club nine points.  If this scenario occurs, it is almost imperative that Getafe win their home match against Stuttgart on Thursday to have any chance of surviving to the next stage of the Europa League.

For Atlético Madrid, they are in the tightest group of the twelve in the Europa League, as Bayer Leverkusen leads the group with five points, Aris and Atlético trailing by only one on four points, and last place Rosenborg only two behind on three points.

Atlético will travel nearly 3,000 kilometers to Trondheim to face Rosenborg on Thursday evening, and the rain/snow conditions forecasted for that evening will affect Atlético’s slick passing game.  Atlético has fallen off since their terrific beginning, when los colchoneros almost began to believe they had a chance to compete for the La Liga title.  Atlético’s fans, the fatalists/pessimists that they are, believed that too much good was happening, and that soon the suffering would return, and it has.  Diego Forlán’s World Cup hangover persists, and Sergio Agüero, who has been stellar this season, cannot keep himself healthy for a string of games.

Los rojiblancos should be wary of Rosenborg, even though they handled them easily 3-0 at the Vicente Calderón on Matchday 3 because Rosenborg has already won the Norwegian Premier League a couple of weeks ago, so they have turned all their energy into qualification for the first knockout round of the Europa League.  Whereas Steffen Iversen, Rade Prica, and Per Skjelbred looked ordinary against Atlético in Madrid, they play much better at home, where they have not lost all season in their domestic league and won their only home match in the group stage thus far, a 2-1 win over Aris.

Nov. 4

Rosenborg vs. Atlético Madrid – 1:55 PM on DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD)

PAOK vs. Villarreal – 1:55 PM on DirecTV channel 483 (483-1 for HD)

Getafe vs. Stuttgart – 4:00 PM on DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD)

Sevilla vs. Karpaty Lviv – 4:00 PM on DirecTV channel 483 (483-1 for HD)

UEFA Champions League

If judging by current form at this very minute, Real Madrid might be playing the best football in Europe.  After their opening few matches where they could not kick the ball into the Mediterranean Sea, their ten goal outburst against Deportivo La Coruña and Málaga in their last two matches shows signs that the squad is starting to meld together under the José Mourinho system and tactics.  While many would hardly consider those two teams as world-beaters, Real Madrid’s confidence will be put to the test when they host seven-time European Cup champions AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday evening.

The AC Milan team that Real Madrid played twice in the group stage last season looks completely different than the one with whom they will clash on Tuesday.  Leonardo no longer coaches Milan, and current trainer Massimiliano Allegri has brought a more offensive system to the rossoneri.  Whereas Ronaldinho and Clarence Seedorf provided passes for Marco Borriello and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to finish Milan moves, owner Silvio Berlusconi added über-talented and want-away stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho from FC Barcelona and Manchester City respectively to join Alexandre Pato up front.  Ibrahimovic and Robinho both have chips on their shoulder with the way that both exited from their former teams, and while Milan will be considered the underdog in this matchup, the two matches against Real should be contested at a much more even level than last season.

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.

Oct. 19

Real Madrid vs. AC Milan – 2:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD and Fox Deportes

Oct. 20

FC Barcelona vs. FC København – 2:30 PM on Fox Deportes (delayed at 5:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

Rangers vs. Valencia – 2:30 PM on DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD) (delayed Thursday at 12:30 AM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

UEFA Europa League

While none of the Spanish teams face dire consequences in their groups if they suffer losses on Matchday 3 of the Europa League, Atlético Madrid needs a win the most of the four because they have not won a match in the group stage this season.  Whether consciously or unconsciously, Quique Sánchez Flores’ team has not shown its fullest effort in the Europa League while conversely focusing on league play.  Last season, Atlético Madrid provided their best performances in the Europa League knockout stage because their domestic campaign floundered in mediocrity and they did not play in the group stage of the Europa League, having qualified for the Champions League group stage.

Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and other European teams in the past few years have deemphasized the Europa League to center their attentions on a high league finish and qualify for the pinnacle of European football, the UEFA Champions League.  While los colchoneros have not sent out under-strength teams littered with youth academy players, the effort displayed by those who have played against Bayer Leverkusen and Aris clearly showed a disconnect between domestic and European responsibilities.  Atlético should not underestimate Rosenborg, who has a decent European pedigree and carried the Norwegian torch in Europe for the past decade and a half.  Even though all four Spanish teams find themselves three points behind their group leaders, Atlético Madrid arguably plays in the toughest group of the four, and another loss could force them to have to win their final three group matches to advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League.

Oct. 21

Karpaty Lviv vs. Sevilla – 12:55 PM on DirecTV channel 483 (483-1 for HD)

Stuttgart vs. Getafe – 12:55 PM on Gol TV HD

Villarreal vs. PAOK – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD)

Atlético Madrid vs. Rosenborg – 3:00 PM on Gol TV HD

Can Unai Emery lead Valencia to their first title since 2004 when Rafael Benítez steered the ship at the Mestalla to their second title in three years?

Through the first six rounds in La Liga, Valencia CF led the way at the top of the ladder with sixteen points, one point ahead of Villarreal, two points ahead of Real Madrid, and three points ahead of FC Barcelona.  Along with Real Madrid, Valencia remained only one of two teams still undefeated in the league, and the early murmurs among the Spanish press signaled that Barcelona and Real Madrid would not run away from the others as they did last season.

Valencia’s surprising start has less with whom they lost in the summer and rather with what they gained in those absences.  The club earned a total of €84.2 million in transfer fees, with headliners David Villa garnering €40 million and David Silva €30 million.  €22.7 million of the €84.2 million went into buying players to replace those sold, including a new strike force in Aritz Aduriz and Roberto Soldado and reinforcements in the midfield Mehmet Topal and Tino Costa.  The rest of the money went toward scaling down the massive debt that the club continually increased over the past decade.

How did Valencia maneuver itself to owing €550 million to various creditors?

Click here to see a significant chunk of that debt. Without securing the sale of the current Mestalla, then-President Juan Bautista Soler gave approval to the construction of the Nou Mestalla, a 75,000 seat, state-of-the-art stadium that would compete with the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu for revenues and the hosting of European finals.  Building of the stadium halted in February 2009 when the funds went dry, and the Nou Mestalla currently sits as the white elephant in Valencia as a symbol of financial irresponsibility.

As with most of the high-profile European clubs, player and manager wages accounted for a substantial part of the budget.  As late as the 2008-09 season, Valencia’s player wages outweighed their total revenue earned throughout that campaign.

The ghost of Ronald Koeman still haunts the Mestalla, even though he was sacked in April of 2008 after a disastrous campaign that saw the two-time champions mired in a relegation battle when Valencia made the change.  Even though his previous stints as manager with Ajax, Benfica, and PSV Eindhoven brought little compared to expectations, Valencia felt Koeman would fare better than Quique Sánchez Flores, who was a mere four points off the top spot when Flores received his pink slip in October 2008.  As part of the deal to bring in Koeman from PSV, one of the clauses stated that if Valencia qualified for the UEFA Champions League in the three seasons following Koeman’s move, Valencia would pay PSV €1 million.

Despite earning a Champions League berth by finishing third last season long after Valencia fired Koeman, the clause still applied, so the total expenditure on the transfer, appointment, and discharge of the former Barcelona great stood at €2.8 million.

(On a side note, AZ Alkmaar did not learn from prior history because they took a chance on Koeman after Louis van Gaal left following their first Eredivisie crown since 1981 to become the manager of Bayern Munich.  Koeman was gone in December after floundering in mid-table.)

All these financial transgressions transpired throughout the course of the past few years, and yet they had a chance to legitimize their credentials as a top-table team on Saturday against an FC Barcelona that has looked less than their absolute best in La Liga.

Valencia’s early season schedule has not been the most strenuous, and against Atlético Madrid, their toughest opponent in their first six matches, they squeaked out a 1-1 draw late, even though Valencia virtually controlled the entire match.

Against Manchester United in the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson looked happy to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Mestalla and sat back while Valencia kept a large majority of the possession.  Valencia could not capitalize on the chances they created, and the one decent opportunity that Manchester United had, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández buried the ball into the back of the net in the final quarter of the match to hand the Red Devils the three points and temporary control of the group.

If Valencia were to further Barça’s shocking woes at the Camp Nou, Los Che would need the courage to press Barcelona, close the margin of possession that Barcelona typically has against their opponents, and convert on their scoring opportunities.  In the first half, Valencia accomplished the first two objectives, but while they did score a goal to lead at halftime, they missed a promising opening at the end of the half to double their advantage and further plant seeds of doubt and panic into a Barcelona team that has hardly had to deal with such emotions since Pep Guardiola took over the club in the summer of 2008.

The opening forty-five minutes played out as though both team switched uniforms because Valencia scoured the pitch with a penchant for suffocating defensive pressure, an ability to recover possession quickly once it was lost, and an assuredness with the ball when they had possession, whereas Barcelona almost planned to sit back in their own half of the pitch and break on the counter-attack.  A strange combination of nervous murmuring and breathless hush enveloped the Culés in the Camp Nou, as Valencia seemed to have all the answers.

After Pablo Hernández opened the scoring in the 38th minute, they fashioned an even better opportunity to add a second three minutes later.  Éver Banega, the influential playmaker who made his first appearance in a month because of an ankle injury, fought down the right wing with two Barça players to slide the ball to Roberto Soldado at the right edge of the penalty area.  Soldado slid it across to Pablo in the middle of the penalty area, and with the whole left side of the goal open, Pablo tried to fool Víctor Valdés and go behind him to the right near post, but Valdés was up to the task and parried it out for a corner kick.

From that moment forward, Barcelona took over the match with a gusto and innovative flair that had been absent in the early days of this season.  Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández’s one-two that mesmerized four Valencia players accounted for the equalizer two minutes into the second half.

David Villa, wanting to shine badly against his former team although he played that down during the week, provided a pinpoint squared ball across the six-yard box that would have been a tap-in for Iniesta on the left back post if Jordi Alba had not somehow cleared it over his own crossbar from three yards out.  Another Iniesta through ball scythed the Valencia back line and sent Villa free for a one-on-one with César Sánchez, which César won by taking the ball away from Villa’s foot as Villa made his final move to try to get around César in the penalty area.

Carles Puyol, of all people, scored what turned out to be the game-winner after Xavi sent in another accurate cross from the right wing, and Valencia never really looked as though they could re-gather themselves enough to mount a serious challenge at squaring the match.

2-1 fulltime, and Barcelona found the invigoration and elixir that should propel them to boost their season.

Should this loss discourage Valencia?  Absolutely not.  Barcelona outplayed them in the second half and deserved to win the match, and when the superior team plays at its best, all Valencia can do is shake their hands and say, “Good match.”  Despite the talent they had to sell before this campaign, Valencia is a solid bet to finish in the top four.  Their title credentials, however, took a big hit with this loss to Barcelona on Saturday.

One match out of thirty-eight this might have been, and teams have won championships when they have not fared well against the established top two or three teams, but in their three most stringent tests in all competitions, Los Che have come out with one point out of nine.  As Valencia president Manuel Llorente stated:

“Now we are going to Barcelona at a good time, with a high rank and a different team from previous years.  We have a squad with a high capacity to work and it gives us enormous options.”

With Valencia at the top of the table and Barcelona under par in comparison to their normal high standards, Valencia played Barcelona at the perfect time, and through forty-four minutes, the confidence from within the organization was justified.  Championship contenders, however, put away teams when they have a foot on the throat, and Valencia enabled Barcelona to slither away from that foot and counter that threat with an attack of their own.  Valencia could not respond to Barcelona’s challenge.

Manuel Llorente announced that Valencia cut their overflowing debt from €550 million to €400 million, and manager Unai Emery and he are leading this historic team in the right direction.  In a couple of years, with more of this fiscal responsibility and outstanding play on the pitch, Valencia will contend for titles as they did in the first half of the 2000s decade, but for now, their goals should center on maintaining a top four finish and steady progression in the Champions League.

Fueras de Juego

- Cristiano Ronaldo scored two and assisted in two goals as Real Madrid rolled over a potentially dangerous Málaga side 1-4.  José Mourinho is known for building up players to stratospheric heights.  At Chelsea, he declared Frank Lampard the best player in the world.  At Inter Milan, Mourinho trumpeted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the most indispensable striker in world football.  At Real Madrid, Mourinho has done the same for Ronaldo, saying that it was clear to him that he is number one in the world with Lionel Messi number two.  The confidence shown by Mourinho to Ronaldo, even when Ronaldo found it hard to score in the opening matches of the season, now has come to fruition in the last few games, and expect more destruction from Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid as they look poised to dethrone Barcelona in La Liga.

- Espanyol defeated Mallorca 0-1 at the Iberostar Stadium despite the ejection of Pablo Osvaldo late in the first half to rise to sixth in the table.  The “other” team from Barcelona might be the most anonymous team in Spain, and in the eye of no one’s radar, their six goals scored in seven matches with an overall goal difference of -3 has los periquitos as the surprise team so far this season.

- In each of the ten stadia that held La Liga matches this weekend, they had a minute of silence prior to their matches in honor of Atlético Madrid legend Juan Carlos Arteche, who died from cancer on Wednesday night.  The Atlético hard man in central defense terrorized strikers in the 1980s with his physical style and “questionable” tackling, but he might best be known as a man that took a serious disliking to former Atleti president Jesús Gil, so much so that he retired at a relatively young age of 32 due to his conflicts with Gil.  Any man who stood up to the controversial, authoritarian, and misanthropic Gil was a brave man, and courage was never lacking with Arteche.  Rest in peace, Juan Carlos Arteche.

The façade of the University of Salamanca is one of the preeminent examples of Plateresque, noted by its ornate and detailed ornamentation of Spanish Baroque architecture.

Spain limps into their second Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania, as injuries forced five of their usual call-ups from participating in La Furia Roja’s two upcoming fixtures.  Cèsc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, Pedro Rodríguez, and Jesús Navas all have different knocks and nicks, but the man that Vicente del Bosque will miss the most is the conductor of both FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Xavi Hernández.

The Spanish press has been badgering the squad about the absence of Xavi, and understandably, they have been on the defensive.  Carlos Marchena believes that Spain is not overdependent on Xavi, and Gerard Piqué stated that while Xavi is an irreplaceable cog to the Spanish machine, players like Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, and Andrés Iniesta can replace him for this short stretch.

Spain will host Lithuania on Friday at the Estadio El Helmántico in Salamanca, and with its capacity hovering just over 17,000 spectators, the stadium chosen by the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) shows that the federation does not consider this qualifier as a grade A matchup.  Vicente del Bosque and the players, however, insist that they are not taking Lithuania lightly, saying all the right statements to diffuse any notion that Spain is merely dismissing this match as a walkover.

They should not overlook Lithuania because they have been unbeaten in their two qualifiers, holding Scotland to a 0-0 draw and coming away with a 0-1 surprise in the Czech Republic against the team many consider the second favorite in Group I.  La Liga followers will most recognize Marius Stankevicius, a versatile defender who played for Sevilla on loan last season and is currently on loan to Valencia this season.

Lithuania will rely on their veteran leadership of their captain and all-time leading goal-scorer Tomas Danilevicius, who has scored a respectable nineteen goals in fifty-nine appearances for the national team, the rock in central defense and all-time cap leader Andrius Skerla, and the creative and hard-working orchestrator in the middle of the field Edgaras Cesnauskis.

For what it is worth, Spain has won three of their four prior meetings against Lithuania, the one being a draw at Lithuania during the 2006 World Cup qualification.  Especially away from home, Lithuania will flood their own half with all ten outfield players and try to keep a clean sheet while capitalizing on the one or two counter-attacks Spain will afford them.  Vicente del Bosque has experimented with a 4-4-2 formation without Xavi available, featuring Fernando Llorente and David Villa up front.  On paper, Spain should have no problem against a team that has some decent credentials, but Lithuania will carry the confidence from defeating the Czech Republic in Olomouc, and whenever there is little space in which to work, Spain will find it hard to scythe Lithuania’s disciplined and organized defense and midfield.

The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and include the pregame pleas­antries.

Oct. 8

Spain vs. Lithuania – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Injuries forced Vicente del Bosque to alter his standard squad for Spain’s forthcoming Euro 2012 fixtures against Lithuania on Friday and Scotland on Tuesday.  Xavi Hernández is suffering from tendinitis, Cesc Fábregas has an ankle injury, Jesús Navas is dealing with a thigh strain, Fernando Torres limped off against Blackpool on Sunday with a groin problem and Pedro Rodríguez sustained a hamstring injury on Saturday against Mallorca.

Del Bosque rewarded Villarreal and Valencia for their stellar starts to the campaign by calling up four players to replace the injured, two from each team, that rarely receive an invitation to the national team squad.  While Santi Cazorla, Carlos Marchena, and Joan Capdevila from Villarreal are regulars on the national team, del Bosque also included Bruno Soriano, a no-nonsense defensive midfielder with one cap to his name, and Borja Valero, a creative playmaker who will make his maiden voyage in international football with the Spanish national team.

From Valencia, del Bosque recalled Pablo Hernández, who has not made an appearance for La Furia Roja since scoring in a friendly against Austria in November 2009, and gave Aritz Aduriz, a physical center forward similar to Fernando Llorente, his first call-up to the national team.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Nacho Monreal

Midfielders: Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Bruno Soriano, Santi Cazorla, Borja Valero, Pablo Hernández, David Silva

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Aritz Aduriz

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.

UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid’s offensive woes will not be aided when they travel to the Stade de l’Abbé Deschamps on Tuesday and face an Auxerre squad who gave up the fewest goals in Ligue 1 last season with a meager 29.  While Auxerre’s form has not carried over to this current season, where they have not won in Ligue 1 while conceding ten in seven matches, expect the Burgundy outfit to pack it in the midfield and play with ten behind the ball throughout the vast majority of the match.  Karim Benzema will start for José Mourinho as he will hope to provide an extra spark that Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín, and co. have not lit consistently this campaign.

FK Rubin Kazan made their club known throughout Europe not only by winning back-to-back Russian Premier League titles in 2008 and 2009 but also by stealing three points away from then-defending champions FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the group stage of last season’s edition of the UEFA Champions League.  Both teams have been drawn again into the same group, and Rubin Kazan will host Barcelona at the Tsentralnyi Stadion in the early Wednesday match.

Rubin Kazan has won all their league matches in September to somewhat keep pace with Zenit St. Petersburg at the top of the Russian Premier League, but this focus to catch Zenit caught them in their first group stage match, when in a match bereft of any real quality, FC København talisman Dame N’Doye headed the winner in the 87th minute to give his team all three points.  Manager Gurban Berdiýew will have to rub his rosary beads harder than usual to come up with another shock against Barcelona, but besides the divine inspiration he will seek, Berdiýew will have the advantage of a Barcelona team that will have to travel thousands of miles to Tatarstan and possibly without Lionel Messi, although reports suggest Messi may be listed on the substitutes’s bench.

In one of the best matches of Matchday 2, Manchester United will travel to the Mestalla to play a Valencia team who currently tops the table in La Liga, unbeaten in five matches and winning four.  While Rangers held Manchester United to a dour 0-0 draw, Valencia went to Turkey and taught Champions League newcomers Bursaspor a European lesson with a 0-4 thrashing at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium.

The Red Devils will start the match without Wayne Rooney as Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to rest him against Valencia following their 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers on Sunday.  Rooney suffered a knock to his ankle during the match, and combined with his poor performances throughout the summer and the current Barclays Premier League season alongside the revelations of his sordid private life, Sir Alex felt that staying behind in Manchester would be the best move for both Rooney and Manchester United.

Valencia wants to extend their outstanding form against United, and for the last few matches, Los Che have been without their influential midfielder Éver Banega, who sprained his ankle against Racing de Santander early in Valencia’s second match of the season.  In Banega’s absence, new signings Mehmet Topal and Tino Costa filled in perfectly and kept the Valencia Experience a constantly smooth ride.  No one will convincingly make an argument that Valencia is a better team without David Villa and David Silva, and while Valencia lost a shade of flair and fantasy with their departures, they have sured up the midfield and defense and have become a more efficient team.  Not necessarily sexy but effective as their record indicates.

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.

Sept. 28

Auxerre vs. Real Madrid – 2:30 PM on Fox Sports en Español and DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD) (delayed at 5:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

Sept. 29

FK Rubin Kazan vs. FC Barcelona – 12:25 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD and Fox Sports en Español

Valencia vs. Manchester United – 2:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD and Fox Sports en Español

UEFA Europa League

Two of the four matches in Matchday 2 of the UEFA Europa League involve a Spain vs. Germany showdown.  A struggling Sevilla who underwent a managerial change after their 2-0 to Hércules will go to the Signal Iduna Park, better known as the Westfalenstadion to face a Borussia Dortmund club who have won five of their six Bundesliga matches and trail the surprising leaders Mainz by three points.

The other España – Alemania clash involves Bayer Leverkusen playing trophy holders Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón, where both teams’ ambitions in their respective leagues include upgrading to the Champions League for next season while maintaining interest in the Europa League.  Patrick Helmes will be the key figure as he tries to convince manager Jupp Heynkces that he deserves more than spot starts up front with Stefan Kießling.  Helmes will likely start for Leverkusen after his hat trick guided the boys from the Rhine to an easy 4-0 win over Rosenborg on Matchday 1.

Atlético Madrid will need to sharpen their European game after they played distracted in their 0-1 loss at Aris in their opening match of the group stage.  Los colchoneros might have had an eye on the following match against Barcelona when they lost to Aris, and with a key match against Sevilla this upcoming weekend, Atlético will fight those same demons to stay on the path and focus on a strong German team that looks like a serious contender for the Europa League trophy come May.

Sept. 30

Borussia Dortmund vs. Sevilla – 12:55 PM on DirecTV channel 481 (481-1 for HD)

Villarreal vs. Club Brugge – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 482 (482-1 for HD)

Atlético Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen – 3:00 PM on Gol TV HD

Unfortunately, the BSC Young Boys – Getafe match at the Stade de Suisse will not be shown on US TV.

The Castle of Santa Bárbara, standing sentry on top of a mountain peak in the center of Alicante, finds it origins in the 9th century during Arab rule.

La Liga clubs spent a week on vacation after the opening round of fixtures because of the international FIFA date, although for Real Madrid and Barcelona, many of their players were on international duty.  In particular, ten players from Barcelona and six players from Real Madrid traveled to Buenos Aires midweek for the Argentina – Spain friendly.  No one will feel sorry for them, especially the teams they will face this weekend.

Hércules, promoted from the Segunda División this season, made huge splashes in the transfer market, if not by outrageous sums of money but by well-known, veteran footballers.  David Trezeguet from Juventus, Nelson Haedo Valdez from Borussia Dortmund, and Royston Drenthe from Real Madrid signed for the Alicante club because they believe in the Hércules project, headed by chairman and renowned builder Valentín Botella and manager Esteban Vigo.

Although they lost a tight 0-1 match at home against Athletic Bilbao in Round 1, none of their star signings played in the match, and Fernando Llorente’s goal from a set-piece at the beginning of the second half was due to a defensive mistake that Esteban Vigo adamantly stated would never happen again.  They will travel up the Mediterranean coast to Barcelona into the cauldron of the Camp Nou for the early Saturday night kickoff, and even though no one expects them to pull off an astonishing upset, the experience of the new transfers should help in alleviating the anxieties of the majority of the Hércules players who have never played in front of such a large crowd.

Other intriguing matches this weekend include Osasuna visiting the Santiago Bernabéu where they nearly derailed Real Madrid’s chances of catching Barcelona at the tail end of the season when they took two different leads against Los Merengues but failed to secure any points when Cristiano Ronaldo headed his second goal of the match to pull Madrid out of the fire and earn the 3-2 win.

Athletic Bilbao hosts the hottest team in La Liga, Atlético Madrid, in the late Saturday kickoff.  Atlético deservedly captured the UEFA Super Cup against Inter Milan, and three days later, with many of the same players that started against Inter, crushed Sporting Gijón 4-0 to top the table after Jornada 1.  José Jurado, in what turned out to be his farewell match for the club, scored the opening goal in the eleventh minute, and after he came off in the 78th minute for Simão Sabrosa, the crowd at the Vicente Calderón gave Jurado a standing ovation because they knew he would be leaving.  He finalized a deal the following day to join Schalke 04 for €13 million, joining Christoph Metzelder and Raúl from Real Madrid to the Gelsenkirchen outfit.

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.

Sept. 11

Valencia vs. Racing de Santander – 11:45 on DirecTV channel 477

FC Barcelona vs. Hércules – 11:55 AM on Gol TV HD

Real Madrid vs. Osasuna – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Athletic Bilbao vs. Atlético Madrid – 3:55 PM on Gol TV HD

Sept. 12

Sporting Gijón vs. Mallorca – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 477

Real Zaragoza vs. Málaga – 10:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Villarreal vs. Espanyol – 12:55 PM on Gol TV HD

Sevilla vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 2:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Sept. 13

Almería vs. Real Sociedad – 2:55 PM on DirecTV channel 477

Unfortunately, the Getafe – Levante match at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez will not be shown on US TV.

UEFA Champions League

The group stage of the UEFA Champions League proper commences in this coming midweek, and Spain will only have three participants at this point of the competition for the first time since 2006.  Barcelona will host Panathinaikos on Tuesday night in a match that will see Panathinaikos play conservatively and on the counter-attack.  Surpise Turkish Süper Lig champions Bursaspor will welcome a new-look Valencia that no longer has David Villa, David Silva, or Carlos Marchena among others but has brought in Mehmet Topal from Galatasaray, the 24-year-old defensive midfielder that has played against Bursaspor in his time in Istanbul, and a new strike force in Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz.

Wednesday evening pits two of the most successful teams in UEFA Champions League/European Cup history as nine-time winners Real Madrid hosts four-time winners Ajax at the Santiago Bernabéu.  Both teams will want to recapture past glories as neither has been relevant in this competition for a few years.  Real Madrid has not advanced past the first knockout round since 2004, and Ajax has not been in the group stage of the Champions League since 2006 and has not earned their way to the quarterfinals since 2003.

Sept. 14

FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos – 2:30 PM on Fox Sports en Español and DirecTV channel 481 (481-1 for HD)

Bursaspor vs. Valencia – 2:30 PM on DirecTV channel 484 (484-1 for HD)

Sept. 15

Real Madrid vs. Ajax – 2:30 PM on Fox Sports en Español (delayed at 5:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel HD)

UEFA Europa League

The UEFA Europa League also commences in the midweek, and title holders Atlético Madrid will fly to the Greek coast in Thessaloniki to face Aris Salonika and La Liga veteran coach Héctor Cúper, whose last job in Spain was with Real Betis in the 2007-08 season when he was sacked in December of that season.

In one of the most engaging matches of the opening group stage fixtures, Sevilla hosts Paris Saint-Germain at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.  After the humiliation of taking the parachute to the Europa League at the hands of Sporting Braga in the UEFA Champions League playoff round, Sevilla enters a competition where they have been quite successful, winning consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007.  Manager Antonio Álvarez’s leash has become shorter and shorter, and any negative results in the next month or two could lead to his immediate firing.

Note: DirecTV has not set their schedule for the first collection of group stage matches, but as soon as they do, this column will be updated as soon as possible.

Sept. 16

Aris Salonika vs. Atlético Madrid – 12:45 PM on DirecTV channel 481 (481-1 for HD)

Dinamo Zagreb vs. Villarreal - 12:45 PM on DirecTV channel 483 (483-1 for HD)

Getafe vs. Odense – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 487 (487-1 for HD)

Sevilla vs. Paris Saint-Germain – 3:00 PM on Gol TV HD