I’ve been away for a few months sorting-out some things in my personal life, but your WFD La Liga Blogger is back, XOXO. Did I really just XOXO? This week in the world’s best league (hint …. La Liga BBVA) felt more gossipy than business-end. In case you missed it, Justin Bieber attended and participated in practice at FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi joined the Facebook community netting 7 million+ friends. Also, “The Lion King” Fernando Llorente swatted away rumors prior to Athletic Bilbao’s 0-3 loss to Real Madrid that he is not headed to Madrid in the summer; this being great news to Athletic since Llorente is the best person on the planet to lead the line of a José Mourinho coached team. This lets me sleep easier when I consider that the money Madrid used to buy Kaka could have brought in Llorente, Javi Martinez, and Ashely Cole. Not that they were for sale.
One of my last pieces in December before my hiatus was about the silliness of trying to figure-out which of the top four leagues in Europe is the best. After Sporting Gijon’s 0-1 defeat of Real Madrid in Madrid and then Madrid’s drubbing of Tottenham in the UEFA Champion’s League, I have to reconsider. I know Crouchie got sent-off at the Bernabéu, but 4-0? That’s a beating. Throw-in what Villarreal is doing in the Europa League, La Liga is the best. I’ll eat my words if Manchester United or Chelsea beat Barca or Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final, but do you see that happening? La Liga deserves it’s due.
In desperation, Almeria sacked Jose Luis Oltra and appointed Roberto Olabe. I am not a fan of sacking multiple coaches in a season. A club going down can be made worse by the stench of blame. But hey, that’s just me. If new coach bounces were so vital, why not sack your coach 38 times? Almeria should have kept Juan Manuel Lillo who gave Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola much of his tactical education while Lillo coached Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa. Then again, losing to Barca 3-1 this week is better than the 0-8 thrashing that Almeria took from Barca in November under Lillo that got him fired. Nevertheless, he should have stayed.
So what else happened this week?
Athletic 0-3 Real Madrid | Kaká (p14' & p54'), Ronaldo (70')
Barcelona 3-1 Almeria | Messi (p53' & 90'), Corona (50'), Thiago (64')
Mallorca 2-2 Sevilla | Ienaga (16'), Negredo (p31'), De Guzman (42'), Rakitic (68')
Sporting 1-0 Osasuna | Barral (66')
Málaga 0-0 Deportivo | Yucky.
Racing 1-1 Levante | Nano (og 32') Jorda (90')
Hercules 0-0 Espanyol | Yucky again.
Atlético 3-0 R Sociedad | Luis Filipe (12'), Mario Suárez (45'), Agüero (78')
Valencia 5-0 Villarreal | Soldado (14' & 75'), Mata (56' & 73'), Banega (62')
R Zaragoza vs. Getafe | (4/11)
The game I was looking forward to most was Valencia hosting Villarreal, two V-Teams that would finish in most leagues’ top 4. Valencia is known as Los Che (surprise!) and that’s what Villarreal got. It has been truly amazing to see how well they are playing having sold David Villa and David Silva this past summer. I felt so bad for Villarreal, I played peak-a-boo with my 2 year-old at times during the game to hide from their embarrassment.
I didn’t get to do a mid-year review, so here is where things stand in my view.
1. Barcelona | 84 pts | Still on track to be greatest sports team ever.
2. Real Madrid | 76 pts | They win any league in any year except this year’s Barca.
3. Valencia | 60 pts | Impressive demolition of Villarreal to ensure automatic UCL.
4. Villarreal | 54 pts | 2nd half of season, their pace has really slowed-down.
5. Sevilla | 46 pts | Not quite the Sevilla of the last 5-7 years.
6. Athletic | 45 pts | Big, strong, mean, young. UCL next year.
7. Atlético | 45 pts | Are we surprised they underachieved? Déjà vu?
8. Espanyol | 44 pts | When you blood 9 youth players you drop in the 2nd half.
9. Mallorca | 39 pts | Mid-table results with relegation budget.
10. Levante | 39 pts | I am astounded that they are here.
11. Sporting | 38 pts | I love the audacity of Gijonudos (ballsy Gijon).
12. Racing | 37 pts | A few pieces away from Europa League potential … next year.
13. Osasuna | 35 pts | Too touch to go down #1.
14. R Sociedad | 35 pts | Too touch to go down #2.
15. Deportivo | 35 pts | Better get it together soon.
16. Getafe | 34 pts | Hercules & Málaga’s best chance of catching someone.
17. R Zaragoza | 30 pts | I predicted them 17th. Now stay here.
18. Hercules | 30 pts | They have come down to reality.
19. Málaga | 30 pts | With that winter spending, they shouldn’t be here.
20. Almeria | 26 pts | Repeatedly sacking coaches doesn’t work.
In case you forgot, this Saturday (4/16) is El Clásico in what most likely will be four encounters between Barcelona and Madrid. The sad thing is, with Barca having an 8 point lead with 7 games to go and the likely head-to-head tiebreaker, this El Clásico will be more about morbo and momentum for the likely UEFA Champions League tie and Copa del Ray final. In many ways, the El Clásico on Saturday could end-up being one of the least significant El Clásicos in history. That is, unless something truly morbo-ic happens like a pig’s head being tossed on the pitch. We can always wish.
Stephen Kuzner is a Baltimore-based Blogger for WorldFootballDaily.com who specializes in You can reach him on Facebook at facebook.com/BarcaBlogger or Twitter at @BarcaBlogger, or at BarcaBlogger.com.
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