¡Hay Liga! La Liga – Season Preview 2011/12

So here we are and the first jornada of the new La Liga season is upon is; or is it? Well, as you all know, the season was delayed by the strike organised by AFE, the Spanish players’ union, and this leaves us starting with the second matchday’s fixtures. Which makes it fortunate for the league that the matter was resolved in time for this weeks fixtures. The LFP might be a travelling fan’s worst nightmare with their inability to confirm the exact time, or even day, that matches start in any given weekend, but boy!

They will not break-up a matchday and leave teams with games in hand; not even when Barcelona were in action in the European Supercup, nor when they take part in this year’s World Club Championships to win the title they snatched in dramatic style from Argentina’s Estudiantes two years ago. The former matchday 1 will be shoehorned in somewhere; shoeing-in two whole jornadas would probably have meant no winter break, and no turrones for the footballers of La Liga.

We won’t dwell too much on the strike, other than to go through some of the main points. Eventually on the Thursday, the league (LFP) acquiesced to the players demands. This had nothing to do with the conditions of superstar players, but they showed solidarity with those further down the chain. Given the unequal TV deal that sees Madrid and Barcelona take a huge majority of the league’s TV income for themselves alone (Third-placed Valencia, a big club in their own right made something akin to West Ham- bottom-placed West Ham- last season. Go lower down the league and many of the smaller teams are lucky to pocket €12m a season. And as for the second division…. forget about parachute payments.

There is no sporting penalty in Spain for clubs which enter into administration; for many, it’s a handy way of washing the club’s hands of debts brought on by their own hideous mismanagement. And who suffers from this primarily? The players. Players who have given their all even when going unpaid for months are then told, sorry, but your contracts are worthless; and then paid far less than they were owed. If they get paid at all. And bearing in mind that this hits the smaller teams more often, whose players are on very small money and might have trouble paying their mortgages, this was a farce that had to be ended. Finally, the league agreed to increase the pot held to pay players’ salaries in the event of clubs messing them about, knowingly signing players to deals they can’t afford. It’s a small stepping stone to introducing financial prudence in La Liga; a lot more needs to be done. This will be a point we’ll return to, no doubt, later on this season.

And what a mouth-watering prospect this season is. Ever since the spell where clubs like Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal could make serious assaults on the title (Villarreal coming second in 2008 saw the end of that era), this is arguably the most anticipated season in many. Not because the Madrid/Barcelona duopoly will be broken- but that contest at the top could be very interesting indeed- but because the field below them, arguably even including Valencia, is as wide open as its been in years. The competition for Champions League football and the Europa League spots is going to intense, and hard to predict.

Yes, Málaga’s continued investment is a big part of it. But it’s not the only part; and, potentially, maybe not even the most exciting part either. But it’s impossible to ignore.

When Málaga were rescued from administration just over a year ago, their new owners’ vision was to build something. They didn’t splash silly money before the summer window ended, but brought in 5 players, some young and with potential, to supplement their squad. The problem was that under former Porto coach, Jesualdo Ferreira, and with several injuries they were floundering. So they ditched Ferreira, and brought in the ex-Villarreal and Real Madrid boss, Manuel Pellegrini. And some more players. Injuries were still an issue, and relegation still looking likely when they extended Pellegrini’s contract. Then Julio Baptista, signed over the winter, recovered fitness and started banging them in. Young Venezuelan striker Salomón Rondón was a revelation. Given the tight nature of the league, they finished eleventh in the end, and looking like a pretty good team to boot with their new additions bedded down and first team fit.

The amount of money they’ve spent this summer has caught the eye. No club in Spain outside the big two could make a netspend like that. But this looks to be something bigger than just money. Off the field, they have been equally impressive. With an excellent coach at the helm, they brought in former Sevilla sporting director, Antonio Fernández, This is the same Fernández who brought Sevilla to a level where they could realistically compete with the big boys for the title, to two Europa League titles, all this not long after they’d come up from the second division. It was Fernández who discovered Julio Baptista and one Daniel Alves, as well as Seydou Keita and Adriano, now also at Barcelona. He was the man who brought in the likes of Fredi Kanouté when Tottenham wanted shot, and Luis Fabiano when few in Europe would have touched him. This is a man who knows a thing or two about managing a project. Not only that- they also recruited Fernando Hierro from his post as technical director at the Spanish Football Federation. Hierro, Pellegrini, Fernández… these are all football men, with impeccable track records.

Then of course there are the players. I said that they already had a pretty decent team in the offing. But not with depth. Now they have potentially a very good team at hand. More importantly, they have a squad, and it’s a strong one. All of their purchases look sensible too. They’ve bought youth, one a full Spain international already. They bought experienced old heads. They’ve players at their peak, none more so than Santi Cazorla from Villarreal. Once, a player of his calibre would have ended up at two places- either at Madrid or Barça, or in England. Young Isco of Valencia arrives fresh from underage success with Spain this summer, and Macho Monreal a promising left-back with 5 senior caps came from Osasuna. Argentine Diego Buonanotte is a talented attacker who arrives at a good age, 21, for his first crack at European football. Then of course there are the likes Jérémy Toulalan and Joris Mathijsen, at the peak of their careers; along with one Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the twilight of his, but a player who continues to score goals wherever he plays. Pellegrini has form from his Villarreal days of managing comings and goings of players, and finding the perfect blend of youth and experience. This can only bode well.

Valencia made some shrewd moves in the market, and if at one point it looked likely that Juan Mata was going to stay, his purchases will lessen this defection. Dani Parejo from Getafe was a smart signing, and Pablo Piatti excelled at times for an Almería side who were little other than awful on their way to relegation. They’ve strengthened their goalkeeping options and, crucially, central defence with Adil Rami of French Champions, Lille. Then of course there is the loan signing of Sergio Canales after his year in the wilderness at Real Madrid. This kid has real talent, so it will be interesting to see him getting game time in a good side (even if he can’t play against Real).

Villarreal were definitely weakened by the loss of Cazorla and Joan Capdevila, who departed for Benfica. But, despite serious interest at times from both Barcelona and Juventus, they’ve kept hold of Giuseppe Rossi, along with his strike partner Nilmar, and Borja Valero. Coach Garrido will have to rely again this year on an intake of youngsters from the cantera, but with Villarreal’s B team the only playing in the second division (along with Barcelona), there is much promise to be mined there. Their only two money signings of the summer were Javier Camuñas from Osasuna and they pacey Colombia central defender-cum-right back Cristian Zapata of Udinese. Despite enduring a nightmare competitive debut where he gave away a winning goal at Odense in the Champions League qualifiers, his pace, power and technique should be a boon in La Liga after impressing for several seasons in Serie A.

But, outside of the top two and Málaga, the arrival that has generated most excitement isn’t a player. No; it’s the arrival of former Chile and Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao. It looked like he might have taken the Internazionale job earlier this summer, and despite the intrigue of seeing what he might achieve at a club with big resources, this could prove to be a much better fit for El Loco.

He arrives at a good moment for Bilbao. Long famed for their direct style which their last boss Juan Caporrós was happy to abide by, they are also blessed with a generation of young technical players to support the excellent Fernando Llorente up front, including the wonder Iker Munain. Ander Herrera, another promising underage international arrived from Zaragoza. There are pros and cons to this job for Bielsa. The biggest pro is that, in many ways, his rigorous style is far better suited to club management; something which makes his international achievements more impressive. The one black mark on his CV was the failure of 2002 with Argentina which can largely be attributed to the poor physical condition of many of his key players, which mitigated against his high-energy style in a big way. Going down 1-0 against an England rearguard action following a penalty won through a blatant Michael Owen dive didn’t help either. Blessed with the players at his disposal day in day out, and young talented minds to mould, he can realistically achieve a level of cohesion that would take a year- or even a couple of years- with a national side.

The downside, of course is that Bilbao’s policy makes bringing in new players a challenge, and fatigue and injuries could take a toll as they compete on two fronts. As for his much beloved 3-3-1-3 formation, Bielsa remains a pragmatist. Three at the back is very useful against the twin-striker formations common in South America, but he has shifted to playing a back four when faced with more European-style 4-2-3-1s, and has used four at the back for the most part in their preparation matches and in training. With his emphasis on playing a high-tempo pressing game camped in the opposing half, there could even be echoes of Sevilla at their peak if they manage to hit the ground running.

But there was, of course, one big name and very exciting signing made late this week. Atlético Madrid finally invested some of their windfall from Kun Aguero and David De Gea to bring in Radamel Falcão García and the promising attacking midfielder Rúben Micael for a combined €46m from FC Porto. Earlier moves saw them bring in the highly rated Arda Turan from Galatasaray and Sílvio of Braga, alongside Gabi of Zaragoza. Finally, former underage starlet Dani Pacheco was drafted in on loan from Liverpool, although they missed out on Espanyol’s Pablo Osvaldo, who joins Luís Enrique’s BarçaRoma revolution in Italy.

The picture suddenly looks a lot brighter for new boss Gregorio Manzano. As a man who believes in building team unity, the departure of one superstar in Aguero and likely move of another (Diego Forlán looking set for Inter), he has a great opportunity to construct anew here. Much will be expected of Falcão, and fortunately here there is much more to the forward’s game than we saw at Porto; where he was asked to play a limited game, holding his position up front to showcase his finishing and sublime heading ability while the rest of the team harried and pressed. With the excellent José Antonio Reyes approaching something close to his Sevilla and early Arsenal form in recent years, they have potential.

Of the others, we expect that bottom half of the table to be just as tigh t- if not tighter! – than last year. The promoted sides all look set to struggle, although Granada continue to benefit from being a dumping ground of promising, young Udinese talent farmed out on loan for development. Sevilla made a smart move in buying Martin Cáceres outright from Barcelona and also good (and decent signings) like Emir Saphic (Montpellier); Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg); Manu de Moral (Getafe); and Coke (Rayo). Under new coach Marcelino, and with last season’s revelation in the run-in, Ivan Rakitic here for his first full season, they can benefit from their early exit in the Europa League.

And that leaves us with the big two. Most of you will already know the comings and goings here, and many more will have caught the enthralling Supercopa clashes between the two over the past fortnight. Several simple things we can say, some of them rather obvious; Real are looking to be a far more coherent unit as José Mourinho enters the second year he always asked to be judged upon. Poor finishing let them down against an understrength Barcelona side they absolutely battered into the first leg, but against a full-strength side they were scarcely less impressive with their aggressive pressing and willingness to attack. That the starting line-up in the first leg (and, bar one change, the second) was the side which were torn apart at the Camp Nou last Autumn tells you a lot about how they are progressing. And Karim Benzema is fit, lean, and looking like the stellar prospect we knew at Lyon.

They have bought little but bought smartly; adding depth to an already impressive squad. Fabio Coentrão came in for big money from Benfica and had an excellent preseason, but not in the roles where most expected him to be tried; instead, he found his home largely on the left of a three man midfield. Raphael Varrane of Lens, stolen from under the nose of Manchester United, is one for the future but physically built for now if called upon. Nuri Sahin of Dortmund is a fantastic passer of the ball from deep, and will make up for the amount of points dropped against lesser sides anytime Xabi Alonso was missing last season, but can also be expected to play alongside Alonso at times. Hamit Altintop and José Callejon, excellent at Espanyol last season add endeavour, purpose and yet more depth.

Depth too has been the watchword at Barcelona, and an acknowledgement of the extreme good fortune they’ve enjoyed with injuries having had such a light squad under Pep Guardiola. It’s no coincidence that their one European failure under Guardiola came when Andrés Iniesta was absent against Inter in 2010. Some observers, mostly in the British isles, have scoffed at the idea of Cesc Fábregas warming the bench. Don’t expect him to; the same was said of Javier Mascherano last year too, yet he played a key role in midfield, centre half, and even at left back as Barcelona claimed a double. Cesc is likely to play a similar amount of games, 35-40, in a season where we can expect Barcelona to exceed the 60 game mark once again. The emergence of Thiago Alcantara makes what was the lightest area of their squad look frighteningly well-stocked. Alexis Sánchez will be bedded in more slowly, and has already show signs that he’s a perfect fit for the Guardiola style. He too will get plenty of action, and his ability to play right across (and indeed, behind) the front three means that Lionel Messi can be rested too.

The gap has narrowed and it’s going to be an epic encounter between these two sides. Don’t bet against them going all the way in the Champions League either.

Jornada 1

Saturday:
Sporting Gijon 1-2 Real Sociedad
Valencia 4-3 Racing Santander
Granada 0-1 Real Betis

Sunday:
Atlético Madrid v Osasuna (13:00 GMT)
Athletic Bilbao v Rayo Vallecano (15:00 GMT)
Getafe v Levante (17:00 GMT)
Mallorca v Espanyol (17:00 GMT)
Zaragoza v Real Madrid (19:00 GMT)
Sevilla v Málaga (21:00 GMT)

Monday:
Barcelona v Villarreal (20:00 GMT)

This article originally appeared in Back Page Football

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The Copa America: the Tabarez legacy

Joseph Sexton reflects on a tournament that saw the emergence of the underdogs, and underperforming super-powers.

Luis Suarez has been one of the great successes of Tabarez's tenure Pic: ©SNS Group

This 43rd Copa América will be remembered for several things.

Some will point to the low goals per game tally, and justifiably highlight some poor games, particularly in the opening two rounds of fixtures. Others will point to the inexorable rise of the continent’s erstwhile underdogs. Nobody epitomised this more than Venezuela and Peru.

Venezuelan football has come a long way in the last 5 years; once the San Marino of region, a country where baseball has long been the national sport, they’ve now shown they have the talent and nous to mix it with the big boys.

Peru came into this tournament off the back of a disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign in which they finished bottom of the pile without a single away point, were shorn of two of their stars and troubled by injuries to those present.

Both will feel confident now of making a real go of qualification for Brazil in 2014, and both embodied the merits of good coaching. For this was also a tournament about the coaches, and fittingly it will go down as one of the crowning glories of Uruguayan boss, Oscar Washington Tabárez’s illustrious career.

Argentina and Brazil both suffered to varying degrees from poor management. Tabárez, on the other hand, has proven a master of maximising the resources at his disposal. It’s worth nothing where Uruguayan football was when he took the helm for a second time in 2006. Uruguay failed to make the World Cup that year; just as they’d failed in 1994 and 1998. The burden of their glorious past weighed down on them, seeming to suffocate the players. Since then Tabárez has revolutionised their youth development. Victory last Sunday proved that last year’s fourth place finish in South Africa was no flash in the pan, and their recent successes at under 17 and under 20 level gives indications that their future is equally secure.

Here was a team that was tactically flexible, that recovered after a slow start to the tournament, and improved game by game. It is this unity and sense of purpose that allowed their superstars, Diego Forlán and Luís Suárez, the platform they need to showcase their brilliance.

Not that either of that pair are work-shy; Forlán got the goals his performances had merited in the final, but is a genuine leader. Suárez is every defender's worst nightmare. A true livewire, gifted with an exceptional ability to play in tight spaces and display sound decision making, he also chases down opposing players as if his life depends upon it. In a summer where some Liverpool fans have been left puzzled at their club’s transfer strategy, here was further confirmation that John Henry’s first signing is a true gem.

Indeed, so evident has the rise of standards been that not even Uruguay- and certainly not Argentina- will take qualification for the World Cup as a given. Tabárez was quick to point this out on Tuesday. “Winning the Copa América has no bearing. We prepared well for this tournament and won it, but now it’s time to look ahead to future challenges”.

“We will remain faithful to our approach. Our scientific studies reflect well on the work we did here. In the qualifiers the travel and different climates present challenges, and when you add to that the determination of fans and teams to make the finals.... this makes it even more competitive than a Copa América. We cannot just say to our rivals ‘Look, we just won the Copa’. The qualifying series is a new chapter”.

For Diego Forlán it was especially sweet. Off the back of his poorest season to date in La Liga, with his club future undecided, and having failed to find the net since South Africa last year before the final, the win and his brace were a vindication. To claim a record 15th Copa América on Argentine soil, become his country’s joint all-time top scorer, and follow in the footsteps of his father and maternal grandfather- both Copa winners in their own day- only added to his delight. “It makes me so proud to follow them, to continue their tradition. It’s not something that happens every day”.

The continent’s two superpowers have been left with much soul-searching to do. Arguably Brazil came consistently closer to getting it right over the course of the tournament. A lack of competitive games to come remains a worry, but Mano Menezes is secure in his position. His commitment to reverse a quarter century-long shift in Brazilian football by introducing a structured passing game in midfield is both admirable and correct, but more work remains to be done.

At times they were crying out for the passing ability of someone like Lazio’s Hernanes, who was again overlooked yesterday in Menezes’ squad for the coming friendly against Germany. Both Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar have a lot to learn at this level, but their progress over the last year shows us they are capable of better than we saw, and we can justifiably expect further improvement.

The machinations in Argentina began in earnest at the weekend. Public anger at the coaching structure, at the AFA and its boss Julio Grondona was palpable. Initially it looked like Grondona would brazenly stick with Sergio Batista; indeed the coach wrote in Clarín before the weekend of his desire to continue his ‘project’.

With the rumour mill in overdrive and elections looming, Grondona made an about turn to quell the unrest. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, it emerged that he’d thrown Batista to the wolves. The same delegates who had rubber stamped his appointment by a margin if 19-1 just months ago voted 16-4 in favour of rescinding his contract. Alejandro Sabella looks set to take the reigns, a choice that would be both shrewd and popular.

The other move was as cynical as it was intriguing. It was announced that the first division would expand to 38 clubs spread across several groups, breaking off into separate promotion and relegation sections in the latter stages. This of course guarantees that fallen giants River Plate will return to the top flight next year, and increases his power base amongst the regional sides. The upside to this is that in the ongoing decentralisation of Argentinian football will gain further impetus, and it’s fair to say this will be the country’s true legacy after a Copa where only the final was staged in Buenos Aires.

Team of the tournament (3-4-3)

Justo Villar (Paraguay); Osvaldo Vizcarrondo (Venezuela), Diego Lugano (Uruguay), Sebastian Coates (Uruguay); Maicon (Brazil), Tomás Rincón (Venezuela), Arturo Vidal (Chile), Álvaro Pereira (Uruguay); Luís Suárez (Uruguay), Paolo Guerrero (Peru), Sergio Aguero (Argentina)

Player of the tournament: Luís Suárez

You can follow Joseph Sexton on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on the STV Sports Blog

Paraguay or Venezuela for Uruguay showdown?

Uruguay are 90 minutes away from their 15th Copa America title [More]

Grandees of Uruguayan football go head to head

Joseph Sexton says the exits of Brazil and Argentina are not the real stories at the Copa America [More]

The Copa America wrap: giants fall to master tacticians

Oscar Tabarez was the brain's behind Uruguay's elimination of hosts Argentina. Pic: © Reuters

The rising standard across the South American continent was a theme touched upon in our preview of this year’s Copa América, but nothing could have prepared us to expect what happened over the weekend.

Argentina exited on penalties to their fierce rivals from across the River Plate. A day later, Brazil exited through the same route against Paraguay. Nobody would have predicted that neither the hosts nor the holders would be present as we enter the semi-finals. And yet it speaks volumes that, in the greater scheme of things, those outcomes were the least shocking that we saw.

Tonight, Peru- the same Peru that finished bottom of the heap in World Cup qualifying without a single away point- will face Uruguay, who finished fourth in that tournament. Tomorrow, Paraguay will take on the vinotinto of Venezuela, who had won just two Copa América matches in their history prior to this years edition. Four very different teams, from very different cultures, hailing from all across the continent. Yet one strand united them all hear; superb management..................


Read the full article here on STV

Brazil bow out in turgid affair, Venezuela pip Chile

Joseph Sexton on quarter finals shocks and penalty cock-ups in the Copa quarter finals [More]

Falcao looks to add to burgeoning reputation

Joseph Sexton's Copa America blog: looking ahead to Saturday's first quarter finals [More]

Uruguay mull over Messi conundrum

BRAZIL went back to the future on Wednesday night to secure their passage to the quarter finals of Copa  America.

Mano Menezes reverted to the attack which underwhelmed against Venezuela in their first outing, and finally we some spark. In an open attacking game they were pegged back twice by an adventurous Ecuador

team but claimed a 4-2 victory, and with it the top spot in Group B.

Dani Alves making way for Inter’s Maicon was no surprise, given the chasing the Barcelona man had been on the end of against Paraguay. Crucially, Alexandre Pato and Neymar opened their accounts, bagging a brace apiece; in behind, playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso exerted a greater......

Read the full article here on the Irish Examiner Sports Desk Blog