Bilbao's Bielsa always guarantee entertainment

‘Turmoil’ has been the watchword the summer across La Liga. It’s been in abundance almost everywhere. From Málaga’s Qatari backers turning off the taps, to disputes over television rights almost halting the start of the season for the second time in three years, it’s been there in spades. Organisationally and financially, things are a total mess. Nothing new there, then. Few clubs have escaped the chaos. This week in Bilbao, it struck a heavy blow.

Of course, Athletic’s summer hadn’t been exactly ideal up until then. Having won admirers everywhere last season under the footy hipster’s favourite coach, Marcelo Bielsa, it looked at one point like the Argentine might be stepping down. One of his suitors the summer before had been Sevilla, but when the club refused to accede to demands on remodelling their training ground, he declined their hand.

And this is where it started in July. Renovation works being carried out by a contracting firm close to the club hierarchy drew his ire. Not only were the works running late, but they ran contrary to what he’d agreed. When the club issued a statement to the effect that the problem was ‘nobody’s fault’, he issued a withering statement of his own blasting them. After a tense 24 hours, the club managed to talk him down but he didn’t retract his accusations. 

Then, this past week the bombshell dropped; or to be more precise, two. Lsst Tuesday their talismanic centre forward, Fernando Llorente announced that he wouldn’t be renewing his contract at the end of the season. Then it emerged that Javi Martinez, coveted by but too expensive for Barcelona, was the subject of a substantial bid from Bayern Munich. On Saturday, Bielsa stated that neither would figure in Sunday’s squad. 

The lack of depth in Athletic’s squad was the main reason behind their collapse in the latter stages of last season. Their policy of only buying Basque- however much they might stretch the term to the limits of credibility at times- handicaps their transfer market activity. Every signing is a painstaking effort, but the simple fact is that there are few players in the league matching the profile of the pair; and certainly no ready made Basque prospects.

With Iker Muniain also sidelined, they had to make do without their three best players. This made the initial eleven all the more puzzling. Aritz Aduriz, a more than competent goalscorer, arrived in the summer from Valencia but instead Bielsa opted for Gaizka Toquero. A fan’s favourite he may be, and he’ll run around until his legs seize up, but his goals to games ratio is a poor one.

But it was at the other end where Bilbao were all over the place, and within 7 minutes Rubén Castro drifted through a dozing defence to rifle the visitors into the lead. Bilbao dominated, but it was a domination of a sterile sort lacking purpose and incision. 

On 25 minutes Jorge Molina doubled the pain, with the defence again at sixes and sevens. Five minutes later the ball broke to an unmarked Beñat at the edge of the box. This was turning into a humiliation. The San Mamés crowd, noted for never turning on their team, murmured in discontent.

But if you thought that it was game over, think again.

Aduriz was one of two half-time changes, and instantly his movement between the defenders only reinforced the bafflement as to why he hadn’t started. Suddenly seeds of doubt had been sown in the minds of Betis’ defence. And then Oscar de Marcos cut in from the left to make it 3-1. 

This was a different Bilbao. They couldn't- could they? They could. After battering the visitors for the next 20 minutes, they won a corner on the left. The former Liverpool defender Mikel San José planted a bullet of a header past a helpless Fabricio Ramírez as the grand cathedral erupted.

The equaliser was now inevitable, and when it came it was a carbon copy. This time the corner came from the right, but once more it was San José powering an unstoppable header into the net. Betis were shellshocked. With 15 minutes remaining, only one side was winning this one.  

And that’s how it transpired. Except that it wasn’t to be the hosts. Bilbao, understandably, had grown giddy, drunk on adrenaline. Mikel Susaeta harried after a ball that was going nowhere, falling over. 

Suddenly it was going somewhere. With the defence losing their heads, it fell to the substitute Pozuelo who kept his, stroking it home to shift the momentum decisively back in the Andalusian’s favour. Five more minutes, and with the hosts again in rag order, Molina’s second proved the coup de grace.

The luck of sheer disgust on the faces of fans streaming out of the stands told you all you needed to know. There is never a dull moment with Bielsa teams, whose all energy attacking keeps viewers on the edge of their sets. But with Keystone Kops defending like this, many had decided enough was enough and vacated theirs.

Bielsa is as much a one off off the pitch as he is on it, and his assessment after the game was interesting as he sought to calmly dissect a frenzied 90 minutes which had largely defied analysis. “Absences are not a justification for this defeat,” he quipped.

“Just before kick off, we were clear in our minds and focussed on what we had to do. We lost fair and square, and it’s not correct to say that absences, a lack of focus, or the mood explains why we lost”

“We didn’t show the control needed in defence having come back, we lacked tranquility and had we been a bit less impatient the chances to win would have arrived. It’s difficult to weigh the effects [of the absentees]... But the fact is that we’ve been working for two months to address the issue of playing staff because the main complaint last year was that we had no spare parts.”

One potential spare part remains the Betis goalscorer Beñat. Bilbao were a breath of fresh air last season. It’s unrealistic to assume that they can scale such heights again this term. But it’s entirely fair to assume they’ll remain as fun to watch as ever.

Champions Real Madrid got their campaign off to an underwhelming start, drawing 1-1 at home to a Valencia coached for the first time by their former defender Mauricio Pellegrini. 

Having hit the front through Gonzalo Higuaín, the biggest talking point came as Jonas equalised. An ugly clash between Iker Casillas and Pepe left the pair floored, and it was several minutes before play resumed. 

Even then, Casillas looked absolutely shaken and it was something of a surprised to see him trot out again after the break. No such luck for Pepe however, as the Portuguese defender spent the night in intensive care, and that’s about all that that can be said about his current condition.

The other major talking point was a goal that wasn’t given. As Roberto Soldado skipped past Xabi Alonso, the linesman’s flag shot up before he rounded Casillas to finish. Once the replay became available, suspicions were confirmed. Sergio Ramos had played him on, and it wasn’t even a close call. Valencia veteran David Albelda was the night’s main guest on the show Futboleros, and the uncompromising defender wasn’t in the mood to mince his words. “We have the feeling that something like this will always happen at the Bernabéu.” 

But all said, Valencia can at least take heart from a point well won at a ground where only only three sides came away with anything the year gone by.

Happier events at Camp Nou, where the story was all about the man coming back from serious injury. Sure, we can talk about how Barcelona, roused by a swift Sociedad equaliser, roared into a 4-1 lead by half-time. But we won’t. 

This day was all about David Villa. Almost eight months to the day since the horrific leg break that sidelined him from the European Championship, he sprang from the bench to complete the scoring. Up came his shirt to reveal another emblazoned with the words “Impossible without you!” above a picture of his wife and children. 

Sunday’s late-kick off between Levante and Atlético only reinforced the argument that it was a time to be tucked up in bed and not to be at a football ground. The LFP might claim these ungodly kick-off times offer a respite from the searing heatwave afflicting the country, but nobody’s buying the line. Least of all the fans who have to head home at 1am when they have work in the morning. Perhaps the new key market for the league is the New Zealand Monday morning breakfast market. 

At the Iberostar on Saturday night, the fans voted with their feet and the few who bothered to turn up voiced their disgust at the league and the RFEF. On the field, a Hemed brace earned Joaquín Caparrós’ side a 2-1 win over an Espanyol exhibiting the same old problems. Lots of titilation, but very little action inside the box. 

Wakaso made a goalscoring debut for the visitors, looking lively throughout. Perhaps a little bit too lively as Mauricio Pochettino had to haul him off as a precaution against picking up a second yellow.

And man of the week? That’s a simple one. Although, perhaps not, because the man of the week isn’t quite a man. This honour goes to Málaga striker Fabrice Olinga. With precious few options available up front, Manuel Pellegrini had little choice but to turn to the youth teamer, a prospect picked up from the Samuel Eto’o football foundation in Cameroon. 

As a helter skelter encounter away to newly promoted Celta Vigo looked set for a draw, the youngster struck the winner minutes before the end. At 16 years and 98 days, the forward is the youngest goalscorer in La Liga history.

Results:

Celta 0 Málaga 1

Sevilla 2 Getafe 1

Mallorca 2 Espanyol 1

Athletic Bilbao 3 Betis 5

Real Madrid 1 Valencia 1

Barcelona 5 Real Sociedad 1

Levante 1 Atlético Madrid 1

Tonight:

Deportivo v Osasuna (18:00)

Rayo Vallecano v Granada (20:00)

Zaragoza v Valladolid (22:00)

After the groups- Euro 2012 team of the tournament to date

After the austerity of the World Cup in South Africa and last summers Copa América, this year’s European Championship feels like something of a throwback. The contests have been exciting, the refereeing generally excellent, and teams playing positive football have generally profited.

We’ve seen some big sides underperform, and some that have acquitted themselves well miss out on the quarter finals. Russia’s staggering, if somewhat predictable, collapse was no less heartbreaking for their supporters than those of a Croatia side who just feel short in Group C. 

Germany have hardly broken a sweat in topping the fiendishly even-matched (at least, from what it appeared outset) group B, while it’s a measure of the standards being demanded now of Spain that many critics have been underwhelmed as they claimed 7 points. None of their players quite made this XI, but those on the bench all came very close.

Holland- total meltdown

Big players have failed to turn up, most abundantly in Holland’s dismal exit. Players in essentially limited sides have excelled, and several who’ve already departed have caught the eye. Finding a middle ground between the best individuals and those who might, theoretically, form a balanced starting XI is no easy task but here this writer has erred on the side of the former whilst keeping an eye on the latter.

Naturally, there are players omitted here, at least from the initial XI, who’ve performed excellently- none more so, perhaps, than the duo of Andrea Pirlo and Andrés Iniesta. Again, this is where the question of balance comes into play. Every midfield needs a water carrier, yet the dynamic Sami Khedira has been that and so much for Germany.

In a tournament of few genuinely outstanding goalkeeping performances, it seems reasonable to go with the two most dependable; Manuel Neuer and Gigi Buffon. In truth, there is very little to separate the pair.

Giorgio Chiellini- Colossus

The most straightforward selection is the heart of the defence. Here, Juventus’ Giorgio Chiellini has been a rock. Combative, clever and masterful in the air he provided the steel that saw his side come ever so close to shutting out Spain. His leadership will be missed against England. 

At his side, the stylish Mats Hummels proved impossible to overlook. Now a double Bundesliga winner, he’s given the continent a clear demonstration of his prowess than was missed in Borussia Dortmund’s disappointing Champions League campaign.

Bt contrast, the most difficult position in terms of who to omit has been the full-back area, not just in terms of those in a first XI but also for those in reserve. But, to my mind, both Fábio Coentrão and Darijo Srna deserved their selection. Coentrão. hindered by the presence of the excellent Marcelo at Real Madrid has at times appeared something of a luxury utility man over the past season. But here, his energy and drive have reminded us of the excitement he created in breaking onto the world stage in South Africa two summers ago.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Darijo Srna may be capable of playing at fullback, on the wing, and even at the base of midfield, but the Croatian is anything but a utility figure. Here in this tournament, starting at rightback he’s shown us every facet of his game, and given a masterclass in how to impose yourself on a game from a nominally defensive position. His relentless energy, timing and positional sense- along with his ability to read the game and whip in a cross- makes him a nailed on starter in this XI.

Luca Modric excelled against Spain

Srna wasn’t the only Croatian to impress. In midfield, Luca Modric had an excellent tournament. Having controlled their opening game against Ireland, his move further up the park from his deep-lying role was a game changer against Italy. His intelligence in finding space against the World Champions Spain in their narrow defeat reinforced the initial impression, and he could well be the standout performer to be absent as we move to the knockout stages.

João Moutinho- Deco's heir

With Khedira alongside him, another impressive man in the middle- even if his most important work is often far from eye catching- is João Moutinho. An all rounder in a Portuguese midfield of all rounders, what has been most striking has been his organisational capability, wedded to his smart and constructive use of possession.

The forward line was another area where the slenderest of margins came into play. Again, the question of striking a balance is important, but also taken into account has been the overall impact upon games. It is for that reason, that despite his goals, Mario Gomez just misses out. But there’s every chance the Bayern Munich man will go on to be be crowned the competition’s top goalscorer.

Ibra- gone, but not forgotten

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, alongside Modric has probably had the best tournament of those who’ve already departed. There was a little bit of everything in the big Swede’s play- touch, link up play, aerial ability and of course goals. The limitations of some of his team-mates, and his ability to shine even as his team performed poorly in their opener against Ukraine is a testament to this serial winner’s refusal to countenance defeat.

Completing the attack, we have the tournament’s surprise emergence alongside a player tipped by many in the know of great things who certainly hasn’t disappointed. It took a mere three minutes for Wolfsburg’s Mario Madzukic to demolish the aura of defensive strength surrounding Giovanni Trappatoni’s Republic of Ireland. He went on to dominate both Richard Dunne and Seán St. Ledger so comprehensively in the air as to render the veteran coach’s set-up redundant, and turned out another thoroughly impressive display to haul his side level against Italy on the back of that. 

The final inclusion is CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev. The man from the Caucasus has long been something of an enigma, albeit one who announced his presence to us with a wonderfully taken goal at Old Trafford as far back as 2009. Here, he netted himself three and despite not scaling the same heights as Russia were eliminated by Greece, he still showed far more than any of his more established team-mates.

(4-3-3)

Manuel Neuer (GER)

Fábio Coentrão (POR)

Giorgio Chiellini (ITA)

Mats Hummels (GER)

Darijo Srna (CRO)

Luca Modric (CRO)

Sami Khedira (GER)

João Moutinho (POR)

Mario Mandzukic (CRO)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE)

Alan Dzagoev (RUS)

Bench:

Gianluigi Buffon (ITA)

Phillip Lahm (GER)

Theodor Gebeiselassie (CZE)

Olof Mellberg (SWE)

Pepe (POR)

Giorgos Karagounis (GRE)

Andrés Iniesta (ESP)

Andrea Pirlo (ESP)

Mesut Ozil (GER)

Cesc Fabregas (ESP)

Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)

Mario Gomez (GER)

Chat with Radio Cadena SER ahead of Ireland v Spain

Ahead of Ireland's game against Spain in group C, I spoke to Jesus Gallego on the Spanish national radio station Cadena SER about our chances of getting something against the World and European Champions.

The audio can be found below.

Joseph Sexton - Cadena SER Irlanda x España

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Questions for Del Bosque as Ireland await

Question marks remain ahead of tonight’s game against Ireland for Spain. Criticism has rained down on manager Vicente del Bosque for his choice to play a strikerless system against Italy on Sunday. This criticism has come in different forms. The idea of Spain playing with no reference point up top is hardly something new though

Many credit Luciano Spalletti, then at Roma, for pioneering the idea of strikerless system. In 2005/6, he moved towards a scheme that was widely described as a 4-6-0 (though perhaps its more accurate to see it is a 4-1-4-1. Francesco Totti, that most classic of trequartistas, is not a number 9. But he served as the reference point for a fluid attack, allowing the more attack minded midfielders to push on as Totti dropped deep to create space. The result, even against teams used to systems with more than three bands, was to create havoc. Spalletti employed variations of this, along with an unorthodox 4-2-3-1 throughout the remainder of his highly successful tenure at the club.

4-2-3-1, proclaimed by all and sundry on the BBC and ITV as something new during the last world cup is anything but. Least of all, in England. When a Manchester United, shorn of several key players, played Arsenal at Old Trafford in December 2002, changes were needed. Sir Alex Ferguson, influenced by his then assistant, Carlos Queiroz- more on him later) played what could be described as a version of 4-2-3-1 more rigid than those seen these days. Nominally a full back, Phil Nevill’s  moved into the line of two, giving a wonderfully industrious performance.

The system offered more solidity than United’s standard two banks of four, and permitted those further up the park behind Van Nistelrooy to cause mischief between the lines. a gutsy United prevailed 2-0 on the day to many people’s surprise against what was aone of Arsene Wenger’s greatest Arsenal side, at the peak of their powers too. That result, following on from another surprise victory at Anfield shortly before offered the impetus for United to mount an ultimately successful title charge.

With all personnel available in the spring, the system was to become United’s default selection. It also, to an extent, solved Ferguson’s headache on including all three of Keane, Seba Verón, and Paul Scholes in the team. It also meant there was no room form David Beckham. Instead, a line of three behind Van Nistelrooy; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer starting on the right, Ryan Giggs on the left and Verón or Scholes in the middle, interchanged at will.

Versions of 4-2-3-1 (and also 4-3-3) have become United’s staple since 2007, and the hand of Queiroz can be clearly seen in this. It was his time in charge of the golden generation of Portuguese players in the last 1980’s and early 90s youth sides that first saw the use of both 4-2-3-1 and genuinely strikerless variations of that system. He solved Portugal’s perpetual problem of producing strikers that were nowhere near the level of the glut of playmakers and wingers available to him by dispensing with fielding any entirely. Portugal won everything around them.

Of course, the strikerless system with a false 9 became synonymous with Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. It’s hard to imagine that there’s every been a player suited to this role than Lionel Messi. And here’s the crux with Spain who according to some - if not this writer - can be a little bit boring. Spain don’t have a Lionel Messi type player. But this doesn’t mean experimentation with strikerless systems is wrong, or indulgent, for them. Contrary to those in the British and Irish media who didn’t do their homework, it wasn’t an eccentric departure to line up like that against Italy.

One reason for going with this system was that Spain misjudged Cesare Prandelli’’s intentions for Italy, but of course with the lack of a fit and firing striker- with no David Villa to call- and far too many good creative players in the squad, it simply made sense.

It’s not about taking self parody to new heights either. What Spain are about first and foremost is winning football games. That they do so in such beautiful ways is beside the point. Spain don’t play like they do because the they’re trying to win a beauty contest. They do so because it’s what they do best, and better than anyone else. They are as ruthlessly pragmatic as they are addicted to winning. 

Contrary to widespread belief, Scotland’s Craig Levein didn’t invented strikerless football. But it was his Scotland team who were the first to come up against a Del Bosque Spain without a fixed reference last Autumn. It was David Silva who played the false 9 that evening and he ran riot, scoring twice. Scotland had no answer to the array of options going forward, nor the angles of attack. This system was used in subsequent fixtures, including a defeat at Wembley were Spain were a bit off colour, and England defended fantastically and intelligently. Against Italy, the personnel for the system wasn’t quite right, lacking depth and width.  Michael Cox explained this in his breakdown of the game for Zonal Marking. 

The question now is whether Spain will use the same set up against Ireland on Thursday.  Spanish media opinion has been split down the middle on this. The issue dominates their daily press conferences. One of their most vocal critics has been a certain José Mourinho.

They may well go with it, and barring an act of god they will win. A plus with this set up is that, with quick passing and and movement and without a reference, they can pull Ireland’s rigid defenders to places they never wanted to go. But this is the key- they will do this anyway. Even if they played with a three man midfield, Rául Albiol, Victor Valdés and Pepe Reina up front, their passing and moving will be too much for Trapattoni’s side. They’re just that good.

Really, the question facing Del Bosque is twofold- does he pick the system best suited to winning this game, or continue to test this false 9 system in a game that they probably know deep down that they will win anyway? Del Bosque is going to keep us guessing, though this writer suspects it will be the latter. Personally, this writer would do the former.

If we accept that Spain’s passing and movement would be too good for Ireland even if they fielded 11 players who began on the bench last Sunday, then there is little to be gained in the here and now by lining up similarly. Many comments on the end of columns in The Guardian have people crying out for Fernando Lllorente. It’s a good call, but it must be remembered that the big man from Athletic Bilbao is, like all of his club mates, exhausted. It was for that very reason that Iker Muniain isn’t in the squad. Nobody in Europe’s top leagues played more games than the Basques last season, and Marcelo Bielsa neither had the depth of squad nor inclination to rotate. Llorente is more likely to feature as an impact sub, if needed.

Given that Ireland’s defenders, on the evident of the Croatia game, don’t like it up them, a physical option like the Basque or Sevilla’s Álvaro Negredo would discomfit them. Negredo is also able to play off the shoulder. And given the way in which he opened up the game against Italy, it’s clear that Fernando Torres can add an extra dimension to the play. Forget the misses which, as ever with Torres this past year, were not as bad as some people would like to claim- well, not all three of them, anyway.

For a aide that likes to move the pall around quickly and probe, Torres offers what the Spanish called verticality, or directness- something they were missing until he came on. It allows them to play with more depth in attack and offers a reference point for the players behind him. With the likes of Seán St. Ledger and Dunne especially slow on turn, the former Liverpool man would surely enjoy playing off the shoulder of the Irish defenders. That he has a goal threat matters too, but it’s not the whole point. 

Even if he doesn’t score himself he would pose distinctly different questions to this Irish backline. And, as Michael Cox also noted in his aforementioned piece, a player such as Jesus Navas or Pedro in the team offering genuine width (Álvaro Arbeloa was lamentably poor in this facet of the game last Sunday) would provide the variety to hurt Ireland in numerous and varied ways. Del Bosque is an conservative coach in some ways, so it will intriguing to see how he lines his men up in Gdansk. And it may prove instructive≠ as to how Spain are configured for the games that will follow.

Spain stand on the verge of making history at Euro 2012

My preview of Spain's chances for STV Sport. Original article can be found here.

STV 9 June 2012 15:33 BST

 

Spain stand of the precipice of making history this summer in Poland and Ukraine. But they also enter the tournament with question-marks hanging over their hopes of winning a third major tournament on the bounce.

A cursory scan of their squad list shows an embarrassment of riches in midfield. The fact that talents such as Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla will have to be content with sitting on the bench illustrates this point.

But two key absentees cast a shadow over the defence and the attack. David Villa, their deadliest marksman, finally conceded defeat in his battle to regain fitness following a leg fracture last December. At the other end, Carles Puyol, their talisman at the back, has also been forced to sit out the tournament.

Many were surprised to see Valencia’s Roberto Soldado miss the cut, but despite his hat-trick off the bench against Venezuela in the spring, there were always questions about whether or not he would be a good fit for Spain’s system. His lack of form in front of goal in the latter part of the season may have contributed to Vicente del Bosque preferring Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo.

Del Bosque’s employment of the double pivot of Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets drew criticism in the last World Cup, but we can expect both the start in this tournament too. Alonso’s passing range and Busquets’ intelligence in breaking up the play offers a solid platform which is all the more necessary given the composition of the back line. Xavi will slot in to a more advanced role in the centre.

With Puyol out, Sergio Ramos will move into the centre to partner Gerard Pique. The Real Madrid man excelled in this role for his club this season, having edged out Ricardo Carvalho.

But, as ever, questions remain about his temperament and positionally he has been found wanting at times. Alongside him, Pique has been somewhat inconsistent for some 18 months now, and all the more so on the many occasions that Puyol has been out for Barcelona.

Jordi Alba comes into the side after an impressive season at left back for Valencia. He provides an attacking thrust down that side, but as a converted attacking midfielder he will be relying on his team-mates to cover for him. On the other flank, Alvaro Arbeloa is still an injury concern ahead of the Italy game, with Atletico Madrid’s Juanfran – another converted winger coming off the back of a great season – his likely deputy.

Silva fell out of favour at the World Cup in 2010, but the Manchester City man looks certain to start here. Along with Andres Iniesta, he will be expected to drift in from the wide areas to support Fernando Torres up front. Silva has also shown against Scotland that he can be devastating when employed in a false 9 role – a role that Fabregas has also been used in at club level.

The bench is likely to prove crucial if Spain are to go all the way here. Del Bosque likes his game-changers, and doesn’t lack variety. Fernando Llorente and Negredo provide a more physical reference point, and Jesus Navas provides width and great crossing ability on the right. On the other side, we can expect Barcelona’s Pedro to stretch the play, comfortable as he is off either foot.

The key factor for Spain is that they have been here and done it before. Stretching back over a decade, and across the age levels, they have gained a winning mentality that previous generations have lacked.

The players know what is expected of them on the field, have the flexibility to adapt to game situations, and their pressing and monopolising of possession makes play against them a dispiriting task. History awaits them should they succeed.

You can follow Joseph Sexton on Twitter

La Liga: played by geniuses, run by idiots

May 14, 2012 17:34 by Irish Examiner Sports Joseph Sexton 

It was a cruel end to a wretched season for Spain’s best run club. With a number of sides in administration and many more struggling with debts and poor management, Villarreal represented something of a beacon of hope.

Yes, it is true this small-town club from a neighbourhood of Castellón owe their rise to the Primera to their president, Fernando Roig. But even if he did bankroll that initial phase, he also left the club with an enviable youth infrastructure and on a sound financial footing. Roig — a ceramics magnate — suffered like many others when Spain’s construction bubble burst, so it was just as well.

But now, Villarreal are facing a future in the segunda. 

For this they can blame many things — themselves, of course; incredibly bad luck with injuries played a part too. They can hardly be blamed for not knowing Giuseppe Rossi’s season would be written off due to serious injury, but the decision to keep him rather than Santí Cazorla has been costly. In Rossi’s absence, Nilmar has talked more about wanting to leave than contributing anything of note on the field.

Stupid points dropped also play a part. Firing one very decent manager, only to replace him with a dud who was out the door himself before too long didn’t help. Hiring Ángel Miguel Lotina may have been something of a bad omen with his form, but more on that later. Nobody within the club is saying this now of course, but perhaps the LFP, Spain’s league regulator, needs to take a share of the blame for the situation.

In the end it was as tragic as it was pointless. Radamel Falcão García hit a late winner for Atlético Madrid against the submarino. Pointless, because with Málaga beating doomed Sporting, it wasn’t enough for his side to steal the last Champions League spot. Instead they go into the Europa League, a competition they won in midweek and already qualified for. But with Real Zaragoza winning 2-0 away to eight-man Getafe, that was enough to condemn Villarreal. They went down on 41 points. Real Zaragoza’s barely believable great escape had seen them move from just 22 points — and rock bottom — after matchday 29 to 43 points. And to safety. 

Many will question the logic of hiring Lotina, a man they are christening The Relegator. Last season, he took Deportivo La Coruña down, ending that club’s 20-year stay in the top flight. A few years earlier, he’d taken their fierce rivals that way too. Last night, because of Spain’s system of allowing reserve and youth - B and C - sides to play in the lower divisions he trumped all that. With those sides in the divisions immediately below the top, it wasn’t just Villarreal who dropped a division last night. Villarreal B did also. As did Villarreal C. 

But he can hardly be blamed this time around. Villarreal have been shockingly poor for most of the season. Although rarely in the relegation spots since the opening months of the season, they stayed hovering precariously around the periphery. His results haven’t been all that bad either, certainly not compared to what went before. Three wins and five draws from 11 - including a memorable late comeback against Real Madrid - isn’t relegation form by any stretch. There is the external factor too - horrible Zaragoza, a side so awful for so much of the season it is difficult to find words accurate enough to convey it - a team that looked dead for three quarters of the season  finally came to life.

Whether or not they deserve to be still alive leads us to crux of the matter.

Broke, in administration, players and creditors not getting paid. Just another day in the life of just another club on the Spanish footballing merry go round. Zaragoza is not a small team, it’s a proud one, with great tradition. But their recent history has been far less rosy. Somehow, they managed to dodge a third relegation in five seasons and it’s questionable whether they’ll be so lucky next time. But they did so thanks to some friends in high places.

None more so than the Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes, a man who has everyone from José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo to Bébé, whose transfer to Manchester United is currently under criminal investigation back in Portugal, on his books.

Jorge Mendes brokered a lot of interesting transfers to Spain last summer. Falcão, of course, was one. Then we had the curious case of a couple of players he moved to Atletico on deadline day, but ultimately ended up in Turkey or at other Spanish clubs. One of those Atlético phantoms, Rúben Micael ended up at Zaragoza, with Mendes also brokering the deal that brought former Tottenham striker Hélder Postiga from Sporting Lisbon. In too came Juan Carlos and Fernando Meira. But by far the most curious deal was that which brought the Spanish goalkeeper Roberto to the club from Benfica.

This deal was curious in many ways. Roberto had been a big money signing (guess who settled the details on that move) for Benfica the year before at some 9m. He’d also been an unmitigated disaster, arguably costing them their title chances with a series of high profile howlers. Even now, a quick google search for ‘Roberto’ and ‘frango’ (‘chicken’ in Portuguese, meaning goalkeeping gaffe) will throw up scores of videos created in his honour by fans of other Portuguese teams. So early had the ‘frango’ label stuck, that in their autumn mauling at FC Porto, home supporters unleashed a live chicken in his goalmouth.

That’s only to speak of the footballing side of it. The details of the deal are murkier still. Officially, he moved to Zaragoza for 8m, an astounding figure in its own right but even more so for a club with no money and in administration. A club that really, by rights shouldn’t be signing anybody. But of course, Zaragoza didn’t pay a penny of that fee. His economic rights remained in the hands of an investment fund based in Dublin, with Peter Kenyon one of its investors. Needless to say, Jorge Mendes has a big stake.

Spain and Portugal are just two of many European leagues in which third party ownership is not frowned upon in any way.

But on the field, Roberto was unrecognisable. Some Spanish journalists said he deserved to be man of the match during their opening day 6-0 chasing at the Bernabéu. It wasn’t in jest. Without the keeper, who registered several stunning saves, it could well have been 12. He kept up this form as they scored early points against Espanyol, Málaga, Villarreal and Sociedad. They subsequently slumped to nine defeats in 10, with Roberto now good rather than supernormal. But neither will you find too many clangers in his season.

Zaragoza’s escape has seen them claim eight victories out of the last 11 played. Away at Granada and Valencia in particular, he’s produced top form in many of those games. Of course, manager Manolo Jímenez deserves immense credit for bucking up the rest of the team’s ideas. But they wouldn’t be where they are now without Roberto. And they certainly wouldn’t without the help of Jorge Mendes. 

Manolo Jimenez oversaw Real Zaragoza's great escape

But that’s the way the cookie crumbles in Spain. Severe mismanagement and going into administration carry no sporting penalty. No club is ever docked 10 points, and none are demoted. The only people who don’t lose out are the unscrupulous presidents. Amongst the many that do include teams that keep their house in order, who are left at a competitive disadvantage when others act in bad faith. Teams who don’t, in Arsene Wenger’s words, engage in ‘financial doping’. Sadly, teams like Villarreal.

As one Spanish journalist wryly noted: La Liga; played by geniuses, run by idiots.

At least Spain’s best run club will be well positioned to bounce back. For many others, the loss of income coming with the drop has proved near-fatal. Just ask Real Oviedo. 


ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE AT EXAMINER SPORT

As the Los Che World Turns aka the Unai Emery story

 This article originally appeared on the excellent Forza Futbol website. Be sure and check out their regular podcast features on iTunes. Link to the original article here.
 

Special Guest writer and friend of Forza Futbol, Joseph Sexton joins us to pay tribute to the underappreciated Unai Emery. You can find more of his fabulous work at STV, the Irish Examiner, among others as well as talking on various shows and podcasts including WPFI and Forza Futbol! 

When the news broke last week that Valencia would be parting company with Unai Emery, it came as no great shock. The intolerance of los che supporters may be legendary by now. But the writing had been on the wall for some time.

On Monday, president Manuel Llorente paid tribute to the Basque trainer while confirming what we already knew- that former defensive stalwart Mauricio Pellegrino would be taking his post. Llorente’s words were kind, and they were also the truth. “We wish to thank Unai for four year’s great service at the club. His success in leading us into third spot again this season is something we are all grateful for”.

And is well worth reflecting upon that success. His predecessors- and Llorente’s- had led the club the brink of financial meltdown. Two league titles had been secured by Rafael Benítez, following on closely from two Champions League final appearances under Hector Cúper. It represented the most successful period in the club’s history.

But with wage costs already reaching unsustainable levels, Benítez departed under something of a cloud in 2004. Prior to that second title success, he had clashed repeatedly with the board over the provision and control of transfer funds in a manner rather reminiscent of his later travails atLiverpool. But rather than improve, the club’s fiscal position grew steadily worse.

There were the dud signings, a raft of whom followed in Claudio Ranieri’s second spell at the club. Not only were they duds on the pitch. What now appear to be ludicrously generous contractual terms were sanctioned, making it difficult to move them on elsewhere.

Managers were hired, fired, and compensated. Stability remained elusive. But what on the face of it looked to be a smart investment in the club’s future proved to be albatross around its neck.

A new stadium development was sanctioned, but before it was completed the bottom fell out of the Spanish property market. SuddenlyValencia were landed with two stadiums; one they couldn’t sell, and another they couldn’t afford to finish.

They were also stuck with €500m of debt.

To put that debt into perspective in relation to the club’s finances, they earned as much from domestic television rights last season as West Ham United did in England.

In England, West Ham had finished bottom of the pile.

It was into this environment that Unai Emery arrived four summers ago. What he has managed to achieve in that time represents something of a minor miracle. Year upon year, he’s been forced into selling off his best players. Yet every season, he’s kept them competitive on the pitch.

The club took a calculated gamble in 2009 in holding on to David Villa and David Silva in the hope of securing Champions League qualification and the financial fillip that would come with it.

That gamble was to pay off. Emery’s reward was to have both sold off to Barcelona and Manchester City. But he never complained.

Instead, he set about rebuilding the squad. As older players retired- or left- younger ones were brought in for lower fees, and more manageable contracts. On the park, they barely skipped a beat. Unable to match the behemoths of Real Madrid and Barça, they at least managed to plant themselves firmly ahead of the rest of the pack.

The fans never really took to Emery, however. A pragmatic, intelligent, and tactically flexible coach, he was accused of being too negative; too defensive. These criticisms seemed harsh. But then these are the same fans who booed both Benítez and Cúper before him.

Valencia could get down and dirty, as they did earlier this season in dumping Stoke City out of the Europa League. But they also remained capable of playing dazzling technical football. The curious aspect of Emery’s downfall is that his perceived negative streak never really sufficed to help them see out big games, while the more proactive aspects of his approach went unheralded.

They never managed to defeat Barcelona, despite coming agonisingly close on occasion. They never could live with Madrid. They never could get close to them in the league rankings either. Despite their final rankings under Emery, they never finished within 20 points of the pair.

At times, Emery was arguably guilty of over-thinking things. Rarely selecting the same personal or system in consecutive games, he preferred to cut his cloth to measure on a match by match basis. A man supremely confident in his own tactical nous, his chopping and changing became legendary. Sadly for him, so too did his side’s propensity for tossing away leads. In his four year tenure,Valencia have managed to surrender winning positions on more than 45 occasions.

That statistic at least allows us to see the fans’ ire in a more generous light. They were consistent, but at times also infuriating. That will go down as the greatest paradox of his reign. Good enough to set about what they were expected of, but not in a manner satisfactory to the Mestalla crowd.

They secured third spot again last weekend, but came worryingly close to throwing away what had been a commanding position there. They went out of the Europa League semi-final against Atlético Madrid with a whimper, losing 1-0 in their home leg have scraped a scarcely merited 4-2 defeat at the Vicente Calderon. And that is what ultimately sealed his fate. He departs having failed to secure any silverware.

At least he will be among old friends. Valery Karpin and Dmitry Popov- both former team-mates- are on the administrative staff at Spartak Moscow. Karpin indeed, is stepping aside from the manager’s seat following a turbulent period in the club’s history.

The east represents something of a never-never land for Western European coaches. Juande Ramos’ already dipping stock remains irreparably damaged following his disastrous tenure across town at CSKA though somehow he managed to rebound at Dnipro in the Ukraine. Luciano Spalletti has overseen a decisive shift in power to former capital at Zenit of Saint Petersburg. It is the Italian’s example Emery will seek to emulate. But to do so, he’ll have to unseat the former AS Roma boss as Russia’s top dog.

Meanwhile, what will happen next at Valencia is anyone’s guess. We have no way of judging how Mauricio Pellegrino will fare as boss. His experience to date has come solely in a supporting role, as first team coach and later assistant to Rafa Benítez at Liverpool & Inter. Top scorer, Roberto Soldado, spoke to French television on Monday about the possibility of joining Paris Saint-Germain. His international colleague Jordi Alba is poised to move the Camp Nou as Eric Abidal’s successor. Once again, the club will have to rebuild, and so with cut-price replacements.

Having got what they so evidently wanted, one now wonders if the supporters will be left learning that sometimes it is prudent to be careful what you wish for.

La Liga: Five reasons why Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid won the title

Joseph Sexton

for 

 

José Mourinho was tasked by Florentino Pérez in May 2010 to knock Barcelona off their perch. Last Wednesday, as the players held the Portuguese aloft at San Mamés, he had achieved that target. Real Madrid have now won 32 league titles in their glittering history. But few, if any, have come at the expense of a rival of such potency.  

That’s because few sides in the history of the game match up to the Catalans. To hoover up trophies as Barcelona have done under Pep Guardiola is something remarkable, and while many will focus on the style with which they achieved their success, less have looked at the hunger, the drive, that underpinned that. This year, Madrid’s hunger was insatiable, and this is why they are champions of Spain.

It’s been a bumpy ride for Mourinho. Discord within and without the camp have threatened to undermine the meringue challenge at key moments. Sometimes, internal grievances have received the most public of airings. At others, the vitriol of the press- many of the same Madrid-based ones who painted Mourinho as a saint before the bruising four game clásico series in April 2011- have latterly been queuing up to throw rocks.

At times, it seemed certain he would be departing at the end of this season. Few now doubt that he will stay. And if Madrid have bagged this title with considerable style, it is worth looking at some of the key factors behind their success

1. Benzema’s renaissance

José Mourinho had spent most of his first summer at Real moaning about the lack of strikers. When injury on the eve in that infamous 5-0 defeat at Camp Nou ruled Gonzalo Higuaín out for some 5 months, the cupboard was bare. Karim Benzema was a flagship Florentino Pérez signing, but the manager didn’t like the look of the young Frenchman. Nor was he impressed by his attitude. “When you don’t have a dog, sometimes you have to hunt with a cat”, he lamented. Rather than hunt with this cat, he signed Emanuel Adebayor on loan.

This season, Benzema has been a man reborn. Right from those two ferociously intense Supercopa clashes that opened the season, it was clear that he’d come back determined, and a few kilos lighter. Given his rival for the centre forward position’s numbers, supplanting Higuaín in the role is some achievement. His blend of finesse and physique has given defenders nightmares.

2. Sidelining Ricardo Carvalho

It might sound counterintuitive at first. For almost a decade now, Mourinho’s former Chelsea and Porto lieutenant had been one of the world’s top defenders- and one of the smartest. In his first season in Madrid, he had clearly been the top dog. But maybe time was catching up with.

Although initially an enforced move, moving Sergio Ramos to centre has made Real Madrid a better team. The Spain international may be guilty of positional lapses, but his athleticism allows Real to pressure much higher up the park than they could with Carvalho. Alongside Pepe, his aerial dominance has been a massive asset.

3. Attitude

Last year’s title was not lost in the clásicos- it was lost in defeats to lowly sides like Sporting and Osasuna, games where Real Madrid failed to score. Last September, the loss at Levante followed by a draw against Sporting suggested it might be more of the same again. Instead, they went on a run of wins extending all the way to the visit of Barcelona in December.

That clásico blew the title race wide open once more. Madrid’s capacity to respond would be everything.

They won their next ten games, as Barça shed further points.

Their ability to come back has also been a standout factor. Victories from losing positions against Rayo, Atlético, Mallorca, Athletic, Zaragoza, Levante, Sporting and Sevilla spoke of a side for whom that defeat was not an acceptable outcome. Real have beaten teams in a variety of ways this season, but it is this attitude that has helped them over the line.

4. Firepower

We’ve mentioned Benzema already. He now has 20 league goals. Despite his limited minutes, Higuaín has chipped in with 22. José Callejón has sprung 5 goals from the bench, many of them crucial in changing games. No full back has scored more than Marcelo. And only Lionel Messi has scored more than Cristiano Ronaldo’s 44. With David Villa injured, Barcelona have been overly dependent on Lionel Messi. Ronaldo may be equally totemic to his side, but it’s clear that his colleagues also know the way to goal. In all competitions, the trident of Ronaldo-Benzema-Higuaín have contributed a staggering total of 117 goals.

5 Put up- and... shut up

Just as in Italy, the press in Spain have been Mourinho’s bête noire. So charming and adept was he at pulling strings and setting the news agenda at Chelsea, it may be hard to fathom the antipathy that now exists between him and the media. But Milan, as Mourinho swiftly found out, is not England. And Real Madrid is a club like no other.

In his recent book, Graham Hunter illustrates just how badly Mourinho had misjudged matters a year ago. Puffed up by his side’s Copa del Rey final victory at the Mestalla the previous week, he went on the warpath against Barcelona’s coach ahead of the Champions League semi-final. Guardiola, a man so eloquent and dignified in his public persona that it almost seems painful for him at times, decided he’d had enough. The gloves were off. In a masterpiece of rhetoric, he responded to his rival’s jibes in the most forthright of manners.

More importantly, his team did the business on the pitch. For what good are words when you can’t back them up?

Ever since that moment sections of the Madrid-based press were out for Mourinho, and well he knew it. After all, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not all out to get you. Last weekend at the Santiago Bernabéu, Sid Lowe explained just how poisonous the relationship had become.

“It seems clear now that the initial agenda- at least from Marca- driven as ever some sections within the club, was to build José up as being the saviour. AS [the other principal Madrid sports daily], on the other hand, whose editor Alfredo Relaño has great admiration for this current Barça, always had a slightly different take. In the end, attending the post match briefings was joyless. At times, the prospect of dealing with Mourinho had become tense, to say the least. Sometimes, even the most innocuous of questions would draw a caustic and utterly dismissive response”. In the end, Mourinho chose to see agendas at play everywhere.

This is why the aftermath of their 1-1 draw at Villarreal marked a key turning point. For the second game in a row, Madrid had surrendered a lead to a late free kick. And not for the first time in recent weeks, they’d played well below par. Moreover- and at this point is worth noting Jorge Valdano’s words on Cadena SER that, if anyone had any right to be aggrieved, it was Villarreal- the officiating had infuriated Real. 

Fitness trainer, Rui Faría, had been sent to the stands in the first half. In the immediate aftermath of Villarreal’s equaliser, he was followed swiftly by Sergio Ramos, Mourinho himself, and Mesut Ozil of all people. Madrid had lost their heads; lost their papers, as the Spanish phrase goes. Their lead had been trimmed from 10 to 6 points. And their season was in danger of falling apart

Then, something unexpected happened. We waited for the denunciations of Mourinho. And waited.

In vain. For in his place came the number two, Aitor Karanka. The following weekend, the Basque former defender did the same. And every other week. In fact, outside of Champions League briefings, we’ve not heard from Mourinho since. Until, of course, last Wednesday. Mourinho had let himself down and been badly burned in his dealings with the press at the climax of last season. This year, he’d learned his lesson.

Sometimes it’s best to shut up. But you also have to front up.

Mourinho has done both.

You can follow Joseph @josephsbcn

This article originally appeared on STV Sport