The Way Spain Works Sometimes

Its been a long summer without Phil Ball, I think we can all agree on that. So I am going to do my best to write something along those lines, but please, I am not a journalist, have no formal training, and most of my facts come from the internet which is usually sketchy at best. But what I wanted to discuss with the shift in power that happens ever so often in Spain, in footballing terms, please no political discussions.

What I mean by this is that there is a cycle in La Liga, and trying to go against it is simply unrealistic. As a Madrid fan, you may remember that in 2000 Florentino Perez was elected as president of Real Madrid. He made some very important contributions to the club, like releaving a heavy debt and modernizing the training facilities, but the shady dealing with the rezoning of Real Madrid City and the pathetic Galatico reqruitment style of “Zidanes and Pavons” was a miserable failure, mainly because it was more about marketing then football. The idea of using unproven youngsters as back up to a unbalanced roster of stars seemed good on paper, but several awful personel decisions that were based more on image then merit meant the whole program was a failure.

But you can say Perez didnt inject a more business approach to the club, something it had fallen behind on in the 90s. So while we cant forget the 3 years of no trophies and being a laughing stock of Europe (also firing Del Bosque, my favorite Real coach), we can thank him for modernizing the club to an extent and being so terrible a president that a weak canidate (as in the race, he had to make wild accusations to win, it wasnt a vote decided on merit) like Ramon Calderon was able to take over and has so far proved he is more than capable.

Of course we lived some of our best moments during the Perez years when Barca were in a bit of a funk themselves, with Van Gaal and Nunez resigning in 2000 and the failed coaching tenures of Ferrer, Rexach, Van Gaal (again), De la Cruz and Radomir Antic. They had not won the title since 99, and needed a dramatic change. Lopera was elected, Ronaldinho was signed and Rijkaard came on board as coach and two years of titles and a third of a competitive, yet lacking squad that started slow but pushed up the table hard with the loan signing of Edgar Davids towards the end of the campaign in 02-03. During those three years Barca were winning everything and Real were slumped, with nothing to show for those campaigns.

But now it seems that as Real has one two titles in a row, all is right in the Bernabeu again. A more unified team, a consistent message from the management, and a flourishing if under-utilized academy. And the Camp Nou, after a decent yet eventful season, is going through another change, with Guardiola as coach, Ronaldinho ushered out and more of a focus on the team aspect. If Madrid is winning the title, Barca cant be, and thus is the cycle with the big two teams of Spain. But once and awhile, there is another team challenging for the title, but that in itself is cyclical as well.

Deportivo La Coruna were a 2nd division team until the early 90s, when the exploded onto the scene with clever reqruiting from South America and deep pockets from the ownership. It all culminated with a title in 99-00. ‘Super Depor’ was born, and they would be runner up to the title 4 times in ten years, and added 2 Copa del Reys and three Supercopas in that time frame too. They were suddenly on the scene, and had some incredible Champions League performances as well, such as the comeback from AC Milan, or the infamous highscoring affair with Monaco. They boasted players like Makaay, Tristan, Bebeto, Donato, Djaminha, Emerson, Conciecao, Valeron, Fran, Victor and Miroslav Dukic.

But that all came to an end 2004, when the finances dried up and the club plunged into mid-table mediocrity. The same could be said for another Galician side, Celta de Vigo, who had some magnificent years, but were relegated twice in the past 4 years. Some decent progress in the UEFA cup and last 16 appearance in the CL was all forgotten upon relegation and the loss of many of its best players, including captain Alexandre Mostovoi who retired. Deportivo Alaves followed a similar path, with a classic UEFA Cup final against Liverpool to be followed up by mid table slides and finally relegation. Real Sociedad once pushed Real for the title right to the last day, but are now in their second season the the Segunda.

The new upstarts are of course Vilarreal and Sevilla, with Atletico also having a good showing. Sevilla’s success in the past three years was harrowing, but with a volatile president, they may go the way of their fierce cross town rivals Betis, who had a Copa del Rey title in 2005, and 5 appearance in Europe between 95 and 05. But they are once again staring relegation in the face just like they did in 2000. They seem to be a club of extreme highs and terrible lows.

The story of Valencia is somewhat similar to Deportivo. Valencia is a very proud, traditional club, with past titles to their credit, and many great players like Kempes. Two runners up medal in 2000 and 2001 in the UEFA Champions League, as well as league title in 2002 and 2004 and a UEFA Cup title in 2004 as well as a European Super Cup win in 2004. The team had some great players and a steady fan base, but in the past year has completely fallen apart under the presidency of Juan Soler. Atletico Madrid has stepped into take the 4th CL spot that usually belonged to either Valencia or Depor, and they will be looking to improve this season.

Of course the biggest story is the rise of Vilarreal, who were pretty much just making up the numbers in La Liga for awhile. They were only promoted in 200, but reached the UEFA Cup Semi Finals in 2004 via the Intertoto Cup, as well as the incredible CL run which culminated in loosing to Arsenal in the semi-finals. They have made continued progress under president Roig and coach Pellegrini, and they wont even have to qualify for the CL this term after a 2nd place finish. They have made some interesting purchases, and will look to continue there succes. But they must look not further then a Celta Vigo or even Real Zaragoza, with a European campaign quickly followed by relegation to know that there time may be limited.

And of course there are other teams that are more then ready to unseat the teams that have in recent years made great progress. Atletico, Vilarreal and Sevilla all face a tough challenge from the likes of Getafe, Almeria, Santander and Mallorca, who all have improved their squads and will look to build on good campaigns last year that saw them move above the relegation fight most of the time. But you cant discount fallen giants Depor, who themselves had a late recovery last year, or Valencia, who are never truely out of the league, or even Athletic, who have kept a team intact and may suprise many.

Real Betis, Osasuna, Huelva, Valladolid and the promoted clubs will find themselves up against the odds this year, and this is where the relgation dogfight will be certainly. But there will be an interesting drama this year, whether it be Valencias continuing woes or Barca/Real starting slowly, or a team like Atletico finding the demands of Europe and the league hard to handle. It promises to be an interesting year in La Liga as usual, and I for one cannot wait to see where the cycle goes….

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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