Betis Is Back While Celta Suffers

About two weeks ago I was about ready to write off Betis' chances for a return to the Primera Division. The team was in a freefall after losing to last place Castellon and then weeks later getting drilled by Elche on the road and then tying pathetic Celta. But it's funny what a difference just four days can make as Betis have ripped off two wins in a row with a win against Las Palmas at the Villamarin over the weekend and then another home victory yesterday against Villarreal B in a make-up game from week 10 that had been cancelled due to a swine flu outbreak within the squad.

It just goes to show that if you can string together a couple results and win several matches ion a row, you can go from being a pretender to a contender in El Infierno. Betis are now in 4th place and are just three points below the promotion zone. Conventional wisdom suggests that to be a player in the promotion chase, you have to remain within six points or less of the last promotion spot, meaning that ground can be made up in two matches. Once it exceeds that golden number of six, then things get really difficult.

This is even more true on the other side of the table and Celta appear to be going the wrong way. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Balaidos Boys considering I have personal friends in Vigo and I've seen Celta play in their home stadium, and of course was also lucky to attend their memorable 1-2 victory in the Bernabeu back in 1998 when they were a first division power.

But hard times have hit the Gallegos and unlike Betis, there just isn't the firepower to easily wipe away a deficit. Dinei packed his bags over the summer and went to Primera side Tenerife while David Rodriguez headed back to his parent club of Almeria after being loaned out last year. Unfortunately when those two players left, they took all of the goals with them.

In 14 games, Celta have amassed an underwhelming 11 goals. Even more amazing is the fact that they managed to advance to the next round of the Copa del Rey against Tenerife when they scored 2 goals in the first leg in Balaidos. For them, that was an offensive outburst.

Last year's "permanencia' hero Iago Aspas recently said that the team is 'a muerte' with their coach Eusebio Sacristan. Normally in Spain that vote of confidence leads to another casualty on the coaching chopping block about 2-3 weeks after the statement if offered up. If Eusebio makes it to Christmas, consider me shocked.

Due to Thanksgiving there was no Quiniela last week so we're back at it again this week. Funnest match-up of the weekend will be in San Sebastian with a Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Real Union. Kinda feelin an upset in that one...

La Quiniela - Jornada 15

Córdoba - Hércules 2
Levante - Recreativo X
Salamanca - Albacete X
Numancia - Cartagena 2
Huesca - Rayo X
R. Sociedad - Real Unión 2
Gimnástic - Castellón 1
Murcia - Betis 2
Las Palmas - Villarreal B 1
Elche - Cádiz X
Girona - Celta 1

Clasificacion:

1. Cartagena - 26
2. Hércules - 26
3. R. Sociedad - 26
4. Betis - 23
5. Elche - 22
6. Rayo - 21
7. Levante - 21
8. Córdoba - 21
9. Numancia - 20
10. Salamanca - 20
11. Gimnástic - 19
12. Recreativo - 19
13. Villarreal B - 19
14. Girona - 17
15. Las Palmas - 17
16. Albacete - 16
17. Cádiz - 16
18. Real Unión - 15
19. Huesca - 14
20. Celta - 12
21. Castellón - 11
22. Murcia - 10

Hey, isn't that???.....

It is really no mystery to those who know me or who read this blog (are there some of you who actually do?) that I tend to favor the Catalan Giants of FC Barcelona rather than Franco, err, I mean Real Madrid. I openly admit but luckily in the blogging world, one does not have to have retain any journalistic objectivity and integrity! :)

Yet there is one team that will always have a soft spot in my heart, and that is the wonderful Deportivo de la Coruna team, who along with Valencia, made Spain a four horse race from 1994 - 2004. In that span of a decade, 'Super Depor' grabbed two Copa del Rey titles, one La Liga championship and a run to the Champions League semifinals in 2004. They would have had another Liga title if Yugoslavian forward Djukic had converted a last minute PK versus Valencia on the final matchday in 1994. He didn't and Barca were crowned champs.

Those Depor teams had wonderful players: Fran, Mauro Silva, Makaay, Rivaldo, Luque, Valeron, Sergio, Bebeto, Djalminha... I could go on. But there was one striker who came aboard in the summer of 2000 that terrorized defenders everywhere in Spain. His name was Diego Tristan.

Tristan joined the club after almost signing with Madrid following a stint with Mallorca. The Andalucian broke through in 2002 and had a massive year. 32 goals in all competitions one of which was scored in their epic Copa del Rey final against Madrid when Depor pulled off the 'Centenariazo'. It was the 100th anniversary of Real Madrid to the very day and they were planning a giant party that night with the a victory in the Cup final as the icing on the cake. Well Depor evidently sent back their invitation to the after-party and decided to have their own fiesta during the match. Depor ran Madrid ragged. Mauro Silva was a genius in the midfield, Fran composed and poised as always, Sergio abusing Hierro up top and then there was Diego Tristan whose play had the likes of Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano calling him the best player in La Liga afterwards.

In the third minute, Tristan issued the first warning to Madrid that if the capital city expected the visitors from Galicia to roll over, then they would be sorely mistaken. Tristan, with his back to Madrid goalkeeper Cesar, spun and chipped a shot towards the right corner of the goal that needed every bit of Cesar's long fingertips to deflect it. Four minutes later Sergio gave Depor the lead with a goal and then just minutes after that, it was Tristan's turn when he took in a cross and slipped a shot just inside the far post while the Madrid defenders were screaming for offsides. But there was no infraction, just expert shotmaking and goalscoring.

Only the championship pedigree allowed Madrid to hang in the match as Zidane, Raul and Figo fought back to halve the score in the second half, but still fell short. Depor were crowned champs and Tristan was the toast of Spain.

The newly crowned 'Pichichi' had his sights set on that summer's World Cup, but then an unfortunate injury against Northern Ireland that spring forced Tristan to the sidelines. He never did see a single minute of action at the World Cup that summer. Spain could have used Tristan especially in their quarterfinal after an injured Raul was also unavailable. La Seleccion had two goals disallowed against Korea in that quarterfinal and eventually lost in PKs. In the chaotic aftermath, the Spanish were outraged but none more so than Tristan who was snapped in a memorable photo having to be restrained by teammates to not attack the referee.

Tristan's time in La Coruna came to a sad close in 2006 when he was ushered out the door by new coach Joaquin Caparros. From there, he went back to Mallorca for a season, then to Livorno in Italy and then up to West Ham in England.

Finally, before the 2009 season, Tristan returned home to his native Andalucia and signed with Cadiz, newly promoted to El Infierno from the Segunda B. Even at 33 years of age, Tristan is more than serviceable as a forward and has already scored several goals on the season, albeit none in league play. An ankle injury has slowed the former 'crack' but you would be hard pressed to find a fan of Spanish futbol who doesn't want Tristan to succeed at Cadiz. Let's hope he does.


As for other action in El Infierno, things have turned from bad to worse for Betis as they keep slipping further and further away from the top three. Several Betis fans took it upon themselves to remind the players of their poor play by egging their cars as they left training! 'Beticos' have tons of passion, but it should also be said that some of that passion seems to have taken up space in their heads normally reserved for the brain.

On to the games....

La Quiniela - Jornada 13

Levante - Córdoba X
Salamanca - Hércules 2
Numancia - Recreativo X
Huesca - Albacete 1
R. Sociedad - Cartagena 1
Gimnástic - Rayo 2
Murcia - Real Unión 2
Las Palmas - Castellón 1
Elche - Betis 2
Celta - Villarreal B 1
Girona - Cádiz 2

Clasificacion:

1. Cartagena - 23
2. Hércules - 22
3. R. Sociedad - 22
4. Levante - 20
5. Rayo - 19
6. Córdoba - 19
7. Recreativo - 18
8. Gimnástic - 18
9. Elche - 18
10. Betis* - 17
11. Numancia - 16
12. Las Palmas - 16
13. Salamanca - 16
14. Albacete - 16
15. Villarreal B* - 15
16. Girona - 13
17. Cádiz - 13
18. Real Unión - 12
19. Celta - 12
20. Huesca - 11
21. Murcia - 7
22. Castellón - 7

Upsets Galore

The boys from Alcorcon are going to be grabbing the majority of the headlines, and rightly so, for their superb effort against Madrid this week in the Bernabeu. The Galacticos were only able to muster up a single goal in the span of 90 minutes and never really threatened the four goal deficit that Alcorcon layed at their feet in the first leg of their Copa del Rey fixture.

But let us not forget some of the other 'sorpresas' that we got to enjoy from Tuesday to Thursday during the Copa del Rey. One that also stands out is another lower division club from the outskirts of Madrid, albeit slightly closer to the town center, taking down a traditional first division stalwart. In this case, it was Rayo Vallecano building on their 2-0 win in Vallecas two weeks before to take down Athletic Bilbao in San Mames. The final result was 2-2 but Rayo had Bilbao chasing the whole way and last year's finalists never had a chance.

Most impressive on the evening was how Rayo held the Basques in check with impressive goalkeeping and opportunistic attacks including quite possibly my favorite goal of the Spanish season. A Rayo defender cleared a ball after an Athletic corner kick that made its way to striker Collantes. An Athletic defender tried to clear that ball only to send it skyward and towards his own net. As the ball dropped down, Collantes positioned himself perfectly and rifled a volley into the net. An absolute rocket.

Rayo's sealed the decision with a late goal and sent the boisterous faithful home with long faces. A similar scene played out in the Canary Islands as Celta shocked Tenerife with a 0-1 win. Granted, this is Tenerife's first season back in La Liga but Celta has been dreadful this season and are mired in the Infierno relegation zone. Apparently their Cup play took no note of their league play and the Vigueses were on their way to the next round.

Lastly, we must pay attention to what happened in Almeria last night as Jozy Altidore's least favorite coach ever, Esteban Vigo, brought Hercules into Almeria and stunned the first division side with a 0-1 win. Almeria are coached by former Real Madrid star and former Mexican national team star and coach Hugo Sanchez who probably would have liked to have suited up for the one if he knew his team would play they way they did. Almeria's lackluster effort included a penalty kick that was flubbed by Argentine striker Piatti who gave Diego Armando zero reason to include him in Saturday's Spain-Argentina friendly after that effort. Vigo's men pulled off the upset and now he continues to look like a genius... again.

International play dominated the futbol world this weekend but the 'tios' in El Infierno would rather have a go at league play again unlike their pansy cousins in England and Germany so we have a Quiniela this week!

La Quiniela - Jornada

Levante - Girona 1
Córdoba - Salamanca X
Hércules - Numancia 1
Recreativo - Huesca 1
Albacete - R. Sociedad 2
Cartagena - Gimnástic 1
Rayo - Murcia X
Real Unión - Las Palmas 1
Castellón - Elche X
Betis - Celta 1
Villarreal B - Cádiz X

Clasificacion

1. Cartagena - 23
2. R. Sociedad - 21
3. Hércules - 19
4. Levante - 17
5. Betis* - 16
6. Rayo - 16
7. Numancia - 16
8. Salamanca - 16
9. Córdoba - 16
10. Las Palmas - 15
11. Recreativo - 15
12. Gimnástic - 15
13. Elche - 15
14. Albacete - 15
15. Girona - 13
16. Cádiz - 13
17. Villarreal B* - 12
18. Real Unión - 11
19. Huesca - 11
20. Celta - 11
21. Murcia - 7
22. Castellón - 7

Paliza!

This might be a little late but it still needs to be discussed. Of course I'm talking about what happened last Tuesday in a growing suburb of Madrid called Alcorcon. The third division team welcomed the 'Galacticos' to town, sans Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, and thumped their skulls 4-0.

It's not like surprises have never happened to the 'gigantes' of Spanish futbol in the Copa del Rey. Just in the last 10 years both Real Madrid and Barcelona have each twice been taken down by 'un pequeno'. Madrid were beaten back towards the beginning of the decade by nearby Toldeo 2-1 in a winner take all affair. Then of course last year the Segunda B team from Irun, Real Union, shocked the Madridistas by scoring a late goal in the Bernabeu to advance on away goals.

Barcelona's issues in the Copa also came a fair number of years ago but their fellow Catalans from Figueres still remember the day they shocked Rivaldo, Patrick Kluivert and that group. And the Barca team that flirted with relegation in 2002-2003 saw their fortunes go south against little-known Novelda 3-2.

But those were all nail-biting encounters which saw the lesser teams barely squeak out the victory. What happened last week was a complete drubbing. Madrid was disinterested and lethargic while Alcorcon looked the side that had the 450 Euro payroll.

Alcorcon resides in the southwestern suburbs of Madrid containing a growing immigrant population. The town's population has grown significantly in the last 10 years due to the influx of immigrants to Spain and social services have been built up to support the city (including now having a Metro stop!). It looks like futbol has become another one of those social services as the team could parlay this win towards getting promoted to the Infierno at the close of the season. A return leg in the Bernabeu awaits, and if there is a team that can overcome the odds and win 5-0 to advance, it's Madrid, but for now let us take a step back and celebrate the exploits of Alcorcon and their 1 million Euro payroll. Me quito el sombrero.

No action last week between Betis and Villarreal B who had to cancel their match due to the Swine Flu.

Also, take a moment and keep Fernando Caceres in your thoughts and prayers. The former Celta, Zaragoza and Valencia man was attacked by a couple hoodlums this past week in his native Argentina and his chances of living are bleak.

Sorry for the lack of Quiniela picks this week. Probably wouldn't have made my new commenting friend from Poland any money anyways!

Salamanca - Levante X
Numancia - Córdoba X
Huesca - Hércules 2
R. Sociedad - Recreativo 1
Gimnástic - Albacete X
Murcia - Cartagena X
Las Palmas - Rayo 2
Elche - Real Unión 2
Celta - Castellón 1
Cádiz - Betis 2
Girona - Villarreal B X

Clasificacion:

1. Cartagena - 20
2. Hércules - 19
3. R. Sociedad - 18
4. Levante - 17
5. Rayo - 16
6. Betis - 15
7. Numancia - 15
8. Gimnástic - 15
9. Recreativo - 15
10. Córdoba - 15
11. Salamanca - 13
12. Villarreal B - 12
13. Las Palmas - 12
14. Elche - 12
15. Cádiz - 12
16. Albacete - 12
17. Real Unión - 11
18. Girona - 10
19. Huesca - 8
20. Celta - 8
21. Murcia - 7
22. Castellón - 7

Empatatis

It is almost to the point of laughable at what is happening down yonder in Murcia. After eight matches played, the club finds itself still winless on the season, yet above the relegation zone. How does this happen? Well, the answer to that could be in the form of another question: Why win or lose, when you can draw?

That's right, Murcia are currently sporting one of the oddest W/T/L lines of any team with a 0/7/1 record on the season. Zero wins, seven draws and one loss. Only Gimnastic all the way back in week one were able to alter the trend, but then again, that was the first week of the season meaning that Murcia have reeled off seven ties in a row!

Jornada 5 saw Murcia almost collect their first win but a 92nd goal by Salamanca's Goikoetxea (not to be confused with the 'Butcher of Bilbao') spoiled the party. Otherwise, it's been a continuous plodding along for the southeastern side who fell from la Liga glory after the '07-'08 season and then dangerously dropped down to the Segunda B last before a resurgent spring ensured their safety.

"Puntuando" has always been viewed as a positive thing in the eyes of Spanish futbol expert, but at the rate that Murcia is doing it, an occasional three would be much better. Last year it took 47 points to ensure safety for Celta and Las Palmas. Trying every match over the course of the 41 weeks won't get it done. I'm not naive to think that Murcia will actually tie EVERY single match, but I think you get my point that it's time to start thinking about winning, rather than not losing.

Other notes:

How about Castellon getting their first win of the year over Betis? Cheers to Tintin Martinez for his first win as coach there. Betis are now 7th and starting to fade a bit from the top three. they were not expected to be having this much trouble and losing to the bottom feeder isn't helping matters. A loss this week could see some heads rolling.

One thing we can extract from Murcia's tendency to draw is that it helps our Quiniela! Of course, I was foolish to think that Murcia would actually lose last week so I won't make the same mistake again. Four wins last week. Not much better but at least it was some improvement.

Jornada 9

Numancia - Salamanca 1
Huesca - Levante X
R. Sociedad - Córdoba 1
Gimnástic - Hércules X
Murcia - Recreativo X
Las Palmas - Albacete 1
Elche - Cartagena 2
Celta - Rayo 1
Cádiz - Real Unión 1
Villarreal B - Castellón 1
Girona - Betis X

Clasificacion:

1. Cartagena - 16
2. Rayo - 15
3. R. Sociedad - 15
4. Hércules - 15
5. Numancia - 14
6. Levante - 13
7. Betis - 12
8. Recreativo - 12
9. Salamanca - 12
10. Córdoba - 12
11. Gimnástic - 11
12. Cádiz - 9
13. Las Palmas - 9
14. Albacete - 9
15. Villarreal B - 9
16. Real Unión - 8
17. Elche - 8
18. Murcia - 7
19. Celta - 7
20. Huesca - 7
21. Girona - 7
22. Castellón - 4

A Week Of 'Polemica'

This year so far in El Infierno the news in the middle of the week has been fairly quiet. It had been quite the contrast from last season where a new scandal seemed to break every week. Whether it was the former Xerez president being involved in a shooting at a brothel or a Rayo Vallecano play implicated in a massive cocaine sting, it certainly made for good theater.

This past week provided the first instance of off the field 'polemica' in the Segunda Division and we were treated to not one, but two flare-ups.

The first was the accusation that last year's season ending match between Las Palmas and Rayo Vallecano was fixed. Rayo had nothing to play for and was simply wrapping up their season while Las Palmas needed a point to ensure safety. The Canary Islands side at the time was just two points ahead of Alaves in the standings and required a result to make sure they stayed another season in the Segunda.

Las Palmas got the result but with only two shots on goal in a match they seemingly had to have, it did give off an air that something was amiss. UEFA apparently got wind of this and elected to add this match to the already huge list of 40 gamesthat have been suspected of match-fixing... That's right, 40 games.

40 games is a telling statistic. Essentially, yes, match fixing does happen on some level whether it's with the giants like Barcelona and Real Madrid or down to the smaller clubs like our friends in El Infierno. One would hope that it doesn't happen, but it does and frankly, there is little that can be done to penalize those involved. The referee from the Las Palmas-Rayo match publicly said that he didn't see anything 'raro' with what was going on. Hell, Spanish clubs are known for offering 'maletas' full of cash to teams to win games against opponents. How is that different than throwing a match?

The other off the field 'polemica' this year in El Infierno was the dust-up between Albacete goalkeeper Notario and Celta's Catala and Trashorras. Apparently Notario took exception to Celta's Iago Aspas placing his hands on Notario's head after the keeper had saved a shot. Words were exchanged following the match and the next thing you know a brawl is going on in the tunnel between Notario and Catala and Trashorras.

Unfortunately for Celta, it was the most fight they had shown all season. Where's that spirit on the field? All players involved, including a Celta assistant coach were rightfully suspended, yet it has been only Notario who has stepped forward with an apology to his teammates, the club, the fans and anyone associated with futbol in general. I think it was contrite... I think. Going back to our friends in Galicia, they could use a little more fight in their game because right now, they are dreadful.

One last note... congrats to new Elche head man Pepe Bordalás who got a victory in his first match as coach for the Comunidad de Valencia side. Elche beat Recreativo 3-2. But with one coaching success comes another failure, Castellon showed David Amaral the door after the team only managed one draw in seven matches on the season. Not a surprise there. In his place comes Tintin Martinez who was head man at Primera Division's Espanyol, but his coaching claim to fame came back in 1997 when he managed CE Europa to a victory over FC Barcelona in the Copa de Catalunya final.

Speaking of needing a change, have a look at my Quiniela results from last week. Terrible!! I should fire myself. Just two games correctly picked. It can't get any worse this week, can it?

Quiniela - Jornada 8

Numancia - Girona 1
Salamanca - Huesca 1
Recreativo - Las Palmas X
Córdoba - Gimnástic X
Hércules - Murcia 1
Levante - R. Sociedad 2
Albacete - Elche X
Cartagena - Celta 1
Rayo - Cádiz 1
Real Unión - Villarreal B X
Castellón - Betis 2

Clasificacion:

1. R. Sociedad - 15
2. Cartagena - 15
3. Rayo - 14
4. Hércules - 14
5. Betis - 12
6. Numancia - 11
7. Córdoba - 11
8. Levante - 10
9. Gimnástic - 10
10. Las Palmas - 9
11. Salamanca - 9
12. Recreativo - 9
13. Real Unión - 8
14. Cádiz - 8
15. Albacete - 8
16. Huesca - 7
17. Girona - 7
18. Elche - 7
19. Murcia - 6
20. Celta - 6
21. Villarreal B - 6
22. Castellón - 1

The Look of a Winner

Two-time La Liga champions Real Sociedad from San Sebastian were thought of as being one of the favorites to regain promotion last year after being relegating following the 2007-2008 La Liga season. Only problem was that the Basques could never put together a run that made them promotion worthy and they were ultimately left on the outside looking in.

Granted their titles came back in the early 80's, but this was still a team that played Champions League futbol less than ten years ago. It was mildly surprising that Sociedad was left out of the mix because frankly, they are a Primera Division stalwart and should be there, not in El Infierno.

But for now, we have the pleasure of watching their passionate fans urge their boys back to victory and a rightful place in Spain's top flight so the locals can stick their chests out whenever they travel to nearby Bilbao where Athletic have never gone down.

This year Real Sociedad appear to be doing everything right so far as evidenced by their 1-3 victory this past weekend over Numancia. It's hard enough going to Los Pajaritos and getting a point, let alone three. Just ask pep Guardiola. It was Numancia who handed Barca a 1-0 defeat before the Blaugrana ripped off umpteen wins in a row and ran away with La Liga title. But still, the defending European champs weren't even able to score in Soria against Numancia, let alone win.

So Sociedad's three goals against the newly relegated side went a long ways towards experts pegging the Basques as promotion favorites this year. The club still mainly consists of Basque players with an occasional foreigner wearing the blue and white striped jersey, plus Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte.

Everyone's favorite journeyman 'El Lobo' Abreau is now gone and playing in Greece but the core of the team are the nine players who rose up from the club's 'cantera', also known as Real Sociedad B. The leader of this group is Xabi Prieto who has been with Sociedad since 2003 when they club was coming off that second place finish in La Liga. Prieto is one of the elder statesman on the team but still one of its most dangerous playmakers including his goal against Numancia this past weekend much to the delight of the thousands that made the trip south from the Bay of Biscay.

Real Sociedad sit second just a point behind Hercules and it would not be surprisng at all to see the club end in that exact same spot come early June.


As for last week's Quiniela. Well, it was better than the previous week with five wins including my Real Sociedad pick. Also picked the Cartagena - Villarreal B tie which I'd say if fairly impressive.

One last note - first firing of the year was handed down this week. Elche bid adieu to Claudio Barragán who the club said, "was not the leader we wanted and not right for the team." Think you could have decided on that before the season started, not six weeks in?

Jornada 7 - Quiniela

Huesca - Numancia 1
R. Sociedad - Salamanca 1
Gimnástic - Levante X
Murcia - Córdoba 1
Las Palmas - Hércules 2
Elche - Recreativo X
Celta - Albacete 1
Cádiz - Cartagena 1
Villarreal B - Rayo 2
Betis - Real Unión 1
Girona - Castellón X

Clasificacion:

1. Hércules - 13
2. R. Sociedad - 12
3. Cartagena - 12
4. Betis - 11
5. Rayo - 11
6. Levante - 10
7. Numancia - 10
8. Córdoba - 10
9. Salamanca - 9
10. Recreativo - 9
11. Las Palmas - 8
12. Cádiz - 8
13. Real Unión - 7
14. Gimnástic - 7
15. Albacete - 7
16. Huesca - 6
17. Villarreal B - 6
18. Murcia - 5
19. Celta - 5
20. Girona - 4
21. Elche - 4
22. Castellón - 1