The Unemployment Line

Let's face it, being a coach of a European futbol team isn't the most stable position in the world when it comes to job security. You look around at the different leagues all over the continent and the exceptions are few and far between. Sir Alex Fergueson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal stand out as coaches who have been with their teams for more than 10 years. In Sir Alex's case, he's been there 20+ years and is a stalwart at Old Trafford.

Yet venture to the south and in Spain you will find a completely different story. Former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard was the the Catalan club for five years. That's an eternity in Spanish futbol. Consider that Real Madrid just fired Bernd Schuster and all he did was deliver a La Liga championship last year. Or even more curious is the fact that Fabio Capello, in two separate stints with the Madrid side, won a La Liga crown in each year only to be fired after the season... Que coño???? At least each one of those coaches made it at least one year. The same cannot be said this year in La Segunda. The year is not even half over and there have been seven, count 'em seven, coaching changes. And what's even more mindblowing is that a single club has accounted for FOUR for those. That's right, one team in El Infierno has already had FOUR coaches this year. If you're smart, you know who I'm taking about. Just go back to my previous post and see who is the penultimate 'colista'.... Alicante.

It didn't take long to start this circus either. In Jornada 7, Juan Carlos Granero was replaced by Asier Garitano. A whopping three weeks later during Jornada 10, Garitano was replaced by Nino Lema. Lema actually made it another five weeks to Jornada 15 before being replaced by Manolo Jimenez (see above photo)who hopefully by now has learned the names of his players as he tries to direct them out of the cellar of El Infierno. Alicante has just one win this season and a mere 9 points. The outlook does not look good. The team spent last year in the Segunda B and it's a good bet they'll return there even before the month of May starts. But hey, look on the bright side, at least the players will be able to soak up the spring Valencian sun with no pressure at all once they have 'secured' their relegation. Buena suerte chavales....

On to the games. Side note: Real Murcia just announced that they have fired Javier Clemente and brought on Jose Miguel Campos to try to salvage their season. Will it have an impact? Doubtful. Anyhow, to the games... A little shifting of the top 3. Salamanca is emerging as the strongest side in El Infierno. The Xerex freight train looks to be a little derailed after another tie, this time away at Castellon. A very nice battle is shaping up for the third pormotion spot between Hercules, Zaragoza, Castellon and Rayo Vallecano. Huesca is also right there with 24 points.

Resultados - Jornada 16

Córdoba - Rayo 0-1
Albacete - R.Sociedad 2-1
Castellón - Xerez 2-2
Celta - Zaragoza 2-0
Alicante - Las Palmas 1-2
Salamanca - Levante 3-0
Huesca - Murcia 1-0
Girona - Elche 1-1
Tenerife - Hércules 3-2
Eibar - Alavés 1-0
Gimnástic - Sevilla At 3-1

Clasificacion

1. Salamanca - 31
2. Xerez - 29
3. Hércules - 26
4. Zaragoza - 26
5. Castellón - 25
6. Rayo - 25
7. Huesca - 24
8. Tenerife - 24
9. R.Sociedad - 23
10. Albacete - 23
11. Celta - 22
12. Girona - 22
13. Levante - 22
14. Gimnástic - 21
15. Las Palmas - 21
16. Alavés - 20
17. Eibar - 19
18. Elche - 18
19. Córdoba - 16
20. Murcia - 13
21. Alicante - 9
22. Sevilla At - 7

Where Have You Gone, Real Oviedo and SD Compostela?

We once again travel off the paths of El Infierno and down into the depths of Spanish futbol. In the Fall of 1996, as I was being introduced to Spanish futbol, there were two teams playing in La Liga who are now nowhere to be found even close to the highest level of futbol in Spain. They were Real Oviedo and SD Compostela. What these two have in common is that financial problems and irregularities have landed them in either La Tercera Division or their Division Regional, which is one rung below La Tercera. But what I would like to do today is recount some of the glory and 'fame' that these teams did experience recently ago.

Well, this is the right time of year to recount a story about our Asturian friends from Oviedo. In the 1998-1999 season, when Oviedo was in La Primera, they played Real Madrid at home in Asturias in the last match before the Christmas break. Panamanian Dely Valdes scored the game winner for Oviedo and celebrated by calling his wife on a cell phone and wishing her a Merry Christmas. So before Joe Horn of the NFL's New Orleans Saints got everyone in a fuss about using a cell phone in a touchdown celebration 7-8 years ago, Dely Valdes had already gone down that road in La Liga. The cover of Marca the next day was "Hola, Soy Dely Valdes, Feliz Navidad!" and showed him speaking into the phone while being mobbed by teammates. (See above photo)

Now, there are no covers of Oviedo on Marca, but a curious rebirth has started for the club. The fans are making their back out to the 30,000 person Estadio Carlos Tartiere. A Trofeo Principado (Asturian competition) against Sporting Gijon (then in El Infierno, now in the Primera) saw a jam-packed crowd look on as Oviedo managed to beat their regional rivals 2-1. Pride has now been restored after financial hardship landed on this club and unfortunately on the players. there was even a day when the player showed up for practice only to find there was no electricty. Gone are the days when the fans lined their training ground to protest the players' supposed greediness. Now, after being promoted to La Tercera a couple years ago, the team was the toast of Oviedo as fans lined the streets as if they had won the World Cup. Maybe soon, more celebrations will happen in Oviedo as their native sons battle to return to prominence.

If you never saw SD Compostela play a game, you at least saw them as the opposing team in one of the famous Ronaldo clips ever. Once again, it was the year Ronaldo was with Barca. It also happens to be my favorite goal of all-time. He picks up the ball at midfield and basically beats the entire team, is getting dragged down by his shirt when he enters the penalty box, yet still swung his right boot round and scored the first of his 3 goals that night. I'll never forget it. I was at the Atleti-Betis game at Estadio Vincente Calderon and the scoreboard was like a pinball machine lighting up with "Gol en Compostela - Gol de Ronaldo". Barca won that game 5-1 and the cover of El Mundo Deportivo the next day was "Apostol Ronaldo", a direct reference to the fact that Santiago is home to Apostle James. I still have it at my home too.The whole world went on to know all about Ronaldo that year, but everyone forgot about poor Compostela or, "Compos" as they are called. Compostela lasted another year in la Primera before they descended down to la Segunda and soon enough, in 2001 they had trouble paying players. It was then that the Spanish Futbol Federation sent them down to the lower rings of Hell. This is all ironic considering that the most famous religious pilgrimage in the world, The Camino de Santiago, just so happens to end at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, a mere 20km or so away from their futbol stadium. It just doesn't seem right that a team in such a Holy City has to play in such an ungodly and hellish division.

On to the results. Xerex comes back down to earth as the Top 3 tightens up. Zaragoza avoids embarassment and equalises late against Huesca in the 'derbi aragones' with two goals from the Brazilian Ewerthon. It was Huesca first visit to play their regional neighbors in league play in 58 years! Also, new coaches abound at Cordoba and Alicante.

Clasificacion:

1. Xerez - 28
2. Salamanca - 28
3. Zaragoza - 26
4. Hércules - 26
5. Castellón - 24
6. R.Sociedad - 23
7. Rayo - 22
8. Levante - 22
9. Huesca - 21
10. Tenerife - 21
11. Girona - 21
12. Albacete - 20
13. Alavés - 20
14. Celta - 19
15. Gimnástic - 18
16. Las Palmas - 18
17. Elche - 17
18. Córdoba - 16
19. Eibar - 16
20. Murcia - 13
21. Alicante - 9
22. Sevilla At - 7

Resultados - Jornada 15

Hércules - Eibar 2-0
Murcia - Tenerife 2-2
Sevilla - AtCastellón 0-2
Zaragoza - Huesca 2-2
R.Sociedad - Alicante 1-0
Las Palmas - Celta 2-0
Elche - Córdoba 3-1
Levante - Albacete 3-1
Alavés - Gimnástic 1-1
Rayo - Salamanca 1-1
Xerez - Girona 2-2

The Fall of Real Murcia

A mere 11 months ago, then newly-promoted Real Murcia was one of the surprises of La Liga. They started off their 100th year of futbol, or their 'Centenario' as it is known, with a win against Osasuna to lay claim to 9th place in La Liga. Things reached a fever pitch that first week in January when thoughts of UEFA Cup futbol danced in the heads of Real Murcia supporters. A newly promoted team earning a spot to the following year's UEFA Cup was unheard of. And unfortunately for Real Murcia, it still is. Following the euphoric win against the Pamplona side, Real Murcia went into a tailspin like no other eventually falling to 19th place and being relegated back down to La Segunda Division. Real Murcia was only capable of scratching out 8 points in their next 20 games. Unfortunately for them, the trend has continued and now Real Murcia once again find themselves in the relegation zone. This time, to be relegated down to the Segunda B.

What makes this so painful for the team and its supporters is that the 'Centenario' is suppose to be a special year. A club celebrating 100 years of existence is suppose to summon magic and win games against 'los gigantes' or better yet, take their fans on a wild ride in the Copa del Rey. But sometimes, the Centenarios don't work out and now Real Murcia are seeing one of their worst years ever in the year of their Centenario.

Now Real Murcia has called on former Spanish National Team Coach Javier Clemente to turn things around. Clemente himself has been around the block many many times, and is sure to eventually piss off another team in another Spanish autonomous region. He's done it in his native Basque Country, Andalucia, Catalonia, Comunidad de Madrid, Tenenrife... and even Serbia! This is also a coach who managed to take a powerful Spanish National Team and lose to Cyprus. That's not a typo. That really happened. Not surprisingly, he resigned as 'Seleccionador' three days later. Don't hold your breath the the faithful who still go to La Nueva Condomina will see a quick tunraround. Real Murcia is in trouble. Let's hope the start of their second Centenario is better than the end of the first.

On to the results.... The Xerez train keeps rolling. They are now 'lider' of La Segunda. And don't look now but the Gallegos from Celta are making their way towards the top.

Jornada 14
Tenerife - Zaragoza 1-2
Salamanca - Córdoba 1-0
Castellón - Alavés 0-1
Alicante - Levante 0-2
Gimnástic - Hércules 2-2
Albacete - Rayo 2-1
Celta - R.Sociedad 0-0
Xerez - Elche 3-1
Huesca - Las Palmas 2-1
Girona - Sevilla At 1-0
Eibar - Murcia 3-1

Clasificacion:

1. Xerez - 27
2. Salamanca - 27
3. Zaragoza - 25
4. Hércules - 23
5. Castellón - 21
6. Rayo - 21
7. Huesca - 20
8. R.Sociedad - 20
9. Tenerife - 20
10. Albacete - 20
11. Girona - 20
12. Celta - 19
13. Levante - 19
14. Alavés - 19
15. Gimnástic - 17
16. Córdoba - 16
17. Eibar - 16
18. Las Palmas - 15
19. Elche - 14
20. Murcia - 12
21. Alicante - 9
22. Sevilla At - 7