Donde Esta La Aficion?

It doesn't take a genius to know that the economy isn't doing very well. And it's not limited to just the United States. Unless you've been living in a cave (Osama Bin Laden?) or are completely checked out from reality, you know that the world economy is hemorrhaging. One of the countries that has been hardest hit is Spain. After years of a booming economy after the dormant Franco years, Spain has fallen down the slippery slope into a recession. Now there is a glut of housing, millions of restless immigrants who are being bribed by the Spanish government to go back to their home countries and an unemployment rate that hovers around 15%. Not even the city of Detroit is at 15%, yet here's an entire country that is at that level.

Not surprisingly, this has had an adverse effect for futbol teams and especially our beloved teams in El Infierno. Simply put, no one is coming to the games. Why spend 20 euros on a ticket to watch Hercules-Alicante when that money could be better served at the market to help cover meals for a couple days? Makes sense to me. To better help explain, let's look at the slot of last week's games and each one's attendance compared to the stadium's capacity.

Tenerife-Elche : 20,300 (24,000)
Zaragoza-Las Palmas : 17,302 (34,596)
Hercules-Alicante : 7,000 (30,000)
Alaves-Rayo : 7,738 (19,200)
Eibar-Huesca : 2,052 (5250)
Castellon-Alicante : 6,348 (18,000)
Gimnastic-Celta : 4,500 (14,500)
Murcia-Real Sociedad : 14,156 (33,045)
Xerez-Salamanca : 10,500 (22,000)
Girona-Albacete : 2,000 (5,000)
Sevilla Atletico-Cordoba : 1,000 (7,000)

So out of all eleven games last week, only the islanders in Tenerife registered a crowd that had more than 50% capacity filled in the stadium. Some of these stadiums were only a third or fourth full. Alot of these away teams last week are having the same problems filling their stadium. So what's a club to do? I submit to you the example of Rayo Vallecano. Two weeks ago they hosted Hercules and the club offered a promotion where season ticket holder had the opportunity to buy another ticket for a mere 3 euros. the result? Another 2,500 spectators showed up to the Estadio Teresa Rivero and helped the home side to a 1-0 victory. Now with Rayo seeking their fifth consecutive win, the club is running a similar promotion this weekend in the game against 'colista' Sevilla Atletico. However this time, prices can be had for just ONE euro. At this rate, the stadium will either be full or close to full. The fans enjoy themselves and concession sales will have helped recover some of the loss in revenue.

This is how you win the trust of not just futbol fans, but sporting fans everywhere. Rayo Vallecano is saying hey, we know times are tough. Maybe you want to escape from your troubles. Spend a couple euros, come down and for two hours you'll be able to take your kids to watch some top-rate futbol. In a world lacking of it, it's nice to see some common sense in business. Bien hecho Rayo.

Jornada 24 - Resultados
Tenerife-Elche 3-2
Zaragoza-Las Palmas 2-0
Hercules-Alicante 4-2
Alaves-Rayo 0-2
Eibar-Huesca 2-0
Castellon-Alicante 2-0
Gimnastic-Celta 1-1
Murcia-Real Sociedad 2-0
Xerez-Salamanca 2-1
Girona-Albacete 3-3
Sevilla Atletico-Cordoba 0-2

Clasificacion
1. Xerez - 46
2. Tenerife - 43
3. Zaragoza - 40
4. Castellón - 40
5. Rayo - 40
6. Hércules - 39
7. Salamanca - 37
8. R. Sociedad - 36
9. Levante - 35
10. Girona - 34
11. Huesca - 33
12. Celta - 33
13. Gimnástic - 31
14. Murcia - 31
15. Elche - 30
16. Albacete - 29
17. Las Palmas - 28
18. Córdoba - 27
19. Eibar - 24
20. Alavés - 24
21. Alicante - 16
22. Sevilla At - 10

Hoy Te Favorecen, Mañana Te Perjudican

Being a futbol referee isn't easy. In fact, it has to be considered one of the most thankless tasks in all of sport. There are not many sports in this world of ours where a newspaper will grade out not only the players after a game, but also the referees. Spanish Daily Marca takes it upon themselves to grade out players on a scale of 10 as to their performance during a game. Many times a Messi or Villa or Robben can grade out 9/10 or even 10/10. Referees? An 8/10 is all but unheard of. The norm usually settles in the neighborhood of 4/10 to 6/10. Consequently, the ire of fans in La Liga and La Segunda Division who see their teams as having games 'stolen' from them are directed towards the lonely 'arbitros.' One in particular is the quirky Mejuto Gonzalez who immortalized himself back in 1996 during a Zaragoza-Barcelona game when he was heard on camera chatting with his linesman during a controversial red card and penalty call. Mejuto was heard to ask his linesman, "Vaya Rafa, no me jodas! Expulsion de quien?" Which roughly translates to, "C'mon Rafa! Don't f*** with me. Expulsion of whom?" Since then, Mejuto has always been viewed in a different light by fans and media.

This obsession with referees brings us to this week's topic. Apparently, Real Sociedad believes that they have had 13 points stolen from them due to poor refereeing. This was blown up over the course of this week in the aftermath of the last minute tie gained by Zaragoza against Real Sociedad at the Anoeta. The San Sebastian side claims a PK was wrongly called in favor of zaragoza which was converted and the Realistas were left to ponder the disappearance of another two points. Well, someone wasn't gonna take anymore of this and that person was Real Sociedad President Jokin Aperriba who appealed to the Comité Técnico de Arbitros (CTA) to end disgraceful trend of referee mistakes directed towards his club. More importantly, the Basque side has reiterated that these 13 points have clearly cost them 1st place in La Segunda Division and an all but assured promotion back to La Primera.

Tap the brakes there. Granted, it's true that Real Sociedad has been on the wrong end of a couple late PK calls which have resulted in the loss of points. But don't think for a minute some of their opponents have thought the same thoughts after a defeat at the hands of Real Sociedad. My point is that in sports like futbol, basketball, baseball and American Football, I find it utterly pointless to complain about the referees. In the end, the play speaks for themselves and the number of calls going for and against normally end up 50/50. My advice to Real Sociedad, to quote Su Majestad El Rey Don Juan Carlos II, "Por que no te callas?" Get on the field, play well and score enough goals to ensure that a referee error does not greatly impact the game.

In a sign of solidarity, this week's Team of the Week is the RFEF, Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol, the organization who backs the Spanish Referees.

Jornada 23- Resultados
Albacete - Xerez 0-2
Celta - Castellón 1-2
Rayo - Hércules 1-0
R. Sociedad - Zaragoza 1-1
Salamanca - Sevilla At 6-0
Tenerife - Eibar 2-0
Levante - Murcia 2-1
Huesca - Gimnástic 3-2
Elche - Las Palmas 1-1
Córdoba - Alavés 3-0
Alicante - Girona 1-1

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 43
2. Tenerife - 40
3. Zaragoza - 37
4. Salamanca - 37
5. Castellón - 37
6. Rayo - 37
7. Hércules - 36
8. R. Sociedad - 36
9. Levante - 35
10. Huesca - 33
11. Girona - 33
12. Celta - 32
13. Gimnástic - 30
14. Elche - 30
15. Las Palmas - 28
16. Albacete - 28
17. Murcia - 28
18. Córdoba - 24
19. Alavés - 24
20. Eibar - 21
21. Alicante - 16
22. Sevilla At. - 10

Getting Jozy In El Infierno

The history of futbol in the USA is one of few distinctions. The U.S. went decades without even qualifying for the World Cup until 1990. There was the surprising run to the quarterfinals in 2002, but overall, success has not come easy to the U.S. However there is a new generation of players that hope to change that. One name, Freddy Adu, is recognizable by many sports fans in this country. But there is another player, Jozy Altidore, who is starting to make a name for himself on the international futbol scene, and lucky for us, Jozy plays in Spain.

Outside of a brief stint by keeper Casey Keller at Rayo Vallecano, Jozy Altidore is the first ever American to play in La Liga. He spent the first half of this season at Villarreal, and even recorded the first ever American goal in Spanish Primera play. In an attempt to keep their investment fine-tuned and sharp, Villarreal made the decision to loan the young striker from Boca Raton, FL out to Segunda Divison's Xerez. Lucky for Jozy, he will be playing for a side that sits atop the Segunda and will be playing in some very intense and competitive games the rest of the season. This move makes sense for all parties. Young Jozy gets more playing time, helps Xerez "sube" to the Primera Division and gains more experience with the Spanish game. Needless to say, U.S. futbol fans will be keeping a closer eye on the Spanish Second Division.

For me personally, I love seeing an American finally elect to play in Spain. All too often, American players look to play in England. Granted the quality of play is quite good, but I can't help but think that the lack of a language barrier also has something to do with it. It's refreshing to see Jozy play in a country where he'll need to learn the language to communicate with his teammates. This will take a great effort on his part but he could reap major dividends in the end. He's playing in a league with alot of young quality players (La Segunda Division in Spain could rival many first division leagues in Europe) and that's an experience that could never be had back in his home country.

The other big news in El Infierno this week was that Castellon was searching for a new coach with the departure Abel Resino who was selected to take the reins of floundering Atletico Madrid in the Primera Division. Castellon replaced Resino with Paco Herrera who has ties all over Spain as a player, coach and sporting director, plus helped out Rafa Benitez at Liverpool for a brief spell. It will be interesting to see how this affects Castellon's play the rest of the season.

Resultados - Jornada 22
Zaragoza - Levante 2-1
Hércules - Córdoba 1-0
Alavés - Salamanca 1-1
Eibar - Elche 1-2
Las Palmas - R.Sociedad 0-1
Castellón - Huesca 1-1
Gimnástic - Tenerife 0-1
Murcia - Rayo 0-1
Xerez - Alicante 2-0
Girona - Celta 2-2
Sevilla At. - Albacete 1-1

Clasificacion:
1. Xerez - 40
2. Tenerife - 37
3. Hércules - 36
4. Zaragoza - 36
5. R.Sociedad - 35
6. Castellón - 34
7. Salamanca - 34
8. Rayo - 34
9. Celta - 32
10. Girona - 32
11. Levante - 32
12. Gimnástic - 30
13. Huesca - 30
14. Elche - 29
15. Albacete - 28
16. Murcia - 28
17. Las Palmas - 27
18. Alavés - 24
19. Córdoba - 21
20. Eibar - 21
21. Alicante - 15
22. Sevilla At. - 10