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