Wednesday, December 23, 2009

When Futbol Meets Politics


Sometimes the most modest and indiscreet of news items trigger something in my memory. I catch a news blurb about such and such player or some match that recently happened and it contains a nugget of info which then leads me back to a news item or a person that I haven't thought about in years.

This happened yesterday while I was enjoying the Catalunya - Argentina. Tis' the season when people are busy buying presents for loved ones and friendly futbol matches are played far and wide. Our friends in El Infierno and their big brother in La primera are on vacation until January which gives them a chance to play in charity matches or in the case of players from several autonomous regions, a chance to play for their 'second' national team. The Galician and Basque national teams have run out squads in recent years to play teams from all over. Catalunya does the same and yesterday a Messi-less Argentina arrived to Nou Camp to play John Cruyff's Catalunya.

Circling back to my original premise, Oleguer Presas suited up for Catalunya, a player that hadn't thought about in a couple years, or really, since he left Barca for Ajax. The uber-nationalistic Oleguer probably enjoyed his time wearing the Catalunya national team jersey. He has been outspoken as any player about Catalunya receiving its independence from Spain.

Several years ago Oleguer gave an interview to Basque paper where he sympathized with the Basque terrorist group, ETA. The pockets are few and far between where ETA garners any sympathy around Spain, with the exception of the Basque country itself, so to see such a public figure come out and address his leanings towards the group was a bit stunning, if not disturbing.

Oleguer was reprimanded by his then-coach Frank Rijkaard and Barca president Joan Laporta for his statements. Another person who took exception to the Catalan's statement's was Salva Ballesta. What Oleguer is to the Catalan left, Salva is to the far right in Spain

Salva summed up his thoughts on Oleguer saying that he had more respect for dogshit than for the Oleguer himself. OK..... It is really no coincidence that the ultraconservative Salva has bounced around all of Spain, most likely due to ruffling a few feathers in dressing rooms across the Iberian Peninsula. Salva now finds himself in El Infierno playing with Albacete, a team that seems to be perfectly comfortable sitting in mid-table in the league with really no aspirations at all for promotion.

Some of Salva's best years including two separate spells at Atletico Madrid where he must have been a favorite of the 'Frente Atletico,' the club's radical and violent fan base. Say what you want about him as a person and his disdain for anyone not like him, but on the field Salva is always a force and his 137 career goals back that up.

Right now the striker has three goals for Albacete on the season and at age 34, it's a fairly impressive feat, especially for a striker. It is always uncomfortable when politics meets futbol, and it often does in Spain, but no matter what side of the aisle you are on, it's nice to see players such as Salva and Oleguer are willing to speak their minds. All too often players refuse to do so in fears of losing out on sponsorship dollars. These two players don't and I appreciate that.


As previously mentioned, no game sthis week due to the Christmas holiday.

Clasificacion:

1. R. Sociedad - 35
2. Hércules - 33
3. Cartagena - 29
4. Rayo - 27
5. Betis - 26
6. Numancia - 26
7. Salamanca - 26
8. Gimnástic - 25
9. Elche - 23
10. Córdoba - 23
11. Villarreal B - 23
12. Levante - 22
13. Albacete - 22
14. Huesca - 21
15. Recreativo - 21
16. Las Palmas - 20
17. Girona - 20
18. Celta - 19
19. Cádiz - 19
20. Real Unión - 16
21. Murcia - 14
22. Castellón - 11

Friday, December 11, 2009

Basque Delight




A derby in futbol is always a special thing, especially when two teams from the same city or regional area are pitted against each other. The great AC Milan - Inter Milan derby is always one to watch. Chelsea and Arsenal's London derby always produces good theater. And even though it has been lopsided for pretty much its entire history, I always sit down to watch the Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid derby in hopes that maybe, just maybe this is the year that Atleti can win... But they never do.

For many years our friends up in the Basque Country have been entertained by a derby that always featured Primera Division stalwarts Athletic Bilbao against their brethren from San Sebastian, none other than El Infierno 'lider' Real Sociedad. However since their relegation to El Infierno two years ago, the Basque people have been devoid of a derby which is a shame since the region has such a rich history and understanding of their clubs. As has been discussed on this blog before, it was shortly after the death of Franco when the Basque teams had their greatest success with Athletic winning two La Liga titles and Sociedad pulling down one of their own.

Fortunately this year a regional derby was able to come back into the fold but this time it was Sociedad welcoming in a town from the eastern part of the region to Estadio Anoeta. Newly promoted Real Union reside in Irun, just a hair away from the French border and are experiencing their first season in El Infierno since 1964-65. Real Union made headlines last season when, as a Segunda B team, they took down Real Madrid in the third round of the Copa del Rey (sound familiar?). Unlike Alcorcon's shocking 4-1 aggregate win, Union had to gut out 5-5 aggregate result with Madrid and advanced on the benefit of a late goal scored at the Bernabeu in the return leg. That goal evidently kickstarted the team's run to promotion.

So last weekend the regional derby between Real Sociedad and Real Union reunited after a mere 44 years with Sociedad laying a 4-1 thumping on the visitors. The locals had three goals in the net before halftime and never really gave Union a glimpse at daylight. What most of the fans in attendance probably didn't know was that the last time the two teams faced each other, Union got the best of Sociedad in a 1-3 win in San Sebastian. Otherwise, Sociedad has pretty much owned this 'rivalry' when you look at the history books.

1934 - 1935
Real Union 3 Real Sociedad 0
Real Sociedad 2 Real Union 1

1939 - 1940
Real Union 2 Real Sociedad 5
Real Sociedad 1 Real union 1

1940 - 1941
Real Union 1 Real Sociedad 6
Real Sociedad 6 Real Union 2

1964 - 1965
Real Union 1 Real Sociedad 3
Real Sociedad 1 Real Union 1

I guess it doesn't really come as a shock since Sociedad has mainly been in the Primera Division during their history while Union has languished mostly in between the Segunda B and the Tercera Division, but still, the fact that these two clubs are able to get together this season and give the Basque people something to talk about in lieu of the usual Athletic-Sociedad rivalry is compelling. All the more interesting will be the return leg in the spring when a visit to Stadium Gal in Irun may determine Sociedad's promotion hopes. We hope it will.

I swear to God I am a curse, After I give Betis tons of credit for winning two games in a row, they go out and lose to victory-challenged Murcia in a pitiful display of futbol. Then of course Celta makes me look even more like an idiot and beats Girona on the road.

Possibly the best goal of the season was Albacete's Salva lofting one in from nearly midfield and catching Salamanca's goalie by complete surprise. For sure it is a finalist.

And lastly, cheers for Diego Tristan scoring his first goal of the season for Cadiz!

If you used my picks last week to try to make some money to buy Christmas presents, then I think your loved ones can expect some thrifty items coming from you this year. A paltry three wins on last week's docket. Terrible!

Jornada 16

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


Clasificacion

1. R. Sociedad - 29
2. Hércules - 27
3. Cartagena - 26
4. Betis - 23
5. Numancia - 23
6. Elche - 23
7. Salamanca - 23
8. Levante - 22
9. Gimnástic - 22
10. Córdoba - 22
11. Rayo - 21
12. Recreativo - 20
13. Villarreal B - 20
14. Las Palmas - 18
15. Girona - 17
16. Huesca - 17
17. Cádiz - 17
18. Albacete -16
19. Celta -15
20. Real Unión -15
21. Murcia -13
22. Castellón -11

Thursday, December 3, 2009

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