tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45343744732166241612023-11-16T04:21:44.767-08:00Bienvenido Al InfiernoAn American's obsession with Spanish Second Division Futbol and beyond.Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-8278368827279602852010-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:002010-03-18T14:58:02.852-07:00The Pride of Hercules<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlEY6B0-8SWMPzrbdhNZ6s84GMGY0wV13L08UOsYHD0kPAX_z-OF36oywxi4LQNybYMre-D8G40LwY4r77FGwawyfCtQMg6LLK-2rXhObXiQssKruYvyen5CFCjbY7ECAp1JjEHuSY3dW/s320/Esteban+Vigo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlEY6B0-8SWMPzrbdhNZ6s84GMGY0wV13L08UOsYHD0kPAX_z-OF36oywxi4LQNybYMre-D8G40LwY4r77FGwawyfCtQMg6LLK-2rXhObXiQssKruYvyen5CFCjbY7ECAp1JjEHuSY3dW/s320/Esteban+Vigo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />NOTE: The updatyed daily excerpts of Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found at www.laligaweekly.com.<br />========================<br /><br />The 1996-1997 La Liga season is best remembered for the torrid goal-scoring prowess that Brazilian striker Ronaldo displayed week in and week out for FC Barcelona. Yet for many Barcelona fans, that season left a bitter taste due to the second place finish to champions and eternal rivals Real Madrid. <br /><br />A large part for the reason why the Bobby Robson-led Barcelona finished as runners-up was because a modest club from Alicante beat the Catalan giants twice. Even more stunning was that both wins came in the form of comebacks, including a surreal 2-3 victory after having trailed 2-0 in the first half at the Nou Camp. So who was that club? It was Hercules.<br /><br />It was a one and done that season for Hercules who then over time slowly sank all the way down to the Segunda B before earning promotion back to the Segunda for the 2005-2006 campaign.<br /><br />After a successful season last year that saw them finish in the top five, Hercules now sit on the doorstep to promotion and the man leading them is Esteban Vigo.<br /><br />Known to American soccer fans as the coach who didn't play Jozy Altidore for four months, Vigo coached Xerez to their first ever promotion to the Primera and then promptly left to take the reins at Hercules. An odd decision for sure, but then again, so was choosing not to play the US striker.<br /><br />Hercules sit in second place currently in the Segunda with 51 points. While fans of about 20 other teams would kill to be in that position, the Hercules faithful have started wringing their hands of late.<br /><br />The club isn't playing well having dropped their last two matches including a puzzling 0-1 loss at home to Las Palmas last weekend. There was also the 1-2 loss at home to bottom feeder Castellon which basically started this rut.<br /><br />Xerez went through a similar stretch last season where a fair number of points were left on the table before Vigo managed to right the ship.<br /><br />The same opportunity awaits the Alicante club this weekend when they make the quick trip over to Murcia, a team that was a Quiniela's player's delight earlier in the season with their seven consecutive draws to open the campaign.<br /><br />Murcia has since improved and have climbed out of the relegation zone and will pose a tough test. Vigo will be looking to his foreign fowards up front in the form of Romanian Ionel Danciulescu and Andrija Delibasic of Montenegro to add to their season total of 13 goals.<br /><br />The back is manned by Javier Farinos, who is just 31 even though it seems he has been around forever. Farinos was part of the 2000 Valencia team that fell to Madrid in that season's Champions League final. He then went on to play for Inter Milan in Italy before returning home to Spain with stints at Villarreal and Mallorca. Vigo will require a strong game out of the veteran to slow down Murcia who have accrued 10points in their last 12 matches.<br /><br />In the past, this is when we have seen Vigo get the best out of his squads and fans tuning in for a Friday night special at the Nueva Condomina will get a chance to see why he is one of the best coaches in Spain.Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-54588547985292282392010-03-18T14:54:00.000-07:002010-03-18T14:56:00.448-07:00Fun In The Sun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv6fItCGJ-IOxOUCEbAL4aw0NkC3ucSo5SsQRCWNPV7LmZb8AD8SIHA-15uvglCy39ziAF8RIKX7woTyeohrSs06AMkAnIZisOVBmMVyJU7gajwUYH0FuLKB9Qk8K_DqqjHOWgQKfKSs/s1600-h/Cadiz4Albacete3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtv6fItCGJ-IOxOUCEbAL4aw0NkC3ucSo5SsQRCWNPV7LmZb8AD8SIHA-15uvglCy39ziAF8RIKX7woTyeohrSs06AMkAnIZisOVBmMVyJU7gajwUYH0FuLKB9Qk8K_DqqjHOWgQKfKSs/s320/Cadiz4Albacete3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450095847210558914" /></a><br /><br />NOTE: Weekly excerpts of Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found at www.laligaweekly.com.<br />====================================<br /><br />If there is one thing that the Spanish love in addition to their futbol, it is having a party. What’s even better for them is when they can actually combine the two vices and if there is one place in particular where a contingent of the Spanish population excels at excess, it is in Cadiz.<br /><br />The sun-baked city of just over 100,000 people is known historically for being a port city and a destination where pale and pasty northern Europeans can come down to southwestern Spain and get a tan.<br /><br />Unfortunately their futbol history is a bit underwhelming. There have been several different stints in the Primera Division throughout the years, including a recent spell during the 2005-2006 season. But shortly after that, Cadiz went into a free-fall and landed in the Segunda B.<br /><br />Redemption came in the form of promotion back to the Segunda for the 2009-2010 season but three points have been hard to come by this year for the club.<br /><br />To their credit, the Cadiz CF faithful continue to come in large droves to the Estadio Ramon de Carrazza. Better yet, the fans cheer regardless if it’s a win or loss.<br /><br />Granted, a victory makes them happier, but unlike many fan bases which see alcohol consumption lead to violence, the polar opposite happens to Cadiz fans who seem to revel in partaking with the opposing teams’ fans and openly declare that win or lose, as long as they have their ‘copa’ then they’ll be just fine.<br /><br />Well, this past weekend’s victory may have very well bankrupted the local bars because it was certainly one to remember.<br /><br />Real Madrid’s comeback versus Sevilla on Saturday got the national headlines but Cadiz’s heart stopping win over Albacete was far more impressive. Down 1-3, the home team rallied to score three goals in 12 minutes late in the second half and pulled off an improbable victory which was all started by a legend in Spanish futbol.<br /><br />Diego Tristan will forever be remembered for his goal-scoring prowess with the wonderful ‘SuperDepor’ teams from the early 2000s, including their mastery of Real Madrid in the final of the 2002 Copa del Rey, hence known as the ‘Centenariazo’.<br /><br />After stints in Italy and England, Tristan is now back in Spain with Cadiz. He scored the second Cadiz goal in classic Tristan style when he lodged himself between defender and booted in a ball off a set piece.<br /><br />The crowd at the Ramond de Carrazza erupted after the grizzled vet’s goal and just minutes later Enrique and Fragoso added their own strikes to claim the win.<br /><br />It was a huge victory over the Castilla La Mancha side and still keeps 20th place Cadiz within an arm's length of the safety zone.<br /><br />It might be snowing in other parts of Spain right now but the fans in Cadiz are believing that their team is warming up at just the right time.Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-65910985678066205572010-03-18T14:53:00.001-07:002010-03-18T14:54:40.363-07:00Back On Track?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwgLkdnrWMS2NDsKq7Xn8c60oCEiJQ6-3SsMAOIhyphenhyphenfGEPAWPObdlW6k4E3P5UQxXWVrO7CCZeWaxqaxbT15dPTAtdZ0mO_Y03dVZNYf3XShGxgtw81gIk-3XU72JAnookbl6sYFdAl3U/s1600-h/Betis.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwgLkdnrWMS2NDsKq7Xn8c60oCEiJQ6-3SsMAOIhyphenhyphenfGEPAWPObdlW6k4E3P5UQxXWVrO7CCZeWaxqaxbT15dPTAtdZ0mO_Y03dVZNYf3XShGxgtw81gIk-3XU72JAnookbl6sYFdAl3U/s320/Betis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450095616183831266" /></a><br />NOTE: Weekly excerpts from Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found on www.laligaweekly.com<br />==============================<br />Because of the stellar play by Segunda Division leaders Hercules and Real Sociedad, it is really the race for the third and final promotion spot that is giving us some good drama at the top of the Segunda Division standings.<br /><br />One team that many experts thought would finish in the top three was Betis after the storied Sevilla club were shockingly relegated on the final day of last season.<br /><br />To the credit of the club, the bulk of the players stuck around in hopes of returning to the Primera. But things haven’t gone as planned. Betis have floundered all season long, puzzling their fans who even took it upon themselves to egg the cars of several players during a poor stretch back during the fall.<br /><br />But the spirits of the Beticos remain strong and a solid contingent of them made the six hour drive from Sevilla to Cartagena on Sunday to watch their ‘Verdiblancos’ face the newly-promoted upstarts who sit in that desired third place spot. Eight points separated the two clubs heading into the match, essentially making it a do or die affair.<br /><br />Played in front of a season-high crowd at the quirky Estadio Cartagonova, one of those oddball stadiums where there is a small lower-level before a bigger upper level, the visiting fans went home happy after seeing their beloved Betis put together arguably their finest effort on the season.<br /><br />Goals by Jonathan Pereira and Mehmet Aurelio made the difference in the 1-2 victory. Pereira might sound like a familiar name and it should. Way back in week two of last year’s Primera season, Pereira scored for Racing against Barcelona to earn the Cantabrians a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou . His goal raised red flags that maybe this Pep Guardiola guy wasn’t cut out for the job as Barca coach. Strange as it seems now in light of what happened the rest of the year, Pereira effectively gave Pep his first and only ‘crisis’ as a head coach.<br /><br />The other goalscorer, Aurelio, is one of these Brazilian-born players who decided that his chances of making the Canarinho were slim so becoming a Turkish citizen would prove to be an easier route to international play. He was right and is a regular member of the Turkish player pool. His club history is quality as well. Auerelio was part of that 2008 Fenerbahce team which took out Sevilla in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. Needless to say, he was welcomed with open arms by the Betis fans whose disdain for their crosstown rivals never ceases to amaze.<br /><br />This all leads to the larger point that Betis have quality players on its squad, and the fact that they seem stuck around sixth place in the Segunda Division is a hair-scratcher. Could Sunday’s win be a turnaround? Perhaps, but they still wouldn’t be a firm bet on my Quiniela.Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-8998331398678935562010-02-26T12:09:00.000-08:002010-02-26T12:34:01.461-08:00Lean Times In Vallecas<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/26/futbol/equipos/rayo/1267187417_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 220px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/26/futbol/equipos/rayo/1267187417_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It was a move made by the LFP (Liga de Futbol Profesional) a couple months ago that outlined a new schedule that would see a Segunda Division match played on Friday night while the Primera Division would get their own version of Monday Night Futbol.<br /><br />This was not an entirely new experiement as Monday night games were part of the Spanish schedule as recently as the mid to late 90s. I can clearly recall from my days of study abroad watching a couple tantalizing Monday night affairs, including a pulsating 1-1 draw between Betis and Real Madrid at the Villamarin.<br /><br />Fast forward about a dozen years and in an effort to receive more television revenue, the weekend schedule has been expanded out to help bookend Saturday and Sunday. One of those Friday matches will be played today in the southern part of Madrid, also known as Vallecas, between Rayo Vallecano and Castellon. As chronicled here before, Rayo has a loyal fan base that can be often radical, if not militant.<br /><br />Well, a group of supporters called Los Bukaneros have decided enough is enough with the LFP trying to maximize revenues and they have announced that they will strike and not attend Friday's match. The group makes up a decent chunk of the Estadio Teresa Rivero so it is sure to stand out should TV cameras elect to pan around the stadium.<br /><br />The far left-leaning group actually has a point. To change up the schedule so that a league match now falls on a weeknight, or rather a work night, instead of a weekend is a bit unfair and these supporters are taking it personally. Essentially, their voice is that they refuse to be pawns in some sort of larger game between the LFP and media conglomerates who pay to broadcast the matches. Their further claim is that there is a widening gap between the fan and the game of futbol and they won't have any more of it.<br /><br />It's interesting that this surfaces in the wake of the recent firing of coach Pepe Mel. The very popular head man had helped Rayo climb out of the Segunda B and back to El Infierno during the 2007-2008 season. Rayo even made a charge at gaining promotion to the Primera, a place they occupied ironically back in the mid to late 90s when Monday Night Futbol was still around.<br /><br />Anyhow, the saddened words of Pepe Mel truly showed his love for Rayo but that perhaps he had lost the locker room. They are now in 10th with 32 points and much closer to being relegated than earning promotion. Picking up four pints in their last eight matches made the decision a bit easier for club officials.<br /><br />It's a shame that it came to this because you'd like to see 'a member of the family' like Mel bring a club back to its greatness but alas, it was not meant to be.<br /><br /><br />Only one word can be used to descrivbe last week's Quiniela - Atrocious. The rash of upsets including Girona beating Real Sociedad and Cartagena and Hercules tying castellon and Cadiz respectively were never seen coming. I've I had taken the opposite picks, it would have been a winner!<br /><br />Huesca - R. Sociedad 2<br />Numancia - Gimnástic X<br />Salamanca - Murcia 1<br />Levante - Las Palmas 1 <br />Córdoba - Elche 2<br />Hércules - Celta 1<br />Recreativo - Cádiz X <br />Albacete - Villarreal B X <br />Cartagena - Betis 1<br />Rayo - Castellón 1<br />Real Unión - Girona X<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1 Hércules - 48 <br />2 R. Sociedad - 47 <br />3 Cartagena - 44 <br />4 Levante - 40 <br />5 Numancia - 39 <br />6 Villarreal B - 37 <br />7 Betis - 36 <br />8 Elche - 35 <br />9 Gimnástic - 35 <br />10 Rayo - 32 <br />11 Huesca - 32 <br />12 Córdoba - 32 <br />13 Salamanca - 31 <br />14 Recreativo - 30 <br />15 Las Palmas - 29 <br />16 Celta - 29 <br />17 Girona - 29 <br />18 Albacete - 28 <br />19 Murcia - 26 <br />20 Cádiz - 25 <br />21 Real Unión - 24 <br />22 Castellón - 21Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-2003591736373437312010-02-19T14:20:00.000-08:002010-02-19T14:45:35.126-08:00Bravo!<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/16/futbol/equipos/real_sociedad/1266309700_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 300px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/16/futbol/equipos/real_sociedad/1266309700_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's not a long list. In fact, I think you can count on one hand the number of goalkeepers who have been called to duty up front and have delivered. OK, that's is probably an exagerration. Plenty of goalkeepers have been designated by their coaches to take a penalty kick and have come through. Fair enough. But not that many have either scored during the run of play or from a set piece.<br /><br />Jose Luis Chilavert, the former Zaragoza keeper who made his mark with Velez in the Argentinean league, boasts a whopping 62 goals scored in his career. Often the Paraguayan was called on to take penalty kicks and free kicks and he did so with aplomb. 'Chila' will forever go down as the most prolific goalscoring keeper in soccer history most likely.<br /><br />Another keeper who comes to mind is Andres Palop who scored on a header in stoppage time for Sevilla back in 2007 to beat Shakhtar Donetsk in a UEFA Cup knockout round match. Palop was mobbed by teammates afterwards and rightly so. Without it, Sevilla never goes on to win its second consecutive UEFA Cup when they defeated fellow Spanish club Espanyol in PKs... thanks to Palop.<br /><br />Well, in El Infierno, we had our own moment of goalkeeper goalscoring madness when Real Sociedad's Claudio Bravo stepped up to take a free kick just outside the area against Gimnastic de Tarragona. With Anoeta chanting his name, the Chilean netminder delivered. Bravo's effort went through the Nastic wall and drew enough of a deflection to wrong-foot the Nastic keeper and hit the back of the net. The stadium went nuts, his teammates piled on him and Bravo got some of the top billing on all the weekend highlight shows.<br /><br />Heck, Bravo was so impressed with his own striking ability that he admitted himself the next day that he turned on the television just so he could watch his own highlight. Hey, if a goalkeeper scores a goal, he has every reason to brag a little! What gave him even more pleasure was the reception he got from his teammates who were thrilled. One, because the goal earne dthem the win giving Sociedad another three points and inching closer to a return to the Primera and two, because, well, goalies just aren't suppose to score... or are they?<br /><br /><br />On to the Quiniela!<br /><br />Not exactly a bad effort last week. Started off 3-0 but only ended up winning 5 games. Most puzzling result had to have been Girona's 0-3 win at Rayo. Troubling times seem to be surfacing in Vallecas.<br /><br />Girona - R. Sociedad 2<br />Gimnástic - Huesca X <br />Murcia - Numancia X<br />Las Palmas - Salamanca X<br />Elche - Levante X <br />Cádiz - Hércules 2<br />Villarreal B - Recreativo 1<br />Betis - Albacete 1 <br />Castellón - Cartagena 2<br />Real Unión - Rayo 1<br />Celta - Córdoba X<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Hércules - 47 <br />2. R. Sociedad - 47 <br />3. Cartagena - 43 <br />4. Levante - 39 <br />5. Numancia - 39 <br />6. Villarreal B - 36 <br />7. Betis - 35 <br />8. Elche - 34 <br />9. Gimnástic - 35 <br />10. Córdoba - 32 <br />11. Rayo - 31 <br />12. Salamanca - 30 <br />13. Huesca - 29 <br />14. Recreativo - 29 <br />15. Las Palmas - 28 <br />16. Albacete - 27 <br />17. Celta - 26 <br />18. Girona - 26 <br />19. Cádiz - 24 <br />20. Murcia - 23 <br />21. Real Unión - 21 <br />22. Castellón - 19Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-34938460415745590522010-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:002010-02-10T10:24:47.163-08:00On to the Vuelta<a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/10/futbol/equipos/cartagena/1265821046_extras_portadilla_0.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 380px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2010/02/10/futbol/equipos/cartagena/1265821046_extras_portadilla_0.jpg" /></a> With the first half of the season now concluded in El Infierno, we can take a step back and surmise everything that has transpired in the first 21 weeks of the season. We are actually slightly past halfway now due to my lapse in posting on this blog.<br /><br />Anyhow, you shouldn't worry about me as there are others out there that need alot of help. In fact, I'll tell which clubs are starting to "sudar en las manos".<br /><br />Lo malo:<br /><br />Betis - By far the most disappointing campaign. The Beticos in Sevilla are upset and there is zero consistency to be found within the club. Even their own fans took to egging some of the players cars as they left training one day. They are a zealous bunch and it doesn't sit well that their neighbors down the road at the Sanchez Pijuan have a comfy spot in the Champions League knockout round. Betis lay six points behind third place Cartagena for the final promotion spot. It's a distance that can certainly be made up, but nothing from the previous six months suggests that will happen.<br /><br />Murcia - I still can't help but shake my head that this club was in the Primera just two years ago. And the thing was that they were playing consderably well sitting mid table and there were whispers of a run towards a European spot. Then the fall back to reality resulted in relegation the El Infierno and now this year we had Murcua start the season with a head-scratching seven consecutive draws. This endeared them to the Quiniela aficionados in the beginning, but as of late, their play has generally been poor as the club sit in the relegation zone again. The Segunda B is a deep dark place and Murcia look destined to be there come fall.<br /><br /><br />Lo bueno:<br /><br />Cartagena - With all due respect to Real Sociedad and Hercules, the top two teams in El Infierno, the team that has exceeded everyone's expectations is Cartagena. Speaking of the deep dark Segunda B, that's where Cartagena was last year but summoned enough to get themselves promoted. A nice string of victories and solid results to start the season provided a feel-good story, but many still thought that the team wopuld come crashing back to mid-table earth. Well, that hasn't happened and as it stands, they are four points clear of fourth place Levante. The squad appears to be grounded as evidenced by defender Txiki's recent comments that the players aren't talking about promotion. That's probably a lie but come spring, surely the fans will be reminding the players about it whereveer they go and it will be interesting to see how they hold up under the pressure, and that excludes the likes of Levante and Numancia nipping at their heels.<br /><br />Villarreal B - It was only last year that Sevilla B was also in the Segunda Dibision making a case that there should be a 'Liga de Filiales' or a reserve league. You couldn't have blamed people for thinking that. Sevilla B were dreadful and managed only two wins during the whole season. Villarreal B came strutting into El Infierno this year fresh off of the Segunda B. But like Cartagena, Villarreal B has done nothing to embarrass themselves while playing in El Infierno. In fact, their play has inspired, so much so that the bosses at the parent club axed Ernesto Valverde and tasked Villarreal B Juan Carlos Garrido with the duties of leading the senior Yellow Submarine back to the top 5 in La Liga. Paco Herrera now has the reins of the team that sits 5th and is showing everyone in Spain who may have the best 'cantera' in the cuntry.<br /><br />Lo peor:<br /><br />Castellon - Oh dear, on these pages just last year we were lauding the exploits of Castellon who took down German club Schalke 04 in a mid-winter friendly. Castellon finished mid-table last year and had moments of glory where promotion was close. But this year's campaign started with very few wins and even more of concern, with very few goals. But it wasn't all terrible as just two weeks ago Castellon shocked Esteban Vigo's Hercules in Alicante 1-2. Whomever bet on the visitors made a killing on this shocking upset. But outside of that, Castellon have scored just 21 goals while giving up a swiss-cheese like 35. They are the 'colista' with 18 points and it is safe to say that there is no hope at staying alive...<br />===============================<br /><br />On to this week's Quiniela!<br /><br />La Quiniela - Jornada 24<br /><br />Hércules - Villarreal B 1<br />R. Sociedad - Gimnástic 1<br />Huesca - Murcia 1<br />Numancia - Las Palmas X<br />Salamanca - Elche X<br />Levante - Celta 1<br />Córdoba - Cádiz 2<br />Recreativo - Betis 2<br />Albacete - Castellón 1<br />Cartagena - Real Unión 1<br />Rayo - Girona 1<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Hércules - 44<br />2. R. Sociedad - 44<br />3. Cartagena - 40<br />4. Levante - 36<br />5. Villarreal B - 36<br />6. Numancia - 36<br />7. Gimnástic - 35<br />8. Betis - 34<br />9. Rayo - 31<br />10. Elche - 31<br />11. Salamanca - 30<br />12. Córdoba - 29<br />13. Las Palmas - 28<br />14. Recreativo - 28<br />15. Huesca - 26<br />16. Celta - 26<br />17. Albacete - 26<br />18. Cádiz - 24<br />19. Murcia - 23<br />20. Girona - 23<br />21. Real Unión - 21<br />22. Castellón - 18Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-26818562212945083662010-01-22T12:27:00.000-08:002010-01-22T13:02:13.975-08:00Celta a lo mas grande?<a href="http://img.notasdefutbol.com/2009/06/iago-aspas.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 300px;" src="http://img.notasdefutbol.com/2009/06/iago-aspas.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />It was Copa del Rey time again this week in Spain but with both Madrid and Barcelona out of the tournament, the remaining games were not getting nearly the attention they deserved, which is a shame.<br /><br />The name of Alcorcon will forever be known in the memories of futbol fans everywhere for their widely publicized elimination of Madrid earlier in the tournament which came in humiliating fashion. But another squad has emerged after knocking off two Primera Division teams and now stands on the cusp of beating a third. Our very own Celta de Vigo from El Infierno.<br /><br />A victory over Tenerife raised only a few eyebrows considering the islanders were in El Infierno as recently as last year. But then next came Villarreal where a 1-1 in the first leg favored the Primera Division side in the return leg at El Madrigal, but the hosts played conservatively and paid dearly for it when they got whistled for a PK in the final minutes which Celta converted suddenly putting the Gallegos in the quarterfinals.<br /><br />Atletico were coming off their own high with a dramatic comeback win over Recreativo after losing the first leg 0-3 but managing to get the necessary result at home to advance. The momentum that the Colchineros have shown in recent weeks also suggested that Atleti would be favored to win at the Calderon in Thursday's first leg but Celta came out of the locker rooms with a purpose and got a 2nd minute goal from Trashorras, thus setting a tone for the entire match.<br /><br />Atleti got an equalizer but were still lucky to emerge with just a tie as Celta played arguably their finest match of the season, prompting Quique, the Atleti coach to say that it was a match that made him suffer until the end.<br /><br />So here is Celta who next week have an opportunity to book a ticket to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. They are the only non-first division team left in the tournament, and the remaining rivals frankly are all beatable. Only the Sevilla side which all but ended Depor's chances with a 0-3 victory at the Riazor stands to be a 'giant' which may difficult to overcome, but with Racing, Osasuna, Mallorca and Getafe in the mix, it is not far fetched for any 'Vigues' to dream about playing in the final on May 26th. <br /><br />Oddly enough, Celta could become one of those rarities of second division team running the table and winning the domestic Cup competition, thus securing a Europa League berth. Heck, if Celta's league form flounders, but their Cup run ends in a run, they could be playing next season in the Segunda B and in the Europa League. A third division team in European competition? Now that would be a first.<br /><br />La Quiniela - Jornada 21<br /><br />Albacete - Cartagena 2<br />Recreativo - Rayo X <br />Hércules - Real Unión 1 <br />Córdoba - Castellón 1<br />Levante - Betis 2<br />Salamanca - Villarreal B X <br />Numancia - Cádiz X<br />Huesca - Celta X<br />R. Sociedad - Elche 1<br />Gimnástic - Las Palmas X <br />Murcia - Girona 2<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. R. Sociedad - 42 <br />2. Hércules - 40 <br />3. Cartagena - 33 <br />4. Numancia - 32 <br />5. Betis - 30 <br />6. Villarreal B - 30 <br />7. Rayo* - 29 <br />8. Gimnástic - 29 <br />9. Salamanca - 28 <br />10. Levante - 27 <br />11. Elche - 27 <br />12. Córdoba* - 27 <br />13. Las Palmas - 26 <br />14. Albacete - 24 <br />15. Huesca - 23 <br />16. Celta - 23 <br />17. Recreativo - 23 <br />18. Girona - 22 <br />19. Cádiz - 20 <br />20. Murcia - 18 <br />21. Real Unión - 17 <br />22. Castellón - 13Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-11193135214126209212010-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:002010-01-07T09:44:34.914-08:00Hey brother, can you spare a dime?<a href="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2010/01/07/futbol/mas_futbol/1262875041_extras_ladillos_2_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 230px;" src="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2010/01/07/futbol/mas_futbol/1262875041_extras_ladillos_2_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's hard to read news articles with a straight face that come out and say that the economy is recovering and that 2010 will be alot better than 2009. Oh yeah? Then why does my sales pipeline look like crap? But enough about me. I'm lucky. I have a job that pays me, unlike the poor guys at AD Parla who have been playing since August and have only gotten paid for one month.<br /><br />AD Parla is a team in the Tercera Division, Spain's fourth level of futbol where they play in Group VII and are faring pretty damn well.Parla is yet another suburb of Madrid with an ever-increasing population, mostly due to recent immigrant arrivals from northern Africa. Parla has over 150,000 people but its fulbol stadium sits a cozy 5,000. Unfortunately for the players, they are not seeing a single euro of what is being taken in at the gate. <br /><br />I'm not here to make you feel sorry for these guys as there are alot of people in this world who are far worse off. But instead give these 'chavales' some credit that they are still going out there and doing what they love to do. Some of them play futbol full-time, some of them are students and some have other jobs to help pay the bills. Regardless, the team is going out there every weekend and winning. <br /><br />Currently Parla is in the playoff promotion zone to gain entry to the Segunda B, a huge step up and a place where these players could attract the attention of larger teams. Just think, the way Murcia is going in El Infierno, it's conceivable to think that Parla and Murcia could be playing at the same level of futbol just three years after Murcia was in the Primera playing in the magical stadiums of the Nou Camp and Bernabeu.<br /><br />The players from Parla took their cause to the street recently where in order to raise some modest funds and inform the locals of their financial strife, they washed the car windows of people going by the stadium. It was well received by the 'Parlenos' and who knows, maybe enough people will make it out to the games and spend money on merchandise so these guys could get a check. Contrast that to several years ago when Levante, then playing in the Primera division, was able to have a charity game of Spain's biggest stars arranged where all the proceeds went to paying the players who were owed paychecks. Notice the difference?<br /><br />Some of the players have been contacted by other clubs who could pay them, but those who were offered deals politely refused citing their allegiance to their teammates. Now that's the sign of a 'campeon'.<br /><br /><br />Happy New Year to everyone and let's hope 2010 brings us plenty of good futbol and drama in El Infierno. <br /><br />Big props goes to Recreativo who absolutely demolished Atletico Madrid 3-0 this week in the Copa del Rey.<br /><br />Here's this week Quiniela.<br /><br />Jornada 19<br /><br />Recreativo - Albacete 1<br />Hércules - Cartagena 1<br />Levante - Real Unión X<br />Salamanca - Castellón X<br />Numancia - Betis X<br />Huesca - Villarreal B 2<br />R. Sociedad - Cádiz 1<br />Gimnástic - Celta X<br />Murcia - Elche X<br />Girona - Las Palmas 2<br />Córdoba - Rayo 1<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Hércules - 36 <br />2. R. Sociedad - 36 <br />3. Cartagena - 30 <br />4. Numancia - 29 <br />5. Rayo - 28 <br />6. Gimnástic - 28 <br />7. Betis - 27 <br />8. Salamanca - 27 <br />9. Córdoba - 24 <br />10. Villarreal B - 24 <br />11. Las Palmas - 23 <br />12. Levante - 23 <br />13. Elche - 23 <br />14. Huesca - 22 <br />15. Recreativo - 22 <br />16. Albacete - 22 <br />17. Girona - 21 <br />18. Celta - 20 <br />19. Cádiz - 19 <br />20. Real Unión - 17 <br />21. Murcia - 15 <br />22. Castellón - 11Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-2850401807669951682009-12-23T09:33:00.000-08:002009-12-23T09:57:33.420-08:00When Futbol Meets Politics<a href="http://www.elpais.com/recorte/20090208elpepudep_21/LCO340/Ies/Salva_Ballesta_celebra_primer_gol_saludo_militar.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 340px; height: 250px;" src="http://www.elpais.com/recorte/20090208elpepudep_21/LCO340/Ies/Salva_Ballesta_celebra_primer_gol_saludo_militar.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />As previously mentioned, no game sthis week due to the Christmas holiday. <br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. R. Sociedad - 35 <br />2. Hércules - 33 <br />3. Cartagena - 29 <br />4. Rayo - 27 <br />5. Betis - 26 <br />6. Numancia - 26 <br />7. Salamanca - 26 <br />8. Gimnástic - 25 <br />9. Elche - 23 <br />10. Córdoba - 23 <br />11. Villarreal B - 23 <br />12. Levante - 22 <br />13. Albacete - 22 <br />14. Huesca - 21 <br />15. Recreativo - 21 <br />16. Las Palmas - 20 <br />17. Girona - 20 <br />18. Celta - 19 <br />19. Cádiz - 19 <br />20. Real Unión - 16 <br />21. Murcia - 14 <br />22. Castellón - 11Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-56798518037688105262009-12-11T12:11:00.000-08:002009-12-11T12:59:01.292-08:00Basque Delight<a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/12/11/futbol/2adivision/1260555879_extras_portadilla_0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 220px;" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/12/11/futbol/2adivision/1260555879_extras_portadilla_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />1934 - 1935<br />Real Union 3 Real Sociedad 0<br />Real Sociedad 2 Real Union 1<br /><br />1939 - 1940<br />Real Union 2 Real Sociedad 5<br />Real Sociedad 1 Real union 1<br /><br />1940 - 1941<br />Real Union 1 Real Sociedad 6<br />Real Sociedad 6 Real Union 2<br /><br />1964 - 1965<br />Real Union 1 Real Sociedad 3<br />Real Sociedad 1 Real Union 1<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />And lastly, cheers for Diego Tristan scoring his first goal of the season for Cadiz!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />Jornada 16<br /><br />Hércules - Girona 1<br />Recreativo - Córdoba X<br />Albacete - Levante X<br />Cartagena - Salamanca 2<br />Rayo - Numancia 1<br />Real Unión - Huesca X<br />Castellón - R. Sociedad 2<br />Betis - Gimnástic X<br />Villarreal B - Murcia 1 <br />Cádiz - Las Palmas X<br />Celta - Elche 1<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. R. Sociedad - 29 <br />2. Hércules - 27 <br />3. Cartagena - 26 <br />4. Betis - 23 <br />5. Numancia - 23 <br />6. Elche - 23 <br />7. Salamanca - 23 <br />8. Levante - 22 <br />9. Gimnástic - 22 <br />10. Córdoba - 22 <br />11. Rayo - 21 <br />12. Recreativo - 20 <br />13. Villarreal B - 20 <br />14. Las Palmas - 18 <br />15. Girona - 17 <br />16. Huesca - 17 <br />17. Cádiz - 17 <br />18. Albacete -16 <br />19. Celta -15 <br />20. Real Unión -15 <br />21. Murcia -13 <br />22. Castellón -11Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-82182600750963522502009-12-03T14:21:00.000-08:002009-12-03T14:44:58.565-08:00Betis Is Back While Celta Suffers<a href="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2009/12/01/futbol/2adivision/1259685874_0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 230px;" src="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2009/12/01/futbol/2adivision/1259685874_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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...<br /><br />La Quiniela - Jornada 15<br /><br />Córdoba - Hércules 2<br />Levante - Recreativo X <br />Salamanca - Albacete X<br />Numancia - Cartagena 2<br />Huesca - Rayo X<br />R. Sociedad - Real Unión 2<br />Gimnástic - Castellón 1<br />Murcia - Betis 2 <br />Las Palmas - Villarreal B 1 <br />Elche - Cádiz X <br />Girona - Celta 1<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 26 <br />2. Hércules - 26 <br />3. R. Sociedad - 26 <br />4. Betis - 23 <br />5. Elche - 22 <br />6. Rayo - 21 <br />7. Levante - 21 <br />8. Córdoba - 21 <br />9. Numancia - 20 <br />10. Salamanca - 20 <br />11. Gimnástic - 19 <br />12. Recreativo - 19 <br />13. Villarreal B - 19 <br />14. Girona - 17 <br />15. Las Palmas - 17 <br />16. Albacete - 16 <br />17. Cádiz - 16 <br />18. Real Unión - 15 <br />19. Huesca - 14 <br />20. Celta - 12 <br />21. Castellón - 11 <br />22. Murcia - 10Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-64773086842880161682009-11-20T07:57:00.000-08:002009-11-20T09:29:36.447-08:00Hey, isn't that???.....<a href="http://www.pobladores.com/data/pobladores.com/el/_v/el_vera/channels/sulfuroamarillo/images/5421936diego_tristan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="http://www.pobladores.com/data/pobladores.com/el/_v/el_vera/channels/sulfuroamarillo/images/5421936diego_tristan.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />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! :)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />On to the games....<br /><br />La Quiniela - Jornada 13<br /><br />Levante - Córdoba X <br />Salamanca - Hércules 2<br />Numancia - Recreativo X <br />Huesca - Albacete 1<br />R. Sociedad - Cartagena 1<br />Gimnástic - Rayo 2<br />Murcia - Real Unión 2 <br />Las Palmas - Castellón 1 <br />Elche - Betis 2<br />Celta - Villarreal B 1<br />Girona - Cádiz 2<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 23 <br />2. Hércules - 22 <br />3. R. Sociedad - 22 <br />4. Levante - 20 <br />5. Rayo - 19 <br />6. Córdoba - 19 <br />7. Recreativo - 18 <br />8. Gimnástic - 18 <br />9. Elche - 18 <br />10. Betis* - 17 <br />11. Numancia - 16 <br />12. Las Palmas - 16 <br />13. Salamanca - 16 <br />14. Albacete - 16 <br />15. Villarreal B* - 15 <br />16. Girona - 13 <br />17. Cádiz - 13 <br />18. Real Unión - 12 <br />19. Celta - 12 <br />20. Huesca - 11 <br />21. Murcia - 7 <br />22. Castellón - 7Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-87911051468428018742009-11-13T13:42:00.000-08:002009-11-13T14:15:46.392-08:00Upsets Galore<a href="http://thejakartaglobe.com/media/images/large/20091112202150346.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 468px; height: 310px;" src="http://thejakartaglobe.com/media/images/large/20091112202150346.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />La Quiniela - Jornada<br /><br />Levante - Girona 1<br />Córdoba - Salamanca X<br />Hércules - Numancia 1<br />Recreativo - Huesca 1 <br />Albacete - R. Sociedad 2 <br />Cartagena - Gimnástic 1<br />Rayo - Murcia X <br />Real Unión - Las Palmas 1<br />Castellón - Elche X <br />Betis - Celta 1<br />Villarreal B - Cádiz X<br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 23 <br />2. R. Sociedad - 21 <br />3. Hércules - 19 <br />4. Levante - 17 <br />5. Betis* - 16 <br />6. Rayo - 16 <br />7. Numancia - 16 <br />8. Salamanca - 16 <br />9. Córdoba - 16 <br />10. Las Palmas - 15 <br />11. Recreativo - 15 <br />12. Gimnástic - 15 <br />13. Elche - 15 <br />14. Albacete - 15 <br />15. Girona - 13 <br />16. Cádiz - 13 <br />17. Villarreal B* - 12 <br />18. Real Unión - 11 <br />19. Huesca - 11 <br />20. Celta - 11 <br />21. Murcia - 7 <br />22. Castellón - 7Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-18051621418494509412009-11-03T14:09:00.001-08:002009-11-05T09:00:36.942-08:00Paliza!<a href="http://www.rtve.es/resources/jpg/8/9/1256681018798.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 625px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.rtve.es/resources/jpg/8/9/1256681018798.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />No action last week between Betis and Villarreal B who had to cancel their match due to the Swine Flu. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />Sorry for the lack of Quiniela picks this week. Probably wouldn't have made my new commenting friend from Poland any money anyways!<br /><br />Salamanca - Levante X<br />Numancia - Córdoba X <br />Huesca - Hércules 2<br />R. Sociedad - Recreativo 1<br />Gimnástic - Albacete X<br />Murcia - Cartagena X <br />Las Palmas - Rayo 2<br />Elche - Real Unión 2<br />Celta - Castellón 1<br />Cádiz - Betis 2 <br />Girona - Villarreal B X<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 20 <br />2. Hércules - 19 <br />3. R. Sociedad - 18 <br />4. Levante - 17 <br />5. Rayo - 16 <br />6. Betis - 15 <br />7. Numancia - 15 <br />8. Gimnástic - 15 <br />9. Recreativo - 15 <br />10. Córdoba - 15 <br />11. Salamanca - 13 <br />12. Villarreal B - 12 <br />13. Las Palmas - 12 <br />14. Elche - 12 <br />15. Cádiz - 12 <br />16. Albacete - 12 <br />17. Real Unión - 11 <br />18. Girona - 10 <br />19. Huesca - 8 <br />20. Celta - 8 <br />21. Murcia - 7 <br />22. Castellón - 7Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-79797644602443517932009-10-23T10:11:00.000-07:002009-10-23T10:37:50.521-07:00Empatatis<a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/23/futbol/2adivision/1256316208_extras_portadilla_0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 240px;" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/23/futbol/2adivision/1256316208_extras_portadilla_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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?<br /><br />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! <br /><br />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.<br /><br />"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. <br /><br />Other notes:<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Jornada 9<br /><br />Numancia - Salamanca 1 <br />Huesca - Levante X<br />R. Sociedad - Córdoba 1 <br />Gimnástic - Hércules X <br />Murcia - Recreativo X <br />Las Palmas - Albacete 1<br />Elche - Cartagena 2<br />Celta - Rayo 1 <br />Cádiz - Real Unión 1 <br />Villarreal B - Castellón 1<br />Girona - Betis X<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 16 <br />2. Rayo - 15 <br />3. R. Sociedad - 15 <br />4. Hércules - 15 <br />5. Numancia - 14 <br />6. Levante - 13 <br />7. Betis - 12 <br />8. Recreativo - 12 <br />9. Salamanca - 12 <br />10. Córdoba - 12 <br />11. Gimnástic - 11 <br />12. Cádiz - 9 <br />13. Las Palmas - 9 <br />14. Albacete - 9 <br />15. Villarreal B - 9 <br />16. Real Unión - 8 <br />17. Elche - 8 <br />18. Murcia - 7 <br />19. Celta - 7 <br />20. Huesca - 7 <br />21. Girona - 7 <br />22. Castellón - 4Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-90640661503721107662009-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:002009-10-16T12:52:38.150-07:00A Week Of 'Polemica'<a href="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/13/futbol/equipos/las_palmas/1255456050_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 410px;" src="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/13/futbol/equipos/las_palmas/1255456050_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />Quiniela - Jornada 8<br /><br />Numancia - Girona 1<br />Salamanca - Huesca 1<br />Recreativo - Las Palmas X <br />Córdoba - Gimnástic X<br />Hércules - Murcia 1<br />Levante - R. Sociedad 2 <br />Albacete - Elche X <br />Cartagena - Celta 1 <br />Rayo - Cádiz 1<br />Real Unión - Villarreal B X <br />Castellón - Betis 2<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. R. Sociedad - 15 <br />2. Cartagena - 15 <br />3. Rayo - 14 <br />4. Hércules - 14 <br />5. Betis - 12 <br />6. Numancia - 11 <br />7. Córdoba - 11 <br />8. Levante - 10 <br />9. Gimnástic - 10 <br />10. Las Palmas - 9 <br />11. Salamanca - 9 <br />12. Recreativo - 9 <br />13. Real Unión - 8 <br />14. Cádiz - 8 <br />15. Albacete - 8 <br />16. Huesca - 7 <br />17. Girona - 7 <br />18. Elche - 7 <br />19. Murcia - 6 <br />20. Celta - 6 <br />21. Villarreal B - 6 <br />22. Castellón - 1Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-16700497576373902002009-10-08T12:26:00.000-07:002009-10-08T12:52:34.695-07:00The Look of a Winner<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/04/futbol/2adivision/1254678938_extras_noticia_foton_4_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 230px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/10/04/futbol/2adivision/1254678938_extras_noticia_foton_4_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />Jornada 7 - Quiniela<br /><br />Huesca - Numancia 1<br />R. Sociedad - Salamanca 1<br />Gimnástic - Levante X<br />Murcia - Córdoba 1<br />Las Palmas - Hércules 2<br />Elche - Recreativo X<br />Celta - Albacete 1<br />Cádiz - Cartagena 1<br />Villarreal B - Rayo 2<br />Betis - Real Unión 1 <br />Girona - Castellón X<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Hércules - 13 <br />2. R. Sociedad - 12 <br />3. Cartagena - 12 <br />4. Betis - 11 <br />5. Rayo - 11 <br />6. Levante - 10 <br />7. Numancia - 10 <br />8. Córdoba - 10 <br />9. Salamanca - 9 <br />10. Recreativo - 9 <br />11. Las Palmas - 8 <br />12. Cádiz - 8 <br />13. Real Unión - 7 <br />14. Gimnástic - 7 <br />15. Albacete - 7 <br />16. Huesca - 6 <br />17. Villarreal B - 6 <br />18. Murcia - 5 <br />19. Celta - 5 <br />20. Girona - 4 <br />21. Elche - 4 <br />22. Castellón - 1Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-58848336162513688262009-10-02T12:07:00.000-07:002009-10-08T11:51:03.346-07:00Impressive... so far<a href="http://www.jotacege.com/engroc/villarreal%20b%20goles.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.jotacege.com/engroc/villarreal%20b%20goles.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Sevilla B's abysmal play last year in El Infierno opened up the debate that The FEF needs to put together a "Liga de Filiales" so "B" and "C" teams of some of the bigger clubs could compete against each other.<br /><br />I'm still in favor of the idea and think that "B" teams facing off against other independent clubs in league play is a mistake. But it won't change anytime soon so we may as well make the best of what we have, which in this case, is Villarreal B.<br /><br />The Baby Yellow Submariners are already well ahead of Sevilla B's pace from last year when the junior Andalucians finished with a paltry 18 points. Villarreal B already have a victory and two draws on the season giving them five points and are currently above the relegation zone.<br /><br />This apparent success lends even more credence to the fact that Villarreal are doing something right in terms of producing players and finding the right guys at the right time. The senior club is struggling this year with just two points, but prior to, the small club managed to make runs to the Champions League knockout rounds in 2006 and 2009. <br /><br />You have to understand, Villarreal is tiny. The big huge Real madrid and Barca dollars aren't there. So to combat that, you have to actually rely on scouting and development of youth talent. What a concept!<br /><br />They're doing something right down there in that Comunidad de Valencia hamlet as three of their players are at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. And they're not all Spanish either. Two of the Argentineans on the squad, Marco Ruben and Mateo Musacchio, have spent significant time at River Plate. These guys assuredly played in a Boca-River game so having to endure the raining of insults from the fans at the Bombanera probably pales in comparison to hearing a slight from someone shouting at them in Balaidos or Anoeta. <br /><br />So maybe Villarreal B will disprove my theory that Spain needs a Liga de Filias. Heck, maybe at this rate, they'll simply swap places with their parent side who are in la Liga's relegation zone allowing the B team to play the giants of Spain next year!<br /><br /><br />So last week's Quiniela didn't go well. Definitely would have lost money. The tally was just three wins. Pretty embarassing. Let's try it again.<br /><br />Cartagena - Villarreal B X<br />Rayo - Betis 2<br />Real Unión - Castellón 1<br />Levante - Murcia 1 <br />Córdoba - Las Palmas X<br />Hércules - Elche X<br />Recreativo - Celta 1<br />Albacete - Cádiz 1<br />Huesca - Girona X <br />Numancia - R. Sociedad 2 <br />Salamanca - Gimnástic 1<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 11 <br />2. Betis - 10 <br />3. Rayo - 10 <br />4. Numancia - 10 <br />5. Hércules - 10 <br />6. R. Sociedad - 9 <br />7. Levante - 9 <br />8. Recreativo - 9 <br />9. Las Palmas - 8 <br />10. Gimnástic - 7 <br />11. Albacete - 7 <br />12. Córdoba - 7 <br />13. Salamanca - 6 <br />14. Huesca - 5 <br />15. Cádiz - 5 <br />16. Villarreal B - 5 <br />17. Murcia - 4 <br />18. Real Unión - 4 <br />19. Elche - 4 <br />20. Girona - 3 <br />21. Celta - 2 <br />22. Castellón - 1Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-58499562974108191942009-09-22T10:02:00.000-07:002009-09-22T10:43:00.552-07:00Is Cartagena For Real?<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/09/20/futbol/2adivision/1253385708_extras_noticia_foton_4_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 230px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/09/20/futbol/2adivision/1253385708_extras_noticia_foton_4_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />OK... Admittedly I've been slack about updating this blog. Stuff happens when you have a one year old daughter, ya know?<br /><br />So on to the futbol. Without question, the big story so far this season is the surprising good play of FC Cartagena who are newcomers to El Infierno. The club is relatively new being founded in 1995 and has never spent a season above Segunda B until this year. Expectations were modest coming into the season and any Cartagena fan would have been happy with simply surviving its first year in the Segunda.<br /><br />Well, apparently the players didn't get the message. Turns out that the squad decided to pick up 10 points in their first four matches thus making them lider.It is mainly a domestic squad with the exception of a Panamanian and a Frenchman. Upon further inspection of the roster, you can see why the club does generally well as there are quality players with experience at even some of the biggest clubs in Europe.<br /><br />It starts with goalkeeper Ruben who rose through the youth ranks at Barcelona and even managed to snap a couple appearances back when Ronaldinho was running rampant for the Blaugrana. Unfortunately for Ruben, Victor Valdes and Albert Jorquera were firmly entrenched ahead of him so he elected to head south along the coast towards Murcia and has been with Cartagena since last season.<br /><br />The aforementioned Frenchman is Pascal Cygnan who came in from Villarreal and also spent four years at Arsenal, including playing a role in Arsenal's legendary "Invincibles" squad which went unbeaten in the EPL. Before that, it was eight years at Lille. He might be 35 but this guy knows how to play and was a wise 'fichaje'.<br /><br />There's another graybeard who plays up front, Victor, who is also 35 and has nine years at Valladolid and four years at Villarreal under his belt. The man has scored nearly 150 goals in all competitions and serves a perfect complement to his partner in crime, Enrique de Lucas.<br /><br />Lucas also has a European portfolio after spending time with PSG in France and then one season at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. He is native Catalan but don't ever expect to see Lucas at Camp Nou cheering on the reigning Europeam champs. Lucas is a 'Perico' through and through after getting his start at Espanyol.<br /><br />So there you have it, a very nice blend of hungry young players combined with players who may be on the wrong side of 30 but are still very apt and very skilled to teach the other teams in El Infierno a thing or two about class futbol.<br /><br />This weekend they get their biggest test when they travel to Sevilla to play Betis who still pretty pissed about not being in the Primera.<br />======<br /><br />I decided that in order to make things more interesting, instead of just listing last week's scores, I'll be giving my predictions of this week's upcoming matches in true 'Quiniela' fashion.<br /><br />R. Sociedad - Huesca 1<br />Gimnástic - Numancia X<br />Murcia - Salamanca X<br />Las Palmas - Levante 1<br />Elche - Córdoba 2<br />Celta - Hércules 1<br />Cádiz - Recreativo 2<br />Villarreal B - Albacete X<br />Betis - Cartagena 1<br />Castellón - Rayo 2<br />Girona - Real Unión 1<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Cartagena - 10 <br />2. Betis - 9 <br />3. Recreativo - 9 <br />4. Las Palmas - 8 <br />5. Numancia - 7 <br />6. Rayo - 7 <br />7. Gimnástic - 7 <br />8. Hércules - 7 <br />9. Córdoba - 7 <br />10. Levante - 6 <br />11. R. Sociedad - 6 <br />12. Albacete - 6 <br />13. Huesca -5 <br />14. Salamanca - 5 <br />15. Villarreal B - 4 <br />16. Girona - 3 <br />17. Murcia - 3 <br />18. Celta - 2 <br />19. Cádiz - 2 <br />20. Real Unión - 1 <br />21. Castellón - 1 <br />22. Elche - 1Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-1480115332385700152009-09-04T11:42:00.000-07:002009-09-04T12:09:21.657-07:00Back and Back Big!<a href="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2009/09/04/futbol/equipos/hercules/1252066646_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2009/09/04/futbol/equipos/hercules/1252066646_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now you really didn't think I was going to forget that my beloved El Infierno had started back up, did you?<br /><br />As is custom, the Spanish gratiously allowed the rest of Europe to start their futbol season prior to their own kickoff. We are all aware of the headlines made by Real Madrid over the summer with their infusion of Galacticos 2.0, but largely unnoticed was what transpired over the summer in the Segunda Division in what in my opinion was the biggest news piece.<br /><br />Esteban Vigo. Remember that guy? We talked about him alot last season. He was the Xerez coach who got Confederation Cup hero Jozy Altidore in a midseason loan from Villarreal but elected to never play Jozy, hell, that's doing it justioce. Esteban only called his name once to sit on the bench and then Jozy never even saw a minute of action in that 3-0 blowout over Hercules.<br /><br />Well, it was hard to be critical at that time seeing that Xerez rode the brilliant coaching of Vigo all the way to their first ever appearance in the Primera Division where they will get smacked around all year long by their older and stronger opponents.<br /><br />But in a rare move, Esteban said, "Thank, but I'm pretty comfy here in El Infierno, so good luck playing Barca next year and I'll just head east to Alicante to coach Hercules."<br /><br />So there you have it. The best coach in the Liga Adelante was so taken with the second level of Spanish futbol that when he was given the once and a lifetime chance to coach a Primera Division side, he turned it down and decided to go coach another team in El Infierno. In a way, I admire his spirit.<br /><br />That said, I hold a grudge against the guy for keeping Jozy on the bench, but I cannot dispute his ability to coach up a team so here I am on September 4th telling you that Hercules will return to the Primera Division for the 2010-2011 La Liga season. In the meantime, let's enjoy the games, shall we?<br /><br />Jornada 1 - Resultados<br /><br />Celta - Numancia 1-2 <br />Cádiz - Salamanca 0-1 <br />Villarreal B - Levante 2-2 <br />Betis - Córdoba 3-0 <br />Castellón - Hércules 0-0 <br />Real Unión - Recreativo 0-1 <br />Rayo - Albacete 3-0 <br />Girona - Cartagena 0-1 <br />Murcia - Gimnástic 0-1 <br />Las Palmas - R. Sociedad 1-1 <br />Elche - Huesca 0-2 <br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Betis - 3 <br />2. Rayo - 3 <br />3. Huesca - 3 <br />4. Numancia - 3 <br />5. Cartagena - 3 <br />6. Gimnástic - 3 <br />7. Recreativo - 3 <br />8. Salamanca - 3 <br />9. Levante - 1 <br />10. Villarreal B - 1 <br />11. Las Palmas - 1 <br />12. R. Sociedad - 1 <br />13. Castellón - 1 <br />14. Hércules - 1 <br />15. Celta - 0 <br />16. Cádiz - 0 <br />17. Girona - 0 <br />18. Murcia - 0 <br />19. Real Unión - 0 <br />20. Elche - 0 <br />21 Albacete - 0 <br />22 Córdoba - 0Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-31665976357360359242009-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:002009-06-19T08:58:55.432-07:00Enhorabuena<a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/06/13/futbol/equipos/xerez/1244919539_0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 220px;" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/06/13/futbol/equipos/xerez/1244919539_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Unlike most years, the final 'temporada' of the Spanish Second Division will be one without drama which is unfortunate for people like myself who crave the torture and ecstasy within futbol. My sentiments, however, fall on deaf ears in three Spanish towns which are celebrating the euphoria of a triumphant return to the Primera Division.<br /><br />Let's start with Xerez. The land of flamenco has never had a Real Madrid or a FC Barcelona come to the Estadio Chapin so the locals will be in for a treat. I'm glad for the people but frankly, personally I'm still bitter at the way Jozy Altidore was treated by the club. He would have been much better off being loaned out to Levante or maybe Real Sociedad where he actually would have gotten some playing time. Xerez coach Esteban Vigo never wanted Jozy there and that was evident. Only the clubs execs wanted him and thus started a cluster-you-know-what of epic proportions.<br />But, let's set that aside briefly and tip our caps to Xerex who put away some old choking ghosts of the past and will delight their fans with their first ever appearance in the Primera Division. Enhorabuena.<br /><br />Next is Tenerife who returns to La Liga for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. For a side that spent so much time in the Primera back in the 80s and 90s, the seven year drought must have felt like an eternity. It's good to see the Canary Islands represented in the First Division and we'll have that next year. Who knows, maybe the islanders will even be able to make a run towards a Europa League berth like they did back in the mid 90s. La Cara de Tenerife is back!<br /><br />Last but certainly not least is Zaragoza. The long-time first division club from Aragon is rightly back in the Primera. Credit players like the Brazilian Ewerthon who muscled his way to being the leading scorer in this year's Liga Adelante. The 1995 Recopa Champs will be competitive in next year's la Liga so don't expect them to be a one and done.<br /><br />So this weekend all matches have zero implications except where teams will lay in the final standings. Alaves secured their fate of relegation when las Palmas tied so the 2001 UEFA Cup runners up will descend further down to La Segunda B and who knows if we will ever hear from them.<br /><br />Speaking of the Segunda B, there is still work to be done in the promotion playoffs. Cadiz and Cartegena have already secured their spots in next year's El Infierno leaving two more spots to be had. Sunday sees the return leg of the two playoff matches between Alcorcon-Real Union and Villarreal B - Real Jaen. Both first leg games ended in 0-0 draws so look for the Real Madrid giant killer Real Union to advance and the modest club from the north of Granada, Jaen, to lay claim to the final spot in next year's El Infierno.<br /><br />Resultados - Jornada 41<br /><br />R. Sociedad - Levante 1-1<br />Zaragoza - Cordoba 3-1<br />Hércules - Albacete 4-1<br />Alavés - Alicante 1-0<br />Las Palmas - Rayo Vallecano 0-0<br />Castellón - Eibar 4-0<br />Gimnástic - Elche 2-0<br />Murcia - Salamanca 2-1<br />Xerez - Huesca 2-1<br />Girona - tenenrife 0-1<br />Sevilla At - Celta 0-0<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Tenerife - 81 Ascendido!<br />2. Xerez - 81 Ascendido!<br />3. Zaragoza - 80 Ascendido!<br />4. Hércules - 75 <br />5. Rayo - 69 <br />6. R. Sociedad - 64 <br />7. Levante - 63 <br />8. Castellón - 62 <br />9. Salamanca - 60 <br />10. Gimnástic - 57 <br />11. Elche - 53 <br />12. Murcia - 52 <br />13. Huesca - 50 <br />14. Córdoba - 50 <br />15. Girona - 49 <br />16. Albacete - 48 <br />17. Celta - 47 <br />18. Las Palmas - 46 <br />19. Alavés - 43 Descendido<br />20. Alicante - 34 Descendido<br />21. Eibar - 32 Descendido<br />22. Sevilla At - 18 DescendidoArch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-58318057775693382462009-06-12T13:02:00.000-07:002009-06-12T13:24:27.853-07:00The Cava Is On Ice<a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/06/12/futbol/2adivision/1244826583_extras_portadilla_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 240px;" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2009/06/12/futbol/2adivision/1244826583_extras_portadilla_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Tomorrow just may be the day where all positions in El Infierno are decided. Then again, it may not. After this weekend, this is still one last week to play, yet the teams at the top who are so close to promotion still have some work to be done. More on that later.<br /><br />Meanwhile, at the bottom, Celta took a huge step towards avoiding relegation to Segunda B by beating Alaves 2-1 thanks to two goals from iago Aspas, a player who will now go down in Celta lore. Only Las Palmas can be caught by the Basque side and the gap is a fairly wide five points. This all but closes a sad state of affairs for Alaves who, as mentioned numewrous times before in this blog, rose to European glory by coming oh-so-very close to winning the 2001 UEFA Cup. The only holdover from that team is Astudillo who promised to walk back to Vitoria completely naked should Alaves survive. Thankfully for the majority of the northern Spanish countryside, it looks like that won't happen so cows in Asturias will be spared the site of a naked poney-tailed futbolista doing a reverse of the Camino de Santiago.<br /><br />Back to the top, Xerez lost at Tenerife to drop to 2nd place but it doesn't really matter as they are still just a single point away from earning promotion to the Primera Division for the first time in club history. Part of me hopes they drop the home encounter against Huesca and then lose the season finale in Balaidos mainly because I'm still smarting from the fact that Jozy Altidore never played a single minute for Esteban Vigo. I can only imagine what kind of hand-writing might be happening should Huesca pull off the stunner and Hercules creep to within three points heading into the final weekend of the season. But let's be honest, it won't happen and Xerez and the islanders out in the Canaries look safe for promotion. Tenerife travels to Catalonia to play Girona who should be applauded for a stellar performance their first season in El Infierno. Playing in the smallest stadium with one of the smallest budgets, the club still finished with 49 points in 15th place. Not bad.<br /><br />As for the other team destined to drink cava on Saturday, Primera Disvision stalwart Zaragoza looks safe to secure their pass back to glory as they are at home against Cordoba who are just glad to not be relegated. The 1995 Recopa winners belong back in the elite of Spanish futbol and it will be good to have them there.<br /><br />Resultados - Jornada 40<br />Albacete - Murcia 0-0<br />Celta - Alaves 2-1<br />Rayo - Real Sociedad 4-1<br />Salamanca - Zaragoza 1-3<br />Tenerife - Xerez 2-0<br />Eibar - Girona 2-2<br />Levante - Elche 2-0<br />Huesca - Sevilla Atletico 3-0<br />Gimnástic - Castellon 0-1<br />Córdoba - Las Palmas 4-1<br />Alicante - Hercules 1-2<br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Tenerife - 78 <br />2. Xerez - 78 <br />3. Zaragoza - 77 <br />4. Hércules - 72 <br />5. Rayo - 68 <br />6. R. Sociedad - 63 <br />7. Levante - 62 <br />8. Salamanca - 60 <br />9. Castellón - 59 <br />10. Gimnástic - 54 <br />11. Elche - 53 <br />12. Huesca - 50 <br />13. Córdoba - 50 <br />14. Murcia - 49 <br />15. Girona - 49 <br />16. Albacete - 48 <br />17. Celta - 46 <br />18. Las Palmas - 45 <br />19. Alavés - 40 <br />20. Alicante - 34 <br />21. Eibar - 32 <br />22. Sevilla At. - 17Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-85329128677420532992009-06-02T08:40:00.000-07:002009-06-02T09:16:50.050-07:00Bienvenido Recre, Numancia y.... Betis!?!<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/albumes/2009/05/31/betis_valladolid_jornada_38/1243799577_extras_albumes_0.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 660px; height: 548px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/albumes/2009/05/31/betis_valladolid_jornada_38/1243799577_extras_albumes_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It is that special time of year when drama unfolds for teams who have been barely noticed all season long due to their inability to string together victories. In Spain's Primera Division, the fate of Recreativo was already sealed going into the final weekend as they will be part of this blog during the 2009-2010 season. <br /><br />The Pajaritos from Numancia had at outside shot at survival but it was not meant to be. The club that started off its season beating the trichampions FC barcelona 1-0 at their modest little stadium, will be playing in El Infierno next season.<br /><br />The third team would be playing in El Infierno next season was the one subject to tons of debate. Who would it be? Surely it would be Osasuna who had to beat Real Madrid at home to have any chance at not being relegated. But credit the Pamplona side for overcoming a 0-1 deficit and winning 2-1 setting of pandemonium in the stands at the Estadio Rey de Navarre. Maybe it would be Getafe who had to get a point in Santander against Racing to ensure their survival? Nope. A Granero goal in the first half was all the suburban Madrid team needed and so last year's UEFA Cup quarterfinalist gets to play with the bog bioys next year. What about Sporting? The newly promoted side had the luxury of playing Recre but still the Asturianos had to overcome a 1-0 deficit and won 2-1.<br /><br />That left us with the Betis-Valladolid match which at first shaped up as one of those *wink* *wink* let's tie this match so we both can stay up. But a funny thing happened on the way to summer vacation. All the teams below them won and so the enxt thing you know, Betis were fighting for their survival because they did not own the tiebreaker against Getafe. The purple men from Castilla y Leon struck first but Betis would equalise in the second half and were desperately seeking the game-winner. Time after time the Betis chances were brushed aside. At the final whistle, disbelief set in at the Ruiz de Lopera as the beticos will now be playing in El Infierno next season. For the Betis fans, some of the most passionate in Spain, it was like a funeral except that with the tears, there were also riots in the streets afterwards and fans yelling at the team president that he was a 'cabron'. Needless to say, betis in El Infierno next year will make things very interesting.<br /><br />As for our actual Segunda Division teams themselves, props to Xerez for now being just a single point away from promotion. With three weeks left in the season, all they need is a draw in one of those matches. It may not come this week since they travel to second place Tenerife, but depending on what Hercules does at now relegated Alicante in the Alicante derby, both teams could be celebrating promotion out on the island this weekend and what a fun party that would be.<br /><br />Speaking of Hercules, their draw against Celta now leaves them five points behind Zaragoza in the race for the third and final promotion spot. Making up five points in three weeks is a long shot. Hercules need to beat their crosstown rivals and then hope Zaragoza gets tripped up in Salamanca on Saturday which will be a tough match for the Aragoneses.<br /><br />So the drama unfolding at the top is starting to look anticlimatic but the drama at the bottom, once an afterthought, is getting serious. Alaves are three points behind Celta in the fight for the last surivival spot. How sad to see two clubs who fared so well in recent years in European play now struggling to avoid relegation to the third level of Spanish futbol. The noose is tight for the Galicians whose nightmarish second half continues. The match of the weekend could very much take place on Saturday when the two teams meet. <br /><br />Resultados - Jornada 39<br />R. Sociedad - Cordoba 0-2<br />Zaragoza - Albacete 3-0<br />Hércules - Celta 2-2<br />Alavés - Huesca 3-0<br />Las Palmas - Salamanca 1-1<br />Levante - Rayo 1-0<br />Elche - Castellon 0-1<br />Murcia - Alicante 3-1<br />Xerez - Eibar 3-0<br />Girona - Gimnastic 2-1<br />Sevilla At - Tenerife 0-4<br /><br />Clasificacion:<br /><br />1. Xerez - 78 <br />2. Tenerife - 75 <br />3. Zaragoza - 74 <br />4. Hércules - 69 <br />5. Rayo - 65 <br />6. R. Sociedad - 63 <br />7. Salamanca - 60 <br />8. Levante - 59 <br />9. Castellón - 56 <br />10. Gimnástic - 54 <br />11. Elche - 53 <br />12. Murcia - 48 <br />13. Girona - 48 <br />14. Córdoba - 47 <br />15. Huesca - 47 <br />16. Albacete - 47 <br />17. Las Palmas - 45 <br />18. Celta - 43 <br />19. Alavés - 40 <br />20. Alicante - 34 (Relegated)<br />21. Eibar - 31 (Relegated)<br />22. Sevilla At - 17 (Relegated)Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-54436140707713844192009-05-18T13:06:00.000-07:002009-05-18T13:34:28.304-07:00Four For Two<a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/05/16/futbol/2adivision/1242501412_0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 260px;" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2009/05/16/futbol/2adivision/1242501412_0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />With the first promotion ticket almost booked for Xerez, we can safely say that the race to the Primera Division will now see just four teams battling for two spots. The efforts of Real Sociedad and Salamanca are probably going to go by the wayside. It now boils down to Hercules, Tenerife, Zaragoza and Rayo Vallecano who are separated by just four points. There are five weeks left in the season and there is no reason to think that any of the four will be out of contention by that last Sunday.<br /><br />Tenerife lost to Hercules over the weekend making it their first defeat in 18'jornadas', a truly astounding statistic. Despite their 'puntuando' ways, their pormotion is not secure.<br /><br />Rayo got a boost from the previously mentioned Teresa Rivero and ripped off two straight wins since the BBQ held at the presidenta's home. Apparently all they needed was a little home cookin.<br /><br />Hercules to me look the most solid of the bunch and I think they will secure promotion. Yes they have their setbacks and occasional defeats, but from a consistency standpoint, they have been the most solid.<br /><br />Zaragoza has their hands full this weekend against an Alicante team that has completely defied the odds and are now just 6 points away from safety. Back around the Christmas holiday, people, including myself, were making a mockery of their coaching carousel. Evidently Carlos Granero ended up being the right guy and I'm gonna pick an Alicante upset over Zaragoza this weekend which may very well leave the Aragoneses out of the promotion spots for the rest of the season.<br /><br />Alicante also faces off against Hercules and could hurt their hopes. A week later they could seal Alaves' fate into releghation to the Segunda B. The Alaves fans showed their displeasure with their team's recent play by spraypainting the team's painting ground. Classy! Sad to see the former UEFA Cup finalists have fallen.<br /><br />In any event, a meeting with already relegated Sevilla Atletico in the last week of the season just may push Alicante to safety. It'll be worth watching.<br /><br />Jornada 37 - Resultados<br /><br />Rayo - Cordoba 5-0<br />R. Sociedad - Albacete 1-0<br />Zaragoza - Celta 3-0<br />Hércules - Tenerife 3-1<br />Alavés - Eibar 1-1<br />Las Palmas - Alicante 0-1<br />Levante - Salamanca 1-2<br />Elche - Girona 2-1<br />Murcia - Huesca 0-0<br />Xerez - Castellon 1-0<br />Sevilla At - Gimnastic 1-3<br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Xerez - 75 <br />2. Tenerife - 69 <br />3. Zaragoza - 68 <br />4. Hércules - 67 <br />5. Rayo - 65 <br />6. R. Sociedad - 60 <br />7. Salamanca - 59 <br />8. Levante - 56 <br />9. Castellón - 53 <br />10. Gimnástic - 51 <br />11. Elche - 50 <br />12. Huesca - 46 <br />13. Las Palmas - 44 <br />14. Albacete - 44 <br />15. Murcia - 44 <br />16. Girona - 42 <br />17. Celta - 41 <br />18. Córdoba - 41 <br />19. Alavés - 37 <br />20. Alicante - 34 <br />21. Eibar - 30 <br />22. Sevilla At - 16Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534374473216624161.post-33351100329607862492009-05-07T12:24:00.000-07:002009-05-07T13:03:26.483-07:00Mama Knows Best<a href="http://www.rayovallecano.es/03/elclub/teresa.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 260px;" src="http://www.rayovallecano.es/03/elclub/teresa.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Saturday afternoon features one of those juicy affairs where two teams face off against each other and the only worthwhile result is three points. In this case, Rayo Vallecano will make the quick bus trip out of the capital city and over to Salamanca to play in what is essentially an elimination game for any chance of reaching the promotion zone to La Primera.<br /><br />The last two weeks have been very unkind to Rayo as they have lost rather horridly to Segunda B bound Alicante and 13th Albacete, 2-0 and 0-3. In an effort to cheer up the squad, Rayo President Maria Teresa Rivero, had the team over for dinner not to chastise them, but to cheer them up, give 'em a pat on the back and assure that she is 100% behind them. <br /><br />As the mother of 13 children and 36 grandchildren, the woman knows a thing or two about trying to get the best out of youngster. I'm not sure if the same applies to her futbol children, but nevertheless, I applaud her efforts. I just wonder that if Rayo drops this weekend's affair in Salamanca, will she give them a spanking at the next home match in front of the whole crowd at the modestly named Estadio Teresa Rivero?<br /><br />At the very least Rivero is now able to amply follow a futbol match. She admitted back in 1994 when she became president of Rayo after her husband died that she had only seen one futbol match in her entire life and that was in Murcia when she was a little girl... and she didn't even know which teams were playing (Real Murcia had to have been one of them, right?!?!). Not exactly the kind of business/futbol experience that men like Joan Laporta or Florentino Perez have, but it still merits respect that a woman in a machismo country like Spain has been the President of a futbol club for 15 years. Rivero should also be credited for trying to forward women's rights within the futbol world which included publishing a book on the topic.<br /><br />Rivero has come a long way since 1994 when she was found bored to tears and actually asleep in the 'palco' of Rayo's stadium. Now universally respected by her club presidential colleagues, Rivero is carving a special niche in Spanish futbol and we're lucky that we get to see it in El Infierno.<br /><br /><br />One other note from El Infierno - Cheers to Sevilla Atletico for beating Girona at home last weekend! Maybe once the relegation was made official, they could kick back and play relaxed futbol. Evidently that worked. Too bad only 100 people were in attendance in the stadium to see it.<br /><br />Resultados - Jornada 35<br /><br />Rayo - Albacete 0-3<br />R. Sociedad - Celta 2-2<br />Zaragoza - Tenerife 1-1<br />Hércules - Gimnastic 2-2<br />Alavés - Castellon 0-1<br />Las Palmas - Huesca 1-1<br />Levante - Alicante 2-0<br />Elche - Xerez 0-1<br />Murcia - Eibar 2-0<br />Córdoba - Salamanca 0-2<br />Sevilla At - Girona 2-1<br /><br /><br />Clasificacion<br /><br />1. Xerez - 69 <br />2. Tenerife - 66 <br />3. Zaragoza - 62 <br />4. Hércules - 61 <br />5. Rayo - 59 <br />6. Salamanca - 56 <br />7. R. Sociedad - 54 <br />8. Levante - 53 <br />9. Castellón - 50 <br />10. Gimnástic - 47 <br />11. Elche - 46 <br />12. Huesca - 45 <br />13. Albacete - 44 <br />14. Murcia - 43 <br />15. Girona - 42 <br />16. Las Palmas - 41 <br />17. Celta - 41 <br />18. Córdoba - 40 <br />19. Alavés - 35 <br />20. Alicante - 31 <br />21. Eibar - 29 <br />22. Sevilla At - 16Arch Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083913130696513109noreply@blogger.com0