Bienvenido Al Infierno

The Pride of Hercules

2010-03-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

NOTE: The updatyed daily excerpts of Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found at www.laligaweekly.com.
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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fun In The Sun

2010-03-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Weekly excerpts of Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found at www.laligaweekly.com.
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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Well, this past weekend’s victory may have very well bankrupted the local bars because it was certainly one to remember.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Back On Track?

2010-03-18T14:53:00.001-07:00

NOTE: Weekly excerpts from Bienvenido Al Infierno can now be found on www.laligaweekly.com
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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lean Times In Vallecas

2010-02-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

Clasificacion:

1 Hércules - 48
2 R. Sociedad - 47
3 Cartagena - 44
4 Levante - 40
5 Numancia - 39
6 Villarreal B - 37
7 Betis - 36
8 Elche - 35
9 Gimnástic - 35
10 Rayo - 32
11 Huesca - 32
12 Córdoba - 32
13 Salamanca - 31
14 Recreativo - 30
15 Las Palmas - 29
16 Celta - 29
17 Girona - 29
18 Albacete - 28
19 Murcia - 26
20 Cádiz - 25
21 Real Unión - 24
22 Castellón - 21

Bravo!

2010-02-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

On to the Quiniela!

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.

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

Clasificacion:

1. Hércules - 47
2. R. Sociedad - 47
3. Cartagena - 43
4. Levante - 39
5. Numancia - 39
6. Villarreal B - 36
7. Betis - 35
8. Elche - 34
9. Gimnástic - 35
10. Córdoba - 32
11. Rayo - 31
12. Salamanca - 30
13. Huesca - 29
14. Recreativo - 29
15. Las Palmas - 28
16. Albacete - 27
17. Celta - 26
18. Girona - 26
19. Cádiz - 24
20. Murcia - 23
21. Real Unión - 21
22. Castellón - 19

On to the Vuelta

2010-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

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.

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".

Lo malo:

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.

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.

Lo bueno:

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.

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.

Lo peor:

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...
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On to this week's Quiniela!

La Quiniela - Jornada 24

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

Clasificacion:

1. Hércules - 44
2. R. Sociedad - 44
3. Cartagena - 40
4. Levante - 36
5. Villarreal B - 36
6. Numancia - 36
7. Gimnástic - 35
8. Betis - 34
9. Rayo - 31
10. Elche - 31
11. Salamanca - 30
12. Córdoba - 29
13. Las Palmas - 28
14. Recreativo - 28
15. Huesca - 26
16. Celta - 26
17. Albacete - 26
18. Cádiz - 24
19. Murcia - 23
20. Girona - 23
21. Real Unión - 21
22. Castellón - 18

Celta a lo mas grande?

2010-01-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

La Quiniela - Jornada 21

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

Clasificacion

1. R. Sociedad - 42
2. Hércules - 40
3. Cartagena - 33
4. Numancia - 32
5. Betis - 30
6. Villarreal B - 30
7. Rayo* - 29
8. Gimnástic - 29
9. Salamanca - 28
10. Levante - 27
11. Elche - 27
12. Córdoba* - 27
13. Las Palmas - 26
14. Albacete - 24
15. Huesca - 23
16. Celta - 23
17. Recreativo - 23
18. Girona - 22
19. Cádiz - 20
20. Murcia - 18
21. Real Unión - 17
22. Castellón - 13

Hey brother, can you spare a dime?

2010-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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'.

Happy New Year to everyone and let's hope 2010 brings us plenty of good futbol and drama in El Infierno.

Big props goes to Recreativo who absolutely demolished Atletico Madrid 3-0 this week in the Copa del Rey.

Here's this week Quiniela.

Jornada 19

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

Clasificacion:

1. Hércules - 36
2. R. Sociedad - 36
3. Cartagena - 30
4. Numancia - 29
5. Rayo - 28
6. Gimnástic - 28
7. Betis - 27
8. Salamanca - 27
9. Córdoba - 24
10. Villarreal B - 24
11. Las Palmas - 23
12. Levante - 23
13. Elche - 23
14. Huesca - 22
15. Recreativo - 22
16. Albacete - 22
17. Girona - 21
18. Celta - 20
19. Cádiz - 19
20. Real Unión - 17
21. Murcia - 15
22. Castellón - 11

When Futbol Meets Politics

2009-12-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clasificacion:

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

Basque Delight

2009-12-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jornada 16

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

Clasificacion

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

Betis Is Back While Celta Suffers

2009-12-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago I was about ready to write off Betis' chances for a return to the Primera Division. The team was in a freefall after losing to last place Castellon and then weeks later getting drilled by Elche on the road and then tying pathetic Celta. But it's funny what a difference just four days can make as Betis have ripped off two wins in a row with a win against Las Palmas at the Villamarin over the weekend and then another home victory yesterday against Villarreal B in a make-up game from week 10 that had been cancelled due to a swine flu outbreak within the squad.

It just goes to show that if you can string together a couple results and win several matches ion a row, you can go from being a pretender to a contender in El Infierno. Betis are now in 4th place and are just three points below the promotion zone. Conventional wisdom suggests that to be a player in the promotion chase, you have to remain within six points or less of the last promotion spot, meaning that ground can be made up in two matches. Once it exceeds that golden number of six, then things get really difficult.

This is even more true on the other side of the table and Celta appear to be going the wrong way. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Balaidos Boys considering I have personal friends in Vigo and I've seen Celta play in their home stadium, and of course was also lucky to attend their memorable 1-2 victory in the Bernabeu back in 1998 when they were a first division power.

But hard times have hit the Gallegos and unlike Betis, there just isn't the firepower to easily wipe away a deficit. Dinei packed his bags over the summer and went to Primera side Tenerife while David Rodriguez headed back to his parent club of Almeria after being loaned out last year. Unfortunately when those two players left, they took all of the goals with them.

In 14 games, Celta have amassed an underwhelming 11 goals. Even more amazing is the fact that they managed to advance to the next round of the Copa del Rey against Tenerife when they scored 2 goals in the first leg in Balaidos. For them, that was an offensive outburst.

Last year's "permanencia' hero Iago Aspas recently said that the team is 'a muerte' with their coach Eusebio Sacristan. Normally in Spain that vote of confidence leads to another casualty on the coaching chopping block about 2-3 weeks after the statement if offered up. If Eusebio makes it to Christmas, consider me shocked.

Due to Thanksgiving there was no Quiniela last week so we're back at it again this week. Funnest match-up of the weekend will be in San Sebastian with a Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Real Union. Kinda feelin an upset in that one...

La Quiniela - Jornada 15

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

Clasificacion:

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

Hey, isn't that???.....

2009-11-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

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! :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On to the games....

La Quiniela - Jornada 13

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

Clasificacion:

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

Upsets Galore

2009-11-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

La Quiniela - Jornada

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

Clasificacion

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

Paliza!

2009-11-03T14:09:00.001-08:00

This might be a little late but it still needs to be discussed. Of course I'm talking about what happened last Tuesday in a growing suburb of Madrid called Alcorcon. The third division team welcomed the 'Galacticos' to town, sans Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, and thumped their skulls 4-0.

It's not like surprises have never happened to the 'gigantes' of Spanish futbol in the Copa del Rey. Just in the last 10 years both Real Madrid and Barcelona have each twice been taken down by 'un pequeno'. Madrid were beaten back towards the beginning of the decade by nearby Toldeo 2-1 in a winner take all affair. Then of course last year the Segunda B team from Irun, Real Union, shocked the Madridistas by scoring a late goal in the Bernabeu to advance on away goals.

Barcelona's issues in the Copa also came a fair number of years ago but their fellow Catalans from Figueres still remember the day they shocked Rivaldo, Patrick Kluivert and that group. And the Barca team that flirted with relegation in 2002-2003 saw their fortunes go south against little-known Novelda 3-2.

But those were all nail-biting encounters which saw the lesser teams barely squeak out the victory. What happened last week was a complete drubbing. Madrid was disinterested and lethargic while Alcorcon looked the side that had the 450 Euro payroll.

Alcorcon resides in the southwestern suburbs of Madrid containing a growing immigrant population. The town's population has grown significantly in the last 10 years due to the influx of immigrants to Spain and social services have been built up to support the city (including now having a Metro stop!). It looks like futbol has become another one of those social services as the team could parlay this win towards getting promoted to the Infierno at the close of the season. A return leg in the Bernabeu awaits, and if there is a team that can overcome the odds and win 5-0 to advance, it's Madrid, but for now let us take a step back and celebrate the exploits of Alcorcon and their 1 million Euro payroll. Me quito el sombrero.

No action last week between Betis and Villarreal B who had to cancel their match due to the Swine Flu.

Also, take a moment and keep Fernando Caceres in your thoughts and prayers. The former Celta, Zaragoza and Valencia man was attacked by a couple hoodlums this past week in his native Argentina and his chances of living are bleak.

Sorry for the lack of Quiniela picks this week. Probably wouldn't have made my new commenting friend from Poland any money anyways!

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

Clasificacion:

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

Empatatis

2009-10-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

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?

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!

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.

"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.

Other notes:

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.

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.

Jornada 9

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

Clasificacion:

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

A Week Of 'Polemica'

2009-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

Quiniela - Jornada 8

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

Clasificacion:

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

The Look of a Winner

2009-10-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Jornada 7 - Quiniela

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

Clasificacion:

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

Impressive... so far

2009-10-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

Clasificacion:

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

Is Cartagena For Real?

2009-09-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

OK... Admittedly I've been slack about updating this blog. Stuff happens when you have a one year old daughter, ya know?

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.

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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.
======

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.

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

Clasificacion:

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

Back and Back Big!

2009-09-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

Now you really didn't think I was going to forget that my beloved El Infierno had started back up, did you?

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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?

Jornada 1 - Resultados

Celta - Numancia 1-2
Cádiz - Salamanca 0-1
Villarreal B - Levante 2-2
Betis - Córdoba 3-0
Castellón - Hércules 0-0
Real Unión - Recreativo 0-1
Rayo - Albacete 3-0
Girona - Cartagena 0-1
Murcia - Gimnástic 0-1
Las Palmas - R. Sociedad 1-1
Elche - Huesca 0-2

Clasificacion

1. Betis - 3
2. Rayo - 3
3. Huesca - 3
4. Numancia - 3
5. Cartagena - 3
6. Gimnástic - 3
7. Recreativo - 3
8. Salamanca - 3
9. Levante - 1
10. Villarreal B - 1
11. Las Palmas - 1
12. R. Sociedad - 1
13. Castellón - 1
14. Hércules - 1
15. Celta - 0
16. Cádiz - 0
17. Girona - 0
18. Murcia - 0
19. Real Unión - 0
20. Elche - 0
21 Albacete - 0
22 Córdoba - 0

Enhorabuena

2009-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

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.

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.
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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Resultados - Jornada 41

R. Sociedad - Levante 1-1
Zaragoza - Cordoba 3-1
Hércules - Albacete 4-1
Alavés - Alicante 1-0
Las Palmas - Rayo Vallecano 0-0
Castellón - Eibar 4-0
Gimnástic - Elche 2-0
Murcia - Salamanca 2-1
Xerez - Huesca 2-1
Girona - tenenrife 0-1
Sevilla At - Celta 0-0

Clasificacion

1. Tenerife - 81 Ascendido!
2. Xerez - 81 Ascendido!
3. Zaragoza - 80 Ascendido!
4. Hércules - 75
5. Rayo - 69
6. R. Sociedad - 64
7. Levante - 63
8. Castellón - 62
9. Salamanca - 60
10. Gimnástic - 57
11. Elche - 53
12. Murcia - 52
13. Huesca - 50
14. Córdoba - 50
15. Girona - 49
16. Albacete - 48
17. Celta - 47
18. Las Palmas - 46
19. Alavés - 43 Descendido
20. Alicante - 34 Descendido
21. Eibar - 32 Descendido
22. Sevilla At - 18 Descendido

The Cava Is On Ice

2009-06-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

Resultados - Jornada 40
Albacete - Murcia 0-0
Celta - Alaves 2-1
Rayo - Real Sociedad 4-1
Salamanca - Zaragoza 1-3
Tenerife - Xerez 2-0
Eibar - Girona 2-2
Levante - Elche 2-0
Huesca - Sevilla Atletico 3-0
Gimnástic - Castellon 0-1
Córdoba - Las Palmas 4-1
Alicante - Hercules 1-2

Clasificacion

1. Tenerife - 78
2. Xerez - 78
3. Zaragoza - 77
4. Hércules - 72
5. Rayo - 68
6. R. Sociedad - 63
7. Levante - 62
8. Salamanca - 60
9. Castellón - 59
10. Gimnástic - 54
11. Elche - 53
12. Huesca - 50
13. Córdoba - 50
14. Murcia - 49
15. Girona - 49
16. Albacete - 48
17. Celta - 46
18. Las Palmas - 45
19. Alavés - 40
20. Alicante - 34
21. Eibar - 32
22. Sevilla At. - 17

Bienvenido Recre, Numancia y.... Betis!?!

2009-06-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Resultados - Jornada 39
R. Sociedad - Cordoba 0-2
Zaragoza - Albacete 3-0
Hércules - Celta 2-2
Alavés - Huesca 3-0
Las Palmas - Salamanca 1-1
Levante - Rayo 1-0
Elche - Castellon 0-1
Murcia - Alicante 3-1
Xerez - Eibar 3-0
Girona - Gimnastic 2-1
Sevilla At - Tenerife 0-4

Clasificacion:

1. Xerez - 78
2. Tenerife - 75
3. Zaragoza - 74
4. Hércules - 69
5. Rayo - 65
6. R. Sociedad - 63
7. Salamanca - 60
8. Levante - 59
9. Castellón - 56
10. Gimnástic - 54
11. Elche - 53
12. Murcia - 48
13. Girona - 48
14. Córdoba - 47
15. Huesca - 47
16. Albacete - 47
17. Las Palmas - 45
18. Celta - 43
19. Alavés - 40
20. Alicante - 34 (Relegated)
21. Eibar - 31 (Relegated)
22. Sevilla At - 17 (Relegated)

Four For Two

2009-05-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jornada 37 - Resultados

Rayo - Cordoba 5-0
R. Sociedad - Albacete 1-0
Zaragoza - Celta 3-0
Hércules - Tenerife 3-1
Alavés - Eibar 1-1
Las Palmas - Alicante 0-1
Levante - Salamanca 1-2
Elche - Girona 2-1
Murcia - Huesca 0-0
Xerez - Castellon 1-0
Sevilla At - Gimnastic 1-3

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 75
2. Tenerife - 69
3. Zaragoza - 68
4. Hércules - 67
5. Rayo - 65
6. R. Sociedad - 60
7. Salamanca - 59
8. Levante - 56
9. Castellón - 53
10. Gimnástic - 51
11. Elche - 50
12. Huesca - 46
13. Las Palmas - 44
14. Albacete - 44
15. Murcia - 44
16. Girona - 42
17. Celta - 41
18. Córdoba - 41
19. Alavés - 37
20. Alicante - 34
21. Eibar - 30
22. Sevilla At - 16

Mama Knows Best

2009-05-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Resultados - Jornada 35

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

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 69
2. Tenerife - 66
3. Zaragoza - 62
4. Hércules - 61
5. Rayo - 59
6. Salamanca - 56
7. R. Sociedad - 54
8. Levante - 53
9. Castellón - 50
10. Gimnástic - 47
11. Elche - 46
12. Huesca - 45
13. Albacete - 44
14. Murcia - 43
15. Girona - 42
16. Las Palmas - 41
17. Celta - 41
18. Córdoba - 40
19. Alavés - 35
20. Alicante - 31
21. Eibar - 29
22. Sevilla At - 16

Time For 'La Liga de Filiales'?

2009-04-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Each professional futbol federation in Europe has their own way of operating. From the number of teams in the first division to promotion/relegation/Champions League/UEFA Cup playoff scenarios (don't even have me try to explain the Dutch one. It'll take hours). Countries like Scotland have a league specifically for youth or reserve sides. Italy features regular weekday matches between reserve sides. And then there's Spain which has a quirky setup where reserve teams, commonly known as 'B' or 'C' teams, play against other clubs vying for promotion to the next level. In the case of a reserve team in El Infierno, it makes for the odd situation where promotion can never be attained since the parent side is already in the first division. However this might change soon and the case of this year's Sevilla Atletico presents a good argument.

Simply put, Sevilla Atletico never had a chance this year and were officially relegated after last weekend's defeat versus 'lider' Xerez. They were a sacrificial lamb all season long which has resulted in just one solitary win in 34 weeks so far this season. All the other teams in El Infierno could look at the 'temporada' and at least count on six points in the two matches they were to play against Sevilla Atletico, which is Sevilla FC's youth/reserve team. The low point for the squad came a couple weeks ago when first division aspirant Hercules thumped them 8-0. Talk about a world-class thrashing...

Sevilla Atletico is in the unfair position of being a feeder team that is competing against teams who are aiming for promotion to the first division or trying to stay alive in the second division. There's a conflict there. The other 19 teams are looking to win every week, Sevilla Atletico's goal is to develop players into first division quality. The first emphasis is not on winning, but rather individual development... and that's not fair to players and fans. Why should a player even care about winning when promotion is impossible? Instead, the attitude turns to, 'Let's see how well I can play individually today and maybe get noticed by a first division team.'

So what is the remedy? A 'Liga de Filiales', or rather, a "Reserve League' where clubs like Real Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona can have their 'B' teams compete against each other in one league and have their 'C' players compete against each other in another league. And with so many clubs having so many reserve teams, you could have a Liga de Filiales B-1, B-2 where promotion and relegation is at stake.

It's time for the Spanish Futbol Federation to start looking at this option so we can stop putting up with conflicting interests in games with high stakes like last weekend's Xerez-Sevilla Atletico tilt.

Other news from El Infierno... I failed to mention last week that Jozy Altidore had toenail surgery and is out for four weeks. I have to doubt that he'll return this season.

Massive game this weekend at La Romareda between Zaragoza and Tenerife who are in the 3rd and 2nd spots respectively. A victory would most assuredly secure Tenerife's spot in La Primera Division next year.

Big thumbs up to the players at Alicante who pulled off the huge upset defeating Rayo Vallecano last week and dropping them out of the promotion place. The Comunidad de Valencia side is still 9 points from safety but has had a terrific second half of the season. It's a shame their 'ida' went so poorly or else they would be spending another year in El Infierno. As it looks now, they'll be relegated to the Segunda B but I can't help but think we'll see them in this blog again during the 2010-2011 Liga Adelante season.

Jornada 34 - Resultados
Albacete - Cordoba 1-1
Celta - Levante 2-2
Salamanca - Elche 1-1
Tenerife - Las Palmas 1-1
Eibar - Zaragoza 2-3
Huesca - Real Sociedad 1-2
Castellón - Hercules 0-0
Gimnástic - Murcia 3-0
Xerez - Sevilla At. 2-0
Girona - Alaves 0-1
Alicante - Rayo 2-0

Clasificacion
1. Xerez - 66
2. Tenerife - 65
3. Zaragoza - 61
4. Hércules - 60
5. Rayo - 59
6. Salamanca - 53
7. R. Sociedad - 53
8. Levante - 50
9. Castellón - 47
10. Gimnástic - 46
11. Elche - 46
12. Huesca - 44
13. Girona - 42
14. Albacete - 41
15. Las Palmas - 40
16. Córdoba - 40
17. Celta - 40
18. Murcia - 40
19. Alavés - 35
20. Alicante - 31
21. Eibar - 29
22. Sevilla At - 13

Adios Capitan

2009-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

We've discussed here before how rare it is for a player to stay with a club for his entire career. The current nature of futbol does not lend itself to permanency. Look no further than our friend 'El Loco' Abreau for Real Sociedad! But this week futbol saw a career come to an end for a player who spent a whopping 20 years with the same club. A rarity indeed.

Luis Carlos Cuartero hung up his boots on Monday for Real Zaragoza after spending 20 years with the Aragonian club. The name will most likely be unfamiliar to you as he never scored alot of goals or really even made the starting 11 consistently. But what was consistent was his devotion to his club and to mentor younger players. Cuartero rightly served as captain for Zaragoza at the end of his career including the epic 3-2 triumph over Real Madrid in the 2004 Copa del Rey. It was Cuartero who memorably shouted from the 'palco' of Montjuic after receiving the trophy from 'Su Majestad' El Rey Don Juan Carlos, "Viva la Virgen de Pilar!" This being a reference to the statue of the Virgen Pilar at the Basilica in Zaragoza.

The native of Aragon understandedly wept at his press conference. The last two years were not what he hoped after experiencing injury and relegation from the first division with the club. But Cuartero's heart has been and will always be with zaragoza. This was fittingly summed up last year before the final game of the season when Zaragoza faced Espanyol and needed a win to have a chance at staying in the first division. Cuartero simply stated, "Yo juagria este partido con un cojo." Which means, "I would play this game completely crippled."

At the end of Monday's press conference, team officials and the press stood up and applauded the veteran, a scene rarely seen in Spanish futbol. We should do the same.

Resultados - Jornada 33
Rayo - Celta 4-1
R. Sociedad - Tenerife 1-2
Salamanca - Albacete 3-1
Zaragoza - Gimnastic 1-0
Hércules - Girona 3-0
Alavés - Xerez 1-2
Las Palmas - Eibar 1-0
Levante - Huesca 1-0
Elche - Sevilla Atletico 2-0
Murcia - Castellon 2-2
Córdoba - Alicante 2-1

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 63
2. Tenerife - 62
3. Rayo - 59
4. Hércules - 59
5. Zaragoza - 58
6. Salamanca - 52
7. R. Sociedad - 50
8. Levante - 49
9. Castellón - 46
10. Elche - 45
11. Huesca - 44
12. Gimnástic - 43
13. Girona - 42
14. Las Palmas - 40
15. Murcia - 40
16. Albacete - 40
17. Celta - 39
18. Córdoba - 39
19. Alavés - 32
20. Eibar - 29
21. Alicante - 28
22. Sevilla At - 13

El Ultimo Suspiro

2009-04-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

To this day, injury time remains one of futbol's greatest mysteries. How does the referee actually calculate how much injury time should be added at the end of the 90 minutes? If you watch enough futbol, the majority of the time a first half will see one minute added before halftime and then the second half will see three extra minutes added, even though you hardly noticed a difference in those two minutes of stoppage between the two halves.

There have been legendary injury times such as Manchester United's two injury time goals to beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final. There was also the classic case of a corrupt referee adding 12 (12!) minutes of injury time to a match in South America until the home side finally scored the game-winner. Those aside, any European league will feature several matches every weekend where the balance of the match is tipped either for or against a team either right before or during injury time. This happened over the weekend with Rayo Vallecano and Zaragoza.

Zaragoza traveled down to the Comunidad de Valencia to play Castellon and amid a downpour, maintained a slim 0-1 advantage after a goal in the 45th minute. With a whopping 5,000 people in attendance, time ticked down as Zaragoza was ready to claim the three precious points and situate themselves in the promotion zone. The referee ordered another three minutes be played at the Estadio Municipal de Castalia as part of injury time and that's when disaster struck for Zara. Defender Pulido foollishly brough down Nsue in the area and Ulloa gladly converted the PK for Castellon to equalise the match. Just like that, Zaragoza lost two points and fell back to one point behind in the promotion zone.

On the flip side, Rayo Vallecano and Huesca were dealing with freezing winds in the Aragon city on top of a sopping wet field after recent rains. Hardly any offense was generated at all and a 0-0 result was all but a sure thing. Then lo and behold in the 89th minute (right as injury time was about to start!) Rayo forward Piti was the recipient of a counterattack and plucked the ball from outside the area into the Huesca net to give Rayo the three points. Rayo now sits third and in the promotion zone.

Remember these two matches should Rayo finish ahead of Zaragoza in the race for promotion.

Other news and notes out of El Infierno:
Xerez coach Esteban Vigo finally gave the nod to Jozy Altidore to suit up against Hercules. That was the good news. The bad news is that Jozy didn't play even though Xerez was up 3-0 in the second half. The resouding win for Xerez over 2nd place Hercules gives Xerez 60 points a bit of breathing room.

Tenerife keeps rolling. After that 0-0 tie against Rayo, the islanders went back home and thumped Levante.

Enhorabuena to Girona and Celta for getting their first wins in El Infierno in over two months!

Resultados - Jornada 32

Albacete - Elche 2-1
Celta - Cordoba 1-0
Tenerife - Levante 5-1
Eibar - Real Sociedad 1-1
Huesca - Rayo Vallecano 0-1
Castellón - Zaragoza 1-1
Gimnástic - Las Palmas 0-0
Xerez - Hercules 3-0
Girona - Murcia 1-0
Alicante - Salamanca 0-0
Sevilla At - Alaves 1-1

Clasificacion:

1. Xerez - 60
2. Tenerife - 59
3. Rayo - 56
4. Hércules - 56
5. Zaragoza - 55
6. R. Sociedad - 50
7. Salamanca - 49
8. Levante - 46
9. Castellón - 45
10. Huesca - 44
11. Gimnástic - 43
12. Elche - 42
13. Girona - 42
14. Albacete - 40
15. Celta - 39
16. Murcia - 39
17. Las Palmas - 37
18. Córdoba - 36
19. Alavés - 32
20. Eibar - 29
21. Alicante - 28
22. Sevilla At - 13

El Nuevo Líder

2009-04-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend promises to be one of the very best in El Infierno. There are several games on the slate with major consequences for teams in place for promotion, attempting to get to the promotion zone and of course teams hoping to avoid relegation. Let's talk about some of them.

Rayo Vallecano - Tenerife
Rayo officials have already declared that the game is sold out. With Rayo sitting in 4th spot, just a point behind 3rd place Hercules, they'll need their best effort against (surprise!) new leader Tenerife. The environment at Estadio Teresa Rivero will be electric. Rayo is handing out 15.000 red and white flags to fans attending the game, plus another 2,000 trumpets will be given to fans throughout the stadium. This game to be played on Saturday could either vault Tenerife into a very commanding position to earn promotion, or tighten up a race that seems destined to end on the final day of the season. Rayo is so tough at home and the Vallecas stadium will be rocking. I'd mark down a good ol' '1' on the Quiniela.

Murcia-Xerez
Well, well, well.... Xerez has finally fallen from the 1st place spot in El Infierno and have thus created panic and anxiety among their fan base. Xerez travels to a very much improved Murcia side and will have their hands full. Murcia coach Jose Miguel Campos is still foaming at the mouth after his side unjustly lost the three points against bottom feeder Sevilla Atletico after the referee gave the 'colista' not one or two, but three penalties, of which all three were converted to end the game in a 3-3 tie. Campos has all but saved Murcia's season, making him one of the hottest young coaches in Spain.
Meanwhile, Xerez is playing the, "we're not worried, we're focused, we'll be ok" card after they dropped a 2-1 result last weekend at home against Zaragoza. However a press conference yesterday by defenseman Juan Redondo was a little more revealing when he said, "if we don't get promoted this year, I'm not quite sure what will happen.." Sounds a little foreboding, no? And to top that off, now the Xerez fans are clamoring for Jozy Altidore to get a shot. All he did was score four goals in two games in CONCACAF qualifying for the US. As one Xerez fan said online, "Well, I think we should use him and take advantage of him before Villarreal takes him back." Now there's a novel idea. Ya veremos. I'm picking the sorpresa and another '1' in my Quiniela. Murcia gets it done and the Xerez crisis continues.

Elche-Alaves
Keep an eye out for this game as Alaves is looking to climb out of the relegation zone. Both Las Palmas and Cordoba are two points ahead of the Basque side and both are at home this weekend where they are tough to beat. Alaves will need a really strong road effort to have a chance to beat mid-table Elche. If both Las Palmas and Cordoba were to win their and Alaves loses, that's a massive gap of five points between safety and relegation. Considering Deportivo Alaves was the toast of Europe when they dramatically lost to Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cup final on an own goal in extra time. Obscure to most in Europe, their play earned praise from all over the continent. Now, they are on the brink of relegation to the Segunda B, and who knows if we'd ever hear from then again.

Resultados - Jornada 30
Celta - Albacete 0-0
Tenerife - Cordoba 2-0
Alavés - Hercules 1-3
Eibar - Rayo 0-1
Huesca - Salamanca 0-0
Castellón - Real Sociedad 0-3
Gimnástic - Levante 2-0
Xerez - Zaragoza 1-2
Girona - Las Palmas 2-2
Alicante - Elche 0-3
Sevilla At - Murcia 3-3

Clasificacion:

1. Tenerife - 55
2. Xerez - 54
3. Hércules - 53
4. Rayo - 52
5. Zaragoza - 51
6. R. Sociedad - 48
7. Salamanca - 45
8. Castellón - 44
9. Huesca - 44
10. Levante - 43
11. Gimnástic - 41
12. Elche - 39
13. Girona - 39
14. Murcia - 39
15. Albacete - 37
16. Celta - 36
17. Las Palmas - 33
18. Córdoba - 33
19. Alavés - 31
20. Eibar - 28
21. Alicante - 24
22. Sevilla At - 12

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

2009-03-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

The old saying in show business is that there is no such thing as bad publicity. There are some owners of sports teams that would also share that same sentiment, like Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones. In the world of European Futbol, the big teams like Manchester United, AC Milan and FC Barcelona are used to drama and bad pub. It usually gets a shrug of the shoulders by their fans and makes for some interesting reading in a sports daily while enjoying a cup of coffee or a pint. I would venture to guess that a team that aspires to earn promotion from El Infierno to La Liga would rather do without any team drama. Unfortunately for Xerez CD, what happened last week has landed them in the papers for something other than their play.

In the very early hours of last Wednesday morning, "la madrugada" as they say in Spain, gunshots were fired in a brothel in the sleepy Andalusian town. That news alone probably would have made the local paper somewhere in the back pages. But when police were called to the scene and realized who was actually there and had allegedly been involved, the story got much more interesting. Xerez President Joaquin Bilbao and his personal chauffeur (nice!) were led away in handcuffs after firing gunshots in the brothel which fortunately did not harm anyone but did end the decoration life of several pieces of crystal hanging in the brothel. Reportedly, Bilbao and his chauffeur got into an argument with some other patrons. Evidently some punches being thrown. Judging the the photo above, Bilbao bore the brunt of one of those blows. Bilbao then left the brothel saying he would be back for 'revenge'. This meant retrieving his gun and proceeding to show his aggressors a lesson and blasted away on a chandelier.

Once the news broke, Bilbao had no other choice but to resign his post as President of Xerez. For Xerez coach Esteban Vigo this was pretty much the last thing he needed to happen as his team had been in a mini-slump picking up only two points in their last three games. For a team that has never gained promotion to La Liga, a distraction like the club president getting arrested for firing his gun in a seedy brothel is not particularly welcomed. To Vigo's credit, the club went out and beat Las Palmas on Gran Canaria with a late second half goal. This tempered worries for now that a repeat of the 2001-2002 season would not happen. That was the year Xerez was looking good for promotion only to secure a meager four points in their last eight games and fall way out of contention. Will Xerez be able to hang on despite all of the club distractions? That is one of the biggest questions heading into the final months of El Infierno.

As for the games, a HUGE match this weekend between Zaragoza and Xerez at the Estadio Chapin. I can't help but think one of the Xerez supporters will be hanging some clever banner mentioning Bilbao. For you Jozy Altidore fans, another week of him not wearing a Xerez uniform and it won't happen again this weekend as Jozy has been called by US Coach Bob Bradley for this week's World Cup qualifiers.

Resultados - Jornada 29

Albacete - Huesca 0-2
Rayo - Gimnastic 3-2
R. Sociedad - Girona 2-0
Salamanca - Tenerife 1-2
Zaragoza - Sevilla At. 4-0
Las Palmas - Xerez 2-3
Levante - Castellon 3-1
Elche - Hercules 2-2
Murcia - Alaves 1-0
Córdoba - Eibar 1-1
Alicante - Celta 2-2

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 54
2. Tenerife - 52
3. Hércules - 50
4. Rayo - 49
5. Zaragoza - 48
6. R. Sociedad - 45
7. Castellón - 44
8. Salamanca - 44
9. Huesca - 43
10. Levante - 43
11. Gimnástic - 38
12. Girona - 38
13. Murcia - 38
14. Elche - 36
15. Albacete - 36
16. Celta - 35
17. Córdoba - 33
18. Las Palmas - 32
19. Alavés - 31
20. Eibar - 28
21. Alicante - 24
22. Sevilla At - 11

Locos por 'El Loco'

2009-03-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

Every sport has its share of journeymen. These are players who, for whatever reason, cannot seem to stick with a team. Futbol has a tendency to have more of its share of journeymen. This has to do with the fact that there are so many clubs spread out throughout the world. Some players bounce around their home country playing for different teams in a certain league. Some may even venture beyond borders and play in a different country or two. Then you have journeymen like Sebastian 'El Loco" Abreau whose career has spanned six different countries and three continents (if you count Israel as part of Asia which I will).

The 32 year old Uruguayan striker has now played for a total of 15 clubs, including his current club, Real Sociedad. His professional career started at age 20 so in 12 years of playing professional futbol, El Loco is averaging under a year with each team. The club career is as follows (deep breath): Defensor, San Lorenzo, Deportivo de La Coruna, Gremio, Tecos, San Lorenz (again), Nacional Montevideo, Cruz Azul, Club America, Nacional Montevideo (again), Dorados Sinaloa, CF Monterrey, San Luis, UANL Tigres, River Plate, Beitar Jersusalem, River Plate (again) and Real Sociedad. *whew!*

In regards to his playing time in Spain, El Loco's playing rights were owned by Deportivo from 1998-2004. In that span of time he was loaned out six different times to Brazilian, Uruguayan and Mexican sides including a stint with Gremio of the Brazilian league where he shared the pitch with a very young player by the name of Ronaldinho. It's quite a shame that El Loco managed to see time in only 15 matches with the Galician club in those six years as he missed out on those wonderful Super Depor teams that won a la Liga title, a Copa del Rey title and an appearance in the 2004 Champions League semifinals.

To his credit, El Loco remains humble and good natured about his nomadic professional career. He's jovial in the clubhouse and continues to wear jersey #13 for luck wherever he plays. El Loco should also be lauded for his relationship with the press where he has said that if someone is going to take the time to ask him a question, he will provide a thoughtful response as opposed to cliches. Good for him.

So why are we talking about El Loco? Well, in the eight games he has played with Real Sociedad after taking the place of the injured Diaz de Cerio, all he has done is score six goals. This included a hat trick last weekend against El Infierno leaders Xerez at the Andalusian's home grounds of Estadio Chapin. It was Xerez's first defeat since December and all of the sudden tightened up the standings in La Segunda Division. It has also extended a lifeline to fans of the Donostia club who thought their hopes of promotion evaporated with De Cerio's injury. That has now changed with the exploits of El Loco. Real Sociedad find themselves just 7 points behind the final promotion spot with plenty of futbol to play and El Loco leading the charge.

A couple other news and notes. No sign of Jozy Altidore in uniform in that Xerez-Real Sociedad game last weekend. Hope he enjoyed watching El Loco.
Also, Murcia is welcoming back Francisco Gallardo to the mix. The midfielder from Sevilla has already spent one tour of duty in Murcia playing for the side in 2006-2007 where his play garnered the respect and affection of Murcia fans. Unfortunately for Gallardo, he will always be known for a very unfortunate and lewd goal celebration in 2001 when he was with Sevilla. After a Sevilla goal, Gallardo took it upon himself to congratulate his teammate's strike by nibbling on the teammate's penis. Yowza. That charade earned him a fine and suspension by FEF and rightly so! Let's hope Francisco keeps any goal celebrations this year to above the waist.

Resultados - Jornada 28

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

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 51
2. Hércules - 49
3. Tenerife - 49
4. Rayo - 46
5. Zaragoza - 45
6. Castellón - 44
7. Salamanca - 44
8. R. Sociedad - 42
9. Huesca - 40
10. Levante - 40
11. Gimnástic - 38
12. Girona - 38
13. Albacete - 36
14. Murcia - 35
15. Elche - 35
16. Celta - 34
17. Las Palmas - 32
18. Córdoba - 32
19. Alavés - 31
20. Eibar - 27
21. Alicante - 23
22. Sevilla At - 11

Andalucian Desperation

2009-03-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Matches like the one that took place at El Arcangel last weekend in Cordoba is what helps make futbol so special. Promotion and relegation within a futbol division is the most logical method to ensure integrity within the sport. I compare that to what happens in the NFL, NBA or MLB. Teams who are in the lower rungs of their conference or division have no incentive to try. They know they are not making the playoffs, so why bother giving a full effort? Thankfully, futbol does not follow the same guidelines. Last week's Cordoba-Castellon match was a clear reason why promotion and relegation works so well.

Castellon made the quick trip over to the former Arabic capital of the Iberian Peninsula to play in a match that had huge consequences for both teams. Cordoba was hovering in 19th place, the final spot in the relegation zone, and desperate for the three points. Meanwhile Castellon was a mere two points behind the promotion zone with thoughts of dates next year in the Nou Camp and Santiago Bernabeu dancing in their heads. What this gives us is a match where both teams are desperately seeking a win. And this is what provides some of the best futbol and drama. The fans at El Arcangel were not disappointed.

Several minutes prior to halftime, Castellon's Mario Rosas gave the visitors a 0-1 lead, and for the moment, a spot in the promotion zone. After halftime, Cordoba's veteran leaders, the Italian Pierini and Spainard Yordi took charge and led the Cordoba comeback. The former Fiorentina player equalised in the 65th. Cordoba maintained the pressure in the second half, but as the minutes ticked down, it looked as the 'empate' was sure to happen. It was then in the 93rd that Yordi took in a long ball only to be pushed down in the penalty area. The former Zaragoza player, who earned two Copa del Rey titles with the Aragon side when it was in La Primera, coolly slotted home the PK. Cordoba keeper Raul Navas was also a hero barely knocking away a Castellon chance in the dying seconds to ensure the three points. With the win, Cordoba stayed 1 point above the drop zone while Castellon dropped another point further from Hercules in the fight for the third promotion spot.

This is the type of game that begs the question: Who is the more desperate team? The one fighting for promotion to one of the greatest leagues in the world? Or the one that is trying to survive and avoid futbol obscurity. Such is life in El Infierno where every week dreams and desperation are juxtaposed on a patch of grass.

For those keeping track, Jozy Altidore once again sat our Xerez's last game. The "Free Jozy" campaign is reaching a fever pitch!

Resultados - Jornada 27
Albacete - Eibar 2-0
Celta - Huesca 0-1
Rayo - Girona 1-1
R. Sociedad - Sevilla At. 1-0
Salamanca - Gimnastic 4-0
Zaragoza - Hercules 2-2
Las Palmas - Alaves 2-1
Levante - Xerez 2-2
Elche - Murcia 1-1
Córdoba - Castellon 2-1
Alicante - Tenenrife 2-2

Clasificacion
1. Xerez - 51
2. Tenerife - 48
3. Hércules - 46
4. Rayo - 45
5. Zaragoza - 44
6. Castellón - 43
7. Salamanca - 41
8. Huesca - 40
9. R. Sociedad - 39
10. Levante - 39
11. Gimnástic - 37
12. Girona - 37
13. Albacete - 35
14. Murcia - 35
15. Elche - 34
16. Celta - 33
17. Las Palmas - 31
18. Córdoba - 31
19. Alavés - 30
20. Eibar - 27
21. Alicante - 20
22. Sevilla At - 10

Hop On The Celta Rollercoaster!

2009-03-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

These can be trying times for futbol teams playing in El Infierno. The February-March time period is usually when the dreams of promotion start to die. At the midway point in January, it was worth noting that eleven teams were within six points of the three promotion spots. A scant six weeks water, that has all changed. Now only six teams are viable contenders for those three precious spots to play the 2009-2010 season in La Primera. A tip of the hat should be given to teams like Zaragoza and Castellon, who are still fighting for promotion. A pat on the back to Real Sociedad, Huesca, Girona and Salamanca. Good effort boys, but it just wasn't meant to be. Then you have a team like Celta which barely even deserves a shaking of the head. Como pudo ser?

It wasn't that long ago where I, along with the futbol dailys on the Iberian Peninsula, were singing the praises of the work of Pepe Murcia and Celta de Vigo. After an atrocious start, the team skyrocketed up the table and sat on the doorstep to promotion. Strikers like Dinei and David Rodriguez were taking it to teams from the onset of the first or second half whistle and scoring goals early putting teams on their heels. It was a brilliant strategy and it worked to perfection. A 2-0 win over 'colista' Sevilla Atletico back on January 17 put Celta in a position to be in a promotion spot. An away victory over celler dweller Murcia was seen as a '2' in that week's Quiniela... Ah, but that's why they play the game.

Murcia ended up winning 1-0 which jump started their revival. A week later 'lider' Xerex slapped around the vigueses 2-0. After that, it was all downhill and it still keeps going. In Celta's last seven games, out of a possible 21 points, the Galicians have earned a mere two. That's all. Two freakin' points. So now that those dreams of promotion have ended, Pepe Murcia, should he still have a job by the time you read this, needs to make sure the team doesn't get relegated. That's the thing about El Infierno. A rise to the top is hard work and difficult, but a fall from grace is quite easy.

Some other news and notes out of El Infierno. Our friends at Rayo Vallecano, who sold tickets for 1 Euro, ended up having 12,000 fans or so when they hosted Sevilla Atletico. The home fans were awarded with a 1-0 victory. Unfortunately, a couple days later, Rayo player Carlos de la Vega was found to be involved in a drug scandal where he was one of eleven men who hid 600 kilos of cocaine in a windmill. Yowza! I believe as of this morning, Carlos was on his way to jail. Bad news there for the Rayistas.

Can someone please explain to me why exactly Jozy Altidore hasn't seen the pitch at Xerez? I can understand why Xerex coach Esteban Vigo doesn't want to disrupt the rhythmn that his players have gained in their surge to the top of the table. But leaving a quality striker like Jozy on the bench and not even being substituted in for the last 10-15 minutes is a head-scratching move. Here's a guy that could sub in for the latter parts of the game and use his size and speed to overwhelm opponents and score some late goals. That what Pelligrini was doing at Villarreal. And don't even tell me that getting minutes for Villarreal but none at Xerez makes any sense. It doesn't. If this keeps going, we may need to start a "Free Jozy" campaign.

Big kudos to Alicante for earning as many points in 2009 as they got in the last four months of 2008. They went on the road and beat Eibar over the weekend. That's your team of the week!

Resultados - Jornada 26

Tenerife - Celta 3-0
Hércules - Las Palmas 4-2
Alavés - Real Sociedad 2-1
Eibar - Alicante 1-2
Huesca - Elche 3-2
Castellón - Salamanca 2-0
Gimnástic - Albacete 1-0
Murcia - Zaragoza 1-4
Xerez - Rayo Vallecano 1-1
Girona - Cordona 1-1
Sevilla At - Levante 1-2

Clasificacion
1. Xerez - 50
2. Tenerife - 47
3. Hércules - 45
4. Rayo - 44
5. Zaragoza - 43
6. Castellón - 43
7. Salamanca - 38
8. Levante - 38
9. Huesca - 37
10. Gimnástic - 37
11. R. Sociedad - 36
12. Girona - 36
13. Murcia - 34
14. Elche - 33
15. Celta - 33
16. Albacete - 32
17. Alavés - 30
18. Las Palmas - 28
19. Córdoba - 28
20. Eibar - 27
21. Alicante - 19
22. Sevilla At - 10

Donde Esta La Aficion?

2009-02-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hoy Te Favorecen, Mañana Te Perjudican

2009-02-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

Clasificacion

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

Getting Jozy In El Infierno

2009-02-05T12:25:00.001-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Halfway Home!

2009-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

Please forgive my tardiness and lack of a post last week. These things happen when you are stuck in bed the whole time and sick as a dog. Thankfully I am now recuperated and ready to blog about our friends in El Infierno. So we are now officially halfway done with the season! Jornada 21 has come and gone which marked the midway point of the season. We have certainly seen our share of suprises and shocking results so let's recap.

The biggest thing that stands out is the tremendous parity in La Segunda Division. It's crowded at the top! A mere six points separates 1st from 11th. So basically any team that can get hot and win three or even four games in a row has an excellent chance at putting themselves in position to win promotion. In addition, the dropoff from 12th to 17th is just a difference of three points. It's really only when you get to 18th and the relegation zones where you see the big gaps in points.

We were all but writing Murcia's obituary just over a month ago and now a recent string of wins has put them at 28 points and just five points out of a promotion spot. Their bright young coach, Jose Miguel Campos is spearheading this revival after the disastrous reign of Javier Clemente. Things can change very quickly. Just ask Celta. The Vigo side was rolling and rocketing up the standings and poised to take over the lead. Yet, they fell in games to Murcia and Xerez and are now back in the middle of the pack.

Of the three teams that were relegated down from the Primera to La Segunda: Zaragoza, Levante and Murcia, the Aragoneses and the Valencianos have the best shot to gain promotion back to La Primera. Murcia, as mentioned above, is glad to be safe of not being relegated a second straight year so they'll be happy with a mid-table finish.

Looking at the four teams that were promoted from Segunda B: Rayo Vallecano, Alicante, Huesca and Girona, I have to say that I'm impressed with three of the four. Rayo and Girona each have 31 points while Huesca sits in 12th with 29 points. Not shabby for their first years back in El Infierno. Alicante, on the other hand, is a complete disaster. As noted last month, they are already on their fourth coach and have pretty much secured their relegation back to Segunda B. They are next to last with a dismal 15 points.

One of the biggest questions is whether this year's surprise leader, Xerez, can hold their form and earn their first ever promotion to La Primera. I've been doubting them all season, yet there they stand at the top of the table with 37 points, three clear of 2nd place Tenerife. Do I think they can continue? In the end, my prediction is no. Tenerife has the look of a team starved to get back to futbol in La Primera and I think they will end up at the top. I like the way hercules has been going about their business the whole season and they will claim the second promotion spot. The third promotion spot will be a grueling race that will most likely go down to the final minutes of the season. Salamanca, Real Sociedad, Xerez and Zaragoza will battle until the end, only to see Zaragoza lay claim to the last promotion spot with a heart-stopping victory against Ray in Vallecas.

As for relegation, Sevilla Atletico and Alicante are definitely headed down to Segunda B. Cordoba and Eibar are the other sides currently in the relegation zone. Unfortunately I think long-time Infierno side Eibar will see their day of reckoning and drop. Cordoba, on the other hand, will rally and please their supporters by staying up. Albacete gets my nod for the final relegation spot.

One last thing, keep Elche forward Miguel Angle Lopez (above photo) in your thoughts and prayers. He returned last week to the pitch after two months away from the game after the death of his infant son. I could not imagine a more painful experience for any parent than for that to happen. Here's hoping Miguel and his family stay strong during this difficult time. Elche is our Team of the Week for that reason.

Jornada 21
Zaragoza - Rayo 2-3
Hércules - Salamanca 2-2
Sevilla At - Alicante 2-3
Xerez - Celta 2-0
Castellón - Tenerife 2-2
Murcia - Cordoba 1-0
Alavés - Albacete 0-2
Girona - Huesca 2-0
Las Palmas - Levante 1-2
R.Sociedad - Elche 0-0
Gimnástic - Eibar - Postponed (weather)

Clasificacion

1. Xerez - 37
2. Tenerife - 34
3. Hércules - 33
4. Zaragoza - 33
5. Castellón - 33
6. Salamanca - 33
7. R.Sociedad - 32
8. Levante - 32
9. Rayo - 31
10. Celta - 31
11. Girona - 31
12. Huesca - 29
13. Murcia - 28
14. Gimnástic* - 27
15. Las Palmas - 27
16. Albacete - 27
17. Elche - 26
18. Alavés - 23
19. Córdoba - 21
20. Eibar* - 21
21. Alicante - 15
22. Sevilla At - 9

Grande Castellon!

2009-01-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

In the thick of Winter, all the leagues in Europe, with the main exception being the English Premier League, take a respite from competition. The Mediterranean leagues of Spain, France and Italy take a rational break of 2 weeks more or less. Understandably, the German Bundesliga closes its doors a little while longer simply because, well, it's pretty freakin cold in Germany the first two weeks in January. So alot of what the German sides and other northern European teams like to do is venture south for a little sun and mix in training to prepare for the second half of their league season.

Bundesliga side Schalke04, no stranger to European success, settled into the cozy confines of the Valencian coast. To keep their form at match level, a friendly, or 'amistoso' as its called in Spain, was set up between Schalke and Castellon, one of our beloved sides from El Infierno. Schalke is a team that reached the quarterfinals of last year's Champions League so it is a side of quality. The seven-time Bundesliga Champs also have a UEFA Cup in their trophy case (1997) and a recent runner-up Bundesliga finish in 2007. Now for the delicious part. In their friendly against Castellon, the locals, playing with a side of mostly reserves, claimed a spirited 1-0 victory. It was a young chap by the name of Ferran Giner who scored the gamewinner in the second half. Ferran is the son of a former Valencian player, Fernando Giner, and has risen through the ranks of the Castellon 'cantera'. With players like these in the mix knocking off a habitual European top side club like Schalke, there is no wonder why Castellon stands at 29 points and a game away from reaching promotion to La Primera Division. Keep an eye on them.

As for our Showdown at La Romareda last weekend. The game was a tense affair in the first half and finally Zaragoza was able to break through with a goal in the last 15 minutes of the game and held on for the 1-0 win. There's no reason why Zaragoza can't maintain its home form on the road but somehow, it continues to be an issue. if they right that, the Aragon side should be at the top the table of El Infierno by the end of Week 42.

Players to watch for are David Rodriguez and Dinei at Celta. Both are good goal scorers and have Celta back in the hunt. More on them in another week's post!

1. Xerez - 33
2. Zaragoza - 33
3. Salamanca - 32
4. Tenerife - 30
5. Hércules - 29
6. Castellón - 29
7. Levante - 29
8. Huesca - 28
9. R.Sociedad - 28
10. Celta* - 28
11. Girona - 28
12. Gimnástic - 27
13. Rayo - 27
14. Las Palmas - 26
15. Albacete - 24
16. Elche - 22
17. Eibar - 21
18. Alavés - 20
19. Murcia* - 19
20. Córdoba - 18
21. Alicante - 12
22. Sevilla At. - 9

JORNADA 19
Castellón - Gimnástic 2-1
Girona - Eibar 2-0
Xerez - Tenerife 2-0
Sevilla At. - Huesca 1-1
Alavés - Celta 1-2
Hércules - Alicante 1-2
Murcia - Albacete 1-0
Zaragoza - Salamanca 1-0
Las Palmas - Córdoba 0-0
R.Sociedad - Rayo 1-1
Elche - Levante 0-2

Showdown at La Romareda

2009-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

It doesn't really matter the country or even the division where the futbol is played, any time there is a game between the first and second place teams, it gets everyone's attention and will certainly have ours this weekend. First place Salamanca, with 32 points, visits second place Zaragoza, with 30 points, in this weekend's marquee matchup in El Infierno.

We've already had a chance to talk a little about both sides and referenced some of their past glories and star power. The same can be said for both teams this year and look no further than the quality of side that Zaragoza possesses. Looking up and down their roster, the names stand out: Ewerthon, Pavon, Ayala and Oliveira. Both Oliveira and Ewerthon have made national team appearances for Brazil. In fact, Oliveira would have made Brazil's 2006 World Cup team if he hadn't torn up his knee the previous Fall. Pavon is a player who made his name rising through the ranks of the Real Madrid system. It was Pavon who was cited by many who were critical of Real Madrid's yearly signing of 'galacticos' saying the team should be focusing its efforts on producing 'Mas Pavones' instead of throwing money at high priced stars. Pavon eventually fizzled out at Real but has since become a mainstay with the Aragon side.

Roberto Ayala, commonly known as 'El Raton' is a grizzled veteran of Spanish futbol spending many years playing at the Mestalla for Valencia. He was an integral part of those wonderful Valencia teams that captured two La Liga titles and back to back appearances in the final of the UEFA Champions League. But the Argentine defender is known best as simply 'El Capitan.' No one has captained more matches for the Argentina National Team than Robero Ayala. If you consider the long history of Argentine futbol, it's an impressive distinction. His appearances date back to the silver medal winning team at the 1996 Olympics all the way to the runner-up performance at the 2007 Copa Amerixa where sadly, Ayala contributed to Brazil's 3-0 win by scoring an own goal in the waning moments of the first half and giving Brazil an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Roberto is living out his futbol days in La Romareda for Zaragoza but remains a key component for the side. He's a sentimental favorite here and that's why I'm picking Zaragoza to squeeze out a 2-1 victory.

Jornada 18 - Resultados:

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

Clasificacion:
1. Salamanca - 32
2. Zaragoza - 30
3. Xerez - 30
4. Tenerife - 30
5. Hércules - 29
6. Gimnástic - 27
7. Huesca - 27
8. R.Sociedad - 27
9. Castellón - 26
10. Rayo - 26
11. Levante - 26
12. Las Palmas - 25
13. Celta* - 25
14. Girona - 25
15. Albacete - 24
16. Elche - 22
17. Eibar - 21
18. Alavés - 20
19. Córdoba - 17
20. Murcia* - 16
21. Alicante - 9
22. Sevilla At - 8

The Unemployment Line

2008-12-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

Resultados - Jornada 16

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

Clasificacion

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

Where Have You Gone, Real Oviedo and SD Compostela?

2008-12-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

Clasificacion:

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

Resultados - Jornada 15

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

The Fall of Real Murcia

2008-12-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

Clasificacion:

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

Abuelo, pasa el balon!

2008-11-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Futbol is a rough game. You look around and most of the players running on pitches every weekend are men in their 20s. Some are even teenagers. There are certainly players in their early 30s, but once you start getting around the age of 35, it's just about time to hang up the boots. Futbol takes a toll on the knees (just look at Ronaldo) and simply put, most players lose their much needed velocity to stay competitive once they get north of 35. There are exceptions, Paolo Maldini at AC Milan is one that immediately comes to mind. But in Spain the player who holds the title of 'abuelo' of Spanish futbol is a man who goes out every week and plays 'al hueso' for Rayo Vallecano in La Segunda Division. He is Carlos Llorens.

Carlos Llorens was born in Alicante back in 1967 and rose through the ranks of futbol in the Comunidad de Valencia. Most of his futbol has been played in La Segunda Division with occasional stops with teams in La Segunda B. Here is the resume:

Tomelloso (91-92), Cartagena (92-93), Elche (93-94), Levante (94-95) ,Lleida (95-97), Leganés (97-98), Rayo Vallecano (98-00), Atlético de Madrid (00-01), Osasuna (00-01), Alavés (01-03), Polideportivo Ejido (03-06) and back to Rayo Vallecano (06-current).

Even if his play was not in La Liga at the first division level, it's still very impressive and is worth respect and admiration. And not only is Carlos still playing, but he performs at a high level at the left back for Rayo. He started all games last year for the Vallecas club and is on track to do the same this year.

He will always be remembered as a hero to Rayo Vallecano fans after Carlos cooly converted the PK that gave Rayo the 1-0 win over Benidorm to ensure promotion from Segunda B to La Segunda. It was during that game where an unforgettable scene played out. The referee whistled the PK in favor of Rayo and of course the savvy veteran Llorens was chosen to take it. Carlos' daughters were in the stands that day in Vallecas and assured all of those around them that their father would not fail, and as stated above, they were right!

So to all of you who are now over 30 and starting to feel some ill effects of aging, especially after engaging in sport, be sure to channel your inner Carlos Llorens! As a tribute to Carlos Llorens, this week's Team of the Week is Rayo Vallecano.

I forgot to post results and La Clasificacion from last week. Xerex esta en racha! The boys from southwestern Andalucia have scored 10 goals in their last two games!

Jornada 12

Sevilla At - Elche 0-2
Xerez - Alavés 5-0
Girona - Hércules 1-0
Castellón - Murcia 2-0
Gimnástic - Zaragoza 0-0
Eibar - Las Palmas 1-2
Tenerife - R.Sociedad 1-1
Huesca - Levante 2-1
Celta - Rayo 0-0
Alicante - Córdoba 2-2
Albacete - Salamanca 2-2

Clasificacion:

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

Who is Real Union?

2008-11-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

I was all set to write a piece about a certain player in La Segunda Division, but the events of yesterday in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu take precedence. Let's just go ahead and call it what it was - The greatest upset in the history of the Copa del Rey. So instead of our usual discussion about a team from La Segunda, we're gonna talk about a team from La Segunda B!

Yes I know, there have been surprises before such as the Barcelona meltdown against Figueres. But that was one of those quirky one game only knockout games. What transpired yesterday was a team from the third division of Spanish futbol eliminating the defending La Liga champion by netting three goals in the return leg match in Madrid.

Real Union surprised Madrid up in Irun in the first leg 3-2. A stunning result, no doubt, but there were few who didn't think Madrid would soundly hammer the modest Basque side on their home turf. Well, Madrid scored four goals, but Eneko Romo's header in the 90th minute secured the precious away goal for Real Union that gave them the tiebreaker and formally bounced Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey.

So exactly who is Real Union? Well, for a team so far in the depths of Spanish futbol, they have a rather illustrous past. Situated in the Basque town of Irun, right near the French border, Real Union was one of the trailblazers of Spanish futbol. In fact, the team holds the honor of being a charter member of La Liga back when it started in 1928. The Copa del Rey was played well before then and Real Union won the second of their four Copa del Rey titles against.... Real Madrid (of course!) back in 1918. Real Union has spent only four seasons in La Liga , the latest being 1932. As of late, Real Union has spent the last five season in the Segunda B finishing a respectable 5th or better each time. Perhaps this vitcory against Real Madrid is a springboard towards reaching La Segunda Division. In the meantime, the team will enjoy the wellwishes they receive from Real Madrid haters all over the world. Bien hecho tios!

Lo pegó desde Cuenca!

2008-10-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

UEFA has seen its share of cup finals that were truly amazing. The 1999 Champions League final when Manchester United scored twice in injury time to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 comes to mind. The aforementioned UEFA Cup final in 2001 when Alaves and Liverpool battled to a 4-4 result in regulation and saw Liverpool win with a golden goal in the extra period. There are plenty of other for sure.

However one match that may have had the most amazing game winning goal is the Cup Winners Cup final of 1995 when Zaragoza beat Arsenal 2-1. This was at a time when UEFA still had three cup competitions. The Cup Winners Cup was reserved for the sides that won their domestic cup competition. In this case Arsenal had won the FA Cup while Zaragoza had taken home the Copa del Rey in the previous year. The teams battled to a 1-1 result at the end of the 90 minutes. No goals were scored in the first 29 minutes of extra time and it looked for all the world the the faithful in the Parc des Princes stadium would see PKs. With the final seconds coming to a close, Spanish midfield Nayim, from the town of Ceuta, lobbed a hopeless shot 40 yards away from goal. But the only thing that was hopeless was the reaction of Arsenal keeper David Seaman after the ball curled right over his fingertips and below the crossbar into the goal. The stadium erupted and the call on Spanish television was priceless with the commentator shouting, "Gol de Zaragoza. Lo pego desde Cuenca!!" For those geography buffs out there, you can understand the great distance that separates the cities of Zaragoza and Cuenca!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp8SjQjqEEA

Much like Real Sociedad, Zaragoza has a rather illustrious history for a team that is playing in the Second Division. Real Zaragoza has never won La Liga, but they have come away as Copa del Rey champs an amazing six times, including a legendary victory over a Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo and Luis Figo-led Real Madrid in 2004. Zaragoza plays in La Romareda that seats over 35,000 people. No question it is one of the largest stadiums in la Segunda Division.

Zaragoza is located in the heart of Aragon, a region known for its rugged landscape. It sits right smack dab in the middle between Barcelona and Madrid so any time you take the bus between these two big cities, inevitably you will stop right near Zaragoza so you can munch on a bocadillo de chorizo and a coca cola. Zaragoza is reputedly known as the starting point of Christianity in Spain. The Patron Saint of Spain is Our Lady of Pilar so it is the least bit ironic that the Basilica in Zaragoza just so happens to be her home.

The faithful of Real Zaragoza recently celebrated the Festival of Pilar on October 12th. One has to assume that some prayers were made to get some help from above so their boys will be back in la Primera Division soon.

Jornada 9 - Resultados

Hércules - Alavés 3-0
Murcia - Sevilla At 1-0
Zaragoza - Xerez 2-1
Las Palmas - Girona 2-2
R.Sociedad - Castellón 2-3
Levante - Gimnástic 2-2
Rayo - Eibar 4-1
Córdoba - Tenerife 2-0
Salamanca - Huesca 2-0
Albacete - Celta 1-1
Elche - Alicante 0-0

Clasificacion:

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

Sherry, Horses, Flamenco and.... Futbol!

2008-10-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Pity the tourist who, upon arriving in Spain with Catalonia or the Basque Country being their first destination, asks the concierge at the hotel as to the availability of seeing a Flamenco show. If you're lucky, the concierge might be able to dig up a show for you to see, which most likely it's a Flamenco show marketed specifically to tourists. However, in most hotels, you'll probably get a blank stare or a simple roll of the eyes explaining that there is no Flamenco in Barcelona, Bilbao or really in any part of Northern Spain. To find the true home of Flamenco, you must venture to the complete opposite end of the country, all the way down in the region of Andalucia and to the southwestern province of Cadiz which is home to the city of Jerez and Xerez CD.

In addition to Flamenco, the city of Jerez prides itself as being the cornerstone for horses and sherry. The Spanish style of riding horses begins here and all things sherry originate from the vineyards sourrounding Jerez. These three things ensure that, as a city, Jerez will be able to withstand economic hardship which may plague other regions of the country. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its futbol.

Futbolitacamente, Xerex has a very modest history. They have never played in La Liga, only reaching 5th place in La Segunda Division. There have been close calls, including the 2001-2002 season when current Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster directed the squad to the brink of glory. Xerex fell just short and Schuster quickly scuttled off to bigger and more prosperous coaching ventures. One has to assume he had a much more amicable relationship with the Jerez media than the Madrid media. It's a shame that Xerex does not have any great success because there have been players of high quality that have come from the city of Jerez, including 1990s Atletico Madrid legend Kiko and current Spanish National Team star Dani Guiza who is now playing in Turkey for Fenerbache under the watchful eye of El Sabio Luis Aragones. Xerex currently sits in the Top 5 of La Segunda Division with 14 points. If they can maintain that 'racha', there just might be a place for them next year in La Liga.

Resultados - Jornada 8

Gimnástic - Rayo 3-1
Huesca - Albacete 1-2
Eibar - Córdoba 1-0
Girona - R.Sociedad 0-0
Castellón - Levante 4-1
Tenerife - Salamanca 2-3
Celta - Alicante 2-2
Hércules - Elche 0-0
Xerez - Las Palmas 1-0
Sevilla At - Zaragoza 0-4
Alavés - Murcia 4-1

Clasificacion:

Salamanca - 17

Zaragoza - 14

Hercules - 14

Xerez - 14

Tenerife - 13

Rayo Vallecano - 13

Gimnastic de Tarragona - 12

Castellon - 12

Alaves - 12

Huesca - 11

Real Sociedad - 11

Albacete - 11

Levante - 11

Eibar - 11

Girona - 10

Las Palmas - 9

Cordoba - 9

Celta - 7

Alicante - 6

Sevilla Atletico - 6

Murcia - 5

Elche - 3

Alli esta Puertaaaaaaa!!!!.........

2008-10-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

It gets said entirely way too much that after a tragedy happens in sport, athletes and media alike come out and say, "this really puts everything in perspective." This is all true. But we still lament the loss of life, especially when it is one of our heroes who roamed over pitches all over the world. One such case was last August of 2007 when Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta collapsed in a Liga game and died after suffering several cardiac arrests. Antonio was a mere pup. Only 23 years of age. He was beloved by the Sevilla FC faithful and will always be remembered in the annals of the club for scoring one of the most memorable goals in history when his electrifying volley ripped past the Schalke goalkeeper in the 100th minute to send Sevilla to the 2006 UEFA Cup final. Sevilla FC radio went beserk and it still remains one of my favorite calls of a goal ever.

"Alli esta... alli esta Puertaaaaa. GOL! GOL! GOOOOOOL! PUERTA GOL! PUERTA! GOL! GOL DE ANTONIO PUERTA!!!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3msyoOGI0M8

I mention Antonio Puerta because he was part of what has now become one of the best 'canteras' in all of Spain. To refresh everyone's memory, the 'cantera" is the youth system developed by the club. Antonio was born and raised in Sevilla so it was only natural that he be groomed within the Sevilla system. Other La Liga teams have their own "B" teams that play in the different divisions, but it is only Sevilla who has a feeder team playing in La Segunda Division. That happens to be Sevilla Atletico. As opposed to the other 21 teams in La Segunda Division, Sevilla Atletico has reached their ceiling from a team perspective. But the goal of reaching the first division still remains for the players and looking at the current and recent Sevilla FC squads, that goal is very much attainable. The aforementioned Antonio Puerta played for Sevilla Atletico, as did goal-scorer Jesus Navas and Diego Capel.

It certainly speaks to the depth and talent in the Sevilla system to essentially have thir "B" team playing at the next to highest level. That's not the case with some of the other 'gigantes'. Barcelona B was only recently promoted to Segunda B for example. In years past, some B teams have had such a successful season in La Segunda Division including Castilla (Real Madrid's B team), Bilbao Atletic and Atletico Madrid B. There's a certain purity and feeling of innocence when one watches the "chavales" of the B teams play in more modest venues. I'm sure fans who take in these games get wispy when they see one of their boys achieve success with the parent team. And one can only imagine the sense of heartbreak it gave Sevilla fans to watch one of their own come up through the system, yet have his life taken so suddenly. Dare I say, it puts things in perspective...

Jornada 7 - Resultados

REAL MURCIA 0 - 0 HERCULES
LAS PALMAS 2 - 0 SEVILLA AT.
REAL SOCIEDAD 0 - 0 XEREZ
ALICANTE 1 - 3 HUESCA
REAL ZARAGOZA 4 - 2 ALAVES
RAYO VALLECANO 4 - 2 CASTELLON
ALBACETE 0 - 1 TENERIFE
ELCHE 1 - 1 CELTA
LEVANTE 1 - 1 GIRONA
CORDOBA 0 - 0 GIMNASTIC
SALAMANCA 2 - 0 EIBAR

Clasificacion

1º - SALAMANCA - 14
2º - HERCULES - 13
3º - TENERIFE - 13
4º - RAYO VALLECANO - 13
5º - HUESCA - 11
6º - REAL ZARAGOZA - 11
7º - XEREZ - 11
8º - LEVANTE - 11
9º - REAL SOCIEDAD - 10
10º - GIMNASTIC - 9
11º - LAS PALMAS - 9
12º - GIRONA - 9
13º - CASTELLON - 9
14º - ALAVES - 9
15º - CORDOBA - 9
16º - ALBACETE - 8
17º - EIBAR -8
18º - SEVILLA AT. - 6
19º - CELTA - 6
20º - REAL MURCIA - 5
21º - ALICANTE - 5
22º - ELCHE - 2

La Cara de Tenerife

2008-10-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

In the early 1990s, futbol legend Johan Cruyff directed over a Barcelona team that was loaded with stars like Hristo Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman. Those teams were knicknamed "The Dream Team", a direct take off of the 1992 USA Men's Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. FC Barcelona won La Liga in 1991-92, 92-93 and 93-94. Team USA easily won its gold medal but FC Barcelona's road to each of the three championships proved to be alot more difficult. In fact, it could be construed as somewhat miraculous. The first two of those La Liga titles were won in similar fashion and both wore "La Cara de Tenerife".

Way back in 1992 when a win in futbol only earned you two points, Real Madrid found themselves one point ahead of Barcelona going into the last game of the season. Barcelona were home to Real Sociedad while Madrid had to travel way out to the Canary Islands to play in the heat of Tenerife. Madrid jumped out to a quick 0-2 lead and a La Liga championship was all but won. Barca upheld their end by netting a goal against Sociedad. But them something happened. Tenerife, who was had everything to play for as they were trying to ward off relegation, got their game together and scored in the latter stages of the first half. Then they scored again. 2-2. Then, as the game was nearing its end, they secured their stay in La Liga and also gift-wrapped La Liga title to Barcelona with a goal delighting their sun-soaked fans. The TV monitors in the Nou Camp transmitted the happy news to the Catalans and the celebration started in both Barcelona and Tenerife. Real Madrid was devastated and Marca aptly shot photographs of players like Fernando Hierro slumping off the pitch in tears. This face of anguish, pain, helplessness and utter defeat is what is called, "La Cara de Tenerife".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDrHIsVMsBQ&feature=related

Oddly enough, the same exact scene played out the following year. Same situation. Madrid ahead by one point over Barca. Last game to be played at Tenerife. Barca at home against a Basque side (Atletic Bilbao). Except this time Madrid didn't even allow themselves to start celebrating early. They were beaten from the start and Tenerife's two first half goals put the game away early while Barca cruised to victory over Bilbao. Once again, "La Cara de Tenerife."

Fast forward to present day, the drama that played out those two late May days in the industrial section of Santa Cruz de Tenerife seems long ago. Tenerife has been up and down between La Liga and La Segunda for the last 15 years. There has been some European glory, including an impressive run to a UEFA Cup semifinal in the late 90s, but lately financial trouble has hampered the club from any run of success. However that does not seem to be stopping this year's squad who currently sit in 3rd place with 10 points and hold the last promotion spot to La Liga. The fans of this island team can only hope that on the last day of this year's season, they will be inflicting "La Cara de Tenerife" on someone else.

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

Clasificacion

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

Viva La Rana!

2008-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Every September, a town known for its Renaissance architecture wakes up from a hot, sleepy Summer to welcome 36,000 new residents. Some are there for the first time while others have already spent many years in this golden city located out in the northwest part of Castilla y Leon near the Portuguese border. La Universidad de Salamanca ranks as one of the finest universities in Europe and also serves as a place for many international students to come and learn Espanol. Granted, being a place with alot of students means there is alot of 'marcha' so it's no doubt that some of the first words these Spanish newbies learn are 'un litro', 'una copa' and 'discoteca.' All partying aisde, the facade at the entrance of the University of Salamanca is breathtaking as you can see to your right. Among all the intricate and ornate details on the facade, there is a tiny frog ("rana") that is nestled above and keeps an eye on every student who passes underneath. This has included such scholars such as Unamuno and way before he wrote the legendary "Don Quijote", Cervantes.

One has to wonder if the 'rana' ever stretched his neck to view the action going on at the Estadio Helmantico. That's where UD Salamanca plays. 'Los Charros' have spent the bulk of their history in La Segunda Division with periodic appearances in La Primera. I happened to catch them play a game at the Vincente Calderon back in 1998 against Atletico Madrid. They lost meekly 0-2 in Jornada 2 and it was a slippery slope after that as they were soon relegated back down to La Segunda.

Looking at their history of players, one that stands out is Ismael Urzaiz. Widely known for his play at Atletic Bilbao, Urzaiz spent one season at Salamanca where he netted a modest 4 goals. Urzaiz is best known for being the player that assisted Alfonso in the 'milagroso' goal against Yugoslavia in the 2000 EuroCup match day 3. Spain was losing 2-3 going into extra time when Gaizka Mendieta converted a PK to equalise. Spain still needed another goal to advance to the knockout round. Current FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola floated a nearly hopeless ball into the area which found the forehead of Urzaiz who delicately placed it onto the right foot of Alfonso who then drilled it into the back of the net sending the Spanish bench into delirium.

Salamanca currently sits atop the Clasificacion of La Segunda Division so perhaps we will see the same kind of delirium in the streets of Salamanca should they earn a ticket back to the Primera. At the very least, someone should at least 'pedir una copa por la rana de la fachada!'

Resultados - Jornada 5

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

Clasificacion

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

Erreala of Donostia

2008-09-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Out of all the teams playing in la Segunda Division this year, the one that has arguably the greatest pedigree of success is Real Sociedad. Located in the Basque Country, this team plays in the beautiful coastal city of San Sebastian ("Donostia"), which you've probably heard of. Its stadium, Anoeta, is one of the largest in La Segunda Division and this is where its followers go to cheer on "Erreala" as they are known in Basque.

The team traces its roots all the way back to the start of the 1900s when supposedly some Brits made their way south and introduced the beautiful game there. Starting at that time, along with their fellow Basques, Atletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad only chose players of Basque origin to play on their side. This was a tradition that was upheld until 1989 when Sociedad abandoned it and started bringing in players from other parts of Spain and Europe. Coincidentally, Atletic Bilbao still keeps that tradition today of maintaining only Basque players. Needless to say, that led to some sniping between the two clubs and no doubt that players have been stolen from each other's 'cantera' during the years.

The most significant period for Real Sociedad was in the late 70s and early 80s. The same could be said for Basque futbol in general. Upon Franco's death in 1975, autonomy was brought back to Spain's different regions and no region was thirtsting for it more than the Basque Country. It was a region that was utterly annihilated by Franco's Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War (with help from Hitler's Nazi German artillery) and all throughout Franco's dictatorship, pockets of resistance were always present. Once Franco passed, Basque futbol thrived and this included Real Sociedad's two La Liga championships in 1981 and 1982.

The first championship will always be remembered by Real Sociedad fans. They did not become 'lider' of La Liga until the next to last week of the season. All that was required of them to win La Liga was to at least draw against Sporting in Gijon. Sociedad took an early 0-1 lead but the Asturians pulled ahead as the 90th minute neared. In the final seconds, as Real Madrid were celebrating what they thought was their La Liga title in Valladolid, Jesus Maria Zamora found a ball on his boot and skirted through traffic and into the Sporting net to earn Sociedad the 2-2 draw and La Liga title. To this day, you can walk in any bar or 'cafeteria' in San Sebastian and there's a good chance you'll find a picture of Zamora's shot striking the back of the net.
Real Sociedad now sits in the second spot and have the look of a team that is fixed on becoming a La Liga presence again.

Zaragoza - Elche 2-0
MurciaLas - Palmas 0-0
Hércules - R.Sociedad 1-1
Alavés - Levante 2-2
Sevilla At - Rayo 0-0
Xerez - Córdoba 0-1
Girona - Salamanca 0-1
Castellón - Albacete 1-0
Gimnástic - Alicante 1-1
EibarCelta - 0-0
Tenerife - Huesca 1-1

1. Hércules - 8
2. Real Sociedad - 8
3. Castellon - 8
4. Ray Vallecano - 8
5. Salamanca - 8
6. Girona - 7
7. Tenerife - 7
8. Levante - 7
9. Eibar - 7
10. Huesca - 6
11. Xerex - 6
12. Zaragoza- 5
13. Gimnastic - 5
14. Las Palmas - 5
15. Alavés - 5
16. Albacete - 4
17. Cordoba - 4
18. Sevilla At. - 3
19. Alicante - 2
20. Murcia - 1
21. Celta - 1
22. Elche - 0

Proxima Estacion.... Villa de Vallecas

2008-09-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have ever traveled to Madrid, have most assuredly traveled on the Madrid Metro. It is arguably one of the best in all of Europe. As a student, I was always riding on the Metro and one of my favorite pasttimes was looking at the Metro Map and figuring out where everything was located in the city. It was a fun exercise. The light blue line, formally known as "Linea 1" essentially took you directly from the northern part of the city, Estacion Plaza de Castilla, all the way to the southern part, Villa de Vallecas.

The Madrid Metro has grown since then and there is now a Linea 11 that connects even more southern parts of the city, plus Linea 1 extends even further south of Vallecas. It's odd for me to think that Vallecas is now considered almost a central part of Madrid. That speaks to the growth of the city. Vallecas has traditionally been known as a more blue collar part of the city. You'll even hear some Madrilenos refer to it as the slums. In the last 10 years, with the growth that Madrid has experienced, those Madrilenos who have lived in Vallecas for decades are now living amongst immigrants and they don't like it. There are constant news reports of anti-immigrant sentiment. South American, Romanian, Russian and African immigrants now all call Vallecas home. If you saw the wonderful movie "Volver" there were allusions to Vallecas' immigrant population boom.

This has produced a xenophobia among alot of Spanairds and unfortunately it has manifested itself in the stands at Rayo Vallecano's futbol matches. The team has come under fire from the Spanish Futbol federation to get a hold of the 'ultras' who are bringing racist symbols to the games. Just look at the high quality individuals in the above photo! I've personally always liked Rayo because of its status of a neighborhood team in a big city. But when these unfortunate events happen in futbol, it needs to be addressed.

Jornada 4

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

Somebody pass the albarino!

2008-09-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

So Jornada 3 has come and gone in the Spanish Second Division and now all teams have given away at least one point. Every team that was undeated and untied going into the weekend either lost of drew. Girona was actually the only team to draw and thus they sit in the pormotion zone along with Hercules and Basque side Real Sociedad.

There is one thing very apparent after this weekend and that is Celta de Vigo is in serious trouble of falling off and never climbing out of the relegation hole. Two of their losses have been at home including one to Gimnastic de Tarragona where the Catalans ran circles around the Galicians. Joder macho... Celta has some illustrious history in their club but dark days could loom ahead if they don't pull out of it.
So what could their fans do to help relieve their anxiety? Drink, of course!! The region of Galicia sits right to the north of Portugal on the Atlantic coast. It is a slice of Ireland in Spain. It has beautiful rolling green hills, outstanding beaches with crystal blue water and vineyards sprouting with some of the best wine you've ever tasted. The wine grown in Galicia is a white wine made from the grape called 'albarino'. The Denominacion de Origen is Rias Baixas. But don't take my word for it, hop on to the fantastic website http://www.catavino.net/ and you can read up on all the Albarinos. One would have to assume that after their 0-2 loss to Nastic, plenty of Vigueses were drowning their sorrows in locally made Albarinos.
Next time you are in your local wine shop, pick up a bottle and toast victory for Celta! They need as much help as they can get right now.

Resultados y Clasificacion

Las Palmas - Zaragoza 2-2
R.Sociedad - Murcia 2-0
Levante - Hércules 0-2
Rayo - Alavés 2-1
Córdoba - Sevilla At 1-1
Salamanca - Xerez 2-1
Albacete - Girona 1-1
Alicante - Castellón 0-0
Celta - Gimnástic 0-2
Huesca - Eibar 2-0
Elche - Tenerife 2-4

1. Hércules - 7
2. Girona - 7
3. R.Sociedad - 7
4. Rayo - 7
5. Tenerife - 6
6. Xerez - 6
7. Eibar - 6
8. Levante - 6
9. Huesca - 5
10. Castellón - 5
11. Salamanca - 5
12. Gimnástic - 4
13. Las Palmas - 4
14. Albacete - 4
15. Alavés - 4
16. Zaragoza - 2
17. Sevilla At - 2
18. Córdoba - 1
19. Alicante - 1
20. Murcia - 0
21. Elche - 0
22. Celta - 0

La Bestia Negra

2008-09-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Back during the 1996-1997 season in La Liga, a young Brazilian playing for FC Barcelona took the world by storm. His name was Ronaldo. It was not uncommon to see him net 2 or sometimes 3 goals a game. He was unstoppable. "Huracan Ronaldo", "Apostol Ronaldo", "Sin Palabras" would scream El Mundo Deportivo and Marca when describing his play. Barcelona was a goal scoring machine. Yet, in that season, they finished second in La Liga to Real Madrid by a mere 2 points. How? The answer - Hercules.
Hercules is a modest club located in the city of Alicante (can't wait for the Hercules-Alicante derbi this year) in the Comunidad de Valencia (shocker). They have spent a total of 19 seasons in La Liga, but their '96-'97 campaign will always be fondly remembered by their 'aficionados' even if they were relegated at the end of the season. Out of the six points up for grabs in the two games they played against Barca, Hercules came away with all six. This, in itself, is amazing. But the manner in which they won is even more staggering. Both times, Hercules had to come back from deficits to win the game, including being down 2-0 in the Nou Camp. They were down the two goals and then ripped off three goals in a span of 25 minutes, played defense "al hueso" and won the game. Same thing happened in the Estadio Rico Perez. Down 0-1, Hercules scored two goals and secured the game. This was the next to last week of the season and it hand delivered La Liga to Real Madrid.
So beware 'La Bestia Negra' of Hercules!

Huesca - For you scholars out there, the name of this town should sound familiar. Located in the region of Aragon, Huesca is best known not for its futbol, but for its role in the Spanish Civil War which George Orwell wonderfully captured in his book, "Homage to Catalonia". Granted, most of the book takes place in Barcelona but when Orwell did go out on the front to fight against the Spanish Nationalists, the action he saw was very close to the town of Huesca. The running joke among the Spanish Republican troops was, "Tomorrow, we shall have coffee in Huesca", meaning that once they have taken Huesca, coffee will be their reward. Unfortunately for Orwell, the Spanish Republican troops and for many Spanish families, this never came to pass. Personally, I've never been to Huesca but rest assure I will be sure to have a cup of coffee once I arrive.
Futbolitacamente, Huesca is a relative newcomer to El Infierno. This is the first year they have ever ascended to a level this high in Spanish futbol since 1953, so we really don't know much about them. What we do know is that Huesca is situated in the northern part of Aragon right to the south of Andorra so if their fortunes turn sour, at least the Huesca fans can relieve stress by grabbing their skis and swoosh down the slopes of Andorra. Doesn't sound like a bad day, no? So far they are holding their own in 13th place with 2 points.

Las Palmas - One of these days, I'm going to make a point to spend an entire winter in the Canary Islands so I can hop around to each island and take in island futbol. Not only do the Canary Islands have two teams, Las Palmas and Tenerife, that have spent many seasons in La Liga, but there is also a 3rd Division Group that is specifically for teams in the Canaries. A British friend of mine who holidays there has adopted UD Marino as his team. Unfortunately, Marino was relegated out of the 3rd Division to the Division Regionales and they'll never be heard from again. Las Palmas has a much better history of futbol including finishing in the runner-up spot in La Liga in the 1968-69 season and a Copa del Rey final appearance in 1978. They are a candidate that could put together a good season and make it back up to La Liga. Las Palmas is sitting smack dab in the middle of the table at 3 points.

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

Week 2 Results

2008-09-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

MURCIA 1 LEVANTE 2
XEREZ 2 ALBACETE 1
ALAVÉS 1 CORDOBA 0
SEVILLA AT 1 SALAMANCA 1
GIMNÁSTIC 1 HUESCA 1
LAS PALMAS 2 ELCHE 0
GIRONA 3 ALICANTE 0
CASTELLÓN 2 CELTA 0
EIBAR 3 TENERIFE 2
ZARAGOZA 2 REAL SOCIEDAD 2
HÉRCULES 1 RAYO VALLECANO 1

Week Two of La Segunda Division was played amidst all of the World Cup qualifiers going on around the world. Luckily, most teams in La Segunda Division are unaffected by these games so they can play with their rosters fully in tact.

One game of particular note was the Murcia-Levante game. These are two teams who faced off last year in the Primera Division. At the beginning of the season last year, Murcia had the look of a team that might actually stay up. Unfortunately a very poor 'vuelta' did them in and they were destined for El Infierno.

Levante, on the other hand, finished dead last. But you would be hard pressed to find another last place team which carried themselves with such honor. You see, for the bulk of the season, the Levante players didn't even get paid. The club was experiencing severe financial problems. Week after week, this team would trot out onto the pitch never knowing if they would get another paycheck. Sure, at a Madrid or Barcelona, they are so well paid that you never feel sorry for any of the players. Not so at Levante. Soon enough, these guys were having to live off of credit, move into the homes of family or girlfriends just to stay afloat. It was a tough situation indeed. But still, through it all, they kept their heads high and made a game of it when they faced the 'gigantes'. When they hosted Real Madrid, Los Blancos were lucky to escape with a 0-2 win with Van Nistlerooy's game-winner not arriving until the 71st. Similarly, they had Barcelona on their heels in the Nou Camp for a good 40 minutes until Barca pulled away in the second half.

There was talk that since Levante had such financial hardship, that they might have to be relegated all the way down to Segunda B. That didn't happen and the majority of the players that were there last year have moved on to stable paying jobs and rightfully so. For a club that has had great futbolistas like Johan Cruyff and Peja Mijatovic wear its colors, it was an embarassing situation. Levante's financial situation has been corrected with help from La Liga officials and now they sit in of the promotion spots early in the season. They are one to keep an eye on during the season and perhaps a return to La Liga may be in store. Good for them.

La Clasificacion:

1. Girona - 6
2. Eibar - 6
3. Levante - 6
4. Xerez - 6
5. Hercules - 4
6. Castellon - 4
7. Real Sociedad - 4
8. Rayo Vallecano - 4
9. Alaves - 4
10. Las Palmas - 3
11. Tenerife - 3
12. Albacete - 3
13. Huesca - 2
14. Salamanca - 2
15. Gimnastic de Tarragona - 1
16. Zaragoza - 1
17. Sevilla At. - 1
18. Murcia - 0
19. Celta - 0
20. Elche - 0
21. Alicante - 0
22. Cordoba - 0

Vaya Sorpresa!

2008-09-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

In looking at the results of last week's games in La Segunda Division, there were the usual cases of surprises and ho-hummers. There was also one that stood out among the rest:
Girona 1 Celta 0

Ay por Dios... Como pudo ser? Let's put this game in perspective. Just a couple years ago, Girona was floundering in the Spanish Third Division. This is two levels below La Segunda Division. And, the Spanish Third Division consists of 16 groups of 20 teams. So essentially, only a select number of teams survive the playoff process to gain promotion to the Segunda B which is the level below La Segunda. Clear as mud, right?
So back to my point, here's a team that just a couple years ago was mixing it up in the Third Division and now they are in La Segunda Division knocking out teams that were recently hosting the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in their stadium. To rub even more salt in the Celta wound, the game was in Vigo at Balaidos. You think there were some 'silbados' from the Celta 'socios'?

Let's go back and preview some of the other teams in El Infierno.

Eibar - A perennial Segunda Division team. When you think mid-table Segunda Division, think Eibar. This squad resides in the Basque Country in the region of Guipuizcoa, one of those quirky Basque names that I'll never be able to pronounce. They play in one of the smaller stadiums in La Segunda Division, which has a total capacity of 5,250. Their home colors are red and blue stripes and very similar to the Catalan giants of FC Barcelona. However, don't ever mistake the two. Eibar have never played in la Primera and never made much noise in the Copa del Rey. Ironically, two of its most famous 'alums' both play in the EPL. Xabi Alonso of Liverpool and Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia who was the keeper for Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final (after Jens Lehman was red-carded) against... Barcelona and their red and blue striped uniforms. Ah, the circle of futbol.

Elche - Another Segunda Division stalwart. One of the many teams located in the Comunidad de Valencia. However Elche does have Primera Division glory in its past and even made it to the final of the 1969 Copa del Rey. Elche is a lovely city situated right to the south of Valencia. It's no wonder that they have had an abundance of South American players in their team history including World Cup winner Mazinho of Brazil.

Gimnastic de Tarragona - Way back when (ok, maybe a couple years), when you could only take the Renfe train from Madrid to Barcelona, your seven hour train trip took you through cities like Zaragoza, Lleida and other rough and rocky terrain. Slowly but surely the train would wind its way towards Catalunya until it reached the seaside town of Tarragona. When you got to Tarragona, you saw the Mediterranean and the beautiful scenery and both would accompany you up the coast until you arrived in Barcelona. Tarragona is also the home to Gimnastic de Tarragona, or commonly, 'Nastic'. Their footballing history is modest with a couple notable exceptions. One was that they were just in the Primera Division in the 2006-2007 season before being relegated. In total they have spent four seasons in La Liga. The first year being 1948. However, Nastic can lay claim to one thing that no other club in the history of Spanish futbol has done. They beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in their first visit. No other club has that distinction. In all the teams in all of Spain who played their first game in the Bernabeu, only Nastic can say that they came away with three points.

Girona - The aforementioned Girona plays in the smallest stadium of all the Segunda Division teams. Capacity is 5,000. Maybe their shocking win over Celta will set the tone for this city that is located to the north of Barcelona. I spent a day there back in 1996 and fell in love with the place. It is rich in history and very worth a stop if you ever decide to venture north of Barcelona. In fact, I suggest combining a trip to Girona and then Figueres to go see the Dali museum. Girona once had a flourishing Jewish community and its impact is still felt today even though the Christians did their best to rid any reminder of it. Do yourself a favor and spend a day in this city and then catch Girona CF at night!

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

This week!

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

Empezamos!

2008-08-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

It is an exciting day as we are on the cusp of the start of the Spanish futbol season. La Segunda Division starts its play tomorrow with Rayo Vallecano-Zaragoza and Levante-Murcia. So in order to get prepared, let's start meeting some of the teams.

Alaves - This team from the Basque town of Vitoria once put one of the greatest charges into any European futbol final. Their epic UEFA Cup final with Liverpool in 2001 will go down as one of the greatest. Sadly, as the game went into extra time, Liverpool scored the now extinct 'golden goal' off of an own goal of all things. Alaves was an underdog going into this final and showed all of Europe their heart and courage. Since then, it's been rough times at the Mendizorroza. Perhaps this is the year they can recapture glory and make it back to the Primera.

Albacete - Its formal name is Albacete Balompie. Albacete is in the Castilla-La Mancha region of the country. They are mostly a 2nd division team that did make a couple cameos in the Primera in the last decade. Former national team-er Fernando Morientes started his career there before moving on to bigger and better things at Real Madrid, Liverpool and now in Valencia.

Alicante - This is a city better known as a tourist spot. Don't even think about trying to visit this part of Spain during the month of August. This seaside resort was thrilled to see their boys get promoted from the Segunda B so expectations are minimal this year. The fans would probably be happy to see Alicante stay up for another year.

Castellon - Yet another team, like Alicante, who plays in the Comunidad de Valencia. They are a mainstay in La Segunda but did have a brush with fame in 1973 when they made it all the way to the final of the Copa Del Rey. That team featured current Spanish National Team coach Vincente Del Bosque.

Celta de Vigo - Ah Celta.... One of my favorites. I've had the good fortune of not only being in Vigo several times in my life, but also catching a Celta game at the Balaidos. However my fondest memory of Celta is the Fall of 1998, watching them beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu 1-2. Celta was in their Primera Division heyday with Revivo, Catanha, Mostovoi and Karpin. There was also a young Frenchman by the name of Makelele who roamed the field for the 'Vigueses'. Celta owned Madrid that night and I had a ball watching it with my Galician friends. Celta was relegated in 2006 and stumbled last year to a mid-table finish. This team made great strides less than a decade ago in European play. I hope they can get back there soon.

Cordoba - In a town best known for "La Mezquita" a relic of Andalucia's Muslim heritage, CF Cordoba has never given its fans much hope in prayer for a promotion to La Primera. This team has mainly bounced from La Segunda to Segunda B. As of late, they are constantly in danger of being relegated to Segunda B. I would not be surprised if that happens this year.

We'll talk about more of the teams next week. Here is the schedule for this week:

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

Welcome!

2008-08-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

To the ones and ones of you who may accidentally end up looking at this blog, I say welcome! I have started this blog to chronicle my quirky obsession with 2nd division (and beyond) Spanish futbol.

A quick background - In the Fall of 1996, I hopped on a plane and headed to Madrid, Spain to do a semester abroad in college. I had the benefit of living with a Spanish family. Fortunately my Spanish host father was a 'fanatico' of futbol so it was instilled in me from the start. I devoured copies of Spanish sports daily newspapers such as Marca, El Mundo Deportivo and As, mainly so I could help improve my Spanish but also equip myself with the knowledge to speak with the locals. It worked.

One thing that the Spanish sports media does not lack for is hype and drama in their print. This was evidenced by Marca referring to the Spanish 2nd Division as "El Infierno". In English, that bluntly means, "Hell". But why should the level just below the 1st division receive the scarlet letter of "Hell"? Maybe it's because teams who fall from the 1st division into the 2nd division sometimes never recuperate and they never make it back to La Primera. Oviedo, Compostela and Extremadura - I'm looking at you. And it's why teams who do gain that precious promotion from El Infierno into the 1st Division have over-the-top celebrations where the club president can be found drinking cidra/una rioja/jerez/cava etc... in the town's fountains or in its Plaza Mayor.

So here we are, a blog devoted entirely to El Infierno and its bastardly cousins in the lower divisions of Spanish. If anything, hopefully before you skip on to a more interesting blog, you might learn a little about Spanish culture, history, language y por supuesto, futbol.

I'll be back soon with a season preview...