Empezamos!

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