La Bestia Negra

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