A Week Of 'Polemica'

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