When Futbol Meets Politics

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

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

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???.....

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

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!

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

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