Tag Archives: Malaga

Before this current season, Hércules CF had tasted top flight football only twice in the past twenty-five years: the 1985-86 season, when their neighbors to north, Valencia, also suffered relegation for the first time in its illustrious history; and the 1996-97 … Continue reading →

La Liga clubs spent a week on vacation after the opening round of fixtures because of the international FIFA date, although for Real Madrid and Barcelona, many of their players were on international duty.  In particular, ten players from Barcelona … Continue reading →

The Real Federación Española de Fútbol (the Spanish FA) released the full schedule for the 2010-11 La Liga season, and Jornada 1 will be held on the last weekend of August.  Both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will commence their … Continue reading →

The Race for the La Liga Crown If there were a match on which Barcelona would stumble in their path to a second consecutive La Liga title, Villarreal would stand in their way. All involved with FC Barcelona said the … Continue reading →

There will be a Spanish team in a European final, but it is not the team that many expected.  Atlético Madrid completed their strange and wonderful trip to the Europa League final with an extra time goal by Diego Forlán … Continue reading →

Juan Ramón López Muñiz brought Málaga into La Liga in 2008 after a two-year hiatus in the second division.  Throughout his playing career, he played on teams constantly scrambling either to stay in La Liga or to be promoted to … Continue reading →

La Liga heads down the home stretch with five matches remaining, and Jornada 34 is littered with matches between the top and the bottom of the table. FC Barcelona hosts Xerez at the Camp Nou in the early Saturday kickoff, … Continue reading →

“NINO, NINO, NINO!” chanted Los Chicharreros in the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López.  When shouted aloud, the chant sounded like an onrushing ambulance through a traffic-jammed street, and for Getafe, who fell victim to the brilliance of Nino, they needed the … Continue reading →

With El Clásico in the rear-view mirror, La Liga continues forward with a mid-week round that will help shape the European and relegation battles. For Real Madrid, a mid-week match should be good for them so that they can move … Continue reading →

Throughout Barcelona’s two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as a tactician tended to be undervalued.  He reinstituted the “Total Football” concept that Johan Cruyff, Guardiola’s former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player … Continue reading →

Real Madrid and Barcelona’s matches in La Liga this season have almost had the feeling of high-level training sessions.  A few surprises sprinkled throughout, but the inevitability of the best team in the world and the most expensive team in … Continue reading →

A ridiculous question with what should be a simple answer.  First, a cursory investigation.  Is Barcelona on top of the standings in La Liga?  Yes.  Has Barcelona obtained sixty-one points from twenty-four matches, one more point than it had at … Continue reading →

After a less than impressive performance by the Spanish Armada in European competition, these teams return to their domestic responsibilities in order to regain their confidence.  Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao traveled to Wolfsburg and Anderlecht, respectively, and became punching bags … Continue reading →

The obvious surprising result of the previous round was Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona to hand the Catalunyan champions their first loss in La Liga this season.  If analyzed deeper, however, Barça’s defeat at the hands of Los Colchoneros … Continue reading →

This weekend, the focus will be on those teams who will play in European competition in the following midweek.  The question of domestic vs. European responsibilities remains an individual club decision, but for some teams, choices become more plentiful than … Continue reading →

Two clubs pulled the plug on their managers after a string of poor results that came to a head in the last round.  Ernesto Valverde’s Villarreal suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Osasuna, and Jose Luis Mendilibar’s Real … Continue reading →

One of the unique characteristics of La Liga is that after the first half of the season, the second half schedule is a carbon copy of the first half, except that the away team will now be the home team.  … Continue reading →

As La Liga heads into the midway point of the season, these next few rounds are some of the hardest of the campaign because the toil of playing for five consecutive months begins to wear on the players and the … Continue reading →