<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view3.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8741978/deportivo-coruna-rcd/deportivo-coruna-rcd.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="315"></figure></div>Depor could definitely use their former left back Filipe Luís Kasmirski at this dire moment.</div>
Flashback ten years ago to the year 2000. &nbsp;La Liga rose to the top spot of the UEFA coefficient rankings for the first time since 1966. &nbsp;The final of the UEFA Champions League featured two Spanish teams with Real Madrid defeating Valencia 3-0 at the Stade de France. &nbsp;Despite that Champions League victory, Real Madrid only finished fifth in the league, as Deportivo La Coruña won their first championship in its history. &nbsp;This started a five-year run where the Galicians played their best football in the Champions League, and they did not finish worse than third in La Liga. &nbsp;Fast-forward to September 26, 2010, and this Depor is eons away from their former selves as they played with impotence after they meekly fell to Almería 0-2 at the Riazor.
Last season, this column asked the question <a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/can-deportivo-la-coruna-be-super-depor-again/2124">if Deportivo could return to their “Super Depor” days</a>, but now, staying in the first division has come to the forefront for manager Miguel Ángel Lotina as Depor has continued their dip form since halfway through the previous campaign.

At first glance, the obvious, glaring problem lies within the Depor attack. &nbsp;Two goals in their first five matches, both via Andrés Guardado penalties, will not invoke fear in any opposing defense. &nbsp;Adrián and Lassad Nouioui lacked any chemistry between them heading the front line, and Riki, their top goal-scorer last year with only eight, has made constant reservations with the medical staff as he struggles with injury. &nbsp;Andrés Guardado, the most dynamic player for Deportivo La Coruña, has become a frustrated figure as his constant exertions have ultimately led to little result.
On the left wing, Guardado has missed the presence of Filipe Luís Kasmirski, now patrolling the &nbsp;left side of the defense with Atlético Madrid. &nbsp;Depor sailed high in the table throughout the first half of the 2009/10 season when Filipe Luís scored the opening goal against Athletic Bilbao in Jornada 19. &nbsp;The events that ensued in scoring that goal left grisly images and video of Filipe Luís’ ankle completely disfigured after Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz unintentionally pinned Filipe Luís underneath him.
Rarely is the starting left back the best and most important player of a team, but Filipe Luís embodied both of those roles, and<a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/in-winning-the-battle-against-athletic-bilbao-deportivo-la-coruna-may-have-lost-the-war-in-la-liga/2685"> Lotina said as much</a> when he said that he would have rather been in the relegation zone and have a healthy and fit Filipe Luís than the fifth-place team that they were without him. &nbsp;It was no coincidence that Depor’s fall from the European places coincided with Filipe Luís’ injury.
They never scored many goals with him, but without him, Guardado, Riki, Juan Domínguez, and Juan Rodríguez all saw their levels drop. &nbsp;Depor scored the second fewest goals in La Liga with a mere thirty-five tallies, and with the selling of Filipe Luís to Atlético Madrid for €12 million, the offensive slump continues to be a major problem. &nbsp;Laure, Zé Castro, and Knut Olav Rindarøy have failed to provide support for Guardado on the left flank, and with the financial difficulties that Depor face, they cannot afford to bring in a clinical striker that can finish off the few moves that Depor create.
Deportivo La Coruña and recently promoted Hércules share many similarities in terms of their footballing philosophies, but Hércules bolstered their front line with Nelson Haedo Valdez and David Trézéguet to provide a cultured air to those scoring chances. &nbsp;While Trézéguet’s wife was originally from Alicante and likely influenced his move to Hércules, Borussia Dortmund made Valdez available to any European team that would pay for his transfer. &nbsp;Hércules splashed the €3.8 million necessary to pry Valdez from Germany, and Valdez won the match for Hércules at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, and Trézéguet won the match against Sevilla at home.
Depor could only afford to look into the free transfer market and the loan signing market because the money from the Filipe Luís sale had to be used for their internal debt. &nbsp;Yves Desmarets and Rubén Pérez have not exactly inspired in the midfield, and their loan signing from Valencia, Míchel Hererro, has been spending too much time with Riki in the training room with injury.
In Sunday’s match against Almería, while the offense maintained their lack of form, the usually solid back line of Manuel Pablo, Alberto Lopo, Diego Colotto, and the carousel of left backs (Knut Olav Rindarøy for yesterday’s match) blinked twice, and with such fine margins at which Depor are playing, a two-goal deficit is simply too large to overcome at this bleak moment.
Kalu Uche scored in the 5th minute from a straightforward corner to the six-yard box, and with Depor’s zonal marking system, Uche scythed through the mass of players and flew through the air unmarked as Depor goalkeeper Manu had no chance to get a finger on Uche’s header.
Uche sealed his brace in the 19th minute through fortunate circumstances, but he can thank Rindarøy for his second goal because Rindarøy’s attempted clearance inside the box took a wicked deflection off Albert Crusat onto the crossbar, and with a sprawled Manu after trying to get his hand onto the deflection, the rebound off the crossbar caromed directly to Uche, who headed it in unmolested for the 0-2 cushion.
Then a few minutes prior to the halftime whistle, Diego Colotto received a straight red card for what referee José Luis González González deemed to be a denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity as Colotto stuck a leg out to prevent Pablo Piatti from entering the penalty area. &nbsp;Piatti’s final touch that forced Colotto into the foul may or may not have been retrieved by Manu, but nevertheless, Piatti caught Colotto flat-footed and made the decision go to the referee rather than Colotto getting into the correct position so that he would not have had to leave his leg hanging to stop Piatti.
With all of these negative consequences on the pitch, the normally supportive and frenzied Riazor turned on their players, and every time Lotina made a substitution, the whistles rained down, especially on Yves Desmarets and Adrián when they left the pitch.
The final whistle blew after ninety-three minutes, but the Depor fans (well, whatever fans were left by that time) drowned out González González’s whistle with whistles of their own as they shouted their disgust with the players. &nbsp;While they vented their venom for the final result, they seemed more frustrated that Depor laid down in the second half, even though they were a man down, and let Almería cruise without any extended effort.
Is there any light for Depor as they stumble into the arduous middle of the season? &nbsp;Save for this performance against Almería, the defensive four remains a stout unit, and if Depor can sneak in a goal or two, those goals have a decent chance of standing up as match-winners. &nbsp;Until Riki rises to full health, Depor will have to scrap and scratch and claw for goals, and even when Riki returns to the starting eleven, the onus will be on captain Manuel Pablo to lead the defense and concede one or zero goals in order to stay afloat.
Paging Roy Makaay and Diego Tristán to the emergency room. &nbsp;Depor is on life support.
Fueras de Juego
– In Greek mythology, Hercules made his name with his strength and giant-killing. &nbsp;In 2010, Hércules CF follow in their eponymous namesake as they slay their second giant, Sevilla, on Sunday evening with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of two David Trézéguet goals in the first half. &nbsp;Sevilla chairman José María del Nido needed a final pillar to break so that he could bring in former Mallorca manager Gregorio Manzano and sack Antonio Álvarez, and a loss to Hércules provided the ammo del Nido desired. &nbsp;The Álvarez era ended with a Copa del Rey triumph, a last-breath win to secure fourth place in La Liga, an embarrassing exit from the UEFA Champions League to Sporting Braga, and a listless five matches in this current season.
– Real Madrid must have caught the Depor disease because they too cannot fire the ball into the back of the net. &nbsp;A 0-0 draw at the Estadi Ciutat de València to lowly Levante will ratchet the pressure on José Mourinho as he tries to mix the right ingredients for his master plan. &nbsp;After a visit to Auxerre in the Champions League, they host Deportivo La Coruña in the late Sunday match in Jornada 6 in a game sure to have plenty of goals…
– With low expectations following a season that came within a minute and a half of a Champions League playoff berth, new manager Michael Laudrup has steered Mallorca to a respectable seven points through five matches, including a comfortable 2-0 win over a Real Sociedad side that will trouble La Liga sides all season long. &nbsp;Fernando Cavenaghi scored both goals for Mallorca, and if Laudrup can count on Cavenaghi to score goals after his long drought last season with Bordeaux and through the first four games with Mallorca, Laudrup will be a contender for the Don Balón Award for the best manager of the year in Spain.

La Liga Jornada 5 Review: Deportivo La Coruña Sinks Into the Relegation Zone

La Liga Jornada 5 Review: Deportivo La Coruña Sinks Into the Relegation Zone - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_3335" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/05/Filipe-Luis.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3335" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3335" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/05/Filipe-Luis.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333"></figure></div></a>Filipe Luís Kasmirski returned on Saturday as one of the inspirational moments of the season.</div>
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 right statements after Inter Milan eliminated the Catalans from the UEFA Champions League.&nbsp; Barça president Joan Laporta wanted to focus on the league to give the Culés some joy.&nbsp; Barcelona entrenador Pep Guardiola mentioned how his players needed to get up from the floor in the three days prior to their league match against Villarreal.&nbsp; Various players, including Gerard Piqué, Pedro Rodríguez, and Sergio Busquets, mentioned how their whole attention is now on securing La Liga for the second consecutive year.&nbsp; These are all nice statements, but after a gutting semifinal loss with a chance of competing the final at the Santiago Bernabéu, no one would be surprised if they delivered these quotes with a shade of hollowness.
Barcelona left their European disappointments behind with a 1-4 drubbing of Villarreal at El Madrigal, a fortress for the Yellow Submarine all season long.
If Villarreal would not be the Barça stopper, Sevilla must be the answer.

The Andalusian club became one of the few teams to defeat Barcelona this season when they went to the Camp Nou and won 1-2 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16.&nbsp; Sevilla had something for which to play, as they stood only one point ahead of Mallorca for the final Champions League berth.&nbsp; Frédéric Kanouté and Luís Fabiano, whom Sevilla relies on so heavily, started together up front, an all-too-rare occurrence this season.
Barcelona handled them with ease for the first hour, building a 0-3 lead and benefiting from a man-advantage after Abdoulay Konko received his second yellow card for pulling down Bojan Krkic as he sped past him.&nbsp; Even the Catalans can fall into a lull with such a significant ascendancy, and who else but Kanouté and Fabiano to score two quick goals in succession to make the final twenty minutes a nervy experience for the Blaugrana.&nbsp; They refocused, and Barcelona saw out the rest of the match with relative ease.
With one match remaining, Barcelona needs to win at home against Real Valladolid to assure themselves of their twentieth Spanish title.
Real Madrid is akin to that little Chihuahua that incessantly nips at the heels and tries to protect its territory.&nbsp; Los Blancos have riposted every Barcelona tally with a win of their own, although the methods in which Real Madrid continue to notch their victories provide more of those “heart in mouth” moments for their fans.
Late goals against Almería, Real Zaragoza, and Osasuna within the past month kept the title race alive, and facing an obstinate Athletic Bilbao team that defeated them at the San Mamés in the first half of the campaign, Real could not afford to put on a mediocre performance.
When referee César Muñiz Fernández sent off Fernando Amorebieta in the 20th minute for what he perceived to be an intentional handball in the penalty area, he gave Real Madrid the gift they needed to relieve some of the stress and nerves that could clearly be seen by those in the Santiago Bernabéu.&nbsp; Cristiano Ronaldo coolly sent the penalty kick into the back of the net, and Los Merengues looked to be on their way to securing the three points early in the match.
Similar to Barcelona, Real went on cruise control for the rest of the half when Athletic went down to ten men, and Fran Yeste burned them with an impressive solo effort, as he took on four defenders who inexplicably did not close him down at any point while he made his lateral run across the top of the box.
1-1 with seventeen minutes remaining and with Barcelona winning at the Camp Nou, twenty minutes stood from Barcelona retaining La Liga for another season.&nbsp; As Real are wont to do, they scored late, and Athletic Bilbao simply could not maintain their energy with one less man for 70+ minutes.&nbsp; The 5-1 final flattered the men from the Spanish capital, but they did their job, and they have extended the title race to the final matchday for the first time since the 2006/07 season, when both Barcelona and Real Madrid were tied on 73 points heading into the final day.&nbsp; Barcelona won at Gimnàstic de Tarragona 1-5, but Real Madrid against Mallorca 3-1, and Real held the head-to-head tiebreaker over Barça, so Real Madrid won their 30th crown.
The Race for the Final Champions League Place 

Mallorca started Jornada 37 one point behind Sevilla for that Champions League qualifying spot, and on paper, Los Barralets had the easier match, as they traveled to A Coruña and faced a weary and beaten down Deportivo La Coruña squad who wanted the campaign to end as quickly as possible, whereas Sevilla hosted league leaders FC Barcelona who has only one trophy for which to play.
A typical Galician night with a steady rain pouring on El Riazor, the Depor fans hardly showed up because of both the weather and their team’s atrocious string of results in the second half of the season.&nbsp; The first sixty-five minutes of the match was not much better.&nbsp; The crowd started to rise when they saw that Filipe Luís Kasmirski donned his substitute’s bib and started to warm up on the sidelines.
One of the indelible images and scenes of the 2009/10 La Liga season was Filipe Luís’ foot hanging nearly ninety degrees after his ankle was crushed underneath the weight of a diving Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.&nbsp; Constant rehabilitation and sheer perseverance and will brought Filipe Luís to this moment, and less than four months after that horrific incident, Filipe Luís miraculously played for Depor as a substitute in the 66th minute.
Of the supporters who did show up at El Riazor, they created as much clamor and noise as if the stadium were full when Filipe Luís ran onto the pitch.&nbsp; To complete this Hollywood story, Filipe Luís contributed to the only goal of the match when his run down the left flank brought a couple a defenders with him.&nbsp; His pass into the center led to Juan Carlos Valerón’s pinpoint through ball to Riki in the box, and Riki placed his shot past Dudu Aouate at the left near post.
Although Mallorca lost 1-0 at Depor, Sevilla could not come back from a three-goal deficit against Barcelona, falling short 2-3 despite playing with ten men for the final half-hour.&nbsp; Sevilla’s lead remains at one point, and with Mallorca losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Sevilla, Mallorca has to win against Espanyol and hope that Almería can prevent Sevilla from winning in order for the debt-ridden team from the Balearic Islands to complete their unexpected journey with a shot at the Champions League group stage.
The Race for the Potential Final Europa League Spot
Depending on the result of the Copa del Rey between Sevilla and Atlético Madrid on May 19, seventh place could earn a berth into the UEFA Europa League, but Villarreal and Getafe cannot rely on that, so they continue to fight for sixth place and a certain spot into the third qualifying round of the 2010/11 Europa League.
Usually an entertaining and enthralling encounter, the Valencian derby between Villarreal and Valencia had none of those characteristics.&nbsp; Valencia ensured themselves of third place and direct qualification into the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage last weekend, so their motivation was near nil.&nbsp; Unai Emery, whose contract was extended this past week, sent out the B squad against Villarreal, and Villarreal took advantage of their near neighbors with a professional performance that hardly extended any of their resources.
Villarreal manager Juan Carlos Garrido gave Javi Venta his final appearance for Villarreal at El Madrigal, and the fans greeted Venta with the reverence and respect he deserved for being involved with the team from its La Liga infancy eleven years ago to its esteemed status as a European force in 2010.&nbsp; Robert Pirès, also likely to be gone in the summer, received his final farewell, and the latter stages of the match became more of a testimonial as Valencia obliged to the situation.
Getafe, however, also won on Saturday against Málaga, and while Getafe and Villarreal are equal on points, Getafe holds the head-to-head edge on Villarreal, so Getafe remains in sixth place with one round remaining.
The Race to Avoid Relegation
Whereas the other three races in La Liga each involve only two teams, five teams have a chance by 9:00 PM CEST next Sunday to fall to the Segunda División for next season.&nbsp; All five teams were involved in matches that included late drama this weekend, and as the results stood at the end of Saturday night, the relegation picture is more muddled than ever.
Sprightly and plucky Xerez continues to linger around, and after their thrilling 3-2 victory over Real Zaragoza, they have a legitimate chance to stay in La Liga for the first time all season.&nbsp; Their destiny is not in their own hands, but surprisingly, Xerez holds many of the tiebreakers against the other four teams in the relegation scrap, and if they somehow extend their journey in La Liga for another season after they have occupied the foot of the table since Round 12 and mired in the relegation zone since Round 2, that would be one of the top three stories of La Liga this season.
Until Málaga’s loss to Getafe on Saturday, they had been unbeaten in their previous five matches.&nbsp; An impressive statement on its own until delved deeper, and it is realized that all five of those matches were drawn.&nbsp; Málaga deserved to win none of those matches, and save for their battling performance against Mallorca at the ONO Estadi, Málaga failed to progress forward when their other relegation rivals earned victories.
Unfortunately for Málaga, La Liga is one of the few leagues in Europe to employ head-to-head results as the first tiebreaker as opposed to goal difference, or else they would stand at 16th in the table, but hosting Real Madrid on the final day, Málaga has little chance of achieving a result, and they wrote their own writings on the wall with substandard play in the past five rounds.
Racing de Santander and Real Valladolid arguably played the most significant match of the weekend, and it was a typical Javier Clemente match: slug it out and see what happens.&nbsp; A disputed penalty and player unrest in the final fifteen minutes led to overtime work for referee Carlos Velasco Carballo, but at the end of the ninety minutes, Valladolid stole the three points that were absolutely necessary, as their final match is on the road against Barcelona.
Javier Clemente is on the brink of another successful late-season revival, and he has become the quick-fix doctor for Spanish teams whose season teeters between La Liga salvation and relegation ignominy.&nbsp; No one will ever confuse Clemente’s football philosophies with Pep Guardiola or Arséne Wenger, but a team that usually wants his services does not care about style; they just want to stay in the top flight.
With Nino’s equalizer in the third minute of stoppage time to poach a vital point against Almería, Tenerife is on thirty-six points, tied with Valladolid, Racing, and Málaga and Xerez just three points behind.&nbsp; The numerous permutations&nbsp;with these five teams will sort itself out next Sunday, and Round 38 of the 2009/10 season shapes up to be one of the most unpredictable final days for the whole table in recent memory.&nbsp; Who says La Liga is boring?

La Liga Jornada 37 Review: No Clarity in All of La Liga's Four Races

La Liga Jornada 37 Review: No Clarity in All of La Liga's Four Races - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_2691" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2691" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2691" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/01/Filipe-Luis.jpg" alt="Filipe Luis Kasmirski in better times." width="500" height="333"></figure></div>Filipe Luís Kasmirski in better times.</div>
The use of war imagery for the headline may not be appropriate during these sensitive times, but it aptly describes Deportivo La Coruña’s predicament as they conclude the first half of their season tied for fourth place, the final UEFA Champions League spot, with Mallorca on thirty-four points (Mallorca holds the tiebreaker over Depor with their 2-0 win at the ONO Estadi).&nbsp; Depor’s squad is not particularly deep, and they will not win any beauty contests with their brand of football, but the efficacy of their football cannot be questioned.
Depor has conceded only nineteen goals through nineteen matches, which ranks them fourth in the league defensively; however, the twenty-three goals they have scored means that they have little margin to walk away with the victory.&nbsp; Six 1-0 wins and thirteen matches that have concluded with a one-goal margin or a draw show that the line among a win, draw, or loss runs fine for the Galicians.&nbsp; A moment of inspiration or a vital defensive stop decides many of their games.
Before they hosted the Basques at El Riazor, the long injury list worried manager Miguel Ángel Lotina.&nbsp; Sergio González, Riki, and Mista have been out since early January, and the dynamic winger Andrés Guardado was still a long-term injury concern after Osasuna’s Javad Nekounam chopped him down and tore Guardado’s MCL.&nbsp; Lotina hopes to rely on Guardado’s services by the beginning of March, but until then, the creativity would fall into the legs of Filipe Luís Kasmirski.
With a clash between Deportivo La Coruña and Athletic Bilbao, most would expect physicality and full-blooded challenges, and the first forty-five minutes certainly did not disprove these assumptions.&nbsp; Los Leones controlled the game on both sides of the pitch, and Fernando Llorente spoiled numerous opportunities that would be considered more than half-chances.&nbsp; The assistant referee took a goal away from Gaizka Toquero for an offside call, but replays showed the call to be inconclusive at best, and Athletic was unlucky not to score the opening goal.
Depor had few extended spells of possession and did little to suggest that they would threaten Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz’s net.&nbsp; The litany of absences began to manifest itself in Depor’s tedious play and demeanor.&nbsp; Fortunate to be scoreless at halftime, that would be the only positive that Miguel Ángel Lotina could muster in his team talk.&nbsp; Lotina would have been in his right to castigate his players with the most severe words in the Spanish language, and they could not have any response to him.&nbsp; If nothing else, Los Blanquiazules have the uncanny ability to hang around when all else fails.
When Depor scored in the 49th minute to take the 1-0 lead, it was fully undeserved in the context of this match, but the wasted chances by Athletic Bilbao eventually came back to bite them.&nbsp; From the left flank, Pablo&nbsp;Álvarez’s shot deflected to the right edge of the six-yard box and found Rodolfo Bodipo, who headed it across goal toward the surging Filipe Luís at the left post.&nbsp; Filipe got the touch ahead of Gorka Iraizoz as he tried to slap the ball away and bundled it over the line from three yards out.
The celebration lasted a mere second as everyone on and off the pitch fully realized what occurred at the end of that sequence.&nbsp; As Filipe touched the ball past Iraizoz, Iraizoz dove in a vain effort to divert the ball off its path to goal.&nbsp; He landed on Filipe’s lower leg, and it was pinned underneath Iraizoz.&nbsp; Not evident from the initial camera angle the extent of the injury, the second camera angle displayed the gruesome nature of Filipe’s disfigurement.&nbsp; Sparing the gory details, Filipe Luís Kasmirski will not play for the rest of the season and will likely dash his chances of playing in the World Cup at South Africa for Brazil.&nbsp; He only had one international cap to his name, a substitute appearance in a friendly against Estonia last August, but Dunga considered the possibility of adding Filipe to the squad.
Filipe’s teammate Zé Castro, looking on from the bench, needed to ask the team on the pitch what exactly transpired, and when he received the news, all he could do was put his hands on his mouth and stare with horror and concern for his fallen friend.&nbsp; Lotina fought tears as he buried his face into his trembling hands, not the least bit concerned about the match while agonizing over the pain and suffering felt by Filipe.&nbsp; Chairman and President Augusto César Lendoiro could hardly keep his emotions to a minimum as he rubbed his eyes and observed the ghastly complexion of the situation.&nbsp; The fans respectfully chanted Filipe’s name, likely knowing that they would not see him on the field again this season.
To Depor’s credit, they channeled their sadness into productivity on the pitch.&nbsp; They dominated the second half and won a whirlwind encounter 3-1 in a match where European places could be on the line at the end of the season.&nbsp; The euphoria that Depor would feel after a victory over Athletic Bilbao was tempered by the news that Filipe Luís’ injury was a fractured and dislocated ankle.
Speaking after the match to AS, Augusto Lendoiro lent words of encouragement for Filipe: “Filipe is strong, fast and powerful.&nbsp; We want a speedy recovery so that he can go to the World Cup.&nbsp; We have to be strong, and we expect to see him play again this season.&nbsp; We are only thinking about his misfortune, and not a possible replacement.”
Miguel Ángel Lotina, blunt by nature, spoke to AS about the impact of Filipe’s loss: “I would rather have just twenty points and Filipe fit.&nbsp; Filipe is a great person and he was eager to go to the World Cup.&nbsp; There is nothing to celebrate tonight.”
Stating how he would rather be near the relegation zone than have Filipe injured exhibits both the importance and the respect that Lotina has for the Brazilian fullback. With the loss of Filipe, their best and most valuable player this campaign, for the rest of the season, Deportivo La Coruña’s players will need to dig deeper into their souls to make up for his loss and maintain their position in the league.
The captain Manuel Pablo will likely move from his natural right back position to fill Filipe’s shoes at left back, and Laure will likely take the mantle at right back.&nbsp; The four players with the most starts in the league for Depor have been the four defensive starters, and with this sudden change to the back line, the consistency and rhythm that the Depor defense displayed all season will take time to rebuild that same chemistry.&nbsp; With the pillars crumbling down on the house of Deportivo La Coruña, a second-half slump would not surprise the most ardent of Depor supporters. 
The city in which they play, however, has a history of winning despite tremendous odds.&nbsp; When Napoléon Bonaparte and his invincible French army ran rampant throughout the Western world, his army descended upon A Coruña in the Peninsular War to seize Galicia and cut off British support sailing to the northwest of Spain.&nbsp; Led by Sinforiano López, A Coruña became the only Galician city to fight off Napoléon’s army successfully, and the French eventually forsook Galicia later in the war. 
If this relatively modest city defeated one of the most imperious leaders in human history, surely Deportivo La Coruña can find the inner strength necessary to carry on from their injury woes.&nbsp; If Depor is able to seize that final Champions League spot, this team will be exalted to those “Super Depor” teams that consistently threatened to win La Liga and European titles.

In Winning the Battle Against Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo La Coruña May Have Lost the War in La Liga

In Winning the Battle Against Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo La Coruña May Have Lost the War in La Liga - World Soccer Talk

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In Winning the Battle Against Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo La Coruña May Have Lost the War in La Liga