(For US viewers: Atletico Madrid v. Barcelona will be shown LIVE on Saturday, January 11th at 2pm EST on beINSPORT) For the first time in recent history, there’s a fixture on the La Liga schedule worth watching other than 'El Clasico'. Atletico Madrid v. Barcelona won’t rival the global television ratings produced by the bi-annual El Clasicos, […]

After 4 seasons, 13 trophies and hours upon days of exquisite football, Pep Guardiola has decided that a change is best for both himself and Barcelona. Coming directly on the heels of being eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea and from the Spanish title race by arch-rival Real Madrid, it's hard to not see […]

The third installment of this season's 'El Clasico' match-up between Real Madrid and Barcelona could have been renamed 'El Fiasco'. Depending on your outlook, it may have been surprising to see Jose Mourinho's Madrid squad setup with such bullying tactics. Both coaches had strong words for one another in the press conference so I was […]

There was a time on Saturday night when Lionel Messi actually became frustrated with himself and his teammates. There was a time on Saturday night when Xavi Hernández could not find the killer pass through the hard-working, organized defense. There was a time on Saturday night when Gerard Piqué was absolutely skinned alive by an […]

With the league title slipping away from Real Madrid's hands, their two cup competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey, could be the tournaments that they can realistically expect to win. Real can stamp its name in the final of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night if they can navigate a […]

Josep Guardiola, known for his cool demeanor inside and outside of the technical area, channeled his feelings for all things Madrid when he refused to give Cristiano Ronaldo the ball for a throw-in on the half-hour mark. Unlike his outspoken and demonstrative counterpart José Mourinho, Guardiola usually keeps to himself, shouting and dictating to his […]

The José Mourinho – Pep Guardiola headline and the Lionel Messi – Cristiano Ronaldo headline have been covered and written many times over, so this preview of El Clásico will try to avoid these subjects and focus on the other, less talked about aspects of the biggest game in Spanish football this season. The man […]

A select few matches each season define the league in terms of pecking order and/or overall footballing ability. Obviously, the two editions of El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona usually determine the fate of La Liga's crown. More specifically, in the past five seasons, the team that won the most points in El Clásico […]

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 season, when the Alicante club spent one campaign in La Liga before subsequent relegation to […]

Reporting from Camp Nou (although belatedly) As Ronaldinho took to the field, the last player to do so for either team, 96,315 people cheered and applauded. A chant of 'Ronny, Ronny, Ronny' started around the stadium. People smiled as he lined up with the Barcelona team for the photo just before the Joan Gamper trophy […]

Once Lionel Messi scored his club record-tying 34th goal of the season in the 76th minute to increase the lead to 4-0, the 98,772 Culés at the Camp Nou, save for a few hundred Real Valladolid die-hards, began to chant the song that every team wants to hear at the end of the season, "Campeones, […]

The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff. The Barcelona anthem, "Cant del Barça," blared through the loudspeakers as the Culés did not know whether to clap off their Blaugrana heroes or vehemently whistle at the unwanted visitors from northern Italy. This sense of confusion permeated throughout the […]

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 and a manager at the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room. […]

With the advantage of the away goal, Sevilla looked in prime position to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Manolo Jiménez's team played as though they were already in the next round. A 0-0 score line would have sent Sevilla through, and even though Diego Perotti declared that they could not […]

The Almería – Barcelona match had not concluded when Real Madrid took to the pitch, but a few minutes into their match with Sevilla, they knew that Barça slipped at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos and dropped two points with a 2-2 draw against Almería. Expectations were that Real Madrid would not have the […]