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 others. Real Madrid faces Xerez at El Chapín, but Los Blancos have the capability to […]

Real Madrid star forward Raúl has an offer to join Red Bull New York, according to reports in Madrid. Those reports claim the former talisman for Los Blancos has an received a salary offer from the Major League Soccer team that is comparable to his current compensation from Real Madrid. The 32-year-old forward has spent […]

French star Franck Ribery was a wanted man during the summer yet he ended up staying with Bayern Munich. Ribery was wanted by a number of elite European clubs with Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona all reportedly after his services. Ribery is going through a frustrating season plagued by injuries which have limited […]

Brazilian star Kaka joined Los Galacticos from Milan prior to the start of the season in a staggering €68 million deal with is astronomical by all means. Real Madrid did pay more for Cristiano Ronaldo but that does not change the tremendous amount spent by Los Galacticos to acquire the services of the San Siro […]

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 Valladolid could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against fellow relegation strugglers Almería. Villarreal […]

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. Thus, all those teams who did not achieve the result they desired will have a […]

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 coaching staff both physically and mentally. Motivation is a hard concept to renew during these […]

It was the marquee signing that announced that Manchester City had money to burn and were determined to usurp the comfy old pals act at the top of the Premiership. Fans flocked to Eastlands in tea-towels to show their new Arabic allegiance and the shock that seemed to follow such a transfer. £32.5 million had […]

With the gap widening between Barcelona and Real Madrid and the rest of the league, Valencia, Deportivo La Coruña, and the other potential contenders need to keep winning and hope that the top two slip on some wet spots along the way. Real Madrid will visit the cathedral, San Mamés, against Athletic Bilbao, and Barcelona […]

When the Racing de Santander board fired Juan Carlos Mandiá on November 9, the team had only won one game out of ten in La Liga, and they had lost the first leg in the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey against UD Salamanca, a mid-table club in the Segunda División. This job […]

Only the players know whether Los Magos (The Magi) left them with treats or a lump of coal in their shoes on Epiphany, but with this weekend's matches upcoming, they can begin the process of maintaining their good form or making up for their naughty play from last year. The preeminent fixture will be the […]

As 2010 arrives through the doorstep, La Liga returns with a vengeance from the winter break that seemingly flew by so quickly. As soon as these players finish their grapes and cava to ring in the new year, the focus needs to return to their football responsibilities. Nearing the conclusion of the first half of […]

It's only days away from the opening of the transfer window — a time when much cash will be splashed and many sides will be re-shaped and benches re-inforced. Because there can be some major impact signings, I am waiting to analyze the match-ups in the Champions League Round of 16 and the Europa League […]

For every Ronaldo, there's a Shevchenko. Sometimes, great reputations come at a great cost yet fail to deliver. Shevchenko is a great player to start with. Feared throughout Europe, his performances for Dynamo Kiev and A.C. Milan saw him become one of the most lethal strikers in the world. Once he arrived at Stamford Bridge, […]

In the last few years, the top six teams have distanced themselves from the rest of La Liga. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona represent the top two, and Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, and Valencia compete for the next four places. Atlético Madrid continues their bumbling start into the Christmas break, and Villarreal picked themselves up […]