Yesterday, the goalkeeping and the defense were discussed, and while the three goalkeepers contending for the final goalkeeping spot will state their cases to Vicente del Bosque on and off the pitch, they will have little to no chance of participating in the World Cup.  The players who will compete for the final midfield spots, […]

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 against Liverpool.  As per usual, Atlético did not win the second leg of their Europa […]

Sevilla failed to show up against a desperate Real Valladolid side.  Mallorca could only muster a draw against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda.  Athletic Bilbao knew that a win against Valencia on Thursday would ascend them to within one point of Mallorca for the final Champions League spot. Sure, Athletic has not won away from […]

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 on quickly from a mentally and physically draining edition of El Clásico.  With Barcelona holding […]

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 the world deciding the championship arrives on Saturday night. Barcelona will come off a heavenly […]

After a mid-week round of fixtures, there is no rest for the weary as another slate of weekend matches comes much more quickly than they would earlier in the year.  This last quarter of the year becomes a war of attrition, and those who consistently stay fit will reap the benefits as they take advantage […]

While Real Madrid and Barcelona run away from the rest of the field in the struggle for the La Liga title, the tussle for the next four European spots is just as fascinating.  The mix of teams truly runs the gamut from the usuals to the upstarts. Sevilla and Valencia continue to be the consistent […]

The thrilling race at the top of La Liga came to a head last weekend, when Barcelona dropped two points at surging Almería, and Real Madrid fought back from a 0-2 deficit to win against Sevilla in the second minute of stoppage time 3-2.  Now the two exemplars of Spanish football are tied for the […]

The marquee matchup of the weekend is the late Saturday kickoff between top four teams Real Madrid and Sevilla.  The reverse fixture in early October was one of the matches of the season, and while Sevilla's title chances faded away during the dregs of mid-season, they still lie fourth in the league, they have the […]

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 for those teams as both Wolfsburg and Anderlecht scored four goals on their visitors.  They […]

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 becomes less of a shocker. Historically, Atleti had a respectable record against Barcelona in Madrid, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Hurricane Clásico passed through the shores of Spain with a FC Barcelona win, and now normalcy can somewhat return to La Liga.  The two most important matches in terms of the championship race are 5th place Deportivo La Coruña vs. league leaders FC Barcelona and 8th place Athletic Bilbao vs. 4th place Valencia.  The most […]