Spain’s La Liga Preview
By: Bob | August 25th, 2006
The kids in Spain will kick off their domestic league games this weekend and we’ve been scouring the cyberworld to compile a definitive guide to La Liga previews. After a few searches we came to the quick and obvious conclusion that just about every preview you are going to read will begin with a sentence to the effect of: “Barcelona is the best team in the world so the battle in Spain is for second….”
Indeed, such is the consensus and who are we to argue with the notion that Barcelona will run away with things this year? Last year they won the league by 12 points and since they have only gotten better through the additions of Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen and Juventus defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram it would be foolish to bet against Barca repeating.
The other consensus is that Barcelona really only has two competitors this season, Real Madrid and Valencia. In addition to bringing back coach Fabio Capello, Madrid acquired Juventus’ Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson, Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and Lyon’s Mahamadou Diarra. Not exactly chopped liver, but the question always is whether the Galaticos can put aside their egos and often declining skills and learn to play together.
Valencia has also strengthened their squad and there are a handful of other teams that could battle for the coveted fourth Champions League spot. All of this could add a bit of intrigue during the season, but somehow despite all of the amazing stars that play in Spain and despite the success its teams have in Europe, La Liga never quite lives up to its potential.
Spain is not the only country with a league getting underway this weekend. The always unpredictable A-League in Australia kicks things off, which is a good thing since the league is usually good for odd stories. If you are keen on following the action from Down Under, our buddy Matt is all over things with his Roundball Football blog. Don’t tell our Aussie friends this, but we’re hoping the New Zealand Knights win the league.
Category: Spain La Liga
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
I think beating last season’s total of six points might be a more realistic target for the Knights. I think Sydney FC will probably take the A-League again.
Posted from
United States
-
“All of this could add a bit of intrigue during the season, but somehow despite all of the amazing stars that play in Spain and despite the success its teams have in Europe, La Liga never quite lives up to its potential.”
Do you mean on the national level? Of course you’re right. That’s a consistent failing of the national Spanish FA. But you could say the same thing about England on the national level. On the European club level, I disagree. Spanish clubs routinely win continent-wide club championships. Granted, it’s usually just Real Madrid or Barca but the same could be said for Italy or England - it’s only a couple of clubs from those countries that win these club championships. I think the Spanish league is the best in Europe because of all the talent and its dedication to attacking football with flair.
Posted from
United States
Comments are closed
Home 
