Topic: LA LIGA !!!!

[conchita]

Day 1
CET
Saturday
20:00 Español -Valladolid
22:00 Valencia - Mallorca
Sunday
19:00 Osasuna - Villarreal  
19:00 Numancia - Barcelona 
19:00 Racing - Sevilla
19:00 Sporting - Getafe
19:00 Betis - Recreativo
19:00 Atlético Madrid- Málaga 
19:00 Athletic Bilbao - Almería
21:00 Deportivo - Real Madrid 

[Chris1987]

Continued excellent work Conchita All very interesting and giving me a better idea of the most important aspects within Spanish football.

[conchita]

Thank you very much Chris!!! 

First Final score of liga season!!!

Montjuic, 40,000. Español 1 - Valladolid 0
Luis Garcia 47'

some comments:
Español played the first match in liga history so Español have the honor to start the season in Liga each year
Español scored the first goal in liga history (Pitus Prats) and Luis Garcia (nº10-what a great player) scores the first goal in this season.
the match: very boring 1st half, in the 2nd half Español started very well, scored and should have scored more goals, a lot of chances.
then at the end of the match Español very tired and Valladolid hitting the post in 91'. a draw was unfair. Español deserved to win.
Tribute at Montjuic with Samaranch and the medalists in Beijing, too many: Gasol, Mengual (2 silvers in syncronised swimming) and a lot of hockey players.

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Very sad news today, the founder of oldest and most prestigious radio sports show in Spain "Carrusel" passing away, Vicente Marco. Rest in peace.

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Carrusel start of the season from a small Andalucian village, village's name is Villatorres, show in honor of Spanish Winner Squad in Euro 2008.
Tribute!!  

[Chris1987]

Great start to the season for your team then Conchita 

[conchita]

Mestalla, another legendary stadium, built in 1923, 60,000 spectators


Valencia 3 - Mallorca 0

1-0 Villa 34', 2-0 Mata 38' 3-0 Vicente 82'

Valencia very impressive!!! second goal of liga, who could be?? Villa maravilla!!!
perfect connection between the two great stars of Valencia in Euro 2008, great goal: wonderful Silva and Villa. 2nd goal scored by Mata.
Valencia very impressive!!! Mallorca not playing bad, some chances in first half. boring 2nd half, 3rd goal scored by another great player Vicente!!
Party at Mestalla.

 

[Chris1987]

The last season for the famous Mestalla too this year with Valencia's new stadium nearing completion.

[conchita]

you bring a very interesting point about the new Stadium in Valencia! 

is the Spanish federation ready to bid for the world cup in 2018?
probably yes! Spain will try to host the World Cup in 2018:
right now they dont want to host Euro cup, they think it's a small event and probably they only want to host the World Cup.
(last Euro cup in Spain was in 1964 and Spain has not try to host the event again, last WC was in 1982).

one very big reason to try to host the WC, new stadiums, the list is impressive, almost all the big clubs:
Barça is going to renovate the Camp Nou, more capacity.
Valencia new stadium, New Mestalla.
Atletico Madrid will leave Manzanares Stadium and will play in what could be the Olympic Stadium in Madrid: La Peineta Stadium
Español  also new stadium!
Sevilla will also renovate the stadium at Nervion.
Zaragoza also new stadium, New Romareda stadium
Real Sociedad stadium will also be renovated, New Anoeta
and finally the most incredible -and for me sad-:
The Cathedral, San Mames Stadium will be demolished, Athletic Bilbao also new stadium!!

So, -all time table- all the top 10 big clubs in Spain will play in new state of the art stadiums very soon, 8 clubs from the top 10!!!
Only Real Madrid has no plans for Chamartin, it was renovated in the 90's.
Betis (10th) renovated the stadium at Heliopolis in the past seasons and Deportivo did the same with Riazor.

Malaga, 2nd biggest city in Andalucia, in 2006 Rosaleda stadium was inaugurated after its rebuilding. great stadium!!
and also Las Palmas in Canary Islands built a great new stadium in 2003, Estadio Gran Canaria.
there's also talk about renovating Mallorca Stadium at Son Moix and Murcia has a great new stadium, New Condomina.

A wonderful chance for Spain to host in 2018 the World Cup!!!
(perhaps with a joint bid with our brothers from Portugal, all their big stadiums were renovated for Euro 2004)

[conchita]

Day 1 Sunday Preview (CET)

21:00 Deportivo - Real Madrid 
at Riazor, Defendig champions in La Coruña, last Real win at Riazor was in 91-92, 17 seasons without a win!
19:00 Numancia - Barcelona 
at Los Pajaritos, David vs Goliath in Soria, Messi coming back, great celebrations for fans in the return of Numancia to Primera
19:00 Atlético Madrid- Málaga 
at Manzanares, Atletico on fire after crushing Shalke, Malaga newly promoted. Perhaps for 1st time in history Atletico playing only with foreign players in starting line-up.
19:00 Osasuna - Villarreal
at El Sadar in Pamplona, always difficult stadium. Both clubs did not play well in preseason. Villarreal runner up last season.
19:00 Racing - Sevilla
at El Sardinero in Santander, great match, Racing played very well last season and Sevilla is a contender for Liga title
19:00 Athletic Bilbao - Almería
at San Mames, Legendary Athetic Club against the surprise of last season: Almeria.
19:00 Betis - Recreativo
at Villamarin in Sevilla, Andalucian derbies, tricky to predict. close battle. Recreativo is the oldest club in the country.   
19:00 Sporting - Getafe
at El Molinon in Gijon!! very interesting!! newly promoted and traditionally Primera club vs one of the biggest surprises of past seasons: Getafe
El Molinon -The big windmill, built in 1905, capacity 30,000. Sporting  in Primera for a 21-year continuous stretch in La Liga ended in 1998.
Then a decade Segunda!! Expect big celebrations in Gijon!! Sporting played in UEFA Cup several times in 80's and 90's and were once runner up in liga (1979) and twice in Copa (1981, 1982). Sporting traditionally have one of the best youth schools for players. Club where a lot of great Spanish Players started their career...
and finally of all the regional derbies in the country involving clubs outside the big top 10 clubs then the Asturian derby is for me the best!!
Great and legendary rivalry with Oviedo!! the classic Asturian derby between Sporting and Oviedo in Primera from 1988 to 1998 was fantastic and amazing. Manfredo and Luciano so great!!! Oviedo are in tercera (4 level) now, in their worst crisis in history!! Oviedo was in Primera from 1988 to 2001! so please Oviedo come back! I miss badly the great Asturian Derby!! Traditionally a region of great players!!

First Super Sunday of The Beautiful Game in Spain!
 

[Chris1987]

I wasn't aware that Spain were looking to host the 2018 World Cup too. It's definitely a good idea then to upgrade and build a few new Stadiums as thats exactly what they look for when choosing who hosts the World Cup. Spain along with Portugal would have a very good chance I think.

[conchita]

probably we will not know they want to host the WC until they are sure they will get it.
they are not going to tell us 10 years before the WC that they want the event.

The Big Clubs are not upgrading stadiums for a possible WC, they are renovating-rebuilding for their fans and Spanish Federation will take advantage of this for a very probable bid to host WC 2018. 

[conchita]

Day 1 Sunday - Real Madrid and Barça both lose on the opening day!

La Coruña, Riazor, 41 000
Deportivo  2 - 1 Real Madrid
1-0 Mista 26' 1-1 Van Nistelrooy 47' 2-1 Lopo 51'. Impressive Deportivo!
Real have not won at Riazor for 18 seasons. Real's terrible record in La Coruña continues.

Soria, Los Pajaritos, 12 000
Numancia 1 - 0 Barcelona 
1-0 Mario 12' What a big surprise! Barça had never won in Soria but first defeat in Soria, Barça hit the post twice Etoo 16' and Messi 90'
Only Spanish players in Numancia squad!! Great Numancia defense!! What a win for Numancia!!

Madrid, Manzanares, 60 000
Atlético Madrid 4 - 0 Málaga
1-0 Heitinga 26' 2-0 Forlan 38' 3-0 Forlan pen. 45' 4-0 Sinama 80'

Pamplona, El Sadar, 25 000 
Osasuna 1 - 1 Villarreal
0-1 Senna 54' 1-1 Nekounam pen. 69'

Santander, El Sardinero, 28 000
Racing  1 - 1 Sevilla
Garay for Racing missing a penalty in 44' 0-1 Luis Fabiano 70' 1-1 Juanjo 76'

Bilbao, San Mames, 50 000
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 3 Almería
0-1 Pellerano 7' 0-2 Negredo 33' 0-3 Ortiz 51' 1-3 Velez 58' Yeste for Athletic missing a a penalty in 63'

Sevilla, Villamarin, 58 000
Betis 0 - 1 Recreativo
0-1 Adrian 36'

Gijon, El Molinon, 30 000
Sporting  1 - 2 Getafe
0-1 Albin 14' 1-1 Diego Castro 35' 1-2 Casquero 86'

[Chris1987]

What a terrible start to the season for Barcelona!

[conchita]

Barca and Real both lose openers!! 

Title favourites Real Madrid and Barcelona both slipped to opening day defeats on Sunday as underdogs Deportivo La Coruna and Numancia took the headlines!!!

Promoted Numancia spoiled Pep Guardiola's league debut as Barcelona coach, beating their illustrious opponents 1-0 at home in La Liga.

Real have not won in La Coruna since 1991, and were soon trailing when home striker Mista, who had already hit the bar, rose to head in from a free kick in the 27th minute. Visiting full-back Marcelo hit the bar with a cross-cum-shot just before the interval, but two minutes after the re-start Ruud van Nistelrooy pounced to volley home a deflected shot. Parity lasted all of four minutes until Alberto Lopo headed Depor back in front from a corner, and Bernd Schuster, who had left the unsettled Robinho in Madrid, was unable to engineer a fightback.
Champions Real sorely missed Brazilian Robinho, excluded from the squad due to his insistence on a move to Chelsea, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against bogey side Deportivo. Depor continue to hold the Indian sign over the capital giants who have not won at their Riazor stadium since the 1991/92 season.
"I am not interested in talking about Robinho," said glum Real coach Bernd Schuster. "Depor won and congratulations to them but we should have defended better for both of their goals."
Real also have some room for improvement if their display against Depor is anything to go by. With Wesley Sneijder injured and new signing Rafael van der Vaart suspended Schuster drafted in Argentine Gonzalo Higuain.

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Earlier, The second division champions Numancia spoiled Guardiola's league debut as Barcelona coach.
Pep Guardiola's first league match in charge of Barcelona did not go as planned with the title hopefuls falling to an embarrassing 1-0 opening day defeat to promoted Numancia on Sunday.
Guardiola has the job of wrestling the title from Real Madrid but the omens do not look good after an insipid display.
Barca were poor travellers last season under Frank Rijkaard and the new manager and season failed to bring a change in fortune.
Barcelona handed a league debut to Dani Alves - a 29.5 million euro signing from Sevilla in the summer - with Lionel Messi starting in attack after inspiring Argentina to Olympic gold.
Guardiola set up Barca with a 4-3-3 - the same system as Rijkaard - with Thierry Henry starting on the left wing - a position the Frenchman clearly doesn't like.
Numancia took the lead with Mario rifling home on 12 minutes after Barca's defence failed to deal with a cross from the left.
Samuel Eto'o hit the crossbar four minutes later and Barca had several other openings - with Messi hitting the post in the final minute - but Numancia held on for a historic win.
"It was a big slip-up," admitted Guardiola. "We were poor going forward and know we have to improve."
After just one game the league now goes on international break until September 13/14 but Guardiola will probably be relieved as he bids to solve his team's troubles.

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The performance of the day came from Atletico Madrid, who qualified for the Champions League group stage during the week, and stormed to top of the standings with a 4-0 demolition of another newly promoted side, Malaga.
Atletico Madrid followed up their impressive midweek qualification for the Champions League with a crushing 4-0 victory over promoted Malaga.
Dutch international Johnny Heitinga scored 26 minutes into his league debut and Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan grabbed a quick fire brace before the interval to leave Malaga down and out. Florent-Sinama Pongolle completed the rout with a debut goal.
For the first time in their history Atletico fielded a starting XI without any Spanish players - although Argentine Mariano Pernia has dual nationality - but the fans will not care as long as they continue winning.

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Osasuna came from a goal down to snatch a deserved point against Villarreal in a bad-tempered game which saw both sides finish with 10 men.
Marcos Senna, , a revelation for Spain in their Euro 2008 success, put Villarreal - last season's runners-up - ahead with a stunning free-kick nine minutes after the break but Iran midfielder Javad Nekounam brought the home side level 15 minutes later from the penalty spot after his compatriot Masoud Shojaei had been fouled by Diego Godin.
Godin was shown a straight red card for the foul, but Osasuna were also reduced to 10 men eight minutes later when Miguel Flaño was dismissed for an ugly challenge on Javi Venta. Altidore did not play, in the bench.

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Another touted contender for a top four finish, Sevilla, were also held to a 1-1 draw away to Racing Santander.
Racing Santander missed a penalty through Ezequiel Garay but came back to earn a point against Sevilla when Juanjo cancelled out Luis Fabiano's opener.

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Getafe left it late but ultimately got Victor Munoz's reign off to a winning start with a 2-1 triumph at newly-promoted Sporting Gijon.
Juan Albin opened the scoring for the visitors just before the quarter-hour mark and, although Diego Castro levelled matters 10 minutes before half-time, Javi Casquero's 86th-minute strike proved decisive for Getafe.

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Almeria also began life under a new coach - Gonzalo Arconada - with an impressive victory, 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao.
New signing Hernan Pellerano opened the scoring for the visitors in the seventh minute and Alvaro Negredo doubled their tally shortly after the half-hour mark before Juanma Ortiz sealed the victory five minutes into the second half.
Ion Velez pulled one back for Athletic six minutes later and when the hosts were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute it seemed as though a stunning comeback might be the cards but Almeria goalkeeper Diego Alves saved Fran Yeste's spot-kick.

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Marco Ruben scored the only goal of the game in the 36th minute as Recreativo Huelva prevailed 1-0 at Real Betis.

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Robinho has been left out of the travelling squad and decided to hold his own press conference on Sunday to reiterate his desire to join Chelsea.
"The problem is that (Real Madrid) did not manage to recruit," Robinho said. (Bernd) Schuster (Real coach) isn't my father, he's my coach. He can't make me do anything."
It was not the pre-match preparation that Real wanted as they bid to end their Riazor jinx having failed to win at Depor since the 1991/92 season.

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Standings
1 Atlético  3
2 Valencia  3
3 Almería  3
4 Deportivo  3
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5 Getafe  3
6 Español  3
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7 Recreativo  3
8 Numancia  3
9 Osasuna  1
10 Racing  1
11 Sevilla  1
12 Villarreal  1
13 Real Madrid  0
14 Sporting  0
15 Valladolid  0
16 Betis  0
17 Barcelona  0
---------------
18 Athletic  0
19 Mallorca  0
20 Málaga  0

[Borovnia]

Soria, Los Pajaritos, 12 000
Numancia 1 - 0 Barcelona 
1-0 Mario 12' What a big surprise! Barça had never won in Soria but first defeat in Soria, Barça hit the post twice Etoo 16' and Messi 90'
Only Spanish players in Numancia squad!! Great Numancia defense!! What a win for Numancia!!

The guy that scored for Numancia has the lowest salary in spanish league. Mario's yearly earnings are about Thierry Henry's weekly's.

[conchita]

Spanish newspaper AS are saying Manchester City have agreed a fee with Real Madrid for Brazilian forward Robinho - for about £34m!!!!!

City are actually going to sign Robinho. Apparently, Real are happy to let the player leave the Bernabeu, only not to Chelsea.
All signs are pointing towards a massive, massive transfer coup.

Cadena Ser has confirmed that City have signed Robinho for 42 million euros.

Robinho joins Manchester City for 42 million euros.
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has confirmed the Spanish giants have sold Robinho to Manchester City for 42 million euros (£34.19m).
Real Madrid have agreed to sell their unsettled Brazilian striker Robinho to Manchester United for 42 million euros (61.6 million dollars), the Spanish club's president Ramon Calderon said Tuesday.

The 24-year-old had repeatedly said he wanted to join Chelsea but Calderon told news radio Cadena Ser that the English club only offered 30 million euros for the player.
Spanish media said Robinho will sign for five years with Manchester City which will pay him a yearly salary of five million euros compared to the 1.7 million euros he gets at Real Madrid.
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday that he believed Manchester City will become a major force as a result of his decision to sell the Premier League club to a United Arab Emirates-based investment group, Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment.
Unlike Chelsea, Manchester City is not taking part in the European Champions League.

Robinho said Sunday that his "head was at Chelsea" at a press conference where he once again asked to be allowed to join the English side which is coached by Brazil's Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Earlier on Monday Spanish media reported that Manchester City, which is flush with cash from prospective new owners Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, had offered 35 million euros for Robinho.
Cadena Ser said Real agreed to sell the player when Manchester City raised its offer to 40 million euros.

[conchita]

Over 10,000 fans back Casillas for Golden Ball award!

Over 10,000 people have as of Monday signed a petition calling on the European Footballer of the Year award to be awarded to Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas.

Esteban Parro, the mayor of Mostoles, the city on the outskirts of Madrid where the 27-year-old player grew up in, told reporters that 10,458 people had signed the online petition since he launched it on August 25.

The supporters of Casillas have till October 31 to sign. It will then be sent to France Football magazine which was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of football's top prizes, each year since 1956.

The Spain captain became a national hero after he saved two penalty kicks in the quarter-finals as Spain beat Italy 4-2 in a shootout after a 0-0 draw.

The winner of the Ballon d'Or award is selected by a panel of journalists and soccer officials in a vote organized by France Football magazine.

Russia's Lev Yashin of Dynamo Moscow was the last keeper to win the award in 1963. AC Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka won the Ballon d'Or award in 2007.

[Chris1987]

There is only 1 player thats going to be getting the World and European Footballer of the Year award for 2008 and he plays in Manchester  Casillias is a great candidate but won't be winning it for this year.

[conchita]

Chris I am very, very, interested to know your predictions about the top 6 in this season. You're great in prediction games and I think it's the right time to make predictions, making predictions in Day 15 it's easy. so please go ahead, thanks in advance!
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[Chris1987]

Chris I am very, very, interested to know your predictions about the top 6 in this season. You're great in prediction games and I think it's the right time to make predictions, making predictions in Day 15 it's easy. so please go ahead, thanks in advance!
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You mean for the La Liga title race?

[conchita]

yes, Chris final table at the end of the season in Liga, 1 champions, 2 runner ups, 3 and 4 CL, 5 and 6 to UEFA cup. 
I am interested to know your opinion/prediction about the clubs with most chances to have a great season, so rank em!
I will do the same!