Spain La Liga Blog

Atlético vs. Real Mandril: el Derbi Returns

Al — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:11:58 -0600

I know that it has been about 10 years since Atletico win against Real Madrid, but who cares. It’s the damn Derbi Madrileño. Be excited.
It’s one of those bottom vs. top fixtures (we’re in 17th, they’re in 2nd) but we’re still expecting the upset, despite a ten year hex in the way. Derbies are always special and when you play matches like these, you forget about everything else, such as table position and the fact that you’re eliminated from the Champions League (grrr). Just sit back, grab a cold one, and enjoy. And yell loudly at the television set.

Barcelona-Mallorca

Jeremy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:45:42 -0600

Its that time of the season where we face Barcelona, which is typically the time most teams take a step back and allow some others to make up three points on them. Will we be any different this year?

Lets look at the standings:
Barcelona 9 23 7 2 0 24 5 ...

La Liga Preview: FC Barcelona vs Real Mallorca

Ade C. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:38:36 -0600

Even thought everyone seems to have forgotten in the face of the catastrophe that is our coming to a draw in our last two matches, we have an important match to play on Saturday. We need to re-establish our superiority over the whole wide world after having stumbled over Osasuna and Rubin Kazan. RM is one measly point behind, so we can’t afford anything less than a victory. The fans are getting surly and some of us wake up screaming in the night after having flashbacks to the 07/08 season. Leo Messi seems to have lost his magic, Xavi is showing signs of exhaustion after dragging the whole team forwards match after match, and the spare pieces that ought to hold up our defence when Puyol, Piqué or Alves aren’t available aren’t quite fitting together as well as they should.
We need another Zaragoza victory. We need to watch our team play and marvel at the pretty (and I don’t just mean Piqué), instead of seething over missed chances, wasted passes, and crosses that a few someones ought to be nailed to. We need to gather our wits, regroup, set a new plan and shake off the memory of the recent unfavourable results.
And Real Mallorca are coming for a visit. Tsk, tsk…

[caption id="attachment_1300" align="alignleft" width="490" caption="Sorry, guys! Nothing personal..."][/caption]

Diego Forlán Interview

Al — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:54:27 -0600

I'm not a big fan of reprinting news, but this interview was one that I had to share with everyone. It was done with Marca, just in time for the derby clash on Saturday. El Cacha talks about everything from Champions League elimination, Real Madrid, Quique Flores' methods, World Cup qualification, and more.
Don't F around with that babelfish translation shit, I translated it just for you. Warning: it's quite long.

El Derbi

Corey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:38:31 -0600

Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid
Vicente Calderon Madrid, Espana
11/07/2009 22:00 CET (4pm eastern)
Jornada 10
Its derbi time boys and girls, and the derbi madrileno could not have come at a more intriguing time for either Madrid team. The colchoneros find themselves in a rather precarious position in that they just fired their coach after a run of poor results that find them knocked out of the Champions League and sitting in the relegation zone in La Liga. Real Madrid have faired a little better, but have shown some indifferent results as of late that coincided with the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and the media pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. In the past seven matches, Real has only won 2 matches, with the embarrassment of the route against Alcorcon sandwiched in their for good measure.

Barcelona 0, Rubin Kazan 0 - I can't believe it's not butter (better)!

Cameron — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:51:45 -0600

And so I command, and so it shall be done.
Or at least, that’s what Pep wanted to have happen tonight. It didn’t quite turn out that way. Barcelona, traveling to the frigid unknowns of Municipal Institution Football Club Rubin Kazan and their home in Kazan. It was supposed to be a day of redemption, you know, from that game. We were going to plug away and break the deadlock on the frozen pitch, and we were going to applaud Pep for getting things right this time.
But then…..
?[caption id="attachment_1288" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The look. You and me both buddy."][/caption]

Ronaldo Will Not Play In The Derbi

Corey — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:38:49 -0600

I have seen a great deal of speculation on the injury to Ronaldo and his expected return date. Some people had said he would return for the game in Milan, others set his return against Atletico, but no one said it would be later then then. I did not even see him taking this long to recover from what was deemed a minor ankle injury sustained against Olympique Marseille and aggravated playing for Portugal. Real Madrid has assessed the status of his ankle weekly, trying to predict when he would return, but so far there has been no answer.

Javier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:08:16 -0600

Valencia fans are nasty fans.

Thats the conclusion that has to be drawn if you read the the chatter this week.

Our Che have lost 1 game all season. 1 Match. We are in 4th and within grasp of the top.

And yet even after a hard win against Malaga the fans ...

Atlético 2 - Chelsea 2: Aguero Is Baaack!

Al — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:02:49 -0600

...and who the hell knew that he could score free kicks?
We're dumped out of the Champions League, but at the same time, have plenty to look forward to, and a performance to applaud. The team that played today was one that was absent all season and played with all their might. Chelsea was Chelsea, and Drogba was a beast as usual, but our response to them was Kun Aguero, who had one of his best matches in a long time. He only even played for 35 minutes!
It was a draw, but it was still good.

Mallorca and Manzano Finally Getting Some Attention

Jeremy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:14:20 -0600

Yet another week and yet another home win for Mallorca as they disposed of Racing Santander 1-0 at the Ono Estadi on Sunday. Nothing Fancy. Just hard work and team play leading to a well earned victory on Webos first half goal. Other chances certainly were created and the score ...