In Spain, one of the New Year's Eve traditions includes eating twelve grapes before the stroke
of midnight, one grape for each of the last twelve seconds of the year. Photo courtesy of Camino
Z.
As 2010 arrives through the doorstep, La Liga returns with a vengeance from the winter break
that seemingly flew by so quickly.
The Roscón de Reyes is traditionally eaten on Epiphany, January 6. A round, candied sweet
bread, there is a hidden "Jesus doll" inside the bread, and the person who ends up with the doll is
crowned "King of the Day."
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.
Throughout Barcelona's two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as
a tactician tended to be undervalued. He reinstituted the "Total Football" concept that Johan
Cruyff, Guardiola's former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player and a manager at
the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room.
Almeria 1 - 2 Real Madrid(1-0) 14' Crusat (1-1) 27' Cristiano Ronaldo (1-2) 69' Van der Vaart
It was by no means easy, but
Real Madrid will be pleased with a job well done
against a feisty
Almeria as they left the Estadio Mediterraneo with three vital
points that keeps the pressure on Barca.
World-renowned architect and Valencia native Santiago Calatrava designed the Ciutat de les Arts
i les Ciències, pictured above, one of the iconic landmarks in the city of Valencia.
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.
Sevilla 1 - 2 Racing Santander(0-1) 25' Canales, (0-2) 37' Canales, (1-2) 61' Romaric
Sevilla sunk to another deflating home defeat as they were ripped apart by a first-half
Sergio Canales masterclass. The teen sensation scored two stunning goals, leaving
clear signs that he is destined for stardom, as Miguel Angel Portugals
Racing team
stung Sevilla with some scintillating counter-attacking football.
Osasuna 0 - 0 Real MadridThis was
Real Madrids chance to put a marker down for 2010 and take advantage of Barcelonas
'shock' draw against Villarreal. The press had placed much emphasis on Madrids chance to go top, as
if it could be a pivotal moment in the season. As it was, they found a stubborn
Osasuna
outfit who had as many chances to win the match as their illustrious visitors.
The Plaza Mayor in Valladolid presents one of the jewels of Spanish Baroque architecture.
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.
Real Valladolid 0 - 3 Barcelona
(0-1) 20' Xavi, (0-2) 22' Dani Alves, (0-3) 54' Messi
Barcelona reached the halfway point of the season unbeaten with yet another sublime performance
which saw them reach 23 goals away from home. A breathtaking break saw Xavi put
them infront before a cross-come-shot from Alves put them further ahead two minutes later.
Barcelona hopes that Saturday's match against Real Madrid will not be the final time they will
play in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu this season.
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.
The Bellver Castle in Palma de Mallorca is the only circular style castle in Spain.
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 of those squads that cannot keep their core players on the pitch.
Jornada 28 is only the second mid-week round of the La Liga season, the first occurring well
back in late September. Three teams in particular are glad that they get to play so soon: FC
Barcelona, Getafe, and Xerez. Xerez? Yes, that same Xerez club that threatened to become the
team to secure the fewest points in one campaign since La Liga went to a thirty-eight match
season.
Referee Alfonso Pérez Burrull had many situations with which to deal in this match.
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.
La playa del Sardinero, for which Racing Santander's stadium is name, is a popular and stunning
beach at the north end of Santander that attract many tourists every year.
The final third of the season commences this weekend with a slate of matches that will likely
impact European places more than the title race.
The Roman Theater in Málaga was discovered in 1951, and its origins date back to the time of
the Roman Empire and Caesar Augustus.
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.
"NINO, NINO, NINO!" chanted Los Chicharreros in the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez
López. When shouted aloud, the chant sounded like an onrushing ambulance through a
traffic-jammed street, and for Getafe, who fell victim to the brilliance of Nino, they needed the
assistance of EMT workers.
The Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona's city center links old Barcelona with modern
Barcelona.
La Liga heads down the home stretch with five matches remaining, and Jornada 34 is littered with
matches between the top and the bottom of the table.
FC Barcelona hosts Xerez at the Camp Nou in the early Saturday kickoff, and both teams are
running opposite of their position in the standings.
Mientras aficionados y medios de comunicación se encuentran sumergidos en la euforia
mundialista, las directivas del futbol mexicano se preparan para tomar decisiones que repercutirán
directamente en su futuro. América y su proyecto fallido; Cruz Azul y sus habituales fracasos;
Pumas y su aparente indiferencia ante las derrotas.
A dispiriting final matchday left Mallorca forty seconds away from qualifying for the Champions
League. Sevilla manager Antonio Álvarez took a huge gamble late in that match by sending Sevilla
youth product Rios Lozano Rodri into the match instead of Luís Fabiano, and Rodri broke the hearts
of Los Barralets with an acrobatic goal in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time to
defeat Almería 2-3 and finish fourth in La Liga, the final Champions League place.
¿Qué es lo importante en el equipo, la institución o los jugadores? pregunto esto porque ya
está la afición alborotada por el tema
Lucas Lobos.Desde ayer traen el rumor de
que el jugador se va al Almería al futbol Español y que andan buscandole un
reemplazo.
No. El jugador sigue en el equipo hasta Diciembre que se le venza el
contrato.
¿Qué es lo importante en el equipo, la institución o los jugadores? pregunto esto porque ya
está la afición alborotada por el tema
Lucas Lobos.Desde ayer traen el rumor de
que el jugador se va al Almería al futbol Español y que andan buscandole un
reemplazo.
No. El jugador sigue en el equipo hasta Diciembre que se le venza el
contrato.
Por Sopenilla
El fútbol es un estado emocional en constante actualización. Cada minuto que pasa constituye una
invitación al recuerdo. Apenas hay sitio para la nostalgia, ese lugar común donde al final van a
parar tanto las victorias como las derrotas. El último resultado es el que importa.
The Castle of Santa Bárbara, standing sentry on top of a mountain peak in the center of
Alicante, finds it origins in the 9th century during Arab rule.
La Liga clubs spent a week on vacation after the opening round of fixtures because of the
international FIFA date, although for Real Madrid and Barcelona, many of their players were on
international duty.
The Real Federación Española de Fútbol (the Spanish FA) released the full schedule for the
2010-11 La Liga season, and Jornada 1 will be held on the last weekend of August. Both Real
Madrid and FC Barcelona will commence their campaigns away from home as they visit Mallorca and
Racing de Santander respectively.
Arzak, a world-renowned restaurant in San Sebastián, fuses traditional Basque cuisine with
modern flavors and philosophies.
For the first time this season, the Spanish teams participating in European competitions will
have to adjust to the quick turnaround from the midweek European fixtures to the weekend matches in
La Liga.
La Tomatina Festival is held annually on the last Wednesday of August outside of Valencia in the
town of Buñol.
La Liga provides its supporters and spectators with its first midweek round of the season, and
through three rounds of this long campaign, the table has already sorted itself out in terms of the
apparent three tiers in La Primera División.
Barcelona 1 - 0 Sporting Gijon(1-0) 49' Villa
Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Valencia(1-0) 19' Simao, (1-1) 83' Aduriz
Real Zaragoza 0 - 0 HerculesAlmeria 0 - 1 Levante(0-1) 39' Sergio
Depor could definitely use their former left back Filipe Luís Kasmirski at this dire
moment.
Flashback ten years ago to the year 2000. La Liga rose to the top spot of the UEFA coefficient
rankings for the first time since 1966. The final of the UEFA Champions League featured two
Spanish teams with Real Madrid defeating Valencia 3-0 at the Stade de France.
The University of Seville uses the same building where the former Royal Tobacco Factory was
housed, and this factory was the inspiration for the opera Carmen.
Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán houses the match of the weekend, although the LFP did not grant
the match with a glamorous time, as Sevilla hosts Atlético Madrid in a match where both teams will
likely fight for a Champions League spot by the end of the season.
Gregorio Manzano took the reins of Sevilla FC one week ago from the sacked Antonio Álvarez, and
he did not inherit a club that inspired any confidence from los nervionenses that filled
the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday afternoon. Although the Andalusians only lost one
of their first five matches in La Liga, two draws against cellar-dwellers Racing de Santander and
Deportivo La Coruña and a loss to newly-promoted Hércules prompted Sevilla chairman José María
del Nido to act swiftly and hire the man that was the betting favorite to become Sevilla manager
during the summer months.
La Rambla, a one kilometer street in the heart of Barcelona, is a street that famous poet
Federico García Lorca wished would never end.
This weekend, the Camp Nou hosts the first match between legitimate title contenders as FC
Barcelona invites league leaders Valencia into the Catalan crucible on Saturday evening.
Amidst the whirlwind of José Mourinho at Real Madrid, the somewhat human play of Barcelona, and
the managerial change in Sevilla, Villarreal's impressive start to their La Liga campaign has gone
mostly unnoticed. Villarreal had a chance to top the table for the first time in its history with
a win against their Valencian neighbors Hércules on Monday night.
The King Pelagius Statue at the Plaza del Marqués in Gijón honors the man who founded the
Kingdom of Asturias in the 8th century and started the reconquest of Iberia from the Moors.
For a seemingly middling, 13th placed promoted team from La Liga Adelante with a 2-3-3 record,
Hércules Club de Fútbol has debunked the increasingly popular theory that there is little
competitive balance in Spain's top division.
The Fountain of Neptune, situated in the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo in the heart of Madrid,
is traditionally the area where Atletico Madrid fans celebrate their victories. Will los
colchoneros celebrate a win over Real Madrid at the Bernabéu for the first time in eleven
years?
The Palacio de la Magdalena, the most visited site in the city of Santander, was built in the
early 20th century as a summer home for the Spanish royal family.
The highlight match of the weekend will occur at the Camp Nou, where Villarreal will want to
display their résumé as a legitimate threat to a dominion currently ruled by Real Madrid and FC
Barcelona.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, on the banks of the Nervión River in Bilbao, has been universally
praised as one of the most significant pieces of architecture in the past thirty years.
The Valencian Derby between Villarreal and Valencia jumps out as the headline match of the
weekend in La Liga.
Andrés Iniesta became one of the few Barcelona players to be truly loved by Espanyol fans with
this gesture.
Before the biggest match in Andrés Iniesta's career and in the history of Spanish football,
Iniesta had a trillion thoughts running through his head. One of those thoughts that came to
fruition was writing a message to his close friend, Daniel Jarque, on his undershirt.
La Sagrada Familia, the famous unfinished work of Antoni Gaudí, has become the symbol of the
city of Barcelona.
Back from personal vacation, this weekend's round of matches is the last one of the 2010
calendar year before the players go on their own vacations during the La Liga winter break.
