La Iglesia Arciprestal is the focal point in the center of Vila-Real, Spain.

One of the unique characteristics of La Liga is that after the first half of the season, the second half schedule is a carbon copy of the first half, except that the away team will now be the home team.� Thus, all those teams who did not achieve the result they desired will have a chance to reverse their fortunes all in the same weekend.

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Es increíble como un jugador puede ser factor fundamental para que un equipo logre un buen resultado pero a su vez termine siendo una arma blanca para acuchillarse hacia sí mismo.

Resulta ser que en el duelo de esta jornada 19 en la liga española se enfrentaban Real Madrid y Málaga, con el deber de los blancos de ganar a como dé lugar para que Barcelona no se despegara demasiado.

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Es increíble como un jugador puede ser factor fundamental para que un equipo logre un buen resultado pero a su vez termine siendo una arma blanca para acuchillarse hacia sí mismo.

Resulta ser que en el duelo de esta jornada 19 en la liga española se enfrentaban Real Madrid y Málaga, con el deber de los blancos de ganar a como dé lugar para que Barcelona no se despegara demasiado.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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A festive atmosphere enveloped the Camp Nou on Saturday evening as the boys of the Blaugrana celebrated their unprecedented six-trophy year with their Barça faithful.� Villarreal was a mere afterthought as the Barcelona players deservedly received their plaudits for a year of literal perfection.

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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.

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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 from a shocking beginning, but a Champions League spot may be a bridge too far.

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The two late Saturday matches headline Round 14 of La Liga with the 150th edition of El Derbi Barceloní between local rivals FC Barcelona and Espanyol and a top-three clash with 3rd place Valencia hosting 2nd place Real Madrid.� Two other intriguing matches include high-flying Mallorca hoping to take their stellar home form and infuse it into their mediocre away record against Osasuna in Pamplona and El Derbi Decepción (The Disappointment Derby) between perennial high finishers Atlético Madrid and Villarreal.

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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.

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This weekend's round of fixtures is highlighted by El Clásico, the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid.� Not only are they the two most successful teams in the history of Spanish football, they occupy the top two spots in this season's table.� Real Madrid has a one point lead over Barcelona heading into this pivotal match.

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It is Friday, which means it is time to prepare for non-stop action from Spain with La Liga back in the fray.� After an intense week of World Cup qualifying playoffs, the focus turns back to the domestic responsibilities.

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DIRECTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

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With the confusing TV schedules for La Liga in the United States every week, it is quite difficult to figure out who is playing when and on what channel.� Every Friday, I will lay out the TV schedule so that every fan of La Liga has a place to go to see when and where their favorite team will play.

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Sergio Agüero and Atlético Madrid cannot see or find their form.

Atlético Madrid prolonged their faltering start with a 1-1 draw against Racing Santander on Saturday.� Even with a man advantage for the majority of the second half, they lacked the finishing touch to nip the win from a feisty Santander side.

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Continuing the La Liga preview, part two will discuss the next seven teams in alphabetical order: Málaga, Mallorca, Osasuna, Racing Santander, Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Sporting Gijón.

Málaga

Will Málaga stave off the second season syndrome? � After a couple of seasons in La Liga Adelante, Málaga rose from the lower division with a vengeance as they finished eighth in La Liga and competed for a European place for the majority of the season.

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Buen triunfo que obtuvo hoy el Atlante frente al Málaga tres goles a uno, en duelo correspondiente de la Copa de la Paz 2009.
Buena demostración dieron los Potros en su primera actuación en esta copa, donde el equipo Andaluz le complicó en gran parte del partido al conjunto mexicano pero al final los atlantistas supieron aprovechar las pocas oportunidades que tuvieron y sacaron la victoria adelante.

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Siete jornadas restan para el final de la Liga BBVA y no hay nada decidido por el momento; desde la conquista por el título, protagonizada por los dos grandes del país, hasta la lucha por la salvación, en la que se encuentran inmersos hasta diez equipos, pasando por la pelea por los puestos que dan derecho a la disputa de la Liga de Campeones de la próxima temporada, todo se tendrá que resolver en las interesantes jornadas que quedan por disputarse.

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Numbers seemed down this week in La Liga mostly due to the Easter holiday, but that did not reduce the excitement in the league. Barcelona continue their ways en route to their 19th league title. The Blaugrana Ballet showed offense, yet they were not as sharp when it came time to define the game.

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Last week it was Santi Cazorla that was being lamented prior to Villarreal's away leg match against Arsenal. News got worse for Manuel Pellegrini when Spanish international Marcos Senna would be ruled out of the return leg of the Champions League quarterfinals in London.

Senna left the pitch limping late Saturday night after he suffered a hamstring injury in the team's 2-0 loss to Málaga.

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Hoy el Villarreal pensará en la Champions, por lo que el Málaga puede aprovecharse de la prioridad de los castellonenses en estos momentos. Pellegrini sabe que todas sus opciones pasan por ganar en Londres, por lo que, aunque lo niegue, su mente está puesta en el Arsenal.

Y es que el Villarreal ha perdido choques ligueros justo antes de partidos europeos a los que ha dado más importancia.

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José María Gutiérrez was always a players with a temperment. Now that same temperment has him on the outside looking in with Madrid coach Juande Ramos. This rivalry has become part of the subplots in the Madrid media as the team now sees the weeks pass by and their six-point deficit on Barcelona not budge.

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El técnico barcelonista es un inconformista por naturaleza. Escuchándole hable cualquiera pensaría que su equipo ha perdido o hecho un mal encuentro en vez de endosarle otra goleada al rival de turno. Pep sólo piensa en mejorar el nivel del grupo. "Las cosas aún pueden hacerse mejor. Hicimos una muy buena primera parte y unos muy [. Click to continue reading...

El futbolista manchego surió una lesión muscular en el transcurso de la goleada de su equipo frente al Málaga en el Camp Nou. En principio se perderá el doble encuentro internacional de la Selección frente a Turquía y el partido liguero frente al Valladolid. Seguramente su presencia en la ida de los Cuartos de final [. Click to continue reading...

El Madrid había metido presión ganándole cómodamente al Almería en el Bernabéu. El Barça ha respondido sin despeinarse, 'chorreando' a la sorpresa liguera que encarna el Málaga de Tapia. Guardiola ha contemplado otro nuevo repaso de su equipo en Liga, confirmando que el Barça vuelve a ser el de los récords y paso firme. Click to continue reading...