Not a surprise to hear that Sevilla have hired Jose Miguel Gonzalez, aka Michel, to become their next coach after the firing of Marcelino Garcia Toral on Monday.

Michel will automatically receive an extension to the contract should he guide the 11th-placed side to UEFA Champions League qualification.

Atletico Madrid forward Jose Antonio Reyes has confirmed that he has asked coach Diego Simeone to help transfer him to Sevilla

Simeone has just taken over the reins at Vicente Calderon and had previously spoken of his desire to keep the former Arsenal player at the club. However, Reyes insists his mind is made up and he is determined to return to the club where he started his career.

Yes the Clasico was not the only game played in La Liga this weekend. Here is a review of the other games played.

Third placed Valencia looked to have the points wrapped up at Betis on Saturday, before two injury time goals from Ruben Castro turned the result around to give the Seville side their first win in 11 games, winning 2-1.

We did a double take at the Mourinho doppelgänger to Sergio's right.

Ask us to tell you about a Davis Cup and we can't. What we can speak with authority on is Sergio Ramos, stereotypes and his tucked-in salmon button shirt.

For an entire year we filed him under our "those guys" grouping.

Sunderland may not be in trophy-winning form this season, but their victory in the always-eventful 'sack race' may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

After looking tame and lacking confidence for much of this campaign under Steve Bruce, with a paltry 11 points from 14 matches their return, new club chairman Ellis Short felt the club needed to go in a new direction.

From El Nino to Nando'h: Why time is running out for Torres

The last time Fernando Torres walked out against England, the glances at him were nervous, anxious, maybe even scared. Maybe the then-Liverpool striker did not score as Fabio Capello's side were pasted 2-0 in Seville, but Torres was in his pomp and element, so much the centre of attention that England fatally took their eyes of David Villa for the opener.

Barcelona missed the chance to go back top of La Liga after Lionel Messi seen his injury-time spotkick saved by Seville keeper Javi Varas who put in a man of the match performance with some heroic saves to deny Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Messi had to wait several minutes to take the spot-kick which must have got to him after Frederic Kanoute was dismissed after starting a brawl moments before the penalty was to be struck, Seville also seen defender Navarro shown a red card deep into stoppage time in this pulsating tie at the Nou Camp which ended 0-0.

Behind Enemy Lines Sevilla 1-0 Real Sociedad (17:09:11) I'd been in Seville for a week, and already fallen head over heels for Real Betis and their underdog ethos. I'd even been made an honorary Bético and featured on their websites HERE and THERE. But I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't cover their hated city neighbours whilst I was in town, right?

Sherry Good Show Xerez CD 0-0 N stic (17:09:11) The mandatory beaming smile broke across my face as I glanced down at the agenda for the day on the short train journey from Seville to Jerez: "Fiestas de la Vendimia" - A three week extravaganza of sherry, horse-riding and flamenco, and a Segunda División match between the local darlings, Xerez CD and their visitors from Catalonia, Gimn stic de

La Liga blog: Barca falter, Real win again and it all gets rather hot in Seville

MirrorFootball has teamed up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day. Wednesday is La Liga day, and here's www.spanishfootball.

By Chris Wright

Bitch got served...a legal writ

Arsenal have won a court case in Spain which will force the owner of a hat shop in Seville to change the name of her premises though, sadly, there aren't three points on offer for the victory.

Gunners win at last For years people have been telling Arsenal that they roll over too easily and need to start being bullies. So they have taken a Spanish shopkeeper to court over a trademark infringement. The Gunners have won their case against Alicia Simon, owner of Seville's Arsenale hat shop, although she is appealing [.

Espanyol offer Liverpool misfit an escape route:
According to The Mirror,
Liverpool misfit ­Christian Poulson is wanted on loan by ­Spanish side Espanyol.
Poulson was dropped from the Danish squad earlier this week because of a lack of match action at Anfield.

The general consensus in football is that change doesn't guarantee success, just ask Charlton fans who thought that the ‘grass would be greener' without Alan Curbishley, or ask Roman Abramovich who also appears to be no closer to world domination since the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

There are exceptions to the rule though, and there's no better example than our rivals Arsenal.

Espanyol offer Liverpool misfit an escape route:
According to The Mirror,
Liverpool misfit ­Christian Poulson is wanted on loan by ­Spanish side Espanyol.

Espanyol offer Liverpool misfit an escape route:
According to The Mirror,
Liverpool misfit ­Christian Poulson is wanted on loan by ­Spanish side Espanyol.
Poulson was dropped from the Danish squad earlier this week because of a lack of match action at Anfield. And Espanyol are ready to give him a chance to get some games by solving their problem position at the heart of their midfield.

After the excitement of the Spanish Super Cup between Real Madrid and Barcelona, it's a great feeling to know that the 2011-12 La Liga season is returning this weekend after a week of strikes by the players association.

For those of you who live in the United States, here's where you can watch La Liga games on television and Internet this weekend:

Saturday, August 27, 2011:

• Real Sporting Gijon v Real Sociedad, Noon ET, ESPN3.

The news that we've all been waiting to hear has come through. In Spain, the La Liga strike has been called off and the 2011-12 La Liga season will return this weekend.

Today, talks between the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) and Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) finally reached a resolution.

La Liga blog: Why there's still no end in sight for the strike ripping apart Spanish football

For the new season, MirrorFootball is teaming up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day. Wednesday is La Liga day, and here's www.

Hull Chase Liverpool Youngster Ayala

Hull City manager Nigel Pearson wants to sign Liverpool centre back Daniel Ayala, according to the Daily Mail. The Tigers have reportedly made a £500,000 bid for the 20 year old from Seville in an effort to bolster their already young squad.

While the finances at Spurs don't seem to be an issue, our reluctance to lower asking prices is. You can't sell what people won't buy, so with this in mind, maybe it's time we took a leaf out of the Italian's book and started to think seriously about player swaps.

By adopting this strategy we don't have to spend a fortune on transfer fees, and we don't risk scaring off potential buyers every time we quote a transfer value for one of our players.

While the Ibrahim Afellay stories start to gather pace, Spurs are rumoured to be heading for Spain as part of a double swoop with Barcelona's Afellay and Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo firmly on their radar.

The rumours seem to have started after Real Madrid stated that they wouldn't be using a buy back clause to capture Negredo, who left them in 2007 to head first to Almeira and then on to Seville.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video first spotted on theoffside.com.

Last month we told you how Spanish International and crystal-coloured eye crusher, Jesus Navas, got hitched to his longtime (albeit quite young) love Alejandra in their hometown of Seville. Now, for the most intrusive of minds, you can witness this couple's most intimate moments from their big day, curiously set to an orchestra-on-auto-tune soundtrack.

When Coloccini was appointed Newcastle captain, one thing that did cross our minds was that he will not be sold this summer. Fab Coloccini I love playing for this football club There had been some news that Seville were after the Argentine International a few weeks ago, and there was some renewed speculation yesterday [.

The new Newcastle United captain receives interest from Spain about a possible transfer. According to the Spanish press, Seville are interested in trying to take Fabricio Coloccini from Newcastle but please see my footnote regarding this story. Seville face a few problems in this respect, the first being that Newcastle don't seem to want to [.

Good news for Atletico Madrid as they have turned down an offer from Turkish club Galatasaray for Jose Antonio Reyes.

Galatasaray last week launched an offer for Atletico trio Reyes, Diego Forlan and Tomas Ujfalusi, and on Monday completed the signing of Czech defender Ujfalusi. But winger Reyes will not be following in his former team-mate's footsteps.

Rather surprising news today on the transfer front, is that Spanish club Seville are trying to sign Newcastle's Argentine center-back Fabricio Coloccini. Fabricio Coloccini - 7M price tag put on player Spanish club Seville have put in a bid for the player but it didn't match the £7M price put on the player by the [.

Rather surprising news today on the transfer front, is that Spanish club Seville are trying to sign Newcastle's Argentine center-back Fabricio Coloccini. Fabricio Coloccini - 7M price tag put on player Spanish club Seville have put in a bid for the player but it didn't match the £7M price put on the player by the [.

Freddie Kanoute and Djibril Cisse are rumoured to be interested in a Stateside switch to Major League Soccer, according to newspapers in their respective current locations.
Kanoute arrived in England in 2000, signing with West Ham United.
Former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur forward Kanoute has been a prolific goalscorer throughout his career, which has also included stints in France with Lyon, and now with Seville.

Freddie Kanoute and Djibril Cisse are rumoured to be interested in a Stateside switch to Major League Soccer, according to newspapers in their respective current locations.
Kanoute arrived in England in 2000, signing with West Ham United.
Former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur forward Kanoute has been a prolific goalscorer throughout his career, which has also included stints in France with Lyon, and now with Seville.

Liverpool remains on the trail of Argentine winger Diego Perotti, although his agent insists no deal has been done.
Reports in Spain last week claimed Seville are ready to cash in on their £12million-rated player after they lined up his replacement in the form of German international Piotr Trochowski.

Barça dropped two points in Seville as a result of Frederic Kanouté's brilliance but Real Madrid fans should not get too excited yet.
Barcelona's blip means La Liga title race is back on. Just.

Sevilla vs Porto Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan- February 17, 2011 Final score:- Sevilla vs Porto 1-2 ( Kanoute/ Rolando, F.Guarin) Goals from Rolando and Freddy Guarin on either side of Frederic Kanute's goal ensures a happy return for Porto to Andalucia. Sevilla v Porto 0-1 ( Rolando goal) Sevilla vs Porto 1-1 ( Kanoute goal) Sevilla [.

Still Hibs record signing (possibly, probably. Rod Petrie doesn't discuss money, just guards it jealously) it is probably fair to say that Ulises de la Cruz didn't quite settle in his 30 odd games in Scotland.
Cracking player though. I was thinking about him the other day when The Commentary Box crew included him in their SPL's Greatest Foreign XI.

Well, this is miles better than the last time we saw something superhero/footy-ish related. If you're not familiar with his sidechick's stellar impersonation of someone relevant, please, we implore you, click that link. Especially if you need a pick-me-up.

Our favourite cheese-grater Aitor Ocio is doing his best to make grey wellies, WWE championship belt and red (padded?

La Liga is more than just Barcelona and Real Madrid, and here is a review of the weekend action not involving these two sides.

Villarreal and Espanyol both lost to teams in the bottom three with Pochettino's men slipping to sixth behind a rampant Bilbao and Valencia moving to within a point of Villarreal.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the Copa del Rey final

The headlines over the last 24 hours have belonged mainly to the big two of Spanish football as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona marched on to the final of the Copa del Rey following victories against Sevilla FC and Almeria CF respectively.

Real Madrid and bitter rivals Barcelona will meet in this year's Copa del Rey Final on April 20.

Madrid confirmed their Final spot with a 2-0 win over holders Seville, 3-0 on aggregate, while Barcelona booked their Final spot with a 3-0 win over Almeria on the night 8-0 on aggregate.

Surely Septic Blatter will come to their senses and bring video technology into the game , especially goal-line technology after yet another controversial goal wasn't given to Seville striker Luis Fabiano against Real Madrid last night.

PSG vs Lens Coupe de France- January 8, 2011 Final score :- PSG 5-1 Lens (Zoumana Camara, Nene, Guillaume Hoarau*2, Luyindula) PSG ( Paris Saint-Germain) thrashed ten man Lens 5-1 in the French Cup on January 8, 2011. Guillaume Hoaraou scored for a brace for PSG against Lens, who ended the game with ten men [.