The Spanish first division gets back underway this weekend after the winter break. Despite a convincing loss at the Bernabéu against Barcelona, Mou´s Madrid still sit 3 points above their arch nemesis at the top of the table. Thought there is really no doubt that – at their present form - Barça will beat Madrid more often than not, the La Liga crown is not decided over two games. Rather, the title will be awarded to team that can beat La Liga’s other teams. Madrid is clearly outperforming Barcelona at this task. Barcelona has dropped points against Valencia, the two Basque teams – Bilbao and Sociedad, Sevilla, and Getafe. Madrid, on the other hand, has only dropped points against their rivals, Levante, and Santander. If La Liga ended today, Madrid would be deserving champions.
In Spain, however, there are only two teams that matter: Barcelona and Madrid. Madrid´s primary objective when they undertook the most expensive football experiment of all time was to beat Barcelona. Though Madrid may be able to simply point to the table at the end of the year to prove their superiority, if they don’t beat – or at least get a point from - Barcelona, I can´t imagine the La Liga crown tasting too sweet to the Meringues.
You can´t expect Madrid to drop many points before the next clásico in the spring. You likewise cannot expect Barcelona to do so either. In short, the upcoming clásico will be like all the others – epic. A win for Barça will begin to demoralize Mou´s men more than motivate them. A win - or even a point - for Madrid, will probably give the title to the Meringues. Thus, the duel between the Spanish giants will be poised to continue being the greatest rivalry of perhaps the entire sporting world.
There are yet many talking points concerning La Liga´s first leg (at least much more than there usually is at this point) that do not concern Barça or Madrid. First of all, Levante is proving to be a force. They are clearly leagues behind the two leaders, but they are actually proving to be a step ahead of the vast majority of the other squads in La Liga. Since beating Madrid early on, Levante have kept their amazing form without a true slump. They have slowed down recently, but only to formidable opposition and normally away from home. It will very interesting to see if Levante can keep form and finish in the top 4 to make the Champions League.
A second surprise is Villarreal´s truly awful form. Frankly, the Yellow Submarines are not living up to their potential, much less their name - sitting only one spot above the relegation zone. Since the late 90s, Villarreal has been a force in not only Spain, but in Europe. With American-born Italian Giuseppe Rossi out until the spring, it will now be very difficult for Villarreal to make Europe.
It´s still way too early to start debating the fate of teams like Osasuna, who sit in an Europa League spot, or teams like Espanyol, Atlético, or Bilbao who do not. Likewise, it is still way too early to condemn the escape artists of Zaragoza to the second division. There is no doubt that the relegation and mid-table battles of Spain´s first division are a bit less attractive than those of the premiership and the bundesliga, but with Villarreal and levante treading in unfamiliar territory, the La Liga will be something to keep an eye on.
In Spain, however, there are only two teams that matter: Barcelona and Madrid. Madrid´s primary objective when they undertook the most expensive football experiment of all time was to beat Barcelona. Though Madrid may be able to simply point to the table at the end of the year to prove their superiority, if they don’t beat – or at least get a point from - Barcelona, I can´t imagine the La Liga crown tasting too sweet to the Meringues.
You can´t expect Madrid to drop many points before the next clásico in the spring. You likewise cannot expect Barcelona to do so either. In short, the upcoming clásico will be like all the others – epic. A win for Barça will begin to demoralize Mou´s men more than motivate them. A win - or even a point - for Madrid, will probably give the title to the Meringues. Thus, the duel between the Spanish giants will be poised to continue being the greatest rivalry of perhaps the entire sporting world.
There are yet many talking points concerning La Liga´s first leg (at least much more than there usually is at this point) that do not concern Barça or Madrid. First of all, Levante is proving to be a force. They are clearly leagues behind the two leaders, but they are actually proving to be a step ahead of the vast majority of the other squads in La Liga. Since beating Madrid early on, Levante have kept their amazing form without a true slump. They have slowed down recently, but only to formidable opposition and normally away from home. It will very interesting to see if Levante can keep form and finish in the top 4 to make the Champions League.
A second surprise is Villarreal´s truly awful form. Frankly, the Yellow Submarines are not living up to their potential, much less their name - sitting only one spot above the relegation zone. Since the late 90s, Villarreal has been a force in not only Spain, but in Europe. With American-born Italian Giuseppe Rossi out until the spring, it will now be very difficult for Villarreal to make Europe.
It´s still way too early to start debating the fate of teams like Osasuna, who sit in an Europa League spot, or teams like Espanyol, Atlético, or Bilbao who do not. Likewise, it is still way too early to condemn the escape artists of Zaragoza to the second division. There is no doubt that the relegation and mid-table battles of Spain´s first division are a bit less attractive than those of the premiership and the bundesliga, but with Villarreal and levante treading in unfamiliar territory, the La Liga will be something to keep an eye on.
