La Liga: Ronaldinho Says ‘Goodbye’ To the Season

The story with the big toothed Brazilian known as Ronaldinho gets even weirder today, as he effectively is out, officially, for the rest of the season.

According to AS today, Ronaldinho suffered a muscle tear in yesterday’s training. This is after finally being cleared a few days back after having some ‘mystery’ ailments that kept him off of the pitch for the previous 5 matchups. There are already rumors flying around signaling his departure to Milan next season, or anywhere outside of the Spanish peninsula for that matter.

As good as Ronaldinho is, there isn’t too much that I like about him, personally. He does have great skill and ability, but he is a terrible diver, he is out with these mystery injuries, and he is more of a show than an effective member of the team. Doctors preformed numerous tests on Ronaldinho, they concluded there was nothing wrong with him. However, his constant stream of complaints and whining kept him on the bench, and now sees Barcelona sitting in 3rd place in La Liga.

Most of the Barcelona faithful over at Isaiah’s ‘The Offside-Barcelona’ have thrown in their two cents on this issue. Some have stayed committed to ‘Dinho, and others couldn’t be happier to see him go.

With all of the troubles at Barcelona lately, it would be a good thing to see the Brazilian head to a new club. As I already mentioned, I don’t like him, never have, never will.  Barcelona should focus on their youth side and give guys like Bojan and Dos Santos more games (even though Dos Santos has been quite the letdown at the Camp Nou this season).  Shit, you might even have a better chance with Gudjohnsen

But, don’t forget, if he leaves the Catalan side, that means no visit to the US this year.

La Liga: Why the Sky Isn’t Falling in Spain

The current feeling in Spain is just as the title states: The Sky is Falling!

Thinking about it today, I must be one of the only people that believes this isn’t the case. On Monday’s The Offside Podcast Ian and I chatted about this exact subject.

My thoughts on the pod were this. There are really two views you can take from this issue. The first is looking at it from the ‘galaticos’ point of view. If you are a madridista you probably are running to your nearest church praying to whatever god you choose. You’ve just bowed out of your fourth straight Champions League title in the round of 16, but 6th straight since winning the title in 2002. You are also out of the Copa del Rey and now only have the league to fight for.

This view is completely Madrid-centric (or Big Club-centric for that matter). Only the big clubs are sitting there, complaining about the terribleness that is happening in Spain. Reuters Soccer Blog ran a story about how the Spanish game is losing its touch as of late, and cites Madrid’s as it’s main source, but more criticizes their style of play for this downfall.

The favoured Spanish style of slow, patient build-up play has passed its sell-by date. Too many players and coaches confuse possession with danger, while opponents who play on the break are criticised as if they were adopting some sort of underhand tactic. Few Primera Liga sides possess the pace, verve and dynamism of sides like Roma, Arsenal and Manchester United.

I guess I can see where that is coming from. Fabio Capello was let go last year after Madrid’s title due to his supposed ‘boring’ style of play, but I have to say that Schuster’s style of play isn’t any more free flowing than his predecessor’s.

Still, the Reuters article doesn’t even talk about the League in general, but focuses the downfall only on what is happening in Europe. Could it be that simply Spanish football is having an off year? It’s more of a focus on Madrid football then anything concrete about Spanish football in general. Madrid’s success does not parallel that of Spanish football as a whole, unfortunately.

One-Liner guide to La Liga- Jornada 25

The One-liner Guide to La Liga is back like a Rolling Stones reunion tour.  Let’s go.
Your Spanish Cosita

Each town in Spain has their own feria. Feria is basically, a carnival. But they are the most intense week long carnivals you will ever be a part of in your life. Spain’s most famous feria is ultimately the Feria de Sevilla, which is always held in April. The Feria de Sevilla was started in 1847 as a cattle trading fair, but quickly escalated into the party that it is today. This is one of the most traditional ones where women still dress in the typical flamenco dress. The ferias are also well known for having casetas which are the typical ‘little houses’ along the streets were people go and dance and eat.

Champions League-La Liga Edition: A Tale of 3-2’s

Le Sigh. =(

Fenerbahçe 3 – Sevilla 2

A Sevilla side with no excuses couldn’t defend worth a damn and still almost came out of Turkey with a win. Three Fenerbahçe goals scored on TERRIBLE defending by Sevilla.

I’ll spare a recap of the game since everyone knows how much I hate doing them. But I’ll still give my two cents.

Frank Rijkaard heading to Chelsea?

The Telegraph in the UK, which is about as reliable as my foot, had an article today linking Frank Rijkaard as the next in line to coach Chelsea.

As I thought about it today, it doesn’t sound that far away from the truth. Rijkaard has had a bit of success at Barcelona in the last couple of years, but did not bring home any trophies last season. And in the world of soccer, the quote about managers is ‘What have you done for me lately??’

Barcelona are playing exceptionally well this season, and are going to give Real Madrid a run for their money in La Liga. This makes me second guess Rijkaard’s departure to England next season. Hell, Rijkaard was even ‘rumored’ to be in line to take over the US MNT job before Bob Bradley, which made me laugh.

Rikaard also may be pushed to head to the land of fish and chips with Henk Ten Cate looking to sign with the blues this week after being give permission to talk to Chelsea from Ajax. Ten Cate was Rijkaard’s assistant at Barcelona for three years, one of with was the Barcelona’s Champions League title.

What do you think?

One-liner guide to La Liga–Jornada 4 ¡Qué guay!

In my constant quest to indocrinate the Western World in the joy that is the Spanish culture, I present to you sangria. Now, you can make sangria in lots of different ways, but I give you my recipe, which I find to be the best. It’s adapted from a few Spanish recipes, but I find it to be the best tasting, sometimes a bit strong.

1 bottle 750ml red wine (white just isn’t the same)
1 to 1.5 cups of Brandy (no rum!)
2 oranges
1 apple (the apple sucks a lot of the flavor out)
A bunch of Cherries
1 lemon
1 lime
2 20 oz bottles of Sprite or 7-up
Sugar-add to taste
Cut the fruit into little pieces, you don’t have to skin the fruit if you don’t want. Add the alcohol together, then put in the fruit and add sugar. Don’t worry about adding too much sugar as it should be somewhat sweet, but the bottles of 7-up take out the huge alcohol taste (if my Spanish family knew I was putting 7-up in they would kill me). When done, settle in for a great week in La Liga. (Hey, if I could buy Cruzcampo or Mahou in the states, I wouldn’t have to make sangria!)

And without further ado, CHI’s very own One Liner Guide to La Liga–Jornada 4
As always kickoffs are in Spanish time, (minus 6 hours for the East Coast, etc)

 

Menudo Partidazo of the week!

Barcelona-Sevilla Saturday, 22:00 La Sexta
Both had 3-0 games in the Champions League but on other sides of the win loss column, does Sevilla have what it takes to win La Liga this season?

The rest after the jump

La Liga Wrap Up–Jornada 3

Here is the wrap up for Jornada 3 of La Liga. I don’t have much time to write wrap-ups for the games, so I will attempt to link to a report of each game for you to enjoy. Once I have more time on my hands and an opportunity to watch the games this weekend, I will write my own reports.

Also, the reports are in Spanish. If anyone knows where to get a quality review of the game in English (minus The Offside where I get my Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletic ones, let me know)

As always we’ll start with the best first.

Sevilla 4-Recreativo 1
Sevilla: Kerzhakov 11′ (1) Kanouté 30′ (2) Kanouté 53′ (3) Kerzhakov 74′ (2)
Recreativo: Aitor 54′ (1)

Pushed on by 2 goals by Kanouté and 2 by Kerzhakov, Sevilla pounded Recre into submission. Kerzhakov had a chance on a penalty to score his second, but missed and netted his second of the game later. Recap with goals Recap

La Liga Para Todos Sept 11th–Palop signs for Sevilla, Happy Birthday Betis (cough cough), Pay me says Laporta

Lets get started shall we, I have too much homework to still do at 1:26am tonight.

—Andres Palop resigned for Sevilla a few days ago, but I just got around to reporting it today. He signed with Sevilla until 2011, essentially ending the now 34 year old’s career in Sevilla. He has expressed desire to end his career in Andalucia, thus his wish is our command. Palop has been essential in Sevilla’s success over the past 18 months and will be crucial in their run in the Champions League this year and in La Liga.

—That other team from Sevilla, Real Betis, turned 100 years old today. Feliz Cumpleaños Betis, but you still suck.

–The story that caught my eye today was always animated Barça president Joan Laporte saying that he is essentially sick and tired of having to loan players out for international duty without being compensated by their respective nations. He said ‘It is an embarrassment’ I don’t know about the embarrassment part, but it does throw a kink in things when one of your stars goes on international duty and gets hurt (ie Michael Owen in the 2006 World Cup) But for many it is a honor to play for their country, and it is one of the few chances that the players get to travel back home, so they take full advantage of it.

But as always La Palabra del día

Un crack-a great player, a superstar, someone that has immense talent.

Mira como juega Kanouté, es un crack.

La Liga Para Todos Sept 10th–Robben training, Aragonés Loves me not, Rijkaard takes it like a man

–Arjen Robben took to the training ground today for the first time with his Real Madrid teammates. Robben, who came over to Madrid for 36 Million Euro in the offseason, has had a knee injury that has kept him out of the lineup thus far. Madrid had a 2.5 hour training session today with all of the players that are remaining in Spain after the calls to international duty, which aren’t many.

—Luis Aragonés aka the oldest coach ever, kept his love-hate relationship with Fernando Torres going strong after subbing out El Niño in the 59th minute in place of Iniesta. It just so happens that ‘el viejo’ finally got something right and Iniesta managed to put in the tying goal on 85 minutes to give spain a draw with Iceland. Torres is the leading scorer for Spain under Aragones, with 13 goals, but is goalless in over a year, with his last tally coming on September 2 2006 vs Lichtenstein. As I simply mentioned before, Aragonés just needs to go, period.

— Frank Rijkaard is taking his part of the blame for Barcleona’s dismal last season.

I’ve always said, when something doesn’t work, I’m the first person to look in the mirror

Rijkaard’s Barça had a sub-par past season, being knocked out in the Champions League by Liverpool, being beat 4-1 by Getafe to be knocked out of the Copa del Rey, and finishing second behind Real Madrid for the La Liga title. He came under fire from president Joan Laporta and some were calling for Rijkaard’s departure in the offseason. Having a stud like Giovani Dos Santos or an offseason signing in TH14, can’t hurt his chances to save some face in La Liga this season.

–Speaking of Dos Santos, he’s played in ONE La Liga game,but the moneybags in the Premiership are looking to cash in on the 18 year old. I’m personally not sold yet, sure he won the Bronze ball in this years U-20 world cup and the silver ball in the 2005 U-17 World Championship, but you have to let the kid show a bit of talent against some veteran competition first. But Manchester United will sign a 9 year old kid to play, so 18 is surely not too young for Man Yoo.

La Palabra del día

Una vaselina–a vaselina is a cheeky chip over a keeper to score.

Vaya vaselina de Messi, joe tío, que crack.

La Liga Wrap Up–Jornada 1

The first Jornada of La Liga is behind us, and it was a weekend filled with some great football, but seemingly overshadowed by the current situation with Puerta in Sevilla. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was not televised anywhere as the cable rights war is still going on between Audiovisual and Mediapro in Spain.

Real Madrid 2-Atletico Madrid 1
Atletico: Agüero 00′ (1)
Real Madrid: Raul 14′ (1) Sneijder 79′ (1)
Atletico Madrid came out to a lead on a header by Sergio Agüero, but the Madridistas would not be stopped as they countered with 2 goals by Raul and by newcomer Wesley Sneijder to take the win. Leo Franco should have stopped the last goal by Sneijder, but was screened by his own player in the process.

It was a shame not to be able to watch the Derbi as they are always entertaining. I wanted to see Diego Forlan shine for his new club, and also see how the new Real Madrid team does under Schuster.

Sevilla FC 4-Getafe 1
Getafe: P. Hernandez 2′(1)
Sevilla FC: Jesus Navas 45′ (1) Luis Fabiano 66′ (1) Kanouté 69′ (1) Kerzhakov 81′ (1)

A goal by Pablo Hernandez in the 2nd minute stunned the Sevilla side at home in the Sanchez Pizjuan. Hernandez cooly slotted home a set piece over the wall and into the left side of the goal, leaving keeper Andres Palop with no chance.

Sevilla controlled the ball well in the first half, but Getafe looked determined to avenge their defeat in the Copa del Rey final, attacking fearlessly in the first 20 minutes.

The wheels came off the Getafe bus when Sousa was sent off with two consecutive yellow cards. One for dissent on a clear non-penality call, and the second for what the referee deemed a deliberate handball on a Kanoute cross. Cortez was then sent off for a horrendously late challenge on Diego Capel on the left hand side, putting Getafe 2 men down.

Sevilla mounted a comeback in the second half, scoring 4 unanswered goals on a powerless Getafe defense. Duda was without a doubt the man-of-the-match, whipping in ball after ball from the left hand side, contributing on 3 of the goals scored in the game.

The game was overshadowed by the incident with Antonio Puerta, who is still in critical condition.

Real Murcia 2-Zaragoza 1
Real Murcia: Mejia 16′ (1) Baiano 68′ (1)
Zaragoza: Oiviera 29′ (1)

Newly promoted Real Murcia took the lead on a goal by Mejia on a pass by Pablo Garcia. Oliviera countered with a chip over Murcia keeper Notario.

Zaragoza dominated the play in the second half, but couldn’t mount a sustained attack and instead played a possession game. Murcia took the lead for good on a goal by Baiano, who again was set up by Pablo Garcia.