Weekend Summary – Page 3

After the Gold Rush

‘Don’t it seem like a long time?’ That’s from a song written by Ted Anderson and performed by Rod Stewart in 1971, in the days when the latter was still good. And since he likes football, he’ll have been suffering too, and possibly singing that one in the shower. Don’t dwell too long on that one.

Back on March 10, when Real Sociedad beat Eibar 1-2 in an empty Ipurua, the only consoling thought, like the First World War being likely to last ‘at worst, a few weeks’, was that the lockdown wouldn’t last either. Now it’s been three whole months. The previous season finished on May 19^th and started up again on Friday August 16^th – a day Aritz Aduriz is unlikely to forget. Anyway, Aduriz aside, that was a three-month break but one that was scheduled. Continue reading “After the Gold Rush”

Granada Armada

Before this weekend, Granada had only been top of LaLiga once before, coinciding more or less with the overthrow of Allende’s Chilean government in September 1973 by Pinochet’s cronies. The coincidence is of no relevance whatsoever, but I thought I’d drop it in anyway. It seems like a long time ago, in a season when they eventually finished in 6^th place, two places above Real Madrid and two points shy of qualifying for the old UEFA Cup. It was their 6^th of eight consecutive seasons in the top flight, their best run yet since their relatively late foundation in 1931, and probably their best season to date, if you ignore 1959 when they lost to Barcelona 4-1 in the Generalísimo’s Cup Final. Continue reading “Granada Armada”

Give us a mention!

In military theory, after a defeat, an excess of self-reflection and analysis of exactly what went wrong is seen as healthy, but only up to a point. This is because there was an adversary, and the adversary prevailed. You lost the battle – but it wasn’t all down to you. In psychology this is called ‘chronic analysis’ and it tends to be so self-absorbed that you fail to see the other factors – perhaps you know where this is going. If you just lost 0-3 to Barcelona, as Eibar did on Saturday, you probably wouldn’t need to spend the rest of the week self-flagellating. Eibar played okay, but Barcelona simply took advantage of their different level of quality. Analysis over, and move on. Real Madrid, however, were drowning in chronic analysis over the weekend, or at least their friends in the Spanish mainstream press were. Maybe the squad flew home from Mallorca after their 1-0 defeat thoroughly aware of what went wrong – and what did go wrong? Continue reading “Give us a mention!”

Three weeks fasting in the wild

The British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once observed that ‘A week is a long time in politics’. Eduardo Alvarez more recently remarked that ‘three weeks is a long time in football’, and so here’s Liga Fever again, just as you were beginning to think that you could no longer stand the silence of the international break. It’s tough out there, I know. During a fortnight in league-less space, nobody can hear you scream. Continue reading “Three weeks fasting in the wild”

Almost over, bar the shouting

‘twas the penultimate game of the season, with everyone kicking off at 18.30 on Sunday – and ‘twas fun for some, less for others. This particular week of the league season is always the toughest, because at the nether end of the table there is usually a single side left who can still escape relegation and two sides who can be sucked into it, whilst up top the 4^th Champions League spot tends to be the main focus. The trap-door opens or the dreams are quashed. Continue reading “Almost over, bar the shouting”

Strikers’ time

“They play like this [like a small team], that’s why they’re down [in the standings]”, were the bitter words of Mr Enrique Setién, coach of Real Betis Balompié, after his team were handed their backsides by Leganes back in February. That 3-0 victory took Leganes only three points below Betis, but Setién paid no attention to that fact and went on to say that if Leganes decided to attempt a ball possession approach like his inspiring, innovative, ground-breaking Betis (the adjectives are mine), they would miserably fail. Continue reading “Strikers’ time”

Champions

So we have a champion in the top flight (Barcelona), and another closing on the title in the Second Division (Osasuna). With three games left to play, the Catalans and reigning champions decided to get the league business out of the way by defeating Levante 1-0 at home, Leo Messi once again the chief executor/executioner in the 62^nd minute just as the visitors were beginning to get a little awkward. We might still be waiting had Morales’ shot not bounced off the post in the 89^th minute – another example of Barcelona’s lucky-charm season but also an indication of how they tend to make their own fortune, of how they tend to take their own chances cleanly and not leave much to random chance. They host Liverpool on Wednesday in what should be an extraordinary occasion, possibly en route to a treble. Oh, and their women’s team beat Bayern to get into their first ever final of the Champions League too. Continue reading “Champions”

He who runs less laughs longest

After Man Utd’s 4-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday, their newish coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, declared that it wasn’t enough to have loads of talent. What he wanted was for the players to ‘run more’. Everton had collectively run 8 kms more, so the statistic would seem to make sense, but Olly obviously hadn’t been doing his homework. According to a recent study of the Spanish top flight, he who runs less laughs longest, as it were. It’s the kind of annoying tweet that people would put onto Twitter to garner a few more followers (I know – I’ve done the same), with the obvious dangler question being, ‘Try to guess which team has run the most this season and which team has run the least?’ Continue reading “He who runs less laughs longest”

Derbies and stuff

‘Twas a weekend of derbies, and Liga Fever was physically present at one of them. I have to report that the Real Sociedad v Eibar game was a dull affair (1-1) and that Eibar were by far the better side, but Real Sociedad were suffering once again from the absence of four key senior players, and maybe hoping a little too much from some of the young kids who were replacing them. Eibar have some experienced and canny players, and it showed. It’s something of a myth that they’re merely a huff and puff side. Nothing of the sort. They have some players who are not afraid to mix it (Escalante, for example) but Orellana remains an exquisite player (when he’s in the mood) and Marc Cucurella from Barça B looks the business. If Barcelona aren’t to fish him back for next season, then he won’t be short of suitors. Continue reading “Derbies and stuff”

Late-show stoppers

What is it that gives some teams that annoying ability to score late on, to come back at the death when all seems…well, dead? Barcelona have had this particular ability for some time now, demonstrating it during a quite amazing game in midweek at Villarreal where they turned around a 4-2 deficit in added time to draw 4-4, and persisting against Atlético in Saturday’s crucial game until the 85^th minute, then scoring again immediately afterwards. The great Liverpool side of the 1980s had this as part of their repertoire too, and sometimes it’s difficult to analyse exactly how it works. Continue reading “Late-show stoppers”