Last season Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona thrilled Europe with their fluid, vivacious, irrepressible brand of football. Led by the combined talents of Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Messi and Eto’o, Barca surged to an exceptional treble which established the Catalan club as the most formidable on the planet.

With the start of the new campaign just a fortnight away, Barca will be keen to continue their good form of 2008/09 and dominate La Liga for a second consecutive campaign. Hot on their heels will be a reinvigorated Real Madrid, their squad replenished with a new generation of galacticos keen to win the trophies their talents are surely capable of challenging for. This could be one of the most fascinating campaigns Spain, or indeed the whole of Europe, has seen for a long while.

La Liga for dummies

La Liga, the top-flight of Spanish football, is home to a number of world football’s most glamorous, most attractive sides and is generally considered, along with the English Premier League, to be one of the highest-calibre competitions the game has to offer. Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the game’s most successful clubs, traditionally battle it out for the title, with the likes of Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal forming a highly competitive chasing pack.

Real Madrid’s recent decision to revive their famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) galactico transfer policy has ensured that a substantial number of the world’s finest footballers – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema amongst others – will be plying their trade in La Liga for the foreseeable future.

Last season in a Tweet

Barca dominate in Pep’s first season. Real struggle under Schuster, improve under Ramos. Valencia short on cash. Betis, Numancia, Recre relegated.

If La Liga was a footballer…

Socrates. A cultured, skillful footballer in possession of an incredible natural gift and  an intelligent and political nature.

Title contenders

Having so thoroughly dominated La Liga last season, Barcelona will start the new campaign as favourites to secure a second consecutive domestic title. In terms of personnel the Catalans have retained the vast majority of last season’s squad, Samuel Eto’o being the only regular starter to have moved on during the summer.

The Cameroonian striker, one of La Liga’s top scorers in 2008/09, has been replaced at the Camp Nou by the immensely talented Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swede having proved his goal scoring capabilities for Inter Milan in recent years. If Ibrahimovic can integrate into his new team and important players such as Xavi, Iniesta and the superb Lionel Messi can continue their rich veins of form, then Barca will be well on their way to securing yet more silverware.

Real Madrid, not used to being so comprehensively outplayed by their Catalan rivals, will look upon the 2009/10 season as a chance to reassert themselves as the primary force in Spanish football.

A new manager in the shape of Manuel Pellegrini and the arrival of some of the world’s best players over the summer have certainly signaled Los Blancos’ intent for the coming campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Raul Albiol are just some of the players Madrid have signed in an attempt to revisit the triumphs brought about by the first wave of galacticos in the early part of the decade.

Much rests on the ability of this collection of superstars to gel and learn to play alongside one another. If they can integrate quickly and Pellegrini can find a system to accommodate such an embarrassment of footballing riches, then Madrid will have an excellent chance of claiming the title and, perhaps, honours on the European stage. If not, then Los Merengues might have to wait a little while for their investment in talent to see a significant return.

European hopefuls

Such is the high quality of La Liga, there are a number of clubs capable of vying for places in the various European competitions. Last season it was Sevilla and Atletico Madrid who finished third and fourth to claim the remaining Champions League places, with Villarreal and a cash-strapped Valencia qualifying for the Europa League.

Sevilla have bolstered their midfield with the signing of Tottenham’s Didier Zokora and, despite being set to lose Luis Fabiano, if young players like Jesus Navas and Diego Capel can fulfill their burgeoning potential, Los Palanganas will almost certainly be in and around the top four come the end of the season.

Atletico, one of the league’s most attractive teams in 2008/09, have added more defensive guile to their undoubted attacking prowess, signing Real Betis’ Juanito on a free and snapping up the talented goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo from Real Valladolid. If the prolific pairing of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero can continue their scintillating form then Atletico might just improve upon their 4th place of last season.

Villarreal will also be looking to improve upon last year’s 5th place, although with manager Manuel Pellegrini, the architect of the club’s recent success, having moved to Madrid, the coming campaign might prove more difficult than anticipated for El Submarino Amarillo.

Similarly, Valencia, who have endured a catalogue of financial disasters in recent times, may have to lower their expectations for the coming season. Although it was widely presumed that Los Che would be forced into selling their best players this summer (and they still might be), thus far they have managed to keep hold of David Silva and David Villa and retained a competitive squad.

If Unai Emery, the club’s talented young manager, can keep his squad together, Valencia will no doubt be one of the best sides in La Liga. However, if his hand is forced by the club’s prevailing financial conditions, then Valencia’s fans may have to gear themselves up for several seasons of mid-table mediocrity and financial survival. It could go either way.

Outside bet

Espanyol. Barcelona’s “other” team endured a terrible start to the 2008/09 season, finding themselves rooted to the bottom of the table for much of the first half of the campaign. However, the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino in January acted as a catalyst for an upturn in the club’s fortunes, an improvement in form which eventually saw the Periquitos finish in 10th.

Espanyol are undoubtedly a strong side, their triumph in the 2006 Copa Del Rey and appearance in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup final is testament to that, and they are well capable of European qualification. The death of captain Daniel Jarque this summer was a devastating blow to all involved with the club, but if they play to their potential this season there is no reason why Espanyol can’t compete at the top end of the league table and do their old captain proud.  

Relegation candidates

Xerez, Real Zaragoza and Tenerife have all been promoted from the Segunda Division and may struggle, but Zaragoza in particular have a squad more than capable of competing at the top level, so I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that the Aragonese side will survive relatively comfortably this season.

Getafe struggled last season, staying up only by virtue of their head-to-head record with Real Betis, and will need to fulfill their sizeable potential if they’re to avoid a similar situation this season.

Osasuna, Real Valladolid and Sporting Gijon also laboured towards the foot of the table last term and will have to keep their relatively fragile squads in tact to ensure survival this time around.

Joker in the pack

It’s hard to know what you’re going to get with Malaga. After promotion back to the top-flight in 2007/08, the Andalusian side exceeded all expectations last season to finish in 8th place, just seven points shy of a place in the Europa League.

Astute signings such as Milan Stepanov and Albert Luque should serve to improve an already industrious side and, with Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz back at the helm, Malaga might just be looking to challenge at the top end of the league yet again. The side’s development will be watched with great interest.

Solid gold gaffer

When Pep Guardiola took over at the Camp Nou at the beginning of last season, a newcomer to the business of management (albeit with the status of a club legend), there were doubts over his ability to guide Barca to any sort of success. Guardiola quickly silenced his critics and, in the space of just nine months, turned himself into one of the hottest properties in management, inspiring his side to a treble whilst playing some truly wonderful football along the way.

Frighteningly, the Catalan icon is still learning his trade as a manager and, if it’s possible to imagine, there might be even better things to come this season.

The man with the golden boot

Diego Forlan, who scored 32 league goals last season, was the 2008/09 Pichichi winner and the Uruguayan will again be amongst the favourites to claim the golden boot, as will his Atletico Madrid striker partner Sergio Aguero.

With Samuel Eto’o having moved to Inter there will be pressure on his replacement at Barca, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to do his fair share of goal scoring, with his teammates Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry also likely to finish the season with sizeable hauls.

Several of Real Madrid’s stellar signings, not least Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, are also likely to challenge Forlan for his place at the top of the scoring charts, as will some of La Liga’s usual suspects such as David Villa and the evergreen Fredi Kanoute.

In short, there might just be a few goals this season.

Three to watch

Nilmar (Villarreal)

Long considered one of Brazilian domestic football’s finest players, Nilmar has consistently shown himself to be a great creative attacking talent for both Internacional and Corinthians. A two-season spell at Lyon five years ago yielded little, a move which dented his reputation in Europe somewhat, but his recent form for Internacional has done much to restore belief in his talent. Still only 25, Villarreal have signed Nilmar in the hope that he can provide the sort of creative spark which was the trademark of the now departed Nihat. It could be one of the transfers of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Whilst at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo established himself as one of the best, if not the best, player in the world. With an £80m transfer to justify, Real Madrid fans will be expecting their club’s marquee signing to reproduce a similar level of performance to that which he displayed at Old Trafford. If he can, Madrid’s chances of winning silverware will be massively enhanced and that transfer fee will seem a veritable bargain.

Diego Capel (Sevilla)

Last season Diego Capel began to show the level of ability everyone has known the young Spaniard to be capable of for a long time. Giving Sevilla an added attacking dimension down the left flank, Capel’s pace and aggression has made the 21 year-old one of La Liga’s best young players. His form will be crucial to Sevilla’s success this season and, if he continues to develop at his current astronomical rate, he could well become a key player for Spain at next summer’s World Cup and in the years to come.

On episode nine of the Soccerlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by FourFourTwo’s man in Madrid, Tim Stannard, to talk about Spanish football and La Liga.

The show will be looking specifically at Valencia and their financial woes, Tim rips into Chelsea and their negative tactics at the Nou Camp and of course there’s just the small matter of El Clasico to deal with too.

Among the points of discussion raised with Tim Stannard were:

• The UEFA Champions League semi-final ties
• Sevilla,Valencia and Villarreal, the race for third place
• Barcelona’s quest for the treble
• Transfer speculation aplenty
• El Clasico and the title race
• Plus more on top of that!

Show Details
Date: Friday 1st May 2009
Host: Stephen Darwin
Co-Host: Tim Stannard

You can listen to the show below:
Download link (mp3, 29mb, 32 mins)

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It was literally impossible to avert one’s eyes from last night’s pulsating Madrid derby anyway, but there is little doubt that Señor Rafael Benitez will have seen plenty to warm himself amidst a freezing Saturday night on Merseyside.

In front of a baying Bernabeu crowd, a contrast to the usually silent demands, Real & Atletico went at it hammer and tong for the bragging rights in Spain’s capital, with Juande Ramos’ men seemingly leaving little in reserve for Tuesday’s make-or-break trip to Anfield in the Champions League.

Ok, so Gonzalo Higuain was left on the bench in favour of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar- ineligible for European competition following the kind of administrative oversight that sees office juniors all over Britain sacked on a regular basis- and Wesley Sneijder & Pepe were suspended, but Real were in no mood to take it easy with one eye on their quest for a historic tenth European crown.

Nor should they. After all, Ramos’ quiet progress had taken Real to within four points of Barcelona ahead of kick off yesterday, and with Pep Guardiola’s men facing a resurgent Athletic Bilbao- fresh from securing a Copa Del Rey final clash with Barça on Tuesday- Ramos and his men knew that victory over their neighbours was paramount.

Benitez therefore will have been delighted to see Real run ragged for long periods by an Atleti side possessing attacking treats and defensive nightmares in equal abundance. The visiting strikeforce of Kun Agüero & Diego Forlan, ably assisted by wide men Simăo Sabrosa & Maxi Rodriguez, carved Real open time and time again, with only the solidity of Iker Casillas and some wasteful finishing from the front two sparing Ramos’ side a heavy defeat.

The Atleti goal was a case in point, a Real corner was cleared sensibly by Simăo to Agüero on the halfway line, the son-in-law of Maradona laid the ball off intelligently and spun in behind Fabio Cannavaro with ease to latch onto the perfectly weighted return pass, and Atleti had two men over on the last defender, allowing Forlan to be slid in to beat Casillas with a clinical finish.

All around the Bernabeu gasps of astonishment were drawn at how easily Real had been opened up. After all, this is a side that has based its excellent league form on a formidable defence in the past couple of months.

Real did level things after the break, Higuain emerging from the bench to set up Huntelaar for an emphatic 4th goal of the season, but despite the threat of Robben & the predatory instincts of Raul, it was Atleti who looked the more likely winners. Agüero wasted two chances in as many minutes, dragging one wide on his left foot before drawing a save from Casillas with his right, whilst twice Forlan attempted to blast inside the near post (a la Anfield & Dudek in 2002- shudder) with team-mates screaming for a pull back. Even Florent Sinama-Pongolle, introduced for skipper Maxi, had a glorious chance that he skewed wide on his left foot. The more Real chased the win, the more they looked likely to lose.

Of course a derby tends to have a different pattern to most games, especially to a Champions League last sixteen match, but the difference in Real between the first leg against Liverpool and last night against Atletico was frightening. Against Liverpool, Ramos’ side looked to keep possession, keep things tight and play a waiting game. Last night it looked like someone at the start had announced that “next goal wins”, Real looked to pour forward at every opportunity, even with plenty of time remaining to grab a winner. It was stunning to watch, the sight of Sergio Ramos striding out of defence and demanding to be played in down the left wing was incredible, but Ramos will surely be wary of falling into a similar trap at Anfield on Tuesday.

In the second leg, Real know that they must score to have any chance of progression. And in Raul, Higuain, Robben, Sneijder, Van der Vaart & Guti, they have both the means to create, and the ability to finish chances. But Benitez will have noted the space that Real leave behind when they go forward, and it would not surprise at all to see the likes of Ryan Babel & Fernando Torres have a big role to play- if only from the substitutes’ bench.

Real should welcome Diarra back into midfield, after he was forced to fill-in at right back last night, which will give them a shield that was lacking last night. Guti is a fine passer of a ball, but his physical presence and energy levels do not allow him to offer the protection the likes of Javier Mascherano & Xabi Alonso can afford to their backlines, whilst Fernando Gago appears to me to be the “Lucas Leiva” of Real Madrid, albeit a more technically gifted one. Liverpool should have no fears in the midfield area, with Robben the only real loose cannon in that respect. Expect Fabio Aurelio to have his work cut out on that one.

In terms of Liverpool going forward, much will of course depend on the attacking options available to Benitez (i.e. whether Torres is fit). Benitez’s past suggests that El Nino will more likely be used from the bench, meaning that Kuyt should start alone up front, with Gerrard playing off him and Benayoun out wide. This will limit the counter attacking threat of course, Kuyt possesses neither the pace nor touch to play an effective part in that sort of game, but with Gerrard back in the side there should be a lot of space come the second half to utilise the speed of the subs, particularly if Real are still chasing the game at this point.

Of course Tuesday’s game will most probably bear little resemblance to the basketball-esque fare served up last night, as if Benitez would allow some of the defending on show from Tomas Ujfalusi & Pablo Ibanez last night(!), but the former Madrid coach will have seen enough of Real in the past few weeks to have plenty of confidence in his side to progress. Either way, Real’s first trip to Anfield promises to be an intriguing one.

Read more about the Atleti – Real derby.

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has declared that he never intended to approach the Red’s manager Rafael Benitez as their coach and that he does have faith in their new coach Juande Ramos, who was sacked by Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s ‘Sportsweek’, Calderon explained:

“We want to see what happens with Ramos and at the end of the season, if everything is okay, and I hope so as he is a good coach, we will see what happens in May or June.

“We know him very well, he is Spanish and worked with Real Madrid a long time ago. He is a very good coach but I would like to have Juande for longer than six months. So let’s hope everything is going to be okay and if it is like that, he will continue with us.”

But can you trust Ramon Calderon? This is the same man who played the I-will-sign-Cristiano-Ronaldo-I-would-not-sign-Cristiano-Ronaldo game in the summer, and as far as two years ago was saying that Ronaldo is a Manchester United player and on a contract and therefore not an alternative for Real Madrid.

At the rate Calderon works, we’re bound to hear more on Rafa before the end of the season.

While football success and failure is usually measured season to season, from August to May, the end of an year gives an opportunity to look back on the calender twelve months and see who we think has been worthy of appearing in this column.

Here’s a look at the teams and people who deserve to be nominated as the worst performers in 2008. See our list and then suggest your own ‘losers of 2008′ at the end.

REAL MADRID

They may have won La Liga last season but overall, 2008 has been a disappointing year for them, seeing them lose out on most of what they have wanted (although Real fans will call losing Bernd Schuster a good thing).

In Europe after qualifying relatively comfortably from their group, they went out of the tournament with a whimper by losing both games to Roma in the first qualifying round. That was the same Roma side that lost both games to Manchester United in the quarter-final.

In La Liga, their grip on the title looks to be a little weak. Defeats to the likes of Getafe and Valladolid is not the form of champions. Their defeat at home to Sevilla proved that they could be in trouble.

Probably their biggest defeat of the year however came in the battle to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. The club made no secret of their desire to bring the Portuguese winger to Madrid. They spent pretty much the whole Summer in the attempt to lure him away from Manchester United. They did so almost at the total exclusion of any other worthwhile transfer activity. As we all know, they failed. And worse, die to their pursuit of Ronaldo they lost Robinho at the end of the transfer window and they’ve been considerably weaker as a result since the start of this season.

AVRAM GRANT

He seems like a really nice bloke. He took Chelsea to within two points of the Premier League title and a John Terry slip away from winning the Champions League. He was in fact the first man to get Chelsea to the final of that prestigious competition.

What was his reward for achieving all of that? Yes, it was the sack.

Despite what he did at Chelsea, he seems to have become a manager that nobody else would want. I don’t understand what he has done to upset everyone, but certainly in the second half of the year he has been one of the biggest losers.

JUANDE RAMOS

Now then, Juande Ramos had a very strange year indeed. On 24th February when Tottenham lifted the Carling Cup at Wembley, Ramos was a hero. He was undoubtedly the man that was going to finally make Spurs break into that top four where everyone (Tottenham supporters, anyway!)thinks they should be.

A string of poor league form after that victory was put down to the euphoria of winning a trophy. The Summer came with high expectations at the Lane, as there always seem to be. This time, under such a great manager, the expectations seemed to be have a little more foundation than usual.

A lot of money was spent in the Summer, but everyone in the world (apart it seems from Ramos) knew that Dimitar Berbatov was going to leave the club. A replacement striker was essential but there was no sign of one. When Robbie Keane made the move to Liverpool the need for a striker was all the more obvious.

When Berbatov left the club a few minutes before the end of deadline day, Ramos claimed that this left him no time to find a replacement. It is still a mystery as to how Berbatov’s move to Manchester United came as such a shock to the manager!

A run of very poor league results saw Tottenham at the foot of the table. Constant team changes and players playing out of position seemed strange until we found out that the players had no idea what Ramos wanted from them. Not only did they literally not understand what he was saying, they didn’t understand his footballing concepts either.

The sack was a foregone conclusion. Never has a manager made such a mess of a great opportunity before. Being given the poisoned chalice that is Real Madrid isn’t exactly a bonus, but let’s see what 2009 brings for Ramos.

ARSENAL

They have not had the best of years. I know this will upset all you Gunners fans out there who might, with some justification, say ‘how can we be losers when we finished third in the Premiership, just four points behind the winners and got to the Champions League quarter-final?’

I’m a Watford supporter and if we finished third in the Premiership and got to the quarter-finals in Europe I would be drunk and dancing for a year. However, success is relative and for Arsenal, third place and a quarter-final is not good enough.

To compound the relative failure of last season, it doesn’t look like being any better this time around. With behind the scenes problems, disappointing defeats against the likes of Stoke and Hull and the defeat of the youngsters in the Carling Cup by Burnley after showing so much promise, third or fourth place and a quarter-final might be par for the course again.

MIKE ASHLEY

To start with he was loved by the Newcastle fans. He was one of them, a real fan. He stood on the terraces with them, drank beer, poured money into the club and, best of all, appointed Kevin Keegan as the manager.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the appointment of Dennis Wise, disagreements with and the departure of Kevin Keegan, disastrous results on the pitch and a wish to sell the club for a profit but not being able to find a buyer, are just a few of the issues that spring to mind.

Obviously the death threats and the hatred and the fact that he can’t go anywhere near the North East of England may have put a bit of a downer on his year as well.

In his quiet moments, Mike Ashley really must look back over 2008 and ask himself, ‘how the hell did that happen?’

Well-deserved honourable mentions:

Derby County deserve a mention for getting relegated out of the Premiership with a remarkable eleven points and boasting a goal difference of -69.

Kris Boyd deserves a mention because he fails to get picked regularly for his club yet walks out on his country when not selected. That is the action of a real loser.

Heurelho Gomes deserves a mention because he has been so bad at Tottenham.

Finally, Sven Goran Eriksson deserves a mention because he has gone from managing a Manchester City team who looked odds on for European qualification at the start of the year, to getting the sack and taking over at Mexico where he is on the verge of…getting the sack.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year and I hope it fulfills all your footballing dreams and ambitions.

Who do you think the biggest losers of 2008 have been?

Eddie’s out of town for the weekend, so you guys are stuck with me! Let’s get to the latest batch of transfer rumors.

No Loaner for Alex

Chelsea have rejected a proposed loan deal for their defender, Alex, to PSV Eindhoven. Alex was reported to have formally requested a transfer earlier this week, only for Chelsea to issue a denial on their website.

Analysis: Alex knows he won’t get too many chances with Terry and Carvalho in front of him, but considering the health of those two, Chelsea can’t afford to let him get away. Should be interesting to see how this plays out. The immovable object or the irresistible force.

Newcastle Target Upson

West Ham’s Matthew Upson could be headed to Newcastle for £8 million.

Analysis: Joe Kinnear is keen on the England international, and West Ham’s financial difficulties could play into his hands. Newcastle need to bring in some quality players, especially if they lose Owen, Ameobi, Martins, or Butt.

Kranjcar Pledges Loyalty to Pompey

Arsenal target, Niko Kranjcar, has stated that he won’t be leaving Portsmouth. It’s been reported that Arsene Wenger was preparing a £12.5 million bid for the Croatian playmaker.

Analysis: Kranjcar would be a natural replacement for Rosicky, who makes Owen Hargreaves and Louis Saha look like iron-men. With Portsmouth’s new owners coming in, maybe they’ll be able to hold on to some of their top players.

Drogba To Stay… For Now

The long-running Didier Drogba saga got some clarification as the Ivorian striker stated that he has no intention of leaving the club in January. Of course, the summer is another story.

Analysis: With the way they’ve been looking at other strikers, Chelsea have been acting like they’re resigned to losing Drogba, if not in the winter, then definitely over the summer.

New Deal for Evans

Manchester United defender, Jonny Evans, will sign a new 5-year contract in January that will pay him £50,000 a week.

Analysis: Evans has established himself as a reliable understudy to Ferdinand and Vidic, and should only get better.

Ramos to Move for Lennon?

New Real Madrid boss, Juande Ramos, has expressed an interest in signing his old winger, Aaron Lennon, from Tottenham. It will cost them, though, as Spurs have placed a £20 million price tag on him.

Analysis: That seems like a lot for someone who has struggled, at times, to get into the starting lineup at White Hart Lane and should struggle to get into the Real Madrid lineup. Then again, it could just be Juande Ramos’ way of stirring up trouble with his old club.

Well, they did say a week is a long time in football. How relevant that statement is for Real Madrid. After losing 3-4 at home to a Sevilla comprehensively dismantled by Barcelona the week before, and the manager Bernd Schuster intent on relieving himself of his duties by claiming there is no hope of even at draw in the Nou Camp, the fans of los Blancos had the handkerchiefs out in force.

Then Captain Raul went out and publicly, with the support of sporting director Pedrag Mijatovic, contradicted the pragmatism of his soon-to-be ex-manager, by claiming the white shirt can win anywhere. The result: Schuster found his escape route out of the Bernabeu, agreeing with Mijatovic to keep the decision away from President Ramon Calderon, who was bound to blurt out the news to the press in his usual comedic manner.

The signing of Juande Ramos happened quickly and suddenly there was an epidemic of optimism (to borrow a phrase from Mr. Rushdie), as Madrid beat Zenit St. Petersburg 3-0, the best of the goals being Raul’s cheeky chip over Malafeev.

With a huge 15 goals conceded in a mere 7 games, there is a lot to be done as only Sporting Gijon has a worse record. A pairing of Metzelder and Cannavaro will hardly strike fear into the hearts of the Barcelona forwards, while Sergio Ramos is in a spell of poor form, and seems to be unable to provide any cover for his centre backs. On the opposite flank Marcelo, lacks any defensive capability, highlighted by his absurd decision to take up the left wing spot, after Robben was sent off and Madrid had clawed back to 3-3 from a two goal deficit. The result? Sevilla scored the winner, from a cross from their right flank – the area which Marcelo was supposed to patrol.

To cope defensively, Ramos is considering promoting some Castilla players to the first team squad to add some solidity. Left back Chema Anton and striker Alberto Bueno joined the squad of 18 for the Zenit game and many be involved once again in El Clasico. Despite signing for only six months, it is clear that the former Sevilla boss is anticipating a longer stint, especially in regards to his response to the media about how he is set to approach the challenge of a Madrid in disarray. A change from 4-3-3, to 4-4-2 will help to attain defensive stability, something with Madrid have lacked this season.

Apparently a deal for Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has been agreed in principle, while Ramos also wishes to bring in Andrei ‘el magico’ Arshavin and shockingly Didier Zokora, who lacks any sort of positional sense, the capacity to pass or track runners. He does have some stamina though. An adequate replacement for the injury-stricken Diarra, he will never be.

And with Mijatovic his superior, one can practically guarantee that Ramos will buy his desired targets. Schuster had the same problem. Calderon’s love affair with Cristiano Ronaldo catalysed the loss of Robinho, and failed to bring in the required reinforcements.

Now the Madrid supreme is blaming his object of desire for the whole saga, claiming it was Ronaldo’s wish which forced Madrid to act. And of course the media were another excuse for amplifying the speculation. Of course Calderon’s gift of an Audi to Ronaldo as a sweetener to seal the deal had nothing to do with it (forgetting that with Ronaldo acting as an ambassador for the German company, he could have had all the free cars he wanted).

Raul reportedly refused to sanction the signing of David Villa (though the Madrid legend later denied such claims), as it would spell the end of his role as first team starter. Many critics of the Spanish club have also commented on the influence of the old guard in Raul, Guti and Salgado. All three have a huge say in political matters of the club. Their votes are equivalent to 50 of the normal socios, thus making them the playing equivalent of the club directors. This means the trio can effectively oust the coach if desired. The timing of Raul’s statement to contradict Schuster’s claims only adds to the theory of wanting to remove the German from his role as coach. Salgado is married to former president Florentino Perez’s daughter; Raul is the nephew of another ex-president in Lorenzo Sanz and Guti is the best friend of the two giving him equal influence.

In such a club, the coach is seen as expendable, while these power-players will become a part of the Bernabeu furniture, much like Hierro and Butragueno, they will take up other roles in the club. Yet, this isn’t the only issue in the dressing room. Reports (likely to be tentative) have claimed there to be a divide between Casillas and Raul, while the Dutch and Argentinean factions appear to be vying for influence too. Over in Catalonia, FC Barcelona seems to have no such problems. Last year and the 4-1 thrashing in the Bernabeu is a distant memory, as the disruptive old guard were sold.

The rotation policy employed by boss Pep Guardiola has kept everyone on their toes and added a competitive edge, which has seen their fellow title challengers swept away with considerable ease. The defeat in midweek at home to Shakhtar Donetsk ended an unbeaten run of 21 games, bearing in mind Barcelona put out practically a reserve team, full of cantera players, and the fact that top spot in their group was assured. The side has scored 64 goals in a mere 22 games in the three main competitions, and conceded only 17 goals. The depth of the squad is also a reason for los Cules to be proud, especially, when a player of Aliaksandr Hleb’s calibre can come in for Messi, and Henry can shift inside if Eto’o is unavailable.

The integration of young Catalan players, such as Busquets, Pedro, and continuing from last season, Bojan Krkic, has given even more joy to fans, who seem to be so confident in their side, that Nou Camp attendances have been dwindling of late. With one side in the ascendancy and the other submerged with in-fighting and politics, the typical fan would predict only one outcome. But ‘el clasico’ derbies aren’t decided on form, with Capello’s Madrid gaining a 3-3 draw at a time that was thought to be a low point in that campaign. It was the turning point of their 2006/07 season, and set a trail for the title, and only a late moment of magic from Lionel Messi rescued a draw for Barca back then.

At the risk of being hopelessly wrong, here is a prediction for the biggest derby in world football: Barcelona 4-2 Real Madrid. All the politics and regional differences will be forgotten as Madrid look to claw back a nine point deficit and Barca look to cement a seemingly insurmountable lead at the top of the Primera Liga. All signs point to a Catalan victory, but knowing this derby, Madrid could spring a surprise under the guidance of former Barcelona youth coach Juande Ramos.

The author writes at Libero Football.

Also see – a short history of the Super Clasico.

According to the The Daily Star, newly appointed Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos is looking forward to ransacking his former side Tottenham Hotspur this January as he is allegedly interested in signing youngsters David Bentley and Aaron Lennon.

Ramos was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season and was appointed the new coach of Spanish champions Real Madrid on Tuesday.

It has now emerged that Ramos is looking forward to signing some Spurs players in January. Ramos appears to be interested in signing wingers David Bentley and Aaron Lennon,, both of whom are fast and have technique.

Real Madrid have suffered because of injuries this season with winger Arjen Robben missing matches because of injury and robinho having been sold to Manchester City in the summer.

Spurs signed Bentley from fellow Premier League club Blackburn Rovers in the summer for around €17 million and it is unlikely that the north London club would like to sell the England midfielder, especially when Spurs manager Harry Redknapp features him regularly in his side.

Real might just have a chance with Aaron Lennon though. Spurs are not too eager to carry on with the 21-year old England international and were supposedly ready to barter him for Robbie Keane with Liverpool.

Oh, and Juande Ramos has also expressed his ‘admiration’ for Didier Zokora. Seems like Madrid have their transfer plates full in January, although whether these mentioned players are good enough is another story.

Reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid have sacked Bernd Schuster as their coach, according to latest reports emerging from Spain.

It has been reported that after a series of meetings on Tuesday morning, the Real Madrid hierarchy came to a conclusion to sack the German. This comes after a run of poor results and the German uttering some damaging and controversial remarks off the pitch.

Real Madrid are currently fifth in the league, 9 points off the pace with archrivals FC Barcelona in sole possession of the pole position. They were defeated 4-3 by Sevilla at the weekend and after the match Schuster said that Real were certainly not going to win against Barcelona in El Clasico on Saturday.

Former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur coach Juande Ramos has been appointed as the new coach of the Merengues.

But should Schuster have been sacked? Well, given the run of results yes but there is more than meets the eye. After all, the former Barcelona midfielder was never really in control of the transfer dealings. Moreover, they have been a number of injuries to key players which has left the squad quite depleted.

In any case, Schuster has paid for Real’s poor form and for his comments off the pitch. Juande Ramos replaces him. So can Ramos revive Madrid’s title challenge?

Plus ca change…

Martin Jol was fired because despite playing well against the top sides, Tottenham players could not lift their games for low-profile games. The problem was identified as a lack of professionalism and training, and thus Ramos was brought in.

Jaunde Ramos was hailed as the Messiah – by fans and players alike. They loved his strict training regime, loved his tactical nous and when Tottenham won the Carling Cup (beating Arsenal and Chelsea along the way), Ramos was supposedly the man to do what Jol couldn’t – get the Tottenham players to play like they did against Arsenal and Chelsea all through out the season. Do that and they would be shoe-ins for a top-6 spot and strong contenders for a top 4 spot.

But things didn’t go according to plan.

The players didn’t respond to Ramos beyond the initial surge in performances, and post Carling Cup they were in cruise-control, waiting for the season to end so they could bring in new blood. Summer came and went, and unlike Football Manager 2009 where Tottenham have 50m to spend in July, Ramos only had 20m from Keane to spend and the 30m from Berbatov’s sale to United, thanks to Daniel Levy, only came around on the last day of the transfer window.

Levy is not solely responsible, nor is Berbatov for wanting to leave since 2007 nor is Ramos for his inability to forge a personal connection with the players when the players weren’t professional enough to do what was asked of them.

Redknapp’s signing, an English manager with his recent history of getting Portsmouth to over-achieve in the league, was again hailed as a great way forward for Tottenham. Here was a man who could motivate the players. And so Redknapp seemingly did, with Tottenham drawing at the Emirates before beating Liverpool twice at White Hart Lane. The stage was set for the Redknapp revolution to do what Jol and Ramos, two managers who have achieved more in the Premier League and La Liga than Redknapp, could ever do.

On Satuday at Craven Cottage Tottenham players, management and fans ran head-first into the reality of Tottenham’s nature – they cannot motivate themselves to play away from home against lower-quality opposition. It’s not a confidence issue – these are the same players who can beat Liverpool or score twice in extra time away to Arsenal or beat Chelsea in a cup final. It’s not an issue of ability – individually these players are good enough to play at the top clubs in England and Europe.

The weaknesses in certain areas of the pitch is not solely to blame – Liverpool lost despite Tottenham missing a holding midfielder, Spurs scored 4 goals at Arsenal despite lacking ‘adequate’ striking resources (on recent evidence Frazier Campbell will score plenty of goals for them).

Tottenham players, simply put, lack effective leadership and professionalism. This can be partially countered for big games by pumping the players up with stirring dressing room talks, but away to Fulham or away to Sunderland this team will not always fight, and that’s something Redknapp himself cannot solve.

Spurs need a hard taskmaster, a Ramos, as Redknapp’s assistant. Spurs also need to get over their love affair with King and install a new captain (this is potentially why Keane’s departure has probably hurt them as much as Berbatov’s). They need players in certain positions too, but that’s already been said.

The sad bit is, this is exactly how things were during Jol’s time. As the league has gotten tougher, Tottenham have failed to improve themselves and are now, 3-4 years later, still lacking professionalism, still over-relying on King and still lacking players in key positions on the pitch.

Maybe it’s time the players and management, heretofore happy to praise new managers and slate old ones, take some responsibility and work on putting things right before they take more steps back. A new stadium will be no good if they can win games they need to propel them to to the top of the league.