Hay Liga? All Things España 2024-25

[rguilmar]

Despite the fact that the ESPNFC match report uses the term shock defeat, there is no such thing as an easy trip to Donostia.

Any away match against either Sociedad or Athletic is one you are typically looking for a point from if you have title aspirations. No big deal for Barca for not winning. But Hay Liga until los Galaticos dos crap on themselves again.

I'll throw in a trip to Pamplona. I haven't been to El Sadar, but it has a reputation for being the most difficult place to play. Trips to Basque country are tough, especially for night games. To your point, San Mames was the loudest experience of my life.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Militao just isn't that good IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if this is an addition by subtraction situation. I didn't know about his new contract, which I find baffling.

Carvajal is another story. I was admonished for putting him in the Ballon d'Or convo, which is certainly a reach on my part, but I really think that much of him as a player.

I didn't see the Barca match yesterday but will try to rewatch this evening.

 

[rguilmar]

Spain’s national team won 14 games in a calendar year for the first time ever, winning 2-1 in Denmark and 3-2 in Tenerife. A bunch of youngsters got debuts or their first real amount of time, including Cubarsi, Pablo Barrios, Samu, and Marc Casado (who was superb). Most of the stars from the summer got little or no run because Spain had already clinched the Nations League group. The confidence and aggressive style was the same, and the depth of quality is showing through. Bryan Zaragoza came on late and was a difference maker. Samu got a goal on his debut. I’m very high on the kid, but he needs to learn how to use his body better.

Carvajal is another story. I was admonished for putting him in the Ballon d'Or convo, which is certainly a reach on my part, but I really think that much of him as a player.

I probably should have jumped in with you. I just don’t think Carvajal gets the appreciation he deserves. He’s probably more important to Spain than Rodri is. Part of that is the drop off to Pedro Porro (who is a fine player) and Oscar Mingueza versus the drop off to Zubimendi (who is world class in his own right), but he’s an essential player for the European club champions and the Euro champions. We are seeing what is happening at Real Madrid without him. He did finish a respectable fourth place in the Balón d’Or voting, so I don’t think putting his name out there as a possible winner when there was no clear favorite was that far out of line.

 

[rguilmar]

La Liga is back. Valencia got a much needed win in more ways than one over Betis. It was the first game for Valencia in nearly a month following the devastation of floods across the region, and even I couldn't really find it within me to root against the home team. The third goal by Duro was pure class, and Lopez fired a rocket for a golazo a couple of minutes later. Betis players did not celebrate their first goal at all, instead rallying around a flag of Valencia to show support for those impacted by the disaster.

There were a lot of developments behind the scenes during the international break, mostly around stadiums. La Cartujua in Sevilla is entering the final stages of its renovation which will bring the capacity over 70,000, remove the track, and make it a much better venue for soccer. It is schedule to host the Copa del Rey final in April then become the home ground for Betis for two years. The renovation for the Benito Villamarin has been more or less finalized and it will be one of the most environmentally friendly stadiums in the world with solar power and rain water stored to water the field. The club says that they are not going to use the venue to host concerts, which Real Madrid have tried to do but locals shut that down with noise complaints, which has led some to believe has so impacted the clubs finances that Florentino Perez is now recommending selling shares to private investors, an absolute red line not to be crossed for many Real Madrid fans and socios (and even those like myself who despise the club but fear for the precedent that will set). Speaking of financially strapped member owned clubs, Barcelona have admitted what we all knew, that their stadium renovation was running behind schedule. The earliest that the club will return to the Camp Nou is February. I'm no construction expert and perhaps I'm jaded by living in Greater Boston all of these years, but this stadium looks nowhere near done. The club (and that video) claim that the reason for the delay is because of UEFA rules preventing stadium changes in the middle of the Champions League group/league stage, but that is not a new rule and presumably the club was aware of it beforehand. I'll be surprised if they even play one game this season at the Camp Nou.

There are couple of super interesting games this weekend. Barca visit Celta today. Barcelona have had a tough time without Lamine Yamal while visiting the northern regions of Spain along the Atlantic coast and harsher climates. Their two losses this campaign were without their young star at Osasuna and at Real Sociedad. Celta are playing much better than expected with so many academy players, and Balaidos will be rocking with the late kickoff. Speaking of harsh northern climates, Sociedad visit San Mames in the first Basque Derby of the season.

 

[rguilmar]

Interesting tidbit dropped by the announcers for the Basque Derby that Athletic Club and Real Sociedad have the two highest numbers of academy players in their first first teams across Europe’s top five leagues. This isn’t that surprising given their respective club policies. The announcers went on to say that the top five clubs on this list were all in La Liga. I don’t know how correct they were or where these figures came from. Whatever the case, it’s fair to say that La Liga clubs produce more than their fair share of their first team players and that this has really contributed the recent success of the national team and youth national teams.

Florentino Perez did come out to say that the Real Madrid fábrica has produced the most amount of professionals currently playing worldwide, very few playing for them of course.

 

[rguilmar]

Shock result at Montjuic today where Barcelona lost 2-1 at home to lowly Las Palmas. Las Palmas has become a landing spot of sorts for former Barcelona and Barca B players who couldn’t quite make the cut, including Sandro who scored today and Cillessen in net. The club had really been struggling this season until they hired Diego Martinez, who for a while was considered the brightest young Spanish manager when he helped Granada get promoted then into Europe a few years ago. His last job in La Liga was at Barcelona’s local rival Espanyol.

Lamine Yamal can’t get 100% healthy fast enough.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Bump for PSA that Barca-Mallorca is on in 30 mins. Yamal is back in the lineup, but interestingly it's Ferran up top, Olmo at 10, and Raph at LW. Gavi, Fermin, and Lewa are all on the bench.

Odd that Mallorca's main man Dani Rodriguez (4 goals, 3 assists) is on the bench to start this one.

 

[rguilmar]

Ah yes, the random start to game week 19 just after game week 15 (only for those four clubs who play in the Supercopa).

One of my favorite games of the season is tomorrow matchup with Real Madrid visiting Bilbao. There is a never ending competition among clubs in the northeast about who hates RM most, and Athletic Club have a claim to being the most anti-Madridista club in the world. Aside from the Basque vs Spain politics, there are the team policies. Real Madrid is the most global club in the world, and they aim to collect the best players from around Spain and the world. Athletic Club only use Basque players and would rather be relegated than deviate from the policy. The club do have two things in common- neither has been relegated (only Barcelona is also on that list) and both are 100% member owned (only Barcelona and Osasuna are on that list in La Liga).

Kickoff is 9 pm local time (3 pm on the east coast) so San Mamés will be absolutely deafening.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I watched the first half of Barca yesterday and I was shocked when I saw the final result. Ferran was abjectly horrible in the first half, missing good chances created for him by Yamal, Raph, and Olmo. Don't be fooled by his goal--he almost scuffed that one too. Nevertheless, just happy to get out of the slump.

 

[rguilmar]

Speaking of chances created by Lamine Yamal.

View: https://twitter.com/espnfc/status/1864031606970728798?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ

 

[thehitcat]

Speaking of chances created by Lamine Yamal.

View: https://twitter.com/espnfc/status/1864031606970728798?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ

That pass was ridiculous. Outside of the foot to the perfect spot. I hope he stays healthy he could be the next one.

 

[wonderland]

I wasn’t a big fan of the PK call that led to the second goal. Thought the two were pretty much even and would’ve preferred to see a play on there.

 

[sdiaz1]

How many things can 1 Var check look into lol?

Also I am currently under the belief that the offside rule may not exactly be enforced in Ligue 1

 

[rguilmar]

How many things can 1 Var check look into lol?

Also I am currently under the belief that the offside rule may not exactly be enforced in Ligue 1

Apparently two different offsides and a penalty in one move. All go Athletic’s way and no goal for RM.

 

[rguilmar]

Athletic’s crosses have been surprisingly bad all game, then Iñaki finally sends a dangerous cross in and they score.

 

[rguilmar]

Mbappe took a terrible penalty

 

[SocrManiac]

Mbappe took a terrible penalty

He’s seriously got the yips.

 

[sdiaz1]

I think having a poster of Cristiano Ronaldo on his bedroom wall is about all that Mbappe has in common with Ronaldo.

 

[rguilmar]

Fucking Bellingham

 

[rguilmar]

That didn’t last long. Athletic Club back on top!

 

[rguilmar]

Dani Vivian has been great all season long and pocketed Mbappe and the other attackers several times down the stretch when it mattered most. Raul Asencio has impressed for RM as well, though he has his issues off the field.

Spain has great variety and depth at the CB spot at the moment.

 

[sdiaz1]

Some fun matches this week so far in the Copa. I really enjoy getting a chance to watch some of these minnows play, knowing that for many of these guys that this is practically going to be the brightest moment of their career.

Rayo needed a late winner, Leganes needed pens and both Espayol and Villareal were knocked out by teams essentially in the 4th tier. Pontevedra certainly could have scored 2 or 3 more - what a night for them!

 

[rguilmar]

Some fun matches this week so far in the Copa. I really enjoy getting a chance to watch some of these minnows play, knowing that for many of these guys that this is practically going to be the brightest moment of their career.

Rayo needed a late winner, Leganes needed pens and both Espayol and Villareal were knocked out by teams essentially in the 4th tier. Pontevedra certainly could have scored 2 or 3 more - what a night for them!

I didn’t see any of the Copa games, but they looked interesting. Rayo knocked Unionistas out, and last year Unionistas made a pretty deep run. They beat Villarreal and almost shocked Barca. Did you catch the Pontevedra-Villarreal game? The stats are exactly what I would have expected, except in opposite world. Pontevedra completed over 700 passes, had 73% of the ball, and outshot Villarreal 15-6. Villarreal started a bunch of their high profile players too. Absolutely shocking.

 

[Zososoxfan]

I think having a poster of Cristiano Ronaldo on his bedroom wall is about all that Mbappe has in common with Ronaldo.

Quemada! [burn?]

 

[rguilmar]

Logroñés were another shock winner in the Copa, knocking out Girona. The gentlemen at TSFP had some real nuggets on that one. Apparently the Logroñés keeper got injured at the end of the game and couldn’t stay in net for penalties. Logroñés had used all five subs, so they couldn’t use their backup keeper either. In steps Pol Arnau Camacho, a 19 year old youth team left back who made his debut one round earlier against Éibar (he scored in that game). Arnau volunteered to play GK despite having never played the position before. He goes on to save one penalty and Logroñés end up winning the game.

Arnau’s brother Marc is a goalkeeper as was their father Francesc, who played keeper for Barcelona and Malaga in the late 90s through around 2010.

*Stuani had the last PK and hit the crossbar. Rumor has it that the ball did cross the goal line and should have counted but the referees missed it. There is no VAR in the CdR.

 

[sdiaz1]

Sadly I did not watch Pontevedro v Villareal (though I managed to watch 3 cup matches - yay being sick) but did watch the highlights. Did catch the replay of Espanyol being knocked out.

I will throw a quick plug for Pontevedra and say it is an absolutely gorgeous town worth checking out for anyone traveling to Galicia.

I had not seen the Girona result, that is an amazing story- though I hate that Stuani missed his pen, definitely a guy worth rooting fot

 

[rguilmar]

Great lineup of games this weekend, highlighted by Atleti-Sevilla, Girona-Real Madrid, Athletic-Villarreal, and of course Betis-Barca. Last season, Barcelona’s visit to Real Betis was a great 4-2 game. Lamine Yamal continued his breakout, I think Cubarsi made his debut (or at least his first start), and Johnny Cardoso definitely made his Betis debut. It looks like Gavi will get the start in the pivot tomorrow. Oh, and this…

View: https://twitter.com/realbetis/status/1865003288287928729?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ


Vamossssss!!!!!

For some, this is minor news, but Deportivo Alavés canned their manager Luis Garcia Plaza a couple of weeks ago. It’s a shame and unfair to Plaza who did a great job for the club for a while. Hope he lands somewhere soon.

Sadly I did not watch Pontevedro v Villareal (though I managed to watch 3 cup matches - yay being sick) but did watch the highlights. Did catch the replay of Espanyol being knocked out.

I will throw a quick plug for Pontevedra and say it is an absolutely gorgeous town worth checking out for anyone traveling to Galicia.

I had not seen the Girona result, that is an amazing story- though I hate that Stuani missed his pen, definitely a guy worth rooting fot

Thanks for the insight into Pontevedra. I already have a Catalunya-Pamplona-Basque trip planned for 2025 but want to get to Galicia in 2026, assuming I can find a good weekend to get to both Balaidos and Riazor for home games. Pontevedra looks like a beautiful city to visit while I’m out there.

 

[sdiaz1]

Great lineup of games this weekend, highlighted by Atleti-Sevilla, Girona-Real Madrid, Athletic-Villarreal, and of course Betis-Barca. Last season, Barcelona’s visit to Real Betis was a great 4-2 game. Lamine Yamal continued his breakout, I think Cubarsi made his debut (or at least his first start), and Johnny Cardoso definitely made his Betis debut. It looks like Gavi will get the start in the pivot tomorrow. Oh, and this…

View: https://twitter.com/realbetis/status/1865003288287928729?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ


Vamossssss!!!!!

For some, this is minor news, but Deportivo Alavés canned their manager Luis Garcia Plaza a couple of weeks ago. It’s a shame and unfair to Plaza who did a great job for the club for a while. Hope he lands somewhere soon.


Thanks for the insight into Pontevedra. I already have a Catalunya-Pamplona-Basque trip planned for 2025 but want to get to Galicia in 2026, assuming I can find a good weekend to get to both Balaidos and Riazor for home games. Pontevedra looks like a beautiful city to visit while I’m out there.

Fuck yeah, Isco is back!

Well if you pass through Rioja on your next trip, Logroño should be on your itinerary (on topic as your brought up earlier that they knocked out Girona)

I have never been but work in the wine industry and every person that I have met from the region has said nothing but incredible things about the town. Highest density of bars and restaurants in all of Spain.

 

[rguilmar]

Isco will be coming off the bench but both Barca loanee Vitor Roque and Barca product Abde get the start, along with Lo Celso and Chimy. It’s a fun lineup, but will be more fun if Isco comes on to do this again (without Joao Felix saving Barcelona’s bacon).

View: https://twitter.com/realbetis/status/1865108954755322304?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ


Speaking of La Masia products, Sandro is sitting on a brace right now, and the second goal was a beauty. Diego Martinez has Las Palmas playing some great soccer lately.

 

[rguilmar]

Two minutes in and Betis could have two. Llorente’s header was cleared off the line by Raphinha and Abde was 1v1 with Iñaki Peña, with the GK getting the best of that one. Sigh.

 

[rguilmar]

Ugh Betis could easily have four or five goals by now but trail Barca 1-0. Peña had one unbelievable save on a shot by Chimy.

 

[sdiaz1]

Crazy opening 10 minutes to.ooen the second half. Barca giving a ton of guilt edged opportunities

 

[rguilmar]

That’s a penalty

 

[rguilmar]

And a red!

oh for Flick.

 

[rguilmar]

Isco is coming on

 

[rguilmar]

wonderful pass by Lamine. Barca undeservedly back in front imo.

 

[rguilmar]

Absolute beauty by Diao to tie it up

 

[rguilmar]

I’ll take the draw. I thought Betis might have deserved more, but given the club’s penchant- going back to the Setien years- for putting in good performances against the big boys at home and getting nothing for it, I’ll take it.

edit: still a flawed stat imo but xG on ESPN had it 2.97-1.57 in favor of Betis. Another source had it at 2.87-0.53.

 

[rguilmar]

Here me out, if Atleti win both of their games in hand and if Real Madrid win both or win one, draw one of their games in hand, the top three in La Liga would all be within one point.

Hay Liga for sure.

 

[rguilmar]

HUGE win for Athletic Club today over Villarreal. I think most people, including myself, have the Yellow Submarine as the odds on favorites to finish fourth, especially with no European competition this season and crashing out of the Copa. The Lions of Bilbao have a six point lead on them now, though Villarreal have two games in hand. Athletic are deeper as a squad than I expected, which is important because they currently sit in fourth in La Liga and are doing well in the Europa League. They’re going to give it all in Europe because they haven’t been in this prestigious of a European competition in a bit and the final is at San Mamés. They will always go hard in the Copa, where they have the second most titles, and they’re in the Supercopa where I imagine they will go all in for another trophy.

At some point, Oihen Sancet will get the love he deserves. He’s not the stereotypical Spanish 10, but he’s a beast of a player. I imagine big European clubs will come calling this summer, but he might be a one club man.