Soccer Nomad: La Liga around the Web

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We have a cut down version of Soccer Nomad  for you today as the mid-week games left little time to cover the fallout from the weekend games.

We’re simply going to focus on some of the best la liga articles and podcasts from the start of the week (before the jornada 28 game) and return with a full round-up in next week’s edition!

Articles

Phil Ball witnessed a strange week in Spain with uncharacteristic gestures of sportsmanship and humanity as the Bilbao fans applauded Giggs and Rooney of Manchester United and Real Madrid players wore shirts of support for Muamba and Abidal.  Add this to Torres scoring finally (and being trumped by Soldado), Levante staying in fourth, and Real Madrid finally dropping points, and it was a strange week indeed.

Sid Lowe examined the troubling situation at Villarreal as the money is gone, players are on the way out (Cazorla last summer, Rossi this summer), and form is fading (they have earned only one point from the last fifteen).  It would be easy to write that Levante sank the Yellow Submarine, but the ship has been sinking for quite awhile.  A mini revival gave them hope but dropped points have put them squarely in the crosshairs of relegation, with Molina sacked just months after being appointed.  Their journey could be at an end in a couple of weeks.

Tim Stannard (@LaLigaLoca) gave his comments on Villarreal in a season that has seen them go fourth from top to fourth from bottom.  Losing Cazorla and Capdevila and Rossi and replacing them with Zapata and De Guzman did not help Garrido, while Molina was not able to stem the tide either, probably not being the right hire either.  Tim states their predicament as follows: Villarreal’s current problems are silly defensive mistakes at key times and a problem with concentration and application in certain games.

In other news . . .

Sid Lowe sought context and clarity in the debate between the EPL and La Liga, citing the success and progress of the Spanish teams over the last couple of years as reasons why the leagues are not that far apart.  He mentioned the progress of Spanish teams in the Europa League yet let’s face it, English teams don’t take it seriously.  But focusing on Barca and Madrid, which dominate Spain both financially and competitively, these two teams are far ahead on the former front with FCB dominating the second.

A friend sent met this article which I couldn’t believe.  I put it out on my twitter feed and sent a message to Phil Schoen directly, with no response.  I guess I don’t mind if GolTV doesn’t carry the matches as long as the commentary is in English (what now for Ray Hudson) and the feed is HD.  Any info from readers is appreciated.

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Pods

Elisa and Mando chatted with Lee and Liam from El Centrocampista about issues facing La Liga—the separation of the Big Two from the rest of the league and refereeing being at the forefront—and touching on the Spanish National Team at the upcoming Euros.  Listen to the after pod chat for the plight of Elisa trying to get tickets to Bilbao’s key fixtures against Manchester United and Valencia.

Ravi from Forza Futbol sat down with Gabe from Managing Madrid to discuss things going in the capital.  Among the items they touched on—the most influential player at the club this season; the future of the Big Two, with Gabe making the point that teams will rise up (Sevilla, Villarreal, etc.) but they can’t make any mistakes plus Real Madrid and FCB can buy their best players; the future of Mourinho, will he stay or go?; and the run-in to this season as Los Merengues close in the league title and the Champions League looms large.

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1. Pingback: Villarreal name Miguel Angel Lotina as new coach – Daily News & Analysis

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