For most football fans, the European soccer season started on August 14 with the kickoff of the English Premier League. On August 28, Serie A and La Liga finish the drawn-out start of the season as all of the top European leagues will then be underway.
From third place down to the middle of the table, La Liga appears poised to see a massive shuffle this season. Valencia’s financial problems have finally forced them to liquidate some of their prized on-field assets, Sevilla have looked poor in the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Champions League qualification, and Mallorca are unlikely to overachieve again after losing some quality players (and their league position being a bit of an anomaly anyway). Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and others are likely to improve on where they finished last season.
As for the title, only two teams appear in that race. Barcelona and Real Madrid should open up a massive gap on third place and make the title a two-horse race by October. Could a league have two teams reach 100 points? This might be the best chance of that happening most of us have ever seen.
None of the big boys square off against each other in the first week of action, but there are still plenty of intriguing fixtures.
Valencia at Malaga
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2:00 pm EST
Valencia are a team with a lot of questions to answer. This offseason, the team saw a mass exodus of talent. Most notably, David Villa and David Silva left on big money deals, but role players Nikola Zigic, Carlos Marchena, and Alexis departed as well. They have been replaced by considerably more cost-effective players like Mehmet Topal, Tino Costa, Aritz Aduriz, and Sofiane Feghouli. Valencia are a team in a serious financial crisis due to their inability to sell the old Mestalla and increasing construction costs on the Nou Mestalla, but they have done well to replace their high-priced stars with quality, affordable players. However, it remains to be seen whether or not these players can propel Valencia to yet another top-four finish.
Malaga appears to be a team with a bright future after Qatari billionaire Sheikh Abdullah purchased the team in June. He has a vision of Malaga as a team firmly placed in the top half of the table and he plans on achieving that goal through significant, yet responsible, investment in the squad. The reasonably priced yet solid additions of Eliseu Pereira, Javier Malagueno, Salomon Rondon, Sebastian Fernandez, Rodrigo Galatto, and Quincy reflect this. Even more important than the players may be the addition of manager Jesualdo Ferreira, a man who has managed Benfica, Braga, and Porto in recent years.
Valencia’s new boys might get off to a tough start on the road. Malaga won’t make them whipping boys, but a scoring draw seems like a reasonable outcome. Let’s call it a 2-2 draw.
Sevilla at Levante
Saturday, Aug. 28, 4:00 pm EST
After getting thoroughly embarrassed by Barcelona on the weekend in the Spanish Super Cup and crashing out of Champions League to Braga in the middle of the week, Sevilla are understandably void of confidence at the moment. Defenders Adriano and Sebastien Squillaci have departed the club and Sevilla appears to be struggling to replace them. Alexis was purchased from Valencia to fill Squilacci’s shoes, but most consider him a downgrade for Sevilla. Luis Fabiano is rumored to be out the door before the transfer window closes and Frederic Kanoute isn’t getting any younger. If Sevilla wants to finish this season in the top four again, they will need Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo, Diego Capel, and Didier Zokora to be as good as they were last season, if not better. Unfortunately for Sevilla, if the back four doesn’t shape up, the star power of those players might not prove enough to get them a Champions League place.
After a two year sentence in the Segunda division, Levante has returned to La Liga. With limited resources, they have relied on free transfers and loan signings to build a side that can compete in the top flight. Still, they were only promoted by the slimmest of margins, leaving Sevilla’s rivals Real Betis in the second division in heartbreaking fashion. The additions of Uruguayans Christian Stuani and Nacho Gonzalez could be a big help for Levante, but ultimately, they lack a deep squad and will struggle to avoid the drop this season.
A match against a relegation battler to open the season is just what the doctor ordered for a shaky Sevilla side. 3-1 to Sevilla is my prediction, even Levante should be able to get one goal past the current Sevilla defense
Barcelona at Racing Santander
Sunday, Aug. 29, 1:00 pm EST
If you’re reading this column, you probably don’t have to be told about the squad that Barcelona possess. They sold off Yaya Toure and Dmytro Chygrynskiy while allowing Rafael Marquez and Thierry Henry to leave on free transfers, but they also added Adriano from Sevilla as well as the biggest signing in Europe this offseason, striker David Villa from Valencia. Additionally, the Mascherano saga is still brewing. The Liverpool defensive midfielder refused to play against Manchester City last weekend and appears to be on the move to Barca shortly. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s future hangs in the balanced with a rumored move to AC Milan possibly on the horizon, but for now Ibrahimovic is a Barcelona player who gives manager Pep Guardiola a ridiculous number of quality options in his attack. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Pedro, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, and Busquets all return, among others. Barcelona doesn’t have quite the depth of title rivals Real Madrid, but their first XI is almost certainly the best in the world.
Racing Santander are another team with financial restrictions that have been forced to scavenge for talent on loans and free transfers. They have been raided by Real Madrid in recent years, with both Ezequiel Garay and Sergio Canales departing. Those players have proven next to impossible to replace and Racing appear to be in for a long fight near the bottom of the table this season. They only finished three points clear of the drop last year with Canales on the team, so many bookmakers have made them favorites to go down now that he has departed.
Barcelona will likely pile on the misery for Racing this weekend. A 4-0 result wouldn’t shock anyone.
Real Madrid at Mallorca
Sunday, Aug. 29, 3:00 pm EST
After adding a variety of new Galacticos last season, Real Madrid made their new manager the biggest Galactico this season. A year removed from an impressive Internazionale treble, Jose Mourinho has taken over at the Santiago Bernebeu. While Real had no transfers of the magnitude of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, they didn’t cut off the spending entirely, adding six quality players. Angel di Maria, Sergio Canales, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil, Pedro Leon, and Ricardo Carvalho have all joined the Special One’s new look Galacticos. Khedira, in particular, appears to be a symbol of the difference between Mourinho’s style and the classic reputation of Real Madrid. The German international is a true work horse and a two-way player, two elements that have been sorely lacking in Madrid in recent years. With club legends Raul and Guti now departed, little remains of the old guard of original Galacticos at Real Madrid. It truly is the Ronaldo and Jose show now. Real will have their work cut out for them all season to keep pace with Barcelona, but their depth is a certain advantage.
Mallorca finished fifth in La Liga last season, occupying fourth place for large chunks of the season. When the team failed to make the Champions League, their financial problems were exposed. Mallorca entered administration and it was revealed that their debts approached 50 million Euros. The club has since been sold, but due to their poor financial situation, Mallorca has been denied entry into this year’s UEFA Europa League. A variety of quality players have left the team and they are left with only 17 players who have high-level professional experience. The remaining players are of a sufficient quality that Mallorca should be able to avoid the relegation race this season, but a top half finish seems unrealistic.
Real Madrid will want to start the season emphatically, and they should succeed. 3-0 to Los Merengues.
Player to Watch
After a fairly successful career in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez surprisingly moved to Hercules in the offseason. His side opens with a tough match against Athletic Bilbao. It will be interesting to see if Valdez can aid a Hercules side that made multiple unorthodox signings out of the relegation fight.
Potential Dud
Tino Costa had a good couple of years at Montpellier, but I’m not sure he’s going to have the same impact for Valencia. His life would have been easy feeding off David Silva and David Villa, but with those players gone, he’s going to be expected to grab games by the scruff of the neck. I’m not sure he’s up to the task.
Bored to Tears
Since entertaining sides Villarreal and Getafe play at the same time, I’d skip Almeria at Osasuna at 11 am EST on Sunday. Snoooore.
Upset Alert
It would only be a minor upset, but I like Espanyol to defeat Getafe this weekend. Los Periquitos added Sergio Garcia and Jesus Datolo in the offseason and I think that both can make a big impact. Datolo has struggled since moving to Europe, but he had a fantastic career at Banfield and Boca Juniors in Argentina and La Liga might be just the right kind of football for him. Getafe lost Pedro Leon’s creativity and eight goals to Real Madrid in the offseason and they should find him to be extremely hard to replace. I’m predicting Espanyol to win 2-1 in a small upset. Sorry, but there doesn’t appear to be any massive upset potential this weekend, unless you want to call an up and coming Malaga side getting a result against a crumbling Valencia club an upset.
From third place down to the middle of the table, La Liga appears poised to see a massive shuffle this season. Valencia’s financial problems have finally forced them to liquidate some of their prized on-field assets, Sevilla have looked poor in the Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Champions League qualification, and Mallorca are unlikely to overachieve again after losing some quality players (and their league position being a bit of an anomaly anyway). Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and others are likely to improve on where they finished last season.
As for the title, only two teams appear in that race. Barcelona and Real Madrid should open up a massive gap on third place and make the title a two-horse race by October. Could a league have two teams reach 100 points? This might be the best chance of that happening most of us have ever seen.
None of the big boys square off against each other in the first week of action, but there are still plenty of intriguing fixtures.
Valencia at Malaga
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2:00 pm EST
Valencia are a team with a lot of questions to answer. This offseason, the team saw a mass exodus of talent. Most notably, David Villa and David Silva left on big money deals, but role players Nikola Zigic, Carlos Marchena, and Alexis departed as well. They have been replaced by considerably more cost-effective players like Mehmet Topal, Tino Costa, Aritz Aduriz, and Sofiane Feghouli. Valencia are a team in a serious financial crisis due to their inability to sell the old Mestalla and increasing construction costs on the Nou Mestalla, but they have done well to replace their high-priced stars with quality, affordable players. However, it remains to be seen whether or not these players can propel Valencia to yet another top-four finish.
Malaga appears to be a team with a bright future after Qatari billionaire Sheikh Abdullah purchased the team in June. He has a vision of Malaga as a team firmly placed in the top half of the table and he plans on achieving that goal through significant, yet responsible, investment in the squad. The reasonably priced yet solid additions of Eliseu Pereira, Javier Malagueno, Salomon Rondon, Sebastian Fernandez, Rodrigo Galatto, and Quincy reflect this. Even more important than the players may be the addition of manager Jesualdo Ferreira, a man who has managed Benfica, Braga, and Porto in recent years.
Valencia’s new boys might get off to a tough start on the road. Malaga won’t make them whipping boys, but a scoring draw seems like a reasonable outcome. Let’s call it a 2-2 draw.
Sevilla at Levante
Saturday, Aug. 28, 4:00 pm EST
After getting thoroughly embarrassed by Barcelona on the weekend in the Spanish Super Cup and crashing out of Champions League to Braga in the middle of the week, Sevilla are understandably void of confidence at the moment. Defenders Adriano and Sebastien Squillaci have departed the club and Sevilla appears to be struggling to replace them. Alexis was purchased from Valencia to fill Squilacci’s shoes, but most consider him a downgrade for Sevilla. Luis Fabiano is rumored to be out the door before the transfer window closes and Frederic Kanoute isn’t getting any younger. If Sevilla wants to finish this season in the top four again, they will need Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo, Diego Capel, and Didier Zokora to be as good as they were last season, if not better. Unfortunately for Sevilla, if the back four doesn’t shape up, the star power of those players might not prove enough to get them a Champions League place.
After a two year sentence in the Segunda division, Levante has returned to La Liga. With limited resources, they have relied on free transfers and loan signings to build a side that can compete in the top flight. Still, they were only promoted by the slimmest of margins, leaving Sevilla’s rivals Real Betis in the second division in heartbreaking fashion. The additions of Uruguayans Christian Stuani and Nacho Gonzalez could be a big help for Levante, but ultimately, they lack a deep squad and will struggle to avoid the drop this season.
A match against a relegation battler to open the season is just what the doctor ordered for a shaky Sevilla side. 3-1 to Sevilla is my prediction, even Levante should be able to get one goal past the current Sevilla defense
Barcelona at Racing Santander
Sunday, Aug. 29, 1:00 pm EST
If you’re reading this column, you probably don’t have to be told about the squad that Barcelona possess. They sold off Yaya Toure and Dmytro Chygrynskiy while allowing Rafael Marquez and Thierry Henry to leave on free transfers, but they also added Adriano from Sevilla as well as the biggest signing in Europe this offseason, striker David Villa from Valencia. Additionally, the Mascherano saga is still brewing. The Liverpool defensive midfielder refused to play against Manchester City last weekend and appears to be on the move to Barca shortly. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s future hangs in the balanced with a rumored move to AC Milan possibly on the horizon, but for now Ibrahimovic is a Barcelona player who gives manager Pep Guardiola a ridiculous number of quality options in his attack. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Pedro, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, and Busquets all return, among others. Barcelona doesn’t have quite the depth of title rivals Real Madrid, but their first XI is almost certainly the best in the world.
Racing Santander are another team with financial restrictions that have been forced to scavenge for talent on loans and free transfers. They have been raided by Real Madrid in recent years, with both Ezequiel Garay and Sergio Canales departing. Those players have proven next to impossible to replace and Racing appear to be in for a long fight near the bottom of the table this season. They only finished three points clear of the drop last year with Canales on the team, so many bookmakers have made them favorites to go down now that he has departed.
Barcelona will likely pile on the misery for Racing this weekend. A 4-0 result wouldn’t shock anyone.
Real Madrid at Mallorca
Sunday, Aug. 29, 3:00 pm EST
After adding a variety of new Galacticos last season, Real Madrid made their new manager the biggest Galactico this season. A year removed from an impressive Internazionale treble, Jose Mourinho has taken over at the Santiago Bernebeu. While Real had no transfers of the magnitude of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, they didn’t cut off the spending entirely, adding six quality players. Angel di Maria, Sergio Canales, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil, Pedro Leon, and Ricardo Carvalho have all joined the Special One’s new look Galacticos. Khedira, in particular, appears to be a symbol of the difference between Mourinho’s style and the classic reputation of Real Madrid. The German international is a true work horse and a two-way player, two elements that have been sorely lacking in Madrid in recent years. With club legends Raul and Guti now departed, little remains of the old guard of original Galacticos at Real Madrid. It truly is the Ronaldo and Jose show now. Real will have their work cut out for them all season to keep pace with Barcelona, but their depth is a certain advantage.
Mallorca finished fifth in La Liga last season, occupying fourth place for large chunks of the season. When the team failed to make the Champions League, their financial problems were exposed. Mallorca entered administration and it was revealed that their debts approached 50 million Euros. The club has since been sold, but due to their poor financial situation, Mallorca has been denied entry into this year’s UEFA Europa League. A variety of quality players have left the team and they are left with only 17 players who have high-level professional experience. The remaining players are of a sufficient quality that Mallorca should be able to avoid the relegation race this season, but a top half finish seems unrealistic.
Real Madrid will want to start the season emphatically, and they should succeed. 3-0 to Los Merengues.
Player to Watch
After a fairly successful career in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund, Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez surprisingly moved to Hercules in the offseason. His side opens with a tough match against Athletic Bilbao. It will be interesting to see if Valdez can aid a Hercules side that made multiple unorthodox signings out of the relegation fight.
Potential Dud
Tino Costa had a good couple of years at Montpellier, but I’m not sure he’s going to have the same impact for Valencia. His life would have been easy feeding off David Silva and David Villa, but with those players gone, he’s going to be expected to grab games by the scruff of the neck. I’m not sure he’s up to the task.
Bored to Tears
Since entertaining sides Villarreal and Getafe play at the same time, I’d skip Almeria at Osasuna at 11 am EST on Sunday. Snoooore.
Upset Alert
It would only be a minor upset, but I like Espanyol to defeat Getafe this weekend. Los Periquitos added Sergio Garcia and Jesus Datolo in the offseason and I think that both can make a big impact. Datolo has struggled since moving to Europe, but he had a fantastic career at Banfield and Boca Juniors in Argentina and La Liga might be just the right kind of football for him. Getafe lost Pedro Leon’s creativity and eight goals to Real Madrid in the offseason and they should find him to be extremely hard to replace. I’m predicting Espanyol to win 2-1 in a small upset. Sorry, but there doesn’t appear to be any massive upset potential this weekend, unless you want to call an up and coming Malaga side getting a result against a crumbling Valencia club an upset.
bien
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