The sight of an Englishman ripping up his roots to join La Liga is always an intriguing affair. Back in 2003, David Beckham stole the headlines with a dream move to the Spanish capital, and sixteen years on, another England idol with a ball-bending reputation has done likewise. His name; Kieran Trippier. This time, it was Atletico Madrid – and not their celebrated city rivals – taking the initiative, after finishing as runners up in the 2018/19 La Liga campaign. Though miles behind champions Barcelona, they were comfortably ahead of Real Madrid by the close, and with a potential ‘power shift’ in the city comes increased muscle in the transfer market. Thus, with Trippier joining Atletico for just £20m, it is clear that the Rojiblancos pulled off one of the greatest coups of the summer, and utilised their increased ability to pull in talent to an exceptional degree. While Trippier’s differences with now-former manager Mauricio Pochettino were a factor in driving down the … [Read More...]
Challenges Ahead for Atletico in Rebuild
One goal. Two assists. Man of the match. Joao Felix is going to be a star! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/YATWfyOQbo— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 30, 2019 Atletico Madrid have been able to punch above their weight in LaLiga and the Champions League compared to the spending power boasted by their Spanish and European rivals. Diego Simeone has always managed to get the best of his squad, producing a strong level of consistency in their performances during his eight-year tenure. However, the coming campaign could be the biggest challenge since his arrival in Madrid. The club have lost Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona, while long-standing captain Diego Godin completed a move to Inter Milan. Rodri completed the exodus with his transfer to Manchester City, leaving a void at all three levels of the team. Atletico’s response has been impressive, landing a deal for one of the best rising talents in the world in the form of Portugal’s Joao Felix. A number of teams were interested in the 19-year-old, but … [Read More...]
Who do you think you are? SD Eibar
SD Eibar may have the smallest ground in La Liga (just over 7000 capacity), but that has done little to hold the club back. After earning promotion to Spain’s top flight at the end of the 2013/14 season, many predicted (us included) that Eibar’s stint in La Liga would be a brief one. However, five years later, and the minnows from the Basque country are preparing for yet another top-flight campaign and a firm member of the La Liga establishment. History The club was founded in November 1940 from a merger of Deportivo Gallo and Unión Deportiva Eibarresa but it took until the 1943/44 season for the club to find its feet and become more of a professional outfit. It took until 1950 before the club started to come to the attention of the mainstream with promotion to the Tercera División (Spain’s fourth tier now but up until 1977 it was the third tier). From 1988 to 2014, the club yo-yoed between the Segunda division and Segunda B before finally earning back to back … [Read More...]
Which teams might face relegation worries in La Liga next season?
As the new La Liga season draws ever closer, the fans of Spanish football will begin to get very excited. Let’s just hope that the 2019/20 season is as thrilling as the last one! With Barcelona easing to a fairly comfortable win in the end, rivals Atletico and Real will be looking to strike back. While a lot of attention focuses on who might win La Liga, it is also worth looking at which teams may be fighting it out at the wrong end table of the table. Of course, once that is done you will need something else to do as you wait for the new season to begin. Playing online casino games is a great idea as it will pass the time in a fun way. Now you can even enjoy amazing slot games - play with Bitcoins! When you are ready to see what is happening in football again, it is certainly worth looking at which teams may struggle in next season’s La Liga. Granada As with every league in world football, it is the newly promoted teams who may be in most danger. This time around that … [Read More...]
Bale holds the Key to Transfer Merry-go-round
La Liga clubs have been splashing the cash in the summer transfer window, but the rumour is despite having already bought in Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo (to name but a few) it seems Real Madrid are not done yet. However, only if they can get rid of a couple of thorns in their side one of them being the world’s best-paid golfer: Gareth Bale. It has been clear for quite some time now the Welsh wizard has fallen out of favour with both the fans and manager at the Bernabeu but with whopping wages, it seems everything is at a stalemate. If Real are to land their other target Paul Pogba this summer, Bale has got to go, but it won’t be easy. After all, it seems no one really wants an injury-prone 30-year-old. That’s a little unfair, clubs do want Bale as he has undeniable talented, but no one can afford to pay the close to £400,000 per week the Welshman earns. And that is the sticking point. Why should Bale take a pay cut to move when there … [Read More...]
Barcelona reveals new away kit for 2019/20 campaign
Barcelona has turned to 1979 for inspiration for their new away kit for the upcoming season. Their new yellow away shirt features a diagonal stripe in the traditional "blaugrana" colours, in what is arguably one of the best throwback kits of the season. The new kit was made available to fans around the world on 9th July. So what has inspired Barcelona's retrospective outlook for the new kit? Well, much of the drive behind the 1979 design is that this year marks the 40th anniversary of "La Masia." Celebrating the history of Barcelona's future "La Masia" symbolises Barcelona's unique past, present and future. The football club and Nike have collaborated to honour the team from an era where, the club claims, it had some of its best-ever players. Barcelona released a statement explaining how, in celebration of this huge anniversary of La Masia's establishment, they wanted to honour the La Masia youth academy, its spirit and … [Read More...]
A Closer Look – RCD Mallorca
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid. Three of Spain’s biggest clubs and three sides that need no introduction. However, there are seventeen other sides who will compete in La Liga next season who are perhaps less well known to European football fans. So, with that in mind, we thought it a good time to dig a little deeper into La Liga’s latest edition RCD Mallorca. The History Founded in 1916, the club based in the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca have had plenty of ups in their history but also some serious downs. Initially they were known as Alfonso XIII Football Club so called in respect of the King of Spain at the time but their first ever home game was a 8-0 thumping at the hands of Barcelona. After toiling around the Catalan Championship for a number of years, it was in the 1960’s that saw Mallorca (changed their name in 1919) make it to Spain’s top flight for the first time and spend a total of five seasons there before the 1970’s hit with … [Read More...]
The Latest La Liga Transfer News
The summer is a never-ending rumour mill which we must admit we simply cannot get enough of. The speculation as to who is going where is sometimes more intriguing than when the action actually gets underway and with so many stories doing the rounds, we thought it time for a little look at some of the big deals that are rumoured to be occurring this summer. Antoine Griezmann At the end of the season, Frenchman Antoine Griezmann made it quite clear to all that he was leaving Atletico Madrid. Many expected an announcement to be made within days of his next destination, but nothing has of yet been set in stone. One such potential opportunity appears to be a move across the city to rivals Real Madrid. However, after Los Blanco signed free-scoring Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt, will Real be prepared to spend big on a player they may view they simply don’t need? We could see a retraction here and it is more than possible Griezmann may well be staying at the … [Read More...]