It was meant to be the match that kick-started new Bilbao head coach Gaizka Garitano’s La Liga reign off to the perfect start to follow up that sublime 4-0 thumping of Huesca in the Copa Del Rey midweek. And that is exactly what it proved to be despite leaving it until the 90th minute in order to beat highflying Girona on Monday night thanks to an Aritz Adruiz penalty. That means that since taking over the Bilbao hot seat on the 4th December, Garitano has already achieved the same number of victories (2) as his predecessor managed. Two matches and two wins is a superb start and it means the win over Girona lifts Bilbao onto 14 points, the same as Villarreal in 17th. However, it should come as little surprise that Garitano has hit the ground running. After all, the 43-year-old has been embedded into Bilbao for a number of years and vacated his role as the Bilbao Athletic B manager in order to step into the breach following Eduardo Berizzo dismissal. So, who is Gaizka … [Read More...]
The 4 Games You Won’t Want to Miss this Weekend
The La Liga table has an unusual feel to it with Sevilla sitting at the top of the pile and Alaves in fourth spot. But, will they still be there come the end of weekend or will it be normality resumed? We take a look to see who’s playing who and pick out the best games you won’t want to miss. Alaves v Sevilla We may as well start at the top as fourth plays first in the most unusual top of the table clash. Alaves have been in sublime form this season but did lose to Leganes last Friday meaning perhaps momentum is dwindling. This is a contest Sevilla would normally look at as a certain three-points and after three wins in their last four, should come away with their lead at the top of the table. Real Madrid v Valencia The Bats are so up and down at the minute it makes them impossible to predict. A miserable start has suddenly improved after back to back wins has remarkable moved them to just three points behind Real Madrid as Santiago Solari’s reign got off to … [Read More...]
Who are the Croatian Players in La Liga?
It has been quite the year for Croatian national football team. A World Cup final thrust those who made the squad into the limelight and although it may not have worked out so well for them in the Nations League, 2018 will still go down as one of the greatest years in the nations sporting history. There are also a number of well-known Croatian faces plying their trade in La Liga with some a strong bet with sites such as sportskokladenje24.com to go on and claim some coveted silverware in the 2018/19 season. So, who are they? Luka Modric – Real Madrid There can be no better place to start than the captain of the National team itself in Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric. The 33-year-old has made over 100 appearances for Croatia and despite his age is one of the stand out players in a squad packed full of talent. Modric began his club career at Dinamo Zagreb but really made a name for himself in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur. His performances for the … [Read More...]
The Irish Students Who Brought Football to Northern Spain
With thanks to Jose Miguel Morales; without his help, this article wouldn’t have been possible. ‘Build it and they will come’ is the refrain that shakes ghosts out of the cornfields in Kevin Costner’s hit movie Field of Dreams; it’s a sentiment that betrays the often-static nature of America’s pastime. Football, on the other hand, has always been fast and frenetic, from the days when the sport offended Victorian virtues to now, where players have been scarcely fitter, the sport more refined. Football, then, has moved outward. Thomas Donohoe brought the beautiful game to Brazil; James Richardson Spensley imported it to Italy, where AC Milan and Juventus were gifted shirts by Notts County; and Mitchell Ince arrived in Egypt with a government job in the offing and a football under his arm. But it wasn’t just the British. The first football club in Salamanca, in the picturesque north-west of Spain, was founded by Irish students. This coming together, this historical curiosity, was … [Read More...]
Just what is going wrong at Valencia……..Again?
This season Valencia Club de Fútbol is currently enjoying their 99th year of existence and after the revival of last season in which the club once again qualified for the Champions League, much excitement was set in place ahead of this campaign. However, twelve games in, it is safe to say it has not gone to plan for manager Marcelino and many sportsbooks such as www.novibet.co.uk may well start offering some serious value on the former Sevilla leaving his post sooner rather than later if he cannot repeat last season’s top four. After all, Valencia firmly believe themselves to be one of La Liga’s bigger players having won the league title six times. They were also the last side to break the Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid monopoly lifting the title in 2003/04. Since then, three third places have been the highest return and a two-season stint in the bottom half of the table as recently as 2015 – 2017 was a serious cause for concern. Even Gary Neville was drafted … [Read More...]
Solari Gets Permanent Real Gig
It has been a rough ride for Real Madrid since their summer of discontent. First Zinedine Zidane leaves after a trophy-laden spell, then star man Cristiano Ronaldo heads to Turin giants Juventus and then new boss Julen Lopetugui has a complete nightmare and gets himself sacked after just four months in the hot seat and an embarrassing 5-1 El Clasico hammering. With speculation rife as to who may take over the coveted Real managers seat with Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino heavily linked with the vacant seat, Los Blancos have promoted internally taking a leaf out of rivals Barcelona’s books. But this is no fluke appointment. Real Madrid confirmed on Monday that stand-in manager Santiago Solari has been given the job on a full-time basis and the job is well deserved. Since stepping in for the sacked Lopetugui on the 29th October, Real’s nightmare start has turned into recoverable situation thanks to Solari’s patience and management. Four games the former Atletico … [Read More...]
What Next for Lopetegui?
On Monday, Real Madrid confirmed what we all knew was happening. Head coach Julen Lopetegui was given the boot with the 5-1 thumping by Barcelona the straw that broke the camel’s back. It does not matter who are, there is no coming back from that but when you throw in five defeats in seven, then the situation becomes critical and even if Lopetegui had managed to mastermind a result over the old enemy there was a sense that nothing could save him. It has been quite the fall from grace for the man who went nearly two years unbeaten as Spain manager before his association with Real Madrid began, and the wheels started to fall off. After Real confirmed Lopetegui would take over from Zinedine Zidane after the World Cup, the Spanish football association were left fuming after finding out literally minutes before the announcement and Julen was sacked literally hours before Spain kicked off their World Cup campaign against Portugal. Five months later and Lopetegui’s nightmare … [Read More...]
Who is in the Running to be the Next Real Madrid Boss?
It almost feels a little criminal writing this as Julen Lopetegui still occupies the Real Madrid hot seat. However, by Real’s lofty standards, the current predicament is quite frankly an embarrassment and despite only accepting the Los Blancos job prior to the World Cup, there is a sense that the former Spain head coach will be departing the club sooner rather than later. Ahead of the iconic El Clasico, Real Madrid sit seventh in the table with just four wins from their opening nine games. Remarkably, this puts Lopetegui’s side behind the likes of Espanyol, Alaves and even Real Valladolid. Despite this, Real are still only four points off the top so perhaps it is not all bad as no side has won more than five games this season. But it seems it will not be good enough to keep the 52-year-old in the hot seat for long even though a five-match winless run came to an end in the Champions League mid-week against Viktoria Plzeň. How ironic it seems now that last season … [Read More...]