Sponsorship deals play arguably the biggest part of any club’s financial muscle power with deals for shirts, stadia and even training wear paying big bucks. Some of the finances offered to clubs are eye watering but not every club is seeking to exploit the opportunity to maximise their coffers. Just ask Barcelona. Barcelona and Unicef In a unique break from the norm, in 2006 Barcelona secured a deal with Unicef to display the Children in danger charity’s logo on the front of their shirts. At the time, they were one only a few clubs not to display a corporate logo as their main sponsor. This was widely applauded but in football, money talks, and the Catalan club signed a multi-million-pound deal with Qatar Sports Investment in 2012 to take over the prime advertising slot. This led to accusations that Barcelona were ‘selling out’ but as they openly admitted, they needed the additional income to be able to compete at the highest level. That said, in February 2016, … [Read More...]
Sporting Gijon Fighting a Date with Destiny
Interesting fact, Sporting Gijon’s home ground ‘El Molinón’ is the oldest professional football field in Spain. That is a nice fact, however, it will do little to help the side of they lose to Eibar on Sunday night. Anything other than three points against José Luis Mendilibar’s mid table warriors will see Sporting Gijon return to the Segunda division after a two-season period in the top flight. The gap to Deportivo La Coruna in seventeenth is five points with both sides still with two matches to play. However, the odds are stacked firmly against Gijon who are 1/10 for the drop with 12bet. Due to Deportivo’s superior goal difference, even a draw for Deportivo would be enough to send Gijon back to the second tier. But wait, it is not all doom and gloom for Gijon just yet. There is a chance they can pull the great escape off, and here’s why. Deportivo face a daunting trip to the Estadio de la Cerámica to face a Villarreal side still in with an outside chance of nicking the … [Read More...]
Celta Vigo v Real Madrid Preview
Finally, Real Madrid get to play catch up on the rest of La Liga as their game in hand over rivals Barcelona comes to the fore against Celta Vigo on Wednesday night. The fixture was originally due to be played in February, however, a storm damaged Celta Vigo’s Balaídos stadium causing the fixture to be delayed. The game will have a host of eyes from around the world to get more information on where the destination of the La Liga title may be heading. As it stands, both Real and Barcelona sit on 87 points, however, it is Barcelona who have the much stronger goal difference leaving them top. If Real win or draw, they will move into the outright lead with just one game apiece to play. Although, they may not have it all their own way. Celta Vigo have already beaten Real Madrid this season after beating Los Blancos in the Copa Del Rey Quarter finals where Celta claimed a 2-1 first leg win at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Zinedine Zidane’s men could only manage a 2-2 … [Read More...]
Who will take the upper hand in La Liga this weekend?
Real Madrid and Barcelona are locked together at the top of La Liga with the Madrid side boasting the advantage of a game in hand. Any slip-up now from either side could all but end their title challenges as we rapidly approach seasons end. Betting odds for La Liga games give Real Madrid the best chance of claiming a first title since 2012 with manager Zinedine Zidane on for a historic double with a Champions League final place all but booked after defeating neighbours Atletico 3-0 in the first leg mid-week semi-final. This weekend also sees Real Madrid with a favourable league fixture as they travel to face Tony Adams relegated Granada side. In theory, three points should be assured for Real and in practice that looks like a scenario that is destined to happen. Granada have been dreadful this year and have picked up just one point in their last ten fixtures giving them little to no hope of collecting anything against a Madrid side with so much on the line. The upset … [Read More...]
Can Tony Adams be Granada’s Saviour?
Source: Spinning Sports via Facebook.com Seven points from safety with seven games to go is a tall order for anyone to achieve, and yet miracles do happen. Granada have been La Liga stalwarts since the start of the 2011/12 season but during that time, the club have yet to finish above fifteenth - and with just four wins to their name this season, it looks like they could finally be caught out. Following the dismissal of Lucas Alcaraz after a run of five defeats in their last six, club Chairman Jiang Lizhang stunned the footballing world by announcing that former Gunner Tony Adams would be taking over until the end of the season. bet365 has Granada down as 1/8 to suffer relegation meaning Adams will have to use all of his experience (and then some) to keep the struggling side up. Anyone looking to place a bet online for this game will benefit from looking at comparisons of the sign-up and deposit offers of the most popular online bookies on Latest Betting Sites - for instance, … [Read More...]
Premier League Here We Come?
The football season is reaching an exciting climax but before we know it, the titles will have been decided and the season will have ended. With no European Championships or World Cup this summer, even more attention will be paid to the summer transfer window. Lots of players will be heading to La Liga, but which players could perhaps be looking to move to the English Premier League? Antoine Griezmann Once again, there is uncertainty over the future of Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann. Rumours persist that this summer will see him leaving Atletico and heading to an English Premier League side. The French international is 26 years old and that looks like a good age to start the next phase of his career. The buyout clause in his contract is around the 100 million euros mark, so that certainly limits the number of teams who could be chasing his services. Or in other words, look for Manchester United to be chasing Griezmann as they try to boost their forward line, … [Read More...]
Ramos proving a Valuable Asset in Front of Goal
Sergio Ramos may be best known for being a tough, uncompromising yet skilful defender, however, this season he is proving his credentials as a top goal scorer. In La Liga alone, Ramos has notched seven goals, that tally has put a number of high profile strikers to shame including the likes of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy and even Juventus’s Mario Mandzukic who have all scored the same or less than Ramos. A defender who scores goals is a valuable commodity and Ramos has always been prolific in front of goal by defender’s standards. However, it is not just the amount of goals the 30-year-old has scored but the importance of those goals. Scoring the fourth in a four-nil hammering may still count the same in the scoring charts but there is an importance to a goal that defines value to a team. Goals don’t come much more important than when facing your arch rivals and back in December, as the clock ticked over the 90-minute mark, Real Madrid … [Read More...]
Little Eibar Making a Big Noise
A quick glance at the top of the La Liga table will hardly throw up many surprises with the big four of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid making up the usual top four spots. However, if you take the time to work your eyes down just another four places you will notice a name you may not be too familiar with sitting amongst the heavyweights of Spanish Football. SD Eibar are a small club by comparison to many of the clubs in La Liga but they harbour big ambitions. Their home ground the Ipurua Municipal Stadium only holds 7,083 spectators and since their formation 77 years ago, are only enjoying their third ever season in Spain’s top flight. However, none of this has stopped head coach José Luis Mendilibar from turning little Eibar into contenders for a Europa League slot for next season, something not even the Football tips by FootballBets would have predicted. Despite only being in their third season in the top flight, Eibar do boast a rich history and … [Read More...]