Morbo Minute–El Tigre Strikes
Another weekend of goals in Spain. The league continues to provide entertainment and storylines in the early going—Falcao, Malaga, the fall of Bilbao, last minute winners. Only one scoreless draw (Osasuna v Betis) among numerous goalfests.
Jaws must have hit the floor like mine upon seeing Depor 4 FC Barcelona 5. Even after watching the highlights I was in shock. Kxevin of the Barcelona Football Blog was still shaking in his post match analysis, which saw the Blaugrana dominate then capitulate then regulate. He focused on the breakdowns that led to each goal, “born of bad luck and collective failure”, but the team responded against an inspired opponent in a formidable atmosphere. He touched on the fact that the aura is gone, fading as familiarity and pride and time takes its toll, which will make their fight to reclaim their trophies that much harder.
El Tigre stole the thunder for this round, scoring a late free kick to secure all three points for Atleti and keep them at the top of the table with the Blaugrana. Sid Lowe focused on Falcao’s amazing run—10 goals in 10 games—in addition to the Colombian’s goal, his first free kick goal as a professional. Besides recounting his rise from Argentina to Portugal to Spain, Doctor Sid unleashed the stat attack:
- Falcao has now scored in every game since 24 August, finding the net 16 times in his last 10.
- At a goal every 60.44 minutes he has a better goals per minute ratio than Messi (61.09) and Ronaldo (78).
- Take his goals out and Atlético would drop 10 points.
Right now, Los Colchoneros seem to be a sure bet for third in the league. As for being a true title challenger, we will have to wait and see after their games away at FCB and Real Madrid in December.
Phil Ball went to the Anoeta to see Falcao with his own eyes and almost missed the game winner in order to make the train home. His comments on the player were complementary but not effusive, and he mentioned that every time the Colombian touched the ball, the crowd, and the defenders for that matter, got anxious.
Staying with Atleti, Mina Rzouki profiled Diego Simeone for Football Espana. The Argentinean manager has turned things around in the capital over the last 10 months, focusing on each player maximizing their strengths, efforts and tactical awareness for the good of the team. Right now his approach is paying dividends but it still remains to be seen if he can do it for the long haul as his previous tenures have lasted around a year at most.
Right before the Real Madrid game kicked off, I checked twitter to see how Mourinho handled the many injuries in defense. To my surprise, I saw Kaka, Ozil and Modric all on the team sheet from the off, with a defense of Ramos, Pepe, Varane, and Essien as emergency left back. Madridista Mac examined the midfield experiment (which only lasted a half) and its impact on the game and on the team. (Mostly that they missed Khedira most of all.) Los Blancos won 2-0 and now look ahead to a tough game in Dortmund.
Another exciting game that I missed was Valencia against Athletic Bilbao. This fixture is typically on my viewing schedule, as it usually showcases the best of the rest and a team for the future. This year, Valencia has gotten off to rough start, far from the top of the table, with Los Leones in a total funk, which sees them trending towards a relegation fight come the spring rather than challenging for European spots.
Chalk on the Boots shared his observations on the match at El Centrocampista. He felt that Athletic had one of their best performances of the season, led by Arduiz’s activity and Herrara’s composure. Unfortunately, once Herrara was sent off, the visitors sat too deep and were undone by late goals. As for Los Che, the team has struggled this season under Pellegrino, with the absences of Alba and Banega being prominent. Banega came on for the last 15 minutes so his addition may prompt a turn in fortunes.
John Pelini analyzed the last match of Round 8—Sevilla v Mallorca—for El Centrocampista. Sevilla dominated large portions of the match in terms of possession but found themselves behind for about 20 minutes. Negredo headed into the level the score on 55’ and from there, Los Rojiblancos took control and secured all three points. John focused on the 4-3-3 of the hosts against the 4-4-2 of the islanders. Mallorca conceded the width but Sevilla has pretty good wingers and a strong target man, which proved to be the visitors undoing.
Tough news for Sevilla this week as midfielder Piotr Trochowski, scorer of goals against Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, is out for the season after having knee surgery. He will be missed as they push for European places.
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Articles and Podcast
Nick Punal looked at every aspect of Espanyol for Forza Futbol. In a comprehensive post he broke down each part of the club from the players to the coach to the fans to the board to the cantera. Several key players were sold or loaned out in the offseason and have not been replaced with sufficient quality. Add to that defensive lapses (see Levante and Athletic Bilbao), a cantera cupboard that is looking a little bare and no money to sign top players, things are looking grim for Los Pericos. They picked up their first points of the season but still have a long way to go to survive.
Is Kaka back? Frank Tigani asked that question on El Centrocampista. Cast out by Mourinho, the Brazilian has worked his way back into contention for club and country. His future at Madrid is uncertain with Modric’s purchase and perhaps a move in January is in the cards. As for the Selecao, it appears as if the door is open for his participation in the run up for World Cup 2014. It would be nice to see one last burst before he heads into the sunset.
Elisa and Ravi of Forza Futbol recapped Spain’s performance during the international break, which saw La Furia Roja destroy Belarus but stumble against France. Perhaps it was fatigue or taking the proverbial foot of the pedal or personnel choices (forced and unforced) that allowed the points to slip away. From there they moved on to discuss La Liga, in particular Valencia and Sevilla’s financial problems, which may see Champions League qualification as a must, and David Villa’s future for both club and country. They wrapped up looking at Spaniards abroad, especially in the EPL.
Soccer Nomad 
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