The football blog for fans of all clubs
Bernabeu, Madrid – “Yes we can!” was the rather hopeful and optimistic chant sung by the relatively small contingent of Leganes fans pre-match. “Yes we have!” was what they sang unexpectedly at the final whistle. The small side from southern Madrid had come to the home of the mighty Real Madrid and overturned a first-leg […]
The 2014/15 La Liga season marked the beginning of a fairy tale for the small Basque city of Eibar and its adored football team, SD Eibar. Promotion to Spain’s top flight the season before propelled the club into dreamland, and four years later they are still dreaming. From start to finish, Eibar’s debut campaign featured […]
Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas – Las Palmas’ time in La Liga is comparable to that of it’s home. The redevelopment of Gran Canaria’s biggest stadium has often epitomised the team that plays within it. Promotion to La Liga in the summer of 2015 brought about a period of renovation to get it into shape […]
Cast your mind back to April 2013. Felipe Santana pokes home for Borussia Dortmund in the 92nd minute after a frantic goalmouth scramble to complete an incredible and controversial turnaround after trailing 2-1 to Manuel Pellegrini’s Malaga. Replays suggest he was offside, as defender Antunes seemed to be inside the goal as he tried in […]
RCDE, Barcelona – ‘Thank You Valverde’ was written large on the stadium scoreboard before the match and by the end, the sentiment towards their former manager had been enhanced. Not only had Espanyol managed to beat Barcelona but they brought an end to their Catalan rival’s 29 match unbeaten run stretching back to the Super […]
2017 was a dreadful year for various political, social and environmental reasons. But even more tragic than that, it was a dreadful year for icons of football retiring. Francesco Totti, Xabi Alonso and Andrea Pirlo are among the much-loved legends that will live long in our minds now they have departed from the pitch. In […]
Ipurua, Eibar – ‘Fabricando Suenos!’ was the phrase that adorned the arched-La Liga pitch-side entrance at Ipurua. Both sets of players – Eibar and Atletico Madrid – walked under it and onto the pitch ready for another battle. Rather symbolically, both clubs have certainly lived up to that statement in recent years. Eibar – the […]
Fresh after the 12 days of Christmas, the 12 days of the January transfer window so far has pulled out some crackers. With Coutinho already staking a claim for the headline transfer of 2018, who should the top five realistically sign based on strengths, weaknesses, and a lot of statistics. Barcelona Area: Centre-Back Barcelona’s 3-0 […]
Imagine a world where Barca, Real, and Atletico Madrid, didn’t dominate Spanish football. It’s pretty much impossible. They have been the three elite teams in Spain since 2013. In fact, you have to go back as far as the 2003/04 season to find a final league table that does not contain both Barcelona and Real […]
Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Sevilla – It is the hottest city in mainland Europe. Temperatures regularly reach 40°C in the summer and pavements bake and crack under the heat of the sun. Residents often move out of their homes during July and August and head to the slightly cooler coastal areas. Sevilla is the home of […]
Former AC Milan manager Vincent Montella was, this week, appointed manager of Sevilla. The Spanish club sit fifth in La Liga and are through to the Champions League knockout stages, so it’s no surprise the general reaction of Montella’s appointment is ‘oh, that’s a strange one’. However, the appointment has the potential to become one […]
After a short break for the festive season, Spanish football returns this weekend and there’s plenty to look forward to in the remainder of the season. Whilst Barcelona are running away with the title, there’s still plenty to be decided. The battle for European football, particularly in the hunt for Europa League places, is wide […]
With La Liga returning this weekend after its winter break, Oliver Miller takes a look at how this season’s campaign is shaping up Can Barcelona see the job through? The winter champions and by some distance (9 points); Barcelona have dominated La Liga from matchday one – their 5-1 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in […]
This week, Paulinho joined the ever-growing list of Barcelona players who have campaigned for the club to sign Philippe Coutinho. If Barca miss out on the Liverpool midfielder in January, there is a genuine risk this may turn into another dreaded, Gareth Bale-esque transfer saga which could rumble on for years to come. So, resisting […]
Bernabeu, Madrid – There was to be no white Christmas as the huge banner unfurled at the south end of the ground had predicted. Los Blancos were left with a blue Christmas at the end of the Clasico – it was the handful of Barcelona fans positioned high inside the Bernabeu who were full of […]
Ahead of Saturday’s El Clasico, rumours are circling that Andres Iniesta could leave Barcelona after this season. With so much made of Lionel Messi and Barca’s front three in recent seasons, there has seldom been a better time to reflect and admire one the few true gentlemen of football. There is a select handful of […]
There’s just one more matchday for Spanish sides in the La Liga, with games spread out across the next week as Spain’s top-flight edges towards it’s winter break- and there’s plenty that will be discussed in the weeks ahead. The big match, of course, is the first La Liga El Clasico of the season this […]
San Mames, Bilbao – It all started around 11 o’clock on Saturday morning in the heart of Bilbao. It was derby day. Athletic fans dressed in red-and-white-striped shirts confronted Real Sociedad fans in blue and white and tried to wind them up, get the better of them. Songs, jokes, and put-downs – all well-crafted and […]
With one round of fixtures left before the winter break, the top of this season’s La Liga table features the usual suspects as well as a surprise entry. Let’s have a look at the frontrunners and dissect their strengths, weaknesses, and title chances at the half-way stage. Barcelona Strengths Even by Barcelona’s astronomically high standards, […]
Barcelona have a golden opportunity to extend their advantage over defending La Liga champions Real Madrid this weekend, as Los Blancos are in Abu Dhabi to contend tomorrow’s Club World Cup final against Brazilian outlet Gremio. That means the Catalan side could find themselves a whopping 21 points ahead of their arch-rivals heading into next […]
