This weekend saw the completion of the official half-way stage of the La Liga programme, with nineteen games played and nineteen to go. Unlike the more symbolic half-way stage represented by the Christmas break, where players and clubs take stock and reflect on what has been and what is to come (give or take a few signings in the transfer window), game 19 brings in its wake a more statistical perspective on the state of the nation.
– La Liga: Messi hat-trick keeps Barca in sight of Real Madrid
– #360LIVE: January Transfer Window – United want Modric
– La Liga: Ronaldo double hands Real industrious Getafe win
– #Quiz360: WIN a six-month membership to Target Gym UAE
In simpler terms, the teams in the bottom half of the table, on fewer than 20 points, will be feeling more than a little worried because they know that the magical 40-point safety tally may soon begin to slip beyond their reach, unless there is improvement. Teams in the bottom three know they have to wake up anyway, but sides such as Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao – seemingly in the safety zone of mid-table, are actually in a more threatening situation than they might appear to be. The stats rarely lie. Last season, Osasuna finished 18th and went down with 39 points, Almería and Elche escaping by the skin of their proverbials with 40 points each – the ‘magic’ number. The five sides that finished immediately above Osasuna last season were only one win better than them, but it was enough to save them. The previous season Osasuna’s 39 points did save them, but it’s a risky business relying on such exceptions because it can work the other way too. The scariest recent example was 2010-2011, when Deportivo went down with 43 points.
So, like a failing school student who knows what marks are required to avoid a summer of purgatory and re-sit exams, the horizon is now pretty clear for La Liga’s clubs. The bottom side, Granada, who actually put up a decent performance at the Calderon and were a little unlucky to lose 2-0 to a tired Atlético Madrid, have decided to sack the teacher before they start their new study period, and Joaquín Caparros was given his cards last Friday, after moving to the club in May. Caparrós is the only manager in La Liga to have been at the helm of some top-flight club or other for an unbroken 14 seasons, having began his coaching career in Spain’s football nether regions way back in the Jurassic Period, in 1981. Nicknamed ‘Batman’ due to his resemblance to the actor Micheal Keaton, he always seems to get himself employed sooner or later, and given the amount of clubs who might be making similar decisions to Granada in the next month – before the negative spiral gets into an uncontrollable spin – the Batmobile shouldn’t be cooped up in the garage for too long.
At the other end of the table, where all is relative sweetness and light, Real Madrid appear to have arrested their recent decline, winning 3-0 at neighbours Getafe. Often a happy hunting-ground for them, Cristiano Ronaldo continued to pummel records by scoring two and surpassing the great Carlos Santillana, who scored 288 goals for Madrid, although it took over 700 games for the Cantabrian to achieve that figure. Ronaldo has managed 289 after a mere 277 matches. He’s now breathing down Di Stéfano’s neck (on 307) and down that of the chap at the top of the podium, Raúl González (323). He’ll be there before long, unless he decides to retire to a monastery. He also equalled Leo Messi’s best-ever start for a goal-scoring first half to the season, with 28 so far in the league. He’s on target to beat Messi’s best-ever 50, all of which should make him feel a bit better this week, after he broke up with his girlfriend. Apparently Ronaldo’s mum didn’t like her much. It just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how famous and talented you are, or how many Ballon d’Ors you win – because in the end it’s what your mum thinks that counts.
The Real Madrid fans still love him though, especially since the Getafe win guaranteed them the ‘Campeones de Invierno’ position (Winter Champions), an unofficial title invented by the Madrid-based press some years ago, mysteriously never mentioned when Barcelona are occupying the top spot at this stage of the season. But they’re not, and despite Madrid’s inability to turn around their cup defeat at the Calderon last week in the second round in the Bernabéu (the game finished 2-2), things seem fine at the White House.
The game last week against Atlético deserves some mention, however, due to the two goals scored by Fernando Torres. Given his recent poor record, it was a quite astonishing event, earning massive headlines on the following day and prompting a new wave of ‘Niño’ (the kid) worship, the like of which has not been seen since he departed Spanish shores from his Calderon home in 2007. Unlike the English, for example, the Spanish do not like to see their heroes fall, and at the slightest sign of recuperation, they are encouraged to believe in them again. It’s the ‘Don Quixote effect’, baffling to foreigners but nevertheless a harmless national quirk, just as long as it doesn’t extend to how people view the national economy. Torres is a nice enough chap, and should enjoy his Indian summer, swansong, or whatever it turns out to be. Atlético have plenty of attacking options without him, but his presence and reputation do intimidate other teams, and he’s not a bad alternative to have warming the bench.
p>Atlético have drawn Barcelona in the quarter-finals, and they play the first leg at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Disappointed though Real Madrid will be to be out of the competition, the sight of their two rivals slugging it out in the cup will make pleasant viewing from the point of view of the league table. Their other potential rivals, Sevilla, in 4th place at the half-way stage on 39 points (but with a game in hand) are also involved in the Copa del Rey, having been drawn against Espanyol. Barcelona themselves stayed a point behind Madrid with a thumping 4-0 win at strugglers Deportivo, with Messi confirming his apparent return to form with a hat-trick, and coach Luis Enrique continuing to defy the doom merchants who had predicted he would be gone by mid-January.
Messi! What a goal! https://t.co/uIzrvlakji
— Just Football (@JustFutball) January 19, 2015
Interestingly, it was the first time in 29 games that Enrique has put out the same line-up. Call it imagination or indecision, his tendency to chop and change has been a focus for criticism, but his detractors may begin to warm to him as the season continues. He’s never been an easy sort of fellow, witty but edgy, with a slightly hostile, paranoid air to him. He’s never been lacking in self-confidence, but as a player you got the impression that he thrived too much on conflict, and subtle verbal provocation. These are not necessarily useful attributes for a leader of men, and you can imagine that some players might not take to his style. Allegedly Messi doesn’t, but if there is really a stand-off, things seem to have been repaired, temporarily at least.
Perhaps the other team that requires a special mention for this half-term report is Villarreal, who are snuggled comfortably into 6th place (on 35 points) but looking better and better every week. They dismissed Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Saturday and have not lost since the first day of November, when they succumbed to an excellent Valencia. Their 1-0 win at Atlético recently proved their growing stature, and David Moyes said recently that they were the best side he’d seen since coming to Spain. They have some seriously good players – Bruno, Giovani, Vietto, Jonathan dos Santos, and the Russian Denis Cheryshev, loaned out from Sevilla but actually belonging to Real Madrid – who on this form will be looking to have him back in the summer.
Next weekend sees the Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Eibar, an interesting-looking game to begin the second half of the season. Who would have thought that Eibar would at this stage be above their two more famous Basque rivals, Sociedad and Athletic, from whom they have begged and borrowed (but never stolen) surplus players in the past, just to stay afloat. Now it’s looking more likely that several of their squad might go the other way, but in the meantime they have 27 points and sit snugly in 8th place. Europe might prove a little too much for them this season, but in terms of their immediate ambition they are only 13 points shy of another season in the top flight. This is good news not just for Eibar but for football in general. Watch this space next week.
