Spanish Primera Division – Is La Liga really a two horse race? (Part 1)
The Spanish La Liga has touched some new heights in recent years. This is not only due to “everyone’s favourite” team, Real Madrid but also because of other teams that have managed to sign and “make” many amazing players.
Such teams definitely include the 3 times Champions League winners, Barcelona along with Valencia, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. These teams simply give a new touch to the Spanish La Liga and they add competition to the league by giving some tough time to
the big horses, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Spanish league is usually criticized for the “lack of competition” that it gives to the bigger teams and most fans believe that the league is a two horse race while Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only two sides that are in it to win it. However, it
doesn't seem absolutely true as other teams like Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia put up a great show for the bigger teams.
Last season, it was Sevilla that managed to defeat Real Madrid at home. The match was all about Sevilla as they totally dominated the game. It was Iker Casillas who made Real Madrid face humiliation as he made some great saves that night. One of his saves
was written down in the history books as one of the best ever. He managed to make a jump from one corner to the other even though he had absolutely no chance of saving the shot.
The captain of the World Cup winning squad of Spain is still considered to be one of the best goalkeepers and that day it was he who helped the Los Blancos by making great saves or else the score line would have been something like 5-0 or even 6-0.
Real Madrid have always been known for signing amazingly talented players. They have barely created players; however, the Spanish goalkeeper Casillas is a product of the Los Blancos Academy. At such a young age, he has managed to win it all alongside his
club and the national team that he is currently leading. He has seen it all and has accomplished most that he can think of at such a young age. He would surely feature in at least another World Cup.
Last year, Real Madrid had bought many new players and even this year, they have bought in some great talent including their new coach, Jose Mourinho, who is simply a sensation. Madrid now hold one of the best talents in the world and they have one of the
strongest sides.
They have Iker “the wall” Casillas at the back with Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe Reina in the centre midfield. The Brazilian left-back, Marcelo features on the left flank while they also have one of the best right-backs, Sergio Ramos. Mourinho usually played
a traditional 4-3-3 formation but at the moment, he is playing a 4-4-2 with two central defensive midfielders, Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira.
The dynamic Argentinean, Angel Di Maria features on the right wing along with Ozil on the left flank. Cristiano Ronaldo plays in a floating role as he moves around the field to help the team make moves while Gonzalo Higuain is the one who is inside the box
to help finish the ball into the net. In case Jose plays a 4-3-3, the defence-line remains the same with Ozil featuring in the centre midfield, Di Maria and Ronaldo on the right and left flanks respectively while Higuain plays as a centre forward.
With such an amazing talent, it seems obvious that the team would win matches. But still, the Spanish La Liga isn't that simple for such an outstanding team. Jose Mourinho’s starting match in the La Liga turned out to be a total disaster. The Portuguese
coach took his team to the home ground of Mallorca.
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