Spanish Primera Division – Is La Liga really a two horse race? (Part 4)
The Spanish La Liga teams have proven it time and time again that it has never been a two horse race. But still, media claims that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the “only” two teams actually competing for Primera Division title.
While it is true that both these are the only two Spanish sides that have won the UEFA Champions League, still no one should forget the fact that in the Italian and English Leagues, there haven’t been too many teams who have managed such a win.
Even teams like Chelsea and Arsenal haven't won the European glory while Real Madrid and Barcelona have managed wins a lot of times. Real Madrid is the team that still holds the record of winning the most European titles.
Now talking about those teams who don’t really come up to the mark of Real Madrid and Barcelona; these include Mallorca, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla. But, Valencia had been in the Champions League final recently while last year, it was Atletico
Madrid that had defeated Roy Hodgson’s Fulham in the Europa League final.
Atletico Madrid currently have players such as Diego Forlan and Kun Aguero in their squad. Aguero is considered to be one of the best dribblers while Forlan is the golden-ball winner of the FIFA World Cup 2010. This award is given to that player who has
been the “best performer” throughout the tournament. During the FIFA World Cup 2006, it was Zinedine Zidane who got it.
Meanwhile, Sevilla had defeated Barcelona at their home during the 2010's Pre-season while last year; they had defeated Real Madrid in an action packed game. Mallorca lost only one game at home last season while this time, they haven’t lost even one as they
managed a draw against Real Madrid, the only team to have defeated them at home last season.
Similarly, Valencia were third in the 2009-2010 season despite David Villa's injury. Earlier, many had thought that Valencia was a “one man team” but with Villa out they still managed to impress. This year also, they don’t have Villa as he now has moved
to Barcelona but still Valencia managed to defeat their first UEFA Champions League opponents. They would now face Barcelona when the international duty is over and this year, Barcelona look to be out of form.
Fourteen of Barca players were part of their respective national teams during the FIFA World Cup 2010. It looks as if most of them have worn out after “so much playing”. Villa and Xavi Hernandez appeared in almost all of their games in the last two years
and Xavi simply looks “tired” whenever he plays for Barcelona now. The midfielder is currently on rest and won't be part of the Spanish squad when they face Scotland in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
So, the situation inside Spanish La Liga cannot be easily termed as a “two horse race” but having said this, no one can deny this fact also that almost all the leagues usually have 3 to 4 teams that come out as champions.
For the English league, it is either Chelsea or Manchester United while for the Italian league; it is either Inter Milan or AC Milan. For German league, it is Wolfsburg or Bayern Munich. Therefore, criticising only the Spanish La Liga is simply not right
as all other leagues are also concentrated on two teams.
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