La Liga Lowdown--Europa League Draw

Now for Europe’s bastard child, the Europa League. I won’t bore you with the entire draw. Here are the ties that involve Spanish teams . . .

Napoli v Villarreal

This could be tie of the round, along with PSV/Lille. Domestically Napoli are second in Serie A going into the Winter Break, while Villarreal are third in Scotland 2.0. The roads here were very different—Napoli snuck in after drawing their three of the first 4 matches and beating Steaua Bucharest on the Match Day 6, while the Yellow Submarine cruised to qualification, winning 3 of their 4 matches and won their group.

This match will showcase several attacking players, with Hamsik and Cavani leading the Napoli attack, and Rossi and Nilmar leading the line for the Villarreal, supported by Cazorla and Valero.

Italian teams tend to not take this competition very seriously, so I would give the slight edge to the Yellow Submarine.

Sevilla v FC Porto

Porto are cruising in the Portuguese League, unbeaten in 14 league matches (already up by eight points) and won their Europa League group with 16 points. On the other hand, Sevilla have been all over the map in the Primera Divison, (currently 11^th) and barely qualified for the knockout stages with a Matchday 6 draw against Dortmund.

The Dragons have a nice mix of South American and Portuguese players, which should see them do well in the competition. Los Rojiblancos have been without Luis Fabiano and Jesus Navas over the last couple of weeks but hope to have them back after the Winter Break. Without them, they have no chance; with them, maybe.

FC Porto should go through easily, and I can see them getting one or two away goals in the opening leg.

The matchdays for the First Round are February 17 and 24. The Second Round matchdays are March 10 and 17

Here is the Europa League draw - Second Round - if the teams progress:

PAOK/CSKA Moscow v Sevilla/FC Porto

Metalist Kharkiv/Bayer Leverkusen v Napoli/Villarreal

La Liga Lowdown—Champions League draw

Champions League draw - First Round

AS Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk

AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur

Valencia v FC Schalke

Inter Milan v Bayern Munich

Lyon v Real Madrid

Arsenal v Barcelona

Marseille v Manchester United

Copenhagen v Chelsea

Arsenal v Barcelona

Arsenal managed to hold their nerve against Sparta Praha to finish second, while FCB got a nice result on Match Day 5 versus Panathinaikos FC to ensure qualification.

There are two factors to this tie: 1) Will FCB still be in El Clasico form? If so, 2) what did Arsenal learn from last year, won’t matter. Let’s say that the Blaugrana are only mortal. What will the Professor do to keep them getting run off the park? Play a deeper line? Play more defensive minded outside mids to help double team and track the Barca attack? Remember, the only reason they were in the tie last year is because they grabbed 2 late goals at the Emirates in the first leg, before getting absolutely destroyed at the Nou Camp.

Prediction: A tighter series but having the same result. A small part of me actually fancies Arsenal if they can keep at a clean sheet at the Emirates.

Lyon v Real Madrid

Lyon started with maximum points in their first three matches and then crawled over the finish line to finish behind Schalke. Real Madrid owned the supposed group of death, winning five and drawing one.

Where to start on this match up? Revenge? Pressure? Recent History?

Last year a thunderous strike from Makoun gave Lyon the edge going to the Bernabeu. CR7 quickly erased that but a scrappy goal from Pjanić knocked Los Merengues out at the round of 16 for the sixth straight year.

Make no doubt about it. This is the trophy Jose was hired to win. A failure in this competition and another second place finish in La Liga will take some gloss off the Special One and will make for an interesting summer. As for Lyon, they may have righted the ship in Ligue 1 but Puel could win the Double and still get run out of town.

Prediction: As long as Real Madrid wear their finishing boots, they should make easy work of this tie, possibly winning 1-0 away and 2-0 at home.

Valencia v FC Schalke

Schalke are slowly coming around after losing their first four Bundesliga matches and first Champions League match. They are now up to mid-table and qualified as group winners with a match to spare, and the Royal Blues will be counting on veterans Raul and Huntelaar and German national keeper Neuer.

Valencia, on the other hand have been slipping since their wonderful start to this campaign. Once FCB punched them in the mouth in mid-October they have gone maddeningly inconsistent, finally settling in fourth place at the break. In the Champions League, they beat Bursaspor like the proverbial step child to set up a clash with United on the final day. They were 30’ away from winning the group, but Anderson’s equalizer caused Los Che to finish second.

I see very few goals in this match, only because I am not convinced by Soldado and Aduriz of Valencia. The Spanish contenders will hold on to the ball but don’t see them doing enough to really create havoc. If they can get out of the Mestalla with a scoreless draw or 1-0 victory, I see them progressing. An away goal and they are toast.

So I see at least two of the Spanish contingent making it through. I'm sure UEFA is already rigging the draw to separate FCB and Real Madrid to create the anticipation of a final between Spanish giants.

La Liga Lowdown - Round 16

Espanyol v FCB—Irresistible Force meets Inanimate Object Edition

Espanyol (4^th/28pts) v Barcelona (1^st/40pts)

This was the last league match before the Winter Break (suck it EPL/SPL), and the Barcelona Derby had more juice than it had had in years.

Espanyol have been flying high this year. Since a loss at the end of October to Depor, Espanyol are unbeaten in 5 matches (four wins, one draw) but last week they suffered defeat away to Athletic Bilbao because they didn’t convert their first half dominance. Osvaldo had a goal and looked lively in the opening stanza, but it was hard to see him getting much joy against the Blaugrana. Los Periquitos put on a brave front heading into the match, with the coach Mauricio Pochettino and the squad telling anyone who would listen that they were not afraid of Barca and would give them a game.

As for Barcelona, since their demolition of the Evil Empire, they have gone from strength to strength. FCB has outscored their opponents 26-0 in last 6 games in all competitions, with the last goal against scored by Nilmar of Villarreal on November 13.

Team News was follows—

Espanyol: Manu Molina and Javi Lopez weren’t expected to play. Raul Rodriguez and David Lopez had hamstring issues. Duscher had to leave because of a death in the family.

Barcelona: Pep Guardiola almost has a full squad to select from. Gabriel Milito and Jeffren Suarez were the only two players injured.

The Derby has been a relatively balanced affair over the years, with Barcelona holding the slight edge over the last three campaigns: two wins, three draws and one loss. But here is the stat of the day: Espanyol are 7-0 at home this year; FCB are 7-0 on the road.

Espanyol 1 - 5 Barcelona

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/espanyol-barcelona-la-liga-december-2010-7897190/

Usually I break down formations and TACTICS! and substitutions and take you through the game. Not today. I will sum it thusly—Espanyol played a high defensive line with very little pressure on the FCB center mids. The last team that tried that was Real Madrid, and ask the Special One how that turned out for them. Almost every goal was a Barcelona player dribbling down the middle and playing a thru ball for a wide forward to run on to. Only Xavi’s ridiculous finish from a scramble broke the mold.

Barcelona are in a rich vein of form that will take some stopping. My guess is that the break will take them down a gear and it will be interesting to see how they respond next month. They are adding Afellay from PSV to the mix, and I’m anxious to see how he meshes in with the squad. My only worry is that they are peaking too early and may not have the extra effort to get see off Real Madrid or go all in the way in Europe.

Saturday’s Games

Deportivo La Coruña 1 - 1 Sporting Gijon

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/deportivo-coruna-sporting-gijon-7897775/

Super Depor got off to a good start on 12’ when Sporting goalkeeper Juan Pablo Colinas spilled a shot right in front of the goal, which Aythami was able to tap in. They looked on their way to three vital points before Sporting captain Diego Castro nodded in the equalizer with minutes to go.

Levante 1 - 2 Athletic Bilbao

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/levante-athletic-bilbao-7898596/

Bilbao, whose away form is awful, jumped out in front after Gabilondo whipped in a free kick. Levante were back on level terms ten minutes later after Caicedo got behind the Athletic rearguard. Midway through the second half, Javi Martinez headed in the winner from Gabilondo’s cross.

Villarreal 3 - 1 Mallorca

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/villarreal-mallorca-7896440/

Cazorla opened the scoring on 10’ but Mallorca equalized after the Yellow Submarine fell asleep on a throw-in.

Rossi put them back in front minutes later from the penalty spot and Nilmar sealed the points after a delightful chip over the goalkeeper.

Obligatory Jozy Update: came on as a sub for Rossi with about 5’ to go.

Real Sociedad 1 - 2 Valencia
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/real-sociedad-valencia-7898598/

A dodgy penalty got Sociedad on their way, but Los Che recovered thanks to wonderful free kick by Tino Costa right before half time (MUST SEE TV). Aduriz claimed the winner in injury time after the GK played a horrible pass out of the back.

Sunday’s Games

Almeria 2 - 3 Getafe

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/almeria-getafe-7904919/

Getafe fell behind 2-0 early in the match before roaring back, grabbing the winner with a lovely backheel from Boateng 20’ from time. A horrible result for Almeria, who threw away three ginormous points in their relegation battle.

Osasuna 0 - 0 Real Zaragoza

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/osasuna-zaragoza-7904856/

Osasuna missed a real chance to move clear of the relegation zone against bottom of the table Real Zaragoza. Highlights are filled with poor finishes from both sides.

Málaga 0 - 3 Atlético Madrid

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/malaga-atletico-madrid-7905860/

Los Colchoneros rebounded from their European exit by disposing of Malaga. Tiago had two goals and an assist as Malaga obviously didn’t work on defending set pieces this week in training, giving up all three goals on free kicks.

Real Madrid 1 - 0 Sevilla

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/real-madrid-sevilla-la-liga-december-2010-7906453/

I followed this game on twitter and @sidlowe had less than glowing things to say about it. Carvalho got sent off but Di Maria grabbed the winner against Los Rojiblancos with a very composed finish and continued Sevilla’s league shame spiral (four losses in a row).

Monday’s game

Racing Santander 0 - 0 Hercules

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/racing-santander-hercules-7920059/

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in this match. Racing had the upper hand most of the match, with Pedro Munitis having a dynamic first half. Several chances fell to Colsa of Racing but he was unable to convert. Portillo hit the crossbar for Hercules in the second half but that was about it.

Table at the winter break

Barcelona 16 43

Real Madrid 16 41

Villarreal 16 33

Valencia 16 28

Espanyol 16 28

Atlético 16 26

Getafe 16 26

Athletic 16 25

R Sociedad 16 22

Mallorca 16 21

Sevilla 16 20

Hercules 16 19

Deportivo 16 18

Racing 16 18

Osasuna 16 17

Levante 16 15

Almeria 16 13

Málaga 16 13

Sporting 16 12

Real Zaragoza 16 10

Quick mid-season recap:

Based on what I’ve seen thus far, I don’t see the top four changing, but I think the next couple of spots could get reshuffled. In theory, Getafe and Atletico Madrid should climb up since they do not have European commitments now, but both squads have been very inconsistent. Keep an eye on how Espanyol rebounds from back to back set backs, plus they have not been this high in the table for quite some time. At the bottom, surely Pellegrini will save Malaga from going down, while it looks like the air has finally gone out of the Gijon balloon. Zaragoza are just shambolic and don’t have a prayer (which means they will escape). As for mid-table teams, the Sevilla story bears watching. They changed managers already this season, without much changing on the field, and scraped through to the round of 32 in the UEFA Cup err. . . Europa League. A cup run in either Europe or Spain will save their season.

The Copa del Rey starts this week and I hope to have comments on the results in the following days. I am also putting together some early thoughts on the Champions League and Europa League draws for teams from the Primera Divison. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the Strip Club—Popping the Cherry

One of the soccer blogs I follow, AvoidingtheDrop.com, started a feature in which the author goes back and talks about old shirts/jerseys (kits or strips for the uniformed) he has purchased and assorted memories of those teams and moments in time. Here is Fuse’s first post: http://avoidingthedrop.com/2010/04/13/coming-out-of-the-closet-with-fuse/ @UFJacob does the same thing on UnprofessionalFoul.com (The Good, The Bad, The WTF). I loved the idea, and thought I would do the same. My memory sucks, so I will do the best I can.

I’m pretty sure the first jersey I purchased was the Juventus home kit for the 95-97 seasons:

The jersey is beautiful in its simplicity: simple black and white lines and a sponsor logo that is not overpowering. The club did something unique for a while, in that the club crest was either not visible or barely visible in this case, with the crest at the base of the collar, and this continued until the 99/00 season. Presumably it was left out because the Bianconeri were winning the Scudetto every year and were honored with the shield. (Suck it AC Milan and Inter!)

As for my history with Juventus, I fell in love with them because of Roberto Baggio. He was my favorite player of USA 94 and when I found out he was on this team from Italy, I started following them. Of course he was transferred to AC Milan after the 94-95 season, but I heard about this young player named Del Piero, so I stayed with the Black and Whites. I watched almost every match during their dramatic run to the 1996 European Final (I missed a lot of class), which culminated with a win over Ajax, and I was hooked. Ravanelli scored the opening goal from almost no angle and then Jugovic struck the winning penalty in the shootout. An amazing night. I was working for the government in Birmingham, AL during that summer and had a little extra cash, so I splurged for the jersey of the European Club Champions.

Since then Juventus has become one of the main teams I follow, from the cycle of three straight Champions League Finals in the mid-90’s to the shame and disappointment of Calciopoli to the heroic Serie B campaign to the rebuilding that now continues under Del Neri. They are still some distance from the Scudetto and being European contenders, but after the complete cluster of last season, the team is on the up.

Due to advent of futbol on TV, social media and the internet, I can now follow the club in a way I could never have dreamed 15 years ago.

Here some great sites I go to and people I follow on twitter:

Juventini

Adam Digby who writes at http://iltifosi.tumblr.com/ @adz77

Juventus Offside http://juventus.theoffside.com/ @Juventus Offside

People on Twitter:

@juvefcdotcom

@Blanda_Amania

@TeamGREASE

@ciociaro78

@Aaron_West86

Journalists

Gabriele Marcotti from several publications @Marcotti

Paolo Bandini from the Guardian @Paolo_Bandini

Serie Aaaaargh! from Four Four Two

Roberto Gotta from Soccernet

PS, One of my favorite jerseys ever from Juventus is the away strip from the 95-96 season:

I check eBay ever once in a while but have yet to pull the trigger. Maybe one day.

Ravanelli’s Moment of Glory:

Check out classicfootballshirts.co.uk for more.

Make sure to keep your hands to yourself, tip your dancer and stay classy.

La Liga Lowdown - European D-DAY in Europa League preview

As for red headed step child of European club competitions, the Europa League (#UEL) . . .

Wednesday’s Matches (12/15)

Villarreal @ Club Brugge

Group D

	Clubs	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
1	Villarreal CF	5	3	0	2	6	4	2	9
2	PAOK FC	5	2	2	1	4	3	1	8
3	NK Dinamo Zagreb	5	2	1	2	4	4	0	7
4	Club Brugge KV	5	0	3	2	3	6	-3	3

The Yellow Submarine are though to the knockout and travel to Brugge. A win=group winners. A draw, possible first, possibly second. A loss and their position depends on the result of other game.

Obligatory Jozy update: Villarreal had a strong squad in their last UEL match against Zagreb, which they won 3-0. They were only missing Nilmar, and yet Jozy still couldn’t get in as a sub. I expect big minutes against Brugge.

RESULT: The Yellow Submarine came back from a goal down to win 2-1, thanks to two goals from Rossi. They go through as group winners and PAOK defeated Zagreb to finish second.

Sevilla v Borussia Dortmund

Group J

	Clubs	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
1	Paris Saint-Germain FC	5	3	2	0	8	3	5	11
2	Sevilla FC	5	3	0	2	8	5	3	9
3	Borussia Dortmund	5	2	2	1	8	5	3	8
4	FC Karpaty Lviv	5	0	0	5	3	14	-11	0

Los Rojiblancos host Borussia Dortmund in a game for the runner up spot in group. Sevilla would have to win and PSG lose for them to win the group, but PSG will probably beat Karpaty. Additionally the Parisians have the head to head over Dortmund.

RESULT: A 2-2 draw saw Sevilla progress to the knockout stage as runner up, and considering their recent run of form (five straight losses in all competitions), this has to be the result of the day. Dortmund, flying high in the Bundesliga, crashes out.

Thursday’s Matches (12/16)

Atletico Madrid @ Bayer Leverkusen

Group B

	Clubs	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
1	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	5	3	2	0	7	1	6	11
2	Aris Thessaloniki FC	5	2	1	2	5	5	0	7
3	Club Atlético de Madrid	5	2	1	2	8	6	2	7
4	Rosenborg BK	5	1	0	4	3	11	-8	3

Los Colchoneros travel to Leverkusen, where they must better Aris Thessaloniki’s result because Aris has 4-2 aggregate edge over the holders. Should be squeaky bum time for Forlan and Co.

RESULT: The holders crashed out of the competition with a 1-1 draw in freezing conditions at the BayArena. Leverkusen scored the opener which was almost immediately equalized through Merida. Didn't matter because Aris cruised to 2-0 win. Pressure squarely back on QSF.

Getafe v Young Boys

Group H

	Clubs	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
1	VfB Stuttgart	5	4	0	1	11	5	6	12
2	BSC Young Boys	5	3	0	2	10	9	1	9
3	Getafe CF	5	1	1	3	3	8	-5	4
4	Odense BK	5	1	1	3	7	9	-2	4

Getafe host a dead rubber against Young Boys. (Insert own joke here.) Getafe cannot progress and Stuttgart has a 5-4 aggregate lead so Young Boys cannot win the group.

RESULT: Getafe ended the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Young Boys. That is all.

The UEFA CUP errrr . . . Europa League is where the drama is at. Only one of the 4 teams is out and only 1 team is through. The other two will be fighting for their lives. Let’s go to Shep Messing for a live look in.