Private battle at the top
Everyone knows how La Liga works these days, and the foremost function is the battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The level of competitiveness between the two has been all consuming in recent years, brought to the boil by Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho’s jousting. Now though we see a different era, as two new coaches in Gerardo Martino and Carlo Ancelotti have arrived.
Real Madrid have been highly aggressive in the market, and rightly so. They’ve addressed issues they’ve had - the signing of Dani Carvajal to provide competition at right-back and Asier Illarramendi to facilitate Xabi Alonso’s potential decline - and also added luxury to the squad - Isco as another creative player – to make Ancelotti’s squad strong as any Madrid side of the past. Isco will have pressure on him and will need to improve on his 3 goals and 3 assists of last season, but the potential is there for him to become a true great.
Madrid might not even be finished there, with Gareth Bale potentially on his way as a left sided player, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to operate more advanced. That brings us to Ronaldo, still in Madrid and potentially with a new lease of life as a forward. The goals haul could be higher than ever (Cristiano hit 33% of Madrid’s team goals last season) and it will need to be with Gonzalo Higuaín’s (16% of the team goals) departure. Karim Benzema and an inexperienced Álvaro Morata look to be the only genuine striking options, and this area is one of very few to potentially concern Madrid.
The likes of Luka Modrić, Isco, Asier Illarramendi and Sami Khedira will all be pressing for places in a congested midfield department. Madrid now have lots of options and this is fantastic for a team competing in so many tournaments.
Ancelotti will need to eradicate the complacency that grew under Mourinho, and make this Madrid team fearsome once again. Last season, their away form dipped (5 losses), sloppy goals were conceded and chances were not taken – fortunately for Madrid they have the resources to address all these issues. 85 points will need to be bettered, and a 100 point total should be the target as extravagant as it seems. They are the favourites for La Liga in many quarters, though nothing will be a formality.
Meanwhile Barcelona put a marker down with the signing of Neymar early on in the window, but since then have done little in terms of bolstering the squad. ‘Tata’ Martino took the reigns though and the freshness he provides might just be the most important acquisition Barcelona make. The Argentinean coach is breathing life back into Barça once again, and though they won La Liga last year it has been quickly forgotten due to an underwhelming run-in and internal problems at the club.
The centre-back issue still hasn’t been addressed and this is what leaves the biggest doubt in the minds of Barca fans. There was a very public courting of Thiago Silva which failed to materialise, while others such as Marquinhos missed the boat to Cataluña. Luiz, Agger and others have been mentioned but whoever comes in needs to get there quickly and hit the ground running. Carles Puyol, for all his battle and bullishness is grinding down while Gerard Piqué doesn’t even offer glimpses of that once world class presence. It’s a huge concern and one that has existed for too long.
Thiago Alcântara’s loss to European football’s new kings Bayern Munich was a staggering loss too, the youngster was the present and future of this Barcelona team but few seemed to acknowledge such a thing. While he left, Isco went to Madrid and showed exactly the difference between the directions of the two teams at the moment. One is thinking, the other is doing.
However, Neymar will get people on their feet when he dazzles at Camp Nou this season. The detractors are there who believe he’s overhyped, but Neymar is very much the genuine article and will not only take the burden ofj Lionel Messi with his own individual brilliance but also looks to work in tandem with the Argentinean. It promises to be an exciting and intriguing prospect, but the concern for Barça is issues elsewhere on the team cancelling out the good work of the duo.
Martino needs to bring back the hunger, desire and vision in this Barça team – one that sees the team play with freedom but intelligence too. At times under Tito Vilanova the team looked lost and in search of answers, now ‘Tata’ needs to show them the way just like Pep Guardiola once did. Barça had 69% possession and 89.5% pass accuracy last season, both highest totals in the league, but could only muster 13.9 shots per game – the 6th most in La Liga. What needs improving is clear, and this is by no means saying replicate everything the Spaniard did, but instead take Barça to another level and one with a new vision. Barça’s points haul of 100 points was magnificent and with Madrid’s strengthening they might just have to do it again.
The two clubs are very much in a league of their own in terms of their competiveness, but of course results against everyone else will be vital. Madrid can’t be drawing with Espanyol one week and then losing to Málaga another like they did last term, while Barça must show they can compete across the whole of the season rather than just the first part.
The race for Europe
At Atlético Madrid, Diego Simeone changed the mentality and showed the club they no longer should believe in the mediocre, but instead the maximum. They were tough in defence (31 goals conceded was the best record in La Liga, and only 10.1 shots conceded per game) and clinical in attack, though the latter was much due to Falcao who has now departed for AS Monaco. Atleti over the summer have struggled to attract names that support their new status, but with one exception.
David Villa is expected to go back to his Valencia ways and show the strengths of his game, rather than adapting to a new system like he did with Barcelona. His goals and experience should push Atleti on in the chase for 3rd place. Elsewhere they’ve struggled though, and even the exciting signing of Léo Baptistão with all his potential has failed to meet the expectations of the fans. Dani Aranzubia and Martín Demichelis are the other names to arrive in what has been an underwhelming transfer window defined by financial restrictions. Simeone needs all his motivational talent to get the best out of this squad that looks small, while young players such as Koke and Oliver Torres will become more significant players.
Real Sociedad have also struggled in the market post the jubilation of qualifying for Champions League. Phillipe Montanier didn’t have his contract renewed and Jagoba Arrasate has come in to help the young team move in a different direction. His relationship with the Zubieta-grown products will be vital, though of course without Asier Illarramendi. Rubén Pardo is set to be the player that could benefit here and many at the club rate Pardo even higher than any other youngster from this generation. If Pardo can’t do it alone, then Esteban Granero has also arrived to add some style and grit to the midfield. The on-loan QPR midfielder created a chance every 35.4 minutes in the Premier League last season and La Real’s season could hinge on the pairing finding an understanding in midfield.
After a year away from a 3rd place that had seemed to be their own, Valencia are beginning another new era with Miroslav Djukic. This one will take no player unwilling to pull his weight and speak out of turn; it’s all about commitment and intelligence under Djukic, a coach determined to put the club back where it used to be. Patience is needed however, as is a realisation of the situation the club is in – with Roberto Soldado now gone it could be said Éver Banega is the only star name remaining. If everyone pulls in the same direction like Djukic intends, then success could be waiting. The problem will at both ends of the field though, with Soldado gone there are lots of goals (he scored 36% of the team goals) to replace while the defence remains questionable. Javi Fuego, Oriol Romeu and Hélder Postiga (who got 38% of Real Zaragoza’s goals last season) are smart signings though, and play into this new identity.
The others there or thereabouts when it comes to European places are the likes of Sevilla, the team on everyone’s lips. With Jesús Navas and Álvaro Negredo both gone plus the recent sale of Gary Medel, it’s all change for the Andalusian outfit – but not necessarily a negative one. The likes of Carlos Bacca, Kevin Gameiro and Vitolo are fascinating signings while Geoffrey Kondogbia and Alberto Moreno will look to increase their growing reputations. Importantly too they have continuity at coaching level and Unai Emery is an expert in stability, though his reputation with young players still remains questionable.
Their rivals across the city in Real Betis aren’t short of purchases either, with Joan Verdú being just one of over 10 new faces. Verdú was a superb signing on a free transfer from Espanyol and he’ll look to alleviate the loss of Beñat to Athletic Bilbao as Pepe Mel aims to cement Betis’ place as a club at the higher echelons of La Liga. Having scored 18 goals last season, Rubén Castro will want to establish himself as Spain’s number 1 striker with Soldado and Negredo having departed.
