Normally, I don't watch Spanish football and the results don't matter to me. But, this season was different. While all other major leagues in Europe proved to be one sided affairs (or maximum 2 teams involved in the title race), Spanish la Liga proved again that it is one of the most competitive leagues in the World. The title race went down to the wire and 3 teams were in contention for the title even on the last day of the league. The major reason behind this situation was the inability of top teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid to consistently play well. These teams looked good in patches but were disappointing in long run. Barcelona and Sevilla led the title race for most part of the season but when crunch time arrived, both succumbed. On the other hand, Real Madrid got off to an ordinary start and even in March, they didn't look like serious threat to the title. But several factors combined perfectly to win the ultimate prize for Real.
The Galacticos era at Real Madrid finally seemed to have ended with Ronaldo leaving for AC Milan in January and David Beckham sealing a deal with Los Angeles Galaxy that will see him leaving for California this summer. Real Madrid fans didn't like the way Manager Fabio Capello handled this situation and voices were raised to sack him. The team looked highly unsettled at that point of time and it is the mental strength of the players that took the team out of such a horrible position.
With Real Madrid struggling, the situation in Catalonia wasn't great either. Barcelona struggled mostly because of injuries to key players Eto'o and Messi. When Eto'o returned, controversy followed. He refused to come on as a substitute in a la Liga game and Frank Rijkaard was furious with him. Ronaldinho also came out to support the Manager. This gave rise to various transfer talks and the situation at Nou Camp became explosive. Barcelona went into their UCL Round of 16 game with tension in the air and lost against eventual finalists Liverpool. Rivals Real Madrid also got knocked out at the same stage and both teams concentrated on la Liga with even more intensity.
At this point, both teams collided at Nou Camp which started a turn around in the la Liga. Real had already beaten Barca at the Bernabeu 2-0 earlier in the season(thanks to goals from Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy) and they had the chance to do it again in Barca's den. A brace from Ruud van Nistelrooy and a fluke goal from Sergio Ramos had Real Madrid leading 3-2 against 10 men Barca with a few minutes remaining. Wonderkid Messi came up with a sensational equalizer to complete his hat-trick but Real were crucially ahead in head to head battles. It proved to be the deciding factor of the league.
Most of the Madrid players played exceptionally well towards the end of the season but the contribution of two former Red Devils was instrumental in their success. David Beckham, who was sidelined by the Manager after the Galaxy deal, played his heart out when he was recalled. That’s when Real’s redemption started. Beckham’s crosses proved to be crucial for Real Madrid as they had a poacher in form of Ruud van Nistelrooy to finish them off in style. He ended the season with 25 goals, top scorer in Spain and narrowly missed out on a European Golden Boot.
On the other hand, Barca’s form dipped towards the end of the season and the lost way too many points. Real took full advantage of their slip ups. There were plenty of occasions when Real Madrid could have lost points, but someone always rescued them. Robinho scored a late winner at Celta Vigo, van Nistelrooy scored a winner against title threat Sevilla, Higuain scored against Espanyol in the dying minutes of the game, Roberto Carlos scored a sensational late winner at Recreativo etc. All these games were played towards the end of the season. This left Real Madrid at the top of the table (on head to head) with just 2 games to go. Real’s title hopes seemed to have finished in the next game as they were 2-1 down at Zaragoza while Barca were leading Espanyol 2-1 with a few minutes remaining. Then came those glorious 17 seconds which changed everything. Ruud van Nistelrooy equalized for Real while at the same time Raul Tamudo equalized for Espanyol. Both games ended 2-2 and the situation at the top didn’t change as Sevilla were also held to a goalless draw at Mallorca. With momentum on their side, Real finished off Mallorca in their final game of the season to clinch the title for a record 30th time. Barca got nothing even though they had better goal difference but la Liga rules award the title to the team with better head to head record if two teams finish at the top with equal points.
Real’s triumph also took forward an interesting piece of co-incidence that has existed for the last 7 years. Just look at the winners of the English Premier League and Spanish la Liga in the last 7 seasons-
2000-01: Manchester United-Real Madrid
2001-02: Arsenal-Valencia
2002-03: Manchester United-Real Madrid
2003-04: Arsenal-Valencia
2004-05: Chelsea-Barcelona
2005-06: Chelsea-Barcelona
2006-07: Manchester United-Real Madrid
Barcelona have been disappointing this season and plenty of transfer activity is expected at Nou Camp to shake things up. Real Madrid are also going through a change. The Galacticos era has ended at the Bernabeu with Beckham and Roberto Carlos leaving. It’s going to be a new beginning for Real Madrid with youngsters like Robinho, Higuain, Gago, Ramos etc. Sevilla have been very impressive and continue to progress with another UEFA Cup title under their belt. Valencia also looked threatening at one stage and may prove to be a contender for the title next season. Spanish la Liga rocked this season and I hope we’ll have another tremendous season next time around.
No comments:
Post a Comment