For every cloud there is a silver lining and in the case of the Italian scandal you have to conclude that La Liga has been the greatest beneficiary. The strong have become even stronger.
If you believe the UEFA co-efficient rankings clubs from Spain lead Europe by a significant margin and if you don’t, then just look at their record in European competition in the last seven seasons. Spanish clubs have won three Champions League titles during that time, as well as being runners-up twice. In the UEFA Cup Valencia and Sevilla have won the competition while Alaves finished as runners-up.
Now with the arrival of Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram at Barcelona, and Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson at Real Madrid, Spain’s big two look set to dominate the domestic league once more and again challenge for the Champions League.
Zambrotta and Thuram will strengthen a back four that looked to be Barcelona’s weakest link last year. Meanwhile the arrival of Eidur Gudjohnsen to replace Henrik Larsson might turn out to be an inspirational move. Gudjohnsen may not score 20 goals this season but his intelligent running and ability to play just behind the main striker will be invaluable coming off the bench. Given that we are likely to see a full season of Lionel Messi - if he stays injury free - Barcelona has the look of a side that is significantly stronger than last year.
If Fabio Capello - more collateral damage from the Moggi affair – had not arrived at the Bernabeu then I would be predicting a cakewalk for Barcelona. However, his record of success over the years is so impressive that Real Madrid may have to budget for a celebration this season. Real fans need no reminding that the club has not undergone a barren spell of three years without a major trophy since before the arrival of Alfredo di Stefano in 1953.
Mahamadou Diarra signed from Lyon earlier this week, and with the addition of Emerson and Cannavaro, the spine of the side will be much stronger. It will show in a reduction in the goals conceded statistic. In the midfield and attacking areas the question is who plays and who will be left to sulk on the bench?
With two wide positions in midfield and two up front available Capello has to choose between the likes of David Beckham, Guti, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Raúl, Robinho, Antonio Cassano and Julio Baptista. Milan seems poised to take Ronaldo to the San Siro and Spurs have renewed their interest in Julio Baptista, so that might be a problem or two less for the boss.
Valencia and Villarreal appear to be in the best position to challenge Spain’s version of the Old Firm. Long serving defender Amedeo Carboni is now the Valencia technical director and he has been a busy man. Pablo Aimar was sold to Real Zaragoza while full back Fabio Aurelio joined former Valencia boss Rafa Benitez at Anfield. Fernando Morientes has moved in the opposite direction, Asier Del Horno has returned to Spain from a one year sojurn at “Chez Money is No Object” and midfielder David Silva recalled after a loan spell at Celta Vigo. Both players scored in Champions League qualifying during this week as Valencia moved into the group stage.
The crown jewel, however, is the securing of winger Joaquin Sanchez from Real Betis. If the oft-injured left winger Vicente can remain injury free then Valencia could be an exciting side to watch this season. The acquisition of Francesco Tavano from Empoli is another interesting move given the failure of Italians Fiore, Corradi and Di Vaio just a couple of seasons ago. Few Italians have made the move to Spain over the years and even fewer have proven successful. At 27 Tavano has been a late bloomer and it has only been in the last two years that he has rattled in goals on a regular basis.
Villarreal looked to be in a position to turn an early exit from European competition into a positive by focusing totally on domestic competitions. However this summer, there has been - and still is - a transfer cloud hanging over the Madrigal. South Americans Marcos Senna and Juan Pablo Sorin have been on the trading block but have still to move. Former Arsenal midfield man Robert Pires went down with torn cruciate knee ligaments in the pre-season and might miss the whole season. However, if Nihat Kahveci can regain the form of 2002/03 when he almost led Real Sociedad to surprise La Liga title, Villarreal may yet prosper this year.
Other sides have strengthened their squads over the summer with Sevilla (Christian Poulsen, Andreas Hinkel and Javier Chevanton), and Atletico Madrid (Sergi Aguero, George Seitaridis, Costinha, Mariano Pernia) the most prominent. Atletico, a side that has promised so much, but delivered so little over the last decade, also changed manager – although Atletico not changing manager would be more newsworthy – and former Mexican boss Javier Aguirre is now the occupier of the manager’s office that doubles as a revolving door.
For what it’s worth here's how I see La Liga come the end of the season. The 2005/06 position is in the brackets.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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