Spanish La Liga Season Preview 09/10 – Part 2: Best Of The Rest

Just-Football.com’s Spanish football correspondent James S. continues his look at the upcoming La Liga season now with Part 2 – a look at those for whom European qualification would represent a big achievement and relegation worries a huge disappointment; the Best of the Rest:

Best of the rest:

Long gone are the days of Athletic Bilbao being able to challenge for the La Liga crown, having last won it in 1984 and having a total of 7 titles to their name. Now, the aim is to do as well as is possibly realistic, with a youthful squad, restricted in their ability to flex any financial muscle but at the same time enriched by togetherness from their all-Basque policy. Strict disciplinarian Joaquín Caparrós will look to get as much as he can out of his team, as he did so successfully last year when reaching the reaching the Copa Del Rey final and attaining a respectable 13th in the league. A squad which has been pretty much kept the same, one would assume with the continuity and vibrancy of youth it has, spearheaded by their Spanish international forward Fernando Llorente; an improvement in their league position from last season would be the minimum their ambitious coach would be looking for.

Some would say a 7th place finish last season exceeded expectations at Deportivo la Coruna. It’s not the squad of a few years back that was competing in the Champions League and boasted a Pichichi in their ranks in the form of Roy Makaay. It will be the first time in a long time that they will have a fully fit Juan Carlos Valerón from the start of the season. He is a symbol of fantasy and craft and was fundamental during the glory days. Miguel Ángel Lotina is another ambitious coach but at the same time, a realist. Another top half finish would reflect a solid season. Watch out for an emerging Lafita, a player of real talent.

Espanyol are about to embark upon a rollercoaster of emotion this season after the tragic death of their captain Daniel Jarque. New captain Ivan de la Peña said that his appointment was a sad day and the whole season will be played with Jarque’s passing in the back of every player’s mind. The move into their new stadium will hopefully not have a negative influence on results and one can only hope that Espanyol do something special this year to dedicate to Jarque. Everyone will be behind them. Watch out for new signing Shunsuke Nakamura.

Osasuna drew the most games in the league last season and also boasted the worst goalscoring record outside of the bottom three. At the same time they had the third joint best defence. This speaks volumes about the low risk football their manager José Antonio Camacho is accustomed to playing. Perhaps the added firepower in their ranks, with Carlos Aranda being signed from Numancia, could see a better ‘goals for’ tally and mean we could potentially see a side improving on their 14th placed finish of last season and pushing for a place in the top half.

Real Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano will be without influential captain Juan Arango, who is now plying his trade in Germany with Borussia Moenchengladbach. Very promising youngster Sergio Tejera has been signed from Chelsea and should prove fascinating viewing. Mallorca are usually a team noted for their massive overturn of playing staff but this year has been slightly more subdued. Perhaps this can help in them consolidating what was an improvement in previous years when they achieved a 9th place finish. However, although a side is by no means reliant on one player, the loss of “Arangol” could prove damaging for an improvement on last season.

It’s been all change at El Sardinero for Racing Santander. Juan Carlos Mandiá Lorenzo comes into replace Juan Ramón López Muñiz who was relieved of his duties at the end of last season. The new additions include the likes of Luis Garcia, the ex-Liverpool and Atletico Madrid forward who will be hungry to put his name back on the map following a couple of quiet years. Marc Torrejón from Espanyol also adds invaluable experience to the ranks. Nikola Zigic, who has returned to Valencia, could prove a loss but then again, less emphasis on him as a focal point and a new style of play could prove beneficial for their progress. There is an undoubted freshness to Racing Santander, which makes them a side to potentially look out for.

Back in the big time, Real Zaragoza will be hungry to establish itself as top-half opposition. La Liga will be delighted to welcome La Romareda back as one of the stadiums. Known for his flowing football, coach Marcelino has a growing reputation. Having qualified Racing Santander for Europe two seasons ago, he then moved to Zaragoza after they were relegated to the Segunda and got them promoted straight back to the big time. Last season, Ewerthon netted 26 and compliments a host of attacking talent including new signings Jermaine Pennant and Uche.

William Hill may have well struck a deal with Málaga to be their new shirt sponsor, but the loss of their coach to relegated Real Betis and the loss of one of their star players in Eliseu to Serie A side Lazio, means that joint 7th odds with Will Hill themsel
ves to be relegated, could potentially seem rather long. It has been a summer of chopping and changing to the extreme. New coach Juan Muñíz will have a difficult task to emulate the superb job Antonio Tapia did in achieving an 8th place finish last season. That being said, the arrival of Albert Luque from Ajax, Spanish youngter Xavi Torres from Barcelona, flying full-back Patrick Mtiliga from NAC Breda, exciting forward Edinho from AEK Athens and the loan signings of Fernando Forestieri and Valdo from Genoa and Espanyol respectively mean it will definitely be fascinating viewing to see how Los Boquerones develop this season. They are one of the newest looking sides.

Predictions and comments welcome. For Parts 1 & 3 please follow these links: Part 1 – The Minnows, Part 3 – The Big Six.

Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo la Coruña, Espanyol, La Liga 09-10 Previews, Malaga, Osasuna, Previews, Racing Santander, Real Mallorca, Real Zaragoza, Spain, Spanish Primera Division, Writers - James Sullivan