La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 17: Winter break over…has anything changed?

The answer to that is “almost, but not quite”. To begin with, there were nearly no games played this round after the threatened strike action by the Spanish football players’ association, the AFE. They claimed that there should be no games played between December 23rd and January 3rd, in order to give the players a proper break. In addition to that, a number of Primera and Segunda teams have been unable to pay their players. However, in response, LFP president José Luis Astiazáran said that cancelling the games would result in “heavy economic losses” for the clubs. Obviously not the best thing, what with the current poor financial state of many Spanish teams.

After much squabbling between the two associations, the issue was eventually taken to the high court, where it was ruled that the games were in fact to be played as scheduled. Although it wasn’t exactly straightforward; the judge actually decided that the court had “no jurisdiction” over the dispute, declaring that “it is not competent to decide on the precautionary measure of suspending the league.” And so, true to form, the Spanish authorities gave us another display of their incompetence.

And so to the games. Fast forward to January 2nd, the date which Barcelona met lowly Levante. Regarding our original question, things at Camp Nou hadn’t really changed, but it was a close one. There was no 8-0 demolition for Pep’s troops, but instead a closely fought game against a well organised and disciplined Levante. Of course it didn’t help that they were without Leo Messi, but in the end it didn’t matter, as classy Canarian Pedro Rodríguez was on hand to step up in his place.

After a goalless first-half, Pedro broke the deadlock a few minutes into the second after Xavi and Dani Alves combined to set him up. Then, on the hour-mark, Alves (excellent once again) teed up Pedro for his second; another lovely finish, taking his recent record to 8 goals in 8 games. Cristian Stuani pulled one back late on for Levante with a fine volley but it was too little too late, and Barça were 2-1 victors.

Another thing to mention from the game is that it was Xavi’s 549th official game for the club – a total equalling the record of former defender Migueli. “It’s an honour and I thank everyone for the support I have always received. I look forward to many more years and, if possible, winning many more titles with Barça.”

Pep Guardiola also had high praise for the midfield maestro, dedicating the win to the man himself. “This game belongs to Xavi,” he said, “I reached 300 games and that seemed an outrage. But Xavi is 30 and has already played 549 games; he will surpass Migueli. I wouldn’t be surprised if he reaches 700 games.”

Elsewhere, a similar story unfolded at the Coliseum where Getafe took on Real Madrid. It was a fascinating game, full of goals, but yet another “not quite” moment, as Madrid eventually ended up winning 3-2. Ángel di María began the New Year as he finished last year, causing trouble, and earning his team a controversial penalty after he took a tumble in the area. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and stuck the penalty past Jordi Codina to make it 1-0.

Mesut Özil then made it 2-0 before ex-Castilla star Dani Parejo glided through a bunch of white shirts and finished expertly to make it 2-1. Game on again. That was until a mistake by Codina let in Karim Benzema, who found Ronaldo for Madrid’s third and his 19th in the league. But unlike so many teams in the past, Getafe never gave up. They were fast and intense, and did manage to pull a late goal back through substitute Juan Albín. But, as in the Barça game, it was too little too late. Almost, but not quite.

Getafe were good, but what wasn’t so good was the turnout at the Coliseum once again. Yes it was a freezing cold night in Madrid, but again the real problem was the ticket prices – the cheapest ones available came in at a rather hefty €60. As for Madrid, there was one particular positive: the return of Kaká. He completed 15 minutes on his comeback from a long injury lay-off and, although he’s not a striker, Mourinho will be pleased to have an extra attacker of his quality back after the injury set-back to Gonzalo Higuaín.

Lower down the Lowdown

• In the battle of “the rest”, Valencia (4th) took on Espanyol (5th) at the Mestalla. Aritz Aduriz put Valencia ahead after half an hour, before Ricardo Costa decided to undo the striker’s hard work by scoring an own goal on the stroke of half-time. We were then treated to another dose of delightful Spanish refereeing, as Mr. González showed Aduriz a straight red for flicking Espanyol’s Chica over onto the turf. However, in the 92nd minute, Valencia then benefitted from some poor officiating as Juan Mata, quite clearly in an offside position, grabbed the winner.
• A couple of things did change in the bottom half of the league though; for instance, Real Zaragoza managed to overcome high-flying Real Sociedad 2-1, albeit thanks to a 90th minute winner from striker Braulio. Also, not only did Deportivo manage to beat Athletic at San Mamés, they somehow managed to score two away goals in the process. It was struggling striker Adrián who marked on both occasions for the Galicians, lifting his team out of danger and up into mid-table safety.
• Málaga beat Sporting away at El Molinón this weekend, but were unable to field any of their recent winter acquisitions for some reason (you should know the Spanish authorities by now). Their billionaire owners opened the cheque book for Manuel Pellegrini to bring in five new faces – Sergio Asenjo, Martín Demichelis, Nacho Camacho, Enzo Maresca and Júlio Baptista. Some really good signings it appears, it’s just a matter of fitting them all into a system and getting them playing as a team now. Obviously not as easy as I make it sound.
• As I mentioned earlier, some clubs have been unable to pay their players recently, and one of those clubs is newly promoted Hércules – the club that can somehow afford players such as Nelson Valdez, David Trezeguet and fans’ favourite Royston Drenthe. The problem is, they can’t really afford them, and according to Drenthe, the club hasn’t paid him for the last five months. He then refused to train, left for his homeland Holland and declared himself on strike. However, clearly no longer the fans’ favourite, he returned to Alicante and had to be escorted from the airport by police, away from an angry mob. He finally arrived home safe and sound, only to find his house walls vandalised with painted messages such as “KKK”. Sad.

Results

Sporting 1-2 Málaga, Athletic 1-2 Deportivo, Barcelona 2-1 Levante, Sevilla 1-0 Osasuna, Valencia 2-1 Espanyol, Mallorca 3-0 Hércules, Zaragoza 2-1 Real Sociedad, Atlético 0-0 Racing, Villarreal 2-0 Almería, Getafe 2-3 Real Madrid.

Goal of the Week

Dani Parejo (Getafe 2-3 Real Madrid)

FC Barcelona, Getafe, Kaka, Real Madrid, Spanish Primera Division