La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 38: Super Depor say goodbye

25 May, 2011 Luke Colbourne Europe, Latest, Spain

The curtains closed on another season in La Liga on Saturday night after a tense final day at the bottom. With Almería and Hércules already down, there was just one place left to fill, and six teams all fighting to the death to avoid it – Mallorca, Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Zaragoza, Getafe, Deportivo. Though of those six, there was only team everybody was supporting, and that was Deportivo.

But, when the final whistles blew shortly before midnight, all hope was gone. ‘Super’ Depor were gone.

As the games kicked off at 10pm, it was Real Zaragoza who looked the most likely candidate for relegation, sat in 18^th and facing a tricky trip to in-form Levante. But that all changed when Zaragoza took the lead through Gabi, leaving Depor down in 18^th. Elsewhere, an important clash was taking place at the Anoeta, with Real Sociedad taking on Getafe, both of whom were also perilously close to the drop zone.

Depor were taking on Valencia, and were already a goal down thanks to a very early Aritz Aduriz opener. To make things worse, Getafe had also taken an early lead in San Sebastián. But before long, Real Sociedad equalised through Paco Sutil, leaving things finely in the balance.

The other two teams were suffering quite contrasting evenings. Osasuna were in control against Villarreal, after Álavro Cejudo scored a brilliant goal just before half-time. Mallorca, though, were in trouble, losing at home to Atlético.

As the evening wore on, it was clear that things weren’t going Deportivo’s way. They desperately needed the one thing they’d struggled with all season: goals. Miguel Ángel Lotina’s team were the lowest goal scorers in the league with just 31. Then, for one moment, fate swung slightly in Depor’s favour, as Cristian Stuani pulled a goal back for Levante with 10 minutes to go. A Levante win would’ve sent Zaragoza down.

Back at the Riazor, Depor were wasting chances they couldn’t afford to waste. Riki went close, as did Diego Colotto, as did top scorer (with eight goals) Adrián, but César in the Valencia goal was in outstanding form. They tried and tried, so intent on finding a goal (honestly), but they could not break through. Alberto Lopo went agonisingly close for them again towards to end, but again there was no goal.

And then it came. But it came at the wrong end for the Galicians. Valencia broke away in the 94^th minute, with the ball eventually finding an unmarked, clean through on goal Roberto Soldado, who with one strike crushed the dream for the thousands cheering on the home side. A cold, deathly silence filled the air of the Riazor. This was the end.

As Deportivo were dumped from La Liga, the hearts of so many sank. Not just in the Riazor, not just in Spain, but all around the world. No one wanted to see a team of Deportivo’s size and stature go down. No one more so than Juan Carlos Valerón. The classy 35-year-old midfielder has been with the club for more than 10 years, joining the club from Atlético Madrid back in 1999. As the final whistle went at the Riazor on Saturday, it was clear to see how much it meant to him.

The veteran midfielder was stunned. Lost for words and lost for feelings as his teammates collapsed onto the turf around him in tears. It was heartbreaking seeing him in such a state. After applauding the fans and apologising, he promised that they would bounce back immediately. “Next year we will return to the Primera División because we are going to do things well from the start. We will return the team to the place they deserve to be.”

It’s incredible to think that 10 years ago, under the guidance of Javier Irureta, Deportivo la Coruña won the Spanish league. The following four years saw them finish in the top three, including finishing twice as runners-up. That domestic success meant that they also regularly qualified for the Champions League, where in 2004, they made it as far as the semi-finals. Everybody fondly remembers names like Naybet, Fran, Mauro Silva, Djalminha, Makaay… the list goes on. This was Super Depor.

The Depor of modern times are not so super at all, and they now find themselves lost in the abyss of Segunda. Though as much as no one wanted it, no one can argue they don’t deserve it. Obviously one big problem is the current coach, Lotina. Unlike Depor coaches of the past – Irureta, Joaquín Caparrós – Lotina’s style is, to put it as kindly as possible, ultra-defensive. In the majority of their games they haven’t even looked remotely like scoring, often approaching them with five at the back.

At the other end, they lack some serious firepower. Names of years gone by such as Diego Tristán and Roy Makaay have been replaced by the likes of Lassad and a man who goes by the name of ‘Riki’. Mr. Riki claims to be a striker, yet has only managed to score a total of 25 goals in 5 years at the club. On the upside, they do have a talented young forward in Adrián López. On the downside, he has been linked with numerous clubs, including Atlético Madrid, and will almost certainly be sold in the summer.

It was a sad sight seeing Deportivo relegated, just as it was sad seeing a once brilliant, attacking team treating its fans to such negative, tedious football. 31 goals scored and eight 0-0 draws tells you all you need to know. But all misty-eyed nostalgia aside, they fully deserved to go down. Some serious rebuilding needs to be done before we ever see the old Super Depor grace the top levels again.

Lower down the Lowdown

At the Bernabéu, all the focus was on Cristiano Ronaldo (really?!) as he was attempting to break Hugo Sánchez and Telmo Zarra’s all-time record of 38 goals in one season. It took Ronaldo just four minutes to achieve that, as well as adding one more later on for good measure. According to Marca, who hand out the ‘Pichichi’ trophy for most goals, Ronaldo ended up with 41 (they awarded him the extra goal that the referee in the Real Sociedad match gave to Pepe). According to everyone else – Real Madrid themselves, the Spanish FA and the ref mentioned – Ronaldo’s total is 40. Oh, Madrid won the game 8-1.
Here’s something quite interesting: Thanks to their 1-0 win, Osasuna, one of the teams who were involved in the relegation battle, finished all the way up in 9^th.
At the other end of the table Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid all finished the season on 58 points, and all qualified for next season’s Europa League (in that order). Just four more were needed for Champions League qualification.

Results

Málaga 1-3 Barcelona, Real Madrid 8-1 Almería, Hércules 0-0 Sporting, Levante 1-2 Zaragoza, Racing 1-2 Athletic, Espanyol 2-3 Sevilla, Deportivo 0-2 Valencia, Osasuna 1-0 Villarreal, Real Sociedad 1-1 Getafe, Mallorca 3-4 Atlético.

Champions League: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal.

Europa League: Sevilla, Athletic, Atlético.

Relegated: Almería, Hércules, Deportivo.

Top Scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo (40), Lionel Messi (31), Sergio Agüero & Álvaro Negredo (20), Giuseppe Rossi, Roberto Soldado & David Villa (18), Fernando Llorente (17), Karim Benzema (15).

Goal of the Week

Álvaro Cejudo (Osasuna 1-0 Villarreal)