Spanish national team

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the dominant teams in Spain and they proved it by being the two teams that monopolized nearly half of the spots of La Furia's 30-man roster. Barcelona ended up on top as seven of their players earned call ups. There were some surprises in Vicente Del Bosque's list, but for the most part the players that were expected to be on, were.

The majority of the team that won the European championship two years ago and played in the Confederations Cup last summer will be back.

Barcelona's Victor Valdés will have at least a fighting chance to enter Del Bosque's 23-man roster as he was considered part of his 30-man list. Valdés will most likely win yet another Zamora trophy and was among the five goalkeepers called up by the Spanish coach. His level during the past two seasons have been worthy of recognition and should be on the fast track to be in South Africa.

None of Real Madrid's players were named Guti or Raúl as Albiol, Arbeloa, Ramos, Xabi Alonso will follow national team captain Iker Casillas to South Africa.

One of the big surprises was Atlético Madrid's young goalkeeper David De Gea who has become one of the revelations of the tournament. Another surprise call up was that of Osasuna defender César Azpilicueta. He has become a stalwart for the Rojillos. Sevilla's Jesús Navas also got some recognition from Del Bosque.

One player that was left off the squad was Getafe's Roberto Soldado. He was being considered to be a viable replacement for Fernando Torres. His 14 goals for the season have him in La Liga's top ten in scoring.

Some players that were left off the list were Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop as well as Athletic counterpart Gorka Iraizoz. Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic, who decided to not go to Euro2008, was snubbed in favor of teammate Pedro Rodríguez who became one of the revelations of the tournament. Pedro was the first player in football history to score in all six competitions this season. He is also the team's third leading scorer behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and soon-to-be Pichichi winner Lionel Messi.

Spain will be participating in Group H alongside Chile, Honduras, and Switzerland.


Goalkeepers:Iker Casillas(Real Madrid CF), David De Gea(Atlético Madrid),Diego López (Villarreal), Pepe Reina (Liverpool-ENG), Víctor Valdés (FC Barcelona)

Defenders
: Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid)
, Alvaro Arbeloa(Real Madrid),
 César Azpilicueta (Osasuna)
 Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)
, Carlos Marchena (Valencia),
 Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona)
 Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona),
 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders:
 Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)
 Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona)
 Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal FC-ENG)
 Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona)
 Javi Martínez (Athletic)
 Marcos Senna (Villarreal)
 David Silva (Valencia)
 Xavier Hernández (FC Barcelona)

Forwards
: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal),
 Jesús Navas (Sevilla),
 Juan Mata (Valencia CF),
 Pedro (FC Barcelona)
, Dani Güiza (Fenerbache SK-TUR)
, Fernando Llorente (Athletic Club),
 Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla FC)
, Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC-ENG)
, David Villa (Valencia CF)


Callup by team
Barcelona- 7
Real Madrid- 5
Valencia- 4
Villarreal- 4
Athletic - 2
Liverpool- 2
Osasuna- 1
Atlético- 1
Arsenal- 1
Sevilla- 2
Fenerbahce-1

Del Bosque announces Spain's 30 players

The biggest question coming into week 35 was how Barcelona would recover from their midweek shortcomings against Inter in the Champions League semis. They were also facing one of the hottest home teams in La Liga in Villarreal.

Well that answer came quickly and often as Barcelona showed everyone why they are the best road team in La Liga hands down.  They will also try to improve their home record (tops in La Liga as well) as they host Tenerife midweek.  The ball is now in Real Madrid's court as they will face a tough Osasuna side on Sunday and then head to the Ono Estadi in a match that could decide La Liga.

Lionel Messi continued with his trend of responding when needed.  He continued his trend of not being shut out in more than three consecutive matches.  The Argentine international earned yet another brace and saw his goal total reach 29 for the season.

Xavi scored one of the best goals of the weekend with his freekick and Bojan Krkic proved once again his worth in the starting lineup as he scored yet once again in La Liga.  His performance as of late has started to put Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench and possibly out of Catalunya as many speculators are starting to mention the Big Swede's exit as David Villa is in the cards for the Blaugrana.

Real Madrid in the meantime had to depend on some last-minute heroics by Cristiano Ronaldo to come away with the three points against a scrappy Osasuna side.  Ronaldo scored a brace as Madrid had to come from behind twice in their 3-2 victory at the Bernabéu.  Ronaldo scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season as they were able to come from behind against Osasuna in a match that saw some skillful goals on both sides of the pitch as well as probably the miss of the season by Macoud as he missed a wide open net.  And we all know that goals that you don't score... are scored on you.

David Villa was not a factor at Cornellà-El Prat against one of the toughest home teams around.  Instead the big man, Nikola Zigic was the difference maker as Los Che have almost assured themselves of a Champions League spot next season after their win in Catalunya 2-0.

With Sevilla playing on Sunday, Valencia could find themselves anywhere eight points clear of Sevilla with nine points left to dispute.    There should be a likely easy match for the Andalusians as Los Colchoneros will take a reprieve as they prepare for their Europa League final in Hamburg against Fulham.
 
Relegation race

If the race for the title is red-hot, then what adjectives can be used to describe the race to stave off relegation.   Valladolid had a solid chance to make a serious move, but failed to do so as they played to a scoreless draw against Getafe.  Xerez is still dreaming with a chance to stay in the top flight after they beat Alméria 2-1 thanks to an dramatic injury time goal by Bermejo.

Tenerife is now starting to give Málaga, Racing, and Zaragoza nightmares.   They were able to beat Racing at home 2-1 and put the Montañeses in the thick of the relagation race. The bad news for the boys from the Canary Islands is that they will head to the Camp Nou on Tuesday.  Zaragoza were able to maintain their distance as they got an important victory over a Deportivo side that has been in free fall since early March.

Miguel Ángel Lotina's side is now winless in their last ten matches and haven't scored a goal in 449 minutes. 

Positions
2010-11 Champions League:  x-Barcelona, x-Real Madrid
2010-11 Champions League qualifiers: Valencia, Mallorca,
2010-11 Europa League:  Villarreal, y-Sevilla, y-Atlético
Relegation: Tenerife, Valladolid, Xerez
Promotion: Real Sociedad, Levante, Cartagena

x- clinched berth
y- Copa del Rey finalist

Pichichi Race
Lionel Messi BAR             29
Gonzalo Higuaín RMA      25
David Villa VAL                 21
Cristiano Ronaldo RMA    21
Diego Forlán ATM            17
Zlatan Ibrahimovic BAR   16
Fernando Llorente ATB     14

La Liga Week 35 wrap

The 2009-10 La Liga season is nearly upon us and we here at Mad About Futbol will breakdown the chances and player movement of all 20 teams in Spain's 1st division for the 2009-10 season. This time we will breakdown Club Atlético Osasuna.


LAST SEASON (2008-09):
The team from Pamplona finished in 15th place last season just 1 point above the relegation zone. Los Rojillos beat Real Madrid 2-1 on the final day to avoid the drop. Their defense saved them as they only allowed 47 goals all season. That was tied for the 3rd best in the league. Only Barcelona and Sevilla gave up less goals.

KEY PLAYER ADDITIONS:
Last season Osasuna's problem was scoring goals. Los Rojillos were the 3rd worst scoring team in 2008-09. They scored 41 goals last season so they acquired Javier Camuñas from Recreativo. The attacking midfielder/forward was Recre's leading scorer last season scoring 10 of the team's 21 La Liga goals for the relegated side.

Carlos Aranda was also signed to Osasuna from Numancia. Aranda is a striker and product of Real Madrid's youth system and will be needed to score as someone will have to take some of the goal scoring burden off of aging super-sub Walter Pandiani.

KEY PLAYER SUBTRACTIONS:
Jaroslav Plašil was Osasuna's most consistent offensive threat and lone creator in the midfield. The Czech midfielder was sold to French champions Bordeaux and his versatility as a left wing and in the center of attack will be missed for Osasuna.

PLAYER TO WATCH
This must be the breakout season for Javier Portillo. The ex-Real Madrid striker has to have a big year for Osasuna to stay in La Liga. Portillo has to start showing the goal scoring instincts that led to him braking Raul's Real Madrid youth system goal scoring record. Portillo is 27 years old, in his prime years and needs to become Osasuna's most dangerous goal scoring threat.

FINAL ANALYSIS:
Coach Jose Antonio Camacho's side should expect a mid table finish. Osasuna on paper looks good enough not to be worried about relegation. If their defense performs the same as last year then their 1st division survival will rest solely on to their offense.

2009-10 LA LIGA PREVIEW: OSASUNA

Barcelona brags about having one of the best youth systems in the world. Today was one of the days where they truly did not want to hear about it. In the mid-90’s a kid named Iván de La Peña came up and went up the ranks quickly. He got to the big team and was an immediate impact player. He would leave, but eventually come back for another stint with barca. Then in 2002, he made the decision that would change his career forever- he signed with Espanyol.

Seven years later, he was the man that brought the steady march of the Blaugrana ballet to a screeching halt. Although he was not in his best shape physically, coach Mauricio Pochettino knew that they needed El Pelat’s presence on a pitch where Los Pericos had not experienced victory in over 27 years. This is why the blaugrana’s 2-1 loss was probably the best thing to have happened to them this season. As much as josep guardiola wanted to sell me a bill of goods about how important this game was, the team attitude was far from it. Let’s be honest... Barca got caught looking ahead, and Espanyol played them perfectly. So for Barca fans that want to cry about it, suck it up and take your medicine!

Josep guardiola lost the pulse of the game and he seemed uncharacteristically rattled. The team reflected their coach’s image and turned the pitch into a wrestling mat. started to make decisions that appeared quite strange. Eric Abidal’s Freak groin injury was a foreshadowing of the night. The Logical explanation to replace abidal would have been to put in Sylvinho at right back. The few times when he was called up for services in recent weeks, he responded.

Instead guardiola decided for Carles Puyol- a tired and still-recovering from injury carles puyol. the Nou Camp held their collective breath every time the barca captain fell to the ground. And him not playing at in his natural position left the backline exposed on that flank. That was where Iván de la Peña showed up in Los Pericos’ first goal. Nené, who gave Barca fits all night, came down Barca’s right and Held the ball for a long time. Many thought that the Espanyol attack was extinguished. Nené had no shot on goal, but he did have a cross to the backpost where he found El Pelat wide open. In a way it was a blessing in disguise for Barca. Ferreiro delgado gave Espanyol advantage on a foul at midfield. If he were to stop play, he would have been forced to send off Sergi Busquets.

Victor, oh Victor
saturday night might have been a tough night for victor valdés. Barcelona outshot their catalan rivals 18-2. The bad news was that both of those espanyol shot hit the back of the net. The second goal must have been the one that might lead a goalkeeper to a sleepless night. His direct pass to de la Peña was masterfully chipped over the barca keeper’s head into the back of the net for the eventual game-winner.

Taking both Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o out for sergi busquets (who already had a yellow card coming in) and Eidur gudjohnsen respectively Allowed ESpanyol to tee off on Lionel Messi. Let’s be honest, When Gudjohnsen came in, it seemed like Barca were packing it in and were already looking at the Champions League. The tactical argument seemed to be that Guardiola wanted to establish an attacking trident of busquets-messi-gudjohnsen.

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What’s up with Xavi and Messi bumping both Dani Alves and Rafa Márquez from the free kicks? Known as two of the best on the team (and in the world) on set pieces, Barca handcuffed themselves by taking the ball under their feet. Messi and Xavi both came close, but they never posed a threat on Carlos Kameni’s goal. In the end, this game reflected the adage that Necessity always trumps history. On the pitch it was a confrontation between need of this year’s espanyol and the confusion and lack of direction of last year’s barca.

Barca’s lone goal of the evening came off a set piece a toure Yaya rifled in a rebound, but it seemed like it was too late by then. the Blaugrana shot incessantly, but it wasn’t enough to bother Kameni in goal and a 27-year drought ended for Los Pericos.

So Barcelona can talk about the referee screwing them or bad calls not going their way, but that is the nature of the beast. If there is something that the blaugrana needed, it was this loss. YOu aren’t going to hear this in the catalan papers. I am not trying to say that Barcelona should now lose to Real madrid, but their hunger should be peaked that much more.

For Espanyol, it’s a win- and then some. Yes, they are in 19th place. It might have seemed like it was a tiny step, but it was a gigantic leap. Espanyol seem confident and ready to battle all comers. The problem is that this will mean nothing if they lose to Real Madrid Next weekend. They would Fall behind Osasuna and Mallorca by at least four points to get out the relegation zone and maybe even more. More importantly, Mauricio Pochettino has officially won over the dressing room.

If Barca do recover from this little bump in the road, they will have to learn- not bounce back- about this experience. Europe and Spain will not be too sympathetic.

Barcelona Humbled In Catalan Derby

Week 22 saw Barca and Real Madrid slip away even more from the other 18 teams with contrasting styles of play. Barcelona played with total style and Madrid played a bit more aggressively and had the game mucked up in the middle. Samuel Eto'o scored his 21st goal of the season and Dani Alves stated his case as one of the early front runners that will have to be next to Herculean in order to catch up to Lionel Messi. The Barca right back could be in that pack right now that might be looked at as the second best player in the world right now.

Meanwhile the latest edition of Andalucian derby saw Manuel Chaparro save his job after the Verdes beat Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan. Ricardo Oliveira paid dividends in his debut with the club as he equalized in the 83rd minute en route their 2-1 victory.

Saved is also Osasuna who emerged out of the relegation zone after beating Valencia at the Reyno de Navarra in one of the tighter games you would have seen this weekend. With their win and Mallorca and Espanyol's draw as well as Numancia's defeat; they leapfrogged out of relegation on goal difference.

Saturday

Real Madrid 1

Higuaín (48')


Racing 0


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Sevilla 1

Kanouté (90'+2')


Betis 2

Sergio García (70'), Oliveira (83')


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Sunday
Villarreal 2

Rossi (15', 67')


Numancia 1

Aranda (39')


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Getafe 1

Soldado (7')

Espanyol 1

Iván Alonso (25')


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Mallorca 1

Aduriz (56')


Deportivo 1

Verdú (77')


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Valladolid 2

Victor (38', 58')


Athletic 1

Orbaiz (65')


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Recreativo 0


Atlético 3

Agüero (2'), Forlán (27', 34')


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Málaga 3


Luque (48'), Salva (64', 72')


Almería 2


Uche (25'), Negredo (44')


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Barcelona 3

Eto'o (22', 39') , Dani Alves (65')


Sporting 1

Kike Mateo (68')


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Osasuna 1

Flaño (57')


Valencia 0

La Liga Week 22 Roundup

Osasuna midfielder Juanfran's appeal was somewhat successful. He had one of his two bookings from Sunday's loss to Real Madrid overturned after referee Alonso Pérez Burrull was suspended for one month after his performance in that match.

The Spanish Football Federation's Competition Committee decided to erase the booking that Juanfran received in the 81st minute after he is tripped inside the penalty box by Real Madrid defender Pepe. This means that Juanfran will be able to play against Villarreal at the Reyno de Navarra for the 20th week of the La Liga campaign.

Juanfran Gets One Yellow Card Overturned