It has been 14 years since Atlético Madrid last took the scalp of their neighbours. Their inferiority complex has lasted since 1999, and on Friday the cross-town rivals meet in the Copa del Rey final. At times during that period, Los Rojiblancos have played better than Real Madrid but still the latter have taken victory. The occasional draw is about as close as Atlético have come to breaking the jinx and despite renewed optimism earlier this season when Diego Simeone’s men were in fine form, they lost again. Twice, in fact: the latest la liga game between the two at the Vicente Calderón just over two weeks ago saw a second-string Madrid side who were without Cristiano Ronaldo win … [Read more...] about La Liga: Atlético seek to make most of Real Madrid’s civil war
Spain News
Tales for Tapas: Compelling drama
Apart from that Sinatra-esque farewell announcement in 2001, Sir Alex Ferguson’s just-confirmed departure from Manchester United has been a model of timeliness accompanied by a minimum of fuss – in rather stark contrast to the goings-on at Real Madrid, where the José Mourinho soap opera, now ostensibly focused on the benching of the goalkeeper and captain, in reality hinges on the fine print of the manager’s employment contract. Despite his age (quite advanced in football years) Iker Casillas remains at the peak of his prodigious powers. His dissatisfaction about being dropped from the first team, the coach suggested this week, is fuelled by the covert desire for a more “manageable” … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: Compelling drama
Spain’s Socialists are desperate for new blood
Close to 18 months after its catastrophic general election defeat, the Socialist Party remains further away from power than ever. Opinion polls have it trailing behind a Popular Party that has pushed through unprecedented austerity measures that only seem to deepen the recession, while Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has broken every electoral pledge he made, now admits that there will be no improvement in the economy until at least 2016. Unemployment continues to rise, and the health and education systems are being dismantled before our eyes. And that’s without going into the Bárcenas corruption allegations. The ideal conditions, surely, for the Socialist Party to launch a sustained … [Read more...] about Spain’s Socialists are desperate for new blood
La Liga: Barcelona close in on long-awaited title
Finally, the day is near. It has been long overdue for a team that have left all others in their wake in La Liga, and were seemingly champions elect by Christmas, but FC Barcelona have still yet to officially win their long-awaited title. A Lionel Messi-inspired 4-2 win against Real Betis at the weekend leaves his side just two points from the prize, which could be secured on Wednesday if Real Madrid fail to win at home against Málaga or at the weekend, when Tito Vilanova’s men travel to Atlético Madrid. Last season, Barcelona lost the liga crown they had held for three consecutive years to José Mourinho’s team and as the curtain was raised in August with the league opener – the … [Read more...] about La Liga: Barcelona close in on long-awaited title
La Liga: Real Sociedad stake Champions League claim
Currently without a permanent president after Manuel Llorente’s tearful resignation earlier in the month; without their new stadium which has been years in the making due to the club’s financial problems; and possibly without a manager as Ernesto Valverde is stalling over committing his future to the club - Valencia could also be without Champions League football next season. Heading into the weekend clash at Real Sociedad – their direct rivals for a coveted spot in Europe’s premier competition – Los Che’s manager led a rallying call, billing the game the most important since he took charge of the club. "This is the closest game we've had to a final until now," he said. "Real … [Read more...] about La Liga: Real Sociedad stake Champions League claim
Valencia cooks up controversy with “bread war”
They call it the “bread war” and amid all the dramas of Spain’s economic crisis, it seems at first sight like little more than a novelty. But the decision taken by a Valencia bakery to slash the price of its loaves of bread is the cause of celebration for some and bitter recrimination for others. José Navarro is the local baker-cum-businessman who is behind the venture. He now has nine bakeries carrying his surname that offer a regular, fresh loaf of bread for just 20 euro cents each. With many of Navarro’s competitors selling at between 80 cents and one euro per loaf, his nine bakeries across the Valencia region draw long queues each morning that stretch out onto the street. In … [Read more...] about Valencia cooks up controversy with “bread war”
Beyond their ken?
"To a herd of rams, the ram the herdsman drives each evening into a special enclosure to feed and that becomes twice as fat as the others must seem to be a genius. And it must appear an astonishing conjunction of genius with a whole series of extraordinary chances that this ram, who instead of getting into the general fold every evening goes into a special enclosure where there are oats- that this very ram, swelling with fat, is killed for meat". - Tolstoy, ‘War & Peace’. After so many false dawns, the recent announcement by Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that the government was revising down its 2013 economic forecast hardly caused a blink among a citizenry that is now … [Read more...] about Beyond their ken?
La Liga: Seville and Betis share the honours
The Andalusian rivalry that has seen club directors pushed around in their plush seats, family members insulted and a manager passing out on the pitch after being hit on the head with a bottle thrown from the stands was back this weekend with some of its usual drama including a last-minute victory, a glut of goals and plenty of middle fingers in the air. When the two sides met in November, Sevilla emerged triumphant over Real Betis as two goals by José Antonio Reyes ensured a 5-1 thrashing of their city neighbours, but while Los Rojiblancos may have enjoyed bragging rights for a short time, they now find themselves in the same predicament as in the autumn, trailing both the Verdiblancos … [Read more...] about La Liga: Seville and Betis share the honours
The apocalypse comes to Barcelona
The main idea behind Los últimos días, the latest offering from directing/screenwriting brothers David and Àlex Pastor, is far from original. The basic plot - a mysterious and deadly epidemic that creates mass panic and, ultimately, complete social chaos - shares more than a passing likeness with M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 movie The Happening, as well as I am Legend and Danny Boyle's brilliant 2002 release, 28 Days Later. Despite clear parallels with its predecessors, however, Los últimos días is no less worthy in its depiction of all-out human catastrophe. Indeed, it goes one step further, attempting a social critique similar to Blindness, the 2008 movie based on José Saramago's novel of … [Read more...] about The apocalypse comes to Barcelona
Tales for Tapas: Life is a pleasure
A woman of international stature passed from the scene this week. Admired at home and abroad, she touched the lives of millions, a champion of personal freedom who nonetheless came to terms with dictatorship, her instincts were conservative but her choices were often daring – Sara Montiel, the venerable icon of stage and screen, died at her home in Madrid on Monday at the age of 85. Montiel personified – particularly in her later chat-show-celebrity-magazine incarnation – the superficiality of pop culture, yet that very superficiality may have been the key not only to her commercial success but to her importance to Spanish society, particularly in the 1960s. Montiel articulated a kitsch … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: Life is a pleasure