The all-night party in Bilbao capped a successful week for Spanish football which sees five la liga clubs competing for top honours in Europe with Barcelona and Real Madrid – the top two Champions League contenders – and Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Atlético Madrid all through to the quarter finals in the Europa League. Despite being reigning World Cup and European Champions, it has been some time since la liga teams have proved so strong in European competition with the last few years dominated by Premier League sides. The early 2000s saw Spanish football leading the way, with Real Madrid’s seemingly unstoppable Galácticos at their peak winning the Champions League in 2000 and 2002 … [Read more...] about La Liga: Spanish success
Europa League
La Liga: Sevilla’s woes leave Marcelino high and dry
Only a week ago, Sevilla Sporting Director Ramón Rodríguez Monchi declared full confidence in his coach Marcelino García Toral. His faith only lasted a week, however, with a 2-1 home defeat to Villarreal proving the final nail in the coffin. Still believing he could turn the team’s fortunes around, the coach refused to quit on Sunday evening but the decision was taken out of his hands. Following an emergency meeting with soon-to-be-incarcerated club president José María del Nido and Monchi on Monday morning, he was given his marching orders. Only in the job since the summer of 2011, he was brought in to replace Gregorio Manzano – who was himself recently dismissed by Atlético Madrid – … [Read more...] about La Liga: Sevilla’s woes leave Marcelino high and dry
Porto’s trophy-hungry boss insists he’s no Mourinho clone
The comparisons have been as predictable as they have been widespread. In Britain, the Guardian called him "Mourinho’s apprentice", while the Daily Mail anointed him as "Mourinho Mark II". The Spanish press followed a similar line - El Correo named him Mourinho’s pupil and even El País joined in, headlining their profile "Mourinho’s spy". The potential mini-Mou in question is FC Porto boss André Villas-Boas, whose achievements in his first full season in football management have been spectacular. Last month Villas-Boas's side secured the Portuguese title with five games in hand and this week he leads his team into the Europa League and Portuguese Cup finals. Records have tumbled along … [Read more...] about Porto’s trophy-hungry boss insists he’s no Mourinho clone