LA LIGA 2008/09 Thread

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real Madrid won this last year through a combination of good play BUT some poor play by Barcelona who messed up.

Barcelona have made 2 smart signings in Dani Alves and Keita, they will improve them immensely and i feel they should win it this year. Pique and Hleb are good additions to the squad.

Real Madrid have signed Van Der Vaart who had a good Euro 2008 BUT their star player from last season, Sneijder will miss the start of the season and that will hurt them badly.

Villareal who finished in a superb 2nd last season will do well BUT their star man from last season, Nihat who got 19 goals for them will miss the start of the season through injury.

Atletico Madrid will be a threat with the forward lineup of Aguero and Forlan. Signings of Ujfalusi and Heitinga will strengthen their defence.

Sevilla who finished 5th have some quality players in Fabiano, Kanoute, Capel, Navas etc BUT they have been weakened with the sale of Alves and Keita to Barcelona.

Also we have Valencia who have a hugely talented squad BUT were awful last season. Koeman has gone and has been replaced by Unai Emery who i know next to nothing about. They should have a much better season this time round

So Who do you think will win La Liga 2008/09?

[Toony™®]

Difficult one this.. I believe Barca will be closer this year. But, Real Madrid will prevail.

[161]

Saw Barca play here in New York a few weeks ago and new additions Dani Alves and Hleb looked outstanding ... they look to be the missing link that Barca so desperately needed last year ... I think their team is really complete now and they will dominate Spain and Europe.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Barcelona are looking solid and with Rijkaard gone i dont think they will repeat the mistakes of last season - the title should be theirs

[Oxy]

WHo took over from Rijkaerd?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Oxy WHo took over from Rijkaerd?

The Barca legend Pep Guardiola

He was the Barca B coach last season

[Amir]

Lets hope Valencia can reclaim old glory.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Amir Lets hope Valencia can reclaim old glory.

I hope they do better this time round - they have a quality squad and should be challenging for the title BUT it went horribly wrong last season

[Geordie Ahmed]

Saturday, 30 August 2008
Espanyol v Valladolid, 19:00
Valencia v Mallorca, 21:00

Sunday, 31 August 2008
Athletic Bilbao v Almeria, 18:00
Atletico Madrid v Malaga, 18:00
Deportivo La Coruna v Real Madrid, 20:00
Numancia v Barcelona, 18:00
Osasuna v Villarreal, 18:00
Racing Santander v Sevilla, 18:00
Real Betis v Recreativo Huelva, 18:00
Sporting Gijon v Getafe, 18:00

[Geordie Ahmed]

Barca have an away fixture which they should win without too many problems

Will be interesting to see what side Pep puts out

Real have a tough away fixture, they took on Deportivo

[Geordie Ahmed]

Valencia got themselves a comfortable 3-0 win

Goals coming from Villa, Mata and Vicente

[Amjid Javed]

Ive tipped Villareal for the title! Thought id pick a wild card team for this season in spain.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Ruud equalised for Real BUT Lopo then restored the lead for Depor

[Amjid Javed]

so its 3-2 depor?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Amjid Javed so its 3-2 depor?

Nah 2-1 and it finished as that

So away losses for both Barca and Real

[Amir]

Brillaint win by us to beat the defending scu...I mena champions.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Errrm i want to change my vote

Barca drew 1-1 at home to Racing, Messi scored a penalty before Pereira equalised for them

A dissapointing start to the season, only 2 games so not worried yet

[Geordie Ahmed]

Sevilla are top of the league after winning a 7 goal thriller against Spoting Gijon

Sevilla 		4 - 3 	Sporting Gijon

Chevanton 22    		Bilic 18,20,45(pen)
Kanoute 36,61
Maresca 37

[Geordie Ahmed]

RESULTS Sunday 14th September 2008

Recreativo Huelva 0 - 1 Espanyol
Getafe 0 - 0 Real Betis
Mallorca 1 - 1 Osasuna
Villarreal 1 - 0 Deportivo La Coruna
Malaga 0 - 0 Athletic Bilbao
Almeria 2 - 2 Valencia
Real Madrid 4 - 3 Numancia

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real took all 3 points in a very good game

They beat Numancia 4-3 at home in a game which had some quality goals

Moreno gave Numancia the lead with an unmarked header from a corner before Guti's deflected shot from range levelled matters. Barkero then scored a stunning goal to give the away side the lead, his left footed shot from about 30 yards gave Cassilas no chance. Higuan then equalised for Real after a nice pass from Van Der Vaart.

Real took the lead after a wonderful strike from Van Der Vaart and this was further extended after a domingo own goal. Moreno pulled one back for Numancia BUT there was no further goals at the Bernabeu

[Geordie Ahmed]

RESULTS

Saturday 20th September
Atletico Madrid 4 - 0 Recreativo Huelva
Espanyol 1 - 1 Getafe

Sunday 21st September
Almeria 1 - 0 Malaga
Athletic Bilbao 2 - 0 Valladolid
Real Betis 0 - 0 Sevilla
Valencia 1 - 0 Osasuna
Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 0 Mallorca
Numancia 1 - 2 Villarreal
Racing Santander 0 - 2 Real Madrid
Sporting Gijon 1 - 6 Barcelona

[Asad7]

whenever barca score they score big

[Geordie Ahmed]

Thread hasnt been updated in a while BUT since Barca hammered Gijon they have played 3 La Liga matches and won all 3

First was a 3-2 home win agains Betis, it was followed by an 2-1 away win in the Barcelona derby, then last week they destroyed Atletico Madrid 6-1

It was so easy for them and they are finally playing like they should - it was a slow start from them BUT they are in their stride now and are looking unstoppable

They are in 4th spot on 13 points, 3 points behind the Leaders Valencia

Real Madrid are in 5th with 13 points aswell

[Geordie Ahmed]

Have to add - Messi is the best player in the world, lad has been unbelievable so far

[Sheikh]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Have to add - Messi is the best player in the world, lad has been unbelievable so far

He's been the best player in the world for a few years now and will continue to be so for quite a while yet.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Sheikh He's been the best player in the world for a few years now and will continue to be so for quite a while yet.

Well there was a period last season where Ronaldive was on fire BUT the season hasnt really got going for him yet (injury to partly blame)

[Sheikh]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Well there was a period last season where Ronaldive was on fire BUT the season hasnt really got going for him yet (injury to partly blame)

Sure, but a boat load of goals doesn't make a player great. Messi offers so much more to a team than just goals. He's unselfish, creative, fantastic on the ball, better off it, and is only getting better. Best player I've seen since Zidane and that includes Ronaldinho and Kaka.

And Ronaldo's diving is disgraceful. He should disqualified from the reckoning for that reason alone.

[Daoud]

Yeah, a lot of pressure on him after Ronny left and he took over the #10 jersey. Well he had been doing it over the last two years but Ron was still there. Now hes officially been given the chance to shine and lead the team himself. A lot of responsibility following in the footsteps of both Maradonna and Ronaldinho but hes stepped up wonderfully. Also good to see that Eto'o has his head round the right way and is playing well and scoring.

Valencia doing really well especially considering David Silva is out for a while but Villa is proving again what an amazing striker he is.

[161]

Barca's midfield still doesn't look right .. Hleb should be in the starting 11 .. is he injured or something ?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by kashif77 Barca's midfield still doesn't look right .. Hleb should be in the starting 11 .. is he injured or something ?

Hleb has been out with an ankle injury

Tho im not too sure he will get into the side at the moment

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real beat Atletico 2-1 away in the Madrid derby, it was a fiery match.

Real took the lead through Nistelrooy on 34 seconds, Atletico were then reduced to 10 men after Perea was sent off. Not long after Real were also down to 10 men after Nistelrooy got sent off for a late tackle on Maniche.

Atletico equalised in the 90th minute through a Simao free kick BUT Higuain got the winner from the spot deep into injury time

This win sends them to 2nd in the table

Barcelona can join them in 2nd when they take on Bilbao away from home later on today

[Asad7]

barcelona win 1-0
eto'o scores a brilliant goal being assisted by henry

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 barcelona win 1-0 eto'o scores a brilliant goal being assisted by henry

That was a quality goal from Eto'o, showed good strength to get past the defender and unleashed a powerful shot

He should have scored a 2nd BUT he missed a very good chance, putting it wide

Eto'o has been superb this season, havnt seen any of the attitude problems he had - simply got on with things and he is scoring goals

[Asad7]

barca win 5-0
hattrick for eto'o
very unselfish play by them
lol i voted for madrid but now i feel ****** about my vote

[Geordie Ahmed]

Superb result - Barca on fire now, took a little while to get started BUT its clicked now.

Eto'o has been immense this season - thats 9 goals in 6 games which is a top class start. Im glad he wasnt sold, lots of talks about his attitude BUT it has been top class thus far

Top of the league BUT Valencia play 2moro and need a point to go back to the top

[Geordie Ahmed]

Just witnessed an 8 goal thriller between Villareal and Atletico Madrid

It finished 4-4

Atletico took a 2-0 half time lead through Simao and Forlan BUT this was followed by 4 unanswered goals by Villareal, the scorers were Senna, Etxarri, Prado and Rossi.

It seemed like Atletico were dead an buried BUT Simao scored with 10 mins remaining and then they equalised through sub Garcia

Some of Villareal's play was top class BUT their defending at the end was shocking - infact Atletico could have won it if Forlan was a little selfish in front of goal

[Geordie Ahmed]

Valencia were held to a 1-1 draw away to Recreativo Huelva, this point takes them to the top of the league, 1 clear of Barca

Real Madrid - Bilbao is to kick off shortly

[Asad7]

real madrid beat athletic bilbao 3-2

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 real madrid beat athletic bilbao 3-2

Good win for Real - puts them level on points with Barca

[Pak_NM]

Barca look amazing atm after a slow start. Eto'o been in scintillating form.

[Geordie Ahmed]

from sportsillustrated

IRUN, Spain (AP) -Real Madrid midfielder Ruben De La Red was taken to hospital after collapsing during his team's Copa del Rey match with Real Union on Thursday. De La Red fell as he was walking away from the penalty area in the 13th minute of the fourth round first-leg match at Real Union's Gal Stadium. The Spain international required treatment for two minutes on the field before being carried off on a stretcher. Initial reports said De La Red suffered a sudden drop in blood pressure and recovered consciousness. However, the player was expected to be kept in hospital overnight for observation.

[Asad7]

madrid lose 3-2 to real union in copa del rey

[Geordie Ahmed]

Barca are top of the league

They beat Malaga 4-1 away

Xavi got 2, Messi and an own goal the other scorers - Duda got the solitary goal for Malaga

Another comfortable win for Barca who are looking so good at the moment - lets hope it stays that way

Valencia lost 4-2 at home to Santander which allowed Barca to go top - poor result for Valencia

Tchite got a hat trick for Santander - It was 2-2 with 10 mins remaining BUT Santander managed to get the shock win

In other matches Atletico won 2-0 at home to Mallorca, Aguero getting both goals

Villareal won 4-1 away to Bilbao - Rossi, Pires, Gonzales and Altidore getting the goals

Real will be taking on Almeria tonight

[Geordie Ahmed]

November 1 2008    
Pos  	 Team  		P 	W  	D  	L  	GD  	Pts

1 	Barcelona 	9 	7 	1 	1 	20 	22
2 	Villarreal 	9 	6 	3 	0 	9 	21
3 	Valencia 	9 	6 	2 	1 	11 	20
4 	Real Madrid 	8 	6 	1 	1 	11 	19
------------------------------------------------------------------
5 	Sevilla 	8 	5 	2 	1	8 	17
6 	Atletico Madrid 9 	4 	1 	4 	3 	13
7 	Malaga 		9 	4 	1 	4 	-3 	13
8 	Getafe 		8 	3 	3 	2 	1 	12
9 	Almeria 	8 	3 	2 	3 	-4 	11
10 	Real Mallorca 	9 	3 	2 	4 	-4 	11

[Daoud]

Check out that GD - its insane. Teams would be happy to have even scored 20 goals in 9 games let alone have a difference of 20 in 9.

The attack has been pretty formidable this season, and Guardiola has been sensible enough to rest Messi and Eto'o regularly to limit the chances of injury

[Sheikh]

Saw both the Barca and Valencia games on what was a rainy day in Spain. The pitch conditions were terrible and Barca played very well to win comfortably. They must have played more long balls than I've seen them play in an entire season! Oh and Xavi was class, absolute class.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real could have joined Barca at the top BUT they only got a point as they drew 1-1 away to Almeria

Raul gave the fascist scum the lead BUT Piatti scored with 10 mins remaining

[Asad7]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Real could have joined Barca at the top BUT they only got a point as they drew 1-1 away to Almeria Raul gave the fascist scum the lead BUT Piatti scored with 10 mins remaining

Originally Posted by Daoud The fixtures this season have been pretty interesting. Whoever Barca play, the fascists play them the week after so until the Classico (which we havent won for a few seasons now) this does give a good indication of the difference between the teams

why do you call madrid fascits??????

[Daoud]

Originally Posted by Asad7 why do you call madrid fascits??????

They were General Franco's team when he ruled Spain. His regime did a lot that favoured them and even now they do have a substantial right wing support group

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Daoud They were General Franco's team when he ruled Spain. His regime did a lot that favoured them and even now they do have a substantial right wing support group

I was reading about how Di Stefano was meant to originally sign for Barca BUT he ended up signing for Real (and scored a staggering 216 league goals in 282 games) and many feel this was due to Franco's influence

[Daoud]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed I was reading about how Di Stefano was meant to originally sign for Barca BUT he ended up signing for Real (and scored a staggering 216 league goals in 282 games) and many feel this was due to Franco's influence

Yep. The scum stole him. That whole episode was really dodgy. Oh well, the difference in the caliber of the teams is evident even today. One team takes money from a gambling company to put their logo on their shirt while the other gives money to a charity and displays their logo

[Fawad]

Originally Posted by Daoud They were General Franco's team when he ruled Spain. His regime did a lot that favoured them and even now they do have a substantial right wing support group

Right wing support

Real are the most famous club in the world something Barca can only dream of.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real playing Malaga at home

Score is currently 2-2

[Daoud]

The fixtures this season have been pretty interesting. Whoever Barca play, the fascists play them the week after so until the Classico (which we havent won for a few seasons now) this does give a good indication of the difference between the teams

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Daoud The fixtures this season have been pretty interesting. Whoever Barca play, the fascists play them the week after so until the Classico (which we havent won for a few seasons now) this does give a good indication of the difference between the teams

They have indeed - Barca have finally clicked which is great, 7 wins on the trot now

A home game against Valladolid next week so we should make it 24 points from 24

[Asad7]

^^^so do they still own the club or somehow support it finanially????

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 ^^^so do they still own the club or somehow support it finanially????

No he never owned it - it was the team he followed whilst ruling Spain so he favoured them.

Franco died long ago BUT the term still remains as he was a integral part of their history - obviously some of the comments are tongue in cheek BUT his influence cant be dismissed

Barca are the PROPER club

[Geordie Ahmed]

Amazing game - its 4-3 to Real

Higuain has all 4 goals for Real

[Asad7]

barca leading 1-0 after 15 mins

[Geordie Ahmed]

That man Eto'o getting the goal

That's 10 in 10

[Asad7]

4 goals to eto'o as barca lead 4-0

[Geordie Ahmed]

Barcelona THUMPED Valladolid 6-0

Eto'o with 4 goals

Gudjohnsen and Henry getting the other goals

Barcelona just playing out of this world in La Liga at the moment - thats 8 wins on the trot, not just wins BUT convincing wins most of them

They have scored an astonishing 33 goals in those 8 games, thats outrageous, their GD is 26 which is more than double the next highest GD (Real with 12)

GO BARCA

[Amir]

Deporitvo getting back on track.

[Asad7]

Madrid out of Copa Del Ray after drawing with Real Union 6-6 (R. Union win on away goals rule)

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 Madrid out of Copa Del Ray after drawing with Real Union 6-6 (R. Union win on away goals rule)

Madrid always seem to have high scoring matches in the Copa Del Ray

[Asad7]

barca win 1-0 against Benidorm
Messi rescues them yet again

[Zechariah]

Real Madrid are really messing up everything now... seems like Schuster is out seen and to be replaced by Rikjard due to the dutch influence at the club atm.

[Sheikh]

Originally Posted by Zechariah Real Madrid are really messing up everything now... seems like Schuster is out seen and to be replaced by Rikjard due to the dutch influence at the club atm.

I think they'll be buying in January. With Robben and Ruud out and being 32.5 million pounds richer, they're definitely going to be active in the winter.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Real lost 1-0 away to Valladolid

Cannobio getting the goal

Valencia suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Sporting Gijon

Both teams remain in 3/4th spot on 23 points after 11 games, they are 2 points behind league leaders Barca

Barca can go 5 ahead of Real 2moro when they take on Recreativo Huelva away from home

[Asad7]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed Real lost 1-0 away to Valladolid

Have Real sacked their manager?????

[Fawad]

Originally Posted by Asad7 Have Real sacked their manager?????

about time they did, Schuster should have been sacked at the end of last season.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Barca win 2-0

Messi and Keita the scorers

[Asad7]

Barca were pretty average today Bojan, Xavi and Eto'o didnt play well
is Messi injured or something???? he wasnt even on bench

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 Barca were pretty average today Bojan, Xavi and Eto'o didnt play well is Messi injured or something???? he wasnt even on bench

Yeah he was injured, dont think its long term - should be back for the next match

[Asad7]

Barca win 3-0 away at Sevilla
Eto'o with 1 and Messi with other two
10 consecutive away win for them and 6 points clear at top

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 Barca win 3-0 away at Sevilla Eto'o with 1 and Messi with other two 10 consecutive away win for them and 6 points clear at top

Brilliant result - Barca back on track after dropping 2 points at home to Getafe

Eto'o cant stop scoring and Messi also in great scoring form, Messi has 15 goals in 17 games this season

[Asad7]

wth is with their fixtures???? almost every team has played Barca first and the next they play Madrid

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Asad7 wth is with their fixtures???? almost every team has played Barca first and the next they play Madrid

Daoud mentions that in post 54

Certainly is very weird

[Geordie Ahmed]

Forogt to mention Getafe beating derby rivals Real 3-1

[Geordie Ali]

Madrid were shocking!!! Getafe fully deserved their win so well done to them.
If madrid carry on playing like that thn never mind winning the league they wont even get a spot in europe next season!! They were awful!