Translated material
Invisible Championship
Because of a dispute between TV companies, Spanish football is not watched in Europe
Watching the start of this year's Spanish Football Championship is a special pleasure. Over the years of digital television and cable channels, we have become accustomed to convenience: pay and see. However, any habits are temporary, unlike Spanish irresponsibility, which, of course, is eternal.The conflict between two companies - Audiovisual Sport and Media Pro, which have television rights to broadcast games, deprived us of the first matches of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The games of the giants were not shown throughout Europe. The dispute seemed to be settled, and millions of fans who were unable to visit the Santiago Bernabeu and Nou Camp every weekend breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out in vain. The conflict began to make noise again, and Examples mercilessly removed the matches between Valencia and Real from the television programs of the seventh round.
In such conditions, interest in games increases unimaginably. “Pay and see” no longer works. And one has to guess a lot from dry statistical reports. What's the new Real Madrid? True, every year it is rebuilt from scratch in order to fire the coach in the next May and renew half of the team in the summer. Now Real Madrid is being revived by Bernd Schuster. Perhaps many people remember his playing past. Now Shuster is a coach, and even an experienced one. In Spain he worked great with Levante and Getafe. It would seem that after the most modest teams, putting a “royal” club into such hands would be an unprecedented risk. However, Shuster has seen a lot. He has a great career as a football player and really successful seasons in Spain as a coach.
Behind him is a successful start. Another victory in the seventh round over Getafe - 1:0 - modestly and pragmatically: in the Champions League week, we need to save energy. It is impossible to overestimate a successful start. How many of Schuster's predecessors were ruined by a bad start? In Madrid they won’t wait and they don’t know how, coaches here are fired at one time, but Shuster has already secured carte blanche for himself in case of further decline.
From the great Capello, who won the championship last year, Shuster inherited a disciplined team with a masculine character. Shuster added to it several expensive transfers, aggression and invention. The current Real is rightfully in first place: in terms of play, beauty, and charisma, this is the best team in the tournament so far. Her invention was Sneijder, her power - Drenthe, her scoring instinct - Nistelrooy, her feints - Robben, her experience - Raul and Guti.
Barcelona, as usual, is chasing Real Madrid. Frank Rijkaard's team has had problems with their leader, Ronaldinho, from the start. They say he has a conflict with the coach and the team management, they say he wants to leave. However, none of this matters. Rijkaard allows himself to change Ronaldinho for another reason: while he is not playing his football, and the leaders of the Barça team are the young Messi, the highly experienced Henry, the cunning, frail and smartest Iniesta and defensive newcomers Milito, Abidal and Yaya Toure.
Milito replaced the injured Puyol at the beginning of the season. The Catalan captain recovered and came on for the second half in Saturday's match against Levante. By that time, the guests were already leading 2:0, and Rijkaard decided to give Gabriel a rest. The central pair of Puyol and Milito is a terrible weapon in the future, just let them play. But there is always the wise Thuram and regular starting player Marquez.
Barcelona worked over the summer to add strength to their squad. Now it is represented in the club by defensive midfielder Yaya Toure - a kind of copy of the young Vieira - and left winger Abidal. Abidal is flexible, fast and almost as good in martial arts. Of course, he doesn’t have the attacking skills of Barça, but that’s not what they bought him for.
Barça also has Henri. He's not the same yet. The 1:4 victory over Levante, with Thierry's hat-trick to boot, shouldn't blind anyone. Henri is still looking for himself in a new team. Levante was too weak, Thierry scored all his goals without much supervision. So far, young Messi looks like the leader of the attack. Over the summer, many speculated about how Rijkaard would position Henry, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Messi on the pitch. Now Eto'o is injured, Ronaldinho is out of shape, and Rijkaard is replaced by the young and talented Dos Santos. Talk about too many creative players has disappeared. There was no need to start them. There are about 60 matches in a season, modern football does not require the participation of leaders in every game, and football with today's competition requires victory in almost every match.
Spain's European star of the last two seasons, Sevilla are off to a terrible start. Three defeats in a row in the championship plus one in the Champions League. The Seville team, of course, had absolutely no luck with their opponents. You wouldn't wish it on your enemy to meet Arsenal and Barcelona in a row. In both meetings, Sevilla did not look like a whipping boy, but indicated a slight deficit in skill. Still, this team still has to grow to the top level. Arsenal and Barcelona were better in the little things, in finishing chances and in concentration. Yes, this is no longer the level of the UEFA Cup, which Sevilla won for two years in a row.
After two defeats, Sevilla lost to Espanyol and this weekend to Zaragoza - 2:0. Moreover, the loss to Zaragoza was not due to the game. The course of the match makes us think that Sevilla has psychological problems. Juand Ramos' team is not used to playing the role of the middle peasant, and temporary setbacks clearly spoiled the players' mood. In midweek, Sevilla will meet Slavia in the Champions League, and will play at home. The perfect match to chase away the blues. The Prague residents need to prepare for a very difficult game.
While Real Madrid is in the lead, Barcelona is slightly behind, and Sevilla is floundering in the middle of the table, with Villarreal and Valencia sharing second and third places. In the reporting round, Villarreal defeated Athletic in a hard-fought match. Having increased their pressure in the second half, the hosts scored and confidently maintained their advantage. Valencia, in turn, scored its fifth consecutive victory in the championship. Villa scored for the Bats in the 5th minute and the score remained unchanged. The Spanish Championship pleases with the intensity of competition at all levels. All that remains is for the television people to agree on everything so that we can be content with more than just statistical reports on the matches of the leaders.
Spanish Championship. 6th round. Zaragoza - Sevilla - 2:0, Levante - Barcelona - 1:4, Atlético - Osasuna - 2:0, Villarreal - Athletic -- 1:0, Almeria -- Racing -- 0:1, Valladolid -- Murcia -- 1:4, Betis -- Mallorca -- 3:0, Espanyol "- Deportivo - 1:0, Getafe - Real Madrid - 0:1, Recreativo - Valencia - 0:1.
| 1. | Real | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14--3 | 16 |
| 2. | Villarreal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9--5 | 15 |
| 3. | Valencia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9--7 | 15 |
| 4. | Barcelona | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13--4 | 14 |
| 5. | Atlético | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11--4 | 11 |
| 6. | Espanyol | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8--7 | 10 |
| 7. | Mallorca | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9--8 | 8 |
| 8. | Murcia | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7--6 | 8 |
| 9. | Zaragoza | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8--9 | 8 |
| 10. | Recreative | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7--8 | 8 |
| 11. | Racing | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3--7 | 8 |
| 12. | Almeria | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7--7 | 7 |
| 13. | Seville | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11--9 | 6 |
| 14. | Osasuna | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5--5 | 5 |
| 15. | Betis | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7--8 | 5 |
| 16. | Athletic | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4--8 | 5 |
| 17. | Valladolid | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8--13 | 5 |
| 18. | Deportivo | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3--8 | 5 |
| 19. | Getafe | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3--9 | 2 |
| 20. | Levante | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3--14 | 1 |