No room for the Kid, but space for a kid

It was a long time coming but this week Fernando Torres finally got the heave-ho from the Spanish team, after his unprecedented dip in form over the past two years.

That was the main talking point when Vicente del Bosque announced his 23-man squad ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Venezuela. The quietly spoken coach expressed his heartache at having to drop el Niño, but justified his decision by stating that he didn’t want other players to go unrewarded for the sake of someone else’s past glories, “It pains me to leave Fernando out, but I can’t be unfair to other players who are knocking on the door”. Other notable absentees included Albiol, Iniesta (dogged with a niggling hamstring injury), and Pedro, who has only featured as a bit part player this season.

Torres’ absence, you’d assume, is in large part due to the abundance of forward talent vying for a spot on the much coveted ‘Furia Roja’ plane to the Ukraine and Poland this summer. However, for the mean time at least, Del Bosque faces a bit of a dilemma in that position. With Villa still recovering from his nasty shin fracture in Yokohama, Negredo picking up an injury against Valencia on the weekend and Soldado not exactly firing on all cylinders of late, the only in form out-and-out striker available to play in Malaga this Wednesday is another Fernando. Fernando Llorente. The Athletic target man seems to have taken off where Soldado left off, and is hitting the kind of form that would make it hard for any coach to ignore him.

Torres looking for the shadow of his former self after nightmare miss against Manchester United

The forward conundrum is not the only problem presenting itself to the mister. Fatigue is another legitimate concern for the current European and World champions. Being the best comes at a price, and in Spain’s case that manifests itself in a very busy playing schedule, not only at international level but also at club one. Barcelona players, seven of whom make up the current squad, have the most demanding itinerary of all: Xavi Hernández for example has already played 2,868 minutes in 38 games in three different continents this season for club and country. But that pales in comparison to the 3, 368 minutes Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso has clocked up in 40 matches since August.

The effects of fixture congestion are not only apparent in Barcelona’s weary away form in the current league campaign. The national team’s reputation has also taken a blow, as the abysmal friendly record since last August attests to (W1, D2, L4). Many put this down to not only exhaustion, but also to a verging on mutinous spirit within the national camp, with certain players unimpressed with the Spanish FA’s insistence that ‘la seleccion’ takes on the role of the footballing equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters-exhibition matches for the highest bidders.

Del Bosque’s remedy to all this has been to ease off on the over reliance on the two big clubs, with only 11 members in this most recent squad hailing from Real Madrid and Barcelona. The new club to make it’s presence felt in the dressing room is undoubtedly Club Athletic de Bilbao.

Muniain grabbing the winning goal against CSKA Moscow last week

Marcelo Bielsa’s team has garnered plenty of positive attention this season. The transition from the traditional long ball, tough tackling tactics of before to the more technical, pass focused approach favoured by the ever scowling Argentine is still a work-in-progress, but by no means have the lion’s famed intensity levels dropped as a result of the revamp. Four players from the Basque club have got the nod from the national coach: Llorente, the most senior of the lot, getting his 19^th call up, defensive partners, Iroala and Javi Martínez, each make their seventh appearances on the team sheet while the prodigious Iker Muniain makes his debut for the first team.

Muniain’s star has been shining bright for quite some time now, but with the glut of talent at Del Bosque’s disposal no one would have thought the teenager would be included in the squad quite so soon. However, since making his first team debut for the Athletic at 16 years of age in 2009, he has really cemented his place in the San Mamés side and this season has played 2,863 minutes in 36 games and is acting as the driving force behind Bielsa’s “more football” approach.

A strong dribbler, the has been likened to Iniesta and Messi on more than one occasion, the teenager has also made a habit of getting his name on the score sheet recently, which no doubt the moustachioed manager will have taken note of.

So does this shift in power spell the end for the big clubs dominance in la selección? It’s too soon to say, but with the financial pull of the Premier league already luring players like Silva and Mata away from Spanish shores and the emergence of teams like Athletic, it’s not that ludicrous of a theory.

Although not a member of either Real Madrid or Barca, the once prolific Niño Torres is the first big name to be culled from the team. And with whippersnappers like Muniain lurking in the figurative and literal wings, none of the big names are safe from the chop.

Keepers: Víctor Valdés (Barcelona), Reina (Liverpool), Casillas (Real Madrid); Defenders: Iraola and Javi Martínez (Athletic Bilbao), Piqué and Puyol (Barcelona), Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Valencia); Midfielders: Busquets, Fàbregas, Thiago and Xavi (Barcelona), Cazorla (Málaga), David Silva (Manchester City), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Jesús Navas (Sevilla); Forwards: Llorente and Muniain (Athletic Bilbao), Mata (Chelsea), Negredo (Sevilla), Soldado (Valencia).

Cut-Throat Board Rooms: Managerial Changes in la liga this season

On a fickleness scale the average Spanish football club president probably sits somewhere between an insecure teenage girl discovering an even squeakier-clean version of the boy band she’s already pledged her existence to and a cat, basing the amount of affection it shows it’s owner on how hungry it is. To remind ourselves of the kneejerk mentality within the executive circles of Spanish football, let’s look at some of the decisions this privileged group of people have made in the recent past: there was Florentino Pérez’s assertion in 2003 that Vicente del Bosque, who helped Real Madrid lift the league and Champions League twice, “was not the right coach for the (club’s) future”, and near neighbour Enrique Cerezo’s contract breaking antics, which have seen 13 changes of management since he took over at Atlético Madrid in May 2003.

This season in La Primera, whether because of the increased financial pressure or the particularly “meh” performances on offer by many of the teams, the men in suits have been especially sack-happy even by their high standards, with eight of the 20 clubs changing coaching staff already.

So just how spot on or way off have these respective technical area revamps been?

To begin this story in chronological order, we must venture all the way back to October. It’s easy to forget all the hullabaloo that surrounded Real Mallorca back then, when Michael Laudrup made his way for the exit doors days after his number two, Erik Larsen, was sacked for publicly slagging off the club’s sporting director, Llorenç Serra Ferrer. Defenders of the great Dane, who had argued that the hierarchy had effectively pushed him out, piped down once the dust settled over the Balearic club and his replacement was revealed, the much acclaimed Joaquín Caparrós. Considering the austere measures the club has adopted (the last minute sale of talisman Jonathan De Guzman to Villarreal a case in point), the ex-Athletic coach has done an impressive job so far as, although still skittish, the team is by no means the worst in the top flight, with their last six league results reading LWLWLW. Caparrós, used to operating on a limited pool of resources (e.g. Athletic’s Basque only policy), is probably a better fit for the cash strapped club than the former Barca and Real Madrid legend.

The next coach on the scrapheap was Hector Cúper, which was admittedly his decision. The well travelled Argentine made his way out of Racing Santander for two reasons: firstly he didn’t know who was running the club, and secondly his murky past, which involved an Italian mafia betting syndicate, had caught up with him. Unable to lure in one replacement, the makeshift board of directors entrusted the club on three heads who were willing to work for a fraction of what a mercenary would have asked for: technical director Jaunjo González accompanied by Fede Castaños and Pablo Pinillos. Despite sitting on top of the drop zone, the three new charges have done a remarkable job considering how demoralising the last year has been for the Cantabria club, grinding out some pretty impressive results against difficult opposition along the way, like the three points they took from Osasuna’s notorious fortress, El Reyno de Navarra, and the points they squeezed in the last month against Valencia and Atleti. As of writing, they sit three points below safety, sadly however, even if they were to escape relegation this year, the rap is up for racinguistas, and the inevitable slide is only a matter of time.

With the winter break looming December was an opportune time for guillotine sharpening and three heads had rolled by the time the new year had arrived. First up was Gregorio Manzano, whose role at the Atlético was already reduced to a dead man walking capacity long before getting the boot. Then it was Juan Carlos Garrido’s turn to finally put an end to his disastrous campaign at Villarreal, before Agapito Iglesias decided that Javier Aguirre was a suitable scapegoat for Real Zaragoza’s pathetic showing.

The fine people governing matters at the Calderón made no secret of their intentions to coax club legend Diego Simeone back to instil some of his much needed blood and guts mentality into the decent squad of players available, which had been lacking any sort of cohesion under Manzano. And it seems to have worked. The colchoneros have gone from being the division’s laughing stock, with the worst away record of any club, to one of it’s most resolute teams, conceding just two goals in eight matches under El Cholo’s instructions. So dramatic has the turn around been for the South Madrid outfit that they now have a very realistic chance of finishing in fourth and grabbing the last Champions League spot, which was unimaginable two months ago.

What was more unpredictable than Fernando Roig’s sacking of Garrido, was the Yellow Submarine president’s choice of replacement. The usually level-headed owner has always preferred to promote from within, which is a commendable trait in this day and age, but not when the man coming in has already been having a torrid time with the second team. José Molina has not exactly invigorated Villarreal’s flagging squad and his only victory to date was against a must-beat Sporting Gijón. Damage limitation is the order of the day for the new manager but if he is not careful a relegation dogfight could be on the cards. However, in fairness to the ex-goal keeper, he was had a difficult run of fixtures to start off with and should be able to stir the club away from a calamitous drop.

Zaragoza, having failed to secure ex-Getafe boss Míchel, settled for Manolo Jiménez to do God knows what for the Aragon outfit. One win, two draws and three loses since taking over is not the kind of form required if the club is to climb from the foot of the table. Notwithstanding, the problems at the club are far too deep routed for Jiménez to fix, and the estimated €110 debt is probably a bigger concern than him keeping them in la liga is.

2012 has been just as harsh on poor old coaches, with three more forced to pack up their desks. Sevilla, Granada and Sporting Gijón all gave their managers the heave-ho. At the time Fabri being axed to make way for Abel Resino seemed harsh considering the Galician had guided the team to two promotions in two years, however, the ex-Atleti boss (there are a few of them) has got off to a positive start since joining, boasting nine points from 12 and widening the gap between los empresarios (the entrepreneurs) and the relegation zone.

Spanish football let out a cry when it got word of Manuel Preciado’s sacking, as did the man handing him his P-60, Manuel Vega-Arango. The president explained his decision to let go of the longest serving coach in the league between tears, justifying it with the simple mantra “this is football”. In stepped Javier Clemente, who from the get go declared that pretty stuff had no place in his plans, only results did. Two draws and a lose may look like a poor return, but taken in context it’s not so bad: Osasuna, Valencia and Atleti. Despite rubbing Nacho Novo up the wrong way upon arrival, the straight talking manager seems to have his squad singing off the same hymn sheet now.

The most recent change came in Sevilla, where Marcelino’s shoring up of the defence at the cost of scoring goals saw Míchel take his place at the helm. The former Getafe man didn’t get the immediate reaction from his players as you’d expect, but on it’s third attempt the Andalusian club finally got a win under him. Sitting in eleventh place the team is only four points off fourth place so Míchel, who has drawn blood from stones before with Getafe, will most certainly be aiming to be listening to the famous Champions League anthem on the right side of the tv screen next year.

None of the Basque sides, neither of the Catalan sides and only one third of the Madrid sides have had a turn over of technical staff this campaign. That just leaves Betis, Levante, Valencia and Malaga as the only other clubs to remain loyal to their managers so far this season. In the case of the latter however, things probably won’t stay that way for long, as Pelligrini’s nouveau riche Boquerones show no signs of clicking any time soon.

Second Leg with a Foot in the Door: Atlético Madrid vs Lazio

This Thursday in the Spanish capital Atlético Madrid and Lazio conclude the second leg of their Europa League fixture on banks of the city’s Manzanares river. Last week the Italians were humbled on their home turf, and as far as order measurements go, theirs is going to be quite a tall one if they are to progress any further in the competition. The Roman side has a 3-1 deficit to overcome against a rojiblanco team which, so far under Simeone’s stewardship, has only leaked two goals in eight competitive matches.

Domestically speaking, neither team had a encouraging weekend on the back of last week’s encounter, with both being frustrated by “lesser” opposition. In Lazio’s case, the wounds they were left to lick were particularly deep, as eighth placed Palermo gave them a 5-1 pummelling, which saw them drop down to fourth in Serie A and led an embarrassed Edy Reja to admit, "we had a total blackout" after the final whistle.

Lullabies and good night kisses are what one would expect the former Napoli coach to lavish upon Sunday’s experimental 3-4-1-2 formation before putting it to bed ahead of Thursday’s trip to the Calderon, but his hand may be forced again as injury woes still abound for the Biancocelestis (White and sky blues). So depleted is the Lazio squad at the moment that Christian Ledesma was played as a centre half during the humiliation in the Stadio Renzo Barbera on the weekend. With the likes of Stefan Radu and Giuseppe Biava still out, and players like Abdoulay Konko (suspensed for the Palermo game) probably low on confidence after being humbled against the Spanish side last week, Reja has very few resources at hand to pacify the Atleti front line.

Luckily for him though, aside from their master class in Rome last week, the rojiblanco machine has not exactly been firing on all cylinders of late. On Sunday Cholo’s men were held to their third league stale mate in a row, as a plucky, second-from-bottom Sporting Gijon held them to a 1-1 draw in the Molinon. This uninspiring string of results raises some legitimate concerns about the wastefulness on display, especially considering the talent at the Madrid’s club disposal - they had to rely on Canella to score an o.g. for their only goal in Cantabria.

Dropped points not withstanding, the worst thing to come out of Sunday’s la liga clash was the news of Diego’s hamstring injury, which will see the Brazilian side lined for at least a month. Without his creative flair and vision in the centre of the park Atleti are definitely a weaker team and his absence on Thursday arguably leaves Simeone without his best player since taking over. On a positive note for the Argentine, Tiago should be available to fill in for the Werder Bremen loanee, and with Mario taking on the role of the holding midfielder, the Portuguese player could be pushed higher up the pitch (a position he is already comfortable with) to help pull the strings for the likes of Koke, Adrian and Falcao.

Whatever the concerns about firepower are for the home side, the fact of the matter is that this game is theirs to lose and as long as they can contain Klose and Alfaro up front, Lazio don’t stand much of a chance of beating them. Defensively, Atleti look very assured and breaking them down will be a real test for the off-form visitors.

The Italians are in a catch 22 situation, where committing men forward in order to overhaul their deficit is necessary but at the risk of exposing a make-shift defence to the likes of Adrian and Falcao who thrive on counterattacking football.

Prediction: Like the first leg I see Atlético upping their game for the European stage, especially at home, where they have convincingly won all of their Europa League matches so far this campaign.

Lazio vs Atlético Madrid: Familiar Faces and Old Friends

Having recently received a hero’s welcome on his return home to the Vicente Calderón to help get his beloved  Atlético Madrid’s season back on track, Diego Simeone is now preparing himself for a trip back to yet another cherished old hunting ground from his playing days, the Stadio Olimpico. This Thursday ‘El Cholo’, through pure chance, will lead his Rojiblancos out into the Roman caldron to take on his other beloved club, Lazio, in his first European test as a manager in the Europa League.

Much like he is associated with Atleti’s brief run of success in the nineties, the Argentine is also fondly remembered by the blue half of the Italian capital for lifting titles. During his four spell here, between 1999 and 2003, he added a Serie A title, the Italian Cup and the Super Cup to his list of accolades.

Simeone is not the only one psyching himself up for a blast from the past on Thursday night though. Miroslav Klose and Diego will also have to deal with familiar faces from their past, as they face off against each other for the first time since their wonderful spell together at Werder Bremen ended, a club where they formed an almost telepathic partnership that produced 72% of the team’s goals (55) in 2007 and helped the German side to a Champions League spot. Klose, an out-and-out striker, who incorporates intelligent movement, good decision-making and great finishing, was the perfect match for the Brazilian’s sharp passing and jaw-dropping vision. Since moving on from the Bundesliga, they have both developed other partnerships: the German has found another Brazilian provider in the form of Hernanes, while Diego has the likes of Falcao and Adrian to look for up front.

Back in October, the Madrid outfit was beaten in Italy 2-0 by Udinese in the same competition, but that was under Manzano, and the match was played in the wrong Italian city. History favours los colchoneros when it comes to playing in Rome, where they have never lost. Back in 1998 they were held to a goalless draw against Lazio in the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, which saw them knocked out on aggregate, and in 1999 they came back from the Mussolini-constructed arena with a 2-1 win, however, that was against Lazio’s bitter rivals and stadium co-lodgers, Roma.

Lazio have enjoyed a decent season so far, currently sitting third in Serie A, but coach Edy Reja has a bit of a selection dilemma ahead of this European clash due to the troublingly long list of injuries he has to contend with.

In defense, veteran centre-half André Dias is out, and it looks as though the always reliable Stefan Radu will be missing at left full, as well as the versatile Senad Lulic, who have both had to sit out training this week. In their absence Reja has been experimenting with Abdoulay Konko at left back this week. If the Frenchman were to start against the likes of Adrian, Falcao and Arda Turan on Thursday, he could be in for a rough night as he’s not proven. There is talk of new signee, Antonio Candreva, filling in for Lulic on the left of midfield.

As far as selection problems for Simeone go, the main concern is Tiago who is still carrying a knock after playing against Racing Santander on Saturday. The Portuguese player will be missed in the middle of the park, where he would more than likely act as the thorn in Hernanes’ side, keeping the Brazilian’s breathing time on the ball to a minimum. To that end, it might be a good opportunity for Paulo Assunção – who, so far under Simeone, has been a rare sight on match days - to impress his new boss on the European stage. Apart from that, Atleti look at full strength and should be looking to get something from this game to take into the return leg the following week.

Simeone’s arrival has shored things up defensively for the south Madrid club, Thibaut Courtois has not had to pick a single ball out of the back of his net since the former midfield general took over from Manzano. As well as that, away form has picked up dramatically compared to before Christmas, when they were the most road sick team in the league. In recent weeks though, the team has been running on hot air and scoring has become an issue that needs to be resolved. The return of European football and the big occasion is as good a catalyst as any to invigorate this group of very decent players again and the depleted state of their hosts is not doubt something the players are well aware of.

Prediction: a 2-0 win for the visitors as Lazio’s injury list proves too much of a burden for them to deal with.