Men of La Mancha: Second Class - 7M sport

Men of La Mancha: Second Class

Posted Tuesday, January 26, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

For a team like Villarreal badly in need of a win, a visit from Real Zaragoza sure came at the perfect time. Ernesto Valverde's side didn't even put forth a very strong effort in the 4-2 victory on Sunday, but his strikers feasted on a Zaragoza back line that cannot compete at the highest level. 

The first season for any club after earning promotion to the top flight is all about making it stick. Both Zaragoza and Xerez are failing miserably right now and look poised to head straight back down. For Xerez, that was probably expected, but Zaragoza had every reason to think it could be competitive and begin working its way towards the relevance of three years before. 

Los Blanquillos finished the 2006-2007 campaign in sixth place behind an impressive attack featuring  Diego Milito and Pablo Aimar. They challenged for a Champions League spot until the final weeks of the season, and after picking up striker Ricardo Oliveira in the summer, Zaragoza started the following year as a chic pick to perhaps even contend for the title.

Unfortunately, the 2007-2008 team proved to be one of the most disappointing and underachieving in La Liga history. It crashed out of the UEFA Cup in the first round and finished 18th in the league, earning just eight points away from home. The only road victory came against Almeria in October 2007, and that remains Zaragoza's last away win in the Primera Division.

This run of futility reached 24 games at El Madrigal on Sunday with the defense once again playing a major role. Villarreal scored three times in the opening 25 minutes simply by taking advantage of Zaragoza mistakes. And after closing the gap to 3-2 in the second half, the visitors allowed Nilmar to race the length of the field and set up Ariel Ibagaza for the clinching score.

Zaragoza has given up more goals than any other team in La Liga this season (41), and the 11 defeats  after 19 games are the most for the club since the 1970-1971 campaign. To his credit, sporting director Gerhard Poschner has worked very hard to reverse the situation, pulling the trigger on a managerial switch a few weeks back and bringing in lots of new faces.

Four players have already arrived during the winter break, including Czech defender Jiri Jarosik and Chilean striker Humberto Suazo. But so far all the changes have amounted to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Zaragoza still can't seem to right the ship and the once-proud club will likely end up in the second division, where it probably belongs at this point.

Villarreal moved into the top half of the table with Sunday's victory and will set its sights on a Europa spot. The Champions League might be asking too much this season with Sevilla finally healthy again. Manuel Jimenez's side picked up its first home win in two months against Almeria on Saturday, while Deportivo also managed an impressive 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Riazor.

Next to visit La Corona will be Real Madrid, who took care of business on Sunday against Malaga to remain five points behind Barcelona. The Catalan giants became only the fifth team ever in Spanish soccer to reach the halfway point unbeaten after a 3-0 thrashing of Valladolid. Lionel Messi notched his 15th goal of the season and stands all alone atop the scoring charts.

Tilting at Windmills (Barcelona vs. Madrid Referee report card)

Barcelona has rendered any talk about officiating moot the past couple of weeks with such lopsided score lines, so Cristiano Ronaldo's sending off grabbed all the headlines. The Portuguese star received his marching orders midway through the second half after whacking Malaga's Patrick Mtiliga across the face and breaking his nose.

It was a harsh decision since Mtiliga initiated the contact between the two players, but Perez Lasa had no choice but to pull out the red card. The play did spark an interesting debate about protecting the league's big stars. Then again, Lionel Messi is subjected to the same kind of treatment as Ronaldo each and every week and rarely lashes out in the same manner. 

Don Quixote (Player of the Round) – Filipe Luis, Deportivo

Since the Brazilian likely won't appear in this space again this season, a nod to one of the most underrated players in the world. Filipe Luis very nearly sat out Saturday's match against Athletic Bilbao with a calf injury, but he opted to play in large part to preserve his proud record of not having missed a league game since November 2007. 

The left back was enjoying another fine day and scored Deportivo's opening goal early in the second half, but on the same play he collided with Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz. The result is a broken right ankle and a layoff of up to six months, practically ending his World Cup dreams. A devastating blow for a player expected to be one of Real Madrid's primary targets this summer. 

The Impossible Dream (Goal of the Round) – Xavi, Barcelona

Barcelona struggled early on against Valladolid, as Victor Valdes was called upon to make a couple of fine saves, but the momentum certainly shifted 20 minutes in when the Blaugrana embarked on a sensational team move that began and ended with Xavi. His back heel helped spring Daniel Alves, whose cross was met by the Spanish midfielder with an acrobatic finish.

The next two goals scored by Alves and Lionel Messi weren't too bad either, but Xavi's impressive strike takes the prize. The 30-year-old might just be the most important player on the team, and his spectacular form of late has helped Barcelona post three consecutive blowout wins to open up a five-point gap atop the standings.

Sancho Panza (Unsung Hero of the Round) – Manu, Getafe

Atletico Madrid had never lost at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum, but this Getafe team is determined to make history. Los Azulones completed their best first half ever with a 1-0 win on Sunday, proving they are the second best team in the city at the moment. The winning goal came courtesy of Manu, who met a low cross from Pedro Leon and fired into the back of the net.

It was his first league goal since the fourth week of the season, but far from his only contribution of the match. The 25-year-old terrorized Atletico down the left side, getting the best of  defender Juan Valera on a number of occasions, particularly in the first half. The victory keeps Michel's side within striking distance of a Champions League spot.

Rocinante (Goat of the Round) – Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid 

Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong claim to being named the Player of the Round, but such is the maddening nature of the Portuguese star sometimes, he finds himself here instead. Ronaldo was great on Saturday, leading Madrid to an important victory with two wonderfully taken goals. Unfortunately, he also found time to get himself sent off in the second half.

It is the second red card of the season for Ronaldo, and means he will miss next week's clash against Deportivo. Real Madrid hasn't won at the Riazor in 18 years and can't afford to fall any further behind Barcelona. The Merengues did knock off Valencia last month without Ronaldo, but Manuel Pellegrini would prefer to have the best player in the world available.

Miguel Cervantes (Quote of the weekend)

“I wrote a beautiful chapter in the history of Real Madrid, but I do leave with one big regret. Not winning the Champions League.”

– Ruud van Nistelrooy's final words before departing for Hamburg.

 “Men of La Mancha” appears Monday mornings on Goal.com. Also check out “Friends of Don Quixote” on Friday mornings, as David Mosse previews the action for the upcoming weekend.



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