Rich La Liga, a powerful force

On paper, it is a significant case of the rich getting richer. La Liga, which already boasted the Champions League and Uefa Cup winners, added a raft of top international talent in the summer, while managing to hang on to its established stars, with the exception of those who bowed to old age, Henrik Larsson and Zinédine Zidane. The competition kicks off on Saturday and, after doing the league and Champions League double last year, Barcelona are firm favourites. Frank Rijkaard, their coach, has epitomised the concept of adding to the squad slowly, acquiring a couple of key men year on year, while building on a stable base. He has signed three players this summer, compared with two the summer before: Eidur Gudjohnsen, the former Chelsea striker, plus the Juventus refugees, Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram. And, indeed, one gets the sense that the pair from Italy were signed only because they became available after the relegation of Juventus to Serie B as a result of the match-fixing scandal.Then again, the last thing Barcelona needed was tinkering with. Zambrotta and Thuram add depth and versatility to a back line who, at times, appeared stretched last year. The midfield is also likely to be stronger, with an injury-free Xavi pulling the strings, while the front line of Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi is as good as they come. Indeed, the failure to lure Thierry Henry from Arsenal may be a blessing in disguise because there would not have been a way to accommodate four superstars of that calibre up front. If one were to nitpick, perhaps the lone question mark is over Gudjohnsen. He was signed as the main reserve striker — a role Larsson filled so well last year — although at Chelsea in the past two seasons he was used primarily in midfield, and even when playing up front he never quite looked a natural goalscorer. Barcelona’s fiercest rivals, Real Madrid, have placed their trust in Fabio Capello, the new coach, who has returned to the Bernabéu nine years after leading Real to the Spanish title. Capello’s track record — eight league titles in 14 seasons — is impressive, but he will have his work cut out this time. Real’s squad is bloated with players — the result of a rapid succession of coaches intent on bringing in their guys — and if they do not find a way to thin the ranks they will have a lot of highly paid, unhappy would-be stars. Capello’s priority has been adding defensive stability (Fabio Cannavaro and the midfield duo of Emerson and Mahamadou Diarra) and a genuine finisher (Ruud van Nistelrooy). Yet the starting line-up remains difficult to decipher, particularly up front, where Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Raúl, Robinho, Antonio Cassano and Julio Baptista will all be vying for a place in the team. What is more, it remains to be seen how the likes of Raúl and Roberto Carlos will handle his disciplinarian ways. Nine years ago, when they were young, up-and-coming players, they seemed to hang on Capello’s every word. Now that they are veterans with declining skills and plenty of influence with the powers that be, it may well be a different story. Then there are the other fading galácticos, David Beckham and Ronaldo. The first is beset by contract issues (not to mention losing his international place), the second harassed by a media obsessed with his weight. How does Capello handle them, bearing in mind that both remain commercial juggernauts? Further bad news for Capello is that the Real faithful’s honeymoon with Ramón Calderón, the club president, whom they elected in the summer, is truly over — some are even calling for his resignation. Calderón had promised a slew of signings who never materialised — among them Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben — and he is already under pressure as the club fail to trim the playing squad. At Valencia, Quique Flores has quietly built a team who could mount a serious challenge. Asier Del Horno bolsters a solid defence and there is plenty of goalscoring punch, with the prolific Francesco Tavano joining David Villa, last season’s revelation. If Vicente, the talented but perpetually injured winger, regains his form, they could be Barcelona’s biggest threat. Last season, Javier Aguirre performed miracles at Osasuna, employing constant squad rotation to take a team filled with unknowns to fifth place in the league. Now, he is taking on Spanish football’s biggest basket case, Atlético Madrid. On paper, Atlético look great, but then they usually do. Giourkas Seitaridis and Mariano Pernía, the new full backs, join Pablo and Luis Perea in what could be one of the best defences in Europe. And, up front, provided that they hang on to Fernando Torres, Atlético could have one of the most exciting partnerships in Europe, thanks to the acquisition of Sergio Aguero, the Argentine starlet. Elsewhere, Seville are building on their Uefa Cup success with the addition of Christian Poulsen, the midfield player, and Ernesto Chevantón, the elegant striker, while Villarreal, the surprise package of 2004-05 and Champions League semi-finalists last season, were dealt an early blow when they were knocked out of the Intertoto Cup by Maribor, from Slovenia, last month. Still, with the arrival of Robert Pires and Nihat Kahveci, Villarreal have more attacking options — although, as always, Juan Román Riquelme will be first option in everything. The debate over which is the best league in the world is an endless one, but there is little question that, in terms of European results and sheer numbers of world-class players, it does not get much better than La Liga. Which should make this season all the more interesting. There are ten days left in the transfer window, but for now it appears that La Liga is ahead of the Barclays Premiership in terms of the quality of signings LA LIGA SIGNIFICANT INS: Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona), Robert Pires (Villarreal), Sergio Aguero (Atlético Madrid), Francesco Tavano (Valencia), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Madrid), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Lilian Thuram (Barcelona), Giourkas Seitaridis (Atlético Madrid), Christian Poulsen (Seville)SIGNIFICANT OUTS: Henrik Larsson (Barcelona), Fabio Aurelio (Valencia), Victor (Deportivo La Coruña), Zinédine Zidane (Real Madrid)

From Dailytrust