The Olympics have started and will continue until the end of August, assuming that the particular national team advances all the way to the final games. The recent complaints by the big teams and in light of the recent decision by CAS in favor of the clubs, I thought I would take a look at the Olympics and the affect on La Liga.

Here's the list of players:

SERBIA

Midfielder: Milan Smiljanic (21) (Espanyol, Spain)

ARGENTINA

Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari (Getafe)

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid, on loan to Racing Santander), Federico Fazio (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Ever Banega (Valencia),

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) (OR Marco Ruben, Villareal), Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla).

NETHERLANDS

Midfielder: Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid)

NIGERIA

Forward: Ikechukwu Uche (Getafe)

UNITED STATES

Forward: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)

BELGIUM

Striker: Tom De Mul (22) (Sevilla, Spain)

BRAZIL

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves (23) (Almeira, Spain)

Defenders: Marcelo (20) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Strikers: Rafael Sobis (23) (Real Betis, Spain)

ITALY

Strikers: Giuseppe Rossi (21) (Villareal, Spain)

The latest rulings have probably ruined future Olympics, friendlies and national team tournaments. Especially in regards to European big teams. But if we look at the statistics. Here is the impact on a team by team basis, which in my opinion is not insurmountable.

Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Villarreal - each have allowed 3 players. In fact, should Madrid decide to call back Ezekiel Garay from Racing Santander, Real Madrid will lead with 4 players released.

Espanyol, Getafe, and Valencia - each have allowed 2 players to play at the Olympics.

Almeria, Atletico Madrid, Barçelona, Racing Santander, and Real Betis each have released 1 player to the Olympic games.

What these statistics demonstrate to me, is that the majority of the richer or top teams have been quite generous in releasing players to the Olympics and have not brought matters to the Spanish press. Several smaller teams have been extremely understanding IE Getafe and Espanyol, and have taken a cosmopolitan attitude toward player and national team commitment. This is a global world and it is a shame that some teams are more concerned with money, insurance and club results, rather than a once in a lifetime opportunity for their players.

Well the UEFA draw for the Champions League Third Qualifying Round and the UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round. Confused yet?

Participants in the CL 3rd Round in La Liga and Serie A are the 3rd and 4th place winners of our leagues.

Participants in the UEFA Cup 2nd Round is the Intertoto winners in La Liga and Serie A.

The Cup winners or 5th and 6th place winners in our leagues will take part in the Group Stage, I believe.

Now that we got that squared away. Here's the draw:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

Pick of the draw: Atletico de Madrid vs Schalke 04. Good news: let's get to business right away! Bad news: Las Pupas? Or rather why us? This could possibly be an early exit for Atleti. Especially without Kun. But Atleti has the talent to seize the day and beat Schalke. This is going to be a mouth watering affair. Save the date! August 12th and 27th!

Other notable: Fiorentina vs Slavia Prague. Fiorentina has been waiting for this moment to play with the big boys. Put playing away against the Eastern European teams could be a banana skin. Fiorentina has reengineered their squad a lot. Will they be in sync and have their chemistry together in time? I certainly hope so.

Cakewalks: Why do the big teams get all the breaks? Luck or conspiracy? Barcelona failed to place first or second and have to qualify. They will face either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow in Poland. I don't think missing Messi will make a difference with Eto'o, Henry, Bojan, and Gudjonsen. Nope they are loaded. Meanwhile, Juventus is back to vye for Champions League glory! They will face either Tampere United of Finland or Artmedia of Slovakia. No problem, ya think?

UEFA CUP

A Coruña draw a toughie! Deportivo La Coruña are back in Europe after hard times financially. Team Depor will face Hadjuk Split from Croatia. This could be a difficult tie, especially if Depor lose hard man Coloccini to Newcastle. Depor ended their summer early and are raring to go. They will need to be at their best.

Easy peasy for Maradona's old team. Napoli who have been long missing from Europe to face off against KS Vilaznia of Albania. This should be a shoo-in for the Southerners. Forza Napoli.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree? What are your predictions? Post your comments and let's discuss.

Well, I wanted to call this blog THE GOON SQUAD, but I thought better of it. But what the hell is going on with the Owner's in La Liga? Have they all gone bonkers? Is it something in the water?

This week in La Liga, 3 Owners have made some ghastly decisions that could wreck the future of their respective teams. Let's run down the list:

Real Betis - All verdiblanco supporters loathe resident lunatic, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, who looks a bit too much like John Waters for my liking. Well, he finally decided to do the right thing and sell his shares to a new investor, Castel. Brilliant, yes! You have been sucking this club dry through legal and illegal means for too long! Please step down and give someone else a chance! But no, psych! Made ya look! Looks like Lopera is having cold feet and won't let go of his greed, I mean club. Give me a break! Can someone just hire an assassin and be done with it? I have a bad feeling that he ain't going anywhere.

Mallorca - In case you weren't aware, the Islanders are in the midst of a fire sale. They are selling all their best players left and right to the top bidder. Guiza, Navarro, Ibagaza, etc. Why? Well, their parent company has filed for bankruptcy for one. Of course, club personnel said that the bankruptcy had nothing whatsoever to do with Real Mallorca. Ya right! Well now, Grande the owner wants to sell his shares in the club to an English Consortium headed by Paul "the plumber" Davidson. Does this sound too much like an episode of Dream Team? Davidson claims that he wants to expand his home improvement- type company sales in Spain and that is his motivation for investing in the club. Whuh? Grande says Davidson will invest a great deal of bling in the club. OK. Now reports coming out of Spain say that the money Grande will be receiving from Davidson, will be used to pay off Grande's creditors. Yup! Also, the bankruptcy courts are investigating and reviewing the sale because it smells fishy!. This sounds like another owner using the club for his own private gain. In the process, the club has sold off it's best players, and the fans will be left with probably nothing but debt and more debt. I honestly don't think this sale will go through. Very sad indeed.

Valencia - Did you guys actually think that happy days were here again? That stability and zen was going to return to the Mestalla? That this year was going to be better? A fresh start? Think again. Juan Soler aka I am the Walrus has no business or sporting sense. The fans and players want him out. Please sell your shares! He "stepped" down last year and put in a puppet. That didn't work. This summer, he brought in ex Telefonica exec, Villalonga as President. Things were going to be different this year. Villalonga made a lot of promises IE keeping the stars, a return to greatness, cleaning house, etc. He brought in his own hatchet man, Javier Azkagorta to help reorganize the club. Unfortunately, Villalonga found out in a mere 10 days, that the financial core of Valencia is black and rotten. So he went to the press and publicly announced that Valencia is in a shiteload of debt. $750M Euros to be exact and that a huge capital infusion of $77M Euros would be needed to keep the star performers. Soler went through the roof and fired Villalonga along with his staff. (Soler paid them off $10M Euros to leave!) The Walrus then decided to make a pact with the devil, his old foe, Vicente Soriano, the second largest shareholder at Los Che. WTF? Has it all gone mad? I thought they hated each other? Is Soler really gone? Or is he lurking in the back? Is Soriano just the same old crap? He has been on the board all this time. And now it looks like the superstars, David Villa (Madrid lurking) and David Silva (Atleti lurking) are back on the market, among others like Joaquin. Shite just hit the fan at Valencia, again!

As the World Turns....

Running a Football club is extremely expensive. Most clubs in La Liga, are run at a loss. Some clubs still choose to expense their debt over future periods, rather than as they are incurred. This is extremely misleading and doesn't show the clear financial picture of a club. In addition, La Liga continues to allow clubs to negotiate their own Television rights locally and globally. This means the big clubs get the lion's share of the local and foreign revenues, whereas the smaller clubs are fortunate to get their games on the air.

The Spanish second division is even more precarious. Prior to the start of each season, the Spanish RFEF reviews the clubs to ensure that they have met all their financial obligations, including payments to players. This year the deadline is July 31st. If they cannot meet these obligations, they will be relegated. How do clubs avoid this punishment? Well, they file for protection from creditors under the Spanish "Ley Concursal", similar to the U.S. equivalent of Chapter 11. Currently, both Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad are far behind in their payments. But unlike in other countries, in Spain, they can avoid any sporting penalty, if these two club file for protection under Ley Concursal. Las Palmas and Alaves both filed under this law, avoided relegation and the court sided that they could not pay their players while under administration. Sound fair? What about the players? Levante could follow suit. Salamanca, Elche and Albacete, among others have been reported to the player's association (AFE) for non payment of wages and salaries. How many other clubs will fall and file for protection? No wonder the players are threatening with a strike.

The big clubs and star players are fine, but what about the career of the workman players, the regular joes trying to make end's meat. And what about the future stars? . How can they pay their bills and support their family? The disparity is appalling. What can the Spanish RFEF and Player's Association do to improve this situation? What about TV revenue sharing similar to the Premiership and soon Serie A? Will this help at all? What about stronger financial oversight, accountabily, and assistance? What about a sporting penalty IE relegation or deducting points for any club that files for protection, similar to Serie A? Isn't the strength of the top league and youth system, depend largely on the strength of the Second division? Or is it survival of the fittest in a global economy? What do you think?

Yes it's time to review the latest slate of suckers, no I mean Managers in La Liga for the 2008-9 Season. Managers can't win for losing. Yes they get paid the big bucks, but they get all the blame from the fans, players, staff management and press. This time around there are only 4 Foreign Managers in the Primera, very strange? (Schuster, Pellegrini, Aguirre and Kresic) Why the sudden decrease? That means 16 Spanish Managers. Is this the Golden Age of Managers, to go with the Golden Generation of Players? And only 8 manager changes in La Liga? (Guardiola, Lopez, Arconado, Emery, Marquez, Muñoz, Kresic, Tapia) Which means 12 Managers did the business and kept their job. Interesting...some stability? Well let's run down the list at the top of the table and let me know what you think.

1 Bernard Schuster - Real Madrid

He's back! Just friend of player, president and socio alike. Schuster did not bring to the club jogo bonito, but he brought harmony and a cohesiveness. He still has his detractors. Some may say the top of the table was weaker than normal. The real task will be this year as fans and background staff all yearn for La Decima. (The 10th Champions League Title) Will this be known as a cycle of stability at Madrid? Or will last year just be a fluke, riding on Fabio Capello's coat strings? It should be a very interesting year.

2. Manuel Pellegrini - Villarreal

The mild mannered Chilean Manager has brought this club back to greatness once again. They will be participating in the Champions League for the 2nd time in history and this time they are bringing some very interesting signings with a lot of quality. Of course the majority are South American, but Pellegrini knows that market intimately and is quite a crafty buyer to boot. Will they have enough depth to vie for all 3 titles? I say yes!

3. Pep Guardiola - Barcelona

The new kid on the block with the biggest job, IMO. Catalan born and bred in the Cryuff style. Can this superstar on the pitch succeed off the pitch? Does he have the man management skills and tactical nuance to battle with the big boys? Bringing in Pep so far has saved Joan Laporta's job, but just barely. He has spent the most money in La Liga and probably in World Football, this silly season. It will be very interesting to see how he will handle Ronaldhino and Eto'o should they stay at the Camp Nou. Is he in over his head? We shall see.

4. Javier Aguirre - Atletico de Madrid

Vasco had a very tough year last season. He had to break the mental barrier of Los Pupes. A disease that literally used to affect the team in the 2nd half of the season, so that they were always the nearly men. Nearly Europe that is. Kudos to Aguirre for building mental strength and fortitude. Looks like he is making some quality signings, especially in defense. Looks like Atletico is going to have another good year.

5. Manolo Jimenez - Sevilla

President Del Nido and company decided to stay with the ex player and youth team coach. Sevilla had an extremely tough year with the death of Antonio Puerta early on and the loss of Juande Ramos. They missed the CL and now have to settle for UEFA Cup. Is Manolo the man to bring Sevilla to the glory of two years ago? Not sure.

6. Juan Roman Lopez - Racing de Santander

The ex Malaga jefe, did wonders last year to earn promotion for the Anchovies back to La Primera. And his prize, well the Manager position at Racing. Can Lopez fill Marcellino's shoes? Does this small team from Cantabria have the depth and money to compete in the UEFA Cup? Is the team a Celta Vigo or a Sevilla? The reinforcements have been little to none, thus far. The future looks hazy.

7. Gregorio Manzano - Real Mallorca

The Spanish Manager made do with what he had and eked out tremendous results. Unfortunately, Mallorca's parent company has filed for bankruptcy and so they are selling all of their key/star players. Where they will stop, no one knows? Arango is probably the next one out the door. But Manzano is making some bargain basement buys, so you never know? I would put my money on Manzano to pull out another mid table performance and Copa Del Rey run.

8. Gonzalo Arconada - UD Almeria

No one can repeat what Unai Emery did last year at Almeria, so hopefully expectations will be managed accordingly. Arconada had a stellar year with Numancia in the second division. They clearly outshined the rest of the pack and earned promotion quite early. But playing in the Primera is a whole other ball game. Almeria has made some very good signings with Piatti from Estudiantes, a record signing for the club. But the jury is still out with the little team from Andalusia. The sophomore slump is boding.

9. Miguel Angel Lotina - Deportivo La Coruña

The long time Vasco coach had a remarkable year with Baby Depor last year. The team is currently in pre-season preparing for their Intertoto matches at the end of the month. Will Depor return to Europe with a bang? We shall see. Will Lotina continue to play 5 at the back? I hope not. Lotina has made some selective transfers that on the surface complete a very balanced team. Look for another good year for the team from A Coruña. One step at a time.

10. Unai Emery - Valencia

Into the fire, head first. One of the hottest Managers in La Primera last year who played with a very attacking style. Now for something completely different? The bad news: dressing room drama, an enormous squad with the majority of players either not wanted or inconsistent at best that screams out for a major renovation. Financial debt mounting that is relying on the Nou Mestalla as it's salvation. No Champions League, just UEFA Cup. The good news: two of the hottest players in World Football. A coach with 4 years of Football Managerial experience and some fresh ideas. Who's worried? Me.

There's no sure thing in La Liga, especially when it comes to the Managerial revolving door. But if I look at my crystal ball, here's what I see. Look to Atleti to have another good year. Yes Atleti! Look to Villarreal to beat their every other year glory with a coach who has learned from his past CL Run. Chaos will continue at the Camp Nou and at the Mestalla. While being on the top of the table will be a one hit wonder for Racing and Almeria. Both teams should be weary of relegation. The former with fixture congestion and the latter with a coach in over his head. What do you think? Does the future look bright for Depor? Is Mallorca going to surprise us again? Who will be the hottest coach this year?

Next week I will review the Managers in the 2nd Half of the table. I cannot wait for the new season to start.

Have you ever had a situation where the unrelated events of a day or a week start building and interconnecting? Synchronicity. Like, there are no accidents? Well that’s the kind of futbol week I’ve had.

Last Tuesday I was catching up on some Times Online podcasts. Co-host Guillem Balague’s was talking about the Valencia situation. To paraphrase him, Koeman had made a drastic mistake in getting rid of Canizares, Angulo and Albelda and the situation was becoming untenable. He pretty much told us the same when he was on with us last month. On Wednesday I was trolling through the blogs I normally read and found an article written by Guillem here. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find him answering one of the emailers. According to him, it was Soler himself who called for the purge and that may be, along with some dire financial instability, why Koeman hasn’t been rewarded with a firing. The chants that had gone up, “Vete (Leave) Quique!” have now turned on the Dutchman. Another interesting sidenote is that Balague believes that Koeman’s second mistake at Valencia was that he disrespected this opportunity, treating it as a stepping stone to a bigger and better position; most notably a return to Barcelona and succeed Frank Rijkaard in Catalunya. Alright, now you’re really going to think I’m stalking Balague, but on Thursday I finally got my copy of Balague’s, A Season on the Brink: a portrait of Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool from amazon.co.uk. I flipped through and added it to my huge list of books to be read, but the subject was just too strong to put down. I started reading it and I was just sucked in. Little did I know what kind of shadow Valencia would have over the whole book.

The book is ostensibly about the Rafa-lution at Liverpool FC and his first year on Merseyside, that saw them win the European Cup after only 10 months in charge. You get a very real picture of the man, a brilliant tactician and quiet leader of men. A true Madrileño: stoic and introspective, often to a fault. He reminds me of my dad in fact who comes from the same stock.

What you also get is that his years up to Valencia, the failures at Valladolid and Osasuna, not to mention the struggles with Extramadura and Tenerife, made him as a manager but his 4 years at the Mestalla marked him forever and it’s done a whole lot of damage to both himself and Los Che.

The popular opinion is that the Soler family is treating Valencia CF as a very expensive plaything, hiring the wrong people and managing it poorly, and that may be so, but as this book clearly shows the problems started even before the Soler’s won the election in 2004. During the 2004 season Benitez had some very public run-ins with his Sporting Director: Jesus Garcia Pitarch. It’s those heated exchanges that Rafa’s famous quote “I asked for a sofa and they brought me a lampshade” comes from. Sure, many of the problems were, like the quote says, over player acquisition or ironically about rotation of players, but he never felt truly appreciated for the monumental task he and his group of coaches had accomplished at the Mestalla: winning the league in 2001-2002 a mere 31 years after their last one, winning it again 2 years later and becoming UEFA Cup champions in 2001.

The often public exchanges between club President Jaime Orti and his manager couldn’t help but form divisions with the players. He left tearfully for Liverpool and the fractures between players (those that supported Rafa and those that supported the Orti and Pitarch were already there. Soler took over just as the train wreck of the previous administration was being whisked away. Soler did try to keep Benitez, offering to hike his pay, but he had already made up his mind.

Benitez’s Liverpool would be built with his Valencia model in mind. He soon found out though, that each club has its own internal life and what worked at Valencia wouldn’t necessarily work at Liverpool. Winning the Champions League was almost a distraction from succeeding in the league. What was also inescapable were the behind the scenes problems that harkened back to his time at the Mestalla: his relationships with star players, his prickly tendency to annoy his paymasters and the often public debate over his selection, tactics and transfer policy.

At Valencia in his absence, Claudio Ranieri took over, bringing a series of Italian signings like Marco DiVaio, Bernardo Corradi and Stefano Fiore. The fractures became huge chasms as the Italians were never really accepted by the club or supporters. The Ranieri era ended n a whimper, and ex-Getafe coach Quique Sanchez-Flores was hired with the intent to return the club to the structure under Benitez. Ironically, Quique and Soler’s Sporting Director Amedeo Carboni’s working relationship would also mirror his predecessor. Firing Sanchez-Flores at the beginning of this year and bringing in the much traveled Ronald Koeman has done nothing to stop the madness at Los Che leading them to consider the very real possibility of relegation. Players have been benched, new signings have been brought in, and the club has continued to lose.

We think that the problems at a club can be solved by removing a Coach, a Manager, a Sporting Director or a Club President, that the answers are short term, and the fortunes of a club can be turned by patching over the faults and turning over a new leaf. In Valencia’s case, and to certain extent Liverpool’s, much more needs to be done. I don’t have the answers, Los Che may be relegated if their current form continues, Koeman has two more games to right the ship or he’s gone as has been reported, and Liverpool owners have given Rafa the dreaded vote of confidence for his outbursts earlier in the year. We’ll see what the future holds.

I recommend this book highly, it is of course a minute by minute detail of an improbable Champions League run by the Reds, but it’s far more. Balague offers a portrait of a manager in crisis and a a Rosetta Stone to read the present situation at both clubs by.

Mando from FF 

Mando from FF