The Soccer Blog

Some might say that the beginning of April is a bad time to star commenting on what is happening around the world of futbol. It is too late in the season, time for predictions are over and if you decide to make a pick now your an opportunist.

But no, this is the time to jump in and say something, especially in La Liga and probably two or three other soccer leagues on the old continent. Italy seems to be all wrapped up; Inter might look strong but do not count Roma out; my money is on Totti and company to bring the Calcio home. But this isn’t about Italy nor England nor Germany… this is about Spain.

This season there have been ups and downs from almost all the sides on the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid are on top now and have been all year but their level of form is dismal. Schuster cannot seem to keep his squad functional. Partly due to how over-hyped his team actually is, it is no surprise that Madrid have been booted from the King’s Cup and the Champions League. Another ailment to add to Ramon Calderon’s headache is Schuster’s propensity to open his mouth and let simply stupid things to seep forth, from blaming a loss on a Catalan ref to complaining about the roster of his team, frankly I’m amazed they’ve held it together this long.

Rijkaard hasn’t had much luck either handling his side. Speculation now points to the big wigs (Joan Laporta and Tikxi Beguiristain) covering up a plot to ship off Ronaldinho to the highest bidder. I guess I cannot blame them, history repeats itself right? Can anyone say that this hasn’t happened before? Romario, Ronaldo, and Rivaldo have paved the way for good old Ronnie, maybe it is their fault for having the misfortune of their names all starting with the same letter. But Ronaldinho isn’t the issue here, Barcelona has a dream team that would put the Galatico teams of old to shame, but they simply cannot pull it together either. Last week the match up against Betis was the culmination of dark clouds that has been circling over the Nou Camp. They looked like infants playing a team of men in the second half. How is it possible for a team with such talent and promise to throw away a 2 goal lead in 15 minutes? Ask Rijkaard or Laporta… I don’t think they could tell you either.

However with all of this gloom and almost certain failure on the horizon for Barca there is a glimmer of hope. Leo Messi (thank god his name doesn’t start with an “R”) will be back in action a week from now, if all goes well. I don’t know what it is but when this youngster is on the pitch Barca gain what the Spanish call “garra.” Basically it means that the team improves wholesale- spring in the step, intuition, and a hunger for winning across the board- garra. Ok, sounds good, but a week is a long time and it could be too late.

If you haven’t guessed it already my pick is Barca for La Liga crown… but I wouldn’t count out Villareal.