This evening held what some might call a normal outing for Madrid. The Ono Estadi was almost at capacity awaiting the start of what promised to be an electrifying game. Madrid was to play Mallorca. At a glance you might think that Madrid was favored to win but Mallorca had the vote of all the La Liga junkies. Mallorca had ousted Madrid from the King’s Cup earlier this season and gave Madrid a game to remember in the Bernabeu. So all in all this was a pretty exciting game knowing what was on the line for Madrid and the hidden promise Mallorca brought to the pitch (not so hidden to Schuster). Poor Dauden Ibanez blew his whistle and the two teams went at it. Mallorca took the game to Madrid and proved themselves to be a dangerous team to be overlooked.

The reason I say “poor” Dauden is because it seemed as if he was watching a different game. He annulled a legal goal by Fernando Navarro, his linesman called back a clear one on one play Basinas vs. Casillas, the strange thing being that Basians was in his own half of the field when the pass was made to him… and then the “involuntary” Cannavaro hand ball inside the box was, well, involuntary? you guessed it, no call. I’m not one to complain about refs but tonight was a sham, even the pro-Madrid sports paper Marca admitted it was a bit over the top, if you can read Spanish I suggest you take a look. And all of this in the first half! When Madrid went ahead in the 42nd minute thanks to a beautiful slalom by Robben and a nudge by Sneijder it wasn’t much of a surprise. The leaders of the Spanish league are known for taking advantage of the few opportunities they make for themselves. But Mallorca wasn’t about to throw in the towel. The second half was a more intense version of the first minus Dauden’s poor judgment. Mallorca came our swinging and it became quite evident that Schuster’s boys were going to have to buckle down if they were going to take any points away from the Ono Estadi. In my humble opinion they shouldn’t have. A dominating Mallorca saw themselves rewarded by a glorious shot into the upper ninety courtesy of Balero. Unfortunately Guiza couldn’t put a definitive 2-1 on the board when his open net shot pinged off the cross bar. The game ended in a 1-1 draw no thanks to Mr. Dauden Ibanez.

I mentioned that this was a normal outing by Madrid earlier, let me explain what I mean. Throughout the whole 2007-2008 season Madrid have found themselves rewarded by juvenile reffing, I’ll go as far and reference Almeria, the first and second Mallorca games, Recreativo, and so on. Don’t get me wrong Madrid is not the only one with special treatment in La Liga, Barcelona have had their “fair” share of help as well. I just have to wonder what the standings and the level of play would be like in Spain if the refs didn’t favor the big teams, Villareal might be at the top of the table. Who knows?

I encourage you to watch the Barcelona vs. Getafe game tomorrow. It promises to be just as electrifying as tonight’s game, if the ref allows it.

Top Savings

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.