tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12321619753247851032024-03-18T04:03:09.336+01:00Total FootballJuan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-26222495624831816492011-11-12T12:50:00.000+01:002011-11-12T12:50:58.306+01:00Atlético Madrid suicidal instinctIt has been three months since the official season started and we can already hear the war drums that come from the Manzanares river. Despite the polemic exits of "Kun" Agüero and Diego Forlán, the main references of the club during the last years, the club was able to generate illusion with the arrival of players like Arda Turan, Adrián, Diego and, especially, Radamel Falcao, new and fresh tools for the project of Gregorio Manzano. However, the negative run of results in La Liga have put the crowd of the Vicente Calderón in flames and the coach near the abyss. This is the way to describe this season, but it could have been the description of any season in the previous years at this point of the year.<br />
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Atlético Madrid is the third or fourth club of Spain in terms of fan base and TV revenues according several surveys. However, in the last decade, Atlético Madrid have only played once in the UEFA Champions League after their best season in this period of time, when they ended up in fourth position in the 2007/2008 season. A very poor record. Even though there was a time when Atlético Madrid could fight face to face with Real Madrid and Barcelona, perhaps it is too much to ask for this kind of battle nowadays, but it is definitely realistic to ask for much more and the club fails in the comparison with direct rivals, like Valencia, Sevilla or even Villarreal.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IUdg38PJ_v4/S-skLtkL0kI/AAAAAAAAAvU/GIyg9HfjG1k/s1600/atleti_uefa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IUdg38PJ_v4/S-skLtkL0kI/AAAAAAAAAvU/GIyg9HfjG1k/s320/atleti_uefa.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quique Flores' UEFA Cup title</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In this comparison there is a clear difference between Atlético Madrid and the clubs we just mentioned. The stability of the club. The question that arises is: is Atlético Madrid an unstable club because of the results or are the results which create this lack of stability? Since Atlético Madrid returned to Primera División in the year 2002, the club had 10 coaches. Ironically, when Atlético Madrid decided to keep their bet on a discussed Javier Aguirre for a second season, the club reached their so wished Champions League spot. In the same period of time, and not counting eventual home coaches who acted as bridge between the real directors of the club, Valencia had five coaches (Benítez, Ranieri, Quique Flores, Koeman and Emery), Sevilla the same amount (Caparrós, Juande Ramos, Manolo Jiménez, Manzano and Marcelino), while Villarreal only had four (Benito Floro, Pellegrini, Valverde and Garrido). It is also remarkable that some of these coaches left these club once their contract expired, looking for higher goals, and not as a consequence of bad results.<br />
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Basically, the main difference between these clubs and Atlético Madrid has been their higher dose of patience when it came to face the bad moments. This facts expose the management of the club, the lack of a clear direction. Atlético Madrid has never made a real bet for a project and the only time they did, it actually give them goods, although the club did not learn this lesson. Even Quique Flores, the coach who took the club to the UEFA Cup victory and a Copa final, did not receive the renewal offer, despite the support of the crowd. His evident bad relationships with one of the icons of the club, Diego Forlán, and the bad results of the past season damaged his relationships with the Board. The reality was that Quique Flores had an average squad with a star in decline, like Diego Forlán himself, and another one thinking in higher goals, like "Kun" Agüero.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img01.lavanguardia.com/2011/06/10/Gregorio-Manzano-ha-sido-prese_54168947800_51347059679_342_226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://img01.lavanguardia.com/2011/06/10/Gregorio-Manzano-ha-sido-prese_54168947800_51347059679_342_226.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gregorio Manzano</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This year the bet was Gregorio Manzano, a coach who had already managed the team in the 2003-2004 season, with not so good results, in what it was a surprising decision. Gregorio Manzano is a coach with a good record with humble teams, like Rayo Vallecano or Mallorca, but also with more or less questionable results in big projects like Atlético's and Sevilla's (in this case, not so questionable though). In one way or another, one of the coaches with more consistent results in La Liga in the last decade. Atlético Madrid refreshed the squad, with the addition of new and important names who were given the responsibility to make the fans forget their recent idols.<br />
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And the initial results were a reason to feel optimistic. Despite the initial draw at home against Osasuna and the defeat in Valencia, the team showed a relatively good image and the following beatings on Racing and Sporting, with a sublime Falcao, made people feel optimistic about the future. It was not so long ago when Atlético visited the Camp Nou convinced about their possibilities. The 5-0 beating, a result that far from good could have been seen as an accident (it is not that Pep Guardiola's Barcelona does not use to mistreat their rivals in their stadium in the last years, independently of their size), but it took Atlético out of track. Since that horrible night, Atlético has only won one Liga game, at home against Zaragoza, and another one in the Europa League, against Udinese. The 4-0 on Udinese could have been a reason to rebuild, but this credit got destroyed with the poor image shown against Getafe, throwing the match to the garbage, wasting a 0-1 lead and a 2-2 draw when Getafe had been playing with 10 men since the minute 27 of the match. Definitely, this game marked Atletico's lowest point this season.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.que.es/archivos/201111/falcao_normal-365xXx80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.que.es/archivos/201111/falcao_normal-365xXx80.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Falcao vs Getafe</td></tr>
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Atlético did not play in the Calderón since the horror night of Getafe, but it is easy to predict what is going to happen soon against Levante . A couple of weekends ago, in the last Liga match at home against Zaragoza, despite the convincing and clear victory, the chants of the crowd were clear: <i>"Manzano, vete ya"</i> -Manzano go away- and <i>"Luis Aragonés, Luis Aragonés". </i>It was it, that point of the season when the Calderón explodes against the team and the coach, making the home experience a hell for a team that already does not have self-esteem. In these situations, the owners of the club, the strange duo Miguel Ángel Gil-Marín and Enrique Cerezo, start to get nervous and it is also usual the chants against them. When the owners get nervous, they panic and it is usual to see them cutting the heads of the coaches to save theirs, in a clear short-time thinking, throwing projects to the garbage with incredible ease.<br />
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In the next couple of weeks, Atlético will receive Levante at home and will visit Real Madrid in the derby of the city. Preciselly, with the derby in sight, the ground under Manzano's feet does not seem very solid. With a rising Real Madrid, showing their best moments of football since José Mourinho is the manager, and the poor record of Atlético Madrid in the recent derbies, the possibility of a humiliating defeat is likely and this idea that roams in all the Atlético fans is particularly painful. Another way to see it is that it is a good chance to change the trend of the season, but, at this point, it does not seem the most likely scenario and it is not a minority who believe that Manzano will not have the Christmas dinner in the Calderón.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colchonero.com/media/reportero/4/0/3/1/6/n_20111110190324_cerezo_luis_aragones_tenemos_cubierta_la_plaza_de_tecnico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://www.colchonero.com/media/reportero/4/0/3/1/6/n_20111110190324_cerezo_luis_aragones_tenemos_cubierta_la_plaza_de_tecnico.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerezo and the long shadow of Luis Aragonés</td></tr>
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With the fans finishing their patience and the lack of power of a scared board, the club is in the verge to throw the season to the garbage to start with the improvisations... once more. Patience and football do not mix well very often, especially in Spain, but in the case of Atlético Madrid, patience is the only strategy that has never been used. Improvisations, constant changes, schizophrenia. Atlético Madrid is about to commit suicide once more.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-29190755138295863882011-11-11T12:29:00.000+01:002011-11-11T12:29:26.467+01:00Raúl and the club of 100 capsYesterday, an event promoted by UEFA and the Spanish FA made a tribute on the modern myths of the Spanish NT: they players who have more than 100 caps with <i>La Roja.</i> Andoni Zubizarreta (126 caps), Iker Casillas (125 caps) and Xavi Hernández (105 caps) were in the facilities of the RFEF in Las Rozas and got a commemorative blue cap with a golden tassel for it. Angel María Villar, the president of the Spanish FA, said: "Only those who have been football players know how difficult this is".<br />
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The cap is a symbol, it represents the first international match, played in 1872 between England and Scotland. Each player of this match were given a cap as memento of this match and this tradition still continues in England. Also László Kubala, in his times as coach of the Spanish NT, used to give a cap to the players that were called to play the international matches.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.latribuna.hn/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/UEFA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://cdn.latribuna.hn/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/UEFA.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xavi, Casillas and Zubizarreta</td></tr>
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The first Spanish player to reach the 100 caps record was the goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, who defended the shirt of the Spanish team from 1985 to 1998, playing 4 World Cups and 2 Euros, while playing for different clubs like Athletic, Barcelona and Valencia. In his speech, Zubizarreta made his personal tribute on players who also deserved to reach these 100 games, but never did it, like "Iribar, Arconada, Hierro or Camacho".<br />
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Iker Casillas also got his cap, the captian of the team, the one who raised the Euro and World Cup trophies in images that will be kept forever in the retinas of the Spanish people. Iker Casillas recalled that he was called for the first time 11 years ago and assured that he faced "the next match as it was the last". Iker Casillas probably represents the times of a golden generation of goalkeepers in Spain, including his teammates Pepe Reina and Victor Valdés, not forgetting others who are triumphing in La Liga or abroad. As good captain, he also recalled all the teammates he had in all these years. "Without them, it would not have been possible".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.siguealaroja.es/wp-content/uploads/o_f_c_barcelona_historicos-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.siguealaroja.es/wp-content/uploads/o_f_c_barcelona_historicos-43.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zubizarreta</td></tr>
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A double tribute awaited for Xavi Hernández, who also got the gold medal of the RFEF, aside the already mentioned UEFA's cap. Surrounded by two special coaches for him, like Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque, Xavi assured that he felt "priviled to live from football, achieving so many things of a sport that I love and adore". The Catalan midfielder, who made his debut in the year 2000, made some memory and recalled that, in this team, "we lived not so good eras, like nowadays, but with all this recognition and these victories, I am enjoying like a kid". Xavi also got a particular tribute in the words of Del Bosque and Aragonés. The current coach of the Spanish team used him as an example by stating that Xavi "represents the modern player in and out of the pitch, a singular player, gathering too much football in his boots, a very complete player". Luis Aragonés, who Xavi himself labaled as the coach who made him reach a new level, highlighted the "virtues of this player and his extraordinary quality" to raise the importance of this player in the current scheme by assuring that "the influence of the coach is not that high, the example is Xavi for his way to live and play".<br />
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This event also made a tribute to several players for the importance of their goals in the history of the Spanish national team. Five paintings of these goals were shown. We refer to the goal of Zarra in Maracaná in the World Cup 1950 against England, which allowed Spain to end up in the fourth position of this tournament, which was the highest achievement of this competition for this team until the last World Cup. The goal headed by Marcelino against the USSR in the Euro 64 final in the Santiago Bernabéu, the first international title of the team. The winning goal of Kiko Narváez against Poland in the last minutes of the Olympic Games 1992 in Barcelona's Camp Nou, a goal which was worth a gold medal. The goal of Torres in Vienna, in the Euro 2008, the goal that opened the era of the champions. And, of course, Andrés Iniesta's historical volley in Johannesburg, in the South Africa World Cup final.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.futbolargentino.com/homepage/sgc/portada/2009/11/12/ed9be6ef-36b1-46b8-8efb-246de0029362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="http://www.futbolargentino.com/homepage/sgc/portada/2009/11/12/ed9be6ef-36b1-46b8-8efb-246de0029362.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iker Casillas and the Euro 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Another played had been invited to this tribute, another player who also has more than 100 caps: Raúl González. The nowadays Schalke 04 player and already madridista and Spanish NT legend declined the invitation with a very weak excuse sent via fax: a training session with his current team, because Schalke had a friendly match. Yesterday, the department of communication of his own club denied the existence of this friendly match. Raúl erased himself from this tribute, showing his personal feelings in a historical error.<br />
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There was a time when Raúl was a living legend inside the Spanish team. Raúl broke all the goal-scoring records, he was the <i>Gran Capitán</i>, the <i>Siete de España</i> (the 7 of Spain). In the summer of 2006, Luis Aragonés' Spanish team had failed in the World Cup played in Germany. The more experienced French team had knocked out a team that mixed veteran players like Michel Salgado, David Albelda, Santi Cañizares and Raúl González with the core of young players that nowadays form the golden generation of the Spanish football. This failure had a bitter taste and there were rumors of rebellion inside the Spanish team, led by the veterans. Salgado, Albelda and Cañizared disappeared from the team for good, but Raúl was the captain.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_te9YeBowHbo/TDpV5ondL-I/AAAAAAAAAbU/bmqmtYgBBX0/s1600/Xavi+Hern%C3%83%C2%A1ndez+entre+los+holandeses+Robben+y+Van+Bommel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_te9YeBowHbo/TDpV5ondL-I/AAAAAAAAAbU/bmqmtYgBBX0/s400/Xavi+Hern%C3%83%C2%A1ndez+entre+los+holandeses+Robben+y+Van+Bommel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xavi, leader and reference</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the following official match, already in the qualifiers of the Euro 2008, Spain visited Belfast to face Northern Ireland. With the smoke of the ashes of the previous tournament visible, Spain failed in a miserable way and got a shameful 3-2 defeat. The press exploded and Luis Aragonés was targeted. At that moment, Luis Aragonés took a decisive decision, dropping Raúl González from the national team to give a new protagonist role to the young generation led by Xavi as the reference of the new style. The decision was an earthquake and, despite the results backed the team, Luis Aragonés had to deal with uncomfortable questions about Raúl in every press conference. The pressure was huge on the coach, a rising pressure while the Euro 2008 got closer and closer, while Raúl recovered his best goal ratio. In the 2006/2007 season, Raúl scored 23 goals and, in the following season, 24 goals. In these two seasons, Raúl won two Ligas and was near the figures of his best years, when he built his legend. Despite the huge pressure of a sector of the press and the constant "Raúl, yes; Raúl no", Luis Aragonés kept betting for the new system and the new generation, leaving Raúl out of the Euro 2008. The rest is history and, even Del Bosque, did not touch what was not broken.<br />
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Raúl never criticized the decision in public and Luis Aragonés never closed the door to a possible return and only with the pass of time admit that "there was a point when the national team was too big for Raúl and we had to think in the team and not in a player". The rumors were different though. Luis Aragonés always defended the new model of team around the midfielders, mainly Xavi. The Catalan midfielder and Luis Aragonés designed the team that has given Spain the highest achievements of its history and Raúl did not fit in this new concept. Raúl, always moderate in public, was in the mouths of many people in the tribute on the historical players. These voices suggested that Raúl holds resentment on Luis Aragonés and some players who blocked his presence in the national team in the Euro 2008, his last chance to achieve an international title, the only titles he missed in his infinite curriculum of records.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SI0a0GRob4A/SKtV3XILo2I/AAAAAAAAAKI/h_j5t-rQrks/s400/raul+esta+feliz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SI0a0GRob4A/SKtV3XILo2I/AAAAAAAAAKI/h_j5t-rQrks/s320/raul+esta+feliz.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raúl and Euro trophy</td></tr>
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This resentment made him blind to understand the mechanics of football and his no presence is a historical record that he will probably regret in some years, when the perspective of time and the calm of the retirement allow him to realize that the changes made by Luis Aragonés in the national team were necessary, logic and ended up giving Spain the so wished titles... despite he was the main victim of it. The <i>Gran Capitán</i> failed to understand that he should have been there, with his teammates Zubizarreta, Casillas and Xavi, because his weight in the history of the Spanish team is huge, because it is impossible to understand the modern history of the team without him, because these titles do not hide his legendary status. In one way or another, Raúl also got his commemorative cap and the place in history he still is unable to understand.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-75869521308726358062011-11-08T18:20:00.000+01:002011-11-08T18:20:53.366+01:00History of the Spanish football: 1929-1930. Athletic's doublePrevious chapter: <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/10/history-of-spanish-football-1928-1929.html">History of the Spanish football: 1928-1929, FC Barcelona win the first Liga and RCD Espanyol's first Copa</a><br />
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<b><i>The precedents</i></b><br />
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The RFEF created a new designed for the football season. In this 1929-1930 season, the regional tournaments were played in autumn and they still counted to get qualified to play the Copa del Rey. However, the RFEF decided to play the Liga season first to leave the Copa games for the 2nd part of the season, whenever La Liga had already finished.<br />
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<i>Regional tournaments</i><br />
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These tournaments still held prestige in certain zones, given their tradition and the big local rivalries. Aside the prestige of the tournaments of Catalonia, Basque Country or Madrid, in the rest of Spain they were also important, since they were necessary to qualify to the Copa del Rey and meet the best clubs of the country. The results of these regional tournaments were the following:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILpMfEmWRVU/Tqs2c1MWGQI/AAAAAAAAAL4/GD3yV4ZB-dQ/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILpMfEmWRVU/Tqs2c1MWGQI/AAAAAAAAAL4/GD3yV4ZB-dQ/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i><b>Teams</b></i><br />
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<i>FC Barcelona - Les Corts (23,000)</i><br />
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The Liga champion, presided by Gaspar Rosés, kept James Bellamy as coach for the new season. The good job of the English coach during the second half of the previous season, taking the team to the title, made the club extend his contract. The <i>culés</i> kept trusting in the column of the team that had won La Liga, 3 Copa titles and 4 regional tournaments in the previous 5 years. So Josep Samitier (27 years old) still was the icon of the team, along with other veterans like the goalie Platko (31), the defense Walter (29), the midfielder Guzmán (28) or the forwrd Piera (26). The new young talents, like Parera (22) and Arocha (22) were supposed to be the future of the club. At the same time, the team got reinforced by important players, like Bestit (21), one of the best players of CD Europa. The victories of the recent past made them automatic favorites to win titles, despite the veteran state of the squad, which seemed to be their main weakness too. Still, Barcelona started the season with a new victory in the regional tournament.<br />
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<i>Real Madrid FC - Chamartín (16,500)</i><br />
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The club of Luis de Urquijo, who had been workeing with Santiago Bernabéu since the mid 20s, kept José Quirante as coach of the club. For the first time in a long time, Real Madrid had been a challenger in all the national tournaments and the youth of the team made the fans feel positive about the near future. At the same time, the club did not hesitate to reinforce the team for the new season and the signings were very shocking. With an Athletic Madrid in internal problems, Real Madrid signed their most important players, the icons of their fans, Luis Olaso (29 years old) and Cosme (25), who followed the steps of Triana (27), all of them members of the "Athletic of the Lords". These players only came to reinforce a very solid team, which had players like the veterans Peña (34) or the captain Quesada (27) and, of course, the fashion striker duo Gaspar Rubio (20) and Jaime Lazcano (20). Real Madrid was considered a very serious challenger for any title and had already won the second regional title in a row.<br />
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<i>Athletic Club - San Mamés (18,000)</i><br />
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The president Manuel De la Sota decided to place Máximo Royo as technical secretary, while the club brought Fred Pentland back to Bilbao. The English Pentland had already won the Copa 1923 with Athletic Club. Since then, Pentland had been managing Athletic Madrid (two different stages, including the debut in Primera) and Real Oviedo. Despite the season of Pentland with Athletic Madrid had not been brilliant, the coach held prestige in Bilbao, since he had been the manager of the last national title of the club. De la Sota did not hesitate to reinforce the team with more players, so important young players, like the forwards Bata (20), who signed from Barakaldo, a team of the regional tournament, and Gorostiza (20), who was signed from Racing Ferrol, although he had been raised in Arenas Club, joined the club. The reserve team was not forgotten and it was also the first appearance of Iraragorri (17) with the first team. All of them joined the also young, but already experienced Blasco (20), Lafuente (22) or Unamuno (20). The potential of the team was very important, but their youth had already been a problem in the previous season and their defeat in the regional tournament against CD Alavés did not erased these doubts.<br />
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<i>Real Sociedad - Atotxa (12,000)</i><br />
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Benito Diaz was still the coach of Real Sociedad. The <i>txuri-urdin</i> club did not have the economic power of the three giants to sign important names, so there were not big reinforcements for a nevertheless important team, who had players like the first "Pichichi" in history, Paco Bienzobas (20), and the forwards "Cholín" (23) and "Kiriki" (22), or the midfielder Marculeta (22). The team of San Sebastián had kept the same tools for some years already and it was time to mature. The failure in the regional tournament against Real Unión was not the best way to start the season.<br />
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<i>Arenas Club - Ibaoindo (18,000)</i><br />
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The <i>areneros</i> signed a coach for the first time ever: the former Barcelona player José Planas. The club had seen how legends of the club, like Fidel Sesúmaga and Vallana had decided to retire. At the same time, the important players of the team, the forward Yermo (26) and the goalie Jauregui (33) were not kids anymore. The youth of this veteran team was Gurruchaga (20), a promising home raised midfielder. The club wanted to repeat the fantastic Liga season, despite the economic difficulties to face richer clubs.<br />
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<i>Athletic Madrid - Stadium Metropolitano (17,000)</i><br />
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The internal crisis in Luciano Urquijo's team was evident at this point. Players and board in clear fight, the most important players of the team left the team, joining Real Madrid, like Cosme or Luis Olaso, or just retiring, like Vicente Palacios or De Miguel. The squad had to be renovated, but the quality players that left were not replaced by equally important names. Starting with the coach, Fred Pentland left Athletic Madrid to return to Bilbao, while Ángel Romo was the new coach. The only relevant player that had stayed in the club was Luis Marín (23 years old), who was given the responsability to carry the team on his shoulders. The internal divisions affected the social mass, truly disappointed with their Board and, in this context, future did not look good.<br />
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<i>RCD Español - Sarrià (18,000)</i><br />
<br />
Jack Greenwell continued as manager, willing to repeat the successful results of the previous year. The tools were basically the same, with the 28 year old legendary Zamora under the posts, Saprissa (28) being the leader of the defense, Gallart (22) commanding the midfield and, in attack, the <i>pericos </i>counted on the talent of a magnificent trio: Padrón (23), Vantolorà (23) and Bosch (22). Jack Greenwell's team had failed to win the regional tournament, but the team had shown a good image after all. As in the previous season, this team was taken seriously in every competition.<br />
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<i>CD Europa - El Guinardó (18,000)</i><br />
<br />
Europa kept managed by Joan Bordoy hands one more season. The team had lost their best player, the striker Carles Bestit, who had joined FC Barcelona, while also Xifreu left the team to join Español. The most important reinforcement was Obiols from Barça. The rest of the team was the same of the previous year and the goal of the team was to continue one more year in Primera División given their lack of economic resources to compete for higher goals.<br />
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<i>Real Unión - Stadium Gal (12,000)</i><br />
<br />
The same old faces in the only club that did not have a coach yet. This club did not have the economic power of other rivals, but they had been able to keep the core of the team, which were already like a family after so many years, with René Petit (30) and Gamborena (28) as the most veteran members of the squad. The promising names were the young but already experienced Luis Regueiro (21) and the forward Urtizberea (20). The team was not considered among the favorites, but they had won the competitive regional tournament of Gipuzkoa and the talent of some of their players was evident.<br />
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<i>Racing Santander - El Sardinero (12,000)</i><br />
<br />
After years and years under the management of O'Connell, the team had a new and young coach, Francisco Pagaza, who had been one of the legendary players of the Spanish NT in the Antwerp Olympics of 1920. It was the first experience of Pagaza, who had also played for Racing (among other teams like Arenas, Athletic Madrid or Racing Madrid). The most relevant players were the mids, the young Larrinaga (18) and Loredo (23), and the forward Óscar (23). The goal of the team after a new regional title was to stay among the best in La Liga and a good Copa participation.<br />
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<br />
<b><i>La Liga</i></b><br />
<b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
It was the second edition of this tournament. The fans still preferred the tradition and the emotion of the Copa over the newly created tournament, but the same fans recognized that the nature of La Liga was better to decide the best team of the season, given the regularity that a team had to show to win it, compared to the Copa, more open to surprises.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/edition.html?bd=30&bm=11&by=1929&ed=&em=&ey=">1st week</a> of football had a very interesting match, a classic of the Spanish football, Athletic Club vs Real Madrid. Both teams, who were clear favorites to win the title along with Barcelona, faced each other in the opening game of the season. The madridistas opened the scoreboard with a goal of Gaspar Rubio, but Athletic Club, with the support of the home crowd, overcame the result in 20 minutes with two goals of Unamuno. The 2-1 at half time was also the final result of the match. In Les Corts, Barcelona defended their crown against Real Sociedad. The Catalans only needed the first half to certify the victory with two goals scored by Goiburu and Samitier. Real Sociedad, without an injured Bienzobas, disappointed in their visit to Catalan lands. The first surprise of the season was the important defeat of Español in Santander in a great second half of the local team. In a Basque derby, played at the Gal Stadium, Real Unión defeated Arenas Club with two goals of Urtizberea and Garmendia in the early minutes of the second half, although the <i>areneros</i> left a really good image in this game. Finally, Athletic Madrid had to overcome a 0-2 at home to defeat Europa with a hat-trick scored by Marín.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/12/09/pagina-1/617810/pdf.html">second week</a> of the league, Barcelona returned to Ibaiondo, where the Catalans had won their first Liga title, back in June. This time the missing of players like Samitier, Guzmán and Walter suggested a tough game for the blaugranas in Basque lands. In fact, Yermo advanced Arenas, but Bestit tied the game before half time. In a brilliant second half, two goals of Arocha gave Barcelona the victory and the leadership. And it was this way, because Athletic Club could not defeat Europa. Despite the early goal of Unamuno, Europa were able to overcome the result with two goals of Mauricio. At the end, the young Gorostiza saved a point for Athletic. In Chamartín, the madridismo were looking for a new president, while Santiago Bernabéu rejected this position. In these moments of internal instability, and despite the 2-0 at half time, Real Unión overcame the result in a brilliant second half with goals of Sagarzazu and the former madridista René Petit. Unlike the previous season, Real Madrid disappointed in their first games of the season with only one point after two weeks. In Atotxa, Real Sociedad destroyed a weak Racing with "Cholín" and "Kiriki" making people forget Bienzobas, still injured. In Sarrià, Espanyol defeated Athletic Madrid as it was predicted, but the poor image shown by the team was worrying.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://www.bdfutbol.com/es/p/p.php?id=112">third week</a>, Barcelona confirmed their good form with a new victory, this time in the derby against Europa played at Les Corts. Once more, Samitier put the team on his shoulders and scored two goals to overcome the initial one of Europa. The worst news were the long term injury of Samitier, who saw how his season came to an end. With this victory, Barcelona opened the gap on Athletic to two points, since <i>los Leones</i> could only tie at home in their derby with Real Sociedad. Athletic suffered in this game and they were twice down in the scoreboard. Unamuno was able to tie the game to save a point at home. In the Stadium Metropolitano, Athletic Madrid took their particular revenge on Real Madrid with a victory in the derby. The athleticos were superior, especially in the first half, and the two goals of Marín and Cuesta gave them the lead. Gaspar Rubio scored in the last minutes a useless goal that was not enough to tie. Real Madrid were disappointing in La Liga and 5 points far from Barcelona, the leader, after 3 weeks. In Santander, Arenas crushed Racing, only needing the first half to show their superiority, led by a great Yermo. In the Stadium Gal, Real Unión saved a point in the last minutes of the game with goals of Regueiro and Garmendia to overcome Español's 1-3.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MsQ0XelmTN4/Tq3BhbQFLOI/AAAAAAAAAOE/EZ7fhhHxp18/s1600/samitier-europa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MsQ0XelmTN4/Tq3BhbQFLOI/AAAAAAAAAOE/EZ7fhhHxp18/s400/samitier-europa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samitier scores vs Europa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/12/23/pagina-1/619332/pdf.html">fourth week</a> only came to confirm the superiority of a rocketed Barcelona. Not missing Samitier, the blaugranas were very superior to Racing Santander in Les Corts and crushed their rivals with a clear 5-0 and a hat-trick by Arocha. The <i>culés</i> were "favored" by their eternal rivals, Español, who were able to tie against Athletic Club in Sarrià. Still, the Basque team were happy with the draw, since they were able to overcome the initial 2-0 with two goals in the second half scored by Chirri II and Lafuente, in this case in the late minutes. In Atotxa, Real Madrid showed their state of total depression with another harsh defeat. Real Sociedad beated the madridistas with a clear 4-0, with Ayesterán and Belauste scoring in pairs. In the Metropolitano, Real Unión showed pride to overcome the 3-0 of Athletic Madrid at half time and both teams offered a nice football show. The biggest surprise of the weekend was the victory of Europa in Ibaiondo against Arenas.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/12/30/pagina-1/612037/pdf.html">fifth week</a> did not change the trend of the previous weeks. Barcelona kept their perfect sheet with another impressive victory, this time in Gal against Real Unión. The barcelonistas looked invincible and solved with unusual superiority a tough rival. The goals of Arocha and Bestit made Barcelona close the successful 1929 with an important four point gap on their main rivals: Athletic and Español. Once more, Pentland's team was not able to triumph, but definitely showed pride to overcome the 3-1 Arenas had on them. Athletic were very irregular so far and, despite their 2nd position in the league, the powerful state of Barcelona seemed difficult to match. At the same time, Jack Greenwell's Español crushed a broken and desperate Real Madrid in Chamartín with an amazing 2-4. As Español was rising as power in La Liga, Real Madrid's poor form was scary and one of the favorites for the title was in relegation zone, with only one point out of 10 possible. The madridistas had lost their title chances in just one month. It was also the week of the disappointing results of Real Sociedad and Athletic Madrid, against Europa and Racing respectively. Real Sociedad and Athletic Madrid had had a nice beginning of the season, but these results blocked their progression.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apoOKr0hCRo/Tq3OOFoFGdI/AAAAAAAAAOM/yehkJr6ZSAY/s1600/spain1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apoOKr0hCRo/Tq3OOFoFGdI/AAAAAAAAAOM/yehkJr6ZSAY/s400/spain1930.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spain vs Czechoslovakia (1-0) in Montjuïc</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The new year and the decade started with a friendly game of Spain vs Czechoslovakia played in the new stadium of Montjuïc, Barcelona. Spain played with Zamora (Español); Ciriaco (Alaves) and Quincoces (Alaves); Guzman (Barcelona), Marti (Barcelona), Obiols (Europa); Piera (Barcelona), Bosch (Español), Rubio (Real Madrid), Padrón (Español) and Sastre (Barcelona). Spain defeated the Czechoslovakian team with a short 1-0. This friendly game was the prelude of the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/01/06/pagina-1/1349673/pdf.html">sixth Liga week</a>. In Les Corts, Barcelona continued with the unstoppable run and did not have problems to defeat Athletic Madrid. The initial goal of Costa was tied by Sastre in the last minutes of the first half. In the second half, Sastre and Bestit toyed with Athletic Madrid for the final 4-2. The victory of Barcelona kept the gap on Athletic in 4 points. Athletic finished with the negative run of four consecutive draws and crushed Irún in a game non exempt of problems. Chirri II twice and Unamuno gave an early 3-0 lead for Athletic in San Mamés, but Real Unión were near the draw before half time with two goals for the visitors. Only in the last minutes of the game, the goals of Chirri II, who completed the hat-trick, and Gorostiza gave the local fans the so wished calm for a final 5-2. In Chamartín, after 5 weeks of negative results, Real Madrid ended up winning a game against a weak Racing, the final 6-0 was a nice ending for a run of results that had left the team without any option in the race for the title. In the other Basque derby, Arenas and Real Sociedad gave the Atotxa fans a nice goal festival, which ended up with a 4-4 that was useless for both teams. Real Sociedad kept losing points in their race for the title, while Arenas could not escape from the bottom places. The surprise of the weekend was the victory of CD Europa in Sarrià against Español. A great Bestit II, who scored two goals, raised the team of Gràcia to an unexpected 3rd position, sinking the options of Español in La Liga, where they were 6 points away from Barcelona.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-As4DYf81__Q/TrKvLEkAQrI/AAAAAAAAAPc/szmQsanplKA/s1600/Liga+1930-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-As4DYf81__Q/TrKvLEkAQrI/AAAAAAAAAPc/szmQsanplKA/s1600/Liga+1930-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/01/13/pagina-1/1349679/pdf.html">7th week</a>, the match of the week was the visit of Athletic Club to Les Corts, the home of the leader Barcelona. The blaugranas had a unique chance to show authority against their main rival in the race for the title with a victory that would have almost sentenced the tournament. During a big part of the game, the title almost was in Barcelona's pocket, Piera advanced the Catalans in the first minutes of the game and Les Corts seemed to carry Barcelona to a sure victory, but Athletic Club resisted and, in the last minutes, the Basque team saved a point with a goal of Gorostiza. Barcelona kept the 4 point lead on Athletic, but the Basques had saved a "match-ball" in their sweetest draw and the press did not forget that the fixtures of the 2nd round, with tough away games, was harder for Barcelona. It was clear that the title had to be a race between Barcelona and Athletic, since the rest of the teams were very irregular in their results. Real Sociedad wasted a 0-1 lead in the Metropolitano and allowed the local Athletic Madrid to achieve a draw with 5 minutes to go. In the Stadium Gal, Real Unión destroyed the weak defense of Racing, who received 6 goals once more, with a brilliant Urizberea scoring 4 goals. In Ibaiondo, Arenas Club sinked Español in the standings. Without Zamora under the posts, Español was a weak team once more and Arenas seemed to find their best form (2-0). Finally, in Europa's El Ginardó, Real Madrid confirmed their reaction with their first away victory based on the two goals of the re-born Gaspar Rubio.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/01/20/pagina-1/612104/pdf.html">8th week</a> of La Liga was a turning point in the competition. The leader Barcelona visited Sarrià, the home of an Español in low moments. The blaugranas, clear favorites for this game, saw how the <i>pericos</i> gave them a lesson of football, especially in a brilliant first half of the local team. Gallart, who ended up scoring a hat-trick, and Vantolrà gave the blaugranas a historical 4-0 beating. At this point, the blaugranas started to miss the personality of Samitier in these important games. The draw against Athletic Club and the defeat in the derby raised the doubts on Barcelona and the <i>culé</i> optimism disappeared in two weeks, while Español cut the gap down to five points. On the other hand, there was a rising team: Athletic Club. The Basque team showed no mercy on Athletic Madrid and, even though the local fans had to wait for the second half to assure the victory, the final 6-1 showed the superior level of Athletic Club. Not far from there, in Atotxa, Real Unión defeated their eternal rivals, Real Sociedad, in the derby of Gipuzkoa. A great Regueiro put the team on his shoulders to defeat Real Sociedad in the last minutes of the game and to raise his team to the 3rd position in the standings. In Chamartín, a Real Madrid of renovated impulse was the team that everyone had labeled as one of the favorites for the title. The madridistas crushed Arenas with a clear 5-2 with Lazcano and Calé as main protagonists. Finally, in Santander, Racing put an end to their bad run of results with a clear 6-0 on Europa.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JQN9VHGUhSo/TrK1iaazJXI/AAAAAAAAAPk/Ugws4-rIYbY/s1600/pic1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JQN9VHGUhSo/TrK1iaazJXI/AAAAAAAAAPk/Ugws4-rIYbY/s400/pic1930.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ventolrà scores for Español in the historical 4-0 on Barcelona</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/01/27/pagina-1/613973/pdf.html">9th week</a> came to close the first round. If at some point everything seemed to be a walk in the park for Barcelona, this weekend only came to create more doubts on Barcelona. A rising Real Madrid visited Les Corts to test the doubts of Barcelona. As it happened in the previous season, Real Madrid was very superior in Les Corts and ended up crushing an unrecognizable Barcelona. Already at half time, the result was surprising, a 0-3 for Real Madrid with a brilliant Gaspar Rubio. In the second half, the shy reaction of Barcelona was instantly stopped by Lazcano with a new goal for a final 1-4. This result and the easy victory of Athletic Club at home against the weak Racing opened a new scenario. Athletic Club was the new leader, thanks to the goal difference and tied with points with a Barcelona that had wasted the 4 point gap in only 2 weeks. At the same time, the good results of Real Madrid left the madridistas 4 points far from the new leader, when they had been 9 points down at the beginning of January, only 3 weeks before this moment. The press considered that this Real Madrid was back in the race for the title. Real Unión also appeared as potential candidate with a new away victory, this time in Europa's stadium, while Marculeta scored the winning goal for Real Sociedad in the last minutes of the game against Español, who already saw the huge victory in the derby as an anecdote. Finally, the victory of Arenas in the Metropolitano left Athletic Madrid struggling in the bottom zone, shared with Racing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YfyRw-iNrO8/TrR91qkjuWI/AAAAAAAAAQM/exAqS-IhNic/s1600/Liga+1930-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YfyRw-iNrO8/TrR91qkjuWI/AAAAAAAAAQM/exAqS-IhNic/s1600/Liga+1930-2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/02/03/pagina-1/613999/pdf.html">10th week</a> opened the second round of La Liga. In Chamartín, the two teams in best form, Real Madrid and Athletic Club, faced each other, with the locals looking for a victory that would put them definitely back in the race for the title and the visitors willing to show authority. And it was Athletic Club who sent the message to their rivals with a convincing victory in the always tough Chamartín. Lazcano advanced Real Madrid soon in the second half, but in less than 15 minutes Athletic overcame the result with three goals, two by Gorostiza and one by Unamuno. The late goal of Gaspar Rubio was useless for a Madrid that saw their reaction stopped by a brilliant leader. In Atotxa, Barcelona seemed to find some air with a hard-working victory in Real Sociedad's home (1-2). Arenas Club blocked Real Unión's rising trend with a noisy and historical 7-2. In the bottom zone, Español was able to find some calm with an easy victory on Racing Santander (3-0), while Europa did the same with an Athletic Madrid in free fall (2-0).<br />
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Nothing seemed to change much in the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/02/10/pagina-1/614025/pdf.html">11th week</a>, Athletic Club and Barcelona triumphed in their games, where they did not have problems to impose their football. Athletic Club defeated the much weaker Europa in San Mamés with goals scored by Iragorri, Lafuente and Gorostiza, while Barcelona found some stability with a calm victory on Arenas Club (3-1). The two main candidates for the title became the only candidates after the rest of the results. Real Madrid and Real Unión left their reduced chances in the way with a useless draw (2-2) for both teams. At the same time, in the bottom zone, things got tight with the surprising victories of Athletic Madrid on Español (2-0) and Racing on Real Sociedad (2-0), which left these teams in dangerous situation.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/02/17/pagina-1/1360391/pdf.html">12th week</a> kept the league in the same point, but the tight situation on top suggested the importance of the goal difference. In this sense, the historical 1-7 of Athletic Club in Atotxa against Real Sociedad was very important for the club of Bizkaia to keep the lead in the standings. The hat-tricks of Iraragorri and Gorostiza were a nightmare for the local fans who expected something different when their team took the lead in the scoreboard soon in the game. Less noisy but equally convincing was the victory of Barcelona in Europa's home. As it had happened in the last weeks, García and Goiburu scored the winning goals in a team that started to get used to the absence of Samitier, leader and reference of the team. In the derby of Madrid, the hat-trick of the star Gaspar Rubio came to destroy a broken Athletic Madrid with a clear 4-1. In the remaining games, the victory of Español on Real Unión in Sarrià allowed the <i>pericos</i> to set some distance on the relegation zone, while Arenas Club crushed Racing Santander (5-1) at home.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DhKn3w-rcJw/TrLBBYxqdwI/AAAAAAAAAP0/sCqz5ax_nuY/s1600/pic1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DhKn3w-rcJw/TrLBBYxqdwI/AAAAAAAAAP0/sCqz5ax_nuY/s1600/pic1930.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Madrid's Lazcano in action</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/02/24/pagina-1/614068/pdf.html">13th week</a> ended up being decisive. In an error of unexpected limits, Barcelona organized a friendly game in Paris to play against a French team and collect some money. The team had to play against the bottom team, the weak Racing, in Santander and the club decided to take only half the initial XI. The consequences could not have been worse. Barcelona underrated their rivals and, despite the early goal of Parera, two goals of Larrinaga in the last minutes of the game finished with the Catalans (2-1). Obviously, Athletic did not miss the chance and destroyed Español in San Mamés with another shocking result (6-0) with Iraragorri scoring 4 goals. Athletic were the best team and Barcelona's error was handling them the league on silver plate. Without options in La Liga, Real Madrid also returned to the depression and could not defeat Real Sociedad at home (1-1). In the bottom zone, the victory of Racing allowed them to escape from the relegation position, which was occupied by Athletic Madrid with a new defeat, this time in a humilliating 8-2 in Irún. CD Europa also damaged their chances with a fatal defeat at home against Arenas (1-2).<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/03/06/pagina-1/614095/pdf.html">14th week</a>, the impressive Athletic Club did not accelerate in their amazing run for the title. Gorostiza scored 4 goals in a new beating of Atheltic (5-2), this time against their neighbors Arenas. It was the 6th consecutive victory of the amazing Basque team, who continued humiliating their rivals with unusual ease. In this week, a most serious Barcelona did not make joked with the rival Real Unión and used all their potential to defeat a rival in a brilliant second half, overcoming a negative 1-2 to finish with a convincing 4-2. The shocking result of the week was the noisy victory of Español in Sarrià against Real Madrid (8-1), in what it was the worst ever defeated received by the <i>merengues</i> in their history. In the bottom zone, Europa fell to the relegation position with a new defeat, this time against Real Sociedad. Very important was the game played in the Metropolitano, a desperate Athletic Madrid was visited by Racing Santander in a kind of final for the local team, who ended up triumphing to escape from the bottom position (3-1).<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/03/10/pagina-1/616482/pdf.html">15th week</a> was the advanced ending of La Liga. As it had happened in Santander, Barcelona came to fail in one of the most unexpected stadiums, the Metropolitano, to throw their last Liga chances away. Despite the initial goal of Athletic Madrid, Piera and Goiburu advanced the blaugranas, two penalties awarded to the local team in the second half ended up giving the victory to the <i>colchoneros</i>. This defeat had serious consequences in the Catalan team, the Board criticized the attitude of the players, who responding issuing a public letter denouncing the president Gaspar Rosés and its board and the lack of seriousness when it came to accomplish with the promises given to the players. The Board responding denouncing that the heavy defeats (4-0 and 1-5) against Español and Real Madrid were a hidden strike of the players, exposing that this internal problems came from several months ago.<br />
<br />
The defeat of Barcelona was even more relevant after the draw of Athletic Club in Gal against Real Unión in a very polemic match that had to be suspended in the minute 2 of the second half, when René Petit was sent off and the local fans attacked the referee, who ended up suspending the game. At the end, the RFEF decided that the 1-1 was the final result and, after a long run of victories, Athletic dropped points, but their gap on their rivals was not reduced, but increased. In Ibaoiondo, Arenas defeated Real Sociedad. In the bottom zone, Racing Santander came to respond the victory of Athletic Madrid with another triumph against a depressed Real Madrid, which had entered in a new negative run. With 3 weeks to go, the defeat of Europa at home against Español (1-2) put the team of Gràcia in real trouble, having to overcome 3 points out of the last 6 to be played in order to save their position in Primera División.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bDHWEwhD0bU/TrRpGeKz6oI/AAAAAAAAAP8/6taAKCLrsd0/s1600/Liga+1930-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bDHWEwhD0bU/TrRpGeKz6oI/AAAAAAAAAP8/6taAKCLrsd0/s1600/Liga+1930-3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/03/17/pagina-1/616508/pdf.html">16th week</a> had a special atmosphere. Barcelona visited San Mamés in the game of the season. A local victory would give the title to Athletic Club, while Barcelona aimed a victory to cut the difference down to one point to pressure Athletic in the last two weeks. San Mamés was packed to support their team and to carry them to their first Liga title and the match definitely was special. After 47 seconds, Chirri II made San Mamés explode with joy with the first goal of Athletic. The Basques continued with their attacks and, in the minute 16, Gorostiza made Athletic give another step towards the final victory with the second goal. If that was not enough, Lafuente scored the third only 7 minutes later. In less than 25 minutes, Athletic had achieved what it seemed to be a decisive 3-0. Surprisingly, Barcelona, who had disappointed in recent weeks, found pride and started to attack, while Athletic felt the vertigo of the victory. Diego scored the first goal of Barcelona in the minute 35. But what it seemed to be an anecdote was the beginning of a huge reaction. Arocha scored the second for Barcelona in the minute 37 and, only one minute later, Bestit tied the game. In only 3 minutes, Barcelona overcame a 3-0 to tie the game. The second half was as beautiful as tense, with chances for both sides. However, the victory was for the local side, when Gorostiza scored the fourth goal for Athletic with 8 minutes to go. The 4-3 was the final result and Athletic Club won their first Liga title of their history.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic Club, Liga champions 1929-1930</td></tr>
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Aside the fight for the title, the most relevant games were those related with the relegation. In Santander, Racing were able to reach their goal and achieved the points they needed to stay in Primera División one more season. With the support of the fans and the great game of Cladera, Racing defeated Real Unión with a clear 4-2 to seal their permanence in the top division. In Chamartín, Real Madrid, who were still not saved, needed to defeat Europa in order to avoid problems in the last two weeks. The <i>merengues</i> did not fail in this key moment and were very superior to defeat Europa with a stunning 6-1. In Atotxa, there was another dramatic game. Real Sociedad received the visit of Athletic Madrid. In this game, Bienzobas and Cholín scored the goals that assured the permanence of the <i>txuri-urdin</i> team in Primera División. So, with two games to go, only Athletic Madrid and Europa were in the fight to avoid relegation, but the three point gap that Athletic Madrid had on Europa seemed decisive.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/03/24/pagina-1/616534/pdf.html">17th week</a>, with the Liga title solved in the hands of Athletic Club, the fight to avoid relegation continued. CD Europa advanced their game against Racing Santander. Already before this game, the <i>europeos</i> knew they needed a victory in the last two weeks, waiting for two defeats (or one defeat and a draw, depending on goal difference) of Athletic Madrid too, as only solution to their problem. Europa played against a Racing Santander that had nothing to fight for. The local squad took advantage of the lack of motivation of Racing and crushed their rivals (5-0). This result wanted to put pressure on Athletic Madrid, which had to be visited by the Liga winners, Athletic Club. In the Metropolitano, Athletic Club presented a team that mixed the usual starters with new talents of their reserve squad. In fact, a very young Bata scored his first professional goal to advance the visitors. However, Athletic Madrid, knowing the importance of the game, were able to react before half time to score three goals. The 3-1 at half time and the lack of an objective to fight for suggested an easy second half for Athletic Madrid to seal their position in Primera División. However, Atheltic Club made a fantastic second half and, in the first 15 minutes of the second half, scored three goals (two of them scored by the great Gorostiza) that ended up punishing Athletic Madrid. With the final 3-4 and the victory of Europa, everything was left for the last week. In the remaining games, the most important matches were two derbies. In Les Corts, Barcelona defeated Español in a majestic game solved by two goals of Bestit and Martí in the last minutes for a final 5-4 for the <i>culés.</i> This result assured the runner-up position of Barcelona. In Stadium Gal, Real Unión won the derby of Gipuzkoa with a tight 3-2 victory on Real Sociedad.<br />
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The days which preceded the last week were very tense between the representatives of Athletic Madrid and Europa. During this week, Real Unión announced the absence of three usual starters like René Petit, Arza and Sagarzazu, who were injuerd. Athletic Madrid suggested that there was match-fixing and requested the presence of assistants of RFEF and the Centro Federation in the game between Real Unión and Europa at the Gal Stadium. Europa protested by these accusations and responded with a similar petition. The decisive games were Arenas Club-Athletic Madrid and Real Unión-Europa. In Gal Stadium, Real Unión wanted to avoid any kind of suspicion on their fair play and ended up playing with the injured players, given the pressure of Athletic Madrid and the reports of the Madrid newspaper "Informaciones". The fair play of Real Unión was evident, since the locals looked for the victory since the very first moment and the two goals of Urtizberea for the locals before half time seemed decisive. At the same time, Athletic Madrid resisted in Ibaiondo, being a 0-0 the result at half time.<br />
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In the second half, things changed in Irún, Bestit II put the team on his shoulders to tie the game in the early minutes of the second half, but these two goals were responded by a Sagarzazu, who scored the 3-2. In Ibaiondo, Anduiza scored for Arenas though. With the last 15 minutes of the season to be played, Europa (3-2) and Athletic Madrid (1-0) were losing their games, but the craziness was yet to start. In the minute 78, both teams tied their games, scoring Escrich for Europa (3-3) and Marín for Athletic Madrid (1-1). The turning point only came four minutes later, when Bestit II scored in Irún the 3-4 for Europa. With these results, Athletic Madrid was in Segunda due to goal difference. But things got worse for Athletic Madrid when Rivero scored the second goal of Arenas in the minute 86. Athletic Madrid got relegated to Segunda División and Europa saved their heads in what it was a heroic comeback of the Catalans.<br />
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The rest of the games were irrelevant, but there was an interesting Real Madrid-Barcelona, which ended up with a clear 5-1 for the madridistas, driven as always by Lazcano and Gaspar Rubio. Also Athletic Club completed their fantastic season with a victory in Santander, closing the season totally unbeaten.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qy96MD9qYZM/TrR-ffcDPpI/AAAAAAAAAQU/xYlwBGWldX4/s1600/Liga+1930-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qy96MD9qYZM/TrR-ffcDPpI/AAAAAAAAAQU/xYlwBGWldX4/s1600/Liga+1930-4.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E73edubQt_w/TrSEJjN19kI/AAAAAAAAAQs/N8R8O_q48AE/s1600/individual1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E73edubQt_w/TrSEJjN19kI/AAAAAAAAAQs/N8R8O_q48AE/s1600/individual1930.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Athletic Club's victory was based on the attacking proposal of Fred Pentland and the amazing level of the young Basque strikers. Gorostiza, who ended up being the top-scorer of La Liga with 20 goals in 18 games, Unamuno and Iraragorri were in the top-10 scorers of the season. Blasco also was the best goalkeeper of the competition, receiving 20 goals in 15 games. Pentland's team got the admiration of everyone, unbeaten during all the season and crushing rivals with unexpected solvency, independently of their level. Athletic was the best team and, given their youth, the future of this team looked brilliant. This was Pentland's usual formation during this season:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BDfutbol.com</td></tr>
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In Segunda División, CD Alavés ended up promoting to Primera División in a very tight race against Sporting Gijín, Iberia SD and Sevilla FC. CD Alavés closed a fantastic season that had started with a surprising victory in the regional tournament on the "unbeatable" Athletic Club and the other Primera club, Arenas. In CD Alavés, their main stars were their two defenders: Ciriaco and Quincoces.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CDTW_ftT_Bw/TrSCzM-w4BI/AAAAAAAAAQk/5nXzI_-SjaQ/s1600/Segunda1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CDTW_ftT_Bw/TrSCzM-w4BI/AAAAAAAAAQk/5nXzI_-SjaQ/s1600/Segunda1930.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i>Copa del Rey</i></b></div><br />
<i>Round of 32 - March 6-13, 1930</i><br />
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Only one week after the end of La Liga, a new edition of the Copa del Rey started. The big favorites for this tournament were the usual favorites: Barcelona, Real Madrid, the Basque teams, but above them, Athletic Club. The club of Bilbao was the rival to beat after their majestic Liga tournament and their amazing state of form.<br />
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In this first round, the favorites did not fail, but some surprises were near to happen. In this way, while Barcelona, Español, Real Unión or Arenas Club solved their clashes without much problems, Athletic Club and Real Madrid had to suffer to advance. Athletic Club had to overcome the 3-0 victory of Racing Santander with a brilliant 5-1 in San Mamés, when the journalistic reports expressed their doubts on the Basques after their poor game in the first leg, their first defeat since November 1929. Even more surprising were the problems of Real Madrid against the runner-ups of Aragón, Patria, a very humble club that was in Tercera División. The madridistas needed a replay to advance and kept showing the irregularity shown in La Liga season. The biggest surprises were the defeat of Europa, who got surprised by Real Oviedo in the first leg with a result that was impossible to overcome, and the shameful defeat of Athletic Madrid in the replay against Castellón. The winners of the regional tournament of Valencia were a decent team, but the 7-1 made the club of the Metropolitano explode and the fans expressed their anger for this result and the relegation to Segunda División.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_4VrG0m0mx4/TrSMfIlekAI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/Gicx3CTLDCo/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_4VrG0m0mx4/TrSMfIlekAI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/Gicx3CTLDCo/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<i>Round of 16 - March 20-27, 1930</i><br />
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The Copa has always been a tournament open to surprises, but it was not in this round. However, some of the favorites had to suffer to advance. The most important clashes were those played among Primera División teams. In the Basque derby, Athletic did not have any problems to defeat Real Sociedad and the Liga champions left the clash solved in the first round at home. The Real Madrid-Arenas was more balanced on paper, but the reality showed the superior level of Real Madrid, who defeated the Basque team in both games, showing an unexpected solid image after their poor season.<br />
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More problems had Real Unión with Castellón. The Basque team was surprisingly defeated by their rivals in their home, the Gal Stadium. Castellón had already surprised Athletic Madrid in the previous round, but this time they could not complete the epic story, since Real Unión were able to advance with a 0-2 away victory. Barcelona also had problems in the first leg played in Seville against Betis. The game in Seville was full of problems and had to be suspended at half time with 1-1 on the scoreboard. The local fans were protesting the performance of the referee, who responded doing gestures to the tribune. The reaction of the fans of this tribune was radical and several chairs were thrown at the referee, who suspended the game. In the second leg, Barcelona did not have any problem to impose their football to advance.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpiy_obxloA/TrSQ9GZannI/AAAAAAAAARE/4tBVwM1flpU/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tpiy_obxloA/TrSQ9GZannI/AAAAAAAAARE/4tBVwM1flpU/s1600/copa+del+rey+1930-3.jpg" /></a></div><i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Quarter finals - May 4-11, 1930</i><br />
In this round, there still were three teams of Segunda División, Alavés, Valencia and Oviedo, which had the difficult task to surprise the big favorites. In the first leg, the biggest surprise was the 2-1 victory of Alavés on Barcelona. During the season, Alavés had shown to be a respectful team, given their victory in the regional tournament of Bizkaia, where they defeated who ended up being the Liga champion (Athletic Club). Besides, Alavés had completed a fantastic season in Segunda División with the promotion to the top division and this club counted on the two central backs of the Spanish NT, Ciriaco and Quincoces. But, despite all these facts, their victory on Barcelona was considered more than just surprising. In the other games, Español defeated Oviedo with a short 2-0, although the higher level of the Catalans suggested that the <i>pericos</i> should not have problems to advance. In Mestalla, Real Madrid crushed Valencia and their good level made the press talk about the resurrection of the <i>madridistas</i> in this key moment of the season. Finally, in the Gal Stadium, Athletic could not defeat Real Unión, but the 0-0 draw allowed them to face the second leg with optimism.<br />
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In this second leg, Barcelona did not left any option to the surprise and crushed Alavés in the second leg played in Les Corts. This time, the Catalan club did not underrated their rivals and the 4-1 showed the real difference between both teams. In San Mamés, Athletic Club continued their fantastic season with a usual 4-0 beating on their rivals in San Mamés, Real Unión was the victim. Español also won in Oviedo (0-1) and did not gave any option to their weak rival. The surprise was about to happen in Chamartín. Valencia defeated Real Madrid with an epic 0-2 and the result might have been more dramatic for the madridistas, if the referee had not disallowed a goal to the valencianistas, with only 3 minutes to go, that would have forced the replay. The scandal was huge and Valencia made an official complaint that was ignored. At the end, the big favorites were in the semifinals.<br />
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<i>Semifinals - May 18-25, 1930</i><br />
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The semifinals had the same protagonists of the previous edition, but with different clashes. In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/05/19/pagina-4/625907/pdf.html">first leg</a>, Barcelona visited San Mamés, while Real Madrid had to visit Sarrià. In San Mamés, Athletic and Barcelona faced each other again almost two months after the brilliant Liga game that ended up giving the title to the local squad. Athletic wished to repeat the story, while Barcelona looked for their particular revenge, this time with Samitier back in the team. But everything seemed to go in Athletic's direction when Iraragorri advanced the Basques in the minute 11 of the match. However, this time Barcelona looked for the draw soon. In the minute 19, Samitier, acting as playmaker, found Goiburu whose shot was initially saved by Blasco, who could not block the ball though. Goiburu himself got the lost ball to tie the game. This draw was an impulse for the most experimented Catalan team, who enjoyed the best chances, although Goiburu was very inefficient in attack. The domination of Barcelona continued in the second half, although Athletic also enjoyed some counters. When the draw seemed to be the final result and probably the fair result too, Gorostiza, always Gorostiza, headed a ball into Barcelona's goal after a brilliant cross of Lafuente. Athletic won 2-1.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/05/19/pagina-3/625906/pdf.html">first leg</a> of the second semifinal will be recalled by the violent clash between Español and Real Madrid. However, the first minutes promised a brilliant show. Español defended their Copa crown, while the resurrection of Real Madrid (with its up and downs) was tested in Sarrià. Real Madrid dominated the early minutes of the game, while Español was imprecise in their football. The match was beautiful and nice and, ironically, despite the good game of Real Madrid, it was Padrón who scored in an individual action to advance Español in the minute 15. This is when the game finished. When the ball started to roll again, the Español forward Tena II was tackled and injured and the local team had to play with ten men the rest of the match. Given the passive attitude of the referee, the beautiful game turned violent, with tackles and aggressive actions which never were solved by the official. With Real Madrid in superiority on the pitch, which forced Español to focus in defense, and both teams paying more attention to their individual revenges than in playing football, the match was ugly, without important chances, 90 minutes to forget. Español had won 1-0, but the result was too open for the second leg.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xAL9vivNuFk/TrUW2pYJ_aI/AAAAAAAAARU/Xoy2-i-s2Nk/s1600/pic1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xAL9vivNuFk/TrUW2pYJ_aI/AAAAAAAAARU/Xoy2-i-s2Nk/s400/pic1930.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Español-Real Madrid in Sarrià</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/05/26/pagina-3/1378750/pdf.html">second leg</a>, Les Corts was packed to see one of the best matches you could see in those days, a guarantee of good football, a clash of styles the technical football of the Catalans against the fast and impulsive football of Athletic. The first attempt of this game was a shot of Iraragorri that hit the post, but Barcelona responded very fast, when Goiburu found Samitier who scored the first for Barcelona. Despite some attacking actions of Athletic, Barcelona kept controlling the match. In a collective action, Piera left behind the Athletic defenders to find Urquizu, who passed the ball to Goiburu, scoring the second for Barcelona in the minute 33. The match entered in a crazy battle without stop. In the minute 35, Gorostiza tied the semifinals and only two minutes later Ramón gave Barça the lead again. That was not enough, in the minute 40, Gorostiza tied the semifinal again and Athletic still had time to score one more goal before half time, this time scored by the wonder kid Bata. The 3-3 at half time gave Athletic the ticket to the final, but there were 45 more minutes to play. In the second half, the game was equally balanced, although without the same festival of goals. It had to be the star of Barcelona, Samitier, who scored the fourth goal of Barcelona to tie the semifinal again. Athletic looked for the victory and even scored one more goal (Lafuente), which was not allowed, since the referee considered it was offside, a decision protested by the visitors. The 4-3 was the final result and a tie-breaker had to be played in Zaragoza three days later.<br />
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In Chamartín, Real Madrid and Español had to find a finalist in this <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/05/26/pagina-2/1378749/pdf.html">second leg</a>. The stadium of Real Madrid had been renewed and 30,000 madridistas packed the stadium. The atmosphere around this game was hot, given the events of the game played at Sarrià, although the fans were noisy, but respectful with the visitors. Still Español started the game very nervous, while Real Madrid went for the victory with the support of their fans. In the minute 16, Olaso found Cosme, who beat Zamora to tie the semifinal. The madridistas did not stop there and their lesson of football was brilliant. Only Zamora kept Español in the game. In the second half, things did not change much, a nervous Español could not stop the continuous, although inefficient, attacks of Real Madrid. But in the minute 72, the wonder couple appeared, Lazcano passed to Rubio and the top scorer of Real Madrid scored the second goal for the madridistas, buying a ticket for the final of Barcelona. In the last minutes, Madrid got conservative and Español did not find a way to react. Real Madrid was in the final.<br />
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Three days later, in the stadium of Torrero (Zaragoza), Athletic and Barcelona played the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/05/28/pagina-1/625931/pdf.html">replay</a> to decide the last finalist. This time the match was far from beautiful. The season had been long and the constant matches started to affect both teams. The match promised emotions, 31000 fans packed Torrero, a neutral ground. Who else could be, but Gorostiza, who advanced Athletic in the scoreboard after 13 minutes. Barcelona looked for the draw, but their hopes got ruined when Sastre got injured in an accidental action, leaving the Catalans with ten men on the pitch, with all the match to be played and the disadvantage in the scoreboard. Still Barcelona attacked their rivals, who were not playing one of their best games. Athletic was playing without their usual impulse and Barcelona was clumsy in their actions though. The 1-0 was the result at half time. In the second half, Barcelona kept looking for the draw, but the Catalans started to pay their efforts and the German defender Walter had to retire injured too after another accidental action. Barcelona was with nine men on the pitch and the match was fully controlled by a conservative Athletic. Things got worse when the goalkeeper Uriach got injured too with 15 minutes to go. In this situation, Barcelona was broken and Athletic did not need to make big efforts to score the second. In the minute 83, Barcelona got a suicidal system to look for the draw, but in a counter-attack, Unamuno sentenced the blaugranas with the second goal for Athletic. The match finished there, a depressed Barcelona let themselves go and Athletic scored two more goals in the last minutes. Gorostiza and Bata closed the 4-0 beating. The press saw in this result a change in the dominance of the Spanish football. The youth and talent of Athletic were praised over an old and declining Barcelona. Athletic was in the final.<br />
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<i>Final - June 1, 1930</i><br />
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The final was played in Barcelona in the events of the international exposition hosted in the city. While Athletic Club preferred to play in Les Corts, Real Madrid's preferences were for the new stadium of Montjuïc. Finally, the RFEF decided to play the match in the new stadium of the city of Barcelona. The Estadio de Barcelona, popularly known as Montjuïc was a unique stadium, the biggest in Spain. Despite some games had been played there in the previous year, the stadium was fully completed before this final. The unbelievable amount of 63,000 fans showed up in Montjuïc to watch the final that Athletic and Real Madrid were about to play and the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1930/06/02/pagina-1/619980/pdf.html">reports</a> said that thousands of fans were out of the stadium without a ticket.<br />
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The match was also marked by the recent events. Real Madrid was already seen as an enemy of Barcelona since several years ago, but the recent incidents between the <i>merengues</i> and Español were also decisive to understand the behavior of the fans. When Real Madrid jumped on the pitch, the infinite crowd dedicated whistles and booing to the madridistas, while Athletic club was received with a huge ovation. The Catalan crowd had spoken. Athletic were the big favorites, although Real Madrid, despite their irregularity during the season, was considered one of the best teams of Spain.<br />
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Only 30 seconds needed Athletic to take the lead. Lafuente started the attack in the right wing and his poisoned cross could not be stopped by the madridista goalie Vidal. The ball ended up in the feet of Gorostiza who passed the ball to Unamuno who scored the first goal for the Basque team. This early goal surprised Real Madrid who got groggy for some minutes, while Athletic pressured their rivals. However, in one of these actions, the Madrid captain Quesada tackled Unamuno, who had to leave the pitch for some minutes. In this situation, Real Madrid were able to go back to the game. Unamuno returned five minutes later, but the madridistas had started to dominate the match and, in the minute 15, Gaspar Rubio headed the ball to Lazcano, who was alone inside the box and had enough time to kick the ball inside Blasco's goal to tie the game. In the following minutes after the 1-1, Real Madrid showed to be a very uncomfortable rival and those who thought that Athletic was going to defeat Real Madrid easily got convinced that they were wrong. The forwards of both teams tested the brilliant goalies of each team, Vidal and Blasco. Only a few seconds before half time, in the last action of the first half, Athletic enjoyed a corner kick. Gorostiza placed the ball inside the box and the ball without an owner fell in Iraragorri's feet, who kicked the ball into Vidal's goal to advance Athletic right before half time (2-1).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unamuno's goal</td></tr>
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In the second half, Real Madrid started with a renovated impulse. The madridistas were intense in their football, dynamic in attack and aggressive in defense. This style allowed them to dominate the game and, at the same time, frightened a younger Athletic. In the minute 65, Gaspar Rubio crossed the ball into the box, Blasco failed to grab the ball and a smart Triana headed the ball into Athletic's goal. In these minutes, Athletic looked lost and Real Madrid was very superior. However, the goal stopped the effervescence of Real Madrid's football and the match got balanced again. The attacking actions of both teams could have made the final fall either way, but Vidal and Blasco succeeded in their performance. In the last minutes of the match, there were two controversial actions, one in each box, well solved by the referee. At the end, the 2-2 was the final result after 90 minutes and the match went to the extra time.<br />
<br />
In the first half of the extra time, Real Madrid was in superiority, since Lafuente got injured. Even though both teams looked tired, Real Madrid were the team that decided to dominate. The madridistas found air to pressure their rivals, while Athletic could only defend in an unusual image for this team. In the last minutes of the first half, Lafuente returned to the pitch and both teams were with eleven men again. In the second half of the extra time, things did not change though. Real Madrid felt superior and Athletic were struggling physically, since they had played the mid-week game against Barcelona. In these minutes, Blasco repeatedly saved Athletic, while Madrid could only regret their missed chances. Surprisingly though, when Athletic looked dead, Chirri II, the captain of Athletic, built a counter in the left wing and passed the ball to Lafuente who kicked the ball into the madridista net. It was the minute 115 and Athletic took the lead in the most unexpected moment. This goal was a pyschological shock for Real Madrid and, out of frustration, the madridista defender Prats kicked Chirri II's back, who responded with another aggression. Both players were sent off, but the match died in these incidents. Athletic had won the Copa del Rey too.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FzNsLRvCqIs/TrUtcUX2SXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_EkCFqDr1Xo/s1600/pic1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FzNsLRvCqIs/TrUtcUX2SXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_EkCFqDr1Xo/s400/pic1930.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic celebrate Lafuente's goal, Real Madrid in shock</td></tr>
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<div>With this new title, the 11th Copa in Athletic's history, the Basque club seemed to open a new era in the Spanish football. Fred Pentland's team had shown a brilliant image during the season, unbeaten in Liga and completing the fantastic season with the Double achieved in the final of Montjuïc. Athletic's team was young, talented, fast and agressive, having all the elements to dominate in the years to come, in the new decade. At the same time, Barcelona had shown a declining image, with the most important players in veteran ages and without a realistic replacement for them in the horizon. Real Madrid had shown to be a fantastic team, but very irregular in their performances, mixing amazing games with pathetic matches, which made impossible to find a wished regularity. Fred Pentland's Athletic seemed to be the team of the years to come.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iarkKdcT9vU/TrUu-8DlwKI/AAAAAAAAASE/8T2kO7K0gXQ/s1600/Final+Copa+1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iarkKdcT9vU/TrUu-8DlwKI/AAAAAAAAASE/8T2kO7K0gXQ/s640/Final+Copa+1930.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
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</div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-84163456658878272352011-11-03T14:13:00.000+01:002011-11-03T14:13:46.307+01:00The sports newspapers in SpainThe importance of sport in the Spanish media is reflected in the presence and the space they occupy in the overall Spanish media. But, when we refer to sport, we should mainly focus in football. A report of González Ramallal in the year 2004 said that football was the 70% of the total content of the sport information. And, when we refer to football, perhaps we should talk about Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The information about these clubs are between a 9% and a 12% of the total space of sport information, while the rest of the sport clubs gather a 6% of the total space in the sport information, but depending on their success in a certain moment. Only the Spanish national team gets near the figures of Barcelona and Real Madrid in times of international tournaments. This statistics show the specific weight of football, in general, and Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, in particular.<br />
<br />
Let's make a bit of history. The first sport newspaper in Spain was the Catalan "El Mundo Deportivo" (nowadays, just "Mundo Deportivo"), which was born on 1906 and it is the second sport newspaper in Europe. The first was the Italian "Gazzetta dello Sport" (1896). At that time, "El Mundo Deportivo" was not essentially a football newspaper. In fact, football was a small part of it, among other (if not more) popular sports in Catalonia. Football was a relatively new sport and the popularity of cycling, athletics, boxing, motor sports or hockey, to name a few, was as important as football can be.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gBedY9-bfwo/TrKHFHMD0PI/AAAAAAAAAOk/gWbkfuLAEjg/s1600/emd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gBedY9-bfwo/TrKHFHMD0PI/AAAAAAAAAOk/gWbkfuLAEjg/s400/emd2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Mundo Deportivo in 1912, without football</td></tr>
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The changes started to happen in the 1920s. The silver medal of the Spanish NT in the Olympics Antwerp 1920 was a reason of pride for the country. The importance of this medal was huge in the development of football as mass social event. The interest on football grew and, as a consequence, new big stadiums were built and professionalism became a fact during the decade. At the same time, these changes were evident in the media too. The only sports newspaper, "El Mundo Deportivo", started to dedicate more and more pages to football in comparison with other sports. In the general information newspapers saw the impact of football too and their sport sections started to grow, essentially dedicated to football.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiwno_hWQg4/TrKGkSpUhWI/AAAAAAAAAOc/31fqhN00Hwk/s1600/emd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiwno_hWQg4/TrKGkSpUhWI/AAAAAAAAAOc/31fqhN00Hwk/s400/emd1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Mundo Deportivo in 1925</td></tr>
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But another change was evident. Football had crossed the borders of sport to be used as a way to create a sense of nation and even race, which started to be dangerously mixed in this decade all around Europe. So the silver medal in Antwerp was used to set terms like "Furia española" (Spanish fury) and football was definitely used as element of prestige and propaganda tool. It is important to remember that Spain fell under a military dictatorship, which had reflections of the Italian fascism, although it was more catholic-nationalist-conservative than really fascist.<br />
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In the 1930s, the political events stopped this use of football. The democracy of the II República was a constant earthquake, the radicalism of the ideologies in all Europe reached Spain too. The radical left and right movements were peaking in all Europe, creating the appropriate atmosphere for the war that was about to start. In fact, the Spanish Civil War has often been seen as a prologue or rehearsal of the World War II.<br />
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In this environment the popular sport newspaper "Marca" was created. "Marca" was born in the Basque city of San Sebastián in the year 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. San Sebastián already was under the fascist occupation of the Franco troops, which were already suffocating the last Republican zones. The Marca journalist Miquelarena stated their intentions and the necessity of a <i>"change in the conception of football to make it fit in the new values of the State. During the II República, football was a red (communist) orgy of the lowest and evil regional passions"</i>. The journalist highlighted that <i>"almost everyone was separatist -and rude-. The pro-Basqueism was seen in the stands of San Mamés and also in the tribunes of Chamartín. In most of the cases, a madridista was a pro-Basque of Madrid; that is, a localist mental retard against the national limits".</i> Obviously, after the fascist occupation of Madrid and the end of the Civil War, "Marca" moved its headquarters to Madrid. At the same time, "El Mundo Deportivo", which had closed as a consequence of the Civil War reopened at the end of 1939, with a big picture of Franco in their cover and a tribute to those "who fell in defense of God and Spain". As it was obvious, the Catalan newspaper had been "domesticated" too. As an example of it, the analysis of the 11-1 defeat of Barcelona against Real Madrid in Chamartín in the year 1943. Barcelona had won the first leg in Les Corts with a clear 3-0. "Marca" created a hot atmosphere with insulting words against the Catalan fans, which had created a hot atmosphere in the stadium, and "surprisingly", the Catalan "El Mundo Deportivo" joined the party attacking the local fans, their readers. The defeat of the Catalans was a question of state and many Barcelona players and managers, many years later, ended up denouncing that the Director General de Seguridad (the boss of the repressive police of the fascist regime) had entered in the locker room of the visitors and "suggested" the necessity of a passive attitude in this second game. The 11-1 was labeled as "abnormal and absurd", but no one was able to write about these pressures, which were in the mouths of everyone in the streets of Barcelona.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7xOVV6I_oDI/TrJqZT5BYkI/AAAAAAAAAOU/buubVsPQoQg/s1600/franco-emd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7xOVV6I_oDI/TrJqZT5BYkI/AAAAAAAAAOU/buubVsPQoQg/s400/franco-emd.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Mundo Deportivo 12/31/1939</td></tr>
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The strict control of the media was evident, also in the sport sections. The regime knew the importance of the sport media as propaganda tool and the use of the "Furia española", as slogan to reflect the values of the "hispanic race" (virility, impetuosity and fury). The Spanish NT did not reach the international success aside the exceptions of the semifinals of the World Cup 1950 and the famous goal of Zarra in Maracaná (as famous as the comments of the national radio speaker Matías Prats) or the Euro 1964 victory against the <i>"communist rats"</i> of the USSR. But these triumphs were just exceptions compared with the huge success of Real Madrid in the European Cup, during the late 50s and 60s. Real Madrid definitely was more useful to the goals of the propaganda of the fascist regime, not only because of the victories, but also because this club was a Spanish club without any kind of doubt, while Athletic Club and FC Barcelona were suspicious of the nationalist (or separatist, as the regime liked to call it) aspirations of the Basque Country and Catalonia, respectively, "enemies of Spain".<br />
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During the 1960s, after the international acceptance of Spain, the regime relaxed the pressure on the media, which allowed the creation of new newspapers. Even though the censorship and the control still existed, the opening in the media sector allowed the creation of "As" in the year 1967. "Marca" already was the most read newspaper in Spain and, definitely, part of the propaganda machine. It was the times of "football is the opium of people". While "Marca" had built a national idea of journalism, "El Mundo Deportivo" had still kept a more local view, mainly focused in a Catalan (not catalanist, as it is evident) audience. The weapons of "As" were similar to "Marca's" and their goal practically the same, although this newspaper always was in a secondary position.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gt3PmM74sFk/TrKLlLPM0kI/AAAAAAAAAO0/35oPayELeNg/s1600/marca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gt3PmM74sFk/TrKLlLPM0kI/AAAAAAAAAO0/35oPayELeNg/s400/marca.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marca in the 1940s, Real Madrid 11-1 Barcelona</td></tr>
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The arrival of democracy definitely changed the face of the sport journalism, which broke the chains with the past. Many newspapers appeared in scene and in this specific sport sector too. The first sport newspaper to appear in democratic times was the Catalan "Sport" (which was an intelligent mix of the English word and the sound of the same word in Catalan, "Esport"). "Sport" was part of a new media group (Grupo Zeta) that had opened after the death of Franco in 1975 and their ideas were quite innovative and radical in the sport journalism. While "Marca", "El Mundo Deportivo" and "As" had still manners of the previous decades, "Sport" opened with a radical different line. "Sport" used to open with big color pictures and headlines, spectacular graphics and a clear idea: they wanted to be the newspaper of the FC Barcelona fans. As a consequence of it, "Sport" got rid of the pretended objective (which had never existed anyway) view on football. "Sport" was openly barcelonista and radical in their headlines and designed.<br />
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Obviously, "Sport" was not a real threat on "Marca" and "As", since they targeted a different audience, but "El Mundo Deportivo", which was about to make 75 years of history, suffered the consequences of this new wave of sport journalism. In a short period of time, "Sport" was seen as one of the main references, due to their connection with a new free media created after the Francoism. "Sport" was Catalan, catalanist and openly <i>pro-culé</i>, not even trying to convince the Espanyol fans, as "El Mundo Deportivo" had been doing. The differences between both newspapers were evident. "El Mundo Deportivo" had always been (still is) connected with the Catalan bourgeoisie as part of the Godó editorial group. In the new democratic times, "El Mundo Deportivo" and the rest of the group got closer to the Catalan nationalism views, but in a very moderate sector. On the other hand, the editorial bet of "Sport" was openly catalanist and <i>culé</i>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gkeujyFVCWg/TrKKt4y9D_I/AAAAAAAAAOs/pvZu7LpWbWI/s1600/sport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gkeujyFVCWg/TrKKt4y9D_I/AAAAAAAAAOs/pvZu7LpWbWI/s400/sport.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorful Sport in the late 70s</td></tr>
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<br />
In Madrid, changed had to happen too. As "Marca" had kept the supremacy in all Spain, the newspaper, keeping the madridista bias, was quite moderate in their editorial line, also giving space to other Spanish clubs in their pages. "As" got suffocated, since they were unable to offer something different to what "Marca" was offering, which made the newspaper collapse. The big changed happened in the year 1996. The owner of "As" sold the newspaper to the most powerful media group in Spain, PRISA, which already gathered the most profitable general newspaper (El País), the radio stations with higher audience (Cadena SER in general radio and Cadena 40 in commercial music radio) and the only pay TV channel (Canal +). PRISA bought "As" to change its shape and took advantage of the synergies of the whole group, using already prestigious journalists. "As" needed a new space and the example to follow was "Sport". The new "As" got openly madridista and radical, they were the first to create an all color newspaper and the growth in readers was evident since the very first day.<br />
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Obviously, the decrease of readers in "Marca" and "El Mundo Deportivo", the two classic newspapers of Madrid and Barcelona, had to have consequences. "El Mundo Deportivo" was the first to react, with a change in the year 1999. The impulse of "Sport" seemed unstoppable and "El Mundo Deportivo" changed its commercial name to "Mundo Deportivo" and, following the example of its competitor, added more color, graphics and radicalism in its messages. The change in "Marca" had to wait until 2007 when the newspaper was bought by Unión Editorial and their new director, Eduardo Inda, added a definitive pro-madridista editorial, very sensationalist.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9meeDT-Cj_k/TrKM8seFMqI/AAAAAAAAAPE/cJFxCVz_864/s1600/marca1301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9meeDT-Cj_k/TrKM8seFMqI/AAAAAAAAAPE/cJFxCVz_864/s400/marca1301.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marca in their Anti-Ramón Calderón campaign</td></tr>
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The other big change during the last couple of decades has been the growth of regional sport journalism. So "Superdeporte" was created in Valencia, aiming the niche of the growing <i>valencianism</i>, opposed to the centralism of the Madrid newspapers and the catalanism of the Barcelona press. In other regions, the lack of population made other projects fail and this regional niches had been occupied by the traditional sport newspapers. So "Marca" and "As" usually have particular editions, with special pages in certain regions, while "El Mundo Deportivo" also created special editions in the Basque country, one in Bizkaia, aiming the Athletic fans, another one Gipuzkoa, targeting the Real Sociedad fans, and also in Madrid, with the creation of "Mundo Atlético", which targets the space left by "As" and "Marca" in their radical madridismo among the Atlético Madrid fans.<br />
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Basically, at this point, the objective (at least, the pretended objective) perspective of football information has definitely disappeared from the newspapers. All the sport newspapers are definitely based on radical and fanatic perspectives, which border the sensationalism and the ridicule articles and theories, if they are clearly in them. As a consequence of it, in the recent years, new terms generally accepted by the fans have been created in these newspapers, like the "Villarato" theory created by Alfredo Relaño in "As", which suggests (without any kind of objectiveness and with high doses of Goebbelsism) that there is an established structure in the Spanish football and now also in UEFA to favor FC Barcelona around the figure of Ángel María Villar, president of the Spanish FA. At the same time, the Catalan press did not hesitate to accept and use the term created by the Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, to describe a kind of invisible power to destroy Barcelona, and himself, "The Spanish media cavern" (la Caverna española mediática), along with some variants created by Josep Guardiola himself, like the "Milky Central" (la Central Lechera), which suggest the control of Real Madrid and its president Florentino Pérez on the pro-madridista media to make an uniform message to destroy the prestige of Barcelona, backing several kind of theories, created from the club itself or the media in blur borders, as the "Villarato" itself to new versions like the never proven doping cases in Barcelona (and Valencia) or how the fixtures have been fixed by barcelonistas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiR88wftrKw/TrKMTcv8RWI/AAAAAAAAAO8/roaISYewjcU/s1600/villarato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiR88wftrKw/TrKMTcv8RWI/AAAAAAAAAO8/roaISYewjcU/s400/villarato.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As' "Villarato" campaign</td></tr>
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But, at the same time, these newspapers also aim to have certain internal influence and they surely have it. In the case of Real Madrid, the most evident case was the campaign built by "Marca" to destroy the prestige of the president Ramón Calderón, which ended up with Florentino Pérez back in the presidency of Real Madrid. It is not that "Marca" actually lied in their reports, but it was surprising to see such an open campaign to destroy the prestige of the president Calderón. Even though it is not a proven theory, the clear support on Florentino Pérez made by "Marca" and the economic and financial influence of the current president of Real Madrid can be considered as "strange" at least. Also Eduardo Inda's "Marca" created a clear anti-Manuel Pellegrini campaign since the very early weeks of the 2009-2010 season. As it popularly known, Manuel Pellegrini was a Jorge Valdano's man. This campaign suggest some kind of internal power battle in the club. The signing of José Mourinho, who had a clear bad relationship with the formal sport general director, Jorge Valdano, and the final departure of the club of the last, suggest this situation and the position of Marca in all this story. At the same time, during all this time, "As" has kept a more critical position on Florentino Pérez and, especially, with José Mourinho. The good relatioship of Jorge Valdano with the PRISA media group, owner of "As" and "El País", and the criticism of the newspapers of this media group on José Mourinho made the fans connect all these facts to the point that, without using names, José Mourinho and Florentino Pérez had talked about "certain pseudo-madridistas", who seem to support the club while they do not hesitate to criticize to break the unity.<br />
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In Catalonia, the most evident case of internal influence is not around the coach Guardiola, but the figure of the president. In the last period of the presidency of Joan Laporta, "Mundo Deportivo" and the rest of the Godó group media, were openly critical with the president. Even before the "pseudo-madridista" theories, Joan Laporta, in a meeting with barcelonista <i>penyes </i>(fan groups) also warned the <i>culés</i> about the existence of those who call themselves barcelonistas but in reality wanted to destroy the calm of the club. In the last presidential elections, "Mundo Deportivo" clearly supported the candidature of Sandro Rosell in opposition to the <i>laportista </i>candidatures. In this war, "Sport" has kept a more neutral line, not backing Laporta, but without the cynical support on Sandro Rosell showed by "Mundo Deportivo". And it is not irrelevant to analyze the whole matter from a political view, since Joan Laporta presented a independentist candidature in the last Catalan elections, which was supposed to scratch votes from the moderate nationalist party, CiU.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7_FqoMhtXk/TrKN2tl7jgI/AAAAAAAAAPM/wqlYKSwBKdk/s1600/emdlaporta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7_FqoMhtXk/TrKN2tl7jgI/AAAAAAAAAPM/wqlYKSwBKdk/s320/emdlaporta.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mundo Deportivo attacks Joan Laporta</td></tr>
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Another interesting topic is the relationship with the rivals. The Madrid located newspapers, despite their evident pro-madridismo, also target a broad audience, which may include certain zones of Spain, where the barcelonistas do not feel fully linked with the catalanist vision of the Barcelona located newspapers. On the other hand, the Catalan newspapers have been more radical in their treatment on their rivals, especially "Sport", but also "Mundo Deportivo" in recent years. As a consequence, while "As" or "Marca" do not hesitate the show the triumphs of the rival Barcelona in their covers, although often with spicy or ironic comments or headlines, the Catalan press definitely ignores the information. In the day by day, these newspapers normally dedicate their headlines and covers to their own club's issues. The only exception, in both cases, is when it is time to attack the rival with negative news, either defeats or scandals.<br />
<br />
Finally, the relationship with the Spanish NT is quite different too. "Marca" and "As" act as clear supporters of the Spanish NT, treating the information from a pure fanatic and supporting perspective that does not admit any kind of hesitation. "Marca" and "As" put the Spanish NT in the same level of support given to Real Madrid. However, the Catalan press is more cynical in this support. The political situation of Catalonia is very different and complex, with an overall sense of Catalan national feeling, which gather different kind of tendencies, with Catalonia as nation inside a "nation of nations", which would be Spain, to those who are openly independentist in their feelings. This situation force the Catalan press to play an ambiguous role. So the perspective keeps being quite barcelonista even in the event of an Euro or a World Cup. If Spain is playing, the analysis is often focused on the participation of Catalans or barcelonistas. At the same time, they do not hesitate to dedicate covers and headlines to other blaugrana players who play for different nations, like those who got Ronaldinho in the past or Messi nowadays, even if they dress their nation's shirts. While the treatment of the Spanish NT is warm and supportive in the Madrid media, the Catalan press, despite not rejecting the topic, definitely is more cold, cynical and still culé in their editorial lines.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Up56U7sbEI/TrKSk-e40pI/AAAAAAAAAPU/F27lpA6GjPE/s1600/emd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Up56U7sbEI/TrKSk-e40pI/AAAAAAAAAPU/F27lpA6GjPE/s320/emd3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mundo Deportivo and Marca treating the triumphs of the rivals</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The huge influence of these newspapers in the general opinion of madridistas and barcelonistas is evident. This influence is based in the amount of readers of each newspaper. "Marca" is the most read newspaper in Spain, over the general information newspaper "El País". Among the total amount of readers, "Marca" gets the 20% of the audience with nearly 3 million readers. "As" gets the 9% of the Spanish readers (1.443 million) and they are the 3rd most read newspaper in Spain. The Catalan newspapers get lower amounts of readers, since their perspective is more Catalan than Spanish in comparison with the Madrid located newspapers. Still "Sport" and "Mundo Deportivo" are read by 0.717 and 0.711 million readers respectively, almost a 5% of the total each of them, although in this case with lower readers than the general newspapers. In the internet editions of these newspapers, the situation is pretty similar, <a href="http://www.marca.com/">marca.com</a> has 4 million visits per day, <a href="http://www.as.com/">as.com</a> is visited by 2.4 million people, and <a href="http://www.sport.es/">sport.es</a> and <a href="http://www.mundodeportivo.com/">mundodeportivo.com</a> get 1.28 and 1.20 million visits respectively, more than any Catalan newspaper site.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-5172657111726713532011-11-02T12:08:00.000+01:002011-11-02T12:08:17.955+01:00Unai Emery, the donkeyBefore being a coach, Unai Emery was a player that used to play in humble clubs of the lower divisions of the Spanish football. Formed in Real Sociedad's youth system, he was able to make his debut in Primera División in the club of his life, where he played 6 matches with the first team, his only minutes in the elite of the Spanish football. Since then, he completed his career in several clubs of the Spanish geography, in Segunda and Segunda B divisions. Being 32, in the 2003-2004 season, Emery joined Lorca Deportiva, a club of Segunda B without tradition in higher divisions, to finish his career. In November 2004, Emery suffered a knee injury which forced him to leave the football pitches for a long time. Given his age and the duration of this injury, Emery's career was practically finished. What he did not know is that this injury gave him the opportunity of his life, one of these chances that you usually enjoy once and you can not let it go. The bad results of the team made the club fire the coach of the team and the president of Lorca offered Emery the chance to be the coach of the team.<br />
<br />
In this 2004-2005 season, Emery started as football player and ended up as coach, but it was a poisoned candy. Unai Emery was brave and accepted the challenge. Emery was able to turn the bad trend of the team into a run of good results and, surprisingly, reached the promotion play-offs... to win them to earn their position in the Segunda División in a historical promotion for Lorca after an epic final against Real Unión Irún. In the following season, 2005-2006, Lorca made their debut in this division and the results could not have been better. The humble Lorca ended up the first round in the mid zone to rise as one of the best teams in the second part of the season. In the last weeks, the surprising Lorca was very near the promotion to Primera División, but in the last games of the season the team, which had not been designed for these goals, feels the pressure and a couple of bad results made impossible to complete an epic promotion. However, the season of Emery and his team was remarkable. Emery was chosen by Marca as the best coach of Segunda División and UD Almería offered him the chance to drive a team with real promotion possibilities.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.unai-emery.com/fotos/biografia3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.unai-emery.com/fotos/biografia3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emery in Lorca</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In UD Almería, Emery finds a project to grow and does not miss his chance. Emery builds a block based on a solid defense and a fast counter-attack. Even though they did not win the title of the division, won by Real Valladolid, Almería is the runner-up and their football is praised. Once again, Marca gives him the best coach of the division award for the second consecutive title. Emery has been the only coach to win this award twice. The club kept trusting in Unai Emery for the Primera División project. The debut was a dream, a 0-3 triumph in Deportivo's Riazor, the stage of epic football matches during the last 20 years. As Emery did with Lorca in the debut season in Segunda División, Almería becomes the surprise team of the season in Primera División. Despite having one of the lowest budgets of the division, Almería's football amazes everyone and achieves historical victories for the club, like the 1-4 against the hated Sevilla in their own stadium or the 2-0 victory on Real Madrid at home. At some point of the season, UD Almería even dreams with the European spots. Despite this goal was impossible to reach, Almería accomplishes with their mission: one more year in Primera División. As it happened two years before this moment, the good work of Emery with these humble tools does not get unnoticed and traditional clubs of Primera knock his door.<br />
<br />
This is when Valencia appeared in his life. Juan Soler reached an agreement with Unai Emery after the club fired Ronald Koeman despite the victory in the Copa del Rey. But Unai Emery finds a club with a huge internal division, in constant earthquake state, blocked in the market with the important players requesting the departure of the club. At the end, Vicente Soriano takes the presidency and promises money and investments that never appeared. Unai Emery enjoyed a team with talented players, especially in the attacking zone, like David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata or Joaquín Sánchez among others. The season started in a brilliant way and the team leads the standings in the first weeks of the season, but the impulse of the giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and, especially, the internal situation of the club ended up affecting the team. With Soriano failing to accomplish with his promises, the uncertain future of the club is a heavy weight for the social mass and the team, which get distracted with external issues. Valencia and Emery finished the season in 6th place.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRb9Ul0ilexnk1oMEhvVTZ4LXYz4fTwATsE0x332MkEtsrxjtJigWx5nRuJfw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRb9Ul0ilexnk1oMEhvVTZ4LXYz4fTwATsE0x332MkEtsrxjtJigWx5nRuJfw" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silva, Villa and Mata</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The arrival of the new president Manuel Llorente, in the 2009-2010 season, to the club gives the valencianismo a good dose of realism. The impossible promises disappear and Llorente highlights that it is time to accept the real state of the finances of the club. In this season, Valencia is still able to retain their main assets and no important player leaves. The team finally adapts to Emery's methods and the new calm state of the club allows the team to grow. Valencia completes a fantastic season to finish in 3rd position with 71 points. Even though Barcelona and Real Madrid are out of reach, it is important to highlight that the two giants beat the point record this season. Valencia's season is very good and those 71 points would have been enough to win a Liga in the past. Marca recognizes Emery's season, who was the runner-up of the best coach of the year award, only behind Pep Guardiola.<br />
<br />
The value of the Valencia players grow and Manuel Llorente sees the moment to make money with them to save the club's economy. The main references of the last year leave the club, David Villa, David Silva and Raul Albiol leave the club in the summer of 2010. In this new humble policy, their replacements are very far from the departures in terms of prestige and quality. But Emery makes the team work again. Assuming the differences in budget and quality with Real Madrid and Barcelona, the team is labeled as the best team of "the other league" or "the league of the humans". Once again, the 71 points of the team show that they are in the figures of an important club and, if there is a negative point, it can only be the disappointing result against Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League, which left the team in the doors of the semifinals of the competition.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.irtve.es/imagenes/valencia-naufrago-ante-schalke/1299772869974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://img.irtve.es/imagenes/valencia-naufrago-ante-schalke/1299772869974.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defeat vs Schalke 04 in the Champions League</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Nothing changed much this year. Mata was sold just as Silva, Villa and Albiol were in the previous summer. Real Madrid and Barcelona seem to play their own league, but once more Emery's Valencia grow as the best team of "the humans", with the permission of Levante UD, although it is easy to guess that the dream of the local rivals will finish soon.<br />
<br />
But yesterday night, when the team was blocked, with an 1-1 against Bayer Leverkusen in the scoreboard and a feet out of the Champions League, some sectors of Mestalla attacked their coach with "burro" (donkey) chants after Emery decided to change Feghouli for Piatti looking for a goal in a desperate situation. Mestalla usually packed with loyal fans paid their frustration with their coach with those inappropriate chants, when the team needed support, some fans looked for someone to blame.<br />
<br />
Football is unfair sometimes and, definitely, the football fans have a really short memory and a very simplistic way to analyze the situation. When Emery got the chance to drive Valencia, the club was totally broken, in a poor economic situation, with a huge social division and with the important players willing to leave. As the stars of the team (big stars, as their performances prove) were sold and replaced by young players with more or less potential and experience. In a cold analysis, Emery's work can only be labeled in one way: great. Emery has been able to build a solid Valencia from the ashes, a team that can not compete with Barcelona and Madrid in terms of money and quality, but also a team that has constantly been the 3rd best team of Spain with an important margin of their usual rivals for this position: Atlético Madrid, Villarreal or Sevilla, to name some of them. And Emery did it without the big expenses and more solid financial position of these clubs. The season has just started, but Emery's team keeps the same good line of the previous years. Valencia already enjoys 4 points on Sevilla, 5 on the Sheikh's Málaga, 8 on Atlético Madrid and 11 on Villarreal, their main and direct rivals in "the other league". In the Champions League, the team still holds realistic chances to advance to the knock-out stages in a tough group that has important teams like Chelsea FC or Bayer Leverkusen.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/media/ALeqM5hNXsbjM4PgN8YoByvav0reIf_A-Q?docId=4168379w&size=l" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/media/ALeqM5hNXsbjM4PgN8YoByvav0reIf_A-Q?docId=4168379w&size=l" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soldado and the fans celebrate the goal vs Leverkusen</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Mestalla should make an effort to stop for one second and analyze the situation, the tools of the club, the players and the financial situation and the outcome of Emery's work, in the past and the present. The coach is there to make decisions and the ticket-holders are free to express their opinion. Evidently, Emery "the donkey" is not perfect and his decisions may be more or less questionable, but the overall results make evident that his decisions are usually more right than wrong. Who is the donkey then? The coach or those who insult the best coach Valencia had since Benítez?Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-91856074661548973152011-10-30T20:57:00.000+01:002011-10-30T20:57:50.854+01:00When Spain used to get the nose brokenJuly 9, 1994. Spain got defeated in the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup against Italy and, once more, the dreams of the Spanish people faded away and the image of the game were the tears of Luis Enrique showing his broken nose to the referee. The game was in the extra time and in the last desperate attack of the Spanish NT looking for the draw, Mauro Tassotti hit with the elbow Luis Enrique's nose inside the box in what could have been a last minute penalty to send the match to the extra time. But the Hungarian referee Sandor Puhl did not see the action and Spain had to pack the luggage.<br />
<br />
This World Cup was seen in Spain with certain illusion. The Spanish NT had not been able to play the Euro 1992, the last big continental tournament missed by this team. The Quinta del Buitre had been the core of the Spanish team since the World Cup 1986, but the failure in the qualifiers for the Euro 92 and the success of a young generation of players in the Olympic Games of Barcelona 92, made the new coach, Javier Clemente, change the face of this team. Players like Luis Enrique, Albert Ferrer, "Pitu" Abelardo, Jorge Otero, Josep Guardiola or Santi Cañizares entered in the squad to refresh the team. Aside the "gold generation", Clemente did not hesitate to trust in other young players like Julen Guerrero and Sergi.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.saliraganar.com/2008/08/Espa%C3%B1a1992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://img.saliraganar.com/2008/08/Espa%C3%B1a1992.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Ferrer and Abelardo among others in Barcelona'92</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The expectatives were high. The new and talented faces were a good reason to believe in this team. The prestige of the veterans was pretty high too. Some of them had been shining with Barcelona in the recent years in the so called "Dream Team". We refer to players like Andoni Zubizarreta, Andoni Goikoetxea or Jose Mari Bakero, along with other talented players of the Spanish football like Fernando Hierro, Miquel Angel Nadal or Rafa Alkorta. Among them, the main pieces of quality were in the boots of the Atlético Madrid player, José Luis Caminero.<br />
<br />
However, the debate around the team was the day by day. While the overall opinion considered that the Spanish team had enough talent to play the nice and passing football proposed by the Quinta del Buitre and the Dream Team in the previous nine years in La Liga, Javier Clemente was part of the old school of Basque football, more direct football friendly. While the general opinion made a bet for a more aesthetic style, Javier Clemente built the team from the back and his lineups used to have usual central backs like Nadal or Hierro (even both at the same time) protecting the midfield. As a consequence of it, usual demands of the fans for this position, like Josep Guardiola, were usually out of the first XI.<br />
<br />
In one way or another, the first steps of the Spanish team during the World Cup were not bad. Despite the initial bad game against South Korea and the unexpected 2-2. Spain grew during the tournament and showed a nice image against Germany (1-1) and Bolivia (3-1). The extraordinary victory on the Swiss team (3-0) made the fans believe in the possibilities of this team. In the quarter finals, Roberto Baggio's Italy was the rival. Since 1986 and the defeat of Spain against Belgium in the penalties, there was a growing sense of curse among the Spanish fans. Now there was a good chance to finish with it. Spain was a rising team and Italy had disappointed so far. Italy had qualified as one of the best third in the group stage and needed an extra time to eliminate Nigeria in the Round of 16. Italy seemed to be far from their best version.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sxCbz-kRNhI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
The game was tight, intense and beautiful. Spain probably played the best game of the entire tournament. The initial goal of Dino Baggio and the power of the Italian team did not make the Spanish team surrender. In the early minutes of the second half, Caminero tied the game and Spain played their best minutes of the tournament. There is an action that is kept in the retinas of the Spanish people. At some point of the second half, in the decisive moments of the match, a long ball left the striker Julio Salinas alone... it was him and the semifinals of a World Cup, between them, Gianluca Pagliuca. Julio Salinas was famous for making difficult the easiest things and easy the impossible... but this was too easy. Salinas had lots of options, but chose the worse to kick the ball on Pagliuca's legs. Just a few minutes later, Roberto Baggio found himself in a similar situation, but the legendary Italian forward dribbled Zubizarreta with class to score the final 2-1 for Italy.<br />
<br />
And it is true. It was a penalty on Luis Enrique. Tassotti elbowed the nose of the Spanish forward, but the referee did not see the action. Anger, frustration, sadness... This action just reinforced the feeling of the curse. It was a way to put into an image the feelings of many people. The day after, the covers of the Spanish newspapers reflected Luis Enrique showing his broken nose to the referee in a useless and desperate situation. Useless, desperate and cursed. But Spain was out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.diariosdefutbol.com/images/2006/10/1994lucho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://www.diariosdefutbol.com/images/2006/10/1994lucho.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Many years passed since then. Spain kept failing in more or less similar situations for years and years. In the summer of 2008, Spain faced Italy in the penalties of the Euro. Once more, Spain played one of their best games in the tournament, but the constant attacks were useless and the match reached the penalties. The so called "curse of the quarter finals" was in everyone's heads. Everyone's heads. When Cesc Fàbregas scored the winning goal of the penalties, Spain broke that invisible wall. Spain was in the semifinals, but the most important, Spain broke the curse forever. When the semifinals game started, Spain knew that they had no limits. Since then, Spain has won an Euro and a World Cup.<br />
<br />
One of the images of this weekend has been the nice gesture of Luis Enrique and Mauro Tassotti shaking hands in the last AS Roma-AC Milan. The broken nose of Luis Enrique is not a symbol anymore and, if it is, it is the symbol of past times. Now this picture of Tassotti and Luis Enrique shaking hands only make people recall that there was a time when Spain used to get the nose broken in the big tournaments. Today, Spain is the World champion.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.diariodeavisos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Luis-Enrique-y-Mauro-Tassotti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.diariodeavisos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Luis-Enrique-y-Mauro-Tassotti.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-34121826791910125062011-10-29T12:55:00.002+02:002011-10-29T14:00:05.209+02:00History of the Spanish football: 1928-1929, FC Barcelona win the first Liga and RCD Espanyol's first Copa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Previous chapter: <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/10/history-of-spanish-football-vii-1926.html">History of Spanish football (VII): 1926-1928, the professional football and Samitier's Golden Era</a><br />
<br />
<i><b>The precedents</b></i><br />
<br />
At the end of the 1927-1928 season, given the failure of the two league attempts, the clubs and the RFEF knew that they had to reach an agreement for the good of everyone. In June 1928, in the facilities of Real Madrid, the representatives of the clubs that had formed the "Liga Máximalista" and the "Liga Mínima" meet to agree the creation of a league that satisfies everyone. Members of the following clubs assisted: Celta de Vigo, Deportivo de la Coruña, Sporting de Gijón, Real Oviedo, Racing Santander, Gimnástica Torrelavega, Athletic Club, Arenas Club, CD Alavés, FC Barcelona, RCD Español, CD Europa, SD Iberia, Real Unión Irún, Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Athletic Madrid, Valencia FC, Real Murcia, Sevilla FC and Real Madrid FC.<br />
<br />
The debate was held with normality, studying several formats of competition, although none of them received the overall approval. In order to find a definitive solution, an executive commission formed by representatives of Real Madrid, Athletic Madrid, FC Barcelona, RCD Español, Iberia SD, Real Sociedad, Athletic Club, Real Unión and Sevilla FC was named to find a solution. This executive commission held new meetings at the end of June, once the last Copa final had been played. This commission presented a proposal about the creation of the Campeonato Nacional de Liga (from now on, Liga). The proposal was the creation of a first division (Primera División) formed by 8 teams, the six historic Copa winners (Athletic Club, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Unión, Real Sociedad and Arenas Club) plus Athletic Madrid and RCD Español, considered two of the oldest clubs in Spain. The second division (Segunda División) would be formed by Sevilla FC, Sporting Gijón, Real Oviedo, RC Celta, RC Deportivo, Racing Santander, CD Alaves, CA Osasuna, Iberia SD, CD Europa, Racing Madrid and Valencia FC. In the early days of July, the proposal was rejected in the National Assembly by the excluded teams and for those who bet for a bigger league (the historic winners did not want to accept more than 8 teams). The disagreements still existed and the Basque clubs threat to break the negotiations to create their own Copa tournament, the clubs of Galicia also threat to enter in the Portuguese league, while others protested since they considered Real Sociedad should not be considered direct heir of the Club Ciclista that won the Copa of 1909.<br />
<br />
The discussions were eternal and new debates were held in September and October. Finally, at the end of November, when the regional tournaments and the Copa had already started, the Extraordinary National Assembly agreed the creation of a league of 10 teams: the six Copa winners, previously mentioned, plus three finalists: CD Europa, RCD Español and Athletic Madrid. The 10th team would be the winner of an intensive previous tournament that had to be played by the Segunda División teams: Sevilla FC, Racing Santander, Valencia FC, RC Celta, RC Deportivo, Sporting Gijón, Iberia SD, CD Alavés and Real Betis. Since the winner of this tournament would not end up playing in Segunda, Racing Madrid would occupy the vacant in Segunda División.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YOjI1povIGY/TqrSU8xHQoI/AAAAAAAAALg/LNQesKYisiw/s1600/mapa1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="473" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YOjI1povIGY/TqrSU8xHQoI/AAAAAAAAALg/LNQesKYisiw/s640/mapa1929.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<i><b>The teams</b></i><br />
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<i>Athletic Club</i><br />
<br />
The Basque club was managed by Máximo Royo, who replaced, the Hungarian coach Lippo Hertzka. At that point, the president De la Sota and the manager Royo decided to start a deep renewal and their most important players were the goalkeeper Blasco (19 years old), the midfielder Garizurieta (20 years old) or the forwards Unamuno (19), De la Fuente (21) and Chirri II (19). Their last biggest achievement in the national level was the Copa victory of 1923, although they still had won the last regional tournament in 1928. Athletic Club was the most successful club ever in the Spanish football, although their recent seasons had been disappointing, compared with their golden era in the previous decade, so they were not a clear favorite to win the titles that had to be played this season. The youth of the team made unpredictable their performance in the season that had to start.<br />
<br />
<i>FC Barcelona</i><br />
<br />
The <i>culés</i> were considered the best team of the moment. In the previous years, the club managed by Romà Forns had won three of the last four Copas and their dictatorship in the regional level was a fact. The Catalans had a very strong squad with very important players. mixing veteran players and promising names, like the legendary goalie Platko (30 years old), the German defender Walter (28), the mids Castillo (20) and Guzmán (27), or the forwards Piera (25), Sastre (22) or Parera (21). Among them, the forward Josep Samitier (26) was not only the star of the team, but also the best player of those years. The recent titles and the quality of the squad made everyone consider Barcelona the biggest favorite for this new season.<br />
<br />
<i>Real Madrid FC</i><br />
<br />
The madridistas had been living their worst years in terms of results. In the Copa del Rey, their only achievement had been a final in 1924 and Athletic Madrid had emerged as big rival in the regional tournaments. In this situation, the club decides to make a radical change in their approach and, with the resignation of José Berraondo, the club signs the former barcelonista and madridista player José Quirante and starts a race to sign important players. As a consequence of it, players like the promising striker Jaime Lazcano (19 years old) and the veteran Juan Urquizu (27), sign from Osasuna; the young Gaspar Rubio (21) signs from Levante; and the club "steals" from their local rival, the Athletic Madrid star, Triana (26), a player of the so called "the Athletic Madrid of the lords", as a consequence of the internal institutional problems of this club, which caused some delay in the payments. Aside this signings, the veteran players José M. Peña (33), who had signed from Arenas Club in 1926, and the icon Monjardín (25) were the references of the team. All these signings made the fans dream for a better season.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/0/1/4/1/n_atletico_de_madrid_los_jugadores-231410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/0/1/4/1/n_atletico_de_madrid_los_jugadores-231410.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jaime Lazcano in Real Madrid</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Real Unión Irún</i><br />
<br />
The <i>irundarras</i> had been living their best years, winning 5 regional titles and 2 Copas (aside another final) in the 1920s. The core of the team had very recognizable names like the midfielders René Petit (29 years old) and Francisco Gamborena (27), the goalkeeper Emery (23) and the young forwards Garmendia (23) and Luis Regueiro (20). Most of the team was quite veteran and, with the arrival of professionalism, the club mainly focused in keeping the team instead of signing players, since the club did not enjoy the economic resources of other clubs of Spain that were getting reinforced. Despite the recent titles, the feeling around this team is that Real Unión was formed by quality players, but their peak time had passed in most of them.<br />
<br />
<i>Real Sociedad</i><br />
<br />
The team managed by Benito Díaz since 1926, as player-coach, had just lost the Copa final against the legendary Barcelona of Samitier. The great star of the team was Paco Bienzobas, a 19 year old striker that had showed his potential in the last couple of seasons despite his young age. But the rest of the team was a solid block of young players that was also the core of the Spanish team in the Olympic games of Amsterdam 1928, with players like the forwards Yurrita (24), Mariscal (24), "Cholín" (22) and "Kiriki" (21); the goalkeeper Izaguirre (22), the defender Ilundain (20) or the mid Marculeta (21). With this young but competitive squad and the precedents of the team, Real Sociedad was considered one of the best teams of the moment and a clear contender for any title.<br />
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<i>Arenas Club</i><br />
<br />
The areneros were another humble club. Located in Getxo, in the Gran Bilbao comarca (although they played their games at Ibaiondo in the same Bilbao city), this club has raised as the big rival of Athletic Club during the last decades in the regional tournament and had reached two Copa finals in recent editions (1925 and 1927). The unquestionable stars was their forwards Yermo (25) and Gurruchaga (20), along with other traditionals of the team, like the defender Llantada (21) and the veterans like the goalie Jauregui (32) or Vallana (31), although these two players were not usual anymore. Arenas did not have the economic power of their rivals, so their players were mainly local. Arenas Club was considered a good team, but did not count as one of the big favorites to win the league.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fuerzaperica.com/media/galeria/37/1/6/1/1/t_rcd_espanyol_historicos-2321161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fuerzaperica.com/media/galeria/37/1/6/1/1/t_rcd_espanyol_historicos-2321161.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Español's José Padrón</td></tr>
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<i>RCD Español</i><br />
<br />
The <i>pericos </i>had been a club in trouble during the last decade. While Barcelona's popularity grew, Español struggled to find the economic resources. As a consequence of it, despite having very important players like the myth Ricardo Zamora (27 years old), the great young forward Padrón (22), or the veteran defender Saprissa (27), the club had been forced to tour through other countries of the World while playing the regional tournaments with the reserves. The reason of it was the World-wide fame of the goalkeeper Zamora and the need of finding money for the club. The president Genaro De la Riva, despite the talent of the team, had put the priorities in the survival of the club, while Barcelona and Europa grew over them in the official tournaments. The team was considered to have very important players of recognition, although the lack of references in official tournaments made them be a mistery. For this season, the most important event was the signing of the former Barcelona player and coach, Jack Greenwell.<br />
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<i>Athletic Madrid</i><br />
<br />
Under the presidency of Juan Urquijo, the club had reached the Copa final of 1926 and had been the winner of the last regional tournament (1928). The team was considered to have some great talents like the forwards Luis Olaso (28), Vicente Palacios and Cosme (24). The president Urquijo signed Fred Pentland from Oviedo to drive the team again, trying to repeat the success of 1926. However, the club had financial problems and, as a consequence of them, the forward Triana had left the team to join Real Madrid in a painful event for the club. Despite the talents in the team, the departure of some of the "Lords" of Athletic Madrid had weakened the team and was not considered one of the main challengers for the title.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/wiki/25/9/1/2/0/t_20100905081047_carlos_bestit_bestit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/wiki/25/9/1/2/0/t_20100905081047_carlos_bestit_bestit.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CD Europa's Carles Bestit</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>CD Europa</i><br />
<br />
The humble club of Barcelona was located in the Gràcia district of the city. Despite they did not have the economic power of their biggest rivals, FC Barcelona and RCD Español, the club had raised as power in the Catalan football in the 1920s, winning a Campionat de Catalunya and reaching a Copa final in the year 1923. In these years, CD Europa had been the second team of Catalonia in terms of results and counted on players like the forwards Bestit (20) and Cros (27) as main reference of the team. Their humble status made them focus in the permanence in Primera División. The coach was the Austrian Karl Heinlein and the squad probably was the most veteran team in Primera División.<br />
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<i>Racing Santander</i><br />
<br />
Racing Santander had to win the knock-out tournament to decide the last member of Primera División. The club's star was the Irish coach Patrick O'Connell, who had driven the team to a long list of regional titles and, the most important, to Primera División, leaving behind important teams like Valencia, Real Betis and Sevilla FC. The team was the most humble of the tournament and their players did not have the fame of others. In this team, the main references were the winger Santi Zubieta (18), the midfielder Larrinaga (17) and the powerful striker Óscar (25).<br />
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<b><i>Copa del Rey</i></b><br />
<br />
With the creation of the Liga, the Copa del Rey changed the format to become a pure knock-out tournament again. Since the discussions to create the new tournament were long, the Assembly of the RFEF decided to advance the regional competitions in order to play the tournament before the first games of La Liga. As it had always happened since 1913, the participants of the competition had to get their ticket in their regional tournaments. New regional tournaments appeared while Catalonia, Madrid, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa got new places, so also the third team of these competitions were allowed to play the tournament. These were the participants:<br />
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In the pure draw, the big clash is the one between Arenas Club and Real Unión, two historical clubs of the tournament. Arenas Club is superior in both legs and advanced to the following round. This round did not have big surprises among the giants. Still it was remarkable the victory of Racing Ferror on the winner of the Bizkaia tournament, Alavés, who counted on players like Ciriaco or Quincoces. Aside these games, it is important to highlight the victory of Valencia on Europa and the defeat of Sporting Gijón against RCD Español.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1928/12/24/pagina-1/621156/pdf.html">press</a> of those years considered that the first leg of the Round of 16 was conclusive in its results. The clash between Barcelona and Real Sociedad in Les Corts was the most interesting clash and also the most shocking result. The "replay" of the final 1928 was not a revenge for Real Sociedad, who got trashed by a brilliant Barcelona (6-0). Another big clash was the one between Arenas Club and RCD Español. The <i>pericos </i>and the <i>areneros</i> gave the fans of Getxo a big show, but a disappointing result, since the 4-6 seemed almost definitive with the 2nd leg to be played in Sarrià, Español's home .At the same time, the media considered surprising the victory of a declining Racing Madrid on Valencia at Mestalla (1-3). The valencianistas were considered a team that was growing and this result exposed the <i>ché</i> team, who got defeated by a Racing Madrid that played with more heart than football anyway. The two giants of Madrid did not have problems to defeat their rivals easily. So Athletic Madrid won 2-3 away in Gimnástica Torrelavega's home and Real Madrid crushed Logroño in Chamartín (8-0). The victory of the Valencian champions, Castellón, on Elche (5-0) was not a surprise either. The victory of Sevilla in the tough stadium of Osasuna (0-1) was interpreted as a symbol of the recovery of the sevillistas, while Athletic Club could only tie in Ferrol, although this result was good enough to face the next round.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1928/12/31/pagina-1/621176/pdf.html">second leg</a>, the result only came to confirm what was seen in the first leg. Considering the initial results, no big surprises happened. RCD Español confirmed the superiority shown in Ibaiondo to end up eliminating Arenas Club from the competition (3-1). Real Madrid crushed Logroño in the away game too (0-5), while Athletic Madrid showed problems to advance against a fighting Gimnástica Torrelavega (1-1). Athletic Club was very superior in San Mamés and clear any kind of doubt on them (4-0). Castellón was also victorious in Elche (0-2) and Sevilla's football convinced in the 4-2 triumph on Osasuna. In a muddy Atotxa, the game between Real Sociedad and Barcelona was preceded by a hostile atmosphere against the <i>culés</i> as a consequence of their recent clashes, but the result of the first leg was impossible to overcome (0-0). In Madrid, the team of the Chamberí district, Racing Madrid, ended up surprising Valencia FC (2-1) and the valencianistas got eliminated from the competition after the euphoria created in the city for their victory on Europa.<br />
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<i>Quarter finals - Jan 6, 1929 - Jan 13, 1929</i><br />
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In this <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/01/07/pagina-1/1371579/pdf.html">round</a>, the favorites did not fail either. The most interesting game was the derby of Madrid, between the team of Chamberí, Racing, and the one of Chamartín, Real Madrid. The madridistas were the clear favorites and they did not miss their chance to buy their ticket to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey with a brillian 1-3. At the same time, in Sarrià, Español confirmed that their regional title (the first since 1918), won with the team remaining unbeaten, had not been an anecdote. The <i>pericos </i>crushed Athletic Madrid with a clear 5-1 that left the team of the capital of Spain without options, while Español rose as one of the main favorites to win the title. FC Barcelona did not fail in Seville either. The 0-1 in the capital of Andalusia was not as definitive result, but Barcelona had never lost in Les Corts in this competition. More problems had Athletic in Castellón, but the Basque team achieved an 1-1 draw that was a positive result to face the 2nd leg at home.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/01/14/pagina-1/621207/pdf.html">second leg</a>, the favorites did not fail. The press considered that Barcelona's victory on Sevilla (2-0) had been fair, but discreet. At the same time, Athletic suffered too much against a dangerous Castellón, who put things more difficult than it had been predicted (2-1). In the Metropolitano, Athletic Madrid wanted to impress their fans and they surely did against an Español that was defeated for the first time in the entire season (4-2). In Chamartín, the madridistas showed their clear superiority (6-2) against a weak Racing Madrid that had gone further than it had been guessed at the beginning of the tournament. The good results and nice style showed by Real Madrid impressed the press, who started to label them as one of the favorites for the final victory after lots of years of disappointing results. The only teams missed by the press were Europa and Alavés, who had been considered stronger than they finally showed.<br />
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</div><i>Semifinals - Jan 20, 1929 - Jan 27, 1929</i><br />
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The semifinals were the key moment. Finally, four classics of the competition met. As it was tradition, the clubs of Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque country showed up as the strongest. The first semifinal was played between Real Madrid and Athletic Club. Both clubs were looking for the glory lost in the recent years. Real Madrid had been struggling without a final since 1924 and without a title since 1918. Athletic Club, the club with more Copas, had also been 6 years without a national title. The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/01/21/pagina-1/621223/pdf.html">first leg</a> was played in Chamartín, Real Madrid's home. Real Madrid was considered the favorite by the press, given their great form and results, while Athletic had some absences to face this game. Real Madrid won 3-1 as it was predicted, but the madridistas suffered too much in the last moments of the game, when Athletic scored their only goal and threatened Madrid's goal with chances that were not converted.<br />
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In Sarrià, Español and Barcelona played the first Copa derby in years. The <i>pericos</i> were the favorites given their amazing superiority in the regional title, while Romà Forns' team had not reached the level shown in the previous season. The matched was marked by the injury of Guzmán, who left Barça with ten men since the minute 5. Playing against ten, Español owned the game in every sense, while Barcelona could only defend their goal in the best possible way. Español got a good 2-0, but still not definitive with the 2nd leg in sight to be played in Les Corts.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/01/28/pagina-1/1371593/pdf.html" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">second leg</a>, in Les Corts, the press wondered what Barcelona could do against Español in their stadium. Since the first minutes of the game, Barcelona looked for the goal to enter in the game and they did <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">it, but before half time, Español was able to draw. The remaining 45 minutes did not have story. A frustrated Barcelona crashed against Español's defense and the game turned ugly, as it was often in these derbies. But the 1-1 was the final result. Español, who had triumphed in the regional tournament, had defeated Barcelona in the Copa too and reached the final of Valencia.<br />
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In San Mamés, Real Madrid achieved a historical victory. The 1-4 could only confirm that Real Madrid was the team of the moment. The tournament of the madridistas had been almost perfect, but this was the kind of prestigious victory that imposed respect in the rivals. Athletic actually dominated all the first half, but they could not score the goal they needed, which mainly showed the efficiency of the <i>merengue </i>defense. In the second half, Real Madrid crushed Athletic at home and getting the admiration of everyone. The madridistas were in the final of Mestalla.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oao8zbI5QdM/TqXaZQv4d2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/iSNsPfUDmw8/s1600/copa+del+rey+1929-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oao8zbI5QdM/TqXaZQv4d2I/AAAAAAAAAIY/iSNsPfUDmw8/s1600/copa+del+rey+1929-5.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Final - Feb 3, 1929</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
The final was played in Mestalla, packed with 25,000 fans, lots of them travelling from Barcelona (4,000) and Madrid (8,000). Real Madrid and RCD Español were playing a historical final that broke the domination of FC Barcelona and the Basque clubs. There was not a clear favorite for this game. RCD Español had triumphed in the Campionat de Catalunya, with a magnificent defense led by Ricardo Zamora and Saprissa, while the leader of their attack was the fantastic José Padrón. Jack Greenwell had built an impressive squad, just as he had done with FC Barcelona some years ago. In Real Madrid, José Quirante was the opposite, a young and inexperienced coach, but definitely a talent that had made the club live great moments after years of disappointing results. This final was marked by the unusual heavy rain that fell on Valencia that left the state of the pitch in awful conditions. It passed to history as the "final del agua" (the water final).<br />
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The muddy state of the pitch forced both teams, who were technically gifted, to play direct football instead of their usual passing style. The rain and the mud turned the game ugly since the first minute and the physical contact was usual. Only 3 minutes had passed, Quesada blocked Broto inside the madridista box and the referee awarded the penalty. González shot the penalty, but the madridista Cobo stopped it. After this penalty and during all the first half, Real Madrid was superior, but just as Cobo had been great stopping the penalty, Ricardo Zamora was also essential to keep the clean sheet for Español. At half time, the result was 0-0.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3928/zamora51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3928/zamora51.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Español in the final of Mestalla 1929</td></tr>
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In the second half, Real Madrid kept attacking Zamora's goal, but in a lost counter-attack, Vantolrà made a fantastic individual actions and found Tena, who shot to the left upper corner of Cobo's goal. In the minute 10 of the second half, Español took the lead. This goal did not stop Real Madrid, who kept looking for the goal. An important incident happened only ten minutes later, in the 65'. As a consequence of a fight, the referee Pelayo Serrano sent off three players: the españolistas Broto and Tena and the madridista Rubio. With one man less, Real Madrid's attack got more constant, but the pass of minutes also made them take risks. And it was Padrón who found Bosch, who was alone and executed Cobo to score the second for Español. With 20 minutes to go, Español was two goals up and one man down. Real Madrid, knowing this superiority, kept insisting on Zamora's goal and five minutes later, the striker Lazcano put Madrid in the game again with his 2-1. Real Madrid's attacks got furious, but Zamora emerged as the hero for Español. In the last minute, the madridistas protested a penalty in Español's box and the incident ends up in a new brawl and two other players were sent off too, the madridista Triana and the españolista González. RCD Español ended up resisting, with Zamora as hero, while the madridistas disappointed, especially their attack, very inefficient in this rainy afternoon. It was a historical day for RCD Español, Jack Greenwell had taken them to their first Copa title in history.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSwiO7cSS2k/TqXq1s0RXNI/AAAAAAAAAIg/nNBuyHflGYM/s1600/Final+Copa+1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSwiO7cSS2k/TqXq1s0RXNI/AAAAAAAAAIg/nNBuyHflGYM/s640/Final+Copa+1929.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Linguasport.com</span></td></tr>
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<b><i>La Liga</i></b><br />
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Only one week after the Copa final, the first edition of La Liga started. The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/02/08/pagina-1/623170/pdf.html">preview</a> of the press before La Liga exposed the state of euphoria in Español, who had triumphed in the regional tournament and in the Copa. The madridistas were disappointed with the result and, as Español, worried about the absences in the first Liga game due to the ban on the players who had been sent off in the Copa final, but they were definitely rated highly before La Liga had to start. The two Basque teams, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Athletic and Real Sociedad, were considered to have good options in this race and they had to face each other in their debut in the game of the week, according to the press, while there were doubts on Barcelona, given their recent form.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/02/11/pagina-1/623178/pdf.html">first week</a>, Español defeated Real Unión, despite the multiple absences in their initial XI. The <i>pericos</i> had to overcome a 1-2 in the last 20 minutes to win the game. At the same time, Real Madrid defeated Europa with a clear 5-0, although the local team had more problems than the scoreboard suggest, since all the goals were scored in the second half. Lazcano scored four goals for the madridistas. In Atotxa, Athletic had to tie the initial goal of Real Sociedad for a fair draw in the Basque derby that left a better taste for the visitors. The surprising result was the victory of Athletic Madrid against Arenas Club in Getxo with unexpected superiority. The week was closed with an a victory of Barcelona in Satander against Racing, achieved in the second half, but only assured in the last minutes of the game, with a great Parera leading the team.<br />
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Just a <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/02/18/pagina-1/623198/pdf.html">week later</a>, the most attractive game was the visit of Real Madrid to Les Corts. A more efficient than beautiful Real Madrid defeated Barcelona at home and the absences in the starting lineup of the Catalans did not stop the first rumors of a possible replacement in the blaugrana management. The two goals of Morera made impossible the late attempt of comeback by Barcelona. Español had a complex visit to San Mamés, a defeat was possible, but the 9-0 was a heavy humiliation that was strongly criticized in the press. Carmelo and Lafuente scored a hat-track each. Real Sociedad showed their strength in their visit to the Metropolitano, only needing the first half to crush the local team, while Arenas disappointed in their visit to Europa's home, where the striker Cros showed up as great star scoring four goals. Real Unión achieved an expected victory on Racing, although they had to overcome the initial goal of the visitors in the second half. These results gave Real Madrid the leading position, as they were the only team to win the two initial games..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5LaVqURsJ4/TqmwNscNgjI/AAAAAAAAAIo/bn5g3Lnh-UY/s1600/foto1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5LaVqURsJ4/TqmwNscNgjI/AAAAAAAAAIo/bn5g3Lnh-UY/s320/foto1929.jpg" width="243" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Samitier and Obiols stop Lazcano in the first Barça-Madrid in La Liga</span></td></tr>
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In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/02/25/pagina-1/623218/pdf.html">third week</a>, Real Madrid kept their leading position with a new victory, this time in the derby against Athletic Madrid. It had to be Triana, former Athletic icon, who scored the two goals of Real Madrid to overcome the initial 0-1 and defeat their neighbors. The reviews still considered the madridistas more efficient than powerful and convincing in their performances. Español showed a great image against Europa though and the press saw the Copa winner in their game. In just 20 minutes, the <i>pericos </i>had solved the game with three goals. Athletic kept impressing everyone with their amazing attacking power with another hat-trick by Lafuente, this time in Santander. Barcelona was crushed in their visit to Real Sociedad in a pathetic first half of the Catalans. The Basque team showed a convincing image against a poor Barcelona. Arenas and Real Unión tied in a disappointing game too.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/03/04/pagina-1/623611/pdf.html">fourth weekend</a> did not changed things much. Real Madrid struggled to beat Real Sociedad in Chamartín, but the madridistas kept the perfect sheet with another victory. The madridistas were still criticized for their football, but their results were out of question. Their two early goals were almost balanced by the goal of Bienzobas and the constant attack of Real Sociedad in the last half an hour. Español and Athletic were also growing in the standings, with two easy victories at home against weaker rivals, like Racing and Europa respectively. There was also a surprising victory of Athletic Madrid in Irún. The shock was in Barcelona, since the culés did not see the light with another disappointing result, a draw against a weak Arenas Club, with a brilliant Yermo for the Basques.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OUjGDl7KyWE/TqrlkLLCSZI/AAAAAAAAALo/3UitEPyHxwU/s1600/yermo-zamora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OUjGDl7KyWE/TqrlkLLCSZI/AAAAAAAAALo/3UitEPyHxwU/s320/yermo-zamora.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yermo (Arenas Club) scores in Sarrià against Zamora (Español)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">The results of the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/03/11/pagina-1/623634/pdf.html">fifth week</a> had the first big impact in the standings. Real Madrid reinforced their position in the top of the standings with a predictable victory against Racing. Once again Real Madrid had to overcome an initial bad result with a good second half. While the madridistas had won everything, the racinguistas collected five defeats in a row. Real Madrid increased their gap up to three points on their main rivals. Athletic was defeated in Arenas' home, in what it was the surprise of the weekend, although the goals of Yermo were not surprising anymore. Español achieved an important draw in Atotxa against Real Sociedad in the last minutes of the game, but they also lost track with Real Madrid. Athletic Madrid achieved another easy victory on a unrecognizable Barcelona, who were in deep crisis and got destroyed by the press. Europa and Real Unión tied in an useless draw for both of them.<br />
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After a weekend used for an international game between Spain and Portugal in Seville (5-0), the first after the failure in Amsterdam 1928, with the Spanish team mainly formed by españolistas and madridistas, La Liga returned with the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/edition.html?bd=25&bm=03&by=1929&ed=&em=&ey=">sixth matchday</a>. In Sarrià, a very important game had to be played. The "invincible" madridistas visited the Copa winner. Revenge or comeback? The answer of Español was solid, a 4-0 against Real Madrid was considered as a recovery of Español, who started to appear as a serious threat for Real Madrid. The madridistas, who had not been playing in a brilliant way, saw how their efficiency disappeared against the <i>pericos</i>. Athletic Club did not take advantage of it, since they disappointed with a new defeat, this time in Irún, against Real Unión. The <i>irundarras</i> led by Regueiro in attack, destroyed Athletic in a magnificent first half for a final 6-3. Arenas Club continued with their good run of results with a convincing victory against Real Sociedad, with the brilliant Yermo in top form scoring two more goals. Barcelona found some oxygen in an easy victory on the weak Europa. Despite this result, Barcelona replaced their coach, Romà Forns, to sign James Bellamy from the Italian Brescia. Athletic Madrid grew in the standings with their victory on the weak Racing Santander.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Y7AKU71WTY/Tqm-OHjv8kI/AAAAAAAAAIw/i4_12jJtrhU/s1600/Liga+1929-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Y7AKU71WTY/Tqm-OHjv8kI/AAAAAAAAAIw/i4_12jJtrhU/s1600/Liga+1929-1.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/04/01/pagina-1/625611/pdf.html">7th week</a> turned out to be very positive for Real Madrid. The madridistas recovered their three point gap on their rivals with a victory on Real Unión with two goals by Gaspar Rubio. As it was usual in the Liga season, the madridistas were more efficient than convincing in their football, but their results were unquestionable. The main doubts on their future were their following visits to the always tough Northern stadiums. But their rivals were very irregular. Español was surprised by Arenas in Sarrià with a goal of Gurruchaga when the match was about to finish. Their previous victory against Real Madrid became an anecdote with this new defeat, while Arenas started to appear as unexpected challenger, showing their good state of form. Athletic Club recovered from their bad results with a huge 5-1 victory against a Barcelona that was totally out of track, despite the arrival of the new coach. Unamuno and Lafuente toyed with the Catalans in the second half. Athletic Madrid disappointed in their visit to Europa, while Real Sociedad crushed a poor Racing with their sublime attack: Bienzobas, "Cholín" and "Kiriki".</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.realsociedad.com/caste/home/ampliar.asp?imagen1=fotojugador.asp&imagen2=fnd=BIENZOBAS,%20P.&sharpen=1&sharpenvalue=130&marca=20" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.realsociedad.com/caste/home/ampliar.asp?imagen1=fotojugador.asp&imagen2=fnd=BIENZOBAS,%20P.&sharpen=1&sharpenvalue=130&marca=20" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bienzobas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/04/08/pagina-1/625637/pdf.html">8th week</a> left some interesting results that caused a "traffic jam" on top. Arenas Club highlighted their good form with a victory on the leader, Real Madrid. The madridistas had some important absences and, despite their great effort, in one of their best games of the season, were defeated by the impulse of Arenas Club, who won their fourth game in a row. The madridistas saw their advantage cut by Athletic Club, who defeated a declining Athletic Madrid. This week had two important derbies. One of them in Gipuzkoa, where Real Sociedad confirmed their good state of form in an away victory on a disappointing Real Unión in a passionate derby. Real Sociedad overcame the 2-0 at half time, with one man less on the pitch due and a great Bienzobas. In Les Corts, the classic of the Catalan football was won by Barcelona in a pride victory. In the tight game, not exempt from polemics, as the words of the <i>perico</i> coach Jack Greenwell showed, was conquered by Barcelona in the second half with a late goal scored by Sastre. Racing Santander won their first game of the season against Europa.<br />
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The first round of the league was closed after a break for an international match of Spain. The Spanish team defeated (8-1) France in Zaragoza, with madridistas and españolistas still forming the core of the team. The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/04/22/pagina-1/625680/pdf.html">ninth week</a> of football had some important results. The leader Real Madrid got the visit of Athletic in Chamartín, the two top teams of La Liga so far. Real Madrid crushed Athletic (5-1) in a sublime game of the local team with Lazcano and Gaspar Rubio in top form. The madridistas closed the first half of the league with a solid top position, based on their regularity and their efficiency. With this defeat, Athletic kept their irregular line of results and, once more, failed to haunt the top position. Arenas Club insisted in their good moment with a tight victory on Racing. Real Sociedad failed against the weak Europa, showing an irregularity that was punishing them constantly. Español hailed their injuries of the derby with a victory on Athletic Madrid, who kept falling. Barcelona achieved their first away victory of the season with their triumph in Irún, who were not the team of the past, in a great second half of the Catalans. At this point, Real Madrid was a solid leader and Arenas Club was their main threat given their form. Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Español and Barcelona followed them from some distance, given their constant irregularity.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eT4HMDfe79E/TqnQS-eMEsI/AAAAAAAAAJA/fl7SZYX9dqo/s1600/Liga+1929-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eT4HMDfe79E/TqnQS-eMEsI/AAAAAAAAAJA/fl7SZYX9dqo/s1600/Liga+1929-2.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
The second round of La Liga was opened with a <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/04/29/pagina-1/625701/pdf.html">10th week</a> of football that had important events in the standings. In Barcelona, Real Madrid got surprising crushed by Bestit's Europa. The <i>europeos</i> made a fantastic first half to destroy Real Madrid. Once more, Bestit was the main reference of Europa, scoring four goals. With this result, the madridistas lost their gap on Arenas Club. The <i>areneros</i> triumphed against Athletic Madrid. The Basque team shared the top position and points with Real Madrid. The irregularity of Real Madrid and the constant rise of Arenas made the Basques feel positive about their future. The other main rivals of Madrid took advantage of the situation to cut distances. So Athletic Club defeated Real Sociedad in San Mamés in an intense Basque derby, scoring three goals in the second half to overcome the 1-2 at half time, while Barcelona had it easy with Racing Santander, with Arocha in top form. Español failed in their visit against the weak Real Unión, wasting a good opportunity to grow in the standings and evidencing they were not the team that had impressed everyone in the regional tournament and the Copa.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/edition.html?bd=06&bm=05&by=1929&x=3&y=20">11th week</a> had some delayed games, so it started with Arenas looking for an at least eventual top position. And they achieved a draw that actually gave them the lead in the standings, but the 1-1 at Ibaoindo, Arenas' home, against the weaker Europa could only be seen as a failure in a key moment. Bestit ruined Yermo's party in the last minutes of the game. After 6 victories in a row, their good run stopped in the most unexpected moment. In Sarrià, Español and Athletic played a decisive game, especially for the local team. The team of Jack Greenwell and Ricardo Zamora did not fail to achieve an important and convincing victory on Athletic to keep surviving in La Liga with a hat-trick by Gallart. Three days later, the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/05/10/pagina-1/615195/pdf.html">week</a> was closed. Barcelona visited Chamartín in a decisive game for the <i>culés.</i> Since James Bellamy took the team, the recovery of the team was evident, but they needed to confirm their good state against Real Madrid. The madridistas were affected by many injuries and ended up noticing them. Barcelona took their revenge and defeated their rivals in Chamartín with a goal scored by Sastre in the last minutes of the match to confirm that they were surprisingly back in the race for the title. For the first time in the entire season, Real Madrid was not the leader of La Liga. At the same time, Real Sociedad missed their chance to enter in this race with a draw against a broken Athletic Madrid.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3pfVEqa11ag/TSdEAl0JSVI/AAAAAAAAALQ/YaNQbhaG7EI/s1600/n_f_c_barcelona_la_historia-1488334+josep+sastre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3pfVEqa11ag/TSdEAl0JSVI/AAAAAAAAALQ/YaNQbhaG7EI/s320/n_f_c_barcelona_la_historia-1488334+josep+sastre.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
Only one week later, the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/05/13/pagina-1/615207/pdf.html">12th matchday</a> started with surprising results. Arenas Club, who had reached the top only 3 days before, was destroyed in the Gal Stadium by Real Unión. After the good run of results, Arenas Club started to fail in the key moments and this time it was against a Real Unión who were struggling to achieve good results. The 7-1 was extremely harmful for Arenas though. At the same time, Athletic Club could not pass from a poor 0-0 draw at home against Racing in a huge error at this point of the season. Previously, Español had defeated Europa in a Catalan derby that was fully dominated by the <i>pericos</i>. With this result, Español seemed ready to compete for the top position looking for a historical treble. The rest of matches were delayed 3 weeks, because the RFEF had organized a historical friendly game against England.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">For the first time ever, the Spanish NT met the inventors of football. It was in the Stadium Metropolitano, in Madrid. The Spanish NT formed with Zamora (RCD Español); Quesada (Real Madrid), Quincoces (CD Alavés); Prats (Real Madrid), Peña (Real Madrid), Marculeta (Real Sociedad); Lazcano (Real Madrid), Gpiburu (FC Barcelona), Gaspar Rubio (Real Madrid), Padrón (Español), Bosch (Español). The Spanish NT won the game (4-3) with two late goals scored by Gaspar Rubio and Goiburu. It was the first defeat of the English NT out of British Islands in history.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/05/20/pagina-1/615235/pdf.html">13rd week</a> had some games delayed, but Real Madrid played to recover the first position in Atotxa. In an extraordinary balanced and tight game, Real Madrid ended up losing a game that they had in their pocket with ten minutes to go, in goals scored by Marculeta and "Cholín", which costed them the two points. With this defeat, the madridistas made evident their bad moment, the worst in the entire season, as Real Sociedad grew in the standings in a late effort to fight for the title. Athletic Madrid defeated Real Unión, although none of them was a challenger for the title. The rest of games were delayed as Español rose as eventual leader.<br />
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/05/27/pagina-1/615258/pdf.html">14th week</a> was the one of normality after some delayed games. As the key moments arrived, the emotion grew and the errors were paid. Español got surprised at home against Real Sociedad, who due to a goal of the great Bienozbas, resisted to surrender in La Liga. At the same time, Real Madrid's poor form was more worrying and evident than ever and they tied at home against the weak Racing Santander. Arenas took advantage of all these results to climb to the top again, even if it was just in an eventual way, given the delayed games. Bellamy's Barcelona was the other team that was favored by the results and, for the first time in the entire season, a title was a very likely possibility. Their 4-0 victory on Athletic Madrid with a magnificent Samitier was the reason of it.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9244/zamora27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9244/zamora27.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Español 1929</td></tr>
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All the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/05/31/pagina-1/615270/pdf.html">delayed games</a> (except the Arenas-Barcelona) were played in a mid-week journey. In the derby of the capital, Real Madrid solved their game against a sinking Athletic Madrid, recovering the top position of the standings. A top position that was not really effective. Barcelona and Arenas were with one game in hand and, since there were four teams on top with 17 points (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arenas and Español), any result in the clash between Catalans and Basques would have changed this position. This delayed game was postponed until the end of June. In fact, Español missed their chance to reach the top with a disappointing draw against Racing in Santander. Athletic Club were just two points away from the top, but their draw in Europa's home was a serious error in this race.<br />
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La Liga entered in the last month of competition and, definitely, June opened with good news for Real Madrid in a perfect <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/06/03/pagina-1/1376647/pdf.html">15th week</a> for them. The madridistas had to receive the visit of a rising Español in Chamartín in a clash that was decisive in the race for the title. In a key moment, the press highlighted the great game of Real Madrid against Español and their striker, the rising star Gaspar Rubio, emerged to put Zamora's Español in problems to fight for the title. This result was even more positive considering the draw of Barcelona against Europa in the new stadium of Montjuïc, which had opened for the International Exposition 1929, where the game was hosted. In this Catalan derby, Barcelona disappointed and lost a point that could be essential in the race for La Liga. But Arenas definitely damaged their chances with their defeat in Atotxa in their Basque derby against Real Sociedad in a very tight game. With all these results, Athletic also recovered some of their chances with a home victory against Real Unión.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lahistoriadelfutbolcanario.com/cmsAdmin/uploads/thumb/ARENAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://lahistoriadelfutbolcanario.com/cmsAdmin/uploads/thumb/ARENAS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arenas Club 1929</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Given this situation with three weeks to go, Barcelona and Arenas had one game in hand to be played in Ibaigondo. Real Madrid's fixtures were tough, with two visits to the Basque country to face Real Unión and their direct rival, Athletic, in a game of big rivalry, and also receive Arenas in Chamartín. Aside the delayed game, Barcelona had to be visited by Athletic and Real Unión at Les Corts and had to play their chances in Montjuïc, where Español played the last games of this season. In the case of Athletic, aside these games against Barcelona and Madrid, they also had to face Athletic Madrid. Español had to play against Arenas and Athletic Madrid away and Barcelona at home. Arenas, the last challenger, had to play games against direct rivals like Español in Sarrià, Madrid at home, Athletic Madrid away and Barcelona at home. The tight standings were as it stands:</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgkGB33X7H0/TqrLabRybII/AAAAAAAAALY/U6tssJfYqwY/s1600/Liga+1929-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgkGB33X7H0/TqrLabRybII/AAAAAAAAALY/U6tssJfYqwY/s1600/Liga+1929-3.jpg" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">The last three weeks started and there was nothing decided, but the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/06/10/pagina-1/617179/pdf.html">16th week</a> had to start to clarify things and it surely did. In a direct clash for the title, in a classic in Les Corts, Barcelona confirmed their great form with an important victory against Athletic based on 20 fantastic minutes of the second half with Samitier showing up in the important moments. As Barcelona kept their options in La Liga, Athletic saw how their chances started to vanish in Catalan lands. At the same time, in the other direct clash for the title, Arenas Club finished with the Treble dream of Español in the first 45 minutes of the game, with a 3-0 that allowed the Basque team to be a definitive option for the last games. Real Madrid did not fail to keep their position on top with a hard-working victory in Real Unión's home, saving a very complicated away match. Real Madrid (21 points), Barcelona (20) and Arenas (19), the last two with a match between themselves in hand, were the only options.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/06/17/pagina-1/617207/pdf.html">17th week</a> had to have consequences. Arenas visited Chamartín and Barcelona had to visit Español in the eventual home of the <i>pericos</i> at Montjuïc. In Barcelona, as the <i>culés</i> were fighting for the title, Español's main goal was to avoid this fact. The game was very tight in the first half and Platko saved Barcelona (and the title chances) in a penalty shot by Saprissa. The second half started with a fast goal of Español that really left Barcelona in trouble, but the blaugranas were able to save a point in the last minutes of the game with a goal scored by Sastre. At the same time, in Chamartín, and considering the result of Barcelona, Real Madrid gave a great step forward in the title race with another convincing victory in a key moment of the season and, this time, against Arenas. The goal of the captain Quesada in the first half and Triana in the last moments of the game left Arenas out of the title race. These results left only Real Madrid and Barcelona with options, although Real Madrid had the title in their hands. The 2 point difference was not definitive 100% even with a madridista victory in the not-so-easy stadium of San Mamés, but the goal difference was so favorable to Real Madrid that this eventual victory would leave Barcelona without chances, unless a miracle had to happen.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://athletic-sestaotarra.com/UserFiles/Image/06_03(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://athletic-sestaotarra.com/UserFiles/Image/06_03(1).jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic's Lafuente</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1929/06/24/pagina-1/617235/pdf.html">last week</a> was passionate, but did not solve anything yet. Real Madrid visited San Mamés looking for a victory that would almost give them the title, but everything went in the wrong direction for them very soon. Only after three minutes, Athletic was able to score, putting La Liga upside down. Real Madrid's behavior was good and the team fought for the goal to draw. But in the second half, Athletic scored the second and the madridistas Rubio and Lazcano, who had been brilliant through all the tournament, failed to appear in this important day. In Les Corts, Barcelona knew that their title chances passed through two victories and this is what they looked for since the very first second. Barcelona crushed Real Unión in an easy game and the result of San Mamés was considered as positive. Tied in points and with a match in hand, La Liga was in Barcelona's hands to be won or lost one week later in Ibaiondo, Arenas' home. </span></span></span><br />
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</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">In this game, played in Ibaiondo, Barcelona needed one point. As it was predicted, Madrid was better in the goal difference and Barcelona needed to tie or win the match to win the title. As it had been proven during the season, Ibaiondo was not an easy visit and Barcelona had to suffer. At half time, the result was a tight 0-0 that left things open to any possible option. In the second half, Arenas was playing better, but Parera ended up giving the lead to Barcelona after 20 minutes. Only a few minutes later, the same Parera scored the second and the last minutes did not change anything. Barcelona won the game in Ibaiondo (0-2) and, as a consequence, the title: FC Barcelona was the first Liga champion.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LczeVDJJXC8/Tqn-lIqEsrI/AAAAAAAAALI/s3ekH5agR58/s1600/Liga+1929-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LczeVDJJXC8/Tqn-lIqEsrI/AAAAAAAAALI/s3ekH5agR58/s1600/Liga+1929-4.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">This was the most usual formation of the champion:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BDfutbol.com</td></tr>
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</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">In Segunda División, the season developed along with the Primera División games. As in Primera División, the fight for the promotion place was very tight during all the season and the balanced level of all teams made the fight very beautiful. Sevilla FC was the team that ended up winning the first Segunda División season earning their right to play the promotion games against Racing Santander, who were the bottom team in Primera División. The first promotion game was played in Sevilla and the local team won with a short advantage (2-1). However, Racing Santander were able to overcome this result in the second leg (2-0) to keep their position in Primera División one more season. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">In the bottom part of the standings, the historical RC Celta got relegated to Segunda B along with Racing Madrid, who were really struggling to survive with very important financial problems.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f0sOf2oLpkU/Tqvafa1HWnI/AAAAAAAAAN0/NmkrpY96O-A/s1600/Segunda1929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f0sOf2oLpkU/Tqvafa1HWnI/AAAAAAAAAN0/NmkrpY96O-A/s1600/Segunda1929.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Spain also presented a candidature to organize the first FIFA World Cup in the year 1930, which had to be decided in the Barcelona meeting of 1929. Along with Spain, other countries like Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Uruguay also presented their bids. At the end, Uruguay's bid included the construction of a big central stadium and the return of expenses for all the visitors and the rest of the participants withdrew. Uruguay, who were the World champions <i>de facto</i>, since they had won in the last Olympic games, were the first nation to organize a World Cup.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b>Conclusions </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">At the end of the season, the Catalan football was victorious. RCD Español had won their first Copa del Rey in history, while FC Barcelona won the first Liga ever. In this season, FC Barcelona was not the solid and unbeatable team of the previous campaigns. As a result of it, RCD Español won their first regional title in a long time and extended their superiority on their eternal rivals with a new victory in the Copa del Rey. These two teams probably had the most relevant players of those years, the goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora and Josep Samitier, rivals and good friends too. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">La Liga was a relative success. In the first games, due to the long discussions, the fans did not live the attraction of the new event. While the heartbreaking games of the Copa were still rated highly, given the tradition of the competition, La Liga needed time to reach the heart of the fans. At the end, given the passionate moments of the last weeks and the prestige of the teams, the attendances grew and, despite all the problems, it was a big success.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">As Barcelona won the title, confirming that they were the best team of the moment, they also showed signals of decline, while new threats appeared in the horizon. The young and competitive Real Madrid and Athletic grew in this season and seemed determined to live good moments again. Arenas Club, Real Sociedad and Español, more humble than the three giants, were the nicest surprises, while Europa, Real Unión and Athletic Madrid were veteran teams with a glorious past, but uncertain future. At the end, Racing Santander kept their position in Primera División too, since they defeated Sevilla in a promotion final. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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</span></span></div></div></div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-5009717219706628452011-10-25T07:59:00.000+02:002011-10-25T07:59:46.540+02:00From Granada to Udine: How to make money in footballGranada CF has always been a humble club. The club of Andalusia has always been a humble club which, even though it enjoyed some more or less successful periods in Primera División during the 40s, 50s and 70s, has always been a so called <i>equipo ascensor</i>, that is "elevator team". One of these clubs that jump from one division to another. Something changed in 2009, when Quique Pina convinced Giampaolo Pozzo, Udinese's owner, to buy shares of the club.<br />
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Who is Quique Pina? Quique Pina is a former player of Tercera División teams that had a dream: to have his own football club. In the year 1999, Quique Pina starts from scratch, founding Ciudad de Murcia, a club located in the city of Murcia. The club starts in the lowest division, the Group B of the Territorial Preferente, with four divisions over them. Quique Pina started to show his talent to find interesting players that help the team to get promotions. In only one year, Ciudad de Murcia reached the Tercera División. Quique Pina is able to convince a former Primera División player like Idiakez and other clubs of the province to help to build a squad via loan agreements. The results can not be better and the team promotes to Segunda División B, the Spanish third division. Pina kept reaching similar agreements and in a matter of two years, the club reached the Segunda División. This promotion was significant, since the Segunda División B is not a joke anymore. B teams of the Primera División clubs and historical teams of the Spanish football play in this national division.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs.grupojoly.com/con-la-venia/files/2011/07/pina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://blogs.grupojoly.com/con-la-venia/files/2011/07/pina.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enrique Pina</td></tr>
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Ciudad de Murcia only needed two years to promote to Segunda División, leaving in their way historic clubs of the region, like Cartagena FC, and meeting the traditional club of the city, Real Murcia. In this 2004, the situation was weird, Real Murcia holds the love of the local fans, it has been representing the city since 1919 and, suddenly, a new club without fan base and tradition was sharing stadium and division with them. With Real Murcia in serious financial and economic trouble, Ciudad de Murcia becomes a real threat for the traditional club of the region. In these years, the goal is to stay in this division, but they do it wisely. Players like Dani Güiza are signed from important clubs like FC Barcelona to get a name and be sold for important figures in just two years. After two years in Segunda, Quique Pina built a team to promote to Primera División and, in the following two seasons, the team ended up in fourth position, very near the promotion.<br />
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In the year 2007, a change in the rules of football allows to sell the position of a club in a certain division. This is the beginning of the contacts of Quique Pina with the city of Granada. Pina sold the club to a Granada businessmen and the club, without fan base (the usual image of the Nueva Condomina was a stadium full of empty seats), changes its name to Granada 74. Without Quique Pina and without the support of the city (in a similar case, this Granada 74 was an experiment, while the love of the city was for Granada CF), the team does not have a future and gets relegated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2011/07/08/futbol/futbol_internacional/calcio/1310129243_extras_mosaico_noticia_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2011/07/08/futbol/futbol_internacional/calcio/1310129243_extras_mosaico_noticia_1_1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gino Pozzo</td></tr>
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The relationship between Quique Pina and the Pozzo family comes from long ago. Gino Pozzo, Giampaolo's son, is a football agent and met Quique Pina in an operation. As a consequence of it, their relationship started and, in these years, Ciudad de Murcia and the Pozzo family reached eventual agreements. Once Pina had left Ciudad de Murcia, he also joined the game of the football market. In the summer of 2007, as an example of it, Pina gives the Pozzo family the chance to sign a couple of Chile players, Alexis Sanchez and Mauricio Isla, at a very good price. The results are so good for both sides, that the contacts grow.<br />
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In 2009, Gino Pozzo, who lives in Barcelona, and Quique Pina started to work together in the ownership of a Spanish club. The Pozzo family offered 4M euros to buy RCD Espanyol, although the operation does not work. In the same summer, Lorenzo Sanz, former Real Madrid president, sells his ownership in the historical Granada CF and the Pozzo family sees their chance to put a feet in the Spanish land. The Pozzo's buy Granada CF, placed in Segunda B, to clear their debt. As a result of this operation, Quique Pina gets named administrator of the club.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://zoom.ideal.es/galerias/granada/granada-cf/2011-05-26-granada-udinese/AAG110525_GRANADA_UDINESE040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://zoom.ideal.es/galerias/granada/granada-cf/2011-05-26-granada-udinese/AAG110525_GRANADA_UDINESE040.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Udinese & Granada</td></tr>
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With the financial help of the Pozzo family and the good eye of Enrique Pina in the lowest divisions, Granada only takes one year to return to Segunda División. It was last summer when the links of Granada and Udinese get more obvious. With the club in Segunda División, Gino and Giampaolo Pozzo consider that Granada would be the perfect test ground of young players with potential to grow in competitive football. Udinese, who are fighting for big goals in the Serie A, have a very competitive squad and the young talented players who are not ready to play with the first team need minutes to grow. Granada is their destination. Players like Alex Geijo, Nyom, Dani Benitez, Jaime Romero and others join the club as platform to grow and as test for them in competitive football. The deal can not be better. As the players gain value with their fantastic performances, the club takes advantage of the support of a top European club to be a power in Segunda División. Only one year again. One year is what Granada needed to return to Primera División for the first time since 1976, 25 years later.<br />
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The formula of Quique Pina and the Pozzo family work. Their good eye in football allowed them to but cheap and sell with big revenues, while their clubs remain healthy and successful. While football is a ruin business in all the World, Pina and Pozzo show how things are done in the financial and sport aspects, proving that it is possible to mix success and business.<br />
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Tonight, Granada CF receive the visit of FC Barcelona in their home, Los Cármenes, and Udinese Calcio is the leader of Serie A.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-87046510482228904862011-10-24T08:15:00.000+02:002011-10-24T08:15:05.355+02:00Lessons of a 1-6A derby is not a normal game. A city or a region or even a country gets divided in two sides. Football gets more tribal than ever, it is you or the neighbor. The game crosses the usual lines of sport to become a social event, especially in the local derbies, where the rival neighbor lives next door. The fans of both teams get mixed in their work places, pubs or even in the same family in a more or less healthy banter. This is why yesterday was a terrible day to be a Manchester United fan. Manchester City, their eternal enemy, crushed them at home in a historical 1-6 and the Theater of Dreams was the one of nightmares... the worst nightmare.<br />
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This game was interesting to watch for several reasons. First of all, it was the derby of the city of Manchester and this is enough to know that we are talking about a different game. But this time we were in front the most attractive Manchester derby ever. Manchester City was the leader, two points ahead United, who played at home to assault the first position. We were talking about two giants. Manchester United has been the team of the Premiership in the last couple of decades. In this time, Alex Ferguson has built an empire and has written the most memorable era in the history of the club. On the other hand, Manchester City was (still is) a rising power. Since the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has the ownership of the club, he did not hesitate to spend whatever it takes to be the best team on Earth. They are still to prove that they can actually be the best, but things were working smoothly so far, since the team was leading the table of the Premier League with iron hand, not showing weaknesses in their football. All this mix made this game something really interesting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381531483/sport-012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381531483/sport-012.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dzeko says six</td></tr>
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What no one really expected was the 1-6 at the end of the match. Any victory (or defeat, it depends on your perspective) in a derby has a special effect. The winners get a dose of euphoria, while the losers get a painful slap in the face. But a beating of this kind crosses the usual lines, which are already exaggerated, of the usual feelings after a derby. This 1-6 will not be the result of one more derby, but a historical one, something that both sides will remember, each one in their own particular way. Alex Ferguson described the day as his "worst-ever day"... and Alex Ferguson is old enough to have lots of bad days, despite he has usually enjoyed more happy days. For the Manchester City fans, this result will be written in golden letters in their history, the chase of DVDs of the game has already started for sure and the years will pass and the City fans who watched this game will tell their children and grand-children about it: "The day we won 1-6 at Old Trafford".<br />
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Which kind of effect is supposed to have a 1-6? It is evident that this is the kind of result that has consequences. From the City point of view, it definitely is a turning point in their history. The petrol-money has given them the chance to build a super-team, but a collection of stars does not guarantee titles. In fact, they did not win a title yet, but this victory is so powerful, so noisy and so special that now they really have good reasons to believe that their dream is closer to be reality. It is evident that this result does not close the English league. There are lots of games to be played yet and the five point gap is not definitive. But something has changed. Until yesterday, Manchester City was one of the favorites to win the title. At this point, no one would hesistate to say that City is THE favorite to win the Premier League, not forgetting that the Champions League is a possibility too. This change is the minds of City fans and rivals is not irrelevant.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381523139/Manchester-United-V-Manch-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381523139/Manchester-United-V-Manch-005.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balotelli, eccentric and brilliant</td></tr>
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From the United point of view, this result is a shock. Manchester United is used to mistreat rivals, especially in recent times. During the last two decades, United is the owner of the Premier League and, even in the worst moments of this period, they have always been the reference, the rival to beat. But this time United was the mistreated team. When you are so used to win, a defeat is always painful... but this kind of beating is a torture. This result will have consequences. It does not matter how well United has been doing so far, this 1-6 sets a "before" and an "after". At this point, the United players, staff and fans will probably be wondering what has happened and how it actually happened. This result will mark the season of United or, at least, the following dates. This result will haunt them as a ghost during the entire year and it will not disappear. The following games will show us how Manchester United digested this terrible defeat. This digestion is a must, the result evidences a problem that requires solutions. It is impossible to know if the solutions are in hand or if they will have to be found at the end of the year. We are talking about the current winner of the competition and the runner-up of the Champions League.<br />
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In each case, the emotions must be focused in the right direction. The euphoria is dangerous for City. The title is not in hand, there are lots of games to be played, there are lots of moments of suffering to be suffered and, probably, lots of moments of joy to live too, but the league is only won when the maths say so. The 1-6 can only be good news, but Mancini's job is to put the team's feet on the ground. There are many precedents of failure celebrations.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381527019/Soccer---Barclays-Premier-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381527019/Soccer---Barclays-Premier-008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Face-palm Rooney in the Theater of Nightmares</td></tr>
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Depression is United's danger. The result is emotional, but Alex Ferguson must throw all the feelings to the garbage to build a bubble to isolate the team from the hostile environment. Emotions must turn into rationality. Nine matches have been played so far, so twenty-nine are yet to be played including one in City's home. United is only five point down, not an impossible distance to overcome in just a few weeks. And this is when history is a useful tool. Alex Ferguson and his boys must sit down, get calm and take a look to what they have done in recent years. It is not that we are talking about a veteran team without a future, but a collection of important players that are in their best age and their previous achievements are good and high enough to make a reference on the pride of the team. The 1-6 must be an accident, not a turning point, not the end of a cycle. As we said in a previous <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/08/sir-alex-ferguson-man-who-changed.html">entry</a>, if there is a word to define Alex Ferguson, that is competitiveness. Manchester United must use this game to learn. It is not time to regret, but time to compete, as their coach always did.<br />
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In one way or another, it has been the result of the weekend. A historical one in a year of historic results in the Premier League. This 1-6 is a result that has shocked the entire World, a memorable day for Manchester City and their fans, while the rest of the World look at them in a mix of envy, admiration and a certain dose of surprise. This result has made me turn my view to them. Until yesterday, a team that was a collection of individuals with an average coach, Roberto Mancini, and now a reference in Europe. Everyone will talk about them seriously now... but I also believe that, if there is a team and a coach that can actually turn a 1-6 into something positive that can only be Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson. We will see.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381533977/Manchester-United-V-Manch-014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/23/1319381533977/Manchester-United-V-Manch-014.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1-6, a historic result</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-87714556808212926692011-10-23T01:18:00.000+02:002011-10-23T01:18:37.632+02:00History of Spanish football (VII): 1926-1928, the professional football and Samitier's golden eraProfessional football became a fact in these years. The clubs agreed to take a step forward due to the internal pressure of the players and the international debate about the matter. In this new scenario, the clubs had to find new ways to fund their activity and one of the main agreements was to increase the amount of games in order to get higher incomes via tickets. In this situation, the creation of a league similar to the English one became a necessity, although the debates were long and not exempt from polemics. At the same time, in order to adapt to the new times, the Copa acted as a kind of league and cup tournament all together. In these years, Barcelona kept dominating the competitions, having their main rivals among the Basque teams.<br />
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<b>1925-1926</b><br />
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During this season, not only in Spain, but in the World football in general, the debate on the professionalization of the sport rise to change the shape of the game forever. In the FIFA congress of Rome, the debate broke since the main international tournament at that time, the Olympic games, and football were questioned. The Olympic spirit was based on amateurism, but professional football was a fact in several countries, especially in the four associations of the United Kingdom and in Denmark. In other countries, like Spain, professionalism was also a question that had to be answered. In Rome, despite the debates which did not close the question of professionalism, FIFA ended up approving a first definition of it. As a consequence, the RFEF also approved professionalism domestically.<br />
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Professionalism required new structures. The clubs needed to find new ways to fund the new expenses on salaries and, as a consequence of it, new ideas to rise the amount of spectators, members and ticket-holders in their stadiums. The adoption of professionalism made necessary the reform of the competitions which mainly had a local or regional character in order to jump from this reduced territorial impact to a national tournament with a higher amount of games that would make possible to face the new expenses of the sport. The final step of this process was the creation of La Liga in the year 1929. Until then, new steps were taken in order to accomplish with these goals and, in this season, these new ideas affected the most traditional national competition: the Copa del Rey.<br />
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The first change in the Copa del Rey was the acceptance of the top-2 clubs of each regional tournament in the competition. For the first time since the free inscription had been abolished by the RFEF in 1913, the Copa del Rey enjoyed teams that were not winners of their regional tournaments. At the same time, the format changed in order to increase the amount of games. The new system of the competition was the following: 8 groups of 3 teams each, so the winner of each group would play the Quarter finals. The semifinals and the final would be play in one game. These were the participants of the Copa del Rey:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k6f7rAc2U-w/TpypACi95YI/AAAAAAAAAFA/neP5fWyulgk/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k6f7rAc2U-w/TpypACi95YI/AAAAAAAAAFA/neP5fWyulgk/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Own source</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Group I: RCD Español, Valencia FC and Iberia SC</i><br />
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Evidently, RCD Español was the main favorite in this group. The <i>pericos</i> counted on players like Ricardo Zamora, the best paid player at that time and an international icon; the central back from El Salvador, Saprissa, and their new signing, the player of the Canary Islands, José Padrón. The main challenger was Valencia FC, who counted on players like the international Eduardo Cubells. Iberia SD, one of the teams that ended up founding Real Zaragoza, was the most weak team on paper.<br />
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Español did not disappoint and won all the games of the group with the expected superiority, while Valencia disappointed and could not even challenge for the top position of the group, missing their chance to advance to the next round<br />
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<i>Group II: FC Barcelona, Levante FC and Zaragoza CD</i><br />
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There could only be one favorite: Ralph Kirby's FC Barcelona. The <i>culés</i>, despite the economic troubles related with the ban of Les Corts due to political reasons, counted on really important players like Josep Samitier, Paulino Alcántara, Emilio Sagi-Barba, Agustín Sancho, Vicente Piera or Franz Platko. Aside the already known stars, the club also signed the Uruguayan star Héctor Scarone, who had triumphed in the previous Olympic Games in the year 1924. Scarone failed to adapt to Barcelona and left the team, only playing 10 games with the clubs. With this collection of stars and international players, the Catalans were very superior to their humble rivals, Levante FC (one of the clubs that ended up forming the current Levante UD) and Zaragoza CD (who ended up merging with Iberia to form Real Zaragoza).<br />
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The Catalans completely owned their rivals, confirming the superiority shown in the regional triumph in the <i>Campionat de Catalunya</i> and they did not give any chance to their rivals in the fight for the first position of the group.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypT5wYHyL60/TpyqU1pd61I/AAAAAAAAAFI/QdjLEvbz3-E/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypT5wYHyL60/TpyqU1pd61I/AAAAAAAAAFI/QdjLEvbz3-E/s640/copa+del+rey+1926-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
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<i>Group III: Real Madrid FC, Sevilla FC and Real Murcia</i><br />
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Juan De Cárcer's Real Madrid, who were winners of the Centro tournament, were the favorites in their group, despite they were not in their best moment in history. Still, they counted on important players like the international Juan Monjardín, as main star of the madridistas in those years. The madridistas also counted on their two first signings, the international José María Peña, from Arenas Club (18,000 pesetas, 188 euros), and "Miguelón" from Racing Sama. Sevilla FC rised as challengers, a classic club in the competition. Real Murcia was the most humble team in the group. The away victory of Madrid in Seville and the error of Sevilla in Murcia was enough for the madridistas to advance, only losing one game, when the group was already solved.<br />
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<i>Group IV: Athletic Madrid, Real Betis and Cartagena FC</i><br />
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Athletic Madrid had failed to retain the regional tournament, but still counted on important international players, like Vicente Palacios and Luis Olano or the central back "Pololo". But the most important addition of the new Athletic Madrid was the signing of the prestigious coach Fred Pentland from Athletic Club. Despite being the main favorites to advance, Real Betis, a club that had never won an official tournament, made things very difficult to Athletic Madrid. Real Betis forced the replay in the last game of the group. The tie-breaker was played in Madrid and Fred Pentland's squad defeated Betis with a clear 4-2, which allowed the <i>colchoneros</i> to advance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MKyE7D0hufw/Tpyvb2GtjPI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/w806Qk7EvGY/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MKyE7D0hufw/Tpyvb2GtjPI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/w806Qk7EvGY/s640/copa+del+rey+1926-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<i>Group V: RC Celta Vigo, Sporting Gijón and Cultural Leonesa</i><br />
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In this group, there was not a clear favorite and the classic Copa teams, Celta and Sporting, were supposed to battle for the place in the Quarter finals. Celta's most relevant player was the international Pasarín. With Cultural Leonesa acting as sparring, Celta and Sporting had to decide the top position in their clashes. None of them failed at home and they were forced to play a replay, which was clearly won by Celta (5-0) in Madrid.<br />
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<i>Group VI: RC Deportivo, Real Unión Deportiva and Club Fortuna</i><br />
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A group without classic clubs in those years and without a clear favorites. On paper, the most developed football of Galicia (Deportivo from A Coruña) and Asturias (Fortuna from Gijón), made them be more favorites than Real Unión Deportivo (a club that ended up forming Real Valladolid). At the end, the deportivistas were able to impose the football of their region and advance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl7vq7DCXxA/TpyxXABblXI/AAAAAAAAAFY/FNyooUXr_MA/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl7vq7DCXxA/TpyxXABblXI/AAAAAAAAAFY/FNyooUXr_MA/s640/copa+del+rey+1926-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
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<i>Group VII: Real Unión, Athletic Club and Racing Santander</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
It probably was the most powerful group on paper. Three clubs that knew each other and classics in this competition. Athletic Club was the club with more titles at that moment, counting on players like the international Chirri I or Acedo, although the club was suffering the departure of Fred Pentland and was in transition time. Real Unión was a power back then too, with the fantastic midfielder trio René Petit, Ramón Eguiazabal and Francisco Gamborena. Real Unión had recovered the crown in Gipuzkoa, defeating Real Sociedad.<br />
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Real Unión was very superior and, for the first time in this tournament, they were able to defeat Athletic Club in San Mamés, which turned out to be essential to achieve the first position of the group, eliminating the powerful Athletic from the last rounds of the tournament.<br />
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<i>Group VIII: Real Sociedad, Arenas Club and Gimnástica Torrelavega</i><br />
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This group was meant to be a battle between Real Sociedad and Arenas Club, the two Basque clubs. Despite Arenas Club counted on the international Errazquin, they surely missed the departure of Peña. Real Sociedad was very superior in the group and defeated Arenas Club in their two clashes. These victories allowed Real Sociedad to advance to the Quarter finals with less competition than it was predicted initially, given the former runner-up status of Arenas Club.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SkjamoDjL1o/Tpy1LxYdrzI/AAAAAAAAAFg/26vZrheruSQ/s1600/copa+del+rey+1926-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SkjamoDjL1o/Tpy1LxYdrzI/AAAAAAAAAFg/26vZrheruSQ/s640/copa+del+rey+1926-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Quarter finals</i><br />
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</i><br />
The quarter finals were played among the winners of each group at the end of April 1926. The most relevant games were played among the teams of Catalonia and Madrid. In the first leg, RCD Español faced Athletic Madrid and the Catalans clearly defeated Pentland's Athletic (6-1). But the supposed superiority of the <i>pericos</i> vanished in the second leg, played in the Metropolitano, where the local team was superior (2-0). A tie-breaker was played in Zaragoza to decide the finalist and the tight game was won by Athletic Madrid, surprising Zamora's team, who failed once more in this competition.<br />
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But if there was a classic game, it had to be the one between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, given their old rivalry, started in 1916. On paper, the Catalans were superior, but no one really expected the clear victory of the blaugranas in Chamartín, humilliating Real Madrid at home with a clear 1-5. With this away victory, FC Barcelona confirmed their superiority in Les Corts, where the local fans could also celebrate the 3-0 victory on the madridistas, getting the ticket to the semifinals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/4/6/1/6/n_atletico_de_madrid_la_historia-696164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/4/6/1/6/n_atletico_de_madrid_la_historia-696164.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic Madrid's Luis Olaso</td></tr>
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The most surprising result happened in the clash between Celta and Real Sociedad. In those years, the Basque clubs were always favorites in their games. Probably, the 2-1 victory of Celta at home was not a big surprise, since the galegos had been playing in this competition for years and were a classic. But the 2-2 in Atotxa was the end of the run of Real Sociedad in this competition and a historical victory for Celta. Real Unión did not get surprised by Deportivo though. The <i>irundarras</i> only highlighted their clear superiority with two victories, an easy 3-0 at home and the expected 2-3 victory in A Coruña.<br />
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<i>Semifinals</i><br />
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The semifinals were played in one leg played on neutral ground for the first time in decades. The first semifinal was played between Athletic Madrid and RC Celta Vigo in San Mamés (Bilbao). There was not a clear favorite for this game and the expected balanced became an evidence during the 90 minutes of the game. In the first minutes of the game, Athletic Madrid looked for the victory and dominated the game. As a consequence of it, Olaso took advantage of a great pass of Tudury to face Celta's goal. Olaso was more technical than powerful in the definition and advanced his team in the scoreboard (1-0). Celta reacted looking for the goal that could tie the game. After half an hour, the <i>celtarra</i> Chicha headed a ball into the net to tie the game, setting the 1-1 at half time.<br />
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In the second half, it was Celta who surprised Athletic Madrid in the early minutes and Polo scored the 1-2 for his team. Athletic Madrid needed to tie and started to dominate the game again. During all the second half, Athletic Madrid closed Celta in their own field, enjoying multiples chances, driven by a magnificent Olaso. However, Celta's defense was efficient during all the afternoon. But when Celta was almost celebrating their pass to their first final in history, a foul is kicked into the box and, after several rebounds, the ball falls in Cosme's feet, who sotfly pushed the ball into the net, forcing the extra time. In the extra time, Celta had to play with their goalkeeper, who had been seriously injured, being replaced by a usual defender. In these circumstances, Athletic Madrid looked for a winning goal and, given their huge dominance of the game, they achieved it. Cosme, who had saved Athletic Madrid, also scored the last goal of the game. After the 3-2 for Athletic Madrid, Celta did not have the strength to look for the draw. Athletic Madrid advanced to their second final in history.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Atlético de los Caballeros</td></tr>
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At the same time, the second semifinal was played in Torrero (Zaragoza), Iberia's stadium, between FC Barcelona and Real Unión. Given the quality of their players, this semifinal was an advanced final. In the first half, Real Unión surprised Barcelona and was a machine of football since the very first minute. The impulse of the <i>irundarras</i> got Barcelona confused and, aside some exceptional chances, this half was fully dominated by Real Unión. In this situation, René Petit advanced his team in the scoreboard. Still, in a counter, Barcelona was awarded with a penalty, which was missed by Sagi-Barba and stopped by Emery. However, the 0-1 at half time was considered too short. Only a magnificent Platko avoided a bigger advantage for the Basque team.<br />
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In the second half, things changed since the very first moment. Very soon, Samitier tied the game in a beautiful personal action (1-1) and, when only 8 minutes of the second half had passed, a collective action between Piera and Samitier ended up in Paulino Alcántara's feet, who kicked the ball with the usual violence. Emery almost stopped the ball, which ended up slipping between his legs. In just a few minutes, Barcelona had turned the game upside down. Real Unión tried to tie the game, but they suffered the consequences of their great physical effort of the first half and Barcelona did not suffer too much. In the last minutes of the game, as a consequence of the frustration, the international player of Real Unión, Errazquin, was sent off due to an agression. For the second year in a row, FC Barcelona was in the final.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JjXa4z-Cfl4/Tp4DgdKiBXI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QkLhpCTimKg/s1600/Copa+Rey+1926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JjXa4z-Cfl4/Tp4DgdKiBXI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QkLhpCTimKg/s640/Copa+Rey+1926.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
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<i>Final</i><br />
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</i><br />
The final was played in a packed Mestalla (Valencia) in front of 17,000 fans in a windy afternoon of May. FC Barcelona was the favorite on paper, given their collection of stars, but Athletic Madrid was a rising team. The <i>athleticos</i> had not triumphed in their regional tournament and struggled to advance from the group stage, but their recent games had been good, which gave them hopes to surprise the <i>culés</i>.<br />
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In the first minutes of the game, there was not a clear owner and the tension was evident, as a fight between Platko and Triana showed. But Athletic Madrid was able to hit first: the defender "Pololo" hanged a ball into the box that was headed by Vicente Palacios, making Platko's efforts useless. This goal affected the Catalans and Athletic Madrid enjoyed their best minute of the game. Despite the efforts, Barcelona was unable to control the game, enjoying some chances, but also leaving the game open for a possible second goal of Athletic Madrid. The 1-0 was the result at half time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/wp-content/upLoads/barcelona-1926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/wp-content/upLoads/barcelona-1926.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona, Copa winner 1926</td></tr>
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In the second half, Ralph Kirby's team had to look for the draw, but things did not change much in the first minutes. Quite the opposite, in a counter attack, Palacios dribbled Platko and was tackled by Walter inside the box. The referee awarded Athletic Madrid with a penalty and Cosme did not miss the chance to score the second for Athletic Madrid in what it was a surprising result after 58 minutes (2-0). Barcelona had half an hour to overcome the game and the reaction came in an error of the Athletic Madrid defender "Pololo" who gave the ball to Planas. Taking advantage of the spaces left by Athletic Madrid, Planas gave the ball to Samitier, who showed his class to score the 2-1. But when this goal was still celebrated by the <i>culés, </i>Sagi-Barba crossed a new ball into the box, which was slightly touched by Piera, leaving Just alone, who scored the 2-2 only one minute later. As it had happened in the semifinals, Barcelona was able to overcome their worst moments in just a few minutes. In this second half, things were as it had been predicted and Barcelona closed Athletic Madrid in their own field, enjoying multiples chances to score the winning goal. But this goal did not arrive and the 2-2 sent the two teams into the extra time.<br />
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The extra time did not change the trend of the game and Barcelona still was superior, although Athletic Madrid, in the hands of De Miguel, Olaso and Palacios threatened Platko's goal with some dangerous counters too. The final had to wait until the second half of the extra time to be decided. This time, Just connected with Samitier, who assisted Alcántara in a classic trademark pass. The striker crossed the ball when the goalkeeper Barroso was coming out of his goal to score the decisive goal for the blaugranas. In the remaining 8 minutes, Barcelona essentially defended the result, while Athletic Madrid tried with more heart than heart. The 3-2 was the result at full time and FC Barcelona had achieved their 7th Copa title in history, the second consecutive. At the same time, this historical Athletic Madrid started to be called the <i>Atlético de los Caballeros</i> (The Lord's Atlético).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yt-UR8qKyNw/Tp4DJcExirI/AAAAAAAAAFo/FS0r2KVJliI/s1600/Final+Copa+1926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="438" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yt-UR8qKyNw/Tp4DJcExirI/AAAAAAAAAFo/FS0r2KVJliI/s640/Final+Copa+1926.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
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<div><b>1926-1927</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Professionalism had been accepted, but the clubs and the federation (the national and the regional ones) agreed to start the negotiations for the creation of a league, having the English football as reference. There were several proposals for the creation of a league. The problem was that there was not a strong central power in football. Despite the existance of the RFEF, some of the regional federations, some of them older than the RFEF itself, had a lot of power and so did the clubs. At the same time, the debates in the press were hot too. One of these proposals was led by Arenas Club, who proposed a league in which the first division would be formed by the historical winners of the Copa: Athletic Club, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Unión, Real Sociedad (who had won in 1909 under the name of Club Ciclista) and the same Arenas Club. This proposal had the name of "Liga Minimalista".<br />
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At the same time, the new president of Athletic Madrid, in disagreement with Arenas Club, proposed a different league with more teams and the elimination of the regional tournaments. But this proposal, known as "Liga Maximalista", did not count on the support of the RFEF, who considered that it was elitist, since the regional tournaments were considered essential for the most humble clubs and the development of the game. In one way or another, nothing was agreed in this year.<br />
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These negotiations were not easy, but they did not affect the development of this season, which continued with the same format used in the previous one. The only difference was the acceptance of the winner and runner-up of a new regional tournament: Extremadura. As a consequence of the extension of the Copa del Rey, two of the eight groups would have four teams, instead of the three used in the rest of the groups.<br />
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The participant clubs were:</div><div><br />
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</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group I: Real Madrid, Sevilla FC and CD Extremeño</i></div><div><br />
</div><div>In Real Madrid, Juan De Cárcer, who had been the coach for six years, had left the coach and the team decided not to count on this figure for this season. In spite of this fact, Real Madrid dominated the Regional tournament with an extraordinary superiority, getting the ticket for this competition. At the same time, Sevilla FC continued with their dictatorship in the Copa de Andalucía, winning the title for the 9th time in a row. These two clubs were supposed to fight for the place in the Quarter finals. CD Extremeño, from the new regional league of Extremadura, was definitely more humble and less professional.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The results of the group were as they were predicted. Sevilla and Real Madrid crushed Extremeño in every single clash against them and they decided the place in the next round in their particular clashes. Each team won at home, favored by the home factor and the winner of the group had to be decided in a tie-breaker played in Badajoz. The madridistas were superior, defeating Sevilla to advance.</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group II: CD Europa, CD Castellón and Cartagena FC</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>In Catalonia, CD Europa challenged for the title with FC Barcelona, but the blaugranas ended up winning the title. However, Europa had left Español out of the Copa and had the chance to compete against the best once more. Español had disappointed in the regional tournament and, despite the good players they had, the club got in war with the Catalan federation due to a tribute game for Barcelona and their previous title. In Castellón, the prestigious coach Jack Greenwell had accepted the challenge of training with a humble club. The modern methods of Greenwell took the best of this team and was the runner-up in the Levante regional tournament for the first time ever. The last club was the runner-up of Murcia, Cartagena FC, on paper the weakest club of the group.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In this group, Europa was the favorite, given the power of the Catalan football compared with other regional tournaments. However, the results showed that these teams were more balanced than predicted and the home factor was decisive. All the teams won their home games and the final three-party tie had to be broken in a mini-tournament played in neutral ground, where Europa could finally show their superiority.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SuGx-hQO3wo/TqCitb-U9II/AAAAAAAAAGI/8TGqGw1iy8E/s1600/copa+del+rey+1927-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SuGx-hQO3wo/TqCitb-U9II/AAAAAAAAAGI/8TGqGw1iy8E/s640/copa+del+rey+1927-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group III: Sporting Gijón, RC Deportivo, Racing Santander and Real Union Deportiva</i></div><br />
<div>This group did not have a clear favourite. Sporting Gijón was the biggest club of Asturias and was enjoying a sweet time with players like Herrera, Morilla, Loredo, Alfredón or Argüelles, all of them from the region. Deportivo, with players like Chacho or Ramón González, broke a long run of victories in the regional tournament of Galicia of the teams located in Vigo. Racing Santander was also a dominant club in their region, winning their 5th title. Real Unión Deportiva was the weakest team, although this team of Valladolid were winners of their region too.<i><br />
</i></div><div><br />
</div><div>But, at the end, the group was a walk in the park for a magnificent Sporting, who was very superior to their rivals in the group, remaining unbeaten to reach the knock-out rounds of the Copa del Rey.</div><div><br />
<br />
<i>Group IV: Real Unión, Athletic Club and Real Zaragoza</i></div><br />
<div>Real Unión kept the core of the previous seasons and, with players like Petit, Gamborena, Regueiro or Echeveste, they were one of the main favorites to win the competition. In front of them, a big rival too, Athletic Club. However, Athletic was in low moments, despite the signing of the Hungarian coach Lippo Hertzka, who had been managing Real Sociedad in the previous seasons. Real Zaragoza was the perfect victim for the two Basque clubs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Real Unión and Athletic kept a fight in this group that was also decided in their direct clashes, solved with home victories in each case. This group also needed to be decided in a tie-breaker played in Zaragoza, where Real Unión showed that they were living a sweet moment and closing the season for a disappointing Athletic in low hours.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YFEZtFXgtE/TqCo_oLmFWI/AAAAAAAAAGY/m6122_Uy-ng/s1600/copa+del+rey+1927-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YFEZtFXgtE/TqCo_oLmFWI/AAAAAAAAAGY/m6122_Uy-ng/s640/copa+del+rey+1927-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group V: FC Barcelona, Valencia FC and Real Murcia</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>FC Barcelona was another top favorite to win the title, although the coach who had driven the club to the triumphs, Ralph Kirby, had left the club. The new coach was Richard Dombi, an Austrian coach, with long experience in different Central and Eastern European clubs. Barcelona won the regional title again, the fourth in a row, confirming that the club was in one of their best moments in history. In the Levante regional tournament, Valencia FC was also the dominant club, winning their third title in a row driven by the great Cubells. Real Murcia, who was the weakest team on paper, was also the owner of their regional tournament, although far from the level of their rivals.</div><div><br />
</div><div>FC Barcelona did not fail and the Catalans were able to confirm their favorite condition and won all the games, but the one played in Mestalla. The blaugranas advanced to the next round, where they would need to defend their crown in this competition</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group VI: Real Betis, Athletic Madrid and Patria FC</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>Athletic Madrid was the favorite to win this group. The athleticos had lost one of their most important presidents, Juan De Estefanía, who had achieved the most important triumphs of the club, and had been replaced by Luciano Urquijo. The prestigious coach Fred Pentland was also replaced by a player-manager, De Miguel. The team struggles with all these changes and fails to be a serious challenger of Real Madrid in the regional tournament. Betis was a rising team in Andalusia and Seville. Despite they had never won an official title, Betis was already the main rival of the powerful Sevilla and their fan base was really strong. Patria FC was a very humble club from a very small town of Extremadura and very weak compared with their rivals.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Surprisingly, Athletic Madrid got surprised by the rising Real Betis, who were able to defeat Athletic Madrid at home and to surprise the <i>colchoneros</i> in the Metropolitano. The runner-up of the previous edition of the Copa del Rey failed to advance to the following round, a very disappointing result for the club.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AR39xCn2qCU/TqCuYrhsPCI/AAAAAAAAAGg/bpzuxZ7IJ88/s1600/copa+del+rey+1927-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AR39xCn2qCU/TqCuYrhsPCI/AAAAAAAAAGg/bpzuxZ7IJ88/s640/copa+del+rey+1927-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><i>Group VII: Arenas Club, Real Sociedad and Iberia SD</i><br />
<br />
As always in those years, the Basque clubs were favorites in this competition and, in this particular case, Arenas Club and Real Sociedad were the winners of their regional tournaments. In Real Sociedad, a very young Paco Bienzobas made his debut in this season. Arenas did not have big stars, but the block was the main asset of this solid team. Iberia definitely was a weaker rival, without real chances to advance.<br />
<br />
As it was predicted, Arenas and Real Sociedad were the top teams and, as it had happened in other groups, each team won their home games, so the tie had to be broken in a replay that was played in Madrid. Arenas Club, the winner of Bizkaia, did not fail and achieved the victory (2-1), which allowed them to advance to the Quarter finals.<br />
<br />
<i>Group VIII: RC Celta, Gimnástica Torrelavega, Club Fortuna and CD Español</i><br />
<br />
In this group, the evident favorites were the runner-up of the tournament of Galicia. Pasarín's Celta found no rival in the group with the lowest level among all the ones who competed in this Copa del Rey. Celta won every single game against clubs with much lower tradition and economic power.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOPQ3nR3HfY/TqGQUVfR9JI/AAAAAAAAAGo/Veisei0kcTA/s1600/copa+del+rey+1927-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOPQ3nR3HfY/TqGQUVfR9JI/AAAAAAAAAGo/Veisei0kcTA/s640/copa+del+rey+1927-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Quarter finals</i><br />
<br />
In this round, with the 8 best teams of each group, the "real" Copa started with the knock-out stages. In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1927/04/18/pagina-1/614832/pdf.html">first leg</a>, the home factor was essential as the result showed. In Chamartín, the balanced game between Madrid and Europa was more tight than the result shows, but the madridistas were able to defeat (2-0) their Catalan rivals, who also had their chances to surprise the local team. In Les Corts, FC Barcelona did not have a walk in the park in their game against Betis (4-1) as the score suggest and even the Catalan press considered the victory "too severe". In El Molinón (Gijón), Sporting surprised Real Unión (3-2) in a worked victory over the Basques. It was a clash of absences, since Sporting did not count on Herrera and Real Unión played without René Petit. In Getxo, Arenas Club did not get surprised by Celta either and the 3-1 truly reflected the superior level of the Basque club.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1927/04/25/pagina-1/614850/pdf.html">second leg</a>, the most shocking result, according to the press, was the defeat of Barcelona in Seville against Betis. Despite the injuries and absences in the Catalan team, everyone expected them to win (or draw at least) anyway. But the 1-0 for Betis was enough to force a replay and the <i>béticos</i> were applauded by their great achievement. Equally surprising was the 4-1 victory of Europa on Real Madrid. The victory of Europa was a possibility, but the superiority of the Catalans was not in any prediction. The surprises did not finish there and Arenas Club, who were considered clear favorites given their performance in the first leg, raised doubts about the team. Celta defeated the Basque team with the same result of the first leg (3-1) and also forced the replay. In Amaute, Real Unión's home, the local team got reinforced by their star, René Petit, who made the difference in the final 4-1.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://arenasclub.com/historiarenas/1927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://arenasclub.com/historiarenas/1927.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arenas Club in 1927</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
So all the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1927/05/02/pagina-1/614868/pdf.html">clashes </a>had to be decided in games played in neutral ground. In Santander, Real Unión and Sporting had to decide a place in the semifinals. Sporting surprised Real Unión with the return of Herrera to the lineups and took the lead in the game, reaching the half time with advantage. However, Real Unión imposed rationality in the second half to overcome the result to advance (3-1). At the same time, Real Madrid humilliated (8-1) Europa in Zaragoza. Europa had shown a better image in the first two games, but Real Madrid had a wonderful afternoon of football and the madridistas seemed to reach their best level in the key moments. In Madrid, Arenas Club suffered to defeat Celta, but the <i>celtarras </i>would need to wait another year in their eternal search of glory. Arenas imposed their attitude and physical power over Celta (3-2). Finally, also in Madrid, Barcelona defeated Betis thanks to a goal scored by Samitier in the early minutes of the game. The Catalans were superior and the scoreboard did not reflect the reality of the game in that sense (1-0), although this lack of efficiency raised doubts on the "double champion".<br />
<br />
<i>Semifinals</i><br />
<br />
As in the previous edition, the semifinals were played on neutral ground, in Torrero (Zaragoza). The first <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1927/05/09/pagina-2/614889/pdf.html">semifinal</a> was a classic of the competition, Real Unión-Real Madrid. The recent history made the <i>unionistas</i> favorites, although the madridistas were a rising team in that moment. But Real Unión did not give a chance to a weaker Real Madrid. The Basque team managed and dominated the whole game with a magnificent Petit and the final 2-0 was considered too short, given the lack of efficiency of Errazquín in this game. Real Unión only confirmed the predictions and advanced to the final, their 4th final in less than 10 years.<br />
<br />
The surprise was the victory of Arenas Club on FC Barcelona. In the case of Barcelona, the star Samitier reached the game in bad physical conditions, a fact that definitely affected his team, although Arenas could not count on their star defender Vallana either, while Yermo was not in his best physical form either. Each team in their own style, technical in the case of the Catalans, physical in the case of the Basques, played a fantastic game that ended up with a 3-3 after 90 minutes. In the extra time, the best physical form and the enthusiasm of Arenas made the difference and the half injured Yermo scored an epic goal in the last minutes to decide the finalist. FC Barcelona, big favorite of the competition, had fallen in the semifinals.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VF0Uknwp1OQ/TqGfx_zNfFI/AAAAAAAAAGw/LVsDXpNd0gQ/s1600/Copa+Rey+1927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VF0Uknwp1OQ/TqGfx_zNfFI/AAAAAAAAAGw/LVsDXpNd0gQ/s640/Copa+Rey+1927.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Final</i><br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1927/05/16/pagina-1/614902/pdf.html">final</a> played in the stadium of Torrero, in Zaragoza, in front of 16,000 enthusiastic fans, there was a clear favorite: Real Unión. The game was essentially physical, but the fair play between the two Basque clubs was remarkable too. The defenses of both teams shined over the forwards, the fantastic duo of Real Unión, the classic Alza-Berges, was able to avoid Arenas' chances on the goal defended by Emery. At the same time, despite the absence of Vallana, still injured, Llantada and Críspulo were amazing too.<br />
<br />
In the first half, the weight of the game fell on Real Unión's shoulders. René Petit did not hide in this important game either and the star of Real Unión led the first attacks of his team during the game. In these initial minutes, the Arenas goalkeeper, Jaúregui, had to make several interventions to keep his goal unbeaten. Arenas Club also counted on several chances, but the defense of Real Unión and their goalkeeper were very efficient in their jobs. At half time, despite the domination of Real Unión, the 0-0 was the result in the scoreboard.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://realunion.incondicionales.com/media/galeria/50/7/1/1/6/n_real_union_de_irun_todo_sobre_el_club-166117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://realunion.incondicionales.com/media/galeria/50/7/1/1/6/n_real_union_de_irun_todo_sobre_el_club-166117.jpg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Unión in 1927</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the second half, Real Unión also dominated the first minutes, but Jaúregui remained immense defending his goal. At some point, Arenas started to enjoy their best minutes, enjoying their best chances. It was when the Arenas captain, Laña, shot from almost the midfield line, surprising everyone... but the ball hit the crossbar. Only a few minutes later, the referee Escartín disallowed a legal goal for Arenas, scored by Robus, in an "imaginary offside", according to the reports. When the match was reaching the minute 90, there was an action that could have defined the game. A crossed ball by Echeveste (Real Unión) was stopped by Laña (Arenas) inside the box. The penalty was awarded by the referee. The game was in the already experienced René Petit, but Jauregui seemed to be blessed that day and stopped the ball, forcing the extra time (0-0).<br />
<br />
In the extra time, Real Unión forced the engine looking for the victory with an impressive pressure on Jauregui's goal. But the goalkeeper of Arenas remained unbeatable, stopping chance by chance the continuous attacks of the <i>irundarras</i>. The game had been so physical that the muscular cramps were usual in those minutes. In the last minutes, when the game was losing impulse given the tiredness of the players, the winger of Real Unión Sagarzazu found Echeveste inside the box. This time, the striker of Real Unión found the calm to prepare his shot and the goalkeeper Jauregui, who had been doing miracles all the afternoon, could not stop the ball that went into his net. It was just 3 minutes before the end. Echeveste, with this goal, gave Real Unión their 4th title in history, a deserving victory for a historical team of this decade.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a4-O4xluuWc/TqGl9510VQI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ttMavOCvXa8/s1600/Final+Copa+1927..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="438" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a4-O4xluuWc/TqGl9510VQI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ttMavOCvXa8/s640/Final+Copa+1927..jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>1927-1928</b><br />
<br />
During the spring and summer of 1927, the conversations to create a league continued. The RFEF had a meeting Santander during April. Initially, the RFEF seemed to accept the "Liga Mínima", counting with the winners of the Copa in history: Athletic Club, Barcelona, Real Madrid, , Real Unión, Real Sociedad and Arenas Club, but with two exceptions with the inclusion of Español and Athletic Madrid. This proposal found the radical opposition of clubs like Valencia, Sevilla, Celta, Sporting or Racing Santander.<br />
<br />
Since there is not an agreement, two parallel and separate unions of clubs were created: the <i>Unión de Clubes Campeones</i>, which promoted the "Liga Mínima" with the historical winners of the Copa and, at the same time, the <i>Liga Profesional del Fútbol Español</i>, which gathered clubs like Athletic Madrid, Iberia SD, Celta Vigo, Sevilla, Valencia, Sporting Gijón, Racing Santander and Real Murcia. At the same time, trying to avoid the rupture, the RFEF imposed a solution, changing the format of the Copa, which would be divided in four groups of six teams each, who would face each other in two rounds, advancing winner and runner-up to the knock-out phase. In this way, the amount of games was increased, although this solution was not satisfactory for all the clubs.<br />
<br />
At the end, the clubs decided to start their leagues, the "Máxima" and the "Mínima" (also called "Torneo de Campeones"), but not breaking the status quo of regional tournaments and the Copa del Rey. These leagues were not considered official and this fact plus the lack of atractive of these leagues made both fail and many games were cancelled or abandoned, while most of the teams did not present their best teams in this competition.<br />
<br />
Once more, the Copa del Rey would be the most important tournament and the participants would be chosen among the regional winners, although the format made the competition to be similar to a league system after all. At the same time, in order to avoid so many replays, the RFEF decided to count the goals instead of the victories in order to decide the knock-out rounds and also the goal difference to decide the ties in the group stage. These were the participants:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_Qk-fBFwlY/TqGuNoD1aCI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Q7TDnFU_ndg/s1600/copa+del+rey+1928-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_Qk-fBFwlY/TqGuNoD1aCI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Q7TDnFU_ndg/s1600/copa+del+rey+1928-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In order to set the groups a previous round, was needed and the runner-ups of the Catalan and Centro tournaments (Europa and Real Madrid) had to face the winners of Baleares and Extremadura (US Mahon and Patria FC). The clubs of the powerful regions did not fail. Madrid defeated Patria with a 10-1 global result, while Europa did the same with US Mahón (13-3).<br />
<br />
<i>Group I: Real Celta, Real Oviedo, Deportivo, Cultural Leonesa, Racing C. Langreo and Real Unión Deportiva</i><br />
<br />
The main favorites of this group were the clubs with a higher economic power: Celta, Deportivo and Oviedo, although Racing Langreo was not ruled out, since they had left Sporting out of this competition for the first time in a long time. Sporting had lost some of their most important players, who were signed by other clubs, like Herrera, who had signed for Athletic Madrid.<br />
<br />
During the first round of the league, the most rich clubs showed their superior level. Deportivo was the best team after five games, leading the standings with 8 points, closely followed by the champions of Asturias, Oviedo (7 points) and their eternal rivals, Celta (6 points). Cultural Leonesa still hold some chances, while Langreo and Real Unión Deportivo failed to be an option<br />
<br />
In the following games, the defeat of Deportivo in Oviedo and the decisive draw at home against Celta, left the three favorites in 11 points with 2 games to be played. In the last matchday, Deportivo closed their miserable second round with a defeat against the weaker Cultural Leonesa, while their rivals did not fail in their games. These results left Deportivo, winner of Galicia, out of the Copa, while Celta and Oviedo advanced to the Quarter finals.<br />
<br />
<i>Group II: CD Alaves, Real Madrid, Racing Santander, Athletic Club, Gimnástica de Torrelavega and Athletic Madrid</i><br />
<br />
Real Madrid was a rising team, as they had proven in the previous edition of the Copa, despite their defeat in the regional tournament. The club had signed a new coach, the former Real Madrid and Barcelona player and referee, José Berraondo, famous by the incidents of 1916, which broke the relationships of the two clubs of his career. In the team, the most relevant players were Juan Monjardín and Félix Pérez Marcos. In Atheltic Club, the team still managed by Lippo Hertzka still was under construction. In this year, Unamuno was signed from Alavés, while the young Garizurieta and Chirri II were promoted from the reserves team. This team won the regional tournament, but the biggest surprise was the appearance of CD Alavés, who had left Arenas Club out of the Copa. Alavés was a team full of young talented players like Ciriaco and Quincoces, who started to peak. Athletic Madrid still enjoyed a fantastic team, with players like Vicente Palacios, Luis Olaso or Triana, who had taken the team to a new regional tournament. Patrick O'Connell still managed Racing Santander, who had signed Loredo from Sporting, although the two teams of Cantabria (Racing Santander itself and Gimnástica were the weakest teams on paper).<br />
<br />
During the first round of the league, the surprise was Alaves, unbeaten by their rivals and with surprising important results, like the victory against Athletic or the draw in Chamartín against Real Madrid. These results allowed them to lead the group with 8 points. The alavesistas were closely followed by Real Madrid and Racing Santander, in a one point margin. Athletic Club did not lose their chances despite their average performances, but their defeats and draws against their direct rivals were punishing them. Definitely, the most disappointing results were the ones of Athletic Madrid, who lost all the games. The runner-ups of 1926 were out when things had just started.<br />
<br />
In the following 3 games, Alavés kept their impressive line of results, including a draw in San Mamés. Real Madrid were able to follow the good results of the leader, remaining 1 point far from them, while Athletic was 2 points away, but wasting the chance to catch their regional rival in the direct clash. O'Connell's Racing Santander started to fail in the important moments and started to lose their chances, while Gimnástica and Athletic Madrid kept their mediocre path.<br />
<br />
In the last two games, Alavés only needed to assure the first position and despite they dropped points in these games, their solid position and the direct clash between Athletic and Madrid allowed them to win the group. Real Madrid were also able to draw in Bilbao to win in Alava, although this result was not enough to reach the first position. Athletic's victory against Real Madrid was essential to keep their chances alive until the last game, but their defeat in Santander left Athletic out of the knock-out stages once more.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Od41micPts0/TqHzd5-SyKI/AAAAAAAAAHI/rZ_MmUf_12w/s1600/copa+del+rey+1928-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="520" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Od41micPts0/TqHzd5-SyKI/AAAAAAAAAHI/rZ_MmUf_12w/s640/copa+del+rey+1928-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Group III: FC Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Real Unión, Europa, Iberia SD and Patria Aragón</i><br />
<br />
FC Barcelona, who had won the fourth regional tournament in a row in a close fight with Europa, which required a final, had fired Domby as a request of the players, who also demanded to be managed by a former player of the club and member of the Board: Romà Forns, the first Catalan coach in the history of the club. The team that had been a power during the last decade started a transition. Paulino Alcántara had retired the previous season, while Sancho started to disappear from the lineups. The stars of the team were Samitier, Sagi-Barba, the German defender Walter and the legendary goalkeeper Platko. In Real Unión, the current winners of the competition, the base of the team were the players that had taken the club to the victory the previous season, so Petit, Luis Regueiro, Gamborena, Emery and company were considered as one of the main favorites for the title, since they had also triumphed in their regional tournament. In a similar way, the biggest rivals of Real Unión, Real Sociedad, counted on a solid team that was ready to fight for the title. Benito Díaz was the manager of the team who counted on the forward Paco Bienzobas as main player along with others like the goalie Jesús Izaguirre, the midfielder Amadeo Labarta and Trino Arizcorreta and the also forwards "Cholín" and "Kiriki". The humble but efficient Europa, as challenger for the Catalan title could not be discarded either, while the Aragonese Iberia and Patria did not have the tradition to compete with these rivals.<br />
<br />
In the first five games, FC Barcelona won all the games, except a draw at home against Real Unión, a direct rival, leading with 9 points. As it was predicted, the other two challengers were the two Basque clubs. Real Sociedad (8 points) also won all the games, except their defeat in Les Corts, while Real Unión (8 points) had only dropped points in their visits to the direct rivals, but they had to receive the visit their rivals in the second round of the league.<br />
<br />
In the following games, Barcelona seriously damaged their chances with the defeat in Atotxa against Real Sociedad and the unexpected draw at home against Europa, who had failed to convince in this competition. Real Unión started to fix the results of the first round, as the victory against Real Sociedad showed. So, before the last game, Real Unión led the standings with 15 points, while they were followed by Barcelona and Real Sociedad with 14. The goal difference favored Barcelona over Real Sociedad, but the Catalans were in trouble, since they had to visit the Gal stadium, the new home of Real Unión. In this last week, Real Sociedad did not fail in their game, with a victory that assured their pass to the Quarter finals. But FC Barcelona achieved an epic and important victory in Irún against Real Unión. The current champions were out of the competition, while Barcelona and Real Sociedad advanced in the competition.<br />
<br />
<i>Group IV: Real Murcia, Valencia FC, Cartagena FC, Sevilla FC, Real Betis and Levante FC</i><br />
<br />
In this group, there was not a clear favorite and all the teams had a similar level on paper. In the Copa de Andalucía, for the first time in history, Real Betis won the title over the clear dominant team of the competition, Sevilla FC. In the Valencian tournament, there was a similar situation and Levante FC were able to win the regional title over Valencia FC. The <i>ché</i> team had signed an English coach, James Herriot, to drive the team where Cubells and Montes were the clear stars. Real Murcia, who had won their third regional title in a row, was the strongest team, while Cartagena FC were constantly the main challengers.<br />
<br />
In the first round, the supposed balance got evident. Four clubs finished the first round with real chances to advance to the following round. The most efficient and also the surprise was the good level of Real Murcia, who were able to lead the standings (7 points), despite their initial defeat at home against Sevilla. But only one point down, Valencia, Betis and Sevilla followed them closer. Cartagena was the weakest team, as it was predicted, while Levante disappointed with only one victory in these five games.<br />
<br />
In the following three games, Real Murcia were able to keep the lead with two more victories. Valencia kept being their main rival, keeping the negative one point gap, despite a humiliating defeat against Cartagena. Betis still hold some options with one victory and a draw, although the fixtures did not favor them, since they had to visit Murcia and receive Valencia. Sevilla lost all the options with two surprising defeats at home and a draw in the derby. Real Murcia only needed a victory in the last two games and they did not fail to dominate the group. The clash between Betis and Valencia was decisive too and the valencianistas finished with the options of Betis with an away victory. So Murcia and Valencia advance, while Andalusia failed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4KX6EcJ_RM/TqHz2UtJmgI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/XEsKyqHvEkY/s1600/copa+del+rey+1928-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="524" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4KX6EcJ_RM/TqHz2UtJmgI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/XEsKyqHvEkY/s640/copa+del+rey+1928-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Quarter finals</i><br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1928/04/16/pagina-3/626423/pdf.html">first leg</a> of this round, FC Barcelona and Real Oviedo met in Les Corts, packed with 45,000 people in the stands. The Catalans were clear favorites and they did not fail. Barcelona played a fantastic first half to reach the half time with a stunning 4-0 with goals by Samitier and Sastre in pairs. In the second half, the game was crazy and the crowd had to applaud both teams, Oviedo did not surrender and presented a heavy fight, which was equally responded by Barcelona for the final 7-3 with Samitier scoring 4 goals.<br />
<br />
In La Condomina, Alavés visited Murcia. It was a very balanced game dominated by the defenses in the first half, which ended with a 0-0. In the second half, the surprising Basque club was superior and was able to achieve a 2 goal gap, although Murcia could score the honor goal in the last minutes. The 1-2 for CD Alavés result looked decisive though.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OEfRxlzp1c/SaEgqrGvs1I/AAAAAAAAEdg/J0HZbwNuICg/s320/aban023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OEfRxlzp1c/SaEgqrGvs1I/AAAAAAAAEdg/J0HZbwNuICg/s400/aban023.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alavés in Les Corts</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In Coia, Vigo, Celta's first half was sublime and made the local fans to dream with a historical victory against Real Sociedad. The early goals of Murilla and Lecube allowed Celta to win 2-0 at half time. However, the goal of the Basque Yurrita in the last minutes of the game set a final 2-1 that left things open for the second leg.<br />
<br />
The surprising result was the one of the game played in Chamartín between Real Madrid and Valencia. The madridistas were superior on paper and they only needed 16 minutes to score two goals. The 2-0 result at half time made the madridistas believe that they almost had the ticket to the semifinals in their pocket. But a poor second half of the madridistas and the goals of the valencianistas Pérez and Rey surprised the local fans. The 2-2 result in Chamartín was a great achievement for Valencia.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2aFrxAuwIc/Te8ka2QX0OI/AAAAAAAAHB8/2kYcorriUxg/s1600/o_f_c_barcelona_jose_samitier-1151911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2aFrxAuwIc/Te8ka2QX0OI/AAAAAAAAHB8/2kYcorriUxg/s400/o_f_c_barcelona_jose_samitier-1151911.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josep Samitier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1928/04/30/pagina-3/620488/pdf.html">second leg</a>, noone really thought that Oviedo could actually overcome the four goal advantage for FC Barcelona. As a result, the game was more beautiful than passionate. The match, without emotion, given the result of the first leg, was interesting as the final 2-2 showed.<br />
<br />
In Mendizorroza, Alaves' home, the game was not as peaceful for the locals as the predictions made everyone think. In fact, Real Murcia were able to tie the clash with a goal in the first half. The worrying result for Alavés at half time made the home team react in the second. Alavés were able to overcome the result with two goals in only 15 minutes and ended up winning the game with a clear 3-1.<br />
<br />
In Atotxa, Real Sociedad needed to overcome the bad result of the first leg and it was not an easy task for them. Real Sociedad looked for their place in the semis since the first minute, but at half time they had only tied the clash (1-0) with a penalty scored by Bienzobas. The polemics grew in the second half, with another penalty for the Basques, also scored by Bienzobas, which caused the protests of Celta to the referee Serrano Pelayo. Real Sociedad could only celebrate the victory when the game was about to finish and the Basques scored the definitive goal (3-0).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://viavicentiusvalentiae.googlepages.com/cubells9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://viavicentiusvalentiae.googlepages.com/cubells9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valencia's Cubells</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
In Mestalla, the local crowd and the <i>ché</i> team had a chance to reach the semifinals against one the giants of the competition. Definitely, the plan of Valencia was not coward and their attacking football allowed them to achieve an early 2-0 with two goals scored by Ródenas. In the second half, Real Madrid tried to overcome the extremely negative result, but they could only scored one goal (Uribe) when the game was near the end. In the last minutes, Real Madrid tried it, but Valencia was able to resist to reach a historical semifinal.<br />
<br />
<i>Semifinals</i><br />
<br />
In the first leg of the semifinals, Unamono's and Ciriaco's Alavés visited Les Corts. The surprising Basque team had been doing a great campaign and, despite the higher prestige of the Catalans, they fought against the barcelonistas until the last minutes of the game. The press of the following day showed the respect Barcelona had for Alavés and their campaign. Alavés played with the usual Basque style, more physical than technical, totally opposed to the blaugranas. In the first half, Samitier, who was in great form, led the attack of the <i>culés</i>, who were able to show a great level of football. But, despite the good level of the Catalans, the home team could only score in the last minutes of the first half with a doubtful penalty on Piera by Quincoces and scored by Más.<br />
<br />
In the second half, Alavés looked for the goal and Barcelona looked full of doubts. Definitely, the best minutes of Alavés were in these minutes of the second half. However, the attacks of the Basques were inefficient and, in the last minutes, the visitors paid their efforts. When the local fans were worried about the short result to face the second leg, Carrulla scored the second for the Catalans in the minute 72. The good luck went with the Catalans too. Only three minutes before the end, a shot was deflected by the Alaves defender Carrullo into their own goal. The final 3-0 was probably excessive, but probably definitive to face the second leg with guarantees.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/galeria/25/1/3/4/6/n_f_c_barcelona_historicos-2306431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/galeria/25/1/3/4/6/n_f_c_barcelona_historicos-2306431.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The second semifinal was played in Atotxa, where Valencia visited Real Sociedad. In the first minutes of the game, the surprising Valencia enjoyed the best chances, but pretty soon the game got ugly, with violent tackles, and the visitors started to lose their initial concentration. With the game changing its direction, Real Sociedad scored the first goal with certain dose of luck, since it was the valencianista Reyes who deflected the ball into his goal in the minute 27. The valencianistas suddenly disappeared from the game and Real Sociedad did not miss their chance to crush Valencia. In the last 15 minutes of the first half, Cholín twice (35' and 44') and Mariscal (38') broke the dreams of the valencianistas.<br />
<br />
In the second half, Valencia looked for a goal to enter in the game, but it was Kiriki who scored the 5th for Real Sociedad. The rest of the game did not have much story. A depressed and lost Valencia could only creep on the pitch and two more goals of the <i>donostiarras</i> closed the historical 7-0 victory and Real Sociedad definitely sealed the pass to the final for the first time since 1913.<br />
<br />
With the results of the first leg, this <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1928/05/14/pagina-3/620524/pdf.html">second round</a> of games did not have much story. In Mendizorroza, Alavés knew that their small chances passed from an early goal that could make Barcelona feel doubts. Their initial pressure on Platko's goal was huge, but Barcelona knew how to manage this situation to keep their goal safe. The suicidal attacks had its consequences. In the minute 20, Sastre scored the first goal for the blaugranas, a goal that totally destroy the hopes of Alavés. The local team collapsed and the blaugranas became the only owners of the game, toying with Alavés. Before half time, Arocha scored two more goals to leave the game without any kind of emotion (0-3). In the second half, things did not change much and, while Barcelona enjoyed their own football, Alavés only wanted the game to finish. Sastre again and Samitier scored two more goals to close the beating on the home team (0-5).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.real100.org/modulos/usuariosFtp/conexion/eus_imagenes692a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.real100.org/modulos/usuariosFtp/conexion/eus_imagenes692a.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Sociedad's Bienzobas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
In Mestalla, despite the lack of emotion given the 7-0 of the first leg, the stadium presented a good atmosphere. The valencianistas wanted to give their fans the pleasure of a victory to close the season. This was the purpose of the home team, who attacked Real Sociedad's goal since the first minute. When the game had just started, the referee awarded Valencia with a penalty. Pérez shot the penalty and scored, but the referee considered that a Valencia player had entered into the box and the penalty had to be repeated. In this second chance, Izaguirre, Real Sociedad's goalie, stopped it. Right after this chance, Valencia got the lead in the scoreboard with a goal scored by Ródenas, in a polemic action protested by the <i>donostiarras</i>. Valencia kept insisting in the attacks, while Real Sociedad lacked tension on the pitch, as a consequence of it, Ródenas scored the second for Valencia. The valencianistas were crushing their rivals and a handball inside the Basque box was awarded with a new penalty. Once again, Pérez made the attempt, but Izaguirre was Real Sociedad's hero stopping the second penalty of the afternoon. Real Sociedad reacted in the last minutes of the first half and, in a counter, Bienzobas crossed the ball to "Kiriki" who calmed his team down with a goal. The 2-1 was the result at half time.<br />
<br />
In the second half, Valencia kept insisting and Ródenas scored his hat-trick in the first minutes of the second chapter of this match. Despite the dominance of Valencia and their best chances, the game died slowly, given the overall result. Real Sociedad scored the last goal of the afternoon, again "Kiriki", and the referee made the final whistle, which gave Real Sociedad the ticket to the final.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hreV0sGVudU/TqNMR6EYnxI/AAAAAAAAAHw/xxbOpddLVQE/s1600/Copa+Rey+1928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hreV0sGVudU/TqNMR6EYnxI/AAAAAAAAAHw/xxbOpddLVQE/s640/Copa+Rey+1928.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<i>Final</i><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1928/05/21/pagina-1/1391588/pdf.html">final</a> was played in El Sardinero, Santander, between Real Sociedad and Barcelona, who attracted 18,000 fans to the stadium. Both clubs had already met in the group stage and each team had won in their own stadium, so the game did not have a clear favorite, given the good results of both teams through all the tournament.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">Barcelona started dominating the first minutes of the game, although their chances were reduced to some corner kicks and soon Real Sociedad also showed up to have some shy chances too. The game was more intense than beautiful and the defenses dominated the attacks. When the half time was about to come, in a divided ball inside the box, Platko grabbed the ball, but the Basque striker Amadeo kicked the goalies head. Platko who had saved his team in this action had to leave the game injured and the Catalan forward Arocha was the new goalkeeper of the team, a fact that was worrying for Barcelona. The 0-0 was the result at half time though.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BAPC4QJMEP0/TCrgvx6K7TI/AAAAAAAAF8E/MTP-6HSpLGs/s1600/platko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BAPC4QJMEP0/TCrgvx6K7TI/AAAAAAAAF8E/MTP-6HSpLGs/s320/platko.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platko injured in the final</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">But the problems of Barcelona had just started. Samitier got injured with an open wound in his head. The Catalans were with nine men on the pitch and Real Sociedad tried to take advantage of the situation without much success. Some minutes later, a dizzy Platko could return to the pitch and Arocha could return to his position and also Samitier made his reappearance. And this return could not have been better for the Catalans, Piera found Samitier inside the box who placed the ball inside Real Sociedad's goal. It was the minute 53. After this goal, the game turned violent, once again Platko got charged inside his box and this incident caused a brawl. Despite the attempts of the referee, the game got really ugly, with constant fouls and incidents, with Real Sociedad desperately looking for a goal to tie the game. In the minute 83, Sevilla ended up drawing the game, "Kiriki" passed the ball to Mariscal who face Platko, the shot was almost blocked by the Hungarian goalie, but finished in the net. The 1-1 was the result after 90 minutes. There was an extra time, dominated by Real Sociedad, but the result did not change a replay had to be play.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ym--CmAlsM/TqNJSBfLceI/AAAAAAAAAHY/eSJSmNt9TK4/s1600/Final+Copa+1928-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="513" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ym--CmAlsM/TqNJSBfLceI/AAAAAAAAAHY/eSJSmNt9TK4/s640/Final+Copa+1928-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><i>Final Replay I</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">The <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1928/05/23/pagina-2/620544/pdf.html">tie-breaker</a> was played three days after the first game. The atmosphere was tense, given the ugly incidents of the previous match. Barcelona missed Platko for this game, as a consequence of his injuries in that game. There were 13,000 fans in the stadium, given it was a labor day. As it happened in the first match, the Catalans started dominating the game, but the weight of the game started to change from hand to hand very soon, without a clear owner. When the match reach the first half an hour, Bienzobas connected with Cholín who passed the ball to "Kirki" and the striker only needed to push the ball into the net (1-0). The game did not change much with the goal, with more intensity than quality and the result at half time was the already known 1-0 for Real Sociedad.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black;">After the half time, the game followed the trend of all the minutes played by these two teams. The lack of a clear owner could have made possible a decisive goal for Real Sociedad or the draw for Barcelona and this is what it finally happened. Samitier dressed as playmaker to invent a pass to Piera, who faced Izaguirre to beat him in the desperate exit (1-1). As it happened in the first game, the game got ugly, the accumulate tension exploded and Guzmán, the Barcelona midfielder, hit "Kiriki" and gets sent off. The tension spread to the stands too and the police had to appear to calm down the situation. But the atmosphere in the pitch did not cool down and ten minutes later, in the 80', Cholín got fouled by the Catalan Carulla and the Basque responded by punching him, being also sent off. The final result of this tense game was another 1-1. In the extra time, once again, Real Sociedad was the best team, but Llorens, the reserve Barcelona goalkeeper appeared to save his team. </span>This result forced a new replay.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEGkej5GVP0/TqNJka5668I/AAAAAAAAAHg/2IBTQU0uypQ/s1600/Final+Copa+1928-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEGkej5GVP0/TqNJka5668I/AAAAAAAAAHg/2IBTQU0uypQ/s640/Final+Copa+1928-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: italic;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p>Final Replay II</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: italic;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p>Spain had to play the Olympics at Amsterdam and the replay had to be postponed several weeks. The base of the Spanish team was mainly formed by Real Sociedad players (7 of them went to Amsterdam, Zaldua, Labarta, Aizkorreta, Bienzobas, Cholin, Mariscal and "Kiriki"), while no one of Barcelona traveled was called by the Spanish team, who had remarkable absences like Zamora or Samitier. As it happened in 1924, Spain failed to meet the good results of 1920 and the team had to go back home after the Quarter finals. Spain defeated Mexico in the first round (7-1), but once again was beaten by Italy, this time after a humilliating 7-1 in a replay. These Olympic matched postponed the <a href="http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/edition.html?edition=Barcelona&bd=30&bm=06&by=1928&ed=30&em=06&ey=1928">final</a> that was finally played at the end of June, almost two months after the first game between Barcelona and Real Sociedad.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p>It was played in El Sardinero too, this time in front of 16,000 fans. Since the first minute, Barcelona closed Real Sociedad in their own field and the attacks of the Catalans were very dangerous. In the minute 8, Samitier dribbled three players to shot to a corner of Real Sociedad's goal, unreachable for Izaguirre (1-0). Barcelona kept dominating the game and feeling more comfortable on the pitch, but only a few minutes later, Walter committed penalty on Marculeta and Zaldúa tied the game (1-1). This goal was just an anecdote as the continuous attacks of Barcelona proved and, in the minute 21, the <i>culé</i> Arocha takes advantage of an error of Jauregui, who did not stop an easy ball, to score the 2-1. Only 4 minutes later, in a long ball, Samitier fooled Jauregui with a movement without the ball, displacing the goalkeeper and Sastre scored the third for Barcelona. The rest of the first half was a lesson of football of Barcelona, although the result did not change.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/galeria/25/5/7/5/0/n_f_c_barcelona_la_historia-1160575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/galeria/25/5/7/5/0/n_f_c_barcelona_la_historia-1160575.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barcelona, Copa winner 1928</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">In the second half, Real Sociedad was decided to tie the game, but Barcelona changed their tactics to have a more defensive approach, which ended up being successful. Real Sociedad's attacks got constantly lost, while Barcelona kept the advantage. In the minute 65, the incidents of the first two games reappeared. Barcelona's Llorens got tackled by Real Sociedad's Mariscal and the goalie got helped by Carulla. Mariscal and Carulla ended up punching each other and, as a consquence, being sent off. Real Sociedad kept being the best team in the last minutes of the second half, but Barcelona resisted without too many problems. At the end, Barcelona won the match (3-1) and their 8th Copa title in history, the third in four years, showing up as the main power of the recent times. In the post game reactions, Cholín complained about the referee while the Catalan coach Romà Forns said that, "when football is played, Barcelona is the best team", suggesting bad manners in their rivals. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqyTFyV2GFA/TqNJ4Iy2hwI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Ij7t45ZZI9U/s1600/Final+Copa+1928-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqyTFyV2GFA/TqNJ4Iy2hwI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Ij7t45ZZI9U/s640/Final+Copa+1928-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<b>Summary of titles</b><br />
<br />
<i>Copa del Rey</i><br />
<br />
10 - Athletic Club (1902, 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923)<br />
8 - FC Barcelona (1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1928)<br />
5 - Real Madrid (1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917)<br />
4 - Real Unión Irún (1913, 1918, 1924, 1927)<br />
1 - Real Sociedad (1909)<br />
1 - Arenas Club (1919)</div></div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-70169445802425470122011-10-20T22:21:00.000+02:002011-10-20T22:21:40.791+02:00The Spanish youth on saleThe poor economic and financial situation of Spain, in general, and in football, in particular, are opening possibilities of business to vultures in search of opportunities. Since one month ago, an investment fund called Doyen Group (do not look for it in google, you will find absolutely nothing) has been reaching supposed sponsorship agreements with some clubs of Primera División, like Sporting, Getafe and Atlético Madrid, that seems to be extended to other clubs, like Espanyol or Sevilla in Primera División and Deportivo in Segunda, who also signed agreements with them. For now, these agreements are made for figures that go from 100,000 to 150,000 euros.<br />
<br />
Some sources claim that Doyen Group is an English fund with Portuguese capital, some other sources suggest that the Russian money is behind this strange fund. But what is the reality of this investment fund? It is evident that the intentions of Doyen Group go beyond the simple sponsorship agreement, after all they are not willing to sell or promote any product, service or event. Today, the Spanish newspaper <a href="http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/cantera/espanola/objetivo/inversor/elpepidep/20111020elpepidep_11/Tes">El País</a> explains the intentions of this fund.<br />
<br />
This fund wants to invest in the ownership of the rights of young talents. As it is well known, the South American market of young players is saturated of investment funds, scouts and agents, especially in the main "factories" of talent, Brazil and Argentina. But the success of Spain in football, not only in the first team of the national team, but also in the youth levels (Spain won the U-21 and U-19 Euro tournaments last summer, as no one else has achieved previously) has caught the attention of this fund. In recent times, Doyen Group has been scouting and analyzing the youth academies of several Spanish clubs and, convinced by the magnificent health and methods, has decided to invest in players, all of them under 24, who have potential to increase their market value in mid or short term.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nA18Xyq_KVQ/TpLrvl8x3YI/AAAAAAAABGA/XHGl3-C0ILE/s1600/publicidad+Doyen+%255BHDTV+%2528720%2529%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nA18Xyq_KVQ/TpLrvl8x3YI/AAAAAAAABGA/XHGl3-C0ILE/s320/publicidad+Doyen+%255BHDTV+%2528720%2529%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Doyen Group offers different possibilities in their offers and this flexibility seems convincing for several clubs who are needed of money in these times of crisis. The fund's offer for the "important" clubs is to give them the chance to count on established players who are out of reach for these clubs, given their poor financial state. At the same time, the more humble clubs are getting offers for the total ownership of their best young players with the chance to count on them until a transfer to a bigger club makes possible to make the business profitable for the fund, real owner of the rights of the player. In both cases, the percentage of participation in the ownership of the rights are open to negotiation. The fund also gives these clubs the chance to act like platforms, mainly in international movements. The fund loans them a player for a certain time in order to give the "asset" the possibility to show his talent in La Liga and raise his value for future transfers.<br />
<br />
For now, the clubs only admit sponsorship agreements, like Sporting, who already made an official statement on this defending the solvency of this fund, although admitting that this deal could be extended... without more explanations. Atlético Madrid, who also wear the name of the group in the sleeves of their shirt, has made official this agreement, which would also affect the rights on the elite boxes and the static banners of the stadium.<br />
<br />
What Doyen Group proposes is what is called the "Third Party Ownership". A legal formula that is accepted in countries like Turkey, Portugal or Spain (although it has never been used in the Spanish clubs), but forbidden in the Bundesliga or the English Premier League since 2007. The Spanish clubs see this agreement as a solution for these times of drought. But this is what we could label as "bread for today, hunger for tomorrow". As we claimed in previous occasions, the Spanish football needs to be reviewed from top to bottom. The league with the clubs with the most important international achievements must look for solutions that avoid the mortgage on its assets. What Doyen Group propose is to make La Liga a feeder league for richer European clubs. Even though it is true that these clubs are in truly need to find funds for today, they must never forget the future. To put the youth academies in the hands of this kind of funds only serves to anticipate future incomes, but it is unlikely that this anticipation makes the investment on youth academies more profitable in the long term.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20101227dasdaiftb_38/C280/Ies/campeones_mundo_historia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20101227dasdaiftb_38/C280/Ies/campeones_mundo_historia.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fernando Llorente in the youth level</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
As a consequence of these agreements, we would see several Primera División clubs acting as mere platforms or feeder clubs for the giants of football, going in the opposite direction of where they are supposed to go. A policy that would only make the gap between "big" and "humble" clubs bigger and bigger and, what it is even worse, cutting the connection of the club and its community, represented in the local talents, the most loved and respected players by the fans.<br />
<br />
The economic and financial problems of the clubs are serious, there is not doubts about it. But these times of crisis also require long term perspective. There are several ways to face this situation and La Liga, represented by the Liga de Fúbtol Profesional (LFP), must decide: do we want a top league or do we want to feed the Premiership and the Bundesliga with our best talents? Lion or mouse? It is sad to see that the Spanish youth is on sale. Seriously, where are we going?Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-39341972202708434742011-10-18T20:52:00.000+02:002011-10-18T20:52:11.759+02:00Levante UD, the pride of the outclassedValencia is located in the East coast of Spain, but it always was a city that gave its back to the sea. Valencia's comarca is called <i>L'Horta</i>, which means "market garden" or "fruit belt". This name reflects the reality of the city whose main industry was the agriculture in the fertile fields around the city. As a consequence of it, the market, the cathedral, the city council and the rest of important buildings and facilities were placed far from the sea. The agriculture gave the city most of the employments and the wealthy families were those who own lands. On the other hand, the fields that were located near the sea, which had less value due to the salt of the Mediterranean sea, was occupied for fishermen, a less wealthy class. These fishermen neighborhoods, located in the suburbs of the city, near the coast, are Cabanyal and Malvarrosa, initially independent towns and part of the city, as a consequence of the expansion during the 20th century.<br />
<br />
These fishermen neighborhoods, given their traditional independence, have their own personality and are the natural zone of influence of Levante UD, a club that appeared as a consequence of the union of FC Levante (previously Cabanyal FC) and Gimnástica (previously Universitario FC). On the other hand, Valencia FC (now Valencia CF) was founded in the centrical and historical zone of the city, in the bourgeoisie's natural zone, in the heart of the economic and political power of the city. These differences were essential in the early years of both clubs, since Valencia CF gathered the appreciation of the powers which provided them easier ways to fund the club and their centrality in the city gave them a bigger exposure. However, Levante was the club of the fishermen suburbs, the outclassed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iMIG0Ady8oU/TTkV6_FT6NI/AAAAAAAAAgc/LMzxj0lEYyk/s640/Playa+Las+arenas+1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iMIG0Ady8oU/TTkV6_FT6NI/AAAAAAAAAgc/LMzxj0lEYyk/s320/Playa+Las+arenas+1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Malvarrosa</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As a consequence of the bigger economic power of Valencia CF, the club was able to reach higher achievements in its history and, as a result, they were also able to gather the support of the majority of the city, the province and part of the region. On the other hand, being a Levante UD fan was a matter of pride. The pride of the forgotten areas near the sea.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, both clubs struggle economically, but there is an important difference. The crisis of Valencia is solved with the transfer of super-stars and a big dose of patience, but still keeping their elite status in the Spanish football. However, Levante UD belong to the extensive humble class of the Spanish football. The club has been under administration during the last decade, until their young and talented president Quico Catalán has been able to impose a rational economic structure while building a team with players that are in the last part of their careers, but still willing to show something.<br />
<br />
This perfect mix of experience and pride is giving its goods. Levante UD, the club with the lowest budget in Primera División, was able to keep their position in the cathegory last year. In this new season, if you look at the standings, you see the powerful FC Barcelona on top... sharing points with Levante UD, who are placed over Valencia CF in the standings in a historical event. It is just an anecdote. It is evident that it is a matter of time that Levante UD disappear from the top positions, but whenever they do it, they will already have a good collection of points that will probably be very important to reach their real goal: their permanence in Primera División.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbD_88E0ESo/TBYZ4l5IrpI/AAAAAAAAI4w/Am65eNBcb_o/s400/foto2446-------.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbD_88E0ESo/TBYZ4l5IrpI/AAAAAAAAI4w/Am65eNBcb_o/s320/foto2446-------.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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For now, this club of outclassed live in a dream. A historical victory on Mourinho's Real Madrid and a special privileged position in the top of La Liga after seven weeks of football are something that will be recalled in Malvarrosa and Cabanyal, these mistreated and forgotten neighborhoods of the coast. One day, they will wake up, but no one will ever make them forget the days they owned the city and shared La Liga with the historical Guardiola's Barcelona.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-47169685664640429752011-10-17T22:39:00.002+02:002011-10-17T22:39:59.223+02:00Sion Case: UEFA and FIFA collapseUEFA and FIFA, among other sport organizations like CIO, established their headquarters in Switzerland attracted by the special fiscal regime made for this kind of multinational organizations. From this Central European state, the most important football organizations have been managing the destiny of football, its federations and clubs, with an important degree of independence and, why not, impunity.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In the year 2003, Christian Constantin owns FC Sion and his way to drive his club could be labeled as peculiar. Since that year, the alarming amount of more than 20 coaches have gone through the bench of the club during his reign, including the own Constantin twice. Besides, Constantin is never afraid to speak his mind about his side’s performance or criticize managerial decisions. This particular way to drive the club crossed the borders of the institution and, in the same 2003, FC Sion, who were in the Prima Lega -the Swiss' third division- due to financial problems, were readmitted in the Challenge league, the second division, as a consequence of the resolution of a Swiss court.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/reuters/20110913/13/2117945777-file-photo-fc-sion-president-christian-constantin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/reuters/20110913/13/2117945777-file-photo-fc-sion-president-christian-constantin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian Constanti</td></tr>
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</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Since the Bosman case and, especially, in recent years, UEFA and FIFA have shown a clear opposition to the clubs or federations that, at some point, decided to solve football disputes in regular courts, out of their own tribunals or CAS in the worst of the cases. There are some examples of it. An example was the threat on the Spanish FA and their clubs, who were under threat of expulsion from the international competitions, when the Spanish government, given the corruption cases in the RFEF, wanted to impose elections in the Spanish FA. The threat was efficient and the Spanish government had to take a step backwards in their decision in order to allow Spain to play the Euro 2008 they ended up winning. Similar cases happened in Portugal or Greece, among other federations.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In February 2008, FC Sion signed the Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary from Al-Ahly, a power in the African football. Al-Ahly denounced the case to FIFA, considering that the signing was illegal. FIFA set a 900,000 euros fine and a two year transfer embargo. The brave Christian Constantine did not hesitate to keep signing players during this period though, although in the early 2010, CAS lowered the fine to 700,000 euros and revoked the embargo.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.intereconomia.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/ancho668/49383/cck_images/Michel-Platini-reelegido-p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://www.intereconomia.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/ancho668/49383/cck_images/Michel-Platini-reelegido-p.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Last summer, FC Sion granted their participation in the UEFA Europa League defeating Celtic FC in the previous round, but the Scottish club sued FC Sion for fielding six players that had been signed under the embargo. This denounced was accepted by UEFA, who eliminated FC Sion from the competition. The reaction of Christian Constantin was a denounce in the regular courts.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In September, the judge Hack, member of the Martingny court, accepted the denounce of FC Sion against UEFA and declared that this club had to be readmitted in the competition. The reaction of UEFA was to declare that they were not force to follow the dictates of a regular court. But in following dates, several tribunals confirmed the initial resolution and kept insisting that UEFA had to accept the readmission of FC Sion in the Europa League, while they also called the UEFA president, Michel Platini, to declare for the disobedience. The war of Christian Constantin on UEFA and FIFA does not stop there and, in a public letter sent to the Minister of Finances of Switzerland, exposed the fiscal benefits of these organizations, which only paid 3 million euros in taxes, while they would have paid nearly 180 million euros, if they had been under the general tax regime. A denounce that found echo in the socialist party and their militants, who also exposed the corruption in UEFA and FIFA, as the dark choices of Russia and Qatar for the following World Cups.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/match-centre/article642691.ece/ALTERNATES/gallery-large/blatter-fifa-qatar-chosen-2022-world-cup-cropped" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/match-centre/article642691.ece/ALTERNATES/gallery-large/blatter-fifa-qatar-chosen-2022-world-cup-cropped" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sepp Blatter</td></tr>
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">While the legal and social pressure grows on UEFA and FIFA, while the president Michel Platini has already visited the Swiss courts, the structures of football are shaking. This denounce puts under question all the current transfer and contract structure in an event whose consequences could go beyond the ones the Bosman ruling had. For now, UEFA already tries to find a solution to readmit FC Sion and proposed an automatic qualification to the Round of 32. But Christian Constantin seems decided to go until the end and the enormous breach made on the thick walls of UEFA and FIFA may have serious consequences, since FC Sion found a way to jump over the threats on clubs and federations to bomb these organizations and its structures from the inside. The future of football as we all know it is on the table.</span></span>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-57251025960932282712011-10-15T14:03:00.000+02:002011-10-15T14:03:47.963+02:00History of the Spanish football (VI): 1921-1925, Basque-Catalan dominance, the Real Madrid-Athletic Madrid rivalry and first steps of professionalismPrevious chapter: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/10/history-of-spanish-football-v-1916-1920.html">History of the Spanish football (V): 1916-1920, the Basque power, the Madrid-Barça rivalry and the "furia roja"</a></span><br />
<br />
The silver medal of Spain in Antwerp had an extraordinary effect on the game, whose popularity reached unknown levels. New, modern and bigger stadiums were built, like Les Corts, Sarrià, Stadium Metropolitano, Chamartín or Mestalla and others increased their size, like San Mamés in Bilbao. These years were times of domination of the Catalan and Basque football, since their clubs won all the Copa titles. In Madrid, the most important event was the rise of Athletic Madrid as main rival of Real Madrid, setting the base of an eternal rivalry. New regional tournaments appeared, the pressure of professionalism grew and the political powers started to make the first political interventions on the game.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>1920-1921</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
After the Olympic triumph, football gained more popularity among the Spanish fans and the attendances in the stadiums did not stop growing. But this good news went along with internal fights in the Spanish football.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1920-21_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol" style="font-style: italic;">Campionat de Catalunya</a>, FC Barcelona showed why they were the favorites to win the title. The team of Samitier, Zamora and Alcántara only lost one game in the whole tournament and won the title easily. In this edition, CE Europa appears as main rival of the Catalans, although not being a real threat. As main event, the relegation of FC España to the Catalan second division. With this relegation and the economic crisis of the club, FC España, who had been a power of the Catalan football in the previous decade, disappeared just a couple of years later.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1920-21">Madrid</a>, the King Alfonso XIII gave Madrid FC the "Real" title, so the club started to be called Real Madrid FC since then. But this historical date for the madridismo did not go along with the sport success and the team completes one of their worst seasons in a long time. As a consequence of it, the league was a fight between Racing Madrid and Athletic Madrid. The <i>colchoneros</i> ended up winning the title for the first time in their history and finally appearing as a powerful club in the capital of Spain. It was also remarkable the announcement of a new project: the construction of the Estadio Metropolitano, which was promoted by the real estate departments of the underground train company, which was supposed to be the home of all the teams of the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.realmadriddigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/escudo1921-2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.realmadriddigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/escudo1921-2.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madrid FC gets Real</td></tr>
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In the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html">Basque Country</a>, Athletic Club won the title in Bizkaia, showing the superiority of "Pichichi", Belauste, Acedo and the rest. At the same time, Real Unión Irún wins the title of Gipuzkoa in their fight with Real Sociedad.<br />
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The rest of regional champions were Sevilla FC in the Copa del Andalucía, Fortuna de Vigo in Galicia, SR Levante (from Murcia) in the Levante tournament and Sporting de Gijón in Asturias. All these winners got the ticket to play in the Copa del Rey.<br />
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This post-Olympics <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1921">Copa del Rey</a> edition had a sad incident that lowered the level of the competition. Initially, the RFEF gave the final to the city of Seville for the first time ever, but this decision was later revoked to change the venue of the final from Seville to San Mamés (Bilbao) under the <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1921/03/17/pagina-1/615678/pdf.html">protests</a> of the federations of Catalonia, Levante and Andalusia. These protests were not accepted by the RFEF and, as a consequence of it, the federation of clubs of Catalonia decided not to participate in the competition, which meant that the current champion and one of the main favorites to win the title, FC Barcelona, would not participate.<br />
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The first game of the Quarter finals were played in Galicia between Fortuna Vigo and Real Unión. In the first leg, the galegos surprised Real Unión and defeated the Basques easily (5-1). In the stadium of Amaute (Irún), the Basques were forced to win the game to force the replay. In the first half, the good football of Real Unión gave them a (2-0) lead at half time, but the galegos reacted in the second half with a goal that left the game open. Everything seemed closed with a third goal by Real Unión, but Fortuna were able to score the 3-2 with 10 minutes to go. At the end, the result did not change and everything had to be decided in a tie-breaker played in Madrid one week later. In the replay, the game started with the huge impulse of the galegos, who were able to take the lead in the scoreboard, but this domination was balanced by Real Unión in a penalty scored by René Petit before half time (1-1). In the second half, the game did not have a clear owner and, despite Real Unión took the advantage twice, Fortuna were able to tie the game in both occasions. But in the last moments of the game, in the minute 87, the stars of Real Unión met and René Petit gave an assist to the striker Patricio to score the final 4-3.<br />
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As a consequence of the protest of the Catalan federation, Athletic Madrid was exempt to play this round. In the other two games, there were two clear favorites who did not disappoint. Athletic Club defeated Sporting in both games, although they were more tight than it was predicted (2-1 and 0-1). At the same time, Sevilla FC were clearly superior to RC Levante and the sevillistas won the game at home (2-0) and in Murcia (0-3).<br />
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In the semifinals, Athletic and Sevilla had to face each other. Everything was a farce since the very beginning and these semifinals did not exist. In Seville, the decision of the RFEF to change the venue of the final from Seville to Bilbao was still criticized and the sevillistas gave automatically the pass to Athletic to the final. Both games were played, but they do not count as official games, because the sevillistas went to play to Madrid with some recent signings from Betis that were not allowed to play the competition. Surprisingly for everyone, Sevilla FC was very superior to Athletic winning one of the games (4-2) and drawing in the second one (1-1). The <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1921/192105/19210505/19210505_00000.pdf">press</a> (this time the one of Madrid) took advantage of the situation to keep criticizing the decision of the RFEF, especially, watching the high level of the sevillistas. The press of Madrid labeled the decision of the RFEF as meddling and applauded the Catalan federation for withdrawing from the competition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Ath_1921.JPG/800px-Ath_1921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Ath_1921.JPG/800px-Ath_1921.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic's lineup in 1921</td></tr>
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The other semifinal was for real. The <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1921/192104/19210421/19210421_00000.pdf#page8">first leg</a> was played in Amaute and Athletic Madrid surprised the Basques in a fantastic first half. The athleticos took a 0-2 lead before half time with both goals scored by Tudiri. The goal of Patricio for Real Unión in the second half was not enough and Athletic Madrid won the game (1-2). In the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1921/192104/19210428/19210428_00000.pdf#page8">second leg</a>, in the packed stadium of O'Donnell, Real Unión was a storm of football in the first half and the nerves of the situation betrayed the home team. Despite missing René Petit, the star of Real Unión, Patricio was unstoppable for Athletic Madrid and his two goals, one of them in a penalty, made the local fans fear the worst (0-2, half time). The second half was a totally different story. Athletic Madrid changed their style and started to play combinations on the ground. Still, the result did not change for 25 minutes. This is when Athletic Madrid was a hurricane and the veteran age of the Real Unión players had consequences. Olalquiaga scored the (1-2) for Athletic Madrid in a penalty and only a few minutes later missed another one. Despite this lost occasion, the athleticos were able to tie the game in a goal scored by Triana (2-2). In the last minutes of the game, Real Unión was a joke on the pitch and Triana scored two more goals, while Olalquiaga closed the historical beating on the Basques (5-2) in a magnificent second half. This was the first participation of Athletic Madrid in the Copa and they had reached the final.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dlBEXuhrKD4/TpX9waPPbpI/AAAAAAAAADI/-BOuYYwB4Bo/s1600/Copa+Rey+1921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dlBEXuhrKD4/TpX9waPPbpI/AAAAAAAAADI/-BOuYYwB4Bo/s640/Copa+Rey+1921.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1921/192105/19210512/19210512_00000.pdf#page=7">final </a>was played for the first and only chance in history in San Mamés (Bilbao). This final was an event in the Basque city and the stands of San Mamés were packed by 15,000 (other sources say 20,000!) local fans, while the supposed capacity of the stadium was 9,000. This final was also a special even, the rivals were Athletic Club de Bilbao, the father, and Athletic Club de Madrid, the son, since the team of Madrid was founded by Basque Athletic fans in the city of Madrid and was a feeder club of the Basque one for almost a decade. It was the first time they met in an official tournament ever. Athletic Club wore their red and white colors, while Athletic Madrid used their second uniform (blue and white).<br />
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In the early minutes, Athletic Club had the initiative of the game and Sabino Bilbao enjoyed the first chance of the game. In these early minutes, the local team was superior, although Athletic Madrid looked dangerous in the counters. When the match was about to reach half an hour, Pichichi connected with Acedo who passed the ball to Laca to score the first for the Basque team (1-0). Both teams kept enjoying chances, but it was Triana who balanced the game for the visitors (1-1) in a long distance shot. But the happiness of the away team was short, since a messy action inside their box was awarded with a penalty for Athletic Club by the referee Berraondo. Acedo scored the penalty for the 2-1 at half time.<br />
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In the early minutes of the second half, the visitors looked affected by the result, but Athletic Club did not took advantage of it. Soon, Athletic Madrid reacted and, when they were enjoying their best minutes, Acedo kicked the ball from out of the box to score the decisive 3-1 for the locals in the minute 68. This goal was a shock for the visitors and this time Athletic did not miss their chance to close the game. Only 5 minutes later, after two shots to the posts by Allende and "Pichichi", the ball fell in Laca's first for the fourth goal of the Basques. The rest of the game had no story and Athletic won their 9th Copa title in their history.<br />
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This title was celebrated by thousands of Athletic Club fans in the streets of Bilbao until really late at night, but the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1921/192105/19210512/19210512_00000.pdf#page=7">press</a> did not miss the chance to make some ironies with the polemic events, recalling the name of Sevilla FC the day after.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cp4RnxkrB4/TpYDNPOnVYI/AAAAAAAAADQ/-9Vz8Ie4Qgg/s1600/Final+Copa+1921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cp4RnxkrB4/TpYDNPOnVYI/AAAAAAAAADQ/-9Vz8Ie4Qgg/s640/Final+Copa+1921.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
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This game was also the last one of the mythical "<a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/09/pichichi-myth.html">Pichichi</a>" (click to read about his story). The legendary Athletic player was not in his best moments and, despite he was just 29, he decided to retire as a consequence of the constant criticism of the local crowd. Only one year later, "Pichichi" died as due to the typhus illness he suffered to become an icon of the Basque and Spanish football. Athletic placed a bust in the VIP box of San Mamés and, still nowadays, any club that visits the stadium for the first time leaves a bouquet of flowers in it.<br />
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<b>1921-1922</b><br />
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With the new season, the Spanish football returned to peaceful manners, closing the polemics of the previous edition. As always, the winners of the regional tournaments were the teams that had the right to play the Copa del Rey. This time, the RFEF chose the <i>Estadio de Coia</i> in Vigo to host the final of the tournament.<br />
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In <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1921-22_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Catalonia</a>, the rise and rise of FC Barcelona did not seem to see the end. The powerful Catalan squad was the big favorite and the results ended up confirming the predictions. The blaugranas won the league, winning 9 of the 10 games, only drawing one. Besides, it was a very important year for the club, who started the construction of their new stadium, Les Corts. The attractive football of the <i>culés</i> used to pack their stadium in La Industria and the club considered it was necessary to build a bigger stadium. At the same time, their biggest rivals, RCD Español were struggling to survive due to the economic crisis of the club and the departure of some players, who were drafted to go to war in Morocco. The españolista president Genaro De la Riva saves the club with his new policies, which include the construction of a new stadium in Sarrià. The crisis of Español is evident and the team lost 10-0 and 0-9 in their clashes against FC Barcelona.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1921-22">Madrid</a>, there was an internal crisis in the regional federation, which caused the delay in the beginning of the competition. The league was a close fight between Real Madrid and Athletic Madrid. The tournament was decided in the final clash between madridistas and athleticos, won by the <i>merengues</i> in their visit to Athletic Madrid's home with one game to go.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html">Euskadi</a>, Athletic closed a page of their history, with the retirement and posterior death of "Pichichi" and the decline of players like Belauste or Acedo, the team needs a transformation. This transition time in Athletic made the tournament fall in the hands of Arenas Club, who recovered the regional crown three years later. At the same time, in the province of Guipuzkoa, the Real Unión of Petit, Patricio, Emery and Gamborena keeps dominating the league over Real Sociedad.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://realunion.incondicionales.com/media/galeria/0/0/5/4/5/3/n_real_union_de_irun_patricio_arabolaza-23545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://realunion.incondicionales.com/media/galeria/0/0/5/4/5/3/n_real_union_de_irun_patricio_arabolaza-23545.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Unión's Patricio Arabolaza</td></tr>
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The remaining regional tournaments had some classic winners, like Sevilla FC, Fortuna de Vigo, Sporting Gijón and a new champion in Levante, the Español FC de Valencia.<br />
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In the Quarter finals of the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1922">Copa del Rey</a>, the most important clash was the one of Arenas Club and Real Madrid, who saw each other's faces again in this competition. In the first leg, played in Getxo, Arenas Club was very superior as the final 4-0 shows. In the second leg, played in O'Donnell, Real Madrid imposed the home factor to force the replay with a clear 5-2. At the end, both teams had to play three replays. The two first tie-breakers ended up with a 1-1 result, but the third was easily won by Real Madrid (3-0) who got the ticket to the semifinals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/wiki/25/1/2/5/5/t_20080717183826_Zamora_zamora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.blaugranas.com/media/wiki/25/1/2/5/5/t_20080717183826_Zamora_zamora.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona's Ricardo Zamora</td></tr>
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Another interesting clash was the FC Barcelona-Sevilla FC. In the previous edition of the tournament, Sevilla FC showed a good image and there was interest to see the sevillistas against the stars of Barcelona. In the first leg, played in the Estadio Reina Victoria in Seville, was balanced but the barcelonistas ended up winning the game (0-1). However, the Catalans showed no mercy in the second leg, destroying the sevillistas with a clear 7-1. The other two Quarter final clashes had a similar outcome. Real Unión crushed Fortuna de Vigo (4-0, 0-5), leaving the host city of the final without their team in the competition. At the same time, Sporting Gijón showed their superiority over the still developing Valencian football. Sporting clearly beated Español de Valencia (6-0, 0-7).<br />
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In the semifinals, the most interesting clash was the one of Real Unión and Real Madrid. Without a clear favorite, Real Unión visited Real Madrid's O'Donnell. The game was tight and the madridistas won the first game with a short 2-1. In the return leg, Real Unión was very superior and the madridistas had no option (4-1). It was necessary to play a replay, which was hosted in San Sebastián. This time the madridistas could not make it to the so wished final and Real Unión were clearly superior (4-0). Four years later, Real Unión was in a Copa final.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9LIiF5iXH8/TpYdiUpq33I/AAAAAAAAADY/Zbzlgdo-i1I/s1600/Copa+Rey+1922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_9LIiF5iXH8/TpYdiUpq33I/AAAAAAAAADY/Zbzlgdo-i1I/s640/Copa+Rey+1922.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1922/05/15/pagina-1/1394664/pdf.html">final</a> was played in the <i>Estadio de Coia</i> in Vigo, gathering 12,000 fans in the stands. Before the game, there was a favorite, FC Barcelona, but the challengers of Real Unión claimed that, given that the match was in neutral ground, they would have their chances. The Catalans were the favorites, given their amazing record of victories, based on the safety of Ricardo Zamora as goalkeeper, the natural talent of Josep Samitier and Sancho in midfield and the attacking power of Paulino Alcántara and the young Sagi-Barba, who had successfully replaced Sesúmaga. In Real Unión, the main weapons were the famous striker Patricio, the veteran quality midfielder René Petit and the solid young defender Patxi Gamborena.<br />
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In the early minutes of the first half, Real Unión planned a high intensity game that surprised the blaugranas. The Basque team were able to dominate the match, while the favorites looked nervous and unable to control the game. But when this initial impulse got reduced, the Catalan midfielder Torralba found a hole in the defense of Real Unión to score the first for Barcelona in the minute 22. The goal of Barcelona had its reaction in Real Unión, who looked for the draw. Only 8 minutes after the Catalan goal, Real Unión enjoyed a corner kick, which was headed by Patricio to the net to draw the game (1-1). After this goal, Real Unión kept proving Zamora, who saved Barcelona in this stage. But, once more, after a corner kick, Josep Samitier advanced the Catalans again (2-1). This goal made Real Unión feel anxious and their attacks were clumsy and inefficient. Right before half time, Paulino Alcántara dribbled several players and connected a shot that surpassed the Basque goalie Muguruza to score the third goal of the blaugranas. The 3-1 was the result at half time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_x9FINEvUcEc/R9eDYjjiQTI/AAAAAAAAATY/Kdc20MxMEVg/s400/sami-bio.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_x9FINEvUcEc/R9eDYjjiQTI/AAAAAAAAATY/Kdc20MxMEVg/s400/sami-bio.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josep Samitier</td></tr>
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In the second half, Real Unión knew about the difficulties to overcome the result, but they gave everything to do it. However, the good attacks of the Basques and the difficulties of Barcelona to control the game did not change the result. Ricardo Zamora emerged as the star he was considered to stop Real Union's chances again and again. When the game was about to finish, with 8 minutes to go, Patricio was able to dribble the barcelonista Martínez-Surroca and the defender ended up tackling the Basque to stop the attack of Real Unión. Patricio reacted punching Martínez-Surroca and this event causes a massive brawl and the invasion of the pitch by the fans. The Basques asked for the expulsion of Martínez-Surroca for the tackle, but the French referee Balway (who had replaced Bertrán de Lis as a request of both teams) rejects to send off the Catalan. The irundarras decided to leave the pitch in a mix of anger for the action and frustration for the result. After 15 minutes of discussions, Real Unión returned to the pitch, but they had lost the concentration. In the last 7 minutes, Barcelona score two more goals (85' Gràcia and 90' Alcántara) to round the 5-1 beating.<br />
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Zamora and Patricio were considered the best players of the final. The goalkeeper saved his team in their worst moments and was essential to keep the advantage in many occasions. Patricio, the Real Unión striker, was the best Basque player on the pitch, who missed the football of a dark Petit. The post-final had some sad events, when some Real Unión fans appeared in the celebration of Barcelona to insult the players, which caused the intervention of the police. In one way or another, FC Barcelona had won their 5th Copa title and was probably enjoying one of their best teams ever.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxUNDhrV_LA/TpYd-5XFWHI/AAAAAAAAADg/C0YwMHfSTY8/s1600/Final+Copa+1922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MxUNDhrV_LA/TpYd-5XFWHI/AAAAAAAAADg/C0YwMHfSTY8/s640/Final+Copa+1922.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingasport.com</td></tr>
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<b>1922-1923</b><br />
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The pressure of professionalism was growing. Football still was an amateur sport, but it was a growing business for the clubs, which started to collect high amounts of money via tickets, while the newspapers filled their football pages with advertisements. The debate grew when Ricardo Zamora requested a contract to FC Barcelona, which was denied by Hans Gamper. As a consequence of it, the Español president De la Riva offered a 20,000 pesetas (120 euros) per year contract to the goalkeeper, a very relevant figure back in those times. The RFEF and the Catalan federation reacted and banned Ricardo Zamora during a one year period for breaking his contract without the permission of FC Barcelona. This event raised the debate about professionalism, which was adopted just a few years later.<br />
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This event has its consequences in the <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1922-23_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a>.</i> The departure of Ricardo Zamora plus the problems of Sancho and Alcántara to appear in the lineups due to injuries or personal problems had a very negative effect on FC Barcelona. Still the blaugranas fought for the title with their main rival those years, CE Europa. Both teams tied in points after a fantastic season by both sides, but CE Europa won the tie-breaker played in Girona. It was the first and only title of CE Europa in their history, driven by the historical coach Ralph Kirby. This failure made the legendary coach Jack Greenwell resign from his position as coach. Not everything was sad for FC Barcelona, who opened their new stadium, Les Corts, in the summer of 1922, with an initial capacity for 30,000 fans, although the construction did not finish until 1926, reaching a 45,000 fan capacity. Already this season, many Catalan clubs used to rent Les Corts in order to collect more money via tickets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://masliga.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/lescorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://masliga.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/lescorts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Les Corts</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>At the same time, in RCD Español, Genaro De la Riva kept trying to save the club with important investments for the future of the club. Aside the already mentioned signing of Ricardo Zamora, the club approved the construction of a 40,000 capacity stadium, Sarrià. Sadly for the club, during the construction process, the company that was supposed to build the stadium broke and Sarrià opened during the season with a short capacity for 10,000 spectators. Despite the 3rd position of Español in the regional tournament (very far from Europa and Barcelona), the club realize that they collect more money with the unofficial and friendly games of Ricardo Zamora than with the official ones.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a8eVRqh9Z_o/TZOCnFyOACI/AAAAAAAAAME/0oTt4FjQIxE/s1600/Espanyol240311b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a8eVRqh9Z_o/TZOCnFyOACI/AAAAAAAAAME/0oTt4FjQIxE/s400/Espanyol240311b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RCD Español's new home, Sarrià in 1923</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There were also good news in Madrid. The real estate department of the underground train company finished the construction of Stadium Metropolitano, with an initial capacity for 25,000 fans, although it was not officially used until the following season. The initial idea was to build a stadium for all the clubs of Madrid, an idea that was accepted by Athletic Madrid, Gimnástica and Racing Madrid. However, Real Madrid decline the invitation since the club decided to build their own stadium. The madridistas bought lands in Chamartín de la Rosa, back then a town in the North of the city (nowadays a district of the city), where the new stadium would be located one year later.<br />
<br />
When it comes to the regional <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1922-23">tournament</a>, Real Madrid kept their crown one more year. The athleticos paid their bad results in the early games of the competition and the madridistas recovered the crown in the regional tournament.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/3219/juanjo195rq2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/3219/juanjo195rq2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stadium Metropolitano </td></tr>
</tbody></table>In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html">Euskadi</a>, Athletic celebrated their 25th anniversary recovering the regional tournament and confirming their superiority in this level. This triumph was also based on the signing of a new coach, the Englishman Frederick Pentland, the man in the bowler hat, to replace the legendary coach Billy Barnes. Pentland had been an international English player, who started his career as coach with Germany in the previous decade. In 1920, he had also managed the French NT that reached the semifinals in the Olympic Games of Antwerp. After the Olympics, he had signed for Racing Santander, a rival in the regional tournament. Pentland introduced a new style in Athletic, less physical and more technical, with more ground football. Pentland still is the coach with more titles in the history of Athletic. At the same time, in Gipuzkoa, Real Sociedad finished with the 3 consecutive title run of Real Unión in a surprising result.<br />
<br />
The rest of regional winners were Sevilla FC in the Copa del Andalucía, Sporting Gijón in Asturias, Real Vigo SC in Galicia and Valencia FC in Levante, the first official title of the <i>ché</i> club. Valencia FC had been founded in the year 1919 in the Bar Torino. The club was founded as a tribute to a football player of the already disappeared Español de Valencia. At that time, there were five clubs in the metropolitan area: Gimnástico, Levante FC (these two clubs, which were located near the harbor, in mariner areas, ended up merging to create Levante UD), Sangunto and Valencia FC. This title was the first of a Valencian team in the Levante tournament, which also gathered clubs from Castellón, Alicante and Murcia. The fame the club got with this title and the support of the middle class allowed them to build a new stadium, according to their new size: Mestalla.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ceroacero.es/img/estadios/008/9008_ori_mestalla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://www.ceroacero.es/img/estadios/008/9008_ori_mestalla.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mestalla</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1923">Copa del Rey</a> was played by all the regional champions, except the winners of the recently created tournaments of Aragón, won by Iberia SD, and Cantabria, won by Patrick O'Connell's Racing Santander, since they had not been officially recognized yet. The RFEF chose Barcelona as venue of the final and the modern stadium of FC Barcelona, Les Corts, to host it.<br />
<br />
The luck of the draw made two giants meet in the first round: Real Madrid and Athletic Club. The madridistas were a team in growth, but they were not the team they had been in the previous decades. On the other hand, the arrival of Fred Pentland was an impulse for a renovated Athletic. The Basques demonstrated their superiority at Madrid's home, winning with a clear 1-3. The second leg was much easier for Athletic, who did not have any problems to beat Real Madrid (5-0).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://spain-football.culturespain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MR-PENTLAND-THE-MAN-IN-THE-BOWLER-HAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://spain-football.culturespain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MR-PENTLAND-THE-MAN-IN-THE-BOWLER-HAT.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Pentland with Belauste and Iraragorri</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
It was also interesting to see the debut of CE Europa in the competition against Sevilla FC. CE Europa had defeated the title holders, FC Barcelona, in the regional tournament and they showed why they did. The Catalans crushed Sevilla in Barcelona with an easy 4-0 and got the ticket to the semis winning away too (1-2).<br />
<br />
In the other two clashes, Real Sociedad was superior to Sporting Vigo. The Basques lost in Vigo (3-1), but were able to force the replay in the 2nd leg (3-0). The tie-breaker, also played in San Sebastián, was won by the local team too (4-1). The debut of Valencia FC in the competition was good and the Valencians defeated Sporting under the rain at home (1-0). However, Sporting was way superior in Asturias, showing their bigger football tradition (6-1). The replay was played in Oviedo and Sporting eliminated Valencia thanks to the 2-0 result.<br />
<br />
In the semis, there was a Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Athletic Club for a place in the final of Barcelona. In Atotxa, the game was tight, but the result did not change in the entire 90 minutes of the match. In San Mamés, the local team was superior and Athletic reached another final, the second in a row. In the second semifinal, CE Europa had to sweat to defeat Sporting Gijón at home (3-2), but the Catalans confirmed the superiority of their football over the Asturians, also winning away (1-2).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyeL7gdKQvA/TphTvg5gtXI/AAAAAAAAADo/FWZsocrT8pk/s1600/Copa+Rey+1923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyeL7gdKQvA/TphTvg5gtXI/AAAAAAAAADo/FWZsocrT8pk/s640/Copa+Rey+1923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1923/05/14/pagina-1/606969/pdf.html">final</a> was played the pack stadium of Les Corts in Barcelona. 30,000 fans, mostly CE Europa supporters, beat a record of attendance in a Copa final. At this point of history, a final between the Basque and Catalan champions only reflected the superiority of football in the country. In the early minutes, the game had a great intensity by both sides, although the Europa striker, Manuel Cros, enjoyed the best chance of these minutes. While the game advanced, the intensity decreased and, in the minute 37, the Athletic forward, "Travieso", took advantage of a huge defensive error of the Europa players Vidal and Atisús, to steal the ball, face the Europa goalie and score the first for Athletic (0-1). This was the result at half time.<br />
<br />
In the second half, the new goalkeeper of Athletic, the 22 years old Arturo Vidal, raised as the star of the Basques. CE Europa was a storm on Athletic's goal and the Catalans enjoyed lots of chances to score the tie. In some occasions, the bad luck and, in some others, Vidal stopped the brilliant attack of CE Europa, led by Manuel Cros. Despite the clear superiority on the pitch, CE Europa was unable to find the way to score their goal, while Athletic looked dangerous in the counter with Germán. At the end, the 0-1 was the final result, which gave Athletic their 10th Copa title and Arturo Vidal a place in history. This was the first title of Fred Pentland with Athletic. Also Félix Sesúmaga, who had joined Athletic after a short stage in Cantabria, was the first player to win 3 Copa titles in 3 different teams.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Q4l8Gz9yZw/TphZneUop4I/AAAAAAAAADw/CoNgODQH3nE/s1600/Final+Copa+1923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Q4l8Gz9yZw/TphZneUop4I/AAAAAAAAADw/CoNgODQH3nE/s640/Final+Copa+1923.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<b>1923-1924</b><br />
<br />
In the autumn of 1923, as a consequence of a political crisis related with the economic problems of the Spain and the war in the colonies in the North of Morocco, the aristocrat and military official Primo de Rivera makes a coup d'etat against the weak liberal democracy with the support of the King of Spain Alfonso XIII, army, the Catholic Church, the industrial middle-class and diverse conservative elements and established a military dictatorship which had influences of the Italian fascism, with a unique party, suspending the activities of anarchist and working-class parties and unions and setting a centralist state, cancelling the administrative government of Catalonia. This state of political crisis ended up having its effects in football too.<br />
<br />
In the <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1923-24_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a>, </i>after the long stage of Jack Greenwell in FC Barcelona, the Hungarian coach of Krakow, Jesza Poszony, who had won the Polish league in 1921 with his previous team, takes the direction of the team. At the same time, the also Hungarian Franz Platko signs for the team after a friendly game between the Catalans and MTK. FC Barcelona crushed all their rivals and recovered the Catalan crown, winning all the games of the league. The previous winners and Copa runner-ups CE Europa ended up in second position, while RCD Español was 3rd, more distracted in their friendly tours showing the legendary Ricardo Zamora than focusing in the official games.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1923-24">Madrid</a>, there was also a clear champion that did not find any opposition: Juanito Cárcer's Real Madrid CF, who also remained unbeaten in all the league games. It was also the year of the opening of the Estadio de Chamartín. Real Madrid CF did not want to join the rest of the clubs of Madrid in the Metropolitano and ended up building their own stadium in the North of Madrid. In the league, from distance, Gimnástica was the runner-up, while Athletic Madrid was 3rd. The president Julián Ruete, who had achieved the first title for the club, left the presidency.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eeA8zhYpuNM/TVNWGJYcoDI/AAAAAAAAANY/mwoi6ecyQGU/s1600/viejo+estadio+chamartin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eeA8zhYpuNM/TVNWGJYcoDI/AAAAAAAAANY/mwoi6ecyQGU/s400/viejo+estadio+chamartin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Madrid's Estadio de Chamartín</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html">Euskadi</a>, Fred Pentland's Athletic keeps making history with another title in Bizkaia. In Guipuzcoa, Real Unión de Irún won the title again, showing that the defeat of the previous year was just an anecdote in their dominance during this period of time.<br />
<br />
In the rest of regional tournaments the winners and participants of the following Copa del Rey were: RC Celta Vigo (club created when Fortuna Vigo and Sporting Vigo, the two giants of the city, merged) in Galicia; Real Sporting Gijón in Asturias; Sevilla FC in the Copa de Andalucía; CN Alicante in Levante; Racing Santander in Cantabria; and RSA Stadium Zaragoza in Aragón.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Real_Union_1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Real_Union_1924.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Unión in the Copa final 1924</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In this edition, the RFEF chose San Sebastián to play the final, in Real Sociedad's home: Atotxa. As a consequence of the appearance of two new regional winners, the format had to change to introduce a previous round with the clubs who made their debut and two "veterans". In this previous round, the veterans won easily. FC Barcelona crushed RSA Stadium in both games (8-1 in Barcelona, 0-9 in Zaragoza), while Sporting Gijón also defeated Racing Santander (7-0 in Gijón, 2-3 in Santander).<br />
<br />
In the Quarter finals, the supremacy of the Basque, Catalan and Madrid teams was evident. Real Madrid did not have any problem to defeat the representative of the Levante regional tournament, CN Alicante, winning both games, 4-0 in Madrid and 2-3 in Alicante. At the same time, Real Unión tied in the first leg played at Sevilla FC's home (1-1) to impose their superiority in Amaute (2-0). In a similar way, the current champions, Athletic Club achieved a draw in Vigo against Celta (1-1) to get their ticket to the semifinals at home (6-1). Finally, FC Barcelona had more problems to defeat Sporting Gijón. The Catalans won their game at home (2-0) to be defeated in Gijón (2-0) in the second leg. The replay was played in neutral ground, in Madrid. This time, Sporting retired from the game after the 3rd goal of the Catalans (the result was 3-1 for FC Barcelona when it was abandoned by Sporting), complaining about the performance of the referee.<br />
<br />
In the semifinals, all the four favorites met. In both cases, the replay was needed. In the first semifinal, Athletic showed their strength at home, defeating the madridistas with a clear 3-1. But the madridistas responded in their new stadium Chamartín with the same result (3-1). The tie-breaker was played in Madrid too and the madridistas were able to defeat the giant Athletic with a tight 1-0, getting their place in a Copa final for the first time since 1918.<br />
<br />
The second semifinal started with the vist of Barcelona to Amaute. The Basque team were superior at home, getting the advantage in this first leg (1-0). In Les Corts, FC Barcelona was superior though, winning 2-0 and forcing the replay. This last game was played in Atotxa (San Sebastián) and broke the supposed balanced results of the semifinals. Real Unión humilliated FC Barcelona with a fantastic 6-1. This result was a shock for the <i>culés</i> and lots of <i>socis</i> (members) sent letters of anger to the club to fire the players "who did not fight". At the end of the season, Hans Gamper returns to the presidency of the club for the 25th anniversary of the club.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDM4tuJHw7E/Tph2goyc_zI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ovp18VaBepY/s1600/Copa+Rey+1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDM4tuJHw7E/Tph2goyc_zI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ovp18VaBepY/s640/Copa+Rey+1924.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1924/05/05/pagina-1/606091/pdf.html">final</a> was played in the stadium of Atotxa in San Sebastián, very near Irún, the town in the border with France and Real Unión's home. As a consequence of it, thousands of <i>irundarras</i> travel to the capital of Gipuzkoa to support their team. The expectation is high and the small stadium of San Sebastián shows to be too little for the event. Despite their prestige, Real Unión and Real Madrid were not labeled as favorites to win the competition, but they were the executors of Barcelona and Athletic respectively.<br />
<br />
The game was brilliant in the first half, without a clear owner, both teams enjoyed several chances to take the lead. In this way, in the minute 10, Juan Errazquin (Real Unión) is denied a goal since he was in offside position. Real Madrid responded with a clear chance missed by Monjardín. In these minutes, Real Unión's football is more physical and powerful, while Real Madrid tried with more combinations. In the last 15 minutes of the first half, Real Madrid's attacks start to be continuous, although the defense of Real Unión, formed by Berges and Eguiazabal, who couted with the help of René Petit and Gamborena, was efficient in their task. The game reached the half time with the 0-0 in the scoreboard, although the press suggested that Real Unión suffered to keep this result, something they did due to their great attitude, while Madrid excelled in the technical aspect.<br />
<br />
In the first minutes of the second half, everything seemed to follow a similar path, but it was an anecdote. The brilliant midfielder (and former madridista) René Petit started to appear in the game and Real Unión started to dominate the game. This domination only grew and the madridista goalie Candido Martínez saved his team in this part of the game. And it was in the minute 13, when Juan Echeveste found a hole in the defense of Real Madrid faced and dribbled the goalie to push the ball into the net. It was 1-0 for Real Unión, a goal which was extraordinarily celebrated in the stands of Atotxa, full of <i>irundarras</i>. This goal made react Real Madrid for some minutes, but Real Unión kept dominating the game with a giant René Petit in midfield and a good collective effort to eclipse a hopeless Real Madrid. The madridistas never found their best football in the second half of the game and regretted the missed chances in the first half. The final result was the 1-0 and Real Unión won their 3rd Copa title.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXXZ7wDoQTc/TplIyinYzbI/AAAAAAAAAEA/hBMrBFaAA-o/s1600/Final+Copa+1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXXZ7wDoQTc/TplIyinYzbI/AAAAAAAAAEA/hBMrBFaAA-o/s640/Final+Copa+1924.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Olympic Games 1924 - Paris</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
After the silver medal in Paris, there was some expectation to see the performance in the Olympic Games held in Paris. At that time, the World Cup did not exist yet and this tournament was the most important international competition. However, the Spanish team did not show a good level and they were eliminated by Italy in the first round of the competition. The game was played in Colombes, the Olympic stadium, and Spain played with one man less since the minute 54, when Larraza was sent off. An own goal scored by Vallana in the minute 87, costed Spain the elimination.<br />
<br />
The gold medal was for Uruguay, who showed an extraordinary superiority during all the tournament. Players like Petrone, Scarone, Cea or Romano got fame thanks to their performance in the Olympics. The silver medal was for Switzerland, while the bronze medal went to Sweden.<br />
<br />
<b>1924-1925</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
In this new season, the Spanish football continued in expansion. New regional tournaments and a record of participation in the Copa del Rey. The game was a very popular game and the new stadiums were a reflection of the good health of sport in general.<br />
<br />
In the <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1924-25_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a>, </i>after some years of easy domination of FC Barcelona, Ricardo Zamora's RCD Español presented some serious opposition. Since the very first moment the fight was very tight and the main example of it were the sad incidents in Les Corts, on November 23, 1924. In the derby, at some point of the first half, Saprissa, an Español defended, hit Alcántara with violence (lost a teeth) and the consequence of it was a massive brawl, where Josep Samitier ended up punching Caicedo too. The Basque referee Pelayo Serrano sent off Samitier and the angry local fans started to throw coins to the pitch (this is why this derby was known as the <i>La Calderilla, </i>The coins derby). Given the violence in the pitch and the stands of Les Corts, the referee decides to suspend the match and both clubs used the press to attack and blame the other side. If the relationships between both clubs was quite tense, this event only got things worse. The Catalan federation decided to postpone the game to January, but in closed doors. Before that game, the <i>culé</i> coach Jesza Poszony leaves the club missing his native Hungary, where he signed for Ujpest. As a consequence of it, FC Barcelona signed CE Europa's coach, Ralph Kirby. In the doors closed derby played in Les Corts, RCD Español defeats FC Barcelona at home, but despite this result the blaugranas could overcome the problems to end up winning yet another regional title. In this season, FC Barcelona celebrated their 25th anniversary.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5448/saprissa17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5448/saprissa17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona-RCD Español in 1924: El derbi de la Calderilla</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1924-25" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Madrid</a>, Athletic Madrid already was the main rival of Real Madrid in the city, in a growing rivalry. The <i>colchoneros</i>, thanks to their new president Juan de Estefanía, were able to get the use of the Stadium Metropolitano in exclusive and this stadium became their home for decades. The athleticos were very superior in the league and Real Madrid could not be a rival for them. Athletic Madrid won their 2nd regional tournament, confirming their new powerful status and getting a place in the Copa del Rey.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/1925_segundo_campeonato_regional.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/1925_segundo_campeonato_regional.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic Madrid in the 1924/1925 season</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Regional_de_Vizcaya">Euskadi</a>, Arenas Club won their 4th regional title and assured the participation in the Copa del Rey over Pentland's Athletic, still in building process. In Gipuzkoa, Real Sociedad and Real Unión continued with their eternal battle, but this time Real Sociedad won the tournament and Real Unión could not defend their title in the Copa del Rey.<br />
<br />
The rest of champions in their regional tournaments were RC Celta Vigo in Galicia, Sevilla FC in the Copa de Andalucía, RSC Ovetense in Asturias, breaking the 8 title run of Sporting Gijón; Valencia FC in the Valencian regional tournament (now without clubs from Murcia), Racing Santander in Cantabria, RSA Stadium Zaragoza in Aragón and CD Español of Valladolid in the new tournament of Castilla-León. Also Real Murcia won the regional tournament of Murcia, but this competition had not been recognized by the RFEF yet and this club could not participate in the Copa del Rey.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1925">Copa del Rey</a>, the growth in participants, a record for the tournament, forced the RFEF to change the knock-out format of the competition. The new system divided the 11 participant clubs in 4 different groups (3 of them with 3 teams and 1 of them with only 2) in a league system of two rounds. Then the winners of each group would get their place in the semifinals.<br />
<br />
The teams in the Group I were FC Barcelona, as main favorite, Valencia FC and RSA Stadium Zaragoza. The blaugranas were very superior in their group, as it was predicted, and they did not have problems to advance to the semifinals. The decisive games were played between <i>culés</i> and <i>chés</i>, and the blaugranas showed their superiority in Les Corts and achieved a decisive draw in Mestalla to confirm their position. As it was expected RSA Stadium were too weak.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0Ts2-Cm8VM/TplbQ7JRHwI/AAAAAAAAAEI/imB_rIA5TYQ/s1600/Copa+del+Rey+1925-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K0Ts2-Cm8VM/TplbQ7JRHwI/AAAAAAAAAEI/imB_rIA5TYQ/s320/Copa+del+Rey+1925-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Group II was only formed by Athletic Madrid and Sevilla FC, so it was in fact a two leg clash between them. Each team imposed the home factor in order to beat the rival and it was necessary to play a tie-breaker in neutral ground, in Valencia. In Mestalla, Athletic Madrid suffered to beat Sevilla (3-2), but advanced to the semifinals.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0krLe93RWI8/Tplceq44YfI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/T2Sxj0Y3ROE/s1600/Copa+del+Rey+1925-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0krLe93RWI8/Tplceq44YfI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/T2Sxj0Y3ROE/s320/Copa+del+Rey+1925-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingusport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The most balanced and attractive on paper: Arenas Club, Real Sociedad and Patrick O'Connell's Racing Santander. The games confirmed that this group was going to be a battle between the clubs of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. There were lots of draws in this group, but in the decisive moments, Arenas Club was the most efficient team. In a game that was a final of Arenas, the team of Getxo survived to the group defeating Real Sociedad without options in the group. Everything had to be decided between Racing Santander and Arenas Club in Santander, in what it was a perfect scenario for the team of Santander. Despite the surprise was near, O'Connell's team failed to win at home and the point of the draw was enough for Arenas Club to advance.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bkOmgROwQuE/TpleCC7uEgI/AAAAAAAAAEY/Q0jpeCfJ6Dw/s1600/Copa+del+Rey+1925-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bkOmgROwQuE/TpleCC7uEgI/AAAAAAAAAEY/Q0jpeCfJ6Dw/s320/Copa+del+Rey+1925-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the Group IV, RC Celta Vigo did not have a rival and rolled over their two weak rivals, RSC Ovetense and CD Español of Valladolid, winning every single game they played and reaching the semifinals of the competition.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdjOKhsBN2M/TplfjCd5BBI/AAAAAAAAAEg/AlrKtMPQ9Zw/s1600/Copa+del+Rey+1925-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cdjOKhsBN2M/TplfjCd5BBI/AAAAAAAAAEg/AlrKtMPQ9Zw/s320/Copa+del+Rey+1925-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the semifinals, the champions of Catalonia and Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Madrid, met in the competition. In the first leg, played in Les Corts, FC Barcelona were superior and got closer to the final (3-2), but Athletic Madrid responded in the Stadium Metropolitano (2-1) to force the tie-breaker in neutral ground. This replay was played in Zaragoza and FC Barcelona closed Athletic Madrid the doors to the final with the 2-1 victory on the <i>colchoneros.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
In the second semifinal, as tight as the previous one, Arenas Club were able to impose the importance of the home factor, defeating RC Celta Vigo at home (1-0). However, the galegos failed to do it in the Estadio de Coia and the 1-1 gave the <i>getxotarras </i>the chance to play another Copa del Rey final in their history.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CO-h1sPCOIE/Tpl0fmKzG5I/AAAAAAAAAEw/ONOoD9JpCUc/s1600/Copa+Rey+1925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CO-h1sPCOIE/Tpl0fmKzG5I/AAAAAAAAAEw/ONOoD9JpCUc/s640/Copa+Rey+1925.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This final was played in the small Estadio Reina Victoria (Seville) in front of 6,000 fans. The press showed their disappointment with the city of Seville, where people showed that there was less football tradition than in other zones of Spain. The short attendance was an example of it, when the reality was that this game between the Basque and Catalan champions was a unique chance to see high level football in the city. Besides, the long distances and the poor communications between Getxo and Barcelona with Seville, made almost impossible to travel from the cities of the finalists to the venue of the game. On the pitch, once more, two different styles. <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1925/05/11/pagina-1/627353/pdf.html">El Mundo Deportivo</a> defined the style of Arenas Club as "enthusiastic and impulsive football", while Barcelona's style was "mediterranean, precise, fast and scientific".<br />
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FC Barcelona started to win the final in the early minutes of the game. After 9 minutes, in what had been a balanced game so far, the quality of the Catalan forwards made the difference. The skilled Segi-Barba crossed the ball to Sancho, who left the ball to Paulino Alcántara who scored the first for Barcelona in a volley. In the first half, despite some chances of Arenas, the game was owned by a fantastic Barcelona, who forced the Arenas' goalie Jauregui to appear in several moments. In the minute 34, the Catalan midfielder Sancho connected a long distance shot that meant the second for Barcelona. The 2-0 was the result in half time. Barcelona had been superior in their football against the impulsive Arenas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/Galeries/futbol/temporada08-09/05/partits/campions_copa_historia/1925_x4x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/Galeries/futbol/temporada08-09/05/partits/campions_copa_historia/1925_x4x.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona, Copa winner 1925</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Things changed in the second half, when Arenas Club got decided to recover what was lost. Unlike Barcelona in the first half, who had been better but hardly dominant, Arenas were able to close the Catalans in their own field, forcing the blaugranas to make big efforts in defense. As a consequence of it, the Hungarian goalkeeper Platko made a penalty on Mateo. This penalty could have changed the game, but Platko himself saved the penalty shot by Urresti. The missed chance did not make the areneros surrender, but definitely reinforced the confidence of the blaugranas. The last minutes of the game were a constant attack of Arenas, while Barcelona rejected to attack anymore, just defending accumulating people in defense and kicking balls out, a fact that provoked the anger of the fans. In one way or another, the defensive system was efficient and enough to save the good result achieved in the first half. FC Barcelona won 2-0 and their 6th Copa title of their history in a memorable season for the blaugranas.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9nPtnNit_8/TploWghJGsI/AAAAAAAAAEo/XXJWf0TFNio/s1600/Final+Copa+1925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9nPtnNit_8/TploWghJGsI/AAAAAAAAAEo/XXJWf0TFNio/s640/Final+Copa+1925.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The happiness in Barcelona was evident, the club was celebrating their 25th anniversary with a new title and the club had more than 11,000 members, a record in Spain. In Catalonia, FC Barcelona was a club of masses already and Gamper's slogan <i>"Visca el Barça i Visca Catalunya"</i> got popular. But it is necessary to recall the state of dictatorship in Spain. During a football tribute to the music society Orfeó Català against an English team in Les Corts. The Spanish anthem, the Marcha Real, was received by whistles, while the "God Save the King" was heavily applauded, in a way to criticize the suspension of the admnistrative government of Catalonia. The reaction of the dictatorship was fast and harsh, closing Les Corts for 6 months (at the end, it was only 3 months) and the president and founder of FC Barcelona, Hans Gamper, was sent to the exile, forcing his to return to Switzerland. Some time later, Gamper was allowed to return only under one condition: not to be the president of the club anymore.<br />
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<b>Summary of titles</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<i>Copa del Rey</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
10 - Athletic Club (1902, 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923)<br />
6 - FC Barcelona (1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925)<br />
5 - Real Madrid (1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917)<br />
3 - Real Unión Irún (1913, 1918, 1924)<br />
1 - Real Sociedad (1909)<br />
1 - Arenas Club (1919)<br />
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<i><br />
</i>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-22248015809783668572011-10-10T22:37:00.001+02:002011-10-10T22:38:14.064+02:00Spain is more blaugrana and less madridistaThis morning, any madridista who bought one of their favorite newspapers, <a href="http://www.as.com/">Diario AS</a>, found a surprising headline: <i>"El Madrid se queda solo"</i> (Madrid are left on their own). In the cover of the newspaper, they also inform that Real Madrid gets more rejection in San Mamés (Bilbao), Reyno de Navarra (Osasuna), Anoeta (San Sebastián) and the Calderón (Atlético Madrid) than in the Camp Nou (Barcelona). They also highlight that the antibarcelonism in Madrid is bigger than the antimadridism in Barcelona. Aside this focus on Real Madrid, AS also shows that Rayo is the most appreciated club in Spain, while Sevilla gets the biggest rejection, while Valencia, Villarreal, Málaga and Granada have a good image.<br />
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All these headlines are based on a survey done by the agency Ikerfel for AS among fans of the Primera División clubs. It is also important to put the results into a context. 8 years ago, a survey done by the Generalitat (Government of Catalonia) showed that Real Madrid enjoyed more sympathies than FC Barcelona with a huge margin of a 20%. The last survey of this kind was done by CIS (the institute of sociological studies of the Government of Spain) in the year 2007 and this margin of sympathies had been reduced to 7 points. Nowadays, even though the ones who pick Barcelona over Madrid as their main favorite club is just a 1% (which is irrelevant, considering the margin of error), the difference grows to a 7% in favor of the blaugranas when it comes to secondary sympathies.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20111010dasdasftb_3/LCO/Ies/Portada_AS_octubre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20111010dasdasftb_3/LCO/Ies/Portada_AS_octubre.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diario AS cover - Oct 10, 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The survey starts focusing on sympathies, asking for the favorite club and secondary sympathies. In this aspect, we already stated that Barcelona and Real Madrid show a similar amount of fans (18% and 17% respectively). Atlético Madrid (8%), Athletic (7%), Betis (7%) and Valencia (6%) get expected results, which do not differ much from the last survey done in 2007. Back then, Real Madrid got a 32.8%, Barcelona a 25.7%, Valencia a 5.3%, Athletic a 5.1%, Atlético a 4.3% and Betis 3.3%. It is important to highlight the differences: in this new survey, the sample was the Primera División clubs while, 4 years ago, this limit did not exist.<br />
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But even with these differences, probably the most relevant fact is the growing sympathies of Barcelona as secondary option for football fans. While Real Madrid used to be the second choice of the Spanish fans back then (with Barcelona very near them), this time Barcelona appears as second or third option for the 26% of the fans of the Primera División clubs, while Real Madrid's percentage fall to a 20%. These secondary option is what makes the difference.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_48/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_48/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popularity index. As.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
But in football, aside the sympathies, the antipathies are usual too. There is a thin line between love and hatred and football could not be different. The bigger the club is the bigger the feelings around them are, in one way or another. The most admired clubs usually are the most hated and this is what the survey shows. Real Madrid is the most hated club by the 39% of Primera fans, while Barcelona gets the opposition of a 30%. If we add secondary hatred options (that is, eliminating local and direct rivalries), the percentage grows against Real Madrid. The 51% of the Primera División fans claim to be antimadridistas, while this percentage gets reduced to a 40% in the case of those who label themselves as antibarcelonistas. Sevilla's (30%) and Atlético's (29%) image isn't much better.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_49/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_49/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unpopularity index. As.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The following part of the analysis is based on the differences among the fans of the different clubs. Based on this, Real Madrid is chosen as the club with more sympathies in 7 different stadiums (not counting the local team, of course). Some of the results are expected, like the support among the Betis fans, since both clubs share recent legends like Gordillo, Poli Rincón or Alfonso; or Racing Santander, for similar reasons, after all Gento was born in a town near Santander and both clubs have been carrying a really good relationship through the years, which includes transfers in both directions, as it shows the cases of Munitis or Canales in recent years. Other results are expected for different reasons, Real Madrid also holds sympathies in clubs of the region, like Getafe or Rayo Vallecano, since these clubs are in the historical area of influence of Real Madrid. Probably, the most unexpected is the support of the sevillistas, but the noise created by the president Del Nido seems that did not hide the big madridismo of the city of Seville.<br />
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In the case of FC Barcelona the sympathies are also expected in some cases. Barcelona gets a clear support among Athletic, Real Sociedad or Osasuna, that is, the Basque provinces. Despite there are some historical rivalries, especially with Athletic, all these clubs have something in common, their capacity to be a channel for the national aspirations of the communities they are in. Despite the historical reasons of each nationalism is different, the national feeling, either Basque or Catalan, recognize each other's identity and both definitely share similar tools to reach similar goals. In the cases of Valencia and Mallorca, FC Barcelona may seen with good eyes due to cultural reasons, since there is a common culture among Catalans, Valencian and Mallorquin people, although there is also a good share of animadversion in these regions against the so-called pan-catalanism, which is shown in the results too. Aside the socio-political links, it was also to expect the pro-barcelonisme in Gijón. Sporting and Barcelona share lots of legendary players for both clubs in the last decades: Quini, Iván Iglesias, Abelardo, Luis Enrique and now David Villa. The case of Málaga may be temporary. It is true that Barcelona has a solid base in most of Spain, including Andalusia, but these results may show the late rivalry between Málaga and Real Madrid... or maybe between Pellegrini and Mourinho.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_50/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_50/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For - against by fans of each club. As.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
When it comes to hatred, the madridistas have it clear: they hate Barcelona with passion (97%). It is evident that the hatred goes both ways and something similar happens in Barcelona, but the results show that the antimadridismo in Barcelona is lower than the antibarcelonismo in Madrid. There is an interesting fact: Real Madrid gets more hatred among the Athletic, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Atlético Madrid fans than among the Barça fans. In the case of the antimadridismo, there are evident cases, aside the mentioned in Barcelona. Real Madrid has been an eternal rival of clubs like Atlético Madrid or Athletic Club. The political factor has an effect in other cases, like Real Sociedad or Osasuna. But there is a growing antimadridismo in new areas. The most evident cases are: Valencia, Málaga and Sporting. Valencia used to have a really good relationship with Real Madrid, but in the late 90s, the way Real Madrid used to sign the star of Valencia, Pedja Mijatovic, broke this friendship. The cases of Málaga and Sporting probably have a lot to do with the recent events, especially with the arrival of Mourinho and his attacks on these clubs and their prestige and commitment.<br />
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In the case of the antipathies on Barcelona, aside the evident case of Real Madrid, it was easy to expect the case of Espanyol, given their centenary rivalry. Out of these evident cases, Barcelona does not enjoy the sympathies of fans of the zones of influence of the madridismo: Getafe, Rayo and Santander. Aside them, there are cases of classic antibarcelonismo in Granada, recently promoted, and the secondary antipathies that probably have something to do with political reasons, as in Seville (both clubs) and Valencia/Mallorca (where catalanism and anticatalanism is polarized).<br />
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Aside the two giants, the results show classic rivalries, mainly local or regional, like Betis-Sevilla, Athletic-Real Sociedad, Málaga-Sevilla, Valencia-Levante, Osasuna-Zaragoza; and new kind of rivalries, due to recent polemic events like Getafe-Racing (due to the Copa semifinal of a three years ago) or Mallorca-Villarreal (due to the elimination of Mallorca from the European competitions as a request of Villarreal for unpayments).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_51/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://www.as.com/recorte/20111009dasdasftb_51/LCO/Ies/graficos_encuesta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relation sympathy/antipathy. As.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Mixing all this information, the picture shows that Sevilla and Real Madrid get the worst love-hatred differencial, by an important margin, while Rayo Vallecano, Málaga, Valencia and Villarreal get the best image among the Primera División fans. How can we interpret all these information?<br />
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There are several factors that have an influence when it comes to understand this new scenario. Real Madrid have traditionally been the club of Spain and they always carried this flag with pride while their international success always backed this position. On the other hand, as we already mentioned in the entry about <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/10/football-and-nationalisms.html">football and nationalism</a>, clubs like FC Barcelona and Athletic Club have traditionally been seen as representatives of their national and identity aspirations.<br />
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But in recent times, FC Barcelona rose as new power in Spain and Europe with a very particular style. It is evident that success goes along admiration. The current admiration on Barcelona is based on their domestic and international triumphs and, as a consequence of it, they gather the support that the winners use to have. But there are other factors that help to understand this support beyond success. While the main reason of hatred of Barcelona has always been the catalanism of the club, the fans of every club of Spain recognize the essential importance of the Barcelona players in the success of the Spanish national team in the last years. Despite Barcelona never rejected the catalanism in all these years, the average fans found a link with players like Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Piqué or Villa, independently if they are Catalan or not. The Spanish NT is often seen as an extension of Barcelona, not just when it comes to players, but also in the style. At the same time, the new Board of Sandro Rosell has definitely lowered the political tensions inside the club, which were much more evident with Joan Laporta. The club remained catalanist but without the noise of the Laporta era.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sportige.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Mourinho-Guardiola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://sportige.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Mourinho-Guardiola.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pep Guardiola & José Mourinho</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On the other hand, Real Madrid's prestige lost some points in the way. The lack of international and domestic success does not explain everything. Aside the lack of recent victories, the last decade had a negative effect on the perception of Real Madrid for several factors. First of all, the self-promotion of Real Madrid has been as profitable in terms of global marketing as damaging in terms of sympathies. The image of Real Madrid has been overexposed and, in some situations, has been seen as arrogant. The arrival of Florentino Pérez to Real Madrid was full of new messages, terms and symbolism. Florentino Pérez does not stop repeating that Real Madrid is the best club of the 20th century and, as evident as it is for most of the football fans, the constant bombing was often read as arrogant. In the same line goes messages as "this player was born to play in Real Madrid", often referring to players of a high level that seem to be designed for Real Madrid and not for anybody else. In the first stage of Florentino Pérez, the overdose of stars gave the team the initially positive and finally negative term of <i>Galácticos.</i> These <i>Galácticos</i> were a group of players that, in the right measure, won titles, but ended up seen as spoiled elitist stars without any kind of culture of effort. The overdose of <i>Galácticos</i> went along with the rise of Ronaldinho's Barcelona... a Ronaldinho who was labeled as too ugly to play in Real Madrid by Florentino Pérez. A joke that ended up being a nightmare for Real Madrid.<br />
<br />
But the definitive impact has been the arrival of José Mourinho. The Portuguese coach has built big walls around Real Madrid in a prepared and constant propaganda in order to create tension in and out Real Madrid. This tension had the wished effects. While the messages got more tense, the union of the madridismo around the new project grew, but also the disaffection of the rest of the clubs. The internal message insists that the envy on the best club of the World is the reason of it, but this new slogan lose weight because of two reasons: Real Madrid never needed to repeat how good they are to be admired and, most importantly, it has been repeated in times of failures. This internal union is based in the constant search of enemies, some of them classic, but also some new. The press, the referees and even smaller rivals like Sporting or Málaga have been the victims of cheap attacks, like the one on Preciado doubting about the commitment of Sporting to beat Barcelona or the one on Pellegrini, when Mourinho claimed that he would not end up in a club like Málaga, suggesting the low level of the new club of his predecessor in the Bernabéu. To all these facts, the arrogant attitude of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, often victim of the booing in most of the stadiums of Spain, or Pepe, seen as a butcher, do not help much to the cause of the image. In fact, one could say that the level of tension created by a player, a manager or a president has a direct link with antipathies, and this is how the negative image of Sevilla is directly related with the noise and provocative attitude of their president, José María Del Nido.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://rincondelforero.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jose-maria-del-nido.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://rincondelforero.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jose-maria-del-nido.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">José María Del Nido, Sevilla president</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Surprisingly, all these events ended up moving the roots of support on the two giants. Barcelona gets the respect and the sypathies left by Real Madrid in their new policies. The success of Barcelona and/or the Spanish NT, the soft-catalanism, the arrogant Florentinismo and the policies of tension of Mourinho made Spain more barcelonista and less madridista. As weird as it sounds.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-33342968129535144472011-10-10T01:10:00.000+02:002011-10-10T01:10:35.018+02:00Superliga: the growth of women football in SpainThe important development of football in the last twenty years is evident. Last summer, Germany hosted the last FIFA Women's World Cup and the outcome was a total success. The stadiums were usually packed and the TV audiences kept growing compared with previous editions. The football licenses are growing and not only in the established areas. It is well known that women football has tradition in some zones of the World. The US Women team is way more famous than the men team. In Europe, women football is important is Scandinavia and Germany, while England and France appear as powers lately. In South America, the Brazilian women team has as much magic in their football as their male patners. And Asia has already hosted two World Cups in China and Japan are the current winners of the tournament. Where does Spanish women football is?<br />
<br />
"Football is a men's game". This is a usual slogan, not only in Spain, but Spain could not be less in this either. Besides, it is important to look at the recent Spanish history to know that women had to fight (still they do) to find their place in society. The old official <i>machismo</i> of the fascist regime of Franco disappeared with democracy, but as it always happens the social development takes more time to adapt to new times, it requires the mental adaption of men and also women, who were used to their old rules of the old society. Football could not be different. The game indeed was a game of men and the presence of women in the stadiums was an anecdote. Out of the stadiums, not only football, but the physical activity in general was denied to women. Democracy changed the social structures, making no difference between men and women, but changing a law takes a short time, while changing the minds of society takes more time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rtve.es/imagenes/futbol-femenino-no-algo-nuestros-dias/1287079887816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.rtve.es/imagenes/futbol-femenino-no-algo-nuestros-dias/1287079887816.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
As a consequence of equal rights, the Spanish women have been gaining spaces in society, at home, at school, at the work places and also in sport. It has not been easy and there is a way to walk yet, but watching things with some perspective, the change in the last 30 years has been huge. Football could not be different. Back in 1981, the Real Federación Española de Fúbtol (RFEF) created the first women competitions, but it was not until the 1988-1989 season when the federation set the first stable structures with the creation of the Liga and Copa de la Reina tournaments. Back then, the top division only had nine clubs. These women clubs were independent from the well-known professional clubs, except the cases of RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona, who had their own women section.<br />
<br />
During all these years, women football was a very minority sport without any kind of impact. But in the year 2001, the women football clubs decided to give a new impulse to the league with the creation of the Superliga. As a consequence of it, some professional clubs decided to make a clear bet for women football. FC Barcelona, despite they had been relegated to lower divisions, and RCD Espanyol did not renounce to their section and other clubs joined in this growing interest. In the year 1998, Levante UD absorbed a Vicente Valencia CF Femenino, after Valencia CF rejected the offer. Rayo Vallecano created their women section in the year 2000 and Atlético Madrid did the same from the ashes of a disappeared club in the year 2001, although starting from lower divisions. Athletic Club reached an agreement with Leioa EFT to make this women club part of the Athletic Club structure in the year 2002. Back then, the women licenses was 10,000.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20081230dasdaiftb_33/XLCO/Ies/futbol_femenino_invita_clubes_LFP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20081230dasdaiftb_33/XLCO/Ies/futbol_femenino_invita_clubes_LFP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic celebrating their first title in San Mamés</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In this decade, the support of professional clubs has been really important in the development of the competition. Despite women football still is an amateur sport, there has been a growing interest, which is not exempt from problems. An example of it was the early years of the women Athletic Club, who were able to gather 35,000 fans in San Mamés in the decisive day to win La Liga. Since the year 2001, only sections of the professional clubs have won La Liga, which shows the importance of the economic support of these structures. Athletic Club won 4 Ligas, Rayo Vallecano won 3, Levante did it twice and Espanyol once. Another example of the growing support of the professional clubs has been the signing of players to improve their women sections, like the signing of Milene Domingues, popularly known as Ronaldinha for being Ronaldo's girlfriend in the arrival of the Brazilian star to Real Madrid, by Rayo Vallecano. Or Maribel Dominguez, "Marigol", who joined FC Barcelona in the year 2005 when the club was struggling to keep their position in the league, reaching the top-6 position in the FIFA Women World Player award in the year 2006.<br />
<br />
Two years ago, the RFEF decided to give a new impulse to the tournament, sending invitations to all the professional clubs to participate in the top division without starting from the lower divisions. Some clubs like Las Palmas, Sevilla, Valladolid, Real Jaén or Nàstic Tarragona took their chance, although the idea did not have the expected success due to the economic crisis. Still, nowadays, among the 18 clubs of the Superliga, 10 professional clubs (Athletic, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Espanyol, Levante, Málaga, Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad, Racing Santander and Valencia CF) support women teams, in or out of their structure, which definitely has helped to reach the 17,000 licenses last year, an important growth in one decade.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.abc.es/Media/201106/19/copareina--644x362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.abc.es/Media/201106/19/copareina--644x362.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona celebrate the 2011 Copa de la Reina title</td></tr>
</tbody></table>However, not everything looks so bright. Women football still is an amateur sport and the RFEF do not give professional licenses yet, but the growing interest has been causing tensions, since some of the women players have been playing under poor conditions. Despite their "professional" dedication, they do not enjoy assurance and they had been signing other kind of contracts to join the clubs. The growing interest did not have its reflection in the media. Last year, TVE (Spanish public TV) broadcasted the Copa de la Reina final-four for the first time ever, but they did not make a bet for women football yet, ignoring the success this sport has.<br />
<br />
In one way or another, there is a niche of growing interest and I believe it is a matter of time that women football reach professionalism. It is also a matter of time that the public TV realize that there is an interest in this sport. The interest of the traditional professional clubs carried with them the interest of the usual men football fans to women football, because the support on the colors do not know about sex, as the chanting fights in the last Copa de la Reina final, played by FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol showed. Among the top clubs of Spain, only Real Madrid did not join the party. Ramón Calderón reached a pre-agreement with a club of Madrid (Pozuelo), but Florentino Pérez did not show the same interest, sadly for everyone.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rtve.es/imagenes/plantilla-del-rayo-vallecano-femenino-posa-trofeo-superliga-2010-2011/1305020757375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://www.rtve.es/imagenes/plantilla-del-rayo-vallecano-femenino-posa-trofeo-superliga-2010-2011/1305020757375.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rayo Vallecano, Liga winners 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Women football in Spain is full of problems, still is an amateur sport and the amount of licenses is still far from the traditional nations of the North of Europe and Germany. Still the progress in the last years make me be optimistic about it. The growing role of women in society will also have its effects in football. Football is not a men sport anymore... it is everyone's sport!Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-67352737556261983612011-10-08T13:33:00.005+02:002011-10-15T14:19:00.776+02:00History of the Spanish football (V): 1916-1920, the Basque power, the Madrid-Barça rivalry and the "furia roja"Previous chapter: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/09/history-of-spanish-football-iv-1911.html">History of the Spanish football (IV): 1911-1915, the creation of RFEF, Athletic dominance and first idols</a></span></span><br />
<br />
In these five years, the first big icons of football started to appear, the first real stars of football in Spain. In that sense, players like "Pichichi", Belauste, Acedo, Ricardo Zamora, Félix Sesúmaga, René Petit, Santiago Bernabéu, Sancho, Samitier or Alcantara were already well-known by the public and their fame was in constant growth. These were years of Basque domination, with their teams winning titles and playing finals, while Madrid FC and FC Barcelona consolidated their position in their zones. Madridistas and culés broke their good relationshup with a run of hot clashes in the year 1916, which set the base of the biggest rivalry in football. The decade was closed by the first games of the Spanish NT and their silver medal in the Olympic Games 1920.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>1915-1916</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<i>Copa del Rey</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
The Spanish football kept growing and, as a consequence of the creation of the RFEF and the Regional federations, a new tournament appeared in Andalusia, who also had the chance to register in the Copa del Rey from this point. Still, the most important tournaments were still played in the classic zones of Catalonia, Madrid and Basque Country.<br />
<br />
In the <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1915-16_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a></i>, FC Barcelona recovered the crown after two trophyless seasons (five, if we do not count the failure tournament of 1913). The <i>culés </i>were totally unstoppable, led by a brilliant Paulino Alcántara, and they won the tournament winning all the games of the league. Only FC España could show some shy opposition. RCD Español ended up in 4th position. In this edition of the tournament, a young 16 years old Ricardo Zamora impress with Universitari SC and ends up joining Español at the end of the tournament.<br />
<br />
In the <i><a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1915-16">Campeonato de Madrid</a></i>, Madrid FC won the title 3 years later. The madridistas found their biggest rival in the last winner of the competition, Racing Madrid. A 21 years old Santiago Bernabéu becomes one of the leaders of the team in attacking positions.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20090305dasdaiftb_33/XLCO/Ies/20090305dasdaiftb_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20090305dasdaiftb_33/XLCO/Ies/20090305dasdaiftb_33.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santiago Bernabéu</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the Basque Country, the <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_del_Norte">Campeonato Norte</a></i> is won by Athletic Club for the 3rd time in a row, after huge polemics with Real Sociedad, which only heated the rivalry between both clubs, and confirming the superiority of the club of Bizkaia once more. As it has been said, the new <i>Copa de Andalucía</i> is created and Español FC Cádiz are the first winners, being Sevilla FC the runner-up. The <i>Campeonato de Galicia</i> was won by Fortuna de Vigo.<br />
<br />
All these winners got the right to play the <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_f%C3%BAtbol_1916">Copa del Rey</a></i>, but due to economic reasons, Español Cádiz and Fortuna Vigo withdrew before the tournament started. As a consequence of it, there were only 3 participants: FC Barcelona and Madrid FC, who had to play the semifinals, and Athletic Club, who were exempt for being the current champions and got the place in the final automatically.<br />
<br />
These semifinals set the beginning of the huge rivalry between FC Barcelona and Madrid FC. The system of the tournament did not count the goals yet to decide the team that had to advance, but the won games. This format and the results had a negative effect on the relationship of both clubs, which had been friendly until then, but got seriously damaged.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.peads.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RvneLAoKCr4AACXqBMI1/alc15.jpg?et=x3rXGIIKQnquqZ6%2CYyJUDg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images.peads.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RvneLAoKCr4AACXqBMI1/alc15.jpg?et=x3rXGIIKQnquqZ6%2CYyJUDg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paulino Alcántara</td></tr>
</tbody></table>For the first time since 1902, FC Barcelona and Madrid FC met in official competition. The first leg of the semifinal was played in the Velodrome of Barcelona, RCD Español's home, on March 25, 1916. The <a href="http://hemeroteca-paginas.elmundodeportivo.es./EMD02/HEM/1916/03/27/MD19160327-001.pdf">reports</a> informed about the initial superiority of the madridistas, who went for the victory in the first minutes of the game. The madridistas got the lead in the scoreboard with a goal scored by one of the best players of this era, the French René Petit. But the goal stopped the madridista impulsed and Barcelona started to dominate the game. The star of the Catalan team, Alcántara, tied the game with a magnificent shot, which was labeled as the best of the season for the <i>culés</i>. After the 1-1 in half time, Barcelona kept insisting and found a new goal, this time scored by Martínez. The Catalans ended up winning the game by this 2-1. Despite the result, the Catalans complained about the referee. Despite the big expectations, the game was more physical than beautiful.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1916/04/03/pagina-2/1377847/pdf.html">second leg</a> was played in the O'Donnell stadium of Madrid FC, where 10,000 packed the stands. The madridistas went for the needed victory since the first minute against a Barcelona that couldn't count on two important players, like the captain Massana and Viñals. The efforts of the madridistas did not get result and, after 15 minutes of pressure, Barcelona started to dominate and Martínez advanced the away team (0-1). The home crowd, disappointed by the poor game of the madridistas, applauded the Catalans and criticized the <i>merengues</i>. But despite the superiority of the blaugranas, a handball inside the box gave the chance for Madrid FC to score. Santiago Bernabéu tied the game and, only a few minutes later, right before half time, the same Bernabéu scored a nice goal that overcame the result despite the superiority of the Catalans. In the second half, the blaugranas look for the goal that give them the passport to the final during the first 15 minutes, but their football disappeared and Madrid enjoyed their best minutes of football. As a consequence of it, two goals of the madridistas, one of them scored by Petit, set the final 4-1.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cartasesfericas.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/rene_petit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cartasesfericas.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/rene_petit1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">René Petit</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This is where the polemics start. The RFEF decides that the <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1916/04/17/pagina-1/609413/pdf.html">replay </a>to decide the finalist had to be played in Athletic Madrid's O'Donnell stadium 15 days later. The Catalans protested since the game was in Madrid, despite it was not Madrid's home, although the crowd was mainly neutral. After 2 minutes, Madrid FC scored the first goal of the afternoon, scored by Belaunde, which excited the madridista part of the crowd. The attack of the madridistas kept being efficient and, only a few minutes later, a messy action ended up with an own goal of the Catalan goalkeeper Bru (2-0). The clumsy barcelonistas were near the knock out when Massana touched the ball with the hand, but the shot of Bernabéu was stopped by Bru. Everything changed at that point and Alcantará became the hero of the Catalans. The Catalan striker led the attack of the blaugranas scoring two goals in the last minutes of the first half to tie the game at half time (2-2). The second half declined in beauty and grew in tension. The madridistas found a renovated impulse and, despite the good actions of Bru, Belaunde scored his second goal to advance the local team. Once more, Barcelona had to fight against the result and the reaction was awarded, this time with a goal scored by Bau (3-3). But this time Barcelona kept insisting and a goal of Mallorquín gave the Catalans the lead (3-4). When the game was about to finish, with only 3 minutes to go, a good combination of the madridistas is kicked by Belaunde to the net (4-4) and the enthusiasm gets spread in the stands.<br />
<br />
There was a need of an extra time. In the early minutes of the first half, Madrid gets the lead again in a goal scored by Santiago Bernabéu (5-4), who would became the hero of the madridistas at the end. Despite Madrid looked stronger physically and kept attacking, Barcelona caught the rival in a counter and Alcántara tied the game (5-5) in the second half of the extra time. The game kept open and the barcelonistas seemed to score the winning goal when Martínez scored the sixth for the Catalans (5-6). Once more, when the barcelonistas were almost in the final, a crossed ball hits in Massana's hand and the referee Berraondo awarded a penalty for Madrid FC, very protested by the Catalans. In this penalty, Bernabéu tied only 3 minutes before the end of the game. The game ended up with a 6-6 that forced a second replay and the fans applauded the memorable game of the two club under the protests of the Catalans towards the referee and the praising on Bru, the goalkeeper who saved Barcelona in lots of occasions.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/wikicule/es/images/7/7f/Berraondo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images.wikia.com/wikicule/es/images/7/7f/Berraondo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The referee Berraondo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1916/04/17/pagina-2/1377849/pdf.html">second replay</a> was the decisive one, again in O'Donnell, Athletic Madrid's home, with the same referee Berraondo. This time the Catalans started dominating the game and a superb Martínez advanced the blaugranas in the scoreboard (0-1). This goal made the madridistas react, drawing the game after a combination with a goal scored by Bernabéu (1-1). The local team kept attacking, but this enthusiasm was stopped by another counter of Alcantara and Martínez. The last scored the second goal for the blaugranas before half time (1-2). In the second half, it was Barcelona who ended up dominating the game, but the madridistas were able to tie the game after a set piece headed by Zabala into the net (2-2). The game got very open in the last minutes of the game. But the polemics started with another penalty, once again very protested. Once more, Bru becomes Barcelona's savior and stopped the penalty, taking the game to another tense extra time.<br />
<br />
The extra time was very tense and the consequences were important. Barcelona started dominating and Alcántara missed some chances, but a counter of Madrid is executed by Sotero. The Catalans surrounded the referee Berraondo complaining, since they considered that the goal was scored in clear offside. The game turned ugly, the madridistas wasted time and the crowd got divided in their opinions. Everything exploded after the fourth goal of the madridistas. Another <i>merengue</i> counter ended up in a mess inside the box, which is finished when Sotero kicks the ball in. The blaugranas protested, since they considered there was a foul on the goalkeeper Bru, who was supposedly grabbed by a rival. The ref Berraondo did not make any decision and the goal went to the scoreboard (4-2). The very angry Catalans, led by their captain Massana, left the game 7 minutes before the end, showing their anger against the referee Berraondo, who had awarded the madridistas with 4 penalties (2 of them stopped by Bru) in the run of games and, especially, for the polemic actions in the extra time. As anecdote, Berraondo had played for Madrid from 1902 to 1909 and for Barcelona in the 1913-1914 season, playing also for Real Sociedad in between. Later on, he was the coach of Real Madrid in the late 20s.<br />
<br />
The reactions were terrible. The madridistas screamed against the <i>culés</i> for what they considered lack of fair play attitude, while the Catalans targeted the referee, claiming that Berraondo had been Madrid's accomplice in a robbery. In the following days, the <i>Federación Centro</i> issued a prohibition for all the Madrid clubs to compete against FC Barcelona, a reaction that was disapproved by the RFEF later. In Barcelona, the fans made a massive reception for the team, who were applauded by the barcelonista crowd, while the captain Massana expressed the gratitude on the fans and his anger against Berraondo.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50495_98450135166_336032_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/50495_98450135166_336032_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rafael Moreno "Pichichi"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Even before the <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1916/05/08/pagina-1/609422/pdf.html">final</a>, the RFEF had decided that the final of 1916 had to be played in Barcelona, in <i>L'Escopidora</i>, FC Barcelona's home, on May 7. This final was played by Athletic and Madrid under a very tense atmosphere. The events of the games between FC Barcelona and Madrid FC played 15 days before had heated the <i>barcelonistas</i>, who saw a chance to express their anger. At these times, football was still amateur, but had already broken the borders of the middle class to become a popular game. Thousands of fans packed the <i>L'Escopidora </i>and many of them stayed out of the stadium during the game in a very hot atmosphere. The madridistas jumped on the pitch in first place and the whole stadium reacted with anger, booing the <i>merengues, </i>while Athletic was strongly applauded by the fans of the stadium. This kind of reaction were uncommon, but the semifinals were in the minds of many barcelonistas. Despite the press requested calm and expressed their shame on these events, the fans did not hesitate to express their anger against the madridistas.<br />
<br />
The game was far from beautiful. Besides the tension, the game was played under heavy rain on a muddy pitch. Athletic started dominating the game and the legendary striker Pichichi put the goal defended by the madridista Teus under problems. After some minutes of boring football due to the state of the pitch, the Athletic forwards, Zubizarreta and Acedo connect and the last gave the Basques the lead in the scoreboard (1-0), which was celebrated by the fans. In this situation, a superior Athletic kept attacking and this time Zubizarreta scored the 2-0, which was the result at half time.<br />
<br />
In the second half, the madridistas collapsed, given the hostile atmosphere and the evident superiority of Athletic. Pichichi, Irureta, Zubizareta and Acedo kept enjoying chances. After 15 minutes, Zubizarreta ended up deciding the game with the 3-0, which was rounded 9 minutes later with a fourth goal. Despite the hat-trick of Zubizarreta, the press highlighted the great game of Pichichi, whose dribblings and passes amazed the crowd. Athletic won the game 4-0 and won their 9th title, the 3rd Copa in a row, which allowed them to win the trophy in property.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJU02VklyEQ/TozJKRhsiEI/AAAAAAAAACk/SzRdFUIl6IA/s1600/Final+Copa+1916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJU02VklyEQ/TozJKRhsiEI/AAAAAAAAACk/SzRdFUIl6IA/s1600/Final+Copa+1916.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The sad events did not finish with the game, since the some radical fans awaited Madrid FC's bus, which was attacked with rocks by <i>culé</i> fans in their departure. The police had to intervene against the masses in order to avoid bigger problems.<br />
<br />
In this Copa, Athletic confirmed they were the strongest club of the country and Barcelona and Madrid set the base of an eternal rivalry.<br />
<br />
<b>1916-1917</b><br />
<br />
Football kept growing in Spain this season and the <i>Campeonato Regional de Asturias</i> was a new addition to the regional leagues. At the same time, the <i>Copa del Rey</i> grew in prestige with more participants as a consequence of the constant creation of the regional leagues, promoted by the RFEF.<br />
<br />
The <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1916-17_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a></i> was marked by the polemics. The tournament was a close fight between the three main powers of the Catalan football: FC Barcelona, as defending champions; RCD Español and FC España. Despite the dominance of FC España, who recovered their best level, the league was marked by the so called "Garchitorena case". Garchitorena was a new signings of Barcelona, but with three games to go, RCD Español presented a formal complaint to the Catalan federation, claiming that this player was a foreigner that did not accomplish with the rules of the league. The federation estimated the complaint and the games of Barcelona which had this player involved were cancelled and the federation ordered the replays. As a consequence of this decision, FC Barcelona retires from the competition. These events put the club in internal crisis and the only good news are the debut of two important players for the future of the club: Sanchón and Sagi. In one way or another, these incidents did not hide the superiority of FC España, who got the ticket for the <i>Copa del Rey</i> again.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1916-17"><i>Campeonato de Madrid</i></a>, Madrid FC confirmed their renovated superiority with their 2nd title in a row. The madridistas did not have a rival in the competition and won all the games of the league, with Athletic Madrid coming in 2nd position. With this title, Madrid FC earned their place in the <i>Copa del Rey</i>.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_del_Norte"><i>Campeonato Norte</i></a>, after 3 years of Athletic's dominance, Arenas Club Getxo rises as a new power in the Basque football. Athletic starts a transition period, since players like Ibarretxe, Solaun and Eguía retire. As a consequence of it, Athletic lost their right to play the Copa in favor of Arenas Club. In the <i>Campeonato de Galicia,</i> Real Vigo Sporting Club wins the competition. In the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_de_Andaluc%C3%ADa" style="font-style: italic;">Copa de Andalucía</a>, the two oldest clubs of the region, Recreativo and Sevilla start a stage of close rivalry. In this 2nd edition, Sevilla FC wins the title. The <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Regional_de_Asturias">Campeonato Regional de Asturias</a> </i>won by Real Sporting Gijón in his first edition.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.linguasport.com/futbol/nacional/copa/copa.htm" style="font-style: italic;">Copa del Rey</a> was played by all the regional winners and the competition found a new life with the rise of participants. A draw decided the four clubs that had to play the Quarter finals and there were two exempt clubs: Real Vigo Sporting and FC España. In the first round, Madrid FC faced Sevilla FC and Arenas de Getxo met Sporting Gijón.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EqD42C5DmRY/TozjxgiNooI/AAAAAAAAACs/zmci9SD5Kcg/s1600/Copa+Rey+1917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EqD42C5DmRY/TozjxgiNooI/AAAAAAAAACs/zmci9SD5Kcg/s1600/Copa+Rey+1917.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The first leg between Madrid FC and Sevilla FC were played in Madrid. In the stadium of O'Donnell, Madrid trashed Sevilla with a magnificent 8-1. At the same time, the Basque Arenas Club won their away game at Gijón, defeating Sporting with a 0-1. In the second leg, Arenas Club trashed Sporting (7-1) to advance to the semifinals. In Seville, Sevilla were able to defeat Madrid in a surprising 2-1 that forced a replay. This tie-breaker was played the following day, also in Seville, but this time Madrid FC confirmed their favorite role, defeating the sevillistas with a clear 0-4.<br />
<br />
In the semifinals, first leg, Madrid FC faced the Catalans FC España at home. The madridistas were very superior against the powerful Catalan club, winning comfortably (4-1). At the same time, the Basque Arenas Club had to suffer to defeat the Galegos of Real Vigo SC with a short 2-1. In the second leg, Arenas were very superior and achieved a 0-2 victory in Vigo, which allowed them to play their first Copa final in their first participation. In Barcelona, Madrid was surprised by FC España, who were stronger in Catalan lands (3-1) forcing the replay. This replay was played in Barcelona too, 2 days later, which ended up with a 2-2 that was suspended after the extra time due to lack of light. 19 days later, the final replay was played, also in Barcelona. This time, the madridistas did not miss their chance and won 0-1 away, reaching a new Copa final.<br />
<br />
This <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1917/05/15/pagina-2/605776/pdf.html">final </a>was played in Barcelona, in the stadium of Muntaner, RCD Español's home (and FC Barcelona's home in the 1900s), on May 13, 1917<i>.</i> 5,000 fans attended to this game, but this time the atmosphere was different. The crowd was more friendly and there was not an evident support on any team, as it had happened in the polemic Copa of 1916. The game was beautiful in the first half, each team with their own weapons: the madridistas showing a better treatment of the ball, while the Basques bet for a more physical football. In the second half, the level of football declined and got more tense, but the result did not change in the 90 minutes (0-0). In the extra time, the tiredness appeared and the game was monotonous. Despite the reports confirmed that Madrid FC was the best team on the pitch, the final 0-0 forced a replay, which had to be played 2 days later.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1917/05/22/pagina-1/605779/pdf.html">replay</a> was played in Muntaner again, but with a lower attendance of 2,000 fans, given that it was a labor day. In the first half, Arenas Club surprised the madridistas, who looked very clumsy in the first minutes of the game. As a result, Suárez scored for the areneros, advancing the Basque club in the scoreboard after 15 minutes. During the first half, the game was marked by the superiority of Arenas Club and the 1-0 was fair. In the early moments of the second half, Arenas kept looking for a goal to open a decisive gap, but the Basques started to pay their physical effort, while Madrid FC started to grow with their own style: combination and short passes. The game changed and Madrid haunted Arenas goal and, with 16 minutes to go, the referee awarded Madrid FC with a doubtful penalty that was stopped by the Basque goalie Jauregi. Despite this missed chance, Madrid only needed one more minute to score: René Petit (1-1). The tie was the result at the end of the 90 minutes. Since both teams wanted to avoid more replays, the referee decided to play extra times of 20 minutes until a team could win the game. After the first 20 minutes of extra time, the 1-1 was still in the scoreboard, but only 3 minutes after the game was retaken, Ricardo Álvarez scored the 2-1 for Madrid FC, which was a fair result given the performances of both teams in this part of the game. In the last minutes of the decisive extra time, Madrid FC kept insisting and the result was not bigger due to the great game of the arenero goalie Jauregi. Madrid FC won the game 2-1 and their 5th Copa title. The madridistas were received in Madrid by a thousand of fans, who cheered their heroes in the midnight of the capital.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ND2m6K-RgMI/TozjcMdP9MI/AAAAAAAAACo/mNul1usn1vI/s1600/Final+Copa+1917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ND2m6K-RgMI/TozjcMdP9MI/AAAAAAAAACo/mNul1usn1vI/s1600/Final+Copa+1917.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Lingasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div><b>1917-1918</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>In Catalonia, the <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1917-18_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol" style="font-style: italic;">Campionat de Catalunya</a> was won by RCD Español, which was the first title of the club in three years. Español, where a very young Ricardo Zamora started to write his legend, dominated the tournament, having FC España as main rival in the competition. In Barcelona, the internal crisis continued and Gamper returned to the presidency of the club once more and signed the former barcelonista player Jack Greenwell as new manager. Greenwell was the second coach of the club, succeeding the also English coach Mr. Barlow. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The <i><a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1917-18">Campeonato de Madrid</a> </i>was won by Madrid FC by the third time in a row. Despite the loss of René Petit, one of the stars of the team, who prefered to leave his club in order to return to the city where he grew up in his childhood, the madridistas kept showing their supremacy in the capital of Spain. Athletic Madrid presented some opposition, but could not avoid the victory of the madridistas.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In the Basque Country, the <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Regional_de_Vizcaya">Campeonato Norte</a> </i>had a new champion: Real Unión de Irún. At that moment, the Basque football had the most powerful clubs. Real Unión de Irún was created in 1915, when Racing Irún and Sporting Irún merged. In Gipuzkoa, Real Unión found the support of the east zone of the province, while Real Sociedad was the team of the capital, the rivalry among them was huge back then. In Bizkaia, Athletic still was in transition time, while Arenas Club were one of the powers in those years. </div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.realunionclub.com/galeria/imagenes/final18-1158985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://www.realunionclub.com/galeria/imagenes/final18-1158985.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Unión Irún in the Copa del Rey final 1918</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>In the rest of regional tournaments, Recreativo de Huelva defeated Sevilla FC in the final of the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_de_Andaluc%C3%ADa"><i>Copa de Andalucía</i></a>. In the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Regional_de_Asturias"><i>Campeonato Regional de Asturias</i></a>, Sporting Gijón won their 2nd consecutive title. In Galicia, RC Fortuna de Vigo were the winners.</div><div><br />
</div><div>All these winners played the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1918" style="font-style: italic;">Copa del Rey</a>. In the draw, Recreativo de Huelva and Fortuna Vigo were exempt from playing the Quarter finals. In this round, in order to save costs, Real Unión de Irún and Sporting Gijón decided to play the pass to the semifinals in just one game in a neutral stadium. The game played in O'Donnell had the expected result and the favourites, Real Unión, defeated Sporting Gijón without much problems (4-1). In the other semifinal, played on two legs, Madrid visited Español's Muntaner stadium. The previous winners of the tournament were clearly defeated by Español, who played their best game of the season, according to the reports in the press. The game was decided in the first half with the goals of Reig and Gràcia, who scored two goals for the final 3-0. In the second leg, played in Madrid's O'Donnell, the story was different though. Despite the game was ugly due to the weather conditions, Santiago Bernabéu scored the winning goal for the madridistas after an error of the goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora (1-0). The replay was hosted in Athletic Madrid's O'Donnell. The madridistas went for the victory in the early moments of the match and, in only 10 minutes, Posada and Bernabéu gave the madridistas a comfortable advantage. Right before half time, Gràcia could reduce the distances with a goal that turned out useless, since the 2-1 did not change until the end of the game.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In the semifinals, Madrid traveled to Huelva to face Recreativo in the Velodrome of the city. Since the very first minutes of the game, Madrid showed why they were the favorites and two early goals scored by Posada and Bernabéu gave them a result that allowed them to save efforts. The reports said that Madrid won, not even needing to play at their best level. In Madrid, the madridistas only confirmed why they were labeled as favorites. The madridistas were the best team during all the game and Álvarez scored the first goal for the <i>merengues</i> 5 minutes before half time in a penalty kick, which was the second of the game, although the first was missed by the same player. In the second half, Recreativo could only fight, while Madrid developed a better football and the two goals of Posada and the one of Bernabéu gave Madrid the ticket to the final for the third time in a row. The other semifinal was played in neutral ground, in Madrid, only a few days after the previous round, by Real Unión Irún and Fortuna Vigo. Once more, the Basque team showed they had no rival in this season and clearly defeated their rivals, improving the image shown in the previous round. Real Unión won by a clear 4-1 after leading the scoreboard with a 2-0 at half time.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrGIPLvKuJU/To5ESePlk1I/AAAAAAAAAC0/d8q3lqHFZDI/s1600/Copa+Rey+1918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XrGIPLvKuJU/To5ESePlk1I/AAAAAAAAAC0/d8q3lqHFZDI/s640/Copa+Rey+1918.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>The final was played in O'Donnell, Madrid, on May 12. This final definitely was played by the two best teams of the moment: Madrid FC, the current champions of the competition, and Real Unión, the new rising power of the Basque football. The <a href="http://hemeroteca.abc.es/nav/Navigate.exe/hemeroteca/madrid/abc/1918/05/13/011.html">reports</a> say that the first minutes were calm and none of the finalists decided to go for the victory. Everything started to change when René Petit, ex-madridista now in Real Unión, put his team on his shoulders, giving the irundarras the control of the game. The match was not exempt from polemics and in the 49' of the first half, a shot by Juan Legarreta, captain and one of the stars of the Basques, is stopped by Teus in what was a ghost goal, which was awarded by the goal referee and, as a consequence allowed by the principal ref, Pepe Torrens. This goal was very protested by the madridistas and the crowd in general. In the Catalan newspaper, <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1918/05/14/pagina-1/609033/pdf.html">El Mundo Deportivo</a> the goal was not questioned, while the Madrid located ABC clearly stated that only the ref saw this goal and suggest that Real Unión should give the referee the <i>socio </i>card.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Jlegarreta.JPG/200px-Jlegarreta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Jlegarreta.JPG/200px-Jlegarreta.JPG" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Unión's Juan Legarreta</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>In the second half, Real Unión kept pressuring the madridistas in the first minutes, but the game changes in few minutes, when in the first counter of the madridistas, the local team claims that there was a handball by a Basque defender. The referee Torrens let the game continue and the madridista fans protested in the stands. But, only some minutes later, there was a similar action with the same result: the supposed handball is not awarded by the referee with a penalty. At this point, the madridista supporters invade the pitch stopping the game in protest. The police and the directors of Madrid had to calm the fans in order to continue with the game. After these events, the madridistas kept attacking and enjoyed chances to tie the game. However, in a counter, the irundarras found Legarreta, who connected a powerful shot from out of the box that entered in Teus' goal after hitting on the crossbar when there were five minutes to go. Despite Madrid FC kept attacking, the result did not change anymore and Real Unión won their first title (the 2nd, counting on the one achieved by Racing in 1913. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The reports of ABC and El Mundo Deportivo do not hesitate to hype the game of René Petit. The French-Basque player, who had always played in Madrid FC, for the team of the city he had been living since he was a 12 years old student, became the executioner of his former team. Despite the good reports about the madridistas Teus and Bernabéu, the irundarras Petit and the twice goal scorer Legarreta gave Real Unión de title.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UwimxSq4QA/To5EKaKbfHI/AAAAAAAAACw/q-ib7iVTWU4/s1600/Final+Copa+1918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UwimxSq4QA/To5EKaKbfHI/AAAAAAAAACw/q-ib7iVTWU4/s1600/Final+Copa+1918.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><b>1918-1919</b><br />
<br />
In this season, two new regional tournaments appeared in the scene: the <i>Campeonato Regional Levantino</i>, which gathered clubs of the regions of Valencia and Murcia and, at the same time, as a consequence of an internal crisis, the <i>Campeonato Norte</i> got divided in two: the <i>Campeonato Regional de Vizcaya</i>, including clubs of Bizkaia, like Athletic Club and Arenas Club, and Santader, and the <i>Campeonato de Guipuzcoa</i>, which only had clubs of the province, like Real Unión de Irún and Real Sociedad, and also from Navarra and La Rioja.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1918-19_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol" style="font-style: italic;">Campionat de Catalunya</a>, the work of Hans Gamper and Jack Greenwell with FC Barcelona showed goods and the <i>culés</i> completed a good season to recover the Catalan crown three years after their last title. The barcelonistas just lost one game in the whole tournament, while RCD Español were the runner-ups and FC España ended up in third position.<br />
<br />
At the same time, in the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Regional_Centro" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato Regional Centro</a>, Madrid FC's dominace saw an end and the title went to the quarter of Chamberí, where Racing Madrid won their second regional tournament in history. Racing Madrid dominated the league without much opposition and the madridistas were the runner-ups, without being a real threat for Racing.<br />
<br />
In Bizkaia, Arenas Club de Getxo won the first edition of the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato Regional de Vizcaya</a>, and their second regional title, while Athletic still struggled in their 3rd year of crisis. The neighbor league of <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Guipuzcoa</a> ended up in Real Sociedad's hands, who defeated the current winners of the <i>Copa del Rey</i>. As a consequence of it, Real Unión could not defend their title in the following competition.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.euskomedia.org/ImgsAuna/44055802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://www.euskomedia.org/ImgsAuna/44055802.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arenas' Felix Sesúmaga</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the rest of regional leagues, Sevilla FC won their second <i>Copa de Andalucia. </i>Fortuna Vigo recovered their lead in Galicia and Sporting Gijón repeated in Asturias. CD Aguileño, from Aguilas, a town of Murcia, won the first <i>Campeonato Regional Levantino.</i> All these 8 clubs would play the <i><a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_f%C3%BAtbol_1919">Copa del Rey</a></i> to close the season.<br />
<br />
The first leg of the Quarter finals was played at the end of March 1919. Sevilla FC directly advanced to the semifinals without playing a single game, since CD Aguileño withdrew in the last moment. In <i>L'Escopidora</i>, FC Barcelona destroyed the winners of Gipuzkoa and defeated Real Sociedad with a clear 6-0. In Bizkaia, Arenas de Getxo did not find a rival in the winners of Madrid, defeating Racing by an impressive 8-2. In Vigo,Vigo Sporting and Sporting Gijón tied 2-2, a result that favored the visitors with the 2nd leg in sight.<br />
<br />
The second leg during April. FC Barcelona impressed everyone defeating Real Sociedad (1-3) with a clear superiority. The barcelonistas appeared as one of the favorites to win the tournament, eliminating one of the most powerful clubs of the competition. In Madrid, Racing defeated Arenas Club (2-0) and forced a replay that was also played in Madrid in a neutral pitch, although the tie-breaker had a different outcome and the Basques advanced to the semis, winning with a clear 1-3. In Gijón, the local team and Vigo Sporting tied again (1-1). The replay was hosted in Santander and this time the galegos of Vigo Sporting got the ticket to the semis, winning 3-0.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pictures.todocoleccion.net/auto171/949709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://pictures.todocoleccion.net/auto171/949709.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Card of FC Barcelona's Viñals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the semifinals, there were two clear favorites, FC Barcelona and Arenas Club, who did not give space to surprises. In the first leg, the Catalans defeated Sevilla with some problems (4-3). The away game, played in Madrid with the agreement of both clubs, was easier for the blaugranas (0-3). In the other semifinal, Arenas Club also imposed their strength over their rivals, winning 0-2 in Vigo. In the second leg, Arenas Club just confirmed their talent and did not have problems to humiliate Vigo Sporting with a clear 6-1.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A6WVJ9Nr6E4/To-JoVeUdfI/AAAAAAAAAC4/L6BKOOqC0s4/s1600/Copa+Rey+1919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A6WVJ9Nr6E4/To-JoVeUdfI/AAAAAAAAAC4/L6BKOOqC0s4/s1600/Copa+Rey+1919.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1919/05/22/pagina-2/617499/pdf.html">final</a> was played on May 19 in the Martínez Campos stadium, Racing Madrid's home, which was packed to see the two best teams of the season. It was the first visit of Barcelona to Madrid since the incidents of 1916 and the <i>culés</i> found the hostility of the fans, who clearly supported the areneros. There was not a clear favorite to win the final and, in the first minutes of the final, both teams played with some caution. But very soon in the game, in the minute 15, Félix Sesúmaga started to write his place in history, dribbling two barcelonistas and shooting to beat Bru, advancing Arenas in the scoreboard. These were the best minutes of the Basque team, who enjoyed some chance to open a bigger gap. But, in the last 15 minutes of the first half, Barcelona were able to change the direction of the game and played their best minutes of the rival. At that moment, almost reaching the half time Viñals, who was the best barcelonista on the pitch, tied the game.<br />
<br />
In the second half, nothing changed and Barcelona kept showing superiority. Once chance after another and "Lakatos" scored the second goal of the blaugranas. The Catalans kept searching a winning goal, but the Basque goalkeeper Jaúregui kept Arenas Club in the game, saving his team from the defeat. With ten minutes to go, Arenas Club could break Barcelona's defense and Sesúmaga scored his second goal of the final, when the barcelonistas almost had the match in hand. Despite the last attempts of the barcelonistas, the 2-2 was the final result after 90 minutes.<br />
<br />
Both teams agreed to play an extra time of 30 minutes divided in two halves. This extra time was a very different story. The Catalans felt the shock of the draw in the last minutes of the game and the physical effort. Arenas Club looked stronger and toyed with the blaugranas. As a consequence of it, Sesúmaga completed his hat-trick scoring the third goal for the Basques after 6 minutes and, right before half time, Peña scored the fouth for Arenas. The last minutes of the game did not have a story, the barcelonistas were totally down and Arenas completed their party with a fifth goal in the last minute of the game, scored by Ibaibarriaga. With this 5-2, Arenas Club won their first Copa title in their history, two years after their defeat against Madrid FC.<br />
<br />
The game of Sesúmaga impressed everyone and Gamper was able to convince the Basque star to join Barcelona's project for the following season.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp_adltDur4/To-J8c8xgQI/AAAAAAAAAC8/wsmJQqcik4I/s1600/Final+Copa+1919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kp_adltDur4/To-J8c8xgQI/AAAAAAAAAC8/wsmJQqcik4I/s1600/Final+Copa+1919.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>1919-1920</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
The <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1919-20_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol" style="font-style: italic;">Campionat de Catalunya</a> found a new dictator: FC Barcelona. Hans Gamper decided to leave the presidency in the summer of 1919, but his heritage was one of the most important Barcelona teams in history. During the summer, before the new season, Barcelona completed two important signings: An 18 year old Ricardo Zamora joined from the eternal rivals, RCD Español, after personal disputes with the Board. At the same time, a 17 year old Josep Samitier accepted Gamper's offer to join the club from FC Internacional. These two players were going to set an era in the Spanish football and were considered icons, even appearing in advertisements of those years. Besides, as it has been said before, one of the best strikers of those years, Félix Sesúmaga, the star of Arenas Club, also joined Barcelona. All these players were additions to an already magnificent squad, who also counted on the striker Paulino Alcántara, Viñals, Sancho or Vicente Martínez. As a result of it, Barcelona wins all the games, except a draw, and wins the Catalan tournament with an impressive gap on their main rivals, SC Sabadell. RCD Español ended up third. This attractive team got the support of the club, who already counted on 3,000 <i>socis. </i>The stadium of <i>L'Escopidora</i> located in the Industria street started to be too small and the club decided to start the project of the new stadium: Les Corts.<br />
<br />
In Madrid, the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1919-20" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato Centro</a> was a close fight between Madrid FC and Athletic Madrid, who started to appear as the main threat of the madridistas in the local level. At the end, the madridistas won with a one point gap over Athletic Madrid and two on Racing Madrid. Madrid FC, once more, proved their superiority in the capital of Spain. As one of the most important events in the future of football in Madrid, the City council projected the construction of the Stadium Metropolitano de Madrid, which would be Gimnástica's, Racing's and, especially, Atlético Madrid's home for decades.<br />
<br />
At the same time, in the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato Regional de Vizcaya</a>, Athletic Club recovered the supremacy in the Basque football after three years of failures. Athletic counted on important players like "Pichichi", Acedo, Belauste and Sabino, who also formed the core of the first Spanish national team. In the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-nortechamp.html" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Guipuzcoa</a>, Real Unión dethrone Real Sociedad and won the title.<br />
<br />
The remaining regional winners were: Sevilla FC in Andalusia, Sporting Gijon in Asturias and Vigo Sporting in Galicia. The tournament of Levante remained empty, since the two finalists, Gimnástica de Valencia and Cartagena did not agree to play the final. As one of the most remarkable events, this 1919 was the year of the foundation of a historical club: Valencia Club de Futbol.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1920"><i>Copa del Rey</i></a>, since there were not 8 teams to complete the Quarter finals, a draw decided the exempt team: Real Unión de Irún. At the same time, Sevilla FC withdrew from the competition, since they wanted to play the two games in a neutral ground of Madrid and FC Barcelona declined the petition. So the quarter finals got reduced to four teams. The draw set a fantastic clash between the two clubs with more Copa titles at that moment, Madrid FC (5 titles) vs Athletic Club (8 titles). Before the first game played in O'Donnell, Madrid, the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200401/19200401_00000.pdf#page=8">reports</a> of the press of Madrid talk about an inferiority complex among the madridistas before the game. The fame of players like "Pichichi", Belaunde or Acedo, whose curriculum vitae was full of titles, made them favorites. In the first minutes of the game, Madrid seemed cautions given this atmosphere and everything was confirmed by an early goal scored by José Mari. But this goal changed the attitude of the madridistas, who got rid of the pressure they were feeling to be superior in the rest of the game. Before half time, Monjardín tied for Madrid FC. The 1-1 was the result at half time and at the end of the game. The madridistas enjoyed the best chances and the press protested about the performance of the referee, in decisions against the local team. In El Molinón, Gijón, Sporting Gijón and Vigo Sporting, who saw their faces again in this competition, tied (0-0).<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200408/19200408_00000.pdf#page=8">second leg</a>, played in San Mamés, Athletic got an early lead after 3 minutes in the scoreboard thanks to a penalty scored by Laca, the hero of the Basques that afternoon. From that point, the madridistas started to control the game thanks to their combinations in midfield, while the reports talk about the bad game of "Pichichi" and José Mari. The madridistas tied the game before half time in a goal scored by González. The game was tied at half time, but the second half was a different story, and Athletic took the game to their ground, making the game much more physical. Athletic toyed with Madrid and Laca scored the second and fourth goals of the Basques, while Germán, one of the best players that day, scored the 3rd for the final 4-1 that gave Athletic the ticket to the semis. In the other game, Vigo Sporting clearly defeated Sporting Gijón with a 4-1 that put the team in the semis.<br />
<br />
In the semis, FC Barcelona and Real Unión met in Amaute to play the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200401/19200401_00000.pdf#page=10">first leg</a> of the round. The Catalans impressed by their combinative football, playing with the ball on the ground. Viñals advanced the blaugranas in the early minutes of the game and Barcelona, without playing their best game, were the best team. A superiority that got increased with the injuries of several Basque players, who were not in their best form. The reports claim that Barcelona did not need to show their best football to win comfortably (0-1). In the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200408/19200408_00000.p">second leg</a>, played in <i>L'Escopidora</i>, Barcelona went for the game and only needed 3 minutes to get the lead, in a penalty scored by Viñals. The first half of the Catalans was memorable and the new signing Sesúmaga scored the second. Amántegui could score the first goal for the irundarras, but this goal did not hide the superiority of the Catalans and Alcántara scored the 3rd goal. In the second half, the Basques fought to enter in the game, but Viñals enjoyed a new penalty to score the fourth for the blaugranas. Since that point, the home team got relaxed and the effort and self-esteem of Real Unión were near surprising Barcelona. René Petit enjoyed a penalty and scored the 4-2 with 20 minutes to go. The fans got nervous with the goal of Echeveste for Real Unión, which was more intense when Emery scored the fourth goal in another penalty kick. Despite the attempts of Real Unión, Barcelona resisted and the 4-4 was enough to get through.<br />
<br />
The second semifinal was played between Athletic Club and Vigo Sporting. The <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200415/19200415_00000.pdf#page=8">first leg</a> was played in San Mamés and it was not exempt from polemics. Athletic Club dominated the first minutes of the game, without efficiency in attack. But after the initial impulse, Vigo Sporting's efforts allowed them to surprise the home team. As it happened in the games against Madrid, there were doubts about the level of football of Athletic, which were confirmed by the problems the Basques had to defeat the Galegos. The polemics started at the end of the first half. Athletic enjoyed a penalty, but Laca shot to the post and the result at half time was an unexpected 0-0. In the second half, Vigo surprised Athletic in the first minutes and Moncho scored a surprising 0-1. Since that moment, Athletic showed pride and, with more impulse than football, started to dominate the game. The referee Bertrán de Lis awarded Athletic with a new penalty, also shot by Laca and stopped by the goalkeeper. The referee considered that the Vigo players invaded the pitch and the penalty had to be repeated, but Laca missed it again. Athletic kept pushing and, in the minute 64, Germán tied the game for Athletic. The <i>leones</i> of Bilbao insisted in attack, looking for the winning goal, which seemed impossible. But in the injury time, a crossed ball by Germán was pushed into the net by José Mari with the chest, said the locals, and with the hand, said the ones of Vigo. The Galegos were very angry with the referee, protesting about the partiality, the penalties and the late goal.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192004/19200422/19200422_00000.pdf#page=10">second leg</a>, played in the Estadio de Coya in Vigo under the rain, Athletic dominated the first half, enjoying the best chances. Sena, Germán and Jose Mari, the mids of Athletic, were the main reason of the dominance. Jose Mari advanced the Basques in the scoreboard, confirming this superiority. In the second half, the story changed and the speed of Vigo Sporting put into trouble the Basques, who presented a very conservative attitude to keep the result. Vigo enjoyed the best chances and Athletic was closed in their own box. At the end, the Basques resisted and Athletic won the game (0-1) and the right to play a new final. Vigo Sporting kept regretting the incidents of the first leg.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pyAQUWnVy4E/TpAfJdnDMRI/AAAAAAAAADE/qzv9-JJG-Ok/s1600/Copa+Rey+1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pyAQUWnVy4E/TpAfJdnDMRI/AAAAAAAAADE/qzv9-JJG-Ok/s640/Copa+Rey+1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The <a href="http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/datos1/numeros/internet/Madrid/Madrid-sport%20%28Madrid%29/1920/192005/19200506/19200506_00000.pdf#page=9">final</a> between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club was played in El Molinón, Sporting Gijón's stadium, in front of 10,000 fans, mainly Athletic fans, who took advantage of the short distance between both cities to travel in masses from Bilbao. In the first half, Athletic dominated the game and, especially in the first minutes, created more dangerous situations than Barcelona. These first minutes were marked by an event that exposed the lack of knowledge of the referee when it comes to apply the rules. Athletic got awarded with a penalty. Laca beated Ricardo Zamora, but the referee saw how Germán had entered in the box before the penalty was shot. Instead of repeating the penalty, the referee awarded Barcelona with a foul against Athletic for this action, deservedly protested by the Basques. In any case, the match continued and, despite the efforts of both teams, the game was mainly played in midfield and the result at half time was a 0-0.<br />
<br />
In the second half, Jack Greenwell won the tactical battle to Billy Barnes, Athletic's coach. FC Barcelona rejected to play direct football and started to play on the ground, which showed to be more efficient, driven by a great Sanchón. In this situation, with a better Barcelona on the pitch, a crossed ball by Paulino Alcántara was kicked by the unmarked Vicente Martínez into the net in the minute 55. Since that moment, Athletic went on full attack, playing their best football in the afternoon, but the attempts of the Basques were denied by Zamora, the Barcelona defense and the posts again and again. When the game reached the minute 80, one of the few attacks of Barcelona after the first goal, fell in the feet of Alcántara, whose powerful shot meant the sentence of the game (2-0). The reports said that Athletic tried much more during the game, but Barcelona's football was more solid. With this title, FC Barcelona won their 4th Copa title in history and this generation of players started to build their legend.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vE9-yrLBLE/TpAe2iVri4I/AAAAAAAAADA/bVJTc5Ju804/s1600/Final+Copa+1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vE9-yrLBLE/TpAe2iVri4I/AAAAAAAAADA/bVJTc5Ju804/s1600/Final+Copa+1920.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Olympic Games - Antwerp 1920</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Since its creation in 1913 and the affiliation to FIFA, the RFEF could not present any national team in an international tournament. After the end of the Great War, the Olympic Games 1920 at Anwerp were the first chance to do it. The RFEF named Paco Bru, former Internacional, Barcelona and Español player as the coach of the new Spanish national team. Paco Bru selected the following squad to represent Spain: Ricardo Zamora (FC Barcelona) and Agustin Eizaguirre (Real Sociedad), as goalkeepers; Mariano Arrate (Real Sociedad), Luis Otero (Vigo Sporting) and Pedro Vallana (Arenas Club) as defenders; Jose M. Belauste (Athletic Club), Sabino Bilbao (Athletic Club), Ramón Equiazábal (Real Unión), Silverio Izaguirre (Real Sociedad), Josep Samitier (FC Barcelona) and Agustín Sancho (FC Barcelona) as midfielders; Patricio Arbolaza (Real Unión), "Moncho" Gil (Vigo Sporting), Domingo Gomez-Acedo (Athletic Club), Rafael Moreno "Pichichi" (Athletic Club), Francisco Pagaza (Arenas Club), Félix Sesúmaga (FC Barcelona) and Joaquin Vázquez (Racing Ferrol) as forwards.<br />
<br />
In the previous round, the first game of the history of the Spanish NT, Spain met Denmark. The game was competed by the two sides, but Patricio, Real Union's striker, won the game for the Spanish team with a goal in the minute 54, in the second half.<br />
<br />
In the Quarter finals, Spain had to face Belgium, the local team, in front of 18,000 fans at the Olympic stadium. This time, the Spanish team was clearly surpassed by the Belgian team, who were clearly superior. Coppee advanced the local team very soon in the game (11') and the 1-0 was the result at half time. In the second half, two early goals of Coppee (52' and 55') ended with the hopes of the Spanish team. Arrata scored the honor goal in the minute 60, in a penalty kick, for a final 3-1.<br />
<br />
The format of the competition was strange. The four semifinalist would fight for the gold medal, which was finally won by Belgium, while the teams that had fallen in the Quarter finals would play a consolation tournament for the silver and bronze medal against the semifinalists and the runner-up.<br />
<br />
So, in the fight for the silver and bronze medals, Spain met Sweden. In this game, the Swedish team got the lead with a goal scored by Dahl in the first half, being the 0-1 the result after 45 minutes. In the second half, the legend of the <i>Furia roja </i>(Red fury) was written. The reports say that Spain played with heart and there was a phrase that passed to the history of the Spanish football. Supposedly, the Spanish player José María Belauste screamed at his teammate Sabino Bilbao the famous words <i>"¡A mi el pelotón, Sabino, que los arroyo!"</i> (Sabino, the ball to me, I'll roll over them!), before Sabino passed him the ball to tie the game. Only two minutes later, Acedo scored the 2nd goal for the Spanish team, who advanced to the next round.<br />
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Spain and Italy, who had defeated Norway, played for the right to play for a medal. The game was played in the Olympic stadium in front of 10,000 spectators. Spain was superior to the Italians and Félix Sesúmaga was the hero of the afternoon with the two goals, one in each half, for the 2-0 victory.<br />
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The silver medal final was played against the Netherlands in front of 14,000 fans in the same Olympic stadium. Both teams directly advanced to this final. Spain did not play the third round against the finalist of Czechoslovakia, since they had retired in the final before the final whistle and they had been disqualified. At the same time, in the other semifinal, France withdrew before the game against the Dutch. About the game, Sesúmaga appeared as one of the main stars of the tournament with an early goal, after 7 minutes. Before half time, the same Félix Sesúmaga scored the 2nd goal for the Spanish team, who made another step forward towards the silver medal. In the second half, Holland tried to balance the game, but the goal of Groosjohan in the minute 68 was rapidly responded by "Pichichi" who scored the 3rd goal for Spain, only 4 minutes later. The 3-1 was the final result. This silver medal was mythical for the Spanish football and the most important achievement of the Spanish team for decades.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Selecci%C3%B3n_espa%C3%B1ola_-_Amberes_1920.jpg/800px-Selecci%C3%B3n_espa%C3%B1ola_-_Amberes_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Selecci%C3%B3n_espa%C3%B1ola_-_Amberes_1920.jpg/800px-Selecci%C3%B3n_espa%C3%B1ola_-_Amberes_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish team vs Belgium. Up from left to right: Belauste (did not play), Acedo, Zamora, Artola, Patricio, Arrate, Eguizabal, Vázquez, Sancho and the coach, Paco Bru. Down from left to right: Lemmel (assistant coach), Vallana and Pagaza</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>List of winners</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1916 - Athletic Club<br />
1917 - Madrid FC<br />
1918 - Real Unión Irún<br />
1919 - Arenas Club<br />
1920 - FC Barcelona<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1916 - FC Barcelona<br />
1917 - FC España<br />
1918 - RCD Español<br />
1919 - FC Barcelona<br />
1920 - FC Barcelona<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid - Centro</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1916 - Madrid FC<br />
1917 - Madrid FC<br />
1918 - Madrid FC<br />
1919 - Racing Madrid<br />
1920 - Madrid FC<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato Norte - Vizcaya</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1916 - Athletic Club<br />
1917 - Arenas Club<br />
1918 - Real Unión Irún<br />
1919 - Arenas Club<br />
1920 - Athletic Club<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Guipuzcoa</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1919 - Real Sociedad<br />
1920 - Reaul Unión Irún<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Galicia</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1916 - Fortuna Vigo<br />
1917 - Vigo Sporting<br />
1918 - Fortuna Vigo<br />
1919 - Vigo Sporting<br />
1920 - Vigo Sporting<br />
<br />
<u><i>Copa de Andalucía</i></u><br />
<u><i><br />
</i></u><br />
1916 - Español FC Cádiz<br />
1917 - Sevilla FC<br />
1918 - Recreativo Huelva<br />
1919 - Sevilla FC<br />
1920 - Sevilla FC<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato Regional de Asturias</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1917 - Sporting Gijón<br />
1918 - Sporting Gijón<br />
1919 - Sporting Gijón<br />
1920 - Sporting Gijón<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato Regional Levantino</u></i><br />
<i><u><br />
</u></i><br />
1919 - CD Aguileño<br />
1920 - Gimástica de Valencia and Cartagena did not play the final</div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-51442872569664522062011-10-04T00:27:00.001+02:002011-10-15T14:21:10.279+02:00Football and nationalismsFootball always had a tribal aspect. Somehow, in every country, the victory on the neighbor always had a special taste. In the case of Spain, the nature and history of the country had a special reflection in football, as mirror of the society. Since a very early stage, football was formed by clubs and competitions which aimed to connect with the community they were living in. The constant failures of the Spanish national team along with the nationalisms (all of them, from the "periphery" of Catalonia and the Basque Country to the centralist Spanish or Castillian nationalism) and the success of the clubs, as icons of these territorial identities, created rivalries that go beyond the pure sport level. In this way, Athletic Club and FC Barcelona are usually seen as representatives of the national aspirations of Euskadi and Catalonia, while Real Madrid has usually been linked with the centralism of the Spanish state. This is a short walk through the history of Spain and its football in the last century, from the early and classic centrifugal-centralist dichotomy to the recent broad and complex reality of the state.<br />
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In Spain, football started to replace the different traditional and regional sports, especially in the urban areas, at the end of the 19th century. Football was easy to adopt, since it was easy to find empty lands where the initial amateur players built the goals and played with a ball. But the initial reduced importance of the game, which basically was a hobby of its players, changed in the early decades of the 20th century, especially since the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1910s, the first debates about professionalism started to appear, but the year 1920 is seen as a turning point.<br />
<br />
In 1920, Spain presented a football team in the Olympic Games of Antwerp (Belgium). The Spanish team ended up winning a silver medal in what it was the first international achievement of the Spanish football. This silver medal forged the myth of the <i>Furia española</i> (Spanish fury), so used during the dictatorship of Franco. The paradox is that the superiority of Athletic and Basque football in general during those years until the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) would force us to talk about the "Athletic fury" or the "Basque fury". Basically, the so called Basque style ended up being adopted in an interested metonymy. In the 1940s, the fascist unique party during the regime of Franco hyped the style as the paradigm of the Spanish race. An absurd, considering that the term did not have any content, since it was applied to any style used by any Spanish team of any province, especially referring to a winning team.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/1920_olympics_poster.jpg/250px-1920_olympics_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/1920_olympics_poster.jpg/250px-1920_olympics_poster.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><br />
<br />
But aside the exceptional triumph in the Olympic Games 1920, the results of the Spanish NT were pretty disappointing and, during the 1920s and 1930s, the organization of football in Spain had a very regional tendency. The competitions were played in the regional level and the Copa del Rey (La Liga was founded in 1928) was a kind of regional battle. Since a very early stage, football in Spain was basically a clash of identities represented by the clubs.<br />
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Athletic Club had a special connection with the city and its territorial environment, which got highlighted when the Basque club decided not to use players outside the Basque territory. During the democratic term of the II República (1931-1936), Athletic Club and the rest of Basque clubs openly defended the Basque autonomy and, during the Civil War, created an Euzkadi team which faced several republican allies (Czechoslovakia, Poland, USSR or Norway).<br />
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At the same time, in Catalonia, FC Barcelona, a club founded by a Swiss man, Hans Gamper, had built a special connection with its community, becoming the club of the people in Catalonia and a symbol of the <i>catalanity,</i> in opposition to RCD Español, which was more connected with the middle-class and the centralist ideas. An example of it were the incidents of a game during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1921-1929), when Les Corts, FC Barcelona's stadium, was closed for 6 months after the booing of the Spanish national anthem. As in the case of Athletic Club, FC Barcelona, as club, was very active in the defense of Catalonia and its national identity during the República and the Civil War.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.generalisimofranco.com/Album/vida/franco88a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://www.generalisimofranco.com/Album/vida/franco88a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General Franco in the Santiago Bernabéu</td></tr>
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During the 1940s and 1950s, football was a tool in the hands of the new fascist regime to set the new political and ideological values of the "Spanish nation". In 1938, during the Civil War, the newspaper Marca was released for the first time in San Sebastián, in a zone already dominated by the national-fascist army. The journalist Miquelarena stated their intentions and the necessity of a "change in the conception of football to make it fit in the new values of the State. During the II República, football was a red (communist) orgy of the lowest and evil regional passions". The journalist highlighted that "almost everyone was separatist -and rude-. The pro-Basqueism was seen in the stands of San Mamés and also in the tribunes of Chamartín. In most of the cases, a madridista was a pro-Basque of Madrid; that is, a localist mental retard against the national limits". After the Civil War, sport was included in the state engine. Sport gets subdued to the state and gets full of the fascist terminology. The words that gave sport content were in the line of obedience, submission and military discipline. The National Sport Delegation, the most important sport organization of the new regime, depnded on the unique party, Falange. The RFEF, which had been founded and driven by the clubs since its creation in the year 1913, got used to be part of the state. In this context, the football clubs lost their private nature and their self-government capacity. The <i>socios</i>, which had been ruling their clubs, because in mere ticket holders of a sport event. Football ended up adapting their functioning rules to the evolution of the political regume and only in the last years of the dictatorship, the clubs recovered some of their influence.<br />
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In contrast with other aspects of the Spanish life, football rapidly recovered the economic levels and the audience of the pre-war period. In only two seasons, as average, the clubs recovered the attendances they had enjoyed during the República. Football became an psychological escape way, as a way to compensate a difficult existance. However, football as mass phenomenon, was not a creation of the regime. In other European countries, the rise of football was also a way to heal collective injuries after World War 2. Therefore, the recovery of the football show was not an invention of the regime, but this regime definitely realized that the show was a very powerful political tool during the 1940s.<br />
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During this period, Atlético Madrid (Atlético Aviación) during the early post-war years and, especially, Real Madrid acquired a strong political meaning to the point to be considered the "team of the regime", while "suspicious of separatism" clubs like Athletic Club or FC Barcelona fell under the control, even if it was just institutional, of the new fascist state. Others authors, considered Real Madrid, as a victim of the political propaganda of the fascist regime. The debate was built around the figure of the president of Real Madrid during all the dictatorship: Santiago Bernabéu, who reigned in the club from 1943 to his death in 1978. Depending on the authors, the controversy around Santiago Bernabéu is more or less critical. Santiago Bernabéu was a <i>franquista</i>, there are not doubts about this fact, since he had always backed the ultra-conservative ideas and even acted as member of the fascist army during the war. At the same time, it is also a fact that Real Madrid was supported by Franco and most of its ministers and Santiago Bernabéu was proud of it, just as the fact of the club being an embassy of the regime. The controversy arises on the influences of these facts in the competition, the influence of Real Madrid on the RFEF and the referees, along with the independent attitude of Santiago Bernabéu from the General Franco inside the logical limits of a dictatorship.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.corazonblanco.com/media/galeria/44/1/0/4/9/o_real_madrid_la_historia-519401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.corazonblanco.com/media/galeria/44/1/0/4/9/o_real_madrid_la_historia-519401.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santiago Bernbéu</td></tr>
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As we previously said, the authorities tried to link the fascist values with the game. The myth of the <i>Furia española</i> had its real origin of Athletic's football during the 1910s and 1920s. The media, through the voice of Matías Prats in the Radio Nacional, acted as spokesman, adapting a patriotic (or Spanish nationalist) tone to promote the importance of the Spanish national team. A national team that had to abandon the red shirts to use the blue color, as the shirts of the Falange members. A team that forced its players to make a line and raise their right hand in a fascist salute while voicing the usual slogans before the games. The victory of Spain of 1964 was not the victory of everyone, given the political use (it was the victory of the fascist Spain over the communist USSR) and the centralist utilization of it.<br />
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After two decades of insitutional control, the clubs gained some degree of autonomy, while the fascist ideology got relaxed in a process that started after the end of World War 2 and the international recognition of the regime of Franco at the end of the 1950s. While the Spanish NT constantly failed to appear in the World Cups or failed in the competition itself, the success of Real Madrid in the European competitions made the club to be the best propaganda tool of Franco in the external environments, willingly or not. But, at the same time, during the 1960s and 1970s, football became the best catalyst instrument of the nationalistic aspirations of Basques and Catalans. The hostility against the centralist and oppressor state found football as a way of expression and projection of national identity. Some authors, like Vázquez Montalbán, even claim that the regime accepted this situation, in order to keep these nationalistic tensions in a controlled scenario like a football stadium. During these years, FC Barcelona, a club that had always made a strong bet for local players, did not hesitate to start a war with Real Madrid for the signing of the best players of the World. Even though these policies were not successful until very recent decades, the club is commonly considered the "national team of Catalonia". The club found a unique connection with the ideas of the catalanism and many matches in Les Corts and, later on, the Camp Nou were national performances with fans waving <i>senyeras </i>(Catalan flags), singing <i>Els Segadors</i> (National anthem of Catalonia) and speaking their forbidden Catalan language. In a similar way, Athletic Club were able to kept their enormous political importance during the dictatorship, keeping their policy of playing with home grown players despite the changes in football.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__qUxBp-jang/TN0ibEWN3bI/AAAAAAAAAuI/DjhYrTiRQ00/Recopa%20de%20Basilea%20St%20Jakob's%20Satdium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__qUxBp-jang/TN0ibEWN3bI/AAAAAAAAAuI/DjhYrTiRQ00/Recopa%20de%20Basilea%20St%20Jakob's%20Satdium.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barcelonistas in the Cup Winners' Cup 1979 at Basel</td></tr>
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With the arrival of democracy (1977), football enjoyed a deep transformation in its organization. The federations also started a process of democratization and the clubs gave their <i>socios</i> back the right to vote their presidents. The centralist organization of sport, the <i>Delegación Nacional de Deportes,</i> disappeared and the old Spanish nationalist rhetoric started to fade away. The <i>Furia española</i> term declined, helped by the failures of the Spanish team in the World Cups of 1978 and 1982, while new territorial ways of expression appeared beyond the Basque Country or Catalonia.<br />
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In this way, the clubs of Andalucía, mainly Sevilla and Betis, showed their support to the Andalusian autonomy; RC Celta adopted the colors of the flag of Galicia in a raising nationalist feeling; and Valencia CF wore the colors of the Valencian regionalist flag in opposition to the Catalanism in a very particular conservative and regionalist ideology. During the 1980s and the 1990s, the simple dichotomy centalist-nationalist mainly represented by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona along with Athletic and Real Sociedad became a complex and plural rainbow of different kind of expressions, along with the new regional organization of the democratic state. During these decades, the ethnic-territorial map of the Spanish football, which had a very centralistic radial view started to disappear to build new national and regional identities. The Catalan and Basque cases were well known, but the new autonomies with their own self-government institutions and the spread of regional televisions or media in general helped to create new centrifugal powers.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.deia.com/images/2010/12/01/iribar-f650x650_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://static.deia.com/images/2010/12/01/iribar-f650x650_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iribar (Athletic) and Kortabarría (Real Sociedad) with the forbidden ikurriña in 1976 </td></tr>
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Already in the 2000s, the late Spanish victories in the Euro and the World Cup had a shocking effect in Spain. Ironically, the winning Spanish team is mainly formed by Catalan players or, in a more broad definition, by FC Barcelona players. This situation created an interesting paradox, since the Barcelona players are often welcome in many stadiums of Spain by the same fans that not so long ago used political insults against them. And, at the same time, the Catalan club sees the success of the Spanish NT as a reason of pride, since their home grown Masia players are the core of a national team that has set an era in football.<br />
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The political and national tensions still exist though and football will keep reflecting the complex territorial reality. The changing society will keep defining the nature of the clubs in Spain, clubs that often act as icons of their nations, regions or cities. This is why football is more than a religion in this country.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-48940119999873168322011-10-03T02:37:00.001+02:002011-10-15T14:21:32.716+02:00The legend of La Quinta del BuitreReal Madrid have enjoyed lots of legendary teams through their history. Some of these teams are eternal, but there was a generation of Real Madrid players between the Di Stéfano' and the <i>Ye-Ye's </i>teams and Zidane's <i>Galácticos</i> that has a special place in the hearts of the madridistas: <i>La Quinta del Buitre's. </i>This generation excel for the beauty of their football and their success in terms of titles. This generation dominated the Spanish football for half decade, although faith did not give them the European crown they probably deserved.<br />
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The term <i>Quinta del Buitre</i> (The <i>Buitre</i>'s generation) was used for the first time in an article of the sport section of <a href="http://www.elpais.es/">El País</a>, a general newspaper, written by Julio César Iglesias (November 14, 1983): <i>"Amancio y La Quinta del Buitre"</i>. The article made the first reference about a generation of players that was going to set an era. The good performances of Real Madrid's B-team, Castilla, in the first games of the season in Segunda División was remarkable and the article focused in five players managed by the coach of the team, Amancio, a legend of the <i>Yé-Yé</i> Real Madrid.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.corazonblanco.com/media/galeria/44/0/9/3/1/n_real_madrid_varios-2391390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.corazonblanco.com/media/galeria/44/0/9/3/1/n_real_madrid_varios-2391390.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castilla with Michel, Butragueño, Martin Vázquez, Sanchis and Pardeza</td></tr>
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These players were Emilio Butragueño, <i>El Buitre</i>, the leader of the generation and the one who gave them the name, a central forward that excelled for the magic of his football. When Butragueño got the ball in the box, everything stopped. In a place where most of the players always looked for the fastest solution, he stopped with the ball in his feet, face to face with the defender, who always feared the magic of the tricks of <i>El Buitre, </i>who usually won the battle with an impossible dribbling and a remarkable ease to score goals. Manolo Sanchís was a central back. In an era of rough and tough central backs, Sanchís was the first of a generation of classy defenders, more intelligent than physical, anticipation over friction, comfortable with the ball in his feet. "Michel" was a hot-blooded but classy winger. The only member of the <i>Quinta</i> to play with Real Madrid in all his career and the only one who won a Champions League among them, in the decline of his career. The famous bananas of David Beckham were not new in the Bernabéu, people said Michel's right feet had a glove, since the precision of his crosses fed Real Madrid's strikers again and again. Due to his strong personality Michel had a love-hate relationship with the Bernabéu. Rafael Martín Vázquez was the most underrated player of this generation. Probably, the most technically gifted player of the <i>Quinta</i>, although his shy and calm personality did not help him to enjoy the prestige and the love of others. The departure of Martín Vázquez was seen as the beginning of the end of this generation. The black sheep was Miguel Pardeza, a classy striker who struggled to find his place in the first team of Madrid and the first to leave. Despite he was always a member of the <i>Quinta</i>, he mainly spent his career at Real Zaragoza, where he became a club legend.<br />
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The first two players of <i>La Quinta</i> who made their debut in Primera División with Real Madrid were Manolo Sanchís and Rafael Martín Vázquez. The icon Alfredo Di Stéfano was the coach of the first team and both players made their debut in Murcia in November 4, 1983. Manolo Sanchís even scored a goal that day. Only a few weeks later, Pardeza played his first 7 minutes with the first team. But if there was an unforgettable debut, that was Butragueño's. It was in Cádiz, February 5, 1984. Real Madrid were losing 2-0 in the Ramón de Carranza stadium and <i>El Buitre</i> appeared to score 2 goals and give one assist to overcome the result and give the victory to Real Madrid. Still most of them played their games in Segunda División during the season to give the title to Castilla, the only time that a B team has won the second division title in Spain.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4Gvj_zJdm0/S4apA5rjj0I/AAAAAAAAEEU/eNJApAXTFx0/s320/butra_anderlecht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g4Gvj_zJdm0/S4apA5rjj0I/AAAAAAAAEEU/eNJApAXTFx0/s320/butra_anderlecht.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butragueño vs Andelecht</td></tr>
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The 1984/1985 season had a change in the bench of Real Madrid. Di Stéfano left the position and Amancio, the manager of Castilla in their historical season, took the direction of the team. During this season, all the members of <i>La Quinta, </i>except Pardeza, enjoyed lots of minutes in the first team. The team struggled during the season, totally dominated by Venables' Barcelona, but the seed of the future had been planted. This season was unforgettable triumphs in the Bernabéu in the UEFA Cup once the coach Amancio had been replaced by Luís Molowny. In the Round of 16, Real Madrid overcame a 3-0 defeat with a historical 6-1 at home and, in the semifinals, the 2-0 defeat at the Meazza against Internazionale was fixed with a magnificent 3-0 in the Bernabéu. These victories, which gave the possibility to win the final against Videoton, have passed to the memory of the madridismo as the magic nights of the <i>grandes remontadas </i>(the great surmounts).<br />
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The following season was historical for the madridismo too. In the 1985/1986 season, Real Madrid got reinforced by Hugo Sánchez, Gordillo and Maceda, who brought the term <i>La Quinta de los Machos</i> with them, as a way to highlight the difference in style of these players in opposition with the classy football of the <i>Quinta del Buitre.</i> Probably, this opposite term was not 100% correct, since these players also enjoyed a great quality, but this mix of class and hard work made the team reach the perfection. Real Madrid found no opposition in La Liga, leading the standings since the very early weeks of the competition. The beauty and efficiency of the football of this Real Madrid was impressive. If La Liga was a walk in the park, the hot emotions were left for the UEFA Cup again. As it had happened in the previous edition, the Santiago Bernabéu kept enjoying the historical <i>grandes remontadas</i>, as the day the beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 after a 5-1 defeat in Germany, in the Round of 16, or the 5-1 victory on Internazionale (again) in the semifinals after a 3-1 defeat in the Meazza. Real Madrid ended up winning their 2nd UEFA Cup title in a row against Köln. Their season did not stop here. <i>La Quinta del Buitre</i> were also an important part of the Spanish NT that played the World Cup 1986 in Mexico. Spain could not pass from the Quarter finals in the competition, but the amazing game of Butragueño against Denmark in Querétaro, scoring 4 goals, will pass to history as one of the most memorable individual performances of a Spanish player in World Cup. Sadly for this generation of players, the Spanish NT fell in the lottery of the penalties against Belgium in the Quarter finals, avoiding a historical semifinal against Maradona's Argentina.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jotdown.es/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Butrague%C3%B1o-Dinamarca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jotdown.es/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Butrague%C3%B1o-Dinamarca.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butragueño vs Denmark in World Cup 1986</td></tr>
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During thr 1986/1987 season, all the five members of <i>La Quinta</i> were part of the team, once Pardeza had returned from his loan season in Zaragoza. Despite the opposition of Barcelona, Leo Beenhakker's Real Madrid was superior in La Liga and won their 2nd Liga consecutive title. If Butragueño, Míchel and Sanchis were essential members of the team, Martín Vázquez started to gain an important position in the team too. The European Cup Real Madrid had not played during 5 years was a new test for the team. Real Madrid achieved some important victories, as the one against Juventus, but ended up falling in the semifinals against a historical Bayern, who enjoyed players like Rummenigge, Matthäus, Brehme or Hoeness.<br />
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The 1987/1988 season only confirmed the total domination of Real Madrid in La Liga. The level of football of the madridistas was unique, the superior style of the madridistas did not see opposition again. Only Toshack's Real Sociedad was a threat in the distance, while Barcelona lived a historical crisis that ended up with Bernd Schuster out of the team and the rebellion of the team against the president Núñez. Real Madrid was the dictator of La Liga and had time to focus in Europe. Real Madrid emerged as one of the most important favorites to win the competition. Real Madrid confirmed this prestige defeating the two previous finalists in their way to the final. In the Round of 16, Porto lost their crown losing the two games against the Spanish champions. In the Quarter finals, Real Madrid took their revenge against Bayern. Despite the suffering in the Olympiastadion, where Madrid were losing 3-0 at some point of the game, the goals of Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez helped the team to stay alive. In the return leg, Madrid did not fail and advanced thanks to the goals of Míchel and Jankovic. In the semifinals, Real Madrid met PSV Eindhoven. The madridistas were clear favorites in this round and, probably, in the competition at that moment. Everything seemed to go in the right direction when Hugo Sánchez gave the lead to the madridistas in the first minutes of the game. This goal was equalized by PSV only a few minutes later and the Dutch team could resist the rest of the game. In Holland, Real Madrid went for a full attack and dominated the whole game. The fantastic and historical performance of the Dutch goalkeeper Van Breukelen was decisive to stop Real Madrid's way to the final. Still the madridismo recall that night as a lost chance.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://archivo.marca.com/futbol/2008/fotos_quinta_del_buitre/13_rm_psv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://archivo.marca.com/futbol/2008/fotos_quinta_del_buitre/13_rm_psv.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butragueño and Van Breukelen</td></tr>
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In any case, Real Madrid did not surrender. The 1988/1989 season saw a reinforced Real Madrid. The madridistas got reinforced by the arrival of Bernd Schuster, the star of Barcelona who had left the team due to his bad relationships with the president Núñez. The renovated Barcelona, managed by Johan Cruyff, presented some opposition in La Liga, but Real Madrid still dominated the competition with superiority in all the levels. Once more, with the unquestioned dominance in the domestic competition, <i>La Quinta del Buitre's</i> main goal was to triumph in the European Cup. As it had happened in the previous edition, Real Madrid were able to take their revenge against their past executioners and the madridistas defeated Romario's PSV in the Quarter finals, thanks to a goal scored by Martín Vázquez in the last minutes of the extra time. But their curse of the European Cup did not see an end. This time Leo Beenhakker's squad met Sacchi's AC Milan. As it had happened in the previous edition, despite all the praising on Sacchi's revolutionary Milan, the madridistas were big favorites against the <i>rossoneri</i>, who were struggling in their domestic competition. In the Bernabéu, the goal of Hugo Sánchez gave the madridistas the lead in the scoreboard, but a lucky goal scored by Van Basten when the game was dying left everything for the 2nd leg. This return leg in San Siro was one of the saddest nights of the madridismo and the beginning of the legend of Sacchi's Milan. The milanistas gave a lesson of football and trashed Real Madrid with a historical 5-0 that passed to the history of the competition. This Real Madrid started to feel cursed in their favorite competition, although they closed the season with a historical double after the victory in the Copa del Rey.<br />
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The 1989/1990 season started with changes. John Benjamin Toshack, who had triumphed with Real Sociedad, replaced the Dutch Leo Beenhakker with a clear objective: the European Cup. Destiny crossed Sacchi's Milan in the early rounds of the competition, in the Round of 16. The two main favorites of the European Cup had an early final in front of them. This time, the first game was played at San Siro, but the story did not look to change much. Two early goals scored by Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten, after a controversial penalty, gave a 2-0 lead to the home team. This time Real Madrid could avoid the total disaster, but this result did not change. In the return leg, the Bernabéu boiled to help their team. Butragueño scored on the stroke of half time, giving his team hopes to overcome the result in another magic night, but the game got lost in the second half with incidents and violent football. Real Madrid fell in this competition again. In La Liga, Toshack's Real Madrid was a machine of football and goals. Hugo Sánchez matched Telmo Zarra's record, scoring 38 goals, which helped the team to set an all-time record that is yet to be broken, 107 goals. But as the team triumphed in La Liga, signals of internal decomposition started to appear. With La Liga in hand and Cruyff's head about to be cut, Barcelona saved their season with a Copa del Rey victory against the madridistas (2-0). At that point, probably just an anecdote, turned out to be essential in the change of powers in the Spanish football. Besides, Schuster announced his departure from Real Madrid, but the most remarkable event was the divorce of Rafael Martín Vázquez with the club. Martín Vázquez completed his best season in the club and requested a rise in his wages, which was denied by the president Ramón Mendoza, who had always shown his love for the members of <i>La Quinta del Buitre. </i>In the World Cup 1990, things were not different. Under the effects of the summer crisis in the madridismo, Spain could not repeat the good performances of 1986 and fell in the Round of 16 against Yugoslavia.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/03/26/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1269558353_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/03/26/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1269558353_0.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin Vázquez and Michel celebrate one of the 107 goals with Hierro and Gordillo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The departure of Martín Vázquez was symbolic. The polemics about this departure turned the positive atmosphere in the Bernabéu into a negative situation. Even though Real Madrid still turned around the members of <i>La Quinta</i>, the change of cycle was evident since the early games of the new Liga 90/91. Cruyff's Barcelona dominated La Liga and Real Madrid was not even their main rival. The bad domestic performances had their reflection in Europe, where Real Madrid were surprisingly defeated by Spartak Moscow in the Quarter finals. In any case, with an injured Hugo Sánchez, Butragueño carried the team on his shoulders and was <i>Pichichi </i>in La Liga, scoring 19 goals.<br />
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The following seasons just confirmed the change of cycle. Even though Real Madrid recovered some strength after the terrible Liga 90/91, during the following 3 years Cruyff's Barcelona built their legendary status, as the members of <i>La Quinta</i> started to decline. Butragueño and Míchel started to play less games, as it happened with Martín Vázquez after his return from his sad and unsuccessful adventure in Torino and Olympique Marseille. Only Sanchís could keep his essential position in the team, while the rest of <i>La Quinta</i> were fading away. Probably, their most important title in those years was the Copa of 1993, which opened a long trophyless run in this competition, only closed last year in Valencia.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogfutbolero.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/quintadelbuitre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://www.blogfutbolero.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/quintadelbuitre.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Quinta in one of their last pictures </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Real Madrid closed Cruyff's cycle in the 1994/1995 season under the direction of Jorge Valdano. It was the last big triumph of <i>La Quinta del Buitre</i>, but also a season that changed the balance of powers in the squad. Despite Martín Vázquez and Sanchís kept having an important role in the team, Michel started to disappear from the team and his divorce with the Bernabéu was more and more evident. But the most remarkable event was the flashing debut of Raúl González, a 17 year old kid who made a big impact in the Real Madrid that had finished with the hegemony of Cruyff's Barcelona... and also the kid who retired Emilio Butragueño.<br />
<br />
Emilion Butragueño had been the icon, the symbol of the madridismo of the previous 10 years, in the seasons of victories and also in the bad moments. But the change was there and the future of the #7 of Real Madrid was safe. Emilio Butragueño left Real Madrid to retire in the Mexican team, Atlético Celaya. Martín Vázquez, who started to suffer from different injuries, left the club to join Deportivo. Only one year later, Michel joined Butragueño in the Mexican adventure. Only Manolo Sanchís, the first member of <i>La Quinta </i>that had made his debut stayed in Madrid and he did it for 5 more years. Despite his influence in the team was in clear decline, his importance in the locker room as captain of the team was evident. Probably, he did not have a direct influence in the Champions League titles of 1998 and 2000, but he was the captain of the squad back then and, in the name of his old teammates, he raised the so wished European Cup trophies that all <i>La Quinta del Buitre</i> had deserved and never won.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://members.fortunecity.es/taras/images/jugadores/sanchis4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://members.fortunecity.es/taras/images/jugadores/sanchis4.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanchis with the Champions League trophy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The modern Spanish football is usually linked with players with a unique technical style in opposition with the unfamous <i>Furia</i> of the past. For many of us, it is evident that the current players have a reference in the past, a door opened by <i>La Quinta del Buitre</i> and followed in their own style by Cruyff's <i>Dream Team</i> in Barcelona. Each of them, in their own style, set an era in the Spanish football. Despite the later triumphs of Real Madrid, the madridismo has the last half of the 1980s as a reference: home grown players with a unique talent to play football and the total dominance in the Spanish football. Only a miracle or bad luck prevented this Real Madrid from winning in Europe, but despite this fact, this legendary group of players have a very relevant place in the history of Real Madrid and in football in general.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-57323762852864801062011-09-29T22:06:00.001+02:002011-10-15T14:20:27.774+02:00History of the Spanish football (IV): 1911-1915, the creation of RFEF, Athletic dominance and first idolsPrevious chapter: <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/09/history-of-spanish-football-1905-1910.html">History of the Spanish football (III): 1905-1910, the years of crisis and division</a><br />
<br />
During this decade, the most important event was the creation of the RFEF, which allowed the Spanish football to enter in FIFA. This event was not exempt from problems and divisions in the Spanish football. In these years, Athletic Club was the most important club of the country and their regional dominance was extended to the Copa del Rey. These years were also times of crisis for Madrid FC and FC Barcelona, who saw how clubs that have disappeared, like Gimnástica de Madrid or FC España became powers in their zone. At the same time, the first idols appear, like "Pichichi" in Athletic Club or Paulino Alcántara in FC Barcelona.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>1910-1911</b><br />
<br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
<br />
In this new edition of the Catalan <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/cathist.html">tournament</a>, there were five clubs and the problems with club withdrawing from games persisted, but FC Barcelona kept having no rival on the pitch. Some things started to change in football and the first signals of the future professionalism started to appear, since some players of Barcelona started to request for money. In one way or another, FC Barcelona won their 3rd consecutive title, the 4th in their history. As anecdote, during this season, the Board of Español decided to introduce the blue and white colors in their shirt to honor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_of_Lauria">Roger de Llúria</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Te_Z8e4KIWE/Tn3i8K2LeHI/AAAAAAAAAB0/dspYEO7zrbg/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Te_Z8e4KIWE/Tn3i8K2LeHI/AAAAAAAAAB0/dspYEO7zrbg/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1910.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
<br />
As this tournament was played in a two leg round between Madrid FC and Gimnástica. Since Athletic Madrid and Español de Madrid acted as feeders of the Athletic Club Bilbao and CD Español de Barcelona, they were not part of the competition. Madrid FC won the first game against Gimnástica, who were defeated 3-0. In the second round, Gimástica won the game (2-0) against the madridistas. The rules at that time forced a replay to decide the winner. Gimnástica won the tie-breaker (2-1) and got the ticket to the Copa.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
What it was supposed to be the Copa of peace turned to be the Copa of the conflicts. As it was agreed the tournament was played in Bizkaia, specifically in Getxo, a town near Bilbao were Athletic had a football stadium. Also, as a consequence of the initial peace, the participation was the most important until that moment and, aside some regional champions, all the members of the FECF were invited. Initially, there were 13 teams in the roster: Athletic Club, Bilbao FC, Sociedad de San Sebastian, Santander FC, Gimnástica de Madrid, FC Barcelona, CD Español, Deportivo de La Coruña, Fortuna Vigo plus four teams of the different militar academies: Academia de Artilleria (Segovia), Academia de Infanteria (Toledo), Academia de Caballería (Valladolid) and Academia de Ingenieros (Guadalajara).<br />
<br />
The problems started very soon when Deportivo de La Coruña and the Academia de Ingenieros withdrew in protest for the presence of non-available foreigners in some of their rivals. The rules specified that the club could play with foreigners as long as they had been living in Spain for at least two years.<br />
<br />
The previous round were played by the local clubs. In the first game, Bilbao FC faced the Academia de Infantería. The local team won the game (2-1) and advanced to the quarter finals. The second game of the previous round created a huge mess. Athletic Club played against Fortuna Vigo and the Basques defeated their rivals (2-0), but Sociedad de San Sebastián appealed the result of the game, since they considered that three players of Athletic Club did not accomplish with the foreigners rule, and requested the replay. The FECF did not accept the complaints and Sociedad de San Sebastián withdrew in protest before they played their first game.<br />
<br />
The quarter finals were not exempt of problems either. On April 10, CD Español trashed their military rivals of the Academia de Infantería (6-0) and advanced to the semifinals. The same day, the Academia de Caballería surprised Santander FC (1-0) and got their tickets to the semifinals too. Two days later, there was a local derby between Athletic Club and Bilbao FC. Athletic Club, this time without their "strange" English players (it was known that they were players that had only joined Athletic for this tournament), showed their superiority defeating their neighbors easily (4-1). But the problems continued with the last game of this round. FC Barcelona and Gimnástica de Madrid faced each other for a place in the semifinals. FC Barcelona, the big favorites of this game, accomplished with the expectations and defeated the team of Madrid (4-0). However, Gimnástica appealed the game, since they considered that the goalkeeper of Barcelona, Reñé, was a French that did not accompish with the foreigner rule. The FECF decided to accept the complaints and forced the replay. The Catalan team defended that Reñé had been living in Barcelona for more than two years and, in any case, they considered that it could only be considered an affront compared with the Athletic Club case. As a consequence, FC Barcelona also decided to leave the tournament.<br />
<br />
If that was not enough, the events got more ugly. Considering all the previous situations, the Academia de Caballería and CD Español decided to withdraw from the tournament too. In the other semifinal, the chaos continued and, when Athletic Club was defeating Gimnástica at half time (2-0), the team of Madrid decided to withdraw, since they considered that the referee had been too permissive with the rudeness of their rivals.<br />
<br />
At the end, with the Academia de Caballería out of the tournament, CD Español reconsidered their position and decided to stay in the tournament. Their decision was applauded by the local fans in the hotel were the Catalans had stayed, the Hotel Arana. The game was played one day before the initial schedule, but Athletic Club showed their superiority. The Basques dominated the whole game and were already leading the score at half time (2-0) with goals scored by Veiych and Belaunde. Things did not change much in the 2nd half and Athletic scored the third and decisive goal Garnica. The Catalan Neira could only score the goal of the honor for Español. Athletic won the Copa of the shame and the problems, their 5th in history.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhtJGhGWRoA/Tn3w3sPM4oI/AAAAAAAAAB4/AB24e_kMh7g/s1600/Copa+Rey+1911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhtJGhGWRoA/Tn3w3sPM4oI/AAAAAAAAAB4/AB24e_kMh7g/s640/Copa+Rey+1911.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><b>1911-1912</b></div><br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
<div><i><u><br />
</u></i></div><div>It was an important year for Español. During this season, CD Español were given the <i>Real</i> honor title by the King Alfonso XIII, who had a good personal relationship with Josep Ciudad, one of the members of the Board of the club. Since that moment, the club's name was Real Club Deportivo Español. </div><div><br />
</div><div>On the other hand, in FC Barcelona, the club lives moments of tension. Quirante, a player of the club, leads a rebellion to request money from the tickets. The club presided by Hans Gamper denies it, considering that this is a step towards professionalism. After some debates, the club backs the president Gamper and fires Quirante, but several players joined his teammate and leave the club, which had serious consequences in a team that had won several titles during the recent years.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In this new edition, RCD Español won the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/cathist.html" style="font-style: italic;">Campionat de Catalunya</a> for the first time since 1904 (not counting on the victories of SC X). A new club was added to the rise of Español and the decline of FC Barcelona, FC España, who had been playing constantly in the tournament and finally appeared as an alternative.</div><div><br />
</div><div>As anecdote, this 1912 was the bomb that made explode the rivalry between FC Barcelona and RCD Español. The <i>pericos</i> promoted a local unofficial tournament, called Copa Ciudad-La Riva. The trophy had to be played in 2 rounds. The first game was played in FC Barcelona's home. It was a tense and violent game, that ended up with the victory of Español (0-1). The second game was played in Español's home the following day. The incidents of the previous game were too near and the events went in the wrong direction. Español was superior and won the game (4-0), but the Catalan goalkeeper Reñé was attacked and the game ended up with a massive brawl involving players and also fans. The Board of each club decided to break relationships. Even though the winning nature of the two clubs had provoked incidents very often, the seriousness of this last fight was historical. These two clubs did not face each other in more than one year.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbwuG-VsvP4/Tn785gUmgzI/AAAAAAAAAB8/3_xchRYtHs8/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbwuG-VsvP4/Tn785gUmgzI/AAAAAAAAAB8/3_xchRYtHs8/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1912.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i></div><div><i><u><br />
</u></i></div><div>There is not information about this tournament aside the winner, Gimástica. However, it was an important year for the development of football in Madrid. In the case of Madrid FC, the club was struggling to survive. After the initial years of curiosity on the new sport, the club had lost <i>socios</i> and the poor economic and financial situation was affecting the club. The madridista president Adolfo Meléndez was focusing in his personal businesses in Morocco and was constantly asking to be replaced. In 1912, the members of the club, which included founders like Padrós or a young enthusiastic Santiago Bernabéu, realized that the future of the club depending on the increase of the social mass, which had a direct link with the necessity of having a new stadium. Madrid FC rented lands in the O'Donnell street to build a new stadium. It was the first stadium that had fences, which gave the club the possibility to sell tickets to watch the games. These fences and the preparation of the pitch was done by the own associates.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.realmadrid-futbol.com/estadio_RM_odonnell_1912_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.realmadrid-futbol.com/estadio_RM_odonnell_1912_3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project of Madrid FC's O'Donnell stadium in 1912</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i></div><div><i><u><br />
</u></i></div><div>As a consequence of the agreements of 1910, FC Barcelona had to organize the <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1912">tournament</a> in this new edition in their stadium at the Indústria Steet, in <i>L'Escopidora</i>. It was the first time that the tournament was played in Barcelona. The participants that registered were FC Barcelona as organizer, FC España (since RCD Español declined to participate due to the bad relationships with FC Barcelona and the FECF), Gimásntica de Madrid, Irún Sporting, Athletic Club and Academia de Infantería. At the end, Athletic and Academia de Infantería withdrew from the tournament.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The tournament had a lower participation this year, but it did not have the problems of the previous edition. In the first semifinal, the two Catalan clubs faced each other and FC Barcelona did not have any problems to defeat their neighbors of FC España. The second semifinal was played between the Basques, Sporting Irún, and the winners of Madrid, Gimnástica, who ended up winning the game (2-1).</div><div><br />
</div><div>The final was played between FC Barcelona, the home team, and Gimnástica de Madrid in a game that was the revenge of the incidents of the previous year. The Catalans did not have much problems to defeat Gimnástica and won 2-0 with a goal in each half, scored by Massana and Rodriguez. This title was the 2nd Copa del Rey for the blaugranas.</div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NsaLsRhKFbA/Tn8DmuftNHI/AAAAAAAAACA/jFHktz9HNYw/s1600/Copa+Rey+1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NsaLsRhKFbA/Tn8DmuftNHI/AAAAAAAAACA/jFHktz9HNYw/s1600/Copa+Rey+1912.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><b>1912-1913</b></div><br />
<div>It was an important year for the Spanish football in terms of administrative organization. After the agreements of the crisis of 1910 to organize the Copa finals in Bilbao and Barcelona in the two following editions, the clubs of the FECF started to discuss the host city of the finals again. The discussions were the reflection of the lack of union and the rupture was a fact. FC Barcelona led the separation of several Catalan clubs, not including RCD Español or FC España though, while Real Sociedad, Sporting Irun and Vasconia, led the rupture from Gipuzkoa. Later on, Pamplona SC and Deportivo de La Coruña joined them. </div><div><br />
</div><div>All these clubs created an organized structure called <i>Unión Española de Clubes de Foot-ball (UEC),</i> which was also given the <i>Real </i>title by the King of Spain Alfonso XIII. The division of the Spanish football was a fact and affected all the competitions, from the regional tournaments (which had separated leagues) to the Copa del Rey, that also had parallel editions. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The FECF requested the entrance to the international governing body FIFA, but this organism denied it because they did not admit countries that had two different structures. As a consequence of it, FECF and UEC started new negotiations to save football in Spain. As a result of these discussions, the current <i>Real Federación Española de Fútbol</i> (RFEF) was created, putting to an end to the divisions in the Spanish football. The RFEF was finally accepted as FIFA member during their Oslo meeting in 1914.</div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i></div><br />
<div>The Catalan regional tournament suffered the consequences of the division. The old FCCF, loyal to the FECF, kept their league alive, including important clubs like RCD Español, FC España, SC Universitari, FC Numància and the professional FC Barcelona dissidents of Casual FC. </div><br />
<div>FC España was a rising power in the Catalan football and confirmed their progression with the victory in this <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/cathist.html">tournament</a>. FC España dominated the tournament and only RCD Español showed some opposition. </div><div><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vCkv6U72TI8/Tn8R54leIvI/AAAAAAAAACE/18gXxmCbNRE/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1913-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vCkv6U72TI8/Tn8R54leIvI/AAAAAAAAACE/18gXxmCbNRE/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1913-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>FC Barcelona and the clubs loyal to the newly created UEC created the FAC (Football Associació de Catalunya) and a new league. Aside the blaugranas, the league included the historical SC Català and FC Badalona, but given the lack of members, the league was completed with FC Barcelona youth teams. The league was a total failure and was abandoned after 4 games. The organization gave the league to FC Barcelona, who were leading the standings at that point, and was officially recognized after the posterior union, but the league itself was a joke.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
<br />
Athletic Madrid were a growing club in the capital and, at the end of the year, with the creation of the RFEF registered as an independent club, after all these years being a branch of Bilbao's Athletic Club. The year was also important because Athletic Madrid built their first stadium, also located in the O'Donnell street, very near Madrid FC's. The stadium could host 10,000 fans and was also closed by fences.<br />
<br />
All the clubs of the capital were loyal to the FECF and the tournament had no problems to be played. The tournament was played by Madrid FC, Athletic Madrid, Español and Gimnástica in a one round league. The two first clubs would play a final to decide the club who had to represent Madrid in the FECF Copa del Rey.<br />
<br />
The madridistas triumphed in the tournament, not losing a single game, Gimnástica lost their crown and Athletic Madrid appeared as rising power in the capital.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOW-b6qcXd8/Tn8WCV0Kd2I/AAAAAAAAACI/O48m7C32_WA/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+1913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOW-b6qcXd8/Tn8WCV0Kd2I/AAAAAAAAACI/O48m7C32_WA/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+1913.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Madrid FC and Athletic Madrid played a game to decide the representative in the Copa and Madrid FC won the tie-breaker 3-2.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
<i>Copa FECF</i><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1913">Copa del Rey</a> organized by the FECF was played in Madrid (O'Donnell's stadium) from March 16 to March 23. Five clubs registered for this competition: FC España, Madrid FC, Fortuna de Vigo, Athletic Club and Racing Irún. Since there were 5 clubs, the organizers set a previous round that was played by Fortuna de Vigo and FC España. The Catalan champions won the previous round by a short 1-0.<br />
<br />
The semfinals were a Basque festival. In the first semifinal, Racing Irún defeated FC España (1-0) to get the ticket to the final. In the 2nd semifinal, a superior Athletic Club did not have problems (0-3) to beat the home team, Madrid FC.<br />
<br />
The final was played between the representatives of the Basque football on March 22. Racing Irún surprised Athletic in the first minutes of the game and scored two early goals (Patricio and Retegui). Near half time, Athletic could reduce the big advantage of Racing Irún, thanks to the goal scored by "Pichichi". In the 2nd half, the goal of Belauste II tied the game (2-2). The two teams played an extra time, but the game was finally stopped due to the lack of light.<br />
<br />
The replay was played the following day. This time, the game was as tight as it was the day before. However, Athletic was forced to play all the 2nd half with 10 men, since the forward Pinillos got injured. The superiority of Racing Irún was evident and, 20 minutes before the end of the game, Retegui became Racing's hero when he scored the winning and decisive goal (1-0).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZrS7mVeuJsc/ToStsNvWrLI/AAAAAAAAACM/f-eG2-EbSwo/s1600/Copa+Rey+1913-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZrS7mVeuJsc/ToStsNvWrLI/AAAAAAAAACM/f-eG2-EbSwo/s1600/Copa+Rey+1913-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i>Copa UEC</i><br />
<br />
Even though the UEC counted on the support of the monarchy, who donated the trophy for the <a href="http://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2010/04/una-final-de-copa-de-ida-y-vuelta/">tournament</a>, and the initial predictions of a great participation, the desertion was massive. At the end, only 4 clubs applied: FC Barcelona, Pontevedra, Real Sociedad and Sporting Irún. The two Basque teams played a previous round in Gipuzkoa to decide who would travel to Barcelona, where the finals were played. Real Sociedad and Sporting Irún played a 4 game tournament and the donostiarras won 3 out of these 4 games, getting the pass to these finals.<br />
<br />
In the last moment, Pontevedra withdrew, since several players of the team suffered some illness. At the end, the tournament was just a final between the local team, FC Barcelona, and Real Sociedad. The final was played on Sunday, March 16, the fans packed the stadium. An early goal by Arrillaga surprised the local team in the first minutes of the game. However, the goals of Forns and Apolinario overcame the result before half time. In the last minutes of the game, a goal by Artola tied the game for a final 2-2.<br />
<br />
The replay was the following game, with similar expectation but less attendance since it was a labor day. The match was disappointing and both teams tied 0-0. The 2nd replay was played on March 23 in a packed stadium of L'Indústria. As it happened in the first game, Real Sociedad got the lead in the first minutes of the game. It was not exempt from polemics. A handball of Massana in the limits of the box was awarded with a penalty for the away team. The home team protested and the Barcelona fans invaded the pitch, stopping the game for several minutes. The Board of Barcelona calm the fans and the game could continue and Rezola scored the penalty. The polemics and the goal excited Barcelona who closed Real Sociedad in their box and in a matter of two minutes, the Catalans overcame the result with the goals of Berdié and Apolinario. The 2-1 was the result at half time. The away team dominated the second half and the tie was very near several times, but FC Barcelona could resist and ended up winning the title, in front of their enthusiastic fans.<br />
<br />
<b>1913-1914</b><br />
<br />
This is the season of peace, FECF and UEC merged to create the current <i>Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF)</i>, which requested the entrance in FIFA, which was accepted during 1914. The RFEF recognized the competition of the previous organizations as official. At the same time, football in Spain was divided in 4 different regions which help to promote different competitions all around Spain, since the game was more developed in the most industrial and rich areas.<br />
<br />
During this season, the most important tournaments were played in Barcelona and Madrid as it used to happen until this date. The North Federation also created a tournament which gathered several Basque teams (3 from Bizkaia: Athletic Club, Arenas de Getxo, Deportivo Bilbao; and 3 from Gipuzkoa: Real Sociedad, Racing Irun and Sporting Irun).<br />
<br />
The RFEF decided that only the winners of the regional tournaments would play the Copa del Rey, aside some exceptions via invitations. Since this point, we will focus in the Copa del Rey, only making short references to the regional tournaments.<br />
<br />
<i>Copa del Rey</i><br />
<br />
Four clubs played the first Copa del Rey organized by the RFEF: FC España, Gimnástica de Madrid, Athletic Club and Sporting Vigo.<br />
<br />
FC España was already a power in Catalonia and reached the Copa del Rey after their impressive title in the <i>Campionat de Catalunya.</i> In this tournament, their main rival was Universitari, while Español and Barcelona struggled during the season. Gimnástica de Madrid won the tournament of the central region, defeating Madrid FC and Athletic Madrid in their way to this tournament. At the same time, Athletic Club won the first North federation league starting a long dominance in the Basque football. Sporting Vigo won the title in Galicia. Sevilla FC was invited, since they were the winners of their city (the regional tournament started some years later), but they did not applied in the last moment.<br />
<br />
The tournament had a new format. All the games would be played on two legs, one game in the home of each team, except the final that would be played in one game. The goals did not count, but the victories in the games. So the first leg of the semifinals were played on March 29. In Bilbao, Athletic Club recieved the visit of Sporting Vigo in their new (and current) stadium, San Mamés. This stadium had an initial capacity for 3,500 fans. Athletic crushed their rivals without mercy and achieved the biggest result in the history of the Copa (11-0). At the same time, in Barcelona, the winners of Madrid and Catalonia, Gimnástica and FC España met. The Catalans won the game by a short 1-0.<br />
<br />
On May 3 were played the games to decide the finalists. In Vigo, the local team Sporting and Athletic played a beautiful game and, considering that the goals of the first leg did not matter (if the teams had tied, there would have been a replay), the home team was near to force the 3rd game. Athletic resisted and got the ticket to the final. In Madrid, Gimnástica and FC España fought for a place in the final. The game was tight, but the result did not change in the 90 minutes and the 0-0 was enough for the Catalans to reach the final.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lIFoYpaTsgE/ToS8hhJMD0I/AAAAAAAAACU/0el2vSvts9Y/s1600/Copa+Rey+1914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lIFoYpaTsgE/ToS8hhJMD0I/AAAAAAAAACU/0el2vSvts9Y/s1600/Copa+Rey+1914.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The first RFEF Copa final was played in Irún, in the Costorbe stadium, the home of Racing Irún, the winner of the last FECF final. The reports of the newspapers of those years say that the game was played at 4:30 PM. In the early minutes of the game, Athletic dominated without much intensity and España FC had their chances, which were stopped by the Basques again and again. However, Athletic started to feel more comfortable on the pitch and the initial result changed in the minute 20, when Zuazo advanced the Basques heading a crossed ball by Belauste. Only 9 minutes later, after a messy action inside the Catalan box fell in the feet of Zuazo, who scored his second goal, which was also the second of his team.<br />
<br />
The second half did not have the intensity of the first half, although FC España missed a penalty, which could have changed the game. The result did not move until very late, when Villena scored the only goal of the Catalans. Despite this goal, the Catalans did not enjoy much time to tie the game and the result did not change anymore. This 2-1 gave Athletic their 5th Copa title in history.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H5xKQrsRdtQ/ToS8_LGp2LI/AAAAAAAAACY/Ws6WI2OB0dY/s1600/Final+Copa+1914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H5xKQrsRdtQ/ToS8_LGp2LI/AAAAAAAAACY/Ws6WI2OB0dY/s1600/Final+Copa+1914.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>1914-1915</b><br />
<br />
In the <i>Campionat de Catalunya</i>, RCD Español recovered the crown 3 years later. It was a very close fight with FC Barcelona, who started to enjoy the goals of Paulino Alcantara, who still is the top scorer in the history of the club (counting unofficial games). FC España was in the race for the title too, but could not follow the 2 classic clubs of the city. Español and Barça tied in points and the winner was decided in a final, which was easily won by Español (4-0).<br />
<br />
In the <i>Campeonato de Madrid</i>, a new club made the debut in the competition: Racing Madrid. This club, located in the Chamberí district, surprised everyone and dominated the competition. The classics Madrid FC, Athletic Madrid and Gimnástica were not even near the rookie club. However, according to the statutes of the Copa del Rey, the club was not old enough to participate and Gimástica was the representative of Madrid in the competition.<br />
<br />
In the North federation, Athletic continued with their dominance and their victory gave them the ticket to the Copa del Rey. In the tournament of Galicia, RC Fortuna de Vigo were the winners and the representatives of their region in the Copa.<br />
<br />
<i>Copa del Rey</i><br />
<br />
The first semifinal was played by the representatives of Madrid and Catalonia. The organization decided that this semifinal had to be played in only one game in the home of Español. Gimnástica de Madrid traveled to Barcelona to play the game on April 15, although the game was postponed 4 days due to the heavy rain. The Catalans ended up winning the game at home (3-2) and reached the final for the 2nd time in their history.<br />
<br />
The second semifinal was played on two legs. Once again, the winners of Euskadi and Galicia, Athletic Club and RC Fortuna de Vigo met. As it happened the previous year, the Basques were able to tie away (0-0). In San Mamés, the story was different and Athletic Club showed supremacy at home with a very important victory (5-1), which gave them the right to play a final for the 3rd time in a row.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XkBL5Uas2Ng/ToTKRscW4qI/AAAAAAAAACc/oh2nujvaO4s/s1600/Copa+Rey+1915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XkBL5Uas2Ng/ToTKRscW4qI/AAAAAAAAACc/oh2nujvaO4s/s1600/Copa+Rey+1915.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The final was played in the stadium of Amute, in Irún, as it had happened the previous year. The game, as it was reported in <a href="http://hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es/preview/1915/05/04/pagina-1/607098/pdf.html">El Mundo Deportivo</a>, had no story. Athletic scored an early goal, in the minute 4, in a penalty forced by the legendary "Pichichi", which was scored by himself. The reports say that, during the first half, the match was balanced and competed. However, Athletic were able to score the 2nd goal, right before half time: "Pichichi" scored the second goal of the afternoon after a corner kick. 2-0 was the result at half time.<br />
<br />
In the second half, Español looked for the goal in the early minutes, but wasted their chances to do it. The 3rd goal of Athletic, scored by Zubizarreta (60') was decisive. The reports informed about the poor game of Español since the third goal of their rivals. Athletic ended up scoring two more goals, scored by Germán and Zubizarreta again. The final 5-0 was the biggest victory in the history of Copa until this date and for lots of decades. It was the 6th Copa title for Athletic Club, who extended their dominance and clearly was the most important club in these times.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXseLe6Yj9Q/ToTKmmYJljI/AAAAAAAAACg/DSZhNzXt2K8/s1600/Final+Copa+1915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fXseLe6Yj9Q/ToTKmmYJljI/AAAAAAAAACg/DSZhNzXt2K8/s1600/Final+Copa+1915.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: linguasport.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>List of winners</b><br />
<br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
<br />
1911 - FC Barcelona<br />
1912 - RCD Español<br />
1913 - FC España (FCF) and FC Barcelona (FAC)<br />
1914 - FC España<br />
1915 - RCD Español<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
<br />
1911 - Gimnástica de Madrid<br />
1912 - Gimnástica de Madrid<br />
1913 - Madrid FC<br />
1914 - Gimnástica de Madrid<br />
1915 - Racing Club Madrid<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato Norte</u></i><br />
<br />
1914 - Athletic Club<br />
1915 - Athletic Club<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato Galicia</u></i><br />
<br />
1914 - Fortuna Vigo<br />
1915 - Sporting Vigo<br />
<br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
1911 - Athletic Club<br />
1912 - FC Barcelona<br />
1913 - Racing Club Irun (FECF) and FC Barcelona (UEC)<br />
1914 - Athletic Club<br />
1915 - Athletic Club</div>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-35597800634226238192011-09-26T23:42:00.000+02:002011-09-26T23:42:51.846+02:00Guardiola to close the circleIt was a night of the Spring of 1988, April 28 to be precise. It was FC Barcelona's Night of Long Knives. It is important to set the context. <i>La Quinta del Buitre's</i> Real Madrid is the dictator of La Liga. The madridistas have won two Ligas in a row and the third is in their hands. At the same time, FC Barcelona live moments of total frustration, the memories of the defeat in the European Cup final at Seville against Steaua Bucarest are a heavy weight for a club that feels cursed. The club has just won 2 Ligas since 1960 and the future does not look brilliant. The season is terrible, out of the race for the title, the team sink in La Liga and the coach who took the team to the last Liga title and the European Cup final, Terry Venables, is fired due to the bad results. Luis Aragonés, his replacement, saves the season with a Copa del Rey title which does not hide the big problems of a broken team. In this situation, the night of April 28 1988 the players call the press to expose their disagreement with the club due to a situation created in the trial of Schuster and the club, which exposed the payments of salaries using the image rights, which caused a problem with the tax administration about the nature of these payments. The whole squad, represented by important players like Alexanko, Victor and Gerardo does not accept to assume the costs of the problems of the club with the tax administration and demand the resignation of the president of the club, Josep Lluís Núñez. Only 3 players of the 25 men squad do not sign the manifesto: Gary Lineker, who is travelling with his national team; Bernd Schuster, who is out of the squad and preparing his exit to Real Madrid; and López López.<br />
<br />
The president Núñez faces the situation and prepares the revolution. The first step was to sack the coach, who supported the players. The next was to fire 13 players of the team: Amarilla, Calderé, Clos, Cristóbal, Gerardo, Linde, López López, Manolo, Moratalla, Nayim, Pedraza, Schuster and Victor, more than the 50% of the team. The remaining players were Alexanko, Carrasco, Julio Alberto, Lineker, Migueli, Roberto, Salva, Urbano and Zubizarreta. In a matter of two years, only Alexanko and Zubizarreta continued in the club. The president Núñez had "cut the head of the traitors", but the atmosphere in the Camp Nou was very hostile against his management and he needed a big impact to change the negative trend against him. It could only be one person, the last big idol of the club: Johan Cruyff.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.asgol.com/wp-content/uploads/cruyff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.asgol.com/wp-content/uploads/cruyff2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johan Cruyff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In these years of frustration, the figure of Johan Cruyff was important. As it happened in 1973, Johan Cruyff appeared to save the club, a reason (probably the only one) to feel illusion. The Dutch icon started his revolution. The club brought several important players making a huge economic effort to build a new team. Players like Bakero, Begirisitain, López Rekarte, Serna, Unzúe, Julio Salinas, Eusebio, Soler, Aloisio, Valverde and Manolo Hierro join the club.<br />
<br />
Since the very first moment, Cruyff does not hesitate one bit to impose his model (or Ajax's model) in Barcelona. Cruyff bets on a revolutionary system in La Liga, a radical and, for some, suicidal 3-4-3 and style based on the ball possession, passing football and always opening the field with wingers. If this was not enough, Cruyff demands that every single team of the football section, since the youngest kids to the B team play under the same model and system. The whole system turned around the figure of the #4, the central midfielder, an anchor man designed to create and not to destroy. For this task, Johan Cruyff made a strong bet for Luis Milla, a player of La Masia who had the required skills to do the job and impressed everyone. The beginnings were not easy. The team struggles during the first season, adapting to such a revolutionary and unknown system. If this was not enough, Real Madrid continues with their dictatorship... adding the former blaugrana idol, Bernd Schuster, to the formula. Despite the difficult moments, the team ends up winning the Cup Winners' Cup at the end of the season.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eYTuol0KpHE/Teem4uh91lI/AAAAAAAAB80/jsTlP0H6eTg/s1600/milla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eYTuol0KpHE/Teem4uh91lI/AAAAAAAAB80/jsTlP0H6eTg/s1600/milla.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luis Milla</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The 1989-1990 season had to be decisive. The club satisfies the demands of Cruyff and bring two of his petitions: Ronald Koeman, a central back with talent to play the ball from the back signed from PSV Eindhoven, and Michael Laudrup, a Danish forward who had been considered one of the most important talents of the continent, but had failed in Juventus FC. Johan Cruyff did not move a centimeter from the line he had drawn the previous season and kept insisting in the attacking 3-4-3 and the ball possession. The team keeps suffering to follow an unbeatable Real Madrid and the criticism of the press is furious. Besides, Johan Cruyff decided to separate Luis Milla due to the high salary petitions, which break the new wages structure of the club. With the head of Johan Cruyff in real danger, the victory in Copa del Rey final of 1990 against the powerful Real Madrid saved the season of the team and the position of the coach.<br />
<br />
The 3rd season of Johan Cruyff was definitive for him. It was all or none. Hristo Stoichkov signed for the club to reinforce the attack, but the press kept insisting about Luis Milla, who had been essential in the style and the formation of the team on the pitch. Charly Rexach, Cruyff's assistant, made an already mythical comment: "Forget about Milla, we have a kid in the B team who is much better". The new #4 was a 20 year old thin kid: Josep Guardiola. And everything started to work smoothly: Barcelona started to play like the angels, all the criticism disappeared and everyone started to praise the beauty and the style of football of Cruyff's Barcelona. It was the beginning of the most golden era of the club in its history: 4 Ligas and 1 European Cup in 4 years, not forgetting another Cup Winners' Cup and Champions League final in these years. The success and the legendary status of this team changed everything in Barcelona. The club got rid of the nostalgic and cursed feeling to become a self-assured community with a recognizable style. Since 1990, Barcelona had ups and downs, but the club never gave a step back towards the past.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.zenzi.org/blog-imagen/Diciembre-2010/equipos-futbol-dream-team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www.zenzi.org/blog-imagen/Diciembre-2010/equipos-futbol-dream-team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barcelona's Dream Team at Wembley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There was only one thing that got lost in the way. The 3-4-3 system used in the times of Johan Cruyff by his Dream Team was the only thing that belonged to the past. Even in the most successful moments of Louis Van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard, who also come from the Ajax school, the team never played with this system and "only" kept the ball possession and attacking style. Even during the first three seasons of Pep Guardiola as coach, the 3-4-3 was not even considered a possibility except for eventual and exceptional moments.<br />
<br />
But something changed this year. Pep Guardiola insists in one technical aspect: "We must reinvent ourselves year by year". A phrase that easily belongs to Cruyff too. And it is true that last year's Barcelona was similar to the one of his first season, but not exactly the same. New variants have been introduced, like moving Leo Messi from his limited wing to the fake striker position, as Laudrup had done in the early 90s many times, but the basic 4-3-3 was not under question. While everyone was doubting about the way to manage players like Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fàbregas and Thiago Alcántara for only two positions, Pep Guardiola had a plan. The reinvention is here: Barcelona goes 20 years backwards and introduces a modernized 3-4-3 system to give these players the space they needed. The message is clear, Xavi, Iniesta and Cesc can play together and Thiago joins the party rotating one of the stars, but getting the minutes he was demanding in his progression. Probably, the arrival of Cesc, who added a more direct style to his Masia DNA, gave Guardiola the solution to reintroduce the 3-4-3 in Barcelona's football.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/9-1Vb_b07NU/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9-1Vb_b07NU&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9-1Vb_b07NU&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
<br />
The players are different (probably even better) to those who were part of the Dream Team and some details difer, but the idea is the same. Villa and Pedro are the modernized version of Stoichkov and Goikoetxea; Messi is as fake striker as Laudrup once was; Cesc is an elitist version of Bakero; Xavi and Iniesta highlight the new gravity point of the team, just where Amor and Eusebio were the diesel engine of Cruyff's Dream Team; and "don't worry about Toure Yaya, we have someone better in the B-team" Sergi Busquets is a more muscular but equally intelligent Guardiola of nowadays.<br />
<br />
Josep Guardiola did not forget the 3-4-3, he had never forgotten this system. It was somewhere stored in his memorable mind, in a brain that, since the first day, learnt everything from every single coach he had. Josep Guardiola is not a copy of Johan Cruyff, there are details of every coach who has managed him in his football. But, Guardiola owes Cruyff a lot and, as good barcelonista and member of the Dream Team, the seed of the master was in the pupil. The circle took 20 years to get almost completed. This Barcelona of records has still one to reach: the 4 consecutive Ligas of the Dream Team.<br />
<br />
The frenetic game of Barcelona in Mestalla made everyone see Cruyff's Barcelona again, this infinite search of the goal by the blaugranas mixed with sudden heart-attacking counters of a rival exploding the spaces left by a 3 men back line. This is the reinvention, the tribute to the master and only the victory with the 3-4-3 would definitely close the circle.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wX2wha4fZoI/TPjhcf8IHHI/AAAAAAAAEKI/qpamqOa6qa4/s1600/guardiola-vs-cruyff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wX2wha4fZoI/TPjhcf8IHHI/AAAAAAAAEKI/qpamqOa6qa4/s320/guardiola-vs-cruyff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johan Cruyff & Josep Guardiola</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-37229066111693227072011-09-25T21:46:00.002+02:002011-09-25T22:42:39.732+02:00The Assemblies of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid: Flock of SheepThis weekend, the Assemblies of <i>socios</i> of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF had their ordinary annual meeting. In each case, some important social or economic issues, which have a direct effect on the future of these clubs, were on the table. But it was also interesting to listen to the messages of the presidents of the two most important clubs of Spain, if not the World nowadays.<br />
<br />
In the case of FC Barcelona, there were two major issues on the table: the sponsorship of Qatar Foundation and the approval of the new young stand, <i>Fanàtics</i>. The controversial sponsorship of Qatar Foundation has been under discussion in the blaugrana atmosphere since it was announced. The deal with the Qatari foundation is the most important in the World of football nowadays. The sponsorship started last year when Barcelona already received 15 million euros and now the <i>socis</i> had to decide to extend the 171 million euros deal until the year 2016. Several social platforms questioned this agreement, given the origin of this money. Qatar is an Arab emirate that is questioned by the situation of the women, the homosexuals, the rights of foreign workers or the religious freedom. The anti-Qatar platform asked for the "no" for the sponsorship based on the lack of respect on human rights in the Emirate. However, it was remarkable the strong support of Pep Guardiola on Qatar: "Qatar is the most open and democratic Islamic country that is willing to open themselves to the Western World, where the most established democracies are". Probably, someone should tell Pep Guardiola about the existence of countries like Turkey, for example, but aside this aspect, it is evident that some of the things that happen in Qatar would never be accepted in the Catalan society. Probably, it is also important to know that each country must make their own process towards freedom and democracy, which is not the perfect system, but probably the best humanity has ever found, and never forget the own particular sins of the Western society, but in one way or another, all this defense of Qatar was as excessive as ridiculous.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.psicofutbol.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Qatar-447x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://www.psicofutbol.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Qatar-447x300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The reality about the sponsorship of Qatar Foundation is way more simple: money. The club consider that is necessary to generate money to keep the club on top and the Board put all the marketing and media resources to defend their position. Qatar Foundation offered the highest amount of money. As I said, it is ridiculous and excessive to claim that Qatar is what is not. It is a fact that Qatar does not respect elemental human rights, just as Nike or Adidas set factories in states where the labor norms are minimum and hire minors to elaborate the expensive sport clothes we wear in the Western World, or just as other clubs wear sponsors that set their base in tax havens, promoting harmful activities like gambling. Things must be put in the right terms: it is all about the money in a very competitive environment, so probably the discussion goes beyond Barcelona or football itself: it is the whole economic system what is under question. But things must be called by their own name. In that sense, the big majority of the <i>socis</i> decided to vote for the sponsorship deal with Qatar, accepting the money while looking at somewhere else and closing their nose. As sad as it sounds.<br />
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The other important issue of the blaugrana Assembly was the approval of the "youth stands" called <i>Fanàtics.</i> It was evident since long ago that the Camp Nou's atmosphere was like the opera. The high prices and the difficulties to have access to season tickets have as a consequence to have usual attendances of people that are not particularly young, but usual cigar smoker fans (by the way, smoking in the Camp Nou has been forbidden in this Assembly too) who did not create a noisy atmosphere to support the team. The project aim to attract 14,000 young <i>socis </i>to the Camp Nou in order to create a more noisy and spectacular atmosphere in the stadium.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos.marca.com/imagenes/2011/08/29/futbol/equipos/barcelona/1314644142_extras_portadilla_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="http://estaticos.marca.com/imagenes/2011/08/29/futbol/equipos/barcelona/1314644142_extras_portadilla_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
But a report of the Catalan police denounced the existence of former members of the ultra group Boixos Nois and people with penal antecedents in the initial list. Back in 2003, the president Joan Laporta took an important and brave decision in the Spanish football, kicking out the ultras from the Camp Nou. Important, since it was an example in La Liga, assuring that the Camp Nou would be a place for the families and not for the violent people. Brave, since he put in danger his own life and the life of his family and it is important to recall that there was a conspiracy of members of Boixos Nois and security members of the club itself to threaten his life, which ended up with these radicals in jail. Now, the disgusting shadow of the Boixos Nois was flying over the Camp Nou.<br />
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The club assure that the violent ultras will not be back in the stadium. Given the polemics in the press, the club approved the new young sector in the stadium, but it does not have an initial date to be implemented, since they want to guarantee the security and expect the approval of the police. In one way or another, the club should have put more effort in this task, since nearly 200 people of the initial list had been involved in violent issues and the club should know their names at this point. The barcelonisme must keep an eye on this particular issue. The idea is good, but the club must be careful with these issues, since the violent ultras should never be accepted in the stadium.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/imag/_v2/ecodiario/deportes/580x300/Bernabeu-proyecto-florentino-definitivo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/imag/_v2/ecodiario/deportes/580x300/Bernabeu-proyecto-florentino-definitivo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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In the Assembly of Real Madrid, the most important institutional aspect, aside the approval of the budgets, was the renewal project of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. As we presented in a <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/09/dream-of-santiago-bernabeu-nuevo.html">past entry</a>, not knowing the final aspect of the project, Florentino Pérez is working to assure the economic and financial future of the club. As always in the past, from the construction of the O'Donnell stadium by the own socios of the club in the year 1912 to the initial project of the Nuevo Chamartín stadium back in the 1940s, the home of Real Madrid has always played a very important role to assure the future of the institution and, this time, it could not be different. The revolutionary project gather the construction of a mall and a hotel within a new and spectacular cover for the stadium. The initial budget assures a cost of 120 million euros in the construction, but also incomes of 200 million euros per year. This ambitious project will definitely change the shape of one of the symbols of the club.<br />
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But, at the same time, it was also important to pay attention to some messages from the presidency of the club. In this sense, there will be several interpretation about these words, but the president made a clear and strong defense of the controversial coach José Mourinho. If the club had supported their coach in several occasions, today the president of Real Madrid gave the words of their coach the level of institutional policy. It is clear that, at this point, the coach has a strong position among the madridismo, despite (or maybe thanks to) the external criticism. In the own words of the president Florentino Pérez: "We believe in this team and in the best coach of the World: José Mourinho. [...] The experience of the previous season showed the necessity of reform in the club: to give more autonomy to the figure of the coach and to add more competences to his position in the club as a sport manager that will only depend on José Ángel Sánchez (general director)". It was already clear that Florentino Pérez had given José Mourinho full powers in the sport level and gave him the head of Jorge Valdano, known for having personal issues with the coach and a different (and moderate) approach to the events of football.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20110427dasdasftb_53/C280/Ies/Mourinho_durante_partido_Barcelona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://s5.as.com/recorte/20110427dasdasftb_53/C280/Ies/Mourinho_durante_partido_Barcelona.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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At the same time, the president Pérez added: "Two seasons ago, we were not a seeded team in the Champions League and last year we reached the semifinals. The search of the victory is one of the identity signals and we want to make the dream of the <i>Décima</i> (10th Champions League title) soon. Last year, if we lost the Champions League, it was not our fault". Probably, there are many ways to understand this last statement, but it suggests the approval of one of the strongest messages of José Mourinho: an external more or less recognizable enemy that prevented the triumph of Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Champions League. In a first thought, someone could say that the red card for Pepe was a fair or unfair advantage for Barcelona, but definitely the absence of the red card would not have assured an automatic pass to the final for Real Madrid, since the game was 0-0 and there was a second leg to be played in Barcelona too. As Mourinho suggested in the press conference after the match, it could be Unicef, Villar or UEFA, but there was a boycott on Real Madrid to avoid their presence in the final of Wembley. With these words, Florentino Pérez takes the words out of the conference press to make it official policy of Real Madrid with all its consequences. The club has adopted the criticism on the referees and the football institution as part of the values, as it also was suggested by the president Pérez not so long ago: "The nobility (<i>señorío</i>) of Real Madrid is to defend the club and Mourinho does it". Definitely, the president Pérez has done a good work adapting the traditional values to the club to a new context, even if this change is a contradiction by itself. If <i>señorío</i> means elegance, education and behavior as quality of a noble sir, it does not look like José Mourinho and its flaming messages fit very well in the definition.<br />
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As conclussion, in both cases, the Assemblies of Barcelona and Real Madrid acted as usual, like a flock of sheep. The blaugranas got carried by the message of fear sent by Rossell's terror campaign of losing territory against the rivals, throwing the clean shirt (or Unicef shirt) and the defense of democracy and freedom to the garbage for lots of Qatari millions. And in the club of Chamartín, the president and the <i>socios</i> of Real Madrid sold their soul to the devil José Mourinho, considering that he is the only one that can finish with the dominance of Guardiola's Barcelona on the pitch. In this case, the madridistas threw their <i>señorío</i> to the garbage (whatever the new marketing message says) and accepted that the end justify the means. In both cases, a flock of sheep.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-37908913335788705982011-09-24T12:00:00.003+02:002011-10-15T14:22:00.050+02:00The History of the Spanish football (III): 1905-1910, the years of crisis and divisionPrevious chapter: <a href="http://tikitaka-futbol.blogspot.com/2011/09/history-of-spanish-football-ii-from.html">History of the Spanish football (II): 1900-1905, The first tournaments</a><br />
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In these years, football struggled to survive. The economic crisis in some regions affected the clubs and the tournaments created in the first half of the decade. At the same time, the divisions inside Spanish football started to appear and it had consequences in the newly created tournaments. Still, the game was able to survive and the first steps towards more solid structures were done too.<br />
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<b>1905-1906</b><br />
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<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
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The football in Catalonia fell in deep crisis due to a crisis in the city. Some clubs disappeared and the most important clubs, FC Barcelona and Club Espanyol, struggled to survive. Club Espanyol stop functioning as football club. Miró-Trepat, who was the leader of Club Español, suffered a serious illness and some of their players, who were university students, left the club. As a consequence Español stopped applying to the tournaments. Some of the most important players joined X Sporting Club, a club that was the successor of the already disappeared Irish FC.<br />
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In FC Barcelona, the situation was quite similar, although the club did not stop playing games. The amount of members started to decrease for the first time in the history of the club and the team paid the consequences. For the first time, FC Barcelona traveled to Bilbao to play a friendly game against Athletic Club. The Catalans lost the game, 10-1, and the press mocked the blaugranas, current Catalan champions.<br />
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Only four clubs applied to the <i><a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/cathist.html">Campionat de Catalunya</a>: </i>FC Barcelona, who defended their crown, FC Internacional, X SC and Català FC. X SC, formed by ex-Español Club players, won the title easily and FC Barcelona was not even a rival for them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P_Xv_AP_5CM/Tnj9GKfTvsI/AAAAAAAAABI/PDZL123P4ww/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P_Xv_AP_5CM/Tnj9GKfTvsI/AAAAAAAAABI/PDZL123P4ww/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1906.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
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The situation in Madrid was not much better. The clubs were struggling to survive and only two clubs played the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1906">tournament</a>. Madrid FC faced Internacional del Madrid and won comfortably: 7-0.<br />
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<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
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One more year, the chosen format was a triangular <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1906">league</a>. Madrid FC were the current winners and represented Madrid and their two rivals were Athletic Club and, for the first time, Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest club of Spain. The Catalans X SC refused to play the tournament due to the economic crisis.<br />
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There was some expectation about the presence of Recreativo, since their team was formed by lots of British players, who had some prestige due to their nationality. The first game was a Madrid FC-Recreativo and the madridistas showed clear superiority, winning 3-0. In the second round, Madrid FC faced Athletic Club, but this time the Basques were not a rival for the madridistas, who beat their rivals (4-1). Madrid were the winners of this edition and they did not have to wait for the result of the last game, where the Basques of Athletic also beat Recreativo (3-0), who disappointed in this tournament.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/MFC_1905_06.jpg/800px-MFC_1905_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/MFC_1905_06.jpg/800px-MFC_1905_06.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madrid FC, the best team of Spain in 1906</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>1906-1907</b><br />
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<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
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The crisis of the Catalan football was evident and only three teams played the competition: X SC, FC Barcelona and Català SC. Internacional FC disappeared too. Some sources consider that <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_Categoria_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol_1906-07">this tournament</a> were the roots of the rivalry between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. As it has been already said, X SC was formed by several former Club Español players. The tournament was a close fight for the title between X SC and FC Barcelona.<br />
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Both teams had to decide the title in the last game of the tournament. X SC were winning the game (3-2), but the referee decided to add some injury time, since a fight involving two players (Torras, X SC; and Duran, FC Barcelona) ended up in a massive brawl and the police had to intervene, stopping the game for a while. When the final whistle was near, the referee awarded a dangerous foul for the blaugranas. FC Barcelona scored the foul and tied the game, which gave them the title. X SC protested and, the following day, when the referee wrote his report, he decided to revoke his decision, since he considered the protests of X SC, who defended that the injury time was completed when the blaugranas scored their goal. The organization decided to replay the game some days later. This time, X SC won the game (3-1) and, as a consequence, the title.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lQF4TcdSI9U/TnkE7p19epI/AAAAAAAAABM/l_rQd5RxMb0/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lQF4TcdSI9U/TnkE7p19epI/AAAAAAAAABM/l_rQd5RxMb0/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1907.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
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If the Catalan tournament was a mess, the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1906" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Madrid</a> was not any better. Four teams played the tournament: Madrid FC, Athletic Madrid (current Atlético Madrid), Moncloa FC and Iris FC. This tournament had the first derby between Athletic Madrid and Madrid FC, but all the results were cancelled, since the football pitch did not accomplish with the rules. Madrid FC won the tournament, but the Federation decided to leave a vacant, since the tournament was cancelled.<br />
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<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
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After the failures of the previous editions,<a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1907"> the tournament</a>, still organized by Madrid FC, wanted to gather the best clubs of all Spain. Several clubs were invited: X SC, FC Barcelona, Moderno de Guadalajara, Recreativo de Huelva, San Sebastián Recreation Club, Athletic Club, Excelsior Madrid, Hispania de Madrid, Vizcaya Club (gathering players of Athletic and Union Atlética Vizcaína), Hamilton FC from Salamanca and Vigo FC (predecessor of Celta Vigo).<br />
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However, the Catalan clubs and San Sebastian Recreation declined the invitation due to their crisis and Moderno de Guadalajara was disqualified by the organization. The clubs of Madrid played among themselves to decide the representative of Madrid and the contest was won by Madrid FC. At the end, only five clubs participated in a league system: Madrid FC; Vizcaya Club, Recreativo Huelva, Hamilton FC and Vigo FC. The teams of Vigo had lots of British players, while Hamilton FC was a team of an Irish school located in Salamanca. All the games were played in five days in the Hipódromo de Madrid.<br />
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As Madrid FC and Vizcaya Club (who had the players of Athletic Club) were the main favourites, their clash was supposed to be decisive. The Basque team defeated the madridistas (2-3) in a decisive game, but a couple of days later, Vizcaya Club got surprised by Vigo FC (2-1), who helped the madridistas to tie with the favorites. At the end, Madrid FC and Vizcaya tied in the standings.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-LUCXr8J4w/TnkKvS6XesI/AAAAAAAAABU/ACXokip2p3A/s1600/Copa+Rey+1907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u-LUCXr8J4w/TnkKvS6XesI/AAAAAAAAABU/ACXokip2p3A/s1600/Copa+Rey+1907.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Since Madrid FC and Vizcaya Club had tied, there was a replay to decide the winner. The expectations on this game were huge, since the matches between Basques and madridistas were already a classic. 6,000 people showed up at the <i>Hipódromo de Madrid</i> in a record attendance for the tournament. The Basques, who looked more tired, according to the sources, paid the consequences in the second half of the game and their goalkeeper got injured. Madrid FC won the game 1-0 with a goal scored by Prast in the 80'.<br />
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The Basques protested to the organization, due to the behavior of the fans, who were very hostile with them. The complaints were not accepted and Madrid FC was declared winner of the tournament. The Basque club declined the invitation the following year as a consequence of this issue.<br />
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<b>1907-1908</b><br />
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<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
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The <a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_Categoria_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol_1907-08">tournament </a>got a new life this season. Five clubs applied to the competition: X SC, FC Barcelona, Català SC, España FC and AC Galeno (former players of Universitari). At the end, AC Galeno did not play any game. At the same time, for the first time a junior tournament appeared, the <i>Campionat de Juniors.</i><br />
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Despite FC Barcelona reached an all time bottom in terms of amount of <i>socios</i> (only 65 when they had more than 250 before the crisis)<i>,</i> the blaugranas were the main rivals of the main favorites, X SC. The tournament was a close fight between the two favorites, which was decided by external events, which made the rivalry of the players of both clubs reach new limits. FC Barcelona was the leader after beating X SC and led the standings until the last game. In the last matchday, España FC and Català SC had to face each other. But España FC did not show up in protest, since they were angry with a federation mainly controlled by X SC. As a consequence of it, all their results should have been cancelled, which would have given the title to FC Barcelona, independently of the result between the blaugranas and X SC. However, Català SC, historical big rivals of the blaugranas protested and the federation only cancelled this last game. As a consequence, the victory of X SC against Barcelona in the last game gave the former players of Español the title for the third time in a row... and the rivalry only kept growing.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nb-3TwANNNc/TnkQhl29gtI/AAAAAAAAABY/HzTvIOhD4AU/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nb-3TwANNNc/TnkQhl29gtI/AAAAAAAAABY/HzTvIOhD4AU/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1908.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<u><i>Campeonato de Madrid</i></u><br />
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After the mess of the previous season, for the first time, the <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1906" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Madrid</a> started to work in a more serious way. Madrid FC, Athletic Madrid, Sociedad Gimnástica Española (born from the ashes of Moncloa FC, Hispania de Madrid and Iris FC) and Español de Madrid played a league, following the Catalan model.<br />
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The tournament saw a close fight for the title between Madrid FC, Gimnástica and Athletic Madrid. Despite the madridistas defeated Gimnástica in the first game of the tournament, their advantage disappeared when Madrid FC did not show up in their game against Athletic Madrid, who got the victory as a consequence of it. In the return game, Madrid FC won the derby against Athletic Madrid, in what it was the beginning of an eternal rivalry. A draw between Athletic and Gimnástica made the last game decisive. Madrid FC had to visit the home of Gimnástica and the draw was enough for the madridistas (3-3) to win the title, the 3rd for them.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-84bu0RzFjSc/TnkUsMzNXzI/AAAAAAAAABc/sNkrDSMr6BE/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-84bu0RzFjSc/TnkUsMzNXzI/AAAAAAAAABc/sNkrDSMr6BE/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+2008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1908">tournament </a>reached an all time low. Madrid FC kept organizing the tournament, but most of the clubs declined the invitation. The Catalans still were in economic crisis and focusing in their own tournament, while Athletic Club did not inscribe in protest for the events of the previous edition. Only Vigo FC, who had won an unofficial tournament in Galicia, accepted the invitation.<br />
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The Copa was just a single game between both clubs, played on the muddy pitch of the new stadium of O'Donnell. Madrid FC won the game (2-1), winning the fourth Copa in a row, which was record that has only been matched by Athletic 25 years later.<br />
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<b>1908-1909</b><br />
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<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
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During the summer of 1908, FC Barcelona was about to disappear and Hans Gamper returned in order to rescue the club from the crisis. Gamper started to recover all <i>socios</i> and looked for new members. At the same time, Gamper decided to make a strong bet on the future of the club and projected the first own stadium of the club,<i> L'Estadi del Carrer Indústria,</i> popularly known as <i>L'Escopidora</i>, which eventually held 9,000 fans and was the first stadium to have artificial light. As anecdote, the nickname <i>culés</i> appeared at that time, since from outside the stadium people could see the asses of the fans sitting on the walls of the stadium when the team was playing. At the same time, Julià Claperà and Emili Sampere refunded Club Español as Club Deportivo Español, while X SC, the club that had gathered their players during the 3 years of crisis, disappeared.<br />
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In this new edition of the <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_Categoria_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol_1908-09">Campionat de Catalunya</a>, </i>there were five clubs: FC Barcelona, CD Español, FC España, Català SC and FC Galeno (formed Universitari). After 3 years of dominance of X SC and their Español players, FC Barcelona went back on track and won the title without having a rival, not losing a single game in the entire tournament, which gave them the ticket to play the <i>Copa del Rey.</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPa-utXZYDc/Tno25Coy8oI/AAAAAAAAABg/Iq4-nzfd2GM/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPa-utXZYDc/Tno25Coy8oI/AAAAAAAAABg/Iq4-nzfd2GM/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1909.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF and Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
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The <a href="http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#1909" style="font-style: italic;">Campeonato de Madrid</a> kept growing and the four clubs that had played the previous edition repeated their participation this year again. This time it was a league, but only one round played in a neutral stadium. After years of dominance of Madrid FC, there was a change in the hierarchy of the competition. Español de Madrid found no rival in the competition and won the title dominating all their rivals.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdszlj7P4Wc/Tno5JChD1nI/AAAAAAAAABk/du7usTfZWF0/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+1909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdszlj7P4Wc/Tno5JChD1nI/AAAAAAAAABk/du7usTfZWF0/s1600/Campeonato+de+Madrid+1909.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
Madrid FC kept organizing <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1909">the tournament</a> before the mess that was about to start around this competition, but, since the madridistas did not win the <i>Campeonato de Madrid</i>, they did not play in this competition, although they offered their stadium in the O'Donnell street.<br />
<br />
Five different clubs applied to the tournament: Español de Madrid, as winners of Madrid; FC Barcelona, which meant the return of the Catalans of this competition after years of absence; Athletic Club from Bizkaia; Club Ciclista San Sebastián, which was the name of the newly created Sociedad de San Sebastián (who did not play under this name since they did not have the licence to play yet) and Galicia FC, which was a selection of teams of Vigo.<br />
<br />
There was a previous round between the two Basque teams and, surprisingly, Club Ciclista defeated Athletic Club (4-2), leaving one of the main favorites out of the competition. In the semifinals, Español de Madrid also surprised everyone by defeating FC Barcelona, the Catalan champions (3-2), and Club Ciclista made their way to the final beating Galicia FC in the 2nd semifinal (2-0).<br />
<br />
The final was played under heavy rain between Español de Madrid and Club Ciclista. The reports say that Español de Madrid carried the weight of the team and were the most attacking team, but they clashed against the defense of Club Ciclista. At half time, the result was a 0-1 for the Basques, who extended their advantage in the early minutes of the second half. Despite Español could reduce the advantage of the <i>donostiarras</i> and enjoyed a penalty to tie the game (although it was missed), Club Ciclista scored a goal with 10 minutes to go and won the first title in their history.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A7Z9-yfQEw4/Tno9nBa4tBI/AAAAAAAAABo/PcPbPFBcWNQ/s1600/Copa+Rey+1909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A7Z9-yfQEw4/Tno9nBa4tBI/AAAAAAAAABo/PcPbPFBcWNQ/s1600/Copa+Rey+1909.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: RSSSF Archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b>1909-1910</b> <br />
<br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
<br />
The <i><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporada_1909-10_del_Campionat_de_Catalunya_de_futbol">Campionat de Catalunya</a></i> counted on the participation of some new clubs, like Star FC or FC Central, but the second part of the tournament was a complete mess, since several games were not played and there were several administrative solutions to decide the results. In one way or another, FC Barcelona was the owner of the competition without any kind of opposition, winning every single game they played. The blaugranas were back on track thanks to the good management of Hans Gamper, who made possible the future of the club with the construction of the new stadium and his "marketing" skills. Gamper used to finish his speeches with an already classic "<i>Visca FC Barcelona i Visca Catalunya", </i>which made possible to get the attraction of the popular working-class and the industrial middle-class around the club.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LeMkhyPPLXA/Tn2cC5mSAII/AAAAAAAAABw/7PY5JZRfgaA/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LeMkhyPPLXA/Tn2cC5mSAII/AAAAAAAAABw/7PY5JZRfgaA/s1600/Copa+Catalunya+1910.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia + El Mundo Deportivo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
<br />
There is not much information about this edition. The sources claim that the title was won by Madrid FC in a league of 3 clubs, where they faced Gimástica and Español de Madrid. This situation was provoked by the division of the Spanish football in two different factions (more about it in the Copa del Rey part). The winner of the Campeonato de Madrid did not give the ticket for the Copa del Rey, as in previous editions. So there was a game between Español de Madrid and Gimnástica to decide the representative of Madrid. Español won (2-0).<br />
<br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
<br />
1909 was the year of the division. In January 1909 some of the most important clubs of Spain created the <i>Federación Española de Clubes de Fútbol (FECF)</i>, which was the direct precedent of the current Spanish FA. The founding clubs were Madrid FC, Vigo Sporting, Deportivo de La Coruña, Cartagena, Circulo Industrial y de Sport de Avilés, Athletic Club, Recreativo de Huelva, Gimnástica and Español de Madrid. Until 1909, the competition had been organized by Madrid FC, aside a couple the exception of the years of the Federación Madrileña de Foot-ball.<br />
<br />
But in 1909, Club Ciclista de San Sebastián had won the Copa and made a request to host the games in San Sebastián. Most of the clubs of the FEF rejected this request, since they considered that Madrid was the right place to play the games, given the geographical centrality of the capital of Spain, which saved them costs.<br />
<br />
As a consequence, Club Ciclista did not join the FECF and decided to create a tournament by themselves in San Sebastián. Initially, they counted on the participation of 11 clubs that had not joined the FECF, but most of them declined the invitation later on. Finally, two of the members of the FECF decided to travel to San Sebastián. One of them was Athletic Club, who had always defended the petition made by the <i>donostiarras</i>: the finals had to be played in the home of the previous winner. The other club was Madrid FC. In this case, it seems that the decision was influenced by José Berraondo, one of the vice-presidents of the club, who used to live in San Sebastián. In one way or another, Madrid FC had not qualified for the Copa and the club was struggling to survive (some of the players they used in this tournament were players of Gimnástica).<br />
<br />
<u>FECF Copa</u><br />
<br />
Despite the initial strength of the FECF, the absences were remarkable and only 3 clubs decided to travel to play the tournament in Madrid: Español de Madrid, FC Barcelona and Deportivo de La Coruña. The organization decided to use a 3 team <a href="http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_del_Rey_de_F%C3%BAtbol_1910">league </a>in one round. All the games were played in the Tiro de Pichón.<br />
<br />
The initial game was played between FC Barcelona and Deportivo. The Catalans, as it had happened in the Catalan tournament, found no opposition and easily defeated the galegos (5-0). The second game was played between Deportivo and the winners of Madrid, Español, who ended up winning the game (1-3).<br />
<br />
The last game was a "final" between FC Barcelona and Español de Madrid. The españolistas surprised the blaugranas with two early goals scored by Buylla. It was only the 12' and Español de Madrid were 2 goals up, an advantage they kept until the half time. However, the reaction of the Catalans in the second half was impressive. In only 20 minutes, Rodriguez and Comanala tied the game. With 5 minutes to go, Charles Wallace decided the game for FC Barcelona, who won their first Copa title.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/FC_Barcelona_1910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/FC_Barcelona_1910.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FC Barcelona 1910</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<u>Torneo de San Sebastián</u><br />
<br />
Ironically, the <a href="http://www.iffhs.de/?06fe3803e23c0bd32b0efa3800e42c0bf1685ca66817f7370eff3702bb0a35bb6d36fb3c0ce52d00e42a00">tournament </a>that had been promoted by Club Ciclista did not count with this club, which had been dismantled after the title of 1909. The football players of this cycling club decided to create an exclusive football club, Sociedad de San Sebastián, but according to the statutes of the Copa, the club was not old enough to play the competition, so they joined a local club called Vasconia Sporting Club to play the competition. Given the importance participants the popular name of the tournament was <i>Torneo de Campeones.</i><br />
<br />
The first game was played by Athletic Club and Madrid FC, a classic already. Athletic won the game against the weakened madridistas. The second game was decisive at the end. The two Basque clubs faced each other. The <i>donostiarras</i>, former players of Club Ciclista, hidden under the Vasconia name, could not stopped their neighbors. Athletic won 2-0 and grabbed the third Copa title of their history. The last game was a meaningless Vasconia SC-Madrid FC, which was won by the local team (2-0).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Athletic_1910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Athletic_1910.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Athletic Club 1910</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Even though some sources claim that this second tournament was organized by a federation called <i>Unión Española de Clubes (UEC), </i>the <a href="http://www.iffhs.de/?06fe3803e23c0bd32b0efa3800e42c0bf1685ca66817f7370eff3702bb0a35bb6d36fb3c0ce52d00e42a00">sources</a> prove that it was not an official tournament. However, the members of the FECF and the dissident clubs signed the peace. The FECF accepted to play the finals out of Madrid in order to keep the union, but this situation was just the beginning of years of tensions.<br />
<br />
<b>List of winners</b><br />
<br />
<i><u>Campionat de Catalunya</u></i><br />
1906 - X SC<br />
1907 - X SC<br />
1908 - X SC<br />
1909 - FC Barcelona<br />
1910 - FC Barcelona<br />
<br />
<i><u>Campeonato de Madrid</u></i><br />
1906 - Madrid FC<br />
1907 - Cancelled<br />
1908 - Madrid FC<br />
1909 - Club Español Madrid<br />
1910 - Madrid FC<br />
<br />
<i><u>Copa del Rey</u></i><br />
1906 - Madrid FC<br />
1907 - Madrid FC<br />
1908 - Madrid FC<br />
1909 - Club Ciclista de San Sebastián<br />
1910 - FC Barcelona (FECF) and Athletic Club (Torneo San Sebastián)Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-80903629862021419762011-09-23T17:39:00.000+02:002011-09-23T17:39:56.164+02:00David Silva, Del Bosque and Luis Aragonés.June 16 2010, Spain made their debut in the World Cup they ended up winning against Switzerland. The coach of the team, Vicente Del Bosque bets on a system that is similar (but not the same) to Luis Aragonés' lineups in the previous Euro 2008. But the result could not have been worse and Spain lost 0-1 against the Swiss team. There was a victim of this game: David Silva. Since then, the player of Manchester City did not count for Vicente Del Bosque, who has been calling him, but always for a very secondary role. Last week, David Silva exploded and targeted Del Bosque: "He does not trust in me". The words of someone who feels strong after the memorable games Silva is playing in the Premier League. But behind these words there is a debate that has been hidden under the success of the Spanish NT.<br />
<br />
There is a remarkable difference between Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque, a difference that is not irrelevant: Silva or Xabi Alonso. After the World Cup 2006 and the failure in Northern Ireland in the qualifying round of the Euro 2008, Luis Aragonés made a bet for the rupture. Since the World Cup 1998, Spain had been walking on the shoulders of Raúl, icon of the Spanish NT and Real Madrid. Raúl defined the style. Raúl was not a classic striker, but a forward that always played with a striker along him. Since then until 2006, Spain had been using a system with two forwads, two wingers and a double midfield. However, Luis Aragonés thought that the change was needed and there was a radical change in the model and the point of gravity. The team would not turn around Raúl, but a new figure: Xavi. This change was not just a change of names, but a change of style. The huge personality of Raúl swallowed everything, while the new model around Xavi focused on the system. Xavi defines the style as long as he has partners that speak his language.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2W2IxkTIBQ8/SHoAQcg8rZI/AAAAAAAAC80/i6xVEiOVk8g/Xavi%252520Hernandez%252520%252528Germany%252520vs.%252520Spain%252529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2W2IxkTIBQ8/SHoAQcg8rZI/AAAAAAAAC80/i6xVEiOVk8g/Xavi%252520Hernandez%252520%252528Germany%252520vs.%252520Spain%252529.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xavi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
In this idea of football, Xavi was the center and it was necessary to create the appropriate atmosphere for him. Since then, Spain basically played with a defensive midfielder (Senna), two central midfielders (Xavi and Iniesta) and two open players cutting in (Villa or Silva) plus a striker (Torres). The system admitted some changes, as in the semifinals and the final of the Euro, when Villa got injured. Then Cesc was the 12th player instead of David Villa. Using this system, Luis Aragonés took the best of the Spanish team, in terms of success and brilliance.<br />
<br />
Vicente Del Bosque, during the qualifiers for the World Cup 2010 did not fix what was not broken, but the rivals were not important enough to know his intentions. Besides, some injuries, especially in the case of Iniesta, the main victim, made not possible to know his real intentions. And, in this situation, we go back to June 16 2010. Spain lose against Switzerland and Del Bosque points the guilty: David Silva. Silva disappeared from the lineups and Del Bosque made a cautious approach. The idea was the same, ball possession and attacking football.... but with the handbrake on. Del Bosque made a very strong bet on a double defensive midfield, untouchable until these days, with Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso. While Sergio Busquets may fit in the shoes of Marcos Senna, since both were used to play in a system with only one anchor man, the main difference was Xabi Alonso. If everything had to turn around Xavi Hernández, the Catalan midfielder lost a partner upfront to get one at his back.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2010/7/8/1278603147114/Alonso-Busquets-006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2010/7/8/1278603147114/Alonso-Busquets-006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alonso & Busquets</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Spain won the World Cup, showing good moments of football, but never reaching the brilliance of the Euro 2008. Since the knock-out rounds, Spain won all the games with a short 1-0. Spain was the best team, probably because they had the best players on the pitch, but the new system killed some of the beauty shown in the Euro 2008. The difference was Xabi Alonso instead of Silva. Last week, Silva <a href="http://blogs.20minutos.es/el_10_futbol/2011/09/20/silva-del-bosque-no-cuenta-conmigo/">talked to the media</a> and said that <i>"before the game against Switzerland, I had confidence. I played regularly and I had a place in the team, but everything started to change with the defeat. Because of this reason, with the pass of time, I believe I was the victim of the bad debut in the World Cup. The only thing I say is that Luis (Aragones) trust in me... Del Bosque thinks in a different way. I am going to work to keep the level I am showing in this first games, however, I doubt that I can have a protagonist role in the Euro. I feel I played in a high level and it was not enough to have a place in the starting XI. There are lots of good midfielders, not good, really good! Nothing to say about them to be chosen. I do not discuss the lineups: I analyze my situation and I am not happy. And I do not see that anything is going to change. Not playing for Barça or Madrid damages me".</i><br />
<br />
Probably David Silva is right in his thoughts. The problem is not his good or bad performances, but Del Bosque's concept of football. Del Bosque sacrificed an attacking player to introduce a defensive midfielder to cover his back. Del Bosque is not Luis Aragonés, who created the circle around Xavi, nor Guardiola, who is the flag of La Masia's style. Del Bosque always trusted in the double defensive midfield, call it Makelele-Helguera or Busquets-Alonso. But, definitely, it is out of question that Del Bosque belong to a more conservative school in terms of lineup design. Del Bosque probably believes that it is better to keep the back well covered, since the talent in attack will solve the games anyway. It is logical to think that, at some point, Xavi or Iniesta will find Villa, Torres or whoever to win a game... but everything starts by keeping the order in defense. It is not that Luis Aragonés does not trust in defensive balance, he surely did, since his motto was "compete, compete, compete". But Luis Aragonés thought that the balance was assured with only one defensive midfielder... this is not possible for Del Bosque's idea.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/David+Jimenez+Silva+Scotland+v+Spain+EURO+WRWhHg41dVwl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/David+Jimenez+Silva+Scotland+v+Spain+EURO+WRWhHg41dVwl.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Silva</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
The consequence is that Spain waste two magnificent attacking midfielders like David Silva and Cesc Fàbregas, relegated to a secondary role, to hype Alonso and Busquets. The gravity of Spain's football is 20 meters backwards and this is not irrelevant. At the same time, Xavi will probably keep doing well, since his talent is out of question. However, when he raises his head, he will miss references that he usually has in Barcelona or used to have in Luis Aragonés' Spain. So far, both systems triumphed, but Spain's brilliance got lost in the way and the results started to walk on a thin line of 1-0's.<br />
<br />
The debate was hidden by the success, but I am glad that David Silva put it on the table and it will mark the future of Spain. Personally, I believe it is a tragedy to punish Silva and/or Cesc in order to play with Alonso, when Busquets has shown to be capable of doing the task by himself. Why punish the attack with such a defensive and (why not) coward approach? Why? Del Bosque may win the Euro again, but I doubt Spain will find the excellence of the Euro 2008 again... and the absence of David Silva explains the difference.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232161975324785103.post-77944322225717544782011-09-20T22:17:00.000+02:002011-09-20T22:17:53.174+02:00Fernando Torres bites the dustFernando Torres is the most expensive Spanish player ever. 58 million euros paid Chelsea FC for him. A price that definitely shows the prestige of the player at the moment of the signing for the club of London. Since always a precocious kid, the flag of the clubs he played in. However, nowadays, he is probably living the worst moment of his professional career in Chelsea and the Spanish NT. Target of the attacks of the English tabloids, relegated to a secondary role in the Spanish NT, Torres' career walks on a thin line in this moment.<br />
<br />
Fernando Torres was a star before he was a professional. After the historical error of Raúl, who left Atlético Madrid to join the eternal rival after Jesús Gil closed several youth teams, Fernando Torres was considered the diamond of the Atlético academy. Being 15 years old, Fernando Torres led Atlético to the Nike Cup, an Under-15 tournament, in the year 1998. At this point, Fernando Torres could hardly imagine that he was the one to carry a big club like Atlético Madrid on his shoulders in the worst moments of the history of the <i>colchoneros</i>.<br />
<br />
In 1999, he signed his first professional contract and, only one year later, only being 17, he joined the first team. At that moment, Atlético had been relegated to Segunda División. "One year in hell", said the slogan of the commercial to attract ticket-holders. Sadly for him, an injury kept him out of the pitch during a long part of the season, although he could make his debut at the end of the season, scoring his first official goal with Atlético Madrid. Still, the year in hell was extended one more year, since Atlético failed to return to Primera División.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/6/4/8/5/n_atletico_de_madrid_fernando_torres-15846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/6/4/8/5/n_atletico_de_madrid_fernando_torres-15846.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Segunda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But the turning point for him was the summer of 2001. Fernando Torres was called by the Spanish NT to play the U-16 Euro in England. Fernando Torres led Spain to the victory in this tournament, scoring the only goal of the final against France and being chosen the best player of the tournament. His childish face made him get the nickname that made him famous: <i>El Niño </i>(The Kid).<br />
<br />
Back in Madrid, Atlético and the fans put all the faith on him. With only 4 games with the first team, Fernando Torres, a 17 year old kid, was given the responsibility to drive Atlético to Primera División. He was the new hero, the hope of the future Atleti. Luis Aragonés, the fan hero returned to the club and did not hesistate one second: Torres had to play. He ended up scoring 6 goals in 36 appearances, perhaps not a great record, but his movements and personality already impressed. Atlético won the Segunda División title and returned to Primera. That was not enough and, as he had done the previous summer, Fernando Torres was called by the U-19 Spanish team for the Euro. Spain won the title and history repeated itself: Torres scored the only goal of the final against Germany and was chosen the best player of the tournament.<br />
<br />
No one had any doubts in the Manzanares: Fernando Torres was the man. Fernando Torres was 18 years old and made his debut in Primera División in the 2002/2003 season in the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona. Fernando Torres started to show his value scoring 13 goals in his first season, not an easy year for an Atlético that was adapting to the top division after the years in hell. Fernando Torres did not fail to those who put the faith on him.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/6/3/9/9/n_atletico_de_madrid_fernando_torres-89936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/6/3/9/9/n_atletico_de_madrid_fernando_torres-89936.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The 2003/2004 was special for Fernando Torres. <i>El Niño</i> was given the captain armband. 19 years old and captain of one of the biggest clubs of the continent. This fact did not have any effect on him, he wore it with pride and ended up scoring 19 goals in Primera División, only surpassed by Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF) and Julio Baptista (Sevilla FC). All these great performances gave him the chance to play for the Spanish NT for the first time, called by Iñaki Sáez, a man that had always put the trust on <i>El Niño </i>in the youth categories of the national team<i>. </i>During the summer, Atlético had to reject several offers from big clubs of England to retain their home star and local hero.<br />
<br />
During the following two years, Fernando Torres did not stop growing. Despite the instability of the club, he always was the reference of the team and the top scorer. At the same time, the Spanish NT started a new era. After the failure of the Spanish NT in the Portuguese Euro 2004, Fernando Torres started to be constantly called by the Spanish NT. A young and new generation of players started to appear made their way towards the World Cup 2006 at Germany. Players like Torres himself, Cesc Fàbregas, Iker Casillas, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta or Xabi Alonso, all of them under-25, were there. The Spanish NT impressed by their good football during the group stage, but failed against the first important rival: France. Luis Aragonés claimed that Spain had enough talent, but these young players needed to learn to compete.<br />
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</i><br />
Fernando Torres did not stop growing and the offers from important clubs were bigger and bigger. Fernando Torres was a sensation in Europe and Atlético Madrid failed to surround him with good players. While <i>El Niño</i> kept performing in a superior level, the club failed to give him a squad to fight for titles. In the spring of 2007, there was an eloquent picture, Atlético Madrid got a historical 0-6 beating by Barcelona at the Vicente Calderón. Everyone knew that Fernando Torres' heart was broken, it was a non-return moment. Barcelona trashed the team of his heart and his life and the image was Fernando Torres, alone in the middle of the pitch, looking at an uncertain point of the horizon and then falling on his knees grabbing his head. He had to leave in order to grow... and all the atléticos understood why. He had served like a good soldier, but he was too big for an Atlético that also needed the money to build a stronger squad.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">0-6</td></tr>
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This is how Fernando Torres ended up signing for Liverpool, convinced by Rafa Benítez, in the summer of 2007 for 36 million euros. Liverpool FC is one of the biggest teams of England and Europe, and the reds had played the Champions League final in May, 2 years after their last continental title. Fernando Torres was the star that had to complete a winning squad. Fernando Torres had a fantastic season, he scored in his debut at Anfield against Chelsea. Fernando Torres broke his personal record, scoring 24 goals during the season. Liverpool did not win any title, but the future looked bright. <i>El Niño</i> was part of the team of the season of the Premier League and one of the nominees for the PFA Players' player of the year, the PFA Young player of the year and, for the first time, for the FIFA World Player Award. But, despite the great season, he did not know that his moment was yet to arrive.<br />
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It was in Austria, in 2008. Fernando Torres and David Villa had the task to make people forget the Spanish ever top-scorer, Raúl. Luis Aragonés "killed" the national and, especially, madridista hero and, against the opinion of the press, put all the faith in the young pair of strikers. The early polemics were left behind when the ball started to roll. David Villa was the main reference and top scorer, but no one had doubts that Fernando Torres was the perfect partner. It was the team that broke the Spanish curse of the quarter finals, beating Italy in the penalties. Destiny gave Torres all the responsibility of the attack of Spain. David Villa got injured in the early minutes of the semifinal and Luis Aragonés did not give him a striker. On the other hand, Torres had to fight against the World, escorted by a brilliant generation of midfielders (Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Silva and Senna). In the final, some expressed their doubts on Torres, since he had only scored one goal in the entire tournament. Villa was out of the team and Spain's number 9 was Fernando Torres... and it was the night of his life. It was the 33rd minute of the first half, Xavi raised his head to make a long pass for Fernando Torres' run, not very precise, to the space, but Fernando Torres used his speed and skill to beat the German fullback in the run to kick the ball, with a subtle touch, over Lehmann's body. The goal of the night, the goal of the final, the goal of the tournament... the most important goal of the Spanish NT history since Marcelino's in 1964.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goal of his life</td></tr>
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Fernando Torres was a global star, a World class player. In the 2008/2009 season, Liverpool really went for it. Despite Torres could not repeat the figures of the previous year, his contribution was important once more. In the first games of the season, Torres kept his good goal record, but several muscular injuries in games with the Spanish NT broke his season. Liverpool fought for the title in a tight run with the eternal rival, Manchester United. It was near, but not possible. In the Champions League, the historical 4-0 against Real Madrid did not pass from the anecdote after being defeated by Chelsea in the quarter finals. Despite the club failures, Torres was chosen the 3rd best player of the year only behind Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi. Besides, The Times chose him among the best 50 players in Liverpool's history.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rafa Benítez surprised everyone with a revolution that ended up punishing his team. Liverpool sold important players like Xabi Alonso, Hyppia, Sissoko, Robbie Keane or Arbeloa and the reinforcements did not match the level of the players who had left the team. Fernando Torres was the main reference and big star of the team, but the muscular injuries that started to punish him the previous season, kept following him. Torres was able to score 18 goals in 22 Premier League games, but the team failed in the domestic league (ending up 7th, out of the Champions League spots) and out of the Champions League in the group stages. From a personal point of view, Torres' season was perfect until an injury punished him in the second half of the season. His team noticed his absence and, ironically, he missed the chance to help his team to face Atlético in the semifinals of the Europa League. The team of his life beated his Liverpool to get a ticket to a historical final for the atléticos, who won their first title since <i>El Doblete</i> of 1996.<br />
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But the injuries made the alarms ring. Fernando Torres' recovery was slow and the World Cup was in the horizon. The specific work helped him to reach the tournament of South Africa, where Spain was one of the main favorites to win the title. Despite his bad preparation, Del Bosque did not hesitate and Torres was in the initial lineup of the Spanish NT, but his bad performances and the lack of goals raised the doubts about him. Torres lost his position in favor of the blaugrana Pedro in the semifinals against Germany. For the first time in a long time, Torres was sent to a secondary role in the key moment of the competition. The historical victory of the Spanish NT hide the personal problems of Torres, who started to lose the favor of Del Bosque. Still, Fernando Torres was there in the highest moment of glory of the Spanish football. Five minutes before the end of the World Cup final, Navas connected with Iniesta and Cesc in midfield, the Sevilla player saw how Torres opened the field and gave him the ball. Fernando Torres was the one who took the decision to risk the ball looking for the winning goal. <i>El Niño </i>raised his head and looked for Iniesta, who was out of mark, the pass was too short, but created the chaos in the defense of Netherlands. Cesc took the lost ball and made a soft pass to the space where Iniesta appeared and prepared the ball to kick it with the heart of the whole country. Torres had reached the top and his teammate Pepe Reina, in the celebration of the World Cup title, said about him: "Everything started 2 years and 13 days ago, scoring the goal against Germany, he made us dream, he made us believe in it and this is why we just won this cup... Fernando Torres!".<br />
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He touched the top, but his hell started there too. Rafa Benítez, his protector at Liverpool, had left the club and, even though Roy Hodgson tried to convince him to stay, Torres thought that his stage at Liverpool was over too. He had left Atlético to triumph and he saw himself in the same vicious circle he had been in his last years with the club of his life. In the Winter of 2011, Chelsea completed the most expensive transfer involving a Spanish player. What it was a step forward for Torres became a nightmare in very few weeks. The biggest hope of Chelsea turned to be a failure. Torres never was comfortable with his team and only completed one goal in 17 games and he became a favorite of the English tabloids, who had no mercy with him.<br />
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The new season has just begun, but Fernando Torres keeps living the worst moment of his career. The lack of goals are punishing him, despite the new coach Villas-Boas clearly bets on him. However, his references about his teammates, calling them "too slow" earned him some enemies and some suggested a possible transfer. Besides, in the first games of the Spanish NT this season, Del Bosque who had been roaming the idea since the World Cup, left him in the standings, while Negredo took advantage of his chance to convince the coach with his goals. This weekend, Fernando Torres scored the only goal of Chelsea in the visit to Old Trafford, where the blues lost 3-1. It probably was the best game of Torres in a long time, but everyone will recall his huge error in front of the empty net in the last minutes of the game.<br />
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Fernando Torres is 27 years old. Since 10 years ago, he has hold important teams on his shoulders and it never was easy since his good personal performances were never backed by a winning squad, aside the international titles. <i>El Niño</i> looks sad and down, everything conspires against him... even himself and his words to the press. He feels in a hole, Chelsea has become a hostile place and the Spanish NT starts to make their way without him with an Euro in the horizon. But we are talking about Fernando Torres, the kid who was the captain of Atlético Madrid being 19, the man who made Liverpool dream in the Premier League for the first time in a long time, the striker who scored a goal that showed Spain the way to the victory. Fernando Torres has touched the bottom and has bitten the dust.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touching the bottom</td></tr>
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This is a key moment of his career. His first real chance in a club that can actually win titles. The maturity of his football. Maybe the chance of his life in the club level, never forgetting the challenge of the Spanish NT, where he just lost his place. Now that he knows the loneliness and darkness of the hole, it is his time to prove what Fernando Torres really is. This season will be all or none for the kid that once left Fuenlabrada, a town near Madrid, to be a goalkeeper in a school team and ended up scoring the goal that made Spain be a winner team. This is his challenge: to convince all the ones who doubt about him... like me. But let me tell you, Fernando Torres always had the ability to close the mouth of those who ever had doubts about... like mine.Juan A. Gisberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377158834506459265noreply@blogger.com0