Trouble, strife and loads of goals
Well, it was a pretty quiet week in LaLiga as we completed Matchdays 29 and 30. Well, not so much quiet actually, but then again, when is it? Coaches moved on, VAR disputes and goals from unlikely sources. So, grab yourself a café con leche and let’s have a look at what’s hot, and who’s not.
Definitely in the latter column is Rubi. Real Betis finally bit the bullet and ended his tenure at the Benito Villamarín Stadium. As mentioned in last week’s column, Los Verdiblancos seem to be in some kind of free fall and a home draw with Granada after being in front in the closing stages, followed by another defeat in Bilbao, did for the coach. At the tail end of last season, when at Espanyol, Rubi coached his team to a run of nine games undefeated before losing to La Real on the last day of the season – his final game at the club. It’s no surprise that the Betis board thought something similar was unlikely to happen this term. A single win in the last ten games spoke of terminal decline, although the issues at the club go much deeper than the coach, and if they tumble through the relegation trapdoor at the end of the season, it could be a long haul to recovery. For Rubi, Betis was his ninth managerial job in a row where he has not lasted more than one full season. One wonders if anyone will take a punt on him again anytime soon.
Up in Cataluña, you can find another club with problems. Regular readers may recall that when Barcelona decided to oust Valverde in the early days of the season, I said that the pursuit of style over substance may turn out to be a fool’s errand. Valverde had delivered successive league titles, but disquiet in the camp and fan rumblings saw him pushed out of the door, replaced by the chess aficionado Quique Setién. So, how’s that move looking now? A far from impressive 2-0 win over Leganés was followed by the frustratingly impotent display in a goalless draw at Sevilla. Yes, the Blaugrana are still level on points with Real Madrid, with only the head-tohead tie-breaker putting working in favour of los Blancos, but here’s a few facts to give a little perspective to things.
In their last seven away games, Barça have accumulated a mere nine points from a possible 21, and failed to even score in three of the seven. Their total of 65 points after 30 games is the lowest at this stage since they finished in third place, back in the 2007-08 season. The club has failed to score in nine games this season across all competitions. The last time that happened was in that same 2007-08 season, and remember, there are still eight games to play in the league alone. On present form, that figure of nine looks pretty likely to grow.
So, is this all Setién’s fault? Of course not, although rumours of a training ground bust up with Lionel Messi certainly adds grist to the mill. The squad has a number of issues that haven’t been adequately addressed in recent times. The once-feared forward line of the Catalans now looks tired and, Messi aside, bereft of inspiration. Even the Mercurial Argentine has just turned 33 now. There’s talk of a new two-year deal, but for how much longer can his aging shoulders carry the team. Luis Suárez is the same age and there’ll be discussions as to whether this may be his last season at the Camp Nou. Antoine Griezmann is a few years younger, but his transfer from Atléti is now looking like an expensive error as he assumes the demeanour of a forward utterly convinced that he couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo. A paltry eight goals from 29 LaLiga appearances, speaks volumes. Then there’s the ‘emergency’ signing of Martin Braithwaite. As well as surely condemning former club Leganés to relegation, for many, yours truly included, to believe that the former Middlesbrough forward was the answer to Barcelona’s problems seemed fanciful at best. Suffice to say that although energetic and enthusiastic as he has been, such hopes have been shown to be forlorn.
Even looking at other areas of the team causes concern. Gerard Pique is 33, Rakatic 32 and Busquets 31. There needs to be some pretty quick stepping-up-to-the-plate by the likes of Ansu Fati, Frenkie de Jong and Riqui Puig to come of age, and Ousmane Dembélé wil have to prove his megamoney signing wasn’t a massive error, plus at least a couple of big summer signings will be necessary, or lean times could be on the way to the Camp Nou. Of course, this may not be Setién’s problem next season. I’ll be surprised if he’s still in place after the end of this term. Could it be time for Xavi to return home? If not, Rubi’s looking for a job!
Barça’s problems have been compounded by Real Madrid’s success. A 3-0 win over Valencia was comfortable, but a chunk of fortune and VAR’s caprice helped them to overcome Real Sociedad when they visited San Sebastian to close out Matchday 30. As well as a debatable penalty, La Real had a goal ruled out for one of those dodgy ‘interfering with play’ VAR decisions. The Barcelona sports newspapers were hardly enthralled.
Talking of goals, a couple of previously recalcitrant clubs went a bit crazy. Atlético Madrid travelled up to Pamplona and rattled in five without reply against Osasuna in Matchday 29. Fortunately, El Cholo managed to restore a little sanity in the next game as mor usual form returned to his team with a 1-0 home win over Real Valladolid. Celta Vigo did the trick in the reverse order. A 0-0 draw with Valladolid was followed by notching no less than six goals against Alavés. The total amounted a shade of 20% of their total league goals so far this season. A visit to La Real looms shortly. Anyone willing to bet on another spree? Nope, me neither.
These double Matchdays make compressing all the details into a column a bit of a game, so perhaps a less controversial week upcoming may be nice. This is LaLiga though, so that’s not happening. Hold your breath mis amigos, there’s plenty to come yet. ¡Hasta la proxima semana!