La Liga

[britbox]

All heating up for a great weekend of action with Athletico Madrid needing a draw and Barca requiring all 3 points.

I haven't really got a dog in the Spanish league but hoping Simeone's men take the title. He's done a great job this year.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

^^yes its going to be amazing, league title shoot out. barca vs althetico Madrid.

who will be "campeones" ?, barca in a season of upheaval off the pitch..or a shock title for ath Madrid.

 

[Kieran]

Same here. It would seem like an injustice of some sort if Barcelona steal the league on the last day. I think it would also put too much pressure on Atletico for the CL final against Real. I hope Atletico get the result tomorrow, and in fairness, they really should...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

it is on sat afternoon/evening at 5pm (I think it is 5pm BST)...as skysports live pre match build up programme starts at 4:30pm. its a bit confusing.

I'm gonna watch it and not watch the fa cup final which is also at 5pm,:violins: I feel like a non patriotic git by not viewing the cup final.. it was claimed somewhere I was reading that a title shootout anfield89 style..has not happened in la liga for 60years :idea:

I know..la liga on laptop..and have bbc1 facup on telly in background, but on mute..:celeb:

 

[britbox]

Hey Borgie, I'd probably do the same if I was in your shoes.

It IS really kind of sad how the FA Cup has lost much of it's punch in England. When we grew up it was almost as big as winning the league title. Dawn to dusk coverage on 2 of the 3 (later 4) terrestrial channels... from the players having breakfast in the hotels, travelling to Wembley, pitch inspections and all the related stuff. I know the other big European leagues never put that much stock into their domestic cup competitions but in the UK it was huge.

Pity it's becoming relegated to almost an afterthought. When I was a kid you dreamed of scoring the winning goal in the cup final not scoring the goal to finish third or fourth and put you into qualification for next years champions league.

To restore the relevance and bring back the prestige of the cup in the eyes of managers and coaches I'd either give the fourth slot (chance to qualify for the Champions League proper) to the Cup Winners or raise the prize money for the winners to 15-20 million.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I chuckled when Eurosport tried to portray the FA Cup/Liga thing being played at the same time as a "dilemma" for the viewer. Unless you have emotional investment in one of the teams in the FA Cup final, is anyone REALLY going to watch that over Barca/Atletico? Nothing against Arsenal, I enjoy their brand of Football, but come on...

Anyway, while I'm rooting for Barca to win, and it would be extremely dramatic if they do, I also feel it would be one of the most underwhelming title wins because realistically, they've been the third best team in Spain this season, and are only still in the race because Real and Atletico are in the Champions League final, which means they were playing on both fronts, had to rest some players, suffered from fatigue, etc... Kinda weird how that works out.

I am hoping for Messi to produce something heroic though. He's been criticized, fairly I might add, but if you look at his numbers, he's still had a great season by any player's standards...just not by his.

 

[britbox]

^I'd agree with that to some extent... but there was a time in England that every man and his dog would watch the FA Cup final regardless of who was playing. Think Superbowl in the States and the FA Cup final used to attract the same type of feel. That's diminished a lot for various reasons. Still, amongst UK viewers in isolation - I'd still hazard a guess that more will still watch the Cup Final than La Liga... although for the football purist who looks beyond the boundaries of his national teams, La Liga would be the obvious choice.

 

[brokenshoelace]

^I'd agree with that to some extent... but there was a time in England that every man and his dog would watch the FA Cup final regardless of who was playing. Think Superbowl in the States and the FA Cup final used to attract the same type of feel. That's diminished a lot for various reasons. Still, amongst UK viewers in isolation - I'd still hazard a guess that more will still watch the Cup Final than La Liga... although for the football purist who looks beyond the boundaries of his national teams, La Liga would be the obvious choice.

Oh yeah, I'm sure in the UK, most will be watching the FA cup. While it's lost a lot of its prestige, it's still the oldest competition in British football, and if nothing else, the Brits do honor tradition. Though I'd say this is a double edged sword, since, admirable as it is, it also highlights why many British pundits/media people/fans are so oblivious to European football outside of the UK.

Obviously everyone is familiar with Barca due to everything they've done for the past few years, but when I listen to British pundits, it seems they only really understand the premier league and Barcelona.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Even though I don't have a horse in the race, I have maybe a little pony in Arda, one of my favorite Galatasaray players. He started there as a kid, he was a ball boy in our stadium during the Hagi years. So I would like him to win the title. Never count Messi out though. There is possibility of magic happening whenever he is on the pitch.

 

[britbox]

^I'd agree with that to some extent... but there was a time in England that every man and his dog would watch the FA Cup final regardless of who was playing. Think Superbowl in the States and the FA Cup final used to attract the same type of feel. That's diminished a lot for various reasons. Still, amongst UK viewers in isolation - I'd still hazard a guess that more will still watch the Cup Final than La Liga... although for the football purist who looks beyond the boundaries of his national teams, La Liga would be the obvious choice.

Oh yeah, I'm sure in the UK, most will be watching the FA cup. While it's lost a lot of its prestige, it's still the oldest competition in British football, and if nothing else, the Brits do honor tradition. Though I'd say this is a double edged sword, since, admirable as it is, it also highlights why many British pundits/media people/fans are so oblivious to European football outside of the UK.

Obviously everyone is familiar with Barca due to everything they've done for the past few years, but when I listen to British pundits, it seems they only really understand the premier league and Barcelona.

True. The UK has always been a little insular for want of a better word. I'd say the situation with regard to football is improving though. Foreign leagues get much more exposure these days than they ever used to.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Even though I don't have a horse in the race, I have maybe a little pony in Arda, one of my favorite Galatasaray players. He started there as a kid, he was a ball boy in our stadium during the Hagi years. So I would like him to win the title. Never count Messi out though. There is possibility of magic happening whenever he is on the pitch.

Arda has been their best player this season save for Diego Costa. What an absolute monster.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

here we go then. vamos.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

diego costa's hamstring just went. 27 league goals goes down the tunnel.

he crying on the bench..prob no champions league final for him next sat either..biggest matches of his career.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

lolwut..looks like athletico are losing a 2nd player injured after 20 odd mins.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

1-0 Barcelona, alexis sanchez cuts across the ball in/out for a sheareresque goal.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

1-1 lol

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Can Atletico hold on?

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

They did! Awesomeness....

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

wowwwww :clap

vamos..althletico's first league title since 1995-96. with that and the end of the facupfinal injury time at samwetime ..I feel a bit dizzy.

 

[britbox]

Congrats Athletico Madrid.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzq7a5s0rOg[/video]

Checkout the Sanchez opener for Barca if you haven't seen already.