Monday, June 11, 2007

The Spanish Race - down to the wire

This weekend, in between navigating life issues, I was able to watch GolTVs excellent coverage of the Spanish race. For those of you that are not aware that domestic soccer continues (and I am not talking about MLS), the Spanish league is down to the wire, next weekend is the last fixture with a real dog fight at the top. With Real Madrid and Barcelona tied at 73 points with Seville at 71 points, the last day will determine who wins this seasons title.

What was great watching this weekend was how things were changing at every minute. With Real Madrid going down 2-1 against Zaragoza while Barca was ahead 2-1 against cross city rivals Espanyol.....on top of all this Barca had scored a goal via the "hand of god" when Messi appeared to have punched in a goal. Both games saw draws being pulled out of the fire at the ultimate minute.

The final week will see both Barca and Real looking for victories, with Seville hoping to see both top clubs losing and they winning. Of course Real Madrid are in the driver's seat, knowing that if they win they secure the title.

However, what really struck me this weekend was watching Beckham. While I am not on top of his fan club list, far from it, I have to admit he looked very dangerous on the pitch. His ability to find players inside the 18 yard box on both set pieces and the run of play made him a dangerous weapon for Real. While he is not a true "#10" he acts as the maestro for the Real Club, with players such as VanNistelrooy, Raul, and Robinho who are offensively gifted but are not players who can distribute the ball and control the tempo of the game with their passing. Beckham does so with his play.

I find it interesting that we are starting to see articles such as the following -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/6739101.stm


Do you think Cappello and Real are having second thoughts about letting him go? Do you think Beckham has regrets leaving for the "greener fields" of the US? Or is this, as my Brett said, "What Posh wants, Posh gets" . . .

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