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manchego
Feb 16, 2007

MEANWHILE,


So begins another season where either Madrid team or, more likely, Barcelona will win. LOLOL TWO HORSE RACE LEAGUE, gently caress OFF.

~* The newly promoted teams *~


DEPORTIVO ALAVES
  • One of the four Basque clubs that will be competing this year in the top flight. Alaves is a club from the Basque Country's capital city, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and has existed for 95 years. Although a historic club, they've mainly slogged around in the second and third tier of Spanish football
  • Obscure claim to fame: Lost to Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final (only time a major European tournament has been ended by a golden goal)
  • A casual glance at Wikipedia reveals... Christian Santos could be a threat. He's a Venezuelan who scored 43 goals in 71 appearances for NEC in the Eredivisie. Alaves also has some players on loan from more interesting clubs, such as Marcos Llorente (from Real Madrid) and Ruben Sobrino (from Manchester City). They've also signed Serbian Nenad Krsticic (of Sampdoria and Bologna) and they have a new new manager, Mauricio Pellegrino (a former Liverpool player during Rafa's time)
  • Food pick for the club: Goxua



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKcVjQ5KCk
CLUB DEPORTIVO (CD) LEGANES
  • Enjoying their first-ever stint in the top tier of Spanish football, Leganes is a club from the greater Madrid-area (less than 10 miles from the center of the city). Their stadium only holds around 8,000 people, so stream a few minutes of one of their home matches against one of the big clubs for laughs
  • Leganes is furthering the proud tradition of Madrid-periphery clubs doing something crazy with their shirts by having scratch and sniff shirts this year
  • A casual glance at Wikipedia reveals… Alexander Szymanowski, an Argentine winger who was their top scorer last season (12). Leganes were the joint-top scoring team in the Spanish second division last season
  • Food pick: With a trove of culinary treasures to chose from in and near Spain’s capital, the best place to eat in Leganes is a hamburger joint.




CLUB ATLETICO (CA) OSASUNA
  • Another Basque club, but this one from the region of Navarre, not the Basque Country. Osasuna's stadium is in the region’s capital city, Pamplona, where they run with the bulls and wear red handkerchiefs. They're easily the most historically-successful amongst the newly promoted teams. Prior to spending the last two seasons in the second division, Osasuna came in fourth place during the 2005/2006 season. However, since then, they've largely been relegation-candidates or mid-table-at-best
  • A casual glance at Wikipedia reveals… Roberto Torres is a local hero, having played all of his games for Osasuna. Think of him as a vastly less talented Totti-esque figure
  • Food pick: Spanish tortillas


~* The teams most people in this thread talk about *~


1. FUTBOL CLUB BARCELONA
  • What really needs to be said here? They're the reigning champions of Spain, a consistent European champion and the team that your insufferable, holier-than-thou, oval office of a friend (the one that studied abroad to Spain) has chosen as his favorite club
  • #WeAreAllLeoMessi's hair turned white from the sorrow and shame of yet another crushing loss wearing the Albiceleste shirt
  • Barcelona lost Dani Alves to Juventus but signed some cat named Andre Gomes. He's young and played for Benfica at some point, so he must be good



2. REAL MADRID CLUB DE FUTBOL
  • Real Madrid are the most successful club in Spanish history, both domestically and in Europe
  • Ronaldo is 31, and hurt himself in the European Championship Final. Zidane, for all the good Madrid was able to do last season, is only in the second year of his management tenure at a club that has no qualms with making GBS threads all over its legendary players
  • Morata coming back from Juventus, due to his buy-back clause, will be something to make note of and Sergio Ramos will do something stupid at some point in the season
  • Food pick: Go get tapas in the Chamberi neighborhood of Madrid. Stop in several places. Eat and drink a lot



3. CLUB ATLETICO DE MADRID
  • The other club from Madrid. Traditionally second-fiddle to Real Madrid, but no longer. Under their current manager, Diego Simeone, they recently won the league and were twice runners up for the Champion’s League title
  • Antoine Griezmann had a phenomenal European Championship and Atleti have signed Nicolas Gaitan (from Benfica) and Kevin Gameiro (from Sevilla)
  • Food pick: Cocido Madrileno at La Bola


~* The rest of the pack (organized by table position last season) *~


4. VILLARREAL
  • Things were looking pretty good for the team from the Valencia region. However, Roberto Soldado is now out for 6 months with an injury and their manager, Marcelino, was sacked/left 5 days ago. That's not good
  • In order to unfuck themselves, they'll need to rely on their signings of Roberto Soriano (from Samporia), Nicola Sansone (from Sassuolo) and Alexandre Pato (from Corinthians after Chelsea didn't want him)
  • Food pick: Rossejat



5. ATHLETIC BILBAO
  • Another one of the Basque clubs, Athletic Bilbao are one of only three clubs that have never been relegated from the the top flight of Spanish football. They'll be heavily involved in their European campaign, with Aritz Aduriz playing a key role at the age of 36!
  • Obscure claim to fame: Their cantera (academy) system only recruits and fields players that meet strict Basque heritage requirements. Due to this policy, they really haven't done much in terms of transfers. Aymeric Laporte signed a new contract that upped his buyout clause to €65 million, which Manchester City will not appreciate
  • Food pick: Canutillos de Bilbao



6. CELTA VIGO
  • Vigo is a city in Galicia, which is a region that occupies the northwest corner of Spain
  • Over the summer Celta lost Nolito (now at Manchester city) and have attempted improve the situation by signing Midjylland’s Pione Sisto, who apparently is a young and decent winger
  • Food pick: Empanada Gallega



7. SEVILLA
  • Sevilla, from Spain's Andalusia region, have owned the UEFA Europa League for the last three years and, but their manager during that period, Unai Emery has since left to take the job at PSG in France. Sevilla replaced Emery with Jorge Sampaoli, who previously managed a very successful Chilean National Team
  • Sevilla signed seven new forwards, including Paulo Henrique Ganso from Sao Paulo, Franco Vasquez from Palermo and Wissam Ben Yedder from Toulouse
  • Food pick: Motherfucking Gazpacho!



8. MALAGA
  • Malaga, a city best known for its beach resorts along Spain's southern coast, also has a pretty good football club. Juande Ramos is back as the manager and new signings include Sandro Ramirez (from Barcelona), and wingers Keko and Jony from Eibar and Sporting Gijon respectively
  • Food pick: Jamon Iberico is from Andalusia, so eat that




9. REAL SOCIEDAD
  • Real Sociedad is the penultimate Basque club on this list and the chief Basque rivals of Athletic Bilbao. Based in the beautiful coastal city of San Sebastian, it doesn't appear that a ton has gone down with them. Though no longer as strict on the Basque-only cantera policy as Athletic Bilbao, you don't see a ton of diversity on their squad. Carlos Vela, the Mexican international, is one of the few non-Spaniards.
  • Food pick: Pintxos. Basically tapas, but totally different because they are Basque :rolleyes:



10. REAL BETIS BALOMPIE
  • Betis are the other club from the the Andalusian capital of Seville. Sevilla has the upper hand in their historic derby with Betis, and as recently as 2013/2014 Betis were relegated to the second division. However, they bounced back last season and Gus Poyet is their manager now. Betis signed Antonio Sanabria from Roma for €7.5 million and Chelsea have extended their loan of Charly Musonda.
  • Food pick: Montaditos. A type of sandwich, varied in its contents.


:barf:
11. UNION DEPORTIVO (UD) LAS PALMAS
  • The sole representative of the Canary Islands in the league, Las Palmas is closer to Laayoune, Western Sahara than any of the cities they'll be visiting in their fixtures. Still, the club signed Boateng over the summer on a free. Unfortunately for them, it was Kevin Prince and not Jerome.
  • Food pick: Wrinkled Potatoes



12. VALENCIA
  • Now more than a decade removed from their glory days in the early 2000s, Valencia are a shadow of their former selves. However, under the new leadership of manager Pako Ayestaran (who replaced Gary Neville), Valencia have a forgiving set of fixtures early in the season. In addition, they signed former Mancunian Nani (from Fenerbahce), who had a decent European Championship tournament.
  • Food pick: Valencia is the home of Paella


:barf:
13. ESPANYOL
  • Espanyol is the other team in Barcelona. This season's changes include signing Martin Demichelis (from Manchester City) and a new manager in former Watford boss, Quique Sanchez Flores



14. SOCIEDAD DEPORTIVA (SD) EIBAR
  • Eibar round out the Basque quartet this season. They are minnows, their stadium only seats 6,250 people and the club has resorted to selling public shares in order to produce the funds needed to administratively compete in the Spanish first division
  • New signings include Tiago Bebe (from Benfica) and Alejandro Galvez (from Werder Bremen). I recognize those teams, so maybe they'll be good
  • A casual glance at Wikipedia reveals... Eibar have a Japanese international in midfielder Takashi Inui. In racist Spain, you don't see that everyday
  • Food pick: Txakoli is a very dry white wine and certainly an acquired taste


:perfect:



15. DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA
  • There's a lot to like about Depor, another club from Spain's Galicia region. They have probably the best kits in the league this year, and a historical pedigree that makes them enjoyable to support. Depor was in 6th place last January, but had a disastrous second half of the season. Under new manager Gaizka Garitano, the club's beating heart is forward Lucas Perez
  • Colombian winger, Marlos Moreno (on loan from Manchester City) will play with the club this season and new signings include Raul Albentosa (from Derby County)
  • Food pick: Tarta de Santiago for sure



16. GRANADA
  • The final Andalusian club in the league this season, from a stunningly beautiful city of the same name, Granada are survivors. The club first made the top flight in 2011/2012 and have avoided the drop ever since
  • New manager, Paco Jemez, was a prospect to replace Vincente del Bosque at the head of the Spanish national team. Although nothing new, Granada will enter this season with a squad made up of many on loan players and free transfers, including Mexican goalkeeper, Guillermo Ochoa
  • Food pick: Have a glass of warm and sweet tea while taking in views of The Alhambra



17. SPORTING GIJON
  • Sporting are the lone Asturian club in the league this season. They were only recently promoted last season and under their bald and talismanic manager, Abelardo Fernández, Sporting were able to avoid the drop
  • They've signed Xavi Torres (from Betis) which should give them some defensive structure in the midfield, but this is a club that, like Granada, are flush with low-cost signings and on loan players
  • Food pick: Fabada

Here are some important dates for games that might interest you:

- El Clasico will be played on Dec 4 and Apr 23
- Madrid Derby will be played on Nov 20 and Apr 9

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manchego
Feb 16, 2007

MEANWHILE,
Anyone based in the US have any experience with Sling or Fubo TV services for streaming La Liga? I'm toying around with the idea of paying for a service.

Gigi Galli
Sep 19, 2003

and then the car turned in to fire

manchego posted:

Anyone based in the US have any experience with Sling or Fubo TV services for streaming La Liga? I'm toying around with the idea of paying for a service.

I think Soulex has used Fubo for Serie A, I imagine the La Liga coverage is probably better if anything. You should PM him.

Anyway nice OP. Lovely food references, as a fat piece of poo poo I enjoyed that the most.

By the way Sansone is quite good with a competent striker partner. It remains to be seen if Pato is that.

Gigi Galli fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Aug 16, 2016

Sneaks McDevious
Jul 29, 2010

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN
A good OP. I learned a lot and will remember this fondly as I wade through all the Madrid/Barca posts .

belgend
Mar 6, 2008

me when The Club do another win

I'm seeing double! 8 Super Depors!

Nissin Cup Nudist
Sep 3, 2011

Sleep with one eye open

We're off to Gritty Gritty land




Super Depor were cool and good

RIP

poty
Jun 21, 2008

虹はどこで終わるのですか? あなたの魂の中で、または地平線で?
I thought Spain's economy was starting to improve but seeing how 12* out of 20 teams have no real sponsor, that is clearly not the case. This in a country where football is the only thing most people give a gently caress about

(*) Las Palmas and Sporting have just the place where they're from, guess the local government might be chipping in a couple of bucks millions and millions because Spanish politics are a joke

poty fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Aug 18, 2016

manchego
Feb 16, 2007

MEANWHILE,

poty posted:

I thought Spain's economy was starting to improve but seeing how 12* out of 20 teams have no real sponsor, that is clearly not the case. This in a country where football is the only thing most people give a gently caress about

(*) Las Palmas and Sporting have just the place where they're from, guess the local government might be chipping in a couple of bucks millions and millions because Spanish politics are a joke

Sage observations here.

Also, Barcelona beat Sevilla yesterday to win the Supercopa but no one gives a gently caress about that because it means nothing.

curried lamb of God
Aug 31, 2001

we are all Marwinners
this is a good OP, OP

I'm going to hope that Depor won't get relegated after pulling a Crystal Palace last season

trem_two
Oct 22, 2002

it is better if you keep saying I'm fat, as I will continue to score goals
Fun Shoe

manchego posted:

Anyone based in the US have any experience with Sling or Fubo TV services for streaming La Liga? I'm toying around with the idea of paying for a service.

Fubo is pretty good, in addition to their own site it gets you access to all of BeIN's streaming on their official site as well. So yeah, you get access to a lot of La Liga/Serie A/Ligue 1 games. I had some technical troubles with them when the service first launched, but I signed up for a monthly trial again at the end of last season and it seemed to work fine.

Chas McGill
Oct 29, 2010

loves Fat Philippe
good OP, lmao at the Alaves boyband pic.

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

manchego posted:

Sage observations here.

Also, Barcelona beat Sevilla yesterday to win the Supercopa but no one gives a gently caress about that because it means nothing.

Yes. It would have meant nothing to me if the brave Sevilla boys won, as well. Please do not check alternate timelines to confirm this.

manchego
Feb 16, 2007

MEANWHILE,
It's finally here.



I'm actually pretty excited to try this FuboTV thing out and watch both games today. Malaga and Depor should win.

Sunday, Madrid will be without Benzema, Ronaldo, Pepe or Contrao due to injuries. I'm curious to see the lineup that Zidane will trot out.

Ewar Woowar
Feb 25, 2007

Good op, op.

That Depor kit really is beautiful.

8raz
Jun 22, 2007


He's Scouse, He's Sound.
Excellent OP.

Licking my lips at some La Liga action! .

BWV
Feb 24, 2005


Barca boyz looking hot

Edit: ............

BWV fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Aug 20, 2016

BWV
Feb 24, 2005


Suareths with a gorgeous finish

Mean Bean Machine
May 9, 2008

Only when I breathe.
So is this the thread we're using? Alright: gently caress Barca

Mean Bean Machine
May 9, 2008

Only when I breathe.
First match of the season Barca 5 - 1 Betis lol La Liga is back baby

curried lamb of God
Aug 31, 2001

we are all Marwinners
I know that Ramsey got a lot of poo poo for his peroxide job, but Messi's is even worse

Weaponized Cum
Aug 31, 2004


This post brought to you by the finest Miami cocaine money can buy ----->
At least Messi is good at playing foot

Blue Star Error
Jun 11, 2001

For this recipie you will need:
Football match (Halftime of), Celebrity Owner (Motivational speaking of), Sherry (Bottle of)
When Suarez left Liverpool I joked that he was moving to a league full of Norwichs and its actually true lol. 17 goals in his last 6 league matches

Mean Bean Machine
May 9, 2008

Only when I breathe.

Blue Star Error posted:

When Suarez left Liverpool I joked that he was moving to a league full of Norwichs and its actually true lol. 17 goals in his last 6 league matches

Its really bad OP bad defending all around. Only reason to watch it anymore is because they have the best player in the world Ronaldo and the 2nd best Gareth Bale

Giovanni_Sinclair
Apr 25, 2009

It was on this day that his greatest enemy defeated, the true lord of darkness arose. His name? MARIO.

manchego posted:

Anyone based in the US have any experience with Sling or Fubo TV services for streaming La Liga? I'm toying around with the idea of paying for a service.

Fubo TV is cheaper and has the BeIN connect which streams all the other games that doesn't air on the english and spainish BeIN channels along with Real Madrid TV.

straight up brolic
Jan 31, 2007

After all, I was nice in ball,
Came to practice weed scented
Report card like the speed limit

:homebrew::homebrew::homebrew:

The op will be the only good post in the thread

El Hefe
Oct 31, 2006

You coulda had a V8/
Instead of a tre-eight slug to yo' cranium/
I got six and I'm aimin' 'em/
Will I bust or keep you guessin'
Looks like I missed a fantastic discussion of today's games.

Pretend I posted this while Barca was playing: "Go Barca"

Simone Poodoin
Jun 26, 2003

Che storia figata, ragazzo!



Sevilla - Espanyol ended 6-4. La Liga defending.

R. Guyovich
Dec 25, 1991

Simone Poodoin posted:

Sevilla - Espanyol ended 6-4. La Liga defending.

it was a good game though. let's see if the sevilla boys can win an away game this season

trem_two
Oct 22, 2002

it is better if you keep saying I'm fat, as I will continue to score goals
Fun Shoe
This is funny, from Sid Lowe's season preview column

quote:

Spain’s football stadiums will be full this season – and that’s an order. Well, they’ll look full, anyway. The Spanish league will fine clubs whose grounds aren’t at 75% capacity, double for those who don’t reach 50%. The part of their grounds that are visible on TV screens, that is.

There will be someone there whose job it is to count and sanctions will apply to the stand and the corners opposite the master camera – the televisual U, it’s called. The bit that can be seen. As for the bit that can’t be seen, well, that bit can’t be seen.

For those clubs who are worried that they might not be able to fill their stadiums, fear not: the league will help. By subsidising tickets? By laying on travel? By scheduling games at fan-friendly times? Don’t be daft. This weekend Deportivo Alavés return to the first division: they play at 10.30pm on a Sunday night, three and a half hours away. No, the league will help by providing tarpaulin to cover empty stands behind the cameras.

nutri_void
Apr 18, 2015

I shall devour your soul.
Grimey Drawer
But does the Spanish league schedule games at 1:30 pm on Fridays and sometimes Mondays, like the Russian league does?

Shrapnig
Jan 21, 2005

The Madrid kit is shockingly bad.

Sneaks McDevious
Jul 29, 2010

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

trem_two posted:

This is funny, from Sid Lowe's season preview column

Lmao :smith:

straight up brolic
Jan 31, 2007

After all, I was nice in ball,
Came to practice weed scented
Report card like the speed limit

:homebrew::homebrew::homebrew:

That pass from Varane to Asencio was fully loving sick

El Hefe
Oct 31, 2006

You coulda had a V8/
Instead of a tre-eight slug to yo' cranium/
I got six and I'm aimin' 'em/
Will I bust or keep you guessin'
During Sporting Gijon v Athletic Bilbao the ref stopped the match for a few minutes because of racist chants against Iñaki Williams...

good 'ol Spain

Montasque
Jul 18, 2003

Living in a hateful world sending me straight to Heaven
Hello La Liga bros, I'll be Madrid in late September and looking to get tickets to a Real Madrid game so I can see Ronaldo score all the goals.

Whats the best way of getting tickets?

Shrapnig
Jan 21, 2005

google.com

Montasque
Jul 18, 2003

Living in a hateful world sending me straight to Heaven

Shrapnig posted:

google.com

Edit: My friend got me tickets thanks for all your help.

Montasque fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Aug 21, 2016

Shrapnig
Jan 21, 2005

Please remind yourself that no one who actually posts in the La Liga thread is within 500 miles of Spain and therefore has no idea about buying tickets and such.

Montasque
Jul 18, 2003

Living in a hateful world sending me straight to Heaven

Shrapnig posted:

Please remind yourself that no one who actually posts in the La Liga thread is within 500 miles of Spain and therefore has no idea about buying tickets and such.

I was going to ask about Barcelona tickets later...

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curried lamb of God
Aug 31, 2001

we are all Marwinners
go to an Atletico match instead, it's more fun even though the Calderon is a dump

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