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Back during the 2006-2007 Primera season, the Real Madrid players adopted the theme of 'Junto, podemos' in their comeback to win La Liga under the guidance of Fabio Capello. Madrid were left for dead and buried that ...
Arch Bell On February - 17 - 2012 Segunda Focus: Good To Be GallegoAfter spending last week in the UK, it feels great to be back in the swing of things and delving into the Spanish Segunda once again. Oddly enough, I didn?t come across too many Englishmen who could really talk about the Segunda. All I got were blank stares when trying to start a discussion about whether Celta?s David Rodriguez should be starting or not. Huh.
Speaking of Celta, we start this week with both Galician sides at the tippy top of the table with Deportivo in first and Celta in second. It?s the first time this season that has happened and frankly, I think it?s wonderful. If you?ve been reading this column long enough, you know my affinity for all things Galician and especially its two big futbol clubs. Even though the thought of Depor and Celta facing each other in the playoff final for the final promotion spot would give me an aneurysm from excitement, it?s still would be pretty cool to see the derbi gallego continue next year in the Primera.
Next up for Celta is a very difficult contest at Elche on Saturday. The aforementioned Rodriguez once again voiced his displeasure earlier this week at being relegated to substitute status. I kind of understand his beef considering he scored 17 times last season and has eight in 12 games this season. The guy is more than capable of getting it done, but Paco Herrera?s starting XI is also getting it done so why mess with that? After a losing streak Elche have rebounded nicely tucking away shutout wins over Girona and Murcia setting up this huge contest. The easy way out here would be to pick a draw but I think these two teams have enough in them that they?d much rather get three points than one. Tough call but I?ll go with the ?empujon? from the Martinez Valero faithful. HOME WIN.
The last time Barcelona B and Deportivo got together we got to witness one of the best goals of the season as Depor?s Andres Guardado scored from midfield. The Mexican has been terrific this year from Depor but is nicked up as of late and was doubtful to play on Saturday against the Baby Blagurana. Now it looks as if Guardado and goalkeeper Aranzubia will be fit to play which is an even bigger boost to a Depor side that is starting to run away with the Segunda. With 51 points, Depor are now six points clear of third place after crushing Hercules last week 1-4 in Alicante. No way I?m picking against Depor now. HOME WIN.
If Numancia want any chance at working their way back into the playoff discussion, Friday?s home match against Cordoba will serve as one of their final opportunities to do so as the seventh place Andalusians visit Soria. Meanwhile Cordoba are two points off the final playoff spot after beating Valladolid last week and can really help themselves getting a road win, something they haven?t done since November. Charles is still out for Cordoba which means the goals need to come from somewhere else. And of course, it?ll be freezing in Soria tonight. DRAW.
Does anyone here think that Girona have a fighting chance against Valladolid? Anyone? Raise your hand if you do? Anyone? Yeah, I didn?t think so. The Pucelete are hopping mad after losing last week and will take out their frustrations on bottom of the barrel Girona. Speaking of the Catalans, how would you feel if you were one of the players and your owner wanted to sell your team for one lousy stinking euro? Well, that?s what Josep Delgado has decided to do saying that he?s tired of being the only one who gives a damn about the trajectory of the club. Oh boy. What a mess. HOME WIN.
News leaked out early this morning that three Huesca players all tested positive for alcohol after running a red light at 4am on the streets of Zaragoza. Goalkeeper Luis Garcia was the one behind the wheel who got busted and had to cough up dinero to pay the fine. With a team mired in the drop zone, it?s pretty much the last thing anyone affiliated with the club wanted to see. Drunk driving is serious stuff and should not be laughed off, but, with the way Huesca have played this season you would think they?ve been drunk during games. They host Guadalajara on Saturday in Aragon. Guadalajara are coming off a horrendous home loss to Xerez so there?s no reason to think why anyone will win this game. DRAW.
Back during the 2006-2007 Primera season, the Real Madrid players adopted the theme of ?Junto, podemos? in their comeback to win La Liga under the guidance of Fabio Capello. Madrid were left for dead and buried that winter after a 0-3 loss to Recreativo yet strung together a winning streak that had miracle finishes and last minute goals as a weekly staple, plus it helped that Barcelona choked like dogs that spring. Fast forward to present day, Gimnastic coach Jorge D?Alessandro is starting to start the same rallying cry for his troops who sit in dead last with 17 points. It?s going to be difficult with Berry Powell out again with an injury but they?ll try their best on Sunday evening out on the islands versus Las Palmas.The Pio Pio are doing one of those yo-yo things where they win at home and lose on the road so with this one on Gran Canaria, I?ll go with a HOME WIN.
All is not well in Alicante as Hercules are still reeling from that 1-4 walloping they absorbed last week from Deportivo. For a team that has spent the most weeks in first place in the Segunda, it was a big blow. True that it?s just one loss but when you had guys like midfielder Michel Herrero saying last week that it was ?the most important match of the year? and then they went out and layed an egg, well, it might be one of those losses that lingers. Hercules travel to Huelva on Saturday to face Recreativo who have a new owner in place. Pablo Comas-Mata is his name and he seems to be well received by the players and supporters so you have to think everyone will be full of sunshine at Camp Decano this week. HOME WIN.
Juanma Ortiz wasn?t getting much playing time at Glasgow Rangers so he made the decision to leave the SPL club and join back up with Almeria over the winter transfer period. Good decision. Rangers announced this week that they have entered administration and were docked 10 points. Who knows what the future of that club is but for Almeria it seems to be good after their 0-1 win at Girona. They host a struggling Murcia on Saturday and should take care of business. HOME WIN.
It?s another festival of yellow on Saturday as Villarreal B host an Alcorcon team that really could use a big road win. I was sad to see that Aussie David Carney rescinded his contract with the club after not getting enough playing time so that means one less English speaking player in the Segunda. That brings up an interesting subject. How many players in the Segunda can actually speak English? Seriously. I would love to know that. Back to the game though, Alcorcon are unbeaten going back to that 6-0 shellacking against Elche. Only problem is that four of those are draws. Probably will be the same here. DRAW.
The silent sound you hear is my effusive praise of Cartagena manager Juan Carlos Rios. After showing tons of promise after taking over, Carta have gone out the last two weeks and been outscored 7-0 in two defeats. Ouch. Where?s the genius JC? C?mon man! You?re making me look bad. Now Carta are at home this weekend to face a resurgent Sabadell side that is playing like they were at the beginning of the season. Carta continues to struggle. ROAD WIN.
We end with Xerez-Alcoyano which is pretty much a toss-up between two sides who are just looking for points to stay away from relegation. I?ll take a DRAW.
A longtime lover of Spain's often-ignored Liga Adelante, Arch started writing about second division in 2008 on a blog called 'Bienvenido Al Infierno' which he ultimately brought to La Liga Weekly in 2009. He has since gone on to cover Segunda matches in Spain for LLW and has conducted interviews with Segunda Division players. You can find Arch's writing on ESPN.com as a contributor to Soccernet. Arch also hosts a bilingual soccer radio show in Austin, Texas called Futbol En Vivo which airs every Tuesday from 1-2pm CST and can be heard locally on 91.7 FM or online at www.koop.org.
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