La Liga 2010 / 2011

[Doughnut Boy Andy]

A nice introduction in English to this year's challenges in the Spanish rivalry between Real and Barca from the BBC:

Last week's arrival of Germany's World Cup revelation Mesut Ozil from Werder Bremen took Real Madrid's spending this summer to 74m euros (£60.8m), a not inconsiderable amount even by the extravagant standards of fellow European high rollers Manchester City.

Clearly, Real president Florentino Perez is once again hoping that success can be bought.

In addition to Ozil, Perez has lavished his money far and wide, purchasing Argentine winger Angel di Maria from Benfica, Ozil's compatriot Sami Khedira from Stuttgart, Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea as well as, and making a rather shorter journey than his fellow newcomers, Pedro Leon from Getafe.

Waving a chequebook around wasn't a tactic that worked for Perez and Real last season, though.

Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and all the other expensive signings were embarrassingly unable to lift any silverware as they were outshone by Barcelona domestically and out-thought in Europe by Lyon.

However, last season Real also looked rudderless from the start under coach Manuel Pellegrini, who seemed perpetually overawed and unable to cope with the magnitude of the task that confronted him.

Pellegrini was predictably jettisoned as soon as last season came to an end and Perez brought in Jose Mourinho to steer his team, adding to his outlay by making him the most expensive coach in the world on a salary believed to be about 13m euros (£10.6m).

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho
Mourinho will hope to work his magic with Real Madrid

So, ahead of the start of La Liga this weekend, the big question is: can Mourinho justify the staggering amount of cash that has been spent on himself and his squad and turn Real Madrid into title contenders again?

"To not win La Liga or the Champions League this season will be a disaster," said Mourinho, his usual bullish self upon his arrival in the Spanish capital at the end of May.

Perhaps his words will come back to haunt him, and personally I have a feeling they will, but then Mourinho has also shown time and time again that he is capable of producing title-winning performances from his players.

Some of the Spanish media, particularly those based in Madrid with a certain loyalty to the club, have predictably hailed Mourinho as the second messiah, especially in the wake of his success with Inter Milan.

Other pundits feel that, with a nod from me to Monty Python, he's more of a naughty boy: a cheeky Portuguese chappy with a mischievous sense of humour and an inflated opinion of himself who will be inevitably brought down to earth by Barcelona and their coach Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola has shown no signs of being intimidated by Mourinho, although the anticipated mind games between the two men have yet to start in earnest.

"The good thing is that this (Barca) team has not just started to play well but has done so for a long time," said Guardiola, at a news conference on Tuesday which effectively acted as a prologue for the new season.

"However, not making the final of last season's Champions League also served as a useful lesson. We still need the humility, even after all these years, of knowing that we must work hard. We must work harder than the previous year and we know we can do things better."

Inevitably, Guardiola was also asked about his opposite number and, because of his Champions League triumph two years ago, he is one of the few men that Mourinho has to accept as an equal.

To read the full article and the questions and answer section on other teams click the link here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philminshull ... rence.html