The teams from the top

Last season hardly any team could have matched Barcelona, but that is not the reason for the rest of big Spanish clubs like Sevilla, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal not to give their best in the next season.

Sevilla

Thanks to excellent form in the finish, Sevilla managed to come in third last season, which under the new rules sends Spanish, Italian and English teams automatically to the Champions League. The most important thing for the team is the policy the club sticks to, as they managed to keep the stars in the team, first of all Luis Fabiano, who has caught the eye of all the big teams in Europe. Several very good players like Enzo Maresca left the club to continue his career in Olympiakos, while his compatriot, experienced keeper Morgan De Santis moved to Napoli. Jose Crespo went on loan to Racing from Santander, while Mosquera is the last player who left the club to continue his career overseas in Club America. The good news for domestic fans is the recent transfer of an excellent striker Alvaro Negredo, who was signed from Real Madrid for the amount of 15 million Euros. Didier Zokora was brought from Tottenham, as adequate replacement for Dani Alves and the club had to cash in 10 million. The club was boosted by Sergio Sanchez,w ho came from Espanyol for 4 million, while young Trecarichi went on loan to Huracan with the possibility to sign a permanent contract. Sevilla played with oscillations last season and that is the reason why they were way behind the leading two, while everyone in the club expect much better performance and to claim their equal part in the title race. We still think that club ambitions are too high, having in mind that they will play in the Champions League and that the realistic outcome for Sevilla this season is a place between third and fifth on the standings.

Valencia

Valencia disappointed last season, having in mind that Los Che finished sixth and showed least quality of all the big teams in Primera. The management of the club again trusted the club with coach Juan Emery, though many experts think that he was the reason for Valencia’s poor form. Club’s appetites are much bigger now so Valencia’s aim, besides the title race is a place in the Champions League next year. Just like Sevilla this club too managed to keep the key players, David Villa and David Silva, which is certainly a huge success, having in mind that Valencia had the deficit of 05 million Euros before the start of the season. That is why the club didn’t spend much money on new signings and most of the newcomers are either loans or free transfers. So the club was boosted by Jeremy Mathieu, who arrived from Toulouse as a free transfer, just like Bruno and Danel Ibanez arrived from Almeria and Castellon respectively. The only player that was actually bought, for 6 million Euros is Miguel Angel Moya, while Aaron Nunes came back from Glasgow Rangers where he was on loan. Many players left the club, mostly without transfer fees, as the budget is much lower for the next season. We must mention Morientes, Edy, Moretti, Renan, Curro Torres and Hugo Viana, while the club managed to earn 15 million Euros by selling Raul Albiola to Real Madrid. Nikola Zigic is back from loan, who, in the preparation period, proved to be the key scorer and he will certainly have a more important role in the team than last season. Valencia have financial problems which will be their biggest handicap this season, but they will nevertheless, give their best to fight a Champions League spot, which would bring more money. Even though the team underwent many changes this summer, we expect a lot from them this season, especially if attacking tandem Zigic-Villa starts functioning, so third or fourth place is where Valencia will finish.

Atletico Madrid

After a terrible start last season, Atletico Madrid manage to recover after coach Aguire was sacked, while Abel Resino took over instead and managed to save the day so the club is again at the Champions League door. There was a lot of turmoil during the summer transfer window that hasn’t closed yet, but the club managed to resists multi-millionaire offers for two of their best strikers Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan, who will most likely stay in the club. The Colchoneros didn’t spend much money on the market, but they still managed to sign several fine players. The most expensive signing is young keeper Sergio Asenjo from Villarreal, who was paid 5 million Euros, while Leandro Cabrera and Roberto Jimenez were brought for much less. Besides these three players, experienced Juan Pablo and Juanto boosted arrived from Numancia and Betis, respectively, while excellent Antonio Reyes came back from loan to Benfica. Two experienced keepers, Leo Franco and Gregory Coupet left the club, as well as Maniche who left to Koln, others are not worth mentioning. Atletico are one step away from the Champions League, where they did well last season, As for Primera, Colchoneros are eager to fight with their local rivals and Barcelona in the title race. Even though it might seem unrealistic at this point, Atletico have one of the best attacking tandems in the league, supported by flawless midfield, so their ambitions are not completely groundless.

Villarreal

After a poor finish last season Villarreal wasted the opportunity to spend another season with European elite. After losing to direct rivals, they slipped down on fifth, so this year they will have to settle for Europa League. The biggest handicap for the team from Valencia suburbs is the departure of coach Pellegrini to Real Madrid and the question is how „the yellow submarine” will do under Ernesto Valverde. This coach was successful last season, having in mind that he lead Olympiakos to the title, while in the past he also did a good job in Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao. We should mention that several regular starters left the club, first of all Nihat Kahveci who accepted Besiktas’ 5 million-euro offer. Matias Fernandes, Cezar Arzo and Jozy Altidore also left the club and the total amount of money for these three players was less than the price of the excellent Turk. Still, the management didn’t save money, so the attack was boosted by young and promising Nilmar who came from Internacional for 11 million Euros. The club did their purchase mostly on American market, so they signed Thiago Dutra and Bruno Renan from Gremio, as well as Jefferson Montero and Hernan Perez. Ivan Marcano, Xavi Oliva and Diego Fuster also boosted the team and they all have experience in Primera. Villarreal have only one aim this season-to get back to the Champions League and we can expect them to achieve that, having in mind the quality signings.

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