In the first part of this preview, we took a look to Real Madrid and Barcelona, the top title contenders. In this chapter, we will analyze the chasing pack. Villarreal, Athletico Madrid, and Sevilla are the main contenders, but can they break Barcelona and Madrid's dominance?
1. Villarreal
They had an amazing performance last year, and are considered the main pretenders for the upcoming season. They are a settled side. They have good players in all the lines—notably Capdevilla, Marcos Senna, and Nihat.
They have also added talented players around the field, signing former FC Barcelona defender Edmilson, former Mallorca midfielder Ariel Ibagaza, and former Valladolid striker Joiseba Llorente in the summer—three players with a bunch of experience in La Liga.
They are a big team, but, are they able to repeat their tremendous 2007/08 season?
Absolutely yes.
They have a deep roster, and they can face all the competitions. They will be contenders in La Liga, the Spanish Cup, and the Champions League.
Do not underrate them. Arguably, they have the best roster in the entire League. They have no obvious weaknesses and can reap the rewards of ten years hard work.
2. Atletico Madrid
The other team from the capital are prepared for the challenge. Atletico finished fourth last season, clinching a Champions League spot. They are a talented group of players coached by an under-pressure manager.
Javier Aguirre is entering in his third season as Atletico de Madrid’s coach. He has achieved the team’s objectives in the past two seasons but now, the aim is a title.
They had the most prolific offensive tandem in 2007/08—Agüero and Forlan combined for 35 goals. Agüero had a breakout season, and I expect him to be even better this time around. They have also signed former Recreativo Huelva player Sinama Pongolle, in order to give depth to the bench.
Simao, Maxi Rodriguez, and Luis Garcia complete their offensive weapons, but the problems last year were in defense.
The front office has tried to fix them with two international signings. Tomas Ufjalusi, the Czech team captain, and Johnny Heitinga should provide them with a huge improvement in the centre of the defense. Assuncao will also help the collective defense from the midfield.
9 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Gonzalo 10 months ago
Fabulous recap - everyone is looking to Villareal this year, so I hope they do not buckle under the pressure of all the competitions - they have the squad as you say, but will they have the experience come March/April to see them through?
I agree that Sevilla seem to have come in under the radar a little bit this preseason - in which they are unbeaten, despite losing Alves to barcelona - one to watch definitely.
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Inaki Angulo 10 months ago
Hi Gonzalo.
I'm not worry about Vilarreal's experience. In my opinion they have plenty of it. It you take a look to their roster you have pretty veteran guys. They were less experiences couple of years ago and they reached the Champions League semi finals.
Thanks for the comment¡
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Ismail Ayub 10 months ago
I think Atletico could do really well this season. Maybe win a cup, or at least have a solid run.
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Inaki Angulo 10 months ago
Let' see Ismail. Everyone is expecting them to have a historic season.
Thanks for the comment.
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Salaar Arshad Shamsi 10 months ago
Good stuff Inaki..I'm looking at Atletico to spring a few surprises this season..they've got real quality..they could give Real and Barca a run for their money..
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Inaki Angulo 10 months ago
As you say, they've got real quality, but they are constant underachievers.
Thanks for the comment¡
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illya mclellan 10 months ago
c'mon Villarreal, Nihat is class. be good to see them really take it to the wire this season.
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jenni fica 10 months ago
I just wanted to comment that it is Joseba Llorente who plays for Villareal, having come over from Valladolid. Fernando Llorente is a striker for Athletic Bilbao.
Otherwise, I agree with your analysis of Villareal. While I am a Real Madrid fan, I hate to see the same team winning the league year after year. That goes for Barcelona as well. If Villareal can do it this season, I will be cheering them on!
Atletico Madrid should be an interesting team to watch this year. I think they still need to sort out some defensive and midfield problems, but who knows? They have a good chance to make top four.
Sevilla is a great team. I would not be surprised to see them in the top three. And yet, I've heard rumours Barcelona is after Capel. Without Capel on the left, Sevilla would suffer, unless they have another wonderkid from their youth ranks they can bring up.
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Dakota Rubin 10 months ago
Great preview.
Villarreal is very much the team to watch this season. They looked great last year except a few rough games where they seemed to lose focus.
As minor as it seems, I think that the experience that Senna and Nihat had making deep runs into the late rounds—and finals for Senna—of the Euro 2008 tournament will do wonders for this team in big games. They now have a player who has been in huge situations controlling the midfield and a striker who knows what it means to score big goals.
I expect great things from Villarreal. But, unlike Jenni I am sticking to my guns and calling for Madrid to win the season and Villarreal to pull into second once again.
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