Cristiano Ronaldo, Pichichi and Pep Guardiola: 10 Reasons La Liga Is Not Over

What a rough ten days for La Liga.

It started when Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two favorites to win the Champions League, both lost the first legs of their Champions League semifinal matches before eventually bowing out of the semifinals. 

Just four days prior, these two faced off in a Clasico that saw Real Madrid win and all but seal the league, leaving nothing for Barcelona but pride to fight for in the last four matches.

The day before El Clasico, Unai Emery announced that he will almost certainly leave Valencia at the end of the season.

Now, Pep Guardiola, one of the best managers in football, has announced that he will resign from Barcelona after the season ends.

In the span of just ten days, Spain's best clubs failed in Europe, the title race was decided and two of the best managers in La Liga decided to leave.

So now, with four games left to play, we might as well forget about La Liga, right?

Not so fast! La Liga's excitement will continue through the end of the season!

Read on to see 10 reasons to keep your attention on Spain.

La Liga's Europa League Success

Just as predicted, both European finalists are from La Liga.

Wait, Barcelona and Real Madrid lost? It is a good thing the Champions League is not the only game in town!

Fans of the big two may be disappointed, but Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid fans should be ecstatic. Those clubs managed to make the Europa League final a Spanish one.

What a journey it has been for both clubs.

After defeating Lokomotiv Moscow in the Round of 32, Bilbao earned the attention of the entire footballing world by dominating the defending European champions Manchester United. After that showing, Bilbao outlasted Schalke and Sporting Lisbon to book a place in the final.

Falcao helped Atletico set a tournament record by winning ten games in a row as they tore through Lazio, Beşiktaş and Hannover 96 before besting Valencia in the semifinals.

The Europa League does not have the prestige of the Champions League, but that does not mean we should not watch the final.

In fact, there is a great chance that the football played in this final will be more exciting than that of the Champions League.

European Records Being Broken

Not all records are being set in La Liga. Falcao and Messi have their sights set on other scoring records.

Falcao has a chance to become the tournament's second-highest goal scorer in history. In just two tries, Falcao has scored a massive 28 goals in just 29 games. That already puts him in fourth place.

With two more goals, he will tie Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the second-most in history. His goals per game ratio currently sits a 0.97, the highest of any player since 1967 and second-highest of all time.

Hopefully he will never make it past second place as Atletico will be aiming for the Champions League next season. However, he is currently just 12 goals away from Henrik Larrsson's record of 40. For the Colombian, it would likely take barely 12 games to surpass that number.

Lionel Messi will also be going after his own record. Unfortunately, he fell one goal short of becoming the highest scorer in a single edition of the Champions League, but this record may be even more impressive.

As it stands, Lionel Messi has 63 goals in all competitions. That is just four behind Gerard Müller's single season record of 67.

With four league games left and a Copa del Rey final to boot, Messi can score more goals in a single season than any other player in the history of football.

Quite the accomplishment for a 5'7" 24-year-old.

The Malaga Project

One of the biggest surprises of the season has been Malaga's rise to the top four.

When Sheik Abdullah bought the Andalusian side two years ago, it brought on a lot of intrigue. His plan was to turn Malaga into a contender for the La Liga crown within five to seven years.

After designing and having approved a new stadium, the billionaire started building his squad. He started by getting renowned manager Manuel Pellegrini to lead the project.

Then he hit the transfer market, targeting veterans who had experience in La Liga. The goal was to build a strong midfield and establish leaders to help develop players coming from Malaga's youth academy.

After a disappointing first effort, Malaga brought in such stars as Santi Cazorla, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Joaquin and Jeremy Toulalan. 

Not even the sheikh himself could have predicted such great results. 

With only a top-ten finish as a goal, Malaga has surpassed all expectations with a second-half run that has seen Malaga fighting for third place. 

At the rate they are improving, this side could actually build a contender in La Liga's two-horse race within three years. Of course, a top-four finish will be essential for attracting stars this summer.

With Valencia, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid their next opponents, Malaga's three-point lead could disappear and allow another club to qualify for the Champions League.

The Fight for Champions League Qualification

Exactly how many teams are fighting for a Champions League spot?

As of right now, Osasuna is in eighth place, just five points back of Malaga in fourth.

However, with only four games left, it will be very hard to make up five points. Minus Osasuna, that leaves five teams fighting for two spots.

Here are the current point totals as of Week 36:

3. Valencia—55
4. Malaga—52 
5. Levante—49 
6. Athletic Bilbao—48 
7. Atletico Madrid—48 

That leaves a lot of very real possibilities. Valencia is pretty safe with its six-point lead, but with their form this season, dropping six points in four games is actually possible. Still, they should at least qualify.

That leaves four teams separated by just three points. With the financial and exposure benefits that come with the Champions League, this battle is vital to each club.

Many of these teams actually play each other as we close the season. That leads me to my next point.

Marquee Matchups

El Clasico may have passed, but any fan of great football will still have plenty to look forward to in La Liga—starting with this week!

First up, Real Madrid will try to bounce back from its Champions League exit against a Sevilla side fighting for Europe.

Then, in possibly the biggest match in Malaga's history, the Andalusians welcome Valencia to town this weekend. The winner will likely have sole possession of third place and will gain much needed confidence to close the season.

Next weekend puts Malaga in another tough spot when they make up their midseason match by visiting defending champions Barcelona. That same week has Real Madrid visiting Bilbao in another huge battle.

One week later, Barcelona will host its neighbors in a derby that ended in a tie the first time around.

May 6th ends Malaga's dreadful span by pitting them against Atletico Madrid. Three straight blockbuster matches for Malaga that could define the start of a new era for the club.

The drama continues through the final week of the season when Levante faces Athletic Club in a match that could decide which club plays in Europe next season.

La Liga's Cinderella Story

Speaking of Levante, how the season ends for them and Osasuna will be worthy of our attention.

Levante entered the season as the poorest team in the league. Their biggest move this past summer was to bring in Arouna Kone on loan from Sevilla. The average age of the starting 11 is 33 years old.

Now the club sits in fifth place and three points away from playing in the Champions League next season. 

Let me repeat that. The poorest club in La Liga is on the verge of playing in the premier footballing competition in Europe. 

If anyone picked the Valencian side to do this well, you should be on Wall Street.

It all started on September 18th when Levante beat Real Madrid 1-0. The next week, Levante took over possession of first place and held the top spot for over a month.

They have kept enough momentum to fight for the top four all season. With four games left and other clubs being drained by European competition, Levante can finish in fourth place is they finish strong.

There may never be a team more deserving of playing in Europe than Levante. It would be the perfect end to a season that no fan saw even in their wildest dreams.

With all due respect to Real Madrid and Barcelona, keep on eyes on Levante—La Liga's team of the season.

Europe's Most Competitive League?

While those fighting for fourth place seem like the strongest, not even the Europa League is safe for these clubs.

While the Europa League races in England, Germany and Italy are down to one or two teams, La Liga's is wide open.

Right now, three points are all that separate 11th place Getafe from Atletico Madrid in sixth. That leaves six teams realistically fighting for one spot.

This season has been so unpredictable that literally any of those teams finishing sixth would fail to surprise fans who have followed the league all year long.

Many people argue that there is no competition in Spain, but I challenge any critics to simply watch the La Liga for a single season. There is more to fight for than the league trophy. 

With six teams fighting for one spot with just three weeks of football left, La Liga is actually the most competitive of Europe's big leagues in terms of European qualification.

We may know the two teams fighting for the title by August, but beyond that is anyone's guess, even in the final weeks of play.

The Final Chance to See Greatness

As I mentioned in the intro, La Liga is losing two of its greatest coaches this summer.

Since arriving to Valencia in 2008, Unai Emery has built a reputation as one of Europe's greatest tacticians and managers.

In the last three summers, Valencia's debt problems have forced the club to take some of Emery's best players from him in order to ease the financial burden.

He has lost David Silva, Joaquin, Carlos Marchena, David Villa, Juan Mata and a host of other players. Yet, despite those losses, Emery has kept Valencia in the Champions League every season.

Imagine what he could do with a club as rich as Chelsea or Man City. We may soon find out.

Pep Guardiola has been nothing short of phenomenal since arriving at Barcelona in 2008. In his first season, he made Barcelona the first club in history to win six trophies in a single term.

Since then, he has led the club to three straight league titles, two Champions League titles and 13 total team trophies. Pep will be missed and respected long after he leaves the club.

In addition to those two, Marcelo Bielsa is out of contract this summer. Since taking over Athletic Bilbao last summer, "The Madman" has turned the Basque club into one of the most exciting in Europe. 

If he leaves for another post outside of Spain, La Liga will lose three of its best managers in a single summer. That goes without mentioning the possibility of Jose Mourinho leaving.

The next four weeks may be the last time we get to watch the four greats manage a Spanish club.

Ronaldo Can Make History

Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Real Madrid in 2009 on a world record transfer fee of €93.9 million. Yet, with the way he continues to break records, it feels like he spent his entire career in Spain.

It is a bit unfair that Ronaldo missed his penalty in Real's Champions League shootout. He has been so good in La Liga. In fact, he has been better than nearly every other player in history—and he is still just in his third season.

When he converted his penalty against Atletico Madrid, Ronaldo converted his 11th of the season and 22nd in Spain.

The league record in a season is 12, set by fellow Madridista Hugo Sanchez. The record for most penalties in La Liga over a career is 25, set by Barcelona's Ronald Koeman.

With four games left to play, the single season mark is very possible. Realistically, even the career record is possible. Three penalties is doable with the frequency that Madrid gets into the opponent's box.

Remember, this is just his third season.

And Ronaldo has made these 22 goals without missing a single one. Diego Alves blocked him back in 2009 when he played for Almeria. Ronaldo has not missed since.

He also has a shot at two other records. 

Against Atletico Madrid, Ronaldo set the league record for most hat tricks in a season with three. With Messi just one behind that record could be another battle between the two stars.

If Ronaldo scores against Mallorca in the final week of the play, he will become the first player in history to score against every La Liga opponent in a single season.

Just think about that for a moment. Lionel Messi, Brazil's Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Raul, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rivaldo, Samuel Eto'o.

All of those stars played in La Liga. Legends, many of them. And yet, Cristiano Ronaldo could be the first and only player to accomplish this feat. Only Brazil's Ronaldo even scored against 19 teams.

Ronaldo is becoming a league legend himself.

The Greatest Pichichi Race We Have Ever Seen

This race will truly come down to the last minutes of La Liga's season.

Just a week before meeting each other in El Clasico, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo broke Ronaldo's Pichichi record of last season.

On the same day and within hours of each other, both players scored their 41st goals of the season. It was the first time that anyone had scored more than 40 goals in a season.

With four games left, similarly difficult schedules and no European distractions for either team, these two will have something to prove.

I am sure Messi and Ronaldo will both come out and say they are not thinking about the record, but I call a bluff.

These are two of the most competitive players on the planet. They are the two best players in football and the two best of their generation. Of course they will be monitoring each other.

Whoever finishes with more goals this season will not only set a record that may never be broken, they will also strengthen their case for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or.

They will not have the Champions League final, so these two will make all of La Liga their stage instead.

Stay tuned!