La Liga's Shambolic Awards Gala Ignores Koke, Miranda & Atletico Generally

Atletico Madrid may have disrupted the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly last season, but despite winning La Liga for the first time since 1996, Los Colchoneros were all but shut out of Monday night's awards gala in the Spanish capital.

Granted, Real's Cristiano Ronaldo was always going to walk away with the Best Player and Best Forward gongs, and there was little outcry over his claiming of the Best Goal trophy—earned for a back-heeled strike against Valencia last May.

But it was appalling that Atletico midfielder Koke remained in his seat while the Primera Division's pair of midfield prizes went to Luka Modric and Andres Iniesta.

La Liga rewards its best defensive and offensive midfielders, and perhaps voters simply didn't know how to categorise the versatile Spain international.

An ambitious notion, given that the votes were cast by each team's trio of captains, or maybe—and this is the far more likely scenario—they showed themselves to be as subject to the old, political divide—a Clasico of the mind—as anyone else.

After all, it's not so difficult to reject the cases of the Atletico finalists, but it's an exercise in bravery to ignore the names representing Barcelona and Real Madrid.

If anything, the Liga Nacional de Futbol Profesional (LFP) should be publicising the complete results and that they don't only opens the door to controversy.

As respected AS columnist Alfredo Relano wrote on Tuesday:

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If it is assumed that these awards were the results of the total votes cast by the three captains of each team, the details should be disclosed, as is the case with the Ballon d'Or.

"

That Iniesta, for example, finished ahead of Koke in the balloting is preposterous, especially given the latter's 13 assists—second only to former Madrid midfielder Angel Di Maria.

The now-departed Argentine would himself have made a better selection than Iniesta, although the voters might then have had to select a defensive midfielder from Barcelona to even things up. Heaven forbid Gabi, another nominee, should have gotten it.

Then there is Joao Miranda—Atletico's 30-year-old centre-back who enjoyed the finest campaign of his career en route to the title. He was beaten to the Best Defender award by Sergio Ramos, who is typically a star at these types of ceremonies.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

A crowd and, apparently, players' favourite, Ramos put forward a splendid 2013-14 season that included some personal heroics as Madrid won their 10th European Cup—the much-anticipated Decima.

But his best football was played in the Champions League while Miranda and team-mate Diego Godin helped Atletico to the best defensive record in the top flight.

Miranda came up short in the voting; Godin wasn't even recognised—a tragedy in its own right.

In the end, Atletico's only piece of silverware went to Diego Simeone, who was named La Liga's Best Coach.

Predictably, the feisty 44-year-old used his acceptance speech, per The Independent, to highlight the achievements of a group of players who accomplished more than any other in 2013-14 yet went unrecognised when it came time to honour them.

The Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly was front and centre on Monday—revellers at a party that should never have been thrown for them.