A Christmas Wish for Every La Liga Team
In Spain, there is no fixture pile-up over the festive period like in England, nor is there the month-plus break afforded to Germany’s Bundesliga clubs.
Instead, they have a rather more modest two weeks off.
It gives each club a little bit of time to put their feet up and take stock of their current situation.
For those at the bottom this Christmas, they’ll be hoping for a change of fortune in the new year, while those at the top will be dreaming of more titles and Champions League qualification.
Over the following slides, B/R takes a look at what each club in Spain’s top flight will be wishing for this Christmas.
Almeria
1 of 20
For a successful JIM
In mid-December, Almeria would have been wishing for their first win in La Liga since September.
However, new manager Juan Ignacio Martinez steered them to three points against Celta Vigo on Friday to move them out of the relegation zone.
Francisco Rodriguez's sacking didn't go down too well with the Almeria fans initially, but JIM is here now and they desperately need him to be a success.
If not, they may well be back in La Segunda by August.
Athletic Club
2 of 20
A striker
Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be anyone with Basque identity who can come in and lessen the load on Aritz Aduriz's shoulders in January.
Someone is needed. Athletic Club have struggled to hit the heights they achieved last season and a lack of goals has been a major factor in their downfall—Ernesto Valverde’s side have scored just 14 times in 16 league games this season.
Any potential goal-getter would have to be Basque, though, because they can only sign players with local heritage, as explained by Tony Francis on The Telegraph.
With a lack of options on the market, they may well have to look within.
Borja Viguera is one option but he has failed to prove himself; Inaki Williams and Guillermo are younger alternatives. Perhaps they can come of age.
Atletico Madrid
3 of 20
Another trophy
Atletico Madrid shouldn't be expected to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Diego Simeone has set the bar so high at the Vicente Calderon that success has become a regular occurrence.
Since taking charge, Cholo has helped the club to no fewer than five trophies: La Liga, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, Europa League and Spanish Super Cup.
Heading into the new year, they’re still in the running in all three competitions.
Real Madrid are next up in the Copa del Rey, Bayer Leverkusen await in the Champions League and the reigning champions of Spain are just four points off the top of La Liga—albeit having played a game more than their city rivals Real.
Despite the summer sales, Atleti fans go into 2015 hoping to witness Simeone's sixth trophy since taking charge. Just the Champions League is missing.
Barcelona
4 of 20
Transfer ban reduction
As things stand, Barcelona will not be able to sign any players in 2015.
Sky Sports reported in April that the sanction is because the Catalan club “are deemed to have breached rules relating to the ‘international transfers of non-Spanish minors,’ according to a statement from the game's governing body."
The reason dates back to young foreign players signed against FIFA regulations. They've appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, though, and hope for news on their decision before the year is out.
Given how rampant Real Madrid have been of late, Barca may feel they need to sign more players next summer, particularly given the precarious situation in the right-back position, which Dani Alves may depart in the summer.
Among a load of other things, they’ll be wishing for the transfer ban to be lifted this Christmas.
They’ll find out if their wish will come true pretty soon as well—a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st.
Celta Vigo
5 of 20
A return to form
It’s not been pretty for Celta Vigo since they beat Barcelona.
They’re without a win in six games since their victory at Camp Nou, and they’ve lost their last five league matches in a row.
All this after they started the season in fine form, winning five of their first 10 games in La Liga under Argentinian coach Eduardo Berizzo.
Now Berizzo must arrest the slide.
Celta are still well placed in the league and can still aim for a top-half finish—which is within reach if the likes of Nolito and Joaquin Larrivey can continue to do damage in the final third.
Cordoba
6 of 20
Another win
It’s been a tough return to the top flight for Cordoba after a 42 year exile.
They’ve tasted success just once this season, and they had to wait a long time for it, eventually beating Athletic Club in their 14th match of the season.
That early winless run prompted a change in manager—Albert "Chapi" Ferrer being replaced by Miroslav Djukic—but it hasn’t prompted an immediate turnaround in the Andalusian club’s fortunes.
With just 11 points, they sit second bottom of the league and draws won’t be enough to keep them up.
They need another win. And then some.
Deportivo La Coruna
7 of 20
A new manager
Deportivo La Coruna returned to La Liga at the first time of asking last season, but then dismissed the man who led them back, Fernando Vazquez, six weeks before the season began.
Victor Fernandez came in to take his place.
The circumstances around Fernandez’s appointment weren’t ideal, and he’s so far endured a difficult time in charge of the Galician club.
Out of drop zone due to their goal difference, he’s not just found points hard to come by, but also inspiration—the fans expect more at one of the few clubs to have won Spain’s top flight.
The thought is they’d happily see him leave and, with managers like Quique Sanchez Flores on the market, see someone else come in to give them a shot at maintaining their status among the country’s elite.
Eibar
8 of 20
For the dream to continue
If Eibar isn’t the story of the season in European football, it is certainly the story of the season in Spain.
Week after week they continue to upset the odds, picking up five wins and 20 points from their first 16 league games and ending the year in the top half of the table, ahead of the Basque country’s bigger clubs, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad.
All this, as well, has been achieved by a club whose ground holds less than 6,000 spectators and who are from a town with less than 30,000 inhabitants.
Financial stability almost denied them promotion, but a lack of money isn’t currently holding them back in La Liga.
The only thing they may be worrying about this Christmas is that they’ve used all their wishes up.
Elche
9 of 20
Salvation
Winter is only just getting started at Elche.
After defying the odds to stay up last season, they will begin 2015 resting firmly at the bottom of La Liga—second season syndrome?
Fortunately, they’ve not yet pulled the trigger and continue to place their faith in Fran Escriba, who has carried them this far and deserves the chance to dig them out of the situation they find themselves in.
He’s earned the good reputation he beholds today, but he now faces the biggest challenge of his career to keep it intact.
Espanyol
10 of 20
Top-eight finish
Espanyol have to look up or else they could get dragged into a relegation battle—as is the case with up to 10 teams, maybe more, in La Liga this season.
They ended 2014 with their first away win of the season at Rayo Vallecano and if they can pick up more points on the road, while also maintaining their home form, Sergio Gonzalez’s side should complete a top-half finish.
With Sergio Garcia leading the team as captain, talisman, goalscorer and creator, they are in good hands on the pitch. Felipe Caicedo and Christian Stuani have also contributed to the goals for column, and Kiko Casilla is a safe pair of hands at the other end.
Going into the new year they are 10th in the table, and the teams immediately above them—Eibar and Celta Vigo—are certainly catchable.
Getafe
11 of 20
Contra to stay
Chinese club Guangzhou R&F suggested they'd appointed Cosmin Contra as manager last week, per Yahoo, but he remains at Getafe for now.
"At the moment I prefer to stay," he was quoted as saying by VAVEL after his side’s 1-1 draw with Granada last weekend, per Football Espana.
Contra’s not performing miracles at the Madrid-based club, but he’s doing just about enough to fend off the threat of relegation—a change in manager at the moment could prove disastrous for the club’s top-flight status.
The Romanian boss came in and kept them up last season; they could do with him sticking around to do the same in the current campaign.
Granada
12 of 20
Goals
No team has scored fewer goals than Joaquin Caparros' Granada in La Liga this season.
Jhon Cordoba scored their last one of 2014, taking their tally in the league this season to 10, after two lovely headers set him up, but they'll need plenty more to get themselves out of the trouble they find themselves in.
They will begin the new year in the bottom three, so a failure to find the net regularly may well see them stay there.
Caparros will either have to find a solution from the players he’s already got at his disposal, or dip into the January transfer market.
Levante
13 of 20
Sign a new contract, Diop!
According to El Desmarque, as reported by Inside Spanish Football, Sevilla manager Unai Emery was casting his eye over Pape Diop during Levante's recent draw with Real Sociedad.
The powerful midfielder has been Levante's standout player this season, but he's yet to sign new terms and his current deal expires in the summer—he could therefore leave for free at the end of the current season.
It’s a nightmare scenario for Lucas Alcaraz's men, but one with more than a hint of realism about it.
They may be a club who understand they’ll often lose their better players to bigger clubs; losing them for free is another thing, though.
Malaga
14 of 20
A return to Europe
In 2013, Malaga were seconds away from knocking Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League and moving into the semi-final—a late goal put them out, though.
The following season, despite finishing high enough in the league, they were denied a place in Europe due to their financial mire.
Now, under Javi Gracia, they are in seventh place at Christmas, 10 points clear of eighth, and the Europa League is looking like a genuine possibility.
Barring a collapse in the new year, 2015 could be the year Malaga return to the continent.
Rayo Vallecano
15 of 20
Paco Jemez's commitment
Under Paco Jemez, Rayo Vallecano play a brand of football that has made them many people's second team in Spain.
Intelligent with the ball and full of attacking intent, they're not afraid of anyone.
Jemez has not committed to his future, though, and it looks like the club won’t be able to meet his contract demands.
Speaking last Friday, per Inside Spanish Football, he said he’ll have no problem walking away if they can’t reach an agreement over a new deal:
"If Rayo believe they can’t meet with what I’m asking, there’s no problem. I’m eternally grateful for what they’ve already given me, which was my first opportunity to manage in the Primera. I’m in a position of more demand now though and if they accept, great, but if they don’t, no worries.
"
It would be a hammer blow to Rayo if they lost Jemez, who has performed miracles on a minuscule budget with a constantly changing squad.
Real Madrid
16 of 20
The title
Champions of Europe and now champions of the world, Real Madrid's Christmas wish must be to become champions of Spain.
Atletico Madrid hold the title, Barcelona won it before them and now Los Blancos feel it's their time to get their hands on it again.
Currently on a 22-game winning run and one point clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, Carlo Ancelotti's troops begin 2015 as favourites for the Primera Division—after winning the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2014, it’s the one that’s missing.
Real Sociedad
17 of 20
New players
David Moyes has already expressed his desire to bring new players to Real Sociedad in January, per Sid Lowe of The Guardian.
The Scot, though, will have to be careful—the last thing he should be doing is signing in bulk from England and causing a divide between Spanish speakers and English speakers within his squad.
But the truth is, La Real do need more bodies: A centre-half, a central midfielder and a forward are all required.
How fitting, then, that Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj, who plays none of those positions, has been linked with the San Sebastian club by Mark Ogden of The Telegraph.
Sevilla
18 of 20
Champions League qualification
Unai Emery regularly ensured Valencia finished third in the league when he was in charge at Mestalla, making sure they were in the Champions League year after year.
It wasn't enough, though, and he was eventually forced out with change needed at Los Che.
Now at Sevilla, he's looking to do the same—without the sacking part.
Last season, they finished fifth and won the Europa League; this year they have to be looking at finishing in the top four.
With Carlos Bacca in goalscoring form, Denis Suarez dazzling and a squad full of options, they’re certainly capable of battling with the likes of Valencia and Villarreal for that much coveted position.
Valencia
19 of 20
Copa del Rey
Like Sevilla, Valencia will also be working hard to make sure they finish in the Champions League spots this season.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo may also be combining the club’s push for Europe’s elite competition with a cup run.
Last season, with Rio Ave, he proved his worth as a manager by taking an unfancied side to the final in both of Portugal’s Cup competitions—before losing to Benfica on both occasions.
With Barca, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid all in the same half of the draw, Valencia, who are in the other half, could easily make the final.
Next up they face Espanyol; then they will likely play Sevilla in the quarter-final; maybe Athletic in the semi-final. Then, and only then, will they have to play one of La Liga’s top three in Spain’s premier cup competition.
It’s a very realistic aim.
Villarreal
20 of 20
Europa League success
Spanish clubs have a good relationship with the Europa League.
Atletico Madrid have won the competition twice recently; Sevilla won in last year and also in 2006 and 2007; and Valencia tasted success in 2004.
Meanwhile, Espanyol and Athletic Club have also reached the final in the 21st century, both losing out to fellow Spanish opposition once they got there.
And led by the ever-improving and impressive Luciano Vietto, Villarreal may fancy going the distance themselves in the competition this season.
They’ll meet Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 32, but they will face tougher competition if they progress—the likes of Liverpool, Roma and Inter Milan are all still involved, as are fellow Spanish sides Athletic and Sevilla.
