1 Reason to Be Worried for Every Liga Team Going into 2015/16 Season
With less than three weeks to go until the start of the 2015-16 season in Spain, most of the clubs can be satisfied that they have been active in the transfer market and have plans in place to achieve their aims for the campaign.
From La Liga's finest aiming for the title to the perennial strugglers and newly promoted sides hoping to avoid relegation, every club will still have something they are looking at achieving for the upcoming campaign and thinking that improvements or alterations could be made, lest they fall short over the next 10 months as a whole.
Whether it's balance within the squad, the fixture list, a lack of funds or something else entirely, every one of the 20 clubs still has something they need to focus on to ensure they are totally prepared once the whistle goes on gameweek 1.
Here we identify what the biggest threat or worry is for each side in Spain's top flight.
Athletic Club Bilbao: An Inability to Strengthen the 1st XI
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Athletic Bilbao: a unique club with unique restrictions.
Unlike their rivals, Athletic Bilbao cannot prepare for the campaign by spending big on the latest African hope, an upcoming Liga star from one of the Andalucian clubs or by targeting South American imports—and this summer in particular, the Basque-only recruitment policy has severely hampered their team-building efforts.
Andoni Iraola has departed, Iker Muniain is injured for the long term and not enough prospects are coming through the ranks to swell the first team—Unai Lopez is, in fact, going back to the second team for this season after failing to impress.
A handful of squad signings include Eneko Boveda (from Eibar), Gorka Elustondo (Real Sociedad) and Javi Eraso (Leganes), but none are standouts and none will improve Athletic's best XI from last season. The best they can hope for is an even bigger surge in effectiveness from Inaki Williams.
La Liga continues to be extremely competitive, and Ernesto Valverde will face his biggest challenge yet with the club this term to keep Athletic in the top eight.
Atletico Madrid: Big-Money Forwards Have to Impress
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To be quite honest, Atletico Madrid shouldn't have many concerns heading into this season.
They have strengthened well in key areas over the summer and the players they have brought in, especially offensive talents, look ideal fits for Diego Simeone's side in a tactical sense. In addition, having come third in last season's Liga campaign, there is perhaps slightly less expectation on them than there was a year ago when they were preparing to defend their crown.
As a result, everything looks rosy for Los Colchoneros—but they will need their new signings in attack to jell quickly and provide the ammunition to launch an offensive on the top two this time. Jackson Martinez in particular will have plenty of eyes on him as he steps up in quality of opposition from the Portuguese to Spanish top flight.
Barcelona: The Strengthening of Atletico Madrid
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Barcelona's transfer "ban" means that the players they have signed this summer—Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan—can't play until January, but the squad as a whole is stronger regardless, despite Xavi's exit.
They won La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey with this group of players last season, and it's fair to think Luis Enrique's greatest challenge this term will simply be keeping the group motivated to achieve exactly the same, in the face of disproportionate media criticism whenever they fail to win a match—each loss will be seen as a sign that they hit the heights last season but can no longer match that.
In truth, no game in isolation matters that much, but the strengthening of Atletico Madrid in particular will definitely play a part in how easily (or otherwise) Barcelona are able to defend their league title. Expect it to be a close-fought battle between the top three.
Celta Vigo: Cohesion Between Middle and Final 3rds
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Celta Vigo enjoyed last season's start and end, sandwiching those periods with a horrible run in between.
Overall, a number of players came out of the campaign with their reputations severely enhanced, including Nolito—a transfer target for Barcelona, per Mundo Deportivo via the Mirror—and Michael Krohn-Dehli, who has moved on to Sevilla.
Add in the exits of starting striker Joaquin Larrivey and Santi Mina and Charles, neither of whom were first-team regulars but important squad players nonetheless, and there is a big change to overcome when on the offensive for the team.
Given their style of play under Eduardo Berizzo, that is a pivotal factor.
Iago Aspas has returned, John Guidetti could be an absolute star if he focuses on improving and actually playing regularly and Daniel Wass is an interesting addition, but they are all to an extent gambles. In addition, there has been a lack of ability to directly replace the control and reliable ball use of Krohn-Dehli so far this summer—and that must be the biggest worry of all.
Deportivo La Coruna: Where Do the Goals Come From?
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Deportivo La Coruna finished last season as one of La Liga's lowest goalscorers, tallying just 35 in their 38 games, and their summer work doesn't hint too much at greater firepower being at their disposal this time around.
True, additions such as Cani, Luis Alberto and Fede Cartabia should increase their creativity and make them somewhat less predictable in attack, but Oriol Riera still looks to be the main threat they will rely on to actually hit the net with regularity.
Their top two scorers last season, Toche and Lucas Perez, are no longer at the club, and Riera has only really had a single season in the top flight with Osasuna when he netted regularly. Scoring could be problematic again for Depor, and if it is, they'll struggle to avoid being in the bottom group of teams once again.
Eibar: An Entire New Team to Jell
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Eibar's hopeless fall from eighth to 18th last season, from December to May, should have ended in relegation—but they received a reprieve when Elche were relegated instead for financial reasons.
Knowing they needed to add significant quality to stand a chance of staying up of their own accord this time, they have been very active in the market—they have brought in a dozen players already and more than that number have departed the squad since the end of last term, due to loans or contracts expiring, moves abroad or retirement.
The biggest names include former Aston Villa left-back Antonio Luna, Atletico Madrid striker Borja Baston on loan and Levante's centre-back Ivan Ramis; all told, the group looks a bit of a step-up in quality from last term, but with so many changes, they naturally have a big job on to arrange the side in a cohesive outfit that can be competitive from the outset.
Jose Luis Mendilibar has his work cut out to balance the side and get them playing in a way that will yield enough points to stay up this time.
Espanyol: Not Having Replaced the Goals They Have Lost
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Espanyol's big problem is pretty evident: Those key faces who have left this summer haven't been replaced by players of equal standing.
Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, in the Spain squad briefly last season, has moved to Real Madrid and been replaced by Inter Milan's Francesco Bardi on loan. A former Italy under-21 stopper, Bardi lost his place at Chievo early on last season after having been Livorno's No. 1 the year before; his potential is undoubted, but this is a big step up for him in both opposition and expectation. Espanyol need him to perform well.
In attack, there was never likely to be a real replacement for the leadership, drive and inspiration that Sergio Garcia provided, but Espanyol at least needed to address the goals that he scored and created—and the same applies to Lucas Vazquez, taken back by Real Madrid despite Espanyol's best efforts.
Espanyol haven't signed a striker this summer and the attacking signings of Burgui and Hernan Perez alone won't be enough. Thievy Bifouma will have a lot of expectation on his shoulders at this rate.
Getafe: Between a Glass Ceiling and a Trapdoor
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Getafe are arguably one of the sides in La Liga who have been most impressive and yet totally under the radar over the past couple of seasons: a small club with modest ambitions yet still managing to compete and comfortably stay in the top flight despite a squad of mediocrity for the most part.
This summer's deals are a typical collection of the discarded, the not-fit-for-purpose and the jaw-dropping: Santiago Vergini to bolster the defence, Balazs Megyeri on a free transfer in goal...and then, inexplicably, Real Madrid's Alvaro Medran and Villarreal's Moi Gomez, both on loan.
Those two have tremendous quality and potential and can genuinely propel Getafe to a different level of playing this season if they catch fire.
The thing is they're always battling against twin forces: the gap to the top half, which they will never likely bridge, and the crush at the bottom, which they continually manage to evade. It's a balancing act, and if they get it wrong, the whole lot comes tumbling down.
A 15th-place finish last season suggests they will be around the drop zone again—but that finish came after a terrible late run of results when the team was already essentially safe. Classic Getafe.
Granada: Another Long Battle Against the Drop
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Granada's late survival act last season keeps them in the reckoning for the Pozzo family's better players, as the rotation goes on between Granada, Udinese and Watford.
This summer has seen right-back Allan Nyom finally depart to the English club and holding midfielder Manuel Iturra to the Italians, while star youngster Jeison Murillo has left for Inter Milan. Rene Krhin has arrived from Inter in return—but he failed to really shine at Cordoba last season, albeit in a desperately poor side.
A host of loans and free transfers suggests the big worry for Granada is merely the most obvious: It's going to be a long season of struggle once again, one they will do well to finish 17th in again.
Las Palmas: Relying on Araujo for Goals
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Las Palmas' ascension to the top flight was a big achievement for them, but as one of the newly promoted sides, it will, of course, mean a big step up in quality and additions will be needed to compete.
A huge bonus was securing star striker and top scorer Sergio Araujo on a permanent deal in the face of competition from others; whether Las Palmas stay up or not this term, the Argentine probably guarantees the club an income of €8 million or more next summer if he decides to move on at that point.
For this year, though, Las Palmas' worry has to be: Can Araujo prove himself in La Liga? Long touted as a top prospect and even spending a short time on loan at Barcelona B a few years ago, Araujo only last year started to score with regularity, and he isn't always the composed, clinical finisher they will need him to be against a much better set of defences.
If he fires, all may be well. If not, struggles lie ahead—they haven't signed too many others.
Levante: Their Opening Fixtures
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Forget transfers and squad personnel here: Levante's biggest worry is making sure they get through the first two months of the season without decimating morale and optimism amongst the board, the fans and the staff.
By the 10th match week, only late October, Levante will have already faced five of last season's top six teams. It's a dreadfully tough start to the season that sees them play Celta Vigo on the opening day, then Sevilla, Barcelona, Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia within the next nine fixtures.
Given the hair-trigger nature of Liga boards at times and Levante's struggles against the drop last season, this run might signal an early batch of rumours over who will lose their job first in Spain's top flight.
Malaga: Losing the Samuels Without Adequate Spend to Replace
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Malaga had a direct, predictable and fairly straightforward way of playing last season, relying on good team shape and pace in attack of Samuel, Samu Castillejo and Nordin Amrabat for the most part.
Amrabat has signed permanently but the two Samuels have both left for Villarreal—and as they were part-owned by a third party, Malaga didn't receive the full total of the €16 million. Throw in the sale of Juanmi to Southampton and that's a large part of the attack needing to be restructured; Charles from Celta Vigo is a smart signing but inadequate by himself to replace what has been lost.
Less than €8 million has been spent by Malaga on replacing their outgoing stars, and they'll find it tough to establish themselves back in the top eight this year without further outlay.
Rayo Vallecano: High Turnover of 1st-Choice Players Again
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With Paco Jemez at the helm, nothing is impossible for Rayo Vallecano, the club who are crazy to watch with their offensive mindset and propensity to gift goals.
Last season they won admirers for their fearless approach and high scorelines, but much of the squad was built on loans and players whose contracts were coming to an end—including top scorer and key attacker, Alberto Bueno. He, along with Gael Kakuta, Javi Aquino, Leo Baptistao and others have departed, with another batch of mixed players taking their place.
Free deals for Patrick Ebert and Jose Dorado look like inspired moves, but loans for others could go either way. It's another new group for Jemez to try and blend together and achieve relative success with in a short space of time, but it makes team-building and planning for more sustained success tremendously difficult.
Real Betis: Expectation Might Be Their Biggest Enemy
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Real Betis are back in the top flight, not before time, and their summer work indicates they expect to be around longer than a single season.
Rafa van der Vaart is the main attraction, of course, but they have added serious depth elsewhere: Francisco Portillo and Foued Kadir to boost the offensive ranks and German Pezzella and Didier Digard to shore things up centrally.
Betis are a reasonably big club and they will doubtless have ambitions of returning, in time, to the top half of La Liga—but it's still a big jump from La Segunda to where they are now, and they must remain patient, realistic and gradual about their progression. In the face of an almost inevitable run of bad results at some point this season, the bigger picture must be kept in mind.
Real Madrid: The XI Looks No Better Than Last Season
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Real Madrid have a stacked squad that is arguably deeper than last season, given the returns from loan of Denis Cheryshev, Lucas Vazquez and Casemiro in midfield.
They do not, however, appear to have improved their first XI—Dani Carvajal and Danilo might be good depth, but there is no conceivable reason to think the Brazilian is significantly ahead of his Spanish positional rival, while Kiko Casilla for Iker Casillas is likewise not an upgrade.
While that's not necessarily a problem in itself, given Real's best XI failed to win anything at all last season, perhaps the fans would have been hoping for a big statement of how the new season would represent more of a success than '14-15.
The one point to note is that new boss Rafael Benitez will certainly use his squad depth better and more often than Carlo Ancelotti elected to, and tactically Benitez remains one of the top bosses around. Perhaps that, rather than individual quality, is where Real's step-up needs to come from this term.
Real Sociedad: Balancing a New-Look, Exciting Attack
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David Moyes has had six months in Spain to get used to La Liga; now he faces a full campaign to get the Basque side back into the top half and challenging for more respectable honours than "avoiding the drop" and "finishing higher than Getafe."
And give La Real their due: A summer of activity in the transfer market has put together what could be a hugely exciting attack indeed. With Jonathas leading the line and Bruma joining on loan, the pace and creativity of those two could combine with already present Carlos Vela and Sergio Canales to impressive effect.
Moyes now has to formulate a game plan that lets those offensive talents off the leash and yet remains hard to beat at the back—and he should probably start by taking Esteban Granero out of his regular XI.
Sevilla: Change of Style at Centre-Forward
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A tried-and-trusted way of playing for Sevilla over the past few years has seen immense success in both trophies and the transfer market, but the departure of Carlos Bacca as main striker this summer has yielded an interesting choice.
Where Bacca was direct, lethal and full of pace, Ciro Immobile cannot match him for speed or indeed goal tallies. The Italian managed 22 goals in Serie A in 2013-14, but without that campaign, his league tallies since 2010-11 are two, seven, five and, last year with Borussia Dortmund, three. Hardly the stuff of legends.
Immobile aside, Sevilla's business is immense: They paid nothing for Michael Krohn-Dehli or Yevhen Konoplyanka, strengthened the midfield further with Steven N'Zonzi and signed defenders Sergio Escudero, Adil Rami and Mariano for less than £8 million combined.
All told, it looks like another exciting season ahead...but they have habitually relied heavily on goals from their centre-forward, who stretches teams and bullies defences. Can Immobile do that for them?
Sporting Gijon: Low-Quality Squad to Compete in La Liga
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Sporting have to be one of the biggest favourites for relegation back to La Segunda, with no real transfer activity of note taking place and a squad of second-tier players still in place with whom to compete in La Liga.
They might look at Eibar's start last season as to how lower-league players can do well with the right organisation and mindset...but the same team also showed how, eventually, quality will prevail.
The top names for Sporting's squad are the likes of Carlos Carmona and Sergio Alvarez, talented in their own right but certainly not enough to keep the team's head above water over an entire campaign without serious recruits or an awful lot of luck.
Valencia: Sevilla Have Spent Better
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Valencia grew as a team and a club last season; they were fantastic to watch tactically and ended up as one of the better footballing sides, too. What they have not really done this summer, though, is kick on from that and add genuine quality.
To an extent, they have hampered themselves, tied into permanent deals for players who contributed last season but now need to be improved upon, none more so than striker Alvaro Negredo who has cost them well over €20 million.
Only Santi Mina, Mat Ryan and Zakaria Bakkali are "new" names to the squad, none of whom will be automatic starters when a fully fit XI is available to Nuno.
As with Real Madrid, that's not an issue if last season's squad was good enough to win things—but they didn't, and those around them (namely Sevilla) have improved far more over the summer. As things stand, Los Che have a big task on their hands to fight for fourth again this season.
Villarreal: Lack of Goals and Direct Presence in Attack
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Villarreal swooped early in the transfer market to bring in Malaga's double act Samuel and Samu Castillejo, giving them pace and penetration in wide areas—but they have also seen their summer deals pan out in a way that looks like restricting the impact their strikers might have.
Gone are Luciano Vietto and Ikechukwu Uche, one a schemer and scorer, the other a direct, pacy and powerful runner who stretched teams and created the spaces for Vietto, Jon dos Santos and Manu Trigueros to play in. Gio dos Santos has also left.
The remaining forwards—Gerard Moreno was already there, Leo Baptistao and Jon Pereira have arrived on loan—are more likely to drop in and construct rather than help open the pitch and run in behind. That is going to have a severe impact on how Villarreal's build-up play goes, and unless they sign that type of striker, their best bet looks to be to utilise Samuel as a No. 9 with his pace and direct play through the centre.
Vietto is the star name, but both he and Uche could turn out to be tough losses for Marcelino.
