LaLiga Santander Special AS

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Well, here we are, on August 13, 2021, the day that LaLiga begins, although it really does not matter when you read this because whatever happens, little will have to do with this League with which we have lived in recent years. It will be a championship without Messi and without Ramos, almost an unknown universe. A competition with the VAR in its adolescence and the gradual return of the public to the stadiums in the midst of that pandemic that gives its last (last?) Blows. They will have detailed information on all of this in this special with which we intend to bring the ball to their feet. That is the true protagonist of a tournament that starts with a Valencia-Getafe and that ends on May 22, 2022, year that a World Cup has in store for us, that of Qatar, at the gates of winter. But that will be another story. Every goal in its own time.

The truth is that the start of LaLiga has surprised us all, it has caught us with a changed foot, almost between the Charles de Gaulle airport and that Eiffel Tower which only needed to light up in blue and red due to the signing of Messi. Messi like paracetamol: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Messi as the epicenter of world football. A galactic signing that confirms PSG's firm commitment to winning the Champions League. But that Messi, until just a week ago, was LaLiga. It is enough to do a simple exercise to realize what we have lived / enjoyed with it. Go into any photographic archive and type in the words Messi and Real Madrid, then select the results in order of seniority. AND… voilà. There is. Messi in his first Clásico, on November 19, 2005. Has it rained? Yes, and more in Paris.

He is a younger Messi, obviously, a Messi with the mane that adorned every dribble in his early years as a footballer. In one of the photos he throws himself across the grass to cut off the pass of a certain Zidane, in another he tries to control a ball against the Uruguayan Pablo García, there is even one in which he is seen from behind celebrating with Ronaldinho a goal from Brazilian. That game was played at the Santiago Bernabéu, today under construction, and was refereed by Iturralde González, today a commentator. Vanderlei Luxemburg led the whites and Frank Rijkaard the Catalans. By the way, Barça won 0-3, with two goals from Ronaldinho. Yes, it was the night that that Madridista with the mustache applauded him from the stands …

From that game I cannot find an image in which the Rosario appears next to Sergio Ramos. The one from Camas was already serving as a white center-back, that day with Helguera on his left. He played that and many other games with Messi as the main cause of his headaches. Now, the wind blows in favor on the banks of the Seine, where he will have Leo as a partner and not as a rival. There they will enjoy their golden years with the satisfaction of everything they have achieved in almost two decades as professional footballers. In order not to lose ourselves in numbers and statistics, let's visualize a showcase with eight Champions League trophies, four for each: 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015 of Messi; 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Ramos.

But… Hadn't we come to talk about La Liga? Yes, although it is difficult to abstract from the world shock of that Messi with the ‘Ici c’est Paris', something like if we fell under the spell of Enrique Vila-Matas's ‘Paris never ends’ to whom, in advance, we send our deepest condolences for his Barça blood. We will always have Paris (another wink, this time to the cinema, I'm sorry …), but we will always have LaLiga. Because the championship existed before Leo or Sergio came to it, because Barcelona (where Koeman is still) and Real Madrid (where Ancelotti returns) do not close the kiosk, because There is a champion like Atlético who wants more and seventeen other clubs that make this tournament the greatest entertainment this country has.

And that is a maxim that we cannot forget. The key word is entertainment, almost spacing the syllables as in that ba-lon-ces-to that Pepu Hernández minted in celebration of the 2006 Japan world title. It is true that the waters are turbulent due to that ‘LaLiga Impulso’ arising from the agreement with the CVC investment fund, also because of the eternal legal pulses with the RFEF for the games on Fridays and Mondays or Javier Tebas' determination to play matches beyond our borders. But none of that should undermine the illusion of fans, even less after a season shaken by COVID-19.

That too must be left behind. The Interterritorial Health Council, chaired by the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, presented in early August the plan to return to the stadiums. There will be a maximum capacity, an obligation to wear masks and to keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters, a meticulous protocol will be followed to guarantee the safety of all. Because only in this way will we take the first step towards a football like the one we had does nothing.

Now I do not look to the past, to the photos of Messi or Ramos, but to the future. I imagine a full Wanda Metropolitano singing the Atleti anthem at the top of their lungs. That champion Atleti with all of the law that the rivals will want to sink their teeth into. Simeone knows it well, who did not hesitate to stop one of the training sessions prior to the league debut against Celta to alert his players. “We are the champion and they are going to come out to bite us. And we, meanwhile, with a tight ass “, I yell at them. Short and at the foot. They all understood. Those who were already there last season, such as Oblak or Koke, also new ones such as De Paul, a compatriot with whom Cholo intends to bring even more mambo to his midfield. It is the most expensive transfer of the summer (35 million), a piece with which to reinforce a team towards a historic challenge, that of revalidating its title, something that the club has not achieved since 1951.

Simeone knows that here, in LaLiga, those who fall asleep are lost. For weeks he caressed the return of Griezmann to the squad, but Messi's departure to PSG closed all the doors. That is why attacking pairs like Correa-Llorente are reinvented, alternatives to keep his killer fresh, which is none other than Luis Suárez. At 34, he faces his second season as a rojiblanco with a new challenge between eyebrows: without Leo (top scorer for the last five seasons) in the fray, the Uruguayan will fight to be the top scorer in the championship.

Benzema and Gerard Moreno, who preceded him in 20-21, will once again be tough competition from Real Madrid and Villarreal, who make their debut against Granada with the good taste in their mouths that they left in the European Super Cup. They are two of the proper names of this new league, as they are also Memphis, Alaba, Pedri, En-Nesyri, Pau Torres, Isak, Canales, Unai Simón … And many others. Stars whose DNI can be consulted in this special and that will be filled out by our headlines, either on the web or on paper, between now and May.

That, the month of May, is the lighthouse towards which we are heading. And we do it after a summer without shocks (for now) in terms of signings. LaLiga clubs have only spent 127 million euros (figure as of August 12), light years away from what flourishes in other European tournaments. The Premier disbursed 935 million, 566 of them with the Big-6 piggy bank: City, United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. Only Jack Grealish, who jumps from Aston Villa to City, cost 117.5 million. It is not necessary to take out the calculator to realize the tremendous crochet to the chin of other championships that that supposes. Behind are Serie A (373), the Bundesliga (318) or Ligue 1 (285).

Those numbers are mixed with others fresh from the oven, those that refer to income from major competitions. There, the Bundesliga (3,208 million) surpasses LaLiga (3,117) in the second continental place, according to the Annual Review of Football Finance 2021 prepared by Deloitte. Also in this analysis, the Premier remains in the lead with 5,100 million. Although, as in football too, there are half-full and half-empty glasses, that same study warns that only the English and Spanish leagues will regain their pre-pandemic levels this season.

Let's hold on to it. Let's be optimistic, in short. Let's park strips and loosens like that of the Superliga or the entry of venture capital into our league and let's focus on whether Osasuna-Espanyol, which opens the first ticket of the season, we put 1, X or 2. The good role of the senior team in the Eurocup and the silver of the Olympic in Tokyo should infect us with good football. There will be time to go to the airport to receive Mbappé or Haaland, now we reserve our throats to scream in the stadium (finally in the stadium) as if the weekend was the first game of our lives. You will see how at that moment, when the forward of our team scores a goal, we forget where Paris is.

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Nostalgic and nostalgic for pre-pandemic football, don't worry, the return to normality is getting closer and closer. It is still unknown when the expected moment will occur, the one in which thousands and thousands of people will gather again in the vicinity of the stadiums, where the players feel the breath of their people just as they get off the bus and the poster is hung of no tickets. Until then, football is still immersed in this new circumstance. Of course, already with people in their stands, unlike last season when only an anecdotal amount of fans could enjoy the live show in the last round of the championship. Barring turn of events, The 20 First Division stadiums will have fans from matchday 1 to 38 of the vibrant championship that is about to begin.

Despite the fact that the vaccination advances to a sprint of Pervis Estupiñán and the virus does not stop meeting with the saving hands of Jan Oblak, there's still a long way to go. The new variants and the new spike in infections in the already known fifth wave prevent the entry of more spectators to sporting events. Thus, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, announced at a press conference a series of rules that each and every one of the Autonomous Communities must comply with. At the moment, until August 29, the date that will include the first two days, fiefdoms will only be able to occupy 40% of their capacity, and, of course, always complying with the safety distance and wearing a mask on a mandatory basis.

There are more nuances to consider. Carolina Darias reported that No food or drink will be sold on the premises. It will also not be allowed to eat food that enters from outside or to smoke. Yes, you will allow yourself to drink water, especially on these dates when the heat will play a crucial role in grass football and could well influence the enjoyment of the event by the fan. In addition to the aforementioned obligations, the minister also made recommendations such as that only local fans can enter the stadium to avoid mobility. Once the unavoidable requirements have been counted, the Government has left in the hands of each Autonomous Community the possibility of selling the number of tickets it considers, even reducing that 40% cap.

The Autonomies will also have in their hand decide if the COVID passport (two doses given and 14 days elapsed since the second) is necessary to enjoy live of the professional football show. For example, Unión Deportiva Las Palmas will ask fans to show it or present a negative antigen test. This, it should be emphasized, will not exempt those present from complying with the security measures: distance, hydroalcoholic gel, mask … In fact, the club will open the doors two hours before, will assign each entrance a specific vomitory for before and after, it will be take the temperature of everyone present … Endless protocols that ensure the safety of all and allow the unconditional support of the respectable to carry the protagonists flying.

There are hundreds and hundreds of footballers who have not stopped regretting having lived more than one season without feeling that behind each of their careers there was the illusion of those who make an effort to experience the beat of the ball from their seats every weekend. week. During this time, We have seen Leo Messi go, one of the best players of all time, without the Camp Nou foundations shaking in his wake. His case is the most famous, but the Bernabéu also shed a tear without being able to dismiss the mythical Ramos or Varane. Or Mestalla, a courageous hobby that always knows how to recognize the heart of its emblems. Parejo burst into tears at his own home when he announced that he was leaving his Valencia for the Villarreal adventure. His people still have not been able to thank him for years and years of courage in the first person, despite the fact that his goodbye occurred last summer.

The future is uncertain. The virus continues to hit the planet, despite the immeasurable efforts of scientists and health workers to avoid its impact. At the bottom of the tunnel you can already see a halo of light that will once again turn football into that phenomenon of inherent social beauty that has been conquering the planet for so many years. They say it is the most important of the least important. But without its people it loses that touch, that essence that makes the skin of that girl who goes hand in hand with her grandfather with the scarf around her neck, the one who has been with her favorite song as a vital hymn all her life. Who knows if when the heat approaches again and we are immersed in debates about failures and successes of new projects, people will already be able to fill the stands as we long for. Meanwhile, let's relive the nervousness before the kickoff and the ecstasy with the goal we did not expect, even if it is not yet the way dreamed of. The surroundings of the Vallecas Stadium defined it perfectly: “Rayo is you and me, and we will meet again when we can hug each other in that stands, celebrating a goal from our neighborhood team”. That is football. And yes, of course we do, this year we will meet again.

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LaLiga has been one of those that has most noticed the economic effects caused by the pandemic, and that has been reflected in the transfer market. Faced with the enormous spending of the Premier or PSG clubs, Spanish clubs helplessly contemplate this waste of millions while they have to break their heads to balance the accounts. They have been condemned to sell key players, or let them go for free, to meet the requirements of an increasingly stifling salary cap. While the Premier League clubs have spent 935 million euros, the Spanish are the least disbursed of the five major European leagues, with 127 million. Only the signing of Grealish by Manchester City (117 million) practically equals the total spending of our league, which makes clear the abysmal economic difference. Not surprisingly, there are six English clubs that are in the top-10 of those that have spent the most in this transfer window. Also on that list is Paris Saint-Germain, which has paid 76 million euros for Achraf and Danilo. But, in addition, the French have signed Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Wijnaldum and Lionel Messi free, among the best in the world in their respective positions, with what that implies at the salary level. A dream team that no team in the League can imagine. There are many who wonder how PSG can have so many stars in their team since Madrid and Barcelona have had to let their two emblems go because they cannot pay their salaries.

For all this, there are few important operations that LaLiga teams have undertaken, which have found in the free agent pool and in the national market a seam to hold on to. Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal are the only Spanish clubs that have spent more than 10 million euros on transfers. The rojiblancos, somewhat more relieved by the economic injection that the achievement of the last league title represented, have signed Rodrigo de Paul, brand-new champion of the Copa América, for 35 million euros, and Marcos Paulo, who arrives free from Fluminense. The 'Submarine'It is the other team that has been able to spend the most (31 million), largely thanks to the victory in the Europa League that allows it to access the Champions League. However, of his 4 additions, only forward Boulaye Dia, who arrives for 12 million, will make his debut as a player in the League.

The rest of the clubs are practically an oasis. FC Barcelona has disbursed 9 million for Emerson, but their new faces arrive at zero cost. Memphis Depay and Agüero, two of the most high-profile additions to our competition this season, arrive after finalizing their contracts at their respective clubs, just like Eric García. Of the three, only the Argentine striker had already passed through our competition. Real Madrid is, perhaps, the most striking case of all. The white club has had to buckle up to the maximum and, despite the fact that it has let out its two starting centrals, He has only made one signing, that of David Alaba, who arrived free. The operation that brought Erik Lamela to Sevilla has also been reported in the media. The arrival of the Argentine, a great addition to the League, has not cost the people of Seville, since it is part of the sale of Bryan Gil to Tottenham, which, in addition to including the midfielder, has disbursed 25 million. At Celta, Franco Cervi is one of the most striking. The people from Vigo join the Argentine from Benfica, where he has made himself known, for a price of 4 million euros.

In the rest of the teams, there are several new faces that we will see. Cádiz is the one that will have the most debutants in Spanish competitions in its squad. Arzamendia (Cerro Porteño), Tomás Alarcón (O'Higgins), Haroyan (Astana) and Osmajic (Sutjeska Niksic) are some of the signings of the Cadiz team in its second consecutive season in Primera. Elche, meanwhile, have signed Enzo Roco as a free agent, from the Turkish Karagümrük. Getafe will have in their ranks Serbian defender Mitrovic, for whom they pay 1 million euros to Strasbourg, and Mexican striker Macías, who arrives on loan from Chivas. On their return to First Division, Espanyol acquired Dimata (Anderlecht) and Mallorca acquired Greiff (Slovan Bratislava). Sabaly (Betis), Alderete (Valencia), Taichi Hara and Loum (Alavés), and Luis Abram (Granada) close the portfolio of players who will debut in Spain. On the benches, Ancelotti and Míchel return to Real Madrid and Getafe respectively to try to return them to glory, while Robert Moreno will start his first experience as a coach in the Spanish League, after leading the National Team in 2019. In total, there are only 23 new faces that arrive in a market in which austerity, free players and operations between Spanish clubs have been the dominant trend.