Real Madrid News

Goal crowns the best and worst from Spain over the course of the season

Unlike Europe’s other major leagues, Spain’s Primera Division has yet to reach its conclusion in 2012-13, with two rounds of La Liga still scheduled before the season finally finishes on the first weekend of June.

However, Barcelona have already been confirmed as champions after an impeccable campaign which could yet see the Catalans’ equal Real Madrid’s points record of 100, set last season by Jose Mourinho’s men.

The Portuguese will depart this summer with Madrid in second, while Atletico Madrid will claim third place in La Liga. Real Sociedad and Valencia continue to battle for fourth, as a number of sides scramble to avoid the drop at the foot of the table.

But what of the other winners and losers? Who have been the best players and coaches in the league season? And what of the worst? Goal hands out the individual awards at the end of another absorbing nine months of football in Spain.

BEST GOALKEEPER Willy Caballero (Malaga)

Goalkeepers have hit the headlines in Spain this term. At Real Madrid, club captain Iker Casillas was dropped by Mourinho and subsequently left out as the Portuguese preferred Diego Lopez, while Victor Valdes announced his intention to leave Barcelona earlier this year. Elsewhere, Thibaut Courtois has been brilliant for Atletico and proved the hero as his side claimed the Copa del Rey by beating Real at the Bernabeu on Friday night, but away from the spotlight, Malaga’s Willy Caballero has been a revelation in 2012-13, consistently producing world-class displays and rarely making mistakes in what has been another memorable campaign for the Andalusians, and for the Argentine personally.

BEST DEFENDER Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Sergio Ramos made the permanent switch from right-back to central defender in 2011-12 and looked assured in the role as Madrid stormed to the title. This term, the Seville-born star has had to take on extra responsibilities in the absence of captain Casillas and has also acted as the perfect mentor for youngster Raphael Varane, with the two forming a promising partnership at the back for Mourinho’s side. Ramos still needs to improve his disciplinary record but, at 27, is already a world-class central defender with impressive leadership qualities and a useful eye for goal as well. His winner in the Clasico against Barcelona will have been a personal highlight.

BEST MIDFIELDER Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

Andres Iniesta was Spain’s standout performer at Euro 2012 and the midfielder carried that form into the current campaign with Barcelona. He may have only scored twice in La Liga, but 15 assists (including three in the 4-0 win at Levante) prove just how important he has been to the Catalan club in their recapturing of the title in 2012-13. And perhaps the ultimate compliment would be to say that, over the last year, he has been more important to club and country than probably the greatest central midfielder in modern times, team-mate Xavi Hernandez.

BEST ATTACKER Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Who else? Despite a hamstring injury which has restricted his Premier Division participation in recent weeks and already curtailed his season, Lionel Messi remains the star man in the current Liga campaign. He won’t now be able to surpass last season’s league total of 50 goals, but 46 in just 32 games represents a remarkable ratio and the Argentine’s 21-game scoring streak in the competition may never be beaten. The 25-year-old also has 12 assists this term in La Liga and has played a pivotal part in the title returning to Catalunya in 2012-13.

BEST YOUNGSTER (Under-21) Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Raphael Varane has also seen his season ended by injury. The 20-year-old Frenchman injured his knee in the draw at Espanyol recently and subsequently required surgery which has ruled him out of the club’s remaining fixtures, including Friday’s Copa del Rey defeat against Atletico. But Madrid fans will be able to enjoy his talents for many years to come. The youngster, who only signed in 2011, has formed an impressive tandem with Ramos and stepped up seamlessly to the highest level in all competitions.

BEST COACH Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)

Diego Simeone led Atletico to their first victory over neighbours Real Madrid in 14 years on Friday as los Rojiblancos claimed the Copa del Rey, but the Argentine’s special side haven been arguably even more impressive in La Liga and already sealed automatic Champions League qualification for next term by securing a top-three finish. “We give hope to the smaller teams everywhere,” he said recently. And with around €400 million less in budget than Real, they have matched their city rivals almost all season in the Primera Division. Much of the credit for that must go to Simeone.

BEST TRANSFER Aritz Aduriz (Valencia to Athletic Bilbao)

Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelo Bielsa told reporters last summer that he had not asked the club to sign striker Aritz Aduriz. Some nine months on, however, and the Argentine must be glad the forward was brought in from Valencia in a cut-price €2.5 million deal. Aduriz has struck 14 times in La Liga to make light of the poor form of Spain striker Fernando Llorente (who will join Juventus this summer) and help preserve the side’s Primera Division status in what has been a complicated campaign.

WORST TRANSFER Alex Song (Arsenal to Barcelona)

Alex Song is not a bad player, but his summer signing for Barcelona remains a highly questionable piece of business from the Catalan club. Priced out of a move for Javi Martinez, coach Tito Vilanova sought to sign a player capable of covering both defence and midfield following the decline of Carles Puyol and the departure of Seydou Keita. He chose Song. But the €19 million could surely have been better spent on a player they actually needed other than the Cameroonian, who has featured mainly as a substitute this season, occasionally in defence where he is not the solution and mostly in midfield, which was already overcrowded anyway. An expensive and strange signing.

BEST PLAYER Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

As usual, Messi has been the inspiration behind Barcelona this term. While Jose Mourinho controversially claimed last season that the Argentine’s 50 league goals “meant nothing” because the title went to Real Madrid, the 25-year-old’s 46 strikes in La Liga this term have ensured the Primera Division is heading to Catalunya for the fourth time in five seasons. He has been the shining star, scoring in 21 straight games and netting 46 in 32 league goals overall in 2012-13. It’s another incredible season from the Argentine, comfortably better than anyone else in La Liga this term, including 34-goal Cristiano Ronaldo.

WORST PLAYER Jose Callejon (Real Madrid)

If there is one player who sums up the difference between Real Madrid’s league form in 2011-12 and this season, it is Jose Callejon. The winger was superb in Mourinho’s second season at the Santiago Bernabeu after signing from Espanyol, scoring five times in the Primera Division and netting 13 goals overall, with many believing he was worthy of a place in Spain’s Euro 2012 squad. But following a wretched current campaign with only one league strike, that seems a million miles away now. Based on this term’s form, Callejon will be very lucky if he is still a Madrid player next season.

The 61-year-old, who held office at the Bernabeu between 2006 and 2009, says the manager’s record at the club was not the only factor, insisting his behaviour was poor

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has labelled Jose Mourinho a “failure” as the self-styled ‘Special One’ prepares to leave the club.

Mourinho’s departure was announced by current President Florentino Perez during a press conference on Monday, with the 50-year-old mutually agreeing to sever his ties with the club when the 2012-13 season comes to a close after three years in charge.

The former Inter, Chelsea and Porto coach managed to acquire just one Copa del Rey, one Liga title and the Spanish Supercup, while also failing in his pursuit of La Decima – what would have been the club’s 10th Champions League title, and Calderon believes Mourinho was never the right fit for Madrid.

“Of course he has been a failure,” Calderon told Sky Sports’ Revista De La Liga. “It is the worst record of any Real Madrid manager who has had three years or more there.

“I insist that it is not only that reasons. I think you can be unsuccessful at a club for many reasons. What I really don’t like and what many followers of Real Madrid don’t like is the way he has behaved.

“I don’t know what he did in England but his behaviour in Spain wasn’t compatible with Real Madrid’s history. We have a part of our hymn which says ‘when we lose, we shake hands’ – we don’t poke fingers in eyes, which is what he did to Tito Vilanova.

“I have always said that he wasn’t the only one to blame – that’s also down to the people who brought him to Real Madrid.

“Mourinho was like that before he arrived at Real Madrid.”

Director Giuseppe Marotta earmarked the two strikers as potential transfer targets but stressed that the club are exploring “various options” in the market

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed the club’s interest in luring both Gonzalo Higuain and Stevan Jovetic to Turin this summer.

Reports emanating from Italy suggests the Bianconeri will dispatch representatives to the Spanish capital on Wednesday in an attempt to thrash out a deal for Real Madrid striker Higuain after agreeing terms in principal with the Argentine earlier this month, while Fiorentina’s failure to secure Champions League qualification this season has thrown Jovetic’s future at the club into further doubt.

Speaking to Rai Sports, Marotta insisted the Old Lady were weighing up their options before making a move but could not disguise his affection for the duo.

“Jovetic and Higuain are both great strikers,” he said. “We want to improve the playing staff available to [Antonio] Conte in the summer so we are exploring various options at the moment.”

Juventus, who recorded back-to-back Serie A titles this season, have long been linked with moves for Europe’s top striking talent – including the likes of Carlos Tevez and Luis Suarez – as they look to bolster their forward line ahead of the coming campaign.

The Hammers chief thinks the former Real Madrid manager is even better than he was during his first stint at Stamford Bridge

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes Jose Mourinho is a better coach now than when he left Chelsea in 2007.

The Portuguese left Stamford Bridge having won five trophies in three seasons, and is set to return to the club in the next two weeks after stints managing Inter and Real Madrid.

Allardyce believes his experience gained in both Spain and Italy have made him an even more formidable coach than before.

“I suppose it depends on whether he can recapture what he did when he first moved to Chelsea,” Allardyce told Sky Sports.

“Looking at his experience since those days, he should be better than he was when he left. I think that, with his spell in Italy and his spell in Spain, he will have matured and learnt an awful lot from that time.

“I suppose when he comes back to Chelsea he’ll use that experience and probably try to be better than he was before he left.”

With Mourinho set for a return to Chelsea, Allardyce says he and the rest of the Premier League will be happy to see the former Porto boss working in the capital again.

“I think it will be great to have him back,” he added.

“He had a very good spell last time. I know it didn’t finish so well in the end at Chelsea with [owner] Roman Abramovich but obviously they’ve repaired that damage and it sounds like he’s looking forward to coming back to England.

“We’ll be glad to see him and obviously pit our wits against him again.”

The Spain legend turned down the opportunity to make the move to the Blaugrana and Juventus, while stressing that Jose Mourinho did not play a role in his decision to leave

Real Madrid icon Raul has revealed he had the opportunity to join Barcelona on two occasions, but opted against a move to the Catalans as he did not want to join Madrid’s arch-rivals.

The experienced attacker spent nearly his entire career at the Santiago Bernabeu side after signing for the club from Atletico and he has stressed that a move to the Camp Nou side was never a serious option for him due to his strong ties with Madrid.

“Barcelona twice showed an interest in signing me. I could never play for Barca, though, because I am a real Madridista,” Raul told World Soccer.

“Madrid is my city. I was born and raised in Madrid. My brother, my sister, my friends, my family, they all live in Madrid.”

The former Spain international then went on to stress that Barca were not the only team that tried to lure him away, as Juventus attempted to sign him more than once, too.

“Juventus made me a very interesting offer three times, but I didn’t see myself living in Turin,” said.

Raul eventually left Madrid for Schalke in the summer of 2010 after Jose Mourinho’s arrival at the club, but he has stressed that the Portuguese coach did not play a role in his exit.

“My decision to leave had nothing to do with Mourinho. I had already decided that I wanted a new challenge before his arrival.”

The 35-year-old made over 700 official appearances for Real Madrid between 1994 and 2010.