27.08.2008 12:48
The start of a new season
Jordi Clos
Pep Guardiola's appointment as coach of FC Barcelona was one of the main stories of the summer in the Spanish league, but now all the talking can stop as the 2008-09 campaign kicks off with Espanyol playing Real Valladolid this weekend.
The first game begins at 8pm in the Easti Olímpic on Montjuïc and will herald the start of a
campaign that promises so much at this stage for every club. While there have been some major
transfers, one of the biggest changes on the coaching staff has been the arrival of Guardiola at
the helm of the Blaugrana and he will lead out his side for the first time at Numancia on Sunday at
7pm.
The contenders
Of all the clubs poised to vie for the title this season, Barcelona's transfer activity has
made them one of the favourites to replace Real Madrid as champions in nine months time. The last
four championships have been won by Barça and Madrid with two apiece, but every year there have
been contenders to the crown with Villarreal, Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid all mounting concerted
efforts to finish on top of the pile.
Valencia may have not lived up to expectations last season, but this year
Unai Emery will hope to improve things having taken over in the summer and he will oversee his
first match in charge against Real Mallorca on Saturday. The following day Villarreal kick off at
Osasuna while Sevilla are in El Sardinero to play Racing Santander and Atlético de Madrid play
Málaga away. At 9pm on Sunday, Real Madrid face a tricky trip to Riazor to take on Deportivo La
Coruña.
Four foreign coaches
There have been few changes at the top with 12 clubs keeping the same coach that they ended
last season with. One other fact is that Bernd Schuster at Real Madrid, Manuel Pellegrini at
Villarreal, Javier Aguirre at Atlético de Madrid and Sergio Kresic at Numancia are the only foreign
trainers in charge of top flight teams in la Primera, the lowest number for six seasons.
Few transfers
With only a few days to go before the close of the summer
transfer window, there have been fewer transfers than normal. Barça have bolstered their squad with
five new signings after bringing in Dani Alves, Seydou Keita, Martín Cáceres, Aliaksandr Hleb and
Gerard Piqué. Málaga and Mallorca have signed the most players with 12 new arrivals each.
Photos: Sevilla FC and Real Mallorca.
New stadiums
After Real Zaragoza, Real Murcia and Levante were relegated, they have been replaced by Numancia,
Málaga and Sporting Gijón which means that Barça have three new stadiums to visit this season i the
shape of Los Pajaritos, La Rosaleda and El Molinón.