Friday, May 18th, 2012
Grandinos do not much like Sevillanos. Indeed, Malaguenos, do not much like Sevillanos. In fact, from the burning desert of Almeria in the east, to the industrial intensity of Huelva in the west, it is fair to say that the population of Andalusia generally treat people from the capital city of their region with sometimes barely disguised contempt, perceived as they are, to be imbued with an arrogant sense of self importance. This weekend’s results will have done nothing to lower the antipathy felt towards Sevillanos or the feeling of superiority said to be inherent in their view over the rest of the region.
In pitting Sevilla against Malága, and Granada against Real Betis, the league paired off the four top flight Andalusian teams with, in football terms, their nearest rival. Over the past few seasons, no side has come closer to breaking Madrid and Barcelona’s iron-fisted duopoly on league success than Sevilla. However, given the arrival of Qatari oil money in Malága, belief has grown that the club from the regional capital will be overtaken by the nouveau riche Costa del Sol pretenders, with the Malaga’s new owner boasting, in what was perhaps a subconscious dig at Sevilla, that he wanted to created a new power base in the south of the country to challenge Real and Barca.
Yet as we saw on Sunday night they are not quite there. In fact with so many new faces since the turn of the year it is almost inevitable that there will be a period of transition while the team gel as a unit, and the manager himself discovers more about the side. Indeed Manuel Pellegrini will have been a little perturbed at how ineffective his first choice striking pairing of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Juan Rondon seemed in the opening 45 minutes. However, given the size and quality of the squad there is scope to change that, as well as other facets of play which do not please the boss. But as previously mentioned, this could take time, just like it took the moneybags of Manchester City two seasons before they qualified for the Champions League. Now, City look a force to be reckoned with, and there is no doubt Malaga will evolve into a classy team but Sunday’s defeat to a side who they will expect to be challenging for a top four place was a wake up call. For Sevilla meantime it was the perfect antidote to the ignominy of failing to reach the group stages of the Europa League, a competition which in its previous incarnation as the UEFA Cup they ruled for two years. This season, therefore, it is all about domestic matters for the side from the Sánchez-Pizjuán, and if they can keep organised at the back and provide Álvaro Negredo with the service up front upon which he thrives, there is every chance they could finish higher than Malága for one more season at least.
The other Andalusian derby this weekend saw Betis give Granada (or Granaa in the local parlance) a harsh lesson in the realities of top flight football. Playing their first match in La Liga for 35 years Granada looked a little overawed. There was little cohesion in their play, and going forward they were innocuous. While Betis themselves were not at their very best they still seemed infinitely sharper and more prepared for the big stage. For Betis are a big club, with big support. Six years ago they were in the Champions League. Six years ago, Granada were in the fourth tier of Spanish football. Their rapid rise to La Liga is a remarkable story, achieved thanks largely to their agreement with Udinese and the players obtained on loan from the Italian side. But this season they will struggle and it is no surprise that they are favourites with the bookmakers to be relegated. Betis though have a chance. Saturday’s match saw Vadillo and Salvador Sevilla show glimpses of genuine class, while the loan signing of Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City will give the verdiblancos a target man, capable of scoring enough goals to keep them up.
So the two Seville clubs have not made any friends after the first weekend of the season. But after two vital victories against teams who share similar aspirations for the forthcoming campaign, neither side will care a bit.
Remember you can follow Phil on Twitter: @philkitradio
Tags: Andalusia, Granada, Malaga, Real Betis, Seville
Granada will be fine once their squad gels.
It clearly wasn’t the best of starts to the season, though I’d argue they actually had the better of the first-half, then ran out of steam and any real creativity in the second-half. Conceding two minutes from the end was a sucker punch, as over the 90 minutes they probably deserved a point.
Granada made a poor start to their Segunda campaign last season. They were one of the favourites for relegation too. They’ll likely be slow out of the blocks this season too, but once the side gels, they’ll start to pick up points. They’ve made a lot of new signings and I believe they have sufficient quality to survive.