Y Viva Espana: The Year That Was - Part 2

Spain Break The Don Quixote Curse

At long, long last Spain eventually banished Don Quixote to the shelf of oblivion and realized that the giants they were supposedly fighting were actually windmills.

In June Spain emerged triumphant in Euro 2008. They, as usual, were one of the favourites at the start of the competition but, as usual, there were not many football experts who stubbornly felt that Spain could break the jinx.

But they did and did it in style too. For the first time in quite a while did a national team deservedly win a major international competition, playing entertaining as well as effective football. Luis Aragones' star studded Spanish line-up played enthralling football and always kept their concentration on spot. The likes of Fernando Torres, David Villa, Xavi, David Silva and Iker Casillas all played extremely well.

And there was a touch of South American flavour too as Brazilian born defensive midfielder Marcos Senna was arguably the best player for Spain.

Oh, before we forget, Real Madrid angel Raul was not in the team in spite of Marca’s best efforts to smuggle him into the Spain squad. And Spain won!  

This was Spain’s first major international trophy since 1964. Eventually the Iberian nation has conquered Europe. Can they conquer the world in 2010?  

Ronaldinho Goes To Milan  

FC Barcelona underwent a major shakeup in the summer of 2008 and a number of players were shed. Ronaldinho’s departure was the most prominent one as after a disastrous 2007-2008 season, the former World Footballer of the Year was eagerly sold to Italian and European powerhouse AC Milan for €21 million.  

Ronnie was signed by Barca in the summer of 2003 from French club PSG and was arguably the most influential player for the Catalans when they won the Spanish league title twice in a row and the UEFA Champions League in 2006.

But Cristiano Ronaldo Doesn't Come To Madrid

The less said about this circus the better. Real Madrid’s grotesque hunting of the Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been well documented and it is now common knowledge how Real president Ramon Calderon and his partner Predrag Mijatovic, the club's sporting director, desperately searched for the signature of the player and how pro-Madrid Spanish sports daily Marca aided in swelling the hype.

Ronaldo too added to the confusion by sustaining that he indeed wanted to play for Madrid but eventually backed off, leaving Calderon and Mijatovic biting their own fingers.

And Robinho Departs.....

Real Madrid suffered a double jolt in the summer. Ronaldo didn’t arrive- and honestly there was not that good a chance of him doing so- and Robinho departed from the Bernabeu. Real president Ramon Calderon had reportedly declared that he would be willing to roll in Robinho and a couple of other Madrid players- plus cash- in exchange for Ronaldo and this apparently severely bruised the Brazilian international’s ego.  

So Robinho was off to London (Chelsea) only for his flight to land at Manchester (City!). Real, meanwhile, pocketed a cool €42.5 million.

Josep Guardiola Takes Charge.....

A breath of fresh air was ushered into Camp Nou in the summer. Barcelona legend Josep Guardiola was appointed the new coach of the first team. Cynics commented that president Joan Laporta, who had lost a decent chunk of confidence after the 2007-2008 season, had decided to go along with a Catalan coach as he wanted to 'play to the gallery'.

But the Barcelona supporters were glad to see ‘one of their own’ take charge of a team that was in crisis. Guardiola had earlier coached the Barcelona B team and was a popular figure among the Catalans.

The major question was: could he do it big time?

And FC Barcelona Re-emerge!

And before long everyone realized the answer: yes, he can! Barcelona’s opening day defeat to relegation candidates Numancia in the league did spark some doubts but Barcelona steadily picked up pace. At the moment Barcelona are playing the best and most entertaining football in Europe.

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, Xavi is the best central midfielder in Spain, Samuel Eto’o is happy again and even Thierry Henry, so pathologically out of sorts under Frank Rijkaard, is scoring goals and enjoying life.

Barcelona are a massive 10 points ahead in pole position in La Liga and 12 points ahead of their archrivals Real Madrid. And seemingly things are only going to get better for the Catalans.

Real Madrid Go Down.....And Out?

Last season Barcelona, along with Valencia, were the disaster package, this season Real Madrid are. A plethora of injuries have rocked the Bernabeu and boardroom shenanigans have been the Injury God’s apt accomplice. Real started the season reasonably well but then radically went off the boil.

Bernd Schuster, who led Real to the league title last season, and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, never saw eye to eye and in the end, thanks to the sack-inviting combination of bad results and ridiculous post-match comments, Schuster was fired and former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur boss Juande Ramos was installed as the new coach of Real Madrid.

Real are apparently out of the running for the league title in Spain this season and have to confront Premier League contenders Liverpool in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

Although things can only improve under Ramos in the remainder of the season, can Real resurface and save their season by winning the Champions League this season?  

The Year End Awards:

Best Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas

Best Defender: Dani Alves

Best Midfielder: Xavi

Best Striker: Sergio Aguero (although David Villa could easily lay a claim to that honour)

Best Player: Lionel Messi (again, it would be a crime not to mention David Villa)

Best Quote: