Valencia CF

Valencia has been putting together a solid La Liga campaign. It is 2-1-1 in their last four matches, a span that included an impressive 2-2 tie with Barcelona. However, it was lackluster in their last effort in a 1-0 defeat to Sevilla.

Valencia now must try to put that loss behind as it takes on one of the EPL's best in Chelsea.

Chelsea is looking very strong this year. It is coming off of a dominant 4-1 win over Swansea City. It's EPL match prior to that, it lost 3-1 to Manchester United, but played much better than the score indicated.

Chelsea will look to put away Valencia in this battle and keep its momentum rolling.

Where: Stamford Bridge in London, England

When: Wednesday, September 28th at 2:45 p.m. EST

Watch: Directv Soccer, ESPN Australia, ESPN HD Brasil, ESPN3.com Australia, Foot+, FSC, ITV 1, ITV HD, SBS One Australia, Sport.TV1, SuperSport 3, SuperSport HD, UEFA

Player to Watch for Valencia: Roberto Soldado 

Soldado is a dynamic striker, and he is at the peak of his abilities.

He has already scored a hat trick this season, and he has twice scored the only goal in 1-0 wins for Valencia. He is the center of their offensive attack. If Valencia is going to win then Soldado needs to lead the way.

Player to Watch for Chelsea: Frank Lampard

Midfielder Frank Lampard has been relegated to the bench. Lampard diminished role comes on the heels of years of leading this squad.

If he is going to reclaim his place on this team, he needs to put together a very solid performance and make an impact on this match.

Lampard still possess the skills to do just that, and I am sure he will be focused to do so when he does enter the match.

Key Matchup: Petr Cech vs. Roberto Soldado

Cech was taken to the hospital after a scary blow to the head in a recent match vs. Fulham. He is expected to be ready to go for this match, and that is a good thing for Chelsea.

He is going to be charged with the task of shutting down Soldado. If he can keep Soldado from finding the net, then victory for he and is teammates is all but guaranteed.

What They're Saying: Fernando Torres had an ugly dive at Swansea's Mark Gower. It resulted in a red card and a three game domestic ban. Torres manager Andre Villas-Boas said Torres had nothing to apologize for. Here is Villa-Boas, as quoted on ESPN.com:

"There's nothing to apologize for. It's the referee's decision.

"It's part of the nature of the game, and the referee has decided on that. It's a pity because the spectacle was promising.''

 

Score Prediction:

Chelsea 3

Valencia 1

Villarreal vs. Gijon

Villarreal enjoyed a morale-boosting win over Bayern Leverkusen in the Europa League match midweek, and they will be looking to use the victory as stepping stones towards getting their form back in La Liga.

The dip in form has meant that Villarreal are now down to the fourth position, with four points separating them from third-placed Valencia.

They will be up against a Sporting Gijon side that has won against Getafe and drawn against Barcelona in their last few matches.

Even though they might be close to the relegation zone, they will be providing formidable opposition to Villarreal winning.

The last 10 matches have been extremely good for Sporting Gijon, as they have taken 16 points.

However, given that this is an away match, Gijon will be focusing more on stopping their opponents rather than scoring themselves, which could result in a cagey affair.

As a result of their recent form, the relegation threat has eased a little.

Nilmar scored the injury time winner over Bayern Leverkusen and he is expected to provide significant attacking threat for Villarreal.

Villarreal will hope to use the home match against Sporting Gijon to produce better results.

Sevilla vs. Barcelona

Barcelona progressed into the next round of the Champions League in spectacular fashion by beating Arsenal convincingly.

However, they will be looking to maintain the gap over Real Madrid most importantly this weekend.

The match against Sevilla is probably the toughest of all, given that Sevilla have been excellent at home at least in La Liga.

Barcelona have only 11 games to go to win the title, but the feeling is that, if they maintain the gap as it is, they will be doing so before the final round of fixtures.

However, the going gets tough for Barcelona from this fixture onwards, and Sevilla will be looking to make the most out of it.

Even though Barcelona have been suffering from a number of injuries of late, it has not affected their form at all.

Given that they will be boosted by the return of a number of players from the injury table, it is expected to boost their performance even more.

However, they will still be without Carles Puyol, who is not ready to take part in the league matches yet. Andres Palop is the major doubt for Sevilla.

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AC Milan vs Tottenham

The Champions League finally returns and it will get underway with the clash of two teams at the opposite end of the Champions League spectrum. AC Milan have won the illustrious trophy seven times in their history, and only Real Madrid can boast of a better record than Milan.

Tottenham, on the other hand, are appearing in the knockout round of the Champions League for the very first time. In fact, this is their first-ever season in the competition. Harry Redknapp has been dealt a major blow ahead of this huge game with the news that Gareth Bale will not be available for Spurs.

However, this is not the first time that Tottenham will be visiting the San Siro, as they  already came close to securing an unlikely point against Inter Milan in the group stages. Gareth Bale was the star that night but tomorrow will be in the sidelines.

AC Milan will be missing all the players that they signed in January. Therefore, the likes of Mark van Bommel and Antonio Cassano will not be available for the Rossoneri. However, they will be having the services of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been in sensational form in his debut season for the Italian team.

Valencia vs Schalke

Valencia's form in the last few weeks has been nothing short of spectacular, as they have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. Hence, Unai Emery's men will be quietly confident about their chance of victory in the match. It is a match that will see the return of Raul to Spain since his departure from Real Madrid.

Schalke 04 have a formidable lineup in the striking department that boasts of Raul and Klaas Jan Huntelaar. However, despite that strong lineup, Schalke's form in the German Bundesliga has been average to say the least, as they have won just two matches out of their last five.

The form of Valencia in the La Liga has seen them rise to third position in the table, and this is in sharp contrast to Schalke's 10th position in the German Bundesliga.

David Albelda will be the biggest miss for Valencia, but they could be welcoming the return of Juan Mata. The Spaniard has been struggling with a knee injury but is expected to return to the starting lineup. Schalke 04 do not have any new injury worries ahead of the match and are expected to field a full strength squad.

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Sporting Gijon vs Barcelona

Barcelona will not be looking to let the slew of international matches destroy their concentration and flow in La Liga as they look to create history by winning 17 consecutive matches. The return to the Estadio El Molinon will also be special for Pep Guardiola.

His Barcelona career was finally confirmed as a success after the 6-1 victory over Sporting Gijon two years ago. It was also the season in which Barcelona created history by winning all the trophies that they contested for. Ironically, Pep Guardiola signed a contract extension a few days ago and he will be hoping that history repeats itself.

The last few weekends have been exceptionally good for Barcelona—having won almost every single match comfortably.

However, Sporting Gijon could provide some resistance after they have been in good form recently. They have just one defeat to show for in their last four matches and they could prove to be stubborn in letting Barcelona score.

One reason for Barcelona performing exceptionally well could be their current injury situation, or lack thereof, which sees only Jeffren and Carles Puyol on the treatment table. Sebastian Eguren is the only player who will be missing for Sporting Gijon.

Atletico Madrid vs Valencia

The fact that Valencia are just one point behind Villarreal in the third position means that Unai Emery will be looking to take full advantage of their match against Atletico Madrid.

On the other hand, even though Sergio Aguero signed a contract extension, it has certainly not helped his club in the Spanish La Liga. They still remain a hefty 14 points behind Valencia in the eighth position but are well clear of the relegation zone as well.

So, with over half the season to go, Atletico Madrid find themselves with nothing to play for. However, Quique Sánchez Flores will think that there is a very good chance of qualifying for the Europa League places. He will be looking to embark on that mission against Valencia.

Valencia are on a great run of form in the last few weeks and have dropped just two points in their last seven matches—nothing short of incredible. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid, have suffered three consecutive defeats starting with the loss against Real Madrid. Filipe Luís will be not available for Atletico Madrid, while Cesar Sanchez and Vicente Rodriguez are still out for Valencia.

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Rewind to October 2004. Juan Bautista Soler, a Spanish property developer, took over as president of Valencia CF, one of Europe’s biggest clubs at the time.

In the previous four years, they had reached two Champions League finals, won the Primera Liga twice and had lifted the UEFA Cup.

Their starting eleven included Roberto Ayala, David Albelda, Rubén Baraja, Santiago Cañizares and Pablo Aimar.

Although Rafa Benítez had just left, Claudio Ranieri, the man who had led Valencia to the Champions League final, had returned. The future looked bright for Valencia.

Fast forward to the present day. With debts reported to be over €450m, construction having stopped on the new stadium and forced to sell their star assets merely to stay afloat, Valencia are a club in crisis. How could things go so badly wrong in such a short period of time?

However, despite all of the off-the-pitch problems at the club, including being stuck with two stadiums, the team are giving fans hope that all is not lost.

Having surprisingly hung on to their star assets, David Villa and David Silva, last season, they surpassed expectations as they finished third behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. This secured a return to the Champions League, and the financial boost that this brings.

Finally, this summer, they could hold onto their star duo no longer. Villa completed his expected €40m move to Barcelona, whilst Manchester City paid €30m for Silva.

They also lost Carlos Marchena, who had made 230 appearances for the club over almost 10 years, as well as holding the record of 56 international appearances without defeat, as he signed for Villarreal.

The loss of three Spanish internationals would be a major blow for any side to cope with.

They were also faced with the retirement of former captain, Rubén Baraja, as well as the sale of other squad players, such as Nikola Zigic and Alexis. Their summer sales totalled almost €90m.

Despite all this, they still face debts of over €500m today. David Albelda refused the captain’s armband this season.

One of their big summer signings, Sofiane Feghouli, was relegated in France last season. Against this background, expectations were low this season.

However, one of the major assets that the club still has is its manager. Unai Emery is fast becoming regarded as one of the most talented young managers in European football, and the most likely replacement for Vicente Del Bosque when the Spain coach steps down after Euro 2012, as is expected.

He has had great success at every club he has managed, and it was a huge boost for Valencia that he decided to remain at the club over the summer.

On the pitch, they have an experienced keeper in César. They have plenty of attacking options in the form of Juan Mata, Pablo Hernandez, Arturo Aduriz, Roberto Soldado, as well as Joaquin and Alejandro Domínguez.

However, the real star of the team is Ever Banega. After a poor start, where he was almost sold to Everton, he finally came good last season, proving himself to be one of the best midfielders in the league.

They currently top the table after five games, with 13 points from a possible 15, as well as a 4-0 victory in Turkey to start their Champions League campaign.

Whilst it has not been the most challenging start, they will be happy with how they have performed. Even so, the good performances on the pitch are still struggling to mask the problems off it.

As an example of how not to run a football club, the past six years at Valencia should be used to warn off all future owners. Major mismanagement, combined with the effects of the economic crisis, has hit Valencia hard, threatening the very existence of the famous club.

Arguments between the boardroom and the coaching staff, and amongst the coaching staff and the playing staff, resulted in club captain David Albelda taking the president and club to court.

The inability of the club to pay its playing staff led to a downturn in results on the pitch. Valencia virtually turned into a tragic soap-opera.

We will come to the mismanagement and the financial problems later, but the first, and one of the more bizarre, happenings was the ostracism of three of Valencia’s star players:

• David Albelda, the most successful captain in the history of the club and an icon at the Mestalla;
  
• Santiago Cañizares, arguably the second-best Spanish goalkeeper at the time behind Iker Casillas; and
  
• Miguel Ángel Angulo, who had made over 300 appearances for the club over 10 years.

The decision came as a major shock to everyone. It is suggested that they were excluded by Juan Soler; the three were major critics of his regime and he wanted to silence them, potentially fearing the influence of the three as a threat to his power.

The three players were eventually reinstated over four months later, following a court case and the dismissal of Ronald Koeman, but the whole incident had caused major divisions in the squad, with some squad members supporting Soler and others supporting the exiled stars.

However, it is the financial problems that are the biggest threat to the club. With reported debts of over €450m, up from around €100m when Soler took over, there have been many worrying events in recent times.

In the 2008/09 season, they were forced to delay payment to player for two months, leading to a dramatic collapse in form; the club fell from second to eighth, and slumped out of Europe during this period.

On Feb. 25, 2009, construction on the new stadium stopped due to lack of payments. A fortnight later, coach Unai Emery admitted that the club had reached ‘rock bottom.’

Mass player sales were expected that summer, although the club defied the predictions to retain all their players, other than Raul Albiol, who moved to Real Madrid for around €15m.

The economic crisis has hit Valencia badly in comparison to other clubs, due to their position at the time. Soler’s grand plan was to build a brand new stadium and training ground, and finance it by the sale and redevelopment of the existing stadium land and training facilities.

However, they were dependent on the housing and construction markets remaining strong.

With the economic crisis, these two sectors were amongst the worst hit in the Spanish economy. The club were left with two stadia and two training grounds: one they couldn’t sell and one they couldn’t build.

Huge expenditures under Soler on both players and coaches added to the problems. Severance pay totalling over €35m went to Quique Sánchez Flores, Claudio Ranieri and Ronald Koeman.

The club spent around €20m each on Manuel Fernandes, Ever Banega, and Nikola Zigic, none of which has justified the large price tag.

The club was rapidly going through staff members as well. Over the course of Soler’s four-year reign, the club went through five sporting directors, three director generals and three medical chiefs. The departure of Soler as president in March 2008 hardly stemmed the flow.

In the following 12 months, the club had four different presidents, whilst in only six months between October 2008 and March 2009, they had six different sporting directors.

Within three weeks of Unai Emery taking over as head coach in May 2008, he had worked for more different bosses than he had in the rest of his four-year career combined.

When Soler stepped down as president, he sold his shares to Vicente Soriano, who claimed he would pay €90m for them and find a buyer for the Mestalla at €350m, but he broke both promises; he didn’t actually have the money he claimed he did.

The club were dropped by their shirt sponsor and ditched by the local government. As if to spite Soler, the club won its first trophy in five years months after Soler had left.

It is a shame to see one of the historic clubs of Europe in such dire straits; indeed, there were major worries over bankruptcy only recently, and officially, the club is still insolvent.

However, Unai Emery is doing a magnificent job on a very limited budget; he has taken the club from finishing in the lower half to the Champions League, virtually without spending any money whatsoever.

This season has begun well, despite the loss of €90m worth of talent over the summer.

Despite being top of the table, nobody is suggesting that they will be realistic challengers to the big two this season. However, if they can secure Champions League football again, the money will continue to flow into the club.

A restart on the construction of the Nuevo Mestalla does not look to be on the cards in the near future though. It will remain as a monument to the financial mismanagement of the past.

Valencia host Atletico Madrid at the Mestalla tonight looking to continue their 100% record and regain top spot in La Liga. For Atletico, the game offers the chance to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat to Barcelona, their first loss in the league this season.

For many, this game pits the two teams most likely to challenge Barca and Real Madrid for the title, or more realistically, the two most likely candidates for third place. Most believe that the playing talent and financial power within the corridors of the Nou Camp and the Bernabéu make challenging the top two almost unattainable.

For Valencia, a repeat of last year’s third place would be a fantastic achievement after the sale of star duo David Villa and David Silva. Some of that money has been reinvested, with new signings Ricardo Costa, Mehmet Topal, Tino Costa, Roberto Soldado and Arturo Aduriz adding to the competition for places at the Mestalla.

Perhaps more importantly to Valencia’s impressive start to the season has been the return to top form of highly gifted but consistently underachieving midfielders Joaquin, Vicente and Ever Banega.

These three, alongside David Albelda, Juan Mata, Pablo Hernandez and the new signings, provide boss Unai Emery with all manner of attacking options.

Banega has been in stellar form so far this season, the young Argentine finally looking like justifying Valencia’s decision to pay €18m for him in January 2008. Unfortunately for Valencia, Banega picked up an ankle injury that keeps him out of tonight’s game and for the next couple of weeks, so it’ll likely be down to Topal or Costa to deputise.

The quality of Joaquin, Vicente, Mata and Pablo means that whoever Emery chooses to field, Valencia will possess a number of potent attacking threats, particularly from the wings. Atletico’s young goalkeeper, David de Gea, who was in stunning form in the loss to Barca, is likely to have his work cut out if Atletico are to leave the Mestalla with a victory.

Of course, this is likely to be far from one way traffic, as Atletico have a few attacking weapons themselves. Their strike force of Uruguayan goal machine Diego Forlan and the fantastically gifted Sergio Aguero rivals any partnership in Europe, and both will need to be on top form this year if Atletico are going to get anywhere near challenging Barca and Madrid.

Aguero has been battling injury troubles in the past two weeks, but if fit to play, the quartet of Forlan, Aguero and wingers Jose Antonio Reyes and Simao Sabrosa are an impressive group.

Both teams’ defenders will need to be in top form to stop the scoreline getting out of hand, which brings into play an intriguing battle between two goalkeepers at the opposite end of the age spectrum. The aforementioned de Gea is only 19 years old, while in the opposing goal is Valencia keeper Cesar, still going strong at the age of 39.

Atletico, who started the season with two league wins to add to their European Super Cup triumph over Inter Milan, have lost their last two. The loss to Barcelona was disappointing, but last Thursday’s loss to Aris Salonika in the Europa League, a competition they enter as defending champions, was slightly more embarrassing. They will be desperate not to lose further ground on Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona by losing again.

One further point of interest is the return to the Mestalla of former Valencia manager Quique Sanchez Flores, now in the Atletico hotseat. Flores, a Valencia player for ten years and manager for two, was sacked by the club in 2007 and surely has added incentive to win any time he faces his former employers.

Atletico’s desire to avoid a third straight defeat, coupled with Valencia’s attempts to sustain their 100% record, make this already mouth watering encounter even more compelling. This really is a game which could go either way, although Valencia’s home advantage will see them start as favourites. Whatever happens, both sides have the potential to make a real impact on the La Liga landscape this season.

Just don’t mention third place.

Never has La Liga been so split in its history as the point gap between the top two and the third and fourth teams is a prime indicator. It is making the competition uninteresting, dull, and is also hurting the image of La Liga as a prominent soccer league.

Many voices within and outside of La Liga have been raised for some time and now there is hope that something will be done to address this situation.

La Liga’s CEO, Francisco Roca Pérez, in March contributed to the voices saying "It's not a question of having two teams very dominant, it's a question that this dominance is getting too big…We have a low degree of competitive balance across the board. Spain is probably the worst example right now.

Barcelona and Madrid will always be dominant but I'm not happy that their dominance is so big that right now we still have one-third of the competition ahead of us and they are 13 points ahead of the rest. That is not good for anybody.”

Issue of TV rights for broadcasting of La Liga games live has been the core of all criticism, discussion, and evaluation aimed at bringing equality and relative financial balance.

This erosion of competition hurts both teams as well, in the words of legendary former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, “The standard of La Liga, the same as the Italian league, has fallen a long way in recent years. Barça and Real get used to a particular way of competing and later, in Europe, they find themselves in situations they are not used to”.

This duopoly (i.e. death grip on the league) is killing the competition and if the Big Two continue to be short-sighted in their objectives then a long term future is going to be at stake for smaller clubs as well as the league in itself. However despite immense significance of TV revenue, other important issues also factor in to affect the state of La Liga and the health of clubs.

TV Rights Centralization and Revenue Sharing

It was again highlighted on 10th May what may become an important step in the history of Spanish Primera División.

At the headquarters of Liga de Fútbol Profesional in Madrid, statements were made by general secretary Carlos Campos that "The La Liga clubs have decided to initiate a debate aimed at creating new rules of organization and development exclusively for the La Liga which will allow it to compete in the same conditions as the big European leagues, where the Liga and Segunda División are separated (England, Italy)…The new rules of organization and development will allow a much more attractive and better-run competition than the current one."

As of now, twenty seven clubs from Primera División and Segunda División combined have agreed to formulate a decision to collectively negotiate TV rights in future. The next meeting is scheduled for 21st June to decide the administrative, financial, and sporting regulations for a separate league from Segunda División and to finalize the date of implementation.

The objective was and is to tackle the financial odds that so overwhelmingly lie in the Big Two’s favor. Currently the Big Two get more than 50 percent of annual TV income of 520 million Euros.

If achieved, it will make La Liga more competitive but will severely affect Real Madrid and Barcelona’s domestic domination and their European aspirations in future. For the La Liga and its Big Two to be competitive in Europe, income will have to be increased, additional means explored, global image, popularity, and TV viewership enhanced.

Therefore such a step may take some time to become reality in the face of stubborn and selfish opposition, entrenched power and interest by the Big Two. But nothing will or can stop its advance for long.

Barcelona has voiced its opposition already against such a proposal and to this effect President Joan Laporta and director general Joan Oliver has made comments. Oliver suggested that smaller clubs should be better fiscally managed.

Laporta sounded completely opposed because he thought Barcelona wouldn’t be able to compete at the continental stage when he said "I don't want to damage the interests of Barcelona Football Club, because we have to compete with teams in other countries…In England, we are talking about two billion Euros for Premier League rights so we have to compete against clubs that are making more money than us."

Emilio Butragueño, Real Madrid director, said in March, Real Madrid is willing to consider the proposals and Florentino Pérez in his words “is a great strategist and I’m sure he’ll find a way to make everyone happy.” Still that is not a clear-cut statement declaring unambiguous intent to accept revenue sharing.

How to Share the TV Revenue

If revenue sharing deal is reached and La Liga is separated from the Segunda División then the biggest devil would surface in details. The main question would be as to how to distribute the income and how, if any, parity is achievable?

Clearly Premier League is the model that is expected to be followed so what will be the Spanish formula of sharing TV revenue? How much or what percentage of money will be shared equally amongst clubs as fixed base amount? And then how much based on final league standing, TV appearances, facility fees for live games, overseas TV rights, banner sponsorships, and licensing deals?

Would a club’s popularity in foreign markets entitle it to any extra payment? That is another critical question because here Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two driving forces behind La Liga’s TV income. But conversely it will strengthen their hands to maintain their hegemony at the top of La Liga.

Will there be a mechanism of parachute payments to the relegated clubs? If so, then how much or what percentage of the total revenue?

Criticism of Separation of Top-Tier for TV Revenue

Critics say that separation of top division severely affects clubs in lower divisions. At one hand it increases the financial gap, inequality, and grass root youth development but on the other it takes away local supporters of lower league clubs. Long terms effects also include decline in performance and attraction of national soccer teams.

Parachute payments have also been heavily criticized for promoting and propagating inequality and killing competition in the lower leagues. It is another critical point in the deal because while parachute payments are touted to soften the impact of relegation but others charge that these only serve to make relegated clubs stronger to bounce back to the top division soccer at the expense of poor clubs.

Quality and beauty of soccer on display is also said to be adversely affected as clubs resort to negative sometimes tactics to stay up and avoid losing financially. Premier League, from where this concept is being borrowed, has lowest goals per game ratio for 2008-2009 season of the top three European leagues with La Liga on top.

If Premier League is any indicator then financial windfall has made soccer ugly in that many clubs are almost always preoccupied with stay up instead of engaging in a meaningful, entertaining, and fan-oriented competition.

Would Defensive Play Make La Liga Title More Competitive?

For good or for ill, La Liga’s style of soccer also plays in the hands of stronger and richer teams. Open and offensive play even by the smaller clubs perhaps makes them predisposed to lose because big clubs with top talent can exploit that kind of philosophy in their favor.

Would La Liga clubs be willing to sacrifice their offensive soccer philosophy and start on the road of defensive, organized, and maybe functional game, attacking more on the break game so they could become less susceptible to be scored against and at least look to gain a single point by playing for a draw against top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona?

It is an extremely difficult, controversial, conflicting, and tricky question. It may make the league more competitive but will also hurt the image of an artistic, technical and entertaining league that it has earned over the years and is its hallmark.

However, as Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final loss so starkly made clear is that La Liga clubs will have to adapt and learn how to live at the continental stage and deal with closed, organized, and physical defenses. Ball possession does not always work and necessarily translate into penetration as it was demonstrated by the Inter Milan at the Camp Nou. There was nothing surprising or unexpected to be expected from Barcelona and that is where Inter Milan won.

Offense at the cost of lapses in defense is just not the way to play in European competitions. Teams should be able to change, adapt and adjust to tactics especially in Europe. Adaptability should replace rigidity and one-dimensional nature of style. Fans will also have to accept.

Salary and Compensation Caps

To enable clubs to become more stable and stave off insolvency, fiscal measures like capping salary payments, compensations and player purchase amounts to a percentage of income, La Liga can save itself from the disaster in waiting because clubs overspend and outspend their income to compete with the top clubs and also fueled by fan pressures.

German Bundesliga is the best example of its positive effects though on the flip side it may and will hamper efforts to lure highly-paid big players to Spain.

Youth Development Programs

One positive step could be to force all smaller La Liga clubs to establish and run academies as a precondition of TV revenue sharing. This will in turn help in developing local talent for club and national sides instead of importing expensive players for the league.

Restrictions on Player Recruitment

In Europe, money attracts and buys best talent and smaller clubs have to live off on scraps. No step is being considered in any country to change or at least alter this situation.

American NFL is the best success story in how draft system works and how teams are allowed to pick players depending on their league position. This has contributed greatly to the appeal and equality of NFL and it is manifest in the fact that there have been 14 different Super Bowl champions during last 25 years, such is the strength and unpredictability of competition. NFL also has a same salary cap system for all teams.

Earlier Match Times for Foreign Audience

Spanish weather is hot, making it difficult to play in the afternoon or early in the evening like the Premier League but it also has one hour difference on the GMT in England.

Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid president, has in the past said that La Liga matches should be played at midday so Asian viewership could be raised to 1.8 billion. But this proposal will have to be accepted by all the clubs and broadcasting corporations. Barça coach Josep Guardiola commented that "If it suits Florentino Pérez to play games at this time then we will play them…If it benefits all clubs then it is very welcome."

In September 2009, director of LFP, Francisco Roca Pérez, appeared willing to the idea saying "The short-term aim is to give games a time slot that allows for maximum exposure in Asia. This season we can begin to have games in Spain at 3pm local time, which will be 9pm prime time in China."

Emilio Butragueño, acknowledges the fact that the only way to compete with Premier League in Asia is to start games early, "We have to understand that there is tremendous potential to make our league universal by exporting it in this way…In the past we have had games at 4:30 local time. I don't think there will be a problem because it is a good time for families."

Smaller clubs will also favor such a step as it will be financially beneficial because of additional TV revenue and are willing. Getafe's president Angel Torres said "This is something that we should have done a long time ago... The English league has stolen a march on us because they play games at a time of the day when there is a clear demand."

Foreign Investment and Better Marketing

Because of globalization of the sport requiring enormous financial power to maintain and become a brand, local entrepreneurs may have to find partnerships or selling controlling shares to foreign investors. 

La Liga’s CEO, Francisco Roca Pérez, in March expressed his desire to attract foreign investment, “We want to get to the position where potential international investors see the league as a place to do investment in the right way.”

But again there is a problem that two biggest and richest names in La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are owned by the members and while attractive because of rich history, cannot be purchased.

Better fiscal management and financial curbs to ensure stability and solvency will make clubs more attractive to foreign investors. Current situation is not helpful at all because according to UEFA chief Michel Platini, five to six Spanish clubs are under severe threat. Sevilla vice president, Jose Maria Cruz Andres, also confirms that many “are in a bad financial position”. Valencia CF isn’t any better either.

On the marketing side, La Liga can use the plethora of superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaká, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and David Villa to attract foreign viewers as many viewers and fans follow their favorite stars wherever they might be.

Butragueño wants separate and better administration, “We want a deep reflection on what type of league we want so we can create a brand like the Premier League… The best players in the world are here in Spain and we have to profit from it.”

Other Possible Sources of Income?

Spain has the lowest per capita income of all the top five European leagues so it is difficult to enlarge income base.

Barça can sell its shirt space, as Sandro Rosell presidential candidate has talked about, and may earn up to €20 million in annual income but it can be expected to be strongly opposed by the fans. Barça is the only top European club which has not sold its shirt space to advertisers.

Real Madrid has also last year talked about building a 60-110 hectare theme park at club’s training facilities at Valdebebas by 2013 costing €150 million. Ride, restaurants, multi-fuctional amphitheater hoping for up to two million visitors each year. And what’s more, Pérez is also discussing plans to build similar theme parks in Beijing and Miami.

The so-called Beckham Law had also helped in the past to buy foreign talent on handsome wages due to lower taxes but after being repealed in November 2009 Spain no longer has that pull.

Stadiums are primary generators of income and Spain has a couple of the best soccer stadiums in Europe but there is a sad reality underneath all that glitter. Many clubs, as many as seven, do not have their own stadiums but call city owned stadiums their home and many stadiums are small in capacity. This means smaller match-day revenue (plus rental payments to city councils) and potential loss of income from other uses like corporate hospitality, shops and shopping malls.

In February this year, LFP asked Spanish government to reduce VAT rate on tickets so clubs could enjoy better attendance and so could have more revenue generation. LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran advocated for a 7 percent VAT (as on other entertainment products) on tickets instead of present 16 percent.

He implored, “It is not our intention to bleed money from state coffers but it must be acknowledged that the future of Spanish football could be at risk if we do not take the necessary steps.”

While dismissing TV revenue sharing, Laporta was willing to consider other options to help other clubs, "…if there is a change in the system we will face that. I'm open to look for other systems to balance what every club represents in this business. I'm open to discuss other possibilities to make money (for) all of us."

Whatever that means and possibilities are, no one knows or understands. And if there ever were any possibilities then why have they never been thought of or explored earlier. The bitter truth is that there may be no other economic possibilities to dramatically and substantially increase revenue but to share TV rights amongst the clubs.