Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, Boca Juniors, espana, football, futbol, Quiniela, river plate, soccer, spain, superclasico
The flavor of this week’s quiniela is Argentine as arguably the most intense rivalry in world sport takes place in Buenos Aires. El Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate divides not only a city but perhaps the country – nearly 3/4 of Argentina supports one of the two teams. The derby developed a socio-economic bent with Boca supporters known as Xeneizes (Genoese) and River Plate earning the nickname los millonarios. The class sentiment still exists but both clubs have supporters from all walks of life. The main ingredient of the rivalry is excellence – it pits Argentina’s two most successful clubs (River Plate 33 national championships, Boca 23). Boca trumps River internationally, however, with a world record (tied with A.C. Milan) 18 international titles.
Flickr user LUCHO :9
That historical excellence is lacking this year and the passionate support from both sides will have to suffice. Boca Juniors sit in 17th place with only one win in the 2010 Clasura. River sat in the same position before a key 2-0 victory over Huracán on Sunday propelled them to 11th in the table. That win dovetailed an impressive weekend for myself, garnering a personal best 9 of 11 quiniela. I’ll save the gloating for next week if I pull it off again. Instead, educate yourself about El Superclásico after the break.
Flickr user LUCHO :9
Jornada 26 – 9/11
Season – 74/136 (54%)
Filed under: Know Your Flags | Tags: asturias, covadonga, flag, pelayo, reconquest, spain, victory cross
Flickr user picqero
The historical significance of the Asturian flag belies its simplicity. The gold Cruz de la Victoria (Victory Cross) represents the primitive oak cross that Pelayo carried during the pivotal Battle of Covadonga in 722. This victory, coupled with the earlier Moorish defeat in the Battle of Toulouse, gave impetus to the Christian reconquest (Reconquista) of Muslim Spain that would eventually be completed in 1492. The Muslim caliphate never seriously threatened this small northern Christian enclave after the battle, allowing the formation of the Kingdom of Asturias that was instrumental in the Reconquista. Perhaps Spain is never reconquered by Christians without Pelayo’s victory. The New World is “discovered” first by another European power, forever changing the landscape of the Western Hemisphere. However, these are overstatements as the Christians and Muslims were unaware of any significance the battle would come to have; Muslim historians looked at the Asturian resistance with scorn and ridicule even after Covadonga.
Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, espana, football, futbol, la liga, Quiniela, soccer, spain
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
I hope Manuel Pellegrini’s newspaper delivery boy took it easy on the old Chilean and skipped his delivery box this week. All the news in Spain this week has centered squarely on the shoulders of Pellegrini after Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League in the first knockout round. French side Lyon grabbed a late goal at the Bernabéu to win the tie on aggregate, 2-1, ending the madridista dream of playing in the Champions League final which just happens to be at their home ground this year. La Marca, a pro-Madrid rag and the biggest daily in Spain, immediately called for the manager’s sacking and is now throwing the names of footballers, such as former Barcelona youth player and current Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas, against the wall just to see if anything sticks. Real Madrid higher-ups have given Pellegrini the dreaded vote of confidence. Despite the impressive work he did with small-budget Villarreal, Pellegrini has never been taken seriously as the manager of the new version of los galaticos. The Madrid media machine and die-hard madridistas feel that their club of superstars demands a superstar manager. High-profile names such has José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger have been mentioned as targets should Pellegrini face the axe. However, Pellegrini remains in charge and takes his club on the road to struggling Valladolid. Poor Pucela, they really have no chance this weekend, do they?
Now, that introduction was quite long and the only honest answer I can give is that I want to avoid discussing another subpar quiniela performance last week. Barcelona didn’t help matters, stumbling to a draw away to improving Almería and giving Real Madrid an opening to overtake first place in La Liga. Los merengues did just that, fighting back from a two-goal deficit at home to Sevilla to earn a dramatic 3-2 victory that made the mid-week humiliation so surprising. I picked both of those matches incorrectly and my misery was deepened when last-place Xerez won their first road game of the year against Málaga. Across the Atlantic in Argentine, I rode Independiente to another correct pick as they beat River Plate 2-0. Another win mid-week against Tigre puts Independiente alone atop the Clasura 2010 table.
Jornada 26 – 5/11
Season – 65/125 (52%)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryloosemore/
Have you ever been watching the news and felt the urge to travel to a place that is making headlines? Witnessing the newsworthy gives a completely different perspective than two-dimensional television. Unfortunately, if you’re not a local, foreign correspondents are usually the lucky few who experience the vogue destinations. Unless you’re wealthy, you cannot afford to buy the first ticket for Timbuktu.
Instead, you can now come to www.sethfromsomewhere.com! I am starting a new series that covers the travel situation in the places you hear about from the BBC World Service. I will continue to focus on the Hispanic world but will branch out to other parts of the world. So the next time you are watching the news with your mother and say, “I want to go there!” you will have evidence to refute her claims that Colombia is a dangerous country full of narco-traffickers and leftist rebels.
Filed under: Quiniela | Tags: Argentina, espana, football, futbol, la liga, Quiniela, soccer, spain
What can I say about last week. Saturday was a decent two for three but Sunday was another story. I picked all seven Spanish matches incorrectly, the only saving grace was Independiente beating Racing Club in Argentina’s Avellaneda Derby. Forgive me for wanting to forget last week.
This week is another week to pretend I know something about Spanish and Argentine soccer. The match of the week, Read Madrid v. Sevilla, is on Saturday but unfortunately not on ESPN360.com. Instead, I’ll be treated to another Buenos Aires rivalry on Fox Soccer Channel by Roger Valdivieso as Independiente host downtrodden River Plate.
Jornada 24 – 3/11
Season – 60/114 (53%)
