by Anton Johan
Even though the
2009-10 La Liga Championship was only decided a few weeks ago, already Spain's premier division football sides are gearing up for the coming season, and most need to, judging by the fact that this season
La Liga was yet again a two-horse race.
When Barcelona triumphed over Real Madrid for the second consecutive year in the La Liga final, it was a big blow for the side from Madrid considering that it is one of the richest teams in Europe and boasts a player lineup that most team owners can only dream about.
But even though players like Xabi Alonso (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Kaká (Brazil), Pepe (Portugal) and Raúl (Spain) have been sporting the Real Madrid uniform, the team failed this season to deliver wins in any Spanish or European football competition.
The result is that Real Madrid's owners fired the team's coach, Manuel Pellegrini, and replaced him with Jose Mourinho, who led Italian side Inter Milan to an historical treble this season comprising the Coppa Italia, the Serie A title and the UEFA Champions League.
The hope is that if in just two short years Mourinho could turn the fortunes of a struggling Inter Milan around, imagine what he will be able to do with a team like Real Madrid with its smorgasbord of talent and seemingly deepest pockets in the world of professional football.
But all the action is not just limited to Real Madrid. Ahead of the next La Liga season, Valencia's highly experienced 34-year-old midfielder Ruben Baraja is poised to move over to Real Valladolid. With his current contract with Valencia
expiring, he will be a free agent.
And although he will effectively be trading a La Liga (first division) team for a second division team, Baraja still has plenty of play left in him and will no doubt do his utmost to help Real Valladolid get promoted back into La Liga in the season after next.
