(Football news) 2nd November: El Niño hits best of his 103 LALIGA goals? (2003)
The hopeful cross from Atletico de Madrid midfielder Jorge Larena was flighted deep into the Real Betis penalty area, over the heads of the defenders, and seemingly out of reach of young Atleti forward Fernando Torres. But 19-year-old Torres showed tremendous athleticism, as well as phenomenal technical ability, to stretch and connect perfectly and the unstoppable volley flew back past Betis keeper Koke Contreras to bring his side level at 1-1. It is just one of the 103 LALIGA goals which El Niño scored across his two spells at Atletico, and quite possibly the best of them all, and often compared to the similar volley scored by Dutch striker Marco van Basten in the Euro 1988 final.
3rd November: Modric breaks his duck for Madrid (2012)
When Real Zaragoza midfielder Jose Maria Movilla’s attempted clearance runs to the edge of the penalty box, one player is quickest of all to react. In a flash, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric runs onto the loose ball, and calmly slides an unstoppable left footed shot low to the bottom corner. It was the Croatian midfielder’s first goal since arriving from Premier League club Tottenham that summer, and lifted pressure which had been building on the new arrivals’ shoulders. Modric was soon very comfortable running the Madrid midfield, and the 38-year-old three-time LALIGA EA SPORTS winner now has many more LALIGA goals to his name, many of them similarly well-struck long rangers.
5th November: Raul gets off the mark in the capital derby (1994)
The pass into his path from Michael Laudrup was perfect, and Raul Gonzalez caught the ball sweetly first time, sending the 18-yard shot arcing high past Atletico de Madrid goalkeeper Diego Diaz for his first ever LALIGA goal. Raul was then aged just 17 years, four months and nine days, but the kid was totally cool in the intense heat and tension of the Madrid derby. Already, he had been fouled for the penalty from which Michel Gonzalez had opened the scoring, and he played a key role in a 4-2 win for Los Blancos. Not everyone present at the Santiago Bernabéu that day knew that Raul could well have been playing on the opposite side, as the boyhood Atletico fan had spent some time in the rojiblanco academy. There were no doubts about his love for Los Blancos from then on, though, as he added a further 228 LALIGA goals to become the club’s all-time record goalscorer until Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema passed him in recent years.
9th November: Rafa Marquez gets off the mark in LALIGA (2003)
Time was almost up at the Benito Villamarin on 9 November 2003, and home team Real Betis were holding visitors Barcelona at 1-1. Then blaugrana playmaker Xavi Hernandez pinged a corner towards the near post, where centre-half Rafa Marquez rose majestically and thumped a header to the net. Marquez was making his just fifth LALIGA start having joined from Ligue 1 side Monaco the previous summer, and his first LALIGA goal brought three highly valuable points for Frank Rijkaard’s team.
The 147 times capped Mexico international went on to score nine goals in 163 LALIGA appearances during his seven seasons at the Camp Nou, during which he won four LALIGA EA SPORTS trophies.
11th November: Carles Puyol scores his first-ever LALIGA goal (2001)
The young Barcelona right-back picked up the ball near half-way, pushed forward into the Valladolid half and picked out his attacking teammate Javier Saviola. The Argentine immediately flicked the ball into space, and suddenly Carles Puyol was through on goal, and he finished the move with an emphatic right-footed shot to the far corner for his first ever LALIGA goal. It was 11 November 2001 and the Camp Nou celebrated with the already popular 23-year-old La Masia graduate.
Puyol had begun his career as a forward, but in his third season in the blaugrana first team he was now making his name as a defender. The much-loved figure scored just 13 more times in a total of 392 LALIGA games, but he never lost the enthusiasm or drive which saw him open his account as he racked up six LALIGA EA SPORTS titles.
12th November: Van Nistelrooy stakes his claim for the Pichichi (2006)
When Osasuna goalkeeper Ricardo pushed out Real Madrid forward Robinho’s long ranger, Ruud Van Nistelrooy was first to the rebound to open the scoring. Minutes later the Dutchman was again in the right place at the right time when a deflection off an Osasuna defender took the ball in his direction, and he side-footed home for 2-0. There was more work to do when Raul Gonzalez pushed the ball behind the home defence, but Van Nistelrooy strode clear and smashed in for his hat-trick. His fourth goal of the game was the best of them all, floating the ball high past Ricardo to the top corner to seal a 4-1 win.
The ‘poker’ set the former Manchester United striker on the way to winning LALIGA’s ‘Pichichi’ top scorer prize with 25 goals in his first campaign in Spain. He also won two LALIGA titles with Madrid, and later had an impressive late career spell helping Malaga into the Champions League.
14th November: Isco makes his LALIGA debut, for Valencia CF (2010)
Valencia CF’s 2-0 win over Getafe CF on 14 November 2010 was not the most memorable occasion, but those present at Mestalla that day did witness the LALIGA debut of a skinny 18-year-old playmaker by the name of Francisco Roman Alarcon Suarez. The Andalusian never really settled at Valencia, and after just four LALIGA games (all as a substitute) he moved back closer to home, teaming up with van Nistelrooy at Malaga CF. There he quickly made everybody aware of his remarkable talents, which led to a summer 2013 move to Real Madrid, where he has since won three LALIGA EA SPORTS trophies. Not all Los Che fans might like to remember it, but it all began against Getafe, in a Valencia shirt.
18th November: Reyes fires Sevilla to a big derby win (2012)
Fans at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium had barely settled into their seats on 18 November 2012 when they were back on their feet again. Cheers rang out with just 13 seconds played, as much-loved winger Jose Antonio Reyes capitalised on a mistake by Real Betis goalkeeper Adrian to put their team 1-0 ahead against the city neighbours. Fazio headed Ivan Rakitic’s free kick to the net for 2-0, before Reyes scored his second from close range after Alvaro Negredo’s header hit the crossbar. The local lad then assisted Fazio’s second header of the game for a 4-0 lead by half-time. Although Ruben Castro got one back for Betis, Rakitic made it 5-1 late on with a confident finish after Jesus Navas’ clever back-heel set-up. Memories on both sides of the city of this game, and Reyes’ contribution to football in general, are made more poignant by his untimely death aged just 35 in June 2019.
19th November: Ronaldinho brings the Bernabeu to its feet (2005)
ELCLASICO day at the Santiago Bernabeu on 19 November 2005, and visitors Barcelona strike first when Samuel Eto’o made it 1-0 with just 14 minutes played. Real Madrid had chances to equalise before half-time, but Barca’s Ronaldinho took the game over after the break. Soon after the restart he dashed from inside his own half, easily hurdled Sergio Ramos’ attempted tackle, shimmied past Ivan Helguera, avoided Roberto Carlos, and shot past Iker Casillas. 15 minutes later, he again scorched past Ramos and easily beat Casillas for 3-0. The Brazilian then raced to the corner, did a little dance, waggled his fingers, and pointed to the sky. The Bernabeu crowd were hurting but could not help rising to their feet and applauding a genuinely amazing performance. Ronaldinho ended his Barça career with five goals in eight LALIGA ELCLASICO, but nothing came close to that magical evening at the Bernabeu.
20th November: Messi and Ronaldo go toe to toe (2010)
‘Anything you can do, I can do better, or at least as well’ was the theme of LALIGA’s action on 20 November 2010. There was an 8PM local time kick off at the Camp Nou, where Barcelona faced Almeria. Lionel Messi fired in the opener from 20 yards, made it 5-0 from close range before half-time and completed his hat-trick with a deft flick over keeper Diego Alves after the break as Pep Guardiola’s team strolled to an 8-0 win. The focus then switched immediately to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for the late game, where Real Madrid were hosting Athletic Club. Sure enough Los Blancos star Cristiano Ronaldo responded with a treble of his own, including a neat finish from Mesut Ozil’s assist, superb long range free-kick and late penalty to seal a 5-1 victory over the Basques. Both superstars were in flying form and knew they were to meet in just a few days in a LALIGA ELCLASICO at the Camp Nou.
21st November: Iniesta leads Barça to big ELCLASICO win over Rafa’s Real Madrid (2015)
Barcelona have had some big ELCLASICO wins in recent years, but few were as sweet as the 4-0 victory on 21 November 2015, which was achieved with Lionel Messi unable to start the game due to injury. Instead Sergi Roberto got a rare start on the right side of Barça’s attack, and the versatile Catalan quickly showed why with an assist for Luis Suarez to coolly open the scoring. Neymar joined the fun as he took Andres Iniesta’s pass to easily finish past Keylor Navas for 2-0. Barça’s third goal was another beauty, as Neymar’s backheel assist was swept to the top corner from the edge of the penalty area by Iniesta for his first ELCLASICO goal as blaugrana captain. Messi entered the game after the break and provided the pass which Jordi Alba flicked on to send Suarez away to score his team’s fourth. The commanding win put Barça in full control of that season’s LALIGA title race, and the result put Rafa Benitez in trouble just four months after taking over as Real Madrid coach.
23rd November: 20 years of Jesus Navas LALIGA debut (2003)
Not many present at Espanyol’s Montjuic stadium on 23 November 2003, especially the few Sevilla fans who had made the long journey to the Catalan capital, paid that much attention when a skinny young winger entered as a late substitute in a game los rojiblancos lost 1-0. However, Jesus’ Navas LALIGA debut that day is now a standout date for Sevilla fans; the local hero is now generally recognised as the outstanding player in the club’s entire 116 year history, having won four UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues, two Copas del Rey, a European Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, in addition to winning the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships with the Spanish national team. Such is his status that the stadium at Sevilla’s training ground has been known as the Estadio Jesus Navas since 2018. 38 this month, Navas is still going strong.
23rd November: Carlos Vela scores a four-goal ‘poker’ against RC Celta (2013)
Real Sociedad fans at the Reale Arena on 23 November 2013 cheered when cult hero Carlos Vela put his side 1-0 ahead vs Celta with an early crisp close-range strike, only for the visitors to turn the game around and go 3-1 up early in the second half. Enter again Vela, who headed his side back into the game from Chory Castro’s cross, soon scrambled in an equaliser, and then calmly slotted his fourth from Antoine Griezmann’s assist to complete the comeback. The 24-year-old’s ‘poker’ cemented his status as one of the most important Mexican players in LALIGA history, and he provided a total of 69 goals and 46 assists in 252 LALIGA games between joining La Real from Arsenal in 2011 and leaving for LA Galaxy in January 2018.
24th November: SD Eibar beat Real Madrid in LALIGA for the first time ever (2018)
Everyone at SD Eibar’s atmospheric Ipurua stadium knew they were witnessing history on 24 November 2018 when the small Basque team made history with their first ever LALIGA victory over Real Madrid. After Welsh superstar Gareth Bale had a 25-yard goal of season contender ruled out for offside, SD Eibar deservedly went ahead midway through the first half when midfielder Gonzalo Escalante finished off a counter-attack. Their dominance was further emphasised after the break when Marc Cucurella set up Sergi Enrich for 2-0, and Kike Garcia made it 3-0 from close range. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was easily Real Madrid’s best player on a day when the team was struggling for form, with new coach Santiago Solari having replaced Julen Lopetegui on the bench just a few weeks before. SD Eibar’s fans did not care about that, though – they had a date to remember forever.
27th November: Messi marks his 700th Barcelona game (2019)
Lionel Messi marked his 700th appearance for Barcelona in all competitions the way he usually marks such occasions – by scoring as the Catalan club beat Borussia Dortmund to confirm their place in the knock-out stages of the 2019-20 Champions League. Messi was as usual the game’s outstanding performer. A deft pass set up teammate Luis Suarez for the opener, and he quicky doubled his side’s lead with a short-range finish for his 613th goal for the club before assisting Antoine Griezmann to complete a 3-1 victory.
30th November: Bale’s first Real Madrid hat-trick is perfect (2013)
Gareth Bale had a frustrating first two months at the Santiago Bernabeu due to several niggling fitness issues but on 30 November 2013, just 13 games into his Real Madrid career, the former Tottenham star did something that few players ever manage. 33 minutes into a LALIGA EA SPORTS game at home to Real Valladolid his smart header made it 1-0. After the break came his second of the game, rolled to the corner with his right-foot after Marcelo’s cross deflected invitingly into his path. With time almost up, the Brazilian also laid on Bale’s third of the game, a clinical close-range finish with his left boot. It was a ‘perfect hat-trick’ of left foot, right foot and header. “Everything I hoped for has come true,” the delighted Welshman said afterwards in the Bernabeu mixed zone.
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