(Football news)
2nd April: First of many for Samuel Eto’o (2000)
Few of those present at Son Moix on 2nd April 2000 went home knowing they had witnessed a piece of history. Home team RCD Mallorca were well beaten 3-1 by visitors Espanyol in a game between two mid-table sides. But Mallorca’s goal was scored by Samuel Eto’o, a teenage Cameroonian striker on loan from Real Madrid, who had just turned 19 years old. That initial strike was followed by 161 more in LALIGA over the following decade, including 108 in 144 appearances during five seasons at Barcelona where Eto’o won three LALIGA titles, plus the top scorer award in 2005/06.
3rd April: Diego Costa steps into the spotlight with hat-trick (2011)
Atletico de Madrid fans were concerned when neither of the team’s star strikers Diego Forlan or Sergio Aguero were available for their LALIGA game at Osasuna in early April 2011. But they need not have worried, even when Osasuna went 1-0 up early.
22-year-old Diego Costa, making his first start since January, quickly equalised with a composed finish when played in behind the defence. Two more expertly-taken strikes soon after half-time sealed the three points for the visitors. Costa’s first ever LALIGA hat-trick showed all the pace, power and finishing ability that struck fear into defenders throughout his three different spells as an Atletico player over the last decade.
5th April: Cristiano Ronaldo’s historic ‘repoker’ against Granada CF (2015)
The mood was low at the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of kick-off on Easter Sunday 2015, as Real Madrid had lost the previous week’s LALIGA EA SPORTS ElClasico to title rivals FC Barcelona. But 90 minutes later the stadium was buoyant again after Cristiano Ronaldo had scored five times in a game for the first time in his career, and Los Blancos netted nine for the first time in 50 years. Four of Ronaldo’s strikes were expert first touch finishes, the other a wicked long ranger which deceived Granada CF keeper Oier Olazabal. The feat took Ronaldo back ahead of Barça’s Lionel Messi in the LALIGA EA SPORTS top scorer race, and the 9-1 result gave Real Madrid a much-needed energy boost to keep the title race going.
6th April: LALIGA top scorer Diego Tristan nets a hat-trick against his former club (2002)
RC Deportivo striker Diego Tristan was welcomed happily by former club RCD Mallorca in April 2002, with fans still grateful for his earlier contribution to their cause. There were fewer smiles at the Visit Mallorca Estadi with half an hour played, as Tristan had reminded his old supporters of his quality with a quick-fire hat-trick.
That season Tristan, who chose Depor over Real Madrid when leaving RCD Mallorca in summer 2000, won LALIGA’s ‘pichichi’ top scorer award with 21 goals. The Seville-born Spain international finished his career with 96 goals in 227 LaLiga games, but that treble against RCD Mallorca still stands out in the story of one of the most lethal, yet often forgotten strikers of the early 21st century.
6 April: Lionel Messi becomes LALIGA’s all-time winningest player (2019)
Lionel Messi scoring for FC Barcelona in a LALIGA EA SPORTS defeat of Atletico de Madrid is not exactly unprecedented, but the clinching strike in a 2-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou on 6th April 2019 was especially historic. And not just as it all but secured that season’s LALIGA title for the Blaugrana. That evening Messi set a new personal mark of 335 victories in LALIGA EA SPORTS games, passing the previous record holder Iker Casillas of Real Madrid.
8th April: Roy Makaay’s hat-trick sees Depor close on a first ever title (2000)
RC Deportivo visited Atletico de Madrid on 8th April 2000 with seven games left to play and a super exciting LALIGA EA SPORTS title race coming to the boil. Enter Netherlands striker Roy Makaay, who used his pace and composed finishing to bag a hat-trick, helping Depor to a 4-1 victory which showed their championship mettle.
That weekend also saw second placed FC Barcelona lose 3-0 at home to a Diego Tristan inspired RCD Mallorca, meaning Depor took a five-point lead at the top. Both Barça and Real Madrid came with late runs, but the Galicians held off the big-two to seal a first ever LALIGA EA SPORTS title. A historic player in a historic team.
9th April: Two great European strikers score their last LaLiga goals (2006, 2012)
Despite coming to LALIGA late in their careers, Henrik Larsson and Ruud Van Nistelrooy made a lasting impression on Spanish football. After joining FC Barcelona in summer 2004, Larsson won LALIGA EA SPORTS titles in each of his two seasons at the Spotify Camp Nou, with the last of the Swede’s 13 LaLiga goals a neat strike to open the scoring in a 2-2 draw against Racing Santander on this day in 2006.
Van Nistelrooy also won LALIGA EA SPORTS titles in both his initial years at the Bernabeu and took the ‘Pichichi’ top scorer prize for 25 LALIGA goals in his first campaign. The Dutchman later finished his career at Malaga CF, where his final contribution was a flashing header to the net, also against Racing, and also on 9 April, late in the 2011/12 season.
10th April: The first of many from Andres Iniesta (2004)
The 17,000 crowd at Real Valladolid’s Jose Zorilla stadium witnessed a piece of history on April 10th 2004. Late in the game, a 21-year-old substitute called Andres Iniesta took a pass from Luis Enrique and tricked home keeper Albano Bizzarri to score his first LALIGA EA SPORTS goal, completing a 3-1 away win. Iniesta went on to score 34 more times in a total of 442 LALIGA EA SPORTS games across 16 seasons in Barça’s first team, winning a frankly unbelievable nine LALIGA titles.
10th April: The English Connection wins ELCLÁSICO (2005)
Real Madrid had to win ELCLÁSICO vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu late on in the 2004/05 season to keep that their LALIGA EA SPORTS title race alive. And their 4-2 victory owed much to the English influence within that first Galacticos side. Then England captain David Beckham provided two trademark assists, including an inch perfect 50-yard pass to send international teammate Michael Owen clear to expertly finish the clinching fourth goal. Also on the scoresheet that day were Zinedine Zidane, Samuel Eto’o, Raul Gonzalez and Ronaldinho, showing the level of world class talents on both sides. But this remains the ELCLÁSICO the English won.
14th April: Guti’s unforgettable hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu (2001)
Jose Maria Gutierrez was already well known as talented midfielder ‘Guti’ before really becoming a key first teamer at Real Madrid over the 2001/02 season. But it was when Villarreal CF visited the Bernabeu on April 14th that he really announced himself on the world stage. Roberto Carlos’ drilled cross found him unmarked on the edge of the area and his first-time volleyed lob finish for the opener was something quite special. The iconic Blancos number 14 went on to complete a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory which kept Vicente Del Bosque’s team on course to lift that year’s LaLiga Santander title. A Madrid native, Guti won 15 trophies in 15 seasons in the Real Madrid first team, including four more LALIGA EA SPORTS trophies, and three Champions Leagues.
14th April: Yaya Toure tops off a stellar stint in LALIGA (2010)
FC Barcelona’s 3-0 LALIGA victory over RC Deportivo at the Spotify Camp Nou on the 14th April 2010 showcased much of what was so great about that Pep Guardiola coached Blaugrana team. Goals by Bojan Krkic and Pedro Rodriguez put them in full control before midfielder Yaya Toure wrapped up the scoring with a neatly taken strike at a corner. That was to be the Ivory Coast international’s last goal for Barça, for whom he won six trophies including two LALIGA EA SPORTS titles over three seasons as a driving force in midfield.
15th April: ‘El Niño’ gets to 100 (2018)
April 15th at the Civitas Metropolitano an emotional date, with club legend Fernando Torres netting his 100th LALIGA EA SPORTS goal for his boyhood club, Atletico de Madrid. The celebrations from both player and crowd were long and heartfelt after the 34-year-old volleyed in Angel Correa’s cross to seal a 3-0 victory over Levante UD, as this was his first game since announcing he would be leaving the club for a second time. The local lad known as El Niño – “the kid” – remains one of the most loved players in Atletico history.
17th April: Ousmane Dembele gets off the mark (2018)
FC Barcelona supporters were very excited when Ousmane Dembele was signed in summer 2017, but awful luck with injuries severely restricted the speedy young Frenchman’s appearances in his early days at the club and it was not until the following 17th April that he scored his first LALIGA goal. Supporters saw what they had been missing when Barça travelled west to face RC Celta as Dembele showed superb technique to smash a bouncing ball into the back of the net with his left foot from the edge of the box.
18th April: Giovanni heads Barça to the title (1998)
Giovanni Silva may not be the most widely remembered Brazilian in FC Barcelona history but his towering header at the back post against Real Zaragoza on 18th April 1998 was the key goal which clinched the Catalan club’s 15th LALIGA EA SPORTS title. A versatile attacker, Giovanni also scored in both LALIGA ELCLÁSICO fixtures that season, and was an important figure as Louis Van Gaal’s Barça team streaked clear of both Athletic Club and Real Sociedad in the standings. The Blaugrana have gone on to win 11 more LALIGA EA SPORTS titles since then, often with other Brazilian attacking legends to the fore, but 1997/98 was undoubtedly Giovanni’s season.
18th April: Cristiano Ronaldo’s final Bernabeu goal (2018)
A burst of late pressure at the Bernabeu on April 18th 2018 saw Cristiano Ronaldo flick in Luka Modric’s cross to draw level at 1-1 and share the spoils with Athletic Club. The identity of the scorer was no surprise as Ronaldo had also netted in his side’s previous seven LALIGA EA SPORTS games, including a four goal ‘poker’ against Girona FC just a month before. What nobody knew then was that the 60,000-crowd present that day had just witnessed his last ever trademark celebration in a Real Madrid shirt at the Bernabeu. The Portuguese superstar left that summer with a whopping 311 goals scored in 292 LALIGA EA SPORTS games and two LALIGA EA SPORTS title winners medals in his pocket.
25th April: David Villa bursts onto the stage with a ‘poker’ (2004)
Young Real Zaragoza striker David Villa was already gaining a reputation as an emerging LALIGA star before his team visited Sevilla on this day in 2004. A four goal ‘poker’ in an amazing 4-4 draw at Sevilla that Sunday lunchtime launched ‘El Guaje’ as one of Spanish football’s biggest stars for the next decade. Over a career which later featured starring roles at Valencia CF, FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid, he scored 185 goals in 353 LaLiga games, while also winning LALIGA titles as both a Blaugrana and a Rojiblanco player.
27th April: Andres Iniesta announces he’s leaving Barcelona (2018)
“It’s a difficult day for me to be here saying goodbye when I’ve spent my whole life here,” said Andres Iniesta at an emotional news conference watched by his family and team-mates on 27th April 2018. The following weekend the Spotify Camp Nou gave Iniesta a standing ovation as he came on as a late substitute in a 4-2 victory which sealed the ninth LALIGA title of his career. His 16 seasons in the blaugrana first team saw the homegrown legend contribute with 35 goals and 87 assists in 442 LALIGA EA SPORTS games. The scorer of Spain’s winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final now plays for Japanese team Vissel Kobe but will surely return in a new role at the Spotify Camp Nou someday.
28th April: Xavi’s last goal in LALIGA (2015)
When FC Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez drilled the ball to the net to make it 4-0 at home to Getafe CF at the Camp Nou on 28th April 2015, it didn’t seem such a big deal, but those present that day witnessed the final LALIGA goal of the iconic blaugrana playmaker’s career. In the following few weeks, the Catalan lifted an eighth LaLiga trophy and added the Copa del Rey and Champions League for a second career treble. 17 seasons in the Barça first team brought 58 goals and 128 assists, not to mention an indelible legacy and influence on how the beautiful game is played across the world.
29th April: Athletic Club keep the LALIGA title in the Basque country (1984)
Two goals from centre-back Inigo Liceranzu were enough to defeat Basque neighbours Real Sociedad 2-1 at San Mames and for Athletic Club to win the LALIGA title by pipping Real Madrid on head-to-head record on a dramatic final day. Javier Clemente was coach of a legendary Athletic team which included goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, centre-back Andoni Goikoetxea – nicknamed the ‘Butcher of Bilbao’ – and forward Manu Sarabia.
Athletic’s eighth and most recent LALIGA title was added to a week later when they beat FC Barcelona 1-0 in a fiercely contested Copa del Rey final at the Santiago Bernabeu to wrap up a league and cup double. The 1980s proved a true golden era for Basque football, with Real Sociedad having preceded their rivals as LALIGA winners in 1980/81 and 1981/82.
Also read: Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca: Two of the standout teams of the LALIGA EA SPORTS season
