La Liga Loca is today sticking its grubby little hand in the air to admit it doesnâÂÂt actually have a clue what itâÂÂs talking about. Perhaps not the most shocking news you'll hear today.
LLL began the season predicting Barcelona would be league champions, Sevilla would come fourth, Atlético Madrid would crash and burn and that José Mourinho would have had enough of the mayhem to be found in Mordor and move away from Madrid in May.
The latter was a most spectacular failure at tea-leaf reading. Despite cryptic, non-committal shrugs and sighs over the past few months when asked about his future, and a fair number of Premier League pundits predicting a return to England, José Mourinho has extended his contract with Real Madrid by two years to 2016, such is his happiness with life at the Santiago Bernabeu (and delight in pretty much now controlling every single aspect of the club). And the possibility that Barcelona are a big, busted flush, of course.
âÂÂIâÂÂve begun to know this club better with all its great qualities and also its little problems that all institutions and people have,â chirped Mourinho, who is set for another four seasons of getting Aitor Karanka to read stuff for him at press conferences.
And, letâÂÂs face it, itâÂÂs tremendously good news for Real Madrid, as MourinhoâÂÂs departure from Madrid would have left club president Florentino Perez looking around for the fifth or sixth to replace him. Or even a manager from the lower 10,000âÂÂs such as MÃÂchel.
ThereâÂÂs less stability and solidity to be found at Málaga, a side that may well be a rival to Real Madrid in years to come, should the southerners splurge about â¬2 billion on players. It seems the clubâÂÂs General Manager Fernando Hierro will be walking away after just a season, having reportedly disagreed with the way the institution is run economically.
The past year has seen stories of transfer installments being missed, players being paid late and now employees still waiting for their April salaries. Hierro is expected to be talking to the press over what is happening next Monday, with time to kiss and make up with his billionaire bosses in between.
Despite pronouncements from Sevilla president, José MarÃÂa del Nido, that the club would not be signing âÂÂnamesâ any more but âÂÂmenâ - in sounded catchier in Spanish, to be fair - the club are set to spend over â¬3 million on a footballer who fits both bills, VillarrealâÂÂs Diego López. The goalkeeper is set to be the first player to abandon the sinking submarine after relegation, shortly followed by Borja Valero the blog suspects.
But the least surprising news of the week - aside from that whole Mourinho business that LLL would like to move away from as soon as possible - is that David Villa will be missing out on the European Championships. This ends a furious debate over whether Roberto Soldado or Fernando Torres should be picked for Euro 2012, with both players now likely to get a spot on the bench in Vicente Del BosqueâÂÂs final, final, final squad.
