The day before the start of the championship of Spain, two Pyrenean teams played in a foreign land. Two triumphs of last season - “Barcelona” and “Sevilla” - were challenged in Monte Carlo UEFA Super Cup. In front of the amazed audience, the mighty “Barca”, in which no player, then a participant in the 2006 World Cup, was defeated and put to shame - 0: 3. Thus, the first international trophy of the European season went to Andalusia.
And the first goal of the Spanish championship itself was scored by Fernando Morientes, who returned from England. Together with Joaquin, he made his debut in the “Valencia” and contributed to the victory of the “bats” over the “Betis” - 2: 1. Unlike the updated “Valencia”, the updated “Real” could not win. Under the strict guidance of Fabio Capello, the royal footballers rather plainly held their starting match against Villarreal. The outstanding football maestro, known for being able to achieve the perfect team sound in the shortest possible time, was hardly satisfied with his performers. They read the score and played differently. The premiere of "a Capello" at the "Santiago Bernabeu" is clearly failed.
But another club in Madrid - “Atletico” - began the championship with a victory for the first time in 10 (ten) years. Former Osasuna coach and Mexican national team Javier Aguirra managed what many of his predecessors failed to do. The red and white won 1-0 in Santander against Racing, and Fernando Torres scored the only goal. The hereditary “athlete”, who was again wooed at once to several leading European clubs last season, remained faithful to his native colors, moreover, he received good reinforcements in the attack in the person of the former Valencian Mista and the new Argentine star Sergio Aguero, who came from the Independente. The former Dynamo player Jurkas Seytaridis, who was removed from the field at the end of the first half and forced the partners of the match to defend in the minority, also contributed to the victory. Coshtinha escaped this fate and played all 90 minutes.
Of the other results of the first round, we can distinguish the guest victory of “Getafe” over “Osasuna” (2: 0), obtained in many respects through the efforts of the goalkeeper of the Argentina national team Roberto Abbondansieri. In general, there were not very many goals in the round (the exception was the match “Deportivo” - “Hispaniol” - 3: 2), which can be attributed to the costs of starting.
But in the French Championship, which didn’t shine, in 10 games 35 goals were scored! “Lyon” on the road took the upper hand over “Nice” (4: 1) and continues to share leadership with “Marseille”, so far not missed. Provencal won their match against Le Mans 2-0.
The English leader remains Manchester United, having gained a strained, but third consecutive victory. The victim of the Mankunians this time fell back to the Premier League, “Watford” - 1: 2. Another team from Manchester - “City” - prevailed over “Arsenal” (1: 0), “Chelsea” after misfiring in Middlesbrough won Blackburn away (2: 0), and “Liverpool” won a strong-willed victory over “West” Ham. " With a score of 0: 1, Danish defender Daniel Agger decided to step forward, and at the same time break through the goal from 40 meters. It turned out so well that the Londoners could not recover for a few more minutes, which was enough for Peter Crouch to score the winning goal.
In Germany, the first defeat suffered the Bremen “Werder Bremen”. Of course, playing in Gelsenkirchen is always difficult, but the "musicians" clearly did not expect such a brainwash. From the very first minutes, Schalke players turned on absolutely incredible speeds and began to catch their opponents in counterattacks. In the 5th minute, Kevin Kuranyi, kicked out of the German national team by Jürgen Klinsmann, scored his first goal in the championship. After that, the owners ruined three or four one-on-one exits - goalkeeper “Werder Bremen” Tim Wiese pulled out dead balls. After the break, the goalkeeper rescued the team a couple of times, but this could not continue indefinitely - Khamit Altıntop, who replaced, scored the second goal. After the third round, the leaders are Schalke, Nuremberg and Bayern. In a face-to-face meeting of neighbors in the south of Germany, there was no winner, although for this, Roy Macay from Bayern had to miss a meter on empty net. The score remained 0-0.
Mikhail Melnikov, Anton Filinsky
+ SPANISH CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT PART 1
+ SPANISH CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT PART 2