Friends and losers

In 1994 Deportivo stood on the verge of winning the Spanish league in the last round of the league. Instead, they failed to defeat Valencia at home (with an infamous missed penalty by Miroslav Djukic), which gave FC Barcelona the Championship.
Today FC Barcelona, sure of the title, was playing for nothing against a Deportivo side that needed at least one point to stay in the top league. It was also the great Xavi's farewell match at home, so it was all a cause for partying for FC Barcelona. And the hosts gave their Galicians friends the needed result: 2-2, where FC Barcelona had been 2-0 up at halftime, but largely stopped playing football, as they obviously did not want any sad faces at their party.
This is not to say that Deportivo did not deserve it: I think everyone likes the club from Galicia, and nobody really wants them to be relegated.
Except perhaps Eibar and Almeria, who are going down instead (alongside Cordoba).
Almeria fought bravely at home against a Valencia side that still needed a victory to ensure their 4th place and a Champions League qualifier. The score was 2-2 until ten minutes before time, when Paco Alcacer gave Valencia the victory goal and Almeria a ticket down to second division.
It was an exciting end to the Spanish league, despite the continuous dominance of the top two sides.

Spanish gratitude for Casillas

For the first time since 2006 Spain lost a qualifier, when they lost 2-1 to Slovakia in their qualifier for Euro 2014. And as everyone in Spain seems to be doing these days, they blame Iker Casillas, who made a mistake in allowing the first Slovak goal.
Spain should be thankful to Iker Casillas, a true gentleman and great sportsman: he and Carles Puyol were more than anyone else the architects behind the team that won the World Cup and two European titles.
And now they should perhaps be more thankful than ever: they can continue blaming a man who has done everything for Spain and for Madrid, for every crap performance of their team. Because Spain should face the truth; the problem is not Iker Casillas.
It is Vicente del Bosque.
With a lot of possession and dominance Spain only shot on goal seven times, and they continue insisting on Diego Costa, who is a genious under Mourinho, but who does not fit into the style of Spain. The refusal to use some of the yougn players was partly corrected when Paco Alcacer finally came on for David Silva and scored. But only partly, and Vicente del Bosque's refusal (or incapacity?) to change and to renew, will end up making the near future difficult for Spain, despite the country, along with France and Germany, having the most outstanding pool of football talent in Europe.

Valencia's transformation

It has not been easy to be a fan of Valencia over the last 10 years. In 2004 the club won the UEFA Cup and the League, but since then the team has been in huge financial troubles and besides a Copa del Rey title in 2008, has not been part of any European elite. Whenever there have been great players, these have been sold to some of the big teams of Europe to cover the mounting losses: David Silva, Juan Mata, David Villa, Raul Albiol, Roberto Soldado... they have all gone.
But times may be changing.
In May the Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim bought the majority stakes in the club, and he has brought in a long list of new players for the new season. Firstly, they have contracted some exciting new players: Rodrigo de Paul, an interesting 20-year old Argentine from Racing; Lucas Orban, another Argentine defender from Bordeaux, and Nicolas Otamendi from Oporto, an Argentine player who was highly sought in the market. Additionally, they got the young German world champion Shkodran Mustafi from Sampdoria and the young Portuguese defender Ruben Vezo from Vitoria Setubal.
But Valencia has also been out borrowing players: from Rio Ave the Brazilian defender Filipe August, and from Benfica the two exciting young attackers Andre Gomes and Rodrigo. After only five games both players have already scored goals, and both are on the verge of entering their respective national teams (Portugal and Spain).
Valencia has also borrowed two players from Manchester City: Alvaro Negredo and Bruno Zuculini. Negredo is still to make his debut, and the young strikers will surely not make it easy for him.
The most exciting young striker of Valencia is 21-year old Paco Alcacer, educated in Valencia's own ranks. He made his national team debut in August, and has a great career ahead of him.
Valencia's integration of its young players has been great this season: Antonio Barragan, Carles Gil and Jose Gaya are all from its own ranks.
Many big clubs have already had their eyes opened on the young defender Jose Gaya, but the great thing for many Valencia fans is that the club may now be able to hold on to its players. All the new blood is already making an impact, but Valencia was able to keep some of the most important players from last season, most notably Pablo Piatti, Dani Parejo, and Sofiane Feghouli, who after a great world cup with Algeria, was a highly coveted man!
After defeating Cordoba 3-0 Valencia is leading the Spanish league ahead of Barcelona, on goal difference. Of course, there is a long way to go, and Valencia are not really candidates for the title. That said, Valencia has announced its intention to return among the top of Europe, and with the young team at their disposal, will certainly be a force to be dealt with.