New challengers emerge for Real Madrid and Barcelona
In the last two decades of Spanish soccer the spoils have hardly been shared out evenly.
In the last two decades of Spanish soccer the spoils have hardly been shared out evenly.
Since 1984, Real Madrid and Barcelona have won the league on 15 of the 17 occasions with only Atletico Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna spoiling their private party.
Nevertheless, there is a strong feeling among the Spanish soccer pundits that the two giants, and bitter rivals, are going to have serious competition this season.
Deportivo, who won the league for the first time in their history two years ago and finished in second place last season, have reinforced their ranks with the acquisition of the highly rated defender Hector Berenguel del Pino and veterans Goran Djorovic and Jose Emilio Amavisca to give their squad an unprecedented depth.
"We have shown with our success over the last two seasons that Spanish soccer is not just about Real Madrid and Barcelona," said Deportivo coach Javier Irureta.
"In addition to us, there are other clubs who will be aiming to do well. Playing Real Madrid and Barcelona is always a tough game but they no longer scare teams the way they might have done a few years ago," Irureta said.
One of the other clubs Irureta no doubt had in mind was Valencia, Champions League finalists for the last two years.
Valencia's new president Jaime Orti has grand ambitions of the club lifting its first Spanish league title since Alfredo Di Stefano coached them to success in 1971.
"This season we can definitely aspire to the title. Some people don't consider us candidates. Well, that's not fair. But it suits us all the same to be underdogs," Orti said this week.
Orti has opened his cheque book to sign a trio of Spanish internationals Salva Ballesta, Gonzalo De los Santos and Francisco Rufete during the summer. He hopes that the three players will compensate for the loss of the fans' favourite, playmaker and club captain Gaizka Mendieta, who left for Serie A side Lazio during the summer, after demanding a transfer and bemoaning the club's lack of silverware despite all its recent hard work.
"He was a great player but we couldn't have someone here who was not fully committed to the club and spending his time looking to move elsewhere," reflected Orti.
Deportivo and Valencia are not the only contenders either in an ever more egalitarian Spanish first division.
Real Mallorca have consistently exceeded expectations after returning to the top flight of Spanish soccer four seasons ago.
They finished third at the end of the last campaign and could continue to surprise if injuries do not deplete the squad.
Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto'o continues to be one of the most deadly marksman in the Spanish first division and their goal is protected by the impressive young Argentine 'keeper Leo Franco.
Villarreal may be too short on depth to be contenders for the title but have European qualification in mind and last year memorably beat Barcelona in the Nou Camp to show they are not overawed by anyone.
The Yellow Submarine, as Villarreal supporters refer to their club due to the lurid colour of their jerseys, signed the influential Romanian midfielder Constantin Galca during the summer and are expecting a better return from their strikers Martin Palermo and Victor Fernandez.
At the other end of the table, the prime candidates for relegation include the Canary island clubs Las Palmas and Tenerife, both teams having had players suspended for passport irregularities, as well as Osasuna.
The Pamplona club avoided relegation on the final day of last season but may not be so lucky this time around, despite the arrival of Australian striker John Aloisi.