Real dream of return to golden age of Di Stefano, Puskas
Real Madrid, armed with the world's two most expensive players, kick off the Spanish league season this weekend as overwhelming favourites to retain their title in what could be a glittering centenary year.
Real Madrid, armed with the world's two most expensive players, kick off the Spanish league season this weekend as overwhelming favourites to retain their title in what could be a glittering centenary year.
Zinedine Zidane, signed for $66 million from Juventus in another audacious transfer coup, will complement an already formidable attacking line-up at the Bernabeu, where the expectation is that he and Luis Figo will revive the golden age of Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
But doubts are already surfacing about the balance of Vicente del Bosque's side, and the title battle may turn out not to be the one-horse race some have been predicting.
Barcelona have completed a major overhaul of their side after last season's disappointing fourth place and a second successive year without a trophy.
Swedish centre-back Patrik Andersson, bought from Bayern Munich, will add steel to the defence, Brazilians Geovanni and Fabio Rochemback will supply strength and invention in midfield, while in Argentine teenager Javier Saviola they believe they have the world's outstanding young player.
Deportivo Coruna, champions in 2000 and runners-up to Real last year, look stronger than ever while Valencia's chances will benefit from their absence from the Champions League.
Spectacular success
Del Bosque will therefore be praying that Zidane settles sooner rather than later, and that 33-year-old centre-back Fernando Hierro can stay fit and in form.
The early signs have not been good, and commentators have begun to question whether it was such a good idea to blow the club's transfer fund on one man, even if it was Zidane.
"Real don't know what they're playing at," ran the headline in El Pais after Real Zaragoza held them to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
Del Bosque remains unconcerned: "We shouldn't be nervous,"he said. "We were worse than this last year but ended up playing brilliant football and winning the league."
Whether the affable Del Bosque can find the right way to use Zidane is by no means certain, however.
In pre-season games, Zidane has taken Raul's old position behind the strikers, with the Spanish international playing as a more orthodox centre-forward.
The team have suffered as a result and Del Bosque could have to rethink his formation.
Well placed
Barcelona look well placed to capitalise should it all go wrong for Del Bosque's side.
Saviola, signed from River Plate for $28 million, has been irresistible so far and looks capable of forming a lethal partnership with Patrick Kluivert, who settled club nerves over the summer by signing a new long-term contract.
Dutch winger Marc Overmars finished last season in effervescent form and this year the team should rely less on the heroics of Rivaldo.
The problem for Rexach is likely to be in defence. He desperately needs Andersson to form a reliable partnership with Frank de Boer, who will be available to play again in September after serving a reduced ban for a positive drugs test.
"We have to improve a lot particularly on dead ball situations," admits Rexach, who took over from Llorenc Serra Ferrer midway through last season.
"It doesn't make sense when we have so many big men at the back."
Shrewd signings
While Barcelona stalled at the end of last season, needing a hat-trick from Rivaldo on the final day to clinch fourth place, the main challenge to Real Madrid came from Deportivo Coruna.
Javier Irureta has been relatively quiet in the transfer market but has made a couple of shrewd signings in Sergio Gonzalez and Jose Emilio Amavisca.
Sergio will take some of the creative burden away from Djalminha while Amavisca provides width on the left of midfield.
Real Mallorca have lost coach Luis Aragones to Atletico Madrid and will struggle to match their third place finish.
Valencia's new coach Rafael Benitez begins his reign without inspirational skipper Gaizka Mendieta, sold to Lazio in a $41 million deal.
Didier Deschamps and Zlatko Zahovic have also gone from the midfield but Benitez does look to have more firepower at his disposal, with prolific striker Salva Ballesta joining from Atletico Madrid.
The rest of the 20-team first division look likely to be some way of the pace once again.
Villarreal, who finished in a more than creditable seventh place on their return to the top flight last season, are capable of claiming a UEFA Cup place.
That will probably be the limit of Celta Vigo's ambitions as well. Victor Fernandez's side finished last season strongly to claim sixth pace but despite the arrival of Zvonomir Boban from AC Milan they look short of resources for a title tilt.
Alaves have lost key players but could once again finish ahead of fellow Basque clubs Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, who both struggled last year.
Of the three promoted clubs, Real Betis have made the heaviest investment to a squad already packed with talent and look to have a better chance of survival than neighbours Sevilla or Tenerife.