This will be quick, but here are a few news snippets:
Cristian Zapata may miss the Sevilla game because he's been stuck in the US with visa problems. The Colombian national team played two games here over the break but for some reason Zapata wasn't allowed to head home as scheduled.
Friday Papers round up, De Nido Presser, La Liga revolution
El G-12 da el primer paso hacia una Liga más justa - Deportes - El Periódico Mediterraneo
The Spanish papers, predictably, mostly tried to play down or ignore the meeting of the 12 team presidents yesterday, but EPM was probably the fairest, pointing out that the meeting was a first step toward a more just league. It seems Del Nido's confrontational approach has been replaced by Roig's more diplomatic one, as Barcelona and Real Madrid will be invited to the next meeting, as Sr. Roig had desired this time.
Our friend at Forza Futból sum up the coverage--well worth a read.
Expect lots of banners in favor of a more just league, a league of 20 rather than 2, and more this Saturday at El Madrigal when Sevilla and Villarreal, in agreement off the pitch, battle on it. Maddi will preview the game for us, and our buddy Juan Arango will be calling the game for Gol TV in the US.
Villarreal C.F. - Convocatoria del Villarreal B ante el Alcorcón
Sr. Roig pointed out the ridiculous scheduling the LFP has created, and it's in evidence this week, with a noontime kickoff between Betis and Mallorca promising temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. As he also said, when Villarreal went to China they were told a later kickoff was better anyway, but no one listens.
And, the B team is in action at the same time as our A team. Brilliant. Diego Mariño returns in goal, and is badly needed after the defensive blunders and miscommunication last week. We won't run a separate thread for the B-team match this time, but we will try to update progress on the Sevilla game thread.
"Espero poder empezar a entrenarme con el equipo la próxima semana" - Ángel López - AS.com
Finally, news that Ángel may finally be ready to start training with the team again. Good news, we need him back!
On a personal level, it's nice to be back on board after a long trip, with little opportunity to comment about the Submarine. We begin an incredibly important stretch of games tomorrow, with Champions League action in the toughest group ever and La Liga finally getting going in earnest after the strike took out one week and the international break another. And there are lots of exciting things going on with Villarreal USA, too.
I did want to take a minute to thank Raghu for his "word of introduction" fanpost (see the right sidebar), take a look at it and feel free to share what made YOU a Yellow Submarine fan as well. Endavant Villarreal!!