La Liga: Passion and Paycuts Form Backdrop to San Mames Return

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona

It’s been yet another lively La Liga week in the life of FC Barcelona.

Ok, perhaps not quite as dramatic and theatrical as the week which directly preceded it.

You know, the one which involved four separate media conferences: one for Barcelona to announce their Argentine maestro was departing, one for Lionel Messi to say goodbye personally, one for Paris Saint-Germain to announce his arrival, and then one for Messi to greet his new friends in France.

Talk about overkill! But still dramatic enough.

There was also one in which involved club stalwart Gerard Pique taking a “substantial” pay cut to allow the club to register new players in time for the opening weekend of the season, and another one which saw club president Joan Laporta reveal that Barca have £1.15 billion in debt, describing the situation as “very worrying”.

That is underplaying the situation somewhat me thinks!

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The club’s wage bill currently accounts for 103% of total income with Laporta blaming predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu for the debt, accusing him of leaving a “terrible inheritance”.

Oh yes, and between all that, the side managed some La Liga 2021 highlights in front of their returning fans as they ran out 4-2 home winners over Real Sociedad.

Now for the next adventure on this Catalonia merry go-round: a trip the Basque country and Athletic Bilbao.

Talking Points

Who knows with the situation as it is, perhaps manager Ronald Koeman will include the likes of high earners, such as Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho, and Antoine Griezmann in his team.

If they impress, potentially they could still depart to help ease the financial burden.

Barcelona are still paying out too much on wages despite other departures and paycuts, so they will have to try and get everything in order by June 30, 2022.

Anyway, back to the football and La Liga.

Ahead of the weekend, Barcelona have welcomed defender Oscar Mingueza back to training. He picked up an injury during the Olympics with Spain and returned straight to the treatment room.

Although he won’t be ready for this weekend, it must be remembered Mingueza made 27 La Liga appearances for Barcelona last season while starting 23 times, and he is very much liked by Koeman. He could come into his own if the club cashes in on Umtiti over the next few weeks.

This fixture, of course, is a repeat of last season’s Copa del Rey Final – a match in which Barca romped to a 4-0 triumph.

I felt so sorry for Athletic Bilbao after successive defeats – the delayed 2020 final was also played last April and they lost that too.

Yet despite bizarrely competing in two Copa del Rey finals in one month alone, reaching successive finals at least shows they have a squad capable of hitting such heights even if they have often fallen short of expectations in recent years.

Athletic Bilbao aim to win over Barcelona and move upwards in the La Liga table — Yeray Alvarez celebrates Athletic Bilbao’s victory in the Spanish Super Cup final against FC Barcelona at La Cartuja Stadium.

Any side managed by Marcelino can be a surprise and Athletic could be a dark horse to make a European challenge, although they will need to improve their goalscoring record.

As if to prove the point, Athletic were forced to settle for a goalless draw at Elche in their first game of the season – a contest in which the Basque giants just about edged the contest in terms of key chances created but were unable to find the all-important breakthrough.

So two sides finding their feet and an entertaining contest awaits in San Mames on Saturday night, although perhaps don’t expect too many goals.

History

As well as their Spanish Cup Final success, Barca enjoyed a league double over Bilbao last term.

They won the corresponding fixture 3-2 in early January when goals from talented Spanish youngster Pedri and a double from Messi bookended early and late Athletic goals from Inaki Williams and Iker Muniain.

They also tasted victory in the return fixture in late January when Messi and Griezmann were on target in a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp.

Between all that, however, Bilbao recorded a memorable victory in the Spanish Super Cup Final.

I am not going to describe that, however.

I am going to leave the final word to acclaimed Spanish football journalist Sid Lowe who summed up better than anyone what it meant to all connected with Bilbao.

This was a night when the team made up entirely of local boys have twice come from behind against the biggest team of all, somehow making it this far thanks to an improbable last-minute equaliser. The ball then falls at the feet of the striker who joined them as a kid and is playing in his 167th consecutive game.

From the edge of the area at an implausible position, he hits an unstoppable shot which flies through the air and rockets into the net.

It was, said Athletic Club’s Iñaki Williams at the end of an exhausting, exhilarating 120 minutes, “without a doubt the best goal of my career”.

Betting Tip

	Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona	1X2 Draw @ 3.45
	August 22, 04:00 (GMT+8)

With the SBOTOP La Liga 2021 betting odds, you can back Barca 1X2 @ 1.92 and Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 2.26, while Athletic can be tipped 1X2 @ 3.85 and Asian Handicap +0.25 @ 2.31.

Total goal 2-3 @ 1.96 was considered but my bet is for Bilbao, cheered on by their returning passionate support, to claim a point against the Blaugrana this weekend.