The La Liga at a glance

GOAL OF THE SEASONRonaldinho weighed in with two candidates, his first a stunning last-gasp winner in Barcelona’s 2-1 comeback win agai...

GOAL OF THE SEASON

Ronaldinho weighed in with two candidates, his first a stunning last-gasp winner in Barcelona’s 2-1 comeback win against AC Milan at the Nou Camp in November and the second a 20-metre rocket in the 2-0 victory against last season’s champions Valencia earlier this month.

Best of all was Paulo Wanchope’s re-creation of Pele’s masterpiece in the 1958 World Cup final during his side’s 4-1 win over Numancia. Receiving the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the area, he flicked it up over a defender, swivelled round and then fired a vicious volley into the top corner.

PLAYERS OF THE SEASON

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Deco and Samuel Eto’o
Together with Xavi, Portugal midfielder Deco kept the Barca midfield ticking over smoothly throughout the season with his slick passing skills and also weighed in with a handful of goals.

For sheer high-impact, pulse-racing excitement the winner has to be Eto’o. The Cameroon international set games alight with his electric pace, insatiable hunger for goals and spectacular finishing.

Revelation of the season was Villarreal striker Diego Forlan who proved to be an outstanding predator in the opposition area, finishing the season with 25 goals to leapfrog Eto’o and top the Primera Liga scoring charts.

LOW POINT IN THE LEAGUE

The resurgence of racist abuse in grounds across Spain cast a shadow over the whole season. The most chilling spectacle of all came during Spain’s friendly against England when all joined in the abuse of visiting black players.

GAME OF THE SEASON

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Barcelona’s 3-0 unravelling of Real Madrid at the Nou Camp was probably the most eye-catching performance this season and had the additional effect of dealing their arch-rivals a blow from which they never recovered.

BLUNDER OF THE SEASON

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez must be kicking himself for turning down the opportunity to reclaim former player Samuel Eto’o at the start of the season and then allowing him to go to Barcelona.

COACH OF THE SEASON

Frank Rijkaard must be given huge credit for the calm and assured way he steered Barca to the title despite a host of serious injury setbacks. Vanderlei Luxemburgo also earned the plaudits for turning a demoralised and distraught Real Madrid from Galactico has-beens into serious championship contenders.

TOP SCORERS

25 Diego Forlan (Villarreal)
24 Samuel Eto’o (Barca)
22 Ricardo Oliveira (Real Betis)
21 Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
18 Julio Baptista (Sevilla)
16 Juan Riquelme (Villarreal), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid)

Congress may agree to Tejashwi as CM face to get Bihar alliance back on track

Political Pulse3 hr ago

Tejashwi Yadav is set to be the chief ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan alliance, as talks have resolved differences and reduced friendly fights. Though a seat-sharing deal has not been announced, a positive meeting with RJD's leadership has reassured the alliance's unity and focus on bringing change to Bihar.

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