Underdogs out to maintain their bite

The sharp end of the Spanish championship has a very unfamiliar look about it and Spain’s less-heralded teams will be aiming to keep it...

The sharp end of the Spanish championship has a very unfamiliar look about it and Spain’s less-heralded teams will be aiming to keep it that way over the weekend.

Real Sociedad lead the league for the first time in over 20 years with 14 points from their six games and not since their league title winning days of 1981 and 1982 have they been in pole position.

Zidane likely to stay with Real till retirement

PARIS: French playmaker Zinedine Zidane could end his career when his contract with Spanish giants Real Madrid comes to an end in 2005. “I’m signed to Real until 2005 and I think I will honour my contract,” Zidane was quoted as saying in the French daily Le Parisien. “Afterwards, at 33-34, I think it will be a good time to put an end to my career.” Although he admitted he had not made any firm decisions yet he ruled out returning to his native country. “I’ve played in the biggest clubs so it would be a little difficult. To return to France would be a decision from the heart. And I don’t want my career to be ruled by my heart but by reason. I want to finish at the top,” he said.

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The San Sebastian side face another of this season’s surprise packages on Sunday, newly-promoted Racing Santander who are in sixth, but may have to do without Spanish international Francisco De Pedro and his under-21 counterpart Xabi Alonso. The pair have been struggling all week with knocks received in last Sunday’s bruising 2-2 draw at Alaves. Celta Vigo relinquished their lead last weekend with their first league loss of the season, a surprise 1-0 reverse at home against Rayo Vallecano and are now one point adrift of Sociedad.

However, the fixtures computer has conspired to give them a chance of quick revenge against the teams from the Spanish capital as Atletico Madrid have to pay a visit to Galicia tomorrow. Like Sociedad, third-placed Malaga are still unbeaten and will fancy their chances of extending their run at home to Espanyol on Sunday. Espanyol finally got a win under their belts last Sunday, with two spectacular goals from Roger Garcia, his first a long-range chip from inside his own half and measured at 55 metres.

Defending champions Valencia play host to Athletic Bilbao tomorrow while Real Madrid are still smarting from their 2-0 defeat at Racing Santander last Saturday, as well as Tuesday’s lacklustre 2-2 draw in the Champions League with Aek Athens. Inevitably, two bad games have prompted the Spanish media to start talking about a crisis, but the European champions’ coach Vicente del Bosque was remaining cool.

“We don’t depend solely on Figo and Raul. We are not tired, we are not worried, we are not too relaxed, we are not going through a bad patch, we are not in crisis,” fumed del Bosque.

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