What Atlético Madrid’s La Liga title says about Spain’s prospects ahead of the World Cup.
Atlético Madrid’s 1-1 draw with FC Barcelona at Nou Camp, which won Madrid’s “other” team the 2013-14 La Liga title, could mark a tectonic shift in Spanish football. Much depends on whether Atlético can beat city rival Real Madrid in the Champions League (CL) final next week to be European top-dog, but nobody would hazard predictions of a Los Rojiblancos reign. Yet, in ending the decade-long Real-Barça duopoly in La Liga by winning its first league title in 18 years, El Pupas (the cursed or jinxed ones), as Atlético is also called, has raised uncomfortable questions about defending champion Spain’s World Cup campaign that begins in Brazil next month.
Across the Channel, Arsenal has come back from a nine-year title-less spell to win the FA Cup. But insignificant Hull City, which almost ended the Gunners’ run with a 2-0 lead, is the story. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, meanwhile, precluded an upset in the German Cup. And while Germany and Argentina may be the teams to watch out for in Brazil, the Spanish can rejoice that the teams facing off in the CL final belong to the same city, although it’s not Barcelona.
