Saturday, May 14th will go down in La Liga history as the day the 2015/16 title was decided. Barcelona will take on Granada. Real Madrid will take on Deportivo La Coruna. At stake are domestic bragging rights, a chance at redemption for Barcelona, and a chance to upset the status quo for Real Madrid.
Barcelona lead Real Madrid by a solitary point. If they win tomorrow, which they are heavily favored to do, they will collect their 6th La Liga title in 8 years. If they lose, Real Madrid can win and complete a comeback that was thought to be impossible just two months ago, and will have a chance to complete a European double come May 28th in the Champions League final.
The two horse race that so many people believe La Liga to be has come to fruition, if only just recently. Two weeks ago Atletico Madrid was tied on points with Barcelona at the top of the table, but a loss to relegated Levante squandered any hopes they had at the title.
Now only Real Madrid can take the title from Barcelona, and there are rumors that they will steep to less a than exemplary level to do so.
Granada's Ivan Kelava. Photo: @Kelava | Twitter
Granada goal keeper Ivan Kelava has found himself wrapped up in a bribery-esque controversy after he was accused of admitting to the possibility of receiving compensation from Real Madrid should he and Granada beat Barcelona.
Granada just secured their safety from relegation, so they won’t have much to play for when they takes the field tomorrow. Madrid’s compensation would address that lack of motivation.
The act of compensating teams in such away is not unheard of in Spain. It even has a nickname, maletines (briefcases). Be that as it may, Kelava has denied that he ever commented on maletines, let alone accepted any.
There is one player on Granada who probably won’t need any extra motivation to beat Barcelona: Sergi Guardiola. Guardiola signed a contract with Barcelona only to have it canceled hours later because of anti-Barcelona and anti-Catalonia tweets found on his Twitter account. After that fiasco, Guardiola signed with Granada’s youth team.
Because of injuries Granada has called up several players to fill out their squad, and Guardiola is one of them. He’ll want to make sure Barcelona notice him if he makes it onto the pitch, and there’s no better way to do that then to score a goal.
Maletines and old grudges aside, Barcelona are still the favorite to win the title. They have bulldozed teams since their return to form after a late season stumble, and Granada are still Granada: a team that currently sits 16th in La Liga and that has given up the 4th most goals in La Liga this season.
Barcelona takes on Granada at 11:00 AM EST tomorrow, May 14th. Real Madrid takes on Deportivo La Coruna at the same date and time.
Follow me on Twitter: @yetly
