La Liga Lowdown

Who said international breaks are boring? The past few days have been packed with drama in Spain as Robert Moreno was replaced by Luis Enrique as Spain coach. We discuss what's gone on, why it's gone on and who it's gone on with, with Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) and with host Euan McTear (@emctear). We also answer our followers' mailbag questions in part two, discu...

Santi Cazorla has been through a lot, but he's back where it all began. Sort of... In this episode, we tell the Santi Cazorla story, going from his childhood to his emergence in LaLiga to his triumphs with Spain to his time with Arsenal to the injuries. And then the happy ending of his return to the top table of Spanish football. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) is joined by Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG)...

The Seville derby honours went to Sevilla as they won away at Real Betis in the biggest game of the 13th round of the 2019/20 LaLiga season. There were many more fascinating storylines too and we dive into all of them in this recap podcast. Kristofer McCormack (@K_mc06) analyses Real Madrid's latest big win. Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) is impressed with the way Valencia have responded to an injury...

There's a Seville derby coming up on Sunday, November 10th, so what better time than now to ask what makes this fixture so special? In this podcast we hear from Betis fan David Whitworth (@DCWh1tw0rth) of Radio Betis and Sevilla fan Chris Lail (@ChrisLail) of @MonchisMen to hear their favourite derby memories. Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Sam Leveridge (@samleverid...

The 12th round of the 2019/20 LaLiga season is in the books and we review all the main talking points here. Saturday was a great day for the Valencian Community and less so for the Catalan teams as Levante beat Barcelona and as Valencia defeated Espanyol. We have Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) to discuss all of that at the beginning of the show. We also reflect on the...

In this Friday edition of La Liga Lowdown, we recap the midweek round as Barcelona moved back to the top of the table thanks to some Lionel Messi magic. He is well and truly back, as explained by Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee). There's a lot more to discuss too. Host Euan McTear speaks about Real Madrid's big win, Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) analyses Alavés and Atlético Madrid's sharing of the spoil...

Barça who? Real Mad-what? There was ultimately no Clásico this weekend, but LaLiga still produced nine entertaining matches and countless storylines. We go through them all in this week's La Liga Lowdown podcast, starting with the new table-toppers Granada. We also discuss Real Betis' woes with David Whitworth (@DCWh1tw0rth), Real Valladolid's good run of form with Martin Devlin (@MartiRVCF), the...

João Félix became one of the star players in world football in the space of just a few months. The Benfica academy graduate rose to prominence at the beginning of 2019 and earned a huge transfer to Atlético Madrid in the summer. In this podcast, we look at the story so far for the 19-year-old and at what his future could look like. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) hears from Cristiano Oliveira (@10CO10...

Barcelona have moved to the top of the LaLiga table, thanks to their win in Eibar and Real Madrid's defeat at Real Mallorca. Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100) was there on the island for this momentous game and discusses the famous result. We also take a look at the big Atlético vs Valencia match with Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), at Athletic Club's latest stumble with Dan Parry (@DanParry_) and at...

Spain have qualified for Euro 2020, but they went about it the hard way. Two 1-1 draws away at Norway and Sweden mean they'll be taking part in next summer's tournament and it's clear that Robert Moreno has a lot of work to do before then. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) is joined by Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) to discuss the Spain team, from Fabián Ruiz being brillian...

We asked you, our followers, to vote for your ideal 23-man Spain squad for next summer's Euro 2020 tournament... and here are this results in this podcast! Host Euan McTear (@emctear) walks through the 23 players who made the cut - three goalkeepers, eight defenders, eight midfielders and four forwards. For each player, there is analysis from journalists from the various leagues where these player...

The big teams have risen to the top of the LaLiga table, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid now occupying the top three spots. We discuss Real Madrid and Barça's latest victories, as well as Atlético's latest setback. We analyse Luis Suárez's good form with Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), we get tactical when discussing Celta Vigo's win with Ian Morris (@CeltaUSA) and we wonder if fati...

Joaquín is a legend. He's in his 20th season of professional football and, in this week's La Liga Lowdown Thursday episode, we look back at his entire career. Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) discusses his rise through the ranks at Real Betis. Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) reflects on his strange transfer to Valencia and time at Mestalla. Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) talks about Joaquín's involvement i...

The seventh round of the 2019/20 LaLiga season is in the books and we've had the first big match between title rivals of the season as Real Madrid visited Atlético. There weren't any goals in that one, as the goals were saved for Sevilla vs Real Sociedad. We discuss those two matches and so much more. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) reflects on his trip to the Basque Country to see Eibar and Athletic...

The first midweek round of the 2019/20 LaLiga season was held across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and the La Liga Lowdown squad was all over it. In this podcast, get the lowdown from across the country on the top storylines of matchday six. We've got David Whitworth (@DCWh1tw0rth) on Real Betis, Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100) on Real Mallorca, Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) on Real Ma...

Athletic Club and Real Madrid are the new leaders of LaLiga Santander on 11 points and we look at their victories over Alavés and Sevilla, as well as discussing Granada's hugely impressive victory over a Barcelona side that just cannot win away from home. We discuss that special Granada night with a man who was there, Heath Chesters (@HeathGCF). We talk Real Madrid with Kristofer McCormack (K_mc06...

As the 2019/20 Europa League group stages get under way with Espanyol participating, we look back on the Catalan club's previous European adventure. Back in 2006/07, they went all the way to the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where they lost to Sevilla on penalties. In this La Liga Lowdown episode, we discuss their qualification for that year's tournament, their route to the final, their coach...

Club football has returned and it has done so with plenty of drama. All of that is discussed in this LaLiga matchday four recap. 16-year-old Ansu Fati had a breakout performance for Barcelona, one that Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) reflects on. Valencia had their first match since the shock sacking of Marcelino and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) tries to work out what's going on. Real Sociedad ch...

Valencia have never won the Champions League, but they have been to the final twice. Two years in a row, in fact. They reached the finals in 2000 and 2001, losing to Real Madrid and to Bayern Munich, and this Thursday's La Liga Lowdown podcast looks back on those two memorable European campaigns. Joachim Björklund, a centre-back in those Valencia squads, talks about his experiences. Paco Polit (@p...

It's the September international break! Just three weeks into the new LaLiga season, there is a pause for the national teams. But fear not! This Monday's podcast features LaLiga-focused and Segunda-focused questions from listeners, plus a discussion of Spain's wins over Romania and the Faroe Islands. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) is joined by Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee)...

Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, better known as Monchi, is the most famous sporting director in the world. Sevilla benefited from his expertise for 17 years, between 2000 and 2017. Before that, he was a backup goalkeeper for the club. After that, he spent a couple of years running the sporting department at AS Roma. Now he is back at Sevilla. He's back home. In this podcast, hosted by Euan McTear (@emcte...

The first international break of the season is here and Atlético Madrid are the only team in LaLiga still with a 100 percent record. Barcelona and Real Madrid slipped up again, so we indulge in some title talk in this matchday three recap. We also look back at and study the Basque derby and have an in-depth discussion about Real Valladolid and how their season is shaping up. Euan McTear (@emctear)...

Takefusa Kubo is one of world football's rising stars, and the 18-year-old Japanese prodigy has already passed through three Spanish clubs. After spending time at Barcelona's academy and after returning to Japan, he signed with Real Madrid this summer and has been loaned out to Real Mallorca. Euan McTear (@emctear) hosts this episode and speaks to Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) about Kubo's Barça d...

The second week of the 2018/19 LaLiga Santander season is in the books and there are just two teams remaining with a 100 percent record - Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. We discuss that and much more, speaking to multiple experts. We hear from Heath Chesters (@HeathGCF) in Granada, Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) in Valencia, Joseph Sexton (@josephsbcn) in Vigo, Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) in Barcelona,...

Athletic Club striker Aritz Aduriz is a LaLiga legend. We all know this. But how did his story start? What bumps were there along the way? That and more is all discussed in this podcast looking at the Aritz Aduriz story. We speak to Phil Ball to explain how Aduriz, who grew up in San Sebastian, ended up playing for his hometown's biggest rivals. Alex Fitzpatrick talks about the Aduriz Real Mallorc...