Latino players rule La Liga in Spain
DEPORTES
by Álvaro Galván Cárdenas
The first round of the La Liga national championship in Spain was just completed, many Latin American players have once again led their teams in
the fight for their objectives. Apart from Leo Messi (top scorer of the championship and FC Barcelona’s star), Luis Suárez (offensive reference of Atlético de Madrid, La Liga’s leader) or Fede Valverde (fundamental piece in the midfield of Real Madrid), there are many other Hispanic players who stand out in the Spanish championship.
Sevilla FC’s left side has Argentine nationality. Marcos Acuña, as a left back, and Lucas Ocampos, as a left winger, are untouchable for coach Julen Lopetegui. Both have contributed to elevate the Andalusian team to the top of the ranking and to certify their classification to the round of 16 in the Champions League. His rival in the city, Real Betis, whose coach is the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, has improved its performance thanks to the quality of the young Mexican promise Diego Lainez. Also, thanks to the saves of the veteran goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, when he’s not injured.
Another Andalusian team, Granada, continues to make history in Spain and Europe thanks to Venezuelans Yangel Herrera and Darwin Machís. This season, they also have a great reinforcement like the Colombian striker Luis Suárez. Cádiz also has a fundamental pillar in its forward line like Rubén ‘Choco’ Lozano, Honduran with three goals until now.
A few weeks ago, Celta de Vigo hired Eduardo el “Chacho” Coudet as their new coach. Under his command, the Galician team will seek to aspire to the
top positions of the classification, helped by players like the Uruguayan Lucas Olaza, the Colombian Jeison Murillo, the Mexican Néstor Araujo and the Peruvian Renato Tapia. For its part, Getafe has the Uruguayan quartet of Damián Suárez, Mathías Olivera, Erick Cabaco and Mauro Arambarri, and the scoring ability of ‘Cucho’ Hernández, a Colombian.
Further down the table is Real Valladolid, whose president is the legendary Ronaldo Nazário. The Chilean Fabián Orellana can be considered the great bulwark of this team, noted for his agility, always creating danger.
There is still the second half of the Spanish competition, but the Latino community plays an important role in this
championship, which is considered the best league in the world. Maybe, the number of these players could be increased during the current winter transfer market.
Photos were provided by Alvaro Galvan Cardenas (read details below)
- Coudet, during a LaLiga match. Photo of Celta de Vigo
- Lainez (Betis), under pressure from Ocampos and Acuña (Sevilla). Photo by José Manuel Vidal (EFE)
- Orellana, in a LaLiga match. Photo of Real Valladolid
- Yangel Herrera (left) and Darwin Machís (right). Granada CF photo
Álvaro Galván Cárdenas has a degree in journalism from the University of Seville, a Master’s degree in investigative, data and visualization journalism from the International University of La Rioja and is currently a doctoral student in communication. He collaborated with Triana Digital and SportHD and, eventually, with ABC de Sevilla. He joins the CNY Latino newspaper contributors in February 2021 with his first article reflecting on the great performance of Latin American players in La Liga soccer in Spain. Apart from the always outstanding Messi or Luis Suárez, many other footballers from the other side of the pond are contributing to the achievement of goals during this first stretch of the season. If you want to provide comments or have questions you can connect directly with him by email at alvarogalvancardenas@gmail.com
