Granada-Osasuna, the goalaverage is important!

Good afternoon, dear Osasunists! Today is Saturday and football is back again, and after La Copa is La Liga in our hearts! Osasuna starts the second round of the championship away, in Granada, at Los Carmenes stadium and there is a need of recovering the goalaverage with a possible rival for the end of the tournament and the avoid of relegation.

Osasuna played in the week in La Copa against Real Madrid at El Sadar and they were eliminated in a poor match that ended in the minute 20 when Cristiano scored another goal at our stadium. Now we must forget La Copa until next season and focus on broadening the gap between those teams in relegation posts and Osasuna, on the 13th post and with 21 points, five points ahead.

If we don't bear in mind that elimination in Copa del Rey, Osasuna hasn't lost any confrontation from their last four, when they beat Espanyol and Betis and got a draw with Celta and Real Madrid at El Sadar.

On the other hand, Granada is a powerful rival, as Gracia said and they are in a good position too. They have probably played one of their best games last weekend against Valladolid (4-0). One of their best lines is the forward and they showed their danger at El Sadar in the first match of the season ( 1-2 ). Let's think that we have to reconquer a kingdom, like 500 years ago, and show the strenght of a new Reyno de Navarra. Remember that next rival at our stadium is another hatred rival: Athletic de Bilbao. But that will be another story!

Possible kickoff teams:
Granada CF: Roberto; Nyom, Mainz, Murillo, Angulo; Iturra; Piti, Recio, Fran Rico, Brahimi; El Arabi. Osasuna: Riesgo; Marc Bertrtán, Arribas, Loties, Damiá; Silva, Lolo, Cejudo, De las Cuevas, Torres; Oriol Riera.

GORA OSASUNA! AUPA ROJILLOS!

Back to our dream,...not to reality!

 
Good afternoon, dear Osasunists! Here we are back to another season, but before the school year start. It is difficult for me to write this article so early this time!Summer is still the season of the year, but football and La Liga are back again!

The "Reds" had a bad start last season and they suffered until the last match of the season. Besides, Osasuna was the team with less favour goals in La Liga with only 33 goals in 38 matches. Osasuna starts their 14th season in a row in La Liga de las Estrellas, but we, their supporters are hopeful to avoid suffering, pain or tense as we did last year. It is supposed to have a more effective team, but Osasuna semmed to have the same deficit during the preseason: the goal. Mendilibar is the coach of Osasuna and this will be his fourth season in Pamplona. Not many coaches are so long in a club;actually, Jose Luis becomes the coach with more seasons in a row in La Liga. After his speech before the match, we think that Mendilibar has got a better team and footballers seem to understand him better than last season. I hope that results help him at the beginning. Otherwise, results will make that record not to last for long!

There are new players in the team, but in my opinion, the best news were that Andres Fernandez stayed in El Sadar. Osasuna had to replace another "betrayer", Kike Sola, who left to Bilbao to "improve" his career. It seems that Oriol Riera, the Catalonian player from Alcorcon and the International Paraguayan player Arien Nuñez will be the ones to make us forget Kike and overall his goals. Other new players are the French Jordan Loties (Nancy), another Catalonian, Joan Oriol (Villarreal), and two other players from the youth team Jon Echaide and Eneko Satrustegui, who is still recovering from a serious knee injury since last season. Another issue since last season was the stadium and its name. The previous hours before the match, the channel GOL TV published the name of Reyno de Navarra for the stadium, when first most of the supporters never like that name and second, and more important, the Government of Navarra put an end to the contract with the club to call EL SADAR again. OSASUNA ALWAYS PLAY IN EL SADAR. Osasuna is a team in First Division for most of my students, who I will meet again in September and for those who I never knew before and will be my students in first year! (I will have to tell them some stories!jeje! ) Well, this is all by now! Good luck for the first match to our team! Gora Osasuna! Aupa Rojillos!

Osasuna-Granada C.F., the lottery of relegation

Good afternoon, dear Osasunists!
Granada and Osasuna are playing the last game of this year 2012 this evening at the old El Sadar stadium with a common aim: to finish out of the relegation posts.

The visits that Granada C.F. did at the stadium of Osasuna ended with a victory of the locals: seven all together. Besides, the Andalusiants are five consecutive games without winning and they didn't score a goal either. In all the season games played away from Los Carmenes stadium, Granada C.F. lost six games and only won against Mallorca and Betis.

There is an old Spanish saying for the weak situation of a coach in a club : comerse el turrón en el banquillo ( that means the coach will be leading the team after Christmas ). Anquela, the coach at Granada's bench, will lead the team after New Year's Day in 2013, but if results go even worse after winter holidays, his support will decrease at the club in Granada.

Anquela can't use the injured goalkeeper Toño Rodriguez, and that situation will produce the reencounter of a former Osasuna player, Roberto, with his ex-supporters at the south goal: Indar Gorri's supporters. Moisés Hurtado and Fran Rico are also injured, and Yacine Brahimi, Manolo Lucena, Darwin Machis and  Borja Gomez stays in Granada for Anquela's decision.

Osasuna, on the other hand, want to forget about last weekend's referee's decision that took two points out of their hands. The referee Jose Antonio Teixeira Vitienes  made a penalty fault an unexisting hand of Oier in the last minutes of the game against Getafe at Alfonso Perez stadium. The "Reds" want to play as they did against Valencia in La Liga and Copa and avoid the relegation posts before the end of the year 2012.

The power of the local stadium EL Sadar is under criticism as Osasuna only got two win matches out of seven against Levante and Rayo. Mendilibar can't use the injured Sisi and Masoud, and also Armenteros, who was also sent off in Getade. Lolo, Annan, Echaide- again-, and Manu are out due to coach's decision.

It is, then, a good opportunity to use the local Roberto Torres instead of the Argentinian Armenteros, tough Mendilibar can also call Lamah, of course.

Probable kickoff:

Osasuna: Andres Fernandez; Damia, Miguel Flaño, Arribas and Nano; Puñal, Raoul Loe, Cejudo, Nino and Lamah; Kike Sola.

Granada CF: Roberto, Juanma Ortiz, Siqueira, Íñigo Lopez, Mainz, Iriney, Mikel Rico, Orellana, Torje, Dani Benitez y El Arabi.

I LEAVE OSASUNA'S LAST VIDEO TO MOTIVATE THE TEAM AND SUPPORTERS WITH AINHOA, LA OREJA DE VAN GOGH'S SINGER.

GORA OSASUNA, AUPA ROJILLOS! MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR EVERYONE!

Osasuna-Granada F.C., reminds from the past

Good afternoon, dear Osasunists!Today we are visited by Granada F.C., a "new" team in La Liga. I wrote new, but Granada was an ancient team in the former First Division when I was a child, indeed I have a stick album of the season 74/75 with their players and coat of arms. Nowadays, Osasuna and Granada are two teams that played seven times in history. Osasuna won four times, there was a draw and Granada won twice. The most habitual score was 2-1 (30 March 1958, for Osasuna in Granada, 19 April 1959 for the reds again in Pamplona and 11 October 1959 for Granada at Los Cármenes). We must remember that there was aldo a draw this season at Los Carmenes. History is the past and Osasuna and Granada must live their present. Abel Resino is the coach in Granada and they have improved their play after the start of 2012. Meanwhile, Osasuna lost their first two games at Reyno Stadium against Santander one of them. However, Osasuna have also won the best team of the world, Pep's team, and they lost against Sevilla last weekend. Abel's team, on the other hand, have scored four goals against Real Sociedad last weekend, but they lost against Villareal. Both teams also have similar figures for & against goals and there are only four points in favour of Osasuna. Granada F.c. have never won in Pamplona, but the actual team of Abel Resino have played very good games as visitors this season. They won against Betis at Benito Villamarin and played very well against Athletic and Sevilla F.C. Abel's team has got very good players. Granada got promoted thanks to Geijo's goals, but he has lost his skills and he's under suspect that he's quite unfit this season, so Resino decided to leave him in Granada. Another good player is Pape Diakhaté, the captain from Senegal, and the most expensive player in that club. Granada paid 4,5 millions of euros, a record in the history of the club. He plays in the middle of the defence, he is very tall and well-built, but he also controls the ball as a very good midfielder. On the other hand, Osasuna must improve their play at El Sadar and keep the three points home. Sergio and Flaño are again the two best defenders in the team, with Raitala and Bertrá as the wings to help the midfielders. Raul Garcia is back to the team after being sanctioned, with the captain Patxi Puñal and Nekounam. The forward line will be leaded by Nino, Lekic and Alvaro Cejudo. Andres Fernandez will be the goalkeeper again, a good value at Osasuna. We must take into account that Granada's goalkeeper is an old friend for Osasuna supporters: Roberto Fernandez. Sergio should stop the scorer Ike Uche, another well-known player for us. Gora Osasuna!Aupa Rojillos!

Granada-Osasuna, an uncommon confrontation

Hi, dear Osasunists! Today we are watching a historical match! Granada F.C. and Osasuna have played six times in history of La Liga and the Navarrians have just won once in Granada. Last time Osasuna and Granada F.C. confronted was 52 years ago. It was in the 57-58 season when Osasuna got a victory in Granada ( 1-2 ). Marañon and Recalde were the goal scorers. Awesome!My parents were just teenagers!!!! Therefore, history is against Osasuna. In 58-59 and 59-60 seasons, Granada F.C. won their games ( 1-0; 2-1 ). Their confrontations had to wait up to the last 70's. Granada and Osasuna played in Second Division. There were two more defeats and a draw ( 2-0; 0-0 ) Now there is another opportunity for history and Osasuna of the XXIst century must show that thisngs have changed. Granada F.C. was a powerful team in the 50's and 70's, but the club disappeared of the First Division matches from the 80's to the actual time. In those years Osasuna got relegated and promoted twice, but both never confronted in the modern football. Osasuna reached the UEFA championship and even the previa of the Champions. The differnce of style and experience in First division is at the side of Osasuna, but they must prove it in the field. It's a good time for Mendilibar's team to win away and Los Carmenes stadium is a suitable place to get three more points to reach the comfortable posts in the Liga. Our players will meet an old friend in the goal, Roberto is the new goalkeeper in Granada. A very good moment to show that Fernandez was a winner bet for our club. Gora Osasuna!Aupa Rojillos!