Twenty-five minutes into the match versus Toronto FC and its pretty clear what all the hubbub is about. The retooled Galacticos are making their Canadian debut and its hard not to be impressed. The critics will point to the previous Florentino Peres grand experiment and how it arguably didn't work, but it's going to be hard to compare that group to this one. When your attack force combines two of arguably the top three players in the world it's hard to imagine a lack of success. A third of the way into the match tonight and Christiano Ronaldo has scored once with Raul scoring twice. Two of the goals resulted from impeccable offensive link ups with the second one a testament to the all-around skill and brilliance of Ronaldo. Heading down a long pass to Karim Benzema, the reigning World Player of the Year cut inside and slotted home a well placed pass from Benzema, coolly sending it past the goalkeeper. One of the most compelling stories of the Spanish season is whether this talent can be molded together. Early signs, especially from Toronto, is that the likes of Raul, Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, etc. won't have any issues playing together. The talent is at such a level that players such as Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, who many a fan would give their left nut to have on their team, look to be at best sub players with the acquisition of Xabi Alonso.
What an amazing transformation for La Liga. In the span three months and one UEFA Champions League final they go from the second greatest league in the world to arguably the best league in the world--- or at least the league with the two best clubs in the world. Mix in one part Barcelona championship dominance, one part deep Real Madrid pockets and one part 50% top tax rate and the Premier League is reeling. Chelsea do look mighty fine thus far this preseason but you have to admit the league that had three of the final four Champions League clubs is looking a bit tarnished. Liverpool were forced to lose Alonso, Man U is without Christiano Ronaldo and Arsenal continue to lose key contributors. Meanwhile in Spain you have the hottest league in the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona sell out stadiums in North American like they're the beatles. Athletico Madrid and Villareal have exciting aggressive attacking talent and somehow Valencia holds on (so far) to David Silva and David Villa. This very well could be the year that the Premier League goes down a notch.
Stay Tuned.
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