La Liga Is Here: Summer of Silence to Be Broken by Familiar Fun, Faces, Genius

You hear that? Silence. For months it’s been this way, almost eerie in its permanence.  

Not least because it’s new. 

If La Liga is upon us, you’d barely know it based on noise, and noise is how they measure these things, or so we’re told. This may be an Olympic year, but even if the Games have managed to replace “faster, higher, stronger” with “dirtier, cheatier and snarlier,” football has reflected today’s society to an even greater extent with its own new figurative motto: “louder, richer, fatter.”

This has been a summer in which the hyperactivity of the growing behemoth that is the Premier League has eclipsed all else. Shouty, glitzy, frantic, revelling in self-promotion, guzzling cash like the world does oil, England’s top division has felt almost removed from football as we’ve known it. 

Only a few balls have been kicked—whether or not that matters these days is the source of some conjecture—but already it has featured the cultural cool of #Pogback and Stormzy. The new, we-play-a-role-in-transfers thing of Adidas. The ego of Zlatan. Jose and Pep. Jose and Arsene. Jose and Jurgen. Pep worshipping. Personalities the size of planets. Juan Mata. Lots of fluro. 

Oh, and spending: £20.5 million for Andre Ayew, anyone?

Toni Kroos once cost that. 

PogBOOM is coming to Old Trafford.@paulpogba: Welcome home to @ManUtd.#FirstNeverFollowshttps://t.co/UKrEgp7Mcy

— adidasfootball (@adidasfootball) August 8, 2016

Set against this, La Liga has almost been sitting on the mute button in comparison. In recent summers, Spain has welcomed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Ibrahimovic, Cesc Fabregas, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Luis Suarez, Kroos, Neymar and James Rodriguez among others. Throughout, the message has been: “We get what we want.”

This time, though, it’s been a little more: “We, err, already have what we want.”

There is truth to that. You can’t buy what you already have, and what Barcelona have is Lionel Messi, Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta just to name a few. Real Madrid have Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Modric and Kroos to counter that bunch. Atletico Madrid have Antoine Griezmann. 

That’s a fearsome collection. But there’s been an underwhelming feeling about La Liga this summer anyway, borne out of the absence of brand spankin’ new. 

Not to be deterred, La Liga’s answer to the need for buzz and football’s commercialisation was to change its name by removing the space in the middle. The top division has become “LaLiga,” an utter nightmare for the grammatically fussy among us. The Segunda Division has been renamed “LaLiga 2” for simplicity, which was fine—until it became LaLiga 1|2|3 for sponsorship reasons. 

Only in Spain, eh?

LaLiga ? LaLiga SantanderLaLiga2 ? LaLiga 1l2l3Todos los detalles: https://t.co/iFHa9HEVnR pic.twitter.com/byOisd2hAu

— LaLiga (@LaLiga) July 21, 2016

Still, though, the title race should be compelling.

For the first time since Diego Simeone arrived at Atletico to propel us into a three-team era at the top of La Liga—ahh, breathe in that space—this summer represents the first time the three contenders have enjoyed stability in the dugout and dressing room all at the same time. 

If that doesn’t sound like a big deal, it is.

Consider recent summers: In 2012, Barcelona appointed the late Tito Vilanova following Guardiola’s exit; in 2013, Gerardo Martino had to be brought in amid Vilanova’s battle with cancer, and Real Madrid hired Carlo Ancelotti after Mourinho’s nasty goodbye.

In 2014, Luis Enrique arrived at the Camp Nou and brought a Suarez-led stylistic evolution with him. That process wasn’t smooth initially, while back in the capital, Real Madrid were restructuring a squad to flawed principles, and Atletico, in a post-title period, were being gutted by Chelsea. 

Then came last summer. Rafa Benitez arrived to replace Ancelotti at the Bernabeu, and Atletico were entering a period of tactical experimentation that was eventually scrapped. Only Barcelona were settled. 

But now they all are. 

Barcelona head into the new campaign with their familiar core but a deeper supporting cast. With Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique already on the books, it was always going to be difficult to improve significantly, but the Catalans probably have. Though Dani Alves will be missed, Lucas Digne, Denis Suarez and Samuel Umtiti already look like shrewd acquisitions. Andre Gomes might need some extra time to justify his fee. 

The only sticky part of the summer for Barcelona has been the search for a “fourth forward” to support the MSN. The search started with Nolito during last season, but …

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