Chapter 565: Conclusion of the League
In the final standings of La Liga, Real Madrid won the championship with 30 wins, 6 draws, 2 losses, and 96 points, while Barcelona finished second with 26 wins, 9 draws, 3 losses, and 87 points.
The other two Champions League spots were secured by Valencia and Malaga, with Atletico Madrid making a late push to earn a place in the Europa League.
Villarreal, Eibar, and Santander were relegated, while Deportivo La Coruna, Celta Vigo, and Real Valladolid successfully returned to La Liga.
This season, Wang Feng scored an astonishing 61 league goals, although he fell just short of his own La Liga record of 62 goals, he still far exceeded Messi, who ranked second.
The Argentine's goal tally also reached a new height, with a hat-trick in the final round's 4-0 victory over Espanyol, bringing his league goal total to 50. However, all this seemed pale in the face of the club's failure to win any trophies.
In addition, Wang Feng contributed 20 assists, surpassing Messi's 16 assists and earning him the title of assist king.
"A fruitful harvest!" Abesai Report commented on Real Madrid's achievements in the just-concluded league, "Whether it's the Galacticos or the Chinese superstar, they are the biggest winners, almost sweeping all the honors, leaving only a few seats in the best lineup for Barcelona."
The cover of the report featured the moment when Wang Feng lifted the championship trophy, with teammates and tens of thousands of Bernabeu fans celebrating with them.
"When Wang Feng joined Real Madrid six years ago, almost everyone was convinced that he would achieve great success, but compared to the glory of the club itself, it seemed insignificant," the report continued.
"But now the Chinese superstar has shown us with practical actions that past achievements will eventually be surpassed by new records! Under his leadership, the Galacticos can achieve even greater glory!"
At the age of just 29 this July, according to his disciplined character and current performance, Abesai Report boldly predicted that he could maintain his good form until the age of 35. What heights would Real Madrid reach by then?
National Report believes that Wang Feng is "almost unstoppable" and "once again enters the realm of football gods." Being able to achieve over 60 goals in a single season, he is the only one in the history of the top five leagues, and even more frighteningly, he has done it twice.
"Messi's performance is also outstanding, but he pales in comparison to the Chinese superstar. Especially with Barcelona losing all their championships, it gives a feeling of squeezing soft persimmons before," the report added.
Especially being defeated twice by Real Madrid in the league and being overturned by Chelsea in the Champions League, losing crucial penalties, these mistakes at key moments were fatal blows not only to the Catalan team but also to the Argentine star.
Marca praised Real Madrid for creating a six-peat and sarcastically stated that Barcelona's head coach Vilanova is just a scapegoat. In fact, no one standing in that position could stop the Galacticos.
"Catalonia had the opportunity to obtain the football god, but their overly arrogant attitude ultimately led to the greatest player in history joining Real Madrid. This period will be the darkest period in their team's history," the report concluded.
In contrast to Real Madrid's six consecutive championships, the achievements of other La Liga teams also have strong topics.
First and foremost is Malaga's historic best result, securing Champions League qualification ahead of Atletico Madrid.
For head coach Pellegrini, coaching Malaga is not his best in La Liga. In fact, the first half of this season was turbulent for Malaga, and the Chilean had his worst half-season points in La Liga.
Taking over Malaga midway through last season, he helped the team avoid relegation and launched an assault on European competitions this season. Traditional strong teams such as Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, and Athletic Bilbao were generally weak in the league this season. The second group of La Liga teams had generally lower points this season, which also contributed to Malaga's opportunity.
After securing a spot in the Champions League, club CEO Sans expressed full support for the coach's signings, aiming to build "the Manchester City of La Liga."
It is worth mentioning that this season, Manchester City won their first league title they had longed for, edging out Manchester United with goal difference. Several years of effort and investment finally paid off.
This also served as a model for many Middle Eastern bosses. It turns out that as long as they are willing to invest, they will definitely reap rewards.
While some are happy, others are sad. The relegation of Villarreal, known as the "Yellow Submarine," to the Segunda Division left many old fans sighing.
Known as the "Little Zhuge Liang," Lotina has led two traditional Spanish powerhouses to relegation for two consecutive seasons. Last season it was Deportivo La Coruna, and this season it's Villarreal, leading many media to question his abilities.
In interviews after the game, Villarreal fans expressed their helplessness, saying that the Yellow Submarine was "tricked" by their opponents. Also, in the relegation vortex, Real Valladolid and Granada, who were also fighting for survival, unexpectedly played a tacit goalless draw. "It's hard to explain everything that happened today. The game result is very unfair to Villarreal," they said.
But many fans pointed out that Villarreal only needed to draw to secure safety, and in the end, Granada failed to steal the chicken and ended up harming themselves. It was their own failure to seize the opportunity, and they were ultimately killed by Atletico Madrid in the final moments.
The Estadio de la Cerámica was flooded with tears, and President Roig kept waving to the fans, unwilling to leave for a long time. He admitted that this was the "grayest day" since he took over Villarreal 15 years ago.
In the past decade, the team has already created a great miracle. This town with a population of less than 50,000, with a very limited fan base, has become one of the most stable clubs in La Liga.
When Real Madrid and Barcelona continued to dominate the league, Villarreal was the only team that broke through the barrier. They won second place ahead of Barcelona in the 2007-2008 season, the only time in the past decade.
Villarreal once had Riquelme, Forlan, Nilmar, and Cazorla. After the departure of the Argentine core, Pellegrini once again led the team to glory.
Even after the departure of the "Chilean Engineer," Villarreal did not sink. Under the leadership of Calleja, they won fourth place in La Liga.
All these achievements are thanks to Roig's start of youth training in 1999. Until now, they have one of the best youth academy constructions in La Liga.
"The club will continue to adhere to the youth training route as always," Roig emphasized in an interview.
In the past two years, Villarreal B's performance in the Segunda Division has also been good. In the new season, due to the rule that the same club cannot have two teams competing in the same level league, the B team was relegated. However, they can still call up some players with Segunda Division experience to join the first team, as they are like treasures of the club.
It is certain that many star players will leave, such as Brazilian international Nilmar, Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi, and even the meritorious captain Senna, etc.
After many efforts, Senna eventually stayed. He said he would help the club return to La Liga, "I have been with this club for 10 years, and I have had a lot of happiness during this time. Now that we have been relegated, the situation of the team is not good."
"But now I just want to say, I will not leave when the team is relegated to the Segunda Division. Everyone will work together, and we will definitely return to the top league!"
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