Heroes & Villains 2013/14

Pichichi

Ronaldo knocked Messi off top spot this season, the Real Madrid striker scoring 51 in all, his penalty in the Champions League final taking his tally in the competition this year to a record smashing 17. Despite injuries, fatherhood and World Cup worries, Messi still came second with 41 goals in all club competitions, with Atlético’s Diego Costa taking third spot and the "Zarra" award for the highest scoring Spaniard.

A total of 1,044 goals were scored in the league this season, 47 less than the year before. For the record, Real Madrid scored 104 of those and Barcelona 100, with league champions Atlético only netting 77. First division teams scored another 175 in Europe and 124 in the cup, making 1,343 in all. The highest scoring weekend was week 21, with 38 goals, and the lowest was week 7, with 17. See the weekly reports below for more details.

Name Total (Penalties)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 51 (10)
Messi (Barcelona) 41 (8)
Diego Costa (Atlético) 36 (6)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 23 (0)
Bale (Real Madrid) 22 (0)

Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38


Zamora

Congratulations to Thibaud Courtois, who not only won the Zamora prize for the second season in a row, but also helped Atlético to a tenth league title. Once again the Belgian keeper won by a big margin, with Barcelona’s Víctor Valdés in second spot despite missing the last few games through injury, and Athletic Bilbao’s Iraizoz in third.

Esteban (Almería) and Caballero (Málaga) were the only two who played every minute of every match this season, although like Courtois and Valdés they may well be moving on this summer. Some 43 keepers were used in total, including two outfield players, Gabi (Atlético) and Javi López (Espanyol), who had to replace Aranzubia and Casilla respectively after they were sent off with all three changes made.

Name Goal/game difference
Courtois (Atlético Madrid) -13
Valdés (Barcelona) -4
Iraizoz (Athletic Bilbao) -1
Diego López (Real Madrid) 0
Keylor Navas (Levante) +3

Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38


Villain

Víctor Sánchez is the clear winner of this season’s “Villains” award, the Espanyol midfielder picking up 20 yellow cards, three reds and five days’ suspensions in all domestic club competitions, well ahead of second placed Gálvez.

Only one player was sent off in the last weekend of last season, Levante’s Diop, and he is expected to miss the opening game of next year together with Azeez (Almería), Raúl García (Atlético), Piqué (Barcelona), Lacen (Getafe), and Roberto and Piti (Granada), who all completed the five yellow card cycle, as did Atlético coach Simeone.

There were a total of 2,278 yellow cards and 160 reds in the league and cup this year, much lower than the season before. On a club basis, the top villains were Málaga, Getafe and Sevilla, who clocked up 194, 184 and 181 points respectively. The lowest totals went to Real Sociedad, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao with 106, 109 and 111 points.

Name Total points
Víctor Sánchez (Espanyol) 28
Gálvez (Rayo Vallecano) 23
Alexis (Getafe) 22
Duda (Málaga) 21
Botía (Elche) 21

Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38


White Stick Award

José Antonio Teixeira Vitienes has got his own back on his big brother Fernando, the younger sibling walking away with our “White Stick” award this year. Last season Fernando pipped José Antonio at the death after producing a late run of red and yellow cards, but this year there was no doubt as J.A. waltzed to his second trophy.

Two old warhorses Muñiz Fernández and Ayza Gámez will be leaving us, both being relegated to the second division but consequently forced to retire due to the lower age limit at that level, and Delgado Ferreiro has also decided to hang up his whistle for personal reasons. They will be replaced by three new rookies, Bikandi Garrido, Jaime Latre and Melero López. As always, we wish them luck!

Name Total cards
Teixeira Vitienes, J.A. 192
Mateu Lahoz 164
Fernández Borbolán 164
Alvarez Izquierdo 156
Teixeira Vitienes, F 147

Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38