| Arzeno is having a good time lately. Scorer of three goals
in the last 15 days, he picked up two cards in cup and league this week to move
to the top of our table, one ahead of Poschner. Seven red cards during the
week, and as with last week a lot of the fun came from the cup quarter final
matches. The animosity between Celta and Mallorca carried on into the second
leg at the San Moix stadium, with two Mallorca players getting their marching
orders. Olaizola went first after a second yellow card for elbowing Gustavo
López in the face, and Eto'o followed shortly afterwards for a lunging
tackle from behind on Edu which earnt him a direct red card and a two match
ban. Olaizola is now third in our chart, together with another team mate from
Mallorca, Fernando Niño. Bad feelings as well in the cup tie between
neighbours Barcelona and Espanyol after an interchange of accusations before
the match. Tempers flared as the game wore on and Cocu was eventually sent off
near the end for a tackle from behind on an Espanyol player. Four reds in the
league at the weekend, all after receiving two yellows, although Schurrer from
Las Palmas almost got away with it after Carmona Méndez forgot to send
him off after he gave him the second caution. It was only when someone from the
Valladolid technical staff told the fourth referee that he realised his mistake
and his cheeks were redder than the card in the end. Schurrer is the third Las
Palmas boy to enter the rankings, with Samways and Paqui tieing for fifth
place. Rayo's De Quintana takes over from his colleague Ballesteros in the
table after his sending off, and Valencia's Kily González won a penalty
but then picked up two cards in their victory over Numancia. The unluckiest
player of the weekend though was Villarreal's Javier Gracia. He was sent for an
early bath just before half time for handling the ball in the penalty area,
although television pictures later showed that he chested it down. Still, his
team recovered from the penalty to bounce back and win 1-3 with ten men.
Several players picked up fifth yellow cards and miss next weekend's matches,
probably the most important of which is Barcelona's Abelardo for their match
against Deportivo next Saturday. Finally a mention for Real Madrid, the only
club in the top two divisions not to have a player sent off this season. If
they don't qualify for Europe on merit, they could at least go for the fair
play UEFA spot next season! (12.02.01) |
