The traditional giants from Madrid and Barcelona are under increasing pressure from the commonsense approach of Galicia's Deportivo and Celta, says Sid Lowe
When Real Madrid beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford in March 2000, Spain’s best-selling newspaper, the sports daily Marca, threw its arms in the air and declared the players Eleven Di Stéfanos. There were no such plaudits when Deportivo La Coruña repeated the feat this year. Marca’s front page led on Steve McManaman’s goal against Anderlecht two nights previously, while the country’s second best seller, AS, broke the shock “news” that it would be virtually impossible to get tickets for the Madrid v Barelona derby. The Barcelona papers El Mundo Deportivo and Sport are every bit as myopic.