Uno! Mat ‘Batman’ Ryan
From the humble Central Coast Mariners to Valencia's majestic Mestalla, Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan has had a meteoric rise in the past two years.
The Socceroos No.1 will now become the Spanish side's No.1, at least until Diego Alves recovers from a serious knee injury.
Ryan's spectacluar savesSocceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan has made a string of spectacular saves in his UEFA Champions League debut as Valencia CF defeated AS MONACO 3-1.For a full report and match highlights click on the Learn More link. Posted by SBS The World Game on Wednesday, 19 August 2015
He’ll be coming up against the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the Bats look to improve on last season’s fourth place.
Dos! David Moyes’s Spanglish
There have been some incredible combinations over the years – bacon and eggs, Jay-Z and Kanye, public and holiday – but the way Real Sociedad coach David Moyes combines Spanish and English might be the best yet.
With nearly a year under his belt in Spain, expect the former Everton and Manchester United manager to try even more adventurous 'Spanglish'. Potential phrases include “I don’t know why we lost tres-nil”, and, “No, I will keep my trabajo (job) even if we lose next week".
Tres! Rafael Benitez’s hand gestures
The man whose hands at least move like Jagger. Real Madrid players might find the dramatic dexterity confusing at first as the former Liverpool coach sometimes looks like he translating the commentary for the hearing impaired.
Cuatro! Rayo Vallecano supporter’s protests
If you don’t have a La Liga team, Rayo might be a good place to start. It's the plucky underdog from the working class suburbs of Madrid. Its away jersey has a rainbow sash that represents seven social injustices in Spain. If you buy the jersey you get to choose which charity gets the profits from your purchase. Its third jersey is pink and supports those battling cancer.
If that’s not enough to win you over, the fans last season had a Simpsons themed protest during the match.
In the past those same fans also had a mock funeral during a match to mark "the death of the soul of football".
And despite its tiny budget, this club loves to play attacking football.
Cinco! Loco La Liga
The players are nuts:
The coaches are nuts:
The commentators are nuts:
Nothing like a bit of crazy to keep things exciting.
Seis! The incredible players
Only the most foolish among us would not agree that what Messi and Ronaldo are doing in football is phenomenal. It’s hard to believe that we’ll ever see one player, let alone two in tandem, reach the level this pair has in the next 20 years.
Goals, assists, tricks, they do it all. Whether you prefer one or the other doesn’t really matter, because we’re lucky enough to get to watch both in our lifetime. Whenever these two - not to mention the many other geniuses like Luis Suarez, Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Gareth Bale, Isco, James Rodriguez, Antoine Griezmann and Koke – are playing, it is simply a joy to watch.
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