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Barca's Basque task - Balague

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Our resident Spanish football expert offers his views on the latest La Liga action.

LIVE LA LIGA ON SKY SPORTS

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona Saturday, Sky Sports Xtra, 6.30pm Valencia v Atletico Madrid Saturday, Sky Sports Xtra, 9pm Real Madrid v Getafe Sunday, Sky Sports 1, 8pm

Guillem previews the weekend's live bill from La Liga and answers your emails on Spanish football. Click on the link below and send him a question.

EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO GUILLEM!

ATHLETIC BILBAO v BARCELONA

This is the sort of match that produces fireworks. Two different concepts of football, both followed religiously. On the one hand there is Barcelona, a club proud to have tasted, through Johan Cruyff, first as a player and then as a coach, the delights of football played to feet, where dribbling, magical turns and that which is 'different' are not just a solution but also a necessity. Then on the other there is an Athletic that passionately defends its past as grandchildren of the original group of Englishmen who created the club. Their philosophy, the most romantic in football, is that only Basque players can be part of their squad. Their style is as close as it can be to the classic English route-one football. The weather, the atmosphere, even their shirts help create that feeling of Englishness, too.

But now back to the match. This Barcelona team is sown together by a very thin piece of cotton. One more injury and the that fraying thread will break and the whole thing may crumble. The squad is small and they will need to make a signing in December (Tacchinardi, Dacourt and Davids have been talked about) but they have still managed to put up better stats than the Dream Team of Johan Cruyff, that squad of the mid-90s that won four consecutive league titles and one European cup, still their only one. That is heresy to some of the old members of that team (Stoichkov, Beguristain, Ferrer) now converted into media personalities (think of Liverpool and their 28 former pros recycled as commentators and you will get a close picture of the transformation of the Dream Team and their influence). Without feeling the same sense of jealousy, I agree with them - this Barcelona has won nothing yet. But I am sure they will at the end of this season

VALENCIA v ATLETICO MADRID

Claudio Ranieri says the media are out there to destroy him. In England he was regarded as a figure of fun, a bit lucky for having reached the heights of last season with Chelsea. In Valencia, the impression is that his time has passed, that yes, he helped Valencia be what they are but that the club is now a serious contender for everything and he has not got the skill to fight with the best. How unfair!

Being a good coach is about watching the pieces of the puzzle come together, hardly doing anything, maybe a push there, a decision here, but it is mostly about having the ability to create an atmosphere which everyone enjoys. It is also to recognise where the group is heading, clearing the route and letting them run towards it, only letting them know every now and again that you are there in case they fall or in case they slack. Claudio does that.

But now he is in Valencia. And that means (as Rafa Benitez would tell you) he is a coach and only a coach. He doesn't choose the players to sign (he only approved the signing of Corradi, Moretti, Caneira, di Vaio and Fiore, who just happen to be Italian); he is forced to let Mista rot outside the inner circle as his contractual problems drag on; Vicente, Ayala and Aimar have been injured most of the season (not his fault either); and more importantly, the Valencia squad has not got the mentality of the big teams: after winning the title, Valencia just breathe a sigh of relief and it takes them months to recover from the celebrations. However, they are still the second best team in Spain and they will show so in due course.

REAL MADRID v GETAFE

Michael Owen has scored three goals in three matches and he only has his team-mates to thank/blame: they are seeing him now. It is a shame David Beckham is injured at this stage, his link with Owen would have made him his best friend on the pitch. But somebody else has picked up where David left: Raul has realized earlier than his team mates what Owen can add to the side. That is not by chance. When you hear about the importance of Raul, that tends to be followed by a bunch of impressive statistics. But he is something else: the cleverest football brain in Spain.

In the last month he has assisted Owen, playing behind him, sometimes on the right but mainly on the left, in two-and-a-half matches (the second-half against Betis, Dinamo Kiev and Valencia). He was the main reason why the most offensive team in history (with Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo, Owen, Guti, Roberto Carlos and Figo, I bet you cannot find another one to match it) managed to get two one-nils in a row. He has balanced the squad by working hard like a midfielder would do and also had the time to look upfront and see Owen run into space (against Valencia). He is a great, nobody should doubt him ever.

GUILLEM ANSWERS YOUR EMAILS

In your opinion, who do you think should be named the world player of the year? A lot has been said about the players on the list. The likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Micheal Owen have all under-achieved for both club and country. Why are the likes of Jay Jay Okocha, Henrik Larsson and Patrick Vieira not on the list. This is surely an issue that questions the integrity of FIFA. Bernard Oseha, Lagos, Nigeria

GUILLEM SAYS: Those awards tend to be given to someone who appears at the right time - a World Cup or a European final. They are not very football-like because they do not appreciate the work put up in a whole year (that is why Raul has never won it). In fact, what an unfootballing thing it is giving an individual prize: the game is collective and the season is only halfway through. If I had to choose I would pick Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney. Although their level has been irregular to say the least, especially in the case of Rooney, these are the two footballers that have reinstated my faith in the game - they add magic, surprise, cheekiness. They are playing in the street even when they are in the biggest football situations.

I am an avid Liverpool fan and was wondering in your opinion - do you think Morientes will be a Liverpool player when the transfer window re-opens in January? Surely he knows he's not wanted now. S Bradley

GUILLEM SAYS: The case of Fernando Morientes is an unfair one. His quality would be useful in any team in the world, except Real Madrid's at the moment. But his legend has grown with his return to the bench. You must remember he rediscovered his form with a team that played in the French league and who used his strengths to a maximum, even allowing him to reinvent himself as a second striker. They are two things that won't happen in the case of Liverpool. He is a player that depends greatly on his mood. If he hits form and feels wanted, he delivers. If he feels the competition is too hard (he is not a physical player) or too fast (so he cannot use the movements he has learnt at Monaco) he may want to go home sooner rather than later. I doubt he will be a success in England, although I would play him at Madrid, especially now that Beckham is being used as a winger when the team is attacking. His crosses need El Moro's head.

Are you surprised Bernd Schuster - a firebrand in his playing days - is making a successful manager? How high do you think he will go, with Levante and in management as a whole??? S Turner, Enfield

GUILLEM SAYS: You are being quite generous to Schuster. He has not proven yet to be a successful manager. After failing in Germany, he had a spell at Shaktar Donestk and then with Xerez in the Second division, where he almost managed to promote the side. It is true that problems with the board meant he had to leave when he was doing a decent job, but his coaching CV is hardly the stuff of legend. At Levante he complained he hadn't heard of some of the players that have made a difference so far (Manchev mainly), instead of accepting the club were making a huge effort to make sure ends were met. He is far too much of a single-minded person to end up in a big team and that will affect his career. Levante is, though, the most suited team of the three promoted last year to stay up in La Liga and cause some upsets during the season, but I don't see them going beyond the bottom half.