What happened last season atop the Spanish First Division standings occurred only one other time in the last 50 years: neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona finished in the top two.
Valencia took the La Liga crown, and Deportivo Coruna finished runner-up. Deportivo gave further notice that the two giants' stranglehold on Spanish soccer has loosened by beating Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Cup. The 2-1 win was particularly humiliating for Real Madrid – and especially satisfying for Madrid-haters – because the Spanish federation had allowed the game to be staged in Madrid on March 6, the date on which Real Madrid was founded in 1902.
While Deportivo muted Real Madrid's centenary celebration, Valencia was out to prove that it could break its habit of nose-diving after each brief run of success. And a setback did look likely because Valencia had lost its coach and best player in the offseason.
Argentine Hector Cuper, who had guided Los ChTs to Champions League runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2001, left for Inter Milan, and midfielder Gaizka Mendieta went further south, to Lazio, on a $41 million transfer.
But Coach Rafael Benitez, despite suffering the indignity of getting knocked out of the UEFA Cup to Cuper's Inter, orchestrated Valencia's first La Liga win since Alfredo Di Stefano coached it to the 1971 crown.
Benitez put his faith in diminutive Argentina midfielder Pablo Aimar, who arrived the previous season at age 22 and hit excellent form in the midst of the title run.
That Valencia has been able to overcome the departures of players such as Mendieta and Claudio Lopez, the Argentine striker who spearheaded its 1999 Spanish Cup win and 2000 Champions League runner-up finish, bodes well for its future.
Likewise, Deportivo Coruna seems to have established a place for itself among Spain's elite.
The Galician team's rise began in the mid-1990s, when it finished second two years straight. It led for most the 1993-94 season and would have taken the title if Miroslav Djukic hadn't missed a 89th-minute penalty kick in the last game against what was then a modest Valencia squad. Instead, Barcelona took the crown for a fourth straight time.
In 2000, it finally won La Liga. The title marked only the 14th time in 67 seasons that a team besides Barcelona or Real Madrid won the title. In 2001, Deportivo finished second to Real Madrid.
Deportivo's future looks bright thanks to the decision by Coach Javier Irureta, who arrived in 1999, to integrate young Spanish talent into a squad that in the mid-1990s relied heavily on a conglomeration of foreigners.
Real Madrid was finally able to celebrate its anniversary with a title, overcoming Germany's Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League final for a record ninth European Cup. But Barcelona has gone three years without a title.
It has brought back Dutch coach Luis Van Gaal, who coached Barcelona from 1997 to 2000, winning two league titles and one Spanish Cup. Van Gaal's first stint was also marked by a running feud with Rivaldo – who has left for AC Milan – and Van Gaal's unpopularity with media and fans, who saw in him a man unwilling to embrace their Catalan culture and dubbed him the Poisoned Dwarf.
Replacing the gap left by world champion Rivaldo in midfield are young Argentine Juan Roman Riquelme and Mendieta, who once thrilled Valencianos by stating, ''I'm not interested in playing for Barca. I'm happy here. I can win more trophies with this club [Valencia].''
by Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla