5. Scotland in the sun: How La Liga’s problems are more than just skin deep

The media

Though there is no clear evidence to suggest the media embellishes Barca’s and Real’s superiority,  but they certainly do not do it any harm.

In recent times Madrid-based daily Marca have been known to delete players, or even adjust lines on the pitch, to illustrate refereeing bias towards arch-rivals Madrid.

Javier Tebas certainly feels as though the lesser lights get a raw deal from the media. He said: “The newspapers actually focus completely on Barcelona and Real and this is bad for the smaller teams as well. El Pais as well.”

The Guardian’s Spanish football writer Sid Lowe suggested a rational reason behind the media bias. He said: “One of the reasons the media are so biased in Spain is because it is an economic decision. It’s based on what they believe their market is.”

But it does give for uncomfortable reading at times as he confirms: “It’s very unpleasant to read sometimes but Marca and AS, who are very pro Real Madrid, are like this because they believe it helps their sales. They think it helps their sales because these two teams dominate so much and very few people want neutrality, even those who, in theory, are neutrals. For example, take a Real Zaragoza fan and, in theory, he’s not interested in partisan reporting on Madrid or Barcelona, but in practice, the chances are that when Madrid plays Barcelona he always wants the same team to win. It’s not that he likes the way one of them plays or a certain player. Therefore he’s a fan of sorts.”

2. Scotland in the sun: How La Liga’s problems are more than just skin deep

Falling behind - Real Zaragoza, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad

Real Zaragoza

The stadium is in disarray and is located, ironically, next to a hospital. To add insult to injury, the section of said hospital happens to be 'urgencias'.

There is a pretty glum feeling around La Romareda. The graffiti adds to the sense of despair and even the main pub in Plaza de San Francisco, just down the road from the downtrodden ground and beside the university, is a subdued, dark Scottish pub rather than a vibrant Irish establishment. It is as if they tried to be different but in doing so went in the wrong direction, much like Real Zaragoza.

It was not always thus. The Blanquillos finished in the top five on a consistent basis throughout the 1960s during what has been described as a golden era for the club.

In England, the club are most associated with beating Arsenal in the 1995 European Cup Winners' Cup final thanks to an outrageous lob from Nayim towards the end of extra-time. Nayim, an ex-Spurs midfield maestro, bought pleasure to his former club, as he sent their arch rivals into a state of apoplexy.

Nevertheless, the club's official name is Real Zaragoza S.A.D. The acronym stands for Sociedad Anonima Deportiva, meaning a sports corporation, and not Seasonal Affective Disorder, though some locals may disagree.

Valencia

The city celebrated the opening of their opera house in 2005 after 14 years work. The city was on a high at the time: its football team, Valencia CF, had won their second La Liga title in three seasons the year before.

On top of that they finished runners-up in two Champions League finals in a row just after the turn of the century. Things were certainly looking good, the club was in the midst of the most successful period in its history and they were set to move into a new stadium in 2009.

Unfortunately, on the field things turned sour and Valencia have never looked like repeating their success of the early part of the 21st century.

To make matters worse they are still stuck in the old, decrepit stadium that is the Mestalla as they cannot afford to finish the newer, 75,000 seated version. The club are beset with financial problems and many of their best players are regularly sold on to service their debts. £60 million came in the club's direction during the summer of 2010 thanks to the sales of David Silva and David Villa but little of this was re-invested in new players.

Atletico Madrid

Fifth highest point scorers in the history of Spanish football history, and third most successful in terms of La Liga titles, Atletico Madrid have plenty of off the field problems as they are €300 million in debt. They have even been accused of being the worst run club in Europe, as well as being described as a ‘madhouse’. Apart from that, they have little to worry about...

Real Sociedad

Situated in the picturesque coastal town of San Sebastian, Real Sociedad have had to come back from the brink of late.

Their plight has been largely attributed to Jose Luis Astiazaran, the current LFP president and former president of Sociedad.

Sid Lowe and Phil Ball have both claimed that he ran the club into the ground.

Thankfully, they appear to be over their troubles and have even inflicted a rare defeat on Barcelona in the 2009/10 season.

Sociedad won their only league title in 1981.