Osasuna: Jose Antonio Camacho is to be congratulated for the remarkable job he did of keeping the Pamplona side up. Goals were the problem in the first half of the season but this included considerably in the second half thanks mainly to Walter Pandiani and the influence of hitherto-unheralded Iranian midfielder Masoud Shojaei. Juanfran's last-gasp winner on the final day against Real Madrid sort of summed it up. 5/10.
Racing: After two or three seasons of real progress, Racing Santander went backwards this year. After narrowly missing out on the elimination rounds of the UEFA Cup, their domestic form nosedived and it was only with the January return of Nikola Zigic that things improved. The giant Serbian forward's form was exceptional and the main factor in Racing beating the drop. Their home record was desperately poor and the summer recruitment needs to be good. 4/10.
Real Betis: A poor season for the verdiblancos was turned into a catastrophic one on the final day when they were relegated. Things looked to have picked up after 'traffic warden' Paco Chaparro was fired, but such was the ineptitude of the squad that Jose Nogues could not save them. Despite Ricardo Oliveira, Sergio Garcia and Achile Emana having good seasons up front, they were truly awful at the back, and won just 4 of 19 at home. Few neutrals will miss them or Juan Lopera's presence. 1/10.
Real Madrid: Oh dear. The wheels really came off for El Real once the title was conceded, where they lost each of their last 5 games. Juande Ramos sabotaged any chance he had of taking the manager's job full time once they were humiliated at home by Barcelona and Manuel Pellegrini takes over a squad that will probably look drastically different. A few (Higuain, Diarra) emerge with credit but the rest, as a rule, were largely dreadful despite that impressive run. 5/10.
Recreativo Huelva: My pick for relegation alongside Numancia and Sporting (2 out of 3 ain't bad), Recreativo suffered from a chronic shortage of goals and a dreadful home record that not even the tireless Javier Camunas could resolve. The rest of the squad were not up to scratch, and their place in the Segunda is well earned. 1/10.
Sevilla: Manolo Jimenez will remain as Sevilla coach after guiding his team to third place, a decent achievement but one which has been overshadowed by some criticising his style of football. Regardless, Sevilla have one of the most reliable defences in La Liga, and in Fredi Kanoute a superb frontman. Renato and Jesus Navas also impressed on occasion, but if they are to kick on the likes of Diego Capel, Luis Fabiano and Romaric must improve. 7/10.
Sporting Gijon: Despite my repeated assertions that Sporting were a terrible football team, they have somehow managed to stay up despite losing 23 matches and possessing the worst defensive record in the league. 3 straight wins in their last 3 was the clincher, while Mate Bilic, Diego Castro and Carmelo have all enhanced their reputations. They'll still be my pick for relegation next year, though. 4/10.
Valencia: It was always going to be difficult for Unai Emery given the off-field turmoil, and Valencia became an unpredictable side throughout the season after a good start. Juan Mata was a revelation, outshining Villa and Silva but the big question now is how many of the stars will remain after a summer of debt-clearing. Missing out on the Champions League has surely confirmed sales. 7/10.
Valladolid: Valladolid's season fell flat after Christmas, so much so that they only avoided the drop by one point having spent three quarters of the campaign in the top half. Starlet goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo has already moved on (to Atletico Madrid) and the impressive Jonathan Sesma and Pedro Leon could also follow. 5/10.
Villarreal: Ernesto Valverde will inherit a team in the UEFA Cup but with the potential to go further, an at times frustrating side who are increasingly overshadowed by the big spenders above them. Marcos Senna looked knackered all season long, and were it not for Diego Lopez's superb form in goal, and the scoring form of Rossi and Llorente, the Yellow Submarine would have missed out on top six altogether. A season of transition awaits. 6/10.
Team of the Season:
Lopez (Villarreal); Alves (Barcelona), Squillaci (Sevilla), Pique (Barcelona), Escude (Sevilla); Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Mata (Valencia); Messi (Barcelona), Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Higuain (Real Madrid)
Coach: Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
Honourable Mentions: Samuel Eto, Renato, David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Fredi Kanoute, Lassana Diarra, Alvaro Negredo, Juan Arango, Nikola Zigic, Juanma, Nabil Baha, Roberto Soldado, Victor Valdes, Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Eric Abidal, Gonzalo, Duda, Eliseu, Javi Martinez
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