Page 48 - Soccer360 Issue 107

SEASON PREVIEW
2024-25
EPL SEASON REVIEW
LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
WOULD BE
QUITE THE
SURPRISE
IF REAL
MADRID
DON’T
MANAGE
TO RETAIN
THE TITLE
THAT THEY
WON SO POWER-
FULLYIN
2023-24”
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
KEY PLAYER
REAL MADRID
FINISH: 1st Place
RECORD: 29-8-1
MOST GOALS: Bellingham (19)
REAL SOCIEDAD
FINISH: 6th
RECORD: 16-12-10
MOST GOALS: Oyarzabal (9)
REAL VALLADOLID
FINISH: 2nd (Segunda) RECORD: 21-9-12 MOST GOALS: Sylla (8)
“IT
Real Madrid will be the team to catch again for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with Carlo Ancelotti’s team adding Kylian Mbappe to their galaxy of stars. The insertion of the superstar Frenchman to their attack to join Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, and fellow new signing Endrick should be
a sight to behold, and if they find the right balance there will surely be only one team winning La Liga this term.
There has been no drop off for Los Blancos, even after the retirement of club legend Toni Kroos, and it will only be rivals improvements that can threaten them. In all honesty, it would be quite the surprise if they don’t manage to retain the title that they won so powerfully in 2023-24, with only one defeat all season.
Kylian Mbappe
Squad departures have dented confidence in San Sebastian but the core of their 2023-24 team remains in place and that should be more than enough to challenge the top six again. Euro 2024 winners Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino are among those to leave for significant transfer fees, but equally they were boosted by Martin Zubimendi’s decision to stay amid interest from Liverpool.
With midfielder Luka Sukic and full-back Sergio Gomez signing from RB Salzburg and Manchester City respectively, Sociedad are well placed to progress and may even have half an eye on fourth place. After all, in attack, Mikel Oyarzabal and Takefusa Kubo are still one of the deadliest duos in La Liga.
Mikel Oyarzabal
Real Valladolid finished second in the Segunda, in behind Leganes, to force themselves back into the top tier. They bounced back impressively after the agony of a final day relegation in 2022-23, but now they’ll be utterly desperate to avoid the drop this term and cease being the great yo-yo team of Spanish football.
Coach Paulo Pezzolano is on new ground in La Liga and they have lost some big characters with Joel Masip and Alvaro Negredo leaving on free transfers. However, Valladolid have recruited heavily with Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein joining on loan, with standout permanent acquisitions including Croatian midfielder Stipe Biuk from Los Angeles FC, and Real Madrid forward Juanmi Latasa.
Karl Hein
46 SOCCER360