The Spanish La Liga ended last Sunday with Real Valladolid falling to the Segunda division and Osasuna qualifying for European football.
Valladolid are owned by Ronaldo De Lima and prior to the culminating game of the season, six teams knew they could relegate to the second division.
Elche and Espanyol had already rubber-stamped their drop to La Liga 2, leaving one dreaded slot available.
In spite of controlling their encounter against Getafe with a superior 79% possession and 15 shots, Real Valladolid couldn’t break the deadlock.
The encounter ended 0-0 with their relegation place confirmed and they would be returning to the Segunda division where they competed in the 2021/22 season.
In other centers, emotional scenes were the order of the day as Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard said their goodbyes to Real Madrid.
At the Estadio Benito Villamarín, 41-year-old Joaquin bid farewell to boyhood club Real Betis.
10 things picked out of the final matchday in the La Liga
Anyway, Futballnews would be telling you extensively ten things we picked out from the last set of games in the La Liga for the 2022/23 season.
Real Valladolid dragged back to the Segunda division
Starting from the Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla in Valladolid where the atmosphere was dispirited after full time when it dawned on Real Valladolid fans that they were returning to the second division.
Ronaldo De Lima Nazario took over the helm of the club in 2018 and they have been relegated twice to the second division since he took charge.
It is uncertain where things turned south as the club seemingly had a good winter transfer window.
Real Valladolid signed Kyle Larin on loan from Club Brugge and he scored 8 goals in 19 appearances for the side, not a bad return you could say.
De Lima also made a bold call in the dugout replacing Pacheta with Paulo Pezzolano in April.
Pezzolano has also been put down as the man who would take charge of the side next season and the change was needed due to Valladolid’s poor performance during the season.
The Uruguayan won two of his first three matches as manager but followed it up with five defeats which resulted in their relegation.
The president of Real Valladolid was live at a press conference on Monday amidst “Ronaldo go now” chants from Sunday night still ringing in his ears.
Valladolid’s target prior to the season was to qualify for European football but they are heading back to the La Liga 2.
Goodbye to the Estadio Benito Villamarin for Joaquin
A teary and emotional Joaquin was seen during and after Real Betis 1-1 draw with Valencia.
The Spaniard ended with a record number of 622 appearances, equalling the tally of former Spain International Andoni Zubizarreta.
Joaquin Rodriguez might become a manager, football administrator, technical director or even President but he can enjoy the hiatus as he edges close to his 42nd birthday.
The Rojillos earned a place in European football for next season
In the 2020/21 season, head coach of Osasuna Jagoba Arrasate couldn’t engineer a win for the side in 13 games and despite that horrible run, Osasuna kept faith with him.
Arsate has repaid the faith the club had in him in massive density as he made it to the Copa Del Rey final and finished 7th on the Spanish La Liga table.
That 7th place finish in the La Liga earned Osasuna a spot in the Europa Conference League for next season.
Bye Bye Big Benz But Is There A Ready-Made Replacement?
Karim Benzema partnered Cristiano Ronaldo for 9 seasons in the La Liga playing a supportive role in attack.
However, after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner exited the Santiago Bernabeu, Benzema became saddled with the responsibility of scoring goals.
The Frenchman didn’t fail in stepping up to the billing and he netted above 20 goals in every season except for this campaign where he scored 19 in the La Liga.
Harry Kane has been mooted as a possible successor to the current Ballon d’Or winner but it wouldn’t be easy to lure him away from Spurs.
Could AS Roma be the next destination for Jose Bordalas?
Peradventure Jose Mourinho exits Rome then there could be a seeming good fit for the Giallorossi available.
Jose Bordalas secured European football for Getafe in his first stint in charge of the side and in the 2021/22 campaign he led Valencia to the Copa Del Rey final.
The Spaniard left Mestalla at the end of last season and was without a job until Getafe reached out for his services.
Getafe needed to secure their safety in the top-flight and they felt he was the right choice.
He did the magic and ensured that the club who play their home game at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez remain in the La Liga.
The 59-year-old is still in charge of the Deep Blue ones but a move to the Serie A might be in the offing.
Marco Asensio’s final dance at Real Madrid encompassed his time at the club
The Spain International came on as a substitute and then was removed from the game in order for him to receive an ovation at their home turf.
Asensio scored 61 goals in 285 matches with a large chunk of those goals being great goals but he just couldn’t stay consistent enough to keep a starting shirt.
Eden Hazard: Is the Belgian comfortable in redundancy?
Hazard didn’t show a happy countenance when he was thrown up in the air by teammates after the final whistle.
Eden Hazard couldn’t deliver for the La Liga club
The 32-year-old didn’t produce the goods at Real Madrid despite the heavy trust put on him.
He was brought in as some sought of a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo coming in for a staggering €100 million fee.
Eden Hazard had an injury blighted spell at Real Madrid coupled with indiscipline on his path.
The Belgian scored just 7 goals in 76 appearances for Los Blancos.
Only Basque acquisition! Should Athletic Bilbao continue with the tradition?
Well, it might be time for them to do a rethink over their transfer policy but supporters of the club most likely wouldn’t welcome that thought.
Fans of Athletic Bilbao are hell-bent on keeping to the long term tradition of signing only Basque players.
The club had their sights on qualifying for Europe but they couldn’t achieve that target.
The unavailability of a goal poacher definitely had an effect on the side but anyway, only the future knows if they would ever move away from the doctrine.
Ernesto Valverde’s side would be playing European football next season but they certainly should know what their priority is for the summer, getting a great center forward.
Antonio Lahoz: Controversial referee says goodbye to the La Liga
Additionally, referee Antonio Lahoz also took charge of his final La Liga game and he was emotional after full time.
He was the center referee for the encounter between Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano.
