As the Spanish soccer league approaches its 2010/2011 season, Spanish La Liga news is filled with changes. The La Liga Table is changing, with three teams from the 2009-2010 season-Real Valladolid, CD Tenerife, and Xerez CD-moving down to the Segunda Division and Real Sociedad, 2009-2010 Segunda Division champs, along with runners up Hercules CF and Levante UD, are all moving up. The move to La Liga represents a return to the top Spanish league for Hercules after an absence of 13 years.

Speculation concerning Jose Mourinho’s impact as the new coach for Real Madrid is rife in the Spanish League. The move of Mourinho from Inter Milan to Real Madrid ignited fresh hopes that this longtime La Liga powerhouse would return to the top. Mourinho became Real Madrid’s 10th coach in 10 seasons, replacing Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini after only one season. On becoming coach, Mourinho said that he wanted to learn more about the team before deciding on any changes, but initially he wanted to develop team unity instead of focusing on individual talent. Already, he seems to be making an impact. Reports coming from the team credit Mourinho with instilling the club with a lot of confidence going into the new season. Certainly the coach with a no-nonsense attitude-he reportedly has installed beds at the training grounds to keep his players from leaving for home for a siesta between morning and afternoon practice-seems poised to have a major impact on Real Madrid’s performance during the 2010-2011 Spanish soccer league season.

Spanish La Liga transfers also figure to have a major impact on the 2010-2011 season. David Villa’s transfer from Valencia to Barcelona for a fee of 40 million Euros is thought to have an impact on not just one but both teams. With the loss of two stars in Villa and David Silva, who transferred to Manchester city, speculation is rife over whether or not Valencia can compete with the league’s powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona. The most Valencia can hope for after the loss Villa and Silva, many say, is to compete with Atletico Madrid and Seville for third spot in the Spanish league.

The major question concerning La Liga for the 2010/2011 season is which team is the favorite-Real Madrid or Barcelona. Barcelona begins the 80th Spanish season a favorite to win their third title in a row. But the team has money problems, failing to pay its players at the end of June and having to take out a $197 million dollar loan to do so. In addition, the move of Mourinho to Real Madrid have many speculating that the coach who led Inter Milan to its first European Champions League cup in years is just what that team needs to return to the top of La Liga. So, if Mourinho can live up to the speculation and Barcelona can stay afloat, once again it’s clear that while there are 20 teams in La Liga, the contest in 2010/2011 is really only between the two Spanish powerhouses.