Football Season Guide

Returning to the top flight of Spanish football at the third time of asking, last season Levante managed to avoid a fall back to the Second division almost at the very last minute. It was immediately clear that their season would not have been an easy one as they obtained just 1 win out of their initial 7 games and things did not get any better in the following months. A 6-game winless run (1D 5L) between mid-October and mid-November cost coach Julian Calero, the architect of their promotion, his post. The management took their time before handing the reins of the team to a new man and this man was Luis Castro, coming off a disastrous experience at Nantes. Castro debuted with a win and, despite a disastrous 4-game losing streak in February, led the team out of the bottom 3 thanks to a 3-game winning run in May. Salvation was thus reached on a goal difference although they lost the last season game. Offensively, Levante were far from bad, they scored 47 goals, but they were utterly hopeless at the back, as they conceded 61 goals, thus sporting the worst defence of the league. While starting goalie Ryan was re-signed after being initially released, not too surprisingly, the heart of the defence was heavily modified over the summer. Starting centre-back Elgezabal was let go, while fellow starter Moreno returned to his parent club together with back-up Matturro. In came experienced Mandi, who is set to become a protagonist, but they lack depth on the bench. The midfield lost starting Pablo along with back-ups Vencedor, hardly used by Castro, and Raghouber. Bardeli should thus be fighting for a starting spot while young Sotelo and Requena look more like bench material. Up-front, they sacrificed outstanding Espì, their top scorer with 13 goals despite only playing under Castro, to Real Madrid money. They signed a promising 19-year-old Musuayi and no other striker, meaning perhaps that they still haver confidence on Eyong, disappointing in Springtime.