Thursday November 30 Iron Maiden tickets in Palau Sant Jordi at 21.30.

Seen anything you like in this week’s gig guide? Bah, sod all that pretentious codswallop, this is what you want to see. Maiden. Gods. Bruce Dickinson is still there to front one of the biggest rock bands ever. They’ve just released possibly their most serious’ album yet. A Matter of Life and Death, and it’s a belter, the only problem is that on this tour they are almost only playing their new stuff, with just a few token blasts of the likes of Run To the Hills for old timers like ourselves at the end. White man come…

Monday November 27 WASP tickets in Razzmatazz at 22.00.

Are WASP real metal or just a very good satire of the whole movement with their over-the-top shock rock lyrics? Ah, who gives a shite, get head banging. All the gimmicks are still there, but the flame-throwing cod piece has apparently been dropped.

Saturday November 25, Surfin Bichos tickets in Razzmatazz at 20.00.

You would be hard pushed to find a better band on the Spanish indie scene these days than these buys, despite the daft name.

BARCELONA v VILLARREAL TICKETS Sat, Nov 25: Barça looking forward

FC Barcelona may be one of the world’s most glamourous and richest clubs, but they currently find themselves short of players. Attacking players to be precise, as an plague of injuries has seen them left with just four recognised forwards to fill three positions. While on the one-hand one of the quartet is, arguably, the best player in the world in the shape of Ronaidinho, one of the others is Santiago Ezquerro.
Having lost Samuel Eto’o to a meniscus injury last month that will keep him side-lined until the New Year, Barca have now seen Leo Messi with a broken toe (or fifth metatarsal to be more precise) ruling him out for three months and Javier Saviola will miss the next six weeks after suffering a thigh injury.
Barca may well be given special dispensation to bring in a new player, as is the norm in Spain when several injuries occur at once, and that has led to speculation over who they could approach.
The keen favourite appears to be Henrik Larsson, who could be loaned back from Helsingborgs having chosen to quit Camp Nou last summer to return home. With the Swedish league having just finished the timing is perfect, but for now everyone is denying that contact has been made.
Two other names in the frame are Albert Luque, who has had a torrid time at Newcastle and, oddly enough, Diego Tristan who only moved to Mallorca during the summer.
One question that Sports Matter wants to ask is; do Barca not have any decent forwards in their youth ranks, or is it that when push comes to shove they do not have the faith in youngsters that they like to portray when naming a few of them for meaningless or easy games? Whichever it is, the next few weeks are really going to be testing for the Blaugrana and the visit of Villarreal will certainly set the ball rolling.
Blighted by injuries themselves, Manolo Pellegrini’s team looked shaky at the start of the campaign, but have certainly turned a corner in recent weeks and have been moving up the table.
Before last weekend’s reverse at Atletico, the team had been unbeaten in six league outings, having won four and drawn two to move into the top ten.
Juan Roman Riquelme appears to be firing on all cylinders again and with Diego Forlan and Nihat providing pace up front, Barca will have to be at their best. Villarreal have chalked up some decent results against Rijkaard’s team in recent seasons and with the home team in this encounter short of attacking options it will be interesting to see if Pellegrini opts to attack from the start, rather than sit back without so much firepower to worry about coming at his side. With the league being a tight one this season, Barcelona can not afford to lose this.
The history of the club, nicknamed the Yellow Submarine, really is a rags-to-riches story as they pushed themselves up from the lowest echelons of the Spanish game to come to within 90 minutes of reaching the biggest stage of all.
Founded-in 1923, Villarreal played in regional leagues and the Spanish third division (la Segunda B) until 1971 when they spent two seasons in the second tier before dropping back down again. Their ascent began in 1992/93 when they moved into and stayed in la Segunda A until the tail end of the decade when a further promotion saw them join the big boys for the first time ever. After failing to survive for more than year, they went down once more but bounced straight back up and have been in la Primera ever since where they are now force to be reackoned with. Under the guidance of former Barga player Victor Munoz, the team really blossomed and European football arrived in 2003-04 as Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, having qualified via the Intertoto Cup.
Last term was a fairytale as the team, now coached by Chilean Manolo Pellegrini, made it into the last four of the Champions League only to be defeated by Arsenal in the semis after Roman Riquelme saw a penalty saved in the last minute of the second leg.

Friday November 24, The Magic Numbers tickets in Razzmatazz at 19.30

English band who you could liken to Travis, had a big hit last year with Forever Lost and were the first band to ever walk out on Top of the Pops when the presenter suggested some of them were a little bit on the chubby side. They had a song called Hymn For Her. That’s a really clever name, isn’t it? No, it is.

ESPANYOL v ZULTE WAREGEM TICKETS, Thursday, November 23, 2006:

Without being too presumptuous, not many non-Belgian readers will have heard of Eerste Klasse outfit Zulte Waregem before reading this magazine.
That though may not be such a surprise given that the club, in its current guise has only been around since 2001. when Zulte W merged with KSV Waregem.
While Zulte had never before played in the top flight Waregem were regulars, but under their new name the team started in the lower tiers and only won promotion to the Belgian first division in 2004-05. This season their form in Europe has belied their inconsistent start on the domestic
front as they lead the way in Group F of the UEFA Cup, but are back in 14th place in the league with three wins, four draws and five defeats from their opening 12 matches.
Against continental opposition it is a different story as Franck Dury’s team started off with a 4-1 away thrashing of Austria Vienna before Sparta Prague were defeated 3-1 in the Regenboogstadion. Espanyol are also looking to maintain a 100 per cent record in the UEFA Cup ahead of this encounter, although they have only played one match to-date, having won 2-0 in Prague against Sparta.
Elsewhere in the tournament on the same night, Newcastle United could book their place in the elimination rounds if they can beat Celta Vigo at St. James’ Park. Tottenham may well already be safe, but they will be looking to take something from an attractive away tie against Bayer Leverkusen and Rangers can continue Scotland’s ever-improving record in Europe by also clinching a spot in the draw as they take on Auxerre at Ibrox.
While Osasuna have a week off, Sevilla play their second game of the group stage when they entertain Portuguese neighbours Braga, having drawn their opening match away against Slovan Liberec.
Blackburn Rovers are another familiar name that are on the verge of qualification after two wins on the bounce, but they will be truly tested to make it a hat-trick when they visit Holland to take on Feyenoord. Despite the bad rap that the UEFA Cup is given because of the ludicrous amount of games to whittle 40 teams down to 32, thanks to the entrance of the Champions League drop-outs in the next stage, there are still some attractive ties.
Thanks to the competition being played on a Thursday evening, most bars will be more than willing to screen a game for you.

Spanish ACB basketball - Sunday November 19 at 12.30 - FC Barcelona v Bruesa GBC Tickets

Barcelona have got off to a shaky elling to Gerona, Fuenlabrada and start in the ACB, yet their Badalona? No, of course it’s not. Euroleague form has been outstanding. Since the last Sports Matter, they have picked up comfortable wins against two recent champions of Europe, Benetton Treviso and Zalgiris Kaunas. So, why the superior performances against supposedly much better teams on the European stage? Read the papers and they’ll give all the usual cods about Dusko Ivanovic having concocted a playing style more suited to the continental game… but the real reason is more glaringly obvious. What are world class players like Mikael Kakiouzis of Greece and Jaka Lakovic of Slovenia doing at a team like Barga? Because they want to spend their weekends trav-
It’s because they want to win the Euroleague.
That’s the problem Barcelona will always have. Players don’t come here because they have any affection for the Barga legend, or because they have always dreamt of winning on the road at Murcia, they see it purely and simply as a chance get some glory on the European stage, and Barcelona’s performances in the ACB generally suffer because of it. Rant over, and the Euroleague opposition this week is Fenerbahce Ulker, another club that is associated to a football club, or at least half of it, because this Turkish side is the result of an amalgamation between two clubs last summer,
but they have yet to register their first win the competition. Most of their roster are Turks, including international Mirsad Turkcan, and Ibrahim Kutluay, once of the SuperSonics. Also watch out for American Will Solomon, once of the Memphis Grizzlies. Five days earlier and Barcelona have an ACB match at the Blaugrana. That’s against newly promoted Bruesa, better known as Gipuzkoa Basket Club, from San Sebastian. Look out for Michael Bradley, a centre who was traded to Bruesa by the Philadelphia 69ers this season.
Barga play at the Palau Blaugrana, which is part of the Camp Nou complex, located next to the football club’s museum and shop.

ESPANYOL v ATHLETIC TICKETS, Sunday, October 19, 2006: The importance of being Ernesto

It may be only quarter of the way through the season, but this encounter is already a real six-pointer for these two struggling outfits. Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao have won just one game each from their opening ten league games this season and are already facing a campaign of struggle to avoid the drop.
Both coaches are also under pressure and only away draws last weekend, arguably, saw them remain in charge of their respective teams. Ernesto Valverde will be hoping that his charges can have a change of fortune against the team that he left at the end of the 2004-05 season, having led them to two consecutive top ten finishes.
The Basque coach may have fond memories of his tenure at San Mames, but their will be no love lost as he fights to stay in his current post this Sunday. For Espanyol it really does appear like they are close to turning the corner. Los Periquitos are undefeated since September 24 in the league, but instead of registering any morale-boosting wins, they have strung together five consecutive draws.
A victory in their only UEFA Cup group game to-date did not give the team the push they needed and, instead, they exited the Copa del Rey after losing to third division Rayo Vallecano over two legs.
Last Sunday did see signs of encouragement as Ivan De la Pena was in sparkling form to help the team earn a 1-1 draw away at Real Sociedad. if the former Barca and Lazio midfielder can continue in the same form in the forthcoming games then things could really improve.
Striker Luis Garcia was also very lively in San Sebastian and appears to have put
his early-season off-field rift behind him. Athletic, like Espanyol, also struggled last term and have taken that form into the new season despite a change of coach and several new faces in the playing staff.
Javier Clemente replaced Jose Luis Mendilibar in the middle of last season with the club in the bottom three and he led them to safety.
After complaining on radio that none of the signings he had requested he been made though, he was ousted. Felix Sarriugarte was brought in, but he has failed, so far, to make the team click and is also under intense pressure.
Athletic are famous for sticking strictly to their Basque-only policy for their players as well as maintaining a sponsor-free shirt throughout their history.
Along with Barga and Real Madrid, they are only one of three teams never to have been relegated from the Spanish First Division. Founded in 1898 by a mixture of English workmen in Bilbao and local students who had visited Britain, the club has strong links to the UK. Originally named Bilbao Football Club, the club’s infamous colours were copied from either Southampton or Sunderland. With sight league titles and 24 Copa del Reys to their name, Athletic have a strong history, but have not a trophy for over two decades. In recent times the fluctuating fortunes have continued with European appearances being interspersed with battles against relegation. Last season the club only ensured themselves match after season of struggle and that form has of survival in their penultimate continued into this term.

Rambla’s characters 3

Rambla’s Characters 2