In a league of their own

By Jim Wirth

Real Sociedad and TNS Llansantffraid FC tasted their first defeats of 2002/03 at the weekend, but for five other sides the dream of a flawless season is still alive.

Bilbao burst bubble
Raynald Denoueix's Real had gone 20 games unbeaten before they were undone by Basque rivals Athletic Club Bilbao in a 3-0 reverse on Saturday, which cut their lead in the Primera División to four points.

Brave face
The French coach put a brave face on the defeat, although striker Darko Kovacevic had said during the week that he would rather lose to any team other than Athletic. "I wasn't at all surprised," said Denouiex. "It's easy to lose concentration in a derby."

TNS thwarted
TNS coach Ken McKenna might be a little less happy with his charges. Having held all-conquering Barry Town AFC - widely regarded as Wales's strongest side - in their 20th game of the campaign, they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at struggling Caernarfon Town FC in their 21st.

Five survivors
However, where Real and TNS foundered, five other teams might yet succeed. Portugal's FC Porto, Bulgaria's PFC CSKA Sofia, Turkey's Besiktas JK, Cyprus's APOEL Nicosia FC and Andorra's UE Santa Coloma remain unbeaten in 2002/03.

Porto power
Coach José Mourinho has safely negotiated 20 league games with Porto already, and with a 13-point lead over second-placed SL Benfica, the 40-year-old looks set to keep the promise he made when he took over at the José Alvalade in 2001/02 - that he would win the title in his first full season.

'Masterful attitude'
"Our challengers are not having a bad season, the fact is that we have simply been playing better than all of them," said Mourinho. "This group of players grew as a team playing every match to win it. That masterful attitude will not change."

Out of the shadows
It is a similar story for Stoytcho Mladenov's CSKA, who have emerged from the shadow of local rivals PFC Levski Sofia to win 13 out of 13 games in the first half of the campaign.

Lucky 13
The club expect more success when the league resumes after the winter break. "I believe we have the strength to finish the championship without losing a point," said CSKA's new director of football Stoyan Ormandzhiev. "We are currently light years ahead of our opponents."

Brilliant Besiktas
Besiktas have required years of patience as they battled to break Galatasaray SK's local hegemony, but under Romanian Mircea Lucescu - the last foreign coach in the Turkish top flight - they are unbeaten in 19 games and five points clear of Cimbom.

APOEL stumble
A mid-term coaching change may have hampered APOEL's title hopes, but it has not affected their determination. This weekend's 1-1 draw under Takis Lemonis, who replaced Egen Gerard in December, extended their unbeaten sequence to 17 matches but saw them drop a point behind Omonia FC in the table.

Andorran class
Cypriot sides are giants compared to those in Andorra, but Saint Coloma remain the titans of football in the tiny principality. They walloped Sporting Club d'Escaldes 8-0 in their last outing on 19 January to stay unbeaten in eleven games.

Exclusive club
FC Shakhtar Donetsk were the last team to finish a UEFA top-flight campaign undefeated as they took the 2001/02 Ukrainian title. Perhaps one of this season's five surviving unbeaten sides can join them in one of Europe's most exclusive clubs.