No Spain, no gain

By Andy Hall

When the draw for the last eight of the UEFA Champions League is made on Friday, there will be no Spanish sides in the hat for the first time since the competition took its current name for the 1992/93 edition.

Soul searching
The second legs of last week's last-16 ties saw FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF surrender first-leg leads to bow out of the competition, and with Valencia CF and RC Deportivo La Coruña having been eliminated in the group stage, much soul-searching has ensued.

General consensus
Ahead of the second legs, the general consensus in Spain was that both sides would progress if they could score an away goal. Instead, both were eliminated and the talk now is of major changes before the start of the 2005/06 campaign.

Injured defender
Carrying a 2-1 lead from the first leg at Camp Nou, Barça felt the absence of injured defender Rafael Márquez as they conceded three quick goals at Chelsea FC, and Ronaldinho's magnificent goal was little consolation as they conceded late to succumb to a 4-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge. "We knew the dangers of Chelsea's set-pieces," said coach Frank Rijkaard as he reflected on John Terry's decisive 76th-minute header from a Damien Duff corner. "Terry's goal was the killer blow and we did not know how to respond."

Extra motivation
However, with Barça in pole position to win this season's Primera División, all is not lost. Their younger players will surely come into the competition next season the wiser for their experience, and more determined to progress to the last eight and beyond.

Angry response
Madrid, however, may not be so lucky. Eleven points adrift of Barça, their grip on second place in the league has looked increasingly tenuous as their form has deserted them after a bright spell under Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

Long decline
The 2-0 extra-time defeat against Juventus FC prompted anger, with the headline of one Spanish newspaper simply saying 'Shameful'. Most regard the problems that have beset Madrid this season as deep-rooted ones. Some say they never recovered from the loss to Real Zaragoza in last season's Copa del Rey final - others trace the decline back even further.

Complacent squad
Liverpool FC coach Rafael Benítez once said: "Practically every club needs reinforcements when entering the Champions League." Madrid have, for many, not made enough. Nine of the players who won the Champions League in 2001/02 are still at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Angry supporters
Some sections of the crowd have targeted certain 'galáctico' stars, while others have sniped that the club's reserve players are not up to scratch - hugely unfair considering that Madrid's B team are presently on course for promotion to the Segunda División for the first time in history.

No shame
Luxemburgo - the club's fourth coach in 12 months - has taken flak for tactical decisions, but one of his predecessors, Vicente Del Bosque, insisted there was no shame in Madrid's defeat. "Arsène Wenger's Arsenal [FC] have been eliminated, so have Alex Ferguson's Manchester United [FC]," he said.

New names
Certainly, losing out to sides of the stature of Juventus and Chelsea is no disgrace for Madrid or Barça, but many have seen it as a turning point. With Madrid likely to make major changes in the summer and both Valencia and Deportivo in the doldrums, next season may see new Spanish names in Europe.