In this third instalment detailing the teams that are to participate in the next edition of the Liga Adelante we shall analyse CD Lugo, FC Barcelona 'B', CD Numancia and Real Zaragoza, the latter going through anxious times with payments pending to the Inland Revenue if they are to finally start their campaign on the 23 and 24 August. In any case, and except for the Barça reserves who cannot move up to the First Division, they will all put in a sterling performance in the forthcoming season which promises to be exciting. Many of the teams are pinning their hopes on one of the two places in the play-offs, specifically in the case of CD Lugo and CD Numancia, who yearn to improve their results in the 2013/14 season which confirmed both teams' growth over the last few seasons.

 

CD LUGO

Economic conditions once again condition the evolution of a number of teams in the Second Division. One of these teams is CD Lugo, who will try to repeat the consistency required to keep their place in this category; although that does not rule out them trying to gain promotion after a number of seasons in which they have smugly ensured their permanence in this division. Their lack of consistency in their away games is one of the areas the team from Galicia needs to look at in a season in which they can count on a budget of €4 million. To achieve this goal, Quique Setién will manage the bench of the team from Galicia for the sixth consecutive season. The manager from Cantabria hopes to return from holiday on 16 July with the basis of his team, which requires a number of reinforcements as there area a number of players who will leave CD Lugo compared with last season.

The first actions in terms of planning have revolved around replacing a number of players in the hope of creating a solid framework for the team with players who performed well last season. One of them was the winger from Seville, David de Coz, his contract has been extended until 30 June 2015, just like his team mate José Juan who has renewed his contract for another season. These players joint the rest of the footballers with contracts in force: Dani Mallo, David de Coz, Lolo Pavón, Jorge García, Víctor Marco, Manu, Carlos Pita, Fernando Seoane, Álvaro Peña, Iago Díaz and Ernesto. 

On the other hand, two of the most important players in the 2013/14 season, Enzo Rennella and Sergio Rodríguez, will leave Lugo to come to Heliópolis. Both players, who belong to Real Betis Balompié, have more than fulfilled the expectations placed on them during the loan to the red-and-white team, performing well and gaining the confidence of Quique Setién, who has developed the Franco-Italian and the Sevillian forwards who spent a season far from the green-and-white club. Furthermore, the contracts of players like Fran Sandaza or Pablo Sánchez, who played key roles in the team achieving their objectives, have now expired.

CD Lugo will start their pre-season preparations on Wednesday 16 July, playing Sporting de Gijón on 2 August in the most attractive match in their summer concentration period. A day in which we will be able to see the Albert Dalmau's debut with the team, their first signing for the forthcoming season. With the incorporation of this right wing-back from FC Barcelona (proof of Setién's admiration for the Barça style of football) the Galician team now has 13 players on their books.

 

FC BARCELONA ‘B’

As is customary for reserve teams the second Barça team will depend to a great extent on the number of players who will move up to the first team with Luis Enrique, who has already made in patently clear that one of the cornerstones of the team will be the apprentices. With a clearly defined philosophy advocating attacking football and in which the technical quality of each player makes a difference, Eusebio Sacristan's team aims to repeat their brilliant performance last season, topped off with a creditable third place cemented in a dazzling second round.

For the fifth consecutive season the Catalan team will be one of the most feared squads in this category given the drive and the nerve of the players motivated by the desire to play in the first team. Barça B is one of the most respected teams in the Championship.

Their ambition will be wrapped in first-touch football, the hallmark of La Masía Academy as it has been for many years now and fostered in every match by their coach Eusebio Sacristán. This will be his fourth season at the helm of the Barça reserves. The coach from Valladolid will have a select repertoire of players such as Sergi Gómez (U21 international player), Adrián Ortolá (U20 international player), Sandro Ramírez, Sergi Samper, Adama Traoré, Grimaldo and El Haddadi (U19 international players), Bagnack and Dongou (full internationals with Cameroon) and Babunski (with Macedonia). Despite their young age many of them have managed to take the final step up and form part of the first-team manager's plans confirming his main objective, that of filtering players as they have done over many seasons.

Despite the departures of Jordi Masip, Carles Planas, Ilie, Edu Bedia and Denis Suárez, the Catalans have reinforced their team with players who are destined to forge the future of the club, in the main they have moved up from the U18 team. If anything, all eyes will be on Alen Halilovic, one of the rough-cut diamonds on the European football scene. The youngster from Croatia, just 18 years of age, came to Barcelona in exchange for €2.2 million and is destined to be a future star at Camp Nou. Capped with his national team, Halilovic will initiate his career at Barça in the reserves, although it is thought that he will soon outgrow the Liga Adelante. Definitely a star in the making to keep an eye on.

 

CD NUMANCIA

With two signings to date, The team from Soria will try to return to the top tier of Spanish football after a six-year absence. Curiously, relegation in the 2008/09 season after a disastrous second round was shared with Real Betis, who accompanied the team from Soria in their drop to the Liga Adelante, then just the Second Division. Unlike the other teams in this review, the red team has not suffered the upheaval of other teams in this category who are obliged to make profound changes in all their lines. There will be some interesting matches for Anquela's team with fixtures against Club Atlético de Madrid and SD Eibar.

Juan Antonio Anquela will continue to run the bench in his second season at Soria. Last season in which CD Numancia spent two thirds of the season in line for promotion to the Liga BBVA or thereabouts, has led them to set as their objective one of the top six sought-after spots that will give them a chance to dream of a promotion to the First Division. That is why the stadiums playing host to the Liga Adelante matches will witness an intense team with a winning mentality, just as they did in the 2013/14 season in which CD Numancia came close to getting top marks. The stronghold that the Los Pajaritos Stadium represents, one of the most difficult stadiums in this division given its dimensions and the freezing weather in Soria in the winter months, is one of the arms this Castillian team has in its quest for glory in the Liga BBVA.

As we mentioned before the team will only lose Bedoya, Víctor Andrés and David González whose contracts concluded on 30 June. Raúl Fernández, the player on loan from Athletic Club, returns to his home club after a year in Soria. Álex Arias, the attacking midfielder from Avilés, and Munir, the goalkeeper from Melilla, are the two reinforcements procured by the Technical Secretariat who have managed to retain players with proven experience in the Liga Adelante such as Natalio, Biel Ribas, Del Pino and Antonio Tomás. The former Real Betis Balompié player, Isidoro, stands out from the rest, he was an important player in the green-and-white's return to the First Division.

 

REAL ZARAGOZA

At the moment it is difficult to decipher the sporting future that awaits the Real Zaragoza, immersed in the sale of players in order to survive and be able to play in the Second Division next season. Last season the team from Zaragoza, who came close to relegation to the Second Division B as a result of the financial difficulties the team had putting together a team, found the boost they needed in the home-grown lad Víctor Muñoz to stay in this category, a far cry from a possible return to the First Division. At the moment, an approval of their payment schedule is vital for the club's survival but even so it is not clear what will happen as they have to wait to prepare the team for the rigours of the competition.

So, the Pakistani Kadir Sheikh will become Real Zaragoza's main shareholder if he pays €8.1 million to Ibercaja within three days, the funds the team from Aragon needs to be allowed to play in the 2014/15 season. It would seem this is the agreement reached by the current owners of the club with the Pakistani businessman after a three hour meeting in the headquarters of Ibercaja. The shareholders of the club from Zaragoza wanted to contrast the financial guarantees and solvency of Kadir and Nayim in order to proceed with the sale of the entity assuming validation of the same. If the bank validates the documents the group has agreed to sell the shares with 24 hours. This transfer will occur under the same conditions and assumption of obligations in which they were acquired.

On leaving the meeting, Kadir seemed optimistic, declaring he would deposit the money in the next few days to take control of Real Zaragoza. «It was a good meeting and to prove our solvency we have to deposit €8.1 million. Either tomorrow or the next day it will all be there. There are some points about the contract we need to discuss but before that we have to deposit the money", he stated.

Because of this situation the players, who are on holiday since the match against AD Alcorcón on 9 June, have not been informed of the starting date for their pre-season preparations. As soon as the sale is official and a state of calm returns to Real Zaragoza then all the sporting issues that are on the table will be dealt with. The new owners will have to appoint a new director of football, confirm Víctor Muñoz (with one year left on his contract) or find another manager, renovate Víctor Laguardia or allow him to leave, resolve the situation with other players still under contract and start signing players in order to gain promotion for the next season.

In any case, capital the new owners will inject into Zaragoza will breathe life into the club and allow them to survive, but it will not give them the economic wherewithal to sign top players, as they did to get promoted on previous occasions, hence the importance of the current financial situation over and above sporting issues which would provide the club with stability. An austerity that will not prevent the sole objective from being a return to the First Division, taking as a reference point Eibar's achievements last season.