With the arrival of November, most of the major professional soccer leagues in the world are heading into the second quarter of the season, with about 10 games played in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Accordingly, it's the perfect time for teams to look at the table to see where they stand, and what their expectations could be for the rest of the year. And in the Spanish league, one team will take that glance and be pleased beyond its wildest dreams: I'm talking, of course, about Levante of La Liga.
For a league so prominently defined by the two giants that are Barcelona and Real Madrid, no other team came into the 2011−12 season with even a prayer of challenging for the top spots — in fact, no other club has won the league title since 2004. But on Oct. 26, the league standings had Levante on the top, then Real Madrid and Barcelona.
How could this happen? How could a team with only three players under the age of 30 lead a league after nine games played, while the rest of the league includes the defending Champions League winner? How could a team that was relegated in 2009 and finished 14th last year be enjoying such a run, which included a 3−0 victory over Villareal, and a 1−0 decision over Real Madrid?
Without a doubt, Levante has enjoyed a good bit of luck in the first 10 games, including just one red card and a run of good form from the team's goalkeeper, Gustavo Munua, who has allowed just seven goals in 10 games. Meanwhile, nine teams in La Liga have suffered from at least two red cards, while all but two teams — guess which two — have allowed more goals than the Valencians.
Whatever the outcome of the season, Levante's early run has proven something that very few believe is possible in the modern game: with the right combination of good fortune, disciplined management and a determined squad, teams without billions of dollars can reasonably compete at the highest level. A team that came into the season with expectations of avoiding relegation has soared to the peak, while the big clubs are wondering what happened.
For all that hopeful language, this isn't the end of the season, and there are 28 more games left for all the other teams to catch up. Already, Levante has slumped to third with one loss to Osasuna, and, in the blink of an eye, Real Madrid and Barcelona have moved back to the top. Alas, I would rate the likelihood of Levante even finishing in the top eight as slim, because there are at least eight other teams with far more talent than Los Granotes.
But that's not the point. Levante already has 23 points, meaning that they probably only need about 20 more (from 28 games) to ensure survival. If they can do it, it will be a triumph of the little over the big, even if Real Madrid and Barcelona end up dominating the league as usual. Just the brief presence of Levante at the top of the table has provided a breath of fresh air for the jaded soccer fan, who has gotten used to seeing two teams duke it out at the top of every league.
So what Levante has really provided is a break from all the cynicism. With teams like Manchester City and Barcelona trolling the world for the best footballers and paying whatever price is necessary to buy them, it's easy to believe that no small budget team has a chance. But for a brief moment in the 2011−12 season, Levante proved one thing: expectations aside, they still have to play the games, and when that happens, anybody can come out on top.
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David McIntyre is a sophomore who is majoring in political science. He can be reached at David.McIntyre@tufts.edu.
