Editorial - Dec 24/2008

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS DEPOR?
By caabrego 

Wednesday, 24th December, 2008. It seems my predictions for the end of 2008 have been fulfilled, but now the main question at everybody’s mind is if Deportivo will be able to keep the same pace until the end of the season. I think no one is able to solve the question, but I think, however, that the month of January will give us a key about what to expect from Lotina’s newest Deportivo.

In my previous editorial, I said that, �Depor will not have problems on the present season in order to clinch the permanence�, and also that �we have enough chances to at least reach the round of 32 in the UEFA Cup.� And my predictions have been fulfilled so far as Depor is currently in a safe 7th place and as our squad is near to face Aalborg BK in the next round of UEFA.

I don’t want to look like a �fortune teller’, neither as a person that knows much more than the rest of mortals, it’s just that those possibilities were �foreseeable’ judging how things started on the season. However, we should admit that the results achieved by the team, especially within the last two months, were beyond our expectations. Just check the performance in 2008 or the results achieved since the end of October:

We are talking about 10 victories in the last 13 official matches! Don’t tell me you were expecting for this. The extraordinary behaviour during the last two months should explain why Depor is alive and kicking in Copa, UEFA and why Lotina’s squad is just three points behind the Champions League positions. Of course, everybody is more than satisfied for these achievements and will probably have an smile on our faces during this holidays seasons.

But now two new questions emerge now: How far can this team go? And what to expect from this Depor?. I know we will like to dream about our chances of doing great things on the season, but we can’t forget about some sparks on this campaign, like the 0-3 scores against CSKA Moscow and Sporting Gij??n, results that occurred just days before our positive streak started. And don’t forget the humiliating 2-4 against Valencia or the two setbacks listed in the table (1-4 at Atletico and 0-3 at Valladolid).

Were those five defeats a accident? Frankly I don’t think so, because an accident just happens once, don’t five times in a matter of three months. This (apparently) inconsistency is what creates the doubts, because you never know if we would be heavily beaten or if instead, we will crush the rivals with easiness. I think we all have had those same feelings.

So I think that before answering the question of what we should expect from this Deportivo, we should see more of our team, and a good teat will be the calendar for January, the so called �Everest for Depor’. Because we are facing some of the top teams in the country: Sevilla (3 times!), Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal and maybe Valencia. Then we will start to see the real potential of this team. So ladies and gentlemen, prepare your popcorn, search the streams in the Internet and judge with your own eyes is Lotina’s newest Depor deserves to be called �the new Superdepor� or if instead, we should be satisfied with living in mid-table and avoiding problems with the relegation.

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