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How did the best La Liga teams not called Barcelona or Real Madrid really break the mould?

It's another El Clasico week. But what can we really say about the two most talked-abut clubs in ...



How did the best La Liga teams...
Soccer

How did the best La Liga teams not called Barcelona or Real Madrid really break the mould?

It's another El Clasico week. But what can we really say about the two most talked-abut clubs in the world that hasn't already been said, especially since Barca pretty much have the title wrapped up?

The Guardian's Madrid-based Spanish football expert Sid Lowe was in Dublin last week for Football Weekly's Vicar Street live show (check out some more future football-related events that may be coming to Dublin via Con Artist) and I popped down to get his insight on the best teams not fielded by Barcelona or Real Madrid since the turn of the Millennium.

So on this week's Team 33, Sid talked about why a wider and deeper angle needs to be looked at when discussing the Deportivo team that won La Liga and shocked Manchester United; how crucial sporting director Monchi has been to Sevilla's rise in the last 15 years; how innovative Rafa Benitez's Valencia really were - or weren't - in their title-winning seasons of 2001 and 2004; how Villarreal built around Juan Roman Riquelme with a South American infused style in the mid-2000s; and how the current Atletico Madrid has done something rare by making the team bring stability to the club as a whole rather than the other way round.

Plus he also gave his take about whether Atletico Madrid are stable enough to maintain their level if and when manager Diego Simeone decides it is time to go.

Other topics of conversation on the podcast included his view on Spain's Euro 2016 chances and why he is fascinated by the story of Barcelona's former Irish manager Patrick O'Connell.

You can listen in at the start of this week's podcast player or stream for free on your phone via iTunes where you'll also find recent interviews with Gary Doherty, Damien Duff and David Bentley:

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