Yuletide Redux

Time has been at a premium of late, but Getafe roll on:

Dec 6 - Getafe contrive to almost throw away an easily-gained 1-0 lead against AaB in Aalborg, eventually prevailing 2-1 in a game that was much harder than it had to be.

Dec 9 - Atletico Madrid squeeze through to the most undeserved win of the century at the Calderon with both Getafe and the hosts having two men sent off. Pato and Licht get reds for the good guys, while Reyes and Kun Aguero do so for Atleti.

Dec 10-13 - The Spanish disciplinary committee finish constructing their giant statue of Kun Aguero and, prostrating themselves below it, annul the Argentine's second yellow card, borne of a truly atrocious dive in front of Pato. As such, while the Geta goalie and Licht languish in the stands, Kun is free to face Recreativo on Sunday. The admittedly-gifted whippet then spends a fine afternoon in Huelva getting hacked left, right and centre as boos ring out around the Colombino. The hostile reception is due to the fact that the cheeky scamp scored via handball against Recre once in the past in an aincident that perhaps mirrored another deliberate* handball that took place against Getafe on December 9th.

Dec 12 - A heavily-weakened Getafe side scrapes past third-tier side Burgos 1-0 away from home in the Copa del Rey. Any visiting supporter may have been struck by the vast contrast between Burgos, a study in Spanish imperial opulence, and Getafe's own Calle de Madrid, a fine example of iron-shuttered suburban despair. But at least the latter has a good football team, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, El Cid.

Dec 16 - Villarreal pap Getafe 3-1 at the Coliseum in a performance reminiscent of our early-season woes. Nihat ran rings around the Azulones, the midfield was off-colour, and it took Kepa Blanco of all people to pull one back for the hosts. Just when onlookers began to suspect that the former Sevilla man was a player - two goals in two games! - he promptly skied the penalty that could have given Getafe the path to an unlikely draw. Still, there's no point in blaming him for what was overall a very poor team performance.

Dec 18 - Marca claims that coach Laudrup wants a versatile defender who can play both left and centre in the January transfer window. Apparently the boss has no faith in Franck Signorino nor Manuel Tena, which would explain why the former only gets games in the cups and/or when everyone was injured and why the latter is on orange-slicing duty. No names have yet been mooted.

Heart-rendingly, Laudrup's dear old mum then emerges in the Danish press to relate a tale of how she, as an unmarried 16-year-old in conservative Denmark - almost had her firstborn aborted at her own mother's insistence, only to be saved by the kindly intervention of her dad, who claimed to be unable to find a back-alley abortion clinic. Cheerful stuff.

Later on Dec 18 - A very-much-unaborted Michael Laudrup names the following squad to meet Anderlecht:

Goalkeepers: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.

Defenders: 2. Contra; 3. Cata Díaz; 4. Belenguer; 12. Licht; 19. Signorino.

Midfielders: 6. Celestini; 7. Mario Cotelo; 10. De la Red; 15. Nacho; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero; 42. Juanfran.

Attackers: 9. Braulio; 14. Manu; 17. Kepa.

Ikechukwu Uche was thought to be on the verge of recovery, but it seems as if he'll miss this game, while David Cortes and Francisco Sousa are also out.

It's more than likely that the side will be rotated, but with one point sealing passage to the next round, it may not be totally changed. Pato, for example, may take up position in goal after missing the weekend tie.

Anderlecht, meanwhile, have Bart Goor in their squad. He's a class act. The rest of them can go to hell.

Forza Geta!

*Aguero called it accidental as the world guffawed in disbelief.