The La Liga Awards 2009/10

With the season over, Sam Parker picks out his movers and shakers, victors and failures for the latest exciting La Liga campaign.

TEAM OF THE SEASON – BARCELONA

It’s hard to look any further than Barcelona for this award. 99 points is a tremendous achievement for any team, regardless of how special they are. Only one defeat all season tells its own story, though avoiding that loss to Atletico Madrid would have taken them over the three-figure limit.

They dealt with injuries, suspensions and the general fatigue of many games, with the World Club Championship thrown in for good measure, and still came up with the goods. A truly class act.

Real Madrid deserve an honourable mention as well. They recorded 96 points, a club record haul, which in any other season would have been good enough to win the title comfortably.

However, the distance between these two and the rest of the league is a cause for concern. No team has looked close to matching the two powerhouses and it seems unlikely that a winner will be produced from outside Spain’s Big Two anytime soon.

PLAYER OF THE SEASON – GONZALO HIGUAIN

Lionel Messi seems the obvious choice. 47 goals in 53 games is a phenomenal achievement, as he sometimes single-handedly carried Barca through games.

However, my choice is Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentine striker overcame the odds to have his most successful season to date at the Santiago Bernabeu, with 27 league goals bettering the total of his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. He did this despite an overwhelming thumbs down from the press, who were ever keen to jump on any mistakes. They were doing this under a directive from Florentino Perez, who viewed Higuain as the shining acquisition of the Ramon Calderon era.

Whether he keeps his place over the summer is another matter, but there will be no shortage of offers after a very fine season.

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON – DAVID DE GEA

A mention must go to Sergio Canales of Racing Santander, but the outstanding young player of this season is Atletico’s David De Gea.

The young goalkeeper burst onto the scene this season, managing to oust Sergio Asenjo from the number one spot, despite the Rojiblancos shelling out €6million for his signature.

A call-up to the provisional Spanish World Cup squad tells everything about his ability. He may not have made the final cut this time around, but expect this man to be in the mix soon enough.

MANAGER OF THE SEASON – GREGORIO MANZANO

Obviously Pep Guardiola and the now-deposed Manuel Pellegrini would be worthy winners of this. But Gregorio Manzano earns this award for his amazing work with Real Mallorca.

He led the Islanders to fifth place in the table, only missing out on Champions League qualification by virtue of Rodri’s 95th minute winner for Sevilla in their final game of the season.

Given that Mallorca have since filed for voluntary administration shows the remarkable work he has done. The most high profile signing of the summer was to bring Borja Valero back on loan from West Brom and a lack of funds could’ve ensured a relegation fight for most teams.

He won’t be there next season, as budget cuts are already in place, but Sevilla is his likely destination. In the end, he will get the Champions League football he deserves.

SIGNING OF THE SEASON – ADRIAN COLUNGA

Ronaldo may have impressed in his first season at Real, but frankly that should be expected with such a high price-tag. Instead, the other end of the table is the focus for this one, as Real Zaragoza produced a number to turn their seemingly doomed season around.

Adrian Colunga has surprisingly stood out as the best of the bunch, having been brought in on loan from Recreativo Huelva in January. Seven goals in 16 appearances, including goals against Barca and Real have proved vital in their survival from relegation and it will be a major puzzlement if he is still playing Segunda football at the start of next season.

Humberto Suazo and Jiri Jarosik also deserve mentions for their roles at either end of the pitch for Zaragoza, but Colunga gets the nod for this award.

WORST SIGNINGS OF THE SEASON – KAKA & KARIM BENZEMA

A tough shout between two of Real’s big money buys, with Kaka and Benzema failing to impress in their debut seasons. Both have suffered injury, but it has disguised a season of transition, where they have struggled to make a mark that has justified such lavish spending.

Benzema has been outshone by the unwanted Higuain, whilst Kaka has looked inferior next to Rafael Van Der Vaart and even the decent-but-nothing-more, Esteban Granero.

Paper talk has suggested the pair could be flogged to the Premier League. If they do stay, much more will be expected from them both.

OVERACHIEVERS OF THE SEASON – REAL MALLORCA

Real Mallorca are far and away the winners here.

No money in their bank, yet were literally seconds away from qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition. A rag-tag bunch of misfits and nobodies nearly achieved the impossible.

Needing money desperately, it seems unlikely that many of these players will fetch mega-bucks. This is a team that would’ve been delirious to make the top half, so fifth is a monumental achievement.

Special mention must also go to Getafe for their 6th place finish.

Made up mainly of cast-offs from their Madrid city rivals and with €4m the most they’ve ever spent on a player, they upset the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Atletico to claim a place in next season’s the Europa League.

UNDERACHIEVERS OF THE SEASON – DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA

Atletico Madrid are saved from this award on the basis of winning the Europa League and making the Copa Del Rey final, despite a fairly miserable league campaign that saw them finish ninth.

So Deportivo earn this one. At the turn of the year, they were sitting near the top of the table and challenging for a Champions League place.

By the end of the season, they sat in tenth after winning only two of their last 13 games. What caused such a dramatic turn in form is unclear, but from seemingly having European football sewn up, they saw the likes of Getafe, Villarreal and Atletico finish strongly to overtake them.