体坛英语新闻：International break gives chance to draw early conclusions in Spain

MADRID, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The break for international football means there will be no more BBVA Primera Liga in Spain for a fortnight, but the three matches played in the season do-date do allow us to draw some early conclusions about the season that lies ahead.

The first of those is that rumors of FC Barcelona's demise following the departure of coach Pep Guardiola last summer are very much exaggerated.

Guardiola's former assistant, Tito Vilanova has taken the reigns of the club, made some subtle adjustments and Barca are currently the only side in Spain with a 100 percent record in the league at the start of the season.

Under Vilanova, Barca are slightly more direct that when Guardiola was in charge: his side is more willing to try to shoot from outside the area and also to take direct corners, rather than the short corner favored by Guardiola.

New signing Jordi Alba will give pace down the left flank, while Alex Song, who signed from Arsenal, slotted into the side against Valencia on Sunday.

However, there are a few worrying signs with Barca: the club still looks over-dependent on Leo Messi and there is a tendency for some players to look to pass to the Argentinean rather than look for similar options.

Meanwhile Vilanova's tactic of pushing the defense forward could pose problems: Real Madrid scored twice in the Spanish Supercup after catching Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano out with long passes and with Carles Puyol, now 34, the club may regret not having signed another central defender.

In general, however, Vialnova can be satisfied with the start to the campaign.

Real Madrid surprisingly dropped five points in the opening two matches, as they drew with Valencia and lost to Getafe, nevertheless it was business as usual as Jose Mourinho's side put three goals past Granada before the start of the international break and beat Barca on away goals (4-4 on aggregate) in the Supercup.

Madrid could be suffering from the effect of an early start to the season after a busy summer and several players have looked sluggish, something Mourinho has not been slow to criticize.

The arrival of Luka Modric will give more options in midfield, while the surprise signing of Michael Essien on loan from Chelsea will give more options in midfield and defense.

The big problem could be Cristiano Ronaldo, who said after the Granada match that he was 'sad' and that 'people in the club know why'. Ronaldo's words have opened the door to speculation that he doesn't feel valued (despite being paid 12 million euros a year) and that relations with some of the Spanish players in the squad are not good.

It will be interesting to see how the story develops with a player whose ego seems to be as fragile as it is large.

Other sides who will be pleased with the opening three weeks are Atletico Madrid, who won the European Supercup with a 4-1 win and Mallorca.

Atletico Madrid look a stronger all round side in Diego Simeone's second season in charge. The defense is tight and although they lack a creative midfielder and side with the attacking talents of Radamal Falcao, Adrian Lopez, Adra Turan is going to score goals: Atletico will fancy their chances of a top-four finish this season.

Meanwhile Mallorca have taken seven points thanks to the virtues of hard-work, organization and faith in the club's youth system installed by coach Joaquin Caparros. They are unlikely to challenge for titles but neither will they suffer this year.

Valencia could have a difficult season as Mauricio Pellegrino settles into his job as coach. The side that finished third last season has only two points, although they have played away to both Madrid and Barca and performed solidly in both matches.

Pellegrino's problem is that the Valencia fans are among the most demanding in Spain and unless his side begins to win matches soon he will find himself under pressure.

Elsewhere the economic crisis is the order of the day, something highlighted by the fact six clubs failed to spend money on signings this summer while 10 spend only 5 million euros or less.

Nowhere has that been clearer than in Pamplona and with Espanyol. Osasuna's tax debts mean they released big earners and retained other players who otherwise could have left the club because of poor form.

Meanwhile Espanyol saw how highly rated youngster, Alvaro Vazquez left at a bargain price to Getafe. Some may say that such measures were false economies given that both sides have lost their first three matches and lie bottom and second from bottom with no points.

There is still a long way to go, but that is never a nice situation to be in.