James BryceWHEN you are deciding which team to support you have two choices: the two main teams; or you can support the local team.
Most normally opt for Barcelona or Real Madrid, who are currently leading their main rivals by seven points in La Liga.
If you support either team you will forever be discussing who is better, Messi or Ronaldo, and who will be the pichichi (top scorer) for the season?
Another option is to go for your local team which is fun but could be painful if they are struggling at the bottom of the league or – worse – sit in the second division (the Liga Adelante).
The advantage is that tickets will be a lot cheaper.
What I personally do (and everyone else seems to do) is support two teams at the same time.
My teams are Barcelona from the big two and Malaga as my local club.
When you support a local team the fans will probably not expect to win the title but they will dream and scream about getting into the Europa or Champions League.
The main local teams in Andalucia are Sevilla, who most seasons qualify for the Champions League, and their inferior rivals Betis, who started extremely well this season but have since dropped down the leader board.
Traditionally next in the pecking order is Malaga.
In 2010 the club was bought by a rich sheikh, who is currently buying lots of great players such as Van Nistelrooy (ex-Man United) and Julio Baptista (ex-Arsenal). All this has recently resulted in a bit of an upset when Malaga beat Sevilla 2-1.
Next you find Granada who just moved up from the second division after being out of the league for 35 years.
Finally, in the second division there’s Córdoba, Almeria and Jerez, who have all had short visits to the first division in the past but are now all mid-table with little hope of promotion.
