Levante shows no substitute for experience
October 17th, 2011 - 9:30 pm ICT by IANSMadrid, Oct 17 (IANS) Levante may have the smallest budget in La Liga football, but the side coached by Juan Ignacio Martinez are showing that there is no substitute for experience.
The side from the city of Valencia produced another excellent display Sunday to defeat big spending Malaga 3-0 in the Ciudad de Valencia stadium.
Jose Barkero, Juanlu and Aruna Kone scored to give Levante their third home win in three games.
Levante have conceded just three goals in seven Liga matches this season and have the best defensive record in the league. That is impressive in itself, but even more so looking at the age of the Levante defence.
The side is captained by 36-year-old Sergio Ballesteros, a man described as a ‘Legend’ in the banners around the stadium.
Ballesteros was partnered Sunday by 31-year-old Nano in central defense. The full backs are Javi Venta and Juanfran Garcia, both 35. Goalkeeper Gonzalo Munua is 33.
The average age of the Levante side was 31 years and 175 days, making it the oldest side ever to play in Spain’ s top flight and beating the previous record held by Osasuna.
Juan Ignacio’s team were tipped as favorites for relegation before the start of the season.
But after an unbeaten run of seven games, including a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, they are currently second in the standings with 17 points and lie behind league leaders Barcelona merely on goal difference.
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- Real Madrid suffer season's first defeat to Levante - Sep 19, 2011
- Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon to top Spanish League - Oct 03, 2011
- Barcelona-Real Madrid quarter-final clash likely - Dec 24, 2011
- Real Madrid's lead shrinks to four points - Apr 09, 2012
- Valencia blank Levante in La Liga derby - Nov 06, 2011
- Crucial weekend for Madrid, Barca in La Liga - Feb 10, 2012
- Copa return leg matches may see some surprises - Jan 10, 2012
- Real Madrid to face Sevilla in Spain's Primera Liga - Dec 15, 2011
- Real Madrid aim to keep the goals flowing - Oct 25, 2011
- Barcelona look to close gap with Madrid - Mar 15, 2012
- Valencia hold Barcelona to 2-2 draw - Sep 22, 2011
- Real Madrid face tough test in Malaga - Oct 21, 2011
- Real Madrid extend La Liga lead - Nov 21, 2011
Tags: aruna kone, budget, city of valencia, ciudad de valencia, goal difference, goalkeeper, juan ignacio, juanfran, league leaders, nano, real madrid, relegation, seven games, spain, three games, top flight