MADRID, April 26-- FC Barcelona will be confirmed as the Champions of La Liga Santander in the 35th round of matches this coming weekend if they are able to avoid defeat to a Deportivo la Coruna side who could have already been condemned to relegation to the Spanish second division (Liga 123) before the game in the Riazor Stadium kicks off on Sunday night. The title could also be Barca's before the kick off in La Coruna if Atletico Madrid fail to win away to Alaves or Real Madrid drop points in their home match against local rivals Leganes, as both of those games finish before Barca's starts. Barcelona aim to add the league title to the Copa del Rey, which they won a week ago following their 5-0 hammering of Sevilla in the Cup final. Rather than sparking celebrations at the manner of Barca's triumph, the Copa has been greeted with stories of problems in the Barca camp, where it appears a sector of the fans and the Board of Directors fall into the trap of judging success in relation to the achievements of their bitter rivals, Real Madrid. Madrid's progress in Europe, where Barca fell at the quarterfinal stage, has masked the fact that the Catalan side is on the verge of a domestic double and has a 15-point lead over Madrid in the league. Winning the double is an outstanding achievement and the fact that Real Madrid could win a third Champions League in three seasons should not take anything away from the job coach Ernesto Valverde has done at a club that was in danger of falling apart when he replaced Luis Enrique last summer. |