Prolonging The Buzz: Edinson Cavani Completes His Ascension, Leonardo Stays Perfect At Inter Milan, La Liga Starting To Show Signs Of Depth

La Liga has acquired a reputation as being oligarchic while Serie A is still thought of as tactical to the point of monotonous. Both descriptions have become canards - ballast for detractors hoping to sink ships. Look for the bad and sure, you’ll dwell on a Big Two (and overlook a strong deep Top Ten). Focus on the Italian game’s patience and you might be blind to eight goal shootouts and a Uruguayan explosion that embarassed an Old Lady.

When we get performance like Edinson Cavani’s, Prolonging the Buzz writes itself. The Palermo loanee’s hat-trick led Napoli to a trouncing of Juventus, each goal using a similar formula: Drop back from the dropping defense, line-up the cross, and pounce.

If you’re into more traditional fair: But even if Cavani isn’t enough to draw your attention to Italy, your unlikely to resist the league leaders, Milan. The Rossoneri’s 4-4 draw with visiting Udinese gave us 21 minutes where all of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato, Robinho and Antonio Cassano were on the pitch. The result was three late (one an Udinese own goal), Milan’s attack partially overcoming a leaking defense.

Eight goals, a brilliant comeback, poor defending: The match gave Milanistas and neutrals alike reason to expect a brilliant second half. Milan was humming after Cassano came on, the former Sampdoria star showing he has a place in Milan’s loaded attack. Maximilliano Allegri has already said Cassano will start when healthy, but will that be enough to compensate for an aging, immobile midfield, a defense where nobody beyond Thiago Silva can be both healthy and trsuted?

Milan may be one defensive tweak away from a stranglehold on Serie A, but let’s hope that don’t find it. At least once a week, we need a Milan-Udinese.

Turning in from his right back position, the Brazilian defender brought his right foot across his body, onto the ball, using the outside of this foot to launch a far post pass 35 yards, allowing Cambiasso to head home the winner.

In the process, Maicon gave us a reason to consider: Maybe Rafa would have done better had Maicon been healthy? But to steal a piece of insight from Andy Brassell (as mentioned on this weekend’s World Football Phone-In), maybe Rafa shouldn’t have run his veteran team into the ground.

Leonardo has six points in two matches, two games in hand, and the most talented team in the league - a squad that’s found it’s best post-José form. They’re still 11 back, but if the Nerazzurri win their matches in hand, that gap is becomes manageable Is there anything about Milan’s defense that makes you think they can hold off Inter, given a five point head-start? Forza Serie A, because we’ve a brilliant title run ahead of us, with Milan ready to try and outgun Napoli, outlast Inter.

As Italy’s intrigue transcends its reputation, so does Spain’s quality. In the chemtrail of the Barcelona and Real Madrid detractors find a weakening Spain. While some have considered whether the Big Two’s improvement the independent of the pack’s quality, most have assumed a correlation. Not only are Barcelona and Real Madrid historically great, but the rest of Spain is simultaneously receding.

For the sake of argument, let’s consider the pack’s quality maybe be independent of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and intent on being bad scientists and searching for data to confirm our assumption, let’s look back on this weekend for any evidence of a strong, deep Spain.

People’s Exhibit A: Saturday’s match between Málaga versus Athletic Bilbão. Relegation embattled for most of the season, Málaga has brought in Manuel Pellegrini and done some spending in January, with Martín Demichelis’s acquisition paying-off on Saturday. Javi Martínez saved a point for Bilbão at the death, but the result (and play, before the late goals) says Málaga are already feeling a Pellegrini, Shiekh Abdullah effect. Against a team like Bilbão - a club whose development and acquisition policies make it a steady barometer of the league’s strength - the performance hints Málaga could be ready to add to La Liga’s depth.

Still, Juan Carlos Garrido showed his team may not be too far away from touching the heights they attained under Pellegrini. Only Senna is an age concern, and with Santi Carzola finally experiencing a run of health, Villareal has a starting XI that can (at least) compete with anybody. That won’t be enough to get them close to the top two this year, but after a summer of addressing depth, the Yellow Submarine could be a spoiler next fall.