As July began, the transfer market was heating up, and the La Liga schedule had also been freshly released.
The first opening match of the new season would see newly promoted Celta Vigo face Málaga.
Celta Vigo could also be considered a traditional La Liga powerhouse. Around the turn of the century, they had even reached a position similar to that occupied by Valencia and Sevilla today, vaguely ranking as the first tier behind the Spanish Super League's two giants. Back then, after Florentino took charge of Real Madrid, he brought Makélélé in from Celta Vigo.
In the 2003–04 season, Celta Vigo had even reached the Champions League Round of 16, only to lose narrowly to Arsenal. Despite their outstanding European results, they were relegated from La Liga. Although they immediately won promotion again one season later, they stayed in La Liga for only two seasons before being relegated once more.
Five years later, Celta Vigo fought their way back into La Liga and would take part in the opening match against the wealthy Málaga, known as the Man City of La Liga. For veteran La Liga fans, this was certainly a major attraction.
Real Madrid faced immense fixture pressure at the start of the season.
The first league round was on August 18, against their old nemesis Valencia. It would be a very difficult match. Although Real Madrid would be playing at home, they still had to fully account for the difficulty of the league opener.
However, judging from the clubs' historical records, Real Madrid and Valencia drawing each other was extremely auspicious. The two sides had met in the opening round nine times in total. Real Madrid had won the title in seven of those seasons, while Valencia had won it in the other two. One of