LaLiga kicks off with squads still open for change
We are heading into to the second matchday with squad lists still unconfirmed and this will continue into the third week with the transfer market not closing until 2 September. And I'm not talking about the Neymar case, one which appears to me to be a lot of posturing everywhere, but the others. The most obvious: it still seems possible that Rodrigo, who captained Valencia on the other day, could be featuring for Atlético by September. This has already been seen with Sergio Ramos, who started LaLiga with Sevilla and then played the second game of the season with Madrid. Rodrigo's move now depends on AC Milan (Seria A also closes on 2/9) paying what Atleti are asking for Correa.
Delayed transfers for qualifiers
This beginning is disconcerting for fans and renders the work of a squad's preseason preparations inconclusive. Some coaches are, as in the case of Marcelino now, fearing that they may lose a key piece of their plans without enough time to bring in a suitable replacement. Why is this allowed to happen? It is for the final qualification stages for the Champions League and Europa League. This is to allow teams that progress to the competition group phase (Espanyol in Spain's case, and Ajax as a pertinent foreign example) can firm up their squads for the challenge ahead, or not if they don't. It wouldn't happen if those playoffs were over before the leagues started, but this is not possible. There is no time.
Leagues follow different routines
The problem is that Europe already gives us so much football that we can compare it to what Churchill said about the Balkans: "they make more history than they can consume." The mess is further complicated with the English Premier League closing their window earlier, although they seem willing, in this matter at least, to stop driving on the left. Even so, there are other European championships (Baltic, Russian, etc) that keep to another rhythm, the same as those of other continents. And now there is a window in January for players to change teams without changing the competition, it is a good idea for a player to move in September. It's not the same, but once you open a can of worms...