Even though there were no LaLiga Santander matches this past week, it was still a busy time for the clubs and players of Spanish football's top division. There were awards, injuries and late World Cup call-ups… here's all you need to know.

Machín takes charge at Elche CF

Elche CF have hired their third coach of the season, with Pablo Machín taking the reins at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero. Los Franjiverdes and winless and sit bottom of the LaLiga Santander table, hoping the former Girona FC, Sevilla FC, RCD Espanyol and Deportivo Alavés coach can lead them to up the table.

Real Sociedad renew Imanol Alguacil's contract

Imanol Alguacil is going to be staying on as coach of Real Sociedad for the next few years, as the Basque club this week announced a contract renewal for the tactician. The two parties agreed to extend his contract until 2025. That's plenty of time for Imanol to build on an already impressive legacy, having won the 2019/20 Copa del Rey with La Real.

Benzema's injury heartbreak

The 2022 World Cup will take place without the current Ballon d'Or holder. Karim Benzema suffered a thigh injury in training and the Real Madrid centre-forward has had to pull out of the France squad for the tournament.

Balde is a late call-up to the Spain squad

There was a late change in the Spain World Cup squad, as Valencia CF captain José Gayà was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of an ankle injury. Gayà's disappointment brought about joy for another LaLiga Santander player, as FC Barcelona's 19-year-old left-back Alejandro Balde was the player chosen as the replacement.

FC Barcelona are making World Cup history

With Balde's call-up, this means FC Barcelona are making history at this World Cup. The Catalan club now have 17 players at the tournament, which is a new all-time record for the number of players going to a World Cup from one club.

Correa joins up with Argentina

Another LaLiga Santander player who has been a late call-up to the World Cup is Atlético de Madrid's Ángel Correa. The 27-year-old has been drafted in to Lionel Scaloni's Albiceleste squad to replace Nicolás González, and will look to add to his 22 caps in Qatar.

Plata shines in the World Cup opener

With 25 of the 32 national teams at the World Cup having at least one LaLiga Santander player, most matches at the tournament will feature some of the stars of Spanish football. That was the case in the one game played so far, as Real Valladolid's Gonzalo Plata put in a good performance for Ecuador as they defeated Qatar 2-0 in the tournament opener.

Barça will be without Lewandowski for three more games

In FC Barcelona's last game before the World Cup break, the Blaugrana earned an impressive 2-1 victory away at CA Osasuna and they did so after seeing Robert Lewandowski sent off on the half hour mark. The league leaders will now need to cope without the division's top scorer for a few more matches, as the Polish striker has been sanctioned with a three-game ban following that red card. It'll be fascinating to see how Xavi and his team handle this challenge.

Real Madrid take the main prizes at the Globe Soccer Awards

The 2022 Globe Soccer Awards were held this past week and Real Madrid scooped up prize after prize. As a club, they won the Best Men's Club of the Year prize, while Karim Benzema was named Best Men's Player of the Year, Carlo Ancelotti was Best Coach of the Year, Florentino Pérez was Best President of the Year and José Ángel Sánchez was Best Executive of the Year.

Real Madrid will launch a theme park in Dubai

We also learned this week that Real Madrid will launch a theme park in Dubai, having partnered with Dubai Parks and Resorts for this project. This theme park is set to be inaugurated in the fourth quarter of 2023.