• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 22, 2009

After failing to renew a deal to broadcast a tournament with the best soccer teams in Europe, ESPN will still have a foot in the game. The network will offer games from the newly reinvigorated Spanish league, which just added two of the world's most celebrated players. 

ESPN's deal essentially makes it a subcontractor with GolTV, a 24-hour soccer network that has rights to offer some 120 live games from the Spanish circuit. ESPN will offer a much lower load, likely ones featuring Real Madrid -- the team that recently acquired players Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian star Kaká, which sent interest soaring -- and rival Barcelona.

But while select games will be on ESPN2 through 2012, about 114 will be on ESPN360.com, the site that streams a slew of live sporting events. The site continues to add more live soccer in the U.S., including games from the Italian league, and some niche World Cup-qualifying matches, such as Bahrain vs. Uzbekistan.

This spring, ESPN failed to renew rights to the increasingly popular European Champions League in the U.S., which will move to the Fox Soccer Channel next year. The final was won by Barcelona, which faced a team led by Ronaldo.

The deal with GolTV also gives ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language network, rights to offer 95 Spanish-league matches live.

Spanish-league (La Liga) games could serve as a marketing vehicle for ESPN as it readies to carry the World Cup next summer from South Africa. The network has promised its largest promotional push behind any single event in its history for the 64-game tournament.