EL Clasico: Barcelona Vs Real Madrid Live | Talking With The Enemy
Saturday, 28 November 09, 10:42 AM · Comments (172)
EL Clasico: more than a football game.
The time has come. It is finally EL Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
I've always said I would choose to beat Barcelona home and away over winning the league, and I don't care If that doesn't make sense.
What also doesn't make sense is statistics, form guide, squad lists and preview talk. All of that is irrelevant when it comes to the Clasico. It is a different game full of passion, rivalry and thrill. It is the only game that makes me very nervous and worried. It is the only game that gives me tremendous joy when Real win or puts me really down when they lose. And it is the only game which all football fans will watch. Millions, literally, millions of viewers will watch Messi, Ibrahimvoic, Henry, Xavi and Iniesta clash with Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaka, Alonso and Casillas. This is the game of the season.
In order to provide you with the best analysis of both teams, I've sat down with my friend and Barcelona blogger Isaiah Cambron to talk about the game and Barcelona. The best way to learn more about your opponent is to ask one of its passionate fans, and not only is Isaiah passionate but biased too -- though it is totally understandable.
Anyway, read what we both had to say about the game and let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
Adam: First off, congrats on the new blog. I hope we will see a post bashing how badly Barca played against Real after the game.
Isaiah: You won't, of course, but it's adorable that you have your Christmas wish list out already. Would you also like a Mickey Mantle rookie card?
Adam: We will see ;). I have seen some of Barcelona matches this season and no matter how many new players they sign or promote from the second team, they still pretty much play with the same style which I find amazing. What do you think is the key to all of that? Is it the coach? You changed him a season ago.
Isaiah: The continuity of style comes from La Masia, Barça's youth academy. Not only is it heavily supported financially, it's actually located across the street from the Camp Nou, meaning the kids grow up looking at the stadium they will one day play in, if they're good enough. Everyone who comes out of La Masia has been trained in the specific Barça style, probably best summed up by Guardiola when he said his team absolutely hates not having the ball: when you don't have the ball, you don't control the match, so go get the ball and keep it. Because it's a highly technical style reminiscent of Total Football, Barça Atletic players are working more on their future than on winning in the short term in the lower leagues. They are often called up to the first team to gain experience or blood them, so to speak.Adam: Well, I think all big teams spend a lot of money. Barca have spent a lot in the last two seasons as well. How do you expect to sign someone like Messi or Ronaldo?
One of the problems Real have is the media, in particular Marca and AS. They rarely provide constructive criticism and only care about traffic and more sales. Statistically speaking, Real Madrid is the best in Spain and Europe, but when it comes to beautiful and collective football, this is not really the case. I think we have done very well so far. As a matter of fact, we haven't had such a great start in La Liga in something like 18 years. All of that with a new president, new coaching staff, and new players. We are the first in the league and in the Champions League and we are told we play poor football. I wonder If we play very well, how far could we go!I believe Perez has managed to build a balanced squad and all of that spending was natural. As I said earlier, you must pay a lot to bring those world-class players. We only need patience and faith. It doesn't matter If we don't win this year, our goal should be to build a strong squad for the next seasons.
Alright, so many people think that Messi and now Ibrahimovic are the most important players for Barca. I agree to some point, but I think while they are really important, in my opinion, Barca would struggle without Xavi and Iniesta. They are the backbone of the midfield, do you agree? 
Isaiah: I have to agree that while Messi obviously provides the razzle and Ibra the dazzle, Xaviniesta is the key to everything. They control not only the possession game in terms of moving the ball around, but also the tempo. It's rare to find a Barça attack not going through one of them and usually the attacks start with them. They're also extremely essential in getting Messi one-on-one situations where he's virtually unstoppable. If you can somehow stop both of them (via man-marking) you can sometimes shut the whole team down, but their versatility and sheer talent is usually too much for that to be an effective strategy, meaning for the most part that you can play in a shell or you can die by the sword. Obviously we're lucky to have both of them, but isn't it interesting that Iniesta was a Madridista as a child and wanted to play for Madrid B until they didn't offer him a spot and Barça did?
Adam: Well, the reason Iniesta went to Barca was becaused Real's training grounds where near an area populated by hookers so his parents had their worries and didn't want his allownce to be spent on condomes, even though I think he is spending 50% of his salary at Barca on chicks and condomes now. I'm not joking, this is the reason. Our training grounds where located in a family-unfriendly area (of course at night), though I wouldn't mind living there If I moved to Madrid during the summer!
Anyway, what are your thoughts on Barca's performance this season so far both in La Liga and the Champions League. Are you satisifed, or do you think the team is not performing to its full potential?
Isaiah: For the most part I'm satisfied because we've only lost once in all competitions (1-2 against Rubin Kazan) and we've done so without a fully healthy squad. This might be the first match we have all of our available pieces fit enough to take part (Milito doesn't count), which would be good, but also means that the squad hasn't fully gelled. Because of that lack of consistent playing time together, I think we're not even close to our full potential--Ibra brings so much to the table, but hasn't fully integrated into the system so when he does, we'll be a force to be reckoned with. The Champions League has obviously been slightly disappointing thanks to two scoreless draws (at Inter and at Rubin), but it's hard to be very disappointed in first place with one game left to play, especially coming off our last match, where we torched a very good Inter squad while fielding an irregular lineup (thanks to the aforementioned injuries).
How about your team's performances? Given the inconsistency in Real's season (9-1-1 in the league and first in their Champions League group, but out of the Copa del Rey), how do you think that Pellegrini will approach this match? Will he put out a defensive shell or will he try to outplay Barça?
Adam: Well, in his pre-match press conference he said he will not settle for anything less than a victory. I like his winning mentality and I think Real Madrid must always aspire to win. Having said that, I think he'll be extra careful. He has played Barcelona many times, he beat them and was trashed by the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi so he knows them very well. This will really help us a lot. I don't expect him to park a bus in front of goal, but he will in no way play a very very open game. As you said Isaiah, Barca loves to keep the ball, and the only way for Real to win is to disallow them from having it and to score from as much changes as they can get. Effectiveness in front of goal will be essential for Real.
Can you update us a little bit on Barcelona in terms of injuries or suspensions? 
Isaiah: We have no suspensions, but there's some doubt as to the fitness levels of Ibra and Messi, who are training fully with the squad, but aren't necessarily fully fit in the sense that they haven't played competitive matches since their injuries. Yaya Toure is returning from the swine flu and Dani Alves has a slight ankle knock that kept him out of full practice on Thursday, but was back to full training today (Friday). Abidal is apparently fully fit after making a surprisingly fast recovery from both a leg problem and the swine flu, meaning that this might be the first time Guardiola has everyone available.
What about you? What noteworthy injuries or suspensions is Madrid currently dealing with?
Adam: We don't have any suspensions as well. However, we do have a few injured players including Guti, Metzelder and Van Nistelrooy. Guti's case has been both mysterious and controversial, but my take on it, is that Pellegrini no longer includes Guti in his plans. Add to that the fact that Guti misbehaved during the Alcorcon game in Copa Del Rey. I fully back Pellegrini, and If I were him, I would actually kick Guti out of the club altogether. Nobody disrespects the manager!
So, who do you think are the most effective, consistent and dangerous players on the Barcelona squad that Real should be aware of?
Isaiah: Xaviniesta are a hydra-headed machine of awesome that are just so hard to contain. Xavi is getting near his 500th match for the club, but shows no signs of slowing down or dropping in consistency. He's the one that runs the farthest in our system and the one who controls the strings of the offense. You can't, however, forget about Seydou Keita if he starts (do you start him or Iniesta? If Keita, who do you start up front?) because he'll do the dirty work and also crash the box for powerful headers. He somehow has 6 goals already this year, 3 from a hattrick, even though he only had 5 all of last year. He's become a serious offensive threat and a defensive juggernaut. Forgetting about him means pain when he reappears to score.
What about Madrid, who will be the most decisive player and why?
Adam: This is a very good question, but I'm going to say that Real Madrid doesn't really depend on a player. It may look like we depend on Higuain or Ronaldo, but in fact, we are trying to play as collectively as we could. I'm not saying that that players like Higuain and Ronaldo are not important, I would be laying If I said that, but we can still wi
n without them. Having said that, If Ronaldo plays and I know he is fired up, I think Guardiola should develop a plan to contain his danger. There is also Kaka who is unpredictable, as well as Benzema and Higuain who partner up very well.
A related question: does the fact that Real have game-changing players like Kaka, Ronaldo, Alonso and Benzema worry you? Who do you think will be influential for Real?
Isaiah: Worry is probably not the right word for my emotional state at the moment. I'm conscious of their abilities, of course, but no, I'm not worried. I trust Barça to put the hammer down on Sunday. That said, there's no doubt that Kaka is the one I will have my eye on the most. He'll have it tough through the middle with us, but in my opinion he's the best player in the squad (yes, better than C. Ronaldo) and his slicing runs can open holes in a defense. Benzema doesn't worry me at all, actually, because I don't think he's integrated with the squad enough yet. He'll be a threat in the future, but for now I think Higuain is a better player and a better fit for RM's attack. If RM deploys a doble pivote (Xabi Alonso and Lassana Diarra, I would imagine, since Gago has been fairly awful this year), I think they're walking into a trap that would allow Barça to control the midfield and thus the game. I think Pellegrini would do better to put out a single holding/defensive midfielder, but hey, what do I know?
Though wait, regarding Pellegrini and his selections, will Raul get the start or will Pellegrini continue to put him on the bench? He's been hugely influential in past Clasicos, of course, so will he be able to work some more magic for RM this time around? What are your general thoughts on your captain's current position within the squad and where do you see him at the end of this season?
Adam: My general thoughts on Raul have always been the same.
He is a football legend that made history at the club. But as with all strikers and footballers in general, you reach a period when you can't play well consistently. It is a fact and nobody can deny it. I don't consider it as Raul's problem, it is just a natural thing. We want him to retire whenever he thinks it is the right time to do so, but the team is more important. So the solution is to bench Raul when he is not at his best form, and make a good use of him when he is fired up. It is impossible for a striker, let a lone someone who is above 30 to perform consistently during the whole season.
Now, without bias, what do you think of Real this season and do you see them winning the Clasico?
Isaiah: I don't have an unbiased bone in my body when it comes to RM, to be honest. Still, I think it's fair to say that they haven't really been playing scintillating football. I've watched maybe five of their matches and found myself wondering where their creativity went--it's possible, of course, that it went into the medical center with Ronaldo's injury, but even before that I didn't think they were lighting the world on fire. They're obviously solid (nine wins in eleven matches is no joke), but fun to watch is not how I would describe it.
They definitely have a chance to win the match on Sunday, but I don't see it happening, not when Barça has won all five of their home matches and controlled them the entire time. Julio Baptista might have something to say about that, of course, but since he's not going to be playing, I feel confident in saying that RM will not win.
In any case, what is your prediction and lineup?
Adam: Sorry, this is the Clasico - no predictions. It would be dumb to predict the result of a game between Barcelona and Real Madrid. No previous stats, numbers or form guide is relevant in this case. There will be a lot of factors that will decide the game, but small details and who will be 100% concentrated and effective will win.
Isaiah: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Yaya, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Ibra, Messi. Classic 4-3-3. Final score: 2-0, goals by Messi and Ibra. Visca el Barça!
Hala Madrid!
Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
-
DynastyofRealMadrid said:i agree the media is stupid to compare us to barca and imitate their style. but...
alright sound good Adam Bader 
172 Madridistas have commented on "EL Clasico: Barcelona Vs Real Madrid Live | Talking With The Enemy" · Add yours
Lets give Barca the first defeat of season in La Liga.. 3-1 to Real Madrid . Goals by Higuain, Ronaldo and Kaka
A 4 point lead and Pep's honey moon would be over.
well like u said adam elclassicos are difficult to predict but if Madrid can be precise infront of goal most especially BENZEMA!(hav way mo faith in higuain just being honest) Than i thnk madrid will win in a high scoring game. But if not It might jus be another blowout! Meaning that i know barca will score no doubt abt that the thing is abt us being a goal or more ahead at the end of the game.
Although Barcelona are a better team with a better playing style, i think that madrid would edge this one. First of all, Barcelona's defense lacks pace(excluding Dani Alves who seems to park himself infront of the opponent's box). And if ronaldo plays he will exploit this weakness. Furthermore, Everyone are alluding to barca's victory over inter as an indication of their quality but let's face it inter didn't show up on the day. Again,as Xabi Alonso has been so good he will have the better of xavi and let's face it if xavi shuts off then barcelona's creativity dies.
Many people say that Real madrid are dependent on one player but barca totally depend on the midfield duo of xavi and iniesta.
So I say barca 1 Real 2 . With ronaldo and higuain on the scoresheet.
I have to say that barca will prolly win 3-1. Good to see you two guys working together...outstanding stuff.
Here's some fun:
LINK
benzema beat xavi 0:3 in fifa 10 and I beat my best friend 0:3 so the result is obvious! hala madrid!
The day has come; its time for Madrid to regain their reputation in europe.
Every player has to feel responsible, this game is the edge between falling to nothingness and sitting back in the throne.
My prediction:
4-4
My wish 6-0
I am sure we'll win but i'm also sure Ibrahimovic will score i can feel it
but i think Xavi and Dani Alves are the most dangerous Fasha players,Xavi supports the whole field and Dani supports Messi so let Arbeloa handle Messi (the way he did to Pato 
)and let LASS handle Xavi that way we'll win inshallah
i wish we win 6-2 but i predict we'll win 2-1 goals from Benzema and Raul
Hala Madrid!!
Guys,
I'm quite surprised that no one (none of the experts or fans) have suggested a 5-4-1 formation for Real against Barca.. It might sound strange but I think it makes perfectly logical sense.. First and foremost, you need to accept the fact that our defense is poor. And against Barca, thats an understatement.. You are going to need 5 people at the back to counter the skill of Ibra and the pace of Messi and Henry.. Secondly, it gives us some cushion when we attack from the flanks.. Going forward and exposing our defense is something we just cant afford to do against Barca.. With Ronaldo - Xavi - Kaka and Benzema up front I think we can just pull it off..
Your thoughts?
Reply to Realfanatic:
You are going for quantity over quality here, but it could work. Thing is, a change of formation could complicate things for us. We did that in the second leg of the Alcorcon game and played with a 4-3-3 formation, but we failed. I'd stay consistent with the current formation and selection of players because it is proven to work, against small and big teams.
Reply to Realfanatic:
5-4-1 might not work because the key to defeat Barca is to defeat them in midfield. Still, we can play 5 defenders, 2 central backs, 2 full backs and 1 either half back or a sweeper. However a better formation would be 4-5-1, controlling ball in midfield . We need to worry more about Xavi and Iniesta than Messi and Ibra. Even if we place 8 players before Cassilas, they will find a way to penetrate it. We can't afford Xavi and Iniesta to play their game in our half of pitch. We must stop them in midfield. If we are able to do that, half of the job is done.
I prefer 4-1-3-1-1: Cassilas-Ramos,Pepe,Garay(Albiol),Arbeloa-Lass-Ronaldo,Alonso,Marcelo-Kaka-Benzema.
surelly pelle is gona play our best line up....ramos pepe albiol(garay) arbeloa ronaldo xabi lass kaka benzeam and higuain!
Well I agree that 4-2-2-2 isn't the best possible way to utilize our team to produce its optimal performance in terms of beautiful playing and convincing victory.
Pellegrini is trying to intergrated his way of play with these players the way he thinks would make them play "beautiful football and score many goals". He definitly has time to do it now we have to wait and see it happen. So far it hasn't; So we'll give him more time.
If we lose today I just wanna say that sacking the coach is only going to take us back to point 0. So lets not consider that.
I certainly do not agree with that Barsa fan who was talking to Adam about using a single pivot. If Real Madrid play with a single midfield pivot Barcelona will swarm all over our midfield. We'll be lost.
Lassana and Alonso will be our 2 most important players and it is vital that they can hold their positions with the half way line in clear sight. Hold that line, no retreat.
Barcelona must be clear favourites, as we have neither impressed defensively nor offensively this season.
If we can push them to the final minutes then I'll be happy with that. Any points gained are a bonus today.
vamos los blancos!!
LINK
real madrid will win it
barcelona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice interview, but I have to say that your Barca is not the most knowledgeable or free-thinking fan, choosing instead to buy into the various stereotypes that the media produces. Cheers anyway and I'm hoping for a good match.
There's nothing I can't stand more about Barca fans than their notions that they invented total football and that they are the only team that develops youth, and their tendency to involve a certain facist in every denouncement of Madrid. Ok, so maybe there's a lot of things I don't like about Barca fans...
Guys.. how much more time left for kick off? And someone plz post some really good and workable links as soon as the game starts.
Hala Madrid.
Reply to IndianGalactico:
One hour.
Real Madrid 3 - 0 Basura fc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HALA MADRID!!
Our lineup is:Casillas,Ramos,Pepe,Albiol,Arbeloa,Lass,Xabi Alonso,Marcelo,Ronaldo,Kaka,Higuain
Reply to Madridista4:
good Albiol made the cut
Messi, Henry, Iniesta, Keita, Xavi, Busquets, Abidal, Puyol, Pique, Alves, Valdes
Streams
LINK
LINK
Reply to Adambader:
also try this LINK
Oh boy!! is it jus me or does el classico always makes me nervous and anxious..hope our team can leave their heart and legs on the pitch n give it their all, in the end watever the results we'll kno' they gave it their very best..the best of luck n blessin' to los Blancos..Hala Madrid!!
I am confident with the line up Pelle has put down we can give it our best shot
Hala Madrid!!
Why Cristiano Why?
ALL PRAISE KAKA!!
anyone have any mid quality streams with english commentary
nd kaka is brilliant
who agree with me that it was a mistake to start Cristiano Ronaldo,Benzema should start instead
Reply to MadridistAli:
YOU Just hate Ronaldo, we know that.
so far so good. we should have been 2-0 up, i reckon. Marcelo should have taken it in the first attempt. Kaka was just too brilliant. Hoping to see los blancos finishing it in the second half.
Reply to Adambader:
We owned them in the first half, best chances fell to us..............
now all we need to is score........!!!
Hala Madrid.....!!
P.S - keita should be booked.............!!! (i was counting his fouls and they were more than 5 plus one in the beginning was pretty late & warranted a yellow
How is it that D. Alves doesn't have a yellow card he almost hit the ref and kieta made 3 hard fouls in 5 minutes and he gets no card but arbeloa makes 1 foul and he gets a yellow absolute bull shit! basura fc whiners and divers.
damn!! shud we be proud or wat in this first half..we cud have been 2-up if CR had a bit lucky with his shot n if marcelo's first touch ddnt let him dwn...impresive, now bring on benzema for gonzalo or marcelo...boy im startin to believe we might actually nick this game..Hala madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to Adambader:
i swear i cheered for him when he was going to shoot that freekick,but he isn't performing well because he is coming from a long injury,it was better if he came in the 2nd half Farca players would be tired to catch up with him
and in this match especially THIS MATCH i am behind CR9
Reply to MadridistAli:
In my opinion, Ronaldo looks really good.
Reply to Shre7:
we didn't own them at all!! they still have the possession under their control but we just did a good job defensively to eliminate their space in the midfield. give a lot of credit to higuain and kaka on this one to drop back a lot. Messi is playing in the middle and Lass gotta contribute more defensely and to carry the ball less like he used to, this is not sth his role should do. give the ball to xabi and kaka and let them run it. CR9 is still in a "recovering mode" but his appearance def can attract some doubt team. we did great on the first half!! let's keep it rocked hala madrid!!
and once again, for those who are stupid enough to say sneijder is greater than kaka, plz keep quiet and watch this game!!
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
Sneider who.....???
Reply to Adambader:
Give him the second half and he might start flying
probably late on in the second half, we could change our formation into a 4-4-2.. maybe substitute alonso and get benzema to partner Higuain. somewhere in the 75+ time mark.
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
all right let me rephrase it kaka owns thier defence.....
And our mid overpowered theirs..... and that is something......!!!
I just hope we manage to score and keep up the good work....!!
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
I'd say he has the potential to be better than Xabi Alonso but Kaka no way
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
lets only hope we dnt do a last year wen we dd well in the first half n then allowed in 2-late goals in the end..more pressure up the field, n more direct football..boy iv nvr seen any team made barca run bck like that..it means we'r doin a great job, keep it up guys, we'r cheerin u on..Hala Madrid!!!
Reply to Abijeet:
i think he will only have 10 minutes to do so and then Pellegrini will substitute him probably for Benzema
Reply to MadridistAli:
what abt width then???
No width. Ball over the top for Benzema to chase!
referee book keita........!!
this referee is biased and not towards madrid....!!
O God. Look who is warming up...
now we are in trouble......ibra!!!
i told u guys damn it
Damn.....!!
Reply to Shre7:
where was the marking....
pepe, alboil were in between the two players....
wat d fk...y wasn't he(ibra) marked
Reply to Madridfan_India:
that's our biggest problem on defense!! concentration!!!
Bring on drenthe/granero for marcelo.......!!
marcelo is playing real SHIT!!!!! bring on Benz!!!!!!
sm gud news...go madrid go...u gt take full advantage now...
Reply to realfreak:
atleast marcelo got the red card for busquetas...!!
Reply to Shre7:
Ronaldo could gotten two today....!!
didn't see the goal,but i told you CR9 for Benzema and Zlatan will score a goal
cr9...wats wrong with u...2 clear chances damnit...
WHAT THE FUCK IS PELLEGRINI DOING HE DESERVES TO BE FIRED BECAUSE OF TAKING OUT CR9 EVERYBODY KNOWS FUCKING MARCELO SHOULD GO HE HAS NOT DONE SHIT.
Reply to felipe:
What did I tell u about Pelle? He is stupid! When Barca went down to 10 men, that was the perfect opp 4 us to score a goal. And what does Pelle dO? He brings off Ronaldo! Brilliant! What a masterstroke, for Barca!
this sucks we can't evn score against 10 men team...
Reply to MadridistAli:
yes u are a genius!
Reply to Madridfan_India:
Raul is in! That means we are down to 10 too!
puyol has played brilliantly....
You take off the best fucking player in the world genius pelle shit. you take marcelo or abeloa for benzema not fucking cr9
Reply to galac:
damn...
Reply to galacticos:
ronaldo cant play the whole 90 minutes, evryone knows that even before the game.so pelle took him off to reduce the risk of aggravating his injuries.
today Kaka n madrid seems to at best 4 me...
it would demoralizing to loose today..
Reply to flynn:
he should hv brought him like Ibra in second half..
n can anybdy go n tell pele to send vdv in...
ps :- don't sub kaka nw..
Reply to flynn:
just stop justifying Pelle evrytime man!It wudn't have hurt if he wud have played just another 10 min. We cud hv got a goal or two in that time! Do you know RM averages 1 goal per game without CR9?
Saint Iker
god bless you..
wat d fuck..
nw lass wer down to 9 nw..
I think its over guys,now i think we should do these two things if we want to win against Barcelona next time (not serious)
1.Fire Pellegrini and hire Capello
2.bring ROBINHO back,i just found that we never won a game against Barcelona after we sold Robinho
So now we have not won against any of the top sides we hv faced: Juventus, Sevilla, AC Milan & Barca!
And we are eliminated from the Copa del Rey! 
Adam, what were u talking about Real Madrid being the best team in Europe & in Spain?
Pepe is horrible!!
Reply to galact:
you have to admit even cr9 is wasting his chances.and pique with puyol have been terrific so far.
plus, its pelle's good work that puts us in a fighting chance against barca.
I never want to see marcelo start in any game can't shoot, pass, stop a ball, and way to much dribbling. Basura fc filled with divers, whinners and cheats.
ps fuck the ref, he gave them all the calls letting them foul and not giving them yellow cards.
Reply to MadridistAli:
buddy..
firing pelle won't change much...it's luck which was not with us for the majority part...
Robinho ain't coming bck as long as raul is here..
ovr all a perfect game..
Even the guys on espn deportes said pelle made a mistake by taking off cristiano like that. Anyways he should have not even started marcelo he missed so many chances. Benzema should have started.
Higuain/Benzema
Cr9 Kaka Higuain/Benzema
xabi lass
Thats how we should have played
i don't want this to happen but tomorrow when i wake up i'll read on the internet : REAL MADRID SACK PELLEGRINI
At least we weren't thrashed 4-0 or 6-2 in this game!
My headline for AS & Marca:
"Pellegrini, GO NOW!" And don't comeback!
We just did not kill the game off! Why are the players not taking the chance on the first attempt? For all our domination, we did not do anything. But let Ibra pierce us with a beautiful volley. Kaka was incredible. The only guy who seemed capable of scoring for all the magical moves he did. CR9.. he should have put that at the back of the net. And marcelo!! don't we have a better LMF than him!!! A disappointing night after pegging barca back for a good amount of the game.
I hope Pellegrini is not fired for this! the team is coming good. we played good football though the result is not in our favour.
Hala Madrid.
only kaka cristiano looked up for this game
no one else played with real drive
Reply to galacticos:
Your statement does not justify anything....you are from the Fire and hire group....I think we played a much better game overall...specially considering the fact that we have so many new players in the team and the pressure of playing the "EL CLASSICO" at the Camp Nou...this was the 12th Match of the liga...and the season is long....I know whats gonna happen everyone will be asking for Pelle's head...I think we need to have a little patience and appreciate that our players fought hard....Stick to Pelle and the Galacticos!!!!
Hala Madrid!!
Reply to felipe:
That was a HUGGEEEEE. mistake! Pelle is so dumb!
Reply to MAdridLover:
you forgot Ramos
Reply to MadridistAli:
same here buddy...
Benz is a failure at madrid perez barter/trade him for villa or torres...
he failed on my last hope too...
Great game but poor result
,lady luck not in our side tonight,
ibra goal was offside did nobody saw that????
but the league still long,we can still win the league and champion league.hala madrid
yeah right ramos too
nd i didnt like raul still smiling after the game
everyone should be disapinted
nice play from arbeloa,ramos,cr9,kaka and casillas but a pity conceded that goal
Reply to felipe:
But Benz isn't scoring goals either!!!
And why the fuck did u sell Robben?? 
We needed a Villa or Torres!
And for god's sake Perez, bring in some quality wingers in the winter, we have Marcelo & Drenthe as Real Madrid's wingers?
Can u imagine Robben & Ronaldo destroying Barca from both the flanks?
We were superior in the first half. Ibrahimovic was the difference in the second half. Suddenly they had a target man up front.
We still have a tendency to run with the ball too much. That just allows defences to close us down quickly. Our best moments came when we played the ball quickly into space, behind Barsa's centre backs.
All those calling for Pellegrini's head need to refresh their memory and remember where we were last year.
Guys lets not get carried away..yes we'v lost but theres more positives that we can take from this game..first of all, this game shows we'r not far away from barca as ppl make it seem, as a matter of fact with a bit of luck we cud have led in the first half by 2-goal...barcas goal was nothin serious or creative to suggest they are pure genius, it was jus a whip in the box n it cud have gone anywhere but unfortunatly for us it felt to the only man who cud hurt us...Im proud of the team today cuz b4 the evryone was expectin another drobin like the bernabue incident, even some of our own fans thought we'll loose big but the team thwarted most of barcas moves n to me the gama was 50-50 n the first team that was to score will be the one that wins..the only dwn side is we ddnt take our chances n they dd..comparing how we played to how Inter-M played it shows we'r up there in europe, believe it or not, dnt let our stats against the major teams we'v played suggest otherwise..we'r seriously improvin' game-by-game n to me this game proves Pelle is the man for the job, we cud have hurt the catalans really bardly with a bit of luck..n judgin we played like this away from home there's hope that we'll get far in the champions league cuz if we can stop a very good team like barca away from home from playin thier free flowin football then Pelle n our players are doin' somethin good n is only a matter of time..a big cheer for the team eh..Hala Madrid!!!!
Reply to Madridfan_India:
c'mon Benzema did an OKAY job,he didn't ahve enough time don't judge him judge PEPE,MARCELO and CR9
Reply to galac:
no imagine Robinho and Robben/CR9 (we should have kept Robinho
we lost. but we outplayed barcelona. we played better
Reply to galac:
And the gaps they would leave in midfield?
As someone here has pointed out on seveeral occasions - this is the real thing folks, not the PS3!
You can't just fill your team with wingers and strikers. You need balance. And we had that balance in the first half. So calling Pellegrini dumb shows how little you know.
Reply to Madridista4:
no offense but i think you are crazy,i think the possession was like 90% for barcelona
Reply to MadridistAli:
pepe,marcelo sell them..
pepe did it again.. first against milan at bernabeu nw here...
marcelo/drenthe pathetic...
y was vdv not given a chance damnit...
A LB please...
We humiliated Barca. I really couldn't have asked for more.
We played our best game but the result didn't go in our favor.
If only cristiano was in form. We would have probably won this match with ease.
Man of the match for me was Kaka. This man is miles past anyone who was on the pitch today.
I didn't like Marcelo today, oh god imagine Robben or Ribery on that flank instead of him.
Perez get your paycheck out we need to play 4-5-1 more.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
or Robinho instead of Marcelo
Reply to MadridistAli:
Same old people come crawling out from the wood work calling Benzema a failure. Would they call Drogba a failure? Cristiano at Manchester United was a failure? You all probably think Benitez was right to sell Robbie Keane BACK to Spurs?!?
Benzema is perfect for Madrid. He just needs time to adapt.
from now on Marcelo should be a sub for VDV,seriously he deserves a chance
Hello! We spent the whole of the 90 minutes in our own half last year. Refresh your memory mate. If you can't see this is a much much better performance than last year's - then you don't watch enough football.
We actually controlled the first half and had options all the way until the end. That was not the case under Ramos.
sack pellegrini?????????? WHAT THE FUCK...some of you fans are a JOKE! go sport some other team! losers! you dont deserve to be a real madrid fan...when you say things like sack the coach!
real madrid played amazing....chances were miss by marcelo and ronaldo NOT PELLEGRINI
RONALDOS BEEN OUT FOR 55 DAYS...HE COULD NOT PLAY MORE THEN A HOUR UNLESS YOU WANT HIM INJURD AGAIN!
marcelo was poor but we defending REALY WELL apart from 1 lack..when IBRA SCORED....and i would like to say barca should thank puyol CUZ HE SAVED THEM 3 TIMES! them 3 were goals if he wasnt htere and VALDES...
wait till they come to madrid SMASH THEM BASTARDS! they get touch and go flying a mile away! the ref was poor! barca players fall down like feathers!
Reply to Caracoleo:
exactly
Why is nobody giving credit to Pellegrini for the first half he prepared?
You guys are all ready to criticise him for the mistake in the substitution - but not to give him credit where he deserves it!
we have the chance to win.
galac is an idiot. some fans here are really unbelievable. we played good, the game plan was good. we just didn't finish our chances early on.
Reply to MadridistAli:
im not a ronaldo fan but i won't blame him like this. u are just too biased and judge everything with prejudice, this CR9 dude was still having his foot wrapped up and he insisted on making a shot at el classico. he missed the chance but he is def not the one to blame on the 0-1 lost. It's not just 1 or 2 players fault, our build-up of play is still immature but there is def some improvement. Look at how barca build up their plays. each of their players always followed close to each other to make available more space to receieve passes. that's why they control the possession so well. in contrastly, we rely too much on individual ability and no one follows up closely. once a player ain't no got space to pass to, we automatically dispossessed cuz the distance bw the "helper" is too far. that's sth we gotta work on. our players' communication bw each other is still building up. they need to know how to run properly.
However, our team is way better compared with the shit team last year. today, we were close enough to beat them. we are just too lucky to play against an on-fire Puyol!! we showed some brilliant football and we appear to be a strong side that is good enough to compete with thte best team in Europe. with the shitty squad we had last season, we wouldn't have been able to do this for at least 8 years. i will thank this one to perez. who can expect us to play as well as barcelona by just obtainning the whole bunch of new players??? we need to gel and we are doing great!! hala madrid!!
Adam, add to ur statistics, the effectiveness in front of goal, or shots with right foot....the BEST club in Spain and Europe. fuck.
i noticed that till now Lass didn't play good in any Clasico (today was his second)
i also noticed that Goal.com is shit,they rated Marcelo,Pepe and Cr9 over Kaka
Reply to DynastyofRealmadrid:
i am not blaming CR9 at all i am just saying he shouldn't start the match,Benzema could have been a better option then substitute either him or Higuain for CR9,about Higuain we expected more from him really
Reply to Caracoleo:
pellegrini couldnt do much more...i think if marcelo had played well he would have got it right! he played him to stop dani alves bombing down the right wing! but he was poor...
the chances were missed by marcelo and ronaldo NOT pellegrini! so blame him is just utter stupidness! viva pelle!
laughing stock of the world? whos laughing? barca got OWNED today...how many time did barca actaully get a clear chance?? just IBRA AND a couple at the end of the game when madrid were all out attack
i think Johan Cruyff was right when he said that Ibrahimovic worth more than Kaka and CR9 combined
Reply to MadridistAli:
i ddint agree with marcelo`s rating but pepe was good..apart from one lack of concentration
Reply to MadridistAli:
u can outplay a team with less possession mate
its all about what you do with it..barca had 1 clear chance that was ibra well done to him for taking it
apart from that they had there chances when madrid were all out to attack
hala madrid
Well u can laugh now but i know Madrid will definatly hav the last laugh! And gfuys look on the bright side Madrid attacked barca like they do to any other team. Jus like i said b4 only way barca can beat us is if we miss goals and thats exactly wat happened in the 1st half : really sad but hey thats football! Madrid we still the greatest, Madrid 4 life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to MadridistAli:
wow ibra scores a goal against madrid and does fuck awl for the rest of the game that makes him better then kaka AND ronaldo COMBINED? lmao your a joke mate
Reply to W335Y09:
Nah i mean his scoring instinct,Perez had the chance to buy him right? after all Benzema is still young
HALA MADRID!
Reply to MadridistAli:
if we need to spend that substantial amount to sign the 28 yrold Ibra, i would go for David Villa instead, cuz i think Villa has the best scoring instinct!! they've even forgone their most reliable striker eto for ibra althought i think is still worthy it sine Ibra suits them better. like wut u said, Benzema is a long term investment and it's too early to judge him now while some pple gave 2.5 years to a guy like fernando gago!!
Reply to MadridistAli:
benzema is 21 ibra is 28...benzema has 7 years to catch up
I think Pellegrini needs to rest Kaka in the next match. Give Van Der Vaart a go. Kaka is going to be burnt out before we get to March at this rate.
Ronaldo was lasered in the eyes during the game?
Wait? Pellegrini needs be sacked because he took out Ronaldo? I think he didn't want to risk a more serious injury, after being out for so long you can't play a full match. You think he doesn't want Ronaldo to play the full 90 minutes?
Thirdly Van Der Vaart showed pure class past few games when the rest of the team was lacking and he's not even benched. That's a more serious error by Mr. Pellegrini. Plus after the Barcelona sending off we should've taken more risk and bring in some extra attacking power.
To be honest today in cristianos eyes I can see a player who wouldn't mind playing 190mins.
All Messi does is dribble with no effectiveness Cristiano dribbles = goal chance.
This game is proof that Cr9 is 10 times better than Messi.
For all the Barca fans who came to the blog I hope you enjoyed being schooled by our defence. Alcorcon were more creative than you guys were against us today.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
But we (Barcelona) won and you lost to Alcorcon. So shut the fuck up, you dumb slut.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
That was a stupid post. Today's game was entertaining and Madrid have stepped up and showed that they can match Barca but Barca just had the edge today and that proved decisive. They didn't play too well in the first half and as a neutral viewer, I believe it was down to the absence of Ibra. With Messi dropping back in midfield and Henry drifting out wide, Barca had no target man and they really couldn't threaten Madrid as much as they would have wanted.
Madrid had their chances with Ronaldo and Marcelo but so did Barca with Messi, Abidal, and Pique. Puyol was clearly man of the match.
This game is no way proof that Ronaldo is better than Messi or vice-versa. Messi would dribble past many defenders only to get hacked down and Ronaldo would dribble past his man only to be shut down by the second man. Ronaldo's dribbles may have appeared more effective because he received the ball in good positions whereas Messi received the ball in midfield and still had a lot of work to do. They both missed easy chances due to stunning saves. But this game wasn't about them, it was about Puyol.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Oh, and it's also stupid to compare Alcorcon and Barca. They might be playing each other later in the Copa del Rey but you should know that this is El Classico and however impressive Alcorcon's win might have been, players and managers always step it up for games like the Classico. I think any Madridista would rather lose to Alcorcon than Barcelona.
Reply to IamLionelMessi:
Alcorcon is better than Rubin Kazhan.
Lol I feel sorry for your team (not you) you're a sheeple. It took Barcelona 20 years to assemble this squad.
It took us 3 months to make a team that outplays it.
Its good being the richest club in the world. All that money General Franco made using your moms as prostitutes.
6-0 in Madrids return leg. Hope Pep has another tactic to use, because you've been clearly shut down by our Defence today, do you realize how bad our defence is? Oh wait; its probably just the fact that your offense is just as overrated as anything.
Reply to Sevillista:
Cristiano is better than Messi, whether you like it or not. He has only 20 mins in 60 days, can you fucking comprehend what would have happened if he were 100% fit? Have you seen how he played this season when he was top form?
You're just a lucky team; just the same luck you guys got against Arsenal when you won the champions league and the luck you got against chelsea last year. Messi is nothing but a show; Cristiano is the real deal.
To all ppl saying we played gud in this match: wtf are u talking about? What game were u guys watching? Barca had 62% possession of the ball to our 38% ! The ball was always with the Barcelona players & we were threatening only on the counter-attacks. I feel sorry 4 u ppl! How low ur standard of Real Madrid has fallen!
CR9 cudn't even get the ball often as nobody cud move the ball upfield from our end! It was a completely dominating performance by Barca! How sore losers can we Madridistas get saying we deserved to draw or win the match!
With 38% possession u don't deserve to win any football match!
Shame on Real Madrid players! They suck!!
Reply to galac:
And the shittest players in this match were Marcelo & Lass! Yes Lass! Marcelo was so nervous he was shitting his pants, & Lass cudn't even get his foot on the ball ! How pathetic! These players don't deserve to play for Real Madrid! This situation is all becuz of the policies of Calderon & Mijatovic of buying unproven talents at a young age like Drenthe, Marcelo, Gago, Lass etc.!
And even Perez has continued it by bringing Benzema! These young players don't know what Real Madrid is all about! They always choke in big games!
We need to change our transfer policy!
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Wtf are u bragging about man? Even though I'm a fan of CR9 it was not CR9 vs Messi! It was Barca vs Real Madrid! So just stand up & take the loss as a man! Barca were far better than us. They deserved to win. No need to compare 2 players, compare the teams!
Reply to galac:
There are no words to express the level of stupidity you've reached.
Please keep banning this guy.
Reply to galacticos:
Barca were not better than us. What the fuck are you smoking?
This match wasn't about CR9 and Messi. It was about constant bragging from Cryuff and Laporta saying that money can't buy a team.
Sir florentino perez wins this. Every Barca fan can suck it. You can buy a team! Its all about the players will power accompanied with fullfilling their dreams of wearing the best shirt in history.
Not some handicap Barcelona youth system.
Moment of the day: Guardiola punching the bench after Bousquets got sent off. LOL
Again the links:
LINK
Reply to me:
makes me sad to see the majority of the fans despise pelle,it's really good improvement that we have here.
before many asking good football and not satisfied when we got the result now you got it,
i believe our chance and play yesterday was better than barca (although they got much posesions but most of the time but we showed them that we can fight back)
i know many off you pissed because we lose but it's really stupid to act merely to your emotion.honestly i prefer result but if the team play good then it's okay because it means only luck problem and doesnt life is like that
please be more constructive because i beleive we can be what we think and believe, what will it come if the fans didn't believe in their own team?
Reply to Madrid4Life:
First, let me make it clear that, as my handle shows, I'm not a Cule or a Madridista.
You're obviously a fan who is in anger and because of that you can't think straight. Alcorocon better than Rubin Kazan. It took 20 years to assemble this Barca team? Madrid is already better than this team?
Let me also say that this isn't the first time Ronaldo plays Messi. This is the 4th time they've played each other, and every time they've played, they were limited by the other team. Ronaldo not being fit isn't an excuse because the same can be said of Messi or Ibra. Ronaldo played Barca before and he didn't have this impact that you speak of. Maybe when you wake up tomorrow and you're less angry you'll start thinking again and you'll realize that Messi is going to get all the individual awards.
Reply to Madridistas:
i do see tremendous improvement too!! despite of the defeat!! i did see a "1st class" team that can threaten barcelona. We lost because we couldn't grasp the opportunity we created while they could. our overall performance deserve a draw and barcelona's victory was secured by Puyol's superb performance while Pepe's temporary inconsistency took place again.(i gave credit to albiol who has been exceptionally great on recovering and positioning). 7 mths ago we got owned like a 3tier team at bernabeu and we are able to play like this in nou camp, i m proud of my team. Blaming a coach who can bring such tremendous improvement to us is insane. Marcelo did do well but i think he'd already done what he could do the best. he ain't a winger and we transformed him to be a winger and we shouldn't expect he can do as good as ribery or robben who are instinct attacking players. we shouldn't expect too much on such a "transformed" attacker to play good against top teams. he had done wut he could. but maybe still a little bit of lacking experience and confidence, but i still give him credit for this.
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
*marcelo didn't do well....
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
That was Golden.
Hala Madrid
Reply to Madrid4Life:
hala madrid
I liked d formation n way we played last night but in place or marcelo i would like to go 4 vdv he deserves this spot,he opted to stay in madrid to prove something and he is successfully doing it.
give him a spot now.I also think itz better we make benz a sub now this will make him fight for place in starting 11 n will yield a better performance.
I still trust pelle he can get us silverware ...
Hala Madrid.
Despite the loss. Im really proud the way Madrid played today. It goes to show you what we can do, with some time. Game should have been 3-0 in favor of Madrid. Kaka outclassed Barca by himself and Cristiano didn't have lady luck with him. Raul's sub in was the wrong one. Pelle should had subed in VDV, who actually pours his heart out. Barca see you at the Bernabeu!!
Hala Madrid
Reply to MilkWeed18:
i think next Clasico will be at April 10 2010
Reply to MadridistAli:
may be we get to face them again in cl n thrash thm out..
Reply to Madridfan_India:
using marcelo instead of a forward is a smart tactical move. VDV is great but he doesn't have the pace to threaten their right flank. Pelle wanna use marcelo to force D.alves drop back and reduce the pressure on our left flank. marcelo would also be a great helper on counterattack. VDV always worked hard but he barely would certainly eliminate kaka's space and one of our wing would be broken.(if CR9 plays on the left, S.Ramos would be the only one we could rely on on the right wing which would be extremely dangerous for our defense) that was a good intention althought it didn't turn out great. but this 4-2-3-1 is the best we could use against Barca at camp nou. with vdv, we need to play 4-2-2-2 again, our attack would all stuck in the middle sine the wings is totally broken.
after watching the el classico, im confident about that we are able to make a "big time come back" in CL this season!! we do have a quality team now!! hala madrid!!
ok, I was really unhappy yesterday, but today I am full of confidence! the world of newspapers praises real madrid, and the only two teams I would fear in champions league are chelsea and barca, whereas we can beat both! and we will only get better! pellegrini has done an outstanding job so far! four months to build a team on par with the best barca in history! hala madrid!
First, it's good to see your blog again Adam without a proxy. It's my ISP that's blocking it.
I wasn't able to watch the game obviously but from the tons of comments I've gathered it shows that Real Madrid can step up their game and force Barcelona to work harder. The two teams bring out the best, that's natural--there's a century old tradition to it.
To the testosterone-driven comments here, tone it down mates, the girls at ontd_football have better mind frames handing out kudos to their opposing team.
You always need a little bit of luck in the big games. Unless you start outplaying your opponent like we did in the Zizou Era. I'm confident we'll reach that before April 10. I can see us winning by a big margin 3 or 4 goals atleast.
He never has passed this bad before.
It felt so good punishing Barcelona with counterattacks. Its like they fucking realized that this team can expose their weakness like no other team can.
Anyone else think Alonso was absolute genius yesterday? I did not see him miss 1 pass.
Best Moments in the game:-
-Victor Valdes coming over to shake Cassillas hand before the game in the Hallway.
-Isreal Flag next to the Catalunya flag. Whats the connection? Beats me.
-Perez talking to Laporta before the game, Laporta ignores him and talks to some women who came wanting to tell him something. Perez starts rocking back and forth in embarrasment. lol
-Cristiano stops time and suddenly teleports past puyol on the left side. You can see Puyol 10 meters behind in a split second.
-Xavi and Iniesta are nowhere near the match of Kaka and Cristiano. Even while Cristiano isn't in form.
-25mins into the game. You can feel the fear of Catalunya.
-Messi doesn't even try going against Arbeloa; ever! It took Arbeloa 1 challenge to show him his worth.
-Marcelo was an undercover Barca player
-Lassana out muscling Yaya Toure.
-Messi dribbling every player in the midfield for no apparent reason in his handcapped style of dribbling.
-RAUL cutts the ball of Messi with easy.
THAT MOMENT WAS EPIC LOL.
My thoughts
LINK
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Last one was really beautiful. Loved it.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Superb....
u missed pepe...
Reply to galac:
what change in transfer policy would you like? Old has beens that can't cut it any more?
When you buy any player there is always an element of risk - no matter how well planned it is.
A few years ago I was hoping that we would go all in for a young Alexandre Pato. We didn't because many thought it was ridiculous to pay top dollar for an unproven player. Milan took him and the rest is history.
Real Madrid currently has the right transfer policy. It consists of signing the best young players in Spain and Europe and the world. Marcelo, Drenthe, Lass and even Gago were all good signings. Gago hasn't worked out - but nobody could have predicted that at the beginning.
The next time an Alexandre Pato emerges we must not hold back.
Reply to caracoleo:
Exactly...i hope benz doesn't turn out another gago...Lass has been d best signing...marcelo ,drenthe no comments others have already said enough..
As far as ronaldo's substitution goes. It must have been agreed before the game he was only going to play 60 or so minutes
You could see from his response when subbed. He was calm and winked.It was no shock to him at all
Dont forget he's been out for a month and doesnt have match fitness. He bust his guts out running around while on the pitch but his searing pace and runs wouldnt have been effective for the 90min.
When SAF used to sub ronaldo at man u, he was furious most of the time, but in a big game, he would be livid and stroppy and throwing kicking bottles etc.
You should be encouraged by madrids performance with puyol being man of the match.
Considering everyone is waiting on this team to gel and find the right formation and players to select, things arent exactly going disasterously for you. Barca are only 2 points ahead and they are being hailed as possibly one of the best teams ever!
This team has the players on paper to be the best ever but it wont happen overnight. But progress is being made and i doubt anyone else has pressed barca at home as much for a long time. (Rubin Kazan didnt play as well as RM and won)
Reply to MadridistAli:
YEAHBRO BARCELONA SUCKS REAL MADRID FOR LIFE.................