~El Clasico~ Real vs. Barca

[CutMeMick]

The moment is here...
A bit cloudy IMO and both teams not 100% at their best.

2 key elements missing 1 on each side, however Real has the bigger factor of the two.

With Kaka missing in the mid field I just can't see Real pulling off a win. Gago IMO has not seen many minutes and he will have to play the game of his career in order for Real to have a shot. Guti is good but he's mediocre at best and is just slighty better if not the same as Gago.
Without a good standing mid field I think Barca will eat us alive.
Both Xavi and Iniesta are in top form and right there alone they got us beat.

With Zlatan out Barca lacks a top striker however Bojan has filled in nicely when needed and def. has more then covered up the gap. Barca will be missing 1 of it's top strikers in Zlatan. While Real will be missing a key element in the mid field.

As far as matchups...
I think Messi will do with Arbeloa as he pleases. I don't think Arbeloa will know what hit him once Messi is done with him.

CR9 will have a hard time with Puyol, although I have been thinking that Puyol is up there in age. Will CR9 imply his youth and speed and try to out run him. I hope CR9 goes that route.

Diarra and Xavi wow... A lot of people are considering Xavi as one of the best in the world and was a runner up for player of the year award. Diarra is no where near that level. Diarras good and gives that extra push when needed to encourage Higuain, CR9, Benzema or whoever is up there. But Xavis mastermind passing is something else.

Still I stand here with both middle fingers up saying FUCK CATALANES! FUCK! BARCA! FUCK BLAUGRANAS CULES!

HALA MADRID!!
Hala Madrid !! Hala Madrid !!
Noble belico adalid, caballero del honor.
Hala Madrid !! Hala Madrid !!
A triunfar en buena lid, defendiendo tu color.
Hala Madrid, Hala Madrid, Hala Madrid !

[Oggie]

Definitely one of the best Clasicos in recent years, on paper anyway. Nothing to really separate either side in terms of league position...
Dare I say, if there is a winner tonight, they will go on to win the league title from here.

[CutMeMick]

Definitely one of the best Clasicos in recent years, on paper anyway. Nothing to really separate either side in terms of league position...
Dare I say, if there is a winner tonight, they will go on to win the league title from here.

It feels weird to read you say tonight, when it'll only be 1 pm here in the states at the time...

As far as the winner taking the title... I'll let you know once I know the winner if that's true or not.

[Master]

Messi v Ronaldo, some on Messi!!!!

[Oggie]

Messi scores again!
There really is no stopping him lately.

Barca 1 - 0 Real

[Oggie]

Pedro makes it 2-0 to Barca!
They look in full command at the moment, hard to see Madrid turning this one around.

[Oggie]

Game over, Barca 2-0 Madrid.
Good game, but in the end Barca never looked in doubt. They are in a class of their own!

[Nameless]

No matter what, I am always more than happy when I see Madrid losing anything at all

[CutMeMick]

Well like I said in the 1st few lines without Kaka I really couldn't see us pulling off a win.

Gago was shit, so was Guti.
Higuain touched the ball 2 or 3 times tops.

The opp. we had we let them go.
All the shots we took we're to the middle/keepers hands.

Several clear opp. with break aways where Marcelo did not produce.
CR9 also had opp. but couldn't not get it to go through.

Well the game's done now and we gotta move on.
There's still plenty of games left so hopefully wen can still win La Liga.

[skel1983]

To be fair Mick from what I have seen and heard from fans Kaka has been pretty average since he joined Madrid, I don't think he would of made much difference.

[CutMeMick]

To be fair Mick from what I have seen and heard from fans Kaka has been pretty average since he joined Madrid, I don't think he would of made much difference.

Check out the 1st leg and see how effective he was...

Real bought Kaka with an already exsisting injury they took an gamble on him. He's def. produced for us and has been playing well.

When you don't have a mid field/your brains of the squad your as good as dead.
Just think if Xavi wouldn't have been there for Barca.

[Master]

Selling Alonso for £30 million was a good deal from Liverpool.

[Oggie]

Selling Alonso for £30 million was a good deal from Liverpool.

Any team that sells to Real Madrid are getting a good deal.

[Kirkland Laing]

Barcelona are just breathtaking. They're a joy to watch. I hopw they win the Champoins League again.

Brazil have two schools of football futbol de resuldad (playing to get a result) and futbol de something or other (Portuguese not my strong point ), the beautiful game football where it's a if you score 3 we'll score 4 all out attack attitude. Beautiful game football. Brazil abandoned beautiful game football after the 1986 world cup to play result football but their 1982 and 86 teams played the best football I've ever seen until this Barcelona team came along. And seven or eight of them came through the Barcelona youth system, players like Xavi and Iniesta. It's a privilege to be able to watch them every week.

[Oggie]

Barcelona are just breathtaking. They're a joy to watch. I hopw they win the Champoins League again.

Brazil have two schools of football futbol de resuldad (playing to get a result) and futbol de something or other (Portuguese not my strong point ), the beautiful game football where it's a if you score 3 we'll score 4 all out attack attitude. Beautiful game football. Brazil abandoned beautiful game football after the 1986 world cup to play result football but their 1982 and 86 teams played the best football I've ever seen until this Barcelona team came along. And seven or eight of them came through the Barcelona youth system, players like Xavi and Iniesta. It's a privilege to be able to watch them every week.

Yeah man, it really is total football they are playing. Usually you have teams that are either really exciting or really successful, rarely has there ever been a team that fills both criteria as much as the current Barcelona team do. The fact that a ton of their star players came up through their youth academy makes it all the more impressive! A proper club!

I honestly cannot think of any club team that I have seen in my life that could beat them at their best. Last year, they took the English champions (Man Utd) in the Champions League final and absolutely obliterated them, and United were highly impressive last year in their own right! This year again, Barcelona man-shame English title contenders Arsenal in a way I have never seen before. They did the same to Inter (Italian champions) earlier in the Champions League too! It's a different level they are at, when you see them against the other top European teams you realise just how big the gulf in class is between them.

Their assembly line of a youth system has a few potential wonderkids lurking in the shadows again now... remember these names for the coming years - Jonathan Dos Santos, Marc Bartra, Marc Muniesa, Thiago Alcantara, Victor Vazquez and Gai Assulin.
Each one has star potential, particularly Dos Santos and Assulin (whom Chelsea reportedly tried to buy in 2005 when he was only 15.)