Good vs Evil, Capital vs Rebellion, Audacity vs Philosophy, Real vs Barca, The Clash of Titans

Barcelona Football Club have become obsessed over their club motto, "Mes que un Club" which translates to "More than a Club" in the English language which ultimately traces to an ethnocentrism that lingers around the Northeastern Spanish city. But El Clasico is really something more than it seems. It's greater than a your every day derby or rivalry adventure. Nearly every match in Spain is kindled by a behind the scenes blaze, fueled by political and nationalist separations that all but breech certain regions of a beautiful country. However, no match can to top El Clasico and all the luggage it carries. There is a long, twisting, history of hatred and boiling blood between the capital of the country and the capital of Catalonia. Battles of the two date back to the Spanish Civil War and beyond. Those who play for the Clubs endorse the teachings of what it means to bare the shirt they will make their trade in. The message has been burned into the hearts of the players who rise from the depths of the Clubs' academies but those transferred in quickly adapt the meaning and the club's sense of pride which comes with a hefty side of disgust for the El Clasico counterpart. Real Madrid represent the Capital, the gem, the pride of Spanish football, dubbed the most successful club of the 20th century by FIFA. Barcelona depict a much different image. They are the reformation, the rebellion. Often times consider themselves and Catalonia as a whole, as a separate nation with a different culture, language, and history, living in the great shadow cast by the Royal Club of Madrid. The feud is never ending and the personas of protagonist and antagonists have never been officially assigned. Though the roles do tend to change with time.

This weekend's match could be the very pinnacle of the El Clasico history. The rivalry continues to grow and after Barcelona went on to win all three of the available contests last year, which eventually lead to a sextuplet in completion births that the first three privileged. The Blaugrana are the only team to ever achieve this feat. Barcelona also stormed into the Bernabeu last season and humiliated los blancos 6-2 in front of their own extremely hard to impress fans. In reaction Real Madrid were in search of a renaissance. The re-emergence of former club president Florentino Perez, who signed big names such as the first Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, and David Beckham, had returned for round two. The inclusion of these stars started what is known as the Galactico Era. Now, Florentino, back for a second term, has a new set of super stars to grace Chamartin. Their names are Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, and Xabi Alonso. Spending close to 250 million in the summer has rejuvinated the squad, now labled the Neo-Galacticos. The two rivals are level on 77 points, one less point than Real Madrid managed in the entirety of last season. Also, in La Liga history, the top two teams have never been even on such a lofty plateau. Ray Parlour, GolTV commentator seems to think that it isn't good for La Liga because other teams cannot compete, but even if that is true, it proves to make some of the most exhilarating title races and El Clasico's between Real and Barca. A friend of mine who supports Barcelona brought to my attention that in my 20 year life, Los Blancos and the Blaugrana each have 3 European Cups, but Barcelona has 9 La Liga's compared to our 8. So in order for Real to tie them in that respect would be to win the La Liga this year. As a whole, the overall record between the sides in 159 matches played is Real Madrid wins 68, Barcelona wins 61, and draws 30. Real Madrid has won 31 La Liga titles whereas Barcelona remain 12 astray with a mere 19. Real Madrid have won 9 European Cups and Barcelona six behind with 3. Real Madrid lack in the category of the Copa del Rey. The Blaugrana have won 25 and the Royal Capital only 17.

Barcelona have become the globe's new obsession. The world wide bandwagon has begun after their sextuplet and housing the World player of the year, Messi, isn't a bad attribute to have. They are seen as the good guy going into El Clasico this time around. Commonly seen as protagonist this season. Home-bread talent, their obsessive passing style of play, Messi in general, and to top it all off the Unicef logo on their shirt to support the organization. Real are easily seen as the antagonist. Spent a quarter of a billion on players this summer, a more counter attack based team with lots of strong personalities, Ronaldo who is commonly referred to as a cry baby and prima dona, and the gambling company of Bwin.com on their shirt. Barcelona have boasted about their home grown team but it's not as much of a tradition as newcomers may begin to think. It wasn't until the installation of Guardiola that this project really began to take full flight. As for "new products" Messi was a product and Bojan had received time. Pique was brought back to Barcelona by Guardiola from Manchester United. Pedro didn't receive any time to speak of the year before Pep's arrival. That leaves just Valdes, Messi, Puyol, Xavi, and Bojan if you can count him as a significant enough factor, five names. Madrid just had Iker Casillas, Raul, Guti and Miguel Torres who has been transferred to Getafe. So we're talking home grown 3 or 4 against 5? Is this really even a stat? Madrid are thrown into the fire for buying players but Barcelona have bought Thierry Henry, Ibrahimovic, Dani Alves, Keita, Hleb (who has since moved on) and Maxwell. That's not exactly home grown either. I mean there was a time when Barcelona was a very much a Dutch team. Is this home grown thing a philosophy or a new trend? Nonetheless, Guardiola made it to the peak of success using it.

Injury fears amongst both camps in the week approaching the massive occasion this weekend. Ibrahimovic missed out on Barcelona's Champions League quarter final second leg against Arsenal where Lionel Messi got messy against the Gunners, unwinding the North London club with four goals of his own including a first half hat trick that quickly eclipsed Bentdner's opening goal at the Camp Nou. Some might think the Barclona's midweek Champions League duty would be a Real Madrid advantage because of player fatigue but that isn't entirely true for the blaugrana back line. Barca's primary pair at center back is Pique and Puyol, two former Masia products, one old, one young. However, both missed the Arsenal match due to suspension, Pique for yellow card build up and Puyol for the red card he recieved in the tackle that was said to break former Barcelona youth team member, Cesc Fabregas's right leg in the first match at the Emirates Stadium last week. So the two Catalans will be rested. Eric Abidal has missed the last several weeks with an injury but summer signing Maxwell from Inter Milan has done a successful job taking his place at left back. The two split time against Arsenal.

Madrid have concerns or concern of their own. The critics have fallowed Kaka around like lost puppies this season. In my opinion, we haven't seen his very best but it is certainly not as bad as critics have made it out to be. For the amount of matches Ricky has played injured and games he played in all together, his numbers aren't aweful. That begin said, I know he can do better. But if Kaka wants to impress this weekend, he's got a mountain of not only critics but fitness to climb. He's missed the past couple Madrid La Liga matches and is in a fitness race for El Clasico. Much like fellow massive signing Ronaldo was for the first El Clasico. As of Wednesday he was doing his own exercises but is intent on joining the squad as soon as he can. Although, if his appearance is not made this weekend, we have no reason to worry because Van der Vaart has been exquisite. Xabi Alonso, the glue of the Real Madrid midfield, received a knock in training on Wednesday and missed Thursday's session. He would be a great loss for the team. Alonso has not played since El Derbi Madrileno where he picked up a yellow card (on purpose) to miss the Santander match instead of missing El Clasico is he were to be cautioned in Santander.

So you have to think at this point who plays? What's your line up for such a massive match? Who is on form? Who isn't? How do you deal with a player like Messi? Will it be Arbeloa? You're at home, how to you approach the match? The questions are never ending. Let me throw down a line up and I'll explain my decisions after wards.

It took me a long time to come up with this line up because obviously against a team like Barcelona, the margain for error is practically invisible. Let me start with my back line. With Barcelona's attack rarely stopped by anyone, this was the most difficult of the three sectors to plan. It doesn't look uncommon from many other Real Madrid line ups. The reason I have Arbeloa at left back because Messi spends a lot of time on the right side (his right side) . The only other options to put on that left hand side would be Marcelo, and I know we don't want him defending Messi, despite his improvement in defensive performences for the most part lately, or Drenthe who is still a questionably fit or not even though he's been steadily making his way back to the training ground. Ramos was held responsible for marking the Argentine on a prior El Clasico but it resulted in mostly fouls. Arbeloa is the best option. He's been playing there for a great portion of the season and has even played their for the national team. Plus our tactic should be to play our own game. It shouldn't be what we have to change to cope with them. We should let them cope with us. We're no slouches ourselves. In the midfield I have Xabi Alonso, given the fact that he is fit, and Guti because we need to test Barcelona's back line. They're not as solid as they appear. Barcelona keep so much possession that they hardly have to defend yet they still leak the occasional goal. Other teams don't have someone of Xavi's ability to see and pass. We do, Guti. I think he may be the clue to unlock Barcelona. I don't think Kaka will be able to rekindle fitness in time. By Thursday, he is still in the gym and the match is Saturday. If he does make the squad list, its Van der Vaart to start for me. The Dutch captain has been outstanding and nothing short of a work horse. He is on form and has had a knack lately for getting crucial goals. To think we almost let another Dutch gem slip away (Adios Robben and Sneijder. Glad to see you are both doing well). I put Marcelo out on the left because he is sprightly and lively. He's creative. I think w could use that on that flank. I recall last year's Champions League semi final Chelsea vs Barcelona at the Bridge. Dani Alves had so much trouble handing Moulouda, he cried his way into yellow card suspension for the Final (idiot). Marcelo is a similar kind of player. Also when I watch Barcelona, Alves goes forward so often that eventually he gets caught out. As professional center backs should do, Barca's pair slid over to cover when he ventures. Abidal or Maxwell fallow. But defending with three against Higuain, Marcelo, Ronaldo, and Van der Vaart could prove fatal for the Blaugrana.

There is hardly anything I can tell you about Barcelona that the world already doesn't know. They won't stray away from their style. The sad part about the last El Clasico is that we dominated, deserved a draw at the very least but were faulted by an offside Ibrahimovic goal. I'm not even going to start the Villarato debate. That's a squawk for another day. I will be most regretably missing the match (tears in my eyes). I have a spring season tournament of my own to play in at Bucknell University. It may save me the anxiety I suppose but I've come to terms with missing it. For all of you that took time to read this lengthy post I thank you. I've been so caught up with school and personal affairs lately that I hardly have had time to write. Also our internet has crashed at my house. I will continue to write the best I can. Thanks everyone.

HALA MADRID!!

Bobby

Three Points The Hard Way

Always pissed off before pleased. If it wasn't the awful Real Madrid play in the first half, the annoying TV commentators set me off. That guy must hate Real Madrid. How many times did I have to hear "bunch of individuals." Whatever, it's still three points in the bank and a world of topics to be talked over as Real Madrid battle back at the fortress to win 3-1 over Sporting Gijon. Plenty of action though! Down a goal, and then up a goal in the blink of an eye. Controversy and chaos. Ronaldo plays with a block of ice in his hand to reduce swelling on a little bump on his precious face? Crazy. This puts us three points above Barcelona but they haven't played yet. Zaragoza will be awaiting the blaugrana's arrival. Goals from Van der Vaart, Xabi Alonso who got his first goal from open play (immediately fallowing the corner), and another for Pipita!

I guess it takes a strike of lightning to light a fire under our asses to get us going. A questionably offside David Barrel creeped in untouched and smashed the ball into the roof of our own net, stunning the Bernabeu faithful and the shirts in white at 53 minutes. My heart sunk. Barrel, a former Madrid product, was brave enough to celebrate by signing his name on the pitch. It was quickly erased. Before I could even get upset or angry, we equalized and our tempo shot into the sky like a Chinese firework! I thought to myself when our own goal was penetrated that maybe just maybe this will provoke a response. It did. Ronaldo's dipping free kick, 2 minutes later, caused a lot of trouble for Colinas who fumbled the rocket onto a platter for Rafael Van der Vaart who trapped it with what looked like a volleyball bump before thrashing a left footed volley into the net. I'm a biased supporter but that was definitely a handball. Am I going to complain? No. But let's just say we'll call it even for Xavi's dive against Espanyol. Goal for a goal right? Another two minutes later, after winning a corner Ronaldo jumped higher than the cross bar to win the initial header which found Xabi Alonso at the far post to nod past the line from close range. And just like that, we're on top.

I make it sound glamorous but it was far from. The first half was abysmal. I take no credit away from Gijon who were very well organized defensively in half number 1. We created next to nothing and Ronaldo was a tad bit selfish (and I don't often call him that). What did we do to solve the problem? Lass out, Guti in. I said it at half time to my friends watching the match with me. I told them that had to be the change. I think Lass barfed up the ball every time he got it. Just dreadful. For those of you that chose to grade our players, please fail Lassana Diarra for me. I said it in the preview, no Lass. Didn't listen to me did you Manuel? He clogged everything up, ran into dead ends, fouled, and did things he shouldn't be trying. How many times must he be told? Another lacking performance from Granero as well. The one shot he took has even landed yet. He needs to improve. Xabi Alonso wasn't his great self today, aside from netting the winner. Just a step off. Gave it away too often. Our best holding center midfielder of the evening was (I can't believe I'm gonna even say this because it's against what I so avidly preach) Gago. He came on, kept it simple. He didn't play tag, running from player to player fouling. Everytime he got it, he just distributed. Well done. When he does that he looks a very good player. Guti I thought was instrumental after coming in. Helped connect everything. He was composed and his all seeing eyes opened up attacks for us. Liked him.

Man of the Match you ask? Van der Vaart for me. Kaka will have to work to break back into my Real Madrid team. Tremendous outing from the Dutchman. He's really finding good form. His goal probably should not have stood but none the less, he got one when we most needed it. But how bout that back heal? Cracked a wide smile on my face. He was lively and upbeat throughout the match. He almost scored an acrobatic header earlier in the first half but I felt like he was the driving force behind Madrid today. Put Ronaldo in the passenger seat. Ronaldo had an off game for me. I mean he was involved. His free kick caused the rebound that VDV scored from and he also won the header from the corner that Xabi Alonso scored from, but he took some shots he probably shouldn't have. He was little to obvious on trying to draw that penalty. Coughed it up a few times trying to do some fancy stuff. He won't be pleased. And neither will his make up artist who has a bump to try and hide for the cameras (:]) Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on him. But with a player of his caliber, you have to expect more. And for future refference, leave the ice on the sidelines...

Let's turn our focus to the back line. No Albiol? Mystery to me. If anyone can clear that up for me, I'd love to know. Really kind of mucked things up I think. Garay was not good at all today. The whole back line was leaky and here's what I think. Without Albiol, Ramos has to play center back. He likes to play the left sided center back but so does Garay. Garay must have felt out of place on the right or something because he looked very uncomfortable. I thought Marcelo made a few good tackles actually but spent most of his time attacking as usual. Arbeloa, eh so-so. But none were good. Especially Ramos, the gladiator didn't have a dominating game. He almost gave up a goal single handedly by casually scuffing a routine pass back to Casillas. Our prize keeper saved the day though. Well done San Iker. We dominated the match completely our a defenders still managed to give Gijon some pretty damn good chances.

Always glad to see Pipita net one. Took it beautifully too. Scurried away from some defenders and caressed the ball past the goal keeper with his left foot into the corner. Another one for Higuain. Another one toward Pichichi. Catch Messi buddy, catch him.

A win is a win. Another ugly job but 3 points nonetheless. Puts us on top for the time being on points and adds two more goals to goal differential stats. And as my girlfriend put it when I text her about the result, "good now you won't be bitchy." Haha that's a good way to put it. The season long home winning streak continues!

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Another Epic Battle at the Helm of Fortress Bernabeu

Usually on the eve before the second leg of a Champions League Round of 16 match I'm turning over the scenarios and what it will take us to get through to the next round rather nervously but strangely enough I'm calm, collected, confident. Quite a different mood from my fright in the night previous to the Stade Gerland match. After what I saw on Saturday and later comprehend, I feeling as if we're taking the momentum from the comeback and the energy from the fans and are confident (not cocky) that we can progress. It's a feeling unlike the last 5 years going into this second leg. I have reason to be upbeat. Maybe it's because the objective is very clear. Win by two goals. There's no if, ands, or buts about it. However we only need one goal in 90 minutes to force extra time but I'd rather just get the job done in 90 minutes. Sorry if the preview is coming to everyone a little late. I've been very busy running around at home because of spring break. Let's get started. Shall we?

Let's look at some positives going in. Obviously momentum from the big win this weekend a little extra from the fashion in which that game was one. Also the team seems united. When you bring a bunch of new players together no one can expect gelling right away (unless you're stupid). Not only do the players have to learn each others playing styles and habbits in order to perform well but the need to learn their personalities, become close friends. I think we are beginning to see that more and more. When the team all gathered together in one huddle after the Sevilla game that's when I knew things are tight knit. Also, the fans will be as amped as ever after what they witnessed on Saturday. How do I know this? Well, I'm a fan, duh. Not only is the team as one but there are currently very few injuries in the squad. Benzema and Drenthe are the only ones out with their respectable knocks and other than that the squad is out on the training pitch rather than in the gym. Drenthe won't be missed because he hardly plays and I can't say Benzema will that missed either because our offense seems to be working on all cylinders without him.

So with the thought that we need two goals to progress in mind, we have to think offensively but a the same time we can't afford to get scored against because for everytime we let one up, we have to add on one to the amount of goals we have to score. Obviously Xabi Alonso is unable to play due to yellow card suspension so what do? Obvious plug in for me is either of the Diarras. If lass just distributes and does the actual job of a holding (not attacking dude) I think he is a better option only because Mahamadou is more of a bruiser. Ah hah! In that case we might need the number 6 instead because it is sure to be a physical battle. I think we have learned a valuable lesson from Sevilla in what our offense can do with all the right tools. Offense is the best defence at times. It is crucial that we score early. It would settle nerves and put us in a rhythm to get another one. We haven't failed to score at home all year. We have 90 minutes to at least get one. There are a few games away in which we failed to score, Lyon being one of them. Here is my line up for the match tomorrow.




Very similar to the post substitution Real Madrid we saw this weekend. Arbeloa takes the place of Marcelo who is also suspended and I have M. Diarra as the holding midfielder. To me he is more of a Xabi Alonso like player than Lass is and we need the physical presence. I figured why not go so offensively when we need goals. We needed goals this weekend, and roughly these are the guys that got us there. Pellegrini had an A+ performance this weekend. As for subs, I can see Granero and Raul both featuring at some point and Lass or big Diarra coming off the bench depending who gets the start. After the first leg, many fans said we lacked midfield creativity because Guti and Van der Vaart were injured. Well they're back now and if they bring to the table what they did on Saturday, we'll be in business.

As for Lyon, since we last saw them three weeks ago, they've not conceded a goal in Ligue 1. They have two wins and a 0-0 draw against Boulonge this past weekend. Lyon have no players suspended for the match but Brazilian international Michel Bastos, who played for Brazil at left back in their recent friendly against the Republic of Ireland, will be missing with a thigh injury.

The objective is clear. The team is ready. Us supporters just sit and await our faith anxiously. It will be a nervy 90 minutes for me personally. I transform into a monster when Madrid plays. You probably don't ever want to watch a match with me (:p).

HALA MADRID

Bobby

Comeback Kids Defend The Bernabeu

Let me start this post off with a Hell Yeah! The match ended 2 hours ago and my hear is still a thumpin'! I can't even wipe the wide smirk off my face. It's a great view from the top! Where do I begin? I mean at the end of the first half I was turning over furniture in my room and throwing pillows, just screaming at the heavens asking how we hadn't scored at the top of my lungs. I'm surprised my neighbors didn't call the police because it probably sounded like a domestic disturbance in this place. In all honesty, even though Sevilla didn't get like any shots off, we were dominated the first 20 minutes. We saw no possession, had no good chances to speak off either. I was sitting with a dumb look on my face thinking to myself "this is gonna be a long match..." How much more wrong could I have been? I know it may be bias but this could be one of the matches of the season. So let's get to the game itself.

Started off awful. It just wasn't pretty. This was at the stage when I thought we were in for a rough night. I had to watch the game on an online feed so I was already sour to begin with. With about 10 minutes into the game after I had clearly notice that we were well below standard my feed froze but the sound continued. I hear "GOOOOOOOLLLL GOL GOL GOLLLLL!" I scrambled fiercely. I refreshed my page only to see a smiling Alvaro Negredo trotting off to the corner flag. My heart sunk. "It would be him.." I muttered but after seeing the replay it appears as if Xabi Alonso got the last touch. Arbeloa just seemed to lose track of where Navas was on that right side. His cross missed two unmarked Sevilla attackers before it was put back across by Capel and into our own net by Xabi. I was upset, but composed. There were still 80 minutes to be played so I wasn't as concerned as if the opening goal would have came against us with 20 minutes to spare.

All of a sudden with the blink of an eye on exactly 20 minutes it would seem, the lethargic, uninterested, and outplayed Madrid transformed into the up beat, feisty, creative Madrid. It was like night an day. A lot of times u hear of a game of two haves but our form picked up dead smack in the middle of half 1. We had 14 shots at the end of the first half. I checked the stats. Seven of those shots were on goal. Sevilla had zero. Yeah.. ZERO. I was like how can we possibly be losing? They haven't even had a shot. There second goal can't even really be considered a shot either. It was a fluke. I was livid at that point that we had gone 2-0 down at Sevilla had not even once shot at our goal. "How can this be happening!" I cried. Safe to say at this point my family stopped checking up on me to see how the match was going. So I'm not even going to count their second goal as a shot either.

This surely should have killed our momentum but Pellegrini stole the show. He removed Arbeloa who has very little to offer offensively, moved an attack minded Marcelo to left back, removed a creativity lacking Lass, and injected a Van der Vaart and a Guti into midfield. How much more straight forward attacking can you be? We were essentially defending with just Garay and Albiol with Ramos and Marcelo acting like wing-backs. So our formation looked something like 2-5-3. That clearly was the turning point in the match. No doubt in my mind. VDV added an extra energy and Guti contributed vision that we hadn't seen all game. The players caught on immediately. Marcelo's pass into the area took a little deflection and found none other that Ronaldo who one timed it past Palop who had been brilliant to that point. "About time!" I screamed as I shut the door to my room. Couldn't have any disturbances at this point. I just always had the feeling we were gonna get two after that one went in. You could see that the Ronaldo goal broke Sevilla's spirit. They knew they had awoken a sleeping giant.

For minutes later Mr. Ramos headed home a corner, scoring against his former club. I love Ramos. I was glad it was him. I was a little puzzled by the nipple rub celebration though. Just me? Whatever. That was the last thing I was concerned about at this point. Two in four minutes? Now we have 25 plus some to score one more, but it was elusive. Guti's magic vision found a couple open players and I bet if you were on the pitch right now and felt the frame of the goal, it would still be rattling and vibrating. Guti rocked it, Higuain blasted it. I can't believe we only scored three. When Raul came on for Kaka, I sort of went "why?" Raul was amazing but I felt like we had such a good thing going already I didn't want to disturb it. Nothing against el Capitan. Nonetheless I was still confident he could do a job. This was around the same time I noticed the first Sevilla shot coming from Jesus Navas (clearly Sevilla's best player today). I checked ESPN's Soccernet and I was right. It was the 79th minute and other than the two goals, the Rojiblancos recorded no other shots than that.

So my heart is racing and I can hear the fortress in full song. There must have been so much atmosphere that it was spilling out of the computer and into my room. I could feel it. Fifteen minutes to go, no goal. Ten minutes to go, still no goal. Stoppage time now, at least there was four minutes. I didn't want to think it quite yet but the though that Barca tied today made me think at least we're not losing ground on them. Just as that thought was passing a lose ball is open in the area. Ronaldo has the whole goal to shoot at. Raul tries to move out of the way but in the wrong direction and with ball aimed at the side netting, it strikes the Numero Siete and away from the goal. I just closed my eyes. That was it. That was the chance. To my utter delight I was incorrect. Ramos curls a ball into the area a moment later. Higuain gets up and nods a header toward the goal. Palop deflects. "OHHH- wait - get it- GOLLLLLLLLL!!!!" Van der Vaart is now ripping off his jersey and flying torward the corner.

I'm in extacy. A 10 man Barcelona tied against Ameria away so that means we are Top Of La Liga! On goal differential of course by 2 goal difference. I'm going to go continue celebrating . Already hit up Red Lobster haha.

HALA MADRID!

Bobby

The First of Two Make or Break Matches

Sorry if this prematch thought preview is coming to you all a little late. I'm coming off an epic Thursday night. (For those who have gone or currently are attending college, you know what what I mean) However, I'm sure everyone I was with last night was getting a little annoyed at the fact that I kept talking about this fixture. Real Madrid vs Sevilla in Fortress Bernabeu. The first of two whopping fixtures in a few short days. Real are currently two short points behind their rivals and can't afford to fall three more behind with the way Barcelona is playing. Our players escaped the international midweek unscathed by injury and we performed well on the world stage collectively (minus Lass, looked poor for France. But Hey, it's hard to look good against Spain at the moment). Ramos and Higuain both starred against very established national teams each having themselves a goal a piece. Kaka played 90 minutes against the Republic of Ireland in Brazil's 2-0 win. Ronaldo played a half in Portugal's 2-0 victory over China. Van der Vaart came on as sub to torture the U.S. (sigh). This further shows me that I want him to play a bigger part in these up coming fixtures.

The squad has been named (not Castilla players) for the home match against the team that beat us 2-1 at the Sanchez Pizjuan earlier this season. Madrid's only goal came via Pepe who we all know is tragically absent for the rest of the season with a devastating ACL tear. It's a big one. Barcelona are not likely to drop points and we essentially have to win a big game just to keep pace at the moment. Their toughest fixtures don't come until the last few weeks of the season (excluding El Clasico). One of the most important issues that I wrote about last article is do we rest players? It's been a ritual for Champions League teams to sit important players the weekend prior when the European competition is on the horizon. However, Sevilla are in the Champions League at this time and even though they aren't playing on Tuesday or Wednesday due to the new format, they should still beat treated as the Champions League team they are. Like I always say: "With great power comes great responsibility" (again, Uncle Ben from Spiderman) Players like Ronaldo, Kaka, Higuain need to play because we need them to play. Simple as that. We know fatigue is setting in but we don't have a whole lot of options when we need three points. Obviously we can help plug in players who were not called up for internationals. Even though Benzema and Drenthe are still injured, Granero, Raul, Guti, Diarra, Gago, and Garay all weren't too busy this week except for a 3-1 win over Castilla in which two of the first team's goals were scored by Castilla players filling in for absentees.

We fell to the Rojiblancos earlier this season but we are a much different team now. We were also Ronaldo-less when we traveled to Andulusia. I know that sounds like we depend on him but I had to include cause anyone with a couple brain cells knows he's a major factor. I'm not saying we NEED to have him on the field. I've constructed just a line up of my own this week. I'm totally baffled to what Pellegrini will do. The one question I have is do we give Xabi Alonso 90 minutes? He is suspended for the Champions League clash against Lyon so we don't have to worry about his fitness but do we need to get some high pressure practice without him. It is clearly visable that our creativity and pass accuracy percentage in midfield drops when he is on the pitch. We are boosted greatly by Guti who has been included in the squad list. You should remember from the 2007-2008 season in this exact fixture, Guti tore apart Sevilla with some master vision and master class passes that lead to three goals. Also in my memory of many thoughts I remember a Guti back heel just as magical if not more divine as the play at Riazor against Sevilla at home to Zidane that resulted in a goal. Don't remember? Look it up. Classic.

If you haven't noticed by now, I decided that we're just going to half to tough this one out. We can't rest players. Someone said to me the other day "You can sleep when your dead." I just kinda smiled and applied it football. Not to say that's always the correct option but in this case, I think it pertains. I chose a Marcelo-less back four. Although he had a pretty decent game against Tenerife, his defending will be no match for Navas who was sprightly after coming on against France in the second half this week. Navas is a must go for the World Cup this summer. Anyways, this also the back four we will most likely see against Lyon. Grab a seat Marcelo. I opted to have both big Diarra and Xabi Alonso playing in holding midfield. Most people I know I'm a fan of the single pivot rather than tho double pivot but like I said above, we need Xabi Alonso because it would be stupid not to play him but we also need Mahamadou to get some game time before he faces his former club before our Do or Die on Wednesday. I sat Granero. As much as I love him, he hasn't been himself lately. Maybe starting off on the bench will motivate him to make a difference when coming on. I replaced him with Guti (I already explained why, btw.. big Guti fan if you couldn't tell). Obviously the evil genious can't play 90 minutes here and expect to play a major part agains Lyon on Wednesday. His body can't take. Not to mention he is coming off an injury. So Granero can replace him sometime in the second half. No surprises other than that. Ronaldo, Kaka, and Higuain just have to be the counter attacking trident we saw against Tenerife. You might notice I didn't say Van der Vaart. This is the only player I want to rest. I think he can tear up Lyon. Agree?

As for Sevilla. What can we say? Big forwards, good service. It was brought to my attention that we will have to be efficiently offensively to survive defensively. We'll have to score because we will probably get scored against. It's just the nature of how it will be. If we don't get scored on, I'll be the first to brag about it but I'm just saying with Kanoute and Negredo both of size it will be an aerial battle all match. That's one of the reasons I chose Garay at center back, good header of the ball but him an Albiol will have to keep a better eye on people in our own area than we did against Tenerife. Arbeloa will have his hands full with Navas. That's a bit worrisome for me. As much as I've grown to like Alvaro, his defending still scares me. He was questionable at best against France. Ribery gave him issues and he fouled a good bit. Also his ability to defend the one-two is poor. That being said, I think he is a good defender but has some stuff to work on, way better than Marcelo though. Renato isn't bad player either though. We'll have to keep and eye on him.

Alright everyone. I am going to hop in a much needed shower and then head back to my hometown of beautiful Erie Pennsylvania for my spring break. Although I'll hardly be relaxing with our fixture list. If we win hear, the pressure will starting getting to Barca. They play Almeria who has been pretty respectable in the last few games. Hopefully the Blaugrana slip up. They ALMOST did against Malaga (another sigh).

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Tenerife Voted Off The Island

Raul scoring at the death of this game has left a smile on my face I just can't get rid of (not that I want to). I've been propelled into an even better mood this weekend with Real Madrid's 5-1 thumping of an admirable and courageous Tenerife. I give my thumbs up to the Canary Island based club. They never quit and created chances of their own time after time despite being hounded at their own end by viscous Real Madrid counter attacks. Their coach was bold because even though at the time they were down 3-1, he took off defensive minded players in favor off offencive players. They switched up their formation adding another attacker, opting for 3 at the back. Awfully risky when you consider the counter attacking power that shown by the Ronaldo, Kaka, and a brilliant Higuain. There is no doubt that we were robbed of a clean sheet though. Casillas clearly had clutched onto the cross firmly when Tenerife's Ayoze came crashing through him, knocking the ball from Casillas' grasp and into his goal mouth. But my anger subsided a few minutes later when Pipita slid in Kaka, who is really starting to shut up some critics lately. Kaka took the ball in stride and drove a low shot into the far corner. Is it just me or do Ronaldo and Kaka have a planned celebration for every match? I can't tell you what that one was.. lol.

Ronaldo got a goal so I'm sure he'll be content even if it was just a penalty. May I offer my compliments to Van der Vaart. What an impact he had coming in off the bench. Drew the penalty by blasting the ball into a defenders hand, and assisting the great Raul. The Dutch captain lifted the tempo of the match when he came on. Granero didn't play poorly but VDV did more in 15 minutes than Pirata did in 75. However, I wanna take a look at the last goal. Look at the experience and knowledge Raul has. The first curled ball in from Marcelo aimed at the path of El Capitan is cut out with a last gasp effort from the defender which deflects the trickling ball toward the point where the box meets the end line. Raul reloads his run and jets himself at the near post where a driven low cross is the most likely candidate for a ball into the danger area. His experience pays off and he nets another historic goal. Just brilliant.

Man of the match you may ask? Has to be Pipita. Two goals and an assist. That's 4 goals in 2 games for the Argentine. He is such a critical finisher. After Marcelo evaded with the challenge on the sideline with a sneaky spin, he touched in Gonzalo in on the edge of the area, he strikes it low and hard with his unfavored left foot and from the moment he hit it, I knew it was a goal. Great finish. Marcelo adds his assist total to six (Did you know Marcelo has more assists and goals than Iniesta who people are calling the best in the world?). However the finish is better on Higuain's second goal. Of all people, Garay, who is up from set play, picks out his fellow Argentine beautifully. And with the ball skipping across the turf at pace, Pipita whacks it into the far corner. The adventurous Tenerife goal keeper never stood a chance.

Let's take a look at some more individual performances. Marcelo, good offensively and yes I'm saying it, a little better defensively. Is he my first pick for left back? Far from, but I know an improvement when I see one. He blocked a few crosses and cut out some passes. Still room for improvement though, littly reckless. Lassana Diarra was worlds better than he has been in recent games. He just linked everything together. Little, short, quick, simple passes. It was useful. A lot better from him. He didn't try to be an attacking midfielder for once. I hope Pellegrini encourages his performance and says "More of that." Garay and Albiol were under immense pressure all night considering the highly aggressive and offensive formation that Tenerife sported in the second half. Everyone knows the Tenerife's goal was no one's fault except for the man with the whistle so the center back pair are not to blame. They made a couple of very last ditch efforts to clear balls away that were played in behind them, especially inside our own areas. An image in my head of San Iker giving Garay thumbs up resides in my brain. Kaka has been telling critics to put down their pens in his last two performances. Instrumental again today.

No Castilla players again. Pretty disappointing. I was really hoping to get at least one on there. I've noticed that Pellegrini almost refuses to make substitutions before 75 minutes. Every game. It's like VDV did so well, but we could have seen even more of his talent if you would have put him in 10 minutes earlier.

I may be looking ahead but hear me out. We are very dangerous team on the counter attack. It's been said many times that the way to beat Barcelona is on the counter because they attack with numbers. If we counter attack like we did today on April 11, we could totally throw Barcelona on the back foot. Do you agree? Bounce them off their game plan at Fortress Bernabeu and we may be in a good position to win that match. Just a thought yeah?

All Madridistas should be in a good mood right now. With Barcelona vs Malaga tied at 0-0 (halftime), we are top. Tenerife were as offensive as possible and we let up no goals threw fault of our own. At the moment I'm pulling for Malaga who seem to be frustrating the Blaugrana but definately on the back foot. No one is gonna say it but I will. I think Messi looks selfish lately.

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Time To Turn Frowns Up-Side-Down

In the wake of another Champions League match that all Madridistas would love to pretend never happened, Villarreal is scheduled to visit the Bernabeu. The match itself is a challenge but the mental aspect is even greater. The team cannot let what happened to the in Lyon affect how they perform on Sunday. It's a different competition and a different mind set. Despite Barcelona's injury problems they are unlikely to drop points to an unstable Racing at the Nou Camp. Maybe Sergio Canales can already begin to do favors for Real Madrid but we can't depend on it. Pellegrini was in charge the last time the Yellow Submarine visted the Bernabeu. We have to be cautious, although the entire Population on Villarreal could fit into the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the team is always a force to be reckoned with. Afterall, it's the same Villareal that came from behind to draw 1-1 with Barcelona at the Nou Camp earlier this season. Los Blancos did get a 2-0 result at El Madrigal this season. Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock before most fans got to their seats in the first minute. The Yellow Submarine are coming off of a recent 2-2 draw with German champions Wolfesburg in the Europa Cup on Thursday but have had an up an down season laced with inconsistency, but every team gets up to play the Galacticos.

Real Madrid are boosted by the return on Rafael Van der Vaart. Perhaps he might be a useful tool to add to the lack of inventiveness breathed out of the midfield on Tuesday. Guti remained in the gym with the terminally ill Metzelder. Drenthe is the latest victim to fall to injury. His quad tear will keep him sidelined for 2-3 weeks. Although Drenthe was energetic after coming on against Xerez last weekend, I don't think his presence will too missed. The squad demographics for the Villareal match doesn't concern me as much as the mental state of the team with the pressure from pretty much everyone after what happened. Kaka has told the media that the match was not his fault. Rumor has it that if Pellegrini can't get the team to turn around the Round of 16 situation at home, he'll be sacked. The last two performances, Xerez and Lyon, the latter of which was dreadful, were not good enough by our standards. Even though Real beat Xerez 3-0, the showing was questionable. Higuain hasn't been himself for the last two matches and to add to the mind games, Madrid have stalled Pipita's contract talks to have him focus on what happens on the field. I get the feeling that this will be another stern test, despite the fact the match will be at Fortress Bernabeu.

Villareal have themselves to focus on, however. The team will still be adapting to a new coach after Ernesto Velverde was sacked when the Yellow Submarine sank at the hands of Osasuna a few weeks back. Madrid will have to beware of some special players in yellow. Nilmar is always a goal threat and has been making a case for his establishment in Dunga's Brazilian national team. Marcos Senna in my opinion is one of the best midfielders on the planet. It's a surprise he isn't at a greater club. Left back Joan Capdevila has 5 goals from left back and Santi Corzola, Spanish International is another one to keep your eye on. Robert Pires has experience that few can match dating back to his triumphant days in a Gunner's jersey. American-born Italian international, Giuseppe Rossi, is still missing from the squad due to personal problems.

This is my line-up for the clash:


Please Pellegrini can we play this back four together for the start? We were lucky to escape from Lyon without a costly mistakes from Marcelo who just cannot get the job done at left back. For me, the decision should have always been this line up with Garay available. I wasn't impressed with Diarra against his former club. I think Granero, Xabi Alonso, and Ronaldo AS A WINGER in midfield. I don't feel like Ronaldo suits too well as a second striker. Originally I liked the Idea because of his goal scoring abilities but I think to put him out wide and let him meander freely as he did early in the season is his best position. Am I the only one that thinks Pipita and Benzema would make a good strike partnership? Let me know what you guys think. I'd like to see it. We have Raul to come off the bench for the one who performs second best and the formation can always be changed.

Madrid face a sterner test than Barcelona this week. We are now within two points of our Catalan neighbors and we can then again control our own destiny when Barcelona come to visit. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts. Madrid need a morale boost from what happened in Europe but we need more than that. We need the three points. HALA MADRID

Bobby

Reaction to a Winter Wonder: Real Madrid 2-0 Mallorca

I was unable to see the match yesterday, sadly. I was traveling all day and was only able to get updates through various text messages. I wasn't the one driving so it's not like I could just check my phone every 10 minutes to see what was going on. I checked like every 10 seconds instead. However, my nerves settled a little bit when I got the text "Marca Pipita!" from a friend shortly after the match had started.

I wish I could analyze the match but having not seen it would make things rather difficult, wouldn't it? I did see the highlights and read the match reports. It appears that through the snow, Madrid dominated the match. There were a couple chances here and there from the islanders from what I understand but, correct me if I'm wrong, it could have easily been 3 or 4 to none.

I hate to see Benzema left out of the start XI so often but with the formation we are running and the form the Higuain has been in, there really isn't any other choice. Higuain has been just brilliant. In our two goal game, he had a thriller of his own and an assist which sat very kindly for the Pirate, Granero who smashed his volley in from close range. He was unfortunate not have another goal. The goal keeper made a tremendous save on a bullet he fired from around the edge of the area.

I was very much under stress when I got the text that told me Van der Vaart had gone off through injury, but my smile was salvaged when I heard that Granero would be the one to replace him. I've been an enormous Granero fan since his first few minutes back in a white shirt. This boy is so promising. I hope his playing time increases with the temporary absence of Van der Vaart. As to what VdV's injury actually is, I'm unclear. Goal.com reported that Madrid confirmed he would be out of action for 3 weeks with a hamstring tear but the Real Madrid official website contradicts those reports. Realmadrid.com says "the Dutchman has a strain on his left calf muscle."

I was a bit puzzled on that note though. I expected the young Granero to start the match which left me pondering my spare time in the car as to what the line up and formation was for the early kick off. I tinkered with it over and over in my brain until finally coming to the conclusion that it must be a 4-2-3-1. I believe i was correct. However, I must admit I was unsure who was sitting along side Xabi Alonso. It was an interesting choice in Gago. I've never hid my feelings about Gago. I never thought he had the quality to be a starter at this club. Because I missed the match, it is impossible for me to rate his performance but if anyone else would shed some light on the subject for me, I'm all ears. Goal.com gave Gago a 7/10 and mentioned that he distributed the ball simply. He doesn't look a bad player when does that. It's when he tries to over-do it, he gets himself into a bit of trouble.

Nice to see Kaka was back in action. I know he had the assist to Higuain's goal. Other than that, I can't tell you anything else about his performance (again input would be great here). There was a rare Guti spotting as well! He came on for Xabi Alonso late in the match. I was hoping we might get a glimpse of the veteran despite what people may think about his personality. Xabi Alonso's niggle is said to be nothing serious , just a bruise.

It is quite amazing that I'm this far into a reaction article and I haven't even mentioned Ronaldo's name yet. It's not that I thought he played poorly. I can't tell you how he played. He'll obviously be disappointed not to have scored. He always is. I saw that he had a few chances. Things just didn't go his way yesterday. Happens to everyone.

In the end it was a great win, a vital win, that keeps us at pace with Barcelona, who spoiled my day yesterday. I was just receiving a text that read "...barca is on espn and they look terrible, its still 0 0 though," when Messi, who ultimately scored a hat-trick, put the Catalans up at Tenerife. It eventually ended up in a slaughtering at 5-0 but from the highlights, Tenerife should have gone up at least a goal if they took their chances before Barca woke up.

Real Madrid have a difficult trip away to Bilbao next weekend. There is always a new test for los blancos but I'm convinced that we can rise to the challenge every time. Barca will have to try and do what they couldn't earlier in the week and that's beat Sevilla at the Nou Camp. Plenty of action to look forward to in coming times. That's all I have for now. If anyone would put some insight to crucial details I may have missed, you are more than welcome too.

Bobby