Clasico Tres: The Ugly One

Lionel Messi continued his spectacular form by scoring his 51^st and 52^nd goals against Real Madrid which broke the deadlock in this tense derby and then put the match beyond the home side. The breakthrough came after Barça substitute Afellay put in a dangerous low cross which Messi connected with at the front post after getting ahead of Sergio Ramos by an inch.

It took 75 minutes for Barcelona to score and it came about after Madrid went down to ten men. It’s the fifth time in a row that a Mourinho team has had a man sent off against the Catalans and Pepe becomes the seventh player sent off in the last six meetings between the clubs; five for Real and two for Barça. Jose then practiced what he seems to preach by getting sent to the stands after unacceptable comments made to the fourth official.

The match had a Mourinho-esque feel about it in the sense that it lacked dignity, respect and was a downright shameful portrayal of the two clubs, or maybe it was an accurate representation. Yes, Messi’s goal was wonderful but lest we forget that the precious demi-God reacted angrily to a challenge and tried to elbow someone in the leg earlier in the match, which was conveniently brushed over. Pepe’s red card was slightly harsh but the situation had reached boiling point and the Barça players were not going to let this one go as Dani Alves was taken off on a stretcher. He returned to the pitch soon after.

Whether Madrid were happy about it or not, in the first half Barcelona dominated possession and Madrid seemed at ease to let them do so and wait for a slight mistake to pounce on. Pepe, Alonso and Diarra pressurised the Barcelona front line and forced them back. Madrid struggled to keep the ball however, and when they did regain possession it was usually for a short spell. Casillas came to his side’s rescue when Xavi was played through the middle delightfully by Messi.

The German referee, Wolfgang Stark, was submitted to serious scrutiny every time he blew his whistle; from the managers, commentators and protests from the players and fans. The match was again deterred from the footballing side of things even by half-time when a melee ensued when a few players came together in a slight tussle which resulted in Barcelona’s reserve ‘keeper, Pinto, being sent off.

The second half saw Madrid take the game to Barcelona with more determination to attack and break the Catalans makeshift defence down; Puyol was playing on the left with Mascherano and Pique in the middle. However, it was to no avail. Cristiano Ronaldo had a vague chance when he found himself pushed away from goal and opted for a shot instead of looking for a runner to square the ball to.

After Pepe was sent off the game was again in Barcelona’s control. Adebayor’s presence was felt but it was too late for los blancos. As it stands, Real Madrid have a mountain to climb at the Camp Nou next week and they will have to do that without Sergio Ramos (suspended), Pepe (suspended) and their manager who will be ordered to the stands again.

Pep Guardiola stated that Mourinho had one the verbal war but reminded us all that a football match was to be played and that's where he would make his move, not in the press conference. He will consider Mourinho the winner of the battle but it looks like the war is his. For the neutral it was a frustrating match and one that prompted many questions about why this match had been hyped as a ‘footballing’ spectacle and not for what it was; a cynical war between two sides whose players play out the same rivalry on a stage already set by its history.

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Casillas; Arbeloa, Albiol, Ramos, Marcelo; Diarra, Pepe, Alonso; Ozil (Adebayor 45), Ronaldo, Di Maria. 4-3-3

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Puyol; Xavi, Busquets, Keita; Pedro (Afellay 70), Villa (Sergi Roberto 89), Messi.

Ajax 4-1 SBV Excelsior: Show Down For Eredivisie Still On.

Lorenzo Ebecilio scored a brace to ensure that Ajax keep up with FC Twente in the mouth-watering Eredivisie title race. The game was rounded off with a superb overhead kick by Siem De Jong making it four, whilst the second came from Christian Eriksen. The Amsterdammers sit just one point behind league leaders Twente on a weekend that PSV dropped points after they were humbled in 3-1 Rotterdam by Feyenoord, finishing the game with 10 men to boot.

Ajax dominated possession but there was a nervy air around the stadium, something us Arsenal fans can relate too and when SBV Excelsior equalised out of nothing to make it 1-1.  Big defender Daan Bovenberg equalised for the away side just after half time and I wonder how many Ajax fans almost gave up the title hopes there and then.  But as the news (and video clips) of PSV’s failings filtered through the ground the Ajax faithful were galvanised yet again; huge cheers rang around the arena and the players responded with three goals and real belief.

De Jong’s final goal was a beauty, a perfectly timed overhead kick from 10 yards out in the 92^nd minute. The real beauty was that he would have had time to take a touch and bring the ball down but instead he chose to stick it to Excelsior and boot the boot in the only way Ajax know how; with flair. The third goal was largely thanks to Serbian forward Miralem Sulejmani who lifted the ball over the defence straight into the path of Ebecilio who finished off for his second of the evening. The pass was a real treat for the football connoisseur.

Sulejmani had a fantastic game in the creative forward role under the watchful eye of a former Ajax great in the same position, Tottenham man, Rafael Van der Vaart. The Serb was a constant threat for the wavering Excelsior defence, not often did they play long balls but when he did they were precise and usually consisted of involving wide players, stretching the opponents defence. In fact, so rarely was a long ball seen that even the Ajax goalkeeper insisted on playing the ball short to his full-backs rather than take a long range goal kick.

Given the crowd's chants of “Ajax kampioen!” it is safe to say that this lot are confident. If they win their next match away to Heerenveen and FC Twente don’t lose to Willem II then it will be a winner-takes-all situation at the Amsterdam Arena when Ajax and Twente face each other on the last day of the season. A draw may not be good enough for Twente because they still have PSV to worry about, despite dropping points at the weekend they can still sneak in and win the title if the win their games and other results go their way.

Wherever your loyalties lie it’s going to be one hell of a match on May 15^th in Amsterdam, cameras at the ready; it’s going to be a photo-finish.

Clasico Dos: The King's Cup

The cup final. Not many changes made: pinto for valdes, adriano for puyol arbeloa for albiol, ozil for benzema. Pepe still playing further forward.

Mourinho stuck to his guns and came out victorious. Pointed out by Johan Cryuffn in the negative, as being a manager for trophies and not football... I couldn't see any Madristas complaining.

Despite dropping the cup under the bus, there was no feeling that Madrid didn't enjoy every second of their first copa del rey for 18 years.

The momentum was with Madrid, chances were almost equal but Madrid had the edge and when players such as Affelay came on late there was no real feeling that they'd win it for the Catalans.
It says a lot that los blancos fans were applauding intently after the league game which almost terminated their title challenge from the relief of not being beaten by their biggest rivals.

It was a cup game which was intensified by the rivalry of the clubs which was intensified ten fold by the upcoming champions league games. There had to be a winner and I suppose both teams would prefer to lose on penalties. Ronaldo scored the only goal from open play in the two fixtures to secure the win for Real in extra time. Now, the pressure is (wrongly) set upon Mr. Guardiola in the media and the tide is turning in Real's favour.

Mourinho's pragmatic nature seems to be instilled in his squad and, unfortunately, I think they are the favourites for the champions league tie. Mourinho has already beaten Pep's Barca over two legs in last seasons CL when he won it with Inter Milan, can he do it again to his growth club with their rivals? I can't imagine there's anything he would enjoy more.

El Clasico Uno: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona; Mourinho's tactical changes.

The thing about Jose Mourinho is that he quickly learns his lesson and last night's performance against Barcelona was a good example of his tactical prowess. Beaten 5-0 at the Camp Nou, Mourinho’s biggest defeat ever as a manager must have cut him deep and it won’t be forgotten. However, despite his Catalan rivals being top of La Liga with an impressive eight-point lead the momentum has shifted seemingly at the right time for Madrid.

An impressive come back last night has giving his substantial squad a boost, especially with ten men; his ten-man strategy paid off, it seems. The first of four encounters saw a particularly defensive Madrid side take the field with Pepe playing defensive midfield along with Alonso and Khedira in the middle. This allowed Barcelona little time and space on the ball; something they enjoyed in the reverse fixture. The first half was fast paced yet lacked many real threats and, uncharacteristically, both sides’ passing was not as sharp as usual.

With the second half came both goals, both from the spot. Ronaldo and Messi respectively converted for their teams.  The pivotal point was the dismissal of Raul Albiol for his foul on David Villa in the box. Mourinho was left with a big decision to make and his substitutions rescued a point for Real. Instead of moving Pepe from his midfield position back to the centre of defence he brought on Arbeloa who went to right back, allowing Sergio Ramos to move into the middle keeping Pepe in the space between the defence and midfield. This allowed Ronaldo, Ozil and Adebayor to go forward with Khedira linking everything together.

Despite the fightback from Real, Barcelona still remain top and strong favourites for the championship. Next comes the lesser of all the clashes between the two and Real have the squad to put out a stronger team if Barcelona feel like they need to rest players. The team who lift the trophy on Wednesday will receive a massive boost of confidence for the all-important Champions League ties.

 

Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Albiol (sent off), Carvalho, Marcelo, Alonso (Ozil), Pepe, Khedira, Di Maria (Arbeloa), Ronaldo, Benzema (Adebayor).

Barca: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol (Keita), Adriano (Maxwell), Busquets, Xavi, Ineista, Pedro (Affelay), Messi, Villa.

Were the FA right to fine Wayne Rooney and uphold his two match ban?

Of course they were, the man will never learn otherwise. It was a shocking and unnecessary display from a spoiled player. I’m not offended by his language, it was the attention seeking nature of the incident and it’s not the first time. As a youngster I was taken to football matches every weekend and at a young age I was exposed to the "industrial" language that comes as part of the football watching experience, rightly or wrongly. If parents allow their children to watch football then they must face the fact that bad language will be used.

So, if bad language is part of the game then should Rooney be let off the hook somewhat and have had his two match ban reduced to one as he appealed? Well, Rooney's outburst was pre-meditated in a way. If he had addressed the away section of the fans, or even the home fans and uttered the expletives which the camera microphones had picked up involuntarily then I would say that we have no problem. It would be put down as being an unfortunate error in which much of the questioning would be directed towards the broadcasters to broach the subject of having a time delay on the audio feed for live televised matches.

However, the expletives were not picked up accidently; they were very purposefully directed at the live audience. Instead, Rooney acknowledged the thousands of viewers watching the live feed, this acknowledgement indicates a disregard for authority and for football and the FA by bringing the sport into disrepute which is not allowed. Lest we forget that Rooney actively sought out the camera on another occasion too; during the 2010 World Cup after England had taken part in a drab draw against Algeria (?) when he directed comments towards the fans. Despite no blue language being used on that occasion it should have been an indication of his potential and readiness to offend and his manager should work on his player’s worrying attitude problem.