El Clasico Special: Fan Vs Fan

Posted by: Ashay K, India

Photo Credit: Saurabh (Cule)

So in line with the “El Clasico” preview, our blog team did a small “Fan vs Fan” bit on Orkut. We invited Cules and Madridistas from the Real Madrid vs Barcelona community on orkut to participate in a common questionnaire. We got some really interesting, some whacky and some spiteful answers. One thing cannot be ignored though; although the two sets of fans absolutely loathe and despise each other, there is a kind of grudging respect for the rival teams, if not for anything, then simply for what the rival club symbolizes.

So, we move on with the questionnaire and let the readers come to their own conclusions about the matter…

What do you think of your rival team’s squad?

Joan (Cule) put it straight and up front about Real Madrid: “They have little depth in certain areas of the squad. The squad is totally uncompensated. No right wingers, no quality reliable left backs; they only have 3 center backs, they lack pace in all departments but especially up front. They lack a consistent creative midfielder who dictates the pace of the game. And they have too many injury prone players”

Sachin Chandra (Cule) took a slightly diplomatic tone: “well they are a young squad with pretty good talent even though not world beating talent; they have excessive squad players who are not worthy enough to play in a club of such a big stature but still play. The squad lacks any kind of creative spark in its play”

Rai Krol (Madridista) was full of praise and gushingly commented: “I think they are the best technically gifted team i have seen play. They do not just play football; sometimes what they do is art”

King (Madridista) answered it limerick-ishly: “Youth, Flair, Speed, Skill, Possession, all summoned up by the brilliance of Pep can be summed up as Barcelona's style”

What do you think about the chances of your team?
Overall, the mood from the Cule camp seemed to be quite confident. Same cannot be said about the madridistas though.

Joan (Cule) answered confidently: “Pretty good chance of getting a positive result. Its do or die for Madrid but it isn't for us, so realistically an away draw would be an excellent result for us where as it would be a terrible result for Madrid”

Kunal (Cule) wasted no time in putting it mathematically: “75 % chances of winning and 15 % of drawing”. We assume the missing percentages to total it to 100 are the chances of losing according to him.

Pradeep (Madridista) was quite frank about his team’s chances: “It’s slightly less than that of our rivals. We have many injury problems and many of our key players are missing. Real Madrid need a win and any other result wont do for us which is a big advantage for our direct rivals!!”

Paulo Martin (Madridista) also tried his hand at being mathematical: “I think we’ll push very hard, especially at the start of the game and at the end again depending how close the game is. We have the advantage of playing at home and crowd carrying the team and the fact that Barça will be fatigued. I’d say its 60/40 in our favour”

What strategy do you think the coach of your team will employ in the clasico?

Saurabh (Cule) quipped: “Same as always: Attack, Attack & Attack, and a 4-3-3 formation. We'll play our usual passing game”

Karthik (Cule) had something different to say, other than the above mentioned (patented) answer: “I think we will be given a bit more physical strength in the midfield by adding Keita. I think the coach will let the team play just as they had played the season and he would ask the players to press for the ball a bit more so that the opposite team will get frustrated”

Paulo Martin (Spain) put it quite laconically: “Probably cautious counter attacking football but strategies tend to go out the window in a clasico.”

Pradeep (Madridista) sounded a bit apprehensive: “With many of our players missing, I dont think we will be attacking from the first minute! We may try to play defensively and will step up our play according to the score line at half time.”

What strategy do you think the coach of the opposite team will employ in the clasico?
There seemed to be a divide in the Cule camp about this. The madridistas seemed to have a common consensus.

Karthik (Cule) expects something out of the ordinary: “Well i think real madrid would come and attack us a lot. They have a very good holding midfielder in Lass and I think VDV will be up to the mark in the clasico since he is very intelligent on the ball. Their defence will be a bit weak but i think they will attack and defend together as a team. Higuain can cause lot of problem to our defence since he is doing spectacular and he has been an absolute revelation this season.”
Joan (Cule) is more in line with the feelings coming out of the camp nou: “I think they`ll be fairly cautious and try to counter attack us at all times. I don't think Madrid are capable of carrying the game and keeping the ball, they are much more comfortable giving the possession away and counter attacking.”

King (Madridista) commented: “The same strategy they have used all season; Pass, Pass & Pass till they find a hole. Keep possession and be wary of physical contact”

Rai Krol (Madridista) seconded: “Same as always; possession football at its best”

How confident are about your team winning this match?

Prashanth (Cule) had the disposition of taking whatever comes his way (except defeat, of course): “Would love Barca 2 complete the first double for us since 98-99 is it. But a draw would be fine with us as well!”

Kunal (Cule) was quite confident though: “I m a bit jittery keeping in mind that the team will travel to England, but then since it's the Classico our team will leave no stone unturned and will surely do a double on RM this season.”

Kashan (Madridista) was a bit philosophical: “I believe in destiny and Real Madrid is all about Winning”

King (Madridista) sounded a bit desperate: “It’s a do or die situation for us. We can only go for a win if we are to have any chance at the liga. But barcelona have always been a super stubborn side and defeating them will not be the same as defeating sevilla or the others. How ever if we lose or draw, we can say goodbye to la liga. Fans will play an important role in this fixture”

What is your match prediction for the clasico?
Most of the cules predicted a draw and their predictions do have a ring of truth about it. Barcelona hasn’t really done the double on Real Madrid for a long time. So the overall mood coming in from the cule camp is that of cautiousness.

Karthik (Cule): 2-2
Saurabh (Cule): 3-2 to Real Madrid (Probably the only cule in this whole world predicting a loss for Barcelona)
Sachin Chandra (Cule): 1-1
Kunal (Cule): I think Barcelona will win 2-3. Iniesta , Yaya Toure and Dani Alves will play a big role in it and perhaps Eto'o.
Kashan (Madridista): 3-1 to Real Madrid
Paulo Martin (Madridista): 2-1 to Real Madrid
Siddhant (Madridista): 2-0 to Real Madrid
Pradeep (Madridista): 2-1 to Real Madrid

We only hope that the predictions by Madridistas come true and they don’t end up like our current interim club president.

What does your rival club symbolize to you as a football club?

Prashanth (Cule) summed it up in a very short sentence: “Never say die attitude, determination ..fans who want attractive football !”

Joan (Cule) seconded: “Fighting spirit, grit, determination and its never give up attitude.”

Kunal (Cule) had a grudging tone about his reply: “They believe in : Hit, Hit, Hit, Hit; Keep on Hitting until the opponents die or they die themselves; But never say die.

Karthik (Cule) put it as neutrally as possible: “Madrid has a great history, a great captain, a great goal keeper. They are sure to bounce back soon enough to their glory days”

Rai Krol (Madridista) admitted he was a bit envious about Barcelona before going to reply: “Admirable footballing philosophy, excellent brand of football and excellent youth set up”

King (Madridista) didn’t hold anything back as he said: “They are our arch rivals and both sets of fans dont like each other at all, but I will be frank here. I think barcelona are a wonder ful team and they have a very good way of handling their youth, they play beautiful possession football and are among the best clubs in the world. I hope they keep playing the way they are and make spain proud by kicking those lazy english clubs (read here as Chelsea, Manchester Utd / Arsenal) out of our sight”

Paulo Martin (Madridista) put it as neutrally as possible: “Brilliant style of football, never vary their style or change their philosophy of football. Always look to the youth system as a solution and not a problem and I admire them for that.”

A CLASICOL Encounter

Posted by: Ashay K, India

December 13, 2008
Barcelona:

“The runaway league leaders beat Madrid 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Every cule tonight is proud of this team. This team is comparable to the legendary Dream Team or Rijkaard’s 05-06 team, for the sheer quality of football they play, even though they haven’t won anything till now.”

“Real Madrid played ugly football with systematic tactical fouling on Messi.”

“We proved we are not in any kind of pressure from any team. Our 12 point advantage proves that”

“We have one hand on the league with this kind of a lead. Real Madrid is not good enough to win it this time.”

Real Madrid:

“We played well given the circumstances. We did what was necessary to contain Barcelona and we almost succeeded. The world will remember that Madrid dint throw in the towel and instead tried to make a game out of a forgone conclusion.”

“We will fight and win the league. The race is still on.”

…That was some months ago. As we arrive at the eve of probably the biggest football match on the planet, known for the intense rivalry between both sets of fans and players, it’s only logical to go back and revisit the post match comments and compare them with the pre match comments of the upcoming El Clasico.

Present Day
Barcelona:

“Even if we lose to Real Madrid, we’ll still be 1 point ahead and also remember that Real Madrid have more difficult upcoming fixtures than Barcelona”

Real Madrid:

“We will fight and win the league. The race is still on”

…The difference in the tone of the comments is very perceptible. From self-proclaimed winners back to title contenders under serious pressure, the mood of Barcelona has been akin to that of having a saving account of pressure, where more and more pressure has been deposited by their friendly neighborhood rivals since the dawn of the new quarter. On the other hand, for Real Madrid, the journey has been pretty much stable. No one expects them to win anyway, and yet winning is probably the only thing they’ve been doing amidst healthy doses of Capello now and then.

Twelve points in December 2008. Four points in April 2009. The ferocious tenacity shown by Madrid in chipping away the huge point deficit has been really commendable, even though their style of play hasn’t. Games like this, the one against Sevilla, the one against Getafe define how a season ends and Madrid has surely come out tops over Barcelona in that aspect.

The Tactician vs The Prodigy

Juande Ramos has a lot of plaudits under his belt. He’s one of the reputed coaches around, inspite of his disaster of a season with Spurs. His achievements in Spain cannot be forgotten though. He is the coach responsible for taking a modest Sevilla outfit to one of the potential title contenders grabbing two consecutive UEFA Cups on the way, making them a force to be reckoned with in Europe as well. What counts against him is the fact that the injury prone Madrid squad is also not balanced with too many reinforcements in one area and none in the other.

On the other hand, Pep Guardiola is the rookie having no silverware under his belt. What he has on his side though is a motivated squad with all the players having hit top form simultaneously; not to mention the fat cash incentives that the Barca management has promised him in his contract for each of the silverware he wins.

The last time these two went head to head was on December 13 last year. Ramos had barely one training session to assess his team before rolling the players out in Camp Nou. On the other hand, Pep had a team which was demolishing every team they played in excess of 3 goals scored and none conceded. On May 2, Ramos will go into the Clasico on the back of a record breaking unbeaten streak for Real Madrid. Pep will go into the Clasico having a highly motivated and treble dreaming, albeit fatigued squad. It would be interesting to see how these two lay out their pawns on the green chess set of the Bernabeu.

Barbarians vs Ballerinas?

Real Madrid received a lot of criticism from Catalunya and football purists for their ultra conservative approach towards the match they last played. Some sects of fans in Barcelona went as far as labeling them as “Barbarians” for marking Xavi out of the game and the tactical fouling on Messi. Madridista retaliated by branding Barcelona as “Ballerinas”, for being so delicate that they took offence to physical contact in a contact sport. And they did have a case. A footballer knows how to get a player injured and set back home. But all the fouls on Messi were directed at his shins where there is protection. It was a desperate tactic; albeit a very ugly one, employed by a team clutching at straws to try and disrupt the Barca attacking flow and their mentality so that their concentration was disturbed. The tactic did pay dividends as Barca was unable to score till the 83rd minute with Iker Casillas grinding out one of his best performances in a Madrid jersey.

Only days ago, Valencia demonstrated that the mighty Barca can be halted by using a modified version of the tactic Madrid employed and last night Chelsea used the tactic to hold Barca to a goalless draw at the Camp Nou. That is evidence to show that Barcelona are indeed the Ballerinas of football. Exquisite, attractive, but shy at physical contact. Pep doesn’t seem to have too much tactical initiative when posed with a team which disrupts their normal style of play, and this chink in armor could b exploited to devastating effect by Madrid. On the other hand, Madrid with their defensive frailities in big matches (2 goals against Athletico, 5 against Liverpool, 2 against Sevilla) could be exploited if they allow Barcelona into the game.

The key to this encounter for both teams would be to simply continue what they’ve been doing and how they’ve been playing. Any deviation from the normal would spell doom. So, its back to Barbarians vs Ballerinas? That remains to be seen.

A Distinct Madridismo

Madrid have an advantage of playing the reverse leg at their fortress, the Santiago Bernabeu, where in inspite of their disaster of a seaon, they can boast of the best win record of this season for any club, and the better win record against Barcelona.

To make matters worse for Barcelona, only 800 tickets have been granted to Barcelona to be distributed amongst their travelling fans. And if this was not enough, a giant white mosaic has been prepared by the club fans to intimidate Barcelona. Each fan will find posters on their seat, which when raised simultaneously will blanket the stadium white.

The expected attendance at the Bernabeu is 80,000 which means a sell-out. Barbarians or Ballerinas, this colossal event guarantees to be a sell-out worldwide; something every football fan will tune into for.

Hala Madrid!

The Year of Dramas & Emotions in UCL

Posted by: Suresh J V, India

Every year even the most ardent League fans await the start of Champions League Knockout stages. In the end of December the men are separated from boys and the real men start fighting it out in February for the top honors and opportunity to climb to the summit of footballing pinnacle. Champion’s league knockout stage comes with its own oomph factor and usual razzmatazz; however this year certain personal conflicts & reasons will upstage the usual glamor. Let us look at a couple of those here.

Return of the Bogey Man
The match between Manchester United & Inter Milan is not just about two league leaders from Serie A & BPL are trying to deliver a knock out punch to the other. It’s not even about the defending champs and wanna be champs trying to muscle the other into submission. This year’s knock fixture is more than mere football; it’s all about clash of two personalities who set the footballing stage on fire every time when they faced each other. Yes it’s a clash between “Sir Alex Ferguson” & the “Special One – Jose Mourinho”. If Alex has to pick out one manager whom he wouldn’t like to face off in this UCL at least not in the first knock stage, it has to be Jose. Guess what! It’s Alex Vs Jose yet again. Jose has been Alex’s nemesis and bogey man from his coaching days dating way back to FC Porto. Jose is one of the very managers who enjoy’s a better head to head record over Alex. This is going to be one humdinger of a contest from the touch line to watch.

Return of the Prodigies
Real Madrid & Liverpool have the most enviable history in the European club football. They are two most successful European clubs in the history. Among themselves they share a mind numbing 14 European crowns. The last time these two clubs’s met was in 1981 European cup finals which Liverpool won and broke many hearts in the city of Madrid. However this year’s tie is not all about these two titans facing off against each other, but also the return of two prodigies back to city of Madrid.
Rafael Benitez the coach of Liverpool has brought glory back to Liverpool. He has managed to take Liverpool into the finals of champion’s league twice in the last few years and managing to win one in the most dramatic fashion. Benitez is considered as one of the best active football manager and no one will doubt his credentials. Liverpool has always been able to pull more weight under Rafa while playing in UCL. As every story has a start, Rafa story starts in Real Madrid. Rafa was a player and started learning the tricks of coaching with Real Madrid Youth team. Since then Rafa has gone on to achieve bigger things, however he still cherishes and fondly remembers his days in Real Madrid. He still sees himself coaching Real Madrid, if the opportunity presents itself. This is a home coming for Rafa and he surely wants to make this one count.
In Fernando Torres, the Kops have one of the most lethal striker in Europe. The “El Nino – Torres” is capable of turning any defense upside down. He is one of the very few players who Real Madrid would have loved to see playing for them instead of the other Madrid team. Fernando Torres started with Atletico Madrid and soon he established himself as the best striker in La Liga. Even with all his reputation and achievements till date, Torres still feels sad for not being able to have a telling impact against his old cross town rival Real Madrid. He seems to be heart broken for not being able to produce his best in Santiago Bernabeu the “Mecca of Club Football”. Now Torres has the opportunity to put his demons to rest when he tee’s off against Real Madrid. Will he let his demons ride him once again or will he conquer them is a contest worth watching, if you are not interested in the history of these clubs.

Pay Back Time
Chelsea Vs Juventus is not just about the clash between two footballing giants but it’s also a homecoming of sorts to Juve’s coach Claudio Ranneri. It’s was who started the Chelsea revolution with the bankrolling from Roman Abramovich. After a season working with Ranneri the club owner Abramovich thought Ranneri isn’t exactly kind of person who will be able to take Chelsea to the pinnacle and this resulted in Ranneri getting booted out and rest as we say is history. Now as head coach of Juventus, Ranneri has the opportunity to pay back to his past employer Roman Abramovich. With Chelsea in tatters after the sacking of Scolari, Ranneri may not find a better opportunity to extract his revenge. Will Ranneri earn his redemption? Only time will tell.

Buy Me Babe!!!
Karim Benzema is one of the hottest young talents in Europe. Many consider Karim Benzema’s decision to stay with Lyon for one more season was a miracle of sorts performed by Lyon president, when so many big European clubs were fighting for his service. Barcelona was one of the top club’s trying to sign him at the end of last season and Benzema will not have a better opportunity to show his talent and argue the case in his favor, when he faces Barcelona in Nou Camp. Will this match be a prelude of what this guy is capable off?

This season with all these showdowns, their are many who are in verge of a home coming, seeking redemption, trying to settle scores & or simply trying being the best. With all these emotions and reasons, we as spectators are really spoilt for choice.

Hala Madrid

Jonarda 22:Real Madrid Vs Racing Santander( Match Preview )

Posted by Paulo Martin,Spain

IF`S AND BUT`S

 

Crucial game ?

So we play Racing this weekend, a game that could prove to be more important than you may think. FC Barcelona have various defenders missing and played an important cup match midweek which could cause them to drop points, ok its unexpected especially at the Camp Nou but its possible and especially against such a tricky team as Sporting Gijon who don't know how to play for a draw.

 

We on the other hand have almost a full squad except for Gago who will miss this match against Racing. Racing also have Pedro Munitis missing due to 5 yellows. Munitis is a key player for Racing seeing as he`s the captain and motivates the team to the full, also he forms a great partnership with Zigic and Jonatan Perreria. His electric runs will surely be missed by the Racing faithfuls. Our defence will have to keep a close eye on Zigic, the big man is on form as of late and is really starting to look like the great Zigic of yesteryear. Knowing how much our defence suffers against tall men we should maintain ourselves fully alert. I assume Pepe will keep tabs on Zigic not letting him receive a ball, especially not in the box. He`ll be a constant threat in area balls also. We shouldn't ignore Jonathan Perreria either, he may be small but he`s certainly talented and extremely fast so Cannavaro will have to have his wits about him.

 

Racing is a very quick team on the counter and has two great wide-men like Oscar Serrano and the previously mentioned Munitis who both have pace and more importantly great crossing ability.

 

Lass`s partner

Also interesting will be who Jaunde pairs Lass with in the midfield. I assume Gago`s replacement will be Sneijder playing deeper than normal (if Juande continues with his flat 4-4-2) and coming into more contact with the ball, just he needs really to boost his level of confidence. Juande could also play a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Lass playing the holding role on his own and having an attacking midfielder just behind the strikers but knowing Juande i don't see him doing this, he`ll stick with whats been working and we`ll see Sneijder playing deeper. Another option would be to field Parejo as Lass is partner but i think Dani isnt fully fit to play from the start and he not make the cut.

 

Faubert

Another question is weather Faubert will make his debut on the right wing or would Juande opt for playing Van Der Vaar in the team either as an attacking mid with Sneijder on the left or with Sneijder int he middle and as Van Der Vaart as a winger. Personally id like to see Juande stick with his flat 4-4-2 and play with Faubert - Lass - Sneijder - Robben. All this is providing Robben actually starts considering the poor guy has had the flu all week, it`ll go down to the wire i think. Everything changes if Robben doesnt start, we could see Higuain on the right and Huntelaar upfront, or Faubert on the right, Van Der Vaart on the left and Sneijder in the middle or visa-versa. I think it would be interesting to see how we fair without Robben playing, at least not from the start. Id like to see the teams offensive capacity without the flying dutchman.

 

Garay

Will the Bernabeu get to see Garay ? Your guess is as good as mine considering Muñiz hasn't really been counting much with Garay this season for reasons which escape me.

 

The Raul factor

On another note can the great Raul score his 308 th goal and beat the great Alfredo Di Stefano`s record ?