A quick review of the Clasico - we were very (un)lucky!!!

Hidi-ho,

This is an exciting time for me as a new blogger as I am sure it is for you the reader as all get to see 4 Clasicos in 18 days;  The two coaches professed a desire to come out attacking, but the truth is one team played while the other team was content to watch.  FCB was striving to win while Madrid was striving for a draw.  The Big Mouth's true intent materialized when he experimented with a 3-man midfield formation composed of Pepe against Bilbao.  He knew that the only way to stop (not necessarily defeat) Barcelona was to set-up two lines of defenders, which I must admit worked to dampen the threat to Iker, who was having a marvelous day himself.  

Here are my thoughts:

Pepe:

Pepe did exactly what the Big Mouth wanted and was almost about to pull another "Getafe Gaffe" when he was manipulated by Messi - I could imagine him wanting to poke Messi with his two outstretched fingers and he probably would have had the referee not been there.  Pepe also did well to lunge his weight against the speedy Argentinian as did everybody else (very sportsman like when you are lacking skills)

Madrid playing with 10-men:

Truth be told a 10 Madrid is always more dangerous than a full squad.  It's like the slap that wakes up the crazy wounded lion within them.  Remember when we played 10-man Madrid when the original Ronaldo scored a goal against FCB many years ago...

Big Mouth's playing with 10 men:

I have noticed a pattern of Big-Mouth teams being forced to play with 10 men and this has happened with Chelsea, Inter, and now Madrid.  Could it be because the Big Mouth is a defensive orientated coach, as was evidenced in last night's game.  Compare Madrid 24% possession rate vs. FCB's 76%.  Did anyone notice that all Madrid players were playing in their half and would only use counter-attacks.  In fact, the only dangers came from set-pieces (recall fake Ronaldo's hitting the goal post) or from Corner Kicks (recall when the went to Ramos on the far side, only to have him head to Pepe, who's attempt was intercepted by Adriano).

The Game Itself:

The funny guys at Foxsports and ESPN all claim that it was a victory for Madrid.  I don't know what they were talking about???  Madrid were came in beaten psychologically before the game began.  The Big Mouth knew that he could not defeat FCB and knew he could not afford to lose, so rightly inserted Pepe in the mid-field to play a nullifying physical game.  The game only started to become interesting when Ozil came in.  The un-justified penalty awarded to Madrid came as a result of Ozil's work.  Speaking of penalties, bravo Marcelo!  Your Sith Lord has shown you "Sun Tzu's Art of War".

The Players:

1. It was good to have Captain Puyol back, even for a short time.


2. Adriano is now an integral component on the left side, both in attack and in defense (he stopped Pepe's certain goal at the line).


3. Villa performed his duties as was required.  Villa posed a constant credible threat and was the reason why we got the first penalty and was the same player behind the second penalty that was not rewarded.  People should recall, that Villa is not a high-goal scoring machine (his career average is 21 goals, which is where he is right now) but is a havoc-causing machine and appreciated by a team that has been on the receiving end of that havoc for many years when Villa was with Valencia.


4. Alves performed admirably, especially considering that he had to deal with both Marcelo and Di Maria and took out the ball (please look at the replays, he diverts the ball before touching Marcelo).


5. The defense performed well forcing Madrid to take corner kicks and/or set-pieces.


6. Pedro is still not up to full gear yet.


7. Albiol's red card was deserved, he had his hand firmly on Villa's neck!!!


8. Benzema was ineffective, reminiscent of his playing late last year (he'll be shown the door)


9. Adebayor was the biggest threat (he'll take Benzema's place) and improved with Ozil.


10. Iker showed why he is respected by everyone, including Valdez and this author.  He read the game!

Game summary:

We were (un)lucky in may ways; we got a penalty given, but were equally denied a correct penalty.  The referee gifted Madrid a free penalty kick.  We also lost our Captain, while they lost a player.  Like I said, we were very (un)lucky!

I would like to put things in perspective, Cruyff said this game was not as important for us as it was for a psychologically beaten Madrid and it showed.  This was but a prelude, a cold-served appetizer.  There was no pressure on FCB to perform and Madrid was content to let FCB have the ball (akin to Inter, last year).  The hot-dish appetizer will be the Copa del Rey, whereas the main course and desert will be the CL.  I say that we serve the Big-Mouth his hot-dish appetizer but serve it cold.  Let him experiment with another formation (or not) but this time against Team B.  Let Afellay, Jeffren, Dos Santos, Thiago, and Fontas get their first kills (Afellay came very close).  Let the Big Mouth field his best players thinking that we will field our best in this game of chess.

Speaking of the Copa, we should not treat it like La Liga or the CL but should treat it as a testing ground for young talent.  We cannot continue to wear down our players on three fronts especially when Madrid improves next year into a more formidable machine.  MADRID HAS A YOUNG SQUAD THAT WILL IMPROVE OVER TIME AND A BIG-MOUTH COACH WHO IS OBSESSED WITH BARCELONA!!!  (Did you see him cry for a red card? What a cry-baby). We have the best team in the world but are aging (think Puyol and Xavi) and stretched to our limits (think Villa, Pedro, and Messi)

All right, this post is getting too long.  I'm outta here, but before I go I want to leave you with this link for a great review of the game by these Blogging Masters --> A half-speed Barca draws in El Clasico

Enjoy!