Thursday Morning Hangover
By: Steve |
16 Comments
HALA MADRID!!! I don’t have a real hangover, just a lingering joyous delirium.
I re-read my liveblog and it doesn’t grow old - i love the fact that we were the hungrier team, playing solid, stylistic, beautiful football, the type Barca used to play and only wishes now that they could play. What a thorough victory, top to bottom. For more kicks, check out the post-mortem on the Barcelona Offside blog.
Allow me to take a step back and look at what this means for us… basically Barca is in for some major retooling in the offseason, while I think we only need to make a couple small additions in order to maintain our ascent. Next year, we should be aiming for the Liga, the Copa as well as at least the Champions League semis. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to do it.
Barcelona came close this year - let’s not forget that this year it seemed that no one wanted to win the Liga around January and February, mediocrity was the name of the game, and they also made the Copa finals and the Champions League semis. We should be able to match that, if not exceed it.
That said, we will need some bolstering up front, and in the back as well. Counting on a continued Raul renaissance may be asking much, but is it any coincidence that he’s done this well after being snubbed for La Furia Roja? I think not. Also, with Ruud perhaps beginning to show a bit of age, he may need more rest and Schuster hasn’t shown that he trusts any other striker completely yet. Saviola will probably leave if we find a better option (please!), Soldado seems to be permanently in the doghouse, and Higuain may yet take that next step up for a full match, but he seems to need to play as the out-and-out striker - in Ruud’s role, rather than with the Dutchman. If Madrid do indeed manage to land someone along the lines of David Villa or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, I’ll be thrilled.
At the back, I’m not sure if Cannavaro will stay or not, but our constant makeshift defense needs more resources. Pepe has come on like gangbusters and he’s been solid. Heinze has played like a tool sometimes, but his versatility to play on the left or in the middle has saved our bacon numerous times this year - i don’t think he’ll be discarded unless we can land someone like Garay. Torres seemed to take a step back, maybe he needs more PT. Marcelo has really improved, last night was easily his best night in the white shirt. Ramos is Ramos - more on him later.
There were loads of rumours that Inter were after Diarra, but I hope he doesn’t leave - he’s been a rock in the centre of the pitch, and he’s shown some amazing skills in the last couple months. If anything he’s a good luck charm - he’s won 6 straight national league titles (4 with Lyon, 2 with Madrid), and 7 in the last 8 years. Gago has improved immensely, though his tackling needs a bit of work, and with Banega’s drunk driving troubles in Valencia, was anyone ever worried that we might not have gotten the right guy?
With our buy-backs of Granero, Javi Garcia, and De La Red, I think we’ll probably be either doing some trades or releasing some of the current midfield. Unfortunately, I think Baptista is the first one under the bus in this scenario - he’s a bit underappreciated here but he’d still fetch a good price on the open market. Drenthe might also go looking for more work but i’d like to keep the buy-back on him too - what a motor on that kid.
Anyway, I’m rambling a bit, so let’s go to some interesting links i’ve found today…
Chelsea in for Ramos
I saw this first on Goal.com, but now that it’s in the Guardian, I’m a bit worried. It’s true that Ramos might be a bit pissed off that Madrid hasn’t renegotiated his deal, in light of the lifetime deals for Raul, Guti and Casillas… that might explain some of the hotheadedness we saw this year. But he is undeniably the best rightback we’ve had in a LONG time, and someone we can count on for the next 10 years, so why aren’t we tossing him a new contract so he can brush off Abramovich’s billions? Keep an eye on this one…
Barca going for Pique or Coloccini - and NOT Garay
Barca look to bolster their central defense in light of Gabi Milito’s devastating injury in the form of Man U’s Gerard Pique or Deportivo’s Fabricio Coloccini. It’s interesting for us because Barca were on the verge of getting Garay’s John Hancock on a transfer, but they pulled out at the last moment. Why? Was it something about Garay that we haven’t heard about? Do we still stand a chance to get this guy? On a lighter note, in the article, it mentions that Pique’s grandfather was a former club director at Barcelona, Amador Bernabeu - surely some relation to our Santiago?
Huntelaar may extend with Ajax
If Huntelaar extends with Ajax, we’re down to Villa… or does anyone like the idea of pursuing someone like Berbatov or Adebayor? I’m not going to suggest Drogba, who is awesome but is also pushing 30… Benzema would be amazing, but you know Lyon aren’t going to let him go without a massive fight.
Sampdoria to take Cassano permanently and Soldado on loan
Pretty self-explanatory… good riddance to the pimpled one, and I’d love to see Soldado get some PT anywhere, the boy deserves to play.
Sneijder’s brother approached by Madrid, but Wes tells them no
Wesley Sneijder’s little brother Rodney appears to have caught the interest of the Real hierarchy, but after coming back from scouting him, the Dutch international has told them to lay off until Rodney breaks into the first team at Ajax. Wesley doesn’t believe in the poaching of youth team players, which is probably best for the Patient Pitbull as Rodney is known, considering the quality of the Ajax machine.
Anyways, there’s loads of stuff up on Goal.com worth a glance, from player reactions to an article about Barca fans attacking the team bus at the airport. Hilarious.
Tags: Liveblog: Real Madrid v Barcelona - El Clasico!
By: Steve | 26 Comments
HALA MADRID! Eto’o, cabron! Saluda al campeon! God, i LOVE that chant. Anyway, tonight is the somewhat anticlimactic second Clasico of the season, which will be broadcast here in the UK on Sky Sports 1 at 9pm GMT. Los Merengues have already sewn up the Liga title as I’m sure we’re all well aware, but Barcelona still has automatic Champions League qualification to fight for, and of course, a matter of pride.
Heinze got his yellow card rescinded, which has pissed off legions of Barca cules to no end, and that means he’ll be available. Cannavaro meanwhile is stuck with both his yellows, meaning he’s out for this match, though to be honest, Real did look the better side without him on Sunday, strangely enough.
As Corey mentioned in a previous comment thread, he doesn’t have time for a preview and I’m writing this at work at the moment, so I’ll steer you, reluctantly, to the Barcelona Offside blog and their preview.
Schuster knows this match will be important for all Madridistas, so with Barca coming in with all guns blazing, I expect a fairly safe lineup, meaning both Gago and Diarra in holding roles. With Cannavaro out, I expect a backline of Ramos, Pepe, Heinze and Marcelo, since Torres has not shown quite the same form he did last year, and I think Marcelo has the footspeed to keep up with Messi. In the midfield, it’ll be Gago, Diarra, Sneijder and Robben, with Robinho and Baptista has likely impact subs. And up front, it’ll be Raul, as always, and I’ll pick Ruud Higuain to start over Saviola Ruud (thanks Louise for pointing out the teamsheet).
Alright, 5.5 hours to game time! Woohoo!
31 La Liga Titles and Counting!
By: Corey | 6 Comments
Wow, what can you say about the finish to that game. It was a hard slog for 80 minutes and then all of the sudden it was a rush of blood to the head! I was left speechless as I jumped up and down yelling GOALLLLLL!!!!! when Hig’s scored. Everyone else in the room kind of starred at me funny, but I didnt care, I kissed the bag on my jersey and celebrated however I could.
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Category: Team NewsCAMPEONES DE LA LIGA!!!! HALA MADRID
By: Corey | 2 Comments
HALA MADRID HALA MADRID HALA MADRID WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF SPAIN ONCE AGAIN!!!!! GLORY TO THE MADRIDISTAS!!!!!
Category: Team NewsThe Title Comes Home Today
By: Corey | Add Comments
So I have been a bad blogger recently. I have not posted in two weeks or so, and I am sorry, I have been very busy lately with getting a job (I got a sick job working for United Technology in Hartford!) and I have been doing alot of studying for finals and moving shit out of my apartment on campus and into my new house. Its been a busy few weeks, albeit I did get the chance to throw a few back with my friends, but I have not been responsible enough to post anything for all of you readers. So I aplogize.
Obviously today’s game at the Reyno Navarra is the title decider. If Real wins, the title is theres, and if they draw its still theres. Vilarreal is winning 2-0 at half as I write this, so they didnt lay down and die, but that is of no matter now. Real needs a win against Osasuna to march on to Cibeles! I cant wait.
Game is at 3pm eastern time, I will be watching it with my Brazilian friend Chris while studying, I got a classroom with a projector so the game is on a big screen. But most importantly, I will keep up this page, so please comment away during the game. I cant liveblog for the life of me, but I will comment if other people do. Lets hope for a win and another Liga title! HALA MADRID HALA MADRID!!!!!
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Category: Team NewsLiveblog: Osasuna v Real Madrid
By: Steve | 4 Comments
Hala Madrid! Hi folks, apologies for the lack of posts of late… I guess Corey must be uber-busy if he hasn’t posted in a week! Thanks to the faithful who have kept up some of the discussion in the comments.
Alright, i will try my darndest to liveblog what may be the title-clinching match for Real Madrid against Osasuna. It’s on Sky Sports Xtra at 6pm 8pm GMT here in the UK, though the Barcelona-Valencia match is also on at the same time, so you might need to tune in via the red button.
I don’t really have any insight into tonight’s match other than to say that, with Osasuna only 2 points above relegation, they’ll be fighting hard to stay alive, and then even more so not to be the ones Madrid clinches the title against. Of course, if Villarreal loses earlier in the day, the tension might already be gone.
Ruud van Nistelrooy should be back and Cannavaro is back after suspension, but Guti and Metzelder remain unavailable due to injury. With almost a full squad at his disposal, i think Schuster will pick his first XI as it was earlier in the season: Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Diarra, Gago, Sneijder, Robinho, Raul and Ruud. If he decides not to play it so safe, I could imagine taking off either Diarra or Gago for Robben, but I think it’s more likely he’ll stay defensive since we’re away from home.
Come back in 5 hours or so for the liveblog! UPDATE: Sorry, the Sky Sports website listed the times incorrectly… it’s actually at 8pm here, so now i’m not sure if i can liveblog the whole match. Bollocks!
Quick Preview
By: Corey | 17 Comments
I found a little time between my class and my pickup game to write a quick preview for you. Squad lists are not out yet, because everyone takes their time in Spain, so I will have to do without that. But here we go!
Real Madrid vs. Atheltic Bilbao
Sunday 3pm eastern time Santiago Bernabeu Madrid
Ruud is back in training, with a view to making the bench for the clash with Bilbao. I am pretty sure Metz started training a week or so ago as well, although he probably wont make the bench for this one as he needs some time to regain fitness. With those two back, Schuster has a full sqaud to pick from, and I will say that if Balboa is not in the squad list it will be an utter tragedy. Not because of my man crush, but because he acquitted himself well with his minutes against Santander and deserves more time.
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Category: Game PreviewLiveblog: Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao
By: Steve | 3 Comments
Hala Madrid! The 34th matchday of the season is almost upon us, and Los Merengues host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. The match will be shown in the UK at 8pm GMT on Sky Sports 1. Yours truly will not be able to liveblog the game, as I’m in Bratislava this weekend for a softball tournament. By all means though, feel free to leave comments on the match here and i’ll try to catch a replay somehow and follow up on it later.
I’m sure Corey’s got a preview planned so stay tuned for that. Real could have the Liga locked up this weekend if we win against the Basques and both Villarreal and Barca lose! Vamenos, chicos!
Tuesday Morning Links
By: Steve | 10 Comments
Hala Madrid! Well, i haven’t done one of these in a while, and in light of Corey’s recently busy schedule, I thought I’d take the time to post up some links for y’all to enjoy. Holla back in the comments!
Phil Ball’s latest column on Soccernet - The old master writes his latest masterpiece. His take on Spanish press officers is revealing, especially when you consider that Real are the only “big” team in his top 5 - might that be due to the frequency of our appearance in his columns? Phil also reveals his opinions of Pepe and Diarra, and I can’t help but agree. Just based on recent matches I’ve seen, both players have overcome early-season difficulties to round into form. Especially Diarra, who has pulled out some moves over the last month or so which I did not expect and which seemed to go unnoticed until now.
Madrid to replace Diarra with Essien - The rest of these links are from Goal.com, so take it as just a talking piece, but I know this will definitely spur some interest amongst readers. I’m a huge fan of Essien - I think he’d be perfect for us, because he’s tenacious in the tackle, extremely versatile, and rather menacing going forward. Corey thinks he’s a central midfielder rather than a defensive midfielder, and I think the Ghanaian has the skills to do so, but on a team like Chelsea, he’s relegated to primarily defensive duties because of guys like Michael Ballack and Fat Frank Lampard. I could see Essien displacing both Gago and Diarra in a combined defensive/distributor role, but as Phil Ball mentions in the previous link, Diarra is a great player to have, especially in away matches when you need the backfield protection.
Sampdoria chasing after Higuain - I’m not surprised to see Samp thinking they can grab another striker from Madrid, but I doubt even knee-jerk reactivists like Mijatovic and Calderon would sell such a young player on the ascendancy. Maybe we can offload Saviola instead? He’s Argentinian too!
There’s a couple more links laying around, but I don’t think they’re worth my effort, so chew on that cud for a while…
Real 2-0 Santander
By: Corey | 5 Comments
Real got another important victory against Racing Santander this week to move one step closer to the Liga title. In what was looking like a tough game at Santander, Real acquitted themselves well with an assured performance and two opportunistic goals from Raul and Higs. Because Barca could only manage a 0-0 draw in the Catalan derby to fall back to 3rd place, 11 points behind with Vilarreal a further point ahead of Barca in 2nd. If results go our way this upcoming weekend, what looks like a win for us against Bilbao and a Betis win against Vilarreal coupled with a Barca draw with Depor, we could have the title mathematically wrapped up.
But let us not worry about those things, we must simply concentrate on winning our remaining league games and guaranteeing the title regardless of what other teams do. Pepe and Ramon Calderon had both said that the team wants to win the title as quickly as possible, as to avoid the final day rush we had last year. I agree, and another solid win against Santander has put us well on our way.
I was pleased with the match all in all. We could have created a few more chances, but Santander has a pretty stubborn defense. We also have yet to learn how to defend set pieces, as such basic things as marking in the box, heading a ball out of danger or pushing forward after a partial clearance. Basic things I know I learned in 7th grade on my travel team, but something the Real players dont grasp yet. Schuster needs to do some serious training in this area, because Santander, specifically Cesar Navas, should have put Santander ahead on a few occasions.
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