Real Madrid welcomes Racing Santander to the Bernabeu after an international break which saw all of Real’s international players qualify for this summers World Cup. Albeit with “Hand of God” type plays and stubborn defending in the case of Portugal. But they are there, so now attention is turned to the league program, and a struggling Santander side that sit 17th in the table. While it seems like a good tune up match before El Clasico, this will not be an easy contest, with Santander giving teams a hard fight, although they always seem to lose out in the end. If you have followed La Liga for a few years you will know that Santander is one of those teams that flirts with relegation every year, only to bounce back in a big way, either a late run that saves them, or more recently, a mid-season change in form that gets them into a European place.

Racing recently fired Juan Carlos Mandia, whose questionable lineups and tactics got them in to a hole. The management was smart enough to see there was not going to be much of a change in form under Mandia, so they removed him early enough for a new coach to get that change in form going. And that new coach is well known to Real Madrid fans. Miguel Angel Portugal, former technical director (Valdano’s job) of Real Madrid, and also a former coach of Santander, has been put in charge until the end of the 2011 season. Congratulations to him for getting the job, but his first game back will be a bittersweet one I am sure.

Pedro Munitis captains the side and exemplifies the fighting spirit of the side, despite its poor form. The little man runs around the field like a chicken with his head cut off (sound like someone we know?) but also has enough quality to make plays happen, and is usually involved in anything good Santander does offensively. He recently talked to Marca about visiting the Bernabeu and new coach Portugal. Its worth a read if you have the time. Also the official site has put together some interesting statistics if you care to have a look.

At home, Santander has been weak this season. 10 goals in 10 games usually will translate to more then 7 points, but shipping 19 goals will do the trick. The interesting thing to note about Santander is that they are very strong away from home, picking up 6 of their 7 points on the road with a goal differential of 0 (7 to 7). You could look at that as the park the bus when they are on the road, or you could consider the results. They beat Malaga and drew Almeria, Atletico and Zaragoza on the road, which sounds like a team that is fighting off relegation.

Defensively they have been horrendous, despite some big names in the back. On-loan Barcelona player Henrique, former Espanyol player Marc Torrejon, former Huelva player and South African, Nasif Morris, Lazlo Sepsi, Pablo Pinillos and Moraton are all probably names that resonate with La Liga fans. An injured Ze Antonio, Jose Angel Crespo and Christian Fernandez rounds on the defense, but the inconsistency of partnerships and the relative lack of organization from new arrivals has hurt Santander after loosing Eze G to Real in the offseason.

Its hard to say who Portugal will use against Real, but my money is on Torrejon and Henrique as the central partnership. The two have had less then half a season to gel, so they probably still have some communication errors, but Henrique is a classy performer and Torrejon is a hard man, although lacking in some of the positional grace Henrique has. Having not seen them play together, I could only say that neither is particularly strong in the air based on their heights, so crosses in to the box may be the best way to score on them.

Flanking them could be Crespo, Pinillos, Christian Fernandez or Lazlo Sepsi. Sepsi and Christian Fernandez are both left backs, which means its a toss up based on who performs better in training this week. Sepsi has four starts to Fernandez’s 6, so that may be an indicator of who gets the nod, but I know little about either player. At right back, Pablo Pinillos is getting up there in the years at 35, so he is swapping with the Sevilla loanee Crespo when he needs rest. After an international break you would expect Pinillos to be more then rested for the trip to the Bernabeu. I will say that when you are that old, your legs do not have the kind of speed they need to play at a high level, so a Marcelo type could race past him pretty effortlessly in the right situations. He is an experienced campaigner and second captain of the side though, so he will have a majority of the organizing duties.

Santander have statistically allowed very few early goals (0-15 minutes) and late goals (76-90+), but have shipped 8 in the 16-30 minute range, which means that once they get settled in to a game, they get too comfortable and opportunities present themselves. As you can read about a little further down the post, Esteban Granero has commented that Real will be looking for an early goal in this game, which makes sense, but it cannot be to early.

The midfield may be the reason why the defense has had such a torrid time, with the double pivot Mandia preferred often providing little coverage for the defense, but also little going forward. Papa Diop has looked out of his depth after moving up a division in the summer, while Medhi Racen has only shown fits and starts of the solid form he demonstrated last year. Gonzalo Colsa has been a more consistent performer, and is one of those players in La Liga, a dime a dozen I suppose, that is so good at the horizontal passing game that helps maintain possession. He can move forward effectively though, with a cannon of a shot on him, so he would be considered a priority for Xabi and Lass to mark.

Out wide Santander has two players who often flatter to deceive with their undeniable talent but lack of consistency. Oscar Serrano is also one of those stereotypical La Liga geniuses who can turn it on and look like a world beater, but most days looks disinterested in the game, and frustrated by a physical battle. A Capi of Betis or Jesuli of days past for Celta Vigo is the type of player I am referring to. Often disappointing, but when he is one, he is a hell of a player. He showed his considerable talents with a well taken goal against Barcelona, but despite having little pressure on his position he often goes on walk abouts in the middle of matches. Arana is a journeymen, also making the move from the Segunda this summer, and having seen a little of him, I would not consider him to be overly dangerous to the point where Marcelo could probably mark effectively at left back. Maybe Im underestimating Arana though?

Off the bench there is the other temperamental genius in Luis Garcia, he of the phantom goal which took Liverpool to the Champions League final a few years back against Milan. After indifferent form with Atletico, he was very publicly booted out to Santander where he has appeared off the bench 5 times already. He has a nice resume of clubs, but he seemed to have lost his creativity after injuries with Liverpool. I would not consider him all that dangerous either, but you never know. Toni Moral, another journeymen who played with both Barcelona and Real’s B team, also rides the bench often for Santander. A winger with some pace, the only reason his name resonates with me is because he had an obnoxious pony tail in one of the older FIFA games.

Also in support for the midfield are two youth team products with promising futures. Edu Bedia is a Spanish youth international central midfielder who 12 times last season. I believe he is currently injured right now, but he has a handful of caps for the u-20 and u-21 team. Also in the ranks is Sergio Canales, a very promising 18 year old winger/striker who has two substitute appearance for Santander this season. It has been rumored that Real have scouted the player in an attempt to bring him in to the Castilla setup next year. Santander has a fairly productive youth academy, with striker Ivan Bolado also one to watch out for.

Up front Munitis and Tchite had a fearsome partnership going last year, and with Nicola Zigic they were scoring boat loads of goals. Tchite is a quick player with decent feet but his finishing has always been suspect. In two seasons with Santander he has only scored 14 goals, and has two to his name this year. But along with Munitis there is an element of pass and trickery on the counter attack that Real’s back line must be aware of. Munitis himself is a highly skilled playmaker, and his abilities on the ball have not wained with his age. If he is to drop deep and then run at the defense, Lass would have to track back to mark him as this sort of movement could pull a center back to far out of position, leaving gaps for Tchite to run in to and receive the ball at his feet.

In support of Tchite and Munities is Alex Geijo, a Swiss journeymen with a rather paltry goal return from his time with second division outfits Xerez (at the time) and Levante. On-loan striker Xisco (Santander has 5 loan players, not quite as many as Xerez but still a lot) also fills out the ranks for Santander. He has had an up and down couple of years, and so far the move to Santander has not worked out for him.

In goal Santander can count on the always reliable Tono, who has played with Santander since 2005.

Its a crap shoot considering a new coach is getting his first game with the team, but here is my predicted lineup.

—————-Tono—————–
Pinillos—Torrejon—Henrique—Fernandez
Arana——Lacen—–Colsa——Serrano
———-Munitis———————
——————Tchite————–

When attacking, they will look like a 4-2-3-1, but defensively it will be a 4-5-1, with Munitis pressuring the center midfield players just as much as Lacen and Colsa will. Expect fast counter attacks and a heavy barrage of long balls from out the back for the quick strikers to try and get to the end of.

Real Madrid News:

Granero interviewed about the Santander match.

SQUAD LIST:
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek
Defenders: Arbeloa, Albiol, Garay, Metzelder, Pepe, Marcelo
Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso, Van der Vaart, Granero, Kaka
Forwards: Raul, Benzema, Higuain

INJURIES:

Cristiano Ronaldo: Arthritis-bone edema in right ankle. Training with the team.
Guti: Bruised left quadriceps. Medical treatment and rest. Compression bandage.
Van Nistelrooy: Strained left triceps surae. Medical treatment and physiotherapy. Gym work.
Lass Strained right adductor. Medical treatment and physiotherapy. Gym work.

Albiol hyper-extended his left knee in Spain’s victory over Austria on Wednesday, so he will probably be rested as a precautionary measure. The guy has played a lot of minutes so far this season and he is starting to break down physically, so a rest is in order. He has been past fit for the match, but I would still like to see him rested in favor of Garay and Pepe. I also think Ronaldo will not make this match, as he still needs time to recover physically. A substitute appearance against Zurich in the midweek is not out of his grasp though. Sergio Ramos is suspended for the match after seeing red in the Madrid derbi. Other then that we have no other injury concerns, unless one of the international is carrying a knock.

Lass and Ruud worked out in the gym and they will miss the match due to minor strains.

With a few injuries to account for, the lineup should shake out like this:

————-Casillas————-
Arbeloa—-Pepe—-Albiol—-Marcelo
———-Xabi—-Diarra———-
—–Kaka————Granero—–
——–Higuain–Benzema——–

Id like to see Granero used, and it has been rumored that Guti will be included in the match squad. Since Guti is “injured” again, we will have to wait another week. Both players have had the international break as rest and trained normally, but so has Marcelo so he may be preferred to either of them to start. I would not mind using Marcelo at left back simply to accommodate one of them in the midfield though, with Arbeloa at right back and Albiol in center with Pepe, dropping Garay. Most likely Marcelo will be used at left back and one of VdV, Granero or Guti will be in the midfield though. Id like to experiment with Garay at left back none the less, or give Albiol the rest he deserves and use Garay in the center.

Higuain and Benzema will be the probably starting pair, although both Raul and Ruud had the break to train normally as well so they are certainly in contention. Benzema was hardly used by France and Pipita only played one game with Argentina so both are not overly fatigued. Van der Vaart is also an option of the bench.

In terms of beating Santander, there is no one way to beat them that needs to be highlighted because they are a poor side with a number of frailties. The midfield battle should be won by Real, and their wide players should be easy to contain. Other then limiting chances on the counter, Real may want to lure Santander out of their own area more often by playing deeper the usual at home. Its probably going to be a ten man defense a majority of the time, so varying the approach is a much. Chances need to be created for the strikers, not just the midfielders, so crossing, through balls and little chips over the defense is what will un-do Santander. Varying the attack will keep them on their toes, but something we have not seen much of this season is quality of service.

Other then Guti, can you recount a time when a player fed a striker with a great ball, or presented a clear cut chance? It has not happened all that often in Guti and Ronaldo’s absence, so we need to start connecting with our forwards more. The midfield dominates the game and scores a majority with of our goals, with the strikers getting goals off rebounds or interplay between themselves. Its part of the evolution of the team, but it needs to happen soon because against Barcelona we will have to be better then how we have played recently. The first half of the Milan and Atletico games were promising, but again, chance creation for the strikers is a must.

Im not going to say that its the midfields fault completely that the forwards get not service though. Movement off the ball also needs to be improved in the coming weeks. To often Kaka and Granero/Marcelo end up passing the ball backwards because the forwards are standing absolutely still. They need to make better runs, usually in a horizontal motion in behind the defense, in order to get open for passes. Or they need to find a way to get more involved in the play. Benzema and Higuain do well pulling out wide, but often Benzema drops to deep for his and the teams own good, and Pipita can be to stationary sometimes. The same goes for Raul.

The game is not on GolTV yet again, so we will have to rely on streams from nefarious sources. Am I the only one who has noticed that many of the streaming sources have become increasingly unreliable in the past few months? Is this the death of the illegal streaming community many of us rely on to see games because our moronic cable provides and television stations continue to overlook Real Madrid games, or football as a whole? I dont want to predict a doomsday scenario, but it seems to me that its getting harder and harder to watch an entire match without interruption these days.

None the less, leave your match comments here on Saturday. It has been a long time since we had a live blog, but I assure you when a game is actually on television, I will do my best to provide you with one. HALA MADRID!

And check back tomorrow for the podcast to be posted here as well as on the OwnGoalNetwork and iTunes.

- Ruud wants to return to the starting role with Real Madrid soon, and he also wants to play for Holland in the World Cup this summer. He has not formally discussed his plans with Holland coach Dick Van Marwijk yet, but he is planning on it. Ruu told this and more to Marca recently, when he was quizzed on his plans for next year. He also said that if he was to leave the club in January, probably for a small fee, it would have to be to a team that would allow him to play regularly so that he could go to the World Cup.

On one hand I understand he wants to play for Real and Holland at the WC, but on the other hand he retired from the national team and did not help them progress through the qualifying stages, so is that fair to some of the players that did? And does that mean he should seek a move away from Real, a club where he is idolized by the fans for his goal scoring prowess? We know the club will not resign him so he will leave in the summer regardless, but I would like to have 6 more months to see Ruud in action a few more times.

- Cristiano Ronaldo’s Dutch doctor was flown down to Madrid today to check on the winger’s ankle, and he gave him the all clear to continue training. Ronaldo should thus be fit for selection against Santander this week, with Portugal deciding not to enforce a FIFA rule that would permit his participation so close to an international friendly date that he missed with injury. Whether he starts or not remains to be seen, but the good news is Ronaldo will be available for El Clasico. Keep your fingers crossed.

- In the Madrid derbi, Manuel Pellegrini was hit in the head with a stone on the sidelines of the match. The Competition Committee has decided to fine Atletico a paltry 150 euros for the incident of crowd trouble. The Competition Committee is the same group of nimrods who threw tiny fines at all of the teams with racist chants in their grounds. This is a travesty and just goes to show how ass backwards the LFP really is. We cant even get the time of the match a week in advance still for crying out loud!

- We have been linked with Manuel Vargas of Fiorentina yet again. Im not sure if anyone watches Fiorentina regularly, but Vargas plays as a winger, not a left back. When he did plays as a left back he was nothing short of awful. Why replace two crappy attacking left backs who are better in midfield with the same type of play? GRRRR!!!!!

- Chelsea has had its transfer bid lifted after the Kakuta incident (the youngster has alot of skill but he will never make it at a high level, he is to immature) and now they are looking in to signing a few players in the winter market. Typically many of the team still participating in the Champions League stay out of the winter market as most of the top talent is cup tied. Yet the Daily Star seems to think Chelsea will spend a small fortune on cup tied Sergio Ramos as a partner for John Terry. This is the epitome of bullshit transfer rumors….

- Supposedly Manuel Pellegrini’s job is on the line and El Clasico is his yard stick. Sticking with the Chelsea theme, if Pellegrini was to loose that game(its very difficult for a coach to lose a match, its usually the players that do that), then Phil Scolari would be the obvious replacement according to several news agencies. We discussed this very problem on the podcast this past week, in that it makes no sense to come up with these rumors, yet the media still does constantly. Ugh.

- Another transfer market, another Real Madrid clear out. Except this time it makes some sense.

- This rumor I am actually happy with. Marcel Schafer is a left back for German champions Wolfsburg and has also been involved in the German national team lately. It seems likely he will travel to the World Cup with the team either as Philip Lahm’s backup or as a starter with Lahm switching to the right. Real has been linked with the player in the winter market, in a move that is deemed “probable”. I like Schafer, I think he is an excellent left back and this move makes sense to me. But he is cup tied, and he is unlikely to want to put his place in the World Cup in danger by moving clubs. So no probable winter switch, but Real would do well to tie him up before the World Cup this summer, as he as well as Filipe Kasmirski are my two favorite left backs right now. Roberto Canella and Michel Bastos would be third and fourth right now, although Bastos is being played in midfield at Lyon, so he might fall under the Vargas category…

- And finally, a brief interview with Rafeal Van der Vaart, who several fans have taken to once again after showing more then enough fight on the field despite never really producing much of anything in his substitute appearances. He has rejected a move to Hamburg in the winter in order to stay with Real for the remainder of the year.

“I am going to stay, I will not have a transfer,” he told Bild.

“It was not like it should have been in the past but now I am getting to games and believe I will be having a great time at Real Madrid.

“This is nothing against Hamburg, the Hamburg fans or the club. They are still very much part of my heart.

“This is a decision in favour of Madrid and not against Hamburg.”

I appreciate that Rafeal, but in your case, it might be best to move on because Pellegrini is only using you because Guti is in the dog house right now. We have some talented youngsters in the Castilla team in C team that we may want to take a look at and your in there way. So if you want to go to the World Cup just like Ruud does, you may want to consider a move away in the winter.

Its been awhile since I did one of these, but its always nice to do a quick round up of the sludge that the various press outlets churn out every day about transfers.

Dont forget to add the Real Madrid Offside page on Facebook!

Real Madrid Wants Meee???? I Havent A Clue!

This is a quote from a site I have read for awhile that has been steadily increasing in popularity for nearly five years now. Bet you can’t guess what the site is…

I know I said this before but the reason I hadn’t until now is because the idea is just so pretentious. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who reads the page, but what kind of asshole sets up a fanpage for himself? When I meet someone new and if they ask, I usually just say I’m an archeologist because if I mention the site it just looks like I’m fishing for compliments. I watch enough History Channel to fake that for a few minutes. I’ll just say something about Carthage and Hannibal and by then they’re already bored enough to regret asking. Unless the person who asked really is an archeologist, in which case I’m fucked and have to kill them.

’nuff said. Im a paleontologist though, its more specific and people are fascinated by dinosaurs!

So a Facebook fan page is now live. Something we discussed doing this summer that never got done is finally up and running. You can now become a fan of the Real Madrid Offside on Facebook, and talk to other fans on the page. We already have one for the main Offside page of course. Ill be adding some unique content on the Facebook page, like gamertags so we all can play each other in FIFA or any other games, along with pena information for those living in certain cities in the US. I want this to be a collaborative effort, i.e. I do not want to have to do all of it. This means I am looking for one or two of you very loyal readers (we have a great community here, trust me) to help me in working on the content on the Facebook page with me, and putting together a better established network of Madridista’s from this page.

If you want to get involved in the Facebook fan page, send me an email at cnfiske@gmail.com or leave a comment below. If you just want to be a fan, check out the rather bare fan page here. Considering we get 100s of comments a week on the meager amount of posting I do, I think we can probably get a similar amount of people on the fan page. Like the quote mentioned, its very pretentious to make a fan page about a blog I write (with help at times admittedly), so Id much rather turn it over to someone else. Please dont make me beg for help. Im gonna close my eyes and count to ten and when I open them I hope I see a few emails or comments saying “Ooooh Ooooooh! Pick me! Pick me!”. That sure would be great.

Here is the weekly podcast that I missed out on two weeks in a row because of schedule conflicts. Itunes link is here. Im back in it this week and I try my hand at hosting, which went well, but I do not have the smooth voice of a radio personality so I may never become a king of podcasts like Kevin is. Let me know what you think of the topics we discussed in the comments. And enjoy the international games this weekend/week!

Here is a list of the podcast contributors individual sites:

Kevin at the Own Goal Network

Mark at Madridista Mac

Adam, voted one of the internets best bloggers, at Real Madrid Talk

If you want to be on the show as a guest (four people makes it a pretty busy and lengthy recording as it is), email me at cnfiske@gmail.com or leave a comment with your email so we can work a schedule. HALA MADRID!

PS HAPPY 100TH CAP IKER!

The popular opinion these days is that Real Madrid midfielder Guti is past it, and his pre-madonna attitude is affecting not only his form, but the morale of the whole team. His controversial flare up with Manuel Pellegrini a few weeks back during the disaster at Alcorcon, which was subsequently denied as having ever happened by both player and coach. Yet Guti has not been in the match day squad since then, and a curious incident where Pellegrini told the press Guti was injured and would not feature immediately after the Alcorcon game. Problem was a half hour later Guti declared himself fit in a subsequent press conference after training. The intrigue began…

I for one thought of the incident as a fabrication of the dailies in Spain. Marca in particular has always had it out for the mercurial if often troubled Guti, and I dismissed the blow up flat out. I mean, Guti and Pellegrini had a good working relationship, with Guti stating that he stayed in Madrid this offseason because of Pellegrini’s confidence in his abilities. The two were seen conversing during almost every training session, so to me that meant that Pellegrini, like Schuster, had a handle on Guti’s difficult personality and that his trust in the player would inspire him to a great season. The first few games this year, that was the case, with Guti in inspirational form, with several assists and a couple of goals as well. All was well in the Real Madrid camp.

The defeat to Sevilla right before an international break was a turning point this season though. The press, without another jornada to discuss, laid in to Pellegrini, the players and the club for actually loosing a game to a Sevilla team that will be a title contender this season. No one seemed to take the game in to perspective and remember the team was still in flux, and the over reaction to the defeat was compounded by Cristiano Ronaldo’s ankle injury at Marseille which was further injured when he appeared for Portugal during that international break. That he still has not returned has thrown the balance of the squad off since.

Shortly after the Sevilla defeat, a seemingly easy cup tie with third division neighbors Alcorcon would be come a nightmare, with several players who had little playing time this season, either because of injury or coaching decision, yielding a 4-0 victory to the modest outfit. Guti, captain for the night with Raul and Casillas not playing in the match (Raul entered the match later on), was unimpressed by the lack of spirit and effort that were on display by many of his teammates. Although Guti himself was not having a good game either, he was still imploring his teammates to pick themselves up and win the match. But when Guti does not have a good match, he is one tackle away from a red card, and that is exactly where he found himself after the first half of the match. He was withdrawn by Pellegrini to save him from getting ejected, which was a smart move by Pellegrini given Guti’s prior history.

Guti took offense to this substitution and had some choice words for Pellegrini. He also made lewd gestures to the home fans after he was whistled and ridiculed as he sat away from his teammates on a separate bench. Having watch the game, I saw that Guti was trying to instill some Morbo and Madrisimo in the second string Real team that was being played off the park by a third division team. The fact that it got much worse when Guti was withdrawn just went to show that Guti was right. Despite the huge outlay of money for new players this summer, many of the left overs from the Calderon era were still foreign players that did not have the right class for Real Madrid. Guti hinted at this very point in a recent interview with Intereconomia TV, which will be broadcast in Spain this Sunday night.

“It’s a difficult situation for both of us,” he said off his relationship with Pellegrini before adding that “things are not going well” at the club under the guidance of Florentino Perez.

“Some foreign players do not understand the values of Real Madrid,”

“I’m a guy who never stops, day and night. I like to enjoy the night with my friends. When I am 60-years-old I won’t be going to a discotheque until six in the morning. I am now, [incomplete]“

To get some clips of the interview, go to AS.

Just those three clips would be enough to land him in hot water with the club. And maybe it should, but what would that do? Would it stop Guti from expressing his opinion to the media? Probably not. There are a whole bunch of negative consequence associated with these excerpts from his interview, but I take issue with the discotheque (club) comment. Guti is married, has a child, and is 33. He has been a professional football for 15 years now. Yet he still feels the need to go out to clubs til the wee hours of the morning? As Cesar said “Nothing wrong with going out, but the way he said it it’s just inexcusable. He doesn’t give a crap about the club, it’s all about him.”

Id agree partially with Cesar in that his clubbing habits contradict his status as a captain and his complaints on the pitch at Alcorcon about his teammates lack of commitment to the cause. But then again, does he have a point about the lack of commitment and fight in the international players?

Id like to hear your opinions on this question. This is not a question of xenophobia of course, Real Madrid has a rich tradition of incorporating foreign players. What I think Guti is hinting at is the foreign players that were on the field against Alcorcon, namely Metzelder, Drenthe, Van der Vaart and Benzema do not have the kind of passion for the crest that they need to. Having watched those four play, I would have to agree with him there. But that just my speculation. What is your take on Guti? Im sure we will have a wide array of opinion on our ‘33 year old prospect’.

Will we ever get a chance to see Adam Szalai in action for the first team? I have always wanted to see the big kid play with the first team and maybe make an impact, but it seems that he is not fancied by the Real technical staff and coach Manuel Pellegrini. It has not been revealed that Segunda side Castellon, who currently have Miguel Palanca on loan from the Castilla team for season, are interested in signing Szalai to replace their injured striker Tabares. Castellon, who were tipped for promotion this season, are languishing at the bottom of the Segunda table with only 7 points. Would that even be a good move for a player who has been tipped to be a leading striker in a top league in the near future?

My question of the week/weekend is whether or not you want to see Szalai given a run out in the first team before we sell him to another team. As one of the most promising players in the Castilla team, I think we should see what he is made out of with some first team appearances, but the early exit from the Copa means that just got a little more unlikely. Let me know what you think, and have a vote in the weekly poll.

What Do You Want Real To Do With Adam Szalai?(answers)

Another classic derbi encounter at the Calderon preserved Real Madrid’s winning streak at Atletico’s ground in a 3-2 win. But despite dominating play for most of the match, a nervous final 20 minutes meant that Real made the scoreline flattering for Atletico, and the blood pressure of Real Madrid fans spike. The collapse of the defense to Atletico’ pressure was the telling take away from this match, when it should have been the dominant midfield presence and excellent individual goals from Kaka, Marcelo and Higuain. A win is a win, and one in the derbi is gratifying to say the least, but it pained me to see the Jeykle and Hyde faces of Real Madrid in this game.

Lineups

At. Madrid
Sergio Asenjo
Ujfalusi
Perea
Antonio López
Pablo
sub Sinama Pongolle 90′
Cléber Santana
Raúl García
Simao
Reyes
sub Maxi Rodríguez 60′
Jurado
sub Agüero 47′ Goal 82′
Forlán Goal 80′

Real Madrid
Casillas
Pepe
Garay
Arbeloa
Marcelo Goal 25′
Sergio Ramos
Lass
Xabi Alonso
Kaká Goal 5′
sub Van der Vaart 86′
Higuaín Goal 66′
sub Raúl 67′
Benzema
sub Gago 70′

What a match, and its worth discussing this game in terms of the first half and the second half, because we saw polar opposite performances from both teams.

Watch More Football Highlights at MySoccerPlace.net

The first half we were superb, it was the best football we have played so far sans Cristiano, and you might think that is not saying much considering how poor our form has been, but it was a very dominant and impressive performance. Kaka was getting the ball often, Xabi and Lass were bossing the midfield as I had predicted, Benzema was drifting all over the field and Marcelo was causing problems with his pace and trickery. It was reticent of the AC Milan game before the dubious penalty decision, we really were in control of the game and besides two dangerous moments where Garay gave Forlan to much space, Atletico offered little going forward.

Kaka’s goal was exceptional, not only for his heads up play to actually shoot, but because watching it on replay, the keeper was unable to pick up the ball until it was to late. Smart use of a shield to guide the ball around and in to the net, and thats why we pay him the big bucks. The Marcelo goal was a little weird to be honest, because it looked like the play would break down any second, but a smart if a tad lucky finish did the trick. Marcelo has done well in midfield, and that might be the final nail in his left back career coffin. He did not do very well when he was moved back after the Ramos expulsion anyways, so his position may be up for permanent revision.

I was going to discuss the remainder of the match, but to be honest it was hard for me to say something better then what Bassam came up with. So I will just post his post-match comments as reflection of my thoughts on the match:

think we played well the first 65 minutes until the red card followed by wrong substitutions followed by marcelo at left back. Other than the obvious, we created good chances the first half, although that was thanks for the shitty Atletico defense that offered our players too much space especially outside the area. When we tried to go down the middle and breach the defense, we couldnt find any space. Why is that? the answer is simple, too many people in the middle. Marcelo was playing as a attacking midfielder rather than a left winger, which over lapped with Kaka who couldn’t find space (the only time he did find space, he slot the ball into the back of the net). Benzema, who had in improved game than before, still wandered around a lot. You should be upfront not floating around the field. If this gets solved, i think we can be even better.

Wrong substitutions. Horrific choice of players to bring into the game. Even with one man down, you cant defend starting from the 68th minute. The best defenses will crumble under 22 minutes of pressure. VDV instead of Gago would have made a huge difference, as it would have been a player who has some talents in the attacking sense and can help defensively. The taking off of Benzema and Higuain left the team with absolutely no pace what so ever. This allowed Atletico to attack freely. I hope M. diarra is injured and not just dropped from the squad, bcz Pelligirini could have just slotted Lass at right back, Diarra at the center, and kept Arbeloa at left back and kept marcelo in the midfld maybe with instruction to drop back more and keep Benzema. Raul could have been asked to drop back more too (like he usually does even if we are not 1 man down).

Aside from marcelo’s mistakes that i decided to not even mention any more (whats the use? you guys have memorized them by now!). Our central defensive pair have made some mistakes. Pepe was mostly at fault here. Out muscled by aguero is unacceptable! And the lack of tracking down shows a lack of concentration and will to follow Forlan for the first goal. Even in the first half, the defense showed a big hole in the middle, and I’m hoping that’s only because Pepe and Garay haven’t had a lot of time to play together.

Great game for lass, didn’t get tired all game. I expected Raul to be running at the back four, even if he didnt get support, but that wasn’t happening. With the form they were in, they would have lost the ball. Great persistence from Higuain to open chances for him when he wasn’t getting supply.

This brings me to my other point. As much as it was seen that higuain wasn’t getting touches on the ball, i think he is not fully to blame. Unlike Benzema who was roaming all round, Higuain was sticking to his position of attacking the right flank. At many times, i noticed that Higuain would be in open space and just needs the pass to get into a one on one situation with the goalie, but Benzema or Kaka or Marcelo opts for another pass rather than sending the ball to him. That was mostly evident in the situation in the second half, were Higuain was in empty space on the right of the penalty area, but Kaka sent the pass to Benzema who was covered by 2 defenders and in an offside situation. Luckily right after Higuain did brilliantly to force Perrea into a mistake, and then turned away from the Perrea, and slotted home with an amazing finish.

Shame Ramos is going to miss the el clasico! He is finally getting back to form, wouldn’t want to lose him. He has been bombing the right flank the past couple of games, and is really getting along well with Higuain there with the absence of CR.
I hope Pelligirini realizes that we can’t defend for 25 mins. Raul should stay on the bench, and Gago should stay home. Why not try RVN!
That’s all i had to say. Hala Madrid!

I could not agree more, so I didnt bother trying to! Congrats to Bassam for some very good analysis of the game. Maybe I should turn this in to some sort of contest, where the best insight in a comment gets posted so others can appreciate it. It would probably up the stakes in terms of the comments that we get here daily.

Cesar and I conversed several times during the game about a few issues, but besides Cesar’s distaste for Raul and my anger at seeing Gago, I thought it worth highlighting Pellegrini’s role in the match.

The poor man was struck in the side of the face by a rock one of the colchonero scum threw at him from the stands. But like a man he rubbed his face a bit and continued on with the game. I like that, he did not want sympathy for the incident and kept focusing on the match. Atletico should be looking at a stadium ban and a fine for this incident, but the Spanish FA is so ass backwards that who knows what will happen.

Unfortunately for Pellegrini, I have to tear in to him a bit. He lost control of this match in the second half due to a few occurrences that he did not react to properly. The introduction of Kun Aguero helped Atletico in the attack immensely, and instead of putting Lass on Kun to try and keep him out of the game, he left the central defenders to try and deal with him. Is it me or has man marking almost disappeared from the modern game? Zonal marking is effective, and cover II may work occasionally, but a good man marking job would have done the trick there. But I can not necessarily be angry with Pellegrini for not doing something of that nature.

After the introduction of Maxi though, we should have made our own substitutions. After the Ramos red card, we should have made a substitution, but instead we waited. Pellegrini moved Arbeloa to the right and dropped Marcelo to left back, with disastrous consequences as we saw. Marcelo was partially at fault for the first goal, as he let a simple cross in to the box. The lack of urgency in snuffing out crossing opportunities is one of the major flaws in Marcelo’s left back game. Pellegrini should have kept Arbeloa at left back as to watch the dangerous Maxi and not throw Arbeloa off his game by having to switch sides mid-game. He then should have used Lass at right back, as he would have been able to contain Simao in a similar fashion as Ramos was, with pace and aggressive tackling.

The use of Raul and Gago meant we loss any counter attacking threat that Benzema could provide, and Gago did little in terms of winning back possession. He gave away some needless fouls for free kicks and although he pressed players, he did not have the desired effect we needed. We needed ball possession to counter the obvious Atletico storm in the last 20 minutes (use Granero for possession), but Pellegrini decided to retreat in to our own box. I hate that. I would attack them on the counter to keep them from pressing to far forward, and push their lines back a bit. Maintaining a higher line then our penalty area would have kept them from scoring the first goal, and the second goal was just poor play from Pepe.

His brain farts spoiled a very strong display against Atletico, but he was at fault for both goals and we must wonder why he has such trouble with man marking? In the tackle he is brilliant, but he still needs some positional awareness. Garay, for lack of a better term, was average for most of the game. He did not make a mistake persay, but he also had spacing problems, letting Forlan get two great chances in the first that he should have put away. Garay is not as noticeable in his defensive posturing as Pepe is, but he and Pepe clearly could not deal with Aguero. Messi will be much more problematic I am sure. The addition of Metzelder would have helped those two since Pellegrini was so intent on sitting back after the red card. His mid-game changes often lack any inspiration, as do his substitutes, that are often late in the game and disrupt the team. Gago and VdV have come of the substitutes bench so many times this season, but to what effect?

I was interested to see what Pellegrini had to say about the loss of control of the game, but he did not reveal much by way of what he thought had happened in his interview after the match.

Pellegrini Post Match Comments:

“We had a good first half and Atletico did not cause us any danger in this period. We scored two goals and we had more clear opportunities.”

“In the second half we had the game under control quite well until the sending-off. That event made the match tough for us and Atleti were able to score two goals in a minute and got a scoreline they didn’t deserve.”

“At 3-2, with Atletico throwing everything forward, and in any attack could have scored, we went through some very difficult moments in the last few minutes of the match.

“Atletico have players who can decide a game at any time, but a draw would have been unjust because it wouldn’t have reflected at all the superiority that we had throughout the game.”

“It was a stone that hit me on the side of the face. The referee asked if I was okay and I told him that there was no problem.”

“We have to come back from our defeat in Alcorcon,” added Pellegrini, who was under intense pressure following the humiliating first-leg result, but looks to have weathered that storm now.”

“I’m happy with the work we’ve done since the start of the season. We’ve earned important victories and I expected some ups and downs to happen. We’ve sorted out our drawn matches, our defeat in Seville… We’re doing pretty well in the Champions League and we hope to make it to the next round,”

Pellegrini did not elude to the stuff I wanted him to talk about, namely the collapse of the final 25 minutes. We can be hyper critical of him, but let us not forget that he got the team to dominate the first half and put on a good display for the fans. Maybe his changes did not react to the expulsion well, but Ramos needed to be smarter than that, and it was not Pellegrini’s fault that the red card was shown. I still have confidence in the man, and when Ronaldo returns from injury and the team is clicking like it was in the first half, we will start to look like that fearsome beast of attack that we knew we could shape in to.

Quique on the match here.

Iker on the shoddy defending here.

Ujfalusi on the match and Atletico’s form here.

This one you definitely want to check out. Valdano speaks about Portugal calling up Cristiano Ronaldo despite him being injured. He is obviously opposed to the idea, but Carlos Quieroz went ahead and called him up anyway.

AS has a video describing the incident where Pellegrini was hit with an object, believed to be a rock, and the crowd trouble the Atletico fans were causing before and after the match.

Castilla won 4-2 this weekend. Check out the box score here.

Good win, lets hope for a little more nerve when we do face a surge like that late on, but we must remember, this is a work in progress and even one half like that should be a huge positive. And we will need more of that if we want to get through to the next round of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday against Alcorcon. If you are not up on your Real Madrid history, a remontada occurs when Real overturns a deficit, usually substantial, in the Bernabeu to advance in a cup competition. So many glorious European nights, and a few Copa del Rey, occurred in the past with the home crowd helping Real over come goal deficits for victory. They became quite popular in the late 80s during the Quinta days, but with the change in European Cup and the later entrance into the Copa del Rey, the chance for that to happen has decreased as of late.

If anyone believes in the remontada, we can have a little pow wow on Wednesday and hope for another one of these. More heads up play from Bassam on the link to the Zaragoza game, which was the last time we had a ‘overcome’ in the Bernabeu believe it or not. If you do not remember, we got thrashed by Zaragoza 6-1 but when we came back to the Bernabeu, we won it 4-0. This was awhile ago too, with Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Beckham etc. still playing for us and Lopez Caro in charge at the time. Amazing stuff, all four goals were superb, and I remember getting the chills when I watched that match. But do the math and you will see we did not end up advancing in the end. So not a complete remontada, but you get the point. Lets hope for that same spirt on Wednesday, and a 4-0 scoreline. Its Madrisimo we are talking about here.

Its derbi time boys and girls, and the derbi madrileno could not have come at a more intriguing time for either Madrid team. The colchoneros find themselves in a rather precarious position in that they just fired their coach after a run of poor results that find them knocked out of the Champions League and sitting in the relegation zone in La Liga. Real Madrid have faired a little better, but have shown some indifferent results as of late that coincided with the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and the media pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. In the past seven matches, Real has only won 2 matches, with the embarrassment of the route against Alcorcon sandwiched in their for good measure.

Considering both teams have not met their fans expectations for the season this year, the derbi becomes even more important, as a win against the cross town rival could ease the pain of being in the relegation zone, or being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by a team that looses to the reserve squad regularly. This derbi is usually important, but with a disillusioned Atletico fan base, it may take on even more importance now. Ohh, and Sid Lowe (who I have never fancied) says that Atletico are the “worst run club in Europe”. I not sure about that, but he has a few valid points.

You must also consider Real has been dominant in the derbi in the past decade, with the last loss at the Calderon coming way back in 1999 in the second to last week of the campaign. According to RealMadrid.com, Real have won 29 times, drawn 20 and lost 23. Real Madrid also have the upper hand in terms of goals scored, where they lead Atletico 112 to 109. Overall, the two sides have met 144 times, of which the Madridistas have won 77, drawn 32 and lost 35 with 255 goals scored and 144 conceded.

FIVE MOST RECENT DERBIES AT THE CALDERON
SEASON DATE WEEK SCORE
2004/05 09/01/05 18 At. Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid
2005/06 15/10/05 7 At. Madrid 0-3 Real Madrid
2006/07 24/02/07 24 At. Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid
2007/08 20/01/07 20 At. Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid
2008/09 18/10/08 7 At. Madrid 0-2 Real Madrid

I would like to see the streak continue, especially with Barcelona having a tough game against in-form Mallorca this weekend.

Atletico Madrid Team News:

Guess what, I have some free time finally, so lets get right in to the break down of Atletico. Lets start with the keeper situation and move forward from there. Sergio Asenjo was brought in this summer to replace the departing Coupet and Franco as the #1. But international duty let Roberto Gago step up for the first few matches and he did not fair to well. David De Gea was also given a few starts after an injury to Roberto, and the 18 year old keeper played really well in my opinion (the game at Porto especially). But an error against Mallorca that surrendered points to a team playing with 9 men meant when Asenjo was fit again he was restored to the starting eleven. I think Flores will continue to use Asenjo, and De Gea will be on the bench. To me De Gea is the better long term prospect, and I think the eventual successor to Iker on the national team, but Asenjo is also very talented and has more La Liga experience.

The defense is where the nick name ‘Pathetico’ seems most appropriate. The team has allowed 19 goals in 9 games! That is not a bad defense, that is an invisible defense. At home they have only let in five in four games which is okay, but the 14 allowed on the road is, well, pathetico. They have conceded a bulk of those goals in the middle of the first half and in the last fifteen minutes of a match. The personnel has also been erratic, with former coach Abel never playing the same back four in his games in charge. The laughable sale of Heitinga so close to the transfer deadline was probably the biggest error the team made.

Perea, Juanito, Pablo, Ujfalusi and Alvaro Dominguez all have played center back this season. Does that seem like it would be a bit of a problem? Pablo has been found out finally as not good to put it politely (how did that guy go to the WC in 2006?), while Perea looks a shade of the player he was a few years ago. Juanito has his limitations, but is a capable organizer, as is Ujfalusi, but playing the two together would result in an alarming lack of speed to track strikers down. Alvaro is young, and promising, but in the mess that is Atletico’s defense he has not been the answer yet. Maybe in a few years. Ujfalusi has been playing as a right back mostly this season, which seems to suit him as he does not have to run much. The fact that the only other option at right back is….? has forced Ujfalusi out wide. If we had Ronaldo fit, he would have a field day, but even so Kaka could drift out wide and cut in on him.

I will assume that Flores uses Ibanez and Juanito as the partnership because that is who played against Athletic Bilbao and Chelsea. Consistency may be key for them, so he will stick to the two former Spanish internationals. Perea will be on the bench along with Alvaro, while at left back club captain Antonio Lopez will need to inspire his mates to perform a little better. He may also ask the central midfield pairing of Paulo Assuncao and Raul Garcia to provide a better screen for the center backs. Lopez will push up a lot to try and kick start the attack, and we can get in behind him, but (I cant believe I am saying this), he is probably the most consistent performer for Atletico besides Ujfalusi. I dont care for Lopez, I think he is alot of bells and whistles, as his decision making in tackling and in the air has always been suspect.

In the center of the park, Assuncao, Raul Garcia and Cleber Santana will compete for the two starting spots. Assuncao has not been as solid a defender as was expected when he was purchased from Porto, as I can only assume the Atletico brass mistook him for Raul Merieles? Anyways, Assuncao and Raul Garcia have had a rough go of it this season, and they are low on confidence and are part of the reason the defense has suffered so much this year. Raul Garcia is slow and untimely in challenges and has a tough time picking a pass, much like Assuncao who is a destroyer but does not have the physical presence, or the persistence (think Lass) to win midfield battles against the better opponents. This is the soft spot, and Xabi alone could take both of them on. HA! Smack Talk!

Simao has done okay this year I guess, but he is a player who despite his obvious talents, never ‘executes’ to borrow the latest term from the NFL. He gets crosses in, or cuts in and shoots etc. but it often does not lead to much. He is dangerous which is why I want Arbeloa marking him, but he may be starved of the ball due to the center of the midfield being over run, which would be a good thing. His free kick against us a year ago was a tough pill to swallow, that is until Pipita scored right after that. HAHA! Again!

On the opposite flank Flores has used Maxi and Reyes so far this season. Reyes would worry me with Marcelo at left back, but Maxi I think Marcelo can at least stick with in terms of pace. What do we not know about Reyes that needs to be said? Frustratingly inept at times, but then again capable of the odd piece of brilliance, he has not shown it this season, with only one start, but against Real he may look for vengeance against his former employers. Is it weird that Reyes actually played for us? I think it is, but then again so did Julian Faubert and Royston Drenthe. Oh wait, he still does….

Jurado, ex-Castilla prodigy, is also amongst the ranks, and after a good season with Mallorca, he has yet again been subdued by the pressure at Atletico and being played out of position. He usually plays best behind the striker, but at Atletico the only chances he will get are on the flanks. I always liked the lad, especially when he was with Castilla, and I was enraged when he was sold to Atletico, but he has not really lived up to his potential to be honest. A move to a smaller team, in the same manner as De las Cuevas has done with Gijon, will suit him well. I think he will return to Mallorca in the offseason because he knows he would perform better there. He usually comes off the bench just like Reyes, and may be a handful for Marcelo if he is in the mood, but he will most like be cutting in more then anything which means Xabi will probably end up trailing him.

Up front Atletico has one of the best pairings in Europe, yet this season you would not know it. Diego Forlan is the Golden Boot winner of last year and also the Pichichi, yet he has three league goals to his name so far (he had 32 last year). Abel is partially to blame, having moved Forlan deeper into the midfield then he was used to, which has hurt his goal return. His partner Sergio Aguero is also of course very dangerous, but only has two goals to his credit this year (17 last year). A lack of supply may be a problem for Kun, but he usually goes on long runs with the ball anyways.

Kun has taken 23 shots this season, and Forlan 43, so its not like they are not getting the ball off their boot enough, but it just has not been going in for them. The fact that Sinama Pongolle has rarely been used either does not help the cause. I like Pongolle, I think he is a talented player that has gotten the shaft at Atletico, but he may be used off the bench if Aguero can not go the full 90 with his minor injury.

The lack of invention in the midfield may be a problem, which is why Reyes, Santana and Jurado are often used as substitutes. Flores has a tall task on his hand to get this team in to Europe this year, which may be to much to ask. Right now he may want to worry about relegation. A win in the derbi wouldnt hurt the teams confidence though.

Here is my expected lineup from Atletico:

————Asenjo————-
Ujfalusi—Pablo—Juanito–A. Lopez
Reyes–Assuncao–R. Garcia–Simao
——–Kun——Forlan———

Bench: De Gea; Alvaro, Perea; Santana, Jurado, Maxi; Pongolle.

They play wide and have two dangerous strikers, but the team chemistry has been off, morale is way down and the defense is shipping goals. Do they really stand a chance of getting out of this with any points? The draw with Chelsea was encouraging, but can the brilliance of Kun lead them to a result against Real. I don think so, but we will see.

Real Madrid Team News:

I have no idea what that picture is all about…

The only injury we have to worry about is Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be out for another month and his participation for Portugal in their WC qualifier is effectively over. Whether or not he makes it for El Clasico remains to be seen, but I would not be surprised if he missed out on that match too. Raul Albiol’s red card was not rescinded based on a lack of substantial evidence, so he will be suspended for this match. Because backing up referee’s who make terrible calls make the referee that much better….

Guti has not returned from his ‘castigo’, as he was actually injured although no formal diagnosis was ever announced which makes you wonder. He will be in contention for this game but he has not made the squad because Pellegrini has said he is still not physically ready to play, and has emphasized that there is no punishment for the blow up at Alcorcon. I dont know who to believe anymore, but with Guti only getting a half week of training it, Ill have to believe Pellegrini saying he is still not fully fit.

Eze G also has recovered from the strain that he sustained in Gijon, so he will also be fit for selection, but I think Metzleder will probably be used ahead of him, although Sergio Ramos looks like a very good option after his performance against Getafe last weekend.

EDIT:
Porteros: Casillas y Dudek.
Defensas: Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Garay, Metzelder, Marcelo, y Albiol.
Centrocampistas: Gago, Kaká, Lass, Xabi Alonso, Van der Vaart y Granero.
Delanteros: Raúl, Benzema, Higuaín y Van Nistelrooy.

Mahamdou Diarra, Guti, Drenthe and Adan have not been called up for the match. For some reason Raul Albiol has even though he is suspended? That is just plan dumb, leaving M. Diarra out for a suspended player in hopes that his red card will be rescinded on second appeal? Come on Pellegrini.

With all of that in mind, here is what I want to see against Atletico. Not what Pellegrini will do, but what I would do.

————Casillas————
Arbeloa—Ramos—Pepe—Marcelo
—-Granero—Alonso—Lass—-
————-Kaka————
——-Higuain—-Raul——–

Bench: Dudek; Metzelder, Garay; Diarra, Guti, VdV; Benzema, Ruud.

Should we play Raul over Benzema or Higuain simply because he has better luck against Atletico? Hell yes! When is the last time we have seen Raul and Higuain play together? Last year probably, but they are probably the most well rehearsed partnership we have going right now, and Raul always does well against Atletico, so its worth a shot. Higuain also has a good record against the neighbors, but if it does not work out, we have two very capable strikers on the bench. As long as Pellegrini does not sit on his hands and wait until the 80th minute to start making substitutions…

I like the dynamic that Granero, Alonso and Lass can bring to the midfield against a team that is weak through the middle. There is no point in fooling ourselves in to needing width here, because Atletico will not be able to cope with us down the middle like some other teams have. Marcelo played well in the midfield against Milan (wish he got to the byline to cross the ball more), but with the Albiol suspension he will move back to left back, which does not worry me because Maxi Rodriguez, Jurado and maybe Reyes have all been less then threatening when they attacked down the left this season. Marcelo should be able to cope, and after good offensive performances lately, lets give him another chance defensively. Cant say the same about Drenthe….

I prefer Ramos in the center for this game because he handles the skilled opponent in tandem with Pepe well. Aguero, despite a strain on his thigh, will probably play, and he and Forlan are a dangerous partnership despite their form this season. Ramos provides me more confidence at dealing with the speed of Kun then Metzelder would. Metz could do a job sure, but it might not be as effective as Sergio. Arbeloa on the right is a no brainer, and I know many of you will want him back on the left where he did well against Milan, but he is a right back remember. I suppose if Ramos is used at right back then Alvaro will move to the left and push Marcelo upfield, sacrificing Granero but then the lineup would be the same for the past two matches, and thats just silly…

Lass was imperious against Milan, and we need him to equally dominate Raul Garcia and either Santana or Assuncao. Mahamdou Diarra would work in this game too, maybe in place of Granero, to completely control the midfield, but that would be over kill I think. It would give Kaka and Higuain the freedom of the attack though, and maybe we push Arbeloa/Sergio Ramos/Marcelo up field more often? Its a thought.

Interviews:

Raul on the Derbi, one of his specialty games.

Metzelder on his dream of playing at the Calderon this weekend.

Marcelo on the teams recent form and the match ahead.

Forlan on what the derbi means to him.

Simao on the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the derbi on Saturday.

Quique Sanchez Flores (ex-Real Madrid player), the Atletico coach, with a quick blurb on the derbi.

I am going to predict a 3-0 win for Real, with Raul, Pipita and wait for it….Lass scoring for us. Dont ask me why I think this, its a shot in the dark.

The game is bizarrely not on GolTV, which baffles me to be honest. Mallorca versus Barcelona is being shown, which is all good and fine, but its the damn Madrid derbi for christ sake. Since it is not on television, I still cant unleash a liveblog for everyone which is frustrating because I had the time to this weekend. Cesar and I will be regularly commenting on the match though as it takes place, so feel free to join us on Saturday. Should be a cracker. Lets get one over on the mattress makers! HALA MADRID! HALA MADRID! HALA MADRID!

I have seen a great deal of speculation on the injury to Ronaldo and his expected return date. Some people had said he would return for the game in Milan, others set his return against Atletico, but no one said it would be later then then. I did not even see him taking this long to recover from what was deemed a minor ankle injury sustained against Olympique Marseille and aggravated playing for Portugal. Real Madrid has assessed the status of his ankle weekly, trying to predict when he would return, but so far there has been no answer.

As of today, Ronaldo has not seen “a clinical improvement of the bone edema in the center of his right ankle” and there fore will not be allowed to train with the first team. He will have to wait until next week when he gets another examination to have any clue as to when he returns, but the length of this injury obviously raises some serious questions. The first being: How could Real a. Not properly diagnose this injury and bar him from playing for Portugal or b. How could the Portuguese medical staff and the federation as a whole not have diagnosed this either?

We can blame Marseille’s Diawarra for the awful tackle, or doctors for misdiagnosis or negligence, or officials of club and country for not looking after the players health, or we can blame Ronaldo for not being smart enough to let himself properly heal from the injury. But then again, is it fair to not permit a player, one of the best in the world, from playing for his country to help in qualification for the World Cup, which is the greatest of tournaments on the planet? I know I would not want to be the one who told him he could not play. It is not worth playing the blame game, as it is in the past and we have to look towards the future.

With Ronaldo out for the derbi madrileno this weekend, and his status still unknown for games beyond that, we have a real problem on our hands here. With Ronaldo brought in this summer for a record fee, some of the alternative players that were sold to make way now are looking like they should have stayed in order to cover for unforeseen injuries just like this. A player like Arjen Robben would have been very handy right now, and my argument for not selling him was simple. Robben himself is injured 40% of a season anyways, so as long as Ronaldo and Robben’s injuries never overlapped, we would have been well covered in wingers and there would not have been any unhappiness in terms of playing time.

Let me know what you think about this latest development to Ronaldo’s injury, and how we should continue to cope in the comments. Also, great stuff on the Milan game yesterday, we got around 240+ comments, which is a new record of second highest after the Liverpool game last year where we had something around 400. I think we can best that this weekend with the derbi, should be a good one. HALA MADRID!