Lots of Promise, Not Much Substance

By: Corey | December 21st, 2008

There was a whole lot of huffing and puffing these evening at the Bernabeu, but Real didnt blow any houses down with a so-so performance. We saw an entertaining, end-to-end game with lots of pretty ball movement and individual dribbles, but the goals were lacking, not for lack of trying. The chances were there for both teams, but some supremely poor finishing would plague the match, with Higuain and Robben both incredibly wasteful, while David Villa and Manuel Fernandes both had a few decent chances that they could do much of. I dont know which was a bigger miss. Villa all alone at the back post with the goal wide open and he blazes over or Higuain chesting a great Guti corner down in the box then with the goal gapping, putting the ball onto the bar.

There was alot to like from the match though. Guti was in great form, putting the ball on the money just about everytime and Drenthe, Robben and Higuain all running in to open space to create chances. Guti also had some moves to make in midfield which he pulled off, as was unusual because alot of time he would loose possession from being a step behind when performing a pull-back and getting stripped. His central midfield partner Gago was terrific as well, performing his defensive duties well and with some quick and precise distribution. We may loose a little now that he cant move as far forward as he may like under Juande, but defensively we gain so much more. A+ for the central midfield today, they showed Albelda, Baraja and Fernandes a clean pair of boots all game.

The defensive partnership was solid too, dealing with a mobile and skilled Villa very well. He had a few chances, which is to be expected of a player of his quality. I was pleased with Canna in particular, who was snapping at the heels of Villa constantly. Considering the somewhat defensive approach of Valencia, Real’s two center backs really only had to watch after Villa, which they did pretty well. Metzelder could have stepped forward a few more time to cut down the angle on the pot shots the central midfielders were getting, but then again it kept a quick through ball out of their minds.

Salgado again was very good,moving foward pretty well and more importantly, forcing Mata inside more then Mata was suppose to be. The one dangerous run that Mata had was when he recieved a ball in midfield, and moved centrally, evading Salgado’s shackles. Ive been very pleased with Salgado as of late. Marcelo on the other hand was dreadful. If it wasnt for Van der Vaart and Drenthe being such utter rubbish I would say Marcelo was our worst player on the pitch. Joaquin tore him apart time after time, something that the Joaquin of 2002 was capable of everyday, but the Joaquin of 2008 only does in short fits. Marcelo needs a loan to work the kinks out. Otherwise sell him, he does not have the defensive know how, and I fear he will never learn it.

Casillas was good too. If Casillas was not playing well, its pretty clear the air in the team was stale and Schuster had to go. A number of useful saves, and one of pure class proves the Barca game was no fluke, he is back to somewhere near his best.

Robben was a terror, but also frustrating useless at times. His selfishness was anooying, his futility in the final ball agonizing. I delighted at his runs, but I gasped with horror at his decision making at the end of those runs. He created numerous chances, but he also spurned several. I dont know. Its easy to say he was man of the match tonight sure, but I dont think im nit-picking when I say that it was not a very efficient performance. More quality with the final ball and more importantly better decision making will definately see him become one of the best in the world. He is just as talented as Messi and Ronaldo with the ball, but he neither scores not assists as frequently as them yet.

Drenthe was awful. I know Steve likes him, but either they put him at left back where he might have a chance at being a decent player or he needs to be sold. Other then pace he has nothing to offer the team. Van der Vaart was pretty bad too. Besides hitting the post when he probably should have scored, he had a wimper of an impact on the team. Of course when he was withdrawn it effected the teams ball retention, but I need more then his ability to play a few horizontal balls from such a supremely gifted playmaker. Playing in his natural position, he really didnt show much of what he was capable of doing there, his form is troublesome and will require some time on the bench. He was overshadowed by Guti the whole match, but in his defense he did get injured, a hamstring pull, which negated the little promise he showed early on.

Guti was terrific. Maybe Im bias, but I think he is one of the best passers of the ball in the world. His through balls provided oppurtunities for Robben and Higuain, and often when Van der Vaart should have been playing a ball, Guti had already played it. Lets hope this form continues, because Sneijder gets injured so often and VDV is just out of it at the moment.

Another impressive display from Miguel Palanca followed up his stellar debut in El Clasico. He had some good touches, but he was getting knicked all over the field, something that I thought Valencia did alot. His spurting blood episode where he was intentionally albowed by Albiol made me just as sick as when Marchena choke slammed Salgado to the ground on a corner kick. Football is full of dirty tactics and such, but Valencia took it to far. Del Horno, Albiol and Marchena all could have been sent off before Marchena finally was, albeit a dodgey call. Robben did dive, but Marchena had his arm out which he didnt need to do, and he was skating on thin ice anyways. He had several oppurtunities to see red, the ref just picked the least flagrant foul for him to see red. Palanca had this to say about it:

“I got hit and I still don’t understand how he didn’t get sent off. It hurt a lot…”

“They continued to foul me and wanted to throw me out of the game.”

“Playing in the Bernabeu has been a dream. Now I am going to enjoy some healthy fiestas with my family, because this victory leaves a good flavour in my mouth for the end of the year.”

Well toughen up buddy. You did get kicked alot but dont be a whiner like Messi.

Higuain played well today, except for that whole thing about scoring goals. How he was able to put enough power and bend behind the ball to score is beyond me, that looked like a one and a million strike. An extremely difficult technique that he pulled off. But then he proceded to blow every other chance that came his way, including a sitter off a Guti corner. I have said this before, I will say it again. He cant hit the broad side of a barn sometimes, and he showed that again here. He has improved so much this year, but this game was more reminiscint of two years ago or last year where he fluffed 9 out of 10. Lets hope he doestn revert back to that and this was just one of those days.

Raul was working hard, but was kind of invisble. Sound familiar? Torres came on to and did his job, keeping Joaquin quiter then Marcelo did. A 1-0 win against a title contender, we should be pleased with it. If we had won 4-0 like we should have I may have been more content, but I saw alot I liked and very little I didnt from Real today so lets hope the improvement continues after the holidays.

Juande’s Astute Recap of the Match:

“There’s been few goals for the large number of chances both teams had. What’s important is that we took the three points. That’s what we wanted. We would’ve liked to score more goals.”

“It’s been a very tough match and our strength ran out. We wanted to reach Valencia´s goal as quickly as possible in counterattacks in order to surprise them, but our indecision made us make mistakes and we failed to net a second goal. I nevertheless think that the players’ will to score was obvious.”

“Referees have to do a very difficul job, especially in games like these. They make the decisions they feel they must make. I respect them regardless of what I think. I don’t like to comment.”

“The team looked nervous in the latter stages of the match because the squad felt much responsibility given that we already had the three points. We believed a 2-0 result would have secured our victory, so we couldn’t afford to give Valencia any room to play in. The loss of the thre points would have been a very hard blow. We had to defend ourselves as best we could during their attacks. My men didn’t know if to try to score another goal or focus on keeping the 1-0 result. We were in Valencia´s hands because a goal from them would have rendered all our efforts redundant.”

“I liked how we covered every position in the first half. We had to make some changes because Valencia were capitalising on their superiority in midfield; we only had Guti and Gago there. That’s why we sacrificed one of the wings and I think it was a good decision. We would have fiinshed the game off with another goal, but it didn’t happen.”

“Robben’s characteristics allow him to enjoy himself with the ball more than the rest. He is an individualist skilled in one-on-ones. We must give him liberty in order to enjoy his style. It’s logical that teams try to stop players like him, Messi and Silva with fouls.”

“I replaced Marcelo to avoid him being sent off with a double booking. I didn’t want to find myself in a situation in which I wouldn’t be able to count on him or in which I was left with only ten men on the pitch.”

Gago
“I think the final score was short. We deserved much more. This victory is good for us because it allows us to get used to winning again, something which is innate to Real Madrid.”

“The most difficult situations come when an opponent has chances on goal and capitalises on them. We failed to score from ours, but we won. Every game is tough, but the important thing is that we won and that we finished the year with a victory.”

“We have to rest now and spend these special holidays with our families in order to return to work with excitement. We will do much better next year and play as well as a Real Madrid side should.”

Higuaín
“This victory allows us to leave a good impression before Christmas. I am very happy with the team’s attitude because we all fought hard throughout the match.”

“It was very important to win tonight and that’s why the team was so motivated from the start. We failed to score more goals but we took the three points. That was our primary goal. It was a shame not to have made better use of our chances”

“We have to rest and spend time with our families in order to return with our batteries charged and be ready to face the rest of the season.”