No Review This Week
By: Corey | April 13th, 2008I am sorry folks, but I am pretty loaded with work, so I am going to have to take the week off so that I can finish all of it. I will say that Sneijder and Pepe impressed, while Robben was yet again a stinker. And the ref was terrible, a horrible red card for Torres, and a terrible no call on the Guti foul in the box. It was so blatantly obvious that Pena caugh Guti, the ref really tried to scew the game in Murcia’s favor, but even with 10 men, we out played Murcia pretty badly.
Clemente will eat his words as his team is just miserable, they were a disaster today. They had not attack, no passing, barely any possession, and they had an extra man for 70 minutes! All in all, a good win in my books, and with Barca again dropping points and Vilarreal loosing to Almeria, we have an incredible 9 point gap on Barca once again. HALA MADRID!
Category: Team News
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Pretty nasty game in the first half, lots of stopping, ref interfered too often, very fussy.
Totally agree on Sneijder - he really kept his head and played with maturity. Amazing backtrack to tackle in the RM box to stop a likely goal for Murcia. Not to mention a lovely goal. Brilliant, this is the hard working player we need more of. Same for Raul who coped well with being drowned out by so many defenders.
In contrast I think Guti played like a petulant child, pulling up and complaining about every little touch on him - his shocking dive in the box deserved a card (sorry maybe some disagree, but it looked like a dive to me). Sure the defender is stupid to sick his foot out, but it hardly touched Guti, who should have taken the shot.
Torres should not have been sent off, but deserved a yellow - I couldn’t see any intent in what he did, but maybe the ref had a better view.
You have to compliment all the back 3 – the pressure on them was not significant, but they did well to adapt to the situation and at no point did they look like they missed Canavaro.
Pepe played well on the ball, except he still looks clumsy when tackling - his first yellow was a bit harsh, but he committed an obvious foul in the box when it looked like the ball was going out - should have been sent off, should have been a penalty.
I cannot fault Heinze again - he doesn’t have the raw talent of Pepe perhaps, but he concentrates and works so hard. I think he’s great. Marcelo did a great job and actually looks to be really improving defensively - as always he was dangerous up front too.
Gago was all over the pitch again and made up for the missing man.
….anyway just my take on the game.Posted from
United States
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Very poorly refereed game. His inconsistency plagued the whole entire first half where he literally controlled the damn game. I absolutely despise a referee who thinks his show is bigger than the players’. Torres’ tackle certainly deserved a card, but the red was awful harsh considering there was no intent, no buildup, no retaliation or anything. Aquino wasn’t seriously hurt, but we couldn’t have known that at the time. Things settled down a little in the second, but man did Murcia’s coach ever sway the referee? His pointed comments about the ref favoring Madrid actually worked in his favor! Read the new Phil Ball for more perspective on this jackass, seems like he’s been doing this forever.
Great performances by Sneids (every time I say he can’t find the net, he does). I can’t be a doubter much longer if he continues this run of form, I’ve been really impressed. Robhino and Guti actually did not work well at all today, and I was a little surprised by this. I figured those guys would thrive with a little bit of open space. They did create a few opportunities (Guti’s dive and Robinho’s nice run that ended with a poor shot), but I was impressed by the work of the central/defending mids a lot more. Gago barely missed on some of his trademark long balls, I loved the ideas though, and it kept the Murcia back line on their toes. The back three did an admirable job of keeping Murcia off the board. What better can you say than we got the clean sheet with only 10 men? Silly play by Torres to get sent off though. I can’t believe Marcelo, Pepe, and Heinze sufficed, but they did! Happy to see the two young guys playing well, and Heinze not sucking. As always Raul did a good job at trying to create opportunities with incisive runs.
9 Points with 6 to play!!!! HALA MADRID!!!
Player of the Match: Sneids, that goal was just nasty as hell. Great poise and confidence in the box, plus he was all over the pitch trying to make tackles.
Goat: The ref almost always seems to be a goat doesn’t he?
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I can’t help but think Torres got what he deserved. He came no-where near the ball and was looking down at the player’s heel as he stepped on it. A very dangerous and blatent tackle, and I’m disappointed to see Torres make it. Fair red, in my perhaps unpopular opinion. But there’s no point in even evaluating the ref’s acumen in this game. In all honesty, I would move to have the result waived - the ref’s interference was just that bad.
Sneijder certainly did have a zinger of a match, and the goal of the week, if you ask me. I’m not as critical of Guti’s performance, I think he was making his usual incisive passes and causing problems for the defense. He was essential, if not invaluable to Madrid’s strategy (don’t forget he put Raul and Robinho through for what could/should have been 3 seperate goals, combined).
I’m a little bemused as to why Robben continues to remain in favor on the left wing, as opposed to Robinho. The young Brazilian may not be sparkling of late, but he’s hardly been given time to settle into a rhythm. I’d like to see him given more chances, and I’d also like to see Robben stop trying to dribble the ball into the net.
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Whoops. I just saw Dani Alves’ cracker against Mallorca. So scratch that ‘goal of the week’ comment referring to Sneijder’s. Still a beauty, though.
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Robben has no end product to his runs, whether that be a cross or a shot. That to me means he sits the bench, its the same problem Hatem Ben Arfa is having at Lyon right now, alot of flash and dazzle but no substance, something good players learn to do. Zidane was a flashy player, but he always ended a mazy run or nice dribble with a good pass or shot, likewise Ronaldo has really improved there, and with 30 some odd goals its hard to think he isnt contributing plenty of substance now. Robben should take not, because Robinho has and produces like that now.
As for the ref, he was bad. The quality of referees in Spain has always, I mean always been suspect. I do not know if Clemente influenced the ref particularly, but the motive seem to be penalize Real and only Real. I cant tell you how many times Cesar Arzo got away with bodychecks and late tackles and never got a card. Torres mad a bad tackle, but he never does these sort of things, so I find it hard to find malice in it. It was wa yellow card offense, possibly a straight red if it was his second or third on Aquino and it was past the 50th minute or so, but 20 minutes into the game, no way.
Sneijder was impressive, but the reason Guti seems less effective is because Sneijder and Guti have switched. When Sneijder was out of the team Guti was further forward and producing so many assits, 19 as of now. But he is further back usually, if he strolls forward its because Sneijder is wider or Gago has moved his line forward along with the back four. Sneijder still puts more defensive effort in then Guti, but I would not worry about Guti. I can safely say that Baptista nor Diarra would have helped in this game, neither can supply Sneijder and Robinho/Robben with the ball as well as Guti can.
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Awsome points Corey - and spot on about Robben. I’m still of the opinion that Torres’ tackle was horrible and worthy of his Red, but that’s an arguable opinion.
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The jury is still out on Robben for me. In some ways I like him because he is more direct than Robinho, using pace rather than tricks to make space. I would agree Robinho has more talent and has settled into a player who can proudce something this season. Mind you it has taken Robinho a long time at the club to really start doing this. Also Robben runs like a girl
Fair points about Guti, i really hate his attitude though.
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In non-Real related news, but obviously could be a good thing for us, Milan is now contemplating making an offer for not just Ronnie, but also Deco, Rafa Marquez and Zambrotta. Apparently, Barca might consider this a good move as it would release some aging players who are not happy with their current situations. In my opinion these veterans have a lot more to offer than younger untested players, which may be a good thing for us and for the rest of the league for a few years. On the other side, those moves would also free up spending to bring on other players such as Dani Alves or Garay, so who knows. Either way, it looks like its going to be a major shakeup at Barca. Any thoughts?
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My first thought is about AC Milan. Honestly, for a team with so much history and pride, they’ve kind of disgusted me this season. I always have a hard time with a team that scoffs off the league competition, which Milan very apparently did, again, this year, putting all their eggs in one European basket, so to speak. This year, it bit them in the ass. Now it’s questionable if they’ll even make it to the Champions League next year. Their response: disolve the team, bring in the mercinaries. (Sound familiar?) It just seems they played their cards foolishly and now are grappling desperatly to get back their seat at the table. In my opinion, a team like AC Milan should never be in that position.
Which brings me to Barcelona. They’re in nowhere the same kind of crisis, but seem to be realing and primed for a major makeover nonetheless. I’m all for it, as it benifits Madrid - who are just now settling in to their last overhaul - and would give them (I believe) a distinct advantage next year. That is, unless they fall prey to the same mindset - cleaning house and altering the makeup of the team. My overall desire for Madrid in the offseason is for them to focus on who they have, not who they can bring in. Just let this squad get comfortable. But being Madrid…
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I dont forsee any major changes. Schuster has said he wants 2 or 3 new faces, but with the return of the three on-loan midfielders plus Agus and Adrian, thats 5. So I do not forsee any major purchases. A few good signings I am ok with, but no major players yet. Calderon, Mijatovic, Portugal and Schuster (and to an extent chief scout Lopetegui) know that the constant turn over is unhealthy, so their wont be another summer of upheavel.
That being said, football has cycles, and Real And Barca are prety to this. Barca was on top of the world for 3 or 4 years, now they arent and we are back to back champions (I hope so!), and will be pushing hard for European glory once again. But this cycle will have to end, the triumphant 10 year spans that both clubs had in their histories does not happen these days, as player and coach movement makes it impossible. The days of the Dream Team or Butre Squad are long gone, and evry 2-3 years one team will be on the decline and another will elevate once again. Its like the economy, or your love life. Its my philosophy on life, I apply it to football as well.
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Simply because this is the most recent Real article, I’m interested as to what Madridistas think of G. Higuain..ya think he’s potentially world class? Or just ‘good’ as in Morientes good. So not setting the world alight but a good player nonetheless
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No preview this week everyone I still have a lot of work to do and its my best friends 21st tomorrow I’ll have a review of the game up on Sunday though. Hala Madrid!
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To Comment on the Ref problems above:
A Red card offense is a red card offense, whether it is in the 5th minute or the 50th.
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Cesc, I like Higuain, he is young and has a lot to learn but for a young player, his movement around the box is world class. It’s very creative and it opens up brilliant play opportunities for Guti and Sneijder. Unfortunately, he’s somewhat out of place on this Real team, in that everyone expects him to play as a true striker, and he hasn’t been able to meet those expectations because his finishing still needs work. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that we also need a more dynamic striker, as Raul and Ruud are fairly slow and immobile (while also brilliant in their own way). They might just not be a good fit for what Higuain offers, which is a very hard to guard assist man. So as it stands, I guess Higuain is underperforming. But he has the potential to be world class in the adequate situation, and I think Real should hold on to him. I for one am excited to see who comes on board this summer (Benzema, Hunteelar, etc) and what that may do to help Higuain out.
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Another draw for the Catalans! I was holding my breath the entire last 10 minutes, it was an excellent effort by Barca to try and snatch the win. Too bad for them…
Hopefully, Villareal slips up a little tomorrow, we play to our healthy potential, and take a double-digit lead into the final 5 fixtures. I’d be pretty satisfied to see us celebrate in Cibeles after the Barca game, plus it would give some playing time to younger guys.
Hala Madrid!
Posted from
United States
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