Real Betis Up Next

By: Corey | February 20th, 2009

Entrenamiento: Viernes 20, 11:00 h. – Puerta Cerrada
Partido:Real Madrid – Betis
Fecha: 21/02/2009
Hora:20:00
Estadio: Santiago Bernabéu
Jornada: 24
TV: PPV (Spain) GolTV (I assume, have not been home to check the guide)

Ahhh it feels good to be back! After a week long hiatus due to some vacation time that I thoroughly enjoyed, I find myself back at the keyboard writing a match preview. Sitting in the San Francisco airport for a few hours means I have nothing better to do, although I wish I didnt have to sit on the floor against a wall next to a garbage can! There are no power outlets in any of the gates I guess? Anyways, this Saturday Real Madrid takes on Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu in a potentially explosive game. Explosive in terms of Real loosing further ground on Barcelona, who were troubled a bit by Betis last weekend with a 2-2 tie. Real of course has a CL game against Liverpool coming up that will certainly be on their minds, but until then its the ‘Cucumbers’ that they need be worried about.

Real Betis come into the match off the back of a impressive 30 minutes or so against Barcelona, and then they didnt see the ball. While they troubled a youthful center back pairing in Pique and Caceres, once they had their two goals, they did little to even suggest they wanted to add to that lead, no less maintain it. I did not see the match, but from what I read it was one way traffic after that. A telling statistic is the fact that Barcelona had 75% possession in the game, which is typically unheard of unless La Furia Roja is playing, and even then, they usually only get to 65-70%. Betis bottled up and brought the team bus on to the field (they were at home so they had to ring the bus depot to have the damn thing brought over to the Lopera!) to help them save face, and they ended up with a draw.

It is more of a sign of the dominance of Barcelona then anything, but besides the fear that the attacking prowess of Barcelona strikes in the hearts of coaches, it is also a sign of cowardice from ole Paco Chapparo. He really could have gotten beat badly by Barcelona, but with two goals after 25 minutes, you may want to sit back a bit, but surely maintain some possession? I think that this is a great indicator of what we see on Saturday. Betis will come on strong for the first 30 minutes, counter attacking with pace and looking to break up play just outside their own box. But if they do eventually score, its shutdown time. Real will need to be at their predator best to break through the walls of Betis defenders unfortunately, which is usually the case. A 1-0 win really is not out of the question; I assume the more pertinent, and certainly plausible question given the likelihood of the result is who will score?

Betis has a decent squad, lacking in depth but with a few quality players to field. I have personally always liked Achille Emana, even though he never got much of a fair shake at Valencia. He did however play some outstanding stuff at Tolouse, and while he may be considered a journeyman of sorts, he is a very competent player. His midfield partner, Mehmet Aurelio, I have heard is also competent. I saw him play in the World Cup with Turkey and he was a good ball winner, and he will probably look to keep Gago from going forward to often, and occasionally checking in on Robben or Mareclo, whoever is playing on the wing. Juande will add some horizontal ball movement to the team, and will dovetail with Emana in moving forward selectively. Juande really has one objective, get the ball to the wingers.

Center midfield is their strong point, but they also possess two quality wingers who have given Real trouble before. It really is three, but Edu is injured still (a free agent this summer I believe, cough cough. Mark Gonzalez, who dazzled at Albacete before indifferent form at Liverpool saw him land at Betis has usually been a handful for Real. He is a very on and off type of player, so hopefully he is not feeling on Saturday. He can be a match winner, but usually he is just a tricky winger. Thank the lord he will mostly be up against Sergio Ramos, because Heinze could get an ass wiping. He will switch wings though, as Sergio Garcia is not a pure winger and will drift in-field often. Sergio Garcia also scored in the game against Barca, and is sometimes brilliant, but usually mediocre. Sound like one of our players? A cookie for who ever guesses who I am referring to.

Up front, Ricardo Olivera is dangerous! He has always played well against Real, and scored in the Bernabeu with Zaragoza last year. He also has alot of motivation after returning to the club that put him on the map, after an indifferent spell with Valencia under Rafa. He will be worth keeping an eye on thats for sure. Mariano Pavone will probably make an appearance in the match, but he is not much of a risk unless he gets some really good crosses and is left wide open. Damia and

In defense, I do believe that Juanito is injured. He is the captain of the side and definitely their best player, so that will be a blow. I am not 100% sure of this though, as San Francisco’s airport has no free WiFi (what a joke, for a city this liberal you would think so) and I cant check on his status. Melli was a great young promise, but he has sort of got into a comfort zone and while he is a half decent player, I do not know if he will ever fulfill the promise he had shown at an early age. I still like the player though, he does his defensive duties diligently and he has been converted somewhat into a center back, which has helped him out with his positioning. Either Lima or Luciano Monzon will fill in for Juanito if he is injured. Lima is nothing special but I have read that Luciano Monzon has some potential.

At right back they have Nelson, who is a very attack minded full back, but he tries his best to stay at home. Chaparro does not like his swash buckling ways, so he often is left out in favor of the more ‘stay-at-home dad’ Branko Ilic. Ilic is a weak point for the Betis rear guard, and if Robben does play he could have a field day with him. Even Marcelo should be able to get around him without to much hassle. Drenthe? Well, he could beat a cone in a game of 1v1, but if Drenthe for some reason did play I am pretty sure his pace would be to much for Ilic also. Sorry Branko. On the other side is academy grad Fernando Vega, which sounds like a Street Fighter name, the gay Spanish one with the mask and the Wolverine-like claws. Damia is also an option at the back.

A pretty trendy 4-3-2-1 is what Chaparro likes to use, although a 4-5-1 is more fitting of the actual look of the formation. Defensive at best, the counter attack is the best option, but breaking up play in midfield with a pretty stationary central midfield triad will also help Betis not necessarily maintain possession, but it will keep Real from getting to comfortable. High pressure on the ball will eventually give way, so the center backs will hold their line just passed the box, meaning alot of dancing around the box from the Real players. With the somewhat comical keeping of Ricardo, a long rang striker may certainly be in the offing for Sneijder, Gago or Higuain.

Real Madrid News:

I am still unsure as to what Arjen Robben’s status is. Realmadrid.com had stated that the only Real player that was currently injured for the Betis game was Michel Salgado with a muscle pull. So it seems Robben is fit to play, but I would not put it past Juande to have him on the bench to start. Sneijder has been in poor form for awhile now, but then again so has Van der Vaart, so its really a toss-up as to who starts.

Lass and Gago are a given, although one of the two will surely be sacrificed for Parejo or Javi Garcia depending on how the game is going. Guti will also be available from the bench most likely, and could come on for the ineffective Dutch player that starts. Drenthe and Marcelo also remain options for wide players, especially if Robben does not start. Marcelo did well against Sporting, so he may get another run out, while Drenthe looks to be at a low point in his young career. I really do not have an official comment on Drenthe, but I was thinking of doing a post to look at his situation. I think alot of fans would like to see Palanca again, but he seems to have gone the way of Nieto, the Callejons and Juanfran for now. Lets hope he gets another look in this season.

So we should see some changes made in the midfield for sure, but up front we will probably see just Raul and Higuain. Hunter opened up his account, which was a welcomed sign, but after reading a match report it seemed he was still a little rusty. It would only make sense to start him and let Higuain rest, and avoid injury, but who knows. Alberto Bueno would be great in this game, but he is also not as trusted by Juande as we once thought. Saviola should never come near the Bernabeu again, that is all.

—————Casillas—————
Ramos—Pepe—Canna—Heinze
Sneijder—Lass—Gago—Marcelo
————Hunter—Raul————

That is what I hope for, with Guti, Parejo and Robben getting cameos in order to stengthen them for the Liverpool game.

If Juande was smart he would really take the game to Betis to start. Since they had such an effective start against a Barca team that did not pressure them immediately, it would make sense to push Betis hard from the start. An early goal will lure them out of their shell, and then the game is for the taking.

Game time is 2pm eastern time, 20:00 GMT. I will be watching the game on GolTV, so I will have be commenting on the game here if Steve is not able to do a liveblog. Until then, HALA MARDI!

EDIT:

Squad List:
Goalkeepers
Casillas, Codina, Dudek
Defenders
Pepe, Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, Heinze, Metzelder, Torres
Midfielders
Gago, Lass, Guti, Sneijder, Robben
Forwards
Raul, Huntelaar, Higuain, Saviola

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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