Super Cup Second Leg Preview

So I actually went to my boring primary job today instead of my more laid back school job, and what do you know I do more at the laid back campus job then I do at the job where I work for a Fortune 500 company. What does this mean for you? I have plenty of time to do a preview of this Sundays match, which will be the decider of who gets to gloat about winning the Super Cup and who gets to say “it was nothing more than a pre-season warm-up”. Although I have a sneaking suspicion Bernd will say that whether we win or not.

So with the first leg not what you would call a typical Real Madrid match, the fans will of course be looking for improvement in the Bernabeu. The center back pairing of Javi Garcia and Gabi Henize was ripped to shreds every other minute by the running of Villa and Silva, while Salgado handled Mata pretty well until he had a moment of madness and let him score. Diarra looked as expossed as ever, furthering my point that he needs a partner to be more effective at what he does, while Miguel Torres was the only defender in my mind to leave the game with something of a good showing.

The midfield didnt fair much better, with Robinho looking like a very unhappy player, and VdV yet to gel with his team mates. Ruben de la Red had a decent game, his passing was much like Gagos’, either really good or really bad. De la Red was played further forward then he needed to be for an away game which expossed Diarra and made his position a little awkward, as he was pushed out tho the right often, not something he is comfortable with. Raul did nothing and Ruud was definately are best player with 2 goals from 2 less then simple chances.

But having written all of that, I could have saved time by saying despite some good things, it was a very bad performance. Valencia of course had alot to prove, with their previous season a mess to say the least. But who is to say Real did not have something to prove either?

Based on what I saw from Valencia last Sunday, I can expect more of the same from them this Sunday. Unai Emery is a pretty predictable guy, who is not exactly an attack minded coach, but he has a wealth of option so he lets them do there thing. I think its safe to say we wont see much movement out of Moretti again, who was pretty much stationary even though the right side was open for him to attack. Mata may not get the start, as he played well and took his goal with aplomb, Vicente looked the livlier when he was introduced, also scoring. Id say use Vicente, but theres always the fear that if he is not given gradual minutes he will break down into injury again, so that one is all on Emery.

The left side will see Miguel attacking hard, with Torres more then willing to keep him contained. Miguel did little of anything attacking wise last game, but he kept a distracted and unmotivated Robinho at bay. He couldnt contain Robben although, so lets hope for more of the same of that. Joaquin is the obvious choice on the right, as Silva looks much better when not confined to the sidelines. Joaquin was not dangerous, but he was useful in the match, Torres backing off him a little to much, probably out of respect to his talent. Joaquin looks a shade of himself when he first burst onto the scene with Betis, but he is still decisive at times. Valencias width doesnt scare me to much with Sergio Ramos and Torres as the fullbacks however.

What does scare me is a free roaming Villa and Silva. Boy how I would love it if Emery went with El Moro or Zigic to partner Villa, as they both lessen the effectiveness of Villa. But he will stick with those two, and they will terrorize our defence no matter who is in it. Pepe will return from suspension, while one of Henize or Javi Garcia will partner him. Pepe’s pace will help in dealing with Villa, but Silva has pace as well so its a double edged sword really. If Pepe can keep Villa somewhat shackled and Diarra can drop deep enough to keep Silva occupied, then I think Heinze will do fine as the sweeper. I would rather not see Javi Garcia in center defence for this game.

Valencia’s midfield has little to do with the front runners of Villa and Silva, and even with the pace a trickery of Mata/Vicente and Joaquin, Emery is more then happy to deploy a double pivot in the center. Albelda and Baraja, who use to be so effective together, were there doing there thing again. With the other central options being Banega and Maduro (both on Olympic duty, although Maduro has returned), its obvious who Emery goes with. Manuel Fernandes is a useful player too, much of a box-to-box midfielder like Baraja, with great outside shooting and a mean-streak in the tackle which doesnt bely his size.

Diarra will need to improve his game if he is to keep Silva in shackles, but what I dont understand is that with no other central runners, Albelda and Baraja staying close to the center circle, why he had so much trouble. De la Red will hopefully play along side him, allowing for maximum protection of the back line but not leaving anything to doubt in the midfield, as they should be able to fight tooth and nail with the Valencia pair. Behind them, Albiol and Alexis should continue, even with Marchena possibly fit again, I thought he he had a more serious injury but people are saying he is fine. Helguera will be on the bench, where he should be.

Robben will obviously be preferred on the left, which means Miguel will have to check his forward runs more. Robben will be encouraged to drift in a bit too, as to keep Albiol on his toes. Id like to see Guti in the playmaker role, as VdV just didnt do it for me last game. Guti will open up the right flank for Sergio Ramos, but its not a huge risk considering Moretti barely passes the half way line. Raul and Ruud will be the front pairing, but with Raul playing so poorly, Id expect Higuain in the match quickly if that continues. VdV will also see time, while Javi Garcia could play in midfield if Diarra is crap again or De la Red is tired.

Salgado, Metzelder (surprise) and Saviola are carrying slight knocks, no word on their status for the game yet. Canna of course is back training with the team, he is probably a few weeks away from full fitness. Robinho wont take part in the game, I dont see how he could. He didnt practice with the team, and his declarations of Chelsea come get me dictate he is gone. Schuster seems to think he is still good to play though, which worries me. If Schuster insists on playing someone who wants to leave, does that mean Schuster has no faith in the rest of his squad to fill the void? Robben, when healthy, should do the job, and this is the perfect oppurtunity for Drenthe to step up his game.

I want to win the Super Copa, but I think Robinho playing, although it may be helpful for the team, should not be considered. He is a want away player, and regardless of his stature, he should be cut loose immediately. In modern football, there are so many suitable replacements for players that its silly to keep someone against their will. If he is involved in the game, that will cast a shadow over precedings and I dont think we have a chance in hell of winning with him on the bench or on the field. Isolate him from the team, tell him how much we want from Chelsea and let him figure it out. If the transfer doesnt get done, then its up to him to work his way back into the team.

All in all, this is still a preseason game, but considering the match-ups I discussed above, its a winnable game for Real. Id like to see more ball posession and more chances created, and the defence needs to be flexible with the pace of Villa. Its better to bend a bit then it is to break. Considering that, here is my predicted lineup:

———–Casillas————-
SR—-Pepe—-Canna—-Torres
Guti—DLaR—Diarra—Robben
——–Raul—–Ruud——–

Bench: Dudek, Javi Garcia, VdV, Robinho, Higuain, Saviola Do we have any other players?

With Drenthe, Gago, and Marcelo still out of the team due to the Olympics, we have very little cover from the bench. Does it make sense to sell all those youth team players or get rid of a handyman like Baptista now? Salgado probably wont recover in time for the game, as for Metzelder, who the hell knows. I will go out on a limb and say he doesnt play much this year. Unless we start wearing Dueschland Manshaft kits.

Saviola has a slight knock but he should be fine. Codina is also carrying a knock but he wouldnt make the team anyways. I sure would love to see Juanmi Callejon or Pedro Mosquera on the right wing for this game, but that will never happpen.

I predict a narrow win for the Merengues, with Ruud doing the double again, and a goal from De la Red. Villa will score but it wont be enough, and we will take home some more silver ware. Is it sad I care more about the Santiago Bernabeu trophy next week then the Super Cup? Oh well, as long as Real plays better and Valencia plays the same it will be a cracker. Game is at 4pm eastern time, and will be on Fox Soccer Channel in the US. It will also be streamed here.

Ill be watching tomorrow, and will get a review up on Monday morning. Come on Los Blancos, bring another hunk of metal home for the fans! HALA MADRID!

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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