It is not only about football, at least not anymore

Its no longer about football alone.

Real Madrid lost 3-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate to eternal rivals Barcelona, ergo the Supercopa de España. Lionel Messi, as always, was the chief architect behind the Catalan success scoring two goals out of almost nothing, the second coming in the dying moments of the game, all this after setting up Andrés Iniesta for the first. Real came twice from behind through Cristiano and Benzema respectively but were unable to grab the third goal that would have turned the tie towards the better team on the night with barely anytime left. The match ended on a bitter note with two of our players sent off in Mesut Özil (who was not on the pitch at the time) and Marcelo (for a tackle on new boy Cesc Fàbregas). David Villa, who too was on the bench, was sent of as well with the game ending in a melee.

José Mourinho decided to field the same line up that lost 5-0 here in La Liga last season but for one change. New signing Coentrão started at left back, replacing Marcelo. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, made a host of changes to his side as Xavi, Busquets, Pedro and Pique replaced Thiago, Keita, Aléxis Sánchez and Adriano from the first leg, thereby reverting back to his best starting XI available. Cesc Fàbregas was on the bench.  The initial stages of the game saw both teams share equal possession and the ball sticking within 25 yards of either side of the half way line. Neither team was able to break through the opposite defense when Messi sublimely put Andrés Iniesta through on goal 1v1 with Casillas. The midfielder chipped in the ball to give Barça a 1-0 lead. Real now had to score two. But that would change within 5 minutes. Mesut Özil swung in a corner from the right which ultimately fell to Karim Benzema on the far post. The on-song Frenchman squeezed in a ball through a crowded area which was tucked into goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. There were doubts about Ronaldo being offside but replays acquitted him of such claims. It was CR7′s 100th goal for Real Madrid and his first at the Nou Camp. But for the goal and a shot that Valdes could only deflect on to the crossbar, the overall performance of Ronaldo last night was below par. He was trying too hard to flatter the Catalan crowd with his dazzling step overs only to hinder the attack of his own team. Real had the better chances of the game throughout the night but Lionel Messi was more efficient. Just before half time the little Argentine played a clever one-two with the demented Gerard Piqué to beat Iker Casillas yet again and give Barça the lead after 45 minutes of play. Messi was simply sublime last night one has to admit. Every run of his troubled our defense. One other sight which worried me especially was Coentrão’s defensive credibilities. The Portuguese at left-back was totally out of sorts and was found AWOL most of the times. Fortunately, since it was Pedro who played on the right, Barça failed to capitalize.

The second half began in similar fashion with Barça unable to play their normal tiki-taka thanks to the incredible pressure that they were under. Marcelo replaced Khedira and Coentrão moved to midfield alongside Xabi Alonso. Unlike previous encounters Madrid was not rough on them but made sure that the pressure they applied on those Catalans was immense. Xavi of all people stuttered. Piqué, Abidal, Alves were all forced to clear the ball and thus were taken out of possession. Messi hardly saw the ball. Madrid were better than any side that has ever faced this team. Özil almost pegged us level when he was put through with only Valdes to beat. The German tested the keeper but definitely should have done better. I felt there was too little sting in the shot. The game crossed the 80th minute mark. Kaká and Higuaín had come on for Özil and an out-of-sort Angel Di María. It was the Brazilian’s corner that ultimately fell to Karim Benzema through Pepe and Real were back on level terms and the match was going into extra time. Barça panicked. The fans were silent as Cesc Fàbregas came on to make his debut. Just two minutes was left for normal time to end. Fàbregas played Adriano through on the left and his cross was volleyed in by Lionel Messi to hand Barcelona the lead and an inevitable victory. The volley was too good even for someone like St. Iker.

Özil and Villa, both in the picture, were sent off from the bench.

The game ended but match didn’t end there. Marcelo made a completely unnecessary challenge on new boy Cesc which the catalans made too much out of. This invoked the Catalans and finally the inevitable brawl began. Marcelo was sent off but so were Özil, who was completely furious about some incident, and David Villa were sent off. Mourinho too was involved having a go at Tito Villanova in his usually cheeky manner capping off what has been one of the best two legged games that I have ever seen.

This defeat, as sour as it is, definitely is a sign of improvement. We were the better team over two legs and if we had been a little more efficient in front of goal we would have definitely walked out winners. The rivalry between the two sides is turning out be more bitter than ever. Piqué has had a few harsh words to say about José. The latter belittled the Supercopa by calling it a tiny little trophy. Its no longer only about football and that’s what is making this whole affair even more special.

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

A Three Goal Draw or a Win

Come on you whites!

With the first title of the season at stake and with the odds favoring the opponent, Real Madrid travel to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona in the second leg of the Supercopa knowing that only a win or a high scoring draw is capable of changing its fortune. Despite being the better of the two sides, Real were only able to manage a 2-2 draw earlier this week at the Bernabéu thus handing Barça the advantage of having two away goals.

History though favors Real, who have a 4-0 advantage over Barça in the Supercopa head-to-head tally but all that will mean nothing tonight. In all of the previous 4 encounters Real have always won at home and have won away only once and that coming a couple of decades ago. Also, yet again historically speaking, this Barça side is much superior to any of the other sides that they have had. The odds are definitely well stacked against us. That said, it is emerging victorious from a tight spot like this that marks a champion. At the end of the day we will know how far away we are from becoming the champion ten months later.

A win tonight will definitely do wonders to the confidence of our players. If they can be as promising as they were on Sunday I cannot see why they can’t stop the Barça juggernaut. Attack is the best form of defense they say and more so in this case as Barça’s weakest link is their defense and with their best defender and captain, Carles Puyol, unavailable we can certainly make use of this opportunity to sneak in a goal or two which would definitely turn the tide against the home team. And by scoring first, both the morale of the players as well as the balance of the game would favor us. Whether we decide to park the team bus in front of goal or play without a change in the mentality is up to the manager. Personally, I wouldn’t mind doing the former. To me its all about winning.

Karanka, who attended the pre-match press conference, also concurred with my opinion, saying:

We know a title is at stake and that the first leg score forces us to win. We really want to win in Barcelona, especially after Sunday’s match. We’re only thinking about our game, about the our work and about how we played the other day. We can win the Super Cup if we play like we did in the first leg.

Real Madrid traveled to Barcelona yesterday with 22 men tabbed for duty. Granero, Morata and Tomás Mejías were the inclusions from the side that was picked to play the first leg. I don’t see too many changes in the starting line up from the first leg. Mourinho played his strongest side on Sunday and I don’t think that fact has changed since. Coentrão might just get a start ahead of Di Maria probably but I highly doubt it as Di María is more of an established player on the side. The Portuguese would definitely play a part in the game though. And if all goes well, Morata too would.

Barça on the other hand have decided to not reveal their squad until an hour before the game. Pique, Busquets, Xavi and Pedro are all expected to play the game after missing out on the first leg. Cesc Fàbregas, who finally signed for Barça after a zillion years of speculation, has been training with the squad and might even get to make his debut. The Catalans cite that former Arsenal captain is undefeated against Real Madrid (a club against which he has played only two games in the whole of his career) and that he can’t do anything but dazzle against the Whites. I suspect if he’d make any sort of an impact tonight. Even if he does come on it would just be to show him off to the home crowd. €26 million worth Alexis Sánchez might also feature for the same reason.

As always I will be rooting for a Real Madrid victory tonight. 2-1 to Los Blancos!

Until after the game,

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

The season so far

This current crop of players are probably the best that we have had in a decade.

The season so far has been fantastic so to speak. Starting in an extremely positive manner, with an undefeated pre-season campaign and a confidence boosting stalemate against Barça, this season has all the indications of becoming the special second season that the special one enjoys no matter which club he manages. Even though a rejuvenated Karim Benzema is the highlight of the season so far, we must also grace the fact that the team seems to be in a much better shape (if that’s even possible) than it was last season.

The Squad

José has made five new additions to the squad that he had at his disposal a year ago by acquiring the signatures of Nuri Sahin, Hamit Altintop, former Castilla player José Callejon, Raphäel Varane and last but not the least Fábio Coentrão with the latter coming at 30 million Euros from Benfica. Pepe and Sergio Ramos signed five year deals keeping them at the club till 2016 and 2017 respectively. Zidane took over from Valdano as the Director of Football. Garay, Adebayor, Drenthe, Pedro León, Lass and Gago were seen as excess baggage by the newly appointed Sporting Manager of Football, José Mourinho. Garay left to Benfica, Adebayor went back to Manchester City. Mateos and Canales were loaned out to Zaragoza and Valencia respectively. Jerzy Dudek too is no longer a part of the first team following his retirement from football at the end of last season. Mourinho’s new designation saw him gain complete authority over who comes and who goes from the squad following Jorge Valdano’s departure last season. Mourinho’s authority extended over affairs of the youth team as well with the highly talented Pablo Sarabia loaned out to our neighbors Getafe in order to gain exposure to La Liga. Jesé, Joselu, Jesus, Nacho, Casado, Tomas Mejias all accompanied the first team players throughout the pre-season campaign and Antonio Adan as promoted to the first team where he will serve as St.Iker’s deputy. Notable absentees from Castilla were Morata and Sarabia who both were out representing Spain in the UEFA U-19 European Championship. They both made significant contributions to the side, with Sarabia captaining it and Morata being the top scorer of the tournament, and thus helping Spain regain the trophy that they had lost to France last year. Sahin and Altintop though were injured throughout the pre-season and still are and thus have to wait till they make their bow for us Blancos.

Pre-season

José Mourinho’s second season at Real Madrid, following a victorious Copa Del Rey campaign and a relatively less successful La Liga and Champions  League campaigns, kicked off in style in the city of Los Angeles just like last season. The Whites would play the World Football Challenge which included games against David Beckham’s LA Galaxy,  the Mexican side Chivas Guadalajara and Philadelphia Union before leaving the US of A. Following that would be trips to Germany, England and as far as China before returning to Spain for the Supercopa clash against our dearest Catalan rivals – FC Barcelona – in a two legged affair. Also, Galatasaray had agreed to play this year’s edition of the Santiago Bernabeu trophy.

Karim Benzema dropped 7 kilos, scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists in the magnificent pre-season that he had.

The first game of the pre-season was against the Lost Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center and like last season we emerged victorious with an even better result compared to the 3-2 win a year ago. A goal from the debutant Callejón, Castilla’s Joselu, the ever-scoring Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema made Galaxy’s only goal just a consolation, thereby sealing a 4-1 victory. Callejón, Coentrão and of course Benzema all impressed in a game that saw Real dominate their opponent as expected. The French striker had finally started impressing the manager with the boss himself saying that Benzema was finally the striker he wants him to be. Followed by that good showing was a game against the Mexican side Guadalajara that saw our best player show us and the Mexicans why he is what he is. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a magnificent second half hat-trick to help Real notch its second win in as many games in the pre-season. Real Madrid 3 Chivas 0 read the final score. The final game on American soil would be the toughest. Real struggled to beat Philadelphia Union 2-1 thanks to early goals from Ozil and Callejon in the first half. Ultimately, Real Madrid topped the table of the World Football Challenge on goal difference. A win is a win they say.

Real then returned to Spain only to leave to Berlin, Germany where they would play Hertha in what would be yet another friendly. Despite going down to the home team by a goal a Karim Benzema inspired Real came out victors 3-1. The best goal of the game came from a trademark Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick. Benzema’s performance though was the biggest gain for us considering the fact that the first team has only two #9s in the side.

Next up was a game against Sven Goran Erikkson’s Leicester City, a game that apparently won us 1.5 million euros. The English crowd was as hostile as ever and, I better get used to saying this, yet again it was Karim Benzema who saved us the blushes with a goal and an assist to overcome them in a hard fought 2-1 win. Higuain was back for the game and Di Maria would join us in our trip to Asia.

China was our next destination. Guangzhou Evergrande and Tianjin Teda were our respective opponents in the two friendlies that the Whites would play there. Generally teams have known to struggle against Asian opponents on Asian soil as the conditions were hard and the opponents are perfectly used to playing in such surfaces and climates. But that was not the case here as the games turned out to be cakewalks. The former lost 7-1 whereas the latter lost by the same margin except that they couldn’t beat our defense with the game ending 6-0 and the pre-season ending in emphatic fashion. Los Blancos would return to Madrid to get the new season up and running.

Transfer speculations

Transfer speculations are never too far off from Real Madrid and this window was no different. Real were linked with several top strikers in the world none more so than Kun Agüero who had announced that he would leave Atletico for better football and a better future. Adebayor too was touted to return on a permanent deal with the special one himself admitting that a deal was possible. But Mourinho was quick to quash all rumors as soon as he was sure that Benzema would carry the burden of the striker role along with the ever-reliable Pipita. Real had bought all their signings very early in order to get things set by the time pre-season had started. Apparently, Mourinho wanted two quality players for every position on the field and once that was accomplished all that Florentino Perez had to do was close his cheque book. Gago, Lass and Pedro León are yet to be sold or sent out on loan.

I personally thought we would go on to buy a striker but then again with Benzema, Higuaín, Ronaldo and Callejón we have enough goals from the first team alone part from the ones that the likes of Jesé, Joselu and Morata could provide. I will not say that I am entirely happy with the composition of the squad. We do seem to be a quality striker shy of a great squad, but its Mourinho who calls the shots. If he is happy, then I am happy. I am happy.

Supercopa – first leg

And then the season started. What better way to get started than getting a go at a couple of Clasicós one would say but then I do not agree and Mourinho doesn’t either. The intensity of a clasicó is too much to have right at the beginning of the season when players are just getting ready to play and might be vulnerable to a niggle. But what has to happen, has to happen. The first game of the season actual, was the first leg against Barça at the Bernabéu against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. It was the fifth clasicó of 2011 with the teams sharing a couple of draws and a win apiece. Real Madrid played their strongest line up with Casillas between the sticks, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho and Marcelo playing at the back behind Alonso and Khedira. The front four consisted of Ronaldo, Ozil, Di Maria and Karim Benzema. Barça were without the services of Puyol while Pique, Busquets, Pedro and Xavi were relegated to the bench. €26 million signing Aléxis Sanchéz won a place in the starting line up along with Messi and Villa. New sensation Thiago Alcantâra along with Iniesta and Keita made up the midfield while Alves, Mascherano, Abidal, Adriano and Valdés made up the rest of the line up. Özil opened the scoring for us in a half that saw us dominate Barça more than any other team has done in the past three years. Signs were good for us when Barça leveled through an extraordinary goal from David Villa which would have defeated any goalkeeper in the world. Barça’s luck continued when Messi made the best out of Khedira’s unlucky touch which led to a 2-1 scoreline in favor of Barça at the stroke of half-time. This didn’t deter us and we came out as strong as we had done in the first half and continued to dominate the game and we deservedly pegged back level when Xabi Alonso’s drive from the edge of the box beat Valdés after fifty three minutes. Guardiola was made to make changes with both Pique and Xavi coming in despite not being completely fit. Benzema, yet again, proved inspirational by not only setting up Özil for the first goal and but also by keeping a check on Barça’s defense continuously throughout the game. The scoreline does not reflect the way the game was played and Real have a lot of work to do still as we travel to Camp Nou for the second leg. All signs indicate a positive result for Real but with Clásicós you never know.

Until next time,

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

A new season, a new beginning and a new everything

Hola!

Instead of making yet another wannabe comeback speech let me just make it official. I am reopening this blog. I am going to blog again, maybe not as much as I used to, but definitely enough to keep up with the latest happenings of the club that we all love. Thank you all for not letting this blog go down while I haven’t been there. I shall make sure that I keep up my word this time around at least.

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

The injury crisis syndrome

EDIN-g to real?

Sergio Canales – out for a month (ankle ligament sprain).

Gonzalo Higuain – out for a couple of months (back problem).

Kaka – Will not be fit until and after the winter break – that’s again – a month.

Gago – No one knows when he will be back – let’s say a month again.

Cristiano – injured – but will play through the pain.

Garay – just recovering from a major injury and getting back to full fitness.

And that makes it 3 potential starters down injured (Yes, I am considering Kaka as a potential starter). The injury crisis syndrome has hit Real Madrid and this probably is not the right time for it to strike. The latest casualty is Sergio Canales who is now out with an ankle ligament sprain for three to four weeks as he was injured for the second time this season in training. While Gonzalo Higuain, who also is injured, is yet to decide whether or not to go under the knife.

Humiliated, insulted, disgraced, shamed, battered, mauled, smashed, ass-kicked. The words might vary but the effect is the same. The five-zip loss at Camp Nou was just what the doctor did not order. And Valencia come to the Bernabeu tomorrow to face a reeling Real Madrid side who from being league leaders going into Jornada 13 are a couple of points behind the following Jornada. And what a world of a difference do those two points make! Also, with La Liga being a two-horse race majorly the five goals that were scored could ultimately decide La Liga. Florentino Perez has apparently labelled that defeat as the worst in our illustrious history. It was embarrassing but I’d rank it right up there with the 2-6 loss at home. If we can concede 5 with this team then that score doesn’t look bad at all. Anyhoo, that’s that and its only better that we move on.

Moving on will not be all that easy with the striker crisis that we are having right now. Benzema and Ronaldo are the only two first team forwards that we have. But then again they are not the exact kind of forwards that we would want to see up front if you get what I mean. Yes, they can get you tons of goals but they don’t stick to defenders on the front third of the field and persist until they get a chance. They tend to like it when they have the ball at their feet contrary to a real number 9 who just wants the ball in the net. There are rumors emanating from Spain about Real chasing Edin Dzeko now that we are out of strikers for the next couple of months and there is also the continuing talks about Llorente. But both of them will come at a price that we are not willing to meet. And that too majority of their games will be coming in the next couple of months. And a new signing will at least need a month to settle in. I might have felt different back then but right now I feel we must have hung on to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. He’s scoring a lot of goals in Germany now and did start scoring before we let him go. He might have helped now and back during the times when we simply lacked a number 9.

Alright then. Kaka is back out on the field. He’s started outfield training and is on course as per his recovery plans. The docs had said it’d take him up to six months to be back at his best and its been just 4. So there’s still some time left until we see him back again. Though I’ve learnt not to have high expectations about him I just can’t resist from being tempted to think he might just make a rollicking return and show us fans the real Kaka.

Apart from that I don’t think there is much to talk about. I will get back again tomorrow with the proper preview for the game and along with Jose’s comments and the squad list for the game.

Before signing off, congratulations Russia for 2018 and Qatar for 2022. I have set my sights on the latter and having taken a look at what’s in store there I’d surely love to make a trip there.

Until then,

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

Fideo to his friends

Angel!

Some called him overrated, some said he would never shine in the big stage. Some said Real have spent a ridiculous sum of money on a player who hasn’t proven himself. But Ángel Fabián di María, Fideo to his friends, has gone on to prove all his critics wrong or at least he is in the right path towards doing so. You might argue that it is too early in the season for me come to any conclusion about him. But then I find the remarkable way in which he has gelled into this team as a humongous achievement in itself and more over his 4 goals and 6 assists to add to his work rate has made him one of my favorite players in the world let alone Real Madrid.

Di Maria started his career at Rosario Central in Argentina, the same region of the world where Leo Messi hails from.  After impressing for Argentina in the FIFA u-20 World Cup in 2007, Angel caught the eye of the menacing Europeans. Rubin Kazan had almost poached him when he reverted his decision to join forces with the Russians and in the end it was Benfica who won his signature with the Lisbon-based club’s President bringing him in to replace the veteran and club captain Simao who had then departed for Atletico.

He had earned a lot of praise and credit during his time at Rosario including the free-to-use “Next-Maradona” title with El Diego himself labeling the kid a little superstar. And he didn’t disappoint in Portugal as well. Like what he is doing now, Di Maria took no time to acclimatize to the conditions in Lisbon winning the love of the Benfica faithful. His hat trick against Leixoes won him the media’s praise as well. Above all that it was his performance against Liverpool in the Europa League last season that caught the eye of several big clubs. That led Benfica to place a 50 million Euros price tag on him so as to shoo away potential suitors. Just as the world thought Di Maria was going to stay at Benfica Don Florentino made an offer that they couldn’t refuse paying the Portuguese 25 million Euros plus a 11 million of incentives so as to land the Argentine as the first Galactico signing of last summer. It might have seemed like a mistake for us to have bought him before he could prove himself before the World Cup but so much was the confidence that our President had in him that he didn’t want to take the risk of losing him by waiting that long.

Di Maria made his Real Madrid debut against Club America in our first friendly of the season and scored his first goal against Hercules in the Alicante Cup, yet another friendly. But that wasn’t what made the Bernabeu faithful fall in love with the guy born on Valentine’s day. Real Madrid played Penarol in this year’s edition of the Bernabeu trophy. The stage was set for Di Maria to sizzle and what an impact he made! After taking himself past three defenders with some silky dribbling Angel sent the ball crashing into the roof of the net to seal Real’s 2-0 victory over the Uruguayans giving Jose Mourinho’s men victory on home debut.

That was just a sign of things to come. His sizzling goal against Sociedad, his winner at Auxerre and to top it all his stellar performance against Racing at home where he played as a left-winger, right-winger and a left-back at different points of the game has made Angel Di Maria a fan favorite and one of our most important players.

He has incredible pace and some neat touches that makes him escape even the bulkiest of defenders despite his lankiness. Fideo, which means noodle in Spanish, is definitely an apt name for this left footed player who can play on either wing or through the center depending upon the requirement. He can pass the ball well but his dependence on his primary foot i.e. the left does sometimes look like weakness and a tad predictable. His speed and acceleration though make him an ideal player for our counter attacking style of play. Another important attribute has got to be his willingness to help the full backs defend. I have seen quite a few wingers in my time but none track back as much as he does. Both as a starter and as a sub Angel Di Maria is an impact player. He is someone who is missed when not there and makes his presence felt when he has to.

I have no doubts that he will become a Real Madrid legend if he keeps up the promise that he is displaying (and of course stays at Real for a long time) but what I am right now worried about is whether we are over working him. He is a young player with a lot of hunger to play and win titles. But then he needs his time out. But with the intensity of the present day game and the number of games that a top team like Real Madrid plays, the players are bound to get tired/niggled. I am just hoping that Mourinho knows what he is doing but what I do is that majority of the times he does get it right. With Kaka on the road to recovery this is the ideal time for Di Maria to shine as the pressure of performing will not be as much as it will be once the legendary Brazilian is lingering on the sidelines. At the same time, if Kaka is still the Kaka of last season I see no reason why Di Maria won’t start ahead of him. And irrespective of that let us hope that we can bring more from our very own Angel.

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

Portugal 0-4 Spain

 

Spain were in wretched form

Portugal gained a measure of revenge for their World Cup exit at the hands of Spain by inflicting a heavy 4-0 defeat on their Iberian neighbours in tonight’s friendly in Lisbon. Goals from Jorge Carlos Martins, visiting defender Sergio Ramos, who put into his own net, Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida sealed a deserved win for the Portuguese, who were knocked out at the last-16 stage in South Africa as Spain went onto win their maiden World Cup crown. One of the reasons for tonight’s match was to promote the two Iberian countries’ joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup, but off-field alliances were firmly put to one side in a hard-fought and entertaining encounter at the Estadio da Luz.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque started with ten of the side that began the FIFA World Cup final, with David Silva coming in for the ill Pedro Rodriguez as the only change. However, it wasPortugal who enjoyed the better of the first half with wide men Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani featuring heavily. Nani produced the first effort of the match in the second minute, his low 20-yard drive being turned behind by Iker Casillas, before Real Madrid star Ronaldo and Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets both picked up bookings in quick succession for crunching challenges on the other. Spain then twice went close through Andres Iniesta and Silva – who should have done better with a free header – before Portugal looked to have taken the lead in the 36th minute.

A fired-up Ronaldo cut inside Gerard Pique before scooping a shot over Real team-mate Casillas. The effort was going in but Nani headed the ball over the line from point-blank range and the goal was ruled out for offside. Ronaldo was far from pleased, throwing his captain’s armband to the floor, but the world’s most expensive player would have been happier eight minutes later after playing a key part in helpingPortugal take the lead. Martins had already gone agonisingly close to putting his side ahead just previously when his well-struck volley was headed off the line by Pique, but Spain did not survive a second time. Ronaldo showed great skill and strength to muscle his way past Busquets before firing in a thunderous shot from a tight angle that Casillas could only parry, and Martins slammed the loose ball home from near the penalty spot.

Both teams made a number of changes at the break, with Ronaldo among the players to make way and Spain striker Fernando Torres – who had been a doubt after suffering an ankle strain playing for Liverpool at the weekend – among those introduced. The first effort of the second half came from Spain, with Xabi Alonso attempting an audacious long-range lob that almost caught out Rui Patricio, but 60 seconds after that Portugal doubled their advantage. A good pass from Nani put Joao Moutinho in on the right and his low cross found its way into the back of the net via team-mate Postiga and Spain right-back Ramos. Postiga’s back-heel may have been going in but Ramos put the ball in whilst attempting to clear. Portugal should really have made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute but Nani’s attempted chip over Casillas was comfortably saved. Reigning world and European champions Spain attempted to rally, with Cesc Fabregas going close with a volley, but Portugal wrapped up a comprehensive win with two more goals in the final 23 minutes. Postiga made it 3-0 following good work by Danny and Moutinho before substitute Almeida completed the scoring after being put clean through by Pepe in injury time, a goal that sealed a third successive win for new Portugal coach Paulo Bento since he replaced Carlos Queiroz in September.

The doppelgänger

He not only looks like him but plays like him.

With the taste of sweet victory still lingering in my mouth I sit here thinking about how worn out the players might be after last night’s duel. The game was fierce, not so competitive and nail-biting and it was only late in the game that the tie was decided. With the Clasico looming we need to ensure that the wear and tear effect is not a factor. We do have a big squad and with quality players so finding replacements should not be a problem.

One such quality player on the fringe is Fernando Gago. The Argentine international is one of the senior-most players only by merit of playing for Real Madrid since 2007. Basically a defensive midfielder, the former Boca Juniors star has tremendous temperament and is naturally talented. He is a natural number 5 and can contribute both defensively and offensively by destructing opponent’s attacks and initiating our own by threading balls through to our strikers. And all these attributes of his makes us fans draw comparisons with another similar Argentine who made a name for himself here at Real Madrid in the same position that Gago plays right now. I’m talking about none other than the legendary Fernando Redondo. The style of play, the first name and the appearance all make Gago a doppelgänger of Redondo.

Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri was brought in to our side in the same season as a certain 17-year-old kid of the name Raul Gonzalez Blanco made his debut for the senior team in the 1994-95 season when, then our manager, Jorge Valdano lured him from Tenerife in hopes of building a team that could win the La Liga. The team eventually did win the league that season and Redondo slowly emerged as one of our key players and moreover became a fan favorite winning the hearts of several Madridistas. He was known for his commitment to the club more than anything else and displayed this through several examples throughout his career. Skills wise too he was simply sensational. Redondo in his time was arguably the best midfielder in the world. Laid back, hard-working and capable of making crucial passes, he was neither a goalscorer nor a showboating kind of player but he belonged to that different breed of footballers who can simply control the game better than anybody else on the field. More sort of a ventriloquist or an orchestrator you can say. He was calm and composed as well and ergo had all the essential attributes that a number 5 needs most. During the time when the world of football got to see the likes of Keane, Scholes, Guardiola, Effenberg, Rivaldo and several such legends performing on a weekly basis Fernando stood out and on his day made the aforementioned greats look like nothing.

Gago is talented. But whether or not he is as good as Redondo remains to be seen. Both Pellegrini and Mourinho did not want to sell him despite the player wanting to leave and that shows you his quality. The advantage of having a player like Gago is that he can play in either of the midfield positions and that I mean either the Xabi Alonso or Sami Khedira role. Yes, of course he cannot do the same things that either can. He does not have a passing range like Alonso does and cannot be as strong as Khedira both while attacking and defending. But Gago gives us another option just like Lass does with his versatility and like Diarra does with his experience. Gago, if you ask me, was at his best in the 2007-08 season under Bernd Schuster when he was given a lot of opportunities to excel. Its probably opportunities that matters to him and I hope he is given enough when he returns from injury.

The player is currently in Buenos Aires undergoing a recovery procedure on the knee that he injured in the beginning of the season. He will return to the Spanish capital on November 22 to begin the rehabilitation and recovery of his knee. Like Mourinho said earlier this season Gago along with Kaka would be our two new signings cometh the winter and I am pretty sure that he would be a welcome addition.

Who knows? Gago might just win us a champions league title just like how his doppelgänger did a decade ago.

Until next time,

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!

Sporting Gijon 0-1 Real Madrid

Bring it on!

Real Madrid battled past 19 fouls, 6 yellow cards, a red card and an extremely hostile atmosphere at El Molinon to grab three points thanks to a solitary Gonzalo Higuain goal to silence Manolo Preciado and the Sporting fans and regain the top spot in the Primera Division table. It was once again Karim Benzema who played the super sub role as it was his effort that led to the eventual goal eight minutes from time. Iker Casillas proved for the umpteenth time that he is still the best goalkeeper in the world by making yet another top notch save from a David Barral header which could have easily been Sporting’s equalizer. We were jeered, booed and whistled continually by the crowd but the players remained focus to finish the job off which was particularly important considering all the happenings prior to the game.

Valdano said it all about the game when he remarked that the match had more fighting than actual playing in it. Preciado’s men’s attitude was crystal clear. They went for the players from the word go and it looked as though the only place where they wouldn’t foul was their own penalty box. But that failed to bother our men as they proved that they too had mettle and the first chance of the game came within the first ten minutes. Ozil’s lay off from Pepe’s pass found Higuain’s run perfectly but Pipita’s low drive across goal met the post and went straight to Juan Pablo’s hands. And that was as close as we would get in the first half as Sporting failed to let us settle. But we did trouble their defense constantly with Ronaldo and Di Maria doing a fair bit of dribbling going past three to four defenders at a time only to be fouled by all three or at least one of them. Real then tried the aerial route with Di Maria repeatedly crossing in from the right but sadly all of them were cleared easily by Sporting’s defense. One other disappointment were our set pieces. There were a lot of free kicks that we won and from a few good positions. The fact that we were not able to materialize any says a lot about that side of our game. Real continued to attack and Sporting continued to throw whatever they had at us. Hell, even their fans started throwing stuff. But Real saw them all off. The game was still 0-0 with a half to be played.

Following the interval, four minutes into the second half, Di Maria brought out the best from Juan Pablo from a wonderful shot that was going into the top corner after he had cut in from the right. All this reminded me of last season when Real were repeatedly denied by Juan Pablo as Sporting held on to a 0-0 draw. The game did have a lighter side to it, believe it or not, when Sergio Ramos was asked to leave the field for sporting number 4 on his jersey and number 3 on his shorts. How he ended up wearing Pepe’s shorts, I dunno. With 63 minutes gone Real brought on Karim Benzema for Angel Di Maria to give a different dimension to our attack. Di Maria was active when he was on the field but I am sure the management had the physical nature of this game in mind when they made the replacement. Juan Pablo continued to save the blushes for Sporting as he brought about yet another splendid save this time to deny Gonzalo Higuain who only had the keeper between himself and the goal. Sporting would have gone ahead a minute later when Sangoy fired just wide of the far post after being put through. But that was just an one-off chance as with quarter of an hour to play Juan Pablo was made to deny Real again this time through Benzema’s shot from outside the box. It did look like one of those nights when things didn’t go well and Sporting made a couple of changes bringing in Barral and De Las Cuevas for Carmelo and Sangoy.

The last ten minutes brought about all the exciting moments of the game. Firstly we went ahead in the 82nd minute when Karim Benzema powerfull headed Sergio Ramos’ cross which Juan Pablo could only scupper leading to Higuain tapping in from inside the six yard box. A minute later Iker Casillas showed the world why we call him St.Iker when he reacted in a lightning quick manner to deny a darting header from David Barral. That sapped out all the confidence that Sporting had of scoring. Lass came on for Higuain in the 84th minute to stabilize the defensive side of the midfield and Arbeloa replaced Ozil in the 88th minute further solidify the defense. Three minutes into added time Botia made a deliberate foul on Ronaldo to earn a direct red. Ronaldo clamored “Mas, Mas” in the bring it on sense but that was as much as what was left in the game. Our players celebrated the sending off as much as they celebrated the goal and the game ended 1-0 in favor of the good side.

Following the game Ronnie spoke about the coach:

The coach gave us the right instructions despite not being with us on the pitch. He deserves the victory. We scored late, but we scored. It was a tough game ad we showcased a good attitude. We had many chances on goal. We played to win and we don’t care about anything else that may have happened. We are proud of this victory.

And the captain spoke about the crowd and the coach.

The game was complicated for many reasons, such as the comments made before the match, the atmosphere at the stadium… We stepped up to the challenge and earned three vital points. In all fairness, the atmosphere tonight was hostile. The home crowd supported its team 100%, which is normal. We responded well to that. Regarding what was said, I limit myself to defending my coach. I respect other opinions, but I do not share them. I stand by my coach, who is the best.

But to me it was Higuain who summed it all up perfectly.

It was a very tough game given the atmosphere at the stadium and everything that happened on the pitch. We expected it, but we won and took three vital points. We knew Barcelona didn’t drop points yesterday and we had to win. This is a very important victory because points like these may decide the title. It’s important for us to be leaders when we play at the Camp Nou. I was substituted soon after scoring, but that’s up to the coach. What matters is I’m very happy with my performance.

It couldn’t have been better written. We needed three points from a crucial game. We knew that it would be tough. We also knew that it is games like these that win you titles. And we did a good job. The only worry coming out of the game would be that Carvalho picked up an ankle knock during the course of the game and the extent of the niggle remains to be seen. But I doubt if it would culminate to be anything serious.

Right then, the international break is on and with Portugal playing Spain and England playing France it should be fun to watch. The players have been given a well deserved rest for a couple of days and should be back by Tuesday. But that’s not gonna stop me from writing. Before I sign off here are the match stats.

Match Stats:

Lineups:

Sporting de Gijón: Juan Pablo, Lora, Gregory, José Ángel, Botía, Rivera, Diego Castro, Eguren (Luis Morán 88′), Carmelo (De las Cuevas 73′), Nacho Novo, Sangoy (David Barral 80′);

Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcelo, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Özil (Arbeloa 91′), Cristiano Ronaldo, Di María (Benzema 66′), Higuaín (Lassana Diarra 86′);

Goals:

0-1, 84’: Higuaín;

Referee: Turienzo Alvarez

Booked: Diego Castro Gimenez (11), Gonzalo Higuaín (35), Gonzalez Carmelo (45), Sami Khedira (45), Sebastián Eguren (72), Alberto Ramos (82), Miguel de las Cuevas (89), Luis Morán (89)

Sent Off: Alberto Botía (90)

Notes: 2010/2011 Spanish Primera División

Played at: El Molinón

Men of the match: Iker Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo

Sporting Gijon vs Real Madrid | Preview

Feisty affair on the cards

Real Madrid will face Sporting Gijon at El Molinon later tonight in round 11 of La Liga in what would be a feisty and fiery affair in the Asturian town considering all the pre-match havoc caused by both the managers thanks to some fairly good bad-mouthing. Real Madrid have not lost at Gijon since Raul’s debut season under Jorge Valdano in 1994 – a season which saw Real end up as League winners. But that has nothing to do with the game tonight as we all saw last season when Gijon were able to successfully though scrappily keep Real from netting for 90 plus minutes in the corresponding fixture. They might deploy the same strategy this season as well but we can expect them to be a lot more physical than they generally are as this game has past the stage when it was a totally on-the-field battle.

Real Madrid go into the game as league leaders and are currently on a 5 match winning streak. They will be looking to get their sixth on the trot but will have to do so without the likes of Kaka, Gago, Canales, Garay, Mateos and Dudek. Apart from these injured players we will also be missing Jose Mourinho, though only from the touchline as the Special One is serving a two-match ban for his sending off against Murcia. And that I feel will be crucial. Mourinho as we all know is very active on the touchline continually issuing orders to his players and spurring them on and his absence will and should definitely be felt. Aitor Karanka will take his place and I am sure there will be a lot of communication between Jose and his number two irrespective of how far apart they are. Someone who will be there and for the first time with the senior squad would be Fernando Pacheco who won his first call up to the senior team following the injury to Dudek. I still wonder why Mourinho prefers having three goalkeepers in his squad list.

Goalkeepers: Casillas, Adan, Fernando Pacheco
Defenders: Carvalho, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Albiol
Midfielders: Granero, Xabi Alonso, Diarra, Pedro Leon, Khedira, Ozil, Di Maria, Lass
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema

Sporting on the other hand have no injury worries and should line up full strength, if they do have hopes of beating us. What Real have to worry about is the fact that even though Sporting clearly don’t have enough in them to beat the top teams in the league, they do have the ability to cling on for a draw. They don’t mind parking the team bus in front of their goal and they don’t mind making it look dirty. They have creditable draws against Villareal, Atheltic, Sevilla and Mallorca and lost to Barca just by a goal’s margin clearly indicating their attitude towards these big games – just don’t drop three points. It will probably be tougher for us considering the reception we are bound to receive. Alberto Lora, arguably their best player, both agrees and disagrees with me.

Strategically I don’t think there are any specifics that we need to attend to. We will be reverting back to our usual line up. And that’s one good thing about this season. Our strategy for every game has been standard. We are making our opponents do changes to the way they play unlike the last few seasons when we used to change our line up based on the threats. I feel that this solidarity plays a critical role in the development of the team as a whole. I am not against changing formations but it is always better to stick with one and persist with it until and unless the situation calls for it.

Los Rojiblancos meet los Merengues at 19:00 CET and the match will be refereed by Turienzo Alvarez and I hope he can protect our players from the physical endurance that they might face. We cannot risk going back home with injured players at this crucial stage. A draw does seem probable but I surely feel it isn’t possible. Real are on a roll and nothing is going to change tonight.

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!