| Competition | Date | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Liga | 02-Mar-2013 | Real Madrid | 2-1 | Barcelona |
| Copa del Rey | 26-Feb-2013 | Barcelona | 1-3 | Real Madrid |
| Copa del Rey | 30-Jan-2013 | Real Madrid | 1-1 | Barcelona |
| La Liga | 07-Oct-2012 | Barcelona | 2-2 | Real Madrid |
| Spanish Supercup | 29-Aug-2012 | Real Madrid | 2-1 | Barcelona |
| Totals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| All Competitions | 225 | 90 | 48 | 87 | 379 | 364 |
| La Liga | 166 | 70 | 32 | 64 | 270 | 259 |
As the media machine that precedes every encounter between Real Madrid and Barcelona gears up to full speed, Juande Ramos should be thinking that this is a gilt-edged opportunity to turn his new charges' fortunes around.
The 3-0 win at home to Zenit on Wednesday was certainly morale-boosting, but neither its effect, nor the performance of the players should be overestimated. It's good to kick your tenure off with a victory and a clean sheet to boot, but let's not forget that there was nothing in play for the Russian side, as they had no chance to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
A win (or possibly even a draw) at the Nou Camp would have no impact in the relative standings, and is unlikely to be particularly decisive in the championship race. However, psychologically it would sow some doubt in Barcelona's mind - they have been unstoppable recently - and might have the same effect on the Real Madrid squad that the equivalent fixture had two seasons ago when Capello was in charge.
The managerial reshuffle has made things a little more complicated for Pep Guardiola, who rested some of his players in the midweek loss to Shakhtar Donetsk thinking that Bernd Schuster would be in the visitor's dugout on Saturday. Some Barcelona fans are a little worried too.
"With Schuster, we knew more or less what they were doing. With Juande, I imagine they'll do other things," said Guardiola, adding that he would look at the video of the Zenit game and some of the Sevilla games when Ramos was in charge (clearly he doesn't rate Juande's stint at Spurs to be too significant).
Guardiola is also using cautious language when asked whether Real Madrid's numerous injuries would benefit Barcelona. "There are no second rate players in either Real Madrid or Barcelona," he said. His counterpart has not made a pronouncement either way, but it surely cannot be helpful to have to add Rubén de la Red to Diarra and Van Nistelrooy as players who will be out for the remainder of the season. De la Red has been the subject of numerous tests for what is believed to be a heart-related condition, which may force his premature retirement from football.
Regarding the probable Real Madrid line-up, the talk this week has been about Dudek getting a start ahead of Casillas in the Zenit game. Iker's uncharacteristic poor form this season (24 goals in 14 games) fuelled speculation that he might not be included in Saturday's squad, although the most likely explanation was that he was being rested so he could fully concentrate on the Clásico.
Juande has been forced to experiment already to cope with injuries and suspensions, bringing Metzelder in as right back, instead of his usual central position, and switching Salgado to the left during the midweek tie. Initially, the rumours suggested that Salgado would keep that position as Marcelo was suspended for Saturday and Juande wanted a right footed player to try to control Messi's runs on that flank. It now looks like it may be Sergio Ramos who will get that responsibility.
Arjen Robben, perhaps Real's most dangerous and in-form player, is also suspended for the Barcelona clash following his sending off last weekend against Sevilla. Drenthe is likely to be the player Juande feels can bring some width and speed (if not much in the way of precision) to his side.
It's obvious, but perhaps it needs to be stated from time to time, and Xavi, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder put it succinctly the other day when he said that "Barça and Real are like a set of scales, when things go well for one, they go badly for the other, and viceversa".
Ramón Calderón has always felt the long shadow of his predecessor, Florentino Pérez, and his failure to match the galáctico-signing antics of the Florentino years has always weighed heavily on this much-criticised president. Only yesterday, he hit out at Florentino's being photographed at a charity match organised by Zinedine Zidane: "It's sad. I would have loved to have seen that photo when we won two league titles and the supercopa. It illustrates that badly kept secret that he has spent the past two-and-a-half years obstructing and trying to discredit the Real Madrid board. He only thinks of his own personal gain."
So the recent vote of confidence in the coach from the Real Madrid board is as convincing as Mijatovic's press conference to announce it. Fielding a question about what would happen if Real lost again this weekend at home to Recreativo, he avoided saying that the result was not linked to Schuster staying at the club: "I can't be certain as to what would happen. We would have no problem in taking difficult decisions if we have to, but we won't rush into them".
The Futbolitis blog is a superb resource for those interested in a deeper analysis both of tactics and the politics of football, without many of the rumours and sensationalism associated with more traditional media. As the articles are written in Spanish, I thought I would share some of the highlights of the item that was published earlier today regarding one of Ramón Calderón's broken electoral promises when he became Real Madrid president: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known as Kaká.
The authors argue that Kaká could be the signing that both Barcelona and Real Madrid should be looking at this summer. In Barcelona's case, they need a replacement for the recently departed Ronaldinho and they had their chance earlier in the transfer window. Milan don't have the money they once had to invest in renewing their ageing side; they did not qualify for the Champions League. Galliani, president of Milan, was interested in a swap with come of the Barcelona players, but the board was in the middle of getting rid of Rijkaard and replacing him with Guardiola and missed the boat.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been putting aside money for the on-off transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo. Kaká is arguably a much better technical fit, as he is and has always been a team player rather than a highly talented individual, but with the vision and skill to replace Guti as the main playmaker. Guti, in contrast, has never had the temperament to provide that vision week in, week out and is also five-and-a-half years older.
For a while last season, Real flirted with moving Gago up to Guti's position, which proved unsuccessful. The Argentine has been good at playing the ball forward to Guti and Sneijder, but he really is no Redondo, though perhaps, at his age, he should be given the benefit of the doubt, and more time to develop.
The figures for the transfer of Kaká are comparable to those being rumoured for Cristiano Ronaldo, possibly even larger. Chelsea are reportedly interested, but then, Chelsea seem to be interested in everybody. The main difference financially between Ronaldo and Kaká is that the Portuguese has been spending his holiday time signing sponsorship deal after sponsorship deal (did you really think he was going to LA for the club scene?). This means that from an image rights perspective, his transfer is much less amortisable that, say, David Beckham's was.
Making the money that Real Madrid made with David Beckham is not possible in these more media-savvy days, but Kaká's image is much more up for grabs. On the personal front, the Brazilian is a committed Christian and family man, a much less likely target for all those scandal-hungry paparazzi.
Will Calderón change course mid-stream and go for Kaká? It's a long shot, but it may be worth considering.
It's one of those unwritten rules: after a side mathematically become league champions, their opponents in all remaining league games will applaud them onto the pitch. It's called the pasillo after the corridor the squad paying homage make and it has stirred up some interest in recent weeks after it became increasingly possible that Barcelona would have to do it for Real Madrid in their visit to the Bernabéu. Fortunately for all concerned, both sides demonstrated their sportmanship with Barcelona complying with tradition and Real not making a huge deal out of it in order not to "rub it in". You might think that this was the first time this had happened between the two clubs, but there have been precedents:
30th April 1988, Nou Camp: Barcelona did the pasillo and went on to win the game 2-0. Real's current coach, Bernd Schuster was a Barcelona player at the time, although he joined Real Madrid the following season.
8th June 1991, Santiago Bernabéu: Real did the pasillo themselves for Barcelona for the first time and went on to win the game 1-0.
7th May 2008, Santiago Bernabéu: Barcelona did the pasillo for the second time and lost the game to Real 4-1.
What some madridistas feared did not come to pass: Real Madrid came out to meet Barcelona with their minds fully on the task at hand and there was no indication that there was any residual hangover from the league celebrations on Sunday night. In fact, if anything, it was their rivals who looked a little lost at sea, though they had, in theory, more to play for. With Villareal's earlier win away to Recreativo, they needed at least a draw to have an outside chance at the runner-up spot.
Schuster lined up a strong midfield, with both Gago and Diarra on defensive duties, and Guti, Sneijder and Robben providing width and creativity up front, leaving Raúl as the lone striker. At the back, the reprieved Heinze (his booking was overturned on appeal) replaced the suspended Cannavaro in the centre with Pepe, and Ramos and Marcelo as right and left backs.
Rijkaard, with the threat of being sacked hanging over him all week, could not comply with Laporta's request of a 0-5 result that would see him "win a bet with a friend". Even that would probably not have been enough to save him; the days of a season being rescued by beating the 'auld enemy' convincingly are long gone. Worse still, the Barcelona manager must have realised his tactical line-up was leaking water everywhere and replaced Gudjohnssen with Giovani after a mere 23 minutes.
By this time, Real were already 2-0; the first through one player who loves the big occasion: Raúl, and the second from another Robben header, who seems to be making a habit of it recently. Though there was a foul by Guti on Márquez in the lead up to the first goal which the referee did not see, and a doubtful free kick award which resulted in the second, there is little doubt about the validity of the final result. Having said that, the referee was appalling and if Barcelona had been anywhere near Real's equal on the pitch, they'd be talking about his performance for years to come.
Higuaín came on in the second half for Robben and scored his fourth goal in as many games barely two minutes after coming on; the lad seems intent on answering his critics after being accused of having trouble putting it away. There was a nice return from injury too for Ruud van Nistelrooy who stepped up to take a penalty kick in the last quarter of an hour just after coming on for Raúl and put Real four up. The much vaunted "humiliation" of the pasillo before the start of the game paled into insignificance when faced with the real humiliation of a team on its last legs. 
Henry's late consolation goal was more than enough reward for Barcelona's efforts on the night, marred by Xavi's sending-off in injury time. They are a team who've lost their way and will need to find it again before next season. The parallels with Real's galáctico decline (remember the Fantastic Four, anyone?), exemplified by a Ronaldinho-led 3-0 rout at the Bernabéu in November 2005, are obvious and a root-and-branch reform is needed. Twenty-five years have passed since the last time Real Madrid beat Barcelona at both home and away league ties. One wonders whether Laporta will survive the cull.
Despite playing almost the whole of the second half with 10 men (and a few minutes with nine), Real Madrid managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit with less than 10 minutes to go and win their thirty-first league title. It's the first time they have won back-to-back titles since 1990 (though that was the last in a run of five consecutive champioships), when John Toshack was in charge. Robben, with a header from a free kick, and Gonzalo Higuaín (let's give my namesake his full name here) with a powerful volley, means they'll be partying in Cibeles until the early hours.
A few minutes earlier it had looked like Real would have to wait at least one more week to clinch the title, after Heinze had been judged to handle the ball in the area, and Puñal converted the resulting penalty. The handball was unarguable; the ball hit Heinze so hard that his hand started to bleed and he had to leave the pitch for a few minutes to seek treatment. Though Schuster had said in his press conference before the game that he'd like to win the Championship at home to Barcelona next week, his players still looked like they wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
The first half was edgy and tough ("muscular", some would say), with few chances and an extremely hostile crowd, but the game opened up after Cannavaro was sent off seconds after the restart for a misjudged tackle from behind, which forced Schuster to bring off Saviola, in his second start in as many games, and bring on Torres. Osasuna sensed they had a chance to win at home to Madrid for the first time in five years, and yet it was Real who had the better chances, with Sneijder hitting the bar from a looping deflected shot.
Puñal's converted penalty had some of the faithful leaving Cibeles, when Higuaín, having come in for Raúl, floated a perfect free kick right to the side of Robben's head which left the keeper no chance. It's Robben's first headed goal for Real and something of a rarity elsewhere. It's hard to say whether he looked more surprised than elated. But there was no time to waste. Real scooped up the ball from Osasuna's goal and piled on the pressure in the dying seconds. Diarra powered towards the Osasuna area but found his way blocked by one too many defenders; the loose ball found its way to Sergio Ramos, who threaded it through three Osasuna defenders to Higuaín. The Argentine chested the ball down, let it bounce once and connected with a powerful volley inside the near post and scored his third goal in as many games, though this one was worth the league. The game was all but over. A couple of minutes later the celebrations began and continued until the early hours when the players returned to the capital and the captain dressed the Cibeles fountain with the obligatory Real Madrid scarf.
Real will miss both Heinze and Cannavaro through suspension in the Clásico against Barcelona (who'll be missing Deco and Eto'o for the same reason) on Wednesday, but the game is likely to turn into one big celebratory party that the Catalans will try their best to spoil, as they fight Villareal for that elusive second place and automatic qualification for the league stages of next season's Champions League.
The number two features highly following the league results at the weekend: two points out of the next four games are all that Real Madrid need to clinch their thirty-first league championship. Two is also the number of teams still in the race, as Barcelona dropped out of contention after going 2-0 in Riazor against Deportivo on Saturday. Only Villareal now have a mathematical chance of preventing the Real faithful congregating at the Cibeles fountain in Madrid to celebrate victory and they need to win every single one of their remaining games (at home to Getafe and Espanyol, and away to Recreativo and Deportivo).
In fact, as Villareal's home game against Getafe will finish before Real's away tie in Pamplona (against Osasuna), the merengues could find themselves champions before they even kick a ball. They already knew before their game this Sunday that Villareal had denied them the chance of singing the alirón (a word of disputed etymology, but you could say it is the equivalent of singing "We are the Champions"). Though the Yellow Submarine had torpedoed Betis, the Madrid players nonetheless came out determined to show their mettle.
Schuster lined up Saviola from the start, allegedly because he'd been training well and had not had the chance to come on in previous games when he had spent some time warming up. More suspicious minds may conclude that Real wants to give him a bit of an outing to improve his selling price come the summer. Regardless, the diminutive Argentine showed flashes of his class in his first league game since December 1st and pounced on a rebound from the Athletic keeper to put Real ahead after 13 minutes.
If the final result looks like a comfortable win, it is fair to say that it was only possible through the acrobatics of Iker Casillas. He may claim a lack of interest in winning the Zamora trophy, but he put paid to Athletic's hopes of getting back into the game with a crucial penalty save in the first half, and two more excellent stops later on. Athletic looked deflated and Schuster brought on Robben and Higuaín part way through the second half to finish them off.
And finish them off they did. Higuaín sped down the right wing and threaded it through to Robben for a simple finish. Barely two minutes later, he got himself on the scoresheet by latching onto a throw-in and sending goalkeeper Armando the wrong way.
The omens, if you believe in omens, are good for next Sunday's game against Osasuna. Real have won in their last three visits and have not lost at El Sadar (or Reyno de Navarra, as it is now known) since February 2003. Should they win the league title there, their next opponents will make the traditional pasillo welcoming the champions onto the pitch of the Bernabéu in a game that's already sold out. The identity of their next opponents? Barcelona.
The Madrid press was all abuzz with excitement following yesterday's 3-1 defeat of Sevilla. What with Barcelona throwing away a 2-0 lead at Betis the day before, they are now touting second-placed Villareal as the ones to watch in the run-in to the title. Without taking away from what was a much improved performance, it is still far too early to clay claim to the title, especially given how irregular Real has been in 2008 (won 9, lost 9).
Although much is being made of Higuaín scoring at last, he only managed to put away one of at least three clear-cut chances, and his team-mates seemed to be losing confidence in him. Another much-mentioned anecdote is Raúl scoring his 290th goal for the club, putting him neck-and-neck with 70s and 80s legend Santillana and second only to the great Di Stefano (307). Howerver, the keys to yesterday's triumph lie in the great display from the back four (especially Cannavaro, who's come in for a lot of criticism in recent days) and the return of creativity in midfield from the likes of Guti and (yes, it's true) Sneijder.
Real had to start without Pepe through injury, but they barely missed him, and his replacement, Gabriel Heinze, not only ably supported Cannavaro in the rear, but also opened the scoring for Real with a header off a Sneijder free kick. The Dutchman added a second assist when he found Raúl in the area. The captain controlled the ball, jinked around two defenders and blasted it far from the hands of Sevilla keeper Palop. This came barely two minutes after Kanouté, in a rare attack for Sevilla in the first half, hit a beautiful volley to put the scores level.
On past performances, a one-goal lead wasn't going to be enough, even if it didn't look like it was going to be Sevilla's night. Half-way through the second half Sneijder found Guti, who played it back Higuaín, who finally managed to put the ball, and the game, away.
Real's 6-point lead over Villareal means the boys from the "Yellow Submarine" will need to accumulate at least 7 points more than the men in white, given the head-to-head results between both teams.
It may be the season of peace and goodwill, but all such thoughts of truce are soon put aside when it comes to a game of football between Barcelona and Real Madrid. For only the second time since 1984, the Madrid side emerged victorious and dealt a hammer blow to Barcelona's league hopes, putting seven points between the two sides and ensuring the honorary title of "Winter Champions" at the championship's half-way point. It is by no means a decisive result; they never are this early in the season, but the psychological fall-out at the Nou Camp may become apparent once the winter transfer window opens on January 1st (is Ronaldinho now officially Ronaldo Mk. II?).
Plenty has been said elsewhere about the game itself (check out Steve's Liveblog and Corey's review at The Offside). Having watched Baptista's goal countless times, I am still not sure whether his final touch was a stroke of genius finishing or slightly fluffed. I was also really impressed by Pepe's certainty at the back (and even coming forward occasionally!), taking some (but not all) of the heat off Casillas.
Meanwhile, back in Madrid, Schuster can eat his turkey and turrón, and even his grapes on New Year's Eve having bought himself some breathing space (that is all he can ever do at the helm of this turbulent club). The seven league games before the Champions League restarts in February will give him a chance to consolidate the league leadership.
'Saviola is better than Zidane' - Diario Sport, 2-Nov-2001.
'The fans want Saviola to stay' - Diario Sport, 12-Jan-2007.
'I won't betray Barcelona; I cannot go to Real Madrid. If I leave it will be for new experiences abroad' - Javier Saviola, 10-Feb-2007
'The club has treated him extremely well in his five years here, and he's had excellent contracts, but unfortunately his yield in terms of titles and trophies has been nil' - Joan Laporta, 11-Jul-2007.
'His technique is reminiscent of Michael Owen's, his instinct in front of goal is like Raúl's' - Ramon Calderón, 13-Jul-2007.
El Conejo, as he is known, will have to wait until two days before Christmas to make his return to the Nou Camp, where he will hope his reception is less hostile than what Luis Figo had to face. Barcelona supporters seem split about the move, from wishing him luck, regretful denial (sorry Linda), to outright hostility. Not all Real fans are happy, either.
He will also face some competition in the starting line-up, with Van the man, Raúl, Higuaín and Soldado (returning from his very impressive loan season at Osasuna with an extension to his contract until 2012). They say Schuster prefers to stick to the same set of players and does not rotate often, but then he's not really had to juggle three competitions on the go at the same time at either Getafe or Xerez.
Check out his Goal.com profile, for a hopefully objective summary of his career so far.
Back in 2004, British journalist John Carlin, in his book White Angels published a fascinating insider's view on the whole saga of David Beckham leaving Manchester United and signing for Real Madrid. In it he describes how the Spanish club's marketing director, José Angel Sánchez could not believe his lucky stars when Peter Kenyon, Manchester United's chief executive said he would be prepared to accept £25 million for the England captain. Peanuts!, thought Sánchez, who privately valued Beckham's worth in marketing terms at 500 million euros.
Carlin lays the blame for Manchester United's uncharacteristic lack of financial acumen firmly at the feet of Alex Ferguson, rather than Peter Kenyon's. The United manager's well publicised bust-ups with his player meant that their relationship had irretrievably broken down and Ferguson just wanted to get rid of his troublesome media star.
Earlier this year, half-way through last season, Carlin describes how Beckham has been instrumental in turning Real Madrid into the biggest football brand in the World in marketing terms. He cautions however, that unless footballing success comes for both, the value of the joint brand will diminish.
Hence David Beckham's dilemma in a season where Real Madrid are finally showing some grit and solidity at the back and where they may once again be in contention for a title come next summer, but where the Englishman has been relegated to the bench in the majority of Fabio Capello's line-ups. Can he fight his way back into the starting eleven? Can he cope with just being "one more in the team" should the club win a trophy this season? Can he really do better elsewhere? Will he leave in January? In a recent online poll in Marca, 41% of the voters wanted him to leave, against 59% who wanted him to stay (37% for footballing reasons and 22% for financial reasons).
I have said elsewhere that I expect him to stay this season and to sign a contract extension of at least one year, if not two. To leave in January would mean not being able to compete in Europe as he's cup-tied with Real Madrid. I see no likely candidates for him to go to at the end of the season. There's no point in being the star player in a team that's not going to compete in Europe; that won't promote his brand. His slowness in adapting to life and the language in Spain suggests that he is unlikely to want to move anywhere other than back to England which leaves the following options: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and... Barcelona.
Alex Ferguson has taken some time to rebuild his team following the departure of Beckham and Van Nistelrooy (and others) and is unlikely to welcome him back with open arms. I don't think Mourinho would guarantee a starting place for him just because he's David Beckham, and he has plenty of talent at his disposal. Arsenal and Liverpool are slightly more likely if only because they would like the opportunity to rub it into Manchester United's face, but, in footballing terms, they just don't need him. Barcelona would probably relish the chance of paying Real Madrid back for the Figo incident, the start of the whole galáctico era. Again, I just don't see Rijkaard as being the type of manager who would play Beckham just because he's in the squad; that's not the reputation he has built for himself. Oh yeah, he'd also have to learn Catalan...
In conclusion, David Beckham is no longer an essential element for a team that wants to compete at the highest level. He still has a massive marketing presence, and is therefore very attractive in financial terms. His best bet in my opinion would be to stay at Real Madrid, continue fighting for his place (just like McManaman did when he was judged to be 'surplus to requirements', winning the fans' support in the process) and hope that Real win the trophies that would make his move abroad worthwhile.[Update 29/10/2006: Coincidentally, John Carlin wrote a piece in Sunday's Observer newspaper analysing the plight of David Beckham. He reaches a different conclusion from mine in that he believes Beckham will leave Real Madrid either in January or at the end of the season, but that effectively, he is already on the downhill slope career-wise and that no matter where he ends up, he has little future to speak off. Very depressing. A different view of this article can also be found on Linda's blog, The Beautiful Game]
... we haven't won the League or the Champions League", said Emerson today, referring to Real Madrid's timely victory over Barcelona on Sunday night. Fabio Capello, in the press conference following the end of the game, attributed to himself a large deal of credit for his side's performance: "we are now a team". When asked why now and not a week earlier, he replied "because of the talk I had with the players after Getafe".
The 'talk', rumoured to have consisted of a full-blown scream-fest and threats of contract terminations and watching out the season from the stands seems to have had the desired effect. It helped that Steaua, Real's next opponents, would probably struggle against most teams in the Spanish Primera División and played with a generosity in defence hard to find in the rest of the Champions League. A great morale booster.
It helped that Barcelona met their toughest rivals so far and had their morale dented by a switched-on Chelsea.
It helped that Barcelona took 15 minutes to warm up at the Bernabéu and by that time Raúl had done his "thing", scored once and hit the woodwork once.
It helped that Cannavaro finally decided to display some of the form and class he showed at the World Cup, and that Helguera seems to have been re-born after his inclusion in the starting line-up, creating a wall in the centre of defence, that soaked up the intense pressure Barcelona poured on them for most of the first half.
It helped that Capello is not a proud man, so that Robinho's brand of flashy step-overs and mazy runs has a place in the squad, especially if it inspires his fellow team-mates and gets results.
It helped that the referee did not see fit to send Emerson off for a second bookable offence, after he brought Messi (Barça's best man by far) down once again towards the end of the first half.
It helped that Victor Valdés decided to go out mushroom picking (or something) when he really should have stopped 'van the Man' from scoring Real's second and effectively putting paid to Barcelona's chances.
All in all, there are plenty of reasons why this was just one game, one win, and why Real fans should not let their despair turn to euphoria, just because the 'auld enemy' has been beaten.
But it's hard not to smile when Real Madrid beats Barcelona 
Match report
Contact me
