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| [photo by Oscar Gomez] |
- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
With world class players in both teams, ‘El Clásicos’ never fail to disappoint. The games between the two always produces goals and both teams have an assest of two of the best players in the world at this present time.
Real Madrid possess the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has pace, strength, blessed with unique skills and his ability to go pass players and score every type of goal possible. He has had his most prolific season as a player. Barcelona, on the other hand, have a genius in their team. He goes by the name of Lionel Messi. He’s quick, has amazing trickery, the ball’s glued to his feet and he’s scored some of the best goals ever. He has become the first ever player to score 50 goals in one season in the Spanish League. He has the world at his feet and you can only sit and admire at what he does on a football pitch. You could go as far as saying that he’s the Maradonna of today, and some could argue, maybe greater.
Despite Ronaldo and Messi being the best players in the world, both teams have players blessed with quality. Madrid have the likes of Casillias, Ramos, Kaka, Benzema and Higuain to name a few, while the Catalan giants have the likes of Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Villa to suggest a few. Both teams have their respective ways of playing and that’s down to the great managers both teams have.
Jose Mourinho, the manager of Real Madrid, has won many trophies with the likes of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and now at Real Madrid. On the other hand, Guardiola is in his third season of managing Barcelona, and won the treble in his first. He has developed a philosphy at Barcelona and arguably, has created the best club team ever. I certainly know that the current Barcelona team are the best ever team I’ve witnessed since I’m been watching football.
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| [photo by Oscar Gomez] |
The first game was at the Camp Nou where Barcelona convincingly thrashed Madrid 5-0. However, since that defeat, Madrid have grown stronger as a team and Mourinho may have figured out a way to stop Barcelona playing. The word aggressive may come to mind. In the second league game of the season, Mourinho was criticized for negative tactics. The result was 1-1, with Messi and Ronaldo both breaking their ducks. It was both of their first goals in El Clásico. It could be argued that the league game was the least important out of the four, as Barcelona were eight points clear of Madrid, and the title look destined to head to Barcelona.
However, the Copa Del Rey Final did have it’s moments of flowing football and it was a nervy occasion which left the crowd on the edge of their seats. The match went to extra time, with the score being 0-0 after 90 minutes, but a well worked Madrid set up allowed Ronaldo to score a header in the 102 minute. Throughout the game, Mourinho used aggresive tactis to get at Barcelona and that proved effective. Real Madrid and Mourinho had mastered a victory over Barcelona and it was Mourinho’s first trophy at Madrid, but the real question remains, can Madrid produce the same result in the Champions League, when it matters most, or was this victoy a one off?
The Champions League Semi Final between the two Spanish giants will be a test of character to players and the managers of both teams. This is the trophy both teams really want to win, especially Real Madrid, who last won it in 2002; the era of the ‘Galaticos’. The real test will be what team will be able to handle the pressure, who can handle the occasion mentally, and who will be more hungry to reach the final in Wembley. Despite the last two games between the two not being the greatest, rest assured, the semi final will be of a different class. Both teams will surely go out and attack and want this more then ever.
This will be the last chapter of ‘El Clásico’ this season and it’s one not to be missed. Two of the biggest clubs in world football, battling it out for a place in the final at Wembley in Europe’s most prestigious club competition – the Champions League.
