El Clasico II pre-match comment
El Clasico is one of the greatest football match in the world. Real Madrid CF versus FC Barcelona. The rivalry between two greatest clubs in Spain prove it. Not only in term of sports but also the political. This time again second El Clasico will be played in front of 80,000 at Madrid. Last season El Clasico was a total humiliation for Barca. They lost both. But the most painful lost is at Bernabeu. They were slumped to 4-1 defeat at Madrid. They even did ‘Guard of Honour’ to Madrid before kicks-off. Guard of Honour is the traditional style in Spain. The newly-crown champion will be given tribute & respect by their opponent. The rivalry among these clubs is considered as at very high intense level. The first Clasico at Nou Camp, Madrid lost 2-0. Goals scored by Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi. One of the interesting fact for the Clasico II is that only 800 seats provided to Barca fans. There will be a very different atmosphere. Even there will be veterans match between Madrid Veterans and Barca Veterans on Friday. Madrid plan to use their fans to beat Barca. Definitely they have the advantage.
Both team have very tough fixture, but Barca is much harder. After Chelsea, now Madrid, then Chelsea again. That 3 games were played within a week. The level of fatigue among Barca players should be one of the factors should they lost at Madrid. Messi himself played 270 minutes in Barca’s last 3 games. While Madrid have all week to prepare for Clasico II, Barca only have few days to prepare. It is still unsure who are going to be fielded as starter for both team. The current champion really believe they can win the game and the league. Some people even said that Barca is under pressure and lost to Madrid could result in very dangerous situation for them. There is 4 points different between Barca and Madrid. Should the league to be decided based on head-to-head result, Madrid must win Clasico II with 3 goals deficit. It is not an easy task for Juande Ramos’ men. Barca never lost with 3 goals deficit this season. There is only 1 difficult match for Barca in the league after Clasico II. The match against Villareal. However, Madrid still have to visits Mestalla and El Madrigal.
All Barca key players should be available except Gabriel Milito and Rafael Marquez. Meanwhile for Madrid, they were to be without Guti, Wesley Sneijder, and of course Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Mahamadou Diarra and Ruben De la Red. Most of football fans were mesmerized with Barca’s gameplay this season. Even some of them said this Barca is the best ever in Barca history. Their three-pronged attacker is considered as the best in the world. 90 goals between them must really mean something. Back to Madrid, they are not at the best form despite their series of streak. In their old days game, Madrid and Barca gameplay were very similar. These days, Madrid under Ramos is much defensive. It is still unknown and hard to predict how the game will be played. Barca is a dominant team. Madrid’s last game at Seville was a dominant one. Both team must win the game to win the title. Madrid is very desperate right now. This will be different Clasico than the first.
Intense, pressure, fatigue, and individualistic are some of the terms that looked suitable for this Clasico. I am expecting a good game from both team, be it Madrid or Barca. It will be an open game. Its 50-50. Believe me, there will be no one-sided game. Flair, skills, high-tempo, swift counter-attack, one-touch build-up, threaded pass and top notch goalkeeping are what I expecting from this game.
Still I have to predict for this game. Surely I will go for Madrid. Same as many Madrid veterans predicting. Win this game, we will win the league. More specific? Okay, 3-0 for Madrid. Hala Madrid!!!
