FC BARCELONA
v
REAL MADRID
Camp Nou, Barcelona
30th November’10, 1:30 AM, IST
The world is ready for the first sight of the spectacle this Monday. It will be the first installment of FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, El Clasico, in this season. Barca started this season on the back of a long world cup campaign which saw most of its first team members return after a tough summer. The long and hard season showed its effect on the player’s which saw them lose their first home match and the sharpness in pressing and finishing went missing. But as the season has progressed, players have found their touch, the pressing has improved, and goals seem to be flowing. Barca seems to be peaking at the right moment. The same could be said about the club from Madrid. Having had one of their worst couple of season’s in-terms of trophies, they are determined to end Barca’s dominance. They have completely revamped their squad and have assembled a squad which could finally end their 4 match losing streak in the Clasico.
Both the teams come to this match with some great results behind them. Barca has scored 23 goals and Madrid has scored 19 in this month in all competitions which shows the fact that both teams are not shy of goals. This Clasico is shaping up into one of the most exciting ever, purely because of the fact that these two are simply the top two teams in whole of Europe because of the quality in them. When these two teams meet on Monday, we will be witnessing almost all of the current world champions, the most expensive footballer, the best midfield pairs, the best goal keeper, the best coaches and arguably the world’s best player, Messi.
Typically an El Clasico is more than just a tactical game. Both teams simply cannot afford to sit back and defend. This is more than just a game between two great clubs. There is more to this game than just a footballing rivalry. Form alone isn’t enough to influence this game and all the previous results count for nothing.
Team News and Tactical Brief
FC Barcelona
There is only one way that Barca is going to approach this game. Their plans A and B are both the same and they simply can’t play any other way. Still they don’t have a fixed system on the field. To put it simply, Barca are a weak team without the ball which makes them more determined to win it back from the opponent. Pressing, passing and movement are the three main ingredients of their game. Barca will squeeze the pitch to half the length to allow their pressing to be effective and aid their passing game. This will come with a very high risk in the form of counter attacks.
The Barca system demands that you keep the ball moving and make yourself available for receiving the ball. The pass and move is very important which is why Xavi and Iniesta become more important for a team like Barca than Messi or Villa. It’s very rare to find a long ball from defence to the final third that would bypass the vision and creativity of Xavi and Iniesta. Xavi will be the one who will be once again the focal point of all that Barcelona would do going forward. Pedro, Messi and Villa would give the Madrid defence a hard time with their movement. Congested space in middle makes the Catalans pass the ball faster, which is where they are deadly. The ball moves faster than the players any day, so if Madrid press hard and Barca succeed in moving the ball faster, in no time we would find the ball with Messi, Villa or pedro in a dangerous position.
Busquets’ role will be critical. He will be having the task of marking Ozil, stealing balls and helping out Xavi. Barca will press hard which means Alonso will have less time on the ball, this is very important because he has excellent vision and his long balls could split open the Barcelona defence. Abidal has the pace to may be stay with their wingers but Alves may find it hard to track back in time since he will also join the attack. Pep will be aware of the threat posed by Ronaldo and Di Maria down the wings so he would hold the lines near the edge of the centre circle. Madrid’s backline would be experiencing a very different attack for the first time. There will be a lot of movement and interchange between Messi, Pedro, Villa and Iniesta.
Pep Guardiola will go with the strongest lineup and the 4-3-3 formation. The midfield will be congested so pedro and Villa will look to stretch the pitch to gain some space to work with. There could be last minute surprises from both the coaches in terms of positioning their players.
Probable Starting Eleven: Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, Villa.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid is coming to Camp Nou this time with a very clear agenda. In Mourinho they have one of the best coaches in the world who knows how to stop the Catalans. Real Madrid is more deadly this time around. With the addition of Ozil and Di Maria, they have two weapons that could open up defences easily. Real’s backline is very strong and stable. They are simply deadly on counter attacks and their attack has such pace that can burn both Pique and Puyol to ashes. They have a very young and dynamic team. Mourinho has managed to play more attractively than he did with Chelsea or Inter and he has got the tools to do so. It’s not wise to expect a parked bus or plane this time from him.
In Alonso and Khedira, they have a more settled midfield that can supply Ronaldo and Di Maria the ammunitions to wreck havoc. Both will also have an important job to nullify Messi and co. Both Marcelo and Ramos are excellent going forward and joining the attack. Ozil is technically gifted and has excellent movement on and off the ball. Ronaldo and Di Maria can own the flanks and are deadly cutting in from wings as well. Pace is their raw material for attack. The high line of Barca will be ideal for them to play this game. Alonso can supply from deep with long passes and Ozil can supply with short passes. This looks ominous and can make any team go into a defensive shield just by seeing the players. But in this match, they have a different opponent who would want the control of the ball and will be willing to fight for it all day long. Mourinho knows the fact that if Barca succeeds in passing the ball faster, he could lose the midfield battle which may eventually be the difference between the two teams. So Alonso and Khedira will be given extra defensive jobs than they usually have in other matches, keeping in mind the off the ball movement of Barca’s attack.
Apart from all the attacking skills of Ozil, his defensive skills will also be on test as he would also have to spend some time restricting threats from Xavi and Iniesta. Further upfront, Mourinho has very good options in Higuain and Benzema. One area that Madrid are much stronger than Barca is the threat they poses from set pieces. Real Madrid looks ready to take on its adversary, but the fact that this Madrid team has so many young players who lack a bit of experience could be a factor at some point.
Real would probably start with a 4-2-3-1 formation with both Alonso and Khedira sitting in front of their central defenders. Gonzalo Higuain is nursing a back injury and could be doubtful.
Probable Starting Eleven: Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Ozil, Di Maria, Ronaldo, Higuain.
Key Facts
1. Mourinho has never managed to win at Camp Nou.
2. Barca has never managed to defeat Madrid five times consecutively.
TheHardTackle’s PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR
Iniesta (Barcelona): This clash is more than just a Messi v Ronaldo show. A coach of Jose’s pedigree would not underestimate another equally deadly component in the Barcelona attack – Andres Iniesta. You throw any congested midfield and this man can navigate through it with such ease and comfort that makes this game beautiful to watch. It’s very hard to tackle him cleanly and even harder to get the football off him. He is the link between Xavi and the front three. Iniesta on the ball means a possible yellow card for the opposition any time they tackle and an anxiety for the defense because of his vision. His combination play with Xavi and Messi will be difficult for Madrid’s defense to predict and defend.
TheHardTackle’s PREDICTION
FC Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid
TheHardTackle’s BLAST FROM THE PAST
– Aaron Schweitzer