The rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid – El Clasico
Real Madrid and Barcelona FC share a history unparalleled in the history of football. The Spanish giants have always despised each other and were driven by the desire to outperform their archrivals.
Recently, Barcelona are the club getting all the good headlines and Madrid had to act swiftly in order to overcome their challenge. A number of emerging and experienced players were added to the squad and finally it was handed over to Jose Mourinho for coaching.
The preparations were complete for the ongoing 2010-11 season and Real Madrid looked great in comparison to their opponents.
The first face-off between both sides took place in the last week of November 2010. In the match at Camp Nou, Barcelona ran over Madrid in an imposing manner. The fans of both clubs were treated with a series of El Clasico matches towards the end of this
season. Both teams had to face each other in the second leg of the La Liga and also went against each other in the Copa del Ray final and Champions League semi-final. In a month, Real Madrid and Barcelona met at four different occasions and it was a great
time for each to impose their superiority.
With a comfortable lead in the League, Barcelona first faced Madrid in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu. The match was drawn after both sides scored one goal each from penalty spots. There was not much to separate both teams as Copa del Ray final approached.
It was played on a neutral venue and it had to be decided after a single meeting. Both teams played well but the deadlock could not be broken in regulation time. However, Madrid did fire home the winner in extra time and took home the trophy after a gap of
17 long years.
At that time, it was clear that Real Madrid have grown under Mourinho and the outcome of the Champions League could have gone in anyone’s favour. However, Josep Guardiola’s men resorted to some new tactics where there was an increased frequency of playacting
and exaggeration of injuries. The overreaction resulted in a red card to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 any longer and the Argentinean fired home two goals in quick succession. The second leg lost much of
its importance as Barcelona proceeded with another lacklustre draw in front of their home crowd.
In the end, it can be safely concluded that Real Madrid are going to pose a much bigger challenge to the mighty Barcelona. The title has almost been won but it would not be easy to defend. Also, in terms of one-on-one battles, Madrid have improved as they
finally beat their rivals in the final of Copa del Ray after their last six failed attempts. With slight adjustments in his squad, Mourinho will definitely go for the League title next season.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have a lot to think about. There is no doubt that the Catalans faced Madrid after facing a series of problems in their defence. However, it was their attack that let them down. The problem was that the Catalans knew only one
way to play and Madrid broke their tempo using rugged tactics. This worked well domestically, but in Europe it backfired with a couple of big cards, because of stricter refereeing regulations. Nevertheless, Barcelona have to learn to adapt to the changing
conditions around them and it would be important for their success in the next season.
Also, Barcelona have been vilified in the press a lot after their use of negative tactics. Apparently, these were used in order to get more Madrid players in referee’s books as many of them were on their yellow card limits in the first leg.
In the next season, it would be better if Guardiola lets his football do the talking, like the previous two seasons. Otherwise, Barcelona will lose a lot of fans that they attracted because of their artistic form of football.
Tags: