Recall the image on Tom's face when he just misses out on catching Jerry. Or that on the visage of George W. Bush when he finally realises that the world does not trust him anymore. Better still, the look on the face of a pre-adolescent when he or she comes to grip with the stark, naked truth that Santa Claus is no one other than his very own father dressed in a weird white beard and red coat bought on the cheap.
That was precisely the look on the faces of everyone related to Real Madrid on May 2, 2009 when galaxies fell apart and the sky dropped down on the Bernabeu. That evening was supposed to drill a very important nail in Barcelona's coffin. Sandwiched between the two legs of their Champions League semi-final tie with Chelsea, El Clasico was supposed to trim the gap between Barca and Madrid to just a solitary point. Since the first clasico of that season, Madrid had been chasing their arch nemesis with gusto, 'booting' and 'boring' their path to victories and suddenly they had a genuine chance of stabbing their foes in the back.
Only, they couldn't. A somewhat freakish but largely symptomatic 6-2 result in favour of Barcelona subjectively terminated Madrid's refurbished title dreams and effectively ended Juande Ramos's reign as the 'Casa Blanca' coach. It also pushed them to a record equaling five successive league defeats that bore resemblance to a depressive unable to come to terms with a failed marriage. It also led to the return of the man aptly defined by one columnist as "football's greatest romantic or perhaps its greatest cynic".
One of the many reasons for Florentino Perez's money-splashing stance in the summer was to match Barcelona. If that derbi humiliation confirmed anything, then it was that Madrid didn't have the individuals and perhaps even the unit to match what was and perhaps still is the best football team in the world. Goals came but lack of width and dearth of creativity down the middle conjoined with occasional defensive lapses made Madrid far inferior to their archrivals. Madrid played with two defensive-minded midfielders and conceded less but couldn't score many.
This time, though, it is different, as different as chalk and cheese. This time, if there is any team that can match Barcelona player-by-player, it is Real Madrid. The Blancos are not yet settled as a team but Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Pepe, Raul Albiol and Iker Casillas are, collectively, second best only to or maybe even at par with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol and Xavi.
Which is why this match, which was once upon a time the biggest on the planet, is the biggest in the universe. Which, in turn, almost obliges Manuel Pellegrini to avenge the 6-2 humiliation of last season. Which, let's admit, won't happen in terms of the scoreline; there are no odds for Madrid winning 6-2 at Camp Nou. Yet the visitors could win.
Juande Ramos's tactics in his six or so months at the Bernabeu weren't the most pristine but they were effective nevertheless. His first league game was against Barcelona in Catalunya and although it was cynical in its highest degree - the Madrid players took turns to boot the opposition always taking care not to commit two fouls in succession to hoodwink the referee - it did stave off the Catalans until the 83rd minute.
Almost five months later, the former Sevilla boss took an almost diametrically opposite approach when the two goliaths met again and when Gonzalo Higuain scored in the 14th minute it did seem to reap dividends. What happened next should be taught in schools and universities.
Manuel Pellegrini would know more than others what Barca's strengths and Madrid's weaknesses are. As was evident in the Blaugrana's demolition of Inter in midweek, if you allow the Catalans to have all the possession in the world, they will find a way to rip you apart. Of course, Inter don't have the players to counter Guardiola's entertainers and Madrd have, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Barca's obsessively possessive football is their main strength.
Defending for 90 minutes at Camp Nou could well garner a point for Madrid - and indeed both Rubin Kazan and Inter have exhibited that if you can hold your defensive line well and hit Barca on the counter, you do stand a chance against the European champions - but it wouldn't suit Perez's claim to make Madrid the most exotic footballing machine in the world.
Moreover, although Madrid's defence isn't bad - they have kept the most number of clean sheets in Spain - but collectively the players have been prone to mistakes and could slip up against the world's best player (Messi, if he plays), best central midfielder (Xavi) and best attacking midfielder (Iniesta).
Last season, Juande took a defensive approach at Camp Nou because it was "impossible" to do anything otherwise and his attacking tendency at the Bernabeu was appropriate but failed because he didn't have the requisite players. This time Madrid have the players but not the consistency. Which is why a more pragmatic approach and keeping an eye on the balance on attack and defence would be more appropriate.
Madrid need not inject a dose of 'Capelloism' in their game and neither should they play Barcelona-esque football: the key lies somewhere in-between. The key also lies in not letting Barca dominate possession and territory from the first minute, something that was instrumental in the ridiculous collapse of Inter on Tuesday.
Because if you give Barcelona the ball, they will never give it back.
Reviewed by Unknown
on
3:50 PM
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