10 Immediate Reactions from Camp Nou
Posted on January 25, 2012 10:56 pm
1.- Before the first goal, the match was quite similar to the Supercopa one. Real Madrid going on the offensive, pressing very high and Barça struggling to get comfortable. Particularly impressive were Özil, Kaka and Ronaldo, who are not reputed for their work-rate and were tracking back and helping recover the ball.
2.- I have never seen the Camp Nou react so furiously to a player as it did with Pepe. The Portuguese was jeered and booed every time he touched the ball, and chants of “ese portugués, hijo de puta es” (that Portuguese is a son of a bitch) surfaced every now and then. The only player to have got a similar treatment was another Portuguese, Figo, for entirely different reasons.
3.- The first goal was finished by Pedro but scored by Messi. His inside move, attracting Madrid’s three defenders to release number 17 was a stroke of genius.
4.- Lass Diarra should have been sent off for an ugly foul on Messi, that deserved a second yellow. The referee cowardly kept the card on his pocket but the Gods of Football made Madrid pay back as Alves pounced on a rebound from the ensuing free kick to score a fantastic thunderbolt.
5.- With the 2-0 the Camp Nou decided to have fun at Jose Mourinho’s expense. Barça’s faithful started to chant “We love you Mourinho, please stay”, and the traditional “olé” accompanied every blaugrana pass. The match was certainly over…
6.- Only it wasn’t. Sergio Ramos headed home a corner kick, only to see it rightly disallowed by a foul on Alves. A few minutes later, Cristiano made it 1-2 with an exceptional individual effort. And then Benzema scored the equalizer after a huge mistake by the Barcelona defense.
7.- It was a deserved reward for the best Real Madrid that had stepped at the Camp Nou in the Mourinho era. The merengues fought for every ball, never stopped running and always believed in themselves.
8.- The stadium was a bag of nerves. The away side seemed exhausted by the effort and Barça’s recovered control of the match but every time Madrid had the ball the stadium held a collective breath, especially on set pieces. The hosts generated a couple of good chances, one wasted by Messi and the other by Pedro.
9.- With two minutes to go, Ramos was sent off after elbowing Busquets. As usual, Pepe should have also seen a red card after a cynical elbow on Cesc twenty minutes before. Even in their best match against Barça in the last two years, that’s the only thing that could be recriminated to the Blancos, their constant fouling.
10.- And in the end, Barça prevailed by the slimmest of margins. And even then, you could feel that Madrid left the pitch as moral winners. They didn’t lose at the Camp Nou and were really close of winning. It will be an exciting second half of the season. No doubt.
I would feel like a loser if I got knocked out of a cup competition. Even if I tied or won an individual game.
then you’ll never be a better player
I wish I had these guys problems. This soap opera is almost as good as Downton Abbey.
Well, at least the cup won’t be dropped for a second time.
Absolutely agree with point 9
I thought Barca won?
Well since you were a Barca supporter at the stadium is not particularly surprising that you are off on a few of the points.
2. Figo was much worse.
3. Typical overvaluation of Messi’s play. His reputation scored that goal, the defense collapsed on him (idiotically so) and it was quite simple to dish the ball out to one of the 2 (or was it 3?) waiting and wide open Barca players ready to shoot. Gifted goal, not genius goal.
4. Lass’s first yellow card was soft and besides that the ref was fairly light on the cards in the first half, would have been dangerously inconsistent to give a second yellow for that tackle. I’d say the ref was brave not to be bullied into the card that 95k people were demanding of him… but yeah being fair to the away team in a highly charged arena is definitely cowardice. That said, fantastic strike by the diminutive diver (talking about Alves this time.)
5. Mou deserves to be trolled every chance possible,live by the sword right?
6. I agreed on the foul in live action. On replay I do not, especially given that it make no sense that a Ramos would need to foul an Alves in order to reach an aerial ball. The physics also don’t make sense given that Ramos is seeming to throw Alves down and jump up at the same time… which unless Alves has the weight not much more than the football itself is pretty close to impossible. Can’t blame the ref though, as not even with instant replay can I be certain of the fact.
7. Madrid looked pretty good in the CL match at Camp Nou last season, maybe not as good but pretty close.
9. Cesc’s dive gets no sympathy from me, esecially after that nasty achilles shot he gave Pepe. It was absurd to throw Ramos off, which was demonstrated by the fact that Sergio took it so serenely. The fact of the matter remains that in this rivalry, both teams play physical football, often times it is Barcelona that sets the precedent in this regard.
10. Barca were the winners. They likely have the CdR in the bag, but off all the spoils that is the least tantalizing. As much as you decry la liga as being a tale of two teams, it requires mind boggling consistency to take home 100+ points a season and Madrid might just be the more consistent team this season. If/when the two teams meet up in the CL it will be cracker… even if it is the 7th or 8th meeting this season.
The primadona bitches who play these clasicos is laughable. Great football players, but what a bunch of spoiled crybaby losers, whiners and complainers. Collectively, I’ve never seen worse than when these 2 teams play. Sublime football, but sickening behavior.
Why the hell would any referee take this match? I’d rather ref Liverpool/Man U, AC Milan/Inter or Chelsea/anyone than take this cesspool of an assignment.
More divers than the Olympics, half the time even at super slo-mo you can’t tell if someone’s being fouled or if the other player is making a meal of it.
When they’re not going off the high board both teams try to knock the crap out of each other, the difference is RM isn’t as good at concealing it.
Make a good call? You have 6-7 players yelling, gesturing and surrounding you from the other team. Make a bad call? The same thing.
AND, even if RM wins Mourinho will have you for dinner with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Glad I just have Highschoolers to ref, where the most I deal with is a few hundred parents. I can hardly watch these “Class-less-icos” anymore.
About Martin del Palacio
My name is Martín del Palacio Langer, I live in Barcelona and I'm a freelance contributor to FIFA.com, World Soccer magazine, Kicker, MedioTiempo.com, PasionSports and some other publications around the world. I love the tactical and statistical side of football but understand that passion is the most important ingredient in the game. Hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to contact me in the comments section or in www.twitter.com/martindelpENG (for English) and www.twitter.com/martindelp (for Spanish)Popular Store Items
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