No need for that dude. We lost. Doesn't matter what we did last year. We just need to see what positives we can get from this game and move forward, not look backwards.
To clarify my post from the previous thread- I had said that Barcelona still need to prove themselves. By this, I mean that they don't hand trophies out in December... and they still need to win down the stretch in April and May against teams that will be playing for their survival in La Liga and at a time when Barcelona might be juggling fixtures in two other competitions. They won tonight, fair to them... but it wasn't a 5-0 victory that everyone was expecting.
Let the Barca fans have their fun, they haven't beaten RM since 2005. They've seen RM practically grab a title away from them in the last game of the 2006-07 season and get swept last year. They suffered quite a bit over the years. RM won't let this happen again or often. Now I want to quote redstriker from the previous thread. "Barcelona still needs to prove itself. Their manager is inexperienced and was an overrated cheat as a player (tested positive for Naldorone). So let's see how he does when the pressure is heaped on him, when he has to deal with a rash of injuries, or a couple of suspensions... yeah the media lauding his genius now, but he is riding on the coattails of Frank Riijkaard. What did he do today? He looked like a worried little boy to me... if that is the best you can do, in your own stadia against a team with 9 players out (8 due to injury, that is a third of the squad!) then you are in for one hell of a fight come 2009". I think you make an interesting point. Let's see how Pep deals with adversity into the season. They will lose momentum at some point, either through player's egos, injuries, suspensions, what not. He has kept a cool head and so far has the team under his grasp for now. But when things start to falter we will truly see how good a coach he is. I do agree that he was an overrated player in his time. He was no Xavi, that's for damn sure. 12 points is not impossible, especially since there's more than 20 games left in the season. The things I want to see from RM is if they can sustain this type of level they showed tonight for the rest of the way. If they can do that, I can see them making big strides, especially when they get their players back. I also think they need to clean up in the January window. I am usually against such things but since they've lost so many players to injury I fully approve their assault on the transfer window coming up. As for Barca proving themselves, they are already doing that. What they've done so far may be enough to grab the title. But I don't see them running all this season scotfree. Hurdles will come ahead for them. RM now have no room for error whatsoever. Schuster dug them quite a hole, so deep that not even Juande and money can possibly save them. But I have faith, there's nothing left but faith.
Well my post was the last one in the other thread. Anyway: - The Good: That Palanca guy. Great future for that kid. - The Bad: The defense. Only Ramos looks solid. - The Ugly: Drenthe. Hard work spoiled by selfishness.
I`m proud of my boys, and they performed much better than I expected. I thought the defensive strategy was the best plan considering our circumstances. I thought going into this match that we would be torn apart, but we werent. I was very disappointed Drenthe couldnt convert that great chance. He really choked that time. But we can really use his raw athleticism (the man can run!). I hope he refines his game and his decisions in time, as I said before. Really f*cking great to have the Saint back! What a game by Iker, I hope this is a turning point for him this season. He seemed to have wanted it more than anyone in our team today, and that`s saying alot considering the heart we showed. Id like to see more chances for Palanca. He looked pretty clever a couple times when he got the ball. I think he deserves more playing time. And our defense looked pretty solid for once. I wonder how much of it has to do with Juande? Overall, I was very pleased with the performance, and I think we all agree that the scoreline doesnt do our effort justice. We didnt get trounced and we made a fight of it. We proved we`re still dangerous and we made those cules sweat the whole game, away from home with half our squad. I regret doubting our boys. Hala Madrid.
Being ok for 83" is not enough. Besides, frankly, Barça didn't play a great game today. Besides some sparks by Messi, they were a mess in front. The whole RM team deserves a kudos though. Considering all the injuries, all the players unable to play, being visitors and facing a team that on paper is at this moment the best of the world, it was a great display. But, truth be told, it's mostly that they disappointed. I think the RM could have won this one, with some better defending (Eto'o's goal was a defensive mistake by Salgado, for example) and if Drenthe had been able to score.
It was only one lapse in concentration during the corner kick that caught the defense (I believe Salgado?) off-guard. Other than that the defense was rock-solid.
our best game of the season all things considering imho. very proud of the atitude and effort by all today. just ran out of steam in the last 10 mins.
Well, let's see what happens in the transfer window. I know Juande is nuts for the Russian duo of Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko. We will see what Calderon can do. Expect some players to come in. His job is also on the line so he needs to make things happen. Complacency is something he can't afford.
Being ok? I'm sure that you are aware that we were playing against the top scoring team in the world who have shredded anything that came in front of them. And to be honest with our defensive mess - injuries, suspensions, players played out of position, they deserve a little more credit than OK And to add to that, both the goals were nothing to be too proud of.
I just read that Soccernet piece. What a load of crock... for some reason or another, the English media has fallen in love with Barcelona. They totally ignore the fact that we won back-to-back La Liga titles and until we kick some serious ass in the CL, it will stay this way. We did not go out tonight with intent to foul Messi. Was he fouled? Yes. But after the first five minutes of the game he disappeared (thanks to Sergio Ramos), we played well that's why Messi didn't impose his will on the game.
Let's be real here...some of the fouls were a bit agricultural...Drenthe's particularly stands out but I am not sure how much of that was venomous intent and how much was just bad tackling
I agree, I think most of them were just bad/late tackles. I dont think they meant to hurt Messi/whoever else at all.
the fouls were meant to intimidate Messi more than anything else. If only we had a healthy squad *sighs* Barca can't even "own" an injury plagued team with no LB's at Camp nou, ROTFL.
Seems I'm a bit late for the discussion, but I have a few thoughts (of course) I'm proud of the heart and determination we showed. Cannavaro was right when he said the team was prepared to die on the pitch if necessary. We closed the space between our lines well, defended as a unit, displayed terrific team spirit, and I was surprised how quickly we mustered 9 players behind the ball whenever Barca advanced. Excellent. Was it perfect? No, but I think the team did the best they could do today. And there are a couple of positives: *Palanca: what a debut. Promising player. Didn't look nervous or scared at all. First time I've seen this one play, and I hope to see him again. *Drenthe: This kid's got some speed. Won a lot of the 1v1 battles with Alves, now he just needs some polishing. Helped a lot defending, too. *Welcome back, Iker. The only concern I have is how many times we kicked at Messi's feet/heels. It's no different than when we complain that other teams focus on "kicking Guti out of the game". We don't like it when it happens to one of our players, and I hope this isn't an indicator of things to come. Was it vicious? No, and he made every little kick seem like a gunshot wound, but obviously the plan was to take him out of the game by fouling him. Lastly, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Medina Cantalejo actually called a pretty good game. For a change, he wasn't the pivotal piece of controversy to this game. In fact, I don't recall a controversial point to this one.