Didnât see much of that except I caught the goal as I was leaving for the Pogues gig. Quality passing and a great finish.
Had another scout of Barcelona last night as they defeated Osasuna 1-0 at home through a late Xavi goal. Again, they were largely unimpressive throughout and there was little cohesion about them despite the individual talents they possess. Henry and Messi were both substituted at 0-0 and Ronaldinho only came on after Dos Santos. I believe Ronaldinho played most of a Super Cup game on Thursday night as he returns from injury but he didnât look all that sharp last night, though he was only on for the last 10-15 minutes. Puyol is out of the Celtic game now too through injury so itâll be interesting to see what way they line up at the back. Marquez was moved into midfield last night but I expect heâll revert to centre back alongside Milito. Deco looks to have lost a yard of pace also so overall I wasnât that displeased at what I was seeing. Real Madrid lost 2-0 to Almeria on Saturday night so it was a big result for Barcelona.
You have to say we have a league on our hands now. The very fact that Barcelona are picking up points and are now just 6 behind means that they do have a squeak of winning it.
Canât disagree with the comments on the way theyâre playing - terribly. Celtic couldnât be getting them at a better time, and Iâll be backing Celtic to qualify if I can find a decent price.
Watched the second half of that game too. It was crucial that they won with Real having slipped up but they didnât really look like scoring for most of the second half. I thought Dos Santos looked their most threatening player but more through enthusiasm than actual skill.
Xavi took the goal very well despite Francis saying it was a bit scrappy - the same Francis who last week commented on how unusual it was to see Guti taking a free kick with his left foot, given how right footed he is. Fool.
I thought it was funny how long it took the commentators to identify Xavi. They were silent for a good 2 minutes during the pileup and then waited for the replay to identify him - even then they were just ruling people out as they touched the ball to see who was left.
Thatâs because they generally commentate from the studios back in London bar for a handful of the really big games when they bother to go over. If the TV angle isnât great or if a player is obscured by other bodies then thereâs often big periods of silence as they await the replay to identify who was involved. It used to be funny back in the day when Gerry Armstrong did both the co-commentary and then the punditry too. In the first half theyâd be creating the impression that they were actually over at the games and Gerry would regularly make comments such as âitâs a terrific atmpsphere here inside the stadium tonight.â Then theyâd go to ads at half time and after the break youâd see Gerry sitting there ready to talk through the main incidents in the first half.
I know that. Gerry once complained about the lifts in the stadium when referencing his trip from the commentary booth down to the studio that he claimed was in the Bernabeu.
Itâs just ridiculous that they pretend to be on the games. Yesterday they said something about Ronaldinho looking much slimmer even from this distance away - implying they were seated in the stand somewhere.
Just thought it was funny yesterday because they didnât cover it up very well and I can imagine the hand signals between them off camera as they struggled to guess who might have scored.
Agreed with the above but itâs all a bit of fun - imagine how much more our Sky subs would be if they were holed up in the stadium for every game. AFAIK they only go over twice a season - for the two Madrid-Barcelona games.
And when they do they make a big deal of being there, with the camera panning out from them in the stadium. Then they begin to rabbit on about tickets fetching 4 figure sums while my mates are outside the ground buying them for 150 or 200.
[quote=âSledgehammerâ]Agreed with the above but itâs all a bit of fun - imagine how much more our Sky subs would be if they were holed up in the stadium for every game. AFAIK they only go over twice a season - for the two Madrid-Barcelona games.
And when they do they make a big deal of being there, with the camera panning out from them in the stadium. Then they begin to rabbit on about tickets fetching 4 figure sums while my mates are outside the ground buying them for 150 or 200.[/quote]
Yeah, I agree with that too but itâs just funny sometimes when they either pretend theyâre at the ground or when thereâs a big void / huge silence as theyâre awaiting a replay. Trevor Francis is an imbecile as a co-commentator / pundit and heâs now been dropped somewhat by Sky and is getting the âforeignâ football gigs having been overtaken by Alan Smith and David Platt as their main EPL co-commentators other than Andy Gray. I still think itâs funny that Warren Barton has managed to get his foot in the door there and become a La Liga and South American football expert - 'We was seeing a struggling Barca side in the first half and they done nuffink in the attacking âfird.â Itâs not an intelligence competition but itâs generally better when a co-commentator has a basic grasp of the English language.
Couldnât agree more. Barton falls into the trap of his knowledge of Spanish football being limited to the top 2 teams in the league, and every single aspect of the game is looked at from their point of view. Like, why is Barcelona/Madrid not 2-0 up after 10 minutes? What could the problem be? The most irritating part of all is the tendency to refer to the opposition as âthe home teamâ or âthe away teamâ, when theyâre playing one of the big two. Couple that with his mangling of both the Enlgish language and the Spanish pronunciations and itâs not a pleasant viewing experience at all.
âIker Casillas and Raul have both agreed to stay with the club for the rest of their sporting lives. On this day, which is Valentineâs Day, Iker, Raul and Real can say they love each other, they need each other, and complement each other and will commit for lifeâ - Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon puts paid to the myth that his clubâs goalkeeper and star striker are just good friends.
Two Warren Bartonisms from Athletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao last night:
âBilbao have a lot of young players who are hungry and determination.â
And after the Athletico centre back Pablo got away with a nasty off-the-ball elbow:
âBolton might want to send a video of that into the Spanish FA with the second leg coming up this week.â
I think Warren forgot that La Liga and the UEFA Cup are two separate competitions in terms of potential suspensions handed out.
I think heâs improving slightly in terms of knowledge, but it was painful again over the weekend.
Madrid one down at home to Getafe. Madrid scored but the goal was ruled offside, the Getafe players asked if they could take the free kick quickly and the ref said go ahead so they went downfield and scored while 6 Madrid players were still celebrating in the corner!
could be a massive swing in the title race after Barca thumping Levante earlier
Madrid have been absolutely shocking - could be a much tighter title race than it looked a couple of weeks ago.
Its one of them things. Real are doing what Barca did last year and throwing La Liga away.
Thatâs gas. Although they were the last match in an accumalator for me, but still you have to laugh.
Sid Loweâs weekly La Liga article: (cracking reference to Prince Harry in the Getafe goal description)
Nice-guy Laudrup puts Bara back in the race
Victory over Real Madrid reopened La Liga and underlined Getafeâs progress under Michael Laudrup
Dr Sid Lowe
February 25, 2008 3:23 PM
That Michael Laudrup is a smashing chap. As devilishly handsome as he is angelically wholesome, the footballer who led Barcelona to a 5-0 win over Real Madrid, changed sides and led Madrid to a 5-0 win over Barcelona. He only has to stroll by for girls to start ovulating, boys to start dribbling and grannies to start cooing, itching to wipe his cheek with spit on a hankie. A thoroughly nice bloke, he is impeccably mannered, ludicrously pleasant and immensely talented, with a hint of mischief behind that cherubic smile.
Eating in a Madrid restaurant back in 1996, a fellow diner overheard Laudrup talking about retiring and leaving the city. His name was Juan Carlos I. Leaning over, he whispered: âThatâs good news. Iâll be the only King in Madrid again,â which pretty much says it all. Some say thereâs a dark side, but everyone loves Laudrup. The Danes love him, voting him the most trustworthy person in the country; Madrid fans love him, lauding him for those impossible passes; and, uniquely, Bara fans love him too, forgiving him for ending a run of four successive league titles for Bara by leaving to win one with Madrid, melted by his decency and vulnerability and oddly uncomfortable about how they treated him on his return to Camp Nou.
They certainly love him today. Because, despite the best efforts of useless lunatic Hristo Stoichkov, mumbling, bumbling buffoon Jos Mara Bakero and Ronald Koemanâs travelling circus, Laudrup last night proved that playing for the Dream Team doesnât necessarily make you a dreadful coach. And he proved as much by giving Bara a bunk-up to within touching distance of Real Madrid, leaving El Mundo Deportivo screaming âtwo points!â and Marca declaring, âHay ligaâ: there is a league.
Indeed there is. Bara had just won 5-1 against Levante, with Samuel Etoâo scoring his first league hat-trick and Leo Messi looking unbelievably good, when Laudrupâs Getafe emerged from the tunnel at the Santiago Bernabu. They had five players injured, another at his fatherâs funeral, and two of their best three midfielders watching in the stands, victims of one of Madridâs competition-tampering crapping-yourself-clauses - two players responsible for twelve strikes and four assists (over half of the sideâs goals). Theyâd played on Thursday and were, said Laudrup, more interested in defeating Murcia than Madrid. The same Madrid that had won 18 consecutive home matches.
But still Getafe achieved a first ever Bernabu victory, winning 1-0 thanks to a great tactical display, superb defending, and the silliest goal of the season.
The clock showed 62.59 when Arjen Robben put Ralâs ball into the net. Racing to the corner, he leapt in the air celebrating. A crowd of team-mates joined him, jumping on board and somehow managing not to injure him. Unfortunately, they also managed not to see the linesman standing right next to them, his arm raised like Prince Harry at a fancy dress party. Over in the middle, Ral and Ruud van Nistelrooy were busy scratching their heads, when a bemused look came across Robbenâs face. The referee had (rightly) disallowed the goal for offside. David Belenguer took the free-kick quickly and Francisco Casquero was through a midfield as gloriously uninhabited as Jos Antonio Reyesâs head. A ball to Pablo Hernndez, a return to Ikechukwu Uche, a first-time finish and Getafe were one up. The clock read 63.26. It wasnât quite the win-the-league-in-eighteen-seconds madness of last season but, in just 27 seconds, this yearâs title race had come alive. Suddenly, Baraâs destiny was in their own hands.
âThere is a league,â declared Marca, âbecause Madrid are a bunch of country bumpkins.â Up in the directorsâ box, Pedja Mijatovic was ignoring President Tourettesâs claim that only little clubs cry and blame the ref - just for a change, like - but AS agreed with Marca. They splashed âcountry bumpkinsâ across their cover, adding: âWhile Madrid celebrated a disallowed goal, Getafe scored a real one.â âWe committed the kind of mistake you expect from four-year-olds,â moaned Guti, leaving the Bernabu on his trike.
And yet it wasnât just about the goal, and for Getafe it wasnât just about last night. With Laudrup developing a closer relationship with his players than he did in winning a league and two cups at Brondby - partly because his assistant John Jensen (yes, that one) hardly speaks Spanish - Getafe play neat, incisive football and now sit just four points off next seasonâs Uefa Cup. Meanwhile, theyâre the only Spanish side left in this seasonâs version and on Thursday face Racing Santander in the semi-final of the Cup, making them the only side apart from Bara still alive in all competitions. Which isnât bad for a club playing only their fourth-ever season in the First Division, with a budget a tenth of Madridâs, and the worst average attendance in primera, where many are Atlti fans and the president is Real Madrid member No 33,131; for a club where the most talented player in training is the coach, one that started the season with no wins in seven, second bottom.
But even when he had his doubts, Getafe president ngel Torres never wavered over his coach. The players took advantage of a trip to the podologist to work through their problems, Laudrup too found his feet, and Getafe soon started getting results.
Which is exactly the point. Forget the idiots sinking clubs elsewhere - under ngel Torres, Getafe have had stability, a clear sense of direction and identity. Laudrup fits the same model as Quique Snchez Flores and Bernd Schuster - young, intelligent former players cutting their managerial teeth - and Getafeâs progress has been steady and unrelenting. When they came up, no one gave them a chance, but Getafe have survived comfortably, finishing 13th, 9th and 9th. Last night might have been their first win at the Bernabu, but theyâve beaten Madrid at home - not once, but twice; and they may be in this seasonâs Copa del Rey semis, but last year they got to the final. While Michael Laudrup is a very, very nice bloke and an impressive coach, the man really working miracles down at the Alfonso Prez Coliseum is the president.
Results: Valencia 1-1 Racing (and so far itâs a draw in court too: more next week); Sevilla 5-0 Zaragoza (awesome); Osasuna 3-1 Atltico (now, what was that about Truman Burbank?); Racing 1-0 Almera (first defeat in 2008 for Almera); Murcia 0-1 Valladolid; Athletic 1-2 Villarreal; Depor 2-0 Espanyol (come back Tamudo!); Mallorca 1-1 Betis (this is getting silly: six weeks, six headers at the far post, six goals for Edu); Bara 5-1 Levante; Madrid 0-1 Getafe
Barca were superb again tonight though somehow they only managed to draw at home to Valencia in the cup semi-final first leg through a last gasp Xavi goal. Valencia had one shot and scored and Barca had 30 odd attempts and the 'keeper made save after save. Some of the ball they played was outstanding. Their team was:
Valdes;
Zambrotta; Puyol; Milito; Abidal;
Xavi; Toure; Deco;
Messi; Etoâo; Henry;
I canât fathom what the fook was going on with Barca tonight - they were really shocking and had little urgency despite the fact their title hopes were diminishing by the second.
Their team was:
Valdes;
Zambrotta; Thuram; Milito; Abidal;
Xavi; Toure; Iniesta;
Ronaldinho; Etoâo; Henry.
I canât reconcile the Toure of tonight with his performances over the two legs against Celtic. Henry was awful too and was getting booed by the home crowd before being replaced by Bojan after 65 minutes. Etoâo also had a shocker and Milito hasnât impressed me at all.
With their all round attacking threat they shouldnât have to use Messiâs absence as an excuse. On the other hand Real Madrid got the job done last night without Van Nistelrooy, Robben, Ramos and others.
The gap is 8 points now with 11 games left and I think the title race is over.
Yeah they got handed a lifeline by Madridâs crapness there for a while but have completely failed to take advantage of it.
They looked class against Celtic - unplayable almost. People will read that and think sure thatâs fairly easily achieved but thatâs horseshit. 4 games against Milan over two seasons and two wins and two draws over 90 minutes shows that while Celtic have their limitations theyâre able to contain most sides reasonably well. Barca were just rampant against us.
Cracking win for Bilbao earlier which moves them well up the table.