El Clásico

[SuPaStA]

This week one of the biggest match-ups in world football will take place with FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, which is called El Clásico (The Classic).

More details regarding the history of the match can be found on the below wiki site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cl%C3%A1sico

Date:13/12/2008
Stadium:Camp Nou

El Clásico Stats:

Real Madrid
Win:68
Draw:30
Loss:58
Goals For:260

FC Barcelona
Win:58
Draw:30
Loss:68
Goals For:234

[ubercal]

Yeah its a big game , but not like a Boca vs River plate , or Lazio vs Roma , Milan vs Inter

[Redeemed]

Not to be missed, Barca is breathing fire going into this clash! What's the SA kick-off time?

[Stickfigure]

Yeah its a big game , but not like a Boca vs River plate , or Lazio vs Roma , Milan vs Inter

or Pirates vs. Chiefs :p

[SuPaStA]

Yeah its a big game , but not like a Boca vs River plate , or Lazio vs Roma , Milan vs Inter

I would go as far to say its probably the biggest game in football.
Even in th UK it causes a buzz when these 2 teams meet, none of those other clashes even make it into the news a lot of the time, especially boca v river.

If you had to pick two teams who have had the most "fifa world footballers" it would be Real Madrid and Barcelona (they are actually listed as 1 and 2).So its always over the years been seen as a showcase of football.

@Redeemed
23:00 Barcelona v Real Madrid on supersport (not sure what channel)

[Genius.]

Yeah its a big game , but not like a Boca vs River plate , or Lazio vs Roma , Milan vs Inter

Actually, its bigger.

If you read the history on both cities. You will learn that it goes far deeper than football. With Catalunya not wanting to be part of Spain and with Madrid being the capital of Spain.

Barcelona people hate Madrid people. Madrid people see Barcelona as not part of Spain. If Barcelona had its way, it would want its independence, like it had so many years ago.

So this is an emotional, controversial and historical clash.

[Redeemed]

Furthermore the best South American talents have always aspired to play for these two giants and to play in these matches. (eg. Maradona, Rivaldo, Romario, Ronaldo, Di Stefano)

[Genius.]

Gonna be a crazy clash. If Barca wins - it will almos definately put an end to Real Madrid's title hopes. The gap will be huge.

If Barca beat Real Madrid, they will truely be unstoppable, this is the real test.

[Fern9do]

A wise man once said nothing is won in December...

Edit:Except the Telkom Knockout Cup ofcourse;)

[SuPaStA]

http://i.media.goal.com/g/38296_news.jpg



Real Madrid Sack Bernd Schuster, Juande Ramos In

Bernd Schuster has been sacked by Real Madrid, the Spanish giants have confirmed after a series of meetings on Tuesday morning and is reported to have been replaced by Juande Ramos.

With Predrag Mijatovic said to have been at the forefront of the move, he had already lined up Ramos and the former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur coach will take training on Tuesday afternoon after brief presentation.

The German coach has paid for the turmoil on the pitch and apparently for his comments off it after he stated that Los Merengues could not beat Barcelona this weekend.

Despite leading the club to the league title last term, his inability to produce an attractive and consistent team this season has meant that he has now paid the price.

Sporting director Mijatovic was reported to have been very unimpressed by the trainer's outburst to add to the poor performances in recent weeks and was intrumental in his sacking.

Ramón Calderón had previously wanted to retain Schuster's services for fear of a backlash against him, but he was persuaded to make the move after Sunday's defeat by Sevilla.

Madrid are now said to have appointed former Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur coach Juande Ramos and he will be at the Bernabéu for the game against Zenit on Wednesday.

Schuster, 48, took over at the Bernabéu after Fabio Capello was dismissed because his style of play was not said to be entertaining enough despite securing Madrid's first championships for four seasons and now the club have removed another title-winning coach.

The former Madrid, Atlético and Barcelona player was warned about his conduct in the press room last term and while results were going his way there was little outcry, but now the team has faltered his latest outburst about the impossibility of winning at Camp Nou has cost him dearly.

Ramos made his name by winning five trophies in 15 months at Sevilla and he added to that by leading Tottenham to the Carling Cup last term, their first major trophy for nine years.

Despite the north London club's subsequent dip in form, the Andalucian trainer's stock held up in Spain and he was tipped to join Real Madrid as soon as it was announced that he had lost his job at White Hart Lane.

[Genius.]

WHAT!!!!!!!!

[Fern9do]

Ramos?lmao

[Fuma]

Ramos?lmao

He did wonders with Sevilla. Maybe Tottenham/EPL was just not for him.

[Genius.]

Just read that with Marcelo injured Ramos will be playing at left black.

That means he will attempt to stop Messi. That is going to be a sight to see.

[poolmania]

Actually, its bigger.

If you read the history on both cities. You will learn that it goes far deeper than football. With Catalunya not wanting to be part of Spain and with Madrid being the capital of Spain.

Barcelona people hate Madrid people. Madrid people see Barcelona as not part of Spain. If Barcelona had its way, it would want its independence, like it had so many years ago.

So this is an emotional, controversial and historical clash.

Going by the above, it's the same as a Man U v Liverpool clash then.

[Genius.]

Was Man United or Liverpool ever a country outside of England?

Did they have a clash of governments? Was their constant riots and fighting between the two cities?

[poolmania]

Was Man United or Liverpool ever a country outside of England? Yes, Liverpool still is.

Did they have a clash of governments? Yes.

Was their constant riots and fighting between the two cities? Yes

Anything else?

[Genius.]

Anything else?

bwhahahaha

Country? Liverpool a country, ok - this debate stops now. :D

Clash of governments? hahahah When, where? Please show me

Riots? When, show me.

Stick to other topics on the forum, football section isnt one of your ''talents'' :D

[poolmania]

bwhahahaha

Country? Liverpool a country, ok - this debate stops now. :D

Clash of governments? hahahah When, where? Please show me

Riots? When, show me.

Stick to other topics on the forum, football section isnt one of your ''talents'' :D

You obviously didn't catch what I was referring to......:D

I didn't mean anything literally.

John Aldridge: "I'm not an Englishmen, I'm a Scouser"

:rolleyes:

[Genius.]

Well it wasnt very clear what you were saying.

[poolmania]

Well it wasnt very clear what you were saying.

Fair enough, it was just a bit of tongue and cheek on my part.

[Genius.]

Seydou Keita

“Juande Ramos is a good coach and a great person and he will bring extra motivation to the [Madrid] players, although it is too soon to say what changes he will make to their team.”


Sylvinho

“I do not know him personally, but he looks to me like a good coach with an extensive résumé.

“But it will not make Saturday’s game any harder or any easier for us because it will be a very complicated match anyway.”.

[SuPaStA]

The new coach's first game and he gets 3-0 against the Supercup champions...makes El Clásico all that much better!



Juande Ramos' Dream Debut As Madrid Maul Zenit

The liberating 'new coach syndrome' blessed the Blancos this evening as they sailed past their Russian visitors in sensational style...

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2008/12/10/1006270/juande-ramos-dream-debut-as-madrid-maul-zenit

[Fern9do]

I give him 6 months at best.

[Genius.]

One more day to go then its El Clasico day.

Will Barca's AMAZING form this season be stopped by Real Madrid?

[Genius.]

Spanish President: Barcelona Will Beat Madrid 5-1!


Rarely do diplomats get down from the fence to voice their opinions but today Spanish president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, made his feelings firmly known about El Clásico, saying Barcelona will thrash Madrid...


http://www.goal.com/en/news/1706/barcelona/2008/12/11/1007995/spanish-president-barcelona-will-beat-madrid-5-1

[Genius.]

100% correct. The pressure on Barca to perform tomorrow is huge!!!



Alfredo Di Stefano: Barcelona Will Be Scared Of The Pressure


Los Blancos’ legendary icon, Alfredo di Stefano believes that he onus is on Barcelona to perform and deliver infront of their home crowd in Saturday evening’s El Clasico battle.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1705/real-madrid/2008/12/12/1008310/alfredo-di-stefano-barcelona-will-be-scared-of-the-pressure

[SuPaStA]

http://i.media.goal.com/g/14690_news.jpg



Xavi: Casillas And Raul Are Key For Madrid

Barcelona will head into Saturday’s El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid in their best form in years. Based on recent results and performances, it would seem that the Catalans are clear favourites to run away with the three points.

But Barca midfielder Xavi does not subscribe to the notion that the match is a foregone conclusion.

“It’s true that we are in better form but it’s impossible to predict the result in games like these because you never know what is going to happen,” he told reporters during a promotional outing with Adidas.

When asked which players will pose the biggest threat from the opposing team, Xavi did not hesitate to reply.

“There are two players who always stand out in these big encounters and they are like [Iker] Casillas and Raul.

“Raul always scores the important goals and Iker always has great games. In addition, they are also good friends of mine, so it is necessary to keep an eye on them,” he added.

Finally, the 28-year-old played down the favourites tag slapped on the Blaugrana in almost every match and every competition at present.

“We are playing attractive football and we are doing very well and that’s why people say we are the favourites.

“But I believe that Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla or Villarreal have their chances to win La Liga while teams like Manchester United, Inter Milan as well as Madrid are equal favourites to win the Champions League,” he ended.

[brixton tower]

Looking forward to the match but why oh why do they have to schedule the damn thing so late....I'm not too clued up on starting times but 10pm seems awfully late for a football game to kick off.

This means that I'll have to get out of bed at just before 5am to watch the game live on this side of the world.

Barca will probably win it although somthing tells me it will be narrow. They seem to playing the football of two years ago.

[Genius.]

Looking forward to the match but why oh why do they have to schedule the damn thing so late....I'm not too clued up on starting times but 10pm seems awfully late for a football game to kick off.

This means that I'll have to get out of bed at just before 5am to watch the game live on this side of the world.

Barca will probably win it although somthing tells me it will be narrow. They seem to playing the football of two years ago.

Why would you get out of bed at 5am to watch it? The game is on at 11pm SA time on Supersport 7.

The reason for the late schedule is that all football matches in Spain are played in the evening. In Spain they have Siesta, they normally stay up late to watch football or attend football matches. Its part of the culture.

Siest explained: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta

Barca has never played matches at 5pm or 6pm on a Saturday. All thier matches are scheduled late on saturday nights or Sunday nights.

[SuPaStA]

BBC have created a section on their site for the match:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7773758.stm

[nivek]

milan vs juve this weekend too
great weekend for football (not so much on the premiership side tho)

[poolmania]

milan vs juve this weekend too
great weekend for football (not so much on the premiership side tho)

Don't agree with that. Liverpool v Hull City is on today. Biggest game this weekend.

[nivek]

Don't agree with that. Liverpool v Hull City is on today. Biggest game this weekend.

True, dont know what I was thinking

[Genius.]

That must be the game of the year. Liverpool vs Hull.

[poolmania]

That must be the game of the year. Liverpool vs Hull.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. ;)

[Genius.]

Good article on the history of the El Clasico.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/722/la-liga/2008/12/12/1009404/el-clasico-driven-by-need-as-much-as-history

[Genius.]

A few more hours before the big game. Getting the braai ready :D

[jammio]

got my barca shirt on :D

[SuPaStA]

Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid


FORCA BARCA!!!!!!!!

[Shake&Bake]

At the office and had to be following the game on the BBC site with the text.

Well done to Barca.

[Genius.]

Brilliant game!

Dissapointing that Real had to use dirty tactics. Fowling Messi every chance they got.

Non stop action from Barca. 75% posession in the 1st half. Eto missing a penalty in the second. Messi's goal - FANTASTIC!!!

FORZA CATALUNYA - FORZA BARCA!!!!!!

[ubercal]

At the office and had to be following the game on the BBC site with the text.

Well done to Barca.

The game was video streamed live and free on www.justin.tv

[nivek]

just watched the first half, as a neutral, before the game kicked off I wanted Real to win, mainly because of the people on this forum :)

but after seeing the way Real were playing, and targeting messi im glad those thugs lost

dirtiest football club in the world

[brixton tower]

Why would you get out of bed at 5am to watch it? The game is on at 11pm SA time on Supersport 7.

I'm in Manila:rolleyes:

Anyway, watched the match for about 30 minutes of the first half and started to doze off as I had come back from a party but it was very clear that Barca were going to win it...their play was exceptional especially off-the-ball movement and the general shape of their attack which was very cohesive as opposed to the scrappy look of Real Madrid who had to make do with scraps IMO.

[Genius.]

just watched the first half, as a neutral, before the game kicked off I wanted Real to win, mainly because of the people on this forum :)



:D

[Genius.]

Barcelona 2 - 0 Real Madrid.

Very dirty tactics used by Madrid. It looked like every player on the Madrid team took Messi down during sometime in the game. They went our to injure him.

Drama in the second half, with Eto missing a penaltly. For me the man of the match was Cassilas - his keeping was brilliant and kept Real MAdrid in the game.

Barca was always going to win it, they completely dominated the game and looked the much better side. 1st half stats were - Barca 75% posession and Madrid 25%.

Barca now are 12 points clear of Madrid!

[jammio]

Barca was always going to win it, they completely dominated the game and looked the much better side. 1st half stats were - Barca 75$ posession and United 25%.

where's YOUR mind ;)

[Genius.]

hehehe - was wondering when someone was gonna catch onto that :D

[SuPaStA]

Cassilas had an amazing game, easily the best keeper in the world.
Imagine how Reina must feel knowing you can never be spain's number 1 as long as Cassilas is in the game.

Barcelona though have clearly cemented their dominance this season.

[Genius.]

Ya, you have to feel for Reina or even Valdes. They will never play for Spain as long as Cassilas is there.

[smokey]

Ya, you have to feel for Reina or even Valdes. They will never play for Spain as long as Cassilas is there.

then again they coud apply for English citizenship and play for them!!! Oh wait - isn't almunia already trying that? :D