[Archived] El Clasico

[K-Hod]

Youth systems with worldwide scouting networks of the quality of Barcelona's cost millions to finance, money that our club does not have.

Doesn't matter whether you develop your own players ot buy them - and running youth systems is often more expensive than buying cheap players from abroad - holding up Barcelona as a shining example of how football should be played and then comparing them with Rovers and the meagre resources at our disposal, is a nonsense.

I wasn't really making that comparison, merely stating that someone stating they had spent big can only have been referring to RM.

Messi was poached from Argentina at a young age, but all the other examples I mentioned were from Spain.

Granted, their system is a lot better and more effective than ours purely down to financial reasons and the budget they throw at it, but still- it is good to see a team populated by academy graduates that is as good as they are!

[Gav]

8 of their starting XI came through their youth system........

Granted they spent big on Villa and Mascherano, not so much Adriano (midfielder)

Xavi, Iniesta, Pique (granted they re-bought him), Puyol, Messi, Pedro, Busquets, Valdes all cost £0

Game set and match K-Hod

[MarkBRFC71]

The quality of football in any La Liga game outweighs almost anything (perhaps bar Arsenal) that the Premier League can muster.

Yes the top 2 are streets ahead financially, but the 2 remaining Champions League places and the money that comes with them rarely goes to the same teams year-on-year, so meaning that the not insignificant pots of cash from the CL are more evenly distributed.

Only those brainwashed by the incessant Sky claptrap about the Prem being the best league in the world would argue against La Liga producing the best football. And the irony is - it's on Sky every weekend for the football purists to savour!

Sid Lowe's take on it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/nov/30/barcelona-win-epoch-defining-clasico

Some incredible stats from the game:

Completed passes - Barca 636 Real 279

Xavi completed 114 passes out of 117 attempted

636 is probably more passes than Rovers complete in a season ....

Guardiola now won all 5 Clasicos - with an aggregate score of 17-2!

[tony gale's mic]

Youth systems with worldwide scouting networks of the quality of Barcelona's cost millions to finance, money that our club does not have.

Doesn't matter whether you develop your own players ot buy them - and running youth systems is often more expensive than buying cheap players from abroad - holding up Barcelona as a shining example of how football should be played and then comparing them with Rovers and the meagre resources at our disposal, is a nonsense.

Not only that, but for Spanish (and Portuguese) clubs, language and cultural factors make it very easy for them to tap into the goldmine of young in South America.

[BuckyRover]

To think, people actually wonder why Fabregas would want to leave Arsenal for Barca.

How about to feature in one if the greatest teams ever?

[LeChuck]

To think, people actually wonder why Fabregas would want to leave Arsenal for Barca.

How about to feature in one if the greatest teams ever?

Would he even get in their team?

He's already found at international level that he can't get in ahead of Busquets/Xavi/Iniesta, not sure why he'd find it any easier at club level.

[JAL]

8 of their starting XI came through their youth system........

Granted they spent big on Villa and Mascherano, not so much Adriano (midfielder)

Xavi, Iniesta, Pique (granted they re-bought him), Puyol, Messi, Pedro, Busquets, Valdes all cost £0

IF, Masherano had have been playing last night, you can bet your life the scoreline would have been a lot closer.

[LDRover]

I'd have liked to have seen a few more long throw ins and the Barca keeper launching it into the opposition box from the edge of his own half every now and again but other than that they played some pretty good stuff there Barca.

Best post I've read in God knows how long!!!

[arbitro]

The son of a friend works at Liverpools Acedemy and through a contact made via Rafa Benitez he has spent some time at Barca's Academy. One of the surprising things he told me was that when they lose possession they have five seconds to get the ball back and this applies to every Barca team. With the passing and movement they have you tend to forget that they are an extremely hard working team when they are out of possession. They can also leave a foot in when they need to do.

[joey_big_nose]

As it's been pointed out though the gulf between the top 2 and the rest is massive. It's a bit like Scotland in that only 2 teams have a chance of winning it at the start of the season. The Premier League is far more balanced in comparison; before this season we had the big 4, now it's looking like the big 6, with any one of those being beatable on any given day.

THat's only in the last eighteen months. If you go back before that Villareal, Valencia and Sevilla were really pushing the top teams. It seems that the Prem has now got more competitive, but La Liga is more outstanding in the top teams.

This Barca squad - honestly think they might be one of the greatest teams ever. What's astonishing about them is that many of the key players are still relatively young.

[waynerovers]

what i find most impressive is when you look at the height of the midfielders and attackers, they are all so small yet they absolutely dominate possession and in villa they've found the striker they've needed for the last four years who really suits their style of play

[67splitscreen]

Mourinho has been given a one-match touchline ban, which means he can watch the Auxerre game from the stand in the Bernabeu Stadium while sipping a nice cold beer.

20k euros fines for Ramos and Alonso, Oh! bet that hurt, especially as no doubt Real will pay their dues.

[MarkBRFC71]

Thought I'd bump this back up since they're about to play each other 4 times in 17 days (La Liga tomorrow, Copa Del Rey final on Weds 20th, and the Champion's League Semi on 27th April and 3rd May). Some proper football, a welcome distraction from Rovers current predicament, and a chance to discuss something other than endlessly recycling the same boring, pointless statistics about our ex-manager just to support personal agendas!

So, how do we see this going? Given that Barca are 8 points clear I can see them resting some of their main players for tomorrow's game, and concentrating on the Cup final and the CL games. I'm sure Mourinho will have learned from their 5-0 shellacking at the Camp Nou that there's little to be gained from trying to 'out-football' Barca, so if he plays I've no doubt Messi is going to get a good shoeing from the likes of Ramos etc.

I think Real win tomorrow, Barca on Weds, a draw in the leg at the Bernabau and Barca to go through after the home leg. Hopefully to get United in the final and destroy them 6-0.

[waynerovers]

i'm going for a barca clean sweep

[BangkokRover]

i'm going for a barca clean sweep

So where most people last year and Inter played beat them fair and square.

[Eddie]

Funny feeling that Real will do it tomorrow, but will wait to see the team that they put out before I make my predictions and place my bets.

[BangkokRover]

Funny feeling that Real will do it tomorrow, but will wait to see the team that they put out before I make my predictions and place my bets.

Should be go I am hoping to get up and dodge the result and watch the game on tape delayed.

[jodrell]

Is Mourinho Fergie disguise ?

Silent Mourinho provokes walk-out

[T4E]

So, how do we see this going? Given that Barca are 8 points clear I can see them resting some of their main players for tomorrow's game, and concentrating on the Cup final and the CL games. I'm sure Mourinho will have learned from their 5-0 shellacking at the Camp Nou that there's little to be gained from trying to 'out-football' Barca, so if he plays I've no doubt Messi is going to get a good shoeing from the likes of Ramos etc.

I think Real win tomorrow, Barca on Weds, a draw in the leg at the Bernabau and Barca to go through after the home leg. Hopefully to get United in the final and destroy them 6-0.

Absolutely no chance of Pep resting players for the Liga match. If Barca won the Copa del Rey and the CL but lost La Liga to Madrid he would be considered to have failed this season. Some of the players will get a bit of a rest in the final - Pinto, Bojan and possibly Milito should start on Weds. I can see them going all out in the first leg and getting a few away goals, then holding Madrid to a draw in the Camp Nou.

Barca to win 3 and 1 to be a draw for me. Real are a fantastic side but they play in a way that is tailor made for Barca's style.