El Clasico Liveblog
By: Isaiah | May 2nd, 2009Thanks to JeffP, we’ve got a liveblog for El Clasico! Yay Jeff!
Lineups:
Barça: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Abidal, Xavi, Touré, Iniesta, Messi, Eto’o, Henry
Real Madrid: Casillas; Heinze, Metzelder, Cannavaro, Ramos, Gago, Lass, Marcelo, Robben, Raúl, Higuaín.
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The best moment was taking the lead with our captain, with him kissing the badge in front of everyone in the Bernabéu stadium.
Didin’t it bring a tear to your eye, Jason?
Posted from
Philippines
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They all performed to perfection (May be Alves came little late to the party). But generally it was more like a machine than a team. Yaya was incredible as well. and Pique contained Higuin, Abidal dominated Robben, Xavi and iniesta pulled Gago and Diara out , opening spaces behind. A game to remember.
Posted from
Germany -
Oh, and as crazy as this sounds. i think Madrid’s first goal actually helped us alot. It just erupted everything we had. And gave us the urgency we needed to shove several down their throats.
Anyone agree?
Posted from
United States -
Which seige of the Bernabeu was most memorable?
Nov 05 (0-3 aka the Ronaldinho Show), or May 09 (2-6 aka Dream Team II)
its weird talking about how how memorable something that happened today is…
Posted from
United States -
Oh man. You can’t compare them. But if you really force me, I’d say the Ronaldinho show. The picture of the Madristas giving a standing ovation to the man that captured our hearts, and gave us the CLeague is still the best icing on the cake.
Posted from
Philippines -
You all know me and my long entries, so for this one I’m splitting it into two. I know you all love them, and it’s not like I’m trying to do work right now.
INCREDIBLE. This game had absolutely everything, best game for Barca all year, maybe the best game in Liga if you ask someone who watches all the games and knows. Especially after the boring Chelsea affair, this was absolutely electrical, and you have to hand it to Madrid, who were not afraid in the least to play us. The first half hour was just back and forth, back and forth, chance after chance after chance. For Barca, it was a combination of totally on attack and really, really poor defense. Thank God we snapped out of it, because when Madrid opened the scoring, it was looking to get downright embarassing. But there was an interesting dynamic: we came out quite slow, then picked up when Madrid went up. We got two quick, quick goals, then we sort of turned off again and Madrid could’ve had two (one, an own goal). But after the first half hour, it was Madrid that looked shaky, and that was underlined with the third goal.
They were never on for the rest of the game, and when it became 2-3, Barca was really dominating, and our set-play weakness showed. And then what? Madrid tries another play that involved way too many people, and you got the feeling: hit ‘em. And hit ‘em we did, not really with a counter-attack, but with a studied long-goal that was neither Route 1 nor Barca play. And the game was over, Madrid were absolutely schnockered from then on and had no more chances, while Barca created several.
This game could have been 4-12. Absolutely, absolutely insane.
Posted from
United States -
well said kxevin. really.
as for the game, your usual holyfreakingcrap phrase should move up a notch with
holyfuckingshit
the f-bomb has been dropped, pardon my french, but this was an AMAZING game.
Posted from
United States -
Fully agree Justin. Both are the best games ever, but that game in 05 was near perfection. A barcelona player getting CHEERED, bowed down to, by Madridistas in the Bernabeu. It was Madrid fans acknowledging not only defeat, not only a comprehensive dominance, but acknowledging that they were in the presence of the Best player on earth, and that they were powerless to stop him.
This display was great. I cant even start to single our brilliant performances, because it was only through the whole team playing brilliantly that it happened. No incredible individual display made it happen. This was just Barcelona clicking, and having go after go at Madrid because attack is our auto-pilot setting. The best display of great team play i have ever seen.
Posted from
United States -
Tactical change for Messi and Eto’o
The Barça manager also explained “the little idea of putting Messi at centre forward and moving Eto’o out to the right. We’d watched the first game we played and noticed that players like Lass and Gago followed Xavi a lot, and I wanted Messi to make the most of this by playing in the middle. And if that dragged the centre backs out of their area, then Henry and Eto’o had to take advantage. They are the players that make everything work. They make it all so much easier. Players like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta give you a good idea of what you can do”.
Our very own 37 year old genius, and well this explains Etoo’s quiet night, and well henry being so magical on the left with messi creating so much space and brilliance..
I love u all(the team, i like u barca fans, but i love the team).. Barca to football is like Plato’s Utopia, except they’re real..Oh and even bojan had his little fun.. Poor heinze
Posted from
Lebanon -
With Messi and Xavi running the show in the middle, Iniesta mostly stepped back and played the drity work role. Flashy? no, but just as vital to the team victory.
Posted from
United States -
@Jason where are you watching the game? can i get link to download.
plz.. thanksPosted from
United States -
JAJAJA… just saw Robben run right past Pique… without the ball of course. Pique relieved him of possesion effortlessly. Man, Pique is a completely different player than when he started the campaign. He began a nervous boy, but now is an absolute rock in the back.
Posted from
United States -
sorry Kevo, im rewatching from my DVR. I set it to record.
man, a barca game, is not a barca game without Ray Ray.
“Zues is probably wearing his Messi shirt”
Posted from
United States -
Between pique and alves who is our signing of the season?
Posted from
United States -
id say alves, pique has been awesome but alves is the player tht we needed to improve our attack and prove depth on the sides
Posted from
United States -
Valdes: some crappy clearances throughout, but after awhile he never needed to make them. That one pass to Abidal with Raul right next to him was absolutely boneheaded, and had Raul capitalized this would’ve been a different game, all Valdes’ fault. But after that, he made some very nice saves, especially those two chances that Madrid had after our second. Not a bad performance from him at all, despite that very obvious early mistake. The whole defense was making them, except for…
Pique: The man, the only defender that was on and never turned off. We had some very porous defense early on, but none of it involved him. Some blame on him for the second goal, but what a cross from Robben, really. The first goal, well, Gerard was covering his man. Some excellent, excellent takes all 90 minutes, an absolute rock. And the goal: when he started running you knew he was going for the box. But what you didn’t know was after that first save, he wouldn’t pass it to Messi (like Casillas and every defender expected), but turned 270 degrees for his second goal of the season. Laporta, sign him today: the talent he showed today was unimpeacable, but even moreso was the heart that he showed. Both goals he scored this season, he kissed his badge and ran to his fans. He meant it when he came over and said he wanted to stay there his whole career: let’s give him the chance.
Puyol: very atypical performance, but not so for recent form. I don’t know what it is, but lately he’s been absolutely dwarfed by the man next to him, and attackers have been pushing him around far, far too much. The goal first goal, I put it all on his shoulders. Maybe Alves should’ve had Higuain, but that was Puyol’s, the captain’s, zone. Too big a game to be slack, and he was very slack on defense, and too many set plays showed it. BUT, he did what he had to do, and was the defensive pressure that we needed when we needed him to be. Though I’ll keep it at that, I don’t want to give the wrong idea: I’d say a 7.
Abidal: I would also give him a 7, though I should emphasize that he played better. Robben destroyed him in the early-going, but soon he recovered and played well. But not too well: to use an old phrase, he “pulsated with adequacy.” The coaching of this game appeared to dictate that he would not attack, and attack he did not. I think overall this took away from his game. But defensively, after the early mistakes, rock solid. Unlike:
Alves: until maybe the last 30-20 minutes, when the game had already ended, he was not only invisible on attack but crummy on defense. I don’t think he had a single tackle the whole first half. Perhaps the people saying he needs rest are absolutely right, because he did not play well at all against a wing-back. At the end he showed his true colors, but so was everyone else on the team, with Madrid totally destroyed.
Yaya: Remember that play where he was next to Abidal and Robben just stepped in between them in that, what, foot and a half of space? He was complicit in the porous defense, but he was the quickest to recover. His passing and availability were perfect today, and after this incident, I think he surprised himself, and became The Yaya once again. Excellent performance, but not perfect, like…
Xavi: THE OMNIPRESENT MAN OF THE MATCH. Was it four assists? Did he have every third or fourth possession? He set the tone with the first shot of the game. He juked more Madridistas than anyone on the field, probably in the double-digits. He was an outlet on attack and defense and dictated the entire game. This may be the best match I’d ever seen him play, I would go so far to say even that. He deserved a rest at the end, Yaya should’ve stayed on. I’d like to highlight that fourth goal: the scoreline shockingly becomes 2-3, but Xavi, recognizing how shaky Madrid remains to be, knowing Henry is on (and we’ll get to that), says “over my dead body, Liga will be over” and works just the perfect ball, so perfect that it fooled maybe the best keeper in the world, the one that kept out three against-any-other-team goals earlier, into the mistake that killed the game. And that turn to give Messi the fourth goal? The defense was sulking by then, but that was far above even his own standard. Brilliant. In-cre-di-ble, I could go on longer, but there are many more players to get to.
Iniesta: after four man-of-the-match’s and a too-active performance against Chelsea, he looked tired, and was invisible for much of the first half. And that give to Messi that Casillas blocked? What I would’ve given to see him shoot. Once the spirit of the team picked up, he became Xavi’s doppelganger, the kind we love to see, and turned into the artist he is. He deserved a penalty, but he should’ve one-touch shot that. If he played in the first half the way he played in the second, he would’ve been joint MOTM. Many superhuman passes, but also some disturbing uncharacteristic give-aways. It’s a shame he won’t be rested in the CL, and you know what, it could cost us the competition. Hopefully he emulates Xavi even more Wednesday by playing through the fatigue.
Eto’o: Interesting to see him play on the right for 90 minutes, and perhaps he (and Alves) would’ve been better served in the middle. But he did very well, despite being the quietest of our front-five (trident plus 6 and 8). Wasn’t the dynamic off-the-ball runner that he normally is, but his first touch wasn’t totally gone today. It’s proper that he didn’t get a goal. He didn’t need to play his best today, and because of the brilliance of his teammates, he gets a higher rating. Towards the end he looked a better winger. Oh yeah, that second-half chance? He got over the ball too much and wasted it. That was his chance. Nonetheless, no fault attached to him. If he plays this well in Chelsea, it may be enough. Or it might not be.
Messi: In the middle was a more interesting tactical choice. And it worked to perfection. Best performance at center-forward to date, sometimes dropping deep, sometimes right at the jugular, always excellent. A Jedi with his passing today, should’ve had an assist. Only once did he try to go on his own, and afterwards, he learned his lesson. Clinical finishing today, just when it was needed. What if that lob had gone in? Had his few moments of playing the terrorist, and veryveryvery nearly scored in between Casillas’ legs twice unassisted. Also what I liked about him in the middle is that, at times (not consistently), it allowed Eto’o and Henry to play two-striker. Henry took advantage, Eto’o usually didn’t. Speaking of TH14…
Henry: Ray-Ray was right in the first 20 minutes when he called him MOTM so far. The result would’ve been a lot different if he had been rested today, perhaps we would’ve lost. But today he did play, and did so with all the suave coolness that he had at his best. A real “walking” run for the first goal, with a surgeon’s finish. Terrorized the left side for some time, made Sergio Ramos and Lass his bitch quite a few times. No other way to put it: he was a G. Madrid got nothin’ on him. The second goal was Henry-style perfection under-pressure. Best game he’s played in some time, and I expect the same at Stamford Bridge, because he was all-striker today.
I’M SO SORRY for such a long post, even by my standards, but this was the BEST MATCH OF THE YEAR.
Posted from
United States -
Dude….
Posted from
United States -
@ kevo
you can watch the match by parts here:
Mensaje nuevoPublicado: 02-05-2009, 22:06 Asunto: La Liga – Real Madrid vs Barcelona 02/05/09 Responder citando
OPCIÓN 1
Chelo21 escribió:
Descarga Directa
http://rapidshare.com/files/22……part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/22……part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/22……part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/22……part4.rarCodec: XviD
Idioma: Español
Tamaño: 700 mbOPCIÓN 2
Esta sacado de la pagina web justin.tv.
Son enlaces a partes del partido. El partido esta dividido en 8 partes: 15 min cada parte (incluido el avance, intermedio y resumen).
Idioma: Español (Mexico)Parte 1 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/4dd91250b67df64aParte 2 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/96b64cc7576e2492Parte 3 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/fe5d99f8e27ca450Parte 4 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/43afe8ffd57f2234Parte 5 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/dc073d99ae90867cParte 6 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/4ca68804332b84deParte 7 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/e37ce97a8a631ad7Parte 8 de 8
http://www.justin.tv/clip/000cf3d17bd4097ePosted from
United States -
LOL. Its called unwinding, Alexinhio
. BTW Messi DID have that gorgeous assist to Henry for the first goal. Even the weight of the pass was perfect. Henry one touched it into the net, no need to control.
Posted from
United States -
does anybody have a link to any English-language downloads (preferably BBC or ITV, but i’ll take GolTV and RayRay) of the full game? that’d be awesome.
Posted from
United States -
Congrats. The fact that two center-backs in the mold of Pique and Puyol (two Catalans, to boot) scored their first league goals this season against Real in the Bernabeu….well, from a non-Madrista (and non-Cule) that just shows Barca is playing out of this fucking world. Please, kick Chelsea’s ass. 6-2 would do nicely again.
Posted from
Spain -
Yes!!!My comments are not the longest anymore! Thanx Alex!
your comments are nice to read though
Posted from
Germany -
avenge juventus, kill Chelsea (and then beat manUre too, I hate them anyway)
Posted from
United States -
@ BA
http://www.justin.tv/pietrito/all?order=most_recentjust start from the bottom and work your way up. Oh, and it’s GOLTV with Ray Hudson and Phil Schoen commentating.
Posted from
United States -
It was the best performance by far since the dreamteam.I am so happy, i cant stop enjoying knowing how we humiliated madrid at their home terf. What wories me is Valdes’s performence in London and how we will deal with set pices.2nd goal against madrid is the problem we had all year long.Valdes is good one on one but in the air he doesn’t look confident.I think for next year if eto’o and henry will stay all what we need is a goalkeeper and a back up for alves
Posted from
United States
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