La Liga Review: Barcelona 5, Real Madrid 0 (The Fruits of Our Labor)

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Once in a lifetime a team will come along that is so superior to the rest you wonder how it is legal for them to exist. And although some may be questioning the legality of Real Madrid’s 292 million investment in players, none will dare to question the philosophy of FC Barcelona. as

This was a win for the idea. To hell with the titles, those are arbitrary things. To witness as we have done over the past three seasons to see what this club has become, is nothing short of miraculous.
What you witnessed today, what you witnessed at 8-0 against Almeria, the 6-1 against Atletico Madrid, the 5-2 against Lyon, the 4-0 against Bayern Munich, the 4-1 against Arsenal, the 6-2 against Real Madrid, the 4-0 against Stuggart is part of something that was introduced when one Johan Cruyff entered this club in the 70s. He introduced fascinating brand new things to the club, and transformed forever how we viewed the game in Barcelona.

His tenure as coach of Barcelona is one of the most successful in the clubs’ history. Our first European title, and four consecutive championships, all because of an idea. You can win playing beautiful football your way. You do not have to compromise for anyone. Style and entertainment is number one, winning comes second. We have put the best of our ideas forward, while leaving the worst of the politicking behind.

Sure we have suffered. During the Gaspart years this club was atrocious. We were villans in the eyes of most of the world. We persisted, sticking to our style, knowing that it would pay off. Pay off it has.

Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Messi, Pedro. Those are the XI that took the field for us tonight. Of those XI, VIII are from La Masia. A better script could not have been written for the clash of the titans.

From the first minute, we were on the front foot. Madrid had no time whatsoever to do what they wanted, which is the counter-attack. That’s what they were made for. Six minutes in, Messi with an audacious chip that smacked off the post. And yet four minutes later, when a beautiful Iniesta ball clips the back of Marcelo’s boot (I thought initially Xavi had flicked it up himself) and he puts it in, I could not believe it. Surely, this fluke will still provide for a tense game. I was seemingly proven correct when Di Maria produced a good effort against Victor Valdes just a minute later.

Again on 18 minutes, Pedro’s goal seemed fortunate, as Casillas almost got there, but the pace from Villa’s ball was too much to handle. This goal was a microcosm of the entire game. Pedro is fouled 30 yards from goal as Xavi switches play to the flank, and yet he’s in the six yard box seconds later to put in the goal. That is the dedication and passion from this team that elevates us beyond the normal squad.

The prowess of Messi’s passing and vision was on full display. In addition to being a ridiculously great winger and lethal forward, he is also combining his vision to deadly effect. He demands so much attention that there will always be someone open when Messi has the ball. Guardiola has opened him, unleashed the beast. It is the first time Messi has been directly involved in a goal (or two) against a Jose Mourinho squad. I don’t think he won’t mind scoring, though.

We toyed with Madrid the entire game. It was almost too easy. Therefore I can understand Mourinho’s statements after the game, which in effect he said that this defeat is easy to swallow because only one team deserved to win. His boys didn’t show up to play.

Part of this is the inexperience of the squad for Real Madrid. Their players, all essentially hired guns, don’t know the full extent of what it means to play in a Clasico. Come April though, look for this young squad to play a much better game at home in front of their fans. If given a few proper years to gel, as Barcelona has, this Real Madrid team will be as equally fierce as ours. Whether they have the stamina to see out such a plan remains to be seen. Eight La Masia players took the pitch starting for Barcelona tonight. That should tell you everything you need to know about the meaning of this game to the players.

There’s not lengthy evaluation of the tactics of the game, or the mechanics of our victory. What was seen was the conglomeration of decades of planning and dedication to a vision. A vision which we put on display last night for the whole world to enjoy. Visca el Barça.

Ratings: Team through Subs – A++. Simply flawless from everyone involved today. A total team triumph for total football.

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Category: El Clasico, Team News