Mucho Morbo: Barcelona – Real Madrid

By: Isaiah | March 9th, 2007

I’ll admit, I took a break from Barcelona and all that for a couple of days in order to ward off the blues – the sad kind, not the other one – and I think it’s done a world of good. I’m back now, fresh and ready for the final leg of the domestic season, and I’m sure I’ll even watch the last few rounds of the CL, which they’re apparently still going to have despite Barça’s absence. I mean, really, what’s the point?

La Liga still has Barcelona and so it’s time to focus on that: El Clasico! I’m not sure I said that with enough emphasis: El Clasico! That’s better. It’s here and it’s happening tomorrow (Saturday) at 4pm EST. It’ll be on GolTV and broadcast over live feeds as well [here is one such contraption, if you are lacking in GolTV].

It should be a pretty intense game as both teams are going to be looking for the domestic title as compensation for being bounced from the CL this week. The game is in Barcelona, which is an advantage for the blaugrana, though if they lose the merengues will be happy they’re not at home where the white hankies can be waved. Still, the crowd at the Camp Nou will not be happy and will jeer if Barcelona lose a third game in a row. I don’t see that happening, but I thought the league would be all but over by this time…Anyway, this game at least affords me the chance to mention the term morbo, which really has no English equivalent, but which Phil Ball handles as well as possible in his rather fantastic history of the Spanish game, aptly named Morbo:

“It [morbo] entails a lot of slippery little notions that just won’t rub shoulders with a convenient English synonym…Most treat it as a noun and translate it as something like ‘disease’, which is hardly appropriate to this context…It’s not merely that they [Real Madrid and Barcelona] hate each other with an intensity that can truly shock the outsider, but that each encounter between them always has a new ingredient…it feeds off itself and keeps growing until it becomes a self-regulating and self-perpetuating organism…once the morbo is up and running it can never die.” (p17)

Really, it is what makes and breaks a season for a lot of diehard fans; more than the trophies and the accolades, it’s about beating the “Francoists” or the “Republicans”. I’m not Spanish, so my personal connection to the game is purely sporting, but even I understand the political implications of such a rivalry. It’s not Betis-Sevilla, which is a city divided against itself, but rather a country. I don’t want to turn this into a socio-political discussion of course, but it wouldn’t be doing this game justice to fail to mention that it is bigger than just another day in the life of a sports season. It is not just Jornada 25 (Matchday 25), it’s El Clasico!

Now for the lineups. First, the home team:

According to the Lionel Messi Weblog (Spanish, but should be translated into English soon), these are the players that have been included on the roster:

Keepers: Valdés, Jorquera
Defenders: Puyol, Thuram, Sylvinho, Márquez, Oleguer, Belletti
Midfielders: Xavi, Edmílson, Iniesta, Deco, Ronaldinho, Messi
Forwards: Gudjohnsen, Ezquerro, Eto’o, Saviola.

Reports have surfaced that Ronaldinho may not play against Madrid, or at least not start, due to injury issues, but that is probably untrue and from the press conference Rijkaard held it seems Ronnie will indeed start. Naturally it would be a blow to Barça if their star player didn’t start. Deco, at least, is back in the fold and I expect him to start. It is, after all, the time you should pull out all the stops and, you know, beat your biggest rival. (And I say it’s the biggest rivalry in all of sports, but apparently a lot of people claim the Old Firm or Boca Juniors-River Plate; I just have to say I think that’s rubbish, but I’ve never been to any of them, so I can’t really be certain – though I did dream last night that I was at El Clasico and Barcelona were winning 2-1 thanks to a second half revival that included Raul getting a red card for shoving Valdés. Fun dream, really and I’m glad I just remembered that.) Thiago Motta is off the roster, having been given a week off to regather himself in what is probably a tough time of the year for all the players. Why specifically Motta, I don’t know, but Sport is suggesting that it’s because he’s having a “complicated moment.” Well that clears things right up! Giuly and Zambrotta will miss due to their red cards and that’s a shame as they would both have added a ton to this encounter, not the least of which would be hot-headed madness.

For Madrid, the roster is:

Keepers: Iker Casillas, Diego López, Francisco Casilla
Defenders:, Michel Salgado, Iván Helguera, Pavón, Marcelo, Torres, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Mejía
Midfielders: Emerson, Diarrá, Guti, Gago, De la Red
Forwards: Robinho, Raúl, Van Nistelrooy, Cassano, Higuaín.

On the heels of allegations that Cannavaro is leaving the club, it turns out that Roberto Carlos is actually leaving. 9 seasons of splendid play, last year, and then this final year of up-and-down moments (including this recent debacle). And he’s definitely not on the roster for what could really be the biggest game of the year for both clubs. A note on Madrid: why do they have a goalie named Casillas and one named Casilla? That is not right. Cassano is back in the fold, apparently, though he didn’t look good against Getafe last weekend and he got a yellow card for diving, too, if I remember correctly.

Anyway, I think that Madrid have issues that are far larger than those facing Barcelona, especially as Messi and Eto’o continue to improve their fitness and will soon start to mesh well and make a strong push for the domestic title.

Prediction: 2-1 Barcelona. Repaying the favor, just without the benefit of a clean sheet.