El Clasico Preview: Real Madrid v. Barcelona
- Apr 1, 2016
- 5 min read
This Saturday, April 2 at 2pm ET Real Madrid will travel to the Camp Nou where they will clash with Barcelona for the second time this season. Madrid and Barcelona will go to battle yet again, but with completely different experiences at this point in the season. Barcelona look to continue their unprecedented dominance while Real Madrid look to salvage their largely disappointing season to say the least.
Barcelona are atop the Spanish league with 76 points while Real Madrid remain 3rd with 66 points. In addition to their stranglehold of La Liga, Barcelona remain in title contention for the Champions League as well as the Spanish Copa del Rey giving them a realistic shot at the coveted treble (Champions League, Copa Del Rey, La Liga).
Simultaneously, Real Madrid’s tumultuous season has seen them get disqualified from the Copa Del Rey for fielding an ineligible player and falling behind Barcelona in La Liga dramatically and even behind Atletico Madrid by 1 point where Real Madrid remain 3rd.
The Champions League is now the most important competition for Madrid as they are still in contention and will play Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals Wednesday, April 6. Nevertheless, El Clasico presents a fantastic opportunity for Real Madrid to turn their fortunes around.
Madrid will be looking to orchestrate a win in redemption of their embarrassing 4-0 loss at the Santiago Bernabeu last November. Madrid, 10 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, albeit a seemingly insurmountable difference, will be looking to give a strong performance to put pressure on Barcelona for the remaining 7 games of the season.
In addition, this game is vital to Madrid as they aim at proving they can compete with the most elite of competition in Barcelona.
If Madrid wishes to contend for the Champions League trophy -the only silverware still attainable by the Spanish giants this year- a win in El Clasico is crucial to their momentum and morale heading into the quarterfinals and beyond of the tournament where they will almost certainly end up meeting one or more of the European powerhouses: Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and of course Barcelona.
Madrid must use El Clasico as a platform to exhibit their class which has gone missing far too often this season, keeping the ultra-high standards of the club in mind.
A season without silverware will be seen as a complete disappointment to the club and its fanbase.
A Real Madrid win this Clasico is intrinsic to the club’s long-standing benchmark of excellence which has taken backseat to Barcelona’s unwavering dominance and superiority this season, particularly in La Liga.
However important this game is to Real Madrid, there is no denying the beast of Barcelona who will surely approach this game uber-confident and ready to once again exhibit their disciplined organization and patience, astonishing attacking prowess, and devastating individual talent. This is not to say Real Madrid lack these qualities because one should only underestimate the immense ability of a Madrid team loaded with world-class talent at his/her own peril, yet this season’s results certainly prove Barcelona’s squad has been far more dependable, consistent, and outright impressive than Real Madrid’s.
The triumvirate of the lion-hearted Luis Suarez, the Neo-Ronaldinho Neymar, and the magician himself Lionel Messi has completely decimated opposing defenses as there is very little you can do to keep all three once in a generation attackers at bay. As we are continually amazed by the individual talent these players possess along with their telepathic connection on the field it would be foolish to gloss over the vital roles of the other players that make up the well oiled machine of Barcelona F.C. Whether it be Sergio Busquet’s calming presence in defensive midfield acting as the nucleus of the cell or the immovable object of Gerard Pique in central defense, or the sublime touch on the ball from Andres Iniesta who rarely ever gives up possession and surgical passing ability seems to have somehow been forgotten amidst the astonishing attacking front 3 of Suarez, Messi, and Neymar. Barcelona’s team is a hand-picked group of individuals who understand their unique, individual role within a team blessed with unimaginable talent and when brought together in harmony gives us artistry in motion whenever they take the field.
Unimaginable talent is not something unique to Barcelona as Real Madrid may not have the trifecta of Suarez, Neymar, and Messi but they absolutely have world-class players with the ability to challenge and even defeat the magic of Barcelona. Real Madrid are a legendary club in their own right with a long list of best of their generation players. This season Madrid have unfortunately not been able to find a unit as cohesive as they would have liked but you can count on Madrid’s players being extra motivated and focused for the second Clasico of the season. Madrid has been plagued from winger Gareth Bale’s injury riddled season, James Rodriguez’s lack of form, a defense that has been far from solid, and many would argue performances from players such as Isco and Karim Benzema have not been up to par. No one dare deny the talent of these players but unfortunately their on-field connection has been missing at times which has resulted in Real Madrid’s inferior season. Despite all this, we have not mentioned the most important, ever-relevant player for Real Madrid: The Portuguese talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo continues to be to Real Madrid what Tom Brady is to the Patriots or what Lebron James is to the Cavaliers: Hard to live without. Cristiano Ronaldo sits atop the La Liga scoring table with 28 goals this season. The three players under him? Luis Suarez with 26, Lionel Messi with 22, and Neymar with 21. The one notable criticism of Ronaldo’s game has been his inability to make his teammates better and involve them in the game to produce better team success. This criticism is noteworthy because Real Madrid’s play is often focused around Ronaldo to set him up in attacking, dangerous positions which suits Ronaldo’s poaching and goalscoring ability. Nonetheless in a game of El Clasico’s magnitude Ronaldo knows he will need the resolute focus and systematic help of all of his teammates if they are to come away with a win at the Camp Nou and disrupt Barcelona’s comfort level at the top of the Spanish league. He will need help from one of the most talented center backs in the world in Sergio Ramos, one of the most dangerous attacking left-backs in the world in Marcelo and many more. Lighting fast Gareth Bale will need to show his prowess on the wing and the jury will be out on James Rodriguez to see if his undeniable superstar potential that he flashed last season can revisit him and help Real Madrid to Clasico glory. Cristiano Ronaldo and company will need to reinvent their chemistry fast if they are to upend Barcelona on Saturday.
As we await the battle of behemoths at the Camp Nou two questions remain: Will the Real Madrid please stand up? OR Is the Barcelona machine destined for glory once again?
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