Looking back at the Greatest Barca Victory of the Season

FC Barcelona Produced a Matser Class to thrash Real Madrid

"The worst thing isn't losing, the worst thing is not having a clue what's going on" wrote the pro Madrid AS's Tomas Roncero after seeing the wonderful display put upon by the great Barca side. In a nutshell that explained the entire match. This Real Madrid side had no idea of what struck them for most of the match. The world has once again awed by the great performance put up by FC Barcelona last night, already there are statements which declare this team as one of the Greatest in the history of the game. This is not the first time this has happened. After we have won at Rome, we had same reaction and so was after our performance against Arsenal. But the stunning fact is that they simply forget this fact. To the build up of this match we were told that Mourinho under Real Madrid is going to cause Barca huge trouble and most probably will make them taste the first Clasico defeat in two years. Everyone of them predicted a Madrid victory yesterday, like they did in Rome. Atleast they had some logic behind predicting a Manchester United triumph at Rome, but the expectation of a Madrid win at Camp Nou was too much.

Why was the non-Catalan media confident of a Real Madrid triumph at the Camp Nou? Part of the problem is their fixation with Jose Mourinho. Jose Mourinho is one of the most hated manager as far as Barca fan is concerned, and in truth he has been one who did cause us some problem in recent meeetings. The last meeting was in last season's Champions League semi-final, where we were packed off by his Inter side.Fair enough. But nobody cared that in an overall season record, we had a 2-1 record against Inter. An Arsenal fan sumed up Jose Mourinho's managerial skill in a single sentence - "Poor Man, if you ask him to create a wall he would have done wonders, but you ask him to create something more beautiful then he has no idea about it". Eventhough I hate the self appointed "Special One" from my bottom of the heart, I felt pity for him yesterday. He was handed the wrong job. The job wasn't to stop Barca, it was to defeat Barca. He has done it last season, but I seriously doubt if it was not for the two day travel to Milan and a bit of complecency, we wouldn't have lost that tie after going ahead through Pedro. The second leg saw Mourinho at its best, one thing he knows is to stop teams from playing football but asking him to win a decider could be too much.

Barca handed Mourinho the biggest defeat of his career

For Mourinho, this defeat could be a bit hard to forget. Just weeks after he made fun of Villa as the most expensive waste while defending Benzema, Villa repleied with two goals and one assist. How's that for a response? So why didn't Mourinho go for a more defensive approach? Because he simply couldn't. This Real Madrid side has shown enough defensive fragility in recent week, the match at san Siro was a classic example. There is no midfield heavy weight like Cambiasso, Zanetti etc in this side. The best is a Diarra, who couldn't do a damn thing in the previous meetings. Secondly he is bringing a team which has lost the last four Clasico clashes to Camp Nou, a draw is not good enough. So he had to win this tie, something clearly Mourinho has least idea about. So he tweaked the side a bit, actually for the worse. It was like watching a replay of Alex Ferguson's mistake at Rome. Mourinho took Ronaldo on to the right from his usual left, Alves was smiling all the way. Many say that Higuain's absence was a blow, but I don't see teh Argentinian doing anything without decent supply to him. Ronaldo probably would have lost his personal battle for numero uno position to Messi once again. It is not fair to judge him from this match, as his midfield kept him out of the match. But when you claim that "I am worth 96 Million" and "I'm the first, second and third best player in the world", then you ought to win matches alone. One thing he has learned from this match that never irritate Iniesta, he is truly a classic example of "Dynamite comes in Small Package". He was seriously taken back by Iniesta's stern rection to the former's shove at his coach. Valdes may have looked idiotic running all the way from his goal to get booked, but the most important thing was that he made sure that Ronaldo got into the book.

I never considered Guardiola as a tactical genius. But yesterday night he got everything right. It was a stunning decision to ask Puyol to defend deep so that we don't get caught by Madrid's pace and he also convinced Alves to cut back on his forward runs. Mourinho got everything wrong, wheras our guy got almost everything right. Many would say that we were pretty confident from the begining and played without fear. I beg to differ. If you see the first half, especially the early first half we were a bit cautious. Our pressing said that. But then it was never a problem, as Real Madrid was more worried. The second half pressing was the usual Barcelona one. Hack the opponent off the ball and keep it and chase them till they get frustarated. Real Madrid players went on a kicking spree in the second half, you can't blame as the were supposed to kick something, which they couldn't see.

At Barcelona, destruction start in the middle that too in very small package. Iniesta and Xavi was the engine which shut off the Madrid side. Its not only that they control and creates openings, its the way they shut off opponents which makes them really dangerous. And that combination become realyy hazardous when Messi start linking with them, so was the case yesterday. There were moments were Camp Nou faithfuls were forced to applaud at the way these three controlled the midfield. Xavi was excellent and was the choice of Man of the Match for many. But I would have picked Ineista, as he played further up the pitch and at times were surrounded by two to three defenders. Anyway he didn't bother about them. I have long ago wrote about the idiocy in comparing both of the little geniuses - Xavi Hernandez vs Andres Iniesta . Together they destoy midfields and defense of the opponents with ease. They have done this to some of the best in the worlds. They ran circles around Manchester United, so it was absolute foolishness from Mourinho's part to assume that Kahdeira, Ozil and Alonso will over run them. I am not sure they seriously saw any meaningful possession. Then to be fair the guy who saw large chunk of possession in a Madrid jersey was Iker Casillas.

What's next? As Guardiola said, this is a great victory but we should not get carried away as we are only at the start of December. This victory should be forgotten before the next weekend as a new team will be a different challenge. Mourniho will be trying to use his park the bus style at Bernebeu in Clasico - 2. But we have to make sure that we maintain the lead going into the match as that would put him once again in a position to win the match - something he have no idea about.

Brilliant Barca Destroys Real Madrid - FC Barcelona - 5, Real Madrid - 0

FC Barcelona Humiliates Real Madrid with a Towering Display

Cristiano Ronaldo has to be the most disappointed man in the world tonight - he asked for eight, we could only gave only five. They say Real Madrid has the best defensive record in La Liga, boy oh boy they should have waited till this match. The English media somehow and my commentators predicted a comfortable Real Madrin win at Camp Nou, you heard that at Camp Nou. They have no idea of what we really are. Mourinho did get us out in Champions League last seasonbut they discounted teh fact that overall last season we had a 2-1 record against Mourinho - English arrogance at its best. Real Madrid learned in a bad way that with 250+ million worth of players and a manager who cost almost like another player, they are no match to this Barca side. They say Mourinho is the best, Pellegrini didn't had such a rout last season, a point for thought. On a night when Barca controlled the most hyped side of the world, Villa twice, Xavi, Pedro and Jeffren all scored for Barca. Barca is right now moved to the top of the league, and this is Pep Guardiola 's fifth consecutive victory against the team in white and bloody hell has 100% record against Real Madrid.As expected we roled out with a defense line-up of Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal. The midfield had Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. The attack had the usual trio formation of Messi, Villa and Pedro. HIguain picked up a late injury and Benzema started for Real Madrid.

In the 6th minute Barca had their first shot on target when Lionel Messi's chip from a corner hit the post. In trhe 10th minute Xavi put Barca in the lead after Iniesta picked him inside the box with a great ball. The ball deflected of Marcelo and fell perfect for him to tapit pass Casillas. In the 12th minute Di Maria forced a save from Valdes conceding a corner. We went 2-0 up with Pedro scoring from a great Villa assist in the 18th minute. Casillas could only parry the Villa cross but it went staright to Pedro. In the 27th minute Xavi played a great chipped ball to Pedro, who failed to make anything out of it. In the 31st minute we had a huge confrontation with Barca players sorrounding Ronaldo after he pushed Guardiola while taking the ball from the Barca coach. In teh end both Valdes, who ran almost half the pitch to get involved in it and Ronaldo both were booked. In the 45th minute Messi was booked for I don't know what after being elbowed on face by Ricardo Carvalho. Maybe La Liga has given the rights to elbow opponents in the face to Real Madrid boys. Real Madrid did end the half much better than they started and that meant that the match is far from over. Going into the break, it was clear that sitting back could hurt us more.

In the 48th minute Messi went in for a fine run but his shot deflected, it falled well for Villa but Villa's shot also was blocked. In the 52nd minute Xavi missed a great chance after putting through by Messi. In the 55th minute David Villa made it 3-0 when he latched onto a great pass from Messi to finish it past Spain's numero uno custodian. In the 58th minute Villa hit his second of the night with a beautiful finish after Messi's defense splitting ball put Villa through at some 30 yards of distance from goal. Messi has been somewhat quiet in first half, but in the second he was tormenting Real Madrid defense, if they had any. FC Barcelona players were more keen on playing total football and making mockery of Real Madrid after the fourth goal. Real Madrid players started to show their frustration with constant kicking on Barca players. In the 74th minute Guardiola took off Villa for Bojan. In the next minute Bojan had a great chance when he was played through by Xavi but lost his footing. Next minute he had another chance but hit a ferocious shot at the keeper, Casillas had to be on his toes to save that. In the 87th minute Xavi who opened the scoring for Barca was replaced by Keita and Pedro was replaced by Jeffren. Guardiola did well to leave Xavi and Iniesta till late in the pitch, which completely took off the chance of any Real Madrid comeback. In teh stoppage minute Jeffren scored for Barca, what a dream Clasico debut for the youngster. Bojan played a great ball into box, Iniesta could have put it back into net, but Jeffren was destined one. Ramos made it memorable for him with a red card for a hack on Messi. The idea looked to have to get Messi injured after that he pushed Puyol and Xavi.

What a night, we had. Now nobody is going to speak anything of matching us for sometime. Everyone of the players played their part well. Alves looked a bit less confident in first half but apart from that he was good. Busquets did really well to control things out. Madrid caan spend any amount of money but you still will not get a midfield like ours - as Xavi and Iniesta are the masters. Both of them has to be ranked at 10 for controlling the match, taking Real out of the match and Providing assists and goals to finish of our great rivals. Messi sadly could not find his name in teh scoresheet and lost the goal scoring streak. But he had an absolutely great night, providing a number of assist and combining with Iniesta and Xavi throughout the match. Pique in the defnse looked like a weak link at times but Puyol and Abidal both had a great night and was their everytime he was put under pressure. David Villa didn't score for some match recently, but we are perfectly fine with that if he is going to turn up like this in big clashes. In the end of the day we had a beautiful and more respectful revenge on Mourinho's arrogance, which he displayed heavily last season at Camp Nou. This victory once again confirms that the lose at San Siro was upto mostly we losing it, rather than Mourinho winning it. We bloody hell had 66% possession in the match against the so called best side of the world.

Building Up to the Clasico

El Clasico Day, It's the biggest day in European Footballing Calendar

Ok, FC Barcelona have to deal with Pananthanaikos before even thinking about next Monday's clash against their eternal rivals. The inability to seal the Champions Laegue qualification by now could come to hurt us still. Anyone can pick an injury in that match, where you cannot blame the players if they are a bit unfocussed. Real Madrid, who has already secured their place in next round can afford to stay focussed for the big clash on Monday. That was precisely why I went mad when Milan conceded their lead in the dying minutes at San Siro. How we will line up in Greece is still not sure, but I believe we will still have a quite strong line-up on the pitch. Guardiola don't want a scenario where we have to go to Russia and secure the qualification. In that sense, Clasico happening in Monday is not a bad thing as we will get atleast one extra day to recover.

At the start of this season, La Liga looked to be being a more than two horse race. But it was proven wrong since then and has once again became a two horse race with the two clasico clash being the most important games of the season. It would be in this two clashes the Champion of the the League most probably going to be decided. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has been in exceptional form since the start of the seasom, there were some earlier hiccups but both have managed to recover from those and is in prime form in the build up to the "Mother of all Clashes". The 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao by Madrid and the 8-0 destruction of Almeria at a ground where goals have been a rarity has raised hopes in respective fan bases. Clasico clashes never have been dull and this one with such a build up promises lots of goals.

FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, A Clash of two Different Attacking Styles

FC Barcelona fans, me including was pretty much dissappointed at the 5-1 thrashing of Athletic Bilbao by the team in White. The major reason of the disappointment was that Real Madrid never looked in total domination and did struggle against Bilbao. But the fact that they scored five without playing really well says a lot of the fire power under their belly. The match against Athletico is a good reference point in determining the quality of Real Madrid attack. Madrid based media house claims that Real Madrid is the most attaractively attacking team in the whole of Europe and also the best, so does Sergio Ramos. We Barca fans are never going to admit that as it is not the truth, but I have to admit that they are the most dangerous counter attacking team in the Europe. The Pace at those counter are extremely dangerous that the entire opposition defense looks at times caught in a time warp. And it is precisely where Real Madrid can hurt Barca on Monday clash. Whenever they break, they break with four to five players on attack.

FC Barcelona usually plays a system which will have two full back and at times they play like wing back rather than full backs. If those two players are exposed by the pace of Madrid counter, then there is a high chance that our defense could melt down. In that sense the most importnat Barca player has to be Eric Abidal, as he would have to curb his attacking instincts and had to do an extra stint helping his central defense at times. Alves will be expected to get caught but if Abidal can keep Maria on check, then we may have not much to fear. Cristiano Ronaldo may have been the best player for Madrid by statistics, but if you look at their recent matches you get to see who is the real heart of those counters - Mezut Ozil. His distribution on the counters are the one which makes it absolutely dangerous and it would be essential for us to keep a tight check on him. We close him down then we most probably would have cut down 65% of Madrid's creativity.

But then its a different matter destroying the likes of Athletic Bilbao and trying to do same against Barca. Mesut Ozil did get a strange lesson on this during the World Cup when Spain and Germany met. Germany used their counetr attacking strengths to great effect against the likes of England and Argentina, but against a team like Spain who does not give the ball away it turned out to be a different story. So Barca midfield could be a different test for the likes of Mesut Ozil. Another advantage Barca has is the traditional line-up employed by Mourinho this season. It is not yet clear whetehr MOurinho will stick to the usual eleven or go for a bit more defensive one, like he always did against Barca. The presence of Higuain, Ronaldo, Maria, Ozil in a line-up is kind of good news from a defensive point of view, as none of them will be dropping back to help their defense. So if Busquets remains strong we could dominate the midfield easily and could control the game from the onset. Marcelo, th Real Madrid left back has been crucial in all Madrid attack this season; but with Messi on right he may not show huge enthusiasm in getting forward.

The 8-0 drubbing of Almeria comes at the right time and also mentally prepares the team well for the Clasico.There is no denial that it did rattle some inside the Real Madrid camp. Cristiano Ronaldo's dismissal of the same and the subsequent challenge to score eight against them clearly shhow that he didn't like that. So mentally Barca has the advantage going into this game. Guardiola has been enjoying an unprecedented winning run in the Clasico , winning four out of four encounters. And the fact that they could go top of the league with a win over arch rival should motivate the players further. But if they need any more motivation, a decent look at Mourniho's celebration after Inter qualified for the final would be more than enough. Its time to show the blabbering idiot who seriously is the Boss.

Solid Barca Conquer Madrid; Real Madrid - 0, Barca - 2

Barca Secures Yet Another Victory over Real Madrid

FC Barcelona returned with a win from Camp Nou for the second time in a row. Last season we saw the 6-2 humilation of Madrid, but this time it was far from a humiliation but still a solid performance. Some quarters of media will potray it still as a humiliation as FC Barcelona never had to play at their best to beat this team in white, who were assembled at a cost of more that 250 million. Lionel Messi fired FC Barcelona into the lead in the 33rd minute and the new kid on the block Pedro Rodriguez scored the second to complete the scoreline. With this win Barca not only broke Real Madrid's cent percent home record but also leaped past them in the League table by three points. With seven more games to be played, there is all still left in the league to play, but no one can deny that Barca has serious momentum on their side. Guardiola employed a 4-1-2-3 formation. But the personals used in the formation surprised many. The defense had Puyol playing the right back role, Milito and Pique playing thye centre back role and Maxwell playing the left back. Busquest remained above the defense in the defensive midfielder role. Xavi and Keita formed the lower midfield behind the trio of Alves, Messi and Pedro. This was the first time we saw Alves being used as a pure attacking option.

Real Madrid Starts Solid against Barca

There was an expectation that the new tactic used by Barca could confuse Real Madrid. But that wasn't the case, as they settled well into their 4-4-2 formation. In the early exchanges the home side looked far more dangerous than Barca, espcially with Ronaldo's and Marcelo's pace. Ronaldo's direct runs against our defense was causing serious trouble and it was his team mates inability to complement which helped Barca remain unhurt. The initial exchanges gave an impression that we are probably seeing a ManU vs Chelsea match as there was much of running but with no end ball into the box. In the 12th minute Messi had a good case for penalty after he grabbed the ball from Madrid left back, ran into the box, then cut back to lose the defender but was brought down by Albiol. But strangely no penalty was given. The next chance came from a free kick in the 15th minute after xavi was brought down just outside the box; Alves blasted wide. It is quite strange to see Alves taking free kicks from close ranges, something he don't have the talent to do. The rest of the half went without much penetration into the box by both teams. It took a moment of geniuses from Messi and Xavi to break the deadlock. In the 33rd minute Messi won a free kick in the attacking half, he took it quick passing it to Xavi and contuinuing his run; What Xavi did then was great - he chipped the ball above the defense on to Messi, who chested the ball inside the last defender Albiol and then slotted it past an on rushing Casillas. The rest of the half continued without any more serious action. Going into the half time, we had the advantage of the goal but Madrid still was looking dangerous. With three players getting booked in first half - it could have been quite risky in second half. Xavi was booked for dissent and Messi was booked for handling the ball; but the referee never issued a car for Alonso for handball(which could have seen him being eliminated).

Second half I was expecting Guardiola to replace Keita, who was poor in first half with Iniesta. But Guardiola continued with the same team. In the 51st minute Valdes saved Marcelo's shot from outside the box after the referee played advantage. The next to test Valdes was Ronaldo with a long range shot but was pretty comfortable for Valdes. In the 55th minute Pedro put Barca 2-0 ahead when he was played on by a Xavi through ball. Pedro raced clear off Arbeloa and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom far corner. That goal shocked Madrid and they desperately started to serch for their first goal. In the 59th minute Van Der Vaart had a good chance when he was played onside by Milito but his shot was palmed away by Valdes. In the 63rd minute Guardiola brough in Iniesta for Maxwell. That was a very good move as our midfield wasn't able to absorb the pressure after the second goal. Alves moved to right back and Puyol to left back. In the 68th minute Ramos was extremely lucky that the referee overlooked his nasty challenge on messi and instead waved to play on which resulted in another counter ending with Valdes bringing in one more save to deny Ronaldo. In teh 72nd minute it was Casillas turn to make a splendid save. Messi received a pass from guess who, Xavi and then holds off Albiol before shooting but Iker did really well to deny him. In the 78th minute Iker does it again denying Messi after Xavi broke the offside trap with a great ball. With Iniesta in the midfield we were starting to see more of possession and the rest all was academical.

For the last few matches, we saw Messi over-shadowing everyone else in the team including the hard working Xavi. But this was indeed Xavi Hernandez night. He showed very clearly why he is regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo once again was on the receiving end of a solid Barca performance. Ronaldo did well but at times was more interested in showing who is the better player than involving his team mates into attack. Lionel Messi had an average game by his standards. One goal, one clear penalty shout and a couple of clear cut shots on target is hardly an average thing, but still to a great extent Madrid had him covered for most of time. But he still created huge danger when he waqs involved. It would be a huge dishonour not to mention Valdes contribution in this game. He did pull couple of good saves and looked real solid under our goal. With this victory Barca goes back to the top opening a three point lead. Consistent performance should be enough for Barca to maintain that lead in future. But with seven games still to play, La Liga is still wide and open.

Zlatan Scores in his Clasico debut; FC Barcelona-1, Real Madrid-0

FC Barcelona won the first edition of this season's Clasico with a solitary strike from Zlatan Ibrahmovic. Zlatan scored in the 56th minute after being introduced five minutes before in the place of Thierry Henry. After the sensational display at Bernebeu last year, people might have been disappointed by Barca's display tonight. This wasn't a typical Barcelona performance and it shows that the team has not yet hit the top gear. The most important thing from tonight's match is that we have regained the lead from Real Madrid and now has a two point advantage at the top. Guardiola lined up Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal in the defense. The midfield had Busquets playing along with Xavi and Keita. Iniesta, Henry and Messi formed the attacking trio. Ibra surprisingly started from the bench; maybe Guardiola thought it was risky to start both Messi and Zlatan after coming of injury.

Real Madrid came out on top in the early exchanges. Ronaldo and Kaka looked very dangeros from the start. Camp Nou faithfuls was whistling at every moment when Ronaldo had possession. In the 7th minute Ronaldo ran past Puyol on the left wing and sent in a great cross to Marcelo, who shot high. In the 9th minute Messi skipped past defenders and finds Henry but his shot was straight at casillas. In the 20th minute the entire Camp Nou was stunned for a second when they thought Ronaldo has put Real ahead. Kaka setup Ronaldo spotting his run past Pique but Valdes produced a stunning save to deny the Portuguese winger. That save became crucial as far theresult is concerned. Kaka was looking dangerous as the creative midfielder. He found Marcelo in an excellent position in the 26th minute but Puyol produced a stunning save denying the Brazilian. Barca were struggling to produce their free flowing football, but they started getting into the match neutralising Real Madrid. There was not much chances till the half time, only there were some pretty bad challenges.

The second half saw Barca coming with more intent. In the 46th minute Iniesta sent in a great cross into the box, but was cleared by Albiol. In the 51st minute Guardiola took Henry off and brought in Ibrahmovic. In the 53rd minute Madrid sets off on a counter from Barca corner; Higuain turns inside and look set to shopt but Puyol produced another stunning block. That proved to be crucial as Ibra scored on the other end in the 56th minute with an excellent finish. Alves send in a high cross to the far post, Ibra volleyed int the corner on the run. After the goal Barcelona was looking to take control of the match. But Busquets was expelled in the 62nd minute for a second yellow card after a stupid handball. that made the rest of the game interesting as Real tried their best to equalise. Guardiola read the situation immediately and brought in Toure for Keita. You can't afford to have a defensive midfielder missing against Real Madrid. In the 70th minute Pique wasted a great chance to seal off the game whne he headed over from a free kick. In the 81st minute Benzema failed to convert from a promising position. Real Madrid was applying all the pressure to get the equaliser. But it was Messi who came close to a goal in the dying moments. In the 89th minute Casillas pulled out a stunning save to deny messi from a great position. But in the end Zlatan strike proved to be enough.

This was no classic performance from Barca. It shows that this team is not yet hit the top gear. Busquets performance was very poor. He looked very vulnerable with quick taleneted foot players in the middle. Puyol was the best player for Barca. I had to appreciate Guardiola's good thinking tonight. I don't regard him as a great tactician. But tonight he read the situations well. He brought in Zlatan for Henry early on giving a much longer chance for Ibra. He also brought in Toure for Keita once Busquets was sent off.

How significant is "El Classico", nowadays?

The "El Classico " is almost upon us and football lovers around all over the world will be making sure that they don't miss this one. On Sunday, November 29 the world of football will be brought to a standstill as the gods of football clash at the Camp Nou. The Real Madrid - Barca rivalry is one of the oldest rivalries in the world of football. No footballing rivalries might have so much political influence like the El Classico. May be the Inida - Pakistan clashes are the only one which is similiar to the Barca - Real clash. It has always been considered as the clash of two political ideologies, rather than footballing ideologies. Definitely Real Madrid vs Barcelona clash is a clash of two footballing philosophies, but the political reasons have always dominated these clashes. For Barca supporters it has been always a clash between the oppressor and the oppressed. The closeness of Real Madrid to the centre of power has resulted in Real Madrid being branded as the club of the dictator, Franco. Even though Real Madrid supporters and management has also suffered at the hand of Franco, this notion still remains across the world. In that sense FC Barcelona supporters always believe that a clash against Real Madrid is against the ideals of Franco. Many may not agree with me, but I have seen in many discussion groups - sentiments of the same. It was during the reign of Franco, FC Barcelona truly became "More Than a Club"(as their moto say). FC Barcelona matches was the place where the progressive thinking Spanish nationals gathered to voice their protest. Catalunya was the birth place of all the modern thinking in Spain and subsequently became the centre place of protest against the cruelty of Franco.

The "El Classico" of nowadays is not at all a clash of political ideologies any more. It has to do with the fact that in modern Spain, Barcelona emerged as a real powerhouse rivalring Madrid. Even though the Catalunya movement is still strong and has huge following in Catalonia, it is no more linked with these rivalries. But the modern day Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona matches are still a very significant clash. It is now a clash between two very successful footballing ideologies. FC Barcelona's footballing ideologies has been based on their youth set-up at La Masia and their unending quest to play the beautiful game, the right way. Meanwhile Real Madrid youth setup is as good as Barca's but their philosophies work on buying the best and being the best. The first Galacticos Era with his initial success has become the philosophies on which Madrid operates nowadays. Money is not at all a problem for Real. We Barca fans claim that our philosophies are morally right, but the Madrid fans are also going to do the same. So there is no point in debating which one is morally the right philosophies, none of us are going to give an inch. Whatever it means, Sunday's clash at Camp Nou is the real clash of Barca and Real ideologies, I mean footballing. This is a clash between a Real Madrid side, who has been stiched together with over 250 million dollars and a FC Barcelona side which has seen majority of the stars coming out of La Masia. Real Madrid have brought some of the best players in money whereas Barca produced those great players in their side.

Hence, a "El Classico" may not have a political influence of the older times, but it is still a clash of two contrasting ideologies. But above all it is one of the biggest marketing fiesta in modern day football. El Classico's importnace is always huge in a season as it is always a match between two title contenders. Spanish football is dominated by the two powerhouses based in Barcelona and Madrid. These two clubs always remain the real title contenders and a clash between these two at many times, decides the title. This El Classico will be different. This one above all will be a clash of footballing ideologies because of the way the teams are assembled.

Barca Humiliates Real Madrid; Real Madrid -2, Barca - 6

In one of the most sensational displays away from home, FC Barcelona humiliated Real Madrid by scoring half a dozen goal against the. With the 2-6 victory FC Barcelona has extracted some revenge for the humiliation at the same ground last season. In a match billed to be the "Title Decider" this season, Barca showed their technical superiority to emerge comfortable winners. Madrid went into the lead early on with a Higuain header but goals from Henry, Puyol and Messi put Barca firmly in control by half time. After half time Madrid pulled one back through Ramos but Henry, Messi and Pique got barca to half a dozen for the match. There were doubts raised about Henry about his fitness, but he put all those to rest with a spectacular performance. Guardiola put his best side for the El Classico encounter. Henry, Eto and Messi formed the front trio. The midfield was rightly formed with the magical trio - Iniesta, Toure and Xavi. The defense was made up of Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal. And as usual Valdes kept the goal. The first El Classico of this season featured a ultra defensive Real Madrid side being beaten at Camp Nou. Since it was a "Must Win Match" for Madrid and there was an expectation that there will be goals in this match, but nobody expected to see eight goals.

The first attack in the match was from Barca in the first minute with Xavi forcing a decent save from Saint Iker from the edge of the box. After that Real Madrid buyoued by fans produce some exciting football causing us some trouble, especially Robben. They were rewarded with a goal in the 14th minute when Sergio Ramos got past Abidal and send in a great cross to Higuain in the box; Puyol left Higuain unmarked and the Argentinian made no mistake in putting Real Madrid ahead. The response from Barca was excellent. They came forward in flocks and most importantly raised their rhythm to some notch up. Then in the 16th minute Messi send in a delightful chip to Henry putting ahead of Ramosa, henry ran into the area and cooly finished the ball into the goal past Iker Casillas. Then in the 20th minute Henry was brought down on the left of box by Cannavaro. Xavi picked out Puyol with the resultant free kick and an unmarked Puyol headed the ball into the goal to take Barca into lead. Madrid responded immediately with first Robben and then Raul bringing on necessary intervention from Valdes. Then in the 27th minute Xavi send in a great pass to Eto, whose shot was well saved by Casillas. Fc barcelona was raising the tempo taking Real out of the game. In the 29th minute Messi and Iniesta combined well to create a wonderful chance but Messi's shot was saved by Casillas. In the 35th minute Xavi robbed Lass off the ball and sent Messi through, Messi made no mistake in slotting the ball past Casillas. The first half ended with Alves free kick from outside the box being saved low by Casillas.

In the second half Fc Barcelona started playing around with the Madrid side. Many occasion it looked like Barca players were contend in playing the ball around rather than going forward. In the 48th minute Iniesta skipped past three defenders but hs shot went wide. In the 54th minute Messi collects the ball near half line and sets off on a great run skipping past defenders and send in a great cross across the face of goal, but none of his team mates showed any interest in getting anywhere near him. Meanwhile many of FC Barcelona's were blocked off by the most unlikely of source - the referee. Two times he came in way of a great Barca move. Then against the run of play Madrid scored a second reviving their hopes from a Ramos Header off a Robben free kick. Barca responded immediately restoring the two goal lead with a cool finish from henry in the 58 minute. Xavi send in a great pass to Henry on the left who slotted home past a Casillas who stormed out of him goal. In the 60th minute Eto send in a great cross from right who surprisingly missed the open chance. Guardiola brought in Keita for Henry in the 61st minute. Then in the 75th minute Messi and Xavi combined well to create the fifth goal with a great finish. Messi played the ball to Xavi on the edge of box, Xavi rounded off the defenders with a great 360 degree turn and released Messi on the right. But it was dissappointing to see Guardiola not taking off important players immediately. Then in the 83rd minute Pique scores a great goal with a great finish to complete the socre sheet. Pique started the move near the half line; Pique passed the ball to Messi who released Eto on the right; Eto then send in a greta cross which was well finished by Pique. That was FC Barcelona's 100th goal of the league. Guardiola immediately took out Toure and Iniesta in the 85th minute and brought in Bojan and Busquets. In the 87th minute, Bojan skipped past Heinze on the right and send in a great cross only to see Messi placing the ball wide.

This was an excellent performance which might have already sealed this year's League. Barca can now concentrate on the encounter with Chelsea with no distraction on mind. Guardiola never gave an hint of how he is planning to line up his defense of that match. But with this win there is no doubt that barca players will be on the right frame of mind while travelling to Stamford Bridge. All of Barca players were good last night, but Henry, xavi, Messi and Pique stood out. Pique's form is impressive. It was good to see Messi doing well once again. Eto was also involved well but could not get into the score sheet. Iniesta may not have any assist to boast from this match but he was really good, it is no surprise that he makes Xavi look so dangerous. There were a series of 360 degree turns by both the "Little Men" of Barca leaving Real Madrid playesr at sea. Toure was again excellent throughout the match. But Guardiola do have things to ponder, especially aerial defending.

Madrid Humiliate Barcelona; R.Madrid-4, Barca-1

The humiliation of applauding Madrid players on to the pitch turned out to be minute, in comparison of the humiliation suffered in the match. Madrid destroyed Barcelona with a great all round performance. The final score line is a great injustice to Madrid, yes I mean what I said - they should have won the match by a dozen goals or so. Victor Valdez should be credited with keeping the Madrid score line to just four. This Classico was built up as a last attempt by Barcelona players to restore some pride; instead the Barcelona players were not at all interested. El Classico stature came from the fact that it is the ultimate clash between two Titans - but yesterday Madrid played like a real Champion, but Barcelona's performance resembled a team which has just been promoted to first division. But the most terrible part was to see Rijkaard sitting in his seat devastated by his players performance. He has given so much to the club, he deserved a better performance. Actually its better for him that he leave this season, as this bunch of players will not stand and fight for him.

Barcelona started with Marquez partnering Puyol. Thuram should have started instead of Marquez, Gudjonsen cam in midfield with Bojan, Henry and Messi upfront. Real Madrid settled down pretty quickly and had their first shot on target in the first minute when Robben curling kick was caught by Valdez. Then in the 6th minute Valdez tried to be smart and almost gave a way the ball to the opposition in the box - he was trying to round off Raul. In the 13th minute, Raul scores after a quick exchange of passes between Sneijder, Robben and Guti. Barcelona can consider themselves lucky for the referee overlooking the foul by Guti on Marquez, but whatever that finish from Raul was simply outstanding. He curled the ball past Valdez. Then in the 17th minute, Valdez gave another scare when he spilled a good long range shot from Gago towards Raul, but he managed to somehow grab it the second time. In the 21st minute referee gave a free kick for a non existing foul by Abidal on Guti. Guti's resulting free kick was directed into the net by Robben, who simply ran across the goal mouth without getting picked up by a defender. What pathetic marking! Rijkaard tried to instill some spirit by bringing on Giovani instead of Gudjonsen. After the second Goal Messi understood that he is not going to get any support from his team mate and tried to up the tempo all by himself. That resulted in a free kick just outside the box for a foul on Messi; but as usual Henry shot that wide. In the 32nd minute, Giovani shot wide from outside the box. Casillas cannot be blamed if he has started a taking a nap by this time, he never saw the ball. Then in the 34th minute Valdez puts across an excellent save to deny Guti. Next up was Robben's turn, he turned the entire defense inside out in the box but Valdez brought in another wonderful save to deny him also. In the 45th minute Bojan wins free kick again just outside the box only for Xavi to waste it. The first half story was simple - Madrid outplayed Barcelona in every field. May be that is an exaggeration, Madrid played and Barcelona players watched that was the truth.

Everyone hoped to see a different second half. Sylvinho was brought in place of Marquez but nothing changed. In the 54th minute Puyol's and Sylvinho's terrific intervention denies Madrid of a third goal. Sylvinho gets hurt in that process and had to be replaced by Edmillson. In the 63rd minute Higuain put Madrid three nil up, when he converted from an excellent pass from Diarra. In the 69th minute Valdez brings in another save to deny this time Marcello. But then in the 77th minute referee gave a penalty to Madrid for Puyol handling the ball that was again a bit harsh. Van Nistel Rooy scores the penalty and that was his 50th league goal for Madrid. In the 80th minute Robinho who was brought in after half time makes fun of the entire Barcelona defense with his trademark step overs. Again like the last ten minute in the first half, Messi single handedly tried to challenge Madrid. in the 81st minute Messi was denied by a terrific save by Casillas. In the 86th minute Messi was again denied by Casillas after an excellent run into the box. Then in the next minute Messi provides an inch perfect through ball from which Henry scores the consolation goal for Barcelona. In the injury time Xavi picks up a second yellow card and gets himself eliminated.

With this performance and Villareal's victory early in the night, Barcelona made sure that they have to play the qualifications for the nextb season's Champions League. This timid performance also saw Victor Valdez being toppled from the top of Zamorra table deservingly by Casillas. To a great extent, this humiliation was necessary, but cannot stop sympathizing with Rijkaard. Messi needs to step up his game, more importantly understand that he alone sometimes have to turn the matches. Whenever he tried to step up the tempo all by him Madrid looked uncomfortable.

Rise Of Lionel Messi

An outstanding Lionel Messi saved the El-Classico for the catalans and most importantly made sure that the difference between Sevilla and the defending champions will be only 3 points. Don't be surprised if yesterday's El-Classico will be remembered as Lionel Messi's ElClassico. At last Messi started giving justification to El Diego's comments of making his successor. He has been showing flashes of his brilliance till yesterday, but yesterday he just released the first part of a hopefully long film called "Messi Unleashed". Yesterday's match was a battle between the collective determinations of the mardid players and individual brilliance of Barcelona players. As usual Barcelona defence played havoc and was responsible for their entire problems. But Barca players were not helped properly by a team management which was as confused as the players. First of all I never understood the formation played by Barca yesterday, but I am lucky that I am not the only one. It looked like the players also never had any idea and moreover they were not at all confident with the defence. Otherwise its not easy to explain the number of reckless challenges thrown by players.

The first Goal came from a defensive lapse from the most unlikely player, Thuram. But this has been the story of Barcelona this season. The faults are coming from the most unlikely players of all. Last season Edmillson looked like one of the best defensive midfielder, this season it gives me nightmares thinking about he playing in the side. So is the case with Marquez. Hopefully there are some goodnews coming and most probably we will sign Abidal and Frings this summer. These two guys surely should solve our aerial defence problem. But then when Thuram and Zam came everyone said this, you cannot guess anything in Barcelona.
The Goals scored by Barca were brilliant. Beautiful teamwork and individual skills. Iniesta looked like he was playing Polo when he was put in the Back. But the moment he came forward he was back to his best. Gudjonsen looks like he will give us a more physical option infront of the goal. The defence........mmmmmmmmmm... Did we have one? I don't know... deco didn't look at his best. Ronnie showed flashes of brilliance. But the real stars of night were Messi, Iker Cassilas and Victor Valdes. They were just simply awsome.