2011 has been a spoiled year for El Classico. Usually an event that occurs only twice a year in their two league match-ups, conspired to have the two spanish giants meet in every competition possible. Tomorrows clash will mark the 7th time in a single calendar year that Barcelona meet Madrid, and nearly every game has it's own memorable moments. Ronaldo finally breaking his Barca cherry (although from the spot), Mourinho poking Barca assistant couch Tito Villanova in the eye during a sideline scrum, Ronaldo's headed effort over Jose Pinto to finally earn Mourinho a Madrid trophy in extra time in the Copa Del Ray final, or Messi's masterpiece at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final match. With exceptional moments from each side, this is how all of 2011s Classico's shook out.
April 16 2011 La Liga Week 32 Barcelona 1 - 1 Madrid
Messi '53 (p) Ronaldo 82' (p)
April 20, 2011 Copa Del Ray Final (at Estadio Mestalla, Valencia) Barcelona 0 - 1 Madrid (aet)
Ronaldo 103'
April 27th, 2011 UEFA Champions League Semi-Final First Leg Barcelona 2 - 0 Madrid
Messi 76' 87'
May 3rd 2011 UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg Madrid 1 - 1 Barcelona
Pedro 54' Marcelo 64'
August 14th 2011 Supercopa de Espana Final First Leg Barcelona 2 - Madrid 2
Ozil 13' Villa 36' Messi 45'+1' Alonso 54'
August 17th 2011 Supercopa de Espana Final Second Leg Madrid 2 - 3 Barcelona
Iniesta 15' Ronaldo 20' Messi 45', 88' Benzema 82'
December 10, 2011 La Liga Week 16 Barcelona ? - ? Madrid
It's hardly surprising to see, that as Messi goes, so do Barcelona. Seeing as how he is the reigning player of the year, it shouldn't be a shock to anyone, and i expect tomorrow to e no different. There are two ways the game may be played; Madrid will either park the bus, a favorite tactic of Mourinho against Barca, but rarely works for the entire game, or Madrid will do what they've done all season and attack, attack, attack. Nobody scored more goals in the league this year than Madrid, nor the Champions League group stage. The new Galaticos know how to score goals, and they can score them from anywhere with anybody. Ronaldo has been much more efficient in front of goal this year, finally learning that he can rack up assists as well as burying the ball into the net., making him more of a threat than ever. But with 'the special one' you never quite know what you are going to get. Which to Barca, is irrelevant, as Pep Guardiola will play the Barca brand of football, damned of who is on the other side.
That being said, Pep has plenty of his own questions to answer in the next 24 hours. What formation will Barca play? Who will be in central defense? who will be on the left? who will be on the right? If you haven't been following the results, you would think Barca are in a crisis (which with every loss or draw, or even narrow victory, is apparently the situation.). Barcelona has been playing with a 3-4-3 system of late, partially due to injuries in defense, and partially to bring in an extra midfielder, because you can't keep Thiago Alcantara, or Cesc Fabregas on the bench every day. The usually solid central pairing of Pique and Puyol has had injury problems for the last 18 months, mostly with the 33 year old captain, who picked up a head injury in last weeks 5-0 win over Levante. In his absence, former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has been brilliant in the middle, despite his 5'9" measurement. Pique should be well rested and the creativity of Barcelona has been attributed to him as his long passes and incredible accurate, he can run with the ball and has shown an exceptional scoring touch for a defender. With Pique healthy, Carles Puyol will make sure he is in the match, leaving Guardiola no choice but to play his 'normal' 4-3-3 formation, as he will need Dani Alves and Abidal to contain the likes of Angel DiMaria who is ruthless on the left.
With the back four sorted out, Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal, the next question is who is left out of the midfield? Boasting the best midfield, possibly in the history of the game, Xavi Hernandez and Iniesta are starting, regardless of the formation. The third midfielder is usually Sergi Busquets, who has also played his fair share of central defense. However, Sergi has a penchant for spending too much time on his back looking for fouls, and the midfield may need a holding player with some teeth if Madrid decide to make the game a more physical affair. Enter Javier Mascherano, who deserves a starting spot with his play this year. Unfortunately it falls to the coach to tell Thiago and Fabregas that they will be watching from the bench for the biggest game in the league yet. I expect the midfield to be Iniesta, Mascherano, and Xavi.
So who is up front? Messi, without a doubt, but the flanks are questionable. Pedro is coming off injury, but worked hard and scored twice mid-week in his first action since injury against BATE Borisov in the Champions League, netting his 50th goal for Barca in the process, and the youth team spent 90 minutes showing the world that there is life after Xavi and Puyol. On the other side, has been a bit of a revolving door for the Catalans for the last few years. Since 2008 Barcelona has had Samuel Eto'o, Theirry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovich, and now David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Barca B call up Issac Cuenca. Villa has a nose for goal, especially in big games, and even while at Valencia has scored against Madrid, but recently has been in a slump due to the Barca system. For Spain, who plays in a 4-4-2, he is much more comfortable, and has more room to move, but at Barca he is sharing the middle with Leo Messi, who can go where he wants, when he wants. Alexis Sanchez was brought in from Serie A side Udinese as a pure flank player with blistering speed, and although knocked down by injury earlier this year, he has come into his own lately and has found his scoring touch. Another, although unlikely, possibility is the young Catalan Issac Cuenca. While severely lacking in the looks department, Cuenca is a lanky, speedy flanker who is amazing with the ball at his feet. He hasn't had a lot of first team experience however, and certainly none in a game as big as this. If it were my decision i would give Villa a half to prove he is up for the big match, but i have a feeling that Sanchez will get the start.
In my much too long of a post, my starting XI are Valdes; Dani Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal; Iniesta, Mascherano, Xavi; Pedro, Messi, Sanchez.
Tomorrow i will give my prediction for the game, as well as a post game post (sobriety not guaranteed), and will look at the rest of action in La Liga.
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