Real Madrid vs Barcelona - Match Thread

irishman86

Andersonisgod wrote: »

It's the clapping part that should land him the 3 game ban. He seems to clap the ref then directs his attention to Pique. I only half expect him to get the 3 game ban though so...

Nah it was purely at Pique, you could see he looked for Pique. Its funny, I have no idea how they dont murder each other with Spain

GavRedKing

This is one of my favourite pictures

Andersonisgod

irishman86 wrote: »

Nah it was purely at Pique, you could see he looked for Pique. Its funny, I have no idea how they dont murder each other with Spain

The threat of Del Bosque murdering them both might have been the trick to it.

Anyway it's also a straight red card for a dangerous foul, no way he escapes a 3 game ban.

irishman86

Andersonisgod wrote: »

The threat of Del Bosque murdering them both might have been the trick to it.

Anyway it's also a straight red card for a dangerous foul, no way he escapes a 3 game ban.

Oh I wasnt arguing about the 3 match ban, Ramos already had his holidays booked for them three games. He treats El Clasico as his certain red card of the year.

GavRedKing

If Ramos is given a 3 game ban he'll miss Deportivo away, Valencia home and Granda away.

Nothing too major, but given theyve Pepe and Varane both out and Nacho not exactly the best CB, they could have another wobble in them only consolation for Madrid is Barca are just as likely to drop points in their remaining games.

Great run in ahead though.

irishman86

GavRedKing wrote: »

If Ramos is given a 3 game ban he'll miss Deportivo away, Valencia home and Granda away.

Nothing too major, but given theyve Pepe and Varane both out and Nacho not exactly the best CB, they could have another wobble in them only consolation for Madrid is Barca are just as likely to drop points in their remaining games.

Great run in ahead though.

It needed a Barcelona win today, its why I dont think every neutral is happy with a Barcelona win

Andersonisgod

GavRedKing wrote: »

If Ramos is given a 3 game ban he'll miss Deportivo away, Valencia home and Granda away.

Nothing too major, but given theyve Pepe and Varane both out and Nacho not exactly the best CB, they could have another wobble in them only consolation for Madrid is Barca are just as likely to drop points in their remaining games.

Great run in ahead though.

Very true. I'm hoping to get to the Barca/Eibar game which is our last league game of the season and if things work out it'd be to see Barca lift the trophy.

Quazzie

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Very true. I'm hoping to get to the Barca/Eibar game which is our last league game of the season and if things work out it'd be to see Barca lift the trophy.

Do you go often?

dfx-

This just make the defeats to Malaga and Deportivo even worse.

This season, Barcelona have won away to Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid with three late winners and still have messed it up with sleepy defeats at sides in the bottom five and failed to score at all against Malaga and Kameni.:mad:

GavRedKing

dfx- wrote: »

This just make the defeats to Malaga and Deportivo even worse.

This season, Barcelona have won away to Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid with three late winners and still have messed it up with sleepy defeats at sides in the bottom five and failed to score at all against Malaga and Kameni.:mad:

I think the Malaga defeat was an omnishambles.

Real had been pegged back by Atletico earlier in the day and Barca could have set down a marker but the blew it.

Theres still a few twists and turns left and Barcas win puts pressure on Madrid, especially with Ramos out for a few games.

I'm struggling to see whos going to play CB, Pepe and Varane are due back in the coming week or so, I think but n Wednesday night, away to Deportivo, who will play Cb?

Danilo and Nacho is a potential clusterf**k waiting to happen.

Andersonisgod

Quazzie wrote: »

Do you go often?

2nd time this season. Hoping to increase that in the next few seasons, but last game I went to was the Barca/Man City game and featured a Messi hat trick, so got lucky there.

Burial.

GavRedKing wrote: »

This is one of my favourite pictures

I dunno what's more impressive, having the balls to do that in front of the Madrid crowd or being able to hold a jersey up perfectly with one hand. They do say he defies the laws of physics does Leo.

MD1990

The Talking Bread wrote: »

I don't think there are many serious posters on Boards, to be fair, who claim Ronaldo is better than Messi. Many (rightfully) defend him from other haters but it isn't to seriously say he is better than Messi. They are also 2 very different players, no matter what way you compare them.

Don't know why it is so hard from some people to enjoy both.
I think Messi is better but I think Ronaldo's has earned his Ballon D'or's also & is all time great.

The Talking Bread

MD1990 wrote: »

Don't know why it is so hard from some people to enjoy both.
I think Messi is better but I think Ronaldo's has earned his Ballon D'or's also & is all time great.

It is just childish fanboy stuff! They will grow out of it

klose

Have to laugh at ramos, how many red cards is that now in his career?


Messi, what else needs to be said. The only player around who'd have you left speechless with your hands on top of your head, the greatest.

GavRedKing

klose wrote: »

Have to laugh at ramos, how many red cards is that now in his career?

Messi, what else needs to be said. The only player around who'd have you left speechless with your hands on top of your head, the greatest.

22nd of his career apparently.

Arghus

Messi is arguably the greatest of all time, but it's sad that some people feel the need to somehow prove this by - incorrectly - stating that Ronaldo isn't one of the greats. He truly is. And I say that as someone who thought for quite a while that he was nothing more than a fancy dan.

Corholio

GavRedKing wrote: »

22nd of his career apparently.

Madness. He's too experienced and too old now to be losing the head like that in big games and letting down the team. He actually once went 2 years without a red card which is almost hard to believe considering the amount of them.

GavRedKing

Corholio wrote: »

Madness. He's too experienced and too old now to be losing the head like that in big games and letting down the team. He actually once went 2 years without a red card which is almost hard to believe considering the amount of them.

I think he made slight contact with Messi both a jumping, 2 footed tackle was serious intent to do damage to Messi.

Dunphy called him a headbanger in the past and hes right, on his day hes an excellent CB but hes prone to a mad, rash decision every now and again and that attempt tackle, on the half way line, with Messi going nowhere was one of them.

GavRedKing

Just on the Messi/Ronaldo thing, everyone will have the one the like or prefer more, thats natural, but if you cant appreciate and respect either for what theyve done for football, you should probably pack in watching football.

I prefer Messi but Ronaldos achievements too are nothing short of phenomenal and no stats can take away from that.

In some ways they needed each other and probably strive for greatness by watching what the other has done, they're the two stand out players of this generation, for me personally, Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest ever, Messi will be the greatest ever, but again, thats my opinion.

I still wouldn't deride what Ronaldo has done and will continue to do for the next few years, we're blessed to have both at the top of their games in our life time.

dfx-

M!Ck^ wrote: »

That was pretty much all Messi tbf
And not for the first time this season

he also has been part of the insipid displays and defeats as well, it has to be said. Had he pulled one of those out of the fire instead, a 2-2 draw would've been enough tonight for head-to-head.

Looking at the replay of the winner, Pique is pinned back on his goal-line playing the ball forward at the start of the breakaway and he ends up the furthest player forward for Barcelona on the six yard box.:pac:

dfx-

dfx- wrote: »

he also has been part of the insipid displays and defeats as well, it has to be said. Had he pulled one of those out of the fire instead, a 2-2 draw would've been enough tonight for head-to-head.

Looking at the replay of the winner, Pique is pinned back on his goal-line playing the ball forward at the start of the breakaway and he ends up the furthest player forward for Barcelona on the six yard box.:pac:

His form has been steadily rising back to his best anyway
I thought that was evident against Sociedad and against Juventus (only player doing something for Barca in both legs)

Had not mentioned but concerning times for Real in relation to Bale, his legs are turning into jelly.

NIMAN

Thinking about the game again this morning, and cannot believe how stupid Ramos was to tackle like that and get a straight red.

First off, it was incredibly dangerous. It could easily have finished Messi's career, it was that rash a tackle. Not sure why exactly he saw the need to do it? It wasn't as if he had been wound up, or been tackled hard himself or anything. It seemed just completely random (well maybe not that random for a man on 21 previous red cards).

Add to this that he has now possibly cost his team the title. He will miss 2 or 3 games, at a time when his team is struggling for players to play in defence. It was a shocking decision from such a senior player in one of the worlds top clubs. I rate him highly as a defender, but Jesus he is one thick bugger.

I think he will have cost Madrid the title this season.

Libadour

Great game of ball. The naivety of both teams when defending was absolutely astonishing though. Apart from Messi I thought Busquets was outstanding. Some of his one touch play was superb. Looking forward to the run in now.

Why is the Messi v Ronaldo debate still a thing?

The Red Lad

Very entertaining El Classico last night. Messi put in a huge shift , Madrid have a game in hand but a difficult one at that . Zizu will be under pressure the expectations in Madrid are huge and nothing but either the League or Champions league or both are expected every year .

irishman86

Andersonisgod wrote: »

2nd time this season. Hoping to increase that in the next few seasons, but last game I went to was the Barca/Man City game and featured a Messi hat trick, so got lucky there.

Do you go with anyone to to the games? If so how do you get tickets together :mad:
I couldnt find tickets for the life of me with two seats beside each other.

irishman86

GavRedKing wrote: »

Just on the Messi/Ronaldo thing, everyone will have the one the like or prefer more, thats natural, but if you cant appreciate and respect either for what theyve done for football, you should probably pack in watching football.

I prefer Messi but Ronaldos achievements too are nothing short of phenomenal and no stats can take away from that.

In some ways they needed each other and probably strive for greatness by watching what the other has done, they're the two stand out players of this generation, for me personally, Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest ever, Messi will be the greatest ever, but again, thats my opinion.

I still wouldn't deride what Ronaldo has done and will continue to do for the next few years, we're blessed to have both at the top of their games in our life time.

Just regarding the greatest ever, I dont see Messi holding that title. In a similar way Elvis will always be the king.
There is no way to tell which is better they are just two far apart in time. So with Maradonna/Pele already holding the title of 1/2, I dont see them losing it.
In Argentina Messi isnt even considered the greatest Argentine
I personally find it hard to say if they are better than original Ronaldo

Dirty Dingus McGee

irishman86 wrote: »

Do you go with anyone to to the games? If so how do you get tickets together :mad:
I couldnt find tickets for the life of me with two seats beside each other.

I think we all know the answer to that question.:D

lassykk

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I think we all know the answer to that question.:D

That's a bit harsh if you ask me and a bit unnecessary

The Talking Bread

I know the likes of AIG won't buy into this and will spout venom if Ramos doesn't get the same treatment as Neymar did re their respective "hand signals, clapping etc" post their respective "red cards" but it is pretty obvious Ramos was directing attention to Pique, not the ref.
Whether or not the authorities believe that, who knows, but all the camera angles in the world won't convince me it was but a mere reference to the two players' dislike of eachother.

Dirty Dingus McGee

lassykk wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

It's a joke for Christ's sake.

I'm pretty sure AIG has a sense of humour.

GavRedKing

irishman86 wrote: »

Do you go with anyone to to the games? If so how do you get tickets together :mad:
I couldnt find tickets for the life of me with two seats beside each other.

Just on this, a slightly similar sitaution, I went to Real Madrid vs Bilbao in October and I just became Madrista (member) for tickets and got two seated next to one another.

I'd imagine Barca have a similar setup where you could become a member and get 2 tickets on one account.

Andersonisgod

irishman86 wrote: »

Do you go with anyone to to the games? If so how do you get tickets together :mad:
I couldnt find tickets for the life of me with two seats beside each other.

It's very tough. A few times we've used third party sites, but I've gotten my tickets for the Eibar game today from Barca's official site. They were pricey enough but good seats and we were lucky to find 2 together. Honestly I can't take the credit for it though, my friend does all the work on that front, he's far more organised and administratively minded than I am, so I'm lucky in that respect.

jacool

If anything encapsulates one key difference between Ronaldo and Messi, its "showy".
At one stage in the second half, with the game tied at 1-1 a cross came into the Barcelona box, where Ronaldo was at the back post and Asensio was across the goal from him. Ronaldo had three choices
i) Try take the ball down and shoot
ii) head the ball back across the goal for Asensio to shoot or
iii) attempt an overhead/scissors kick (to score a goal that would be talked about forever)
He chose option iii) and that cost his side at least 2 points, if not 3.
Messi wouldn't have tried that in a million years. Non-showy, but extremely effective.

Andersonisgod

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I think we all know the answer to that question.:D

Hahaha this poor guy has to sit next to me while I scream Messi in his ear for 90 minutes and he's paying for that honour too.

irishman86

GavRedKing wrote: »

Just on this, a slightly similar sitaution, I went to Real Madrid vs Bilbao in October and I just became Madrista (member) for tickets and got two seated next to one another.

I'd imagine Barca have a similar setup where you could become a member and get 2 tickets on one account.

At least it will help me get Madrid tickets together, thanks for the reply

Andersonisgod wrote: »

It's very tough. A few times we've used third party sites, but I've gotten my tickets for the Eibar game today from Barca's official site. They were pricey enough but good seats and we were lucky to find 2 together. Honestly I can't take the credit for it though, my friend does all the work on that front, he's far more organised and administratively minded than I am, so I'm lucky in that respect.

I looked through Barca website and couldnt find anything, it was for the Eibar game, decided to go to Lazio match instead.
What 3rd party sites you recommend?

irishman86

jacool wrote: »

If anything encapsulates one key difference between Ronaldo and Messi, its "showy".
At one stage in the second half, with the game tied at 1-1 a cross came into the Barcelona box, where Ronaldo was at the back post and Asensio was across the goal from him. Ronaldo had three choices
i) Try take the ball down and shoot
ii) head the ball back across the goal for Asensio to shoot or
iii) attempt an overhead/scissors kick (to score a goal that would be talked about forever)
He chose option iii) and that cost his side at least 2 points, if not 3.
Messi wouldn't have tried that in a million years. Non-showy, but extremely effective.

This post is beyond stupid. How could one incredibly difficult chance cost a team any points. No matter how he attempted to score

Andersonisgod

irishman86 wrote: »

At least it will help me get Madrid tickets together, thanks for the reply

I looked through Barca website and couldnt find anything, it was for the Eibar game, decided to go to Lazio match instead.
What 3rd party sites you recommend?

Like Gav, my friend is also a member of the club. We've used Spanish Ticket Bureau a few times. Bit overpriced but you expect that cos it's a 3rd party site. Never been disappointed with the seats we've gotten though and thsir office is easy to find and based on La Rambla.

Turtwig

GavRedKing wrote: »

dfx- wrote: »

This just make the defeats to Malaga and Deportivo even worse.

This season, Barcelona have won away to Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid with three late winners and still have messed it up with sleepy defeats at sides in the bottom five and failed to score at all against Malaga and Kameni.:mad:

I think the Malaga defeat was an omnishambles.

It's Malaga. Even if Barca were steam rolling all before them with amazing football they'd still conspire to lose/ draw with Malaga. Only bigger certainty is a loss at the Anoeta (Sociadad).

Shambles though it was it was hardly surprising.

IncognitoMan

jacool wrote: »

If anything encapsulates one key difference between Ronaldo and Messi, its "showy".
At one stage in the second half, with the game tied at 1-1 a cross came into the Barcelona box, where Ronaldo was at the back post and Asensio was across the goal from him. Ronaldo had three choices
i) Try take the ball down and shoot
ii) head the ball back across the goal for Asensio to shoot or
iii) attempt an overhead/scissors kick (to score a goal that would be talked about forever)
He chose option iii) and that cost his side at least 2 points, if not 3.
Messi wouldn't have tried that in a million years. Non-showy, but extremely effective.

Is Ronaldinho too showy for you as well? What about Zidane, Henry, Brazilian Ronaldo, Cruyff, Maradona, Pele?

I'd just like to know where you draw the line?

jacool

irishman86 wrote: »

This post is beyond stupid. How could one incredibly difficult chance cost a team any points. No matter how he attempted to score

Because if you want your team to win, you pass the ball to someone in a better position to score.
Not stupid at all really.

jacool

IncognitoMan wrote: »

Is Ronaldinho too showy for you as well? What about Zidane, Henry, Brazilian Ronaldo, Cruyff, Maradona, Pele?

I'd just like to know where you draw the line?

Last night was about stopping your only rivals have a chance of competing for the title. Had Real gone 2-1 up, there's no way Barcelona would have come back to win the game.
There are loads of showy players, but what would they have done there?
That was a single chance to finish the tie, the season, everything.
Look what Marcelo did last week, ran past everyone, and then squared the ball to a player in a better position.

The Talking Bread

jacool wrote: »

Last night was about stopping your only rivals have a chance of competing for the title. Had Real gone 2-1 up, there's no way Barcelona would have come back to win the game.
There are loads of showy players, but what would they have done there?
That was a single chance to finish the tie, the season, everything.
Look what Marcelo did last week, ran past everyone, and then squared the ball to a player in a better position.

A lot of Ronaldo's goals come from him doing non "showy" apparently simple but intelligent thing of getting into a position where he merely has to finish or as some like to crow on about "tap in".

I don't see many strikers capable of positioning themselves so instinctively so often.

Ronaldo's amazing self confidence (ego if you want) gets the better of him sometimes but without it he would not have set the records he has.

I don't think Ronaldo is half as showy as you are claiming, greedy sometimes but he has an amazing assist record which proves a lot in itself.

jacool

The Talking Bread wrote: »

I don't think Ronaldo is half as showy as you are claiming, greedy sometimes but he has an amazing assist record which proves a lot in itself.

Point taken - just thought when that ball was crossed over that the league was wrapped up for Madrid.

NIMAN

Re: Barca tickets.

I used eatb.es before when looking for tickets, was able to select tickets beside each other. But its been quite a few years since I have been at the Camp Nou, so not sure what they are like to deal with now. Back then they showed a stadium map and you picked your seat, that option doesn't seem to be on their website now.

http://www.eatbgroup.com/sport-events-spain/football-packages/

rob316

I'm just in awe of Messi, 2 goals last night of the absolute highest quality. I feel priviledged to watch this genius. I respect Ronaldo as a tremendous goalscorer but Messi is just simply the greatest talent I have ever seen.

NIMAN

I think that final image of Messi holding up his shirt to the Madridista, having scored his 500th goal in the home of the old enemy, will be an iconic image in the world of sport for decades to come.

It didn't win any league, any cup or any trophy, but it is just so powerful. Maybe the most iconic Messi image ever?

NIMAN

The Talking Bread

NIMAN wrote: »

I think that final image of Messi holding up his shirt to the Madridista, having scored his 500th goal in the home of the old enemy, will be an iconic image in the world of sport for decades to come.

It didn't win any league, any cup or any trophy, but it is just so powerful. Maybe the most iconic Messi image ever?

Yeah, rightfully so! To score your 500th Barca goal in the last second of an El Classico to win a game you, arguably, needed to win is as scriptworthy as you can get, especially if they win the title!

But as someone said, if Ronaldo done the same thing in the Nou Camp the context would be different for the neutral!

But in a way, it adds to the perceived personalities people associate them with which makes their rivalry that more intriguing.

NIMAN

A better one