Mar 31, 2016 by Alex Baker
Read this post in Spanish.
Barcelona head into Saturday’s El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid sitting pretty at the top of the table, ten points clear of their rival. With Atletico Madrid sitting second, one point above Real, and only eight match-days left in the season, nothing short of a full-scale collapse is likely to prevent Barça from retaining the La Liga title.
But while the title race may be all but over, this is the Clasico and there is pride at stake for both sides – particularly in light of their last meeting, when Barcelona strolled into the Santiago Bernabeu and romped to a 4-0 win. And that was without Lionel Messi!
As is their tendency, Real Madrid has since changed managers – parting ways with... Read More
Mar 30, 2016 by Alex Baker
Read this post in Spanish.
As the clock ticks down towards the final El Clasico of the season, we’re taking a look at both teams. Having already discussed the current problems Real Madrid is faced with, we now turn to the Barcelona team that currently tops the La Liga table and is the favorite to retain the Champions League trophy following last season’s treble.
Dominating La Liga with Real Madrid in turmoil is one thing, but this Barça side is the best in Europe at the moment. Could it also be the best Barcelona team in history? For decades that honor seemed to belong to the late, great Johan Cruyff’s “Dream Team,” which won Barça’s first European Championship back in 1992.
That was until Pep Guardiola –-... Read More
Mar 29, 2016 by Alex Baker
read this post en Espanol.
The gap between Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona heading into this weekend’s El Clasico is more pronounced than it’s been in years – both in terms of literal points on the board and in terms of what’s being produced on the pitch. And while the 10 point gap separating first-place Barça from third-place Madrid (Atletico Madrid occupy second place), means even a Real Madrid victory is unlikely to be enough to see them make any real progress in the title race, the question remains as to what the capital club needs to do long-term in order to close the gap on its Catalan rivals?
In the past 10 years, Real Madrid has won three La Ligas, two Copa del Reys, and one... Read More
Nov 16, 2015 by Alex Baker
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has been working hard to regain fitness in time for Saturday’s El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid. With the core of the Barça team away on international duty, coach Luis Enrique gave the four-time World Player of the Year, along with the rest of the remaining members of the squad, the weekend off.
But Messi chose to spend his Friday training with the Barça B team in an effort to further speed his progress toward regaining match fitness.
Messi has been out of action since September with a knee ligament injury. In his absence, teammates Luis Suarez and Neymar have done a dutiful job of carrying the mantle.
Suarez, somewhat ironically, is benefiting from his international suspension, at least at club level: Still in... Read More
Mar 23, 2015 by Alex Baker
In a game that Real Madrid dominated for long periods, it took a moment of stardust from Luis Suarez for Barcelona to gain the edge. With the score tied at 1-1 in the 56th minute, the Uruguayan used one touch to control a long ball in from Dani Alves and another to side-foot it just beyond the reach of the sprawling Iker Casillas into the far corner. It was a moment of brilliance worthy of the grandiosity of the El Clasico. Jeremy Mathieu had scored the opener for Barcelona, heading in an exquisite set-piece delivery from Lionel Messi in the 19th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized on the half-hour mark, firing home from close range after receiving a cheeky back-heeled pass from Karim Benzema. Still, it was Suarez’s night, with the... Read More
Mar 20, 2015 by Alex Baker
After admitting in his own words that 2014 was “a not very good year,” Lionel Messi has lately regained the mercurial form that made him the undisputed best player on Earth for most of the last half decade. As this weekend’s El Clasico looms, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner is flying high once again.
Reports in the Spanish media have it that Messi’s return to form is in part due to a renewed commitment to fitness that included giving up pizza and shedding eight pounds from this time last year.
According to the Catalan daily, Mundo, Messi has refocused his training efforts and has been showing up early for team sessions to do extra work. He’s apparently also been working with a dietician and the kinesiologist for the... Read More
Mar 19, 2015 by Alex Baker
Barcelona’s 1-0 Champions League defeat of Manchester City at the Camp Nou was tougher than it might have been, mainly thanks to City keeper Joe Hart, whose many saves kept the Premier League champions in the game if not the tie. Barça also hit the post twice and were unlucky not to win the game by a greater margin.
But all in all, despite the narrow scoreline, it was a masterful performance from Barcelona with Lionel Messi in particular shining brightly. The Catalans now head into Sunday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid in excellent form, with only two losses in 20 matches this calendar year.
It’s a far cry from the shambolic Barcelona side of earlier this season that was beset by talks of a crisis and rumors about... Read More
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