The Spanish Primera's much-ballyhooed "el Clasico" turned out to be a woodshed moment for Real Madrid and their loudmouthed boss.
The night before the match, RM arrived at their team hotel only to have one of their bus windows shattered by a brick. The two players in the vicinity were not hurt but a RM employee was allegedly hurt by flying debris.
Little did they know that the match would turn out much the same.
Barca just outclassed them. Not just the footy part, but the maturity part as well. Xavi and Pedro put the Blancos down by 2 in under 17 minutes. The score stayed 2-0 until halftime. Mourinho made a curious substitution at the half, subbing out Mesut Ozil (one of his playmakers) for the defensive-minded Lassana Diarra. Why would a manager do that when his team is down by two goals?
It didn't matter. Barcelona scored in the 55' and 58', both by David Villa. With the score 4-0 it was in Mourinho's words, "game over." The Azulgrana went on to score a fifth goal in injury time when sub Jeffren Suarez ran around a clueless Sergio Ramos. It was the worst beating Mourinho has taken as a coach of any team, and it certainly wasn't what the pundits predicted. I predicted a 6-0 score, so I was only one off! The Daily Mail described it as "Hell Clasico." :)
HIGHLIGHTS:
Messi was brilliant. I'm not a fan of his at all, but you have to admire his persistence. He didn't score and it didn't matter. He was a key part of most of the goals and even took a few unnecessary knocks from frustrated RM defenders. Carvalho took a cheap shot at him and Messi was booked for simulation. At the end of the match he was felled by a cynical Sergio Ramos tackle, who saw a straight red for his actions.
MISERABLE MOMENTS:
Unfortunately for RM the low points were courtesy of them. Ronny started off the venom with a stupid act involving Barca manager Pep Guardiola. In the 30' the ball went out of bounds and Guardiola caught it. Ronny ran over to take it and Guardiola threw it to someone else. Ronny SHOVED HIM and a bench-clearing melee began. Ronny's former teammate at United, Barca defender Gerard Pique, took after CR7 and they had to be restrained. Barca keeper Victor Valdes ran the half-length of the pitch from his goal to get in on the action. He confronted Ronny and then they both were slapping at each other. Ronny was given a yellow as well as Valdes. Not what the world audience wanted to see.
The irony of this was RM defender Pepe was the peacemaker and stepped in to calm Valdes. Yes, the same Pepe who served a ten-match ban last year for repeatedly stomping on a player who was down on the pitch after he had lost possession of the ball!!!
Madridistas thought that Ronny should have won a penalty when he and Victor Valdes went for the same ball in the area. I thought they both got there at the same time and didn't see it as a clear penalty.
The fireworks didn't end in the first half. Towards the end of the match when Sergio Ramos hacked down Leo Messi, it sparked another rumble at midfield. Barca defender Carles Puyol walked up to confront Ramos, and the latter put his hand on his face and shoved him to the ground. Then as the teams pushed and shoved, Ramos walked off the field and in the process also pushed Xavi in the face.
So with three touches like that you would think that Ramos will be given more than a one-match ban for his straight red. The only word for it is stupidity.
Ramos' sending off is not a new thing, and quite honestly par for the course where RM is concerned. When they get behind they start diving, pushing, doing anything to gain advantage, but that doesn't work against a better side. Maybe when you're playing Malaga, but not Barcelona.
The other lowpoint for RM was its defense. I referred to it last year as "Swiss cheese." It's still somewhere in the perforated cheese category. Mourinhos' hiring was viewed by RM fans as a welcome change to their usual shabby defensive tactics. J-Mo's teams have always "parked the bus" when leading by a goal or more. So when he hired new people such as Sami Khedira (the German NT standout) and Ricardo Carvalho (former Chelski man and Portugal NT member), the Madridistas were convinced that their defensive woes were over. That's all well and good when you haven't played anyone of consequence. Putting up 4-0 scores against puffs doesn't mean you have a good defense. And when they played a worthy side (Barca), those typical defensive weaknesses were exposed. They were outhustled and outmaneuvered by the Barca running men, and the 5-0 scoreline proved it.
Were there any highlights for RM? Well...despite his petulant yellow card (and a frustration kickout in the latter stages of the match), Ronny looked to be the only one interested in winning the match. Yes, he walked a lot and didn't track back at all (usual for him), but when he had the ball he was trying to make something of it, which can't be said of anyone else on his team.
To put the nail in the coffin for Real, tonight's game was played on the 111th birthday of the Azulgrana. Quite a birthday present for the Barca faithful...
MORE BAD NEWS
As if losing to your dreaded rivals and giving up the lead in the league standings weren't enough...tomorrow could spell more bad news for los Blancos. In last week's Champions League match against Ajax, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso were sent off in the late stages of the match for timewasting. It wasn't timewasting...it was BLATANT TIMEWASTING, OBVIOUS TIMEWASTING, and one of the most ridiculous things I have seen in footy. Both players were sitting on three red cards and to clear their record before the knockout rounds, Mourinho is alleged (obvious to most) to have instructed the two via his two goalkeepers to get sent off so their records would be expunged. RM have already secured a place in the knockouts and their sixth and final match in the group stages is of no consequence to them so losing two players wouldn't affect them at all.
Some say it's brilliant strategizing by Mourinho. But UEFA, the CL sanctioning body, thinks otherwise. They have charged Mourinho, Ramos, Alonso, Dudek, and Casillas with "unsportsmanlike conduct."
The governing body is meeting tomorrow to decide the fate of the accused.
My take?
I think they should throw the book at them. It was a deliberate attempt to skirt the rules and more importantly an affront to the spirit of fair play. It was disrespectful to the opposing team, the fans who paid to get in, and to footy in general. Any player who deliberately attempts to be sent off is an embarrassment to the sport.
Once again Mourinho has managed to put himself front and center in a vain attempt to be noticed. I would imagine that his players are tired of that, especially one who craves that attention himself...no names, but his name starts with R and ends with onaldo.
I can't imagine Sir Alex Ferguson pulling a heinous stunt like that in any kind of match. But then again he is the manager of the world's classiest team, not the classless crue at the Bernabeu.
CR7 shoves Guardiola in the 30' and...
...sparks a melee. Victor Valdes (in black) confronts him, while Pepe holds back Gerard Pique (middle). Ronny is known for his petulance...and the photo below was from last week
"Who me? Foul?"
Messi's (on ground) trip by Ramos sparked this 92' craziness. Puyol is falling to the ground (right) while referre Iturralde Gonzalez tries to give Ramos (behind Sergio # 16) his red card.
S-T-U-P-I-D
This photo says it all...
Adios, Merengues.
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