Barcelona-Real Madrid, many stars and difficult prediction (Yahoo)

A year ago, the same classic that is to be disputed this Sunday in the Camp Nou between Barcelona and Real Madrid, did not admit major differences in the prediction. The general coincidence regarding the enormous favoritism of the Catalonian, that even cost the position of the coach Bernd Schuster, who said that “to lose for little is a good score”, reason of which the president in that period, Ramon Calderon, decided to let him go the previous week and contracted Juan de Ramos.

Then, contrary to its rich history, the Real Madrid displayed an ultra defensive strategy in the Camp Nou, supported many local attacks and even had the opportunity to convert at the feet of the young Dutch Royson Drenthe that he wasted vs the goalkeeper Victor Valdes and this cost hard critics of its own partiality and is questioned till today

Finally, the tight victory of the Barcelona by 2-0 put things in the right place, though afterwards the Real Madrid tended in vain a long persecution until the descend in the recalled 2-6 in the stadium Santiago Bernabeu, in times when Ramos arrived to admit that his team had not sufficient category as to fight a Champions League, after the beat received in front of the Liverpool of Rafa Benitez in the eighth-finals.

A long time passed since those days of the Camp Nou and is the proof that in this football, in this generating passions machine, money and news, a year may be also a Century. Today, Barcelona is the champion of a triplet (Cup, League and Champions) and this Real Madrid changed since its president ( with the rush withdrawal of Calderon and the election of Florentino Perez) even its team, having wasted a fortune in players and even in the Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini of great and extended campaign in the Villarreal, but up to the moment he did not obtain the same results in the game

It seems strange that with so oiled game, with players that outstand individually in every position and with certainty and calm of the recent triumphs, the Barcelona does not close leaderships in the League nor in the Champions, though in all, of course, maintains the type and is in expectative positions. But it is difficult to believe that for instance, the Real Madrid comes to this classic as leader and a point over its rival, very superior in all aspects, tactics and esthetic.

The Barcelona plays, without any doubt, much better than the Real Madrid and this is admitted by everybody. But in the results, everything is too much even and the whites obtained to approximate in possibilities due to the components more than its collective dynamic.

Though Pellegrini obtained results in the League, it may be said that the team had gone from more to less, though with excuses, which we do not believe too valid, of the long injury of their great star and very expensive player, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, even having sufficient resources in the team as to replace him.

It is evident that Pellegrini continues not finding a scheme for the team not only to win but tending to shine, a present exigency but also historical, that comes out from the leadership, with the president Perez at the head, but also with its directives, Jorge Valdano and Miguel Pardeza.

The hard defeat in front of the humble Alcorcón for the King’s Cup and some discussions with Guti or the fact that the Real Madrid starts to see more frequently the bench of substitutes, the apparent melancholy of Benzema and the request of Fernando Gago to be ceded to another team to be able to have minutes in the game field, as a sample that this Real Madrid is not playing as it was pretended when the check-book has been used, to waste almost 300 million Euros (qualified by the president of the UEFA Michel Platini as “indecent”) in registration looking to cut routes of a Barcelona that was sweeping out of hands.

Barcelona, on its side, maintains untouched its game philosophy, and had deepened its bet in registering the Swede Ibrahimovic in the place of the Cameroon Eto´o neither is so fine as in the last season. They generate many goal situations but has not the same effectiviness that in the last season, had Ibrahimovic out of the fields for too much time, but specially counts with Lionel Messi, who in spite that these days he will be crowned as the best player of the planet, is not in his best spiritual moment, not being well treated in his own country, Argentina, and particularly in his National team and this is noted in the structure of the team, that he had to fight in his group of Champions not to be out of the first round, that would have generated a great surprise .

Just mid of the week Barcelona played vs the Inter its best match in the season and this could mean a great spiritual push to win over the Real Madrid and pass to the leadership of the League. But its rival also counts with the motivation to have in its group an almost total recovery of Cristiano Ronaldo after a long absence, though he will have to improve much his game to be able to be with the ball vs a such powerful rival with it.

Due to all this, it concerns a classic without a so clear prediction as it was in the previous season. It will be necessary to prove whether the collective will weigh more in what Barcelona has clear advantage in the function and times, or the individual where they are more even and until this moment, it is what works better with Real Madrid giving always the sensation that in spite of everything, its players can always convert.

At any rate, it concerns one of the most passional matches of the last times and with the three best World players, according to FIFA (Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi) in the same stadium. The table is laid.