Set your mind at ease, this article is not an early preview for the December 10 el Clásico. It has no intention whatsoever of pointing out the fact that Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are useful footballers, or that 142 percent of the world’s population will be tuning in, or indeed that the players involved have between them won every single sporting gong ever conceived. Undoubtedly, all that and much more looms inevitably on the horizon. But for the moment, hold off on decommissioning all your electronic devices and moving to Greenland. Let us instead ponder the upcoming European championships. We now know who will be there and who will not. We also have a vague idea of how they may be … [Read more...] about Why Real Madrid vs. Barcelona will be crucial, for Germany
José Mourinho
Real Madrid winning run leaves Mourinho smiling
José Mourinho has changed. The brash, bombastic, fight-picking, opposition-baiting, eye-poking manager, who was worshipped by fans at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and now Real Madrid while being reviled by almost everyone else (including his own colleagues), has been replaced by a more reserved and gentlemanly figure who calmly oversees affairs and stays out of trouble. That was the argument put forward by journalist Tomas Roncero in the Tuesday edition of Madrid sports newspaper AS anyway. “Mourinho has made a radical change in his attitude,” Roncero wrote. “For the better. Since he signed his contract with Madrid for four seasons at the Bernabeu on 31st May 2009, to the Mourinho of 15th … [Read more...] about Real Madrid winning run leaves Mourinho smiling
Wanted: absurdly rich tycoon to lend Spain’s La Liga intrigue
It was while perusing the scoreline of Sunday’s Manchester derby – in which a team of petrodollar-financed stars had trounced the English champions 6-1 - that my mind turned to La Liga. By a twist of fate, something akin to a parallel fixture had been played the day before in Spain, between Real Madrid and Málaga. Real Madrid, like Manchester United, was the big, established power, with a glittering history, a formidable manager and a team built on tradition, as well as money. Málaga was the Manchester City of the piece: a side with no trophies to boast of (at least in recent decades) but with oodles of money provided by a rich foreign owner – Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani of … [Read more...] about Wanted: absurdly rich tycoon to lend Spain’s La Liga intrigue
Mourinho’s mad magic loses its lustre
José Mourinho has always insisted that his antics, provocations and pre-match hyperbole are an unselfish gambit, aimed at drawing attention away from his players. Let’s take him at his word, and examine not the state of Real Madrid, but the state of their coach. Mourinho’s appearance has always seemed to speak volumes about his state of mind. When he started at Chelsea, he dressed like George Clooney, kept physically trim and his haircuts were frequently more fashionable than those of his players. When his relationship with the London club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, started to deteriorate and the team’s performances declined, not only did Mourinho start to look tetchy and disgruntled, his … [Read more...] about Mourinho’s mad magic loses its lustre
Mourinho’s second coming suggests serious title tilt for Real Madrid
“Por qué?” he asked. “Por qué?” came the question again. It was a moment to define José Mourinho’s first season at the home of Spanish football’s most successful club Real Madrid, where in recent years silverware has been lacking. Coming after the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against their eternal rivals FC Barcelona, his comments were an attack against UEFA and the purported unfair treatment dished out to his players who had seen themselves down to 10 men for the fourth time in as many clashes in El Clásico last season. It was also during a run of games that would see the two teams meet four times over the course of three weeks and this was exactly the reason why the … [Read more...] about Mourinho’s second coming suggests serious title tilt for Real Madrid
Barcelona seek to extend Liga dominance
With respect to the other 18 clubs in Spain’s top flight, the one and only major debating point at the moment seems to be: will Barcelona be good enough to again thwart the ambitions of Real Madrid? Certainly that’s how many other pundits see the forthcoming season in Spain. The headline in the annual guide to La Liga published by the Spanish sports daily As was: “The first two and then all the rest.” It sums up the current situation in the top flight of Spanish football. Not since Villarreal had their ‘año milagro’ in 2007-08 and finished second behind Real, has anyone broken the hegemony of the two giants of Spanish football. In fact, apart from when Villarreal upset the odds, … [Read more...] about Barcelona seek to extend Liga dominance
Mourinho shuns headlines to underline Madrid’s new balance of power
The faces of two young footballers have dominated the front covers of Spain’s two biggest-selling sports newspapers this summer. In just two months, AS featured Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (or Neymar for short) 28 times and Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero’s 20 times in their leading photograph and/or story. Neymar also battled Agüero for top spot on the front page of Marca, which led with the Brazilian 22 times and the Argentinean on 15 occasions. One or both players was prominent on the front page of AS and Marca 41 and 34 days respectively. AS readers were met with Agüero’s face five mornings in a row from June 9 to 13. Neymar matched that run with Marca from July 6 to 10. The fun began within … [Read more...] about Mourinho shuns headlines to underline Madrid’s new balance of power
Real Madrid’s ‘señor’ status at play as Mourinho takes control
Spanish football is a peculiar beast when placed under a microscope, rather like a petri dish teeming with all the bacteria Fifa is currently trying to scrape from its gilded Zurich halls. There is no fit-and-proper-persons test in La Liga, as Racing Santander is currently being left to rue. Match-fixing was made a criminal offence just six months ago. Clubs are traditionally controlled by wildly unreliable clans like the Gil family at Atlético Madrid and the Ruiz-Mateos' at Rayo Vallecano – currently busily covering their own backsides as their Nueva Rumasa congolmerate goes under for the second time, leaving thousands of investors, and Rayo's players, on the bread line. If your club … [Read more...] about Real Madrid’s ‘señor’ status at play as Mourinho takes control
Porto’s trophy-hungry boss insists he’s no Mourinho clone
The comparisons have been as predictable as they have been widespread. In Britain, the Guardian called him "Mourinho’s apprentice", while the Daily Mail anointed him as "Mourinho Mark II". The Spanish press followed a similar line - El Correo named him Mourinho’s pupil and even El País joined in, headlining their profile "Mourinho’s spy". The potential mini-Mou in question is FC Porto boss André Villas-Boas, whose achievements in his first full season in football management have been spectacular. Last month Villas-Boas's side secured the Portuguese title with five games in hand and this week he leads his team into the Europa League and Portuguese Cup finals. Records have tumbled along … [Read more...] about Porto’s trophy-hungry boss insists he’s no Mourinho clone
Barça must cut theatrics if they want to go down in history
There are plenty of skills young players learn at Barcelona’s La Masia youth centre, and which are then refined at senior level at the club. Tight, triangular passing; quick movement off the ball into space; keeping possession of the ball; respect for the great institution they are a part of. And, you might add, after Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg against Real Madrid: writhing on the floor like a hammy actor when tackled by an opponent; clutching their face when a rival’s hand goes anywhere near their upper body; and generally doing everything possible to get the other team’s players booked or sent off. This is the contradiction that Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side … [Read more...] about Barça must cut theatrics if they want to go down in history