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Five factors that will shape Chelsea's visit to Manchester United

Both managers face big decisions before for what could be the title decider at Old Trafford on Sunday


carlo-ancelotti-007.jpg
Chelsea's Carlo Ancelotti must be tempted to return to 4-3-3 against Manchester United - which could be bad news for Fernando Torres. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

1 The momentum is with Chelsea …

Manchester United are not a team on the slide. Their return over the last nine league games is 16 points which, while not staggering, remains respectable. Their displays in the Champions League, with the victories over Chelsea and Schalke, within that sequence certainly caught the eye. And yet they are steadily being caught as the London side generate rhythm to match their breathless start to the campaign.
Chelsea's return in the same period is 25 points, starting with the victory against United at Stamford Bridge. At half-time that evening, when they trailed to Wayne Rooney's goal, the reigning champions were facing an 18-point deficit from the leaders. Win at Old Trafford on Sunday and they will be top. The momentum has been whipped up late, the rat-a-tat of victories initially masked by European commitments but, after a slight stumble at Stoke, reinvigorated with five wins in succession. They remain the division's stingiest defence while players absent, injured or ill, in the winter are revived, imposing themselves again.
This is the kind of run that United are more used to generating, the type to chase down Newcastle in the mid-1990s or to prove Arsenal were no longer Invincibles. It is also the kind that secured Carlo Ancelotti's side their title last season, when United were one of the sides beaten in an eight-game sequence that brought 21 points and 33 goals. The manager joked at the weekend that his team are happiest when the temperature is warmer. They are unrecognisable from the shambles that secured only 10 points from 11 games as winter set in.
2 … but United's home form still makes them favourites

If United need reminding that the title remains theirs to lose, then a glance at their home record this season should provide the fillip. Sir Alex Ferguson's side have not lost at Old Trafford since Chelsea prevailed there 13 months ago and, of the 17 clubs to have visited this season, only West Bromwich Albion have left with a point. That is the form that has sustained United's challenge given a paltry five wins on their travels. If they go on to claim the title, they will do so having achieved the fewest number of away victories since Liverpool needed only five in 1976-77.
They will take heart from the Champions League victory achieved at Old Trafford last month and that all five of the league meetings between the division's top three have been won by the home side this season, an indication again that Chelsea's task is onerous. "United are still favourites because, when you play at home for the title, you have an advantage," said Arsène Wenger. "I believe United, every year they win the title, they win it at Old Trafford. You compare the record of United and Arsenal away from home and you see that we are always really comparable. They get the points at Old Trafford." They have done just that this season and, if they end the campaign unbeaten at home, they will surely be crowned champions.
3 Time for Fernando Torres to return to the bench?

Ancelotti appeared to take an unnecessary risk by trying to reintegrate Fernando Torres from the start on Saturday. A first goal for his new club and a week of training had apparently convinced the manager to play the £50m Spaniard in alongside Didier Drogba for the first time in six games, despite the fact that the combination has always previously felt so awkward. There was no quibbling with Torres's movement or commitment yet again but the system still seemed disjointed.
The striker had been selected instead of Drogba at Old Trafford in the Champions League but was so ineffective that he was withdrawn at the break. But, even with time to prepare, it seems inconceivable that the champions will not return to their more conventional 4-3-3 with the Ivorian barging through the centre of the front trident, flanked by the energetic Malouda and Salomon Kalou for the season's defining fixture. They had revelled in the familiarity of the return to the comfortable shape of last year in recent weeks, the midfield even benefiting from Mikel John Obi's presence at its base. That gives Lampard and Michael Essien, or Ramires, scope to be more adventurous. Smoothing Torres's passage into the team remains the long-term objective but at present Ancelotti is concerned only about the short term. The Spaniard may have to wait.
4 United must address their midfield conundrum

Ferguson's side need only avoid defeat on Sunday to maintain their advantage going into the last two fixtures, with logic suggesting he will return to the system and personnel who beat Chelsea home and away in their Champions League quarter-final. That would see Anderson, disappointing at Arsenal on Sunday and still an erratic and inconsistent performer, dropping out of the starting line-up to be replaced, most likely, by Ryan Giggs. The veteran could sit deep alongside Michael Carrick – impressive in the European ties – with Park Ji-sung and one of either Nani or Antonio Valencia offering width. Wayne Rooney, upon whom so much depends, could drop back if required to ensure the home side are not outnumbered in the centre, leaving Javier Hernández to explore the channels.
United should not be fatigued by any midweek European exertions. Schalke were swept aside so easily in Gelsenkirchen last week that the semi-final appears settled with Ferguson intent on resting personnel with Sunday's match in mind. Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen may all start on Wednesday night, offering the likes of Rooney, Hernández and Giggs time to recharge batteries. This should be a collision between these sides' strongest selections.
5 Can Chelsea combat Hernández and Rooney?

Chelsea will include one player who could not feature in the Champions League tie. They should be more confident at their ability to nullify the Hernández/Rooney partnership given David Luiz's availability. The Brazilian has settled in smoothly to life in the Premier League – Chelsea have yet to lose a game in which he has started – and, while there has been the odd flash of ill discipline in terms of his instinct to maraud up-field, and his eagerness to dive into a tackle, his involvement strengthens them as a unit.
Branislav Ivanovic, who played in the centre in the European games, is a more reliable right-back than either Paulo Ferreira or José Bosingwa and has already struck up a partnership with David Luiz. On Saturday against Tottenham the pair switched whenever Gareth Bale veered infield, each covering the other's duties. That bodes well, given Hernández's ability to drag centre-backs out of position and create space for Rooney to exploit. There was uncharacteristic defensive vulnerability to Ancelotti's side in both the Champions League games, for which David Luiz was ineligible. This time the man who scored the equaliser at Stamford Bridge in March will be hoping to make an impact once again.
 
Five factors that will shape Chelsea's visit to Manchester United

Both managers face big decisions before for what could be the title decider at Old Trafford on Sunday


carlo-ancelotti-007.jpg
Chelsea's Carlo Ancelotti must be tempted to return to 4-3-3 against Manchester United - which could be bad news for Fernando Torres. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

1 The momentum is with Chelsea …

Manchester United are not a team on the slide. Their return over the last nine league games is 16 points which, while not staggering, remains respectable. Their displays in the Champions League, with the victories over Chelsea and Schalke, within that sequence certainly caught the eye. And yet they are steadily being caught as the London side generate rhythm to match their breathless start to the campaign.
Chelsea's return in the same period is 25 points, starting with the victory against United at Stamford Bridge. At half-time that evening, when they trailed to Wayne Rooney's goal, the reigning champions were facing an 18-point deficit from the leaders. Win at Old Trafford on Sunday and they will be top. The momentum has been whipped up late, the rat-a-tat of victories initially masked by European commitments but, after a slight stumble at Stoke, reinvigorated with five wins in succession. They remain the division's stingiest defence while players absent, injured or ill, in the winter are revived, imposing themselves again.
This is the kind of run that United are more used to generating, the type to chase down Newcastle in the mid-1990s or to prove Arsenal were no longer Invincibles. It is also the kind that secured Carlo Ancelotti's side their title last season, when United were one of the sides beaten in an eight-game sequence that brought 21 points and 33 goals. The manager joked at the weekend that his team are happiest when the temperature is warmer. They are unrecognisable from the shambles that secured only 10 points from 11 games as winter set in.
2 … but United's home form still makes them favourites

If United need reminding that the title remains theirs to lose, then a glance at their home record this season should provide the fillip. Sir Alex Ferguson's side have not lost at Old Trafford since Chelsea prevailed there 13 months ago and, of the 17 clubs to have visited this season, only West Bromwich Albion have left with a point. That is the form that has sustained United's challenge given a paltry five wins on their travels. If they go on to claim the title, they will do so having achieved the fewest number of away victories since Liverpool needed only five in 1976-77.
They will take heart from the Champions League victory achieved at Old Trafford last month and that all five of the league meetings between the division's top three have been won by the home side this season, an indication again that Chelsea's task is onerous. "United are still favourites because, when you play at home for the title, you have an advantage," said Arsène Wenger. "I believe United, every year they win the title, they win it at Old Trafford. You compare the record of United and Arsenal away from home and you see that we are always really comparable. They get the points at Old Trafford." They have done just that this season and, if they end the campaign unbeaten at home, they will surely be crowned champions.
3 Time for Fernando Torres to return to the bench?

Ancelotti appeared to take an unnecessary risk by trying to reintegrate Fernando Torres from the start on Saturday. A first goal for his new club and a week of training had apparently convinced the manager to play the £50m Spaniard in alongside Didier Drogba for the first time in six games, despite the fact that the combination has always previously felt so awkward. There was no quibbling with Torres's movement or commitment yet again but the system still seemed disjointed.
The striker had been selected instead of Drogba at Old Trafford in the Champions League but was so ineffective that he was withdrawn at the break. But, even with time to prepare, it seems inconceivable that the champions will not return to their more conventional 4-3-3 with the Ivorian barging through the centre of the front trident, flanked by the energetic Malouda and Salomon Kalou for the season's defining fixture. They had revelled in the familiarity of the return to the comfortable shape of last year in recent weeks, the midfield even benefiting from Mikel John Obi's presence at its base. That gives Lampard and Michael Essien, or Ramires, scope to be more adventurous. Smoothing Torres's passage into the team remains the long-term objective but at present Ancelotti is concerned only about the short term. The Spaniard may have to wait.
4 United must address their midfield conundrum

Ferguson's side need only avoid defeat on Sunday to maintain their advantage going into the last two fixtures, with logic suggesting he will return to the system and personnel who beat Chelsea home and away in their Champions League quarter-final. That would see Anderson, disappointing at Arsenal on Sunday and still an erratic and inconsistent performer, dropping out of the starting line-up to be replaced, most likely, by Ryan Giggs. The veteran could sit deep alongside Michael Carrick – impressive in the European ties – with Park Ji-sung and one of either Nani or Antonio Valencia offering width. Wayne Rooney, upon whom so much depends, could drop back if required to ensure the home side are not outnumbered in the centre, leaving Javier Hernández to explore the channels.
United should not be fatigued by any midweek European exertions. Schalke were swept aside so easily in Gelsenkirchen last week that the semi-final appears settled with Ferguson intent on resting personnel with Sunday's match in mind. Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen may all start on Wednesday night, offering the likes of Rooney, Hernández and Giggs time to recharge batteries. This should be a collision between these sides' strongest selections.
5 Can Chelsea combat Hernández and Rooney?

Chelsea will include one player who could not feature in the Champions League tie. They should be more confident at their ability to nullify the Hernández/Rooney partnership given David Luiz's availability. The Brazilian has settled in smoothly to life in the Premier League – Chelsea have yet to lose a game in which he has started – and, while there has been the odd flash of ill discipline in terms of his instinct to maraud up-field, and his eagerness to dive into a tackle, his involvement strengthens them as a unit.
Branislav Ivanovic, who played in the centre in the European games, is a more reliable right-back than either Paulo Ferreira or José Bosingwa and has already struck up a partnership with David Luiz. On Saturday against Tottenham the pair switched whenever Gareth Bale veered infield, each covering the other's duties. That bodes well, given Hernández's ability to drag centre-backs out of position and create space for Rooney to exploit. There was uncharacteristic defensive vulnerability to Ancelotti's side in both the Champions League games, for which David Luiz was ineligible. This time the man who scored the equaliser at Stamford Bridge in March will be hoping to make an impact once again.
 
Things must be bad for José Mourinho – even Arsène Wenger sympathises

Real Madrid's manager has been castigated for his behaviour during and after their 2-0 defeat to Barcelona but it was no worse than Sir Alex Ferguson's can be



  • Jose-Mourinho-007.jpg
    José Mourinho is sent to the stands during Real Madrid's Champions League defeat to Barcelona. Photograph: Angel Martinez/Real Madrid via Getty Images

    There were plenty of things to dislike about José Mourinho during his three seasons in London, not least his thoroughly unpleasant baiting of Arsène Wenger. So I was particularly interested in what the Arsenal manager had to say about the key incident of last Wednesday's first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona. "It was a game decided on the sending-off, which looked a bit harsh," he wrote in his programme notes on Sunday.
    Wenger, we know, is hardly a pal of Mourinho. In essence, nevertheless, he was agreeing with the Portuguese coach, who was incensed when the referee gave Pepe, one of Real's two defensive midfield players, a straight red card in the 61st minute, with the match still goalless. It was against 10 men that Lionel Messi struck twice to reawaken the campaign for his inclusion among the all-time greats.
    Mourinho certainly won few new friends last week. All sorts of people emerged from the woodwork to proclaim their distaste for his behaviour at the Bernabéu stadium, some of them announcing that his tactics and antics in this one match alone had disqualified him from succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
    Ottmar Hitzfeld, the current coach of Switzerland and a man who, like Mourinho, has won the European Cup with two clubs, used his column in a German magazine to reflect on his impressions of the man during their encounters at Uefa meetings. "His behaviour is faithful to his image: arrogant, haughty, chewing gum and something of a boor," Hitzfeld wrote. "Luckily, Mourinho's destructive tactics, aimed solely at provoking and destroying the opposition's gameplan, did not work."
    At the end of his first season at the Bernabéu, Mourinho is only too aware that his Real squad are not equipped to match Barcelona's creativity. So he aimed to do to the Catalan side what he did so successfully with Internazionale last year, which was to suffocate their short-passing game with a blanket defence and then to strike on the break. His success in that semi-final represented great tactical coaching by any standard.
    To apply those methods again meant no place for Kaká, Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema in Wednesday's starting line-up, which seemed to constitute a prima facie offence against Real's history. But his strategy worked effectively for an hour, and apparently the next part of the plan was to bring Kaká off the bench to combine with Cristiano Ronaldo in a search for the goal that would have sent them into Tuesday's away leg with an important advantage. But the intense rivalry between the two clubs meant that the emotional temperature of the match was running much higher than that of the games a year earlier, and the contentious dismissal of Pepe threw the scheme into disarray.
    Barcelona made the most of their good fortune and Mourinho, remembering how Sergio Busquets's despicable playacting prompted the dismissal of Thiago Motta less than half an hour into the second leg at the Camp Nou last year, began to spout the bile that earned him such criticism. It should be borne in mind, however, that he was only emulating Ferguson's typical response to such circumstances, circling the wagons and vigorously defending his position, as one-eyed in his perspective as any fan.
    Some have claimed that Mourinho's fondness for negative tactics disqualifies him from the job at Old Trafford, where the historic commandment has been to promote the style shown by Matt Busby's United in their victory over Benfica at Wembley in 1968. That argument hardly bears scrutiny, since the football played by Ferguson's teams in snatching the trophy from Bayern in 1999 and Chelsea in 2008 was just about its polar opposite.
    On Tuesday night, banished to the stands at the Camp Nou after openly expressing his contempt for the officiating last week, Mourinho faces the biggest test of his career. Is he about to genuflect to Real's traditions by committing all his squad's attacking resources in an attempt to claw back the deficit, or has he devised some more devious tactical plan? And how will this obsessive micro-manager cope without being able to deliver instructions to his players and coaches during play? Assuming, of course, that Uefa can find a way of stopping him.
    Cavendish needs sunny disposition at Giro d'Italia

    The Giro d'Italia starts on Saturday with a team time trial in Turin, and here are two enjoyable ways of filling the time between Eurosport's telecasts. The first is to follow the Twitter messages of Mark Cavendish, which began a week or so ago and are already revealing the Manx Missile to be a natural communicator in 140 characters. The second is to invest in a copy of Maglia Rosa, a sumptuous history of the race by Herbie Sykes, who tells the stories behind the race since its founding in 1909, accompanied by marvellously evocative photographs. If Cavendish sees the harrowing pictures of an exhausted Charly Gaul riding through snow and hail on the Monte Bondone in 1956, winning the stage in the Dolomites by eight minutes on the way to take the overall victory, he will be hoping even more fervently for a continuation of the present warm weather as he aims to add the points leader's red jersey to the green he took in last year's Vuelta a España.
    Ice work goes unnoticed


    A complete national indifference to the world figure skating championships, which ended in Moscow on Sunday, is the product of Britain's failure to breed successors to John Curry, Robin Cousins, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. Our loss, I thought, while watching the serene elegance of Kim Yu-na, the reigning Olympic champion from South Korea, coming back from a year off to take second place behind Japan's Miki Ando, and the flowing lyricism of a Canadian couple, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who danced their way to fifth to the strains of Etta James's At Last. Not sport, you say? Then you haven't seen such people train.
    Not all-white for Newcastle


    Perhaps someone out there knows why Newcastle United took the field in an all-white strip at Anfield on Sunday, forsaking their black and white stripes when there was clearly no potential clash with Liverpool's all-red kit. A matter of fulfilling a contractual stipulation to wear their away strip so many times per season, no doubt. The Premier League and the FA should get a grip on this abuse of tradition and strangle it immediately.

 
Things must be bad for José Mourinho – even Arsène Wenger sympathises

Real Madrid's manager has been castigated for his behaviour during and after their 2-0 defeat to Barcelona but it was no worse than Sir Alex Ferguson's can be



  • Jose-Mourinho-007.jpg
    José Mourinho is sent to the stands during Real Madrid's Champions League defeat to Barcelona. Photograph: Angel Martinez/Real Madrid via Getty Images

    There were plenty of things to dislike about José Mourinho during his three seasons in London, not least his thoroughly unpleasant baiting of Arsène Wenger. So I was particularly interested in what the Arsenal manager had to say about the key incident of last Wednesday's first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona. "It was a game decided on the sending-off, which looked a bit harsh," he wrote in his programme notes on Sunday.
    Wenger, we know, is hardly a pal of Mourinho. In essence, nevertheless, he was agreeing with the Portuguese coach, who was incensed when the referee gave Pepe, one of Real's two defensive midfield players, a straight red card in the 61st minute, with the match still goalless. It was against 10 men that Lionel Messi struck twice to reawaken the campaign for his inclusion among the all-time greats.
    Mourinho certainly won few new friends last week. All sorts of people emerged from the woodwork to proclaim their distaste for his behaviour at the Bernabéu stadium, some of them announcing that his tactics and antics in this one match alone had disqualified him from succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
    Ottmar Hitzfeld, the current coach of Switzerland and a man who, like Mourinho, has won the European Cup with two clubs, used his column in a German magazine to reflect on his impressions of the man during their encounters at Uefa meetings. "His behaviour is faithful to his image: arrogant, haughty, chewing gum and something of a boor," Hitzfeld wrote. "Luckily, Mourinho's destructive tactics, aimed solely at provoking and destroying the opposition's gameplan, did not work."
    At the end of his first season at the Bernabéu, Mourinho is only too aware that his Real squad are not equipped to match Barcelona's creativity. So he aimed to do to the Catalan side what he did so successfully with Internazionale last year, which was to suffocate their short-passing game with a blanket defence and then to strike on the break. His success in that semi-final represented great tactical coaching by any standard.
    To apply those methods again meant no place for Kaká, Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema in Wednesday's starting line-up, which seemed to constitute a prima facie offence against Real's history. But his strategy worked effectively for an hour, and apparently the next part of the plan was to bring Kaká off the bench to combine with Cristiano Ronaldo in a search for the goal that would have sent them into Tuesday's away leg with an important advantage. But the intense rivalry between the two clubs meant that the emotional temperature of the match was running much higher than that of the games a year earlier, and the contentious dismissal of Pepe threw the scheme into disarray.
    Barcelona made the most of their good fortune and Mourinho, remembering how Sergio Busquets's despicable playacting prompted the dismissal of Thiago Motta less than half an hour into the second leg at the Camp Nou last year, began to spout the bile that earned him such criticism. It should be borne in mind, however, that he was only emulating Ferguson's typical response to such circumstances, circling the wagons and vigorously defending his position, as one-eyed in his perspective as any fan.
    Some have claimed that Mourinho's fondness for negative tactics disqualifies him from the job at Old Trafford, where the historic commandment has been to promote the style shown by Matt Busby's United in their victory over Benfica at Wembley in 1968. That argument hardly bears scrutiny, since the football played by Ferguson's teams in snatching the trophy from Bayern in 1999 and Chelsea in 2008 was just about its polar opposite.
    On Tuesday night, banished to the stands at the Camp Nou after openly expressing his contempt for the officiating last week, Mourinho faces the biggest test of his career. Is he about to genuflect to Real's traditions by committing all his squad's attacking resources in an attempt to claw back the deficit, or has he devised some more devious tactical plan? And how will this obsessive micro-manager cope without being able to deliver instructions to his players and coaches during play? Assuming, of course, that Uefa can find a way of stopping him.
    Cavendish needs sunny disposition at Giro d'Italia

    The Giro d'Italia starts on Saturday with a team time trial in Turin, and here are two enjoyable ways of filling the time between Eurosport's telecasts. The first is to follow the Twitter messages of Mark Cavendish, which began a week or so ago and are already revealing the Manx Missile to be a natural communicator in 140 characters. The second is to invest in a copy of Maglia Rosa, a sumptuous history of the race by Herbie Sykes, who tells the stories behind the race since its founding in 1909, accompanied by marvellously evocative photographs. If Cavendish sees the harrowing pictures of an exhausted Charly Gaul riding through snow and hail on the Monte Bondone in 1956, winning the stage in the Dolomites by eight minutes on the way to take the overall victory, he will be hoping even more fervently for a continuation of the present warm weather as he aims to add the points leader's red jersey to the green he took in last year's Vuelta a España.
    Ice work goes unnoticed


    A complete national indifference to the world figure skating championships, which ended in Moscow on Sunday, is the product of Britain's failure to breed successors to John Curry, Robin Cousins, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. Our loss, I thought, while watching the serene elegance of Kim Yu-na, the reigning Olympic champion from South Korea, coming back from a year off to take second place behind Japan's Miki Ando, and the flowing lyricism of a Canadian couple, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who danced their way to fifth to the strains of Etta James's At Last. Not sport, you say? Then you haven't seen such people train.
    Not all-white for Newcastle


    Perhaps someone out there knows why Newcastle United took the field in an all-white strip at Anfield on Sunday, forsaking their black and white stripes when there was clearly no potential clash with Liverpool's all-red kit. A matter of fulfilling a contractual stipulation to wear their away strip so many times per season, no doubt. The Premier League and the FA should get a grip on this abuse of tradition and strangle it immediately.

 
Champions League semi-final, second leg

Barcelona hold off Real Madrid threat to reach Champions League final




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Champions League

Barcelona 1
  • Pedro 54
Real Madrid 1
  • Marcelo 64




  • Paul Hayward at Camp Nou
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 May 2011 21.54 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Pedro-David-Villa-Barcelo-007.jpg
    Barcelona's Pedro, left, with David Villa after scoring against Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final second leg. Photograph: Andres Kudacki/AP

    Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 1
    Pedro 54 Marcelo 64
    Barcelona won 3-1 on aggregate
    The last instalment of a four-match, 18-day scorpion dance that became nastier by the hour was a proper contest in which Real Madrid recovered their attacking urges but Barcelona advanced to a probable meeting with Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley. "This has been one of the most beautiful nights I have ever lived," said Pep Guardiola, the Barça coach.
    The last act was the sweetest: the bumps, on the pitch, for Eric Abidal, the Barcelona defender who underwent an operation to remove a tumour on his liver in March and came on three minutes into added time of this 1-1 draw. It was a rare familial moment in a tie that delivered one last controversy: Real's vehement claim last night that Gonzalo Higuaín's second-half goal was wrongly disallowed.
    Histrionics, allegations of racism and propaganda onslaughts were the backdrop to a thundery night in Catalonia as Andrés Iniesta set up Pedro to extend Barcelona's 2-0 first-leg lead and Marcelo replied for Madrid, who left here blaming bad refereeing for their defeat.
    "[José] Mourinho is right &#8211; after the game in Madrid he said it was impossible for us to go forward. You've seen that. It's been impossible for us to go forward," said Aitor Karanka, the Real assistant coach. At least all 11 Madrid players stayed on the pitch for once. Lionel Messi was forced to endure a succession of meaty challenges and five Real players were booked. But for the first time in five clásicos there was no red card for Mourinho's macho team.
    So Barcelona are coming to London and United are within 90 minutes of earning a shot at revenge for the 2009 defeat in Rome. Messi remains the biggest threat but Xavi Hernández and Iniesta will also try to put United back on "the carousel" &#8211; Sir Alex Ferguson's colourful phrase to describe the Barcelona passing system.
    When the Real Madrid team coach rolled up , Mourinho was not among its passengers. His punishment for being sent to the stands in last week's first leg was a touchline ban at his old place of work, where he has gone from "Translator" to anti-Christ. He missed an absorbing struggle.
    Barcelona say they offered him a perch in the presidential box, but its proximity to seats from where Barça supporters might have abused him persuaded the Real manager his hotel room was a better bet. Many Real fans also judged the sofa to be a better option, judging by the empty seats in the small Madrid enclosure, just below the heavens, in this vast arena.
    Already two goals down from the home game, Mourinho was forced to abandon the hedgehog formation that had so offended Real Madrid purists in the Bernabéu. Out went Mesut Ozil, who is showing signs of wear at the end of his first season in La Liga, and in came Kaká, in place of the suspended Pepe, and Higuaín, chosen ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor.
    To appease Real Madrid, Uefa sent the refereeing godfather, Pierluigi Collina, to oversee the performance of Franck De Bleeckere, the Belgian official picked out by Mourinho as one of the five who had delivered major decisions against his teams. Uefa's thinking was that De Bleeckere would be less likely to indulge any subconscious resentment against Mourinho for that criticism with his boss looking down from the stands. And who would dare risk Collina's displeasure?
    De Bleeckere's first significant act was to book Ricardo Carvalho after 12 minutes for a trip on Messi as the world's best player was in full flight.
    But if the foul suggested a repeat of Madrid's strong-arm tactics last week, their formation was more positive and their movement more dynamic. The Bernabéu blockade was dismantled, by necessity, in favour of an approach far closer the sacred Real tradition. Ronaldo was especially tenacious, attacking Barça's right flank and hounding Dani Alves.
    An exhilarating first half of sweeping counterattacks brought Messi to the fore around the half-hour mark, as the scorer of 52 goals this season worked his way into goalscoring positions with exquisite footwork, and Iker Casillas was drawn into a series of acrobatic saves. As the teams paused for breath at the interval, Mourinho was doubtless hitting the mini-bar.
    After the break latent tensions from the first leg resurfaced. Gerard Piqué brushed Ronaldo, who fell, knocking over Mascherano, who might have intercepted Higuaín before the Argentina striker found the net. No goal. With Pedro's sharply dispatched finish on 53 minutes from Iniesta's pass, Real went for broke, sending on Adebayor in place of Higuaín and withdrawing Kaká, the game's third most expensive player, who has yet to recover his old potency after a long run of injuries. At 3-0 down on aggregate Real finally found the net when Angel Di María's blast struck the post and rebounded to Marcelo for the tap-in.
    It was time for Mourinho to reach for the hotel scribbling pad to plan for the future and Barcelona to celebrate their superiority in a four-game series that threatened to relocate to the politics pages, and leaves a pile of disciplinary issues still to face.

 
Champions League semi-final, second leg

Barcelona hold off Real Madrid threat to reach Champions League final




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Champions League

Barcelona 1
  • Pedro 54
Real Madrid 1
  • Marcelo 64




  • Paul Hayward at Camp Nou
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 May 2011 21.54 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Pedro-David-Villa-Barcelo-007.jpg
    Barcelona's Pedro, left, with David Villa after scoring against Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final second leg. Photograph: Andres Kudacki/AP

    Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 1
    Pedro 54 Marcelo 64
    Barcelona won 3-1 on aggregate
    The last instalment of a four-match, 18-day scorpion dance that became nastier by the hour was a proper contest in which Real Madrid recovered their attacking urges but Barcelona advanced to a probable meeting with Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley. "This has been one of the most beautiful nights I have ever lived," said Pep Guardiola, the Barça coach.
    The last act was the sweetest: the bumps, on the pitch, for Eric Abidal, the Barcelona defender who underwent an operation to remove a tumour on his liver in March and came on three minutes into added time of this 1-1 draw. It was a rare familial moment in a tie that delivered one last controversy: Real's vehement claim last night that Gonzalo Higuaín's second-half goal was wrongly disallowed.
    Histrionics, allegations of racism and propaganda onslaughts were the backdrop to a thundery night in Catalonia as Andrés Iniesta set up Pedro to extend Barcelona's 2-0 first-leg lead and Marcelo replied for Madrid, who left here blaming bad refereeing for their defeat.
    "[José] Mourinho is right – after the game in Madrid he said it was impossible for us to go forward. You've seen that. It's been impossible for us to go forward," said Aitor Karanka, the Real assistant coach. At least all 11 Madrid players stayed on the pitch for once. Lionel Messi was forced to endure a succession of meaty challenges and five Real players were booked. But for the first time in five clásicos there was no red card for Mourinho's macho team.
    So Barcelona are coming to London and United are within 90 minutes of earning a shot at revenge for the 2009 defeat in Rome. Messi remains the biggest threat but Xavi Hernández and Iniesta will also try to put United back on "the carousel" – Sir Alex Ferguson's colourful phrase to describe the Barcelona passing system.
    When the Real Madrid team coach rolled up , Mourinho was not among its passengers. His punishment for being sent to the stands in last week's first leg was a touchline ban at his old place of work, where he has gone from "Translator" to anti-Christ. He missed an absorbing struggle.
    Barcelona say they offered him a perch in the presidential box, but its proximity to seats from where Barça supporters might have abused him persuaded the Real manager his hotel room was a better bet. Many Real fans also judged the sofa to be a better option, judging by the empty seats in the small Madrid enclosure, just below the heavens, in this vast arena.
    Already two goals down from the home game, Mourinho was forced to abandon the hedgehog formation that had so offended Real Madrid purists in the Bernabéu. Out went Mesut Ozil, who is showing signs of wear at the end of his first season in La Liga, and in came Kaká, in place of the suspended Pepe, and Higuaín, chosen ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor.
    To appease Real Madrid, Uefa sent the refereeing godfather, Pierluigi Collina, to oversee the performance of Franck De Bleeckere, the Belgian official picked out by Mourinho as one of the five who had delivered major decisions against his teams. Uefa's thinking was that De Bleeckere would be less likely to indulge any subconscious resentment against Mourinho for that criticism with his boss looking down from the stands. And who would dare risk Collina's displeasure?
    De Bleeckere's first significant act was to book Ricardo Carvalho after 12 minutes for a trip on Messi as the world's best player was in full flight.
    But if the foul suggested a repeat of Madrid's strong-arm tactics last week, their formation was more positive and their movement more dynamic. The Bernabéu blockade was dismantled, by necessity, in favour of an approach far closer the sacred Real tradition. Ronaldo was especially tenacious, attacking Barça's right flank and hounding Dani Alves.
    An exhilarating first half of sweeping counterattacks brought Messi to the fore around the half-hour mark, as the scorer of 52 goals this season worked his way into goalscoring positions with exquisite footwork, and Iker Casillas was drawn into a series of acrobatic saves. As the teams paused for breath at the interval, Mourinho was doubtless hitting the mini-bar.
    After the break latent tensions from the first leg resurfaced. Gerard Piqué brushed Ronaldo, who fell, knocking over Mascherano, who might have intercepted Higuaín before the Argentina striker found the net. No goal. With Pedro's sharply dispatched finish on 53 minutes from Iniesta's pass, Real went for broke, sending on Adebayor in place of Higuaín and withdrawing Kaká, the game's third most expensive player, who has yet to recover his old potency after a long run of injuries. At 3-0 down on aggregate Real finally found the net when Angel Di María's blast struck the post and rebounded to Marcelo for the tap-in.
    It was time for Mourinho to reach for the hotel scribbling pad to plan for the future and Barcelona to celebrate their superiority in a four-game series that threatened to relocate to the politics pages, and leaves a pile of disciplinary issues still to face.
 
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo blasts Barcelona's Javier Mascherano

&#8226; 'He must have learnt all these cheating tricks at Barcelona'
&#8226; 'Mascherano wasn't like this at Liverpool' says Ronaldo




  • Paul Hayward at Camp Nou
  • The Guardian, Wednesday 4 May 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Cristiano-Ronaldo-007.jpg
    Cristiano Ronaldo feels Javier Mascherano's theatrical tumble cost Real Madrid a goal against Barcelona. Photograph: Albert Gea/REUTERS

    Cristiano Ronaldo delivered the most withering put-down as the Barcelona-Real Madrid feud resumed on a stormy night at the Camp Nou. "Javier Mascherano wasn't like this at Liverpool. He must have learned all these cheating tricks at Barcelona," the Real striker said of his former rival from their Premier League days.
    Real left Barcelona still trying to settle scores as Pep Guardiola's team progressed to the final at Wembley on 28 May. Ronaldo, who made his name at Manchester United, tangled with Mascherano often when the pair were in England and was sure to leave his mark on his old rival as Barça weighed up a probable clash with United after their 3-1 aggregate victory.
    José Mourinho's side were upset by the disallowing of Gonzalo Higuaín's 47th-minute goal after Mascherano tumbled theatrically to the turf following contact from a falling Ronaldo, who himself had been tripped. That would have put Real 1-0 up on the night, and Xabi Alonso, who was also at Liverpool, said: "[Had] we scored the first goal it would have been totally different and we feel so many bad decisions have been made against us and we are not happy about that. We think we did a good job but decisions went against us, we really feel that way."
    Warming to the theme Ronaldo said: "There was nothing wrong with the goal, that could have altered the course of the match but the referee didn't want to see it that way. Those who know about football know that Barcelona are very well protected. We just have to live with these injustices.
    "We knew if we scored a goal they would do everything possible so we wouldn't get through. This isn't good for football. If things don't improve we should just stay home and let Barcelona play by themselves. Next year they should just give the cup directly to Barcelona."
    Aitor Karanka, Mourinho's assistant, added: "If what happened the other day [in the first leg] hadn't happened &#8211; if Pepe hadn't been dismissed &#8211; we could have been there [in the final]."
    Mourinho was serving a touchline ban following his sending-off in Madrid and is believed to have watched the game from his hotel room. "José was not on the bench, he couldn't get in the dressing room so I don't know where he's been," Karanka claimed. "He said congratulations to the team. He's outraged about what we've seen in the last few games. Madrid fans have seen the way the team is. When they let us play &#8211; we played, and we even won [in the Copa del Rey final]. We proved we can play the game. Every time we've been 11 versus 11 we've stood up to them. Everyone said it [Higuaín's] was a legal goal."
    Guardiola twisted his own knife. "I want to congratulate Madrid for being so daring, playing face to face," he said. "I have an infinite gratitude to my players. We will go again to Wembley to try to win our fourth European Cup. Let's rest now and see if we can get the four points we need to win the league. Madrid have nine Champions League titles, they are the richest team in the world. We knew that. But we didn't lose our essence, except for the first 10 minutes of this second leg. The whole round has been intense and we're very satisfied with what we've done. We are a great club, a great institution, and now we want to close La Liga before the final step."
    The four-game series ended with two draws and one win apiece, with Real taking the Spanish Cup but Barcelona seizing the much bigger prize of a Champions League final place. Uefa is expected to decide on Friday on a raft of disciplinary issues facing both clubs.
    Not that Guardiola was ecstatic about appearing at the Football Association's expensive monument, the scene of his European Cup triumph as a Barcelona player. He said: "It would be better if we could go to the old Wembley, with the charisma it had."

 
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo blasts Barcelona's Javier Mascherano

• 'He must have learnt all these cheating tricks at Barcelona'
• 'Mascherano wasn't like this at Liverpool' says Ronaldo

  • Paul Hayward at Camp Nou
  • The Guardian, Wednesday 4 May 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Cristiano-Ronaldo-007.jpg
    Cristiano Ronaldo feels Javier Mascherano's theatrical tumble cost Real Madrid a goal against Barcelona. Photograph: Albert Gea/REUTERS

    Cristiano Ronaldo delivered the most withering put-down as the Barcelona-Real Madrid feud resumed on a stormy night at the Camp Nou. "Javier Mascherano wasn't like this at Liverpool. He must have learned all these cheating tricks at Barcelona," the Real striker said of his former rival from their Premier League days.
    Real left Barcelona still trying to settle scores as Pep Guardiola's team progressed to the final at Wembley on 28 May. Ronaldo, who made his name at Manchester United, tangled with Mascherano often when the pair were in England and was sure to leave his mark on his old rival as Barça weighed up a probable clash with United after their 3-1 aggregate victory.
    José Mourinho's side were upset by the disallowing of Gonzalo Higuaín's 47th-minute goal after Mascherano tumbled theatrically to the turf following contact from a falling Ronaldo, who himself had been tripped. That would have put Real 1-0 up on the night, and Xabi Alonso, who was also at Liverpool, said: "[Had] we scored the first goal it would have been totally different and we feel so many bad decisions have been made against us and we are not happy about that. We think we did a good job but decisions went against us, we really feel that way."
    Warming to the theme Ronaldo said: "There was nothing wrong with the goal, that could have altered the course of the match but the referee didn't want to see it that way. Those who know about football know that Barcelona are very well protected. We just have to live with these injustices.
    "We knew if we scored a goal they would do everything possible so we wouldn't get through. This isn't good for football. If things don't improve we should just stay home and let Barcelona play by themselves. Next year they should just give the cup directly to Barcelona."
    Aitor Karanka, Mourinho's assistant, added: "If what happened the other day [in the first leg] hadn't happened – if Pepe hadn't been dismissed – we could have been there [in the final]."
    Mourinho was serving a touchline ban following his sending-off in Madrid and is believed to have watched the game from his hotel room. "José was not on the bench, he couldn't get in the dressing room so I don't know where he's been," Karanka claimed. "He said congratulations to the team. He's outraged about what we've seen in the last few games. Madrid fans have seen the way the team is. When they let us play – we played, and we even won [in the Copa del Rey final]. We proved we can play the game. Every time we've been 11 versus 11 we've stood up to them. Everyone said it [Higuaín's] was a legal goal."
    Guardiola twisted his own knife. "I want to congratulate Madrid for being so daring, playing face to face," he said. "I have an infinite gratitude to my players. We will go again to Wembley to try to win our fourth European Cup. Let's rest now and see if we can get the four points we need to win the league. Madrid have nine Champions League titles, they are the richest team in the world. We knew that. But we didn't lose our essence, except for the first 10 minutes of this second leg. The whole round has been intense and we're very satisfied with what we've done. We are a great club, a great institution, and now we want to close La Liga before the final step."
    The four-game series ended with two draws and one win apiece, with Real taking the Spanish Cup but Barcelona seizing the much bigger prize of a Champions League final place. Uefa is expected to decide on Friday on a raft of disciplinary issues facing both clubs.
    Not that Guardiola was ecstatic about appearing at the Football Association's expensive monument, the scene of his European Cup triumph as a Barcelona player. He said: "It would be better if we could go to the old Wembley, with the charisma it had."
 
Love of Jens Lehmann has Manuel Neuer ready to rock Manchester United

Schalke's goalkeeper heads to Old Trafford inspired by his childhood hero and with the sound of AC/DC in his ears



  • Marcus Christenson
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 May 2011 20.00 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Manuel-Neuer-trains-ahead-007.jpg
    Manuel Neuer trains ahead of Schalke's Champions League semi-final second leg at Manchester United. Photograph: Bernd Thissen/EPA

    There is an edge to Manuel Neuer that is rarely seen during games. The Schalke goalkeeper, who has told fans to believe in a miracle at Old Trafford , possesses that peculiar ingredient that makes good goalkeepers great: an element of madness. But perhaps that is only natural when you have Jens Lehmann as your role model.
    Lehmann is the man who was once sent off for insulting a team-mate, who has ripped the glasses off a supporter in a hissy fit, who has admitted live on TV that he gives his two-year-old daughter (alcohol-free) beer and fought with cameramen. Some role model.
    "I always looked up to Jens," Neuer said. "First of all he played for Schalke and I was always impressed by his way of playing and his charisma. He is an attacking goalkeeper. I used to come early to home games when I was little to watch Jens warm-up. He was quite innovative and he did exercises during warm-ups that I hadn't seen anyone else do before."
    The 25-year-old's performance against United last Tuesday was reminiscent of Peter Schmeichel at his best, starfish saves and all. Neuer recently announced on his Facebook site that he is leaving Schalke, the club he joined as a five-year-old, at the end of the season, but United's chances of signing him appear remote. The goalkeeper looks set to stay in Germany and when he was asked last month if he had thought about playing abroad, he answered: "No, not really. I can go abroad twice a year, in my summer holidays and in my winter holidays. Do you have to play abroad as a footballer? Some players say so but I am not of that opinion."
    Bayern Munich want to sign him and what Bayern want, they normally get (despite their fans staging a protest against Neuer the last time Schalke visited, with a whole section holding up signs that said "Koan Neuer" &#8211; No Neuer &#8211; because of his ties with Schalke). There has been the usual bartering in public between Schalke and Bayern, but the best bet is that the goalkeeper, who has one year left on his contract, will leave Gelsenkirchen for around &#8364;20m (£18m) and head to Bavaria in the summer.
    Neuer was given his first ball at the age of two and joined Schalke three years later. When he was 11 he stood at the Parkstadion and watched on a giant screen how Lehmann saved a penalty from Iván Zamorano as Schalke won the 1997 Uefa Cup. Remarkably, though, he nearly quit football at the age of 13 when he was omitted from the regional Westfalen side for being too small. However, Lothar Matuschak, responsible for the youth-team goalkeepers at Schalke, saw Neuer's potential and asked the club to be patient with his special talent.
    Neuer is a goalkeeping coach's dream disciple. Apart from his athleticism and reactions, the 25-year-old is extremely good with his feet and has an outrageous throw. Before he was well known, Neuer took part in a training session with some outfield players and impressed bystanders so much that some of the supporters came up and asked who the new signing was and if they could have his autograph. "I am Manuel Neuer, your third-choice goalkeeper," he replied in typically straight-faced fashion. The goalkeeper, meanwhile, is often seen taking on the outfield players in five-verses-two sessions and Oliver Reck, who played more than 450 games for Werder Bremen and Schalke, says he thinks Neuer could play as an outfield player in the German third division.
    In Neuer's first season as No1 he bamboozled everyone by hurling the ball over 60 metres to Peter Lovenkrands, who set up the winning goal against Hertha Berlin. His majestic throws are no flukes. The Schalke youth teams, under the guidance of Matuschak, get their goalkeepers to incessantly throw balls at three small goals stationed on the halfway line.
    Neuer made his Schalke debut at the age of 20 in 2006, having displaced the veteran Frank Rost, and became the Germany No1 goalkeeper in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup after his good friend and team-mate Robert Enke had killed himself and René Adler suffered an injury. Neuer was deeply affected by Enke's death &#8211; the whole team were &#8211; and their performances in South Africa were tributes to their former team-mate.
    Neuer is the undisputed No1 for the national team and is expected to remain so for the next decade. He has had his setbacks and was once labelled "butterfinger Neuer" by the tabloids after a series of high-profile mistakes, but he responded with pride and determination and, a few weeks later, was Schalke's hero in a penalty shoot-out against Porto in the Champions League.
    He takes a pretty relaxed view of life and was unperturbed when a whole continent outed him as gay earlier this year. One South American publication mistranslated an interview in which Neuer had said that "it would be good if a professional football came out because it would help others to do the same" by declaring that Neuer was gay - and proud of it. A string of media outlets across the continent repeated the claim and therefore, now, if you start typing Manuel Neuer into English Google the first suggestions for the next words are "Manchester United" and "gay".
    United, however, are not the only club to have seemingly missed out on Neuer. Arsenal, too, will be upset that they did not try harder to convince him to move to north London seven years go. Lehmann remembers that he was made aware of Neuer's precociousness as early as 2004: "I saw an under-19 game and he was great. At the time I also had meetings with our chief scout once a week and he told me he had spotted a really good goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer. My goalkeeping coach had him watched and there was even talk about Arsenal trying to sign him."
    Either way, it may be that Neuer would have found it difficult to settle at Old Trafford considering what would have been a likely clash with Rio Ferdinand over which music to play in the dressing room. Neuer has admitted he is a hot-headed person but says he calms down before games by listening to AC/DC. "Heavy metal is the sound of Schalke," he said. "No one listens to Lady Gaga in the team bus. With AC/DC I cool myself down and I won't risk a red card so that I weaken my team's chances to win the game. The last man must always project strength and that is what I try to do."

 
Love of Jens Lehmann has Manuel Neuer ready to rock Manchester United

Schalke's goalkeeper heads to Old Trafford inspired by his childhood hero and with the sound of AC/DC in his ears



  • Marcus Christenson
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 May 2011 20.00 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Manuel-Neuer-trains-ahead-007.jpg
    Manuel Neuer trains ahead of Schalke's Champions League semi-final second leg at Manchester United. Photograph: Bernd Thissen/EPA

    There is an edge to Manuel Neuer that is rarely seen during games. The Schalke goalkeeper, who has told fans to believe in a miracle at Old Trafford , possesses that peculiar ingredient that makes good goalkeepers great: an element of madness. But perhaps that is only natural when you have Jens Lehmann as your role model.
    Lehmann is the man who was once sent off for insulting a team-mate, who has ripped the glasses off a supporter in a hissy fit, who has admitted live on TV that he gives his two-year-old daughter (alcohol-free) beer and fought with cameramen. Some role model.
    "I always looked up to Jens," Neuer said. "First of all he played for Schalke and I was always impressed by his way of playing and his charisma. He is an attacking goalkeeper. I used to come early to home games when I was little to watch Jens warm-up. He was quite innovative and he did exercises during warm-ups that I hadn't seen anyone else do before."
    The 25-year-old's performance against United last Tuesday was reminiscent of Peter Schmeichel at his best, starfish saves and all. Neuer recently announced on his Facebook site that he is leaving Schalke, the club he joined as a five-year-old, at the end of the season, but United's chances of signing him appear remote. The goalkeeper looks set to stay in Germany and when he was asked last month if he had thought about playing abroad, he answered: "No, not really. I can go abroad twice a year, in my summer holidays and in my winter holidays. Do you have to play abroad as a footballer? Some players say so but I am not of that opinion."
    Bayern Munich want to sign him and what Bayern want, they normally get (despite their fans staging a protest against Neuer the last time Schalke visited, with a whole section holding up signs that said "Koan Neuer" – No Neuer – because of his ties with Schalke). There has been the usual bartering in public between Schalke and Bayern, but the best bet is that the goalkeeper, who has one year left on his contract, will leave Gelsenkirchen for around €20m (£18m) and head to Bavaria in the summer.
    Neuer was given his first ball at the age of two and joined Schalke three years later. When he was 11 he stood at the Parkstadion and watched on a giant screen how Lehmann saved a penalty from Iván Zamorano as Schalke won the 1997 Uefa Cup. Remarkably, though, he nearly quit football at the age of 13 when he was omitted from the regional Westfalen side for being too small. However, Lothar Matuschak, responsible for the youth-team goalkeepers at Schalke, saw Neuer's potential and asked the club to be patient with his special talent.
    Neuer is a goalkeeping coach's dream disciple. Apart from his athleticism and reactions, the 25-year-old is extremely good with his feet and has an outrageous throw. Before he was well known, Neuer took part in a training session with some outfield players and impressed bystanders so much that some of the supporters came up and asked who the new signing was and if they could have his autograph. "I am Manuel Neuer, your third-choice goalkeeper," he replied in typically straight-faced fashion. The goalkeeper, meanwhile, is often seen taking on the outfield players in five-verses-two sessions and Oliver Reck, who played more than 450 games for Werder Bremen and Schalke, says he thinks Neuer could play as an outfield player in the German third division.
    In Neuer's first season as No1 he bamboozled everyone by hurling the ball over 60 metres to Peter Lovenkrands, who set up the winning goal against Hertha Berlin. His majestic throws are no flukes. The Schalke youth teams, under the guidance of Matuschak, get their goalkeepers to incessantly throw balls at three small goals stationed on the halfway line.
    Neuer made his Schalke debut at the age of 20 in 2006, having displaced the veteran Frank Rost, and became the Germany No1 goalkeeper in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup after his good friend and team-mate Robert Enke had killed himself and René Adler suffered an injury. Neuer was deeply affected by Enke's death – the whole team were – and their performances in South Africa were tributes to their former team-mate.
    Neuer is the undisputed No1 for the national team and is expected to remain so for the next decade. He has had his setbacks and was once labelled "butterfinger Neuer" by the tabloids after a series of high-profile mistakes, but he responded with pride and determination and, a few weeks later, was Schalke's hero in a penalty shoot-out against Porto in the Champions League.
    He takes a pretty relaxed view of life and was unperturbed when a whole continent outed him as gay earlier this year. One South American publication mistranslated an interview in which Neuer had said that "it would be good if a professional football came out because it would help others to do the same" by declaring that Neuer was gay - and proud of it. A string of media outlets across the continent repeated the claim and therefore, now, if you start typing Manuel Neuer into English Google the first suggestions for the next words are "Manchester United" and "gay".
    United, however, are not the only club to have seemingly missed out on Neuer. Arsenal, too, will be upset that they did not try harder to convince him to move to north London seven years go. Lehmann remembers that he was made aware of Neuer's precociousness as early as 2004: "I saw an under-19 game and he was great. At the time I also had meetings with our chief scout once a week and he told me he had spotted a really good goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer. My goalkeeping coach had him watched and there was even talk about Arsenal trying to sign him."
    Either way, it may be that Neuer would have found it difficult to settle at Old Trafford considering what would have been a likely clash with Rio Ferdinand over which music to play in the dressing room. Neuer has admitted he is a hot-headed person but says he calms down before games by listening to AC/DC. "Heavy metal is the sound of Schalke," he said. "No one listens to Lady Gaga in the team bus. With AC/DC I cool myself down and I won't risk a red card so that I weaken my team's chances to win the game. The last man must always project strength and that is what I try to do."
 
Barcelona and Madrid had fewer histrionics but this was not a classic

This was far closer to the game most people had anticipated when fate threw the two La Liga aristocrats together


Lionel-Messi-007.jpg
Real Madrid's players go all out to stop Barcelona's Lionel Messi, centre. Photograph: Alejandro Garcia/EPA

Well, that was better. There was no shortage of fouls, the majority of them committed by a hard pressed Real Madrid defence on Barcelona's twinkling forwards, and hands were occasionally raised in supplication to the referee, but this was far closer to the sort of game most people had anticipated when fate threw the two aristocrats of La Liga together in the semi-final of the European Cup, the competition that means so much to both clubs.
Real's players committed their fouls only in extremis, rather than as a pro-active form of intimidation, while their opponents kept the histrionic reactions to a minimum. The result was a satisfying degree of entertainment at both ends of the pitch, particularly once Real had shown themselves to be undeterred by the Barcelona goal which took the aggregate score to 3-0.
At least José Mourinho started the evening by sending out the right signal. A Real Madrid with Kaká and Gonzalo Higuaín alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di María took the field wearing a far more interesting look than the defence-minded configuration the coach sent out to such disastrous effect in the first leg.
Elevated passions can produce exaggerated behaviour, and with four games between Barcelona and Real Madrid and Barcelona scheduled in a couple of weeks, in three different competitions, it was hardly surprising that emotions boiled over three-quarters of the way through the series. Last night they came back into some semblance of control.
The match was 21 seconds old when the first foul arrived, Marcelo climbing over Pedro Rodríguez in an attempt to reach Gerard Piqué's long ball. But there were no exaggerated histrionics from either man, and when Lassana Diarra barged Andrés Iniesta to the ground five minutes later, Real's former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth midfielder immediately extended an apologetic hand to his opponent.
Five red cards and 30 yellow cards had been shown to the players of the two sides in their earlier meetings this season. Last night's first caution came after 13 minutes and was given to Ricardo Carvalho, suspended for the first leg and sent off in Saturday's league match, who put out a foot to catch Lionel Messi's boot as the Argentinian magician sprinted away from Xabi Alonso.
Carvalho committed two more fouls on the same player before the interval. Either might have brought a second yellowcard, but the Portuguese defender was fortunate to find the referee, Frank de Bleeckere, in a mood of forbearance, while Barcelona's players refrained from making too much of a fuss.
Mourinho, banned from active participation in the match beyond selecting the line-up, had threatened to watch from his hotel room rather the directors' box, and the TV cameras failed to spot him before the kick-off. Perhaps he was on the bench, disguised as one of his lesser known substitutes. His assistant, Aitor Karanka, prowled Real's technical area in a decidedly un-Mourinho-esque track suit, with novisible sign of an earpiece or any other device for receiving clandestine signals from the absent coach.
Real's forwards began by pressing Barcelona's defenders, attempting to prevent the home side from establishing their infernal rhythm, which always starts from the back, and looking to provoke errors rather than merely sitting back and waiting for the chance to spring counter-attacks. That initiative immediately made it a proper game of football.
Diarra, replacing the suspended Pepe alongside XabiAlonso, was the busiest player on the pitch in the early exchanges, charged with running down Messi before the little master could get close to the last layer of defence. On one occasion in the first half it took the simultaneous arrival of Diarra, Alonso and Carvalho to thwart him, at the cost of a free kick. But Messi, as ever, refused to be suppressed.
Ronaldo moved from wing to wing, intent on making the most of the scope to express himself but seldom managing to forge effective links with Higuaín and Di María. Mourinho might have had justifiable grounds for complaint when Higuaín had the ball in the net two minutes after the restart, only for De Bleeckere to penalise Ronaldo, whose driving run had created the opportunity. Subtly bodychecked by Piqué, Ronaldo had stumbled and fallen into the legs of Javier Mascherano, bringing the defender down while the ball ran on to Higuaín.
Eight minutes later, Barcelona scored the goal that made the tie safe. To their immense credit, however, Real's players kept going with a spirit and a style that went some way to expunge the memory of last week's humiliating display. If not transformed into angels in this hour of defeat, the men in white were at least recognisable as the representatives of their famous club. The rest of us can only mourn what might have been, had they approached the home leg in the same spirit.
 
Chuji atua Simba


Na Zahoro Mlanzi

KATIKA hali isiyotarajiwa na mashabiki wengi wa soka nchini, kiungo wa mabingwa wapya wa soka Tanzania Bara, timu ya Yanga, Athuman Idd 'Chuji', amesaini
makubaliano ya awali na wapinzani wao wa jadi, Simba kuichezea timu hiyo.

Hatua hiyo imekuja siku chache baada ya viongozi wa Yanga kuanza mazungumzo naye pamoja na winga Shamte Ally, baada ya mikataba yao ya awali, kumalizika kwa ajili ya kuitumikia tena timu hiyo.

Kwa mujibu wa taarifa zilizopatikana jijini Dar es Salaam jana, na kuthibitishwa na mmoja wa viongozi wa Kamati ya Utendaji ya timu hiyo bila kupenda jina lake litwaje, alisema Chuji alisaini mkataba juzi saa saba mchana, katika hoteli ya Royal Palm iliyopo katikati ya jiji la Dar es Salaam.

Alisema mkataba huo ni wa awali na wamekubaliana msimu unaokuja kiungo huyo kuvaa jezi za Simba, kama ilivyokuwa hapo awali.

"Unajua haya mambo bado hayajakamilika, ila ni kweli jana (juzi) Mwenyeki wa Kamati ya Usajili, Zakaria Hanspope na Makamu Mwenyekiti, Geofrey Nyange 'Kaburu', walikutana na mchezaji huyo," kilisema chanzo hicho na kuendelea;

"Mkutano huo ulifanyika katika hoteli ya Royal Palm majira ya saa saba mchana na kwamba, walimalizana kila kitu, ila wanachosubiri ni fomu mama za usajili kutoka TFF (Shirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania)".

Alipotafutwa Kaburu kuzungumzia suala hilo, kupitia simu yake ya kiganjani, iliita zaidi ya mara tatu, bila kupokelewa.

Gazeti hili halikuishia hapo, lilimtafuta Ofisa Habari wa klabu hiyo, Cliffold Ndimbo kuzungumzia suala hilo, ambapo alisema mpaka jana mchana hakuwa na taarifa zozote juu ya mchezaji huyo.

"Mhhh! hizo taarifa bado sijazipata mpaka sasa, kama unavyojua mambo mengi ya usajili, bado yanaendelea, na pia mazungumzo na wachezaji hao, mambo yapo ila tusubiri muda ufike," alisema Ndimbo.

Chuji alijiunga na Yanga misimu sita iliyopita na kuipa mafanikio makubwa, yakiwemo kutwaa ubingwa Ligi Kuu Bara zaidi ya mara tatu, Kombe la Tusker mara mbili na Ngao ya Jamii.

Kabla ya kujiunga na timu hiyo, aliichezea Simba msimu mmoja akitokea Polisi Dodoma.
 
Vijana Stars, The Kobs zaingiza milioni 32,982,000/-


Na Elizabeth Mayemba

MECHI ya mchujo ya kuwaniwa kucheza fainali za Mataifa ya Afrika 'All Africa Games' kwa vijana wenye miaka chini 23, kati ya Tanzania na Uganda (The Kobs), lililochezwa
Aprili 30, mwaka huu, Uwanja wa Taifa, Dar es Salaam, limeingiza sh. 32,982,000.

Katika mechi hiyo, Vijana Stars iliondolewa baada ya ugenini kufungwa 2-1, na mechi ya marudiano mabao 3-1, hivyo kuaga kwa jumla ya mabao 5-2.

Akizungumza Dar es Salaam jana, Msemaji wa Shirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania (TFF), Boniface Wambura, alisema mapato hayo yametokana na watazamaji 24,078 walionunua tiketi, ambapo watazamaji 22,117 walilipa sh. 1,000, watazamani 1,749 walilipa sh. 5,000 na 212 walilipa sh. 10,000.

"Watu walioingia uwanjani hawakuwa wengi sana, na hayo ndiyo mapato yaliyopatikana," alisema Wambura.

Katika hatua nyingine, uchaguzi wa klabu ya Villa Squad umepangwa kufanyika kati ya Juni 2 na Juni 20, mwaka huu.

Wambura alisema Kamati ya Uchaguzi ya TFF imewasiliana na Kamati ya Uchaguzi ya Villa Squad na kuitaka kupanga tarehe ya uchaguzi inayokidhi matakwa ya Kanuni za Uchaguzi.

Alisema Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya uchaguzi ya Villa, atawatangazia wanachama wa Villa tarehe ya uchaguzi inayokidhi matakwa ya Kanuni za Uchaguzi, baada ya kupata maelekezo ya mchakato wa uchaguzi yaliyotumwa kwake jana.

Msemaji huyo alisema, tarehe ya Uchaguzi wa Villa haitakuwa Mei 22, mwaka huu, kama ilivyotangazwa jana, na Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Uchaguzi ya Villa Squad.
 
Rais Shein mgeni rasmi fainali netiboli


Na Amina Athumani

RAIS wa Zanziba, Ali Mohamed Shein, leo atakuwa mgeni rasmi katika sherehe za kufunga mashindano ya netiboli kwa nchi za Afrika Mashariki yanayofanyika kisiwani
Zanzibar.

Mashindano hayo yalianza Aprili 29, mwaka huu, kwa kushirikisha timu 17 kutoka Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Bara, Zanzibar na Zambia, ambayo ilialikwa.

Akizungumza kwa njia ya simu akiwa visiwani Zanzibar, Katibu Mkuu wa Chama cha Netiboli Zanzibar (CHANEZA), Rahma Bakari, alisema ufungaji wa mashindano hayo utafanyika katika viwanja vya Gymkhana Zanzibar, na kwa kwamba, Rais amethibitisha kushiriki.

"Mashindano yanaendelea vizuri na leo tunahitimisha kwa michezo ya fainali, Rais Shein, amekubali kuwa mgeni rasmi," alisema.

Alisema fainali za mashindano hayo kwa upande wa wanaume zitawakutanoisha mabingwa watetezi Prison ya Kenya dhidi ya Polisi Zanzibar, ambao ni mabingwa wa mwaka juzi.

Kwa upande wa wanawake, mshindi wa jana jioni kati ya Jeshi Stars na bingwa mtetezi, AIC ya Uganda dhidi ya JKT Mbweni ya Bara na Prison ya Uganda.

Rahma alisema kwa upande wa wanawake, Zanzibar ilishindwa kutinga hatua ya nusu fainali, baada ya kuzidiwa mabao na JKT ya Bara.

Alisema kwa sasa, Zanzibar imehamishia mawazo yake katika timu ya wanaume, Polisi Zanzibar, itakayokuwa ikijaribu kuwavua ubingwa Prison ya Kenya, leo.
 
Abromovich apanga kutumia pauni milioni 80


LONDON, Uingereza

TAJIRI Roman Abromovich yuko tayari kutumia pauni nyingine milioni 80, kwa ajili ya kufanya usajili katika majira ya joto ili kuwaleta wachezaji wazuri kwenye kikosi cha
Chelsea.

Bilionea huyo wa Kirusi, anataka kikosi cha Blues kucheza soka ya kufurahisha zaidi, na kushambulia katika msimu ujao.

Januari mwaka huu, alipanga kutumia kiasi cha pauni milioni 72, kwa kuwasaini wachezaji wawili, Fernando Torres na David Luiz.

Mmiliki huyo wa Blues, amekuwa akitaka kuziba nafasi tatu, kiungo mchezeshaji, winga na beki wa kulia na amemwambia Mtendaji Mkuu
Ron Gourlay, kuandaa wachezaji anaowataka.

Wachezaji wanaolengwa wanaaminika kuwa ni nyota wa Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas, wa Tottenham, Gareth Bale na Mholanzi Gregory van der Wiel.

Wachezaji wengine wanaotazamwa ni Wesley Sneijder, Thomas Muller, Adam Johnson, Matt Jarvis, Ashley Young, Jack Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini, Luka Modric na Andrey Arshavin.

Chanzo kutoka ndani ya Blues kilisema: "Roman kila wakati amekuwa akitaka kuona Chelsea ikicheza soka ya kufurahisha.'

Anapenda wacheze mechi na kupata matokeo ya kushida mabao kama 4-3, kuliko kushinda 1-0.
 
Nurdin: Mimi Simba kamwe si rudi Send to a friend Tuesday, 03 May 2011 21:29

bakari%20nurdin.jpg
Jackson Odoyo
KIUNGO mshambuliaji wa Yanga, Nurdin Bakari ameapa kamwe hatorudi Simba ni bora kustaafu kucheza mpira kuliko kurudi kwenye timu yake hiyo ya zamani.Kiungo huyo alitoa kauli hiyo hivi karibuni katika mahojiano maalum na Mwananchi kuhusiana na suala la usajili aliodai kuwa Simba na Azam zilionyesha nia ya kumsajili kwa dau kubwa, lakini akaamua kubaki Yanga kwa dau ndogo.

ìKitendo cha Simba kuniita nirudi kwao tena kwa dau kubwa ilinikumbusha machungu ya mwaka 2008 mwezi Juni waliponifukuza kwa aibu kwa sababu ya madai ya uongo,îalisema Bakari na kuongeza:

ìSiwezi kurudi Simba kwa dau lolote mimi sio aina ya wachezaji wanaokimbilia fedha na kusahau utu wao, hapa duniani dhamani ya mtu iko kwenye fedha, lakini kwa Mwenyezi Mungu dhamani ya mtu ni utu wake hivyo siwezi kukimbilia pesa mwishoni naishia kudharirisha utu wanguî.

Akizungumzia sababu ya kuamua kuendelea kubaki Yanga kwa dau ndogo alisema ni kutokana na jinsi viongozi wa klabu hiyo wanavyomthamini.

Alisema bila Yanga angekuwa ameshastaafu soka, lakini kwa kuwa timu hiyo ina viongozi ambao wanatambua umuhimu wa mchezaji bado anacheza soka tena kwa kiwango cha juu, lakini kama angeendelea kubaki Simba pengine angesha acha soka.

Kiungo huyo wa Yanga na timu ya Taifa ya Tanzania, Taifa Stars alisema klabu ya Simba haithamini utu wa mchezaji bali wao wanangalia maslahi yao wenyewe.

ìMimi katika maisha yangu ya soka kamwe siwezi kurudi kuichezea Simba hata kama watanipa maslahi mazuri kiasi gani kwa sababu sio timu yenye kujali utu wa mchezaji,îalisisitiza Bakari.

Alisema chamsingi kwake ni utu na kwamba hawezi kuichezea timu ambayo haijali utu wake hata kama maslaji yake yatakuwa makubwa kiasi gani.

Bakari ambaye aliwahi kuichezea Simba kwa misimu minne kuanzia Desemba 2003 mpaka Juni 2008, kabla ya kutimuliwa kwa madai ya kusumbuliwa na ugonjwa wa kuwa na tundu kwenye moyo wake hivyo asingeweza kuendelea kucheza soka kwa muda mrefu.

Akizungumza kuhusu sababu za wachezaji wa mpira nchini kuacha na soka mapema kabla ya umri wao kufika alisema inasababishwa na viongozi kujali maslahi zaidi kuliko utu wa wachezaji.

Kiungo huyo ametoa kauli hiyo katika kipindi ambacho Simba inasuguana na baadhi ya wachezaji wake kwa madai ya utovu wa nidhamu na kushuka kiwango.

Katika siku za hivi karibu kipa namba moja wa timu hiyo Juma Kaseja amekuwa akituhumiwa na baadhi ya viongozi wa timu kuwa kiwango chake kimeshuka kitu ambacho Kaseja anakipinga kwa nguvu zote.

Mbali na Kaseja wachezaji wengine walioingia katika malumbano na klabu hiyo ni pamoja Musa Hassa Mgosi, Mohamed Banka, Kelvin Yondan na Niko Nyagawa wanaotuhumiwa kwa utovu wa nidhamu.
 
Chelsea wavuruga Ferguson awapumzisha Rooney, Giggs Send to a friend Tuesday, 03 May 2011 21:24

MANCHESTER, England
KOCHA wa Manchester United, Alex Ferguson anategemea kuwapumzisha baadhi ya nyota wake kwenye mchezo wa leo wa nusu fainali ya Ligi ya Mabingwa dhidi ya Schalke.

Wayne Rooney na Ryan Giggs, wafungaji wa mabao mawili mawili muhimu waliposhinda 2-0 kwenye mchezo wa kwanza leo kwenye Uwanja Old Trafford wanategemewa kuanzia benchi kwa ajili ya kujiandaa na mechi ya Ligi Kuu ya England hapa Jumapili dhidi ya Chelsea.

Manchester United inaongoza ligi kwa tofauti ya pointi tatu mbele ya Chelsea hivyo kuufanya mchezo baina yao kuwa na umuhimu wa kipekee katika mbio za ubingwa zikiwa zimebaki mechi tatu kabla ya msimu kumalizika.

Kwenye mchezo wa leo dhidi ya Schalke, Ferguson amepanga kumwazisha mshambuliaji wake mkongwe Michael Owen.Nitawatumia mabeki wangu wazoefu kama kawaida,î alisema Ferguson. ìTunamechi gumu... mbili hivyo ni vizuri ukijua kuwatumia vizuri wachezaji ulionao.î

Pamoja na Rooney kuwa benchi Old Trafford, Ferguson bado anao Dimitar Berbatov pamoja na Michael Owen.

ìTusisahau kuwa Dimitar ni moja ya wafungaji wetu wakubwa,î alisema Owen. ìHajafunga siku za karibuni kwa sababu hajapata muda mwingi wa kucheza.

ìWayne amekuwa ni nguzo yetu muhimu kwa sehemu kubwa msimu huu. Mwaka huu watu wengi wamekuwa kwenye kiwango cha juu hivyo hakuna shaka.

United wanasaka kutegeneza rekodi ya kutwaa taji la 19 la Ligi Kuu ya England. Na matokeo ya wiki iliyopita hayakuwa mazuri kwa vijana wa Ferguson.

Chelsea wakiwa nafasi ya pili wameendeleza ushindi pale walipowafunga majirani zao Tottenham na kufanya tofauti ya pointi kati na United kubaki tatu baada ya vinara hao kufungwa na Arsenal.
 
Mtibwa: Simba hawatulipa fedha za Machaku Send to a friend Tuesday, 03 May 2011 21:20

Imani Makongoro
TIMU ya Mtibwa Sugar imedai kuwa bado haijafikia muafaka na Simba juu ya usajili wa mchezaji wao Salum Machaku.

Mbali na usajili huo wa Machaku, Mtibwa Sugar pia imewaacha wachezaji wake watatu ambao waliitumikia timu hiyo msimu uliopita baada ya mikataba yao kumalizika.

Akizungumza na Mwananchi, kiongozi wa timu hiyo Jamal Bayser alisema kuwa timu ya Simba bado haijakamilisha malipo ya kumchukua mchezaji huyo waliyokubaliana ili mchezaji huyo aweze kuitumikia timu hiyo msimu ujao.

Bayser ambaye hakubainisha wazi ni kiasi gani cha fedha ambacho wanaidai Simba alisema kuwa anaamini viongozi wa timu hiyo yenye maskani yake mtaa wa Msimbazi weanaelewa kila kitu juu ya fedha hizo kwa kuwa walikuwa makini katika usajili wa mchezaji huyo sambamba na kusaini mkataba.

ìNi kweli bado hawajakamilisha suala la malipo licha ya kuwa Machaku (Salum) amekwisha saini mkataba wa kuichezea Simba, tunaamini viongozi wa timu hiyo wanaelewa na watakamilisha malipo hayo kutokana na makubaliano yetu tuliyofika hapo awali,î alisema Bayser.

Alisema kuwa endapo Simba wasipofuata kanuni na taratibu hizo wao hawatasaini fomu ya uhamisho ya mchezaji huyo kuichezea Simba msimu ujao.

Katika hatua nyingine , Bayser alisema kuwa timu hiyo imewaacha wachezaji wake watatu katika usajili wa kuitumikia timu hiyo msimu ujao aliwataja wachezaji hao kuwa ni Yusuph Mgwao, Faustine Lukoo na Soud Slim.

Alisema kuwa mikataba ya wachezaji hao kuitumikia timu hiyo imekwisha na hawategemei kuwasajili tena zaidi wanaangalia wachezaji wa kuziba nafasi zao.
 
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    andyrich666 3 May 2011 10:33PM

    I loved the guy who ran on the pitch and fooled everyone, that was Classico.
    Was a good game, Barca's class shone through, RM tried from the start and the second half for them looked promising until the inevitable thru ball 🙁


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    Henk1040 3 May 2011 10:36PM

    I loved the guy who ran on the pitch and fooled everyone, that was Classico.
    ​
    Ronaldo masquerading as a football superstar?


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    rocko2109 3 May 2011 10:36PM

    While busquets and pedro were on their best behaviour, the same can't be said for mascherano. His rolling around was disgraceful!


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    moses67 3 May 2011 10:37PM

    That Iniesta pass aside, The cheers for Abidal, and his team mates celebrating his return were the best things about the match.


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    useyourname 3 May 2011 10:39PM

    I don't know if I'm going mad (have been brainwashed by Mourinho), but it just seemed Real couldn't get a decision all night.
    The disallowed goal was a disgrace. Is there a conspiracy? Is there!? IS THERE!?????
    Sorry.


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    Hibernica 3 May 2011 10:41PM

    Not a classic but you never get classics when there's a Mourinho team involved.
    He is likely to be sacked now. Winning nothing but the Spanish Cup is usually regarded as abject failure at Real Madrid. Managers have been sacked for 'only' winning the Champions league or the Primera Liga in the past and they were people who hadn't inflicted the shit-on-a-stick football that Mourinho is famous for on to the club.
    Once Di Stefano turns against a Real manager he is surely doomed.




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    willrivaldo 3 May 2011 10:43PM

    Adebayor's only contribution to the match - 5 fouls.
    Didn't even try to play any football ... A True Mourinho convert
    Carvalho VERY lucky not to be sent off in the 1st half


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    phv219 3 May 2011 10:44PM

    Mourinho will NOT manage to eliminate this Barcelona team in the Champions League in the next 5-6 years.


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    seanpl 3 May 2011 10:45PM

    Couldn't understand why the early Madrid goal was ruled out - Ronaldo was fouled, that was why he knocked into Masch.


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    Hibernica 3 May 2011 10:47PM

    I don't know if I'm going mad (have been brainwashed by Mourinho), but it just seemed Real couldn't get a decision all night.
    ​
    Watching a different match to the rest of us maybe?
    Adebayor committed so many fouls in both legs that it was a mystery how he was allowed to stay on.
    I know Mourinho doesn't really recognise irony (narcissistic wankers never do) but the rest of the football world will be rejoicing in the glorious irony of a Real Madrid manager complaining about decisions going against his team.


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    seanpl 3 May 2011 10:48PM

    Towards the end Madrid just didn't look very good. Barca harried them until the very end. It looked like Barcelona had twice as many players, never a good sign. Thought there must have been a Madrid sending off after all.
    Fair result over the 2 legs.


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    WilliamDean 3 May 2011 10:52PM

    I didn't see all 90 minutes but from what I did there was still a huge amount of diving for negligible or no contact. Overall I'm disgusted by both of these teams, and for once wish Man Utd (or Schalke) the best against them in the final. It would be sickening to have such a team of divers rewarded for their cheating.



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    BC07 3 May 2011 10:55PM

    The disallowed goal was an incredibly bad decision. Worse than the anything in the preceding classicos. And Madrid, with Ronaldo and Higuain (whose finish was superb) in particular, took it uncharacteristically well. It would have made for a very interesting game if that goal had been allowed as it should have.


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    WilliamDean 3 May 2011 10:55PM

    And yes, it was good - and a huge surprise - to see Abidal back. To get over a liver tumour in 6 weeks - that is some achievement, especially by his doctors.


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    gabrielalfonso 3 May 2011 10:56PM

    real madrid couldnt get a decision??
    they were lucky to finish with 11 men, carvalho, alonso, and diarra could have easily been sent off with second yellows.
    now we can all look forward towards a champions league final where mourinho will not try to steal the spotlight from what really matters, FOOTBALL.
    great to see abidal back.


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    gabrielalfonso 3 May 2011 10:58PM

    adebayor probably could have been sent off as well, did nothing but flop his gangly limbs around like a wet fish hitting everything in this path. hes absolutely horrible.


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    sujay7pires 3 May 2011 10:59PM

    Barcelona and Madrid had fewer histrionics but this was not a classic
    ​
    For sure it wasn't. How can a team that has Mourihno as it's manager ever be involved in a classic?
    The 5-0 demolition was pretty one sided so wasn't a classic. None of the games that followed were any good either. If Higuain's goal had stood, maybe tonight vould have been a classic. But.....



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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:00PM

    The real loss from these 4 matches were Sid's reputation and Valdano's eyesight.
    Compare these 4 games to the 4 Chelsea and Man U will play and the Classicos were a dud, rubbish and an utter waste of time.


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    ledif 3 May 2011 11:01PM

    A thunder storm may have had something to do with the quality being slightly less than perfect. It was still full of high quality - Iniesta, Messi, Pique, Ronaldo (at times), Diarra, Di Maria (at times), Pedro's touch and finish, Xabi Alonso, Busquets and Xavi's interplay, Marcelo's attacking play. But why think. Lets just be disparaging.



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    RivaldoRules 3 May 2011 11:02PM

    Will Barca ever win a big match without a controversial decision helping them? Deserved win, but yet again a key moment goes in their favour.
    I feel dirty saying it.... but come on United.


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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:03PM

    Early entry for five things:
    Arsenal and Barcelona have totally changed what's now a yellow card foul.
    Apparently every foul except jumping with the keeper for a cross deserves a yellow card in football.


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    moBbad 3 May 2011 11:03PM

    some of Barça's football was absolutely mesmeric. the big problem they faced second half was Messi's primary area of play fell into that sodden corner, really messing up his mojo.
    Madrid deserve some credit for standing up to it more than usual. but Lass and Carvalho could both have been off by HT, and in the second period Xabi and Adebayor just seemed to be begging for the ref to send them off. hell, if it wasn't for Messi's predilection for staying on his feet Xabi probably have been off coz he lunged in a few times.
    the disallowed goal was harsh on Higuain, but Cristiano took a dive and fouled Mascherano in the process.
    ultimately, the best team won.


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    vassago1234 3 May 2011 11:04PM

    The disallowed goal was a disgrace. Is there a conspiracy? Is there!? IS THERE!?????
    No, there is not.


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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:05PM

    A thunder storm may have had something to do with the quality being slightly less than perfect. It was still full of high quality
    ​
    Chelsea vs West Ham was better. Almost a thousand passes attempted in a proper thunder storm


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    Sirhlyon 3 May 2011 11:07PM

    Don't really understand the Adebayor hate. Not a spurs or Arse fan myself but i thought it was good to see him putting in a bit of effort and caring about the result - my recollection of him at Arsenal was that he lost interest a lot of the time.
    All his fouls were soft and not malicious, just slightly clumsy attempts to win the ball trying to get his team back into the game. And the idea he should have been sent off is laughable - if everyone got booked for putting a hand on your opponents shoulder (as he did) we'd be abandoing games after 15 minutes. I agree he's not good enough for Madrid, but that's not his fault.


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    Mauberley 3 May 2011 11:19PM

    Barça were by far the better team first half and created a number of reasonable chances. But nothing completely clear-cut, much like the first game until the sending off.
    Then Real Madrid score a perfectly valid goal.
    Let's analyse this :
    Piqué fouls Ronaldo, who stumbles (perhaps making a meal of it, but that is beside the point - 95% of players roll when they are fouled, it is moreover the best way to avoid injury). Ronaldo's back, as he rolls, then may slightly snag the rear foot of Mascherano, tripping him up. But Mascherano is in no way in control of the ball, and Higuain may get to it at around the same time anyway.
    There is no foul. I didn't like Madrids antics in the first game, and Adebayor was again behaving like a cretin tonight. But the tone for me was set when Carvalho got booked for an honest trip in midfield after 12 minutes. Thereafter the only surprise is that he didn't get a second booking for the other minor offences he committed during the match. It is ridiculous to book someone for a slight trip on a player who has just sold him a dummy. After all isn't the purpose of the dummy to dupe the defender to miss the ball with a tackle?? There was nothing malicious or cynical in it.
    Moreover on more than one occasion the referree did not blow for fouls on Barça players. Xavi just needed to crumple over to get a free kick but when di Maria was scissored an hour in, the ref played on.
    I can't stick Mourinho's infantilism, tantrums and accusations. That said, tonight either the referree had a slight bias, or a bad day, or simply got conned by the antics of Mascherano, Pedro and Busquets.


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    dublin4 3 May 2011 11:22PM

    Maybe I'm naïve but it's very telling that Xabi Alonso refused to confirm on Sky Sports tonight that Busquets called Marcelo a 'monkey'. He was asked initially if that was the case, and he responded 'The images are clear´(sounds like Thiagosthong, he does). He was asked again was Marcelo upset by it, and he responded, 'Ask him yourself'.
    At no point did he say in unambiguous language: "Busquets called Marcelo a monkey."


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    Mauberley 3 May 2011 11:25PM

    So over the two games we have :
    Game 1 : Barça have the ball but only after a very dubious (or simply incorrect) sending-off do they manage to break through.
    Game 2 : Real start well in the first half, but after 25 minutes are tired from pressing hard, and Barça assert clear superiority. But cannot beat Casillas. Second half Real score a valid goal which is disallowed, thereafter Iniesta unlocks the game with a pass every bit as magnificent as Messi's dribble in the first match.
    You can't argue that the better team didn't win, but it's frustrating to see grown men behaving as Mascherano and Adebayor did. Only when retrospective punishment is introduced for the conning and pernickety behaviour of players will we get to see 90 minutes of pure football.


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    MNoone 3 May 2011 11:25PM

    I can't believe some of the posters on here are moaning about referee bias towards Barcelona. Madrid should have been down to 8 if the referee had done his job. You should thank the referee (and Mourinho for influencing the referees with his whining, and UEFA for falling for that whining) for keeping all the Madrid players on there for 90 minutes.


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    REDnProud 3 May 2011 11:26PM

    Not a classic but you never get classics when there's a Mourinho team involved.
    He is likely to be sacked now. Winning nothing but the Spanish Cup is usually regarded as abject failure at Real Madrid. Managers have been sacked for 'only' winning the Champions league or the Primera Liga in the past and they were people who hadn't inflicted the shit-on-a-stick football that Mourinho is famous for on to the club.
    ​
    ...and even that Cup couldn't stand it being in Real Madrid hands and suicided jumping under the bus. 🙂


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    MNoone 3 May 2011 11:28PM

    Sid Lowe's tweet -
    Cristiano Ronaldo: "Mascherano wasn't like this in Liverpool. He learned all the cheating tricks in Barcelona".
    I wonder where Ronaldo learned his cheating tricks.


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    Gurufootball 3 May 2011 11:30PM

    Dub
    I gotta hand it to ya. You are one persistent dude. Shouldn't you be out drinking instead?


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    TheThirdMan 3 May 2011 11:30PM

    The disallowed goal was certainly an error by the referee but that only really became apparant with the replay. At normal speed it was pretty hard to tell.
    What's that you say ? the presence of a video ref would have resolved it.
    In any event it's hardly evidence of a conspiracy.


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    REDnProud 3 May 2011 11:35PM

    To be fair to Ronaldo, who I used to hate with passion at Utd for all his cheating and diving and drama-queen behaviour, he doesn't seem to be that bad now. Did he grow up? Or changing the club helped him? Now wonder where should Nani go to get rid if those pathetic theatrics.
    And oh, please.... comarades! stop telling me Barca were diving, again! Would love to see any of you running on the soaking wet pitch trying to control the ball and a stud like Adebayor jump on your achilles! People just don't understand what they say sometimes, just repeating and repeating some stupid thing once heard from the media!


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    XavIniesta78 3 May 2011 11:52PM

    Heartbreaking moment too see the King back, gave me goosebumps all over.
    Regarding the goal there seems to be all kind of interpretations: here in Germany the pundits say it was rightly disallowed, the same as Sid Lowe on Twitter.
    What a pass from the Don and what a finish from !!! Pique is twice the defender with the captain next to him.
    Carvalho was not sent off: Why, Why, Why, (must be the Unicef-Uefa-Barca conspiracy, because I mean they just controll everything)


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    Pippov 3 May 2011 11:57PM

    Higuain's goal was disallowed correctly. Yes, Ronaldo's tripping of Mascherano was unintentional, but intent is irrelevant for any foul in football except handball. Now the reason Ronaldo tripped Mascherano was because Pique knocked Ronaldo over. So, yes, the ref was correct to disallow the goal, but should have blown for a free kick to Real Madrid, not Barca. So Real fans can certainly use this as yet another example of the global conspiracy against their club..... That and the fact the ref refused to send off Alonso, Diarra or Carvalho, which would have given Mourinho more ammunition in his war on sanity.



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    Randomsausage 4 May 2011 12:04AM

    Pique's not a half bad player, is he not? Also, he's good at winding up the Madridmeisters without resorting to Biscuits-Alves-Masch squealing like a little girly tactics. Mascherano was a big Argie girl's blouse.


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    mossa 4 May 2011 12:06AM

    lot of posters a bit harsh on Madrid. If i had to choose, I'd be a Barca fan but a big decision went against Madrid during a critical part of the second half up until Pedro's goal.
    Higuan's goal early in the second half was a goal (ref was in clear view of the incident) and it would have had a big impact on the game, think Kaka would have improved as the game entered the final quarter.
    Adebayor is a bit of a dummy, always rash and thick but he knew the ref couldn't really afford to give him red after the earlier no-goal decision, as did Alonso with his clip and the Marcelo 'Disneyland fun slide' tackle on Messi.
    So to sum up, Man U are now fu***d


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    mikeinbrazil 4 May 2011 12:11AM

    Having defended Barça last week , have to say that Real got absolutely nothing from the ref tonight. That disallowed goal was what they call ´perigo de gol´ over here ; in any debatable falling to the ground situation close to the goal , the ref just blows up systematically against the attacking side just because it´s easier to maintain the status quo than to risk altering it with a controversial goal ( perigo meaning danger , or risk ).
    CR7 couldn´t really do it on a rainy night in Barcelona, could he ? And Kaka was cack. Barça were dazzling in that second part of the first half. And Real finally looked like a proper side in the second half.
    If Marcelo plays for the national team like he´s been playing recently , the seleçao will be some way to filling that Roberto Carlos -sized hole.
    Casillas for man of the match?
    Oh yeah ,and come on , United !



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    SecondChance 4 May 2011 12:11AM

    Love half of Barca's team (Messi, Villa, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol). The other half make my skin crawl. But then again, it's the same with most teams, but cos they aint as good and prominent, prob don't notice as much. But bloody Busquets, Mascherano, Pedro and Alves. Eugh.


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    Monctonian 4 May 2011 12:19AM

    Apparently every foul except jumping with the keeper for a cross deserves a yellow card in football.
    ​
    It's very depressing.
    We have stupid, dangerous challenges tolerated in the Prem while anything involving a mild bump in Europe is a foul and probable yellow card.
    There must be some sort of Goldilocks standard in between.
 
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    andyrich666 3 May 2011 10:33PM

    I loved the guy who ran on the pitch and fooled everyone, that was Classico.
    Was a good game, Barca's class shone through, RM tried from the start and the second half for them looked promising until the inevitable thru ball 🙁


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    Henk1040 3 May 2011 10:36PM

    I loved the guy who ran on the pitch and fooled everyone, that was Classico.
    ​
    Ronaldo masquerading as a football superstar?


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    rocko2109 3 May 2011 10:36PM

    While busquets and pedro were on their best behaviour, the same can't be said for mascherano. His rolling around was disgraceful!


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    moses67 3 May 2011 10:37PM

    That Iniesta pass aside, The cheers for Abidal, and his team mates celebrating his return were the best things about the match.


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    useyourname 3 May 2011 10:39PM

    I don't know if I'm going mad (have been brainwashed by Mourinho), but it just seemed Real couldn't get a decision all night.
    The disallowed goal was a disgrace. Is there a conspiracy? Is there!? IS THERE!?????
    Sorry.


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    Hibernica 3 May 2011 10:41PM

    Not a classic but you never get classics when there's a Mourinho team involved.
    He is likely to be sacked now. Winning nothing but the Spanish Cup is usually regarded as abject failure at Real Madrid. Managers have been sacked for 'only' winning the Champions league or the Primera Liga in the past and they were people who hadn't inflicted the shit-on-a-stick football that Mourinho is famous for on to the club.
    Once Di Stefano turns against a Real manager he is surely doomed.




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    willrivaldo 3 May 2011 10:43PM

    Adebayor's only contribution to the match - 5 fouls.
    Didn't even try to play any football ... A True Mourinho convert
    Carvalho VERY lucky not to be sent off in the 1st half


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    phv219 3 May 2011 10:44PM

    Mourinho will NOT manage to eliminate this Barcelona team in the Champions League in the next 5-6 years.


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    seanpl 3 May 2011 10:45PM

    Couldn't understand why the early Madrid goal was ruled out - Ronaldo was fouled, that was why he knocked into Masch.


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    Hibernica 3 May 2011 10:47PM

    I don't know if I'm going mad (have been brainwashed by Mourinho), but it just seemed Real couldn't get a decision all night.
    ​
    Watching a different match to the rest of us maybe?
    Adebayor committed so many fouls in both legs that it was a mystery how he was allowed to stay on.
    I know Mourinho doesn't really recognise irony (narcissistic wankers never do) but the rest of the football world will be rejoicing in the glorious irony of a Real Madrid manager complaining about decisions going against his team.


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    seanpl 3 May 2011 10:48PM

    Towards the end Madrid just didn't look very good. Barca harried them until the very end. It looked like Barcelona had twice as many players, never a good sign. Thought there must have been a Madrid sending off after all.
    Fair result over the 2 legs.


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    WilliamDean 3 May 2011 10:52PM

    I didn't see all 90 minutes but from what I did there was still a huge amount of diving for negligible or no contact. Overall I'm disgusted by both of these teams, and for once wish Man Utd (or Schalke) the best against them in the final. It would be sickening to have such a team of divers rewarded for their cheating.



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    BC07 3 May 2011 10:55PM

    The disallowed goal was an incredibly bad decision. Worse than the anything in the preceding classicos. And Madrid, with Ronaldo and Higuain (whose finish was superb) in particular, took it uncharacteristically well. It would have made for a very interesting game if that goal had been allowed as it should have.


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    WilliamDean 3 May 2011 10:55PM

    And yes, it was good - and a huge surprise - to see Abidal back. To get over a liver tumour in 6 weeks - that is some achievement, especially by his doctors.


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    gabrielalfonso 3 May 2011 10:56PM

    real madrid couldnt get a decision??
    they were lucky to finish with 11 men, carvalho, alonso, and diarra could have easily been sent off with second yellows.
    now we can all look forward towards a champions league final where mourinho will not try to steal the spotlight from what really matters, FOOTBALL.
    great to see abidal back.


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    gabrielalfonso 3 May 2011 10:58PM

    adebayor probably could have been sent off as well, did nothing but flop his gangly limbs around like a wet fish hitting everything in this path. hes absolutely horrible.


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    sujay7pires 3 May 2011 10:59PM

    Barcelona and Madrid had fewer histrionics but this was not a classic
    ​
    For sure it wasn't. How can a team that has Mourihno as it's manager ever be involved in a classic?
    The 5-0 demolition was pretty one sided so wasn't a classic. None of the games that followed were any good either. If Higuain's goal had stood, maybe tonight vould have been a classic. But.....



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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:00PM

    The real loss from these 4 matches were Sid's reputation and Valdano's eyesight.
    Compare these 4 games to the 4 Chelsea and Man U will play and the Classicos were a dud, rubbish and an utter waste of time.


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    ledif 3 May 2011 11:01PM

    A thunder storm may have had something to do with the quality being slightly less than perfect. It was still full of high quality - Iniesta, Messi, Pique, Ronaldo (at times), Diarra, Di Maria (at times), Pedro's touch and finish, Xabi Alonso, Busquets and Xavi's interplay, Marcelo's attacking play. But why think. Lets just be disparaging.



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    RivaldoRules 3 May 2011 11:02PM

    Will Barca ever win a big match without a controversial decision helping them? Deserved win, but yet again a key moment goes in their favour.
    I feel dirty saying it.... but come on United.


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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:03PM

    Early entry for five things:
    Arsenal and Barcelona have totally changed what's now a yellow card foul.
    Apparently every foul except jumping with the keeper for a cross deserves a yellow card in football.


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    moBbad 3 May 2011 11:03PM

    some of Barça's football was absolutely mesmeric. the big problem they faced second half was Messi's primary area of play fell into that sodden corner, really messing up his mojo.
    Madrid deserve some credit for standing up to it more than usual. but Lass and Carvalho could both have been off by HT, and in the second period Xabi and Adebayor just seemed to be begging for the ref to send them off. hell, if it wasn't for Messi's predilection for staying on his feet Xabi probably have been off coz he lunged in a few times.
    the disallowed goal was harsh on Higuain, but Cristiano took a dive and fouled Mascherano in the process.
    ultimately, the best team won.


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    vassago1234 3 May 2011 11:04PM

    The disallowed goal was a disgrace. Is there a conspiracy? Is there!? IS THERE!?????
    No, there is not.


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    Friggity 3 May 2011 11:05PM

    A thunder storm may have had something to do with the quality being slightly less than perfect. It was still full of high quality
    ​
    Chelsea vs West Ham was better. Almost a thousand passes attempted in a proper thunder storm


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    Sirhlyon 3 May 2011 11:07PM

    Don't really understand the Adebayor hate. Not a spurs or Arse fan myself but i thought it was good to see him putting in a bit of effort and caring about the result - my recollection of him at Arsenal was that he lost interest a lot of the time.
    All his fouls were soft and not malicious, just slightly clumsy attempts to win the ball trying to get his team back into the game. And the idea he should have been sent off is laughable - if everyone got booked for putting a hand on your opponents shoulder (as he did) we'd be abandoing games after 15 minutes. I agree he's not good enough for Madrid, but that's not his fault.


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    Mauberley 3 May 2011 11:19PM

    Barça were by far the better team first half and created a number of reasonable chances. But nothing completely clear-cut, much like the first game until the sending off.
    Then Real Madrid score a perfectly valid goal.
    Let's analyse this :
    Piqué fouls Ronaldo, who stumbles (perhaps making a meal of it, but that is beside the point - 95% of players roll when they are fouled, it is moreover the best way to avoid injury). Ronaldo's back, as he rolls, then may slightly snag the rear foot of Mascherano, tripping him up. But Mascherano is in no way in control of the ball, and Higuain may get to it at around the same time anyway.
    There is no foul. I didn't like Madrids antics in the first game, and Adebayor was again behaving like a cretin tonight. But the tone for me was set when Carvalho got booked for an honest trip in midfield after 12 minutes. Thereafter the only surprise is that he didn't get a second booking for the other minor offences he committed during the match. It is ridiculous to book someone for a slight trip on a player who has just sold him a dummy. After all isn't the purpose of the dummy to dupe the defender to miss the ball with a tackle?? There was nothing malicious or cynical in it.
    Moreover on more than one occasion the referree did not blow for fouls on Barça players. Xavi just needed to crumple over to get a free kick but when di Maria was scissored an hour in, the ref played on.
    I can't stick Mourinho's infantilism, tantrums and accusations. That said, tonight either the referree had a slight bias, or a bad day, or simply got conned by the antics of Mascherano, Pedro and Busquets.


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    dublin4 3 May 2011 11:22PM

    Maybe I'm naïve but it's very telling that Xabi Alonso refused to confirm on Sky Sports tonight that Busquets called Marcelo a 'monkey'. He was asked initially if that was the case, and he responded 'The images are clear´(sounds like Thiagosthong, he does). He was asked again was Marcelo upset by it, and he responded, 'Ask him yourself'.
    At no point did he say in unambiguous language: "Busquets called Marcelo a monkey."


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    Mauberley 3 May 2011 11:25PM

    So over the two games we have :
    Game 1 : Barça have the ball but only after a very dubious (or simply incorrect) sending-off do they manage to break through.
    Game 2 : Real start well in the first half, but after 25 minutes are tired from pressing hard, and Barça assert clear superiority. But cannot beat Casillas. Second half Real score a valid goal which is disallowed, thereafter Iniesta unlocks the game with a pass every bit as magnificent as Messi's dribble in the first match.
    You can't argue that the better team didn't win, but it's frustrating to see grown men behaving as Mascherano and Adebayor did. Only when retrospective punishment is introduced for the conning and pernickety behaviour of players will we get to see 90 minutes of pure football.


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    MNoone 3 May 2011 11:25PM

    I can't believe some of the posters on here are moaning about referee bias towards Barcelona. Madrid should have been down to 8 if the referee had done his job. You should thank the referee (and Mourinho for influencing the referees with his whining, and UEFA for falling for that whining) for keeping all the Madrid players on there for 90 minutes.


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    REDnProud 3 May 2011 11:26PM

    Not a classic but you never get classics when there's a Mourinho team involved.
    He is likely to be sacked now. Winning nothing but the Spanish Cup is usually regarded as abject failure at Real Madrid. Managers have been sacked for 'only' winning the Champions league or the Primera Liga in the past and they were people who hadn't inflicted the shit-on-a-stick football that Mourinho is famous for on to the club.
    ​
    ...and even that Cup couldn't stand it being in Real Madrid hands and suicided jumping under the bus. 🙂


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    MNoone 3 May 2011 11:28PM

    Sid Lowe's tweet -
    Cristiano Ronaldo: "Mascherano wasn't like this in Liverpool. He learned all the cheating tricks in Barcelona".
    I wonder where Ronaldo learned his cheating tricks.


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    Gurufootball 3 May 2011 11:30PM

    Dub
    I gotta hand it to ya. You are one persistent dude. Shouldn’t you be out drinking instead?


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    TheThirdMan 3 May 2011 11:30PM

    The disallowed goal was certainly an error by the referee but that only really became apparant with the replay. At normal speed it was pretty hard to tell.
    What's that you say ? the presence of a video ref would have resolved it.
    In any event it's hardly evidence of a conspiracy.


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    REDnProud 3 May 2011 11:35PM

    To be fair to Ronaldo, who I used to hate with passion at Utd for all his cheating and diving and drama-queen behaviour, he doesn't seem to be that bad now. Did he grow up? Or changing the club helped him? Now wonder where should Nani go to get rid if those pathetic theatrics.
    And oh, please.... comarades! stop telling me Barca were diving, again! Would love to see any of you running on the soaking wet pitch trying to control the ball and a stud like Adebayor jump on your achilles! People just don't understand what they say sometimes, just repeating and repeating some stupid thing once heard from the media!


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    XavIniesta78 3 May 2011 11:52PM

    Heartbreaking moment too see the King back, gave me goosebumps all over.
    Regarding the goal there seems to be all kind of interpretations: here in Germany the pundits say it was rightly disallowed, the same as Sid Lowe on Twitter.
    What a pass from the Don and what a finish from !!! Pique is twice the defender with the captain next to him.
    Carvalho was not sent off: Why, Why, Why, (must be the Unicef-Uefa-Barca conspiracy, because I mean they just controll everything)


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    Pippov 3 May 2011 11:57PM

    Higuain's goal was disallowed correctly. Yes, Ronaldo's tripping of Mascherano was unintentional, but intent is irrelevant for any foul in football except handball. Now the reason Ronaldo tripped Mascherano was because Pique knocked Ronaldo over. So, yes, the ref was correct to disallow the goal, but should have blown for a free kick to Real Madrid, not Barca. So Real fans can certainly use this as yet another example of the global conspiracy against their club..... That and the fact the ref refused to send off Alonso, Diarra or Carvalho, which would have given Mourinho more ammunition in his war on sanity.



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    Randomsausage 4 May 2011 12:04AM

    Pique's not a half bad player, is he not? Also, he's good at winding up the Madridmeisters without resorting to Biscuits-Alves-Masch squealing like a little girly tactics. Mascherano was a big Argie girl's blouse.


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    mossa 4 May 2011 12:06AM

    lot of posters a bit harsh on Madrid. If i had to choose, I'd be a Barca fan but a big decision went against Madrid during a critical part of the second half up until Pedro's goal.
    Higuan's goal early in the second half was a goal (ref was in clear view of the incident) and it would have had a big impact on the game, think Kaka would have improved as the game entered the final quarter.
    Adebayor is a bit of a dummy, always rash and thick but he knew the ref couldn't really afford to give him red after the earlier no-goal decision, as did Alonso with his clip and the Marcelo 'Disneyland fun slide' tackle on Messi.
    So to sum up, Man U are now fu***d


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    mikeinbrazil 4 May 2011 12:11AM

    Having defended Barça last week , have to say that Real got absolutely nothing from the ref tonight. That disallowed goal was what they call ´perigo de gol´ over here ; in any debatable falling to the ground situation close to the goal , the ref just blows up systematically against the attacking side just because it´s easier to maintain the status quo than to risk altering it with a controversial goal ( perigo meaning danger , or risk ).
    CR7 couldn´t really do it on a rainy night in Barcelona, could he ? And Kaka was cack. Barça were dazzling in that second part of the first half. And Real finally looked like a proper side in the second half.
    If Marcelo plays for the national team like he´s been playing recently , the seleçao will be some way to filling that Roberto Carlos -sized hole.
    Casillas for man of the match?
    Oh yeah ,and come on , United !



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    SecondChance 4 May 2011 12:11AM

    Love half of Barca's team (Messi, Villa, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol). The other half make my skin crawl. But then again, it's the same with most teams, but cos they aint as good and prominent, prob don't notice as much. But bloody Busquets, Mascherano, Pedro and Alves. Eugh.


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    Monctonian 4 May 2011 12:19AM

    Apparently every foul except jumping with the keeper for a cross deserves a yellow card in football.
    ​
    It's very depressing.
    We have stupid, dangerous challenges tolerated in the Prem while anything involving a mild bump in Europe is a foul and probable yellow card.
    There must be some sort of Goldilocks standard in between.
 
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