El Clasico Build Up and Match Thread

Lets get it rolling. Only 2 weeks to go now!!! Isit going to be played on a monday then?

that will be my first clasico since the dinho rape time games

me thinks in big games xavi-iniesta-messi is still to much for madrid


maybe a draw, because madrid is in good form

This is seriously pathetic. The clasico will be played on a Monday because of the Catalan elections First, the cules didn't want it on Saturday because that would mean Madrid has one more day of rest (we play a CL game on Tuesday while Barcelona on Wednesday). Then apparently Sunday night isn't possible because the authorities can't provide security due to being busy with the elections the same day A complete bullshit excuse of course.

So now because the idiot catalans want to play "politics" with their "country" it will make it incredibly tough for Madrid fans to attend the match. People will not have time to make it to Barcelona given that they work on Mondays of course.

Either way, I'm sure Pep and his friend Pique will be preparing for the clasico in their usual style

Playing it on Monday is, of course, a disgrace. But either way I'm looking forward to a great Pep-Mou war of words leading up to the match. Should be awesome!

C'mon torrente you acting like theres going to be thousands of fans attending from madrid. The game suits me being on monday as i've got a day off work :-). All in all mou is going to start talking big mouth and pep is just going to focus on the game!!! Nice to see you madrid fans have already got an excuse!!!

I have to agree with MightyBarca
Because im off school on Tuesday so I might go watch it in a bar which suits me well. Of course it would be great if we could have it on a Saturday but given a choice between Sunday and Monday I choose Monday allthough it will feel weird to have it on a week day. With regards to the thread I would ask Batman to create one since he tends to pretty it up more.

Well half of Spain is umemployed anyway so that shouldnt be a reason for not doing it on a monday. But im happy it aint on Saturday cause of the clubbing, Sunday would have been the best, bit of a bullshit reason not to play it that day.

Torrente wrote:This is seriously pathetic. The clasico will be played on a Monday because of the Catalan elections First, the cules didn't want it on Saturday because that would mean Madrid has one more day of rest (we play a CL game on Tuesday while Barcelona on Wednesday). Then apparently Sunday night isn't possible because the authorities can't provide security due to being busy with the elections the same day A complete bullshit excuse of course.

So now because the idiot catalans want to play "politics" with their "country" it will make it incredibly tough for Madrid fans to attend the match. People will not have time to make it to Barcelona given that they work on Mondays of course.

Either way, I'm sure Pep and his friend Pique will be preparing for the clasico in their usual style

What rubbish


1. If the game was played on Sunday, wouldn't Madrid still have an extra day of rest than Barça
It's fucking obvious that Barça don't want a game on Saturday after a midweek away game in the CL. I bet you Mourinho wouldn't like it either.


2. What about the "security during the elections" excuse is bullshit? Are you an expert on effective deployment of police forces for major events in metropolitan areas? It seems quite a logical situation to me that you wouldn't want a massive football game (which could have fans in the streets) on the same day as elections.


3. As for "Madrid fans not being able to make it to the game", give me a fucking break
You say that as if this is England, where 5000 supporters travel to away games
The reality is that even on a Saturday or Sunday there would be a tiny number of Madrid fans at Camp Nou, packed into the highest possible corner of the stadium. This change to Monday will have minimal impact.


Let's stick to talking about matters on the pitch
I'll start off by saying that I'm certain that Barça won't lose. Could be a draw, could be a home win, but I just don't see Madrid winning. Our team is in good form and the players have never let us down in a big game.

1)If you add an extra night of rest, obviously that lessens the impact

2)Do you think Barcelona is fucking Kabul or something? They don't need the entire police force to guard the elections, and the match starts several hours after polls close anyway. And this not Italy, so there are normally not a lot (if any) altercations between fans before or after a clasico.

3)I didn't say that because of it being on Monday the Madrid supporters watching the match would be a lot less. The point is that Madrid fans who live in the capital (and other places that are far) are greatly affected by this because they would now have to miss two days of work to watch the match. This is obviously not fair to Madrid fans, especially since the reason for postponing the game has absolutely nothing to do with our club.


In el Larguero they were talking about how Cataluña candidates had made speeches about how they didn't want the clasico to overshadow the elections And of course, this is the reason that makes the most sense. They don't want their little separatist bullshit to be overshadowed on any level. And of course, instead of changing the match to Saturday (which would affect Barcelona) they change it to a Monday, which affects Madrid and it's a fucking disgrace to the prestige of the biggest club match in the world.

In other words, these catalan c**ts weren't willing to compromise on any level, so they can go fuck themselves for all I care.


That being said, I expect a draw or a win for us

Haha torrente stop being such a bitch!!!! What a woman!!!

All this for 90mins of football. Come down people.

According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Speculation.

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Wouldn't mind that at all because Ozil disappears too much in my opinion. His biggest game so was against Milan and I except for good 20mins he was nowhere even though we were playing quite well. He might get more space though against Barca who won't be as physically strong in midfield as Milan was. So I wouldn't fault Mourinho if he uses Lass because he is unsure of Ozil but I suspect he is doing it because he is afraid.

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

Will Mourinho go toe to toe against Barça by going with Ozil or adapt EPL's "big four" team world famous PUSSY football when playing the Catalans???????

The Mancs, Arsenal, his old Chelsea teams, and my beloved Reds have all turned to RUBIN KAZAN-small club mentality- when playing Barcelona. Some of them defeated the Catalans over two legs, Rubin Kazan have also defeated Barça, BUT BUT BUT BUT, they all are PUSSIES when playing Barcelona, FULL FUCKING STOP!

So, will Jose be a PUSSY...AGAIN when playing Barça or will he play Ozil and go toe to toe?

Mourinho never plays Barça straight up, mano a mano, he's a very smart man, too smart to risk getting crushed 6-2 by Barcelona. No toe to toe, Lass plays to stifle the Catalans and try to catch them on the break.

Win or lose, Barcelona are still the best team on the planet UNTIL someone plays them straight up and boss them on the pitch. Jose will play "EPL ball, 11 men behind the ball" against Barcelona, PUSSY!

Luis wrote:

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering how impressive Mascherano has been so far, but is quite unlikely. Pep has said he will play his strongest team, which means a midfield of Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets and Messi-Villa-Pedro up front.

fcb wrote:

Luis wrote:

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering how impressive Mascherano has been so far, but is quite unlikely. Pep has said he will play his strongest team, which means a midfield of Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets and Messi-Villa-Pedro up front.

If Pep plays both Masch and Busquets will he be considered to be playing "pussy" football as puro likes to call it. Personally I find it intelligent for a manager to have a game plan that considers the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and to set out your own team to win. But I guess when you have the NY-Miami connection there is no need for intelligence.

110% wrote:

fcb wrote:

Luis wrote:

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering how impressive Mascherano has been so far, but is quite unlikely. Pep has said he will play his strongest team, which means a midfield of Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets and Messi-Villa-Pedro up front.

If Pep plays both Masch and Busquets will he be considered to be playing "pussy" football as puro likes to call it. Personally I find it intelligent for a manager to have a game plan that considers the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and to set out your own team to win. But I guess when you have the NY-Miami connection there is no need for intelligence.

Is replacing Ozil with Lass a case of "setting your team out to win?"

Note that I'm not talking from just the tactical perspective of replacing an AM with a DM, but also the relative quality of the two players.

fcb wrote:

110% wrote:

fcb wrote:

Luis wrote:

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering how impressive Mascherano has been so far, but is quite unlikely. Pep has said he will play his strongest team, which means a midfield of Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets and Messi-Villa-Pedro up front.

If Pep plays both Masch and Busquets will he be considered to be playing "pussy" football as puro likes to call it. Personally I find it intelligent for a manager to have a game plan that considers the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and to set out your own team to win. But I guess when you have the NY-Miami connection there is no need for intelligence.

Is replacing Ozil with Lass a case of "setting your team out to win?"

Note that I'm not talking from just the tactical perspective of replacing an AM with a DM, but also the relative quality of the two players.

The answer to the question could easily be yes. From what I hear Ozil has been a bit hit and miss, and he's more the fantasy type player that could create a chance, but his type of flicks etc are more likely to result in a loss of possession. Lass is more the type to get stuck in and disrupt barcelona's flow, stop them dominating the midfield etc. (this is the AM/Dm Barcelona love possession, the best way to hurt them would be to deny them that, and it could well lead to winning the game.

110% wrote:

fcb wrote:

110% wrote:

fcb wrote:

Luis wrote:

fcb wrote:According to Marca, Mourinho is thinking about dropping Ozil and going with Lass instead (for a 3 CM formation) against Barça

Pussy

Can't see this being the case but I wouldn't be surprised to see you lot going with Masch, Busquets and Xavi in the middle with Iniesta wide on the left instead of Pedro.

I can't wait for this game. Personally I think Madrid will win it but I think Barca will win the League.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering how impressive Mascherano has been so far, but is quite unlikely. Pep has said he will play his strongest team, which means a midfield of Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets and Messi-Villa-Pedro up front.

If Pep plays both Masch and Busquets will he be considered to be playing "pussy" football as puro likes to call it. Personally I find it intelligent for a manager to have a game plan that considers the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and to set out your own team to win. But I guess when you have the NY-Miami connection there is no need for intelligence.

Is replacing Ozil with Lass a case of "setting your team out to win?"

Note that I'm not talking from just the tactical perspective of replacing an AM with a DM, but also the relative quality of the two players.

The answer to the question could easily be yes. From what I hear Ozil has been a bit hit and miss, and he's more the fantasy type player that could create a chance, but his type of flicks etc are more likely to result in a loss of possession. Lass is more the type to get stuck in and disrupt barcelona's flow, stop them dominating the midfield etc. (this is the AM/Dm Barcelona love possession, the best way to hurt them would be to deny them that, and it could well lead to winning the game.

The problem is that in his bad days Lass gives 70% of his passes to the opposition. In his first 6 months with the club he played very well largely because he kept it simple when he had the ball. Since he got the number 10 he started to think he is Xavi and makes ridiculous attempts at long range passes while holding the ball for an eternity whenever he gets it. He also tends to run around like a headless chicken chasing the ball, which may have been more suitable for the Premiership because of the pace of the game but in Spain it can be very detrimental.


I think Mourinho has to play with the starting 11 that got us where we are now. Higuain, Di Maria and Ozil all do a fair bit of pressing in most games (especially Di Maria), so that can compensate for not having an extra DM. I accept that at the moment we are not good enough to play anything other than counter attack against Barcelona, but we can do that very well with the current lineup. I think our team has the right ingredients to cause Barcelona all sorts of trouble.

marca

load of crap

and before he would bench özil, mourinho would bench dimaria

Mourinho has already started his buildup in the pre-match interviews today: "Barça are happier with the ref than Madrid"

He's also confirmed that his starting lineup will be Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo, Khedira, X. Alonso, Ozil, Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuain.


Guardiola's press conference is soon.

Another gem from Mourinho:

"I'm worried about my team, like always. We won't abandon our own game-plan for Barça.


Follows it up with:

We need to find their weakest point and take positives from that."

fcb wrote:Another gem from Mourinho:

"I'm worried about my team, like always. We won't abandon our own game-plan for Barça.


Follows it up with:

We need to find their weakest point and take positives from that."

Those 2 things are not necessarily exclusive

Yes, but we all know Mourinho, and we all know that the bit in bold is just PR to keep his fans happy. What will most probably happen is the last sentence.

it's ok we all know your weak point is valdes, so the game plan is for cronaldo to shoot from wherever he is on the pitch

Lass to start tonight, what do you's reckon?

13/8 to be booked and tbf, he's the only one with decent odds in midfield or defence who could start. Thus interests me.

Ade wrote:Lass to start tonight, what do you's reckon?

13/8 to be booked and tbf, he's the only one with decent odds in midfield or defence who could start. Thus interests me.

Almost zero chance of that happening. Mourinho has already stated in yesterday's press conference that he will start with his strongest, first-choice, team. So unless he was playing games, Lass will remain on the bench. So far this season, Mourinho has named his starting 11 before every game, and stuck to it.

fcb wrote:

Ade wrote:Lass to start tonight, what do you's reckon?

13/8 to be booked and tbf, he's the only one with decent odds in midfield or defence who could start. Thus interests me.

Almost zero chance of that happening. Mourinho has already stated in yesterday's press conference that he will start with his strongest, first-choice, team. So unless he was playing games, Lass will remain on the bench. So far this season, Mourinho has named his starting 11 before every game, and stuck to it.

Cheers Kas