After all, this team has Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos, plus that Cristiano Ronaldo guy.
Advertisement
One of the big storylines from the game is whether or not Barcelona’s Lionel Messi comes back from his knee injury.
Sunday will see the scrutiny on the Portuguese doubled, his display against Barcelona combed for clues. We have our idea of playing football, we have our way of organising our play and we shouldn’t make any mistakes which give them a chance. While it’s nice for one of the Barcelona youngsters to get a few solid playing time with the senior team, El Haddadi has one goal so he hasn’t necessarily lit it up. It is my first Clasico as captain but there is no need to motivate people for this game. The way they combined in their last game, against my former club Villarreal, was special.
As well as security forces, Dancausa met with representatives of the Madrid Town Hall, Real Madrid, the Madrid Metro and members of the Red Cross, the Provincial Brigade for Citizens’ Security and the Provincial Information Brigade. Seriously. In 211 games with Madrid, he’s scored 233 times.
Indeed, Ronaldo has failed to net in nine separate games this season, including when Madrid have dropped points against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla and in two Champions League clashes against Paris Saint-Germain.
He said to bwin: “The goal against Barca in the Copa del Rey is among my most favourite of my career and it is one that will be etched in my memory for a long time”.
“I think that we all agree on that and everything is clear. He’s also a very good person”. “I want to keep trying hard and working hard for the team, and hopefully we will get those wins”.
But, where certain other world stars might become jealous, petulent or unsupportive of teammates who legitimately threaten their status as the main man (I’M TALKING ABOUT RONALDO), Messi has actively helped to develop Neymar into an individual superstar and a real team player.
Barcelona will face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday in what is certainly the Catalans’ most important match of the season so far. Tickets are being exchanged for as much as €2,697 (£1,895) with fans flying to Spain from countries such as Japan and South Korea just for the match. Under new manager Rafael Benitez, Real Madrid are not quite as stylish as they once were, but are tight defensively and have only conceded seven times in 11 games. The duo make a lethal combination and if Messi is also fit this trio are going to be nearly unstoppable this season, just as they were last season.
When Lionel Messi returns from injury in El Clasico this weekend – probably from the bench – arguably Barcelona’s greatest ever front three will be reunited.
Suarez’s aggression though has complemented perfectly the more subtle skills of Messi and Neymar and the three shattered record after record in last season’s Treble campaign under Luis Enrique.
Advertisement
The day ends with the return of the Galicia derby between Deportivo la Coruna and Celta – a game which should generate as much tension as the “Clasico”, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.
