The Barcelona v Real Madrid thread

[Shaggy]

Alonso had just wiped his bum with his hand, and Arebloa had just blown his nose into his palm. Both at the express orders of The Special One.

I didn't hang around to see any handshaking as I watched it in a pub and had somewhere to go after, but............why is the handshake such a big deal? Were they two of not many to do so?

[Shaggy]

F*ck that. In terms of their behaviour (rather than their play, if I dare make the distinction) no one came out of those games with any credit, except Messi.

What did Xavi do wrong? Valdes? Iniesta? Puyol?

I take your general point but I don't recall any of the above-named doing anything wrong. They're all class acts.

[Neil Young]

Puyol and Valdes did a bit of ref baiting, etc.

Iniesta may not have done anything, now you mention it. I can't remember anything anyway.

But even so, it doesn't really change the fundamental point that far, far too many players on both sides acted like complete ****s.

You are aware I agree with you about almost everything else on this game, aren't you? I just don't think Arbeloa deserves too much criticism. It was a sulphurous atmosphere, created largely by you-know-who of course. So I think his misbehaviour was more an aberration, quantitatively, but not necessarily qualitatively. And of course maybe we were blind to how he behaved when he played for us.

[CJ]

was the point not explicit in the fact that only messi came out with credit

that has proven to be wrong

[Shaggy]

Puyol and Valdes did a bit of ref baiting, etc.

Iniesta may not have done anything, now you mention it. I can't remember anything anyway.

But even so, it doesn't really change the fundamental point that far, far too many players on both sides acted like complete ****s.

You are aware I agree with you about almost everything else on this game, aren't you? I just don't think Arbeloa deserves too much criticism. It was a sulphurous atmosphere, created largely by you-know-who of course. So I think his misbehaviour was more an aberration, quantitatively, but not necessarily qualitatively. And of course maybe we were blind to how he behaved when he played for us.

Fair enough.

I wasn't singling him out though and he was nowhere near the worst offender. I've seen a fair bit of Real this year and it did strike me before these Barca games that Arbeloa had become more of a pest.

[Neil Young]

Stop being argumentative, Marsho.

[Shaggy]

was the point not explicit in the fact that only messi came out with credit

that has proven to be wrong

Yeah ...that too.

[Neil Young]

Fair enough.

I wasn't singling him out though and he was nowhere near the worst offender. I've seen a fair bit of Real this year and it did strike me before these Barca games that Arbeloa had become more of a pest.

I'm not going to dispute that.

[CJ]

Stop being argumentative, Marsho.

says the man arguing

[Neil Young]

Arguing and being argumentative aren't the same thing.

Even though I may very occasionally argue, I don't like to do it so I'm not argumentative.

However, you do so you are.

[CJ]

Arguing and being argumentative aren't the same thing.

Even though I may very occasionally argue, I don't like to do it so I'm not argumentative.

However, you do so you are.

define occasionally please

[Arn]

All the moaning from the Real players was allegedly ordered by Mourinho. Benzema didn't play because he refused to attack the ref in the interviews and Ronaldo was dropped in the league game because he criticized Mourinho.

Arbeloa isn't a c*nt and Xabi isn't that either but they have no choice than to do what Mourinho wants them to do, attack the ref and act like c*nts on the pitch.

Either you play the game Mourinho want you to do on and off the pitch or you are out.

[Kenneth]

All the moaning from the Real players was allegedly ordered by Mourinho. Benzema didn't play because he refused to attack the ref in the interviews and Ronaldo was dropped in the league game because he criticized Mourinho.

Arbeloa isn't a c*nt and Xabi isn't that either but they have no choice than to do what Mourinho wants them to do, attack the ref.

Either you play the game Mourinho want you to do on and off the pitch or you are out.

BS

[Arn]

BS

Spanish press suspicious over Karim Benzema's absence from Real Madrid-Barcelona tie
Spanish media believe the former Lyon striker may have been dropped for the Champions League semi-final with Barcelona for failing to criticise the referee

Reports emerging from Spain suggest Karim Benzema's absence for Real Madrid in the club's Champions League semi-final second-leg against Barcelona may have been down to the player's refusal to criticise referees in interviews with the press.

Barcelona's 3-1 aggregate victory in the semi-final tie against Madrid has been overshadowed by continuing bad relations between the clubs, with Jose Mourinho in a spot of bother for his criticism of the Catalan club and first-leg referee Wolfgang Stark.

Spanish newspaper El Pais has led with suspicions claiming that the club's criticism of refereeing decisions is a deliberate strategy devised by Mouirnho to deflect the attention away from their poor performance in the first-leg of the Barcelona tie.

In the build-up to the second-leg, Benzema told Spanish media: "I'm not here to talk about referees. I want to talk about the match. We have to score goals but we're a great team and we will try to win."

The Spanish media are reporting that it is not the first time Mourinho has left out a player for not following his orders, with Cristiano Ronaldo having been left out of the squad against Zaragoza last weekend for apparently criticising his compatriot's tactics.

"Yesterday, some were concluding in whispers that Benzema, like Cristiano [Ronaldo] against Zaragoza, was sidelined for not obeying the [Mourinho's] order that he [Benzema] should state the referees are responsible for everything," reported El Pais.

Nobody from the club, Mourinho nor Benzema have yet commented on the issue.

Real Madrid are back in La Liga action on Saturday evening when they travel to Sevilla in the hope of closing Barcelona's gap at the summit of the table to five points.

Clicky

[JudgeRed]

BS