The Barcelona v Real Madrid thread

[Craig_H]

The stuff about Mourinho's poor tactics and taking the piss out of him for what he's produced - fair enough, but i'm at a loss to what exactly he's meant to do? Getting gubbed by Barcelona is hardly something to be ashamed of and yes i know his squad is littered with expensive players but most of them were just overpriced, their value doesnt really reflect their quality. Barcelona are the best team to have ever played football IMO and i'm keen to know what people expect from Mourinho, Real Madrid or anyone else who faces them.

They're untouchable, the best EVER. Of course the opposition is going to fail against them, whether it's Mourinho managing them, or whoever else you care to mention.

[Shaggy]

I told the sons to drink up as much Messi and Barca as they can, because they're the best club team possibly ever with one of the greatest players of all time playing for them.

That doesn't happen very often. They are history in the making. People will talk of them for generations

I agree and feel lucky to be around to see them. I think a lot of people take them for granted. It's a shame Busquets and Pedro are such cheats but every team has one or two. My lad is only two and I almost wish he was older so he could enjoy this team & Messi as your lads are. With Messi only being 23 my lad will only get to see the back end of his career, which kinda saddens me.

[Daniel 7]

Arn said

You really can't compare different generations. If Messi wasn't the best player ever then he wouldn't be able to dominate the way he do.

Better pitches, different balls, better trained players makes it impossible to compare different generations. All we can say is that you must be much better now to dominate than you had to be 10 years ago.

20 years ago you could play in a top class league carrying a few extra kilos. No chance now. Now every player you are up against will be well trained athletes.

Many players will be as good as Messi in ten years time. If a player want to dominate in the same way Messi do now then he must be better than Messi is now.



I'll give you that Arn, but what you can do is compare him to his peers, and he's as much better than his peers than both Pele and Maradona were better than theirs. That comparison is valid.

[Vermilion]

He's still going

DickinsonTimes Matt Dickinson
'I would be ashamed if I was barca how they won CL in 2009. It was the scandal of sBridge. This is the scandal of the bernabeu'

He's acting/talking like a spoilt kid ffs.

[Rudo]

You really can't compare different generations. If Messi wasn't the best player ever then he wouldn't be able to dominate the way he do.

Better pitches, different balls, better trained players makes it impossible to compare different generations. All we can say is that you must be much better now to dominate than you had to be 10 years ago.

20 years ago you could play in a top class league carrying a few extra kilos. No chance now. Now every player you are up against will be well trained athletes.

Many players will be as good as Messi in ten years time. If a player want to dominate in the same way Messi do now then he must be better than Messi is now.

Yep, very true. Hate all that comparing crap.

[Craig_H]

I'll give you that Arn, but what you can do is compare him to his peers, and he's as much better than his peers than both Pele and Maradona were better than theirs. That comparison is valid.

I'd disagree with you on that re maradona mate, he was far better than anyone else around at the time. In fact, i'd had Maradona as the best ever (i never really saw Pele, to be fair) and i'm not unsure as to whether Messi needs to win a World Cup to surpass him, or not.

The Argentina side of 1986 had less talent in it than the one of today, and yet Maradona won the world cup for them almost single handedly. Messi hasnt been able to do that yet, but then i suppose the 1986 Argentina arguably didnt have opposition like the Spanish side of the last few years.

[Daniel 7]

I agree and feel lucky to be around to see them. I think a lot of people take them for granted. It's a shame Busquets and Pedro are such cheats but every team has one or two. My lad is only two and I almost wish he was older so he could enjoy this team & Messi as your lads are. With Messi only being 23 my lad will only get to see the back end of his career, which kinda saddens me.

I took them to the Nou Camp to see the Super Cup v Espanyol in 2006 thinking we were unlikely to see a better side than Barca that season. They were just the prototype though. Messi came on for Ludovic Giuly, so they've seen him in the flesh, but it was all about Ronaldinho back then.

[Lecter]

You really can't compare different generations. If Messi wasn't the best player ever then he wouldn't be able to dominate the way he do.

Better pitches, different balls, better trained players makes it impossible to compare different generations. All we can say is that you must be much better now to dominate than you had to be 10 years ago.

20 years ago you could play in a top class league carrying a few extra kilos. No chance now. Now every player you are up against will be well trained athletes.

Many players will be as good as Messi in ten years time. If a player want to dominate in the same way Messi do now then he must be better than Messi is now.

Regarding your point about athletes you can give anybody fitness you cant give people skills

Todays players are pampered as you say great pitches, training, balls that are more difficult for keepers and they are given protection

The great players of days gone by did as much damage and destruction as Messi does without good pitches, with rock hard balls, hob nail boots and the risk of assault

I remember a few years back talking to an Arsenal fan who claimed that Henry would kill all the defenders from the 70's with his pace if he played back then

I said to the lad to go home and read up on Steve Kindon he was that quick he caught pigeons but it didnt help him when Tommy Smith came calling

[Chris]

He's acting/talking like a spoilt kid ffs.

Its typical him, he's absolutely pathetic. Though he didnt have a problem with refs when his Porto team cheated to beat Celtic, Man Utd had a perfectly good goal ruled out on his Porto CL run and Barca had a perfectly good goal ruled out last season that would have seen his team eliminated.

Hopefully we never have him here, he's not the only man in the world who can win trophies and he's disgusting as a person. That Cup win might buy him some time but if he repeats those tactics next season he's out of work. Ronaldo is already getting ****ed off with it judging by tonight.

[Shaggy]

The stuff about Mourinho's poor tactics and taking the piss out of him for what he's produced - fair enough, but i'm at a loss to what exactly he's meant to do? Getting gubbed by Barcelona is hardly something to be ashamed of and yes i know his squad is littered with expensive players but most of them were just overpriced, their value doesnt really reflect their quality. Barcelona are the best team to have ever played football IMO and i'm keen to know what people expect from Mourinho, Real Madrid or anyone else who faces them.

They're untouchable, the best EVER. Of course the opposition is going to fail against them, whether it's Mourinho managing them, or whoever else you care to mention.

They are the best team ever and yes you're playing a dangerous game by matching them head on, but Real *had* to at least show more than they did tonight. No-one expects them to go gung-ho but that was ludicrously defensive. No attempt to get men forward, a centre-half in midfield, 29% possession at home, against a team who've struggled away from home, lost at Arsenal, were without Iniesta and had a makeshift back 4.

They had to be more adventurous but Mourinho didn't have the bollocks.

[Shaggy]

Ronaldo: Do I like to play in a defensive team like Madrid? No, but I have to adapt to what the coach wants

[Arn]

I think hes a great player and I'd probably put him in the top 5 I've seen I just think that some of the abuse those players got in those days and you think how would Messi have coped and how good would those players be in todays football were you cant touch a forward

So its a difficult one for me

I'd definitely put Pele & Maradona ahead of him...

No one know how Pele for example would be able to cope if he trained as hard as the players do now. How many goals he would be able to score if he was up against very good players in almost every game like a player like Messi is now.

How many more injuries would he get because of all the extra training he must do? The players now train so hard and play in such a high tempo that they get injured more because of that. They are much closer to what the body can cope than before.

You could probably say that he was up against average players in at least five or six games out of ten. It was more easy to be ahead of your time back ten. More easy to dominate.

[Craig_H]

They are the best team ever and yes you're playing a dangerous game by matching them head on, but Real *had* to at least show more than they did tonight. No-one expects them to go gung-ho but that was ludicrously defensive. No attempt to get men forward, a centre-half in midfield, 29% possession at home, against a team who've struggled away from home, lost at Arsenal, were without Iniesta and had a makeshift back 4.

They had to be more adventurous but Mourinho didn't have the bollocks.

You can criticise him for it, but i dont think any other manager with any nous would've have done a great deal more offensively. Madrid tried that at the Nou Camp in November and they got guffed 5-0. I think it's easy for us to say 'go for it more' but when you're in his position, you're always going to err on the side of caution.

[cream]

I hope the British media stops sucking Mourinho's dick after that.

[Vermilion]

They are the best team ever and yes you're playing a dangerous game by matching them head on, but Real *had* to at least show more than they did tonight. No-one expects them to go gung-ho but that was ludicrously defensive. No attempt to get men forward, a centre-half in midfield, 29% possession at home, against a team who've struggled away from home, lost at Arsenal, were without Iniesta and had a makeshift back 4.

They had to be more adventurous but Mourinho didn't have the bollocks.

When i look at the players at his disposal, and his managerial ability...he should be able to play far more attacking football, in a different style to Barca yes, but attacking none the less.