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Real Madrid 3, Barcelona 4: Match Highlights

LionelMessiCescFabregasBarcelona1-Almeria (Getty)

https://dailymotion.com/video/x1j9jat

Comments

  1. This is why I’m glad Mourinho left Real Madrid. With him still there Madrid would’ve played with 9 defenders and this game ends in a fight.

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    • but come on, “the Portuguese peach…that cannot be reached”? Ridiculous. And is “superlative” the only superlative he knows? Less than 20 minutes of highlights and I wanted to choke him.

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  2. I don’t think I could handle 90 minutes of Ray Hudson screaming at me through the television. Reminds me of an old Weekend Update from SNL with Will Ferrell “THIS IS ME WHISPERING, THIS IS ME SHOUTING. I CAN’T CONTROL MY VOICE!”

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    • I used to like Hudson but sitting next to my wife watching this match was a disaster. She kept asking me what he was yelling at and why. I could barely concentrate on the game. The “cool as a bomb disposal expert” line left my ten-year-old rolling on the floor. I liked his colleague but thought Hudson would’ve been better off alone somewhere in a rubber-walled room with a pint of Guinness in his hand.

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    • Couldn’t disagree more; I loved the ref’s courage and, as the replays showed, he pretty much got them right. If they know that it the result is a kpi and card then you will see much fewer incidents of defenders “accidently” clipping attackers from behind.

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      • The second, fine. The third could’ve gone either way. But the first was never a penalty. He was clipped, but clearly outside the box. And I’m a Ronaldo fan, so there’s no anti-Real or pro-Barca bias here.

      • Unless we want to give officials the benefit of replay, those players are moving far too fast to discern to a matter of inches while focusing on other things if contact happened in or outside the box at that distance.

        The third was certainly a penalty though. Alonso was nutmegged pretty convincingly and just took out Iniesta’s legs with his thigh.

      • I’m not sure how any ref can properly manage this game. The pressure is as high as it gets. The rivalry is not some marketing strategy but is deeply rooted in the hearts of the fans. Add to that the combination of incredible skill, violent hacks and deception and each call is on a fine line. Consider how Neymar and Ronaldo dive all the time. They are also violently fouled, regularly.

        Watching the highlights above in slow motion and the armchair crowd can’t agree. Referee mistakes/interpretations should be expected. The fact that all three penalties were open to interpretation is just bad luck for the ref… Ok, the Neymar penalty was clear (to me anyway), but the red was controversial.

    • Now that you mention it, he maybe is sauced. He does however, have his team playing by far the best attacking football in the Premier.

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  3. As fans of this game, we are privileged to watch players of the quality of Messi and Ronaldo, along with the many other great players in this rivalry.

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    • Yes we are slowleft.

      Let me say something please, I know where you are coming from now. I really desire, maybe as much as you do, for America to grow our own great footballers. That is why I ask you to suspend your judgement for a few months concerning Julian Green and maybe even as it concerns Germany.

      I truly believe having Julian Green playing for both the USMNT and Bayern Munich will be great for American football. Our kids may now have a true soccer hero to look up to with their parents taking notice. Also, it is clear that the Bundesliga wants very much to move their brand into the U.S. Also, if you remember both Bayern and Dortmund were interested in bringing the 17yr old Tommy Redding into their youth programs.

      I see nothing wrong with letting the Bundesliga’s marketing objectives work in our favor. I say, for the time being, let’s let our most promising kids go to their youth squads. Maybe even work out some sort of partnership. I believe it will sooner enable us to do what both you and I want, grow our own world-class footballers.

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      • Sure, I have no problem with any of that. If US youth players want to join Bundesliga youth teams, that’s great. I used to watch the Bundesliga when I could still get gol tv and I’m looking forward to it coming back on fox in 2015. Any comments I have about dual nationals have nothing to do with Germany, and my comments are meant to be anti-German in any way. I made the same comments about Aron.

        If Julian Green was an isolated case, I don’t think it would bother me as much but with so many dual nationals coming I do feel it has a negative impact on player development here. Also, I think people are going over the top with the expectations they have for him. I don’t doubt that he’s a great prospect but better prospects have flopped so I think we need to be realistic. And don’t get me wrong, he has my support 100% when he’s wearing a USMNT shirt.

      • Okay, Great, we are on the same page. And yes, I too believe Klinsi went overboard with dual nationals. I can see your point there but I believe Julian is a special case. Especially considering that Bayern came to Klinsi, not the other way around.

        Let’s wait and see how Julian does next week and in the 3 send-offs. We all will know much more then.

      • i’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, expat, but what makes you think klinsmann “went overboard with dual nationals”?

      • Jurgen’s main job was to build a team that could compete with the best in the world.

        Take away, say, Aron Johanssen, Fabian Johnson, and Jermaine Jones…and that task looks a lot tougher.

        Say what you want about Johanssen, he was born in America and spent time in the US development system. The Icelanders are pissed about it, but he had the right to choose – not just based on our own citizenship laws, but by FIFA’s – and he made his choice. And I think he could well be starting in the World Cup if Altidore can’t get into some kind of form.

        Jermaine Jones was considered Germany’s answer to Dennis Rodman – a tattooed loose cannon rebel who couldn’t control his temper – but it’d be harder to find a guy who’s been more committed to the USMNT. He shows up for every callup, small or large, logs an amazing number of miles travelling around the world, plays hurt, plays his butt off – and he’s kept his temper largely under control and represented the US with class. He was the poster boy for the social pressures faced by so-called “brown babies” in Germany – but by birth he had the right to US citizenship, and he chose us, and it’d be hard for anybody to argue he hasn’t payed his dues and done the shirt proud. He’s bought a house in LA and is actively looking to get into MLS.

        How does this, in any way, hurt development of soccer in this country? I’d say Jermaine has pretty much become the poster boy for the opportunity America is supposed to represent. And…sorry, he just plain looks cool doing it. We LIKE tattooed flamboyant rebels here. And it was Jones who broke that metaphorical “wall” that opened the door for other Afro/German-Americans to find a home with the USMNT.

        Fabian Johnson is less flamboyant than Jones but again, it’d be hard for anybody to argue Johnson hasn’t paid his dues since he put on the shirt, and he’s consistently been one of our top 5-6 players. He’s going to start in Brazil…and he should be starting in Brazil. Again, according to the USA’s own citizenship rules, and according to FIFA, he had the right to be here, and he’s been a credit to the shirt since he got here.

        People still aren’t overly convinced by the USA’s #13 ranking, and we’ve been consistently picked to finish last in our group of death in Brazil. If this was the USMNT of the last cycle, I’d probably agree with that. But it isn’t…and these dual-nationals are a big part of the puzzle.

        If they manage to take down either Germany or Portugal and get out of the group, it’s a HUUUUUGE statement, not just to America, but to the world, that things are changing. 20 years ago the thought of getting out of this group would have been ludicrous. But, as happens in soccer…quality attracted quality, and we have a team that has more than a puncher’s chance of getting out of one of the most stacked groups that has ever existed in a World Cup draw.

        How has that hurt us again?

      • Overboard in the sense he was so focused on it, he seemed to be checking out every duel national in Europe, no matter their football ability, just as long as they were on a club somewhere.

        Just that was the way I saw it. I am not saying that hurt us very much.

      • All you say here is true quozzel, the 3 you mentioned are good for the USMNT. But we were talking about Klinsi’s scouting dual nationals.

        Jermaine Jones declared and played for the U.S. in June 2009 well before the Klinsi era. Timothy Chandler is another, he declared and played for the U.S. in March 2011.

      • @expat

        okay, i was wondering if there was something i didn’t know about.

        incidentally, fabian also was initally contacted by bob bradley. i certainly could be wrong, but i think the only ‘dual nationals’ klinsmann’s brought in are aron and green. boyd, maybe?

      • Nate, yes to aron and boyd, but no to Green. That was Bayern’s the Bundesliga’s and Julian’s doing, not Klinsi’s.

    • I have to say, although I love MLS, that is very optimistic. This game yesterday was incredible in terms of the quality on display and this rivalry never disappoints.

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    • I agree, but this rivalry has 80 years of history and a civil war behind it, so while I hope MLS continues to build excitement, let us not live in such interesting times as those.

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    • There are three teams in the rivalry, which has 40 years behind it.
      The Sounders have played the Whitecaps around 130 times, way more than Seattle has play Portland.

      What makes a rivalry isn’t a bunch of neutrals in awe of it. What makes a rivalry is the fans. Anyone can root for Barca or Madrid, the best teams in the world at most times….and many do.

      The Cascadia Cup is a way bigger rivalry now. When neutrals start caring more, it will definitely benefit the owners, but it will only diminish the average passion of the fans watching (when you add the casual fans)

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