Chapter 421 Chapter 232 National Derby
The Spanish national derby on the evening of March 10 was the 232nd match between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
This is just an ordinary game in the 26th round of La Liga, but its significance is not ordinary. It is related to the ownership of the La Liga champion in the 2006-2007 season.
If Barcelona wins, the points gap between the two sides will be widened to 5 points, and Real Madrid is likely to lose the motivation to catch up; if Real Madrid wins, they will lead Barcelona by 1 point, and with only 12 rounds left in the league, they are completely A chance to keep the lead until the end. If the two sides draw, Barcelona will continue to lead by 2 points, so that the ownership of the league title will remain in great suspense.
As early as a few days ago, the media was already hyping this game. But at that time, Real Madrid had to focus on the Champions League knockout, and had no extra energy to deal with the media.
And now, they have advanced in the Champions League, and they can finally go all out to face this crucial game.
In the past 231 encounters, Barcelona has achieved 94 wins, 49 draws and 88 losses, with a slight upper hand, scoring 391 goals and conceding 385 goals.
At the same time, this is also the 154th meeting between the two sides in the league. In the previous 153 encounters, Real Madrid had the upper hand with 66 wins, 29 draws and 58 losses, scoring 253 goals and conceding 231 goals.
But in the Nou Camp, Barcelona has an absolute advantage in 76 games, 44 wins, 15 draws and 17 losses, scoring 151 goals and conceding 89 goals.
Therefore, the media generally believe that although Barcelona has not been in a good state recently, if Real Madrid can get a draw, they should laugh.
"I don't think our chances of winning are slim," Ricardo said in an interview with the media. "On the contrary, we will play very proactively at the Nou Camp. We will take our destiny into our own hands. I know Barcelona is very strong, Eto'o is one of the best strikers, Ronaldinho is the best in the world in his position, and the young Messi has shown the potential to be the king of the ball. But I believe my teammates are enough to deal with them Challenge. And my partnership with Kaka, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raul will definitely make them suffer."
"The return of Eto'o has made our striker more lethal," Ronaldinho faced the media with a smile. "We are eager to win. We will tear Real Madrid apart with our offense."
Kaka showed a shy smile in front of the camera and the microphone: "Ronaldinho and Ricardo are both my friends. They are both top in the world. I can't tell which of them is stronger. But I believe that Li Caddo can score goals at the Nou Camp and lead us to victory. He is a player who is good at performing miracles, don't underestimate him just because he is young."
"I respect Ricardo, Kaka, and Raul, but at the Nou Camp, they can't take away a point. Barcelona is a mature team. We can win the most difficult games." The teenager Messi said Contrary to his usual modesty, he spoke aggressively.
So how does the media see it?
World Sports Daily said: "Barcelona's trident is invincible, and Real Madrid's fragile defense will concede more than 3 goals in the Nou Camp."
Daily Sports claimed: "The absence of Beckham and Roberto Carlos will have a fatal impact on Real Madrid. In recent rounds, we have seen Beckham's contribution to Real Madrid. His scheduling in the midfield is The cornerstone of Real Madrid's revival. Roberto Carlos is the pinnacle of Real Madrid's left wing. Without him, Messi can disrupt Real Madrid's defense alone."
Marca has a different view: "As long as Ricardo returns in time, Real Madrid can take three points from the Nou Camp. The genius who scored 31 goals in 27 appearances this season will never be short of goals. inspiration."
AS also holds a similar view: "The absence of Roberto Carlos and Beckham is indeed detrimental to Real Madrid,
But as long as Ricardo can start, no matter how bad he is, he can still get a draw, and there is a lot of hope of winning. Take a look at Ricardo's performance this season, has he ever disappointed you? "
At the press conference before the game, Capello once again reiterated his confidence: "Rijkaard is an excellent coach, he knows how to work, but he was treated unfairly in Barcelona. Now Barcelona There are a lot of problems and I am sure my boys will come out of Camp Nou unscathed."
When asked whether Ricardo will start, Capello gave a negative answer: "Riccardo's body has not recovered to 100%, I will not let him take risks. Of course, at the right time, I will let him He's coming."
"Barcelona has no problems," Rijkaard claimed. "We are on the right track. Although we were eliminated in the Champions League, we can win the league. We just encountered some small setbacks, which is normal. , Any team has ups and downs. Tomorrow’s game is a game that does not require mobilization, and every player will give their all. We can successfully win the opponent at home and expand our lead.”
"Ricardo will definitely start," Rijkaard sneered at Capello's claim that Ricardo would not start, "Capello dare not put a player of this level on the bench. No matter how injured he is, we will not take him lightly, he proved at the Allianz Arena that even with injuries, he is one of the most intimidating strikers in the world."
No matter how cheerful the war of words is, it can't decide anything. In the end, we still have to go to the field to compete.
Both Rijkaard and Capello did not announce the squad in advance. It was not until an hour before the game that the lineup of Barcelona and Real Madrid was announced.
In the case of Zambrotta's red card suspension, Barcelona used a 343 formation, exactly the same as it started against Liverpool in the middle of the week. Goalkeeper Valdes, defender Ogle, Thuram, Puyol. Marcos' position was advanced and placed in the position of the midfielder, and he was responsible for the interception of the midfield. In front of him are Xavi, Deco and Iniesta. The three strikers are Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o who has returned from injury.
Real Madrid is still in the 4231 formation, goalkeeper Casillas, right back Salgado, left back M. Torres, center back combination is Ramos and Elguera, double midfielder Gago and Diarra, in front of them is Raul, Ricardo and Kaka, single striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
"Look, Ricardo really started," Rijkaard pouted in the locker room of the home team, "Marcos, you have a very heavy task today, I need you to show 200% concentration to freeze Ricardo, can you do it?"
"Look at mine," said the Mexican veteran, clapping his chest.
In the locker room of the visiting team, an unexpected guest was ushered in.
The visitor showed a pair of rabbit teeth, and smiled cheerfully: "Hi everyone, do you miss me?"