The club Sir Alex Ferguson called ‘that mob’ over Cristiano Ronaldo look to be after Manchester United’s goalkeeper and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard – but the Premier League duo should stand firmIt isn’t difficult to understand why there are times when Real Madrid, with all their haughty self‑importance and the inescapable sense that they always seem to get their way, leave some of the other clubs at the higher end of the sport filled with moments of insecurity.There are plenty of other great clubs who regard European domination as a legitimate ambition. Yet none, perhaps – not even Barcelona – have the same kind of magnetic attraction for the game’s superstars. None of the other superpowers seem so sure of themselves,...
Luka Modric’s departure from England felt insufficiently mourned, yet his performance against Atlético marked him out again as the world’s best midfielderThen there were two. On Tuesday night inside the giant shiny-plated Armadillo that is the Juventus Stadium, as the lights dazzled and thrillingly loud American brat-rock split a hole in the sky, 10,000 Italians held up 10,000 plastic cards to spell the word “Cardiff” in vast shimmery letters. This is, in all likelihood, the first time this has ever happened, and probably the last too.A day later in Madrid as thunderstorms cleared the streets after midnight people in the city centre bars could be heard yelling and chanting and, in one side street off the Calle de Toledo, singing with...
The Brazilian full-back arrived at the Bernabéu as a 19-year-old but a decade later he is one of the most consistent players at Zinedine Zidane’s disposal For the second time in six days, the final whistle brought Marcelo Vieira to his knees, but this time his body didn’t slump forward face first, fists beating the floor; this time his body arched back and his arms were raised to the sky, like the poster from Platoon. After the clasico late last Sunday night, Real Madrid’s left-back took responsibility for how it had ended; after their match with Valencia early on Saturday evening, he didn’t – even though this time it actually was his doing. “We all fought, we all ran,” he...
There were countless sub-plots, players and stories to highlight after Barcelona’s 3-2 win at Real Madrid. But above all – way, way above all – there was MessiLionel Messi had a black eye, a bloody mouth and his Barcelona shirt in his hands. The board had gone up signalling two minutes left in the clásico: not enough for anyone – this was the game that should have gone on for ever – but just enough for another twist, even later and more dramatic than the first. It was 2-2, James Rodríguez putting Real Madrid within touching distance of the title five minutes from time, and Barcelona had a throw-in down in the south-east corner of the Bernabéu. The clock had...
Barça coach takes his team to face Real Madrid at the Bernabéu having lost the initiative in battle for La Liga title and a gory goodbye awaits him if they loseLuis Enrique’s final days at the Camp Nou are dark ones and they could get even darker yet. That is how he sees it, at least – a dystopian vision of his immediate future, a gory goodbye as his time at Barcelona comes to a grisly end. After their superb 3-0 victory over Sevilla on 5 April, hope briefly emerging after an impressive run, the Barcelona coach said that he’d had a great time but insisted that if and when they lost “a cannibal holocaust” would be released.Three days later,...