Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid | Clasico Review

By Mohammed Ifran.

Two Of The Best

El Clasico has never been short of mouth watering every time the giants of Spain clash between each other. This time this was no different. Both the teams have shared 175 victories among themselves with Real Madrid edging Barcelona by 1 match as the victories stand at 88-87 in the favour of Real Madrid. 

The match was held at Camp Nou. As always, the stadium was filled with supporters. 

Barcelona starting line-up consisted of no real ‘natural defender’ as the heart of the defense was empty with notable absentees. Barca’s skipper and long serving defender Carles Puyol was missing due to a nasty elbow injury which happened few days ago. Gerard Pique picked up a knee injury few matches ago to which he was recovering well but couldn’t make it to the playing squad. A couple of other La Masia graduates, Isaac Cuenca and Thiago Alcantara, were missing too. The former has been injured since the end of the last season and the latter has picked up knock which has ruled him out for well over a month. 

This was relatively a slow start for the Blancos. But they came with a lot of confidence brimming in them as they have already got the better of Barcelona on their last meeting in the league last season which ended 1-2. They had a healthy squad travelling to Barcelona with some players hoping to carry their scintillating forms along. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored half a dozen goals in his last 2 outings. And the 2007 Ballon D’Or winner Kaka, who is considered surplus to Jose Mourinho’s immensely squad, has shown that he was not finished just yet again with a hat-trick and a couple of assists in the Bernabeu Trophy. Angel Di Maria already has 4 assists in the league which makes him sit at the top of the assist charts.

Real Madrid were looking for an easy win to cut of the deficit of 8 points to 5 points and Barcelona wanting to keep their unbeaten run going. With the absence of Pique and Puyol, Tito Vilanova chose Adriano to partner Mascherano. Iniesta came back from an injury to his favoured position as Cesc was asked to start on the left of the final third. Despite Kaka’s and Higuain’s form, they were benched as Mesut and Karim filled in for them.

It was the typical Barca playing and moving around the in the whole field. But there was a gradual turn around as Mourinho’s men started pressing the already weakened Barca. Benzema was the guy who could have opened the deadlock within 13 minutes but shot the volley way wide after finding himself in the D-box unmarked. 

But it didn’t take them long to take the lead through Ronaldo. There was a lovely play among the few white shirts which left the Barca players clueless. Mesut Ozil started the play from the right wing and after a couple of passes before Angel found Benzema, who saw space for their talisman in the left flank as he shot the ball with his weaker foot in the bottom corner with such precision past the helpless Victor Valdes which made him the only player in the history of El Clasico to score 6 El Clasico goals consecutively. Sheer class.

'Calm down, I got this.'

After a couple of minutes, Khedira cut the ball in for Angel, who found an unmarked Benzema on the penalty spot and passed it to him. But the France international’s woeful form of the night continued as he missed a sitter - he couldn’t meet the ball properly and the ball hit the post only to be shot wide by Di Maria to whom the rebound fell. 

Tito’s men were playing in their own style; keeping possession for a very long time but couldn’t find the end product. They missed few chances too. For the first time, the Real Madrid defenders were put to test as Pedro was found by Xavi on the right flank as he went past one white shirt to pass it in the box just to be cleared off by Sami Khedira. Then came the equalizer, after a mistake from Real Madrid’s most trusted stopper, Pepe. It all started from the middle third. There was a neat pass past Marcelo by Iniesta to Pedro, who directed a low cross to which Ramos couldn’t clear off properly before it hit Alonso and rose up to which Pepe couldn’t head clear and Iker was completely beaten by Messi who shot home past the Real Madrid goalkeeper in the 6 yard box. 

Messi Equalising

Second half. Ronaldo once again was the predator. He angled himself to shoot a great overhead but completely missed the shot just to land on his arm and injure him. As the injury took toll on him, he couldn’t move his left arm throughout the match but his confidence and his threat was intact as ever. Ramos missed a pretty good opportunity as he got an accurate cross to which he headed just wide.
Just after an hour passed at the Camp Nou, the roar once again rose as the Nou Camp faithful were at the top of their voice when their #10 jersey clinch the 2nd goal. As Barcelona got a foul around 30 yards from goal, it reminded everybody of the goal Messi scored from a similar position in their previous meeting. The World Cup winning captain was once again in between the poles. As Leo shot the ball, the ball went in between the Real Madrid wall to end in the back of the net and Barcelona were leading for the first time in the match. Once again, Casillas was clueless and no one was to be blamed.

Messi Curling It In

However, it seemed like Messi took the ball 2 steps backwards, when the referee was busy checking Real Madrid's wall, which gave Messi the space to get the ball over the wall. A very immoral thing done by the Argentine captain. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant executed free-kick.

People might have thought that it was going to be win for Barca, but Real Madrid proved them wrong yet again as they clinched a superb goal within a few minutes. The previous goal could not be enjoyed for long enough as Ronaldo was the man again who broke the Catalans’ heart. 

There was a mistake from Andres Iniesta and they took the full advantage of it. Pedro Rodriguez chased for the ball to regain possession as Mesut Ozil was yet again the man to deliver a great pass between 2 Barca shirts to which Ronaldo cruised past Montoya to shot past Victor Valdes. This guy just can’t stop scoring, can he? 

CRISis-Averter Ronaldo

After a very good second half performance, Mesut was substituted for Kaka. Higuain came in for Benzema just after an hour as Michael Essien was exchanged for Angel Di Maria. Barcelona made a few subs too as Dani Alves was forced to be subbed because of a knock and Martin Montoya was incharge of the RB position - which turned out to be blessing in disguise a Barca's defense looked more organised since the young defender came on. Cesc was subbed for the Chilean Alexis Sanchez at 64 the minute.

Comparatively, this was a much neat match from both the sides as the referee didn't have to pick out the cards more than a few times. Pedro was penalized for a clash with Sergio Ramos as Pepe was shown a yellow - his 7th yellow in the last 7 Clasicos - for a foul on Messi. The other players to be shown yellow were Busquets, Xabi, Alvaro and Mesut. Gladly, there were no injuries which kept the players fit for their upcoming international matches. 

Barcelona had a sigh of relief as the referee, Carlos Delgado Ferreiro, called the match off. The match ended as there was no more goals conceded by any of the sides as this mouth-watering clash ended as a draw. The points were shared among them as the gap among the giants still remain the same; 8 points. This left the home side maintaining the top position with 19 points, the same as Athletico Madrid, the city rivals of Real Madrid. Real Madrid have now climbed to the 5th position after the point earned. After yet another marvelous performance from the goal scorers, Ronaldo and Messi sat on the top, along with Radamel Falcao, with 8 goals to their name each.

Media Hypocrisy Or Are Real A Bigger Club Than Barcelona?

By Isra Qassim.

In a Liga night of Saturday,  Barcelona met Granada in Camp Nou, where it is hard for teams like Real Madrid to get to result in, everyone thought Barca would win the game with ease as they are the stronger team on paper – and Granada's recent performances have been so poor that they were booed on their own turf by their own fans.

However it was far from reality, it was a difficult home game for Barcelona where they struggled for 86 minutes with a heroic performance from Granada's defense and hero of the night, Tono – their goal keeper. The game ended up with a win for Barcelona, anyway, as a wonder strike from Xavi and an own goal sealed the deal for them.

Barca's Saviour against Granada

 Now some might argue that the reason for Barcelona poor performance was missing Iniesta, leave this argument for another day. Now you might look at my title thinking what does this have to do with what is written so far. Well now I get to my point; Messi, who is the 3 time ballon d’or winner, had arguably one of his worse games ever. Perhaps anyway one of the worst recently. 

He couldn’t make assists or continue his dribbling to cut inside and score, lost possession – and that, on one occasion, almost gifted Granada a counter attacking goal had El Arabi taken his chance instead of shooting it straight to Victor Valdes.

Messi is a Human being and any Human being can have a day on the pitch. He was angry and frustrated – with himself and also with his team-mates.

This frustration resulted into Messi have a got at Villa, just before half-time, for passing the ball too late. He shouted at him 4 times, "Why didn’t you pass earlier, Villa?", Villa responded causing an altercation infront of cameras for millions of people around the World to see.

Villa Replies To A Frustrated Messi

Now isn’t this enough news for media or press around the world to go around speaking of a feud happening in Barca's dressing-room? But no, everyone jumped into the defense of Messi, how it is positive and how it motivates his teammates or it happens in games all the time.

I am not in any shape or form saying these things don’t happen in a game. I am a Real Madrid follower, I have seen Iker, for example, many times just screaming at his defenses to move or position themselves or even be angry at them after conceding a goal, these stuff happen.

However, let’s imagine for a second that Cristiano was screaming at Higuain for not passing ball in a game. Which kind of new inside civilized war will be in RM dressing room? Argentina vs Portugal or Higuain actually thinks that Messi deserved more of Ballon d’or and told Cristiano he isn't as good as Messi and that's why Cristiano screamed at him? Or Cristiano is just purely arrogant and a narcissist?

You think I am exaggerating? Well, Iker didn’t celebrate Cristano's winner vs City – Iker actually doesn’t usually celebrate in a crazy way unless it means something big and winning a home group stage game in UCL doesn’t come under the criteria maybe (but the real reason was that one of his faithful young fan died of a long term disease as mentioned by newspaper sources after all sorts of rumours were flying around) – however did this stop media from speaking about a feud and hate relation that is between Cristano and Iker? No it didn’t.

A Motionless Iker

 Ramos was dropped in ONE game for a technical decision, media went on stories how he is punished for going on against his coach and that Ramos is now in bad terms with Mourinho, even though Ramos has been average after the Euros. But no, let’s believe that Ramos hates Mourinho after all he invited his “support group” for lunch to complain about him.

People say that Real are a big Club and thus media always like to talk about them, so aren't Barca a big Club? Or is it because news regarding Real – like people more interested in Cristano accusing Iker on stealing his hair-gel trying to cover his bald spots on his head – sells more? Or is it just pure media hypocrisy that they just like to talk about Real?

(Talks of rift in Barca's dressing room were reported, but by very few media outlets - not as much as how the aforementioned Real-regarding rumours were talked about worldwide.)

Yes, Real have 2 outspoken personalities in Mourinho and Cristiano, but that doesn't mean that it should make them subject of unfairness – especially when both of them have changed to become more conservative than before.

So what is the reason for this double standard? Is it because Real are a bigger Club or is it because some hypocrite media outlets? I'll leave this for you to decide.

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Barca Are Over-Reliant On Messi, Karim Benzema Is Mr. Champions League Junior - What We Learned From Match-Day 1 Of The Champions League…

By Umid Dey.

Malaga are doing just fine without Cazorla….

When Santi Cazorla joined Malaga from Villarreal last summer, the Yellow Submarines got hit hard. So hard that they failed to win a single game in the group stages of last season’s Champions League.

This summer, same was expected with Malaga when their talisman was sold to Arsenal. All of those expectations, however, don’t look like will get fulfilled as Malaga have made a terrific start – both in La Liga and the Champions League.

With the sale of Santi Cazorla, the task to perform well and fill in his boots fell on the young shoulders of Isco – and the 20 year-old has, so far, done an excellent job for his team.

Malaga's New Messiah

The youngster put in a stunning performance by scoring twice in Malaga’s 3-0 win over Zenit on Tuesday – a Zenit team which had the likes of Hulk, Bruno Alves, Shirokov, Lombaerts et al in it.

Albeit it’s too early in the season, if the way Malaga have played so far this season is anything to go by, then we might as well say that Malaga are doing just fine without Santi Cazorla.

Barca are over-reliant on Messi….

When Arsenal were being mocked as an one-man-team last season, there was this another team in Catalonia who could have been labeled the same: Barcelona.

The Catalan Club, at times last season, had to solely rely on Messi to win them games – and he indeed won them some games single-handedly, but that wasn’t enough to secure the Champions League or La Liga title.

The same happened last night as well – the Argentine talisman had to score twice in the last ten minutes to win Barca the game after them being 2-1 down at Camp Nou against Unai Emery’s Spartak Moscow.

Barca's One Man: Messi

Whether Messi can save Barca like this every time is yet to be seen, but the chances of that aren’t 100% as Messi is, after all, a Human and can have bad games – and Barca will need to find a solution when that happens, or else they might lose it again like last season.

Juventus are Italy’s only hope in the Champions League….

Ah, the Old Lady is back to where it belongs: the Champions League.

After 3 years of absence in Europe’s elite competition, Juve finally kicked off their Champions League campaign against defending champions, Chelsea. Things weren’t looking bright for Juve when Oscar scored twice to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead.

Then a saviour appeared in Arturo Vidal.

Juve's Saviour

The Chilean scored a brilliant goal just before half-time to give Juve a chance to get back into the game. Vidal looked like he was playing through an injury barrier – such dedicated players are needed in a team if they are to challenge for silverware.

And then Quagliarella scored in the 80^th minute to tie the scores at 2-2.

It was a great comeback from Juve, especially considering that they were up against a very strong Chelsea side and were playing in the Champions League after a long time. They also showcased their great mental strength – they went unbeaten last season and have not lost a game, so far, this season as well.

Things, however, don’t look bright for the other Italian Club in the Champions League, Milan. They drew against Anderlecht 0-0 at San Siro and it was uninspiring.

Frustrated Pazzini

Milanisti might argue that Juve also drew, so Milan drawing isn’t a big deal. However, Juve drew against a strong Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge and also put in a great performance. Milan, on the other hand, drew in their own backyard against Anderlecht and the manner in which they played wasn’t inspiring.

Milan lost 2 of their best players in Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic to PSG – Juve, in contrast, have strengthened by signing great players like Asamoah and Isla. Showing no disrespect to Milan, Juve look like the only Italian team capable of going far in the Champions League.

Milan fans will be hoping that Milan pull off a miracle like Chelsea did last season …. but it looks unlikely.

Champions League is Karim Benzema’s competition….

Didn’t score for Club or Country since May 2012. Had a torrid Euro 2012 with France. Had a woeful start with Real Madrid this season.  Yes, that’s Karim Benzema.

Prior to the City game, Karim Benzema was going through a drought – he hadn’t scored a goal for more than 800+ minutes.

Real Madrid were trailing 2-1, with just 5 minutes to go, after Kolarov gave City the lead once again by scoring from a free-kick. Every City fan were convinced that their team would come out of the Bernabeu with all 3 points.

But it wasn’t to be because Benzema had something else in mind.

Benzema received the ball on the edge of the box, turned Nastasic – who was having a storming game – in the wrong direction with his first touch and shot the ball straight into the right bottom-corner. Hart couldn’t save this one and Benzema had finally broken his goal drought.

'I own the Champions League!'

And what better an occasion to end the drought?

Benzema has scored 26 goals in 43 Champions League appearances. It was his performances in the Champions League for Lyon that drew a lot of attention. When it comes to Champions League, it is almost guaranteed that Benzema will deliver an awe-inspiring performance.

Real Madrid lost Mr. Champions League, Raul, in 2010 – but they have found another one in Benzema; Mr. Champions League Junior.

How not to take penalties….

Bayern Munich, Schalke, Dortmund & Manchester United – what is common between these four teams? All of them were awarded with a penalty each and all of their takers failed to score from it.

There was once a time when penalties made heroes out of the takers – they would almost always score from them. Lately, it is the goalkeepers who are getting the better of the penalty-takers and making them look like fools instead of heroes.

This is how you take a penalty....not

If you ever want to learn on how to not take penalties, then you should watch the way Nani, Hummels, Mandzukic & Huntelaar took their spot-kicks this midweek.

Varane, Nastasic, Isco & Veratti are the stars of the future….

When City’s and Real’s starting XI came out, everyone was surprised – two talented 19 year-old center backs were in it; one for Real and the other for City.

Almost everyone expected Ramos to start for Real and Lescott for City. Instead, a 19 year old Varane filled in the boots of Ramos & another 19 year old Nastasic took Lescott’s place.

And both of them had a tremendous game.

You may ask how did Real concede 2 and City concede 3 if they both had great games. Here’s why: Kompany had a terrible game; arguably his worst game ever since becoming an undisputed starter at City (was heavily at fault for Cristiano’s winning goal) and all of Real Madrid’s goals were scored from outside the box – blatantly revealing the inability of City’s deep-midfielder to close down the space.

The Future Of City's Defense

Apart from Benzema’s goal, where the Frenchmen schooled Nastasic, the teenager had a brilliant game and showed the World why he is one of the most hyped defenders out there.

And Varane; none of the goals Real conceded were his fault – one came directly from a set-piece and the other from a counter-attack goal where he had to close down Yaya Toure (Pepe should have tracked Dzeko). He was astute with his defending and brilliantly organised the defense when City were building an attack. His composure is way beyond his years.

The Future Of Real Madrid's Defense

Now onto Veratti.

A lot is expected of him, a lot of Italians see him as the next Pirlo; but I can assure you that he won’t be the next Pirlo – he will be the new Veratti.

Against Kiev, he showed that his incredible performance against Toulouse was no one-match wonder. Against Toulouse, he did everything you could ask from a midfielder: defend, set the tempo by spraying passes & play some amazing long-balls.

The Marco Verratti

And he did the same against Kiev.

It is absolutely astonishing how a 20 year old has so many skills; he can read the game so well that he is always in the right defensive position at the right time, he can pass it, has good ball-control, has great vision and is really brave.

I have already written about Isco earlier in this article, so I will keep it till there for him. If these 4 keep progressing the way they are now, then that day isn’t far when these 4 would be in the list of Ballon d’Or candidates.

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Extracts From The Secret Diary Of Nicklas Bendtner….

By Umid Dey.

August 18, 2012.

7 am. I wake up from sleep. The first things I see after opening my eyes everyday are posters of Nicklas Bendtner with a caption of ‘The Best In The World’ all around my room.

I wake up pleased. Everyday.

But today, I was extra-pleased because tonight my Club Arsenal will be playing Real Madrid – one of the best teams in the World – and I am going to be in the starting XI. Only a foolish manager would leave out his best player when his team is playing against the best team in the World.

August 19, 2012.

I was too tired to write about last night’s game last night itself; after all, I scored 5 goals against Real Madrid to help Arsenal win 5-4 after being 4-0 down at half-time. So I was tired; tired of carrying Arsenal on my back – but, they don’t call me The Great Dane for no reason.

I not only scored 5 goals, but I assisted 5 of them as well. I didn’t allow Szczesny to take goal-kicks because, if he did, the assists would have been his. So I took the goal-kicks myself by shooting the ball in the air and then running to reach the place where the ball would land, receive it, dribble past my opponents, and then score.

For my 5th goal, I actually told my team-mates, including Szczesny, to stand in my way while I am dribbling so that I would dribble past all 21 players on the pitch and then score. And that’s exactly what happened: I dribbled past 21 players, then went past the referee, then nutmegged my own self by slowly pushing the ball and quickly standing in front of it to let it roll between my legs and then scoring.

I went past all 22 players on the pitch – including myself – and 23 men to score the greatest goal of all time. Only Nicklas Bendter can go past Nicklas Bendtner with the ball - I am just too awesome.

Once Mourinho said that 5-4 is a “disgraceful” score-line in a 11v11 game and that he sends his players back to the dressing rooms, as they are not defending properly, if the score-line reaches 5-4 in a 3v3 training match. I wonder what he did to his players last night after they conceded 5.

They once conceded 5 against Barcelona, too, but conceding 5 against Barcelona and conceding 5 against a team that has Nicklas Bendtner – the best in the World – in it is 2 very different things.

Barcelona didn’t have me – Nicklas Bendtner – so it’s not understandable to concede 5 against them. After all, who did Barca have in that game? Lionel Messi? Andres Iniesta? David Villa? Meh. These are players who are not even fit to tie the laces of my boots – you get these players in every street of Denmark.

However, last night was different. Real conceded against me. They should, and must, be happy that they were blessed enough to concede 5 against the best in the World. If Mourinho didn’t do anything to his players after they conceded 5 against Barca, then he must have partied last night after conceding 5 against me as he conceded way less than he expected.

Anyways, after the match, Wenger came to me and told that I was excellent and bla bla… the usual stuff to make me feel good. I don’t know what kind of an idiot he is because even after being with me for so many years, he doesn’t realise that I always feel good about myself, regardless of whether I get praised or not.

A reporter came to me and asked me how I felt scoring 5 against a great team like Real. I replied, “It was easy, a piece of cake. Scoring goals have always been as easy as walking in the park for me; whether it is against Real Madrid or any other team.” (I know that this is my diary and thus putting my own words in quotes may have baffled you, but guess what; this is cool – the guys you see doing the same with their tweets on Twitter or comments/statuses on Facebook got that from me. This is called ‘being awesome’.)

I went to the dressing room and got a hero’s welcome. The new guy Cazorla came to me and said that he never had a team-mate who made such good use of his passes. I replied to him, “that’s because you never had Nicklas Bendtner as your team-mate”. (Again, I’m being awesome.)

Now you must be wondering when did Arsenal play against Real Madrid. They played Sunderland on August 18, not Real Madrid, you must be shouting in your head.

Well, that’s in your inferior Universe – the Universe which everyone sees. In your Universe, Arsenal played Sunderland and drew 0-0. But in that superior Universe, Arsenal played Real Madrid and I scored 5.

That superior Universe is located in a blissful place called ‘The Mind Of Nicklas Bendtner’. You have to be Nicklas Bendtner to see what is happening in that Universe and God has made just one Nicklas Bendtner – and that’s me – so only I can see that Universe. No-one else can.

So all of you mere mortals: be pleased by being and seeing this inferior Universe and I, on the other hand, will be owning that superior Universe by my breath-taking, jaw-dropping and eye-popping Football skills – and you won’t be able to see that.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA,” I laugh at you all.

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Note: This is just a satirical article and isn't Nicklas Bendtner's real diary - this is just intended for fun purposes and not to offend Bendtner or anyone mentioned in this article.

Why Arsenal should keep Theo Walcott on the bench

By Abhinav.

The following piece has nothing to do with Theo’s quality or that the act of being put on the bench as a punishment for not agreeing to a contract extension is right. In fact, it’s praising Arsene Wenger for keeping Walcott on the bench in Arsenal’s last two games – something which will get the best out of him.

Making the transition from a squad player into an impact sub into a first teamer – most notably, since the 2010-2011 season began – Theo has come a long way ever since signing for Arsenal in 2006 as a 16 year old.

Young Walcott At Southampton

He came with a lot of expectations due to his price tag along with the media hype and Sven Goran Eriksson calling him up to the England squad for the 2006 World Cup didn’t exactly help his development as a teenager:

Walcott In The 2006 World Cip

“My opportunity to do my growing up as a footballer out of the spotlight had disappeared for ever. I couldn’t now learn on the undercard of a bill, like a young fighter making his way through the ranks. I was still a raw novice but I had to accept that I was also one of the headline acts. It didn’t matter whether I liked it or not. I just had to get on with it.”

Known for his blistering pace and yet, terrible final ball and inconsistency, Theo has shown more of his ‘football brain’ in recent seasons on the wings despite claiming he is best utilized in the center forward role. The England international was the most productive English winger last season while also directly contributing to 46 goals in the last two seasons prior to the 2012/2013 season.

However, he can be complacent and invisible at times – mainly due to the fact that he knew he wasn’t going to be dropped for a declined Andrei Arshavin. But with the rise of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, an adapted Gervinho along with the signing of forward, Lukas Podolski – equally adept at playing on the left – Walcott has a fight on his hands to even get on the bench.
Having reportedly rejected a new contract extension at Arsenal worth around £75,000 per week, asking for £100,000 per week in the process, Arsene Wenger has opted to keep Theo despite his contract running out this summer. £100,000 is a large salary, especially for an inconsistent 24 year old, considering the fact that players like Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla earn less.

 Ever since those contract talks reportedly ended, Theo has been kept on the bench for the away games vs Stoke City and Liverpool, not featuring in the latter 2-0 win. He isn’t expected to start the game against Southampton either – and this is perfectly fine.
Being on the bench frustrates players – it certainly frustrated Walcott when he was on the bench for the game against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2010 as he wrote in his book. Benched players deliver their utmost best as they have to make an impression to their managers, working twice as hard.

Walcott is deadlier as an impact substitute anyway as whom better to bring on in the 60^th minute against tiring defenders than a speed merchant like Walcott? Barcelona wouldn’t be able to answer that for you.

It is debateable but Walcott’s best performances have come on the global stage, notably, as a substitute. Three games come to mind; his cameo against Liverpool in the 2008 quarterfinals of the Champions League where he made a sensational run from inside his own half into the Liverpool box before finally assisting Emmanuel Adebayor. 

Another was his substitute appearance against Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League quarterfinals when Arsenal were trailing 2-0 at the Emirates, only for Walcott to come on and change the game with his pace, ultimately scoring a goal as Arsenal eventually pegged Barcelona back 2-2.

"I can only speak from experience but he [Theo Walcott] was one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against." - Lionel Messi.

And lastly, a more recent example – England’s EURO 2012 group stage game with Sweden, where the three lions were losing 2-1, only for Walcott to come on and score an equalizer while terrorizing the Swedish defense with his pace, and assisting Danny Welbeck for the eventual winner.

Defenders can prepare knowing Walcott will start as he’s not the best at utilizing his pace to get past players and can be contained more or less very easily, however, coming off the bench, he would be a deadly asset as tiring defenders wouldn’t be able to cope with him nor would they bomb forward knowing there’s a legitimate counter attacking threat.

Walcott may not be the best technical player but he is certainly a game changer – an enigma as seen by the 5-2 win over Tottenham in late February 2012. After being wanted off by Arsenal fans by halftime, the former Southampton man scored twice in the second half compounding Spurs’ misery.

Arsene Wenger would want to keep Walcott following the end of this season and the Englishman would be even more deadly coming off the bench for more reasons than one.

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Neymar's Europe Trip...

By Faisal Uddin.

Neymar; another talent from Brazil. And, of course, as a Brazilian you will expect him to be more hyped (player like ‘Phenomenal Ronaldo, ‘Beast Carlos’, ‘Elastico Ronaldinho’ can be thanked for this).

For a long time, we are hearing a possible move of Neymar to Europe. Now, let’s see how he will fit, and which Europe league…

At first I will rule out any move of Neymar to Italy and Germany – Clubs in countries just don’t have the money to buy him (Bayern do, but they have already spent a lot of money this summer and it is unlikely that they will spend around 65mE on another player). Even if they do, there is a very slight chance that Neymar would go there, especially with Clubs like Real and Barca’s interest in him.

Now, onto the Premier League.

Only 2 Clubs in this league have the money to sign Neymar; Chelsea and Manchester City (though, both unlikely to sign him as City have spent a lot over the past few years and Chelsea spent a lot this year – and FFP comes into play in a year’s time). If he joins one of these Clubs, however, I believe that he will initially struggle and will take time to settle to the physicality of the Premier League.

Many may argue that players like David Silva, Mata and Cazorla didn’t take any time to settle to the game in England, so Neymar can too. Well, here we need to consider the position they are playing in. The former two are midfielders, and Neymar is an attacker – someone who makes a lot of box runs to score goals.

The battle in midfield is to win the ball, but the tackles in the box area are really the hard ones which the defenders execute as the last attempt to stop the attacker. This kind of last attempt tackle is usually done with full force, whereas the tackles in midfield aren’t as hard as this.

This is not to say that Neymar won’t succeed in the Premier League – in fact, he will. But it will take him some time to settle to the League and do what he does best – make runs inside the box from the left and score.

The best move for Neymar, at this point of time, would be in Spain. Why? Not because of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but this league is somehow similar to Brazilian League; less physical, lots of passing, quick build-up, few direct/aerial balls.

Now the question is which Club: Real Madrid or Barcelona?

Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s name comes automatically at first because of their past history to get star players. However, if reports are to be believed, a move to Real Madrid seems unlikely now after Santos refused to sell him to the Galacticos after Perez’s hastiness.

Anyways, if Santos do change their mind and sell Neymar to Real Madrid, I believe that he will have to adjust his playing style a lot in order to gel into Real’s quick-attacking style of play.

Neymar keeps the possession of the ball for a long time; this habit of his sometimes interrupts the flow of game. Mourinho just won’t tolerate this, we all saw how Cristiano changed under Mourinho – ‘The Only one’ won’t let the flow of game to be disturbed just for the sake of some dribbling, even if they are jaw dropping.

And, of course, Neymar will have to forget about his love for the smell of ‘Grass’, Mourinho has allergy with grass – the way Cristiano and Di Maria have reduced their diving habits under Mourinho is a testament to that.

There is another problem. Neymar has a habit of going down to almost wing position to collect the ball and then run fast towards goal. Can you people guess who does that at Real Madrid? Yes, you are right; it’s Cristiano Ronaldo - the Complete Package.

So, it’s very, very unlikely that Neymar will actually move to Real Madrid till Mourinho is in charge. And even if he does, he will have to make a huge change in his style of play and even then he will have to play second fiddle to Cristiano.

Barcelona

As of now, a move to Barca seems like the most likely thing to happen with some reports even claiming that a deal has already been accepted between the two Clubs and Neymar would move to the Catalan Club in the summer of 2013.

If he does moves to Barca, here is what I think would be the result.

Barcelona have a slower game play. Their key thing is keeping possession. They do back pass and circulate the ball among them just to keep the ball; sometimes, in this sense, Neymar’s habit of keeping ball won’t disturb the flow of their game too much.

As a Brazilian, he is good in tiki-taka style and if you have seen him play for Santos, you would know that he is a very good passer of the ball.

First problem he will face is smaller circle to play than he is used to in Santos. As I mentioned before, he has a habit of going down and collect the ball and make sole run towards the goal. This habit of him won’t be accepted in Barcelona, simply because Barca are more efficient with Xavi and Iniesta collecting the ball and spraying it around or making a defense-splitting through-ball.

Some people may argue Messi too does this kind of run, but so far from my observation Messi doesn’t go that down as Neymar, and he does some passing during his run. And also, Messi is Messi – the biggest fish in Barca, Neymar has a long way to go to reach his level.

Second problem will be the little Magician, Messi. Neymar can’t play as main attacker in Barcelona as long Messi is on pitch – just ask Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Virtually I feel there is no main attacker in Barcelona except Messi, all others seems to be playing in a supportive role in order to get the best out of their best man.

Future Team-Mates?

Messi’s unbelievable skills and records gave him this privilege. So, Neymar will also have to be in supportive role, which of course will limit his freedom and reduce those dazzling dribbling in the D-box area.

In recent history, we saw many great strikers failed to play the supportive role (especially in Barca) – when their freedom reduced. As I have mentioned above, Ibrahimovic failed to do so and David Villa took a lot of time to adjust to that role.

So only time will tell how Neymar will play the supporting role. It’s a big question, so big that it can determine his future in Barcelona if he moves.

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Why Cristiano Ronaldo Deserves To Win The Ballon d'Or Ahead Of Messi This Year

by Nour Sedki.

Two of the best...

Well, that's the big debate. It's the debate that possibly divides fans the world over. What remains is the question: Who's better, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo or Barcelona star Lionel Messi? Firstly, I would like to say this article will not certainly settle that debate as fans' opinions are so solidified at this point that I doubt any article could.

While Messi may be more beloved and has better stats overall in 2012 as things stand, I'm one of those objective writers whom are of the opinion the Portuguese attacker fully deserves to snatch this year's Ballon d'Or award. It's quite true Messi notched a staggering amount of goals last season, surpassing the mark of 70 strikes for club and 80 if taking national team goals into consideration. 

The Defending Champion

One could suppose Messi has no opponents to square off against for this year's award considering he had completed the greatest individual season of all time, but what most people are yet to realise is that team performance counts when talking about the Ballon d'Or. 

Saying that Barcelona struggled as some of their key players were injury-prone for nearly half of the season and Messi had to carry an off-form Barcelona side to glory all by himself undoubtedly makes sense. As shown statistically, if we take out Messi's 50 league goals, Barcelona would have ended up at 6th place, which proves how important Messi has been for Barcelona. And while Ronaldo had Higuain and Benzema on his side with both scoring 25+ goals, it was a lot easier for him to get the job done. 

However, one could also argue Ronaldo has been the most decisive player in club football this year. Even though he had teammates uninjured and creating chances for him to score, we have witnessed a more unselfish and less individualistic Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Taking team performance into account, Ronaldo led Real Madrid to their first league title in four year after racking up 46 goals in La Liga over 60 in all club competitions. Moreover, Ronaldo had silenced 95% of the people who previously criticized him for not scintillating in the most crucial games, the 'Big Games'. Ronaldo, unlike rival Leo Messi, proved decisive for Real as he produced several match-winning displays that have helped the Whites through all competitions - i.e: v (Barcelona, Bayern, Betis, Valencia, Lyon, Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano,..etc) Ronaldo showed up when it mattered most for his side, something the Argentine phenomenon couldn't do.

Another thing people seem to forget nowadays is that the Ballon d'Or is given based on the player's performances throughout the calendar year, and not the season, so all what will be taken into consideration are Ronaldo and Messi's plaudits back from January the 1st until the 31st of December. Thus, statistically speaking, the pair share the same amount of goals (64) whilst the Argentine currently has more assists (21) compared to Ronaldo's (15). 

But what really gives the Portuguese the edge is his impressive performances at the Euros with Portugal. 

Carried Portugal On His Shoulders...

Ronaldo got off to a poor start following two lackluster showings respectively against Germany and Denmark, but then produced the goods since taking the Seleccao further than expected - the semifinals of the tournament. Ronaldo scored thrice and ended up being the top scorer of the tourney along with five other players. Portugal have unfortunately got eliminated at the hands of eventual winners Spain, on penalties, in which Ronaldo could not take a single spot-kick. 

Ronaldo then traveled to France and Thailand with future wife and current girlfriend Irina Shayk as part of his short two week vacation. He returned to training on the 28th of July, hoping for a great start to the new season in order to win trophies with Real Madrid. 

Real kicked off their La Liga title defence with poor performances against Valencia and Getafe as Real drew 1-1 against Los Che and suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Getafe after a late goal from Barrada. Ronaldo afterwards showed why he truly deserves this year's Ballon d'Or when he was integral in Madrid's conquest of their first Supercup since a long time following a 2-1 victory over eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, where he scored a goal each in both legs. Ronaldo unquestionably outplayed Pique and his charming displays might have overlooked Messi's during that game.

Cristiano Celebrating His Goal Against Barca

Ronaldo obviously has a very good chance at scooping this year's prize from rival Lionel Messi. Reasons in short are because his dragging of Portugal to Euro Semis after scoring three crucial strikes, he helped Real Madrid secure their first La Liga title since 2008, he showed up when it mattered most and was arguably this year's most pivotal player. 

And that's why he deserves the Ballon d'Or more than Messi.

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Spanish Primera Liga 2012-13

By Sakib.

So, a brand new season of La Liga is upon us and promises to thrill yet again. This league never fails to amaze us with its quality of football. While tough economic conditions in Spain mean the clubs can't spend lavishly, they are still producing brilliant new players and making shrewd signings on loan. Many of the best talents of La Liga have moved to other leagues this year, but plenty of talents still remain. Here we look at all the 20 teams that'll contest one of the best leagues in the world.

                                                    

Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho's boys notched up 100 points last season and were clearly the deserving champions. Even the gaffer has admitted it'll be a tough act to follow.

Only two new arrivals (one of them on loan) suggest the manager is pretty happy with what he has at his disposal. Luka Modric will add quality to the midfield, and maybe take some load off from Xabi Alonso.

Michael Essien's loan move from Chelsea looks to be a shrewd one on paper. Michael Essien may look like he is injured forever, but he is only 28 and would have been at his peak had it not been for injuries. Under his old boss Mou, he might as well reach his top form once again and that would be beneficial for Real.

Can they maintain the hunger, drive and passion of last season? Only time will tell. But this is a squad with brilliance in every position and more than capable of winning the title again.

Barcelona

Life after Pep begins for the Catalans. Will Tito Vilanova prove to be as competent as his predecessor? He has inherited a brilliant team and will look to continue the same way as before.

Alex Song & Jordi Alba have arrived. Jordi Alba's arrival from Valencia was one of the bargains of the summer.  The only Achilles heel of this team looks to be the centre back position. Age is fast catching up with captain Carles Puyol and at times Pique looks lost without his senior centre back partner.  

David Villa is back from a long term injury, Pedro is back on form. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi are fit and firing. The team will be hungry to regain their lost crown. An epic title race is on the cards.

However, a lack of strength in depth, because of a thin squad, may prove costly for the Catalans – just like it did last season.

  

Atletico Madrid

Diego 'El Cholo' Simeone & Radamel 'El Tigre' Falcao - two men who have completely turned around Atleti's performance over the last year. They are now the Europa League, UEFA Super Cup holders; playing some brilliant football.

A compact squad, coupled with the prudent leadership of Simeone & Falcao’s ability to score whenever he wants has allowed 'Los Colchoneros' to dream again.

All hopes of a top 3 finish will depend on Falcao staying fit and scoring goals. Can they finish in top 3? With the quality they have, at the moment, and Falcao firing on all cylinders (a hattrick each in the last 2 games), they have a strong chance to finish 3^rd. Consistency, however, is needed.

Players to watch out for: Oliver Torres, Adrian & Arda Turan

Valencia

Spain's third best team for the last three years. They keep losing their best player every year and this year was no different. Left-back Jordi Alba has left for Barcelona. But as always, Valencia have made some shrewd (but cheap) signings. Players like Fernando Gago, Portuguese right-back Joao Pereira, Paraguayan Striker Nelson Valdes, Aly Cisokho will definitely strengthen this team.

Valencia fans are notoriously difficult to impress, just ask Unai Emery. The man led them to 3 consecutive 3^rd place finishes, but that still didn’t please the Valencia fans. One must wonder how Valencia fans think their team could do better in a league which have 2 of the strongest teams in the World.

New manager Mauricio Pellegrino's task isn't an enviable one.

Prediction- 4th place                

Malaga

After the tremendous highs of last season when Malaga finished 4th and qualified for Champions League, the Andalusians have been hit by crushing reality.

Their Qatari owner Al Thani has stopped investing in the team and is not even paying the wages properly. This has led to mass departures from the team which includes their most priced asset, Santi Cazorla, and leading goal scorer of last season, Salomon Rondon.

Even amidst the doom and gloom, they have started the season rather well. Two new arrivals came on the transfer deadline day; Javier Saviola and Roque Santa Cruz. They won't set the world on fire but will provide much needed experience in front of goal. 

Still, a repeat of last season's heroics looks very unlikely. Manager Pellegrini will be happy with a Europa League place.

Player to watch out for: Isco Alarcon & Juanmi.

Athletic Club Bilbao

Bielsa's Athletic took Europa League by storm last season playing some brilliant entertaining football. Although they failed in the final hurdles in both Europa League and Copa Del Rey, the team gave its passionate fans plenty to cheer about.

What a difference a summer makes! Their talismanic striker Fernando Llorente has declined to sign a new contract, Javi Martinez has gone to Bayern Munich. Suddenly, the team looks pretty vulnerable.

As they sign only Basque players, it's pretty difficult for Atheltic to find players of very high quality on a regular basis. There was a talk of bringing in Benat Exteberria from Betis which didn't materialise. It could, however, happen as Athletic have been allowed to buy players till September 29 as Bayern Munich paid the full release clause of Javi Martinez and Athletic could do nothing but see their player go off their hands, abnd this they have been handed another month to bring in a replacement.

The squad is small but has plenty of talent to compete. The likes of Oscar De Marcos, Iker Muniain, Susaeta, Aurtenetxe et al will have to take more responsibilities now. Can Bielsa thrill us with his team's 'Gung-ho' football again? We hope so, but the signs, so far, haven’t looked good.

Sevilla

Porous at the back, far too inconsistent up front – that's Sevilla under Michel. Early signs are that the trend will continue. Mid table mediocrity awaits for this Andalusian giant.

The fact that they have retained all their best players like Alvaro Negredo, Ivan Rakitic, Jesus Navas will give them hope. Club legend Frederic Kanoute has left for China which will create a huge gap in the team.

But there is one undiscovered pearl in this team – Geoffrey Kondogbia: watch out for him, he is some talent.

Real Betis

Sevilla's feisty Andalusian neighbours and biggest rivals.

The Seville Derby is a pretty big occasion down in South Spain. Betis under Pepe Mel are a very entertaining outfit and have a strong team. Star man is definitely Benat Extebarria, who has been called up to Spain squad this summer and rightly so, is a brilliant deep lying playmaker who can weave magic against any defense Arsenal's promising striker Joel Campbell has arrived on loan as well.

However, Benat may be bought by Athletic and that would weaken the team considerably.

Levante

This team, on paper, shouldn't really be anywhere near the top of the league. A small squad mainly made up of free agents and old players.  Yet they are confounding every one with their solid, no nonsense football. Last season they were sixth and have qualified for Europe for the first time. They'll struggle with the hectic schedule of EL and their league form might suffer this season.

Main striker Arouna Kone is off to Wigan, so the goals might dry up as well.

However, this is Levante and after what they did last season, anything great they do won’t be of any surprise.

Getafe

The curious case of Getafe – their stadium Alfonso Perez Coliseum remains empty all the year round. No one really wants to see them in top flight, but here they are in Primera ; for the 8th successive season.

Luis Garcia Plaza is regarded as one of the most promising young managers of Spain and he has built a side fit for war. Occasional upsets against the big boys – they have already beaten city rivals Real Madrid on match day 2 – pretty consistent home form mean they are placed comfortably in mid table every year.

More of the same this season.

Player to watch out for: Abdelaziz Barrada                           

Deportivo La Coruna

One of Spain's biggest clubs is back in top flight. They won the Segunda Division last season and actually have a strong squad. Strong enough to avoid relegation comfortably, at least.

Plenty of Portuguese players have been brought on loan. The ever green Manuel Pablo &  midfield maestro Juan Carlos Valeron are still in the team. Highly rated Portuguese striker Nelson Oliveira is one of the players who can thrill.

A trip to Riazor – the holy stadium in which the backheel of God happened – won't be an easy one for other teams and that is certain.

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Celta De Vigo

Depor's biggest rivals Celta are also back to the big stage. So we can look forward to 2 highly charged Galician derbies in La Liga this season!

bestow Clarify

Striker Iago Aspas has to score a hatful of goals by himself to give Celta any chances of survival. The squad, however, is pretty weak . Some notable inclusions have been the promising goal keeper from Sevilla Javi Varas, Danish midfielder Krohn-Dehli , Arsenal's Park ChuYoung.

Even with the useful additions, Celta are favourites to get relegated this season.

Espanyol

These are tough times for the second biggest club in Catalonia. They have a shiny new stadium Cornella El Prat , but the fans are losing interest in a declining team. They had a disastrous second half of last season and their two best performers Coutinho and Weiss have left.

However, they have also strengthen their squad by signing players like striker Christian Stuani, a proven goal-scorer in lower leagues and does bang in a few at the top tier, experienced Portuguese winger Simao and a solid young holding midfielder in Wakaso Mubarak.

It will be fun to watch the Catalan derby this season.

Real Sociedad

'La Real' as they are known - had a pretty stress free season last time. They have retained Carlos Vela and the very highly rated youngster Griezman. With a solid team Real Sociedad will look to stay out of trouble and maybe push for a European place.

Player to watch out for: Ruben Pardo ( the new Xabi Alonso?) & long-shots’ lord Inigo Martinez.

Rayo Vallecano

A small club of Madrid with a giant heart. A difficult season awaits them this year. They have lost their talisman Michu , Raul Tamudo , Diego Costa. Well one thing they won't lack is the support. Should just about save themselves from the drop.

Player to watch out for : Leo Baptistao

                    

Granada

Not getting relegated will be the prime target for them this season. Their new manager Juan Antonio Anquela is one of the most highly respected managers in Spanish football. Many of their players come on loan from Udinese and this year has been no different.

However, the squad looks strong enough to avoid relegation as they bought the likes of Nicke Bille Nielsen, a decent poacher who can score about 10-15 goals a season, a very talented Mohammed Abu on loan and decent center-back in Rodri.

Player to watch out for: Guilherme Siqueira 

  

Osasuna

A trip to Pamplona is one of the most unpleasant experiences for traveling teams in La Liga. Osasuna and their boisterous home fans are once again ready to unleash hell on the teams.

Although their best player last season Raul Garcia is off to Atletico, they will be pretty confident of finishing mid table. And shrewd signings like Anthony Annan & Joseba Llorente will help them do so.

Real Mallorca

Joaquin Caparros is working wonders with a frail looking team. They don't have much money and so need to sell their best players every season. Centre back pairing of Ivan Ramis and Chico are the main players who have left.

They had a great transfer window bringing players like Giovanni Dos Santos, who will bring much needed creativity to the team and look to ruffle a few feathers in La Primera, a no-nonsense center-back Geromel and Javier Arizmendi to help them achieve a respectable mid-table position.

Real Zaragoza

Pulled off the mother of all escapes last season.

Very unlikely that lightening will strike twice. They have a very poor squad further depleted by the loss of Lafita . In Roberto they have one of the best shot stoppers in the world and he'll need to be at his best to keep their goal and dignity intact. One of my picks to get relegated.

Real Valladolid

The third team to come up from Segunda. Their star man is their manager Miroslav Dukic who was a possible candidate to replace Unai Emery in Valencia . The Serbian has built a very competent team who play an eye catching brand of football. Will it be enough to survive the rigors of top flight? Difficult but possible

Player to watch out for: Oscar Gonzales

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