Real Madrid Galacticos

Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Preview

Posted on 25. Oct, 2008 by Borris Becker in General

Real Madrid would be looking for a win in order to pick themselves up Turin Loss

After the disappointment in the game against Juventus (Juventus played a competitive game though, credit should be given where it is due). Lets discuss Real Madrid prospects in this game and analyze a few things from both sides.

One of the oldest rivalries in Spain will be reignited on Sunday, 4pm eastern time at the Santiago Bernabeu when Athletic Bilbao comes to town. This game, much like the Madrileno derbi last weekend, is steeped in tradition with these rivalry games dating back to the 1920s and 30s where Bilbao was one of the premier teams in the contry, winning Copa del Reys like it was their job. Many already know of Bilbao’s Basque-only policy, something that while noble in its focus on homegrown talent, has really hurt the team in the modern era.

Bilbao, like Barcelona and Real Madrid, has never been relegated in their existence. That is a stat that the Basques are all to proud of, and they should be, as its very difficult to go the entire span of the leagues existence without a slip-up year. One thing has to mentioned over here and that is, Atletico Bilbao came to First Division from Second Division, so they haven’t been in the First Division for as long as Real Madrid or Barcelona have been.

As I had previously mentioned, their Basque-only policy has enamored (however, this captivation hasn’t been that helpful in getting the team success at the highest level) the team to its community, and has left a prevailing sense of identity to the club, which its players fiercely defend. So many great Basque players have represented Bilbao, as well as Spain’s national team, and so many of those great Basque players never wanted to leave their team despite offers from other, more high profile clubs. Which of course has been one of the reasons that Atletic Bilbao weren’t able to build a reputation equal to Real Madrid’s throughout the world.

But while my adoration for the club is one thing, they are in fact a rival like Barcelona or Atletico Madrid (While they may not be as formidable an opponent as Barcelona, No one should be taken for granted as the injury plagued Juventus showed Real Madrid) Basque separatist politics often comes to the forefront when the team takes on Real, a symbol of the united state.

The modern era has taken away some of the tension from this derby (or at least it looks so), especially at the Bernabeu, where most of the cosmopolitan crowd has lost touch with the past. But this game still has significance, and Real Madrid will be on the field to win it for their fans, not just for the 3 points (which should be the bigger motivation factor).

Atheltic Bilbao Team News:

I gleaned a few things (from some sources), one of which were that the match referee will be Alfonso Alvarez Izquierdo, from Barcelona. He has officiated 4 games so far this season, and has done a decent enough job though the mere mention of Real Madrid could change his behavior if you know what I mean.

I also learned that Javi Martinez and Joseba Exteberria have fully recovered from their injuries and will be fit for selection on Sunday. Ander Murillo is still out with a hernia, and a youth team member has joined the squad and played against Barca at left back, Mikel Balenziaga, and did quite well.

I don’t know if he will retain his spot against Real, but I don’t see why not, as Ander Murillo is still out. His central defensive partners are Amorebieta and Aitor Ocio, the one with the strange hair cut.

Real Madrid News:

The good news is that Guti and Diarra are back, not in the ideal condition fitness wise but it will certainly help. We lost De La Red at a very crucial time and so our midfield was playing like kids against Juventus with no positional sense. Gago should be given a rest, I think he did not impress against Juventus and is certainly not as effective as Diarra in breaking up attacks though I think he is better than Diarra in 1v1 situations.

Sniejder cannot do Diarra’s job as Sniejder is an attacking midfielder. Lets just hope Schuster doesn’t assign him that role again. That would be a mistake.

Gago did very well against Atletico, but he was underwhelming against Juventus. Then again, he did not have much help, when Sneijder and VdV looked so incompatible as midfield partners, despite their excellence for their national team.

There has been a lot of talk about the performances of Pepe, Gago and Sergio Ramos. Sergio Ramos was terrible against Juventus. In one attack I saw him making a forward run from the left flank. Lollz. Such incompetance. Sergio Ramos is one of the better players in Real Madrid squad but he disappointed against Juventus. Strangely enough, Ramos gives out his best performance whenever he comes back from International duty, after that he just , sort of like detoriates.

His performances has been similar to Casillas’s, erratic at best. Casillas shouldn’t be given that much blame though because I think Casillas has shown his worth over the past half a decade with his consistent performances, so he should be over looked for his inconsistencies.

I feel for Iker, he isn’t actually playing that bad. But his defense isn’t doing him any favors either.

Sergio Ramos doesn’t look like he is commited enough. Seems like he is thinking about something else during matches. May be interest from Milan and Manchester City is hindering is concentration, disabling to perform at high levels throughout the whole match. Gago also isn’t playing very well either. He is good with the ball. But when Real Madrid loose posession, everything starts to fall, but that is not the only part of our game that is suffering at the moment.

When we didn’t have the ball, he was less impressive. Although he had little help, Diarra often does not either, and he marshals the midfield 9 times out of 10. Gago was soundly beaten by Sisokko, while Nedved was allowed far too much space because Gago could not keep a tab on any one player. I think the Juventus match’s magnitude got to his nerves.

Anyway, I think Real Madrid will have to be a lot sharper against Bilbao than they were against Juventus. Bilbao is going to camp in their own goal and will wait for opportunities to arise and will counter attack.

I hate this strategy but it is the most effective agianst Real Madrid because there are very few players who are hard working at Real Madrid. If you look at Manchester United, 11 of their 11 starting players, run and make effort like a dog. With our players like Guti, it’s like “I am too tired, Gago, go get the ball and defend”.

Real Madrid’s defence is also suffering (as it has always) against air balls, crosses, set pieces. No wonder every team tries to exploit this huge weakness. I wouldn’t be surprised if Atletico Madrid use this tactic as well.

Pepe and Cannavaro were hurrendous in the game against Juventus, they need to sort some things out, quickly i.e.

Schuster needs to take this into consideration. The defense’s ability to clear crosses has always been poor. Heinze has been found culpable yet again in the CL as it seems he cannot pick up a man if he has to pinch in to the near post.

He was at fault for Danny’s goal against Zenit, now Amauri’s goal which lost us 3 valuable points. Heinze has been pretty bad as well lately, which has to make you rethink whether he is really a step up from Marcelo in the high pressure games. I am starting to think he is not.

I would like to see this starting lineup, as it gives balance to the team, something we lacked against Juve.

—-Casillas—–
Ramos-Pepe-Canna-Marcelo
Guti-Gago-Dela Red-Sneijder
—Higuain–Raul—

Before you point fingers, let me remind you that Van Nistelrooy is injured which makes the selection of strikers pretty straight forward as Saviola is not a quality player. He may have the talent to be a starter but doesn’t have the brains neither tactical knowledge.

Robben also is unlikely to start because of his recent comeback from injury so I don’t expect him to play the whole 90 minutes. So I think we should not take any risks with Robben at this stage of the season.

Knowing he is fragile, you must treat him that way, which means several substitute cameos before he has proven to be fit again. But he will provide a great spark off the bench. I also don’t want to see Van der Vaart on the field, as he has been pretty much useless since Sporting Gijon. Don’t know what happened to him. He looked gold in the first couple of matches and then suddenly, his form dropped. May be the recovery of Sniejder from injury has had some sort of a negative effect on him.

Sneijder has been doing well enough to merit starting, while De la Red has been in a very consistent, solid form since the start of the season. This midfield in my opinion is solid enough to allow for increased attacking play and ball retention. The lack of natural width is the only problem, which got aggregated further after Real Madrid sold Robinho (old story? I know)

That width I hope will come from Ramos and Marcelo getting forward often. With De la Red and Gago in the center, there will be adequate cover defensively for one of them to move further up the pitch.

I also think Higuain does well when drawing out wide for a ball, something that Raul almost never does, and something that while Ruud is decent at, I’d prefer he didn’t have to do. Getting Guti and Sneijder to play wide though is tough, but you will see Ruben moving towards the right often, while Sneijder can be counted on to track back minimally on the left.

Robben could be useful in the team is not playing well (as a substitute that is), I think his pace can light up any game, plus I think Van Der Vaart should also be usd as a super sub for a couple of matches to get his mindset ready for latter stages of the season. I don’t think he is ready yet to play consistently in the first team.

Alternatively, if Robben is to be risked, then a midfield of Sneijder-Gago-De la Red-Robben is possible, as Guti may not be ready for the full 90 either, much like Diarra. Guti’s range of passing could and should take the burden off say Sneijder to conduct play from a deeper position, allowing him to move further forward and use the space between lines.

Ruud also benefits from precise balls to his feet from Guti, while outside passing to Higuain is improved. Guti can also be counted on to do some tackling, not without fouls being called. Id like to see Guti, but my guess is we won’t.

Now, I think over it again. I think it wasn’t the best decision Schuster has every made when he decided to send Garay back to Santander. I think he could have formed a solid patnership with Cannavaro. I think Pepe needs to think about his game and the errors in it. He just tries for too much. I think he needs to work with the tactical coach a lot in the coming weeks. Pepe has got the pace and the strength, he just doesn’t know what to do with it. Commits errors in dangerous situations which has and who knows, may be in future matches, cost Real Madrid.

Putting Heinze in is not exactly better then Pepe, while I feel Metzelder does not have the trust of Schuster. Metzelder might actually be fine in this game, as Athletic’s forwards are not balls of pace, and the Llorente match up would be intriguing.

Then again, I fear Yeste running at Metzelder, its bad news bears all around. Look for an improved performance from Sergio, if Torres was not injured he would surely get a run out.
Also, Real Madrid Castilla’s Santiago Villafañe and Real Madrid C’s Nacho Fernández were invited to train with the first team today and spent the entire session, including a practice match, under Bernd Schuster’s orders.

Villafane is of course an Argentine import from Boca Juniors who has been making steady progress this year after a decent debut season last year. Nacho Fernandez however I do not know much about, so hopefully more info on him in the future.

As for the score line, I am going to predict a 3-1 win for Real. Being in the Bernabeu always raises the game of the players, but against such a historic rival, the chanting will be immense.

The traveling Basque fans (maybe 500, they aren’t welcome in these parts, actually it’s like a tradition in Spain, people don’t go to away games, I mean fans don’t go to support their teams on away matches, don’t know why) will cheer on their team amidst the roar of the Madrid faithful, but with Bilbao playing so poorly, even this game of heightened expectations wont pull them out of their doldrums. HALA MADRID!!!!!