THE BATTLE FOR REDEMPTION:

A week before we all were anticipating the biggest games to be played in Europe. It was the semi final tie between the defining teams of German and Spanish football. The majestic Barcelona faced the mighty Bayern Munich whereas Real Madrid faced a trip to Borussia Dortmund. Both the semi-finals lived up to their expectations. Reporters and Fans alike thought it to be a compelling fixture, but as things turned out, both Spanish teams were humbled by their German counterparts. Barcelona started with Messi, despite being unfit. Messi came off the bench to lift the morale of the players to overcome an obstinate PSG side at home. Despite Andres Iniesta and Xavi, the master passers on the field, they too were unable to unlock the defenses of PSG. Focusing on the tie between Barca and the Bavarians, well Barcelona was defeated on all departments. The trio of messi-iniesta-xavi was unable to play a pass beyond the Bayern defense. Bayern had done their homework thoroughly on the Barca defense. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund which started off showing signs of being a classic with both teams fighting to win. But as time went by Borussia strengthened their control on the game.Thier intensity and hunger was just no match. The galacticos were too weak when it came to the midfield. The work rate of the Dortmund players was phenomenal as Jose Murinho saw his side crumble on the pitch, defeated too in all departments. All said and done there are talks all around Europe that we are going to see an all deutsche finale, well, I choose to disagree. I think both Spanish teams are more than able to make a comeback and turn the decision their way. I had never seen such unity among Barcelona and Real Madrid fans. Its really refreshing to see such brotherhood among the fans, gives a feeling of a world cup final being played between Spain and Germany!

BLAST FORM THE PAST:

It’s not like it has never happened in the past.Real Madrid have a historic record of comebacks in European matches whereas Barcelona too, are not far behind.

THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY : 

CHRIST-IANO THE REDEEMER and MESSI THE MESSIAH

After their respective losses the Spanish sides have since kept a low profile in the media focusing on the coming leg. Both the German teams have arrived in the respective Spanish cities confident of the pulling a result, after doing the damage in the first leg. All eyes in Spain are on their star mavericks. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

They are worshipped in whole of Spain and no wonder people are confident they can help their teams make it through. Both, Messi and Ronaldo were declared 100 percent fit after minor niggles in the past week. Real face Borussia on Tuesday while Barcelona hosts Bayern a day after. We never thought this day might come, when two of the world’s most competitive players who always went at each other will be looked at with a sense of uniting the people of Spain.

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Déjà vu!!

Madrid: Once again the two heavy weights of Spanish football, Real Madrid and Barcelona, face each other in La-Liga tie, with Barcelona having a mammoth 16-point lead at the top of the table. The two teams face off again, since they last met less than a week ago, where the Los Blanco’s stunned their bitter rivals with an all round industrious performance to win the tie 4-2 on aggregate in the Copa-del-rey semi-final tie. The Catalans had hardly recovered from their defeat in Milan, when they again faced a big blow to their treble winning ambition this season.

The 11! :

Real Madrid will put out a strong team on the field as they have nothing to lose and will go all guns blazing against the Catalans. Kaka and Modric are sure starters for today’s match. The manager is playing a safe game by resting his players with the second leg tie coming up against Manchester United. It was rumored that the two top scorers from the previous tie, the prodigy Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo, will start as a substitute. It is to be seen what would be the tactics of Jose Murinho.

Meanwhile, the Catalans will look to avenge the humiliating defeat they suffered at home in front of their supporters. However, the bad news didn’t end on the field for Barca on Tuesday as Lionel Messi missed training on Wednesday morning and has been treated for fever like symptoms.

With Barca’s Champions League return with Milan not until March 12 there is not the same pressure on assistant manager Jordi Roura to rotate his side, but even if Messi is fit there have been widespread calls for David Villa to be handed a start with Cesc Fabregas the most likely candidate to drop out.

Xavi and Alex Song also missed training on Wednesday but both are expected to be fit.



CR7 VS La-Pulga!

An EL-Classico would be incomplete without the two best players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo and 4 time Ballon d'or winner, Lionel Messi. Messi has been going through heavy criticism with the press in Spain with his lowly performances in the last two games against AC Milan and Real Madrid. Ronaldo on the other hand, is in an invincible form, scoring 3 times in last 2 appearances. Messi would like to turn the tables on Ronaldo and put out a good and strong display of team work this time around.

I’ve Seen it All..!:

29^th November 2010: Barcelona 5 - Real Madrid 0

16^th April 2011:  Real Madrid 1 – 1 Barcelona

10^th December 2011: Real Madrid 1 - 3 Barcelona

21^st April 2012: Barcelona 1- Real Madrid 2

7^th October 2012: Barcelona 2- Real Madrid 2

I say:

I think Real Madrid will have a definite edge over Barcelona in this match. They have all the confidence in the world and with the crowd behind their backs; they will take some stopping. The Catalans cannot be underestimated though. It will be a test of character for Roura’s men to get a positive result out of this game.

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Arsenal Vs Bayern Munich – The Preview

London: Bayern Munich travel to the north side of London to face the gunners in a mouth-watering last 16 champion’s league encounter. Arsenal’s woe continues as they lost to Blackburn rovers, currently in the lower division of English football, by a goal in the prestigious FA cup tie. Arsenal’s only hope of silverware this season is the champion’s league.


Mid-Battle-field:
Arsenal’s midfield trio of Jack Wilshere, Mikeal Arteta and the mesmerizing Santi Carzola will face a daunting task to stop the Bavarian midfield, consisting of Bastian Schwienstiger, the german prodigy Toni Kroos and Javi Martinez. The onus lie on the Wilshere’s vision and the Spaniards creativity to break the defenses of Bayern.

Power in my Wings:
Walcott will be up against David Alaba, a left-back who possesses similarly devastating pace – and in particular, highly impressive acceleration. Walcott will not be able to rely on his raw speed and make the same run repeatedly – he will have to vary his movement. Alaba can leave too much space in behind, however, and Arsenal must look to exploit this.
Ribery and Robben, a.k.a ‘Robbery’ will continue their task of running at defender’s. Robben is in top form since returning from his muscle injury he suffered in November. Ribery on the other hand continues to wreak havoc to defenders with four goals and 7 assists in the bundesliga

Manager’s Desk:

Arsène Wenger:
I have the experience to know it's played over 180 minutes. We must put in our head that we have 180 minutes to qualify – we must not rush our game. It's important to play to win the competition and at some stage we'll therefore come up against good teams. I trust our quality, I trust our spirit and I trust our mental strength – so see you tomorrow!

Jupp Heynckes:
I think last season we had a great season but with Bayern if you don't win a title then it's not enough. This season we've changed in defence and what's important to me is that every player must learn to defend and attack; every player is a defender and an attacker.


Form Trail:
Arsenal were knocked out from the FA cup while Bayern are cruising in the league with a 15 point lead in the league table, with a win 2-0 against Wolfsburg.

Have we met? :
The teams met at this stage in 2004/05, Bayern establishing a 3-1 lead in the home leg with Pizarro scoring their first two goals. It was enough to take them through, despite Arsenal's 1-0 win in the return.

I say:
Arsenal will have to sweat it out to get a result in their favour. With Arsene Wenger under a lot of fire, it is imperative that Arsenal get a positive result out of this game and keep their trophy hopes alive. It will eventually come down to a battle of the midfield. For me, Bavarians are too strong and will prevail in the tie. I am going for a 1-2 win for Bayern.


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