Barcelona vs Real Madrid 5-0: The Reaction to the Beatdown

I still haven't caught my breath. Its safe to say the Catalan Giants gave Los Blancos a lesson in the beautiful game. Jose Mourinho's boys were thoroughly outclassed by the absolutely brilliant display of "tiki-taka" football, the system which Barcelona has been famous for. Real Madrid's counterattacking system never got going as they simply could not break up the triangle passing of Barcelona.

It didn't take long for Barca to take the lead as Xavi put them ahead after a brilliant buildup created by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. It was Iniesta's through ball that allowed Xavi to put the home side up 1-nil. Xavi has never been known for his scoring, really he's been known for his superior passing, tonight he made a rare run from the midfield and Real Madrid's centerbacks (Pepe, and Ricardo Carvalho) couldn't locate him.

That goal would set the tone for how the rest of the night played out, as time and time again Real Madrid defenders seemed to be paying so much attention to Lionel Messi that when Messi received the ball from deep positions, it allowed his teammates to make timely runs into the box and that's where Messi's vision took over the game.

In the 20th minute, the young Barcelona youth product Pedro put home a tap in all because of a sparkling run from David Villa. Sergio Ramos had trouble staying with Villa as his cross was partially saved by Real's keeper Iker Casillas but uncharacteristically the ball was not definitively dealt with by Iker as the ball continued to go through and Pedro was there for the easy tap in.

It must be pointed out that Real Madrid left back Marcelo was beaten horribly by Pedro. Pedro's run to the far post caught Marcelo ball watching and before Marcelo could do anything about it, it was too late. That kind of blase defending will drive Jose Mourinho crazy as his team's backlines have always been the bedrock to his team's success over the years.

The first 20 minutes was a wonderful display of attacking football. The 98,000 Barcelona supporters inside the Nou Camp voiced their approval chanting "Ole" with every single completed pass. Then came some very tension filled moments that we came to expect from this rivalry. Later on in the half, Real Madrid Galactico Cristiano Ronaldo went to go retrieve the ball from Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola who had the ball in his hands, Pep went on to drop the ball and Ronaldo went on to shove the popular Barcelona manager.

The reaction to the incident was what we expected several Barca players went over to confront Ronaldo, the result was a yellow card to Ronaldo as well as a yellow card to Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. After the incident began Madrid's only real positive moments. They were finally able to put Barcelona on their heels but to no avail. The half ended with a score of 2-0 to the home side.

The half began with a substitution for Real Madrid, holding midfielder Lassana Diarra came on for German international Mesut Ozil. Before the match, it had been rumored that the Special One was going to start Diarra to try and make sure Real would keep their form against the Barcelona tiki-taka. However, Jose decided to take a risk and gave attacking midfielder Ozil the start. The result was a disastrous first half as Iniesta and Xavi ran rings around Madrid's central midfield. I'm sure Mourinho will be criticized for this decision to start Ozil. In my opinion, it would have made sense to start Ozil in a home match however, this is the Nou Camp where Barcelona play their best football which is why you need to start Diarra to try and keep Barcelona at bay.

The second half started much like the first, Barcelona once again passed the ball around as if it was a preseason match, combined with timely runs from the midfield. Lionel Messi, arguably the worlds best player began to put his mark on the match, by beating defenders left and right. Today though it was his vision that ruled the day. As Barcelona made it 3-nil in the 55th minute, it all came about from a sublime pass from Lionel Messi who found the run of David Villa who beat the high line created by Real Madrid defenders and he went on to easily beat Iker Casillas. That offside trap was beaten time and time again in this match, and it was once again beaten by the same combination 3 minutes later, as Lionel Messi once again found the run of Villa who put it home to make it 4-nil Barca.

The party had begun in the Catalan capital. The Barca supporters were jumping up and down as it was a goal fest. Jose Mourinho could only look on as his rival Pep Guardiola continued to enjoy the moment. After all the hype surrounding the match and all the talk that this was Real's chance to finally win at the Nou Camp it was all thrown out.

Pep Guardiola went on to let his young players enjoy the spectacle as he sent youngsters Bojan and Jeffren in for David Villa and Pedro, 2 of the goal scorers in this game. Once again long spells of possession continued for 20 minutes, this all contributed to Barcelona's incredible possession statistic of 69%. And they did that against Real Madrid, it truly was a rout.

And the game wasn't over, as the long spells of possession payed off once again this time the young boys combined. Bojan received the ball out wide the young striker's cross seemed to go by everyone and Jeffren was there to chip it over Iker Casillas and it was complete... 5-nil Barca. It was done at the right time as well as Jeffren scored his dream goal in the 90th minute to start the long night of celebration. It was Barcelona's largest margin of victory over Real Madrid since 1994.

What happened after the goal was truly disgusting. As the last minute of play went on, Sergio Ramos deliberately took out Lionel Messi's legs, a dirty moment from the dark side of the beautiful game. Ramos was given a straight red, as he went on to shove Barca captain Carles Puyol and he went on to do the same to Xavi. A horrible ending to an otherwise fantastic display of skill.

We learned tonight that Jose Mourinho still has a long way to go with this Real Madrid side. We also learned that Cristiano Ronaldo is nowhere near the team player that Messi is and that maybe the reason for his disappointing night. Ronaldo was whining to the referee and seemed like he was trying to win the game on his own. For those of you who thought Ronaldo had turned a corner with being a team player you are sadly mistaken.

It seemed like Real Madrid was the perfect opponent for Barcelona in terms of who they enjoy playing against. The counterattacking style rarely works against Barcelona, Manchester United can tell you all about that. Jose needs to tighten up his backline if he is to comeback and lead Real to the La Liga title, Marcelo is in my opinion far from quality and he shouldn't be wearing a Real Madrid shirt. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mourinho making more moves in the January transfer window.

Looking ahead to the future, Jose Mourinho's magnificent win streak at home will be in serious jeopardy when Barcelona make their trip to the Bernabeu later this season. It seems like Real Madrid mentally believe they can't beat Barca which is something the Special One will have to work around if he is to win the rematch.

For Barcelona, they are now on top of the world, they have taken a 2 point lead over Los Blancos in the standings, and their star striker David Villa who had a difficult start to the season has made up for it with his double against Real. Lionel Messi is on fire and playing his best football, while Xavi and Iniesta continue their great play. All is well for Pep Guardiola's boys.

However, the season isn't over, Barcelona needed this game more than Real Madrid as a win for Real would've put them up by 4 points in the standings. However, Real need to make some changes and no one is better suited to do that than Jose Mourinho.

Jose Mourinho and his "Special" Tactics

The self anointed Special One has done it again. He has made headlines. This time on the controversial side of things. During a Champions League match vs. Ajax, Real Madrid was leading the match 4-0 well into the second half. Then Midfielder Xabi Alonso did the unthinkable he took a free kick he should never have been taking and he went on to take as much time as he pleased, so the referee gave him a yellow card, since Xabi had already been given a yellow card he was sent off. Later on, a goal kick was awarded to Los Blancos, and instead of goalkeeper Iker Casillas taking the goal kick, right back Sergio Ramos was given the duty of taking the goal kick, and Ramos did the same thing Alonso did, he stalled and he himself was also sitting on a yellow card and was therefore sent off.

So where does Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho fit into all this? Well it has been alleged that he told Alonso and Ramos to get sent off so they can get a clean yellow card slate for the next round. Alonso and Ramos will miss the next group game which is a meaningless game for Real Madrid since they have won their group. And UEFA is launching an investigation into the incidents.

Many pundits have scoffed at this sort of tactic used by Jose. People have called it "wrong" ,"anti-football", and one even said I hope they don't win the Champions League. Is it just me or am I the only one who enjoys the genius in this move? I'm sorry maybe I'm not an old fashioned football fan but the genius behind this maneuver is incredible. Sure its unorthodox but hey as long as it works, it works.

Mourinho has been known to be very headline grabbing, whether its in his press conferences or his antics on the touch line. However, all of them have worked for whatever task they were supposed to complete. Even his in game tactics have been a bit unorthodox. For example, last year when he was managing Inter Milan, his Inter side had a 3-1 aggregate lead heading into the away leg against Barcelona. Early in the game Inter was forced to play with 10 men after one was sent off. Mourinho responded by putting 10 men behind the ball and they would boot the ball deep into Barca territory every time they took possession of the ball. The result was a day where Inter had 17% possession, and they ended up losing 1-0 to Barcelona but advanced to the Final on aggregate scoreline. After the match Mourinho called it "the most beautiful loss".

Jose has been called a "devil of football" among other names by some coaches as well as high ranking UEFA officials. Yet the Special One has won 2 Champions League titles as well as several league titles with Inter Milan, Chelsea, and FC Porto.

This Monday, is the "El Clasico" the derby match in Spain between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Every year, this match usually decides who will go on to win La Liga. It is my feeling that Jose planned this controversy ahead of the "El Clasico" to keep the pressure off his players and put the pressure on himself. Mourinho has done this all year and Galactico Cristiano Ronaldo has responded well with the pressure off him by scoring a lead leading 14 goals in league play.

As a Barcelona/Fulham fan, I believe Jose Mourinho is the best manager in the world. He has been a rival of both my teams and I think the world of football could use more characters like him. Call him a disgrace to the game all you want but I myself believe that Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola needs to consider being a little more like the Special One.

Why Fabio must go

He tried, he failed. He promised results, he didn't deliver. More than a day after one of the most pathetic performances and the screaming for his sacking are louder than ever. Cabbage Man brought on his "youth" and they were outclassed by a French side that was just as much in rebuilding mode as the Three Lions.

Let's face it England should be routing lesser nations like Montenegro, not playing them to a scoreless draw. Fabio played players like Kieran Gibbs who can't even break in to the Arsenal squad. I understand England needs more youth but if you aren't getting any time with your club team you shouldn't be getting any minutes with your national team. The same goes for any other high profile national team.

Yesterday, we saw an England team that looked like a bunch of lost little boys, they were blitzed by French aces Florent Malouda and Samir Nasri. And so called English aces like Rio Ferdinand were out muscled, outplayed, and outsmarted by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Who's to blame? None other than Fabio Capello. His strategies fail to live up to what they are supposed to be.

Steven Gerrard is by far the best England player and what happened to him yesterday? He was lost. To me Fabio Capello has a corvette ( in Steven Gerrard) but doesn't know how to drive it. That can't happen, it's time to go. He has been given enough chances but Capello has shown that he is just not cut out to be an international manager.

And a foreigner, who is still using the 4-4-2 should be sacked on the spot. Let's face it, it's time to close the book on the outdated system that provides little to no room for creative central midfielders. We saw what happened, when a quality side went up against a 4-4-2 in the World Cup when Germany thrashed England. Results like this will continue I'm sure if Capello stays as manager.

Agudelo Mania

It's been 24 hours since Juan Agudelo scored the goal that beat South Africa 1-nil in yesterday's friendly and he is probably the most talked about 17 year old in the country. Juan even got a headline in my morning newspaper, a paper that never reports anything soccer related.

My favorite Soccer Parody Special 1 TV's Jose Mourinho even tweeted about Juan Agudelo's touch of quality. I am 17, just like Agudelo and to see a kid do something you always dreamed of doing (scoring for the US National Team) is really special. I can't talk about how jealous I am of Juan. His celebration showed youth, confidence, and personality. All are qualities that America can fall in love with.

After Agudelo scored the goal he became one of the most trending topics in the USA on twitter. The last USA player to do that was Landon Donovan during the World Cup. To be a trending topic after the World Cup is absolutely incredible. It just shows how far we have come as a soccer nation.

Now to go back to perspective, this is a big deal. However, it is just one goal. It definitely is something to be excited about don't get me wrong but young players are very mercurial. Agudelo has definitely earned a cap for the Chile friendly but the question is will he push for a spot on the Gold Cup roster? That is the main question coming out of that magical moment from yesterday.

Juan will now go back to the U-20s and U-20 manager Thomas Rongen will know he has a player that is not afraid of anyone on the pitch and is glowing in confidence. Wake up America, the US Soccer's Special One may have just made his arrival. (fingers crossed)

USA vs South Africa 1-0: Review, Player Ratings

Wow, that was a game. Sure there were ugly giveaways as well as some boring moments. In the end though, Juan Agudelo put one past Khuna to give the USA a 1-0 win in Cape Town. The new Yanks put in a hard working defensive display against many of Bafana Bafana's regulars. They were rewarded in the end thanks to great combination play by USA debutants Mikkel Diskerud and Juan Agudelo. The finish was a great chip by Agudelo that knicked the cross bar and bounced in.

Bob Bradley's squad was mostly MLS players who were trying to reignite their careers. In the starting lineup there were 6 MLSers going up against a South African squad with 11 players from their World Cup roster. The first half had its hairy moments with an inexperieced backline with little to no chemistry. However, Tshabala and Pienaar were for the most part ineffective against the young backline. Lichaj and Ream held their own despite a few wild moments..

On the attacking side, Robbie Findley was the for the most part was largely ineffective and did nothing to argue that he's not a flop. Bob Bradley did the right thing to pull him off for the Canadian-American Teal Bunbury who provided a physical presence that for the most part was able to hold the ball up which is something Robbie Findley couldn't do. Robbie Rogers had a good run out for the most part, he had a couple scoring opportunities and was impressive for the most part. Alejandro Bedoya looked eccentric on the other wing, and showed the ability to track back which will impress the Gaffer.

The midfield was once again a largely defensive one. With Logan Pause and Brian Carroll they really broke up the South African attack for much of the night. Bob Bradley had a very good gameplan going into the match and Bob got the central midfield to play that disruptive play that was needed in order to get a result in Cape Town.

Player Ratings

Brad Guzan 8

Great performance from the American skipper, he really had a great presence in the penalty area and he did a great job of keeping the young backline organized. Brad Guzan will go back to Villa feeling he solidified his place as the next great American keeper.

Eric Lichaj 7

The Aston Villa Academy product has put in another good performance for the Yanks. His style of play really brought a spark to the US play to me he was among the best American players on the field. In the first half he did have some trouble with Tshabalala and Masilela but still held his own and really took those players out of the game.

Clarence Goodson 7

Goodson really was strong back in Central defense. His big physical presence was too much for the trashtalking Davide Somma. You have to wonder how you can't start Goodson for future USMNT matches.

Tim Ream 6.5

The highly anticipated debut for the Red Bulls ace was a promising start to what hopes to be a long international career. Ream's distribution was nothing short of brilliant, at times he had difficulty dealing with the diagonal runs, but you expect that.

Jonathan Bornstein 5.5

Nothing special from the senior member of the squad. He played 45 minutes and filled his role well, but in my opinion could've done better on the diagonal runs.

Alejandro Bedoya 6

He made defenders miss, he tracked back. This is what we like to see from young attacking midfielders. He provided a spark when he could and was impressive overall throughout the night.

Logan Pause 6.5

He had a few rash challenges to begin the game however he cleaned that up later on and provided a good shift. Really was a big part why Bafana Bafana couldn't get much going.

Brian Carroll 6.5

Like Pause, he didn't provide much going forward but he put in a good shift. A couple give aways but he was playing the garbage man tonight and he filled the role well.

Robbie Rogers 6.5

Robbie had the first real chance of the match when he fired a shot right at Khuna. I thought Robbie looked confident and he really did what he could with what he was given.

Eddie Gaven 7

The 7 is not for the facial hair. His work rate was satisfactory and his feed to Rogers was what ignited some good moments going forward for the USA in the first half.

Robbie Findley 4.5

Don't know how many bad adjectives I can use for his performance but let's just say it was bad. He couldn't hold the ball up, did nothing to challenge the defense, and was pulled off at halftime. To be fair he had no service but still no excuse.

Substitutes

Teal Bunbury 6

He had one chance on a great turn after a great feed from Lichaj. He was a good physical presence up top for the Yanks. I don't think he's ready for the international game yet, judging from this performance.

Jonathan Spector 6

His distribution was suspect, however defensively he showed his veteran instincts. Decent performance from the West Ham reject.

Juan Agudelo 8 (Man of the Match)

His rating shot up 2 points because of the goal. The 17 year old New York Red Bulls phenom had confidence on the ball and his goal was an absolute sublime finish. Near the end he showed great instincts with wasting time near the corner flag.

Nat Borchers 6.5

Mostly a cameo appearance but he did head out a lot of the South African set pieces. He played well enough to earn a grade.

Mikkel Diskerud 7

Was going to receive a N/A grade until his great feed to assist Agudelo's game winner. Diskerud showed great creativity and he was just as involved as Agudelo when it came to the goal.

Gale Agbossoumonde N/A

A cameo performance for the young central defender.

Coaching Rating 8.5

Bob Bradley aka Bob the Builder got his boys ready to play and deserves a lot of credit for being able to help this young squad do great things in an environment most of them had never seen before. I have been a critic of Bradley but he deserves nothing but applause from everyone for tonight's performance. Bradley's game plan shut down the Bafana Bafana attack and he will be pleased about his squad's performance.