Charlie Klein
Now I would never confuse myself for a La Liga fan, but about twice a year I tune into the Spanish league to watch the only two teams worth watching play each other. The Real Madrid Barcelona rivalry has been likened to Yankees Red Sox on Viagra, Cialis, and Extenz combined. This is the derby of all derbies in continental Europe.
And yet in all four of the last 'Clasicos' Barcelona have smacked Real Madrid like Ike beat Tina Turner back in the day. Let's put it this way, it just ain't fair. Yesterday's edition was no exception. What was for the most part an un-entertaining match, Lionel Messi provided his usual dose of magic scoring yet another goal for the Blaugrana. On display for everyone to see was the fact that no matter how much money Madrid may spend every summer, they have yet to get it right.
The match also exposed why I have little time for the Spanish league. The fact that the two times these two teams meet decides the title is ridiculous. As much as critics like to point at the lack of parity in the English Premier League, I ask them to look at the La Liga standings. Barca and Real lead third place Valencia by roughly 30 points! Absolutely absurd.
What is even more ludicrous is the amount of money Real spent last summer to in all likelihood finish second again. New Real President Florentino Perez dropped 68.5 million pounds for Kaka, 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo, 30 million pounds for Xabi Alonso, 15 million euros for Raul Albiol, 4 million euros for Alvaro Arbeloa and 35 million euros for Karim Benzema. That is roughly 227 million pounds spent in one summer. And Real still lost both ties with Barca and dropped out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage, just like last season.
Now Barcelona are not exempt from this sort of money. The Catalan giants dropped 46 million euros to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan and used Samuel Eto'o, one of their best players for the past few years, as a makeweight in the deal.
Barca draws plaudits from the press for the talents they have produced in their La Masia, but have done their fair share of spending. Examples include Daniel Alves (40 million euros), Thierry Henry (24 million euros), Eric Abidal (15 million euros) and Seydou Keita (14 million euros) among others. So when some so-called footy fan friend of yours goes on forever about how Barcelona does not spend any money, tell them to take a good look at the roster.
Real's 227 million pound summer outlay was simply not enough to deal with one man, Lionel Messi. As much as I would love to be otherwise, this kid is the best player on the planet right now. Titi has 40 goals in all competitions, well on his way to what will probably be yet another Ballon D'Or.
If there is a footballer on the planet who can stop this guy, bet on a record offer from Real. Of all things that Madrid need to do to regain their preeminent status in world football, they need to find someone who can stop Lionel Messi.
Real's main problem in my estimation is their total lack of cohesion on the pitch. They have a lot of individuals but they do not play like a unit. It is all well and good to be able to field a team that includes 2 of the last 3 Ballon D'Or winners, but if the team lacks grit and tackling nous it does nothing for you.
More than that, Real need a manager who can command the respect of his Galacticos. Manuel Pellegrini, for all of his success at Villareal, does not have control of his changing room. With the upheaval currently holding the San Siro under siege, I fully expect Florentino Perez to make an offer to Inter coach Jose Mourinho.
One of the few managers on the planet who could get the respect of his players by simply walking through the door, Mourinho would be able to get the Galacticos to play like a team. And almost as importantly, he has the tactical knowhow to potentially stop Lio Messi. All of this will be on display in a tantalizing Champions League semifinal a week from Tuesday.
Maybe Jose Mourinho will be the one special buy of the Perez Administration 2.0.
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