The Matador vs the Ball

By Bagga Wilks

There have been historic match-ups in the world of sports and the Barcelona vs Real Madrid struggle for soccer supremacy in La Liga, Spain, can rival any of the past epics.

In the world of boxing, we have had the epics between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. In baseball, there was the fierce rivalry of the New York Yankees vs the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the world of football, there is the fierce rivalry between Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. The mushrooming rivalry between Guardiola’s Matadors and Mourinho’s Bulls will do a lot for expanding the base of world soccer on cable stations.

The return leg of the Super-Cup was played in Barcelona on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 and it will go down in history as one of the greatest club soccer games in history. The first leg played in Madrid ended in a 2-2 draw. The finale ended Barcelona edging Real Madrid 3-2 and winning the Super-Cup. They also retained their place as the best soccer club in the world of soccer.



In a Barcelona-Real Madrid match-up, there are macro plots and there are micro plots. Throughout the night, Danni Alves, the Barcelona right full back was determined to keep Real Madrid’s Ronaldo in check. Although Ronaldo scored one of the Madrid’s goals and was outstanding, Danni Alves tackles against the Portuguese winger were superb. Alves played miserably in the Copa America tournament and below par in the friendly against Germany but against Real Madrid and Ronaldo, the Brazilian full back rose to the occasion.

Guardiola vs Mourinho

By Bagga Wilks

Guardiola and Mourinho are recognized as two of the top coaches in the world of soccer. Sir Alex Ferguson is included in that exclusive club. Last year in La Liga, Guardiola’s Barcelona beat Real Madrid consistently. This season as was clear in the Super-Cup on Sunday, 14th August, 2011, the Real Madrid’s coach, Mourinho, has developed a new strategy to knock off Barcelona from occupying the pinnacle of world football.

Barca has perfected the short passing game with mid-field players becoming non-stop moving parts, possessing the ball and immediately dispossessing opponents whenever losing the ball.

Guardiola has assembled a special cluster of mid-fielders that rhythmically control mid field better than any other team in the world. Busquet, Inesta, Xavi, and Messi are some of the best mid-field players in the world. Playing this brand of soccer last year, they had teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United mesmerized.

Midweek Superlatives

By Bagga Wilks

Real Madrid vs Barcelona
There is a legendary Robert Nesta Marley song “Dem a Go Tired to See Mi Face” (They will be tired to see my face). Last week, Real Madrid and Barcelona played to a 1-1 draw, both goals were scored through penalty kicks, Messi for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid. Last week’s game was spectacular and today’s (Wednesday 4/20/11) was incredibly enthralling and they are not done yet. They will meet twice in the semi-final of the Champions League to decide who will be in the final that will be played at Wembley. Schalke of Germany and Manchester United of England comprise the semi-finalist in the other bracket.

Playing in the Cup final on a neutral ground, it took more than 90 minutes of ball for the breakthrough goal. Di Maria made a superb cross in extra time and Ronaldo showed his greatness with a superior header that gave the goalkeeper no chance but to retrieve the ball from the back of the net.

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