Atletico Madrid - Real Madrid
It’s the 143rd edition of El Derbi Madrileño and very likely to be dubbed the Redemption Derby. It has been a testing week for the two Madrid clubs, and the city in general, as the issue over racism and crowd violence in the country spills into overdrive.
What a tumultuous few weeks it has been for Atlético Madrid. Just a month ago, everything was rosy for the rojiblancos. They were charming fans and pundits all over the world with their delightful football, they were starting to look like genuine title contenders, their collection of star players were finally coming good and it seemed as though nothing could go w
rong for them.
But it did… all in a space of around a fortnight.
On the pitch, they suffered their first real setback of the season when they slumped to a 0-2 home defeat to Sevilla three weeks ago. That was promptly followed by the 6-1 annihilation at Barcelona, a much-hyped and much-talked about encounter which they lost inside the opening eight minutes.
If that wasn’t enough to send the club into a tail spin, they then had to face the scrutiny of the world when UEFA decided to not only ban the team from playing at the Vicente Calderón in their next three Champions League home games, but the European football governing body also suspended coach Javier Aguirre from taking the bench for the next two matches due to unsporting behaviour.
rong for them.But it did… all in a space of around a fortnight.
On the pitch, they suffered their first real setback of the season when they slumped to a 0-2 home defeat to Sevilla three weeks ago. That was promptly followed by the 6-1 annihilation at Barcelona, a much-hyped and much-talked about encounter which they lost inside the opening eight minutes.
If that wasn’t enough to send the club into a tail spin, they then had to face the scrutiny of the world when UEFA decided to not only ban the team from playing at the Vicente Calderón in their next three Champions League home games, but the European football governing body also suspended coach Javier Aguirre from taking the bench for the next two matches due to unsporting behaviour.
Ofcourse, Real Madrid were not completely immuned from their fair share of controversy over the past few days, although for once, the issue was instigated by someone else and club themselves played no part in it.
Earlier in the week, the English Football Association publicly announced that they will refuse an invitation for an international friendly against Spain if the game were to take place at Madrid’s own Santiago Bernabéu, citing the possibility of racial abuse on their players as the main reason.
Just goes to show that sometimes, trouble follows you wherever you go. But this is something that should not bother the men in white nor affect their performance on the pitch, although it has struck another blow to the club’s image and reputation following their infamous absurdities during the summer transfer window.
Earlier in the week, the English Football Association publicly announced that they will refuse an invitation for an international friendly against Spain if the game were to take place at Madrid’s own Santiago Bernabéu, citing the possibility of racial abuse on their players as the main reason.
Just goes to show that sometimes, trouble follows you wherever you go. But this is something that should not bother the men in white nor affect their performance on the pitch, although it has struck another blow to the club’s image and reputation following their infamous absurdities during the summer transfer window.
Atlético Madrid
The good news for coach, Javier Aguirre is that trio Maniche, Simão and Diego Forlán have all won the race against the clock to regain full fitness and they will be available to be called upon.
The other trio of Pablo Ibañez, John Heitinga and Maxi, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky as they continue to nurse their injuries and look unlikely to recover in time. Sergio Agüero and Luis Amaranto Perea, meanwhile, have only just returned from their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers and they would have taken part in only one training session prior to kick-off.
The Mexican trainer will be tempted to rest El Kun but this being the derbi, the player himself has already demanded to be put on the pitch.
Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Coupet – Seitaridis, Perea, Ujfalusi, Antonio López (c) – Luis García, Assunção/Maniche, Raúl García, Simão – Agüero, Forlán/Sinama-Pongolle
Real Madrid
Midfielders Mahamadou Diarrà and Guti are both sidelined after failing to recover from their respective ailments. Fernando Gago, just back from a thigh injury himself, has been confirmed as the Malian’s replacement in the first eleven.
Also set for a comeback is Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who has shrugged off his thigh muscle strain but he is only fit enough to start the game from the bench.
Leftback Marcelo returns from a one match suspension and he should replace Gabriel Heinze at leftback following the Argentine’s heavy involvement in the World Cup qualifiers. Fabio Cannavaro is often rested whenever he is involved in any midweek outings but it remains to be seen if Schuster will maintain that philosophy, given the magnitude of this clash.
Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro/Metzelder, Pepe, Marcelo – Van der Vaart, Gago, De la Red/Sneijder – Higuaín, Van Nistelrooy, Raul (c)
My bet : Over 2.5 because both teams are offensive ones.
posted by Midnight Sun @ 23:13,
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