Where do Barcelona and Real Madrid go following their exits this week from the UEFA Champions League?
Right into Saturday’s clásico at the Nou Camp (TV: GolTV, live, 4 pm ET).
Following their exits from the Champions League, media in both cities are looking for recriminations.
The main target at Real Madrid was Italian coach Fabio Capello, who was brought in by new president Ramon Calderon to oversee Real’s revival. With the Merengues out of Europe following their exit from the Champions League and fourth in La Liga, Calderon could not guarantee that Capello would survive the season.
“Everything depends on whether the coach feels capable of getting us out of this situation,” Calderon told radio station Cadena Ser. “I wouldn’t like to change coach in March, but we have to analyze the situation.”
The arrival of Calderon and Capello marked a change in Real’s approach. Instead of building the team around a few attacking stars, Real Madrid concentrated on rebuilding its defense with the addition of defender Fabio Cannavaro, captain of the Italian World Cup championship team, and defensive midfielders Emerson and Mahamadou Diarra, but Real has struggled all season with defensive problems, marked by the decisive goal Dutchman Roy Makaay scored for Bayern on the road late in the first leg of their series and the goal he scored after only 10 seconds in the second leg when Real Madrid gave up the ball off the kickoff.
The Barcelona sports daily El Mundo Deportivo presented front-page coverage to Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen‘s criticism of his team’s lack of the team spirit and work ethic, which he blamed for Barcelona’s elimination to Liverpool, also on away goals.
“We have got more skill and quality than Liverpool,” Gudjohnsen said, “but if people don’t make sacrifices and work full out, then it isn’t enough. When everyone works hard then it improves the level of skill. For me, Liverpool aren’t a great team but they work together very well as a unit and that’s what Barcelona are lacking. It doesn’t mean we have to be friends outside the locker room but we all need to work together when we are on the field.”
The Spanish media reported on internal divisions that emerged at Barca in the weeks before the Liverpool series.
Barcelona, which enters the clásico trailing Sevilla by one point following its 2-1 loss to the new leader last Saturday, could be without Ronaldinho, who is doubtful because of muscle problems sustained in the game against Liverpool. Barca will also be without French winger Ludovic Giuly and Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta, who are suspended after being sent off at Sevilla.
Real Madrid is even more banged up than Barca. Real will be without David Beckham and Jose Antonio Reyes, who both suffered knee ligament injuries in last Sunday’s 1-1 tie against Getafe, and defenders Roberto Carlos (partial tear to a calf muscle) and Cannavaro (strained muscle in his right leg) have been ruled out because of injuries suffered against Bayern Munich.