The Spanish Football Thread

[thfcsteff]

This game may be the world's biggest football match, but year after year it devolves into this lesson in the dark arts.

An absolute joke. All this game says to anyone who might not know much about the game, is that queening, cheating, diving and harassing the ref are the key parts. If a match could define Sepp Blatter, this is frankly it. I am roundly appalled. Worst 'classico' I have seen, as much for the sheer volume of indiscretions.

 

[Baleforce]

This game may be the world's biggest football match, but year after year it devolves into this lesson in the dark arts.

it's all part of the game

I'm enjoying this immensely

 

[Baleforce]

An absolute joke. All this game says to anyone who might not know much about the game, is that queening, cheating, diving and harassing the ref are the key parts. If a match could define Sepp Blatter, this is frankly it. I am roundly appalled. Worst 'classico' I have seen, as much for the sheer volume of indiscretions.

they are

 

[thfcsteff]

they are

Makes me appreciate Kane, Bentaleb and Mason even more!!!!

 

[thfcsteff]

I know I am biased, I admit that, but there seems to be an agenda NOT to pass the ball to Bale.

 

[SpurMeUp]

I know I am biased, I admit that, but there seems to be an agenda NOT to pass the ball to Bale.

He's quite easy to defend against if the team is not built around him. Just keep tight to him, he doesn't have the trickery to get away, and he can't get into the game. He only plays well if he can use his speed and run at people. Would be better off at Spurs! Would sort our left side...

 

[the dza]

I enjoyed the game, Pique MoM for me.

 

[Baleforce]

Makes me appreciate Kane, Bentaleb and Mason even more!!!!

yeah, and I understand why, but football is a sandbox, everything that happens inside it is football

you can hate on this lot all you like but they are only playing the game the rules are letting them (or the ref's understanding of the rules at least), Fifa could fix a lot of this overnight with extra officials and technology, the one thing that absolutely isn't going to happen is for players to start behaving differently, wherever money is involved the protagonists will always find the edge and always seek an angle, that's human nature

as many people have said, hate the game not the player

 

[Rorschach]

I know I am biased, I admit that, but there seems to be an agenda NOT to pass the ball to Bale.

I thought Bale was very poor in this match to be honest. He didn't get passes because the didn't show for them and made almost no runs behind. When he did get the ball he mostly just made a safe pass. Not the Bale we know and love I'm afraid.

 

[Joesh]

Watched the game with Ray Hudson commentating, which if anyone doesn't know who he is, you have to watch one game with him doing the commentary. It is hillarious and unique to any other you'll hear. Decent game but the expected theatrics were annoying, moments of pure quality but also moments to cringe watching artifical injuries which before watching this game you sign up to accept but still end up frustrated with.

 

[the dza]

Watched the game with Ray Hudson commentating, which if anyone doesn't know who he is, you have to watch one game with him doing the commentary. It is hillarious and unique to any other you'll hear. Decent game but the expected theatrics were annoying, moments of pure quality but also moments to cringe watching artifical injuries which before watching this game you sign up to accept but still end up frustrated with.

I think I had the same stream. The geordie fella? He's brilliant haha.

 

[the dza]

Makes me appreciate Kane, Bentaleb and Mason even more!!!!

Bentaleb got a bit dramatic when Costa raised a hand to him in the League Cup final. Mason is always on at the ref, wasn't he the main one asking for Benteke to get sent off at Villa park (very soft red card too irrc)? It's just the game now, dog-eat-dog. There are no innocent teams in the top divisions. Just because we don't have any Pepe's doesn't mean we're in a position to point fingers, imo.

 

[shaney]

I thought Bale was very poor in this match to be honest. He didn't get passes because the didn't show for them and made almost no runs behind. When he did get the ball he mostly just made a safe pass. Not the Bale we know and love I'm afraid.

Spanish media singling out blame to Bale again. Apparently Bale had the least touches of any player on the pitch who played 90 minutes. Every passing week like this is a week closer to him coming back to England. Will be hard watching him at another Prem team next year, but its going to happen.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Regardless of how good the rest of the team is, how anyone can support a team with both Suarez and Neymar in it is beyond me.

Utterly disgusting qunts the pair of them.

Suarez is a clam.

Neymar - I don't get the hate for. He's overrated, but he's arguably been the best player in La Liga this season after Messi and Ronaldo.

I feel the same about Ronaldo. How can anyone support a team with such a preening egomaniac in their is foreign to me. He doesn't celebrate when anyone besides him scores and that ridiculous reaction to that meaningless penalty he scored in last season's CL final sums him up. And the sheer farce of Real having to lie to him when Bale was signed so that poor little Ronaldo's ego wouldn't be dented when Bale was signed for more money than him. I could not honestly imagine Bale or Messi caring about something so insignificant.

Don't get me wrong, Messi must have a certain amount of ego to be the player he is, but he comes across as more humble than Ronaldo and a guy that just loves playing football. To quote White Men Can't Jump, I think Ronaldo would rather look good and lose than play badly and win whereas Messi just wants to win.

I don't like the way either club goes about their business, but Barca are the lesser of two evils. Bale knew what he was getting himself into when he signed for them, but I don't think he will be there much longer. I wouldn't blame him if he came back to England, just don't go to Arsenal and I will have no issue.

 

[Baleforce]

Suarez is a clam.

Neymar - I don't get the hate for. He's overrated, but he's arguably been the best player in La Liga this season after Messi and Ronaldo.

I feel the same about Ronaldo. How can anyone support a team with such a preening egomaniac in their is foreign to me. He doesn't celebrate when anyone besides him scores and that ridiculous reaction to that meaningless penalty he scored in last season's CL final sums him up. And the sheer farce of Real having to lie to him when Bale was signed so that poor little Ronaldo's ego wouldn't be dented when Bale was signed for more money than him. I could not honestly imagine Bale or Messi caring about something so insignificant.

Don't get me wrong, Messi must have a certain amount of ego to be the player he is, but he comes across as more humble than Ronaldo and a guy that just loves playing football. To quote White Men Can't Jump, I think Ronaldo would rather look good and lose than play badly and win whereas Messi just wants to win.

I don't like the way either club goes about their business, but Barca are the lesser of two evils. Bale knew what he was getting himself into when he signed for them, but I don't think he will be there much longer. I wouldn't blame him if he came back to England, just don't go to Arsenal and I will have no issue.

agree with pretty much all of that (Ronaldo is still a hell of a player mind), I'm not sure about the last paragraph though, I think they are equally nefarious, Real are more open about it, and arrogant for sure, but Barca try and hide it and make out they are something they are not, which is worse imo

 

[Joesh]

I think I had the same masked water tyrant. The geordie fella? He's brilliant haha.

Thats him, along with the American co-commentator it was so funny to listen to the two of them. You could have a whole thread of quotes from just last nights game!

 

[Jurgen the German]

Bentaleb got a bit dramatic when Costa raised a hand to him in the League Cup final. Mason is always on at the ref, wasn't he the main one asking for Benteke to get sent off at Villa park (very soft red card too irrc)? It's just the game now, dog-eat-dog. There are no innocent teams in the top divisions. Just because we don't have any Pepe's doesn't mean we're in a position to point fingers, imo.

Good post. Vertonghen is another crafty player who knows how to get opponents sent off. I would not call Kane a diver, but he already has learnt how to win penalties by making enough of collision/tackle to attract attention without it necessarily being a dive. Bale divided opinion and still does, but surely we can all agree that on more than one occasion he was guilty of both diving and play acting?

I want us to be more cynical and clever, but there is a line to be drawn i.e. don't behave like Pepe, Suarez or a Mourinho side

 

[Jurgen the German]

agree with pretty much all of that (Ronaldo is still a hell of a player mind), I'm not sure about the last paragraph though, I think they are equally nefarious, Real are more open about it, and arrogant for sure, but Barca try and hide it and make out they are something they are not, which is worse imo

His consistency is phenomenal, I just know who I would rather have in my team that's all. There's no question that both him and Messi are among the all time greats.

I agree they both behave distastefully and Barca do try and dress it up, but their fans and the club as a whole treat their own with more respect than Real do.

 

[braineclipse]

Spanish media singling out blame to Bale again. Apparently Bale had the least touches of any player on the pitch who played 90 minutes. Every passing week like this is a week closer to him coming back to England. Will be hard watching him at another Prem team next year, but its going to happen.

He's the most expensive footballer ever(-ish). He's being talked about as arguably the third best player in the world (I don't quite agree, but he's up there amongst the best in the world), being singled out for not performing in El Classico is par for the course if you don't deliver. Ronaldo had done much more than him at Real and still got "singled out" for not delivering in games against Barca a couple of years back. It's par for the course at that level, it would be the same for Suarez if he hadn't delivered and Barca lost.

 

[Jurgen the German]

He's the most expensive footballer ever(-ish). He's being talked about as arguably the third best player in the world (I don't quite agree, but he's up there amongst the best in the world), being singled out for not performing in El Classico is par for the course if you don't deliver. Ronaldo had done much more than him at Real and still got "singled out" for not delivering in games against Barca a couple of years back. It's par for the course at that level, it would be the same for Suarez if he hadn't delivered and Barca lost.

Quite right. He's been a good signing and will continue to be if they have the patience, but has he been a "great" signing so far CL final aside? For a player that cost £85m, you would expect performances and overall output to be somewhat closer to Ronaldo and Messi, but he is behind Neymar, Carlos Bacca, Benzema and Griezemann in the goalscoring charts.

Like you said, it's part of the deal of signing for Real or Barca, he must have known this surely?