The world will be treated to a sumptuous meal of football this evening; the El Clasico. The ingredients of this meal invariably are the players who will be greeted with rapturous applause when the two giants  in Spanish football,  REAL MADRID and BARCELONA  take to the field to showcase pure football brewed in a Spanish pot. For the umpteenth time, El Clasico is between the league leaders and the runners-up and for the first time since 2007/2008, Barcelona is in second position going into El Clasico. El Clasico is more than a battle, I must say and some players will be key in winning the game for their respective sides should they win their own personal battles….Below, I look at five key battles:

PEPE vrs LIONEL MESSI: The least envious job in modern football is to tackle a certain Lionel Messi. The Lilliputian has proved time without number a thorn in the flesh for most centre backs as well as defensive midfielders. After Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan succeeded in taming the merciless Lionel in the 2009/2010 Champions League season courtesy Javier Zanetti, no other player had been able to contain the tricky Argentine until Pepe was thrown into the fray to man mark the current world best player in last season’s El Clasico series. The Portuguese did a fair share of his job ‘taking care’ of Messi but with rather harsh repercussions; he was sent off. Pepe will be playing at centre-back in today’s game but will still come up against his nemesis as Messi will be employed as a false nine. Messi, who loves to see Iker Casillas in goal (Messi has scored 13 times against the Spanish number one) will be a tricky customer to deal with. Patience and discipline will be the key words for Pepe but ‘El Pulga’s’ dribbling at pace, trickery and perfect style, even in executing his signature move will prove much of a handful for the Portuguese centre-back. This will be the main battle in the El Clasico. The winner of this key battle will surely hoist the flag of victory at the end of 90 minutes. I call this THE BATTLE OF BEAUTY (Lionel Messi) AND THE BEAST (Pepe).

CRISTIANO RONALDO vrs DANIEL ALVES: I prefer to call it the battle of the flanks. Daniel Alves is famed for his attacking verve up field, sometimes even playing as a right sided midfielder due to the amount of possession Barcelona chalk in most of their games. Barcelona’s strongest side is undoubtedly on the right hand side where Dani Alves (RWB), Xavi (RCM) and Pedro (RWF) operate. Sometimes Lionel Messi drops deeper onto that side of the field to receive and/or exchange passes with fellow South American, Alves so as  to start an attacking move. The telepathy that has been struck between Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves cannot be overemphasised and the link up play between the two is more than perfect. Anytime Daniel Alves is pinned back by two highly effective left-sided players, the Barcelona team suffers (as demonstrated by Valencia’s Jordi Alba and Jeremy Mathieu in a La Liga game at the Mestalla last month). On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo is known for his ability to cut in from the flanks, drifting into central positions in the process to shoot at goal. The Portuguese’s temerity to outfox Alves and to nullify his threat will break down Barcelona’s play from the right whilst Alves’ runs down that flank will be for Barcelona’s gain. Alves, a right wing back already has 5 assists in the La Liga………..same number of assists as Mesut Ozil, a playmaker for Real Madrid. This battle will also be very crucial as Daniel Alves’ crosses and passes down the right hand side is as important as Ronaldo’s runs and driftings from that flank.

KARIM BENZEMA vrs GERARD PIQUE: It’s highly anticipated that French striker Karim Benzema will lead the attack for Real Madrid ahead of Gonzalo Higuain. The former Lyon star has been in scintillating form this season scoring 7 goals in the process. Benz is an all-round, all-action typical centre forward who runs the channel so effectively and his link up and hold up play is worthy of adulation. Benzema will look to switch with Ronaldo during the game but will always almost come against Gerard Pique. The Spain central defender has developed many aspects of his game following his return to Iberia from England. Fitness problems have blighted his season as the towering central defender has made only 8 appearances out of a possible 15 in the La Liga this term but he should be more than capable of tracking the runs of Benzema. Gerard Pique is very good in the air and his ability to win the aerial battle against Benz will be a key deciding factor. On the downside, the Shakira-driven La Masia product has accumulated 5 yellow cards; this goes a long way to prove that his tackling has become careless these days.

XAVI HERNANDEZ vrs XABI ALONSO: In midfield, I call this battle THE BATTLE OF THE REGISTAS (deep lying playmakers). The two La Furia Roja team mates will lock horns in the middle of the field to ascertain the true boss of midfield. Xabi Alonso will be deployed in a more defensive role as his other midfield partners will be assigned other specialised roles. Alonso has grown into his role as the most important player at Real Madrid (in my opinion) with his wide range of passes (mid range, cross field and short passes) and killer ‘through balls’. His defensive qualities cannot be overelaborated with strong neat tackles and perfect break up play. His calming influence has also been a source of inspiration for a young Madrid midfield as has his leadership. The box-to-box midfielder will sit back to screen the back four whilst also creating chances from deep within midfield. Xavi Hernandez on the other hand has repeatedly demonstrated his talents time without number and will be relishing a clash with his Spain team mate. Xavi in my candid estimation has been the best central midfielder in the last decade with some intricate passing and excellent ball control coupled with overall intelligent play. Xavi orchestrates the midfield with aplomp and is very deadly from set pieces. The multiple top assist award winner in the La Liga already has 5 assists to his name and together with his partners, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, Alonso will have his hands full. Again, Xabi Alonso has always struggled against Barcelona’s midfield whilst Xavi Hernandez has always performed exceedingly against Real Madrid’s midfield. The winner of this battle will clearly boss the midfield or should I say win the midfield battle and will help catalyse their respective team to victory. The game of football is won from midfield, isn’t it?

PEP GUARDIOLA vrs JOSE MOURINHO: Pep Guardiola has revolutionalised football since ascending the Barcelona throne. The 40 year old has perfected the use of false nines, played central/defensive midfielders as centre backs and the usage of 3 defenders at the back (for example in the games against Villareal and AC Milan at the San Siro). Guardiola is tactically adept and his influence in the modern game has gone unnoticed. His first season at the Camp Nou ended with a haul of an unprecedented sextuple in the 2008/2009 season and since then, trophies upon trophies have arrived at the Camp Nou amidst pomp and pageantry. In his short managerial stint, the former Barcelona defensive midfielder has brought back joy to Catalonia as Barcelona; it’s such a joy watching Barcelona play their tiki-taka football. Guardiola has impressed in all but one of his meetings against eternal rivals Real Madrid since 2008 and has never lost a league game against Los Blancos. In fact, his league outings against the Bernabeu outfit has been very impressive including, albeit infamously, a 6-2 thrashing of Los Merengues at the Bernabeu in his first season and a 5-0 trouncing at the Camp Nou last term. Indications from every corner show that he’ll roll out his favoured 4-3-3 against the most successful team in Spain but any decision to revert to his newly found 3-4-3 (was implemented to accommodate Fabregas and also due to unavailability of defenders earlier on in the season) should not be ruled out. Jose Mourinho will not have Tito Vilanova to poke his eyes but will have to poke the eyes of Cules around the world by influencing his players to make a case against the best team in the world currently. Mourinho, a former Barcelona assistant coach has made more enemies than friends in Catalonia and will be hoping to make more friends than enemies in Madrid and especially among hard core Madridstas this evening. The outspoken Portuguese has won only once against Barcelona since he arrived from the Italian peninsula and that was in the Copa del Rey final last season where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a thumping header to hand Real Madrid their first trophy in as many years. Jose Mourinho has always asked to be judged after his second season; he has always performed admirably in his second season at all the clubs he has managed, hasn’t he? Real Madrid are in the form of their lives notching up a record-equaling 15 consecutive wins in all competitions in their last game against Ajax in the Champions League. ‘’The Special One’’ is expected to roll out his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation but information from various quarters also indicate that a defensive 4-3-3 formation could emerge. It is a battle of REPEAT from PEP GUARDIOLA’s point of view as against REVENGE from JOSE MOURINHO’s troops.

antsiD