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Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Report
Pedro Rodriguez kicked off the party with a goal inside the second minute of the match. Lionel Messi doubled Barcelona’s lead after 20 minutes with an unstoppable right-footed shot from a tight angle. Andres Iniesta made the killer pass leading to that goal. Pedro finished off Athletic Bilbao in the 25th minute with a low shot. Bilbao were left to chase the Catalans all over the pitch.
Xavi and Iniesta ensured Muniain had a miserable night despite all his efforts to put Athletic Bilbao in control of the game. Mascherano and Pique were like bricks in defence, leaving Fernando Llorente helpless in attack.
Barcelona vs Bilbao Copa del Rey final: A tribute to Pep Guardiola – Career recap
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“If there is something extra about this [Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Copa del Rey] final, it is the possibility of winning the title for our coach [Pep Guardiola], the possibility of him winning yet another title and leaving with his head held high.”
Cesc Fabregas was in a confident mood while declaring this statement at a press conference in mid-May. Barcelona have won several titles during the last four years in an unprecedented manner. If this season is considered as a disappointing one it is purely because the judgement of the public is based on comparisons with the Blaugrana’s achievements between the 2008/09 and 2010/2011 seasons.
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Preview
Match analysis and pre-match quotes
There is so much at stake for both teams. The departure of Pep Guardiola has increased the hype ahead of the 2012 Copa del Rey final. It will be the 41-year-old’s last match in charge of Barcelona as coach. The public expects his players to play at their highest level since the motivation to dedicate the Copa del Rey title to Guardiola is there. However, the match comes at a rather bad time.
“We would have liked to play the match at an earlier date so that some of us could go on holiday, others could join their teams for Euro 2012 and others to prepare for their teams' World Cup qualifiers,” Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets explained during a pre-match press conference.
Josep Guardiola labels Marcelo Bielsa as "the best coach on the planet"
Josep Guardiola, the coach of Barcelona, has labelled Athletic Bilbao counterpart Marcelo Bielsa as "the best coach on the planet," after the Argentine guided the Basque outfit to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League at the expense of Manchester United on Wednesday."Bielsa is currently the best coach on the planet. He provides a sense of honesty to every game where a win or a loss means the same," Guardiola, who thoroughly praised the former Chile national team tactician, declared to Spanish journal Marca.
Athletic Bilbao won home and away games against United to progress to the quarter-finals of a European club competition for the first time in 35 years. After winning 3-2 at Old Trafford, Bielsa's side went on to repeat the feat with a 2-1 win in the return leg in San Mames.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Report
What else could we expect from El Clasico anyway? Only video highlights can best describe the heat of the match, in which both teams aimed for a famous victory.Unexpectedly, it did not take too long for the scoreboard’s indication at the Santiago Bernabeu to change. A goal from Karim Benzema after only 21 seconds immediately put Real Madrid in front, subsequent to a costly mistake from Victor Valdes.
With the match going on at a lightening pace, Barcelona never looked too likely to net an equalizer. Conversely, it was Madrid who appeared to be perfectly on track as they fought to inflict even more pain on their visitors.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Players to watch and El Clasico comparisons
Yes, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have their strengths and weaknesses. Thus, when it comes to naming the true favourites, it is largely a matter of management.
Certainly, trying to determine who has the best players only raises issues of personal taste. It is not wrong however to assess both teams’ positives and weight their advantages along with their expectations. This puts into question the form and aim of each key player in El Clasico.
All 22 active players on the field after the referee’s opening whistle will surely be ready to put on a good show for a million reasons. But then, each player will be having his challenges; and one could identify these challenges as the results of both teams’ close standards - which eventually increases the excitement ahead of El Clasico in the Spanish capital.
Sporting Gijón vs Real Madrid Report
Real Madrid started slowly at the dislike of the home crowd. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, found his foot early in the game despite receiving a knock in the initial stages. The Portuguese winger eventually inspired Los Blancos’ attacks down the flanks with the help of Marcelo and Di Maria. It’s no wonder if these three players ended up settling the score line.
The referee experienced a busy night, especially in the first half, as Eguren, Callejon, David Barral, Trejo and Mate Bilic all entered into the book.
Two minutes after the half-hour mark, Higuain banged in a fierce shot which got ruled out for offside.
In quotes—Opinion and truth on Mourinho & the Barcelona vs Real Madrid brawl
Jose Mourinho has always been known as a controversial and outspoken person, but his behavior during the 2011 Supercopa de España against Barcelona has got most people—if not everyone—making negative comments about him.
Refusing to communicate with the media a couple of days before the Spanish Super Cup’s second leg match is not what got the public angry. Aitor Karanka took charge of expressing Real Madrid’s views ahead of their Barcelona clash and this issue didn’t cause trouble in the news.
What shocked the public was Jose Mourinho’s terrible attitude during the injury time brawl between Barcelona and Real Madrid’s players and bench at the Camp Nou. The public’s attention was on all the players involved in the clash until Jose Mourinho came up to produce a strange attack on Barcelona’s assistant coach Tito Vilanova.
Barcelona’s Busquets Probed By UEFA? Let’s Question The Rules Of The Game Again!
Football, Technology And Controversial Officiating
Technology in football is yet to be used by officials during matches and this rule, opposed to the one which states that a referee’s decision is final, is one of the major factors behind what many people brand as “injustice” in the sport. Too many wrong decisions from referees are said to have “killed games” as resentment within groups of supporters, teams and coaches never stops increasing.
Is it even necessary to enumerate bad calls? Any football follower—from the lowest to the greatest teams and leagues in the world—could do a better job citing uncountable controversial incidents that have indeed affected the fate of teams, not only in a single game but in an entire tournament.