Simply Fútbol: The ball is in Madrid's court now

The ball is in Madrid's court now

Posted by Juan Arango 4.03.2010

Real Madrid prepare for El Clásico (AP)

If mentioned back in November that Real Madrid's Clásico at the Nou Camp was the most important match in the Galáctico 2.0 era. This was the match where Florentino Perez' big spending and free wheeling attitude had to be justified. He also had to show the world that his team was greater than Barca's Pep Team.

Although Madrid did show that they caught up to the greatest Blaugrana side ever, they were not able to accomplish their mission. So if that match on November 29th was a litmus test for the Merengues, the match on April 10th trumps it by hundred fold.

Real Madrid spent the money they did to win games like these and the conditions could not be more perfect than now. They are playing at home where they have not lost in La Liga. Their last loss at the Bernabéu was in the Champions League groups stage again AC Milan.

They are not a juggernaut... they are an offensive war machine. Madrid have bombarded La Liga opponents, outscoring them by a whopping 39-12 since they last lost against Athletic at San Mamés back on January 16th. Credit Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín for nearly 60% of that scoring output.

Madrid are finally gelling. They have gotten to know each other better during this stretch and their results in league play are no accident. Now, their swoons in certain matches could be a huge concern. the best case and point was against Lyon in the return leg of the Champions League.

Lack of concentration against teams like Sporting and Getafe do sound off air raid sirens, but they can rectify those situations with their rapid-fire offense. Against teams like Barcelona and other top teams in Europe, that is as easy to do.

This time at the Santiago Bernabéu there are much more things at stake than just the three points. A Barcelona win, and I am not talking about a 2-6 result, or even a draw could like the Titanic hitting the iceberg. Heck, even a draw would be bad news for Madrid as the head-to-head tiebreaker would come into play, thus favoring the Blaugrana. This is not by any means the end of La Liga as there will be eight more matches to be played after this, but it could spell the beginning of the end for Real Madrid.

If they are able to finish better than they did at the Camp Nou, they could be well on their way. But there are other factors that they have to consider such as the individual talent on the other side of the pitch as well as the sum of the parts.

This is not a case of getting ahead of themselves, because Josep Guardiola has literally brainwashed a group of players into buying his "one match at a time" mentality. Although many think that Barca took Athletic lightly at San Mamés thinking ahead, the Blaugrana (as well as Madrid) know that if there is one team to not underestimate... it's the Basques. They definitely will not take Los Leones lightly on Saturday as they know what is on the line.

Madrid will play against a Racing Santander side who will come out with a player who is already dreaming in white in Sergio Canales.

While the Madrid press bash Guardiola for "underestimating" Real Madrid, Barca's coach knows that one slip up could cost him on either of two fronts. The schedule for the Blaugrana is brutal and has been since the latter part of March. After beating Zaragoza 4-2, they had to battle in Mallorca to beat the islanders 1-0 and drew at Arsenal 2-2.

Now they face Athletic, host Arsenal, go to Riazor to face Deportivo, and then cap it all off with the Catalan derby at Cornellà el Prat. If Madrid win, there is a good chance that it could be as their schedule is not as difficult as their rival's. Let's be honest, and with all due respect... Almería (possible trap match), Zaragoza, and Málaga on the road as well as Valencia, Osasuna,and Athletic at home give them the advantage by a country mile over the Blaugrana. The match that could decide things for Real Madrid is their trip to the Ono Estadi as they face Mallorca on May 5th.

So la Liga is over after El Clásico? It could be. Real Madrid have everything in their favor from here on out. So if they do not obtain a win next week or win the league title, they can only blame themselves.

Well, for Barca it's the end... of the beginning.

The countdown to El Clásico has officially begun. Who do you think is going to win? Why?

Check out Simply Fútbol all of next week for the latest on one of the most awaited matchups of the season in world football