Football is simple.

If you outwork, outplay, and outscore your opponent... you win. That was exactly the case as Barcelona handily outworked, outplayed, outshot, and outscored their eternal rivals 2-0 in the infallible fortress called the Santiago Bernabéu.  They also made history by beating Real Madrid four consecutive times for the first time ever. 

If you had a doubt as to whom you should have picked, well Tommy Smyth did pick Real Madrid to win handily. The advice I was given was to always pick his opposite.

All of the talk in Madrid during the week led up to this moment. But there were some comments that truly foreshadowed what was about to happen. Jorge Valdano talked about "the possibility" of seeing a repeat of last year's 2-6. CYA?

Then on Saturday, Florentino Pérez spoke and said "It would not be considered a failure if we lose (to Barcelona)". CYA? Although what he said was true, those words should of come out of HIS mouth. But then again his mouth was what got him in trouble in the first place.

They had everything in their court to win. There was just one factor-they had the best team in the world.

Tactical changes
Starting with Pep Guardiola's curve ball, bringing on to the pitch a 4-1-4-1 instead of the usual 4-3-3put Madrid in a tizzy.   Having Dani Alves at midfield, position he will most likely play with Brazil in the World Cup, gave Barcelona more projection on the wings and the ability to open up space for Xavi. 

Madrid did a decent job of frustrating Barcelona in the early stages of the match with Manuel Pellegrini's implementation of the double-five.  There was one factor missing, Fernando Gago is not the appropriate candidate for that position.  He was not the ideal candidate for that job in this match as Sergio Ramos' excursions into the Barcelona half of the pitch there was  potential to see that sector wide open.

With Guardiola's tactical change, Sergio Ramos did not go on the attack as often as he wanted to.

Madrid lost THE MATCHUP
As was mentioned on Friday, the key to winning the match was not how Cristiano Ronaldo did against Lionel Messi.  The key to winning against Barca was based on how Xabi Alonso fared against Xavi.  His job was below average to say the least.  He was too busy hacking and trying to disrupt the Blaugrana passing circuit and did little to generate offense and connect with Rafael Van Der Vaart.

Xavi was brilliant in the first goal as he chipped the ball into the box for Lionel Messi, beating an offside trap that had Dani Alves and Pedro coming back onside.  Messi was unaccounted for as he trapped and shot the ball past Iker Casillas and Barcelona were up 1-0 after 33 minutes.  For Messi it was his 27th of the season and his 40th overall, expanding his lead in the race for the Pichichi and the European Golden Boot.

Great deal of credit has to be given to Maxwell who quickly restarted play.  He saw the Madrid defenders complain to referee Mejuto González about a previous foul and took advantage of the conceded freekick.

In the 55th minute, Xavi saw Pedro Rodríguez check to goal and Álvaro Arbeloa turn the wrong way and he put a millimetric pass to the islander and Barca would see themselves ahead 2-0.  It was Xavi's change of pace was fundamental The minutes leading up to the goal were a clinic in ball possession.  Barcelona had stretches of 30 and 22 consecutive passes weaving around the Madrid half of the pitch.

That was the back breaker for Real Madrid as the opportunities they wasted on Victor Valdés were finding

"This team always exceeds expectations when they are least expected to,"said Josep Guardiola.

"I have no secrets.  I just have a group of players that play for each other and work very hard," said Guardiola in the post-match press conference when an English reporter inquired about his team's penchant to beat the best teams in England and Europe.


The Sweetest Win
If there was a player that had the greatest feeling at the Santiago Bernabéu after the match, it had to be Gabriel Milito.   Back in 2003, Milito as a step away from being transferred over to Real Madrid.  The move was halted after a physical exam reported that he had not recovered from a knee injury.

He would eventually move to Zaragoza, but many in the Argentine and Spanish media mentioned that the last-minute ditching of Milito was a political move against then Merengue sport director Jorge Valdano by Florentino Pérez as he began his preference for "Zidanes over Pavons".  The Madrid president decided to not sign him based on watching just a few seconds of an own goal he scored with Argentina. 

Man of the match
Xavi. Two incredible passes off the foot of the man from Terrassa equalled two goals for Blaugrana.  His difference wasn't seen in just those two passes, it was in the way he was effect in being the team's metronome.

He had all of his senses in top form.  In the last 20 minutes, he was most effective when Andrés Iniesta stepped onto the pitch.  Real Madrid had stretches of five minutes where they did not touch the ball.  

Although Lio Messi was the player that wreaked havoc on Madrid's backline, Xavi untangled the mess in the midfield.  Yet it was not that where he stood out. He was able to overcome the consistent marking and hacking of Xabi Alonso and Fernando Gago to make the true difference in the sector of the pitch that proved to be decisive.

For Madrid, the award had to go to Guti.  His entrance in the second half gave Los Merengues a passing dimension that Rafael van der Vaart and Xabi Alonso failed to create.  You can also give an honorable mention to Iker Casillas, who stoned Lionel Messi twice.  Those saves made the score closer than what it actually was on the pitch.

For Barcelona, it is onward as the schedule remains tough for them.  They will host a slumping Deportivo and then head to Cornellà- El Prat for the first-ever Catalan derby at Espanyol's new stadium- that is if the strike is avoided.    Then it is the Champions league semis against Inter and former Barcelona alum Jose Mourinho and Samuel Eto'o.

Meanwhile Madrid will not get quite over Barca just yet.  They head to Almería and face Pep Guardiola's master- Juanman Lillo and then have a crucial match against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Related Articles

• Genera Noticias: Florentino Pérez: "It's a considered a failure if we lose Saturday"(ESP)
  
• Reuters Latin America: Messi leaves Ronaldo behind (ESP)
  
• La Liga Weekly:  Real Madrid 2.0: Galácticos revisited
  
• The Guardian: Lionel Messi makes a fool of Ronaldo
• NY Times: Barcelona Best Real Madrid
  

Historic Barca strut their stuff in Madrid

Last year, Barcelona were in one of the most embarrassing situations for a professional team that there could be.



To have to escort your arch-rival with an honor guard type of entrance onto their own pitch is beyond humiliation. They then stepped on to the pitch and received a sound thumping. For fans around the world it was anticlimactic. There was nothing being fought over at this stage of the season- only pride- and Barca had little of it by then. That little bit that remained never allowed them to forget that moment and that was part of the reason why it simmered in the minds of these players.

While the press in Madrid clamored for this match expecting the complete capitulation of a team that was no longer battling for first or second place- they were face-to-face with destiny. For Barcelona it was not just a match, it was a moment almost a year in the making for them. Everytime they stepped onto any pitch in the world, they saw the Merengues, they saw that bully and they were getting ready to take them on.

People outside of that intimate circle looked at the next match against Madrid and said, "this could be the one". We all wanted Málaga, Deportivo, Espanyol, Atlético, then Sevilla to knock them off of their torrid win streak so Barcelona could look at bigger things. That was not to happen, and to be honest, that was the way they wanted it. If you want things done right... you have to do them yourself.

The panic lasted three minutes for any Barcelona fan. Gonzalo Higuaín's goal made people uncomfortable; but that was all gone when Thierry Henry answered in almost clinical fashion in front of Iker Casillas. Carles Puyol would then put them ahead, and it was a release of pent up anger that he had. It was a release of pent up anger that all Barcelona fans had. In the 35th minute, Xavi would literally pickpocket Lass Diarra (one of the "promised ones" alongside Julien Faubert and Jan-Klaas Huntelaar that would lead Madrid to the title) and Messi would get the ball and slot it past Iker Casillas.

The rest of the match was a concerto. It was a combination of skill and desire. There was no doubt who wanted it more. If there was one goal that displayed that it was Gerard Piqué's. He was rejected by Casillas, but still had the will to chase the ball down and contort his body so he could shoot the ball and beat an already broken Fabio Cannavaro. It shut people's mouths in the Spanish press that were starting to use terms like "chorreo" (getting the shits), "Villarato" (reference to RFEF president José María Villar and his relationship with Joan Laporta). All of those suppositions of Barca en route to winning the title due to "decree" were silenced. All of those statements and blazing headlines that pointed out preferential treatment by referees because, of course, Fernando Hierro wants Barcelona to win.

All of that was extinguished. All of that ended.

Is payback a bitch? Well ask Real Madrid. They will let you know.


I guess that was the source of inspiration that Manny Pacquiao received on Saturday night when he knocked out Ricky Hatton. Could it symbolic?

Historic Karma, Historic Payback For Barcelona