Real Madrid walking out at Camp Nou, as they will on Saturday, is one of the great moments in world sport. From the moment their players enter the arena for a warm-up to boos from all but 200 of the 98,600 fans, to when they walk out of the tunnel proper, insults fly. No matter how bad Madrid's form, their players always pull off a self-confident swagger in their brilliant white shirts. Even Xavi, an embodiment of recent Barcelona brilliance and a man seen as a future manager, used to respect Madrid's self-assurance.
“Madrid have their system and there are some things I actually envy: their optimism, that cockiness they have that allows them to tell you with absolute conviction: ‘We. Are. Going. To. Beat. You’,” he said. “But they don’t!”
Barca have been Spain’s pre-eminent side the past decade, but, as Gerard Pique, the man all Madrid fans love to hate, readily admits, Real Madrid are the best in Spain right now, enjoying a 30 game unbeaten run. Given that they have had to overcome considerable injury problems, it is an incredible statistic.
If the league had started when Zinedine Zidane took over in February, they would be 10 points clear of Barca and 15 ahead of Atletico Madrid. They have won the Uefa Champions League along the way and they will compete to be crowned world champions once again next month in Japan.
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If Madrid repeat last season’s success and win Saturday’s clasico away, they will move nine points clear of the Catalans after only 14 games played. Already nine points clear of neighbours Atletico, who were top of the league and considered genuine title contenders six weeks ago, things have never looked better in recent times for Madrid. They have never looked worse for Barcelona.
Barca’s decline is a slow one. There are no knee-jerk reactions of the type after they lost a single game to Real Sociedad in January 2015. Despite rabid headlines and the dismissal of their sporting director, they were not in crisis then and won the league and the Champions League within months. Now, the sheen of the club appears to be slowly peeling off, layer by layer. Pique reckons it is about attitude; manager Luis Enrique doesn’t.
When Barca managed a fortunate draw against Real Sociedad on Sunday, few were surprised. The Basques get the better of Barca almost every time they play in San Sebastian. There appears to be no real logic to it. How can a mid-table team beat the best team in the world almost every time they play? But on Sunday it was expected. A year after David Moyes departed, La Real, managed by former Barcelona B team manager Eusebio Sacristan, are Spain's in-form team and sit fifth in the table. Enrique conceded that they were the first team to outclass his side since he took over two and a half seasons ago. They attack, they graft, they are a revelation, as exciting as in 2013/14 when they qualified for the Champions League.
Barca are still the champions of Spain and, in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, boast three of the world's top footballers, though Suarez has stopped scoring. Messi rescued a point in Anoeta and will help win such games again, but Barca are flat. They have been limp at home, losing to promoted Alaves, labouring at bottom side Granada and were held by mid-table Malaga. Their summer signings have yet to convince and no matter what they say, can players who have won everything retain the same hunger to win more? Sergio Busquets, the best player in the world in his position, has been consistently mediocre in his usually peerless passing this season.
“They lack intensity, a problem for the whole group,” said former player Victor Munoz. “The eight signings are not first-team starters,” according to Josep Maria Minguella, a former candidate for Barca’s presidency.
The Catalans have proved doubters wrong before. Criticism has emboldened them and provoked them to greater brilliance. They have a chance to show what they are capable of against their greatest foes on Saturday. Andres Iniesta is expected back from injury and he is one midfielder who helps give Barca their style and who can make a difference. But even if Barca can raise their game, it will be some achievement to break Madrid’s magnificent run.
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Las Palmas’ future as bright as the Gran Canarian sun
You are unlikely to see a better goal in Spain last week than Jonathan Viera’s for Las Palmas in Monday’s 3-1 home victory over Athletic Bilbao. The local boy, 27, ran onto a ball from inside his own half and, under pressure from an opposing defender, chipped the Basque goalkeeper Urko Vera from 25 yards.
Las Palmas are 10th in the Primera Liga and have a healthy number of players born on their home island of Gran Canaria which has produced prodigious talents such as David Silva, Juan Carlos Valeron, Jese, Ruben Castro, Sandro Ramirez and Manuel Pablo.
Their best two players against Athletic were Viera, who wears the shirt vacated by Valeron, and Tana, another islander who has been promoted to become a regular starter under manager Quique Setien. Fifthteen of their first-team squad were born on Gran Canaria.
The island of 800,000 is known for producing talented players and Spain’s biggest clubs watch them carefully. Barcelona took Sandro from there when he was 14. Jese joined Real Madrid at the same age.
The future for Las Palmas looks as bright as the Canarian sun which attracts year-round holidaymakers from northern Europe. Their B team, which is stocked with young professionals in their teens, are top of the regional third division. B team manager Manolo Marquez is assisted by Valeron. Setien is from Spain’s north coast, and the first team bear his hallmark. He once said that Valeron was so good a player that watching him would bring a tear to his eyes.
It is the healthiest that the club have looked for years. Twentieth in the all time Spanish league table – seven places ahead of their main rivals who take the name from the neighbouring Canary Island of Tenerife – Las Palmas have spent as much time outside the top division as they have in it. Las Palmas were in Spain’s second division from 2002-15 when they were promoted, thanks to the help of gifted playmaker Valeron, who returned for one final season at the age of 40 and played the final of his 760 games there. Last season’s 11th-place finish was the most impressive of all the promoted teams. This season, after three weeks they even topped La Liga for the first time in their history.
That is some achievement, as Union Deportiva Las Palmas are not a huge club. Their average home crowd of 19,643 last season was disappointing, especially rattling round in their 32,000-seater home which was opened in 2003 and has never been as loved as their old inner city Estadio Insular. At least the running track has been covered by seats, which bring fans closer to the field.
Those fans see a team who work hard but entertain, too. They are joint-fourth top scorers in La Liga along with Sevilla. They concede plenty, but as Setien, a distinguished chess player, has long attested, football should be fun. It is at Las Palmas.
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Game of the week
There can only be one: El clasico. But there are other exciting games in Spain this weekend: an Andalusian derby between Granada and Sevilla, plus a Basque derby between Athletic Bilbao and Eibar. They are seventh and eighth. Las Palmas travel to Alaves. Real Sociedad are at Deportivo La Coruna.
Players of the week
Malaga’s front two of Michael Santos and Sandro Ramirez were outstanding in the 4-3 win against Deportivo La Coruna in a rare Andalusian rain shower. Santos scored two, Sandro one, as they came from behind to lead 3-1. Depor pulled the score back to 3-3, when substitute Javi Ontiveros scored a stunning 92nd-minute winner. He was exceptional, too.
What else?
Valencia lost again and have only three wins from 13 league matches. Spain’s fourth biggest team are two points off the relegation zone. Sevilla, the team who beat them 2-1, remain third and level on points with Barcelona.
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