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Men Of La Mancha: Red Scare
If the Spanish press is to believed, Manuel Pellegrini saved his job on Saturday with Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Getafe. David Mosse discusses the match before recapping all of La Liga.
Nov 2, 2009 2:16:02 AM
It is amazing how the fate of a manager can be determined by the result of one match, especially when games are so often decided by unpredictable events no manager can plan for. Unpredictable events like a referee completely butchering the interpretation of a rule and wrongfully sending off a player before the half-hour mark.
Mateu Lahoz's dismissal of Raul Albiol simply defied credulity. I'm not even sure the Madrid defender committed a foul on the play, as he and Roberto Soldado were grabbing each other. It certainly didn't constitute a clear scoring opportunity. Not for Soldado anyway. I know the quality of the attacking player isn't supposed to factor in to these decisions, but it does make certain calls feel even worse.
In any event, the incident actually had a positive affect on Madrid, galvanizing both the players and the fans at the Bernabeu. Kaka and Karim Benzema played better than they have in weeks, and Iker Casillas snapped out of his mini-funk, coming up with a number of big saves. But the player who made the difference was Gonzalo Higuain, who supplied both goals early in the second half.
After scoring 22 times in La Liga last season, Higuain has been marginalized with the arrival of the galacticos. That shouldn't be the case any longer, as Pellegrini seems to have found a home for the Argentine on the right side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kaka playing in the middle and (Marcelo for now, but eventually) Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. The three players will have the freedom to move around quite a bit and switch places throughout a game.
Such an arrangement means one out-and-out striker. Pellegrini pulled a stunner on Saturday by leaving Raul out of the lineup in favor of Benzema. Choosing between those two each week will likely be his toughest decision. And just imagine if enough Madrid fans remember that Ruud van Nistelrooy is still on this team. The Chilean's head might explode.
Madrid moved to within a point of Barcelona, as the Catalans let one slip away that appeared to be in the back pocket. Leading Osasuna 1-0 in stoppage time -- thanks to another goal from midfielder Seydou Keita, his fourth in two games -- Barcelona looked much closer to a second than the home side did an equalizer. But a moment of madness from the defense proved costly.
First, Rafa Marquez was pushed off the ball far too easily by Osasuna striker Javier Camunas. The Mexican is on the verge of signing a new deal with the club, so Barcelona fans can look forward to this sort of defending for a few more years. Camunas then sent a teasing cross into the area, and Gerard Pique clumsily turn it into his own net with just seconds remaining.
The champions lacked some of their usual fluidity, which always seems to be the case when Pep Guardiola dispatches Andres Iniesta to the left wing, leaving Xavi as the only creative force in the midfield. Fortunately, Thierry Henry, the best player in the world according to something called the Castrol rankings, should be back this week.
Elsewhere, Quique Flores didn't have much luck in his league debut, as Atletico Madrid hit the post three times in a 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Sevilla and Valencia picked up hard fought victories on the road to maintain their Champions League places, while suddenly surging Villarreal made it two in a row with a 5-0 demolition of Tenerife at the Madrigal.
Tilting at Windmills (Barcelona vs. Madrid referee report card)
The Albiol sending off was an absolute disgrace, but before anyone starts screaming Villarato, Barcelona was victimized by a similarly bad call the other way. In the 68th minute, Zlatan Ibrahimovic pounced on a loose ball after a poor touch by defender Miguel Flano. Ibrahimovic would have been through on goal, but was chopped down by Flano.
To the amazement of Barcelona's players, referee Rubinos Perez didn't even whistle for a foul, which is a good thing for Flano because Perez would've had no choice but to pull out a red card. Not a good weekend for referees in Spain. Maybe they've been watching too much baseball.
Don Quixote (Player of the Round) – Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid
Its been a difficult couple of months for the 21-year-old, but Higuain was given a golden opportunity to prove his worth on Saturday, and he delivered. Not surprising to anyone who followed Madrid last season, as time and time again, he bailed out the team with important goals. His two strikes against Getafe may well have turned around this campaign.
Amazing to think that early on in his Madrid career, Higuain's only weakness was a lack of composure in front of goal. He is now among the most clinical finishers in Spain, which coupled with an incredible flair for the dramatic, should make him an indispensable player for the remainder of the season. Florentino Perez already had a galactico, and just didn't know it.
The Impossible Dream (Goal of the Round) – Haris Medunjanin, Valladolid
Valladolid midfielder Haris Medunjanin would seem an unlikely candidate to claim this honor two weeks in a row, but the Bosnian came off the bench once again to score a fantastic goal. Last time around, he capped off a 4-0 rout of Deportivo with a lovely chip, but this week his magical left foot actually salvaged a point for Valladolid.
Trailing Espanyol 1-0 in the dying moments, Medunjanin picked up a ball in the edge of the area and fired a rocket past Carlos Kameni. His strike actually canceled out another contender for goal of the week by Espanyol's Luis Garcia. Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo also scored a peach in the win over Xerez.
Sancho Panza (Unsung Hero of the Round) – Tono, Racing
Perhaps an odd choice, but Racing goalkeeper Tono made some incredible saves in a 1-0 loss to Mallorca, preventing a more lopsided scoreline. He stopped a close-range shot from striker Victor and twice denied hugely impressive right back Felipe Mattioni.
Mallorca did have a goal incorrectly disallowed in yet another refereeing mistake, but still came away with a fifth consecutive victory at home. Gregorio Manzano's side, the surprise package in the league thus far, has allowed only one goal in 450 minutes at the Ono Estadi, and occupies the fifth spot in the standings, just one point out of a Champions League position.
Rocinante (Goat of the Round) – Daniel Aranzubia, Deportivo
Deportivo probably should have been ahead by more than one goal, as it squandered plenty of opportunities in the first half, but goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia must shoulder some of the blame for the 1-1 draw at home against Sporting Gijon. Only Aranzubia knows what he was doing on the play that resulted in the Sporting equalizer.
Aranzubia had no choice but to come charging out when striker Diego Castro latched on to a through ball and was clear on goal. But he inexplicably slid right past the ball, leaving Castro an open net for an easy finish. After winning four in a row, Deportivo is winless in its last two.
Miguel Cervantes (Quote of the weekend)
“The newspapers have brought up the names of some great managers, but we are happy with Pellegrini and convinced he will finish the season positively.”
– Real Madrid president Florentino Perez gives his manager a vote of confidence in his own interesting way.
David Mosse, Goal.com
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
Mateu Lahoz's dismissal of Raul Albiol simply defied credulity. I'm not even sure the Madrid defender committed a foul on the play, as he and Roberto Soldado were grabbing each other. It certainly didn't constitute a clear scoring opportunity. Not for Soldado anyway. I know the quality of the attacking player isn't supposed to factor in to these decisions, but it does make certain calls feel even worse.
In any event, the incident actually had a positive affect on Madrid, galvanizing both the players and the fans at the Bernabeu. Kaka and Karim Benzema played better than they have in weeks, and Iker Casillas snapped out of his mini-funk, coming up with a number of big saves. But the player who made the difference was Gonzalo Higuain, who supplied both goals early in the second half.
After scoring 22 times in La Liga last season, Higuain has been marginalized with the arrival of the galacticos. That shouldn't be the case any longer, as Pellegrini seems to have found a home for the Argentine on the right side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kaka playing in the middle and (Marcelo for now, but eventually) Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. The three players will have the freedom to move around quite a bit and switch places throughout a game.
Such an arrangement means one out-and-out striker. Pellegrini pulled a stunner on Saturday by leaving Raul out of the lineup in favor of Benzema. Choosing between those two each week will likely be his toughest decision. And just imagine if enough Madrid fans remember that Ruud van Nistelrooy is still on this team. The Chilean's head might explode.
Madrid moved to within a point of Barcelona, as the Catalans let one slip away that appeared to be in the back pocket. Leading Osasuna 1-0 in stoppage time -- thanks to another goal from midfielder Seydou Keita, his fourth in two games -- Barcelona looked much closer to a second than the home side did an equalizer. But a moment of madness from the defense proved costly.
 |
The champions lacked some of their usual fluidity, which always seems to be the case when Pep Guardiola dispatches Andres Iniesta to the left wing, leaving Xavi as the only creative force in the midfield. Fortunately, Thierry Henry, the best player in the world according to something called the Castrol rankings, should be back this week.
Elsewhere, Quique Flores didn't have much luck in his league debut, as Atletico Madrid hit the post three times in a 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Sevilla and Valencia picked up hard fought victories on the road to maintain their Champions League places, while suddenly surging Villarreal made it two in a row with a 5-0 demolition of Tenerife at the Madrigal.
Tilting at Windmills (Barcelona vs. Madrid referee report card)
The Albiol sending off was an absolute disgrace, but before anyone starts screaming Villarato, Barcelona was victimized by a similarly bad call the other way. In the 68th minute, Zlatan Ibrahimovic pounced on a loose ball after a poor touch by defender Miguel Flano. Ibrahimovic would have been through on goal, but was chopped down by Flano.
To the amazement of Barcelona's players, referee Rubinos Perez didn't even whistle for a foul, which is a good thing for Flano because Perez would've had no choice but to pull out a red card. Not a good weekend for referees in Spain. Maybe they've been watching too much baseball.
Don Quixote (Player of the Round) – Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid
Its been a difficult couple of months for the 21-year-old, but Higuain was given a golden opportunity to prove his worth on Saturday, and he delivered. Not surprising to anyone who followed Madrid last season, as time and time again, he bailed out the team with important goals. His two strikes against Getafe may well have turned around this campaign.
 |
The Impossible Dream (Goal of the Round) – Haris Medunjanin, Valladolid
 |
Trailing Espanyol 1-0 in the dying moments, Medunjanin picked up a ball in the edge of the area and fired a rocket past Carlos Kameni. His strike actually canceled out another contender for goal of the week by Espanyol's Luis Garcia. Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo also scored a peach in the win over Xerez.
Sancho Panza (Unsung Hero of the Round) – Tono, Racing
Perhaps an odd choice, but Racing goalkeeper Tono made some incredible saves in a 1-0 loss to Mallorca, preventing a more lopsided scoreline. He stopped a close-range shot from striker Victor and twice denied hugely impressive right back Felipe Mattioni.
Mallorca did have a goal incorrectly disallowed in yet another refereeing mistake, but still came away with a fifth consecutive victory at home. Gregorio Manzano's side, the surprise package in the league thus far, has allowed only one goal in 450 minutes at the Ono Estadi, and occupies the fifth spot in the standings, just one point out of a Champions League position.
 |
Deportivo probably should have been ahead by more than one goal, as it squandered plenty of opportunities in the first half, but goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia must shoulder some of the blame for the 1-1 draw at home against Sporting Gijon. Only Aranzubia knows what he was doing on the play that resulted in the Sporting equalizer.
Aranzubia had no choice but to come charging out when striker Diego Castro latched on to a through ball and was clear on goal. But he inexplicably slid right past the ball, leaving Castro an open net for an easy finish. After winning four in a row, Deportivo is winless in its last two.
Miguel Cervantes (Quote of the weekend)
“The newspapers have brought up the names of some great managers, but we are happy with Pellegrini and convinced he will finish the season positively.”
– Real Madrid president Florentino Perez gives his manager a vote of confidence in his own interesting way.
David Mosse, Goal.com
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
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