It is a discreditable way to win

The neutral s and especially the Real Madrid fans, would feel that Real Madrid were denied of an equal chance and lost to Barcelona in yesterdays Champions League Semi final first leg mainly due to the mistake of the Referee. The one brainless decision to straight away red card Pepe for a non malicious ordinary foul virtually sealed the match and in most probability the Semi final. The same thought was expressed by Jose Mourinho the Real Madrid Coach, who said "Obviously in the return leg it's a very difficult mission, It's not very difficult, it's impossible.”

The people who saw the match yesterday will know that even if Barcelona played the better football they never ever looked threatening as long as it was 11 on 11, and would have struggled to score even a single goal. It was interesting to note that the very famous Barcelona players were great play actors and tried to get extra punishment by holding their faces when they did not even get a touch any where near their face (Pedro and Puyol are best actors whose performance is still very vivid in my memory). So it was hardly surprising when the red card was finally shown, it was like the Barcelona players had just won the Oscars.

I have two questions to ask one is why do we have these referees for such an important game? And secondly, why does this always happen to opponents of Barcelona, especially in key matches?

Sure it can not be coincidence, and like Jose mourinho said this is not the way a great team like Barcelona should make it to the final, if they make the final and win it, it would be a shame. This match was rightly called the ‘Scandal of the Bernabeu’ and brings into memory Barcelona’s infamous win against Chelsea, who were denied multiple penalty claims, before losing in the semi final, which eventually Barcelona won.

It is a pity that such a great team like Barcelona, needs these favourable decisions to win the key matches especially in the Champions League.

Ron donning the ‘Real’ Colors

80 Million Pounds is a lot of money, and if Real Madrid is paying so much for Christiano Ronaldo, they mean serious business. It may not be coincidence that both football and business are more often linked together these days. Real Madrid’s pitiable showing last season and the outstanding game showcased by Barcelona may be some of the key reasons for the signing apart from the apparent compulsive nature of Perez.

The last season was major success for both Barcelona and United, and having players like Messi and Ronaldo have done wonders for the popularity of their clubs. In football sometimes the players are admired more then club, probably it is because people are able to relate more easily to individuals. It was quite obvious that there were not too many neutrals passionate to see Madrid play last season. This time around with Kaka and Ronaldo, that is definitely going to change, winning or losing comes next, real has won even before the ball can be kicked. It will certainly not be a surprise if I, a Chelsea fan, find time to see more Real Madrid matches the coming season. This in all probability is the most valuable reason for Madrid buying the two star players.

But, whether the next season will be success for real Madrid in terms of trophies will be anyone’s guess, because you need a team to succeed, and quite definitely the club has a big concern in the defense, with Cannavaro, moving on to home terrain, and also the lack of a quality holding midfielder may create enough vaccum for good teams to exploit.

Now for the million dollar question, “will he succeed in the Real Jersey?” I think he will, he needs a good team to come good, that will be assured now, thanks to his and Kaka’s acquisition, which will also be an incentive for other good players to join their team.