La Liga Preview: Real Murcia - Real Madrid
What: La Liga, Matchday 13
Who: Real Murcia (13th, 13pts) vs Real Madrid (1st, 28pts)
When: Saturday, 24th November 2007, 2200 CET
Where: Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia
A rapidly improving Real Madrid will be hoping to extend their stay at the top of the table this weekend as they continue in their quest to play attacking football. Murcia may not be in the kind of form to trouble their visitors but they know that their opponents will be could be at a disadvantage after the international break.
Hanging In There
Real Murcia made a bright start in their return to top flight football when they kicked off the campaign with a shock win over Real Zaragoza on the opening day, followed by an admirable draw against Atlético de Madrid two games later, before thumping Real Valladolid 4-1 away from home soon after.
But ever since that resounding win, last season's Segunda División third place finishers have dramatically slumped in form. They have won only once in their last six league games and managed to score just a single goal. Yet despite that abysmal form, Los Pimentoneros are still hovering well above the relegation zone in 13th place, although only a solitary point separates them from Recreativo in 18th.
Coach Lucas Alcaraz admitted that his side have been poor in attack in recent games and against Valencia a fortnight ago, they looked dreadfully out of depth up front, creating precious little to trouble los Ché's backline despite seeing plenty of the ball in midfield.
It was by and large the same old story against Valladolid in the Copa del Rey last week, although Fernando Baiano did manage to end their 270-minute goal drought in the 1-1 draw.
So far, the 40-year-old trainer appears to be happy enough with the way his modest side are progressing in the league and he believes that they will be able to put up a good fight to survive the drop. That may be the case now but there's still a long way to go in the campaign and their minimalist squad will be stretched to the limit as the going gets tough.
Familiar Faces
Unlike the other small teams in the league such as Valladolid, Levante or Almería, Murcia actually have quite a few handy players in their ranks: there's Pablo García and Álvaro Mejía, both formerly of Real Madrid, experienced campaigners Fernando Baiano and Enrique de Lucas, journeyman goalkeeper Fabian Carini and versatile winger Mario Regueiro, who is on-loan from Valencia.
While these are key players who will evidently contribute greatly to the club's main objectives and aspirations, they are all also new summer additions to the squad. As such, it is perhaps no surprise that the team is still struggling to perform consistently and play as a cohesive unit, something that their opponents on Saturday will know about all too well.
International Hoodoo
Real Madrid may indeed finally be starting to gel as a championship-chasing team but, they still had to contend with the inconvenience of the international programme, an break that has often caused headaches and controversy for the big clubs.
Coach Bernd Schuster is certainly not a fan of the congested international calendar - although he has kept mum about the whole issue - and it's not hard to see why. Los Merengues often struggle when the bulk of their players return from national duty with 14 in total having been away this time around.
When the league resumed after the first batch of internationals two months ago, Real had to huff and puff before overcoming newly-promoted Almería 3-1. Then just a month ago, their unbeaten league record came to an end right after the second international break, wearily going down 2-1 at Espanyol. In both cases, the men in white were just about hitting their stride before their star players had to go off to join up with their respective national teams.
The good news though, is that the internationals are now done and dusted, until early February of next year, at least. Schuster can now spend the next two months preparing the team for the hectic and critical midway point of the season where they will have to start firing on all cylinders in three competitions.
Confident Calderón
For now, everything appears to be rosy in the Bernabéu camp. The team has been scoring plenty of goals and they've been improving every week and more importantly, they're still top of the table. There's every reason for a certain air of confidence and self-belief to waft freely around the 'White House'.
So much so, in fact, that president Ramón Calderón believes Madrid will be able to surge a full ten points clear of arch enemies Barcelona by the end of their mouth-watering El Clásico battle in just under 30 days' time. That may be his motivational speech to continue to fire up his troops but the players themselves know they cannot afford to become carried away.
Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín, for one, warned that despite their good form, Murcia must not be taken lightly, especially after having to suffer against the two other newly promoted outfits, Almería and Valladolid earlier in the term.
"Every game against a small team or recently promoted side is always difficult for us," the ex-River Plate starlet told Marca.
"It is necessary to go to Murcia thinking that we are going to confront a very difficult opponent and we will need to fight hard to take the three points."
A player that he could come face to face with that evening is Murcia keeper Antonio Notario, who was equally full of respect for the opposition.
"They have such quality players and with all their International stars, they don't have to toil for a whole match... they can wrap up a game in four minutes."
"But we know that we have an obligation to win at home and please our fans and if we all show effort, we can get a favourable result," the ex-Sevilla keeper said.
And Murcia will definitely fancy those chances against a Madrid side who have lost two of their last three away league games.
FORM GUIDE
Murcia
Real Valladolid - Murcia 1-1 14/11 COPA DEL REY
Valencia - Murcia 3-0 10/11LA LIGA
Murcia - Deportivo La Coruña 0-2 04/11 LA LIGA
Espanyol - Murcia 0-0 01/11 LA LIGA
Murcia - Recreativo Huelva 0-2 28/10 LA LIGA
Real Madrid
Real Madrid - Mallorca 4-3 11/11 LA LIGA
Olympiakos - Real Madrid 0-0 06/11 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Sevilla - Real Madrid 2-0 03/11 LA LIGA
Valencia - Real Madrid 1-5 31/10 LA LIGA
Real Madrid - Deportivo La Coruña 3-1 28/10 LA LIGA
TEAM NEWS
Murcia
Murcia were given special allowance by the Spanish Football Federation to sign a replacement defender for Curro Torres, who will be out of action for the next five months. Xerez fullback David de Coz has been brought into the squad and could well make his debut against Madrid.
The club made another priceless signing in midweek when they secured the services of Brazilian attacking midfielder Rosinei Adolfo from Corinthians, although the 24-year-old will have to wait until the January transfer window before being registered into the squad.
French defender Stephane Pignol continues to be sidelined with a long term foot injury, while midfield hardman Pablo García is out for two weeks after sustaining a training injury prior to Uruguay's World Cup qualifiers last week. Abel Gómez will be the most likely deputy in his absence.
Winger Mario Regueiro and rightback Álvaro Mejía, meanwhile, are both suspended after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season in the 3-0 loss at Valencia.
Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Notario - De Coz, Arzo, Ochoa, Peña - De Lucas, Abel, Movilla, Jofre - Alonso (c), Baiano
Real Madrid
Key figures Guti and Sergio Ramos are both back from suspension. The young Spanish right-back's return, in particular, will be a much welcomed sight after his teammates leaked three goals against Mallorca two weeks ago.
There's more good news for Madrid in defence. Pepe made a successful return to the pitch in midweek for Portugal and he'll be challenging to dislodge the Metzelder-Cannavaro partnership. Gabriel Heinze meanwhile, who picked up a knock while on duty with Argentina, has shrugged off the niggle and is again available for selection.
Wing-wizard Arjen Robben was earmarked for a comeback in this game after completing rehabilitation on his torn thigh muscle and he could be given a cameo role at some stage of the match if all goes as planned. His countryman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was deemed doubtful earlier in the week after picking up a mild injury with the Oranje, has himself made a full recovery and should recommence his role in spearheading the attack.
Probable Starting XI (4-1-3-2): Casillas - Sergio Ramos, Metzelder/Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo - Diarra - Sneijder, Guti, Robinho - Raúl (c), van Nistelrooy
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Murcia - Fernando Baiano
Although not as famous as the other Brazilian hotshots in La Liga, the 28-year-old former Celta Vigo forward is a proven goalscorer no matter who he plays for. He is the team's current leading scorer, albeit with just two goals, but then again collectively, Alcaraz's side have only managed eight in total so far after 12 rounds. Any hopes of Murcia ending their La Liga goal drought will rest on his shoulders.
Real Madrid - Robinho
No surprises as to who Real's key player is. The boy wonder isn't only firing in the goals consistently now but he's also playing some sumptuous football. And with a smile, too. This may well be the season where the 23-year-old come of age as he takes the leap from being a great player to a world class footballer.
PREDICTION
It's always difficult to forecast Real Madrid's result straight after the International break. Add to that, Schuster and his boys will have one eye on the midweek Champions League encounter at Werder Bremen, where they could effectively seal qualification to the next round with a game to spare.
Murcia's game plan will undoubtedly be to suffocate their opponents in defence and then hit them on the break. This could be another one of those games where Los Blancos are forced to grind out a result.
Murcia 0-2 Real Madrid
KS Leong
What: La Liga, Matchday 13
Who: Real Murcia (13th, 13pts) vs Real Madrid (1st, 28pts)
When: Saturday, 24th November 2007, 2200 CET
Where: Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia
A rapidly improving Real Madrid will be hoping to extend their stay at the top of the table this weekend as they continue in their quest to play attacking football. Murcia may not be in the kind of form to trouble their visitors but they know that their opponents will be could be at a disadvantage after the international break.
Hanging In There
Real Murcia made a bright start in their return to top flight football when they kicked off the campaign with a shock win over Real Zaragoza on the opening day, followed by an admirable draw against Atlético de Madrid two games later, before thumping Real Valladolid 4-1 away from home soon after.
But ever since that resounding win, last season's Segunda División third place finishers have dramatically slumped in form. They have won only once in their last six league games and managed to score just a single goal. Yet despite that abysmal form, Los Pimentoneros are still hovering well above the relegation zone in 13th place, although only a solitary point separates them from Recreativo in 18th.
Coach Lucas Alcaraz admitted that his side have been poor in attack in recent games and against Valencia a fortnight ago, they looked dreadfully out of depth up front, creating precious little to trouble los Ché's backline despite seeing plenty of the ball in midfield.
It was by and large the same old story against Valladolid in the Copa del Rey last week, although Fernando Baiano did manage to end their 270-minute goal drought in the 1-1 draw.
So far, the 40-year-old trainer appears to be happy enough with the way his modest side are progressing in the league and he believes that they will be able to put up a good fight to survive the drop. That may be the case now but there's still a long way to go in the campaign and their minimalist squad will be stretched to the limit as the going gets tough.
Familiar Faces
Unlike the other small teams in the league such as Valladolid, Levante or Almería, Murcia actually have quite a few handy players in their ranks: there's Pablo García and Álvaro Mejía, both formerly of Real Madrid, experienced campaigners Fernando Baiano and Enrique de Lucas, journeyman goalkeeper Fabian Carini and versatile winger Mario Regueiro, who is on-loan from Valencia.
While these are key players who will evidently contribute greatly to the club's main objectives and aspirations, they are all also new summer additions to the squad. As such, it is perhaps no surprise that the team is still struggling to perform consistently and play as a cohesive unit, something that their opponents on Saturday will know about all too well.
International Hoodoo
Real Madrid may indeed finally be starting to gel as a championship-chasing team but, they still had to contend with the inconvenience of the international programme, an break that has often caused headaches and controversy for the big clubs.
Coach Bernd Schuster is certainly not a fan of the congested international calendar - although he has kept mum about the whole issue - and it's not hard to see why. Los Merengues often struggle when the bulk of their players return from national duty with 14 in total having been away this time around.
When the league resumed after the first batch of internationals two months ago, Real had to huff and puff before overcoming newly-promoted Almería 3-1. Then just a month ago, their unbeaten league record came to an end right after the second international break, wearily going down 2-1 at Espanyol. In both cases, the men in white were just about hitting their stride before their star players had to go off to join up with their respective national teams.
The good news though, is that the internationals are now done and dusted, until early February of next year, at least. Schuster can now spend the next two months preparing the team for the hectic and critical midway point of the season where they will have to start firing on all cylinders in three competitions.
Confident Calderón
For now, everything appears to be rosy in the Bernabéu camp. The team has been scoring plenty of goals and they've been improving every week and more importantly, they're still top of the table. There's every reason for a certain air of confidence and self-belief to waft freely around the 'White House'.
So much so, in fact, that president Ramón Calderón believes Madrid will be able to surge a full ten points clear of arch enemies Barcelona by the end of their mouth-watering El Clásico battle in just under 30 days' time. That may be his motivational speech to continue to fire up his troops but the players themselves know they cannot afford to become carried away.
Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín, for one, warned that despite their good form, Murcia must not be taken lightly, especially after having to suffer against the two other newly promoted outfits, Almería and Valladolid earlier in the term.
"Every game against a small team or recently promoted side is always difficult for us," the ex-River Plate starlet told Marca.
"It is necessary to go to Murcia thinking that we are going to confront a very difficult opponent and we will need to fight hard to take the three points."
A player that he could come face to face with that evening is Murcia keeper Antonio Notario, who was equally full of respect for the opposition.
"They have such quality players and with all their International stars, they don't have to toil for a whole match... they can wrap up a game in four minutes."
"But we know that we have an obligation to win at home and please our fans and if we all show effort, we can get a favourable result," the ex-Sevilla keeper said.
And Murcia will definitely fancy those chances against a Madrid side who have lost two of their last three away league games.
FORM GUIDE
Murcia
Real Valladolid - Murcia 1-1 14/11 COPA DEL REY
Valencia - Murcia 3-0 10/11LA LIGA
Murcia - Deportivo La Coruña 0-2 04/11 LA LIGA
Espanyol - Murcia 0-0 01/11 LA LIGA
Murcia - Recreativo Huelva 0-2 28/10 LA LIGA
Real Madrid
Real Madrid - Mallorca 4-3 11/11 LA LIGA
Olympiakos - Real Madrid 0-0 06/11 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Sevilla - Real Madrid 2-0 03/11 LA LIGA
Valencia - Real Madrid 1-5 31/10 LA LIGA
Real Madrid - Deportivo La Coruña 3-1 28/10 LA LIGA
TEAM NEWS
Murcia
Murcia were given special allowance by the Spanish Football Federation to sign a replacement defender for Curro Torres, who will be out of action for the next five months. Xerez fullback David de Coz has been brought into the squad and could well make his debut against Madrid.
The club made another priceless signing in midweek when they secured the services of Brazilian attacking midfielder Rosinei Adolfo from Corinthians, although the 24-year-old will have to wait until the January transfer window before being registered into the squad.
French defender Stephane Pignol continues to be sidelined with a long term foot injury, while midfield hardman Pablo García is out for two weeks after sustaining a training injury prior to Uruguay's World Cup qualifiers last week. Abel Gómez will be the most likely deputy in his absence.
Winger Mario Regueiro and rightback Álvaro Mejía, meanwhile, are both suspended after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season in the 3-0 loss at Valencia.
Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Notario - De Coz, Arzo, Ochoa, Peña - De Lucas, Abel, Movilla, Jofre - Alonso (c), Baiano
Real Madrid
Key figures Guti and Sergio Ramos are both back from suspension. The young Spanish right-back's return, in particular, will be a much welcomed sight after his teammates leaked three goals against Mallorca two weeks ago.
There's more good news for Madrid in defence. Pepe made a successful return to the pitch in midweek for Portugal and he'll be challenging to dislodge the Metzelder-Cannavaro partnership. Gabriel Heinze meanwhile, who picked up a knock while on duty with Argentina, has shrugged off the niggle and is again available for selection.
Wing-wizard Arjen Robben was earmarked for a comeback in this game after completing rehabilitation on his torn thigh muscle and he could be given a cameo role at some stage of the match if all goes as planned. His countryman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was deemed doubtful earlier in the week after picking up a mild injury with the Oranje, has himself made a full recovery and should recommence his role in spearheading the attack.
Probable Starting XI (4-1-3-2): Casillas - Sergio Ramos, Metzelder/Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo - Diarra - Sneijder, Guti, Robinho - Raúl (c), van Nistelrooy
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Murcia - Fernando Baiano
Although not as famous as the other Brazilian hotshots in La Liga, the 28-year-old former Celta Vigo forward is a proven goalscorer no matter who he plays for. He is the team's current leading scorer, albeit with just two goals, but then again collectively, Alcaraz's side have only managed eight in total so far after 12 rounds. Any hopes of Murcia ending their La Liga goal drought will rest on his shoulders.
Real Madrid - Robinho
No surprises as to who Real's key player is. The boy wonder isn't only firing in the goals consistently now but he's also playing some sumptuous football. And with a smile, too. This may well be the season where the 23-year-old come of age as he takes the leap from being a great player to a world class footballer.
PREDICTION
It's always difficult to forecast Real Madrid's result straight after the International break. Add to that, Schuster and his boys will have one eye on the midweek Champions League encounter at Werder Bremen, where they could effectively seal qualification to the next round with a game to spare.
Murcia's game plan will undoubtedly be to suffocate their opponents in defence and then hit them on the break. This could be another one of those games where Los Blancos are forced to grind out a result.
Murcia 0-2 Real Madrid
KS Leong
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