The holiday bells are ringing, and Spanish fans are singing, there’s only two days to go, ‘til El Clasico, Clasico, Clasico.
Ahem…
Bad Christmas caroling notwithstanding, this week’s Top Five is in full holiday mode, as the soccer calendar draws closer and closer to a much-anticiapted Real Madrid-Barcelona clash, Bristol City stars in this year’s holiday miracle, Carlos Vela’s European career ends in poetic fashion, and Peru receives a World Cup-sized gift.
Relax by the fireplace, get yourself a delicious warm beverage, and join us as 90 Minutes presents the latest edition of the Top Five.
1. A Christmas Classic-o
Soccer Santa is treating us to a very special gift under our trees, a couple of days before the real Santa does his yearly thing.
This Saturday the 23rd is the day circled in everyone’s La Liga calendar.
El Clasico is here.
The first of two Real Madrid-Barcelona brings two teams seemingly in good form. Barcelona will visit the Santiago Bernabeu with a cushy six point lead atop the table, and a commanding 11 point gap over their bitter rivals, and unbeaten in all competitions since losing both Spanish Super Cup matches to…Real Madrid. Lionel Messi is still Lionel Messi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is having a career season, Luis Suarez broke out of his scoring malaise, and players like Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, and Ivan Rakitic will be 100 per cent available on Saturday. Ernesto Valverde’s side has continued its evolution from the tiki-taka days into a more structured, tactically focused team that is very different from that dull, almost powerless Spanish Super Cup team.
While Barcelona’s season has been consistent, at least from a results standpoint, Real Madrid’s has been more of a roller coaster than many expected from the reigning Spanish and European champions. Zinedine Zidane’s squad didn’t stop collecting gold, though, winning the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and more recently, the FIFA Cup World Cup. Their form has been less than consistent in league play, showcasing their offensive firepower some weeks, and putting forth some defensive disasters in others. Part of the dips in form are due to the individual dips for backbone pieces like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro, in addition to Cristiano Ronaldo’s severe drop in goal production (only four goal in La Liga thus far).
But if there’s something to keep in mind as the first whistle draws near, is that rivalry games are a breed of their own, and records go out the window. This a matchup of two teams who step up in the spotlight. But the key factor coming into Saturday is the distribution of pressure. Real Madrid is the team trailing in the standings, playing at home, with the obligation to win, while Barcelona has the opportunity -not the obligation- to delivery a killer blow to its biggest rival, and the intrinsic pressure of beating them for bragging rights.
2. Miracle at Ashton Gate
Ah, you gotta love a good lower-tier Cinderella domestic cup story.
Unless, of course, you’re a Manchester United fan.
This time, the protagonist of the latest magic cup story is Bristol City, who pulled off a dramatic, last-minute upset of the defending champions Red Devils in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter final clash. How does a world-class (?) team, managed by a world-class (?) tactician suffer such an improbable upset? By providing another one of those lethargic, lackluster efforts that has killed their chances at the Premier League. Jose Mourinho threw around the idea of luck being involved, while at the same time suggesting some of his players did not show up at all. At this point of the season, and with the Manchester Derby dust up still hanging in the minds of everyone, Mourinho’s book of excuses is running short of options. If this loss isn’t a wake up call to him and his uber-rich squad, Wednesday could be looked at the beginning of the end of the Mourinho era.
But this isn’t all just about Manchester United. On the other side, there’s a humble second-tier team that took full advantage of Goliath’s complacency to springboard into the English spotlight, creating the kind of post-match scenes that put a smile on any who loves a good underdog story. The road won’t get any easier, however, for the Robins, as the almighty and ever-powerful Manchester City await in the semi finals.
3. Storybook end
More Top Picks Wakeboard
Amidst a sea of Carabao Cup, German Cup, and Ligue 1 matches, La Liga provided quite the poetic story for everyone to talk about.
Real Sociedad hosted Sevilla in what looked on paper to be just another league fixture. For the fans in San Sebastian, it was the sending off of one of its loved figures of the last few seasons: Carlos Vela. The Mexican winger played his final match for Real Sociedad on Wednesday, and the club spared no demonstrations of love and appreciation, despite him not being in the starting XI. But perhaps that simple fact was the ideal set up for what would come in the 90th minute. Vela was sent onto the pitch with 12 minutes left, and the Basques leading Sevilla 2-1. After receiving a thunderous round of applause on his way in, Vela proceeded to bookend his European stint with the goal that would seal his team’s victory as time expired, providing the perfect conclusion to a perfect night for the Mexican player.
Vela, who once upon a time was an Arsenal prospect on his way to conquering the European soccer elite, leaves behind a legacy of sporadic brilliance and unfulfilled potential, mostly due to a lack of passion and fire for the game that made his Arsenal stint a very short and forgettable one. The next chapter of his career will be written on this side of the world, as the 28-year-old is expected to lead Major League Soccer’s newest franchise, Los Angeles FC.
4. A Peruvian warrior is Russia-bound
One of the most memorable scenes from Peru’s long-awaited qualification to the World Cup was the homage paid to its captain and idol, Paolo Guerrero.
Why the homage? Guerrero, who led Peru all the way through the tough South American qualification campaign, had been provisionally suspended by FIFA while it investigated a positive result stemming from a doping test after the qualifying game in Argentina. Days later, FIFA made the decision all Peruvians feared and dreaded: Guerrero was banned from international competition for one year due to that positive test result, thus rendering the 33-year-old without the possibility of playing in the World Cup next summer. But Guerrero would not be denied, as he and attorney Pedro Frida appealed the ban, with the hopes of his client and millions of Peruvians hanging to one more shot at redemption. On Wednesday, Guerrero’s and Frida’s last-gasp attempt paid off, as FIFA reduced the ban to six months, reopening the possibility for Peru’s warrior to lead his country in their first World Cup appearance in 36 years.
France, Australia, and Denmark beware. A Peruvian warrior will be loose in Russia.
5. Cavani’s heel turn
No, Edinson Cavani did not turn into a hated bad guy in Paris à la WWE.
Instead, the Uruguayan striker utilized his right heel to produce quite the sublime goal for Paris Saint-Germain in their victory to Caen o Wednesday in Ligue 1, capping off this week’s Top Five with a masterpiece of a Goal of Midweek.