All was not perfect in Cristiano Ronaldo’s world during the lead up to El Clasico in April 2012.
He was one of the world’s two best players, in the midst of a colossal goal scoring run and on his way to his lone La Liga title with Real Madrid. But still, things were merely good — not great. The reason being because his Los Blancos squad was universally viewed as Barcelona's whipping boys.
The arguably the biggest game in club football, otherwise known as “El Clasico”, is set to take place this Saturday at the Camp Nou as Barcelona host Real Madrid.
Both teams are in opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to recent form. The hosts are winless in three of their last four matches, while the visitors from Madrid have won all five of their last five fixtures. They are still undefeated this season in all competitions, the only club in Europe’s top five leagues yet to lose, while Barcelona have already suffered three defeats.
Heading into Saturday’s El Clasico on the wrong side of a six-point gap in La Liga is a less than ideal situation for Barcelona, but the mounting injuries among their defensive back line make the task at hand that much more difficult.
Real Madrid lead the Spanish league with 36 goals scored, and Barcelona’s defensive record of 14 goals conceded puts them behind the likes of Real, Atletico, Villareal and even with Real Sociedad.
Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta returned to training Friday and could yet play a significant role in Saturday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid. The original timeline for Iniesta’s recovery, stated as six to eight weeks, made his participation an extreme doubt.
Barcelona survived a scare earlier today when Neymar got into a car accident while driving his red Ferrari (of course Neymar drives a red Ferrari, what were you expecting?) to meet up with the team before they traveled to the Basque region to play Real Sociedad.
Fortunately, Neymar wasn't hurt, nor was anybody else, as far as we can make out.
Mateo Messi was born on September 11, 2015. The youngest child of Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo, the 1-year-old is three years younger than his older brother, Thiago.
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet for the 173rd La Liga edition of the El Clasico on December 3, 2016. As always, the famous rivalry between the two largest clubs in Spain will have a significant bearing on who captures this season’s title: Real Madrid are currently first in the table while Barcelona are second. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the match, either live streaming online or on TV through your cable provider.
Born on November 2nd, 2012 in Barcelona, Thiago Messi’s imminent arrival was first announced by his father during a match between Argentina and Ecuador. Messi scored a goal and celebrated by placing the ball under his shirt, later confirming that his partner, Antonella Roccuzzo, was pregnant with their first child.
Barcelona defeated Celtic 2-0 in Scotland, the Hoops providing a better account of themselves following their 7-0 drubbing in the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou. Barcelona’s victory made them Group C winners with Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach battling to a 1-1 draw in the group's other fixture.
Any Barcelona goal yields a plethora of astounding statistics, and Lionel Messi’s opener in the 24th minute was no different. Neymar provided the assist, and it was already his seventh of this Champions League campaign, equalling the all-time mark for a single season.