Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Liveblog

Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo

Real travel to the Balaídos today to take on second to last Celta Vigo in hopes of capturing their sixth straight win in just three weeks. Real have been flying high after bumping Barcelona and Manchester United out of the Copa del Rey and Champion’s League, respectively, in rapid succession. Vigo has defeated Madrid earlier this year in their home leg in the Copa del Rey, only to be defeated on aggregate after the return leg. Madrid will have to play without Sergio Ramos, who is suffering from a flu illness and is in the final stages of recovery, according to his Facebook page. The Whites, will, however, appear to have Cristiano Ronaldo who did train on the final day of practice leading up to today’s clash, but only at a limited speed. Madrid have shown they can manage without their “Dark Avenger” (courtesy of Ray Hudson), but surely away to Vigo will be a much bigger challenge than Barcelona at home. Here’s to Madrid bringing back three points. Hala Madrid!

Squad List:
Diego López, Adán y Jesús
Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Albiol y Nacho
Khedira, Kaká, Özil, Xabi Alonso, Essien, Modric y Callejón
Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuaín y Morata

About the author

I'm Jordan, I write stuff.

Ashish

I would like to see the team lined up as below

………………………….Adan (So that he regains some confidence)
Nacho……Pepe……. Carvalho/ Albiol…… Marcello
……………….. Essien ……………….. Modric
Callejon …………….. Kaka ………………….. Morata
……………………………Benzema
- Footylover13
  
  I’d like to see this line up.
- Saqib
  
  Lineup: Lopez, Essien, Albiol, Pepe, Marcelo, Khedira, Modric, Callejon, Ozil, Ronaldo and Benzema
arshjot

I want a win for my birthday and also a start for Callejon and Marcelo!
- Saqib
  
  Happy Birthday, and your wish has been granted.
  - arshjot
    
    Thanks
- http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
  
  Happy birthday!
  - arshjot
    
    Thanks
Sagosoosmar

Really entertaining first half
real2

I don’t care about the lineup, I wanna see a win!
Nana Yaa

Good LOrd! how bad is Higuain??? what a horrendous striker. we cant continue like this.
Zoz73

For all who says Higuian to stay, I hope u r convinced after those last 2 chances in the last 6 min that he is a very normal player…RVP would ve scored one of them. plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
bring us a true striker next year and then and we can aim for the liga and CL together
- Nana Yaa
  
  The issue is not about RVP or any other striker. I think we should stop comparing. RVP may have scored both chances, but he may also have missed both.
  THE ISSUE IS HIGUAIN. He is a horrible striker and does not deserve to play for this club. simple as that. Faubert left and so did Gravesson. I see no reason why Higuain is stil here. shocking!
  - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
    
    Dying of laughter over the comparison. Thank you, Nana Yaa.
  - http://twitter.com/punkfusion92 Sandeep
    
    100 goals for Real Madrid, I think he deserves more than Faubert and Graveson…. but hey maybe I am an idiot too….
  - http://www.facebook.com/RealKateleMadrid Katele Madrid
    
    Well said. We need a better striker. A clinical finisher at that.
http://www.facebook.com/mohanad.aljibreen Ned Jibreen

No words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB7DLrxWU5I
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  It was a really bad miss, but to be honest, I’ve seen Ronaldo miss one like it. Everyone missed, let’s get over it and hope they ALL get their shit together for the next games.
- SaraMadridista
  
  Typical, picking on pipa in the game that had everyone, everyone ( beside diego) missing chances!
  - http://www.facebook.com/mohanad.aljibreen Ned Jibreen
    
    You’re picking on me
  - guest
    
    Higuain made the worst missed today, he deserved this spotlight
  - Jane
    
    Its not only this game but Pipita always has bad finishes and its a shame because he is a good striker.
    - jaec113
      
      I don’t get it. How can Pipita be a good striker if he always has bad finishes?
      - Richzorz
        
        A goal almost every other game over the course of 7 seasons during which he’s been the first choice focal point of RM’s attack for perhaps one season at most?? And that without taking PKs like CR, Messi, Falcao, Cavani, etc do for their teams…plus he’s pretty good when shifted out wide to accommodate Cristiano’s movement through the middle!
      - jaec113
        
        Indeed, I actually think Higuain is a very good player. I was speaking more to the seemingly contradictory statement of “good striker, but can’t score” since most people seem to make that case that good striker can/should score.
      - Richzorz
        
        Ah my bad, so much Higuain bashing on here lately…! :s
      - Jane
        
        People giving their opinions about his recent performances constitute as bashing ? Lol.
      - Jane
        
        I didnt say he cant score but what Im trying to say is that given the talent that I think he has , he should score more.
      - jaec113
        
        I think the word ‘always’ threw me.
      - Jane
        
        He hasnt quite reached the potential that I think he should.I think he has the potential to be really good but somehow he just always mess up somewhere but imo he is a good striker.Poor finishes, I don’t what the problem is with him.
      - jaec113
        
        Well, he is 25. So, there’s still typically room for growth (since most agree that players are in their prime in their late 20′s). He may reach that potential yet if he can get regular playing time and stays injury free.
    - SaraMadridista
      
      no everyone has bad finishes, including cristano ( I said cristano because he is our best striker and best footballer in the world in my opinion), but Higuain is singled out because for some reason some still think he is not good enough for Real Madrid
      - Jane
        
        No Pipita is not singled out. Sure every striker has bad finishes now and then but with him, its just bad. I may sound like I don’t like him but I really do; Im just giving my honest opinion.
      - Nana Yaa
        
        Madrid has the highest amount of chances created! this is a fact (statistically). Just imagine if Higuain played for a team that created very little. Good heavens, the team will be relegated.
        I am certain he will be found out in his next club. that club wouldn’t tolerate a striker missing their few chances. Imagine if he moved to Napoli or Inter or Everton or Leverkusen. he will be sold within 1 year. for his sake, I hope the likes of chelea, city and Juve come in for him. But those clubs don’t want him. they are interested in the falcaos and cavanis of this world and not a faubert.
      - Jane
        
        I hope the club doesnt sell him though. I just hope that he STEPS IT UP in the next games thats all.
      - SaraMadridista
        
        No players all players can be criticized, pipa miss was horrible, the worse probably of the night but overall all of our players has finishing problems this season, even including Cristano before 2013, he did miss chances ( I emphasis I mention him for being our best) callejon, cristano benzema performance even marcelo miss, but some comments as I said call him out out of everyone is like they are group of fans sitting on the edge waiting for him to mess up ” so they shout out “HAA I told you so he is horrible he can’t finish”
      - Jane
        
        oh okay then, I still maintain my P.O.V (point of view ) about Pipita though. Like I said , its something I have noticed with him for a long time now. I understand what you are saying but .. anyways nevermind hopefully he plays well on the next games (IF he is included in the starting line-up).
- Mourinho Big Fan
  
  We must acknowledge that this is indeed a problem. But there are other perspectives as well to look at. Three consecutive games against the best teams in the world, with two of them high stakes, must have taken a toll on the players. Even CR had that tame shot towards Varas…while it should’ve been a goal.
  
  I’m not very sure but it seems Pipita has lost quite a bit of clinicality since the surgery in early 2011/12 season. CR & Mourinho shouldn’t be the reason he kind of declined. Prior to the surgery, he had great 2009/10 season as the team’s highest goalscorer, 2010/11 proved a great season as well…and of course the early 2011/12 season. Sure, he has had great showings here and there, but never like the ones prior to injury.
  
  Is this just a matter of finding more consistency in his form or is there a more serious problem (injury not healed fully, for example)?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Safwat-Karim/1513157895 Safwat Karim

Both Higuian and benzima are horrible!!Jose needs to do something abut this or we might not win this yr CL!!
- Nana Yaa
  
  the club will. what a shame that such a huge club has to have these two. especially Higuain. what a shame.
http://www.facebook.com/advait.joshi1 Advait Joshi

Even though higuain missed two clear chances { not tht benz was better , both are finishing badly at the moment } still some people will come n say ” So wat other players also missed , or So wat other than the missed chances he was good or ” he was gr8 in the last match or lets compare his stats with everyone else ” , lets stop the bias here , a striker plays to score goals , he might be good otherwise but his job is to score , whether the other players , its not an excuse for the striker to miss . Higuain has been a decent player at the club , he has scored generally against weaker teams n he is good at tht , but now after so many yrs instead of going a level up , he has gone a level down , n unless he or benz dramatically improve in the next 2 months , its time to ship out one or both n promote morata and or buy a new one , n it shoudnt be done just for the sake of it , it should be done for the sake of Real Madrid. K i just read some of bassam s comments on twitter , he says ronaldo also missed , so why people only criticising higuain , someone tells him ronaldo scored 2 , so he says higs should take the penalty , BUT DUDE ronaldo has scored tons n tons of goals , so if he misses n still scores 2 , obv people r not gonna criticise him , but UR Higuain has been missing his finishing boots , n hardly ever shown his level against TOP TOP Teams , so we know u love higuain n u can bring any sort of stats or arguement to support him , but get honest dude , we need better strikers , World class strikers , buy a World class one n promote Morata , it will be n should be better than higuain n benz unless benz goes back to last yrs level
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  I didn’t say Higs should take the penalty. Creep my twitter all you want, but at least read the context of the conversation and understand sarcasm.,.
  - http://www.facebook.com/advait.joshi1 Advait Joshi
    
    bassam lemme be honest with u , i know u r a mod n u take great pains in maintaining this site , i been following this blog for a long time , u r really really bias towards Higuain n i have also read comments from other posters of accusing u of the same , i dont think tht all of us posters r hell bent on showing tht u r bias or something , its because ur comments n postings reflect tht
    - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
      
      Whenever a player gets unfair treatment, I’ll defend them. Luckily here, Higuain is a punching bag. If someone starts criticizing let’s say, Ozil for a couple of bad games, I’ll do the same.
      
      And btw, Bias works both ways. If you say I’m biased for Higuain, I can say you are Biased against Higuain.
      - http://www.facebook.com/advait.joshi1 Advait Joshi
        
        yup i might be biased , so many posters i see n so many people i know who r fans of madrid n they all feel higuain is not a world class striker , they all might be biased , but there is also a fact , n the fact higuain has gone a level down , he has hardly ever performed against top notch opposiion in top top games , n nowadays its not couple of bad games , his finishing has been poor for a long time
      - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
        
        No one has to be biased. But people have very little patience to Higuain, which bugs me. I think the “doesn’t do it against big clubs” is misguided. I thought he was one of the best players on the pitch against Man utd and he did very well against Barca in the CDR. People compare Higuain and Benzema to CR and for that, no striker we get will ever be good enough. I just watched Falcao play like shit against Real Sociedad, despite being the focal point of the team,
        
        Again, I think we do need to buy ONE new striker replacement, but we will have the same problem with the mentality some fans have. No striker will ever be good enough.
      - guest
        
        I think you only notice that because your biased toward Higuain.
      - guest
        
        Dude, higuain kind of deserved all the jabs he took. I saw others players got criticized worse like di maria, modric, even ozil who hardly ever had poor game. The only ones who got away with couple of bad games are Cristinao and Alonso
      - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
        
        I don’t mind criticizing Higuain. I even said below that his miss was really bad. But there is a difference between criticism and “SELL HIM NOW”
  - http://www.facebook.com/advait.joshi1 Advait Joshi
    
    lol not creeping , just went through it through this site , n the point is not whether u meant seriously abt higs taking a penalty or no , its ur overall convo , how u bring ronaldo in the picture , how u will do anything to support higuain , plss understand in the context of the para , even in this comment section while admitting tht higs miss was a bad one , still u say oh but i have seen ronaldo miss something like this too , Dude y cant u just admit tht higuain s finishing was horrible today , y to bring x y or z player in the picture.
    - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
      
      Referencing Ronaldo is a compliment. I consider him (along with Messi) as the best out there right now. My whole point is to put things in perspective. If Ronaldo missed a chance like that, then we can expect Higuain to miss one like that every now and then. If you want, and if it makes you feel better, I can reference Messi next time.
      
      I would generally go for a like to like comparison. Which means Benzema. But I feel like he is just behind Higuain in the bashing order, so I don’t want to start fueling that fire
      - http://www.facebook.com/advait.joshi1 Advait Joshi
        
        u might want to get tht perspective cause u might want people to go easy on higs , its not abt ronaldo n messi , c i dont think hig is world class or the best madrid can have but still tomm if hig scores , actually scores in a big game apart from playing well , i will be the first person to back him n praise him , but i have hardly seen him do tht , n but like today when hig s finishing wasnt good, i dont c u coming out n saying , yuck tht was horrible , u say oh ya miss was bad , but still someone else also missed n if tht gr8 someone also missed then even higs can be expected to miss ,why to even give tht excuse , any half decent striker should score tht n as much as u back higs , u should be not be drumming up excuses to cover his bad performances which u been doing not just now , but for a long time . anyways i m off now ,
      - Rem
        
        Hey Bassam, I am regular reader here, I came here most time to read and learn from constructive topic or arguments compare to other blogs.
        
        I just want to contribute to Higuain and Benzema situation. To be honest, we all have favorites. As a fan likes and Support all Madrid players. I like to see them doing very well. Higuain and Benzema problem is a big thing to Madrid squad. I think everyone has been very patience with these two guys including the coach. I am one of the people here who thought Madrid can’t not have two average strikers at the same time. Ronaldo scores goals every here and then and the strikes misses good chances at every game. I am impressed with Higuain performance against united but is that enough for a whole season? I can also say that about benzema too. Madrid and Ronaldo need help in front of goals. If Ronaldo doesn’t score the team will lose for sure. And this is what we’ve seen this season. My advice is Madrid should let one strike go or sell both if that will help (smiles) and get someone who can fit into Madrid system and take their chances. We need a striker that can score 1 out 3 chances.
TSDrew

Missed the game. I see Higuain missed a sitter and everyone is back on team Benz. I swear some people are like high school girls. Team Benz! Team Cullen! Team Higuain! Team Edward! Why don’t you guys keep thing in perspective and not expect our forwards to be as good as Cronaldo and Messi? No other forward is, and they are the focal point of their teams. Both are amazing forwards, and I’m glad we have both. Do we need another Huntelaar to give us perspective?
- Richzorz
  
  Kinda ironic that Huntelaar was mentioned by a few people as a possible “solution” to the need for a top quality striker on here a few months back…try having Alexis Sanchez in the same positions that Benzema/Higuain find themselves!! ;p
- SaraMadridista
  
  How dare you support all our players in the team? must pick sides, must always point out the mistakes of player always always that’s how a team should be supported.
- guest
  
  Benzema missed a sitter as well today
- Jane
  
  well said and I agree.
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  Thank you for the sensible words, TSDrew.
- Rich10messi
  
  Team Ronaldo is enough. All the other teams are supporting cast and are insignificant. Team Ozil is pretty kewl though
  - TSDrew
    
    I like Team Ozil. We have a Nemo shaped flag. Team Khedira was a lonely group for a while. Imagine the scene from “Here Comes the Boom” where there are 500 chairs, a banner, maybe punch in a bowl, and 3 people show up. Someone talks and you realize how much your voice echoes.Then he missed a game, we sucked, and everyone realized how amazing he was.
SaraMadridista

Beautiful now we are second in Liga, order is restored!
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  Half restored. Now we need to be first
  - SaraMadridista
    
    Yessss! I mean
    atletico being above us, that was embarrassing
  - Jane
    
    true but can we still do it ? I doubt it :X
  - Hal
    
    We beat them twice in 5 days in a very convincing fashion, winning the league now will be with a little sour taste. That’s enough for me.
Ramses27

I simply can’t understand how we can have BOTH strikers being on form and then BOTH being off form at the same time. It’s ridiculous..
- SaraMadridista
  
  Morata must be the new “addition” to their competition to me, not long ago those 2 made history with cristano, so it is quite frustrating, I hope now that it seems like our team is picking form they will also do that.
Sagosoosmar

I thought Benzema looked really sharp. One of his better games this season, I’m not that bothered with him not scoring. Goals should come as long as he looks sharp. I thought he deserved to play more than 60 minutes
Regarding the Higuain bashing below I just put a quote by Mourinho from end of last season: “Only a stupid coach will let Higuain leave”
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  This Mourinho fella seems smart. Or just biased for Higuain like me
- guest
  
  we should bother when he missed 120% chances though
Jane

SELL PIPITA !!!!! Lmao just kidding Other than that amazing game and amazing Cristiano : what a legend .
- guest
  
  cristiano’s play was worse than benzema today, but he scored from that scappy situation after corner and the other was penalty, nothing to brag about imo
  - Nana Yaa
    
    you know why? he has killer instincts. WHy is it that he scores scrappy and benzema does not? ROnaldo has a killer instinct and puts himself in dangerous positions while benzema does not. I am tired of seen the ball in the 6 yard box and benzema is outside the 18 yard box pretending to be a playmaker.
    - guest
      
      you are not wrong, but it was far from an amazing game from cristiano, thanks for the precious goal though
Ashish

Glad that the team won after the BIG WEEK, we are 2nd now. I didn’t see the match, but the miss by Pipita as posted below was pathetic. How was the game overall. Did the team try some possession game and slow build up or was it F1 football as usual?
- Nana Yaa
  
  the team didn’t control the game well. We played badly, but with our ability to create chances more than any team in Europe (this is a statistical fact), we could have been 5 goals up at half time. that’s how many chances we created: a lot. Just poor finishing,
  
  As for Celta, after looking at the table and seeing their position, I have only one statement for them: YOU ARE PATHETIC! I hate teams like Celta. They spend all their energy trying to brutalize and defeat the Madrids of this world, but for the other 34 games of the season, they don’t show up and that’s why they get relegated. What a disgrace. if they play every week the way they play against Madrid, they will be fighting for a CL spot. And its not just them. You see it all the time. It is now clear why we have struggled away from home this season. These small clubs with small mentality come out ready to die on the pitch with their fans when Madrid comes to town. they play their life on the pitch and then once the game is over, they play crap for the rest of the season.
  I hope Celta gets relegated.
  - Richzorz
    
    Yeah, don’t you hate it when clubs spend their season only turning up for the big games and play cr*p against the sides they should be beating easily!!!
    
    Celta just replaced their coach and (admittedly I haven’t seen them apart from last night) have improved under Resino – plus it’s not like they parked a bus or got violent against Madrid, possibly it’s just like a “cup final” game for the players and so they’re more up for it than say an away match against Granada…
    - http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
      
      I was just gonna say this!
    - Nana Yaa
      
      I am sorry, I am confused, where you Disagreeing with me? Because if you were, I think you actually AGREED with me. lol. They play “cup finals” against Madrid and Barcelona and still get beaten up and then when they face Granada, they are “not up for it.” DO you know what that gets you?? RELEGATION! For a team like Celta, Madrid and Barca matches have to consequence for their season—aside from helping them showcase their players to the world. The games that are important to their season are the games against the Granadas.
      p.s–I never said anything about parking the bus or being violent (the violent part, you can speak to Levante about that).
      - Richzorz
        
        Sorry, I figured you saying Celta “brutalize” Madrid hinted at some sort of aggressive/violent play…
        
        Anyway the point I was making is that Madrid this season have failed against the teams they should be beating (Granada, Getafe, etc..) and managed better performances and results against Barca and in a few CL games – hence why they’re so far off the top spot in the league!
      - Nana Yaa
        
        lol @ “Managed” better performances against barca. your club was humiliated in one week. reduced to feces.
        
        let me help you understsand. In 8 clasicos, Madrid has beating the crap out of barca 4 times and 3 draws. you do realize there is no chance you will ever beat s mourinho led Madrid again!? never! eat that!
      - Richzorz
        
        lol @ missing the point completely…
  - SaraMadridista
    
    If you follow Liga regularly you actually know celta is one of these clubs that usually perform better than the opponent end up losing, of course teams in Liga always play their best vs us and Barcelona, that’s not new in Liga, unless you are new to it.
    That’s normal, celta is one of these clubs that doesn’t deserve their place in the relegation for me.
    + I love how first half players had bad finishing but somehow the worse player for Real Madrid wasn’t playing
    - http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
      
      Yeah their approach to the game is amazing, they play every game with a very open mindset, which unfortunately due to their lack of quality and consistency week in week out they end up losing.
      - SaraMadridista
        
        True, they are the good old fashion Liga team + they are bad in defense too one of their main weakness, they wait for Varas to save them, lucky for them yesterday ( as for us as well) both goal keeper gave us even a better game for all the saves
    - Nana Yaa
      
      I wil only respond to your last line. I see you are a Higuain fan, I am sorry for your pain.
      That said, if you have actually read my criticism, you will see that my displeasure is not SOLELY with Higuain. Benzema is a much much better player than Higuain will ever be, but it doesn’t mean that Benzema is good enough to lead Real Madrid’s attack. He is not. yesterday, ROnaldo, Benzema and Callejon wasted chance after chance in the first half. THAT’S A FACT. does that suddenly make Higuain’s horrible misses less disturbing? smh
      - SaraMadridista
        
        lol pain? higuain fan sure, there is fair, fair is fair, there is criticizing players for missing and there is saying he is not good enough after watching after all this year, difference that’s it.
  - labomba
    
    Couple of points here. Firstly how many Celta games have you actually watched? And secondly, isn’t there a point to be argued that we need teams that behave just like yesterday, pressing, quick transitions, confining space etc. As the silverware on offer is either AM or the CL.
    Would you prefer that teams lay down and die for Madrid even if they’re fighting to get out of relegation or gave them a run for their money, see if Modric can function in Xabi’s role (no imho) see how all AM’s work together on the pitch etc (as mentioned in above post)
    - http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
      
      I’m willing to bet very few Celta Vigo games.
      
      I’ve watched about a hand or two full of games for them and I really like them. Hope they manage to escape, they just need some more luck on their side and be a bit more clinical in front of goal.
  - punkfusion92
    
    Celta have been very unlucky this season. They play some fantastic football but when it comes to defending, they are very poor. I bet that Abel Resino will pull them out of this hole though, they dont deserve segunda
Ramses27

I think that Benzema on-form is a much better option than Higuain on form, see: last season

However, an off-form Higuain is more effective than an off-form Benzema which is why I think he’s taken over as the main striker this season.
- http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
  
  That sort of makes sense, as strange as it seems!
- SaraMadridista
  
  I get it, Pipa offer work rate, Benzema when is off form he doesn’t do anything like nothing seriously, like we are playing with 10 players, pipita still chase around ball…I get why from the look of it this season Mourinho is going for Pipa for “big games” of the season.
Nana Yaa

saw this on twitter. interesting prediction by Mou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVe3w7dVz8g
http://twitter.com/BlancoSymon CR7blanco

we need to learn to put teams by the sword.I can’t understand why with the players we have are not being able to do that.Once against diego lopez was BIG apart from few fumbles.Albiol was all over the place,AGAIN and pepe was wishing he had carvalho as his partner.Marcelo is clearly rusty,caught napping when we conceded the goal.We can’t rely on alonso anymore to win us matches.No,I’m not saying he’s bad but teams have figured us out like we’ve figured barca out.Ronaldo, no words for this guy.19 is 16 appearances this year.
- Nana Yaa
  
  we cant put teams to the squad because we have strikers who do not know where the goal post is. One of them, yesterday, was in front of the post and decided it was better to blast the ball wide. We are going to find it tough with this two and that’s a crying shame.
jaec113

I’ll stick a toe in the Higuain-debate water. Full disclosure, I do have a bias towards Higuain (I have a Higuain shirt). I think the real debate is the level of harshness that some people “criticize”. There’s a difference between “he missed a sitter, he should have scored, it was a bad miss, etc.” and “he sucks, he doesn’t deserve to wear a Real Madrid shirt, he’s useless, sell this piece of ****”.

My (biased) thoughts on Higuain. We’re talking about a player who at age 25 has already accumulated 249 appearance for Madrid and scored 113 goals. Someone compared him to Robin Van Persie. In 8 years at Arsenal, Van Persie scored 132 goals in 277 appearances. Would Van Persie have converted that chance today? Probably. But would Van Persie be a major step up over the course of a season? Maybe, but I’m certainly not positive. And I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of selling Higuain, and possibly Benzema, to finance a move for Van Persie, Falcao, Lewandowski or whoever else people are harping.

Granted I’m a just a fan, and a biased one at that, but Madrid is not a place known for being patient with misfiring players. Three coaches and two transfer market happy presidents have not seen fit to sell Higuain, so there must be something to this player.
- http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
  
  *Claps hands*
- http://real.theoffside.com/ Bassam
  
  jaec113, would it be weird if I offer a RMFB hug? Thank you for the level headed, sensible and biased comment
  - jaec113
    
    Haha, sure. Us Higuain-lovers got to stick together!
- punkfusion92
  
  In my eyes, having watched him grow from a pale, shy boy to a full blown striker, this boy is the epitome of the Spirit of Juanito. Never say die, never give up, take it on the chin kind of player. Every manager has apparently “wanted to sell Higuain”. Yet all of them seem to love using him, cant be coincidence.
  - SaraMadridista
    
    ” Every manager has apparently “wanted to sell Higuain”. Yet all of them seem to love using him, cant be coincidence ” can I add fact that he is such critical player for Argentina with a NT who has million of forwards, he was able to earn a starting XI
- Agirexx
  
  Please dont mention Falcao and Higuain in the same post. Falcao would eat Higuain for breakfast.
  - TSDrew
    
    The same was said of Kun Aguero when he was at Atletico. He publicly stated he would like to go to Real Madrid. Madrid passed and he went to City. Pipita still starts over him in the NT on a regular basis.
  - http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
    
    Oh please enlighten me how? With salt and pepper? Or maple syrup? I hear nutella is common in spain, maybe that?
arshjot

What’s all the fuss about? I once missed a chance similar to the one Higuain missed, but that doesn’t make me a bad striker :-p
real2

Sir Alex Ferg says Lopez better than Casillas…http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2013/Mar/diego-lopez-won-champions-league-tie-for-real-madrid.aspx
- Nana Yaa
  
  this is a lie. I mean, you have falsified SIr Alex’s words. he never said this. He simply said he didn’t think Iker would have made the saves Diego made because Iker “IS NOT THAT TYPE OF GOALIE.” He was referring to the style of goalkeeping, how, Lopez is more athletic in his style. below is the actual quote:
  
  “He wouldn’t have saved the shots that the boy Lopez did,” the manager said. “Going out to Danny Welbeck in the first half, going down at Robin van Persie’s feet, coming out and whacking Nemanja Vidic in the head… Casillas isn’t that type of goalkeeper and I think Lopez saved them.”
  - real2
    
    You are splitting hairs.
    Follow his words to the logical conclusion.
    
    If Casillas had been in goal as opposed to Lopez, he would have let in some of those goals and RM would be out of the Champions League.
    Hence, Lopez is better.
    Our opinions regarding a player is always subject to personal prejudice, neither you nor I will ever have the final word, but the only barometer of good / bad is RESULTS. Results in the context of the game, and his contribution to the end result. In Sir ALex’s mind, there’s no doubt who he thinks is the better goalie. Moreover, if the “style” of Casillas goalkeeping is not going to keep out those shots, then isn’t Lopez’s style as you called it, a better style that makes a more effective and hence better goalkeeper?
    - Nana Yaa
      
      I don’t have to “follow his words to the logical conclusion” when his words are actually very clear when read literally. lol…Good Grief!
punkfusion92

Seeing all the Higuain hate going around I thought I would share this article here

http://madridistafusion.blogspot.com/2012/01/higuain-story-of-struggle-and-triumph.html

Sorry for plugging myself here

I wrote this blogpost around a year ago, my only blog post really
- Jane
  
  Why are some of y’all so hell bent on calling this Higuain hate ? Lol. It’s not !
  - Nana Yaa
    
    honestly. lol
Ashish

Hey everyone! Can we give some rest to Pipita.There is a group of posters led by Sara who can see no wrong in him. They will post at any place supporting him. Then there is another group who say he is not good enough because of the number of chances he misses. They will not ack his other skills. Both sides have valid arguments and both refuse to see the logic of the other side.
I request everyone not to mention Pipita for some time. Let the matter cool down. We don’t want a civil war on this blog. Please…
- nomz
  
  what heresy,, i say lets sell ashish
  - Ashish
    
    ROFL
- http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
  
  I think there’s a big misunderstanding. I, of course, belong to Sara’s group here, but we don’t ‘see no wrong in him’. We just think ‘bad form = he sucks and should be sold’ is a logic that doesn’t make sense.
  - nomz
    
    how long does a player get away with bad form until its valid to say we should sell him. note am not talking pipita here
    - http://twitter.com/_kaushik7 Kaushik
      
      Longer than we have given with Pipita here for sure. We had nearly 2 years of shell Benzema but we stuck with him and it paid off last year. Its hard to quantify this, but if you know what some person has given you for a while in the past, and you are aware of his potential, this period increases.
  - Ashish
    
    My point is being that none of the group is willing to concede anything and thats spoiling the atm here.
- SaraMadridista
  
  Lol, lead by me? this WRONG concept that I am just defending for the sake of defending him is so annoying, that I see no wrong in him, it is ridiculous
- Anonymous
  
  I am sure both sides see the other’s argument but just labeling pipita as not good enough based on those arguments is a step too far.
nomz

Yeah baby yeah. Not sure about the orange thou
- TSDrew
  
  Better than green. I’m waiting for a pink. You have to be super manly to wear pink. (No I’m not the girl in my avatar)
  - nomz
    
    yes, green i didnt like,, i wear pink, i got even a pink tie but the subtle pink not the one that blinds u :p
    - TSDrew
      
      I’ve always been a fan of pink on black or pink on silver. I wore the latter to promcoming back in high school and I looked GOOD! Never been accused of being modest. Plan on getting a pink tie for my black shirt in the future.
      
      Juventus pulled off pink this year.
      - nomz
        
        yeah they did and it looks horrendous hahaha
      - TSDrew
        
        I kinda like it, although it is a bit bright. If you are going to wear pink, go ham and blind some people. I like to pick them on FIFA to rub salt into my friends’ wounds when I beat them. Palermo probably has a better shade of pink though.
      - SaraMadridista
        
        Palmero pink is nice, Juv has this ugly black stars that looks horrible
  - SaraMadridista
    
    Yes I love Pink jerseys, even am not that into pink at all.
- SaraMadridista
  
  orange yeah not liking it this going to wash up our players, not the best for me lol
http://twitter.com/Senjoyce Joyce Sen Nyakato

who watched the castilla game yesterday? just watched parts of it on the streams and got to miss out on the penalty misses which seemed to make the highlight of the game.

on twitter, Mourinhistas were at it again! there is no problem in Jese thinking he has all it takes to make it to the first team.This attitude and self-belief which sometimes passes off as pride will be his greatest strength.

Actually, I commend him for stepping up to take the second penalty even after missing the first. That is rare bravery for a 20 year old. His mentality is second to none. Every time castilla loses, he shoulders the burden of responsibilty of the loss. This is a player you see who was the potential to carry every team he plays in.

After a bad game, he bounces back with a match-winning performance looking unfazed by rubbish spouted at him. That imposing personality is what sets him apart from all the castilla talents we have had in the past.

I have always thought since Morata is the “first teamer” his presence in castilla is supposed to take off some pressure off Jese.The fact that it didnt yesterday, shows me that Jese was more prepared for promotion than Morata.

yeah I know, Mourinistas argue that he wasnt promoted because he has a bad temper. But with precedents like Guti, Ramos and Pepe, Bad tempers should not be an excuse.

Besides, it is not like he is an unmanageable player
- Nana Yaa
  
  lol. Anyone who tells you Jese was not promoted because he had a bad temper is telling lies. No one knows why Jese was not promoted. to know that, you have to speak to Mourinho. He is the one who promotes players. Mourinho rates Jese, as he rates Morata. He has invited both to train and go on trips with the first team. MOrata had gone on trips with the first team 3 times before Mou promoted him. Jese has only been on a trip once. So I imagine, Mou was biding his time and would have invited him again this year, and after about 2 or 3 invites, he would have promoted him.
  DO I think Jese has a chance to play under mourinho again? NO! Sneidjer said it best when he said, Mourinho is the nicest person you will ever meet. However, once you cross him, you are finished.
nomz

no cheating trivia time, who disss mods you cant play, cheaters hahahaha :p
- http://www.rahulmadrid.wordpress.com/ Rahul_Madrid
  
  Guti?
  - http://twitter.com/BlancoSymon CR7blanco
    
    morataaaaaaaaaaaa
  - nomz
    
    morata

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