I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 840: Chapter 73: Kickoff! Champions League Semifinals!

The Champions League semi-finalists have emerged: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Schalke 04, and Manchester United.

Manchester United drew a favorable match-up against Schalke 04, while Real Madrid is set to face Barcelona in an early peak showdown.

This is a disappointment for many fans.

Due to UEFA’s draw, Real Madrid and Barcelona will not be able to clash at the pinnacle venue of Wembley. Only one of these two teams is destined to appear in the final arena. From a certain perspective, Real Madrid and Barcelona have turned La Liga into a two-horse race. Even the Champions League has almost become a duel solely between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Their clash captures the entire attention of the fans.

The first leg of the Champions League semi-final marks the third encounter between these two La Liga powerhouses in 18 days.

After a league draw with Barcelona at home, Real Madrid narrowly defeated their old rival with Chen Zhong’s overtime goal to lift the King’s Cup.

A draw and a win have given the Galaxy Battleship a psychological edge.

In fact, this is not the first time the two teams have met on the European stage.

Historically in the Champions League knockout stages, Barcelona and Real Madrid have faced each other three times before, with Real Madrid eliminating their opponents twice.

Before another encounter between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the renowned Italian coach Sacchi stated in an interview with Marca: ”The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid is currently the best match you can witness in the world. Such a showdown should have been played in the final because both teams, with their distinctive styles, are arguably at their peak in the world. It should be noted that I am an admirer of both Mourinho and Guardiola.”

Regarding both teams’ situations, Sacchi commented that Real Madrid is not yet at the capacity to engage in an offensive duel with Barcelona.

”I believe Mourinho performed excellently in the previous two games, not just because of the results, but also because he significantly enhanced Real Madrid and recovered a lot of lost ground. However, Real Madrid is not ready to engage in an offensive duel with Barcelona. It’s apparent that Real Madrid has a chance to win the knockout stage due to their excellent physical condition and strength. Nevertheless, to defeat Barcelona, Real Madrid must leverage their weapon, which is efficiency. Of course, next season is another matter; by then, Real Madrid will be ready for Barcelona and will be able to engage in end-to-end offensive duels with them.”

For Barcelona, Sacchi believes the team lacks the previous coordination, but this is normal. A team cannot maintain high standards throughout, and it’s even harder in the Champions Cup.

It is noteworthy that just before the start of the Champions Cup semi-finals, Guardiola altered his press conference strategy, shifting from past caution to bold offensiveness. On Monday, Guardiola convened the players for a half-hour motivational meeting, telling them that if they give their all and play well in the two semi-final matches against Real Madrid, Barcelona can once again become the best team in the world and reach the pinnacle of honor.

”We will reach the finals!” Despite the defeat in the King’s Cup, Guardiola maintains that this does not mean Barcelona is a loser. He hopes the players can see that Barcelona is still stronger than Real Madrid, ”We have never failed, you should know that.”

In terms of lineup, Barcelona’s issues mainly arise in the defense, but it has become customary for Barcelona to have a shortage in the back line during major matches.

Against Real Madrid, Barcelona’s captain Puyol will play as the left-back, with Mascherano and Pique as the center-backs, and Alves continuing as the right-back. In the midfield, with Iniesta suddenly injured before the match, Guardiola will replace him with Keita, partnering with Busquets and Xavi. On the front line, Barcelona still fields the ”Golden Trident” of Pedro, Messi, and Villa.

Last weekend, thanks to goals by Villa and Messi, Barcelona secured a narrow 2-0 victory over Osasuna at home. Villa finally broke his goal drought, but his form still awaits further examination. Messi’s goal count for the season has reached 50, but his form was average in that match, raising significant doubts about whether he can score against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Furthermore, Messi has never scored in a Champions League semi-final in his career.

Due to injury, Messi missed the Champions League semi-finals in the 2005-06 season. In the 2007-08 season, Barcelona reached the semi-finals but were eliminated by Manchester United with a score of 0-1 over two legs. In the 2008-09 season’s semi-final, Iniesta scored the only goal for Barcelona in both legs.

In last season’s Champions League semi-finals, Pedro and Pique each scored a goal, but Barcelona was eliminated by Inter with a total score of 2-3. Can Messi break the curse this time?

After Real Madrid’s King’s Cup victory, morale was boosted, significantly enhancing the team’s combat capabilities; meanwhile, Barcelona has been plagued by fatigue and injuries, making their wins less straightforward.

However, Puyol encouraged the team after the match: ”No need to worry about Barcelona’s incomplete lineup. Real Madrid is strong, but we won’t make mistakes in the Champions Cup. The whole team will fight hard. Mourinho can go all out on defense and counterattack; we will not change, and as long as we break their counterattack, we will succeed.”