Astute Zizou learns from Rafa errors
Print Edition
BLOODIED by a 4-0 thrashing Barcelona handed it last November, Real Madrid’s tactical changes in Saturday’s ‘Clasico’ were richly rewarded when it ended the hosts’ record-breaking 39-game unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory at the Nou Camp.
Coach Zinedine Zidane learned the lessons of predecessor Rafael Benitez’s disastrous tactics in the last encounter and employed defensive midfielder Casemiro in favor of more attack-minded players, opting instead to sit and wait for Barcelona.
“We had a game plan, we know we’ve got speed on the counter-attack, so we used that to our advantage,” Real forward Gareth Bale said after late strikes from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo cancelled out Gerard Pique’s opener on 56 minutes.
“We know obviously if you attack them they’re not the best defensive team in the world. They’re great at attacking, so we worked on that in training and it’s paid off.”
Before kickoff, Barcelona staged an emotional tribute to late player and coach Johan Cruyff, who had an irreversible influence on the philosophy of attacking football with which the team is associated with today.
Perfect tribute
Coach Luis Enrique and captain Andres Iniesta had talked of their desire to give the Dutchman, who succumbed to cancer at the age of 68 last month, the perfect tribute on the pitch by beating Real with a display of attacking football.
However, they were cancelled out by Frenchman Zidane’s astute game plan and none of their potent front three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi or Neymar were able to demonstrate their usual attacking flair.
“Casemiro played a fundamental role,” Zidane said.
“The goal scorers made the difference but above all, we put in a huge performance defensively against players who can cause you damage if you give them any space. I enjoyed seeing my players help each other out.”
Real defender Marcelo said the result was a reward for his side’s ability to resist the temptation to mirror Barcelona’s attacking style of play “Barcelona are one of the best teams in the world and we managed to beat them by playing well and knowing how to suffer, because we were patient,” the Brazilian said.
Real’s tactics were hailed by French newspaper L’Equipe with the headline ‘Super Zidane’, and Spanish daily Marca’s front cover praised the team’s spirit, saying “Los Blancos didn’t give up and conquered the Nou Camp”.
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