Copa Del Rey - Jan 10, 2012 - 4:00pm ET

[ARUKIDNME]

Posted Totals 7-1 YTD

***PLAY OF THE WEEK***

Malaga vs Real Madrid OVER 3 (-150)

I had this marked on my iPad calendar right after the first leg ended, so I wanted to post it early for everyone's benefit. In the first match at Madrid, after trailing 2-0 at the end on the first half; an infuriated Mourinho told reporters after the game:


“I told the players at halftime I would have changed all 11 if I could have. I had considered making changes before the break but I don’t like to do this. I asked them to clean up the rubbish of the first half. The second half was completely the opposite. The team wanted to clean out the trash it had made in the first half. The attitude, the concentration of the team changed.” - Jose Mourinho

• In their last 4 meetings Madrid have out scored Malaga 18-3.
• 14 of their last 16 meetings have gone over 2.5 goals.
• Barcelona have won their 1st leg 4-0 and are shoe-in's to advance.
• Destiny calls - Barcelona will play the winner of Real Madrid v Malaga in the Quarters
• Real Madrid would be embarrased if they don't match the success of their arch rivals whom they expect to play next.

Malaga should field an attacking 11 and I expect them to push from the beginning as they trail 3-2 on aggregate.

Real Madrid will also push to revenge the beating they took from Malaga at home in the first half; where they were booed and whistled at by their fans for trailing 2-0 to their inferior opponent. Plus, RM struggle when they play teams that sit back and they struggle to get that first goal. If Malaga attack like I expect them to; it's lights out baby. RM will score, score, score and then score again.

Di Maria is out but Pepe and Benzema are definitely back. Great News!!!

Mourihno has had this game eating at him and he will deliver an epic pre game talk that will see a fired up RM side. Don't miss this opportunity to hit an easy bullseye!

:toast:

 

[ARUKIDNME]

Here are some Pre-Match comments from both sides:

Malaga v Real Madrid

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho

“We will try to win tomorrow, like we always do. If you play for a draw and then concede a goal you’re out. We’ll use our usual system. We’ll play as we’ve done in the last two seasons”

“If we’d played many games before tomorrow’s clash I probably wouldn’t use all our potential, but we’ve just come back from the holidays and my men need to play. The teams at the top of the table haven’t been winning their games. There have been many draws… I regard this as an important Copa del Rey match and it’s positive for my men to play. We’ll go with all we’ve got. I won’t use a rotation system. I’ll use the lineup I deem best to reach the quarterfinals.”

“There’s something curious. My teams used to win with one goal. They were tactically and defensively strong, but they didn’t score many goals. I was always looking for a good result and played a more defensive game. My teams didn’t put on a show. Now, at Real Madrid, I have the Golden Boot winner and the best goal scoring average in the history of the club. You have to make up your own mind. We’ve scored eight goals in our last two games against Malaga and Granada. You’ve seen 11 goals in the last two games. What else do you want? I’d rather win 5-0 than 5-1, there’s no doubt about that, but I think that it’s better to play like we do with the squad we have. We continue to do our thing. I don’t think we’re closer to winning the league title. We dropped points against Levante and in Santander. We could easily drop five points in two games.”

“I’ve read somewhere that I’m punishing Arbeloa with not playing. You’ve made a mistake if that’s how you interpret the relationship a coach has with a player in whom he’s got a lot of faith. He had a tooth operation in the holidays and he is a bit week as a result. He wasn’t especially good against Malaga and we decided we had to work well in order for him to be ready for tomorrow’s match. He will play tomorrow. He is not punished; not at all.”

“I think Benzema will be fit enough to make the squad list. He was in better shape yesterday and I’m waiting to see how he reacts today during training.”

“We usually use a 4-3-3 system. Sometimes we use a number ’10′ and others we use one pivot and two midfielders without an obvious ’10′. We’ve played most of our games with either of these two schemes.”

Malaga player Nacho Monreal

“The team really cannot wait for this match. We got a good result with what’s happened so far, and now it all depends on us. If we win, we go through to the next round, and so therefore we really want to play a good match, to snatch the victory and go through. We’re aware that we’re taking on a very powerful rival…very difficult, but not impossible. So we’re really looking forward to playing.”

“It’s an open qualifier so whoever wins will go through, therefore we’ve got to go out very motivated and give it everything we have.”

“The match at the Bernabéu was, in general, very proper; even though it was in the first half that we had the ball, the opportunities and the two goals, and that’s the route we need to take. Now it’s a different match as we’re playing at home, we must go out to win and look for those goals we got in the first qualifier.”

“The fans, as every Sunday, are going to fill the stadium. From the first moment, they’ll be cheering. We really appreciate it; we know that we’ll have the public’s support. We hope that with the players’ desire and the bonus that the fans give us, we’ll get through.”

“A footballer is used to playing Sunday after Sunday, and now we have a hard month with some very complicated rivals. But it’s tough for both us and them. We’re all equal in this respect. When the physical is lacking, we have the fans’ morale injection as the first whistle is blown.”

“We’re improving in play and, even though the results aren’t reflecting this, we’re going to play a good game and win tomorrow, against an amazing team, we’re going to go through and break this bad patch of results.”

“We’re back in Europe, which is what we wanted and how we have to continue, game after game to the max. There’s a long way to go, the second leg, and we want to finish the season where we ought to.”

“The key tomorrow is the same for all the matches, to go out from the first minute, focus on a difficult match against a team that doesn’t allow you to let your guard down. We’ve got to go out motivated, with desire, looking for a win, and hoping that the chances materialise. I hope the key player will be Málaga and that we get through the round.”

 

[JohnMolson]

looks like these bastards going for the scoreless draw..:hitting:

 

[ARUKIDNME]

WOW!!!

My sincerest appologies to all who followed. Never thought Malaga would be standing on their head and RM are completely on impotent.

Taking a week off to recallabrate and get my soccer bearings back.

Moving on!!!