Although many neutrals might not have enjoyed what was supposed to be the biggest spectacle in World football, I can assure you that Cules and Madridistas around the World were experiencing near heart attacks. For weeks up to the build up to El Clasico, friends had been talking trash to me, emphasizing the point that Barcelona would not only win this game, but absolutely dominate it and predictions like 3-0 were constantly thrown at me. I simply laughed it off. I knew that Barcelona are not the same team they were a year ago, and I also had faith that Madrid would elevate their game. Real Madrid are not Inter Milan. They were not going to bend over pathetically so Barca could.. Well you know.

From the opening kick-off my heart was in my stomach. I was happy with Pellegrini’s starting eleven. I felt the decision to drop Benzema to stick in Marcelo was wise to keep Dani Alves in check. Madrid started off fantastically and had several chances to take the lead. The most notable chance came when Kaka left two defenders for dead, and served it on a platter for Cristiano Ronaldo who missed a criminal chance. But the start was encouraging. The game continued with Madrid having several great chances going astray and most of them due to brilliant individual defending from Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes. Of course, both teams had chances in the second half too, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic came on as a sub to score one of Barca’s few chances. The intentions of this post was  not to recap the game itself so much, but to take a look at the long-term implications of this match.

The Cons:

Although Pellegrini’s starting line-ups have been sound and reasonable this season, it’s his decisions after half-time which have been highly questionable. I won’t touch on his past decisions, but today there were some choices that did not make much sense. Marcelo has been playing fantastic ever since Pellegrini rightfully converted him to a left winger. But today he was our weakest link. Instead of taking off Arbeloa (who played well on the defensive end) for Raul and pushing Marcelo back to LB, I feel that Marcelo should have been subbed for Drenthe who has an incredible amount of pace and flair and would have caused the Barca defence even more problems. We all love the captain and his records, but we already had two strikers with Pipita and Benzema. There was no need for a third.

My other main concern is the lack of quality in the set pieces that are taken. We have players like Pepe, Cristiano and Ramos who are monsters in the air; but Xabi Alonso’s set-pieces have been woeful this season. We haven’t had a consistent set piece specialist since David Beckham and I am worried. Esteban Granero has proven he’s a good dead ball player, but he hasn’t had significant minutes this season.

— But fear not my Madridista brothers. The positives far outweigh the negatives. —

The Pros:

Real Madrid can hold their heads up high. The long-term implications of this game are vast and fruitful. A game that Barca was supposed to dominate, ended up being a game where Real Madrid were the better team and were unlucky to lose. Real Madrid still has the season in their hands. They are finally hitting their stride and will only get better. Although the result of this game could’ve been better, I am positive that as a club, we will gain confidence from this match. Two players really stood out for me today: Kaka and Sergio Ramos. Both players had their best games of the season thus far. Sergio Ramos was a rock at the back, and fantastic going forward. While Kaka tormented the Barca defence on several occasions and looked like he always wanted to be involved. I absolutely can’t wait until Cristiano, Kaka, Benzema, and Higuain hit their stride. It’s going to be orgasmic to watch.

Barcelona have been a shadow of their former selves this season. They’ve only had a couple of truly impressive games, and their last game against Inter really had much to do with Inter’s awful organization and tactics. I don’t like knocking on champions, but the fact that a woeful team like Inter can be champions of Italy is a shame for football. I am confident that Madrid will keep improving and hitting their stride while Barca still have work to do. The league is still in our hands. One more Clasico in the Bernabeu.

iiiiiiii HALA MADRID !!!!!!!

Hi!  Thanks for coming!  I’m starting this blog to share info and stories about some of my projects.  Once a month I’ll publish info about some cool project I’m involved with, or stories from interesting gigs I’ve done in the past.  I’ll try to give you guys a balance of anecdotes, technical insight and information that might even be useful.  After 23 years of career, I’ve accumulated quite a few stories.  From working with famous celebrities in studios in Miami, to doing sound for a ballet company in Cuba, to building speakers out of PVC pipes for a theater play in NYC.  I hope I can dig out enough cool stories from my past, as well as build new great experiences from upcoming gigs to keep you guys entertained.

You can always opt-out or unsubscribe if you think this is not your thing.

My first post includes a pretty exciting piece of news about a recent event in my career.  Written by Mix Magazine NYC editor/SonicScoop.com co-founder, David Weiss.

At the end of the article you can listen to one of the mixes I did in the album mentioned here.

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GRAMMY WIN #4 FOR ENGINEER/MIXER MARCELO AŇEZ
WITH LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES FOR ‘COMMERCIAL’

NYC-Based Audio Pro Shares in Group’s Latin GRAMMY Win for ‘Best Alternative Music Album’

In the Studio With the Band. Photo by Yker Moreno (www.djspinbalon.com)

NEW YORK: Mixer/engineer Marcelo Aňez (www.justasong.com) recently celebrated his latest award, capturing the Latin GRAMMY® for his role in Los Amigos Invisibles 2009 album Commercial. The win, which was in the category of “Best Alternative Music Album”, represents the fourth GRAMMY award of Aňez’ adventurous career.

Aňez engineered all of the tracks and also mixed two songs (“Vivire Para Ti” and “In Luv With U”) on Commercial, the sixth studio album from the celebrated Latin disco/funk group. “I was a big fan of the band before meeting them,” says Aňez. “Aside from the fact that we’re from the same country, I always loved their sound and concept. I remember telling a friend once, years before I met the group, ‘I hope I get to work with a band I love as much as those guys.’ There’s nothing like mixing work with pleasure.”

A native of Venezuela who compiled a solid track record of engineering and mixing hit records in Miami (Gloria Estefan, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Thalia, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Secada, Carlos Vives), the now NYC-based Aňez applied his distinct mix of engineering and people skills to the Commercial sessions at NYC’s famed Magic Shop.

“The band wanted to get as much of a live performance as one can get inside a studio,” he explains. “With all these old classic microphones and tube compressors and pre-amps, I was in heaven. I also made a point of making each one feel comfortable at their post.  For example, I had set up bassist el Catire’s bass amp inside this small booth, so I could mic the cabinet, play it loud and still isolate it from the other instruments, but I had set up a chair outside for him to play in the main space where everybody else was.

“He actually got really excited about being inside that little room with his bass sound playing that loud, and asked, ‘Can’t I stay in here while we record?’ So of course, I accommodated him. Those things are so important to get the most out of a musician.”

Album cover

Aňez sought-after mix skills made him one of a select team of top mixers chosen by the band to sculpt the album’s vivid tracks. “I know I would’ve done a great job mixing the whole thing,” he says, “but when you hear a Los Amigos Invisibles album, you always have this feel that a DJ is mixing a set for you, so it makes sense to have the sound of different mixers.  Two of the band members actually are DJs, so that’s another important color in the band’s pallet.”

Marcelo Aňez feels a special satisfaction in his fourth GRAMMY win. “Some projects simply touch you more than others,” he concludes. “This project wasn’t only fun, these guys are my friends and I really felt this was somehow also ‘my’ project. I was really proud of this work, long before we got nominated, so the award means that much more.”

About Marcelo Aňez:

With over 20 years experience engineering and mixing, Marcelo Aňez is based in New York City. His career, which began in Caracas, Venezuela and continued in Miami, includes GRAMMY wins for his work with Gloria Estefan (“Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album 2000”), Shakira on MTV Unplugged (“Best Latin Pop Album 2000”), and Thalia, (Latin GRAMMY “Best Engineering 2001”). His expertise also includes sound design for theater, sound applied to art, audio post-production for TV, radio and independent films.

For more information, please visit www.justasong.com.
Contact: Marcelo Aňez, marcelo1@justasong.com
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Listen to one of the mixes I did for the album.  The song is called “”Vivire Para ti”, written by Mauricio Arcas and Jose Luis Pardo.  This is actually a duet with guest singer Natalia Lafourcade.  It was produced by Los Amigos Invisibles and Dimitri from Paris.

Next Post:  I’ll go more in-depth into the production process of this album, with the Q&A with David Weiss in preparation for this article, more behind-the-scene photos, and other music samples.

Ivete Sangalo, que deu à luz a Marcelo em 2 de outubro, está pronta para retornar aos palcos no dia 5 de dezembro, em Natal (RN). A cantora escreveu no Twitter confirmando o retorno aos palcos no “Carnatal”, carnaval fora de época da cidade de Natal. “Vai ser muito massa”, postou a musa do axé no microblog.

Ela se apresentará também em Porto Alegre, no dia 17 do próximo mês, e no reveillon o show será em Salvador, no clube “Enchanté”. Ivete ainda deverá comandar um dos especiais de final de ano da Globo.

Aos 37 anos, a cantora deu à luz Marcelo no hospital Português, em Salvador. Sangalo chegou ao hospital às 18h com o namorado Daniel Cady, pai do bebê. Antes de ir para maternidade, Ivete anunciou em sua página no Twitter que a criança estava chegando. ”Crianças, agora vou parar de twitar porque acho que chegou a hora de ter meu baby. Obrigada pelo carinho de todos. Um bju enorme!”, publicou.

Eu sou um grande fã do Marcelo Adnet, mas nem sempre consigo ver os seus programas na MTV. E dando aquela navegada pela web achei esse vídeo do programa 15 minutos que fala sobre o melhor do Rio de Janeiro: as nossas praias.

Quem é carioca e frequentador das praias da Zona Sul vai entender direitinho!

Ivete Sangalo

De acordo com a coluna Retratos da Vida publicada no site do jornal Extra, Ivete Sangalo volta ao trabalho no início de dezembro de 2009:

Dois meses e dois dias depois de dar à luz Marcelo, Ivete Sangalo vai voltar ao trabalho. A cantora é a atração mais esperada no Carnatal, que acontece em Natal, no Rio Grande do Norte, do dia 3 ao dia 6 de dezembro. Ela se apresenta no sábado, dia 5, no bloco Cerveja e Coco.

Para não fazer feio em sua volta ao batente, Ivete está suando. Para perder os cerca de 15 quilos que ganhou durante a gravidez, a cantora baiana contratou serviços de massagens e acompanhamento nutricional. O trabalho, no entanto, é lento, já que não é indicado que ela pegue pesado na malhação.

Apesar dos afazeres com Marcelo, Ivete está animada com o retorno aos palcos. “Todos preparados para o Carnatal? Vai ser massa!!! ‘Base do beijo’ bombando no Carnatal, heim?”, escreveu Ivete em seu microblog no Twitter, feliz com o sucesso de sua nova música nas rádios.

Leia mais clicando aqui.

Ontem fiz as fotos 3×4 do Marcelo e hoje mandei imprimir. Quantas expressões de foto 3×4 um cara pode ter?

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa terá garantido aos militantes do PSD, que não apoiam Passos Coelho, que avançará para a liderança do partido em Janeiro, depois da actual presidente, Manuela Ferreira Leite, concluir o debate do Orçamento e convocar as directas.

A informação é publicada este sábado no jornal i, mas ainda ninguém confirmou a notícia, uma vez que não é do interesse do professor anunciar qualquer intenção antes de serem convocadas as eleições directas no PSD, até porque o antigo líder social-democrata é conhecido peças suas hesitações e mudanças de ideias. Marcelo teria interiorizado que Passos Coelhos não desiste de se candidatar à liderança, depois de ter admitido avançar caso fosse criado um «clima de unidade» e ter anunciado uma pré-desistência quando não foram aceites as suas sugestões para um conselho de antigo líderes.

O ex-presidente do PSD também deverá ter decidido agora a sua recandidatura, porque terá percebido que não tem possibilidade de se candidatar à Presidência da República, já que terá visto no discurso de Cavaco de Silva, durante a cerimónia de tomada de posse do Governo, uma declaração encapotada de recandidatura ao cargo.

Noticia retirada do Diário Digital

Marcelo es un chico que no tiene facilidad para hacer amigos. Parece que nadie le quiere…pobre Marcelo.

Crônica de Marcelo Rubens Paiva discorre de forma leve e divertida sobre a vida de solteiro na cidade grande.  Clique aqui para ler.

03/07/2009 – 23:48 – Atualizado em 05/07/2009 – 21:56

10 grandes histórias infantis

Revista Época

Todos os anos, cerca de 2 mil novos títulos de literatura infantil são lançados no Brasil. Diante de tantas possibilidades, a revista Crescer, da Editora Globo, promoveu uma eleição para ajudar os pais a escolher os melhores livros para os filhos. Além de revirar arquivos, as repórteres Patrícia Cerqueira, Marina Vidigal e Christiane Rogerio procuraram orientação da Fundação Nacional do Livro Infantil e Juvenil (FNLIJ), que indicou estudiosos do tema. Gente apaixonada por literatura infantil também foi consultada. Das conversas com 35 pessoas, saíram mais de 320 sugestões. O livro mais citado foi Reinações de Narizinho, de Monteiro Lobato, romance de 1920. O autor mais presente entre os dez primeiros foi Ziraldo, com Menino Maluquinho e Flicts. ÉPOCA antecipa os dez livros mais citados na reportagem. A lista completa estará na Crescer e em www.epoca.com.br, a partir do dia 1o junho.

REINAÇÕES DE NARIZINHO, de Monteiro Lobato (Editora Brasiliense, R$ 52). Narizinho, Pedrinho, Emília, Visconde de Sabugosa, Dona Benta e Tia Nastácia mergulham em aventuras no Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo. Não dá para ficar imune ao texto de Lobato. Ele constrói histórias como quem tece uma renda, e faz conversa de peixe com besouro e idéias de boneca de pano com sabugo de milho parecer normal. A partir de 6 anos.

A BOLSA AMARELA, de Lygia Bojunga (Editora Casa Lygia Bojunga, R$ 20). Em uma velha bolsa doada por uma tia, Raquel esconde três grandes vontades: a de crescer, a de ser garoto e a de se tornar escritora. Lygia aborda os conflitos internos e externos da personagem, por meio de amigos secretos, fantasias e questões do mundo real. As reflexões ajudam os pequenos a dialogar com seus conflitos. O texto segue solto. Não dá vontade de largar. A partir de 8 anos.

MARCELO, MARMELO, MARTELO E OUTRAS HISTÓRIAS, de Ruth Rocha, ilustrações de Adalberto Cornavaca (Editora Salamandra, R$ 23). O livro tem três histórias: “Marcelo, Marmelo, Martelo”, “Teresinha e Gabriela” e “Os Donos da Bola”. Nelas, os leitores conhecem crianças que deparam com reveses comuns no universo infantil, como a dificuldade de diálogo com os adultos. Os desenhos expressam a vivacidade e inocência que envolvem essas lições. A partir de 6 anos.

BISA BIA, BISA BEL, de Ana Maria Machado (Editora Salamandra, R$ 23). Na premiada obra, Bel se encanta por um retrato de sua bisavó, ainda criança. Ela nunca a conheceu, mas imaginar um relacionamento entre as duas faz com que Bisa Bia se torne uma grande amiga e confidente. A partir de 7 anos.

O MENINO MALUQUINHO, de Ziraldo (Editora Melhoramentos, R$ 22). Alegria, carisma e esperteza em um menino bem maluquinho que cria sol em dias de chuva, abraça o mundo com as pernas, brinca com sua sombra, canta, distribui segredos. Com maestria, o autor trata de infância, felicidade e amadurecimento. A partir de 7 anos.

OU ISTO OU AQUILO, de Cecília Meireles, ilustrações de Thaís Linhares (Editora Nova Fronteira, R$ 29). É o único livro de poesia entre os dez mais citados. O texto de 1964 é atual e introduz a criança no jogo de palavras, no humor e na sensibilidade de Cecília Meireles, que instiga os leitores a notar, entre tantas coisas, que a vida é repleta de duras escolhas. A partir de 4 anos.

CONTOS DE GRIMM, de Wilhelm e Jacob Grimm (Editora Cia. das Letrinhas, R$ 34). Nesta versão, com tradução de Heloisa Jahn e ilustração de Elzbieta Gaudasinska, encontram-se alguns dos textos escritos pelos irmãos alemães, no século XIX, a partir de histórias populares, como Branca de Neve e O Pequeno Polegar. Cheios de moral, caem bem para abordar conflitos e medos infantis. A partir de 4 anos.

CONTOS DE ANDERSEN, de Hans Christian Andersen (Editora Ática, R$ 49,90). Com tradução de Mary França e belos desenhos de Eliardo França, a obra reúne, em dois volumes, alguns contos do dinamarquês, seguidor do estilo dos irmãos Grimm: O Patinho Feio, Soldadinho de Chumbo e As Roupas Novas do Imperador. Uma das características de Andersen é criar textos cheios de heroísmo dos oprimidos, além de abordar problemas como perdas e abandono. A partir de 4 anos.

FLICTS, de Ziraldo (Editora Melhoramentos, R$ 29,90). Era uma vez uma cor muito rara e muito triste que se chamava Flicts. Ela sofre por não se encaixar em lugar algum. Não está no mar, no arco-íris, nas bandeiras. Até que ela descobre a que veio e mostra que todos têm seu lugar especial no mundo. A partir de 4 anos.

ALICE NO PAÍS DAS MARAVILHAS, de Lewis Carroll (Cia. das Letrinhas, R$ 32). “Que graça tem um livro sem conversas ou figuras?” Assim começa a história de Alice, a menina que cai num poço e sai em outro mundo. Entre tantas, esta edição, contada por Ruy Castro e ilustrada por Laura Beatriz, foi citada pelos entrevistados como a melhor do clássico de 1862, primeiro grande título da Moderna Literatura Infantil. A partir de 9 anos.

http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EMI54318-15220-1,00-MENTE+ABERTA+LIVROS.html

Atlético 2 – 3 Real Madrid

GOLES

0-1 (minuto 5) Kaká

0-2 (minuto 25) Marcelo

0-3 (minuto 64) Higuaín

1-3 (minuto 78) Forlán

2-3 (minuto 80) Agüero

El Madrid fue claramente superior hasta que la tonta expulsión de Ramos y la entrada de Agüero hizo que en el final el resultado se apretase mal. La primera parte, de claro dominio blanco, tuvo como jugadores más destacados a Benzema, Lass y Pepe. Kaká estuvo muy bien aunque se fué desinflando conforme pasaba el partido e Higuaín hizo un gran trabajo en la banda que le fue recompensado con un gol tras un balón robado a Perea. El Atlético, con una táctica claramente errónea, se recuperó para el final del partido y puso en aprietos a la zaga madridista, y Casillas tuvo que estirarse más de un par de veces.

El Real Madrid se adelantó 0-3 con tantos de Kaká, Marcelo e Higuaín, éste tras un tremendo error de Perea, pero la expulsión de Sergio Ramos provocó un giro inesperado en el derbi y los goles de Forlán y Agüero pusieron el choque al rojo vivo.

GOLES:

• 0-1 : Kaká (Min 5)
• 0-2: Marcelo (Min 24)
• 0-3: Higuain (Min 63)
• 1-3: Forlán (Min 78)
• 2-3: Aguero (Min 79)

A couple of very big (in my not-so-humble opinion, at least) matches went down this weekend, with some producing more exciting results than others. This week there was a double countdown to what I thought were two of the biggest Red v. Blue matches this year. In England we had arguably the two largest Premiership contenders in Chelsea and Manchester United going head-to-head, while in Italy Scudetto favourites Internazionale went testa-alla-testa with my beloved (but struggling terribly) AS Roma.

Football:

Arsenal 4-1 Wolverhampton – Sure, Chelsea and United are probably the two favourites in the Premiership race this season, but I’m not fool enough to dismiss Arsenal as also-rans just yet. For one thing, the Gunners are on a hot streak of 13 unbeaten matches in all competitions. For another thing, one of those matches consisted of something of an Arsenal youth squad (but then again, aren’t all their squads youth squads?) defeating admittedly-struggling Liverpool in Carling Cup play. On the other hand, this weekends performance in particular wasn’t all that impressive, and it might be more appropriate to say that Wolverhampton lost the match rather than saying Arsenal won it. The Molineux Stadium offered the Wolves no security, as the visitors went up 3-0 before the end of the first half, with 2 of those goals being put into the Wolves’ own net by their defenders Ronald Zubar and Joey Craddock. Cesc Fàbregas would provide the third. Andrei Arshavin added his name to the scoresheet in the second half, and Joey Craddock somewhat atoned for his errors by scoring a consolation goal (in Arsenal’s net, this time) in the 89th minute. Along with the result of the Chelsea-United match this afternoon, this win in Wolverhampton sees Arsenal climb to second in the League table.

Perhaps one day Drogba will follow the footsteps of Vinnie Jones to Hollywood.

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester Utd A fairly controversial match – but then again, it was always going to be. There’s bound to be a million gripes from United fanboys about the various ‘injustices’ committed against them today, so if you’re a Blues fan gloat with caution, because you’re likely to receive a long series of whines in response. Let me say a few things: Darren Fletcher’s foul was not a foul, Drogba should probably retire and become an actor, and Jonny Evans is a little punk. Many tempers flared during the match, and it seemed as if a full-out brawl was imminent at points, but alas they kept their heads and all that came of it was a flurry of yellow cards. It was nevertheless dramatic, though, with such highlights as the constant battle between Didier Drogba and Wes Brown providing (me, at least) with much entertainment. It would be Mr. Chelsea himself, John Terry, who would make the difference between the two sides, heading in what I believe was the only goal United have conceded from a set piece this year on 76′. I suppose that earns him a man of the match nod, but other contenders include Wayne Rooney, Nicolas Anelka and Michael Essien, who all gave 110% and played hard-nosed games (must’ve eaten their Toast’n'Butta this morning). Though Drogba’s theatrics were shameful, and he may have hauled down Wes Brown in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal, I have to call out Jonny Evans here, for his kung-fu kick to the chest of Drogba and then his tackle on Ricardo Carvalho long after the whistle. Horrific performance for the youngster; he should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t sent off. A win that sees Chelsea sitting 5 points clear atop the EPL table, and which should boost their morale for weeks to come. As for United; well I’m sure we’ll hear all about how they feel.

Manchester City 3-3 Burnley – Bad news all over Manchester this weekend, it seems. City have been struggling for weeks now, and had drawn their 4 previous fixtures. Well, make it five, Citizens. Newly-promoted Burnley are notoriously shoddy away from home, yet a late goal helped them to steal a point at the City of Manchester Stadium in a 6-goal draw. Burnley in fact took an early 2-0 lead over their hosts after Graham Alexander converted a spot kick and Steven Fletcher found the back of the net. City fought back, and goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kolo Toure and Craig Bellamy saw them take control of the game by the 56th minute. However, they were unable to keep hold of that control and on 87′ Burnley substitute Kevin McDonald scored to bring his side level for once and for all. I’m sure Burnley won’t be happy to have given up that initial 2-0 lead, but all in all, this is a result which should leave Owen Coyle pleased and Mark Hughes with his head in his hands.

Futbol:

The dangerous duo nearly gave Los Blancos a run for their money.

Real Madrid 3-2 Atlético Madrid – Well, El Clásico never fails to disappoint. Even in a season where Atléti has struggled so badly that they have been forced to make a change in management, against Los Blancos they always bring their all. It seemed at first that Real would simply stroll to a Clásico win this season, after Kaká gave his side the lead on 5′, with Marcelo and Higuaín adding their names to the scoresheet on 24′ and 64′, respectively. However, Los Colchoneros would battle back late in the second half after Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders on 66′; a frenzied 2 minutes would see Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero pull two goals back for their side with 10 minutes left to play. Manuel Pellegrini’s men would ultimately be able to hold off their crosstown rivals, but Quique Sánchez Flores can at least take heart from his side’s spirited fightback. An exciting Clásico, to say the least.

Barcelona 4-2 Mallorca – Samuel Eto’o commented this week that if he had not been bound by his duties to Inter, he would have traveled to the Camp Nou to see his ex-sides face off against one another – he would have sat directly at the centre line so as to not betray his allegiance to one over the other. I gotta say, Sammy, from a Romanista’s point of view, I wish you’d gone. But I digress. Barcelona youngster Pedro gave his side an early lead on 10′, only for Mallorca’s Nunes to equalize from a corner kick just under 10 minutes later. Pedro wasn’t finished yet, though and on 39′ restored the lead to his side, smashing home the third rebound after Mallorca keeper Aouate denied teammates Thierry Henry and Sergi Busquets. The two would get their chance just a few moments later, when Busquets sent in a cross for Henry, who beat Aouate with a diving header to make it 3-1. Lionel Messi was introduced after the break to further increase Barca’s tally – he would eventually, but he would take his time, and it would only be from the spot after teammate Ibrahimovic was brought down in the area. Mallorca sub Alhassane Keita would earn one back for his side late into stoppage time, but ultimately it was too little too late and Barcelona would cruise to an easy victory.

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04 – Bayern have been demoralized over and over again the past two weeks, and were perhaps unenthused to face the stiff challenge of Schalke this weekend. Schalke sit above Die Roten in the standings, and looked to pressure the home side early, forcing them into rash challenges and using their wingers to cause Bayern problems on the break. Both sides traded chances in the early stages of the match, but ultimately it would be Bayern who would get ahead first, with a little bit of luck. On 31′ Holger Badstuber lofted in a long ball to Miroslav Klose, whose headed effort deflected off of Kevin Kuranyi and landed at the feet of Daniel van Buyten, who duly buried it. However, Joel Matip, making his debut for Die Königsblauen, was able to cancel out the home side’s advantage with a strike of his own on 43′. The teams would go into the half level, and when they came back it was all Bayern – Louis van Gaal’s men poured forward and for the better part of the half had their visitors pinned in their own end. However, no matter what Bayern did, they were unable to find the back of the net, and both van Gaal and Felix Magath’s sides would come away from the game with a point. Bayern need to get themselves out of this current slump if they are to have any chance of keeping alive their hopes of European and domestic conquest.

Calcio:

AS Roma 1-1 Inter – I think I’ll tackle this one in its own article.

Mauro Camoranesi makes the difference for Juventus once again.

Juventus 5-2 Atalanta – It seems that when Mauro Camoranesi is on form, so is La Vecchia Signora. Forget Brazilians and expensive summer signings (and those that are one and the same); the success of Ciro Ferrara’s squad depends on the performance of the Italian international, who has been with i Bianconeri since 2002. In the case of yesterday’s game, it was Camoranesi’s brace which opened up the scoring in a 5-2 drubbing of Atalanta. Felipe Melo, Diego and David Trezeguet would account for the other 3 goals on Juventus’s part, while Valdes and Fabio Ceravolo pulled back 2 for the home side. This is a very positive result for Juve; while Atalanta generally climb to midtable at the best of times, they are nonetheless notoriously difficult to defeat at home. With Inter tying Roma and yesterday’s drubbing in Bergamo, Juve move to 5 points off of first place.

AC Milan 2-1 SS Lazio – I give Davide Ballardini until the end of the month. After the horrendous loss to Villareal in Europa League play on Thursday, Lazio needed some kind of result to break them out of a long, long losing streak. Admittedly, this revived AC Milan team are not the easiest team to achieve it against, but if they are going to do it anywhere, it would be in their Roma’s house, the Stadio Olimpico. As it can plainly be seen, they did not achieve said result. Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato both found the Lazio net with first-half goals to dash whatever hopes could still be held in the Curva Nord even before the halftime whistle. However, Lazio were handed a lifeline when Thiago Silva deflected the ball into his own net after some deft play by Mauro Zarate. After that own-goal, gli Aquilotti seriously threatened to equalize, with Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate both coming close to restoring parity. In the end though, AC Milan would grab a valuable 3 points, while Lazio return to their fortress of solitude media silence to ponder what continues to go wrong.

Fiorentina 1-0 Udinese – It took them 84 minutes, but la Viola were able to to squeak by midtable side Udinese with some help from a Juan Manuel Vargas strike. It was  night of missed chances for both sides; a race to the finish where both teams were misfiring on all cylinders. Fiorentina had the bulk of the chances, with 14 shots and 5 on target, compared to Udinese’s 7 and 2. However, only one of those shots would make a difference tonight at the Stadio Friuli, and it would be Vargas’ set-piece shot. That shot earned i Gigliati a victory which sees them only 1 point behind AC Milan in the standings, sitting comfortably in 4th place.

Decía un famoso entrenador que cuando un equipo no está cerrado, hay muchas posibilidades de que termine resucitando a los muertos. Se refería a que un equipo que aún no está del todo hecho, acaba teniendo minutos de desconcierto que puede aprovechar su adversario para meterse en el partido. Ayer, fue inevitable que me acordara de él en el tiempo en que el Madrid navegaba a la deriva resignado a su suerte desde que Agüero pusiera un 2-3 que se antojaba imposible unos minutos antes.

Lo cierto es que, siendo justos, los acontecimientos fueron muy desfavorables al Madrid en esos minutos. Para entonces Raúl ya había salido por Higuaín y, aunque la lógica decía que el equipo merengue necesitaba un delantero rápido para las pocas contras de que dispusiera, no era menos necesario reforzar el centro del campo cuando el equipo se quedó con 10. Así, el damnificado fue Benzema (para mí de los mejores ayer) para dar entrada a Gago. Ahí se terminó el Madrid y asistimos atónitos a una remontada de la que sólo el Atleti es capaz. No la culminó, pero bien pudo hacerlo si Agüero llega a acertar un gran pase de Maxi en el tiempo de descuento. Fueron minutos locos que no supo –o no le dejaron- jugar el Real Madrid. Se vio superado, y Raúl fue incapaz de aguantar un solo balón para que el equipo se estirase un poco. Tampoco ayudó la facilidad con que Gago pierde la posición. Pero sobre todo, esos minutos evidenciaron las terribles carencias de Marcelo como lateral. El agujero por su costado fue la vitamina que necesitaba un Atleti moribundo para engancharse al partido.

Pero no nos engañemos, esos 15 minutos fueron una excepción. Una bendita excepción de locura Atlética que llegó cuando el partido estaba decidido. Antes, el Madrid había sido insultantemente superior. Sin hacer un gran partido, los blancos manejaron a su rival y le noquearon hasta dejarlo K.O. O casi. Kaká hizo diabluras ante la parsimonia de un equipo local que no tenía como pararle. Benzema, que va a más, se desenganchaba para combinar con todo el mundo, y Marcelo aportaba llegada desde su desorden. Estuvo más rato como delantero que como centrocampista, pero lo cierto es que llevó peligro y su partido puede calificarse de bueno (hasta que Pellegrini tuvo a bien retrasar su posición). Xabi Alonso y Lass se comieron literalmente al centro del campo colchonero, en el que solo Jurado soltó de vez en cuando algún pase acertado. Es curioso que Quique lo eligiera precisamente a él para introducir al Kun Agüero después de ver como Cleber y Raúl García apenas aportaron nada. Pero era tarde, pese a que el argentino hiciera auténticas diabluras que pusieron en duda el resultado final. Me sorprendió que saliera desde el banquillo. El Atleti, ya sin Champions, y con la jornada de selección que se avecina, hizo una concesión a su rival. Estos partidos hay que jugarlos con los buenos y dejarse de milongas.

Y si concesión fue la no inclusión de Agüero, habría que buscar un calificativo para el regalo de Perea. Uno más. Me pregunto que pasaría por la cabeza del colombiano para tratar de regatear a Higuaín en esa zona del campo. Me pregunto también que ventaja esperaba sacar de hacerlo. El pipita le robó la pelota y puso un 0-3 que deja en evidencia que hay cosas que un entrenador no puede cambiar. Lo lógico es pensar que Perea no va a volver a jugar un partido con Quique en el banquillo. Igual debería bajar a entrenar con los juveniles para repasar ciertos conceptos que tiene olvidados.

La conclusión es que el Madrid, que hizo un partido más que digno, vio empañada su victoria por unos minutos de descontrol total en los que el Atlético pudo neutralizar la ventaja de tres goles que le llevaba su eterno rival. El mal tino (y Casillas), hicieron que los tres puntos se fueran a Chamartín. Una vez más. Y van muchas en los últimos tiempos como para pensar que fue casualidad. El Madrid fue el mejor y el árbitro el peor. Sin discusión.

Casillas sigue estando ahí. Cuando sus compañeros se relajan y dejan jugar al rival, es el portero quien gana los partidos. Contra el Atlético volvió a repetirse la misma historia. El Madrid volvió a mostrar dos caras, como en Milan. Dominó y combinó en la primera parte y desconectó en la segunda. La justa expulsión de Ramos no tuvo efectos positivos para los blancos, que vieron cómo el Atlético rozó el empate. Menos mal que estaba Casillas.

Había ocurrido en los últimos años y esta vez siguió la tradición. El Real Madrid se puso por delante nada más comenzar el partido (minuto 4), gracias a un soberbio derechazo de Kaká desde la frontal. Fue tan brillante que la luz del brasileño se apagó para el resto del partido. El marcador a favor afianzó al Madrid en el campo, tan móvil y rápido como en San Siro.

Kaká encarriló la victoria blanca

El segundo gol fue obra de Marcelo. Benzema recibió en el área y se la dio al antes lateral. Ahora es extremo o incluso delantero, cualquier cosa es factible dentro de su caos. Marcelo se perfiló con la derecha y fusiló a Asenjo por el palo corto. El Atlético no apareció hasta el final de la primera parte. Simao disparó seco y Casillas sacó una mano complicada, pero que él hizo fácil.

Tras el descanso, el Madrid volvió a demostrar que no es capaz de jugar alerta 90 minutos. Aun así, supo aumentar su ventaja. Perea le regaló el balón a Higuaín y el hambriento argentino no perdonó. Fuimos muchos los que dimos el partido por finiquitado, victoria fácil para el Madrid.

Entonces, un minuto después, llegó la expulsión de Ramos. Agüero entró veloz y el sevillano le hizo falta por detrás. Roja justa. Pellegrini retrasó a Lass al lateral y cambió a Benzema por Gago. Al contrario que la semana pasada, la recomposición no salió bien. El Madrid se acababa en el mediocentro. Arriba sólo estaba Raúl, luchando contra gigantes y defensas.

En el 78′, Forlán conectó con Ujfalusi. El checo centró al área y el uruguayo llegó desde atrás para marcar, mientras Pepe le marcaba con la vista. El Madrid sacó de centro, Cléber robó rápidamente y envió para el veloz Agüero, que le ganó la pugna varonil a Pepe. El Kun batió a Casillas y acercaba el milagro.

Los blancos se encerraron para defender el marcador. Simao tuvo una y la mandó alta. Pero la gran oportunidad para empatar estuvo en las botas de Agüero. Maxi bajó un centro con el pecho y dejó solo al Kun. Cuando ya se daba el milagro por consumado, apareció otro ángel, el de Casillas, para salvar la victoria y la honra y reducir los daños a un susto. Grande, eso sí, pero sólo susto.

Resumen del Atlético 2-3 Real Madrid