Real Madrid begin their two horse race against Barcelona today in Zaragoza, where they’ll have to deal with a very amped up Javier Aguirre. Managing Madrid, our SBNation Real Madrid blog previewed the match:
La Liga Week 1: Zaragoza-Real Madrid Lineups and Preview
Gone are the days when Zaragoza boasted the likes of players such as Diego Milito; gone are the days when Madrid felt lucky to eek out a 2-2 draw (this is my second 2007 Liga reference in two columns about this match). Last season los blancos manhandled the Aragonese side away in the first half of the season (1-3), but then lost (2-3) after the Liga was already over in late April thanks, in part, to a shockingly bad mistake from Iker Casillas.
I suppose I’m not giving enough credit to Zaragoza: Lafita, for example, is a strong player, as are Ikechukwu Uche and Javi Paredes. But they’re not a team that should give madridistas nightmares (hello, Deportivo la Coruña).
It’s always interesting when a fanbase is more scared of a team in second division than of the team that they’re about to play in the first division. In Madrid’s case, though it’s sort of warranted: they’ve always had an impossible time beating Depor away from home, and were very happy to see them drop down to Segunda.
Lineups:
Real Zaragoza: Roberto; Juárez, Da Silva, Meira, Paredes, Abraham; Barrera, Zuculini, Ponzio, Lafita; and Uche
Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo; Xabi Alonso, Coentrao; Di Maria, Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo; and Karim Benzema
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