Thread: The Big One! Barcelona - Real Madrid: Sa, 4/1 @ 3pm ET

The Biggest Match of the Season!
Live on RushHD and WorldSportHD: Saturday, April 1, at 3 PM EST

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

The best two clubs in Spain and arguably the greatest two soccer teams in the world are
meeting once again this Saturday. This is one of the most anticipated events of the season!

A new episode of La Liga Report starts 30 minutes before the game on WorldSportHD.

Come join our live discussion in this thread during the game!

This will be the last live game on RushHD! Do not miss it!

For the latest game schedules, please check the following thread:
Schedule of Live Soccer Matches on WorldSport-HD and Rush-HD

Logos are courtesy of
www.hqfl.dk

From Paul Giblin:

At last it's the big one again: Barca - Real Madrid. This Saturday in the Camp Nou, 3:00pm ET, 10pm local time.

Remember last November? How Ronaldinho did the almost impossible and got an ovation from the Santiago Bernabeu? How Eto'o tore the heart out of a weakened Real Madrid side? And how Leo Messi spectacularly came of age???

Well now it's round two and a lot has changed since that day: Most importantly Barca have the league all but sewn up - they have an 11 point lead and even if Madrid should win... and they've only done that once in the league (in the Camp Nou) in the last 20 years, the title would still be heading for Cataluna.

So that leaves pride... as we saw against Deportivo, Madrid still have some of that. Also Ronaldo looks to be getting back to his best (odd that with the World Cup around the corner).

Also and very importantly Barca are without 3 key players: there will be no Messi, Marquez or Edmilson and add to that the possible tiredness of a Champions League quarter final on Tuesday and the second leg the week after, and it is not as clear cut as it could be.

What it will certainly be though is 90 minutes of some of the best sporting theatre there is in the World. 98,000 fans, a pressure cooker atmosphere, tension and controversy guaranteed...

Don't tell me you are going to be out shopping or cutting the lawn. You HAVE to watch it.

Until then cheers,

PAUL

(PS still happy because Athletic Bilbao won again)

Here are the latest standings:

1 Barcelona 68
2 Real Madrid 57
3 Osasuna 55
4 Valencia 53
5 Sevilla 51
6 Celta 48
7 Deportivo 46
8 Villarreal 45
9 Atlético 43
10 Zaragoza 41
11 Getafe 40
12 Athletic 33
13 Racing 33
14 Betis 33
15 Espanyol 32
16 Alavés 31
17 Mallorca 31
18 Real Sociedad 28
19 Cádiz 27
20 Málaga 23

I will be watching.

You guys that get to see this make me sick

Well, I am hosting a game-time party tomorrow! My friends are coming over to watch THE GAME!

Today's Barca vs. Real Madrid Game will be followed live in 81 countries on six continents: 26 in Europe, 22 in Africa, 18 in South America, 3 in North America, 10 in Asia and 2 in Oceania.

And some lucky VOOM subscribers will even be able to watch it in High Definition!

FC Barcelona have played hosts to Real Madrid 75 times in the league, giving rise to a huge number of statistics and fascinating facts. Here are just some of them.

Between the Les Corts and Nou Camp stadiums, Barca have hosted 75 league matches against Real Madrid. What is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited match of the season has left behind a treasure trove pf facts. Her are some of the most interesting:

-Of the 75 matches, Barca have won 44, drawn 14 and lost 17.

-Ronaldinho has scored more goals against Real Madrid than any other member of the current Barca squad, with 4 goals in the last 3 games. He's closely followed by Eto'o, who has scored 3.

-Every time Real Madrid have come to the Nou Camp in second place in the table and with Barca in first place (7 times) Barca have won the match and scored more than 3 goals.

Tonight's match referee is Luis Medina Cantalejo from the Andalus College of Referees. The two sides have experienced varying fortunes when he has been in charge. Of the 6 games lost by FC Barcelona this season, 2 (against Atlético Madrid in the league and Zaragoza in the Cup) were officiated by Mr Medina. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have not lost a match officiated by Mr Medina since the 2002-03 season.

I'll be pulling for Real Madrid...how about you?

Also, I noticed that I no longer see a list of member currently viewing this (or any other) thread on the status bar (Thread Tools, Search This Thread, Display Modes)...did something recently change? I haven't changed any of my settings/options.