La Liga 2020/21

[Morten]

Not true. He was usually the first sub off the bench and had 44 apps that season.

He played great and the club tried to get him to sign a 1-2 year extension but he declined.

Exactly, he wasn`t really a part of the starting XI, his influence on the 2015 treble was minimal, though sure, he did well enough.

Its not that he couldn`t play well, but i do remember his decline, he didnt have the legs to play a bunch of games in a row at that point.
You can have your GOAT-midfielder, fine, but longevity-wise, Modric has him beat.

 

[Devils]

Atletico totally dismantled.

They will get crushed in the CL too.

 

[Morten]

Atletico totally dismantled.

They will get crushed in the CL too.

They played okay when Suarez was subbed off.

 

[serghei]

Now it sounds like we're criticizing Modric , which is not true. Great player. Just that Xavi and Iniesta are a higher level, and unplayable at their peak. Dominated every team they ever faced (we controlled the matches and created more chances even in our famous losses) and made it look like child's play.

In their pomp, very few teams even tried to press them and take the ball away from them, and the ones that tried, including Madrid several times, were made to look like pub teams. Soon everybody understood you had to park the bus and hope for the best.

Modric as impressive as he is, never had close to that aura. The only reason he is even worthy of the comparison is because of his elegance and superior shooting. Pirlo, Kroos, Schweinsteiger are more apt comparisons from his peers.

 

[JerseyAddict]

Atletico totally dismantled.

They will get crushed in the CL too.

I don't get it why they were so shit today. It was an atrocity to the football.
...

 

[serghei]

Unpopular opinion here, but Atletico played at least as well as against us. Madrid were just faster, better, more focused, more determined to win this match. Mentality of Madrid in tough moments prevailed again. There's a reason they won 13 European Cups.

 

[Devils]

Exactly, he wasn`t really a part of the starting XI, his influence on the 2015 treble was minimal, though sure, he did well enough.

Its not that he couldn`t play well, but i do remember his decline, he didnt have the legs to play a bunch of games in a row at that point.
You can have your GOAT-midfielder, fine, but longevity-wise, Modric has him beat.

What on earth are you on about?

Modric has played 13 seasons of top level football (Spurs and Real Madrid) by the age of 35

Xavi had 17 seasons in the Barca first team by the age of 35

Xavi had far better longevity.

 

[serghei]

What on earth are you on about?

Modric has played 13 seasons of top level football (Spurs and Real Madrid) by the age of 35

Xavi had 17 seasons in the Barca first team by the age of 35

Well said.

 

[El Gato]

They routinely make things easier for us. 1 league win since 2016, 1 vs depressed Real after Zidane departure in European Supercup and 1 meaningless one in CL semi. Every other match was them doing standard 'play for draw and hope they give us a win'

 

[serghei]

Btw, Marca readers voted Xavi the best Spanish player of all time. Followed by Iniesta. Marca is a Madrid-based paper.

https://www.marca.com/futbol/debate/2017/12/13/5a314f18268e3e1a5e8b458f_results.html

 

[Morten]

What on earth are you on about?

Modric has played 13 seasons of top level football (Spurs and Real Madrid) by the age of 35

Xavi had 17 seasons in the Barca first team by the age of 35

Xavi had far better longevity.

Wait, are we not supposed to look at total amount of caps? Really?
They are getting pretty close on that, looking at it summed up.

 

[Birdy]

They routinely make things easier for us. 1 league win since 2016, 1 vs depressed Real after Zidane departure in European Supercup and 1 meaningless one in CL semi. Every other match was them doing standard 'play for draw and hope they give us a win'

Why do you think is that?
Inferiority complex?

 

[serghei]

Why do you think is that?
Inferiority complex?

Maybe Madrid are just... better? In La Liga Simeone never won against Barca until recently in 16 games or something.

 

[Horatio]

Maybe Madrid are just... better? In La Liga Simeone never won against Barca until recently in 16 games or something.

Useless stat when they do trash us in other competitions.

 

[Birdy]

Maybe Madrid are just... better? In La Liga Simeone never won against Barca until recently in 16 games or something.

Nah, not always.
You can reasonably argue Atleti had a better team in 2014 and 2016 CL finals for example