Like thousands across Europe, my weekend was dedicated solely to watching one football match. While all the other games came and went, there was one fixture that I’d planned to mould my weekend around. The Catalan Chargers against the Real Madrid Royals. Well, Real Madrid v Barcelona but as you might be able to tell my week has also been spent watching the Indian Premier League and, despite the pre-match excitement of El Clasico, I was left feeling visually abused by the lack of entertainment compared to that of the World’s best cricketer’s in India. And that’s saying something!
Even the efforts of a little Argentinean and his just as little Spanish team-mate failed to make up for one of the most stop-start games of football I’ve seen this season. The only plus was the sight of a Portuguese ‘superstar’ failing to convince even his own fans that he is better than their rivals number 10.
An interesting point I did notice was the confidence of a player who, in his time at Liverpool, I had always viewed as a weak link. No, not Xabi Alonso, but Alvaro Arbeloa. At just 4million Euros, this transfer must surely go down as one of the signings of the season in Europe. Not entirely because of his quality but, given the modern day transfer market, the fact that he is an experienced player in European competitions and has a decent number of international caps, you have to feel Liverpool have been robbed slightly at that price.
While Barcelona’s defenders seemed just as comfortable to receive the ball from goalkeeper Victor Valdes, Real Madrid’s back line showed why they are still ‘a work in progress’ rather than the finished article of their rivals. Arbeloa still seemed relatively comfortable at left-back, a position I presume he was put in to deal with the threat of Messi. Unknown to Pellegrini, Messi was set to play as a central striker but that tactical move must say something about the confidence Arbeloa has given his manager this season. Unless I missed every game in which it happened, I’m pretty sure it was not a position that the master tactician that is Rafa Benitez had the initiative to play him in. Or in fact see that he is actually a very good player.
This is a belief back up by none other than Fernando Torres who said:
"Alvaro was a player who did a vital job for us, always played to a high level and his flexibility was a huge bonus.”
It was even Arbeloa who echoed his former team-mate Albert Riera in saying that Benitez’s style is ‘a bit robotic’. That sums up why his versatility was never utilised properly. There is no doubt that the sale of Xabi Alonso has affected the Liverpool team this season. He was vital to the way they played but likewise Arbeloa. I would never have imagined myself saying this until recently but Arbeloa was important to Liverpool and I’m afraid, Rafa, you made a mistake. Again.