The atmosphere is not at its best in the White House. Real Madrid defeat against AS Roma has evidenced the differences between Calderon and Bern Schuster. Real Madrid has lost seven of the fourteen games played in 2008 and that the team is out of Copa del Rey and Champions League, which has been a massive hit for the club, after spending $100 million in the summer.
Instead, FC Barcelona, after a very irregular campaign, are still alive in the three competitions. The next games are key in the aspirations of the Catalan team to win the league. This weekend seems a favorable scenario to reduce the five points gap between Real Madrid and Barça, as the team from the capital of Spain receive a RCD Espanyol that will be able to count with Tamudo, their best player, while FC Barcelona will play Villareal at home. Both rivals are fighting for a place in the top four of La Liga, so they will not be easy. However, Barça will receive Villareal in good spirits after the victory against Celtic Glasgow, that gave the pass to the Champions League quarterfinals.
The only bad news for the Catalan team is the absence of Leonel Messi for the next nine games, which has originated some critics to Rijkaard, that made the Argentinian play even when there was a risk of falling injured. However, Henry, Eto’o and Dinho are available for the Dutchman. The team will have to show that they do not rely on the Argentinian to play their best football.