Schalke 04 Vs Real Madrid
SCHALKE 04
With a more than convincing balance of 16 out of 18 points in the group stage, only conceeding a draw at the always complicated Juventus Stadium, the white team qualified to the Round of 16 as the best team in the competition, sharing this honour with Atlético de Madrid. However, this is nothing but history now. Nobody will remember Ancelotti's men for their results at the first phase of the competition, but for their performance in the play-offs.
Our first (and not last, hopefully) rival will be the German team Schalke 04, a squad that a good proportion of madridistas keep at their hearts because of Raúl's stay there. The pairing could have been worse, obviously, since we avoided Arsenal and Manchester City, but it would not be wise to believe that qualifying to the next round will be easy as pie.
The Gelsenkirchen miners are not as strong as their compatriots from München or Dortmund, but their performance at Bundesliga is being quite solid, mostly after the winter break, having won their all of their games to rise to the league's fourth position.
The purpose of this article is to introduce you to Schalke 04. We will have a look at some of their best players, their style and their biggest strengths and weaknesses. The analysis is essentialy based on the last four games they have played. The author wishes to thankShark Gutiérrez for his useful advice and for his permission to use some of the videos he posted at his analysis of Schalke 04 at the websites Rondo Blaugrana and El Contragolpe. Obviously, for any mistake or lack of accuracy I am the only responsible.
The lineup
After a hesitant first part of the season, undermined by the absences of important players such as Huntelaar, Draxler or Papadopoulos, the miners have returned from the Christmas break full of power. Jens Keller, their coach, was really questioned at the Ruhrgebiet, but he has come up with a system that definitely suits his players the best, and which I believe has not shown yet its full potential, given that Julian Draxler, Schalke's undisputed top-class individual, isn't still recovered from his injury.
The lineup
After a hesitant first part of the season, undermined by the absences of important players such as Huntelaar, Draxler or Papadopoulos, the miners have returned from the Christmas break full of power. Jens Keller, their coach, was really questioned at the Ruhrgebiet, but he has come up with a system that definitely suits his players the best, and which I believe has not shown yet its full potential, given that Julian Draxler, Schalke's undisputed top-class individual, isn't still recovered from his injury.
The key idea has consisted in using Boateng as a central midfielder, together with Neustädter. Although we are used to seeing Boateng in more advanced positions, this new role has revealed his capabilities as a box-to-box player supported in a great physical condition. On the board, we would say that Schalke 04 plays in a 4-2-3-1 system, I believe that the most accurate way to put it is as a 4-1-Boateng-3-1. In defensive phase, however, the system clearly organizes in a 4-4-2, with Boateng at the same height as Neustädter and Meyer upfront, together with Huntelaar.
REAL MADRID
Real Madrid are supposed to be in the knockout stages of the Champions League. It’s expected, it’s demanded, their payroll and transfer expenditures scream of their desire to not only be successful domestically but on the European stage as well. There’s also the underlying drive of history. No team has won the European Cup/UCL more than Madrid -- nine times -- and while AC Milan is the next closest with seven, Los Blancos badly want to be the first team to win 10.
The group stages did not pose much trouble for Carlo Ancelotti’s team. Madrid were the only side in Group B without a loss and had locked up the top spot with time to spare. The only blemish on their record was a 2-2 draw away against Juventus, but it didn’t stop them from having the best goal differential of any team in the group stage (+15) and one of two teams with 16 points. All in all, it was an impressive performance.
Madrid are of course led by the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo. The man scores goals like the Hamburger steals hamburgers and still has time to sell underwear and start social networks. Ronaldo scored nine goals in the group stages -- making him the current top scorer in this season’s tournament -- including three multi-goal matches. If not for an injury keeping out of the second meeting with Galatasaray, he’s probably be in double digits. While the rest of the Madrid attack is dangerous, they’ll need Ronaldo at his best if they want their tenth title.
Key Matchup: Hildebrand vs. Ronaldo
Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand will be tested time and time again by Cristiano Ronaldo -- his defence isn't going to help much -- and unless he's at his very best he's going to be picking the ball out of the back of his net more than once. But a heroic performance from the veteran goalkeeper could well be the key to Schalke pulling off a miracle.
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