Madrid are Real Masters on our turf!

Spainrsquos ageing stars Fernando Morientes and David Barral turned back the clock scoring a goal each as the Real Madrid Legends beat the Barcelona Legends 20 in the Legends Faceoff at the DY Patil Stadium on SundayThe 35000capacity venue may not have been a full house and the match itself was not a typical El Clasico contest of speed and aggression but every football aficionado who watched 80 minutes of this legendary football match would have returned home with the realisation that old truly is gold With either sidesrsquo defence being marshalled by two of the biggest names in that department ndash Pepe for Real Madrid and Carles Puyol for Barcelona ndash it was always going to be a lowscoring encounter Each time Barcelona began their attack from the midfield ndash brilliantly marshalled by Brazilian Rivaldo and Spanish super star Xavi ndash it somehow culminated in a Pepe clearance inside the Real box Similarly when Real initiated most of their moves from the right thanks to the inimitable Luis Figo more often than not Puyol would stretch himself to get the final touch on the ball in the Barca danger areaAlso ReadTerrific Trevor super Sandesh delight crowds on final dayFernando Morientes exults after scoring v Barcelona yesterdayTurning back the clockThe players from both sides may have been in their 40s or even early 50s in some cases but their minds were as sharp as they were in their heyday Figorsquos breathtaking runs Xavirsquos defencesplitting passes Rivaldorsquos deft backheel it was all on view interspersed by collective ldquooohsrdquo and ldquoaahsrdquo from the highly excited crowd With every inchperfect pass and cleverly crafted move the legends proved just why football is called the Beautiful GameTeam India winger Lallianzuala Chhangte 27 was in the crowd watching some of his heroes in awe ldquoIrsquom a Cristiano Ronaldo fan so Irsquom a bit tilted towards Real Madrid but even the Barcelona players are amazing Such a match is not as much about the goals as it is about the sheer movement and skill of these superstars There is so much to learn For example how they turn with the ball or how they simply position themselves in anticipation of a pass Itrsquos just brilliantrdquo Chhangte told midday Figorsquos moment of magicMidway through the first half in the 14th minute to be precise Figo illustrated what Chhangte suggested With the outside of his left foot he chipped a beautiful ball leaving the Barca defenders stranded into the path of striker Morientes at the edge of the box who fired firsttime shot beating custodian Vitor Baia all ends upReal doubled their lead in the second half when David Barral skilfully rounded off the Barcelona defence to finish into an empty net Sure some of the players were strolling on the pitch for the better part of the second half but thatrsquos only because their bodies were tired having entertained the world for decades on the football field And they are still continuing to do soatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params