Barcelona and Real Madrid are so evenly matched, writes Andy Mitten, that Spain's big game is impossible to call
Not only are Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid giants of world football, but they are Europe's most in-form teams. In Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's best two players will be facing each other tonight, and so will two of football's most successful and charismatic coaches. Both cannot be victors, so which side has the edge?
Value for money
Real Madrid's team cost three times more than Barca's to assemble. Whereas Messi was a product of the youth system, Ronaldo cost a world record €94 million (Dh457m) when he signed from Manchester United in 2009. The players in Real's likely starting line-up cost €477.6m against the €156.8m of Barca - and much of that was lavished on David Villa and Daniel Alves.
The Catalans have their famed youth system to thank. World Cup-winning players like Xavi, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, goalkeeper Victor Valdes and Sergio Busquets did not cost a dirham.
Real's Iker Casillas, probably the planet's best goalkeeper, was a product of their cantera, but the rest of the Madrid stars were purchased, often at great expense.
Defence
If Casillas shades it over Valdes in goal, then Barca can claim to have the better defence. Alves, their attacking Brazilian right-back, is considered the finest in the world, though Real's Sergio Ramos was a World Cup winner.
Maxwell, another Brazilian, is set to start at left-back over Eric Abidal for Barca. If there is a slight chink in the champions' armour, then it is here. Real are also expected to use a Brazilian at left-back, the diminutive Marcelo who, at 22, is already being called the "new Roberto Carlos".
In central defence, Barca have the imperious pairing of Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, a partnership that has tasted victory from the Champions League to the World Cup.
Real have shown great consistency this season, with 10 players starting 10 or more of their 12 league games. They include the central defensive partnership of the ever-present Ricardo Carvalho and the Brazilian Pepe.
Real boast the stingiest defence in Spain with just six goals conceded to Barca's eight, but how many of their defenders would get into the Barca defence? Only Marcelo.
Midfield
Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira have been starting as a defensive midfielders for Real in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Alonso's range of passing as good as when he enjoyed his best Liverpool form.
Barca will play their trusted 4-3-3, with Sergio Busquets the most defensive midfielder. He will be charged with breaking up the plays of Real's prodigious attackers.
In front of him will be Xavi and Iniesta, the finest duo of creative midfielders in football. Both were in Fifa's top five for the 2010 World Player of the Year.
Opinions are divided about who is better, but Iniesta is Barca's only ever present in the league so far this season and has three goals to his name.
Forwards
The prospect of the players up front will have the 98,600 crowd salivating tonight, along with the expected 400 million global television audience.
Barca are likely to start with a front three of David Villa, Pedro and Messi. Villa has enjoyed a solid if not spectacular start to his Camp Nou career with six goals in 11 starts. Pedro has four in eight, while Messi has an astonishing 13 in 10.
Messi is the reigning World and European Player of the Year, as well as being the European golden boot holder. His greatest challenger this season is Ronaldo, who has scored 14 league goals in 12 starts so far.
Ronaldo will start behind an attack spearheaded by the Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, Real's top scorer last season who has seven goals from 12 starts this season.
Ronaldo will play alongside new signings Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria.
Both have settled immediately and provided key assists and goals at the Bernabeu, but neither has faced a test like tonight, a match against arguably the best club side ever in what will be the cauldron of Camp Nou.
Managers
The final intriguing clash is between the coaches. Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are both intense, relatively young, urbane, self-assured, handsome and sartorially perfect.
Guardiola is the purveyor of the attacking Barca philosophy instilled by Johann Cruyff when he was the Dutch legend's star pupil.
Mourinho thrives on attention and adversity. His reputation for defensive, negative football holds weight, but his high-scoring Real side are noted for their attacking zest and tight defence.
With home advantage, Barca are slight favourites, but it is almost impossible to call given the strength of both sides.
sports@thenational.ae
Midnight, Aljazeera Sport +3
Jigra
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
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The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
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THE SIXTH SENSE
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Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
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