Two great free-spirited football clubs meet tonight in the charged atmosphere of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for what is expected to be nothing short of a clasico. Real Madrid supporters always expect a spectacle, but everyone - from the local crazy guy who loiters close to the club shop in the shopping centre behind the stadium, to the graceful intellect of sporting director Jorge Valdano - everyone is thrilled at the prospect of Manchester United's visit for this Champions League quarter-final.
"These two teams are perhaps the two that give the most pleasure in football terms when playing on form," said Valdano. "It is very difficult to find a football match in the world today where you see 22 names and faces which are all so recognisable to the footballing world. Every single player is a great footballer."
Manchester United and Real Madrid have affinities in terms of attacking philosophy, glamour and global appeal, he conceded. "The only miracle about this game is that the two managers are the same as when the sides met three years ago. Look at the other six teams playing in the quarter-finals, all their coaches have changed in the last two or three years, and possibly more than once."
He pointed out the interest, not in the two clubs' affinities, but in "some very interesting contrasts".
"Whereas United are more academic and rely a bit more on speed, Real Madrid work the ball more, play with more patience in the build-up, and their style of play therefore makes them more difficult to disentangle. It is a big, big game and it will be fascinating to see how it pans out," he reasoned, with an authoritative air of detachment.
"Now it is time to enjoy the football. It is not surprising that this game attracts such media attention from all around the world. Everyone has been waiting for three years to watch this meeting of teams again. Real Madrid and Manchester United are great clubs, but football is greater than both."
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