You are guaranteed goals when Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid each season, and Saturday’s encounter at the Nou Camp was no exception as the European champions romped to a 5-2 victory.

Barca were 4-0 up within 41 minutes after goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita, before Atletico pulled one back through Sergio Aguero.

Diego Forlan made it 4-2 late on but any thoughts of a late rally disappeared when an inspired Messi grabbed his second at the end.

Whereas most managers think Rorke’s Drift or the Alamo when they go the Nou Camp, Atletico coach Abel Resino went to trade blows with Barca, lining up five attacking players ahead of one holding midfielder.

Their goal was guarded by reserve keeper Roberto, who was making only his second first-team appearance – the first having been four years ago.

Xavi has described Pep Guardiola as a football romantic for his attacking ideals, and perhaps Resino falls into the same category. But his ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ perhaps owed more to history than good sense.

He could have looked back to their previous meeting at the Calderon last February. When his side fell two goals behind he threw caution to the wind, and the team came back to win 4-3 with a last minute goal from Aguero.

Recent meetings have been littered with goals.

In January, Barca knocked Atletico out of the King’s Cup 5-2 on aggregate, and at the Nou Camp for the first meeting of last season Barcelona trounced Javier Aguirre’s team 6-1.

Two years ago, it was a similar story. Ronaldinho scored his last ever goal for Barcelona with a spectacular overhead kick at the Calderon only for Atletico to storm back and win 4-2. At the Nou Camp, Barca ran out 3-0 winners.

Three years ago, Barcelona smashed six past Atletico without reply in the Calderon after having drawn 1-1 earlier in the season.

Four years ago, Fernando Torres scored three as Atletico did the double over the eventual league and European champions with 2-1 and 3-1 victories.

Anyone got tickets for Barcelona’s visit to the Calderon in February?

PHOTO: Barcelona’s Leo Messi (L) is tackled by Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Ibanez during their Spanish First Division soccer match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona September 19, 2009. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

Click the video above for a look at how Shamrock Rovers are preparing for the visit of Real Madrid — a match the entire soccer word will be keeping an eye on, with Cristiano Ronaldo set to make his debut for the Spanish club.

Interesting line about Real’s continued interest in Franck Ribery. Do they really need him still. Raul seems to suggest they’d still like him…

The departure of Kaka from AC Milan to Real Madrid marks the end of the Italian era in European football. Not only can Italian clubs not attract the best players in the world to play in Serie A but now, when they unearth a talent like Kaka, they can’t stop them from leaving.

Italians used to describe their Serie A as ‘il campionato piu bello del mondo’ , the most beautiful championship in the world. It was not just because Italians love nothing more than talking themselves up — Serie A was the first league in the world to sign up top foreign stars, bringing in international talent at a time when the English league, for example, stretched no further than Scotland in search of players.

Beginning in the late 1950’s when the likes of Brazilian Jose Altafini (AC Milan) and Welshman John Charles (Juventus) were among the top performers, Serie A prided itself on being the league that had the money to bring in the best in the world.

After the 1966 World Cup, where Italy was humiliated by North Korea, foreigners were banned as part of an attempt to strengthen the domestic talent base and the national team, but when the rule was relaxed in 1980, the top clubs began importing talent again and before long Italy had become the first league to truly take on global status.

Frenchman Michel Platini at Juventus led the new wave and then the biggest name of all, Diego Maradona almost single-handedly led Napoli to titles in 1987 and 1990. The great Milan sides of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello were built around foreign stars — the Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten helped transform Serie A from a league dominated by cautious and defensive teams into a showcase for the world’s best talent.

Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus and Andreas Brehme helped Inter to the title in 1989, and by the nineties, any player in the world who could be considered a match-winner was being snapped up by an Italian team.

Just ten years ago, the top teams in Serie A included players such as Ronaldo at Inter, George Weah and a young Andriy Shevchenko at Milan, Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina, Hernan Crespo, Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastian Veron (all at their peak) at Lazio and the best of his generation, Zinedine Zidane at Juventus. It was the departure of the latter to Real Madrid in 2001 that suggested Spain was beginning to replace Italy as the place where the world’s best could get paid best.

Since then though, England’s Premier League, flush with television cash, has begun gobbling up players that in the past would have headed to Serie A. In the 1990’s the likes of Fernando Torres, Michael Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Didier Drogba would have almost certainly been Serie A players. Real and Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany have also proven stronger in the transfer market that Italy’s top teams. It would have once been unthinkable that Italian World Cup hero such as Luca Toni would choose to play in the Bundesliga rather than in Milan or Turin.

A week after Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who played with or against all those great talents from the late eighties onwards, finally hung up his boots, Kaka leaves Milan for a fee of around 68 million euros and Adriano Galliani, who runs Milan on behalf of tycoon and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi conceded the golden era of Serie A was now over: “Ten years ago Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could have played in Italy but now no one even considers it,” he said.

That is the painful truth for Italian fans — it is not so much that Italian clubs cannot compete with Real’s occasional obscene bouts of cash-throwing that hurts but that Italian clubs are no longer even considered as likely destinations for the world’s best or most promising.

Berlusconi talked up Ronaldinho as the man who will now be the standard-bearer for Milan but the impression is that he moved to Italy after his best years, served with Barcelona, were over.

Money is the main reason for Italy’s relegation from Europe’s elite — Milan, Inter and Juventus no longer have the resources to compete with England and Spain’s top clubs. Italian clubs ignored marketing and merchandising as they presumed their wealthy owners — the Berlusconi, Moratti and Agnelli families — would take care of everything. Moratti still finds the cash but Milan and Juve now operate in the world of budgets rather than blockbuster transfer deals.

With the lack of foreign quality and top wages, Serie A has lost the sheen of glamour that once led fans from all over the world to tune in and watch. The days when Ronaldo and Zidane were face to face in an Inter-Juve match, with a supporting cast of quality Italians and exciting foreign players, is over. Does anyone watch Serie A on satellite or cable anymore?

The proof that this really is the end of an era is the way that the Italian media and fans have just shrugged their shoulders at the departure of Kaka. They know they cannot turn down offers of that size — offers their own teams used to make every summer.

KAKA: Kaka attends Brazilian training at Arruda stadium in Recife, northeastern Brazil, June 8, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

ZIDANE: Zinedine Zidane shows his Juventus shirt at a news conference announcing his move to Turin, July 3, 1996. REUTERS/Claudio Papi

Florentino Perez began his second spell as Real Madrid president on Monday and immediately signed up Zinedine Zidane and Jorge Valdano for the project.

Those appointments are all very well, but the question we all want answering is which players Florentino is going to bring in. Will he content himself with one major signing, a la Zidane, or will he, as some have speculated, sign basically a whole new team.

Click the video above to see Owen and myself discussing Real, and considering briefly what went wrong at Real Betis.

And remember, comments are always welcome…

If Chelsea were cautious in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, what will they do after seeing this display?

Spain’s sports journalists will be doing their best to outdo one another in superlatives after a performance that ranks right up there with the 5-0 Barça managed at the Bernabeu with Johan Cruyff in their team in 1974.

If that Barça team was largely about one man, the current vintage has quite extraordinary talent running all the way through it. From Puyol and Piqué at the back, to Xavi and Iniesta in central midfield to the attacking trio of Henry, Messi and Eto’o this is quite some collective.

We’ll have more on this tomorrow, but for now let’s take a quick look at the early reaction from Spain:

Marca: A humiliation to decide the league. In the big games, the big names should show up. In the Barça team today virtually all of them did: Henry, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Piqué, Puyol… Samuel Etoo was the only one missing.

As: They say you have to learn to walk before you can run. While Barcelona go sprinting towards their date with history, Madrid have barely taken their first steps.

Sport: Madrid came down like a house of cards… What you saw today in the Bernabeu was a true reflection of the enormous gulf that today separates one of these teams from the other. There was no comparison.

El Mundo Deportivo: Ecsta-six.

Wonder what Guus Hiddink made of it… Perhaps he’ll take the view that this was as much a sign of Real Madrid weakness as it was Barcelona strength.

PHOTO: Barcelona’s Gerard Pique, Thierry Henry and Daniel Alves celebrate a goal against Real Madrid during their match at the Bernabeu, May 2, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

I nearly fell out of my chair on Sunday night when I realised the identity of the Real Madrid player who had surged into the box and sent across a perfectly-weighted centre for Raul to score the equaliser against Sevilla.

Christoph Metzelder? What on earth is he doing up there?

The 28-year-old defender is trying to win back his place in the German national side but has only played in eight of the Spanish champions’ 33 league matches this season and has said he is considering moving on if he doesn’t get more time on the pitch.

The 10-match ban handed to Pepe last week is his chance to impress. And judging by his performance in Sunday’s 4-2 comeback win he is determined to take it.

As well as creating the first goal, he looked to have rediscovered something close to the form that made him such an effective central defensive partner for Per Mertesacker at the 2006 World Cup.

He had looked nervous and clumsy when used by Real this season, but Germany coach Joachim Loew is sure to have noticed his impressive showing alongside Fabio Cannavaro on Sunday, with the pair comfortably keeping Sevilla strikers Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano at bay.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his lack of first-team action, Metzelder has settled well into the Spanish capital and has learned very good Castellano that wins him praise at press conferences and for his appearances on radio and television.

“We defended quite well and I managed to provide an assist,” he said after Sunday’s match, which puts Real almost within touching distance of Barcelona. “My job is to defend and try to help the team in that but sometimes there are attacks in which the central defenders can provide an assist.

“I was lucky to get the ball and the result was a goal. I was quite happy with the match. I had to come in and help the team and I managed it.”

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Raul celebrates with Cristoph Metzelder after scoring against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, April 26, 2009. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

The sort of performance Sergio Aguero turned in to inspire victory over Barcelona could be a curse as well as a blessing for Atletico Madrid, who are only going to find themselves under more pressure to sell him to one of Europe’s powerhouse clubs come the end of the season.

The gifted 20-year-old, nicknamed “Kun” after a Japanese comic book hero, scored two superb goals, including a dramatic 89th minute winner, as Atletico twice came from behind to stun the visiting Primera Liga leaders 4-3.

The match was a near carbon copy of the same fixture exactly a year earlier, when Aguero grabbed a brace and created one goal in the Madrid club’s 4-2 comeback win, and the quality of his performance was underscored by the fact that he outshone his more famous compatriot Lionel Messi.

However, he has looked unsettled at times this season and was unhappy with coach Abel Resino’s decision to replace him in the 56th minute of last week’s Champions League draw with Porto.

Argentina coach Diego Maradona, the father of Aguero’s partner Gianinna, has publicly advised him to seek a move to Inter Milan and the Serie A leaders have confirmed they are monitoring him.

“We’ll be hearing again today how the big boys of Europe want to buy him,” F. Javier Diaz wrote in Monday’s edition of Spanish sports newspaper As. “For now he’s playing in the red and white stripes of Atletico, not at Inter, Manchester United, Real Madrid or Barcelona, and it’s a matter of pride for the Atletico fans to hold on to him.”

Aguero said last month he was happy at Atletico and was not thinking about moving on but the pressure on the club to cash in will surely mount as his star continues to rise.

Selling him could make sense for both the player and the club, which lacks the earning power of Real and Barca, and they could use the proceeds to bolster a squad missing the depth enjoyed by their richer rivals.

If Atletico do try to hold on to Aguero, Champions League football will be a key factor.

Their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals of this year’s competition look slim after the 2-2 draw with Porto in Madrid in the first leg of their last 16 clash.

The win over Barca moved them up into fifth spot in the Spanish league but they are still three points behind Villarreal in fourth and eight shy of third-placed Sevilla.

PHOTO: Atletico Madrid’s Sergio “Kun” Aguero celebrates after scoring against Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, March 1, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer

There’s still a long way to go to the final in Rome but from what we saw over the first legs of the opening knock-out round of the Champions League a lot of people will be expecting another all-English affair at the Olympic Stadium.

If you take Mark’s dad as an authority, and I’m sure he knows as much as anyone, serie A sides are unlikely still to be challenging but is there anyone else capable of preventing another Premier League tour match?

Manchester United are actually the most precariously placed of the four English sides. A goalless draw away from home is not a great result, as United will doubtless remember from their trip to the Bernabeu in 2000.

Arsenal and Chelsea had better results at home to Italian sides, winning their home legs 1-0 against, respectively, Roma and Juventus, while Liverpool nicked a great result, 1-0 away to Real Madrid thanks to a late Yossi Benayoun header.

Barcelona should probably go through after salvaging a 1-1 draw away to Lyon but their performance in France will have given rise to more doubts from their fans.

Have Pep Guardiola’s team peaked too early?

Of the rest, Bayern Munich hammered out a reminder of their European glory days by winning 5-0 at Sporting and I guess the Bavarians can’t be discounted but I don’t think any of the other teams, from Panathinaikos to Villarreal, Atletico and Porto, would provide too many problems for United and co.

Anything’s possible, but I’d expect all four English teams to make it through to the quarter-finals and from there, who knows?

But let me know if you think I’m wrong. My predictions usually are…

Kevin Fylan, London

PHOTO: Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun celebrates his goal during their Champions League win over  Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Feb. 25, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Back in December, when the draw for the first knock-out round of the Champions League was made, Liverpool could be forgiven for feeling pretty pleased with the prospect of renewing their acquaintance with Real Madrid. How different things look now.

Back then, Liverpool were top of the Premier League, six points ahead of a Manchester United side facing a fixture pile-up and struggling for form. Real Madrid, in apparent disarray after sacking coach Bernd Schuster, were 12 points behind Barcelona, having just lost 2-0 to their arch-rivals.

Now, Liverpool have all but conceded the title to United, while Real Madrid, inspired by Juande Ramos, have won nine league games in a row to give Barcelona plenty to think about. True, Real remain seven points behind Barca, exactly the same margin by which Liverpool trail United, but Ramos’s side will go into the tie bristling with confidence, while their opponents fight just to keep their season alive.

There are at least a couple of other uncomfortable facts for Liverpool to consider as they prepare for a first European Cup meeting with Real since the final in Paris in 1981.

Firstly, coach Rafa Benitez will know that Fernando Torres has a terrible record against Real Madrid. As an Atletico player, Torres could be relied upon to score against Barcelona and to come up short against Real. There was no real explanation for it. That’s just the way it was.

Secondly, it will not have escaped Liverpool’s notice that Raul has gradually played his way back into the sort of form that convinced Sir Alex Ferguson that he was the world’s best player.

Raul is two goals short of Gerd Mueller’s record of total European goals and he has that guile around the box English defences hate. Just ask Ferguson.

Liverpool’s faith will be pinned on Steven Gerrard, who has at least been passed fit enough for a place in the squad. A couple of inspirational performances from him and who knows? But without him, it’s hard to see Liverpool surviving to the last eight. And not many people were talking like that back in December.

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Raul celebrates a goal during their Spanish First Division soccer match against Real Betis at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid February 21, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Atletico Madrid’s decision to appoint Abel Resino as coach in place of the mild-mannered Javier Aguirre should help placate disgruntled fans and unsettled players.

Whether it will help them fulfil their aspirations of European success is a trickier question.

The 49-year-old Resino played at Atletico for most of his career, but has no track record coaching a major club.

He may well make light of that disadvantage, but banking on Resino to do a Guardiola and immediately set the world to rights is a gamble indeed.

Atletico are a difficult club to manage after all.

Mexican Aguirre’s two-and-a-half year term brought a measure of stability after the arrival and departure of a stream of coaches since they last won the title in the 1995/96 season under Radomir Antic. (more…)