SOCCER FANS HAVE A BALL
Real Madrid star Ronaldo sitting out of friendly tourney
Soccer fans got ahead start on today’ s El Cl a si co Miami match between power houses Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at Friday’s Casa Clasico Fan Festival in Miami’s Bayfront Park. The festival will resume today at 11 a.m. and include concerts, games, giveaways, cooking demonstrations, player appearances and a watch party. The longtime rivals will face off in person at Hard Rock Stadium beginning at 8 p.m. See a game preview,
MIAMI GARDENS— A historic event will be missing a historic player.
When his Real Madrid side faces off against FC Barcelona on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, star forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not be playing, stripping “El Clasico Miami” of one of its top draws and depriving South Florida of a showdown with Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo, who has won three of the last four Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best player, called event organizers on Friday to let them know he wouldn’t make the trip for the preseason exhibition match.
“To the fans, I know Cristiano also sends his regrets,” said Charlie Stillitano, chairman of Relevent Sports. “He wishes he could be here.”
Ronaldo didn’t join Real Madrid on its American preseason tour after playing for Portugal in the Confederations Cup. He embarked on a promotional tour in Asia. Plus, he has a court date regarding tax fraud accusations on Monday.
“He’s on vacation,” Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said through a translator. “He has the
right to enjoy his vacation. We’re ready for [Saturday] a team. He’ll be back with us on the fifth, and he’ll be ready for the season.”
Ronaldo’s absence dims the star power in Miami for Saturday’s game, but does little to lessen the significance of El Clasico Miami. The game is the first meeting between Spanish rivals in America and the first time the match has been held outside Spain in 35 years.
The famed rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is arguably the best in the world, one renewed twice annually during La Liga play in Spain. Between the two clubs, they have captured 57 La Liga titles and 17 European Cups. Messi and Ronaldo have won the last nine Ballon d’Or awards.
The two teams are soccer royalty.
Each has distinctive signature looks: the blue and garnet stripes of Barcelona and the crisp all-white of Real Madrid. Each offers depth behind Ronaldo and Messi. Barcelona boasts Brazilian forward Neymar, Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta and Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez. Real Madrid counters with French forward Karim Benzema, Welsh forward Gareth Bale and Spanish defender Sergio Ramos.
Now, Miami’s the canvas for a garnet, blue and white portrait. Tickets for the match have sold for hundreds of dollars. On Friday afternoon, the ticket resale website Stubhub listed its cheapest ticket at nearly $300.
With theweek of parties leading into Saturday’s match, the halftime concerts and the national anthem singers, it can be easy to forget that El Clasico Miami is a friendly game. It doesn’t count for the league standings. It won’t bring international acclaim. Starters are unlikely to burden a typical workload.
It is a part of the International Champions Cup, a preseason tournament put on by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Relevent Sports. But it’s still a rivalry game.
“The Clasico is not being played in a typical way because it’s a friendly,” Iniesta said. “It’s in preseason. It’s away from home, but it’s a Clasico so it’s always a special game.”
Added Suarez: “There are a lot of substitutions in these games because we’re trying to get fit and get into the rhythm. Players are not conditioned to play 60 or more minutes. We always do want to win, but we’re still in a battle of just getting in rhythm.”
Real Madrid won both La Liga and the European Champions League, but did not beat Barcelona. The clubs tied 1-1 in December and Barca beat Real Madrid 3-2 in April.
“While sometimes the preseason is not as demanding, we’re still going to enjoy it and still play it like a Clasico and help us prepare for the upcoming season where we have lots of titles to fight for,” Ramos said. “It will be nice to face here the best players in the world once again, and continue to get to know them.”
Barcelona’s Neymar was at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night for practice, one day after video showed him confronting a teammate during training. Neymar has been the subject of rumors suggesting a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
“I don’t knowif Iwant to call it an incident,” Iniesta said. “It happened. It’s a part of training. All the talk about Neymar going on right now, obviously, it’s magnified all over the world. For us, it’s not an everyday thing, but it’s something that can happen.”