Reading the Pre-Season: Vintage Barcelona v. Madrid's "Divinos"

Last season was somewhat of a one-sided battle.

As Real Madrid tried to create an invincible force, Barcelona suick to its core, only bringing some new youngsters into the team (Piqué, Busquets). 

Barcelona walked out with the treble in their luggage, whereas the Santiago Bernabeu could only witness some quality football during a match that ended 1-6...

Lead by Florentino Pérez, Los Blancos did not cross their arms, nope. They went out on a shopping spree, literally. 

Ronaldo and Kaká were the biggest names involved. Add to those two players like Benzema, Arbeloa, Albiol, and the mind of Pellegrini, mixed with other resident stars (Raúl, Casillas, Van Nistelrooy, Sergio Ramos) and you'll have an unbeatable armada... in FIFA 10 that is.

Their arch rivals from Barcelona have stick to the old saying: "You do not change a winning formula". Of course Barça also spent big time on some players. Ibrahimovic lists as the second most expensive player in history (€66 million), Keirrison was worth some €14 million and Maxwell a "mere" €4.5 million. 

Barcelona played it smart and did not overcrowd their squad. Zlatan was traded for a grumpy Eto'o, Maxwell came in to replace a disappointing Sylvinho, and Keirrison was loaned out to SL Benfica, so that he'll have a better chance to develop his skills.

So whereas Madrid tried to begin, almost, from scratch, Barça preferred to go for some tweaks.

The second coming of the Galacticos gave only some weak glimpses of their value, whereas Barcelona is playing some nice football, for pre-season pace that is.

The atmosphere at the capital is still very chaotic. Ribery is trying everything to join the Spanish side and Xabi Alonso is being heavily targeted by Florentino Pérez. This transfer circus will only cause one thing—disruption. 

At Barça's training camp things are quite different. Zlatan already started practice and Leo Messi just signed a new contract that will anchor him at the Nou Camp for the coming years. Some minor adjustments are being planned, like the addition of a defender, but nothing too big.

It seems that the second gen of Galacticos picked up right where the first lifted off—disaster.

Now it is up to Pellegrini to correct the mistakes of an aggressive transfer strategy.

As the new season approaches I think that Barça will once again overwhelm Real Madrid. "Los Merengues" are just too weak at this time. Although they are individually excellent, they lack a lot as a team. Although, if they can click as a whole,  then they'll wreak havoc all over. 

Still I think that Barça has already taken that step, whereas for Madrid it is almost impossible for them to cooperate. They have too many stars, all of them battling for the spotlight. Plus, the distractions that caused the end of the first Galacticos are already clear in this second coming. Ronaldo spent his most recent day-off in Mallorca, going through night clubs and he already had his first scandal.

All of this chaos can only mean one thing—it is going to be a "blaugrana" season in Spain