Barcelona and Real Madrid is always a game about two rival clubs, but often times it is a major showcase for an even more prevalent rivalry in soccer: Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi. The two superstars are often compared so much that revisiting the argument is tedious. But there are other major players in this matchup that have huge roles to play, particularly with the stakes of Wednesday's Copa del Rey final. Both teams could potentially walk away without a trophy if they lose this match. Barcelona is five points behind Atletico Madrid for the Spanish League title and is already out of the Champions League. Real Madrid has Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal and is three points behind Atletico; Los Blancos would need their cross town rivals to lose two games in order to have any hopes of winning the Spanish League title. So without further ado, here are the major players for each side heading into this match not named Messi or Ronaldo.
Real Madrid
Ronaldo may not even play in this game depending on how his injury is progressing. That puts the onus on such stars as Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria to carry the weight. And for the most part, the two have done just that. Bale has 19 goals for Madrid in his first year and has lived up to his massive price tag with stellar performances at timely moments. He has five goals in his last five games and has taken over the offensive load in Ronaldo's absence. His performances in the Clasico thus far have been far from riveting; the team looked better without him in the first Clasico back in October and he failed to make an impact in the more recent match against Los Cules. He has a big chance to get that monkey off his back in the upcoming match.
The other big Madrid star is Angel Di Maria. The Argentinean has arguably been the best Madrid player all year long and was especially good against Barcelona in the most recent Clasico. In that game he set up two of Madrid's three goals; the third goal was a penalty conversion by Ronaldo. He has four goals and 12 assists in the Spanish League but has also added three goals in the Copa del Rey and three goals and five assists in the Champions League.
Barcelona
Neymar has been solid in the Clasico thus far. He scored a huge goal in the first game and caused a penalty shot in the more recent one. He has been a bit erratic in 2014 but a big performance from him could give Barcelona the advantage in the final.
The other big player that Barcelona needs a big game from is Jose Maria Pinto. The netminder has never been particularly important to Barcelona but now he is arguably the most important player heading into the match. The team's defense has been chaotic all year long and Barcelona needs him to make a few big saves and avoid his poor passing if Barcelona has any hopes of shutting down Real Madrid.
Who do you think are the crucial players of this year's Copa del Rey final?
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