Madrid: that’s almost the way

It was do or die for Real Madrid but sadly for them they did and they died. It was perhaps the best game in Mourinho’s time with Real Madrid and the worst game for Pep Guardiola's since he took charge of the team. Mourinho proved that he’s the most dangerous when he’s against wall. He put almost all his offensive power on the pitch and he almost pulled the upset.

I have never seen Barcelona being dominated at home under Pep Guardiola command. They have lost matches but even then Barcelona was the dominating team. Beyond having a bad day, the main cause was Real Madrid's excellence. They pressed, they passed, and they controlled the ball. This was the Real Madrid that people wanted to see for a long time.

And so, the main question is: why didn’t we see this Real Madrid before? Why didn’t Ozil play the first match? Why did Mourinho choose to give the ball way at home? Why assume the inferior team role when the squad is full of players perfectly fit to create game instead of destroying it?

Only Mourinho has the answers to this. But it is clear that all comes down to the 5-0 lost at Camp Nou last year. Mourinho never digested that defeat. He put those same players and tried to play but Barcelona was perfectly tuned that day and so came the worst defeat in Mourinho’s coaching career.

This is clearly the way to go for Real Madrid as far as pure game comes. Having put their rivals on the top of their nerves should have been a self-esteem shot and a chance to show the world that they are not the bad guys of the movie. It was the perfect chance for them to challenge Barca in all levels: inside the pitch, and outside attitude. Instead, they chose to be the sore loser who blames their misery on the refs.

Teixeira had a bad time refereeing this match but his bad calls were equally distributed. Lass should have never played a minute of the second half. It is clears that Barcelona and Real Madrid were playing. Had it been a player from Granada or Rayo, Lass would have seen a second yellow card after his tackle on Messi. Somebody get some guts to these referees.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet at least once more this year. At this moment, what Mourinho will do remains a mystery. Logic indicates he will repeat his last strategy but I doubt Barcelona will have yet another bad day. Barcelona moves on to the semifinals, Real Madrid players can have much needed confidence. Mourinho, on the other hand, will continue to be the target of critics; his strategy at home cost his team a semi-final.

Pepe is insane: Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing expecting different results. By this definition Pepe is absolutely insane. Once again we had to suffer watching every dirty trick of the book: violent tackles, faking faults, and constant complaining to the ref in every call. Clearly this man hasn’t learned the lesson. It’s a miracle that he finishes games with only a yellow card (but that doesn’t count as bad referee for Real Madrid of course). I can’t wait until this player moves to another league but the question is: which team is willing to build him an asylum?

Moral Consequences

If you were to ask fans to mention one thing about the recent “El Clasico” the probable answer would have to be related to Pepe and the stepping on Messi’s hand. The world media has focused their attention on this action. Almost everybody agree that Pepe should be sanctioned by his club and by the committee responsible for fair game. And I say almost everybody because, sadly, there are two organizations that disagree with this: precisely his club and the Spanish referee committee.

Florentino Perez (Real Madrid’s President) has decided to stay in the shadows in this matter and after seven days he hasn’t spoken to anybody outside the club to explain where the team stands in this matter. The reality is that they are ping-poing this subject across the leaders of the team with no one wanting to make a final call. Florentino delegates this to the manager, Mourinho, who has defended the player in public. As a coach he’s responsible for the physical and psychological state of his players; however, as a manager his obligation include dealing with controversies such as this and punish anti-competitive behaviour.

The referee committee says they would not act on the matter since there wasn’t anything written about it in the ref report of the game. Unlike England, where Ballotelli got a four game sanction for a very similar action, Spain has decided to turn a blind eye on the matter. Not even the pressure from all around the world has been enough to make the committee reconsider their positions.

I understand, but fully disagree with both parties. It all comes down to morals and previous decisions taken. Mourinho had an anti competitive behavior in August when he shamelessly poked Barcelona’s second coach, Tito Vilanova in the eye. Neither his club nor the referee committee acted diligently. His club showed full support for him, even showing a tifo that read “Mou, your finger guide us” in reference to the poking incident. The committee settled for an innocent punishment of two games suspension from the supercup tournament only. Meaning that he may never be affected by this decision.

How can they punish Pepe when they turned a blind eye on something as bad, or even worse, from his coach? Judging Pepe by strict standards would be like giving an assassin a death penalty while his assassin partner gets only a community service penalty. Again, I understand the reasoning behind this but it is pathetic to say the least.

Football has evolved from the contact game in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, to a gentlemen’s game. No longer you see in the main European leagues players like Andoni Goikoetxea who intensionally injured Maradona breaking his ankle in the middle of a game. You still get Carvalho tackling knees but the degree of violence is toned down. These players. Pepe, Marcelo (against Fabregas), and Carvalho are a step back to the time where football was warfare.

Take note Spain, the best league is not about having the best players only but having the best system that supports the game. TV rights favour the strong teams economically, which polarizes the league. Referee committees turn a blind eye on crucial matters instead of protecting players and setting example for troublemakers.

It all comes down to morals. Just like its economy, Spain’s morals in these matters are a joke to the rest of Europe, and the world.

Oh, and there is a game today too...