The Sun Will Still Rise…..Even in Madrid
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I was reading a bunch of different articles yesterday regarding Barcelona’s 5-0 trashing of Real Madrid and a couple of them said Jose Mourinho is not the special one anymore. I almost blew a fuse because the press overblowing everything based on 90 minutes of football. Here is a man who has won two Champions League, one of them in Portugal, countless league titles and all that is whipped out cause of one game?
Seriously it’s one game, it didn’t decide anything in the grand scheme of things. Barcelona didn’t win La Liga or the Champions League. In the end a 5-0 defeat is the same as a 1-0 defeat. Both mean zero points.
I know what some of you may be thinking, “Come now you can brush off this defeat like that?” You are correct, you can’t merely brush it away, the defeat did happen but should we just praise Barcelona til the end of time over it like the press are doing?
Now comes the challenge, after Real Madrid licks their wounds (most times slip up the next game following a bad showing. Most recent example Arsenal losing to Braga after gifting Tottenham three points) how do they respond. Do they take the challenge seeing the bar Barcelona has set and work hard to over take it or do they buy into what the press is saying about Barcelona being all that is great with football which will lead to them already being defeated once Barcelona makes their visit to the Bernabéu.
I’ve said it before but I heard a basketball coach say this and always felt it rings true in football. No matter what team you are 10% of the games they will beat any team in the world, 10% of the games they will come up flat and it’s the other 80% that will determine if the team will succeed. Barcelona had one of their 10% of games where no one would stop them and Real Madrid sadly for them had the opposite but this isn’t the final chapter of this rivalry merely a footnote in history once it’s all said and done. When talking about Manchester United few outside of Newcastle even care about Newcastle once defeating Manchester United 5-0. In the end all it meant was three points as it didn’t decide anything. Ten years from now the same will be said about yesterday’s match.
Two little points I wanted to make.
1) Does Karim Benzema pack his bags now or wait til the summer? In a game he had to do something he looked lost on the pitch.
2) For the last 18 months been saying Messi is the best player in the world. Great as he is I’m going to change my opinion. Xavi is the best player in the world. Look at the room and service Messi gets playing in Barcelona compared to his performances with Argentina? Xavi and Andrés Iniesta don’t get top billing because both of them are so vital yet interchangeable in the Barcelona setup. This is why I’m convinced if soccer were like wrestling one of them should turn into the bad guy. I’m picturing Xavi and Iniesta at the barber shop with Brutus beefcake. Iniesta wearing a leather jacket giving Xavi til he superkicks right in the mouth and throws him throw a window then reveals a Real Madrid jersey. Neither player gets their full credit cause the other is equally as great.
November 30th, 2010 at 11:04 am
the thing that baffled me was Jose playing a high line with the midfield set up the way it was…I had no clue what the hell he was thinking. Mourinho takes risks and sometimes just fluffs it tactically, usually against smaller sides when he can fix the issue later but I didn’t see why he’d do that with the line.
Have thought for the last 3 years that Xavi is the best in the world. Messi is great but like you said, comparing it to Argentina and seeing Spain sans Xavi says it all.
Funny wrestling metaphor. My father used to be a pro wrestler in Calgary and Vancouver…it’s horrifying seeing your dad do that stuff.
November 30th, 2010 at 11:33 am
…. Would have loved to see this match, if only to see Barca firing on all cylinders. They are dazzling to watch (as is Spain) when playing their game.
We’ll certainly see RM’s character in the next few matches. They are a class of player that don’t like to be on the losing end. JM is most certainly still ‘The Special One’ as you point out. One match does not tell the whole story. Damn! Miss him in the Prem.
Laughed myself out of my chair with the wrestling metaphor.
November 30th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
sean michaels is awesome haha