The Aftermath From El Clásico.

A week has passed since Barça crushed Real Madrid 0-4 at the Santiago Bernabéu. The lasting effect from that outcome has rejuvenated Barça while Madrid are still in a state of unpleasantness.

Barça’s domination of Real Madrid in their own Santiago Bernabéu was one for the ages for Blaugrana fans, and one that will haunt Madrid fans for a long time. El Clásico is usually a hard fought battle between two arch enemies regardless of form and league position in the standings. Yet, Barça’s 0-4 win seemed pedestrian without any bad blood. It was one sided from the opening whistle to the final whistle.

Barça have had a few great victories of such magnitude against Real Madrid in the Bernabéu in the last few decades. There is the 0-5 “Manita” in Cruyff’s first Clásico in the 70’s, perhaps the 2-3 win during the 97-98 season, the Ronaldinho inspired 0-3 performance and the legendary 2-6 win during the 2008-2009 season that felt like a separate trophy in itself during the treble season and now, the 0-4 victory will go down as another successful triumph on enemy ground.

Following that victory, Barça routed Roma 6-1 and Real Sociedad 4-0 in successive matches this week. Confidence is at an all-time high and praise was being bestowed on many of the players, including the magnificent trident of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez. All the players performed well and made their manager, Luis Enrique, very proud. The only sour note was Barça not getting the fifth goal to add another “Manita” to the history pages of this rivalry. Nonetheless, for me, this felt like a “Manita” even though only four goals were scored, the fact that this took place in the Santiago Bernabéu can be considered as the fifth goal.

Meanwhile, this loss just magnified the issues that continue to plague Real Madrid this season. Is this a team built to win or a team built to make money? Does the manager have the final say on who plays or the president? It was surprising to see Casemiro on the bench and not in the starting eleven and the end result was Iniesta running rampant and earning applause from the Madrid fans after he was substituted in the second half. While everyone is praising the harmony between Barça manager and players, the opposite was being discussed about the state of discord facing Real Madrid. Is Ronaldo unhappy and planning on leaving? Is Benzema’s mind distracted because of his involvement of a sex tape blackmail scandal? Do players like Rafa Benítez? Can Ronaldo and Bale co-exist? Is Rafa going to get sacked?

Madrid’s drama increased when their four goal lead against Shakhtar Donetsk was reduced to one as the Ukrainian side scored three unanswered goals to lose 3-4. They also looked sluggish during their 2-0 away win to Eibar. All is not well in Madrid while Barça and their fans are in a state of Euphoria. However, last season showed us that it’s not how you start, but how you finish. Madrid won the first clash last season and were on top of the world before their season burned into the ground with a trophyless season. What’s to say history won’t repeat itself and see Barça finish empty handed down the stretch?

Nevertheless, one feels that Barça can weather the storm if the wheels start coming off based on their style that they have learned over the years coupled with the new tweaks from Luis Enrique. The manager and the players have been on the same page since that infamous Sociedad loss back in January. The same cannot be said about Real Madrid. If the wheels start coming off, expect more drama from the Madrid press and discord between the players, the manager and the club president. There is a great expression we use in the US that applies to Madrid; “Winning is a great deodorant.” A few wins and perhaps everything will be fine in Madrid and this loss will be forgotten. But the attitude right now is that Barça got their mojo and Madrid is in search of an identity before they can get their mojo.

La Liga’s Big Two ~ Politics Only Hurts Themselves.

Over the years, Barça and Real Madrid have had their battles on the pitch through their players and off the pitch through the clubs’ hierarchy. More recently however, both clubs have been engaging in political battles to their own detriment. The politics are damaging their own clubs on the pitch for now and the future.

A new La Liga season is upon us and with that comes the usual talk about the El Clásico sides fighting for the title, although Atlético Madrid has earned the right to enter the mix this season. As usual, we will be bombarded by the usual unsubstantiated rumors and gossip from both cities’ press, which never hides their allegiance to the big two. However, we are also witnessing a strange phenomenon where both clubs are engaging in political warfare that is only damaging to themselves and not to their rivals.

Mourinho and Iker Casillas’s falling out was one of the world’s worst kept secret during last season. It was normal to expect Casillas back in the starting lineup for this season. However, that has not been the case as Casillas has been relegated back to the bench this season. This relegation came amid rumors that some of the Madrid directors were not too pleased with his role in the breakdown of the Mourinho relationship with the players, clubs and fans. Madrid directors can feel that they are off the hook after Casillas suffered an injury in their first Champions League match and can now watch Diego Lopez play in all competitions until Casillas returns. Yet, it does beg the question of why would the club treat an icon like Casillas this way and still expect him to stick around.

Moreover, Madrid displayed another decision that smacked of the clubs’ hierarchy making the on field decisions. Gareth Bale was signed by the club without a proper preseason this summer to stay fit. Instead of bringing him along gradually, Madrid opted to start him from the get go. Sure, he notched a goal in his debut before he had to be replaced when the fatigue factor kicked in. So it came as no surprise when Bale suffered an injury while warming up over the weekend for his next league start. Madrid’s decision to show off their star player without giving him proper time to get in shape was misguided and dangerous to their own players’ health. Perhaps they should let the manager make these decisions.

Barça too have had their own self-inflicted wounds due to the political stance of the clubs’ hierarchy against the last Barça president Joan Laporta and Barça icon Johan Cruyff. Sandro Rosell’s agenda has driven a wedge between the fans as he continues to wage his battle against Laporta. Some would say that this same agenda is the reason why Guardiola is currently managing Bayern Munich. As former Barça handball player and potential president candidate, Enric Masip, recently lamented the poor relationship Rosell has with former Blaugrana managers. Masip was obviously alluding to the fact that this current Barça president does not get along with the three managers who helped guide Barça to Champions League success.  One would expect the complete opposite after the success Cruyff, Rijkaard and Pep brought to the club.

Some also attribute the club’s hierarchy as the reason why Victor Valdés is looking for a new team for next season. Apparently, Valdés wanted Spain’s national team goalkeeper coach, José Manuel Ochotorena, to hold the same position with Barça when the position became available last summer. However, the club, via Zubizarreta, shot that option down and instead hired José Ramón de la Fuente. The reason behind that purported decision stemmed from Ochotorena’s Real Madrid past. Of course, José Ramón de la Fuente’s Barça history probably also played a part in his hiring. So the club’s ideology has probably cost them the best keeper in their entire history and that is a position that took over a decade to replace.

Will other players jump ship if Rosell continues to have his way and continue to drive the wedge deep between the fans? The decision not to bring Abidal back for at least one season smacked of ignorance and disgrace. Furthermore, Iniesta did not sign Barça’s first renewal offer and one of my friends did remind me that Iniesta’s best friend and the guy he sits next to on every flight is none other than Valdés.  I’m sure they’ve had a few things to discuss about the club’s hierarchy.

In the end, it would be best if the directors of clubs would do their jobs and not engage in deciding who starts and who sits. Also, it wouldn’t hurt if those same directors would exercise some proper judgment and lead the club without engaging in petty revenge to the detriment of the supporters. These types of decisions only reflect poorly on the club and can be detrimental to their own image. For now, only time will tell before we see the lasting impact of both clubs’ behind the scenes antics.