Real Madrid on
Sunday evening will welcome League leaders Barcelona in a tie that promises not
only to be emotional, but breathtaking, riveting and highly intriguing. After
suffering back-to-back defeats; one to Levante in the league, the other to
Manchester City in the Champions League- and further extending their patchy run
of form, this Sunday(a sacred one), would offer Real Madrid a chance for
redemption.
It’s now or never for Los Blancos,
desperation and a sense of mini-crisis have somewhat been a result of an
unexplainable two-week collapse. Initially, a 2-2 stalemate at home against a
relegation threatened Celta Vigo side, then a 1-0 defeat to Levante away
following a drab and disoriented show and ultimately a 2-1 loss in the
Champions League to Pep’s City, summing up a torrid few days for the team from
the Spanish capital. Embarrassingly, Real Madrid have failed to pick up a win
in three games played in the space of eleven days leaving their season hanging
by a thread. What went wrong? Why the sudden collapse?
Some few weeks back, in January, it was
Real Madrid lifting the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. Fast forward to the
present day and it feels Los Blancos badly need a lift in spirit and belief by
triumphing in the Clasico no matter what. Just eleven days, and it already
feels like judgment day. This is why we love the game of football, the reason
we are madly in love with match-days like these, the EL Clasico, which often
than not verily defines a team’s fate especially at the business end of the
season.
In a press conference in January, Zidane’s
words were, “if I lose two games they will criticize me”. Now, they have lost
three in their last five games and losing the Clasico on Sunday would
ultimately be a nail in the coffin and perhaps would draw the curtains on their
season. A failed one, a disastrous one with an unexplainable abrupt collapse
despite a promising start in which they exuded a definite sense of confidence
and an insatiable hunger for success, quite not the case now, even more
damaging when Barca had an internal crisis and were in deep turmoil and melt
down.
Now the tides have partially changed, the
baton is not with the men in white but those in red and blue, those who had
their manager sacked few weeks ago, those facing an increasing sense of
division between players and management as well as having to deal with a small
squad since suffering long-term injuries to key players. A team currently in a
state of flux tactically and even more so mentally. All these dark forces at
work couldn’t still derail Barca’s competitive advantage till date, what makes
you think the men in white can?
Last Wednesday, Quique Setien was present
at the Bernabeu to observe Real Madrid’s fragilities. After a tactical
masterclass by Pep Guardiola to hand Madrid yet another defeat, the Barca boss
might as well had a revelation on Los Blancos’ fallibilities and learnt a thing
or two from a genius like Pep. In this titanic clash, Madrid will play at home,
but it is Barca who would be at ease and play with a sense of entitlement to
walk away with all three points having won each of their last three games at
the Santiago Bernabeu.
For the Catalan club, the most realistic
way to ease-off rising tensions and mini-conflict currently is by defeating Zidane’s
men, staying five points clear atop the league. A Laliga title at the end of
May, will paper over the cracks despite an awful mismanagement by the club’s
board and all the off the pitch issues that looked alarmingly damning just
weeks past. A season definer for both clubs, an emotionally engrossing game on
Sunday. Enjoy the Clasico.
Credited to Bright
N. B. Antwi
