On December 23rd, Real Madrid gave the Spanish league a lethal stab in Camp Nou. Beautiful goal by Baptista, tactical lesson courtesy of Bern Schuster and Barcelona sat anchored seven points behind the then shining league leaders. But Christmas and the holiday sweets had an adverse effect on the leaders. Slowly, but surely since the turn of the year, the slump in both play and attitude of the "whites" became evident for all to see. The brilliant game in Barcelona a long memory away, and then came the debacles. An unlikely loss to Mallorca in the Bernabeu taking the Kings Cup out of reach and then the elimination from the Champions League; truly daggers of their own into the heart of the Real Madrid faithful. The good football displayed at El Madrigal, San Mames, La Mestalla, and Calderon left Schuster's panzer; in its trailing wake, only the sad remainders of what could have been. The fans decried for Schuster's head, Robihno, Van Nistelroy, Robben all left in the medical ward, and even the most loyal of the white's forecasted an impending debacle at the end of the season.

All that is true, but that Barcelona that boasts of having a team made up of nothing but stars; the best money and the football God's can conjure, is stuck in an interminable sinkhole of disappointment. I recommend you look at the position table of the Spanish La Liga today. Reality is this: Real Madrid 62 points; Barcelona 55. Yes, seven points, the same ones that were after the glorious Christmas showcase. But Madridistas are proud and its not enough to glory in the misfortune of the eternal rival. They must beat Valencia and Sevilla, do or die.


Article written by PDR.