It's a sign of intelligence to respect Real Madrid in a sporting sense and be aware of its virtues, especially because in the Copa del Rey final, there was an air of superiority in the Barça atmosphere that didn't translate overwhelmingly onto the pitch when there were fans betting on a rout. In the second half in Seville, Madrid gave us a scare, and after Barça's painful elimination in the Champions League semi-finals, it's only natural to feel dizzy and a certain tingling in your stomach, considering the Barcelona fan's suffering attitude, along with the knowledge that football often lacks logic. But that's as far as it goes.
15 years ago I promised myself I would never cheer on my Barça friends again after they euphorically celebrated the 2-6 on my balcony, the same people who had been pissed off the day before, but I can't resist asking out loud again what they're afraid of now when, as I write this, Xabi Alonso is already stepping on Ancelotti's dirty laundry, who in turn has already met with emissaries from Brazil, private clinics have been operating for a week now with several Real Madrid players, the defense is a matter of circumstance, and the general feeling on the other side is that they've shut down their game and are thinking more about the Club World Cup than El Clásico. Because, it's worth remembering, even a draw is good enough for Barça, and the last time they lost in La Liga was last year, on December 21st against Atlético.
Flick's team has everything going for them, including a young, uninhibited team whose pride is wounded and whose competitive maturity has grown because we learn a lot from defeats, and the one in Milan, as much as it stings, I'm convinced it wasn't in vain. That it's the beginning, not the end, as one of the veterans, Íñigo Martínez, once said. It's Real Madrid that went into the season with sky-high expectations, almost discounting titles, and now they're desperately clutching at straws. It's Barça that has already shown in the last three Clásicos that they can win in different ways, and their morale is eating away at it. Yes, football doesn't listen to logic sometimes, but seriously: Who said fear?
