Of course the Bernabéu whistles!

In Madrid, they are debating the exact reasons why the fans are whistling the team. At the Bernabéu, whistles were heard when Inter scored in the Champions League, and there was also noise directed at Vinícius and Mbappé. I have a theory, in case it is of any use to them.

Madrid is whistled at first and foremost because it is not playing well. You only need to have two eyes in your head to notice it. And the signing of José Mourinho, no matter how much the usual official propaganda insists on it, does not largely excite the fans. Vinícius is whistled at because everyone remembers that it was he who, when he left the Bernabéu angry because he was substituted against Barça, blew the team apart. He won the power struggle against Xabi Alonso because Florentino took his side and left the Basque coach exposed. And as for Mbappé... how could one forget the image of his little feet on the yacht in the month of May, when everything was already a disaster, saving himself for the World Cup. But Mourinho's team is not jeered at only for that: they are also whistled at because Barça is scary and the Madridista fanbase is starting to fear the worst.

Everything, absolutely everything, is working for this Barça, which has started the season running over opponents with a dizzying, highly entertaining, vertical, and choral style of play. The matches end and it is difficult to choose who was the best: whether Raphinha, for whom the forward role fits like a glove; Lamine and his wonderful mischief, or Rodri and Pedri, who, thank goodness, were not supposed to understand each other, as some said. On top of that, Fermín and Olmo are fighting for a spot with excellent performance, the emergence of Xavi Espart is staggering, and the signings, Gordon and Adeyemi, have adapted seemingly without effort and are contributing.

The team of a Flick who in his third year is perfecting his commitment to modern and cheerful football and who has the whole squad plugged in, running like demons and with a hunger as if they hadn't just won two consecutive Leagues, leaves Madrid by comparison on a lower step. It is not just that they are not getting their act together, which is also true, but the suspicion that a brain is still missing in the midfield (what harm the signing of Rodri by Barça has done), and that paying 125 million for Diomande to sit him on the bench is a waste. One more. So yes, of course the Bernabéu is whistling. Because it's only September and oh my, scary.