Barca were on form and did well on Saturday to beat Villareal-in my view the third best team in La Liga at present, and not just in points. Real Madrid seemed to have lost their spark on Sunday playing scrappily against the near demotion but brave and resilient Sporting, and didn’t deserve their belated winning goal. Guardiola showed his usual respect towards his players, his fans, and the opponent while former FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta ,watched the game at the Nou Camp, like any other ordinary member- that is to say , away from the presidential box. Up in Gijon, Mourinho culminated a week of gratuitous insults and provocation by seeing out the first of a two-match ban, staring at the world through presumably shatter-proof glass.
A study in contrasts in one paragraph which forms part of an ongoing narrative of rivalry and tension, of brilliance and mediocrity, stardom, teamwork and disfunctionality in a football league dominated by Spain’s two clubs which are gearing up like metaphysical warriors to the next ‘Classico.’ It would be good to see Casillas, Xavi Alonso and Sergio Ramos embracing their national team colleagues in the Nou Camp tunnel just as the Villareal World Cup veterans did on Saturday. It would be a noble gesture which should not affect the quality of the football match that follows.
I think you said it all in one simple phrase “Spain’s two clubs”. For decades, even back to the fifties, the story here has been the same. Two clubs backed by the respective political godfathers, financed by their local finacial institutions (Caja Madrid / Caixa), run by presidents who had made dubious fortunes, mostly in the construction industry (Sanz / Nuñez, etc), on paper bankrupted and between them have won 75% of the Ligas since 1950. Identical histories, and awash with cash to ensure success in the European Cup on the international stage. Yes the Classico will be fun this year, Mourinho back to torment the Cules, but in the end, isn’t it getting a bit boring…..?