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News portal ESPN reviewer Phil Ballas minced Madrid "Real" coach Jose Mourinho's statements about the outcome of the El Clasico battle, which determined the victory of "Barcos" due to the factor of luck, writes fcbarcelona.lt.
In the principled meeting at their home Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the Portuguese proteges succumbed 1:3 to their eternal rivals and temporarily lost the top position in the Spanish championship.
During the post-match press conference, the eccentric "Real" coach stated that the opponents' victory was determined by "luck, luck, and nothing else."
However, Ph. Ballas believes otherwise – it was lucky for the "Real" team because the goalkeeper of the Catalan club, Victor Valdes, made a childish mistake very early on. It was precisely after this "gift" that the Madrid team scored their only goal, but they could not "unlock" more of the opponents' goal.
There are several ways to say "bewitched" or "enchanted" in Spanish. I particularly like the words "hechizado" and "embrujado." They partly explain why Madrid's "Real" simply cannot function properly when they take the field against "Barca."
Since you have already read numerous articles about the match, I will not present anything new and will not try to supplement the conclusions made by other reviewers. However, I want to offer my theory.
Jose Mourinho claimed that "Barca" was just lucky, but in reality, it was not. A fantastic start to the match and the fastest goal scored in the entire history of El Clasico in the 22nd second – that is the factor of luck. However, for some reason, the "Real" coach did not want to mention that in his speech. Before continuing the narrative, you would, of course, like to know that Karim Benzema was the author of the fastest goal, relieved in the 1990 El Clasico in the 40th second. The 1940 El Clasico saw the "Real" footballer Chusas Alonso score the goal in the 40th second.
But let's get back to the present and discuss the events on the field. With the score at 1:0 in favor of "Real" and an air of change in power, Cristiano Ronaldo strikes at goal and misses – an attack in which he could have certainly played better, for example, pass to the free and closer to goal Angel Di Maria. It all ended with Alexis Sanchez, who soon confirmed suspicions that the visitors would soon turn the course of the match 180 degrees.
A. Sanchez's goal halted any temporary fantasies of Madrid's "Real" on the field, and further events unfolded as we have become accustomed to seeing in recent times.
But there was no element of luck in that. Next was a brilliant goal by Xavi, overturning the result in favor of the visitors. Yes, the very strike can be considered a stroke of luck, but everything started, happened and ended logically – a strike and a goal became the culmination of a beautiful routine "Barcelona" attack.
What happened next? Cristiano Ronaldo managed to miss a header into goal, turning a perfect Xabi Alonso pass into nothing.
You know what happened next: Dani Alves, Cesc Fabregas, a goal, and a "good night."
I see no element of luck there. I see one thing: the essential difference between these two teams is the mentality of their warriors. The "Barcelona" players always appear as if they know – we can do this, we can change the course of the match. And they always remain true to their style. All this is once again confirmed by the fact that "Barcelona" prepared to face Santiago Bernabeu, where the hosts had won 15 games in a row, with a tactic involving three defenders.
Madrid's "Real" is a formidable opponent, but not all the players of that team are on equal footing. If you want to win against "Barca," you have to make their players doubt themselves and compete with them absolutely with all your might.
Yes, a few teams have managed to beat "Barca," but the genius of Josep Guardiola's team is that very few opponents have learned and drawn the right conclusions after their failures.
And now look at Madrid's "Real." Mesut Ozil and Marcelo go missing when they are most needed on the field. This was enough for them to lose against a team that has no "cracks" in their formation.
There is also a syndrome of "losing your head," which seems to inevitably always affect Pepe, Sergio Ramos, and Cristiano Ronaldo whenever it is time to play El Clasico. They abhor defeats – that is commendable, but the panic fear of losing to "Barca" hits them so hard that they become mere shadows on the field. To make matters worse, even their own fans started to boo C. Ronaldo – he played like a headless chicken. So bad that he deserved to be substituted. But J. Mourinho, no matter who he is, could never do that. This only makes things worse for Madrid.
C. Ronaldo is a fantastic player, and without him, the team could not lead in the Spanish championship and perhaps score a goal at the very beginning of the match. Those who jeered at him should remember that. But his game receives too much personal attention.
Madrid's "Real" started the match with "Barcelona" in a similar way to last season's King's Cup final, which the Spanish capital's club won. J. Mourinho's proteges pressed the opponents into their half, fiercely tried to attack every ball-carrying "Barcelona" player, and then launched intimidating counterattacks to sow panic among the three boys left in the line of Catalonia club defenders.
For about 20 minutes, the "Real" plan worked effectively, and the "Barca" player lost an unusually large number of balls. However... When will J. Mourinho finally realize that you cannot play at such a frantic pace for more than half an hour?
Everything is understandable: you have the ball and you attack, but "Real" attacks were inaccurate and tragically uncoordinated. A. Di Maria seemed not to know where to run, C. Ronaldo constantly made mistakes, M. Ozil seemed not to care what was happening on the field. And only K. Benzema seemed to be somewhat concerned with ruffling the nerves of the opponents.
If you closely watched the match, "Barcelona" defenders allowed themselves to relax when the ball reached C. Ronaldo. They calmly assessed the situation in the "horizon," had enough time to set traps into which the Portuguese tumbled. Whenever the ball found K. Benzema, Carles Puyol and company significantly stretched themselves.
It is quite strange that J. Mourinho still does not see another obvious reason why Madrid's "Real" lose to "Barca." The players of both teams just know each other too well. But you will immediately ask, why doesn't it work for "Barca"? The answer is obvious and straightforward. Because they almost always win and continue their successful streak in matches against "Real." It is a positive domino effect. Or, if you will, a proportionally increasing mathematical indicator. The more you win, the longer you extend your streak of wins, and if the same actors successfully play on the field, the loser is hurt and psychologically damaged.
The simplest way to change this is to inject new forces into the team's game, release players who are not as crucial on the field, those less affected by the neurosis, those less afraid, like Kaka. Have you noticed that the "Real" looked much "fresher" when the Brazilian appeared on the field? Jose Maria Callejon has also performed well recently. Why was he not put on the field? He certainly does not suffer from the neurosis that has infected regular El Clasico players. And where is Nuri Sahin?
Madrid's "Real," especially Xabi Alonso, lacked defenders who play actively in the flanks and are not afraid to attack. And they were not there because at that time Marcelo was living on some other planet, and Fabio Coentrao was more effective on the left. Overall, F. Coentrao played well enough, but... let's compare him to Dani Alves, who constantly helped his team's attackers and launched raids in the flank to cause chaos for the opponents.
Why didn't "Real" try playing with three defenders? Let's push Sergio Ramos to the right and stop making Xabi Alonso perform defensive duties.
J. Mourinho was also confused and perplexed.
