The quarterfinal draw of the Copa del Rey - Spain’s only domestic cup competition – pitted the Spanish giants against each other yet again.
For those who missed it, the first leg was played on Wednesday, January 18. And for those who missed it, Barcelona put on a show yet again.
When Madrid scored early, the crazy GolTV commentator, Ray Hudson, suggested that Madrid might win this one. It was a lofty statement to make. So he began searching for evidence on the pitch. He pointed to the effort put forth by Mou´s men, and that Barcelona´s poor Liga form had carried over into the clásico. Perhaps he was just hoping Barcelona would finally fall. Or perhaps he was trying to prepare himself for a Barcelona defeat, so when Barcelona´s “interminable story” finally came to an end, he would not be as distraught. Whatever the case, Barcelona came back to win a deceptively convincing 2-1.
Barcelona could have scored more, Madrid shouldn´t have scored at all. Ronaldo´s early shot was hard and low, but directly at Pinto – it rolled right underneath his foot.
Last year Madrid won the Copa Del Rey over Barcelona in the final. However, with that being the least meaningful clásico of last year´s historic run of clásicos, (2 Champions League matches, Liga match, and Copa del Rey) and scoring on the less than brilliant Pinto, Madrid´s win was severely dampened.
Before that, Madrid had not beaten Barcelona since may 2008. Their only draws were meaningless: a Liga draw that was good enough for Barcelona to nearly clinch the title, a first leg draw on the supercopa at the Bernabéu, and a second leg draw that was more than good enough for Barcelona to win on aggregate. In short, it has been since the 2007-2008 liga season since Madrid got a win of any significance.
To quantify Barcelona´s superiority at this moment into some sort of figure would likely understate it. Grant Wahl once said that Messi is underrated, that he playing football on another level entirely. I think the same could be said of his club as well. Barcelona has beaten arguably the world´s second best team convincingly and repeatedly. In the last 13 clásicos, you have 9 Barcelona wins, 3 meaningless ties, and 1 Madrid victory (sans Puyol and with Pinto in goal, by the way).
While I’m at it, here’s their résumé of the last 3 years:
Champions League - ´09, ´11. European Supercup - ´09, ´11. La Liga - ´09, ´10, ´11. Copa del Rey - ´09. Spanish Supercup - ´09, ´10, ´11. Club World Cup. ´09, ´11.
That is crazy.
What´s crazier is Carles Puyol´s recent résumé. Ray Hudson pointed out in his commentary on Wednesday that Barcelona is 50 games unbeaten when Puyol is playing. Watch him play once, and you will notice that you can only chalk some of that run to luck and coincidence.
One brief comment on Pepe before I sign off:
Pepe stomped on Messi’s hand. Pepe simulated an elbow to the face, which gave Pique a yellow card. Pepe is a thug.
(Before you turn away, don´t worry, a rant is not forthcoming.)
After witnessing Pepe´s antics, I became furious at first - repeating that last thought over and over again. Then, trying to make sense of at all, I realized that El Clásico is much more than a game. So much more than a game, in fact, that a shattered hand, a broken leg, or even a torn ACL, matters so much less than the result of the clásico. Why wouldn´t you attempt to hurt your opponent?
This much may have seemed obvious to you, but for me, as an idealist, it really got my head out of the clouds. I used to hate Madrid for their violence and thuggish behavior. But, just because they exhibit these behaviors, need not mean they are thugs. Sure, they ruin the integrity of the game. But Pepe could be the kindest, most warm-hearted individual in the world of football, and not have to change his behavior on the pitch. If Pepe´s thuggish behavior helps his team win, he is doing his job. In other words, by virtue of being a part of Real Madrid, his personal obligations to the integrity of football are fully suppressed.
