Barcelona - Real Madrid: El Clasico on the line

Real entered the great battle with Barca but they could not give it their all. Because behind this battle was the pain of a campaign on the brink.

In the first phase of the El Clasico, Real fans were as worried about Rafa Benitez as they are now nervous about Zinedine Zidane. The history of the first El Clasico matches of the four previous coaches has always been a failure. Rafa Benitez lost 0-4, Carlo Ancelotti lost 3-4, Jose Mourinho lost 0-5 and Juande Ramos lost 2-6, all of which were unbelievable scores. And the four names mentioned above, if not the most sought-after in the world at that time, were also very experienced in battle. Zidane had just "come out of the army", his talent had not been proven yet, how could he compete with the stormy power of Barca?

The pressure of an El Clasico is enough to make even the most steadfast people tremble. Zidane, as a player, was never known for being cold-hearted. He retired from top-level football with a headbutt to the chest of his opponent, ending a career marked by red cards and rash behavior. People are waiting for a different Zidane to become a coach. But so far, he has not shown much of the temperament of a good coach. And of course, Zidane cannot be blamed for that.

Zidane, who is not known for his calm and cool demeanor, is facing tremendous pressure as he enters El Clasico for the first time as a coach. Photo: Reuters.

On Thursday, the front page of Marca featured Jose Maria Gimenez, a player who is not a Real or Barca player. Just two days before El Clasico, Real turned their attention to the future beyond the big game. Gimenez, 21, a central defender for Atletico Madrid, is considered Real's priority transfer target this summer.

El Clasico is still El Clasico, even if the gap between the two teams before the match is now 10 points. No match has ever reached the level of that, when people talk about it before the season. Even though Atletico Madrid have broken the two-horse duopoly, people still talk about El Clasico like the two finals of the season.

This morning, April 2, Las Corts cemetery in the north of the Nou Camp will still be filled with bouquets of flowers, where cules will visit the grave and pray for their team to continue to defeat their great rival. Nou Camp tonight will still be full. The cules decided to turn the match into a place to honor their recently deceased Saint Johan Cruyff. In the 14th minute, they will pay tribute to the great man who completely changed the history of Barcelona and that El Clasico match.

But this week, the excitement and tension seemed different. Real, for the first time in the new century, allowed their players to speak to the media ahead of a big game. Gareth Bale appeared before reporters at Valdebebas on Thursday night. At the same time, 600km away from the capital, Andres Iniesta was also happily giving interviews.

This El Clasico is no longer the game that determines the country as before. The gap is now 10 points and a win for Real, if it happens, will not really change the situation of La Liga too much, with only seven rounds left. The tension, if any, will only come if Real and Barca meet in the Champions League.

The truth is that in the two press conferences of Bale and Iniesta, the main topic was not El Clasico but the Champions League. For Barca, the match of interest at the moment is against Atletico Madrid in a short time, not Real. For Real, the Champions League will be Zidane's lifeline to save the seat he has dreamed of for a long time. It can also be a lifeline for President Florentino Perez. The decision to buy Luis Figo 16 years ago plunged Barca into a period of severe crisis, at the same time bringing Real to the peak of both expertise and commerce. But it was also because of Perez that Real went through a decade of chaos, no identity, more tears than smiles.

Real Madrid seem to be entering the end of their second successful period under Perez, as the team suffers from a series of professional problems, from the commercial-oriented way of playing football of the leader.

"If we win, the gap will be only seven points, anything is possible," Bale said. But no one believes that. It's not that they don't believe Real can win, but they don't believe in the "anything is possible" part. Because, for Real to make a great comeback, Barca will have to slip up in three of the remaining seven rounds, and Real will have to win all seven of those matches. Not to mention Atletico still hasn't given up.

If Real Madrid miss out on La Liga again, it will mean they have won just one title in the last eight years. That would be a terrible failure. The last time Real Madrid had such a poor domestic record was more than half a century ago, before Alfredo di Stefano officially appeared at the Bernabeu in 1953. Now, will a second "silver arrow" appear to pull Real out of the quagmire they have fallen into?

On the night Real lost to Atletico, allowing Barca to extend the gap to 12 points, a sense of panic enveloped the Royal team. After that match, Zidane spoke of his players' lack of ambition: they did not run, did not compete, did not fight. Then Zidane himself admitted pessimistically that Real would probably change coaches again in the summer.

But how can you blame the players if they themselves are feeling confused? Real's season was ruined from the start when Perez sacked Carlo Ancelotti and hired Benitez. Marcelo, Real's vice-captain, said: "The preparation for this season was not good, the results on the pitch were just a consequence". Luka Modric asserted: "In the summer, we spent more time on planes than on the training ground."

The path Perez is taking is the path of destruction.. It puts commerce as the ultimate goal. Real needs new faces, the squad will therefore always be in turmoil, the coach will therefore always have to struggle, the playing style must therefore always change. Success with such changes is the strange thing.

The promotion of Zidane to replace Benitez was just a temporary measure by Perez, with a faint hope that a miracle would appear. But since the miracle did not come, Perez is preparing to "start over". All players can be sold, including Cristiano Ronaldo. Former President Ramon Calderon said: "If Mourinho does not come to Man United next summer, his place is the Bernabeu".

That is, Perez did everything to push Mourinho away, and now he is doing everything to invite Mourinho back, like a cycle of despair. Keylor Navas is the best player of the season, but Perez has never forgotten David de Gea. And when the transfer ban is hanging in the balance, Perez is more likely to fall into the mindset of "it's better to buy the wrong player than to miss out".

In a vicious cycle because of his way of doing things, Perez will most likely roll out the red carpet to invite Mourinho back to Madrid this summer, if Real lose again in El Clasico, fail in the whole war and fire Zidane.

In that context, El Clasico is obviously no longer Real’s top concern. They are on the brink with a series of complex problems to solve. When Real reached Decima (the 10th European Championship), people talked about the return of an empire. But in the end, no empire is built on a shaky foundation because it is constantly being dug up.

In that year's Champions League final, Real could win or lose by a matter of seconds. They were always so fragile under Perez. Like a tightrope walker, they were balancing, but could also fall at any moment.

Because the rope is not a bridge, but under the foot is always an abyss.

According to VNE