A loss over 180 minutes, but a win in so many ways.

As the readers know, I’m a Mourinho fan through and through and this post just had to come up on my beloved Madrid. It’s late but it just had to. I personally had lost belief that Real Madrid would ever beat Barcelona under Jose Mourinho. They still haven’t and went down again last Wednesday at the Bernabeu. It was a defeat I expected but if we were ever gonna win, this was the one. With this loss, hopes of the Copa del Rey were shattered and I was left wounded once again. Mourinho was criticized, jeered against Bilbao by his own fans and rumours of bust-ups during training surfaced. I was almost certain I was gonna see a 5-0 at the Camp Nou but unlike last time when I shed tears in my friends washroom this time I was prepared because of two reasons: Barca are divine and Madrid can never beat them because even if they come close either the ref finds a way out for Barca or we gift it to them with a stupid error of man-marking or a misplaced pass.

After the 5-0 I saw every El Clasico alone. This time everyone was at my place and how fitting would it be to see another 5-0 with everyone. But as soon as the whistle was blown, it was all Madrid. I was enjoying every moment of the first half as we were tearing Barcelona apart. Ozil producing a Zidane-like performance, Ronaldo working his socks off and Sergio Ramos playing like a King. It was crucial to score an early goal and Higuain missed two brilliant chances. Then came a moment that brought back my wrath: Eric Abidal handling the ball and no penalty given. I’m honestly used to this Clasico bullshit but it infuriated me, again. The game went on and after getting dominated by a Madrid side fully committed to winning, Barcelona scored twice in 5 minutes at the end of the first half. My 5-0 prediction was probably gonna be a reality and my idols birthday was gonna be tarnished with the insults of critics like Fabio Capello who hasn’t tasted success since 2007.

But what followed in the second half was beyond belief for me. Madrid fought back. And fought back hard. Getting back to 2-2 with stunning goals and seeing a Ramos header ruled out for something I still can’t figure out (maybe Dani Alves can tell me how his strong frame crumbled from that touch). The game was ours. I sat there wondering how many chances would have to go by before we got the winner. It never happened. Busquets crumbled and Ramos was sent off by the referees grace after receiving a second yellow. After 10 men, it was all over but the character and strength shown by Real Madrid players was divine. The only difference was that this time we went down as a team.

We’re out of the Copa del Rey but this “loss” has dispelled any doubts about Madrids inferiority to Barcelona and any club in the world. The loss sees us out of a competition but provides us with a new born belief and rage that is definitely gonna help us seal the La Liga this time around and probably win the Champions League. Never again will this Jose Mourinho fan have to be pessimistic before an El Clasico cause now he knows his team is the fucking best. Last week I said FC Barcelona is divine and I meant it but this week I’m gonna say this and leave it there: Real Madrid are as close as it gets to Barcelonas divinity and this year, we’re gonna break it and break it for good because now we have the one thing we never had – “Belief”. Belated Happy Birthday Jose Mourinho. I’m proud to support a born winner and role model like you.

[Author: Gunangad Arora]

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