There are many kinds of lies. But none is as pernicious as that contrived by oneself to deceive one’s own heart. And this lie is already unbearable.
Xavi Hernández invoked Johan Cruyff in the press room with the same conviction as someone who takes out the Ouija board and puts his finger on the glass to show that a spectral entity is showing him the way. But the phalanx is not moved by anyone other than him, directing a government project that piles up absurdities and embarrassments. The last one was experienced by Barça in Riyadh against Real Madrid, as if they wanted to be at the level of the shame of playing the Super Cup under the absolutist thrones of the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. There where Laporta and Florentino were at ease.
Vinicius, in 39 minutes of play, had already scored three goals for Barça. And as much as one may be tempted to look for individual culprits – of which, by the way, there were plenty -, The tactical hardships were of such magnitude that reproaches to the footballer on duty will no longer be enough.
Xavi thought it appropriate for Araujo to start the game on the right side, without noticing that this season his nemesis, Vinicius, barely steps on the hardwood and develops his speed along the throat of the field. And, of course, the Barça coach’s tactical readjustment meant once again placing Koundé in the center of the defense. There are already too many dead people in the stylish closet that the Frenchman has accumulated.
Xavi’s plan
Xavi also believed that it would be a good idea that, facing this physical and dynamic Real Madrid that likes to run so much, he should place his defensive line in the center of the field. Without taking into account that their footballers press with the destructive impetus of a Jägermeister dawn. And without noticing that he has a goalkeeper, Iñaki Peña, who prefers to let himself be swallowed by the crossbar rather than take to the mountain.
The consequences of all this were immediate. Bellingham, who sees football that others can’t even imagine, he was left alone on the divide. De Jong looked at him from afar and Christensen thought she should go after him. It was just what the Englishman expected, that he only had to turn and pass the ball behind the dazed Koundé. Iñaki Peña did not go out for the ball. And Vinicius, so calm, dribbled past him at walking speed to score at will. It didn’t take long for the Brazilian to kiss the shield again.
At 2-0, Real Madrid was once again grateful that the Barça midfielderswithout any leadership, and infected by Gündogan’s slow rhythm, they will refuse to go under pressure. Sergi Roberto, yes, the captain of this Barça of 2024, decided that it would be a good option to let Carvajal hit a ball from the other ocean. That action, which On any given night it would have ended up in the trunk of forgotten powders.However, it caused drama. When Christensen turned around, with tin brilliance, Rodrygo was already running with the ball like a madman. He only had to cross to the far post for Vinicius to pounce for the goal.
Frustration
No matter how much Madrid played at half speed and was sure that it could live so fast at idle, Barça couldn’t go much further. Okay, Lewandowski unleashed a good right hand on the front to close the gap, as if this would help him deny his decline. But seeing that the ball was not running, that Pedri is not yet ready for many trots, that Ferran Torres’s lighter has no stone, that Xavi’s corrections are bulk, and that The alleged solution, Vitor Roque, is an 18-year-old boy paid top dollar whom no one noticedlittle could be expected.
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Araujo, another who has been carried away by the current of decadence, grabbed Vinicius by the neck in the small area. The Brazilian would never have reached the center. What difference does it make. He would score a penalty. And the carelessness was already extreme in the 4-1 caught by Rodrygo, before Araujo, unhinged, ended up earning himself an expulsion 20 minutes from the end after a mistimed kick to Vinicius.
«Human hope is something great; but when a certain perspective has been lost, a fog of ridicule invades the valley of tears. Damn Casavella left it written in his Watusi. This Barça leaves it written that it has no other direction than that of perdition.