Phil Ball: Great expectations across La Liga

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  • Real Madrid fans make their views clear.

    Real Madrid’s 7-1 hammering of a strangely timid Celta in the Bernabéu was played out against the background of a protest by a section of fans who unfurled messages, one of which reminded the players of Alfredo Di Stéfano’s famous phrase (‘If you want to wear this shirt, first you have to sweat in it’) and the other suggesting to president Florentino Pérez that he might consider a new hobby.

    These public protests occur every few years at Real Madrid, sometimes on the training ground but usually during games, to attract more media attention.  It wasn’t clear this time, however, whether the banners were the result of Cristiano Ronaldo’s own analysis of his club’s relative failings (he declared last week that if everyone was at ‘his level’ then everything would be fine) or the consequence of a hangover from last weekend’s derby defeat to Atlético. Ten goals in the two games since then – and five of them from Ronaldo – would seem to suggest that the players are ‘sweating the shirt’ but Barcelona remain a whopping twelve points ahead of them. Perhaps that is the problem, in the end. Real Madrid are now too often the victims of the expectations that they themselves raise, and some of their supporters, it seems, cannot cope with this.

    Real Madrid, whether you like them or not, are not the only ones to be suffering a sudden outbreak of fan-based protest, a phenomenon that is not entirely new, but one which does seem to be taking on a set of new characteristics. The normally loyal Betis supporters staged a protest after their 4-0 home defeat to Eibar in early January, accusing the players of a whole manner of crimes – a protest that seemed to have a positive effect however, with the club now undefeated in the last six matches and pulling away from the relegation zone. Valencia’s players and their manager Nuno suffered similar treatment this season, which culminated in the arrival of Gary Neville, and on Saturday the surprising 1-0 win by Las Palmas at Villarreal resulted in several players being booed, in particular Bruno. Coach Marcelino protested in the press conference after the game that previous to the defeat, his team had not lost for fourteen consecutive games and that he failed to understand the fans’ reaction. Maybe Villarreal simply failed to cope with the deep pink shirts that Las Palmas brought along, but the supporters’ reaction does give pause for thought. 

    Villarreal, the team that came from nowhere, have played consistently attractive football and punched above their weight for years now, despite their smallish fan base and the tendency of their better players to move to bigger clubs, balancing the club’s books but never losing them their competitive edge. Sitting fairly comfortably in fourth place, it makes you wonder exactly what the supporters were unhappy about on Saturday. Have they become so used to high standards that they feel that nothing less is acceptable? Once upon a time, supporters of a club on such a good run would have applauded the achievement of the opposing side, and slouched home disappointed but philosophical. Now it seems that defeat must be accompanied by howls of protest from the terraces. Atlético Madrid conceded a goal at Valencia in their 3-1 win – the first in four league matches. Perhaps their fans will pillory them for this? 

    Is this a copy-cat phenomenon? The Manchester United fans who travelled to Denmark recently to see their side lose to relative minnows Midtyjlland hurled abuse at their own players after the game. It wasn’t a pretty sight and it makes a mockery of the new rule that prevents supporters from verbally attacking the opposition, but permits them freedom of expression towards their loved ones, as it were. It’s true that the United fans had travelled a long way in midweek and paid good money to see their team lose and play poorly, but denying the right of the opposition to win and ignoring the fact that the beauty of sport resides in the possibility that either team might win, and you set an ugly precedent.

    Fans pay more money these days, and although the greater presence of supporters’ voices in the game in general is a tendency to be cherished, it cannot confer the right to demand impossible levels of success and consistency.  Players are only human, although for years they were raised to pedestals that conferred a god-like status onto them, separating them from other mere mortals. Now that we know what they earn, and now that we know through Twitter that very few of them can spell, it’s open-house for the clients to protest. ‘Give us our magic back’ the Real Madrid supporters seem to be saying, but Barcelona just grind for ever onwards. That is the truth of the matter. 

    Aside from fans misbehaving, it’s been an intense week in La Liga, with all teams playing three games over the space of eight days. It’s the sort of period that makes or breaks, and the ones to emerge smiling were Las Palmas and Athletic Bilbao, who won all three, and Betis, who almost did. Valencia, after what had seemed to be a recovery, lost both their home games (0-3 to Athletic and 1-3 to Atlético respectively) but won 2-1 at Málaga in a topsy-turvy week.  Sporting and Eibar lost all three of their games, and will be looking to put the week behind them. Barcelona meanwhile, won 5-1 at Rayo and 4-0 at Eibar in two games that pitched the paupers against the princes, with the aristocracy hardly blinking as it moved remorselessly on. 

    The win at Eibar – an awkward-looking game despite the hosts’ current lack of form, was the champions’ 36th without defeat since they lost to Sevilla back on October 3rd. They have now superseded Real Madrid’s run in the 1988/89 season under Leo Beenhakker, a 34-game romp that up to now was the longest in La Liga’s history. It was achieved by the famous ‘Quinta del Buitre’, the legendary give players who came through the ranks at the club and who are still recalled with nostalgia by the home supporters who want to see more local players implicated in the cause. The end of the record has only added to the cub’s recent depressive state, whilst Barcelona now eye the chance to overtake the top two of all time – Nottingham Forest’s 40-game run from the 1977/78 season and the mother of all runs, Juventus’ 43 games during the recent 2011/2012 campaign.

    The latest win was achieved without Neymar, but his replacement Munir opened the scoring.  Leo Messi scored another two and it seems only a matter of time before Barcelona confirm the retention of their title. Messi’s penalty was the 14th that Barcelona have been rewarded this season, although they have only converted eight of them. The Madrid press, huffing with this news, point to a mere 8 rewarded to Madrid (6 converted) but Barcelona’s high penalty count suggests that they have been in and around the opposition area for long periods of every game. Luis Suarez’ goal (the fourth) was also the 100th this season in all competitions from the MSN, consisting of 42 from the Uruguayan, 35 from the Argentinian and 23 from the Brazilian.  Last season they managed 122 in all competitions between them, an amount that seemed insuperable, but it looks like they might stroll past the record now.

    In two weeks Barcelona have a tricky visit to Villarreal, after which they entertain Real Madrid in the clásico, then travel to Real Sociedad where they often come unstuck. Hope springs eternal in the breasts of those who believe in eternal quest. If the Catalans could be provoked into a mini-crisis, then at least Atlético might still have a chance of keeping the title fight alive.

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