El Clásico will set the tone for Real Madrid’s tough six weeks ahead
Football fans all around the world look forward to their teams playing against other top clubs; they plan their week around it. They talk about it at social events and begin all types of heated discussions around who is the better team and who will end the game victorious. Lucky for us Real Madrid fans, the “big” game is El Clásico.
With the way the season has been going so far for Los Merengues and FC Barcelona, it’s safe to assume the Catalans are the better team.
They are currently eight points ahead in La Liga, scoring for fun on most occasions, and the last time there was a match between the two, Real Madrid was humiliated with a 5-1 loss. Well, that theory will be put up to the test Wednesday night as Barca and Real Madrid face each other in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
The problem is that it’s only the first leg, which means they’ll play each other again in a couple weeks before yet another Clásico in La Liga a few days later.
Personally, I don’t know how to feel about this. I try to remain calm come match time, but once the whistle blows, I find myself full of belief and trust that the team can do it. You can imagine how it was sitting with Barcelona supporters only a few months ago and screaming silly things such as “this is our game and we’re proving everyone wrong” before watching Real Madrid leave the Camp Nou embarrassed.
That was a fun night for them.
This time though, I’m doing it differently. I’m keeping my hopes high because nothing in this world can be more unexpected than a Real Madrid squad who has everything stacked against them. Not only that, but I’m watching all three of these Clásico’s at home.
Since the draw has been made, I encountered many different people who have asked about my predictions. Unfortunately, the only thing that I feel I can safely predict is that Los Blancos will definitely not win all three of the games.
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The problem then is which one(s) will they lose?
Let’s say Real Madrid win 3-1 Wednesday night before losing the second-leg 1-0 and then winning the La Liga encounter. That’s good. Real is in the final of the Copa and has narrowed the gap with Barcelona in the league.
Unfortunately, football isn’t that kind. Therefore, we can’t predict what will happen in a match like this. We have seen Barcelona play some incredible football and we have also seen them be absolutely horrible at times under Ernesto Valverde.
Then again, we have Santiago Solari who is preparing to take on his toughest month so far as Real Madrid manager and we simply cannot know what to expect with the Argentinean when it comes to times like these simply because we have never really seen him go through it.
It’s crucial to keep in mind as well that even though the main focus is on these three Clásico’s in less than a month, we cannot neglect how important February is in general. The return of the UEFA Champions League sees Real Madrid take on Ajax in the upcoming round while Los Blancos will also have to factor in Atletico Madrid on Saturday night.
To keep it simple, Real Madrid’s next three games are against Barcelona (Copa del Rey), Atletico Madrid (La Liga) and Ajax (UEFA Champions League) away from home.
There won’t be a more stressful time to be a Madridista than during the next month of football and all we can do is hope that February does not break us.
This is a month that can really push the season forward or absolutely end it. No one wants to be out of all competitions this early in the campaign and Madrid will need to do whatever they possibly can to ensure that this season does not end by early March.
Santiago Solari can really make a name for himself in the football world and among the supporters if he’s able to survive this month, especially if he can do so while being active in all three competitions.
Starting off March being five points behind Barcelona, in the final of the Copa del Rey (against either Real Betis or Valencia), and in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League will do wonders for the manager and the team.
Next. Luka Modric will receive a contract extension at Real Madrid soon. dark
As a fan though, this is more than we usually want to bargain for. We live for moments like these but when it arrives, we hope that we can fast forward through it just to know how it will all end.
I have hope. You can’t support a team like Real Madrid without having hope.
You cannot live through moments like 92:48 without having hope in this team. You cannot support a team like this without sitting in front of your TV every week and watch them go through the 90 minutes to matter how bad things may look.
“The Real Madrid shirt is white. It can stain of mud, sweat and even of blood, but never of shame.”
-Santiago Bernabeu