Chapter 184 Amidst Storms and Turmoil

The "reshuffling gate" incident has not yet been fully resolved, but the El Clásico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 13th round of La Liga has already been heavily hyped by the media.

This is Mourinho's first El Clásico since taking charge of Real Madrid.

The story between Mourinho and Barcelona is truly fascinating. Even without his early years as an assistant coach and the "CD scandal," his repeated encounters with Barcelona in the Champions League during his time at Chelsea and Inter Milan are enough to keep the media buzzing about it.

Even more fascinating than the story between Mourinho and Barcelona is the story between him and Guardiola.

When Mourinho was Robson's assistant at Barcelona, ​​Guardiola was the player he was closest to in the Barcelona dressing room. The two would often spend hours discussing tactics, and their relationship was once very close.

Some tabloids have even reported that the two occasionally go to nightclubs together.

However, differences in tactical philosophy caused the two to drift apart, especially after the "CD scandal," when Guardiola took over as Barcelona's manager. Driven by fate, the two gradually became adversaries.

This season, Mourinho, with his extensive experience against Barcelona, ​​has become the new captain of the Galacticos. Former close friends have become rivals in El Clásico. Isn't the sense of destiny in this situation worth writing about in detail?

Driven by the media, Mourinho and Guardiola were portrayed as destined rivals.

In the lead-up to El Clásico, Barcelona held a clear advantage in public opinion.

In the past two years, Barcelona under Guardiola has been one of the most dazzling teams in European football.

Guardiola values ​​the team's youth development, promoting and giving important roles to young players from La Masia, while constantly experimenting with and optimizing tactics, making Barcelona's overall strength increasingly formidable.

Under Guardiola's leadership, Barcelona won the La Liga title for two consecutive years, firmly overshadowing Real Madrid and dominating the league for a time.

To the dismay of Barcelona fans, this dazzling team has suffered repeated setbacks in the Champions League.

In the 2008/09 season, Guardiola's Barcelona reached the Champions League final but lost to Ancelotti's AC Milan. In the 2009/10 season, Guardiola's Barcelona were eliminated in the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Mourinho's Inter Milan.

This season, Guardiola once again implemented tactical innovations, moving Messi from the right wing to the center as a false 9, giving him absolute freedom. A stronger Barcelona emerged, and Barcelona's fans were full of confidence. This season was definitely the beginning of Barcelona's comprehensive rise.

Even though pre-match commentary had already anticipated Real Madrid's defeat to Barcelona, ​​the result of this match still exceeded everyone's expectations.

Real Madrid suffered a crushing defeat in the chilly winter rain at Camp Nou.

Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 5-0 with ease, just as easily as they had thrashed Almeria 8-0 in the previous league match.

The problem is that Almeria is a La Liga relegation team, while Real Madrid is a Galácticos team that has assembled three Ballon d'Or winners and a top coach.

In an instant, Barcelona was hailed as a splendid success, directly elevated to the status of the greatest club in history, while Real Madrid was seen as the sacrificial offering for Barcelona's comprehensive rise.

Marca journalist José Anaute stated that he has never seen such a strong team, whether it be peak AC Milan, Real Madrid during the Finca Five era, or the Dream Team under Cruyff, none of them can compare to Guardiola's Barcelona.

El País believes that Barcelona represents the authority in the football world, and no team is better than Barcelona.

Diario Sport couldn't wait to announce: This is a grand gift from the children of La Masia to Barcelona on their 111th birthday. Guardiola is Real Madrid's nemesis, and Real Madrid will never be able to touch victory in Guardiola's hands.

...

Just as Real Madrid was embroiled in a media storm, UEFA added insult to injury by announcing penalties for the club and those involved in the "sweepstakes" scandal.

Real Madrid were fined €120,000; Mourinho was suspended for two matches, the first against Auxerre in the next Champions League group stage match, and the second suspended for three years, along with a €40,000 fine; Alonso and Ramos were fined €20,000 each, their red cards remain in effect, and they will be suspended for the next Champions League group stage match against Auxerre; Casillas was fined €10,000; and Dudek was fined €5,000.

This is an extremely serious punishment because there are currently no clear rules in football to regulate card-shuffling behavior. Whether or not to punish it depends entirely on UEFA's decision. Moreover, in the previous case of card-shuffling against Lyon, the punishment was only a fine of 17,500 euros for the players involved.

When the same thing happened to Real Madrid, not only were the club and the manager heavily fined, but Mourinho also received a suspension. This is clearly a case of different punishments for the same crime.

Real Madrid immediately appealed, and before the start of the final round of the Champions League group stage, UEFA partially modified the previously issued disciplinary order, reducing Mourinho's two-match ban to one, and appropriately reducing the fines for the club, the manager, and the players.

UEFA's punishment of Real Madrid for the "card-washing scandal" has naturally made Real Madrid the target of ridicule in the media. After a triumphant season, Real Madrid seems to be getting stuck in a quagmire after El Clásico.

But gradually, public opinion began to shift, from praising Barcelona as a whole to specifically praising Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta.

"Cabrini and Ronaldo both fail to score, while peak Messi shines at Camp Nou."

The absolute core of the strongest Barcelona team: Xavi not winning the Ballon d'Or would be a disgrace to the entire football world.

...

Real Madrid's public relations department immediately sensed something was amiss. With the FIFA Ballon d'Or announcement drawing ever closer, some people were starting to use Real Madrid's crushing defeat to sabotage Fino in the FIFA Ballon d'Or voting.

That year, the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year were officially merged into the FIFA Ballon d'Or. This was the first selection after the merger, and under such special circumstances, the competition among the nominees was even more intense.

Ahead of the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the five players considered strong contenders for the award were Real Madrid's Fino, Inter Milan's Sneijder, and Barcelona's Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta.

Fino is widely considered the most likely to win the award.

Although Real Madrid's performance last season was poor, Fino was the attacking core of the World Cup-winning Italian team, the winner of the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot, and his performance on the international stage was outstanding, leaving a very impressive impression on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Next is Sneijder.

Sneijder is the absolute core of Inter Milan, the treble winner of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League, and the Champions League assist leader. If it's not a major tournament year, this achievement is completely unmatched.

The advantage of the Barcelona trio is not significant.

Messi is a La Liga champion, La Liga Golden Boot winner, and European Golden Boot winner; his individual statistics are very convincing. However, he lacks the highest level of team honors.

Xavi and Iniesta are La Liga champions and World Cup runners-up, and are the core of Barcelona and the Spanish national team, but their individual statistics are not outstanding.

Following the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​public opinion began to shift under the influence of certain individuals. Fino was frequently criticized, while calls for Barcelona players to win awards gradually increased.

Real Madrid's PR team immediately joined forces with Fino's personal team to reverse public opinion, and Mendes also began to use his extensive media network to promote Fino in the selection process.

Portugal only reached the round of 16 in this year's World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo, another cash cow under Mendes, has almost no chance of winning an award. Of course, Mendes will focus all his efforts on Fino.

Italian football circles quickly joined the media war.

Are you Barcelona trying to defy the heavens? A domestic league champion, trying to surpass Sneijder's treble and Fino's World Cup title? Do you really think Serie A is dead?

Apart from Inter Milan, which was campaigning for Sneijder, other Italian football professionals who spoke out all sided with Fino.

Paolo Rossi: 28 years ago, I led Italy to victory in the World Cup in Spain, winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards. 28 years later, the exact same story is unfolding for Cabrini. If this is a miracle, then I think it can be even more legendary. 28 years ago, I won the Golden Ball for my performance in the World Cup; 28 years later, I believe Cabrini will win his first FIFA Golden Ball!

Paolo Maldini: AC Milan fans are fortunate to have witnessed the birth of a super genius. Cabrini's individual performance is absolutely dominant; he can do everything on the field – shooting, dribbling, organizing, defending, and even making saves. In terms of individual ability, no player in football today can compare to Cabrini. And in terms of team honors, what honor can surpass a World Cup title? The time has come to test the fairness of the newly crowned FIFA Ballon d'Or selection process.

Italy national team coach Marcello Lippi: Messi is an excellent player, but Cabrini's performance is more convincing. If the core of the World Cup-winning team loses to the La Liga-winning striker in the FIFA Ballon d'Or voting, then I will no longer have any expectations for this award.

...

Fino wasn't too concerned about the media frenzy following El Clásico. He believed the media attack against Real Madrid would naturally disappear once Real Madrid went on another winning streak. As for the public relations regarding his individual awards, he would leave that to the professionals.

He was more concerned with how to defeat this Barcelona team.

The 5-0 defeat was truly unacceptable, and even he himself admitted that Barcelona's performance in this match was extremely dominant, and Real Madrid's loss was not unjust.

Real Madrid's defense was too weak, and Barcelona repeatedly broke through their defense. After falling behind by a large margin, the teammate's mentality collapsed.

His own performance was also poor; he failed to step up and stabilize the team's morale in time, and in the end, Real Madrid was divided and he found himself fighting alone.

But since it has already happened, don't cry over the spilled milk; instead, think carefully about how to win it back.

The league is a two-legged contest, and they also have home games to get revenge. In addition, there are the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. As long as they and Barcelona keep winning, there will always be a day when they meet again.

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The author's note: After much deliberation, the score of this match remained unchanged. This season, Barcelona is truly formidable. But the stronger the opponent, the more precious the victory; only through destruction can one rise again.

Thank you everyone for your support! [Thumbs up]