Chapter 200 The King's Cup Final
On April 20, 2011, at Valencia CF's home stadium, Mestalla Stadium, the second match in a 18-day, four-game series between the two La Liga giants, the Copa del Rey final, was about to begin.
52,600 spectators packed the Mestalla Stadium to witness the final winner of this season's Copa del Rey.
As its name suggests, the Copa del Rey has a close connection with the Spanish royal family. King Juan Carlos I and other members of the royal family personally attend matches to watch this centuries-old cup competition. After the match, King Juan Carlos I personally presents the trophy to the winning team.
The executives and legends of Real Madrid and Barcelona, led by their club presidents, formed a huge "cheering squad," all hoping to bring home the first trophy of the season.
Even though Barcelona lost the first match four days prior, Guardiola didn't change Barcelona's formation or style of play in this game. On one hand, this possession-based style of play is the culmination of many years of effort and the style the players are most familiar with; he couldn't simply abandon it. On the other hand, he didn't believe the first match's defeat was a tactical failure; Real Madrid's victory had a large element of luck, and Fino's long-range shot was a stroke of luck.
Barcelona's starting lineup has been slightly adjusted.
Barcelona's starting goalkeeper in the Copa del Rey was always second-choice goalkeeper Pinto. Even in the final, Guardiola did not change the choice, and Valdes was relegated to the bench.
Puyol, who was experiencing some thigh discomfort in the previous match, also did not start, and was replaced by the recovered Mascherano. Pique partnered Mascherano in center-back, while Alves and Adriano remained at full-back. The midfield trio of Xavi, Busquets, and Iniesta, as well as the attacking trio of Pedro, Messi, and Villa, all started for the second consecutive match.
For Real Madrid, the starting goalkeeper is undoubtedly Casillas, who wears the captain's armband. The four defenders, from right to left, are Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, and Marcelo. Khedira, Fino, and Alonso continue to partner in the three defensive midfielders. There have been some changes in the front three. In addition to Ronaldo still starting, Higuain and Di Maria have replaced Benzema and Kaká.
During the players' entrance, the camera focused on both head coaches.
Guardiola sat in his chair with his hands in his pockets, lost in thought with a blank stare. Real Madrid, as he had predicted, continued to use a three-defensive-midfielder formation for counter-attacking football, but the substitutions in Real Madrid's attacking third raised some suspicions. Was this normal rotation, or did Mourinho have a special arrangement?
Mourinho looked full of energy. He took out a pen and notebook, placed them on the chair next to him, ready to jot down any problems he encountered during the match, as well as any flashes of inspiration that crossed his mind. As for Barcelona's substitutions, Mourinho didn't care at all. Barcelona's core tactic was possession-based football, and substitutions were no different; there was nothing to analyze, just do it.
During the coin toss, Xavi, wearing the captain's armband, guessed the pattern correctly and chose Barcelona to kick off first.
After the kickoff, Barcelona took an early lead.
As Xavi passed the ball to Alves, Pedro, Messi, and Villa sprinted towards Real Madrid's half, instantly putting Real Madrid's defense under pressure.
Alves received the ball and immediately passed it back to Iniesta, who then passed it diagonally to Villa on the left wing. Khedira, closely marking Villa, and Ramos, blocking Villa's path, squeezed Villa's space from the right and front respectively. Villa shielded the ball while looking for an opportunity to pass it out.
Messi, who was in the middle, rushed over to provide support after seeing this, but was closely marked by Fino.
Just as Villa was about to be pushed out of bounds by Khedira and Ramos, he finally managed to pass the ball out. Alonso got to the ball before Iniesta and passed it across to Ronaldo on the other side of the field, and Real Madrid's counter-attack began.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke forward along the left flank. After crossing the center line, Busquets cut diagonally from the right front to intercept him. Ronaldo didn't engage with him but changed direction and rushed down the left flank. Alves and Pique both rushed over. Ronaldo shifted his weight and used a stepover to get past Pique. Just as he was about to accelerate forward, Alves took the opportunity to kick the ball out of bounds from Ronaldo's feet.
In the 3rd minute, Barcelona's short passing penetration failed to break through Real Madrid's second line of defense. When the ball was passed to Messi, he did not continue to pass it around, but suddenly started to dribble through the right flank. After Messi used his speed to outpace Alonso, Pepe and Carvalho cautiously came to meet him, and Alonso also turned around and chased back from behind.
Messi didn't continue his breakthrough. Instead, just as the three Real Madrid players were about to close him down, he passed the ball back to Xavi, who was making a run down the right. Xavi took a long-range shot before Fino could close him down and steal the ball, but the shot was too rushed and went wide of the goal.
Next, Casillas launched the ball long forward, and Higuain knocked past Busquets, who was vying for the ball, and headed it to Di Maria. Di Maria then continued forward through the middle, but was pulled down from behind by Alves.
Di Maria immediately raised his hand to signal to the referee that Alves had fouled him, while Alves looked innocent and went to help Di Maria up.
Di Maria refused to get up, and Higuain, who was nearby, pushed Alves away. Barcelona players immediately surrounded them, and Real Madrid players followed suit. The two sides argued, but remained restrained and did not come to blows.
"The game has only been going on for a few minutes and a conflict has already broken out on the field. After Alves tackled Di Maria, the players from both sides started arguing." The commentator seemed to enjoy the drama. "Four days ago, when Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off in the league, the referee issued a total of one red card and eight yellow cards. I wonder if the number of cards issued in this game will exceed that of the game four days ago."
The referee ran over and separated the two teams of players.
Given that the match had just begun, the referee did not issue a card to Alves, but instead awarded Real Madrid a free kick, which greatly displeased the Real Madrid players.
“Sir, that’s at least a yellow card,” Fino immediately said to the referee.
The referee waved his hand, sticking to his decision and ordering Real Madrid to take the free kick immediately.
Real Madrid executed a free-kick combination, with Ronaldo lobbing the ball into the penalty area. Ramos attempted a shot inside the box, but the ball went wide of the goal.
When the starting lineups for both teams were announced, most sports media outlets predicted that this match would be similar to the one four days prior—another somewhat dull affair. Barcelona controlled possession, midfield stalemates ensued, Real Madrid countered, and the game repeated itself.
However, in the first ten minutes of the match, Real Madrid's aggressive attacking play exceeded everyone's expectations.
Having had one previous encounter, Real Madrid became more adept at defending against Barcelona's possession-based tactics. The three defensive midfielders and two center-backs effectively contained Barcelona's midfield penetration, which freed up Real Madrid's full-backs Ramos and Marcelo to some extent. In addition to doing their defensive work, the two made more frequent forward runs, and their running distance increased very quickly.
Fino and Alonso's long passes became increasingly smooth, and after intercepting the ball in midfield, their counter-attacks were quick and sharp, frequently disrupting Barcelona's possession rhythm.
In recent seasons, Barcelona has always used its possession-based football to weave a tight net, trapping its opponents within it. But in this match, when Real Madrid used sharp counter-attacks to cut holes in this net, both Barcelona's players and fans were somewhat unaccustomed to it.
In the 26th minute, Messi was brought down by Pepe while dribbling, but the referee did not issue a card and only awarded Barcelona a free kick.
Xavi opted for a quick free kick, combining with Villa in the penalty area. Marcelo reacted quickly, heading the ball away before Villa could receive it, and Real Madrid's counter-attack began again.
The ball passed through Marcelo and Khedira to Fino, who then launched a long diagonal pass, aiming at Ronaldo who had switched from the left to the right wing.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the ball just outside the Barcelona penalty area, dribbled past Adriano and entered the Barcelona penalty area, and took a shot from a tight angle before Mascherano could block it, but the ball was saved by Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto.
Alonso made a run down the middle to prepare for a follow-up shot, but was fouled by Busquets. Busquets made a clear stomp and showed his studs to Alonso, but fortunately Alonso dodged quickly and was not injured.
Perhaps the sheer number of cards issued in the previous El Clásico was too alarming, because in this Copa del Rey final, the referee went to the other extreme, issuing cards with extreme caution. Even when faced with a dangerous move by Busquets, he still didn't issue a card, only awarding Real Madrid a free kick.
"An absolutely dangerous move, and the referee didn't call anything. The referee was too lenient in this match. This ensured the smooth flow of the game to some extent, but it may not be a good thing. Players like Pepe, who play aggressively, will constantly test the referee's limits, and the game could easily get out of control," the commentator said with some concern.
Real Madrid's free kick ultimately failed, as Pinto easily caught it, giving Barcelona possession and allowing them to launch a counter-attack.
Pique evaded Higuain's challenge and passed the ball forward to Busquets, who then passed it to Iniesta on the left wing. Iniesta lobbed a high ball over Khedira's head and dropped it in the left side of Real Madrid's penalty area.
Villa fouled Pepe while they were vying for the ball, and both fell to the ground. As Pepe got up, he stepped on Villa's shin, and Villa immediately feigned pain and rolled on the ground.
Pepe stood next to Villa with his hands on his hips and said sarcastically, "Stop pretending, you didn't even step on it properly."
This angered the Barcelona players. Pedro pushed Pepe, and Ramos and others rushed over, and the two sides started shoving each other.
As the players' emotions began to spiral out of control, the referee finally issued the first yellow card of the match, to Pepe.
The Real Madrid players were unhappy. Villa had fouled first, and Pepe stepped on him when the ball was already dead. Moreover, Pepe didn't do it on purpose, so why was he given a card?
The referee knew perfectly well that Villa's immediate bouncing around after Pepe received his card meant he was largely putting on an act, but giving Pepe a yellow card wouldn't be unreasonable, since he was definitely doing it on purpose.
The referee stood by his decision and demanded that the players resume the game immediately, or he would continue to issue cards for obstructing the normal course of the game.
Fino remained noncommittal about Pepe receiving the card; he was worried about something else entirely.
"Sir, I have no objection to your ruling this time, but I hope your standards are consistent. Busquets just showed his studs to Alonso, and you didn't issue a card, did you?"
Fino's meaning was clear: you can deal the cards, but you can't just deal them to Real Madrid.
The referee immediately felt offended. Was Fino questioning his biased whistle? He tightened his grip on the yellow card, but ultimately did not show it to Fino.
This is the Copa del Rey final, and the King of Spain and members of the royal family are watching live. The live cameras are all focused on him, so he has to be extremely careful with his calls. Fino is telling the truth; he didn't give Busquets a card earlier. Giving Fino a card now would confirm his biased officiating and cause a huge controversy.
"I will maintain a consistent standard of judgment." He gave Fino a deep look, then turned to signal for the game to resume immediately.
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [heart emoji]
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