The day before yesterday Josep Pedrerol furiously attacked Barça, a Champions League semifinalist, leaving Dortmund out with a 5-3 score.
One had to see how he reacted after the cataclysm experienced by Real Madrid against Arsenal. A week without talking about anything other than a comeback. Special programs, ¡Hala Madrid!
"Real Madrid Can Eliminate Arsenal. They Will"
Boom, the epic Real Madrid, out of Europe. About Barça in Dortmund, Pedrerol said after the 5-3 of the tie: "The Barça fan must be happy for the qualification, but saying; 'we are no longer favorites.' That the eighth in the German league shoots 11 times on goal and you twice... That the eighth in the German league embarrasses you is a wake-up call..."
Very serious, yes. But in the semifinals and with the homework done (4-0 in the first leg). And the best of his performance: "If the eighth in the German league embarrasses Barça, Madrid can eliminate Arsenal. They will."
Surely Florentino Pérez applauded his occurrence with his ears. The eighth in the German league is the finalist of the last Champions, the Sixteenth, although then it was a formidable rival.
As formidable was Arsenal, which Pedrerol has belittled in his program because in the unique Madridist thought no one can be better than Real Madrid, by royal decree.
Smoke Selling, Pedrerol's Specialty
It is possible that Barça is not the favorite to win the Champions, as Pedrerol says, but they can win it. They are alive in the three competitions and yes, they can conquer the third treble in their history.
Very good what comes next. Words from Pedrerol: "That we are here and have won everything... It seems that here, listening to some comments, everything has already been won. And Laporta was right to remind that Barça has not won anything. Madrid eliminated, so that's it, Barça passes easily..."
True, that "Real Madrid can eliminate Arsenal and they will," is nothing more than the result of the arrogance and pride of the propaganda apparatus of a club. From those who are capable of narrating in detail a match that has not been played. 1-0 in the 10th minute, 2-0 at halftime... And blah blah blah.
Illusion, dreams... that have nothing to do with reality, Pedrerol and his troupe decided that Real Madrid was going to win 4-0. They deceived us all.
It seemed that Madrid was already winning 4-0 before the match started thanks to enlightened professionals in smoke selling.
"Barça Has Brushed Against Ridicule," Said Edu Aguirre 24 Hours Before
Like Edu Aguirre, a clear example of what a radical fan disguised as a journalist is, who also after Barça's 3-1 in Dortmund said:
"For the players, it's a clear wake-up call. It's Europe, and Europe has shown its cards. It's a lesson in humility.
A wake-up call for the 20-year-old youth players. And a lesson in humility for those who go around giving lessons on what it is to play soccer. For those who go around giving lessons that they are favorites for the treble. And for those who go around saying it's the best soccer in Europe.
"Barça Has Been This Close to Being Kicked Out of Europe"
For those who laugh at how badly Real Madrid plays. Barça today has brushed against ridicule. They have been this close to being kicked out by the eighth in the Bundesliga".
Yes, yes, wake-up call and lesson in humility... for whom? The eternal loser Arsenal has kicked Real Madrid out of Europe with a 5-1. But they haven't been embarrassed, nor has their vulnerability been seen, nor have they brushed against ridicule like Barça. In fact, they didn't brush against it.
Madrid hasn't been "this close" to being kicked out of Europe. They are out. However, Barça's treble is still on.
Edu Aguirre continued: "it shows that the kids lack a bit of experience, of strong mentality at certain moments. It's something that experience and being hardened in a thousand battles in the Champions gives. And Barça doesn't have it."
Who does have it is Real Madrid, which is no longer among the four best in Europe, it must be understood.
"Barça Doesn't Inspire Confidence and Is Vulnerable"
"Let's see Barça in the semifinals or in the final against Bayern, Inter, or in the final against whoever they face. But Barça today has brushed against ridicule and there's nothing wrong with saying it. Here there's nothing wrong with Barça, here it's not said we're in the semifinals."
"There" his boss Pedrerol guarantees 24 hours before a match that there will be no other winner than Real Madrid.
"I keep saying that this Barça doesn't inspire confidence. It seems to me a quite vulnerable team," ends Edu Aguirre, who seems happy with Real Madrid, which is not vulnerable, nor brushes against ridicule, even if they are kicked out of Europe with a 5-1.
This Is How Pedrerol Excused Himself
Pedrerol and his clan forgot that Real Madrid is the team that runs the least in Europe. They even boasted that in England they already considered Arsenal eliminated. They surrendered before playing.
That's what they sold. What did Pedrerol say about Real Madrid's elimination after guaranteeing their pass? Neither ridicule, nor embarrassed, nor wake-up calls nor favorites that aren't...
Real Madrid lost, but they also won, because the winner in the Arsenal-Real Madrid tie was the Bernabéu crowd, their people, their spectators.
That's how far Pedrerol's self-criticism goes. Long live the people and a pointed out: Mbappé, "the best player in the world according to him." And another: Ancelotti: "the best coach in the world," too.
Real Madrid wasn't embarrassed with the 5-1 because their fans won, the ones who cheered from the first moment. Only Barça gets embarrassed even though they are still alive in Europe.
The Hunt Opens, Again, Against Mbappé
Years ago Pedrerol declared Barça a loser in the 6-1 against PSG when the match hadn't ended, and now he justifies his excess of arrogance with his fictitious comeback by declaring Real Madrid the winner before the match was played:
"I confess, I believed it. I believed the comeback was possible. I believed there was a team with enough quality to come back.
I knew that you, the Madrid fans, would be up to the task, that you would cheer. The Madrid fans did win today. But I believed it and I was wrong, like many of you."
The harmony of "culer" Josep Pedrerol with the Real Madrid fans is total. He can't hide it. Madrid won yesterday.
A bit of self-criticism, very little: "You don't just win with illusion, you also win with soccer, knowing what you're playing for. Being a compact team, with individuals who measure up, with stars who show it on the field. Today there were stars who weren't up to the task."
Of course, Florentino Pérez doesn't appear in the summary of those responsible. That's despite Courtois and some others blaming him for swapping Joselu for Endrick.
"Today there were stars who weren't up to the task. It's not the first time. The best in the world appears in these matches.
I didn't see Mbappé today. It's unfair to point only at Mbappé, but at least Vinicius tried."
Are You Sure Mbappé Is the Best in the World?
The problem with Mbappé is that he is not the best in the world, but Josep Pedrerol and many more in Madrid are determined that he is. Many have believed them.
"Some of us thought Mbappé could appear. Because he alone in a World Cup final against Argentina scored three goals. Many of us understood that the best in the world could appear in matches like today.
Or that Vinicius would get past three or four and score two goals, as he has done sometimes. Or that Rodrigo could appear too. That the best Bellingham could appear and be decisive." Illusions, dreams, smoke selling.
Pedrerol adds: "Thinking that is thinking that the stars can save a match. People have clung to the stars, have clung to the emotion, to the history and the soul of the Bernabéu."
The conclusion is clear, even if Real Madrid was embarrassed with a 5-1, soccer wins and Real Madrid's fans win.
"Today soccer wins because it has been shown that above all is the emotion of the people. Today has been lost and the Madridist people have gone home crying, many will not have had dinner, many will have said we have wasted time."
"What has been experienced today at the Bernabéu from two in the afternoon, from the first minute, at 5, at 7, and at 10, thinking about the comeback, today has been the success of soccer. How beautiful soccer is when the fans live soccer this way."
Pedrerol: "Long Live the People!"
"I stick with that. You stick with the tactical, with the strategic... I want to stick today with the Real Madrid fans, who have given an absolute lesson, because for me soccer belongs to the people and today the people of the Bernabéu have given an authentic lesson. I stick with that."
"The people have clung to a reality, to having the best players in the world and expected them to be up to the best in the world. That's not nonsense because other times they have done it."
"Soccer-wise it wasn't possible, it wasn't possible for Rice to score from a free kick because he had never done it and scored two free-kick goals. Arsenal hadn't scored from a free kick in four years and scored two free-kick goals (and 500 days without conceding three goals, that he doesn't say)
In the end, these things can happen (and if they can happen, why assure that Real Madrid will eliminate Arsenal?)
The people who dreamed that Madrid could pass are not fools. The people who believed in Madrid is because they know what it is to be from Madrid. I am not a Madridist and they have infected me.
He is not a Madridist, but happy, because the Bernabéu crowd seems to be in the Champions League semifinals.
In What Bubble Does Edu Aguirre Live, Who Didn't See It Coming?
Edu Aguirre, the same. A guy who follows Real Madrid 24 hours a day, was surprised because he saw against Arsenal the same thing we have all seen throughout the season.
What a mess they are in. His criteria is dictated by his heart, in no case is it based on reality. With Real Madrid and with Barça.
The same one who criticized Barça's 5-3 qualification discovered in the comeback match the Real Madrid that we all already knew. In what bubble does Edu Aguirre live? How can he be surprised by something that was coming?
There have been many warnings this season: the 0-4, the 2-5, and several more. The Real Madrid that played against Arsenal is the same old Madrid, the one that has scored 20 fewer goals than Barça in LaLiga despite having the best forwards in the world.
But Edu Aguirre preferred to play the comeback based on his own dreams and illusions. Zero criteria and objectivity.
This is how he explained himself on El Chiringuito:
"That Madrid doesn't win a single divided ball is not Ancelotti's fault, that there isn't a soul in that team is not Ancelotti's fault. (Whose fault will it be?).
A penalty, you have to eat the referee (as he and Real Madrid TV do, everything is criticizable if it doesn't favor Real Madrid).
"This Real Madrid Doesn't Represent Me"
They needed three goals and came out of the break and each one doing their own thing. They didn't huddle, they weren't focused, they didn't pressure the referee...
Mbappé disappeared, Vinicius has lost his aura. He doesn't get past anyone, he almost doesn't even try, he only crosses. Rodrigo disappeared and Bellingham running like a headless chicken.
Madrid doesn't have full-backs (And why would that be?). It's a team that hasn't represented me as a Madridist.
They didn't put their soul into it. Arsenal can eliminate you, you can't fall this way. Arsenal, who hasn't won a Premier in I don't know how many thousand years, can't beat you 5-1.
You have to overwhelm them, you have to shoot on goal, you have to bite... and then you play soccer. But first is the attitude. I don't know if these players, in their armored bus, in their bubbles, have been able to see the affection of the people.
I don't know if the players are as hurt as I am. Or like my dad or like my brother. You have to die on the field and I've seen a team that had no chance."