The club is a small country and provokes adhesions that have all the defects of nationalism. We fans are sentimental and unwilling to reflect. There are categories, of course, from the guy who loves football more than his team to the fan who can’t get a single idea that contradicts his passion. Since emotions are reckless, they forget that football has a social responsibility. There are many boys who imitate the hairstyles of their idols and, out of that same admiration, bring gestures, attitudes and even causes to their lifestyles.
Sometimes hate prevails over love and my theory falters. In the Classic we saw, after Lamine’s goal, a group of fans who forgot Vinicius’ civilizing struggle uttering racist shouts. The feeling is that Madrid lost twice that afternoon, once on the scoreboard, where there was little to object, and another in the stands, with conduct that denigrates the sporting culture that a club should preside over. I hear that football is something else. It is true, a superior thing as a social phenomenon and, therefore, has more moral obligations.
The next day the Ballon d’Or gala awaited and expectations were high for the club. If the match against Barça left a specific disappointment, a long look at the awards changed the perspective: once again, Madrid would be chosen as the best team in the world. More than a consolation, that was a stroke of authority. And a renewed pride. But on Monday a change of plans occurred at Real Madrid, which Paris was waiting for with a stellar representation. The news brought surprising information. The first said that Vinicius would not win the Ballon d’Or. Since we Madrid fans had granted it to them in advance, Real Madrid fans understood that, rather than not giving it to them, they were taking it away. The second was more inexplicable: Madrid had decided to suspend the trip as a sign of protest. It is an assumption, because so far there is no official explanation.
My feeling is that, to strengthen Vinicius’ image, Madrid chose to weaken its own image. I had the same type of discomfort that those players and coaches cause me who lose a final and who, when they hang the silver medal, take it away as if they did not deserve such dishonor. But honor, even the Madrid anthem says it, is knowing how to lose.
And this also deserves qualification. Is it losing to be declared the best team in the world? And can placing the second, third and fourth on the list of winners as the best players be considered an offense? And that the best coach and the top scorer also belong to Real Madrid, what kind of dishonor is it?
It was the night of Spain. Ballon d’Or in men’s (Rodri) and women’s (Aitana) football, best women’s football club (FC Barcelona), Sócrates award (Jennifer Hermoso), Kopa Trophy (Lamine Yamal) and all the absentees already named from Real Madrid. Spain only left the box for the presentation of the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, won by Emiliano Martínez.
If football is an industry where marketing plays an increasingly greater role, abandoning a box that increases prestige is a mistake that Barça knew how to take advantage of. That doesn’t mean that Madrid is no longer the best team in the world, but having power is not only about winning games, but also about earning the respect of the world of football. “To have power is to be loved,” said Riquelme, legendary player and current president of Boca Juniors. I heard no one say more times that “Madrid must be exemplary” than Florentino Pérez. One more reason for confusion.
