By Khilen Mehta

If watching their arch rivals stride to their 31st league title with three games to spare wasn’t humiliating enough for Barcelona, then being forced to form a guard of honour at the Bernabeu will be heartbreaking. Some newspaper reports even went as far as to say that Eto’o and Deco sought yellow cards at the weekend just so they could avoid the shame of being present in the victorious guard!

Having to applaud their fiercest enemies onto the field on Wednesday night will just be the start of a turbulent few weeks for the club as they prepare for some high-profile departures. Barcelona are also struggling to overcome Villareal into second place as they seek a morale boosting victory on Wednesday night. Victory over Real Madrid may salvage what little pride there remains this season but many key players have already stated that they may look for fresh pastures if the current instability continues.

For Real Madrid, there could be no better way to continue their celebrations. Although many fans would have secretely hoped that they could have won the league against Barcelona, watching their rivals squirm during the guard of honour will provide immense satisfaction. It has been a fantastic season for Bernd Schuster’s team. They have been dominant in the league and most impressively they won it in style, an important attribute which contrasts with the previous stress on unity of the Capello regime.

The fans will have been most impressed with the never say die attitude of the team, especially visible at the weekend. Down to 10 men and a goal down with 6 minutes to go, Real fought back magnificently to reclaim their title. Madrid is known as the city that never sleeps and it was easy to see why. The party started almost immediately in Plaza de Cibeles as thousands of fans flocked down to the square till the early morning and with the help of music and alcohol, gave their team an almighty celebration to commemorate their achievements. The fans may have left in the early hours but it didn’t stop there as the cleaners got to work on the estimated 10,000 kilos of rubbish that had been left behind in the process!!

So El Clásico descends upon us again. There may be no trophies at stake this year but the battle for pride and bragging rights remains as fierce as ever.

Tags: barcelona, football, Madrid, real madrid

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