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HHello again. If there was a time when Joan Laporta’s return to Barcelona presidency started to feel real, it was probably on the morning of December 15 when a giant banner was placed that covered the facade of a building. of 15 floors with a view to Santiago. Bernabéu. There was a photo of the smiling candidate, a familiar glint in his eyes, and the tagline: “Hope to see you again.” On Saturday, for the first time in more than a decade, he will.
The idea came from Laporta’s campaign manager Lluis Carrasco. Initially, the slogan would say: “A great team needs a great rival.” But Laporta suggested something a little more, well, Laporta: optimistic, daring, unabashedly anti-Madridista and in a provocative playful way. No complex about his club or Catalan nationalism either, the significance of this particularly seen in the reaction of some in the Spanish capital, which could not but make his supporters love him more.
Above all, it was a reminder of better times, of who they were and what they had done, especially there; the times when they really enjoyed seeing Madrid. And when, we might add, everyone did it too, when it was as good as it gets. Heavy with nostalgia, the rebirth of the glory days, it certainly worked. Last month Laporta won a landslide election victory.
In 2009, Laporta had sat at the Bernabéu as Barcelona beat Madrid 6-2, later describing it as the “seventh title” in their historic six-trophy year. His legacy has been the team that beat Madrid 5-0 and won another European Cup, although their last clásico was a 2-0 victory in April 2010, en route to another league. It’s Valdebebas this time, not the Bernabéu. And Laporta has sat alongside Florentino Pérez ever since, at a funeral, revealing to RAC1 that the Madrid president had reserved a seat for him and joked: “I like to keep my enemies close.” Today, 11 years later, Laporta chairs a classic again.
His return changed things, if only emotionally, with returning optimism. A feeling that maybe football can be fun again, that the future shouldn’t be so feared. This feeling has been deepened and driven in large part by the fact that on the ground things have improved dramatically – not that he can take credit for it, not that Barcelona’s deep structural crisis has been resolved or that anyone deceiving themselves about gravity. of the situation or unaware that this the team is gone.
The election was called after Josep Maria Bartomeu was forced to resign, and amid a string of poor results and even worse performances, Barcelona were 12th, closer to the relegation zone than the top. They had come from that 8-2 against Bayern Munich last summer, from Lionel Messi trying to leave and had lost as many games as they had won. Although they were going to improve, at the end of January they were still 10 points off the top, having played one more game. “We are not in a position to win a lot,” admitted manager Ronald Koeman.
Now somehow they are. They both are. Earn the classic and Barcelona will go to the top for the first time in 293 days. Even a raffle will do this, at least temporarily. If Madrid win, they will take the lead for the first time in 151 days. Spain are used to it being the defining game of the season, but this time it wasn’t meant to be. Still, the winner will be favorites to win the league.
It was supposed to be Atlético’s title. They have been on top for four months. But their lead slipped through their fingers. They have won four of their last 10 league games as Barcelona and Madrid have relaunched each other. Madrid have won 43 of the last 54 points, Barcelona have won 51 of 57. Barcelona are in the Copa del Rey final next Saturday. Madrid have taken an important step towards the semi-final of the Champions League.
Zidane has found refuge in the old guard, in a midfielder who may still be the best in the world. Nacho and Lucas Vázquez responded, as they so often do. On Tuesday there was also a sense of discovery in Vinícius Júnior’s display against Liverpool. Marco Asensio is back. Karim Benzema is better than ever. Madrid reacted when needed, which tends to be their way of doing things: the team that lost to Alcoyano, Levante, Alavés, Shakhtar Donetsk and Cadiz, who couldn’t beat Osasuna or Elche, beat Atlético, Barcelona, Liverpool, Seville and Internazionale. .
Two seasons in a row, Zidane has been on the verge of the sack; it could still be two seasons in which he finishes as a league champion, if not more. There was no way Koeman would stay; now it doesn’t seem possible to go there anymore.
The Dutchman embraced the need, trying things out and being ready to stick with it if they worked, losing players and finding solutions. He has evolved through training, has shown an unexpected flexibility at the start of the season. 4-2-3-1 became 4-3-3, then three in the back. He found that, if given a chance, the children are fine. Ronald Araújo, Óscar Mingueza and above all the impassive and impeccable Pedri shone. Frenkie de Jong has found himself. Ousmane Dembélé looks like a footballer. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets may not be scrapped.
And Messi, well, it’s Messi – and that’s it. He has scored 16 times in 13 games, once again the best player in Spain and in a way. He seems happy too, apparently seeing something in the young players, worthy kids of a team he can believe in. And so the optimism around Barcelona extends to the growing belief that Messi will likely stay after all, which has always been Laporta’s key promise.
Still, there is no hard evidence to back him up and it is impossible to escape a fundamental fact: at the end of the season, Messi will be in breach of contract. Just like at the end of the season, Sergio Ramos will be out of contract. This could be the last of the Argentinian classic. Injured, the Spaniard could already have played his. Laporta is back, but they might not be. They could stay; the very fact that they cannot is symbolic, the passage of time, the inevitability of change and loss. Unexpectedly, this match can help decide the title, like it’s supposed to, but everyone knows it’s different now.
Next season, two of the remaining five players among the 22 who started last classic Laporta was in attendance as president might be gone (although Benzema was on the bench that night), including the man he most seeks to stay. Perhaps the two club captains are gone, the end of an era; a time that made them happy, to which the returning president is clinging to. He’s not alone: it’s an area that, at least on some level, everyone does.
“I hope he doesn’t leave,” Zidane said of Ramos. “I hope he doesn’t either,” Zidane said when asked about Messi.
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