Drama in store as Spanish giants set for a fall

WITH Seville bouncing back to the top by beating Barcelona, La Liga seems more and more like an exhilarating flamenco, the dancers gyrating faster and faster, the steps more dazzling at each turn, with no one sure who will come to the front next time, let alone when the dance comes to an end.

Valencia and Seville have produced some brilliant attacking football — ‘outsiders’ they may be but they are both quite capable of winning the title — but part of the spectacle is down to Barcelona’s inability to win away, and Madrid’s catastrophic home form.

The two giants could easily fall in the Champions League this week, which would make next week’s clash at Nou Camp even more of a defining game for both clubs.

Barca at least have the excuse of injuries and internal dissent, not that this will help should they lose to Liverpool. The word is that Frank Rijkaard seems to be prepared to risk all with a 3-4-3 formation.

Real Madrid’s position is worse. New president Ramon Calderon, new coach Fabio Capello, new players, same old dissatisfied fans.

Sunday’s 1-1 draw in the derby with Getafe was a little unfortunate, as Madrid were denied a clear penalty.

To his credit the referee admitted that mistake the day after the match, although this was of doubtful benefit to Atletico’s Mexican manager Javier Aguirre, who was left looking as if he’d just bitten into a large chili.

The Madrid-based paper, Marca, is normally a loyal mouthpiece for whichever faction is in charge at the Bernabeu. Not any more.

“The worst team in the history of the Bernabeu” announced Marca yesterday, fuelling the fans sense of grievance with what it called the ‘calderoncapellista’ project.

Seven years ago, Vicente del Bosque’s Madrid team dropped 26 points (6 defeats and 4 draws) in 19 home games — 45.61%, as Marca noted with the excruciating accuracy dear to anoraks all over the world.

Thus far Capello’s team have won 4 and drawn 3 of their 12 home games, dropping 17 points out of 36, or 47.22%.

Perhaps more telling as far as the fans are concerned is that Madrid’s goals per game in home games have fallen to an historic low, not just lower than Del Bosque’s team, but lower even than 1931 — which just happens to be the year that the last King of Spain fled the country.

At least Del Bosque managed to win the Champions League, Marca commented sourly. Continuing the history theme, it now looks as if Capello is approaching his own personal Munich crisis.

Fabio Cannavaro, interviewed last week by Italy’s Gazzetta Dello Sport, puts the problems down to all the changes coming simultaneously (which makes some sense) and warns that impatience could result in Real becoming like Inter of old.

“Any business needs time to adjust, but at the first sign of a difficulty here everything is up in the air. At Inter the team was changed constantly for 10 or 15 years and they won nothing. Since the moment they put their faith in Mancini they’ve been doing wonderfully. Inter were a joke, everyone used to make fun of them, now they’re a team with a serious future.”

Right on cue, Mancini’s team dropped their first points since October — at home to Udinese, who curiously were also the last team to take points off them.

The runaway Serie A leaders were without three of their main midfield players, and the setback, if you can call it that, showed how much the team have relied on the power of Patrick Vieira in midfield.

The worry for Mancini is the Champions League and Valencia, not the league title, especially as key players may be unavailable.

As the Gazzetta points out, both Valencia and Udinese have achieved draws at the San Siro by being patient: “Perhaps — and we’re only saying perhaps — Inter suffer a bit against teams that hold on to the ball, or even play without attacking, thus maintaining their character and shape.”

With Valencia on a roll, all the signs are that it’s going to be a dramatic week in the Champions League.