Champions League distress for Spanish Clubs

Bayern and Chelsea go through. The expected Champions League El Clasico final is no more. Were they both deserved wins or did, as some of my twitter friends say, football die a bit? They were both deserved. Remember Bayern and Chelsea are big clubs, with great history and an impressive track record history against these opponents in particular. There is no shame in getting the unexpected final instead. It’s no one person's fault either.

We can´t blame Messi or Ronaldo, the best players of the generation We can label their futility a failure since the bar is set so high by them weekly, but they both had outstanding tournaments. In this match alone, Ronaldo had 10 shots, 4 on goal and 2 goals, but his penalty miss started the domino fall. Messi struggled more in comparison, but he did not have as poor a series as people are reporting; his compatriots let him down. You can´t blame the lack of finishing on the woodwork, nor on luck, nor even the refs in this match. Messi had 5 shots, 2 on goal, 0 goals but 1 assist, and he has scored 14 goals in 11 Champions League games this year alone and 51 goals in the tournament for his career. The fact that he clanged a penalty off the crossbar is unfortunate, but the blame should not fall on his shoulders alone.

One of the key images I am going to take from the match is that of José Mourinho in black kneeling during the penalties; a picture of him that I think few people get to see, that of the penitent man whose bravado is spent, will be as iconic as anything he’s done, as iconic as him running through the sprinklers at the Camp Nou even. Not being more aggressive at home in the CL cost him. He did not learn the first rule of playing German squads, never let it get to penalties.

As for his counterpart the night before, my admiration of Pep Guardiola continues to grow daily. Always a class act, the former Barça captain maintains an even hand at the rudder and an even keel in the dressing room throughout all the adversity; true leadership is seen not in calm waters but in times of crisis. That said, his mistakes were very real and not only in this match but in many throughout the tournaments. Javier Mascherano is a great player, a great tackler and man-to-man defender, but he’s not a center-back. He was caught out of position for the Ronaldo decider this last weekend. He was 15 yards away from where he was supposed to be on the Ramires goal, and he should have been the last man shadowing Torres. He’s a great player mind you, probably the best holding midfielder in the world, but he does not have the natural instincts of central defender. They are going to need to buy and buy well this summer because they are going to need help.

For Real Madrid, the problem with having too much money is that you have too many choices and invariably spend unwisely: Sahin, Altintop, and Coentrao had little effect on their league success this year. Only José Callejon, who grew up in the youth team, had any impact at all on the first team. They are going to need to buy another defender, maybe two, but knowing their history the temptation is going to be to buy themselves right back to the top of the Champions League, tossing aside the Nuri Sahins and Hamit Altintops for another set of functional but uninspiring cogs for the Real Madrid bus. What is needed is something a little less cosmetic and a bit more conceptual. Real Madrid can play their style and open up their game, vary their approach, but they are more likely to stay the course.

It’s easier to play the blame-game on poor refereeing, or scheduling woes and tired bodies tied to too many clásicos in-between too many European matches, and while they are as good an excuse as any, there are few who will address one the main reasons why Chelsea and Bayern advanced against those clubs in which they have always done well against.

There is that oft-neglected argument about the league being so unequal. Now, I´m not one who thinks that this is Scotland revisited, Spanish clubs not named Barça and Real Madrid have won major trophies over the last decade, and the level of competition is better than people think, but there is an enormous disparity between them and even their closest competitors Valencia let’s say, let alone considering the relegation teams. The duopoly clears anywhere from four to ten times what the rest of the teams in Spain make from television revenue. There are good sides and good football is played all around, but it’s not enough of a preparation either physically or mentally for either Barcelona or Real Madrid in the long run. Form is temporary and class is eternal, and both may likely be right back in this very same stage next year with some slight cosmetic changes here or there, but I can’t help wondering if the competition were more equal that they would be more prepared for the mental struggle as well in these close matches.