Third Time is the charm

Real Madrid won the Copa Del Rey last night after almost 18 years since the last time they win it. Los Blancos reclaimed the cup through a text book header from Christiano Ronaldo in the extra time after stalemated in 90 minutes. I'm not going to talk about how they won it. A win is still a win, but my predictions were right after all. It was their third encounter of the year, third encounter since the self proclaimed 'the special one' Jose Mourinho took charge of Real Madrid.

Everybody would remember how the first encounter went; Barca battered them five to nothing at the Camp Nou. An the recent second encounter last Saturday, where Real managed a draw despite being down to ten man. And the third and the latest; last night at Mestalla during the Copa Del Rey. History repeats again. Last season, when Jose was at the helm at Inter, they met Barcelona four times.

Twice during the group stage, and twice during the double legged semi final. First they drew at the San Siro, then they lost to Barca at the Camp Nou. But the third time is a charm, where they won against Barca 3-1. Inter won the ties and the rest is history. They went on to win the Champions League that year. Mourinho left Inter for Madrid, starting new legacies for the Bernabeu faithful.

I can really see it coming. The way Real Madrid played Barca during the second encounter has hinted that Real is no longer the team that was trashed by Barca in November. Real sat back, absorbed the pressures carefully, and tried to attack Barcelona on the break; the same tactics that Jose deployed for Inter when going up against Barca last year. Yes people criticize the way Real Madrid played, calling them anti football etc.

Even Real's legend DiStefano had a go at Mourinho saying Mourinho was scared shitless against Barcelona. Yes, Barcelona was dangerous on the move, but Real was more threatening in attacks. Mou is indeed a special one. Beating the current best team in the world is not easy, but if you played your cards right, anything is possible. Even if you dont succeed in your first and second try, it's not possible to emerged victorious in the third time. Kita tunggu Champions League minggu depan pulak. :-)

halamadrid