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  Interestingly, this is the first time a team led by Mourinho has been beaten 5-0. At the press conference, the manager assumes an air of calm for once. ‘It is a very easy defeat to get over,’ he says. ‘It is not one of those games where we deserved to win and then lost, or where we continually hit the woodwork. There was one team that played well and another that played badly. You have to be good natured. When you win important titles then you have a reason to cry with happiness. When you lose like we did today you don’t have a right to cry, you have to get back to work. We’ll live to play another day.’ But the Special One will have to wait almost five months for another shot at Barça, and then it will be the first in a marathon of Clásicos – four in less than a month.

  But first, on 9 February 2011, Cristiano and Leo will meet in Geneva in a Portugal-Argentina friendly to continue their unresolved duel. The enormous sense of anticipation surrounding the match means the 33,000 tickets are sold out in minutes and are now going for at least 600 Euros online, six times the original price. The match will be broadcast across five continents and will be followed by 250 journalists from sixteen countries. The two main protagonists have not made prematch statements, while the two coaches try their best to emphasise that this match is Portugal versus Argentina, not Ronaldo versus Messi – with little success.

  Referee Massimo Busacca blows the whistle and seven-times world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher takes the honorary first kick. After nineteen minutes of play, Messi delights the crowd with one of his famous slaloms. He takes off from the left hand side of his own half, dodges past opponents, and offers the ball to Di María with a sharp pass which evades the Portuguese defender. The Real player crosses the ball into Eduardo’s goal: 1-0 to Argentina.

  Shortly afterwards Cristiano equalises, more by chance than on his own merit. On the edge of the area, Nani manages to confuse the Argentine defence. His pass doesn’t quite reach Almeida and the ball ends up dead in front of goal. Cristiano only has to beat Romero to the punch to make it 1-1. Now the fans have really got themselves a show and it’s clear that the Albiceleste number 10 and the Red and Green number 7 are the real stars. The other twenty men on the pitch are secondary by comparison.

  But in the 60th minute, Portugal coach Paulo Bento replaces Cristiano with Danny. The Portuguese think the match is more or less over. But the Argentines are hungry for results, and they push forward in search of the victory. In the final minute, Coentrão provokes a penalty, giving Messi the chance to score, win the match, and level the score with Cristiano. The show is over and it’s time to return to the daily grind of the Spanish championship.

  On 16 April 2011, it’s the return leg of the Clásico at the Bernabéu. Nothing has changed since the last round: Pep Guardiola’s team are still top of La Liga. With sixteen consecutive wins they have broken the record previously held by the 1960-61 Real Madrid team (which included Puskas, Di Stéfano, Gento and Santamaría), and they have an eight-point lead at the top of the table. Four days earlier they beat Shakhtar Donetsk to go through to the Champions League semi-finals, where the draw has dictated that they will play Real yet again.

  Real have knocked out Olympique Lyonnais in the final sixteen, breaking the curse and making it through to the quarter-finals after 2,562 days, 74 players, nine coaches and five presidents since the last time they made it to this stage in the 2003-04 season. In the quarters they dispatch Spurs with ease, 4-0 at home, 0-1 at White Hart Lane.

  The Whites are starting to feel the wind in their sails and the fans are already dreaming of their tenth European cup – a trophy which hasn’t graced the glass cabinets at the Bernabéu since Zidane scored an incredible volley in Glasgow in the 2002 final. But before they can go out onto the famous Wembley pitch, there is the small matter of having to play an additional Clásico against their archenemies. The home leg will be on 27 April, and the return leg on 3 May at the Nou Camp. In addition, they have to play Barça in the final of the Copa del Rey on 20 April.

  Let’s start with the 32nd Liga match day, the last chance for Mourinho’s team to get back into the race for the title. Eight points is a lot but who knows … a victory for the Whites could help to bring down their rivals’ morale and could have an effect on the remainder of the season. On 3 April, Real Madrid suffered a devastating loss against Sporting Gijón which put them further out of reach – Mourinho’s first home league loss in nine years. But the Clásico is another story.

  Mourinho has been preparing for this as though it were a stage production. The night before the derby, he appears at the press conference in Valdebebas and does not utter a word. He lets Aitor Karanka, his second in command, do all the talking. He doesn’t even greet the journalists and some of them leave as a sign of protest. In response to the Madrid manager’s silence, Guardiola offers some praise of the opponent’s game: ‘I have never seen a team as good as this Madrid team. In four or five seconds the ball can go from Casillas to the opponent’s goal. They are better and stronger than they were the last time we met, they shoot more, they pass more, and in the second half of the year they have spent more time playing as a team. They use a diverse range of tactics which makes them more difficult to control.’ And with regard to the coach he adds: ‘Mourinho is very powerful. He knows how to play a wide range of styles. We should watch closely because this dictates the way we attack and defend.’

  The Special One’s presence has intensified the atmosphere. He will undoubtedly be the decisive Clásico protagonist off the pitch. On the pitch, that role belongs to Messi. The little number 10 has achieved a fantastic score of 48 goals in 45 matches. He is the highest scoring Barça player in a single season, beating Ronaldo Nazário’s 1996–97 record. And in the race for top goal-scorer he is ahead of Cristiano by thirteen goals. But the Portuguese has been decisive for Real Madrid in the Champions League, scoring against Spurs in the quarter-final at White Hart Lane.

  At the Bernabéu, both players are hoping for memorable firsts: Cristiano has never scored against Barça, and Leo has never scored against a team managed by Mourinho, despite this being his ninth attempt. The manager is hoping to avoid a repeat performance of their last encounter. He’s worried about the possibility of Real facing a similar humiliation, only this time in front of the home crowd. That really would be screwing things up, to borrow the expression from the 1978 World Cup-winning Argentine coach Cesar Luis ‘El Flaco’ Menotti.

  He leaves playmaker Özil on the bench, along with Higuaín, Adebayor, Benzema and Kaká, and instead creates a defensive line with plenty of men behind the ball and Pepe as a central barricade. The idea is simple: block the opponent’s game. It is a Catenaccio-style defence tactic worthy of the Italians. The only way to win is from set pieces or counterattacks. For Cristiano, leading the defence operation is a tricky business, especially since his team-mates are very deep, a long way from the Barça goal. But by the end of the first half, he has managed a shot at goal, after a corner which is headed to him by Ramos. He almost manages to head it in, but Adriano blocks it just below the crossbar.

  After the break, he is straight back into the action with a direct free kick which deflects off Valdés’ right post. The game is just starting to warm up when Albiol fouls David Villa right in front of goal, earning himself a red card and a penalty for Barcelona, which Messi puts away without any problem. Half an hour later it’s Cristiano’s turn to level the score from the penalty spot. He shoots and scores – finally, his first goal against Barça after seven matches. It’s 1-1 at the close, after a weak and unpleasant game all round.

  The draw leaves Barça an arm’s length away from their 21st Liga title, giving Real confidence in terms of what’s to come. So much confidence that the fans at the Bernabéu celebrate the draw as though it is a win. But the rough match has unleashed a string of controversies.

  The first is prompted by Mourinho, as always, who criticises the referee at the press conference and paints a picture of a web of hidden powers which penalise any team he manages
, be it Chelsea, Inter or Madrid. ‘I’m tired of finishing every match against Barça with ten men. It was a very balanced game while we each had eleven. And then, as so often happens, with eleven against ten it’s practically mission impossible against a team whose possession of the ball is the best in the world. Once again, I am witnessing unbelievable double standards on the part of the referees.’

  Mourinho aside, there is another controversy which must be taken more seriously. This time it’s Leo Messi in the spotlight, for kicking a ball into the stands. The ball runs away from him on the touchline, and instead of letting it go out, he sends it flying, hitting some fans in the crowd. The referee doesn’t caution him, but the fans voice their disapproval. ‘Are you crazy?’ exclaims Pepe, rushing over to him. The fans are amazed, they cannot believe what they have just seen. What’s going on with that Rosario boy? He rarely loses his cool on the pitch. Why did he pull such a nasty stunt?

  The boy in question gives no explanation and he doesn’t seem to apologise either. His team-mates come to his rescue. In his defence they cite the extreme tension on the pitch, Leo’s sense of frustration in the face of Pepe’s close marking, and they highlight the Real midfielder’s five fouls against their number 10 without so much as a booking.

  It’s 20 April, the day of the Copa del Rey final in Valencia. More importantly, it’s the day that Cristiano scores the fans’ favourite goal of the year – the goal which brings Real their only title of the season. But the goal doesn’t come for more than 100 minutes. He starts in the number 9 position, which is not where he feels most comfortable. He doesn’t like receiving the ball with his back to the goal and it’s difficult being the only centre forward on the pitch. He has to run back and forth to help his team-mates get the ball forward, and it is starting to wear him out. Eventually, towards the end of the first half, he gives a great assist to Pepe, who hits the post.

  Throughout the first half, Real have dominated the entire pitch and Barça have not even managed a single shot at goal. But Ronaldo has been looking lonely out there, and in the second half, when Barça get themselves back on track and back in sync, he looks even more isolated. At the end of an intense 90 minutes of excellent football, the number 7 has still only had one shot on target. He will have to wait until extra time, until the 100th minute, to break his long and drawn out Barça dry spell.

  Di María plays a one-two with Marcelo and sets off on a run, igores Alves and unleashes a powerful cross from the left hand side. Cristiano leaps into the air above Adriano and, demonstrating his ability to dominate in the box that he learnt at Man United, sends the ball flying into the net with a powerful header. Barça goalie Pinto can do nothing to stop the shot. The spectacular goal brings home Real’s first Copa del Rey in almost two decades.

  This time Barça are well and truly defeated, and not just because of the result. Leo had tried to get things moving from whatever position he happened to be in, but he always found himself tangled in a web of Real defenders. He controlled the ball far too much without any execution, and his dodging and feinting was completely ineffectual. After the break things had improved, and he even made one fantastic deep pass to Pedro – although the linesman ruled the subsequent goal offside. The match has been a failure as far as Leo is concerned. It’s also the first defeat in a final for Barça under Guardiola’s reign.

  Seven days later, it is the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. In the press conference at the Bernabéu the day before, Pep Guardiola loses his rag. Mourinho had sent him some message or other about the quality of the refereeing at the Mestalla match and the choice of referee for the semi-final, and Pep explodes, ranting for more than two minutes. This is unheard of for the coach. ‘Since Mr Mourinho has addressed me in such familiar terms and called me “Pep”, I’ll call him “José”,’ he begins. ‘At 8.45 tomorrow evening, we have a game to play. He has already been winning all year off the pitch. Let him have the Champions League. He can take the trophy home with him. We will be playing, whether we win or lose. Normally, he wins because his career is guaranteed. We are happy. With our little victories, which everyone admires, we are happy. In this room, he’s the bloody boss, the goddamn master. He knows more than everyone else put together. I have no desire whatsoever to compete with him.’

  The next day, Lionel Messi is back in charge. Two successful plays, and two goals by the Argentine. The first is thanks to a great pass from Afellay, and the second is after an impressive zigzag up the pitch all the way to the goal. It’s more than enough to bring down a Real Madrid team which has resorted to conservative tactics and possessive guarding of the area – it’s more or less what happened in the Clásico in La Liga.

  They spend all their time trying to block Barça’s game but they don’t make any attempt to play their own. So much so that after a quarter of an hour, Cristiano Ronaldo is desperately waving his hands in the air, signalling to his team-mates to move out of their positions, pass him the ball and help him out by creating some chances for him. At the end of the first half, he is the only one who has conjured any decent opportunities for Real, including shots from afar which have Valdés on the back foot. But compared to Messi he is lagging far behind, leaving the Argentine to dominate yet again.

  Meanwhile, Mourinho is determined to take centre stage at the press conference. And once again, he outdoes himself in his attempt to create a scene. ‘Real Madrid is out of the Champions League,’ he says. ‘We will go to the Nou Camp with our pride intact, with total respect for our footballing world, albeit a world which every so often makes me feel a little bit disgusted. We will go without Pepe, who didn’t do a single thing wrong, and without Ramos, who didn’t do anything wrong, and without the coach, who is not allowed to be in the dugout … with a scoreline which is practically insurmountable.

  ‘And if by chance we score a goal over there and we get a little closer to staying in it, I’m sure they’ll quash us all over again. My question is, why? Why aren’t other teams allowed to play against them? I don’t understand it! If I told the referee and UEFA what I think about what has gone on here, my career would be over immediately. I don’t know if it’s because they’re patrons of UNICEF, or because they smile more sweetly, or because Villar [president of the Spanish Footballers’ Association] has so much clout within UEFA. The fact is that they have something which is very difficult to come by – power.

  ‘Why was Pepe sent off? Why weren’t Chelsea given four penalties they deserved? Why was van Persie sent off? Why was Motta sent off? Where does this power come from? Their power should be due to their footballing talent. That they do have. They should win because of that. It must taste very differently to win the way that they win. You have to be really rotten to enjoy that kind of win. Guardiola is a great manager, but he has won a Champions League that I would have been ashamed of winning. He won it thanks to a scandal at Stamford Bridge. And this year he’ll be winning his second thanks to a scandal at the Bernabéu.’

  It’s a tirade which will again cost him dearly. UEFA’s Commission for Control and Discipline will later fine him 50,000 Euros and suspend him for five matches. But in the meantime the coach has laid all his cards on the table, making it clear to his colleagues and players where they should stand on the issue.

  Cristiano tows the line. ‘You all saw what happened. When we both had eleven men we might not have been playing that well but at least we had the match under control,’ he says during a post-match analysis. ‘But it’s always the same against Barcelona. Is it a coincidence? A 0-0 scoreline wouldn’t have been a bad result, we could have scored the away goal in the second leg. Besides, we were going to bring on Kaká and try to attack a bit more in the last twenty minutes. But then Pepe got sent off … We all feel sad about it because it’s always the same against this team. And this always happens to the coach whenever he plays against them.’

  He also criticises Wolfgang Stark, the German referee: ‘There was nobody I could turn to. There was absolutely no point in trying t
o talk to him because the red card was a done deal.’ When asked about Messi, he plays down his rival’s performance: ‘Messi? Well, he was playing against ten men, that’s always easier. I wish I could have been playing against ten men like he was.’ And when it comes to his thoughts about the return leg, like his coach and fellow compatriot the number 7 is under no illusions: ‘It’s already 0-2 and we’ll be playing away … anything can happen in football but that’s going to be a tough ask.’

  On 3 May at the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals at the Nou Camp, Mourinho is not even in the stands. He watches the match on TV from his hotel room. And he witnesses his team being more daring and ambitious than in the other derbies. They have Barça on the back foot and in the first quarter of an hour they manage to keep them firmly in their own half. But gradually Barça start to chip away at their usual game. Messi finally comes face to face with Casillas, who miraculously manages to block three attempts in five minutes, to keep his team out of danger.

  After halftime, the Whites come back onto the pitch with renewed energy and determination. Cristiano, who up until that point has not had any good crosses and has only managed some ineffectual dribbling, finds himself in the centre of the most controversial moment of the match. Tackled by Piqué just as he is passing the ball to Higuaín, he stumbles and falls, bringing down Mascherano in the process. Higuaín goes on to score, but the goal is disallowed as the linesman only saw the second part of the play and calls a foul against Cristiano.

  But the near-miss is enough to shock Barça into getting things moving and after an assist from Valdés via Iniesta, Pedrito faces up to Casillas to put the Blaugrana in the lead. But Real haven’t given up. Di María shoots, hits the post, recovers the rebound and passes to Marcelo who equalises. The final twenty minutes are intense, but there are no more goals as Barça manage to get the game back under control.