Happiness unbounded

It feels so good to wake up the morning after a clasico reminiscing about a Madrid win, which has hardly happened over the past three seasons. Barcelona have been so dominant that it`s almost always been a sad, wistful feeling – why did Real lose, how can they beat Barcelona, etc. My friends would have a field day having fun at my expense and I would always promise retribution at the next clasico which sadly never happened. So when Real and Barca took to the field at Camp Nou yesterday evening with the possibility of a once gargantuan 10 point lead being whittled down to a sad 1 point, you could have understood the trepidation in my heart. What the next 90 minutes were about to reveal would have a huge bearing on not just the two teams’ psyche, but also that of their fans. For once, I could look down upon my Barca supporting friends, but if Real blew it now, it would be almost unrecoverable!

I was elated when Khedira scored from a corner in the 16^th minute. Thence, it was trepidation and more trepidation. My mind kept telling me- Barca WILL score. The question was how long could Real hold on. Xavi should have scored in the 26^th minute but Casillas’ touch took it away from the goal. Relief coursed through me. It was wave after wave of Barca attack and Real kept repealing them. The 2^nd half started in much the same fashion. Thiago put Tello through with a wonderful pass but the youngster skied his attempt. Villa would’ve buried that chance. Xavi went off for Sanchez in the 68^th minute and two minutes later Barca did equalize. It was a scrappy goal, not the beautiful, sublime goals Barca conjure up at regular intervals. Yet, a goal is a goal and I started to fear for Real. But Ozil and CR7 combined to devastating effect. My throat hurt from all the screaming at this goal!

Real hung on for a precious win and might have had a 3^rd but CR7 skied his shot from barely 4 yards out. But when the final whistle blew, I was jubilant. Real had beaten Barca and that too at the Nou Camp. Woohoo!! It put a balm on my wounds and gave me fresh hope that the Barca juggernaut will be stopped. They have had phenomenal 4 years with 13 trophies out of a possible 16. Many teams don’t win that much in their lifetime! Here’s hoping that the Real juggernaut picks up pace and wins trophies galore. Hala Madrid!