Another title down the pan

Depressing. This is starting to get truly exasperating. For any dyed-in-the-wool Madridista, these are times that are tough to take. When I was a kid, my Real Madrid would pursue the league title with the ferocity of a pack of wolves. And if you think they were a side boasting the latest Ballon d'Or winner and with coffers bursting with pesetas, then think again. It was a Madrid with fighting spirit and then some; a Madrid all about guys like Pirri, José Antonio Camacho (heaven knows what thoughts were running through José's mind as he watched on at La Rosaleda on Sunday), Uli Stielike, Juanito and Carlos Santillana. They also lost leagues, by the way; but not very often. Not even the signing of Johan Cruyff was enough to see Barcelona break Los Blancos' domestic hegemony (the Dutchman only celebrated the Spanish championship in 1974). The Madrid of my childhood, resplendent in their all-white shirts, shorts and socks - no three stripes, no sponsors' logos - won the title in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980... And it's worth pausing and reflecting on the last of those triumphs. Real Sociedad, with Luis Arconada (a brick wall in goal), Jesús María Zamora, 'Perico' Alonso, Jesús María Satrústegui and Roberto López Ufarte among their number, didn't lose a single game until the penultimate week of that campaign. "With that kind of record, surely they had the championship sewn up by that point!" I hear you say. No, they didn't. Real refused to give in even for an instant all season, and their persistence paid off: they clinched a final-day title win with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Club at the Bernabéu. I had just turned 15, and I watched the match from the stands, with a ticket that my father bought for me for 25 pesetas (about ten euro cents). I got the tube back home smiling from ear to ear, a proud Madrid fan happy to have chosen a team that always stood up to be counted for me. And when I came in the front door, my Dad told me: "Tomi, another league title for Madrid. Just the way it ought to be."