Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Real Madrid: Yep, we're in crisis
Crisis? What Crisis? That's the title of the legendary 1975 album by the British band Supertramp, released during a period of economic hardship sparked by the oil crisis. Its cover features a guy in a bathing suit and sunglasses, kicking back under a parasol with a drink by his side and a radio at his feet - all against a desolate, filthy backdrop with hellish plumes of smoke pouring forth from chimneys and a general blackness of atmosphere that's chilling.
Basically, the dude in question seems to be blithely unconcerned by the shitstorm raining down around him in those tumultuous times for European society.
Some at Real Madrid seem to think they can live off past glories...
Well, the Real Madrid side that showed up against Girona and Tottenham Hotspur remind me of him. The team is going to pieces in embarrassing fashion, and some of them appear to believe that the Bernabéu is a place where you can fix your gaze firmly on the rearview mirror and live off past glories.
Los Blancos' three Champions League wins in four years will remain in our hearts forever, but this is a club that lives for today - not yesterday. The extreme demands that are intrinsic to our raison d'etre mean that, after every game, it's all about reloading and going again. Right away.
Toni Kroos, for example, would be well served by having a good think about what I'm saying; if he watches back his display at Spurs, he'll be hard pushed to tell me I'm wrong. Or Karim Benzema, who seems to be the first number nine in Real's history who doesn't need to score goals to justify his status as a nailed-on starter.
