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CL Debate: Real Madrid & Sergio Ramos Should Beware The Ides Of March
Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal warns Sergio and the rest of the Blancos squad about trespassing into the territory of arrogance and pride as they prepare to take on Lyon.....
| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.00 | Draw £42.00 | Caen £85.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £13.60 | Draw £45.00 | Caen £90.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £13.64 | Draw £43.33 | Caen £85.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.00 | Draw £42.00 | Caen £90.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.00 | Draw £40.00 | Caen £73.50 |
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Mar 10, 2010 9:52:00 AM
By Subhankar Mondal
"Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me
Ne'er looked but on my back. When they shall see
The face of Caesar, they are vanished."
And so marched forth a fearless, stubborn, arrogant Julius Caesar to the Capitol dismissing his wife Calpurnia's premonitions. On the way, he disregarded the warnings of a soothsayer and Artemidorus, and eventually got hacked. Mercilessly. By his own men. By his own arrogance.
To compare Julius Cesar to Sergio Ramos would be pushing it a tad too far but the pride and arrogance exhibited by the Real Madrid right-back was of the highest order. Granted, Ramos didn't express himself in the third-person and neither was his parlance anywhere near as lofty as the former Roman emperor, but simply and almost laconically, Ramos encapsulated why pride supersedes the fall. Just like Caesar.
Last season it was interim president Vicente Boluda who was mouthing the lofty words. Before their last 16 tie with Liverpool, the then Real Madrid supremo claimed, "We're going to win 3-0 at the Bernabeu and at Anfield we're going to win 2-1. We're going to chorrear Liverpool." Boluda almost got the aggregate scoreline correct, but in reverse. Liverpool won the tie 5-0. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Indeed for the past five seasons Real Madrid's pride has been their downfall. Theirs has been the perfect Spanish Tragedy, except that few outside the legions of Madridistas have actually sympathised with them. Madrid's arrogance and self-congratulatory stance have not been very helpful in their bid to resurrect themselves in Europe and Ramos' strong and complacent words are apt manifestations of that.
It is one thing saying 'we will win' and it's quite another saying "we will win 3-0". It is one thing throwing a casual prediction of the scoreline of a game you are going to watch from the stands, it is quite another predicting the scoreline of a game that you depressingly and desperately need to win.
Liverpool "Chorreared" Madrid Last Season
You could argue that the Spanish international defender was simply trying to put up a brave face against an over-current of pressure. Perhaps he was trying to reassure their fans and trying to get their support. Perhaps arrogance was Ramos' way of eclipsing self-doubt and vulnerability, just as Elizabeth Bennet's method to 'fight back' was her ironic sense of humour. Even admitting all that, to state a definitive scoreline to what is the best selling sports paper in Spain smirks of confidence stepping into the realm of complacency and arrogance.
But if Ramos was arrogant, he does have reasons to be so, at least more reasons than Boluda had last year. This time the 1-0 defeat in the first leg has come away from home unlike in 2008-2009 and although technically Lyon do have the edge - all they need is to shut up shop right after they touch down at the Madrid airport, get a 0-0 draw and book their ticket for the quarterfinals - Madrid have been excellent at home.
Yours truly embarked on six reasons why Madrid will progress to the latter stages of the world's premier club competition and one of them was their almost impeccable home form. Except their 3-2 defeat to Milan, Manuel Pellegrini's side have won the rest of the home fixtures played in La Liga and in the Champions League.
The Ides Of March Have Come, But Not Gone
Moreover, Madrid are just coming off an ethereal 3-2 injury time comeback victory over Sevilla in the league and their confidence and self-conviction have been exalted to the skies. Ramos himself had probably his best game this entire campaign on Saturday night and although Cristiano Ronaldo was again the towering colossus he has come to be at the 'White House', the others all chipped in with indispensable contributions.
Unlike last season, this time Madrid do have a proper, balanced team with true world class players; true, both Xabi Alonso and Marcelo are suspended for Wednesday's match, but their absence can be compensated by the depth and strength the squad is blessed with.
Yet all these cannot give Madrid a licence to inflate their pride. The Top Four Premier League clubs have been the most consistent and arguably the strongest sides in the Champions League for the past five or so seasons; yes, they have been arrogant at times, but they have usually been diplomatic and have always endeavoured to play down any tall talks. Madrid's pedigree is bigger than any English club will ever have but they would do themselves a world of good at looking at how their Premier League counterparts approach the big games and, to put it brutally, keep their mouth shut.
Or else, when they fall from grace, the vultures will circle and will have a feast. Just like they have had for the past five years.
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Ne'er looked but on my back. When they shall see
The face of Caesar, they are vanished."
And so marched forth a fearless, stubborn, arrogant Julius Caesar to the Capitol dismissing his wife Calpurnia's premonitions. On the way, he disregarded the warnings of a soothsayer and Artemidorus, and eventually got hacked. Mercilessly. By his own men. By his own arrogance.
To compare Julius Cesar to Sergio Ramos would be pushing it a tad too far but the pride and arrogance exhibited by the Real Madrid right-back was of the highest order. Granted, Ramos didn't express himself in the third-person and neither was his parlance anywhere near as lofty as the former Roman emperor, but simply and almost laconically, Ramos encapsulated why pride supersedes the fall. Just like Caesar.
Last season it was interim president Vicente Boluda who was mouthing the lofty words. Before their last 16 tie with Liverpool, the then Real Madrid supremo claimed, "We're going to win 3-0 at the Bernabeu and at Anfield we're going to win 2-1. We're going to chorrear Liverpool." Boluda almost got the aggregate scoreline correct, but in reverse. Liverpool won the tie 5-0. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Indeed for the past five seasons Real Madrid's pride has been their downfall. Theirs has been the perfect Spanish Tragedy, except that few outside the legions of Madridistas have actually sympathised with them. Madrid's arrogance and self-congratulatory stance have not been very helpful in their bid to resurrect themselves in Europe and Ramos' strong and complacent words are apt manifestations of that.
It is one thing saying 'we will win' and it's quite another saying "we will win 3-0". It is one thing throwing a casual prediction of the scoreline of a game you are going to watch from the stands, it is quite another predicting the scoreline of a game that you depressingly and desperately need to win.
Liverpool "Chorreared" Madrid Last Season
You could argue that the Spanish international defender was simply trying to put up a brave face against an over-current of pressure. Perhaps he was trying to reassure their fans and trying to get their support. Perhaps arrogance was Ramos' way of eclipsing self-doubt and vulnerability, just as Elizabeth Bennet's method to 'fight back' was her ironic sense of humour. Even admitting all that, to state a definitive scoreline to what is the best selling sports paper in Spain smirks of confidence stepping into the realm of complacency and arrogance.
But if Ramos was arrogant, he does have reasons to be so, at least more reasons than Boluda had last year. This time the 1-0 defeat in the first leg has come away from home unlike in 2008-2009 and although technically Lyon do have the edge - all they need is to shut up shop right after they touch down at the Madrid airport, get a 0-0 draw and book their ticket for the quarterfinals - Madrid have been excellent at home.
Yours truly embarked on six reasons why Madrid will progress to the latter stages of the world's premier club competition and one of them was their almost impeccable home form. Except their 3-2 defeat to Milan, Manuel Pellegrini's side have won the rest of the home fixtures played in La Liga and in the Champions League.
The Ides Of March Have Come, But Not Gone
Moreover, Madrid are just coming off an ethereal 3-2 injury time comeback victory over Sevilla in the league and their confidence and self-conviction have been exalted to the skies. Ramos himself had probably his best game this entire campaign on Saturday night and although Cristiano Ronaldo was again the towering colossus he has come to be at the 'White House', the others all chipped in with indispensable contributions.
Unlike last season, this time Madrid do have a proper, balanced team with true world class players; true, both Xabi Alonso and Marcelo are suspended for Wednesday's match, but their absence can be compensated by the depth and strength the squad is blessed with.
Yet all these cannot give Madrid a licence to inflate their pride. The Top Four Premier League clubs have been the most consistent and arguably the strongest sides in the Champions League for the past five or so seasons; yes, they have been arrogant at times, but they have usually been diplomatic and have always endeavoured to play down any tall talks. Madrid's pedigree is bigger than any English club will ever have but they would do themselves a world of good at looking at how their Premier League counterparts approach the big games and, to put it brutally, keep their mouth shut.
Or else, when they fall from grace, the vultures will circle and will have a feast. Just like they have had for the past five years.
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