Tragedy, Controversy, and Inspired Supremacy (just another day in Spain)

On paper, it was a mismatch. And that might be an understatement. But, as they say, that's why they play the games. Except this one was almost not even played. After four of Recreativo Huelva's fans were killed in a car accident as their tour bus headed to Madrid, Recreativo appealed to the Spanish league to call off Wednesday's game against Real. Of course, the league - clearly taking the mindset that there are in fact NOT more important things in life (or death) than soccer - controversially said the game must go on. To their credit, Real, after promising to abide by whatever the federation decided, then said it would donate all of the game's ticket profits to Recreativo in honor of their deceased fans. A classy move, but unfortunately in the midst of all this commotion no one bothered to tell Real's players that, yes, they had one more game to play before their holiday break.

You see, this is a common problem at Real. Last year their 'galactico' squad crashed to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of...Racing Santander. Live and learn, right? Um, right??? Not in Madrid. See, you can buy all of the talent in the world, but if you can't motivate the boys to play - well, you should've just saved your money. And when Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Emerson already have their bags packed - loaded with bathing suits, sun-tan lotion, and the like - all set for a splendid week on the beaches of Rio, it's not easy to see why they might not have had the same motivation as, say,...Recreativo's Sinama Pongolle. Remember him? Yep, that little French kid from Liverpool. It was Sinama who banged in a deserved goal for Recre just a half hour into the game, prompting Recre's grieving players to point skyward in memory of their late 'aficionados'. Talk about motivation. And they were just getting warmed up. Although Real frequently falls behind at home (they wrote the book on 'underestimating opponents') only to wake up and then obliterate their inferior competitors by two or three or four goals, today there would be none of that. Ten minutes into the second stanza, a talented Nigerian chap named Uche pulled a Ronaldinho, taking the ball from the halfway line, running at pace at defenders, blowing past Guti, then Cannavaro (worst game I've ever seen him play), and ripping the ball past a helpless Casillas. A la 'Dinho, Uche was treated to thunderous applause from the Madridista faithful. And even then, two-nil down and getting whistled by their own fans, Real couldn't react. Today was Recre's day. A third goal put the icing on the cake, albeit in a mostly empty Bernabeu. But there were other fans watching, four in particular, and maybe it was some divine intervention that helped Recre pull off this stunning upset. Or maybe it was simply a testament to the importance of motivation. Whatever it was, this game was a mismatch from the start.