Sorrows, joys and minding the gap
ON the whole, the life of a football journalist and author is a reasonably enjoyable one as professions go. Victories and defeats for various clubs are painted as hugely significant events, with league titles or cup triumphs portrayed as life-defining moments of ecstasy. It’s an opportunity to plunge deep into a world where we can feel admiration, adoration and annoyance in an environment that means so much but, at the same time, in real world terms, perhaps so little. There’s always another game to come. Occasionally though, there are events that rise above the apparent fripperies of winning or losing a game of football. Injuries to players, careers lost and corruption are a few such examples, and then there are events such as what happened in Cadíz over the weekend.
Just past the half-hour mark in the game between the home team and Valencia, a fairly innocuous challenge in the visitors’ box between Cadíz’s Juan Cala and Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby led to accusations of Cala delivering verbal racist abuse. Watching on television, there’s little chance of me, or most others being able to discern with any certainty the truth of the events, and therefore I offer no assessment of guilt on any party. Clearly however, Diakhaby was convinced that Cala had delivered a racial insult. It led to the visitors leaving the field in support of their team-mate, in a gesture of solidarity.
A few minutes later however,
they returned and various reports suggest that either the team were persuaded to do so by Diakhaby, although he felt unable to take part and was substituted, or that Valencia were compelled to do so under threat of forfeiting the game and being subject to further punishment. A widely quoted statement from the Valencia manager offers support for this theory, with Javi Gracia relating that: "In the changing rooms we were told if we didn't return, we would be sanctioned. We spoke with Diakha, about how he was, and he told us he wouldn't play but he understood perfectly we had to continue to avoid a possible sanction. So we returned." The game eventually ended in a 2-1 win for Cadíz, but the aftermath of the event is unlikely to end there, with already talks of an official protest being launched by Valencia.
Football is often described as being a mirror for society, one that reflects the nature of things often hidden below the surface of life, but still there, none the less, like some malignant curse. This isn’t a football problem, it’s a social problem, albeit one that often plays out in the football arena. The solution, the only real solution, therefore lies in societal change. Football can play its part though. None of this should be interpreted as condemnation of Cala, who denies making the alleged comment,
the referee also asserts he heard nothing, and everything else is hearsay. If, however, the charge – or any future charge of this nature – is proved, the authorities must not shirk their responsibilities. The front page of Marca on Monday morning showed a picture of Mouctar Diakhaby, with the bold headline “No estás solo.” (you are not alone). The coming days will test that laudable assertion.
Although the above has eaten up a good chunk of my word count today, not acknowledging the events would have been callow and merely been part of the problem. There was some football so, trying to lighten the mood a little let’s take a quick review of the games.
Real Sociedad won the allBasque Copa del Rey Final (Part 1) on Saturday as an Oyarzabal penalty took the trophy to the Anoeta after a mainly frantic, if enjoyable game. For all those out there who like a bit of superstition to explain results, here’s something to consider. Iñigo Martínez, who conceded the penalty, was the 13th player to move from La Real to Athletic club. The spot kick was awarded in the 13th minute of the second half and, when Oyarzabel converted, it was his 13th goal of the season from the spot. If only the penalty spot was 13, instead of 12, yards from the goal line, it would have completed
the set!
All is not lost for Athletic club though, and those banners and scarves can stay hanging out of the windows of Bilbao apartments for a couple of weeks until the club meet Barcelona in Part 2. It would be difficult not to have a little sympathy for Los Leones and wish them well. To lose two finals in two weeks would be a difficult burden to bear.
At the top of LaLiga, the gap continues to shrink. Real Madrid’s efficient victory over Eibar on Saturday piled a little more pressure onto Atletico Madrid’s faltering stride at the top of the table. Goals by Asensio and Benzema eased los Blancos through. The real value of that win came on Sunday evening when Sevilla defeated Simeone’s team at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán with a single goal by Acuña. Barcelona also turned up the heat in their pursuit, although their stuttering win over an understrength Real Valladolid team was far from impressive. It did however keep their strong run going and their game at home to Atléti in the coming weeks now assumes critical proportions.
Next week sees the second Clásico of the season with the champions entertaining Koeman’s side. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that whoever wins that game could well displace Atléti at the top of the table. For Simeone’s team, it’s another visit to Seville, this time to face Real Betis. A mere two wins in their last five league outings – one of them was a scrappy 1-0 home win over downwardly spiralling Alavés – hardly speaks of glowing form and confidence. Should Atléti lose, or even only manage a draw, their lead, which looked so dominant a few short weeks ago, will have melted away like ice cream under the Spanish summer sun. Let’s see how things look next week, when hopefully we can concentrate on football matters, delve into El Clásico and how it affects the table. Hasta luego mis amigos.