Racing Santander Off To Madrid For Some Sightseeing
On Saturday evening Racing Santander travel to Real Madrid to tackle what is one of their two toughest fixtures in the league calendar. But if the words of their wise, old coach Miguel Angel Portugal is anything to go by, they needn't bother turning up. 'The chances of getting even a point are minimal' he is quoted as saying, to the delight of hundreds of Racing fans who had forked out a serious amount of Euros to get down to Madrid to see their team. Now the fans have been reduced to mere tourists, just like the players.
It's a sad indictment of a situation in Spain and across Europe, where the smaller teams, or those with less financial clout had no hope of getting anything out of games against the big boys. But a peek across the leagues in Europe this year, especially in France and Germany, show this doesn't have to be the case. And comments like this really don't help their cause. Racing have reason to go into this match full of confidence after outclassing Almeria in their last league outing, albeit lying in 16th place with a paltry 6 points. Now they're already a beaten team.
What the players need to hear is a good old rallying call from the boss. ‘We’re going to the Bernabeu to get three points’. ‘Yes, we CAN beat Real Madrid in their own backyard’. There can be nothing more disheartening than hearing your manager concede defeat before a ball is kicked. Conversely there can be nothing more inspiring than knowing your coach has complete and utter faith in your ability to beat the league leaders in their own backyard. Hercules coach Esteban Vigo drew howls of derision after stating his team were going to Barcelona to grab all three points. ‘You deluded fool’ they thought. A 0-2 reversal later and Mr Vigo was the one howling. Miguel Angel Portugal should take note.
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