Alcoyano do not play in the Superliga
Real Madrid were eliminated by Toledo in 2000, by Alcorcon in 2009 and now by Alcoyano in 2021. More than two decades have passed and there are still the same problems. And the blame lies with the squad. Once it was Del Bosque, then Pellegrini and now it's Zidane's turn. The players are to blame for not beating a Segunda B team that ends the game with ten players. For not showing their elite level against an opponent that works when they are not training. And they work more than they train. However, are they prepared to win against these opponents? No, they are not.
The people wanted this Copa del Rey format. The big clubs reluctantly accepted it because it lightened their schedule. They risked a galloping crisis if a team like Alcoyano beat them at the first hurdle. And it happened. And then came the crisis for Real Madrid. Whatever happens with Zidane or with the players who are singled out is a trifle compared to the foundational crisis that is looming. The flame was lit from across the street. The fire that scorched Bartomeu definitely melted the ice that cooled the club Super League. Florentino Pérez took up the baton in front of his fellow delegates and threw some more wood on the fire. Not happy with that, he got on a plane at the age of 73 and in the middle of the third wave of the coronavirus in Spain and went to Turin to buy the petrol that Agnelli sells.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have 70% of the La Liga, Copa del Rey and even some Champions League matches left over. But they make money. They know that their economy depends on being in the elite and, above all, among the elite. The crème de la crème of world football. A sport exclusively for powerful teams. With a solvent sponsor that brings in a lot of money and a television station that has guaranteed matches of the biggest teams in Europe. Telecinco rubbed hands with the extra time of Real Madrid-Alcoyano and with a few more minutes of advertising, but dies on the shore when the white club is eliminated and disappears from its grid until 2022. Celebrity Gossip Program "Sálvame" does more business on Saturdays and Sundays for 10 months than 120 minutes of Real Madrid in 12 months.
Florentino Pérez's remaining years as president of Real Madrid will be to turn around football as we know it. He will have to strike a balance between not disappearing from Spanish society and continuing to reign in Europe. UEFA's crumbs with the new competition format are not going to be enough. The 38 games of the domestic competition and the Russian roulette of the Cup are a stone in the shoe. A way of earning little money at the cost of crushing top players who no longer know how to compete in Second B grounds. They don't want to risk injury against an opponent who has nothing to lose because the next day they will still be getting up at 6am to go to work.
Javier Tebas' narrative has changed over the years. Superliga has evolved from a 5am barroom conversation to an option that will have to pass the filter of enemy RFEF and, lately, to wondering how on earth Real Madrid and Barça plan to play their games in Spain. With a second team? LaLiga has not gained value over the years. It has lost it due to the departure of players like Neymar and Cristiano and could be badly damaged if Messi leaves in June. The crisis, the pandemic, the Premier League... an accumulation of unpredictable factors have made a perfect combination to devalue the Spanish league. Tebas cannot ask for more money from the platforms because his product is not worth it. He has annoyed Real Madrid and Barcelona for years, but it's in everyone's best interest to accept the situation and keep up the good manners.
Football is going through a transition that has accelerated the global health crisis affecting us. Everything is going to change and the sport of kings wants to take advantage of this inertia to shake other trees from which more money will fall. The locomotives of football know that continuing like this is unviable. Barça is bankrupt and Real Madrid can't recruit big-name stars like the ones its members have become accustomed to. And they are losing too much. Their shine is fading and the English teams or the state teams are eating their cake.
The history of the new football was born in Toledo, passed through Alcorcón and has arrived in Alcoy. There will be no more stops. A team with spirit has defeated a team with prestige. Football is the way it is and not the way we want it to be.
