On Assissination

This week's games have come as a bit of a shock to all. Quite literally the games came as a surprise since they were not definitively scheduled until under a week ago. At a glance, there are familiar stories all over La Liga: Barca netted four, Villa scored twice for Valencia, and Madrid won in amazing fashion at the last minute of a game they had no business winning. Robben injured, Iker stops a penalty, Pepe sees red, Iniesta puts on a clinic... it still all sounds familiar.

What complicates the tale of this week's fixtures is the absence of Messi, Barcelona NOT imploding at the end of a season, and Pepe stating he may not want to play soccer anymore. On Tuesday the Brazilian-born Portuguese international vented his frustration on a flopping Casquero by kicking the downed player twice and punching another Getafe player in the fallout. As if to say "Think that's dramatic? Watch this cheeky shot!" Casquero attempted to chip a Zidane-like penalty shot with none of the pace or guile of the retired galactico. Iker calmly responded "No" with his left hand and sent panic into what had been a hard-working and solid Getafe. Gonzalo Higauin capped off a hit and miss performance with his second goal in the dying seconds of the match, a left-footed stinger into the near upper ninety.

Columnists gasped, could this be another epic remontada to overcome a stumbling Barca that looked superior all year? Echoes of Madrid's 2007 title seemed to be bouncing off every media outlet. Is it something written into the merengues' DNA, to eek out results and track down a seemingly superior Catalan side? After seeing the joy and excitement in the players' faces who rushed the heroic Argentine, it was hard not to start believing. The press brews a delicious stew in anticipation of every year's clasico, but this one seems to need little embellishment.

Today came sobering reality. Marca's photos of Pepe's violent reaction were subtitled "attempted assissination". The bald centre-back will be lucky to play again this season, prompting him to consider alternative employment according to Marca. While the defender has had discipline problems, it does not detract from the astonishing nature of the incident. Iker, (with cape trailing behind him) was forced to shove his raging teammate off the field before making an indelible mark on a certain Getafe midfielder's career. Madrid still face an injured Robben, stunningly poor first half performance, and the loss of perhaps their best centre-back.

Barcelona threw another bucket of cold water in delirious Madrid supporter's faces today by outclassing third placed Sevilla at the Camp Nou. Andres Iniesta opened the scoring early, sublimely curling the ball into Sevilla's net. Barcelona was merciless for around seventy minutes, denying Sevilla a whiff of the ball for agonizingly long periods. The week's murderous theme was completed with Henry scoring the Catalan side's fourth. A clinic without Messi, without Puyol. Barca will face tough tests with Valencia, Chelsea, Madrid, and Chelsea yet again on the horizon. Does the team have the depth, composure, and determination to dispel the claims of messidependencia, defeat Gus Hiddink's Chelsea, and wrest Madrid's crown from them at their own stadium? The Catalans will attempt, like Iker's emphatic "No", to answer these questions with a cool "Si".

-Alex Galarza, galarza.alex@gmail.com