CHAPTER 134: CHAPTER 43: A BATTLE OF WITS FOLLOWED BY A FIGHT TO THE DEATH

After the 15th round of La Liga, there are only two rounds remaining until the "El Clásico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Barcelona achieved their first turnaround of the season, marking an impressive 8-game winning streak at home, though it slightly pales in comparison to Real Madrid’s 14 home wins.

However, as Rijkaard said after the match, this turnaround is significant for Barcelona not only because of the win at Camp Nou and their winning streak but also because of the return of players like Eto’o and Deco.

Additionally, this season’s negative factors, such as Ronaldinho’s transfer rumors, the "black sheep" in the locker room, nightlife scandals, and managerial discord, are starting to dissipate.

This has allowed Barcelona to enter their strongest form.

As things began to go well, the Real Madrid Club spoke out, marking their first official statement of the season at the club level.

Last summer, after Calderon took charge of Real Madrid, the relations between Barcelona and Real Madrid eased somewhat, though the media from both sides continued to group together and attack each other, but the clubs had mostly refrained from making statements against one another.

Even in January, during Capello’s tenure and Calderon’s fallout with the locker room, Barcelona Club maintained a degree of restraint.

In return, a few months later, when Eto’o lashed out at the coach and Ronaldinho in the locker room, Real Madrid Club also remained restrained without adding fuel to the fire.

But now, the once "beautiful everything" has been torn apart.

Calderon’s confidant, Real Madrid’s sporting director Mijatovic, after the team’s victory over Athletic Bilbao, first praised the team’s success as closely related to the summer transfer reinforcements.

Then, as Barcelona fell behind in their match against Deportivo La Coruña, he heavily mocked Barcelona and Ronaldinho, trying to unsettle his opponent.

"For an outstanding player like Ronaldinho to end up in such a situation is certainly not normal. I believe he will definitely leave Barcelona; he can’t endure being a substitute for long."

"Of course, we have no intention of buying Ronaldinho, as our team already has too many outstanding players."

If Mijatovic was overtly mocking, Barcelona fans might still take it, given the previously somewhat strange relations between the two clubs.

The problem is, after Mijatovic’s statement, when faced with reporters’ inquiries, he put on an innocent look, claiming he hadn’t intended to discuss Barcelona.

"It’s just a coincidence that the issue happened to be with Barcelona; I didn’t mean to target Barcelona."

"However, speaking of which, there indeed have been quite a few problems this season at Camp Nou."

Barcelona’s mouthpiece initially remained silent, but after the turnaround, they quickly retaliated, believing Mijatovic had become a bit smug, hence uttering some irrational words.

But Schuster knew why Mijatovic did this.

They were preparing for the first Spanish National Derby of the season.

However, Mijatovic’s information was apparently somewhat outdated, causing his remarks to seem laughable after Barcelona’s turnaround.

This prompted Calderon to come out and clean up the mess for his not-so-clever trusted deputy.

Calderon didn’t mention Barcelona’s home turnaround, instead focusing on the advantage in the league standings: "We are about to enter 2008, and we will soon face Barcelona in this season’s first derby."

"I hope, after the derby, we will enter 2008 with a 10-point lead."

Calderon’s statement also completely announced the destruction of the previous tacit understanding maintained between the two teams’ top management, as Barcelona soon responded, with Laporta stating in his latest interview.

"Ronaldinho?"

"We certainly have no intention of selling him."

"We had some minor issues at the start of the season, but now they’re resolved, and we will have a great season."

"Regarding recent statements? I can only say, maybe their problems are bigger, needing the final round in a not-so-strong group stage to determine if they can advance."

"It’s hard to say this is the level of a top European team in the Champions League."

Compared to Calderon’s comments, Laporta’s were evidently more tactful, as he knew where Real Madrid’s sore points were, and his remarks cleverly avoided weaknesses, turning the attention of some Merengues towards Calderon, hoping he could provide a wittier retort.

Unfortunately, Calderon was suddenly backstabbed by Marca at this point.

In recent years, Marca has consistently had conflicts with Real Madrid’s top management, occasionally leaking information to create minor troubles, such as previously reporting that Ramos might transfer to Milan.

This time, by coincidence, they interviewed former Real Madrid coach Capello, who, after winning the league title, enjoying a holiday and the breeze, was suddenly fired.

Naturally, he had no good feelings towards Calderon, and his revelations during the interview completely overshadowed the news of once-esteemed, third most valuable player in the world, Spanish midfield star Mendita, announcing his official retirement at the end of this season in Levante Daily, also increasing the attention on this matter to some extent.