Chapter 367: The collapse of the dynasty
Barcelona was defeated by Valencia 2:1 at home, which was indeed beyond the expectations of most people.
Barcelona coach Enrique, who participated in the post-match press conference, was very tired. He said he would not accept the question and left after saying what he wanted to say.
"I don't know why this happened. I thought that after losing the Champions League, we could focus our energy on the league, which might be a good thing. But I was wrong again... It is obvious from the game that someone's mind is still at the Calderon Stadium on Wednesday night. I tried every means during the break to wake them up, but I failed." He shrugged. "This is football. You can either lose 0:4 in the first leg with three goals, or be beaten 2:1 by our opponents who are ranked behind our tenth one at home. I want to congratulate Valencia on their excellent game, just like I congratulate Atletico Madrid... I think I have congratulated others too many times in the past four days, but I still want to congratulate them. They deserve the victory, and we don't deserve it."
After saying this, he stood up and left the seat under the gaze of the stunned Catalan journalists, ended the press conference.
It was soon heard from internal news after the game that Enrique had lost control of the locker room. His remarks at the post-match press conference also aroused dissatisfaction among some Barcelona players. They believed that the coach regarded them as scapegoats for losing the game, but no matter when, the coach should be the biggest responsible person for the failure.
Enrique's words made them feel that they had been betrayed. Some players had psychological problems and needed help from psychologists...
There are rumors that Enrique said this because after losing the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, he had a long talk with Barcelona's top leaders. During the long talk, he proposed to clean up the existing lineup and replace some players who have lost the motivation to continue moving forward. Except for a few cores that are unshakable, anyone can leave.
But his proposal did not get the consent of the club's senior management, but instead told him that the club would end his contract with him after the end of this season.
In other words, Enrique knew before this game that he would not be able to do it for a long time, so he was indifferent to Barcelona's future fate and gave up and said those words that obviously shook the morale of the army.
Some people also speculated that Enrique might have known that he would not be able to coach anymore, so he simply proposed to the club's senior management a condition that they would definitely not accept, and retreat to advance. In this way, he could create the image of a meritorious coach who was driven away by the club, rather than an incompetent deserter...
These rumors are difficult to tell whether they are true or false, and they are circulating on the Internet. Some even come from professional journalists who are very well-informed.
True and false rumors make the already bad situation worse.
They never expected that the very powerful Barcelona dynasty would show signs of collapse in an instant.
Underneath that bright and beautiful appearance, it was so chaotic!
Many people suddenly thought of what Gao Zheng said when he quarreled with Manuel Blanco last season: "Dynasty? I am the Dynasty gravedigger!"
He really made the case... He, the gravedigger, really dug a tomb for the Barcelona dynasty and wanted to bury them!
Although the team lost the league championship last season, they still won the Champions League championship, which gave many Barcelona fans hope.
They generally believe that under the leadership of Enrique in the new season, the team's lineup will be more mature. With the support of the Champions League championship, they will definitely regain their position in the domestic league. So they are full of confidence and hope for the new season.
I didn’t expect that the Champions League champion would be Barcelona’s final glory at the end of the peak…
When Enrique took office, he was also highly expected. He regarded him as the best heir to Guardiola. He and Guardiola had similar experiences. Both had played for Barcelona, coached in Barcelona's youth training system, and had a deep understanding of Barcelona's football philosophy. Isn't it a perfect match for such a person to helm the space warship in Barcelona?
He led the team to the King's Cup and the Champions League in his first year in coaching, which seems to prove that everyone's optimistic about him is justified.
Unexpectedly, he and the team would come to this point in the end.
Tear directly at the press conference...
The day after the game, many media focused on Barcelona's failure and what Enrique said at the post-match press conference.
Some analysts believe that regardless of whether Enrique could continue to coach the team before, he would definitely not be able to coach after saying these words. So some people called Enrique's approach at the post-match press conference "suicide speech", which basically cut off his possibility of continuing to coach Barcelona.
So what do Barcelona players think about the coach’s words?
The vast majority of Barcelona players remained silent, and only Pique, whose big mouth came out to answer the reporter's questions: "I don't know why he said that. Losing is the responsibility of all of us. I think it may be because he suffered two consecutive failures in a week, which made him a little too painful, so he said such extreme words, but I believe that no matter what, the head coach must be standing with us..."
I don’t know if he was smoothing out for Enrique or mocking Enrique for being openly not standing with them...
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Barcelona's chaos certainly favors Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid is now five points ahead of Barcelona in the standings and nine points ahead of third place Real Madrid.
With five rounds left in the league, there is no longer much suspense about the league championship.
It's hard to imagine Barcelona losing two games in these five league rounds...
If Atletico Madrid really loses like this, they deserve to be unable to win the league championship - it's all about being a damn death.
After losing this game, Barcelona basically bid farewell to the league championship, but they are not in vain this season.
They also have an honor to compete for-the Copa del Rey in Spain.
In this event, Barcelona can have an absolute advantage. They won the championship twenty-seven times in history, making it the team with the most winning times in the Copa RE.
It's a bit ironic to say that Barcelona Football Club is a club that implements and practices the Catalan independence movement, and its mortal enemy should be the Spanish royal family representing the Spanish central government. However, they have overcome difficulties in the cup matches that were named "King of Spain" and are the team in Spain that has been awarded the most trophysical by the king...
Some fans even jokingly call the "Copa del Rey of Spain" the "Copa del Barcelona".
From this perspective, Club Barcelona has completed the "subversion" of the Spanish royal regime...
Another top three in the Spanish Super League, Real Madrid, although it is definitely impossible to win the league championship, they have the opportunity to compete for the Champions League championship.
After they complete the 10 Champions League championships, they will not stop because of this, and they will definitely want to continue to expand the number of Champions League championships.
They have reached the Champions League semi-finals, and the draw for the Champions League semi-finals is about to begin. I don’t know who they will draw with.
If you meet Atletico Madrid in the semifinals, it will be lively...
Atletico Madrid is now in the best situation among the three teams. Except for the King's Cup, they have a chance in both the league and the Champions League.
The hope of winning the league is the greatest, and there is also hope for the Champions League, but it depends on the final draw.
If they really draw Real Madrid, they really don’t know whether it is a good or a bad thing.
Chapter completed!