'El Mes de Clasicos'

As it turned out, Real Madrid and Barcelona faced each other on the field a few more times than planned this past April. The only difference this time was that they weren't just trying to win for the pride that you feel when you beat your longest and most sacred rival in history, but there were some of the most prestigious trophies at stake; they met each other in every possible competition this season. Once for 'La Liga', once for the final of the 'Copa del Rey', and twice for the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. It seemed like a baseball or basketball play-offs series. They started with a very dramatic draw, since Barcelona went ahead with a penalty that caused Madrid to lose a man due to a red card, and near the end Madrid rose to the occasion tying the game. The players for both teams ended with the need to keep playing. Later on that week, they met in Mestalla to dispute the final of the 'Copa del Rey'. Madrid started on fire, they had a perfect first half, with several shots in the posts and penetrating Barcelona's midfield, not letting have a single shot into Casillas' goal until the second half. However, the second half was quite the opposite unfortunately since Barca's coach, Pep Guardiola, made a couple of changes that helped Barcelona gain control over the ball, and create valuable opportunities, making Madrid's eleven men stand on their own half of the field. With a 0 - 0 in hand, they went into sudden death; it seemed like they would be going into a penalty shot out, until it happened. Madrid's precious jewel, Cristiano Ronaldo, or as known to many as CR7, embedded the ball with a magnificent header into Pinto's goal. 

Even though Barcelona kept fighting with everything they had at their disposal, there wasn’t enough time to tie the game, and Madrid took home the Spanish Cup. In my opinion that was the best match of the series. The following week, they met in Madrid again to play the first semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. After a quite doubtful red card on one of Madrid's men in the beginning of the second half, Barcelona was able to win the game by a two goal difference, making it an almost impossible mission for Madrid to win a ticket for the Champions League Final at Wembley.  The last game ended with a tie, a goal for Madrid in the second half was nullified, and after Barcelona scored, the story was pretty much finished. I'm glad we won the Spanish Cup nevertheless, and I'm looking forward to the next season. I'll write again after the Champions League Final at Wembley, to tell you all how it went.