Real Madrid fans have been aching to see something like this for a looooong time.

According to the English commentators covering last night’s match, the 0-5 scoreline was the largest winning margin by a Real Madrid side in the Mestalla, ever. We’ve scored 5 goals there before, even 6, but have always conceded 1, 2, or 3 goals to make the winning margin just 4, or 3. Last night’s match was also Jose Mourinho’s 150th match with the club – making him the first manager to last that long in the hotseat since Vicente Del Bosque. These are indeed interesting times to be reflecting upon such numbers.

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Motivational Issues

Since the beginning of the season, it became known to all Madridistas and Jose Mourinho himself that the team was suffering from a bad case of lack of motivation. The writing was on the wall: non-existent concentration levels on defense (particularly defending set pieces), sloppy play, loss of form for key players (e.g. Di Maria) and the inability to rise above circumstantial difficulties (e.g. park the bus defenses, extra-aggressive physical play, etc.). Matches which could have been won would only yield a draw, and losses accumulated where there could have been at least a draw. Let’s call it what it is: the team that won La Liga with more than 100 points, 100 goals, whose ‘Spanish core’ won an unprecedented 3rd consecutive major international title over the summer… are not as hungry for silverware as they were last season.

Thus, as the Catalans started the first half of a season like a team controlled by a kid playing FIFA Career Mode on playstation on the ‘easy setting’ (19 games, 18 won, 1 dawn), the only team capable of getting in their way in La Liga’s 2-horse league, simply laid down on the ground and allowed them to roll by.

By late 2012, it was obvious that Real Madrid’s only remaining opportunities at consolation or redemption would be in the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League respectively. The trouble with cup competitions however is that, any teams with even the slightest sense of lacking in motivation or focus, are punished ruthlessly – and therein lies the problem of Jose Mourinho.

The truth is that I myself have become tired and frustrated as a supporter of a club that seems to be on a war footing not only with the outside world, but also internally. It was perhaps during this morning’s breakfast cereal where it had dawned upon me: If one was to look at what Mourinho has done from late 2012-present, he has essentially whipped the entire team already.

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Benching Di Maria (no one noticed / complained), then Iker, sending Coentrao to the stands, snubbing the team during the FIFA Gala, then verbally ripping Ronaldo in the dressing room and finally now, giving his team the silent treatment by presiding over training for only 45 minutes. No one has been exempt: not the Jorge Mendes clients whom conspiracy theorists insist Mou favors, not the Club Captain, not the Club Superstar, no one. Mourinho has systematically targeted every member of the team with criticism and his controversial behavior. And contrary many people’s opinion, I do not think he is doing this to get fired or out of bitterness or spite. I personally suspect that he is doing this to fire up the team instead. If the team will not unite against the world, then perhaps it might unite against him. He doesn’t care what they unite for or unite against. He just cares that they do.

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This slash and burn tactic is clearly short-terminist in its nature and mentality. It might pretty much signal the end of his stay at the club – or if he shockingly chooses to stay (or is allowed to stay), it might mean the need to rebuild the team after it’s been ‘worn off’ ala Bielsa. For the mean time however, it might just be the only card left for Mourinho to play – and last night we saw that perhaps, there is some merit to this thinking.

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NBA Playoff-style Wars of Attrition

 “Ernesto Valverde, if you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Real Madrid may be a spent force in the league this season but one simply does not go around talking about it and acting cocky.”

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The words above were posted as the Facebook status of a friend this morning. They also reminded me of the fact that Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde didn’t understand that he is currently in the middle of an NBA play-off style War of attrition with Real Madrid: the sloppy, drunken, un-motivated mess currently being piloted by Mourinho. Yes, it is true that “Valencia played the football while Madrid scored the goals” during Madrid’s 2-0 Copa Del Rey first leg win at the Bernabeu as described by Sky Sports UK’s Gerry Armstrong. It was also true that Valencia were a few hairline calls away from maybe a draw or even a win that day. Responding to such a game with fighting and critical words (“Madrid were lucky… the ref favored them…etc.”) from him and his team afterward were normal. To say such things however prior to ‘Game 2’ along with statements like ‘we’re out for revenge and we’ll play at home this time’ was pretty stupid when you consider the fact that his team was about to face 11 pissed off Real Madrid players. Pissed off at playing poorly, pissed off with losing, pissed off with the press and pissed off with their own coach.

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All you need to do is to ask yourself who played particularly well last night…

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Who played well for Madrid?

The back-from-limbo Di Maria who scored 2 goals, played intelligently, unselfishly and without his frustrating over-elaboration on the ball. Mourinho supposedly told him that he’s been shite since getting his pay upped.

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Cristiano Ronaldo, off a yelling match with Mourinho in the dressing room last week. He scored 2 goals, and also was an instrumental defensive weapon during the many corners and free-kicks Madrid defended. I counted about 2-3 defensive clearances by him during such instances. Mourinho was said to be unhappy with his callous and slack approach to the last 15 minutes of ‘Game 1’.

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The back-from-injury Higuain, who is seeing his starting XI spot bit by bit, getting owned by Benzema. Apart from scoring a goal, he also un-characteristically looked to play 1-2 combos with his teammates (instead of going it alone to score a goal for himself), dropped deep to help pressure the ball… and even initiated counter attacks with attempted through balls.

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Casillas had some good saves, looked sharp and kept a clean sheet.

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Coentrao, back from the wrath of Mou for his tardiness, impressed with his defense and had 2-3 critical goal-line clearances.

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Tactical Theory vs. Motivational Theory

Yes, yes, yes – My theories on the team’s motivation may well be dead wrong. It is still after all logical to attribute last night’s performance and score line to Valverde’s tactical naïveté: choosing attacking wingers (Guardado) to play as full backs and sending his  midfield trio to press their Madrid equivalents (rather than wait for them despite the fact that Costa-Gago-Banega are not exactly Xavi-Busquets-Iniesta/Cesc (i.e. can’t keep the ball). With Xabi Alonso having mastered the ability to drop deep and send the ball to far away places with precision, and with Khedira’s power to retain possession while shuttling the ball forward (plus his newfound Lampard-like knack for turning up at goalscoring positions), Valencia’s pressing was mostly useless. Ozil spent the night dancing around the hapless Gago while their “fullbacks” – were ruthlessly punished by Ronaldo and Di Maria.

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Valverde’s chest-thumping cries for revenge and ‘justice’ coupled the confidence he found on the back of ‘Game 1’ (CDR 1st leg at the Bernabeu), emboldened him perhaps to opt for last night’s tactics. Had he just seen some game tape, getting his guys to sit deep and wait for us would have been the more logical approach.

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Final Analysis

I believe that last night’s success was NOT just down to Valencia’s tactics playing right to Real Madrid’s counterattacking mastery. I’m used to seeing Ronaldo score 2 goals – I am NOT used to seeing him LEAD a defensive line to repel an attack from a corner and clear dead ball attempts himself.

Perhaps it’s too early to say whether last night’s events were brought about by Valverde’s tactical naïveté, (which fed his Valencia side right into Real Madrid’s counterattacking play) or whether Mourinho’s motivational mind games with his team has lit a fire in them that re-created their displays from last season’s 100-point, 100-goal campaign. I will say this though: I don’t take Mourinho as a bumbling, bitter, rant machine mindlessly stirring up those around him for no reason.

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The people whom he has ‘picked fights’ with and the heightened level of tension that has built up around the team does not appear to be a random or arbitrary result of his irritable prickliness. Last season’s road to success was marked by a tranquil calmness when the squad asked for it… and it worked. This season however, with last season’s tranquility breeding a stale, complacent environment, it seems to me like Mourinho is reverting to his old tricks of poisoning the air with tension once again in his last gasp attempt to either give Madridisimo a consolation (Copa Del Rey) or a hail mary attempt for a gloroious redemptive finish (La Decima).

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Either way, the Final Analysis is still a long way from now. In the medium term, we can only look to the omens that the our matches vs. Valencia (Copa Del Rey), and possibly Barca / Malaga (CDR) afterwards. Further on, Manchester United awaits us to give us clues as to where we’re headed. All that’s left for us to do is to see what happens.