Real Madrid faces an arduous sequence of matches: Santander on Sunday, Athens on Wednesday, and Valencia on Saturday. This demanding seven-day itinerary, described as an “absurd odyssey,” has been scheduled by what the source terms “the three cats of Mou.”
A Grueling Schedule
The source article, drawing a parallel to a novel by Pemán, details the travel demands. The team must compete “with a foot on the field and another on the plane” against opponents who are said to be “in fullness,” contrasting with what the author describes as a “league of substitutes” for another club. The schedule is a revisitation of a concept from a novel by Pemán, who after reading Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’ in his home, noticed the natural and distinct rhythm of Greek life, leading him to praise the spectacle of tragedy: theatrical performances took place at sunrise. One day, as Pemán passed the plaque on his birthplace in Cádiz, his friend Cojo Peroche stopped him with an anguished question: “What do you think they will put in our house when we are gone, Beni?”.
The Absurd Hours
The schedule is compared to “absurd hours” for watching football in Spain, a practice the source attributes to the same “cats of Mou.” The article references a historical context, suggesting similar absurdity in eating hours in Spain was changed after the war by a minister, contrasting it with the current football scheduling. This schedule is deemed a “rat-like” method to challenge the club “without whose presence the League would have the same appeal as the boina of Uclés.” The source claims that after arriving in Athens at 3 a.m. to gain two hours of sleep, Mou stated that the schedule is a “rat-like” method used by “the leadership” of Spanish football to pressure the club. The article notes that the absurdity of the hours is what Foxá would call “poetry of the statistics,” a word derived from “Estado” (State), whose modern cradle as a science must be placed in Venice and Florence.
A Rivalry Beyond the Pitch
The source adds context of perceived bias beyond scheduling, citing “arbitral balances” such as red card statistics. It claims Real Madrid has received two fewer red cards in Spain compared to over 65 for another club, while in European competitions, the difference was smaller with Real Madrid having 13 more and the other club 12 more. The article also touches on the media’s treatment of players, suggesting Vinicius’s struggles are “psychological, not physical,” due to “bullying from the media, social and sports spheres.” The source concludes with a philosophical quote from Santayana: “If psychology is a science, social imagination must be suppressed from it.” Read the full article at ABC.
