It was a city derby, and Real Madrid took it extremely seriously.
As was customary, Florentino never missed a home match at Real Madrid's stadium, but he rarely traveled with the team for away games. Usually, Technical Director Valdano would lead the delegation. But this time, for the city derby, General Manager Manuel Redondo had also come along to show how seriously they took it.
Teams in La Liga traditionally hosted the opposing club's senior officials before matches, and Atletico Madrid was no exception.
Valdano and Manuel Redondo were hosted before the match by Atletico president Cerezo and general manager Gil, after which they took their seats in the Presidential Tribune. However, they sat separately from Atletico's management to maintain a clear distinction.
Real Madrid's performance in this match had truly been terrible. Not only were they playing badly, but the players were also out of form. They had been suppressed from start to finish, and had managed just one shot in the entire first half. One shot! Was this really the Real Madrid everyone knew?
"This should be the worst match we've played this season—no, not just this season, but in the past few years, right?" Redondo shook his head in frustration. They really had been playing far too miserably.
More than seventy minutes had passed in the second half, yet Real Madrid were still this passive. It was making him feel deeply embarrassed, especially whenever he caught sight of Cerezo and Gil's expressions from a distance. It only made him angrier.
Why had they run into a formidable opponent like Atletico just when Real Madrid were at their lowest point?
"It isn't just that we've played badly. A large part of it is that our opponents have played well." Valdano remained calm.
Football was dynamic. One couldn't see