Vinicius and Alaba, the new nightmares of Barcelona

BARCELONA – David Alaba dreamed one day, years ago, of playing for Barça. He said it openly when he was just beginning to be seen at Bayern Munich and could not even imagine the career that awaited him. Vinicius not only said he wanted to play for Barça … He was even one step away from signing for the Barça club until Florentino Pérez’s wallet converted him to Real Madrid. And this Sunday, in the first Clásico of the post-Messi era, both took the leading role.

The Alaba thing is not new. The Austrian, central, lane, midfielder and whatever it takes, was a real nightmare for Barça during his time at Bayern Munich. He faced the Culé team three times and won all three: 4-0 and 0-3 in the 2013 semifinal and 8-2 in the 2020 quarterfinals, in Lisbon. And in his debut as a Madrid player, he did not want to be less. In fact it was more, it would almost be said key to explain the victory of his team beyond the play that began and ended with 0-1 in the first half.

He beat Memphis out of nerves, started a backlash from the book and ended it, appearing out of nowhere, on the band without anyone attending to his arrival and Ter Stegen could not respond to his imperial left foot.

Imperial Austrian and Electric Vinicius. The Sunday that many presented as the first face-to-face between the Brazilian and Ansu Fati ended up being the confirmation of Vinicius, who led Mingueza through the street of bitterness first and then Dest, who knew how to play between the lines, combine , run, pause and demolish a Barça defense that went from solvency to calamity without time to nothing else.

The afternoon that the public returned, really, to the Camp Nou, citing more than 86 thousand spectators in its stands, was the afternoon in which it was confirmed that Madrid has a plan developed from players with a clear conscience of what to do in the countryside. And that, sometimes, it does not even have to be exhubbed to show muscle. And that, in the sumun, can even leave Benzema in the background.

It is more Madrid, today, than Barça. He has a more determined plan, he has fewer urgencies (or it seems like it) and he enjoys greater consistency on the field of play. While Barça is still waiting for De Jong, Frenkie, Real enjoy an Alaba that denies that need for adaptation because the good ones adapt quickly.

And that Alaba wanted one day to play for Barça. Like Vinicius. And yes, also like Modric, who gave another master class and will go down in history as one of the greats of that Madrid that already has four consecutive victories in a Classical whiter than ever.