Carlo Ancelotti had the cool cat shades and the big fat cigar but this wasn’t the time, not just yet. Real Madrid’s party, the manager taking to the mic, and the dancefloor, a conga line forming round the most famous fountain in the city, would have to wait a little while; first they had a funeral to go to. On Sunday morning, the champions boarded an open top bus down the Castellana and a stairway up Cibeles, goddess of fertility. But not before they headed to Los Cármenes on Saturday evening to face Granada – a week after Madrid won the league, three days after they reached the European Cup final, and two hours, 38 minutes after Granada were relegated.
The calendar and the contrast were cruel, and it could have been even worse. When Madrid wrapped up the title last Saturday – finally confirmed two hours after beating Cádiz, the players watching together as Barcelona were defeated by Girona – the federation announced that they would hand over the trophy before their next match. Which might have made sense except the next match was away against someone almost certainly going down, and Madrid said no, give it to us the next morning, the cup eventually presented behind closed doors in silence then carried into the city where thousands waited. They were going to dance, sure, but not on Granada’s grave.
