it's that time of year again
Imagine a battlefield at the end of the world. The soldiers lie prostrate across the grass, and one can't distinguish their colors anymore. The battle has been fought and the victors have lifted their trophies - only to drop them, as one case may have it - and moved on, because at the end of the world, there is always another battle to be won. It started out clear-cut: one side was Good and one side was Evil and they were locked in a fight to the death, but now, on the other end, surveying the damage, it becomes clear that Good and Evil have been forgotten, vague memories of a bygone age, and all that remains is survival. Atrocities were committed by both sides, and it is unclear if they - if Spain - can rebuild.
But then the dust settles and the soldiers pick themselves up and life goes on.
It was the apocalypse, and it happened last April. And then it happened against last August. And it is about to happen again, in December.
The first Clasico of last year was about the managers - not the first, but perhaps the most important meeting of Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho. And the spring edition was about the spectacle - about who would come out on top over football's version of the World Series. The Supercopa was about predictions. This time around, it is, perhaps, finally about the football.
'About the football' is as it should be. The cults of personality surrounding the two managers and perhaps even their two biggest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are fascinating. And El Clasico is never just about the football - a fixture this steeped in history and tradition and bad blood could never be only about football - but it is fair to say that the footballing aspect of El Clasico has been forgotten over the past year in favor of examining the clash of coaches, the face-off of superstars, and Barcelona's chokehold on the position as the Best Team in the World.
Two more or less complete teams will take the field on Saturday. Yes, there are superstars on the pitch and on the sidelines. Yes, there is rivalry like no other. But this year, this time, it is finally a very real possibility that both teams will show up and play some of the best football around. (And yes, Xavi, Real Madrid is capable of playing football.)
After seven matches, it's about time.