Mourinho lo hizo” it read across the top of AS. The cover of Marca featured an image of Cristiano Ronaldo sliding on his knees provoking insults from Barcelona’s sector of the Mestalla stadium. These were the unified themes of all the publications slapped onto Spanish newsstands on Thursday morning, April 21, 2011, the day after Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final 0-1. A nervy match was decided in extra time when Ronaldo rose in trademark liftoff fashion over Adriano and headed Ángel di María’s cross beyond Pinto. The match marked the sudden but brief rise for Real, who went on to win La Liga the next season.

However, three years on with the two eternal enemies lined up to battle for the same hardware and gloating privileges as before, the two headline-grabbers of 2011 won’t be able to play their parts. Mourinho has since gone “home” to Chelsea, leaving a forever-changed Spanish football in his wake and unless there is a major plot twist, Cristiano Ronaldo will be forced to look this Wednesday’s final from a seated position while he nurses a niggling injury at an inopportune time.

With the way this season as a whole is unfolding, it could be argued that there is more at stake than there was the last time these two adversaries drew their blades in Valencia. In 2011, Real Madrid had already been hitting the panic button for a long time. Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team was revolutionizing the modern game with Lionel Messi at its forefront. It may have been Real’s first Clásico win since May 2008 and the result effectively ended Barcelona’s dream of winning a second treble in three seasons, but because the capital club had adopted a ‘what have we got to lose’ mentality, the trophy celebrated the relief of the Barça jinx rather than the assumption of reclaiming dominance.

This April both teams' endurance is wearing very thin. Barcelona have just been ousted from the Champions League a step short of the semis for the first time in seven years, and personnel options in both camps are dwindling. Whoever goes on to win will have stumbled across the finish line just in time to salvage some of their season-long efforts and hopefully re-spark enough vigor to finish with their heads held high. Truth be told, Real Madrid still have a mathematical chance of winning a treble this year but the tasks that stand in their way are nothing short of towering edifices. The reigning European Champions await them in the European Cup semis and if Atleti don’t drop points, La Liga is lost. Should Real douse the blaugrana’s flicker of hope on Wednesday, it will be their first piece of silverware since Mourinho’s La Liga triumph in 2012 (other than the 2012 Spanish Supercopa) and only the second Copa del Rey since 1993.

Barcelona, on the other hand have just dropped the weekend fixture away in Granada 1-0, pushing them to third in La Liga and confirming two straight matches in which they have failed to get on the score sheet (for the first time since 2008). Although the league title chase has been riddled with twists, turns, and trap doors, Tata Martino’s team are four points astray of red-hot leaders, Atlético de Madrid with five games to play. The Catalans host Atleti on the final day but even a win there won’t guarantee the title; their destiny is out of their hands.

With almost every El Clásico since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 to the capital giants, there has been a Ronaldo v Messi subplot as a side to the main course. Yet, as we know Ronaldo is set to miss the final, and harsh criticisms of the Argentine in the past two weeks have suggested that Messi is hiding during matches. Questions are being asked over the four-time Balon d’Or winner’s work rate and overall effectiveness in recent games. On the contrary, Messi is one of the world’s most popular players because he is in fact one of, if not the best player around, his off games will routinely be condemned and overpublicized. If there’s a key figure for Madrid to keep an eye on, it’s him. He is, in fact, the player with the most goals and assists in the history of the rivalry. Not to mention the last time the two met, little Leo bagged a hat trick. Red alert.

Madrid are looking for a bit of revenge after Barcelona stormed the capital and ran off 4-3 winners from the Bernabéu last month. Perhaps the Copa result will come down to which side can cope with their absences better. The Madrid attack is tellingly weaker without golden boy CR7, but the most prolific player off the Madrid pine this season, Jesé, was also lost to an ACL tear in March. Sami Khedira has missed a significant chunk of the season after suffering the same injury on international duty in November. Spanish international Álvara Arbeloa isn’t due back until the last sliver of the campaign (if that) with a fractured kneecap, and Marcelo has only just rejoined the full training sessions following a two-week spell on the sidelines tending to dodgy hammy. Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos missed the 4-0 win over Almería Saturday with a shoulder problem but the Seville-born defender is expected to play Wednesday.

Barcelona’s main concern will be solidifying their leaky defense. Victor Valdés looks to have played his last match for Barcelona with an ACL boo-boo of his own but central defenders are the ones falling victim to the plague. Mascherano is one of the more successful trials in the infamous Barcelona midfielder-turned-defender experiments but Gerard Pique’s hairline hip fracture and Marc Bartra’s ailing hamstring make the la masia-bread pair doubtful for the showdown. If Bartra is unable to mend in time, the old-guard option of Carles Puyol may be on the cards. The Catalan legend hasn’t featured since March 2nd and confirmed he is leaving the club this summer but in dire straights his services may be required one last time.

A tamer attack takes on a rickety defense in Valencia looks to be the plot. Carlo Ancelotti’s squad were fortunate to slip by the barbs of Dortmund in the Champions League quarterfinals but recovered some pride this past weekend. Di María, Gareth Bale, Isco, and Álvaro Morata were all on target in Ronaldo’s absence. The performance reiterated that Real do not over-rely on the Portuguese for goals. In his five seasons at the club, Ronaldo has missed 34 games – Real’s record in those matches is 24 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses.

Other attackers are playing their parts as well. Morata’s latest goal meant his sixth of the La Liga season, deeming him the most effective player in Spain if you go by his goals-per-minute average, one every 47 minutes. Di María is enjoying his own stats, his best campaign with the Real Madrid badge on his chest. The Argentine has racked up 10 goals and 17 assists in all competitions and will surely be the danger man Barcelona will look to shackle. He’s found a new home in the midfield of Ancelotti’s 4-3-3 and provided the assists for both of Benzema’s goals in the March Clásico.

No one in Madrid will be ignoring the fact that their usually trustworthy defense conceded four goals, two of which were penalties, in the last meet up. Ancelotti went for broke by deploying both of his more attack-minded full backs at home, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal. As instructed both defenders looked to get forward to add their two cents to the attack but it ultimately lead to Real experiencing less stability in defense. In Marcelo’s injury absence, Fabio Coentrão has been terrific and if selected for the final, might provide more balanced defending. Though the Portuguese international will venture if asked, he won’t be required to do so as much if Di Maria begins to occupy that left flank as he tends to do when Real go forward.

Gareth Bale will be eager to sting the tongues of critics who have singled him out in his first two encounters with the old enemy. The absence of Cristiano may provide the Welshman with the opportunity to hog some of the spotlight and enable him to enjoy more freedom in attack without Ronaldo constantly begging to get involved. Most are inclined to give Portugal’s captain the ball; he’s Ronaldo.

As expected, Iker Casillas is set to tend the pipes for los blancos and will be the first to hoist the trophy like he did in 2011 should he manage to keep Messi, Neymar, and company out of his goal. He’ll be cautious to hand the trophy to Ramos, however. Real’s vice-captain famously dropped the last Copa from the open-top bus. Its remains reside in the Real Madrid museum.

Furthermore, the anxious jitters will be amounting in the belly of Carlo Ancelotti who might sneak a cigarette before kickoff somewhere. Though the press has been kinder to the Italian than most, Madrid gaffers are judged on their ability to deliver titles and this is now a one-off opportunity to grab his first. Whether or not he’ll be relieved or empowered if the papers spell out “Ancelotti lo hizo (Ancelotti did it),” the next day will attempted be uncovered in the interviews but the former PSG boss did say this:

“I think after this game, the side that wins will have more motivation, illusion and desire to play their best until the end of the season. I think from a mental point of view, it will be very important.”

One title at a time. That’s the mentality from Carlo Ancelotti. The morale loss may be too much to recover for the big games that remain should Real lose their third Clásico of the year and a trophy along with it. The Cibeles plaza came all to close to seeing the Copa last season before the neighbors ripped it away and down to Neptune’s plaza just three blocks south. Aware of Barça’s struggles, los merengues will be looking to kill off Barcelona’s trophy chances and spirit in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday night.

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About the author
Bobby Mohr
I hail from Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. I am a 24 year old writer with a degree in COMM Media and Spanish minor. Since my playing days in college, I have turned my focus to journalism and coaching. I am an avid supporter of Real Madrid, Southampton, and the United States national team of course. My outlook on football is religious. I view the sport as not only a game but a way of life, a uniting culture that the world shares to its farthest corners. I base my articles off of how I interpret the beautiful game through personal experience and often from the content view of a barstool on match day. Football belongs to the people; my job is to help deliver it to you.