Real eye title celebrations at Cibeles
Reuters - Monday 30 April 2012, 09:07
Success-starved Real Madrid
fans will finally be able to stage the traditional title
celebrations at the Cibeles fountain in the centre of the
Spanish capital on Wednesday if Jose Mourinho's side win at
Athletic Bilbao.
After four years living in the shadow of bitter rivals
Barcelona, when only a King's Cup was added to the trophy
cabinet, many of them will also be celebrating the imminent
departure of Barca coach Pep Guardiola, who announced on Friday
he was stepping down at the end of the season.
Guardiola has been a hugely irritating thorn in Real's side
since taking over in 2008, leading Barca to 13 trophies
including two Champions Leagues and three successive La Liga
titles.
However, the arrival of the combative Mourinho from Inter
Milan in 2010 is finally starting to bear fruit.
His free-scoring Real side, eliminated on penalties by
Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals last week,
have 91 points with three games left.
Barca, who host Malaga earlier on Wednesday, are
seven adrift and resigned to the fact that their three-year
stranglehold on the La Liga title is drawing to an end.
"We know that Madrid are the champions," Guardiola, who will
be replaced by close friend and long-term assistant Tito
Vilanova next season, said after watching his side hammer Rayo
Vallecano 7-0 on Sunday.
"This game was a demonstration of what this team has
achieved," added the 41-year-old, who is taking time away from
the game to recharge his batteries.
"The club is healthy, there is a young squad, Tito knows the
players perfectly and I am convinced Barca will continue
competing at the highest level in every competition."
SPECIAL EXPERIENCE
The normally outspoken Mourinho has shunned the media in
recent weeks, sending out assistant Aitor Karanka before and
after La Liga matches.
Karanka said after Real's 3-0 home win over Sevilla on
Sunday winning the title at the San Mames against Europa League
finalists Bilbao would be a special experience.
"But nobody is thinking about anything other than winning
the three points that we need wherever and whenever that might
be," he added.
"It's clear that winning a championship like the Spanish
league, with all the effort it costs and everything that goes
with it, is important. The sooner the better."
The fight for the third automatic Champions League berth and
fourth, which carries a qualification spot for Europe's elite
club competition, has intensified in recent weeks, with Valencia
struggling to hold off ambitious, Qatar-owned Malaga.
The Andalusian club earned a 1-0 home win over Valencia on
Sunday to draw level on 55 points but remain fourth due to a
poorer head-to-head record.
After Malaga's game at the Nou Camp, Valencia host
eighth-placed Osasuna, who are still in with a chance of
a berth in the Europa League next season along with Levante,
Bilbao and their opponents in next month's final Atletico
Madrid.
With Racing Santander already down, Sporting Gijon and Real
Zaragoza continue their unlikely bids for survival at home to
Villarreal and Levante respectively.
Gijon, in 19th, could close to within a point of Villarreal
with a win on Saturday, but will be joined on 37 by
Zaragoza if they manage to beat fifth-placed Levante on Sunday.
Rayo and Granada are also in serious peril in 15th and
16th and play Real Mallorca and Espanyol respectively.