From Cristiano and Messi to Villar and Padrón

L’Equipe showcased yesterday the splendid ongoing and fascinating contest between Cristiano and Messi, a regular item in this column. Their duel is a great advertisement for the league and adds to the ongoing rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona. Just yesterday, I was discussing this topic with fellow journalist, Juan Cruz:. Madrid and Barça play against each other on few occasions during the year, but in a strange way, they actually play against each other every weekend (and midweek too) with the comparative feats of their two leading lights. We’re living in a time of two exceptional talents and the subject is well worth of a front cover of L’Equipe, ‘the bible of sport’, to coin a phrase by those working in the world of sports journalism.

Unfortunately there is a darker side in our world of football. This week the tension which has been accumulating between Miguel Cardenal (Spain’s equivalent of the Minister of Sport) and Ángel Villar (head of the Spanish Football Federation) finally boiled over. I get the feeling that Villar is terribly jealous of the good relationship that Cardenal maintains with his sworn enemy, Javier Tebas, president of the LFP. Only this can explain his reaction of blind spitefulness against a man, who apart from representing a governmental body was a member if the Sporting Committee in the Spanish Federation and with whom, in the past he maintained a good relationship.

It could cost him dear as his as there are fissures in his organization and he can’t fall back on a triumphant national team that can protect him from everything. The sharing of money for pitches in regional areas which was published by AS has got much to do with this situation. It’s a poor reflection on the Federation and their devious tricks with the shadowy figure of Vice-president, Juan Padrón in the background, using the Federation’s funds at Villars whim. This is the other side of our football. The good one is that of the cover of L’Equipe.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1zC3icE

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