Pepe Shrugs off World Cup Red Card to Anchor Real Madrid's Record-Breaking Run
"You idiot!" everyone thought watching on. Though many, both at the ground and in front of television sets, likely used more extreme language, that was the universal feeling.
The trigger?
Pepe, seemingly incensed by Thomas Muller's fall in Portugal's World Cup clash with Germany, had bent down to the level of the forward sitting on the turf and headbutted him without hesitation.
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Red card. Two-nil. Game over.
Watching the Real Madrid defender protest the decision was only more ridiculous. Kind of like the notoriously mischievous schoolboy claiming innocence after blatantly shooting spitballs at the whiteboard next to the teacher's head.
It was frustrating. Maddening. A cause of exasperation. There was one of the world's elite defenders, one from the game's most pre-eminent club, representing one of the World Cup's big teams and, at 31, still carrying an unforgivable petulance.
Would he ever learn?
At the time, it seemed unlikely—"a leopard doesn't change his spots," and all those cliches. It wasn't an unfair conclusion, either, given that the incident marked the 12th time Pepe had seen red in his career. And it wasn't even the worst one, not anything like that horrendous assault on Getafe's Javi Casquero in 2009 that forced him to momentarily consider his future in the game.
But something has changed in Pepe. This season, the world-renowned loose cannon appears to be distancing himself from such behaviour.
Maybe he's acquired some wisdom. Perhaps he's channelled his inner zen. Or maybe he's just found a punching bag elsewhere.
Whatever it is, Pepe has changed. Like someone with a previous affliction who's come out of rehab.
Want the evidence? He hasn't received a single card—not just red, of either colour—in La Liga this season. Additionally, he's conceded just five fouls too. Five! That's been half-a-game's tally at other stages in his career.
It made it interesting to recall Pepe's words when he spoke about Carlo Ancelotti back in March while deflecting some criticism from Jose Mourinho.
"He has calmed everything," the 31-year-old said of his current manager to Spanish radio station Onda Cero, per Rik Sharma of the Daily Mail. "I feel comfortable with him because he is a very close person and understands the needs of a footballer."
While that calmness didn't appear to spill over into his stint with Portugal last summer, the point stands: Pepe has never been sent off while playing for Ancelotti. Could it be that the ice-cool Italian has soothed the fire that once burned so ferociously inside the defender?
Possibly. It's noticeable if he has.
More important to Ancelotti, though, will be the ongoing excellence seen at the back from his veteran centre-half. While his attacking teammates continue to take most of the plaudits, Pepe's quietly superb season has played a significant role in Real Madrid's barnstorming run to 21 consecutive victories.
In a central partnership with Sergio Ramos, the Portuguese has adapted nicely to the passive role in his sweeper-aggressor style pairing with the Spaniard. When Ramos' impulses have taken him forward, Pepe has stayed conservatively in position. When those impulses have created a problem for Real Madrid, Pepe has been there to make the timely intervention.
In fact, he's almost done it all. He's tackled. Intercepted. Blocked. Cleared. Won aerials. Won wrestles. Not fouled. Not drawn cards. Shut out opponents. Scored goals. He's even completed a mad celebration.
It's been impressive. He's been a consistent source of strength in 2014-15—a pillar of reliability. Basically a giant bald mop at the back, which admittedly seems contradictory given the appearance of most mops.
So maybe he is capable of learning, aware that there's a perception of him that needs to be changed.
Pleasingly, his impressive season has extended itself off the field as well, with the Brazilian-born defender recently paying for nine tonnes of food to be distributed to financially struggling families in the Las Rozas district of Madrid (he was personally involved in the distribution), as reported by Rory Keane the Daily Mail.
The newspaper's headline read: "Pepe turns into Mr Nice Guy." Evident to those who've watched the current campaign closely, he actually has. In comparison to his reputation, it's an apt description. Those spitballs have, instead of fired, been pocketed.
Pepe no longer looks like that "idiot" we lamented in Brazil, and he's currently anchoring this rampant Real Madrid outfit with an understated excellence.
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