Barcelona No Longer The Moral/Righteous Team

Lots can change in a month. This is especially true in Barcelona's case.

In the past month, as we all know, Barca and Real Madrid have faced one another four times. The first game ended in a draw; the second was a Real win; the third was a victory for Barca; the fourth was a draw. The results are split evenly between the two teams.

But the results don't tell the whole story, not at all. Barcelona changed everything about their game in the last few weeks when facing Madrid. 

I am a big supporter of the Blaugrana and there last five or so performances have been annoying. Since the first Classico in the serie of four, they have played Osasuna, Real Madrid, and Real Sociedad.

They won 2-0 against Osasuna with a fairly mediocre outing. Their game against Real Sociedad also wasn't great, but this time they lost. But Barcelona already have the title all but wrapped up; they shouldn't be losing these games but they had the right to rest their better players.

The first Classico wasn't special and certainly didn't set the tone for what would happen in the next three. The second Real-Barca game was a good game to watch, but still, it wasn't at all like the third game. That's when it all started.

Something may have clicked in the Barca players minds or Pep Guardiola may have said something. But whatever it was, it wasn't pretty. The Barcelona-Real Madrid Classico on April 27, 2011 was certainly not football/soccer.

It was a match between two teams who both had wrong tactics. Madrid's were to keep the score at 0-0 and do anything to stop Barcelona. Barcelona's tactics were to play act and get Madrid's players penalized for fouls which they barely or didn't commit.

This third Classico, I'll admit, was my favorite to watch; it was the most exciting. But it draws parallels to the 2010 World Cup Final between Spain and Holland. The only difference was that both Madrid and Barcelona played like the Dutch. There was constant playacting, diving, and fouls; most of them came from the Blaugrana players.

Videos of Busquets, Pedro, and Alves faking and diving have been posted everywhere. Barca aren't that kind of team. They normally are the most moral team out there. But people don't watch them when they play Malaga or Zaragoza. People watch them when they play Real Madrid or Chelsea. People watch the big games and what they saw in the third Classico certainly made them believe that Barcelona are one of the most unfair and unmoral team out there.

Truthfully, they have the right to think that. Busquets and Alves are always somewhat dramatic or divers on a normal day. But their performances against Madrid were absurd and horrible. The big problem is that their playacting overshadows the great pieces of play that Messi and Iniesta create. 

Barcelona certainly have removed the "morality" sticker from their jerseys. It will take them a long time to regain the tag. The fourth Classico finished in a 1-1 draw and there was a lot less diving, which was good for both teams. Unfortunately, it does not make up for what happened in the first leg of the Semifinal between the two rivals.