The game which is meant to be the epilogue of the season in San Mames may very well serve as a prelude when the following course begins, as a ‘summary of what has been published’ which is usually a new episode in a television series. Presents sessions or publishes old serials. Delivery that we bought weekly at the kiosk. And it is that the ninety minutes carried out by The Athletic this Sunday perfectly summarize what has been a sporting year that, barring a natural disaster, we could end without waiting for the last trip to the Bernabeu in seven days .
Something that was snuffed out by fed up and frustrated fans that left a lot of seats empty in the worst entry of the season. The faithful who came with the bomb-proof loyalty got so fed up that they let out a resounding whistle to say goodbye to the team. It was the most painful culmination of a season that has added up to more disappointments than joys, a course capable of killing hope even for the most irrepressible optimists who dream of the chalet they’re going to buy with that money. are what they are going to win in the lottery. Although he has not bought the tenth share.
Before some soulless standing ovations, the team did everything they could to connect the three dots we’d all already taken for granted. Valverde’s men not only created enough chances to win and reach second-time figures, but they were unable to move the scoreboard due to their inability to resolve in front of goal, which is reaching great proportions. . With the goalkeeper on the ground, he had opportunities in all colours, easy shots and even some situations at an empty goal, such as when the unmistakable Raúl GarcÃa finished the ball a meter out in the final minutes. did. The goal line, or as Iñaki Williams had it in the first half, when he preferred to aim with Clarke’s head next to the post rather than looking for the seven-metre hole which had him at the second post. But not for them. Now we cannot refer to individual blunders; It is starting to become a mental problem for the whole group, a problem of self-confidence, a problem that is very difficult to solve. We’re talking twenty-eight shots and nineteen corners in ninety minutes.
To top it off, and how could it be otherwise, with time running out, Elche poured salt into the wound, culminating in a paced counterattack, explaining in two words as if to deposit the ball back into the opposite zone. How to take for network. Easily, without fuss, a simple thing that seems more difficult than finding the golden fleece for athletic players right now.
Quite simply, that’s what’s happening in so many of the games played in San Mames this year. The nine times that Athletic had not scored at home this season was as unusual as it was devastating. This Sunday he added his tenth zero, the cruelest grade in school grades. Of course the team does not deserve such a global note, but the suspense is already signed and initialed, if it is accepted that it is a suitable note for those who do not achieve the objectives set at the beginning of the course. After seeing what has been seen, and standing by the current standards, Athletic needs to improve because it is not progressing fast enough. Athletic missed their last chance to take a step towards Europe. Osasuna and Girona lost, which, if they fulfilled their obligation at San Mames, would have given the Rosiblancos a three-point advantage with a game that would have opened another week characterized by happy speculation, mathematical games and creative statistics. . Homes in recent times that hardly have room to hold so that maintaining the illusion is not an exercise that is laughable.
The sad thing about the farewell is that nothing new happened in a course that repeated such a disaster more than garlic. There is nothing that can surprise us or innovate us. There was some apprehension of fans who had deposited five years of loyalty who decided not to attend the final appointment. He saved another disappointment, a new disappointment which finally became the straw that overflowed the path of patience. Saying goodbye to the season with a whistle like the one ringing in San Mames isn’t the best way to start the next one.
