Real Madrid are afraid, and not only of their rivals. The crisis-ridden Spanish club is scared of the "ghost" of its stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu.
In yesterday's match against Bayern Munich -- a first leg clash in the round of 16 of the Champions League -- neither of the teams could be considered a favorite since both are playing equally badly.
The Bernabeu was likely to be full, but nobody at the Spanish club could guarantee that this would be an advantage. Indeed, it could be a point against the home side.
"It would not have been bad to start the tie in Munich. It is a fact that we do better away. But we will see," coach Fabio Capello said on Monday.
The Italian lies once again before the fans' tribunal, at a time when the divorce between the team and its supporters is evident. The last two games that Real Madrid played at home ended the same way -- with handkerchiefs and booing to show displeasure with club officials, coach and players.
In Spain, handkerchiefs mean that a team's credit is up.
The tension is apparent and many say Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon will not withstand a third consecutive show of displeasure. If the Spanish giant does badly against Bayern Munich Capello could well lose his job.
Real Madrid's fans have already achieved several of their objectives. They booed Brazilians Robinho and Emerson in Saturday's game against Betis and it was almost certain that both would be on the bench at the start of the game against Bayern Munich.
And they asked for David Beckham's return a few weeks ago -- the former England international is now undisputed in the starting lineup, despite being sent off last Saturday.
Players are also conscious that the Santiago Bernabeu has come to resemble a cinema that shows horror films every night. Right winger Jose Antonio Reyes agreed that fans have every right to boo the team, but he asked them to cheer against Bayern "even if the result is bad."
"We ask them for patience. When they boo a teammate, it affects us all. But we are also professionals and we know what we owe ourselves. The fans can whistle, clap or whatever they want because they go to the stadium and can decide, but we hope it is not like that tomorrow [yesterday] and they cheer the team even with bad results," Reyes said.
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