Real Madrid edge Schalke, but some fans act spoiled in process

Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti says his side fully deserved to be booed off the pitch following Wednesday's 4-3 defeat to Schalke, despite 'Los Blancos' progressing to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on aggregate.

In the end, Real Madrid were slightly lucky to progress to the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday. They lost on the night to a game Schalke side that had little to lose, but they were bailed out by Cristiano Ronaldo and his incredible habit of popping up when most needed.
Real Madrid did go through, though, edging the German side 5-4 on aggregate to reach to the last eight for the fifth season in a row. But that didn't stop a cacophony of boos and wafted white handkerchiefs appearing at the Bernabeu; the locals seemingly unimpressed with how the team played, and indeed have been playing in recent weeks.
This was the evening when perspective took a hike, when a sense of proportion gently floated out of the window and a good number of the 80,000 in attendance complained, vociferously, about the fare on offer in front of them, like an irked audience at the Cannes film festival. And the Spanish media were equally as vitriolic on Wednesday morning.
Iker Casillas was whistled, Sami Khedira virtually chased off the pitch when he was substituted, while Gareth Bale's ears rang with the catcalls after a couple of misplaced crosses. The only players the home crowd seemed to be happy with were those of Schalke, who received an admittedly pleasant round of applause after the game.
No matter that the defending European champions advanced into the next phase, past a round at which they exited for six seasons in a row between 2005-2010. And while a minor domestic blip (two wins in the past five) has seen them slip to second in La Liga, they're still just one point behind Barcelona with 12 games remaining. And this is Barcelona side, lest we forget, that lost at home to Malaga a few weeks ago and one that Real face on March 22; their season would not be over if this was the middle of May, never mind the second week of March.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale wear glum expressions.

Of course, responses of this sort are not new, because standards are higher at Real Madrid -- how could they not be, given the history of the club and the money spent on this team? The definition of success is recalibrated for a side like Real, where nothing but the best is good enough. As such, it's slightly pointless to compare their "failure" to that of other, genuinely suffering fans.
They're in rather better shape than, say, the financially stricken Parma. Fact is, Real didn't play well and lost to Schalke, but ultimately it didn't matter, as it was only half the objective. They advanced despite a poor performance, making the reaction of a very vocal section of those in the stadium completely disproportionate. They're like people with the flu acting as if they have pneumonia.
Real are the ultimate "what have you done for me lately?" club, memories as short as the tenures of many of their managers, and it's a testament to both Carlo Ancelotti's skills as a boss and as a diplomat that he has survived for approaching two years.
There was already some faintly silly talk of the Italian's position being precarious before Tuesday's game, Ancelotti forced to give assurances that he retained president Florentino Perez's confidence, but when you recall this is a club and owner who sacked Vicente del Bosque a few days after winning the league in 2003, nothing should surprise anyone.
And yet, the bratty and immature behaviour of those who whistled and jeered and waved their white hankies was alarming. Casillas was perhaps the player most singled out for harsh treatment after a slightly iffy performance, but deriding a player like him as his career declines is a bit like bawling out a man who saved you from falling off a cliff for ripping your shirt in the process.

Real Madrid were rescued by Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals.

But bawl him out they did, even after Casillas produced a couple of excellent saves and one superb catch from a cross as Schalke pushed for the goal that would have sent them through on away goals.
Those Real fans revealed themselves to be the ultimate spoiled brats of European football, acting like someone on one of those TV shows about absurdly wealthy teenagers throwing a tantrum because, while their parents have bought them a brand new Lexus, it was white rather than the desired black.
The website of the Spanish newspaper AS also featured a video of angry fans shouting abuse -- "rogues, dogs and worse" -- as the players left the stadium in their cars.
The sense of entitlement is staggering, that they are owed not just success but success in a fashion that they deem appropriate, and that anything else will be greeted with the most heinous derision. All fans demand excellence, but this was taking it to the extreme.
"It is true that we have hit rock bottom in a resounding manner," said Casillas after the game, while Ancelotti said the "whistles were totally justified," showing that either the abuse has cowed players and manager into acquiescence, or the absence of perspective has spread to the dressing room, as well.
Of course, Real Madrid can play better than this, and their fans will inevitably ask for more and more. But going about it in such a manner, after an ultimately successful night, is ludicrous.