Real Intrigues

As you could have expected the significance of Real Madrid's embarassing 4-1 Copa del Rey loss went well beyond the final whistle. Not long after it was revealed, or rumored (depending on who you believe), that Guti and Pellegrini really got into it. Guti ripped into his teammates in the locker room, which is totally legitimate, and supposedly the manager stepped in and asked everyone to keep their heads and just go out and do their business in the second half. Guti may or may not have been okay with this but he was absolutely not okay when Pellegrini added that Guti would be on the bench in favor of Fernando Gago when the game resumed. Then some say that he told his manager to stick it up... well you know.

If there was any hope of it blowing over and being seen as a passing heat of the moment thing the squad list for this weekend's match squashed it. Shortly after telling the press he would be surprised to be left out of the squad for the derby with Getafe, claiming he was perfectly fit, Guti received the news that he was indeed not included in Real's plans for the weekend. The manager's explanation ran contrary to the player's comments when he blamed an injury, not a personal spat or punishment, was the reason for his exclusion.

This is an intereseting situation. Guti is not the biggest star at the club, by far, but he does have a special place in the Real Madrid universe. He has been there over a decade and is a club legend. When it comes to fan adoration he is behind only Casillas and Raul at the moment (in my opinion as an outsider). Pellegrini is a new coach on a run of bad form, but if he is to succeed, and there is every reason to think the club believes so (or they would have sacked him already) he can not lose a power struggle with any player, even Guti. So there are a million ways to think about this. Maybe Guti knew he wouldn't be included and made his comments to undercut his manager. Maybe he really thought he would be playing. Maybe he didn't want to be seen as disowning the mess the club is in and wanted the fans to believe he was 100 percent committed, come what may. And the options are many on the other side as well.

This has the potential to really drag on and hurt the club. Given the dismal run of form, the difficult schedule ahead, and the elite level of their competitors the Guti-Pellegrini conflict could go beyond a player and manager not seeing eye to eye. We all know who is more likely to exit the club. Then again a win over Getafe and a result in Milan in midweek and the headlines will be Madrid Regain Form, Ronaldo Coming Soon. It will be a pivotal few days in Spanish football.