Juve or Madrid?

Barça’s season is reaching a thrilling climax. La Liga will be ours if we can take three points from the remaining two league games against Atlético and Depor, and then we can enjoy the Copa del Rey Final against Athletic Club followed by the Champions League Final on June 6. Tonight we will know our opponent in Berlin when Real Madrid attempt to overturn Juventus’s 2-1 first leg advantage at the Bernabéu.

It will be strange watching the other semi-final. As a culé I always want Madrid to lose but at the same time the attraction of a possible Clásico final is too delicious to resist. I recognise that if Barça face Juventus we will most likely go into the game with either La Liga or La Copa won which would mean that even if Juventus beat us we could still be highly satisfied with the season. Many would also say that the Italians would be easier opponents for Barça which would give us an increased chance of winning the trophy.

However, the romantic in me would love to see a Barça-Madrid. I know it is raising the stakes and if Madrid were to win it would hurt like hell, and even more so if it ruined a treble. All the good work of the season would be forgotten and we would be left with an unbearable feeling of having failed in our biggest ever game. Despite all this, I also know I don’t want to die without seeing a Champions League Final against Madrid and this year we are in excellent shape to take up the challenge.

I confess I am divided. If Madrid are eliminated tonight I will celebrate their loss. Let them watch enviously from the sidelines as we take centre stage in two finals. But deep down I want the Clásico for the simple desire of experiencing the thrill of it. We are likely to go a little crazy from the adrenaline rush and no doubt it won’t help my insomnia, but what the hell, bring it on I say. What say you?