Real Problems (pun intended)

What do you think of when you think about Real Madrid? What's the first thing that pops into your mind? The answer is probably not one thing. Zidane's plucking the ball out of the sky with his left footed volley, Guti's flowing blond locks, Raul popping up to score in the Champions League for the umpteenth time, la plaza mayor, pompous Spanish arrogance, ridiculous transfer spending, Cristiano, Mourinho, or perhaps it's Bernd Schuster?

Unfortunately for Madridistas, you haven't been able to talk about the club without talking about a certain villan this past week. The nerve of that Pepe who's seemingly done all he can to spoil their proud tradition by making it his personal business to act as shameless as humanly possible whenever they play Barcelona. So much so that he pro-Madrid la Marca are calling for Pepe's head. But if you ask me, Pepe is an all too convenient scapegoat to shoulder the criticism for the darker arts that Madrid tend to employ against their bogey side. It's clear that Madrid resort to these tactics because they are technically outmatched and frustrated (who wouldn't be) for lack of the ball in los superclasicos. But is Pepe really that much worse than Sergio Ramos? Perhaps. I'm not for a second defending Pepe, how could anyone after he trod on poor Leo's hand, but every Real fan who will tell you how appalled they are at Pepe's behavior has been turning a convenient blind eye to the Mourinho-era Madrid.