The term ‘Sliding Doors’ gained widespread recognition in 1998 thanks to a Hollywood production starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
Football got its own Sliding Doors moment ten years later.
The Frank Rijkaard-managed Barcelona team was in a slump and about to collapse in the summer of 2008.
Barca had finished third in La Liga and humiliated in the Bernabeu, marking the conclusion of their second consecutive trophyless season.
Before their league match, Barcelona had to honor their bitter rivals by putting a guard of honor on the field because Real Madrid had been officially declared the winners just days earlier.
There was more disgrace to come. Following a 4-1 beating, Madrid supporters chanted, “Laporta please stay!” at Joan Laporta, the president of Barca, who was under duress.
Leading player in the locker room off the field, Ronaldinho, was more likely to be found in the city’s nightclubs than he was scoring goals.
There were rumors of the Brazilian being permitted to sleep off the previous night’s excesses rather than putting in a full night’s work in the gym, suggesting that the team’s discipline had evaporated.
Questions over Ronaldinho’s weight gain, and penchant for a night out, peppered the front and back pages of Barcelona’s newspapers while in press conferences, every question directed at Rijkaard included the word “resign”.
With the Madrid fans’ catcalls still ringing in his ears, Laporta provided his own answer.
Less than 24 hours after the embarrassment in Madrid, Rijkaard was sacked.
