Much of the steam may have been taken out of what should have been a simmering second leg by Real Madrid's comprehensive victory in the Nou Camp eight days ago, but there was still something appropriate about the sticky heat that engulfed Madrid yesterday. Realistically, Real have one trophy left to play for this season and Barcelona would love to make them sweat about it with an early goal in the Bernabeu tonight.
Cool assumptions about Real's progress have been so prevalent since their first triumph at Barcelona for 18 seasons that it has been forgotten that Barca played well and came close to scoring on more than one occasion in the first half before losing 2-0.
Even Real's pedestrian display and 3-0 defeat at Real Sociedad on Saturday has not impinged hugely on Castilian confidence about them progressing, at their great rivals' expense, towards a ninth European Cup triumph, though it effectively cost them the league title. Valencia's 2-1 win over Espanyol left them four points clear of Real with two games remaining. As recently as mid-March Real had been staring at a glittering treble but then lost the Copa del Rey to Deportivo La Coruna.
Thus the much-hyped vision of destiny in their centenary season has narrowed on to the tunnel at Hampden Park. After the first leg all Madrid was talking of Glasgow as if it had been reached already, and Saturday's events have injected only minimal caution into the camp. Zinedine Zidane has been the most circumspect. "We have not won anything yet," said the great Frenchman yesterday.
Zidane, who has lost two European Cup finals with Juventus (to Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real in 1998) was one of nine Madrid players to receive a mark of zero in a Madrid sports paper after the Sociedad capitulation and the pain of past experience is clearly with him still.
"We're two goals in the lead but nothing more," Zidane said. "Barcelona are behind but I don't believe they are coming here to lose. I'm sure they will make life difficult for us." However, the diplomat in Zidane then gave way a little. "If we were to lose 2-0 at home I would be unable to speak," he said. The emphasis was that that result is inconceivable.
Its unlikelihood was reflected in Barcelona, where they have been dredging up past victories in the Bernabeu as if they are relevant to tonight. But then Barca, anxious about qualification for next season's Champions League, have to accentuate the positive.
"We know Madrid could easily score but it would not be the end of the world because we can win 3-1," said the Barca manager Carles Rexach, optimistically. "Madrid won in the Camp Nou, so we can do the same at the Bernabeu. Madrid have more to lose because everybody thinks they have already reached the final."
Rexach's Catalan full-back Carles Puyol suggested Real's players had been "scared" in Barcelona and more spice has been thrown into the pot by the Catalans. Pierluigi Collina, the famous Italian referee who takes charge tonight, is sponsored by Adidas, Barca point out. So, too, are Real Madrid.
Maybe this is coming back to the boil.
· Pep Guardiola, the Spain midfielder, will miss the World Cup finals for the second time in succession after tests on his right knee revealed ligament damage sustained while playing for Brescia against Juventus on Sunday. A knee injury kept him out of France '98 too.
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