He's been likened to Barcelona zoo's famous albino gorilla Snowflake, criticised
relentlessly in the press, booed when his side had just won 6-0 at home and branded as a
buffoon by those who claim to know their football.

But Bobby Robson continues to fight for his reputation at the Camp Nou. As the season
enters its final quarter Robson's charges are still in with a chance of a hat trick of titles
that could silence the critics and scupper plans to bring Ajax coach Louis Van Gaal to the
Catalan club at the end of June.

With the Spanish Super Cup already under his belt Robson has planted his side in the
Spanish Cup final and the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup against
Fiorentina next Thursday night.

He who laughs last, as they say, laughs longest. Bobby Robson could well bow out at the
end of June and accept one of the many offers he has had from English clubs ("I don't
know anything about Everton and if I did I wouldn't tell you.") with more silverware to
boast about than any other Barcelona coach in his first season at the helm.

But only the most optimistic of Barcelona fans still believes that the claret and blues can
win the league title. Fabio Capello's Real Madrid have a nine point lead over Barcelona
and Betis, tied for second, with just eleven games to go.

The runners up spot would be good enough to qualify Barcelona for next season's
Champions League but Robson is still optimistic despite his side's failure to take
advantage of Real Madrid's occasional slip-up.

"The team has to believe that we can close the gap on Real Madrid" said Robson this
week. "It's not going to be easy. Nine points are a lot but there are still 33 to play for. I'm
going to talk to the players to convince them that it's still possible to win the league
because Madrid are going to drop points."

"If they players believe that it can be done then that's half the battle. We are obliged to
beat Real Madrid when they visit the Camp Nou on May 10, avoid injuries, win our next
two away games against Atletico Madrid and Valladolid and hope that Real Madrid
drop points."

But with just one defeat in 31 games Fabio Capello's highly consistent squad are virtually
certain to take the championship. Out of European competition for the first time in their
history and eliminated from the Spanish Cup by Barcelona, they can concentrate their
forces on the league as Robson's boys continue to fight on three fronts.

Real Madrid are desperate to secure the services of Capello for next season after weeks
of speculation that the former AC Milan coach is unhappy and prepared to return to the
"calcio".

Although it is unlikely that Capello will leave Madrid, FIFA's World Player of the Year
Ronaldo says he's prepared to go to the highest bidder if Barcelona refuse to double his
1.5 million pounds a year salary.

Italian side Lazio say they're prepared to pay Ronaldo's 22 million dollar transfer fee
although Inter Milan and European champions Juventus are also said to be interested in
signing world football's hottest property.

It's not the first time that Barcelona have had the world's number one player in their
ranks. Diego Maradona cost the Catalans IR pounds 6 million when he signed from Boca
Juniors in 1982, an astronomical sum at the time.

His subsequent transfer to Italian side Napoli meant a substantial economic killing for
Barcelona. But at what price? Maradona went on to lead Napoli to the Italian league
championship and Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 in Mexico but Barcelona's
directors prefer to remember that the player finished up as a cocaine addict.

History appears to be repeating itself with Ronaldo. The Barcelona camp is divided
between those who would like to see Ronaldo finish his ten year contract at the Camp
Nou rather than watch him triumph at an Italian club and those that would prefer to make a
healthy profit and wash their hands of a player that sooner or later will cause headaches.

"Ronaldo is probably the best player in the world right now", said Robson, "but if you
transfer him then you transfer the problem to another club. Is he worth 22 million pounds?
I don't know, I don't know where football is going. Last summer he cost 12.5 million
pounds...where will it all end? I doubt if any club is capable of financing the purchase of
Ronaldo. Wherever he goes he won't find an atmosphere or a city like Barcelona."

Born in a red brick house without doors or windows in the Bento Ribeiro area on the
north side of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo has come a long way since he signed for Cruzeiro
at the tender age of 16. His mother worked twelve hours a day in a ice cream parlour
make ends meet before Ronaldo signed for PSV Eindhoven in 1994 shortly before his
18th birthday.

Now he earns IR pounds 5 million a year just to wear Nike footwear. "My agents are like
family for me" he said this week. "I'm happy in Barcelona but I'm not prepared to lose
money. Whatever my agents decide is fine by me."

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© Brian Keogh 1997

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