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Real Madrid graft but lack craft

The Spanish have this brilliant football word: Pausa. Before I explain it, be assured that Real Madrid didn't have anything like enough of it while losing 2-1 to Juventus in Turin on Tuesday night in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.

For English speakers it is tempting to think of pausa as "pause" and someone who can "put their foot on the ball".

However, Valencia and Spain legend Gaizka Mendieta, who played in the 2000 Champions League final, expanded the concept to me: If you have pausa in your game, it's not just that you take your time when everything around you is a blur of action, but that you have such a lightning fast mind that it appears that you have more time when it comes to decisions and technique than anyone else.