Guardiola over Preciado any day

Manolo you're a brat!

Pep Guardiola might have inflicted upon us Madridistas one of our worst memories of recent times but he sure gets the nod ahead of Manuel Preciado in my books. You must understand that it is not easy for me to say something that is appreciative of a cule but considering the recent war of words going on between Jose Mourinho and Preciado, I will have to say that Sporting have gone into my I-hate list right below Barcelona and the ever-harmless Atletico.

Even though the fact that I am bringing in Guardiola into the picture might seem as irrelevant as Borja Valero claiming that his past with Real will not affect him from joining Barcelona I must tell you that it is not the case. This battle between Jose and Manolo began when Sporting played Barca a few weeks back at the Camp Nou and fielded a weakened side in a 1-0 loss to the Catalans. And considering the fact Barca were handed an easy victory and Real had to fight their way for three points, Jose insisted that Sporting gave up the match even before kick-off by fielding the side that they did. And that triggered it all. Preciado denied Jose’s claims back then and prior to the game when the press re-ignited it all he went over board saying that he is not fond of Jose and that the special one is a villain and even more so a bad companion. He even threatened that if it were in his hands he would place Jose right besides Sporting’s radical fans  considering the fact that Mourinho will be watching the game somewhere from the stands after the RFEF touch-line banned our manager for two domestic games following his expulsion in the King’s Cup game midweek. The governing body of Spanish football said that Mourinho was booked for formulating observations about the referee and he has been suspended for addressing the referee with disrespectful vocabulary as per Article 117. There is one thing that I don’t understand here. If what Jose said about the referee against Murcia was disrespectful I am not sure what you would call whatever Preciado has had to say about Jose. If you ask me Preciado too should be handed either a fine or a ban for making such instigating statements prior to a game.

Even though the whole of the world is waiting for Jose to react we will have to wait for that to happen has Real canceled the customary pre-match presser following the off-the-field battle between the two teams and decided to make peace with the opponents by issuing a formal statement on the club’s website. The club also condemned Preciado’s behavior. And all this makes this an even more feisty affair than it already is. It is very clear that the reception will be hostile and maybe even the players would a tad or two harsh on tackles and it is up to our men to stand up to them and make our manager proud. Last time out they parked a bus in front of their goal to stop us from scoring and this time around it will probably be the same considering the form that we are in. I am expecting at least a couple of red cards from the game.

In other news, Zinedine Zidane will be playing an even more vital role with the club after he was appointed as the presidential advisor to the first team. Apparently his task is to “assist in optimising first team working conditions.”A statement on the club’s official website read as follows:

Zidane will be readily available to the president and coach for all matters concerning Real Madrid’s first team, with whom he will keep in frequent contact. The former player will participate in Champions League events and functions. He will also travel with the team on a regular basis for said competition and will participate in the pre-match gatherings, training sessions and meetings with the head coach.

Forgive me for this abstract post but that is all that I could muster as I thought transfer rumors linking Diego Forlan to us and Karim Benzema to Juve are far more boring than what I had for you today.

Until next time,

Para Siempre Blanco!

Hala Madrid!!