Fideo to his friends
Angel!
Some called him overrated, some said he would never shine in the big stage. Some said Real have spent a ridiculous sum of money on a player who hasn’t proven himself. But Ángel Fabián di María, Fideo to his friends, has gone on to prove all his critics wrong or at least he is in the right path towards doing so. You might argue that it is too early in the season for me come to any conclusion about him. But then I find the remarkable way in which he has gelled into this team as a humongous achievement in itself and more over his 4 goals and 6 assists to add to his work rate has made him one of my favorite players in the world let alone Real Madrid.
Di Maria started his career at Rosario Central in Argentina, the same region of the world where Leo Messi hails from. After impressing for Argentina in the FIFA u-20 World Cup in 2007, Angel caught the eye of the menacing Europeans. Rubin Kazan had almost poached him when he reverted his decision to join forces with the Russians and in the end it was Benfica who won his signature with the Lisbon-based club’s President bringing him in to replace the veteran and club captain Simao who had then departed for Atletico.
He had earned a lot of praise and credit during his time at Rosario including the free-to-use “Next-Maradona” title with El Diego himself labeling the kid a little superstar. And he didn’t disappoint in Portugal as well. Like what he is doing now, Di Maria took no time to acclimatize to the conditions in Lisbon winning the love of the Benfica faithful. His hat trick against Leixoes won him the media’s praise as well. Above all that it was his performance against Liverpool in the Europa League last season that caught the eye of several big clubs. That led Benfica to place a 50 million Euros price tag on him so as to shoo away potential suitors. Just as the world thought Di Maria was going to stay at Benfica Don Florentino made an offer that they couldn’t refuse paying the Portuguese 25 million Euros plus a 11 million of incentives so as to land the Argentine as the first Galactico signing of last summer. It might have seemed like a mistake for us to have bought him before he could prove himself before the World Cup but so much was the confidence that our President had in him that he didn’t want to take the risk of losing him by waiting that long.
Di Maria made his Real Madrid debut against Club America in our first friendly of the season and scored his first goal against Hercules in the Alicante Cup, yet another friendly. But that wasn’t what made the Bernabeu faithful fall in love with the guy born on Valentine’s day. Real Madrid played Penarol in this year’s edition of the Bernabeu trophy. The stage was set for Di Maria to sizzle and what an impact he made! After taking himself past three defenders with some silky dribbling Angel sent the ball crashing into the roof of the net to seal Real’s 2-0 victory over the Uruguayans giving Jose Mourinho’s men victory on home debut.
That was just a sign of things to come. His sizzling goal against Sociedad, his winner at Auxerre and to top it all his stellar performance against Racing at home where he played as a left-winger, right-winger and a left-back at different points of the game has made Angel Di Maria a fan favorite and one of our most important players.
He has incredible pace and some neat touches that makes him escape even the bulkiest of defenders despite his lankiness. Fideo, which means noodle in Spanish, is definitely an apt name for this left footed player who can play on either wing or through the center depending upon the requirement. He can pass the ball well but his dependence on his primary foot i.e. the left does sometimes look like weakness and a tad predictable. His speed and acceleration though make him an ideal player for our counter attacking style of play. Another important attribute has got to be his willingness to help the full backs defend. I have seen quite a few wingers in my time but none track back as much as he does. Both as a starter and as a sub Angel Di Maria is an impact player. He is someone who is missed when not there and makes his presence felt when he has to.
I have no doubts that he will become a Real Madrid legend if he keeps up the promise that he is displaying (and of course stays at Real for a long time) but what I am right now worried about is whether we are over working him. He is a young player with a lot of hunger to play and win titles. But then he needs his time out. But with the intensity of the present day game and the number of games that a top team like Real Madrid plays, the players are bound to get tired/niggled. I am just hoping that Mourinho knows what he is doing but what I do is that majority of the times he does get it right. With Kaka on the road to recovery this is the ideal time for Di Maria to shine as the pressure of performing will not be as much as it will be once the legendary Brazilian is lingering on the sidelines. At the same time, if Kaka is still the Kaka of last season I see no reason why Di Maria won’t start ahead of him. And irrespective of that let us hope that we can bring more from our very own Angel.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
The doppelgänger
He not only looks like him but plays like him.
With the taste of sweet victory still lingering in my mouth I sit here thinking about how worn out the players might be after last night’s duel. The game was fierce, not so competitive and nail-biting and it was only late in the game that the tie was decided. With the Clasico looming we need to ensure that the wear and tear effect is not a factor. We do have a big squad and with quality players so finding replacements should not be a problem.
One such quality player on the fringe is Fernando Gago. The Argentine international is one of the senior-most players only by merit of playing for Real Madrid since 2007. Basically a defensive midfielder, the former Boca Juniors star has tremendous temperament and is naturally talented. He is a natural number 5 and can contribute both defensively and offensively by destructing opponent’s attacks and initiating our own by threading balls through to our strikers. And all these attributes of his makes us fans draw comparisons with another similar Argentine who made a name for himself here at Real Madrid in the same position that Gago plays right now. I’m talking about none other than the legendary Fernando Redondo. The style of play, the first name and the appearance all make Gago a doppelgänger of Redondo.
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri was brought in to our side in the same season as a certain 17-year-old kid of the name Raul Gonzalez Blanco made his debut for the senior team in the 1994-95 season when, then our manager, Jorge Valdano lured him from Tenerife in hopes of building a team that could win the La Liga. The team eventually did win the league that season and Redondo slowly emerged as one of our key players and moreover became a fan favorite winning the hearts of several Madridistas. He was known for his commitment to the club more than anything else and displayed this through several examples throughout his career. Skills wise too he was simply sensational. Redondo in his time was arguably the best midfielder in the world. Laid back, hard-working and capable of making crucial passes, he was neither a goalscorer nor a showboating kind of player but he belonged to that different breed of footballers who can simply control the game better than anybody else on the field. More sort of a ventriloquist or an orchestrator you can say. He was calm and composed as well and ergo had all the essential attributes that a number 5 needs most. During the time when the world of football got to see the likes of Keane, Scholes, Guardiola, Effenberg, Rivaldo and several such legends performing on a weekly basis Fernando stood out and on his day made the aforementioned greats look like nothing.
Gago is talented. But whether or not he is as good as Redondo remains to be seen. Both Pellegrini and Mourinho did not want to sell him despite the player wanting to leave and that shows you his quality. The advantage of having a player like Gago is that he can play in either of the midfield positions and that I mean either the Xabi Alonso or Sami Khedira role. Yes, of course he cannot do the same things that either can. He does not have a passing range like Alonso does and cannot be as strong as Khedira both while attacking and defending. But Gago gives us another option just like Lass does with his versatility and like Diarra does with his experience. Gago, if you ask me, was at his best in the 2007-08 season under Bernd Schuster when he was given a lot of opportunities to excel. Its probably opportunities that matters to him and I hope he is given enough when he returns from injury.
The player is currently in Buenos Aires undergoing a recovery procedure on the knee that he injured in the beginning of the season. He will return to the Spanish capital on November 22 to begin the rehabilitation and recovery of his knee. Like Mourinho said earlier this season Gago along with Kaka would be our two new signings cometh the winter and I am pretty sure that he would be a welcome addition.
Who knows? Gago might just win us a champions league title just like how his doppelgänger did a decade ago.
Until next time,
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Ze Brand Kaka
Sidelined (forever)
With rumors going about that Real Madrid will be selling Kaka in January, the club has decided to promote the brand that they bought for £56million from the other side of Milan last season – Kaka.
Kaka was brought in from Milan as a part of the new project and was Don Florentino’s first signing after his heroic comeback as the President of Real Madrid. By buying a player who had had a torrid injury plagued season, Senor Perez was indeed taking a risk. The former World Player of the Year and Balon d’Or winner does indeed have all the credibility to play for a club like ours, but that alone is not enough, is it?
Kaka’s injury worries only compounded following his move from Italy to Spain. He was coming into a newly built Real Madrid squad after a tremendous show in the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa in which he won the Gold Medal with his national side. Being the main entity of his side Kaka spearheaded Brazil through the tournament raising hopes of thousands of Madridistas that Milan were only being foolish to sell a player of such quality. But that’s when things started to change. Even though the player got himself into the score-sheet via a penalty in a league game against Villareal his performances weren’t up to the benchmark that he had set for himself. Then came the twin legs against his former employers and despite playing both the legs and trying his best, Kaka failed to impress. His best game for us till date, though in a losing cause, came against our eternal Catalan rivals away from home and that’s when the whole Sports Hernia issue cropped up. Real accused Milan of selling an injured player whereas the rest said that the joke was on Real as they had earlier sold Sneijder and Robben as a part of accommodating Kaka. Rafael van der Vaart too would have paved way if not for his resilience.
Kaka did not play until the return leg against Lyon at home which we drew 1-1 thus getting knocked out of the competition. And immediately Kaka was injured again and would not play until towards the end of the season at La Rosaleda against Zaragoza. He came on as a substitute and scored the winner keeping us in the title race – his most important goal for us till date.
He was then included in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup and after getting knocked out by the losing finalists – The Netherlands – Kaka was injured again, this time the left knee for which he needed surgery that would rule him out for up to 4 months.
A week after the surgery, the player had began an intense phase of rehab that requires almost six hours of work each day. The club’s official website today says that though it is still a long way out, the Brazilian midfielder is poised to make a comeback stronger than ever. The article went on to describe what Kaka does every day from the moment he enters the Valdebebas till he leaves stating that the player just cannot wait to play again.
The club’s medical team consisting of Juan Carlos Hernandez and Carlos Diez too are happy with the progress Kaka’s knee is making saying that the recovery not only concentrates on his knee but also on his groin which is as trouble making as the other. Like school teachers, they commended Kaka’s performance…
Kaka is very meticulous with his work. He likes to tackle things within the deadline and it is a pleasure to work with him. He always wants to work more and we have to rein him in to avoid him making things that could be detrimental.
They went on to say that even if it takes a year for him to comeback they would take the recovery process step by step and not rush him into playing:
We want to be careful because this is the second operation he’s had on that knee. It would be a mistake on our part to force his re-entry in the team if the isn’t 100% fit to play. After healing the knee we have to heal the groin, which more or less indirectly affects the entire recovery process. We are very satisfied with the progress he’s making.
If that doesn’t rule out the sale of Kaka, nothing else would. Why would any club want to make a player of Kaka’s class 100% fit in order to sell him to a competitor club?
An Italian newspaper had claimed on Wednesday that the Nerazzurri were hoping to bring Kaka to the San Siro from Real Madrid in January. But President Moratti insists the idea of signing the midfielder, who formerly played for Inter’s fierce local rivals AC Milan, did not stem from his club.
I read about it in this morning’s papers. It’s a wonderful idea, but it doesn’t come from us.
Sure it didn’t come from him. Massimo, as much as he buys, does not buy players by their brand value but by their potential. Real though are different. We at least were until last season. Kaka, I feel, was merely brought because of the brand name that he carried. Several years from now we can say that the legendary Kaka was a Madridista. But how successful was he? That remains a question mark.
The Kaka Saga
You've got to love the Kaka.
Earlier this month, Kaka underwent a keyhole surgery at Antwerp’s AZ Monica hospital under Dr.Marc Martens in order to cure a lesion in his meniscus in his left knee that he had been struggling with for some time. The arthroscopic surgery was a success and confirmed an injury to the left meniscus with minimal inflammation of the cartilage ergo ruling Brazilian play-maker out for up to four months of action, which meant that he would not only sit out majority of the Primera Division fixtures but also the whole of the UEFA Champions League group phase.
However, there was some consolation for both the player and the club as it was also revealed that, the groin strain (the famous sports hernia) from which Kaka has been suffering, and which hampered his first season with the team, had shown “clear signs of improvement”.
So what is good enough for Florentino Perez?
To be fair to him Jose Mourinho is the World’s best coach. His style of coaching, the way he carries himself, the way he protects his players, the way he strives to win is something that no one else in this World is capable of doing. He has won wherever he has been. He is The Special One. No doubts about it. But all I want to ask is whether he is good enough for Real.
It is a fact that Vicente Del Bosque wasn’t good enough even though he won us the League Title and managed the Galacticos like no one else possibly could have. Fabio Capello wasn’t good enough even though he won us the title in one of the greatest sporting comebacks. Bernd Schuster wasn’t good enough even though his team breezed past the rest of Spain to win us our 31st title. Juande Ramos wasn’t good enough even though he took the worst ever Real Madrid team in a decade up to second place in the league. And now even Manuel Pellegrini is not considered to be good enough to manage this team despite the 102 goals that the team scored and the fact that they challenged the best Barcelona side in Catalan history right up till Match day 38. The above five managers are the only prominent ones amongst the rest who came and went just like summer and winter every year who too weren’t good enough. So is Jose Mourinho good enough? Clearly good enough does not mean winning titles. Except Manuel Pellegrini and barring the temp in Juande Ramos the others mentioned above won titles for us.
So what is good enough for Florentino Perez? Going by what the above mentioned managers it is the following. A manager good enough to remain at Real for more than one season must satisfy the following conditions:
- Win La Liga and the Champions League. Either won’t do. A double is the minimum requirement.
- A treble will be amazing. But winning Copa del Rey alone will help no one as the trophy which Real haven’t won in ages isn’t really appealing.
- Win both legs of the Clasico.
- Play the team which Florentino wants you to play.
- Sign the players he wants to see and sell the players he doesn’t want to see even if that means playing a one man defense with no goal keepers.
- Concede 1789654 goals in 90 minutes of football but score 1789655 goals at least in which case the last goal comes in the 93rd minute.
- Do not buy players who are black and cannot dress up for an Nike commercial to be aired in Hong Kong.
- Do not buy players for whom young ladies with big boobs carry signs saying “Marry me XYZ!”
- Buy defenders who offer something more than playing in defense alone – something like improving the number of Spaniards in your squad.
- Sell or at least try to sell else don’t pay them enough for all the players who were brought in under a different regime.
Has Jose really agreed to do all of these? Can anyone do all these in the same season? Is the Bernabeu the right stage for Mourinho style football? There are so many more unanswered questions that only time can answer.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Speculation about Jose Mourinho looms
Inter Milan and Bayern Munich will compete to determine the Champions of Europe at the Santiago Bernabeu on 22nd May in the UEFA Champions League final. This will crown the return of several former Madridistas currently representing the two sides and also a clash between two of the most entertaining managers in club football history – Inter’s Jose Mourinho and Bayern’s Louis van Gaal.
Madrid is talking more about the former though as speculation looms regarding Mourinho’s future with the Nerazzurri especially considering the growing rumors touting him as the man to replace Manuel Pellegrini as Real Madrid’s new manager. With players like Kaka commenting on Jose Mourinho to the press in the past week or so it does seem inevitable that Manuel Pellegrini will be shown the exit door by the ever fickle-minded Florentino Perez despite a much improved but trophy-less season. The Brazilian though offered support for Pellegrini as well – insisting 56-year-old Pellegrini had done well. He is not the only player to have voiced a public support for the Chilean. But when has that ever been taken into account?
The man in the spotlight, Manuel Pellegrini himself admitted that it his future with the club is uncertain. Pellegrini accepts that the decision will rest with club bosses but he believes they should consider the fact that Real still collected a staggering 96 league points even though they finished second. The Chilean tactician nevertheless accepts that his first campaign at the helm cannot be considered a success as Real did not claim any silverware.
We can’t say it’s been a good season if we haven’t won a title. It is not easy making a team with a new coach and players but I can not evaluate my own work. I have one more year left on my contract and that’s all there is to say.
If they ask me I will say the bases are there for next year and the results prove that. At best, in the future people will recognise what we have achieved, and they’ll see it isn’t easy to get the figures we have in the face of a great Barcelona side, though we still have work to do to cut out errors, and to close the gap on them.
He sounded frustrated more than anything else with what has been going on revealing that he never totally knew whether or not he was going stay for another season or not. He was very right to say that if the person replacing him had to better his record at the club then that particular replacement had to earn more than 100 points in the league. Pellegrini’s men earned 96 points, three shy of the 99 tallied by champions Barcelona.
All year, and especially in recent weeks, perhaps there hasn’t been a clear reply (from the club on my continuity). Amidst the uncertainty I have always had the support of the players.
I don’t think Real speak behind the back of their coach, this isn’t their style. But I am not so innocent to believe that all the rumours are simply speculation by journalists.
If, for whatever reason, the project doesn’t continue the person who comes in will have a difficult job. He will have to win more than 100 points in the league to do better than me. I know failing to win a title isn’t good but I don’t think the final decision will change much whether we win the league or not.
Jorge Valdano was one among those in the club’s management who were behind the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as the manager of Real Madrid. He had always been behind the manager even in times of crisis during the course of the season but this time even he couldn’t assure us fans that we will have the same man in the dugout for next season. He told Spanish television:
The club will sit down and discuss what course we are going to take for next season. Today isn’t the right moment to be taking decisions. We have a lot of time in front of us and we’ll see what course we take.
Valdano said when asked about the Portuguese coach:
I won’t get involved in this. Mourinho has his battles to fight and we have to continue independent of opinions and other people’s comments.
But this is how all the big moves start. Both parties remain to say nothing about it and boom! All of a sudden all the negotiations are done and the move is complete. The other party here is Jose himself and he has been somewhat coy about his future – the Jose Mourinho style.
It’s not a problem of contract or money and that makes me slightly embarrassed because of what I earn considering the (world economic) crisis there is. It’s a problem of personal satisfaction, to feel respected or not in a football nation where I have had so many problems. It’s not true that I’m the Real coach. After the final, I want to think about my future.
Obviously, Inter cannot do anything more to make me feel happy and feel important. The players are fantastic, so are the fans and everyone at the club. The result of Saturday’s game means nothing. It will not change the fact that I have given everything possible. Inter doesn’t owe me anything and I owe nothing to Inter, because I’ve given everything.
The future does look bleak for Manuel Pellegrini. I am deeply sad for Mourinho and angered by our team management (not for the first time) but at the same time I cannot lie by saying that I am not excited by the fact that Jose Mourinho might be our next manager.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
How I learned to stop worrying and love the misunderstanding
This has been lingering in my mind ever since the rumor about a possible misunderstanding between Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín was started by the press. Why cannot it be true? Why can’t they not like each other? As optimistic as I am that nothing of that sort exists, the evil in me refuses to think around the fact that Ronaldo and Higuaín might just not be all that fond of each other as much as we might want them to be. Albeit I have the least bit of materialistic evidence to prove my theory I must say that I am unable to not think why not? Call me insipid but I cannot refrain myself from thinking the way I am thinking right now. I wonder why not, not for the first time today.
As far fetched as it seems here is my argument. Cristiano Ronaldo is just not used to sharing the limelight with anyone around him let alone Gonzalo Higuaín. I am not sure whether it is him or Alex Ferguson who is to be blamed for this defect of his but Ronaldo just loves doing stuff on his own.
I can quote several instances to prove this point of mine. For one, take his last three seasons at Manchester United which saw him emerge as arguably the best player in the World. In 2006-07, Cristiano scored 17 goals for Man United in the league alone but was closely followed by Wayne Rooney with 14 and United managed only the Premier League title. It was the season in which fans all over England booed Ronaldo wherever he went because of the scuffle between him and Rooney in the World Cup prior to the season. Yet, he still managed so many strikes. The next season would become the best 10 months that he has had in his career.
He amassed a whopping 31 goals for them in the league (grabbing 44 in all competitions) while United’s second highest scorer was Carlos Tevez with just 14 goals. United won both the League and the Champions League by just building everything around Cristiano. Even the omnipresent Wayne Rooney was made to play second fiddle to the Portuguese ace and the Englishman seemed quite happy to do so. The next season saw Ronaldo score 18 and Rooney 12 as United won the league yet again and managed to reach the finals of the Champions League where they lost to Barça in a men versus boys game of football. The only United player to shine in the final was indeed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Do you remember the Champions League final in Moscow when Ronaldo missed a penalty against Chelsea in the shootout? The moment United won all that Ronaldo did was weep. It could’ve been tears of joy but what I interpreted was that Ronaldo couldn’t digest the fact that United won the trophy despite his miss. His contribution was deemed insignificant by the end of the day and that itched him. But hell United got so far only because of him. It was his goal that was equalized by Lampard for Chelsea. United depended on him and he loved it. He wanted to carry them on his shoulders and did so successfully when given the chance. Legendary players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes didn’t mind it. Equally talented ones like Rooney and Tevez didn’t bother either. And the end result – three premier league titles, a club world cup, a champions league winners medal and a runner-up medal and a league cup. That is what doing stuff the Cristiano way did to Manchester United.
If that is the case with Cristiano then Higuaín’s isn’t any different, except for the silverware part of course. Higuaín has been doing things on his own for us ever since he became a permanent fixture in Real’s line up. In the absence of Van Nistelrooy he was partnered mostly by Raúl in attack the whole of last season who isn’t someone who would fight with you for goals. Raúl is more of a center forward than a central striker and hence there was never a problem as such. Higuaín got all the help that he needed and went on to become our top scorer and one of the positives of last season in what was a very poor season for us otherwise. But with Ronaldo’s arrival it all turned around.
Pipita finally had some competition within the team. He had to earn his place in the line up all over again. Both he and Ronaldo like to be at the end of every assist made. They like to create goals for themselves more than for others. Both of them are greedy by nature – an attribute that almost every great goal scorer has possessed. Also, both are more than talented to score a lot of goals. And thus they often find themselves following the same trail as the other. Isn’t that something that can cause a misunderstanding?
But that is not what the press says is the reason behind this so called misunderstanding. All these rumors kicked off immediately after Higuaín wasted a couple of decent chances to put us ahead against Lyon in the second leg. Ronaldo reacted on the pitch to one of them which any other human would’ve done considering the open space he was in when Pipita chose to take a shot. And that is rubbish. As someone who has played and seen a fair amount of football I can confidently assert that even the calmest of players would beat themselves to react in such a situation. And that is to be branded as a misunderstanding in general then I believe that it is just plain stupidity.
On the other hand, if the press had some theory behind their claims like I have today then maybe I if not the rest of the World would’ve bought it. I say so because there is nothing wrong in such things happening. When you put together a new team these things are bound to happen. The only thing that should be blamed is human nature. And I am totally with Manuel Pellegrini on this issue. I don’t know how true it is but to me it looks as though he has done absolutely nothing about it. The competition between Higuaín and Ronaldo is as healthy as any competition that I’ve seen between two players at Real. These two are fighting it out against each other to prove who is the better goal scorer and who gets more goals for the team. Irrespective of who scores Real end up piling goals which is the only thing that matters. A more clever approach would be to use each other to get to the top. That way people don’t talk ill about you and there is still stuff to fight about. That is exactly what the two are doing now.
And as far as we and the press are concerned instead of cribbing about it we should relish the fact that two of the best players in this World are fighting to score goals for us.
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
He is a symbol
What makes a person stand out up and above his peers? Is it the respect that he commands? Is it his achievements that count? Or is it what he means to the people who patronize him? Is there any other reason? Even if there is another criteria I am sure that there is one man, someone whom we all know and love, who fulfills the requirment. Some call him El Capitan and the rest El Siete. He was born as Raúl González Blanco and grew up to become nothing less than a legend. He is indeed a symbol.
Firstly, a brief introduction for a man who needs no introduction. Born 27 June 1977 in Madrid, Raúl began his footballing career with San Cristóbal in 1987, a small club in the Marconi colony of San Cristóbal de los Ángeles, a modest district of Madrid. His father Pedro was a staunch supporter of Atletico Madrid and Raúl joined Atletico after three years in 1990. But that wasn’t where his destiny lay. He joined Real Madrid C in the 1994-95 season and made it to the first team in the same year at a tender age of 17 under Jorge Valdano and the rest is history.
The demise of the O.C.
Real Madrid’s Oranje County seems to be drying out. In the summer we sold three out of the six we had. Huntelaar moved to Milan after just 5 months in Madrid. Sneijder moved to the other Milan, Inter Milan as they call it and Robben was transferred to Bayern both against their will. We are now left with R.R.Drenthe, Rutegrus van Nistelrooy and Rafael van der Vaart (and Sylvie of course). But for how long?
By the looks of it we might be losing at least two of them if not all come January. The first casualty is likely to be the young and energetic (but kind of useless) Royston Drenthe. Rumor has it that Real are looking for reinforcements for the left back positions which is currently being occupied by Marcelo and Arbeloa. Juan Manuel Vargas of Fiorentina is one of the main contenders. Buying Vargas or any other defender would only mean selling Drenthe. Marcelo is proving to be useful further down the left wing with his attacking prowess improving day by day. So that makes it one more Dutch bloke down. Or another buy-out-clause??
The second casualty is likely to be Ruud van Nistelrooy. The player has paved the way for a return to the Premier League by admitting that he will leave Real Madrid if he does not play for the Spanish club between now and the January transfer window. The striker believes that he has to get minutes if he is to claim a place in the Holland squad for the World Cup.
I want to play. I still haven’t spoken to Manuel Pellegrini because I’m still recovering but when I am ready I will speak to him. If I do not get minutes, that will give me a reason to leave in January.
My intention is to play at the World Cup with Holland. If I do not play, that will be impossible because I need to be able to prove that I can still play at the level I did a few months ago. That said, right now I do not have any club.
But it wasn’t long before that he said that he is confident that he can recapture his best form for Real Madrid after finally shaking off his fitness problems.
With a buy-back clause on Alvaro Negredo hanging in the background and with Higuain, Benzema and Ronaldo for competition it is highly unlikely that he will remain in Real for long.The question is whether he will leave in January or leave a day before his 34th birthday when his contract expires. Only time can answer.
Tottenham Hotspur are reported to have shown an interest in the 33-year-old, who scored 95 goals in 150 appearances for United before joining Real in 2006 where has scored 46 in 68.
Was the slump caused by managerial errors?
It all began in Andalusia when we dropped points for the first time this season by losing to Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán two goals to one. But we didn’t realize that it was just a warning shot and the bigger calamity was yet to come. The following weekend was a win against Valladolid at home despite a really poor defensive performance thanks to a brace from Raúl and a wonderful goal from a tired Higuaín who had just returned after helping Argentina qualify for South Africa 2010.
Three days later came the first major blow. AC Milan came into the Santiago Bernabéu as underdogs hoping for a narrow defeat instead of a battering of a lifetime. Real lost Higuaín minutes before kick-off through an ankle injury that would rule him out for atleast a week. Despite that loss Real started the match well, clearly overwhelming a really poor Milan side and deservedly got themselves a goal after a horrendous error by the experienced but comical Nelson Dida. We even had a genuine penalty appeal turned down. But it was to be a tale of two halves. The second half saw Andrea Pirlo drill a goal past Iker Casillas out of no where and that was to be the starting of a major collapse. Pato got them ahead after an amateur error coming from Iker Casillas of all people. Drenthe came on for Granero to equalise but towards the wee hours of the game, despite a genuine Thiago Silva goal was disallowed, Milan scored the winner through Pato again after some schoolboy defending particularly from Marcelo. The game ended 3-2 in favor of Milan with Real still clinging on to the top of the table thanks to the goals they scored in their previous two Champions League games.
The following weekend was the second blow – a trip to Sporting Gijón. It took Real Madrid one half of the game to realise that the opponents weren’t AC Milan but Sporting Gijón as the hosts clearly played the better football throughout the first 45 minutes. The second half was a complete contrast. Real dominated the game as they should have but Juan Pablo, Sporting’s custodian, and the referee, who disallowed Raúl’s seemingly genuine strike, were not to allow them to score which was the only way they could have got three points out of the game. The game remained 0-0.
And then came the final sucker punch. Real traveled crosstown to the Santo Domingo stadium to face minnows Alcorcón in the first leg of the Copa del Rey last 32 match to face the most humiliating defeat in the history of the club. Madrid did not even have the excuse of having put out a starting XI made up of youth-teamers. Although Iker Casillas was replaced in goal by Jerzy Dudek, Cristiano Ronaldo was injured and Kaká and Xabi Alonso were left out, there was a place in the side for the club’s other galáctico, the €35m striker Karim Benzema. He was joined by the captain Raúl, plus Raúl Albiol, Guti and Rafael van der Vaart. Not one youth team player was included as Madrid travelled to the Municipal de Santo Domingo stadium just south of the capital, where temporary seating had raised the capacity from 3,000 to 4,000.
Alcorcón had fired three warnings in the opening three minutes alone and were 3-0 up before half-time, thanks to goals from Borja Pérez and Ernesto Gómez and an own goal from Alvaro Arbeloa. It was 4-0 eight minutes into the second half and Madrid were grateful the scoreline was not even more embarrassing: the home side hit the post and wasted a series of chances, while Dudek was Madrid’s outstanding performer.
But is all this because of managerial errors?
Why does Real Madrid need someone like Wesley Sneijder?
The difference between good teams and great teams, more often than less, are such players.
The answer to the question raised here is quite simple. Every successful team in the past has had such a player – a mid-field player with a lot of potential to be creative, productive and stable and with the capability to score goals from set-pieces or from distance. The most recent example would be that of Xavi Hernández and his influence on the Barcelona of last season which won all the competitions that it participated in playing a total of 54 games – only Daniel Alves, Barça’s only Right-Back, played as many games as he did – and scoring 10 times in the process. If such a complete team as that of ‘Dream Team’ Barcelona of last season relies on such a player so much, it must be pretty obvious as to how important such a player is to a great side. Xavi played a very similar role for Spain in Euro 2008 which La Furia Roja won and was even nominated as the tournament’s best player. Enough said already, there are several more examples like that of Paul Scholes (for Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (for Liverpool), Frank Lampard (for Chelsea), Andrea Pirlo (for AC Milan) and even players like Deco (during his stint at Porto) who have brought more success than failure to their respective teams by playing the all important role in center of the mid-field.
It would be fair to say that the difference between good teams and great teams, more often than less, are such players. Real Madrid themselves proved it for a fact last season through a few dismal performances when they lost all their innovative central midfield players through either an injury lay-off or by a poor coaching decision, think Rafael van der Vaart, or because of a player-coach quarrel, think José María Gutiérrez Hernández ‘Guti’. There was no one to create opportunities for the strikers and hence had the obligation to rely on the penetrative dribbling skills of Arjen Robben and even on the ability of a certain Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín to create goals out of almost nothing. But it is not something that works against every single team and every single time, is it? It worked pretty well against the bottom 14 teams in La Liga and even got the necessary three points, only at home though, against the likes of Atlético Madrid, Villareal and Valencia. But it was not to be the case against the only team to be placed above the Merengues last season – the mighty Catalonians – who creamed past Real in Madrid handing them a humiliating 6-2 win after which it really did not matter whether Real had the creative mind in mid-field or not. It was a lesson well learnt. It called for reinforcements.
Reinforcements have now arrived. Presidential elect Florentino Perez came in and has changed almost the entire squad, splashing in astronomical sums, bringing in stars, Galacticos as the press would call it, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso from a few of the best teams in Europe. He has also brought in a few other bright prospects like Esteban Granero, Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa. This surely brings in a lot of creativity – it is fair to say so because all the major signings are established stars of football – but is there is a subtle difference between creativity on other parts of the field and creativity in mid-field. Surely the likes of Xabi Alonso and Granero do bring in the creativity in mid-field along with already existing players like Guti. And it is an undeniable fact that Guti, Granero and Sneijder can be put in the same basket as the other creative mid-fielders of this world. But does that make Sneijder dispensable?
Just another Madridista
Hala Madrid 
Junta speak