New Maradona v New Pele- A Tale of Two Talents

Posted by: Suresh, India.

Since the time these two greats graced the footballing arena, the footballing crowd has been spoiled for quality. Before and along with these two south American talents were many great footballers like Alfred De Stefano, Puskas, Johan Cruff, Franz Beckenbauer,Michel Platini, Eusebio, Gerd Muller, Bobby Carlton and etc; however no one were ever spoken about in the same vein as these two were. Even though the destiny of greatness united these two (in a way), they were distinctly separated by their temperament. Pele was always considered a perfect professional & a perfect role model because of his on field and off field behavior; however Diego was always the most mercurial player surrounded with controversy and bad press linked to his behavior and personal problems.

Over the years, impostors of many shapes and sizes from Argentina and Brazil have been compared to these two greats and none of them were able to fill up the vacuum left by these two in the hearts of football lovers. However off late, the emergence of Messi and Robinho has triggered the talk of the New Maradona and the New Pele again. In many ways Robinho and Messi share there masters’ class, vision and prodigious talent, but this is where the similarities end.

Since the time Messi started playing with Barca’s first team, he has lived up to all the comparisons to the Argentinean legend. In fact, Messi has gone from strength to strength and even drawn comparison from no other than Maradona himself, but having said, that Messi reminds us of Maradona in all aspects except his temperament, where surprisingly he reminds us of Pele and not Maradona. Messi's ascend to the top has been built on strong foundation with the right mix of commitment, maturity, hard work and professionalism. Many clubs have tried to lure him away from Barcelona, however Messi's commitment to the club, has made the club's decision easy and simple. It was not a surprise to most people, when Messi performed the same miracles as his predecessor, scoring goals that Maradona did in a similar fashion. Consequently, it won't be a surprise if Messi surpasses Maradona’s talents with some of his own and sets examples for future Messis to follow.

On the contrary Robinho with his mercurial talent has set the world stage on fire, and of late it is not because of football that he is in the news. He showed glimpses of his talent when he was playing in Santos and was tipped for bigger things when he signed for Real Madrid, however surprisingly he does not have the temperament of his master, but surprisingly that of Maradona. During his three years stint for Los Blancos he promised but failed to deliver when it came to talent on the pitch. He was so unprofessional that he drew comments from the sporting director of the club who had complained about Robinho smelling of booze in the dressing room. To add to his expanding list of unprofessional acts, his transfer saga drew a lot of criticism from even the unexpected quarters, with Pele condoning his move to Manchester (City). It's difficult not to be tempted with big money in the offing, however considering the fact that Robinho's desire was to be the best in the world, it would have been a easy choice to make. It would have been the right choice if he had chose to on at Real Madrid and continue in his quest to achieve greatness. And the Bernabeu faithful absolutely loved and adored Robinho. Instead Robinho chose not to confront the problems that he was facing and decided to be the big fish in the small pond by accepting a backdoor exit move to Manchester City. He allowed his lust for money to kill his footballing soul. From a very promising career and possible greatness, Robinho is now all set to confront his worst fear, with demons of relegation lurking in the shadows. His temperament, has time and time again, put his master to shame and has pushed Pele to the extent of recommending professional counseling for his off field behavior.

It is almost certain that Messi will perform just to the expectations, but it would be foolish to write Robinho off because he still has a long career ahead of him. But it would hardly be a surprise for most, if Robinho turns out to be a gaffer and does nothing to fulfill his potential. We will wait for the future to answer this question.

Debate: The Ball Winner or The Goal Scorer?

Posted by: Ashay K, India

Now that UEFA.com has confirmed that Real Madrid has withdrawn the appeal filed with CAS, it’s only logical to think over who we are to nominate for the UEFA Champions League. The two available contenders are Lassan Diarra and Jaan Klass Huntelaar. So let us analyze their performances so far, compare their skillsets to the team requirements and decide on whom we need to take to the UCL.

Lassana Diarra

This springy kid from Portsmouth has come a long way by making it into Real Madrid, competing with the likes of Guti, Gago and Sneijder to be top dog. While most sports critics wrote him off as a “would be bench warmer” when Real Madrid sought his services, citing his inability to make it in clubs of a “big stature” like Chelsea and Arsenal, the defensive midfielder quickly made sure that he won over Juande Ramos and a place in the starting XI by his performances on the training ground, and later won over the crowd by his performances on the pitch.
Lassana Diarra or Lass as his jersey reads (to avoid confusion with his senior namesake in the team) has fit in like a glove, so much so that he’s been drawing comparisons with the great Claude Makelele. His work rate is unquestionable. He lasts the entire 90 minutes with still enough strength left in him to still run that extra mile, he is all over the park winning the ball, making quality tackles and breaking up the opposition’s play. However, the defensive aspect aside, he’s also a good playmaker. His sense of positioning and vision is what adds another dimension to him as a player. He makes sure that he is always well positioned to receive a pass and distribute it around the park. He has good vision to start off counter attacks and build up attacks from open play. He showed the crowd yet another aspect to his game with an inch perfect loopy lob to Raul who glanced the header to far post, the only goal which determined the final result in the game against Numancia last weekend.
This is what Real Madrid has to say about Lass’ first 172 minutes on pitch:
In 172 minutes on the pitch, Lass has recovered 18 balls (nine in each match) for an average of one every 9.53 minutes. In that same amount of time, he has 31 clearances, one every 5.53 minutes, and has proven to be a bastion in defense. On the offensive side, Lass has successfully completed 77 of 87 passes and has opened the game up along the flanks 15 times in his 16 attempts.

Jaan Klass Huntelaar

Though Huntelaar hasn’t figured as a regular starter for Real Madrid (at least not yet), the prolific striker has come up through the youth ranks of that academy of thoroughbred goal scorers, PSV Eindhoven, which has gifted the footballing world with amazing talents like Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Luiz Nazario Ronaldo (R9). He has maintained an average of 20 goals per season in the Eredivisie, which is no small feat by any means. Huntelaar is a classic example of the old definition of a “number 9”. The proverbial “fox in the box”, Huntelaar is gifted with impeccable sense of positioning, a predator’s instinct in the box and the ability to play and shoot with both feet. He is also good aerially, which is generally what seperates good strikers from the great.
Real Madrid signed Huntelaar when he was recuperating from an injury, probably his first long term injury in his distinguished career. Consequently, he has shown some good touches since his debut at Real Madrid, but has largely failed to impress. The non-performance could be attributed to being rusty after injury, but if he has to match the standards set by his dutch counterparts viz. Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben, he still has a long way to go.

Crux of the Problem

So, on one hand we have a defensive midfielder who’s already settled at Real Madrid and on the other hand we have a prolific goal scorer, who needs that 1st goal to get his confidence back and settle down into the squad. And what better stage to showcase one’s talents than Europe? But, we can take only of these two to the Champions League. So who should that one player be?
Real Madrid, as a team right now, is a wounded lion. We have one goal scorer and one defensive midfielder who would miss the entire season and we’ve signed another goal scorer and a defensive midfielder to replace them, not aware that under UEFA rules, only one of them can be registered in the competition. To add to it, we are struggling to achieve a semblance of decency in the league, while we are taking European giants like Liverpool head-on in the UCL. A wrong decision right now could hurt us badly in future. If one takes a look at our squad, they’ll realize that though we have a host of midfielders as opposed to just three strikers, we actually have only one player capable of playing that crucial defensive midfielder player role; and that’s Gago. Apart from Gago, we do have J. Garcia, but he’s simply not cut for Europe, since he lacks the quality. In all other positions, we have a host of attack minded players, but then again, the strikers department is quite depleted with the absence of Ruud Van. Raul is a great striker and Higuain is the top scorer for us this season, but in a season fraught with injuries for us, we should ask ourselves the question; What if one of them gets injured? The only other option is Javier Saviola, who hasn’t started more than 2 matches for us this season and scored just 1 goal. Is that the guy we would like to come on for us against Liverpool?
Having said all this, it is quite clear that there is a trade-off required. We have to sacrifice some aspect of our game; either the defensive aspect by taking Huntelaar to UCL or the attacking aspect, by taking Lass to UCL.

Synopsis

Personally, I feel we would be better off by taking Lass to the UCL. Lass has already settled down at Real Madrid. He is at home with our playing style and Gago , the fine player that he is, cannot be expected to last the entire UCL without picking up a tiny niggle here and there. With Gago gone, we cannot afford to ignore the defensive midfielder role and we’ve learnt our lesson the hard way in the past. On the other hand, even if we lose one of our strikers to injury, we do have another bonafide striker (however out of form) to come on from the bench. With Gago gone, we don’t have any other player who can take up the mantle of a defensive midfielder.
Another aspect to my personal viewpoint is our playing style. Currently we rely more on counter attacks and playmaking from the midfield rather than on individual talents and footwork from the forwards. Our forwards rely heavily on the feed coming in from the midfield and finish off the chances that come their way. In a setup like this, generally there is a less chance of strikers picking up injuries. The midfield has to bear the entire brunt. So a trade-off where we see Huntelaar resting for UCL is what we should go for, in my opinion. This would mean that Huntelaar starts getting more starts in the league and builds up his confidence levels, while Raul / Higuain is rested on some occasions to be fresh for the UCL ties.

However, that is just my viewpoint. What really happens remains to be seen. Until then, I would like your viewpoint about this.

Official: Real Madrid withdraw appeal filed with CAS

Posted by: Ashay K, India
Credits: UEFA's official website.

You can also view the article here.

UEFA has issued the following statement on Tuesday concerning the withdrawal of an appeal by Real Madrid CF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"UEFA President, Michel Platini, last Thursday met the new President of Real Madrid CF, Vicente Boluda, at the House of European Football in Nyon, in particular to discuss the appeal filed by Real Madrid CF with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision of UEFA's Appeal Body of 13 January 2009, regarding the requested registration of the two players Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra for the final (knockout) phase of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League.

During the meeting, both UEFA and Real Madrid CF were able to explain their own positions regarding the matter, in a spirit of open and sincere communication and with reciprocal respect.
Following the meeting, and upon the invitation of the UEFA President to reconsider their position, Real Madrid CF have decided to withdraw the appeal filed with CAS and to accept the decision of UEFA of 13 January 2009. Thus, Real Madrid CF will inform the UEFA administration, within the prescribed deadline, which of the two players, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar or Lassana Diarra, they would like to register on the A list for the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League first knockout round matches onwards.

The UEFA President was very appreciative of the manner and the style in which Real Madrid CF developed the discussions of last Thursday and commented: 'This does not come as a surprise to me. Real Madrid CF are one of the most successful teams in European football, the all-time record-holder of titles in the UEFA Champions League and have a great tradition.'

The UEFA President concluded by stating that the issues raised by Real Madrid CF 'cannot have any influence on the current UEFA Champions League season, but they were raised in good faith and are a good opportunity to discuss within the competent UEFA bodies the question of whether article 17.18 of the current UEFA Champions League regulations may need to be amended for the future seasons.'

©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.

Jonarda 20: Real Madrid 1 - 0 Deportivo Coruna (Match Review)

Posted by: Paulo Martin, Spain



Real Madrid's Raul Gonzalez, centre, dribbles the ball through the Deportivo la Coruna defence during their Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday Jan. 25, 2009.


5 wins in a row !

So we have made it 5 wins in a row now since playing Barcelona we have won 15 points ! And again we have regained our defensive strength maintaining yet another clean sheet.

Jonarda 20. Final score: Real Madrid 1 - 0 Deportivo la Coruña. A good win which now distances us from the likes of Sevilla & Valencia, both of whom failed to win this weekend making our second place spot a little safer. The first half had glimpses of vintage Real Madrid football with the team maintaining possession and attempting to score as quickly as possible. The team came out of the dressing room, firing on all cylinders and was a tad unlucky not to have scored early on in the game. The game perhaps didn't have as many chances as expected, especially from our point of view but still it was a much deserved win.

The New Makelele

The double pivot central midfield duo of Lass and Gago again dominated the play in the center of the park, though personally I feel it isn't needed during home games. Lass had an exceptional game; the lad does everything correctly, and makes things look easy which is what a quality defensive midfielder should do. I think at last we have found a player who could fill the legendary Makelele`s boots. Not only was he superb in destroying Depor`s attempts at creating football but he also isn't shy with the ball, making some quality passes and spreading the ball about nicely.

With around 40 minutes into the first half, game resumed from a corner kick awarded to Real Madrid. Lass latched on to a short corner pass from Sneijder on the left flank, and from the edge of the box, sent in a swirling, dipping cross which Raul glanced cleanly at the far post, past a stunned Munua. “1-0 to Real Madrid!” the commentators screamed, the Bernabeu erupted, but Raul didn’t kiss his wedding ring this time as expected. Instead he pointed at the Real Madrid crest, and then to Lassana and Sneijder; a gesture, which may well have been symbolic, for all we know.

We maintained possession and had numerous attacks in the first half and were very unlucky not to have scored a second with the referee and linesman denying Robben of his goal and being a little too benevolent with the yellow cards.
Higuain looked a little off today and wasn't his usual self but he always maintains his high level of commitment and excellent maneuverability. Robben was once again our best man; the Flying Dutchman looks simply unstoppable! He cleverly switched wings making it equally hard for Manuel Pablo and Filipe to stop him. He also had added help of an excellent S.Ramos who looks like his old self again bombing up and down the wing and sending in his trademark crosses.

Sleep, Sugar, Sleep

Everything that we did well in the first half, came undone in the second. Sneijder who was invisible all game (again!) was substituted for VDV who didn't offer anything to the game and yet again failed to prove himself. Drenthe came on for Raul, and was immediately booed by some sects of the fans, which is just shocking! It is appalling that the poor kid gets booed by the home crowd; this is going to do wonders for his confidence level. I know it was a small sector of the crowd who was booing (the same idiots who always do it viz. The Ultra Sur) but it was accentuated by the almost silent Bernabeu who seemed to have been hypnotized by the team’s poor display in the second half. Huntelaar hardly got a touch on the ball, but towards the dying seconds of the game, after yet another sublime run down the flank by Robben, he (Huntelaar) was unlucky not to have scored with a good save by Munua. Casillas again had to pull off one of his wonder saves to stop Lafita`s shot, but was almost surprised on another occasion, by a long range effort by Filipe which ricocheted of the crossbar into the stands. Apart from these two chances, Deportivo didn't really threaten us all game.

As i mentioned before a positive note to be derived from this match, is yet another clean sheet. Pepe, who didn't really have a great game, still maintained a dignified level of play all game, Cannavaro who looked much better tonight than in previous matches was commanding our defence and Heinze who failed to attack his wing and deliver a cross well enough most times, did maintain a high level of play at the back and looked very good to my surprise. All in all it certainly wasn't our best match but we maintained our winning streak which is really all that matters now, if we want to have a shot at a comeback further down the line.

We lost a more of possession and failed to capitalize on our chances towards the end, which gave Deportivo wings. Depor’s sole objective was to draw 0 - 0 and they came close to it, had it not been for Raul`s goal. I was thankful to Lotina for granting me the pleasure of watching the magnificent Juan Carlos Valeron in action for what may well be the last time. Valeron clearly maintains his elegance and breathtakingly precise passing ability but lacks the in the physical department.

Number 7, a Legend

Raul didn't really participate much in the game tonight, mainly due to not receiving many quality through balls (we may be missing Guti). But he scored his 305th goal in 501 matches in style and is now the leagues highest active goalscorer and is only 1 goal away from breaking the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano`s record.

Some sectors of the crowd were shocked when Juande Ramos brought in Drenthe to replace Raul. As Raul walked down to the bench, the crowd acknowledged his contribution and in that moment, it was quite evident that Real Madrid is Raul Madrid.

Debate: Ronaldo, Kaka or Ribery?

Posted by: Rahul, India.

We're exactly half-way through the season. And 19 games on, it is clear even to a blind man who's going to win the Liga this season, barring the Catalans push the infamous self-destruct button (fingers crossed!). While Barcelona have been demolishing everyone in sight, Real Madrid have been scrappy and peeled off results in recent weeks. And though the hard-fought recent results are heartening, the quality of our game continues to be poor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not demanding aesthetically pleasing football immediately from a manager roped in mid-season. But let's face it, since the departure of Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo and co, i.e., the wicked Galacticos, our play has never quite been eye-candy. Slick movements and passing are a rarity, one touch moves are non-existent and outrageous goals are scored not more than twice a season. The obvious question thus arises. Should we resort back to a few new Galacticos? The answer, I'm afraid, is yes.

The first three and a half years of the Galacticos era were not only successful but very pleasing to the eye as well and a revisit to those years can only bring contented smiles on the faces of most Madridistas. And even though in the latter years it went on to become hugely disastrous, the style of play never quite reached the nadir of our game today. I think the solution is a trade-off. The right mix of superstars and youth, of proven talent and potential kids, of stylish wizards and hard-workers. And I think we've learnt from past mistakes of not flooding the team with superstars and their egos at the risk of losing genuine talent and players with a sincere work ethic.

As of now, one look at our squad is enough to know that not only is it a decent one, but also a big one. But the point is we desperately need quality here, and not quantity. We need just ONE player, and not a host of them. Our embattled Sporting Director, Pedja Mijatovic made a rare sensible statement during last summer's transfer window when he said, "At the moment, one great player is much better for us than three good ones". We need just that one magical player who can turn things around single-handedly when they aren't going well. As of now, I can't think of any single player in our squad who can do that, who has that magic. Admittedly, Robben does. He's started doing that the past few weeks. But who knows where the next injury is lurking? There's no doubt we need one of those "wizard" signings; someone who can actually scare defenders the night before the match itself. It's high time we got someone like that once again at the Bernabeu.



So who should that ONE great signing be? I can only think of two genuine current greats who Real actually have a chance and a possibility to sign and yes, they are Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka (Messi is out of question for obvious reasons). Now Ronaldo definitely makes more sense, seeing as our squad has only one proper winger, and that too an injury-prone one. Sure, Ronaldo is not all that blessed in the grey area and his ego seems to inflate with every goal he scores. But that can easily be overlooked and his talent definitely overshadows the tantrums. Not only does Ronaldo offer wing-play and good crosses but he also comes up with a chunkful of goals (though I still believe his last season's tally was a one-off). He'd offer that flair and the bag of tricks that's missing right now. He's still relatively young. I believe he can still improve further. And plus he's two-footed. Though it might seem a minor point, it's essential for every great winger to have two feet, and most whos-who of football have always maintained this. Cristiano Ronaldo would be a near perfect signing.

However I'm not that optimistic of seeing Ronaldo donning the famed white, at least not as long as Fergusson is around. Even if we have the man with the magic wand around (as far as getting big name players go), a certain Senor F.Perez, I'm not too sure of us landing Ronaldo. In spite of all the recent talk of him changing his brand to CR9 and all that, I remain doubtful. So, we're back to square one, with no one capable of turning on the style consistently.



So only then, should we go for Kaka. A lot of fans are apprehensive about signing him, and rightfully so. Our central midfiled, at the moment, is cluttered with too many hopefuls. The players in queue for the central midfield position are Diarra, Diarra, Gago, Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Guti, Parejo and De La Red. Now let's look at this rationally. Both the Diarras and Gago are vying for the defensive midfield position and I agree three players for just one position is a lot, but none of them plays the role we can expect Kaka to perform. Van Der Vaart has simply failed to impress this season and many have expressed doubts that he can turn it around. Most Madridistas would be glad if he did, but I just don't see that happening. Guti is way too inconsistent and depending on him to do that prime role of playmaking, every week on a consistent basis is just impossible. It's an uncomfortable thought having him as our main source of moves for an important Champions League 2nd leg game, for example. He doesn't turn up the heat in most big games. But he'd be very effective coming fresh off the bench in say the 60th minute. As for De La Red, neither does he play in Kaka's position, nor does he possess Kaka's talents. We're not even sure he'll ever play again, sadly. Parejo is still young and he'll learn gradually. In fact, he'd tremendously benefit from having Kaka around.

The way I see it, Kaka could potentially fit in easily. Selling Van Der Vaart and pushing Guti to the bench should make way for him. The midfield could be (L/M)Diarra, Sneijder, Kaka, Robben. Add Guti, Gago and Parejo on the bench and that does look really good. Hell, it might even look like the stuff of dreams. People might argue that signing Ribery makes more sense, given that a winger is the need of the hour. But if I had to choose between Kaka and Ribery, I'd still go with the Brazilian. It's just very hard to turn down a player with the ridiculously abundant talent and complete passing range and consistency that Kaka possesses. Ribery, for all the talent that he has, is still no Kaka. I don't believe he's the "main star" that we're looking for here.

Kakaphony - A War of Tabloids

Posted by-Shibarjun Ghosh,India

Kaka almost had one foot in Manchester, Now he has two in Milan…with a head in Madrid", AS wrote in its article regarding Kaka's much lampooned and finally failed transfer speculations . Come to think of it, it makes quite a good line. Ever since the big money transfer of Kaka to Manchester City broke down the cacophony regarding his future has already started. The rumour mill has been working overtime and now there are speculations and predictions galore. Predictably, the Madrid based (or should I say Madrid biased) daily have seem to taken the upper hand on this one keeping well in mind that their cross town rivals took the cake, pie and cherry in the Ronaldo saga that enfolded in the summer of last year. AS chipped in with trivias here and there, but its a known fact that it was MARCA that was running the "Cristiano Ronaldo Show".

But who are these guys in AS??? Well they are very much like u and me; Madrid over-enthusiasts, but also a bit more imaginative. AS is so pumped up and so over excited about the fact that they have got the best seller plot of the month they don't care if the facts they are stating are true or not; like stating the fact that that Kaka's contract ends in 2011 instead of 2013, which in fact is the case.

So much so is their verve about the new scoop that they have not hesitated taking digs at the recently crowned FIFA player of the year Ronaldo (who of course was the main protagonist of the summer blockbuster scripted by Marca) and have also gone on the extent of saying that "Ronaldo needs a team to shine whereas Kaka makes a team shine", not exactly true by my diagnosis. Ronaldo has scored 42 goals last season and has won the Double with Man Utd, leading the charge from the front, enough for Real Madrid to go on a wild goose chase with the a possiblity of smashing transfer records left right and centre. As for Kaka, no doubt he is a great player, probably one of the greatest to have graced the footballing world of late, but playing in the uefa cup certainly is not my definition of "shining".

However AS is taking no chance; they are doing everything to juice it up, like putting words in people's mouth, citing "undisclosed inside sources" and also introducing Barcelona as the new "twist in the tale". People like Emerson with their few predictions and on-the-record antics have got more media coverage than they have managed in the whole of this season with their onfield activities. Suddenly everyone wants to be part of this blockbuster and have been contributing in with their share of lip service. And Emerson has apparently also gone to the extent that not only Kaka, but even Pato would be joining Madrid in the near future. And in this saga fraught with contradictions, Emerson has again gone on record denying that he made any such claims!

Now AS certainly doesn't want to leave anything to chance this time. Once bitten, twice shy, they have learnt from their mistakes and have not forgotten the lesson they learnt the last summer when Marca stole all the limelight with the Ronaldo saga and AS was relegated to playing second fiddle in the war of the tabloids. However, what if all these reports are really true? I would be shouting “Vamos!” at the top of my voice but for the time being it’s not about Kaka, Milan, Madrid or City because the real action is in the tabloid columns and not anywhere else. It’s 2009 and the score is Marca 0-1 AS.

As of now, I am waiting for a fitting reply from Marca with the hope that they can come up with an equally engrossing and exciting plot where there is no shortage of drama, emotions, betrayal, loyalty and lots of money (like this one). There are a lot of protagonists up for the taking. Benzema, Villa, Walcott, Ibrahimovic or may be Ronaldo once more, to name a few. Until then guys, grab your popcorn and enjoy the bytes; this show is not over as yet, and another blockbuster’s already blooming!...hope its just AS good.