A “7EGENDARY” Comeback

Posted by: Ashay K, India.

Real Madrid is a brand name. But in this team, every player is a brand name in his own right. The 06-07 season saw the team branded quite differently from the usual Los Blancos, Los Galacticos to “Capello’s Boys”. Capello symbolizes an abstract for the Madrid faithful (players, fans and management) rather than a person. Capello is determination, grit, pride, the “never say die” attitude for a madridista.

“Jonarda 33: Sevilla – Real Madrid” saw yet another chapter written into the scripted comeback that only Real Madrid with their “Capello” can orchestrate.

Rewind the clock to December 13, 2008. Juande Ramos had landed in Madrid 48 hours before and proclaimed that the back 4 of Real Madrid (S. Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Heinze) – until then the leakiest defence in La Liga – could grace any top team in the world and was one of the best. Pretty strong claim, if one considers the last season, but not this one. Real Madrid played one of most defensive games in their entire career as a professional football club to stem the Barca juggernaut. And they almost succeeded. Drenthe spurned a one-on-one chance with Valdes, Casills wared off an Etoo penalty kick at the other end and the goal, when it came in the 81st minute, came from a corner (that ever reliant scrappiest source of goals). Real Madrid lost 0-2 to Barcelona at the Camp Nou and the point gap widened to 12 points, but it silenced those who were expecting a manita. A team which was going to be doubtful to make it to the Champions League next term went down fighting like lions, fighting for pride. There were flashes of Capello in that match; but not enough Capello. We declared the next day that we would fight for the league and win it. Everyone in Barcelona had a patronizing grin on their face and the so called football pundits had the disposition towards Madrid which a father has towards an errant child.

Fast forward the clock to Present Day. Real Madrid has been unbeaten on the trot since that fateful encounter with Barca. We have won 17 out of the last 18 matches. We have one of the meanest defence in the league since the turn of the new year but our play lacks the necessary eye candy element, which is still fine given that there are no extra points for attractive football There’s enough of Capello in our squad though and we’ve clawed our way back from a 12 point deficit to just 4 after being virtually written out of contention for the league; which all brings us down to the last concluded match.

Barcelona had a lucky draw against a resurgent Valencia at the Mestalla on the previous day and got 1 point out of an encounter that was destined to hand them none. This was the chance for Madrid to shorten the now 7 point gap to 4, provided they won against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan; a venue where they hadn’t won for the past 6 years. Unlikely? Very Much. But the team, especially El Capitan had other ideas.

Juande-Dollars and Judas Chants

The Andulasian crowd greeted Real Madrid on the back of a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona with dollar bills having Juande Ramos’ mugshot on them and chants of “Judas” directed at Juande Ramos and Sergio Ramos. Ironically, it was Juande Ramos who led Sevilla from being a mediocre mid-table club to European glory before departing for his disaster of a season with Tottenham Spurs. The Andulasians seemd to echo a distinct anti-madrid feeling by whistling at the two Ramoses, though they dint seem to take any offence to Dani Alves, who had departed for exactly the same reason as the former two did, but to Barcelona.

Referee Alfonso Burull (the awarder of the infamous decisions in Madrid’s favor against Osasuna) kicked off the match in front of a 45,000 attendance and Sevilla immediately hit top gear. Sevilla had the lion’s share of possession in the opening 10 minutes. Adriano, Renato, Kanoute, Perotti, Jesus Navas dominated the midfield and kept the ball moving around the park through Romaric and Duscher. Quite predictably, Sevilla had all the initial chances. Romaric and Renato blasted in early chances which were saved by San Iker. Sevilla kept up the pressure with Madrid really struggling to string passes together. Sergio Ramos, in particular was having a very poor game (by his own high standards) and soon, Perotti wrong footed Ramos and unleashed a beautiful cross. Torres was caught napping as Renato nodded a free header into the back of the net. Sevilla were one goal up in 15 minutes and showed no chances of relenting as Kanoute sprayed an easy effort wide of the goal. Barely a minute later, Perotti broke free of the offside trap and bounded down the park. But his left-footed shot was tame and easily parried away by Casillas.

As the time wore on and the initial exuberance faded, Madrid slowly started getting into the match. Marcelo had a half hearted shot which was well wide of the goal. Higuain slowly started getting into the groove and had two back to back chances, one which Palop parried and the other which could only make the side netting at the near post. The match soon disintegrated into a midfield tussle with destroyers taking precedence. Lass was having yet another of his best games as he ran all over the park, working tirelessly to cut down openings and nip attacks in the bud. At the other end Duscher received a yellow card for a bad foul on Guti and nothing came out the ensuing free kick. The ball continued to bob around in the air as the Madrid defenders started tracking back after the non-productive free kick. All of a sudden it landed at Ramos’ feet who backheeled it to a back tracking Metzelder. Metzelder beat Navarro to the ball and accelerated down towards the end of the pitch before unleashing a dangerous, low cross into the middle of the box. All of a sudden, Raul beat Prieto to the ball and flicked it away into the far post from 3 yards out, past an onrushing Palop.


The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan went silent just as the clock read 45 minutes and the scoreboard read 1-1. Real Madrid was back into the game. The stage was set for the next 45 minutes, which promised to be much more entertaining than the first.

“Raul” Madrid

As soon as the teams came out of the tunnel, each had shots at either end. Marcelo had a brilliant run into the box and he laid off the ball for Higuain to finish it, but the in-form striker’s 1st time shot with his left foot (and incidentally the same foot which helped Madrid win against Getafe) let him down as the ball went harmlessly wide. On the other end, Jesus Navas drilled a low, power strike to the bottom right corner which Casillas spilled initially but gathered later before Kanoute latched on to it.

Sixty-three minutes into the game, Higuain combined with Torres who sent in a tame cross into the box which took a deflection off Escude. Almost against the direction of play, Raul came in from behind Prieto and volleyed the ball into the far post at his right. Palop was absolutely clueless and so was Prieto. It was one of those touches which only Raul can manage. Suddenly Real Madrid was leading 2-1 and the Pizjuan went silent once more. Only 3 minutes later, Palop made a criminal error in spilling Higuain’s low cross. Raul, on the prowl, darted forward and guided the ball into an empty net. Its times like these which make one to never count Raul out of the game. El Siete took just 3 chances to score only his third hat-trick in La Liga, and it was more to do with the fact that Sevilla had got their tactics horribly wrong. They had labeled Raul as a “has been” and concentrated on marking Higuain out of the game. But this strong reminder from El Capitan would always serve the Andulasians to remember that one never under estimates Raul.

The game dragged on with Madrid enjoying more possession, and substitutions happening at regular intervals. Almost at the death, as the clock struck 82 minutes, Jesus Navas sent in a tempting cross and Ramos completely miscued it to allow Diego Capel to strike it home at the near post. The Pizjuan came back to life as Sevilla announced that they would not go without a fight. Madrid then closed up shop and chose to defend and hit on counters. Sevilla could not penetrate Real Madrid and though they tried their best, their attack simply lacked enough conviction. In injury time, Madrid made a slick counter attacking move which saw Huntelaar (on for Raul) and Marcelo up front with two defenders to beat. Huntelaar drew away one defender and sent in a pass to the surging Marcelo who went one-on-one with Palop. 1..2..3 fakes and still Palop dint go down; but Marcelo having had enough of the little game slot the ball past Palop beautifully for the 4th goal and final nail in the coffin for Sevilla.

Madridistas world round were celebrating the further reduction in the point deficit. Things, as they stand now, Real Madrid are 4 points behind leaders Barcelona with El Clasico coming up next week. Should Real go on to win the Clasico, the gap would close down to 1 point; a very realistic chance there on of winning the league. The way Barcelona is playing, no one expects Madrid to win against them. But in Madrid, they believe in miracles. An abundance of Capello is what drives this miracle team. At Madrid they have a right to dream…

Of Pandemonium,Pain,Panenka and Pipita

Posted by Shibarjun Ghosh, India




Some moments are special. Special enough to write about them even if it is 4 in the morning and you have work to attend to early next day. Jornada 32: Real Madrid Vs Getafe was surely one such match. “Game of Three Thirds” as Terry Gibson stated. It certainly was one... Like Marc Anthony’s rendition in the motion picture “The Mask of Zorro” …



”heroes rise, heroes fall and they rise again with it all…”



The game tonight followed a somewhat similar note.Just as an autobiographical synopsis of any great legend.


1.The Rise(min 0 to min 9)-The first of the three thirds.The shortest of the three. Spanned for little more than 9 minutes. Real Madrid pushed along the wings through Higuain and van der Vaart. The crowd was on a high and the audience experienced some crisp passing, attaking football. Surging runs, floating crosses and tiki taka at its best The party came to a grinding halt when old cantera boys Granero and Soldado combined to silence the bernabeu crowd. Against the run of play Granero collected a pass on the right wing and crossed it to Soldado who suddenly found himself in free space enough to build a parking lot, made no mistake and headed it past a hapless Iker Casillas. Certainly making amends for the miss he has had barely 6 minutes ago and making a statement to the sporting director for a year that he wasted in oblivion.



2.The Fall(min10 to min84)- Ceratinly not as beautiful as the American “Fall” if u are a madrisimo. The 74mins were long. The only silver lining was the Higuain’s goal in the injury time of the first half. The attacking front seemed to have been cut off from the rest of the squad. There was very little activity around Getafe’s goal. An out of touch Huntelaar, an out of position van der Vaart, a confused Guti and an invisible Raul seemed late for the prom night. Lass’s presence was deeply felt as Guti and Gago failed to provide a productive midfield pairing. The modest Getafe was taking the game to their more illustrious neighbours. Playing matadors in the bernabeu is not something that many clubs can afford to do ,but Getafe surely had come to spoil the party. Attacking along the flanks, they nipped any attack that came their way in the bud. Marcelo and Cannavaro seemed wanting against the darting runs of Granero and Gavilan .



Then came the Arjen Robben cameo,who by Juande Ramos’s own admission “has had a problem or two when he plays back to back matches”. 17 minutes, four long “Forrest Gump” runs later the “man of glass” was out. Canna followed shortly after and in came Drenthe and Javi Garcia and a slew of tactical blunders. Gago as centre half and Drenthe on the wings seemed to do precious little in their positions. Uche and Albin then did what seemed at the moment to be hammering in the final nail in the coffin of real madrid’s title ambitions. On a wild run on a counter attack Uche crossed on to Casquero whose header found Albin ,and the hit man from Uruguy did what he had already done twice in the season i.e fire the ball past Iker Casillas . Victor Munoz’s super sub had thrown the spanner to real madrid’s title ambitions and there was silence in the crowd and the only sound was that of crashing dreams. That was min 84.



“Picture abhi baki hain mere dost…(the film has not ended yet my friend…)” as the Bollywood thespians like to put it.





3.The Rise Again (min 85 to min 93)- He has attitude problem, he is any coaches’s nightmare, he is the bad boy of the media, he is past his prime, he is the prodigal son of the Bernabeu, he throws tantrums, make fiery comments and he score stunners from freekick when his team needs it the most…He is JOSE MARIA GUTI.



Min 86- Guti curled the ball from the edge of the box into the top left corner of Stojkovic’s goal. Two minutes is all it took to bring Madrid into the game. The silence of dejection suddenly changed to roars of jubiliation. “Stuff of genius”, “sheer brilliance”, “scintillating” .. the commentators can go on…but for us Madrisimos its was an important equalizer from one of our favourite sons and there was little time to waste on platitudes at this juncture of the game (and the league).Compliments can wait...we have a league to win.



Min 88- Pepe pushed Casquero in the box and then mistook him for the ball which made Pepe see red.(pun intended).



Min 89-Casquero took the kick himself with one eye on the morning newspaper headlines reading out his name in bold letters applauding him as Getafe’s hero who made a fool of the world’s best goalkeeper to give his team a most unlikely victory. The other eye on the ball and the goal seemed not enough. He took a penalty kick which would certainly put him on the tabloids but most probably in the “jokes” section. A weak spot kick which even a ten year old could stop was certainly not good enough to test San Iker.



Still score was 2-2. Time was ticking on.



Min (90+3)- Breaking in through the crowd Gonzalo Higuain shoots and it’s a GOOOAL. A thunderous left footer from the edge of the box went roaring into the top left corner of the Getafe goal. Jubilation turned to delirium and it blew the lid of the Bernabeu .

Real Madrid 3-2 Getafe.

Title chase continues

GAME ON.



Hala Madrid.

The pepper at the gates of dawn

Posted by A Spaniard in the works, Bangalore

Real have missed many tricks once again. It is that time of the season when a fan looks back and sees if the optimism and excitement at the start of the season was worth all the trouble. Time and again, we have fallen due to the same set of weaknesses and have ended up looking like a bland dish served cold. It is time that we admit our shortcomings and work towards spicing things up so that it leaves a taste in our imagination. Hence the weird title. I also hope that next season can be the start of a new beginning.

Us and Them
Football is like no other game in the world. It has an unparalleled worldwide audience due to an air of approachability. Most sports are very inward looking- i.e. they believe that people who have played the game at the highest level are only fit to be involved with it. For example, in cricket, some of the old timers (my uncles in my family) have a problem with, say, when someone like a Ravi Shastri has something to say about technique. They ridicule him for not having been a player worth his salt in his day and now having the nerve to talk about players who are much better than him. I must warn a reader that Ravi Shastri is just a placeholder in the previous sentence. It could apply to any pundit. Cricket is very inward looking and it is cultured that way. Many sports have such attitudes. In fact, cricket is finding it very difficult to get commentators that will be taken seriously by armchair critics around the world. There are no new faces to fill the voids left by giants like Richie Benaud. On the other hand, football is a unique game. The manager is also a very important element in the game. What is surprising to note is that football does not have such pretentiousness. There are very few world class managers (a handful) in the game who have been the world's best players in their era. Good players do not necessarily make good managers. This is an important as it draws more fans to the game and also leads to unnecessary clashes with rival fans who claim they are more knowledgeable. The other side of the coin, as one may call it. Football is the perfect blend of individual artistry and team ethic. This has also agreed with many political philosophies and also contributed to its widespread popularity. A capitalist nation would identify with individual talent- it only seems natural that they believe in a pecking order; the communist nations respected the team ethic as it represented proletarian values- the backbone of their system.

Since there are multiple ways of looking at the same picture, there are variations as to how the game is played in various countries and how the fans approach it. In Spain, we see showboating on a regular basis. Spain as a nation respects individual ability. The fans have to be won over before they start cheering for a home team. A rival player with a good move would be appreciated and very often, we have seen jeering of our own players and also cheering for the opposition team. Teams are a bit slow to close down. A good goal is necessary to get the crowd moving- mazy runs and no recollection of where the play started in the first place- much like the plot of Memento. On the other hand, in England, the teams follow a team approach. The fans are behind the team from the first minute. The football is very direct and played at a frenetic pace- reliant on long balls. Every home attempt is cheered- even a misplaced cross to row Z! I am not a huge fan of this method, but it does have its own advantages. It helps the team to settle quickly. I have lost count of the number of times that English supporters have egged their teams for a response and that percolates to even small time clubs like Barnsley. That is the sort of romanticism that is associated with the FA cup. The reason why I raised this point is that it might be worth considering what attitude we fans must take towards our own players. The Santiago Bernabeu was a fortress in its time and now in the past few years it has resembled an incontinent elderly person- leaking at the first sign of pressure. The first task that Juande Ramos has to do is to get back the respect of the Bernabeu (with the help of the fans, of course). During his time at Sevilla, he did make the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan a scary place to visit. Sevilla three seasons ago were a free wheeling team that would throw the kitchen sink at the opposition in their backyard.

Run like hell or Learning to fly?
Football is cyclic in nature and the various tactics have been slow to evolve. Earlier, the leagues had a lot of local players and as a result, the continental competitions had a bit of nationalism attached to it. Today's football clubs are more like corporations- Liverpool had more Spanish players playing compared to Real. But, it is one of the major advantages of exposure nowadays. In the old times, Latin American teams were known for technical ability and European teams were known for physical ability. Nowadays, the gap has gone down. The clubs are more multicultural nowadays and it exposes players to different conditions. The Brazilian team today is a lot more physical than what it was sometime back. They are not afraid to bring down a player- tactical fouling. Players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Tevez, Messi all have bulked up in terms of physique to handle the physical conditions of Europe. So, for Real's own benefit, we need players like Higuain and Gago to be able to compete physically with some of the best players in the world. Like it or not, today's game is played with a lot more pace and power compared to the older days. The average football player in an average football game runs around six to eight kilometres today, compared to around three to five twenty five years back. As a result, we see athletes peaking a lot earlier. The Spanish league was known to get players from Latin American countries due to language, cultural and climatic similarities and hence had a distinctly technical flavour to it. But, the game has changed in ten years time. The English league has come a long way from being a joke in the late nineties. It was a matter of ridicule that nobody had won the World player of the year until Ronaldo did last year. The English league is more open to foreigners. It is without a doubt, the most diverse league in the world. But, it does have its own pitfalls. One reason that was attributed for the failure of English and Spanish teams to win any major international competition was that the players were too fussy to move abroad. With the exception of Steve McMananam, David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves, no other English player plied his trade outside his country when he could still offer a lot to the game in the last ten years. Is it surprising that Spain winning the Euro has come at the same time that many Spaniards have moved over to greener pastures at the EPL? It also helps that there are successful managers of different nationalities which can be a factor in getting overseas players.The English league has a lot of money due to investments from foreigners and this has been channelled to get players from different nations, more so at the cost of promoting their own players. This matter is worth another debate.

One more approach that has resulted due to the English league is the heavy work rate. Players with pace have an inherent advantage in that league & players who are no more in their physical peak like Deco or Shevchenko have little to offer. Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko had expressed their reactions about the frightening pace of the English premier league. Closing down by everybody is mandatory and also, creative freedom is a luxury. It is this high tempo direct approach that has set the ball rolling for the EPL now. Skill and technique come into the game once it is slowed down. The EPL teams are now dominating the apparent skill deficiency with increasing the tempo. This is something that the continental teams are yet to come to grips with. Football, despite all the arguments of it being a team sport, it is still the players ahead of defence that claim most of the headlines- as there is no other statistic in the game itself that can compete with a goal in terms of importance and outcome of the match. But, of late, the anchorman in midfield has been given the spotlight. This position being one of the most ridiculed positions in world football for being least technical is now, in my opinion, the most game changing due to the high work rate. Players like Mascherano, Lass, Essien, Gattuso are all respected for their abilities to heckle the opposition players into giving the ball. This has crept into other positions as well. One of the casualties of this tactic is that very few players have creative freedom. The role of a winger is almost erased from the books of football. WIngers are viewed as luxury elements as they do not necessarily defend. Even if a team plays with them, it is more of a 4-5-1 approach like the Netherlands or with false wingers like Barcelona with a safety first approach. The width is more or less brought by a fullback. Wide midfielders are expected to track back and defend and clog the centre of the pitch rather than go down the line, outside a fullack and pull in one of the most dangerous passes in the game. How many genuine world class wingers are there in the game today? Just make a list of them and you know exactly why this has happened.

Maybe Real need to approach the game in a way that Barcelona does- use wide midfielders who play as false wingers. These are players who play off the wrong foot and essential cut inside for a pass. We have tried it before. Just that our approach fails as Robben and Higuain, Sneijder are not as comfortable with the ball like Messi and Iniesta. They are equally adept at going outside and inside of a full back. On the other hand, Robben has a heavy bias towards his left foot. It makes it that much easier to defend against him. Figo was the last true winger whom we had. Robben is yet to learn crossing in the air and he does not have much reason to! This brings us to the next point- we have never been a threat in the air. Morientes, RVN and now KJH are three people who could head the ball in. This has been a major weakness with Real. The long ball has almost never been used and we seem to keep buying people who are quick on the ground. That might be ok when you have people like Ronaldo who are exceptional talents, but it will not work when you have back ups like Saviola. We as a team need to challenge airtime. Juve has three strikers- Amauri, Trezeguet and Iaquinta who are all amazing in the air. Milan has Pippo, Shevchenko and even Gilardino sometime back. If we have to compete globally, we cannot continue to ignore one aspect of the game. KJH is a step in the right direction. He is a perfect striker except that he is slower than many. This is not such a major handicap as long as he has a partner who can do all the running.

The show must go on
What must be our approach to the game then? We are no longer able to attract the best players on the planet like we used to sometime back. More on why it might be so in a later post. Clearly, we have no system in place to identify and procure talent. Or, the one we have is not working the way we want to. How do we modify our game then? I am all for a gung ho approach in every match. But, would we prefer attractive football without the results? I don't think so. As long as we have the ability to win a game by bulldozing opponents, we can do so. But, we are not able to play to potential more often than not. It might be worth trying a safety first approach when we are no longer at the peak of our abilities. In the last eight years, there have been only three teams that have won using their virtues of pure attack alone- Real and two Barca squads. Even these sides which were blessed with talent came to a stop when they faced some defensive teams. Even though I am not a fan of defensive football, I feel we may have to consider it as it is a successful tactic. Knowing when your number is up and adapting is a hallmark of any champion and I feel swallowing our pride and plaiyng for a win is better of a larger picture. It is not that we do not know these things. Our attitude towards Capello showed that. We clearly stood in line when we needed a dose of bitter medicine both times and got rid of the doctor with the first signs of recovery.

We have a decent squad depth and I propose that we must play different teams home and away- the midfield, especially. I have said this before and I say it again- we are in dire need of a central midfielder. I was hoping for DLR to step up and Gago to do something or Sneijder do what he does for the Netherlands, but we seem to be missing a tempo setting midfielder in away games. Sneijder did a decent job of being a box to box midfielder last season, but he has not been the same ever since his injury. I feel we need to play:
Home games- Lass/ Gago+ VDV/ Guti+ Marcelo at left back
Away games- Lass+ DLR/ Sneijder+ Heinze at left back.
The biggest problem is that we do not have a decent left back for sometime now. Torres might be worth a try. This way, we can battle fatigue as well. The attitude of learning to scrape when you cannot milk the opposition is what is costing us dearly in knockout competitions, not to mention the Copa del Rey being an embarassment. This way, we can use the squad depth and clearly assign roles to players in order to achieve the results that we want. Teams like Croatia, Turkey, Germany have an excellent work ethic and we must be able to pick fringe players from there who will fit into our system.

The Dark side of the Goon
In the last segment, I hope to address our "big bully" attitude. We have been guilty in the past of unsettling people by using the media. Most recently, the Cristiano Ronaldo saga comes to mind. While such an attitude is deplorable in my opinion, I have to agree that it has yielded results in the past. I am happy to say that we, as a club, have no double standards in this respect. For example, Manchester United did the same in the case of Berbatov, Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. But, they had a problem when we kept pursuing Cristiano Ronaldo using the same tactics. We were also on the receiving end in the Robinho case. We did take offence to it only when Chelsea sold some away jerseys bearing his name. We also have a big reputation for getting referee decisions in our favour, rescinding of punishments and all dirty attempts to change the rules. Some of these charges are common to other champion clubs, but, these don't look good on any of them. We need to make sincere attempts to reduce such "pants down" scenarios as perceptions in the eyes of the world is very important. "Too big to fail" is an attitude associated with some of the biggest empires. One actually wonders what the magnitude of a punishment might have been if the culprit were to be someone more hapless. For example, big companies get tax cuts and extremely favourable lending rates for big projects as compared to an ordinary person who might actually benefit more with a fraction of the money. The bailout plan for the multiple US companies also highlights the "above the system" image that some of them flaunt. Muralitharan's suspect bowling action had implications in the interpretation as to what a legal delivery in cricket was. We need to take more responsibilities for our actions on and off the field as we are the people who can make a difference. With great power, comes great responsibilities! Hopefully, our club should use the power to set right the club vs country debate, foreign player issue, protection of youth team products (ironically!) and so on.

Hala Madrid!
A Spaniard in the works

BOCA JUNIORS, VALDEBEBAS 2 ?

Posted by Paulo Martin,Spain
Real Madrid has a preferential option over five of Boca Juniors brightest youth products.

The Argentines broke an agreement which Real Madrid had with the club over a preferential option on Ever Banega when Boca sold the player to Valencia. Real Madrid decided not to take the matter of breach of contract any further if Boca Juniors gave Real Madrid a preferential option on Florin, Muñoz, Araujo, Cabrera and Fragapane.

It seems like Real Madrid want to make Boca Juniors some sorts of extension of Valdebebas in Buenos Aires. The whites have demonstrated a excellent following of the Argentine market in recent years having secured the likes of Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain and want to keep their grasp in that market by securing a preferential option on five of Boca Juniors most promising youngsters.

The five players are Juan Forlin, Ezequiel Muñoz, Sergio Araujo, Nicolas Cabrera and Franco Fragapane. The scouts at Real Madrid have been following these players for some time and have no doubt of there ability and expect all of them to have a bright future in European football.

Real Madrid`s preferential option on these players was signed little over a month ago when Carlos Bianchi who was Boca Juniors ex manager and now is a director at the club came to Madrid to meet with Carlos Bucero and reach an agreement to end a conflict between the clubs that could have ended up in the CAS and would have ended up with Boca Juniors receiving a hefty fine.

In that meeting, Real Madrid claimed that Boca Juniors had broken a contract clause included int he signing of Fernando Gago, the clause stipulated that Real Madrid had a preferential option over three other Boca Juniors players; Mathias Cahais, Jonathan Maidana and Ever Banega. BoCA Juniors sold Ever Banega last winter to Valencia without honoring the preferential option that Real Madrid had signed with the club. Real Madrid then negotiated the option of the five players mentioned above in exchange for not taking Boca Juniors to the CAS.

Jorge Amor Ameal, Boca Juniors president is convinced that Real Madrid has made an excellent deal. " These kids have an enormous future ahead of them and i am confident that they will make it, various big European clubs have been keeping tabs on them". Real Madrid got a great deal from a problematic situation and both parties seem happy that the matter is resolved.

Those who have seen the players in action claim that they will form a new generation similar to that of Messi`s and Aguero`s. Folrin and Muñoz are already regular first team players for Boca Juniors and Forlin has already been named as part of the squad for the Argentinian national team that will face Venezuela and Bolivia question remains if he will be short listed or not.

But not only Real Madrid have shown interest in Forlin, also Barcelona have taken an interest in the player with Barça sporting director Txiqui Beguiristain scouting the player on several occasions. This young center back already had a very brief encounter with Real Madrid when he was at Real Madrid B in 2007 but a complication in his passport and visa forced him to return to Argentina.

FIVE STARS:




JUAN FORLIN: (Reconquista,Sta.Fe, 10-01-1988) He`s 21 years old, He plays as a center back and starts on a regular basis for Boca Juniors and was one of the stars of his team that won the Apertura 2008 coached by Carlos Isquia. He is technically gifted, he can play on the left or right, He`s very quick, and his formidable conditions has seduced even the great Maradona.




EZEQUIEL MUÑOZ: (Pergamio, Province of Buenos Aires, 08-10-1990) Considered by the great Carlos Bianchi as the future center back for the national team. He has a strong physical presence (1`85 and 82 kg), he`s strong int he air, he has a strong personality
and a great character. He made his debut int he past South American Cup against Quito. His footballing mirror is Roberto Ayala.





SERGIO ARAUJO: At just 17 years old he is considered one of the great Argentine talents. He is a striker who is extremely quick, an authentic product of baby football, he is technically very gifted and is very habile with the ball at his feet, has great
ability to take on players in small areas and has good mobility and drops to either wing. He first started playing at Club Parque under Ramon Maddoni the same person who groomed Fernando Gago. Muñoz is constantly being compared to a young Kun Aguero.


GONZALO CABRERA: (Buenos Aires 15-01-1989) He is an attacking midfielder who can play as a creative midfielder or as an attacking midfielder. A similar player to Pablo Aimar. His preferred foot is his right but can easily switch to his left considering he is ambidextrous. He has a strong physical presence (1`89) and is good in the air.

FRANCO FRANGAPANE: (Mendoza, 06-02-1993) He is the youngest of the five and is only 16 years old. He is a very fast striker but his preferred position is on the right wing. Very talented on the ball and lethal on one-on-ones. Because of his mobility and pace
he is compared to Rodrigo Palacio. Very habile in taking on players and shooting on goal.


Hala Madrid

View from the kop to the bottom

Posted by A Spaniard in the works,Bangalore
Warning: Long post.


It is time Real took a step to being counted in Europe. It has been alarming to see the team which boasts itself as the owner of the competition stumble at the first knockout hurdle like a well choreographed move every year. It is, therefore, our immediate concern to come up with policy decisions that will ensure the welfare of our beloved club. By means of this article, I hope to shift attention to some of the issues that I had mentioned in an earlier post.

Show me the money.
Real have been sitting on the top of the money league for quite some time now and it is a nice sight to see that we do have the muscle power to compete with the deepest pockets in the game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richest_football_clubs and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deloitte_Football_Money_League). But really, one has to sift through the piles of accounting files to see what creates the biggest waves and what does not. One look at the money leagues and the income levels with what the clubs operate every year becomes clear. Transfer spending is of the order of maybe one tenth of this figure- 50 million pounds in a wholly extravagant case. That is the biggest chunk of how money is spent. Player wages is of course an issue, but in the case of Real which has shifted from the Galactico system, we don't have the astronomical wage bill that we had five years back. So, transfer fees and player wages are the largest expenditures. How about incomes? Players sales is something that we are not good at (more on that later). That leaves us with two more sources- Prize money from competitions is one of them. Winning the UCL would typically make us richer by 20 million pounds. Five for winning the Liga. So... that's what it is coming to. Prize money is literally chicken feed when we spend a crazy sum of money every year. Did someone say gate recepits? That is a decent sum, but on a good European night against marquee oppposition, we stand to make about 3 million pounds on a matchnight. But that might happen two times a season. The answer my friends, as many of you might have guessed, is TV rights. That is the single largest deal. It puts sponsorship deals into the shade. For example, I remember a huge sum being quoted as Real's deal for the next five years or so ( Something in the neighbourhood of a billion). For people who are interested in the kind of money involved in the English Premier League, here is a good read:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=618019&sec=england&root=england&cc=3888

This is how teams in England have been able to close the gap with the rest of the continent. They have courted sugar daddies from outside (Called selling their soul in the continent) and more importantly, thrived because of the language which made their foray into the Asian market easier. TV rights are sold in a group mentality. It is extremely perception based and often intangible and difficult to gauge as to why something is worth so much. When something is doing very well, everybody wants a slice of it. The Premier league was a bold step by the English almost twenty years back and almost nobody remembers it today. Dennis Begkamp was the first real international superstar who called England home. The power of perception is another story altogether, which will be discussed in more detail some other time.

Why so serious?
It is particularly disheartening to see how we have degenerated from being Ringmasters/ The Joker to a cheap clown whose pants are pulled down in a trapeze act in the yearly transfer circus. First of all, I am at odds with our transfer policy. While I admire Perez for having grand vision in getting the world's best players to play for our clubs and then end up making more money by merchandising, I cannot but think aloud whether that was the system that brought us our downfall. For one, we bought players for astrononmical sums at the height of their powers only to see that they were on a slippery slope two years later- we were stuck with (pardon the phrase) a load of White elephants. Don't get me wrong. I do want only the best players playing for Real. But, I am selfish too. I want those players to be discovered here- that is, I want their best phase of their careers to be spent at Real. The galactico policy, unfortunately did not ensure that. Ever wonder if we had bought Cristiano Ronaldo after the 2006 World cup? We would have benefitted the most by getting more goals by paying lesser money. We make a habit of buying stars. We have to be the temple of talent- people must be discovered and celebrated here. Right now, we come across like a pampered kid at the supermarket- crying to daddy for the most expensive and fancy toy in the aisle. If I have to put our transfer shenanigans figuratively and literally, this picture should sum it up the best.
(Note: the heights of the fingers indicate the market value and the ability of the footballer with time).





These are the five stages that we have been showing with almost everybody:
1) Little finger- The player shows some promise with some second rung club, but we are quick to ignore the poor fella as a piece of piss.
2) Ring finger- A couple of seasons later, the lad has made it big. We start openly courting the player.
3) Middle finger- We buy him at the maximum ability and market price after showing the middle finger to the selling club.
4) Forefinger- We watch many performances and then start pointing fingers at him when his form starts dipping.
5) Thumb- We have kept the (now clearly fat and unfit) player way beyond the sell by date. We torment him, then sell him at a ridiculous price and the poor fellow has to pack his bags and hitchhike a ride out of the club.


For a club of Real Madrid's stature, we need to have majority of the players close to the peak of their careers. So, in this case, we need to buy players at phase 2 and sell them at phase 4. But a consequence of the Galactico policy meant that we bought players at 28 and then were not able to sell them for a reasonable sum when their abilities went down the hill. Look at how we sold Ronaldo, Carlos and Figo. Did they have the farewell they deserved? We have problems in dealing with the "autumn" phases of players. In other words, we are not a selling club. We are a buying club. On the other hand, we are not a good buying club as well! When was the last time we got a serious bargain on a deal? In the recent past, only RVN counts as a good return on investment. Let us have a look at the last three signings that we made- Lass, Huntelaar and Van der Vaart, all of whom were panic signings. This does not augur well for a club which prides itself as one of the best (If not the best) in the world. On the other hand, here is a look at the kind of players whom we were linked to in the past few years, but we did not end up buying them.(Warning: There are obviously other players whom we were linked to and did not end up doing well, so this list is not representative, but only done to prove a point):

1) Xabi Alonso- was almost done deal. He is a fixture in the Liverpool side now. We miss a player of his type in away games.
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic- We had two chances to get him- at the time Juve got him for 11 million pounds and then when he moved to Inter, both times on a small fee considering his talent.
3)Cristiano Ronaldo- I am stirring a hornet's nest here. The best time to buy him would have been immediately after the 2006 World cup.
4) Frank Ribery- We missed him at the time Bayern got him. In 2007.
5) Ronaldinho- He was a big star at the 2002 world cup, but we did not go for him. The cruel irony in this player's transfer was that both him and Beckham were linked to us and Barcelona. Both clubs wanted Beckham. Barcelona had to settle for Gaucho. We went on a downward spiral since. Was it a case of the ugly duckling turning into the beautiful swan later on?
6) David Villa- The time to buy him was when he moved to Valencia from Zaragoza. Now, he is 27 and we run the risk of repeating our mistakes by overpaying for him.

The bottom line is that we are not necessarily the number one destination for some of football's top talents anymore.

I hope I am driving the point here. Perhaps our buying attitude is best summed at the line the old woman utters in this iconic scene from the eighties (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaezeUyVOBs). Wait for the line at the very end! We try to chase stars when we they have a couple of headline making seasons. Truth be told, we must actually kick ourselves as to why we had not signed them in the first place so that they could have taken us to greater things in our club. Of course, I have the advantage of hindsight and hence there is no glory in the armchair critic role that I am playing!

Which clubs transfer policy do I idolize in that case? I have three in my mind. They don't necessarily compete with us at our level, but what they have achieved is commendable- Sevilla, Arsenal and Lyon.

Sevilla and Lyon are similar clubs- most of the week in week out players are people who they have bought in an extremely shrewd manner- bargain buys. They end up playing hardball when they sell them to bigger clubs- Dani Alves, Kanoute, Poulsen, Baptista, Essien, Diarra, Malouda. Arsenal is a different matter altogether. It is a club which I worship for their transfer policy. Arsene Wenger's penchant for young lads is probably as much as Micheal Jackson's (Supposed to be a joke. No offence meant to the fans). Along with that Wenger also got some bargain buys like Sol Campbell, Toure, Vieira and others. What is to be learnt from Wenger is his estimate of what a particular player can offer to the club- how much a player still has in reserve. Wenger has sold every player at the right time, that is, after extracting everything from them. It is the rule rather than the exception. I would go on to say never buy from Arsenal! It is no sheer coincidence that Sol Campbell, Vieira, Henry, Pires, Hleb and others have never managed to hit the same level. This is exactly where the Galactico policy envisioned by Perez has failed. It is not a long term strategy and it is highly unlikely that we would remain lucky in terms of big name signings. It makes better finanacial sense to diversify risk- to buy three players for lesser sums of money compared to one signing for an amount that would sell the club's kidney and end up not being able to flush out the waste at a later stage. It is this policy that has hurt us when the stars are no longer being able to perform at the level we want them to. The ability to estimate reserve capacity is something that we must learn from Arsenal.
The point to be noted is that we must learn to bargain like Lyon and Sevilla and to estimate talent and ability like Arsenal.

Our decomposition due to team composition
The Liga and UCL have certain rules that we have to abide with and hence attribute our success/ failure based on them. The extremely popular orkut community has a couple of links to what the team composition should be. The Liga allows registration of 25 players for a year, but only 3 non EU nationals are allowed to play on a match day. In the case of UCL squad registration of 25, a minimum of
4 players trained by the club- Raul, Guti, Dani Pajero, DLR, Miguel Torres
4 players trained by Spanish clubs- Salgado, Ramos. Extra players from first list can fit in here. Total of 8 players.
One look at this list reveals that we have hardly any quality to show in terms of endorsing players from the club/ country. That has been beautifully described in article on how we must rely on domestic powers. So, one third of our squad is not upto the mark when we register them for UCL. It is going to be even worse in the future as Raul and Guti will retire. For years now, we have neglected home made food.

What should be other criteria while signing players? Age is very important. Worldover, the age at which players are peaking in various sports has gone down by two or three years. Traditionally, it was thought that the best years of a footballer's life were between 26-30. That figure has gone down due to increasing the pace of the game. Now, the game is ruled by people on the other side of 25. The schedule is also extremely punishing for a footballer. A top level footballer has to play around 60 to 70 games for both club and country level. Squad rotation is absolutely necessary. Lets us remember the last time when a person performed for both club and country with equal elan? Have a look at EURO 2008 and you will find that none of the club stars showed up at the continental competition. This is a dangerous trend and FIFA has to look into that. The same thing happened at 2002 and 2006 with Zidane and Ronaldinho. They had minimal impact due to a crowded club calendar. We also need to buy in a phased manner so that the overall quality is more or less the same. That is the way Manchester United operates. Having a nucleus with similarly aged players is dangerous- they end up peaking at the same time- Los Galacticos, AC Milan recently, followed by a slump. Thankfully, we have a good age distribution. We need to have two players for each position- ideally separated by age as one can be the starter and the other a substitute based on how they grow old together. Just like Higuain and RVN when both are fit.

How do we stack up now?
A world class team which has to compete for many trophies has to have these many players, based on the variety of tactics we can play atleast:
3 Goalkeepers- We are well covered. We need to replace Dudek if he leaves.
8 Defenders- Two in each position. A couple of utility men. Left back is shaky. Cannavaro has to be replaced also.
3 Defensive midfielders- Well covered.
3 Central midfielders- We need them to step up to the level.
3 Wide players- We have one. Ideally, we need people who can play on either wing.
5 Forwards- RVN and Raul are getting old. Higuain and KJH are the two long term prospects.

Add the age distribution and our criteria for UCL/ Liga, our headache is complete! Also, we need to differentiate between a long term and short term signing- based on how much we can get back from them. For example RVN was an short term signing. Higuain was long term. The amount of money spent on them should be tied to how much they can contribute.

One swallow does not make a summer
I hope I have made my point clear as to how we are risking too much by buying one superstar for an insane amount of money. Instead, a better transfer strategy in the summer would be better for the club both financially and tactically. After much deliberation, I have come up with a list of players whom I believe we can get. Valencia seems to be a good place to raid. Here are some of the players that interest me:
1) David Villa- It will be a tug of war with other clubs. In any case, he will be competing with Raul for a starting place.
2) Silva- Not necessary in my opinion. We need to play more often with four in midfield.
3)Raul Albiol- Good buy, handy man in defence. Should be gettable.
4) Miguel- Backup for Ramos. Good replacement for Salgado.
5) Joaquin- Short term wide player. Moody though. Has to be a sub most of the time if we get Ribery.

The players from other clubs:
1)Backup keeper- This is in case Dudek leaves. I wanted to sign Cudicini as he must be the most unambitious player of all time. But Spurs stole him. Kameni and Asenjo come to my mind from the Liga. I also have another keeper suggestion in mind with super potential who has been rotting in Getafe. Oscar Ustari.
2) Centre back- None other than Chiellini from Juventus. He can play at left back also which is an added bonus. Extremely solid. Daniel Agger sounds ok too.
3) Right winger- Ribery. No other choice. CR7 will not be worth the money.
4) Utility player- Dario Srna. Super free kick taker and crosser of the ball. Can play at right back and right wing.
5) Young defenders- Three names come to my mind- Cristian Zapata from Udinese, Fabiano Santacroce from Brescia and Mamadou Sakho from PSG.
5) Forwards- Benzema seems like a good long term prospect, but I would rather go for Villa as I feel he will not go to City. It will be easier to land him.
6) Left back- Zhirkov seems to be a crowd favourite. To be honest, I don't have any choice to make here.

In my dream scenario, I would like to get all of them!
But realistically speaking, this is what I hope will happen.
Out- Salgado, Heinze, Cannavaro, Drenthe (loan), Saviola, RVN, Javi Garcia
In- Villa, Ribery, Srna, Chiellini, Ustari, Zapata, Raul Albiol. Replacements from the Valencia list if these are not available.

I hope we have early elections so that we will be able to complete our signings early. It is to our advantage that we have no major competitions this year. It is a regular feature that price inflation happens for a player who has done very well in an international tournament. This year, the Confederations cup will be held, but I don't expect any major excitement due to the low density of top quality players. This tournament is also optional for Copa America and EURO winners. The top teams might also send weakened teams.

Hoping for a good summer,
Hala Madrid!





P.S: RVN might look like a harsh choice. I absolutely admire him as a player. The problem is that he has been getting injured too often of late. Real were interested in keeping him until 2009 but he wanted to sign for one more year. If he can stay injury free for one more year (which I doubt), he still will have a lot to offer. But, keeping him and Raul on the bench will be a major headache. So, we might as well make some money by selling him to Milan (my guess). Again, it is a call that I don't want to take, but if it is my opinion alone and I don't expect many of you to agree with me. In fact, I am hating myself for writing this line!

A Great Man Called “Santiago Bernabeu Yeste”

Posted by Suresh J.V,India



Santiago Bernabeu” is the two words which are synonymous with Real Madrid. Santiago Bernabeu the stadium is the battle field of many great victories of Real Madrid. It’s the Mecca for club football and a coliseum of sorts, however many of us don’t know or have forgotten about a equally gigantic figure of “Santiago Bernabeu Yeste”, after whom the club stadium was named. Santiago was everything of true Madrismo and even more. He was a player, coach, a manager & president of Real Madrid. Everyone loved him for his passion and commitment for football in Real Madrid. Even Real Madrid with it’s glorious past was second best with out Santi and his work (People called Bernabeu as Santi affectionately). Santiago Bernabeu took over the reigns of Real Madrid presidency by divine intervention, when the government re appointed the presidents of Real Madrid and Barcelona after a Fan violence in one of the el classico matches. The time Santiago took over, as the president there was only one Madrid team which was popular and that wasn’t Real Madrid, but the cross town rivals Atletico Madrid. Along with Barcelona & Atletico Bilbao they were most dominating in Spain.

Santiago Bernabeu was loved by the fans and neutrals alike because of his commitment & loyalty towards football in Real Madrid. He single handedly grafted the glorious history on which our club stands today. Santiago took over as the president in year 1943 and he remained the president till death separated him and Real Madrid in 1978. During all these years our club didn’t need a president vote out because Santi’s loyalty, commitment & his vision for the club was unparalleled. It was Santiago Bernabeu’s vision to see elite clubs of the continent play each other to decide the best and their Champions league was born.

After the glorious years of our great president our team started loosing it’s glory not because we didn’t have great players, we had some of the modern day greats like Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Hierro, Raul, Owen, & other play for our team with pride but we didn’t have a president who had the passion and vision to take Real Madrid to new heights. Of late we have had presidents who were construction magnets, very successful businessmen, extremely popular lawyers, but none of them could compensate the loss of a true Madrismo in Santiago Bernabeu. Our club doesn’t need president’s who can work to fill the coffers of the club, but true and loyal Madrista’s who can work to fill those gaps in trophy cabinets. It’s about time that we get a president re incarnated with the qualities of Santiago Bernabeu. Is the god listening???

Hala Madrid