Real Madrid

Fiasco en La Coruña

2007-01-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

What can I say. Yesterday's match at Depor was a continuation of the previous match before Christmas. Real was terrible. The team looks to be in chaos. Even with the 'doble pivote' everyone hated the defense was better and they won many games playing ugly.

Robinho was left out of the match. Completely. Technical decision. What? The best player of the team not even included in the lineup.

Capello still has Ronaldo benched. Ronaldo is the best striker in the world and has decided so many matches, why in the world is he not playing? He is being unnecessarly overhumilated and is still commited to Real Madrid. Ruud is great but Ronaldo is just as good or better.

Raul needs to be either dropped to the bench or moved up to all-out forward where he may be effective again.

Guti is not consistent, but was injured at the beginning of the match.

Many of the players don't give it their all. The team cracks under pressure of the opposing team but applies no defensive pressure themselves. Also, since generally all the players under-perform, the line-up changes a lot.

I believe their are simply too many high profile players causing too many to sit on the bench. There are many problems still. All new signings quickly lose their form upon arrival.

What will it take to turn this team around?

Becks, Stay put!

2007-01-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

Marca is up to no good, sighting a vote on the page favoring the arrival of Ribery in place of David Beckham. I really dislike it when these type of newspapers critisize and create controversies. I guess that's how the sell newspapers. They frequently cause problems with their headlines and polls.

The most previous case being when Aragones briefly resigned as Spain's manager because of all the pressure from the press. I also remember not too far back when Marca posted the following headline "Vamos a jubilar a Zidane" (We're going to retire Zidane) before the France-Spain world cup tie. What an arrogant statement to make and of course, we then lost to France and were knocked out of the world cup. They could of said, "Let's hope we retire Zidane..". I enjoy reading Marca but now and then I get upset with the some of headlines and controversies they stir up.

Getting back to Becks, apparently Marca claims that people wants Beckham out in favor of Ribbery. Truth is - the fans love David Beckham. All of the complaining of the past few years about the players not giving it all they've got, not running, not working hard, has never been directed at Beckham.

The England national side has been worse without his participation. It seems like Maclaren was trying to make a statement by dropping Beckham but I think he's made a mistake.

Beckham wants to stay and he should stay on board until he gets those trophies he's been sweating for the past 3 years. Stay put Becks, the trophies are coming as well as regular first team action.

Looking forward to next weekends match at Deportivo it looks like Gago may be starting in his first match alongside Emerson with Guti in front, Ronaldo at forward, Raul on the left and Beckham on the right.

Real Christmas Update

2006-12-29T04:25:00.000-08:00

The year ended on a bad note with a somewhat humiliating to 0-3 loss to an excellent Recreativo de Huelva (newly promoted this year and above mid-table). Capello put in all the offensive firepower to no avail.

Things are quiet over the Christmas break. There are rumors of Cassano to Milan on loan with a purchase option. Cassano says he doesn't want to go anywhere, that he want to be successful at Real Madrid, yet he keeps getting himself into problems. Hopefully he can end up helping the team.

Beckham is said to have recieved at least 20 offers, one in particular from Inter who will be selling Figo (who is rumored to have signed for a Saudi team?). In 3 days Beckham is free to negociate with whoever he wants. I think he will, however, re-sign with Real. He's not going anywhere until he's successful here, that's my guess. Now that Capello is changing his mind about the 'double-pivote' of Emerson and Diarra, Beckham will probably get more starts.

The Argentinian for Boca, Gago, is now on board and boy do we need him! Capello has yet to solve our midfield problems, we need someone who can defend and distribute the ball well. He has been compared to Redondo, and if he can perform as well our midfield problem may finally be solved.

Next match is at Zaragoza followed by a Copa quarterfinal tie against Real Betis.

Real top Español with 10 men

2006-12-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight's match was a defensive struggle for most of the first half. Neither Real Madrid nor Español could get much attacking going. The Real midfield was very solid and well organized. Capello dropped Diarra from midfield and played Guti next to Emerson. Emerson was fantastic, much improved as he did a great job stopping Español and as well as distributing the ball.

In the beginning the of the second half Van-Nistelrooy scored the only goal of the match from a pass from Guti. He had a defender in front of him but he quickly turned around and shot past the defender and the goalie. Shortly after the ref gave Canavarro his second yellow which sent him off for an apparent handball, but the ball actually hit him in the eye (not in the arm) and he had a red face to show for it. The rest of the match Real spend defending with only 10 men and they actually had a few chances to score. Diarra came on late to help defend and played quite well with a couple chances to score on offensive counter-attacks.

Capello is effective once again wich pulls us back up to 2 points behind Sevilla and 1 point behind Barca (who have a game in hand). Next league match is mid-week at Recreativo.

Loss at Sevilla, Español on Sunday

2006-12-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we lost a close match at Sevilla last weekend. Real played fairly well in quite an intense match, but Sevilla made best of their chances. Beckham hit an amazing free kick from way out on the left side of the field into the back of the next. The ball curled into the corner catching the goalie out of place. Beckham will be out for the next match as he picked up his 5th yellow.

The loss takes us 4 points adrift of Barca and 2 points behind Sevilla. We need a big win this weekend at the Bernabeu against an in-form Español who, after a poor start to the season, is on a 4 game win streak and is in great shape in the Uefa cup. Helguera is still out with injury so the back like will be Ramos and Carnavaro in the center with Michel on the right. Capello hasn't revealed if Ronaldo will be starting or not.

Valencia and Zaragoza are playing tonight. Hopefully Valencia will pull back a win so Zaragaza, currently in 4th place behind Real will drop some points.

Getafe Derbi

2006-10-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

On saturday night Real will attempt to take home their first victory from 'lowely' Getafe. Real is coming off a tie against Atletico in the Bernabeu and needs to take the 3 points to stay near the top of the table. Barca and Valencia are both 2 points ahead with Sevilla 1 point above Real.

Raul has improved and scored 3 goals in the last 2 games. Robinho hasn't even seen the playing field in the last 2 games. Beckham has started on the bench for the past month and with Ronaldo healthy and apparently practicing well with Van Nistelrooy, even more great player are going to be wasted on the bench. It amazes me that Robinho does even make it on to the field, he is the most exciting talent to come to Real Madrid since Zidane (but much younger). Although it is good to see Guti getting deserved playing time.

I also noticed that the Bernabeu is amazingly cheering on Ronaldo, maybe they've finally figured out he'll play better with support than with critisizm. Maybe the spanish press, especially Marca, could learn from that example.

A real feeling of change in the Madrid camp

2006-07-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, what should have occured 2 years ago, has finally occured. The old administration is out, Perez, Butrageño, everyone and there is an air of something new, different and most important, positive.

We have a new president, Ramon Calderon, an new coach, Fabio Capello, and there is new hope in Madrid. Hopefully, the team designated by FIFA as the best club of the 21st century will begin to look like that team again.

Real has secured the services of central defender Cannavaro and defensive midfielder Emerson from scandal ridden and demoted Juventis. We are attempting to sign Van Nistelrooy but the signing is at a hault as Manchester United insists on overpricing the player's exit (as usually happens when Real Madrid recruits new players, even ones already on their way out.)

It looks like good things are in store, let's keep our fingers crossed.

El Clasico: Real Vs Barca

2006-03-31T18:01:00.000-08:00

The big night is upon us. It only comes around twice a year. Who will pull out the Win? Marca's reader seem to think Barcelona, with 55% of the vote, followed by 30% to Real and 6% vote for a tie. Only 35% percent of readers think Madrid can stop Ronaldinho.

Real has some much needed rejuvinated confidence after dropping Depor 4-nill. I don't see Barca taking two clasicos in a row, especially with a nerve-wracking return leg tie with Benifica this week for a place in the Champions League semi-finals. I think Cincinho, Robinho, Beckham and company are going to take it the Azulgranos and come home with the 3 points.

I expect Eto to get one past Casillas as he always does. With an 11 point gap, all we really have is pride at stake.

Lack of Wisdom in the Real camp

2006-03-21T06:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything for months. No time. Since then Real sacked their coach again, was knocked out of the Champions League, knocked out of the Copa del Rey and are trailing Barca by 11 points. Not only that, but Florentino Perez has handed in a shock resignation.

The second team coach, Lopez Caro was instated to take over Luxemburgo as a temporary solution until a new coach was found. Caro took the Real Madrid Castilla team up to the second division of Spanish football and shortly after taking over the first team there was a great improvement. Unfortunately, Real failed in the big games and the overall play has become mediocre once again. The new president is ready to find yet another new coach and is mouthing off about it.

What is wrong with this club? A team needs stability, it needs to stick with a project, stick with a coach until the victories arrive. How can the players believe in themselves and in their coach with no stability from the top. The last succesfull coach was sacked for no apparent reason (he wasn't pretty enough for the distinguished Real brand) and all the direction can do is keep sacking coaches right and left, even with a new president, they are no wiser as they search for another new coach.

Raul seems to know more than anyone else in the club, stating the obvious: It's not normal to have 13 coaches in 11 years (and 5-6 in the last 3 seasons). Let the socios vote for a new president.

Champions League Next Round Qualification through Injuries

2005-11-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ever since Ronaldo (at the time leading the ‘pichichi’ race) went tumbling out of the match against Atleti, Real Madrid players have been getting injured one after another.

Players still injured include: Michel Salgado, Ronaldo, Julio Baptista, Thomas Graveson, Pablo Garcia, David Beckham (may play although), Zinedine Zidane and Ivan Helguera.

Regardless of the injuries Real has pulled out 2 victories in a row against Real Betis and Rosenburg and is now clear through to the next round of the Champions League with 2 matches left to play. Real sits third in La Liga table behind Osasuna and Barca on 18 points.

This weekend we play Real Zaragoza with Real’s previous midfielder, Albert Celades. Next week is the big match up against Barcelona. Previous Barcelona and Real Madrid player, Luis Figo says he is still 100% Madridista and wants to see a Real Madrid victory. I must say, it’s not quite the same with Figo gone.

Sweet Second Half

2005-10-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

An amazing second half performance and comeback lifted Real Madrid to a 4-1 victory over Rosenburg. Woodgate scored his first goal (in the correct net) as a Real player showing great set play abilities. After scoring he immediately ran over and hugged his doctor. Raul scored the next goal after an amazing run from Robinho who flew past 2 defenders but let the ball slip just a bit past his reach when Raul grabbed it. He stepped on the ball with one foot as the goalie came out to cover it up and did some kind of amazing thing with his right foot to take the ball out of reach of the goalie and through the very small angle he had left to place the ball into the net. Helguera headed in a third goal on another great set piece orchestrated by Beckham. Finally and fittingly Beckham scored on the last goal on a perfect free kick into the upper right corner of the net.

Guti proved again that he is in great form and should probably be starting. But how can you bench Zidane? Hopefully the great man will get his game back. Pablo Garcia is also playing well and providing a solid presence in the middle. Carlos Diogo in for injured Michel Salgado also had a failry solid performance.

Baptista was added to the list of injuries and will be out for a month. Real has played well and scored without the injured Ronaldo. That is good news. The depth of quality players on the roster is paying dividends with all of the current injuries. Real is now at 6 points, second after Lyon.

Next up is Valencia in a Liga match. Real Madrid is tied with Osasuna at the top of La Liga with an edge on more goals scored.

The Derbi

2005-10-17T02:16:00.000-07:00

Real pulled out a 0-3 victory at the Calderon Saturday night. Real Madrid looked the btter side most of the match and with good overall play and great play from Guti and Ronaldo’s finishing touch. Ronaldo actually scored what appeared to be a hat-trick but I believe the last goal was awarded to Perea as an own goal. Ronaldo and Michel Salgado both left the match on injury and both will be out for Real’s next match against Rosenburg.

Winning Streak

2005-09-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, due to a present change of residence to a new country, I have been unable to see any of the three last matches. I don’t mind so much considering Real Madrid has won all three.

After poor officiating and mediocre performances in the previous three matches Real has returned to winning ways with victories over Bilbao, Alaves, and a much needed win hosting Olympiacos in the Champions League. After a poor start and just 3 straight victories Real now sits third in La Liga behind Celta and Getafe and second behind Lyon in their Champions League group.

Raul has become the all-time leading scorer in the Champions League moving past Alfredo Di-Stefano with 50 goals. With Ronaldo serving his second match of suspension, the cantero, Roberto Soldado, came on and scored the winning goal against Olympiacos in Wednesday’s match.

Luxemburgo Bashing

2005-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Vanderli has taken heavy criticism this week for the 2 losses last week and his no-winger formation. Memories are short in and around Madrid. The same system propelled Real to a total number of points last year capable of winning the title - if Barca had not been exceptional (finishing even 4 points higher).

The criticism is a natural response to 2 years of frustration, felt by everyone, including yours truly. I was uncharacteristically harsh in my last post, a natural reaction to seeing a collection of world all-stars unable to perform well as a unit, not well enough at least, since the end of 2003-2004 season.

Luxemburgo has accepted all of the blame for the poor results. Accepting responsibility is the key to success and Vanderli Luxemburgo has a proven history of such success. I believe that over the next 2 months, through Lux's persistence, results will be had and the team will play as they should.

From Bad to Worse

2005-09-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Real lost for the second time in a row tonight in the Champions League opener against Leon. The only player who seemed to show any kind of form is the new whiz-kid Robinho, but even he can't save this sinking ship. Some player have left, some have arrived, but the magic formula to success is yet to be had by the club directors.

How can a team with all these great players be so bad. Are they jinxed? Maybe next year they should skip the summer tour and start training early.

The coach has cut off their wings, literally, and its not helping the play of the team. It makes things quite simple for the opposition, congregate in the center of the field and form a roadblock.

It has been probably said enough times, but I'll repeat it here just once more, the team hasn't been the same since Makalele left. He brought organization and defensive quality to the midfield and kept the team together. When you have a winning team and a winning coach, don't mess with the formula, don't be too ambitious, and if it 'aint' broke, then for heaven's sake, don't fix it!

Defeat in the Bernabeu

2005-09-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid lost 3-2 to Celta Vigo. Really they tied 2-2 but the referee decided to give Celta a goal that bounced on the post and didn't go over the line midway into the second half. In the first half Real was potent in attack but weak in defense.

The play was a bit chaotic, the only bright spot being more fancy footwork from Robinho. No one played particularly well and there were many lost balls on bad passes. Real was also awarded a penalty on Baptista which didn't really look like a penalty. Helguera then delivered a beautiful pass to Baptista who headed the ball in late in the second half to make it 2-1.

Sergio Ramos came on for Pavon, who had a yellow card for a hand ball penalty in the area which Celta transformed into a goal to make it 2-2. Raul started on the bench due to some minor pain and probably to get some rest from international duty. Real missed several clear-cut chances to score.

Not a good start for the Galacticos. Will this season continue where the last one left off? No trophies. No glory. A failure to live up to the hype and expectation. We'll see.

It may be time for Real to bring their world class recently recovered center fullback, Woodgate, of the bench.

Owen Exits Ramos Enters

2005-08-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

With the exit of Michael Owen to Newcastle, Real Madrid had some extra money to spend. Sergio Ramos expressed his desire to come to Madrid before the transfer window closes, claiming that the president has promised to tranfer him if a big offer came in. The deal seems to be closed, but not cheap for Real Madrid, as it they will be paying more for the Sevilla defender than they paid for the (highly underpriced) Robinho.

This will be the first Spanish player signing under Perez's presidency. With a recovered Woodgate and young new signing of Ramos, Real should have a rock-solid defense for years to come.

Robinho Revolution

2005-08-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Robinho left the rest of the world (those who had not yet seen him play) mesmorized, myself included and his own teammates. This will undoubtedly be the greatest signing Real has ever materialized. The Spanish press was in awe and have written about nothing else since yesterday. He lived up to the hype and them some.

There is still no update on Owen's situation, with 2 days left in the transfer window. Sergio Ramos is rumored to be pressuring Sevilla president to sell him to Madrid.

Robinho Debut

2005-08-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Robinho played about 25 minutes to debut for Real tonight. Absolutely. He makes the rest of the 'galacticos' look like a high school team. Maybe that's a bit extreme, but this kid is amazing, we are witnessing possibly the greatest player in the history of football.

Robinho opened up the opportunities for Real Madrid, every time he got the ball he began challenging 3-4 defensive players, after having his fun he would pass the ball to one of the many Real players left unmarked to set up a scoring chance.

I don't think he's going to be spending much time on the bench. More galacticos are going to have to sit because having Robinho on the bench would be absurd. The rest of them played quite poor, on both offense and defense, they seem completely out of sink. It wasn't until Robinho came on when things started to turn around.

The goals came from Ronaldo and Raul.

La Liga Gets Underway

2005-08-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Real trounced the MLS All-Stars this week, 5-0. To the credit of the visiting team I think they would have played better if they had more time to prepare. Maybe they should have sent one of MLS's top team instead of a group that isn't used to playing together. Not that I didn't enjoy witnessing live 5 beautiful goals.

Woodgate received a standing ovation when he trotted on to the pitch with about 10 minutes left. The annoying 'Ultra Sur's were hushed and whistled out by the rest of the crowd whenever they tried one of their racist chants.

Last night was the premiere of Real: The Movie. There was special presentation at the Bernabeu and fans lined up outside to see the footballers arrive.

In about half-an-hour La Liga kicks off with Barcelona facing newly promoted Alaves. Real debutes at Cadiz tomorrow evening. The same team will start as the previous match: Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Helguera, Pavon, Salgado, Graveson, Beckham, Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo and Baptista.

Owen after proving himself last year has been relegated to the bench again. It's beyond me why such a great talent and proven goal scorer gets so little playing time. Let's hope Luxemburgo does a lot of rotating so we can keep Owen at Real at least one more year.

Last but not least, Robinho arrived yesterday and is already incorporated into the squad and is travelling to tomorrow's match. Woodgate is also in the line-up.

Robinho was well received (and tossed up and down) by his teamates today during practice. They seem quite united this year, maybe that's a sign.

Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu

2005-08-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

I've decided to head over the Santiago Bernabeu and get myself a ticket for tonight's final pre-season warm-up for Real Madrid agaisnt the MLS all-stars. MLS star Landon Donovan in previous weeks has made it sound like he has better things to do than come to the Bernabeu to play Real in a friendly. A bit absurd I think, but I understand he is probably pretty overworked with matches as it is.

Luxemburo has stated that the team isn't yet playing as well as he would like, maybe he's trying to keep peoples hopes down so they may be pleasantly surprised after tonight's showing. Maybe they just are not in form yet, it didn't seem like it in the last match.

Woodgate will most likely (finaaaaally) make his debut appearance for Real Madrid tonight, although it will probably be 10 minutes at the end of the match. It's good to see Michael Owen is still with us.

Poor Performance in Budapest

2005-08-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Good result, terrible performance. Ok, the first half wasn't so bad. But this team looks terribly out of form and out of sink. They were much better before training camp. No one was particular good today, even Zidane missed a penalty kick (although he scored the second). Roberto Carlos played well and Casillas was great as always. I can't say much for the rest of the team. Raul created some nice chances but was unable to put them away and Ronaldo did what was asked of him on a cool finish. Owen came of the bench and made everyone wonder why he is on the bench again, the man is a scoring machine.

Is Real Madrid every going to learn their lesson? Can Luxemburgo organize this surplus of stars into a real team? I'm not convinced. Not yet. Raul promised goals and good football. Is there any hope that that will be what we see in this Real Madrid team again in the near future?

New Signing Jonathan Woodgate?

2005-08-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

The recover of Woodgate from his long-term thigh injury is being referred to as Real's new signing. After spending the entire first season injured now the team is rallying around his recovery. Even the central defenders, Pavon and Helguera, that will be competing for his position spoke highly of Woodgate and seem anxious to see his complete recovery.

Woodgate traveled to Austria and practiced with the team but hasn't been allowed to play any friendlies. Luxemburgo is watching him closely and the medical staff is a bit paranoid of a relapse. It's a shame we didn't get to see Woodgate and Samuel together, they had good complimentary qualities.

Captain Raul

2005-08-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that Raul has not been in his best form the past 2 seasons. We also know that Real Madrid has bought 2 world class strikers in Robinho and Baptista leading to speculation that Raul might be spending some time on the bench, and even worse for him, he may be a permanent sub.

Real Madrid's captain seems to be on a mission this preseason. Alongside Graveson he is the most in shape player always ahead of the pack in training. He spends even his days off running and exercising. He has become more friendly and good humored with the press and makes a habit of speaking to Luxemburgo on a daily basis about the team.

What's with this new Raul? He seems pretty motivated. But he's not the only one. After two years of drawing blanks the whole team is aching for the season to start. Our great Zidane is a man on a mission, returing to international play, telling everyone he is reducing his publicity commitments and planning to return to his best form and play his heart out this year.

If the Galacticos are hungry then we may have something to cheer about this year.

Real Madrid Vs ASK Trenkwalder Schwadorf

2005-08-07T04:17:00.000-07:00

Real warms up against ASK Trenkwalder Schwadorf, a 3rd division Austrian team form a village about 25 kilometers from Vienna.

Woodgate will sit this one out as the club doesn't want to foolish by throwing him back into action too soon, yet he has been training at the same level as his teammates.

The exciting (and excited)new signing, Baptista, plays his first match with Real Madrid today.

After Zidane's announcement of his return to the French national team he has now had his captain status returned as well, handed to Viera on Zidane's departure.