tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72358781969123873542024-02-19T09:46:11.365-05:00Managing MadridA couple of armchair managers observe, argue, report and analyze the daily goings on of the greatest organization in the history of professional sports, Real Madrid Club de Futbol.
Hala Madrid!Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-68713273262830529042011-07-30T16:00:00.000-04:002011-07-30T16:00:08.369-04:00WE'VE MOVED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">WE'VE MOVED</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">CONTENT ON THE WEB</span><br />
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</span></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-37662745225609368652011-07-04T16:54:00.000-04:002011-07-04T16:54:09.389-04:00Breaking News: Fabio Coentrao is IN MADRID...RIGHT NOW!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1njtI7FEryFA_AIgxpKOsV7LzI3K9Zx2ZsSsGnlXxzhl_SaHNYF7n2UbG841o78_YOjEpjCMPn11R5Pi30Q8J-tbsPTeekGTdfvdOHW5H1ONuGLuHvqMX2zzxtvjY2tcwHwKmkpZHTMI/s1600/Fabio+Coentrao+Real+Madrid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1njtI7FEryFA_AIgxpKOsV7LzI3K9Zx2ZsSsGnlXxzhl_SaHNYF7n2UbG841o78_YOjEpjCMPn11R5Pi30Q8J-tbsPTeekGTdfvdOHW5H1ONuGLuHvqMX2zzxtvjY2tcwHwKmkpZHTMI/s320/Fabio+Coentrao+Real+Madrid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Fabio Coentrao, Portugal and Benfica's exciting young wing back (and long-time Mourinho favorite) is in Madrid right now trying to force some resolution to his signing. According to Marca.com, As.com, and other sources, Coentrao had been acting out recently during Benfica's summer workouts, and this unexpected departure for the Spanish capital suggests that something is in the works.<br />
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This is an exciting turn of events for Real Madrid, because in the past few days sources close to the negotiations suggested that Chelsea had jumped in on the negotiations, and had offered close to 30 million euros for the winger.<br />
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While the operation hasn't been finalized yet, all signs point to Coentrao signing for <i>los blancos </i>within the next few hours. No deal has been reached as of 17:00 EST (23:00 in Madrid), so the operation may be postponed until tomorrow.<br />
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</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-61128769400439026362011-07-03T13:57:00.000-04:002011-07-03T13:57:02.958-04:00Managing Madrid Podcast! Oh, and this is our 100th Post!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We're BACK! While Josh gets nice and tan on the beach in South Africa (it's winter there), I've invited a extra-special guest host to help with a mega wrap-up pod. My dad, Jacques Lezra, hosts with me today, and break down the season, and talk everything from transfers, to Barça's tactics, to Mourinho's institutional clout.<br />
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Oh, and this is our 100th post! Thanks to everyone who has helped keep this site going, and we're really excited to approach this next season, the transfer season, and everything that Real Madrid has to offer. We're also very excited to move to our new home over at SBNation next week--probably on Tuesday night, so make sure to check www.managingmadrid.com on Tuesday and Wednesday!<br />
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<a href="http://www.podbean.com/" style="border-bottom: none; color: #2da274; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; text-decoration: none;">Podcast Powered By Podbean</a></div></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-13540678604183425532011-07-01T13:26:00.000-04:002011-07-01T13:26:02.302-04:00Real Madrid Transfer Update: Good News, and some Bad News<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3B+filename%3DReal_Madrid_Castilla-Deportivo_B.jpg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1203016205750&ssbinary=true" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3B+filename%3DReal_Madrid_Castilla-Deportivo_B.jpg&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1203016205750&ssbinary=true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Álvaro Morata, via realmadrid.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So this probably won't be as funny, intriguing, or as totally nonsensical as my last "Gabe Lezra's Top 10 Real madrid Transfer Rumors" piece, because, unfortunately, this one is based mainly on facts--and not some total nonsense I heard from my bartender last night.<br />
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<b>The Good News: </b>The very highly-regarded (and very sought after) <i>canterano</i> and striker (and don't forget the winner of the extremely prestigious "<a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/718729-real-madrids-end-of-season-award-show-marathon-part-1/page/6">Raúl Gonzalez Blanco Award for Best Youth Team Player</a>") for Real Madrid B, Álvaro Morata has signed an extension with <i>los blancos </i>through the 2015 season. This should ensure that Madrid won't let another top-notch talent like Juan Mata (who's currently on Valencia but, according to some sources, is being courted by Barcelona), slip through our fingers.<br />
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Morata is a tall, athletic young striker, capable of scoring with his head and his feet; because of this, Florentino and Mourinho (suggestions for a good nickname for those two anyone?) thought it necessary to lock him down. While he might not get an immediate shot at the big leagues, keeping him in the wings for a while makes sense: despite his enormous talent, he needs to develop and mature as a player, and isn't quite ready to start for <i>los blancos. </i><br />
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</i><br />
<b>The Bad News: </b>According to MARCA, Fabio Coentrao, Benfica's (and Portugal's) highly sought-after left back, is still stuck in a sort of limbo with Madrid: because Florentino hasn't reached an agreement to sell any of the current players on the market (Lass Diarra in particular), Madrid is experiencing a cash-flow problem. Coentrao is aggravated (as he should be) that his future hasn't been settled yet, and is looking to move the deal forward as quickly as possible; unfortunately, this has allowed other teams--namely Chelsea--to sneak in on the bidding.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2011/07/01/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1309527721_extras_portada_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2011/07/01/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1309527721_extras_portada_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabio Coentrao, via Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Never fear, though, because I'm pretty sure Fabio really wants to play for Mourinho (and <i>vice versa</i>), so this will eventually work itself out. Let's just hope it happens soon.<br />
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Also, on the sort-of-bad-news-but-maybe-good-in-the-long-run side of things, Neymar's club has decided that they will "not negotiate," and that he's "non-transferrable." Maybe this is a ploy to drive up his asking price... but it might not be, especially because his agent recently said that "it's unlikely Neymar will play in Europe this year."<br />
<br />
Again, this might actually be a good thing. While Neymar is no doubt a world-class talent, I actually see a lot more Robinho than Ronaldo in him: he seems much more of a high-risk/high-reward type of player than, for example, el Kun.<br />
<br />
But really, does Madrid need either of those players (Neymar or el Kun) at all? <br />
</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-20438488863346098872011-06-30T13:12:00.000-04:002011-06-30T13:12:14.711-04:00Managing Madrid Weekly Rumor-Mill Round Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hey all, so this is the first in a series of transfer-season stories: each week (at least once, depending on the pace of the rumors) we'll round up the top 10 Real Madrid related transfer rumors. We'll do our best to cite our sources, even though some of them might look like this:<br />
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<i>"Real Madrid to make huge splash for Ibrahimovic! 60 Million Euros and up!" --Some dude I met in a bar last night. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
So, without further adieu, here are this weeks Top 10 Real Madrid Transfer Rumors:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s4.as.com/prom/201106/pro_photo1309426540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="101" src="http://s4.as.com/prom/201106/pro_photo1309426540.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mourinho and his stalker, Villas-Boas. via Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Kun Agüero Close to Signing for Juve. Marca.com attributes this <i>shocking </i>piece of information to "Italian sources." If true, this is too bad for Madrid--I like the way the young Argentine plays. </li>
<li>Neymar "only wants to play in Madrid," according to Dani Alves. While this might sound like good news, Dani Alves is a notorious liar, so take this at face value. </li>
<li>Neymar "won't come to Europe for at least another year," according to his agent. This seems like a trick to try to drive up his asking price. I don't buy it for one second.</li>
<li>Neymar "wants to play the Club World Cup for Santos," according to various sources. I buy this, but it might mean risking injury and driving up his price if he has a good competition. </li>
<li>Real Madrid "ahead" in the race for Coulibaly, a young phenom. Who the hell knows if this is true--<i>I don't even know what "ahead" means in this case</i>.</li>
<li>My buddy told me that Madrid is thinking about selling Benzema. It sounds like BS to me. </li>
<li>BUT, Madrid "is negotiating for Kaká," according to various sources, and Marca is reporting that both AC Milan and Inter are interested in buying the Brazilian midfielder's contract. But for 30 Million, no more. Seems like a big loss for Madrid. </li>
<li>According to Fernando Gago, "Kun Agüero would be a great player for Madrid." I'm glad Gago agrees with me; unfortunately, I still think Gago should go play on some other team. </li>
<li>This isn't a rumor exactly, but more like something I wish: as River Plate went to "la B" in Argentina, it looks like some of their talent might be available on the cheap. Madrid should consider looking into their center midfielder, 19-year-old Argentine Erik Lamela. He looked very good in the matches I saw. </li>
<li>Apparently Chelsea wants to buy every single player Real Madrid wants to buy, according to various sources. In other news, Chelsea's new coach, Manuel Villas-Boas wants to <i>be </i>Mourinho--but not in a cute "he's my idol" kind of way, but more in a "creepy stalker wear his skin like a suit" kind of way. Too far?</li>
</ol>We'll be back soon with another installment of "Gabe Lezra's Favorite Random Real Madrid Rumors" soon.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, and be on the lookout for our end-of-season Pod, featuring a new, special guest-host!</div></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-89772431619368830712011-06-21T12:35:00.000-04:002011-06-21T12:35:13.638-04:00Summer Reading!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, Madridistas, we here at Managing Madrid hope you are enjoying the summer! As one of the off-years from the World Cup and Euros, 2011 leaves us with little to talk about except the rather slow transfer market, although we will try to get some content up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the meantime, our more cerebral readers will enjoy <a href="http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2011/06/real-madrid-and-financial-fair-play.html">this</a> in-depth analysis of Real Madrid's financial situation and our ability to meet the new Financial Fair Play (FFP) guidelines. These new UEFA rules, if you haven't been paying attention, are designed to improve the financial situation of Europe's debt-ridden clubs and reduce their dependence on the largesse of owners. Having come into effect on June 1st, the regulations state that from now until 2014, clubs may post an aggregate loss of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a2732; line-height: 18px;">€45m, which can be subsidized by owners only in the form of permanent investment in shares. From 2014 to 2017, the total permitted loss will drop to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a2732; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">€30m. If clubs fail to meet these guidelines by 2013-2014, they will be banned from UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League, which are incredibly lucrative and prestigious, beginning in 2014-2015. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a2732; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">The Swiss Rambler, an accountant with a keen interest in football economics, breaks down in exquisite detail Real Madrid's remarkably healthy financials and compares them to our rivals, discussing our ability to meet the FFP goals in the future. Despite our enormous outlay on transfer fees over the last five seasons, given our record profits (only Arsenal made more in pre-tax profits and that was distorted by property sales from the land under their old stadium) we should have no problem adapting to the rules.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a2732; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Real Madrid actually stands to benefit immensely from FFP, which the Swiss Rambler does not discuss, because we already spend within our means. Our revenue is so immense that our spending, while outlandish in absolute terms, is relatively restrained. Our wages are well within UEFA's guidelines and even their 50% recommendation as a percentage of revenue. Other clubs, however, are not so fortunate financially. Barcelona is operating at a heavy loss and will have to rein in transfer spending, while the nouveau riche or those looking to reinforce significantly - clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea, or Málaga and Racing Santander closer to home in the first group, and Manchester United, Juventus, Liverpool and so on in the second - will have a very difficult time catching up to Real Madrid. </span></span><br />
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</span></span></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-9175948372633541542011-06-16T15:38:00.000-04:002011-06-16T15:38:26.922-04:00Thanks for a great season<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/21/article-1379128-0BB7A7C900000578-725_634x395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/21/article-1379128-0BB7A7C900000578-725_634x395.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O Mail.co.uk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Hey Managing Madrid faithful!<br />
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As you can probably tell, after a long season Josh and I have gone on a little bit of a vacation--we both graduated from college a couple of weeks ago and have taken some time off from analyzing. But never fear! We will be back to analyze all the summer goings-on in about a week, and you will all be on our mind the entire time we're gone.<br />
<br />
Hey, I'm even <i>going </i>to Buenos Aires today to try to lure Kun Agüero over to our side of the river--wish me luck, if you're a fan of the young Argentine.<br />
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When I get back, Josh and I will do a wrap-up, end-of-the-season MEGAPOD, looking over the bests (and worsts) of a controversial season. I'm really excited to see what he has to say about this whole thing.<br />
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Also, I've been writing some wrap-up awards-show-esque columns for Bleacher Report. If you're interested, you can check the out <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/718729-real-madrids-end-of-season-award-show-marathon-part-1">here</a> (positive) and <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736626-real-madrids-end-of-season-awards-show-marathon-part-2-the-losers">here</a> (negative). Feel free to ream me out if you don't like my choices.<br />
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To save you the trouble of going over there, here are the awards...but without the explanations!<br />
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<b>Rookie of the Year: </b>Mesut Özil<br />
<b>Most Improved Player: </b>Marcelo<br />
<b>The David Beckham Better-Late-Than-Never Award: </b>Karim Benzema<br />
<b>Defensive Player of the Year: </b>Iker Casillas<br />
<b>The Raúl Gonzalez Blanco Award for Best Canterano: </b>Alvaro Morata<br />
<b>Best Supporting Actor: </b>Mesut Özil<br />
<b>Most Valuable Player: </b>Cristiano Ronaldo<br />
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<b>Worst Performance in a Major Match: </b>The Entire Defense in the 5-0 Drubbing<br />
<b>Worst Actor: </b>Angel di María<br />
<b>The Bill Walton "What If" Award: </b>Kaká<br />
<b>The Brian Scalabrine "Least Important Benchwarmer" Award: </b>Sergio Canales<br />
<b>The Charlie Sheen Award for Most Bipolar Player: </b>Pepe<br />
<b>Most Disappointing Player: </b>Sergio Ramos<br />
<b>The "Bad Luck Chuck" Award: </b>PepeGabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-16211033185515694132011-05-10T15:40:00.001-04:002011-05-10T15:40:23.811-04:00Real Madrid Buys Nuri Sahin, Secures Place as #1 Club for Young German-born Turkish Midfielders<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gfdb.com/images/pictures/players/Nuri-Sahin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.gfdb.com/images/pictures/players/Nuri-Sahin.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O globalfootballdatabase.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Nuri Sahin, the youngest player ever to play in the Bundesliga (he debuted back in 2005, at 16), will join Real Madrid after completing two eye-opening campaigns in a row for the German side Borussia Dortmund. He has scored 6 goals in 30 league matches for the black-and-yellow squad, and completed 8 assists; he currently has 8 goals, and 13 assists, in 40 total matches this season.<br />
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He has been an absolute sensation in the Bundesliga over the last two years, as he has begun to grow into his prodigious talents: at 21 years old, the only way to go is up for this young German-born Turkish prodigy.<br />
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With this signing, Madrid adds to its' growing (and very successful) arsenal of Germans with Turkish heritage--including Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira. If Sahin plays anything like either of his countrymen, then he will certainly find a very special place with <i>los blancos</i>.<br />
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This signing also represents Madrid's transfer policy since Mourinho: bring in young, talented, and relatively inexpensive players (Sahin cost 6 million Euros), and try to create the right combination that will gel on the pitch. So far, this has been a ringing success--with Özil and Ángel di María fast becoming superstars, and Sergio Canales waiting in the wings, Madrid seems to be stacking a midfield-of-the-future, much like Josh and I predicted at the <a href="http://managingmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/08/grading-off-season-acquisitions.html">beginning of the year</a>.<br />
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It's also good to see Mourinho getting started on the summer signings: the sooner we get the roster nailed down, the sooner the players can start to gel together.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zFhP4R3fX6w" width="560"></iframe><br />
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</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-34001492903205034442011-05-10T15:13:00.000-04:002011-05-10T15:13:05.710-04:00Managing Madrid on a Catalan Newspaper (WTF?!) and on Barca Blaugranes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.directe.cat/img/335/335/1613" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://www.directe.cat/img/335/335/1613" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O Directe.cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Well, this is odd! The CNN article on the <i>rally </i>of Clásicos seems to have taken off a bit in Spain, with various <a href="http://www.directe.cat/noticia/149291/la-cnn-veu-en-el-barca-madrid-una-metafora-de-la-lluita-de-catalunya-per-la-independencia">Catalan newspapers</a> reacting to the article, and even *GASP* <i>quoting your's truly</i>:<br />
<blockquote>D'altra banda, la cadena també entrevista l'editor del club de fans del Madrid 'managingmadrid.com', Gabe Lezra, que assegura que pels madrilistes, 'el partit no és només una confrontació entre dos eterns rivals, sinó que es tracta de guanyar un argument sobre el país en sí'. 'En molts sentits, els fans dels Madrid veuen aquests partits com un argument entremaliat sobre la manera d'entendre el país com un tot', afegeix Gabe Lezra.</blockquote>Dude! It's weird because it's almost like Spanish, but it's not, you know? In all seriousness, I find it pretty flattering that 1) I got my words translated (weird), and 2) I apparently represent "CNN," because the title of the piece says that "CNN thinks..." Surreal.<br />
<br />
In slightly less odd news, that <a href="http://www.barcablaugranes.com/2011/5/3/2150265/el-clasico-part-4-uefa-champions-league-fc-barcelona-vs-real-madrid">article</a> I did with Sebastian over at Barcablaugranes.com ran, but it was more of an interview of me (the title is "Entering the mind of a Madridista"). Enjoy some highlights--I didn't mince my words, and said my part, and they treated me with a lot of respect. A really pleasant experience in all!<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>What do you think of Real Madrid's tactics and formation?</i><br />
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<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: Madrid's strategy in the three games against Barcelona over the last few weeks (1-1 in the Liga, 1-0 in the Copa final, 0-2 in the Champions League home leg), has had mixed results; because it's a strategy that justifies itself based on winning--a defensive strategy aimed to curb the other team's offensive explosiveness, frustrate, and only then run devastating counter attacks--these mixed results are indicative of Madrid's performance on the whole. That is, if the team had won (or at least drawn) every game, then the strategy would be fine--but they didn't.<br />
<br />
So I feel mixed about it. While I do enjoy watching a well organized defense repel attack after attack, frustrating the opponent to the point of aggravation, the strategy is only fun to watch when it works (pretty obvious, I know). If you're going to base your entire scheme on winning, then you have to win. Overall, though, I think it has been successful (the Copa win pretty much validates the structure), but not hugely, crazy-amazing successful.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Do you think Mourinho's post-match comments were justified?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: Not really. But he's a loose cannon, and will jump at anything he sees as an injustice. The man mixes emotion and cold calculation better than any coach I've seen, and in this case he went a little too far on the side of emotion--he was riding the post-match wave and seemed to get a little caught up in the moment. While there were some legitimate arguments to make, his over-the-top attacks dampened the actual situation and polarized the two sides: not necessary.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Do you think Pepe's playing style makes him more prone to controversial refereeing?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: Yes. He's a physical defender, who's large, lanky, and throws his body around. He's also incredibly talented, fast, and a bit insane (remember that time he flipped and kicked the stuffing out of that player?), so he has a reputation as a game changer--referees feel OK showing cards to Pepe because his reputation and his style suggest that he's a game-changing player (both positively and negatively).<br />
<br />
His reputation and style make it more likely that he will be shown cards, both correctly and incorrectly; because of his history, referees will tend to err on the side of being too stringent, like in the case of the Dani Alves red card in the most recent match. The action itself didn't warrant a red card, but Pepe's past behavior and physical style primed the referee to look for hard, cynical tackles. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>What would you have done differently if you had been coaching either team?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: For Real Madrid, I would have made the defense push a higher line: Barcelona got very tight and nervous in the first half of the Copa final when Madrid pressured all over the pitch. Rather than sticking with such a deep defensive line, Madrid should have been rushing out to pressure in Barcelona's territory, forcing errors and general frustration.<br />
<br />
For FC Barcelona, I would have instructed them to attack more down the flanks, and focused on trying to get balls over (not between) Madrid's defenders. Madrid is weakest on the sides of the defense, and didn't have particularly fast center backs; the key to playing a team that clogs the middle is to try to spread the field, and attack over the top from the sides with vertical runs on aerial through-balls. The other point I would emphasize would be not to get frustrated. If Barcelona could remain cool and composed against Madrid's defense, then they could limit Madrid's chances offensively by not pushing anything that wasn't there--that is, not trying through balls that Madrid's midfield and defenders will just intercept.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Do you think either team was more or less guilty of pressuring the referee?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: No. Both teams were terrible about this; the game gave a bad name to Spanish football. In a match-up that was supposed to pit the two best Spanish sides on a continental stage, both teams embarrassed themselves with their antics (both during and after the game). That's all I want to say about this.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Given Real Madrid's history with defensive coaches--they fired Fabio Capello after winning the Liga in 2006-2007--do you think Mourinho's style will affect the length of his tenure as manager?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Gabe Lezra</b>: I think that the cases (Capello and Mourinho) are very different. For one, Capello was brought in after a title drought that saw teams like Valencia in the ascendency, while Mourinho was brought in at the height of the Guardiola-era FC Barcelona. While Capello was asked to win a title, Mourinho was asked to win a title and check the dominance of Barcelona. In this case, it really was more important that Real Madrid win and ask questions later; for Capello, the main point was to bring Madrid back to prominence internationally. Capello didn't really achieve his goals; Mourinho actually has (to some extent). As long as Mourinho keeps winning--and keeps Madrid at the top of conversations internationally--then he'll keep his job.<br />
<br />
Another difference is in the fan's reception of the two coaches: even after Madrid won the 2006-2007 Liga, fans were still divided about whether they wanted Fabio Capello to stay. This season, after Madrid has had a relatively successful campaign (similar, really), fans are much more in favor of Mourinho staying. I think that speaks volumes.</blockquote></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-5000823030251686862011-05-04T03:04:00.000-04:002011-05-04T03:04:58.177-04:00Real Madrid Go Down Swinging, Draw 1-1 at Barcelona<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2011/05/04/futbol/liga_campeones/1304457965_extras_portada_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2011/05/04/futbol/liga_campeones/1304457965_extras_portada_0.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It wasn't the dream ending that many of us Madridistas had hoped for. But it wasn't a catastrophe: Real Madrid drew 1-1 at the Nou Camp in the second leg of the Champions League, a result that allowed Barcelona to advance to the final against Manchester United.<br />
<br />
While the aggregate score of the two legs favored Barca, 3-1, there is a lot more than that to take away from this tie: for Madrid, there is a sense of injustice, and in my mind, a vindication of Mourinho's strategy. Had <i>los blancos </i>escaped the Barnabéu with a 0-0 draw--which looked like the correct result after 60 minutes of play (that is, until CDM/CB Pepe was unjustly ejected)--today's 1-1 draw would have seen them through to the final.<br />
<br />
But we're not here to talk about last week's game: we rehashed that in our last post, and don't feel like reliving it. Today's game was much more indicative of where these two teams stand--when the cards are on the metaphorical table, and when Madrid manages to <i>finally </i>end a match with 11 men on the pitch, these two teams are very very even. Despite the possession and shot statistics (Barcelona dominated both), the final <i>score</i>, the thing that counts, was 1-1. Madrid defended well, protected the goal, and executed one perfect, lethal, counter-attack.<br />
<br />
While there was some controversy today, especially when referee Fran De Bleeckere unfairly disallowed a fair goal by Higuaín for a non-existant "foul" (and by that I mean Cristiano Ronaldo getting tripped and accidentally clipping Mascherano's back heel with his back), this isn't what we should take away from the match. What we as Madridistas should see is a team that knows how to fight, a team that can play with this so highly-lauded and FIFA-beloved Barcelona team.<br />
<br />
So as we approach the tail end of our season, there are a lot of things to be happy about, and a lot of things to be hopeful about. We can be happy that this young, exciting team has begun to gel; that Kaká is finally looking like the player we wanted to see all along; that Karim Benzema has had such a good year; that Mesut Özil and Angel di María may have been some of the best signings the front office has made in years; that Mourinho motivated this team to fight in every match; and that the youngest team in the league fought tooth and nail with the best Barcelona side of all time, and won the Copa del Rey.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2011/05/03/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1304453397_extras_portada_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://estaticos04.marca.com/imagenes/2011/05/03/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1304453397_extras_portada_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "foul" that disallowed Higuaín's goal. Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sure, we can feel angry that this tie was heavily influenced by the referees, that Dani Alves should get nominated for Best Supporting Actor, that out of the five games Madrid has played against Barcelona, they ended the game with 11 men only <i>once</i>. But that's not the point. This is the time of year for reflection, for looking to the positives, and to the things we need to improve.<br />
<br />
In the coming days I'll do a piece or two on the season as a whole, and probably on what talent we should bring in in the off season. For now, let's all take a moment to reflect on this season, to see the good with the bad, where we went <i>right </i>next to where we went wrong. And let's look to the future with excitement and hope for this young team.</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-74217696811261569902011-04-28T13:50:00.001-04:002011-04-28T13:52:29.893-04:00Real Madrid-Barcelona, AKA Dive-Fest 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://answers.bettor.com/images/Articles/thumbs/extralarge/Real-Madrid-versus-Barcelona-Flash-points-and-controversial-incidents-UEFA-Champions-League-65081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://answers.bettor.com/images/Articles/thumbs/extralarge/Real-Madrid-versus-Barcelona-Flash-points-and-controversial-incidents-UEFA-Champions-League-65081.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Alright, Madridistas. I'm not going to do a whole recap right now, partly because I'm waiting to see what happens with <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2011-04-28-3954507946_x.htm">UEFA's disciplinary case against Mourinho</a>, <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2914/champions-league/2011/04/28/2462504/jose-mourinho-real-madrid-and-barcelona-charged-by-uefa">Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the sport of football generally</a>, but mainly because I'm going to be doing one in conjunction with the guys over at <a href="http://www.barcablaugranes.com/">Barça Blaugranes</a>.<br />
<br />
I know, I know, I'm a traitor--but they're good guys, and I genuinely enjoy Adi-Oula Sebastian's work (even when he writes about Madrid). So expect to see that piece in the coming days.<br />
<br />
I was pretty pissed after yesterday's game, and I'm assuming you all were too. It's hard to describe how aggravating watching powerlessly as your team's players are ejected and given cards because the opposing team dives really is. But watching that against Barcelona? Yikes.<br />
<br />
I don't feel like doing the whole list of mistakes thing--it's played out and pretty much embodies sore-loserdom. Suffice to say that both teams made a mediocre (at best) referee's job impossibly hard: Madrid played physical, shut-down defense, and Barcelona threw their bodies all over the pitch. Madrid committed fouls; Barcelona <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2011/4/28/2139384/video-javier-mascherano-pedro--sergio-busquets-diving-barcelona-real-madrid">simulated</a>.<br />
<br />
The one thing I would like to stress is the importance of Pepe. Losing him was a huge blow for Madrid: he was Mourinho's silver bullet, the tactical anti-Barça that worked so well in the previous matches. Madrid wasn't the same without him, and the game was essentially decided. Whether he deserved to be sent off was another matter--of course, I think it was very rigorous, and the whole situation reeks of simulation and coddling.<br />
<br />
But instead of going on a whole rant, I'm going to provide a sample of day-after headlines and quotes from our players:<br />
<br />
<b>Mourinho: </b>"We're talking about a fantastic team--Barcelona--(don't misinterpret my words), but I don't understand why in a very equal game like today, they did what they did. Referees are supposed to ensure equality between both sides--afterwards, may the best team win."<br />
<br />
"Are we eliminated? Yes. Sometimes I'm a bit disgusted to live in this world, but that's life. We'll have to go to Barcelona with all of our pride, without Pepe who didn't do anything, without Ramos who didn't do anything, and without our coach who won't be able to be on the bench."<br />
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"Today we have demonstrated that no one has any chances against Barcelona, because UEFA won't let any other team play against them. I don't understand why. I'm not sure if it's about the Unicef advertising, or if it's because they're really nice..."<br />
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"If I were to tell the referee and UEFA what I'm thinking, my career would be over--that's why I'm only asking one question: why? We could have played three hours and the game would have stayed at 0-0."<br />
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"Drogba was sanctioned after the Champions League Semifinals, just like Bosingwa; Motta wasn't allowed to play in the final because he was ejected against Barcelona. And both Wenger and Nasri were sanctioned after their tie in the quarter finals. Now, I've been sanctioned, and I shouldn't even be here (in the press room)."<br />
<br />
"Guardiola is a great coach, but he's won a Champions that I would be ashamed to have won with the scandal at Stamford Bridge. And this year, if he wins it, it'll be with the scandal at the Bernabéu. He deserves to win a Champions under normal circumstances. It's what I wish for him because he's a very good coach who I respect as a person because of how well he treated me for four years. Yesterday, I didn't show him a lack of respect, I thought I could call him "tu" but apparently I have to call him Sir Josep Guardiola. I respect him a lot as a coach and as a person, and I wish that un day he'll have the pleasure of winning a Champions League without an incidents."<br />
<br />
<b>Adebayor: </b>"Football is a man's sport. But, every time you play with Barcelona, whenever you touch them they end up on the ground clutching their faces and crying like babies. And their coach and fans are always crying."<br />
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<b>Sergio Ramos: </b>"In reference to the refereeing, I don't have anything to say. Simply lamentable."<br />
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<b>Cristiano Ronaldo: </b>"You saw it yourselves. It's been four years now with the same type of thing happening all the time. Those guys on Barcelona have a lot of power, inside and outside of the pitch. 11 on 11 they didn't score on us and everything was in control. We didn't play great, but everything was in control. Then we ended up with 10 men and they scored two goals on us. Coincidence, right? It's always the same, year after year, I don't understand it. I really don't understand it, it's very hard to play like that."<br />
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<b>Iker Casillas: </b>"The red card to Pepe was very rigorous, but that's what we're used to, no big deal."<br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ygmGIFz_EP0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-35519758921446578692011-04-27T12:20:00.000-04:002011-04-27T12:20:35.677-04:00Managing Madrid on CNN! (And some other nonsense)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I was recently interviewed by CNN Correspondent Will Tidey about all the <i>clásicos </i>this month--the story ran yesterday. I'll post some excerpts here, but you should definitely check out the whole article <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/04/19/el.clasico.rivalry/index.html">here</a>:<br />
<blockquote>"For Madrid fans, the game isn't just about getting one over on our eternal rivals, it's about winning a small argument about the country itself," said Gabe Lezra, editor of fan site, managingmadrid.com</blockquote></div><blockquote>"In many ways, Madrid fans view these games as a playful argument about the way to see and understand the country as a whole."</blockquote>In fact, they liked me so much they asked me to upload a short video of myself talking about Real Madrid. It'll run at 5:30 on World Sport segment of CNN International; you can also check it out here--<br />
<br />
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<br />
I've been pretty psyched after our HUGE triumph in the Copa del Rey, but have been pretty swamped with the end of my school year--but fear not, Josh and I will record a podcast this evening, to run after our third <i>clásico </i>of the month.<br />
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Oh, and did you hear what Guardiola said about Mourinho?<br />
<blockquote>"In here [the press room] he's the fucking boss, the fucking champ. I'd be happy to give him his own personal press box champions league title right now." (Source: El Mundo)</blockquote>Pretty absurd, right? WRONG: apparently, when Pep got back to the hotel where the Barça players are staying, they treated him like a hero. In this instance, our old "philosopher" as Zlatan Ibrahimovic calls him, took a play out of the José Mourinho playbook--saying something crazy or angry to deflect criticism of his players and create an "us-against-the-world" mentality in the dressing room.<br />
<br />
Well played.<br />
<br />
In other news, the <i>terrible </i>Wolfgang Stark will referee the game. Let's pause before we kill ourselves to remember that he was voted the WORST REFEREE in the Bundesliga. Ugh.<br />
<br />
Ah, well. I'm currently taking bets on whether Madrid will end the game with 11 men on the field. In fact, here are my current odds:<br />
<br />
Over 10.5 men on field after 90 Minutes: +540<br />
Between 10.5 and 9.5 men on field after 90 Minutes: -110<br />
Under 9.5 men on field after 90 Minutes: +210<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote></blockquote></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-8265313539497778982011-04-17T16:42:00.001-04:002011-04-17T16:44:51.266-04:00Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona: Blancos' Pride and Determination Mark a Gritty Stalemate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/06/fullj.79eefa81cd558e596ca3b37a97ff299f/79eefa81cd558e596ca3b37a97ff299f-getty-fbl-esp-real_madrid-barcelona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/06/fullj.79eefa81cd558e596ca3b37a97ff299f/79eefa81cd558e596ca3b37a97ff299f-getty-fbl-esp-real_madrid-barcelona.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getty Images</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One down, three to go. In the first of four highly anticipated match-ups, Real Madrid and Barcelona drew 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in what was a gritty game marked mainly by players' nerves and referees. Leo Messi put Barcelona ahead 1-0 on a penalty after Raúl Albiol pulled down David Villa in the box (the Madrid defender was shown a direct red card); Cristiano Ronaldo tied the game at 1-1 for Madrid after Dani Alves mistimed a challenge on Marcelo (Alves was not shown a card, though a yellow would have been his second of the game).<br />
<br />
Perhaps the most interesting part of the match was Mourinho's decision to include Pepe in the midfield trivot, at the expense of Mesut Özil, and to slide Albiol into Pepe's center-back role next to Carvalho. Tactically, the Portuguese defender's presence in the midfield stifled Barça's passing, relegating them to horizontal possession for most of the game. <br />
<br />
It was a tricky move by Mourinho, one that belies a belief that we here at Managing Madrid share: possession does not win a game. By ceding possession to Barcelona, Mourinho cut off their dangerous diagonal passing lanes (that had so destroyed <i>los blancos </i>in the first leg), and relegated their "style" to mainly negative (that is, backwards) passes.<br />
<br />
It also meant that Madrid played mainly on the counter-attack--which is arguably Barcelona's weak link: Ronaldo and Di Maria bombed down the flanks with Benzema in the center looking for quick passing lanes and vertical runs. While this style only gave <i>los vikingos </i>a small percent of the game's possession, it actually resulted in a similar number of total goal-scoring chances.<br />
<br />
Critics of Mourinho (and of Madrid generally) will argue that this brand of counter-attacking, defense-oriented, fast-paced football is "bad" or "boring" football, that it shames Madrid to play like this. That's total bullsh*t. Seriously. There's no one brand of universal "good" football--I love watching my team defend properly, cut off angles, shut down attacks. I love watching fast-paced counters, brutal, lightening-quick finishing. That's way more beautiful, to me, than negative, horizontal, <i>boring </i>possession-based football. To say that one way is "better" than another is necessarily to make a totalizing universal out of a subjective opinion; and to the argument that Barça's style has resulted in trophies, I would respond that so did this style, unless Italy's 2006, 1990 (etc) World Cups, Greece's 2004 Euro Cup, and more recently Madrid's 2006-2007 Liga don't count?<br />
<br />
I'm getting way off topic, though, because the real focus of the match was the refereeing, which has pretty much been attacked on all fronts. I'm going to try to be fair here--to both the teams <i>and </i>to the refs--because there have been so many biased articles about this already.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Barcelona wanted a penalty on Casillas for an encounter with Villa in the first half. This was a tough call: in my (in)expert opinion, Villa did himself no favors by beginning his fall <i>before </i>Casillas got to him. At the same time, there was some contact, but no clear indication that Villa could have gotten the ball had there not been contact--close play, could have gone either way, but the right (no-) call in my opinion. Madrid got the better end of the stick on this one.</li>
<li>The first penalty. The right call, Albiol grabbed Villa's neck and pulled him down. Would have liked to see him try for the ball at least: you're giving up a shot or a penalty in that scenario, the least you could do is swipe at the ball.</li>
<li>The second penalty. Dubious, but ultimately correct. There <i>was </i>contact, though Marcelo did exaggerate his fall, and Dani Alves <i>was </i>way behind when he went to ground. While this was much more up in the air than the first penalty, Alves has no business going to ground there--Football 101: referees are looking to make up for earlier penalties, so don't give them an excuse.</li>
<li>Alves <i>not </i>getting booked for his tackle. Terrible call. If the penalty call is correct (remember, <i>if</i>), then Alves <i>has </i>to be booked. Textbook yellow card: going to ground, missing the ball, preventing an attack. This is where everything unravels: the referee looked weak, and didn't back up his original call with a punishment worthy of the crime. Barça got the better end on this one.</li>
</ol>Incidentally, the referees left everyone unhappy, which seems oddly fair. It'll be sad to see Albiol miss the Copa final (his punishment for his red card), but it was deserved; Barça will be counting their lucky stars that the same thing didn't happen to Alves.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In the end, though, this was the least important of the four games, and has left much to be decided. Madrid proved to themselves that Barça isn't infallible, which should be a huge boost going in to the next few legs of this crazy season. They also proved that they have the guile, grit, and love of the colors to pull out a win even when everything seems lost--that has to count for something. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's just hope that Mourinho will be able to <i>finally </i>finish a game against Barça with 11 men on Wednesday...</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-31545250102484561862011-04-15T14:36:00.000-04:002011-04-15T14:36:44.399-04:00Real Madrid Romp into Champions League Semifinals, FOUR Clásicos Await<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2011/0413/romanpavlyuchenko,samikhedira_275x155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2011/0413/romanpavlyuchenko,samikhedira_275x155.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Javier Soriano/Getty</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>Los blancos </i>beat Spurs 0-1 on Wednesday to secure a spot in the Champions League semifinals that seemed preordained after their 4-0 thrashing of the London side last week. They'll move on to face arch-rival FC Barcelona for a shot at winning their record 10th European Champions League title.<br />
<br />
But that won't be their first shot at Barcelona this month--the two giants are set to play four (that's right, FOUR) matches in the next three weeks: the Champions League semifinals, the Copa del Rey final, and have a regular-sounding Liga BBVA match this weekend. That's a lot of <i>clásico.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
A few notes from the Spurs game first:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Madrid--and especially Raúl Albiol looked solid defensively. They'll need that in the coming weeks against Barça, so it's good to see him in such good form.</li>
<li>Unfortunately, Ricardo Carvalho saw a yellow card and will miss the first leg in the Bernabéu--all the more reason for Albiol to step up.</li>
<li>Cristiano's goal wasn't really <i>his </i>goal: Gomes, Spurs' keeper, bobbled a long-range effort that eventually squirted into the net. Bad error from a solid keeper. </li>
<li>For the second game in a row, Kaká looked good. He's running better than I've seen him run in years, playing with pace in his passing and his finishing. He had a curling effort barely blocked by Gomes on the far post that was particularly vintage Kaká. </li>
<li>While the tie was pretty much over after the first leg, CR7's really nailed it down--I kept doing the math in my head: Spurs needs to win 4-0 to force overtime, 5-0 to win outright; if Madrid score, the number jumps up to 6 goals. </li>
</ul><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s4.as.com/prom/201104/pro_photo1302884055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s4.as.com/prom/201104/pro_photo1302884055.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pulpo Iniesta" picked Madrid!<br />
C/O As.com<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">So with Madrid about to face Barça tons--side note: I'm trying to decide what to call this month, "Classic April," "Do or die Month," or maybe "<a href="http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/iniesta-iker-sustitutos-paul-predicen/20110415dasdasftb_14/Tes">I hope those two octopuses were right</a> week"--we're in for what will surely be an unforgettable, wild ride, hopefully with a ride down the Castellana at the end of it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know how any of this will turn out, but I'm pretty excited to see where it all leads. Enjoy it, folks. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-74994822749576703042011-04-11T17:54:00.000-04:002011-04-11T17:54:22.153-04:00Where Were We? Real Madrid on the Verge of Champions League Semis, Set to Play Nemesis Barça Four Times in One Month<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cadenaser.com/recorte/20110409csrcsrdep_7/XLCO/Ies/Kaka-celebra-primer-gol-Athletic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.cadenaser.com/recorte/20110409csrcsrdep_7/XLCO/Ies/Kaka-celebra-primer-gol-Athletic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Where on earth have we been? Our last post was about Ronaldo's injury, which seems like ages ago: since then, Madrid has dropped points in la Liga--all but securing our fate as runners-up once again--and dismantled Tottenham in the Champions League 4-0 at the Bernabéu. We have a lot to talk about, so I'll make this brief: Josh and I are both students at top-tier American universities, and because we are just <i>so smart </i>(sarcasm people), we decided to take on year-long projects called "senior theses" (imposing, I know). Over the course of the last two weeks, <i>both of us </i>had to turn in our theses--hence, why we didn't post. (I somehow managed to find time to watch <i>los blancos </i>thrash Spurs, though, which was a fantastic diversion from my tedious writing/editing/printing process).<div><br />
</div><div>The good news? We're done. And we're back with a vengeance. Expect regular updates, and weekly podcasts from now until the end of the season--as much, if not more, Managing Madrid than you could ever want. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So. It looks like Madrid have lost the Liga. That's the bad news. Honestly, it was pretty much locked up since a week or so into January, but our home loss to Sporting clinched it. Mourinho lost his consecutive home matches won in the league streak (had to eventually happen, and I'm actually pretty glad it wasn't Barça who did it). </div><div><br />
</div><div>The good news? This might free the players up to chase the Champions more now. We can rest players in preparation for Champions League clashes during the weekends, and prepare our starters to face the much tougher challenge of playing against Spurs in England, and Barça in the Nou Camp. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade--so to speak. </div><div><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2011/04/11/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1302500108_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://estaticos02.marca.com/imagenes/2011/04/11/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1302500108_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C/O Marca.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>Case in point: Madrid handily beat Athletic Bilbao over the weekend, with two goals from a resurgent Kaká (he looked better than I'd seen him in years). On the bench? Özil, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Xabi Alonso (among others). It was a great game all around, and it's good to see Kaká looking so happy on the pitch--we're going to need him for the stretch run.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Back to the Champions League: <i>los blancos' </i>game against Spurs was pretty much the Adebayor show. That guy <i>owns </i>Tottenham. He gave Madrid a great vertical threat (both of his goals were off his head), and he looked great all game--some people even think that he earned himself a spot on the team next year. While I'm not ready to say that, I'm definitely excited by the way he's playing, as he provides an aerial threat Madrid has sorely lacked.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>The game was <i>really </i>decided by Peter Crouch, however, who with the score already 1-0 to Madrid made two idiotic, identical slide tackles within the space of five minutes. Boom--red card. Spurs lost their aerial threat, Bale's crosses didn't have a striker to put them away, and Madrid began to dominate possession. While <i>los blancos' </i>play should be lauded, Crouch really shot Spurs in the foot.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In terms of the return leg at White Hart Lane, Madrid would have to lose 5-0 to not qualify; if <i>los vikingos </i>score, the magic number would be 6-1; if they score twice, the magic number is 7-2. It's not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination; at the same time, the odds are pretty slim that Madrid will give up 4 goals without scoring at least one, especially against a Spurs team without Crouch (suspended because of his red card).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Looking forward, then, <i>los blancos </i>have Barça in the Semifinals, the Final of the Copa, and then in the Liga. What a month--we should certainly consider it make-or-break for Mourinho. Get excited, people. Hala Madrid!</div></div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-65477951780284795462011-03-21T22:09:00.000-04:002011-03-21T22:09:18.046-04:00Ronaldo's Injury<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpakistani.com/assets/images/2011/03/soc_g_ronaldo11_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rockpakistani.com/assets/images/2011/03/soc_g_ronaldo11_300.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Cristiano Ronaldo has been struggling with a niggling hamstring issue for the last few weeks. Mourinho decided to risk him against Lyon and for 70 minutes against Atléti, and managed to win both. However, during the Atléti game, Ronaldo allegedly re-injured his hamstring and will be out for 2-3 weeks, likely returning for the Champions League quarterfinal match against Tottenham on 5 April. <br />
<br />
However, it seems like a number of people think this is a cunning ruse to get Ronaldo out of international duty with Portugal for the next two weeks. Tim Sherwood, the former Blackburn legend and current Tottenham coach sent to scout the Madrid derby match, claims he doesn't think Ronaldo really suffered a hamstring injury. Sid Lowe also doubts the injury, claiming that the idea is to allow Ronaldo to fully recover from his injury instead of going off to play for Portugal for two weeks and thinks that the Madrid player will skip the game against Sporting and return for the Spurs match as planned.<br />
<br />
Of course, given our attitude toward international football (we don't like it), we think this is genius! Go Mourinho!<br />
<br />
</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-14025849842940402462011-03-21T21:59:00.000-04:002011-03-21T21:59:02.989-04:00The Curious Case of Karim Benzema<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32898/f/533234/e/1/s/10ce6a63/l/0Lmedia0Brtl0Bfr0Conline0Cimage0C20A10A0C10A260C76324976820Il0Eattaquant0Edu0Ereal0Emadrid0Ekarim0Ebenzema0Bjpg/7632497682_l-attaquant-du-real-madrid-karim-benzema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32898/f/533234/e/1/s/10ce6a63/l/0Lmedia0Brtl0Bfr0Conline0Cimage0C20A10A0C10A260C76324976820Il0Eattaquant0Edu0Ereal0Emadrid0Ekarim0Ebenzema0Bjpg/7632497682_l-attaquant-du-real-madrid-karim-benzema.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I'd wanted to write an article on the amazing rehabilitation of Karim Benzema over the last month or so when he had looked essentially dead in the water, but Sid Lowe over at the Guardian seems to have beaten me to it, so go read his excellent <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/mar/21/karim-benzema-kitten-of-war">piece</a>.<br />
<br />
I am not particularly impressed by Lowe's purple prose style nor his habit of presenting Spanish culture in a vaguely imperialist manner (i.e. "Look at these silly Spaniards with their bizarre customs! Isn't that absolutely mad?") but his work is certainly the best on Spanish football in the English language at the moment, and actually it is better than anything in the Spanish press I've seen.<br />
<br />
<br />
Lowe's argument is quite interesting, particularly in light of the way we <a href="http://managingmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/11/sigmundmourinho-why-we-shouldnt-give-up.html">treated</a> Karim Benzema's form earlier in the season. Back then, Gabe claimed that we shouldn't lose faith in Benzema's ability and that he merely needed a change in mentality, which Mourinho could provide with some coddling. As it happened, Mourinho didn't do this, giving Benzema opportunities to prove himself and then, having been disappointed, refused to place his trust in the Frenchman. Lowe argues that this lack of trust was exaggerated as part of Mourinho's political ploy vis-à-vis Valdano and Pérez; for instance, Mou left Benzema on the bench and played with no striker at all in the draw against Almería.<br />
<br />
Mourinho eventually forced a concession from the management and got his new striker, with the club bringing in Adebayor in January. Adebayor is more of a Mourinho type striker - tall, strong, a target man who can play with his back to goal and barrel ahead with the ball - than the elegant, silky Benzema. This loan signing managed to do what Higuaín's injury failed to do and galvanized Benzema into action, setting him on a phenomenal scoring run and a seismic change in his style of play.<br />
<br />
Lowe claims that Mourinho is going to receive the credit for reviving Benzema with his incredible player psychology, and it may be that this is the case (Benzema himself has come out and said this, although Mourinho attributed it to the player himself as well as Zinedine Zidane), but that essentially it has come from a combination of Higuaín's injury and Adebayor's arrival taking the pressure off of the Frenchman. Mourinho undermined Benzema on a semi-regular basis in the press, perhaps as part of an attempt to shame him into a response, but now that he has served his purpose in getting Mourinho his striker and a win over the hierarchy at the club, the coach is simply picking his team instead of doing so with a particular agenda. And right now, Benzema is the obvious choice to lead the line.</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-987781413818111462011-03-19T22:54:00.000-04:002011-03-19T22:54:03.741-04:00Atlético Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid: Blancos Continue Unbeaten Derbi Run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5sGpoaqGQjE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
First half goals from the on-form Karim Benzema and Mesut Özil saw Real Madrid continue their remarkable run in the Derbi Madrileño despite a nerve-wracking final push by Atléti. This is Real's fourth win already against los Colchoneros this season, with the city rivals having met twice in the league and in a two-legged match in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. In fact, Atléti have not won against Madrid in the league since 1999, and given their disastrous form this season overturning that record always seemed beyond them.<br />
<br />
Mourinho opted to play a form of 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1, with Angel di María relegated to the substitutes' bench and Lass starting in his place. Mourinho claimed after the game that this was designed to help his side control the game better given their low energy levels after their midweek exertions against Lyon. Ronaldo inexplicably started despite clearly needing a little more time to reach full fitness, and the Portuguese never really looked back to his mercurial self.<br />
<br />
Los Merengues started very well, with the first chance coming just six minutes into the game. Benzema slid a superb ball through for Sami Khedira, playing him on against the young de Gea, but the German was unable to steer his shot past the keeper. <br />
<br />
Early goals have often characterized recent derbies between the two sides, and this was no exception. In the 11th minute, Khedira returned the earlier favor by controlling the ball on the break, taking one touch, and then sending a magnificent ball through for Benzema on the left side of the box with the outside of his foot. The Frenchman, in incredible form as of late, made no mistake with a chipped finish over the keeper to make it 1-0 to the away side.<br />
<br />
After Madrid had opened the scoring, however, Atléti began to take control of the match. In the 20th minute, Kun Agüero picked up a pass on the edge of the box and lashed a low drive at goal, which Casillas tipped around the post.<br />
<br />
Just as Atléti began to dominate in search of an equalizer, los Vikingos doubled their account. On 33 minutes, Marcelo beat his marker down the left before cutting the ball back to Özil at the edge of the box, who curled his first-time shot into the roof of the net. De Gea managed to get a hand on it, but was clearly surprised by the speed of the move which left him little time to react. <br />
<br />
The Rojiblancos came out explosively in the second half, no doubt inspired by a vigorous team talk, and had a number of chances. Casillas made a number of key saves, notably from Agüero one-on-one in the 54th minute. Madrid had their chances as well, with Ronaldo and Benzema combining well before the Frenchman released the Portuguese one-on-one inside the box, but the ball was just overhit and Ronaldo only managed to hit the side-netting from the narrow angle he was afforded. <br />
<br />
Atléti continued to attack until the bitter end, managing a goal in the 86th minute to make matters more interesting, with Agüero, the home side's best player on the night, playing a one-two with Koke before putting the ball past Casillas. Madrid managed to see the game out without further incident, however, and took the three points on the night to keep them within touching distance of Barcelona, who had a poor game against Getafe despite their 2-1 win, and could well have drawn if Casquero's shot had been a foot either side of the keeper instead of straight at Valdes. </div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-70625352509341100682011-03-18T13:25:00.001-04:002011-03-18T13:32:18.384-04:00Real Madrid to Face Spurs!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The draw results are in, and los Merengues will play Tottenham Hotspur for a spot in the Champions League semifinals. Real will play the first leg in the Bernabéu on 5 April before travelling to White Hart Lane a week later on 12 April. The winner will play either Barcelona or Shakhtar in the semifinals, setting up the possibility of a mouthwatering two-legged Clásico next month, which would mean Madrid and Barcelona playing each other an astonishing four times in as many weeks: the potentially crucial Liga tie at the Bernabéu, the Copa del Rey final and the Champions league semifinal. <br />
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In my article before the draw, I ranked Tottenham 5th of out 7 in terms of our preferences for the quarterfinals, although I was perhaps being generous. Certainly Real are heavily favoured by pundits and bookmakers alike to make short work of Spurs, whose rise to the upper echelons of European football has been commendable but are not thought to have the capability to beat a frankly unarguably superior Madrid side. Madrid's roster is better in every position across the pitch, including on the dugout, where Mourinho has beaten Harry Redknapp all five times he has played his teams. Mourinho has only lost to Spurs once, beating them seven times. <br />
<br />
I do think Spurs are dangerous, but it's important to realize that their form in Europe has been somewhat illusory and overhyped due to the fact that the team have not traditionally been top European competitors. In the group stages, Tottenham conceded four goals in just 35 minutes in the first half of the match against Inter at the San Siro. Spurs did manage to come back to within one in the second half against an Inter defense in shambles with a superb hat trick from Gareth Bale, and won their home game against the Italians 3-1, but frankly Inter are a shadow of the side they were under Mourinho, particularly in defense. In the absence of Samuel, and with the shocking drop in form of Maicon and Julio Cesar this season, they constantly look vulnerable at the back. In their game against an equally suspect Bayern team, Inter made a series of horrendous defensive errors and were extremely lucky to pull through.<br />
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Similarly, the win against Milan is hardly as impressive as it was cracked up to be. Milan battered Spurs throughout the two legs and were extremely unlucky to lose. This is a fairly dire Milan team we are discussing here, it must be noted, certainly the worst this decade if not one of the worst ever, filled with aging players who should have been unable to cope with the pace of Spurs. Real Madrid generally dominated Milan in the two games we played against them in the group stages.<br />
<br />
It is also the case that part of the success of Tottenham against the likes of Inter was that they were an unknown quantity. No one had any idea of the explosive pace of Bale and teams failed to set themselves up properly to deal with it. Mourinho knows the current Tottenham side very well now, and he likely won't be making the same mistakes. With Ramos playing a more disciplined, defensive role under Mourinho, the Spaniard will be assigned to mark Bale, cutting off the spaces to run into and preventing him from sprinting with the ball at his feet. <br />
<br />
In the end, I think it would be a shock if Real failed to progress to the semis. The key will be to put the tie to bed in the Bernabéu, where a good result would put immense pressure on Spurs going into the game at White Hart Lane. Redknapp's men would be forced to push forward for a goal, playing into the hands of Mourinho. Any goals generated on Madrid's legendary counterattacks would add to our lead as well as counting for the away goals rule. Should Madrid fail to score at home or go to White Hart Lane with a score draw, things will be significantly less comfortable. However, Madrid have a 100% record at home in all competitions this season, are one of only two unbeaten sides in the Champions League, and have scored 19 and conceded just 3 goals in the entire competition thus far (Spurs have scored 19 and conceded 11).</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-34116531053277823862011-03-17T14:58:00.002-04:002011-03-17T14:58:43.461-04:00Abidal Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Great news! It seems that the surgery determined that the tumor on Abidal's liver is benign! We wish him all the best but hope that he takes his time with his recovery...</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-17956139054822482882011-03-17T00:45:00.001-04:002011-03-17T00:45:54.261-04:00What Should Madrid Hope For in the Champions League Draw?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Having progressed to the last 8 for the first time since 2003-2004 (auspicious, given that Mourinho won his first Champions League with Porto that year), Real Madrid now awaits its fate in the draw. Here are our preferences in order, with justifications:<br />
<br />
<br />
1. Schalke<br />
It is fairly clear that Schalke are the weakest team remaining in contention. Given a relatively soft draw against Valencia in the octofinals, the German team put in a dominant performance to win the tie. However, the team is in turmoil after the sacking of coach Felix Magath and sits in 10th place in the Bundesliga, only five points above the relegation zone. Schalke should not, however, be underestimated in European competition. Blancos legend Raúl is the top scorer in the history of European competition and cannot be ruled out, and Farfán and keeper Manuel Neuer are also classy players. Still, most of the teams in the draw would be pleased to receive Schalke as an opponent in the next round.<br />
<br />
2. Shakhtar<br />
This was a difficult choice, as the Ukrainians can be extremely dangerous on their day. Teams from Eastern Europe are often underestimated given the limited exposure audiences of most mainstream leagues have to their style of play. Shakhtar have fantastic technique, are highly physically fit and organized, and defensively very disciplined. They are a tough unit to break down, and showed their attacking verve by dismantling Roma in their octofinal as well as winning their group ahead of Arsenal. However, defeating a Roma team in shambles that has decayed precipitously over the last few years is hardly the same as going toe to toe with Real Madrid. In addition, an Arsenal side that is frankly rather mediocre in comparison to Madrid absolutely hammered Shakhtar in the Emirates, winning 5-1. If Los Blancos can't make it past Shakhtar, they don't deserve to win the competition.<br />
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3. Inter Milan<br />
This Inter side look very little like the disciplined, iron-willed team with impeccable defensive organization that Mourinho took to an unprecedented treble last season. First of all, Leonardo is no José Mourinho, and the veteran tactician would look to exploit his rival's tactical naivete and inexperience in this tie. <br />
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Second, many of the key players from last term have experienced a sharp decline. Eto'o is dangerous as always, but Sneijder has been experiencing a typical second-term slump, just as he did after his excellent debut season with Madrid. Walter Samuel's season-ending injury destroyed the excellent defensive unit that Mourinho created, and without his presence Inter has relied on players like Ranocchia and the aging Materazzi; the former made several errors in the Bayern tie that showcase his inexperience, which Madrid's attackers would relish. Chivu has looked unsteady, while Maicon's decline and humiliation by Gareth Bale has been well-noted in the press. Zanetti is 37 already and Milito, so crucial for his side last term, has been out of form and is currently injured. Julio César is a weak point, having made high-profile errors in a number of big games recently. <br />
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Still, the team have some dangerous players and a sense of self-belief that carried them through against the stuttering defense of Bayern Munich and will not lay down and allow Madrid to walk past them into the semis.<br />
<br />
4. Manchester United<br />
This was something of a tossup for me between United, Spurs and Chelsea for the next three spots, as each team has distinct advantages and weaknesses, and it is hard to see where each will be form-wise by the time the next tie comes around. This United team is probably the worst I have ever seen in terms of quality, and although Ferguson has managed to keep them in the running in the Champions League and the league, they have been slipping as of late, losing games to both Chelsea and Liverpool and allowing Arsenal to encroach. Their massive injury list, including both starting central defenders, Vidic and Ferdinand, has led the coach to play a number of stitched-together formations this season with varying success. The once-impregnable United defense looks vulnerable, and indeed Marseille very nearly got past them in their octofinal. If Marseilles had finished better (and United cannot expect the same leniency from Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Özil and company) they would be out of Europe. <br />
<br />
If the United defense plays a high line, then the pace of di María and Ronaldo will look to get behind them, and the likes of Smalling and company are never going to be able to cope. Özil is very good at dragging players out of position with his off-the-ball movement like Kuyt did in Liverpool's 3-1 win, where the Dutchman scored a hat-trick playing off of United's high line. If United defend deep, as they did at Marseille, they leave too much space for Madrid's attackers on the flanks, and crosses into the box or delicate interplay and through passes will be the result if the inexperienced United backline fails to pressure Madrid's attacking players.<br />
<br />
United are always dangerous, however, especially in a knock-out competition. We should never count them out of it, and I would certainly prefer not to draw United.<br />
<br />
5. Tottenham Hotspur<br />
I put Spurs above United because I think they have the potential to be a real banana skin for a big team in the Champions League. They have put in some quality performances in the group stage, notably against Inter, and managed to see off Milan in the octos. They have some fantastic, experienced players as well as some rising stars (Van der Vaart, Bale, Gomes, Lennon, Corluka, Modric) and are well-organized, as shown by their mature 0-0 draw against Milan.<br />
<br />
Spurs have a lot of pace on the counter and on the flanks, which can be dangerous. A moment of defensive panic and a single mistake could see Spurs through in a quarterfinal. However, I think they have not yet faced a side of real quality in Europe and that Madrid would see them off without too much trouble. <br />
<br />
Milan and Inter are both shadows of the teams they once were, particularly the former. Milan's defense is old and incredibly slow and they prefer to play three central midfielders, so they are vulnerable to pace on the flanks and counterattacks. Madrid are one of the youngest and fittest sides in European football, and have dynamic wingers and fullbacks that should help to pin back the attacking runs of players like Bale, who will be forced to go up against di María and Ramos. If Madrid play like they did against Lyon, who also prefer to counter down the flanks, playing cautiously and relatively deep to restrict space on the counter until going up and then sitting back and allowing their opponents to break themselves trying to get a goal, they will have little trouble with Spurs. <br />
<br />
One must also remember that Spurs have looked very fragile at times in Europe, going 4-0 down to Inter in a matter of minutes in the group stages and only barely squeezing through in two legs against Milan, who Madrid relatively easily outplayed in their group.<br />
<br />
6. Chelsea<br />
I'm not sure if I'm giving Chelsea too much credit, given their domestic troubles recently, their decaying squad and the poor form of new signing Torres. Chelsea have also had the easiest draw in the tournament, both in the group stage, which they breezed through without breaking a sweat, and in the octofinals, where they came up against a disappointing Copenhagen side, coasting through 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and only managing a weak 0-0 draw in Denmark. It's tough to say based on these results how Chelsea will fare against top opposition in Europe, seeing as they haven't faced any.<br />
<br />
However, Chelsea's squad is still the third strongest left in the competition, after the Spanish giants. They have a strong, resilient defense with Cech, Alex, Ivanovic, Terry and Cole among others to choose from, a potent midfield with the likes of Essien, Lampard, Malouda and Ramires, and an evergreen attack with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. This is a strong side, even given their problems in midfield, indifferent form and tactical issues. José Mourinho got the better of Ancelotti in Italy, though, as well as rather effortlessly eliminating Chelsea last season with Inter, so he might not have much trouble with his old side here.<br />
<br />
7. Barcelona<br />
What can we say? Barcelona are a class above the other possible opposition. With this being almost certainly the best Barcelona side of all time, and with La Liga so much stronger than the other European leagues, we would much rather wait until later in the competition to face our eternal rivals. Lionel Messi feels the same way, according to an article. Such a match-up would also feel anti-climactic so early in the tournament. <br />
<br />
Barcelona have easily the best squad in the competition on paper, with the possible exception of ours. However, they have shown significant cracks in their play recently, along with a number of high-profile injuries, and teams like Sevilla have shown that they can be beaten with the right tactics. In the earlier Clásico at the Camp Nou, Madrid played naively with a high line that Barcelona strolled through again and again. This time, Madrid should play deep and hit Barcelona on the counter while taking the game to them physically. Barcelona play high up the pitch and risk counterattacks against their weak defense, especially in the air, as their players are short. With Eric Abidal out for the season (and possibly the rest of his career) with his tragic cancer diagnosis, Barcelona's injury worries in defense become compounded. Piqué and Puyol have been injured of late, forcing Abidal into the center of defense. Now that he is out, Barcelona may have to play Mascherano or Busquets there, making them more susceptible to error and hampering the ability of Barcelona to build attacks from the back. <br />
<br />
Mourinho showed that the right tactics can defeat Barcelona with Inter last year, and this Barcelona side is significantly deteriorating, although they are still outstanding. Xavi's fitness is an issue, Pedro is out for a spell, Messi hasn't looked quite on form since his knock during the Sevilla game, and teams in the intervening period will look at Sevilla's success with being very physical, so I would expect to see a lot more hard tackling in the next few weeks and we will see how Barcelona deal with that. Clearly this is the worst-case scenario for the draw, but given the class of Madrid and Barcelona it is likely we will meet them at some point in the competition if we progress, so we should not fear to meet them now, when they are in their worst, most congested and most unfit part of their season. </div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-17699304161636193152011-03-16T21:46:00.000-04:002011-03-16T21:46:36.417-04:00Merengues Surge Past Lyon to Seal Place in Quarterfinals!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/ucL15_69aOk/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ucL15_69aOk&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ucL15_69aOk&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Real Madrid put Lyon to the sword at the Bernabéu tonight, easing past the French team 3-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. Mourinho made two key tactical shifts from the first leg, playing the marauding Marcelo instead of the more conservative Arbeloa at left back and the mercurial Benzema instead of Adebayor to lead the line. <br />
<br />
One of the reasons Madrid had trouble breaking down Lyon in the first leg was Mourinho's tactical miscue in playing Arbeloa instead of Marcelo. No doubt the reasoning was that the Spaniard offers more defensive security than the marauding Brazilian, but two issues with this emerged. <br />
<br />
First, playing a more defensive player on that flank meant Arbeloa didn't attack as much down the wing, both failing to pin the opposition fullback/winger by forcing them to come deep to defend and inviting pressure and attacks down that side, as more space was available in front of the deep-lying fullback. Second, playing an inverted winger (that is, a wing player who starts on the opposite side from his natural foot, such as Arjen Robben, a left-footer who plays on the right, or Ronaldo, a right-footer who plays on the left) with a similarly 'inverted' fullback means that both players have the tendency to cut inside rather than running at defenses to put in the cross. Thus, Ronaldo had no one on the overlap to provide an outlet for his passing and to draw defenders off of him and often found himself stymied by two or three defenders. <br />
<br />
At the Bernabéu, Mourinho made no such mistake, and his choices paid off in the key role Marcelo played in the match. The match started off relatively even, with Madrid having the lion's share of the possession but failing to make chances against a resolute Lyon side. Lyon played a deep defensive line and looked to play on the counter, so Madrid's passing failed to draw out defenders, while the Merengues were unwilling to commit too many men forward as it might allow Lyon the chance to counterattack incisively. As the first half went on, Real's dominance began to fade as Lyon created some decent chances from breaks down the wings, earning a few corners and putting some crosses into the box. Spells of Lyon possession also led to some nervous defending from the Whites, leading to yellow cards for Carvalho, Marcelo and Pepe. <br />
<br />
Madrid had to conjure up something special to break the deadlock. In the 37th minute, Ronaldo and Marcelo exchanged passes on the edge of the box before the Brazilian dribbled through with a superb piece of individual skill before finishing handily past the excellent Lloris. <br />
<br />
In the second half, Lyon pushed forward desperately, looking for a goal. Puel brought on Gomis for Briand during the interval, bringing Lisandro Lopez across to the left to keep Ramos in check. Madrid, however, were happy to sit back and frolic in the open spaces left behind by Lyon on the break. In the 66th minute, Benzema displayed the predatory instinct that has helped him to a remarkable scoring streak in the last few games by taking advantage of confusion between Cris and Lovren on a longball to spring free and put the ball through the legs of the onrushing Lloris. Ten minutes later, di Maria chipped a third over Lloris after a slick counter and a clever headed pass by Ozil. Mourinho was happy to take the opportunity to bring off Ronaldo, di Maria and Benzema and bring on Lass, Granero and Adebayor to see the tie out. A broken Lyon team made no attempt to score a consolation goal, happy to keep Madrid from turning the tie into a rout. <br />
<br />
Madrid saw themselves past their bogie team in Lyon and their curse of the last 16, where the Whites have failed for the past six years. Here are the last 8:<br />
<br />
Real Madrid<br />
Shakhtar Donetsk<br />
Chelsea<br />
Manchester United<br />
Tottenham Hotspur<br />
Internazionale<br />
Barcelona<br />
Schalke</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-19099317130977964342011-03-16T12:01:00.000-04:002011-03-16T12:01:23.021-04:00Our Thoughts are With Abidal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/thumbnails/199_150/Imatges/2008-2009/futbol/noticies/jugadors/abidal/ABIDAL_copia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/thumbnails/199_150/Imatges/2008-2009/futbol/noticies/jugadors/abidal/ABIDAL_copia.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
We here at Managing Madrid often joke about wishing serious injury or death on Barcelona players. Soccer is, however, just a game, and some things go beyond partisan rivalries. Our thoughts are with Eric Abidal at the moment, who has been diagnosed with liver cancer and will have surgery this week to remove the tumor. Solid organ tumors are incredibly serious and have low survival rates, but it seems like the Barcelona medical team caught the cancer early, which dramatically raises the chance of success with the surgery. Hopefully Abidal will pull through, beat his cancer and return to his career. <br />
<br />
We are also saddened by UEFA's cold-hearted refusal to allow Madrid and Lyon, Abidal's former club, to wear T-shirts in support of the stricken player. No doubt the teams will find some way to show their support for Abidal.</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-74842571339250449812011-03-12T20:21:00.001-05:002011-03-12T20:21:47.775-05:00Merengues Ease Past Hércules Ahead of Lyon Clash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jv-Dirk8X6A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Real Madrid put the onus on Barcelona to keep up their winning streak at Sevilla on Sunday with an assured 2-0 win against giant-killing Hércules. Benzema scored goals on either side of halftime to secure three points for Los Blancos in a match that the Castellana side never looked like losing. Madrid played the game at a fairly slow pace, no doubt in order to conserve energy for the crucial Lyon tie in in midweek. <br />
<br />
Mourinho decided to rest a number of key players ahead of the Lyon match, including the Portuguese centerback duo Pepe and Carvalho as well as Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira, who made a return from injury as a substitute. Top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo also missed the match through injury, although he is scheduled to play against Lyon. Casillas started in goal, with Albiol and Sergio Ramos in central defense flanked by Arbeloa and Marcelo. Lass, Granero, Özil and di María lined up in midfield behind the offensive pairing of Adebayor and the red hot Benzema. <br />
<br />
Benzema came into the Hércules game with five goals in his last three games and did not disappoint in his dress rehearsal for the match against his hometown club with another brace. Los Vikingos started strongly, dominating possession and pinning Hércules deep in their own half. Hércules did manage to string together a good sequence of possession, however, resulting in a shot by Portillo and an easy save by Casillas. <br />
<br />
Aside from a couple of good Granero efforts from free kicks, Madrid failed to create any clear-cut chances until the 24th minute, when the electric Özil slipped a beautiful pass to put Arbeloa through on the right and the Spaniard played a perfect square pass into the path of Benzema's clever run for the Frenchman to finish emphatically with a drilled shot. Hércules responded well but failed to take advantage of their possession before the halftime whistle.<br />
<br />
Just after the restart, Adebayor was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet as di María's lobbed pass found the unmarked Togolese, whose shot cannoned off the crossbar with the keeper beaten. Catalayud was then forced to make a good save to keep out Benzema's shot from a narrow angle after another good bit of play from the diminutive Argentine. <br />
<br />
In the 56th minute, Benzema grabbed a second with a superb piece of individual skill, latching onto a great ball from di María setting him free on the left before cutting inside, beating a defender, touching the ball onto his stronger foot and then lashing a fine strike inside the far post. <br />
<br />
After going 2-0 up, Mourinho made several changes, bringing in Khedira and Alonso for di María and Granero, perhaps with the idea of allowing the first-choice pair some minutes before the Champions League game in midweek. Los Blancos peppered the Hércules goal with a series of chances, but Catalayud stood strong to keep the scoreline respectable, saving from an excellent Özil free kick as well as shots by Marcelo, Benzema and Adebayor.<br />
<br />
With this victory, Mourinho's men find themselves four points behind Barcelona before the Catalan club's game in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán against Sevilla. Even if Sevilla manage to take full points off of Barça, Madrid would still need to beat the Catalans in the Bernabéu and hope that Barcelona draws or loses again in order to have a chance of winning the league.</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7235878196912387354.post-43198865641856033622011-03-12T08:41:00.001-05:002011-03-12T08:44:45.364-05:00The State of Internet Sports Journalism: Update on Bleacher Report Situation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In my last post, I referenced an incident that occurred yesterday with the website <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/">Bleacher Report</a>, to which I contribute regularly as Real Madrid's "Featured Columnist." The website decided to publish, and then subsequently promote, an insensitive, offensive, and shockingly thoughtless article comparing the tragic tsunami and devastation in Japan to natural sports "disasters," including, for example, a large snowfall during a Cleveland Browns game.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/image_pictures/0042/8298/bleacher_report_feature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/image_pictures/0042/8298/bleacher_report_feature.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>B/R made a terrible decision to allow this article to be published, and it was even more shocking that they pushed it to the top of their front page. The author made a stupid mistake, and has paid the price: he has been universally derided, and his privileges to write on B/R have been revoked. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the aftermath of this stupid article, B/R has been apologetic, and has acted with grace and respect for the victims. They have decided to make a donation to the American Red Cross, and have directed the traffic from the terrible article to sites that support the victims. We applaud their efforts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In a letter to the B/R community, CEO Brian Grey responded to some of our concerns: </div><blockquote>The senior leadership at Bleacher Report accepts responsibility for this unfortunate incident. Posting rights for the contributor who initiated the piece have been suspended and the actions of the editors involved are being reviewed.<br />
<br />
As we’ve posted previously, Bleacher Report is making an immediate cash donation to the Red Cross relief fund and will continue to provide support to those efforts. Our thoughts remain with the people of Japan as they attempt to overcome this unimaginable tragedy.</blockquote>We appreciate B/R's decision to contribute to the relief efforts, and their exceedingly fast action in response to this terrible article.<br />
<br />
At the same time, this whole situation has made me think about the Bleacher Report model: they reject well-written articles, news stories, or even opinion pieces in an effort to drive up hits.<br />
<br />
They beg their writers to publish more slideshows with catchy titles, and little text. They often-times reject well qualified writers in favor of people who will provide badly written, stupid, contentious articles that will create angry yelling rather than interesting debate. They'd rather have an article titled "10 Reasons Why FC Barcelona is the Greatest Franchise in the History of Professional Sports Ever, Even Better Than Whatever Team You Like So Suck It," than "The Miami Heat and the Problems of the Low Post." They focus on visuals--pictures or videos--over writing; they care about fluff more than content.<br />
<br />
Essentially, they're not a sports-media company; they're an entertainment media company that occasionally publishes sports articles.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/200/418/cover_display_image.jpg?1271441878" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/200/418/cover_display_image.jpg?1271441878" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like this? It's the cover photo from B/R's <br />
"Cristiano Ronaldo's 20 Hottest Girlfriends"<br />
It's also the last time anything like this will be here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>They don't try to hide this, and in a way it makes sense. The more hits they get, the more advertising money comes their way. The more their articles pop up on Google, the more people hear about their site, the more trashy, junky, badly-written articles spur yelling matches between idiots, the more traffic--and money--flow into their site. They will never be able to compete with <i>real</i> sports-media companies in <i>actual </i>journalism; but they <i>can </i>compete with the likes of ESPN, CBSSports, or BBCSports if they put up a bunch of semi-pornographic shit, like, say, "<a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/379631-cristiano-ronaldos-20-hottest-girlfriends">The 25 Hottest Pictures of Ronaldo's Newest WAG</a>."<br />
<br />
The problem that I'm seeing is this: why don't they just become a porn site? I mean, 100% of their highest-grossing articles (in terms of hits, purely) are articles promising "hot photos". Why not ditch the sports label entirely?<br />
<br />
Here's the answer: people who want to look at porn want to be able to do it in safety. B/R offers them a "safe" way to look at nude pictures without getting "made" in search histories.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, I have no issue at all with porn. I don't even have an issue with the Bleacher Report model--it works well enough for them, as they're clearly a profitable site. But I do have an issue with our site being associated with it so closely. So from now on, I'm going to stop reposting articles on here from that site. Instead, I'll use it like they use me: as a way to drive up hits to <i>this </i>site. I'm going to only publish trash there, because that's what they want; if you want good pieces, I will post them here.<br />
<br />
/End rant. Thanks for bearing with me through that.</div>Gabe L and Josh Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672738517162441noreply@blogger.com0