A 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!
Some priceless Mou magic after Madrid's fantabulous 5-1 destruction over Segunda B side Murcia. A couple notes from the game first:
Good to see Benzema running for the entire game. Probably the best he's played for los blancos--plus, he nabbed a goal today, which might propel him to more.
Mou brought on CR7 and Xabi at half time...when Madrid was leading 2-0! What the hell? I guess he cares about the copathis year.
GREAT to see Granero play so well! He slotted home his first goal--GOLAZO--of the season perfectly, and manned the team's attacks throughout the game.
After CR7 scored he dedicated his goal to his baby, who he fathered with an American waitress after using the pickup line "me, you, **** ****." Good game for him though.
While the team finally seemed to click in an elimination game (an issue the past few seasons), we should remember that we were playing Murcia.
Oh, and Mou got ejected in the 30th minute!
This last bullet point brings us to the topic of this post...what Mou said to referee Paradas Romero to deserve his first expulsion for Real Madrid: "Vete a la mierda," or "Go to hell." Pretty tame right? Well, we're glad it wasn't much more, because he probably won't be suspended like he was when he was at Chelsea in 2005 (he freaked out in a game against Barça in the Champions, and well...the ref had to retire).
Oh, and he also had an eyebrow raiser in reference to "el principito" Sergio Canales: "I knew who wasn't going to play well. I didn't like how Canales played today. I knew it was coming: I train with them every day. The players who train well are in good condition to play. Those that don't train well don't play well." Yikes. Let's hope Sergio is listening.
Messi's ankle after Ujfalusi's crushing tackle (GolTV)
Well, the good news is that Tomas Ujfalusi listens to our Podcast--we (jokingly) offered $5 to anyone who would brutally cripple Leo Messi. The bad news is that he missed--Leo will be back tormenting people with his douchey antics within 10-15 days.
To be fair, this was an absolutely brutal challenge and Ujfalusi deserved a red card--again, we don't condone anyone deliberately injuring Messi as seems to be the case here. But if something accidental happens during the normal run of play--well, that's out of our hands now isn't it.
Here's hoping for a swift recovery followed by a series of brutal injuries. Tomas, your check is in the mail. Well, sort of.
In an unrelated note, el Principito will be off the pitch for 3 weeks or so as he battles back from an ankle injury himself. We wish only the best to our young prodigy! Get well soon, dude!
Madrid fans may be stereotypically fickle and quick to get out the pañuelos, but we at Managing Madrid don’t think that there’s any cause for alarm. Although Mourinho’s first match was underwhelming, disappointing fans that expected to see a crack Madrid squad put the struggling Barralets to the sword, the result is understandable given the circumstances and hardly represents a serious blow to Madrid’s title challenge.
Due to the late start date of the Spanish league, this match will have little impact on Madrid’s rhythm for the rest of the season, as the players will now join their national teams before returning to action in two weeks. Additionally, because of the way that La Liga does tiebreakers, using head-to-head results rather than goal difference, as well as the gulf in class and consistency between the top two and the rest of the league, the two Clásicos will likely decide the winner. Real Madrid can likely afford to drop two points occasionally as long as it does not become a habit.
While I, along with many pundits, believed that Mallorca’s disastrous financial situation, the loss of several key players in the off-season and their woeful pre-season form meant we would see Real Madrid roll over them on the way to three points, Michael Laudrup and his men proved us wrong. The Danish legend excelled at giant killing during his time at Getafe and his team was compact and resilient today, relentlessly pressuring us on the ball. Mallorca were an excellent team last season, finishing fifth partly due to their extremely strong home form, losing at San Moix only to Real, Barça and Sevilla.
Their strength last year was predicated on their tough defense, which has remained mostly untouched by the summer sales. That was on display today as Dudu Aouate, the Israeli keeper, made a number of crucial saves to keep his side in it, while Rúben and Nunes, the Mallorca central defensive pair, harried and jockeyed our forwards every step of the way.
As Mourinho said after the match, the problems are a result of one major factor, which is the extremely limited amount of time that he has been afforded to work with his players so far. Because of the World Cup, injuries and new signings, many players are either unavailable or only very recently became available for selection. We knew Madrid wouldn’t be playing at their best, and in order to win even under such circumstances a team must be tidy at the back so as not to concede and take advantage of the chances proffered.
Today, Real Madrid did the first and not the second, which was exceedingly unlucky; on another day, the team might have put five or six of the chances away. Had the referee shown a frankly unarguable red card to Rúben for Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO) and given a free kick at the top of the box, which is prime Cristiano Ronaldo territory, the game would have been over in the 25th minute and the media would be talking about Mourinho’s sensational debut.
The problems with Madrid’s performance were relatively easy to see. Di María had a poor outing on the left, allowing the Mallorca defenders to heavily mark Ronaldo. De Guzmán hemmed Marcelo into a defensive role, diminishing our offensive capacity on the left flank. Mallorca’s high pressing caused us to give the ball away far too often and forced the likes of Canales to come deep to collect the ball. Our passing was all too often limited to longer vertical passes from deep that often recycled possession too quickly. Our tempo was slow, which failed to put pressure on Mallorca’s backline, but it also did not have the normal benefit of keeping possession more effectively.
But there were also some notable highlights: Mesut Özil looked electric, Canales, Xabi Alonso and even Sergio Ramos played some utterly sublime angled through balls, and Carvalho looked assured in the center of defense. Casillas was strong both offensively and defensively, with his distribution efficiently recycling the ball for counterattacks. Sergio Ramos had an excellent game marauding down the right and Khedira added dynamism and solidity to the midfield in the place of Lass, who offers little offensively. There is little reason to panic and great reason to look forward to this young, exciting team coming together in the games to come.
UPDATE, 2:28 p.m.: Mou's starting lineup announced: (4-2-3-1) Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Carvalho, Marcelo; Lass, Xabi Alonso; Cristiano Ronaldo, Canales, Di María; Higuaín. A por ellos!
Sergio Canales, the superstar-in-making, will continue his absolutely meteoric rise in two hours when he takes the field as part of Real Madrid's "The Mou Team's" starting 11. Sergio's absurdly fast ascension--from sitting on the bench for Racing last season to starting the first game of 2010-11 in Madrid White--looks startlingly like another young player, who happens to be starting for Barça this afternoon. Yeah, Canales-Messi comparisons are a bit extremely premature--but keep them in mind for the future.
Another bit of news from Mallorca is that Mou has decided to sit Mesut Özil in favor of the young argentine Angel di Maria, who wowed the Bernabéu (and the Special One) in the Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu. (Coming soon: average-age comparisons between 2010-11 Real Madrid and the 2008-2010 versions).
Finally, and most importantly, the new Official Real Madrid Pyjamas are now on sale. Grab these while they're hot people--trust me.
Overall:
It was an off-season of belt-tightening in the Liga BBVA, as MARCA eloquently put it, with only a few teams actually spending any money at all (and some of them totally ruining themselves in order to stave off the inevitable call of bankruptcy--Valencia, for example).
As such, Madrid's off-season was pretty balanced, as we released (or are in the process of releasing) various players--like Royston Drenthe, and, perhaps, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and added young, talented players who didn't break the bank (Angel di Maria, Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Sergio Canales, etc.).
We could've made a bit of a better push for Maicon, arguably the best wing defender in the world--I just wonder how much more we would've had to pay...
Overall, we definitely had a better off-season than Farça, who managed to--while in massive debt--sign David Villa for 40 Million Euros, sign Javier Mascherano, and sell Ibra for a third of the price they bought him for (no joke: they bought him for 40 million plus Eto'o, and sold him for 24 million).
Oh, and we added the the best coach in the world, "The Special One."
Grade: A-
José Mourinho:
I've been on the Special One's bandwagon since his days in Porto, so my heart leapt a little hearing Flo announce his name. His credentials speak for themselves, really, having not lost a home game since he managed in Portugal, being defending Champions League champ--he's a born winner (classic sports cliché, but very true in this case), and his ego, his personality, and his tactical mindset are exactly what the Bernabéu needs.
Grade: A+
Maicon:
The Brazilian was probably the most important piece on the market for us, especially as the game has evolved towards the importance of attacking wing-backs. While we already possess the other best wing back in the world in Sergio Ramos, Maicon could've really added an important piece to Mou's tactical puzzle.
From the news that came out of Milan and Madrid, the negotiations seemed stalled when Madrid refused to go above 24 million or so, and Milan wouldn't come down from 30 million euros. I feel like there could've been some compromise there--a bit more of a push from the Castellana could, in my opinion, have gotten this deal done.
Grade: C
Angel di Maria:
We obtained this talented 21-year-old winger from Benfica for €25 million, and he promptly rewarded us with a fantastic World Cup for Argentina. A phenom in Portugal, di Maria was widely regarded as one of the most important players and prospects on the market--a talented winger able to help a club in the short and long term.
This season, di Maria will be patrolling the lines of the Bernabéu much like he did against Peñarol in the recent Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu, where he scored a "magical" goal. Merengue faithful have already begun to fall in love with the lanky young argentine, and I expect him to be a major piece in our midfield of the future.
Grade: A+
Sergio Canales:
Well, a couple years ago Bojan was the future of Spanish football--no longer. Sergio Canales, the 19-year-old, whose Racing teammates affectionately nicknamed "Guti," made his debut for Madrid against Club América--and scored a brilliant goal.
The exceptionally talented center-midfielder has a keen passing sense, a beautiful through ball, and the ability to put the ball in the net (olfato goleador as we call it in Spain). He's rumored to be starting our first league match against Mallorca; he has essentially unlimited potential in many respects, as his ball skills, football sense, and shot will all get better as he matures as a person and a player. And at €5 million? He could turn out to be one of the best signings of all time.
Grade: A+
Pedro León:
While his signing came out of nowhere for most Madrid fans, anyone watching La Liga last season will have remembered the name Pedro León. He turned in a series of excellent performances on the wing for Getafe as the Madrid minnows earned themselves a Europa League spot and a stellar sixth-place finish. The former Spanish under-21 player is a flak player with good technique who can score goals as well. He will likely deputize for Ronaldo on the right wing, but is versatile and hard-working enough to make contributions across the midfield wherever he is needed. At €10 million, Pedro Léon represents a good, solid signing. His talent is such that despite his small reputation, he may look like a bargain in a few years.
Grade: B+
Ricardo Carvalho:
With both of Real Madrid's elder statesmen, Raúl and Guti, bidding the Bernabéu a tearful farewell this season, Mourinho looked to one of his loyal stalwarts to add some much-needed experience to the squad. With so many star names on display, it's easy to forget just how young this Real Madrid team is - excluding Jerzy Dudek, the back-up goalkeeper, Carvalho is the only player over 30 and only six outfield players are over 25. Although he is 32, Carvalho is in the form of his life and can ably shore up the center of defense in the same way that Mourinho used veterans Walter Samuel and Lucio for Inter last season. He is also needed to provide defensive reinforcements for a back line heavily depleted by injury. Carvalho is tactically astute, excellent on the ball, and a good tackler. He might only have two good years left in him but for only €8 million, it could be an inspired short-term signing.
Grade: A
Mesut Özil:
Some highlights for you:
The breakout star of the last world cup, this 21-year-old German of Turkish ancestry has already brought his magic to the Castellana. He was my favorite player in South Africa other than the already Real Madrid players (despite my two loyalties, Spain and the USA), and his reputation sky-rocketed after he masterfully guided the Germans, with two assists, past the mighty English. We bought his rights for a relatively modest 15 million euros (a steal, in my opinion), as he could one day replace Kaká as the center of the Madrid attack.
Immediately, Özil has become the center of Mou's offense, with plays running through and around him; he has showcased his immense passing ability in the our victory against Hércules, and should start against Mallorca. He also has immense potential, and like the two previous signings, will for a part of the Madrid Midfield of the Future (and the Present, actually).
Grade: A+
Sami Khedira:
Sami was one of our first post-South Africa signings, and to be honest, I was a little shocked. We got him at a very reasonable price (undisclosed, but rumored to be around 7 million euros), he's young, with seemingly limitless range and a fantastic head--for shooting physically, and for passing and organizing mentally. He scored a huge header in Germany's 3-2 win over Uruguay in the 3rd place match--dazzling.
He's competing right now with Pedro Leon, Lass, and Xabi (who's essentially assured a spot) for two center defending midfield spots in Mou's 4-2-3-1. He looks to have gained a bit on Lass recently, though no reports have come out as to which one of them is starting in the Mallorca game. He will very probably be a long-term center defensive midfielder in Madrid's Midfield of the Future.
A 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.
