Real Madrid Castilla 10/11
By: Corey |
150 Comments
The Canteranos Selected for the US Tour
Another preseason, and another Castilla preview for all Real Madrid fans to pour over as they look for the next great promise of the cantera. This is the fourth time I have done this and I have to say, this time the turnover was amazing, but that this year may be the best positioned for promotion and to graduate a few players to the first then in the previous three years. Not sense the De la Red/Negredo/Soldado/Granero/Javi Garcia years has there been such a buzz about a generation in the Castilla. And not just the Castilla team, but also many of the Real Madrid C team players as well, who look like having bright futures also. So without haste, lets get the preview started with a quick run down of some of the administrative duties, starting with the league calendar, then the coaching staff and player ins and out before I get to my squad breakdown.
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Raul Ends His 16 Years With Real Madrid
By: Corey | 89 Comments
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Double sad face, as we have now lost our captain, one of the greatest ever players this club has seen and one of the greatest ever players to ever play football. Raul was my idol growing up, although I never really could translate the fine art of striking on to the field, he was still the player I looked up to most. His dedication to the crest, his strong personality and leadership skills and most importantly, the passion he played with in every game were exemplary. And lets not forget the goals he either, a whole lot of them. Yesterday we lost Guti, and today we lose Raul. It is the end of an era at Real Madrid, one that has proven equal parts successful and disastrous for the club. You wouldnt know it judging by these two players though, who both labored on through thick and thin for the club.
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Category: Team NewsGuti Ends 24 Year Association With Real Madrid
By: Corey | 67 Comments
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Sad face is the best I can do to describe my emotions towards Guti leaving. To think its been 15 years since he broke in to the first team… I feel like I have been a Real fan forever now. My second favorite player has left the club, and it is a huge loss to the 12 year old me who use to practice taconazo’s and no look passes in the yard just like Guti. He will be missed gravely. Goodluck in Turkey with Bernadine, and lets hope you come back after retiring to coach with Ruben and Raul. More thoughts on Guti can be viewed here, when I did a post discussing his abilities and time with the club at the end of the season.
Check out the links for highlight videos and the club’s official release on the player as well as a special thanks from Florentino Perez. A fitting end that he took the press conference with Jorge Valdano, the man who gave him his debut in 1995.
Adios muchacho….
Category: Team NewsRejoice: Pablo Sarabia Signs On!
By: Bassam | 54 Comments
What a relief! People have been asking about this guy for a while and much like Marcos Alonso, he was followed by clubs all over Europe. But finally he has penned down a new contract that will keep him with the whites till the end of the 2012- 2013 season. Lets hope by then he would have developed into the world class player that we are hoping he is and most importantly, he gets the chance to actually showcase his talent!
On not so bright news, Marcos Alonso seems to be on his way out of Madrid to England where he might be getting a first team spot with Bolton. I haven’t heard much about it and nothing has been official yet, so until then i won’t be able to know if there will be a buy back clause. But my guess is, unless our management system is utterly stupid, then we definitely included a buy back clause for him. I like the buy back system. Much better than the loan to be honest. Gives the player a sense of assurance that he has a team to play in and gives us a little cash to work with. I still think we should have kept him and not bought a left back but obviously the management doesn’t think so. What a shame.
For those of you who didn’t know, the first team played against Castilla yesterday and the game ended 1-0 to the first team. Sarabia played a full half for Castilla and according to the website, Lass and Garay where the most impressive as they seemed the most fit. M. Diarra was used as a center back for both lack of personnel reasons and experimentation. As i mentioned in the post before, he can be really valuable for this team and can be our own Yaya Toure. Fyi, we do a lot of stupid sells, and although they got good money for him, Barca selling The Yaya was a huge mistake IMO. Yes Busi has shown he is decent, but Yaya is years in front of everyone in his position. I wonder if Benzema is busting his ass in training. He better be because he has some stiff competition from a favorite of mine, our very own, Pipita!
Anyways, Hala Sarabia and Hala Madrid!
Update: On a funny note, Goal.com has added a section called Rumors! It’s sad how they consider themselves a sports website.
Category: Team NewsM. Diarra. An Example To Follow
By: Bassam | 89 Comments
Last year, when Lass lost his place in the first team for Gago, he threatened to quit and leave. Gago before he took Lass’s spot also wanted out of the club in search of first team and regular football. Diarra last year played 6 games. Season before that he got injured and missed most of the season. The 2 seasons before that? You guessed it, he was one of the most important players in the squad. He anchored the midfielder and was our physical presence in the middle. He was the best player to collect long balls from goal keapers. He wasn’t fast but he didn’t need to considering the way he played. He just kept it simple. He stood behind the play maker (it was Gago and Guti back then) and let them do their business while he did the cleaning. That is why Gago ended the season with 9 assists. That is why the season before that Guti had 14 assists.
Despite not seeing the field for so long, he was inspirational in the dressing room. Helped deal with the Granero situation perfectly. He was the first to jump up and celebrate. And how Alonso played in the World Cup and with Liverpool with a deep lying midfielder behind him is sentiment for why M. Diarra should start. Lass doesn’t play that role, and neither does Gago. He is just the type of physical player that can help us compete against English teams and physical La Liga teams. Despite my opinion that M. Diarra is one of the best in his position, if the club sees other wise, then they should get someone that plays that role. But who throws away one of the best DM’s in the world just because he had a season full of injuries? Yes Lass runs his socks off, but its what you do with that running that counts.
Before i end this, and as you defend Lass, if anyone didn’t notice, Ruben De La Red has been joining the team for some light training as he gets ever closer to completing his degree in coaching. I don’t know what that means, and to be honest, I don’t want to get my hopes up. It’s just nice to see the kid back. He deserves the best. Here is what fellow blogger Deepak had to say about the whole thing.
Category: Team NewsLa Liga Fixtures Are Out, And Filipe Luis On His Way To The Wrong Side In Madrid
By: Bassam | 79 Comments
This won’t take long. Just a couple of thoughts on my mind. La Liga Fixtures are out. We play away to Barcelona on November 28th and then host the cules on April 17th. Everyone mark your calendars. We play the first game away to Mallorca, which should be a tough one. Look at what Marca had to say here. And for a full fixture list, then go here.
Category: Team NewsNews Or Rumors And What I Think…
By: Bassam | 62 Comments
A lot of shit has been going on. A lot of rumors and a lot of interesting information. I will jump right into it.
* Pedro Leon signed for Real Madrid and said we are the biggest and best team in the world, but we know that already. Great signing. Someone that i mentioned last year before he made the move to Getafe. We could have gotten him 6 mill cheaper but thats not a big deal. 10 mill paid for him is a great bargain considering i see him better than Di Maria who we paid more than double that amount. We have width now. A lot of width. I don’t think both Di Maria and Leon will be starters. I think it will be one of the two in a sense of rotation. Leon does fulfill that passing quota that I’ve been asking for since passing is something he is good at. This also means that we will definitely be playing a 433 or a 4231, which in my opinion are really the same thing.
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Category: Team NewsFormation Formation.
By: Bassam | 54 Comments
This is a guest post from a regular here at the blog, the one and only, Zizou! He talks about possible formations and personnel. Show him your appreciation, he has done a great job. Anyone who wants to write something then they can contact me and i will be happy to post it. Enjoy, and props to Zizou.
Category: Team NewsGuest Post: The A-Z Review of the World Cup
By: Corey | 79 Comments
CAMPEONES!!!!
As it is the summer, the blog slows down a bit as yours truly and everyone else associated with the site takes some time for rest and reflection. Luckily there is a strong user driven content community here, whether it be suggestions for posts or in this case guest posts. So without further ado, here is a guest post by long time reader Kaushik Lakshman on the World Cup:
Category: Team NewsLets Hear It For The Champions!
By: Bassam | 18 Comments
Can’t be anymore happy. First because I’m a Spain fan. Second because our boys have gotten the biggest trophy a player can get. Not only in the football industry, but in any sport. Viva Espagna. Hala Albiol. Hala Arbeloa. Hala Alonso. Hala Ramos. Hala Casillas! Hala Madrid!
Enjoy a couple of pictures while i disappear for a couple of days and then come back with a little something on the world cup.
ouch
World Cup winning save
Group hug
cry like the legend that you are
Category: Team News
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