Addition through subtraction?

By: Steve | August 10th, 2007

Luckily for Real Madrid fans, players don’t usually leave because they have ambitions for Champions League play or they’re being scooped out by another big European club. We’re the ones doing the scooping as our latest signing of Dutch winger Royston Drenthe proves.

No, if someone leaves Los Merengues, it’s either because they’re not wanted or they’re not good enough. Most players at this level would rather play all the time on a lesser team than be a benchwarmer, even for teams like Real or Barcelona, so frequently players will leave in order to get more PT on other teams. They might actually be quite good, but just not good enough to crack the first XI.

So, while Corey has done his overview (part 1 and part 2) of the team as it currently stands, let’s now take a look at those who’ve left this close season, and what that might mean for the team.

All my transfer commentary is based on this list here.

1. David Beckham
It’s hard not to list England’s favourite whipping boy as the most significant departure. After all, the England international’s stirring comeback last season seemingly sparked the team to its strong, title-winning finish - though that had more to do with Fabio Capello dropping his insistence on dual defensive midfielders (Emerson and Diarra) and Fabio Cannavaro finally finding some sort of form.

But you have to give credit where it’s due, and Becks made fools out of Ramon Calderón, Predrag Mijatovic and Capello (who, more than anything he thought personally, fell on the sword for his bosses), not to mention England manager “Second Choice” Steve McClaren. Already his presence with LA Galaxy is making waves around the world.

Sure, Becks can’t outrun anyone on the flank and he’s not technically gifted enough to dribble around even the most incompetent defender, but oh, that cultured right foot. Have you ever seen anything quite so exquisite? Cross after cross after magnificent, impeccable cross. I think reigning Pichichi Ruud van Nistelrooy shed a tear the day Becks announced he was leaving.

That’s not to say that I’m naive enough to think that he’ll be missed solely for his footballing. Becks’ marketing power, particularly in East Asia, was milked for all it was worth, and that helped build up Real Madrid as a brand. There’s a reason why you’ll see the white jersey of Madrid throughout the world, and it’s not because of Luis Figo or Ronaldo. Even former president Florentino Perez acknowledged as much when he brushed off Ronaldinho as being “too ugly” for the team. You know what he’s talking about.

2. Roberto Carlos
I think, even more than the departure of David Beckham whose tenure at Real lasted but 4 almost-emptyhanded years, the fans of Los Merengues will really miss the sight of Brazilian international Roberto Carlos marauding down the left wing with his overlapping runs and thighs the size of tree trunks.

This mainstay of Real’s defensive line provided 11 years of service and countless number of runs, attacks and (off-target) free kicks. The excellence by which Carlos played his position cannot be understated - he finished second to teammate Ronaldo in the voting for the European Player of the Year in 2002, and 5th in 1997.

Though he fell out of favour at the beginning of last season during Capello’s second stint as boss, he redeemed himself through the course of the year to finish as the starting leftback in the title-clinching match. But alas, by then he had already decided to move to greener pastures at Turkish club Fenerbahce.

Luckily for Madrid, new signing Drenthe looks very capable of filling Carlos’ shoes, with similar bursts of speed and a nose for goal. If the pursuit for Arjen Robben goes unfulfilled, look for Drenthe to play farther forward than Carlos ever did, with fellow youngsters Miguel Torres and Marcelo filling in at the back.

3. Diego Lopez
Let’s face it - Lopez stood no chance of usurping Iker Casillas from the Real Madrid goal, and if Casillas ever left, I’m not sure the technical staff at the Bernabéu even thought him worthy of a number 1 spot. Not a huge loss, and ably replaced by Champions League-winning Polish international Jerzy Dudek. Corey’s also mentioned the goalkeeping pipeline that Madrid have at Castilla, with Cordina, Adan, etc. Good luck at Villarreal, Diego.

4. Francisco Pavón, Raúl Bravo, Álvaro Mejía
I’m grouping these 3 guys because they essentially all played the same role - providing defensive cover for Los Merengues in late-game situations when an extra defender was needed, or when a starter was injured or suspended. None of these 3 stood out in their service, but none did too badly either.

Pavón has the misfortune of being forever associated with the Galactico policy, when former president Perez said he would build his squad of “Zidanes y Pavónes”, something he would later regret. All 3 came up through Madrid’s youth system and reserves, but all found themselves stuck behind international-level players, and Real’s coaches thought it better for them to provide cover than to be loaned out for more PT on a lesser team.

I think it’s quite interesting that Real have let all 3 go, but perhaps they think that bringing up other defenders from the youth system will provide enough cover for the defense? With a surplus of internationals at centreback and rightback, you can see why Madrid was insistent on pursuing Drenthe, though Barcelona’s capture of Eric Abidal makes you wonder why Real didn’t try to get him…

Anyway, best of luck to Señor Bravo, as he pursues Champions League play with Olympiacos. I actually think that Bravo and Mejía would have been decent enough to start, but were blocked in more than one instance by incompetent players, such as…

5. Iván Helguera
Now here’s a guy who I never understood. He kept getting starts and so much PT, all the while finding himself marooned on an island due to bad positioning, both on counterattacks and during sustained pressure. He made his name as a young up-and-coming defender, but his deficiencies were masked then by the great Fernando Hierro. He never learned and his instincts weren’t good enough. Basically, he was supposed to be Sergio Ramos before Sergio Ramos was Sergio Ramos. Good riddance.

6. Jose Antonio Reyes
This loss was a bit peculiar. Given Reyes’ desire to stay in Spain, and his ability to play on both wings, it’s a bit of a wonder that Real didn’t push harder for his transfer. He was a fair bit non-descript during most of the season, but he showed flashes of his talent throughout, most notably under the spotlight of the most important match of the year, scoring 2 goals in the final, title-winning match of the year.

He’s still quite immature, prone to petulant outbursts similar to the way Guti can explode. He’s also an accomplished diver. But seeing as how we’re pushing so hard for another petulant, diving left winger in Robben, who is also injury-prone, I don’t see why we didn’t want to pony up an extra couple million for Reyes. Surely the difference in talent level between Robben and Reyes doesn’t match the difference in their alleged transfer prices? Anyway, I’m not a big fan of Reyes, but given the glaring holes on both wings at the moment, I would’ve done that deal.

7. Pablo García, Miñambres, Negredo
Another grouping here, this time because none of these players played a significant, if any, role in the campaign last year, and wouldn’t have figured into plans this year either. Most interesting is that García is still a Real player, having been loaned out to Celta Vigo last season, and this year to newly-promoted Real Murcia, where he’ll be joining Mejía. Long gone are the days when García was proclaimed to be the “midfield destroyer” that Thomas Gravesen wasn’t… Oh well, he wouldn’t start in front of Mahamadou Diarra or Emerson anyways. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out…

8. Fabio Capello
Last but not least, the sad story of coach Capello. I can’t quite fathom why he was shoved out the door for basically doing everything his bosses asked of him: coach the team, build up fitness levels, sit Beckham, make astute tactical moves, win the title. Done.

All I can say is that maybe he’s the Gordon Ramsay of football. His style might be ingratiating, even offensive, to some, but it works. He gets results. And isn’t that what sport is all about? Winning? Someone throw Calderón and Mijatovic a clue. The perfect storm of Barcelona playing beautiful football and winning 2 titles on the trot isn’t replicable, only because they aren’t likely to make the same mistakes as we did.

Capello deserved better. But I don’t think he’s out of a job for lack of want. He’ll probably take his time and cherry-pick something that suits him, just as Sven-Goran Eriksson did with Manchester City and Mr. Thai Moneybags. Ciao, Il Capitano. Buona sera.