Almeria Preview

I am not gonna lie folks, I am getting really worn down with the constant blogging. But as we have seen reader levels spike in the past two months, in no small part to the Real Madrid Offside team giving you as much content as we can, I press on. Another week, and another match. Obviously the Copa del Rey match between Real and Irun has just concluded. I did a small cut-and-paste for you here regarding the match. But on to the weekend, and Sunday’s match against Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo. Game time is at 1pm eastern time Sunday.

Almeria:


Almeria are no longer the darlings of La Liga. Last year they impressed many with their resilient and often attractive play, including a win over Real at the Estadio Mediterraneo. As teams before them like Getafe or Vilarreal in the way past, they were hailed as a great new addition to the La Liga pile of teams that had gotten stagnate a bit in the early part of the decade. But as Getafe will tell, or even better, Zarazgoza, staying in La Liga after that first year is sometimes harder then staying up the first year. And that is the plight they now face.

Currently 9th on 11 points, they are still looking like a solid team that is always capable of an upset. Seeing as how they finished 8th last year, they will probably be looking to hold on to the same spot this year, as to further cement their place in the league. They have a good infrastructure, with the previously mentioned Estadio Mediterraneo a very nice ground to visit, even with the running track. They lost their “genius” coach in Unai Emery to Valencia, who has been doing well so far with his new team, but I wouldnt say he was the main reason the team did so well last year. They have a very established core of players who have been with the club for some time, as well as a good backroom staff.

The Estadio Mediterraneo

Their new coach is Gonzalo Arconada, who had led Numancia in the past. He is also a very good coach from the Basque region like Emery, and has kept most of the same players from last year together. He likes to play a 4-5-1 that looks like a 4-3-3 when attacking, almost. He is a little cautious in his approach, but at home the team comes out of their shell a little more often. The recent hammering by Barca 5-0 may force his hand to try to keep things water-tight at the back before his team go on any extensive attacks, but a midweek Copa del Rey win against our city neighbors Rayo Vallecano will help the morale. The use of attacking fullbacks also allows for the more rigid midfield.

To highlight a key player on the team, we look no further than Castilla product Alvaro Negredo. Some dubbed him a poor man’s Roberto Soldado, but now it looks like Soldado is a poor man’s Negredo based on their scoring records. Negredo never played a competitive game for Real, being left on the bench for Copa del Rey games, but did play for Real in a Atletico Madrid friendly for Jesus Gil. In the 2006-2007 season he scored 18 goals in the Segunda for Castilla, although the team was relegated. He was then sold to Almeria, counting 13 league strikes last year, including a penalty against Real in Almeria’s first win against us in some time.

This year, the powerful striker has scored 5 goals in 6 games, nothing to scoff at. He has also been declared a person of interest by Vicente Del Bosque, who is always looking to lively up his forward line, especially with Dani Guiza having a miserable go of it in Turkey. Some say Negredo is the new Morientes, terrific in the air with a predatory instinct in the box. I agree, as he has those tools, but he also has good feet and can create a chance for team mates, as he holds the ball up well, something our current forward line needs some work on. What I would give if Real bought him back last summer…

His striker partner is usually non-existant, as he is given the task of the ploughing a lonely road up top, but sometimes, late in games he is accompanied by club captain Jose Ortiz. Ortiz, one of three with that last name on the team, is not a goal machine by any means, but much like our captain, is a motivator and inspiration on the field. Ortiz is usually used in a substitutes role to provide an extra option late in games, much like our captain probably should be used too.

Also up front they have journeyman Esteban Solari, brother of former Real player Santiago Solari, who they signed from PUMAS in the summer. Solari has not played much this year, but he did have a game winning double in the Copa del Rey this week, so he may see some game time against us. There is also the former Valencia trainee Natalio, who returned from a decent loan spell with Cadiz last year.

Somewhere in between a forward and a winger, Kalu Uche also has been a steady player for Almeria. He is a danger on set pieces, and has the knack for scoring improbable goals against the big clubs. He not to be confused with Getafe player Ike Uche.

In the midfield, its practical practical practical. Jose Manuel Ortiz is a former Atleti trainee who has been solid for Almeria for two seasons now on the right wing. He is tricky to handle, but not someone Sergio Ramos should have to many problems with. Then again is Salgado keeps playing out of his mind I would have to say likewise for him. On the opposite flank, Albert Crusat is a skilled winger who fights for every ball and commits his fair share of fouls. He played extremely well last year, something I didnt expect because I remember rating him very low in my first Almeria preview. Both men give Almeria alot of width, nearly playing on the outside lines, but not needlessly bounding forward. They combine well with their fullbacks and can cover for them if need be.

As far as other options out wide, there is another Castilla product in Miguel Angel Nieto, a player I rated very highly after some stirring performances during the Capello era. He didnt make the first squad last year and played his contract out before moving to Almeria. Reunited with Negredo, he has seen his playing time limited so far. He scored 13 goals last season from the right wing position, and he is no doubt a La Liga caliber player, it just remains to be seen if he has his coaches trust. On the left as a backup is the “Little Wizard” Pablo Piatti. An outstanding talent at 17 with Estudiantes in Argentina, he is a record signing for Almeria, and already has two appearances and a goal for the team. He didnt make the bench for the Barca game, and again, it remains to be seen if Arconada has faith in his younger players. Piatti is an exciting talent, and one to keep an eye on.

In the center, its a two man partnership and then a offensive midfielder further up the pitch. The two man partnership consists of Miguel Angel Corona and Fernando Soriano, both who played together at Zaragoza. Soriano has been a solid player through the years, and despite his defensive leaning had 6 goals to his credit at Zaragoza, and 11 at Almeria since 2005. His partner, Corona, is yet another Castilla player to have left for lower league teams only to make it in La Liga. He sits deep with Soriano, but he is quite skilled and his distribution is excellent. He will break forward if the situation permits, and look for him to shoot from distance a few times.

The attacking midfielder in the center is Julio Alavarez. yep, he was a Castilla product too! How many is that now? 4 players and counting. Alavarez is very skilled, and is capable of dribbling at the defense and has a wide repatoir of moves to unlock a defense. He is also a goal threat, especially from free kicks where he has a very good right foot. He so far has not shown his true potential with Almeria, with only 1 assist. He could be replaced by Iriney, who is a defensive midfielder by trade, pushing Corona further up the pitch.

At the back they have the reliable Bruno at right back. He is not the quickest of lads, but he is a good defender. He wont attack to much, be he does move up the pitch to support the offense from time to time. He is helped out by the fact that Manuel Ortiz is able to provide adequate defensive coverage, in much the same way that young Brazilian stand out Guilherme is able attack frequently because Crusat can help him out defensively. I like Guilherme, I think he is a very talented player at 19, and has been cutting his teeth with Almeria since a transfer from Sao Paolo last January.

The center back pairing is a little less impressive, with Argentine Pellerano and either Juanito or vice captain Santiago Acasiete. Pellerano has done okay so far this year, but he and Carlos Garcia were shred to pieces in the Barca match. Now this doesnt say that much because Barca have been attacking oh so well during the first half of the season, so most defensives will have toruble coping with them. Maybe Juanito will be thrown in to the mix to help solidify the backline, he did very well last year with Carlos Garcia. Pellerano most likely will drop to the bench, but dont hold me to it.

Almeria also has an up-and-coming keeper in Diego Alves, who like Sergio Asnejo and Miguel Moya is regarded as the best young keepers in the league. He will provide a stern test for our strikers on Sunday.

Real Madrid News:

Ruben de la Red has been moved to a Madrid hospital to have further tests done on his condition. So far the prognosis is good and he should be able to make a return to training in a weeks time. This is great news for all of us Madridista, and I for one am very releaved. Also, Miguel Torres jogged a bit on the pitch yesterday continuing his return to fitness after injury.

That is it on the injury front, as all the other players are healthy and participated in this weeks training sessions for the Irun game as well as before the Almeria game. So considering some players played in Irun, I would expect to see some of them start against Almeria, namely Higuain, Heinze and Salgado. I dont think Ramos will be restored to the lineup just yet, while Marcelo may play if Heinze is used in the center, but with Canna rested, he should start in anticipation ofthe Juve match. Raul could stat on the bench with the Juve game in mind, likewise Guti.

Marcelo Presser:

Rubén de la Red gave quite a scare yesterday…
I had never been so scared in my life and I had never seen anything like it before. We were all scared. I’ve asked the doctor how he’s doing and he told me he is fine.

Is it possible to stay focused on a game after that?
We prayed and asked God for this to never happen again and for Rubén to recover soon.

Did Antonio Puerta come to mind? Did you think it could have been more serious?
He fell and we all thought he would get up, but he couldn’t, so we called the doctor. The good thing is that he’s fine now.

You lost 3-2 against a Second Division B side…
We always try to win, regardless of our opponent. We are an important team and we must now think about our match with Almeria.

How does the team feel after the defeat?
I don’t like to lose against any sort of team.

Is the team still thinking about the defeat?
We have to forget about it, rest, travel to Almería and try to win our next game.

Barcelona’s five goals against Almeria could be deceiving…
Barcelona also defeated Atletico with many goals and it was a whole different game when we faced them. We know it won’t be easy.

The team is conceding many goals…
We have to put an end to that. We are powerless to prevent it from happening sometimes. It is very hard to concede three goals against a Second Division B team.

Also check out the this article on the four former youth team products that now play for Almeria.

As for a final score, I am going to go with 2-1 in favor of Madrid. Hopefully Steve will have a live-blog up so people can follow along. I will not be watching the game as the Buffalo Bills have a divisional game against the Jets at the same time Sunday and it is one of only three times a year I can watch them play. Lets hope for both a Bills win and a Real win. HALA MADRID!

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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