Garay to join Madrid this year?
By: Steve | August 4th, 2008Hala Madrid! Wow, Madridistas, Corey and I are bringing you boatloads of info today. Well, here’s another nugget gleaned from that rumour mill we all know and love (yes, I speak of Goal.com). The latest thing I’ve seen, and only in passing, is that summer signing Ezequial Garay might return from the Olympics not to Santander where he was loaned back after his transfer, but directly to the Bernabeu.
The massive Argentine defender is in Beijing to defend his country’s honour, but the article says that coach Bernd is upset at the lack of new blood in the squad after the summer swooning over CRonaldo. Calderon and Mijatovic seem to have acquiesced to the German’s demands and brought in the super centreback along with Rafa van der Vaart (see our pieces from earlier today).
Now we know what to expect from Goal.com, but i think this piece has merit. Preseason matches have seen Javi Garcia pair up with Gabi Heinze in the back, due to injuries to Pepe and Cannavaro and the continuing absence of club form for Metzelder. Schuster is said to be fuming that he’s got so little cover for such an important position, hence the recall of Garay earlier than planned. The article says that Los Merengues will pay Santander 1mil euros to break the existing agreement and to repatriate Garay to Madrid.
I haven’t seen any other sources that have confirmed this, but if it’s true, we’ll really have brought in some talent, but I think we’re still missing another striker to come in if Ruud goes down. We’ll see if Calderon and Mijatovic can pull any more rabbits out of their hat.
Category: Team News
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I believe this story originated in the Spanish press, Marca I think.
I can somewhat understand why Schuster is considering such a move, and I doubt it has anything to do with him being angry about the transfer moves (or lack thereof) this summer. Canna is on the fast track to recovery, but he is still coming off of the first injury to require surgery in his career and the ideal situation would be for him not to play every match this season. Pepe is once again out indefinitely with an injury that should have been healed in a couple of days. Metzelder is not currently in form and is always an injury risk. RM’s lack of depth at left and right back is also troubling and requires that Heinze be more available there as opposed to playing in the center, with Salgado showing his age, Marcelo in China, and Torres still failing to fulfill the promise he showed under Capello.
Is Garay only a CB?
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Garay is only a center back. And I dont like this move, he should stay at Santander. Pepe will be back eventually, I think its sensationalist crap to think that Javi Garcia and Heinze in a PRE-SEASON game is a sign of weakness. Canna will be back eventually, and Metzelder is an injury risk, but thats true of any player. I disagree completely about Torres, he plays in two positions that are vastly different, and he was raised as a center back for Castilla. Also dont forget about Chema Anton, who is our spare left back, and I think will be a good player for us like Torres. Let Garay play for Santander in Europe. If our centerback situation is that bad, bring him in during January, because I doubt Santander will be involved in Europe past then.
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Hmmm I’m uncertain whether this would be a good move. Garay could hone his skills and get some Euopean experience and further mature as a player, instead of serving as back-up to Pepe and Canna. Heinze can cover for either of them with Marcelo or even Torres slipping in at left back. Ramos is untouchable on the right and Salgado/Torres providing cover. So we hve adequate cover, although a re-occurence of Canna’s Euro injury or a long term one to Pepe could make things difficult. Marcelo will be away for the first month or so of the season (as would Garay incidentally), so it’ll be important that Heinze stays fit on the left. So we could probably just about manage for the season with Javi Garcia providing cover as a last resort emergency centre-back. If things were to go pear-shape, I suppose Garay could be brought back in January, but the issue with that is playing in the UEFA cup, he would be cup-tied and therefore not able to play European football for us. With Europe seen as a priority for Madrid, we have to decide for ourselves if the defence we have (not includingGaray) is adequate for an assault on both fronts.
On the other hand, if we were to bring in Garay, we’d have an incredibly solid defence, with pepe and cannavaro as starters, and garay to fill in whenever canna needs a rest, or pepe’s out injured, which is quite frequently. Heinze would start at left back, Ramos on the right, with Marcelo to rotate with Heinze, and Miguel Torres covering for the whole defensive line ( don’t you just love his versatility). Another advantageous aspect could be Garay’s set-piece ability, and with Sneijder out for 3 months, he could lend us a hand with his freekicks, although we of course have signed rafa who is also a quality set piece taker, albeit a left footed one in contrast to garay’s right foot. Garay could learn a hell of a lot from Cannavaro and make the gradual step up to regular first team started alongside pepe to form the spine of the defence for years to come.
Both options have their merits, but I would probably just let Garay be at Racing for this season, get some experience and then hopefully be prepared to take up the mantle once Canna leaves for Napoli
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Very nice Sambit. You make excellent points, all of which are true, and are surely being considered by Mijatovic and Portugal as we speak. But everyone seems to forget that Metzelder is healthy and in some sort of shape. Heinze, Metzelder, Javi Garcia, Sergio Ramos is 4 central defenders, with Salgado and Torres as right and left back. Thats more depth then most clubs in La Liga! Im not worried about Pepe’s injury and we must not rush Canna, but I think panicing and bringing in Garay is a mistake.
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hahaha you’re right, I completely forgot about Metzelder. I’ve never been convinced by him, and recently watching the Euro’s he appeared very lumbersome and slow on the ball (granted he was out for most of the season) but I jsut cant see his style of play changing even with higher match fitness. But yes I probably wouldn’t panic and bring back Garay just yet. Also, aren’t Real looking to offload Salgado? I’d heard rumours of a move to QPR (they’re now a feeder club to us aren’t they?), but honestly I reckon he should stay put. His overlapping runs could make up for our lack of width on the right.
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There was an offer from Salgado, but it was turned out by Michel, as he plans on retiring with Real, which I think is only fair. He is a great player, although he has lost his way a bit recently. I think he may be back in the first team frame this season though, with the absence of Marcelo and Drenthe meaning Torres is defacto left back.
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