Looking ahead at the schedule…

By: Steve | August 9th, 2007

Will we see this again this season? Hi peeps, Steve here, your other new Real Madrid blogger. I’ve been a Real fan for as long as I’ve been a football fan, which is sadly only the last 6 years, since I’ve moved to Europe from Canada. Having been mesmerized by the the initial successes of Los Galacticos and the stunning volley in the Champions League final from Zidane’s left foot, I can only say that I bleed white.

I notice Corey’s gotten started with a few posts running down some game recaps and transfer news, so I won’t bother repeating anything, except in an editorial piece a little later. But let’s take a look at Real Madrid’s schedule for the 2007/8 season. You can find it by clicking here.

The La Liga schedule is composed of 2 identical “turns”, composed of home and away matches against every other team in the division. That is, the order of opposing teams is the same for both turns, and only the location changes. That’s why you’ll notice that Atlético is the first match in both rounds, Villarreal the second, and so on, until the matches against Levante finish both turns.

thanks to fcbarcelonablog.com The matches that everyone looks for first, El Clasico, are scheduled for the 17th and 36th matchdays (third-last in each turn). This year, we are away at Barcelona the first turn, at home for the second. El Clasico is usually held later in the turn, to amp up the excitement for what is possibly the most anticipated match in any football league in the world. We should know after the first Clasico if Real’s new style is enough to defend the league title against a recharged Barcelona team featuring 4 of the world’s best offensive players, including new signing Thierry Henry.

The first part of the turn is most important for Real, as we look to build up points against weaker teams before heading into the more difficult parts of the schedule. After playing city rival Atlético and Villarreal in the first two matches, we have a must-win stretch of 3 games against 2 newly-promoted sides, Almería and Valladolid, and a Real Betis side that barely escaped relegation.

The next 6 matches look to make or break Madrid’s season. Madrid’s suburban neighbours Getafe have lost their coach to us, but they always play well against Los Merengues. Recreativo Huelva were easily last season’s surprise team, and they were able to take points in the Bernabéu. After a couple of easier matches against Espanyol and Deportivo (who have lost a couple of their best players in Andrade and Capdevila), we run into Valencia and Sevilla in back-to-back matchdays. It is imperative for Real to win the home matches during this stretch, and not to give up points at home as we did last year, but a return to last season’s away form would also be welcome, though I’m not betting on that happening again.

It then quiets down for a few matches with fixtures against middle-of-the-table Racing Santander and Mallorca sandwiching the third promoted team, Murcia. La Liga schedule-makers have smiled upon Real, with matches against bottom-dwellers Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna immediately preceding El Clasico. This should allow coach Schuster to rest a few of his key players for at least one match and reset any yellow cards.

The last couple matches involve surprising UEFA Cup qualifier Real Zaragoza and Levante, but especially in the second turn, they shouldn’t have much bearing on the league table - I don’t really expect a repeat of last year’s photo finish.

What do you think about the schedule? Fair? Unfair? Post your comments.