Preseason Starts With Some Grab Ass?

By: Corey | July 11th, 2009

Ehhhhh?

Dont believe me? Check out the banner picture. Cleary Gabi Heinze has his hand on Ronaldo’s bum, and you can say the same for Michel Salgado on Heinze….Is this what we must now expect from Manuel Pellegrini’s training sessions now? Not sure, but lets hope he can instill a winning mentality that produces results and attractive play. Because that is all we Real fans ask for. No pressure or anything. But in all seriousness, I do think Pellegrini will make a fine coach for Real. He has many of the characteristics of a Del Bosque, who handled a dressing room of egos and super stars very effectively. Pellegrini should give the fans the stylish play they want to see, although in good time, and will use the big squad he has available to him, something both Schuster and Juande Ramos did little of.

He is the third coach during my time as a Real blogger, so I wish him all of the best. Now on to the training. Ronaldo, Benzema, Garay and Negredo all stepped foot on to the Valdebebas training complex for the first time (well Negredo has been there before but whatever) and joined up with their new team mates. Each player had a Orientation Leader if you will, with Ronaldo sticking to Pepe and Heinze, Benzema with Lass and Garay with Higuain and Gago.

Negredo was a little more at ease, as he chatted heavily with Miguel Torres and the Castilla players who were called up for the training session, Adan, Felipe Ramos, Tebar, Palanca and Agus. It was good to see a few Castilla players called up, and I suppose others like Bueno, Gary, Chema and Szalai will get a chance in training with Pellegrini, but the squad is mighty big at 29 players (excluding 5 still!) and needs to be trimmed. Actually the official site says six Castilla players were called up, but I only have a list of five. I am unsure who the sixth one is, but I hope its Bueno or Gary.

It was a pretty light session, with some jogging, stretching and sprinting workouts, but the real focus was on Ronaldo. As you can see here from a Marca video where they follow his every move in a very creepy, stalker way. Without much more to report on until the team flies off to Ireland to start the hard part of training camp, I leave you with a gallery of training pictures. Oh how we love those here on the Real Offside!

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• Cesar |  July 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm

  
  
  

  As for th Dutch contingent, I’d only keep Sneijder and Ruud, the rest can leave…

  Posted from United States

  

• footballnewsHQ.com |  July 11th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

  
  
  

  4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 the same in this case, just depends where you count Kaka, as one of the midfielders or one of the forwards

  think Pellegrini could play it if he’s happy with the two DMs

  Posted from Ireland

  

• Cesar |  July 11th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

  
  
  

  I have a question: WHY ARE WE DISCARDING RAUL??? there’s no indication he’s just gonna roll over and accept a secondary role…

  Posted from United States

  

• Anna |  July 11th, 2009 at 8:14 pm

  
  
  

  I think losing Higuain would be a serious mistake. And as for Ribery, acquiring him would be adding much needed depth in the roster. More options. Although the new signings are probably not going to be on the bench which means Benzema bumping Higuain onto said bench?

  Posted from United States

  

• Sambit |  July 11th, 2009 at 8:49 pm

  
  
  

  Cesar, that’s a valid point, and I’m worried about the potential dressing room unrest that may be caused by all this heavy activity in the transfer market. surely valdano/pellegrini have had a word with raul in regards to his role this season, and only after that have gone after benzema.

  does anyone see negredo staying? i’ve heard from reports that valdano rates him at 18m euros, so obviously they rate his talent pretty highly. I really really hope he stays, he offers an aerial presence that we otherwise lack, could be useful against smaller defenses.

  Posted from United States

  

• realrock |  July 11th, 2009 at 11:41 pm

  
  
  

  i think all the strikers except raul and higuain are going to be sold. including rvn. and that i am not sure is a good idea. van gol may be 34 but he is one of the guys that will score given half a chance.9 out of 10 times. and we need that sort of player in case we need to break down a team with the parked bus style of play or whatever other scenarios may be there. a big penalty box cf should always be in the squad.

  and apart from the first XI,there have to quality backup players.its a long long season. and to fight on all fronts and win on even one,there have to be players on the bench who are good enough to ensure that we can win in case the stars are injured or tired. particularly in this season with the extra number of midweek games that are gonna be played,its a neccessity.what use would be making a blitzkrieg of start only to fizzle out like the original blitz ??

  and yeah,in all the chatter about places,we are forgetting raul entirely. i think this season will be raul’s swansong. if we win the cl,then definitely.if not,then maybe one more season. but its not gonna be that he will just roll over and give up his place.i hope not. but he is gonna have a reduced role. him and higuain alternating as supersub and starter.or told to take second row seats by slowly easing out.but i hope the hierro situation is not repeated. that was atrocious.

  Posted from India

  

• Muhammad |  July 12th, 2009 at 12:12 am

  
  
  

  corey i c u want raul to still play a role in the team.i disagree. he would not make the starting team of any of the top teams in europe let alone their benches!! can u name me one of the top teams where raul would start?!!i think we should integrate him on the bench or get him involved on a coaching level.as for my push for ribery- when coming up against the english teams in the champs league they will play defensively and we will need gamebreakers to break them down. ribery is the perfect weapon. with him and cr96 on the wings and kaka in the midfield we have the weapons to defeat any team in europe. as for lb- marcelo or drenthe can fill this role or we can get abaloa from liverpool at a good price.

  Posted from United States

  

• real madrid |  July 12th, 2009 at 7:06 am

  
  
  

  Cesar me excluding raul out of my line up has more to do with hope than anything else lol

  Posted from United States

  

• Andres |  July 12th, 2009 at 7:11 am

  
  
  

  Yea you gents are right about Raul he will certainly not roll over and give up his spot whoever takes it will have to earn it who else here thinks that raul is gonna have a helluva season ?
  I think we will see a lot of players step up their game next season due to the high competition within the squad

  Posted from United States

  

• Andres |  July 12th, 2009 at 7:16 am

  
  
  

  In other news As.com says that ribery has threaten bayern that if they don’t let him go this summer that he will use article 17 aka the webster clause next summer
  So bayern might be forced to sell to us this summer because they know we have 55 mil ready

  Realrock and muhammad your posts are spot on

  Posted from United States

  

• Cesar |  July 12th, 2009 at 7:48 am

  
  
  

  Muhammad, it’s pretty tough to argue against 18 goals in back to back seasons, add that to his silent leadership, work ethic, and all that he means to madridismo, I think he could easily play on any team, but we know he won’t do that…

  Posted from United States

  

• Bassam |  July 12th, 2009 at 8:57 am

  
  
  

  muhammad, typical old perez thinking… just forgetting about the left back position or actually believing that marcelo can actually cover that position. its no use to have ana amazing attack if out defense has a week link, the left back position. arbeloa is good, but should be acquired soon so he can get used to the LB position before start of the season.

  As for ribery, does anyone think getting silva would be a better idea? not that ribery isn’t amazing, he is one of the best in his position, but silva might just edge him out for the following reasons. First he is spanish. Second of all, silva is a better passer than ribery, third he is more disciplined and maybe has a smaller ego. He might also cost less than ribery. I am actually against buying another winger unless it is silva or granero. And to be realistic, get over it people, pelligrini is going to play 4-4-2! he said it in his first press conference and he has been playing it with villareal for a long time. It’s going to be the same formation as that of del bosque.

  As for people asking for backup, well why do you want to pay 80 mill for a player to add depth, when the squad is already filled with talented players. Lets not forget that when we won the league, it was because of players like shneider that stared. Lets not write them off for having a bad season that started with a 4 month injury.

  Finally, i do hope raul does take a secondary role at the club, but certainly too early for him to start coaching. I think raul off the bench would be amazing, as he will go in with his usual enthusiasm and drive, and that will take the opponents by surprise. Higuain should stay. Keep RVN (best option to keep) or sell him and promote bueno (im a big fan of this kid).

  4-4-2

  iker
  ramos-pepe-albiol-new left back (not heinze plzzzzzzzzz)
  Diarra- god knows who
  Ronaldo- kaka
  higauin-benzema

  lets get a left back then a central midflder before thinking of adding a winger! Plus, perez said we will have 6 signings, so, no room for another winger…

  Posted from Islamic Republic Of Iran

  

• Muhammad |  July 12th, 2009 at 9:22 am

  
  
  

  cesar i love raul and am grateful for what he has done for real over the years but we need 2 move on. you claim that he can play on any team in europe?! please name me one club where raul wuld start? man u, pool, barca, inter? lol. rooney, torres, eto and ibra are better than raul at this stage of his career. i dnt feel he should be discarded but he should face reality and shuld be a bench player. bassan i agree with u . . silva would be a better option than ribery but valencia appear not to want to sell to real. yes ribery is expensive but we can negotiate a better price. i wuld rather spend the mney and win the champs league then not spend the mney and fail to win the champs league.

  Posted from Germany

  

• labomba |  July 12th, 2009 at 9:39 am

  
  
  

  I agree with most of the above posters, circle of life and all that. Buitre had to move over to let Raúl play and now it´s Raúl´s turn. Enough comments have been made by Valdano and Pellegrini to that effect. He has a contract for life, but must now take a secondary role. We know that he´s poisoned the dressing room many times in the past and apparently put the dampners on Villa´s arrival last season.Pellegrini has said he wants to keep Sneijder which I agree with, granted he had a bad season last year due to injury and divorce but we know what he´s capable of and competition between top class players can only be a good thing for the club.

  Posted from Spain

  

• Andres |  July 12th, 2009 at 9:46 am

  
  
  

  Bassam pellegrini said he likes to play with 4 4 2 but he also said that he will switch formations If the situation requires it

  And word from the board is that as many as 4 news faces will join , 2 midfielders a fullbak and a goalie due to felipe ramos ’s injury
  And I read a pellegrini interview on realmadrid.com he seems to want just that
  He also says that sneijder might be very useful to the squad which is good news cuz I think I speak for most madridistas when I say that we want to be with us next season

  And did you guys know that CR9 is always the first one to show up in training , that kinda surprised me

  Posted from United States

  

• Andres |  July 12th, 2009 at 9:54 am

  
  
  

  Labomba beat me to the sneijder news ahh lol anyways well said brother

  Posted from United States

  

• labomba |  July 12th, 2009 at 10:57 am

  
  
  

  Very life of Brian……….. (this is from Marca so large pinch of salt guys) Liverpool haven´t responded to Madrid´s offer of 27 for Xabi so they´ve now put in a revised offer of…..24 ?!

  Posted from Spain

  

• TSDrew |  July 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

  
  
  

  Ronaldo has always been a hard worker. He was the first one to practice at ManU and spent hours after practice his free kicks. That being said he’s still an arrogant prick.

  Posted from United States

  

• Bassam |  July 12th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

  
  
  

  well, i can’t see higuain fitting in the 4-3-3 as he is not best upfront alone. 4-4-2 accommodates both higuain and benzema. This does not mean that we can’t alternate between the two formations according to the players availability and opposition. I do believe that some of the dutch players do offer good backup, like VDV for kaka, and shneider, well, to any position in midfld. It would be selling players and then getting others instead of them for depth. Stability is essential to win. Barca bought keita, alvez and pique to strengthen their team, and they won a treble through that. Why did that happens, because they addressed the vital problems in the squad, which we started doing by buying a world class winger and attacking midflder, but we still lack the left back and central midflder (left back much more important).

  This is my personal opinion, and i hope whoever we get, to shine and win us some silverware !

  Posted from United States

  

• Cesar |  July 12th, 2009 at 3:10 pm

  
  
  

  Muhammad, I agree with everybody that Raul should take a secondary role if we want Madrid to be successful, but that’ll only happen UNLESS HE DECIDES that’s the best thing for him and the club, UNLESS HE REALIZES that we have a better chance of winning with him coming from the bench…

  I agree with you on my comment, it was out of place, but I bet he could play in Italy, where dinosaurs go to die, I dunno, Milan would take him FOR SURE, he’s always been respected putside of Spain, but he’ll bever live, the only reason you mentioned was age, so yes, he’s not 23 anymore, but neither is Ruud (depending on how he recovers), Del Piero, Toni just to name a few, and they still perform at a very high level…

  Posted from United States

  

• footballnewsHQ.com |  July 12th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

  
  
  

  would it be best to sell him ? is he likely to resent being a bit part player ?

  Posted from Ireland

  

• Cesar |  July 12th, 2009 at 4:22 pm

  
  
  

  They will never sell him, but that’s my point, it has to come from him, HE HAS TO REALIZE that the best thing for the club is to play their best players, and that means higuain and Benzema up front…

  Posted from United States

  

• raulmadrid |  July 17th, 2009 at 12:44 am

  
  
  

  i think this year real madrid will take champions league.they are better than first galactico,because they are all young and much more ambitious than first galactico

  Posted from United States

  

• toot |  August 5th, 2009 at 7:46 am

  
  
  

  zobi ila daro chi 7aja l3ame jai
  wa zéro hade l équipe ……………..

  Posted from United States

  

• anti madridista |  August 5th, 2009 at 7:49 am

  
  
  

  fuck you real madrid …………forca barca …vive messi

  Posted from United States

  

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