Real Scores Three Goals, Concedes None
By: Corey | January 12th, 2009Real Madrid 3-0 Mallorca Sunday 11pm Stadio Enoi
Save for a formal review, I was pleased with what I saw in the match. We had some tidy midfield play, some quick counter attacks that lead to two excellent goals and a solid defensive line. Its not spectacular, but its efficient and it looked a little prettier even. Everyone played well except Sneijder, Hunter and VDV who all look a little out of sorts in the brave new word of Juande Ramos. But Hunter needs time to adjust, VDV has been off form for some time and Sneijder could be going through a dry patch as well.
The ball movement throughout the team was pretty good, and I didnt see much of any of that monster known in the English game as the “long ball”. It was creeping into our game when we got desperate against Valencia and Vilarreal. Good to note as well, with other teams giving the likes of Sevilla and Barcelona a run for their money, besides the cannibalizing of points that occurs when Vilarreal and Valencia end up drawing, we could be in for either a run at Barcelona (doubtful…) or some more cushion in our second place position. Either way, if we can make a decent run in the Champions League (i.e. beat Liverpool and whoever comes next) and continue to improve game-to-game to the point where we are scoring more freely but also keeping clean sheets like in the old days, I will be pleased with this season. Just remember, it could have been alot worse. Ohh, and if we offload Pedja.
The reason I am not writing a review is basically because I was lazy. I discovered that Comcast restored GolTV to my cable lineup on Sunday morning so I spent the whole day on the couch watch La Liga and the NFL Playoffs. While watching the Real Madrid game on television, a glorious 55 inch flat screen mind you, I didnt have the state of mind to take notes, so I kind of blanked on the game. All I remember is being very excited to have GolTV again, as I had not watched Real except on an illegal Chinese stream since September.
Yesterdays game also presented us with a piece of history. Raul made his 500th league appearance for Real Madrid, and subsequently scored his 212th (if I remember correctly) goal for the club in the league. He is now just two goals short of Di Stefano’s all-time mark of 214 goals in La Liga with Real. He also became the youngest person to reach 500 appearances in La Liga, ahead of Zubizaretta who reached the 500 mark at 33. Congratulations to Raul, and lets hope he can beat Don Stefano’s mark in the Bernabeu with the Don watching on from the sideline.
Also a piece of history is that the Mallorca match was Casillas’ 450th overall game as a Real Madrid player. It was his 327th league game, but at only 27, he could better Raul’s record number of games one day (I expect Raul to get beyond Zubizarreta’s figure, just barely). Great achievement for Casillas as well, so congratulations to him as well!
So Comments on the match then!
Category: Team News
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Oh, one more thing. Van der Vaart contributed next to nothing, from what I could tell. Albeit he wasn’t given much time to impress (about 30 min.) but he really needs to justify his existence in an already crowded midfield, or else he might serve us best as a transfer come summer time.
I hope he’s given a fair chance, and does well with it; otherwise I hope he brings in a pretty penny.
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United States
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I was pretty pleased to see Palanca get some playing time. He really looked good on the ball and i think already with the little time he has been with the first team he has impressed. In fact id rather see him playing than Drenthe. I think with us playing lesser teams in the coming weeks id like to see Palanca on one wing and Robben on the other. Im otherwise pleased with the way we played and looking forward to the home games coming up! Hoping Higuain scores a couple since most of his goals seem to come at home.
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Great analysis John, I predicted that his best development would come under Juande because he would make him more of a finished player. Under Schuster he was free to do anything and didn’t get the right guidance and couldn’t link-up well with Ruud or Raul, he looks like a better player (In a few weeks we can tell for sure if he’s really progressing).
I’m afraid Sneijder isn’t going to be as influential on this team, and considering he has done nothing for us in the UCL since he arrived, I think that left side with Heinze will be our weak side. He should play right behind the striker with great bursts of energy, a superb shot and hard working, but under Juande’s system, he has more responsibility defending (he’s playing more retracted), he not going to have as many opportunities on goal (especially with the lack of push from the midfield). I think he’ll need a few more games to adjust and get up to speed.
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Juande said a couple of days ago that he is happy with the squad when asked if he wanted another wing signing, so if that is the case and we dont buy another winger, Sneijder will have to step up his game if he is to stay in the starting eleven on the left. Also, has anybody realised Marcelo’s exclusion from the matchday squad in recent weeks. I’ve never been a fan of his and prefer Heinze to start at left-back (although we do need a new left-back) but I personally think he could be used as a left winger as i think he could make a good one until the summer, when we sign a new one e.g. Ribery.
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Due to Marcelo’s inability to cross the ball, he will never make it as a winger. Due to Marcelo’s lack luster training output, he will never make a squad with Juande Ramos in charge. The lad has a tough fight on his hand, because right now I would not care if he was sold this summer. He is pretty terrible whenever he plays, so a loan might be a good idea, but I also think a swap deal with Inter for Maxwell would be awesome, Maxwell is one of the better left backs in the world.
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Yeah I know I only meant as a short term solution, possibly used as a second half substitute when we need another winger. And on the topic of left backs, we could give Chema Anton a go in some games this season, particularly if Heinze is injured or suspended. If not, there is also Miguel Torres, and if not then we could buy Lahm or Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow.
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Hi all madridistas!
First off, I would like to thank all of you who are contributing on this site because it´s truly the best blog/discussion forum on the web regarding Real Madrid! Keep up the great work!
I see many of you are realizing that Marcelo will not make the cut under Juande´s reign. According to Guillem Belague, Marcelos agent has been instructed to find a new club for him as soon as possible. The same thing goes for Saviola. Other hot candidates leaving the Bernabeu this summer are VdV, Garcia and Drenthe. If we put them all on sale at the summer transfer window we might raise about €35-40 million. Approximately what Ribery might cost if he decides to leave Bayern this summer (maybe as high as €45 m). Now that would mean we would have about 1½ transfer budgets left to spend (about €20 m from last summer left plus the €45 m something for this summer). Remember that Lass and Hunter cost us just what Robinho´s sale netted. Now almost everyone here seems to agree that Ribery is the right man for Real. He´s got pace, skill, can work both flanks and the centre, can create goals on his own and set up his team mates as well. But will Ribery be playing for Real during 09/10 season? Probably not cause our hierarchy has reached an agreement with CR7 that will cost us about €115 m!! Now isn’t that some great business??? SARKASM!! This information is coming from Guillem Belague, who until now has been spot on when it comes to transfers that Real have conducted. That’s why I do think that this rumor is a reliable one! God I hope shithead Ferguson implode and totally refuses to sell CR7 to Madrid.. Hope he lets Ronaldo “rot on the bench” and see his contract out.
Splashing out that amount on one player means we can’t strengthen the squad where strengthening is needed… We need a strong option on the left back, like Maxwell as Corey pointed out. I´m not all that convinced that Garay will make that big of an impact if we don’t extend Cannavaro´s contract. So we might be needing a world class defender as well.. Furthermore we can certainly kiss Benzema goodbye… Even worse, he might end up as a cule..Calderon resign!!!
Whats your thought about all this?
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Granit,
Great post!!!! Here are some comments about it:
1. I don’t mind if we let Marcelo go, he’s shown no improvement in the time he’s been with the club, it might be the pressure, or maybe he’s not that committed, but if he goes, we need another LB, cause heinze just isn’t good enough…
2. VDV was a panic signing by Pedja and Calderon, triggered by Wesley’s injury at the Emirates Stadium ( i was there, %@$$# Diaby, I know where you live!!!), and gine all the personnel we have at midfield, I don’t see him on the team past this season. For him to make an impact, a couple of things need to happen right now: Raul gets injured and we sell Saviola. VDV is best suited playing behind the striker, and I think he would thrive given the chance and with some continuity, but right now, I don’t see that happening. It pisses me off, because I know he’s a very good player, capable of scoring lots of goals, but he needs to play in his position if the team wants to get something out of his signing, otherwise he’ll just be another “SUNK COST”, just like Marcelo, Saviola, and Drenthe.
3. I’d prefer Ribery than Ronaldo; I can’t stand that pretty boy, mostly because of my brother, A HUGE Man-Ure fan, so I’d rather see scarface on our team, enough of the pretty boys (that’s right guti, you heard me!!!). I also read today on As what you said about the 115 m euros transfer, and I find it absurd!!!, how does the club expect to conduct a proper business if all their dealings get publicized but As and Marca???!!! Annother thing about Calderon, Marca today has an article saying that Calderon infiltrated the club’s last assembly with people woth no voting rights, to help him approve the budget and the plan for this coming year, TALK ABOUT MORE PROBLEMS FOR THIS IDIOT!!!!
4. Lastly, I kissed Benzema goodbye the minute we signed Huntelaar; even if we let Saviola go, we’ll still have Raul (he says he still has lots to give, I don’t agree, but he must know best…), Ruud (coming from a major injury, older, so I think the club has to make a decision about him next year), Higuain (on the rise, improving his game, young), and Huntelaar (young, proven goalscorer who just needs minutes) so UNLESS RUUD leaves and Raul spends more time on the bench, I REALLY DONT SEE BENZEMA COMING TO THE BERNABEU…
That’s all for the moment, sorry if my post was too long guys
TAKE CARE
HALA MADRID!!!
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Hi Guys,
1. I agree with that Marcelo should go. He’s awful on defense so he can’t be a LB. He can’t cross so how can he be a winger? If he has the attitude of Robinho and is known to be lazy, I think he should just send him away on loan to prove himself one last chance to be sold if he turns out to be useless (which I suspect will be the case). For our left back spot: Maxwell and Lahm are good choices to me. Zhirkov doesn’t sound too bad too… but I agree that we need someone more than Mr. Long-ball Heinze.
2.) Drenthe should be farmed out on-loan too, though I find more hope with him. What I’d be interested to see though is for Palanca to get a shot as that backup winger.
3.) Under Juande, I think the wings will be important because of his preference for the 4-4-2. I don’t think it’s even far fetched to imagine a Double Diarra Central Midfield pairing next season. On attack he can then hope a Robben + (the new ’supercrack’) on the wings to carve things open… especially with a developed Higuain learning to link up more.
4.) VDV was indeed likely purchased in panic ofver Sneijder’s injury. Trouble is, he’s not as flexible as the hyper-active Sneijder who can do a bit of everything which is why he doesn’t look too off-key to me on the left side of Juande’s current 4-4-2. VDV I agree, can perhaps only be effective behind the striker: he smells like Baptista (without the monstrous build)… will he have the same fate? I won’t deny he’d make for great bait if we wish to bag certain players.
5.) I think it’s moot and academic to talk about Saviola. I think he’s just not RM quality. Once again… trade bait. I shudder at the thought of Benzema as a Red Devil, or worse, as a Cule… but it’s looking likely with Huntelaar and all this talk of…
6.) CR7 or Ribery. I think CR7 is a slightly better player than Ribery but at less than half the price, Ribery is certainly a much better purchase.
7.) Next season needs to be the season Iker gets the arm band from Raul and Raul takes his rightful place on the bench. Higuain & Huntelaar should be given the nod unless RVN recovers like nothing happened.
8.) Can we hire someone to go to Madrid to assassinate Calderon & Mijatovic? Maybe blackmail them into resigning…? Anyone know if Calderon has a sex tape? (Vomitting and LOL simultaneously).
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One things for sure and that is if Cristiano comes next season Benzema certainly won’t. So it’d be much better to buy both Ribery and Benzema for the price of Ronaldo. Having said that, Benzema’s arrival would almost certainly keep Higuain out of the side, and yet I can’t see Benzema and Huntelaar being compatible. And lastly, does anyone still think we need that final winger signing for the rest of the season. If so, do you think that Valencia of Wigan is good enough for Madrid?
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Just a weird suggestion. Has anybody ever heard of Juan Manuel Vargas? Fiorentina left back i think. I bought him for Real in my Football Manager game in 2010 season lol. And he’s pretty darn good
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Madridista Mac,
Point 8, the best of your post, LOL, I almost fell of my chair because I was laughing so hard!!!
Also, Sneijder is playing ala Zidane under del Bosque, as a “false winger”, the problem is, Wesley doesn’t have a Roberto Carlos to help him, the closest thing RM has is Ramos, but with Roben alternating sides many times during the game, it’s difficult for Wesley to really shine at the moment; I trust Juande will figure it out…
Brian,
I totally agree with you, better go after Ribery and Benzema, but if that happens, VDV, and maybe Ruud has to go…, as for the right winger, I’d go with Palanca or drenthe at the moment…
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Kaushik about Vargas there was a rumour last year about madrid signing him. He eventually went to Fiorentina where he has struggled and doesnt look like the player he was last season. Looks like he had one good season and now is struggling to get to that form again. I think the best option would be to give Chema anton a chance. Oh yes i dont know if any of u guys remember Filipe the current left back for Deportivo he had a season with castilla about three seasons ago, if any of you watch Depor. play then you can see the talent he has. He was only on loan to castilla but we had the option to buy him which obviously never happened and he went to Deportivo.
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Hi again guys and gals!
I think I need to clarify some of my facts in the earlier post. I wrote that Humptey and Dumpty had a plan of getting CR7 for approx €115m from United. Well as I know understand it, this would include the total package of the transfer, clauses, agent fee of approx €8m and CR´s salary (about €12m/year for 5 years). Now, if the transfer fee is in the region of €50m then even I would congratulate Humptey, but still would like to sack Dumpty (Pedja). Now this price is a realistic, even a fair, amount of money for a guy of Ronaldos caliber – as in on and off the pitch! He could really bolster our finances long term as I know how the Asian market just adores him.So, if we are able to pay only some €10m – €15m more for CR than Ribery, what are your feelings about Ronaldo dressing in all white come summer 2009?
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Granit, your post about Garay not being an impact, I don’t really agree with, He’s a phenomenal defender with extrodinary positioning, he’s one of those defenders that makes his name for his intelligence and elegant style of play. This kid has drawn interest to almost every, big club in the world, he’s one of the best CB in Liga BBVA and a leader on the Racing side.
He only lacks a bit of athleticism in his game, I personally think a defender should have, which is a bit of a concern (Juve decided not to sign him for that reason also because the asking price was to high), but he’s a great pass of the ball, dominate in the air, second to none at reading the game and flawless positioning. I think he was the most important defender for Argentina in the Olympic games.
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1. Ribery v. CRonaldo – At a transfer fee of around 50 – 60 mil. it’s more than tempting, but as a fan I just don’t like him, and I think he’s overrated. He had the season of his life last year, and I don’t think he’ll ever repeat it. I’m still siding with Ribery (the team mentality and versatility he offers are very important, I feel).
2. The striker situation is confusing. I’ve been saying for a while that Benzema should be our #1 target, and that he could be the face of a new improved Madrid. I think that it would create a lot of competition for the forward positions, but if the pool was Raul, Higuain, Huntelaar and Benzema, I could see a lot of combinations working well, even Higs and Benzema. But Benzema, Huntelaar and Ruud all on one squad would just be too much – one of them would have to go. And though I like Ruud better, far better, than Huntelaar, considering his age he might be a good option to try to bring in some transfer money. I guess I’d accept that.
3. I consider Marcelo, Saviola and Van der Vaart (VdV conditionally – see my above comment) all viable transfer fodder. I’d prefer a loan for Garcia, and I wouldn’t mind Drenthe to stick around – I still think he’ll improve, and we need to keep depth in mind. I’d love for Chema Anton to get a chance, but since he hasn’t, I wonder what Juande is seeing. Palanca stays, if Calderon has any brain cells left.
4. A dual Diarra midfield – it could win games, but I don’t like it, primarily because it lacks a creative midfielder, something I consider vital to the Spanish game. You might argue that neither Gago nor Lass are very creative, but their combined creative talents and vision make up for it. So it’s a question of style for me.
6. I really think Cannavaro should stay. I have a lot of faith in Garay, but Cannavaro is to important to let go, due to his experience, organizing skills, and confidence. And again, depth should always be considered, and I like a pool of Canna, Pepe, Garay, Metzelder and Ramos (if needed) to choose from in the center back position.
6. Is everyone giving up on Guti? I’m certainly not.
Awesome comments/discussion from everyone. Hala Madrid!
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i would agree with john on point 4. a combined gago-lass midfield is good. and i don’t think they are short on creativity. check gago’s ball for the goal.reminds me of makelele and conceicao.we would still need the zidane of the group though. from the players currently around europe, its marek hamsik who fits the bill the most. but then again we are already overflowing with medios and i am not ready to count out de la red.
and while everyone is talking about ribery , why not go for david silva. that guy is good too. personally ,i would prefer ribery or silva to bringing in a player who would think himself bigger than the club and the team.
and next year is ruud’s last year. i don’t think he is going to sign for another club. with his history of injuries, i would think that he won’t play beyond the ripe old age of 34 and some. highly unlikely. same unlikeliness for a benzema move as well. think he is gonna stay in aulas’ clutches until 2010.
and we need a lb desperately. i would love fabio da silva. completely unprobable and will cause whiskey-nose to explode. lol. more than cr7 being sold , i can bet.
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A very valid point real rock. We must not forget that if all goes well, we will have De la Red back next year as well, which means the midfield is very crowded indeed. But Lass next De la Red for me is a perfect midfield combination, balancing a little bit of everything. Gago is not as creative as Ruben, but Gago and Ruben together also makes sense. Although I have been an ardent supporter of Mamadou Diarra, even during the early days, I feel he is the man out, along with Javi Garcia and Van der Vaart. Sneijder fills the creative left side with Guti his replacement, so technically if you look to have 2 players at every position, you have a duel between Javi Garcia, VdV and Diarra for the final midfield berth. Who ever wins will end up making the midfield either defensively or offensively lop-sided, but then again thats not so bad.
But we must focus on this year, even though we have lost three of our best players, we have a competitive squad still and the Gago-Lass pairing seems to work well in away games, but I would like to see Guti at home frequently, or in away games playing instead of Sneijder, who is not as much of a creator in a double pivot system as Guti could be.
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United States -
Funny – though I didn’t post it, my first choice for an incoming Left back would be Patrice Evra. Can you imagine Clown nose’s temper tantrum if that were to go through?
I found myself rooting for Chelsea for the first time in my life this last weekend, and it was entirely because of the nonsense that Ferguson’s been spewing lately. He pisses me off.
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I think Patrice is exceedingly overrated, I prefer Clichy to him on the international level.
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United States -
somehow, i just want to see Drenthe being groomed for the left back position. He’s got the stamina, the pace, the power and the determination. All he needs is to improve his crossing.
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Nihit,
What you said would be great, if only drenthe would understand the value and advantage of being a top notch LB, they don’t come easily (Roberto Carlos and Maldini are the last great ones), so if Juande convinces him, I agree he has all the tools to be roberto carlos 2.0, he has the pace, power, great shot, and he only needs to work on his crossings, and learn fron the expreinced defenders we have about positioning and anticipation, I think he’d be great as a left back
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I would also like to see Sergio Ramos as a right winger, he’s very skilled, creative, and offensive minded (w he was a striker for many years). If that ever happens, I’d put Torres as a RB, he’s the only good option for that spot…., Nah, I’m just daydreaming…
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No I’d prefer a Spaniard for the left back position, and from the cantera. If you think about it, counting in all te potential and possible future transfers e.g. Ribery, Benzema, how many Spanish players will there be in the line-up. Casillas, Sergio Ramos…
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WOW. Great discussions guys. So much to touch upon since I haven’t had time to check the site in the last few days. Working backwards…
1. Brian, totally agree about the Spanish contingent. We need to remember that UEFA put in the homegrown factor for the Champions League. However, the way Humpty and Dumpty (love it!) conduct their business, I’d hardly be surprised if, for example, Valencia slapped a price tag on David Silva or Villa that is near to that for CRon!
2. Cesar, I would not in a million years classify Roberto Carlos as a great crosser of the ball. He was average at best. His cannon of a left foot was wildly inaccurate – didn’t it seem like only 10% of his free kicks even hit the target? He was small but ridiculously fast, and his defensive positioning was pretty good when he wasn’t caught upfield. Drenthe needs to learn to become merely an average crosser (because he’s about 1 in 7-8 right now) and pick his spots when to attack. Unfortunately easier said than done.
3. Clichy is about equal to Evra on skill level, but he has a major advantage in age. Unfortunately, I don’t see Wenger ever selling him, unless he forces his way out.
4. The talk about a crowded midfield assumes that there’s an ideal XI for every match, but let’s face it, between La Liga and Champions League, and maybe the Copa, that’s a lot of matches, and we certainly can’t rely on everyone to stay healthy. IMHO, we’d only play one DM, but one with distributional skills. I haven’t seen Lass pass the ball enough to tell if that’s him, but it’s def not Mahamadou and I don’t think Gago is the defensive steel this team requires. Playing Capello’s double pivot usually means unbalancing the attack by taking away a winger, because you can’t distribute from so far back and we have to play 2 strikers because Raul has to be on the pitch. Otherwise, we could go with a single striker, who has to be a frontman capable of holding up the ball, or playing the wingers further up the pitch for support in a 4-3-3. Either way, I don’t see how Higuain gets to start, because he’s not a central attacking midfielder, he’s not the frontman, and he’s only average on the wing.
5. I’m not sure playing Sneijder withdrawn in the midfield is such a bad idea. Think about another short-ish central midfielder with a high work rate and a booming shot – Paul Scholes! Ok, they’re not the same, but at least Wesley knows how to tackle.
6. Finally, I would give anything to see Ribery at Madrid over CRon. I think CRon is a great player (you don’t score 42 goals by chance), but he’s a little prima donna twat, and I hate the way he kinda hunches over when he’s waiting to take a free kick. Just ugly body language. As opposed to straight up ugly like Ribery.
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