Season Preview

By: Corey | September 9th, 2008

WARNING: No Pictures, Videos or Music in this post, just a whole lot of text, so have something interesting to look at/listen to handy if need be.

Its now that time, with the transfer window closed, to do a season preview of the team. Even with the first league game in the bag, I think its an appropriate time to look at the team Schuster will have until January. So with that, here we go:

GK: Casillas, Dudek, Codina

When you have the best goalkeeper in the world on your team, it seems pointless to 1. Have a quality backup because they will never see time barring an injury and 2. Do an extensive depth break down because of #1 and the fact that Casillas is the best keeper in the world. Dudek is awful, we all know this, and we pray he never sees playing time, while Codina is a 3rd keeper, so what more can you say. He was expected to leave this year for Benfica, but it never happened, so he will probably never see time either.

CB: Cannavaro, Pepe, Metzelder, Javi Garcia, Sergio Ramos, Heinze (Garay)

We have three true center backs, with Cannavaro and Pepe true class. Metzelder is also a pretty sturdy backup, but he is very injury prone, although you could say Pepe is too. So the flexibility to use Javi Garcia, Sergio Ramos and Heinze there helps. Cannavaro and Pepe is the starting pair, and I have great confidence in them, and Heinze is a quality deputy, having finally cut out all the theatrics he use to pull I can say he is a good player for us now. If Metzelder were to stay healthy he would be the third center back, and despite his lack of pace, he would still be great for us. Pepe has pace and an assured tackle, which would work well with Metzelders aireal prowess and positional sense.

Cannavaro is much the same way, although his height limits his heading and his age limits his speed. But his positional sensibility is unsurpassed and he is out defensive leader, proving a calming influence for our young full backs like Marcelo, Torres or Ramos. Javi Garcia still has alot to learn positionally, but he has size and pace which are helpful, and he has a mean streak in the tackle which leads me to believe a year of understudying Cannavaro will do him a world of good. He may be the next Hierro, and form a great tandem with Garay in the future. But for now, its Pepe and Canna.

RB: Sergio Ramos, Michel Salgado, Miguel Torres

Sergio Ramos is our undenying hero at right back, and he will be for as long as he wants to be. His motor is incredible, as he represents are whole right side, whether it be attack or defense. Id say he is one of the best right backs in the world and I dont think there would be to much of an arguement. He had a poor end of the campaign last year but he found his form again in the EURO, so lets hope that continues. Based off his performance in the Super Cup, I dont think it will be a problem. His major weakness is that he is only human, so he will tire in the game with all the running he does, and he can be caught out of position with all the ground he covers. Lets hope he doesnt have to attack all the time this year to help with those relapses.

Michel Salgado on the other hand has been on a long slide down for him. As the 4th captain of the team, he wont be sold, and he will see out his career with us making cup apperance and 1-off league games. You cant not play down how important he is in the dressing room though, and he is a favorite of the clubs staff. A transition to the backroom is probably going to happen, as Michel is a astute businessman himself. And thats great, he is a good man and a legend for Real who unfortunately declined far to early in his carrer.

Miguel Torres is technically the backup right back on the squad. But you will rarely see him there, as Schuster allows Salgado to stretch his legs from time to time, but more importantly, that Torres is just as adept on the left as the right. He will never beat out Sergio Ramos for the spot, but he could win the left back spot from Marcelo. He is a solid defender, but offers more of a blunt edge going forward. But considering the teams attacking prowess, his assured, and less glamorous defensive rigour is certainly needed.

LB: Heinze, Marcelo, Miguel Torres, Drenthe

Left back was looking shakey at the beginning of the season. But that was because center back was hit with injuries, pulling Heinze into the middle. We also lost Marcelo and Drenthe to the Olympics, meaning Miguel Torres started out as our left back in friendlies and the Super Copa. But Marcelo should be our starting left back for most of the games this year, as I believe he will continue improving. Heinze could be a good alternative in a high pressure away game like Barca, where an experienced head is a must.

Marcelo is the attacking component of this position, Heinze the defensive. But Heinze has won me over at center back, so I would be more apt to put Torres in at left back then right back these days. Torres is solid, if unspectacular, but thats what you need against Messi, Jesus Navas, Maxi Rodriguez, Joaquin, Mark Gonzalez and Santi Cazorla as likely foes. Pretty daunting, but I think he could handle it, he already showed what he could do with Joaquin this season. Marcelo will provide us with some more offense on the left, especially with the loss of Robinho. Robben drifts all over the field more then Robinho, so Marcelo’s contributions will definately help out.

DM: Diarra, Gago, Javi Garcia, De la Red

Diarra is the starter here, and if he has someone to help him out he does a damn good job. The problem is, this is against a more static center midfield pairing. He is left very exposed when say Unai Emery places Silva in just behind him positionally, and he has to track back as far as the center backs to cover the man. Maybe he shouldnt cover Silva, maybe a center back could step up to do that, but it leaves us with a sweeper/stopper situation that was not so succesful with Hierro and Helguea at the later part of Hierro’s career.

The pairing of Gago and Diarra was effective in game-specific scenarios. It really depends on the opposition, and sometimes Schuster got it right, sometimes he didnt. I think with De la Red or Sneijder as Diarra’s partner we will be left a little short for cover, but if it is used in the right situation, it should not be a problem. Gago and Diarra should be used sparingly in my opinion, and actually I expect Gago to start more games then Diarra this year, given his improvements. Javi Garcia is traditionally a DM, but I dont see him ever playing in midfield barring injuries. De la Red too, who will play as the CM or in Guti’s hole more often then not. But its nice to know we have cover there.

CM: Sneijder, De la Red, Guti, Gago, Van de Vaart

Our midfield is stacked, even with the loss of Robinho. Its incredible that with an injury to Sneijder, we still have a very impressive midfield as well. De la Red should probably be the starter, Im not sure why Schuster insists on VdV there. Sneijder and De la Red are our two best options, and between the two I think we are very well covered. Sneijder’s play making ability has impressed in the second half of the season and at the EUROs. I feel like he could easily also fill in as the attacking midfielder, although his mobility lends him to the central midfield area where he can cover more ground.

De la Red is in my opinion a more complete midfielder then Sneijder only because he has better defensive abilities and his position is usually spot on. Sneijder is a minor defensive liability, while De la Red is a little more assured in his positioning and tackling. But as he played a little further forward with Getafe, he will look to do the same this year, and I cannot blame him. De la Red’s passing is more short, on the ground, with a few quick through balls. Sneijder can give you alot of aireal balls and some long passing for quick break aways. Both players have good long distance shooting ability, and both love to park them selves 5 yards outside the box to traffic play or shoot. They are pretty similar now that I think of it.

My problem is, I learned to love Heinze, and Sneijder, and Glassman is growing on me. I have always loved De la Red, back when he was an 18 year old Castilla player. So who do I “hate” or atleast pick on? Saviola? To easy. Dudek? Who is that? Salgado? No, he is a club legend. I dont know, lets hope something happens here cause I find it hard to criticize these players these days.

AM: Guti, Van de Vaart, De la Red, Sneijder, Higuain

The attacking midfielder spot is up for grabs every game, simpley because when Guti is on, he is one of the best passers in the world. But when he is off, he is no more then a petulant child. Guti’s dramatic dips in form every few games are all part of the unique character that he is. My hope is that he stays on form and focused for most of the year, definately in between October-December, and then March-April, which are the key points in our season as usual.

But I really dont expect Guti to do what I ask, he never does. Van de Vaart on the other hand is not as much of a maverick as Guti, so his form should stay pretty consistent for the year. I have to say though, he is a little injury prone. But that is typical of the guy that skins many a defender and usually has the ball in the danger areas. He will provide something that this team needs so much of, a player who can carry the ball up the middle of the field and avoid tackles. We have that in abudance on the wing last year with Robinho and Robben, but someone like Guti has some dribbles now and then, but VdV will wow us every game with some slick moves.

Sneijder of course can also play further forward, which is something that may happen at some point this year, but with Baptista gone and Javi Garcia probably never going to appear in midfield, he is really gonna be used centrally. I mean one of VdV or Guti should be on the field at any given time, but hey, with Gago and Diarra (or either and De la Red) forming a great partnership from time to time, Sneijder may be pushed further forward for the safer bet at the attacking midfield position.

Schuster’s ability to stretch the field is severly limited this year which may be a problem, so we will be even more dependent upon our creative midfielder to make it happen for the forwards. Considering our forward line is not exactly creative types themselves (Higuain is, which is why I list him as a possible attacking midfielder in the most extreme cases), the AM is the link between the midfield partnership and the forwards (the winger will more often then not get the ball from him as well). I really hope we have a good first season from VdV and some consistency from Guti. De la Red is also option in this role, but I dont really see it happening for much the same reason as Sneijder wont. Two players for each position seems sufficient, but with the left wing down to Robben and Drenthe, and the former being the Glass Man, VdV could appear out wide, giving the berth to De la Red or Sneijder. You never know.

LW: Robben, Drenthe, Van de Vaart, Marcelo

First off, yes, Marcelo could possibly play left wing, but it will probably never happen so calm down! Ok, well with Robinho rightly off-loaded, we have Robben as our starting left winger. You kind of saw that coming when they bought him, although we all enjoyed having both of them last year given the injury problems of “The Glass Man”. He has stayed healthy so far (knock on wood), and my hope is we get only two injuries to him this year. But you dont really know. He is a great winger on his day, and so far in pre-season he has been really good. In the Super Copa he was great as well.

What Robben brings is better crossing to the mix then Robinho, which is pretty important. Robinho rarely crossed the ball, and if he did it certainly was not right on Ruud’s forehead. Robinho was much better at dribbling his way to the byline then into the box where he either laid the ball off for a shot or took one himself. Robben can jink his way into the box or the byline, but his shooting is probably worse then Robinho’s in my opinion. He wont score as many goals as Robinho last year, but he could lay on as many assists. He has not yet showed the game-changing ability as frequently as Robinho, but I can see it happening more often this year.

The draw back with Robben is he often is more aimless in his movement then Robinho. Robben has some poor decision making at critical times, often dallying on the ball to long instead of passing or taking a shot. Its something I hope he improves with more game time, but its why Robinho was probably more effective. But with a major plus on Robben’s side, he is not a problem in the locker room.

Drenthe will now be thrust into the role as the backup to Robben, which means he will see time. Thats a big question mark for the team right now. I dont know if Drenthe has what it takes to be a winger for Real Madrid. He has alot of hustle, alot of effort, but I just dont see the required quality. But maybe he improves with more mintues. Who knows. Van de Vaart could also play on the left wing, which will happen fairly frequently in my opinion. He is prefers the central position, and he will definately cut inside more then he should, which will leave the left flank exposed. But considering we do not have a proper right winger, I think the left is not to bad off. Still a big question mark for us though.

RW: Sergio Ramos is the right winger as well as the right back. And that works to an extent, but the lack of a true right winger to change up the shape of the team bothers me. Loosing Balboa was inevitable given his lack of playing time, but the failure to land Ronaldo meant that the closest thing we got to a winger was Diego Capel and Santi Cazorla, both preferring the left, although Cazorla has played on the right more often now. This is a huge hole in the team, and even with the current tactical setup that does not require a right winger, someone would be better then nothing. Van de Vaart and Sneijder could both move out to the right but would both drift in field, while techincally Guti starts on the right. Needs to be addressed!

ST: Ruud, Raul, Higuain, Saviola, Van de Vaart, Guti

Ruud and Raul are the obvious partnership. I have no faith in Saviola. Higuain just is not a born finisher. Ruud is great. Raul worries me. Its really all I have to say about the strikers we have. I agree not signing one was a mistake, but given the market this summer (you could also aregue given our transfer “plans”), it just was not gonna happen. I will leave the striker over view up to the readers to debate, because I am undecided right now. It happens.

Okay, so here is my breakdown of the team for the year. Let the debate begin.