Two Diarras? No Problem

No worries, even with two Diarras in the team we have a simple solution. Mamadou still remains the alpha Diarra, while the new Diarra becomes “Lass”, short for Lassana. What a great little knickname for the lad, and I didnt even have to do any work.

Real completed the over-priced signing of Lassana Diarra yesterday and he had his medical, complimentary pen and replice of the stadium, and presentation today. It was not the biggest event in the world, but then again I cant remember the last couple of signings being more then a low key press conference and some shots of the player on the pitch for the first time, holding up the jersey with Di Stefano and at the hospital getting his medical. The Calderon era has really winded down the glamour and glitz of the presentation from the Florentino Perez era. Which is fine with me, it doesnt make much of a difference.

A good signing or not? That had been debated here. From what I can gather, many of you see him as an extra body, not meant to give Gago much competition, and surely not meant to unseat Mamadou Diarra when he returns to fitness. Not to much sentiment lost on the fact that Javi Garcia’s Real career looks doomed though…. Well I think he is a great signing because the potential is there to be as good a Makelele was for us, and thats important. I also think Juande will look to have a proper central midfield, with Gago and Diarra paired together in the more defensively demanding games, as to keep Guti or Sneijder out of the team possibly. Some of our best days as a team were with a double pivot, Makelele and the little remebered Conciecao or Helguera acting as a solid platform for Figo and Savio/Zidane to attack at will. Ohhh those were the days…

Needless to say, I think its a smart buy, and while it dooms whoever wanted to be the next DM of Real from the cantera, i.e. Javi Garcia, Mateos, Tebar or Modrego, I dont think any of them are good enough for Real’s first team anyways. So dont be worried to much about that. The question now comes up, who will be sold to alleviate some of the pressure in the center of the park? Well De la Red is out for the season, but his career could also be over. That would be a sad day, and as his #1 fan boy I hope that does not happen, but its a possibility that the Real management had to consider. Mamadou Diarra has had a very damaging knee injury and subsequent surgery that could take him down a peg as far as his mobility and playing level, so that must be considered, and Gago could get injured any second, leaving Javi Garcia as the only CM/DM in the team. This was needed.

Ramon Calderon:
“In Spain we popularly use the expression ’something good comes of something bad’, and our unfortunate situation regarding injuries has forced us to sign two great players.”

“It wasn’t an easy job, but the Sports Department has worked very efficiently to sign a young man with a bright future that may stay with us for many years. Diarrà is an international for France and he played in the Euro 2008. He was also an international for the French Under-21 side.”

“He is very experiend despite his young age and we believe he is a magnificent player. We welcome you to Real Madrid, your new family, and we hope you enjoy yourself here. You’ve arrived at a great club. Congratulations.”

Lassana Diarrà:
“It is an honour to play for Real Madrid. I’ve received a very warm welcome. I hope to play at a high level. I will do my best and I am sure to adapt quickly to the team and to speak Spanish soon.”

I feel capable, I have the abilities and I think Real Madrid is what I needed,” Diarra said at his unveiling on Monday. “I definitely need to adapt to the Spanish game, and the language, and I’ll need to do it quickly.”

“I’ve played with big clubs, gotten good experience with the French national team and I still want to improve,” Diarra said. “I want to adapt quickly and show everyone that I can play here. I think it’ll go well.”

“It’s true there are similarities but Makelele is Makelele and I am me,” Diarra said. “Makelele has his own personal style and I have my own. I’m going to Madrid to be Lassana Diarra and to show what I can do.”

Other Real Related News:

- Big no to the Voyeur. Real does not want to sign Arsene Wenger, again, more papers speculation. Lets see how Juande does by the end of the season before we talk new coach. The Voyeur is an Arsenal for life man though, so thats a stupid rumor.

- Not really the end of an era, but Phil Ball’s last column for awhile is here. He starting writing for ESPN when I was a freshmen in highschool, having just joined my first Premier travel team and trained with the varsity squad that year. It was also my first crack at writing about Spanish football, on a now defunct Spanish football forum. I came across his articles because ESPNSoccernet was all I knew for a year before I delved deeper. Thanks to Phil for his inspirational work, and we hope you come back from your trip to the Middle East rested and ready for more writing. Because I would be very depressed if this was well and truely the end.

- Real have spent $419 million on players since Calderon took over. Thats about 300 million pounds. I sense the money outlay will die down. But if you think about it, besides the nominal fees for De la Red and Javi Garcia, and the 15 million for VdV, Real had not really spent a whole lot this summer. 50 million on two signings this winter so far though doesnt help. The transition from Capello to Schuster as far as players was pretty costly.

- Arjen Robben doesnt think we will lose a game in January. From the horses mouth:

“We are going to win all our games in the month of January,” he said in an interview following Saturday’s win over Los Che.

“Before the Valencia game, we said we wanted to go out and win because we needed the tree points to overcome our bad streak and begin improving our position in La Liga. And we achieved our main objective.

“When the league resumes, we will have a very complicated game because we have to face a great rival in Villarreal. They are one of the best teams in Spain.

“But I insist: in January, we cannot afford to slip up and we will only be going for the victory.”

- So we have a big squad. And the max you can have in La Liga is 25. With the signins of Hunter and Lass, we have had to move Diarra off the squad list as he is indefinately out. With a possible right winger being signed as well, we may have to do the same for De la Red. Ruud wont be removed because he may have a chance of playing a few games at the end of the season. I dont see what the problem is here though? We need to sell Saviola, Javi Garcia, Drenthe and Salgado at the end of the season, why not offload one or two now?

Also remember that youth team players do not count towards the total as long as they are registered with youth teams at the beginning of the year. This means Chema Anton, Palanca, Bueno, Agus, Opare and Parejo are all not taking up squad spots, so the so-called congestion really is a crock.

- Fabio Cannavaro is in no hurry to extend his contract, because he can renew with Real whenever he wants or he can move on if they dont meat his expectations at seasons end. He isnt a stupid:

“Yes, we became Spanish champions, but I still rue our defeat to Roma in the Champions League,” the Azzurri captain told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Moreover, there was that setback that cost me the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

“What’s on my wish list for 2009? I want the Champions League, as that is the only trophy that has escaped me so far and the one that Real fans crave the most.”

“I know that my contract will expire, but there is no hurry,” he mused. “It is up to Real, if they are not willing to renew, then I will start weighing up other offers, but only after speaking with them, as our rapport is excellent.

“Nonetheless, if I were to return to Italy, I would still be glad, because I have lived a wonderful experience here, at a wonderful club. But after all, Italy is my home!”

Fabio and Real’s management arent playing games. When Fabio is ready to talk he will, and my guess is that they will offer him a one-year extension as long as he stays injury free the remainder of the year. Even with Garay coming in, its tough to say know to Cannavaro for another year, even if he wouldnt be an automatic starter most likely. Cannavaro is the model professional.

- Milos Krasic, who is a Serbian international right winger who plays for CSKA Moscow and is 23 I believe is being toughted as one of many unrealistic right wing targets Real have looked at, which also includes Adam Johnons, Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon. 20 million for this Krasic character, that I dont know anything about but suppose he isnt worth it. NEXT!

- Antonio Valencia, who was a Valencia reject believe it or not, is also being linked to Real. I dont want to sound snoody, because I believe very much in the value buy, its all I do on Football Manager, but arent we slumming a bit looking around for wingers in the Premier League, but at teams like Wigan and Tottenham no less. I feel like we could do better then that. NEXT!

- Here is an interesting one. Rayo Vallecano, neighbors to the north of Madrid, have been doing well in their return to the Segunda this year. More on the lower leagues in my Castilla half time review in January. Whats interesting is that they have a 21 year old Frenchmen in their squad who has been so impressive that Real and Barca are both taking a serious look at him. Momo Diame has been in sensational form, and it looks like Real may use a half-season loan of Dani Parejo to get first option on the player. Sounds like a good idea, as I dont see Parejo getting to many games just yet, but we cant keep loaning him everywhere or we have another Javier Portillo.

- Starts salivating now:

“For me, Madrid is a dream. They are a club I have liked since I was small. But there are many clubs in which I would also like to play. Real Madrid is a great team and I have always said that I would like to play because they have been my team since I was young,” he told AS.

“Besides, before I only liked Spanish football and that was all I watched.
“The English and Italian leagues are great, but there are more goals scored in Spain and where the best football is played. It is a good country for football and there are some big clubs there.”

“Before I lived in a suburb where things were very difficult. I have been a responsible boy and I have fought hard to move away from this situation. I have always had my parents guiding me and they have been a great help. I have always been focused on my dream and I hope to continue to grow,” he explained.

“Lyon is not the type of city where everyone loves football passionately, like they do in Marseille. But it is a great club that is making history at the moment. We have won seven consecutive leagues and our popularity is growing all the time in France.

“For the moment I am fine here. I cannot tell you what will happen in the next ten years, or even that I will stay with Olympique Lyonnais next year. It could all depend on how we do in the Champions League.”

“Karim Benzema is a centre forward through and through. I knew I had something when I was very young and I scored: I have a free role and can play all over. I used to like dropping back and winning the ball before passing it. I like to score goals, but I also like to set up my team-mates,”

Yes, Karim Benzema has again said he wants Madrid. So lets make this happen Calderon. That is all, enjoy and have a Merry Christmas everyone, I am taking a few days off.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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