By El Maestro
On Sunday, Real Madrid concluded their season the same they began it, thrashing their opponent, Mallorca, 4-1 with Ronaldo, Benzema, and Ozil (2) being the goalscorers. With that brought an end to the most historic season in Real Madrid’s history which saw los blancos, led by Jose Mourinho, finish La Liga with 100 points (most ever in history), score an astonishing 121 goals (shattering “La Quinta del Buitre’s” record of 107 goals), and witnessed as the trident attack, consisting of “La Maquina” (46), Higuain (22), and Benzema (21), each past the 20 goal mark, something that no team had ever down. These are amazing feets Real Madrid has accomplished for a team that was called to be “defensive” when Mou was signed to navigate this ship.
However, the best part of this season is not just the records, but the adversity this team has had to overcome and how they responded. Being so many anti-Madridistas in the major press organizations in Spain, every time they smell blood they dig in deep and try to find anything that can take down Madrid. That was proven no more this season when the Spanish press blew every lose, every incident, and ever “problem” in the dressing room out of proportion.
Such as dropping 5 points at the beginning of the season against Levante and Racing, losing to Farsa in Liga and then in Copa, where you had the Pepe incident and a supposed argument between Mou and his two captains (Iker and Ramos), and reducing their 10 point lead to 4 leading up to the Clasico in the Camp Nou. Real Madrid stepped up every time, first by thrashing Rayo 6-2 after the Racing game, playing what many have said to be their best game of the season in the return leg of the Copa in the Camp Nou where “circumstances” disallowed us to go through and where Pepe played one of his best games in a Madrid uniform, despite the hell he faced from the Culerdos. Best of all, beating Farsa in their home stadium where they silenced their critics and put La Liga out of range.
The worst part of the season was getting knocked out by Bayern Munich in the semifinal of the Champions League through the cruelest way to exit in a penalty kick shootout. Still, that bump in the road does not take away the fantastic campaign Real Madrid did. Mou once said his second seasons are better than his first, and he proved it once again with Madrid. Although we were not able to repeat la Copa del Rey, for a second straight season we made it to the semifinal of the Champions League, where this time our fate was decided by penalty kicks, and won La Liga, which brought to an end Farsa three year rein.
Now that the season is over, what Mou needs to do in the preseason is to sign important players for key positions to improve the team. If there is an area Mou failed in this season, it is he did not make an important signing that improved the team.
2011 Off Season Acquisitions:
Callejon: Was the best signing Madrid had. He played great every time he came on, but he did not improve Madrid’s midfield.
Varane: For an 18 year, he played like if he was 28. He was very good every time Mou called his name and their is no doubt he will be an outstanding defender in the future, but his signing was based more for the future, not for the present.
Coentrao: I’m not too much in favor of his critics. I agree his performance was not worth the 30 million Madrid payed for him, but he did a good job when he was called. There were games where he played horrifically, but he did his job. However, next season he must up his form.
Sahin: Came in as the replacement of Xabi Alonso, but his injury problems hurt his minutes and his confidence.
Altintop: Although many still wonder why Madrid signed him, he has been a useful player for Mou. Someone who doesn’t complain, plays the minutes he is asked, and can play in numerous positions. While many are putting him on the transfer wire, I’m not too sure Mou would want to get rid of him right not.
Looking at the 2012/2013 Season
It is crucial that Mou makes great off season acquisitions because those signings can determine if Real Madrid win one or all titles in play next season. Madrid doesn’t need to go all out in signing, but there are some major areas they need to focus on to keep this team going forward.
A shadow for Casillas: Real Madrid needs a strong backup goalkeeper for. Although Real Madrid was the second team less scored on this season, they would have been first if they had a consistent keeper. This might be hard to hear for a lot of pro-Casillas fans, but he is half a keeper. He is without a doubt number 1 in shot blocking and one on ones, but he is not even in the top 20 when it comes aerial plays, such as catching or punching, and he is not even in the top 100 when it comes to goal kicks. Also, there have been times throughout the year where he has looked lazy and doesn’t try as hard to dive for the ball. If fact, he has looked more like “Pasillas” than Casillas. Although “El O Capitano” has a lot of years left, it is time they get a good consistent backup to challenge him. Adan, at one time, was said to be the future of Real Madrid, but his lack of 1st division experience has not made for good competition. The best thing to do is to loan or sell him, with a buy-back option, and bring in a young keeper with 1st division experience. Over the last few months, the names that have come out are Zaragoza keeper Roberto, Osasuna’s Andres Fernandez, Real Sociedad’s Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo, on loan Atletico Madrid keeper Courtous, Espanyol’s and former Castilla keeper Kiko Casilla, and many more. Who ever the chosen one is, it is important that keeper competes and makes it hard for Casillas.
Right Back, URGENTLY!: This is probably the most important area Mou must improve. Arbeloa’s bad campaign has seen teams try to exploit that side, which has caused Madrid to suffer. Real Madrid does not need a young prospect, like the guy from Dortmund or Mario Fernandes from Brazil. Whether it is Maicon, Iraola, or heck, even Dani Alves (although I wouldn’t recommend him), it has to be someone who has experience in the high level and can automatically strengthen that position.
Central (if necessary): Everyone knows Carvalho has been out since January, but the question is what to do with Albiol? Although many saw him out three months ago, there is a strong possibility he can continue, also seeing that there is not much out in the market. If he stays then that ends that, but if he leaves, who comes? Many have said Javi Martinez, someone once mentioned Victor Ruiz from Valencia, and even Botia, a former Cule playing for Sporting Hijon, who were just relegated to 2nd division. First things first, find out what to do with Albiol, then we”ll see.
Midfield: There are many questions, such as what to do with Sahin? Who will be Xabi’s replacement? And is it necessary to sign someone? Sahin’s injury forced Mou to play Xabi more than he expected, which was the reason why his form dropped at the end of the season. Granero’s second half performance has will see him continue next year when everyone saw him out in December. The thing to see is if Granero is fully capable of taking over Xabi’s responsibilities and what happens to Sahin? We’ll find out about Granero next season, but a strong possibility for Sahin’s development is to loan him out for a season to get playing experience and build up physically, and sign former Castilla player Borja Valero who is playing for recently relegated Villarreal and could come at a reasonable price. The other possibility, since Turkey is not in the Euro, is to get Sahin fully prepared, mentally and physically, during the off season and have ready by the start of the new season. Those decisions will evidently come down to Mou, but these will be the two options he will go with.
Up top: What to do with Higuain? What to do with Di Maria? What do with Kaka? Is it necessary to bring a third striker? To all these questions we know one for sure, SELL KAKA!!!!!!! The next ones will be hard to answers. Everything will revolve around what happens with Higuain. Mou has openly said he wants “el Pipa” to stay and even the Madridistas want him to continue when over 80,000 of them were shouting “Pipita Quedate” during the celebrations after the Mallorca game. However, that decision will come down to Higuain and if he accept his role on the team. If he accept the fact that he will have a secondary role, behind Benzema, and agrees to play less minutes than he is accustomed to, then that’s it. But if he decides to leave, then we must search for a replacement. Many of you are also probably wondering why I mentioned Di Maria? Well it’s because he has not been the same since he came back. Yes, I know he had the injury, but he has seemed to have gone back to old ways where he believes he can take on anyone and becomes a ball hogger, as well as being the biggest diver on the team. Plus, some fans weren’t too happy during the celebrations when he was the only player who came out with his countries flag. Not to mention it was Argentina, which is a country Spain is not seeing eye to eye at this point. A good possibility that could happen if “Pipita” decides to leave is trade Di Maria and Higuain, plus money, to Manchester City for Silva and Aguero. That way, we get Higuain’s replacement, sign a brilliant mind in Silva to compete with Ozil, and can allow us to bring up Jese (a player who has been resembled to “La Maquina” Ronaldo) from the B side who can do Di Maria’s job. The only thing to do after that is decide if it is necessary to sign a third striker and if the answer is yes, then who? The candidates could be former Castilla striker Rodrigo, who has had an exceptional year at Benfica and has a 10 million Euro buy-back option or bring up Joselu from the B side, who has played two official games with the first team and has scored in each.
As I said at the beginning, Mou’s off season signings can determine what Real Madrid does next season, especially looking at the problems Farsa is going through right now. No matter what Mou does, Real Madrid will be a threat next, but who he brings can determine if they are a big threat or a huge threat. If Mou makes the necessary signings in each position, this team will be worse than a category 5 hurricane. Real Madrid rolled over teams this season despite no signings who improved the teams. Just imagine if Madrid signs a challenger for “Pasillas”, a sure fire right back, and bring in necessary components for the midfield and in attack. That team will be unstoppable. If everything goes well this preseason, the 2008/2009 Farsa team that won it all will look like a tiny smug to the 2012/2013 team in the history books.
!HALA MADRID!
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