With a cup tie in midweek against Barcelona, Mou used this game to rest and give certain players a chance to play. Included in the 20 man squad for this game was Diego Lopez who had just be been presented and took part in his first practice yesterday. Not surprising, Adan was given the start in goal, and the defense saw the return of Sergio Ramos after completing his suspension.
Adan
Ramos Albiol Carvalho Coentrao
Essien Modric
Di Maria Ozil Ronaldo
Higuain
Despite Real Madrid having many opportunities to open the scoring, the match went into halftime 0-0:
10th- Ronaldo’s dangerous free kick is stopped by Moya.
12th- Di Maria’s attempt is deflected by an Getafe player, and just goes wide.
22th- Ronaldo is stopped again by Moya.
31th- Ozil does not get a good shot off after a great counter attack.
42nd- Modric’s shot goes over the bar.
Before the restart, Mou changed things around by taking off Albiol for Khedira; moving Ramos to center back (thank you), and Essien to right back. The misses still continued in the early minutes when Khedira’s shot from outside was stopped by Moya, and then managed to keep Coentrao’s rebound effort out. However, Real Madrid would finally take the lead after a mistake by Moya allowed Ramos to put Real Madrid ahead. There was a little bit of controversy as replay showed that Carvalho had made some contact with Moya when trying to catch the ball, but the referee did not deem it worthy of a foul.
Suddenly, the flood gates opened. In the 62th minute, a wonderful counter attack led by Ozil was wonderfully finished by Ronaldo. Three minutes later, a great cross by Di Maria would be headed in by none other than ‘La Maquina’ to further extend the lead. Finally, it would be Ronaldo, again, to round off the day from the penalty spot to complete his perfect hat-trick (a goal with his head, and both feet).
He would then be substituted for Benzema, and leave with a standing ovation from the Bernabeu. Same thing went for Ozil, who played a fantastic game, and has improved his form since the new year.
Marca’s controversy:
I don’t want to waste my time on this matter. I already wrote a similar article about the Spanish press (‘piperos’) a few weeks ago.Everything you want to know is in the post below.
After much speculation, Real Madrid has confirmed that they reached an agreement with Sevilla to sign Diego López. A former youth product, Diego played two seasons with the first team (2005-2007) before joining Villarreal in the 2007/2008 season.
Back when Casillas was ‘San Iker’.
With Villarreal, he played two edition of the Champions League, and helped guide the ‘yellow submarines’ to the 2010/2011 Europa League semifinals and finish runner-up in La Liga in his first season. His great performances also allowed him to receive a call up from the Spanish national team, and even was on the squad that played the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Unfortunately, his saves weren’t enough to prevent Villarreal from being relegated at the end of the 2011/2012 season. This past summer, he was sold to Sevilla where he competed with veteran Andres Palop. Six months later, he returns to the side that made him the player he is today.
Diego López’s arrival:
I like the signing. It surprised me, but out of all the options that were out there, Diego López was the best one. He’s at a good age (31), has a lot of experience, is still at the height of his career, he’s 6’5, and a complete keeper: good reflexes & one on one, and great areal skills & foot work.
Now just because Real Madrid signed him doesn’t mean Mourinho is automatically going to give him the starting job. Since Casillas is now out for almost three months, Mou needs at least two competitive keepers to take on the next few months which will consist of important matches (Barcelona, Man United and maybe more). Since it’s Saturday, it is more than likely Adan will be starting on Sunday against Getafe. Wednesday’s important Copa del Rey match may be a different story. Either way, no matter who starts, Mourinho has the goal secured.
Short- and Long-Term:
The next question, which will come at the end of the season, will be what to do with Diego López? He signs a contract up until the 2016/2017, and Real Madrid is supposedly paying Sevilla €4 millions. I like Diego as a short-term option, and he will no doubt put up a fight for the starting position even when Casillas comes back.
I’m not too sure about the long-term. I still think Real Madrid should keep their eyes out open in the summer for a younger keeper, with more European experience (Neuer, Lloris, Hart, ect.). My opinion could change about Diego López’s long-term options in these next six month. Whatever the case is, I will leave that decision to Mourinho.
Not going to much off topic, Real Madrid still made a great deal signing Diego. He brings security and stability, and will also be good for Adan’s performance. Casillas’ injury was not good news for Real Madrid, but at least Mourinho is able to cover that will Diego López.
At least he doesn’t have to face CR7 anymore, that’s a relief.
Real Madrid concluded their three game series with Valencia by sealing their qualification to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey with a 1-1 draw (1-3 on aggregate). Unlike Sunday’s brilliant performance, Wednesday’s game did not offer much spectacular.
With that said, long story short, here’s the basic recap:
17th minute- Casillas picks up an injury and is replaced by Adan.
44th minute- Benzema goal, 0-1.
51st minute- Coentrao red card after picking up his second yellow card
52nd minute- Tino Costa goal, 1-1.
88th- Di Maria given a straight red card.
Final- Perez Lasa is one of the worst referees in all of Spain.
Real Madrid will now take on Barcelona in the semifinals of the Cops del Rey.
Problems:
Real Madrid will go into the first leg without Coentrao, Di Maria (both red carded), Ramos (still completing his 5 game suspension) and Casillas (injuried). While the other three are huge loses, the biggest blow is in goal. Not because Madrid will be without Casillas, but because of Adan’s inexperience. Adan is a good keeper and there is no doubt he is better than Iker in the air and with his feet. However, in his last few outings, he has made a few mistakes which come from his lack of minutes. Of course, if he plays four straight games, he will gain the confidence and stability needed. The problem with this is that out of the next four games, two will be played against Barcelona, and then they will go up against Manchester United the following week. The good news is if Madrid beats Barcelona, it will be very good for Adan’s confidence. The disadvantage is Adan could psychologically be destroyed and have a bad effect on the team’s performance.
According to team reports, Casillas will be out between six to eight weeks. Already rumors have been surfacing that Real Madrid are searching for a keeper before the winter market closes on January 31st. Names such as Andres Fernandez (Osasuna), Roberto (Zaragoza), Julio Cesar (QPR), Diego Lopez (Sevilla) and Moya (Getafe) have been some of the possible candidates. I’m not going to give my opinion on whether Madrid should sign a keeper or not, I’ll leave that to Mourinho.
Well, it is confirmed. After months of speculation, former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has signed with F.C. Bayern Munich for the next three seasons starting in June.
This announcement comes almost tens day after Pep had said it would be disrespectful to talk to a club that already had a coach when asked about Bayern’s interest at the FIFA 2012 Ballon d’Or galley (really shows the classiness he has).
Either way, Mourinho’s arch managerial rival finally has a new home. The guy who led Barcelona to winning 14 of 19 tiles in 4 seasons, with a side that was already built for him when he arrived in 2008, will be in charge of guiding the Bavarian giants to domestic and European glory.
What makes this news even better is that rumors are surfacing that former Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez (‘El Baul’) could be his assistant.
Well Played Pep:
Just as many expected, Guardiola picked his spot really well. Instead of taking a more challenging job (Chelsea, Milan, Manchester City or Arsenal) where he would be oblige to reform the team, he signs for one of the most complete and deep sides in the world.
When Guardiola left Barcelona, it was clear he wasn’t going to take any job. He wanted to coach a team where he knew success was guaranteed. Pep has a big reputation in the world of football, and has received big praises such as being the “inventor of football”. He couldn’t risk his chances going to a team like Chelsea or Milan because if he failed, he would be labeled as something no one wants to be in life: A FRAUD! A manager who won with another coaches players.
Guardiola’s only challenge at Barcelona was changing the teams mentality and way of thinking, which had been destroyed the season before under Frank Rijkaard (something I give him credit for). However, there is a difference between Pep, and managers like Mourinho and Ferguson.
Mourinho and Ferguson are not just known for winning, but for building top sides.
Without even setting one foot in the Bayern facility, he will only be dealing with one of the best squads in all of Europe.
A world class keeper in Manuel Neuer. A top notch defense led by captain Philipp Lahm. Great midfielders like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez and Toni Kroos. As well as one of the best attacking units in Europe led by Mario Gómez, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Thomas Müller.
He’ll also be coaching in the German Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich wins the league and cup whenever they feel like it, and pose a threat every year in the Champions League. The only challenge will be if he can implement his ‘tiki-taka’ style of play.
Disadvantage of coaching Bayern
The only problem Pep will have is if he fails or does not have the same success as previously thought, he’ll have no where to hide. Anywhere else he would have had a loophole. For example, at Arsenal or Milan the ‘piperos’ would blame the teams economic situation. While at Chelsea or Manchester City it would be the owners fault.
Bayern Munich already has one of the best teams in the world, with stable ownership who care about the club and will no doubt license to Guardiola’s requests. There would be no excuse, and he would be labeled A FRAUD!.
To be professional (unlike the Spanish press), if he does succeed, his stock will rise since he managed to win in another country, but then he would find himself in the same situation as in Barcelona. Only time will tell if Guardiola is successful, or EXPOSED.
A game that was suppose to be a difficult encounter, turned into a complete one sided affair. Real Madrid hammered and destroyed Valencia is only 45 minutes. Valencia had started the game really well, and made things very difficult for Mou’s team. However, the match would start to shift in favor of Real Madrid in the 8th minute after a great counter attack started by Ozil concluded with Higuain slamming it past Diego Alves to give Real Madrid the lead. Despite the goal, the game stayed open for both teams until Di Maria made it 0-2 in the 34th minute.
Then Real Madrid went crazy
A minute later, another brilliant counter attack allowed Ronaldo to break away and blast his shot past Alves to make it 0-3. In the 41st minute, Madrid would increase the lead after a great cross by Di Maria, was wonderfully touched by Ozil and finished by ‘La Maquina’ for his second goal of the game.
Then when it looked like Valencia’s nightmare was over, Di Maria make it 0-5 just on the brink of halftime.
Unfortunately, that would be the last goal they would score. Real Madrid was more calm and did not attack with the same intensity in the 2st half. Valencia did show heart and created a few opportunities to at least get a consolation goal, but they could not convert.
Even though Real Madrid scored five goals, they could have easily handed Valencia an historic 0-9 lose taking into consideration some big misses from Higuain, Khedira (2) and Ronaldo.
Either way, this was Real Madrid’s best performance of the season and it will no doubt give the team a lot of confidence as they move forward. Coentrao had a great game, Di Maria looked like last years version, Ozil is regaining his form and Ronaldo Is The Man!!!!!
Along with the victory, Real Madrid cut the gap with Barcelona to 15 points after their defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday. It’s not much, but it’s a good start.
Now Real Madrid will turn their focus to the 2nd leg of the Copa del Rey where will again take on Valencia in Mestalla.
After 90 minutes of hard fought football, Real Madrid will travel to Mestalla for the 2nd leg with a 2-0 lead. Mourinho’s game plan worked to perfection: win and concede no home goals.
Just seconds in, Real Madrid had their first opportunity of the game with a dangerous free kick from Ronaldo, but his shot went wide. In the 9th minute, great pressuring from Madrid presented them with another chance to score through Modric, but again could not hit the target. Two minutes later, “La Maquina” tried his luck again from outside, but was stopped by the keeper.
Despite Real Madrid’s fast start, Valencia were not intimidated, and created chances of their own in the 1st half. First came Tino Costa’s long range effort that was punched away by Casillas. In the 17th minute, Pereira’s cross was headed by Jonas straight to goal, but went straight into Iker’s arms. Then came Valencia’s best opportunity of the game when Guardado’s pass found a wide open Jonas in the middle of the box, but was incredible kept out by Casillas.
With the game completely open, Real Madrid would finally break the deadlock in the 37th minute with a fantastic counter attack that started in the back with Albiol, quick thinking from Xabi, a great run by Essien, Khedira’s nice one touch pass and Benzema’s finish.
Before the break, ‘Benzecrack’ could have made it two after Ronaldo’s pass put him almost alone in front of goal, but could not get a good control on the ball and hit the outside of the net.
Before the restart, Mou made a direct switch by putting in Coentrao for Marcelo, who had played his first game in almost three months.
The 2nd was much of the same with both sides constantly fighting and doing what they could to get the ideal score line. Regardless of Casillas’ good performance, we almost witnessed a déjà vu moment, from the first league encounter between Madrid and Valencia, when his weak areal play cost both Madrid a point and Pepe to miss a few games. This time no goal or knock out occurred, but this exact scenario almost allowed Victor Ruiz to tie the match. Unfortunately, this was not the only mistake Casillas made as he presented Jonas another opportunity to score in the 67th minute after not clearing Soldado’s attempt. However, Casillas would get out of jail as the Brazilian missed the goal.
Real Madrid would extend their lead six minutes later through an own goal when Coentrao’s cross was cleared by Guaita, but deflected in by Guardado. Minutes later, Ronaldo almost made it three when he found himself alone with only the keeper to beat, but Guaita somehow managed to keep it out. ‘La Maquina’ would have another opportunity to score after stealing the ball from the feet of Rami and finding himself one on one, but again Guaita got a hand on it.
With that, the game came to an end and Real Madrid got the result they wanted for the return leg. Now they will go to Valencia in search of sealing their qualification to the semifinals.
With Ronaldo suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card last weekend, Real Madrid traveled to Pamplona to take on Osasuna. Along with ‘La Maquina’, the team would also be without center backs Pepe (injury) and Ramos, who picked up a five game suspension after using inappropriate words against referee Ayza Gámez during the Copa del Rey match against Celta (suspension that is currently under appeal). Luckily, Mou would recover Coentrao and Marcelo (out for the past 3 months), which would allow him to play with one of the traditional left backs.
Game Recap: Horrific
In general, Real Madrid’s performance was plain and unenthusiastic. Whether it was because they were missing Ronaldo or they are now completely focused on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, the team did not play up to par. Even though Mou’s men had some chances, their first and only attempt on target didn’t come until the 92th minute when Benzema’s shot was stopped by Osasuna keeper Andres Fernandez.
To add more insult to injury, Kaka (who had come on in the 58th minute) saw two yellow cards and was sent off in the 78th minute. This is the third straight game in 2013 that Real Madrid have been left with 10 men.
The 0-0 draw now means that the gap with Barcelona can rise to 18 points if they beat Malaga tomorrow. Best case scenario, Real Madrid could be at 15 points if Malaga are able to snatch a victory (won’t make much of a different).
Either way, Real Madrid can only do three things at this point:
– Focus on winning the Champions League (1) and the Copa del Rey (2)
Since Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid, the Spanish press has created an uncharacteristic campaign against ‘The Special One’. However, this season (with Madrid 16 points behind Barcelona) the ‘piperos’ have taken their anti-Mourinhismo to a completely new level. Saying atrocities like the dressing room is against the Portuguese, Mourinho’s relationship with Florentino has deteriorated, he doesn’t care at all about the youth system, he doesn’t care about Real Madrid’s true values, etc.
The latest example comes from As, one of the biggest ‘piperos’ based in Madrid, who dedicated last Tuesday’s front page newspaper to Mourinho being at his son’s practice at the time the Ballon d’Or galley was going on. This comes a few days after Mou had said he wouldn’t attend the galley because he had to prepare for Wednesday’s important Copa del Rey tie against Celta.
What As doesn’t want to talk about is Mourinho went to his son’s practice after spending the entire day working at Valdebebas. Immediately, you know how far this anti-Mou campaign has gone when As has to send their own investigator to steak out ‘The Only One’ so they can take the perfect picture to show everyone he “lied”.
In the past few months, I’ve heard many people (that include “Madridistas”) say the only way Real Madrid can regain that good public image from the press is sacking Mourinho. Well I’m here to tell you, it won’t make a difference keeping or sacking Mou.
The Spanish press doesn’t care about Real Madrid. Before Mourinho, they criticized Real Madrid for not having organization and discipline. Then when Florentino made these big money signings, they said the players didn’t have heart and don’t know what it means to play for Real Madrid. Finally, a coach has come in and implemented that organization, discipline, heart and meaning, and now they’re going at Mou for not “representing” the “señorío” of Real Madrid.
Now if you think Mourinho is the only Madrid coach to be completely ostracized by the Spanish media, guess again: Pellegrini was also highly criticized by the Spanish press, and even called for his head in some occasions.
Let’s also not forget, these ‘piperos’ named, in numerous opportunities, Pellegrini’s successor to be………………… MOURINHO!!!!!!!
Not just that, they praised his arrival.
The Spanish press doesn’t care about who is the coach of Real Madrid or if he does represent the “señorío” of the club. They just want access inside the team.
You know why Barcelona is better treated by the press?
It’s not just because they win and their players are “humble”. It’s because the press has access inside the club. A player speaks everyday after training, the head coach always talks the day before the game, they get to attend the full training sessions, they are allowed to travel with the team, etc.
You have no idea how many times I’ve heard on the nightly Spanish radio show, ‘El Larguero’, Jose Ramon de la Morena and the people who cover Real Madrid complain about the fact that Mourinho doesn’t allow journalists to fly with the team.
What there isn’t amongst the ‘piperos’ is RESPECT! Mourinho and Real Madrid have every right to do all this. There is no law by the Spanish federation that a player or manager must speak to the media everyday, that the press must be given full access to the training sessions, or that they are required to travel with the team.
– If Mourinho only allows his players to give press conferences the day before Champions League games so they can be mentally focused, then the ‘piperos’ must respect that.
– If Mourinho decides to send Karanka to speak to the press, he is within his rights, and the ‘piperos’ must respect that
– If Mourinho doesn’t allow the press to view the entire training sessions because he doesn’t want his tactics being filmed, then the ‘piperos’ must respect that.
– If Mourinho says journalists are not allow to travel with the club because he doesn’t want any distractions, then the ‘piperos’ must respect that.
So what should Real Madrid do?
Even if Florentino fires Mou and hires a ‘Pelele’ (like the ‘piperos’ want), Real Madrid is still going to be hit hard by the Spanish press. It’s happening right now with Mourinho, and it happened in the past with Pellegrini, Juande Ramos, Schuster and Capello (except Capello wasn’t a ‘Pelele’).
The ‘piperos’ have and will never care about the best interest of Real Madrid. If the team wins, they’ll say good things (somewhat). If they lose, the press sells it as the end of the world.
Real Madrid should just keep Mourinho at the helm, focus on winning and tell the ‘piperos’ to go F* themselves.
Real Madrid took on Celta de Vigo in the 2nd leg of the Copa del Rey, with the intention of overturning a 2-1 deficit. Madrid’s game plan was to attack from the first minute, while Celta would sit back and try to take their chance off the break.
Real Madrid came out flying, and had a dream start after just three minutes when Ronaldo’s long ranged effort curved into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0. After the goal, it was all Real Madrid in the 1st half. ‘Los Blancos’ would then add a second in the 24th minute when a fantastic ball by Modric was calmly put away by ‘La Maquina’. Up 2-0, Real Madrid was determined to get that all important third goal, and almost had it through Ozil when he rounded the keeper and had the goal open, but he could not convert.
Then came the controversy:
After a great headed pass by Modric, Ronaldo scored what was thought to be Madrid’s third goal of the game. However, the goal would be waved off due to an offside when replay shows he was onside by about 10 feet.
Two minutes later, the referee would pardon Andrés Túñez of a straight red card after denying Ronaldo a clear goal scoring opportunity. Something that Mourinho did not find amusing.
Instead of going into halftime up 3-0 and with a man advantage, the score was still 2-0. Real Madrid would qualify with this result, but the disallowed goal kept Celta’s chances alive.
2nd Half:
Before the restart, Mou took off Xabi Alonso for Varane after picking up an injury at the end of the 1st half.
The 2nd half would be a very different story. If Real Madrid dominated the 1st half, Celta had full control of the 2nd. With the Galician side threatening, on came star striker Iago Aspas. With Aspas on the pitch, Celta constantly pressured Madrid in their half, and even created chances that required Casillas to intervene. Especially in the 78th minute, when Iker was forced to go down to stop Augusto’s low shot.
However, Real Madrid would finally ice the game three minutes from time, when a great counter attack concluded with ‘La Maquina’ blasting his shot past Sergio Álvarez for the 3-0 lead. Finally, Khedira would make it 4-0 (after a brilliant give-and-go with Ronaldo), and seal Real Madrid’s qualification to the quarter finals where they will take on Valencia.
On Monday, January 7th, FIFA lost that little bit of credibility they had left by awarding Messi his fourth straight Ballon d’Or (his second gift with along with the one in 2010). An award that use to go to the best player, has become devaluated. ‘El Enano’ did score 91 goals and broke Gerd Müller’s record for most goals in a season. That’s a great achievement, but last I checked, the Ballon d’Or is suppose to go to the player who has the best individual and collective season with both club and country (or at least that’s what I heard coming from the ‘piperos’).
While Ronaldo didn’t score 91 goals, he did manage to knock in 61, which is still astonishing. On the contrary to Messi, Ronaldo had the better collective year by winning ‘La Liga de los records’ with Real Madrid, beating Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup, and leading Portugal (a country no one gave a dime for) all the way to the semifinals of the Euro where they lost on a penalty shootout to Spain (not to mention Portugal was in the toughest group with Germany, Holland, and Denmark).
Along with this, ‘La Maquina’ was more clutch than ‘El Enano’ in important games in 2012. He scored in every Clasico this season, his goals were crucial for winning La Liga, he showed up and iced the league with his goal in the Camp Nou, scored 2 goals against Holland to qualify Portugal, had the only goal in the quarter final match against the Czech Republic, and put Real Madrid in position to go to the Champions League final with 2 goals in the return leg (even though he missed a penalty in the shootout).
Despite his 91 goals, they were only good enough to win the Copa del Rey. What people don’t remember (or just don’t want to remember) is that Messi missed an important penalty in the first leg of the semifinals of the Copa against Valencia in Mestalla, which could have proved costly for Barcelona. He also was a no show in the Catalan’s decisive league match against Real Madrid in April and for the Champions League semifinal versus Chelsea where he had the infamous penalty miss heard around the world.
Which left him like this.
Plus, the only thing he did with Argentina over the summer was score a hat-trick against the Brazil under-23 team in a friendly in New York.
Kind of ironic don’t you think? Messi scores 91 goals and Ronaldo has the better collective season, and yet “experts” say the Argentine should win the award. However, last year Ronaldo scored 40 goals in La Liga (53 in total) that also led Real Madrid to beating Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, but “experts” still said Messi should win the Ballon d’Or because he won five titles with Barcelona. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have won it in 2011, I’m just going by recent events, and what critics and analyst have said.
Change in the voting system:
One of the reasons for this atrocity is the voting system that is in place for deciding the winner. The people responsible for voting are captains and coaches of international teams, and journalists from around the world. Right off the bat, three names come to mind: Iker Casillas, Leo Messi and Vicente Del Bosque. Just allowing players and coaches to vote automatically shows the problem with this system. You see it with these three people.
Iker Casillas: Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi Hernandez.
Leo Messi: Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Aguero.
Vicente Del Bosque: Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
Of course Messi is going to vote for his club and international teammates, and there is no way he is going to vote for Ronaldo or any Real Madrid player. Same thing goes for Casillas, even though he was stupid enough to put Ramos ahead of Ronaldo, and include his “best friend” Xavi. Del Bosque was always going to vote for his international players.
His coaches selections even showed the unfairness of these awards when he voted for Pep Guardiola, Cesare Prandelli and Roberto Di Matteo. Leaving out Jose Mourinho who’s Real Madrid team won La Liga scoring 121 goals and became the first team to reach 100 points. Instead he votes for someone who only coach for six months, and another who won the Champions League and FA Cup, but was hired in March and fired in November.
From the list, other names include Alejandro Sabella, Jose Pekerman, Paulo Bento, Bruno Alves Hugo Lloris and Joachim Low, .
Sabella and Pekerman voted Messi number one. Sabella is the Argentine coach and Pekerman was the former coach who persuaded Messi in playing for the ‘Albiceleste’. Not doubt they were going to put ‘El Enano’ first
In Portugal, both Bento and Alves voted Ronaldo number one. Whether it’s friendship or professionalism, they were always going to vote for ‘La Maquina’.
Lloris voted Casillas number one, and Low included Ozil (1) and Nueur (2) in his ballot. Lloris is a keeper and Low is the head coach of the German national team. It’s a given.
All these examples show the voting system for the Golden Ball is a flawed. Players and coaches don’t really vote for the best players. They vote for friends, club and international teammates, fellow coaches or people who have a good image.
Del Bosque even admitted the reason he voted for Pep is because he’s Spanish and for his behavior.
Players are going to be more aligned with Messi because he is seen as a gentle and humbling person. Whereas Ronaldo is seen as the most arrogant person on the face of the planet. The Golden Ball has become a marketing stunt where players and coaches vote for who ever they feel like. I know journalist also complete the voting system, but players and coaches make the large majority.
Solution:
The only way for the Golden Ball to gain its prestige is by eliminating international captains and coaches, and doing one of two things.
Have neutral journalists vote.
Or
Implement a point system where the winner is decided, not on votes, but on his individual and collective achievements throughout the year. In other words, using technology.
Since the point system might be complicated to put in, having neutral journalist vote would be the best way to give out this award. Yes, there could still be the risk that some voters may favor certain players, but it would be better than having players voting for their own teammates.
REAL MADRID SOCIAL CLUB 