Operación Salida (Output Operation)

By El Maestro

On paper, Real Madrid has one of the best and deepest squads in the world, and have gotten even stronger this summer with the signings of Carvajal, Casemiro, Isco and Illarramendi. In almost every position, Madrid have two top class players to compete and fill the role in case players get hurt (just like with Mou). Along with these new signings, Morata, Nacho Jese and Dennis Cheryshev will do the preseason with the first team and have great chances of staying with Real Madrid this season. However, what concerns me is ‘la operación salida’. Up to date, only Carvalho (out of contract), Essien (completed loan deal) and Callejon (sold to Napoli) have been the only ones to leave the club, although Albiol might be the next to depart in the next few days. A big worry is that Madrid has ‘overbooking’ in several positions for this preseason and not much has been done yet to fix that.

Keeper: Diego Lopez, Pajillas, Adan and Jesus Fernandez.

Center Defense: Varane, Ramos, Kleper, Albiol (for now) and Nacho (can play any defensive position).

Midfield: Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Illarramendi, Modric and Casemiro.

Attacking Midfielder: Ozil, Isco and Kaka (as well as Modric).

Striker: Benzema, Higuain, and Morata.

Both Higuain (publicly) and Adan want to leave the club, rumors have been circling about Coentrao and Kaka looks to have no room on the team, but all these players are still on the squad midway through July. Madrid might also not be done with making new signings as the club still looks at the possibility of Gareth Bale and bringing in a striker to replace Higuain. Before that happens (if it happens), Real Madrid has to seriously work on getting players out of the club.

My biggest concern is Kaka. Ancelotti seems determined to keep Kaka and help him regain the form he once had. Out of all the players on the current squad, Madrid cannot allow Kaka to remain on the team because Madrid will begin the season losing if he stays. Not too mention Ronaldo’s contract renewal and Bale’s possible signing take big hits. Ancelotti knows perfectly what Kaka’s talents can bring when he’s in perfect conditions, but unfortunately that old Kaka will never come back. Mourinho had the same idea and squeezed the last ounces of talent he had, but couldn’t get the old Kaka to return simply because he just doesn’t have it anymore. I do think Ancelotti would get a good version of Kaka, but nothing anywhere near the player he once was at AC Milan. Besides, Kaka has no space on the team with Ozil and Isco already in that position. Before the August 31st, Florentino must make sure that Kaka is not on the team.

At this point, no deals have been made with Higuain, Coentrao, Adan, Kaka or Di Maria (if Bale comes). Madrid also has to figure out what to do with the canteranos on the first team and decide whether it’s necessary to bring in new players. Hopefully, a lot of these issues will be solved in the upcoming weeks.

     

Gracias Callejon

By El Maestro

With all that has happened this week, I couldn’t end the week without talking about one man: Jose Callejon. Earlier this week, Madrid announced his transferred to Napoli for a fee of €10 million. Callejon had been in Madrid’s youth academy since the age of 14 before joining Espanyol in 2008 where he developed into the player he is today. After three great seasons, Madrid used the 5,5 million buy-back option to bring him back to the Spanish capital. Despite only being at the club for two years, Callejon won the hearts of millions of madridistas by the way he conducted himself on and off the field. He wasn’t the most talented guy on the team, but he’s a clear example of how a professional footballer should behave on a team. Under Mourinho, Callejon always listened, obeyed his orders, played where he was asked to play, left it all on the field, did not cause problems and defended the club when he had to. Not just did he become a fan favorite, El Fondo Sur gave him his own song. Callejon did everything for Real Madrid and showed his love for the club every time he scored. Before departing for Italy, Callejon gave his thanks to the club and fans for the support they gave him on Madrid’s public website. Even though he was here for only two seasons, Callejon leaves a cult hero and will not be forgotten by madridistas.

Thank you Callejon, you will be missed.

 

I don’t care about Nationality, just Quality

By El Maestro

On Friday, Real Madrid confirmed the signing of Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad, becoming the fourth acquisition of the summer. Illarra is also the third Spanish signing along with Carvajal and Isco. Something that has made the ‘piperos’ from the press very happy since it was something they had been calling for years to happen. On the plus side, it has kept them quiet in recent weeks. However, like always, they’ve also used this to manipulate the idea of what madridistas want. For example, the day after Isco’s presentation, As used the 7,000 fans that went to the stadium to convince everyone that madridistas wanted more Spaniards on the team.

Obviously, this shows the low level of intelligence the Spanish press has because the 7,000 fans mean nothing. Fans have always gone to the Bernabeu whenever a new player is presented. They went last year when Modric signed, fours years ago when Benzema arrived, in 2005 when Ramos came over and will continue to go every time a new player signs for Real Madrid. Besides, it was only 7,000 people (no offense to Isco). 7,000 spectators in a stadium that fits 85,000 doesn’t tell me anything. Kaka brought in 50,000 fans when he was unveiled and CR7 filled all 85,000 seats for his presentation. Even Albiol (yes Albiol) had 9,000 spectators come to the stadium when he came from Valencia.

I don’t care about how many Spaniards Real Madrid has. What I care about is that the players that put on the Real Madrid shirt are good enough to play for this magnificent club. I don’t want Madrid to sign certain players just because they are Spanish. The best players should play for Real Madrid, whether they come from la canterano, Spain or outside the country. I’m fine with the majority of the squad being Spanish as long as those players have what it takes to play for Real Madrid. For madridistas, it shouldn’t matter where a player comes from as long as they’ve got the talent.

Spanish Signings:

Now, I agree 100% with the signings of Carvajal and Isco. Carvajal had a great season at Leverkusan, he’s a player that can adapt well to the system and I don’t think there are many right backs better for Madrid. Isco is a talented youngster that was voted best sub-21 player of the year in 2012 and had a fantastic year with Malaga in the Champions League.

On the other hand, I only agree 50% with the signing of Illarramendi. I haven’t seen him play much, but I know he’s got talent and can be Real Madrid’s future midfield maestro. However, I partially agree with it because I feel Madrid should have taken a better look at Gündogan from Borussia Dortmund. Unlike Illarra, Gündogan has played the Champions League in the last two seasons, played the final this season, has won the Bundesliga and German Cup, and is a German international. Illarra has still yet to play a Champions League match and has no international experience with both club and country, which concerns me a little. I don’t know if Madrid thought  Gündogan was too expensive, the player decided not to leave, Ancelotti didn’t want him or simply Florentino didn’t make a strong push for him. Either way, the decision has been made. Illarramendi has signed and is linked with the club for the next 6 years. Now it’s up to the Italian to develop him into the player we all expect him to be. I just hope his nationality wasn’t the sole reason why Madrid decided to sign him.