2 Games, 6 Out Of 6

By El Maestro

La Liga is only two weeks in and there is already a lot to talk about, apart from the two front runners being undefeated. Atletico Madrid only have 2 points, Valencia are in last place, Alaves and Leganes have picked up points in each their games, and Las Palmas is surprisingly 1st in the table scoring 9 goals and only conceding 3 (hammering Valencia and Granada in the process). Lots to talk about, but I’m here only to talk about Madrid’s start to La Liga.

It’s only been two games, but Real Madrid has had a great start to La Liga. A fantastic 0-3 victory against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian and a hard fought win in the Bernabeu versus Celta. Many will say they were expected wins, but it’s alway important to start the league campaign on the right foot. In fact, this is only the third time in seven seasons that Madrid’s won it’s opening two fixtures. They say it’s always better to finish a season strong, but every point in a league title race is important whether it’s August or May. If you don’t believe me, we can just turn to last season where we lost the league by one point, dropping 4 points in the first five games of the season. Not saying that’s the only reason Madrid lost, because we also dropped other important points throughout the year, but it shows how important it is to start well a league campaign. But enough about enough about league statistics, let’s talk about our team’s performance.

As I said before, Real Madrid opened the season with an outstanding performance in the north of Spain. Despite injuries to CR7, Pepe, Navas, Modric and Benzema, it only took Bale 73 seconds to open the scoring with a powerful header after a great cross by Carvajal. Bale added a second towards the end and Asensio scored his first La Liga goal wearing the white jersey with a fabulous chip. However, what I really enjoyed was the overall performance by the entire team. Not since Mourinho’s second season had I seen Madrid open a league season with an organized and consistent performance.

Something I can’t say about Madrid home opener a this past weekend. Berizzo came with a great game plan and had his Celta side well organized. Even after falling 1-0 behind with Morata scoring his first Madrid goal, Celta didn’t shy away and stuck to their game plan. Leading to Orellana’s equalizer minutes later. Despite the bad performance, Madrid didn’t panic by going all out in attack (big team going after the small team), kept the the defensive and midfield shape, and managed to grind out a win with a fantastic goal by Toni Kroos. Not a pretty game, but what’s important is that Real Madrid has 6 points out of a possible 6 (tied with Las Palmas and Barcelona).

Player Grades:

Casilla, B+: Hasn’t had much to do, but he’s been solid and consistent. Made some mistakes against Celta, but had good performances in the European Super Cup against Sevilla and the La Liga opener.

Carvajal, A+: Like Casilla, struggled at the weekend, but I’m not going to let that overshadow his good start to the season. I don’t know if he took lessons from Arbeloa this summer, but his defending has improved drastically. Adding already to his important attacking ability as a right back.

Varane & Ramos, A: Both have done well as a partnership. Varane seems to be regaining his old form he had under Mourinho and Ramos hasn’t been red carded yet (we can consider that a miracle).

Marcelo, B-: The weakest link. I’m probably being nice by giving him a B-, but he’s struggled early on. Most of the attacks come through his side and he’s struggled to stay organized. Hopefully he’ll improve after the international break.

Casemiro, A+: Started the season the same way he finished last year. The most underrated player on this team and the key to Madrid’s success last season. With his performances, he’s surely one of the best holding midfielders in the world.

Kroos, A+: He’s had a big influence not just in attack, but helping the team in defense.

Kovacic, A+: I give an A+ not just for his performances, but also for his work ethic and determination. It’s been rumored this entire summer that he was going to be loaned out or sold, but he cut his vacation days short after playing Euro 2016 with Croatia to start the preseason from day one and impress Zidane. His hard work has paid off and Zidane has rewarded him with starts in the Super Cup and league opener.

Morata, A-: I’ll give him an A for effort. He does have a good work rate, but he needs to improve on his finishing.

Bale, A+: Like last season, he stepping up with Cristiano and Benzema still injured.

Asensio, A++: It’s not a mistake nor am I exaggerating. While many youngsters get carried away, he’s come in by working hard in training and not saying a word. He’s been able to manage the pressure that comes with Real Madrid and has repaid Zidane’s confidence in him with two world class goals. I’m enjoying his performances and hopefully he won’t let the media attention get to his head.

Modric, A-: He’s only played one game, but he looked like his usual self. Let’s hope he avoids any injuries during the international fixtures.

Reserve Players: There have only been four players that have come on as substitutions. They all get passing grades, but just some key points about them.

James: Has done very well when he’s come on and seems to be getting back to his old self. Don’t be surprise if Zidane starts him after the break.

Lucas: Hasn’t changed since last season. Doesn’t complain, consistent when he comes on, good in attack and defense, and always hard working. Traits that all Real Madrid fans enjoy seeing.

Isco: He’s becoming more direct and not stalling the play like he use to during his first two seasons.

Mariano: He played less than 20 minutes against Celta, but he’s showing great hunger and desire that every youth teamer needs. He’s taken advantage of his opportunities during the preseason, scored 2 goals, and has even shown better movements on the field than Morata. Now the question is whether he can do in the regular season and the minutes he will play.

Now time for the international break. Let’s hope no one gets injured and the team doesn’t lose its form when La Liga kicks up again in two weeks.

HALA MADRID! 

 

Dinamo de Zagreb vs Real Madrid

By El Maestro

Real Madrid started the new Champions League season on the right foot beating Dinamo 0-1 in Croatia. If anyone thought this would be an easy game for Madrid then he or she was wrong because Dinamo came out to play. From the start it was the Croatian side that hit the ground running with a strong attack, then after the 5^th minute it was Madrid who started pit by pit to take over. On the contrary to last weekends game, the midfield today was excellent with Coentrao holding Dinamo’s attack in check & Xabi providing his creativity up top. The defense was much improved as well playing more organized and also showing it’s worth in the final 20 minutes after Marcelo was red carded. Despite the 0-1 victory, the concern once again was the lack of finishing up top. Throughout the game Madrid threw away numerous opportunities to score which would have eased the pressure and allowed them to play with more confidence. We shouldn’t be too concerned because with this attack the goals will come, but it is something to be aware of because in crucial moments these blown chances could prove costly.

The only controversial moment was the red card given to Marcelo for diving. What doesn’t make sense is not Marcelo being sent off (because players who dive should be punished), but why wasn’t Dinamo defender, Leko, not red carded as well for his tackle on Ronaldo when he went in hard with his studs up and caused him to bleed from his sock. I’m not going to bring UEFA into this, but I don’t understand how a Champions League referee could let something like this happen. Still this was a great win and a great team effort to kick off the road to la Decima.

Starting 11

Casillas: Made a crucial stop.

Ramos: Right back?

Pepe & Carvalho: Players go through, balls don’t.

Marcelo: Controlled well his side of the field on defense and was a threat in attack

Coentrao: Good defensively, offensively has to develop.

Xabi: Great passing, fantastic vision. He is clearly the brain of the team.

Di Maria: Good, but has to find his teammates.

Ronaldo: Always comes ready to play.

Ozil: Two straight off nights, something not usual in him.

Benzema: It’s almost like watching Brazilian Ronaldo & Guti in one person.

Subs

Lass: Helped structure the midfield after going down 10 men.

Higuain: YOU HAVE TEAMMATES!

Arbeloa: Always does his job.

Madrid’s next Champions League opponent will be Ajax in the Santiago Bernabeu in a fortnight. Another brighter note to this game is Madrid has a 2-point lead on both Ajax & Lyon who tied 0-0 in their opening game. With a victory Madrid would take another step forward in claiming the top spot in the group, but it won’t be easy. Though this isn’t the same Ajax team from the 90’s, they still have a very good squad and would be looking to pull the shocker. However the good thing about-facing them is we went up against Ajax the year before and we have a good recollection of how they like to play. It also helps to know that they lost two of their best players in goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and Luis Suarez. Still no matter what they have, Mourinho won’t let his players think this is some walk in the park, especially playing at home. From the get go he will want high-pressuring, strong defending, and most importantly finishing opportunities. Realistically that game will be the 1^st big game of the season.

Did Barcelona Deserve to Win the Champions League? A Brief Look Back…

By El Maestro and von Doom

On May 28^th FC Barcelona won the Champions League for the fourth time in their history beating Manchester United 3-1 in Wembley Stadium. Even though I am Madridista, I must admit that final was won fair & square by los Cules. Manchester controlled the game for the first 10 minutes, then it was Barcelona who took over with their habitual tiki-taka style of play and made Manchester look like a bunch of chickens running around with their heads cut off.   In a sense, it was almost an exact repeat of the 2008-2009 final, also played by these two teams. The first 10 minutes it was all Manchester, the next 80 it was Barcelona who ended up winning by 2 goals. But my question is did Barcelona really deserve to win the Champions League? Because a Champions League is not just won in the final game; there is a road all teams must take in order to be crowned kings of Europe. My response would be no because of 3 people: Massimo Busacca, Wolfgang Stark, & Frank De Bleeckere.

Massimo Busacca: Called many unnecessary fouls against Arsenal. Did not red or yellow card Adriano, Valdez, or Abidal for grabbing Nasri & Van Persie by the throat. But did not hesitate in sending off Van Persie after kicking the ball at goal 1 second after he blew for an offside when the score was 1-1 with the Gunners going through to the quarter finals.

Bussaca wearing his referee's jersey...

Wolfgang Stark: Lost control of the game the second it started. Did not do anything to stop Busquets, Pedro, & Alves from diving on the on the ground. Allowed Barcelona players to get in his face en masse for every foul he called and gave in to their demands when he red carded Pepe in a 50-50 play which on replay showed what a great actor Dani Alves really is.   But all this was seen coming when he was called in place of the Portuguese referee who was originally named for that game but was changed thanks to Pep Guardiola’s comments saying Mourinho would be happy with a Portuguese referee in charge. Also taking into consideration that players from the Bundaliga named Stark the worst referee in Germany and in the 2010 World Cup said he would love for Messi to give him his Jersey.

Wha? Roja directa? Que conyo? You're joking !!

Silence !

You know... ese puto aleman es un comemierda... de verdad lo es.....

Frank De Bleeckere: Tried to minimize Madrid’s aggressiveness at defense by giving Carvalho a yellow card for his first foul in the first few minutes of the game. But if Madrid had any hopes of a comeback, that certainly became “Mission Impossible 4” when Di Maria went through Puyol with a sublime move and with the defense in front of him, and with Higuain alone on the right, De Bleeckere invented a foul against Di Maria on Puyol when it was clear he just slipped. Further, and to make matters worse, if Madrid had any slim hope that they still had a chance, the Belgium referee made sure to invent a foul against Cristiano Ronaldo on Mascherano  which took away Higuain’s goal when it was clear the foul was on Pique for taking down Ronaldo who fell next to Mascherano. With that said it was amazing he did not do anything to disallow the goal that tied the game at 1-1 by not calling a foul on Xabi Alonso for stealing the ball or calling a handball on Di Maria.

!Amarilla a la plantilla entera por no dejarse atropellar del UEFarsa!

Although these referees played a big part in these games, the real reason for these problems come from UEFA or how lots of Madridistas like to refer it as “UEFArsa”. We all know what Platini thinks about Spanish teams when he closed Atletico de Madrid’s stadium for one game for the bad behavior of the fans during the match against French side Olympique Marseille. He also did not think twice in fining Xabi, Ramos, Casillas and Dudek, and suspending Mourinho one game for telling Xabi and Ramos to force yellow cards on them to arrive with a clean slate in the next round and using Casillas & Dudek as messengers.  He also did the same thing with Villarreal when Cazorla & Nilmar forced yellow cards on them to be clean of accumulations in the semifinals.  But Platini sure must have a soft spot for Barcelona because he did not even fine them when Iniesta intentionally got himself a yellow card in the 1^st leg of the quarterfinal with Barcelona up 3-0 to be clean of accumulation.  With UEFA’s campaigns against racism, they sure looked liked a bunch of hypocrites when they did not sanction Busquets for his racist baiting of Marcelo by calling him “mono” (monkey). They also did not take any actions for Barcelona’s theatrics in the 1^st leg of the Champions League semis.   How did this come to be?   Perhaps a key to all this institutional power is that Barcelona has six socis in positions in some of the most powerful committees in UEFA (Gaspart and Laporta being just two of them).  A conflict of interest?  And we have not even started with UNICEF’s involvement.

?Porque? ?Porque?

?Porque? !Por que me sale de los cojones.. hijo de puta! !Sancion! !Cinco Partidos! .. vaya por ser bocon. !Soy yo el puto amo de esto!

It is a shame UEFA has become so partial and involved, because they cheapen the image of Barcelona.  Although they have won 3 Champions Leagues in the last 7 years, two of them they have been won with more controversy than style of play.   It is a discredit to an otherwise great group of players (among some of the best to ever play the game) that if someone says the referees did not play a big part in those games then they are either blind or just too stubborn to see the truth.   In the 2008/2009 season Barcelona played the best futbol of anyone but they only got to the final because in the semifinal 2^nd leg game against Chelsea, the referee missed five clear penalties when Chelsea dominated the run of play and all things being equal (i.e. the game being called fairly) Chelsea probably goes through.   I do not know what would have happened if the ref did not send off Van Persie in last season’s round of 16 game, but it is clear Madrid could have made it to the final and not make el pulpo Iker make the wrong decision by picking Madrid to go to the final. The problem was before he made his decision they didn’t put tubes in the tank that said how would the winner win: With Fairness or Cheating? I’m sure he would have picked cheating and then selected Barcelona. We have to be realistic and admit that this Barcelona team is the best team in history, for now, but there is no doubt without the help from UEFA we would be talking about Barcelona’s failure to deliver in big games and Guardiola’s continuation as coach.

Los chinos si saben...

Supercopa de España 2011 (Ida) – Game Recap: Let’s look on the bright side…luck only gets you so far…

by von Doom and el Maestro

First, let us get this out of the way.  We are mad.  Really mad.  What should have been a 5-2 drubbing of Farsa, an emphatic statement of the new Madridista project, this MOU team, instead ended with a dull 2-2 thud, and the collective groan of Madridismo as they said “Great.. here we go again..”

Or is it?   Despite the 2-2 scoreline, it is clear to anyone with a set of functioning eyeballs that Real Madrid wiped the floor with the Farsistas this evening.  However, Madrid was not able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities they were able to create for themselves on the pitch.   So, yes, while we are mad,  we are more mad at the lack of finishing, rather than being mad because they played badly.  Looking forward to Wedenesday’s return leg in the heart of Can Farsa (that’s Camp Nou  to the fake-ass poser culerdo bandwagon fans), other than the psychological intangibles of playing in the Camp Nou, and the weight of recent history (well, we won’t even go into the whole question of dodgy refereeing..yet)  we do not really see what Farsa can throw at el Madrid on Wednesday that would change the flow of play or suggest that what we saw today will not be repeated on Wednesday.  (Well, other than the fluke goals, of course..)

The culerdo hordes will counter that Xavi and Pique did not play in the first half, and that Puyol and Busquets did not play at all.  Fine.  But so what?  Would the inclusion of Xavi changed anything today?  No.   Did his entrance to the game in substitution for Thiago really change anything?  No.   Would Puyol and Busquets have made a difference?  Puyol, not really.  Busquets..hmmm…  In any case, what the culerdos should be worried about is the shocking lack of depth on their side, whereas Madrid’s bench is deep enough that Mou has enough bodies to field two “A” level sides.

Inevitable culerdo gloating aside, the 2-2 result is misleading.  Let’s get one thing ABUNDANTLY clear.   The scoreline had nothing to do with the so-called superiority of Farsa over Real Madrid, because quite simply it was not there.  It was simply a combination of individual brilliance (Villa’s SICK goal) and  luck (Pepe’s unfortunate slip and fall against Messi that left Iker exposed for the  second goal).

To those of us who don’t take hits on the blaugrana bong and actually saw the game, what we did witness was a crushing display of attacking, aggressive football. In other words, what Madrid football should be.   It is quite obvious that Mou studied the game film from the series of Clasicos last spring, learned and adjusted.  It also quite obvious that any gap that existed after the embarrassing 5-0 blaugrana beatdown of last November, is effectively gone.  What we did see is a further glimpse into the longer term “Proyecto Mourinho”, one based on depth, tactical versatility all tempered by a high workrate and a certain aggressive, attacking nous.  While Farsa seems limited and one-dimensional with their possession based 4-3-3, el Madrid can now effectively give an opposing manager fits with the insane amount of tactical options and lineups now available to Mou.

For example, Mou was able to use Pepe as a hybrid central/defensive mid and brought in Coentrao to great effect as a tandem in the midfield with Xabi anchoring at the back that effectively shut down the flow of the ball in the midfield and effectively stifled the short passing game that Farsa depends on to bore their opponents into making a mistake.  Khedira (and later Callejon) did a masterful job of keeping Iniesta in check and other than the unfortunate Pepe slip up, Mou’s lineup effectively kept the Farsa offense in check, going as far as basically landing level in that key Farsa stat, ball possession (52-48% in favor of Farsa).

Mou continued to use Ramos and Marcelo as laterales to bring the attacks up from the back to link up with CR7 and Ozil at 3/4s to take a whopping 20+ shots on goal to Farsa’s 2.   Keep in mind that Mou can also use Coentrao and Altintop as laterales as well.  Considering the multi-faceted skills of the new signings, the tactical possibilities available to Mou are now really mind-boggling.

Despite the adverse score line, I think this is an encouraging result for el Madrid.  They have shown that not only can they go toe-to-toe with Farsa, but effectively shut them down, with (save for Busquets and Puyol) pretty much Farsa’s entire “A” side on the field in the second half.   Additionally, culerdos will not have the excuse of Mourinhista anti-futbol whining this time around.  Mou’s planteamiento was aggressive, attacking, and very much in Farsa’s face.  If this game were to be played 100 times, el Madrid would have won this game on 98 of those occasions.  But futbol is cruel like that sometimes, and the gods of randomness and luck sometimes have their say.

Looking forward to Wednesday, if you love drama, we can think of no better way to exorcise the demons of recent history by going into the mouth of the devil, beating ese Farsa diabolico and snatching the Supercopa from the smug hands of those obnoxious culerdos in their own house. We are pretty sure they will be sore losers (as always) and turn on the sprinklers again…

A brief word on some of the protagonists:

CR7 – Other than his brilliant header in the Copa final last April, Ronaldo continues to come up short in games against el Farsa.  It is not for lack of trying, CR7 is a gamer and the consummate professional, but we feel that perhaps he puts a little bit too much pressure on himself and plays a bit tight.   Loosen up, son, the goals will come.

Ozil and Xabi – the heart and soul of el Madrid.   No other words necessary.   Encouraging to see Ozil’s increase in fitness as compared to last season, as he was looking fresh deep into the game, despite the aggressive run-heavy style Mou imposed on the match.   Xabi’s solidity in the back as the field marshal of the team is what allows Mou the luxury of projecting Pepe forward from his central position to “press” the Farsa midfield to great effect and in the second half allowed Coentrao the freedom to venture in and assist Pepe in his “enforcer” duties.

Benzema –  less touches – more shooting.  Squandered two clear chances due to excessive touches.  However, it is clear to us that Zizou had some kind of sit down with him this summer.  Karim is a different player from last year, when many in Madridismo were ready to write him off as a bust.  BENZE-CRACK is born again (so to speak) and is on a royal tear..let’s hope he’s rewarded with a goal on Wednesday.

Coentrao – a legit multi-position stud, once he came into the game, he (in combination with Pepe) shut down the Farsa midfield.   The Coentrao + Pepe combination is very promising.  We, in the Social Club are getting hard just thinking about unleashing these two in Liga and Champions.

Memo to Florentino:  Your ridiculous decision to not sign Manolito (that’s Adebayor to you bandwagoneers) came back and bit you in the ass.  This game was perfect for a player with Manolito’s attributes.  His inclusion in the game would have added a dimension to the Madrid attack that Farsa had no answer for this evening. How many crosses did CR7 shoot into the box, many of which were clumsily handled?   Jersey sales are one thing.  Winning titulos quite another.  Money is not everything.

And finally – no Clasico is complete without a word on the officiating.

 

Victor Valdes is a massive douchebag.  Not news really, but  an admittedly brilliant effort on his part was undone by his unsportsmanslike conduct versus CR7.  So totally unnecessary.

We are curious Farsistas – what b.s. are you going to invent to excuse that move?

Valdes’ bush-league trip on CR7 in the second half should have resulted in a penalty and an automatic red card.  To the credit of Farsa, Pedro should have also been awarded a penalty for Marcelo’s tackle from behind the area later on in the game.   Perhaps Teixeira did not call Marcelo’s penalty to atone for his egregious earlier non-call on Valdes.  In any case, in a perfect world, it would have been a 3-3 scoreline, but the drama going into the Camp Nou on Wednesday would have been quite different.

Considering this, one can understand the frustration of Mou and Karanka in the post-game presser, as the tossing of Valdes (and subsequent suspension in the return leg) would have been a huge tactical advantage for el Madrid, as the quality drop off from Valdes to Pinto is quite noticeable.  But whatever, UEFArsa is what it is, and I think Mou has made his peace with it, and will adjust accordingly.

A por ellos este miercoles… a por la Supercopa.. ¡Hala Madrid!