| I know it must be torture for the president’s of the clubs to sit together as is, but this must be doubly painful when times are bad, especially for the current title-holders Real Madrid as Barcelona sits atop La Liga. Moreover, Real Madrid then comes into Camp Nou as an underdog, when does that happen? An underdog, Real Madrid? Not expected to win? Sure, one football / soccer team might be favored, but an out and out underdog, maybe even adjusting their style of play, sitting back a bit so they don’t concede as many goals. That’s not the Real Madrid that’s known in football history.
Now Madrid’s mission is to never let that happen again, or at least not this year. They’re used to being feared, not the ones who fear going into a stadium. They fired their last coach, Bernd Schuster, or a comment he made was the last straw, he said, ‘no one could win at the Camp Nou right now’. He was just being honest and it turns out he was right, as Madrid lost 2–0 in Barcelona. But what is Real Madrid going to do about it? Well, they’re trying to sign anyone and everyone to fill gaps and plug wholes in the dam before the water breaks all the way through. They’re going to do what they always do, throw money at the problem. They’ve finally realized they’re not going to stop Lionel Messi. They are going to attempt to buy their way out of trouble and find players to stop him. Meanwhile, Barcelona produces players like Messi and Bojan from their incredible youth program. What player has Real Madrid produced through their own youth program that currently plays for Real Madrid? There are three actually: Raul, Guti, and Casillas. But there are no new stars to replace these players. There is no new star who will light up the league. Instead, they have to go buy them. True, Real Madrid do have a number of players in their squad who are injured. Ruud Van Nistelrooy is out, so they’ve brought another Dutch forward to replace him, Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Can he save Real Madrid? They let go of Claude Makélélé some years back and now they’ve signed his spitting image from Portsmouth, Lassana Diarra. Can he save Madrid Now they’re chasing after Tottenham and Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora. Can he help save Madrid? Perhaps, but he’s turned down the offer. Madrid is also trying to sign Jermaine Pennant from Liverpool, or tied I should say. He too turned down the offer. I actually think Pennant would be a good signing for Real Madrid. He’s a fighter and creates chances for himself and others. He would cause a lot of problems for Barcelona and other clubs. Real Madrid will keep trying. As of December 26 they sit in fifth place, so they’d miss out on the automatic Champions League birth. Of course, there’s a ton of time left in the season and they will surely move up the table. It’s assured, Real Madrid will do whatever it takes to get back on top. However, it might be too late this year, Messi is unstoppable. Their nemesis, Eto’o, is unstoppable. Barcelona is unstoppable. The one player on Madrid that will keep them in the title race is Casillas. The little man is a giant in goal. |