Domino Effect

Angel DI(VE) Maria. He earned his nickname last Sunday. The Olympics are next year you Jackass

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1.0  What have we done?

It just HAD to be the absence of Khedira once again that
made the difference. Only this time, we weren’t talking about the difference
between winning by 4-0 or 4-2. This time, we are talking about actually winning
or losing: 3 points, 1 point or nothing. And as was the case last night, we
ended with zilch: putting to waste the points dropped by Barca vs. Sociedad and
the ones we gained vs. Getafe
last week. Now, Barca’s 8-0 massacre of Osasuna feels that much more orgasmic to
the cules thanks to the freakshow we put out last night.

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Losing points like this regardless of what Mourinho says (“we’re
better of losing 1 than drawing 2”) hurts – because believe it or not, the La
Liga Title is NOT won during the clasicos but in games like this. Last season
we dropped points to teams like Levante, Sporting and Zaragoza:
points that would’ve allowed us that tiny advantage to win La Liga: lost
clasicos or not.

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I’ve always imagined / hoped that our squad, considerably
larger than Barca’s and whose fitness has reached peak levels can rattle off
win after win going into early December for the first clasico. On the other
hand, many in the know, among them cules, anticipate Barca to drop points here
and there till they reach full fitness and go about their annual weekly
massacres by end November-early December heading into the Clasico. I was hoping
our early season fitness advantage would see us 4 – 5 points ahead of Barca
heading into the December clasico: meaning that not even a loss then would cost
us League Leadership. But it was not to be.

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I would have accepted dropping points to La Liga’s other
top-level sides too: the rejuvenated Diego+Falcao-led Atleti (who hammered
Racing last night), the Soldado-inspired Valencia,
the Negredo-spearheaded Sevilla or even the Millionaires at Malaga…
all are legitimate Madrid
upsetters. But Levante? Come on!

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… And none of that Levante-is-a-bogey-team-crap please! I’m
not interested in constructing a reincarnation of the Riazor.

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2.0  Di(ve) Maria

His Thank-You-Speech: "I would like to thank Sami Khedira for taking a Red Card for me... I will never forget this!"

The subject of much conversation / irritation / hatred of
course had to be the man who started the Domino effect that led to all this:
Mr. Angel Di(ve) Maria. Was he trying to ‘fit in’ because he mistakenly thought
that he was playing in the Camp
Nou because of Levante’s
‘Blaugrana Colors’?  In a world where
Madridistas rebelliously stand in disgust at Barca and their Biscuit Boy divers
and whiners, Di Maria robbed us of all of the credibility to do so.

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Although I do partly agree with Mourinho’s statement that
Khedira ‘walked right into the trap’ when he pushed Ballesteros aside to defend
his teammate, I’m having a very difficult time imagining anyone else except for
Di Maria who set that trap. Di Maria owes Khedira and his teammates an apology
for this stunt that cost us the game, Khedira for at least another game, his
other teammates for yellow cards accumulated because of the tempestuous affair
the match had become and of course, the fans given how terrible the game turned
out to be for Madrid after Khedira’s sending off.

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The sending off of Khedira thanks to Di Maria’s moments of
childish mindlessness triggered the Domino Effect that completely sucked Real
Madrid’s momentum out of the game.

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3.0  Tactics & Personnel

3.1  Pre-Khedira Expulsion

While Madrid
press were salivating about what a rich, handsome, great AND brave footballer (the
latter adjective used to describe his insistence to play) Ronaldo was, I was
just happy to see Sami Khedira back. I also didn’t mind seeing Kaka in place of
Ozil.

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Until Di Maria’s childish antics got the better of the team,
the German panzer made the Real Madrid Midfield robust, and much more effective
and ‘enveloping’ Levante’s goal. His ability to ‘fade away’ from attention but
always be there for a ball recovery, a simple pass, or tackle, gave Xabi Alonso
the perfect platform to do his thing. On the other hand, I totally didn’t mind
seeing Coentrao in Ronaldo’s role. As for Kaka, his starting XI place seemed a
just reward for his standout cameos off the bench in place of Ozil who seems to
need to adjust to life as a player-against-whom-defenses-are-designed-to-stop.
Kaka looked refreshing last night during the first half: confidently using his
acceleration to knife through Levante’s defense and showing us glimpses of the
confidence-applied-to-his-directness qualities that made many a Madridista
dream of seeing him in white during his days with the Rossoneri.

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While it is true that Levante played reasonably well (I
thought Ballesteros was very good for them) to repel us and ensure that they
weren’t going to get a hiding ala Osasuna, I was pretty confident that we
would’ve walked away with at least a 2-0 on the back of our first 40-mins.
performance.

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3.2  Post-Khedira Tactics

Apart from Di Maria explosion of immaturity last night, what
really drove me up the wall was how the team played post-Khedira. The team came
out in the second half sending Ronaldo in for Benzema, pushing Coentrao to
partner with Xabi Alonso: give us a headless 4-2-3 shape (without the 1). It is
still a fundamentally sound tactic, playing with 10 men: sending in a hybrid
winger-cum-striker (Ronaldo) in for a pure striker (Benzema).

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Once again however, my problem with the team lay with
Coentrao playing as a CM. Forced by the urgency to score a goal, Coentrao
failed to give us a presence at midfield that we so badly needed without
Khedira. Xabi Alonso played his role heroically – but it wasn’t enough. With
the presence of Lass on the bench as a direct replacement and Arbeloa as well
(to push Ramos to CB and give Pepe the DM role), Mourinho instead opted for his
compatriot to play a role unsuitable for the ‘15’. Kaka got no service (neither
did Ozil when he came on) and the attack went stale. To top it all off, Real
Madrid shockingly began to play long ball soccer in the second half too: with
Pepe, Carvalho and Coentrao hoofing up speculative balls for Ronaldo and Di
Maria to chase. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Route 1 football: I
do have a problem with us playing it, without a proper ‘9’.

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It was as awful as it was ineffective and ultimately,
dangerous: CBs and DMs hoofing up long balls for Cristiano, Di Maria and the
Fullbacks to chase – leaving space for Levante to strike and threaten with
counters. The cycle repeated itself over and over again – it wouldn’t be long
before they had more chances on goal during the second half than us. Soon
enough, a dagger would find itself into our chests with Kone’s goal.

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And while Mourinho is predictably ‘protecting his team’:
talking about the state of the pitch, penalties not given, etc. I’m pretty sure
(or hoping at least) that once he watches the DVD of last night’s game, he will
be asking the same question: Why the hell were we playing long ball football to
get back into the game?

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Somehow we all saw it coming. bit by bit: Di Maria’s little
tumble knocks over one domino piece after another…

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… A nasty tackle that earns him a yellow.

… A little poke in the face that gives him the opportunity
to do a Sergio Busquets

… A telling off from Ballesteros that provokes Khedira’s
protective instinct for a teammage

… A second yellow for Khedira. Expulsion

… The game turns ugly for Madrid, they lose the momentum

… Levante find the opportunity to turn the tide and score.

… Real Madrid
lose 1-0.

… And Just like that, a not-yet-fully-fit Barca are now a
point ahead of us

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How far does this domino effect go? And when does it stop?

The answer is quite simple: when we choose to grow up, stop
fucking around and play some bloody football.

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originally posted in Real Madrid Football Blog here

Rich (Expensive) but Ugly and Not Great…

There was Benze-cat, and now there's Cris Charming. Yuck.

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“He’s
NOT handsome!” was my wife’s instant reply when I read Cristiano’s post-game
comments to her. I can only suppose that this is what happens when you read out
comments that epitomize the arrogance of an ex-Manchester United Player to a Liverpool fan.

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"It's surely
because I'm good-looking, rich and a great footballer. They're jealous of me. I
don't have any other explanation," he said after the game, in quotes
published by Marca.

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Last
Wednesday, Real Madrid was the opposite of Cristiano’s self-description: Rich
(or rather, expensive), Ugly and Not Great.

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Putting
things into perspective, the game per se, and the outcome, wasn’t that bad. We
always knew that this trip to Croatia
was going to be a tricky one. Dinamo was a physical and solid tough nut of a
team to crack. They also had a giant (who had a monster game) in goal.
Considering the fact that Champions League day 1 was largely a letdown for the
favorites (The 2 Manchester Clubs and Barca dropped points while Inter lost),
one can say that perhaps say that Real Madrid managing to eek out a win isn’t a
bad outcome at all.

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And
this is why Ronaldo’s explosion of arrogance is just disgusting: because it
robs us of the merits of last Wednesday Night’s outcome.

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Tactics

Tactically,
I thought we were ok. Fabio Coentrao started again and played a much more
restrained game: his energy and active-ness was instead used to give Real
Madrid a much stronger presence at midfield. It was much-needed too: with
Dinamo’s Robust midfield game largely backed up by the appropriately named
JERK-o Leko patrolling their midfield, trying to pull off a Mark Van Bommel
performance.

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Coentrao
did, however interchange positions with Marcelo frequently – drifting to the
left wing, while the Brazilian put in shifts at the Center of Midfield
(where he took the opportunity of feeding Di Maria to score). For Coentrao,
playing in Marcelo-mode however, he will need to develop his understanding of
overlapping with Ronaldo when Mr. Prince Charming is attacking on the left.
Without Marcelo’s overlapping runs, Ronaldo was constantly left having to face
2 or 3 defenders rather than just the 1 or 2 when Marcelo overlaps to drag at
least one defender away.

The
big problem however was as Bassam of RMFB had pointed out: our front 4 didn’t do enough
to press the opposing defense. I can distinctly recall that all our periods of
dominance in the game were when our front 4 did this. And this is there we get
to…

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Player Performances

Like
Bassam, I was stunned by how much vitriol is being spewed towards Higuain who
only played 10 minutes in the game. I also feel that Carvalho and Di Maria’s
poor performances in the Getafe
game has tainted the opinions of many Madridistas about their performance last
Wednesday. They weren’t great but they certainly didn’t have bad games. In my
opinion, the most off-color performance last Wednesday was from my current
favorite Real Madrid player: Mesut Ozil. And in case Andres is reading this:
No, I have not yet purchased his jersey and jinxed him :P. Maybe it’s because
Ozil is now being singled out by opposing defenses as a man-to-watch for Real
Madrid or maybe it was just one of those nights.

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After
all, a player who usually supplies the final ball that leads to a goal tends to
go through these ‘phases’ (Ronaldo and Benzema, the team’s 2 primarly goal
threats are the chief benefactors from this). Sometimes it’s due to opposing
teams designing their entire defensive scheme to stop such a player, sometimes
it’s just one of those days when things aren’t clicking and those passes aren’t
quite as inch-perfect on the night… or sometimes it’s just that slight (but
almost fatal) dip in concentration for the night. I can only suppose that this
is the next step for Ozil: taking his performances and his ability to influence
a game to a consistent level. At his age, this is a crossroads period for him:
to learn to assert himself and potentially reach ‘legend-level’ ala Zidane, or
‘could’ve-been-legend-level’ ala Guti. To end up in between isn’t so bad, but
then again, it’s hard not to be one or the other if you have such talents.

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In
this sense, Bassam was also right in his questioning of why Granero wasn’t sent
into the game. Granero would have been a great possible ‘cure’ to an off color
performance from Ozil. With no Kaka on the bench to stabilize control of the
game when in possession, Granero could have lubricated the team’s creaky
passing gears last Wednesday.

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Finally,
there is once again, the issue of finishing. A stat came out recently: Real
Madrid had a mind-numbing  65 shot
attempts in their first 2 La Liga games. 10 goals in 65 shots = 15.38% - worse
than a bad baseball batting average!

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This
weekend, we’re off to play Levante. We wiped the floor with them in the Copa
Del Rey last season, but also dropped points there in La Liga. With a 2 point
lead over Barca, it’s now time for the team to get their shooting boots on and
re-introduce Levante to the floor.

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Winning despite a Broken Midfield but with a Broken Ketchup Bottle

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At 12
midnight, after watching Liverpool go down 0-1 to Stoke, I decided to take a
nap prior to Real Madrid’s match which would be at 2am Singapore time: deciding
to give Real Sociedad- Barcelona a miss. Before dozing off though, Barca was
already 2-0 up with just over 15 minutes into the game. Not long after, I woke
to a kick from my 3-month old son who has just awakened:  it was as if he knew that I needed to be alerted
to the fact that Sociedad had gotten a goal back. 3 minutes later, Sociedad had
made it 2-2. Late appearances from Messi and Villa didn’t help. Barca are going
through their annual early season fitness struggles again it seems – and Real
Madrid need to capitalize.

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If anyone
needed any validation that Real Madrid had a totally different fitness
situation, all that was put to rest with out 8 shots in the first 15 minutes of
the game. We’re only talking about fitness thus far though.

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Tactics
and Personnel – Midfield Selections

Pressing with a 4-2-3-1

With Sahin and Altintop looking at a long
spell in the Valdebebas injury ward, and Khedira still injured, Mourinho still
made the choice of not calling up Lass for the game: opting instead for only
Coentrao and Granero as Xabi Alonso’s 2 potential partners. Coentrao of course
got the nod to start with Xabi Alonso in the 4-2-3-1 system - repeating the starting
XI used against Zaragoza.

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The outcome
however was different: where Zaragoza seemed to capitulate and accept their
fate as cannon fodder to the Real Madrid onslaught after the opening goal, it
was a different story last night after Benzema opened the scoring (predictably
assisted by Ozil), Getafe fought back. They are after all coached by the man
behind Levante’s miracle campaign that saved them from relegation last season.
It was during this fightback where I believe the decision to select Coentrao as
Xabi Alonso’s midfield partner somehow backfired on us.

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I’ve called
Coentrao plenty of things: the ‘Joker’, the Energizer Bunny, etc. One thing
that I still cannot bring myself to call him though is: Central Midfielder.
Coentrao brings pace and reasonable capabilities as a ball distributor and a
ball winner. But what really stands out is his energy: a lot of it. I’m not
sure whether this is a result of a license given to him by Mourinho, or even an
instruction: but I have to say that I have a huge problem with his tendency to
unhinge himself from his ‘pivot’ position. We after all, not longer live in a
world where a single ‘Makelele-type’ pivot is sufficient. On top of that, Xabi
Alonso is no Makelele.

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What happened last night vs. Getafe

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Coentrao’s constant
forays to join Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria while adding ‘spice’ to our attack,
becomes a recipe for the opposing team to ‘flood’ our midfield (which by then
would be comprised by ONE Xabi Alonso) and overrun it once they win the ball
back. This will not be lost on La Liga managers who have been watching game
tape and it’s clear from last night that Luis Garcia did his homework… and it
wasn’t lost on Mourinho, who said: “El partido del Getafe es bueno. Y el nuestro no lo es” (The
game of Getafe was good, ours, not so). He goes on to say:

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"I'm not happy with my team tonight. We deserved to win and did,
but we missed many chances to score. We had too many chances with the little
football we actually played. I'm not angry with anyone, but I want to know why
the team didn't do well after having such a fantastic start to the season. I
want to study this match. I like to try to learn why my team didn't do things
right."

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One might
be able to argue though on the basis that Coentrao, due to his surging runs
from the midfield had a load of wonderful scoring opportunities (including 2
that were easier to score than miss). To which, I would like to point out the
difference between making those runs to help build up play and making late runs
to latch onto balls to score on ala Frank Lampard in Mourinho’s Chelsea.
Coentrao’s goalscoring opportunities were both off rebound opportunities from
late runs rather than from his participation in buildup play.

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Getafe
looked comfortable getting forward and very stable in the midfield precisely because
of Coentrao’s absence next to Xabi Alonso when Getafe had the ball. Last night,
Getafe midfielders usually received the ball having to face only the
slow-footed Xabi Alonso because his partner Coentrao would be behind, just
trying to run back into position after being part of the attack that lost the
ball. Their midfielders in turn, had little problems getting the ball to their
attackers (among them Sarabia, who I thought looked very good) to put us on the
backfoot. This would not happen with Khedira. Until Sami is fit again, perhaps
Mourinho needs to consider moving Pepe to midfield as Xabi Alonso’s bodyguard.
Ramos at CB and Arbeloa at RB have no impact on the quality levels on the pitch
for the team anyway.

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Signs
on the Wall

Real Madrid
conceded 2 lousy goals last night. Getafe’s equalizer was clearly a result of
poor communication between Pepe and Carvalho on who was supposed to track the
advancing Getafe attacker and who was supposed stay and sit back for anyone
ghosting into the box: both did the former, leaving Miku to ruthlessly punish
us with a goal. The second goal was just down to poor defending. While we may
have kept a clean sheet during our opening game of the season, it’s important
to note that we’ve also let in quite a few silly goals during the pre-season.
Is it time for Mourinho to take a more serious look at our defense? Is Carvalho
losing concentration (or rather, did he lose it during this whole Paulo Bento
feud?)? We have 2 Spanish international defenders sitting on the bench who can
help: Arbeloa and Albiol. If there’s a lack of focus, or a drop in level for
our defenders, we might want to give some of our bench players some game time.

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Goals,
Goals, Goals! (to the tune of Motley Crue’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’)

I have of
course, saved the best part for last: the goals. Firstly, I find it refreshing that
Ronaldo is proving me wrong about my theory which states that Ronaldo only
stops playing greedy once he scores. He didn’t give me any ‘pass the f#cking
ball you dick!’ moments last night. His penalty, though a weak call in my
opinion was still a foul, albeit outside the box.

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The star of
the night of course would have to be Karim Benzema. Somehow, the fates have
conspired for him to score twice last night to somehow make up for his standout
performance on opening day. The Frenchman looks sharp, moves and reacts a split
second faster (he wouldn’t have gotten the shot off for his first goal if he
got that chance last season) and is clearly brimming with confidence as seen
from him first-time shot at meeting Ronaldo’s pass for his second goal. All
this wasn’t lost on Mourinho too:

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Benzema had a well-deserved field day on the pitch last night

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"Benzema deserves full credit for his transformation. He had small
help from me, from his teammates and from Zizou, but he deserves the credit. He
has a fantastic attitude and he always had quality. People see that…”

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And also finally,
Pipita gets to score a familiar ‘Pipita-style’ goal: latching onto a pass and
using his graft and industry to find an opening to score. He scored for
Argentina this past week too. Does Jose Mourinho now have 2 strikers whose
ketchup bottles have finally fully opened up?*

(*Note to those who
may not follow my Ruud Van Nistelrroy allusion. This was revealed when Pipita
spoke about his ‘tutor’s’ advice: "Ruud told me
that goals are like ketchup… Sometimes as much as you try, they don't come out,
and then they come all of a sudden.'')

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The team
travels to Zagreb to open its quest for La Decima on Wednesday. Let’s hope that
by then, the midfield would be fixed and the ketchup bottle, still broken.

Overdrive and Cruise Control

Marcelo shows us what Real Madrid did to Zaragoza: Turn them upside down

Another La Liga game, another goalfest. Another Ronaldo Hat Trick. If no one paid attention to the fact that the team was sporting new away jerseys (I LOVE the Black Kit while the White Home kit has still failed to grow on me), and the energizer bunny with bleach-blonde hair (Coentrao) = the game might as well have been a continuation of last season’s La Liga Campaign. Well, wait a minute: it IS a continuation of last season.

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This is NOT Real Madrid Mourinho edition version 2.0. This is merely Real Madrid Mourinho edition SEASON 2.0. Same team, just plenty of upgrades.

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Sadly, the same cannot be said of Real Zaragoza. 10 new players – including one which the club spent 8m on (don’t remember who) while they became one of the clubs in question for not paying their players’ wages – resulting in being one of the protagonist clubs of the Liga strike. They are also one of the few La Liga sides who do NOT have a shirt sponsor (including Sevilla!) – a reflection of the sad state of La Liga’s financial affairs.

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So while Real Madrid’s mangling of Zaragoza made waking up at 2-4am a worthwhile experience for me, I went back to sleep pondering: the gap between Real Madrid + Barcelona vs. the rest of La Liga. Or was it a case of Zaragoza being THAT bad and Real Madrid becoming THAT good? It’s probably both. Last season’s encounter at La Romareda after all was a 1-3 for Madrid and it was Zaragoza who put our La Liga dreams to bed last season with their 2-3 smash-and-grab at the Bernabeu.

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Anyways, some further thoughts:

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1.0  Tactics

1.1  Formation and Team Shape

SIEGE MODE: Real Madrid looked like something of a 2-1-5-2 when we were on full-attack mode.

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Real Madrid lined up as a 4-2-3-1 with Coentrao replacing Khedira beside Xabi Alonso. This at least was how it looked like ON PAPER. In application, it looked more like a 4-1-4-1 with Xabi Alonso as the lone pivot. And when we were attacking full-on, it resembled something like a 2-1-5-2: The key feature of the system being Sergio Ramos bombing down the right flank as opposed to the more restrained role we saw from him last season. Last night, Real Madrid didn’t just ‘fight’ like a southpaw boxer (a leftie, with Ronaldo’s left-sided wing as the main weapon). We in fact, looked like a completely ambidextrous attacking force: coming in from left, right and center.

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The point to note about ending up with a single pivot with Coentrao (though it’s great to see an attacking variant in its application as we saw last night) is that we must be careful about doing this against other, more offensively-potent teams. Coentrao’s propensity to dart forward or suddenly disengage from his pivot position to go wide while definitely an effective destabilizer of opposing defenses, may turn out to be a weakness than can see Xabi Alonso drowned at the center of the pitch. Mourinho seems to offset this by getting Marcelo to switch into the middle – something I’m uncomfortable to see (though it may actually work).

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1.2  Overdrive vs. Cruise Control

Real Madrid, like in the Super Cup, once again came out of the traps playing a dizzyingly up-tempo brand of football. They were like a freight train on overdrive. And with attacks coming literally left (Marcelo+Ronaldo), right (Ramos+Di Maria) and Center (Ozil+Coentrao+Benzema): Zaragoza really did look like a deer caught in the headlights. The question is: did we flatten them enough when we were on overdrive? I counted our ‘uptempo’ phase in the first half and I figured it to be till about the 30^th minute. We had scored 2 goals by then after creating a boatload of chances.

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In the second half, we came out of the traps once again with our high-tempo football (marked by Coentrao’s ‘running back’ breakaway dribble through the center which did not yield a goal). But, by the time Xabi Alonso scored from his ground-skimming missile at 64’, we were in Cruise Control. Another 3 goals followed soon after including a sweet, Milan-era-Kaka turn-and-strike.

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2 Goals playing on Overdrive. 4 Goals playing in ‘Cruise Control’ (i.e. similar to our pace of playing and attacking last season). The conclusion from this is NOT that playing in ‘cruise control’ is better but that there is still much work that needs to be done when we play on ‘overdrive’. Our boys may be able to create a frenetic attacking tempo that is nearly-impossible to defend, but it is perhaps this same frenetic tempo that frazzles their nerves in the final moments of attack which lead to poor finishing and decision-making during those split seconds prior to a potential “kill” (goal) (Di Maria’s first half miss at a wide open goal directly in front of him comes to mind). These are lessons which we learned from the Super Cup duel that we will have until December to refine and perfect.

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2.0  Player Performances

2.1  Ronaldo

3 Goals for Ronaldo. What else is new? He had some other great chances too, including 2-3 free kicks that were on target but were punched away. His decision making was much-improved, though I would doubt it would have been so had he not scored that early opening goal, which eliminated his obsession to get on the score sheet. After his 40-goal season, I can only hope that he can play this one without the anxiety to necessarily score goals as opposed to helping his team win in other ways.

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Many have highlighted the seeming enigma that he has always brought to Madrid that the team plays better together without him and plays with some form of anxiety for him to score if he’s on. It wasn’t so last night (like I said, maybe it was the early goal) - he looked for his teammates, and had only a couple of shoot-first-ask-questions-later moments. The best part was: he gave his teammates the credit for his Nth Hat Trick.

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2.2  Coentrao

This guy had TOO MUCH coffee before the game. If there would ever be a poster child for the brand of football of this Mourinho Season 2.0’s upgrades, it would have to be him. Last night, his tireless running and livewire act served as the catalyst for Real Madrid’s ‘Overdrive Mode’. I am still however skeptical of the soundness of him playing a full-on Central Midfield role: his tendency to run at the flanks (and leave Xabi Alonso alone in the middle) really needs to be curbed lest Madrid find an opponent who will delight at flooding the center of the pitch to smother and choke the life out of Xabi Alonso. Having said that, what makes him the poster child of this season’s tactical system upgrades is not only his ability to spark the team into playing that now-signtature frenetic uptempo game, but also his ability to give Real Madrid a wide array of tactical options on the pitch.

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2.3  Ozil

Ozil is seems to be fast-becoming one of the integral parts of the Madrid midfield, regardless of formation

In this Real Madrid Mourinho Edition Season 2.0 – one of the primary upgrades apart from the newfound tactical flexibility is the strengthening of the team’s spine… and this is where Ozil-in-Madrid season 2.0 comes in. We’ve talked endlessly about Xabi Alonso’s role as the pulse of Real Madrid’s offensive game and as the rock at the heart of its spine. Ozil on the other hand has been a ‘luxury’ in the Madrid midfield, having been kept out of the starting XI of last season’s ‘clasico series’. On the back of his performance during the preseason and in last night’s game though, it looks like Madrid’s ‘spine’ just got another integral component: Ozil. Playmakers in advanced positions usually have a much poorer pass completion rate due to the ‘risk’ of playing around more defenders and Ozil is no exception. His improvement however has been very noticeable: this season he is even more calm on the ball, displays superb awareness and seems to have improved his decision-making. His overall performance last night was in my opinion makes him a legitimate option for Real Madrid Man of the Match, Ronaldo Hat Trick or Not.

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2.4  Marcelo

While Coentrao’s forays into the Zaragoza box via the flanks or through the middle kept me on edge, particularly at the thought of having Marcelo cover for him, the Brazilian however gave me no reason to fret. He defended and attacked on the wing, covered in the middle when Coentrao ‘unhinged himself from position’, scored a goal and did a backflip to celebrate his goal. What else should we ask for from a Real Madrid left back?  

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2.5  The Subs

We’re now seeing the logic of Mourinho’s 20+3 system: 20 versatile, multi-functional outfield players and 3 Goalkeepers – 2 less players than the conventional 25 man squad we’ve seen pre-Mourinho. With quality to the last man on the squad, accounting for injuries and suspensions, every player then stands the chance to play significant minutes for the team. Last night, they were Callejon (who nearly scored), Kaka (who did) and Pipita, whose improved state of fitness was seen in his running the half the length of the pitch ending and his match fitness seen in the fluffed goalscoring chance.

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3.0  Keeping up with the Joneses

It was a weekend where Champions League aspirants both in England and in Spain showed their mettle on Saturday Night: with Liverpool handily beating Bolton 3-1 and Valencia pulling off an epic 4-3 comeback win against Racing Santander. Sunday night of course were for aspiring Champions: With both Manchester Teams mangling their North London opponents (5-1 for City over Spurs and 8-2 for United over Arsenal).  Real Madrid of course, duly obliged late in the day.

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What about those playing Monday night this weekend? Pretenders I say. (Ha!)

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4.0  Other La Liga News

What the hell happened to what was supposed to be the coming out party of Malaga? Maybe it wasn’t too bad that their much-anticipated encounter with Barca has been ‘postponed to a later date’. Or was it the weekend of the epic performances from the ex-Castilla strikers? Negredo grabbed 2 to undo Malaga, Soldado had a hat trick and heck, even Raul scored!

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It’s sad to see the ‘divorce’ between Diego Forlan and Atletico finally materialize. Best of luck to him at Inter (as they report). Atletico are trading one Europa-League-winning striker for another. Still not the same though… for their sake, let’s hope ‘it won’t be the same’ for other reasons this time around.

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(originally posted at Real Madrid Football blog here)

p.s. for those on twitter, you can follow me: @MadridistaMac

The Football and the Non Football

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There is much to talk about in lieu of the events from last Wednesday (Thursday 5am Singapore time). But rather than to write about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I’d rather speak about the Football and the Non-Football. I do have to say though that it is sad that there’s more to talk about in terms of the latter.

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Here Goes:

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1.0   The Football

1.1   Personnel

1.1.1          Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho / Aitor Karanka revealed pre-match that there would be modifications made to the starting XI but wouldn’t reveal what / who the changes would be. Naturally, all of us expected that it would just HAVE to be Coentrao in for Di Maria as Marca ‘confirmed’. Coentrao did start, but on Left Back to replace Marcelo with Di Maria retaining his place in the starting XI. It’s relieving to know that under the Mourinho regime, ‘insiders’ are no longer leaking out team lineups to the Madrid press.

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Tactically, it seemed like a straight forward enough of a swap: a Left Back for a Left Back. It did seem to puzzle some people though: there were people on twitter calling it a 3-3-3-1 – which was plausible considering the fact that we were pressing Barca so high up on the pitch. Finding Coentrao in all sorts of positions on the attacking front later on however: I can only conclude that he was essentially carrying out his role as ‘the joker’.

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1.1.2          Barcelona

Many disagreed when I spoke about Barca fielding a B++ or rather, an A- team resulted in a drop in their quality in the first leg saying ‘it didn’t matter’. Last Wednesday, they proved that it did: Pique and Xavi started (Pedro too but it didn’t matter too much in my opinion) and they were much better in possession.

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Real Madrid failed to curtail Barca’s possession like they did in the first leg (a very uncomfortable 52% for Barca). Barcelona however still did not manage to dominate. Final match stats showed 60% possession for Barca (down from their supposed average of 68%). The results however are still very good for Real Madrid. It was a Barca A Team vs. a Real Madrid A Team. And despite Barca continuing to have possession, Real Madrid still looked the better team.

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1.2   Formation and Tactical System

There are a few key points to note tactically re: last Wednesday’s game. Firstly was the fact that Mourinho remained faithful to the 4-2-3-1. It’s official people: he is NOT going to migrate to a 4-3-3. Don’t get me wrong: I still believe that we will see the 4-3-3 for quite a number of games this season. The 4-2-3-1 however, will remain as the ‘base formation’ of the team.

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The key to its success was described perfectly by Sky Sports’ Graham Hunter in his Soccernet Article:

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“I had had a briefing before the weekend from a good Real Madrid source that a huge percentage of Mourinho's preparation in preseason, across the U.S., China and England, had been based on pressing like hungry Rottweilers and counterattacking with chilling speed and efficacy. "

As discussed in my last RMFB Article, also with reference to the interview on Chelsea’s Andre Villas-Boas, Real Madrid’s effectiveness against Barca is not just about pressing or having the energy and the manpower to do so. The key has been in knowing how, knowing who and knowing when to press. Also equally important is that they know what to actually do with the ball once they win it: they no longer freak out at the sight of being blitzed by a pack of Barca players counter-pressing them once they win the ball back – they know where to knock the ball to and do so in a manner that puts them in a threatening attacking position almost immediately.

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Here’s the fun part: we were doing this with the ‘less-‘solid’ or ‘less-secure’ formation which is a 4-2-3-1 (2 CMs vs. their 3). What if we learn to do it with a trivote? An attacking trivote that is…

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1.3   Application Defects

Our failings on Defense and Attack cost us the endgame

I stated in the comments section of my previous post that I fully expect us to win the Super Copa. And I never hid under a ‘The Super Copa is a meaningless Trophy’-Security Blanket. I wanted us to win it badly and I fully expected us to do so as well. I said:

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“If Barca win the Super Copa, they'll be happy to know that they can still nick it over RM even without being at full fitness and Madrid will know much more work there is to be done. “

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And now we know what we need to work on between now until December (assuming the strike doesn’t de-rail the scheduled Clasico):

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Firstly, while our pressing up the pitch has been a success, our defending when Barca manage to penetrate through has been woeful. Barca scored 5 goals in the 2 legs of the SuperCup. Villa’s was a Golazo that I can excuse Ramos for not rushing into to block. The rest however, if studied, could have been prevented. Iniesta’s goal was described perfectly comments section as ‘Ramos forgetting what an offside trap was’. ALL THREE of Messi’s goals however were a result of the same move: Messi going from deep and into our box, most of the time ‘ghosting in’. Zonal Marking’s Michael Cox might possibly have identified the problem. Might this be a role more suited for the pacier and more menacing Pepe?

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Secondly, much work needs to be done when we do create scoring chances. Real Madrid midfielders  and defenders seem to be ‘automatically’ aiming for the space behind Barca’s full backs once the ball is won – for Ronaldo, Benzema, Ozil and Di Maria to run to. It works too! The problem is with our attackers to when they get this opportunity in the final third. Alves had Ronaldo in his pocket last Wednesday. And once again, we failed in capitalizing on the chances galore created. You can create 20 chances against Almeria, score 4 goals and call it a blowout. Against Barca, if you create 11 chances and score with the same %, you lose titles.

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2.0   The Non-Football

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2.1   Believing Your Own Propaganda

Many Barca fans have been sniffing too much of that which stinks from the Propaganda Department of the Camp Nou. Here’s what it says:

2.1.1          Real Madrid is Evil

2.1.2          Barca’s recruitment policy has ALWAYS been about promoting from La Masia while Real Madrid’s is ONLY about Galacticos

2.1.3          Barca cares about “Values” while Real Madrid only care about Money

2.1.4          Barca’s Football is so beautiful that any team that plays otherwise is committing and act of immorality.

Real Madrid’s propaganda department have their own shit story to tell. But here’s the thing, I take much of it with more than a pinch of salt. I urge Madridistas and cules alike: do the same lest you become a pathetic zealot. Zeal is supposedly a virtue. Over-zealousness is an irritating trait. Zealots are dangerous.

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Let me make a confession: I actually used to liked Barca. Then I started to feel so-so about them. Today I dislike them – and I do so because of the overwhelmingly pontificating sense of importance and self righteousness that I get from their Directors, many of their fans and worst of all: their players. Clearly they’ve been sniffing too much of that crap (literally) from their propaganda department. Might this be the reason why I feel that my dislike for Barca can never match their hatred for Real Madrid?

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I cannot stand nor tolerate this idea of football as some form of morality.

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Italy, a nation of 4 Word Cup trophies and once home to the once-undisputed greatest league on the planet (the Serie A) have Catennacio as one of the pillars of their football. I’ve never heard anyone preach it.

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England, the inventors of the game, are worshippers of speed, pace, power and even brute strength. And today, as their Propaganda Artists brainwash the world on the superiority of their league, they make no claim on the moral authority of their football. The worst was merely from their fallen sexist-‘prophet’: “I’d like to see Barca do it in a Cold Night at Stoke”, he once challenged. Collectively, the world laughed.

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2.2   The Threshold of Physical Play

But maybe Barca should indeed try it out in a cold, rainy night in Stoke, I once suggested it (nevermind that they’d win 12-0). I was then preached upon by a Cule about the (moral) virtues of technical tiki-taka Spanish Football and La Liga. Funny, I always thought that La Liga and the XFL (Xenophobe Football League) played the same sport…?

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I use Andy Gray’s ‘Stoke Challenge’ to speak of one of the most reviled players in the Madrid lineup (in the eyes of the Cules): Pepe. Pepe has always been a footballer who played on the knife’s edge that defined the boundaries between the acceptable and intolerable when it comes to physical play. As a Madridista, I have to say that he has often crossed this line. In this Super Cup however, apart from his attempt to display his Taekwondo skills on Alves in the first leg, I do not find that he crossed the line. Body checks, partial clotheslines and such are things we see in physical leagues like the EPL, Bundesliga and some in South America. They are yellow card offenses of course and he duly got one in the second leg. He deserved one in the first leg too: but then again so did Valdes when he ‘allowed CR to run onto his arm’.

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It is not wrong to play physical football – even if it’s against teams that play tiki taka who have players of small build. On the back of Madrid’s play over the 2 legs of the Super Cup, it might  have been fair to brand the play of the likes of Ramos, Pepe and Khedira as ‘harsh’ or ‘very physical’ but it is certainly in my opinion too much to call it ‘dirty’ or ‘immoral’: words that are echoed by many Cules who suffer from  a ‘We Are Righteous Victims’-Complex.

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Many have said exaggeratedly that Real Madrid should be in the WWE over their physical play. I disagree – the WWE is an act: only Di(ve) Maria would qualify amongst Real Madrid’s players. I don’t think I can say the same about the other side.

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2.3   Losing Composure

We learned this past week that there is no such thing as a ‘meaningless’ clasico. This is the reason why it is common to see players lose their rag and completely lose the plot. Some Clasicos back (during Barca’s 2-6 at the Bernabeu if I can remember), Sergio Ramos made a ridiculous lunging tackle that earned a straight red. It was an act of immature petulance.

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Last Wednesday, with the score at 3-2 to Barca’s favor, instead of invoking Real Madrid’s ‘remontada spirit’, Marcelo pulled off a lunging, cynical and tackle on Cesc Fabregas to earn a straight red card. It was immature, it was petulant, it was vile, it was unacceptable. It was also very stupid: if he had only put his efforts into making it 3-3, we would have won an epic Clasico Super Copa. His tackle was cynical, violent, stupid and absolutely unacceptable.

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He must, if not in public, at least in private, apologize to Cesc Fabregas.

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2.4   Madness and Stupidity

2.4.1          Unnecessary Reactions

Cesc Fabregas was directly in front of Eduardo when the poor Croatian’s foot almost came off his leg from a bad tackle. Cesc was also Captain of Arsenal when teammate Aaron Ramsey’s leg was broken from a challenge similar to Marcelo’s (with that lethal trailing leg). In both cases, Arsenal’s bench did not pour out into the pitch in outrage like an uncivilized mob. Wenger was furious of course and the British media crucified the 2 defenders responsible for the tackles. No party however, has ‘ruined football’.

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What happened at the end of the Wednesday’s game was the equivalent of what they call in the NBA as a ‘bench-clearing’ incident. Pep Guardiola frantically and unsuccessfully trying to stop the Barca bench from rushing the pitch reminded me of Jeff Van Gundy nearly getting the shit kicked out of him in those NY Knicks – Miami Heat NBA brawls of the 90s: a move which I respect him deeply for.

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I would understand seeing Barca players surrounding the match officials in outrage if there was no red card. But the red card did come out. Immediately. There was no need to ‘invade the pitch.’ Is this a case of believing the ‘We are righteous Victims and I can’t stand it anymore’ script way too much once again?

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2.4.2          Racism

Racism is unacceptable. I am ashamed that it happened in the Bernabeu and I am outraged that it happened at the Camp Nou. Both Clubs must police their crowds to ban for life anyone caught involved in monkey chanting or any racist behavior.

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2.4.3          Deserving the Badge

Shame Mourinho, Shame!

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I was a skeptic when Jose Mourinho joined Real Madrid. Then I grew into loving him at Real Madrid. Then, on the back of his actions last Wednesday, I am ashamed, embarrassed and disgusted that such a man wears a Real Madrid Badge on his shirt. On his first ‘final’ as the most powerful manager in the history of the club, he has dishonored it with his immature playground petulance.

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The headline of the Sports Page in the newspaper (here in Singapore) today shows a picture of his ‘eye-gouge’ on Tito Vilanova. I’ve never been embarrassed to be a Madridista, not when we got eliminated from the CL or the CDR at the hands of those lousy teams, lost 5-0, 2-6 and all those titles to Barca – until last Wednesday.

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No form of verbal provocation (as some allege) can ever justify what he did.

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Mr. Mourinho, I do not ask that you behave as a role model. I only ask that you behave as the Manager of Real Madrid.

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Having made a faustian pact with Mourinho, I doubt Florentino Perez and / or Jose Angel Sanchez (the only 2 men more powerful than Mourinho) do much about it outside of firing him. Mr. Mourinho needs to grow up, grow some balls and make a public apology not just for what he did to Vilanova but also for his nonchalant reaction to the madness that ensued.

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3.0   2,540 Words

Real Madrid and Barcelona played 4 matches in 3 weeks early this year. There were 7 goals in total over the course of 390 minutes of mostly ugly football. Over 3 days this week, we played 2 matches, scored 9 goals through 180 minutes of mostly attractive football. Progress.

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In this article, I’ve written 966 words on ‘The Football’ and 1,379 words on ‘The Non-Football’. How sad is that?

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It was about 3 months between those Clasicos and this past week’s. It will be another 4 months before the next one comes up. Here’s to hoping that the next time I write something about the clasico that goes over 2,500 words – that it will be all about football.

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(originally posted on Real Madrid Football Blog)