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Spanish Debate: Madrid Coming Apart At The Seams?
What's wrong with Madrid? Ewan Macdonald charts the decline and fall of a club seemingly unable to arrest their slide...
12-Nov-2008 10:06:20 PM
Madrid daily Marca didn't mince words last night as Real Madrid sunk to aggregate defeat at the hands of little Real Unión. "The biggest upset in the cup history," said their commentator.
Indeed, while many fans care little for the venerable Copa del Rey, this result is arguably more important than a common-or-garden league defeat. It is a result of such abject humiliation that the second-string line-up cannot rightly be used as an excuse; and it comes off the back of a difficult run of form, too.
Yes, Madrid have in fact failed to win a minority of their last nine games, even allowing for the fact that last night's aggregate defeat was actually a "victory" on the night. Discounting that and it's three wins from nine, with two draws and three defeats since the dawn of October.
That's led many to call for the ouster of coach Bernd Schuster: Marca's online poll, as of lunchtime on Wednesday, was 59% to 41% in favour of removing him from the club; noted Madrid loyalist Tomas Roncero over at competing daily As has already reported that Miguel Angel Portugal, the club's technical director, is waiting in the wings to take over.
But would a simple swap in the coach's hotseat really fix what's wrong with Madrid? I for one don't think so, and that is for the reason that Schuster is just one part of a triumvirate of failure.
The Squad
The squad is not playing as it should. It's that simple.
The failings in defence have been done to death in this column, but nonetheless we must repeat: simple, avoidable mistakes are made time and again. Iker Casillas' halo has slipped - not irrevocably, but noticably - and this has only made worse the problems at the back.
Midfield players, often being asked to fill unfamiliar roles, quite understandably seem unsure of themselves, but at the same time their lack of leadership is largely of their own making.
Up front? Well, it's down to injury and a lack of depth. Gonzalo Higuain is finally proving himself as a player, but that's not enough.
In essence, though, no matter which players are put onto the pitch, every one of them should be capable of banding together to beat a Real Union side that are, by their own admission, way below the level of the capital outfit.
The Hierarchy
While the squad must be blamed in part, ultimately its composition comes down to those above them in the club hierarchy.
Sporting director Predrag 'Pedja' Mijatovic and president Ramón Calderón seemingly learned nothing from the summer of 2007, in which their transfers took on the quality of a last-minute trolley-dash through Europe's most expensive stores. While Barcelona, for the second season in a row, signed "early and often," Madrid postured in the press, chased the wild goose that is Cristiano Ronaldo, and ended up with one good signing after a summer full of sound, fury, and little end product.
Granted, that one signing - Rafael van der Vaart - was a tremendous acquisition, and one for which the club must be praised. But their failure to strengthen the front line was absolutely grave.
The Ronaldo chase, aforementioned, was by the summer's end a sick joke; the (alleged) approach for David Villa on deadline day smacked of complacency and arrogance, and in the end, hubris.
As for the defence... well, the failings were clear to see last season, and it just so happens that Iker Casillas is off-form they appear to be worse than they were. In fact relatively little has changed. That this was outcome was unaccounted for by the paymasters is simply inexcusable.
Finally, notice that Calderon and Pedja, media darlings over the summer, have all but disappeared from the public eye. Calderon is more guilty of this: he'll lap the limelight up when the going is good, but as soon as the mood turns sour he's away like snow off a dyke.
What kind of example does that set when the club figurehead appears only during clement weather? It is a minor, minor fact, yes, but any club aiming for silverware against an on-form Barcelona side must always be willing to meet adversity head-on, rather than hiding from it.
The Coach
Of course some of his tactics have backfired: the cavalier way with which Real Union were dealt with is down to the manager as well as those whom he selects.
On the topic of selection, Rafael van der Vaart is not a forward, and to deploy him so far up front that he resembles some kind of deep-lying striker, albeit out wide, is quite simply the wrong thing to do.
Yet although the failings lie just as much - in fact moreso - with the previous two camps, it'll most likely be Schuster who gets the bullet. Not that he can have any complaints, really: this is how football works. Everyone knows that.
But by the same token one wonders just how much difference a new man on the bench will truly make when the failures elsewhere are so readily apparent.
Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com
Indeed, while many fans care little for the venerable Copa del Rey, this result is arguably more important than a common-or-garden league defeat. It is a result of such abject humiliation that the second-string line-up cannot rightly be used as an excuse; and it comes off the back of a difficult run of form, too.
Yes, Madrid have in fact failed to win a minority of their last nine games, even allowing for the fact that last night's aggregate defeat was actually a "victory" on the night. Discounting that and it's three wins from nine, with two draws and three defeats since the dawn of October.
That's led many to call for the ouster of coach Bernd Schuster: Marca's online poll, as of lunchtime on Wednesday, was 59% to 41% in favour of removing him from the club; noted Madrid loyalist Tomas Roncero over at competing daily As has already reported that Miguel Angel Portugal, the club's technical director, is waiting in the wings to take over.
But would a simple swap in the coach's hotseat really fix what's wrong with Madrid? I for one don't think so, and that is for the reason that Schuster is just one part of a triumvirate of failure.
The Squad
The squad is not playing as it should. It's that simple.
The failings in defence have been done to death in this column, but nonetheless we must repeat: simple, avoidable mistakes are made time and again. Iker Casillas' halo has slipped - not irrevocably, but noticably - and this has only made worse the problems at the back.
Midfield players, often being asked to fill unfamiliar roles, quite understandably seem unsure of themselves, but at the same time their lack of leadership is largely of their own making.
Up front? Well, it's down to injury and a lack of depth. Gonzalo Higuain is finally proving himself as a player, but that's not enough.
In essence, though, no matter which players are put onto the pitch, every one of them should be capable of banding together to beat a Real Union side that are, by their own admission, way below the level of the capital outfit.
The Hierarchy
While the squad must be blamed in part, ultimately its composition comes down to those above them in the club hierarchy.
Sporting director Predrag 'Pedja' Mijatovic and president Ramón Calderón seemingly learned nothing from the summer of 2007, in which their transfers took on the quality of a last-minute trolley-dash through Europe's most expensive stores. While Barcelona, for the second season in a row, signed "early and often," Madrid postured in the press, chased the wild goose that is Cristiano Ronaldo, and ended up with one good signing after a summer full of sound, fury, and little end product.
Granted, that one signing - Rafael van der Vaart - was a tremendous acquisition, and one for which the club must be praised. But their failure to strengthen the front line was absolutely grave.
The Ronaldo chase, aforementioned, was by the summer's end a sick joke; the (alleged) approach for David Villa on deadline day smacked of complacency and arrogance, and in the end, hubris.
As for the defence... well, the failings were clear to see last season, and it just so happens that Iker Casillas is off-form they appear to be worse than they were. In fact relatively little has changed. That this was outcome was unaccounted for by the paymasters is simply inexcusable.
Finally, notice that Calderon and Pedja, media darlings over the summer, have all but disappeared from the public eye. Calderon is more guilty of this: he'll lap the limelight up when the going is good, but as soon as the mood turns sour he's away like snow off a dyke.
What kind of example does that set when the club figurehead appears only during clement weather? It is a minor, minor fact, yes, but any club aiming for silverware against an on-form Barcelona side must always be willing to meet adversity head-on, rather than hiding from it.
The Coach
Of course some of his tactics have backfired: the cavalier way with which Real Union were dealt with is down to the manager as well as those whom he selects.
On the topic of selection, Rafael van der Vaart is not a forward, and to deploy him so far up front that he resembles some kind of deep-lying striker, albeit out wide, is quite simply the wrong thing to do.
Yet although the failings lie just as much - in fact moreso - with the previous two camps, it'll most likely be Schuster who gets the bullet. Not that he can have any complaints, really: this is how football works. Everyone knows that.
But by the same token one wonders just how much difference a new man on the bench will truly make when the failures elsewhere are so readily apparent.
Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com
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