Spanish Debate: Can Schuster And Real Madrid Recover?

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Sergio Ramos, Bernd Schuster, Real Madrid-Malaga (Marca)

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Bernd Schuster is currently in his eighteen month in charge in one of the most volatile posts in world football – not a bad record considering so little time some of his predecessors were provided.

Capello was given just over a year, and the five managers before him (Ramón López, Luxemburgo, García Remon, Camacho and Queiroz) didn’t manage a first anniversary in the dugout of Los Merengues. Their turnover of coaches is testament to the levels of success that must be achieved in order to appease the notoriously irritable board, and the equally passionate followers.

Now it appears the German, too, will soon be consigned to history along with the forty intrepid gentlemen who preceded him.  The former Madrid midfielder is teetering on the brink, and another undistinguished performance from his ramshackle squad will give licence to president, Ramón Calderón to boot him off the edge and into the footballing oblivion, where so many ex-Madrid coaches have ended up.

But what of Schuster’s vision? The main characteristics that define the success of a Real Madrid team under a certain coach are surely:
- An ability to play slick, attacking football
- An unrelenting hunger for success
- Signing only top players who contribute to fast, exciting matches

These points outline what it is, and what it means to wear the sacred white jerseys and venture onto the hallowed turf of the Bernabéu. To do that you must be willing to subscribe to their football ethos.

As much as Madrid are suffering from an untimely sequence of results, it is testament to their determination and desire that they are still competing to achieve this philosophy. Just look at the evidence: the Primera División title was clinched last term with consummate ease under Schuster’s stewardship, and world class footballers such as Sneijder and Van Der Vaart have joined established faces such as Cannavaro, Casillas and Van Nistelrooy.

For sheer excitement, the Bernabéu has been the place to be this season: see-saw, end-to-end, high scoring victories were the order of the day versus Numancia, Málaga and Athletic Bilbao, and the swashbuckling 7-1 win over Sporting Gijón was offensive football at its finest. They travelled to the Vicente Calderón and escaped with the points with just ten men after a battling, heart-stopping display.

Yes, the Copa Del Rey horror show was rightly ridiculed and their current form leaves more than a lot to be desired. But let’s not forget that Villarreal were humbled by a team of similar stature to Real Unión in the form of Poli Ejido; Barcelona toiled to knock out Benidorm, and in England Chelsea fell with minimal grace at the hands of Burnley. The domestic cup competitions are simply now an inconvenience for the big sides, so the fact they are out bears little reference to how their overall success will be shaped.

The injury woes are also hugely inconvenient and almost insurmountable, and if the seemingly invincible Barcelona had anywhere near the busy treatment table that currently plagues Schuster’s ability to pick a strong first-team, then the cracks may begin to show in Catalunya too.

Pepe, Metzelder, Diarrà, Robben, Van Nistelrooy are all currently out injured – imagine the Blaugrana minus Messi, Eto’o, Xavi, Puyol and Piqué? Their indestructible image would undoubtedly slip. Plus, the mercurial Messi WILL miss a spell of the season with fitness problems, and Barcelona are not the same force without him in the team.

Yet for all that, Madrid are only two points behind their rivals, and levelled with a Valencia side who have made the best start to a season in their history. Despite perennial Champions League disappointment, they are still in the competition, and should progress relatively comfortably from their group despite the losses to Juventus.

In synopsis, things aren’t going well – but the situation can be rectified by Schuster, if given the time to nurse his stars back to fitness and bring them together as a unit again. An inspired striker purchase in January to replace Van Nistelrooy until the end of the season could be the key, and someone like Hernan Crespo, an instinctive, penalty box finisher, could be the type of masterstroke signing that will keep Los Blancos in contention for honours.

Time, unfortunately, is not on Bernd Schuster’s side. A slip up this weekend and it is likely to be all over, and rightly or wrongly, the fact he is on borrowed time may contribute to his demise.

Indeed, only time will tell.

Paul Macdonald