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Friends Of Don Quixote: Dead Man Walking
David Mosse returns with his other Spanish column - this one a preview of La Liga action.
Oct 30, 2009 2:49:39 AM
Manuel Pellegrini can thank the men who came before him like Carlos Queiroz, Mariano Garcia Remon and Wanderley Luxemburgo.
Word is the only reason the 56-year-old Chilean is still Real Madrid's coach is because Florentino Perez is a bit skittish about firing another manager, aware of the reputation he developed last time around for devouring coaches. So much of this second spell is supposed to be about learning from his mistakes.
But few could blame Perez this time. What happened on Tuesday night at the Municipal de Santo Domingo Stadium, capacity 3,000 (though temporary seats were added, pushing the number closer to 4,000), was absurd. Real Madrid was thrashed 4-0 by third-division side Alcorcon in the first leg of a Copa Del Rey tie, the most embarrassing defeat in the history of the club. And it could have been worse.
Alcorcon hit the post and squandered numerous other chances. Backup goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was Madrid's best player, preserving faint hopes of a comeback in the return match, set to be played on November 10 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The question is whether Pellegrini will last that long.
He was defiant in the post-game press conference, vowing never to resign and defending his record this season. Madrid has lost three matches in all competitions, only one more than Chelsea or Manchester United. But those three defeats have come in the last five games, and supporters weren't that happy with the team when it was racking up wins.
Also, some defeats can feel like five, as they shine a light on other problems. Alcorcorn exposed Pellegrini's lack of control over his players. After turning up late for training on Sunday due to confusion over daylight savings, Jose Guti reportedly told his manager to go f**k himself during a heated halftime exchange. Guti capped off an eventful few days by getting caught on camera giving the finger to Alcorcon fans.
Not the kind of image that will sell jerseys in China. And it is the stuff that bothers Perez the most. He was determined to restore the glamor he felt the club had lost during the reign of previous president Ramon Calderon by building a team that brushed aside opponents with style and grace. In short, he wanted to be like Barcelona. On Tuesday, the only side that resembled the Catalans was Alcorcon.
Madrid's capitulation was the highlight of a satisfying week for the Barcelona. It began, as expected, with the Blaugrana dominating the La Liga awards for last season. Daniel Alves was chosen the best defender, Xavi and Andres Iniesta the best midfielders, and Lionel Messi the best striker. Messi also took home the prize as the best player of the 2008-2009 campaign, the first of many major awards he figures to collect in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, Barcelona took care of business in the Copa Del Rey, beating third-division minnows Cultural 2-0. Both goals came courtesy of youngster Pedro Rodriguez, who, remarkably, has scored in five different competitions this season (including the European and Spanish Supercups). Pep Guardiola admitted after the game he used the Madrid result to motivate his players.
Real was indeed the only top club to trip up. New Atletico Madrid boss Quique Flores made a winning start with a 2-0 win over Marbella, while Sevilla overcame Atletico Ciudad 4-2 with Luis Fabiano bagging a brace. Valencia and Deportivo also picked up victories to boost their confidence, as we head into another busy weekend of action in La Liga.
First Quest: Real Madrid vs. Getafe
Saturday, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN Deportes
Badly in need of a win, Real Madrid returns home where it has collected full points in the league. Getafe will be confident following last weekend's victory over Athletic and a Copa Del Rey triumph against Espanyol. The attack is led by Madrid reject Roberto Soldado, who returned to the scoresheet against Athletic, his first league goal since notching a hat-trick in the opening game against Racing.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered while on international duty, but his Portuguese teammate Pepe will be in the lineup, which should send shivers down the spines of Getafe players. It was in this fixture last season that the Brazil-born defender lost his mind and attacked striker Francisco Casquero when he was on the ground, earning a 10 game suspension.
Madrid strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, who both sat out last weekend's scoreless draw away to Sporting Gijon, will be available, and it will be interesting to see which one is granted the privilege of partnering Raul. The Frenchman has been a colossal disappointment thus far. On the subject of galacticos, Kaka is certainly due for a big performance.
Second Quest: Osasuna vs. Barcelona
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
All is well in Barcelona's world again following the annihilation of Real Zaragoza, but the champs face a tricky away fixture in Pamplona on Saturday. Last season, they trailed 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining before Xavi and Lionel Messi scored to snatch a dramatic victory, which represents Barcelona's only win away to Osasuna in the last four seasons.
Thierry Henry back to full fitness, but might not feature yet. Pedro has probably earned a start over Bojan Krkic with his performance in the Copa Del Rey, unless Pep Guardiola chooses to dispatch Andres Iniesta to the left wing. Leading the way once more will be Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who are developing an incredible chemistry. Ibrahimovic has scored in six of eight league matches.
For Osasuna, the threat will come from striker Walter Pandiani, who scored two goals in the last home game, a 3-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid. Pandiani is among the league leaders with six goals, just one behind Ibrahimovic and David Villa. He figures to pose plenty of problems for Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, who recently signed a contract extension with Barcelona.
Ladies-in-waiting: Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
The Quique Flores reclamation project will begin in earnest on Saturday, as Atletico Madrid travels to Bilbao for the first league match under its new manager. Atletico has only two victories in the last 12 games in all competitions, and last time out in the league was held to an almost unfathomable 1-1 draw against a Mallorca side reduced to nine players for most of the second half.
First order of business for Flores must be to get Sergio Aguero going. The little Argentine hasn't scored in 519 minutes, his last goal coming six games ago against Valencia. Young goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo put forth a commanding performance against Marbella, and should be in the lineup following interim boss Santi Denia's disastrous David De Gea experiment against Mallorca.
Ladies-in-waiting: Deportivo vs. Sporting Gijon
Sunday, 3:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
A four-match winning streak was halted in stunning fashion, as Deportivo lost 4-0 away to Valladolid. Manager Miguel Angel Lotina will be hoping it was a blip on the radar, as his team comes home to take on a pesky Sporting side, buoyed by a three-match unbeaten streak that includes an impressive performance at home against Real Madrid last week.
After being spared of any midweek exertions, the Deportivo trio of striker Ivan Riki, winger Andres Guardado and left-back Filipe Luis should all return to the lineup. They will need to be at their best to beat in-form Sporting goalkeeper Juan Pablo, who stymied Madrid with a number of great saves.
The Impertinent Curiosity: Other Games
Xerez vs. Sevilla
Espanyol vs. Valladolid
Mallorca vs. Racing
Villarreal vs. Tenerife
Real Zaragoza vs. Almeria
Malaga vs. Valencia
David Mosse, Goal.com
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
Word is the only reason the 56-year-old Chilean is still Real Madrid's coach is because Florentino Perez is a bit skittish about firing another manager, aware of the reputation he developed last time around for devouring coaches. So much of this second spell is supposed to be about learning from his mistakes.
But few could blame Perez this time. What happened on Tuesday night at the Municipal de Santo Domingo Stadium, capacity 3,000 (though temporary seats were added, pushing the number closer to 4,000), was absurd. Real Madrid was thrashed 4-0 by third-division side Alcorcon in the first leg of a Copa Del Rey tie, the most embarrassing defeat in the history of the club. And it could have been worse.
Alcorcon hit the post and squandered numerous other chances. Backup goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was Madrid's best player, preserving faint hopes of a comeback in the return match, set to be played on November 10 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The question is whether Pellegrini will last that long.
He was defiant in the post-game press conference, vowing never to resign and defending his record this season. Madrid has lost three matches in all competitions, only one more than Chelsea or Manchester United. But those three defeats have come in the last five games, and supporters weren't that happy with the team when it was racking up wins.
Also, some defeats can feel like five, as they shine a light on other problems. Alcorcorn exposed Pellegrini's lack of control over his players. After turning up late for training on Sunday due to confusion over daylight savings, Jose Guti reportedly told his manager to go f**k himself during a heated halftime exchange. Guti capped off an eventful few days by getting caught on camera giving the finger to Alcorcon fans.
Not the kind of image that will sell jerseys in China. And it is the stuff that bothers Perez the most. He was determined to restore the glamor he felt the club had lost during the reign of previous president Ramon Calderon by building a team that brushed aside opponents with style and grace. In short, he wanted to be like Barcelona. On Tuesday, the only side that resembled the Catalans was Alcorcon.
Madrid's capitulation was the highlight of a satisfying week for the Barcelona. It began, as expected, with the Blaugrana dominating the La Liga awards for last season. Daniel Alves was chosen the best defender, Xavi and Andres Iniesta the best midfielders, and Lionel Messi the best striker. Messi also took home the prize as the best player of the 2008-2009 campaign, the first of many major awards he figures to collect in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, Barcelona took care of business in the Copa Del Rey, beating third-division minnows Cultural 2-0. Both goals came courtesy of youngster Pedro Rodriguez, who, remarkably, has scored in five different competitions this season (including the European and Spanish Supercups). Pep Guardiola admitted after the game he used the Madrid result to motivate his players.
Real was indeed the only top club to trip up. New Atletico Madrid boss Quique Flores made a winning start with a 2-0 win over Marbella, while Sevilla overcame Atletico Ciudad 4-2 with Luis Fabiano bagging a brace. Valencia and Deportivo also picked up victories to boost their confidence, as we head into another busy weekend of action in La Liga.
First Quest: Real Madrid vs. Getafe
Saturday, 1:00 p.m. EST, ESPN Deportes
Badly in need of a win, Real Madrid returns home where it has collected full points in the league. Getafe will be confident following last weekend's victory over Athletic and a Copa Del Rey triumph against Espanyol. The attack is led by Madrid reject Roberto Soldado, who returned to the scoresheet against Athletic, his first league goal since notching a hat-trick in the opening game against Racing.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered while on international duty, but his Portuguese teammate Pepe will be in the lineup, which should send shivers down the spines of Getafe players. It was in this fixture last season that the Brazil-born defender lost his mind and attacked striker Francisco Casquero when he was on the ground, earning a 10 game suspension.
Madrid strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, who both sat out last weekend's scoreless draw away to Sporting Gijon, will be available, and it will be interesting to see which one is granted the privilege of partnering Raul. The Frenchman has been a colossal disappointment thus far. On the subject of galacticos, Kaka is certainly due for a big performance.
Second Quest: Osasuna vs. Barcelona
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
All is well in Barcelona's world again following the annihilation of Real Zaragoza, but the champs face a tricky away fixture in Pamplona on Saturday. Last season, they trailed 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining before Xavi and Lionel Messi scored to snatch a dramatic victory, which represents Barcelona's only win away to Osasuna in the last four seasons.
Thierry Henry back to full fitness, but might not feature yet. Pedro has probably earned a start over Bojan Krkic with his performance in the Copa Del Rey, unless Pep Guardiola chooses to dispatch Andres Iniesta to the left wing. Leading the way once more will be Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who are developing an incredible chemistry. Ibrahimovic has scored in six of eight league matches.
For Osasuna, the threat will come from striker Walter Pandiani, who scored two goals in the last home game, a 3-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid. Pandiani is among the league leaders with six goals, just one behind Ibrahimovic and David Villa. He figures to pose plenty of problems for Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, who recently signed a contract extension with Barcelona.
Ladies-in-waiting: Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
The Quique Flores reclamation project will begin in earnest on Saturday, as Atletico Madrid travels to Bilbao for the first league match under its new manager. Atletico has only two victories in the last 12 games in all competitions, and last time out in the league was held to an almost unfathomable 1-1 draw against a Mallorca side reduced to nine players for most of the second half.
First order of business for Flores must be to get Sergio Aguero going. The little Argentine hasn't scored in 519 minutes, his last goal coming six games ago against Valencia. Young goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo put forth a commanding performance against Marbella, and should be in the lineup following interim boss Santi Denia's disastrous David De Gea experiment against Mallorca.
Ladies-in-waiting: Deportivo vs. Sporting Gijon
Sunday, 3:00 p.m. EST, Gol TV
A four-match winning streak was halted in stunning fashion, as Deportivo lost 4-0 away to Valladolid. Manager Miguel Angel Lotina will be hoping it was a blip on the radar, as his team comes home to take on a pesky Sporting side, buoyed by a three-match unbeaten streak that includes an impressive performance at home against Real Madrid last week.
After being spared of any midweek exertions, the Deportivo trio of striker Ivan Riki, winger Andres Guardado and left-back Filipe Luis should all return to the lineup. They will need to be at their best to beat in-form Sporting goalkeeper Juan Pablo, who stymied Madrid with a number of great saves.
The Impertinent Curiosity: Other Games
Xerez vs. Sevilla
Espanyol vs. Valladolid
Mallorca vs. Racing
Villarreal vs. Tenerife
Real Zaragoza vs. Almeria
Malaga vs. Valencia
David Mosse, Goal.com
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage
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