Spanish Inquisition: What Should Real Madrid Do With The Pepe Predicament?

There’s never a dull moment at Real Madrid. Win, lose or draw, there’s always something juicy to talk about around the office water cooler at the start of the week and for the subsequent four days.

There was plenty on the menu to feast on again this week after Los Blancos’ hard fought but impressive 3-2 win over fierce rivals, Valencia: Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, Gonzalo Higuain’s double, Xavi’s awkward “fall” that earned Barcelona a penalty against Espanyol. But that was a different game altogether. The big talking point since Sunday, however, has centered around Pepe’s injury, the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee.

Immediately after news broke that the Portuguese would be out for at least six months, or to put it more cruelly, the rest of the season, the Madrid hierarchy went into a frenzy and called an emergency meeting, the kind that you’d normally only read about if the team had lost a game by half a dozen goals the night before, or if Cristiano Ronaldo had suddenly decided to retire from the game.

Who would’ve thought… an injury to a defender sending Madrid – Florentino Perez’s Madrid – into a tailspin. It’s a good sign, though. It shows that Father Christmas has learned that defenders are just as important as the attacking showmen. But the more pressing question now is, what should the ‘Casa Blanca’ do about the enormous void left by Pepe?

The 26-year-old center-back has become such a vital component not just in the Madrid defense but also in the entire team that the board weren’t even panicking this much when ‘CR9’ picked up his infamous voodoo curse ankle injury.

There were rumblings that Florentino and co. up in the Bernabeu offices would open the checkbook again to sign a direct replacement during the winter transfer period. It appears to be the most logical course of action. Other suggestions included moving either Sergio Ramos or Alvaro Arbeloa to the heart of the backline and sign another fullback instead, while the option of putting faith in Ezequiel Garay was also considered.

Option 1: To Buy Or Not To Buy

According to director-general, Jorge Valdano, Madrid will contemplate recruiting a defender in January if the club’s sporting directors feel that it is necessary. But the problem is, who should they sign? More disconcertingly, who can they sign?

Although money is often no object in the royal half of the Spanish capital, Perez has demonstrated this season that he will not simply splash the cash to buy just anyone if he doesn’t deem the valuation to be appropriate. Plus, unlike in the summer window, he will not be afforded weeks and months to negotiate.

And there are only so many choices that Madrid can go for. Ricardo Carvalho is one of them, but it’s unlikely that Chelsea would release him. Bruno Alves is another strong candidate, but Porto have already made it clear that only an offer of €30 million and upwards will get them to sit down and talk. In any case, neither will be eligible to play for the Merengues for the rest of this term’s Champions League.

The ‘White House’ directors will also have to decide whether it would be best to make a permanent signing or consider a loan move. One has to take into account that the club are actually trying to trim their squad, and bringing in another player that they might not need when Pepe returns will only create another headache next summer.  

Fancy a reunion, Cristiano?

A more viable option, and one that could be beneficial in the future, would be to stick with Garay as the first choice center-back alongside Raul Albiol and call on Sergio Ramos or Arbeloa to act as back-up whenever necessary, and sign a left-back instead… a position has been Madrid’s weakest link so far this campaign.

Granted, they have made some improvements in recent weeks by deploying Arbeloa as the regular left-back and playing Marcelo further up the wing, and both of them combined has produced one decent left-back. But that’s quite an inconvenient handicap to carry around, getting two people to do one man’s job. No light bulb jokes, please.

Option 2: The Sergio Solution

Frankly, that is not a solution. In fact, moving Sergio Ramos to the center-back role permanently for the remainder of the campaign is not an option at all. The 23-year-old has just about started to rediscover his form and confidence having had to adapt to a spate of varying strategies and style over the past couple of years under Fabio Capello, Bernd Schuster, Juande Ramos and now Manuel Pellegrini.

The Andalucian-born defender may be versatile, but right-back is where his home is. Not only does he need to play there to continue to flourish in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup, but Madrid need him there to help out in attack.

Taking him away from the right channel would significantly debilitate Los Blancos’ attacking thrust down that wing. Lassana Diarra has proven on occasion that he can be quite handy marauding up and down the right side of the pitch, but again, that’s hardly a solution considering he is needed more in the center of midfield.

That brings us to the third option.

Madrid need Sergio's surging runs

Option 3: Garay Area

There are reports that the Madrid bigwigs and coaching staff are happy to put their trust in Garay. But fans and critics alike are not entirely convinced that he is up for the job. And when they are not happy, they tend to let a player know about it and that will only harm Ezequiel’s confidence.

The Argentine set-piece specialist has been a bit wobbly in the early parts of the season, but then again, so was everyone in the Madrid team not named Cristiano Ronaldo. But keep in mind, Garay has come good in other aspects. He made an assist for Higuain to score the only goal in the win against Racing Santander and, of course, he netted the winner at the weekend against Valencia at the Mestalla.

Garay can be Madrid’s equivalent of a Gerard Pique and he could well be the team’s revelation of the season, but first, he has to be given the opportunity.

 
Is Ezequiel the answer? 

What do you think Madrid should do? Is signing a direct replacement – short or long term – the best idea? If so, who should they buy? Should Sergio Ramos or Arbeloa help out in the center? Or should Garay be given the chance to show that he is a worthy deputy? Goal.com wants to know what you think…

KS Leong, Goal.com

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