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Spanish Debate: Are Real Madrid The New Valencia?
Following the precariously timed dismissal of Bernd Schuster, Real Madrid must tread carefully to avoid plunging into a full-blown crisis, writes Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad...
| Bet: | Returns: | Real Madrid £10.62 | Draw £105.00 | Levante £290.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Madrid £10.80 | Draw £90.00 | Levante £260.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Madrid £10.83 | Draw £100.00 | Levante £260.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Madrid £10.80 | Draw £100.00 | Levante £260.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Madrid £10.80 | Draw £87.00 | Levante £170.00 |
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Dec 10, 2008 3:56:47 PM
So the rumours were true - Predrag Mijatovic really did have it in for
Bernd Schuster. Is anyone surprised? It was the sporting director who
made the decision to sack the German coach, despite club president
Ramon Calderon's conflicting opinion, one of undying faith in the man that donned the famous white jersey as a player from 1988 to 1990.
If common concensus is anything to go by, it would seem that Schuster was not primarily at fault for Madrid's recent decline and that in fact he is no more to blame than the players, with the club hierarchy being well over twice as responsible, according to Goal.com readers.
Nevertheless, his time is at an end. This "long-term project" we heard so much about 15 months ago is already over. Faith in Schuster was lost, but why? Nine points off first place is poor, but by no means insurmountable, as proven by Fabio Capello in charge of the club in 2006-07, and the floppy-haired tactician had just led the side to a record-breaking points total in their Liga triumph of 2007-08 - not bad going for your first season. It is likely that the decision was based somewhat on personal differences and the German's bad attitude - not unlike that of Jose Mourinho - which, despite his relative success, made matters unsustainable behind the scenes.
We all know Schuster didn't get the players he wanted from Mijatovic. The protracted saga of Cristiano Ronaldo made it impossible for los Blancos to line up a potential alternative in the mould of Franck Ribery, or even Ricardo Quaresma, despite his current failings to handle the big stage at Inter. Rafael van der Vaart, while oozing with class, is not a wide player of any distinction and simply served as a cheap, easy yet reputable alternative, upon Madrid's failure to land Ronaldo. The moment Wesley Sneijder recovered and Schuster didn't have to play van der Vaart, he didn't: the message was sent loud and clear, and no doubt received by Mijatovic as well as Rafael himself.
Sacking Schuster at such a critical point in the season is a move suited only to the brazen ways of the 'White House', and of course, they had their bases covered, drafting in recently out-of-work coach Juande Ramos as his replacement on the same day of his sacking. Ramos rose through the coaching ranks and was outstanding in capturing five trophies in 15 months with a little-fancied Sevilla side. Money and 'a dream' lured him to Tottenham Hotspur, where he gave the Lilywhites their first silverware in almost a decade before a catastrophic start to this season cost him his job.
The plot thickens: many put plenty of Ramos' failings at Spurs down to the board, who in all their blind confidence, refused to sell star strikers Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov until late in the transfer window when they were left with no other choice. This ended up being a few weeks too late to restrengthen in the manner they would have liked.
The similarities between the sackings of Schuster and Ramos are obvious and the situation at Madrid now bears resemblance to that of Valencia just over a year ago. Quique Sanchez Flores (a Madridista, as it happens) was ousted from his post after an embarrassing start in Europe and slightly below-par start to La Liga - in a sense, the opposite to Schuster's start this season - and his replacement, the reputable Ronald Koeman, plunged the club into inexplicable depths of humiliation; despite winning the Copa del Rey, they almost got relegated.
Luckily for Madrid, Ramos doesn't think as much of himself as Koeman, who as one of his first orders of meaningful business, fired veterans Santiago Canizares, Miguel Angulo and David Albelda - the latter being club captain. It is hard to see Juande, fairly mild-mannered as he is, axing Raul, Guti and Fabio Cannavaro, for example. While all three haven't performed their best this season and all are permanently past their prime, the Valencia debacle shows just what a devastating effect removing iconic and experienced figures from the dressing room can have on a club both on and off the pitch.
Despite his Tottenham troubles, there can be little doubt that Ramos has the potential to be the right man for Madrid. However, the line between success and resounding failure is forever thinning at the Bernabeu due to the lack of long-term, practical planning behind the sporting decisions at the club. When Spurs sacked Ramos, they also got rid of director of football Damian Comolli, which in itself was an admission from the club that blame lay beyond the decisions of the Spaniard. How long is Pedja Mijatovic of this world? Calderon may be the idealistic, naive and eccentric figurehead of the club, but he has made it very clear that it is the Montenegrin who is responsible for all sporting decisions - and it is those that have come under the most fierce criticism of all.
Juan Soler's reign as president of Valencia was an unmitigated disaster, and it took a complete overhaul in the summer to see the club now looking comparitively stable - and ahead of Madrid in the table, it is worth adding. With the drastic action taken yesterday afternoon, los Merengues' hierarchy have put themselves in the most precarious of positions and will need to play their cards to perfection to avoid disgracing themselves beyond any and every kind of recovery. There are already cries for change to start at the top, and nothing short of major silverware this season will save Calderon, Mijatovic and their entire regime this summer. Can they do it - have they hit rockbottom - or is worse yet to come in the capital?
Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
If common concensus is anything to go by, it would seem that Schuster was not primarily at fault for Madrid's recent decline and that in fact he is no more to blame than the players, with the club hierarchy being well over twice as responsible, according to Goal.com readers.
Nevertheless, his time is at an end. This "long-term project" we heard so much about 15 months ago is already over. Faith in Schuster was lost, but why? Nine points off first place is poor, but by no means insurmountable, as proven by Fabio Capello in charge of the club in 2006-07, and the floppy-haired tactician had just led the side to a record-breaking points total in their Liga triumph of 2007-08 - not bad going for your first season. It is likely that the decision was based somewhat on personal differences and the German's bad attitude - not unlike that of Jose Mourinho - which, despite his relative success, made matters unsustainable behind the scenes.
We all know Schuster didn't get the players he wanted from Mijatovic. The protracted saga of Cristiano Ronaldo made it impossible for los Blancos to line up a potential alternative in the mould of Franck Ribery, or even Ricardo Quaresma, despite his current failings to handle the big stage at Inter. Rafael van der Vaart, while oozing with class, is not a wide player of any distinction and simply served as a cheap, easy yet reputable alternative, upon Madrid's failure to land Ronaldo. The moment Wesley Sneijder recovered and Schuster didn't have to play van der Vaart, he didn't: the message was sent loud and clear, and no doubt received by Mijatovic as well as Rafael himself.
Sacking Schuster at such a critical point in the season is a move suited only to the brazen ways of the 'White House', and of course, they had their bases covered, drafting in recently out-of-work coach Juande Ramos as his replacement on the same day of his sacking. Ramos rose through the coaching ranks and was outstanding in capturing five trophies in 15 months with a little-fancied Sevilla side. Money and 'a dream' lured him to Tottenham Hotspur, where he gave the Lilywhites their first silverware in almost a decade before a catastrophic start to this season cost him his job.
The plot thickens: many put plenty of Ramos' failings at Spurs down to the board, who in all their blind confidence, refused to sell star strikers Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov until late in the transfer window when they were left with no other choice. This ended up being a few weeks too late to restrengthen in the manner they would have liked.
The similarities between the sackings of Schuster and Ramos are obvious and the situation at Madrid now bears resemblance to that of Valencia just over a year ago. Quique Sanchez Flores (a Madridista, as it happens) was ousted from his post after an embarrassing start in Europe and slightly below-par start to La Liga - in a sense, the opposite to Schuster's start this season - and his replacement, the reputable Ronald Koeman, plunged the club into inexplicable depths of humiliation; despite winning the Copa del Rey, they almost got relegated.
Luckily for Madrid, Ramos doesn't think as much of himself as Koeman, who as one of his first orders of meaningful business, fired veterans Santiago Canizares, Miguel Angulo and David Albelda - the latter being club captain. It is hard to see Juande, fairly mild-mannered as he is, axing Raul, Guti and Fabio Cannavaro, for example. While all three haven't performed their best this season and all are permanently past their prime, the Valencia debacle shows just what a devastating effect removing iconic and experienced figures from the dressing room can have on a club both on and off the pitch.
Despite his Tottenham troubles, there can be little doubt that Ramos has the potential to be the right man for Madrid. However, the line between success and resounding failure is forever thinning at the Bernabeu due to the lack of long-term, practical planning behind the sporting decisions at the club. When Spurs sacked Ramos, they also got rid of director of football Damian Comolli, which in itself was an admission from the club that blame lay beyond the decisions of the Spaniard. How long is Pedja Mijatovic of this world? Calderon may be the idealistic, naive and eccentric figurehead of the club, but he has made it very clear that it is the Montenegrin who is responsible for all sporting decisions - and it is those that have come under the most fierce criticism of all.
Juan Soler's reign as president of Valencia was an unmitigated disaster, and it took a complete overhaul in the summer to see the club now looking comparitively stable - and ahead of Madrid in the table, it is worth adding. With the drastic action taken yesterday afternoon, los Merengues' hierarchy have put themselves in the most precarious of positions and will need to play their cards to perfection to avoid disgracing themselves beyond any and every kind of recovery. There are already cries for change to start at the top, and nothing short of major silverware this season will save Calderon, Mijatovic and their entire regime this summer. Can they do it - have they hit rockbottom - or is worse yet to come in the capital?
Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
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