Real Madrid CF 2012/13

Also Morata scores the only goal for Spain U21s to beat Russia. Cantera!

Jaime wrote:Isco muthaf*ckas!

http://www.as.com/futbol/video/isco-vuelve-regalar-elastica-impresionante/20130606dasdasftb_41/Ves

Jaime wrote:Also Morata scores the only goal for Spain U21s to beat Russia. Cantera!

U21 level

TM wrote:Arbeloa

TM wrote:Arbeloa

He gets my respect having the balls for coming out and saying the truth and not pretending as if everything everything was Jose's fault

Why don't Madrid appoint toril as their manager, I mean seriously have the average Madrid fan seen what he has done with castilla, have seen three - four games and the guy as a clear idea on how he wants is team to play, plus look at what he has done to jese over the past two years, which barca had someone like him.

Alonso hails 'perfect' communicator Mourinho

The Portuguese was painted as a divisive figure in the Spanish capital, but the defensive midfielder could only speak highly of his experience playing under the 50-year-old
Xabi Alonso has paid tribute to Jose Mourinho by claiming that the former Real Madrid coach never lost the dressing room during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 50-year-old's last season at the helm of the Blancos was marred by reports of conflicts with numerous personnel - including captain Iker Casillas and Spain international Sergio Ramos.

But in Alonso's eyes, contrary to media perceptions, Mourinho - who has since left Madrid in favour of a return to Chelsea - is not a divisive figure, but rather a "perfect" communicator.

"He's someone who can touch a chord and knows how to perfectly transmit messages in the dressing room. He is a good communicator," he told So Foot.

"He knows how and when to make quick decisions which can change the outcome of a game."

Alonso has undergone surgery on a groin injury and will consequently be out of action for six to eight weeks, thus missing the opportunity to represent Spain at the Confederations Cup.

Di Maria upset by Mourinho exit


The Blancos winger was sad to see the Portuguese coach depart Santiago Bernabeu and says his future lies in the hands of the president and new boss
Angel Di Maria says he is upset that Jose Mourinho has left Real Madrid following his decision to join Chelsea this week.

Di Maria, 25, who played under Mourinho for three seasons at Santiago Bernabeu, says he wishes him the best in the future and believes the Portuguese has had a positive influence on his career.

"It was very sad when I learned he was leaving the club," Di Maria told Ole.

"When a coach like him leaves an institution like this it's not nice for anyone. He sought his happiness and future elsewhere, and I hope he does well.

"I'm very grateful to Mourinho."

Although Mourinho's exit has clearly had an effect on the Argentina international, Di Maria insists he is happy in Madrid and his future lies in the hands of the president and the next boss of los Blancos.

"The decision as to whether I remain a Madrid player is between the president [Florentino Perez] and the new coach. They must decide if I am to play a part next season," he said.

"I am very happy in Madrid. I live a quiet life with my family and my baby who was born a month and a half ago.

"I'd love to stay. I'm happy with my team-mates and with the way I am treated here."

When will the media start attacking the players who have messing up in the team? It's great that we are now hearing some support from the players but it seems to have come a little late.

Anyway it is great to see Di Maria wants to stay because that will hopefully force the club to focus on a new striker instead of getting Bale.

Read on the Danish Madrid site that Zidane wants us to keep Benzema as the main striker.
Apparently Zidane was important in Benzema's good season when we won the title because he was there to "talk" with him. Why should we bend over backwards to make a player feel safe when he yielded rather average results. We can't take another chance on Benzema being the primary striker anymore. Now he will have to fight like Higuain did...before he got discarded.

So far not loving Zidane as sportsdirector. Wants to focus on youths, keep Benzema, get Bale.

Difficult to see who Jose fell out with besides Casillas, most players have had good things to say about him, even Ozil.

Yeah it is a bit puzzling. We should recall that players who were against Mourinho but kept their mouths shut can come off as if they weren't problematic. Certainly it would surprise me if any of Iker, Ramos, Pepe, Ozil weren't against Mourinho. Like I said the media hasn't done their role in terms of informing us of who the resistant players were. Of course the role of Madrid media hasn't been to inform but play politics and Mourinho was on the wrong side so unless Mourinho or some of the players fess up we are unlikely to find out what happened.

TM wrote:Difficult to see who Jose fell out with besides Casillas, most players have had good things to say about him, even Ozil.

There is no reason to continue to throw jabs after the divorce is final. At various times he had problems with Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Ozil, Higuain, Callejon, Arbeloa, Di Maria, Khedira, Carvalho, Benzema, Marcelo, Ronaldo, Albiol, Pedro Leon, Sahin, Coentrao, Adan, Canales, etc.

It doesn't mean that they all hate him or that the rift was in every case unrepairable, and like Super said, someone like Albiol never really said much and maybe since he is not such a high profile player the media did not swarm to put it in the spotlight. But obviously when there are this many cases of documented run ins between player and coach it's not a healthy situation.

The only players who for sure never had an issue with Jose were Alonso, Varane, Modric, Diego Lopez, and Essien.

I thought it was Alonso who said to Mourinho that "In Madrid we say things face to face" after Mourinho had talked about him behind his back. Or was it Casillas?

Also we need to distinguish between who fell out with Mourinho and who simply got into a dispute. The media have conflated the two and they are not the same since most coaches will endure some sort of conflict with many players at one time or another. It is the permanent rift and loss of trust that is significant. Certainly the teamplay during the first half of the season bore signs of disharmony in the squad.

What is the news on Isco?

I would gues that that transfer hinges on the Bale deal not happening but otherwise it seems strange that we went from being interested and apparently in talks to a blackout the last week or two.

*

Super Mourinho wrote:I thought it was Alonso who said to Mourinho that "In Madrid we say things face to face" after Mourinho had talked about him behind his back. Or was it Casillas?

Also we need to distinguish between who fell out with Mourinho and who simply got into a dispute. The media have conflated the two and they are not the same since most coaches will endure some sort of conflict with many players at one time or another. It is the permanent rift and loss of trust that is significant. Certainly the teamplay during the first half of the season bore signs of disharmony in the squad.

I think it was Ramos actually.

But yeah there was a whole range of problems and some fell on the "not so grave" end of the spectrum and some where on the "divorce" end of the spectrum. Of course the media inflated all of them. Casillas, Ramos, Ronaldo, and Pepe were the most serious as far as I can tell. Well, and Pedro Leon of course.

Super Mourinho wrote:What is the news on Isco?

I would gues that that transfer hinges on the Bale deal not happening but otherwise it seems strange that we went from being interested and apparently in talks to a blackout the last week or two.

Well, I think Manchester City were other big suitors but it has been pretty much a given that once they signed Jesus Navas they were not going to bid for Isco even though Pellegrini really does like him. So with City out of the way, I think that Madrid basically have an agreement in place with Malaga but are waiting to see how the other transfers shape up. It might also be hinging somewhat on whether or not they can move Kaka because even though Isco can play more on the wing we don't really need three mediapuntas.

Another match winner for Morata with the U21s!

RM have executed the clause to buy Casemiro outright from Sao Paulo for 5,5m euro after 6 months in Castilla. He will go with the first team in preseason and then I guess it will remain to be seen if he stays or goes out on loan. He won't be playing for Castilla any more though.

Latest gossip:

*Supposedly Zidane is really interested in management. Florentino has said that in addition to sporting director he could also serve as head coach for the Juvenil A team. Of course who really knows, he's also been rumoured to be the first choice to be Ancelotti's assistant, he's been rumoured to be a candidate to be RM manager himself.

*Some agent called Francois Gallardo is on record saying that RM have signed Bale for 90m. The deal is done but RM are waiting to present a new manager first. F*cking hell, if that's true we definitely are not signing a striker. I've said it before, I like Bale a lot. But there is no way he is worth 90m. Especially considering the other glaring holes in the team.

*Eduardo Inda is confirming Florentino's estimates that Neymar, in total, is going to cost 150m euro

*Florentino said that the only hold up with Alonso's contract renewal is his physical condition. I think everyone has seen that he was spent towards the end of the season and it can come as no surprise. The guy is in his 30s now plays every single minute of every game because we have nobody else who can perform his role. It has taken a toll. So he wants to see how his body is holding up before he signs a new deal.

*Barcelona have tried to sign Varane, they even had the money for his buyout clause but Rafa told them to f*ck off!

*Arbeloa has said that in spite of the quotes that were floating around the other day, that what he said about some players not wanting to be pushed was not a reference to Casillas and that they are on good terms.

*Rumours that Madrid have made inquiries about Jovetic. Would rather they were calling Fiorentina to ask about Borja Valero but oh well.

*RM were asking about both Pogba and Vidal in the negotiations for Higuain but Juve declined. Sounds like if the deal goes through Juve are gonna pay 30m in four installments over the next four years. But apparently RM are not going to agree to anything until the new manager is in place and has a chance to talk with the player.

*Apparently Zidane's plans for canteranos include Morata, Jese, and either Nacho or Casado to replace Coentrao as the back up left back.

It would be incredibly stupid if we end up not solving the striker problem because Zidane likes Benzema and Perez wants a galatico in Bale. Then we have Benzema+Morata+?

Jovetic would be a great transfer because he is fantastic talent and I have faith he could really challenge Ozil for that role plus he would cost around 30M which is pretty low compared to Isco or what we paid for Di Maria. Although Isco makes sense if we want somebody who comfortable playing more on both wings not and who is used to Spain. Plus Malaga has just been ruled out of the Europa League so they should be strapped for cash.

But then again Di Maria wants to stay and apparently both Jese+Morata will be in the squad which means we have Ronaldo/Ozil/Di Maria/Callejon/Kaka/Jese/Morata. Even if we sell Di Maria and Kaka we still have 5 players for 3 positions although I suppose Morata can also be greated as a striker so that will help. If we buy Bale it seems rather unlikely that we will even get a decent replacement for Kaka or even worse that we end up keeping Kaka which perhaps shouldn't surprise since he seems to have Raul like staying power and Ancelotti has a good relationship with him. So this Bale transfer might ruin things for us since we would be forced to rely on Jese+Morata.

With regards to Coentrao I would prefer if he stayed so he could fight with Marcelo for the spot. But I think we need Marcelo in our attacking play to help create variation so I could live with selling Coentrao because Nacho isn't too bad a defensive alternative also it will help alleviate the pro-Spanish crowd.

Super Mourinho wrote:It would be incredibly stupid if we end up not solving the striker problem because Zidane likes Benzema and Perez wants a galatico in Bale. Then we have Benzema+Morata+?

But I think this is exactly the logic that is being applied at the moment. If we spend 90m on Bale, I am pretty sure the only two out and out strikers on the books next year will be Benzema and Morata.

Jovetic would be a great transfer because he is fantastic talent and I have faith he could really challenge Ozil for that role plus he would cost around 30M which is pretty low compared to Isco or what we paid for Di Maria. Although Isco makes sense if we want somebody who comfortable playing more on both wings not and who is used to Spain. Plus Malaga has just been ruled out of the Europa League so they should be strapped for cash.

I don't know that much about Jovetic. I thought he was more of a forward than an attacking midfielder. Maybe he is one of those 9 1/2s? But 30m is only 5m more than Isco's buyout and 5m more than what we paid for Di Maria. There were quite a lot of incentive based add ons for Di Maria but thanks to Jose we barely reached any of them!

But then again Di Maria wants to stay and apparently both Jese+Morata will be in the squad which means we have Ronaldo/Ozil/Di Maria/Callejon/Kaka/Jese/Morata. Even if we sell Di Maria and Kaka we still have 5 players for 3 positions although I suppose Morata can also be greated as a striker so that will help. If we buy Bale it seems rather unlikely that we will even get a decent replacement for Kaka or even worse that we end up keeping Kaka which perhaps shouldn't surprise since he seems to have Raul like staying power and Ancelotti has a good relationship with him. So this Bale transfer might ruin things for us since we would be forced to rely on Jese+Morata.

I think the bottom line is that if we get Bale both Di Maria and Callejon are going to leave. I don't think Bale has anything to do with a decent replacement for Kaka. The only thing blocking such a move is Kaka himself. The club want to get rid of him but his wages are so astronomical nobody is willing to take them on. I think if the club could, they would sell Kaka and bring Isco, regardless of Ancelotti. But again, I don't see him going anywhere. The only hope that I have is Kaka will in the end take on lower wages so that he can play regular football ahead of the World Cup in Brazil next summer.

With regards to Coentrao I would prefer if he stayed so he could fight with Marcelo for the spot. But I think we need Marcelo in our attacking play to help create variation so I could live with selling Coentrao because Nacho isn't too bad a defensive alternative also it will help alleviate the pro-Spanish crowd.

I wish Coentrao would stay. I much prefer him to Marcelo but I think the writing is already on the wall.

This is my prediction:

---------------------------Casillas/D. Lopez

Carvajal/Arbeloa-----Varane/Pepe-----S. Ramos/Albiol-----Marcelo/Nacho

-----------------Alonso/Casemiro------Modric/Khedira

Bale/Jese---------------------Ozil/Kaka-------------------Ronaldo/Jese

---------------------------Benzema/Morata

I don't think we will get Bale this transfer window. I think it might happen next year

Why? Perez+Zidane wants him and seem to have their sights set on him. It also seems they have put of a transfer like Isco to get Bale nobody at the club is talking about a new striker anymore. Not to mention that Perez has said "Bale was born to play for Real Madrid" which I take to me a statement of intent. On the other hand part of the stallmate at the club is down to the lack of a coach. I hope perhaps this Ancelotti thing can be drawn out so that Perez will settle with Laudrup who is going through another bust up with a club that won't give him the money he needs for the team.

If Morata and Benzema are our only strikers next season. I will be crying myself to sleep on deadline day

I think you're confusing what would be sensible from what Perez wants to do. Perez just becomes a little kid when he gets his eyes on something shiny

Super Mourinho wrote:I think you're confusing what would be sensible from what Perez wants to do. Perez just becomes a little kid when he gets his eyes on something shiny

Yeah, I mean Florentino has already stated numerous times that he is involved in the "strategic" signings and I think Bale falls into this category. Not that he isn't a good footballer but he is just coming off his PFA award, he has his heart celebration, etc.

Re: Laudrup - what is going on with him at Swansea? It looks like Ancelotti is more complicated by the day. Hiddink was another possible replacement for him at PSG but he's apparently just renewed his contract with Anzhi. Even more worrying than Benzema and Morata as our only strikers would be Zidane as our manager.

Unfortunately Perez will leave it to the end August before he finally coughs up Ancelloti's buy out clause.

No there will definitely be a manager in place before pre season but who it will be I think is anyone's guess right now. Obviously Ancelotti is the first choice but like I said before it is looking less and less like he is going to leave PSG.

I think Perez is simply pretending to go for other coaches because PSG is playing hardball. Ultimatly we will buy his contract out and it might be a small price to pay because not doing so could cost us in terms of missing other players.

Seeing Bale on right side and Ronaldo on left side in projected line-up makes me want to bet on Real Madrid beating all long shots attempts records next season. Still, I also don't think you will get Bale this summer, next one - like it was said here - looks more probable.

stinger wrote:Seeing Bale on right side and Ronaldo on left side in projected line-up makes me want to bet on Real Madrid beating all long shots attempts records next season. Still, I also don't think you will get Bale this season, next one - like it was said here - looks more probable.

Maybe real fans shouldn't worry too much about the striker, because it's not like bale and cronaldo will be playing through balls.