Real Madrid CF 2013/14

Spoiler:

bluenine wrote:What is wrong with Madrid, 100m for Bale? That is ridiculous. And he plays the same position as Ronaldo, Ancelotti will have a serious headache trying to fit both of them in...

Real are better off going for Suarez, who will probably cost less than half that...

Jaime wrote:Just read that the plan B if RM don't sign Bale is....

Spoiler:

bluenine wrote:What is wrong with Madrid, 100m for Bale? That is ridiculous. And he plays the same position as Ronaldo, Ancelotti will have a serious headache trying to fit both of them in...

Real are better off going for Suarez, who will probably cost less than half that...

Deluded F*ck™ wrote:I really can't see Madrid making an €100m offer.

They've carried out this summer long campaign of unsettling Bale precisely so they don't have to pay that kind of money. Like they did with Modric, where over €50m was being touted but by the end we had to just accept €38mil in instalments just to get rid of him.

I doubt they start the bidding at much over €60m, Levy will say no and then things will get awkward. Then we'll get to see how much of a "model professional" Bale is.

Jaime wrote:Was just reading about some of the incentive based fees that we were supposed to pay to Lyon for Benzema...

1m for each FIFA World Player of the Year won by Benzema
1m for each Champions League won by Real Madrid
1m for each Pichichi won by Benzema
1m for each Golden Boot won by Benzema
1m for each major tournament won by France with Benzema in the team

Super Mourinho wrote:Given that Man City have Toure, Fernandinho, Barry, Rodwell I'm surprised we haven't made an easy move for Javi Garica instead of chasing some of the other names we have been going for. Especially since Perez is going on some sort of Spanish rampagne. This is actually somebody who makes sense who can be gotten on the cheap and who knows the club so not much of a disruption. We could probably get him on loan with an option to buy.

Super Mourinho wrote:I don't know. It seems like we're after Kondogbia. Also I haven't heard any news about it but I gues it depends on what happens with Khedira. So far we have items every now and then but nothing really seems to happen on that front. If Mourinho really wants him then I hope we don't waste much more time on Bale so we can get that one through before Mou goes for somebody else. Javi Garcia would be even more low key than Kondogbia and yet is still an upgrade on Khedira with more potential. He would be perfect as we transition to an Alonso free side whether next to Illarramendi or Modric or as a third midfielder.

Cristiano Ronaldo would have to make way for Gareth Bale at Real Madrid

There is no obvious place for Gareth Bale in Real Madrid's team, unless Cristiano Ronaldo is played as a striker


Carlo Ancelotti has always been renowned as a player's manager. Whereas some Italian coaches are obsessed by formation, strategy and shape, the Real Madrid manager has a more relaxed approach that concentrates on maximising individual talent.

Ancelotti's trophy haul is impressive rather than spectacular but he has proved the perfect coach for the modern-day owner obsessed with cramming expensive individuals into the same side. At Milan Silvio Berlusconi ordered him to field two strikers; at Chelsea there was pressure to field Roman Abramovich's star signings simultaneously; while at PSG the repeated recruitment of big names – from world-class stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic to fading forces like David Beckham – also tested his diplomacy. If a president presents Ancelotti with a new superstar, he will manage to accommodate him – usually in his best position.

Madrid, of course, is home of the galáctico. Whereas Barcelona have excelled because of their focus on teamwork, youth development and cohesion, Madrid remain steadfastly committed to the concept of the individual.

Realistically, they do not remotely need Gareth Bale. Last season José Mourinho regularly fielded Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di María in the line of three behind the main striker, while Florentino Pérez has now recruited Málaga's Isco – the most impressive performer in Spain's victorious European Under-21 Championship campaign, and yet another gifted attacking midfielder. Then there's Kaká, crowned the world player of the year under the guidance of Ancelotti at Milan.

Whereas Manchester United's rumoured interest in Bale made sense considering their lack of goals from the wing, Madrid would be breaking the world transfer record for a player who does not quite fit.

But this is Madrid, so Bale will probably be signed, and this is Ancelotti, so Bale will start regularly. His development into a pure attacker capable of scoring goals regularly means it's unthinkable he would revert to his old left-back position, and it also seems unlikely Ancelotti would field Bale as an out-and-out left-winger – he appears restricted in that position, forced to dribble down the line before crossing rather than charging towards goal.

André Villas-Boas's use of Bale – now a goalscorer more than a creator – as a central attacking force worked excellently last season. It was notable that he scored several goals from a right-sided position, where he could cut inside before shooting.

"I have been shooting a lot more and I have been coming inside a lot more too," Bale said. "I have a few less assists but I am in more scoring positions and that has helped my scoring tally."

With Isco and Ozil likely to command first-team slots, there is a good chance Ancelotti will decide to shift Ronaldo into a permanent central striking position. The departure of Gonzalo Higuaín to Napoli leaves Karim Benzema as Madrid's only established centre-forward, while Ronaldo's astonishing record of 201 goals in 199 appearances underlines his ability in the penalty box.

There has been discussion about whether Ronaldo's position on the left significantly weakens Madrid defensively. In the defeat to Borussia Dortmund in last season's Champions League group stage, it was clear Jürgen Klopp had asked his players to exploit the space down that flank.

In Madrid's nervous second leg against Galatasaray in the quarter-finals, the Turkish champions did the same, forcing Mourinho to desperately reorganise in order to protect the left-back Fábio Coentrão. Mourinho occasionally used Ronaldo as a lone centre-forward – he scored the Copa del Rey winner in 2011 against Barcelona with a towering header from that position, while Carlos Queiroz sometimes played him up front for Portugal.

In Madrid's 1-0 friendly victory over PSG at the weekend, Benzema scored the winner but was later withdrawn for Kaká, with Ronaldo moving up front. Without Higuaín and with Luis Suárez out of reach if Madrid commit to buying Bale, it makes sense to play Ronaldo in attack and it is clear Ancelotti is considering that possibility.

For Bale, who has unashamedly attempted to mimic Ronaldo's development, that positional switch may be perfect. For Madrid to play two similar players behind a traditional striker would be overkill but if Ronaldo becomes something of an old-fashioned No9, Bale will have greater scope to demonstrate his individualism. That, put simply, is what Real Madrid are all about.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/jul/29/gareth-bale-cristiano-ronaldo-real-madrid

blutgraetsche wrote:Madrid finally found a player on the same wavelength as Özil in Isco, both showing some immediate understanding in the pre-season matches so far and looking promising, just to shit on it with a 'Marquee' signing. You really can't make this up.

I expected Özil to blossom under Ancelotti who, despite being 'pragmatic', actually prefers his sides to play some neat football. But that's more wishful thinking I guess.


Either way, Real Madrid are Real Madrid Florentino is Florentino and will never change.

A big-name transfer has become the comfort food of failing clubs

Most expensive transfer targets – Bale, Cavani and Falcao – are not pursued for tactical reasons, but to boost the self-image of the club. Manchester City, on the other hand, have bought wisely

In retrospect, appointing Arrigo Sacchi as technical director of Real Madrid in 2004-05 was probably never going to be a raging success. He was the high priest of the team game, placing the structure of his pressing above all else, demanding players subjugate themselves to the system. The galácticos squad was a monument to individualism and celebrity, while the policy of "Zidanes y Pavones" was the definition of what Sacchi opposed in football.

"It was about managing the characteristics of individuals," he said. "And that's why you see the proliferation of specialists. The individual trumped the collective. But it's a sign of weakness. It's reactive, not proactive. We were like that at Real Madrid. There is no project, it was about exploiting qualities. So, for example, at Real, we knew that Zidane, Raúl and Figo didn't track back, so we had to put a guy in front of the back four who would defend. But that's reactionary football. It doesn't multiply the players' qualities exponentially. Which actually is the point of tactics: to achieve this multiplier effect on the players' abilities.

"In my football, the regista – the playmaker – is whoever had the ball. But if you have Makelele, he can't do that. He doesn't have the ideas to do it, though of course, he's great at winning the ball. It's all about specialists. Is football a collective and harmonious game? Or is it a question of putting X amount of talented players in and balancing them out with Y amount of specialists?"

blutgraetsche wrote:Decent article by Wilson on this issue:

A big-name transfer has become the comfort food of failing clubs

Most expensive transfer targets – Bale, Cavani and Falcao – are not pursued for tactical reasons, but to boost the self-image of the club. Manchester City, on the other hand, have bought wisely

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/jul/30/big-transfer-comfort-food-clubs


Especially the part about Real Madrid by Arrigo Sacchi is pretty much spot on:

In retrospect, appointing Arrigo Sacchi as technical director of Real Madrid in 2004-05 was probably never going to be a raging success. He was the high priest of the team game, placing the structure of his pressing above all else, demanding players subjugate themselves to the system. The galácticos squad was a monument to individualism and celebrity, while the policy of "Zidanes y Pavones" was the definition of what Sacchi opposed in football.

"It was about managing the characteristics of individuals," he said. "And that's why you see the proliferation of specialists. The individual trumped the collective. But it's a sign of weakness. It's reactive, not proactive. We were like that at Real Madrid. There is no project, it was about exploiting qualities. So, for example, at Real, we knew that Zidane, Raúl and Figo didn't track back, so we had to put a guy in front of the back four who would defend. But that's reactionary football. It doesn't multiply the players' qualities exponentially. Which actually is the point of tactics: to achieve this multiplier effect on the players' abilities.

"In my football, the regista – the playmaker – is whoever had the ball. But if you have Makelele, he can't do that. He doesn't have the ideas to do it, though of course, he's great at winning the ball. It's all about specialists. Is football a collective and harmonious game? Or is it a question of putting X amount of talented players in and balancing them out with Y amount of specialists?"

Sacchi

This is the transfer as comfort food. Would Real Madrid be talking about breaking transfer records for Gareth Bale if they'd won la Liga or the Champions League last season?

Fernandinho adds a creative edge from deep and can release Yaya Touré; Jesús Navas adds pace and penetration on the right; Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic relieve the pressure on Sergio Agüero, Negredo offering muscularity and goals and Jovetic technical ability and cover not just at centre-forward but as a second striker or a wide man.

Theirs [Manchester City] has been a calm, coherent spree. Perhaps, given the determined Luddism that still governs large parts of English footballing culture, "holistic" wasn't the wisest choice of words, but as others snatch at stars, they have taken a major step towards the harmonious style that has brought success to Barcelona and Bayern.

messiah wrote:the neymar dealis starting to look pretty good now, 17 mill for a much more talented and marketable player.  are was it 47 anyways rosell won this round.

Cristiano Ronaldo would have to make way for Gareth Bale at Real Madrid

There is no obvious place for Gareth Bale in Real Madrid's team, unless Cristiano Ronaldo is played as a striker

blutgraetsche wrote:

Cristiano Ronaldo would have to make way for Gareth Bale at Real Madrid

There is no obvious place for Gareth Bale in Real Madrid's team, unless Cristiano Ronaldo is played as a striker

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/jul/29/gareth-bale-cristiano-ronaldo-real-madrid

Ooh...primadonna hissy fits.