tiki_taka
9 years ago
Great summary taking into consideration all Madrid hot topics, i think the future plan should be built on James not Bale, Bale can take his wing but the build up should be focused on Kroos-Modric and James as the final creator...
Even if everything is cleared for next year, there will still be competition for domestic and Europeen cups.
Barça and Real are both monster teams with unlimitted appetite, there will be always only one winner in every competition, being 2nd is seen as a failure in those teams but ending the league with +90 pts is an absolute achievement elsewhere...
Madrid of this year would have been champions in any other league in the world, i dont see their season as a failure, nor previous Barça season...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2495645-5-key-factors-to-take-real-madrid-to-liga-title-glory-in-2015-16
It's now three seasons since Real Madrid last lifted the Liga trophy, when the club did so under Jose Mourinho in 2011-12.
That was a record-breaking season for Los Blancos, who reached new benchmarks for points won (100) and goals scored (121) to end the domestic dominance of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. But that title is also a lonely one for Real Madrid, sandwiched between six second- or third-place finishes in La Liga. As such, Real Madrid are now enduring their leanest run in the Primera Division for more than 60 years, when the club went two decades without winning the first-division title prior to the arrival of Alfredo Di Stefano.
Having witnessed a historic shift in the league's power struggle, with Barcelona claiming seven titles in the last 11 years, Real Madrid must now alter the dynamic. Change is needed. Across the following slides, we examine five factors that hold the key to Real Madrid breaking a barren run and ascending back to the top of the Primera Division.
1. Rafa Benitez Needs to Be Given Authority from Florentino Perez
"If an aeroplane crashed in Colombia, he would blame the coach. Or if a player turned up drunk, the coach would be blamed. He always took away the coach's authority."
That's how Arrigo Sacchi, the former AC Milan manager who spent 12 months as director of football at Real Madrid in 2004-05, described president Florentino Perez's attitude toward his managers when he spoke to AS (h/t Goal) in 2009. It's a running theme of Perez's presidency, and Carlo Ancelotti is the latest victim. "His authority has been undermined by Florentino Perez, a president who does not believe in him, not least because he does not truly believe in any coach," wrote the Guardian's Sid Lowe as Ancelotti's tenure neared its end. Now, it's Rafa Benitez's turn to try and work effectively under Perez. If he is to do so, he'll need more than good luck; he'll need authority.
Benitez, a strong-willed and outspoken character, will only thrive at the Bernabeu if he's allowed to manage his way, using his methods and select his XI—not the president's. The Madrid-born coach must be allowed to determine his lineup without political consequences. He must be allowed to prioritise results over style. He needs a strong say in the club's transfer business. He needs support from the boardroom. Benitez needs authority. And unless he gets it, the league trophy will stay in Catalonia.
2. Long-Term Planning Is Needed in the Season's Opening Months
Toni Kroos told them in November, but nobody listened to him. "I haven't played so much in my whole life. I'm starting to get tired," the German said after Real Madrid's flat performance in a 1-0 win over Basel, relayed by Inside Spanish Football.
But Kroos kept playing. He started 36 of Real's 38 league games and played every minute in 33 of them. He also played every Super Cup match, both matches in the Club World Cup, both legs against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey and in 11 of Real's 12 Champions League games.
He was tired in November. No wonder he was out of gas by April. He wasn't alone; many of his team-mates shared equally exhaustive workloads.
Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti in 2014-15 simply didn't plan ahead. The 22-game winning streak took on the essence of the roaring 1920s—the club were showering in goals and victories without any thought for how unsustainable it all was.
In January, the inevitable crash came, Real Madrid suddenly without the resources (energy) to prolong the euphoria. That can't happen again in 2015-16 if they want to win the league. Real Madrid need to rotate, shuffle, protect bodies and protect minds. The entire squad needs to be used. Against lesser sides, 2-0 wins with a second-string XI are perfectly fine. Winning 9-0 doesn't earn you any more than three points. That sort of planning was evident in Barcelona. Real Madrid need to embrace it as well.
3. Even If It Isn't Pleasant, the Goalkeeping Saga Must End
"So here we are," wrote Sid Lowe for ESPN FC. "Three men, three internationals, who all see themselves as first choice. One man who wants to come, and two men who want to stay."
The one: David De Gea. The two: Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas. For Real Madrid, the goalkeeping situation has been messy, complicated and nasty for more than two seasons. Casillas is not the 'keeper he was once. He's also nowhere near as bad as some want to make out. But his decline is undeniable.
Yet moving him aside is hard. Very hard. Casillas is a club icon. Though he's resented by some, he's adored by many. A Real Madrid player since he was nine, he represents a sort of institutional purity. Diego Lopez, despite his form, couldn't force Casillas aside. Neither has Navas. But Real Madrid can't continue down this path; a gloveman at the very top of his game is needed at the Bernabeu.
De Gea, therefore, represents the solution. His arrival would be the easiest way to solve to the situation, even if "easy" in this case still is extremely difficult. Now one of the world's finest shot-stoppers, fresh from a glittering season in the Premier League, he couldn't possibly be denied a place in the XI. For Casillas, it would be painful. It'd be hard to watch for some and too long in coming for others. But the saga would end, and Real Madrid need it to.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo's Role Needs Defining; the Whole System Depends on It
All the evidence suggests he's changing. Adapting. Moving through a period of evolution. No longer a winger, Cristiano Ronaldo is rapidly becoming a No. 9—a true striker. In 2014-15, the Ballon d'Or winner's numbers took a significant shift: He shot and scored from closer to goal, needed fewer shots per goal, used his head more, dribbled less and created more. You can find the full breakdown here, his evolution evident in the statistics as well as to the eye.
The change in Ronaldo's game has been an overwhelming success. Sixty-one goals in all competitions is extraordinary, 48 coming in the league. Operating as the staggeringly effective No. 9 we'd always suspected he could be, the Portuguese accumulated eight hat-tricks last season.But Real Madrid still walked away from the season largely empty-handed. How? Why?
Though Ronaldo changed, it didn't seem that Real Madrid did. The club and Carlo Ancelotti didn't react accordingly. In a hybrid 4-3-3, Ronaldo continued to start from the left, making the entire system become lopsided when he moved into the middle. Marcelo was essentially forced to be a left winger, the defence became stretched and Real conceded almost double the amount of goals their eternal enemy in the east did. In 2015-16, Ronaldo's role needs defining. If he's going to operate as a No. 9, he needs to be deployed as one. His positioning can't say one thing while the construction of a system says another.
5. Gareth Bale Needs His Leash Cut
As Rafa Benitez closed in on the vacant Real Madrid manager position,Marca was quick to declare the new coach's first priority as "Getting Bale's mojo back."
Some will argue that's Gareth Bale's responsibility. But Bale still needs some help. The Welshman is a natural creature. An athlete. A beast who shouldn't be tamed. But in 2014-15, he was. Stuck on the right flank—shunted out wide to accommodate others in a team that became more technical, more deliberate and more precise—Bale couldn't do anything that comes naturally to him. He became an unpolished racer trying to fit in and play with a bevy of twinkle-toed No. 10s.
Bale wants to run, like a cheetah would. He wants to charge at defenders, jump with power and shoot with force.Bale is not a technician—he never will be. What Real Madrid bought in 2013 was an incredible athlete who can also do some incredible things with a football.
Real Madrid need to let him be who he is. Give him freedom. Take him off the leash.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2495645-5-key-factors-to-take-real-madrid-to-liga-title-glory-in-2015-16
It's now three seasons since Real Madrid last lifted the Liga trophy, when the club did so under Jose Mourinho in 2011-12.
That was a record-breaking season for Los Blancos, who reached new benchmarks for points won (100) and goals scored (121) to end the domestic dominance of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. But that title is also a lonely one for Real Madrid, sandwiched between six second- or third-place finishes in La Liga.
As such, Real Madrid are now enduring their leanest run in the Primera Division for more than 60 years, when the club went two decades without winning the first-division title prior to the arrival of Alfredo Di Stefano.
Having witnessed a historic shift in the league's power struggle, with Barcelona claiming seven titles in the last 11 years, Real Madrid must now alter the dynamic. Change is needed.
Across the following slides, we examine five factors that hold the key to Real Madrid breaking a barren run and ascending back to the top of the Primera Division.
1.
Rafa Benitez Needs to Be Given Authority from Florentino Perez
"If an aeroplane crashed in Colombia, he would blame the coach. Or if a player turned up drunk, the coach would be blamed. He always took away the coach's authority."
That's how Arrigo Sacchi, the former AC Milan manager who spent 12 months as director of football at Real Madrid in 2004-05, described president Florentino Perez's attitude toward his managers when he spoke to AS (h/t Goal) in 2009.
It's a running theme of Perez's presidency, and Carlo Ancelotti is the latest victim. "His authority has been undermined by Florentino Perez, a president who does not believe in him, not least because he does not truly believe in any coach," wrote the Guardian's Sid Lowe as Ancelotti's tenure neared its end.
Now, it's Rafa Benitez's turn to try and work effectively under Perez. If he is to do so, he'll need more than good luck; he'll need authority.
Benitez, a strong-willed and outspoken character, will only thrive at the Bernabeu if he's allowed to manage his way, using his methods and select his XI—not the president's.
The Madrid-born coach must be allowed to determine his lineup without political consequences. He must be allowed to prioritise results over style. He needs a strong say in the club's transfer business. He needs support from the boardroom.
Benitez needs authority. And unless he gets it, the league trophy will stay in Catalonia.
2.
Long-Term Planning Is Needed in the Season's Opening Months
Toni Kroos told them in November, but nobody listened to him.
"I haven't played so much in my whole life. I'm starting to get tired," the German said after Real Madrid's flat performance in a 1-0 win over Basel, relayed by Inside Spanish Football.
But Kroos kept playing. He started 36 of Real's 38 league games and played every minute in 33 of them. He also played every Super Cup match, both matches in the Club World Cup, both legs against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey and in 11 of Real's 12 Champions League games.
He was tired in November. No wonder he was out of gas by April. He wasn't alone; many of his team-mates shared equally exhaustive workloads.
Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti in 2014-15 simply didn't plan ahead. The 22-game winning streak took on the essence of the roaring 1920s—the club were showering in goals and victories without any thought for how unsustainable it all was.
In January, the inevitable crash came, Real Madrid suddenly without the resources (energy) to prolong the euphoria. That can't happen again in 2015-16 if they want to win the league. Real Madrid need to rotate, shuffle, protect bodies and protect minds. The entire squad needs to be used. Against lesser sides, 2-0 wins with a second-string XI are perfectly fine. Winning 9-0 doesn't earn you any more than three points.
That sort of planning was evident in Barcelona. Real Madrid need to embrace it as well.
3.
Even If It Isn't Pleasant, the Goalkeeping Saga Must End
"So here we are," wrote Sid Lowe for ESPN FC. "Three men, three internationals, who all see themselves as first choice. One man who wants to come, and two men who want to stay."
The one: David De Gea. The two: Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas.
For Real Madrid, the goalkeeping situation has been messy, complicated and nasty for more than two seasons. Casillas is not the 'keeper he was once. He's also nowhere near as bad as some want to make out. But his decline is undeniable.
Yet moving him aside is hard. Very hard.
Casillas is a club icon. Though he's resented by some, he's adored by many. A Real Madrid player since he was nine, he represents a sort of institutional purity. Diego Lopez, despite his form, couldn't force Casillas aside. Neither has Navas. But Real Madrid can't continue down this path; a gloveman at the very top of his game is needed at the Bernabeu.
De Gea, therefore, represents the solution. His arrival would be the easiest way to solve to the situation, even if "easy" in this case still is extremely difficult. Now one of the world's finest shot-stoppers, fresh from a glittering season in the Premier League, he couldn't possibly be denied a place in the XI.
For Casillas, it would be painful. It'd be hard to watch for some and too long in coming for others. But the saga would end, and Real Madrid need it to.
4.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Role Needs Defining; the Whole System Depends on It
All the evidence suggests he's changing. Adapting. Moving through a period of evolution.
No longer a winger, Cristiano Ronaldo is rapidly becoming a No. 9—a true striker.
In 2014-15, the Ballon d'Or winner's numbers took a significant shift: He shot and scored from closer to goal, needed fewer shots per goal, used his head more, dribbled less and created more. You can find the full breakdown here, his evolution evident in the statistics as well as to the eye.
The change in Ronaldo's game has been an overwhelming success. Sixty-one goals in all competitions is extraordinary, 48 coming in the league. Operating as the staggeringly effective No. 9 we'd always suspected he could be, the Portuguese accumulated eight hat-tricks last season.
But Real Madrid still walked away from the season largely empty-handed. How? Why?
Though Ronaldo changed, it didn't seem that Real Madrid did. The club and Carlo Ancelotti didn't react accordingly.
In a hybrid 4-3-3, Ronaldo continued to start from the left, making the entire system become lopsided when he moved into the middle. Marcelo was essentially forced to be a left winger, the defence became stretched and Real conceded almost double the amount of goals their eternal enemy in the east did.
In 2015-16, Ronaldo's role needs defining. If he's going to operate as a No. 9, he needs to be deployed as one. His positioning can't say one thing while the construction of a system says another.
5.
Gareth Bale Needs His Leash Cut
As Rafa Benitez closed in on the vacant Real Madrid manager position,Marca was quick to declare the new coach's first priority as "Getting Bale's mojo back."
Some will argue that's Gareth Bale's responsibility. But Bale still needs some help.
The Welshman is a natural creature. An athlete. A beast who shouldn't be tamed. But in 2014-15, he was. Stuck on the right flank—shunted out wide to accommodate others in a team that became more technical, more deliberate and more precise—Bale couldn't do anything that comes naturally to him. He became an unpolished racer trying to fit in and play with a bevy of twinkle-toed No. 10s.
Bale wants to run, like a cheetah would. He wants to charge at defenders, jump with power and shoot with force.
Bale is not a technician—he never will be. What Real Madrid bought in 2013 was an incredible athlete who can also do some incredible things with a football.
Real Madrid need to let him be who he is. Give him freedom. Take him off the leash.