Bleacher Report - Articles by Deepak Israni

Arsenal Need To Buy In The Winter—Robin Van Persie Out For Five Months

Deepak Israni — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:02:46 -0500

Browsing through Arsenal FC's official website for news on the match against Chelsea nearly gave me a heart attack as the first news article on the website read—"Official Club statement - Robin van Persie: Dutch striker now expected to be out for four to five months."

This all happened when Giorgio Chiellini injured Robin Van Persie in the International friendly between Netherlands and Italy. The preliminary reports suggested that Robin Van Persie would recover in four to six weeks.

But on further review of Van Persie's scans and seeking advice from leading ankle specialist Dr. Niek van Dijk it was confirmed that "more extensive damage had been suffered than was first diagnosed."

Robin Van Persie now has to undergo surgery in order to reconstruct the ligaments in his ankle and would require at least five to six months in order to recover fully, and this is where the real problem starts.

At first when the reports said that Robin Van Persie would be out for only four to five weeks, everyone felt that Arsenal had dodged a major bullet as Robin Van Persie wouldn't be gone for long.

Van Persie was the best striker that Arsenal had, and it wouldn't be far fetched to suggest that he was the best player for Arsenal on the pitch (along with Cesc Fabregas, of course).

And the replacements for the best striker of the team aren't looking that convincing if Arsenal seriously want to win the Premier League.

People might argue that Eduardo is a good enough replacement but seeing him so wasteful in front of goal has certainly put out my fire.

Then there are Nicklas Bendtner—who is a good replacement but still hasn't struck form, Theo Walcott—who hasn't been tested as a striker yet and Carlos Vela—who has no experience whatsoever of the Premier League.

Now my point here is not to criticize the striking options they are all good players but to be honest they are good enough only to secure a Champions League playing spot, and I am sure that is not what the Gunners and their manager have set as the goal for the season.

This season the Gunners are doing so well and are in with a shout of winning the Premier League title unlike last season, and in order to win trophies this season Monsieur Wenger should stop being stingy and invest in a quality striker like he did last season with the signing of Andrei Arshavin to secure a top four finish.

If Arsene Wenger doesn't sign someone good the Gunners and Gooners should be prepared for another trophy-less season!

Real Madrid Cantera Update: 26 November 2009

Deepak Israni — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:00:06 -0500

I know the Google Translate can be frustrating at times and the news about Real Madrid Cantera isn't that easily available on the Internet in English, so I have come up with the "Real Madrid Cantera Update," for those non-Spanish speaking Madridistas interested in knowing what all is happening in our academy. I hope to continue this series if I get positive response from the readers.

Real Madrid Interested In Racing Santander's Midfielder Sergio Canales

The 18 year old Sergio Canales—product of the Racing academy, who played brilliantly and even scored against Real Madrid at the weekend (but had his goal disallowed), is an object of desire for Real Madrid.

Canales made six substitute appearances for the first team of Racing last season, and 3 this season. It is believed that Real Madrid will most likely sign him in the summer and then loan him out to Racing Santander like they did with Ezequiel Garay last season and this summer with Celta Vigo's Joselu or they might even consider him to strengthen the Castilla.

It is also believed that FC Barcelona and Sevilla are also interested in signing the pearl of the Racing academy.

Pablo Sarabia Is Still In The Eyes Of Monsieur Wenger

The player instrumental in Spain U-17's road to the bronze medal in the U-17 World Cup and the most exciting prospect of the Real Madrid academy—Pablo Sarabia is still being monitored by the scouts of Arsenal. Pablo has already declined two offers from Arsene Wenger to join Arsenal, this is the third time in two years that Arsenal have come back for Pablo Sarabia.

Although I find it as a compliment that Arsene Wenger is tracking Pablo Sarabia, but this has to stop, don't know how long can we resist the advances of Arsenal, we want to keep Pablo Sarabia!

And in other Pablo Sarabia related news, the left sided winger is suffering with a sprained ankle and will miss a few games for the Juvenil A.

Robert Martinez Wants To Sign Filipe Ramos

The 21-year-old goalkeeper of the Real Madrid Castilla is a winter target for the Wigan's manager Robert Martinez. Filipe Ramos is the reserve goalkeeper for the Castilla, Filipe used to play before, when Antonio Adan was injured, but since Antonio's return Filipe has seen his chances limited. There is a high possibility that Filipe Ramos might leave in the winter.

Feyenoord Looking For A Collaboration With Real Madrid

The former Real Madrid coach and the current technical director of Feyenoord—Leo Beenhakker has revealed in an interview to Algemeen Dagblad that he contacted with Jorge Valdano to form a collaboration with Real Madrid.

If the collaboration is completed both the teams can exchange players from their academies. Real Madrid also have a similar collaboration with Standard Liege of Belgium.

Hoping that Real Madrid Castilla will soon climb way above the relegation zone (currently 16) and that Alejandro Menendez (coach of Real Madrid Castilla) instead of giving excuses like "our problem is lack of scoring!" will call up Pablo Sarabia, Alipio Duarte or Samuel Alonso Saiz or anyone else from our lower teams. Till next time then, Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez Has Confidence In Manuel Pellegrini

Deepak Israni — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:25:49 -0500

After the 2-3 loss at home to Milan followed by a dismal 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon at the El Molinon and then the shocking 4-0 loss at the hands of minnows Alcorcon, everyone expected Manuel Pellegrini's stint as a Real Madrid manager to be over.

All the newspapers were full of news articles linking each and every other manager to Real Madrid.

The names of Luis Aragones, Roberto Mancini, Juande Ramos and Rafa Benitez among others came up.

But yesterday in a telephone interview program "Quelli che il calcio e..." on the Italian channel Rai2 , Florentino Perez came out in defense of the Chilean tactician.

Perez said, "The newspapers have revealed names of great coaches, but we are happy with Pellegrini and we are sure that he will be boss at the end of the season. I respect the press and the stories they release, but it is the club that decides and we are happy as we are. If we are patient then we will live through a wonderful season."

Perez also gave his thoughts on Real Madrid's trip to the San Siro and the Champions League final, "It is a pleasure to come to a city as beautiful as Milan, but though we are friends we have come to stop them. We want to play in the Champions League final against AC Milan."

Okay so Perez is bit of a douche-bag since he is already thinking of the finals with AC Milan, but this also shows that he is now a changed man.

This is the type of support a manager requires from the President to get his team out of a slump.

If this had occurred during the first Galactico era, Pellegrini would have been looking for a new job.

Audio proof of the interview: Link

The Mistakes Made By Manuel Pellegrini At Real Madrid

Deepak Israni — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:56:48 -0400

Please don't consider me as one of those who are crying to sack Pellegrini after the ridicule suffered at the hands of a team which plays with the Real Madrid Castilla, I belong to the minority of the Madridistas (which includes the whole squad except maybe Guti) who are sick of quality managers being sacked and want Pellegrini to stay. Everyone has seen the quality of football that Manuel Pellegrini can make his team's play in his 5 year stint with Villareal, and there is no doubt that he is up there with the best. I believe that Manuel Pellegrini can also make Real Madrid play good football and help them win some trophies. Everything is fine with Pellegrini but somehow he is repeating the same mistakes or is overlooking them, and those mistakes are costing Real Madrid and have branded them to be be suffering from "Cristiano-dependencia". Everything would be fine if Pellegrini rectified these mistakes:

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Robin Van Persie Not Nominated For The Ballon D'Or But Cesc Fabregas Is!

Deepak Israni — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:08:27 -0400

Eleven goals and 10 assists in 28 appearances in the Premier League, five goals and two assists in the Champions League, four goals and one assist in the FA Cup—this is what the stats read for Robin Van Persie's last season for Arsenal.

Pretty impressive, aren't they?

Robin Van Persie was clearly Arsenal's best player on the field last season, but the French people responsible for the "prestigious" Ballon d'Or nominations think that Francesc Fabregas was the best player for Arsenal.

The list of 30 players who are nominated for the Ballon d'Or is out and Francesc Fabregas, who was out injured for a large part of the season and was nowhere near his best for Arsenal, (ask any Arsenal fan, they can confirm it for you!) is one of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d'Or, but Robin Van Persie isn't!

Cesc Fabregas isn't the only one whose place on the list is questionable. Didier Drogba, Luis Fabiano, and Ryan Giggs are also on the list of players nominated whose place is questionable.

Many deserving players like Robin Van Persie, Gonzalo Higuain, Edwin Van Der Sar, Xabi Alonso have been left out.

Champions League Performance Counts?

Karim Benzema has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or as well, Karim's (36 appearances: 17 goals, two assists) domestic league record isn't as impressive as Gonzalo Higuain's (34 appearances: 22 goals, nine assists).

Perhaps the only reason the committee can give for Gonzalo's absence and Karim's presence in the list is Gonzalo's poor show in the Champions League, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic—who's also on the list wasn't so impressive in the Champions League either!

Nominations Don't Really Make Any Sense!

Edin Dzeko (32 appearances, 26 goals, six assists) from the Bundesliga winning squad of Vfl Wolfsburg has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or, but his striker partner Grafite (25 appearances, 28 goals, five assists) who scored more goals in lesser number of games is missing from the list, can anyone care to explain me why?

Didier Drogba who made just 15 starts for Chelsea in the Premier League last season is also on the list, why?

Luis Fabiano had a mediocre season last year with just eight goals and no assists in 26 appearances in La Liga, and started making a buzz in the Confederations Cup, still he's on the list, why?

Ryan Giggs is a class player, but to be honest, he did nothing special to win the PFA Player of the Year or get nominated for the Ballon d'Or, there are others more deserving.

I clearly don't understand how the selection process for the Ballon d'Or works, if anyone does understand it, don't forget to tell me!

FC Zurich vs. Real Madrid: The Scribblings of a Madridista

Deepak Israni — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:13:50 -0400

Those of you, who have come here to read a match report will be disappointed because this is not your average match-report, these are the thoughts of a fan—biased, unedited, uncensored, true but explained. It is way more fun than a match-report, really!

Last night I sat down with my trusty notepad and pencil to watch the first Champions League group match of Real Madrid against FC Zurich, the match started and so did my scribbling:

Thoughts on the Real Madrid lineup:

Defense: Iker Casillas (GK), Alvaro Arbeloa (RB), Raul Albiol (CB), Pepe (CB)and Royston Drenthe (LB)

Expected defense lineup except for Drenthe; well what difference does that make? Luckily Pepe isn't banned in the Champions League becasue of his "moment of madness," and we'll get to see Pepe and Albiol together for the first time in the season.

I still miss Sergio Ramos in that line-up, damn you tendinitis in the left Achilles tendon!

Midfield: Kaka (RM and LM), Xabi Alonso (CM), Lassana Diarra (CM) and Cristiano Ronaldo (RM and LM)

I don't like Lass and Xabi together, I can't explain, I just don't like it! The team performed very well with Xabi and Guti playing in the center on Saturday against Espanyol, I want to see that happen, I want Xabi/Lass with Granero/Guti in the center, I guess that I'll have to wait.

Forwards: Raul (ST) and Gonzalo Higuain (ST)

I love you Pellegrini, even though you cost me fantasy points, you have given me hope that rotation will take place and Pipita will get the chances that he deserves.

Scribblings of the First Half:

2': "Nice Drenthe, I know this is too soon, but I like you more than Marcelo!"—Drenthe had just won a tackle and was combining well on an attack with Cristiano, a Madridista knows that this was the best thing that either Marcelo or Drenthe could do.

15': "A yellow to Kaka—that's unfair ref!"—Kaka was booked for his first tackle (shirt pull) of the game, a harsh yellow card.

23': Yellow Card—Drenthe 24': Yellow Card—Stahel — This was the time I knew that the referee was on a one-man mission to yellow card players, especially the Madrid players.

27': "It feels so good not to be on the receiving end of CR rockets"—Leoni gets a hand to it but it still goes in, a beauty from "CR9." Real Madrid 1-0 up.

33': "Higuain and Raul—Oh WOW!"—A header from Xabi Alonso puts the ball in the path Gonzalo Higuain, who runs and then drags it back for Raul who scores, and Real Madrid 2-0 up before half-time. It was delightful to see the pair of Raul and Higuain play like last season!

34': "My little research before the game was correct—Vonlanthen is really dangerous!"—Vonlanthen's shot flew over the cross-bar!

38': "Classic Pipita goa...DAMN HE'S OFFSIDE!"—Higuain beats the keeper and coolly slots it in, but he's offside.

45': "Kaka is Zidane with more hair on the head and longer shorts!"—Kaka may not like the comparisons but he has been handed the Zidane role (he starts from the wing and comes inside) and he is doing an awesome job. I love Kaka—the best €65 million ever spent!

45'+1': "IN YO FACE MARADONA, IN YO FACE! Pipita showing just why he's loved by the Madridistas"—Higuain beats a defender, and coolly puts the ball past Leoni after Raul sets the ball in his path. 3-0 to Real Madrid.

Scribblings of the Second Half:

46': "I wish I knew who all were playing for FC Zurich!"—I was already having a pretty rough time remebering the names of the players and then Hassli was substituted by Djuric before the restart.

47': "Finally, Van Nistelrooy is back from his injury!"—Rudd Van Nistelrooy was warming up as Kaka missed a chance. (PS: Nistelrooy wasn't used!)

53': "Oh god NO, NOT XABI! The leg isn't meant to bend that way! I hope he isn't out for long!"—Xabi Alonso goes in with a sliding tackle, wins the ball but bends his right ankle and misses the rest of the game due to injury. (Gago replaces him a few minutes later)

64': "Booooooooo! That's a DIVE you moron, and keep that yellow card in your pocket!—Casillas makes no contact with Alphonse but still Alphonse goes down, Casillas gets a yellow and Margairaz converts. 3-1 the score in favor of Real Madrid.

65': "Perfect! Nobody knows how to mark a player!"—One minute later nobody is marking Aegerter, he gets up and scores from a corner, the score is 3-2 in favor of Real Madrid. After the goal Abdi replaces the yellow carded Okonkwo.

66': "Wtf Pellegrini, second stupid substitution, Pipita was playing so good!"—I simply didn't understand what had gotten into Pellegrini. First he sends Gago insted of Guti or Granero to replace Xabi and then he takes out Higauin for Guti.

88': "You don't punch a Cristiano free-kick when his form is returning!"—The most hilarious goal of the night, Leoni tries punching the CR free-kick, but instead it flies in, it's 4-2 for Real Madrid. Cristiano's form is also coming back, he was back show-boating and was brimming with confidence after he scored the first free-kick, good for Real Madrid.

90': "Stupid, stupid, stupid me! Why did I have to replace Grafite with Lisandro!"—I saw the score of the Wolfsburg game and found out that Grafite had scored a hat-trick! I had Grafite in my Champions League fantasy team but I replaced him with Lisandro Lopez!

90'+2': "To Guti, with love—Kaka"—FC Zurich throws many players up in attack, their attack breaks down, and they are "in a pickle" now. Kaka has the ball he passes the ball to Guti, Guti sees the keeper coming out, and Guti shoots, it's a delightful goal for Guti, the three points are sealed for Real Madrid. The score: 5-2.

Final Whistle: "5-2, oh boy, I'll have to face the "you score three, we'll score more" and "Real should have spent more on defenders" theories from the pundits and the deluded people."—The defense wasn't that shabby as the score-line makes it look, okay Drenthe was shabby. The corner was poor point for the defense, horrendous marking, but overall the defenders especially Albiol and Pepe did very a solid job.

Thoughts on the referee:

The referee Martin Atkinson was a mega-douche, he handed out yellow cards to Real Madrid players on very soft tackles, also he didn't produce a yellow card for the FC Zurich players for a similar kind of tackles. Disappointing refereeing, and I am not even blaming him for not seeing the dive.

Note: It'll be fun to see what UEFA has to say about Alphonse's dive. Maybe they only crawl up the winning team's a** for diving.

Regarding "FC Barcelona: Hypocrisy At It's Finest"

Deepak Israni — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:10:56 -0400

Deepak Israni appreciates Jose V. Rodriguez for standing up for his club, he has always had respect for people who love their club unconditionally.

However......

I wrote that article and chose last season's, and this summers, transfer activity because Laporta's comments were recent. I just wanted to show what he was doing and what he was saying.

Many people suggested that I look only at the spending, why? I thought the most important figure when judging transfer dealings is arguably the net expenditure. Any successful businessman will tell you that it doesn't matter how much you spend, as long as you make more.

While Real Madrid, as with almost every football club, haven’t made more than they've spent, and spent big. But the small gap between them and Barcelona in the net expenditure rates proves that they are by no means serial offenders.

There were also some complaints regarding the headline of the article.

I believe many people say, "Real Madrid's crazy spending spree!" NOT "Florentino Perez's crazy spending spree!" so I said "FC Barcelona: Hypocrisy at It's Finest" NOT "Joan Laporta: Hypocrisy at It's Finest".

Plus I didn't say "Barca And Cules: Hypocrisy at It's Finest"? It takes a complete simpleton to take abuse from a place where none was meant.

What that means Jose, is that I never meant any disrespect to your "Great Grandfather who once used to teach Catalan during the Spanish Civil War." or any of the cules.

Also pardon me for mis-interpreting Laporta's quote, I do not know a word of Spanish (Wait, that's not true, I know. "Hala Madrid", "Muchas Gracias", "Nada" umm........that's about it.) It's Google Translate you should be blaming, not ME.

There was also one provision in Jose's article, which went something like: "The profile of target players". Under that sub-heading, Jose states how Real Madrid ONLY sign those who are already established players, and I agree that we sign already developed players but not all of who are fully developed.

Jose forgets what he wants to, last I checked Benzema is yet to reach his peak, and Raul Albiol is not yet considered the best defender in Spain and has not managed yet to win a major trophy. And in the recent past the likes of Sergio Ramos and Gonzalo Higuain who fell into the "un-established" category were also signed.

Jose also goes on to state that Barcelona go for "high potential players, whose potential is yet not achieved". Well the last time I checked Thierry Henry, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Aliaksander Hleb and even Ronaldinho — who had already won the World Cup and was in the World Cup's All Star team before signing, were all "established" players

There will be cries about Ronaldinho but all I want to say is — had it been Real Madrid who had signed him, he would have been considered a "star" signing.

The recent case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a good example, no one will disagree that he is one of the best strikers in the world, so in my reckoning he is an established player, which means Barcelona do also sign established players.

One more question Jose, do you know the meaning of "hypocrite"? ("Bottom line: The only hypocrite was Deepak" — taken from Jose's comment), I did not release statements saying Real Madrid do not spend money, or did I?

Successful, Nay.."Dream Teams"

Jose V. Rodriguez quoted the treble winning side as Barca's dream team and compared the "Galactico" squad and how we spent more money to make that team, and I agree with all that.

But the "Galactico" squad that Jose chose wasn't our most successful squad —seriously I have read many of you guys writing that the "first Galactico era was a failure." You leave me baffled!

I am guessing Real Madrid's most successful squad was "The Ye-Ye".

"The Ye-Ye" coached by Miguel Munoz consisted of 11 Spanish players, which won not one, but five European Cups (now the Champions League) and nine La Liga titles, which also included a run of five consecutive La Liga titles.

If we do not want to dwell in the past, then we can mull over the "La Quinta del Buitre" which featured five players from the Real Madrid academy which won, two UEFA Cups and five La Liga titles (in a row), but unfortunately could never manage to win the Champions League.

This is probably the first time Barcelona have tasted success with so many youth products, whereas it has already happened in Real Madrid. (I may be wrong in saying this. And this line will be removed if LA Blaugrana says I am wrong.)

Which brings us to.....

Youth Academies

Okay, I agree Barcelona have more players from their academy. Now what?

I readily admit that La Masia is an impressive academy, something which many Barcelona fans can't admit about Real Madrid cantera, despite the two being practically equal. Many fans showed no respect and went on to suggest that the Real Madrid cantera is useless and is full of "crappy" players, which I have to point out is incorrect.

Real Madrid's cantera is not as bad as people make it out to be, which is mainly due to the recent "stupid" policies of Florentino Perez and more importantly Ramon Calderon, who signed young players like Marcelo and Gago instead of giving chances to cantera players. As well, he unnecessarily signed Gabriel Heinze to replace Miguel Torres.

Therefore cantera products at Real Madrid have failed to get first team opportunities at the club. Therefore the impression is that the cantera fails to provide decent talent to Real Madrid.

But when you look at the Real Madrid youth products playing away from Real Madrid, that says it all. I'll name the famous ones—Juan Mata (Valencia CF), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Roberto Soldado (Getafe CF), Diego Lopez (Villarreal), Juanfran (Osasuna), and Jose Manuel Jurado (Atletico Madrid). So now you see that Real Madrid's cantera hasn't been so "crappy" after all.

You may argue about their quality as compared to Xavi and Iniesta, but I am not comparing them to Xavi or Iniesta, all that I want to say is that all these players (who left around the age of 20) are important to their respective clubs and are hardly poor quality players, (Jurado was loaned to Mallorca and was their top scorer).

But I will say this though — Diego Lopez is the third choice keeper for Spain but Victor Valdes is not.

The quality of the Canteranos that have returned had been taken for granted by many of you who commented on my previous article, I would let you know that it was the last season when people began to hold Xavi and Iniesta in high regard. I want you to know their current age first before going further, Xavi is 29 years old and Iniesta is 25.

Again I know l will hear how Xavi and Iniesta are the greatest in the world, and I agree with that but do you think De La Red and Granero are nothing? I think I should remind you that it was Ruben De La Red and Esteban Granero who took a team like Getafe to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup two years ago.

So now, Ruben De La Red has four years to achieve the status that Xavi has and Esteban Granero has three, so if you dig deep in your heart, you will know that both Granero and De La Red could well emulate these two illustrious players.

It will be more difficult for Ruben now, because he fainted last season because of a heart problem and is now out for the whole season, but those who have seen him play know that the comparisions to Michael Laudrup were not vague and when he does return to play he will be able to become the player that Xavi is today.

As for the number of Canteranos in Real Madrid is the question, it is definetely going to increase, despite you people saying that Perez will repeat his mistakes. Alvaro Negredo and Dani Parejo are certain to rejoin in a year or two, and Pablo Sarabia—the U-19 sensation, Antonio Adan, Tebar, Javier Acuna and Alipio Duarte are also waiting in the wings.

So the least that you can say is Real Madrid Cantera does produce the same quality players as La Masia, if not better.

Fun-Fact: The number of RM Cantera players called up by Spain for the recent U-19 World Cup: six (most from any club)

Unrelated Point: Many of you have also been ignorant about the importance of first-team experience, Cesc Fabregas has developed into the player that he is all because of Arsene Wenger giving him chances in the first team, also I am shocked that you guys believe that the bench of Barcelona is more important to Cesc than the captaincy and unrivalled starting 11 place on offer at Arsenal.

Note: I hope to see a civilized comment thread this time, as my friend MEM pointed out that there was name calling in the last comment thread. If any authority is reading, the "Flag Offensive" button on the comments is broken, nobody comes to delete when a comment is flagged!

FC Barcelona: Hypocrisy at It's Finest

Deepak Israni — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:40:36 -0400

"We create players, not buy them, unlike Real Madrid." – Joan Laporta, Barcelona President.

It has been three months since Real Madrid embarked upon their second "Galactico" era, and they have been facing ridicule and attacks from all around the globe ever since.

Yet while Florentino Perez has come under heavy criticism for spending "ridiculous" amounts of money in this transfer window, their great Spanish rivals FC Barcelona have somewhat slipped under the radar.

Indeed, everyone seems to have forgotten and "forgiven" Barcelona for spending profusely on a certain striker who goes by the name of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But the Director General of Real Madrid, Jorge Valdano, didn't:

"The church appears to be above religion. When they signed Ibrahimovic they didn't practice what they preached. It surprised me that they didn't apply the same rules as Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ibrahimovic transfer."—This is an excerpt from Jorge Valdano's interview which he gave two days ago to AS.

Just one day after Valdano's interview, the Catalan club purchased a 22-year-old defender—Dmytro Chyhrynskiy—from Shaktar Donetsk for €25 million, a significant sum for an established, world-class player, let alone a young, almost unheard of defender.

Had Real Madrid made the same signing, newspapers around the world would be condemning their transfer policies and Perez would no doubt come under scrutiny once again.

Barcelona, on the other hand, made the signing with no surrounding fanfare, and the move was barely reported in media outlets.

Fueled by the Chyhrynskiy transfer and Jorge Valdano's interview, I set out to research and found out that Barca isn't any better than Real Madrid when it comes to splashing the cash, yet people continue to turn a blind-eye on their spending.

Many would ask, how is that so?

Firstly, I would like to point at the transfer activities of both the clubs in the 2008-09 season:

Real Madrid purchased Rafael Van der Vaart and Ezequiel Garay in the summer and Lassana Diarra and Klaas Jan Huntelaar in the winter which took their spending to €68 million but the sales of Robinho, Soldado, and Julio Baptista got them €54.7 million. Their net expenditure, therefore, was €13.3 million.

Barcelona, on the other hand, spent €102 million in 2008-09 for Keita, Pique, Hleb, Caceres, Dani Alves, and Henrique, re-couping just €49.5 million of that through sales, leading to a net expenditure of €51.5 million.

Now let’s look at the much talked about transfer window of 2009-10 season.

Real Madrid purchased Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Karim Benzema, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Esteban Granero for a whopping total of €249 million.

The recent (stupid) sales of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, brought Florentino Perez’s sales figures to the magical number of €90.5 million (which he aimed for before starting the project). The net expenditure for this season, then, is €158.5 million.

FC Barcelona quite surprisingly spent over €100 million for the second year running, €129.5 million to be exact for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dmytro Chyhrynskiy, Keirsson, and Maxwell. Through Samuel Eto’o’s sale, they recovered only €30 million, leading to a net expenditure of €99.5 million.

So in the two seasons combined Real Madrid's net expenditure is €171.8 million and FC Barcelona's net expenditure is €151 million, just a €20.8 million difference between the two.

If the difference had been larger, Barcelona had every right criticise Madrid’s transfer policy, but the fact is they are very similar.

So much for Laporta's, "We create players not buy them, unlike Real Madrid" statement.

That statement also implies Real Madrid do not have enough academy players in their team which, shockingly, is again not true.

Real Madrid now have seven academy players in their squad, namely Iker Casillas, Antonio Adan, Alvaro Arbeloa, Miguel Torres, Esteban Granero, Guti, and Raul.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have just six—Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Iniesta, Lionel Messi, and Bojan.

I have counted out Puyol and Busqets because they joined at the age of 17. However, if you are willing to agree that Cesc Fabregas is an academy product of Arsenal (he joined at the age of 15) then you can count Puyol and Busquets as products of Barca's academy.

I am not that good at math so I used a calculator and found out that Real Madrid now have one player more from their academy than Barcelona. So I guess you are wrong again Joan Laporta.

Real Madrid came into everyone's eyes because they spent truck-loads at once, their spending is indefensible but aren't FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at level planes?

So what should be said about FC Barcelona?

Why indeed, "The church appears to be above religion, they don't practice what they preach."

Note: I would like to thank Barney for previewing and editing the article before publishing.

Arsenal vs Celtic: The Uncensored Scribblings Of a Gooner

Deepak Israni — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:52:59 -0400

Last night Arsenal played Celtic at the Emirates, and I had made my mind up that I was going to write a match report, so I got my notepad and pencil and went on scribbling the facts on the paper.

What you are about to read are my 'uncensored' thoughts on the match, some of my thoughts maybe a little funny to read or some may even be downright useless. Don't worry I will expand on my thoughts. A quick reminder though, this is not a match report.

Before starting, I want to let you know my last thought, "Damnit, I should have written the time when all the events occurred!"

The match begins and so do my scribblings of the first half:

"Anyone who knows Wenger knew a rotation was on the cards!"—As expected Arsene Wenger was preserving his squad for the important game against Manchester United, so he rested Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin.

"Stop chewing the gum Sir Red Nose!"—Ah yes, Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the 60,000 who came to watch the game.

"Wow, we can play so fluidly without Captain Fab and just look at Bendtner!"—The build up to the attack was slick, Gael Clichy smartly put in a small cross for Emanuel Eboue who pulled it back for Nicklas Bendtner, who tried to beat Artur Boruc at the near post with a delightful shot but couldn't and even Eduardo failed to capitalise.

"No matter how good the Gunners play and how many more the Gunners score after this, EVERYONE will just be talking about Dudu's dive"—I was speechless when Eduardo dived and was half wishing Boruc to stop the penalty but Eduardo scored. And now sadly the game will be remembered for how Eduardo dived and how Manuel Gonzalez got it all wrong.

"OFF-SIDE fortunately, but Marc Antone Fortune is dangerous!"—Scott McDonald had put in the cross driven in by Marc Antone Fortune, but fortunately for the Gunners McDonald was off-side.

"It's great to have Eduardo back!"—I had already promised to hear no more about that dive, but the telecasters were making it difficult. But the dive aside, Eduardo was awesome, his curling shot 25 yards out at the end of the first half was amazing which was equalled by Boruc, who parried it for a corner.

Start the match already! Scribblings of the second half:

"Where is the Celtic captain Gary Caldwell?"—Gary Caldwell had already got a yellow card in the first half, so in order to avoid any trouble for Caldwell, Tony Mowbray made a wise decision and called him off—That's what the commentators said.

"Aiden McGeady is really awesome, FIFA 09 stats are not always wrong!"—It was fun seeing Aiden McGeady play, he was making Gael Clichy earn his money. But Gael Clichy was up for the task and was efficient to prevent McGeady from causing any damage.

"In Arsene we trusted and we got Gallas and Vermaelen in defense!"—Gallas and Vermaelen have made an awesome defensive pair (so far) and whoever didn't trust Arsene Wenger surely trusts him now.

"I feel bad for booing Eboue but luckily I always trusted Bendtner!"—In the 53rd minute Nicklas Bendtner showed why many Gooners trust him, he put in a glorious back-heel pass to Diaby who in turn passed it Eboue who set the ball on to his right and put it past Boruc for the second Arsenal goal. The tie was (nearly) put to sleep.

Another thought rushed into my mind when the second goal included Bendtner, Diaby, and Eboue—"Aren't these guys considered as idiots by the pundits?"

"Do I see a white flag being waved?"—The substitutions said it all, Tony Mowbray had decided that the Champions League dream was over, so he withdrew Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney at the 61 minute mark to preserve them for the match against Hibernian. Aaron Ramsey was substituted for Abou Diaby at the same moment.

"Andrei Arshavin is looking stupid, he definitely needs a haircut!" and "Wooh Jackie Wilshere!"—Arsene Wenger decided that 71 minutes were enough for Eduardo and Eboue, so he substituted them for Arshavin and Wilshere. And seriously just look at Arshavin!

"That's how we play Wenger-ball!"—The Arsenal substitutes definitely brought with them a lot of energy, it was the part where I forgot that I was sleepy (2:15 am), Denilson won the ball and slipped, Arshavin won the race to dead ball passed it to Ramsey, who returned it to Arshavin, Arshavin rotates and shoots! It's the first goal for the "four-midable" Russian in Arsenal colours in an European competition.

"Massimo Donati has no right to score like that!"—The match was in injury-time Almunia was headed for a clean-sheet, a cross comes in and out of nowhere comes Donati who is at full stretch, volleys and puts it past Almunia at the far-post. After that the whistle blew and Arsenal were through to the next round, officially.

You would be wondering, how I got the time right? Internet, people! Specifically Arsenal.com.

Dear Awesome Eldin™: El Presidente Edition Replied By Cool D™

Deepak Israni — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:09:51 -0400

As everyone knows, Awesome Eldin™ is the one who celebrities write to for help, but unfortunately his Peacey (PC) died, so he is not available physically and emotionally (the guy has issues, what can I say) to answer their problems, many letters have been lining up. So he said to me, "Cool D™, you answer some mail for me!"

I am after all, a Community Leader, how could I say no to anyone in need, so I sat down, and scourged through millions of mails (mostly from Rafa and Sir Red Nose) and chose to answer El Presidente—Florentino Perez's letter, for some reasons unexplained.

The awesome™ one usually shows the message sent to him, so I have to comply with all his rules.

_________________________________________________________________________

Dear Awesome Eldin™,

I had been meaning to write to you for a couple of days now, but I have been busy reconstructing the team, you might have read about it in the papers.

Mr. Awesome™, I need help. I don't understand why, but I like FIFA World Player(s) and Baloon d'Or winners who look good, and slick. They say I JUST buy pretty players!

They say I want to sell T-shirts and tickets to the game; I ask, who doesn't? Name one team who wants their stadium empty, and their store room full of jerseys (which are changed every year)?

People think that, that is my sole motto, but it's not, We want some of the trophies too, our Catalan rivals have them all, they don't want to share; this was the only way I saw fit to bring home at least one.

Mr. Awesome™, I know I was foolish to sack Vicente Del Bosque, selling Redondo, Heirro, and not offering a pay-raise to Makelele, and have accepted that, but people still think that I do not love good managers, Canteranos or defensive players.

I do not understand, I was told that Xabi Alonso plays as a deep lying midfielder, and Arbeloa and Albiol are defenders. I think that I should have checked a copy of FIFA 09 or FIFA Manager first, which people keep referring to, when they talk about my signings these days.

I am also accused of not buying enough defenders but if my counting is correct we already have plenty of quality defenders.

People are also saying, and I quote, "The Galactico Pimp's signings won't be able to play together, their ego will get in the way, he's an idiot!"

I have been watching the preseason matches and the team looks good to me, but as people say, "What do I know football?" Please help.

Muchas Gracias

Florentino Perez—El Presedente, Real Madrid

_________________________________________________________________________

Note: Please take one minute silence for Awesome Eldin™'s Peacey.

_________________________________________________________________________

Dear El Presidente,

I am sure you were expecting a reply from Mr. Awesome™, but I am sorry to inform you that Mr. Awesome™'s Peacey died a few days ago and since then he hasn't been emotionally or physically fit to answer the millions of mail in his mail room, so I—Cool D™ am covering for him, and I will try to answer just like him with all his trademarked words and try to stay as objective and level-headed as possible..just like him.

First of all, ahem...OH MAN, YOU ARE AWESOME™! I LOVE REAL MADRID. PLEASE SEND ME SEASON TICKETS TO SANTIAGO BERNEBAU FOR THE FRONT SEAT.

Ahem. Uhh...yeah, so...great reconstruction. Calderon had made the team look like it came out of the Dutch Eredivisie, now at least it looks Spanish.

You have given all Real Madrid fans hope, the new team with the kid-faced Kaka and the frog-faced Ronaldive™ is awesome™. And this time you will beat our rivals Catelooneytunes™.

Wise decision of bringing back Granero, I wonder who else would have thought that El Pirata will run havoc whenever he is played. So make sure Mr. Pellegrini gives him enough matches.

Sorry, I got carried away....Now, back to the letter.

No, Mr. Perez, there are no teams who want their stadium empty and their store-room full, nada, If someone else says that, you make sure to ask those people too.

As far as hating good managers goes, you can prove them wrong by kissing Mr. Pellegrini in public.....that might shut people up.....Wait! I remember, Mr. Awesome™ told me it doesn't work, as he has tried it on Le Professor.

So what might work is, you give him a contract extension when things are going good.

As far as loving Canteranos and defenders, you have already bought enough of them. Just one more thing is remaining on the Canterano front, make sure that Mata doesn't leave for Catalooneytune™, and comes back home.

And it's good that you have accepted your mistakes, and are working to avoid any mistakes this time, but I don't know when that will go through the thick skulls of haters, can't tell you more than that.

You have NEVER played FIFA? You've gotta be kidding me, I was under the impression you bought the players with the most stats! Anyways, yes they are defensive minded signings, you have not been Punk'd!

You have actually made a good team which is working well together without the "knowledge of football"—as many say, which is capable of winning stuff, and Kaka and Cristiano are actually turning out to be best-buds off and on the field.

Awesome™ work, you have done. Mrs. Snuffles will be proud of you. (Refer to Awesome Eldin™'s bio for more about Mrs. Snuffles).

Hala Madrid, El Presidente

Yours Faithfully—Trophy or Not

Cool™ D

__________________________________________________________________________

Note: Eldin, Awesome Eldin, Catalooneytune, Ronaldive and Awesome are all trademarks of Mohamed Eldin Masri, and Cool and Cool D belong to Deepak Israni any illegal use of these words will result in a law suit followed by endless punching in the nuts.

You have been warned.

R.I.P Peacey (2005-2009)

Madridista Corner: What Does the Season Hold For Real Madrid?

Deepak Israni — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:07:06 -0400

Welcome to Madridista Corner, where the Madridistas/analysts of Bleacher Report in this edition they will discuss: Real Madrid's activity in the transfer market, returning Canteranos, how the season will shape out for Real Madrid, and much more stuff.

Before beginning I would like to thank Ann Gry, Khalid Khan, Josh Zeitlin, Muffakham Shaheriyar, and Rami Jber for participating

Here goes the first edition of Madridista Corner.

New Signings and Their Effect

With Real Madrid making all the headlines due to the new signings and the fact that they spent €250 million on them, do you think the new signings can play together?

Ann Gry:

All of them are professionals, they know how important team-work is. However now we have quite a lot of individuals, so if they won't kill each other it means they can cooperate.

Khalid Khan:

Theoretically they should, but it has to be seen if they can actually gel together. But it does seem that newcomers are motivated and want to perform as a team. We have to acknowledge that many are megastars and managing their egos is going to be a tough task. Megastars want to be in the spotlight and the team to be arranged around them.

Josh Zeitlin:

I absolutely think they can play together. Xabi Alonso is the key player for me, he will get the team working as a unit. He is the conductor of the symphony, as it were. The one concern for me is that our bench is somewhat too deep and that the players may get restless if the first eleven are not rotated often; This could harm the team morale, which is a crucial variable when you make such drastic squad changes.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Looking at them we can slot the big five together you know—Albiol, Ronaldo, Kaka Alonso and Arbeloa. Granero has potential but realistically he would be limited to the substitute role for most matches.

Rami Jber:

Yes, they will play quit well together but they need time to blend, and we shouldn’t rush them. They will deliver for us the magic we all expecting

Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, or Xabi Alonso: Who do you think will have the greatest impact?

Ann Gry:

I think it's going to be Xabi Alonso with his work in midfield, Benzema looks sharp in attack too. I think Xabi will have the majority of assists and Karim (if not Pipita) will score the most number of goals for Los Blancos.

Khalid Khan:

I think Cristiano Ronaldo will have the greatest impact because he has a good work ethic and he really is working very hard, not that the others aren't. Karim is doing good. And Xabi's arrived late, so I can't say much about him.

Josh Zeitlin:

As I've said, I think it will be Xabi Alonso. Whether he will get the recognition or not is unclear. What Real Madrid lacked in the Calderón era was an ability to retain possession in midfield—this was the root of the defensive issues over the last few seasons.

Besides passing, this is what Xabi Alonso does best—winning and keeping the ball, and redistributing it in clever ways to his teammates. He will be the engine of this team.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Xabi Alonso, his passing will be the key for the creation of goals.

Rami Jber:

My pick would be Kaka and Xabi. They are blending smoothly and doing well from day one, I think Benzema still young, and CR9 will need a little more time to regain his full potentials.

What should be done with Higuain?

Ann Gry:

He should be given a place in the first eleven 24/7! Pipita has all we need in young players—motivation, skills, team spirit, and a hunger for victories. Raul is getting older, and the pair of Gonzalo and Karim together for 90 minutes can be very dangerous.

Khalid Khan:

That is really tough now, he can be tried on the wings but there are many other candidates for that position already.

Josh Zeitlin:

Higuaín is unfortunate—with the arrival of Benzema and the resurgence of Raul as well as the danger of Ruud van Nistelrooy recovering from his knee injury his chances of regular play will be limited, just as he is blossoming into a world-class striker.

Still, he will get playing time, as Benzema may need a period of adjustment (though his pre-season form suggests otherwise) and Raul and Van Nistelrooy cannot be expected to play more than 30 games a season.

Next year, Raul will start to play significantly less, I should think, and Van Nistelrooy will most likely leave the club. He should therefore stay and wait, as he has become the most likely successor to Raul at second striker, and his partnership with Negredo and Benzema could be stunning over the next decade.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Well this is a sticky issue, he could be used as a substitute for Raul or as a striker if we play a 4-4-2.

Rami Jber:

Well he actually deserves to be a starter, that's for sure. But Benzema cost a lot, and as long as Raul is still doing good job, he will be on the bench. So what we should do is rotate our attack so everyone gets time to play, especially him. He simply deserves it.

Has Manuel Pellegrini made any improvements to the team or not?

Ann Gry:

Can't say that looking at pre-season games, but he has eliminated players he didn't need, so I guess that's an improvement.

Khalid Khan:

He is experimenting a lot with players and formations and it will be too soon to judge his performance. Nothing is going to happen fast and easy.

Josh Zeitlin:

Absolutely, Mijatovic and Calderón made a lot of inappropriate and expensive purchases over the last few years and the team was in dire straits. Pellegrini has improved the team in every way, giving us the width, creativity, passing range, defensive solidity and ability to retain possession—that the team has quite frankly lacked over the last few seasons, and truthfully since Makelele left for Chelsea.

Each acquisition has been stellar in my book, though my one regret is not snaring David Villa from Valencia when we had the chance but Benzema is a top, top striker.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Well, that was handled by Perez.

Rami Jber:

That would be a big yes, much different from the past two years, we can notice the balance in attack and defense, and he is managing the superstars' egos in a good way, I guess he is doing a good job so far.

Operation Exit and Return Of The Canteranos

Real Madrid have removed the most useless player (voted by fans) and the left back—Gabriel Heinze, Who do you think is best suited at left back— Alvaro Arbeloa, Miguel Torres, Royston Drenthe or Marcelo?

Ann Gry:

I guess Arbeloa, he is a versatile defender, he has proved that in the English Premier League. However I've got a feeling that Marcelo has a lot of potential, with some hard work and commitment he can be a decent left back.

Khalid Khan:

Arbeloa's got to be the first choice. Drenthe is only speed nothing much else, though he has improved in pre-season. And Marcelo can be tried as a left winger where he has done well last season.

Josh Zeitlin:

I am certainly very happy to see Heinze leave. My preference would be to see Arbeloa start at left back—he's much more solid defensively than any of the other choices and has shown his class during the pre-season fixtures.

Drenthe should be used only as a winger unless circumstances demand it, and Torres is a good back-up for either full-back slot should Sergio Ramos or Arbeloa be unavailable. Marcelo should play either left midfield or left wing depending on what is available.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

First Arbeloa then Marcelo, even though Marcelo plays better as a left winger. Drenthe looks good at left back, but he should be loaned out to a team where he gains experience and develops into a quality player.

Rami Jber:

I think the most suited player is Arbeloa, because he is the most balanced performer. Marcelo is good only in attack, and Drenthe and Torres are below par. So Arbeloa would give the team a good balance. But in attacking matches I would choose Marcelo.

Who else do you think should be sold?

Ann Gry:

Rafael Van der Vaart, Ezequiel Garay, and Royston Drenthe.

Khalid Khan:

Miguel Torres, Fernando Gago, and Rafael Van der Vaart.

Josh Zeitlin:

Rafael Van der Vaart (pity, he has to leave), Negredo (loan or possibly a buy-back clause) and Miguel Torres (would be sad to lose another Canterano)

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Rafael Van der Vaart, Mahamadou Diarra, Christopher Metzelder, Miguel Torres (loan) and Royston Drenthe (loan).

Rami Jber:

Miguel Torres, Alvaro Negredo (with buy-back clause), Fernando Gago, Royston Drenthe and Rafael Van der Vaart.

Negredo looked quite good in pre-season and now he is linked with a move away to Hull City or Zaragoza. Should he leave or should he stay?

Ann Gry:

He should go on loan to another club in order to play regularly. He's quite young, he has talent and he needs to develop it with regular game-time, he should not be warming the bench in Madrid. He should go to Hull, to see how he fares in the English Premier League, to play against giants like Manchester United and Liverpool will help him come back stronger to Madrid, when Raul retires.

Khalid Khan:

I would like Negredo to stay, though it will be difficult to keep him in the team because of the 25-a-side limit of La Liga. His presence will put pressure on Higuain's inclusion.

Josh Zeitlin:

I think Negredo is a top player, maybe along with Granero and Mata the best youth product Castilla has put out in the last decade since Casillas was promoted to the first team.

I'd be sorry to see him go, but I imagine that playing time will be short at Madrid this season. If he leaves, there will be a buy-back clause and he will return the next season. I think he should go out on loan instead but regardless, I think regular play at a team like Zaragoza would be beneficial.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

For the best of Negredo and Real, Negredo should move with a buy-back clause. I think Hull City and Zaragoza both have their advantages.

If Negredo switches to Zaragoza, he stays in Spain and gets to know the league better. And Hull City would be a learning experience as then he would get to play teams from the English Premier League and understand their style of play which could help him in the Champions League.

Realistically both are great teams. But Negredo should move with a buy-back clause to the place where he is guaranteed first team action, so when he returns to replace Raul, he has the experience.

Rami Jber:

As much as I want him to stay, I think he will be sold with a buy-back clause. Because we already have four forwards—Raul, Higuain, Benzema, and Rudd Van Nistelrooy. So I think it is best for him to leave, because I think he will be the one to replace Rudd when he leaves. So it's a win-win situation (hopefully).

Esteban Granero returns to Real Madrid after charming Getafe. What do you think about Esteban Granero at Real Madrid?

Ann Gry:

Esteban has lots of talent, and playing with Kaka and Alonso will help him, he can learn a lot. I think he can play everywhere in the midfield, but the best for him is to be behind strikers, he seems to feel the best there.

Khalid Khan:

He has shown much in the preseason and can play in many positions but his place in the starting lineup is not sure. Again there are many players for that position and can be tried as a backup of Alonso or Kaka or for wingers. I would keep him at all costs, period.

Josh Zeitlin:

I am a big fan of Granero. He showed his worth at Getafe and in pre-season for Madrid and I think if he gets some playing time, most likely on the left wing, he will be influential.

As Guti is on his way out in the next couple years, I see Granero as his long-term, hopefully much more consistent successor. His impact this season may be limited by the outstanding talent that strives to keep him out of the first eleven (Robben, Kaka, Sneijder, Guti), but if he gets a good run in the team in the cup or lesser league fixtures, look for him to make the most of the chance and force his way into the team. His pre-season performance has no doubt favourably disposed Pellegrini towards him so he may get a run-out sooner rather than later.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

A versatile player, who has a tremendous future. He can be great at the left wing, thus helping to make the best midfield for Real Madrid.

Rami Jber:

I think he will be the one to watch. He will take every chance he will get to impress. He was already impressive in the pre-season games in all the positions that he was played. He is just amazing, I am glad that he was bought back.

I think his future is very bright, and he will take the spotlight from everyone. And in the years to come, he will be our Iniesta, and by that I mean the star behind the stars.

The New Team and Expectations

Real Madrid suddenly has an increased number of Spanish players (11), will it help in any way?

Ann Gry:

I'm not sure if it will help, but it certainly won't hurt anyone.

Khalid Khan:

I don't think it would be of any help, it will just give the team a Spanish flavour and nothing else.

Josh Zeitlin:

Certainly, having more Spanish players will help. They play together in the national team, and so squad chemistry will be enhanced; they also speak the language and will adjust well to the league, if they are coming from abroad.

Given the recent success of the Spanish national team, having more of its players can only help Madrid's football. Plus it is also easier for the Madrid faithful to get behind their team and be the "twelfth man" as it were, when they can connect to the team through homegrown or Spanish players.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

In defense we have three of our main players who are Spanish, this would increase the level of communication between them and Iker. It will also increase the support of Real Madrid in Spain, although we might lose it in the Netherlands.

Rami Jber:

Yes, we had lost our identity some time back, and the Spanish players know the value of Real Madrid better than any other players on the world. It is a pleasure to see more Spanish players.

Before we leave, What do you realistically expect from the new-look Real Madrid?

Ann Gry:

I expect them to win at least one trophy, and go a little bit further in the Champions League than in last five years. And of course, two wins in the El Classico.

Khalid Khan:

People are expecting instant success (the triplet) but I am hoping to be realistic and want them to take it one step at a time.

Josh Zeitlin:

I expect that they will press Barcelona for the title very closely this season, and as lightning rarely strikes twice, the Catalans will not be so lucky with injuries to Messi, Xavi and Iniesta and will also be hurt by the mid-season exodus of their African midfielders Touré and Keita, I should expect Real to have a very real chance of winning the league.

I also expect them to make a much stronger showing in the Champions League. With the final in the Bernabéu, the Champions League has to be the top priority and with such a strong eleven and bench, I think they have a good chance of reaching the final as well.

I would also expect Madrid, given their strength in depth, to make a better showing in the Copa del Rey, especially after last years humiliating exit to Real Unión, but I don't expect them to win it as we have little luck in that competition.

Muffakham Shaheriyar:

Realistically, the Champions League is the best bet alnog with Copa del Ray, as the team needs to gel, and we will be alright till February. We might drop points till October, so I didn't say the La Liga.

Rami Jber:

Champions League success. If they focus on it, they will bring the tenth trophy to Madrid. Simply because they need time to be dangerous, and till the time they become dangerous, it would be very hard to win the League.

That's it folks, until next time, keep an eye out for Madridista Corner.

Hala Madrid!

Note: If anyone is interested in participating in the Madridista Corner, notify me via a post on my Bulletin Board, so I can keep it in my mind to include you in the next edition.

Franck Ribery to Real Madrid: Is Ribery Worth It?

Deepak Israni — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:29:17 -0400

The "soap-opera" of Ribery's transfer is yet not over if Marca is to be believed, after all the news that Ribery has a price tag of €94 million according to Bayern, an agreement has been struck with Ribery and he would join the next season and much more hooblah!

Now Marca claims that Florentino Perez is still interested to bring the French wizard to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for €30 million plus Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.

There is a high possibility that the "news" covered by Marca is a rumour, but they haven't been wrong this summer. That is the part that scares me.

Although I am a big fan of Ribery and would love to see him him play in the white, but somehow somewhere there is a feeling that this is not right and he should not be bought this year, at least at the current price-tag that has been put on Ribery by the Bavarian club.

Surely Ribery is world class and there are none better, but still paying €30 million plus Sneijder and Robben for him is like being robbed. (Just like our Catalan rivals Barcelona were robbed when they signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Stop competing for once, Real Madrid! There are no prizes for who was robbed the worst!)

How is that robbery?

Well first of all, there is a strong interest in Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan, who are willing to pay €25 million for him and Arjen Robben is also valued at some €25-30 million add all that up and the sum rises upto €80-85 million.

Which I believe is too much to pay for a 26 year old who has two years remaining on his contract and who is already under a pre-agreement with Real Madrid and who can be purchased for €25 million at max next season.

Can Real Madrid manage without Ribery?

Real Madrid is a very strong team even without Franck Ribery in it and Arjen Robben is a quality player too despite his injury prone career. I know, I have suggested Juan Mata over Arjen Robben, but that was just for cost-cutting and bringing back Canteranos.

Or Kaka could be given a Zidane role, drifting inside and Lass/Granero/M Diarra and Xabi could play as central midfielders.

So, Yes, Real Madrid can manage without Ribery.

What if Robben gets injured?

When Arjen Robben gets injured, Real have a lot of depth to cover for Robben because Kaka and Granero being central players can very well cover the left wing, and don't forget Marcelo and Drenthe who have already played in that position. Miquel Palanca—a Castilla player could be recruited if necessary, just like the previous season.

Gonzalo Higuain is also capable to play on the wing but he should not be forced on the wing, that's why I left his name out.

Conclusion

Ribery is good, but why pay €80-85 million for a player who can be bought for €20-25 million plus Robben is good as good as Ribery if kept fit.

Enough money has already been spent, some revenue has to be generated from sales but giving Robben and Sneijder for Ribery would be like giving away Sneijder and Robben for free.

Ribery can wait for a year before prancing in the Real Madrid jersey.

A Look At Real Madrid Castilla Before the Season Begins

Deepak Israni — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:05:52 -0400

The first team of Real Madrid is making all the headlines, but a lot has been going on in the Real Madrid Castilla as well, new signings, some exits, and even some players promoted to the first team.

What happened last year?

The start of last season was a dream for the Castilla, league leaders, and a nine (six wins and three draws) match unbeaten run. But after 16 matches Castilla didn't manage a victory for six matches (five losses and one draw), which saw their promotion hopes weakened but not completely finished.

RM Castilla managed to put on another winning streak but missed out on the chance of making it to play-offs to earn a promotion to the Segunda division because of the loss in the last game away to Pajara Playas.

2008-09 season in stats

Played: 38
Wins: 18
Draws: 9
Losses: 11
Best Victory: 5-1 Vs Universidad Las Palmas
Worst Loss: 5-0 Vs Atletico Ciudad

Achievement: Alberto Bueno and Adam Szalai scored 16 goals a piece and were the joint second heighest scorers in the league.

What happened in the Summer?

Ins

Real Madrid Castilla will have four new faces this year, namely Juanan (Deportivo B), Cristian (Alicante), Ruben Ramos (Atletico B) and Juanfran (Getafe B).

Juanan (DF) and Cristian (FW) were bought from their previous teams, whereas Ruben Ramos and Juanfran were signed for free.

Outs

The last of the infamous yet talented Castilla team which got relegated to Segunda B division▬Alberto Bueno (FW) has been sold to Valladolid.

And Cristopher Schoroch (DF) who was bought from Hertha Berlin in 2007 has been sold to FC Koln.

Promotions

The young and highly talented Brazilian Alipio Duarte (FW) has been promoted to the Real Madrid Castilla along with Javier Acuna (FW). They used to play some matches for the Castilla, but this time their promotion seems permanent.

Antonio Adan (GK) has a high probability of making the bench for the first team, so Filipe Ramos might take over at the Castilla.

New Coach: Alejandro Menendez, former coach of Celta Vigo academy has been appointed as the new coach for Castilla.

What to expect this season?

The new signings show a lot of promise. Juanan is a strong defender and even has made his first team debut with Deportivo in Intertonto and the UEFA Cup and he would be a fitting replacement for Schoroch if not better.

Ruben Ramos has been bought as a replacement for Bueno. Ramos is a very important part of the Spanish U-19 setup and was the highest scorer for Atletico with nine goals.

Javier Acuna scored many important goals at the end of the season, probably he would be given more chances. Daniel Opare (RB) is another impressive player and would be one to watch out for. Agus, Tebar (Captain) and Gary are all important players for RM Castilla, they have already played for the first team of Real Madrid.

Things look good for RM Castilla, but putting a finger on their promotion is difficult, but it is possible nonetheless. The new coach Alejandro has been brought with high expectations, maybe he can fulfil the dream of playing in the Segunda division after three years.

Note: People would be thinking how the RM Castilla team was talented if they were relegated. The team shockingly included Ruben De La Red, Esteban Granero, Javi Garcia, Juan Mata, Alvaro Negredo and Alberto Bueno.

The legend and the Castilla coach at that time—Michel (Currently: Getafe manager) took full responsibility of the relegation as the same team had finished first two seasons ago.

I might be wrong in the length of the streaks as Real Madrid's official site has skipped some results.

Shyam And Mary Gone: Who Will Be Arsenal's New Community Leader(s)?

Deepak Israni — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:00:01 -0400

The Arsenal community has lost two of their most experienced writers and Community Leaders—Shyam Parthasarathi and Maire Ofeire, coincidentally at the same time.

Their departure looks like Hleb and Flamini's, umm...well not "exactly" like them because both Hleb and Flamini left because of money, whereas Shyam and Mary left because of their personal reasons.

The departures of Mary and Shyam have left the Arsenal community weakened, because if you take a look at the "top" writers in the Arsenal community are mainly one or two months old or are not Gooners.

To be a Community Leader you have to contribute a LOT—seriously, take a look at me, four months old, 1043 comments posted, and 17 Real Madrid articles and I comment on EVERY Real Madrid article, but still I have not been made the Community Leader.

Sorry this is not about me, but considering the fact that you have to contribute a LOT, that takes out many talented Arsenal writers and Gooners out of the running for the Community Leader post.

And it will be sad to have a Manchester United fan or any other team's fan to be Arsenal's Community Leader(s).

But wait there is hope, there are contenders for the Arsenal Community Leader spot and worthy contenders at that. Here I am putting up names of good experienced and truly devoted contributors of the Arsenal community.

Callum D'Souza

Probably the most active person of b/r let alone the Arsenal community, in writing articles that is. But it is truly rare and delightful to see Callum comment.

Callum has written a whopping 225 articles on Arsenal, maybe he is writing one more now. It will be good to have such an active Community Leader, but writing articles is not the sole job of the CL, a CL has to encourage their fellow community members and read and comment on their articles and help them out in their problems relating b/r.

Stefan Vasilev

Stefan is a valuable contributor of the Arsenal section with 33 Arsenal articles. Stefan's articles and comments feel good to read, and he is not one of the "angry" type of writers, who doesn't get pissed off by articles (or maybe he doesn't show it) and comment in a fiery manner.

Stefan would be a worthy CL, but looking at his "Article Archive" it is clear that Stefan writes continuously and then takes a break. I do not know whether he visited b/r in those patches to read Arsenal articles or not.

Oh, I forgot, Stefan has been awarded with an AOTD.

Benjamin Rogers

Frankly speaking, I have never come across Benjamin, but he is the fifth ranked Arsenal writer, Benjamin's writing style is good and he seems a good guy to me. I am sorry I cannot tell much about him. If you guys know, please comment, I'll add it to the article.

Alex Dimond

Alex is a fan of no one, I mean a fan of no particular team, he just loves the sport. Alex Dimond as everyone knows reads EVERYONE's article in the football section, as he is a staff editor. Un-biased and true, Alex is a fantastic writer as well, Alex could be Arsenal community's Andrei Arshavin, but the problem is will Alex be willing to take the post as he is always busy editing, and the post of Community Leader would add to his work-load.

Mohamed Eldin Masri

Only two months on b/r Awesome™ Eldin as he calls himself, has churned out 14 articles, and is a fun to read writer. MEM also comments nearly everywhere on Arsenal related articles. But MEM has set his sights already to become the CL of Milan. Also he might re-decorate the links on the Arsenal page as "This site is an awesome™ source for Arsenal related news".

I had considered to put myself as a candidate for the Arsenal Community Leader, but decided against it as never can I equal Mary and Shyam—I always looked upto them, tried to mimic their style and asked for their help.

Mary and Shyam, you will always be the "true" Community Leaders of Arsenal, no matter who takes over. All the Gooners of b/r wish you luck.

Take your pick Gooners, who do YOU want to be your Community Leader, comment below. And if I might have unknowingly missed out on someone good, please mention him/her in the comments section.

Note: You cannot mention yourself as the one I missed or even vote for yourself. If you are good, the Gooners are bound to pick you.

Unrelated Note: A minute's silence for Daniel Jarque (26)—the RCD Espanyol cpatain, who died due to cardiac arrest yesterday.

B/R Radio With Deepak Israni: Football Will Never Be The Same Again

Deepak Israni — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:47:02 -0400

Footie-Talk is a widely popular radio show on BR Radio Live, which is hosted and produced by Deepak Israni under the name Cool D. If you haven't heard of the show...well...you should be ashamed of yourself! Instead of downloading photos of Megan Fox, you should be listening to it! Heck, you can even do both at the same time!

Anyways. Due to popular demand, I have decided to publish our show as an article here. You know...cause b/r is the best website in the world. Let's get to it!

Guy 1: We are live in 5..4..3..3..2..1, lift-off.

Guy 2: YOU IDIOT, IT'S NOT LIFT-OFF!

Guy 1: Umm..we are live, and I think EVERYONE heard you, you are a mean mean person!

Deepak: Hey hey hey, f** off, this is MY show, are we live...?

Umm...Okay. I am bringing you today the special edition of "Footie-Talk", live from the BR Radio Live's studio, and my guest today is "The Audacious One"—Rocky Getters. We will discuss with him, many interesting and hot topics from the football world and get his unique opinion.

So Rocky, do you feel honoured to be on my show? Silly question, who wouldn't be honoured to sit next to me? But still, I would like to hear your thoughts.

Rocky: Do I get paid in cash or ....?

Deepak: *whispers* Ahem...later Rocky!

Rocky, first up, Who do you think is going to win the FA Community Shield this Sunday? Manchester United or Chel….*snore*….

Rocky: What happened, wake up!

Deepak: Huh, wha..yeah...or Chelsea *in a sleepy voice*. Chelsea always put me to sleep.

Rocky: Expect more of that, Deepak. Now that Carletto is there! *sly grin*

I mean, while he was here at Milan, he had turned San Siro into a retirement home! The average age of our squad was what…80?

Sadly now, that is exactly our bank balance it seems… *saddened face*

Deepak: Anyways, AC Milan aren't doing so.. umm.. good. Do you think Milan can avoid relegation, many "pundits" have written them off, you know?

Rocky: I have ordered voodoo dolls of all players and managers is the Serie A. I think black magic is our only resort now…

Deepak: Really? Is it so bad?

Rocky: The only reason I like our coach Leonardo is because he bears the name of my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle; Berlusconi cannot get his hands off hot models and look into matters of Milan, and stories of alien abductions make more sense than Galliani's transfer season tactics. So…yeah…

Deepak: Who would you like to see at Milan, Fabiano or Huntelaar?

MEM: *almost instantaneously after hearing the name Huntelaar* Huh, Huntelaar? I WANT HUNTELAAR NOW!

Deepak: Where did MEM come from? And I told you we are working on Huntelaar, calm down!

Rocky: Man, I think a player whose name I cannot pronounce must be a great player. Look at One-yeah-woo-woo, the defender we just signed.

Deepak: You mean Onyewu?

Rocky: Errr… Of course! So, I’m all for bringing in that Huntelaar guy.

Deepak: So enough about Milan, what do you think about Real Madrid *casting a threatening look*?

Rocky: They have more stars than the Milky Way. I see a bright future for them. Only if Pellegrini can keep certain egos under check… *cough, cough* Ronaldo…

MEM: Ronaldive!

Deepak: And Barcelona *still with that threatening look*?

Rocky: I love Barcelona! I think they have a lot of talent and ability and somehow I feel…

*sees Deepak getting angry and drawing what looks to be a sharp dagger…*

Relegation! Barca will be relegated!

Deepak: *smiles* Gooooooooood!

Staying on the Barcelona topic, What do you feel about the Ibra deal? We all have heard Mourinho, and how he said he ripped off Barcelona, we want to listen to your thoughts.

Rocky: *laughs hysterically*

Deepak: What happened???

Rocky: I laugh every time I hear his name. I-bra! Hahaha!

MEM: Awesome™!

Deepak: Arsenal have also been a favorite topic to talk about these days after selling Kolo and Greedybayor,. What do you reckon will happen to the Gunners?

Rocky: Arsenal have sent Toure on a tour. But he will be sorely missed. I mean, talk about selling the only real defender they had, phew!

As for Adebayor? Arsenal have made the right move. Who wants a six-feet tall, good-for-nothing guy who talks in a French accent?

Deepak: Before we go, any predictions for the upcoming EPL season?

Rocky: Manchester United will try, Liverpool will cry; Manchester City will buy, Chelsea will rye… errr.. I mean, have a wry smile. But Wolves will be the shocking winners. My psychic told me that. I'm betting my house, my car, my Chihuahua, my collection of Harry Potter books and even my Kenny G. CD collection on it!

Deepak: Well, that's it, folks! Time's up! We will meet once again and….

Rocky: Hey… uhh…what about my $50?

Deepak: Do you accept gift certificates?

Rocky: What the…f****!!!

*fight breaks out*

MEM: We will see you next time. This show is awesome™!

Note: Yes, the real Rocky Getters was interviewed, he is still recovering in the hospital—that is the reason why you don't see him online much.

Only If Pablo Sarabia Gets The Same Opportunities As Jack Wilshere

Deepak Israni — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:20:51 -0400

Jack Wilshere; the kid who is loved by all Arsenal fans, the kid who is known as the next Liam Brady, the kid who dazzled the audience with his skill, his lovely runs, amazing passes and two goals against the Rangers in the Emirates Cup.

The 17-year-old was so impressive in the 45 minutes that he played against Atletico Madrid, that he was named "Man of the Match" and even Fabio Capello came to watch the next Arsenal match against the Scottish champions Rangers.

Two "Man of The Match" awards in two games played in the Emirates Cup, "Player of the Tournament" in Emirates Cup (2009), FA Youth Cup (2009) and FA Premier Academy League (2009) winner, part of the Arsenal first team and the England national team's coach keeping an eye out for him at the age of 17—life is good for the young Jackie Wilshere.

However, there is another 17-year-old in the world of the same pedigree as Wilshere, his name is Pablo Sarabia. Pablo has a good life, but it's nowhere near as good as Jack's.

Pablo Sarabia; The lesser known wonderkid of Real Madrid, famous only within the true fans of Real Madrid, he is known as the next Raul because of his efficiency playing behind the striker and his left foot, but Pablo like Jack plays on the left-wing.

Pablo Sarabia is part of the Spain U-17 setup. He won the "Player of The Tournament" in the Mundalito (Club World Cup) along with the winners' medal. Pablo Sarabia has attracted interest from the rest of Europe, including Arsene Wenger.

Both Pablo and Jack have scored two goals a piece for their U-17 national teams qualification for the UEFA U-17 championship. They might sound the same type of players, but there is a world of difference between them, that difference is the number of opportunities.

Whereas Jack Wilshere is a substitute for the first-team at Arsenal, Pablo Sarabia is in the Juvenil A team of Real Madrid, which is at a distance of three teams from the first-team of Real Madrid.

Both of them are sure to be the future of the left-wing for their respective clubs and nations, but definitely Jack Wilshere has got a head-start.

The least Pablo Sarabia deserved after the wonderful season in the Juvenil team was a promotion to the Real Madrid Castilla. The lack of opportunities might serve as a speed-bump in Pablo's career.

I have a question to ask to the authorities at Real Madrid. Raul was given a chance at 17 years of age in their own club, and Jack Wilshere got the chance at the age of 16 at Arsenal, so why not give a chance to Pablo Sarabia?

Analysis of Real Madrid after Three Matches

Deepak Israni — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:35:09 -0400

It's too early to predict what the future holds for Manuel Pellegrini and his team, but it is confirmed after three matches that the football played by Real Madrid will be beautiful.

Real Madrid has adopted a football style much like Arsenal—quick short passes and fluid movement, the style is so hauntingly similar that Real Madrid found it very hard to break packed defenses for two and a half games.

Real Madrid's football is good but it is not flawless, they still have some positions in the field to be sorted out, which I will be pointing to in my analysis.

Defense

Players Used: Michel Salgado, Miguel Torres, Gabriel Heinze, Marcelo, Royston Drenthe, Cristoph Metzelder, Pepe, and Ezequil Garay

The defense looked quite solid in all the matches, the center backs-Pepe, Metzelder, and Garay were exceptional, so were the right-backs.

Michel Salgado did not look like he was 33 years old and Metzelder looks hungry for a place in the squad and has put up three amazing performances. Pepe has been world-class, no mistakes from him, pretty solid at the back. Miguel Torres and Garay were decent, too.

The only problem in defense was the left-back position, which was constantly being attacked in every match and Marcelo and Drenthe weren't looking exactly at ease while defending, letting the teams create their attacks.

The possible remedy for the left-back problem is Alvaro Arbeloa, who would be confirmed as a Real Madrid player today, although Arbeloa is a right-back, he will be deployed as left-back—the position where he has played some matches for Liverpool.

Midfield

Players Used: Esteban Granero, Fernando Gago, Lassana Diarra, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, Tebar, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van der Vaart, Guti, Dani Parejo

The center of midfield is a quite worrisome place for Real Madrid, the pairing of Gago and Lass is truly annoying to watch, as neither Gago or Lass can deliver exceptional defense-splitting passes.

Gago may be called as the next Redondo, but surely he isn't, he shows his brilliance in patches, otherwise he is as dull as anything. Lass has been brilliant but he has been guilty of stupid passing and dribbling unnecessarily. But the ball recovery from Gago and Lass has been good and even Pellegrini pointed that out.

Passing from Guti was off too, he was nowhere near his best. But he was working really hard.

Cristiano Ronaldo came to his "running all over the defense" self the previous game only, and will get into his rhythm after a game or two more. Arjen Robben was okay, not great.

Esteban Granero, whatever praise given to him will fall short of describing his quality, possibly the brightest spark in the Real Madrid midfield at the moment. He even got the most amazing welcome against Al-Itihad, the crowd was chanting his name although he played just 20 minutes in his Bernabeu debut.

Granero scored one and assisted one against Liga de Quito. It was nice to see his pirate celebration—he covers one of his eye with his hand as if his hand was an eye-patch. Surely Granero would be better than Gago, he should be starting ahead of Gago.

Attack

Players Used: Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Raul, Alvaro Negredo

All the forwards except for Pipita (Higuain) have scored, Higuain looks nothing like he was in the season, his touch is off and the disappointment is clearly reflected on his face, he showed his brilliant side for 10-15 minutes against Liga de Quito but then turned off.

Gonzalo Higuain is a fighter, he will get his act together and his brilliant self will be back in a match or two.

Karim Benzema has impressed many. His touch, to put it in MEM's words, is awesome. Everyone expects big things from him, and he won't disappoint.

Raul's performances improved immensely after the match against Shamrock Rovers, and he is showing just why he is still there.

Alvaro Negredo had missed the first game of The Peace Cup, Alvaro Negredo—"The Wild Animal"—made his presence felt, he is definitely a hard-worker. He could have scored two goals against Liga de Quito but one of his close range attempt was save by the LDQ keeper.

If Negredo is kept, surely he will make quite an impact. But his position on the team is not promised, though he can surely fight for it. I believe he should do what is best for his career.

The BIGGEST Problem

The left-back problem may be called the biggest problem but, it's not.

The BIGGEST problem is: Set-Plays.

Real Madrid looked awful in set-plays, be it while attacking or defending.

Real Madrid gave all of the three goals away on set-plays, two corners and a free-kick.

Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kicks were always away from the goal and Guti's distribution from free-kicks was awful too.

The corner kicks were the most fun to watch, out of numerous corner kicks, Guti kept on firing away from the box or onto the opponent's head, laughable really.

The first corner kick Granero took landed in the goal after the header from Metzelder.

Solution: Stop Guti from taking corners, and Cristiano from free-kicks.

The performances have been okay currently, and Real Madrid will surely get better with the return of Kaka, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Raul Albiol, and the problems would rectify with time. It will be sunny in Madrid.

Note: I have purposefully left out the goalkeeper part. As Saint Iker would be returning, and he would be the one playing no matter what.

Would appreciate the honest feedback about my first analysis piece, so that I can improve in future articles.

I think I don't thank them enough:

Maire Ofeire: Thank you for your kind support and reading each and everyone of my pieces even if they were of Real Madrid. (Same goes for you Eddy, MEM, Rocky)

AVR: Thanks bro, thanks for all the time you have spent "previewing" my articles before publishing.

Alex Dimond: Surely, I have seen no one better at editing. And sorry to bug you on Facebook, asking you to edit my article. You are very helpful.

Real Madrid Exercise The Buy-Back Clause And Bring Back Esteban Granero

Deepak Israni — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:53:04 -0400

Yesterday at 18:30 EST (European-Standard Time), Real Madrid exercised the buy-back clause in Esteban Granero's contract. Granero was sold to Getafe last season with a buy-back clause, after his one-year loan stint at Getafe.

The buy-back clause would have expired on July 31, 2009.

A similar buy-back clause had been used by Real Madrid earlier this summer in the case of Alvaro Negredo.

This clause enables Real Madrid to buy their players back at prices cheaper than the market value. Negredo's market value was €15 million but Real bought him back for €5 million.

Granero's current market value is in the range of €10 million but Real Madrid have bought him back for €4 million, only €1 million more than the price at which they sold him.

Unlike Negredo, who has an option to either sign for another club or stay at Real Madrid, Granero has been bought to play in the first-team.

Granero is a very versatile player who plays in the center of midfield but can also play on both the wings. (If you want to know more about Granero, read "Why Real Madrid Should Bring Esteban Granero Back")

Manuel Pellegrini had also shown a lot of interest in Granero and there were reports that Real Madrid were looking at Granero as an option if they were unsuccessful in capturing Xabi Alonso.

The signing of Esteban Granero might come as a relief for Liverpool fans, but they should not be happy yet as it is not certain that Real Madrid have cooled their interest in Xabi Alonso.

Esteban Granero was set to leave for a tour of Germany with Getafe, but he will stay back and sign a contract at the Bernabeu, which states that Granero would be with Real Madrid for four years and will get €2.8 million in the first year and €3.2 million for the remaining years.

And in other Real Madrid news:

Javi Garcia has been sold to Benfica for €7 million.
Alberto Bueno and Cristopher Schorch of the Real Madrid Castilla have been sold to Valladolid and FC Koln respectively.
Olympique Marseille's president is in Madrid to negotiate for the signing of Gabriel Heinze.

Note: Deepak Israni wishes the best of luck to Javi Garcia, Alberto Bueno, and Cristopher Schorch, may they be succesful in their careers. Deepak also wishes that Heinze should leave as early as possible, so that he can wish the best of luck to Olympique Marseille—they would need it after signing Heinze.

Real Madrid: The Price Is Actually Right

Deepak Israni — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:23:41 -0400

A quick read over the headline, you must be thinking that Deepak Israni is at it again, trying to defend Real Madrid.

Well, No! This time I am here to speak the truth—like I always do. Someone has to stand up for the most hated club on Bleacher Report.

After the signing of Benzema, Kaka ,and Cristiano Ronaldo many have been ranting, "Real Madrid is spending too much, harming economy, causing inflation in the prices of players, blah blah blah and a little more blah."

These type of articles come out from Real Madrid haters, and that is obvious in either their articles, or in their comments.

After going on a few articles like “Real are big spenders” or “Real Madrid spending is bad” and commenting on them, I have stopped commenting on such articles because I have learned that commenting won't solve anything. So I decided to write this article.

Now where was I?

Ah! Yes, I was going to talk about how Real Madrid, are actually right in spending that amount of money.

But first, I would like to point out the hypocrisy prevailing, these (Madrid-haters) were the people calling Real Madrid's team and I quote "an average bunch of players," when Real were losing.

And when Real Madrid did something about their recently acquired "average" status, they started whining again, saying that Real Madrid already have "world-class" players and the signings they made were unnecessary.

What?

How did those "average" players become "world-class" when Real Madrid started acquiring players? Beats me!

Okay, now your true hypocritical and biased face is revealed, I would like to continue with my article, I'll explain how each signing is justified.

Raul Albiol from Valencia

A defender was always needed in Real Madrid after the departure of Fabio Cannavaro so I don't need to explain much, and nobody has made a fuss about it either.

Kaka from AC Milan

Kaka was acquired by Real Madrid because the players who played for Madrid in his position are Wesley Sneijder and Rafael Van der Vaart. Both are highly injury prone and also failed to put up a decent string of performances last year.

Real Madrid signed Kaka for £56 million, which is £5 million less than Chelsea's bid. So actually this deal is a much smarter one then you guys make it out to be. Real Madrid paid less, yet managed to get Kaka. See that, Madrid are smart enough to get a killer deal.

Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyon

The only strikers available to Real Madrid before the signing were Gonzalo Higuain, Raul, and Javier Saviola. Out of these it would be wise not to count Saviola. So, Real Madrid had two strikers and needed another striker just in case, so they bought Klaas Jan Huntelaar. So this explains KJH at Real.

Now Benzema.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar failed to impress, Van Nistelrooy is very old and is injured a lot so he is a liability, Raul's getting old too, that leaves us with only one striker—Gonzalo Higuain. I hope it's clear now that another striker was needed. After the bid for David Villa failed, Real turned their eyes to Karim Benzema.

I don't know when it became criminal to buy replacements for your team.

Real Madrid signed Karim Benzema for €35 million which was €10 million less then the supposed Manchester United bid.

Oh look at that, another smart signing.

Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United

After the sale of Robinho, Real Madrid were left without a Right Winger. This in-turn showed upon Sergio Ramos's performances, as he had to cover up two positions—one of a Right Back and the second of a Right Winger.

A Right Winger was needed, and Real Madrid's interest in Cristiano was not hidden from anyone, and Real Madrid as everyone knows won't settle for someone else.

Okay, I agree Real Madrid paid a lot more for Cristiano, but they needed him!

And it's not Real Madrid's fault that everyone prices their player's higher for them, even Gago, Higuain and Pepe's teams were given way more money than their market value.

I hope it's clear to you guys that this situation is not really Real Madrid's fault.

However, if you do feel that Madrid are big, mindless spenders, then I would like to borrow a leaf out of my friend AVR's book and say, please eat yourself.

Muchas Gracias.

Hala Madrid!

Note: Deepak Israni would like to thank the Liverpool fan with a bit of Madrismo-AVR for his help in reviewing this article before publishing.

Emanuel Adebayor Leaving, Then Why This Sense of Insecurity?

Deepak Israni — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:16:05 -0400

Before starting the article I have to confess that I belong to the group that really thinks that Ade's Owen-style Brochure was justified, I belong to the group that believes Adebayor should be packed in a bag and sold to whoever can pay the most—I belong to the majority which consists of Gooners and Gunners alike.

I should be happy now that Manchester City are willing to give us £25 million for a useless bag that remains in an offside position for 99 percent of the match.

But WHY am I not feeling content or happy that Adebayor deal is nearly done? I was jumping and running on the streets when I first heard the news, even gave a POTD vote to an article which said that "Ade's On His Bike to Manchester."

Then why is there a sense of insecurity creeping inside me?

I tried to shrug it off, but couldn't! All I could do is find the reasons for the insecurity. Maybe I am blowing things out of proportion like I always do after reading some random news or article on the internet, or maybe this time I am not?

I have this nagging feeling that Greedybayor may actually come good after being sold to Manchester City and score many goals which might kick Arsenal out of the "big four", I might say Manchester United have the highest chance of missing out on a Champions League spot next year, but everyone knows I am just kidding myself, or I need to cut back on Marijuana.

Okay so Greedybayor might not come good for Manchester City and they will not make their place in the top four, but Arsenal will be in need to find a replacement, thank you Maire Ofeire for pointing that in your article about David Trezeguet!

Yes, Arsenal have many strikers but if you look closely, they are all supporting strikers be it Robin Van Persie, Andrei Arshavin, Eduardo da Silva—who played one match and was in the recovery room the next, or the "unproven" Carlos Vela and Jay Simpson.

The only "hitman" Arsenal possess is Nicklas Bendtner, who is really talented and smart, but he just can't finish. He just needs a little time to become a good finisher, but I am sorry with Manchester City's rise Arsenal don't have that "time."

The supposed replacements lined up for Greedybayor don't give that much hope either-Marouane Chamakh, Obafemi Martins, and Demba Ba(?) aren't promised to be better than Adebayor.

Only Edin Dzeko and Klaas Jan Huntelaar look like a better option of than Ade, but with many teams after them, even with the added £25 million, Arsenal do not look like winning their signatures, maybe Arsenal can, but I doubt it.

Arsenal missing out on Melo hasn't persuaded me to suggest that Arsenal can't get their signatures, it's the fact that Milan are after Dzeko and Milan is Dzeko's favorite team and Wolfsburg aren't in need of any money even if Arsenal try to out-bid Milan. And Klass-Jan Huntelaar is in very advanced talks with Stuttgart.

Maybe Arsenal do not need a new striker or maybe Obefami Martins, Marouane Chamakh, or Demba Ba (seriously, I have never heard of this guy) would be a great player for us. Or maybe Arsenal might just strike a deal with Huntelaar or Dzeko.

Maybe my worries are far-fetched, maybe Manchester City would rise but someone other than Arsenal will take a fall or maybe Manchester City will finish outside the top four, I don't have anything more than the word "maybe" to console myself.

Do something Mr Arsene Wenger, then "maybe" I'll not worried about Arsenal.

Note: Deepak Israni does not smoke Marijuana, nor does he promotes the usage of drugs, Drugs are NOT cool, stay away from drugs.

Greedybayor(TM) is trademarked by Awesome(TM) Eldin. Ask Awesome Eldin-You don't need drugs to be awesome(TM).

What If There Was a Qudditch Team Of Football Players

Deepak Israni — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:55:35 -0400

First up, I wish I was this creative, but I am not. This is all Jeremy Kaufman's idea, he has already made a slide-show in which players from all the sports are included, it's a must read and more importantly it's a must POTD (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/217465-if-quidditch-were-a-real-sport-which-athletes-would-be-playing). Jeremy created this in tribute to the new movie, the difference starts here, I HATE the movies of Harry Potter, they are all snipped up and shortened and my slide-show is a tribute to the book series and it features only the football players. Note: Prior permission has been taken by Deepak Israni to use the idea.

Begin Slideshow

Why Real Madrid Should Bring Juan Mata Back

Deepak Israni — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:18:01 -0400

The recent "news" that FC Barcelona—the team who "creates" players, was preparing a bid to capture a Real Madrid Cantera product and my favorite Canterano Juan Mata (Esteban Granero is also my favorite, remember?) has made me write this article. It's hard enough to see him not play for Real Madrid, and the link to Barcelona is killing me.

Juan Manuel Mata had always been one of the brightest players in the Real Madrid Cantera. Mata was part of the RM Castilla (reserves team) when RM Castilla was brimming with brilliant players like Negredo, Jurado, Alberto Bueno, Granero, and Antonio Adan, to name a few.

Mata joined Real Madrid's academy at the age of 15, and swiftly progressed through the junior teams and landed in RM Castilla at the age of 18, owing to his brilliant performances.

Mata joined Valencia in March 2007, in his first season at Valencia, Mata benefitted from the injuries to the left-winger Vicente. Mata impressed many in his first season and became the first choice left winger over Vicente, which is a big feat in itself.

In the 2008-09 season, Mata was the first choice left-winger for Valencia and started 35 matches and scored 11 and assisted 13. Mata even broke in the Spanish national team, and has made two appearances for the La Furia Roja.

Mata is an extremely smart player, he's good at reading the game, delivering the passes, making smart runs to the box and can link-up with strikers very easily.

The player that missed his link-up ability the most is Alberto Bueno, because with Mata as his partner Bueno scored 37 goals in 37 appearances for the Juvenil team, and since Mata has left Bueno hasn't been able to score that many goals.

There are reports that Real Madrid are in the market to replace Arjen Robben—a left winger.

Even if they are not in the market, they should replace the talented but greedy and injury-prone winger Arjen Robben with Mata, here's why:

Mata is a team player and is very good at passing the ball, whereas you hardly see Robben passing. Robben assisted a mere six times, seven less than Mata.
Mata is nearly injury-free, he played 12 more games than Robben.
Mata scored 11 goals last season, four more than Robben.
With Mata, Real Madrid won't have to hear silly excuses like, "I have finished from there before." - If asked why did he take the shot instead of sliding the ball to Higuain.

I love Arjen Robben and what he has done for the club, I still like him. But Arjen will be replaced and any other replacement will cost a whole load of money whereas Mata would come cheap at €10-15 million.

My mind is made up, I want Mata back. I hope Perez and Pellegrini make their minds up too, and buy what should have been ours a long time ago.

I Know Arsenal Won't Buy Him, But Still I Will Suggest: Mahamadou Diarra

Deepak Israni — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:11:14 -0400

I Know Arsenal Won't Buy Him, But Still I Will Suggest: Introduction to The Series

We all play FIFA Manager and imagine if we could do it for real. Well if I were Arsene Wenger, there are some players that I would like to buy, Arsenal probably won't, but I believe they would be useful additions. In this series I will look at those players and their pros and cons, and how they would fare for Arsenal.

Arsenal Community Leaders Maire Ofeire and Shyam Parthasarathi, and Eddy Hirono the creator of "The Three Transfers Road To Improvement" series would also be doing one article each in the series.

In this edition of the series, I will look at a really "strong" contender for Arsenal's defensive midfielder position.

Mahamadou Diarra: Fact-File

Age: 28
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Current Club: Real Madrid
National Team: Mali

Mahamadou Diarra is a hard-tackling defensive midfielder and is famed to be good at reading plays and breaking them. When at Lyon, he was compared by many to Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira.

M. Diarra joined Real Madrid in 2006 for a fee of €26 Million, and since then was the first choice defensive midfielder for the Madrid based club, he has won the La Liga two times with Real Madrid.

Diarra usually doesn't get injured much, but he injured his knee in an international match against Chad in October 2008, he again injured that knee in November and had to undergo surgery and had to miss the remaining season.

Mahamadou Diarra to Arsenal: Pros and Cons

Pros:

He is very good at reading and breaking plays.
He has truck-loads of experience.
He doesn't get injured often.
He is also good in the air.
More consistent than Song, Denilson, or Diaby.
Real Madrid want to clear out excess players, and Mahamadou falls in that category after the arrival of Lass.

Cons:

He hasn't played a match for eight months now.
At €20 Million (his selling price), Real Madrid won't be making any discounts. And other teams are rumored to be interested in him.
He will miss a few matches due to the African Cup of Nations.

Conclusion:

Mahamadou is everything Arsenal need—a strong, hard-tackling and experienced midfielder who is also good in the air, he would also get us a goal or two from set-pieces with his aerial abilities. And his experience would also benefit Song, Denilson, and Diaby in their development. And his cons aren't that convincing that I decide against signing him.

Note: Gooners you are free to write articles in this series, as long as you follow the format and don't forget to mention me in your article. Also you have to contact me first with your choice of player so that we don't see many articles for a same player.

Why Real Madrid Should Bring Esteban Granero Back

Deepak Israni — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:10:07 -0400

Remember my first article about the Cantera, I explained why many Canteranos left Real Madrid, today I am going to talk about my favorite Esteban Granero (Mata is my favorite too) and why Real Madrid should sign him back.

Esteban Granero Molina also known as Mr. Versatile umm...well he is not really known as Mr. Versatile he's know as El Pirata (The Pirate), but he is versatile nonetheless, he can play in the center of the midfield as well as on both the wings.

Granero might not have the stats (goals and assists) to show for how good he plays, but he is truly exceptional. Granero is a highly mobile player who has good vision, a high work rate, and is a hard tackler (not a very accurate one but goes in hard nonetheless) and also has a good shot from distance.

He is one part enforcer and one part playmaker, what Ruben De La Red was for Real Madrid in the 10 games he played and what was missed by Real at the end of the season (come on, delivering long hopeful balls for Higuain and Raul to chase is not called "passing").

When Granero was loaned to Getafe in the 2007-08 season, he and Ruben De La Red took Getafe to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, and at the start of the 2008-09 season, he was sold to Getafe with an option to re-buy him.

What makes me upset is that Ramon Calderon kept and signed players like Gago and Drenthe but sold a player like Granero, who is clearly better than both of them.

As Granero is in Getafe, I could only watch him play two matches this season, one against Barcelona and the other against his former club Real Madrid.

Match against Barcelona:

Granero did not start the match and in the first half Barcelona were dominating Getafe to such an extent that the ball stayed in the Getafe half. At the start of second half Granero was introduced on the right wing, he was winning the balls from Barcelona and started all the attacks for Getafe, they came close but couldn't score and the match ended 1-0 in the favour of Barcelona. Impressive stuff from Granero.

Match against Real Madrid:

Granero started the match against Real Madrid on the right wing and assisted Soldado to put Getafe 1-0 up, Granero was becoming too hard to stop for Real Madrid and drew two yellow cards from Rafael Van der Vaart and Royston Drenthe. Granero was the pivot of both of the counter attacks, one in which Pepe got the red card and the other in which Getafe scored their second, however Real Madrid did manage to win with Higuain's late goal, the scoreline 3-2.

Granero could have played for the Spanish National team in the Confedarations Cup but some rules had bound him as he was playing with the Spanish U-21 squad in the European Championship.

I still believe that instead of going for Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid should buy back Granero, a similar type of player but way cheaper and of our own academy, plus he has something more to offer than Xabi, which is serving as a back-up for the wingers

Granero is still in his development phase and a good manager like Pellegrini and world class players like Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in the team can do him a world of good.

Florentino Perez wants the best of the Cantera, best of foreign players, and best of Spanish players in his team. In my opinion bringing Granero—a future Spanish international—would help him kill two birds with one stone.

Raul: The Figure Of Consistency, Should He Step Down?

Deepak Israni — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:11:19 -0400

Raul joined Real Madrid's academy in 1992, and earned first team status in 1994 at the age of 17.

Since then Raul has won many trophie, and individual honours with Real Madrid, while having been the most important component of the club's setup.

Raul has always been a consistent goalscorer except for three seasons (2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06) when he was played out of his position, while the club had changed six managers.

But in the reign of Bernd Schuster, he regained his form and bagged 18 goals in 37 La Liga appearances, same as the season gone by.

Raul is the all-time leading goalscorer for Real Madrid in La Liga with 316 goals, the leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League with 64 goals and the leading goalscorer for Spain with 44 goals, which just goes to show the importance of Raul.

Now, with the arrival of Karim Benzema to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid have got five striking options (Nistelrooy, Raul, Higuain, Benzema, and Huntelaar), provided they keep Huntelaar and Nistelrooy.

Raul's stats are incomparable to any others on the team but Raul is no longer the player he used to be.

He used to have pace and could create his own chances and finish like anything but now the things he has remaining are his touch and his ability to finish.

Now everyone at Real Madrid has a big question to answer:

Should Raul sit out on the bench?

Yes, he should.

Real Madrid also have Gonzalo Higuain who is also the same type of player as Raul and he has everything needed to be the successor of Raul, he has the skills and finishing and more importantly pace which Raul does not have.

Throughout the season Higuain created the chances for others and himself when the midfield didn't provide, which clearly is not Raul's piece of cake anymore.

It is a sure thing that Benzema would be in the starting 11 for the next season, but if Raul is also in the starting 11, that would mean Higuain would be wasting his precious years by sitting out on the bench, which is not a good thing for Higuain's career, even Raul is full of praise or Higuain, Raul should sit out for Higuain.

Raul should become a player/coach, helping Benzema, Higuain and other young strikers of the club.

No, He shouldn’t.

Raul has always performed for Real in every season for 16 years, he is a legend of the club.

So what if he's 31, he is scoring important goals every season and aren't goals what matter?

Plus Higuain is just 21 and is too inexperienced, someone as experienced as Raul sitting out is just stupidity.

Also Raul has a "contract for life" (his contract will be renewed annually for as long as he plays 30 games per season) which means if he sits on the bench and does not play 30 matches, his contract is over and he would have to retire at some other club, it's a shame if your legend retires at some other club.

Personally, I think Raul sitting on the bench and changing his role to a player/coach would be a good thing for everyone, Higuain should get what he deserves.

What do you feel, should Raul sit on the bench?

Note: I would like to thank Abhimanyu Vinay Rajput, who helped me sort out the article before publishing. Thanks again AVR.

My First Experience of a Summer Transfer Window

Deepak Israni — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:03:43 -0400

Real Madrid was the first football club I ever saw on television. I watched their match and saw them dominate a team, and I knew in just five minutes that this was the team I had to support—maybe because I was 10 and liked the colour white.

'Til the age of 16, two years ago, Real Madrid was the only club I supported. But after my friend made me watch a match of Arsenal, I fell in love with Arsenal's style of play.

Due to my studies (my family focuses a lot on studies), I wasn't able to watch any matches (just some highlights if I was lucky enough), but this year was different.

I had completed my schooling and this was my "drop" year, so I had a lot of time to kill, so I thought to pursue my new favorites Arsenal (Real Madrid was not an option as the telecast of the matches in my country is very late in the night, but I still managed to sneak out of bed and watch a decent number of matches).

This season saw my obsession with football grow. I started remembering who was playing who and when and also the scorelines of the matches. Tried to gather as much information as I could about Arsenal, Real Madrid, and the up-and-coming talented players (Marko Marin, David Moreno, Jack Wilshere, Sotiris Ninis, etc) from YouTube, blogs, forums etc.

My first full season is followed by the craziest transfer window ever (So, I have heard), Ancelotti arriving at Chelsea and Roman Abramovich giving him the funds to rebuild the team, Bayern going crazy after losing the Bundesliga and spending truckloads, Perez returning to the Bernabeu and also wants to rebuild the team and wants to spend three years worth of transfer money in a single year, Manchester City spending loads too, Arsenal buying a player early and so on.

But I have learned a few things from my first summer transfer window, that I would like to share:

All your favorite players will be linked to another team, if your favorite team is Arsenal/Liverpool.
You never believe a news in which they claim that the news came from their "insider", their "insider" is actually their imagination.
If the player is the leading scorer of the League/Team, he is bound to be someone's target.
Setanta Sports will try to crush rumors which weren't even there. (eg. Sniejder snubs a move to Arsenal—When was Sniejder linked with Arsenal?)
New managers will always be linked to the old players they once worked with. (Pellegrini with Lucho Gonzales and Diego Godin, Ancelotti with almost every player in AC Milan)
Many players who are "NOT for Sale" end up being sold to another club.
Every Tom, Dick & Harry is a target of Manchester City, Chelsea or Real Madrid. (Even though it is not true).
Many substitutes will want a move away in search for first team action.

Note: I have tried to simplify what I have learned from the transfer window. If there is anything that I have not learned yet, I would like to learn it so it would be very kind of you to mention it in my comments. Thanks for reading.

Gonzalo Higuain: The Hero Of Last Season, Not Forgotten By Real Madrid

Deepak Israni — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:11:53 -0400

Born in Brest, France, Gonzalo "Pipita" Higuain the son of Argentine footballer Jorge Higuain signed for Real Madrid at the age of 19 from River Plate and was not known until he was signed for Real Madrid.

Higuain was somewhat of "super-sub" scoring and assisting crucial goals coming off the bench for Real Madrid. Until Rudd Van Nistelrooy's injury last season, Gonzalo was somewhat of a fan favorite before that, but this season he cemented his place in every Madridistas's heart.

Pipita scored 22 goals and assisted nine times in his 34 La Liga appearances, including the winner against Valencia in the final of the Supercopa de Espana.

After Florentino Perez was declared the new president of Real Madrid there were rumors that Gonzalo might be sold as he was the signed by the former President Ramon Calderon. But Predrag Mijatovic the former Director Of Football for Real Madrid advised Perez to keep Higuain and even give him a better contract before stepping down.

And recently Jorge Valdano the Director General of Real Madrid came out and said that Higuain has earned his right to stay in the club. Higuain already has a contract with Real Madrid till 2013, Now an improved contract which he deserves might be offered to him soon, crushing all the rumors of a move away from Madrid.

This has also shown that Perez would not mind keeping the players signed under the presidency of Ramon Calderon, which is good news for the fans and the players of Real Madrid.

Real Madrid Relegated to the Segunda Division (Satire)

Deepak Israni — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:35:20 -0400

The 2009-10 season has ended in even more misery for the Madrid side as they lost the last match to their bitter rivals Barcelona on the last day of the season. Real Madrid were relegated to the Segunda Division way before the last game.

The big money signings Ronaldo and Kaka had failed them even before the season started. As both of them wanted the nine numbered jersey, and as both of them have highly inflated egos, none backed out of that fight.

The fight grew so much so that both Kaka and Ronaldo packed their bags and returned to their homes and started training for the World Cup and Perez like their Daddy tried to end their fight, but none of them wanted to return to Madrid as Perez wanted both of them to play together.

Perez could not even sell them as no one had the money to meet Real's valuation and buy them or even give them their complete salaries if they matched the valuation as none of the two would accept a pay-cut.

So Real Madrid had to start their season with their depleted squad as they had sold nine players (Heinze, Robben, Van Der Vaart, Sneijder, Van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Drenthe, Saviola and M. Diarra) without searching and buying their replacements.

So Real Madrid had to put out their weakest side full of their academy players (who suck by the way) with their new "average" manager. Real Madrid had already changed their target to a mid-table finish.

Real Madrid started their campaign against the recently promoted Tenerife, Tenerife took full advantage of the highly incompetitive defense of Real Madrid and put eight past Iker Casillas and Real Madrid with the lone goal of Gonzalo Higuain lost the match 8-1.

People expected Real to bounce back but they kept aside the fact they no longer had the services of Heinze at Left Back and also that they had sold the really fast, young and injury free Rudd Van Nistelrooy.

But Real did bounce back the next match against Sporting Gijon and scored two goals and gave away only four, a real improvement indeed.

Real Madrid started to put up a string of decent performances but had no points to show for it as they lost those games 2-1 or 1-0 but after a few matches their bad form came back to haunt them and Real Madrid started losing with bigger margins.

It looked as though January couldn't come early for Real Madrid, but they had already taken so much loan in buying Ronaldo and Kaka and paying their salaries that they could not afford to buy another player.

Meanwhile the fans were not angry as Perez had promised entertainment and that's what was served as Real Madrid lost many games with the scoreline 8-1, 6-2, 7-2, Hell, if goals aren't entertaining then what is?

Real Madrid were starting to pay off their loans with the shirt sales (€1,000 per shirt), Many expected that no one would buy Ronaldo or Kaka's shirts but even at that price people were buying those shirts as they were pretty darn comfortable.

Real Madrid with seven matches to go were already relegated but they had one thing to cheer about that they would go debt free to the Segunda Division.

In the last seven matches Real Madrid started to really come around and managed four draws against Valladolid, Osasuna, Malaga and Atletico Madrid.

This was a really bad season for Los Blancos as they finished with just four points. The Madristas are looking forward to return to La Liga in four or five years. Some are also saying that if Perez would have learned something and bought some defenders first then maybe a mid-table finish could have been achieved successfully.

Many of the writers at b/r who said that Real Madrid would win the La Liga this year have changed their names and have closed their accounts permanently and left their homes to live in a jungle.

Note: I have been following the Real Madrid section of b/r very very carefully and I have been reading many things which I am not very happy about and I hope THIS takes care of everything, Gracias.

Real Madrid Cantera: Five Players To Look Out For

Deepak Israni — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:17:09 -0400

As I have already mentioned in my previous article about the Real Madrid Cantera, many good young players have previously left the club due to the club's bad youth policy, but not all the good players have left and some new players have also recently joined the Cantera. Below are the few players still in Real Madrid's Cantera that are worth noticing:

1. Antonio Adan

Team: Real Madrid Castilla
Age: 22
Position: Goalkeeper

The captain of Real Madrid Castilla (Reserves) was also the captain of the U19 Spanish Squad which won the European Championships in 2006. Although only 22, Adan shows promise and is considered by coaches as better than Iker Casillas (at his age) which is a major compliment in itself. Although he will never make it as the first choice keeper as Casillas for now is one of the best in the world, I expect him to easily make the bench or maybe a good team will find him as soon as he gets a few chances in the first team.

2. Pablo Sarabia

Team: Real Madrid Juvenil B
Age: 17
Position: Striker/Left Winger

Pablo Sarabia is a free scoring striker and is considered one of the most talented players in Spain let alone the RM Cantera. Arsene Wenger has tried twice in the previous year—and failed twice—in his attempts to bring him to Arsenal, When Arsene Wenger comes looking for you at the age of 16 that means you must have done something good. Proving that Arsene has great eye for talent, Sarabia was selected as the best player in the recently concluded Mundalito.

3. Alipio Duarte Brandao

Team: Real Madrid Juvenil A/Real Madrid C/Real Madrid Castilla
Age: 17
Position: Striker

Considered as little Ronaldo (the Brazilian one), Alipio has impressed many while playing for Real Madrid C and was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla, which shows the quality of the young Brazillian. Alipio is a good finisher and is known for his on the ball skills, Alipio was bought from Rio Ave the previous summer.

4. Derik Osede

Team: Real Madrid Cadeta A
Age: 15
Position: Central Defensive Midfielder

Derik Osede is a Spanish U16 international, and coaches at Madrid have already placed a lot of hope in him. Osede is a good physical player and is a decent distributor of the ball, much like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas of Arsenal. Derik is also good in the air and has a good shooting ability from range.

5. Samuel Saiz Alonso

Team: Real Madrid Juvenil A
Age: 18
Position: Striker

Samuel is a quality striker and is considered as the future of Real Madrid. Samuel is a proven goal scorer, scoring 117 goals in a season in the Benjamin category—then in 2006 he scored over 50 goals and became the all-time leading scorer for Real Madrid's youth teams.

Notes:

In the article picture: Antonio Adan
Video of Antonio Adan making saves was not available although there were videos of his warm up!
The scorer of the second Real Madrid goal is Pablo Sarabia.
Although Samuel Saiz has scored many goals not many videos are available. Even though his fan site is samuelsaiz9.com but he is the one wearing the number 10 jersey. The video included is his debut match for RM Castilla.

Real Madrid's New "Project" A Failure?

Deepak Israni — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:17:27 -0400

Real Madrid's new project is a sure shot failure, they are not signing any defenders, History will repeat itself, Real won't win anything.

Seems irritating doesn't it?

Well that's all I have been reading lately.

I am sorry, I had to start the article like that or else no one would have bothered to read this article.

Before I get to the point, I have to ask you a few questions, bear with me please.

How long has it been since the transfer window started?
Are you Florentino Perez, Jorge Valdano, Manuel Pellegrini, Zinedine Zidane or any of the member in Mr. Perez's team?

Let me answer these questions, it has only been 18 days and NO none of you are Florentino Perez, Jorge Valdano, Manuel Pellegrini, Zinedine Zidane or any of the member in Mr. Perez's team.

As I have clarified that you are none of the people above mentioned, I have to say one thing, only the people above mentioned know who Real are about to sign or maybe only Mr. Perez.

No one of you know the plans but still you go out and smash Real Madrid for not signing defenders and suggest the project as a failure even when the transfer window is only 18 days old (Today it's 18 days old and I have been reading that kind of stuff for over a week now). Most of you guys are not even Madristas and that's what bothers me the most!

But I have a theory prepared which is most likely to be true because I have done some researching as I do really care for the Los Blancos.

None of you bother to see what defenders are really linked with Real just because of a fact that the defenders are the ones which would come way cheaper than the attacking players and are least likely to make the headlines.

My Defender Theory

There is a high possibility that Alvaro Arbeloa could be returning to his home (Real Madrid) as Rafa Benitez is looking to sign Glen Johnson in that case we could see Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Arbeloa playing RB & LB or vice-versa and Pepe, Cristoph Metzelder & Ezequiel Garay filling the central positions in which Pepe and Garay look more likely.

Or:

We could see Arbeloa playing at right back and Sergio Ramos going to the center, yes you read it right the center. Sergio Ramos was bought by Perez to replace the great Fernando Hierro to play in the center and Sergio Ramos might be good attacking from the right flank but he has never been a pushover and would actually be a better central defender than Pepe.

And the other central defender would be Ezequiel Garay and most probably Pepe would be sold if he doesn't agree to sit on the bench.

And Ivan Marcano (Racing Santander) could be purchased to play left back or we could see Marcelo or Miguel Torres playing left back. Marcano, Torres and Marcelo are all decent defenders at least way better than Gabriel Heinze ever was for Real Madrid.

And as for substitute defenders Gary(CB), Opare(RB) and Chema Anton(LB) could step up from the reserves team (RM Castilla). (This holds good for both the theories)

Hope my theory can answer your questions about what Defenders Real Madrid can play, and all of you can stop predicting the failure of Mr. Perez's new "project" as all of the defenders mentioned above are decent.

Note: Fernando Hierro, Michel Salgado, Roberto Carlos and Ivan Helguera were not the world's best defenders when they signed but they all became great in Real Madrid.

Disclaimer: I am not to be blamed if the defenders I mentioned do not end up in the main team.

The project is a failure if 15 days remain in the transfer window and there is no sign of a defender on the doors of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. - Deepak Israni