Chelsea and Real Madrid: The Two Clubs Behind the Downfall of Various Talents

Before I begin, I would like to confirm the fact that quite a few clubs apart from Chelsea and Real are also responsible for the downfall of various talents.

It is Chelsea and Real Madrid, however, who are responsible for bringing the downfall of a lot of talents, and that is why I have singled them out. I like everything about Real Madrid except their transfer policy.

Michael Owen, David Beckham, Andriy Shevchenko, and Robinho all played for either Real or Chelsea in their careers.

Real Madrid have brought in yet another talent this week—Lassana Diarra from Portsmouth. The diminutive defensive midfielder made 23 appearances for Portsmouth, scoring once.

Real apparently brought him in for the injured Mahamadou Diarra. Diarra has made 64 appearances for Real since joining in 2006.

This brings me to a certain Michael Owen, currently playing for Newcastle United—a team which can’t even qualify for European competition. The in-form Michael Owen was signed from Liverpool in 2004 for Real. In his first season at Real, he scored 18 goals in 41 appearances.

However, Real brought in Julio Baptista and Robinho at the end of that season and Michael Owen was left out. Newcastle signed him for 16 million pounds.

David Beckham was signed by Real Madrid after ten years at Manchester United. He was out of favour with Fabio Capello towards the end of his contract in Spain, and so chose to move on in search of a new challenge. Beckham currently plays for LA Galaxy in a country dominated by basketball, hockey etc.

Robson de Souza, more commonly known as Robinho, was forced out of Real Madrid after three years at the club. He now plays for Manchester City, who are currently battling relegation.

Andriy Shevchenko was signed in 2006 along with Michael Ballack for Chelsea. After feuds with Mourinho, Sheva is back in AC Milan. In his two seasons at Chelsea, he scored a mere nine goals in 47 appearances.

“He [Roman Abramovich] used to tell me the only thing he cared about was that the players we signed had to be stronger than the ones we already had. I can't forget my four years at Chelsea” - Claudio Ranieri, Juve manager

Apparently even Sheva wasn’t good enough for Abramovich. Jurgen Klinsmann had once joked that if money was everything, then Chelsea would have won the Champions League by now. He was truly correct.

Chelsea and Real Madrid want their players to have immediate effect. All players need time. Money can buy the player but not the form of the player. The form absolutely depends on the player himself. The players of Man United or Arsenal didn’t adjust to their clubs on the very first day!

A good example is Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose. German coach Joachim Low and Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann gave him time. They got their reward. Klose scored a hat-trick against Finland to save his team from an embarrassing defeat. He also scored five goals in six games for Bayern in the Champions League this season.

Not everyone is Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored an astounding 25 goals in his first season at Real.

When Juande Ramos came in to Real, he knew he wouldn’t have to send anyone for talent scouting. He could just bring in a Franck Ribery or a Steven Gerrard very easily with money.

It was Claudio Ranieri who brought in the building blocks of Chelsea by buying Frank Lampard from West Ham and establishing John Terry’s place in the team. Luis Felipe Scolari has been busy adding Portuguese and Brazilians to the already big squad. Shaun Wright-Phillips lost his place in the squad and thus returned to Man City. He knew that with the new purchases, he wouldn’t be able to regain his place in the team.

Home-grown talents bring a certain additional beauty to the game. They are usually loyal to their clubs. Paul Scholes is one example. He has spent 17 years at Man United. He scored the only goal against Barcelona to lead his club to the final of the Champions League.

It is quite sickening when players are bought with a lot of money, but as soon as their respective forms desert them, they are left on the bench or sold to a smaller club.

Real are recently in poor form. They are bringing in more and more players. When Nistelrooy returns from injury, will Real make Huntelaar sit on the bench or will they sell him? When Mahamadou Diarra returns, what will happen to Lassana Diarra?

Ramon Calderon admitted that he had threatened to ruin Robinho’s career, thus forcing Robinho to leave. Will the same happen to Huntelaar or Diarra?

It remains to be seen.