It was one of the most shocking results in world football for some time when Real Madrid succumbed to a 4 – 1 aggregate defeat by lowly Alcorcon as they were unable to bounce back from their first leg defeat in the Copa del Rey. Before the second leg Pellegrini had insisted that their target was to win every competition this season; a target which is now clearly impossible. What is most appalling about this defeat is that Real Madrid who spent £229m in the previous transfer window and with their world class players could only manage to score one (1) goal in 180 minutes of football against a so called “village team” that was playing their first ever official match against a team from the top flight. At first when hearing the score line most would’ve guessed that Madrid featured a team that included most youngsters and fringe players, but even if that was the case it would still be considered an embarrassment. In contrast, the Real Madrid team featured nine international players and only four key players were left out [Casillas, Van der Vart, Ronaldo & Kaka].
So far this season the club has not lived up to the hype from pre-season and results have been mixed, losing their two biggest matches of the season so far against Sevilla and AC Milan. Unsurprisingly, the pressure is already mounting on Pellegrini and some are already calling for his head with only nine weeks gone in the campaign. A bit unreasonable as they are only trailing Barcelona by one point in the league and are joint top with AC Milan in their Champions League group and should easily qualify. The fact is that they haven’t been playing poor football but the players need more time to blend together in order to be the massive force that the fans want them to be.
It will be interesting to see Real Madrid’s reaction to this embarrassment and to see what the directors do regarding Pellegrini’s future. Jorge Valdano following this defeat has given Manuel Pellegrini his public support, stating that he has complete faith in the coach. But as we know with Real Madrid anything can happen. Today you have the support, next week you’re fired. Even if Pellegrini does manage to win the La Liga this season it doesn’t necessarily secure his job. Fabio Capello and Vicente Del Bosque can attest to that. My guess is that Pellegrini will be condemned for every single match Real Madrid lose this season regardless of the opposition and my best bet is that unless he is able to deliver both the La Liga and the Champion’s league he will be sacked in typical Madrid fashion.
List of Madrid coaches 2004 – 2009 (5 yrs)
José Antonio Camacho - 6 Matches
Mariano García Remón - 20 Matches
Vanderlei Luxemburgo - 45 Matches
Juan Ramón López Caro - 48 Matches
Fabio Capello - 50 Matches
Bernd Schuster - 75 Matches
Juande Ramos - 27 Matches
Manuel Pellegrini - 15 Matches (Current)
is its more like LOST Galacticos ... they can't seem to get anything going with CR9, as sad as that sounds with all the money that was spent to build this "Squad" ...
ReplyDeletei am still not sure why they got rid of Junade Ramos or even Fabio Capello ... it just looks like they will continue to disappoint in typical Madrid fashion ... Sevilla on the up and might pass them in the near future..
A true test of a team is how they respond after a bad result, and Real failed miserably. I didnt see the game myself, but after loosing to a unprofessional team by a margin like that, you respond with 7 or 8! Something is missing from this team, and i dont mean Ronaldo. With or without him, they have more than enough talent. I said from the very beginning that a soft spoken manager like Pellegrini is just not going to work with all those egos in the dressing room.
ReplyDeleteThey need someone like Sir Alex to put them in their place.
Wesley, im not sure how many Madrid matches you have seen this season, but you it the nail on the head... even when Ronaldo is playing they still look lost .. they have no order about them.. i think the people like Raul and Guti need to bench more often so that Van der Vaart and Higuain can get more playing time ..
ReplyDeletejust like how Raul was holding back the Spain
National Team i think he is doing the same for Real Madrid.. and i am still clueless on why Fabio Capello was sacked when he won them the La Liga title in the heights of the Ronaldinho era at Barcelona