No doubt the very title of my review may have raised several eyebrows, people wondering what could be possibly wrong with a team like Real Madrid. But I have never denied they are a good bunch of players, i'm here to discuss why they aren't the best 'team'.
DETAILS
Coach-Carlos Quiroz
Sponsors-Siemens Mobile, Adidas
Stadium-Santiago Bernabeau
Club existence since: 1902
Honours:
League Title-29 times
Spanish Cup Title-17 times
European Championship-9 times
League Cup-1 time
UEFA Supercup-2 times
UEFA Cup-1 time
Spanish Supercup-3 times
Intercontinental-6 times
And in spite of their achievements I don't think they are the best TEAM.This is why.
WHY REAL MADRID ARE NOT THE BEST TEAM
Well, the very word 'team' means a group of players working together.In Real Madrid's case, I've got to say the 'working together'bit is less than satisfactory. And that is the very difference between a team and a group.A group may be there but they need not work together whereas in a teamgame like football one needs to work together.
The Main Stars
Ronaldo:Very capable and flexible forward with awesome pace,capable of taking the game from the opposition on his own.
Morientes:A cunning and speedy striker with good sense of opportunity and touch. One of the best,in fact I for one feel his strike rate is better than Raul and he should be a starter.
Raul:He has come of age to be a central figure now doing both the scoring bit and feeding bit with great efficiency.
Figo:Generally a midfielder on the right wing,very skilfull with the ball equally adept to playing on the left.
Zidane:Probably the world's most beautiful player,an attacking midfielder may be the best phrase for him.He's got everything.
Beckham:Midfielder specialising on the right and centre.Great pace and stamina,no one's more lethal in dead ball situations and long range efforts.
Carlos:a supposed left back,but plays better on the left wing with awhole bag of tricks in his repertoire.
Salgado,Guti,Helguera:All better frontline players doing bad defending where they are often forced to play, REAL not having a realistic defence.
Casillas:above average goalkeeper A very rich and diverse assortment of players isn't it.but thats as far as it goes.They are in most cases a good agglomeration of players,not necessarily a good team.
How the REAL team works:
There is basically no fixed style of play,with offence being the main objective.Communication between Raul and Ronaldo is pretty good in the front. While Zidane and Carlos are on the same wavelength, i'd say Zidane doesn't click awfully well with Raul and Ronaldo.Figo seems to have a communication problem with everyone barring Carlos and Raul.Beckham is new and still isn't quite upto the mark.Morientes not being a regular has a bit of a problem with everyone. That was midfield and offence,what about the defence?Its a pathetic picture.Carlos maybe a defender of sorts but then more often than not,he does a better job up front and is seldom not found wantng at the back.Same goes for Salgado on the right.Helguera is a splendid attacking midfielder no doubt scoring 7 goals in the Champions league 2 seasons ago but because of being wasted at the back along wirh Guti who's a better shirt puller and ball watcher,he too has become sluggish.With such a hopeless defence one's got to feel for the keeper who often has to take blame.Makelele being the only silver lining in REAL's cloudy defence is the only real link betwen the defenders and midfield.But then he too due to payment and other disputes is refusing to play for the club and that can only spell a future disaster for the club.
The problem
So,like you must have guessed ,the reason behind REAL not being a great team is the team's coordination and secondly the management who keep buying players without keeping in mind the balance of the team. However,when you have,just about all the best players,a couple of them will almost always have a good day which reflect in the team's achievements.and on everyone's bad day there's hell to pay like the defeat at the hands of Real Mallorca(1-5),after taking an early lead,or the enconter with the below average Athletico madrid. Time and again it hasn't taken a star studded team necessarily but a well balanced one to remind REAL of their shortcomings like Juventus,RealSociedad,Manchester Utd. etc have done last season.Relying so much on individual talent,when most players don't click in the team,its not much more than a cakewalk for the opposition through their all too friendly defence.They maybe able to spread eagle any team's defence on their day but so can the opposition with much more ease.
Why I still recommend the team?
Well,although I don't hink much of their teamwork, with 4 world players of the year and oher stars almost all football lovers will have thei r favourite players at this club.And if individual skill and play is what you want(what most ar fascinated by) Real Madrid is the team.You see, even if they lose, skillful free style of football will always be on display,which is why I still kind of like the club in spite of its shortcomings.
Current Implications
Going by the slack performance of the team in Asia and an equally below par performance versus Valencia in the friendly, it does spell danger signs for the team especially defensively. No doubt if they get their act together they would be next to invincible but that's a big 'if'. Let's hope for the sake of football they do and rightfully earn the title of ''BEST TEAM''.
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