Madrid Sell Two Dutchmen, But Were They The Wrong Ones?

Puneet Singh

With the saga of Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan finally over, people can stop reading the mularky of his on and off deal with the La Beneamata. Jose Mourinho finally captured his man and for a cut rate price of £15 million, a steal for the dynamic dutchman. He'll be a staple in the center of the park making a nice duo with either Sulley Muntari or Esteban Cambaiasso. Madrid's loss.

In addition to Madrid selling Sneijder to Inter, they also found it necessary to sell Arjen Robben; this time in a deal to Bayern Munich for £25 million and nothing in a deal that solidifies Franck Ribery coming to the Bernabeau.

Wesley Sneijder was purchased for £27 million while Robben was brought in for £24 million, meaning a combined £51 million for the Dutch duo. The fact that they were sold a lot cheaper than what they should've been sold at shows that Madrid are just trying to minimize their debt from their lavish sprending spree this summer. (Those who argue that there is a £1 million profit on Robben must realize he can fetch at least £30 million if Madrid weren't desperate to move him).

Their sales were an insult to both the players and Madrid supporters.

Sneijder is a world class CM and was vital to Madrid's success in 2007-2008. He insisted over and over again that he didn't want to leave, yet was forced out the door by Florentino Perez.

The case of Robben is much worse. Robben is by many standards amongst the top wingers in the world; in the same conversation as Franck Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. While Messi and Ronaldo are on their own planet, Robben is only a notch below them. A proven success in the Premier League with Chelsea and then his successful run in La Liga with Madrid, he is one of Holland's more accomplished players. With all the big names coming to Madrid this summer, Robben was the one who's spot was supposidely safe and wouldn't be sold.

Little did we know that two of Madrid better and consistent performers would be sold.

Robben and Ribery on the flanks for Bayern will give them THE BEST Winger tandem in all of the world. A midfield of Ribery-Van Bommel-Schweinsteiger-Robben is better than most can imagine. Great pickup for Bayern as it is a steal.

With Sneijder to Inter, Jose is handing him the keys to the offense and letting him be the playmaker for Eto'o, Milito and Ballotelli.

The big question now arises. Why were two players who could fight for and deserve a place on the Madrid squad sold, when two players who clearly want out (Rafael Van Der Vaart and Ruud Van Nistelrooy) are still here?

Pellegrini said himself that he wanted Van Der Vaart out and Sneijder to stay. Sneijder offers more to the team with his versatility, work rate and skill than Van Der Vaart does. Even Esteban Granero has more to offer than Van Der Vaart. And Van Nistelrooy now seems the odd man out with the addition of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain and Raul still at forward.

It is still possible that Van Der Vaart and Van Nistelrooy both leave too? More than likely yes. But how do Madrid fix the sale of Wes and Arjen? Hopefully Guti can turn the clock back and De La Red's condition gets better or they have a gem in the Cantera. Otherwise, when someone goes down, they're gonna be thin on the flanks and kiss the creativity good bye.

UEFA Awards, Champions League Draw for 2009 And A Preview

Puneet Singh

Here's a recap of today's events in the footballing world dealing with the Champions League meeting that was held in Monaco, France.

Awards:

UEFA Goal Keeper of The Year: Edwin Van Der Sar, Manchester United (ENG).

Runners Up: Petr Cech of Chelsea FC (ENG) and Victor Valdes of FC Barcelona (ESP)

(Presented by Victor Maia, keeper for the 2004 FC Porto team that won the CL that year.)

UEFA Defender of The Year: John Terry, Chelsea FC (ENG).

Runners Up: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United (ENG) and Gerard Pique, FC Barcelona (ESP).

(Presented by Paolo Maldini, Five Time winner, Eight Time Finalist during his 25 year career; all of which was with AC Milan.)

UEFA Midfielder of The Year: Xavi Hernandez, FC Barcelona (ESP).

Runners Up: Andres Iniesta, FC Barcelona (ESP) and Steven Gerard, Liverpool FC (ENG).

(Presented by Luis Figo, winner of the 2002 Champions League with Real Madrid.)

UEFA Forward of The Year: Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona (ESP).

Runners Up: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United (ENG) and Samuel Eto'o, FC Barcelona (ESP).

(Presented by Denis Law, winner of the 1968 European Cup with Manchester United).

European Footballer of The Year: Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona (ESP).

Runners Up: Xavi Hernandez, FC Barcelona (ESP), John Terry, Chelsea FC (ENG) and Edwin Van Der Sar, Manchester United (ENG).

In addition to these awards, Paolo Maldini was given a lifetime achievemant award, presented by Michel Platini. This award was to celebrate his 25 year career in which Maldini carried himself and his team with Pride, Honor and Respect as well as all the accolades he had earned over those years.

Champions League Draw.

The pots were broken down as follows:

POT 1:

Manchester United FC (ENG)

Liverpool FC (ENG)

FC Sevilla (ESP)

Chelsea FC (ENG)

FC Barcelona (ESP)

FC Bayern Munich (GER)

Arsenal FC (ENG)

AC Milan (ITA)

POT 2:

Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)

Juventus FC (ITA)

Real Madrid CF (ESP)

CSKA Moskow (RUS)

FC Porto (POR)

Internaziole FC (ITA)

Glasgow Ranger (SCO)

AZ Alkmaar (NED)

POT 3:

Atletico Madrid CF (ESP)

Olympiacos FC (GRE)

Vfb Stuttgart (GER)

Dinaymo Kiev (UKR)

ACF Fiorentina (ITA)

Olympique Marsaille CF (FRA)

Besjtikas CF (TUR)

Girdons Bordeaux FC (FRA)

POT 4:

Macabbi Haifa FC (ISR)

FC Zurich (SWI)

VfL Wolfsburg (GER)

Standard de Liege (BEL)

FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)

AFC Unirea Urziceni (ROM)

Debreceni FC (HUN)

Apoel FC (CYP)

One team from each pot is distributed towards a group going from letters A-H. Teams from the same country cannot play each other meaning, in the likelihood that Lyon (Pot 2) and Bordeaux (Pot 3) or Munich (Pot 1) and Wolfsburg (Pot 4) were placed together, they would null it and move it to a different spot. Also, teams from the same country cannot be playing on the same day. They'd be distributed evenly 1-1 or 2-2.

The Groups are as follows: (the number in parenthesis tells what number they were called out of from their respective pot)

Group A: (2) FC Bayern Munich, (7) Juventus FC, (2) Girdons Bordeaux FC, (8) Maccabi Haifa.

Group B: (3) Manchester United FC, (8) CSKA Moskow, (3) Besjtikas FC, (4) VfL Wolfsburg.

Group C: (5) AC Milan, (2) Real Madrid CF, (8) Olympique Marsaille, (6) FC Zurich.

Group D: (6) Chelsea FC, (1) FC Porto, (6) Atletico Madrid CF, (5) Apoel FC.

Group E: (1) Liverpool FC, (3) Olympique Lyonnais, (4) ACF Fiorentina, (3) Debreceni FC.

Group F: (7) FC Barcelona, (4) FC Internaziole (Inter Milan), (5) Dinaymo Kiev, (7) FC Rubin Kazan.

Group G:(8) FC Sevilla, (5) Glasgow Rangers, (1) VfB Stuttgart, (2) AFC Unirea Urziceni.

Group H: (4) Arsenal FC, (6) AZ Alkmaar, (7) Olympiacos FC, (1) Standard de Liege.

Group Analysis

Group A:

A contender for the group of death.

Juventus has built their squad up excentelly this past transfer window adding a key defender in Fabio Cannavaro's return to the Bianconeri and the addition of two brazilian playmakers in Diego and Felipe Melo. Already with a good attack force, Juve has built the complete squad this summer to not only contend for the Scudetto domestically but to make a monster run in the Champions League, similar to their glory years.

Like Juventus, Bayern too is a well rounded squad that has made some key additions, their biggest being keeping Franck Ribery in the Allainz Arena for at least this season. In addition to that, they have added a proven Bundesliga talent in Mario Gomez to replace the outgoing Lukas Podolski. With Lucio being replaced by the youngster Breno and Bastian Schweinsteiger taking over Ze Roberto's role, Bayern are a legitate challenger out of this group and possibly even further if they can manage to finish the signing of the Dutch wizard Arjen Robben.

Bordeaux are a young upstart group led by the French phenom Yohan Gourcouff and the Moracan forward Maroune Chamakh, both of whom have yet to hit their prime. With a balanced team, Bordeaux is a middle of the tier club in this competition.

Sadly for Maccabi Haifa, I will not beat around the bush; the chances of them advancing out of this group are slim to none. Let's put it this way, there's a better chance of Stoke City winning the Premier League this season than Haifa winning the Champions League. Although a good team in their league, they just cannot match up against the biggest of the giants.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Juve 2.) Bayern Munich. Europa League: Bordeaux. Eliminated: Macabbi Haifa.

Group B:

The battle for #2 will be a fun and entertaining scrap.

This should be a cake walk for United, making it easier for them to rest their starters significantly for the latter stages. They have a squad built for this type of competition with all the depth and talent they possess and will be more hungry coming off their disappointing loss in the previous CL Final, after winning it the year before.

CSKA is a power, but nothing to the upper echelon extent. They boast a squad of Vagner Love, Danny Carvalho, Igor Afinfeev and Mark Gonzalez; all skilled players that have been in the CL before and played against good opponents in Inter Milan and Liverpool in recent times.

Besjtikas is a squad built on home grown talent mixed with some outside internationals. Sadly they will come up short as Nihat, Delgado, Bobo and Matteo Ferrari cannot carry this entire team.

The final team in this group is VfL Wolfsburg. This is a team that can do damage to this entire group including Manchester United. You can build an all national team out of their players. Talented, proven and a strong unit they will be the team to advance along side United. Boasting forwards Edin Dzeko, Obafemi Martins, and Grafite and a defense of Ricardo Costa, Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Bargzali they've got both ends of the ball covered very well.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Manchester United 2) VfL Wolfsburg. Europa League: CSKA Moskow. Eliminated: Besjtikas.

Group C:

The second contestent for the "Group Of Death" label.

AC Milan finally returns to battle the big boys after taking a year off and playing in the UEFA cup last year. With the additions of Oguchi Oneywu, Thiago Silva, and Klass Jan-Huntelaar, they add some much needed youth to their squad. Kaka leaving for Madrid will be a huge hole to fill; luckily they have Ronaldinho to give it a shot. A good veteran midfield in Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Flamini, a solid backline and world class forwards, Milan will be sure to tell everyone of their return to the Champions League.

Real Madrid are favorites for this year. Wanna know why? Kaka. Ronaldo. Alonso. Benzema. Bernabeau. With the additions of four mega stars and superstar talents to go with their other new additions of Raul Albiol and Arbeloa, Madrid have filled up every hole possible and then some. With an offensive minded coach finally running the show, Madrid will go as far as their legs and will let them. Having the final at their home ground gives them that much more reason to succeed this year more than ever.

Take a look at some players Olympique Marsaille have sold over the last years: Karim Ziani, Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri, Djibril Cisse, Aroudon Kone. World class talent at its finest. While they still have players in Bakari Kone, Mattieu Valbuena, Lucho Gonzalez and Haten Ben Arfa, they will fall a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit short this year. Nothing to be disappointed about as they have a young talented squad, as long as they decide to keep it together.

This is FC Zurich's 1st time in this competition. That gives you an idea of what chance they have.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Madrid 2) Milan. Europa League: Marsaille. Eliminated: FC Zurich.

Group D:

The last group of death from this year's draw. A lot of entertaining and exciting football in this group.

Chelsea have a coach. A coach who has not only won this a few years back, but a coach who has some idea of how to run a team. Carlo Ancelloti has brought a whole new mentality to the Chelsea locker room. With no big name addition this offseason, the Pensioner's couldn't add a player to the likes of Kaka or Sergio Aguero so Ancelloti came up with an idea his predescesors(AV Grant and Phil Scolari) couldn't; adapt new tactics. He has Chelsea up and running and with that core in place for the past several years, the chemistry is there.

FC Porto are like Marsaille; selling away some amazing talent, but some how always qualifying for CL the next year. This season looks a little bleak however, selling both Lisandro Lopez and Lucho Gonzalez. Although they added the Columbian sensation Falcao from River Plate, they could use another forward.

Atletico Madrid quite possibly have one of the world's best forward duo's in Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan. Both have a knack for scoring goals, especially Forlan who just won the Pinchini award as La Liga's top scorer as well as the European Gold Shoe. While the backline may be makeshift, it is still decent and make up for it with a strong midfield featuring Simao and Maxi Rodriguez.

This is Apoel FC's first time in the Champions League. They better be prepared to get some lumps as Chelsea and Atletico will give them a struggle.

Predicitions: Advancing: 1) Chelsea 2) Atletico Madrid. Europa League: FC Porto. Eliminated: Apoel FC.

Group E:

Could this be the year that the Scouser's hit a knock? A "trap group" for all parties involved.

Liverpool are struggling so far in their Premier League campaign. Is that a sign of things to come this year? With the sales of Alonso and Arbeloa and the signings of Alberto Aquilani and Glen Johnson to replace them one would guess they'd be in good shape right? Not at all apparently. Liverpool fans will soon learn that Aquilani cannot even sniff Xabi Alonso's boots and that Aquilani does not possess a killer ball like the Spaniard did. Same with Arbeloa, Johnson doesn't have the mental toughness and grit that the Spanish international possessed. Couple these developing problems with the fact that the backline is thin due to injuries to both Daniel Agger and Martin Skrytel and this could be a quick exit for the Merseysiders.

Some would think selling your best young player who's eventually going to develop in a dynamo forward is a potentially bad thing? Well not for Olympique Lyonnais' luck. With the sale of Karim Benzema to Real Madrid, Lyon purchased forward Lisandro Lopez from FC Porto, LB Aly Cissokho from FC Porto and LM Michel Bastos from Lille. These three have already helped Lyon get through the qualifying stages and figure to be a staple in the French squad for as long as they hope to stay. The loss of Juninho will hurt, but their is depth with Ederson and Kim Kallstrom. This is the strongest Lyon have looked in awhile on the European stage. That say's a lot.

Alberto Gilardino of Fiorentina wanted the big dogs this year and he surely got it. Liverpool will undoubtadely prove a test for the Florence based squad as will Lyon who knocked Fiorentina out last year of the group stages. Depth is the key. Even with the loss of Felipe Melo to Italian rivals Juve, Fiorentina still boast a squad featuring good forwards (Adrian Mutu and Gilardino) and a world class keeper in Sebastian Frey. With Cesar Prandelli a magician as a coach anything is possible with this bunch.

FC Debreceni is another new comer. With these three powers in here, they'll be fortunate to walk away with one point.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Lyon 2) Liverpool. Europa League: Fiorentina. Eliminated: FC Debreceni.

Group F:

Heavyweights and The Eastern European Block.

The reigning champions come back looking better than ever. Barca added anther player in Zlatan Ibrahimovic although at the expense of Samuel Eto'o. They bring back the same exact sqaud with a few minor changes. Dymoto Chygrynskiy may be on his way in on Saturday, giving Barca another holding mid with the ability to play CB. They also added a top quality attacking LB in Maxwell from Inter. All these additions make them that much more lethal than last year. Think about that.

Inter Milan may have benefitted from selling Ibrahimovic. It brought in Eto'o and 40 million euros. With those 40 million it help to fund the purchases of Diego Milito, Thiago Motta, Lucio, Kerlon, Marko Arnautovic and possibly the addition of Wesley Sneijder as soon as tomorrow. A 4-2-3-1 looking like this: GK: Julio Cesar || RB: Maicon CB: Lucio CB: Samuel LB: Chivu || CM: Muntari/Cambiasso CM: Sneijder/Motta || RM: Mancini/Zanetti LM: Quaresma/Arnautovic CF: Eto'o/Kerlon || ST: Milito/Ballotelli. This team is built for the long haul and can battle with any team in Europe.

Kiev are based heavily on homegrown Ukraine players and they have had small success in Europe. It'll get them far, but not as much as one would hope. Europa League seems likely for them, where they have a better chance to contend.

FC Rubin Kazan of the Russian Super League. Never heard of them? Tells you all you need to know for this team. Maybe they battle it out with Kiev for that Europa League spot. MAYBE

Predictions: 1) Barcelona 2) Inter Milan. Europa League: Dynamo Kiev. Eliminated: FC Rubin Kazan.

Group G:

Between three middle of the pack teams, this can go anyway.

You can label Sevilla the favorite of this group. They have one of the top strikers in all of Europe and the world in Luis Fabiano. In addition to that, they also possess to up and coming wingers in Diego Capel and Jesus Navas. With a solid squad year in and year out and Fabiano in his prime, they should win Group G with ease. Don't expect a thorough march through Europe though; their backline may be sufficient enough to get through the group stages, but if they have to face any team with a good strike for (ie; Barca, Madrid, United) it will be a quick exit for the Spanish side.

Glasgow Rangers are no strangers to this competition. They've been in this competition or the UEFA cup for the last decade. With a blend of good midfielders (DaMarcus Beasley, Pedro Mendes) and a forward in Kris Boyd who has a knack for scoring goals in bunches, Rangers FC should be a stern test for anyone, whether it be Champions League or if they play in Europa League. With a veteran and tactical coach in Walter Smith, they should be able to make it a good fight in the Group Stages.

VfB Stuttgart have world class players and are coming off a successful campaign in the Bundesliga finishing 3rd and qualifying for this tourney. Selling their top scorer in Mario Gomez certainly hurts, but they still possess a solid team with Jens Lehman, Khalid Bhoularouz, Jan Simek, Thomas Hitzelberger, Boka, Elson and the newly acquired Alexsander Hleb. With a veteran keeper in Lehman who apparently still has something left in the tank and good Champions League experience and Hleb coming off CL glory with Barca, they have a winning and determined mindset in that lockerroom.

With AFC Unirea Urziceni, its the same story again. New comer into CL play. Although I don't expect them to advance, I still expect them to put up the best of fights compared to most of the other new teams in this tourney. Walking away with 5-6 points is possible and a good start for someone new into a big stage like this.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Sevilla 2) Vfb Stuttgart. Europa League: Glasgow Rangers. Eliminated: AFC Unirea Urziceni.

Group H:

The "Pancake" Group.

Arsenal fans and players have to be ecstatic. This is the easiest of the groups in this years draw. This bodes well for the Gunners as Wenger can experiment with tactics, formations and players to get a feel for how he can move about in the knockout rounds. Also this gives him a good chance to rest injured stars whomever me pick up a knock of so. With Eduardo running at full pace and Bedtner promising a plethora of goals, this would be the perfect time for those two to build chemistry and an understanding with one another, which will ultimately help them in the long run. One key concern in the backline; selling Toure leaves them thin with only Gallas and Vermaeleen as their CBs and no other reliable source. (Note: I didn't say they didn't have an able body to put there, they don't have anyone of quality who could make a difference).

AZ Alkmaar are making their first ever appearence in the Champions League. Believe me when I say they have the talent to make magic as they just won the Dutch Erdivisie last year. The loss of trainer/tactician Louis Van Gaal will hurt, especially because they replaced him with Ronald Koeman; yes the same Ronald Koeman who almost managed to wipe Valencia CF off the face of the planet. If Van Gaal was still here, I could give them a thumbs up to do something. Sadly he's not and Koeman will more than likely guide them to Europa League.

Another old face in this tournament is none other than Olympiacos CF Piraeus. Always coming through VIA winning the Greek League, almost every year the Greek Giants boast a formidable squad. Names like Rivaldo have at one time suited up for the team. This year, Olympiacos boast a talented and tested team featuring; Olof Mellberg, Luciano Galletti, Oscar, Diogo, Matt Derbeyshire, Raul Bravo, Dudu Cearense, Enzo Maresca and Cristian Ledesma; all big time players and talented as well. Although these are some big name players they will struggle when they meet a formidable squad such as Bayern Munich or Juventus.

Standard de Liege are also marking their first appearence in CL play. They lost their top defender in Oguchi Oneywu which certainly will not help. Expect a quick and quiet exit from the Belgium side.

Predictions: Advancing: 1) Arsenal 2) Olypiacos CFP. Europa League: AZ Alkmaar. Eliminated: Standard de Liege.

And there you have it there are the predictions for this years draw. One final thing to look at which stands out this year more than ever; storylines. And there are two that will capture every headline.

REAL MADRID VS A.C. MILAN

Kaka going back to Milan. One can only imagine the reception he will receive; nothing but warmth and love for the former Rosseneri player. Remember he never fully wanted to leave, but it was said to have been beneficial to Milan in the long run. With Kaka playing against his former mates, the same will be the case for "The Hunter" Klaas Jan-Huntelaar. One can state, Huntelaar wasn't given a fair shake during his stay at the White House, but let's be honest; he was a panic buy by Ramon Calderon. Now at Milan, he can see proper minutes and work with another up and comer in Alexander Pato. Madrid fans will be indifferent with Klaas, as he never exactly set the world on fire during his stay at the Bernabeau.

INTERNAZIOLE VS FC BARCELONA

'Samu' comes home to visit the Blaungra. Ibra'cadbra takes stroll through Milan again. Eto'o will be received with cry and tears, maybe some jeers. During his tenure at the Nou Camp, no matter how enigmatic he was, he was still loved by the Barca fans for his ability to score goals in key games (something Barca fans will learn this year that Zlatan doesn't possess in his arsenal). It was a bitter exit marked by a lot of "he said" "she said" non-sense between Joan Laporta and Pep Guardiola. As the exit was tough for Eto'o, the same cannot be said for Inter; management and fans for ready to cash in on another enigmatic figure for the chance at 40 million euros and forward who has a penance for scoring big goals and goals in bunches. It's easier to see who was happier when this was all said and done.

And there you have it, a full recap of everything and what's in stores. CL recaps will be posted after matchdays with analysis and possibly video footage.

Real Madrid Just Parked The Benz Into The Bernabeau

Puneet Singh

Just when I thought Manchester United were going to sign their guy for the summer transfer window, what goes off and happens? Good Ol' Florentino Perez steps in and decides to play some real life FIFA manager mode.

With the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Negredo, Raul Albiol and Kaka under his belt, Perez may have just signed the best long term piece of them all.

The player? None other than Karim Benzema.

The announcement was made official by Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas, stating that Lyon had accepted the 35 million euro bid from Real Madrid with it potentially becoming 41 million euros based on performance bonuses. Benzema will pen a six year deal to ply his trade at the Santiago Bernabeau.

Adding Benzema now gives Real Madrid a strike force of Raul, Gonzalo Higuain, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and now Negredo (who's buy back option was exercised) and Benzema.

With Van Nistelrooy on his way out and Huntelaar looking to be loaned out or sold, this strike force remains deadly and young with Higuain, Benzema and Negredo all expected to be given bigger roles.

What did United do? Or a better question is, what DIDN'T they do?
Rumors were circulating like flies all over the press with comments ranging from "Benzema to United 90% complete" to "Benzema Wants United." When it was 1st leaked that Real had approached Lyon with a 32 million euro bid for Benzema, reports were surfacing that United were ready to splash 45 million euros for Benzema. But nothing ever materialized beyond that, and now the deal is sealed with Real.

My belief is this; United more than likely never even tabled a bid for Benzema, and it hurts me that they lost out on a fine gem. Chalk another one up to the wizardry of Zidane; this time from his political role.

Where does Benz fit? Well he is a centre-forward with the skillset to play up front as the lone striker. Depending on how Manuel Pellegrini decides to utilize Benzema, he may be lining up next to Higuain in a 4-4-2 or in front of Kaka in a 4-2-3-1; both of which are Pellegrini's preferred systems.

With Negredo, Benzema and Higuain, Madrid have the best bunch of young strikers the world could possibly put together. Within the next two years, we may just remove that word "young" from the previous statement, as Madrid may have put together the best strike force since 2005 when Juventus boasted Del Piero, Trezeguet, Mutu, Ibrahimovic, Di Vaio and Miccoli.

Who's going to score the most goals out of the Madrid bunch? Who knows. What I DO know is that it's going to be an absolute beauty watching three forwards under the age of 24 hit and play the peak and primes of their careers at the Bernabeau.

Is Florentino Headed Down A Familiar Road?

by Puneet Singh


Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Antonio Cassano, Michael Owen.

In case you didn't catch the trend, these all were players of Real Madrid at one point during their famed "Galacticos" era, which was Florentino Perez's theory of buying ONE megastar player each season to go along with promoting players from their youth academy.

While the Galacticos provided beautiful and entertaining football, the trophies and results were limited. Outside of the La Liga title in 02-03 and the Supercup De Espana in 2003, Madrid went trophy less from 2003-2006.

In addition to the trophy drought, there was a coaching carousel every year. Vincente Del Bosque, Carlos Queiroz, Jose Antonio Camacho, Mariano Garcia Remon, Vanderlei Luxemburgo and Juan Ramon Lopez Caro all managed Madrid from 2002 to 2006 whether it was on an interim or permanent basis.

It wasn't til the end of the 2007 campaign when Madrid finally had one new piece of silverware by winning La Liga.

Ironically by then the Galacticos era had come to an end, with the last two of the Galacticos, David Beckham and Roberto Carlos playing their last games for the storied club, whilst Ronaldo was sold in that January 2007 transfer window to AC Milan.

At that moment on June 17th, 2007 every last piece of the Galacticos monster had officially be finished. Perez had been removed a few years prior with Ramon Calderon being the man credited and responsible for dethroning Barcelona's reign as Spain's kings and champions.

Real would go on to win La Liga again for the 2007-2008 campaign. Bernd Schuster was in his 1st year as coach of Madrid, and along with the big signings Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, and Pepe, Madrid was able to coast to the Liga title, in part to the falling apart of Barca, but also through semi attractive football that Schuster could conjure.

But again failure came about that year, with Madrid being unable to get to the round of 16 in Champions League play falling to Roma 2 - 1 both legs and 4 - 2 overall on aggregate.

Last year however was a MAJOR step back for Real.

During the summer 2008 transfer window Calderon had signed Ezequiel Garay, the young Argentine defender from Racing Santander to address the thin backline, but immediately loaned him back to Racing.

But most of the summer was surrounded by the saga of Cristiano Ronaldo.

And because of this, Madrid also lost Robinho, who broke all ties away from Real and was trying to manufacture a transfer to Chelsea.

In the end as we all know, Robinho was sold to Manchester City.

When failing to sign Ronaldo, it seems as if Calderon had panicked and signed Rafael Van Der Vaart, who in the first few coming weeks proved to be a steal of a signing at 12 million.

All the while, all Schuster has asked for was a CB to play and help right away and a big name forward. NOT another MF.

Injuries began to hit Real and hard. Van Nistelrooy was done for the year as was Mamadou Diarra, both lost to knee injuries. Wesley Sneijder had injured his knee as well but it would cost him to miss only half the season.

When it was all said and done, Schuster stepped down as Real Madrid manager on December 9th, 2008, leaving Madrid in a state of shambles; partly his fault, mainly managements.

Upon his departure, Juande Ramos was appointed in charge of Real on an interm basis. During the January window he purchased Lassana Diarra and Klaas Jan-Huntelaar and acquired Julian Faubert on loan.

During the January window it was confirmed that Ramon Calderon, the president of Madrid that time, would be sacked. His replacement would be Vicente Boulda for the rest of the 08-09 season.

While Ramos and Boulda did the best they could to right the ship, Madrid lost La Liga to Barcelona once again, and get demolished in Champions League again, this time losing to Liverpool 5-0 on aggregate.

Although an embarrassing defeat, the worst would come on May 2nd, 2009 when Madrid lost to Barca 6-2 during the "El Classico" derby AT THEIR HOME.

Ultimately, this would be the Barca victory that led to Barca winning La Liga, deflating the sliver of hope Madrid hung onto.


So here were stand today on June 7th, 2009.

Madrid have entered a new regime yet again but this time with a familiar face: Florentino Perez.

On June 1st, Florentino was once again appointed the president of Real Madrid. Perez wasted no time making his presence felt, bringing a new coach with him in Manuel Pellegrini formerly of Villareal, within 24 hours of his appointment.

Perez has once again promised a clean house and big names.

He has already said, big players such as Robben, Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Saviola, Gago, and Mamadou Diarra all could be headed for the exit, so Perez can continue to build his new Dream Team.

And if the rumours are true, Perez may have already delivered.

Reports from all over are claiming that Kaka has agreed to join Madrid and that Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani have agreed with Perez on a fee to acquire him.

But are Madrid doing the right thing? Is buying marquee players the correct philosophy for Madrid?

The answer is Yes and No.

The No comes from the fact that Madrid should just address the backline of theirs and buy a forward and they should be right on track. No need to clean house and break down an entire squad.

The Yes wins though. And here's why:

Madrid need a new image. They need to bring the flair of Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham and Zidane back into their lineup.

Now while Madrid have many great players, do they have WORLD CLASS Players? In short: no. Outside of Robben, Sergio Ramos and the emerging Gonzalo Higuain, there is no one else who is considered a World Class talent. Very good, but not world class.

While Madrid have won a few things here and there over the past 2-3 seasons, have they advanced further in CL play? This is where big game experience kicks in.

This is why the signing of Kaka is so big. He is a professional. A professional athlete and human being. This is what Florentino bought when he bought Zidane from Juventus.

He can build the type of legacy that Zidane had built while plying his trade at the Bernabeau. That is partly why Zidane wants him to don his old number 5 should he arrive to Madrid; almost as if to follow in Zidane's footprints.

Along with Kaka, Franck Ribery, David Villa, Karim Benzema, David Silva, Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrihimovic and Maicon are all being wooed to play for the Blancos. Florentino has stated on numberous occasions that out of this bunch, there will be one more to arrive at the Bernabeau this summer.

All have played in the Champions League over the years and have featured heavily for their respective countries during International Tournaments.

Given Perez's track record and ability to sign any player like it is FIFA or Football manager, I would not put anything past him.

In the end we will have to see for ourselves. Can Galacticos 2.0 do what the original Galacticos couldn't do; Conquer Spain and all of Europe and give Madrid the glory that Barcelona is receiving this year for their accomplishments.

Is it possible? Only time will tell if Florentino can finally put the right pieces to the Madrid puzzle this time around.