Hi I'm here today to talk about Real Madrid and their current state as we get ready for another season of exciting football in the European continent. There is so much going on in the transfer market everything from the whole Neymar debacle to the surprise signing of Nicolas Pépé from Arsenal which I alongside pretty much everyone never saw it coming, you have Tottenham bringing in Ndombele a player some would assume should be joining a bigger club is this the beginning of a new chapter for Spurs just to give my take quickly I love the move for both the player and the club and right now Tottenham is a top side with a real chance against any club in the world obviously Pochettino's side must improve significantly in order to compete for the Premier League title against a side like Man City for instance but on a Champions League draw I see them competing with anyone and that's what they have done for the last couple of years.
Moving forward now as I got off the topic which we are here to address, I have a theory on Real Madrid and their squad and I'm very interested in hearing what you guys make of it.
It's beyond denial that Real Madrid changed their history after Ronaldo arrived and despite a round of 16 exit in his first year at the club against Lyon if I'm not mistaken they spent every year since the exception being last season making all the way to the Champions League semifinals and if that's all you knew you would think well Real Madrid has been playing the best football in years period and for the majority of those years that hasn't been the case even when they were at their best in seasons like when Mourinho led them to 100 points in LA Liga or when Zidane won both LaLiga and the Champions using that 4-1-2-1-2 with Isco as a number 10 and Ronaldo joining Benzema as a striker isntead of being a winger like he used to even in those seasons Real Madrid never really stood out as a side that played the best football.
The truth of the matter is that Real Madrid in the last 10 years has been known as the side that rises to the big occasion even in underwhelming seasons they seem to flip a switch and turn up for the big Champions League matchup whether it's against Guardiola's Bayern period and for the majority of those years that hasn't been the case even when they were at their best in seasons like when Mourinho led them to 100 points in LA Liga or when Zidane won both LaLiga and the Champions they seemed to always scrape by in the group stage and then manage to drastically improve their play when it matters the most.
Let's just reflect in their last Champions League trophy and how that season went down.
Under Zinedine Zidane in what would later become his last season at the helm during his first spell an already aging side that despite coming off back to back Champions League trophy was under some pressure to improve, pressure on Zidane to deliver Real had a melancholic exit on the Copa del Rey being e liminated by Leganés, their performance on LaLiga was as he has been for the majority of the seasons since they began this run quite underwhelming never really challenging Barcelona and the title and due to the lack of competition beyond Atletico Madrid they never saw qualification for the Champions League being threatened and that's the script for a lot of their past seasons. I am certain that if Real Madrid with the exact performance they delivered during the last 10 years played in the Premier LModric for instance we would have had a couple of seasons with no Los Blancos in club football's biggest stage.
Now at this point you are probably thinking what's his point and can we get on with it but slow down as I said this take some elaborating and all of it is important in making my point.
Moving forward the fact that Real Madrid continuously showed up and elevated their play in decisive Champions League matches with very little change to the starting eleven, James started for a while with Kroos and Modric playing further back on the pitch but Zidane quickly inserted Casemiro in the lineup taking James out and gave Modric and Kroos more freedom to create and distribute that worked for a while but with Gareth Bale's recurring injury woes and a lack of a replacement at his level the Frenchman made another change to the formation and gave Isco a starting job playing the role of the number 10 transitioning from a classic 4-3-3 to a 4-1-2-1-2 sliding Ronaldo to the middle alongside Benzema and rBenzema
on Marcelo and Carvajal to provide width as the team didn't have a winger nor a wide midfielder, Isco had the freedom to roam across the field but he always ended up coming to the middle of the field this formation really explored the ability to attack from both fullbacks.
What I am trying to say is that for the most part under Zidane in the big games Madrid rolled out with one of these two lineups.
4-3-3
Navas
Carvajal
Varane
Ramos
Marcelo
Casemiro
Kroos
Modric
Bale
Ronaldo
Benzema
4 -1-2-1-2
Navas
Carvajal
Varane
Ramos
Marcelo
Casemiro
Kroos
Modric
Isco
Benzema
Ronaldo
This was pretty much the entire variation tactically that Real Madrid had over the last 4 years give or take it goes without saying that I'm not including last season given that Florentino Perez fired two managers and each one of the three had a different philosophy.
Considering all of these factors I just mentioned and looking at the team right now under Zidane who deployed a strategy of doing a lot of man managing
and not altering the starting eleven often like we see with managers such as Unai Emery for instance we can assume that he won't look to make wholesale changes but despite that argument being most likely true I also have a theory to explain Real Madrid's lack of renewal in their roster inspire of spending literally more money than any other team in the history of the world on a single window for transfers.
Stop and marvel at this. Florentino Perez splashed out the cash and when it comes to the overall that of money spent on a single transfer window this year's Madrid sit at the top of that list displacing PSG spending spree a couple of years ago when they bought Neymar and Mbappé and regardless of that whenever we see a probable starting eleven for Los Blancos in the 19/20 season the top only change we see from the squad that won the Champions League against Liverpool is Hazard replacing Ronaldo and the uncertainty of who plays in the place of Isco not the actual option given that Real no longer display that f ormation. Before you get all worked up I know Hazard will play on the left wing unlike Ronaldo during his last few years in Spain and that they will most likely use a 4-3-3 formation and that Isco will I assume be a bench piece since he's not a winger and even less so a right winger and right now with no Asensio for the season and Bale out of Zidane's plans Vinicius Jr. seems to be the one who'll get nod by default.
Also if you want to go back to an era in Madrid when Gareth Bale wasn't the scastarted Madrid used the classic 4-3-3 with CR7 on the left wing the exact position Hazard will play and Bale on the right, the only change from that team that's not mandatory due to an exit is the fact Bale is no longer viewed as an viable player and while Real isn't short of candidates to replace him there is no one that jumps out at you.
All of that means Real Madrid have been against change to the starting eleven now anyone will feel the same with their recent success but even after an awful season that started with based on most reports Zidane leaving his role because Florentino Pereslz didn't want to make moves that Zidane deemed necessary and culminated on a melancholic end when in a matter of days they were eliminated from both the Copa del Rey against Barcelona and got thrashed at home against Ajax in the round of 16 of the Champions League which led to an unanimous belief amongst fans, pundits and anyone that follows football to state that this was it Real Madrid has delayed this for as long as they could b ut now the results on the pitch are there for anyone to see it. The end of an era, Madrid need a big overhaul, the midfield looks slow, Marcelo's offensive abilities no longer outweigh his lack of defending a lot of people completely ignored the fact that Benzema actually had a pretty good season and all that frustration they accumulated over the years for his lack of scoring it all came out, his critics often felt handicapped by the results of the team.
The consensus was that a handful or so of players needed to be shown the door and you had to bring fresh faces in, that happened but why as we get set to begin the season Real Madrid look as those they will start the season with the exact same starting eleven of years past outside of Hazard replacing Ronaldo and the uncertainty surrounding the right winger unless Zidane pulls something out of nowhere like that formation with three centrebacks that he experimented with against Roma something I doubt he planned on doing when he first started planning for this upcoming season but after seeing bad performances that worried even the most optimistic Madrid fan Zidane had to try something new even if they exclusively played friendlies.
I'll tell you why.
This Real Madrid squad with the amount of success it has had in the past few years reached a level where most of their players were and still are viewed as the best players in their position and even now after a down year no matter who Real bought that player would struggle to be in the starting eleven right from the get go.
Let me elaborate.
Goalkeeper: They didn't need a goalkeeper but nonetheless no goalkeeper would be a starter with Courtois as the goalie. Maybe De Gea.
Fullbacks: Carvajal and Marcelo are excellent fullbacks but especially with Marcelo even at his best I always considered him amongst the great fullbacks and by far and away the best attacking fullback but his bad defending was always an issue and just to name another player I always liked Alaba more viewing as an all around better option and even now with Farland Mandy easily one of the more promising fullbacks in the world arriving at the club for a large sum every probable starting eleven we saw throughout the summer window had Marcelo as the left back to begin the season. I cannot think of one player that Real could have bought for their back line that would be viewed as a starter. Some might say De Ligt but would you bench Varane because Ramos is the highest paid player in the entire team. I can see few player benching Varane for De Ligt but I attribute that a lot more to the hype surrounding De Ligt than to his actual play on the pitch.
Think about that there was pretty much no one that Florentino Perez could buy to be in the starting eleven from day one for this Madrid side. That's not my opinion there's a lot I would do differently but based on the popular opinion what I said at the beginning of the paragraph.
The same goes for the defensive midfielder role that Casemiro plays despite how bad Kroos and Modric looked last season beyond Pogba and maybe Eriksen no other midfielders would join the club as regular starters from day one. Madrid has been linked with Van De Beek in these last few days and he is another name I'd bring in and put him in the starting eleven from day one but that's not what you will see from most people. I doubt a sports show would do a preview of Real Madrid for next season with Modric or Kroos on the bench and Donny Van De Beek as a starter.
With Hazard already in the squad that right side was open for a big acquisition but even there a guy like Vinicius Jr. or Gareth Bale who after the season opener looks set to say provide good options but look at the number 9 role, Benzema has been contested for years but coming off a season in which he was by far the best player for Real Madrid even with a guy like Jovic coming in most previews have him as an option off the bench with Benzema starting.
What does all of this mean?
It means that even after an awful season Real Madrid have a great squad and in most positions you would struggle to find better options anywhere at least if you go by name recognition.
In my eyes bringing Zidane back was a mistake not moving on from a few players like Modric for example, loaning Ceballos and selling Llorente all very questionable decisions and I would not view other players like Marcelo or Kroos as untouchables.
Despite how crazy it may seem Florentino Perez managed to spend the most money in a single transfer window ever while seeing a handful of players leave the club permanently or on loan all of that without doing an overhaul in terms of the roster
Moving forward now as I got off the topic which we are here to address, I have a theory on Real Madrid and their squad and I'm very interested in hearing what you guys make of it.
It's beyond denial that Real Madrid changed their history after Ronaldo arrived and despite a round of 16 exit in his first year at the club against Lyon if I'm not mistaken they spent every year since the exception being last season making all the way to the Champions League semifinals and if that's all you knew you would think well Real Madrid has been playing the best football in years period and for the majority of those years that hasn't been the case even when they were at their best in seasons like when Mourinho led them to 100 points in LA Liga or when Zidane won both LaLiga and the Champions using that 4-1-2-1-2 with Isco as a number 10 and Ronaldo joining Benzema as a striker isntead of being a winger like he used to even in those seasons Real Madrid never really stood out as a side that played the best football.
The truth of the matter is that Real Madrid in the last 10 years has been known as the side that rises to the big occasion even in underwhelming seasons they seem to flip a switch and turn up for the big Champions League matchup whether it's against Guardiola's Bayern period and for the majority of those years that hasn't been the case even when they were at their best in seasons like when Mourinho led them to 100 points in LA Liga or when Zidane won both LaLiga and the Champions they seemed to always scrape by in the group stage and then manage to drastically improve their play when it matters the most.
Let's just reflect in their last Champions League trophy and how that season went down.
Under Zinedine Zidane in what would later become his last season at the helm during his first spell an already aging side that despite coming off back to back Champions League trophy was under some pressure to improve, pressure on Zidane to deliver Real had a melancholic exit on the Copa del Rey being e liminated by Leganés, their performance on LaLiga was as he has been for the majority of the seasons since they began this run quite underwhelming never really challenging Barcelona and the title and due to the lack of competition beyond Atletico Madrid they never saw qualification for the Champions League being threatened and that's the script for a lot of their past seasons. I am certain that if Real Madrid with the exact performance they delivered during the last 10 years played in the Premier LModric for instance we would have had a couple of seasons with no Los Blancos in club football's biggest stage.
Now at this point you are probably thinking what's his point and can we get on with it but slow down as I said this take some elaborating and all of it is important in making my point.
Moving forward the fact that Real Madrid continuously showed up and elevated their play in decisive Champions League matches with very little change to the starting eleven, James started for a while with Kroos and Modric playing further back on the pitch but Zidane quickly inserted Casemiro in the lineup taking James out and gave Modric and Kroos more freedom to create and distribute that worked for a while but with Gareth Bale's recurring injury woes and a lack of a replacement at his level the Frenchman made another change to the formation and gave Isco a starting job playing the role of the number 10 transitioning from a classic 4-3-3 to a 4-1-2-1-2 sliding Ronaldo to the middle alongside Benzema and rBenzema
on Marcelo and Carvajal to provide width as the team didn't have a winger nor a wide midfielder, Isco had the freedom to roam across the field but he always ended up coming to the middle of the field this formation really explored the ability to attack from both fullbacks.
What I am trying to say is that for the most part under Zidane in the big games Madrid rolled out with one of these two lineups.
4-3-3
Navas
Carvajal
Varane
Ramos
Marcelo
Casemiro
Kroos
Modric
Bale
Ronaldo
Benzema
4 -1-2-1-2
Navas
Carvajal
Varane
Ramos
Marcelo
Casemiro
Kroos
Modric
Isco
Benzema
Ronaldo
This was pretty much the entire variation tactically that Real Madrid had over the last 4 years give or take it goes without saying that I'm not including last season given that Florentino Perez fired two managers and each one of the three had a different philosophy.
Considering all of these factors I just mentioned and looking at the team right now under Zidane who deployed a strategy of doing a lot of man managing
and not altering the starting eleven often like we see with managers such as Unai Emery for instance we can assume that he won't look to make wholesale changes but despite that argument being most likely true I also have a theory to explain Real Madrid's lack of renewal in their roster inspire of spending literally more money than any other team in the history of the world on a single window for transfers.
Stop and marvel at this. Florentino Perez splashed out the cash and when it comes to the overall that of money spent on a single transfer window this year's Madrid sit at the top of that list displacing PSG spending spree a couple of years ago when they bought Neymar and Mbappé and regardless of that whenever we see a probable starting eleven for Los Blancos in the 19/20 season the top only change we see from the squad that won the Champions League against Liverpool is Hazard replacing Ronaldo and the uncertainty of who plays in the place of Isco not the actual option given that Real no longer display that f ormation. Before you get all worked up I know Hazard will play on the left wing unlike Ronaldo during his last few years in Spain and that they will most likely use a 4-3-3 formation and that Isco will I assume be a bench piece since he's not a winger and even less so a right winger and right now with no Asensio for the season and Bale out of Zidane's plans Vinicius Jr. seems to be the one who'll get nod by default.
Also if you want to go back to an era in Madrid when Gareth Bale wasn't the scastarted Madrid used the classic 4-3-3 with CR7 on the left wing the exact position Hazard will play and Bale on the right, the only change from that team that's not mandatory due to an exit is the fact Bale is no longer viewed as an viable player and while Real isn't short of candidates to replace him there is no one that jumps out at you.
All of that means Real Madrid have been against change to the starting eleven now anyone will feel the same with their recent success but even after an awful season that started with based on most reports Zidane leaving his role because Florentino Pereslz didn't want to make moves that Zidane deemed necessary and culminated on a melancholic end when in a matter of days they were eliminated from both the Copa del Rey against Barcelona and got thrashed at home against Ajax in the round of 16 of the Champions League which led to an unanimous belief amongst fans, pundits and anyone that follows football to state that this was it Real Madrid has delayed this for as long as they could b ut now the results on the pitch are there for anyone to see it. The end of an era, Madrid need a big overhaul, the midfield looks slow, Marcelo's offensive abilities no longer outweigh his lack of defending a lot of people completely ignored the fact that Benzema actually had a pretty good season and all that frustration they accumulated over the years for his lack of scoring it all came out, his critics often felt handicapped by the results of the team.
The consensus was that a handful or so of players needed to be shown the door and you had to bring fresh faces in, that happened but why as we get set to begin the season Real Madrid look as those they will start the season with the exact same starting eleven of years past outside of Hazard replacing Ronaldo and the uncertainty surrounding the right winger unless Zidane pulls something out of nowhere like that formation with three centrebacks that he experimented with against Roma something I doubt he planned on doing when he first started planning for this upcoming season but after seeing bad performances that worried even the most optimistic Madrid fan Zidane had to try something new even if they exclusively played friendlies.
I'll tell you why.
This Real Madrid squad with the amount of success it has had in the past few years reached a level where most of their players were and still are viewed as the best players in their position and even now after a down year no matter who Real bought that player would struggle to be in the starting eleven right from the get go.
Let me elaborate.
Goalkeeper: They didn't need a goalkeeper but nonetheless no goalkeeper would be a starter with Courtois as the goalie. Maybe De Gea.
Fullbacks: Carvajal and Marcelo are excellent fullbacks but especially with Marcelo even at his best I always considered him amongst the great fullbacks and by far and away the best attacking fullback but his bad defending was always an issue and just to name another player I always liked Alaba more viewing as an all around better option and even now with Farland Mandy easily one of the more promising fullbacks in the world arriving at the club for a large sum every probable starting eleven we saw throughout the summer window had Marcelo as the left back to begin the season. I cannot think of one player that Real could have bought for their back line that would be viewed as a starter. Some might say De Ligt but would you bench Varane because Ramos is the highest paid player in the entire team. I can see few player benching Varane for De Ligt but I attribute that a lot more to the hype surrounding De Ligt than to his actual play on the pitch.
Think about that there was pretty much no one that Florentino Perez could buy to be in the starting eleven from day one for this Madrid side. That's not my opinion there's a lot I would do differently but based on the popular opinion what I said at the beginning of the paragraph.
The same goes for the defensive midfielder role that Casemiro plays despite how bad Kroos and Modric looked last season beyond Pogba and maybe Eriksen no other midfielders would join the club as regular starters from day one. Madrid has been linked with Van De Beek in these last few days and he is another name I'd bring in and put him in the starting eleven from day one but that's not what you will see from most people. I doubt a sports show would do a preview of Real Madrid for next season with Modric or Kroos on the bench and Donny Van De Beek as a starter.
With Hazard already in the squad that right side was open for a big acquisition but even there a guy like Vinicius Jr. or Gareth Bale who after the season opener looks set to say provide good options but look at the number 9 role, Benzema has been contested for years but coming off a season in which he was by far the best player for Real Madrid even with a guy like Jovic coming in most previews have him as an option off the bench with Benzema starting.
What does all of this mean?
It means that even after an awful season Real Madrid have a great squad and in most positions you would struggle to find better options anywhere at least if you go by name recognition.
In my eyes bringing Zidane back was a mistake not moving on from a few players like Modric for example, loaning Ceballos and selling Llorente all very questionable decisions and I would not view other players like Marcelo or Kroos as untouchables.
Despite how crazy it may seem Florentino Perez managed to spend the most money in a single transfer window ever while seeing a handful of players leave the club permanently or on loan all of that without doing an overhaul in terms of the roster
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