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It's hard to win a game where they score against you in the first few minutes of each half, said Guti, summing up the impotence felt by Real Madrid at Getafe.
More importantly, it illustrates why the recent mini-run of two 1-0 victories (against Recreativo and BATE) was a mirage and bodes extremely badly for the next lot of league games against the top-placed teams.
The week has been somewhat overshadowed by Ramón Calderón's announcement that a couple of "young, promising" players will be signed in January when the transfer window opens, plus two top stars in the summer. Given that he's clearly trying to shield himself from the ire of the socios at the upcoming Annual General Meeting next Sunday, this really does very little for the current squad in the current season.
Add to this the plague of injuries decimating the side (Sneijder and Torres had to be substituted in the first half hour) and the next few weeks, or even months, look very bleak. The medical staff and physios have been added to the close scrutiny everyone else is under.
The Spanish league this season has been likened to the Tour de France, and December sees the Alpine stages as many of the "top" teams face each other. Next week, it's Sevilla, followed by Barcelona, Valencia and Villareal. Barcelona have already made short work of Sevilla with a 3-0 away win and look to be running away with the Championship. The shape that Real Madrid is in means that they'll struggle to compete for a Champions League place come next May.
Things have got so bad that Casillas had possibly his worst game in years. He looked insecure every time he came out for the ball and was particularly uninspired in Getafe's second goal. He even conceded a penalty that the referee did not see (or maybe he took pity on him).
And yet, even after going two down at the beginning of the second half, Real might have got back in the game as Guti found Saviola for his first league goal for his team. Getafe looked shaken for all of five minutes when Raúl could have equalised.
It was not to be (nor would it have reflected the relative merits of both sides). Eight minutes from time Uche made it 3-1 and means Real Madrid is losing sight of the leading rider as they are slowly absorbed into the ranks of the peloton.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
It's all uphill from here
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Epic Finish
Despite playing almost the whole of the second half with 10 men (and a few minutes with nine), Real Madrid managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit with less than 10 minutes to go and win their thirty-first league title. It's the first time they have won back-to-back titles since 1990 (though that was the last in a run of five consecutive champioships), when John Toshack was in charge. Robben, with a header from a free kick, and Gonzalo Higuaín (let's give my namesake his full name here) with a powerful volley, means they'll be partying in Cibeles until the early hours.
A few minutes earlier it had looked like Real would have to wait at least one more week to clinch the title, after Heinze had been judged to handle the ball in the area, and Puñal converted the resulting penalty. The handball was unarguable; the ball hit Heinze so hard that his hand started to bleed and he had to leave the pitch for a few minutes to seek treatment. Though Schuster had said in his press conference before the game that he'd like to win the Championship at home to Barcelona next week, his players still looked like they wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
The first half was edgy and tough ("muscular", some would say), with few chances and an extremely hostile crowd, but the game opened up after Cannavaro was sent off seconds after the restart for a misjudged tackle from behind, which forced Schuster to bring off Saviola, in his second start in as many games, and bring on Torres. Osasuna sensed they had a chance to win at home to Madrid for the first time in five years, and yet it was Real who had the better chances, with Sneijder hitting the bar from a looping deflected shot.
Puñal's converted penalty had some of the faithful leaving Cibeles, when Higuaín, having come in for Raúl, floated a perfect free kick right to the side of Robben's head which left the keeper no chance. It's Robben's first headed goal for Real and something of a rarity elsewhere. It's hard to say whether he looked more surprised than elated. But there was no time to waste. Real scooped up the ball from Osasuna's goal and piled on the pressure in the dying seconds. Diarra powered towards the Osasuna area but found his way blocked by one too many defenders; the loose ball found its way to Sergio Ramos, who threaded it through three Osasuna defenders to Higuaín. The Argentine chested the ball down, let it bounce once and connected with a powerful volley inside the near post and scored his third goal in as many games, though this one was worth the league. The game was all but over. A couple of minutes later the celebrations began and continued until the early hours when the players returned to the capital and the captain dressed the Cibeles fountain with the obligatory Real Madrid scarf.
Real will miss both Heinze and Cannavaro through suspension in the Clásico against Barcelona (who'll be missing Deco and Eto'o for the same reason) on Wednesday, but the game is likely to turn into one big celebratory party that the Catalans will try their best to spoil, as they fight Villareal for that elusive second place and automatic qualification for the league stages of next season's Champions League.
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
The Twin Towers
Christoph Metzelder has known for some months that he would be joining Real Madrid in the summer. Today, he was finally officially presented as the first signing under the new Bernd Schuster régime. This marks the second (after Schuster himself) in a week of new signings, as yesterday's surprise announcement, Pepe, passed his medical and will be presented tomorrow, and Javier Saviola, who finished his contract with Barcelona on June 30th, is expected to agree terms and be presented on Friday.
Metzelder himself has been working hard to make a good first impression and demonstrated at his presentation that he has been learning Spanish in recent months. His formidable height (1.93 metres) and cool demeanour won him the title of 'Best Young Player' in the 2002 World Cup and will make him a very valuable addition to the centre of defence. He has suffered more than his fair share of injuries, missing the entire 2003-2004 season with an achilles tendon problem, and, more recently, he had a knee cartilage operation in September 2006. These injury problems have made him seem a bit of a gamble for any club to take him on, but his obvious talent, and the fact that he is a free agent, probably decided Real Madrid to take the chance. It should be noted that he has only signed on for three years, instead of the usual four or five for a player of his age (26), so this is perhaps another instance of the club hedging their bets.
The signing of two tall central defenders (Pepe is 1.88 metres tall), who are good in the air and can also play the ball intelligently supports Schuster's intention to play with defenders in more advanced positions and speed up getting the ball to the forwards. Real Madrid has also reinforced the view that Sergio Ramos is one of the top players in his position by doubling his salary and increasing his buy-out clause. With Cicinho recovered and also covering the right wing, things don't look too good for Salgado this season. The left wing is presumably Miguel Torres's to keep, with Marcelo as possible cover, although there have been plenty of rumours about the club looking to reinforce this position with young Dutch sensation Royston Drenthe.
