The "forgotten" star

The Futbolitis blog is a superb resource for those interested in a deeper analysis both of tactics and the politics of football, without many of the rumours and sensationalism associated with more traditional media. As the articles are written in Spanish, I thought I would share some of the highlights of the item that was published earlier today regarding one of Ramón Calderón's broken electoral promises when he became Real Madrid president: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known as Kaká.

The authors argue that Kaká could be the signing that both Barcelona and Real Madrid should be looking at this summer. In Barcelona's case, they need a replacement for the recently departed Ronaldinho and they had their chance earlier in the transfer window. Milan don't have the money they once had to invest in renewing their ageing side; they did not qualify for the Champions League. Galliani, president of Milan, was interested in a swap with come of the Barcelona players, but the board was in the middle of getting rid of Rijkaard and replacing him with Guardiola and missed the boat.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been putting aside money for the on-off transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo. Kaká is arguably a much better technical fit, as he is and has always been a team player rather than a highly talented individual, but with the vision and skill to replace Guti as the main playmaker. Guti, in contrast, has never had the temperament to provide that vision week in, week out and is also five-and-a-half years older.

For a while last season, Real flirted with moving Gago up to Guti's position, which proved unsuccessful. The Argentine has been good at playing the ball forward to Guti and Sneijder, but he really is no Redondo, though perhaps, at his age, he should be given the benefit of the doubt, and more time to develop.

The figures for the transfer of Kaká are comparable to those being rumoured for Cristiano Ronaldo, possibly even larger. Chelsea are reportedly interested, but then, Chelsea seem to be interested in everybody. The main difference financially between Ronaldo and Kaká is that the Portuguese has been spending his holiday time signing sponsorship deal after sponsorship deal (did you really think he was going to LA for the club scene?). This means that from an image rights perspective, his transfer is much less amortisable that, say, David Beckham's was.

Making the money that Real Madrid made with David Beckham is not possible in these more media-savvy days, but Kaká's image is much more up for grabs. On the personal front, the Brazilian is a committed Christian and family man, a much less likely target for all those scandal-hungry paparazzi.

Will Calderón change course mid-stream and go for Kaká? It's a long shot, but it may be worth considering.

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Real's most valuable asset

Often, when looking at a club's assets, one tends to concentrate on the players, the ground, sometimes on the manager and technical staff. Rarely do we look closely at those people who actually run the club. And in Real's case that is not president Ramón Calderón.

Four years ago, when Florentino Pérez was still president of Real Madrid and pursuing his galáctico policy, the club's then director of marketing, José Ángel Sánchez, realised that he could get a 20-fold return on his investment by signing David Beckham from Manchester United. It has been this man's vision that has put Real Madrid top of the Forbes list of football clubs by annual revenue. Calderón has not only kept Sánchez in charge of marketing and branding at the club, he has given him additional responsibilities and the catch-all title of general executive director. Everyone reports to him, from marketing to finance, even the technical area when it comes to player transfers and contracts.

Real Madrid may be about to lose this man.

Valencia's major shareholder, Juan Soler, today agreed to hand over the running of the club to Juan Villalonga, former chairman of Telefónica, Spain's main telecom operator. This is seen as Soler's last chance to halt the financial decline his club has seen over the past few years. Villalonga knows Sánchez from his time at Telefónica, but what must really have impressed him is his work at building the Real Madrid brand over the last few years and now it looks like he has convinced him to repeat the performance at Valencia (as of yesterday evening, Real Madrid were refusing to make a statement on the matter).

In a recent lecture on marketing in football, Sánchez argued that turning a football club into a brand is no different from any other product: the marketing plan needs to recognise the brand's values, its differentiating factors, and it must know its target audience to understand the potential demand. Sponsorship deals must evolve from simple advertising to a partnership between both parties. All these strategies serve to turn the club into a growing brand with significant financial returns over and above sporting success.

Losing Sánchez at this point may cost Real Madrid far more in the long term than the sale or purchase of any player, irrespective of their value in the marketplace.

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What might have been

This weekend's Sunday Telegraph has an interview with Carlos Queiroz, in which he reminisces about his year in charge at Real Madrid in between stints as assistant coach to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. In the wake of the usual end-of-season transfer speculation which has Real considering whether to make an offer of up to £100 million to United for Cristiano Ronaldo's services, Queiroz reveals that his young countryman was at the top of his wishlist when he made the move to the Bernabéu nearly five years ago. Given that United snapped him up soon afterwards for a "measly" £12 million (also indirectly through Queiroz), Real Madrid can only wonder what might have been.

Earlier this week, French sports daily L'Equipe reported that Mijatovic had recently been in the UK to talk to Queiroz about Cristiano. The Real Madrid sports director reportedly put 120 million euros on the table to make him the player to spearhead Real's assault on the Champions League. Queiroz is said to have retorted that "at that price, the striker will be with United next season", which, if the quote is accurate, suggests there is room for negotiation.

Of course, the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has matured into the kind of player everybody wants must owe something to the way Alex Ferguson runs his Manchester United squads. The relative freedom from internal politics and his unchallenged status inside the club means that no player is more important than the squad and internal cliques and dissension are generally quashed before they can take hold. Whether he could have flourished in that way at Real Madrid is something we'll never know.

Ironically, it was Ferguson's intransigence in this regard that eventually led to media maelstrom David Beckham joining the rank of the galácticos at the same time as Queiroz. However, as Queiroz recalls, the seeds of destruction that resulted in three years without a trophy, including his one season at the club (the Spanish Supercup does not count) had already been sown. Real's president, Florentino Pérez, decided that "he knew something about football" and commanded that Makélélé be sold to Chelsea. This was "a criminal error, the president's worst decision. Makélélé wanted to stay. He told me and he told [Jorge] Valdano (then the club's general manager). But, in the president's mind, releasing Makélélé vacated a position in which David Beckham could play. He was worried that, with Makélélé in the team, Beckham would be blocked out. But of course we could have had both."

Queiroz also analyses Real's Zidanes y Pavones strategy: "the policy was to surround the galácticos with players from the academy, the cantera, as much as possible. It was a great idea and could have worked - except that the cantera could not deliver its requirements. The young players were not there. On top of that, the club had let some of the best go the year before - like Samuel Eto'o. He was a Real Madrid player before he went to Barcelona and emerged as world-class. When the season started, I gave an interview to Marca and said that, although it was true Real Madrid was a Ferrari, you could not win a race if the car had no wheels. Sad to say, I was proved right."

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Capello lashes out

Marca has an "exclusive" interview today (continued tomorrow) with Fabio Capello, but you won't find it on their website, only in the printed edition. He has some choice words for the management, led by Calderón and Mijatovic, especially about the manner of his dismissal after winning the league title:

"Mijatovic lied to me and (assistant coach) Franco Baldini, who had a very important offer from another team. He said: 'You will stay here, we will all be staying here.' I never heard anything from him (Calderón). He has never called me... I think I deserved some respect from someone who came to get me from Italy, someone I helped to win the elections and succeed as president."

Harsh words, and yet not surprising. It's been fairly well documented that Mijatovic initially wanted Capello to stay, but probably buckled under pressure from Calderón and the rest of the board who wanted 'exciting football' at the Bernabéu. To save his own skin, he stabbed Capello in the back so that the decision was seen to be unanimous.

"What hurt me most was that they appointed me to do a serious, tough and difficult job and we had a very difficult dressing room to deal with. There were many conflicting groups and each one had its leader who blamed the others when things weren't going well. But we pulled the team together, recovered the team spirit and they played with great enthusiasm and belief."

All true. This is my main gripe with the management. They had no class. You do not set objectives for someone, knowing full well how they intend to deliver them, and then proceed to remove them when those methods become unpalatable. They may have had the excuse they wanted, had Capello not won the league (one almost senses that they would have preferred this), but they went ahead and did it anyway. This may come back to haunt them.

Capello also blamed the management for the decision to exclude David Beckham from the squad. "The decision was taken because the club management said that he had negotiated with them, having already agreed a contract with Los Angeles. They said that they couldn't count on a player that wasn't going to remain at the club."

At the time, I suspected this may have been the case. However, it cannot be the whole story. Capello must take responsibility for either bowing to pressure or agreeing that the punishment was adequate. That he eventually recanted when things got tough is not necessarily to his credit, if it's not accompanied by an apology for his earlier decision.

Capello also praised AC Milan for signing Emerson from Real Madrid for 5 million euros. "Milan have made a fantastic signing in Emerson. He is a champion that can give a lot. He struggled at the start of his adventure with Real Madrid but then he recovered well. Emerson is a complete midfielder, able to interpret to perfection all the roles in the centre of midfield."

He would say that, wouldn't he, given that Real brought him from Juventus on his advice. But, to be honest, Emerson never really completely clicked at Real, no matter how many chances he was given. It is true he brightened a little towards the end of the season, but his overall performances never justified his price tag. Presumably this is why he has been let go for a fraction of his original cost (both he and Cannavaro signed for around 20 million euros last summer). Emerson himself had harsh words for the management at the club: "During the hard times I lived through last season I never had a call from the president. He did not behave correctly towards me. There is a huge gulf between the players in the squad and the management."

It'll be interesting to see what Capello says in tomorrow's second instalment.

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Exodus...

Before the euphoria dies down, before the week passes that Calderón has asked for before making public any decisions on the make-up of the squad and coaching staff for next season, before the summer transfer market speculations reach fever pitch, I thought it would be a good idea to review what we know or think is likely to happen to some of those responsible for Real Madrid's 30th league title.

Definitely leaving:

• David Beckham - off to L.A. Galaxy after contract negotiations stalled. Was sidelined by Capello, who later recanted and brought him back. His resurgence meant a (so far) successful recall to the England squad, although he may find it difficult to justify this when playing in the MLS. Scored three goals this season and has the top number of assists in the club even though he only played 23 out of 38 games in the league.
  
  
• Roberto Carlos - recently announced he would be playing for Turkish side Fenerbahçe next season after being unable to agree terms with Real. A favourite with the fans, he leaves after 11 seasons and a large number of winners' medals and the label of one of the best-ever offensive left backs in the business (though perhaps not at his best on defensive duty)
  
  
• Francisco Pavón - out of contract, destiny not yet known. Did not get any playing time this season, Pavón has been unfairly linked with the previous presidential regime and their policy of "Zidanes y Pavones" (i.e. buying the best and bringing the rest up from the youth squads). Never really shone.
  
  
• Diego López - will join UEFA-cup bound Villareal next season. Totally sidelined by Casillas (who played in every league game this season) he only had a couple of appearances in the Copa del Rey

Probably leaving:

• José Antonio Reyes - likely to 'return' to Arsenal from loan (although he's said publicly he doesn't want to go back to London, so he'll be loaned or sold). His two goals in the last game of the season are unlikely to win him a reprieve.
  
  
• Antonio Cassano - after his spat with Capello last October has rarely featured, and has been all but invisible in the second half of the season (he was not at the celebrations last night). He's definitely for sale, if anyone is looking to buy someone with his obvious disregard for professionalism, that is.
  
  
• Iván Helguera - was on the transfer list last season and stayed after the negotiations fell through. Out of favour with Capello initially, he fought his way back into the team only to pick up an injury and find himself sidelined once again in the final games of the season. Metzelder's arrival will probably mean the club will find him a way out in the summer.

May be leaving:

• Fabio Capello - has publicly said he would like to see out his contract (but then, they all say that). Capello has made no secret of his unhapiness at the lack of support from the president (other than lip service in front of the press). Calderón has allegedly got a deal signed to bring in Schuster from Getafe, but the remarkable (and often fortunate) dénouement to the league championship puts this most populist of presidents in a quandary. Either way, his indecision will cost the club dear. It also puts the planning for next season in jeopardy, as it is still not clear who will be running things from a technical perspective. This, more than any other decision about players or staff, is crucial to Real's success next season, and for that reason, I would prefer Capello to stay, because continuity is easier than change and his style has been unjustly derided as lacking elegance. This is something not completely backed up by the team's performances in the second half of the season.
  
  
• Alvaro Mejía - only featured when all other central defenders were injured. Unlikely to stay.
  
  
• Michel Salgado - young Miguel Torres has taken his place in the starting line-up and is unlikely to relinquish it. Has two more years left on his contract, so the club may seek to offload him while they still can.
  
  
• Emerson and Cannavaro - after a poor start, somewhat redeemed in the second half of the season, their futures are probably tied to Capello's, as they, more than most, fit the mold of the type of player he prefers.

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Two days to go...

It's been quite a while since I last posted to this blog. Life generally has been getting in the way of contributing articles as regularly as I would wish, and, let's face it, I don't really hold with Bill Shankly's famously held view on football and life.

However, I do derive a certain satisfaction from getting these thoughts down on a more permanent medium, and even more so from the comments left by others. Hence I have decided to give this another try, but with a more reduced frequency of posting; perhaps once or twice a week, as time permits.

I am also conscious that Real Madrid is on the verge of potentially winning a title in a couple of days' time; something that looked much more remote when I last posted. I did not want this new resolution of mine to continue to post to be associated with triumphalism in the event of Real Madrid winning the league title on Sunday, so I am posting this when there is a chance that it'll all go disastrously wrong, and I'll continue to post next week whatever happens.

Calderón's latest stunt at the Romareda following Real's last gasp equaliser against Zaragoza and Tamudo's goal for Espanyol 18 seconds later, maintaining Real at the top of the league standings with one game to go is not a surprise. He's consistently shown himself to be a loose-lipped populist president, and clearly does not carry himself with the dignity required of the post. Then again, given the average Spanish First Division president, he could be a lot worse.

Calderón's still waiting to see how things fall out this Sunday before deciding what to do about Capello and next season. The time for planning next season should have been weeks ago, not left until after the season's over. That leaves precious little time to decide who's going to be playing and how. The only reported movement in the market is Metzelder as central defender (on paper a good deal as he's on a Bosman).

This week also saw David Beckham's last press conference before leaving the club for the LA Galaxy. It is sad that after nearly 4 years of living and working in Spain, his grasp of Spanish is still so poor. Steve McManaman spent a similar time at Real and clearly immersed himself much more in local life, and the fans loved him all the more for it.

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'Unimaginable' sponsors

After Real Madrid's shirt sponsor, Benq Mobile, filed for insolvency in the New Year, it was only a matter of time before Ramón Calderón found a way to announce a replacement with as much fanfare as possible.

Initially, the plan was for the parent company to pick up the sponsorship contract, but the opportunity to renegotiate and present a bigger and better deal was too good to pass up. At the El Mundo forum in Mallorca, the current Real Madrid president spoke of his "pride" at resolving this issue in under a month and that a new contract, with figures "unimaginable" to other clubs, would be signed in the next week.

He took time to praise a number of the players in the squad, in a more measured manner than his attack of unbridled honesty the previous week. He also said his comments had been misunderstood and taken out of context and that the players deserved their salaries.

Calderón insisted that the decision not to allow David Beckham to play, even though he has 6 months left on his contract, is entirely a "technical decision". It's pretty clear to all and sundry that this was a ploy designed to force the player to cough up some extra cash to be released early.

Now that outcome's not looking likely, even Capello has let it slip that there may be a chance for Beckham to be involved in future games, especially as it's embarrassing to the club to be paying his large salary just for training with his team-mates.

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He begs a 'thousand pardons'

... and he might have to keep on begging. Motormouth Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón really outdid himself yesterday while giving a lecture at a Madrid university to law students on the management of sports organisations.

His comments where captured by a sly journalist from Spanish radio station COPE and have caused him a huge deal of embarrassment. Here are some of the juiciest quotes:

Beckham is off to be a mediocre actor in Hollywood. The proof that the technical team made the right decision in not renewing his contract is that nobody else wanted him, even though he was free. This a day after saying that Beckham had played with Real Madrid like a bullfighter plays with a bull in stalling contract talks while negotiating with LA Galaxy and buying a home out in LA.

The Bernabéu is like a theatre. People don't go there to support their team with shouts and chants like they do in England, or Italy. If the players do well, it's like Plácido Domingo singing well, they applaud. But if Plácido Domingo sings out of key they whistle and boo. People feel they've paid to be entertained and won't show their support if that doesn't happen. This won't do his reelection chances much good, if, as expected, the postal vote is allowed to be counted and new elections are called.

Raúl and Guti started at the same time. Raúl has been a star for 12 years and Guti is still just a player "with a lot of promise". He's 31 and a great player, but he's never really counted. While not many will disagree with this assessment, it flies in the face of his contract being renewed for another two years back in November.

Managing players with such large salary differences is very difficult. At any given time, Diego López, who earns 300,000 euros a year could come in for Iker Casillas, who earns 9 million.

There is a lot of vanity and ego in the dressing room; they think they're superstars who don't have to pay for anything. You have culture and education, and generally, they have none.

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Cruel and unusual punishment

In what is possibly Fabio Capello's most erratic decision so far (and there have been a few), the Italian manager declared in a press conference that David Beckham would no longer play for Real Madrid. "Beckham will train with the team but he won't play. A player who has such an important contract with another club, we cannot count on him."

Frankly, this is bonkers. Granted, Beckham has not featured heavily in Capello's plans so far this season, although the manager did say that he had asked for his contract to be renewed. But from that to deny the possibility of any more playing time in a long and potentially difficult season is shooting yourself in the foot. From January 1st, the former England captain was perfectly entitled to negotiate with whomever he wished; Real Madrid asked him to make up his mind quickly, so he did. For the manager to then say that this means they cannot count on him means that every player who has 6 months or less left on their contract is not to be trusted by their current clubs. This is patently ridiculous.

Which means that Capello has either gone nuts, wants to get fired, or has been asked by the management to make this announcement to push Beckham towards leaving the club earlier than planned (the new MLS season starts in April), thus saving Real Madrid a hefty chunk of his salary for the year (let's face it, they're not going to recoup it selling Beckham shirts, are they?). I wonder which one is closest to the truth?

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No deal. Bye Bye Becks

What a kerfuffle! as Lou Todd would say, all caused by Pedja Mijatovic's comments about David Beckham in an interview with Sky Italia yesterday.

In what some sections of the press interpreted as a Freudian slip, and others as a language mix-up, Mijatovic was asked in Italian whether he would renew David Beckham's contract this week. The Montenegrin Real Madrid sports director, who did play for 3 seasons with Fiorentina initially replied "No", shortly followed by "Beckham’s contract has not been renewed.".

However, all that was left behind as a footnote in this long-running saga when the player issued a statement earlier today in which he said, diplomatically as ever: "This week, Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons.

"After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year.

"I would like to thank the supporters and people of Madrid who have made my family and I feel so welcome in my time here, making this an extremely difficult decision to make. I have enjoyed my time in Spain enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans."

[Note to his PR staff: It's "my family and me", not "my family and I"]

Beckham has reportedly agreed a five-year deal with LA Galaxy, which would see him end his footballing days over in the States. Arguably it means he has decided there is no chance of being recalled to the England team and there's no point in potentially winning any major trophies if he's not playing regular first team football. He will see out his contract at Real Madrid which ends on the 30th of June, and make his MLS debut in August, going from galáctico to the Galaxy.

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Real increases Becks offer

Negotiations over the renewal of David Beckham's contract at Real Madrid are likely to be restarted next week, following an improved offer from the club.

At least that is what the player's agent, Simon Oliveira, claimed in an interview with BBC sport. "There is a significant deal on the table from Real. It's slightly more than he's currently on. They are the only club we are genuinely talking to at the moment and another meeting is scheduled for the second week of January," Oliveira said.

Although Beckham can now freely negotiate with any other clubs interested in signing him, Oliveira said he would not be leaving in the January transfer window, and that the final decision is likely to be made public around March.

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No agreement on Beckham future

As of January 1st, David Beckham can quite openly negotiate with anyone he likes to determine where he will play from next season. There was no response from his representatives to the offer tabled by Real Madrid before the end of 2006 to renew his contract for a reported further two years, so his current situation remains the same: his contract expires on June 30th.

There are supposedly two obstacles to Beckham staying at Real: his lack of playing time and his image rights. Since the start of the season, he has played in 12 out of 16 league matches; however, in seven of those he came on late in the game as a substitute, and in two he started but was substituted himself. Reyes and Robinho have been playing in his position.

On the economic front, the club owns 50% of Beckham's image rights and he allegedly would like them back if he were to stay. There's little prospect of Real Madrid negotiating on this, even though his media profile may not be what it once was, as they are what makes him a profitable player to have on the books, as clearly, he is not a sporting necessity.

The question now is, will this saga be drawn out until the end of the season, or will we see some swift resolution in the next few weeks. Beckham has said very little publicly about what he wants (other than to be able to play), so expect the rumours of his being linked with numerous clubs (around 30 at the last count) to continue to fly until an announcement is made.

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Capello speaks...

In a revealing interview with As, Fabio Capello faces the Spanish inquisition (in a comfy chair while enjoying lunch at their expense) from a paper that is usually a mouthpiece for the club, but that has been less than enamoured with his style. Capello defends his actions as vigorously as he practised catenaccio in his youth. This is the translation of the full article:

At the beginning of the conversation, Capello tackles Cannavaro's latest accolade

I do not understand all I am hearing and reading about the controversy surrounding Fabio Cannavaro. What's all this about? how are people making these judgements? Cannavaro was the best player of the World Cup and that's where the best players go. Who can argue with that? Only those who don't put enough value on the World Cup. It's the place where all the best players go to show how good they are. And Cannavaro was the best among them all. On top of that he had a great season for Juventus.

Fabio, we can think of a few poor performances of Cannavaro playing for Real Madrid

Look. Cannavaro, like all those who took part in the World Cup, needs some time to get back to full match fitness. Also he's got some back problems.

But coincidentally, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or on the day when Carew kept getting away from him

Not true! I've seen the video of the game. I always do that. I can tell you that Carew gets away from him only once. Only once, I tell you. And I'm not talking about the goal, because Carew was offside. It was in another action. But it was only once, I insist.

He seems to laugh sometimes as if he were mocking people

Come on... let's discuss football. Cannavaro is like that; he laughs when he speaks. But he is player who is always focused on the game. That is essential to be competitive.

No-one's arguing about his commitment, the same as for the rest of the squad. You can see Capello's hand in that

We may play well or badly, but the pride in representing this club has returned. All the players are united and they have ambition. They all play their socks off in all the games.

Don't you think there should be more spectacle as well as physical effort in Real Madrid's football?

Let me tell you something. The fans have asked me to first of all make sure I put back the spirit and that the good football will come later. They tell me this on the street.

But Real Madrid has always played attractive football. And we are not seeing any of that now.

Look, of course I love good attractive football. But we have to play with what we have at the moment. The team plays according to the players in the squad. Good passing is not enough right now. We have to improve in this area.

The team plays the way they do because of the players you have signed: blunt, defensive-minded

What do you want? It was madness to have the elections in July! We were too late to the market to pick and choose. How much do you think Cesc, or any other top player costs in July? We are achieving miracles with what we've got.

Barcelona plays more attractively

Come on. Barcelona did not win all their players on the lottery. They've arrived over time. Do you think I or anyone else can solve everything in two months? Rijkaard took more than 6 months to start showing something for his efforts. My friends, nothing can change as quickly as you're trying to make out to people.

Don't you think that the public wants to see a team go out and attack and win the ball?

Sure - that's tactical suicide. Do you think it would be fun to watch?

Well, yes. It's open football...

Please. In football today you defend with nine and attack with two. Everyone does it! Chelsea, Liverpool, even Barça, after a fashion. They play with two up front: Ronaldinho and Eto'o or Gudjohnssen, and all the rest will go back to their own half to help retrieve the ball. Is that not true? Ninety-five percent of all teams play like that.

We think that, for instance, Diarra and Emerson are blockages to free flowing football. Perhaps it would be better with just one of them and Guti in your 'double pivot'.

You've never seen my 'double pivot' perform at 100% effectiveness. When one is 100%, the other is at 60%. The two of them have not had a great match at the same time as each other. Let me ask you something else. Is there any other team that plays with more forwards than we do? We are not playing defensively because Emerson and Diarra are in the team. Whoever says that is wrong.

You say that Real Madrid's passing game will improve. Will that be with Gago?

Gago is very good. Yes, very good indeed. I've seen him in a lot of videos. But let's be careful with asking too much of him because their season is almost over. We'll see.

Will he play in the same position as Guti? Behind him, in front of him?

I think he has the ability to control and distribute play in the midfield, but he can also go forward. I can't say anything at this stage. We'll have to see how he adapts.

What about Marcelo, will you loan him to Zaragoza or will he play in Castilla (the B team)?

He'll play with Castilla. I want to keep him close, see him every day. I won't allow him to go out on loan.

What about Higuaín?

A good striker. One of the best in Argentina. It will be good to have him here. I think that signing these players is telling the fans that they can rest easy, we have a plan to build a great team.

Have you been fully satisfied with any of the performances so far this season?

I think the attitude we showed in the game against Barcelona is the way to go.

What have you liked the least?

The Getafe game. I knew that game would not be a good one. Something happened...

What?

I don't want to talk about it. But look at how good it was for everyone to stand up and say: "this will not happen again".

Cassano's 'rebellion' was a bad day?

Cassano is how he is. I know him better than anybody. He's a difficult person and a sensational player. Here you've only seen him perform at 50%. His problem is that his effectiveness goes up and down depending on how strong he feels. He needs to feel he's always going to be in the first eleven, but...

So he will get tired of being a substitute, like Beckham

Beckham is not a substitute. He is a complete professional. He will play when there's room in the squd, and there will be room because the season is long. I have a starting eleven now which more or less works, so he will have to wait. But you need to realise that I have personally asked for his contract to be renewed.

Is it true you've been goading Ronaldo and now his morale is up and his weight is down?

I've goaded him a lot, but I have to goad him some more! He is still not at his ideal weight, although he feels very well. He's training wonderfully. Very strong on Monday, on Tuesday... If all goes to plan, he should play on Sunday. We'll see... Ronaldo is the most talented player I have ever seen. His power is impressive. I want to put him up front with Van Nistelrooy again. I have always had two strikers in all my squads.

And you also play with wingers like Robinho and Reyes, or Raúl, although sometimes playing on the 'wrong leg'

Raúl plays well on the wing because he can get forward and look for goals. From the wing he has a great ability to surprise defenders. Also, if he then moves towards the middle, Ramos can then overtake him on the wing more often than Roberto Carlos.

Robinho and Reyes?

My feeling is that it's good to switch the wingers sometimes to play on the 'opposite leg'; it baffles defenders. But I like my wingers to get forward and alsot to get back. They have defensive tasks as well...

Are you convinced by Casillas?

What do you mean? I've always thought Iker was a great keeper. It is true we're working him a lot on high balls and his movement outside the box, and he's improved a lot.

It looks like you're overly negative on his performances when we mention him in the press

I say what I believe. I don't think he makes as many superb saves as you say. I look at him as a coach, from a technical perspective.

Work, work, work. Does this come from your playing day in Italy?

My coach in 1967 in Roma was Helenio Herrera. He was the best I've known by far. Number one. A professional, he always asked for more. He'd have us train for an hour shouting "Attacca la balla, attacca la balla" (Attack the ball). Constant pressure!.

And where did you startout as a player?

I was born in a village with thirteen hundred people, in Pieris. It's 100km from Venice, on the coast. From that village there were twelve Serie A players and three of us played for Italy.

And where did you make your debut?

At Ferrara. The president, who strangely enough was also the coach, signed me. His name was Massa. In the mornings he'd be on the pitch running the training session and on the afternoon he'd call us into his office to tell us who was playing. those were the days! That was Italy in the 60s. After that I played for Roma, Juve, and Milan.

You coincided with some of the Spanish players in the Italian league at that time: Del Sol, Luis Suárez and Peiró

Of course. I played with Peiró in Roma as he was finishing his career. He was great in the box. I tried to copy his technique. He had great cunning and was very successful at heading the ball even though he was not very tall.

Suárez was held in great regard...

He was incredible. Now, according to you, I wouldn't play him (laughs). He used to run up and down the pitch constantly, and with three touches he'd be in the box and score. I had to follow him in some games and he was impossible to mark! He never stopped working. Up and down, on the wing... I remember he used to lift the ball up and hit it almost horizontally. He'd hit fifty metre passes - a phenomenon!

Tell us the truth. What team do you support in Italy?

When I was a kid, I was a Juve fan, like my father. Now, I support whoever I have worked for. And there've been plenty of those.

What's your favourite type of player from those teams?

I like Rossi, at Roma. I remember one day I picked him to play and he impressed me. He played like he trained: no fear, holding nothing back. Aquillani also plays like that. They can play in the big teams. I remember ten years ago, players would come to Real Madrid with a great pedigree and would freeze at the Bernabéu, in front of ninety thousand.

Tell us what you like about your next opponents: Athletic

Whatever I say now or what I've seen in the videos is now worthless. they've just changed coach and how they'll play is a mystery. As a club, they're suffering because their policy of only signing Basque players is making it progressively more difficult.

Will you win a trophy this year?

Let me beat Athletic first...

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Tick... tock...

The British press (Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Independent) all echo the report in Spanish sports weekly Don Balón which quotes an unnamed Real Madrid board member as saying "Capello prefers a different type of player and we would all be relieved if Beckham, on his own initiative, said he had decided to leave to play in the MLS. That way nobody could blame Calderón for getting rid of an icon such as David Beckham. What Calderón said two months ago and what he wants now are two very different things. We cannot admit this publicly, but the best for both parties would be for Beckham to leave. Capello doesn't want him and the player himself cannot carry on spending so much time on the bench, because he would lose some of his multi-million marketing contracts. It is not good for Real Madrid to have such a famous player as Beckham on the bench, like a ticking timebomb".

The club, as is normal in these cases, has decided not to comment on quotes from an unnamed source. The player's spokesman said last night "We are dubious about comments made by an unnamed member of the board. If it is true, it goes against everything Capello, Ramón Calderón and Pedrag Mijatovic have been saying to us and to the world's media, that they want him to stay. Talks are ongoing and positive and we expect another meeting very soon.".

One can only speculate about the reasons behind this "leak" to the press. Taken at face value, it could be that the club really does think Beckham is not the money-making machine he once was, and if he doesn't feature in the manager's schemes, what is the point in keeping him? However, one only has to look at the change in fortunes for Helguera and Robinho in the squad to see that what Capello wants and needs today is not what he might want and need tomorrow. It could just be Fabio's way of keeping uppity players on their toes.

On the other hand, it might be a ploy to put pressure on the player to decide on his future sooner rather than later. After all, if he wants to leave, Real can still make some money by offloading him in the January transfer window. And if he decides to stay, it could be for a reduced salary, or one tied to results or appearances.

I'm sticking to my prediction that Beckham will sign on for a further two years, but it's looking shakier by the minute (which is why I'm not a betting man).

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Who needs a salary?

In an article in The Sun on Tuesday, David Beckham was reported to have earned £19 million (28 million euros) in the past year from his 'sponsorship deals, personal appearances and business ventures'. In other words, this is additional income over and above the salary he receives for playing for Real Madrid.

But this is not the end of the Beckham money-making machine. He and his wife Victoria are partners in another company Brand Beckham which has the serialisation rights to his recent book, Making it real and other ventures in common, such as perfume.

Despite recent set-backs, such as the ending of his contract with Police sunglasses (reportedly worth £1.5 million a year), it is clear his earning potential outside the field of play is still considerable. Given the image rights revenue share deal he has with Real Madrid, it is clear to see why it is in the club's financial interests to keep him on for some time to come.

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Should I stay or should I go...

Back in 2004, British journalist John Carlin, in his book White Angels published a fascinating insider's view on the whole saga of David Beckham leaving Manchester United and signing for Real Madrid. In it he describes how the Spanish club's marketing director, José Angel Sánchez could not believe his lucky stars when Peter Kenyon, Manchester United's chief executive said he would be prepared to accept £25 million for the England captain. Peanuts!, thought Sánchez, who privately valued Beckham's worth in marketing terms at 500 million euros.

Carlin lays the blame for Manchester United's uncharacteristic lack of financial acumen firmly at the feet of Alex Ferguson, rather than Peter Kenyon's. The United manager's well publicised bust-ups with his player meant that their relationship had irretrievably broken down and Ferguson just wanted to get rid of his troublesome media star.

Earlier this year, half-way through last season, Carlin describes how Beckham has been instrumental in turning Real Madrid into the biggest football brand in the World in marketing terms. He cautions however, that unless footballing success comes for both, the value of the joint brand will diminish.

Hence David Beckham's dilemma in a season where Real Madrid are finally showing some grit and solidity at the back and where they may once again be in contention for a title come next summer, but where the Englishman has been relegated to the bench in the majority of Fabio Capello's line-ups. Can he fight his way back into the starting eleven? Can he cope with just being "one more in the team" should the club win a trophy this season? Can he really do better elsewhere? Will he leave in January? In a recent online poll in Marca, 41% of the voters wanted him to leave, against 59% who wanted him to stay (37% for footballing reasons and 22% for financial reasons).

I have said elsewhere that I expect him to stay this season and to sign a contract extension of at least one year, if not two. To leave in January would mean not being able to compete in Europe as he's cup-tied with Real Madrid. I see no likely candidates for him to go to at the end of the season. There's no point in being the star player in a team that's not going to compete in Europe; that won't promote his brand. His slowness in adapting to life and the language in Spain suggests that he is unlikely to want to move anywhere other than back to England which leaves the following options: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and... Barcelona.

Alex Ferguson has taken some time to rebuild his team following the departure of Beckham and Van Nistelrooy (and others) and is unlikely to welcome him back with open arms. I don't think Mourinho would guarantee a starting place for him just because he's David Beckham, and he has plenty of talent at his disposal. Arsenal and Liverpool are slightly more likely if only because they would like the opportunity to rub it into Manchester United's face, but, in footballing terms, they just don't need him. Barcelona would probably relish the chance of paying Real Madrid back for the Figo incident, the start of the whole galáctico era. Again, I just don't see Rijkaard as being the type of manager who would play Beckham just because he's in the squad; that's not the reputation he has built for himself. Oh yeah, he'd also have to learn Catalan...

In conclusion, David Beckham is no longer an essential element for a team that wants to compete at the highest level. He still has a massive marketing presence, and is therefore very attractive in financial terms. His best bet in my opinion would be to stay at Real Madrid, continue fighting for his place (just like McManaman did when he was judged to be 'surplus to requirements', winning the fans' support in the process) and hope that Real win the trophies that would make his move abroad worthwhile.

[Update 29/10/2006: Coincidentally, John Carlin wrote a piece in Sunday's Observer newspaper analysing the plight of David Beckham. He reaches a different conclusion from mine in that he believes Beckham will leave Real Madrid either in January or at the end of the season, but that effectively, he is already on the downhill slope career-wise and that no matter where he ends up, he has little future to speak off. Very depressing. A different view of this article can also be found on Linda's blog, The Beautiful Game]

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Calderón does it again...

He really can't help himself. One of the (few) laudable things about Florentino Pérez's presidency of Real Madrid was that he shunned the cameras and let others do the talking (unfortunately, this tended mostly to be Butragueño, who, great player though he was, sucked as vice president).

Ramón Calderón, on the other hand, seems to bask in the glow of the camera lights, which does not necessarily mean it's a bad thing except that he keeps putting his foot in it. The sad thing is that he's probably as good a candidate for the job as any of the others that didn't make it in the summer.

In his latest latest contributions in an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE he delighted us all with

On Raúl's renaissance:

After Getafe, he told me in Bucharest that he had been suffering a lot, not sleeping and that if things continued in the same vein he would leave, terminate his contract and free the club from having to pay his salary. We're going to try to get national side to play the qualifier against Denmark on the 24th of March at the Bernabéu, but if they don't pick Raúl, we won't let them use the stadium...

The Spanish Federation must be quaking in their boots... Does he just make it up as he goes along?

On Helguera's renaissance:

His behaviour has been exemplary. I congratulated him. He was going to leave us in August. It proves that Capello is not an inflexible man.

He wasn't leaving, he was being pushed. Capello had no choice (through injuries and suspensions) but to use him, and he is nothing if not a pragmatist when it comes to getting results.


On Beckham's contract negotiations:

I think he will renew. He is happy in his new house and with his kids' school; they are already speaking Spanish. I've spoken to his agent and everything is in place for him to sign for another two years

Funny that Beckham's recently been speaking of his "frustration"
at being left on the bench and "refusing to sign" (to be fair the last quote is from The Sun, not always the most reliable of news institutions). I thought Calderón wasn't going to get involved with technical decisions involving players?

On Roberto Carlos:

He will stay with us. He has proved to be irreplaceable

He's only irreplaceable because Real Madrid hasn't managed to find a decent left back on the market. Roberto Carlos has been mostly great for the past 10 years, but is close to being 'past it'. I thought Calderón wasn't going to get involved with technical decisions involving players?

On the winter transfer market

I don't get involved

Ah, that explains it.

On Real Madrid taking over the World

We're going to have our own rugby team, a futsal and a women's football team. In December we'll have a private jet with room for 140 first class passengers and the club crest on the wings so wherever we go we'll already be 1-0 up

What's he on about? A rugby team? why?

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Beckham's woes increase

David Beckham could be facing a pay cut if he stays at Real Madrid, reports Simon Talbot on Thursday's Guardian. With both sides currently locked in contract negotiations, this is probably just another media salvo to up the psychological stakes, but it does mark another stage in Beckham's torrid last few months. England's disappointing (to say the least) World Cup campaign was followed by his tearfully stepping down as captain the morning after his team had been knocked out by Portugal.

His troubles were just beginning, however, after Steve McClaren swiftly made it obvious that the former captain did not have a place in his new-look side and Real's coach Fabio Capello has shown he prefers ex-Gunner Reyes on the right, relegating Beckham to the bench in their last four games. Beckham can start talking to other clubs from 1st January, as his contract expires at the end of this season, but I expect him to renew for at last one more season and for both sides to claim they got what they wanted out of the negotiations. To leave Real Madrid having won no trophies (the Spanish Supercup does not count) would be a monumental failure and I don't see him going back to join a Premiership side other than United. Going to another major European club is probably out of the question; he's found it hard enough acclimatising to Spain (Steve McManaman spoke better Spanish in three months than he has in three years).

On the bright side, he should feature in Capello's plans in the long term; the Italian has shown he likes players with commitment above those with quality, and one thing Beckham has in spades is his workrate. This is something he has in common with Raúl, his captain at Real, whom Capello has stood by even after he had been dropped from the Spanish squad by troubled manager Luis Aragonés. Also, it is reported that the MLS is changing the rules over the player salary caps from next season, paving the way for a multi-million dollar move to the US once Beckham decides his days as a top-rated footballer are over.

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Handbags at dawn...

Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón had a serious case of foot-in-mouth in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live when he firstly intimated that David Beckham would be retiring in two years' time (strenuously denied by Becks' spokesman) and secondly by suggesting that Roman Abramovich's Chelsea were hyper-inflating the football market by paying over the odds for their transfer targets (around 50 million euros for out-of-sorts Andrei Shevchenko this summer).

If it weren't bad enough that this sounds like a school playground whine - a big boy did it and ran away - it smacks of hypocrisy from a club who paid the current world record transfer fee of 73 million euros for Zinedine Zidane back in 2001. Admittedly the club was run by someone else at the time.

Chelsea's riposte was not long in coming, via Chelsea's director of communications Simon Greenberg, who could not help having a dig: "We run ourselves as much as we can as a plc and we are completely transparent about our accounts - which is something that cannot be said for many top European clubs, including, I would say, Real Madrid." Chelsea, transparent?

What was Calderón hoping to achieve? Having failed to deliver on his election promises (Cesc, Kaká), he compounds it with his inept media relations. The best Real can hope for is that he keeps his mouth shut in future.

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