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In fact, as Villareal's home game against Getafe will finish before Real's away tie in Pamplona (against Osasuna), the merengues could find themselves champions before they even kick a ball. They already knew before their game this Sunday that Villareal had denied them the chance of singing the alirón (a word of disputed etymology, but you could say it is the equivalent of singing "We are the Champions"). Though the Yellow Submarine had torpedoed Betis, the Madrid players nonetheless came out determined to show their mettle.
Schuster lined up Saviola from the start, allegedly because he'd been training well and had not had the chance to come on in previous games when he had spent some time warming up. More suspicious minds may conclude that Real wants to give him a bit of an outing to improve his selling price come the summer. Regardless, the diminutive Argentine showed flashes of his class in his first league game since December 1st and pounced on a rebound from the Athletic keeper to put Real ahead after 13 minutes.
If the final result looks like a comfortable win, it is fair to say that it was only possible through the acrobatics of Iker Casillas. He may claim a lack of interest in winning the Zamora trophy, but he put paid to Athletic's hopes of getting back into the game with a crucial penalty save in the first half, and two more excellent stops later on. Athletic looked deflated and Schuster brought on Robben and Higuaín part way through the second half to finish them off.
And finish them off they did. Higuaín sped down the right wing and threaded it through to Robben for a simple finish. Barely two minutes later, he got himself on the scoresheet by latching onto a throw-in and sending goalkeeper Armando the wrong way.
The omens, if you believe in omens, are good for next Sunday's game against Osasuna. Real have won in their last three visits and have not lost at El Sadar (or Reyno de Navarra, as it is now known) since February 2003. Should they win the league title there, their next opponents will make the traditional pasillo welcoming the champions onto the pitch of the Bernabéu in a game that's already sold out. The identity of their next opponents? Barcelona.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Just the two of us
Thursday, 24 April 2008
The promise of true reform
The reportedly independent commission is composed exclusively of 20 Real Madrid socios from a number of areas of expertise: legal, academic, political, former players, etc. Their final draft, which was presented to the board for approval, is expected to be the main agenda item at a forthcoming Extraordinary General meeting, where the members will get a chance to vote on it. Some of the main proposed changes are as follows:
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Dudek's chance?
It all hinges on the Zamora trophy, awarded (by Marca, no less) to the best goalkeeper in the league every year. No Real Madrid keeper has won this since Paco Buyo back in 1992, but, right now, Iker Casillas is leading the standings with 30 goals conceded in 33 games.
The rules state that the keeper with the lowest goals to games coefficient wins the trophy, as long as they have played 60 minutes or more in 28 matches throughout the season. The current table looks like: Player Team Goals Games Coefficient Casillas Real Madrid 30 33 0.91 Valdés Barcelona 31 33 0.94 Ricardo Osasuna 33 32 1.03 Pato Getafe 36 29 1.24 César Zaragoza 50 32 1.56 Sorrentino Recreativo 54 33 1.64 Toño Racing 23 27 0.85
The argument is that Schuster may rest Casillas once the league title has been won (which could be as early as this coming weekend if Real wins and neither Villareal nor Barcelona get all three points in their respective away ties) to help him win this personal accolade and 'lock in' his low coefficient. Although Racing de Santander's Toño has a lower coefficient (he's one shy of the 28 games required, hence his position on the table) his team is in contention for a Champions League place so he's expected to play in every one of their remaining games (Mallorca, Murcia, Sevilla, Athletic and Osasuna).
Personally, I find this scenario rather unlikely. Casillas may very well want to win this trophy, but I think that keeping his match fitness in the run-up to Euro 2008 is far more important, so he may take the risk of conceding less goals than Toño and his other pursuers. Still, it would be nice to give the 'hero of Istanbul' a run-out once or twice before the season is out to reward his patience.
Monday, 21 April 2008
Within striking distance
Despite Racing's initial onslaught, it was Real who would score first when Raúl got the merest of touches on a goal-bound Robinho cross. The captain, who is almost certain to get a break from international duties this summer despite being the second-highest Spanish goalscorer in the league, increased his personal tally against Racing to thirteen goals, making it his second-favourite team to score against, after Valladolid.
The other element of Real's success on the night was the excellent work from the back four, in particular Heinze, who is giving Sneijder a run for his money as Real's most valuable signing of the season. The Argentine was not only exemplary in his defensive duties but also linked up well with Sneijder to relieve the pressure when most needed. Added to the back four, the excellent performances of Gago and Diarra meant that Racing could only reach Casillas's area with aerial balls from set plays.
The only fly in the ointment was that, despite Raúl's early goal, the forward line was not as effective as it could have been, and a couple of clear chances, one each from Robinho and Robben, went begging. The Brazilian is not showing the sparkling form of earlier in the season (is it fitness, or is it confidence?) and was substituted by Higuaín in the second half. Robben, while showing an excellent level of fitness, also struggled to make an impact, and Schuster decided to bring Balboa on for a few minutes at the end of the game.
The youngster played his part in Higuaín's goal, which, coming as it did in the third minute of injury time against an exhausted Racing side, was probably too much reward for Real's efforts. However, this now means that Real Madrid can mathematically win their thirty-first league title next week at home to Athletic Bilbao if both Barcelona and Villareal fail to win.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Keeping an eye on the board
The running of a football club involves a lot more than those elements that the ordinary fans are concerned with on a day-to-day basis: players on form, or injured, competition standings, what the rivals are up to, who's going to be bought or sold. Occasionally fans look more closely at institutional or financial matters, to see whether the club will have enough money for players or new facilities. They rarely think, however, about the dark murky doings of club officials looking to get reelected. Perhaps they should.
On Monday, I wrote about the Real Madrid board's announcement that they were putting a halt to the current activities regarding the selection of new socios compromisarios (those who can vote at AGMs) following complaints from a number of socios about irregularities in the process. This followed allegations about said process first announced on a radio programme.
It seems both the original allegations, as well as the subsequent complaints, were raised by Plataforma Blanca, a group of around 600 Real Madrid socios who have appointed themselves guardians of transparency at the club. A good thing, but still too small a proportion of members to influence policy. Their aims, in the short term at least, are:
Earlier today, the electoral commission, heavily criticised by the board in their Monday statement, retorted that the board had no jurisdiction over the electoral process (according to article 56 of the club statutes) and therefore could not suspend the current selection process, which would continue for the benefit of those candidates whose selection process was above board. In their letter to the board, they urge them to "stop avoiding their responsibilities" and initiate an investigation into the alleged irregularities.
So, it's now up to the board to respond once again to the allegations that they are passing the buck, presumably because they don't want anyone to find out what some of their members have (allegedly) been up to.
