How not to build a new squad

With the arrival of Heinze (12 million euros) and Robben (36 million euros) from Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, Real Madrid have taken their summer transfer spending spree to a staggering 119 million euros. This, just on five signings (Pepe, Drenthe, Sneijder, Robben, Heinze). A further three (Saviola, Metzelder, Dudek) came 'for free', or at least for no transfer fee. Add to these the two returning from loan (Soldado, Baptista) and you find yourself with an almost brand new starting eleven (and almost all positions on the pitch would be covered, too).

A strange strategy for a club that has just won the league championship, you might think. Well, you would not be alone, but this is Real Madrid and normal rules never apply here. If you take as a given that the club needed an infusion of fresh talent and a change in playing style, then there are still several issues which suggest the whole thing just has not been planned at all:

• Replacing the manager took far too long; consequently the club was late getting the transfer strategy under way. The signings have come so late they have not had time, for the most part, to integrate into the squad. The manager has not yet instilled a recognisable style of play either.
  
• Paying well over the odds for an unknown central defender, thus signalling to all and sundry that Real Madrid was in the market to get fleeced. Even if Pepe turns out to be the next Paolo Maldini, the damage was done, hence the ridiculous sums of money that have been spent this summer.
  
• No clear direction in the signings. The left side certainly needed reinforcing, but they then went and signed three left-footed players (Heinze, Drenthe, Robben) and got rid of a young right back (Cicinho), leaving that position half-covered (Salgado should probably have gone and Ramos is better in the centre).
  

Neither Robben nor Heinze will play in tomorrow's league opener against Atlético. Torres and Higuaín are still injured, and Cannavaro picked up a knock in training. It looks like Casillas might be fit in time to see whether Reyes makes good on his promise to score against Real.

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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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Capello would not approve

When Capello was sacked after finally bringing the league title to the Bernabéu following four trophyless seasons, Calderón justified the "unanimous" board decision on the basis that they needed "to find a more enthusiastic way of playing". In other words, attractive football would reign over the expediency of results at any cost.

Last night he got his wish, although not perhaps in the way he might have hoped: a crushing home defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the return leg of the Spanish Supercup saw eight goals scored at the Bernabéu. Sevilla proved to be superior in pretty much all aspects of the game as they picked up their fifth title in 15 months (2 UEFA Cups, 1 Spanish Cup, 1 European Supercup and now 1 Spanish Supercup).

What is surprising is that under Bernd Schuster, Getafe tied Barcelona for the least number of goals conceded (33) during last season's league championship. In other words, he built his team around solid defensive principles. With Real Madrid, he doesn't seem to have decided on a playing style or scheme, or even a fairly consistent starting eleven. This is fine in the middle of the preaseason, and there's been a fair amount of movement in the transfer market, but the league opener, the Madrid derby against Atlético, is only five days away, and the Bernabéu crowd can turn nasty very quickly if he doesn't deliver.

The Madrid press so far have been fairly forgiving of Schuster. This is hardly a major shock, given that they were the ones hounding Capello all of last season and demanding his presence at the helm. Their criticism so far has been mild, but this will quickly be forgotten if Real's performances don't improve soon.

There are worrying signs that the pressure is getting to Pepe. Following his provoking a Cadiz player by spitting at him (getting both the Cadiz player and his team-mate Diarra sent off in the process), he topped this by a truly unfortunate display last night where he gave away a penalty resulting in Sevilla's third goal, was partly responsible for three of the other four, and ended up getting sent off in the dying seconds of the game. Not the best way to justify the 30 million the club spent on you during your home debut. Drenthe, on the other hand, did get a cracking goal, but it was all for naught.

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You can't trust anyone

"... and even less at Real Madrid". So said Iván Helguera, in his usual uncompromising manner, demonstrating that he won't be winning any prizes for diplomacy any time soon.

The quote comes from an interview in this week's Don Balón, following his move from Real Madrid to Valencia this summer. For the benefit of non-Spanish speakers, I've translated selected extracts.

Do eight years club as big as Real Madrid leave a big impression?

Yes, I played nearly 300 games there and won many titles; there's no doubt that leaves its mark. Almost everything was good, although I've also had many disappointments.

Did the club behave well towards you or did you leave with a sour taste in your mouth?

The vast majority of what I went through there was good, but I've also had many bad moments in the past few years. In spite of everything, I cannot leave with a bad taste in the mouth, because, as a footballer, Real Madrid have given me everything and for that, I will always be grateful.

Were you surprised by Fabio Capello's departure at the end of the season?

In truth, yes, because he was asked to win the League and he won it. After he arrived, the team progressed upwards. But you know what football is like. You can't trust anyone and even less at Real Madrid. They opted for a change and I wish Schuster lots of luck, although obviously not at Valencia's expense.

Without Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Helguera... it looks like Real Madrid will be very different to what we've seen in the past few years.

I think so. Schuster replacing Capello already makes it a different team. But, at the moment there's not been that many signings given the "revolution" that had been promised.

[This interview most probably took place before Real's Madrid very recent signing of Drenthe and Sneijder]

They say Schuster is a guarantee of attractive football; do you think it's a risky approach?

I don't know, because, aside from Getafe, Schuster has coached Cologne, Levante and Xerez. I believe that out of those four teams, he hasn't done too well in three. He was a great player and he will be a good coach. Time will tell either way.

Is it a mistake to say that Helguera is looking for a golden retirement at Valencia?

Yes, because I had offers from clubs abroad who were less demanding than Valencia and who paid more money. I decided to join this club because I like it, I respect it, it has ambition and they've put their faith in me.

Do you think your honesty has ever cost you dear?

Yes it has, but I don't care because that is my character, you can't change people. I always try to say what I think; it's my way.

Are central defenders at Real Madrid cursed?

Not at all. What happens is that people think that Real Madrid has to win every game 4-0 and that is no longer feasible. It's absolutely not cursed, and especially not for Spanish defenders. You only have to look at my figures there, as well as Hierro and Sanchis, for example.

But you cannot deny that when Sanchis retired it was a struggle to fill his position, the same happened with Hierro, and perhaps the same will happen now that you've left.

Perhaps it's cursed for foreign players. The problem for a central defender at Real Madrid is that the team has to play attacking football, which leaves gaps in defence. The same thing happens at Barcelona and that is a disadvantage for defenders.

What did it mean to you to leave the Bernabéu having won the League title?

It was a tough victory. Noone was betting on us and we ended up silencing a lot of people. Real Madrid was a disaster who was never going to win the league, but we did it through hard work.

Was it a triumph based on self-belief?

Self-belief and desire, but especially character. We gave everything on the pitch.

Barcelona has signed up some first class reinforcements. Will that many stars intimidate the rest

The Real Madrid of the galácticos, as Florentino used to call them, was also intimidating, and we went three seasons without a title. Barcelona has great players but they are not unbeatable. Last year both Real Madrid and Barcelona had lots of problems both in the League and the Champions League and Barcelona won nothing. This means that hard work is an important element and that makes Valencia one of the favourites.

Pepe will be your replacement. Do you think 30 million euros is too much to pay for a central defender?

That depends. You can pay that for a striker so there's no reason not to pay it for a central defender. It's not a crime. If they pay that much for him it's because they have a lot of confidence in him. This is just to do with the way the market is, nothing more. What is really tough is to find first class central defenders. There are many, and young, in Spain.

If you could erase anything of what happened to you in the past few years, what would it be?

I can't change anything, that is all in the past. I've tried to give everything when I play. What I would change is the way they behaved towards me; that was not right.

Does Real Madrid treat players like human beings?

It's not a Real Madrid thing; we're now seeing that football is changing and when players are surplus to requirements they are treated differently. It happened to me, but I'm not the ony one, unfortunately.

On a final note, I'm not ignoring Real's fifth defeat of the preseason last night at the hands of "nearly relegated" Real Betis; it's just that there really is very little to take away from the fact that the team is not yet gelling together, and it's hard to know whether this is because the players don't know each other and they don't know the manager, or the manager doesn't know what he's doing. Unlike Capello, who clearly didn't give a fig about the preseason results this time last year, Schuster hasn't asked for 50 days to get his team together. He might be justified in doing so, but then he was taken on to get Real playing attractive football, rather than going all out for results. Right now, he's delivering neither.

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Finally seen the back of him?

Bari bad-boy Antonio Cassano is Sampdoria-bound on a season's loan. Real have desperately been looking to offload him all summer (and probably since his falling out with Capello in October last year). He did not join his team mates in celebrating the winning of the 30th league title and was left out of the squad visit to Austria for preseason training. He even allegedly threatened legal action against the club, although this was later denied.

A number of clubs have been linked with Cassano throughout the summer, including Premiership sides Bolton, West Ham and Manchester City. However, his current wage bill of around 4 million euros was too rich for most clubs to consider. In the end, Sampdoria has reportedly agreed to pay one third of it, with Real covering the remaining two thirds.

At the end of the loan period, Sampdoria will have the option to buy the player (if they're still talking to him by then). Though this is probably Cassano's last chance to make any sort of impression, I do not doubt his ability to royally screw it up once again. Frankly, I think if this is the best deal that Real could get, it would have been better to let him go for next to nothing, rather than pay nearly 3 million euros of his salary this season and then wait (and hope) that they can sell him on next year.

He won't be missed.

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