It was a tremendously successful season for Real Madrid this past campaign, but a club as successful as Madrid only want more. With manager Zinedine Zidane now going into his second full season as head coach of the club, Nicholas Gonzalez explains why Real Madrid will repeat as LaLiga champions.
1. Real Madrid are only getting better… and deeper.
As expected, a team like Real Madrid is only going to get better. With the additions of Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos, plus bringing back Marcos Llorente and Jesus Vallejo, Real Madrid will definitely be getting better defensively.
As far as the attacking third and midfield, Madrid really can’t get much better, as conceited as that sounds. Real Madrid will hopefully get a healthy, returning Gareth Bale for this season, and the midfield will be as good as ever.
The only lack Real could have is striker depth as they try to find a stable back up for Karim Benzema after the departure of Alvaro Morata.
2. Barcelona are going through a transition
With the departure of Luis Enrique, Barcelona will need to reinvent themselves under their new manager Ernesto Valverde.
Yes, the Catalonian team still has Messi and Suarez, but they proved not to be enough this past season, as they came away with the least prestigious out of all the trophies they had the chance of winning.
With the departure of Neymar, Barca will need to add playmakers to their squad who came make an immediate difference or things could end up looking like the Spanish Super Cup all year.
Valverde will need to figure out what he is going to do tactically, then hope it translates from day one when the season starts. If that doesn’t work out, he will need to adjust on a week to week basis which takes the time to get things right. It also takes more than one summer to fully get the squad how you would like, especially a team with no identity like Barcelona.
3. Atletico are not currently a real threat for the title
Despite consistently challenging for the title in the past years, Atletico will be less of a threat this season. I think once again they will struggle with depth to compete for a full season, and start tailing off towards the end.
I also think the questions around Diego Simeone and Antoine Griezmann will once again linger around the locker room this year, despite both confirming they will be returning. Atleti can definitely challenge Barcelona for a possible second with the right signings, but they need to start making bigger moves like the big club they are now.
Atleti can definitely challenge Barcelona for a possible second with the right signings, but they need to start making bigger moves like the big club they are now.
4. Real Madrid’s squad is young and still hungry
Real Madrid’s squad is, for the most part, young and fruitful. In the attack, Bale is just getting started and Benzema is hitting his prime years.
The midfield is just starting their reign as Marco Asensio is 21, Isco still just 25 Toni Kroos only 27, and Modric is still in his prime. The two defensive midfielders in Casemiro and Llorente are also very young, while Mateo Kovacic is also only 23.
The defense is the same as the midfield where Marcelo in his late 20s are still their primes as well.
Then you have guys like Theo Hernandez coming in as well as Jesus Vallejo who are both young stars in the making. Rafa Varane will also be a mainstay this season.
Real Madrid’s building with youth, and that’s good to see for Real Madrid’s title chances.
5. Zidane is a magician
The last and arguably the most important reason is that Real’s manager, Zinedine Zidane, is an absolute magician.
Not only is the former Real Madrid man himself fantastic tactically, but because of his legendary status, he knows how to talk and get to players. He also knows how to get the best out of them and make sure what they do is best for the team. Whenever you have the best manager in the world, you are always a threat if not the favorite to win the domestic league title.
I am very excited to see how this season pans out. What I do know is that Real Madrid will be the favorites to once again win La Liga, and that is all the fans can ask for right now.
Next: Real Madrid: Can Isco ascend to the top of the football world?