As Los Blancos stare at a season of transition, no one knows what to expect from a side still reeling from the loss of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. A thumping defeat to crosstown rivals Atletico in the Super Cup notwithstanding, fans portend another season of struggle, though that really may not be the case. I put my neck on the line and make a few presumptions about the upcoming season.
Real Madrid’s post-Cristiano Ronaldo era did not commence on a positive note, as a 4-2 drubbing at the hands of neighbours Atletico Madrid has left a bitter taste in the mouth just days before the season opener against Getafe. However, that might just be a case of jumping the gun, for there were a few positive ones can see from the rose-coloured spectacles.
For starters, the Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema link-up is something we’re going to see more often this season, as the Welshman’s inch-perfect cross was headed home sneakily by the French forward for the equaliser.
The club also ended a four-year drought of a major signing by pillaging Thibaut Courtois away from Chelsea just hours before the Premier League transfer window shut, while another newcomer, Vinicius Junior, has also set the collective Madridista mouth smacking its lips after flashes of brilliance in the pre-season.
4 - Julen Lopetegui is the first Real Madrid manager to concede four or more goals in his first competitive game in charge since Michael Keeping against Celta Vigo in February 1948. Stunned. pic.twitter.com/OYoLspZgO5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 15, 2018
So it’s not all doom and gloom. A managerial change means the team obviously needs time to acclimatise to new tactics, while the grief of losing the biggest inspiration of the last decade will also heal only over time. There’s a transition the team will have to undergo.
All said and done, before we embark on a new season, let’s look into our crystal balls and make a few predictions:
#1 Sergio Ramos will be in charge of penalty duties, while Bale will execute the freekicks
Cristiano Ronaldo was the reason Real Madrid never had to worry about the penalties. Yes, he did miss a couple of them over the years; a lot of in fact, but his proficiency from 12 yards was easily the best in the world.
But, with the Portuguese no longer in the team, there will be someone new stepping up to take the spot-kicks this season and it looks like it will be the skipper himself.
Ramos has, on most occasions, stepped up to dispatch penalties in the absence of Ronaldo and did the same in the recent Super Cup game too.
Many presumed it would be Bale now strutting his stuff from 12 yards, but the Welsh talisman looks to take up freekick duties fulltime instead. He has scored a couple of belters in the past, and now with no Ronaldo ahead of him in that pecking order, we can look forward to a few more of them, hopefully.