Real Madrid: What goes up must come down
We all love to dream and I believe that one dream we have in common is to play the beautiful game of football professionally, at Real Madrid. Imagine making it to the top while you’re young.
Imagine Florentino Perez calls you personally and say he wants YOU at his club. Then, imagine joining that club and even with the pressure on you at that young age and the need to show everyone what you are capable of, you automatically are loved by the same fanbase that you were once a part of.
Then, imagine you realize that the best player in the team’s history has decided to leave and instead of the club going out and trying to find someone to replace him, they decide to promote from inside of the club and you were the one chosen. Then imagine it all turns against you.
I understand that this starts off as an attempt to excuse Marco Asensio from his sub-par performances so far this season as we all know he’s capable of so much more but that’s not the case really.
To be honest, I was an advocate of the Spaniard and I was truly excited to see him as our starter this season. A part of me wanted the team to sign Eden Hazard but if I was, to be honest with myself, I was content with Asensio being our starter and the only way I would have been happier would be if Kylian Mbappe joined.
The season began and I must admit, I really thought we might actually be okay. The team were in sync, the squad seemed happy, Julen Lopetegui was getting the reaction he came here to get. Then, just as quickly as people said “Real Madrid don’t need Cristiano Ronaldo”, we crumbled harder than we have ever in history.
We struggled consistently, Lopetegui’s plans were working against him, the team suddenly seemed deflated (not at all Lope’s fault), and even the luck that we have depended on for some time has betrayed us. Not only were we in utter shambles, but it looked like everything that could have gone wrong for us, certainly has.
Santiago Solari was the chosen one to replace Lopetegui. He came in, brought a similar vibe to Zidane, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Oh, how the past can be forgotten! Four games, four wins. Apparently, that was enough for upper management to shock the world and hand the Argentine a contract until 2021.
Then, in his first official game after signing that contract, Solari watched his team come out with the worst performance of the season (which is really saying something) as they lost 3-0 to an Eibar side that spent the night celebrating with champagne and countless pictures as if they had won the league. They deserved it as well, just as much as we deserved to come back home with a heavy defeat in our minds.
With the success that we have had over the past few years, it is difficult to look back and actually see that we’ve been struggling. In addition to hard-fought wins in the UEFA Champions League (such as almost throwing away a 3-0 first-leg win to Juventus), we have constantly been in trouble in La Liga which even leads Marcelo to say “We are a better team in the Champions League because we have more motivation.” If that doesn’t worry you, I honestly don’t know what will.
Real Madrid experiences a massive problem in La Liga last season as well as the Copa del Rey after being shockingly knocked out by Leganes and finding themselves 17 points behind the league leaders at the end of the season.
You have the right to blame the current struggles on Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure but seriously, is that all it is? Look at our team on paper (wrote an article about it here) and tell me honestly if you feel like at least on paper this isn’t a team that can win La Liga. If not, then lets at least go down to the basics and admit that this is not a team that should lose to Eibar, let alone losing that match 3-0.
The problem comes down to the players. The same people who make it seem like they are better than everyone else because they were able to win the Champions League three times in a row. The players that are now worldwide famous names and feel like their presence on the pitch alone should somehow win matches.
You know what we have not seen this season? Hunger, Sergio Ramos channeling his inner striker instinct, Varane coming out with tackles that you would even be scared to make if you were beating your opponent 6-0 in a useless FIFA video-game, Modric and Kroos’ passes that we have drooled over time and time again, Bale’s lightning runs, Asensio’s unexplainable shooting, or even Isco’s genius to find a way out of any and every tight situation. The only hunger and fight we saw came from Marcelo but that’s not even mildly close to enough.
So much needs to change and it’s sad that the one who will always be blamed is the manager when the main problem (other than player mentality) comes from the man who is in charge. Florentino Perez. He can see what’s going on and should know more than just placing blame on the manager. But then again, we have gotten used to this side of Perez just as much as we got used to the President who has made us reach new heights.
Next. Iker Casillas to return to Real Madrid?. dark
We’re in transition and it’s going to take more than any of us initially expected except for the man who warned us about this last summer: Zidane.
Now, we have to be patient and see what’s in the pipeline during the upcoming transfer windows. I think we need a manager who will come in and completely shake things up a lot more than bringing in new players. Unfortunately, I expect the latter to happen and for this drought to last longer than we would like.
In the end, the one thing we can agree on is that we need a change. Until then, all we can do is hope for the best.