Teenwolf said:
Sorry to rain on the REAL MADRID parade, but they are winning nothing this year! They have too many big name stars that just do not perform week in week out! Raul has been shocking for 2 years now and should be on the bench, Zidane is getting old, Gutti should play more or move to my beloved Arsenal although Wenger says he's not interested!!!
Barcelona will win the league again and do well in the champions league. Ronaldihno and Eto are the best 2 players in the Spanish league closely followed by Xavi.
The problem with Madrid is that they are run by the president - not their manager! The president has money but no footballing brain - this is why Madrid have been in decline for the last few years.
I agree, Owen has never had a fair crack - He will move to Man United in the next few days as this will make his England chances improve - this is a World Cup season so it affects all transfer's.
I agree the that Florentino Perez is a President who through the economic side has been brilliant for Madrid, but on the futbol side has been pathetic.
And while he still has the final say, I believe it is incorrect to say their manager Luxemburgo has no input because all of the players they have signed this year aside from Robinho are guys Luxe has requested to balance out the team.
Barca is the still the favorites to win the league until they are dethrowned but Real has made some very nice moves in hopes of balancing out what has been a lopsided squad. They are still looking to sign another mid-fielder and defensive player as well so they are not done.
I agree that Raul has been pathetic and should be on the bench which would give Guti a chance to become a great player, but unfortunately he is the poster boy of Real Madrid and they won't sit him yet.
Zidane is getting old, but that is why Madrid has brought in guys like Robinho and Baptista to play in his spot. Zidane will not start every game with the amount of games Real plays, but when he is fresh, Zidane is still one of the best in world.
The KEY for Real Madrid is that all the players need to understand that aside from Casillas, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldo, no one is a starter. Everyone must sit once in a while to stay fresh given the fact that Real plays in three tournaments. And with that understanding, Luxemburgo needs to keep a balance in playing time. If players can't deal with that and feel they need to start every game, then they don't have a place in a team that is built like Real.
Real could win all the major tournaments just as easy as they can lose them all again. It's very hard to tell how they will perform, because a lot of it falls down to ego.
We'll see