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September 22nd 2009 17:13
September 15th 2009 02:51
The world's eyes were fixed on Spain's capital this Saturday as the Galacticos 2.0 made their debut against Deportivo La Coruna at the Bernabeu. With Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and the eternal Raul all in starting the game, Madrid had on paper enough firepower to blow Deportivo out of the field. Instead, Madrid's poor defensive system once again reared its ugly head and it was blue-collar midfielder Lassana Diarra who scored the decisive goal in an unconvincing 3-2 Madrid win over Deportivo.
The Spanish giants flexed their muscles early on when Kaka's shot flew across Aranzubia's goal line to finish its course a couple of inches wide of the far post. Kaka came back with another in the 19th minute. This time, his curler was slightly over the crossbar. The Brazilian midfielder seemed to be at the origin of every Madrid attack in the first half and it was his brilliant pass in the 26th minute that allowed the home side to break the deadlock. Spotting Benzema's run inside the box, Kaka slotted a beautiful through-ball that slipped in between a defender's leg to end up in Benzema's path. Unfortunately, the Frenchman's shot only hit the post and it was Raul, lurking around the six-yard box, who buried the rebound for Madrid's first goal of the season
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Madrid fans everywhere were eagerly anticipating the start of their team's pre-season games in order to drool over the club's newest acquisitions. Neutral observers on the other hand were curious to see what kind of formation Manuel Pellegrini would use to satisfy everyone. Although Kaka and current Roja players were absent for Madrid's first friendly encounter, viewers still had the opportunity to see both Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in action for the first time.
The two players were put into different line-ups. Ronaldo started the game with what can be considered the usual starting eleven while Benzema came on at half-time along with the Dutch brigade
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Benzema, the newest Galactico
Two more players were added to Real Madrid's newest edition of the Galacticos. First, Florentino Perez signed Spanish international Raul Albiol from Valencia. Bought for a fee around 15 million, the young defender will help solidify an unstable backline.
Earlier this week, Florentino Perez completed what is thought to be his final purchase of the summer by signing French youngster Karim Benzema. Several teams were in the running for the Olympique Lyonnais striker including Manchester United, but it was the Spanish giants who won race for a fee of 35 million. Benzema joins an already-packed Madrid offense with the likes of Raul, Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo, Huntelaar, and Kaka. It is for that reason Javier Saviola was sent packing to Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. The Argentine striker hasn't been in Madrid's plans for the past two seasons as he spent most of his time rotting on the bench and with Madrid on the hunt for David Villa before zeroing in on Benzema, Saviola had to move to a better environment
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CR9 has been given the green light
Florentino Perez is a man on a mission. After grabbing Kaka from AC Milan, Real Madrid's president put an end to the Cristiano Ronaldo saga by buying the Portuguese winger from Manchester United for a whopping 94 million, consequently breaking the record of Zidane's transfer from Juventus to Madrid.
As a United fan, I am both glad and saddened that Ronaldo has decided to leave. Glad because his departure will get rid of the bandwagon fans who are, for the majority, his fans. Plus, the United locker room will be rid of an arrogant, prima-donna, diva player who often put himself ahead of the team at the worst possible times (this year's Champions League's final, anyone
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The Brazilian midfielder in action
Less than a week after being re-elected President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez made the first splash of the summer by buying AC Milan midfielder Kaka.
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With Real Madrid going undefeated for 18 games since last December, the second edition of this season's Clasico promised to be a passionate affair as the defending champions could pull up to one point behind this year's juggernaut, Barcelona. What happened instead was a real massacre as the Blaugrana simply ran over Madrid by putting six goals past a helpless Casillas and ensure a seven-point lead over their closest rival in the race for the title.
The home team started pretty well as they exploited a shaky Eric Abidal on Barca's left flank. In the 13th minute, Sergio Ramos simply outran the defender before delivering a precise cross to Gonzalo Higuain who headed the ball past Victor Valdes for the first goal of the game. The whole play seemed slowed down as Robben and Toure collided at the edge of the box consequently breaking Puyol and Pique's focus as the defenders let Higuain slip between the two of them and take a free header near the six-yard box
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Real Madrid Almeria: 3-0
Juande Ramos seems to have found the perfect solution to strengthen his team's left side both offensively and defensively. Indeed, with the departure of Robinho, that side of the field seemed to cause problems for the Meringues as they had no reliable wingers other than Robben for the attacking side of things while Marcelo's inexperience made things dicey in defense. All of that is past now as Marcelo is slowly taking over the role of left-winger with a defensive side that betrays his left-back origin. Behind him, Heinze's experience helps to plug any hole the Brazilian might have left while Lassana Diarra's tireless running makes sure that the two men are properly covered in case of a major breakdown.
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Barcelona Mallorca: 3-1
I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, but it was another win for Barcelona on Saturday. The Blaugrana's winning streak now extends to five as Pep Guardiola's troops keep rolling along. Unlike their previous victories, this one wasn't easy as Barcelona struggled to get the rust out of their system after the two-week break. Puyol especially looked a bit off-balance in the first half, and his absence in the center of defense (he switched positions with right-back Victor Sanchez after five minutes of play) proved devastating for the home side who conceded the first goal in the 14th minute on Mallorca's first real opportunity.
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When Iker Casillas stopped Samuel Eto'o's penalty kick at the 69th minute, you could tell that the defending champions were starting to believe that they could hold off La Liga's current leaders to a draw. Although Barcelona had most of the possession during the game, they couldn't get through an overly physical Madrid side who constantly brought down Lionel Messi to his knees, forcing the Blaugrana to explore other options. When Barcelona did penetrate into Madrid's box, their shots were blocked by either Cannavaro or Metzelder who made a pretty solid tandem in center defense.
Eto'o's Penalty
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Barcelona Valencia: 4-0
There is no stopping the steamrolling machine that is Barcelona. Without La Liga's current leading scorer in the line-up, the Blaugrana put up another impressive offensive display with a 4-0 win over Valencia including a hat-trick by Thierry Henry. The Blaugrana made their intentions clear from the first minute of the game when Xavi's shot rattled off the post after a defensive mistake in Valencia's backline. At the 19th minute, Henry scored his first of the game after a nice pass from Toure. The goal was a carbon copy of the hundreds he scored under the Arsenal shirt in the Premiership. Less than ten minutes later, he scored his second, giving Barcelona a 2-0 advantage against Valencia. The home side then added a third goal before the half via Daniel Alves.
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Real Madrid Getafe: 1-3
Things are getting worse and worse at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid put up yet another disappointing performance against a lower-tiered team. After holding Barcelona to a draw, Getafe exploited every flaw in the Madrid defense to defeat the defending champions 3-1. They first hit the net two minutes into the game, forcing the defending champions to give their all to find a way through Getafe's defense. Unfortunately for Bernd Schuster's men, they suffered a major setback in the first half when Sneijder was taken off the field in a stretcher with his second injury of the season. Rafael Van der Vaart took his place, but it was clear that Madrid simply weren't the same after the incident.
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