City Bragging Rights

Real Madrid broke down their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, who took an early lead and fortress Bernabeu on Sunday. Los blancos battled back from a one goal deficit in another El Derbi Madrileno which ended in a victory for Real Madrid, 3-2. It wasn't as glamorous as it may seem as Real add another choppy win to their resume. Three points is three points but the room for improvement is notable at very least. It seemed to be another case of us scoring enough goals in one half to create a big enough insurance bubble to last us the match. Our chances out-weighed Atleti's remarkably but the fact they they were still able to score 2 goals isn't too reassuring. Let's take a look at this edition of the Derby. But before I get started to anyone else notice how slick the pitch was? It was like they were skating out there.

We let up the first goal 10 minutes in to a 20 minute period where we just hadn't shown up yet. A lot of people will love to point the finger at Marcelo. He was the one responsible for Reyes but was pulled out of position when Albiol recklessly few into a tackle that he didn't win against Thiago. The Portuguese international evaded the challenge leaving us stretched. Ramos had to leave his mark, Aguero to cover for his other center back and Marcelo had to slide in to try and get to Aguero in time. The Brazilian did manage to to stand up the Argentine but Aguero's clever flick to former Madrid player Reyes was too crafty. Reyes settled and curled it in to the back post. Nothing Casillas could do.

I wanna discuss Xabi Alonso this match. He was a major part of the rise and fall at times. First half, abysmal. Second half, just brilliant until he gave a way the second half penalty that made things 3-2 and made the last 25 minutes a bit uncomfortable. I've hardly ever seen a performance so bad out our number 22 as I seen in this first half. Given away sooo many times in midfield and miss hit balls over top. Usually when you're having a bad day you just wanna go back to basics and keep things simple but he couldn't even done that. Pellegrini must have dug deep into him during the interval because he started our comeback in the second half. I have to credit Pellegrini for his tactics on corners because Xabi Alonso has scored two goals from that exact situation on corners. It was Albiol who got up to win the initial header. Though heading wide of the far post, Alonso cleaned it up by thumping the ball into the roof of the net and from there we built, and so did Xabi Alonso. The Basque-born midfielder was turned toward our own net at midfield and hit an absolutely unhuman ball over the top of Atletico's back line to a streaking Arbeloa. Quality and vision like none other found the right back in stride. He juked one defender and then De Gea before slotting the ball far post. An unlikely goal from an unlikely source. 2-1. I'll get to a third goal in a minute but the second goal against should have never happened. Yes, we're up 3-1 at the point but unnecissary with the handball of Atletico's corner. If you're not going to win it, don't handle it. Giving them a penalty, that Forlan eventually scored, is a more sure chance of a goal than letting them trying direct it in off their heads yeah? He didn't even get booked from it. However he did pick up a booking for thumping Salvio (maybe?) on the sideline. Must have been on purpose because he will be suspended for the next match rather than El Clasico the fallowing weekend. Sergio Ramos did the same but did his a little more subtly but wasting time rather than inflicting pain. However, I don't mind causing Pathetico pain.

Thiago picked up an assist on our third goal. By tackling Granero, he played Pipita in who casually slotted the ball with his unfavored left foot past De Gea who had his young hands full all match. I want to give credit to Marcelo who I thought played one of his most collectively solid game, meaning offensively and defensively, of the season. He did try to sombraro Simao in our own corner, which was stupid, but other than that, let's not slay him this match okay? Ronaldo will be disgusted with himself as always when he doesn't score but probably in tears that he missed that header at the end of the first half and three opportunities to score from a free kick. Not his best performance. He had to change boots at half time I noticed. I don't know if it was him changing up his fashion for the night or to prevent himself from slipping, but either way it didn't improve his performance. The subs didn't do anything after arriving on the field. Raul, Guti, Diarra, did nothing for me. One thing that did scare me though, was I felt like I saw dashes of the old Gago, charging around meaninglessly diving into challenges and pulling himself out of position. Pellegrini, slap him on the wrist before it starts up again.

Athletico haven't beat us in 11 years now. Goltv said something like out of Raul's 27 matches against them, he's only lost twice. Whatever the case may be, our city bragging rights are more than off the charts right with all the latest clashes against the Mattress Makers. We equaled Barcelona on points and made up the goal differential they put up against Mallorca this weekend with the loan Zlatan goal. I thought that Mallorca were unlucky not to score. They rang the frame twice in the first half and a couple nmore efforts went unpayed. I couldn't tell if it was Barcelona or Villarreal with the aweful yellow shots. top of the league for now and 9 finals to go.

HALA MADRID

Bobby

Three Points The Hard Way

Always pissed off before pleased. If it wasn't the awful Real Madrid play in the first half, the annoying TV commentators set me off. That guy must hate Real Madrid. How many times did I have to hear "bunch of individuals." Whatever, it's still three points in the bank and a world of topics to be talked over as Real Madrid battle back at the fortress to win 3-1 over Sporting Gijon. Plenty of action though! Down a goal, and then up a goal in the blink of an eye. Controversy and chaos. Ronaldo plays with a block of ice in his hand to reduce swelling on a little bump on his precious face? Crazy. This puts us three points above Barcelona but they haven't played yet. Zaragoza will be awaiting the blaugrana's arrival. Goals from Van der Vaart, Xabi Alonso who got his first goal from open play (immediately fallowing the corner), and another for Pipita!

I guess it takes a strike of lightning to light a fire under our asses to get us going. A questionably offside David Barrel creeped in untouched and smashed the ball into the roof of our own net, stunning the Bernabeu faithful and the shirts in white at 53 minutes. My heart sunk. Barrel, a former Madrid product, was brave enough to celebrate by signing his name on the pitch. It was quickly erased. Before I could even get upset or angry, we equalized and our tempo shot into the sky like a Chinese firework! I thought to myself when our own goal was penetrated that maybe just maybe this will provoke a response. It did. Ronaldo's dipping free kick, 2 minutes later, caused a lot of trouble for Colinas who fumbled the rocket onto a platter for Rafael Van der Vaart who trapped it with what looked like a volleyball bump before thrashing a left footed volley into the net. I'm a biased supporter but that was definitely a handball. Am I going to complain? No. But let's just say we'll call it even for Xavi's dive against Espanyol. Goal for a goal right? Another two minutes later, after winning a corner Ronaldo jumped higher than the cross bar to win the initial header which found Xabi Alonso at the far post to nod past the line from close range. And just like that, we're on top.

I make it sound glamorous but it was far from. The first half was abysmal. I take no credit away from Gijon who were very well organized defensively in half number 1. We created next to nothing and Ronaldo was a tad bit selfish (and I don't often call him that). What did we do to solve the problem? Lass out, Guti in. I said it at half time to my friends watching the match with me. I told them that had to be the change. I think Lass barfed up the ball every time he got it. Just dreadful. For those of you that chose to grade our players, please fail Lassana Diarra for me. I said it in the preview, no Lass. Didn't listen to me did you Manuel? He clogged everything up, ran into dead ends, fouled, and did things he shouldn't be trying. How many times must he be told? Another lacking performance from Granero as well. The one shot he took has even landed yet. He needs to improve. Xabi Alonso wasn't his great self today, aside from netting the winner. Just a step off. Gave it away too often. Our best holding center midfielder of the evening was (I can't believe I'm gonna even say this because it's against what I so avidly preach) Gago. He came on, kept it simple. He didn't play tag, running from player to player fouling. Everytime he got it, he just distributed. Well done. When he does that he looks a very good player. Guti I thought was instrumental after coming in. Helped connect everything. He was composed and his all seeing eyes opened up attacks for us. Liked him.

Man of the Match you ask? Van der Vaart for me. Kaka will have to work to break back into my Real Madrid team. Tremendous outing from the Dutchman. He's really finding good form. His goal probably should not have stood but none the less, he got one when we most needed it. But how bout that back heal? Cracked a wide smile on my face. He was lively and upbeat throughout the match. He almost scored an acrobatic header earlier in the first half but I felt like he was the driving force behind Madrid today. Put Ronaldo in the passenger seat. Ronaldo had an off game for me. I mean he was involved. His free kick caused the rebound that VDV scored from and he also won the header from the corner that Xabi Alonso scored from, but he took some shots he probably shouldn't have. He was little to obvious on trying to draw that penalty. Coughed it up a few times trying to do some fancy stuff. He won't be pleased. And neither will his make up artist who has a bump to try and hide for the cameras (:]) Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on him. But with a player of his caliber, you have to expect more. And for future refference, leave the ice on the sidelines...

Let's turn our focus to the back line. No Albiol? Mystery to me. If anyone can clear that up for me, I'd love to know. Really kind of mucked things up I think. Garay was not good at all today. The whole back line was leaky and here's what I think. Without Albiol, Ramos has to play center back. He likes to play the left sided center back but so does Garay. Garay must have felt out of place on the right or something because he looked very uncomfortable. I thought Marcelo made a few good tackles actually but spent most of his time attacking as usual. Arbeloa, eh so-so. But none were good. Especially Ramos, the gladiator didn't have a dominating game. He almost gave up a goal single handedly by casually scuffing a routine pass back to Casillas. Our prize keeper saved the day though. Well done San Iker. We dominated the match completely our a defenders still managed to give Gijon some pretty damn good chances.

Always glad to see Pipita net one. Took it beautifully too. Scurried away from some defenders and caressed the ball past the goal keeper with his left foot into the corner. Another one for Higuain. Another one toward Pichichi. Catch Messi buddy, catch him.

A win is a win. Another ugly job but 3 points nonetheless. Puts us on top for the time being on points and adds two more goals to goal differential stats. And as my girlfriend put it when I text her about the result, "good now you won't be bitchy." Haha that's a good way to put it. The season long home winning streak continues!

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Back With a Flash

I've yet to see the entire Real Madrid vs Valladolid match. Actually I'm watching it while I type but I have seen the highlights and inevitably the final score. I was traveling back so school, frequently using my phone to check the score as well as the Barca score. I had a bit of false hope when the blaugrana and los che were even after half time. Then I got a text message from when of my Barcelona supporting friends that read something like "Messi hattrick!!!!!!" After that I just decided I'd wait until the Madrid game started to checking up on the scores again. Valladolid 1-4 Real Madrid. At first reaction after seeing the result and score sheet I realized we had accomplished two things. We not only responded to the midweek tragedy but did it with four goals (five if you count Albiol's). We desperately needed a win. Ever since the exit to the Champions League, I've been eager to put it behind us and I think we did all we really could have done to do that. What more can we do than win our next match in La Liga? Nothing. The second thing Madrid accomplished or more Higuain in particular is that Pipita scored, not one not two but three goals! When I saw that my initial feeling was, "He scores three here, and misses an open net vs Lyon?" Whatever though, not much we can do about it now. I was worried about his confidence after goofing up at least two clear chances to score last Wednesday. Not to mention I could text my Barca friend back with "Pipita hattrick!!!!!" Really did some favors to keep himself in the race for Pichichi. The most important aspect of the weekend is that we remain the leaders. We only had Barcelona on goal differential coming into the weekend but Messi's 3 goals in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Valencia put them up by 3 points and one goal. So We need to win by at least 2 if we wanted stay leaders. That's also another criteria that we rose too.

As I'm watching this match though, the start really hasn't been pretty. This further reinforces my thoughts that we struggle to play a complete 90 minutes of good football. Whether it be the second half, or the first 25 minutes, I'm yet to recollect a performance where we dominated from start to finish in 2010. Ramos just picked up another booking, his 10th of the season (sigh) and Vallodolid just missed wide. I hate to keep bringing it up but after the Lyon match, the pressure is on us to succeed and achieve especially now that Barcelona is the ones chasing us. Scoring goals is important as long as we are even on points. It's about the 24th minute and we're starting to move the ball around more effectively and Valladolid really has had no other option but to foul us which is frustrating for me because I want to see us flow but it lead to a great Ramos header on the back post.

From the highlights, I saw that Granero drew the free kick that Ronaldo scored from. Good to see another contribution from El Pirata. Ronaldo scored his free kick, took a slight deflection but took leadership to break the deadlock and open the floodgates. I'm sure CR9 will be happy that he has scored. I call it the Ronaldo appeasement policy. He'll be sour if he doesn't get one. It was nice to see Van der Vaart get the start in Kaka's absence. I've always found him useful and has done good things this season despite being somewhat of a squad outcast when this whole project started, taking his number from him and everything, rightfully returned. I saw Ronaldo get stomped on, that wasn't pretty. Childish from the Valladolid player. Did't see who it was. Ronaldo's reaction deserved an Oscar though. I would have been just as pissed though so I can't say a whole lot. Nasty looking wounds. Casillas Made a pretty save on Pele's freekick. It was in a very dangerous area dipping toward the bottom right corner, maybe knicking off someone's head.

Pipita's second goal was mighty pretty. Free kick quickly taken by Xabi Alonso who chipped a ball delicately into C-Ron who flicked it on to Higuain. Pipita blew past a defender leaving him to watch the Numero 20 tuck the ball into the corner from the view of the turf. He also did well to score his number three. One of the best qualities of being a striker is being a poacher, being in the right place at the right time to score. Ask Ruud or Inzaghi. He made a living out of it. So when Ronaldo's tight angled shot, Higuain was in the perfect spot tuck home the rebound. Pipita has 19 goals in 20 games. The most efficient goal scorer in La Liga. It seems like him and Messi are playing the "Anything you can do I can do better." Casillas played a great game. He was unlucky not to get the clean sheet when his kick save hit Albiol and ended up in our own net. We have Arbeloa to thank for that.

This match improved our away form record as well. I always get a bit nervous when we travel but was comforted by this game's final score. Next week we go back to the La Liga fortress Bernabeu to take on Sporting Gijon who we drew 0-0 with away earlier in the season. Barca travels to Zaragoza where I expect them to win, and maybe by a significant score so it is important that we win comfortably as well. That's all I have for now. I'll continue writing this week.

HALA MADRID

Bobby

Another Year, Same Old Sad Song

Frankly it's another disgrace. Laughing stock of Europe once again. It's almost as if I've built an immunity to the pain and just leaped forward to being extremely pissed. Let's see what we've accomplished. Never beaten Lyon away, never beaten Lyon at home, lost every time to Lyon away, drawn every time to Lyon at home, and haven't progressed passed the round of 16 since I was 14 (I'm now twenty). It's been over half a decade. The sad part is even if we would have managed to keep Lyon scoreless in the first leg, we still would have gone out. Let me remind you that this surely hinders us in next season's Champions League group stage draw. Maybe instead of drawing with a big team like Milan, we'll Draw someone easier like Manchester Utd or Chelsea (sarcasm). I really don't even know where to begin. What do you say? At least we can focus on La Liga now? I guess that's the only positive you can take from it. The final at our own ground will be played in our absence. In what many saw as our primary objective has gone up in flames. We'll be ridiculed and harrassed for our spending and you can't say we don't deserve it. If we can't beat Lyon we can't expect to beat those who progress to the next round any how. Save us the embarrassment of being beaten 5 or 6 to nil by an Inter Milan or someone. Unfortunately, Pellegrini's future is in dire questioning. If I had my way I'd keep him but for those of you who know the club also know it's out of our hands.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that we were two totally different teams in the two halves? First half, we came out roaring! Our goal was a work of art from Guti, Ronaldo ran onto it and smashed it through the legs of Lloris, 1-0. We got a goal in 6 minutes! That means we have 84 + stoppage times in two halves to get a second. I wasn't even drastically upset after Pipita missed that open net by hitting the post because I just got the feeling we were gonna get one, but from then on out, everything took a turn for the worse. I'd like to personally send a F*ck you to the both the referee and linesman for not granted us a clear penalty which they both had an exceptional view of. Match decider right there. It's like all of our energy was burned up in the first half. Lyon were man handling us second half. We had hardly any possession second half (before Lyon scored) whereas Lyon only had 37% or something like that in the first half. OL only had 1 shot, off target, in the first half. I just can't believe we're out, again.

Ronaldo was great in the first half, microscopic second half. I can say the same for Higuain and Kaka. It's as if someone broke into our locker room at halftime and shaved down the trident. Everyone was remarkably poorer in the second half. Except for Lass who was awful in both halves. Thanks for your services bud, but if you don't regain any sort of form, I'm in favor of selling you. It's a shame that Xabi had to miss this. Arbeloa, an ugly performance. When we actually did get the chance to string a few passes together and regain momentum and possession in the second half, he lets the ball role past his foot an out of bounds. It happened more than once too. Today you could visibly tell he is not a natural left back. When receiving passes from Garay, he turned up field using his right foot, most of the time sprayin the ball upwards and out of control. I must have been 8 years old when I was told to open up using my back foot, in this case, the left foot. You're a professional! And for Real Madrid! I don't care what foot your better with. I actually missed Marcelo at left back today. Yeah, I DID just say that. No surprise that Pellegrini pulled him off for Diarra.

Guti said it after the match today "No sabemos jugar en los partidos importantes." For those of you who can't read Spanish it's "We don't know how to play in important games." I can't agree more. Sure we have El Clasico twice a year. However, playing Sevilla and Valencia are not the same as playing Champions League matches. We lost to Milan at home, we tied them away. That could be considered a big game, yet no wins. We have one big game left this season, a month from tomorrow we play Barcelona. We say that we have this great team but look at our resume from this year, a win against Valencia away, and Sevilla at home am I forgetting anything? We're more of a disappointment than success again. If those are our wins, look at our faults. Loss to Barca, knocked out of the Champions League to Lyon, loss to Milan, losses to Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla away, draws at Gijon, Osasuna, Copa del Rey exit to Alcorcon (need I say more?).

We have one competition left, La Liga. We already knocked ourselves out of the other two. We actually have a chance of saving ourselves a bit of pride from what we have left by winning the 32nd. We're top of the league now but on goal difference alone. If Barcelona we're to tie us on goal differential as of right now, they would go top because the next tie breaker is head to head in which we lost. We have to sweep our shit together, once again forget what's in the past, and ride on with our La Liga form. Tonight should have hurt our players. If they are not crushed, they don't deserve the shirt, few do. By the way Cris, I've lost all respect for you for kicking Raul, you little prat. Forever a Real Madrid supporter, I will be built up be let down. When you always expect greatness, you're often times disappointed. I knew this burden before I chose my club. It's just adding on to sad chapter in Real Madrid History. The dark ages of our club are among us. We need the white shirt to shine more than ever now.

Bobby

Tenerife Voted Off The Island

Raul scoring at the death of this game has left a smile on my face I just can't get rid of (not that I want to). I've been propelled into an even better mood this weekend with Real Madrid's 5-1 thumping of an admirable and courageous Tenerife. I give my thumbs up to the Canary Island based club. They never quit and created chances of their own time after time despite being hounded at their own end by viscous Real Madrid counter attacks. Their coach was bold because even though at the time they were down 3-1, he took off defensive minded players in favor off offencive players. They switched up their formation adding another attacker, opting for 3 at the back. Awfully risky when you consider the counter attacking power that shown by the Ronaldo, Kaka, and a brilliant Higuain. There is no doubt that we were robbed of a clean sheet though. Casillas clearly had clutched onto the cross firmly when Tenerife's Ayoze came crashing through him, knocking the ball from Casillas' grasp and into his goal mouth. But my anger subsided a few minutes later when Pipita slid in Kaka, who is really starting to shut up some critics lately. Kaka took the ball in stride and drove a low shot into the far corner. Is it just me or do Ronaldo and Kaka have a planned celebration for every match? I can't tell you what that one was.. lol.

Ronaldo got a goal so I'm sure he'll be content even if it was just a penalty. May I offer my compliments to Van der Vaart. What an impact he had coming in off the bench. Drew the penalty by blasting the ball into a defenders hand, and assisting the great Raul. The Dutch captain lifted the tempo of the match when he came on. Granero didn't play poorly but VDV did more in 15 minutes than Pirata did in 75. However, I wanna take a look at the last goal. Look at the experience and knowledge Raul has. The first curled ball in from Marcelo aimed at the path of El Capitan is cut out with a last gasp effort from the defender which deflects the trickling ball toward the point where the box meets the end line. Raul reloads his run and jets himself at the near post where a driven low cross is the most likely candidate for a ball into the danger area. His experience pays off and he nets another historic goal. Just brilliant.

Man of the match you may ask? Has to be Pipita. Two goals and an assist. That's 4 goals in 2 games for the Argentine. He is such a critical finisher. After Marcelo evaded with the challenge on the sideline with a sneaky spin, he touched in Gonzalo in on the edge of the area, he strikes it low and hard with his unfavored left foot and from the moment he hit it, I knew it was a goal. Great finish. Marcelo adds his assist total to six (Did you know Marcelo has more assists and goals than Iniesta who people are calling the best in the world?). However the finish is better on Higuain's second goal. Of all people, Garay, who is up from set play, picks out his fellow Argentine beautifully. And with the ball skipping across the turf at pace, Pipita whacks it into the far corner. The adventurous Tenerife goal keeper never stood a chance.

Let's take a look at some more individual performances. Marcelo, good offensively and yes I'm saying it, a little better defensively. Is he my first pick for left back? Far from, but I know an improvement when I see one. He blocked a few crosses and cut out some passes. Still room for improvement though, littly reckless. Lassana Diarra was worlds better than he has been in recent games. He just linked everything together. Little, short, quick, simple passes. It was useful. A lot better from him. He didn't try to be an attacking midfielder for once. I hope Pellegrini encourages his performance and says "More of that." Garay and Albiol were under immense pressure all night considering the highly aggressive and offensive formation that Tenerife sported in the second half. Everyone knows the Tenerife's goal was no one's fault except for the man with the whistle so the center back pair are not to blame. They made a couple of very last ditch efforts to clear balls away that were played in behind them, especially inside our own areas. An image in my head of San Iker giving Garay thumbs up resides in my brain. Kaka has been telling critics to put down their pens in his last two performances. Instrumental again today.

No Castilla players again. Pretty disappointing. I was really hoping to get at least one on there. I've noticed that Pellegrini almost refuses to make substitutions before 75 minutes. Every game. It's like VDV did so well, but we could have seen even more of his talent if you would have put him in 10 minutes earlier.

I may be looking ahead but hear me out. We are very dangerous team on the counter attack. It's been said many times that the way to beat Barcelona is on the counter because they attack with numbers. If we counter attack like we did today on April 11, we could totally throw Barcelona on the back foot. Do you agree? Bounce them off their game plan at Fortress Bernabeu and we may be in a good position to win that match. Just a thought yeah?

All Madridistas should be in a good mood right now. With Barcelona vs Malaga tied at 0-0 (halftime), we are top. Tenerife were as offensive as possible and we let up no goals threw fault of our own. At the moment I'm pulling for Malaga who seem to be frustrating the Blaugrana but definately on the back foot. No one is gonna say it but I will. I think Messi looks selfish lately.

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Another 3 Points For the Taking.

Tenerife vs Real Madrid. I'm obviously pretty confident we can take this match but I said that against Xerez and it was a struggle for the first 70 minutes. I'm in a delightful mood though. Today was the second day in a row in which my classes were canceled due to bad weather (which really wasn't that bad, but I'll take the four day weekend). I really hope a lacking Madrid performance at a must win destination doesn't bring down the mood. We are on fire in the league as far as results go but like a mentioned in my "La Liga Deciding Fixtures" article, our away form has not been stellar. Games against lowly opponents away scare me at times for a few reasons.

1. No matter who we play, teams are always up to play Real Madrid, especially in front of their home fans.

2. When the opposition is low in the table, Madrid are expected to bake up a scintillating performance with a dramatic scoreline in our favor. Which adds pressure to games that don't have the same caliber of El Clasico, or a Valencia clash.

3. Sometimes players (cough Ronaldo) try to do things that they wouldn't normally try to do against a stronger opponent. It was seen in the Xerez game and when we went back to playing like the team-minded Real Madrid team we've seen for the better chunk of the season, 3 goals in 10 minutes.

But for now let's forget about the mental aspect and get to the match itself. The game will take place off the cost in the Canary Islands, where Tenerife is located. Pellegrini has named his team for clash leaving out Benzema and Drenthe who are still recovering from their respective injuries, Guti who has recovered but is not quite up to speed, and Arbeloa who is suspended for this match. I'm sorta glad that Arbeloa is missing this match rather than Sevilla at home next week. Two Castilla additions on the squad list. Marcos Alonso and Mosquera. I really hope that at least one of them gets a chance. I know we won't see it happen if we don't get out in front of them with a significant lead with a good bit of time to spare. Pellegrini is too cautious about putting our latest products in the line-up. It would be nice though considering this would be one of the ideal teams to test them out against. I've devised two line-ups for the match. One of my own, partnered by the one I think Pellegrini will opt for.


There's almost no doubt that with Arbeloa out, Garay will emerge from the pine once again to take center back, pushing Ramos to right back . For some reason or another, Pellegrini thinks Marcelo is a good choice left back. I know it's Tenerife but he didn't look good there against Xerez. That's why on my side I've chosen a cantanero! Marcos Alonso? Think I'm jumping the gun? Well I'm no Pellegrini. He can't be any worse defending than Marcelo that's for sure. Give him a shot. Anyone with me? To my dispair Pellegrini has shied away from the 4-1-3-2 (which Zizou and I have established to be virtually the same thing as 4-3-1-2 not to confuse anyone) and decided on the double pivot. I'm still more of a fan of the single pivot system. I just don't think Xabi Alonso plays as well along side someone as he does isolated as a deep lying playmaker. That's my opinion. I think Lass hurts him quite frankly. Moving up, Pellegrini and I still have the same "Kaka-Granero-Ronaldo." Granero hasn't been himself in the last 2 matches but I think that's because we have such high expectations for the guy. As great as he is, he cant have an assist or goal every match. Moving him to the bench will only hurt his confidence I think. However, that's just my opinion. Yes! Raul is in my line up, my man. I have just been dying to see him score again. He hasn't gotten one since October if my memory serves me correctly. I hope he plays and impresses. Once loved, always loved. Higuain will lead the line obviously for both me and boss because Benzema will still be in Madrid. Plain and simple.

In all respect to Tenerife, it's not them I'm worried about. It's us. Though they have improved slightly I guess since the break, I don't see them as a threat. Second in the drop zone and not much to be proud of as far as this season goes. Juan Fansisco Martinez is the club's leading goal scorer this season so he's obviously the one to keep an eye on. Los Blanquiazules were thumped last weekend by Bilbao 4-1 and will be looking to bounce back. This game is very manageable but if all possible I want to stay out of card trouble if all possible, which we failed to do against Xerez. We need three points. Barca are at home with Malaga coming to visit. I don't see an upset in the cards. Let's get in and get out. Get the job done and then turn our focus toward next week's game against Sevilla at Fortress Bernabeu.

Hala Madrid

Bobby

Sank the Submarine

Los Blancos responded well to their more than disappointing Champions League loss to Lyon. The score finished 6-2 but it didn't always look like the Merengue were running away with it. The men in yellow cut the lead back to just one goal on two separate occasions giving me one or two reasons to bite my nails. However, our prolific strike force's torpedoes eventually sent the submarine to a watery grave below fortress Bernabeu. Although I was furious at giving up goals this game proved that we can overcome setbacks and adversity to eventually triumph. Hopefully we can take the lesson learned and transform it into a similar performance when OL come back to visit in March.

Summer spending payed off again. Four of the six goals were scored by new faces. Dos for Kaka, uno for Ronaldo, and Xabi Alonso tallied his first goal in a Real Madrid Uniform. May I offer him my congratulations. The game also acted as a stat booster for many. Ronaldo not only scored, he marked 2 assists and also drew the penalty that Xabi Alonso took (twice lol). Pipita returned to scoring form with 2 pieces of cheese. He is in 3rd place running for Pichichi with 14 goals, 2 goals off the leader, Messi, if my memory serves me correctly. Marcelo added to his assist total with his cross for Higuain's second which makes 6 goals created for the young Brazilian this season. In all fairness I think los blancos should have won by a few goals more. Ronaldo and Kaka both failed when 1v1 with the keeper and Ronaldo's breakaway was wrongly called offside. Madrid seem to rise to the challenge everytime it was thrown at them. When Villarreal scored we made it a bigger gap. When they scored again, we did the same. When Kaka converted the penalty I texted a fellow Madridista, and said "2 goals from deadballs. I want 1 from open play." Madrid then rose to that challenge as well.

Refereeing decisions were a question in this match. Many people seem to think that the penalty Ronaldo drew was a dive. Honestly I thoughts he got clipped from behind but honestly people, was it a match changing decision? No. On Higuain's first goal, when Arbeloa played the ball up the line to CR9, he did appear to be off by a step. However, later in the match as I said above, Ronaldo was called off when he was most certainly on. Though he had been flagged, play continued and he dribbled around the goalkeeper and passed the ball home. These decisions were not all correct but nonetheless wouldn't have changed the result.

We were a totally different team from what I saw in France. We were so lively. Runs in behind the back line on so many different occasions. The ability to find players was 20 times what it was on Tuesday. Creativity was a major boost. I think it raises more questions about our away form. I mean sure, our European away form has been good other than this loss, but we beat Zurich and Marseille away and only tied Milan. It's not like we beat the best team in our group. Our La Liga away form hasn't been pretty at all, a loss to Sevilla, a loss to Barca, a Loss to Bilbao, and Draws at Gijon and Osasuna where we failed to score both times. The only real significant away win that we've recorded was our thriller against Valencia, and if you think about it it that's probably the best team that we've beaten all season. We still have lots of hype to live up to ladies and gentlemen, but I'm gonna stop being pessimistic on a day with reason to be optimistic. Just pointing a few things out.

Let's start with what I was not pleased with, Lassana Diarra. Many player have hot and cold games but Lass has had and cold minutes. He is the fastest changing Dr. Hyde and Mr. Jekyll. He fouls too much. Right after Marco Senna scores from a well taken free kick, he goes and clatters some yellow shirt from behind a yard or two off the top of the arc. Needs to be smarter. Needs to stop dribbling. He looks a much better player when he plays it quick. I'm surprised Pellegrini hasn't said something more about it. Arbeloa played a good game but what bothers me is he always gets beat on a give and go (one-two). Track your defender, don't get caught ball watching. Wingers will get a free cross every time. For once, Marcelo wasn't horrific on defence but he can always do better. I can definitely call it an improvement from the Lyon game. Ramos, all I can say is class. I know he is a right back but he is a damn good center back as well. He too was beat by a one-two on Villarreal's second goal, scored by Nilmar, but that counter attack should have never happened. Too many opportunities to shut it down. We need to make sure we don't put too much emphasis on offense that we forget we have a goal of our own.

I don't know if it's just me, but Pellegrini seems to make subs very late on in matches. I know in this case it was okay because we needed to establish a gap in scoreline when the Yellow Submarine doesn't go away, but the subs hardly get any time to adapt to the match. Raul, Van der Vaart, M. Diarra, I can't even tel lyou how they played really. I'm never going to complain when we get a result like 6-2, but I don't even know what to say about them. I can say that today is the first time where I thought Guti wasn't missed as much. We had plenty of creativity. Granero may not get the credit for today but I thought he was solid. Quiet, but solid. He keeps the play moving in midfield. He doesn't do anything out of his element but links together big pieces like Higuain, Ronaldo, and Kaka. Benzema wasn't missed either today. Higuain found form again and it didn't look as if we would have needed him today anyway. With that said, I'm still sure it will be a boost when he returns to the squad.

This win will be in the back of Barcelona's head. When Villarreal visited them, the two shared the points. Now that we are within 2 points of the blaugrana and we are tallying up 6 goal performances in a still perfect record at home, where they still have to visit, they can definitely feel our hot breath on their necks. This match puts a smile on my face once again and I can look at the crest and know that we haven't failed it last time we took the field. Well done. Next up we have Tenerife away. We are expected to pick up 3 points there. Malaga visit Barcelona but I don't think the Catalans will drop anything there.

Hala Madrid!

Bobby

Time To Turn Frowns Up-Side-Down

In the wake of another Champions League match that all Madridistas would love to pretend never happened, Villarreal is scheduled to visit the Bernabeu. The match itself is a challenge but the mental aspect is even greater. The team cannot let what happened to the in Lyon affect how they perform on Sunday. It's a different competition and a different mind set. Despite Barcelona's injury problems they are unlikely to drop points to an unstable Racing at the Nou Camp. Maybe Sergio Canales can already begin to do favors for Real Madrid but we can't depend on it. Pellegrini was in charge the last time the Yellow Submarine visted the Bernabeu. We have to be cautious, although the entire Population on Villarreal could fit into the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the team is always a force to be reckoned with. Afterall, it's the same Villareal that came from behind to draw 1-1 with Barcelona at the Nou Camp earlier this season. Los Blancos did get a 2-0 result at El Madrigal this season. Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock before most fans got to their seats in the first minute. The Yellow Submarine are coming off of a recent 2-2 draw with German champions Wolfesburg in the Europa Cup on Thursday but have had an up an down season laced with inconsistency, but every team gets up to play the Galacticos.

Real Madrid are boosted by the return on Rafael Van der Vaart. Perhaps he might be a useful tool to add to the lack of inventiveness breathed out of the midfield on Tuesday. Guti remained in the gym with the terminally ill Metzelder. Drenthe is the latest victim to fall to injury. His quad tear will keep him sidelined for 2-3 weeks. Although Drenthe was energetic after coming on against Xerez last weekend, I don't think his presence will too missed. The squad demographics for the Villareal match doesn't concern me as much as the mental state of the team with the pressure from pretty much everyone after what happened. Kaka has told the media that the match was not his fault. Rumor has it that if Pellegrini can't get the team to turn around the Round of 16 situation at home, he'll be sacked. The last two performances, Xerez and Lyon, the latter of which was dreadful, were not good enough by our standards. Even though Real beat Xerez 3-0, the showing was questionable. Higuain hasn't been himself for the last two matches and to add to the mind games, Madrid have stalled Pipita's contract talks to have him focus on what happens on the field. I get the feeling that this will be another stern test, despite the fact the match will be at Fortress Bernabeu.

Villareal have themselves to focus on, however. The team will still be adapting to a new coach after Ernesto Velverde was sacked when the Yellow Submarine sank at the hands of Osasuna a few weeks back. Madrid will have to beware of some special players in yellow. Nilmar is always a goal threat and has been making a case for his establishment in Dunga's Brazilian national team. Marcos Senna in my opinion is one of the best midfielders on the planet. It's a surprise he isn't at a greater club. Left back Joan Capdevila has 5 goals from left back and Santi Corzola, Spanish International is another one to keep your eye on. Robert Pires has experience that few can match dating back to his triumphant days in a Gunner's jersey. American-born Italian international, Giuseppe Rossi, is still missing from the squad due to personal problems.

This is my line-up for the clash:


Please Pellegrini can we play this back four together for the start? We were lucky to escape from Lyon without a costly mistakes from Marcelo who just cannot get the job done at left back. For me, the decision should have always been this line up with Garay available. I wasn't impressed with Diarra against his former club. I think Granero, Xabi Alonso, and Ronaldo AS A WINGER in midfield. I don't feel like Ronaldo suits too well as a second striker. Originally I liked the Idea because of his goal scoring abilities but I think to put him out wide and let him meander freely as he did early in the season is his best position. Am I the only one that thinks Pipita and Benzema would make a good strike partnership? Let me know what you guys think. I'd like to see it. We have Raul to come off the bench for the one who performs second best and the formation can always be changed.

Madrid face a sterner test than Barcelona this week. We are now within two points of our Catalan neighbors and we can then again control our own destiny when Barcelona come to visit. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts. Madrid need a morale boost from what happened in Europe but we need more than that. We need the three points. HALA MADRID

Bobby

The Wonder that is Pipita

"Van der Vaart smacks a long ball up field toward Higuain. OH WHAT A TOUCH! He's past his defender, he's past Kameni, he's scored! The substitute has made use of his 15 minutes and has every Madridista in the Bernabeu eating out of his hands once again, as if he was never injured. Magic. Pure class." Now this isn't an actual quote from a TV commentator but if I was narrating the match live for viewers, those would have been my exact words. Simply breathtaking from what some people call, the next Raul.

Born in France, Bread in Argentina, and Groomed by Real Madrid. The combination of these ingredients has created one of Europe’s best strikers at only 22 years of age . His name? Gonzalo Higuain AKA Pipita. "Ronaldo 80 million, Kaka 59 million, Benzema 35 million, Pipita... Priceless." -from my last post. I came up with that (pretty good right?) just moments after the numero 20 tallied the third goal of Real Madrid's thumping of RCD Espanyol in the dying minutes when he came on as a second half sub for Karim Benzema. With all the high profile signings this summer, it was a doubt that the young Argentine would establish his place in the starting lineup but he has silenced critics, and amongst the big names is Real Madrid's leading scorer this season. In La Liga, Pipita has 12 goals in 15 appearences. I read a funny comment on goal.com from a random commenter that made sense to my surprise. Usually all the commenters on that site are just bias fans with some bragging to attend to. Here it is:

"Higuain scored 12 goals in 15 apps in la liga, while Ibrahimoivc (46m+Eto'o) scored 11 goals in 18 apps. I wonder how many goals Zlatan would have scored in la liga if he didnt have players like messi , iniesta , xavi and alves assisting him ... Pepita The BEST !!!"

I chuckled when I first read it but there is one part of the message that I would like to ignore. The "I wonder how many goals Zlatan would have scored in la liga if he didnt have players like messi , iniesta , xavi and alves assisting him" part. Because no striker, not Higuain, not Jesus, not Batman would score goals without teammates. But, I've had this Higuain vs Ibra argument many times with people I chat football with in my own community. Of course, here in the States many people don't fallow the sport to my level and are biased toward big names and youtube highlight reels so it's hard to explain the true nature of the argument but the stats can back me up. Higuain is easily my pick, call me bias, don't care. Pipita is younger, has more of a career ahead of him at age 22 opposed to Ibra's 28 years of age. Higuain is a notorious hard worker, where as Ibrahimovic is a bit lethargic for me. He runs mainly when he has a chance to score but other than that doesn't do a lot to win the ball back once it's gone except foul. Ibrahimovic is very cocky. I dislike his personality. Listen to this when asked about a move he did against a Liverpool defender. "First I went left, he did too. Then I went right, and he did too. Then I went left again, and he went to buy a hot dog." Some find it funny. I find it arrogant and unprofessional truthfully. Higuain is humble, passionate, and team orientated personality. But I didn't write this article to compare the two. This is Higuain's write up, not Zlatan's.

So let's start from the beginning. Let's take us back to a dark, stormy night on December 10, 1987 in Brest, France. The wind was howling and the rain shot sideways against Stade Brest 29's defender, Jorge "Pipa" Higuain's swerving taxi as he rushed to the hospital. Three sounds rang out into the storm. The first was the abrupt turn of a door knob as Pipa burst into a small hospital room. The second was a loud crack of thunder accompanied by simultaneous flash of lightning that stunned the eyes of everyone awake. The third sound was the cry of a newborn child. Suddenly, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the bright moon created a ray that shined directly in the window of the room on a boy, the boy known as Pipita. Okay, that's not how it happened. I don't really know how that night went about but that's what I picture when I try to fathom how the legend of Pipita began.

Between 2004 and 2006, Higuain made 39 appearances as a teenager for River Plate, scoring 18 goals and setting up teamates with 16 assists. After Gonzalo scored a brace in the October 2006 El Superclasico, River Plate manager, Daniel Pasarella stated that Pipita was "destined for superstardom." Shortly after, Madrid bought the promising prospect from the Argentine giants for 13 million Euros. Reports now say that the Real Madrid striker has tripled his value. He made his debut for los blancos against Real Zaragoza on January 14, 2007 where he had the crucial assist in a 1-0 win. Real Madrid has praised the Argentine international because he has a habit of scoring goals in big matches. His first ever Madrid goal came against none other than cross town rivals Atletico Madrid away which set the match level at 1-1. He scored the La Liga clinching goal deep into a match against Osasuna in Pamplona. Los Meregues were down 1-0, Robben equalized in the 88th minute and Pipita thrashed home a wicked volley two minutes later to win the league. Last season, the boy scored 4 goals against Malaga at the Bernabeu in an edge of your seat, back and forth match that ended 4-3. At this point in time Pipita, at such a young age, in all 120 games he has participated in a Madrid strip, has 49 goals and 18 assists.

El Numero 20 is quickly becoming a legend around the Capital which he calls a second home. He has such a long career ahead of him at only 22. He already stated he would love to finish his career in white and I'd love to have him. Real Madrid is currently renegotiating his contract. As far as international duty, he had the option to play for either France or Argentina but opted for his South American routes. He has recently just kicked off his full international career with Argentina, scoring on his debut against Peru in a vital World Cup Qualifier which ended 2-1 to Argentina. It took Maradona long enough to call him up. When you are the leading scorer for Real Madrid and don't get a call up from your national team, something is wrong. I don't rate Maradona at all as a coach. Can he not see his resources? Front line Higuain/Milito/Messi. It's on a platter... but don't get me started. Pipita has been a vital part of this squad so far this year and I tip him to continue a big contributor in games and seasons to come. I hope that this season he can leave his stamp on the Champions League too. Hala Madrid y Viva Pipita!

Bobby

Pluckin' Feathers: Real Madrid 3-0 Espanyol

Real Madrid cruise to another 3-0 victory despite key absences once again (cough Ronaldo cough Garay). I wasn't sure certain players would make the squad list like Guti and Arbeloa because of their fitness difficulties in training this week. I was delighted to see them both in the XI. It was a very one sided match. Los blancos looked comfortable and in demand the entire time. It's beginning to become routine that Real Madrid are missing players. At this point in time it seems like nothing can stop los blancos. The home record is unscratched and unlike the last match at fortress Bernabeu against Malaga, this was quite a performance. We jumped on the opposition right from the start with the Ramos goal and we coasted throughout the rest of the affair. The score could have easily been much greater but Kameni was inspired between the posts. I've seen him play before and his ability to read shots, partnered with his quickness makes him a top class goal keeper. I'm surprised a bigger club hasn't picked him up. Easily Espanyol's best player.

There isn't a lot to pick apart. I usually start with the negatives but where do I even look for them? I suppose I could say that after Benzema's two goal game at the Riazor, I expected him to find the net again. He looked a little selfish especially on one or two numbers-up counter attacks but other than that, he didn't play badly. I mean all strikers have to a little selfish. Marcelo was again not his best defensively but we all know he makes a much better left winger. Hopefully with the contract extension in mind, Madrid have decided that the midfielder Marcelo is far more useful than the defender Marcelo. I didn't think Lass raised the level of play when he arrived as a second half sub. He was disappointing. I've seen much better days from him.

I called for a performance from Raul and by my standards I think I got it. Okay, he didn't score. But he sure as hell had chances that he created for himself. His troubling header forced a diving save out of Kameni which ultimately lead to Kaka's goal. I can say without remorse that he was better of our two starting forwards yesterday. I wish he would have scored, it would have been a testament to the way he played, especially first half. Also Kaka looked great. That's the Kaka that we've been looking for. Hernia problem? Didn't look like it against los periquitos. He was very lively. He deserved his goal. He is a true poacher and I hope Pellegrini is now convinced that he is better in behind the strikers than he is a winger. Granero? Another assist. It seems like he always delivers. Him and Ramos teamed up for the first goal and again almost for another piece of cheese off a corner. It will be a shame if he isn't in the starting line up next week. Impressive once again.

People have always questioned Madrid's defensive capabilities, but we're really starting to silence critics. I never really felt threatened by Espanyol. Albiol and Ramos we're rock solid. Ramos is such a good center back, I can't make up my mind where I like him better. But if Garay is healthy I still think he needs to play centrally, moving Ramos to right back once again where he stampedes up the flank and a more solid Arbeloa to left back.

Ronaldo 80 million, Kaka 59 million, Benzema 35 million, Pipita... Priceless. He's back ladies and gentlemen! He inadvertently showed Benzema up by doing in 15 minutes what the Frenchman couldn't do in 75. Just a fabulous goal. The touch the Argentine took to bring down that ball bamboozled the defender. It even fooled me at first, but by the time I realized what he had just done, my jaw had already hit the floor. Then he went on to dribble around the agile Kameni and tuck the ball into a gaping goal. He really is a marvel. I just can't wait to see him action again. Welcome back my friend, welcome back.

Barcelona as many know, won their match against Getafe 2-1 at the Camp Nou so Madrid's win meant nothing more than keeping pace with their rivals who sit 5 points prettier than us at the moment. What fascinates me about the Barca match is that they had two central defenders in Pique and Marquez (who was sent off with a minute or two to spare. So it's not like they were playing with 9 men all match) sent off. That will surely put a dent in their back line as they travel to the capital city to take on our cross town rivals next week. You can never depend on Atletico for anything but if they can at least make a draw out of the meeting, it will be appreciated without a thank you. Whereas we will have to take on relegation struggles, Xerez away. That should be an unquestionable 3 points, but we might look to rest players with Lyon away looming that Tuesday afterwards.

So Espanyol was successful battle. Fun to watch. Even at the end of the game it looked like some of our technically gifted players were trying to put on a little circus act for the fans. Three points, well earned. No bad performances but there is always room for improvement. Well done. Hala Madrid.

Bobby

Los Periquitos Flying to the Bernabeu

Real Madrid are expected to pick up three points at home against visitors Espanyol this weekend. When the squads met in Barcelona on the second match day of the season, the end result was 3-0 to los blancos with goals from Granero, Guti, and Cristiano Ronaldo who will miss the return leg at the Bernabeu because he will be serving his second game suspended of the two match ban he received for breaking the nose of Malaga's Mtiliga. Real Madrid City has served as much as hospital as it has as a training facility for Los Merengues in the past two weeks. When someone returns to being healthy, another player goes down. Injuries are part of the game but Madrid has suffered much worse than most this season. Arbeloa ,who has really started to come into his own, pulled out of training due to some knee pain and is unlikely to participate Saturday. This hampers the team because the back is already missing components such as Pepe, Metzelder (who I am beginning to think has a cureless illness), and Garay, who continued to work out in the gym. The midfield saw the return of Lass, and Van der Vaart to the squad today along with Diarra who joined in yesterday. However, the team lost golden heel Guti to the gym that sucks in players like a vacuum as of late. I am unclear to what exactly Guti's reason for gym work is. I also read a depressing article on goal.com that reported Kaka will battle with the nagging hernia injury for the rest of his career but he is set for the match against Espanyol. Of course, everyone is more than pleased to see that Pipita is back in business. He joined his teammates with Diarra.

Los Periquitos are a Barcelona based team who boast to be the first club to be founded by only Spanish football fans in 1900. They also looked down upon clubs that were founded by "expatriates" who established clubs like Barcelona (can't argue with that). The club is missing some key players. Raul Tamudo and De la Pena are amongst the wounded. De la Pena is set to miss up to 3 months and goes under the knife next week sometime to repair what I believe is an ankle injury. I've been wrong before though. Espn's Soccernet described it as a "lower leg injury." Japan and Espanyol midfielder Nakamura was amongst La Liga's worst players list goal.com published a few weeks ago. The former Celtic player, at the time was said to have only 7 shots, none on goal. He struggles to find his way into the line up at times. That's a shame. However, he does have 1 assist in his defence. But the most missed player of this team without a doubt is Dani Jarque. Rest In Peace.

With Sergio Ramos already filling in at center back for an injured Garay, and his right back replacement, Arbeloa, now too on the casualties list, the right side of the defence is looking for a filler. Although Lass is primarily a midfielder, he has played right back for the team before and did an exceptional job for playing out of position. Another option could be use a Castilla player. Why not? I know Pellegrini ALMOST used one against Deportivo but this is Espanyol, who are not having anywhere as good of a season, and we are at home. The fans would love nothing more than to see someone like Mateos or even Marcos Alonso get the chance to take on los Periquitos when they visit the Bernabeu. However, I don't think Pellegrini will start a Castilla player. I wish he would but you never know. He has called them up to training all season, put them in the squad list but they fail to break onto the big stage. Real Madrid's official website stated that "Pedro Mosquera has become a common sight around the first team’s training pitch and participated in today’s session." If Lass is at right back and Guti isn't healthy enough to make the return to the squad, Mosquera might be tipped to see midfield time, especially if Pellegrini runs the 4-2-3-1 he usually runs.

Now with the injection of Pipita in the squad, will he make the start? You can find my feelings on that in my last post toward the end when I talk about the strikers. Pellegrini hinted that he would be playing a line-up similar to the one against Deportivo. In that game, he went with a 4-1-3-2. This is what I predict Pellegrini will conjure up this weekend, fallowed by what I would do with Espanyol arriving.



Sorry about the small font. I'll fix that up for next time. Like I said, Pellegrini said he would be choosing a similar line up to Depor, so I think he'll stay with the 4-1-3-2 that he used in La Coruna to break the curse. Those of you with more gifted vision will notice the one change. I suspect Pellegrini will get Pipita in the line up as soon as possible to get him firing on form again for Xerez and the even more crucial Lyon in matches to come. I know your gonna think I'm crazy but I vote Raul as starter. Here's why. Higuain only returned to training on Wednesday, only 3 days before the match. His injury may be healed but his fitness (as in cardio) is certainly not where it was 3 weeks ago. I definitely want him to feature, as an early second half sub for Raul but I don't want to hurry him back. He is an important part of this team so we need to take the atmost precautions not to rush him back when he isn't as up to speed as others. When you're not fit enough, that's when you get hurt. I know the majority of fans have frowned at the Raul starting idea but for this game, with Pipita just coming off an injury, I think he should get the start for a second game in a row. It's Espanyol, not Sevilla or Valencia. Hell, he should have scored against Depor if it wasn't for a fantastic reaction save. He can still do a job for us. I wear my Raul jersey on days where I don't think he'll get to play. It's depressing to know a lot of people don't have faith in him anymore. That's my view. Hate it if you'd like. As I mentioned earlier, for more on my full striking plan for the next 3 weeks in my last post.

All personnel aside, Madrid have to win this match no matter who is wearing the white shirt. Barcelona are unlikely to slip up against Getafe at home and we must keep pace. Hala Madrid! Vamos Los Blancos! Keep the Bernabeu undefeated.

Bobby

Pellegrini Selection Headache To Come aka Bobby's Chalk Session

Selection Headache? What Selection Headache? We're scrounging for players. We had 4 Castilla players in the squad list for Deportivo and the world's most expensive player is still out another game with suspension. The only player that even returned to training today was Gago and we planned that he'd be at Manchester City by this point. Exactly! (Huh?) At this point your probably a bit confused (wtf Bobby...) but let me explain. The match against Deportivo showed some crucial team depth and not only did we win at Riazor, we put on a performance. To go even further, not only did we put on a performance, we did so with a stretched line-up. Anyone notice that we played more covincingly against Depor, who were then in 5th place, than we did against Malaga who are low in the table. The catch is that against Malaga, which was a home game, we fielded what is arguably our best XI. Or is that our best 11? It poses a lot of questions. Goal.com put an article out this week about if Real Madrid plays better without Ronaldo. Should Granero be a starter? What happens to two-goal Benzema when Pipita recovers? Is the Lass/Xabi Alonso a good center midfield partnership? Are we playing the best formation suitable for this team. When everyone is available, who gets bumped to the pine? Can we alternate players with the Champions League on the horizon? Let's take a look.

Where do we start? How many questions did I just ask? Let's begin with what is arguably our standard formation, and starting XI with everyone healthy (excluding Pepe, get well soon).

I'm not stating that this is our best line-up. I'm just trying to get into Pellegrini's head. If all these players were available and everyone was well rested, I get the feeling that this is the starting XI we would see. So bring on the questions. Does Real Madrid play better without Ronaldo? Well all of us would hope not. We spent a fortune on him this summer and for our starting line-up to be more affective without him would be a nightmare. My answer to this question is no. If that relieves anyone, good. Here's why. Ronaldo is a unique player. He has everything a footballer would dream of. He has pace, moves, a rocket packed behind 90% of his shots, set play abilities only few can match, and more. Many think he is selfish, too self centered but that is not that case. Ronaldo has become more of a team player at Madrid than he was at Manchester United "With great power, comes great responsibility." -Uncle Ben (Spiderman). Ronaldo wouldn't be as useful if he didn't take responsibility into his own hands at times. It would be wrong for him to not use the God-given talent that he possesses. He can change the game an in instant! You're probably asking yourself where I'm going with this because everything I've said so far really isn't team orientated. Well here you are. To have Ronaldo in the side is a blessing. With brilliant players around him, he can feed off of their talent in forms of their great passing and through balls to latch on to, movement off the ball, ability to draw free kicks and penalties, quality corners to score from, good service from the flanks. He is just an Ace in the hole that can benefit from what Madrid has to offer. Therefore he boosts team performances. So when he goes missing and we still play well... what's that about? Let me reiterate Ronaldo can benefit from the Team's Talent. When Ronaldo is not there, the team is still capable of playing great football. The game plan might change a little, but whenever you lose one of the greatest players on the planet for a match, your team will need to make some adjustments. That is common sense. The matches like Deportivo just show Madrid is good enough to cope without Ronaldo as well as with Ronaldo. It's more of a testament to our depth than it is a problem with CR9. Now I do understand things may not run as smoothly at times when Ronaldo is on the pitch. But this team has to be able to adapt to Ronaldo. In a sense the word "gel" appears once more. I know people are getting tired of hearing it, after all we're past the midway point of the season, but the injection of Ronaldo can be a lot to get used to. And even though we are this far along into the campaign, our buddy CR9 has only played in 16 games, only starting 14, including the Champions League. Whereas a team (excluding a Copa del Rey we'd all like to forget) we've played 26. So once again I call for patience, something that is hard for us to embrace as Madrid fans, especially after all the recent Barca success. Have faith my friends. There is still a lot more to come from Real Madrid.

Pirata! Easily one of my favorite signings. The kid continues to impress. Everytime he comes on, he makes a difference. He has found the net on 3 occasions this season as a midfielder and only finds himself in the starting line up around half the time. In La Liga, he has 3 goals and 2 assists. Kaka has 3 goals and 3 assists. Not much of a statistical difference with a gap in the amount of minutes played. Granero often times doesn't get the playing time he deserves with our big name midfielders, but everytime he plays, his name grows larger. He was exceptional against Depor and is expected by many to be in starting line up when Espanyol visits this weekend. There are places open for the 22-year old with Van der Vaart still spending training in the gym and Ronaldo serving his second suspension of his two match ban. I just get the hunch he'll have a good day against Espanyol. It may not seem right if he doesn't get the start when the more prominent names start to return to the squad list. For me, if he is not starting, he's the first one off the bench every time. He is a very well rounded player that offers more than a solid midfield player. He also delivers good corners, allowing our taller players to be in the box to win headers. He is a great Madrid Academy product. Gracias for the goal on Saturday.

So what do we do about the Lass/Xabi Alonso center midfield partnership. The midfield seemed very effective this weekend with just one holding midfielder. This was only recently brought to my attention. Do they work well together? Do we need two holding center midfielders or can one be sacrificed for the addition of another forward? That would make us a little top heavy so maybe those playing on the outsides would have to tuck in and drop a little more defensively and with two forwards, the attacking center midfield, most likely Kaka, would have to drop slightly as well. So we've gone from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-3-2 like we did against Deportivo. So it may look like this roughly when going from an attack to losing the ball and having to defend:


The advantages of this would be:

1. Allowing us to play both Higuain and Benzema in the same formation. Or as a second striker, Ronaldo and put in VDV or Granero on the right hand side.

2. It would give us more power offensively and more combination options in the attacking third.

3. It would provide two forwards to hit when building out of the back opposed to one main target forward which could become easy to mark.

4. Kaka has now two forwards to sit behind like he does with Brazil.

Disadvantages:

1. It would send either Xabi Alonso or Lass to the bench because one holding midfielder would have to be sacrificed for a forward. That wouldn't fit squad demographics considering we have 4 defensive midfielders in the team. Xabi Alonso, Diarra, Lass, and Gago.

2. It might make the team too top heavy and offensive players may not get back (cough Guti) , leaving us open and more vulnerable to counters.

3. With so many players in the offensive half, we might have to limit our wing play from outside backs. Sergio Ramos and Arbeloa would have to stay at home more often.

Striker questions? The fallowing analysis of the striker situation has been conducted as if Pellegrini decides to stick with a 4-2-3-1. So now that Benzema is finally up and running, Higuain is near recovery and could return for the match this weekend against Espanyol. If Pipita is just returning, I vote that he doesn't get 90 minutes against the Catalan side. I want to see him return as much as the next Madridista but Benzema now has some confidence and it's smart not to push Higuain to his limit on his return. I know the squad has quality enough (as showed at the Riazor) to win without Pipita in the starting XI, especially against Espanyol. Here is my plan. Benzema starts against Espanyol, Higuain comes in for him around 65 minutes in the second half. Then, the next weekend Higuain starts and Benzema replaces him. This would be important to rest Benzema at this game so he be fully fit to face Lyon on the 16th. No one knows the French club like him. Maybe Diarra, but he hasn't been there in years, when Benzema has just played for them last season. So afterwards, because Benzema played in the European midweek, Higuain then starts against Villarreal at home. This all goes accordingly provided both strikers remain healthy and on form. So with the extra Champions League games, perhaps rotation could be an option for the time being.

That's all I have for you today. I left plenty to discuss and left plenty out that is worth discussing. Would be interested to hear the thoughts of a lot of you. I enjoy hearing what you have to say.

Bobby