Real defeat leaves Pellegrini doomed
"Adios Madrid, Adios Pellegrini" - that was the headline that flashed on the home page of the Spanish sports newspaper Marca a minute or so after the Spanish giants were eliminated from the Champions League.
In the electronic information age, the writing for Real's urbane Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini was not so much on the wall but on the computer screen and the message could not have been any clearer.
The words were slightly modified this morning but the meaning remained the same and Pellegrini knows now that, regardless of anything else that may have been said in public, he will not have a job at the club by the end of June.
The dream of club president Florentino Perez that Real Madrid would be chasing a record 10th European crown in front of their own fans when the Santiago Bernabeu acts hosts this season's Champions League final on 22 May has ended prematurely.
The club's fans passed silent judgement on their team's ineptitude at the end of the match after seeing Real squander a series of chances.
After an initial roar of support following Lyon's equaliser by Bosnian teenager Miralem Pjanic, with many in the 80,000 capacity crowd still believing that Real could get two goals back in the last 15 minutes, the historic stadium gradually went quieter and quieter as the minutes ticked by.
There was no fightback akin to Saturday's performance against Sevilla, when Real recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2, thanks to Rafael Van de Vaart's injury-time goal.
Instead, an eery hush had descended by the time the Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli blew his whistle, the silence only punctured by a jubilant and joyous contingent of around 2,000 Lyon fans squashed into an upper corner of the Fondo Norte stand.
Many believe the defeat to Lyon will cost Manuel Pellegrini his job
Perez has made it obvious, not in the wild bombastic way of some of his predecessors but in his own conservative manner, that only a good run in the Champions League and winning La Liga would be enough to save Pellegrini's job for next season.
Crashing out at the last 16 stage for an astonishing sixth successive year, a streak that covers both of Perez's terms as president, having resigned in 2006 before making his return last summer, is not good enough.
Perez's sidekick Jorge Valdano was pushed in front of the media on Wednesday night to give the expected answer to the obvious question.
"Yes, he (Pellegrini) has a contract, which is why the club's plans are for Manuel to continue being the coach of Real Madrid.
"Pellegrini is the coach of Real Madrid, we respect him, of course, and we trust in his work. There is still a lot to be done," said the former Real Madrid coach, whose official title is now Director General and Presidential Aide.
But the phrase 'dead man walking' was one that immediately came to mind upon hearing those words being uttered.
The two questions now being asked are: "Will Pellegrini even make it to the end of the season?" and "Who will replace him?"
The answer to the first will depend on the result of the Real Madrid v Barcelona match on 11 April. The second 'El Clasico' encounter of the season is starting to look like the match that could decide the title.
As far as possible replacements are concerned, Jose Mourinho is the name that was regularly mentioned when Pellegrini appeared to be in trouble last November and remains the favoured option of most fans.
I have a feeling, however, that Perez will be looking for someone more malleable.
I'm sure also that Perez will also put in his customary phone call to Arsene Wenger's representatives, probably to get his customary polite refusal.
Some would argue that Perez has every right to demand that heads should roll after a result that could cost Real up to €100 million in the next 12 months, and potentially more in the long run.
I wrote on Tuesday about the financial affairs of Real - the club is at least €300 million in debt, and it is not money they can easily afford to squander.
Real will probably pocket €16 million for their run in the Champions League - the exact figure is not known yet because they will also get some money from the TV market pool monies as well as the published match bonuses - but that is only a quarter of the amount that they could have got had they lifted the trophy.
Perez will have also have seen tens of millions of euros worth of ticket sales, merchandise sales, money from sponsorship deals as well as future contract negotiations evaporate before his eyes.
Rather than spend time talking to Real players after the game, not that many were in the mood to talk according to my colleagues, I hung around the exit to the Palco de Honor, the directors' box as it would be called at British grounds. I didn't see Perez but the mood was grim among the majority of the other members of Real's board.
They knew that the next few days and weeks will be spent readjusting their spreadsheet forecasts and talking to their allies in the banks about the club's outstanding loans.
One thing is for sure, Real's next coach will not witness Perez spending €260 million on his behalf this coming summer.
Finally, here's a bit of priceless trivia which may interest you.
Tuesday night was only the second time in a European competition that Real Madrid failed to overturn a first leg 1-0 defeat when the second leg has been in the Santiago Bernabeu. The first? When Ipswich ground out a 0-0 draw there in the 1973-74 UEFA Cup.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~14~RS~)
Hi, I'm Phil Minshull. I've lived in Spain since 1997 and covered Spanish football since the first day I got here. My blog aims to provide some insight into what's happening in La Liga, and there is much more to it than only Real and Barcelona, as well as elsewhere around Europe.
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Hey Ronaldo - come back to United. You know it makes sense.
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Rafa Benitez could be made available.....please....
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I wonder what Ronaldo's thinking now that his "dream move" has turned out to be rather fruitless - while united march on for a potential third consecutive final
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Why do these huge European clubs spend so much ridiculous money on players? It seems no thought goes into the types of players they need. It seems to be worst in Spain and Italy. Are these teams viewed as football teams or political vehicles?
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Will he still get the sack if Real win La Liga? I guess it wasn't enough to save Fabio. When you say Perez wants someone more malleable, surely that's the whole problem. You need a manager to be his own man, not Perez's puppet.
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I hate to bring this up but what does an eery stadium sound like?
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Im not so surpised mardrid got knocked out they were outplayed in both legs they didnt deserve to get through over the two legs. Lyon played with heart and soul unlike real you just play with overrated big name players who fail to make an impact more than their price tags suggested so they would.
As they say in football collective inviduals does not make a team and this is what has happened to real. They have just not jem together as everybody excepted they would.
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If Rafa deceided to go, how would that leave liverpool fans? jubilation, or angry, sure things havent gone the right way this season, and Rafa could facing the sack, but to leave!!!. As for Real, serve them right, only one man has been able to gel stars together in a season, Jose Mouriniho.
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The really pleasing fact is, splashing out € 260m on new players with bank loans is NO guarantee for at least short term success. Fortunally it`s not that easy.
But Real wouldn`t be Real if more money will be spend in the summer with even more bank loans. Desperate for success, they won`t stop a nothing.
So who isn`t on their shopping list for the summer of 2010?
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"2. At 12:26pm on 11 Mar 2010, redforever wrote:
Rafa Benitez could be made available.....please....
"
Don't go!
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I wouldn't say they didn't deserve it. Hopefully, Perez is as cursed as Abramovics - you can't buy footballing success for money. I am sure old Florentino's curse coming from Makelele's African ancestry or rather Vicente Del Bosque - the best Real coach in the last 2 decades (later fired).:-)
But who cursed Abramovics? I am sure it was not Makelele. Maybe Mourinho???
:-)
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I don't see Arsene Wenger leaving Arsenal before the summer of 2011, if then. He's commited to seeing through his project at Arsenal and I don't see his footballing policies going hand-in-hand with Florentino Perez's. Jose Mourinho might be tempted. If he wins a second Scudetto with Inter this season I'm sure he might start to feel like he'll have accomplished enough in Italy, especially as he's known to not like it over there. If Inter also have a good run in the Champions League this year, which looks plausible at the moment, then surely he'll feel good about going; and what better place to go to then Real Madrid for him. As he would say, big coaches manage big teams.. and they don't come much bigger than Real. He'd also get the chance to win the league in the third of the '3 big leagues' in Europe.
One name I'd also mention is that of Luiz Felipe Scolari. Currently working in Uzbekistan and although pocketing a lot of money over there, would have 12 months to run on his contract next summer and could surely be tempted to pass on the millions he'd receive to see out his contract to manage Real Madrid. He could link up with and bring the best out of fellow Portuguese and old friend Cristiano Ronaldo, as well advocating an attacking and entertaining game that the Real faithful yearn to see, something that has rarely been on display under Manuel Pellegrini. Scolari's no nonsense attitude mixed with his ability to manage big egos and bring together teams to effectively fight for the same goal would make him, in my mind, the perfect candidate for Real Madrid in the summer.
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It'd be ridiculous to sack Pellegrini.. and it serves Real right to go out with the way it treats its managers.. Mourinho failed in the Champions' League with Inter last season but has built what seems to be a stronger team this season. I can understand the financial implications of Real Madrid's exit at this stage but will they punish Higuain for his missing an open goal? Of course not. Lyon just played better over two legs.
When will they learn that you can't have instant success? I don't know much about Pellegrini but the way they've performed in the league, they're perhaps favourites now and if he goes, they'll expect the next man to win the Champions' League in his first season and this amusing cycle will continue. It serves them right.
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Real Madrid are such a conundrum...they make the same mistakes year after year yet still have ridiculously high expectations for their staff who have little to no time to settle in.
History shows that successful teams are constructed over time according to the vision of a manager who is also given time and not put under such extreme pressure to win everything right away or be sacked. Scampering around Europe buying up all of the best players in one summer, hiring a new coach and expecting them all to gel immediately is nonsense.
This kind of nonsense has gone on for some time at Real, and imo if it wasn't for the climate in Madrid, the seemingly bottomless pit of gold that is made available to them through the city and the brand, and the ancient history that is their European cup record then I don't think they would be any more popular as a destination for world class football talent than Rangers or Celtic are.
Yes they have some good matches with Barcelona in order to decide who tops the sea of minnows that is la liga, and yes they usually get through the CL group stages quite comfortably (although having an obscene collection of stars does help against the smaller European teams), but what else? They don't dominate at home, they are all hype in Europe, and their history is devalued by the fact that aside from the likes of Raul and Casillas, anyone who does chase the dream (and enormous pay packet) seems to stick around for more than a few seasons until they are booted out.
will they ever learn? if not they will never land the top managers, nor the top prizes...
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One would also think the unavailability of the suspended Xabi Alonso was another factor in the draw last night, Real probably lost that bite in midfield without him. As Liverpool have found out this season!
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I find it rather funny, that in England the media and the fans rejoice at the idea of Madrid losing more than any other european club. There's a lot of criticism of their over spending on players.
But correct me if Im wrong, eventhough the EPL is my favourite league and has been since the 90s, it success in europe for clubs like chelsea, man utd, soon man city etc is all down to over spending too. a real case of pot clling kettle black. english clubs are not better than madrid.
the real success stories are clubs like Lyon, Bordeaux, Bayern and one or two others that without ever spending more than they gain have been able to compete and beat those that rely on a fat wallet.
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at #12
I see two reasons why he is Uzbekistan.
1) as you mentioned; the money
2) his total cock-up of running Chelsea proves his lack 'ability to manage big egos and bring together teams to effectively fight for the same goal'
Yes he did well with Brazil (surely THAT squad could have won it without a manager!) and Portugal, but national sides are a lot different than club teams.
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Ding dong the witch is dead.
Bye bye Madrid!
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#17
haha, I see your point! Yeah he didn't do too well at Chelsea, but I wouldn't call it a total cock-up. There was a group of players that didn't want to conform to his methods and he was ousted from his position as coach because of the power of those players. I feel his mentality would suit Spain better than in England as well.
In terms of winning the World Cup, you could say the same thing you said about the 2002 team for the 2006 team.. still that team was nowhere near to winning it.
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"16. At 1:29pm on 11 Mar 2010, BleuBlancRouge wrote:
I find it rather funny, that in England the media and the fans rejoice at the idea of Madrid losing more than any other european club. There's a lot of criticism of their over spending on players.
But correct me if Im wrong, eventhough the EPL is my favourite league and has been since the 90s, it success in europe for clubs like chelsea, man utd, soon man city etc is all down to over spending too. a real case of pot clling kettle black. english clubs are not better than madrid.
"
Really? Sorry, I never noticed any premiership club spending 80 or 60 (might be 54) million on a player in one season. Maybe I missed it. City may buck the trend for sure, the owners seem to have the money to throw around, just noone willing to throw their careers away. Also there might be a little in the way they relentlessly pursue players through the La Marca rag and the fact national banks continually bail their spending out. Speaking for United, they definitely earned their right to spend big. And now we are keeping the Glazers fat to boot.
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#20 Btw - if I'm honest I never rejoice in another club going out as I'm all to aware how bitterness can rebound. We are too busy thinking about who we will have in the quarter finals. But if you really think a club that spends quarter of a billion on transfers gets knocked out by a well known feeder club (including selling one star to Real) is not going to get a few titters, then you have no sense of humour! As a United fan we expect it and get it when we lose but we don't moan about it!
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united dreamer,
I think you calling Lyon a feeder club is a great isnult. considering they are ranked in the top 20 in europe, god help clubs ranked in 50s then in the 100s, 500s...what are they then? I believe Lyon sold as many players to madrid as Man U did this summer. so if Lyon are a feeder club so are Man U by your logic. as if any club sells a player they must be a feeder club! Lyon have great business sense.
Also I am not aware what this has to do with sense of humour? i dont support Madrid and Im delighted to have Lyon go through, especially afetr ramos's prediction of 3-0. But you never see an article dedicated to bayern going through, or milan going out but as I said the media have a real dislike of Madrid in this country.
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Outside shot------ Martin O'neill......... Wenger shouldn't and won't depart, Real's non-prudent methods of driving success and overall ethos wouldn't sit well with his own ethics. For me O'neill is a resounding success at managing with whatever he has been given and has earnt a shot with a big european club although he might be usurped into Man Utd when fergie does eventually decide to start collecting his pension Perez probably doesnt deem O'Neill worthy as he wont be asking for gazillions of money to throw away or deposit in his own bank of life.
all in my brain fried humble opinion whilst at work
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Thegreatneb has really summed it up well. There's no way you can build a successful team changing the manager every season. I haven't made the count, but it runs well into dounble figures over the last 10 years.
Another big problem, of course, is in the build up of expectation that surrounds the club. The main culprits are the sporting press in Madrid: AS and Marca. Always drumming up stories, calling for new signings, calling for the head of the manager(like this morning) and generally turning the footballing world into a kind of showbiz celeb subworld.
Also to blame, of course, is the way the manager is totally ignored when it comes to signing new players.The team that lost last night was the team that Perez bought on the advice of Valdano. Pellegrini was only hired as an afterthought, rather like a childminder to look after Perez's rich kids. That's why the big managers: Wenger, Mourinho and Benitez aren't interested in the job.
The only hope left is that the fans are now calling massive changes in the club, not only in the way the club is run, but in the whole philosophy of building a team.
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The media dislike Real Madrid in England because they cant accept that they are THE club that players want to go to and they are bigger than their precious Man Utd
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to comment 16, bleublancrouge:
unfortunately you are wrong, lol. bayern completely dominate spending on transfers in germany, buying players like mario gomez for €30 million, as well as the likes of ribery, robben, klose,ballack (before) etc.. i would definitely argue their spending is on a par with united's if not greater.
lyon also spend huge amounts of money, just look at lisandro, cissokho etc last summer, whilst marseille have bought ben arfa for big money too.
english clubs do spend heavily, yes, but in comparison to the other top european clubs, the spending of the lieks of united and arsenal does not come close to real madrid and is closer to milan, lyon, bayern, juventus. chelsea (not so much anymore) and now man city can be compared to real madrid, but they do get the same treatment as madrid in the uk anyway!
the reason there is so much hatred for madrid (not just in the UK btw) is that they are the hobby of the spanish royal family and as such normal rules and financial constraints dont seem to apply to them. they can go on these $200 million spending sprees and get bailed out by one or the othr bank, because of who backs the club rather than earning the money through performances on the pitch.
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@ BleuBlancRouge
is it that hard to see the medias negative portrayal of Madrid?
1. They chop and change managers every season
2. They run presidential elections where they "promise" to buy a list of players
3. They spend excessive amounts of money on players they don't really need
4. Due to this spending they have an exorbitant amount of debt, and will never be declared bankrupt due to their ties with the royal family - and as such will always be bailed out
5. Their pursual of these players is arrogant, restless and disrupting (ala ronaldo et al)
In short, they are parasites.
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Real are a historic club, but 6 of their 9 European titles were achieved by 1966. Thus in the last 44 years they have gained only 3, a number matched or exceeded by many other clubs such as: Ajax, Bayern, ManU, Liverpool, AC, etc. Climate, reputation and lifestyle attract - but recent football is poor.
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Well done to Lyon. They deserved that. In contrary to Real, they appear to have bought lavishly but shrewdly, with Lisandro looking a real handful. Plus Lloris looks like the greatest keeper in the world in the making. Was very decisive last night and totally commanded his box.
As for real, If i was pelligrini I would leave. Why u would want that job is beyond me. Huge club run like a boyband with Marca constantly stirring nonsense. Bit like the sun half running manchester united. You know what would happen.
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Re: #16
Someone has already responsed to your post, but just because i get sick of such stupid comments, how can Man Utd be compared to Real Madrid in transfer window spending? €260 million spent by Real Madrid in one transfer window covers about 5 years of Man Utd spending. Chelsea and Man City have spent considerably more than Man Utd over a shorter period of time. They're not a patch on Real Madrid tho.
I, along with many others, took delight in seeing Real Madrid knocked out, at home last night. And in the tournament their grand stadium will host come May. They'll feel pretty embarrassed tonight, and they deserve it all.
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I was delighted with this result. A victory by a team without stars but with ability, hard work, team spirit and belief over a collection of overpriced and overhyped individuals. The arrogance of Real Madrid this year (Pelligrini excepted - he is a decent man and a talented coach-) has been astonishing. They seem to have taken it as their divine right to win the Champions League because of their millions and the fact that it will be played in the Bernabeu. But as last night showed, money and reputation on their own will win you nothiing. Their nightmare will be complete if Barcelona of all teams lift the trophy on 22nd May.
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20 United Dreamer
"Really? Sorry, I never noticed any premiership club spending 80 or 60 (might be 54) million on a player in one season. Maybe I missed it. City may buck the trend for sure, the owners seem to have the money to throw around, just noone willing to throw their careers away. Also there might be a little in the way they relentlessly pursue players through the La Marca rag and the fact national banks continually bail their spending out. Speaking for United, they definitely earned their right to spend big. And now we are keeping the Glazers fat to boot"
Its not that united spended the money that real madrid did in one season or for that manner Chelsea has aswell. United have spent record amounts on many players from the birth of the premier league until now recently when they bought berbatov. Its a known trend that Big clubs spend big money and be the best in Europe. It was Italy in the 90's and then the premier league franchise has earned this over the past 10years. Barcelona was in the dark ages for long spells until the new la liga tv contract talks aswell in the past 5-10years aswell hence they have now become consistantly one of the best 2 teams in europe over the past 4 seasons.
Yes real have spent crazy £ this year and lets not forget Ibrahimovick at 60 approx with eto. The english clubs are jealous and love to see when the Bigger financial powers go out...if barcelona leave in the last 16 chelsea and man u (as will arsenal) will be rubbing their hands with delight.
The thing is arsenal are the only club with a 3star financial rating in Britain. Something no doubt the majority of the people reading this even understands but to make it easier Il break it down...
Arsenal built probably the best equipted stadium in england (including wembley)in one of the most expensive areas to have a stadium near their fans.
4 Years later they have decreased this to less than 300million debt, have the highbury square to sell off in the next 1year 18months at approx 200-250 million £ with over 90% already sold thus avoiding the credit crunch and earning approx £50m profit each year post tax for the club. Also having a cash flow 150m cash in the bank to spend right now is more money arsenal have to burn.
When we have a fraction of the support that united, liverpool, real, barcelona, Bayern and ac milan have, this is very impressive as merchandise is a big profit gain for these clubs. Yet still in last 8 of champions league and only a game away from being top of the premier league. The future is very bright for arsenal...and being in the wealthiest city in Europe with the wealthiest fans in the league I can say the clubs finances will be very very strong. Weither they spend is another guess but it will be available.
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Its a shame RM lost the Lyon tie. Higuain rightly held his head in his hands at the end of that game. he knows he was responsible for 1 glaring miss and 2 other decent opportunities and just from him. Lyon barely had a chance on gaol last night.
Unfortunately for Pelegrini, its not Higuain whos job is on the line. Its a cut throat football world and none more so than in La Liga. Losing to Lyon just cant be accepted, but the buck should stop with the players missing chances not really Pelegrini.
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Nice one Lyon, quality teamwork over pampered egos. Only one manager can truly deliver what Perez is looking for, Wenger and you're right, he's going nowhere. I don't expect Rafa to last at Anfield (please keep him), but he isn't the right fit for Real either. Mourinho will be linked with every big job in Europe, but wants a return to England. If Tom and Jerry had any sense at Anfield they'd bust the bank (again) and borrow every cent they can muster for Jose. You can bet that any Middle East investment or sale of Liverpool would hinge on getting a coach capable of delivering. Personally, I'd hate to see Jose with the Reds because then, and only then, would they be a force for the title.
So where does that leave Real? They can look at doing a Barcelona and bring in a Galactico like Zidane or Figo, but that would merely give them a figurehead, not an established tactician. So if it's down to safe hands and getting them playing for team not self, only choice then would be Garrido from Villareal. He's not Arsene, but he's well capable of holding it together.
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It's official: Kaka is the biggest big money flop since Gaizka Mendieta's move to Lazio.
For £56 million his input is not just good enough. I really doubt his technical ability. I have watched all of Realmadrid's game this season and sometimes he is just abysmal and he was one of the reason why they suffered last night. After the half time, he was nowhere to be found.
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First up, congratulations to Lyon, they fully deserved their ticket into the 1/4 finals.
Now though, Phil, I've got the feeling you don't have too much sympathy for Madrid.
This is the second article of this ilk you've written (the other was after the defeat to Milan). Are you in a hurry to be the 1st British journalist to be able to say "I told you so"? There was also the article you wrote around the last clásico, full of half-truths and stereotypical descriptions.
Well, you startted the clock ticking back in October/Noevember, but the bomb hasn't gone off yet. Drop me a line me when Pellegrini's sacked. It's a possibility, sure, but it's not what the fans want. "Silent judgement". Not disappointment eh? They were non-verbally wishing the manager out.
Really.
I don't know if you saw the (opportunistic) poll Marca ran today.
Over 67% of the readers said they wanted Pellegrini to stay.
If I consider the campaign Marca's been waging against him since the start of the season, the fact that it's readers could be influenced by those opinions and do not represent all of the fans, and the fact that some of the voters will indeed be fans of other clubs, then I think the message is clear:
A vast majority of Madrid fans want Pellegrini and we want stability. We're sick of chopping and changing, and here's a man who can do his job.
No matter how much money you spend, starting from scratch every season is only a recipe for failure, as is building a lop-sided team based on marketing value. We know that. Pérez and Valdano can either listen to Eduardo Inda (Director of Marca) or to the basic rules of common sense and to the majority of fans.
Let's just wait and see eh?
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Its a shame RM lost the Lyon tie. Higuain rightly held his head in his hands at the end of that game. he knows he was responsible for 1 glaring miss and 2 other decent opportunities and just from him. Lyon barely had a chance on gaol last night.
Unfortunately for Pelegrini, its not Higuain whos job is on the line. Its a cut throat football world and none more so than in La Liga. Losing to Lyon just cant be accepted, but the buck should stop with the players missing chances not really Pelegrini
.............................................
good points !!
This real madrid team have been together for just 6 months !!
The club just needs to be patient.. Success will come
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I agree with mohtechnix: Kaka is awful.What is the fuss about?
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oo...oh... gelled tumbler is not going to like this... he doesn't like losing... and after being in finals two years in a row, this would be a big let down... if something similar happens next year, united should buy him back on 50% off...
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#16.
Not every English team spends big. Arsenals' biggest transfer is Arshavin on about £15 million. There are 11 players on a pitch and in RM case they are all individuals wanting to hog the limelight. In the case of Arsenal it's a case of 11 players wanting to fight and play as a team and win as a team.
The reason we dislike RM is every year either their President or their press say who they are going to buy and they make these ridiculous statements. They think they can just say things and everyone will want to come running. I don't believe that one player from Arsenal has achieved more since they moved to RM from us. I can't see Wenger going there as manager either as they would have to do things his way and also give him plenty of time even though every year the say they will get him.
I'm pleased Lyon went through and I hope that this year a team this a small amount of spending wins the title. Of course I hope that's Arsenal.
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Richest is not always the best. Real only have to be beaten to the La Liga title in order to become yhe everlasting laughing stock. A collateral positive has been Rooney transforming into the World's best striker.
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Phil Minshull
I dont know which Real fans you talk to in Spain but I am surrounded by them where I work . There is no way they want Mourinho at Real, they want to win , but they want to win in style !!!
Even if Mourinho won all the 38 league games 1-0 the fans would not be happy if it was not done with the flair the fans expect.
They would not mind if Benetiz arrives as he has already coached at Real and knows the club inside out.
They believe that Benitez would adopt more cavalier tactics with the players available at Real rather than his mostly negative tactics which he employs at Liverpool.
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How come you complain about Real Madrids Euro titles all being from around 40 years ago yet England still boast about winning a world cup in 66 :P
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
And how fitting that a team like Lyon, from whom Madrid enticed Benzema with loads of money and empty promises, delivered the coup de gras. It would have been bad enough had Madrid gone out to the likes of a Barcelona, Man Utd or Inter Milan but paupers like Lyon? Too funny. They took away Lyon's best player and tossed them a few bucks thinking "OK now get lost........we'll be back if you dig up any other players whom we can use". Little did they know that Lyon would come round to their house and trash it. LOL!!
Hey Perez.........here's this summer's shopping list for you; Rooney, Drogba, Torres, Gerrard, Messi, Iniesta, Pirlo and Fabregas. That ought to keep the fans happy until next April when you fail again!!
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@ 6. At 12:42pm on 11 Mar 2010, Slam69 wrote:
I hate to bring this up but what does an eery stadium sound like?
========================================
Ask Robbo.... he's at the Riverside every other week.
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I'm sick and tired of hearing how Lyon's victory was a triumph over everything that is wrong with the game. Oh, poor little Lyon, trying to compete with the bigger boys.
Lyon have spent heavily for years, figures which are usually countered with large fees that are later recouped by selling those same players on. Plus their stadium was bought and paid for by the government, not one penny of Lyon's money went into it, whereas English clubs, quite rightly, receive no such outside help.
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Loads of you have said it and it's spot on - changing managers every season will not bring success!
Pellegrini has done fine, any manager needs some luck to win the Champion League, he didn't have it on the night with the chances they missed first half against a good Lyon side. They are joint top of La Liga aswell, it's ridiculous!
Also, Marca sound like a bunch of absolute goons
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"22. At 1:58pm on 11 Mar 2010, BleuBlancRouge wrote:
united dreamer,
I think you calling Lyon a feeder club is a great isnult. considering they are ranked in the top 20 in europe, god help clubs ranked in 50s then in the 100s, 500s...what are they then? I believe Lyon sold as many players to madrid as Man U did this summer. so if Lyon are a feeder club so are Man U by your logic. as if any club sells a player they must be a feeder club! Lyon have great business sense.
Also I am not aware what this has to do with sense of humour? i dont support Madrid and Im delighted to have Lyon go through, especially afetr ramos's prediction of 3-0. But you never see an article dedicated to bayern going through, or milan going out but as I said the media have a real dislike of Madrid in this country.
"
We're a feeder club as well!
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Although in defence of the Ronaldo sale at we least we got to keep him for 6 years before the inevitable happened. Lyon sold Benzema on while he was still only 21.
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"Its not that united spended the money that real madrid did in one season or for that manner Chelsea has aswell. United have spent record amounts on many players from the birth of the premier league until now recently when they bought berbatov"
Ryan #32 - you might be interested to know that Chelsea, Manchester City and, believe it or not, Liverpool have spent more nett that United since the inception of the premiership. If you take the Ronaldo sale into account, even Spurs have spent more.
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Real Madrid never should've gotten rid of Vicente Del Bosque. I thought he was a great manager in his time there, mainly because he let his players get on with it.
As far as last night went, I feel Lyon deserved it. And yes, in a (petty?) way I was sort of glad to hear Real didn't go through: they're a great team in potential but they're not there yet. And spending, in itself, shouldn't be a recipe for success.
With regards to winning the champion's league this year, I wouldn't mind Arsenal winning it this year. Would be nice for Wenger, a manager with a style I can respect.
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Why do every one including players say its takes a year for new players to blend into a new team. Surely players who have actually been in that situation know what they are talking about so Perez should give it time leave the manager alone and concentrate on getting a proper left back.
Not sure what a feeder club is but there are plenty of players in La Liga who were local to madrid (as opposed from stealing youth players from other areas) who have come through the Real Madrid Youth system including the top goal scorers at Getafe and Seville.
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I wasn't at all surprised that Lyon won, they have an excellent defence & after a difficult beginning to their season with many key injuries their team has finally gelled. You can spend as much money as you like but you can't buy team spirit. Who wanted it most? Lyon. Incidentally they've met four times - Real have never won a fixture - three draws and one Lyon victory.
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Marca
Tut Tut this paper is the worst rag ever! its the Spanish version of the Sun! it builds people up just to knock them down!
does anyone or did anyone expect Pellegrini to stay!? he isnt what Real want even though he has one of the best records for a Real Madrid Manager. until they get Mourinho they wont be happy.
Whats also not very suprising is Real being knocked out of the champions league, I the same as most expected Real to walk all over Lyon winning by a comfortable margin and after Ronaldo scored 6 minutes in i was ready to say i told you so...............The minutes went on and anyone that watched Real the last 5 god even 10 years knows the Lyon goal was no big suprise as unless Real score 5 the opposition will always get a chance to score.
Pellegrini in my opinion will stay until the end of the season...regardless of the 'el classico' result. If Real carry on the way they have been playing in the league then they have the talent to lift the La Liga crown.........but my guess is always the same....Madrid will bottle it and Steady Steady Barca will clinch it again........anyway forget the title race the race for 4th spot is hotting up!
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"43. At 4:00pm on 11 Mar 2010, Junglemanchild wrote:
How come you complain about Real Madrids Euro titles all being from around 40 years ago yet England still boast about winning a world cup in 66 :P
"
It does give persepective - another thing that gives perspective is that Celtic won it in '67! Also it shows that AC Milan is probably the most successful team in recent years - which puts our victory last night in persepctive;-)
Btw BleuBlancRouge - only calling Lyon a feeder club for effect - they've been excellent at developing young players and a credit to French football. As are Arsenal;)
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"46. At 4:35pm on 11 Mar 2010, Haythnasr wrote:
@ 6. At 12:42pm on 11 Mar 2010, Slam69 wrote:
I hate to bring this up but what does an eery stadium sound like?
========================================
Ask Robbo.... he's at the Riverside every other week.
"
To be fair he needs peace and quiet to write his blog.
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Its a reflection of the mercenary attitude prevalent in Europe today that a story titled "Real Madrid BACKS Pellegrini" makes the top headlines. In all honesty, that is a shock coming from the likes of Real Madrid / Chelsea / City that appear to provide 0 margin for safety for players & coaches. That is why, I simply can't understand why players & coaches even want to work there (other than the money of course). Speaking for my club, surely Wenger / Fab wouldn't dream of trading the stability at Arsenal for the madness at Madrid.
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Mohtechnix probably a little harsh on Kaka, but I agree with you about his technical ability in comparison with other players often considered to be in the same bracket (ie. Messi, Ronaldo). People were gaga over him after he turned it on against Man U in 2007, overlooking his poor league form. This season he's certainly looked a poor second to Ronaldo, although in his defence it can't be easy to fit into this Madrid side.
As for Lyon, they certainly spent big this summer, but realistically are unable to attract the highest calibre of player and find it difficult to hang on to those that are. Still, they are not a side to be underestimated as many have found out to their cost.
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Congratulations to Lyon on their victory last night. Sadly nobody on TV last night was making any such comments as they chose to focus on the most overrated football team of the last few years and their "shock" exit.
Football is a team game and Real Madrid are still making the same mistakes they were making earlier on in the decade, by focusing on individuals, and not the team.
Real Madrid nearly always lose when faced with half decent opposition in Europe. Off the top of my head Arsenal, Roma, Juventus, Liverpool and Milan have all gone to the Bernabore in recent years and won.
Yet despite this they get hyped up way more than any of those sides, due to their transfer policy. And the media never learns, tripping over themselves to hail the "great" Real Madrid.
I'm just disappointed Juventus avoided them in the Champions League this year. Despite Juve's big failings, Real Madrid is a guarantee of 6 points in the group stage.
Finally, time to relive Real Madrid's 2003 "vintage", and the thrashing they got in Turin. It's the nearest they've got to the Champions League final since they last won it, and that'll still be the case until they have a proper strategy in place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgBRaPJL__U
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"60. At 5:48pm on 11 Mar 2010, GigiBuffon1 wrote:
Congratulations to Lyon on their victory last night. Sadly nobody on TV last night was making any such comments as they chose to focus on the most overrated football team of the last few years and their "shock" exit.
"
Good point!
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All Liverpool fans should pray long and hard that this result ends up with Pellegrini sacked, and a summer bid for Rafael Benitez heads the way of the club. It might just give them an opportunity to claw back a decent compensation fee that will make up for dishing out one of the most preposterous, unjustified long term contracts dished out in history.
Real are probably the only club in the world thick enough to take him, AND pay for the 'privilege'. We live in hope......
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"62. At 5:58pm on 11 Mar 2010, harper0481 wrote:
All Liverpool fans should pray long and hard that this result ends up with Pellegrini sacked, and a summer bid for Rafael Benitez heads the way of the club. It might just give them an opportunity to claw back a decent compensation fee that will make up for dishing out one of the most preposterous, unjustified long term contracts dished out in history.
Real are probably the only club in the world thick enough to take him, AND pay for the 'privilege'. We live in hope......
"
SAVE RAFA!
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Neither Mourinho nor Benitez are what Madrid fans want. Marca might tell them that, and they might believe it for a while, but they'll only discover they've been done.
They are both mere sorcerer's apprentices in comparison to Capello, the man Madrid got rid of TWICE after winning the league because the way the team played wasn't considered appealing enough (well, the first time you could say it was more of a mutual difference of opinion).
I very much doubt either Mourinho or Benitez would last much longer than tea-time in Madrid.
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Another survey for you Phil, this time from AS.com:
23% of the fans blame Pellegrini for going out of the CL. 51% blame the players and 28% blame either Pérez or Valdano.
Marca obviously weren't happy with the result of this morning's poll, so they've opened a new one, shamelessly titled "Who ought to manage R.Madrid next season", and they provide 6 names: Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benítez, Capello, Michel and Pellegrini.
Pellegrini wins hands down: 62.8% Closest is Mourinho: 14.8%
Remember: Marca readers, DESPITE Marca's campaign.
What else have Marca done today? Poll results against their interests...They open a comments page asking fans "What would you like to ask Pellegrini?"!!
Sift through the answers Phil, I'm sure you can manage the castellano spoken there. True, some fans oppose him. The majority? Read them for yourself.
Take a look at Inda's editorial in Marca - or the responses rather. What are the majority of the fans saying? They, -we- are furious with the press, Marca specifically, not our manager!!!
Marca have been on their own crusade all year to get rid of Pellegrini. Why? Only Inda could tell you that, I can only imagine it.
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Can't see Mourinho being Real Madrid manager, after all Capello got sacked after winning the title for not playing attractive enough football.
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Kaka was exactly that.
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Been quite funny seeing how Marca's main headline on their website has changed today from Pellegrini out, to the news of a Barcelona director admitting to being happy madrid were knocked out ! ( what a surprise ! )
Inda is pushing the focus away from his personal crusade against pellegrini, as the polls on marca and comments from readers have shown him, the majority of real madrid fans are with pellegrini and against Inda's attacks on pellegrini.
Phil is the only one who seems to listen to Inda's rubbish to be honest.
why is that Phil ??
Itsonlyagame: your comments are spot on !
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Send Harry Redknapp to Real and Mourinho to Spurs. That'd shake things up a bit, wouldn't it??!!
After all, Harry knows how to clear up the mess left by a Spanish speaker and Jose knows how to win titles at places that didn't manage it for 50 years.......
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Did Liverpool beat Real 4-0@ Anfield, last year and with abit of luck could have got 8,have Real not being trading on there name 4 a number of years,Sir alex must have a BIG smile last night.
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the only way from united is down...
also dadvid moyes for real :P
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When I first read this news, I thought they SACK the manager. You know it is only one letter between sack and back. Or should they really do that this time?
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As a long time aficionado of the Spanish game, I cannot say that I am in the least sorry for Madrid. Too often when they come up against well organized European opposition they falter. In truth, when they were beaten in Lyon, I had a premonition that this Real Madrid was the same as previous versions, just not up to it! Remember they had already been beaten by AC Milan earlier at the Bernebeu and could not defeat the Rossoneri in Milan. Just look at what Manchester United inflicted on Milan, in both legs!
Whether it is my imagination or otherwise, my perception is that La Liga teams 'roll over' too easily against Madrid at the Bernebeu. My own team, since 1975 in fact, Sevilla F.C. did just that last weekend and in my view it is a lack of professionalism, focus, desire and mental strength to lose a 2-0 lead like that. When Madrid came up against a decent team like Lyon, they failed although had they taken their first half chances things may have turned out differently.
Maybe it is poetic justice? Madrid's treatment of Vicente Del Bosque and Jupp Henkyes in the early 2000s was very crude indeed and their, seemingly, insatiable appetite to bring in foreign players in preference to Spanish players has always irked me. In stark contrast, Barcelona is a veritable production line of truly high quality Spanish/Catalan players amongst others of course, and maybe Madrid should take a look at what that club is doing rather than spending immoral amounts of money in their efforts to bring immediate success. Provided they can avoid each other, I sense a repeat of last year's final with Manchester United having a very realistic chance of winning this time, given Barcelona's recent 'off colour' performances
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1. Ronaldo can stay where he is.
2. Wenger is staying where he is.
3. No one will be asking marting O neill to go to Madrid, he has done nothing of note in his football life despite being a great manager.
4. Madrid as a club were extremely stupid to spend what they did on the personell they spent it on.
5. Benzema misses his mama and was a waste of Money.
6. Ronaldo plays for himself, Fergie got it right again.
7. It's not the manager who should get fired, it's the players.
8. I can't believe anyone will take Benetez seriously after this season.
9. It's a pity United didn't manage to flog Tevez to Real Madrid for lets say 60 million? They might still be in the competition for one thing.
10. Lyon are a good team with a very talented goalkeeper and will be very hard to beat.
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how about tony mowbury for the job..........
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If Real ever hope to win the Champions League again, they must first call in Vicente Del Bosque, the last manager to win it for them, go down on their knees and I ask for his forgiveness. Otherwise, their treatment of him after winning the championship twice in 2000 and 2002 will go on to haunt them for the rest of their history. Take it from me!
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Again I would just like to say every single player that has moved to spain for a big money transfers to spain have all truimped and failed a good example ronaldo was possibly one of the best strikers in the world and hitting heights before when he got to madrid yes he won some trophies but injuries that he couldnt sustain those exceptations of this world class striker angered the club and fans even more so he had to go!.
Ronaldinho,rivaldo,ronaldo,etoo,beckham were all victims of their own success playing in the spanish league when they barca and madrid came calling to end their careers in spain they got even worse as player mentally and physically look at ronaldinho he looks like a player that just came drunk out of a bar against man utd.
Kaka and benezema possibly one of the greatest transfers flops ever of last summer yes indeed they would defo be in the top 10 worst transfers of 2009/10 season. Kaka 56 mil and benezema for 30 mil you are having a laugh right ! they are good players but they have failed to live up to expectations and pressure from the club and fans from there enchanced reputations they took with them into madrid.
Madrids problems arent new everybody knows about them we dont need to go into the details of how wrong this so called ''galatico'' team has failed. Too many overstared egos and sacking of managers repeatidly isnt going to get them anywhere if they want to be like the great team that barca have created with guardiola.
Just to note on Pellegrini why did they hire him as a manager his record is rubbish he hasnt even won anything mayor with any team to even suggest that he should be managing a team like madrid. He clearly doesnt have a clue how to manage these ''stars'' I mean seriously madrid really should be beating teams like lyon !.
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The fact that Vicente Del Bosque was still sacked despite winning the Champions League, suggests that the writing is on the wall for Pellegrini.
Real are a club fiercely proud of their achievements in Europe's premier club competition. This season would have represented a dream scenario...clinching an unprecedented tenth title in their own backyard. Even La Liga success will not ensure another term in charge for the Chilean.
Any manager that has spent 260 million euros should be making the last 4 of the CL at the very least. As well as Lyon played, they are not the same side that dominated their domestic league three or four years ago.
They currently lie fourth in Ligue 1 and are very much a side in transition, I would not be at all surprised if they crash out in the quarters, they're not a contender.
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@ 77,
Lippi did not win anything before he joined Juventus in 1994. Pellegrini has good pedigree. What he did at Villareal is almost miraculous.
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Hi Phil, nice blog!
I agree that Real Madrid coach's future might be hanging by a thin piece of string and that he might not last till the end of the season. HOWEVER, I cannot blame it all on Manuel Pelligrini for Madrid's european failure this season. I must say I actually have sympathy towards the man on this occasion. I was once a ferverent critic of Pelligrini's tactics, having felt he hadn't proven enough in Villareal to even be considerd in such hot seat but the truth is I was wrong, he's pretty capable. Despite elimination, Real Madrid is today the most powerful footballing force in the planet after little more than 6 months in charge. To me, that is quite an achievement. Perhaps they haven't totally surpassed the quality of Mighty Barca's football but they'll sure will soon. And that is not only because of Florentino's summer splashing spree nor merely because of the likes of big star players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, Alonso or Higuain. There is a lot of work made by Pelligrini and a lot of credit has to be due to him aswell.
As he said on a recent press conference, you cannot evaluate if Real Madrid's MEGA PROJECT have failed based on 6 months. We are talking about a team that is playing together for the first season. This project/investment clearly consists in domestic and european success (if not dominance) in the next 6 years. We all should know how hard it can be to win a competition such as the Champions League and come May who knows which team will be lifting the trophy (it might be Lyon, who knows)- It is just too unpredictable. On paper, Madrid was clearly favorites to go through but you don't play on paper. And when you get into the pitch is 11 against 11. It only takes a small detail for things to change from wright go wrong; from glory to misery. It's the infamous quote of the ball that hits the woodwork and goes in and the ball that hit the post and doesn't. That's exactly what happened to Pelligrini last wednesday. After an early goal by Ronaldo to level the tie (I remind you that after the first leg's result it could be very tricky as it ended up proving to be). It would only take for Gonzalo Higuain to score on an open net (after he dribbled the goalie) to properly sentence Lyon as they'd be forced to push up their lines on search of a goal and concede enough room for Real Madrid strongest weapon (counter). If that ball by Higuain would go in, we could easily be talking here of something totally different. We could've be saying how Real Madrid eased through a dismayed Lyon side the same way as Arsenal did with Porto. A 5 nil or even 6 nil who knows.
The truth is that's how football works. So I must disagree with some Manchester United's fans in here. It's not because of Real Madrid's early exit of the Champions League that makes them weaker than Man Utd. I remember Everton beating Man Utd and Chelsea this season and then getting thumped by Benfica and Sporting Lisbon in Europa League. Does that make Sporting Lisbon better than Man Utd or Chelsea??? Don't think so.
I actually admire Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid because it would probably be easier for him to win the CL again if he had stayed at Old Trafford for another season or two. Man Utd's team is built. What's new. You'll definitely have a good side and be contenders in Europe for the next 2 to 3 years. But make no mistake, in a year or two, Man Utd will be nowhere near Real madrid playing football. That I can assure you.
Cristiano Ronaldo (hottest property in world football) moved to Real Madrid because he likes being a superstar. He likes the challenge of all papers writing about him. The hype of the Madrid circus. All the girls screaming his name. The private jets taking him anywhere he wants to go. That kind of treatment (world superstar) wasn't given to him at Old Trafford. The club took a more discreet approach to his image. He wasn't on top of the headlines everyday. Sir Alex Fergunson just wanted the player. Real Madrid wants the player, the image and everything that comes with it.
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@ #74
3. No one will be asking marting O neill to go to Madrid, he has done nothing of note in his football life despite being a great manager.
While I agree with you that O'Neill won't get a look in until he successfully manages a top European club which is capable of winning it's domestic league and challenging for the latter stages of the CL (sorry Celtic fans, you score on the first but not the second), you can hardly say he did 'nothing of note in his football life'. As a player the guy came over from a tiny country in Northern Ireland to be part of a very successful team at Nottingham Forest which won the top tier title ahead of Liverpool in 1978 and back to back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 and other domestic honours such as the League Cup. As a manager, he started out in non league and then lower league (Wycombe) on a shoestring and was successful (getting 2 promotions for the club) before punching above his weight at Leicester (2 League cup wins and 3 finals, 8th in the PL in 2000 with one of the smallest budgets etc) and 3 Scottish titles and a UEFA cup victory with Celtic. This hardly ranks as 'achieved nothing'
I think O'Neill will stay with Villa for a couple of years more and eventually replace Fergie. He could also replace Benitez at Liverpool and be a candidate for Chelsea or Arsenal, if their fortunes should suddenly decline (although Wenger has a job for life if he wants it). If O'Neill gets a job at any of these clubs, or Man City with their wealth and performs, Madrid could well come knocking.
I also want to say well done to Lyon, some extra money from reaching the last 8 will benefit them much more than it would Madrid. Madrid had enough chances over the 2 legs to go through but didn't take them - Lyon, especially in the home leg, also had chances and ultimately, they took more of their chances and won, so fair play.
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In answer to why people seem to delight in Madrid struggling is that the club was representative of teh Fascist Franco regime which is why they were resented in teh 50's & 60's and that has continued even though the reason has been forgottes.
Also I think it is a bit like Scotland when you have 2 teams dominate a league the way Real & Barcelona do you enjoy seeing them fail a bit more. Also it overlooks the fact that in England people take great delight when United & Chelsea lose simply because they win so often
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Regarding Lyon's huge spending,
it is true this summer they have really spent. However they have no debt. This summer shopping Frenzy was as a result of years of making profits from transfers. For instance, they bought essien for under £5 million, and sold it for what, around 25? then replaced him with diarra which costed a fraction, then sold him to madrid for box.
Benzema was a youth player an lisandro costed around half his price. Their money is also the result of being in the champions league every year. This is one of the major reasons why Arsenal are so popular in France. They spend within their means, due to their business sense and not the owners wallet, or bank loans.
But Madrid will always command respect, like liverpool. their is a history about those clubs, that we dont have in France. Also, using the newspaper 'Marca' as reference is like quoting the Sun.
Im delighted Lyon are through, not my team but still, but Madrid had enough chances to win the tie in the first half. some times your strikers have a bad day. it happens to everyone, even the mighty Bendtner!
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#80 "Cristiano Ronaldo (hottest property in world football) moved to Real Madrid because he likes being a superstar. He likes the challenge of all papers writing about him. The hype of the Madrid circus. All the girls screaming his name. The private jets taking him anywhere he wants to go. That kind of treatment (world superstar) wasn't given to him at Old Trafford. The club took a more discreet approach to his image. He wasn't on top of the headlines everyday. Sir Alex Fergunson just wanted the player. Real Madrid wants the player, the image and everything that comes with it."
Interesting comment Ricardo - you may be right about Ronaldo - but maybe he should take a close look at Beckham the other day who made the move 6 years ago and who looked decidedly downbeat after playing in a team absolutely hammered by his team and ask himself what he could have achieved had he sacrificed his superstar lifestyle.
If Real Madrid are to reach the standard, I would say that they will have to change their approach more to get to where they want to be. At some point the bottomless pit of money will start to dry as the banks start to harden their stance with loan repayments and wasteful transfers scrutinised more closely. This is not the first time they have gone out in the last 16 of the knockout phase - its the 6th on the bounce (I was literally staggered to read that). And they have some severe competition in the local game with Barca providing a much more consistent challenge.
Outside the Bernebau one thing you can be sure of is that many clubs will not be unhappy to see Real dip further. Arrogance is great when coupled with success but when the success dries up there are plenty looking to step on you to make names for themselves at your expense.
I notice in the gossip column that Real are looking to buy their way out of trouble again with a mooted transfer for Rooney. If this is true do you really think he will want a move to a club who so regularly and spectacularly fail at the highest level? Do you really think your worldwide support will countenance regular failure? And do you think your income will sustain the club's wasteful approach indefinitely despite your richest club status (albeit fueled by a weak pound)?
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WOW!! David has defeated Goliath. For the First time I saw a rat beat a tiger cat in a fight and it REAL!!With all their scoring magicians and technicians. YOU KNOW WHAT? Spending too much on big players at some extent is waste of resources especially when there is no commitment in the pitch and when they never use their opportunities.That was a shocking night for a team that is hosting the finals.I was scared of Madrid to win this competition. But all the same, it's Foot ball either you win, draw or expect a loss. But in the case of giant Madrid with all the super powers? unbelieveable! with all the match domination. At least players like Christiano Ronaldo have learnt a lesson of his life.His value has been depreciated and his dreams has disguised into nightmares I wonder how he will feel the night after the match on to this time!I just can't wait to see Rooney top the goalscoring chart and receive the golden boot infront of Ronaldo in his own current stadium and infront of all the fans!
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#84 Outside the Bernebau one thing you can be sure of is that many clubs will not be unhappy to see Real dip further. Arrogance is great when coupled with success but when the success dries up there are plenty looking to step on you to make names for themselves at your expense.
You're spot on United Dreamer. Agree with nearly almost everything you said. I'm a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan (back from the Manchester United days) and make no mistake when I say that I was gutted when he left to Real Madrid. I dislike the prepotence and arrogance Real Madrid "private" newspapers bring around. I just cannot stand read AS and Marca (but for some reason I still do peek there sometimes, lol)
Now back to Ronaldo... I understand the comparison you make about Ronaldo and Beckham. Both of them have achieved as much success as a professional can get. Although it might appear Ronaldo's following the same steps as David Beckham, it's not quite the same case one could argue. The motivations of the 2 players are quite distinct. I recognize David Beckham as a great footballer and even as a person but Beckham was more looking into boosting even further his image. Ronaldo's motivation to join Real Madrid is to become the best player to ever grace the game. He still has a long way to go of course. But no one can't deny his aspirations are legitimate. Ronaldo in one season already scored more goals than Beckham in all 6 he was there. Ronaldo already has half of the goals Zidane and Figo scored while on their time at the Bernabeu. I know he has more of a forward role now but still... quite amazing. Even free-kicks (which is Becks great speciality along with his crossing ability)... Ronaldo will end up having more freekick goals than Beckham.
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83. At 09:17am on 12 Mar 2010, BleuBlancRouge wrote:
Regarding Lyon's huge spending....
---
I'm not sure if you've ignored my post accidentally or deliberately however there's a reason Lyon have no debt. Most clubs accrue debt to pay for new stadiums whereas Lyon's new stadium will be built without any cost towards Lyon. 180 million Euros of public money will be used along with 80 million Euros coming from the Urban Community of Lyon. That's 260 million Euros that English clubs would have to pay themselves. Not one English club receives financial help from the state, football is very much a self servicing industry in the UK. Not one penny of Lyon's money will go towards this new 60,000 stadium yet they will take all the profits. This kind of help allows them to spend big which then secures future success which, in turn, allows them to continue to spend big. It's very much a snowball effect.
So, please, no more chat about how Lyon are well run. It's much easier to run a club when the government are pumping tax payers' money into it.
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Ricardo - I agree with the distinction you made between Ronaldo and Beckham - Ronaldo's was a more football led decision and he jumped before he was pushed. But maybe the reputation of Real Madrid as the pinacle of achievement in football which is part of the collective psyches of certainly South American and Iberian players is starting to be undermined by the club's repeated inability to back it up on the pitch. And I don't put it down to forces outside Spain, I put it more down to a combination of Barcelona's success and Real Madrid's wastefulness and apparent unwillingness to change. At some point the well will run dry and the players who backed the horse may come to regret their decision.
By the way I think Ronaldo is a fantastic player. If there is a single player that can inspire a team to succeed, its him and I'm sure that's where half his value came from. Much of that was in him from the start and much of it has been instilled in him by Fergie I suspect. The reason I say that is that we have had successive players with that winning mentality and inner belief at our club with Rooney being the next in line (and incidentally, Fletcher).
The question is how long will Ronaldo be able to sustain his inner belief without a strong manager behind him who stays at the club for more than a couple of seasons? Personally, I think Real Madrid's real long term demise started when they released Capello as he is one of the few managers who could have built a team who could provide sustained success and build that winning mentality in the players that takes them beyond their ability. And Real need that.
And I agree we may be nowhere in two or three years time - but that won't be because of Real Madrid it will be because we have lost Fergie, allied to lack of revenue generated by a catastrophic ownership structure. Mind I might be wrong and Cristiano comes back to herald another glorious 10 years (to the real home - actually godfather - of football!). We all live in hope;)
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"But maybe the reputation of Real Madrid as the pinacle of achievement in football which is part of the collective psyches of certainly South American and Iberian players is starting to be undermined by the club's repeated inability to back it up on the pitch."
Sorry, I forgot to add - that being the reason that Ronaldo's dream was to join the team in the first place (my view).
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I live in Spain and I was really hoping Madrid would come through and draw Man Utd in the quarters. Watching Real Madrid v Manchester United at the Santiago Bernabeu would have been some treat.
But how is it that Real Madrid keep failing in the Champions League? They have a formidable team - on paper at least - and they have actually played very well in the league this year.
I think they are cursed in some way. Its the only explanation.
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Ricardo, In as much as you would like to say that Ronaldo was motivated by desire to play on a bigger stage, I have to say that both he and Beckham seem to be reading from the same script. If Ronaldo wanted to play at the biggest stage, he would have moved to Barca. hehe. I get it now, it doesn't have the image for the screaming girls and jets and all that! shcok!
No matter how many free kicks and trip overs Ronaldo will make, it will not be enough to rescue RM. Reason is because football is a team sport, and there is not much one person can do. He is easily frustrated and selfish enough that without a firm hand (from a manager), he will most likely end up being a frustrated player with all the image that comes from being at RM.
I do not know how the team will perfom next year, but a change in managers might not be the solution. But I believe a repeat of the same will not only make things worse, but will lead to some player exodus, as they will be cheaper.
It would be sad to see RM stagnate or drop further down. However, their problems are too many and too unpredictable atm to be addressed in a single blog.
....
Do you think CR would be willing to come back to the EPL?
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United Dreamer - On Point
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Nice to see Ronaldo following in Michael Owen's footsteps...
Speaking of Liverpool, I definitely throw in my vote to Real Madrid taking Rafa off our backs. Ideally they'd take the owners too, but I'm told life isn't be that miraculous.
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"Ideally they'd take the owners too, but I'm told life isn't be that miraculous."
Join the queue! And...
Save Rafa!
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Nasri_The_True_French_Gooner
What a load of absolute ribbish..........a very poorly constructed bitter little peice you put together!........
so many people on here watch one champions league match and think they can talk about spanish football...its a joke and you embarass yourself...someone put the Bernabore on here??? Real Madrid have scored in every home game for over 2 years! boring!?
another thing is player hype? Kaka and ronaldo are flops or failures? your either a bitter Man u fan or clearly watch no games they play in. Kaka hasnt lived up to the hype but joining a team where he isnt the focal point what do you expect? Benzema has been given chances and hasnt lived up to what people expected but Real Wanted David Villa in the first place so they cant expect the same quality, but with the money they spent on him he should be doing more, saying that Higuain is the best striker in Europe at the moment (with Rooney).
Real Madrid have played the best football at home all season and look set to win the title if they carry on this way. I for one hope they do...but all the little boo boys will just say oh you bought it so they cant win.
watch some La Liga and see what really happens before saying
'kaka, Ronaldo are flops.......Real are poor etc etc'
Lyon deserved to go through as the same for Liverpool deserved to go out as did chelsea last year'
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Hopefully for once Real Madrid will show some sense and allow Pelligrini to carry until at least until the end of the season. Despite the huge sums they've spent, Madrid have probably overachieved by being level on points with an exceptional Barcelona side in La Liga, and may yet win the title.
Even when you can call on Kaka and Ronaldo, it still takes time for a new side to gel.
http://footballfutbolfitba.wordpress.com/
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SomethingGlorious wrote "'m not sure if you've ignored my post accidentally or deliberately however there's a reason Lyon have no debt. Most clubs accrue debt to pay for new stadiums whereas Lyon's new stadium will be built without any cost towards Lyon. 180 million Euros of public money will be used along with 80 million Euros coming from the Urban Community of Lyon."
Actually , Lyon is funding its stadium with Private funds ... 300 Millions of € financed by "OL Groupe" . by no means Lyon have any kind of advantage over Premiership clubs since these clubs receives an enormous amount of tv rights money every season regardess of their results and some can parade with hundred millions pounds of debts without even being bothered , whereas in France , just a few millions debts for a football club means immediate relegation and huge troubles to follow
Lyon will have to borrow to pay back for its stadium ... public funds will be used in order to raise the money on the short term (for the infrastructures arounds the stadium mainly ) , but the club will eventually pay back a large part of it .
Anyhow , it has nothing to do with Lyon having spent on the transfer market this summer .... they have the stade de Gerland anyway ...the board wants a new stadium to incorporate a large commercial complex in order to generate more revenues , but from the fans point of view , many want to stick with their current stadium .
When Lyon spends 1 euro , it's because they sold for 2 euros , that has always been the policy of Aulas ... if they spent this summer it's because they sold Benzema for a large fee and because they didn't spend much the previous year .
They have sold their best players every year since 2005 , yet they always managed to build a decent side the following season thanks to their youth setup , astute transfer policy and excellent management of Jean Michel Aulas who in less than 15 years , took a second division club into the first division , then managed to transform it into a consistent top board side and now in the top 12 richest clubs in Europe , all this without a single debt ..... if that's not an example of a well run club , well ... one can say anything on Lyon , but there is one thing you cannot take from them , every inch of their success is the result of hardwork and good management , cheers
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There is an irony to all transfer talk. If teams were restricted to selecting players born in the area which they represent i.e. Manchester United selecting players born in Manchester and Real Madrid selecting players born in Madrid etc. Real Madrid could still field a team of internationals including Casillas, Raul, Guti, Torress, Del a red Negredo etc. None of the other big teams could come close.
Real Madrid suffer because they stick to Fifa guide lines of training schoolboys who live a within 40 minute driving time. Other teams like Barca and Arsenal seem to get their supply of youngsters of school age from all over the world how do they get around the Fifa guidelines ? probably by bribing the parents to move. It would be interesting to have inquiry because some teams are having their star boy players whisked away from their area with no compensation.
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Good Summary on the blog but most of the issues are known facts.
One thing that can be said is "Money cant buy success".
Maybe bringing back Bosque might be going through FP's head after the FIFA2010 but i doubt anybody other then the "Special One" coming to Real which is also only 50%.
This will not stop Real from splurging money in the future but it sure is a lesson for other clubs. Only Ribery knows where he will join but if we just think about Benzema and Ronaldo, everybody can laugh.
Bayern were lucky to win against Fiorentina.
It would be excellent if Manchester United won again this year. Glory Glory MUFC.
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There have been some excellent comments which add a lot of flesh to the bare bones of my blog. Thanks to all.
NUMBER_2010: Scolari is a good call to take over as the Madrid coach, although thegreatNEb made some salient points about his failure at Chelsea.
My guess is that Perez will be looking to find a big name to replace Pellegrini, even bigger than Rafa Benitez, but Jose Mourinho might just too much of a handful and, if he gets past Chelsea, and does well in the Champions League with Inter then I think he'll stay there.
Mani Thangaduari: “One would also think the unavailability of the suspended Xabi Alonso was another factor in the draw last night.” I'm not so sure. From my perspective, the problem was both Higuain and Kaka didn't do well. Xabi could have played balls to them all night and I don't think either would have scored! One of Real's better players on Wedesday was Guti, who was more-or-less doing the same job that Xabi does.
There have also been a lot of comments about the British media's preoccupation (at least in comparison to other big European clubs) with Real Madrid.
I think the key issue is that Real Madrid have a historic legacy that even Milan or Barcelona can't rival, which is winning the European Cup/Champions League nine times, even if six of those wins were int he 1950s and 60s.
They were the FIFA club side of the 20th century and, of course, there are still vivid memories within the British media of Beckham's time there.
itsonlyagame: “A vast majority of Madrid fans want Pellegrini and we want stability.” As you have correctly ascertained, I don't usually have a great deal of sympathy towards Real for various reasons, particularly the arrogance that curently exudes from some quarters at the club although, it is not usually the majority of the players (Sergio Ramos's comments about how they were going to thrash Lyon are obviously excluded) who are at fault. However, believe it or not, I will be sad to see Pellegrini go. He is a good coach, his time at Villarreal and various South American clubs has shown that, even if he has not always looking in command of his role this season.
My direct contact with him has been limited but he comes across as a decent individual and, if he wins La Liga or comes second, I persoanlly would give him a second season.
However, Perez has shown in the past that he has a very little patient despite all the obvious arguments for having coaching stability.
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To Nameless and United Dreamer:
Thanks for your replies. You both share some good insight. I do not think Ronaldo looks at La Liga as better than the EPL to be honest. When asked to compare leagues he normally says that the english premiership is faster and more physically demanding as for the spanish being more technical. It's not that Real Madrid is better or bigger than Man Utd neither (because they're not) It's simply because he won everything there was to win in England with Manchester United and he already has the backing of his loyal Man Utd fans wherever he goes. By moving to Spain and particularly to Real Madrid (as it was his childhood dream) he is challenging himself further. Like when you beat a game and then start playing another, not the same. It is only normal that foreign players that succeed in England want to eventually play in Spain and vice-versa. I bet you somewhere down the road he might even consider Italy and USA. I'm sure he has his best career memories in a Manchester United shirt and I've heard him praising english fans has the best supporters in the world. So I don't see why he wouldn't consider going back to Manchester one day (if they decide to have him back)
This is how football works, half the world follows the english league (best in the world in my opinion) and another half follows the spanish legue and a little bit of both watch some italian. So if you are a player and play at top clubs in those leagues you have a chance of becoming a very famous person (like David Beckham) The bigger fan base you have and the more popularity you get will allow fans down the road to tell their children who they think it was the best player. I can see kids in 20 years saying the best player of alltime to be Ronaldo and not Maradona or Pele.
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Phil, thanks for your response.
I understand Madrid isn't a likeable club - I sometimes ask myself whether I'd have supported them if it hadn't been a choice made when I was 6 or 7 years old.
Ramos' words before the Lyon game were foolish to say the least, but IMO there is at least a slight improvement, in the sense that, while it's fairly common for sportspeople to trash-talk, this time last season it was our actual chairman embarrasing us with this sort of arrogance! I am not as sure as I'd like to be about Pérez learning from past mistakes but Pellegrini is doing a great job; we desperately need to give someone enough time enough to start producing results without the constant threat of being sacked, and if you read any of those comments against Inda in Marca, you'll have noticed that a large number of us who feel the same way. These rags do not express the fans opinions and they are not Madrid.
That said though, I often feel though that antipathy towards the club, as much as our own 'efforts', often distorts our image. For all the talk of how we were favoured in old times, few ever mention that we were the country's most successful club during the Second Republic or that it took us 15 years to win a league title after Franco seized power. I was unable to post any comment to your last clásico blog, but I do hope that next time you can offer a more balanced view.
Thanks for your time. :)
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Real buys players for coaches to win games. Coaches do have much say in the buying of the players.I am sure will not spend that much money to strengthen a team Pellegrini but Perez will.Who is the ultimate loser when Pellegrini is fired ? obviously Real Madrid
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