Bayern Munich - Real Madrid: 0-0 (P: 2-4): Gracias San Iker

Photo courtsey: @kaushiklakshman

Whenever you hype up something in your head you are bound to be disappointed, such was the case of the supposedly biggest game of Real Madrid's pre-season's campaign.

The fatigue due to travel was clear on the players who played for their countries in the mid-week international friendlies, and because of that the team wasn't able to perform well as a whole.

But if there was a man on the field who looked as sharp as ever, it was the man with the captain's armband—Iker Casillas. San Iker produced one brilliant save after the another, saved 3 penalties (one in regular time) to win Real Madrid Franz Beckenbauer's testimonial match.

Couldn't imagine what the scoreline would have read if it wasn't for Iker Casillas.

If you thought Arjen Robben was pissed because of the 2 saves made by San Iker in the World Cup final, can't say what was going through Franck Ribery's mind.

I could have done my usual match review but the match had nothing to be reviewed, it was too boring, the players were so tired that they didn't even bother to press Bayern Munich to win the ball back. Xabi was too tired and wasn't efficient in winning the ball back like he usually is, his distribution was okay, but Xabi Alonso'll certainly be better after some rest.

Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso's partnership needs time and like I said Xabi was tired, that didn't help their case either, I'm positive that this partnership will improve though.

Sergio Canales hardly got on the ball, well the attack as a whole struggled because the ball winners were struggling, none of the players in attack, be it Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain or Sergio Canales looked in form.

Gonzalo Higuain missed a clear header from Pedro Leon's cross in the early goings of the game, Pipita also had a tougher chance when Cristiano Ronaldo crossed across the face of goal.

Only Pedro Leon was the one who looked like any danger to the Bayern Munich defense, good match from him, he even tracked back a lot and helped out Sergio Ramos, a LOT.

Garay might be out for a few weeks

Sergio Ramos was in vacation mode in the LA Galaxy game and he was too tired in this game as he travelled to Mexico in midweek, Franck Ribery gave Sergio Ramos headaches, and he even conceded a penalty by tackling Franck in the box, even when Sergio tackled Franck, he lost the ball by passing or clearing poorly, a game to forget for Sergio Ramos.

The central pairing of Carvalho-Garay and Carvalho-Albiol were okay, not much to be said about that.

Another negative from the game is that Garay has dislocated his right kneecap, he will undergo an MRI scan and then the extent of the injury would be determined after that, the moment I saw his knee buckle, I had a feeling he might be out for a few weeks.

Marcelo looked okay, can't say much, but this was a better defensive performance for the Brazillian.

The substitutes didn't change much, but Karim looked good, even crossed one for Cristiano, which would have been a goal was it not for the Bayern keeper—Kraft. Di Maria looked good too, I think he'll come good, just needs more time with the team, I have to stop being so critical of him. Van Der Vaart had an opportunity to score but he could only find the side-netting.

I was thankful that time wasn't added on after the 45 minutes of the half and that the game didn't go to extra time and went straight to penalties because I don't think it was humanly possible to watch one more minute of that game.

The team has to back up their arrogance with their performances and if they want to win the number of trophies that they predict for the season then they have to step-up their game and performances such as these shouldn't be repeated.

It was a ridiculously large trophy!

Real Madrid can be let off the hook, by saying that the team was tired and at least they didn't look so pleased with themselves after they were handed the "trophy," but then they should give a strong performance against Standard Liege on Tuesday after they are rested! Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid's Confirmed Pre-Season Friendlies 2010

Real Madrid have not yet disclosed all the pre-season friendlies they will play on their, these are the pre-season friendlies that Real Madrid will play according to Marca:

• Still to be determined: 31 July
• Club America (not confirmed): 4 August: Mexico/Spain (not confirmed)
• LA Galaxy: 7 August: U.S.A (Away)
• Bayern Munich: 13 August: Germany (Away)
• Standard Liege: 17 August: Belgium (Away)
• Hercules: 21 August (Away)
• Corinthians: 24 August (Home) (Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu)

I suppose Real Madrid will be facing more teams on their USA tour, but as I said some of these matches aren't confirmed, so be on the lookout for any change in schedule.

Also, according to Real Madrid Zone's "sources" Real Madrid are planning to go to Malaysia and will play a match with the Malaysian National team, not too sure about their sources, but if you live in Malaysia, I would like you to confirm it for me, ask around, see if there are any preperations going around.

Eagerly waiting to see Real Madrid play under Jose Mourinho! Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid's Pursuit For Sami Khedira Is a Step Forward In The Right Direction

Those of you who have been following Real Madrid's transfer updates would be familiar with a similar trend in the process of signing a player.

Firstly the media links Real Madrid with millions of players, the second step is the player's acceptance of his love for Real Madrid and how he's always wanted to play for the club. Next, the President of the "target's" club issues statements about how the player is not for sale, and simultaneously hangs a hefty price-tag on the player which is 20-25% above the actual price of the player.

Now there are different things that happen depending on whether the player is an actual target or not. If the player was not a real target, the rumors slowly die down and the occasional Madridista's tweets and/or comments on blogs, forums etc. about how he/she would like to see the said player wearing the royal whites pop up in a Google search.

And if a player is a real target, then the President (Sporting Director etc. etc.) of his club issues a statement about how they haven't received any bid from Real Madrid (75% of the time, this is a sign that there is interest in the player), the negotiations begin, the player gets restless and goes on dropping hints in interviews that his signing is a matter of time, Real Madrid get the player but pay more than the market price.

Every Madridista is happy that the new player has arrived but nearly everyone believes the price is a little too much on the higher side then it should be. The cycle continues.

This trend started to change last season, when Real Madrid said no to Valencia's demand of more money for David Villa, Real Madrid told Valencia to shove him up theirs and moved on, although the "Plan B" hasn't panned out exactly like they would have expected but it is not such a bad transfer looking at Benzema's previous records and his age. The good thing here is that they have learned to say no to teams's exorbitant demands for players.

The change in pattern seems to be continuing as Real Madrid have already denied to pay €50 million to Bayern Munich for Bastian Schweinsteiger, €30 million to Athletic Bilbao for Javi Martinez, and €30 million to Liverpool for Steven Gerrard. Now we can all agree that all of them are wonderful players, but are definitely not worth the money their teams are asking for. The smart thing to do is communicate with the teams and get the prices down, but neither Bayern Munich or Athletic Bilbao are in need to sell their players so they probably wouldn't lower their prices, like Valencia refused to budge last year.

Going after Sami Khedira is a brilliant decision as at €8-10 million, he isn't half as expensive as the aforementioned players and is a pretty decent player, one of the brightest talents of Germany—so my Bayern Munich supporting friend tells me!

For those who are skeptical about Sami Khedira joining Real Madrid, this isn't the first time that Sami Khedira has caught the attention of Real Madrid, 2 seasons ago when he was busy winning the U-21 World Cup with Germany he caught the eye of Real Madrid for the first time. Sami Khedira had a brilliant World Cup with Germany recently and add to that the fact that even Jose Mourinho himself pondered about signing him last season at Internazionale, the interest in Sami Khedira was bound to rekindle.

I am just happy that Real Madrid are looking at cheaper alternatives instead of throwing money on the players, I hope this trend continues and they learn to spend money more wisely and don't get conned by the selling clubs.

Now if you are still not convinced by Sami Khedira, you better start liking him, like I did with Angel Di Maria (I might smile and accept his signing but still I am not happy about this signing, he's too expensive for someone unproven and might cost us a few of the Canteranos),  because if you believe what AS & Marca have to say, Sami Khedira was in Madrid yesterday and also visited the Valdebebas, and that the completion of Sami's transfer is a matter of hours.

More on Sami Khedira after the completion of the transfer (75% of me believes the signing is done)! Hala Madrid!