[Exclusive] Twitter Q. & A. With Real Madrid Castilla's Alex Fernandez

Hola Madridistas, I apologize for our continued absence due to all of us having school or college, don't think that's going to change any time soon. But, we do have something for you, it's not the full thing that we were hoping for but something is better than nothing, right?

Pamela and I (mostly Pamela) run a fanpage of sorts of our academy's midfield genius—Alex Fernandez, the handle of that twitter account is @AlexFdez8Fans. Alex (@AlexFdez8) himself has been following that account since the first day. Hope you will too.

Anyways we decided to ask Alex a few questions about his Madridista memories, how it's been playing for Real Madrid, training with the first team etc etc.

Sadly he had to take permission from Real Madrid before answering our questions, and Real Madrid denied him permission, but he still agreed to answer to two of our questions because he had agreed to answer our questions before and he wanted to keep his word. He's such a nice guy, here's what he sent us:

"Hola, perdon por no haberte contestado pero tenia que pedirle permiso al club,me han dicho que no puedo responderte a tus preguntas. Te puedo contestar solo dos preguntas,eligelas y mandamelas.Un beso,gracias y lo siento."

We gave it a lot of thought and picked two questions out of fifteen where we thought he didn't need to be diplomatic and he could answer with his heart. Here's what Alex had to say:

Spanish [Original]:

Q.: ¿Cual es tu primera memoria del primer equipo cuando crecias? ¿Y quien era tu idolo en esos tiempos?

Alex Fernandez: Mi primera memoria era el Madrid campeon de champions en glasgow y el gol de Zidane es lo q mejor recuerdo de mi infancia como Madridista. Mi idolo siempre fue Fernando Redondo pero ahora Xabi alonso o Steven Gerrard.


Q.: De no haber escogido del futbol, que otra carrera le hubiera interesado? 

 Alex Fernandez: Algun otro deporte.




English [Translated]:

Q.  What is your best memory of the first team when you were growing up? Who did you look up to as a role model?

Alex Fernandez: My best memory as a Madridista is the one when Real Madrid won the Champions League in Glasgow and also Zidane's goal (against Bayer Leverkusen). Fernando Redondo has always been my idol, out of the players playing currently I admire Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard the most.


 Q. If you hadn't chosen football, what would you be doing?

Alex Fernandez: Playing some other sport.






Well there you have it, like I said before, it's not much, but it is something. We were expecting sort of a spicy answer from Alex regarding what he would be if not a footballer haha, but still we are extremely thankful of Alex for answering our questions. Hope this doesn't land him into any sort of trouble. 

Also we would like to thank @Galapago555 or Mr. Turtle or Señor Tortuga as we all call him for all the translations he has done for this post, all this could not have been possible without him. As they say in Spanish, Señor Tortuga eres un crack!
  
We wish Alex all the luck in the world may he have a bright, trophy laden career with Real Madrid. Hala Madrid!

Pablo Sarabia Joins Getafe: The Complete Story

Pablo Sarabia is considered to be one of the most talented and promising players in Real Madrid's youth ranks. He is so highly-regarded that scouts from all over Europe attended several Castilla games this season to watch him play.

Clubs such as Arsenal, Benfica, Braga, Barcelona, Manchester United and many more were keeping a close eye on him. His agent had admitted that Arsenal, along with a couple of Italian outfits, had expressed an interest, and that Real Madrid were aware of that, but he later stated that Sarabia wants to triumph at Madrid.

Pablo joined La Fabrica as a 13-year-old in 2004, moving up through the youth ranks over the years, until he made his professional debut in the Segunda B against Alcorcon with Real Madrid Castilla in 2009. He improved immensely under Alberto Toril who was promoted from Juvenil A's coach to Castilla's in the second half of the 2010-2011 season.

With Castilla, Sarabia made 49 appearances and scored 15 goals. He made his first-team debut last season in a 4-0 win over Auxerre at the Bernabeu in the group stages of the Champions League after coming on for Cristiano Ronaldo. On his debut, he looked comfortable, didn't get lost chasing the ball or forget orders and also showed some great passing and dribbling abilities, all signs of his maturity despite only being a teenager with very little high-level experience.

On Sunday, July 3, Real Madrid officially announced the departure of Pablo Sarabia. In a brief statement, the official announcement reports that an agreement has been reached with Getafe, reserving the right to buy him back:

Real Madrid C. F. and Getafe C. F. have reached an agreement for the transfer of RM Castilla player Pablo Sarabia. Real Madrid CF reserves the right to repurchase the footballer.

Sarabia had a contract with Real Madrid until the summer of 2013; however Real Madrid cashed in on him for a reported €3 million, also inserting a buy-back clause in the deal. The buy-back clause can only be activated after he completes 2 years of his 5-year-contract with Getafe.

There's a lot that can be written on the complexity of the issue of non-usage of Real's cantera graduates, but most of the problem primarily lies at the doorstep of Florentino Perez and his over-the-top 'I know it all' tendency.

Also, Mourinho is under pressure to deliver and taking risks with youngsters is certainly not included in his plans. No matter how hard he tries to make fans think he cares about developing our youngsters, he doesn't, which is unfortunate because this generation of La Fabrica players is the best in years, and I, along with many other Madridistas, would hate to see what happened to Mata and Parejo happen to them.

However, I don’t think this will be the case with Sarabia. In recent years, we've had De La Red, Granero and Parejo leave to Getafe and come back at a later date, under similar circumstances to Sarabia's move. De La Red and Granero were able to make it back and Sarabia will be hoping to do the same.

With Getafe, Sarabia will get plenty of playing time in the Primera. This will give him the opportunity and time to fully develop. He has all the raw talent and ability. Playing regularly at such a high level will aid him by providing him the confidence and experience he needs. Hopefully, he will impress Perez and Mourinho (or whoever is the manager when Sarabia starts dazzling), and we’ll see him wearing the white shirt again.

Good luck, Pablo!

Keeping It Real—Why Promoting a Canterano Might Backfire

Joselu: Scored on debut

"Ten youth teamers debut this season"—Just as the last match of the season in Liga BBVA had ended for Real Madrid with a 8-1 victory over Almeria; Real Madrid's official site ran a post with the above mentioned headline, to remind us all of the greatness of Jose Mourinho—the big risk taker who despite having the pressure of winning every trophy invested in not two or three but TEN youth teamers.

What Real Madrid's official site wanted to convey didn't sit well with me, this post of ten youth teamers debuting was a way to please the fans who have been wanting to see the youth teamers with the first team, wanting to see another Raul, another Casillas, another De La Red; this post reminded me of what these debuts meant for Jose Mourinho—another way to please the fans.

I won't deny it, never have, never will—I'm not the biggest Jose Mourinho fan (but still I'm glad he is continuing with the team because he marked an amazing season with the club.). So there, you can use this against me, say that my hate for Jose Mourinho is the reason I see this as a way to please the fans. But you can't change the facts, can you?

Juan Carlos, Mateos, Antonio Adan, Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata, Alex Fernandez, Nacho Fernandez, Tomas Mejias, Jesus and Joselu made their debuts for the first team this season according to the post, but lets not count Alex Fernandez because all he got was a little above 30 seconds at Racing and not single touch of the ball. So that means only nine canteranos properly debuted this season.

What makes me question Jose Mourinho's actions, and say that all these debuts were just to please the fans is because out of these nine, only two players have made more than one appearance—Adan and Nacho. Not counting Morata as despite the Levante tie in Copa del Rey being dead and buried, he only got a substitute appearance.

Sarabia: Impressive on debut

Had Mourinho been genuinely interested in using them, surely more canteranos would have gotten more than one appearance and Nacho wouldn't have been the only outfield player to get a start and play a full game; especially when Pablo Sarabia impressed in the 30 minutes he got to play against Auxerre and has been performing brilliantly for the Castilla week in and week out.

Many of these canteranos in the beginning got in the team because of Jose Mourinho's helplessness. Mateos was given a professional contract at the start of the season because, Pepe and Garay were out injured, and there was no back up in central defense.

Adan got a start because Casillas wasn't called up for the game and Dudek broke his jaw, then later Dudek's injury saw Adan make more appearances. I think you catch my drift, by the end of the season, Mourinho had realized what the impact a canterano appearance makes on the fans, still Nacho's start was more due to suspensions.

I'm not saying, I'm not thankful of Mourinho to start so many canteranos, but I'm not particularly thrilled about their future if they were used as a tool to make the fans happy. The last player to get promoted to the first team was Mateos, he was loaned out to AEK Athens in the January transfer window. I'm sure had he stayed here longer, he wouldn't have notched up 90 minutes in a season.

Talking about Mateos isn't fair, because surely there was no way he would have started over Carvalho, Pepe, Garay or Albiol. But we can definitely use Sergio Canales as an example; Canales was supposed to be going on loan this season before Jose Mourinho himself requested to keep him with the squad for the season.

We all saw what happened with him. If Sergio Canales—who had a decent season in La Liga before joining, wasn't trusted by Mourinho to get enough minutes, I don't see a way how the canteranos who play in Segunda B can gain his trust if they are promoted.

The way that Jose Mourinho has acted, promoting the canteranos is not an option that will be any good for the canteranos, because once they get promoted officially they are no longer eligible to play for Real Madrid Castilla, which will mean they're most likely to notch up 300 minutes a season at most, if they're lucky enough.

Will they be used like Higuain?

I won't complain about the canteranos getting 300 minutes if they are sent in crunch situations, like Gonzalo Higuain was when he was new at Real Madrid, during the time when the scores were level or when Real Madrid were behind; he was sent in to get a goal, get a result; that is positive reinforcement for a young player.

But how the things have gone so far, these 300 minutes will most likely come when the game's result is beyond doubt; which will hardly help build any character, they'll never be ready for the first team like this. It's better they stick with the Castilla or join another La Liga club with a buy-back clause, because that is a strategy that seems to be working.

I feel that I am being a little too harsh on Jose Mourinho, it's not exactly his complete fault that he doesn't trust the canteranos, it's a little too hard to put the blame on him when you know what kind of pressure to succeed is on him.

The man who has to be blamed for this is none other than Florentino Perez, had he not sacked Vicente Del Bosque, there wouldn't have been a period of instability at the club, and the managers would have taken the risk to give chances to canteranos.

Hala Madrid!

Should Real Madrid Give Any Priority To La Liga? [Guest Post]

Note: The following post was supposed to be done as a debate post but Saheli (@riverscollide) did such a wonderful job writing this I decided it was better to publish it as her post, keep in mind this was supposed to published on Sunday April 3, I screwed up and delayed the post.

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Last night I observed the difference between my mentality of a Madridista and the mentality of a Cricket Fan. With Real Madrid, I've always adopted an 'it ain't over till the fat lady sings' attitude and with the latter, it has always been 'oh crap, India is going to lose' even before the start of the second innings. The way things unfolded last night, I’m beginning to think a swap of mentalities is in order.

Needless to say, Real Madrid's performance was quite dreadful, with Adebayor being the biggest flop of the day as he missed countless chances. Subsequently, Barcelona’s 1-0 win away at El Madrigal means that they're now eight before ahead of us with eight games left to play in the league. Mathematically Barcelona are still not champions, but a conversation with Deepak made me think, is it time to give up on the league and focus instead on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey final instead?

For Madrid, April is a make-it or break-it month with six extremely crucial games left to play. We will first host Tottenham on 5 April for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter finals. Next, we will travel to San Mames to play Athletic Bilbao in the league, followed by the return leg of the UCL at White Hart Lane. Following that, there will be two intense encounters with Barcelona – once at the Bernabeu, and once at the Mestalla for the Copa del Rey final. The month then rounds off with an away trip to the Mestalla to face Valencia.

Out of the three competitions, realistically we have a chance of winning two. At this juncture, it is safe to assume the outcome of La Liga is out of our hands: it is Barcelona's title to lose. Based on last night's display, we realise exactly how much we miss Xabi Alonso's creative spark in the midfield. We have played and won without Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, but last night was a testament to our lack of creativity in the midfield. Perhaps creativity is a wrong choice of word; rather we lacked a midfielder who could control the game, like a conductor conducting an orchestra.

Real Madrid have already confirmed that Ronaldo, Marcelo and Benzema will be available for the clash against Tottenham. Gonzalo Higuain clocked in more than twenty minutes last night after being out for more than four months. So it is safe to say we will have a relatively full squad with the exception of Kaka and Gago. Now the question that arose in my conversation with Deepak is this: is it time to let go of the league and focus solely on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey?

My short answer is yes. Let me elaborate with a long one.

It is true that once we stop pursuing the league, Barcelona will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. But if the last three years have taught us anything, it is this: Pep Guardiola is a pragmatist. He will not stop pursuing the league until Barcelona have won mathematically. This will not happen in April – since Barcelona will play only three games. Right now Barcelona have 81 points, compared to Real Madrid’s 73 points. There are still 24 points up for grabs for both sides in the league.

Assuming Barcelona wins all three of their April league games, and Real Madrid lose all three, they will extend their lead by 17 points. Only then will it make them champions by the end of April – based on the assumption that Madrid has to lose all three of their league encounters. However, if Madrid doesn’t drop all nine points in April, Barcelona still have to play two more games to win the league title. Confusing? Yes. Bizarre? Ditto. Bottom line is this: it’s highly unlikely that Barcelona will be able to win the league by the end of April.

So technically, Barcelona will still be fighting on all three fronts. Whereas if Real Madrid decides to forfeit the aggressive pursuit of the League and instead focus on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, it would mean resting key players like Ozil and Di Maria during league games.

I am not saying that we should throw away the remaining games; more on that later. Mourinho did say before the Gijon match that he can’t rest the key players because the La Liga hinged on the outcome against Sporting. Now that it is over, I think Mourinho should shift his focus onto the other two competitions. This way, our starters would have played less minutes prior to meeting Barcelona than their starters.

The counter argument is that if we lax our pursuit of the league title, Barcelona can also do the same. And yes, we know that Barcelona reserves are more than capable of winning games by themselves, like they did last night, without either Xavi or Iniesta in the squad. Compared to their second string team, I think it is safe to say, based on last night's display, our second string team sucked. We still do not have the cohesiveness that Barcelona have built up over the season.

However, we should not concern ourselves with what Barcelona will or won't do. We should focus on ensuring that our starters are in their top forms for the two (or maybe four) crucial encounters against the Catalans. Barcelona are not unbeatable and neither are they invincible. Their players tire as much as any other La Liga players. Right now, our aim should be to field a fully fit team for the games against Tottenham and the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.

I am not suggesting that we throw away the league and let Barcelona wrap it up before April. Instead, I think this will be a perfect time to bring on the canteranos and expose them to the first team. Morata, Alex, Juan Carlos, Juanfran, Sarabia have all tasted first team action this season – and they've been on top notch form with Castilla. With Castilla's playoff position more or less secured, I’d love to see them get some playing time.

This will be a win-win situation for us: it will take the pressure off our regulars and it will also give us a glimpse of what our future is like, since it is my earnest desire that one day we will build a team around our Cantera. Apart from the Canteranos, this will be a good time see which of our reserves should stay and which of them should go: Canales, Pedro Leon, Garay etc; by playing them against Bilbao and Valencia. As for El Clasico, I expect Real to field a fully fit team since it is a matter of pride and we want to ensure a repeat of 6-2 does not happen again.

However, given that we'll be facing them again in three days, it is time to prioritise. Do we want to defend our honour at the Bernabeu or do we want to win the Copa del Rey to ensure we do not finish trophyless this season? For Barcelona it is a win-win situation – they either get to humiliate us at our own turf or they win the Copa del Rey. For us, it’s time to sort out our priorities.

To wrap it up, we can pursue the league but it might backfire terribly on us and leave us trophyless at the end of the day. Because pursuing the league means devoting resources away from Champions league and Copa del Rey to focus on something that is almost a lost cause. It is a simple division of labour – pursuing the league means Ozil, Di Maria et al will be playing more minutes, thus risking them to either fatigue or injury.

Of course this doesn’t mean that we're going to easily win our Copa del Rey and the potential Champions League Semi-final ties against Barcelona – at least we will go into the respective games with a fully fit squad.

Mourinho has beaten Barcelona before with Inter and that victory came after two group stage defeats against the Catalans. We should also keep in mind that this is the first season that these new signings and Mourinho are working together. While expectations are sky high at the Bernabeu (and sometimes quite unrealistic to be honest) and among Madridistas, as long as we put up a good fight, losing to them won't be the end of the world. My only wish is that we do not throw away the encounters like we did in November: now that was just plain embarrassing.

The Impact Of Alberto Toril On Real Madrid Castilla

After Allejandro Menendez was sacked as the manager of Real Madrid Castilla, Alberto Toril the former Real Madrid Castilla and Espanyol player was promoted from the Juvenil A to coach the Real Madrid Castilla.

That move of promoting Alberto Toril seems be the one of the wisest decision the club has made in a while, and it shows with Alberto Toril stacking up 8 wins in 8 matches.

Alberto Toril having worked with and led Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata, Alex Fernandez and Daniel Carvajal to a triplet with Juvenil A, constructed the squad around them and relegated players like Pablo Gil, Raul Goni, Mandi and Raul Ruiz who were signed from other clubs by Allejandro Menendez to the bench.

Alberto Toril even promoted Victor Merchan and Denis Cheryshev to the Real Madrid Castilla, and also brings 17 year old Jese Rodriguez—who is tipped as a great talent who's style is considered a mixture of both the Ronaldos (R9 & CR7), to the Castilla sometimes for a few appearances.

The philosophy of Alberto Toril is clear, he doesn't only want to win, he wants to win in style, which is clearly visible in his last interview to RealMadrid.com after defeating Cacereño 2-0 in the last game at home. He said:

"Estoy contento con el resultado, pero hemos perdido el estilo de partidos anteriores y hay que recuperarlo."

Which loosely translates to:

"I'm happy with the result, but we lost the style of previous games and we have to recover."

People who follow me on Twitter, know that I am a self confessed Alberto Toril fan, and why shouldn't I be? The man transformed Real Madrid Castilla from a mediocre mid-table team which was rotting away in tenth, eleventh or twelfth position to a team, which is not only sitting pretty in promotion play-off places but is also looking like a prime promotion candidate.

Here's a few stats to show the magnitude of the good work Alberto Toril has done for Real Madrid Castilla since taking over.

Attacking Flair With Defensive Stability

When Alberto Toril managed only his second game, which they won 5-0; the official Real Madrid site had a line which made me chuckle, "Castilla becomes friends with the clean sheet again."

Under Menendez, the Castilla managed to score 21 goals in 19 matches where they failed to score in 7 matches. The Castilla of Alberto Toril has already outscored the Castilla of Allejandro Menendez; playing 11 fewer games, they have scored 27 goals in 8 matches.

The biggest improvement under Toril isn't the free-flowing attack, but the rock solid defense. Under Menendez, the Castilla conceded 24 goals in 19 matches and kept only 6 clean sheets (2 of them are from 0-0 draws), while under Toril the Castilla has conceded a mere 3 goals in 8 games, and have kept 5 clean sheets in 8 games, which is just one less than what Menendez managed in 19 games.


Away Games: From Toothless To Ruthless

Real Madrid Castilla under Allejandro Menendez won only 1 of their 9 away games, and drew 2 games, collecting just 5 points out of a possible 27. Under Alberto Toril, Real Madrid Castilla won 4 of their 4 away games, collecting all 12 points.

Under Allejandro Menendez, Real Madrid Castilla managed to score only 5 away goals and failed to score in 5 of their 9 away games. The turnaround in fortunes was visible from the first game as Alberto Toril's whose first game in charge was an away game to Coruxo which the Castilla won 4-1. Since then Alberto Toril's team has scored 10 goals, and have scored in every away match.

The defensive ability away from home has improved under Toril as well. Under Menendez, the Castilla conceded 14 goals in 9 games and could only manage to shut out their opponents 3 times (out of which 2 games were 0-0 draws). While under Toril, the Castilla has conceded only 1 goal in 4 games, shutting out the opposition 3 times.


Home Games: Strengthening The Fortress

Under Allejandro Menendez, the only source of points on the board for Real Madrid Castilla was home games, and despite that the home record under Menendez isn't even close to impressive, collecting just 19 from a possible 30.

In the 10 home games that Allejandro Menendez managed, Real Madrid Castilla only managed to stack up 6 wins, drawing 1 and losing 3. While Alberto Toril has managed 4 and won all of them.

The most shocking stat at home is that under Allejandro Menendez, the Castilla only scored 16 goals (failing to score on two occasions) in 10 games which is 1 less than what the Castilla has managed in just 4 games (17 goals) under Toril.

Despite Alberto Toril setting out a more attack minded team compared to Allejandro Menendez, Castilla under Toril has conceded only 2 goals (0.5 goals conceded per game) at home keeping 2 clean sheets in the process, while under Menendez the Castilla leaked goals at the rate of 1 goal per game, conceding 10 goals in 10 games, and kept only 3 clean sheets.


Conclusion

The change in fortune is all due to the fact that Toril promoted players from within the academy instead of signing players from other clubs like Menendez did. I have pointed it out time and again that this generation of La Fabrica which includes Carvajal, Alex, Sarabia, Morata and Jese is one of the most talented generations to come out from La Fabrica in a while, Toril having worked with them, realizes that and that's why Real Madrid Castilla is now finally playing to it's full potential.

Due to the recent results the canteranos of La Fabrica are getting noticed by everyone. And by everyone I do mean everyone, many scouts from big and small English clubs and other Spanish clubs have been spotted watching the Castilla games.

Not only this, Alvaro Morata is finally scoring the goals that Jose Mourinho ordered him to score during the winter break to get into the first team, and is now "being promised" a spot in the first team at the start of next season by Jose Mourinho. Although I still doubt the "promise" of Jose Mourinho. But on the other hand Mou is speaking about him, that means Moratito is finally grabbing his attention.

Although it may be a little to early to say, but I think with his philosophy of 'not just winning but winning with style' and ability to bond with the players (like Alex Fernandez said in his interview), Alberto Toril might just become the manager of Real Madrid's first team in the future. Boy, I sure hope so.


Hala Madrid!

Alex Fernandez's Interview To Real Madrid.com

As long as Real Madrid's official site do not start publishing the interviews of canteranos in English, you'll have to live off of poorly translated articles via Google Translate. And god forbid, if it's a video interview, you can forget about it completely.

But my wonderful friend on Twitter who runs RMCastillaLive there, has translated the interview of our young central midfield genius—Alex Fernandez and has allowed me to publish it on the blog, for everyone to read. So if you have a twitter follow RMCastillaLive and while you're there you can follow me(rmcanterano) too.

I hope to get more interviews of people related to La Fabrica soon. But for now, enjoy, feel the Madridismo and the passion.
________

Name: Álex Fernández
Team: Real Madrid Castilla Player
Age: 18 years
Position: Midfielder
Joined: Infantil A (2005/2006)


On Arrival To The Academy:

Good, especially had a lot of dreams, not all players can enter this club, it's very difficult. You have to work a lot; there are many sacrifices even for parents. And well, my best memory I think is my family's happiness, being able to enter the club that my brother was already in. And well with the hope of someday being able to play together, and in the end it's been for Real Madrid's second team.

The Best Moment:

I would say last year with the Juvenil A team, being champions with Alberto Toril and some teammates that are with me at Castilla now. I think it was the greatest year I have had as a footballer, and the truth is I will never forget it.

The Move To Castilla:

The step to Castilla has been a very big step. It was hard to adapt but I think it happened because I had a good year with Juvenil A and because of the everyday work, after all if you work hard at Real Madrid you are rewarded.

International With The U-19:

I'm lucky for being called up with the Spanish National Team, but I think it's because of the everyday work. It's hard to get in, but I think everything is going well for me at Real Madrid as well as the National Team, and I hope it stays that way.

A Year To Grow:

Having many minutes at this level gives you experience to, if you are lucky, someday play in upper levels and well, have a foundation. I think Segunda B is the beginning of the professional career.

His Brother Nacho:

He is a role model, at home, in the locker room, outside the locker room. I think he is my model to follow and the truth is I’m really happy to be able to achieve one my dreams that was to play with my brother at Real Madrid.

Álex As A Player:

I don't think I stand out neither a lot or in something in particular, rather I would say I'm a complete player; I have a little of everything. I attack and defend, but it's not like I'm a player of a specific thing.

Feeling ‘White’:

I'm a Madridista since I was little and I think that's a plus when playing for this team. And the truth is that for any boy that is a Real Madrid fan playing for Real Madrid, I think that is, footballistically speaking, having everything.

A Kiss To The Crest:

I think winning that final meant moving on, moving on as a footballer, moving on together as a team. The moment you score and you feel, I don't know, you feel plethoric, and many things come to your mind, your family, your teammates and especially the Madridista feeling. I think there were many Real Madrid fans there and all my teammates hugging me and I kiss the crest because I feel the colors, I felt the goal like I had never done it in my life. I think it meant the 2-1 for us, and it was very important for the team and for Real Madrid.

His Dream:

Win a Champions League trophy with Real Madrid.

Alberto Toril:

Well, I think it's how close he is to us. I see a team of people with some that play less, and others that play more and even then they are all happy. Alberto is a person that gets close to his players and I think it also influences the fact that he is a former player, he knows very well the world of football and having a coach that played at top level is the best that can happen to a footballer.

Castilla's Winning Streak:

Well, we were confident on the coach's work, on our work and we have been going one week at a time. We haven't been thinking in long terms, we have been going slow. The victories have been achieved and we hope to continue moving in that direction. We are very happy, Alberto has place a lot of trust in us, the team is happy which is what really matters, there are good vibes, and that is the dynamic, I’m sure we will keep on winning.

The Pre-Season With The First Team:

Well, I think it was an achieved dream, one of the several ones I have. Playing along with players like Cristiano, Kaká or such, it's the best that can happen to a footballer, especially like me, who has been a Madridista since he was little. And I'm very happy, thanks to José Mourinho and Aitor Karanka who trusted me. The truth is I tried my best in the pre-season and, hopefully, in the future they can count on me.

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Hala Madrid!

More To Come: Real Madrid Posts In The Future

I have been horribly cut off from the matches, my computer and my television, following what my neurologist calls as "stress in the brain with a hint of migraine," he says that I have been overusing my brain and have been thinking too much, so in order to calm my brain down, I have been forbidden to do anything (of course I sneak in a few activities, like writing this post), even drive my ass out of the house.

So seeing as how Mourinho didn't have the guts to take all the blame (he was completely at fault) and poured it all over the players (who were at fault as they showed no fight, but to be clear we lost because Mourinho got it wrong); I had planned a tactical analysis on the El Classico. Which as seeing my condition will be delayed, so I'm confused whether to actually publish it or not. Need your opinion.

Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata and Antonio Adan, all got their first team debuts in the past week, which as a big positive; Jose Mourinho has now give 5 canteranos a debut (Juan Carlos, David Mateos, Antonio Adan, Pablo Sarabia and Alvaro Morata), but I still won't call it utilizing the academy like the rags AS & Marca or the others are; a post on that too; the Jose Mourinho ass kissing should stop.

That's about it, I'll undergo a CAT scan followed by an MRI in the coming week, as the medicines aren't working as they should (I'll most probably change my doctor); it's nothing serious, but still wish me luck.

Will jump on these posts as soon as I get fit! In the meantime, if you want updates and random blabbering from me, follow me on twitter: @rmcanterano

Hala Madrid!

PS: Seeing as Muna is busy with college and stuff, I'd really appreciate if anyone is willing to do a guest post for me. If you are willing mail me: d3epak91@gmail.com

Pablo Sarabia & Alvaro Morata (Might) Make The List For Auxerre

According to the Madrid based AS; Alvaro Morata and Pablo Sarabia have both made the list of 19 players to be called up for the last group stage match in the Champions League against Auxerre. To be very clear, Real Madrid haven't yet released the official list on their website, and AS have based this list on the players who have been training for the match.

Now this is all well and good but, Alex Fernandez (Ginger) was previously called for the match against Ajax but he didn't even make the bench for that game, which was disappointing to say the least.

Mourinho has been teasing us by calling up canteranos for games and training but he doesn't even let them make the bench, let alone get a few minutes of playing time with the first team.

I seriously have had enough of this teasing, give them their chances Mou, I wish to see these canteranos play for the first team even a few minutes would be appreciated.

PS: I know I haven't done news pieces in a while but I felt happy reading this, thought I'd share!

Hala Madrid!

Ruben De La Red Retires, But Will Coach In The Academy Next Season

Ruben De La Red has terminated his contract as a player with Real Madrid (which was due to expire in June 2012).

When Florentino Perez arrived at the club, he had promised the canterano a role in Real Madrid if he cannot be deemed fit to play. As I reported earlier Ruben De La Red was at the verge of getting his coaching diploma, so it was looking likely that Ruben would retire soon enough and become a coach.

No update on weather he's completed the coaching course or not is available, but it is claimed by Marca and Sky Sports, that Ruben De La Red will coach a branch of the academy, whether it's the Castilla, Real Madrid C, or Juvenil A; hasn't been made clear.

In the remainder of the season, Ruben De La Red is allowed to work with either Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid) or Allejandro Menendez (Real Madrid Castilla) to pick up some coaching techniques.

I sincierly hope that he sticks around with Jose Mourinho because Menendez is a tool. I have a slight suspision that Menendez will be moving on next season and De La Red might just get the Castilla job.

I seriously hope he does, so that after Jose Mourinho moves along De La Red can jump in the main team and guide them towards a Champions League trophy and becomes the youngest ever manager to win it........sigh.........I wish. Best of luck for the rest of your life Ruben, the world missed out on one of the greatest players, but I wish you become one of the greatest managers. Hala Madrid!

Is Marca Correct? Alvaro Morata To Start Against Osasuna?

Alvaro Morata

The recent news in Marca claims that the 17 year old striker we all know and love—Alvaro Morata will make his debut against Osasuna, and not by coming off the bench, but by actually starting the game.

News of Alvaro Morata making the bench against Osasuna wouldn't have been a surprise because he has been a regular in the training sessions with the first team and also the fact that Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are injured, leaving Jose Mouriho with only striker for the Osasuna game.

Call me a skeptic but I do not believe Marca, I do not believe that Moratito will actually START against Osasuna despite all the bull-crap that Marca has to say about Jose Mourinho in favor of playing two strikers at home (Santiago Bernabeu).

Marca really really really really really don't like Manuel Pellegrini and they haven't even tried to hide that fact over the duration of the last season and even now when he's gone.

They have stated how Jose Mourinho is much more awesome than Manuel Pellegrini and how Jose "thinks" more about La Fabrica than Manuel ever did, by stating that Juanfran, Mosquera and Marcos Alonso only got a few minutes and that too by the 28 gameweek and how Jose Mourinho will start a 17 year old canterano in just his second game of La Liga. (link)

If you look at the transfers made this summer you'd know that Jose Mourinho has done more harm than good to the canterano's chances in the first team. The difference in treatment give by Marca to the two managers is evident, and this supposed news is just a way to make Jose Mourinho look better.

Now I'm not saying that Pellegrini was amazing in giving chances to the canteranos, but Jose Mourinho is no better, because it's just circumstances that are forcing him into using the academy, you've read it all summer, if he'd had it his way, he would have signed a third striker instead of looking at the academy.

Please don't state Mateos's rise to the first team as a sign of Jose being better for the academy because Mateos's inclusion in the squad is also circumstantial, if THREE central defenders hadn't got injured do you think Mateos would have got a professional contract?

Because of what has happened so far under Jose Mourinho, I can only see as far as a 4-5-1, with Gonzalo Higuain the lone man upfront, Angel Di Maria and Pedro Leon on the wings, Sergio Canales or Mesut Ozil as the attacking midfielder and Xabi Alonso & Sami Khedira the anchor-men in midfield, and no room for Morata.

But with that being said, circumstantial or not I am really happy that Alvaro Morata has got his chance to impress, and I hope that he makes a lot out of this circumstance, even if it's an appearance from the bench.

I know I'm not wrong but still I would love to be proven wrong by Jose Mourinho for the sake of Alvaro Morata! Hala Madrid!

Pablo Sarabia To Sporting Braga In January

Photo: AS.com

The transfer that all the Madridistas were fearing would happen now has a time and date according to the Spanish daily AS. AS on their website claim that the Spanish U-19 International and Real Madrid Castilla player will be transferred to Sporting Braga of Portugal in the January transfer window.

Pablo Sarabia will be sold for €3 million with a 2 year buy-back clause in his contract, Pablo Sarabia recently renewed his contract with Real Madrid at the end of July.

The contract would have been renewed a lot earlier had it not been for Pablo's agent, and I seriously believe that it is again his agent thinking about what's "better" for Pablo. Pablo has time and again expressed his desire to stay at Real Madrid but his agent always has had different things in mind for him.

If this transfer really does happen, it's not just his agent, even Allejandro Menendez has to blamed for it, Allejandro has benched Pablo Sarabia time and time again after performing so well for the Castilla, even in the last game against Coruxo, Pablo Sarabia only got 17 minutes worth of playing time.

And if this transfer does complete, I don't like the chances of Pablo Sarabia playing for Real Madrid again despite the buy-back clause, Mesut Ozil, Sergio Canales, Pedro Leon, Angel Di Maria, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo are no where close to retirement in the next 2 seasons.

I hope this transfer doesn't happen, but that's a tall order so I'll hope for what's easier, I hope Pablo Sarabia outperforms them all so we can see him playing for the first team soon. Hala Madrid!

Real Madrid Castilla: 2010-11: What's Happening In Segunda B

As I had promised, the Real Madrid Castilla post, I wasn't in favor of doing the post because Corey at Real Madrid Offside had already made an elaborate post on the Castilla and I wouldn't be able to match it, but it's been a long time since that post came around and there have been changes made in the Castilla too, hence this post, I'll just cover the transfer movements and give the final team.

• In:

Goalkeepers: Jesus Fernandez (Numancia), Issac Becerra (Espanyol B)
Defenders: Pablo Gil (Albacete), Raul Goni (Zaragoza)
Midfielders: Mandi (Ponferradina)
Strikers: Joselu (Celta Vigo) (*Joselu was signed last season but was immediately loaned back to Celta)

Rodrigo Moreno

• Out:

Goalkeepers: Filipe Ramos (Deportivo La Coruna)
Defenders: Gary (Germinal Beerschot), Marcos Alonso (Bolton), Opare (Standard Liege), Cordero (Xerez)
Midfielders: Pedro Mosquera (Getafe), Tebar (Girona), Rodrigo (Benfica, on loan to Bolton), Miquel Palanca (Elche)
Forwards: Adam Szalai (Mainz), Javier Acuna (Recreativo Huelva), Samuel Alonso Saiz (Sevilla Atletico)

Tomas Mejias

• Promotion To Real Madrid Castilla

Goalkeepers: Tomas Mejias
Defenders: Casado, Daniel Carvajal
Midfielders: Alex Fernandez, Antonio Martinez, Denis Tcherichev, Victor Merchan
Forwards: Alvaro Morata

• Promotion To The First Team

Antonio Adan and Mateos have made the jump from the Castilla to first team, none of these can play for the Castilla in the season.


No Promotion, But Change In Group

The Spanish FA made some classification changes in the Segunda B division and because of that Real Madrid Castilla is classified in Group 1 opposed to Group 2 last season. Allejandro Menedez's team could only manage a mere eighth position and fell way short of the promotion play-off zone in Group-2, maybe this time they can get better results. These are the teams who the Castilla will be facing this season:

Celta B, Montaneros, Getafe B, Guadalajara, Leganes, Deportivo B, Lugo, Rayo B, Universidad, Conquense, Pontevedra, RSD Alcala, Vecindario, Coruxo, Atletico B, Cacereno, Cerro Reyes, Extremadura UD and CD Badajoz .

Squad List

These are the following players who will be with the Real Madrid Castilla this season:

Goalkeepers: Tomas Mejias, Jesus Fernandez & Issac Becerra.

Tomas Mejias (GK) was supposed to be the starter for the Real Madrid Castilla this season, but his 4 month lay-off means that is certainly not hapenning, Jesus Fernandez will be the first choice in his absence.


Defenders: Nacho, Luis Hernandez, Juanan, Velayos, Casado, Pablo Gil, Carvajal & Raul Goni

Last year Allejandro Menendez played a back line of Nacho, Mateos, Gary and Marcos Alonso, only Nacho is the one who survives, Nacho is considered one of the top talents of the academy, he did train with the first team in the pre-season too.

In the Coruxo game, Menendez lined up Luis Hernandez, Jorge Casado, Nacho and Juanan, but with the late arrival of Raul Goni (21) who has experience of the Primera division too, I expect the defense line to change.


Midfielders: Mandi, Raul Ruiz, Victor Merchan, Fran Rico (C), Denis, Juanfran, Juan Carlos, Pablo Sarabia, Alex Fernandez, Javi Hernandez and Zamora

Fran Rico has been made the captain of the Castilla, is one of the most brilliant players in the team, injuries have plagued his career so far. Alex Fernandez is the one who looks likely to start more games this season, he's a brilliant playmaker and also travelled with the first team to USA.

Mandi has been bought to replace the former Castilla captain—Pedro Mosquera, however Menendez didn't start Mandi in the first game against Coruxo which the Castilla won 3-2. Menendez's midfield consisted of Alex Fernandez, Juan Carlos, Juanfran and Fran Rico.

The surprise of the first game was, Pablo Sarabia coming from the bench, Juan Carlos was given the nod in the first game, although I believe Juan Carlos and Pablo Sarabia will be rotated and will share playing time, both of them can start simultaneously when Juanfran gets called by the first team.


Forwards: Cristian, Joselu, Ruben Ramos and Alvaro Morata

 I really like Joselu, he started the pre-season with the Castilla very brightly even scored a lot of goals and he will defenitely be a starter for the Castilla.

With the adavent of Alvaro Morata in the Castilla, the top scorer of the Castilla—Cristian was benched by Allejandro Menendez. Not too sure who'll start more often, we'll have to see what happens.


I don't trust Allejandro Menendez much, but I do hope they make it to the Segunda division this season.Hala Madrid!

Official: Samuel Alonso Saiz Joins Sevilla Atletico On Loan

Samuel Alonso Saiz, better known as Samu, one of the striker who I backed to be the third striker for the Real Madrid first team has joined Sevilla Atletico (the B team of Sevilla) on a year long loan, the Andalusian outfit will have an option to purchase Samu after the season.

Ever since Samu started playing football, Samu has played for Real Madrid, out of the 19 years of his life Samu has spent 11 of those years with Real Madrid.

Samu holds the record for the most number of goals in the Benjamin category—117 goals. Samu is the leading scorer of all time in the Real Madrid youth teams (Alevin y Benjamin).

Like the better players in the academy, Samu did not spend any time in Real Madrid C and made the jump from the Juvenil A into the Real Madrid Castilla. Samu could only manage to start a few games for the Castilla last season but he managed to score 5 goals and string up a few assists.

Samu has reportedly moved away in pursuit of playing time as he would see his playing time reduced by the jump of Alvaro Morata from Juvenil A and the addition of Joselu who was signed from Celta Vigo last season.

I really don't see that being a strong reason for loaning out Samu, I never trusted Allejandro Menendez much, and he's signing players instead of promoting players to plug the holes in the Castilla, utterly disappointing.

It's a shame to see Samu being sent on loan, it's an even bigger shame that loyalty and class now count for nothing in La Fabrica, this is a sad day, still I end this post with Hala Madrid!


I apologize for my absence, I have been really busy with college and stuff, but to make it up, I'll publish a Castilla post tomorrow.

Mesut Ozil's Signing Opens The Exit Door & Shortens Opportunities

Mesut Ozil—Nuevo jugador.

Real Madrid agreed a deal worth €15 million for one of the brightest attacking midfielders in the world. No doubt Ozil for €15 million is a smart bit of business, but looking at the team and the circumstances it's €15 million too much.

I have been torn in the middle ever snice I came to know about that the signing of Mesut Ozil became official, part of me wants to celebrate at the fact that Real Madrid have signed a great player who is just 21 and has a great future in front of him.

But the part of me that is winning and trumping every argument is the one that says Ozil wasn't a neccessary signing for this season. I believe this one is the rational part of me, which knows that there are already three playmakers in the team and there was no requirement of a fourth one despite Kaka being injured for 4 months.

Rafael Van Der Vaart

But now as the number of midfielders at Real Madrid has increased to a ridiculous number and the squad size has become greater than 25, it is obvious that some of the midfielder will be shown the door to make funds and reduce the squad number, and because of another play-maker coming it is only a matter of days that Rafael Van der Vaart will be shown the door.

I feel that it is unfair that Van der Vaart is the one that will be the one sold despite him being so passionate about the club and giving one solid performance after the other last season.

Van Der Vaart's quality isn't hidden from anyone, and it won't be a surprise that he would succeed with whichever club he signs, and the Real Madrid management will be seen with an egg on their face.

If selling Van der Vaart isn't a bad enough thought, the management have overlooked the fact that no one will be willing to pay €20 million or more as speculated at the start of the summer as everyone knows that Real Madrid are in a need to sell him after they inflated their squad with Mesut Ozil's signing. I expect €5-10 million less from the sale of Van der Vaart now, Real Madrid are no longer in a commanding position.

El Pirata

The other one that looks on his way out of Real Madrid is Esteban Granero, after a good start to last season, El Pirata faded away, and Jose Mourinho does not look interested in keeping the Canterano, Sevilla were reportedly interested in reuniting him with Alvaro Negredo, expect Granero to leave for €5-8 million.

And that is not the complete impact of the Mesut Ozil signing, the current young attacking midfielders in the academy (Alex Fernandez & Javi Hernandez), Dani Parejo and Sergio Canales, they will all see their opportunities of making it at Real Madrid cut viciously short.

Sergio Canales

Mesut Ozil's just 21, and the canteranos are just a few years younger than Mesut. Sergio Canales is 19, there is just no age difference between the two attacking midfielders, so it is obvious that Sergio Canales will see his chances cut short, and that is one thing no Real Madrid fan would like.

Sergio Canales has won many fans over with his performances last season and in the pre-season. It would be disappointing to see Sergio Canales on the bench, this will surely hamper his growth as a player.

The Canteranos don't even get their chances with older players at the team, it will make it even more impossible for them to break in the first team with a younger player in the team.

Real Madrid could have got Mesut Ozil for free next season but economically Mesut Ozil's signing is still a wonderful one. Mesut Ozil is one of my favorites but it's the effects like the possible exit of Van der Vaart & Granero, the reduction of the chances for the canteranos and Sergio Canales which reduce the sweetness of this transfer.

What do you think of the transfer?

Hala Madrid!

Florentino Perez Thinking Of Shutting Down La Fabrica For Good [Satire]

"We don't need an academy, creating players is overrated!"

Real Madrid President—Florentino Perez today in a press conference declared that Real Madrid will be shutting down their academy for good, and that the players in the academy will all be all sold for prices less than the price of the cellphones they have on them.

Arsene Wenger & Michel were the first ones to respond to the news and they quickly bought players of all ages, shapes and sizes by the dozen.

The news was taken surprisingly well by the fans of Real Madrid who said they were happy that they wouldn't have to moan all the time about a certain player from the academy not getting time in the first team and how it is unfair that some random 19 year old chick from Argentina is getting chances before a good prospect of the academy.

The Canteranos were the ones most pleased with the news because they think that now that they'll play at different clubs without a buy-back clause, Real Madrid will actually value them and pay some attention to them after they create a name for themselves with different teams, they are 100% sure that Real Madrid will spend millions to buy them and they would get to play for the team they supported since they were little kids after a season or two at max!

This is what Florentino Perez said when he was asked for the reasons of this decision, he said (English translation),  

"I didn't even realize there was something like the academy at Real Madrid, I thought they had shut it down after Iker Casillas graduated from there. Besides it's not like these kids were talented enough to succeed at Real Madrid, you have to be as talented as Drenthe and Gago to make it at Real Madrid!" 

Florentino Perez further went on to say:

"Trophies are the only thing that counts in my books, it's not like the Juvenil A did the double of the European Championship and the Domestic League last year! The academy can be considered a successful one only if almost all the teams in the academy ended up with a trophy or more and ours didn't, it's just a waste of our time and money and it is best to pull the plug on this sham, let these "players" be mediocre like Juan Mata somewhere else!"

I myself was at the press conference when Perez declared that the Canteranos were going up for sale, I tried to buy Pablo Sarabia but unfortunately I fell €5 short and missed out on making a huge profit. :(

Official: Girona Sign Marcos Tebar: Tebar Is Cheaper Than An iPhone

Marcos Tebar

Real Madrid have let the 24 year old central midfielder—Marcos Tebar join Girona in Liga Adelante for a free.

But because of the rules of the Spanish FA, Girona had to pay a nominal fee to Real Madrid, which is a mere €100.

Yes, you read that right, it is just €100 and No, I didn't miss a k or kilos or 3 zeros. Yeah, just a hundred.

According to Girona's official website they are very happy to have him back (Tebar was on loan to Girona last season) because he is very much a part of their plans.

I want to thank him for his 12 seasons he gave to the club and wish him the best of luck, may he guide Girona to a promotion in the Primera division! Hala Madrid!

Source: Girona FC Official Website (Spanish)

Eugenio Martinez Bravo Has The Right Ideas For Real Madrid

Eugenio Martinez Bravo

Those of you who have been reading my stuff for a long time, know that I don't like dealing with the money issues or the politics related with Real Madrid. But when there is something related to the academy, you can expect me to know about it.

The man in the photo on the right is Eugenio Martinez Bravo, president of the Plataforma Blanca group, Eugenio tried running for the post of president last time around, but couldn't as he wasn't able to come up with the money required to stand in the Presidential election.

Eugenio Martinez is called the "White Laporta," a title I hope is because of him advocating for the proper use of the academy and not because of the corruption, lies, politics and the independence bull-s**t.

Eugenio has taken up some really great points in his interviews which I have read, and I am very impressed by this man, if these points are taken up by the management it would be really good for Real Madrid, I'll be covering those points in this post and will state the sources at the end.

Short-Sighted Sporting Model

He has said that Florentino Perez's model is short sighted not because of the age of the players but because no player has stayed for a long time in the club in the past few years. And he backed up his arguments by stating the numbers and showing that despite signing 53 players since 2000 and spending a whopping €1 billion putting on a debt of €700 million only Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas are the remaining player since the start of 2005-06 season.

Eugenio blamed Florentino Perez completely for such a disaster but I don't believe that only Florentino Perez is to be blamed here because Ramon Calderon was the president from 2006 to 2009, but you have to agree the numbers are shocking and something needs to be done.

Treatment Of Managers

Another point that was taken up by Eugenio was the way managers have been treated at Real Madrid, he criticized the way that Del Bosque was sacked by Florentino Perez and also pointed out that Florentino didn't learn from his mistakes when he dealt with Manuel Pellegrini, and I'm sure no one will argue over the fact that Real Madrid don't even think once let alone twice when it comes to sacking managers and this has to change.

More Spanish Players

With Kaka and Benzema turning out to be flops, Eugenio said it would have been wiser if Real Madrid had tried to sign either David Villa, David Silva or Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), this point I don't agree much, because he didn't say anything about the success of Cristiano Ronaldo. This point is debatable because Kaka and Benzema are good players, it wasn't expected that they won't succeed.

Mis-treatment Of The Canteranos

Eugenio also raised a point that I also stress many times, about how the academy players should be given preference over players like Gago and Drenthe in the first team, would it not make much more sense to give some academy players a chance instead of some untested foreigner?

He also said that money won't be made if Real Madrid chase and buy the Cristianos and Kakas from the Manchesters and Milans, it would be better to produce the new Cristianos and Kaka. He believes the academy has the potential to do so.

Eugenio also doesn't like how the Canteranos are used as currency for other signings (eg. Rodrigo for Angel Di Maria), he says the buy-back clause is okay but he would prefer to give them a chance at Real Madrid. And he stated his displeasure of the recent sales of the Canteranos by saying, "One day the major signing of Real Madrid will be Marcos Alonso."

Eugenio Martinez Bravo is waiting for his moment and he will run for presidency of Real Madrid in the future and when he does I hope he wins the elections, he is the man with the right ideas for Real Madrid. Hala Madrid!

I've just covered the sporting part, if you want to read more about Eugenio Martinez Bravo and how we wants the changes at Real Madrid, here are the sources for this post (all in Spanish):
Plataforma Blanca
Defensa Central
Menorca

Club America- Real Madrid: 2-3: The Era Of Jose Mourinho Is Here

Sergio Canales is a crack!

Squad Number Changes:

• Cristiano Ronaldo # 7.
• Karim Benzema # 9.
• Esteban Granero # 11.
• Sergio Canales # 16.
• Angel Di Maria # 22
• Pedro Leon # 21
• Xabi Alonso # 14.
• Antonio Adan # 13 wore the # 13 shirt, didn't see what Dudek wore so might be they shared the number for this game.
• Jerzy Dudek #25 [Edit: Thanks to DyDy]
  

First half squad: 4-3-3 / 4-5-1
Dudek (GK), Juanfran (RB), Garay (CB), Pepe (CB), Marcelo (C) (LB), Lassana Diarra (CM), Gago (CM), Sergio Canales (AM), Cristiano Ronaldo (RM), Pedro Leon (LM), Benzema (ST)

Second half squad: 4-3-3 / 4-5-1
Adan (GK), Nacho (RB)—Morata (Sub: 84'), Garay (CB), Pepe (CB), Drenthe (LB), Lassana Diarra—Tebar (Sub: 69') (CM), Mahamadou Diarra (C) (CM), Granero (AM), Cristiano Ronaldo—Alex Fernandez (Sub: 84') (RM), Angel Di Maria (LM), Higuain (ST)


Goals:

• Sergio Canales: 34': Great link-up between Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema sees Benzema in the box, who slides the ball right for Sergio Canales to score. 0-1
• Gonzalo Higuain: 63': Brilliantly wighted pass from Cristiano Ronaldo frees Gonzalo Higuain who doesn't fail to score. 2-2
• Cristiano Ronaldo: 80': After having a brilliant game, Cristiano Ronaldo signs off with his characteristic free-kick.

Highlights:

Post-match Interviews:

Jose Mourinho: "Real and I have similar winning DNA"
Sergio Canales: "I am never going to forget my debut"

Notes:

I was hoping to do a better post than this, even tried watching the game, watched it but was distracted by my family members, power cut saw me lose 20 minutes at the start of the game. But I did manage to see all the goals live and let me tell you the goals that Real Madrid conceded were not good, poor defending, I was disappointed. Mourinho will definetly be furious over that.

The attack was brilliant as usual, don't understand why Karim Benzema drifts wide all the time when he is supposed to be the lone man up-front, he was almost always on the left wing, his link-up play was brilliant though. Sergio Canales was magnificent, I love him, defenitely a steal at just €4.5 million (+ €1 million for bringing him one season earlier).

Between the two new wingers, I liked Pedro Leon better, Angel Di Maria can do better, or I hope so.

Cristiano was just plain awesome, I don't know why people say he can't pass, because boy can he pass! They'd make more sense by saying he doesn't want to pass.

The most delightful thing was the contribution of the canteranos in the game, I was most impressed with Juanfran, an attacking winger who looked right at home in defense, Marcelo should take notes. Nacho who replaced Juanfran in the second half looked comfortable too. Tebar, Morata, Alex Fernandez all got a run in, I wanted to see more of them, but it's a start all right.

I'll be catching the LA Galaxy game and will do a proper review for that! Hala Madrid!

Mesut Ozil's Signing Might Make Dani Parejo's Return Improbabale

Mesut Ozil

If reports in AS are to be believed then Mesut Ozil will be the first signing of Real Madrid next season (2011-12), who'll join for free after seeing off the last year in his contract with Werder Bremen.

21 year old Mesut Ozil caught the eye of many big clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea with amazing performances in the World Cup. Although Mesut Ozil can't talk with any teams before January 1, 2011, in Germany it is believed that Real Madrid are the front runners in the signing of Ozil.

Mesut Ozil is a good player and would be a good addition to the club and all but what would happen to the playmaker from the academy who plays with Getafe and just turned 21 in April—Dani Parejo?

Even withouht Mesut Ozil, Real Madrid have 3 playmakers—Kaka, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Sergio Canales, and that makes it really difficult for all of the players to get enough playing time. Lets take for granted that Rafael Van Der Vaart will leave next summer and Mesut Ozil will join, it still doesn't make it any better for Parejo.

Dani Parejo

Dani Parejo's immensly taleneted and it isn't every day that Alfredo Di Stefano calls some Canterano his favorite, last season should not be used to judge Parejo's quality as Parejo was mostly travelling with Spain U-21 and missed a lot of games for Getafe. Despite being away so much Dani Parejo started 16 games and made cameos in 12, scored 6 and assisted 4.

Dani Parejo has been impressive in Getafe's pre-season so far and will be much more regular with Getafe this season. With Getafe qualifying for Europa League last season, it will be a good platform for Dani Parejo to prove his quality, and I'm pretty sure Dani Parejo will be up for the challenge.

It's not that I don't like Mesut Ozil or I doubt his quality, it's just that I would love to see more Canteranos being given the chance, Real Madrid produce a LOT of talent, and it would be nice to see them in action FOR Real Madrid not AGAINST them. I would like to see Dani Parejo come back rather than Mesut Ozil signing for the club. Hala Madrid!

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Note: I hope you like the Opinion+News Update post. I find it rather un-interesting to just write a news piece, would definitely love the feedback.

WTF!: Rodrigo Moreno Signs For Benfica

Rodrigo Moreno: Star of the quarry

Rodrigo Moreno signed with Real Madrid's academy last season from Celta Vigo and had been quite a revelation in Madrid since, being promoted from Real Madrid C to the Castilla in a matter of months.

The 19 year old right sided winger was born in Rio de Janerio but had taken up Spanish nationality. He just featured with the Spanish U-19 team and was their star performer in the recently concluded U-19 European Championship.

According to the Portuguese newspaper's ("A Bola") website, Rodrigo Moreno has been sold by Real Madrid for a mere €6 million, Rodrigo will sign a 5 year contract with Benfica.

If the news of him leaving Real Madrid wasn't bad enough, adding insult to injury is the clause in his contract which will enable Real Madrid to buy him back for €12 million.

Rodrigo will be presented as a Benfica player on Tuesday at Estadio da Luz during the match against Tottenham Hotspur in the Eusebio Cup.

The transfer makes very little sense for Real Madrid.......no wait......the clause makes a lot of sense, because after one good season with Benfica Rodrigo's value will shoot up to €25-35 million and Real Madrid will get him back for ONLY €12 million, isn't that just really awesome?!

Source: A Bola