Best of Managing Madrid 2016

It’s been a great year for not only Real Madrid C.F., but also Managing Madrid. So many memorable moments on the pitch have been followed by us scribbling about it, and we are so thankful you choose to read our silly thoughts over and over. I mean it. Without you all, we’re just a group of people thinking out loud. Thank you for being dedicated readers, we truly appreciate you.

So as Real Madrid have played their final match 2016, the Managing Madrid staff (which grew big time this year!) looked back upon the best work we’ve done this year.

• Kiyan on Luka Modrić’s past, and why his contract extension was so, so deserved.
• And while we’re on Luka, Om wrote about what makes him so special, beyond the stat sheet.
• That time Ray Hudson and Steven Mandis joined the podcast! Truly a fun listen.
• I wrote about Lucas Vázquez, and his journey from Castilla nobody to invaluable member of the first team.
• Kiyan dove deep into Toni Kroos’ development and just how good he is.
• After a brief five year hiatus, Timm returned to the staff. He revisited all the moving parts that led to David Beckham signing for Real.
• Speaking of walks down memory lane, Om rewatched the thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester City in 2012-13, and did his thing with the brilliant tactical breakdown.
• Aaaand while we’re talking about Manchester City, Kiyan spoke on how despite it being a 1-0 aggregate win, Real’s triumph over City in the Champions League was a spectacular performance.
• Naguib’s Fanpost on Gareth Bale was truly brilliant, with anecdotal moments of his career that have led him to being one of Real’s best players.
• Lewis wrote on how the answer to the Benzema-or-Morata question is probably both.
• 2016 marked 10 years since Ferenc Puskás’ passing. Kiyan’s tribute to the legend was melancholy, delightful, and worthy of such a player and person.
• Amid the should-we-shouldn’t-we Pogba pandemonium, we got together for a group chat on whether Madrid should pursue him.
• Kiyan basically became a superstar and went and met Butragueño and Florentino Peréz himself.
• Oh, and he interviewed Mesut Özil about his time in Madrid.
• Om dug into the numbers vis a vis Ronaldo playing under Zinedine Zidane.
• And I wrote, perhaps a bit late but I’m still shamelessly proud of it, about the rise and fall of Sami Khedira in Madrid.

And now, all things Undécima related:

• Nate proved to be a clairvoyant in predicting Real’s triumph that somehow didn’t totally jinx everything.
• Om took a gander at Bayern’s approach to playing Atléti and diagnosed how Madrid might play them.
• I wrote about plane rides, generally losing my marbles, and the thrill that comes with being a Madridista.
• And the post-match podcast, in which Gabe, Kiyan, and myself are just beaming pure joy for an hour.

This list of links is far from exhaustive. It’s just biased to the staffers who responded to me before my deadline (whoops!).

Totally deserving of shoutouts are Gerry and his medical expertise, Sam and his absolutely world-class coverage of Castilla, Finn for being as clever as he is talented on the drawing board, Lucas for being immensely dedicated in the daily upkeep of the site and willing to deal with our BS, Gabe for being our (or at least my) spiritual leader, Eric for producing the podcast every week, and Lewis, Vicki, Tommy, Naguib, Jared, Andrejs, Marc, Kevin, and the rest of the staff for being so dedicated and talented and making it all happen.

So if there’s anything you loved or remember, or even stuff like great/fun/funny discussions on match threads, feel free to link to them in the comments. 2016’s been a good one, here’s to hoping 2017 is even better. Cheers.