Match Report: Real Madrid Juvenil A 3 - 0 Union Adarve

After last week’s draw against Real Valladolid and loss to Dortmund in the Youth League, Guti’s team was determined to bounce back. However, there were a number of different obstacles. Firstly, five starting players were called up to the U-17 National team for the U-17 World Cup hosted in India. Those five players are Moha (midfielder), Chust, Pedro, Cesar, and Antonio.

Another issue Guti had to deal with was injuries. Augusto Galvan, Fran Garcia, Miguel Baeza, Elliot, Diego, Joaquín were sidelined; and Alberto was suspended.

Therefore, Guti had to put out a makeshift starting lineup consisting of bench players and Juvenil B players. So, it came as no surprise that this unfamiliar group of players weren’t connecting.

Despite that, the start to this game was sublime. Just five minutes into the match, Martin Calderon found himself completely free at the top of the box and he curled the ball into the bottom left corner. As soon as Juvenil scored, they kept looking for the vital second goal to end the match quickly.

Union Adarve’s defense was like a proper Swiss cheese. They weren’t applying any sort of pressure anywhere near their box and Juvenil players had all the time on the ball. However, this is where the unfamiliarity factor kicked in. They were constantly misplacing all kind of passes – short, medium, long switches – and they clearly weren’t aware of what sort of runs their teammates are doing. Therefore, the scoreline remained 1-0 at half time.

Sadly, at half time, the team captain, Gorka Zabarte, had to be taken off due to injury. It was a real shame, because Gorka had a very strong performance. This season, he continues to surprise me in every game, because I wasn’t too high on him last season. But it might be because he was being played as right-back. This season, he’s playing as a center-back.

The second half started very slowly. Neither team had any great chances, but then in the 57th minute, Martin Calderon once again appeared at the top of the box and curled it into the bottom left corner. It was almost a carbon copy of the first goal.

Just four minutes later, Martin fired a powerful shot which the goalkeeper could only parry in front of him. Pedro Rodriguez displayed great awareness in the box and was the first one to the rebound. 3-0, and, game, set, and match.

The rest of the game played out in a calm manner and Guti’s kids took the three points.