Managing Madrid Podcast: Champions League vs La Liga - why do Real Madrid’s League Campaigns Fall Short?

In this patron episode of the Managing Madrid podcast, Ruben Skjerping and Matt Wiltse discuss:

Big Picture Theme: The reason why Real Madrid has won nearly the same amount of Champions League titles as league titles in the past decade.

• The cultural emphasis on the Champions League and Real Madrid’s lack of a clear tactical system in the league.
• Debate whether having a system of play or giving more individual freedom to star players is more beneficial.
• 9:46
• Discuss the importance of tactical play in football and how it can lead to success.
• Injuries and mismanagement factor
• 19:53
• Nigeira referee scandal in La Liga, where Barcelona paid millions of dollars to a vice president responsible for promoting and relegating referees.
• Scandal’s impact and how it was received globally both in Norway and the US vs Spain.
• 29:16
• Pintus Valley and the importance of rotating players during the January dip in form.
• 38:42
• Do we believe Xavi and Zidane - is the league harder to win than the UCL?
• 47:40
• Matthew and rubenskjerping discussed the reason why Real Madrid has won more Champions League titles than league titles in the past decade. They talked about the cultural emphasis on the Champions League and Real Madrid’s lack of a clear tactical system in the league.
• 0:02
• Matthew and rubenskjerping discussed Real Madrid’s strategy of prioritizing the Champions League over the domestic league title. They also debated whether having a system of play or giving more individual freedom to star players is more beneficial.
• 9:46
• Matthew and rubenskjerping discussed the importance of tactical play in football and how it can lead to success. They also acknowledged that Real Madrid missed out on several potential league titles due to various factors, including injuries and mismanagement.
• 19:53
• Rubenskjerping and Matthew discussed the referee scandal in La Liga, where Barcelona paid millions of dollars to a vice president responsible for promoting and relegating referees. Rubenskjerping believes that this scandal would have affected the outcome of games and potentially led to more league titles for Real Madrid.
• 29:16
• Rubenskjerping and Matthew discussed the difficulty of competing in both La Liga and the Champions League, with the latter being more prestigious but also more challenging to consistently perform well in. They also touched on the Pintus Valley and the importance of rotating players during the January dip in form.
• 38:42
• Matthew and rubenskjerping discussed the difficulty of the Champions League and the importance of both tactical and mental aspects of a team. They also expressed gratitude for feedback on their podcast.
• 47:4
• And more.

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Hosts this week:

Matt Wiltse (@MattWiltse4)

Ruben Skjerping (@RubenPMN)