Managing Madrid - Real Madrid Vs. Mallorca, La Liga 2013Dominating European football since March 6th 1902https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50831/mm-fav.png2013-03-19T06:39:55+01:00http://www.managingmadrid.com/rss/stream/38755972013-03-19T06:39:55+01:002013-03-19T06:39:55+01:00Pope vs Di Stéfano & Other Post-Mallorca Notes!
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<figcaption>Denis Doyle</figcaption>
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<p>Press reaction to Madrid's meeting with Mallorca; Di Stéfano and the Pope, Mourinho in Turkey & International break!</p> <p><b>Ronaldo, </b><b>Di Stéfano & The Pope - "I was the famous one!"</b></p>
<p>Alfredo Di Stéfano awarded <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110670/cristiano-ronaldo">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> <i>Marca's</i> annual trophy (the aptly named <i>Trofeo Di Stéfano</i>) for best player of the 2011-12 season. He lauded Ronaldo, who is about to overtake his Champions League goals record, as a "great player and a great team player."</p>
<p>That was of rather less interest to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2295368/Real-Madrid-greats-past-present-Alfredo-Di-Stefano-awards-Cristiano-Ronaldo-trophy-La-Ligas-best-player.html#ixzz2NxT2f5AA">The Daily Mail</a>, who relate an anecdote Di Stéfano wrote up with his usual unconscious charm in his column this week regarding the new Pope - a fellow Argentine, also from Buenos Aires - someone he may have known, or not. It was really too hard to keep track!</p>
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<p>'Pope Francis and I went to the same school in Buenos Aires,' he said. 'He lived in a church two blocks from my family’s house, where my sister Norma still resides.<br><br>'In our neighborhood we used to hold major football sessions that went on until it got dark, with everyone playing against each other,' he said. 'Maybe the pope was one of the guys I played football with in the street.<br><br>'At that time I was the famous one because from a very young age I belonged to River Plate’s youth team, everybody knew me,' added Di Stefano...</p>
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<p>Let it never be suggested that <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.managingmadrid.com/">Real Madrid's</a> most famous legend is afflicted with any sense of false modesty!</p>
<p>Ronaldo did not discuss his future at Real Madrid (aside from an obligatory comment on his hopes for a trophy-win this season) and promptly left to join Portugal.</p>
<p><b>Press Reaction After <span class="sbn-auto-link">Mallorca</span></b></p>
<p>Sid Lowe said it well: <i>"Luka Modrić: whoosh! Mesut Özil: woof!</i>" - in his longer, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/mar/18/celta-vigo-deportivo-la-coruna-mallo-aspas">highly recommended piece</a>, detailing a scandal during the derby between Celta and Depor. For fans of the Spanish league in general, it is a very interesting account of the insults traded before the game that have landed Celta Vigo's Mallo and Aspas into trouble.</p>
<p>As far as the English-language and Spanish-language press are concerned about Madrid's game however, Lowe's view that the two players were the stars of the evening is fairly uniform. Özil is widely credited with providing the creative spark and Modric has been praised for his screamer of a go-ahead goal.</p>
<p><i>Marca's</i> cover the next day had the German on the front with "Vitamina Özil" as their lead headline. Their English version of the story is entitled <a target="_blank" href="http://www.marca.com/2013/03/18/en/football/real_madrid/1363594030.html?a=PR8b1eddc2f85e71a9d2cf291cb7dd93d22&t=1363620580">"The Özil Effect"</a> and makes the following observation about Mourinho's recent attempts to "wrap the player in cotton-wool" by leaving him on the bench for less important games -</p>
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<p>Real Madrid takes Özil offline, and the lights go out. Put him back in the equation, and the team shines again. The German has become a key part of the 'Blancos' machine. Without Mesut, the team judders and creaks along. With him in place, everything runs more smoothly.</p>
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<p><i>As</i> praises other players too in their write-up, which ends with a psychological observation about Real Madrid of this season in general:</p>
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<p>In the end, Real Madrid won in a whirlwind of goals. What happened to Mourinho's men in the first half? Some say they were distracted, others purport the theory that they enjoy giving their opponent the initial advantage. Personally, I'd go with the latter notion: I don't see it as anything premeditated, but the subconscious challenge that the squad sets itself to make life that little bit more interesting. Until they meet Galatasaray, of course.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.as.com/english/articulo/ramos-we-have-problems-from/20130317dasdenspo_8/Ten">Ramos told Real Madrid TV</a> that Madrid has problems with set-pieces. Where could he possibly have got that idea from?</p>
<p><b>Mourinho & Galatasaray</b></p>
<p><span>Jose Mourinho</span> paid Galatasaray a visit on Sunday and was seen <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K7NQdGsunvs#t=0s">waving and trading greetings</a> with close friend <span>Wesley Sneijder</span> (formerly of Real Madrid). He was able to watch his former charge score the opening goal, while another former player <span>Hamit Altintop</span> (with the Real Madrid of last season) left the pitch injured.</p>
<p>Mourinho did not speak to the press. Galatasaray won 3-1 on the road and presumably gave The Special One plenty to think about. He did visit with Sneijder after the game however.</p>
<p><i>Marca</i>, the same paper that was largely responsible for drumming him out of Madrid, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.marca.com/2013/03/18/en/football/international_football/1363593121.html">provides an account of the visit</a> and some of Sneijder's thoughts on the up-coming tie.</p>
<p><b>International Break</b></p>
<p>There are a staggering 17 players away on International duty this week -</p>
<p><i>For Spain: Ramos, Arbeloa, Albiol & Alonso - Nacho (with the U21)<br></i></p>
<p><i>For Germany: Khedira, Ozil</i></p>
<p><i>For Croatia: Modric</i></p>
<p><i>For France: Varane, Benzema</i></p>
<p><i>For Portugal: Ronaldo, Pepe, Coentrao</i></p>
<p><i>For Brazil: Kaka, Marcelo</i></p>
<p><i>For Argentina: Higuain, di Maria</i></p>
<p>The Germans will be making a round-trip to Kazakhstan in Europe's most far-flung World Cup qualifier, while the Argentinians will play thousands of feet above sea level and make a considerable round-trip of their own.</p>
<p>It is to be hoped that all the players return in one piece.</p>
<p><b>What do you know about <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110267/sami-khedira">Sami Khedira</a>?</b></p>
<p>Finally: Madrid's number six is the subject of a quiz in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/quiz/2013/mar/19/football-quiz-sami-khedira">The Guardian</a> today. Test your knowledge on the German midfielders career.</p>
<p>Can you beat a score of 8/10?</p>
<p>Let us know!</p>
https://www.managingmadrid.com/2013/3/19/4122242/di-stefano-ronaldo-mallorca-real-madridJ A Marsano2013-03-16T22:16:21+01:002013-03-16T22:16:21+01:00A Tale of Two Halves & A Tactical Masterclass
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<figcaption>Denis Doyle</figcaption>
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<p>Defensive and tactical anarchy in the first half were replaced with fluid, stylish and beautiful football in the second as Mourinho earns his pay-cheque.</p> <p align="justify"><b>The Lineup</b></p>
<p align="justify">There were no suspensions for Real Madrid's 2600th game in the <i>Primera Liga.</i><br><br><i>Real Madrid Starting XI:</i> Diego; Arbeloa, Ramos, Varane, Fábio Coentrão; Pepe, Modric; Kaká, Morata, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110670/cristiano-ronaldo">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> and Higuaín.</p>
<p align="justify"><i>Bench:</i> Adán, Khedira, Benzema, Özil, Carvalho, Marcelo, Alonso.</p>
<p align="justify"><i>Real Mallorca Starting XI:</i> Aouate, Hutton, Nunes, Bigas, Kevin, Nsue, Pina, Tissone, Alfaro, Giovani & Víctor<br><br><br>The back-line was as expected, with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110857/sergio-ramos">Sergio Ramos</a> keeping his place next to Raphaël Varane. The only surprises were in midfield. With 18 International call-ups pending, as many regular starters as possible found themselves resting. Both Germans (who have a 5000 mile round-trip to Kazakhstan this week) and Alonso (struggling with back pain recently) started on the bench. Gonzalo Higuaín was chosen over the seemingly out-of-favour <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/131262/karim-benzema">Karim Benzema</a>. Most surprisingly, Modric and Pepe were in midfield together with Kaka in the centre of the attack and Madrid youngster Álvaro Morata pressed into service as a winger.<br><br>There were injuries. Ángel di María's hamstring problem persists, and Iker Casillas, though he trained with both hands this week, was not even risked on the bench. <br><br><br><b>Set Piece And Tactical Anarchy: The First Half</b><br><br>José Mourinho's experimental line-up was poor from the beginning, for a number of reasons.<br><br>Morata did not have a bad game, but he was uncomfortable playing on the right, as opposed to the left as against Barcelona. The midfield of Pepe and <span>Luka Modric</span> proved to be rather chaotic. From Madrid's point of view, the game had very little rhythm in the first half, and there was difficulty maintaining possession. Breaks, when they came, were poor and usually broke down with nary a shot on goal. The unfortunate Luka Modric (finally given a start in his preferred position in the starting 11 but in a make-shift line-up) was the best of a bad group in the midfield.</p>
<p align="justify">In the attack Kaká was rendered virtually anonymous by Pepe's marked enthusiasm for barreling forward and Álvaro Arbeloa cutting in to crowd space in front of the Mallorca six yard area in an effort to make amends for defensive mistakes leading to Madrid's concessions.<br><br>Pepe, for his part, broke up play well, but showed no invention and little passing range. And with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/mallorca">Mallorca's</a> goals coming off set-pieces rather than from breaks or from open-play, his role in preventing the opposition from scoring was limited.<br><br>There was also a visible lack of symmetry in the first half: Fábio Coentrão and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left were out-of-sync with the rest of the team. They were playing at their usual pace while Madrid's right and centre were slower. A frustrated Coentrão began to cut into the centre, further crowding the midfield and making life difficult for Kaká and Modric. Higuaín was industrious, as always, but often faltered in the final third. <br><br>Mallorca's first goal came in the sixth minute off Emilio Nsue López. It was not even off a corner kick or a free kick. It was worse - off a throw-in - in a scene entirely too familiar this season, leaving Real Madrid with it all to do after typically putrid set-piece defending. A few minutes later, the same defenders allowed Mallorca to score again through Alfaro. This time it was off a corner conceded by Arbeloa who put the ball out as a safety measure. As a tactic, this is a questionable one from Madrid's point of view. Once again: Mallorca scored after a scramble in the box.<br><br>Between those two goals, Madrid scored a perfectly comical effort after Pepe seized on a Modric pass and got the ball to Higuaín. It was haphazard in the extreme, and there was more than a hint of offside (the keeper may, or may not, have been adjudged to have got the final touch) but it left Madrid with some hope for the second half.<br><br>The teams went into the break with Madrid behind 2-1, with the crowd, true to form, jeering <i>Los Merengues</i> off the pitch.<br><br><br><b>The Second Half - "Who Wouldn't Love You?"</b><br><br>Mourinho made his substitutions immediately at the beginning of the second half. Mesut Özil and Karim Benzema, both players skilled at keeping the ball and speeding up play without getting in the way of their teammates, were on for Arbeloa and Morata. With Mallorca actually showing little penetration, Mourinho simply re-arranged his back-line. Modric and Kaká remained in midfield together. Özil, surprisingly, was placed on the left in a sort of 3-4-3 line-up that saw three centre-backs in the defence and Coentrão (early in the second half) encouraged to push forward.<br><br>The improvement was marked. Within 7 minutes, Madrid had equalized in the 52nd minute. Özil's superior set-piece delivery and Ronaldo's athletic, leaping header saw the score at 2-2.<br><br>Two minutes later, Luka Modric made it 3-2 when he scored a screamer as Coentrão got his cross in (the fullback himself was bundled to the ground and could have had a penalty) and Modric met it from about 30 yards out. An absolute screaming golazo - and a goal that was deserved by a player who had struggled, but played well even in the first half's disorganized line-up.<br><br>About one minute after that, Higuaín scored his second off a beautiful pass from Özil in the 57th minute. The Whites were now two goals to the good with a 4-2 scoreline. <br><br>Another beautiful chance, when Özil slid the ball into Ronaldo in the 74th minute (forcing a desperate save) and the predictably fickle Bernabéu Stadium crowd stopped their jeering and gave a rousing chorus of <i>¡Cómo no te voy a querer!</i></p>
<p align="justify">Who, indeed, wouldn't love this Madrid?<br><br>The icing on the cake was a goal in extra-time - with Alonso slipping the ball to Higuaín who passed on to Benzema. 5-2 for Madrid.<br><br>In between all that, Mourinho had finished his substitutions by taking off Kaká (to warm applause for his efforts) for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110858/xabi-alonso">Xabi Alonso</a> and shifting Cristiano Ronaldo permanently to the right in a final genius move: it was Mallorca's weaker defensive side and Ronaldo found nothing but space to run into. Finally: the effect of Özil and Alonso in the centre together meant that the pitch seemed to have expanded to double its size. Even with Mallorca mainly crowded in their own half, as they had been in the first half, the space Madrid's midfield suddenly seemed to find itself in was considerable.<br><br>And finally even Diego López seemed to do brilliantly, saving a difficult shot at his near-post in the 70th minute and another in the 84th.<br><br>It was a tactical masterclass from Mourinho, and a beautiful and stylish second half performance from the players.</p>
https://www.managingmadrid.com/2013/3/16/4113260/real-madrid-vs-mallorca-liga-2013-scoreJ A Marsano2013-03-16T19:09:50+01:002013-03-16T19:09:50+01:00Match Thread
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<figcaption>Denis Doyle</figcaption>
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<p>Match will kick-off in about one hour, and the clubs have released the official starting lineups for the game. Real Madrid goes with Diego; Arbeloa, Ramos, Varane, Coentrao; Pepe, Modric; Kaká, Morata, Cristiano and Higuaín.</p> <p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.managingmadrid.com/">Real Madrid</a> Starting XI</b>: Diego; Arbeloa, Ramos, Varane, Coentrao; Pepe, Modric; Kaká, Morata, Cristiano and Higuaín.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/mallorca">Mallorca</a> Starting XI: Aouate, Hutton, Nunes, Bigas, Kevin, Nsue, Pina, Tissone, Alfaro, Giovani and Víctor</p>
https://www.managingmadrid.com/2013/3/16/4112622/real-madrid-vs-mallorca-liga-2013-liveLucas Navarrete2013-03-16T11:18:26+01:002013-03-16T11:18:26+01:00Routine Liga
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<figcaption>Denis Doyle</figcaption>
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<p>Real Madrid takes on Mallorca (20:00) with Ramos, Varane and Coentrao back on the team's list. Albiol, Callejón, Essien and Di María will not be able to feature, as Mourinho left them out of the squad for this match. Mallorca is in a dangeorus situation, ranked 18th in the table and in the relegation zone. Gregorio Manzano returned to the club after the board decided to fire Joaquín Caparrós.</p> <p align="justify">It might not be easy for Mourinho's men to play this game with the Champions League tie on their minds. Still, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.managingmadrid.com/">Real Madrid</a> will have to get the work done and use this match to prepare players like Marcelo and Benzema for the most important moment of the season. Both of them played well against Vigo, and they might have another chance to show they're ready to contribute and help the team.</p>
<p align="justify"><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/mallorca">Mallorca</a> is walking the fine line between keeping the division and relegating to La Liga Adelante. They have some deep financial problems, and that's something that certainly affected the players under Joaquín Caparrós. <i>Jokin</i> is a great coach, and even though he started the season well enough, the team soon got caught in a bad streak. Gio dos Santos and Gregorio Manzano are trying to keep the boat floating, and after a last-minute goal against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/osasuna">Osasuna</a> some weeks ago, Mallorca is now two points away from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/zaragoza">Zaragoza</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Manzano will surely try to play defensively, and that's something Caparrós failed in the previous meeting of these two teams. Modric played one of his finest games of the season at Mallorca and the team was able to win 0-5. Still, this game will likely be different, as dos Santos and his teammates can't afford to lose any more points.</p>
<p align="justify">Real Madrid finally recovered the second position in La Liga's table after Atlético Madrid's defeat against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/la-liga/teams/real-sociedad">Real Sociedad</a>. But with the Champions League tie against Galatasaray just a couple of weeks ahead, Mourinho might still use La Liga to make rotations and recover some key players that weren't playing well lately. That's the case of Benzema and Marcelo.</p>
<p align="justify">This match could also be Varane and Ramos' return to the lineup. Both of them are competing with Pepe for two spots in the center back position against Galatasaray. Given how well Varane has been playing (and reacting from the press' compliments), it'll be hard for Mourinho not to give him another chance. But Pepe and Ramos' partnership was so successful last season that <i>The Special One</i> could be thrilled about having both of them ready to play again.</p>
<p align="justify">As always, it'll be important to score early in the game to prevent Mallorca from believing they have a chance. The Santiago Bernabéu will have the chance to give an standing ovation to the players after their heroic win at the Old Trafford.</p>
https://www.managingmadrid.com/2013/3/16/4111530/real-madrid-vs-mallorca-liga-2013-previewLucas Navarrete