Real Madrid can no longer live without football

For a few years, Actual Madrid has been a crew that has defied any logic. A membership that appeared to function outdoors the traditional guidelines of contemporary soccer. Whereas others wanted advanced programs, millimetric automation and full weeks of tactical preparation, Actual Madrid received.

He received as a result of he had the perfect, as a result of he had gamers able to fixing video games with particular person motion, as a result of his expertise was so overwhelming that he turned the extraordinary into routine. Zidane’s crew first and Carlo Ancelotti’s later, received the Champions League and titles of all types underneath that premise: there was no have to burden the participant with infinite slates when the person expertise was so superior that it was sufficient to prepare three or 4 fundamental ideas and handle egos.

That mannequin labored for years, and it labored brilliantly. The coach didn’t must be an obsessive profile with techniques, nor a technician who saturated his stars with movies and infinite talks. In reality, for a very long time, any such coach was even seen as an issue within the Actual Madrid locker room. Footballers most well-liked freedom, confidence, naturalness. If you find yourself the perfect, that formulation will be sufficient. When you will have the perfect on this planet, expertise finally ends up prevailing.

Dropping one sport in 4, as has occurred on common within the final two years, is one thing inappropriate for a membership of this magnitude. It’s a determine that ought to generate a deep debate

However soccer has modified, and Actual Madrid can’t proceed dwelling in a actuality that now not exists. Right now it’s more and more frequent to see groups with decrease particular person high quality than Actual Madrid, however with superior collective efficiency. Groups that know precisely learn how to occupy areas, learn how to press, learn how to come out from behind, learn how to assault from the surface or inside, learn how to defend the lateral facilities, learn how to execute a set piece. Groups that appear extra labored, extra coordinated, extra ready, and extra all the pieces.

And that’s no coincidence. It’s the product of coaching, repetition, and thorough preparation in the course of the week. Trendy soccer calls for extra than simply expertise. You want group, tactical self-discipline and automation. It requires a job that for years Actual Madrid has been in a position to keep away from because of its particular person superiority, however that point has ended.

For a very long time, Actual Madrid did not care. And it was logical. As a result of soccer, above all, is about profitable. Whereas the crew was lifting titles, any tactical debate appeared secondary. Why change one thing that works? Why demand extra if the crew received the Champions League virtually by inertia?

The issue is that now you now not win. And when you do not win, all the pieces is revealed. Final season was a critical warning. Not solely was it not received, however the crew’s efficiency left quite a bit to be desired. For many who go to the Santiago Bernabéu often like me, the sensation was even worse. Flat matches, with out concepts, with out automatisms, with no feeling of a labored crew.

And this yr, removed from being corrected, the issues are repeated. Identical errors, doubts, and that very same feeling that particular person expertise is now not sufficient. That is the place the necessity for a profound change seems. It isn’t about names or discussing whether or not the coach must be one or the opposite, the talk is way broader. Florentino Pérez, because the membership’s head, should make a transparent resolution: Actual Madrid wants to coach once more. You want a coach who does not simply handle egos, however builds a crew. And, even earlier than that, the locker room wants to come back to grips with an uncomfortable actuality.

As a result of step one to vary is to acknowledge that it’s now not sufficient to be excellent. Actual Madrid has a unprecedented squad, however it’s now not alone on the prime. There are a minimum of 5 different groups in Europe with an identical stage and even larger in some facets. Groups which might be additionally higher labored tactically. Groups that know what they play. In fact, Actual Madrid will proceed to win many video games with no need to play particularly effectively. Particular person expertise ensures victories in lots of contexts, however when the appointed day arrives, that decisive match, the large eliminator, that’s the place the variations are made. And there, in latest instances, Actual Madrid has begun to fall quick.

Final yr, for instance, Arsenal was a transparent warning. Additionally Barcelona at sure instances. Groups that, with out essentially having higher gamers in all areas of the sphere, supplied a extra structured, recognizable and, above all, extra labored soccer. It isn’t about mystique, or historical past, or t-shirts. It is about soccer. And right now’s soccer rewards the perfect ready groups.

That is why I believe we even have to speak about demand. Actual Madrid has all the time been a membership the place shedding was unacceptable. Nonetheless, in recent times, a sure harmful tolerance appears to have established itself. Dropping one sport in 4, as has occurred on common within the final two years, is one thing inappropriate for a membership of this magnitude. It’s a determine that ought to generate a profound debate, however that typically goes virtually unnoticed, and on this the followers even have their share of accountability. Actual Madrid followers have all the time been demanding, however in some sectors that demand appears to have been diluted. Dropping video games has been normalized, poor play has been normalized, and dwelling off the epic has been normalized, however the epic can’t be a plan. The comeback can’t be the one methodology.

All these reflections are more likely to generate criticism, they all the time do. What if you do not know Actual Madrid, what if this crew has proven its means to rise a thousand instances, what if a comeback adjustments all the pieces. I want it had been like that. I hope the crew defies logic once more and wins once more. No one desires that greater than somebody who feels for Actual Madrid. However there’s additionally a second when soccer tells you that is it. Soccer has developed and the groups are more and more full, with coaches who’re more and more meticulous. The templates are more and more balanced. Due to this fact, relying solely on particular person expertise is more and more dangerous.

There’s a undeniable fact that invitations reflection: Actual Madrid has by no means come again in a European Cup tie after shedding the primary leg on the Bernabéu. By no means, in all its historical past. And that doesn’t imply that it can’t occur, nevertheless it does present that the epic has limits, as a result of mysticism just isn’t all the time sufficient. I believe the time has come for self-criticism. The followers should demand rather more. The president should demand extra of himself. The coach should assume that the crew wants work. And the gamers, particularly the gamers, should look within the mirror and acknowledge that two years with out titles can be an unacceptable anomaly. Whoever writes these traces doesn’t accomplish that from a distance or from coldness. I’ve skilled historic comebacks within the stadium, I’ve seen Actual Madrid in instances of absolute dominance and likewise in very sophisticated moments. I’ve been watching the crew for so long as I can keep in mind, with out lacking a single sport. And that’s exactly why it hurts extra to come back to this conclusion.

Actual Madrid must turn into a soccer crew once more to cease being a crew of speeches. You have to assume that expertise with out work is now not sufficient for you. Two years with out titles could appear few for many who are glad, however Actual Madrid can’t afford that luxurious. You should not do it. What if there’s hope? In fact. Hope all the time exists. Actual Madrid has proven a thousand instances that it’s able to the not possible, however relying solely on hope can’t be the plan assumed since August. If the membership desires to adapt to right now’s soccer, it should assume that work is non-negotiable. That self-criticism is important, and that expertise wants a construction. As a result of, in any other case, the chance is apparent. With out work, tough years will proceed to come back. With out self-criticism, greatness erodes little by little. And Actual Madrid, as a result of historical past, calls for and identification, can’t enable itself to observe that path.

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