Image Credit: [Fox Sports]
A team recognised as being one of the best in the world, where many young footballers desire to play one day. Of course, I’m talking about Real Madrid, who by May 2018, have won 33 La Liga trophies as well as 13 UEFA Champions league trophies. This staggering number has attracted players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas to play for the Spanish club, so why have they been on such poor form recently?
It is true that Madrid’s poor form can be traced back to last season. Their Champions League win over Liverpool whilst an incredible achievement, was in stark contrast to their performance in La Liga where they finished 3rd and a massive 17 points behind the winners and rivals Barcelona. An unconvincing start to this season’s campaign sees Madrid in a lowly 7th place and a feeling of growing discontent emanating from the Bernabeu.
So why are Madrid struggling so badly? Questions need to be asked regarding the players recruited in the summer. Courtois apart, the signings were underwhelming to say the least and failed to excite the supporters, meaning Lopetegui could quite reasonably feel aggrieved at the lack of at least one inspirational signing.
The much heralded and controversial appointment of Julen Lopetegui as the new manager in the summer has not worked out as well as owner Rodriguez envisioned. Indeed, if Madrid lose the first El Clasico of the season this coming weekend, few would bet on Lopetegui keeping his job.
The failure of Madrid’s rising stars to step up and fill the void has also been a problem. Marcus Asensio, in particular, has suffered a disappointing start to the season. Such massive expectations appear to be lying heavily on the young superstar’s shoulders after such promise was shown last season. Older, more experienced players should also be questioned. Gareth Bale continues to frustrate as he does not appear to be able to string half a dozen games together without picking up an injury.
Undoubtedly, the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo was always going to impact on Madrid. How do you replace one of the world’s greatest players and arguably Madrid’s best ever player? Ronaldo’s guaranteed 30 to 40 goals a season were almost taken for granted and you wonder now where these goals are going to come from.
Whilst talk of a crisis at Madrid may be over the top, a defeat against Barcelona would deepen the gloom at the Bernabeu and may signal the end of Lopetegui’s brief tenure as manager.