Spanish Inquisition: Reflections On Real Madrid’s First Test — Raul, Guti, Marcelo Under The Microscope

Cyrus C. Malek
October 6, 2009


If there is one thing to take from Real Madrid’s five victories thus far in La Liga, it is that they have been misleading. That is to say that predominantly through Ronaldo’s individual efforts or the relative weaknesses of the opposing teams have Madrid been superior to their opponents.

With ‘CR9’ unable to regain fitness in time for Sunday’s match and Madrid facing one of the stronger teams in La Liga - an exciting Sevilla side that is beginning to remind many of the championship squad that won so many trophies under Juande Ramos - Los Blancos would be required to assert their dominance through a balanced team effort.

But much to Florentino Perez’s chagrin, his Supergalacticos were not up to the task of putting on a show of cohesive beautiful football in Andalusia and, for parts of the match in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, were run ragged by the local side.

But what exactly went wrong? Why was Sevilla able to attack Madrid with such unmitigated abandon? With the hope of answering these questions, I re-watched Sunday’s match, pencil and pad in hand. In analysing the match, the most glaring weakness came in the form of a very unlikely source: the captain. Raul was exceedingly anonymous in the match, rarely getting touches on the ball - even when he would come back to help in the midfield.

Compared to both his team-mates and the opposition, it looked as if 'El Siete' was running through quicksand, always having a defender close on his heels and unable to apply pressure on Sevilla when the Andalucians were in possession. As a result, Madrid were not able to pressure up high, choosing instead to allow Sevilla the comfort of advancing the ball into Los Blancos’ half of the pitch.

Furthermore, when he did get a rare touch, his first contact with the ball looked cumbersome and the captain could not provide enough inventiveness to escape the dogging of his marker and deliver a productive pass. Even when he was jumping to head the ball on or control it, he could not do so with accuracy and Sevilla were frequently able to secure possession and mount an attack.

The sad truth is that, evidenced by Sunday’s match, Raul no longer has the pace to be able to compete against sides like Sevilla, where the slightest inaccuracy is time lost in attack and even the tiniest of weaknesses become massive shortcomings. In this columnist’s humble opinion, Raul would have been able to contribute more productively as a substitute in this match and Gonzalo Higuain would have been a better choice in the starting eleven.

The second weakness in the Madrid squad came from another leader: the vice-captain, Guti. In many ways, Guti is a double-edged sword. While he is capable of visionary passes that only the very best players in the world can make, he is no more emotionally mature than a petulant child. His behaviour served as a monumental distraction for his team, creating a very negative atmosphere in a Madrid squad that was already on their heels in the match.

The deputy skipper argued openly with Marcelo and Casillas at certain points during the match (both times over the midfielder’s shirking of his defensive duties on set pieces and his lack of urgency tracking back), and after a foul near the Sevilla area got into a shouting match with Dider Zokora and Diego Perotti, which could have escalated into violence if players on both sides had not stepped in.

Dialogue is important among players, but arguing with team-mates can serve as both divisive and dispiriting for a team that cannot afford an alternative to being mentally focused. To add injury to insult, Guti was unable to bite as loud as his roar either and in terms of execution on the pitch was also a glaring weakness. While his rabbit-like bounds up the pitch can keep markers at bay, Guti lacks pace (especially on the counterattack) and his first touch frequently let him down, allowing Sevilla far too much possession in dangerous areas of the pitch.

For a midfielder, his inability to retain possession and hold the ball make him an ineffective player in matches against such high levels of competition. The problem is further compounded by his short passing range as he rarely delivers the pass that switches the field of play and thus is limited in his distribution - a quality that is requisite for an attacking midfielder.

In watching Guti in Sunday’s encounter, one has to wonder why Wesley Sneijder was dealt to Inter and why Esteban Granero was not allowed more time to settle into the match.

The third glaring weakness was the left-back position as Marcelo was a nightmare in defence. While the Brazilian has been impressive thus far this season against decidedly lesser opposition, the combination of Jesus Navas and Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence meant that Marcelo could not deal with the offensive pressure and frequently needed Albiol’s help at the back while also contributing in attack.

Most notably, the Brazilian made an elementary error in allowing Sevilla’s first goal by waiting for the cross through the box rather than coming to the ball and attacking it at its highest point (a mantra drilled into the head of every defender, starting from childhood).

Between Marcelo and Drenthe, left-back remains a position of development for Madrid, making a prediction for how Manuel Pellegrini will line up his defenders in order to deal with Lionel Messi, when the time comes, unclear. Perhaps Arbeloa or Sergio Ramos will be called upon to mark the mercurial Argentine in lieu of the more conventional left-backs.

Finally, Karim Benzema was a virtual non-factor in the match and was wholly outshined by Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo, who was dealt away from the Bernabeu in the summertime (albeit with a buyback clause which is very likely to be exercised at season’s end). While Negredo had far more service than the Frenchman, El Tiburon was able to assert himself as the far more physical player and was able to win possession or hold the ball because of his extraordinary strength.

Benzema is more of a finesse player who likes to receive the ball in stride and with Madrid’s midfield unable to make enough space to feed the Frenchman, it was a very quiet 45 minutes for the striker. With respect to Negredo, Ruud van Nistelrooy may have been a more suitable player to part with than the imposing Vallecano.

In conclusion, despite the remarkable talent in this year’s Real Madrid squad, the Spanish giants are a side that have yet to come together and this lack of cohesiveness was made apparent against a more developed Sevilla outfit that, if not for Iker Casillas’ unbelievably superhuman efforts, would have won by a score closer to 4-1.

Now, after failing their first true test of the season Madrid can take one of two paths: they can self-destruct with the same sort of in-fighting that became a common occurrence in the first Galactico era, or they can come together by understanding their flaws, improving on their deficiencies, and becoming an elite side that will be much stronger for it.

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