Okay… We really need to stop, take a deep breath in and think this through for a second. In the past 24 hours I’ve read some really nasty comments on social media regarding Real Madrid’s situation. That we don’t know how to play real soccer. That if we didn’t lose a game in 40 games it was basically because we got lucky. That Ronaldo is over. That Benzema and Morata aren’t good enough to be part of this team. And the list keeps going on and on…
We are going through what we went through two years ago with Carlo Ancelotti. January is a tough one for us. I can’t really explain why. It’s just a point in the season where for some reason, half of our players shut down.
I don’t know what’s wrong with Benzema. But it doesn’t really surprise me. Every year we keep having the same discussion: Is Benzema good enough for Real Madrid? The truth is, that 8 years after having signed his first contract with the entity, he is still here. In fact, he has made it to the 6th position of highest scorers in the history of this team. That right there is something big. However, we need to reconsider what we need from Benzema.
Two weeks ago, we lost our first game in 41 games. And this happened because Benzema lost a stupid ball in a dangerous place in the 91st minute. This happened again yesterday. I hate to say this but Benzema has always been like this. He plays 10 incredible games, followed by 20 horrible ones where he doesn’t even shoot the ball once. Yes, in my opinion, it is time for him to take a break… if not leave. We need to think big because we are big. In fact, we are the greatest soccer team in history. Numbers don’t lie. And in my opinion, Benzema has never had neither a big mentality nor a big attitude. I hate to say this too, but I envy Barcelona’s 9. I envy the fact that they got to Suarez before we did. He is a true example of what a top attacker should be like. He has the attitude, mentality, quality and strength to be in a top club.
Now… what’s up with Morata? I think it’s unfair to make conclusions or assumptions about him since he hasn’t played as much as Karim has. But the truth is, we have seen players such as Kovacic or Lucas Vazquez make incredible appearances in the few minutes that they’ve had in random games. This, in turn, lead them to make themselves a spot in the starting 11. Morata hasn’t shown this yet. Whenever Zidane has given him 10, 15 or even 20 minutes to show himself off to the world, he hasn’t used this time effectively. Let’s hope that Zidane uses common sense and starts giving him more time instead of letting Karim walk around or lose more balls throughout the field.
Finally… the big question… Ronaldo… CR7. Let’s be honest. Yesterday he scored an amazing goal. He could have scored at least 2 more, but for one reason or another, he didn’t. I feel like Ronaldo actually tried yesterday, which is what worried me a little bit from the past couple games. I just didn’t see him touch the ball once. It seemed like he wasn’t even playing. But he kind of redeemed himself yesterday. He tends to disappear every now and then, but he ends up coming back and scoring +50 goals each season, so let’s not be too harsh on him. After all, he is the best player in the history of the team. Again, numbers don’t lie. And what the heck, he just won Fifa’s Best player and his forth Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo isn’t what worries me about this Madrid to be honest.
What does worry me then? The fact that we keep doing the same thing over and over again, every year. We’ve already been kicked out of one competition. Why?! Every year, towards January, we keep falling asleep somewhere and we get punished for it! Why can’t we, for once, try to stay awake and fight for all of the competitions? We are the best team in the world, and overall, we have the best players in the world. There is no excuse. We have proven that we can play good soccer, and that we can beat anyone. Why do we keep falling asleep then? It really upsets me…
If someone shouldn’t be blamed for this, I feel like it’s Zidane. Although honestly, sir, please just don’t let Danilo play again. Ever. He is a great guy, I’m sure he is, but he for sure isn’t qualified for a team of the magnitude of Real Madrid. He just isn’t good enough. So please, I know we have a lot of injured players, but give younger kids a chance before letting Danilo play again… Don’t feel bad for him. Your job is to make Real Madrid play in the best of all possible ways, and Danilo is only letting you down.
In conclusion, we’re still first in La Liga. And we have a tough couple games to play against Napoli in Champions. Do you know what this means? Yes! We still have two more competitions to go. I don’t like it when people say that the Copa isn’t worth it. We are Real Madrid, and we should be capable of winning every single competition that we’re in for. So let’s not fool ourselves. We failed at the Copa del Rey against an incredible Celta, but we can still win our delightful Liga and Champions. So let’s wake up and get going.
Author: Tony Lewis
Marketing nerd, blockchain enthusiast and part-time planet Earth explorer. I like building (and acquiring) long-lasting assets.