Squad Analysis 2008-09

Well, the new season has already started, though Real doesn’t play until tomorrow (strange thing Real and Barcelona playing on the same day at the start of a new season). Here’s a preview of the squad to see how it measures up to win the titles on offer.

Goalkeepers: Lets start at the back. We’re very well equipped here. Casillas is an automatic selection here, he has been the No 1 since that final. I thought Dudek would leave, but he hasn’t. I would like to see more of Codina this season, a good run out in the cup would be nice. Casillas has been one of the best keepers in Europe, if not the best, for the past two or three years. And the euro win would have done a world of good for him. No problem here, it’s an area of strength for Real.

Defenders: This was an area of concern after Hierro, but it has settled down well in the past two seasons. Cannavaro is coming off an injury after 85 days, I don’t expect him to start the first few games. Pepe is starting to repay the money we put on him. He’s been solid at the back and I expect him to start every game. Well, what can I say about Metzelder? He hardly played for us last season, spent most of the time at the treatment table and then plays a very good euro for Germany. He makes up with his positional sense what he lacks in pace, but still can be caught by young pacy forwards. I only see him as a squad player. Heinze will start until Cannavaro starts playing regularly. I know not many people like him, but he is an excellent hard-worker, he may be clumsy, but he never pulls out of a challenge. The problem with Heinze and Metzelder is that they need a pacy defender beside them. Garcia has been unlucky in the preseason, I hope he is handled well by Schuster, and not left to rot on the bench like Soldado last season. No problems with the RB and LB positions. We have the best RB in the world, no wonder Maldini rates him so high. Critics may point at his habit of picking up cards at the drop of a hat, but he will learn with time. Marcelo has improved leaps and bounds since the time he came here, he should continue with the same. Torres will do the usual thing of covering Ramos and Marcelo. Torres hasn’t entirely fulfilled the promise he showed when he came into the first team, but he has played mostly on the left side which is not his natural position. He truly loves the club, and a more than an adequate sub. It is really satisfying to see the defence settle in nicely, it used to be a perennial problem for us after Hierro left. Salgado should never play again, I want to have good memories. And oh, we have a truly exceptional defender waiting to take the place of Pepe’s partner next season. Yes, Garay.

Midfielders: We’ve a glut of midfielders. I can say with confidence that Schuster surprised everyone by playing Diarra and Gago together, when we all thought it was either Diarra or Gago. They gelled fairly well towards the end of last season, with both willing to go forward quite regularly. It will be interesting to see how Schuster accommodates Diarra, Gago, De la Red, Guti and VDV. I feel really sad about Sneijder, he started to come off his own towards the end of last season. His dead balls skills and ball retention ability is truly exceptional. De la Red has been decent in the preseason, nothing too great, nothing too bad. I expect Diarra to start every match and it’ll either be Gago or De la Red beside him or maybe even Guti if Robben plays on the right. I thought we would buy a right sided midfielder, we didn’t buy anyone AND we sold Balboa. He could have been the right-winger we were looking for. The point is the width on the right side has to come from Ramos unless Robben plays on the right. VDV has always played as an AMF, mostly behind the striker. I think Schuster would give him the left hand side, a free roaming role. This is the season where Robben should make the winger place his own. When he is not injured, he really is the flying dutch. He has been in terific form this preseason, coupled with Robinho’s antics, he should start the first few games. As reg. Robinho, leave him out of the squad for a few games. He’ll know Madrid don’t need him and let him earn the place.

Forwards: This is a tricky area. Our first choice forwards are splendid. Van the man is as good as you can get. Raul was excellent last season. The problem is with the over reliance on RVN for goals. Our bench is not exactly weak, but it’s certainly not an area of strength. Saviola is very good player on his day, but for some reason, he hasn’t gelled with our play. Higuain needs million chances to score one and he hasn’t exactly shown the skill of a 14 million euros striker. God knows what he was smoking the night before the  Bernabeu trophy, he scored TWO goals!! I was extremely sad to see Soldado leave, but it’s just a sin to waste him on the bench. Good luck to him.

We certainly look solid on paper. And the preseason has been great. My only gripe is the lack of width, Ramos and Marcelo may well be the most overworked players in the squad. Except Robben, sometimes Robinho, noody gives us the real width. We’ve enough bench stregnth in defence and midfield to cover for injuries and fatigue. It is an important season for Raul. He is not as prolific as RVN, and both are slow. I would be tempted to play VDV or Robinho there as the season goes. I dont know if Schuster will have the guts to replace him. Ofcourse, there wont be any problem if he continues like last season. We will battle it out in la liga, it wont be as easy as last season, but we should not have many problems. It is for us to lose. Our chances in Europe? We will get the past the group stages. We over rely on a few players, and it may well prove costly.

Tags: Arjen Robben, la liga 2008-09, Raul, real madrid, Schuster