Thursday, September 25, 2014

Madrid's Poor Decisions

Real Madrid’s transfer decisions this season have been, in my humble opinion, questionable. Carlo Ancelotti, the team manager and head coach’s first mistake was in his dismissal of Angel Di Maria. The Argentine footballer sold for a reported 100 million Euros to english club Manchester United. Di Maria last year was an essential part to Madrid's midfield dominance. His immense work rate combined with great vision and deadly skill made him one of the La Liga’s and Europe’s best attacking footballers. Some of Angel’s direct contributions to Madrid last year include scoring the opening goal against spanish rivals Barcelona in the national cup finals. Real went on to win that game 2-1. Later, in the European champions league final, Di Maria’s decisive dribbling skills past three players resulted in an assist to a Madrid teammate to score the game winning goal. UEFA then recognized Di Maria as the man of the match. Another impressive stat by the Argentine midfielder includes holding the most assists in the spanish league, having a total of 17. Totaling 34 appearances last season in the league, Di Maria’s effectiveness in the team was without question. To quantify the presence Di Maira left on the field in words is nearly impossible. He carried and protected the ball with elegance. He struck it with raw power. His flaws were few and far between. His lethal left foot gave Madrid superb crosses and passes, more often than not resulting in goals. He found options when there were none. When he stepped on the field, whether a sub or starter, he made a difference. He was quite arguably their best player, and with teammates like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, that’s saying a lot. Carlo’s sudden change of heart on Di Maria leaves me confused. It won't be long before he realizes the mistake he made. Ancelotti’s reluctance to realize Di Maria’s skill starts with another, maybe worse mistake.

This past transfer season the Madrid camp purchased a young colombian midfielder to inevitably replace Angel Di Maria. His name, James Rodriguez. In the past World Cup James showed huge promise in his technical ability. However, Florentino Perez (Club Manager) paid an unreasonably large fee for him, which reported to be around €80. James was a mediocre player with his former club AS Monaco with mediocre stats. He has yet to prove his worth on the Club level. To choose a young unproven talent such as James Rodriguez to replace such an evident star like Di Maria is an unnecessary risk, that im sure will come to haunt the club. Not only does this decision hold undoubtable loss to the quality of the squad, but it carries unpredicted implications to some of the other players. Many of the team members, including Cristiano Ronaldo, have expressed their disapproval of the decision to sell Di Maria, which can potentially result in larger issues like an in cohesiveness within the team. Overall, Carlo and Florentino made unnecessary and unreasonable risks to try and benefit the team. There is still hope though because if James proves the skill Madrid and her fans most desperately need, Real could once again be title contenders.


 

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