LA LIGA & REAL MADRID

[raul julia]

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next up for real is a la liga game away to Espanyol de Barcelona this sunday (monday am sa atoa).....hopefully they can bounce back from their defeat @ Lyon.......

[fingolfin]

crap. Loss to Celta and Lyon. Conceding a total of 6 goals. damn. that sucks. Seems like they havent adressed their defending problems. It's a very very very poor start.

[Von!-x]

Yep, yep, yep. very poor start. They will lose the respect of other top notch teams in europe if they continue playing like this.

[raul julia]

MADRID, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The superstitious among Real Madrid fans will be keeping their fingers crossed before Sunday's league match at Espanyol (kickoff 1800 GMT).
Last year the nine-times European champions went to Montjuic for the third league match of the season on the back of a 3-0 midweek defeat in the Champions League to Bayer Leverkusen.
Coach Jose Antonio Camacho watched his side lose 1-0 after an appalling performance and then decided to throw in the towel, apparently deciding his players were unmanageable.
Real head into the match against Espanyol this time around in even worse form.
They were fortunate to beat Primera Liga newcomers Cadiz 2-1 in the opening game of the season and lost 3-2 at home to another promoted side, Celta Vigo, last weekend.
They were then put to the sword 3-0 by Olympique Lyon in their opening Champions League match on Tuesday, September 13, Spain's equivalent to Friday the 13th.
With the club having spent almost 90 million euros ($110.5 million) on new signings in the close season, manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo has become the target for heavy criticism.
The former Santos coach has been condemned for his decision to play several of his key players out of position and for insisting the team adopts a Brazilian-style tactical formation without "extremos" (wingers).

CONGESTED MIDFIELD

His decision to move new signing Julio Baptista to an unaccustomed slot on the left and to play David Beckham in a narrow right position has congested the midfield and made it difficult for the club's powerful forward line to shine.
But the feisty Luxemburgo has no intention of following Camacho's example and walking away from the club.
"I'm certainly not going to throw out a system just because of what happened this week," he said. "I'm not going to change because people criticise it -- just take a look at my record and the trophies I've won."
Despite his comments, Luxemburgo may well include ball-playing midfielder Guti at the expense of the more destructive Thomas Gravesen, while the team will be boosted by the return of Ronaldo after the Brazilian missed the Lyon match through suspension.

[K|D]

No offense guys, but they better stop signing big names and start sacking some management. They should've built a complete team like chelsea and stop making an all star offensive team... casillas needs some help on defense... i miss the old madrid...

[Von!-x]

I wonder why REal focuses so much on big name players!

Marketing strategy perhaps! Why would they concede so many goals? Why can't they be like chelsea in terms of defending? Still wanting to be like south american football, attacking mode most of the time.

[raul julia]

on the brighter side, Barca also lost to Athletico Madrid, so their lead over Madrid remains @ 1pt

[BIG-oooh]

Not that they should stop signing big name players but start signing defensive players like NESTA or some Italian defenders. Offense alone will not win championship. The offense is crowded already.....
Woodgate and Helguerra are not dependable in the back line. A concrete example was their game with LYON where bad defending cost them the game...Helguerra in particular.....

[raul julia]

Raul and Robinho come to Real Madrid's rescue

MADRID, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A quick-fire double from captain Raul and a well-taken header by new signing Robinho allowed 10-man Real Madrid to fight back from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
England defender Jonathan Woodgate, however, had a miserable debut for the home team. He headed into his own net in the first half before being sent off midway through the second.
Real's first victory in three league outings pushed them into fifth place in the Primera Liga, three points behind leaders Celta Vigo and a point ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona.
The hosts showed little sign of improvement in the first period as they struggled to keep control of the ball and were hurried in attack.
Robinho managed an isolated shot on goal when he drilled a powerful strike against the post from outside the area after a neat back-heel from Raul in the seventh minute.
But without the injured Zinedine Zidane and with Thomas Gravesen and Pablo Garcia occupying the centre of midfield, Real lacked ideas and quickly surrendered the initiative to the visitors.
Things went from bad to worse midway through the half.
The injury-plagued Woodgate, playing his first competitive match in 17 months, tried to clear a dangerous cross from striker Joseba Etxeberria with a diving header but only succeeded in diverting the ball into his own net to give Bilbao the lead.
The former Newcastle United defender was lucky to stay on the pitch when he clattered into Carlos Gurpegi before the break, earning a yellow card.
Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo tried to solve his team's problems by sending Guti on in place of Gravesen at halftime and Real looked a different side with the Spaniard at the helm.
David Beckham whipped in a free kick from the left in the 53rd minute and Robinho got in front of a forest of defenders to head in at the near post.
Robinho's fellow Brazilian Ronaldo set up Raul for his first goal 12 minutes later, bursting through the defence before unselfishly laying the ball off for his skipper to score at the far post.
The unfortunate Woodgate, who left Newcastle for Madrid for a transfer fee close to 20 million euros ($24.42 million) in August 2004, received his marching orders after he picked up a second booking for a foul on Etxeberria.
Raul made certain of Real's win when he met a 69th-minute corner from Beckham with an expert glancing header that spun over the keeper and into the net.

[raul julia]

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Two second-half goals by Ronaldo on Sunday took Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over promoted Alaves and lifted it into second place in the Spanish league.
The Brazilian striker scored in the 60th minute at the Mendizorroza stadium when he pounced on a loose ball outside the penalty area and hit a fierce volley past goalkeeper Franco Costanzo.
Ronaldo, who had previously hit the post, doubled his tally 18 minutes later by seizing on a through ball from David Beckham to round Costanzo and slide the ball into an empty net.
Madrid, which was without injured Zinedine Zidane and suspended Jonathan Woodgate, rested Robinho ahead of Wednesday's home game with Olympiakos in the Champions League. The Brazil forward did appear as a substitute midway through the second half.
Robinho helped create Madrid's third goal in injury time - his blocked shot allowing midfielder Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez to run in and score.
"In the end the player with talent and quality is the one who makes the difference. But to win a game by three goals you need a hardworking team in which everyone battles together to make the difference and take three points," Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was quoted as saying by news agency Efe.