Times of reflection at Real Madrid, who apply the principle of ‘the more storm, the more calm‘. The elimination from the Champions League in the quarter-finals, which virtually condemns the team to a trophyless season, forces reflection and analysis, but always with restraint. “The season is not over yet,” they say.
It is clear that the analyses carried out through public opinion are also carried out internally at the club. Not only in a particular competition or match, but in the context of the overall performance this season, which still has seven official matches remaining. Many duels that can still provide relevant data for the final evaluation.
There are several main focuses. One of them is on Alvaro Arbeloa, on whom a decision will be made at the end of the team’s participation in La Liga. The overall assessment of the coach’s work is positive, taking into account circumstances such as the enormous accumulation of injuries at critical moments (up to 10 players have been injured, seven before the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against City), but the truth is that the measure of all Real Madrid coaches is titles. With the Copa del Rey and Champions League lost (the Spanish Super Cup goes down to Xabi Alonso), only a miracle in La Liga would save the situation. Logically, Madrid has alternatives, but among them are not, at least not yet, coaches such as Jürgen Klopp (the fans’ favorite in MARCA.com’s survey) or Didier Deschamps
A shorter template
Another objective is to lighten the squad. The idea is to have a group of around 22 first-team players and to complete it with youth players such as Thiago Pitarch or Joan Martinez. At Real Madrid, they believe that this season, despite the multitude of injuries, the squad has been too long, and this has led to some uncomfortable situations, with complaints from some players about their lack of prominence.
Some of these players have few options to continue. The clearest case is that of Alaba, whose contract expires in June, and Ceballos, who, although his contract expires in 2027, also looks set to leave. Rüdiger‘s contract also expires this summer, although the German has earned the option to stay. The most special case is that of Carvajal, who also finishes his contract on June 30. The club’s idea is to respect the will of the captain, who is an institution at the club and a member of the exclusive club of six-time European champions.
There are also players under contract who could leave. These are the cases of Camavinga and Asensio, above all, although Fran Garcia and Gonzalo could also be included in this group. The first two have been negative protagonists in recent weeks, in which the worst omens about the Madrid season have been confirmed.
360º analysis
In any case, the analysis being carried out by the club, which has not yet been completed, covers all members of the squad, including the heavyweights (Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham), who must continue to be the cornerstones of the project, along with players who have proved their worth and importance in recent campaigns, such as Courtois, Trent, Militao, Valverde, Tchouameni and Arda Guler, among others. Last summer’s signings such as Trent, Huijsen and Carreras also maintain their credit despite the poor collective season.
Read the full article here
