Sportweek recenseert sinds enige tijd nieuw verschenen sportboeken. Ditmaal lag het boek ´De Koninklijke – Real Madrid van Di Stefano tot Van Nistelrooy´op het nachtkastje van de redactie. “Met brio verhaalt Castien over het economische, culturele, sociale en sportieve bolwerk, daarbij gebruikmakend van vele orale en geschreven bronnen.” Een 8. Lees zelf: http://www.sportweek.nl/voetbal/120118/Boekrecensie_de_fascinerende_historie_van_Real_Madrid

Em negrito – o jogador e o time que pretende contratá-lo
Em itálico – a posição e o time atual do atleta

A fonte do boato está linkada no nome do jogador

DEMOROU!

Liverpool – Van der Vaart (M-Real Madrid) – O time precisa de qualquer um que seja um pouco melhor que Riera, Benayoun, Babel, etc…

Real Madrid – Sagna (LD-Arsenal) - O setor defensivo do time espanhol precisa de mais opções para que os galáticos possam finalmente funcionar.

TANTO FAZ…

Arsenal – Mesut Ozil (M-Werder Bremen) - É bom jogador, mas vai ter pouco espaço no time inglês, tão recheado de meias talentosos.

Barcelona – David Silva (M-Valencia) - Ainda vai precisar provar que realmente pode jogar bem em um time gigante do futebol europeu.

Liverpool – Lass Diarra (V-Real Madrid) - O ideal seria uma volante com mais qualidade na saída de bola, mas ele pode roubar o lugar de Lucas e fazer uma dupla forte com Mascherano.

CAI FORA!

Arsenal – Maicosuel (M-Hoffenheim) – O time já tem outros atletas com características parecidas e o brasileiro ainda não se adaptou completamente ao futebol europeu.

Manchester City – Di María (M-Benfica) - Até pode vir a ser um jogador de destaque no futuro, mas não é o que o time precisa atualmente, longe disso.

Manchester United – Edin Dzeko (A-Wolfsburg) -  – Não é muito melhor que Berbatov e o time já tem Macheda como reserva do centroavante búlgaro.

NÃO ENXERGAM?

Gago (V-Real Madrid) – Não é um primor de qualidade, mas sabe jogar, tem certa experiência e está louco para sair da Espanha. O argentino pretende ir à Copa e não tem jogado comfrquência nos merengues.

Click on the thumbnails to see full size (Bấm vào hình nhỏ để xem hình lớn):

Il Real Madrid è stato eliminato in Coppa del Re dal modesto Alcorcon, squadra di serie C della periferia della capitale spagnola. All’andata due settimane fa, i ‘galacticos’ di Florentino Perez erano stati travolti per 4-0. Nella partita di ritorno il Real non è riuscito a segnare più di un gol, fermandosi sull’1-0, sotto i fischi del Santiago Bernabeu. L’unica rete al 35′ del secondo tempo è stata segnata da Van der Vaart. Nell’arrembaggio alla porta avversaria i madridisti hanno colpito tre pali.

Il general manager del Real Madrid Jorge Valdano conferma Pellegrini. Il dirigente sottolinea che la società ha “fiducia totale” nell’allenatore nonostante l’umiliante eliminazione in Coppa del Re da parte dell’Alcorcon.

El madridismo se había ilusionado con la remontada. Pensaba que el destino había reservado una noche histórica que diera sentido al desastre de Alcorcón. Llenó el estadio esperando una recompensa de sus jugadores y de su entrenador. Pellegrini reservó algunos jugadores, incluido Ramos, que podía haber jugado, pues la sanción no se aplica hasta que se reúna el Comité de Competición, lo cual ocurrirá el miércoles.

El chileno podía habérsela jugado con su once de gala, el mismo que salió en Milán y frente al Atlético, pero decidió sacar a Gago y Diarra, con Lass en el lateral derecho, a Kaká, Higuaín, Raúl y Van Nistelrooy. Es un once que debería ganar al Alcorcón sin problemas, pero no es el once ideal del Madrid, lo cual demuestra que su entrenador o no tenía fe o no se lo tomó en serio.

Una de las estrategias pasaba por marcar un gol rápido. No se cumplió. El primer y único tanto llegó en el minuto 82, obra de Van der Vaart. En la primera parte, nada de nada. Sólo un mano a mano de Van Nistelrooy con Juanma, que desbarató la ocasión. Y eso que se suponía que debían salir a morder…

Antes y después del gol, el Madrid dio tres largueros. Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart (invalidado por mano) e Higuaín. Fue lo más peligroso, pero todo insuficiente. Aunque hubiesen entrado esos tres disparos, el resultado habría sido inmerecido. El Alcorcón se ha ganado a pulso estar en los octavos de final. Hace quince días ridiculizando al Madrid y hoy desarticulando cualquier intento de remontada defendiendo sus principios de buen fútbol, justo lo que le falta a los blancos.

En un momento del partido, la grada entonó al unísono: “Pellegrini, dimisión”. Dimitir y destituir son sinónimos en este caso. No se espera que pase nada, pero Florentino ya ha oído el sentir del pueblo, que, por cierto, no opina igual que su presidente, para quien “no ganar ningún título este año no sería un fracaso”. Para el madridismo sí, y ya se ha esfumado uno.

Dura lex, sed lex. E la Spagna dovrà adeguarsi. Money, argent, soldi e dinero dal primo gennaio 2010 saranno un po’ più uguali di quanto la moneta unica, l’Euro, possa dire. E sì perché dal 2003 ad ora la legge per i club della Liga non è stata poi così “fiscale”. Roba da “ti piace vincere facile” per promuovere il prodotto calcio, per strappare i grandi campioni alle altre big d’Europa grazie alle tasse più docili imposte ai calciatori stranieri. Il peccato è stato consumato, il paradiso fiscale non più appetibile per società come Real Madrid e Barcellona che hanno avuto, in sei anni, l’occasione di portare a casa i calciatori più acclamati e di un certo appeal non solo calcistico, con introiti sicuri in termini di prestazioni sul campo, ed economico, che ha visto schizzare le entrare derivanti dal merchandising.

Almeno trenta calciatori avrebbero potuto scegliere di non giocare nella Liga, molti di essi sarebbero approdati in Premier, rimasti in Italia o esplorato altri orizzonti. Samuel, Cassano, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Emerson, Thuram, Rossi, Kakà, Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, solo per citare gli “scippi” dalla serie A. Per non contare le trattative intavolate dai club italiani per acquistare gente del calibro di Owen e Ronaldinho (all’epoca inseguiti dall’Inter), o Henry (che ha scelto il Barça scartando l’ipotesi Milan), sfumate per l’impossibilità di pareggiare almeno l’offerta, e tanti altri per i quali le società del nostro campionato hanno deciso di lasciar perdere.

Nel tempo, lo stesso Beckham, da cui la legge sulla tassazione agevolata ha preso il nome, ma anche i talenti emergenti del calcio argentino come Higuaìn (inseguito dalla Fiorentina) o Gago, ma ancora Marquez, i due Diarra, Hleb, Van der Vaart (che la Juve avrebbe voluto strappare all’Amburgo) e poi Benzema (per il quale Moratti avrebbe fatto un grosso sacrificio economico) . Un bel bottino, e pure in saldo, di cui la Liga si è giovata per aumentare lo spettacolo, per conquistare due Champions League (Barcellona 2005-06, 2008-09) e tre Coppe Uefa (Valencia 2003-04 e Siviglia 2005-06, 2006-07), per accaparrarsi il titolo di campionato più bello d’Europa. Una scorciatoia improvvisamente interrotta dall’imminente riforma, un’inversione di tendenza che permetterà di non considerare più “portoghesi” anche gli spagnoli.

Niente sciopero almeno per ora. I dirigenti dei club spagnoli di Liga hanno deciso oggi a Madrid di non prendere misure drastiche per il momento e di avviare prima una trattativa con il governo attraverso una ‘commissione del dialogo’ di cui fa parte il patron del Real Florentino Perez. Il 19 novembre è prevista una nuova riunione. Se la via della trattativa non avrà dato risultati, allora tornerà sul tappeto un possibile stop del campionato.

This guy!

& This Guy!

Let’s go kick some Inter ass, motherfuckers.

Otro dia no bar, o Vitor me perguntou se não achava legal postar uns assuntos tipo futebol…….agente concluiu que não, o Blog é ligado ao Surf, esportes radicais, atitude, comportamento, e música e um gol do Ronaldo não tem nada disso, na minha opinião.

Não que eu não assista, assisti hoje os 12 gols da goleada do Santos feminino (sereiasdavila.com.br) em cima de um timeco da bolivia que é de pirar…e olha que nem santista não sou……mas um desse não tem lógica postar do Blog…

Ainda usamos exemplo do filme da Pepsi feito com os jogadores surfando, ai tem a ver:

Hoje mudei de idéia, pois recebi um vídeo de futebol que vale a pena postar, mas não tem uma bola ou campo…]

Vitão: Vale postar de tudo????????

Agora, um cara saltando uma mega rampa, 171 pés com um carro vale postar, porque é uma manobra e mais radical que um aéreozinho no mar….

O mais loco???? É patrocinado pela DC do cara que é um dos bonzões da mega rampa, Danny Way…..

Pausa o filme exatamente aos 0:45 seg

Let’s start with the not so successful.

Lass and Benzema’s France team could only earn two draws, which was enough to bring them up into 2nd place in their group, but they still need to get points in October in order to be in the top 8 of 9 runners-up in the playoff round.  Also, Benzema who has been fantastic this summer did not start either game for Les Bleus, but Lass performed well in both, keeping with his recent string of much improved play.

Gago’s Argentina side lost two games, one to rival Brazil, and then to berth-clinching Paraguay.  Argentina drops to 5th place in ConMeBol which means they are poised to play against a team from CONCACAF for a spot in South Africa.

Van der Vaart appeared for already qualified Holland in their 1-0 win over Scotland.

Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal back into contention for the playoffs thanks to Real Madrid teammate Pepe’s header in the 9th minute which put them past Hungary 1-0.

Kaká continued his always amazing play while leading his Brazil side in a 3-1 victory over continental rivals Argentina.

To round off the international results, we move to Spain.  Albiol, Arbeloa, and Xabi Alonso proved key in the Spanish defense that helped Spain beat Estonia 3-0, earning Spain a spot in South Africa next summer, while also propelling Iker Casillas into the record books as the keeper to have the most clean sheets in a Spain jersey with 57.  Casillas surpasses Andoni Zubizarreta’s mark of 56 clean sheets.  With two more caps, Iker will become only the third player for La Roja to reach 100 appearances, the first two being Zubizarreta and Madrid Captain Raúl.

Who says only clubs are busy on trasnfer deadline days?

BBC Special Arsenal Page – Transfer Deadline Day
September 01, 2009

1200: No Activity at Arsenal.
Gooner: Come on Arsenal, five hours to go.

1250: No Activity at Arsenal.
Gooner: (Sweat)

1355: No Activity at Arsenal.
Gooner: Tell me something you lousy BBC.

1440: Senderos has been spotted with Eboue, rolling over each other on floor laughing their arses off. Reports claim that they are amused over the fact that how they ran the rumors when nobody ever wanted them.
Gooner: (snore)

1515: Security Guard outside Emirates has been seen sleeping.
Gooner: Go to training ground. Call Wenger. Talk to Pat. Check the stores and look if club has placed any orders for jerseys with new name. Do you have someone in Africa? I am checking Van Der Vaart and Matuidi on Twiiter.

1600: An arsenal insider reported that official Arsenal Camera man had applied for half-day leave and his leave has been sanctioned with no replacement.
Gooner: No additions, no cover-ups, broken legs, dislocated shoulders, hamstrings, back-pains, groin-pains, hair-pains, finger-pains, nail-pains, no wingers, diaby, eboue, own goals (cry)

1630: Arsenal is being linked with Gattuso in Italy.
Gooner: Grow up you pathetic bunch of journotards! I know you heard Ian Wright. I know Gattuso’s wife is Scottish. Fuck the Scottish FA. I am not gonna shave this news up my arse. Tell me the real thing otherwise i will break this screen off and shoot myself.

1649: News! Finally! ….its Voronin. The last link-up.
Gooner: Give up! Where is the gun?

—
Even God is a Gooner. Cheers!

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Por Yexx

Ayer se cerraba el mercado de fichajes en España sin ninguna sorpresa de gran magnitud (no, al final el amigo Ribéry se queda con Robben), aunque sí podríamos destacar un par de movimientos relacionados con el equipo blanco.

Por un lado, se cerró el traspaso del lateral Miguel Torres al Getafe por una cantidad que ronda los dos millones de euros, por el cual el jugador quedará vinculado a la entidad que preside Ángel Torres durante las próximas cinco temporadas, aunque el Real Madrid se guarda una opción de recompra (como ya hiciera con De la Red o Granero) durante los dos primeros años. El jugador pone así fin a su etapa como madridista tras tres temporadas en el equipo, siendo Fabio Capello en su última etapa el que le dio la oportunidad de debutar y asentarse como miembro de la primera plantilla. La llegada este año de Arbeloa le ha cerrado la puerta definitivamente.

Y en otro orden de cosas, podemis decir que son más destacables las noticias que al final no han llegado a darse, como noticias en sí, ya que no se han producido los traspasos de Van der Vaart ni de Ribéry. El caso del holandés es más raro, puesto que es un jugador que fue apartado desde un primer momento, y desde el inicio del verano se le buscaba una salida, pero al final parece que no han encontrado un destino para él y tendrá que quedarse y tratar de buscarse un hueco, aunque difícil lo va a tener. Y si hablamos del francés, pues sorprende mucho menos, ya que con la salida de Robben se abrió esa pequeña rendija de esperanza que a veces nos gusta ver, pero era una operación muy difícil y al final no se ha llevado a cabo.

Así las cosas, esta es la plantilla definitiva del Real Madrid 09/10:

1.- Casillas
2.- Arbeloa
3.- Pepe
4.- Sergio Ramos
5.- Gago
6.- Diarra
7.- Raúl
8.- Kaká
9.- Cristiano Ronaldo
10.- Lass
11.- Benzema
12.- Marcelo
14.- Guti
15.- Drenthe
17.- Van Nistelrooy
18.- Albiol
19.- Garay
20.- Higuaín
21.- Metzelder
22.- Xabi Alonso
23.- Van der Vaart
24.- Granero
25.- Dudek

Veremos de lo que son capaces Pellegrini y cía.

Med den nya säsongen igång, Madrid i en ny galacticos-era, Ibra i Barca, och Chelsea mot sin första Premier League titel på tre år känns det bra att köra igång UnoKryssDue igen. Tennissäsongen är inne i en slutspurt med årets sista grand slam och NFL börjar inom ett par veckor. Mycket fotboll, sport och spelobjekt att se fram emot under hösten alltså.

Jag har suttit på helspänn hela kvällen, framför datorn för att se om några sista transfers gjorts i mitt kära Madrid. Men det ser inte ut som det just nu. Van der Vaart har fått fortsatt förtroende efter ett möte med ‘hotshotsen’ i Real. Konstigt, för några veckor sen sa Pellegrini, som var med i dagens möte, att han inte räknade med VdV. Antar att han inte varit så het på marknaden. Samtidigt ser det inte ut som att Ribery drar från Bayern till Madrid, inte ens efter att Robben drog iväg åt motsatt håll förra veckan.

Great Success!

Under tiden jag satt och höll mig uppdaterad läste jag en artikel av Sid Lowe som skriver för The Guardian. Jag kunde inte undgå att tänka på hur perfekt han lyckas summerade Real Madrids debut. Lowe slänger även in lite trevlig trivia om de före detta, s.k. Original Galacticos (O.G’s ??), debuter iklädd i vitt.

“If you had to sum up the new Madrid’s first night in a phrase, their galácticos’ performance in two words, the best might just be “sort” and “of”. Or maybe “yeah” and “but”. Was Kaká impressive? Were Madrid? Sort of. Ronaldo was good, wasn’t he? Yeah, but …”

Sort of…

Eleven of Real Madrid’s first team players have been called up for international duty.  Casillas, Albiol, Arbeloa, and Xabi Alonso for Spain v Belgium then v Estonia.  Kaká will join Brazil for their friendlies away to Argentina (and teammate Gago), and home against Chile (Argentina’s 2nd is at Peru).  Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo travel with Portugal to Denmark then Hungary.  Lass and Benzema will represent France v Serbia and at Romania, while Rafeal Van der Vaart will help the Dutch team (the only team already qualified for South Africa) as they travel to Scotland.  All matches take place on Sept 5 and 9 respectively (Netherlands at Scotland Sept 9).

Meanwhile, captain Raúl will train with another record on the back of his mind, the title of top scorer in La Liga history.  The Madrid talisman is currently 5th with 224 goals.  The man at the top is Zarra with 251 goals, a number I expect Raúl to surpass sometime next season barring a miracle season.

With one day left in the Premier League transfer window and Spurs losing Huerelho Gomes, Ledley King and Luka Modric to injury, it seems ‘Arry Redknapp will have to dip in to the transfer market a couple of times today or tomorrow.

Unsurprisingly he is rumoured to be returning to his former club Portsmouth for Niko Kranjcar and David James in an £8m double-bid. Kranjcar is a very tidy attacking midfielder who could be the playmaker that Tottenham desperately need in the centre of midfield. I have concerns with Modric playing in a central pairing given his lack of ‘presence’.  This, however, doesn’t address the glaring problem the club still has on the left but I’ll get to that.

David James is a clown and sadly I think if he comes to Spurs then he’ll retain the “number one shirt” even after Gomes returns to fitness.  Gomes is by no means perfect but he has improved immeasurably in the last 12 months.  I think he’s undoubtedly a better keeper than James but he won’t get a fair crack of the whip under Redknapp who will guarantee James a first team place.  Cudicini has looked very shaky in his limited outings since his signing so there is no doubt that Tottenham do need someone.

I should be more positive about the move to sign Martin Petrov for £3.5m from Manchester City.  He’s a natural left-sided player and is regarded for his pace and crossing.  He would certainly be an improvement on our other left-sided options even if I’m not overly-impressed with his contribution in a City shirt since his 2007 move.  My enduring memory of him is the red card he received for kicking Leon Osman in a league defeat to Everton last year and he’s also had his fair share of injury problems.  Providing we don’t pay him what he gets at City (rumoured to be £70k per week which may have played a factor in him turning down Spurs two years ago) then it seems a good deal.

The club have just announced a “link up” with Brazilian club Internacional and it was hoped that it may have helped Spurs land midfielder Sandro.  The media, however, are reporting that the bid has been turned down and Sandro will remain with Internacional.  I’ve never seen him play but I’m reliably informed that he’s rather good even if he may not have been ready for first team action yet.

Rafael van der Vaart won’t be joining Spurs it seems.  A player of his quality would have been a hell of a capture for Redknapp but according to Sky Sports he will be retained following the departure from Real Madrid of Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben last week.

Summary:

Petrov: Looks most likely

Kranjcar: Would be a good buy

James: Likely if he’s first choice

Sandro: Seemingly not

van der Vaart: highly unlikely

Iata ca finalul perioadei de transferuri se coc… bombele de pe piata marketingului!

• Wesley Sneijder a semnat miercuri un contract cu Internazionale Milano. Dupa ce a fost curtat toata vara de “nerazzurri”, italienii au ajuns la un acord cu Real Madrid, semnand cu gruparea madrilena pe 5 ani, urmand sa incaseze 4 milioane anual. Din aceasta afacere, Real va incasa 15 milioane de euro.
• Van der Vaart, pe picior de plecare. Zvonul conform caruia olandezul nu mai e dorit pe “Bernabeu” a devenit oficial, astfel ca acesta isi cauta club de ceva timp. Printre echipele interesate se numara Arsenal si Liverpool.
• Un alt olandez, Arjen Robben, a semnat cu Bayern Munchen, club unde va purta tricoul cu numarul 11. Suma de transfer se ridica la 25 de milioane de euro, cu 11 milioane mai putin decat ceea ce a platit Realul lui Chelsea acum 2 ani.
• In urma acestor transferuri, Realul poate incasa suma cu care il poate achizitiona pe Franck Ribery, ceea ce ar fi o mutare geniala, deoarece in urma transferului lui Robben, postul de mijlocas de banda ramane oarecum descoperit. Probabil ca Ribery nu va ajunge tocmai in acest an competitional, se zvoneste ca ar fi semnat un pre-contract. Celebra vorba, ramane de vazut…
• Dmytro Chygrynskiy are cale deschisa catre Nou Camp! In conditiile in care Rinat Ahmetov a acceptat oferta fabuloasa de 25 de milioane de euro, fundasul in varsta de numai 22 de ani trebuie sa se inteleaga cu oficialii Barcei iar apoi sa ajunga in Catalunia.
• City a mai acazitionat 2 fotbalisti pe sume considerabile! Joleon Lescott, care pana acum cateva zile evolua la Everton, a aterizat in galaxia de vedete a seicilor de la Manchester City. Si pentru ce suma: 25 de milioane de lire sterline!!! Totodata, Sylvinho a mai semnat din postura de jucator liber de contract cu Manchester City, dupa ce a facut istorie la Barca ani buni. Contracul sau e valabil pe 1 an.
• Danciulescu, la Alicante! Al patrulea golgetter all-time al Ligii 1 pare ca s-a inteles cu formatia de liga a doua secunda Hercules, antrenata de fostul tehnician dinamovist Esteban Vigo. Suma de transfer – neinteresanta – 300.000 de euro.

The heart of any team is its midfield.  If the defense is constantly left stranded, it will eventually be overwhelmed.  Without receiving the ball in a good position, forwards cannot fire on goal.  The midfielders are the lifeline of any defense, and the pillars of strength in any offensive pressure.  While much of the criticism for last year’s Real Madrid fell on the defense, it must be said that their center line’s performance was well below what the names in it would have suggested it could be.  Most of Real’s off-season spending has been spent on the midfield, showing that Madrid agrees that this is where it needs the most help.  With so many big name signings, the names i give to be starters will probably not be surprising, but I will do it anyway.

Center Midfield- Xabi Alonso: It will be up to the ex-Liverpool man to support the defense as well as make the first moves towards creating attacks.  He is well suited for this task, as he always plays calm, collected, and very intelligent.  He has played very well this season when he has been on the field.  I think that it will only take a couple of games for him to settled into his role for good and create goals for everyone on the team.

Center Midfield- Guti: Sharing attack initiation responsibilities with Alonso will be Madrid vice-captain Guti.  The academy is a fan favorite.  He has proven himself capable of striking cleanly (Guti scored the 5,000th goal in Madrid history last term), and he is seen by his new teammates as a very intelligent passer.  It will be his responsibility to get the ball from the defenders up to Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Offensive Midfield- Kaká: I chose my words carefully here.  I used “offensive” instead of “attacking” because I believe, and this preseason has confirmed, that Kaká’s real strength lies in creating scoring chances for others by dribbling between lines and creating passing lanes.  It is this frightening creation ability that allows him to score on his own when defenders worry too much about where the ball is going as opposed to where it is.

Winger- Cristiano Ronaldo: Some people consider Ronaldo to be a forward.  I would argue that his role is more of a roving winger who plays on the flanks ahead of the midfield but behind the strikers, but is also more than capable of coming all the way forward.  The reason Kaká is an offensive not attacking midfielder is that he must stay in a position to get the ball to Cristiano as well as the forwards.  Cristiano can make runs down the side and cross and also receive the ball in the box and score.  His free-kicking ability makes him a must have on the field, and his speed and strength almost demand that he be allowed to find his own spaces.  While he hasn’t seemed to quite fit into his new home just yet, I think that playing a few games at the Bernabeú will be all he needs to get back to his Ballon d’Or form.

Others- Granero: The youngster seems to be the most complete of the non-starting midfielders.  He can pass, cross, take free-kicks (although better as passes than shots), and he can dribble.  He definitely has a bright future at Madrid, and Pellegrini will feel confident putting him in to replace anyone who is suspended, injured, or in need of rest.

Lassana Diarra: He has shown that he can perform suitably in the midfield as well as in defense.  He may not be a central figure, but if Real suffers anywhere near the amount of injuries they did last season (God forbid) he will be given a chance to show the club what he is capable of.

Mahamadou Diarra: Having just come back from injury, it is tough to tell where Diarra will fit into the grand scheme of things, but he has shown great promise in the past.

Fernando Gago: Gago has never quite seemed to live up to expectations at Real, and it was thought earlier that Atlético were interested in signing the Argentinian at all costs.  He is still young, and under proper guidance he could become the star everyone expected when he fist came to Spain.  Personally, I feel he would do best under a coach like Arsene Wenger who is known for nuturing young talent, however this may prove true of Pellegrini as well.  Unfortunately for Gago, Real has gone through four coaches in the last three years, a situation that hurts young, developing players more than anyone.

Rafael Van der Vaart: The youngster played very capably last season and this summer.  He has not been making headlines like many others, but he is still one of the better side midfielder choices on the team.  He is not exactly the game-winning type himself.  He plays more of a very solid, if quite role, although he is very capable of getting himself on the scoresheet.  He is another player that would start for many teams in Spain, but at Madrid he is a cog in the machine that is the capital club.