The "Real" Headache. | burgundy's Blog

Now that the glorious Euro has reached it's most illustrious conclusion, time to brush up on the Real chatter a bit. I had friends, Spanish ones, that watched the Euro Final at the Brandenburg gate in Berlin - they said it was great and also sad that the German fans simply did not know what hit them. Aupa!

To the issue at hand. Do you want to know how a back-to-back Liga champion team can drive it's fans crazy (other than by doing jack-squat in Copa del Rey and Champions League matches) during the summer? Check it out.

Right now, if one wants to beleive the scandal-sheets, Real is working on a way to come up with 100M in order to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo. Why?

Here is the Real Madrid roster as it stands right now. I've highlighted those players that have a substantial international reputation.

GK - Casillas in goal and Dudek and Codina as backups.

DF- Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Marcelo, Miguel Torres, Salgado, Gabriel Heinze, Metzelder

MF- Diarra, Gago, Robben, Guti, Drenthe, Baptista, Sneijder, De La Red

FW- Higuain, Raul, Ruud, Robinho, Saviola

Now I fully expect that Higuain and Heinze both will explode this season but as of yet, they are still Real Madrid's secret weapons to cherish. Regardless, bear in mind that Real has just shipped out yet another quality Spanish midfielder, Esteban Granero, to Getafe and they are about to do the same with De La Red (EPL or Sevilla being the latest destinations), while Dani Parejo still plays for RM Castilla and attracts the unwanted attention of a certain French coach in the EPL who is known to have an eye for young talent. If all of that wasn't aggravating enough, to lose canterano players of that quality without ever seeing them on the field as merengues is as annoying as rush-hour traffic. This is not the real reason though. This is life for the Real Madrid fan.

Specifically, once again, Real management is missing out on quality players like Ronaldinho simply because Mijatovic has his head in the sand or cannot see the forrest for the trees.

This same team, who not six months ago was reportedly looking for some bank loans, is willing to cough up 85 million euros for the rights to Cristiano Ronaldo, sits idly by and doesn't even consider dropping 30 million on a 28 year old brazilian genius that would fit in perfectly in this locker room and would be an immediate benefit to this team? Understandably, a lot of people frown on this sort of thing - Figo, Saviola etc. etc - but, the issue is that Real didn't even consider it. They didn't even dwell on it. Barcelona doesn't want him. He is coming off at 30 million euros, he has more CL and Liga experience than he has horse-teeth, and he is the perfect fit for this team.

Nada.

Not even an on-line, blogged, hint from Marca, Gazzetto dello Sport, As, or even Paris Match. I feel like Charleton Heston sometimes, shouting the absolute truth with no one to hear it (Soylent Green is people!).

This is the anguish that they put upon their fans, worldwide, every year. They miss out on the chance to get more, for less, and be creative instead of doing the obvious. I am not, certainly, knocking Cristiano Ronaldo as a player. However, Real Madrid are set to pay Manchester United a minimum of 85 million euros, for one player, who has just had surgery on his ankle and who somehow feels that Old Trafford is lacking in some degree?

Are you freaking kidding me?

At the same time, they are completely ignoring a major player, for less than half of Real's offer (85M) and two-thirds less than Manchester's reported asking price (100M), that has been rejected by his club, Real's staunchest rivals, and who is only a month's worth of quality training and fitness away from being match-fit.

This is why Real Madrid fans, even though fans of the best club team in the history of the game, go absolutely crazy during the summer months. The people that run the show have no earthly clue as to what they are doing.