They squeezed every last drop out of that golden generation they had, but it should now be time for them to move on from Kroos, Modric and Benzema, plenty of young talent there with Jude to come, and they will always buy the best they can get.
Real Madrid 2022-2023 edition
- Thread starter Suedesi
- Start date
Mbappe and Bellingham incoming.
Watching them get annihilated in UCL was surreal. Amazing to watch, but lots of young talent to build with.
Today was amazing though.
Today was amazing though.
They need to fix their non-existent right side first.
Loan them Amad.
Bad time for everyone to drop their worst performance of the season.
Mbappe stays where he is.
As soon as Modric, Kross and Benzema leave, Real Madrid will have a very young squad in midfield and attack. Maybe that can penalize them one or 2 season.
it was obvious in the first leg Modric struggled but Kroos has still got it for another year I mo. Think they got lucky numbers wise at the start of the season that Casemiro wanted to leave as they had too many in there, they’ll have to push one out this time for Bellingham, don’t think they will though
That was a pretty terrible way to approach a match against city. They're very good and they'll make great teams look weak but Real made it way too easy. So lacking in energy, workrate and sharpness. Way too passive. You cant match them in talent, you really, really need to at a minimum match their workrate to beat them.
Ancelotti to be sacked now? Ridiculously harsh but it wouldn't surprise me with them lot.
This defeat should first and foremost seal Carlo Ancelotti's fate. He's done very well in his return with six trophies but I feel Real have been underperforming collectively under him, and despite their success, haven't played the best football for a while now, even before his return.
You can't rely forever on your best players heroics in a team sport.
It might be time for them to hire a Pep or a Klopp and enter a new chapter.
You can't rely forever on your best players heroics in a team sport.
It might be time for them to hire a Pep or a Klopp and enter a new chapter.
I really did think Madrid's overall Champions League aura would ultimately count but honestly, they've been rubbish for most of this season so its not altogether that surprising to see how they went out. There's a reason they're 14 points behind Barcelona.
Unfortunately I was right on this.
I think Ancelotti has to go. It's been a good two years but I think a change will come in handy.
The defeat was too resounding to consider something different. Besides, even if they have their heads in Europe, they can't wander around la liga leaving it on a plate to Barcelona, they have competed badly and have left everything in the hands of one game.
As for signings, I think a decent striker to compete with Benzema is necessary, but more than a striker, or a midfielder, they should know what role the coach is going to give to certain players next year, or if in the most decisive game we are going to go with Karim, Kroos and Modric.
The defeat was too resounding to consider something different. Besides, even if they have their heads in Europe, they can't wander around la liga leaving it on a plate to Barcelona, they have competed badly and have left everything in the hands of one game.
As for signings, I think a decent striker to compete with Benzema is necessary, but more than a striker, or a midfielder, they should know what role the coach is going to give to certain players next year, or if in the most decisive game we are going to go with Karim, Kroos and Modric.
Was the Casmerio fee worth it for them...
Whats the deal with all their left backs, Is Mendy injured again? Or just not fit enough. Camavinga did ok last time out but got absolutely roasted tonight. I think Pep pushing KDB wider and Vini Jr not offering a bit of help saw him get hammered, He was game but Bernardo toasted him.
In general it looked like a team who'd come to the end of the road and being mentality monster can only get you so far. Lacked a real dm without Casemiro, lack of legs in midfield from Kroos and Modric. Carvajal looks like he's really struggling and the front 3 is hard to judge cause they barely got the ball.
They have quite a bunch of great young players to step up, is this the end of those other legends?
In general it looked like a team who'd come to the end of the road and being mentality monster can only get you so far. Lacked a real dm without Casemiro, lack of legs in midfield from Kroos and Modric. Carvajal looks like he's really struggling and the front 3 is hard to judge cause they barely got the ball.
They have quite a bunch of great young players to step up, is this the end of those other legends?
True, and this is a Barcelona side who amounted to nothing in Europe all season.
A pretty weak year for La Liga.
It's probably a weak year altogether for club football. Lots of teams in transition.
He will resigned rather be sacked I guess.
He is known to be knockout competition manager if he can't deliver the UCL, he has to go.
Real Madrid has always heavily favor UCL over La Liga.
I remembered Del Bosque contract was not renewed back then even though he won Real Madrid a la liga title but no UCL.
4 starters? Uh?
What were Real supposed to do? They started the game like they did at home, absorb some of the pressure 10-20 minutes and with passing time, try to counter and keep the ball as the match goes on. There were mistakes in defense for the first 2 goals, they couldn't play toe to toe with City at this moment.
I don't think the approach was bad, rather the execution.
Why was Rudiger on the bench? He did well last week. Also, Camavinga as a full back just isn't it.
He's no Caicedo!
Probably be pragmatic and prey on City`s weaknesses. Main one being mental liability. I bet Pep was thrilled when he saw what Carlo "prepared". Probably died of laughter also.
That being said. Formation / system wise, it should have been 4 man midfield with two forwards upfront. Sit deeper and compact and when winning possession of the ball, use fast break attacks and counters. Player wise. Alaba should have played LB. Rudiger should have started. Touchu and Camavinga should have played as double pivot, with Valverde playing wide midfielder. The only question being who should be fourth one. Usually Modrić. But given he was recently injured and probably still not being anywhere near 100%, i would have opted for Ceballos. Upfront, Vini and Rodrygo.
Decisions such as going with three forwards. Thinking that two geriatrics and comatose Valverde, will answer City. Also playing LB as CB and CM as LB, and benching best CB of the previous game who pocketed Haaland... I mean. That is not just an amateur hour, but completely inexplicable for a mediocre coach let alone top one. Basically it is as if Theoden and Aragorn would put their troops ( archers ) in front of Helms deep walls, to face 10k orcs.
Step one: sack Carlo.
Step two: quality coach with capacity to say goodbye to "amigos".
Step three: left back - Miguel for "free", RB - absolutely crucial position. CM - Bellingham, RW - i would gladly take Bernardo Silva. Striker. I would also consider CB - Gvardiol, considering Militao is to brainfarty for my taste.
They shouldn't have won last year, it was a ridiculous year and performance and the squad stalwarts look spent. Benzema, Modric, Kroos, Carvahal et al
But what a run since 2013. Ten years, five UCLs, couple of semi finals?
Historic legacy tbh
Yeah, silly from Acnelotti to bench him after a great game at home.
What Madrid needs is this so called Ancelotti-Zidane cycle to end. It lasts already 9 years with brief interruptions - the Benitez and Lopetegui 6 months spells. New approach is needed and of course new leaders..the Benzema-Modric-Kroos era is at its end.
I'm frustrated with Madrid like I am with all the bigger clubs outside of City and Liverpool.
They all seem to be making really hard work of building a fully rounded, cohesive team. It really shouldn't be this difficult with the advantages they have.
They all seem to be making really hard work of building a fully rounded, cohesive team. It really shouldn't be this difficult with the advantages they have.
Probably this Carlo guy is a noob who never managed a CL game before, nevermind winning one.Probably be pragmatic and prey on City`s weaknesses. Main one being mental liability. I bet Pep was thrilled when he saw what Carlo "prepared". Probably died of laughter also.
That being said. Formation / system wise, it should have been 4 man midfield with two forwards upfront. Sit deeper and compact and when winning possession of the ball, use fast break attacks and counters. Player wise. Alaba should have played LB. Rudiger should have started. Touchu and Camavinga should have played as double pivot, with Valverde playing wide midfielder. The only question being who should be fourth one. Usually Modrić. But given he was recently injured and probably still not being anywhere near 100%, i would have opted for Ceballos. Upfront, Vini and Rodrygo.
Decisions such as going with three forwards. Thinking that two geriatrics and comatose Valverde, will answer City. Also playing LB as CB and CM as LB, and benching best CB of the previous game who pocketed Haaland... I mean. That is not just an amateur hour, but completely inexplicable for a mediocre coach let alone top one. Basically it is as if Theoden and Aragorn would put their troops ( archers ) in front of Helms deep walls, to face 10k orcs.
Step one: sack Carlo.
Step two: quality coach with capacity to say goodbye to "amigos".
Step three: left back - Miguel for "free", RB - absolutely crucial position. CM - Bellingham, RW - i would gladly take Bernardo Silva. Striker. I would also consider CB - Gvardiol, considering Militao is to brainfarty for my taste.
Come on, things aren't that simple in real life.
First of all City doesn't have any weaknesses at the moment, they play their best football and it's a mountain to climb to beat them. You say mental liability? They lost their last game in February, they are 3 small steps to winning the treble, mentally they are as strong as possible.
Real sat deep, they had all their players inside 30m for the first 2 goals, but they just couldn't cope with City's pressing, player movement and fast passing.
Not playing Rudiger was a mistake but benching Kroos, Modric and Benzema for a CL semi-final would of been mental.
Carlo being CL goat is irrelevant per 2022/2023. His league campaign was atrocious. His decisions yesterday even more so. It is that simple. City being dispatched on a regular basis in CL by basically anybody with 5 minutes on their time and losing a finale against Chelsea, despite being absolutely packed with quality. Quite self-explanatory.
Sure it would be. In 2015. Not in 2023. Vs. City. At home. Planning to do a blietzkrieg. Playing with three mids by fielding both Kroos and Modrić alongside that defense, to answer highly dynamic City. That is mental.
Four man midfield - with dynamic players - which Real has. With Rudiger as CB and Alaba playing LB. Forming two compact lines, supported with two forwards. I doubt it would be enough to win, but at least they would battle it out, and lose by much smaller margin.
I mean give me „only“ 1 or 2 CL titles and I will happily take 5 more 4-0 trashings if needed in exchange.
Madrid will probably suffer for a year or so especially if they still keep playing their old players. But after that they will be fine again.
Madrid will probably suffer for a year or so especially if they still keep playing their old players. But after that they will be fine again.
Yeah they remind me of SAF last years when we challenged in Europe. We had an ageing midfielders but somehow pulled through to the finals in CL and were challenging in the league. But both we back then and Madrid now waited too long to replace that golden generation.
Who should they have replaced Modric/Kroos with, and when?
On paper, they’ve actually done a pretty decent job of replacing Modric/Kroos/Casemiro.
Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde and possibly Bellingham is a very good set of young midfielders. They have Ceballos too for depth. You can’t just go and buy the next Modric and Kroos when they hit 30. Midfielders in that bracket are few and far between.
I do think Ancelotti should have avoided playing both together at the same time though.
It's a sad day but 11/13 semifinals and 5 UCLs in 10 years or so is something to think about and be grateful for.
I love Ancelotti, but I've seen the same errors these last two years as in 14/15. Playing always the same 11(not much depth in our bench, not entirely his fault), crucial players are exhausted and now most of them are well over 30. Late changes in most games. The team seems to have a lack of tactical concepts, I mean, when the worse teams in la liga create you so many chances because of defensive errors, something isn't working. Madrid can't apply high pressure even with all the young physical players on the pitch and can't do anything against teams that park the bus, we have seen Madrid face the same issues these two seasons.
Modric and Kroos can't hold a midfield together, they need a defensive midfield to help them hold it(Tchouameni has been lost since coming back from the world cup). Valverde has been disappointing lately and Camavinga has been playing left back, a waste of talent.
The sad part is there's not much quality available in the market apart from Halaand and Mbappe and they aren't moving. Paying 150M for Bellingham would be mad, haven't seen anything that suggests we should consider paying more than 80M for him and Madrid needs a few signings.
Last year's champions league delayed the start of a needed rebuild. Madrid needs to replace Mendy and Carvajal, mainly because they miss a lot of matches due to injuries, need a RW urgently and a 9. Give Hazard the boot or try to lease him to some team, the most unprofessional player I have seen, what a disgrace, I don't want to even see him on the bench.
I can't deal with another season of Ancelotti playing Modric, Kroos and Benzema every minute until they implode.
I love Ancelotti, but I've seen the same errors these last two years as in 14/15. Playing always the same 11(not much depth in our bench, not entirely his fault), crucial players are exhausted and now most of them are well over 30. Late changes in most games. The team seems to have a lack of tactical concepts, I mean, when the worse teams in la liga create you so many chances because of defensive errors, something isn't working. Madrid can't apply high pressure even with all the young physical players on the pitch and can't do anything against teams that park the bus, we have seen Madrid face the same issues these two seasons.
Modric and Kroos can't hold a midfield together, they need a defensive midfield to help them hold it(Tchouameni has been lost since coming back from the world cup). Valverde has been disappointing lately and Camavinga has been playing left back, a waste of talent.
The sad part is there's not much quality available in the market apart from Halaand and Mbappe and they aren't moving. Paying 150M for Bellingham would be mad, haven't seen anything that suggests we should consider paying more than 80M for him and Madrid needs a few signings.
Last year's champions league delayed the start of a needed rebuild. Madrid needs to replace Mendy and Carvajal, mainly because they miss a lot of matches due to injuries, need a RW urgently and a 9. Give Hazard the boot or try to lease him to some team, the most unprofessional player I have seen, what a disgrace, I don't want to even see him on the bench.
I can't deal with another season of Ancelotti playing Modric, Kroos and Benzema every minute until they implode.
am guessing, Jose is checking if he needs a visa to get into Spain!
Real Madrid will only takes 1 or 2 season for rebuild. Manager can come and go but the core players will still be there to bring success to the club.
Unlike us, we are always in rebuild for the last 10 years and the rebuild was always depended on the particular manager.
Unlike us, we are always in rebuild for the last 10 years and the rebuild was always depended on the particular manager.
They finished so far behind Barca in La Liga that’s probably what’s going to seal it.
They've already rebuilt really. Camavinga and Tchouameni in midfield would go a long way. Good selection of centre backs, good keeper. Buy a full back and striker and they'll be fine. They dont need to beat city over a league campaign, it'll be one off games and their first team isn't that far off, terrible performance aside.
We need a right wingback, desperately, for years now, and we still won't sign one 
Bellingham, a Benzema backup and Fran Garcia will be it...which fair enough, but please please please get a right back too
Also Asensio and Ceballos contracts to figure out. I'd keep both honestly
Bellingham, a Benzema backup and Fran Garcia will be it...which fair enough, but please please please get a right back too
Also Asensio and Ceballos contracts to figure out. I'd keep both honestly