A spoon of tar
Solidity and self-confidence - the eternal companions of Capello in any segment of his brilliant career - took hypertrophied forms in the capital of Spain. The Italian maestro sincerely believed that in such a peculiar and original institution as Real, you can apply previously proven algorithms for achieving the result.
As before, Capello gave the club president - in this case, Ramon Calderon - a short list of players whose acquisition was one of the main conditions for his consent to lead the team. There is nothing to complain about here. It is understandable that Don Fabio's impressive accomplishments of the past years have earned him a “royal” approach.
It's not even that Calderon has already spent 103 million euros to satisfy the transfer lusts of Capello and Predrag Miyatovic. It doesn’t matter - Florentino Perez spent 113 in his first year!
The problem seems to be different. At the end of the year, at one of the press conferences, Capello put forward the following version as another justification for unpretentious results: in the summer it was very difficult to acquire exactly those players who you wanted. Say, they looked at Cesc Fabregas, but I had to - I had to! - Take Mamada Diarra for 26 million euros. And also the 31-year-old Emerson for 11.5 - but this is rather according to tradition.
In this connection, the following idea arises: Sevilla, after all, probably would not have refused the Spanish midfielder of Arsenal. Can you imagine how great the duet of Cesca and Renato would have looked in the center of the field? But only, having counted the finances, at the headquarters of the owner of the UEFA Cup, they reasonably reasoned that it would be more appropriate to modestly sign a free agent, Poulsen. The Dane quickly adapted and became one of the best defensive midfielder examples. And now, Juande Ramos is not at all inclined to explain a slight deterioration in the results of poor summer selection.
The phrase about Fabregas is just a detail, a quote. However, she says a lot. Great trainers seem to have grandiose excuses. Grandiose in absurdity ... After the debut match of the Argentine Gago, bought for 20.5 million, Capello offered to be patient and with interest to follow the inevitable growth of a young opornik. But why, one wonders, in the middle of the season it was urgent to acquire and immediately put in the starting lineup of a 20-year-old midfielder, who, at least because of his age, is not yet ready to perform stably at such a level and such a responsible position?
Work for the future? No doubt, it’s a good thing. But was Capello called to Madrid to unleash the potential of young talents? Isn’t he famous, first of all, for his ability to give a quick one hundred percent result? Namely, it is necessary for the fans of the royal club, who are hungry for great victories. They would be quite happy for Fer Gago, a wonderful support midfielder, to fill up cones in Zaragoza or Villarreal, and then, gaining experience, he would move to Real Madrid.
By the way, an involuntary mockery of Capello was the game of Gago in subsequent matches. As if disowning the coaching words about the inevitable adaptation period, Fer gave out some decent games in which he reminded himself of a Bokahunior model. However, due to the reasons mentioned, Gago could not continue in the same vein.
And in 96, having headed Real for the first time, Capello also demanded expensive purchases from the then club boss Lorenzo Sansa. Then 50.6 million were a fantastic amount. Miyatovich, Shuker, Roberto Carlos, Panucci, Seedorf - they all came to the court and unceremoniously won the league title. It is logical that Capello hoped to repeat the same trick, but in ten years something has changed in Spanish football. Don Fabio, apparently, was not in the know.
A spoon of honey
However, not everything is gloomy in the kingdom of Madrid. Take, for example, the surprisingly successful debuts of Canterano (a student of the club school) Miguel Torres and Argentinean Gonzalo Higuain. The Latin American is now, perhaps, the only one in the Madrid attack, from whom the real threat emanates and to whom you will not express the slightest complaints. But I want to talk more about Torres.
Judging objectively, it turns out that in “Real” after 1999, when Iker Casillas appeared in the goal, the pupils of the club did not become solid players of the main team. Meticulous connoisseurs of real history will probably disagree and shoot a burst of names: Pavon, Raul Bravo, Portillo, Mejia.
However, I will insist that all of them appeared in the team from hopelessness within the framework of the absurd "policy of Zidanov and Pavonov", the negative consequences of which are affecting today. All of them weakened to a greater extent than harmoniously complemented the team. As a result, no one became a stable “start” player.
The case of Miguel Torres is another. This guy promises to break the insulting tradition that kanteranos serve to plug holes. At the beginning of the year, Capello was in a difficult situation. Not only both extreme defenders were injured, but both of their understudies! It is not possible to recall another precedent in world football history. There was no way out, the Italian recalled young Miguel Torres from Castilla, and he pleasantly surprised him with his successful debut.
Then it turned out that the guy was also a station wagon. Michel Salgado recovered - Torres calmly moved to the left flank. And again he looked reliable in defense and aggressive in attack. It seems that in the summer, Roberto Carlos can safely retire.
In summer, a major restructuring is planned in Madrid. Who is destined to carry it out is unknown. Perhaps Calderon will withstand the growing press day by day and leave Capello at the helm. Although, for example, Florentino Perez at one time did not endure the dismissal of Vanderdey Lusemburg in fact in one match, lost to Barca in his field.
Capello Catalans in Madrid beat. Apparently, this is the only thing that helps the president of Real Madrid not to fulfill the persistent requests of the fans.