Real Madrid 2009-10
The New Galácticos
This Real Madrid article was written at the beginning of the 2009-10 season. Check out the Blog for up to date news and views.
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Just when it looked like Barcelona were getting the upper hand over Real Madrid in walks Florentino Pérez . . .
. . . and the Galácticos are back.
The hullabaloo surrounding the star signing - Cristiano Ronaldo for €94 million from Manchester United - was impressive.
75,000 madridistas packed into
the Bernabéu to hear that that the Portuguese pin-up was fulfilling a childhood dream.
But the Real Madrid dressing room is always a hotbed and the new icon has been forced to change his CR7 trademark for CR9.
This puts a bit of a spanner in the works for Florentino's claim that the club will make the money back on shirt sales.
If I remember rightly a certain Ronaldo Nazario also
played in the Number 9 shirt only a few seasons ago.
So if you followed the Galácticos Mark One, it's well-worth rooting around in the wardrobe to see if you've got an old Ronaldo 9 stuck at the back of a draw.
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Real Madrid
Club de Fútbol
1902
Santiago Bernabéu
C/ Concha Espina, 1
28036 Madrid
www.realmadrid.com
City
Madrid
Region
Comunidad de Madrid
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Real Madrid Squad 2009-10
Coach: Manuel Pellegrini
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With so many signings, there are inevitably a lot of question marks regarding Manuel Pelligrini's starting line-up and how this will eventually evolve into
a relatively predictable first eleven.
As probably the best goalkeeper in the world, the sublime Iker Casillas is a guaranteed Number One - shirt and position.
Marcelo, Metzelder, Ramos, Arbeloa, Pepe, Garay and Albiol - a lot of names for the Back Four.
I've also got my doubts about Sergio Ramos. His game went off the boil last season with a couple of mardy outbursts included and he wasn't much better during
the Confederations Cup. So the jury is out on the Sevillano at the moment and could well come out in favour of Ruben de la Red.
I think Pepe and Albiol are likely to play but as regards the rest of the defence, your guess is as good as mine.
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1.
Iker Casillas (Goalkeeper)
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2.
Arbeloa (Defender)
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3.
Pepe (Defender)
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4.
Sergio Ramos (Defender)
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5.
Fernando Gago (Midfield)
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6.
Mahmoud Diarra (Midfield)
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7.
Raúl Gonzalez (Forward)
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8.
Kaká (Midfield)
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9.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Forward)
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10.
Lass Diarra (Midfield)
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11.
Benzema (Forward)
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12.
Marcelo (Defender)
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13.
Dudek (Goalkeeper)
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14.
Guti (Midfield)
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15.
Royston Drenthe (Midfield)
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17.
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Forward)
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18.
Raúl Albiol (Defender)
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19.
Garay (Defender)
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20.
Gonzalo Higuaín (Forward)
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21.
Christoph Metzelder (Defender)
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22.
Xabi Alonso (Midfield)
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23.
Rafael van der Vaart (Midfield)
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24.
Granero (Midfield)
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In midfield, Pelligrini's options are quite simply mind-boggling but the signing Xabi Alonso
from Liverpool suggests that the Basque will be the motor of this new Madrid alongside Kaká and Lass Diarra.
Gago, Mahmoud Diarra, Guti, Granero, Drenthe and Van der Vaart will be fighting over the other place.
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Raúl Gonzalez Blanco is the Captain of Captains and a symbol of madridismo. Whether Pellegrini likes it or not, he has got to play at least until
Christmas.
As Raúl has always been more dangerous when coming from behind the attack, he could work well in a flexible midfield.
For this reason, chopping and changing between a two and three-man attack depending on the circumstances makes a lot of sense.
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Given the amount of money Florentino's spent, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are likely to be the regular pair up front but Higuaín has got a lot of spirit and will be vying for a place in the starting
line-up.
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This Madrid is obviously a very exciting proposition but at the moment both Florentino and Pellegrini have got their work cut out to build a well-balanced side.
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*
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Phil Ball's White Storm: The Story of Real Madrid is is a most wonderfull insight into more than a century of madridismo.
Ball provides a superb outline of the cultural, social and
political background of Real Madrid along with plenty of gems for fans.
Wonderful descriptions of famous games - the 7-3 European Cup Final win over Frankfurt, for example - great
player bios -most notably Alfredo Di Stefano and Raul.
The balance is perfect and every
story leaves you wanting to know even more about the worlds greatest club - whether you love them or hate them!
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