2017/2018 - Real Madrid Offseason Discussion

We always do this, control the game then concede a stupid goal. Now we'll be chasing the game watch

Carvajal has looked off today and in pre-season. Hopefully he fixes his play by Sunday.

Carvajals attack was good though but yeah his defending needs to return ASAP

To be fair, Rashford isn't exactly an easy footballer to mark. Good player, fast and has some skill with the ball. A nightmare for any full back to deal with especially playing in high humidity.

That being said, good win. I mirror the same sentiments ppl have with the likes of Benz and Bale so I shan't preach on about those 2 idiots. Isco was sublime, so was Casemiro. Ramos needs to remember he is neither Xabi or Xavi and should just play a normal pass. And as Freeza mentioned, I want someone to love me like Zidane loves Lucas.

Lucas getting through there was the biggest mix of emotions.

Went from Gravesen to Ronaldinho in 2 seconds.

You know, Benzema is 29. This is the prime of a footballer, the perfect balance of physicality and experience and you would swear he is 35 and on his last legs. Bale can't out run anyone and he never had the technical ability to out dribble people so he is just, well, there taking up space.

Sigh, for the 1st time in quite a while we actually have a functioning midfield with really good full backs and we are stuck with those 2. I know I said I won't preach about them but I lied. It's kinda frustrating as we literally can't do a thing about it except hope they come good.

Lmao I wish Asensio had scored there. Would've been the highlight of the game. Looking at the trophy celebration, there is so much more harmony under ZZ than it ever was under Mou/Benitez. I hope we continue to be successful under him. He gets this team like no other

Benzema is in his prime? the guy peaked at 19 at Lyon

Ramos attempted 12 longballs with only 5 reaching its intended target. Someone should tell him to leave those long balls to Kroos or Casemiro because he obviously sucks at them

Anyways next game up is Barca. Anyone else think we should rotate in this game? With the amount of games we have and with the quality of our bench it'll be a good idea to rotate players in this game.

I'd play this if I was ZZ

It took 6 months for Bale to understand that the while lines were for around the pitch. You guys remember when he used to run out of bounds with the ball for no reason every game?

Yeah I remember quite well. It took him some time to understand something most of us knew since we were children.

Its goinf to be fun watching Bale try and make run in behind 4 defenders all game and leaving the rest of the players wishing there was a forward to pass to. Most annoying thing about him tbh

Without Modric we can unleash Kovacic. I hope to God ZZ doesn't start the BBC

I genuinely doubt he would. Could have easily done it against Utd in a showcase match but he didn't take the bait.

Kovacic against Barcelona should be interesting though I'm sure he is gonna get a lesson in midfielding by Iniesta.

I expect Ceballos to start!

Fully expect Isco to be benched and BBC starting. Gotta stay true to awarding awful performances

Apparently, ZZ is planning on starting Theo and resting Marcelo. Squad rotation has already started. I like it

Squad list:



After Ceballos was left out against United, Llorente is left out from today's squad. It's going to be tough for these guys. I would've thought Llorente seeing as he is Casemiro's natural replacement would've been on the bench today considering the last time we had to take out Casemiro against Barca, we capitulised as we had no DM to put on. Mayoral also left out which is understandable and also most likely means that Ronaldo will start on the bench

Luca Zidane there and not Llorente

We always bring 3 keepers tbh, one is always cut just before the game. We have so many midfielders, it's going to be difficult to choose between them on who to cut

yeah i still don't know why you can't have your full squad on the bench, one of those rules i don't like

Labor law reasons.  Isn't important to Madrid but it is to the smaller teams and you can't make "big club" exceptions.  Clubs have to pay into players' pensions based on team sheet appearances.  You don't need to if they're in the stands. A lot of players also get "team sheet appearance bonuses" on smaller clubs, which allows clubs to take chances on more risky players. Further, clubs can also bring kids to practice and go through the whole game day routine for experience without have to carry the extra cost given they're not on the game sheet.

In short, there are a lot of good reasons for this.

You say that and Serie A allows up to 12 subs on the bench.

Different laws in Italy I'm sure or maybe the bigger clubs pay something to the smaller ones so that it works financially.  The worse is France lol.

If Spanish LFP wasn't such a cesspool maybe Madrid, Barca, etc. would consider paying into a pool paid to smaller clubs to allow for it.

This probably means Kovacic will be on the bench, to sub in for Casemiro imo

No Kovacic is starting

Kovacic is definitely starting. I thought Mayoral being cut was the biggest giveaway. It means we'll have one striker on the bench