Posted on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 by Suminder Sandhu
Yesterday, commenting on Barca’s opening day stroll versus Racing, I said Pep Guardiola’s squad was balanced (although still one or two reliable players away from ‘ideal’). Mourinho’s Madrid squad, however, has a definite imbalance: too many midfielders.
The midfield was (nearly) as expected for a complex away tie against Mallorca – Diarra/Alonso/di Maria/Canales/Ronaldo. I say complex because last year the islanders’ boasted the best home record aside from Barca and Madrid (15 wins at home, only losing to the top two in the league) but with administration costing them a European place, a host of changes in personnel, and now being led by Michael Laudrup, it’s hardly the same Mallorca as last year. Still, a habit is a habit, and they’re not used to losing at home in recent times so it remained a not-so-straightforward opening day fixture for Mourinho.
Shifting Ramos to the centre alongside the accomplished Carvalho has meant the only positions on the pitch without any real cover is at full back on either flank; whilst Arbeloa is consistent he will be undone by a good winger and Marcelo is still learning the position. Aside from those two there aren’t a host of options to choose from (Drenthe’s loan to Alicante has been confirmed, which is a bit of a shame for his Real career considering the attributes he possesses). The midfield of the expected 4-2-3-1 saw Alonso looking to link play and Diarra providing the destructive shield for the back four with Ronaldo on the right (though inevitably given license to roam), di Maria on the left and Canales behind Higuain. Canales’s inclusion is a nod to his undoubted talents – only 19 yet Mourinho still chose to field him away from home for his competitive debut. There were a few raised eyebrows at Ozil and Khedira’s exclusion but, rationally, there was no way they could start; both new signings, both very young and both without any experience in La Liga.
The problems experienced at Mallorca shouldn’t surprise anyone; disjointed, lacking cohesion, and markedly disorganised when out of possession. But it’s a new regime and the team requires at least a month before they understand exactly what the new manager expects from them. Much like last year, Ronaldo looked the only source of inspiration for a Madrid team lacking incisive play in the final third. But, again, not too much should be made of the performance at such an early stage – an international tournament staggered his players’ returns, he’s had less than 10 training sessions with all of his new signings involved, and both Khedira and Ozil don’t speak a word of Spanish yet…so patience is a very sensible virtue for Madridistas at the moment.
What is worth noting is how much better the team played when Ozil and, especially, Khedira were introduced. Khedira partnered Alonso in the centre and Diarra moved to right back (a shout out to anyone who used the Frenchman at right back on Championship Manager!). Khedira provides the destructive qualities and energy of Diarra but, crucially, offers a composed forward threat (much like Ballack in his prime) – a couple of late surges into the box highlight his proclivity to help his team at both ends of the pitch. Diarra – though he probably won’t like it – may find himself playing at right back a little more often.
I was also eagerly anticipating the appearance of Karim Benzema; if anyone needs the man management skills of Mourinho it is the young Frenchman. But, as Mourinho quipped, it doesn’t matter how late he organises training because Benzema will still be ‘asleep’. His first appearance of the season saw a hapless impersonator of the outrageous talent we saw in Ligue 1 (and this is coming from one of his most stubborn defenders). However, as is the case for the whole team, given some time I think some we may see the Karim Benzema of old. I hope…
Deciding on his best XI may take a few more weeks but I would be surprised if Khedira does not feature prominently alongside Alonso. Another interesting factor is that Mourinho has employed a system utilising wingers yet the likes of Ozil, Canales, and Ronaldo are not out and out wingers. The squad imbalance is undoubted and leaves a lot of interesting questions to be answered regarding Mourinho’s best midfield; my head is telling me Ozil and Canales will need to battle it out for the spot behind Higuain, but I would love to see the both of them start and interchange between the left side and central positions during a game – and this is all discounting the injured Kaka!
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Tags: Andel di Maria, Jose Mourinho, Kaka, Mallorca, Mesut Ozil, Michael Laudrup, Pep Guardiola, Sami Khedira, Sergio Canales, Xabi Alonso
Posted in Blogs, La Liga | Comments (2)
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September 2nd, 2010 at 1:23 am
totally forgot about kaka in all this!!
i think ozil kaka (when hes fit) ronaldo behind higuain is unblevable. til then, id wana see di maria ozil ronaldo. canales is bit to young yet. good but young.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 2:22 pm
nandosghost, I think Canales getting picked is testament enough to his ability – age shouldn’t come into it. When/if Kaka comes back to full fitness Mourinho will definitely have too many midfielders (centrally inclined ones especially) to choose from. I have no idea who’ll end up being the best combination for the team!
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