The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Ezek, Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Kung_Fu_Zizou
Pre-Season was swallowed up by the Club World Cup last summer. This summer it has been disrupted by the World Cup. The desire to continuously invent football matches for eyeballs and revenue will always risk the quality of
the game. The players who did not go to the World Cup or those who exited early will all have a decent pre-season. The players who went deep into the tournament not only have a shortened pre-season but will be back on international duty before long. The argument that the players are rich is one I will always find utterly unconvincing. What is noticeable is the decline in the quality of football and footballers in general. Managers desperately trying to reduce the game to automatisms in order to cover-up the dearth of unique individual quality in the game. Stats creating an Americanisation of the beautiful game. I do not know Maradona, Zidane and R9’s stats. They’re practically irrelevant to the beauty of the game. That aspect of the game is increasingly greyed out and becoming near impossible to access. I digress.. This is a mixed pre-season for Mourinho. He has had a chance to take a look at some of the youngsters and also the likes of Camavinga, Trent, Fede and Arda Guler. What he has not had the chance to do it have a look at a potential starting XI for the season with all his best players available. There are two friendlies remaining before La Liga kicks off for the 2026/27 season and Mourinho will still be intuiting his best XI for the season by then. The names are easy but the balance.. well, that’s an entirely different matter altogether.
Mid-Way Musings
Arda Guler
A true baller..Turkish Delight? The kid is awesome and has surpassed the expectations of many by merely still being at the club given every challenge he has faced every single season since his arrival. Arda Güler is a unique profile in the Real Madrid squad. He is a purely technical player while also having tactical awareness to make up for his physical short-comings.
Arda’s story is one of perseverance. It is difficult enough to make it at Real Madrid without major obstacles but Arda has had to overcome injuries and lack of trust as well as rife competition in the squad. He has seemingly come out the other side, looking increasingly like the fabulous footballer we imagined upon his arrival in 2024. Mourinho will have to find a way to use Arda without upsetting the proverbial apple cart.
Thiago Se Queda?
Thiago was seemingly in the window shop until apparently Jose Mourinho insisted that he remain at the club.
Thiago Pitarch provides necessary depth and versatility to midfield. He also has a really high ceiling which makes him a valuable asset when trying on all fronts for silverware. This could be a really big year for him. Mourinho usually has a good eye for young talent and this vote of confidence should not be taken lightly.
ESPI marks his arrival
Espi has already shown the benefits he brings as a different profile CF option. A genuine penalty-box player who will likely finish a lot of the chances we’ve seen run across goal over the last two seasons. One has to wonder, however, just how much of a chance he will get given the prominence of Vinicius, Kylian and Jude in Real Madrid’s attack. Mourinho will have to play this one smart and we may yet see a situation where Kylian Mbappe gets subbed off for Espi, which would be objectively correct when the circumstance calls for it as Espi would be the natural replacement for a CF. And, no, Kylian doesn’t have to move to the left to accommodate Espi, he can move to the bench just as effectively.
Full Squad Returns
Mourinho will finally get a closer look at his puzzle this week with the arrival of the superstars whose World Cup exploits extended their stay in the USA. This is going to be a very interesting week at Valdebebas.
