The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d 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
The boys are back and they mean business. As had been said ad infinitum, the boys don’t lack quality, talent or intelligence. It’s down to individual responsibility first and then cohesion. Xabi has played in unbalanced Real Madrid sides, he knows he’s not missing players but that cohesion. At least he ought to know. The game against Bilbao allowed our players to show their quality. It was far from perfect but you saw what the individuals are good at. They took on their responsibilities.
Now Xabi can build a team. He has to use the Bilbao game as a template. The players do not need a million instructions. They must do what they’re good at and then adjust. The system must meet them halfway. That’s Real Madrid. Any other club you can overhaul and do what thou wilt. Real Madrid is too big for that. They don’t wanna lose ever and they don’t wanna see poor displays. Once Xabi understands this he can win his own threepeat. Zidane and Carlo were intimidating in their own way. Zizou for being the artful baller extraordinaire and Carlo for his past successes and legendary achievements as a manager. Xabi has his aura as well and he must command that dressing room not like a school teacher but like a master. A master does not compete for the affection and attention of his students. They follow him to greatness.
Vini adjusted to Solari, Zizou and Carlo. Playing different roles every season. He can adjust to Xabi. Kylian is a unicorn. There’s not much to say. Jude is a unicorn. If Xabi bets on those 3, one a World Cup winner and the other two who have won just about everything at club level. They’re proven winners. I love Arda and Franco but in context, they’re very young and have entire careers in front of them. They will not be old at 25 or 26 anymore than Rodrygo and Vini are old.
Now the team has to fall back in love with that winning feeling. Winning away at Bilbao after a poor run is a good result but they must carry that feeling forward. Yes, let every game be a final. Teams are setting up well against us. They understand Xabi’s approach and how to stifle it. Individual brilliance must be allowed to flourish in order to disrupt the opposition. Let’s win the next one and the one after that.. And then the next one.
