Four Real Madrid Questions That Need To Be Answered

These observations — where I look at Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found 

here.

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This is an abridged, article version of a much longer, in-depth podcast that Matt Wiltse and I recorded during the international break:

The point of this exercise is simple: Most of us watching this team play have almost no answers, but many questions.

This was the case last season as well when Xabi

Alonso was appointed. Most of the questions, from then until now, remain.

But to try to keep the conversation fresh rather than rehashed, I have come up with new questions this season, particularly after watching how the first eight games unfolded.

These questions are directed towards several different people:

Question #1, to Florentino Perez: Will you give the coach full control?

This question comes first, because all of the subsequent questions become irrelevant if the answer to the above question is ‘no’. We cannot skip this step.

Last season, the answer to this question was a bonafide ’no’. Florentino had the chance to intervene, when, after Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2 – 1 in October and were clear by five points, to come down and side with Alonso after Vinicius Jr’s public humiliation of him when being subbed out in the second half in what was otherwise a very positive night that didn’t need to be sabotaged.

He didn’t, and whether or not you agree with Florentino’s decision to back Vinicius or not is somewhat irrelevant, because in retrospect, it was a clear mistake.

To a less dramatic effect, Alvaro Arbeloa was also latter handcuffed in how much he was allowed to play Thiago Pitarch.

What’s done is done. How much more pain and suffering does Florentino need to see in order to realize he was wrong?

This question continues to linger. Florentino needs to go into Mourinho’s office, give him the keys, and proclaim: ‘do what you need to do, bench who you need to bench, promote who you need to promote. I want titles. Consider this the end of politics and star power.’

Question #2, to Jose Mourinho: Can you please be your unapologetic self?

Look, I completely understand: Mourinho is calmer now; older, wiser, etc. He doesn’t need to poke anyone’s eyes out or fight anyone. I’m not asking him to. But I am asking him, for the sake of the success of Real Madrid C.F, as an institution, to make big changes and defy that aforementioned status quo — something his predecessors couldn’t do in the past two years.

That may require defying Florentino’s player hierarchy. Yes, it sounds ridiculous to go against what your employer tells you to do, but I’m willing to bet if he continues doing the same things, he will be sacked — so he might as well get sacked doing things his own way.

This is, again, to reiterate, ridiculous and harsh — especially coming from a writer on a keyboard, and even more ridiculous when you consider who it’s directed to: one of the greatest managers of all time.

But it’s clear that the solutions are not going to come by repeating the same things.

I have two additional sub-questions for Mourinho, in no particular order:

1. Will you tolerate stars underperforming, or will you hold them accountable the way you did when you benched Karim Benzema once upon a time (who by the way, was one of Florentino’s absolute favourites)
2. How married are you to the 4-2-3-1 given that: A) the current box-to-box midfielders who are starting every week aren’t compatible together in a double pivot; and B) trying new formations may unlock new versions of this team and help the puzzle pieces fit a little better?

Those are two main ones, and remaining questions, like getting more minutes for Bernardo Silva and Trent Alexander-Arnold to help with ball progression (and whoever else needs to play more) fall into the first question.

Question #3, to Yan Diomande: How ready are you?

This is an extremely harsh question. In no way, shape, or form should Real Madrid’s success hinge on the shoulders of a 19-year-old.

But this question is not meant to put pressure on his shoulders, nor am I implying Diomande is the one that will make or break this team.

The question stems from something else, and is the result of the first tactical domino that will likely have to fall: Vinicius Jr should be removed as an undisputed starter.

If and when that happens — and it may be as soon as this month — then Diomande will likely start on the left.

While I do believe that Vinicius should be removed from the starting lineup, I’m also not naive enough to believe all of Real Madrid’s problems get solved with that one action. There are still remaining questions, such as: can Mbappe exist with any pure winger on that side, or is it better to pair him with a non-traditional winger or midfielder to provide balance?

Nevertheless, Diamonde will need to be ready to produce, to be efficient on the ball, to move the ball quickly, and to defend. Luckily, he’s already very good at all those things.

Question #4, to the universe: How healthy will Real Madrid’s center-backs be?

Self-explanatory. A healthy Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, and Ibrahima Konaté would change the ceiling of this team, and Antonio Rüdiger can fill in with fresh legs whenever necessary. The moment we start resorting to a center-back partnership of Asencio – Tchouameni, I’m sweating.

There are nine bonus questions in the episode above. Enjoy!