Welcome to The Daily Merengue — 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, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho.
Word From Author:
“I’m cool fighting big steppers on left sides. Heard wolves come alive in the CL night. Seen Juni’s DT pedaling —. Cycle vicious I got on my bike, they say I’m wrong when I’m right. Sleepin’ at night just knowing I tried that’s
three-sixty-five. I’m betting on me and bet on the team — exactly the same way, I bet on the guys. All hits no misses, so don’t be surprised that I aint found a —. ”
– Rodrygo Goes #11
And We’re Back: Les Champions
The Champions League. Queue the music.
Thoughts + Expectations. AND WE’RE BACK!!! Yes, we are back to the best competition in European football. The competition that means the most with the most glory to obtain. The competition which has cemented Real Madrid as the greatest club to ever exist. Today we are back for another European night — the Champions League! Now what are my expectations for the CL: the semifinals (maybe the quarters if we lose to like a winner aka PSG / Liverpool / Barca). Overall we have a solidly mid-tier difficult schedule so I expect us to perform better in the group stages, and I can live with a quarters or semifinal run. Like let’s take a quick look at the fixture: Marseille (H), Karat (A), Juve (H), Liverpool (A), Olympiacos (A), Manchester City (H), Monaco (H), Benfica (A). IMO, the ONLY game we shouldn’t be favored to win is Liverpool at Anfield. Otherwise, we realistically should win 5-6 of these matches (which is about 15-18pts of the potential 24) and then maybe the occasional draw. Last year, Aston Villa needed 16pts to get a first round bye so this SHOULD be doable for Xabi’s crew. But hey anything is possible in football.
Note: I’m in the minority of Real Madrid fans because I believe it’s more important to actually win La Liga (a more equitable competition) than the CL (a tournament where your results can highly vary due to sheer luck or draws). So I’m also ok if we seem to prioritize La Liga this year. IMO Xabi should be graded there in a more absolutist fashion (win / lose).
We’re Back: Les Milieu Centrals
Camavinga x Bellingham. The boys are back in town!!!! I don’t actually expect either to play at all but it’s a good sign to see Camavinga and Bellingham back on the squad list. Personally, I believe both will be crucial players going forward in Xabi’s system. Of course, Jude Bellingham is Jude Bellingham. But Camavinga’s ability to encourage patterns of play, progressively carry the ball, and avoid pressure could be absolutely crucial in our future midfield composition. It will be interesting to see if Camavinga does finally make the leap this year and supplant a current midfield starter. It likely will be a rough rough journey but I think it’s doable. Out of all our midfielders (including Jude Bellingham) in my opinion Cama is the MOST talented and has the HIGHEST ceiling. (Note: this doesn’t mean he’ll achieve those feats. This just means that he has the ability to achieve these feats). He absolutely needs to improve in several areas such as his defensive awareness and his availability, but I will continue to stand on an island and scream that if he reaches his potential — he could displace Fede or deep-lying midfield Arda not #10 Arda (where he’s actually playing in the past 2 games).
We’re Back: To The Bench?
Franco Mastantuono. Rumor has it that Franco may be starting as the RW tomorrow in his CL debut. To be frank, I’m taking this rumor with a grain of salt being that unlike the Carlo era — Xabi lineups seem to never actually leak. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if this occurred. Simply put, Brahim isn’t a starter for Real Madrid. He is an elite player against tired legs for our squad and that’s really it. Now, I’m willing to be a bit kinder on this take. IMO Brahim is actually a 10 who we force to play at the wing. He’s naturally a player who likes frequently roaming, dribbling in tight spaces with quick passing, and may drift to the right but he requires excessive touches because he isn’t particularly efficient. Like we always do at Real Madrid, if you’re a 10 be prepared to play as a RW!! And this is partially the cause for him just not really performing as a starter. Anyway, Franco (who I also believe is a 10 tbh) just seems a tad bit better suited for this role.
Rodrygo. I don’t see a world where he starts but I just want to comment on a lot of discussion regarding Rodrygo’s potential demand to play LW and why he may be choosing a more selfish path to avoid the RW. I’m gonna be quick but will be happy to dive deeper into this in the comments. First, there is a plausible explanation that simply is Xabi doesn’t rate Rodrygo as a RW and prefers to have a left-footed RW and this is why Franco / Brahim are being played there when Rodrygo (by almost everyone besides Vase) is a better player than both. However, let’s just for theoretically assume Rodrygo has refused or at least expressed that he would prefer to compete with Vini for the LW.
If Rodrygo has refused to play RW, is that unprofessional? Yes — probably. Rodrygo should be prepared to sacrifice for Real Madrid and play where the manager wants him to play.
Now do I blame him? No. Rodrygo has been sacrificing at RW because Vini was horrific at that position for the past 5-6 years of his Real Madrid career and where did that get him. It got him trophies, some miracle highlight headers / goals, a bit of glory here and there. But it also got him zero B’dor nominations, being the first sub even in games where Vini was underperforming (example Atletico CL matches 24/25), nicknames such as Purple Patch and La Cometa (ask conq about Cometa Goes in Spain), subs at 45 mins, defensive duties for LV, and leading both Mbappe and Vini in defensive actions by a healthy measure besides playing around 40% less minutes. It got MM soliloquies of why Brahim Diaz needed to be a starter in 23/24 or even worse Endrick lmao. It got comments about why we need to buy a proper RW and how he isn’t good enough for the position. He got the same treatment Tchouameni got last year when he underperformed at CB. And if he was to continue playing RW and underperforming, those soliloquies would simply resurface. Idk there’s probably something about you don’t realize what you got until it’s gone.
TBH, he’s a better man than me because I would’ve made a stink about this years ago. In a world where his ideal position is being occupied by a player who quiet frankly has also had a drop in form for nearly a year and is actively having a contract dispute with the club, I don’t fully blame him for putting all his chips into the LW bag. I don’t hate him for betting on himself.
Now again would this be unprofessional and not team friendly? Yes. But as they say “close mouths don’t get fed.” History is often made by unpleasant men / women.
(July 10, 2020)
..We’ll Be Back
“See your narratives been rigged, you can turn and twist, but I think that it’s blatant. I’m One of One (11) not seven athletes, MM can’t chat to me — ya’ll talk to my agent. And don’t get it mistaken. Like how long this one been in the making? The come up been televised, every word in Juni’s DT feels sacred. Thank Calafat, He produced it — KB wouldn’t say that I’ve made it. I need that front cover from L’Equipe, something to show for how we stuck to the basics. Old 10s got traded. Lucas stating, that man don’t want not take risks. Defined as complacent, yet I can’t stop til my naysayers are —. Juni said “stay out the mix and away from the gossip.” Look, cool, let me be honest. Talent’s top five and that’s just being modest. We come a long way, I got no plan on stopping. Less is more but I still can’t settle. Tho put my mum in a house and got my dad a kettle. TBH, now we’re at boiling point — warmed up we should go for the treble. Tell all the people that showed me belief, it’s more than a record put that on my record. Heaven sent man I’m dodging the devil, Arteta still pingin’ my phone, but I’m in a white kit cuttin through central.”
– Rodrygo Goes #11
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“let me hear that.“
