The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to do 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
Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid supremo, has brought countless moments of sheer elation to the Bernabeu. He put the club in its proper place as the institution to envy in all of football. His methods have not always been well-received
by fans. Fans in general have a tendency to want to change things every minute of the season. Before and after matches and even during matches, declarations can be made about players and the club which are soon forgotten before the sun comes up. I do not wish to make apologies for Florentino Perez; he needs none. He has in fact, succeeded. What I want to say instead is that Real Madrid is what Real Madrid does. Real Madrid aim for the pinnacle. Real Madrid want the best of everything. This constant reaching for the best of everything is an admirable trait for any ambitious institution but for Real Madrid who are the pinnacle of football, it is a trait that is indistinguishable from the club itself; it is woven into the whole fabric.
Right Where We Belong
Los Blancos are right where they belong; right where they want to be. A much anticipated second leg in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Arbeloa’s men arrive as underdogs looking to ride on the illusion to prove again that the odds bow before El Rey de Europa. This is where Real Madrid want to be. The Champions League is almost by Divine right. The form in La Liga, the structure of the team, the style of play.. We leave those for the pundits and great observers of the game. Real Madrid must simply win. The talk can carry on after. This is the nature of Real Madrid. Nothing else left to play for and everything to play for. Overturning a 1 goal deficit away to Die Roten this season would reinforce the tendency once again, that only the Champions League matters and the Real Madrid have this special relationship with the tournament. That the odds do not matter for the men in white. It is simply a competition that belongs to them and that magic overpowers elite coaching methods and consistency. It cannot be explained; it can only be experienced.
The Modus Operandi
Real Madrid will have their eyes wide open during the summer, looking to bring in high profile players. The players will either be young and sought-after or experienced with an enviable pedigree. This of course is easy to predict as the club must continue to bring in the very best whenever they can especially with increased competition for players in the market. There will be rumours continuing about players likely to leave and arrive as happens now throughout the season and not only over the summer. The rumours are constant and everyone who can kick a football is linked with a move to Los Blancos almost every single day.
The club recruits the best players consistently and eventually the formula works with the right manager at the right time. Now, we could argue that this is the same for every club. They try to get the best players they can get and the right manager to make it work. It does appear however, that while many clubs tend to see what this looks like; for Real Madrid this is a feeling. It is not a technical analysis about the type of football a manager plays or what would suit the players the club has recruited. All of that is an afterthought. We are simple. If you are good, you will win! The results justify everything and the results themselves are not always measured objectively. This too, is a feeling. If the feeling is that not all is well, then the results do not feel good. If the feeling is good and the results are not great, the feeling soon turns sour. It can appear to be a moving target but it remains simple. You must win. You have the best of everything and if you are unsure, look at the shirt. It speaks..it echoes!
New Manager or Arbeloa
Arbeloa has done well under the circumstances and that will be my refrain regardless as this is objectively the case. The club however, will be swayed by two things. The Champions League and the availability of a high profile romantic interest who can be lured to the Bernabeu dugout. That is to say, Arbeloa must win the Champions League to secure his job and even then if he job were not to be secured, we ought not be surprised as this is the way of Real Madrid.
Style of Play/Contradictions
The idea that the football at the Bernabeu must improve or modernise, whatever that means.. The club brought in Xabi Alonso for this experiment but it did not feel right. It did not feel right even when results were good. This is always a terrible circumstance. It also reveals a lot about the nature of the club. Objectively, there was every reason to continue with a talented manager who has clear ideas. This is what one would conclude from any kind of measurable technical analysis. However, for Madridistas, least of all Florentino Perez himself, the feeling will always override everything else. The feeling that, this is not worth becoming consistent and keeping up with the evolving game. We’d prefer the vibes that have already brought us glory. The club may well be in search of a manager over the summer.. What’s the criteria? I guess it’s any high profile manager who will be available or keen. The style of play is not so important until it is. The entertainment is not so important until it is. Winning is everything until it isn’t. It seems to not matter so much who the club appoint as long as it’s a high profile manager.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We must now be ready to resign ourselves to the reality of the nature of our club. It is a club that actively seeks to have the best of everything and occasionally moves in cumbersome fashion trying to have everything all at once. Real Madrid will always win eventually. Defeat is always temporary for Los Blancos. In my lifetime, I have seen the club go from being respected as the club that brought the European Cup to prominence; a great legacy with an irreconcilable present moment.. To a club that won 3 Champions Leagues in 5 seasons to reclaim its crown. This was followed by another 10 years of loathing and mocking as if anyone had won more than those 3 Champions league titles between 1998 and 2013. But Real Madrid have a different standard and hold themselves to a standard even higher than what detractors might dream of when seeking to pour sand over the white shirt. Winning or losing against Bayern will change nothing for Real Madrid. The nature of the defeat will not move the needle. We can already write the rumours that will follow any outcome. This is because.. THE THING IS WHAT IT DOES!
