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Real concerns Stumbling Spanish giant faces threat of relegation
Posted: Tuesday December 14, 1999 12:55 PM
Welcome to hell. Managing Real Madrid can be the most wonderful, gratifying job in the world ... if things are going well. But it can also be rather like sitting atop Mount Everest wearing a pair of Speedos and nothing else. It can leave you feeling cold, miserable, isolated and humiliated. That is the situation facing interim boss Vicente Del Bosque, who took over for the fired John Toshack last month. Real Madrid, as its promotional material thankfully points out time and again, is not a club, it is a legend. Right now, however, it is a tarnished legend. Del Bosque's men are four points above bottom club Seville and just one point from the relegation zone. It's not as if somebody opened a Pandora's box of problems. It's more like Real Madrid was crammed inside the Pandora's box. The media and the supporters are almost too stunned to point fingers. How does a club like Real Madrid get to this situation? The answer is rather complex, and simply blaming Toshack is not enough, though obviously much of this is his responsibility. For starters, the cracks had been there for some time. Since 1991, the club has won just two league titles and one Spanish Cup. It was its worst eight-year period since the 1940s, but few people seemed to notice. Winning the Champions League in 1998 and the World Club Championship six months later perhaps induced a false sense of security. But the fact remained, Real's dominance was beginning to evaporate. At the same time, the club was racking up debt faster than Ivana Trump on a shopping spree. In the early 1990s, when most clubs were giving themselves a more businesslike setup -- developing additional revenue streams such as merchandising and reinforcing their brand names worldwide -- Real did just the opposite. It sold its image and merchandising rights, only to buy them back at great expense a few years later. It is too easy, however, to blame the club's board for the problems. In spite of the debt, Real miraculously always seemed to have plenty of money available to spend on players. Spanish banks have been very generous with the club, and last summer brought another shopping extravaganza. Chairman Lorenzo Sanz acquired the likes of Elvir Balic, Steve McManaman, Geremi, Michel Salgado and, of course, Nicolas Anelka, among others. All have been colossal busts, except for Salgado. Meanwhile, two of the club's most pressing concerns, central defense and goalkeeping were not addressed. It would have been bad enough, but Toshack compounded the problem by trying to offload Savio, Christian Karembeu and Clarence Seedorf. All of a sudden, here were three quality players who were told they were surplus to requirements. Now, there's nothing wrong with showing players the door. But when you do it in such a public fashion, you had better be darn sure that you have a buyer lined up. As it happened, especially in Seedorf's case, Madrid found itself shopping the player around. When this happens, you're inevitably going to get lower bids, because buyers know you're forced to sell. But Sanz slapped a US$25 million price tag on the Dutch midfielder. In normal circumstances, he might have been successful. In what was essentially a buyer's market, he found no takers.
Toshack was forced to take all three back. It's a good thing that he did, because without them, things would be even worse. Then there is the Anelka situation. The squalid transfer saga involving Lazio, Juventus and his brothers Didier and Claude should have set off warning lights. And his behavior in the months leading up to his move should also have made it abundantly clear that the boy is not entirely right in the head. Not to mention the fact that when you've got two of the best young strikers around in Raul and Fernando Morientes, bringing in a high-priced 20-year-old is not the smartest move. Especially when you have to not only break your transfer record to do so, but also disassemble your team to find a starting spot for him. How did Morientes feel when the club bought another striker, a guy who scored less goals in more starts, and virtually handed him the starting job? Probably not very loved. Another example of fine management from the Real Madrid intelligentsia. Anelka is just the most glaring example, but there are plenty. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Bodo Illgner is no longer a Real Madrid caliber player. And that neither of his replacements, the appropriately named Albano Bizzarri or 18-year-old Iker Casillas are ready to step in just yet. Meanwhile, guys like Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos and Fernando Redondo are having subpar year, at least by their high standards. These were players who got Real out of trouble time and again over the past few years. Now that they no longer perform miracles on a regular basis, the team's weaknesses are coming to the surface. So what do you do from here? Clearly, priority No. 1 has to be avoiding relegation. That would be a disaster of such gargantuan proportions that nobody wants to contemplate it. A fine showing in the Champions League will bring in a few bucks, but it won't satisfy the fans. Things have been progressing nicely in Europe and if, as expected, Real reaches the knockout stage, it has a shot at winning it all. The real work needs to be done at club level. Del Bosque is just a stopgap. Sanz should be scouting the globe right now to find a blue chip manager for next season. Apart from Fabio Capello's Liga-winning season in 1996-97, Real hasn't had a top-notch manager since the 1980s. Of course, the best ones are going to be under contract, which means you must approach them with discretion. Find one soon and develop a clear rebuilding plan. Don't keep guys you don't need, but make sure you have a buyer before you kick them out. And make sure you acquire players who are good, not just ones who are free, i.e. Steve McManaman, because you'll still have to shell out mega-wages. It will take a while and it will be painful. But Real Madrid must bounce back. The game is that much poorer without it.
Extra TimeExpect all sorts of scouts, agents and middlemen to converge on the African Nations Cup next month. This time, it won't be the big boys like Nigeria they'll be scouting. The Super Eagles already feature some of the cream of the European game and you probably won't find any bargains there. Rather, it should be some of the other nations that will be providing fresh talent. Spare a thought for Piacenza defender Pietro Vierchowod. When the former Italian international made his professional debut, back in 1976, some 20 percent of Serie A players had not even been born yet. 40-year-old, top-notch goalkeepers are as rare as albino unicorns, but field players at that age are rarer still. What makes Vierchowod even more amazing is that he is one of the fittest players around. His game has always been based on athleticism, and even with the passing of the years, he has maintained much of his pace and strength. Proof that hard work and determination, coupled with exemplary professionalism, can slow the passing of time. London-based Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com. To submit questions or comments to Gabriele Marcotti, click here.
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