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Ace up the sleeve Anelka may be the key for Real Madrid
Posted: Thursday May 18, 2000 03:49 PM
Last August, he was all but anointed as the Messiah of Madrid, the US$34 million hotshot who would wrest the Liga from Barcelona's wicked grasp. A few months ago, he was about as welcome in the Real Madrid dressing room as a syphilis epidemic. Now he might hold the key to delivering Real its record eighth European crown. Nicolas Anelka has been vilified, skewered and quartered this year and, to be fair, he has brought much of the venom upon himself. Skipping practice, not getting along with teammates, sulking and whining are not the way to win friends and influence people.
Of course, it could all have been overlooked if he had been playing well and scoring goals, neither of which he did for much of the season. Instead, Real found itself stuck with a bizarre, maladjusted introvert whom nobody could understand. Like all great clubs, it learned to adjust. If Anelka was going to be as reliable as the weather during the Wimbledon fortnight, Real would just have to win without him. Which is exactly what happened after the unassuming Vicente Del Bosque replaced the overmatched John Toshack at the helm. Real learned to make do without its record signing. Raul and Fernando Morientes stepped it up on the frontline. Pedestrian role players like Ivan Campo, Ivan Helguera and Aitor Karanka, didn't turn into worldbeaters overnight, but they did provide some cohesion and resilience. The team ground out results quietly and efficiently, clawing its way back up the Liga table and pushing its way to the Champions League final. It wasn't exactly vintage stuff, no shades of Brazil 1970 or Hungary 1956 here, but it got the job done. Still, it might not have been enough to overcome Bayern Munich in the semifinal, which is why Anelka, back in the squad after the latest bout of stupidity, came in real handy. His performance over the two legs put the final nail in the German coffin and secured an all-Spanish final. Yes, it might have worked out that way anyway, but Anelka made sure. Now, he is the ace up Del Bosque's sleeve, the supersub who, if called upon, can change the course of the game. He isn't Real's driving force, he's an optional extra. He's the airbag which comes in handy if you drive like a joyrider on a crystal meth high, but which is rather superfluous on the school run. Del Bosque wouldn't have it any other way. He knows Anelka can not be trusted. After all, this is the same guy who was hit with a 45 day suspension for missing training (later reduced), who slapped a couple of photographers around, who's on speaking terms with no more than half a dozen teammates and who said only last week: "Having to apologize to the manager was like having to take my pants down in front of him." He may not be a role model, he may not be entirely sane, but he can be a damn good footballer when the mood strikes him. Which is why he could well be the key to unlocking Valencia's defensive mechanism in the final. Throw him into the mix halfway through the game and watch Hector Cuper age ten years. Anelka's combination of controlled power and raw speed, the same deadly cocktail which turned him into a US $34 million player in the first place, is enough to give anyone nightmares, especially Valencia's ponderous backline. Sweeper Miroslav Djukic is 34, wingback Jocelyn Angloma 35, stoppers Joachim Bjorklund and Mauricio Pellegrino are 29. There is no shortage of experience, just a dearth of quickness and pace. Now, Anelka needs space to operate. He is at his best on the fast break, running at defenders with the ball or latching on to long range passes from the back. Cuper knows this all too well, which is why Valencia will probably hang back, defend in numbers and unleash the fresh legs of Miguel Angel Angulo, Claudio Lopez and Kily Gonzalez on the counterattack. As long as Valencia keeps its own half flooded with bodies there is little point in letting Anelka lose, better to rely on the power of Morientes and the skill of Raul, Steve McManaman and Savio in negotiating tight spaces. But if Real can somehow force Cuper's men to come out of their shell, most likely by scoring a first half goal, then the time will come to release Anelkašs fury. At that point, he will become a constant thorn in Valenciašs side and a 1-0 lead may easily turn into a three or four goal rout. Will a Champions League winning performance be enough to guarantee Anelka some redemption? Probably not. The truth is that there probably isn't much of a future at the Bernabeu. Anelka's purchase seemed little more than a pre-emptive vanity buy in the first place. Real already had a first-rate strike force in Raul and Morientes. Both are among the top forwards in the world, both are young (23 and 24 respectively), both have played together for three seasons for club and country and have an almost instinctive partnership. Not to mention the fact that the club had just shattered its transfer record to buy another striker, Bosnian Elvir Balic. Anelka was acquired to ensure he didn't go to another big club and because it was nice to have a promising young striker lying around. Things are unlikely to change this summer. Raul and Morientes aren't going anywhere and, odds are, Anelka won't be willing to warm the bench for another season, which is why Paris St. Germain is reportedly lining up a US$25 million bid for him. In the meantime, he could go down in history as the man who brought Real another Champions League title. To many Real fans, that would be the ideal scenario: have him secure the European crown and then ride off into the sunset. EXTRA TIME: So much for conspiracy theories. Lazio's last gasp triumph in Serie A not only earned it its second ever title, it also allowed a whole country to forget, at least for a few days, this whole business of evil pro-Juventus machinations. It would be wrong to suggest however, that the issue is dead and buried. Next time Juventus is awarded a dubious decision, the finger-pointing and complaining will resume, and it will be just as unpleasant. The Italian F.A. and even the Italian magistrates have opened investigations. Here's hoping that their work will uncover some kind of truth and that Serie A stop resembling some kind of demented X-File.
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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