Real's humble servant

Del Bosque working magic with Madrid's superstars

In my mind there is no doubt that Real Madrid is the best club side in the world right now, and could even be one of the best sides the globe has ever seen.

To watch them play is a magical experience... The movement, the touch, the flow... I get the feeling players are definitely in tune with each other and that means they can do what they want when they want to do it.

Yes, it helps to have stars like Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Raul . But having these names on your team sheet does not guarantee you wins, and it especially does not guarantee you good football. In order for that to happen, you need a leader. Someone who can gel all of these talents and egos together and turn it into something special.

That is what Vicente Del Bosque has done. He may not be considered one of the world's best managers yet, but he will soon. In just three years as coach of the Merengues, 51 year-old Del Bosque has guided the team to two Champions League trophies, one La Liga title, one European Supercup and one Spanish cup. An impressive resume to say the least.

Mailbag

Pedro Pinto will answer questions from CNNSI.com users in his mailbag periodically. If you'd like to submit a question, please enter it below.

Your name: Your E-mail Address: Your Hometown: Enter Your Question:

So what makes this man so special? In my view, after spending a couple of days around the Real Madrid squad when they visited New York City for a friendly recently, I believe it is two virtues we unfortunately do not see too much of these days: humility and sincerity.

This is a man who works hard every day, who treats his players like adults and who stands up for what he believes. In a football world filled with inflated egos and wallets, Del Bosque is a breath of fresh air. In his mind all he is, is a human being doing a job as well as he can. And that is what he sincerely expects from every single one of his players, whether his name is Zidane or Celades .

Another big reason for his success is his love of the game and how it should be played. Born and raised in Salamanca, Spain, Del Bosque soon got involved in football and played a few seasons in the lower leagues before being signed by Real Madrid in 1973.

There he spent 11 solid years winning five league titles and four domestic cups. As a creative midfielder, he scored 38 goals in 441 matches and earned 18 caps for Spain. He was never a super star, but was always reliable. After hanging up his boots, this man was not going to let his passion for "futbol" die down. So, he took over as manager of Real's youth team and slowly started passing down the knowledge he had acquired in his years as a professional.

From stories that I have heard, he was never over-critical, always encouraging. And with his guidance, players like Raul, Casillas, Pavon and Minambres slowly showed signs of improvement.

His methods earned rave reviews at the club and when John Toshack was fired in 1999, Del Bosque got his chance to manage the "big boys."

The rest, as they say, is history. In his first season he brought back the Champions League trophy after leading Real to a 3-0 win over Valencia in Paris and over the past couple of years he has continued to bring back silverware to the Bernabeu. And, he has done it in convincing style, implementing an attacking style which has delighted football fans worldwide.

So this season, I believe, we are seeing the coronation of three years of work with a talented group of players. Real seem to have absorbed his philosophy of the game and owning superior technical attributes than most of their opponents, they have comfortably won most of their matches.

I believe that only Bayern Munich and maybe Juventus can cause Real any problems. This could be a historic campaign for the men from Madrid.

And I am saying this even before World Cup-winning striker Ronaldo has made his Real debut.

People have brought up the point that his inclusion could disrupt the team, but trust me... Del Bosque will find a way to make it work. There is nothing to indicate otherwise.

Pedro Pinto is an anchor for World Sport, the international sports show that airs on CNN International.

 

Related information

Stories

Real's Raul calls for hard work, sacrifice Pinto Mailbag: Less diving, fewer cups, more referees Pedro Pinto archive

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video