Five reasons why Real Madrid will win the Champions League (Part 2)
Real Madrid has a mean defence
Los Merengues never had a superb defence, far from it; the capital club always followed a ‘we-score-more-than-you-do’ philosophy. Things have changed this time around. Mourinho’s primary focus is always on building an air-tight defence. At Chelsea, he had
a Carvalho-Terry centre back pairing while Lucio and Walter Samuel formed splendid duo at Inter Milan. In short, Mourinho follows ‘defence is the best offence’ strategy.
Unlike previous seasons, Madrid has a brilliant defence. In Ricardo Carvalho, Mourinho has made arguably his best signing following his appointment. The Portuguese International is a brilliant reader of the game, technically astute and real leader of the
defence. Carvalho brings a certain calming aura to the squad, which, in previous seasons, was non-existent. The former Chelsea stopper complements Pepe’s physicality in ideal fashion. No wonder Mourinho’s men have conceded just 7 goals in three months of football.
Against AC Milan on Sunday, Carvalho had a field day dealing with Rossoneri attacks. Time and time again Carvalho bailed out his partners, Marcelo in particular.
The Brazilian was the weak-link in the Madrid rear-guard in the seasons past but all that has changed this time around. While the wing back is attacking the opposition with the same zest, his defensive play has improved in leaps and bounds.
Real Madrid Squad depth
While Real Madrids starting eleven would walk into any team on the planet, their substitute bench is equally breathtaking. Apart from the eleven superstars who took to the pitch against Milan, Mourinho has Lassana Diarra, Sergio Canales, Fernando Gago, Karim
Benzema, Esteban Granero, Ricardo Kaka, Raul Albiol and Pedro Leon to rely on. The eight afro-mentioned players will fetch Merengues in excess of 150 million Euros should Perez ever decided to cash-in. More importantly, Mourinho has a perfect replacement for
every player in the starting line up.
With such a squad at his disposal, Mourinho can easily compete on all the fronts without hampering his chances of silverware. With clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United having depth issues and Inter Milan struggling under Rafa Benitez, Real Madrid is
in an ideal position to register Continental success.
A balanced squad hungry for success
Jose Mourinho has a host of talented and most importantly, ambitious players at his disposal. Most importantly, you cannot simply pick one area of the team and declare that a weakness. The defence, midfield and attack are equally balanced, boasting of super
stars in every department.
The likes of Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria made their mark at the recently concluded World cup but success eluded them. These players combined with the Champion mentality of Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Ricardo Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo make
for a pure success recipe.
On the Continental stage, experience is an asset that few teams posses. Real Madrid has this in abundance while also being complemented by the youthful exuberance of the new imports.
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