Madridismo Mini-Tour in the Works
Real Madrid is already gearing up for the upcoming season in La Liga, with a purported mini-tour of the United States during the offseason. Things are relatively quiet over at the Bernabeu, with Mourinho keeping mum about Madrid’s preparations. But if reports are correct, the United States will get a dose of Madridismo during the summer.
From the 29th of July until August 8th, Real will tour the United States, and engage in friendly matches with Club America in San Francisco on August 4th and the LA Galaxy on August 7th.
Last year, Madrid was matched up against DC United and enjoyed a pretty good turnout. Given the predominantly Spanish population on the West coast, it is expected that there will be a similar crowd at the Rose Bowl for the Madrid-Galaxy game.
Madridistas will also be treated to a friendly against Champions League runners up Bayern Munich on the 13th of August at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The game will serve as a Champions League final rematch between managers Mourinho and Van Gaal.
After the friendly with Bayern, Real will make the trip to Standard Liege on August 17th for yet another friendly with one of Real’s link clubs. The friendly is said to be shaping up quite nicely, with Real expecting tough competition from a side that has a ton of great young players, including Daniel Opare.
And of course, there will be the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy on the 24th of August. However, Real would have to find another opponent as initial plans of bringing Brazilian club Corinthians to the Bernabeu bogged down. The match was intended to give the Madridistas one last look at the Phenomenon Ronaldo and Brazilian bulwark Roberto Carlos, but this has not worked out. The two Brazilians featured in a previous incarnation of the Spanish squad.
More details about the mini-tour will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Madrid has begun making the moves on the best players in the world, with Argentina’s Di Maria making the trip to the Spanish capital. The midfielder arrived from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he spent the first few days of his vacation after his national team’s abrupt exit in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Despite the loss, Di Maria shined bright for his side, thus getting the attention of club officials.
Real Madrid would certainly benefit from the services of the versatile left winger, who can play just as well along the right or serve as a second attacker.
It would be interesting how Di Maria fares in Mourinho’s squad that boasts of high profile players such as fellow Argentines and national squad teammates Gonzalo Higuain and Fernando Gago, Spain’s Xabi Alonso, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Kaka, and Karim Benzema of France.
Club officials and supporters hope that the Argentine can recreate his brilliant form in the World Cup when La Liga starts anew. With eternal foes Barcelona hooking up with solid Spanish striker David Villa, Real Madrid will need all the help it can get from Di Maria.
The acquisition of Xabi Alonso would also be interesting, as the Spaniard is considered a genius at passing the ball around. At the back, Arbeloa, Albiol, and Garay have all been impressive. And after the long siesta that is the La Liga offseason, it would be great to see how these players will link up for Real to lift the title.
Exciting times lie ahead for the current crop of Galacticos and its legion of supporters. La Liga is still leagues away, but the famed Madrid machine is already up and running. As expected, Real Madrid remains up there with their rival Barcelona in Spanish La Liga.
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