Real Madrid – The future
Real Madrid has failed to live up to the high standards expected at the club, in recent years. Madrid is the most successful European team with an astounding 9 European cups. They have failed to lift the European trophy since 2002 despite heavy investment.
In 2009 Florentino Perez was elected president of the club for the 2nd time. He started a new project with his old ideology known as “The Galacticos”. The 2nd Galacitcos era is well and truly underway. Star players such as Cristiano
Ronaldo and Ricardo Kaka have been abducted into the team. Although the first season in this new era did not bring any trophies for the Los Blancos, but there were clear signs of development.
The new season has commenced under the rather controversial yet highly successful Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid have signed young players like Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira. The team has started off in magnificent fashion and topped their UEFA Champions league
group and the La Liga.
One has to ask if this Galacticos era is any different than the 1st, when the likes of Raul, Ronaldo, Figo, Beckham, Zidane and Roberto Carlos were at the club. The answer to this can be seen in the age of the current squad. In the 1st
era most of the players had achieved all they could and they were coming into the lime light of their careers. This time the players are young with the likes of Benzema and Ozil only 22 years old. There is no lack of motivation for the likes of Kaka and Ronaldo
as they are still quite young and hungry to be counted amongst some of the all time great footballers on the planet.
In previous years Real Madrid has failed to handle the egos in the dressing room with some of the biggest names at the helm. Now they have the “the special one” (Jose Mourinho). He probably overpowers all egos in world football currently. His stint at previous
clubs Inter Milan, Chelsea and Porto certify that he is a remarkable man and manager, and knows how to protect and motivate his players.
The average age of the squad is less than 27, the future seems rather bright. One problem Mourinho faces is the recent dominance of bitter enemies Barcelona. The Madrid fans hate coming off 2nd best to their arch rivals. Recent failures to topple
over Barcelona have resulted in instability at the club. Managers have been sacked after a short period.
Mourinho also has a tough job pleasing the board of directors. They expect Madrid to win every major trophy. Therefore the players and the manager alike are under huge pressure to deliver success. The European cup is a major priority and in recent time Madrid
has failed to get past the round of 16. It has been 6 years since they last reached the quarter final stage of the competition.
That said, no one can deny that Mourinho has had an impressive start to his term. Players like Ozil, Marcelo, pepe and Ronaldo have blossomed under the charismatic Portuguese. If Real Madrid can stabilise the matters and stick to Mourinho over a longer period
of time, the trophies will come automatically.
The future looks very bright for the most aristocratic football club on the planet. The team seems to be heading in the right direction. There arguably is no better manager than Mourinho to take the club forward. The Madristas (Real Madrid fans) are very
optimistic and hope the glory days will return to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Whether or not the 2nd Galacticos era is a success? Only time will answer the question. 1 thing is for sure, Real Madrid with its history will always attract the biggest names in world football and there will be no shortage of fans or revenue.
No one can predict the future but Mourinho may even argue with that, as he has in the past has achieved the impossible.
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