A minute of brilliance and 89 minutes of "Real" no show

Capello was removed from being in charge of Real Madrid after his league winning season last year, with the complaint that Real played for points and were very defensive in style. New coach Schuster and Real spent 118M claiming that its an end to the Galactico era and that players needed for the team are going to be signed, with a view of playing some really attractive and attacking football.

Well Real have spent the money and the players are here, but barring a few minutes of brilliance in almost all the games, Real have played some solid football but by no means the attractive football that was promised. More importantly they seem to struggle at home rather than being on the road. More and more clubs are confident coming to the Bernabeu in hope of getting atleast a point. Visiting teams are not trying to be defensive on the road at the Bernabeu. The midweek La liga game at home for Real against 18th place Real Betis was no exception.

Schuster made changes as per his rotation policy. He still did not have Metzelder and Pepe to pick from and continued with Ramos and Cannavaro at the back. Sergio Ramos is proving season after season that he is turning out be one of the best young defenders in Europe. He seems so comfortable as a center back though he is actually a right back. After a disappointing game Salgado was replaced by Miguel torres at RB, and Gaby Heinze came in to replace Marcelo at LB. Guti and Diarra continued in the center of midfield, Sneijder and Higuain started. The big change was Van Nistelrooy rested for Saviola to play alongside Raul.

The game started with Real pushing and Higuain and Torres were playing well together in the right side of midfield. Heinze was very impressive on the left constantly going forward and putting in some crosses but his final ball was not good. Real dominated the first 30 minutes with almost 70% possession but the closes they game to scoring was when Sneijder forced an excellent save from Ricardo in a set piece. Honestly Real would have been happy to go in to the break at half time goalless with Betis already hitting the bar through Rivas.

Schuster made changes, and brought in Robinho for Higuain who was not happy to be substituted. Honestly he was having a decent game. He also brought in Robben for Saviola. Raul pushed up in attack, and Sneijder moved to a central role. Guti was in his usual self putting some passes together but not the killer one yet. Schuster said after the last game against Valladolid that he needed to keep players like Guti in the game for the entire game, as you dont know when he will produce a piece of magic. Real attacked with purpose with both Robben and Robinho, especially the Dutchman was not shy to take on at times 3 or 4 defenders. Raul was brought down inside the box at 67 minutes by Rivas, the captain did not play for the penalty, got up and tried to strike it in a crowded penalty box which was eventually put in by Robinho, but the Referee did blow the penalty. Raul himself took it and coolly slotted it to the right corner with the keeper jumping left. 1-0 Madrid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHiAiA1euI

It was more of the same to follow as Betis really did not try to get forward and score a equalizer. But they did manage to hit the bar a couple of more times. Schuster made his final substitution by taking off Sneijder and bringing in Baptista. The "beast" seemingly excited with the 15 mins of action he finally got was all over the pitch. Guti put in a set piece from almost the righ corner flag into the Betis box there was some confusion in the defending, Diarra jumping for the ball and the next piece of action is some Brazilian magic. Baptista with a stupendous overhead kick to kill the game for Real. 2-0 Real Madrid and that would remain the final score.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs99B3LTpCU

Real face Getafe on Sunday and Schuster his taking his new team to his old team. Schuster can be happy that unlike last term when he was in charge Getafe is 19th in the league, yet to record a win from 5 games. As i mentioned in the beginning Real have made an impressive start, unbeaten so far in the league in 5 games including an amazing 5-0 drubbing of Villareal away from home, who are incidentally second in the league now. Quiet an irony, when Barca ease past opponents at the Camp Nou, Real look more accomplished on the road than at the Bernabeu. In a 38 match league that might be not a bad habit as it showed last season that Real's record away wins actually put them in contention for the championship which they eventually won. Getafe game will be a good judging point....

Mourinho is out! And Chelsea?

The time of turmoil at Chelsea began when last Thursday the Premiership and the world was equally shocked to hear that Jose Mourinho has left the club by way of "mutual consent". This basically as Mourinho himself said is a good way of saying not sacked and not resigning. Without a doubt he is one of the most controversial managers in world football. Mourinho is arrogant without a doubt referring to himself as "special" in his first interview with the English press. When Mourinho took over the Chelsea Manager spot from Claudio Ranieri in the summer of 2004, he definitely had an impressive resume with regards to his success. His previous role with a major club as manager was with F.C.Porto where he taken the club to another level. in 2003 FCP won the Portuguese Super Liga, won the Portuguese super cup, and also the UEFA cup.

Though FCP struggled in 2004, Mourinho's men still won the League, and the fairy tale run in the Champions League only ended after a victory in the final over Monaco. The knock out stages saw FCP eliminate European giants such as Man Utd, Deportivo, Lyon. The only match they lost was against Real Madrid in the group stages, who were eliminated by their final opponents Monaco, through an inspired performance from on-loan Real Madrid player Morientes-quiet and irony.

When Mourinho joined Chelsea he was not only one of the highest paid managers around the world, but also had one of the biggest bank accounts to spend on transfers. He brought in his entire staff from Porto to support him in the coaching front. He was not behind in bringing his former Porto team mates as well. He spent in excess of 70M including the then highest 24M for Didier Drogba. He brought in the likes of Carvalho, and Ferraira from Porto as well.

Mourinho won the Premiership for Chelsea in 2003 and 2004 and thus extended his record to 4 back to back league titles. Chelsea won the league cup against Liverpool but were knocked out by Liverpool in the Champions League, who went on to win the 2005 edition of the same. Mourinho's success with Chelsea is by no means dull- in his time at Chelsea the team has won 6 trophies including two back to back league championships. That in itself is a record. Chelsea's unbeaten record at home in the league is a record beating the previous best by Liverpool in the 80s. The only disappointment has been the lack of success in Champions League.

Mourinho has not tried and has never been able to stay away from controversy. He has had altercations with Liverpool fans when Chelsea equalized and was escorted away. He accused Frank Rijkard the Barcelona coach to have spoken with Anders Frisk at half time during their Champions League match at Nou Camp and that he influenced Frisk, which led to sending off of Drogba. UEFA investigated the whole deal, the match referee had reported that Rijkard tried to talk to Frisk, but he sent him away. Following the incident Frisk resigned as he was facing constant death threats. UEFA referee chief branded Mourinho as an "enemy of football"

In 2005 Mourinho was found guilty as was fined for a tapping incident with Arsenal LB, Ashley Cole on account of meeting with the player and agent without the consent of Arsenal. The agent was banned. Eventually in 2006 Cole joined Chelsea, Arsene Wenger and Mourinho had a strained relationship from this which was later patched up. Mourinho was often quoted in the press with his accusations against players diving, and referring decisions. He always had a war of words with rival manager like Sir Alex and Benitez.

For most of the press, it was a shock when Mourinho left Chelsea after the new season had started. And to say the least it has been less than impressive. One of my friends who is a die hard Chelsea fan was in Stamford Bridge for the match against Rosenborg in the first round group stages of the Champions League and said they had atleast 200 chances. A team with all these star players struggling to score against Rosenborg at home?-it is hard to digest. The game was equalized with a Shevchenko header, whom it was claimed in the press that Mourinho insisted not on buying. Mourinho wanted Eto from Barcelona. With Roman and the board looking for a big name striker, Milan honestly i dont think had a problem in getting 31M for Sheva after they had used his quality years. Though they keep claiming that they want him back Milan would be laughing at Chelsea.

Lets forget all the wrong reasons why Mourinho's name always flashed in the news. He has achieved great success with Chelsea. But failure to capture the Champions League and Premiership last season and a lack lustre beginning to the league this season cannot be ignored. Mourinho leaving Chelsea is very similar to Real Madrid sacking League winning coach Fabio Capello. You cannot play for results at such clubs. Mourinho is being criticized for his defensive approach and playing for the points at stake. Having spent all the money and having the kind of players Chelsea have they need to entertain and thrill the fans. I feel strongly that Chelsea V Liverpool in the Champions League though on paper was a fire cracker of a match was one of the most depressing games i have seen in my life. If you are having the results to back you up you can be arrogant and claim that you are a special one.

Mourinho no doubt has achieved some great stuff at Porto. His achievements at Chelsea is good but i would not want to consider it the same as with Porto because of the freedom in the transfer market and the kind of players Chelsea had on the rolls. You can be special but seeing your club Manager's name in the news paper everyday for the wrong reason can be disturbing if i was Roman and the board. You need not back away from arguments and sparring as this happens a lot in the Premiership, but you cannot be someone who goes around looking for trouble. The bad boy image is only good till a point of competition, its a thin line from being a pain.I saw Mourinho's interview with the press after he quit Chelsea and i have a feeling he would find himself in Italy probably in the winter. He said he wants to learn German and Italian, but i think Inter Milan will be his next stop.

What about Chelsea? Its a big road block, and i am not so sure the millions of pounds will save Chelsea. If Chelsea are to win something this season it will be a Herculean task. The new Manager is Avram Grant, the Israeli is a close friend of Roman and was the Director of Football at Chelsea. It is supposed to be a permanent deal, a 2-0 defeat against Man U the following week has by no means helped in nurturing the upset Chelsea fans. No offense to Chelsea fans, but teams like Real Madrid went through this for 4 years before they finally think they have the right guy as Manager. Mourinho is out, but is Chelsea?

Ronaldo? Messi? Rooney?- Bring them on....

Clubs and National teams often are popularized through their strikers and attacking midfielders. Hardly do people notice a quality defender or rather even if they are recognized as great players, they hardly get exposure. Having played mostly as a defender in a variety of positions and having followed world class defenders closely, i decided i should dedicate a spot for a few defenders whom i rate highly of. People talk about Kaka, C.Ronaldo, Messi to name a few as the great attackers in the world. In the past we had Maradona who could run at an entire England team and Pele who has over a 1000 club goals to his credit. But that was back then. Now if you are a Messi, Kaka or a Ronaldo you are special as the competition from defenders that these players face are also tough. There have been a lot of defenders over the years who have been a real impact on the game. I have identified 5 defenders currently in top competition and here is what i think of them with a small video tribute on them too.

Fabio Cannavaro

The now 34 year old Italian captain has by no mean the physical presence of a center back. He is just 1.76M tall, but his speed and anticipation is of the top draw. He still does not lack strength in the air as he has an excellent timing to his jumps. He is dangerous in set pieces in the attacking front as well. Cannavaro has an excellent standing tackle and also has an amazing reverse tackle and hardly is out of sorts with his tackling. He attacks the ball and tries to beat strikers to the ball. With strikers like Henry twice the size as Cannavaro, the Italian plays smart and draws as much fouls as possible on himself. I recently saw the Italy V France match and i was impressed by the way he marked Henry and was a step ahead of him all through the game. 2006 is a year Cannavaro will never forget in his illustrious career. He won the Italian League with Juventus, Captained Italy to the World Cup triumph. He is the first and only defender so far to win the FIFA world player of the year. He was runner up to the Golden ball at the World Cup. He was also winner of the coveted European footballer of the year.

Cannavaro was signed by Real Madrid in the summer of 2006 under the then coach Capello and made some pleasant performances till his 33rd birthday when he made two horrific mistakes against Lyon. Fabio had a better second half of the season last term and won the La Liga in his first year with the champions. This year has been little different though with some quality partners for him in the center of defense. He looks composed and confident in closing down on strikers when he plays alongside taller stronger in the air defenders like Metzelder at Real, or a Nesta or Materrazi in the Italian team. But when the guy wears that Italian jersey and has the captains arm band on he is definitely a Captain in all sense.

Cannavaro needs no introduction but here is a video on why i think he is a good defender.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNsbNyrmzCk

Ashley Cole

In today's football total football is what even the most defensive teams play, where the wing backs are more like additional midfielders due to the importance of being attack minded. We have had the Brazilians Cafu, Roberto Carlos exceed the boundaries of total football. We had Maldini who used to be a wing back before he moved to become a center back. Currently people rate Dani Alves as one of the best wing backs playing the game. For me the best attacking wing back in the last decade has been Roberto Carlos. But i want to stress on the actual concept of defending your flank and providing enough support to your midfield and your strikers. I have picked England LB and now Chelsea player Ashley Cole. Cole is a player whom i share my birthday with- made a 156 appearances with Arsenal when he played 7 years for the Gunners. Tapping issues followed and Chelsea was fined by the Premiership on an illegal approach on the LB. He eventually joined Chelsea and his first season the trip to Old Trafford to face a charged by Ronaldo was a treat to people who enjoy seeing defenders at their best. Time after time Cole kept the high flying winger at bay and choked his attacking play. If you are ready to take on the best and overcome them then you definitely are good. Here is a video with some of the best defending from that game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4djizr5VT8

John Terry

He is a character very similar to Cannavaro who excels when given the responsibilities. Though Chelsea has a very influential Frank Lampard, Captain Fantastic is John Terry. He has been a regular starter with the club from 2000 after coming up through their ranks. Recently also handed the Captain's arm band for the England National team as well. He is a tall, strong defender who just imposes himself on the pitch. He is extremely dangerous in attacking set pieces and has the uncanny ability to rally his team with some crucial headed goals. The Champions League fixture against Barcelona is an example of the same. I would rate a few extra points for his attacking flair and the influence he brings to the teams that he captains. Here is a video of John Terry.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4120563853559794414&q=John+Terry&total=2030&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=9

Carles Puyol

The 29 year old has been an influential captain and player at Barcelona since Luis Enrique left. Puyol was for years one of best right backs in Spain when he started his career at the age of 19. He then moved to the center back role where he has been a regular with Barca and Spain.

The guy is very similar to Cannavaro in his physical stature but in my books has got a lot more consistency in his game. Like Cannavaro Puyol is excellent in the air, though he is short for a Center Back and like a John Terry he marshals the Barca troops excellently. Here is an encore of Puyol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=932BYodF51Y

Alessandro Nesta

Most football journalist consider Nesta as one of the best defenders in the world. The 31 year old Italian world cup winner is in my books the best Center Back in the world. He has the physical attributes that a center back would need, he is strong as an Ox and is 1.87M tall. Excellent standing tackle, pace and excellent in winning balls in the air. During parts of his his time with Milan, they had one of the oldest back fours in the business. Maldini, Cafu, Nesta and Khaladze had a combined age of over 140 but they were the best in their respective positions. Nesta though made his name with Lazio where he made his name playing in the youth team for 8 years and then with the professional team for 9 years. He was captaining the team when Milan wanted to buy Nesta. Lazio valued the Center back at an unheard of 50M Pounds. Eventually Milan got the better of a financial crisis struck Lazio and got the best center back at 30M. He has been playing with Milan giants from 2002. When injuries and retirement from International duty has brought down the so called value of the defender, i want to remind everyone of his quality with a clip from a match at Old Trafford last year against Man U, where the Milan defender rubbed shoulders with youngsters like Ronaldo and Rooney and still shows that he has the legs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jJTvwHgGgA

Here is Nesta against Man U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR-iD0D9qwM

Valladolid pour water over Real fire power

Ronaldinho less Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2-1, on Saturday through a double strike from Messi in the second half. Messi celebrated both goals Brazilian side in respect of his rested Star team mate. Henry has opened his account for Barcelona in competitive football through his strike against Lyon, but he is yet to open his account in La Liga. He had a good game against Sevilla and even hit the post a couple of times. It was his pass that set up Messi for his first goal. It was a superb finish on the volley when Henry expertly picked out the Argentine's run. Rijkard definitely has a problem as there is a wide spread complain that Ronaldinho is performing under par and Henry looked to be enjoying his new role of freedom in the Brazilian's spot on the pitch pretty much similar to a role he has been playing for years at Arsenal. Fredi Kanoute pulled one back in the closing stages with some clinical finishing but it was too late for Sevilla to salvage anything from the game. At this point it is not a big deal to see who wins how many as we are only 4 games into the league. Barca looks impressive and authoritative at home, but as was the case last season, they seem to be struggling away from Nou Camp.

Villareal moved to second in the league, with a win over Murcia. Valencia joined them at same points with a 1-2 win over Real Betis away. Atletico Madrid drubbed Racing Santander 4-0.

As usual i would want to focus more on the Real Madrid game away at Real Valladolid. It was a Sunday fixture. Schuster made changes to his side. He was forced to change the defensive partnership and had to move Sergio Ramos to partner Cannavaro in the center of defense. Salgado got his first start for the season at RB and Marcelo continued to play at LB after a decent performance against Werder Bremen. Diarra and Guti continued their partnership in midfield. Sneijder was rested and Royston Drenthe started on the left side of midfield. Robinho on the right side of midfield, Raul and Van Nistelrooy as the strikers.

The first few minutes of the game clearly showed the Valladolid was no easy run overs. I saw their match against Valencia last week and they gave Valencia a scare at home till the last few minutes. Valenica scraped past them 2-1. The home side was pushing forward, pinning Real in their half and to say the least was not even letting Real player have a few seconds time on the ball. Real in fact were struggling to even complete 3 passes at a stretch. Marcelo and Drenthe were not going anywhere on the Left side and there was no service for Raul and Van Nistelrooy. After 15 mnutes i wondered if Raul was in fact playing because honestly i did not see him getting a touch on the ball. Drenthe and Marcelo were in a competition to lose the ball. Diarra dint have the confidence to keep the ball close to defense and Guti had was in his usual skin where he disappears for stretches of the game.

It was the Captain who realized that the 19 and 20 year olds are not running hard enough. Raul was trying his best to cover most part of the pitch and was constantly seen being agitated with Drenthe on not closing down players. I am not sure what Shcuster expected of Drenthe as he was playing not as an Attacking midfielder and not as a LB. Real for all said and done has never been a team who can suck up pressure in an away game. They cannot defend and win and rather would want to have possession and score and win. A team playing against Real should always look at getting them off the ball and have their fire power dampened by lack of time on the ball. Robinho looked active but had very little service as both Marcelo and Salgado were struggling to make it out of the Real half.

Past 60 mins Raul made one of his trade mark runs, squeezed past the two center halfs and connected for a shot but to be saved brilliantly by a diving Valladolid keeper Butelle. It was nice to see the Real Captain shaking hands in appreciation of Butelle's Save. Real Valladolid made a dangerous attack and Spanish National team Captain made a full stretch dive to make an amazing dive. Casillas was not to be left behind. Schuster should have known that Real are not going to last another 30 more mins without conceding a goal. He made two attacking changes, taking out Robinho for Higuain and the un impressive Drenthe was substituted by Robben.

The Dutchman's entry almost immediately produced results as he started making some runs on the left and most occasions needed 3 Valladolid men to get the ball off him. One of his deflected crosses almost fell invitingly for Raul screaming in. Then it was time for a piece of magic. I say that this goal from Pedro Lopez for me so far is the goal of the season. I always believe that luck plays a major part in such goals but the fact that he attempted this shot is what is to be commended on. It was a scorcher from almost the half line which no keeper in the world could have saved. Not only was it well hit for the pace factor but the placement was out of the world. 1-0 Valladolid. Here is a video of the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h68w5V6LMJ4

Valladolid went to kill the game. Schuster used his final straw, it was a dangerous move, but outlined the thought process of the German. He took out Salgado and introduced Saviola. It was a 3 man defense against an already attacking Valladolid. It was 3 minutes from time when Guti finally woke up from his slumber and threaded a ball through to Van Nistelrooy. One-one with the keeper Van Nistelrooy un selfishly squared it for Saviola for a tap in. Valladolid players screamed for an off side on both the player. Looking at it Van Nistelrooy was not offside when he recieved the ball and Saviola could not be deemed offside as it was not a pass forward as Ruud squared the ball. The goal stood and it was 1-1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba7OIATGxow

Real struggled to earn this point, but a watery pitch and some great attacking football from Valladolid. Real can take hope from this game that with all the attacking Valladolid had Real defense stood up and delivered and it required a long range effort to get a goal against them. Real still head the La Liga with 10 points from 4 games and is unbeaten.

Madrid overcome Werder scare

The La Liga giants opened their Chamipons League campaign at the Bernabeu and it was not the real attractive and attacking football that the Madridistas would have hoped for. Well Werder is no easy team and for that matter no German teams are easy oppositions. They impose themselves on the pitch with their physical presence and nullify most of the attacking flair of the opposition.

Schuster made a couple of changes to his team. He was forced to give Marcelo the 19 year Brazilian a start at LB as Heinze was injured. He also had to give Fernando Gago a start in the defensive midfielder role as Diarra had a suspension for a Red Card from last year. Higuain did well in the last league game against Almeria coming on as a substitute and he started ahead of Robinho on the right.

It was not a open game to start with though Werder are struggling in the Bundesliga with the loss of Klose their striker to Bayern and also Frings injured. The Germans had an answer to the midfield of Real. They did well to silence Senijder who is playing good football. Each time a Madrid midfielder got a ball there were atleat 2 Werder players on him in a flash. The maximum touches initially were to the back four and Gago. Gago meanwhile did an amazing job of marking Diego the key to Werder's attacking flair. The Argentine was constantly on the Brazilian and did an amazing job almost all through the game. Marcelo was a doing a good job in the attacking department. Werder made no major attacks on the right wing and thus Marcelo had anything to defend. He tried to combine well with Sneijder on the left but the Brazilian looked fleet footed but could not put the final ball in and almost looked lost as to what to do each time he advanced to the German quarter of the pitch.

Van Nistelrooy is doing well in drifting away from the central striker role, he did again to the left and waited before he crossed so that his Captain could make a last minute burst into the box and head in his 57th goal in the campaign in his 111th game. Raul has looked sharp since the beginning of the season and is looks as though is enjoying playing in his natural position. He has scored 2 in the La Liga and now continues his scoring run. It was 16 minutes and Real were in front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO7apcOzEDY

Werder dint need a shot in the arm, the equalized from kick off of the Real goal. Tokic crossed in with great accuracy to Sanogo, the striker for once getting ahead of Metzelder. The German looked impressive all through the game and won almost all the aerial battles. His presence was important as Werder was mostly looking at putting in long balls. Cannavaro was having a field day and did well in marshaling the back four. All through the match i could not help noticing Gago and the way he had only one mission and that was to keep Diego quiet. It was evident that was a major strategy as a couple of times he got away from Gago he created some dangerous chances, one of which came in the first half when he crossed in low and Casillas had to save with his foot.

Werder were in charge for the 10 minutes after they equalized but it was Real through Van Nistelrooy who controlled the game for the remaining time till the half time whistle. He took a couple of shots which were close and created constant threat to the Werder defense. Marcelo finally was able to put in a cross but Higuain lost his footing, still able to connect with a decent shot missed the goal. Half time it is 1-1.

Real came out and played the same game they are constantly trying to play this season. At points of the second half there were certain one touch passing plays between Sneijder, Raul and Guti that was a treat to watch. Raul moved towards the left and Sneijder into a more central role. Its amazing to see the work ethic of the captain constantly running down defenders and the keeper to see if he can force a mistake. After all the Germans were playing a similar game to Madrid, trying to hold the ball. It would be the difference in quality that would decide the match. Schuster took out Higuain and brought in Robinho who immediately starting running and floating around. Robinho being brought in was almost an immediate lease of life for Real, as Guti passed in to Raul who was marked by two defenders, Van Nistelrooy timed his run to perfection and finished off in trade mark style past a Werder keeper who stood no chance. It was goal number 50 in the Champions League for the Dutchman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHx2u7PAg1s

Raul earned a well deserved rest, the Captain put his master stroke on the game scoring one and setting up his strike partner. The two look dangerous together. Stats showed that Raul covered an unbelievable 9042M during the time he was on the pitch. He is 30 year old but no wonder even the 20 year olds look up to him. Real's big money signing Arjen Robben got his first playing time. It was interesting to see Robben, Sneijder, Robinho and Drenthe play together. It almost brought back memories of the time Real had Beckham, Zidane and Figo in midfield. Players constantly switching flanks and positions and running at the defense. There was pressure from Werder but Real held the ball and held onto the 3 points. Captain fantastic Raul is Man of the Match in my books.

In the other game i switched channels with was between Liverpool and Porto. Porto at home looked dangerous through the game and went ahead through a penalty, only to be equalized by Kyut's header from a set piece. Liverpool were down to 10 men soon with two yellows for Pennant for some horrific tackles. It is lucky that Liverpool got away with a point.

Chelsea at home were held to a draw by Rosenborg. The away team went ahead first and the constant pressure from Chelsea resulted in Shevchenko adding on to his record in Champions League. Valencia meanwhile was the only team to score an away win when they beat Shalke 0-1.

Real head the group as the other two teams Olympiakos and Lazio had a 1-1 draw.

Madrid "Real" good for Almeria

Real Madrid extended their winning streak of the new season to 3 on Saturday when they defeated La Liga new boys Almeria 3-1. The flattering score line though does not show that Real were put to task by an enthusiastic Almeria side. With Internationals happening over the previous weekend and 18 of Real's 25 first team players having played for their respective countries this was the best chance for any team to win at the Bernabeu. Honestly if it was any other team who could keep up the pressure for 90 mins they would have won against a seemingly heavy footed Madrid.

Schuster rested Van Nistelrooy as the Dutchman played against Bulgaria in his comeback with the Holland national team. Javier Saviola made his first start in front of his new home crowd. Also Drenthe was replaced by Heinze at LB and the dutch prodigy just found a place on the bench. The rest of the midfield was the same as the previous game against Villareal with Schuster banking on Guti and Sneijder for the creative sparks.

It was a packed Bernabeu with over 75,200 fans in to see the new Real Madrid and the attractive football. Well it was not attractive to begin with and it seemed for the most part of the first half an hour that Almeria were not a walk in the park team. It was Real Captain who made the Almeria keeper spill from a long shot where he squeezed between two defenders in trademark style to force a left foot shot on 37 minutes. The "Rabbit" was the first on scene to score from the rebound. It definitely is a dream start for Saviola who has to get the nod of the tough Madrid fans having joined from arch rivals Barcelona.

The second half saw pretty much of the same, and Real struggled to put the final ball in and Schuster was seemingly getting nervous. Schuster was forced to take off an injured Heinze and replace him with Royston Drenthe at LB which is not his natural position. He also took out Robinho and replaced him with another Argentine ever ready for a chance to play-Higuain. I have been impressed with this guy and at his age if was at any other team he would have been a super star.

It required something against the run of play to put the game away for Madrid and who else to look at but the new #23 Wesley Sneijder. The free kick awarded to Madrid was in a dream free kick position for a right footer and Sneijder obliged with a beauty. It was a couple of steps and minimal back lift, the ball cleared the wall, swerved and dipped to get to the left top corner precisely. It was one for the coaching manual and reminded greatly of the ones Ronaldinho usually delivers. 2-0 Real Madrid.

Almeria was in no mood to give up. Kalu Uche scored a brilliant solo goal after he easily bluffed and wrong footed Cannavaro. It was game on. Schuster took out Sneijder and brought in Gago to a standing Bernabeu, partly to give the Dutchman a well deserved rest and also to bolster up the midfield to prevent Almeria from running at his defence. Almeria pushed and kept a high defensive line, but it was the never tired legs of Saviola that forced a quick clearance from Almeria keeper, the return ball in would have found Saviola in an offside position by miles, but the person reacting was Higuain who was well onside who made a cool finish, by lobbing the ball over the advancing keeper. 3-1 Real Madrid and it stayed the same on the night.

Schuster would be happy with this result, because he had a bunch of tired players and Real have an important week ahead as they make their Champions League bow of the season at the Bernabeu against German side Werder Bremen. Schuster will have to pick from Marcelo or Torres for the LB position as Heinze is doubtful and it needs to be seen if Schuster will be tempted to use Drenthe in that position as it is a home game. Spending all that money has given Schuster an embarrassment of riches. He rested Van Nistelrooy, the top scorer of last term and the two who got to start, Saviola and Higuain both scored. I don't want to be Schuster, but i would be surprised if either Saviola or Higuain get a nod ahead of Van Nistelrooy in any important matches. Robben is confirmed to be getting his first playing minutes in a Real jersey tomorrow, but with Sneijder doing so well in the left of midfield, it might actually be a substitute appearance. If Schuster actually decides to play both of them, Sneijder will have to move more central which he has shown he can play and Guti might end up getting axed......

Yellow Submarines sunk by 5 star Real Madrid

Real Madrid stunned Villareal fans with a five star performance on Sunday when they destroyed the home team 5-0. This is one of the worst defeats for Villareal in recent season at home. Real meanwhile has got off to a great start to the league that they are defending following up their earlier home victory against Athletico Madrid with this rampage over Villareal. Real ended the second week in Spanish La Liga with the only team with maximum points.

Capello is out of Real, but the formation that he brought in is still being used by new coach Bernd Schuster. 4-3-2-1 formation with a five man midfiled, the difference is that Schuster is only using one holding midfielder in the form of Diarra. Real have been the big spenders in world football this season having spent close to $118M Euros for 8 new players. Schuster had almost the full team at his disposal except for Pepe and Robben. He lined up Cannavaro and Metzelder in center of defense and Sergio Ramos at RB and Drenthe at LB. Metzelder had a terrific game though his best moments were limited as Villareal struggled with the final ball. Schuster had Guti playing alongside Diarra in midfield. Raul played in the center hole connecting with Van Nistelrooy. Sneijder played on the left wing and Robinho on the right. Villareal came out strongly and attacked Madrid goal with Robert Pires testing Cassilas with a shot right away. Real were quick out of the block with their counter attack. Real waited for Villareal to be committed in their half before their fleet footted attackers found them out of place. The brilliance of Van Nistelrooy in drifting away and getting defenders with him was reason for the first goal. Sneijder put in an amazing long ball from the left with just enough pace for Raul who got in between both the center backs to tap in a goal. The Captain is showing signs of getting back to his old self and is one less from Alfred Di Stefano's goal scoring record.

Villareal would have hoped to start the second half off with a goal but it was Dutchman Sneijder who scored a brilliant freekick. It was the kind of freekick that Ronaldinho scores, the one with two steps and minimal back lift. The ball raised over the wall and swung in to the inside of post and went in. The man who is heir to David Beckham's #23 jersey looks really impressive, 0-2 Real Madrid.

Schuster has claimed that he is comfortable playing Ramos as RB and that is his natural position. The bidding war for Dani Alves went no where and we are almost sure to see more of Ramos as RB. Since he has been shifting between Center back and RB, his crossing and putting the final ball inside the box has always been under question. He seems a bit like a less oiled machine with some good footwork, great technique, stamina and a poor final ball. He surprised everyone with a terrific through ball from the right to Van Nistelrooy, who showed great composure to pause and round the keeper off and squeeze it past a slifing defender. 0-3 Real Madrid.

Seeing Drenthe play at LB, i am not so sure he is going to be a good LB. His mindset is to attack and he hardly has any good tackles. In the second half Schuster took out Raul and introduced Heinze. This allowed Drenthe to move into LM his natural position and showed again how good an asset Sneijder is as he took up a more CAM role. He and Guti combined with some practice like passing and Guti squared the final ball for Sneijder who finished it off emphatically with the outside of his foot. 0-4 Real Madrid.

With the likes of Baptista introduced for Sneijder and Gago in for Diarra, Real looked to finish the game with a clean sheet. Van the Man again drifted wide and collected a ball from Guti before squaring it back to the Spaniard who finished from outside the box with no apparent tackles coming in. 0-5 Real Madrid.

This is how it finally ended, Villareal who defeated Valencia 3-0 at Mestalla on the opening day of the league struggled against some really quick counter attack football and some clinical finishing. As a Madrid fan i am still not convinced that its time to write off the other 19 teams in the league. Barcelona had one of their usual home games when they beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home with a brace from Ronaldinho and one from Yaya Toure. Henry had his first start in Barca shirt as Eto is injured for atleast 3 months. Well a few weeks back Real madrid even lost 3-5 at home to Sevilla in the Spanish Super cup and the shelled out 30 M in the following week to get Heinze and Robben. Well they have the squad, the experience and some real class. Sneijder scored 18 goals last season for Ajax and he already has 3 from 2 games. The man of the match and the man to look out for is #23 Wesley Sneijder.

Picture Courtesy- Realmadrid.com