Mateo Kovačić

[Chainsaw]

Like how Marcelo & Ramos been here for 10 years ? you do realize you only have in your team Messi & Iniesta only who stayed as long as them right ?
Good so we are like Spurs .. we didn't win La liga 4 years ago or the champions league a year ago...
But i guess another resident Madridista already pushed a list of the current team and who long they stayed

That was my answer toward BBZ who think every youngster that Real Madrid sign is bound to be there for a long time, building up for a future that no one knows about +5 years later. It's true that many of the names mehdimike published are still in the club for several years but at the same time each transfer market that arrives there is the talks that either the club, the coach or the player himself are not happy with their situation at the club. I mean look at Bale. Win the CL with Real in his first year and the next season a series of poor performances and all the reports come out of his transfer. Isco, each summer there are reports that he's not happy at the club and wants a move. Illaramendi who was labeled as Xabi Alonso has failed big time. He's just there at the club but has had no impact anywhere close to what people expected when Real signed him for that huge amount. Lucas Silva who had a few performances when arrived and then vanished. Dani Carvajal who many believed to be occupying the RB position for Real Madrid for a long time only had two seasons as a regular in the first team before being sent to the bench by another new arrival Danilo. You might as well count the seasons each of your players has been in the club but whether they were regular and influential players in the first team is another matter. There is no such a stability as BBZ try to picture with every young star Real Madrid sign, as the pressure is huge and the patience is thin in such clubs, nor every youngster who arrives is fine with being second fiddle to many other players season after season.

I never said Real is like Spurs, but you might as well agree that compare to the amount Real Madrid has spent in all these years their achievements are pretty much thin.

 

[Beast]

That was my answer toward BBZ who think every youngster that Real Madrid sign is bound to be there for a long time, building up for a future that no one knows about +5 years later. It's true that many of the names mehdimike published are still in the club for several years but at the same time each transfer market that arrives there is the talks that either the club, the coach or the player himself are not happy with their situation at the club. I mean look at Bale. Win the CL with Real in his first year and the next season a series of poor performances and all the reports come out of his transfer. Isco, each summer there are reports that he's not happy at the club and wants a move. Illaramendi who was labeled as Xabi Alonso has failed big time. He's just there at the club but has had no impact anywhere close to what people expected when Real signed him for that huge amount. Lucas Silva who had a few performances when arrived and then vanished. Dani Carvajal who many believed to be occupying the RB position for Real Madrid for a long time only had two seasons as a regular in the first team before being sent to the bench by another new arrival Danilo. You might as well count the seasons each of your players has been in the club but whether they were regular and influential players in the first team is another matter. There is no such a stability as BBZ try to picture with every young star Real Madrid sign, as the pressure is huge and the patience is thin in such clubs, nor every youngster who arrives is fine with being second fiddle to many other players season after season.

I never said Real is like Spurs, but you might as well agree that compare to the amount Real Madrid has spent in all these years their achievements are pretty much thin.

That applies to all players... it means nothing
the Carvajal example.. would you consider he has to replace Danilo only while for example you have Alba , Adriano & Mathieu all fighting for the LB spot ...
of course all clubs will have the odd failure for one reason or the other (didn't live up to his reputation , failed to adapt etc ) .. for Every Sahin, Lucas & Illarra there is examples like Zlatan in Barca , Vermeulen etc ... we always look at the overall.. yet despite giving Illarra several chances he never lived up to the hype of his Socidad days buying him after stellar performances with Spain under 21 & RS years was correct he looked like Xabi direct replacement however it's a matter of character ..Lucas will be loaned for a year similar to Casemiro before him + we don't have an empty EU spot.. we'll see how he turns out
the football wisdom says buy & replace when you are the strongest especially after a successful year .. to avoid complacency and players thinking they've achieved it all .. so while Carvajal did great .. Arbeloa on his downhill time now & offer no replacement and Carvjal like Marcelo played an important role in the team game
Barca & Real .. United , Chelsea , Arsenal etc all will be rumored with all the players in the world.. the press will want to sell , agents wants a better deal & another cut of his player or even a club is using it as a tactic to renew current players or get a player under everyone radar (see Kova deal while AS & Marca where all pointing towards Wolfsburg star ) .. pretty normal doesn't always mean the player is leaving or the club is looking...
for example i was pretty surprised with the De Bruyne rumor.. not that anything is wrong with him but he is a pure AM and we do have Isco & James along with Bale demanding the spot.. Kova makes sense due to Modric age

agree the pressure is huge and if the player doesn't grab the chances given he will be sold quickly because neither Barca or Real have the luxury of going several years trophy-less

IMO it's all down to the player characters not the club nor the pressure.. only those with strong characters make it with the big boys.. i said so many times we should always do like Aulas applied in Lyon several years ago.. they used to have psychological reports on the players before they buy them to know if they can settle in Lyon , the French culture and have what it takes...

 

[mehdimike]

I mean look at Bale. Win the CL with Real in his first year and the next season a series of poor performances and all the reports come out of his transfer. Isco, each summer there are reports that he's not happy at the club and wants a move. Illaramendi who was labeled as Xabi Alonso has failed big time

It's right but honestly why shouldn't any big club try to buy Bale,Isco,CR,Benz...etc?
After all the purpose of signing is to strengthen your squad.And honestly you can only name Ozil and Dimaria who were sold in their peak time.And even both selling was right decision.

And Since 2010 there are more Barca players who were sold in less than 3 years after their signing!

Ibra-Chygrynskiy-Villa-Sanchez-Fab-Song went in less than 3 years.Just Alba-Neymar-Mascherano-Racitic-Bravo-Matt-Mathie-Suarez are Pro-2010,while 5/8 of them joined last season!!
The only Pre-2011 signing is Masch!

 

[BBZ8800]

3-4-5 years ? as if we didn't win the champions league last year ... you make it sound like we have won anything for 20 years..
I don't trust Rafa to deliver but if you think you will still be on top for the next 3 years.. i have my doubts.. age is not kind to any player (see Ronaldo )

You won a CL, true.

I wanted to say that things won't drastically change in the next 4 years compared to how it was in the last 5-10 years in Spain/Europe.

Roughly, my estimation, if Messi will play in Barca in the next 4 years:
-- La Ligas:
-- Barca 3, Real 1
-- Champions league:
-- Barca 2 titles, Real 0, random teams 2 titles
-- or Barca 2 titles, Real 1, random teams 1 titles

When I say screwed, I don't mean that you will win zero titles.
You can still win La Liga or two, national cups, some supercups or even 1 Cl while Messi is here, but in general, until Messi will be here, Barca will still be in general the best in the world by some margin.

But I said a lot of times, when Messi will be gone, darker times for Barca will come.
Even if we'll remain one out of 2-3-4 best teams in the world, it will be quite a shock for our fans and it will take time to except the reality when we won't be the favorite in more or less any single game/competition like we were in the last 5-10 years.
(Ok, there were some moments when we were 50:50 with Real or Bayern, but in general, we are ALWAYS favorites.
For example, what are the odds for this season's La Liga?
-- something like: Barca 60%, Real 30%, Atletico and all other teams 10% or even less.
What are the odds for Champions league?
= something like: Barca 50%, Real 25%, Chelsea 10%, Juve 10%, all other teams 5%)

Imo, there is no way that these percentages will change as long as we have Messi (and guys like Ney and Suarez around him).
But again, a totally different world will start when Messi will be gone.

 

[Beast]

I see where you are coming from whoever although Messi does make the difference when the chips are down there is a limit as well... lately as in the last several clasico's Messi contribution was more scoring from Direct freekicks & penalties than 5-6 years ago when he could take the team...
even when you look at the past 2 years the difference away from those were Neymar & Suarez...Messi is not a novelty for us and if we maintain the point differences and pending how the Rafa experiment pens out *god help me * i see the odds are 50-50 for all trophies despite Ronaldo being half the player he was before

 

[BBZ8800]

I see where you are coming from whoever although Messi does make the difference when the chips are down there is a limit as well... lately as in the last several clasico's Messi contribution was more scoring from Direct freekicks & penalties than 5-6 years ago when he could take the team...
even when you look at the past 2 years the difference away from those were Neymar & Suarez...Messi is not a novelty for us and if we maintain the point differences and pending how the Rafa experiment pens out *god help me * i see the odds are 50-50 for all trophies despite Ronaldo being half the player he was before

Ok, Messi didn't shine in El Classicos, but over 38 rounds in La Liga or over 20 CL matches, he usually makes the difference, or in 5 out of 10 Seasons (something like that).

Barca's team without Messi is a very good team. Equal to Real (or maybe slightly weaker), but when you add Messi to the current team, then we are stronger than anyone.

So, yes, Messi alone can't win trophies (like in Argentina), he needs guys like Xavi+Iniesta or Suarez+Neymar.
But since Barca is not Argentina and we can BUY players (unlike in NT teams), our board bought nice players to play around Messi and to help him to maintain our team on the highest levels.
There were talks about Messi's final years and some of our fans are for buying older players (or in their prime) like Arda/Suarez who will shine in Messi's final years.
Other fans would like younger players already, for the future.

I respect Real, you can knock us out in a CL over 1-2 matches.
But over 38 La Liga matches and if MSN won't be injured, we are usually favorites.

I expect a rocky start from our team, because they are still in a dreamland, and it will take time to charge the motivational batteries.
But if they won't screw too many matches, we should be ready for spring 2016 for final La Liga and CL matches (with Arda and Vidal).
So, if we regain motivation, we should be good in 2016.

Anyway, I am not saying that we are favorites for the next 4 years only because I am a Barca's fan.
Imo, that is reality.

 

[Beast]

I was impressed how Messi changed his game last year & reinvented himself.. that was worthy of praise & the title of the best of all time .. he still get the juice especially over the course of 38 games and if Lucho can keep you fresh for the second half...

sure it will be an interesting season for both club

 

[mehdimike]

Messi is not a novelty for us and if we maintain the point differences and pending how the Rafa experiment pens out *god help me * i see the odds are 50-50 for all trophies despite Ronaldo being half the player he was before

Honestly i fancy our chances in Cup games more than the league ones.
Our record against Barca in Cup games isn't Bad,While our league is.

2010-11 Copa Final : Real
2010-11 UCL-Semi : Barca
2011 Super-Cup : Barca
2011-12 Copa : Barca
2012 Super-Cup : Real
2012-13 Copa : Real
2013-14 Copa Final : Real

4-3 for Real

And Real won the last 3 Cup Matches!

 

[Beast]

For sure by the time we meet Barca under Rafa we will know.. don't forget Carlo was a cup specialist more than Rafa.. although the later under Liverpool took Barca out this was ages ago...

If he really maintain his word about rotations than than the team will be fresh for the later stages of the season & could maintain the marathon for la liga unlike the last 2 years when the last month we were so tired we had to give up on la liga completely...

Kova presentation in 20 minutes he passed the medical

Welcome home Kova... make us proud

 

[mehdimike]

Barca's team without Messi is a very good team. Equal to Real (or maybe slightly weaker), but when you add Messi to the current team, then we are stronger than anyone.

But over 38 La Liga matches and if MSN won't be injured, we are usually favorites.

Last year also they weren't injured and Real was at the top of the table when suddenly Modric-James-Benz-Pepe-Ramos-Bale got injured.

 

[Beast]

So he wears number 16.... officially

good turnout for a midday presentation too from the fans

 

[Chainsaw]

His #10 went to Stevan Jovetic at Inter.

[video]https://video-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xfp1/v/t42.1790-2/11843804_1000460250004114_204869015_n.mp4?efg=eyJy bHIiOjM0MywicmxhIjo1MTJ9&rl=343&vabr=191&oh=2a69ffd2153915fdeaaa52c8cdceb094&oe=55D479AD[/video]

 

[dakt]

 

[Beast]

Kovacic: "Modric has been important in this. He is a great friend and very important for me. I'm happy to share the same dressing room."

 

[Raed]

Sometimes i wonder if staying too long in Canada has dropped the blood supply to your brains buddy... it's getting scary with your latest posts

Selling Xabi at that age for that amount .. making hell lot of money from Ozil , Higuain , Di Maria ...
Xabi was old and getting clumsy * you can see what it matters the most for Bayern last season * .. he can dominate the small games but big games need younger legs... i will not forget he could have costed us the final with his dumbest yellow card in the semi-final second leg when the result was way beyond any team reach... we had to play Khedira... i say no more
Di Maria one of the bright stars of La Decima season but as far as it pains me it looks like we were right to sell moreover when you say poor you easily disregard how we smoked every tom , dick & harry for half a season including an emphatic & convincing win over the treble winners Barcelona.. we were way ahead in the driver seat until fatigue struck in & that's basically Carlo problem.. for so many games the results were fine he could have rested both Kroos & Modric... last year was not about missing Di Maria hell we played even better with James but it was a poor management by Carlo and probably nothing triggered his departure except looking back at how the team fell flat in 2-3 month of the second half of the season..

As for Ozil are you kidding me ? fragile ? Ozil 5 AM nightlife & poor fitness (remember he never played well over 60 minutes in any game )was reported extensively in the Spanish press... i remember Cule's here were laughing when we sent him packing eventually whoever replaced him was influential in both trophies won when he left including the much coveted la decima.. and Isco provided much more consistency ..
As for Bale replacing Ozil.. as i said it seems there is lack of blood flow to the brains my friend due to Canada weather...

Mourinho = 4-2-3-1 = Ozil is the AM
Carlo = 4-3-3 = No AM in the first season = Bale-Ronaldo-Benzema front 3 , Xabi-Modric-Di Maria midfield...

So Bale was not an upgrade to Ozil.. he is BETTER THAN OZIL in Carlo 4-3-3 formation & Ozil would have struggled both with fitness and as RW

as for the front part

Real Madrid is by far the best run club in the world..
I wonder if you know how close is the relation between Perez & Ronaldo /Benzema? or how Jose angel Sanchez (the Bad cop to Perez good cop ) and Mourinho who still rave about his relation with both ?
Under Perez he gets the Galactico's the manager gets the rest ... advisers such as Zidane played a huge role in getting Varane and elevating Benzema to another level

The club loan a young gun for a year and see if he is worth it is pretty successful on all fronts ..either he makes it & return ala De La Red , Carvajal , Casemiro or prove he is not on the same level (or not needed at the time) and the club makes big money out of him ala Soldado, Negredo etc

compare that to all the failed attempts to copy us from big guns... take Barca from Gabi to Bojan all the way to Denis Suarez & Def. etc or United's Wilfried Zaha or Macheda etc

The buyback clause is now standard for big teams ..

you can say we don't meet the required sport success but management wise..99.9% of other clubs would love to be run as successful as we are ... if Barcelona didn't have their best generation in history Real would probably have won 2-3 more Champions league and 5-6 liga's but it's their time the fact that we did manage leagues under the nose of Messi-Xavi-Ronaldinho and co and even got our Champions league says it all... it is the Barcelona era in the past decade and we do have to acknowledge that as well as acknowledging Messi will probably go down in history as the best ever ... it's an unusual circumstances but happens every once in a blue moon like our Di Stefano team , Cruyff Ajax team , the Caesar Bayern Munich team , The Dutch trio Milan team.. it just happens that's why such teams are memorable




Man it's not about dribblers.. it's about moving with the ball the way Modric do.. a box to box who can hold the ball well and gain space
James is a great dribbler but different set of skills.. he is more latin .. Kova especially his roulette dribbles remind me more of Zidane because he keeps the ball within his legs away from defenders reach.. anyhow he is an exciting talent & we'll wait to see how he develops

Last season was a throw away. We had no reason to not win any titles. Again you are discussing the sales on individual basis, I am saying they make perfect sense but on the grand scheme of things, the combination of their sales wasn't great as well as the timing. Has nothing to do with Canadian weather. You cannot justify everything Real Madrid does either. Yes, I understand that Barcelona are through their best phase ever with the greatest player of all time. How does it make any sense that on the third season under Mourinho after winning the league we trimmed the squad and lost everything? We did the same under Ancelotti. We trimmed the squad and made too many changes. The individual changes are solid, but collectively they weren't smart business. We should have capitalized on last season by preparing better. Injuries are part of the game, but those were not freak accidents either, they are because of lack of rotation AND lack of alternatives.

The Carlo Ancelotti issue is a different matter, because his mistakes are his mistakes, but the arrivals and departures are not his. The board could have set up Ancelotti better but I was the first to criticize Carlo and as much as I love the man, I highlighted his mistakes too.

Also, have no you not noticed how if it isn't Perez interfering the club would be a mess? ONLY when Perez steps in do we purchase players, ONLY when Perez steps in do we complete the renewals of players. The club can't get shit done with Perez himself stepping in. The Casillas saga? Ended in 2 days when Perez stepped in but it dragged for months. Now, I don't know anything but the club internal affairs but from afar, if it aint Perez, nothing would get done. Poor.

As for dribblers, what is a ball carrier my friend if not a good dribbler? James is a good dribbler but not for long stretches but I am not complaining about him, I am complaining about the lack of players like Modric, and both Bale and Ronaldo are donkeys now 90% of the time.