And Raul being a bench player too
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he only became a bench player after alcorcon, which nobody predicted.
Yeah Manu wouldn't survive many things including taking Kaka off in the CL or staying after the CL crash out ..
Those who don't know Valdano well underestimated the old fox , Jorge is a very smart gentleman and he had his conditions before joining Perez again .
to Perez credit he genuinely didn't want to make the same mistakes again as well he wanted to take the positives (signing big talented players which the fans enjoy and make Real more richer ) and avoid the negatives (selection involvement , managerial sackings , player powers ) ... and tbh u cannot say Perez did a single damn mistake in his first 8 month so far .
As a team they complete each other , Perez with his negotiation skills and contacts and Valdano with his football knowledge.
he's not really repeated the same mistakes as last time but he has made whole new ones.
I mean I said at the time I was unsure of kaka and CR together. turns out I was right but for the wrong reasons - they're getting on fine, it's just that they can't make it work on the pitch together. I mean they can SORT OF, but you'll get one playing well and the other just ok. you'll never get both on fire at the same time because they both play similar positions and take similar roles in the team. compounded to this is higuain being the third attacking player. and all you have is three players of similar inclination which means you produce moments of devastating incision but then plod around for most of the match looking a bit blunt.
but yeah they are a decent team, especially if perez leaves football matters solely to valdano which it does appear that he's doing. I think everyone is waiting for him to flip out and have a bid of a power trip, but so far it hasn't happened and he's had some good motivation!
Now to the million dollar question , what's next ? lets clear the bases
- i think be now you all agree with me that Jorge Valdano is the man behind the throne and he call the shots .
so expect no sacking for Pellegrini this season unless some dramatic drop in form occurs and in that case there will be no way to get back on track except sacking Manu , no matter how much Perez is currently hurt and upset Valdano will stick to his man as long as it takes (and as you can see there was no "Pellegrini sacked " the morning after the CL crash .
well there's no point sacking him now.
even if we come to the bernabeu and win 0-10, sacking him would only cause disruption to the training methods and team atmosphere which with so little time left (and no short-term hero available) it would be counterproductive.
for next summer , the choice will be tricky Real will want a stronger manager than Manu and one can make the team win more trophies without playing boring football , calls for Valdano to come down and take the helm of the team will be strong but Valdano already passed that and the only way he will do that if he is forced to take charge of the team this season with no alternative and even in that case i have my doubts
I don't think valdano will take the reigns. for two reasons:
1. football has changed loads since he was manager. think who was successful then and is successful now? ferguson, capello and lippi (basically the 3 best managers of the last 30 years). no one else has managed to keep up with the changing ways of football. not consistently.
2. the coach is expendable. from where valdano is he has lots of power and basically zero accountability except to perez. he doesn't even hold an official position, he's like general advisor to the president or some other fascist shit. stepping into the manager's chair means stepping into the firing line and valdano's smarter than that.
- Rafa Benitez : at odds with Valdano who called his Liverpool football the famous "shit on a stick" , no matter how much Balague will whore his client and himself to make that happen Valdano may have lots of reservations on Rafa tactics even though he has one advantage that he is a home boy a Real Madrid man through and through .
i don't see them both agreeing on terms but make no mistake Rafa will not have the free hand to screw things like he did with Liverpool , multiply Perry by 1000 Valdano managed successfully before .
- Mourinho: he fit the criteria of strong manager and win stuff , he has the boring football against him and neither Perez nor Valdano want a much arrogant version of Schuster to piss off the rest of the liga with his talk and antics . resorting to Mourinho will be a very last resort if they don't get their man and the 1-2 behind him .
Also Mourinho failure in the Champions league so far makes him an outside call .
it won't be either of these two.
they were the two men valdano named in the "shit on a stick" rant. there's no way he'd hire either of them. and neither should he. benitez plays dour football and is such a depressing vengeful little sourpuss. and mourinho is far too brash to manage real, especially coming off the back of a weak coach. plus both men want total control, which they wouldn't get at real.
-Scolari : his failure as a manager for clubs in Europe is too much , add to that most South American managers fail in Europe , the only good thing on his CV is his ability to make the team one unit (like Mourinho ) and the fact that he managed both Kaka & CR and have awesome relation with them both .
I think he's a lock, tbh.
he was given 6 months at chelsea, and didn't have essien or drogba for most of that time due to injury, and nor did chelsea deliver the crack he said was needed (robinho) to lift the attacking unit which had grown stale.
plus the players didn't like him because 3 years of success under jose turned them all into S&M freaks and they can't be happy with a manager who isn't slapping them around and being a disciplinarian. the only reason they haven't revolted against carlo is because he brought that psychologist over to turn them all into sociopaths, so they aren't bothered if he's not shouty anymore.
but yeah, he's a good manager with a big reputation. he's also the only manager in history to have won the world cup and a continental club competition (libertadores). and as you say he's managed both CR and kaka and has excellent relations especially with CR.
-Wenger : will remain Perez & Valdano first choice but the professor will honor his contract as well know however a failure for Arsenal this season may make it the board choice and that's the only way Wenger will leave Arsenal before 2011.
I don't think he'll leave arsenal except to retire.
Michael Laudrup : Was the front runner when Pellegrini was about to be sacked after the copa del gay crash , it's no secret that Michael did refuse to take over Atletico after a phone call from Valdano .Laudrup fit the criteria in terms of tactical knowledge , ex-Real man (although for 2 seasons ) , huge popularity with Madridista and a young face with a bright future .
true on all counts.
but how big a name is he?
being realistic, he'd be a legend to the previous generation (the raul's and the guti's) but to those under 30 he'd be known on reputation only.
and I feel, having seen pellegrini suffer through his own lack of profile, they will want someone with a bigger name at the helm.
Lolo Blanc : if Laurent don't take over the French National team , Man United or Juve in the summer he will be one of the names on the table . however his relation with Real is almost zero except for Zidane but in terms of new managers who proved themselves in zero time and making a great impression he is second behind Pep.
If Bordeaux managed to go far in the CL it will improve his case especially that Bordeaux already half the way to the quarter finals .
add to that the French league seem to be making great impression this season .
he's a massive outsider. he has no connection with real and is an ex-barca player. it's highly unlikely IMO. more likely that he stays with bordeaux and then takes over united when fergie leaves (I noticed he was saying blanc was too young for international management, at least I think he was). the scot was always a huge fan and I reckon blanc appreciates that.
Marcelo Lippi : if my prediction is correct , Italy will crash out early and Lippi may decide to step down . as a manager he fits all the required criteria but he doesn't speak anything except Italian .
if Juve don't go running for his signature i believe he have a big chance of the spot .
I think juve are already hiring poets to write sonnets and odes to lippi, trying to convince him to return and save them from the depths of mediocrity (mediocrity which is their own fault, I might add. they had at least half the italy u21's on their books and they sold them all! the basis of a golden generation of talent was right there and they flogged it all to keep playing pish like zebina. shame on them).
one last note: don't exclude Raul Blanco Gonzalez he is groomed for a managerial job although i feel he will be assistant first , he may feel it's too much to leave Real to another club and i think he may join the managerial team
raul is starting to LOOK like a manager, tbh. the way he stands on the sidelines and watches the game. you can see he's already thinking about it.
I think he'll retire this summer or next summer and then he'll start coaching, probably he'll start with castilla. I'd give him a 99% chance of becoming the manager someday.
