The Sale

I think we all guessed this would happen, and maybe it's better in the long term... we will make a lot more money to buy great players in the future.

Just to clarify, this is clearly not a "waste of money". They will recover the money in less than 2 years in merchandising alone. Also, Beckham will now hand over 50% of all personal endorsements to the club (they have bought 50% of his image rights). In case Beckham does not do well at the club or the club does not do well without him, they will only pay Man U 18 million pounds, the balance 7 is based on appearances and results. Barcelona had done a projection saying they could earn 10 million a year from Beckham. The Real marketing machine will earn at least 1.5 times that. 70% of all Man U merchandise in Japan is Beckham. Over 50% of all Man U merchandise in Asia is Beckham.
And as to those who say how it's terrible that this deal is terrible because commerce is being put before football, that's just silly. To do well in football you need the money to buy the best players. And for that you need to run your team in a way that makes commercial sense, where you can make money. To delink commerce from sports is an amateur concept, one that died many years ago. The clubs that delink the two only end up close to bankruptcy, like Madrid themselves 3 years ago.

The only way in which this money is a waste is if it results in us not having the cash flow to buy a central defender and a defensive midfielder this summer. If that happens, then I doubt we will win anything next year unless Pavon, Helgura and Makalele manage the entire season without injuries and unless the coach (whoever he may be) drops Hierro.

I know why we bought Beckham but I the greater priority for next season is to buy Chivu and Lucio or Mexes and move Helguera to midfield. Sometime back I had said one defensive midfielder and one central defender, but none of the good defensive midfielders (Viera, Davids, Gatusso) are available cheap so two central defenders would be a better idea with Helguera in midfield.

The team has spoken about how Beckham will may in central midfield with Makalele but I think that will be a big mistake. We lost to Juventus because of our defensive frailties, both at the back where Hierro was disastrous, and in midfield where Davids overran a midfield that was sorely missing Makalele. I am worried that playing Beckham in the middle will leave Makalele even more isolated and overworked than the last year, and instead of addressing our weaknesses accentuates them.

That is why I still hope we sell Figo... with his diminished skills, I don't see him as significantly better than Beckham on the right flank. Yes Figo is better, but not significantly... he is getting older and slower every year, he tends to give the ball away, he doesn't release the ball quickly enough, he over-dribbles and he dives too much. His moments of genius put him at a level above Beckham the difference not unbridgeable. So while Figo is still better than Beckham, I think it's better to have Beckham replace Figo on the right than to play Beckham in the middle. A midfield of Beckham-Helguera-Makalele and Zidane will control games far more effectively than a midfield of Figo-Beckham-Makalele-Zidane. Beckham prefers the middle but the reason why he has not been able to nail down a spot in the middle even for England is because he simply cannot control a game from the middle, he cannot be a "pivot" and he also then loses his greatest strength, the crosses from the right. Honestly, when it comes to playing at the middle, Beckham is only marginally better than Guti at this stage, and I'm sure enough people in Madrid would debate that as well.

Selling Figo even in a depressed market will still free up some cash and allow us to add some steel to the line-up by buying 1 or 2 world class defenders.
The plan right now seems to be to sell only Morientes at this stage along with some possible B-Team players like Tote (who I actually think is an excellent player). There are a lot of players who can be sold now... Geremi, Celades, Tote, Morientes and collectively they should raise at least 15 million pounds. Throw Figo into the mix and we will end up with enough cash to buy some superb defensive players. We will also recover the cash on Beckham and come out looking like geniuses from this.

Man U may have made a marketing mistake but in footballing terms it's probably a great move. If they replace Beckham with Ronaldinho and a world-class goalkeeper they will be serious Champions League contenders next year, a team that is strong in every part of the field except one of the wing-backs. But the terms of the payment from Madrid (over 4 years) means that they won't have a great cash flow situation and they will need to negotiate similar terms for the players they buy.

Real Madrid 4-Athletico Madrid 0
Meanwhile Real Sociedad lost 3-2 to Celta Vigo leaving Madrid 2 points clear with one match to go after having gone into the match in second place

Match Review and Thoughts on il Fenomenon

A spectacular performance as all the stars came out to shine against Athletico with the title at stake.
Zidane looked a little tired as did Figo but they still managed to shake it off and deliver when it mattered most.

There was clearly tension in the air with it being a derby and with so much at stake but the team killed the game in less than 20 minutes.
By 30 minutes we were on a different planet and could already start thinking of the game at Vigo (where Vigo were already leading against Sociedad) and the game next week against Bilbao when the 29th title now lies in our hands.
The first goal had Zidane threading through an inch-perfect pass to il Fenomenon who finished spectacularly with his left foot.
The second goal had Figo deliver a better than Beckham cross to the foot of Raul in front of goal.
The 3rd was the same from the left flank to Ronaldo... this time the provider was Roberto Carlos.
The 4th goal by Raul (off another Zidane pass) was like icing on the cake but in those 30 minutes, the big 5 all stood up to be counted.

Almost everything was perfect, including the formation where Guti in midfield had one of his best games in ages.

So why almost... because of the ease with which young Torres made Hierro look his age... going past him with ease leaving the great man looking old and slow and clumsy yet again. I hate having to say this almost every week, and I love and respect the man for being the soul of this team during our revival in the late nineties, but he is dishonouring his legacy in playing on as a shambolic parody of himself.

But be that as it may, let's end by saluting il Fenomenon. Yes he missed a few sitters and could have had 5 goals last night. But just getting those chances is tribute to his genius. His runs, his feints, his intelligence... his absolutely unparalleled ability to see spaces and create opportunities where none seem to exist.

I have often called Raul the best forward in the world over the last 4 years. People across the world talk about Van the Man or Thierry Henry as being the best forwards in the game today. The Pichici title will go to Makaay. Sheva and Vieri will stake their claim to the title. But when il Fenomeno starts playing close to his best, and since the Christmas break, he is almost as good as he was in 97-98, none of these players come close. A Jaguar is a great car. So is a Lamborghini. But neither can ever be a Ferrari.

In the 4 years of darkness, we had come around to recognising Zidane as the greatest player of our generation. But the Fenomenon is back. And if he stays this way, then despite the 4 lost years, the son of Algerian immigrants in the suburbs of Marseille will have to be content to be an all time great, the most complete player of his generation... but not the Greatest.

Because the Greatest will be someone who at various times has been called unprofessional, overweight and mercenary... but who, at the end of the day, is just an exuberant, buck-toothed man-boy from Brazil who loves to score goals.

Il Fenomeno is ready to re-stake his claim as the only living player who can be mentioned in the same breath as Pele and Maradona.
The world's best-loved footballer is back where he belongs.
To the divine powers that control footballing destiny... we can only say thank you!