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Since winning the Champions League last season, nothing has gone in Real Madrid's favor. They have been constantly suffering in tournaments, transfers, managerial changes etc. It seems like all the luck they had over the years in Champions League is coming back as a curse to them.
First, the departure of Zinedine Zidane, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. Then the controversial appointment of Julen Lopetegui, as well as the UEFA Supercup defeat to Atletico Madrid. Also, the failure to sign a big name player to replace Cristiano Ronaldo and the idea that Gareth Bale will be able to fill that void has also backfired.
Thibault Courtois was signed from Chelsea to replace Keylor Navas and that move has also failed as the Belgian has been very awful for Los Blancos, while Navas has still shown that he is world class goalkeeper and he should be the one in the starting line up.
To rub more salt on their wound this season, Los Blancos failed to record any victory in the El Clasico and their failure was highlighted by the 5-1 humiliation they suffered at the hands of their arch-rivals Barcelona during their first encounter.
More misery was piled on the Galacticos on Tuesday as they were sent packing from the UEFA Champions League by Ajax, with both the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy also out of the reach.
A club like Real Madrid is not expected to have such a torrid time, but the truth is that they are in a terrible situation at the moment and here are 5 reasons behind their horror season:
#4 Departures
In football, players and managers coming in and going out is very common. But some players and managers have a lasting impact on the club. Their departures leave a big void in the team, which in most cases is very difficult to fill in a short span of time.
In the summer of 2018, Real Madrid's best manager in recent times Zinedine Zidane and their best player Cristiano Ronaldo left the club. This clearly left a big void at the Bernabeu, which seems like it's too big to fill for Florentino Perez.
In Cristiano Ronaldo, the club lost a player who is capable of winning games on his own and a player who managed to score almost 50 goals every season; while in Zizou, they had a manager who was respected by every player in the club and got his tactics on most occasions spot on.
It is evident how much Real Madrid have missed Cristiano Ronaldo this season, with the club creating plenty of chances but finding it very difficult to convert them. Also, Real Madrid were very much comfortable with Zidane's tactics, players were given more individual freedom and the style of play got the best out of the squad.
#3 Managerial Instability
Managerial stability is something that is very hard to find in modern football. Either there is stability but no trophies, or there are trophies but no managerial stability. But, nevertheless having a good manager is always an advantage for any football club.
This season, Real Madrid sacked Julen Lopetegui after they lost to FC Barcelona 5-1 at Camp Nou. There were other disappointing results as well, as Lopetegui failed to establish his football at the Bernabeu and finally lost the job.
If Real Madrid had kept more faith in him by now they would have been able to understand his football and they might not have been in this situation. Even, in Jose Mourinho's first season he lost 5-0 to Barca but went on to win the Copa Del Rey that season. This managerial instability at Bernabeu has also done more harm than good to Real Madrid.
#2 Transfers
Real Madrid are often referred to as the kings of the transfer window, due to the brilliant ways they sell their players as well as how successful their Galacticos policy has been in recent years. They sold Mesut Ozil and Gonzalo Higuain to sign Gareth Bale in 2013. While somehow they also managed to convince Chelsea of buying Alvaro Morata for €70 million.
This season, they sold Cristiano Ronaldo and allowed Mateo Kovacic to join Chelsea on loan. While they brought in Vinicius Junior, Odriozola, Courtois and Diaz - none of the signings have been really spectacular.
Vinicius has been the most impressive but he is only 18 years old and he cannot be expected to fill Cristiano Ronaldo's boots immediately. The likes of Courtois, Ordorizola, and Diaz have all been below average with their outputs so far during the campaign and that further reveals why they are struggling this season.
#1 Poor individual performances
None of the Real Madrid players have played at the level that is expected of them this season. Even Toni Kross recently admitted that his fellow teammates are not playing up to the level they should be playing.
In recent seasons they have relied upon individuals to win them trophies, such as Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017 Champions League or Gareth Bale in the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2018.
But this season, top players like Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro, Varane, Asensio, Bale, Modric and Kross have been far away from their best. For any team to execute their game plan better, they need players who have good individual quality but the Real Madrid players are not playing at the level they have played in past.
The absence of Sergio Ramos at the back has exposed how vulnerable their defense is. The trio of Kross, Modric, and Casimero can no longer dominate play from the middle of the pitch while players like Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema are all misfiring in front of goal at the moment.
