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2017 was well and truly Real Madrid’s year. They won 5 trophies and became the first club in the history of the UEFA Champions League to win the trophy twice in a row (since it became the Champions League from the original European Cup).
However, the end of the year wasn’t as good, as they are currently trailing bitter rivals Barcelona by 14 points in the league. Indeed, Madridistas are currently barely fostering hopes of a top-four finish, let alone of winning the league, keeping in mind the current state of the affairs.
Regardless, here are the 5 things that we learned from Real Madrid last year:
#5 Zinedine Zidane is the man to lead them forward
While there might be a number of calls for Zinedine Zidane to be sacked after the way Madrid have performed this season, the truth is that he is the best man for the Blancos at this point of time.
Let’s have a look at the alternatives. If Zidane is sacked, then who could take over? Mauricio Pochettino? He won’t command the same respect as the Frenchman does. Apart from Pochettino, Ancelotti’s name has been mentioned, but he has been sacked from his last two jobs, so it remains to be seen how he could be deemed as an improvement.
Guti is another person, but it seems a difficult choice with Cristiano Ronaldo on board as the temperamental nature of the two could cause rifts. As a result, the best man right now is undoubtedly Zinedine Zidane, and in Zidane they should trust.
Even if they end up trophy-less.
#4 Benzema is not the man to lead the line
This is the reason why a lot of people in the Madrid fan base want Zidane out. The Frenchman’s love for his compatriot has perhaps breached the limits and it is now at a level where it can be deemed as unhealthy.
The former Lyon man has scored only 5 times from 20 games this season and wasn’t really great in Madrid’s double-winning season as well, scoring 19 goals from 48 games—something that is not up to the mark for a striker who plays for Real Madrid.
Granted, he could have had better statistics if he didn’t have to serve Cristiano Ronaldo, but the way he misses chances is something that infuriates the fans. These days, his passing has also been lackluster—something that his fans use as in their defence—and Real Madrid really need someone more effective to play instead of him.
#3 They don’t spend much anymore
Once upon a time, Real Madrid spent money like no other club. Signing all the big-name players for huge money, they were the original Galacticos—the real reason why the market is what it is today: inflated.
It is funny how times change. Back then, Real were the biggest spenders in the market and now they are among the least flamboyant clubs when it comes to shopping for footballers. The likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Manchester United, and even Barcelona have outspent the Blancos over the last few years.
In the last window, they sold Alvaro Morata and let go of James Rodriguez on loan and bought no-one else to fill the void that was created by the departure of the two. Their net spend has been negative for the last two seasons and we are quite astounded by that.
#2 Over-reliance is not good
The fact that both Alvaro Morata and Mariano Diaz were sold without the club buying proper replacements shows how much the Galacticos relied—and still do—on Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While the Portuguese might not have had a good time in the league, his time in the Champions League has been phenomenal and it is for this reason that he can still be defended. Benzema, meanwhile, has been just terrible.
This brings us to the conclusion that the reliance of Zidane over his two forwards has come to bite him in the back. He has the chance to rectify that in this January window, but the way he has gone about this, it seems unlikely that he will.
#1 All that's well, does not necessarily end well
"All's well that ends well" is a popular phrase most of us have heard since we were kids. However, that's not always the case. Even now, every once in a while, I am reminded of this—and Real Madrid did the exact same thing with the way they played in the second half of the year.
After finishing the 2016-17 season with a double and 2017 as a whole with 5 trophies, they still ended the year on a low after losing 3-0 to Barcelona at home in the Clasico. Meanwhile, the Catalans had a terrible 2017 in retrospect, but still had a sweet taste in the mouth when the year ended.
The Galacticos are currently 14 points behind their eternal rivals and the league is as good as lost. Indeed, even in the UEFA Champions League, Madrid ended up second in their group and now have to face Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Clearly, things aren’t really all that rosy in the Madrid camp at the moment.
