5 key players for Real Madrid in 2015/16 season

After spending a season under the shadows of eternal rivals Barcelona, Spanish giants Real Madrid are out to regain supremacy as they raise the curtains to their 2015/16 campaign today at El Molinon in the first La Liga fixture.Now with a new man patrolling the dugout, and after some vital additions and obliterations from the squad, Los Blancos seem all fired up to stake a serious challenge on all the three fronts this season and resurrect their damaged reputation.Here are the 5 players who are key in their quest to win titles and trophies this term.

#5 Keylor Navas

Keylor will be expected to successfully fill Iker Casillas' boots – a huge, huge task

With Iker Casillas bidding adieu to the club, the heir to his position in between the pipes is turning out to be Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican is poised to take up the No.1 jersey and although he is set to face competition from the new signing Kiko Casilla, he isn’t expected to prove a tough competition anytime soon.

Navas was shipped in on the back of a fairytale World Cup event in Brazil, but wasn’t as much scintillating in Real Madrid colours. The former Levante netminder appeared haphazard in goal and lacked confidence. However, he should be neither this season, as he is set to take up a bigger role.

Navas featured in all the pre-season fixtures and was quite encouraging in his displays. But what’s more important is to subsist the same in the official games as well.

#4 Sergio Ramos

The ‘Decima’ hero for the faithfuls but a pantomime villain for the rest, Sergio Ramos has earned a hugely divided opinion about himself. The Spanish centre-back may be known for his needless fouls and horrendous disciplinary record, but the influence he has in Real’s games cannot be denied.

After a decade long association with the capital club, Ramos now enters his 11th season with the all-whites of Madrid and remains his side’s most integral defender. The maverik 30-year old possesses an aerial prowess that is hardly matched by any and his performances inside the box are often commanding, dominating the rivals with his stature and unwilling to give up any cause.

Now with the added responsibility of captaincy on his head, Ramos is set to have a challenging season.

A porous defence was one of the biggest dilemma The Galacticos had to contend with last season. It is vital for Ramos to be in a rich vein of form to shrug the same, off, and also have a good chance of winning silverwares.

#3 Luka Modric

Without Luka Modric in the fold, Los Blancos appeared listless in the centre last season. They were devoid of ingenuity in the midfield and were run ragged by the likes of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Schalke, Villareal, et al. Such is the vitality of this habile Croat. The playmaker is the creative engine that runs the Real juggernaut and having him in the squad is equivalent to entering a game 1-0 up.

After the prolonged injury lay-offs in the previous campaign, Modric enters the current one in the top of his fitness and will be aiming to make amends for all the lost opportunities with a midfield masterclass.

The twinkle-toed midfielder is blessed with a great vision for passing and has the ability to turn the tables instantly with his long range crosses or solo efforts at goal. His ability to play equally adroit with both feet allows him to make swift offensive positionings off the ball and is vital in instigating attacks on the counter.

Should Modric be able to finish the season unscathed, Real Madrid are sure to have a memorable one.

#2 Gareth Bale

Irrefutably, the player in the Real Madrid roster with the most to prove is Gareth Bale. The world’s most expensive player made a whirlwind debut in Spain when he played a starring role in helping the Whites do the double of league cup and the much yearned ‘La Decima’ last year. But the season that followed next was more of a stinker, with the Welsh star struggling to replicate those heroics again.

Bale was relegated to an object of derision in the eyes of the faithfuls and moreover, wanted him to be dropped from the squad altogether. And in a recent poll, the results indicate that the opinion still persist. That is something Bale would like to change firstly this season.

The 25-year old struck just 17 times last season, 13 of which came in the league, in 48 appearances overall. The figures aren’t convincing and have to raise his stock tenfold this time around as there is so much to work for.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

More goals. More awesomeness form this Portuguese.

Well, it had to be him. Who else exercises as profound an influence on the squad as he does? Cristiano Ronaldo, last campaign, accounted for a whopping 40% of the total goals Real Madrid accrued across all competitions and suffice to say is the single biggest goal threat for his side.

Having amassed at least 50 strikes for 5 seasons on the trot, Ronaldo is the most prolific man in the attack for Real and much of their fortunes depend on his form and fettle. He has, most of the times, been the anchorman who bailed his side out of trouble and will once again be the guiding light to Real’s title march.

With no injury concerns as of now, the Portuguese international is in the pink of health and must start firing at all cylinders right from the off, if he’s to harbour any hopes of dethroning his Argentine nemesis Lionel Messi from the best player throne. Although it was the former who garnered more strikes than the Barcelona maestro last season, a destitute of trophies coupled with the treble lifted by Messi suggests that this time, the World Player of the Year honor has his name already inscribed on it.

Aiming to wrangle it away from his clasp, the 30-year old will once be charged up for another season full of goals and hopefully, trophies as well.