There’s always a sense of uneasiness when the big guns lose on the opening day of the season. Real Madrid were unfortunate enough to suffer that fate when they had the even bigger misfortune of being drawn against bogey team, Deportivo La Coruña to open their campaign.

Los Merengues predictably went down 1-2 but surprisingly, the Spanish press did not make a big fuss about the defeat at the Riazor, mainly because the team had not won there in 17 years. Although there were some glimmer of optimism that they could finally end that jinx this season, there was also a sense of expectancy that a Madrid side distracted by their transfer market antics would succumb to defeat for the umpteenth time.

But with that unpleasant trip out of the way nice and early, it’s time for the men in white to focus on jump-starting their endeavour to defend the league crown. Numancia would seem like an ideal opponent to begin that venture but Bernd Schuster will be only too aware of their opponent’s “park the bus” philosophy.

A quick glance at their pre-season results and early form guide is enough to reveal how they like to play their football and it is the kind that Madrid always have trouble with. Los Blancos’ offensive quality and depth in the squad will be given its first real test since the close of the summer shopping season.

Everything from Robinho’s departure to the club’s failure to bring in the requested attacking reinforcements will be out in the open in full exposure, and there will be no hiding for the “White House” president, Ramón Calderón and his chiefs if the team do not perform up to expectations, even if it is only just Matchweek Two.

Madrid, however, do have a 100% record at home against Numancia, granted there have only been three previous league meetings in the Spanish capital. But Sunday’s clash is more than just a record preservation exercise. They need a good showing to keep the knives far, far away and to get themselves into the right frame of mind for the midweek Champions League opener against BATE Borisov. Rarely can the second match of a 38-game season be so important for a side like El Real.

Baptism Of Fire

Numancia really could not have asked for a worse way to kick off their return to top flight football. After entertaining one Spanish colossus in Barcelona a fortnight ago, they have yet another to negotiate this week in the shape of the reigning La Liga champions, Real Madrid.

If that’s not enough to throw any newly-promoted side straight into relegation candidacy, next week, they will face one of last season’s more impressive teams and eventual league runners-up, Villarreal. Talk about a baptism of fire.

The good news for coach Sergio Kresic and his charges, however, is that they have already passed their first test with flying colours and they now have momentum on their side. Having toppled mighty Barça on matchday one, they will carry that surge of confidence with them into this game. And if they can get a good result at the Bernabéu, their morale will be boosted even further for the visit of the Yellow Submarine.

From then onwards, they should have some reprieve in the fixture calendar. Mallorca, Osasuna and Deportivo are all next in line for the Rojillos and they should be a walk in the park compared to their first three opposition. That’s how it should appear on paper at least but in reality, it could be very different.

Teams like Numancia tend to struggle against the smaller, lower profile opponents; direct rivals who play the same brand of football as they do and their ultra-defensive, counter-attacking approach will be rendered ineffectual. But as long as they can consistently grind out results, they might just be this season’s Almería.

FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

Aug 31 Deportivo La Coruña 2-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Aug 27 Real Madrid 5-3 Sporting Lisbon (TROFEO BERNABÉU)

Aug 24 Real Madrid 4-2 Valencia (SUPERCOPA)

Aug 17 Valencia 3-2 Real Madrid (SUPERCOPA)

Aug 12 Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Real Madrid (FRIENDLY)

Numancia

Aug 31 Numancia 1-0 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Aug 23 Numancia 1-0 Real Zaragoza (FRIENDLY)

Aug 20 Osasuna 0-0 Numancia (FRIENDLY)

Aug 17 Numancia 1-1 Real Sociedad (FRIENDLY)    

Aug 15 Celta Vigo 0-0 Numancia (FRIENDLY)

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Wesley Sneijder is well ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation from a damaged cruciate knee ligament but he is still at least a month away from full fitness. Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro has finally recovered from his ankle injury and after playing in both of his country’s WCQ games, he should slot back into defence alongside Pepe.

Schuster also welcomes back Rafael van der Vaart after he completed his one-match ban following his sending off in the Supercopa, while the club’s flurry of internationals have arrived back in the capital unscathed.

Raúl and Guti had fitness concerns in midweek but both have since returned to peak condition and will be available for selection.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo –Gago/Diarrà, Guti – Robben, van der Vaart, Raúl (c) – van Nistelrooy

Numancia

Numancia’s only loss for this game is forward Antonio Guayre who is out for around two weeks with a fractured wrist on his right hand.

Defender Sergio Ortega, ironically, also nearly suffered a similar fate when his right hand was stepped on by Barkero during training but the injury is not as serious and he should be able to shrug it off in time for the match.

Kresic will thus able to count on the full complement of his squad and he looks likely to start with the same first eleven that took down Barcelona two weeks ago.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Juan Pablo – Juanra, Palacios, Boris, Cisma – Nagore, Barkero – Marío, Moreno, Bellvis - Brit

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid

Rafael van der Vaart will be out to make amends to the home fans after getting himself sent off on his Bernabéu debut in the Supercopa several weeks ago. Even though his side did end up winning the trophy, his absence in the subsequent game against Depor may have well cost the team a chance of getting a result at the Riazor.

Numancia

Midfielder Mario was the hero two weeks ago when he scored the solitary goal against Barcelona in what was his Primera Liga debut. Another week of heroics against another giant of the league may or may not be possible but it is precisely that unpredictability that makes him stand out as a threat.

PREDICTION

Real Madrid have an uncanny habit of winning big on the second matchday of the season. They thumped Villarreal 0-5 last year and brushed aside Levante 1-4 the year before. This Numancia side, however, looks unlikely to concede any more than a goal or two and a tight contest can be expected.

The Spanish champions were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Valencia striker David Villa and Villarreal winger Santi Cazorla to the Bernabeu during the close season.

On the final day of the transfer window, they reluctantly sold Brazil forward Robinho to Manchester City after the player insisted he wanted to leave, prompting criticism from local media that the squad was short on quality for the new campaign.

“We can function very well without Cristiano Ronaldo or David Villa. The first year I was here we did well without Kaka (a player president Ramon Calderon had promised to buy) and we won two leagues without him,” Mijatovic told Real Madrid television.

“We had conversations with Manchester United and they didn’t want to let Cristiano Ronaldo go. We made an offer for David Villa but did not want to pay what Valencia asked for him.”

Real have strengthened their squad with the signing of Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, the recall of two former youth team players from loan spells with other Primera Liga clubs, Javi Garcia and Ruben de la Red, and Argentina defender Ezequiel Garay.

The 21-year-old Garay is to play on loan with Racing Santander this season.

“Although it may seem like we have not signed anyone we have landed four players you can rely on,” he added.

“We have a squad of 24 and this is ample. We do not plan to make any signings in the winter transfer window, although you never know what may happen in football."

“We have a competitive team, capable of competing at a national level and in the Champions League, and we should not be worried.”

Mijatovic added that Real were not concerned their power in the transfer market would wane due to the arrival of major investors in world football, such as the Abu Dhabi-based company that bought Manchester City.

“I am not worried because great football players want to achieve genuine success and if they want to chose between a good contract and playing for Real Madrid, I don’t think they will hesitate in their decision,” Mijatovic said.

Despite a nice influx of cash on the last day of the summer transfer market, Real Madrid sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic has ruled out any possible signings in the January transfer window.

Real Madrid had a traumatic summer in the transfer market by their standards. They failed to sign any of their major targets, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa and Santi Cazorla, and they also lost their prized asset, Robinho.

But boosted by the cash from the sale of the Brazilian to Manchester City on the last day of the shopping window, Madrid were expected to open their cheque books come Christmas time for the January trade period and numerous names have even been linked with a move to the Spanish capital, including Lukas Podolski and more recently, Aaron Lennon.

The club’s sports director Predrag Mijatovic, however, has now revealed in an interview with RealMadrid TV that the reining La Liga champions will not be looking to bring in any new faces during the mid-season break.

“Real Madrid will not make any signings in the winter transfer market,” was his blunt reply when asked by the interviewer.

“We have a group of 24 players and at this stage, we do not have the intentions of recruiting any new players, although in football, you never know,” he explained further.

Mijatovic was then asked to access the club’s failed summer transfer activities, starting with David Villa.

“We made an offer for him, one which we considered sufficient, but his club Valencia made a counter-offer which made it impossible for us to negotiate. We were not about to go mad for him."

“As for Cazorla, I was specifically ordered by the president not to be forced to pay his buy-out clause because Real Madrid are great not just because of our achievements but also because of our control and authority."

“And for Cristiano Ronaldo, it was obvious that we wanted to sign him but Manchester United opposed strongly to his sale,” Mijatovic detailed.

Finally, the Montenegrin reiterated that there is no tension between the coach, Bernd Schuster and himself.

“My relation with Schuster is excellent. We are both top people in charge of our own duties and we speak daily about everything that’s on our agenda,” he assured.

Real Madrid coach, Bernd Schuster could see his fears of a striker shortage start to emerge this weekend as Raúl appears set to be ruled out.

Marca has reported that the Los Blancos captain has not set foot on a football field for training in the last eight days, choosing instead to remain in the gym to focus on a muscle toning exercise regime.

Although his condition and match fitness levels are unknown at this stage, the idea is for the 31 year old to be 100% fit and ready for the midweek Champions League opener against BATE Borisov and as such, Schuster could take decision to rest the ‘Number 7’.

This is exactly what the German trainer had feared all summer long and the club’s failure to bring in his requested back-up striker could be exposed early on in the season, even if it is just for one game.

Madrid do have Argentines, Gonzalo Higuaín and Javier Saviola as cover – and the former will be favourites to start – but it remains to be seen how Schuster will tweak his strategy and formation to accommodate Raúl’s likely absence.

Real Madrid have named six Castilla youngsters in their Champions League squad.

Felipe Ramos, Antonio Adan, Javier Velayos, David Mateos, Pedro Mosquera and Alberto Bueno have all been registered by Real for this season's campaign due to a change in the homegrown laws made by UEFA.

276 players have played at least one match defending the colours of Real Madrid CF.

Raul came first with 114 matches and 61 goals

Roberto Carlos came second with 109 matches and 16 goals

Hierro came third with 101 matches and 16 goals
Here is the  list of the top 40:
The full list with all the stat is avalaible on demand. (leave a comment)
 

  1. * RAÚL              (Raúl González Blanco)                   

  2.   ROBERTO CARLOS    (Roberto Carlos da Silva Garca)           

  3.   HIERRO            (Fernando Ruiz Hierro)                    

  4.   SANCHÍS           (Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo)               

  5.   GENTO             (Francisco Gento López)                   

  6.   CAMACHO           (José Antonio Camacho Alfaro)             

  7. * CASILLAS          (Iker Casillas Fernández)                 

  8.   MÍCHEL            (José Miguel González Martín del Campo)   

  9.   SANTILLANA        (Carlos Alonso González)                  

 10.   IVÁN HELGUERA     (Iván Helguera Bujía)                     

 11. * GUTI              (José María Gutiérrez Hernández)          

 12. * MÍCHEL SALGADO    (Miguel Ángel Salgado Fernández)          

 13.   PIRRI             (José Martínez Sánchez)                   

 14.   BUTRAGUEÑO        (Emilio Butragueño Santos)                

 15.   CHENDO            (Miguel Porlán Noguera)                   

 16.   AMANCIO           (Amancio Amaro Varela)                    

 17.   ZOCO              (Ignacio Zoco Esparza)                    

 18.   GALLEGO           (Ricardo Gallego Redondo)                 

 19.   FIGO              (Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro)              

 20.   MORIENTES         (Fernando Morientes Sánchez)              

 21.   BUYO              (Francisco Buyo Sánchez)                  

 22.   DI STÉFANO        (Alfredo di Stéfano Laulhe)               

 23.   BENITO            (Gregorio Benito Rubio)                   

 24.   VELÁZQUEZ         (Manuel Velázquez Villaverde)             

 25.   JUANITO           (Juan Gómez González)                     

26.   SANTAMARÍA        (José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias)         

 27.   SOLARI            (Santiago Hernán Solari)                  

 28.   ZIDANE            (Zinedine Zidane)                        

29.   MIGUEL ÁNGEL      (Miguel Ángel González)    
 30.   GORDILLO          (Rafael Gordillo Vázquez)                 
 31.   GROSSO            (Ramón Moreno Grosso)                     
 32.   MARTÍN VÁZQUEZ    (Rafael Martín Vázquez)                   
 33.   McMANAMAN         (Steve McManaman)                       
 34.   DEL BOSQUE        (Vicente del Bosque González)            
 35.   STIELIKE          (Ulrich Stielike)                    
 36.   REDONDO           (Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri)           
 37.   PUSKÁS            (Férenc Puskás Biró)                     
 38.   HUGO SÁNCHEZ      (Hugo Sánchez Márquez)                   
 39.   MAKELELE          (Claude Makelele)              
 40.   ÁNGEL             (Ángel de los Santos Cano) 

Robinho told Ramón Calderón that he would rather become a travelling salesman than continue to play for Real Madrid in a bid to force through a transfer, according to the player's agent. The Brazilian's unhappiness at the Bernabéu was no secret, yet it was expected that after pushing through his departure, which ended in a surprising switch to Manchester City, that things would go quiet. But Vagner Ribeiro has continued revealing things by stating that Robinho told Caldéron clearly that he had no intention of staying and that was the start of the whole saga. "The key was the meeting with the president. Caldéron told Robinho that he would not leave the club under any circumstances," he told Joven Pan. " Robinho replied by telling him 'I do not want to stay, I would prefer to become a travelling salesman than remain here." "From then on, and with all the rumours and reports created by the press, everyone turned against him." On the subject of rumours, he continued, "It was put about that Robinho was going to be a Chelsea player, so we celebrated that. When the press asked us about Manchester City, I said it wasn't happening." "But at 10:45 in the evening they asked if he was going to City, and I said that he'd be going anywhere except Real Madrid. So Chelsea's Peter Kenyon was frantically calling me desperately trying to figure out what was going on." "By that point, though, I knew that Chelsea and Real Madrid would never agree on a fee greater than €40million, so I gave permission to City to proceed." There have been claims and counter-claims from both sides about why Robinho did not sign a new contract and the way that he was treated and Ribeiro could not stay quiet. Robinho has yet to train with his new team-mates in England after signing only hours before being due in Brazil for the World Cup qualifiers.