Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander | La Liga Review & Goal Videos
Saturday, 07 February 09, 12:10 PM · Comments (114)
Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander - La Liga Round 22
Real Madrid continued their great form as they beat Racing Santander 1-0 thanks to a lone goal from Gonzalo Higuain who now has 13 league goals.
And yet another record was broken. Iker Casillas played his 454th match with Real to equal Madrid legend and goalkeeper Paco Buyo but he is still far from being the player with the most matches in the white shirt.
New signing Julien Faubert made his debut but failed to impress. As Juande said, it is too early to make judgments but if the French midfielder wants to stay longer then he has to work harder.
First Half
Juande started with Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Lass, Robben, Van der vaart, Sneijder, Higuain and Rau'l.
Our defense has improved dramatically since Juande took over the team. Believe it or not, we are the least scored upon team in the league so far in 2009, conceding only one goal in our last seven matches.
This a pretty important stat. Not only have we won seven straight matches but also maintained a clean-sheet in six games. We've only conceded one goal. Before Juande came in, we had been averaging one goal in each match although to say the truth Schuster had many defenders injured.
Lass, Sneijder and Van der vaart all played in the midfield. However, it was Lass who did all the dirty work of recovering and distributing the ball. Fernando Gago was clearly missed, but the Frenchman doubled his efforts and is proving everyday that he is capable of being the coach's first and best choice.
Arjen Robben who hadn't trained in the week before the match made some good runs through the wings but Rau'l, Higuain and Van der vaart all failed to convert his passes into goals.
Second Half
Three minutes into the second half and Higuain scores Real's only goal and his 13th in the league as he made great use of an assist served by Raul with his head and beat Toño with a crossed shot.
Robben kept up his great work along the wing but nobody could score a second. This is a problem that Juande is clearly concerned about. He said:
We find it hard to score a second goal. I think we had enough chances to net another strike. It would've allowed us to relax and play better. Not scoring again makes the team nervous because of the uncertainty winning by just one goal implies.
Indeed, not scoring a second goal makes the team nervous and this should be worked on. There will be teams who can equalize and even win -- one of these is Liverpool whom we are going to play in the next couple of weeks.
Maybe Huntelaar or Saviola could be used just to refresh things upfront. Not that Rau'l and Higuain are ineffective, but they are tired; they've started in many matches this season and so It'd be better to rest at least one of them.
Julien Faubert was sent in to replace Robben. He looked a bit shaky and confused. It will be interesting to see how he develops and if he could be of help.
Conclusion
To conclude this article, I'm going to quote Higuain:
"We have to continue playing this well. It isn't easy to win seven consecutive games. We have to defeat Gijon and then win against Betis at the Bernabeu. The match with Liverpool is very important for us and I think we will be very confident if we win the two matches that precede it. We now have to rest and think about our following game. You can achieve everything through hard work, humility and constancy."
"Many things have hapened in recent weeks, but we didn't concede any goals tonight. I don't think we bore the crowd. The important thing is we won again and took three more points."
Hala Madrid!
Goals
49' Gonzalo Higuain
Substiutions
Real Madrid
Racing Santander
Bookings
Real Madrid
- Lassana Diarra
- Arjen Robben
- Wesley Sneijder
- Van der vaart
Racing Santander
- Oriol
- Juan Valera Esprín
- Peter Luccin
Lineups
Real Madrid
- Casillas, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze, Ramos, van der Vaart, Sneijder, Lass, Robben, Higuain, Raul
Racing Santander
- Tono, Valera, Lozarano, Navas, Marcano, Pereira, Colsa, Lacen, Serrano, Tchite, Zigic
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114 Madridistas have commented on "Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander | La Liga Review & Goal Videos" · Add yours
Still first half, but I really find that the team is playing nice football. We make good passes unlike the beginning of the year that our passing ratio was horrible. Juande's tactics seems to be working...still I find that today we play even better with only one holding midfielder. I like gago a lot but I really thing Lass is good enough to hold that position on his own. Vaart had a couple of good chances to claim a real spot in the team!!
Reply to fofos:
Indeed, Juande's Real is better than Schuster. I think it is due to the freedom he gave to players like Robben and Sneijder as well as the signing of Lass.
The first half finished with a draw,we played well and gave a very entertaining match,Robben was the best as usual,it seemed to me that Sneijder got injured hope he's alright he is crucial,VDV also played well,surely the second half is ours
Reply to MadridistAli:
Yes, 0-0. VDV could have scored on many occasions. He is trying hard. I hope he scores as he needs to get to his best.
Let's see what Faubert can do
Reply to fofos:
He didn't impress me tonight, but it is early to judge him.
Great win for us Madridistas!!! few things id like to point out are i believe that everyone played very good today every player contributed nicely here and there and in the end it got us three point.. great goal by Higuain!! Faubert look alright in his debut he had a few good touches but all of his touches were one touch and he seemed to want a give and go but noone really gave the ball back to him is what i noticed.. also VDV received a yellow card today making that his 5th yellow so he will be suspended for our next match vs sporting i believe but the good news is Gago will be back and also Guti more likely from injury.. also we have alot of players with 4 yellows meaning if they get one more they will have to sit out and some of those players are Pepe,Heinze,Lass,Sneijder,Guti,Robben.. but anyways great win for us another 3 points.. now lets hope all of our international stars that play in international friendlys in the midweek come back with no injuries.. HALA MADRID!!
congrats guys, great win and with less effort
good goal from the superstar Higuain and he was the man of the match and another clean sheet for my man Iker Casillas he is a legend, I hope that Faubert and Robben we'll get better performance next game so we can shake better the defences 
btw VDV was good and he added weight to our offense hope he can score next time , and I wanna see Guti playing! i missed him
but WE are always great, congrats and Hala Madrid!
Reply to joe007:
Guti should be fit for the Gijon match.
guti needs to remain where he is and all the oldies need to join him....off the field! i was not impressed with the game at all. all that talent on the field playing together for a while now and still no consistent flowing stlyish football. The captiain is still studying his own personal goals. I hope he scores it next time so the entire team can move on and shoot at goal for themselves. Liverpool is coming soon and i want my team to show what they are paid for and capable of doing.
Real Madrid keeps getting lucky wins. I'm looking forward to our CL clash. In fact, I can't wait, because I'm confident we will win. As long as that pesky Robben is held in place, Torres and Gerrard should do the damage. BTW, stop talking about Robben as if he's the greatest player in the world. Messi and Torres are FAR FAR better than him.
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
Robben is the best! whatever you said! and our wins are not lucky but with less effort!
Hala madrid!
you are the side who's suffering and Robby Keane knows what he's saying!
You will loose against us in the CL or with better saying WE Will defeat you
Reply to joe007:
Exactly how is Robben better than Messi or Torres? I think Messi is the best player in the world right now. He can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot, not to mention the impact he's had at the end of games. Torres has also shown his quality by saving L'Pool with late goals over the last 2 weeks.
As for the CL, we will see. Just to remind you, Madrid hasn't advanced past the first round in a while. Besides, it's clear that the best teams right now are the 4 English teams + Barcelona. Everyone else is a level below.
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
Torres best in the world?haha he's great but he's a mile away from being best in the world. As for the Liverpool-Madrid match don't starting talking about Torres and Gerard yet...because first they have to make it to the game
Arsenal,Liverpool and Chelsea the best teams in the world?haha Man Utd maybe....just maybe....Chelsea and Arsenal are of the same level of Sevilla,Villareal and Atletico right now...Liverpool SLIGHTLY better.No team is close to Real Madrid,Barcelona and Man Utd when it comes to form right now...and it's not an opinion,they're stats 
Where did I ever say Torres is the best in the world. I said Messi is the best player in the world and Torres is far better than Robben.
Learn to read.
Oh yeah, and if Man Utd. are so good, why is Liverpool just 1 point behind them? Get your facts straight. The only team in Europe that can compete with the big 4 of England is Barcelona.
real madrid need some fire power and creativity up front we keep depending on raul but we need more ....we need a Torres , tevez Benzema type striker ....still asking y we spend 20 m on Huntelaar we don't need that type of striker...that understanding up front is not there .....
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
Torres is one of the best in the world, but currently Robben is in better form. The reason should be obvious to you seeing as how he has been injured for a while. Messi is the best in the world but Robben is not that far behind. As for the Champions League, save your claims until we play the first match. Currently Liverpool have more on their plate competing with Man U in the league and the CL. Not to mention the injuries to key players and the fact that you only have one proven striker. Congrats on the win over Pompey.
I saw most of this game. We were very inconsistent. The best player on the pitch was by far Lass. He won almost every ball and he shook off many midfielders with class. We really missed Gago. Sneijder was not up to the middle. Van der Vart looked threatening but again he has not started and if he would have been starting he would have scored on those two occasions. The defense was solid and aside from a few incidences by Mr. Heinze our defense is back to good form. I'm quite mad at the Bernabeau crowd becasue they booed Marcelo. I did not catch anything after that can some one give a recap of his performance. I really want to see how he did seeing as how he was pretty much frozen out of the team.
Oh as for Faubert he looked like a Faux Pas. But then again he is not match fit. I think it took him ten minutes to touch a ball. I can't believe I'm going to say this but we need Guti in the middle for that creativity and spark.
Reply to helmet_09:
Guti should be fit for our next match vs sporting.. but when Marcelo came on we really did not attack we pretty much defended the whole time but the time Marcelo did get the ball he did make a good move and beat his defender and get us a foul not much after that
Reply to Madridista4:
I'm thinking maybe Junade will try and convert him into a winger. I know we are winning but there is something about our midfield that is off. Other than Robben we dont have that spark, that creativity that we had at the beginning of the season.
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
You must be kidding me
we fight to win not like you,Torres always save your Red asses in the 90th minutes,Liverpool is the lucky one,and i am with you Robben isnt the best in the world right now but one day he will,at the moment its Messi (hate to say so),but Torres? hahahahahhahahahahaha what a joke Benzema is way way way way wayyyyyyyyy better than him,think of thw woeds before you say them DUMB. 
P.S:I am also looking forward to the Champions League Clash.
HALA MADRID!
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
LUCKY! LOL! Beating Portsmouth in the dying minutes thanks to Torres and we're lucky? English fans can be so funny at times. Messi>Robben>Torres, it's as simple as that. Torres can't mach Robben's curent form. Sure Torres scores goals but have you noticed that he's umm..a striker! Robben is probably the most on-form winger in the world because I don't think Messi is a winger, more like a centre-forward. We'll see about the CL boy, you'll have Arbeloa marking Arjen Robben, I laugh everytime I hear that!
Why do all of you only think of Robben, did you see Higuain yesterday, i'd like to point out to MadridistAli too that Higuain is NOT mediocre like you've said previously. Robben, Higuain, Sneijder and Van der Vaart. You should worry about all of them. If you watched the Euro then you would know how devastating the Dutch can be and VDV, Sneijder and Robben are their main players! Just don't be so over-confident, you shouldn't underestimate us. We are now push-overs, you'll see. Hala Madrid! 
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
First off, welcome to the blog
I wouldn't call them lucky wins because Real worked hard in all of these matches. A lucky win is when you play very miserably and win by a late minute own-goal or penalty. Counting from the Villarreal match, Real have been playing good football and kept clean-sheet in many games.
As for Robben, I didn't say he is the best in the world. According to FIFA, the best player is Ronaldo. However, according to common sense the best is Messi.
I don't think that there is someone who is as great as Messi. He is just so great.
As far as Torres is concerned, I haven't been following him to say the truth but I know he is a quality striker. I wouldn't classify him as the best even in his position, but sure he is class.
Liverpool is a tough team to beat, just ask AC Milan. They have won the CL 5 times (am I right?) and this is "their" favorite competition so it will be a difficult game for Real. It will also be difficult for Liverpool as Real is still Real. Granted that we haven't advanced that much in the CL in the last few years but we could surprise everyone this year.
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
Robben has the pace and can also pass, dribble, shoot, not to mention the impact he's had at the end of games (against Numancia, Valencia, Villarreal..etc) It seems that Real depends on him so much as Barca depends on Messi.
Adam//
Did you miss Gago
I didn't miss him at all. I'm very satisfied with Lass and then I'm looking forward to the return of Mahamadou Diarra.
Reply to BIM-56:
I think we missed Gago. Lass was pretty much alone when it came to recovering the balls. Had Gago played, we might have produced a better result.
Reply to Adambader:
yeah Gago will be back this weekend that will be good news again and also Guti should be fit from his injury we can use him this weekend as a sub because i think VDV will be suspended for that match i believe that was his 5th yellow can anyone confirm that.. also lets hope all of our international players come back clean with no injuries.. HALA MADRID!!
Happy 7th win madridistas. I'm happy the team is consistent and we are winning although I'd call for a far better performance.. but at this stage of the game every win is important.Juande seems a tactical master and I'm expecting alot of him.
7th in a row!!!
These wins are kind of meaningless. Barca's football is so compact and is possessively played, not in one or two games, but almost every single one of them. If we would have any chance to pass or even catch upon them, the big teams like sevilla and valencia need to take points off them. Just looks like it's not to be.
Liverpool look very strong, a team never to be underestimated. Makes me wonder if real can achieve something this year.
Reply to Jag:
Yeah,Barcelona are really running but we have to do our job,also Liverpool will be a hard foe but we arent afraid,i am 100% sure that we are going to pass Liverpool
Hala Madrid!
Barcelona won 3-1,do you all realize that Barcelona are getting weaker and weaker every week,every roung they concede goals,thats a good sign
Hala Madrid!
I just read on AS website that Huntelaar told them that he was unhappy in Madrid and for not being given chances to play and that he wants to leave .. here is the article link .. LINK what do you all think
LINK
Reply to Madridista4:
See this:
LINK
Yesss,thats better let him leave,he sucks just like Higuain who scored a beautiful goal against Racing but still he is not capable of leading Real Madrid to the top,so please Huntelaar return to Ajax and take Higuain with you and bring in Benzema
Hala Madrid!
Huntelar agent has come out and denied the rumors that he wants to go and that he wants to stay in Madrid and win titles
alsp beckenbauer said that Ribery can go to Real Madrid in the summer if he wants. LINK
Reply to MadridistAli:
NO WAY! What's wrong with you dude. Have you watched either Huntelaar or Higuain play. Higuain > Benzema for two reasons. Higuain plays for a bigger team, bigger league and does brilliantly. Benzema plays for a French team, does well but how are you sure he can succeed in Spain? Huntelaar is a born goal-scorer, players like him play great wherever they go. I'm not saying Benzema is actually better than Higuain but statistics prove that technically Higuain would win due to his success in a league twice as big. The Hunter will show you all! Hala Madrd!
I'm so sad right now, I read a forum where people were discussing our squad for next season aand 90% of them wanted Sneijder out. I must say some Real Madrid fans have no heart, I now see why people hate us. I wouldn't sell a talent like Sneijder's for less than 75m while people on the damn thing were going for 25m. Even though his market value might be 25m, sale values are MUCH higher. Stop being so heartless Madridistas. It's not that every trophy just belongs to us, we have to earn it and faith in our squad will help us immensily. Does booing Drenthe and Marcelo make any sense. It's one thing if you don't want them to stay but why haunt the young lads. Their careers are in our hands. They go out there to try to entertain us every week and this is how we repay them. SHAME ON US!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
I totally agree...even in the forum...sometimes I get the feeling of "many people talking about R.Madrid" instead of Madrid FANS discussing Real Madrid
I recall seeing this picture of fans sitting in the Bernabeu with a huge banner saying (IIRC) "We want Kaka and (another player - I can't remember - Villa or Silva?)" You gotta wonder if they are thinking of the team, because we could do SO MUCH WORSE than to work with the squad we already have - just add a left-winger and maybe a proven left-back.
We have to keep Sneijder! Guti is inconsistent, temperamental and getting old. One day we're going to need Sneijder and VDV to fill that position. Sneijder is off-form, but it's a privilege for us to have a player like him, and he's still young so he can only get better.
Actually if you ask me now, I wouldn't touch a player on the squad except loan out Drenthe, get a winger, and if we can get a left-back. It's not like we need a massive overhaul anywhere on the pitch (like Arsenal are looking due for) or anything. WE MUST KEEP HUNTELAAR. I'm sure this is obvious to many of you here. Why does it seem so difficult to fathom for so many other fans?
And di Stefano coming out and saying things like "they don't excite" etc doesn't help!!! You know what's frustrating? That we're finally going on a winning run, we finally have a stable team, we have a tactically-minded coach (who does acknowledge our problems scoring the second goal), with a team like ours developing attacking football is a matter of time - not of style, and somehow people manage to find fault with it because it's not PERFECT.
Man, I only want the best for Madrid...
Reply to phantompong:
As always, you are definitely right. Those kind of fans irritate me. All they want is a "star" player so they can buy his shirt. If they want a star, then Real should buy me, at least I know how to do marketing and play some crappy football.
Juande is a great coach that I want to see here for a longer period of time. He has proven that he is a technical genius and knows what he is talking about. There are coaches who take ages to transform a miserable team to a winning one. Winning seven games in a row with just conceding one goal is pretty incredible. I didn't expect that we would do well and for that I'm thrilled.
I haven't really seen Di Stefano make that comment, but if he really did then I don't know what exciting football he is talking about.
If he is talking about Barca's,then you have to consider that they have been in great form since the beginning of the season and have players who are naturally talented such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta...etc
Having said that, I like Juande's football. The matches we played against Zenit at the Bernabeu, Valencia and Villarreal had nice football. It is only a matter of time and stability in the club (in terms of administration) and Real will get better.
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
Sneijder is an influential player. Just look at his performances with The Netherlands in the Euro 2008 and with us last season.
Every player has his "bad" times. He is just going through that "bad times". It is natural and part of football. Fans need to give him a break!
Reply to MadridistAli:
I'm sorry dude, but I have to disagree with you on this one.
Higuain is a quality young player who has a bright future of him. Hell, he is our top goal scorer for the current season and has saved "our butt" on many occasions. I'm not gonna count them, but I'm sure they are a lot and "crucial".
As for Huntelaar, I think you got this very wrong. I thought you were a fan aware of how football works. Huntelaar is a class. His record is impressive and if we talk figures, he beats players like Benzema and even Torres.
He just needs time. The guy hasn't even played a full match. It is too early to judge him but in all cases I want him to stay. I have so much faith in him
Reply to Adambader:
Damnit. Made a few typos and OleOle hasn't yet added the "edit comments" feature.
Reply to Adambader:
Most Real Madrid fans are plain glory-hunters, all they want is themselves to look good without thinking about the team one bit
Madridistas need to give Sneijder a break because we cannot forget that horrible injury he has in the emerites cup and it was just so impressive seing him come back early and score that goal vs espanyol and then he got injured again soon after that give Sneijder some time because he is World Class and he is just trying to find himself again .. also Huntelaar will more than likely be give his chance to start next weekend vs real betis because Juande Ramos will more than likely rest couple players for the liverpool match but this weekend im not sure if he will start since Higuain is playing well at the moment and still Raul is going for 308.. but i am excited about Guti coming back and seeing his passes and this just gives more competition to Sneijder and VDV and this will get the best out of them
Reply to Adambader:
I would definitely keep Sneijder. He is going through a rough spell at the moment. I think Juande is playing him too much seeing as how he is not playing well. Like I said earlier Van Der Vaart is playing slightly better. I would still keep him because he is world class and is versatile.
As for the Higuain v. Benzema I stick by Higuain. not only is he our top scorer he is the future of this club. I honestly think he is Raul's replacement and not only is he working along side him and learning from him he is young and will only get better. Benzema is talented but again fans say that we only buy established players and don't promote from the lower ranks and the Cantera well look Higuain was bought as an 18 year old and was not started that much. Capello knew something special was there and started to mold him and now he is our top scorer in three years.
Reply to ThisisAnfield:
1 point behind means you are still behind fool! man utd is gonna smoke liverpool's ass in Premier league and besides please keep quiet b4 the CL clash talking shit over here can't take lucky ass liverpool to win the match-up
Thirteen Madridistas have been called up for international duty this week: Casillas and Ramos (Spain), Marcelo (Brazil), Gago and Heinze (Argentina), Cannavaro (Italy), Pepe (Portugal), Lass (France), Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben and Huntelaar (Netherlands), and Adam Szalai (Hungary).
Juande Ramos will have to wait until Thursday to have his full squad on hand to begin preparing for Saturday's clash against Sporting Gijon.
We have couple Madridistas playing each other like in france vs argentina we have lass vs gago and heinze and also italy vs brazil marcelo vs cannavaro.. hopefully all players come back injury free and ready to go for this weekend
Reply to Adambader:
I hope so,lets see whats going to happen
Reply to MadridistAli:
You bet?
Good News for MijatoBicth haters: Real Madrid officials will sack MijatoBitch this eveining,LINK
Hollloloyaaaaaaaaaaa
Reply to MadridistAli:
yes i read that article too and we have to wait and see if it is true .. but also beckenbauero said that if Ribery wishes to join Real Madrid in the summer that he would let him
Reply to Daniel:
liverpool are a great team, 2nd to man united.. but la liga teams are on a higher level to the other EPL teams.. madrid, barca, or man u for champions league this year..
Torres is probably in the top five players in the world, messi is obviously 1st, and robben tied for 2nd with c.ronaldo, torres, and ibrahimovic..
HALA MADRID!!!
Reply to BIM-56:
we clearly missed gago.. if you looked at them match, you would have seen we were a bit clustered in midfield, meaning lass had to step up, which he did.. right now, i think madrid should play VDV up front with higuain, instead of raul upfront.. dont get me wrong, raul was my role model since i was 5, so its not that i think he cant play, its just thta VDV will score more, create more, and will just play better than raul in that position.. as for sneijder, he IS world class, give him to play as a left attacking midfielder(not left winger) and we'll see him play better than last season, and better than even in the EUROS..
Reply to Madridista4:
Goos news...even better news though....Huntelaar has denied reports that he wants to leave
Reply to Daniel:
i totally agree.. i have seen the way the fans treat great players.. it is rely sad, sneijder is going to be a legend at madrid no doubt, he is just going through a poor stage.. and marcelo, i feel rely sorry for him.. he WILL be the new roberto carlos whether some people like it or not!! give me time, loan him out, join the castilla maybe, just DONT SELL HIM!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
Higuain really lacks efficiency infront of the goal,he was playing nearly from the beginning of the season and guess what? he only scored 13 goals so far,if Van Goal was in his place we would see him competing with Eto'o in the Pichchi title,i think you are with me in this point,and i think Benzema is better than Higuain,he has the speed,perfect finishing,powerfull shots,Higuain is Raul'ish style,give him the ball in the right place and BOOM! you have a goal,and i assure you,if Ramos had both Benzema and Higuain he will definetly choose Benzema and use Higuain as a benchwarmer
,just....good luck for Higuain! 
Hala Madrid!
Reply to MadridistAli:
I like Higuain alot he is a very good player but have you all noticed he has not scored in the Cl competition yet and he needs to in order for us to be succesful
Reply to MadridistAli:
13 goals is quite good considering that he was injured for some long period, and you shouldn't compare him to Van Nistelrooy, they are two different kinds of players.
First, Higuain is more like a supporting striker. Second he lacks the experience Van Nistelrooy has obviously due to the age factor. Third, Higuain didn't have much playing time until we had injuries up front.
Reply to tRiNiMaFiA4:
I'm very sorry, but there's one player in Real I can't stand. And that's Gago. I don't like it and I can't help it. I have asked around and we are a few who don't like him and I have come so far so I think it has to be his bodylanguage which don't compare with my taste. I can't see what good he's doing. So sorry
Reply to MadridistAli:
Just a reminder...Benzema has scored 11 goals in this year...in a league of a much lower level than the Liga and playing more consistintly than Higuain.13 goals is a pretty good amount...it means that he will probably beat the 20 goal mark by the end of the season.Lastly don't forget...both players are still in their early 20's...if they keep this up they're both going to become legends
Reply to BIM-56:
I don't like him too, but we gotta admit he has improved. There is nothing personal, but he isn't the kind of player that I prefer in that position. I like Lass and Diarra. I know Gago is more tactically aware -- or at least he is supposed or hyped to be, but only recently that he has become effective and essential.
To me, he is an average player. Nothing class at all.
Just my 2 cents.
Reply to Adambader:
Lassana Diarra and Fernando Gago are great at what they are doing.. i just love how they attack at other oppenents when they have the ball .. Gago is very very good he is a great tackler and he can steal the ball from opponents easily and you have to remember he is on 22 years old and also i have nothin but praise for Lass he has truly impressed me he goes hard after every single ball and just never stops you also have to remember he has a very nice pass and has set up couple goals since he has arrived.. Gago also has set up nice goals remember the one to Sergio Ramos not to long ago vs mallorca so they are both quality and are both very young
Reply to Madridista4:
Granted he is a good player, but he was over-hyped. The next Redondo, the creative mind blah blah blah. Spain is not like there in Argentina.
Reply to Adambader:
actually, if there are two leagues which are similar, they will be the argentine, and the spanish leagues.. and one other thing, i was jus watching the real madrid-RCD mallorca match of 2007, where we won la liga on the last day.. that match, was out of this world.. i still dont know why those fools (calderon and mijatovic) not only let reyes go, but also sacked don fabio! unbelieveable.. sigh, oh well.. real madrid needs more wingers, not an expensive one, but a game changer, one can dribble, cross, and play stylish football.. that person would be aimar
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
Sneijder isn't good just now and he knows it. I really hopes he finds confidence and form soon.
LINK
MadridistAli//
Benzema is a very lonely player. He was at his best when Ben Arfa was in the troup. Unfortunate they didn't get along as persons. Ribéry, Benz and Robben, yummie! Then Higuain has to struggle!
And don't misunderstand me, I love Higuain.
Pepe has come out and said he knows how to stop toress i hope he does a good job i really believe that we can beat liverpool if we play our game lets just hope all of our players stay healthy
although higuain is still far from the top ranking, we can clearly see his tremendous improvement this season and he is still young so he deserves his chance to get further improved he is in form now and i can't imagine if we don't have him in the squad now since van gol is out and hunt is still too new. he is playing so aggressive and energizes our front line. Give this young pale an opportunity!!
at least as a second striker. So is gago, even though i don't prefer him as a starter i still want him can stay
rumors says we might sign Kun Aguero or Tevez in summer. but i personally think we don't need both of them for next season if van gol can get back soon.(i might agree to sign one more young striker but loan him out until 2010). all we need now is one more world class winger who can share some work wtih robben. ribery is my preference. and if we have to waste money on Kun, prefer zarate from lazio he has the quality and might be much cheaper.
Reply to MadridistAli:
Come on. You are comparing an all in out striker like Van Nistelrooy to a secondary striker like Higuain and Benzema. Of course V. Nistelrooy is going to score more goals since he will always be in the box where Higuain, Raul and Benzema will drop down and look for the ball. Higuain has been playing in the Spanish league for three years, Has proven that he can score goals and also sets them up. Benzema plays in a lower league (sorry to Ligue 1 fans), has no experience playing in a top league. Higuain is further qualified. Don't get me wrong I like Benzema and I do know he is class but we have a player like him already.
Reply to Adambader:
Adam, I read an article that a friend of mine from Argentina sent me and Redondo was quoted saying that between Mascherano and Gago he prefers and relates to Gago.
. I'll see if I can dig up the article for the spanish reading people. I just want to rub it in. 
j/k
Reply to Anti-Mijatovic:
Anti, I totally agree with you. We don't need Aguero or Tevez. Both are the same type of player. I prefer Tevez for his work ethic and his tenacity. Tevez reminds me of a striker version of Gennaro Gattuso. Also the price tag of both is quite high. We do need a winger and Ribery is probably the first on my list.
Reply to madridtrini4:
Yes they are similar, but what I meant was that the Spanish is league is more competitive. No much spaces and intense games.
In other words, not anyone can repeat the same performances he gave in another league when he comes to the Spanish league except for a few world-class players such as Van Nistelrooy.
Just look at Henry, he failed in Italy, made it big in England and not as effective as he used to be in Spain now.
Another player is Robinho. He is doing pretty good in England because there is so much space for him to play, but when he was here he couldn't cope with the game style.
Reply to helmet_09:
I thought Aguero was better than Tevez. I think of more as of a playmaker and second striker pretty much like Totti although he can't be compared to Totti (I'm a Totti fan)
Reply to helmet_09:
Nicolas Cage told me that he relates to me, though I don't attract much woman or make million of dollars.
Please post the article here so I could read it
Thanks
Reply to helmet_09:
I think you said everything I could have. We don't need Benzema, atleast not until Raul and RVN retire. All we need is for Heinze to get his ass out of Real and buy Ribery and Chiellini. Benzema we can buy the summer after that. Hala Madrid!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
Okay,what about Villa?
it looks that Ribery wants to do as C.Ronaldo did he's saying that he's happy in bayern and he wants to stay untill his contracts expire in 2011 , that pissed me really off!
Im sure we'll get a better player than him this little arrogant! here's the link: LINK HALA MADRID!
Reply to MadridistAli:
Villa, it's a tough choice because he's the type of striker you don't find often. Though, when we signed the Hunter, we ruled out the possibility of a move for Villa as we would have to kick out one of the four strikers that we have. Villa is a class player and i'd say we need a pacey striker like him way more than Benzema. Though, I really doubt we 'need' him. Or we would have to make Raul or RVN sit on the bench all the time since they've done their time but we can't hold talents like Huntelaar and Higuain back. That's why any signing in the striking department could have a bad effect on the team. Hala Madrid!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
we have to stop counting on raul and RVN, as now is the time to groom two succesors to their thrones up front.. we already found raul's succesor(higuain), but what about RVN? i surely don't think that huntelaar is his replacement.. i think more of benzema, aguero, zarate, to be his replacement.. to solve our winger problems, ribery, or aimar
Reply to madridtrini4:
No, you see, RVN and Huntelaar are just like each other. Every balanced team has one out-an-out striker coupled with a centre-forward and at the moment we have the required fire-power. Huntelaar just needs match practice to show everyone that he's no small-fry. Huntelaar is a very good replacement for RVN to be honest, they both have that stunning finish. The striking front is not our weakness, it's pretty obvious. Our weakness is the reliance on Robben. We don't have somebody on the opposite wing doing what Robben does and if we can fix that and get a left-back then surely, this Madrid team will be amazing. Hala Madrid!
we don't need a left back!! marcelo is a great left back.. if you saw the brasil-italy game, you would have seen that. sigh, robinho.. he would have been soo great this season with us.. btw, i rely hope to see a brasil-argentina, argentina-spain, or brasil-spain final in 2010.. that will be out of this world!!
Reply to helmet_09:
Same here, i prefer tevez to Kun too(if i must choose one bw them) he can give us sth that we don't have now. A giant team needs different types of players, even bench players need quality that's y i was unhappy when we sold Baptista As u said Tevez will never stop running and putting pressure to the ball holders in order to win back the possession. however, i don't mean he is a better one two years later i must pick aguero he is the new golden boy of argentina and i think he can be the perfect replacement of raul once our legendary captain retires and zarate from Lazio also has so much potential too. hala madrid !!
A win nevertheless..i'm so happy with our performance right now. Although we r winning matches by only single or couple of goals, but at least we play good football. N, I'm so impressed with LASS. i think he outshone robben in this match. hopefully he will get better and better.The best in Spanish laliga VS one of the best in EPL.U do the calculation. We surely win the match. Torres is a great player but we do have PEPE and Ramos.And even the great Ronaldinho couldn't do anything when he was marked by Sergio Ramos in last year's El Classico which we won by 4-1. Really, if Messi plays for Liverpool, i would be extremely worry. But Torres and Gerard?, We played against Torres many times before and we surely aware against the threat he poses to our team. But c'mon, this is not Pompey we r talking about. This is REAL MADRID..please wake up from the daydream Liverpool fans.
Reply to Faeez:
Exactly....if both teams are at their best we should beat them...only Gerrard and Torres need to be marked...and maybe Kuyt and Riera.Other than that we can be certain that we will not concede a goal.when it comes to attacking Robben and Higuain will probably be perfect for this match since they are pacey and since their defence is very slow we will win lots of fouls (and hopefully penalties)
Brazil won 2-0 against Italy
they played with Italy's defence just like a yo-yo,Robinho was great,i really miss him playing with the white shirt 
,Marcelo was the best defender of Brazil,i think Heinze will be a bench warmer against Sporting Gijon next Sunday 
P.S: dont get mad Adam i know that you support Italy,well i am a Selecao fan!
Hala Madrid!
Reply to MadridistAli:
You think that's good? Watch how Spain tear through England then
I'm with you on that one, since we play two holding midfielders, it's only right to play two wing-backs. Hala Madrid! 
I also saw Marcelo and i was very impressed he played very well.. today for practice Real Madrid played a match vs the Castilla in where Real Madrid won 4-2 we had 3 goals for Saviola and 1 goal from Drenthe thats good this will raise their confidence also on the good note Guti played first 45 minutes of the game without no trouble with his injury and is almost fully recovered but on the bad not Salgado was subsititued and injured and will be out 2-3 weeks. Alipio scored today also he is a great talent.. HALA MADRID!!!
marcelo is great, as i said before, we just need to give him a chance.. as for the van der vaart situation, play him up front with higuain!! put him as a second striker, and higuain as a lone striker.. who remembered what happened last time higuain was a lone striker? 4 goals? i think so.. just START van der vaart, DON'T sub him.. please!!
We have important games coming up and we need to rest some of our veterans in the upcoming games to be ready for liverpool.. Juande should give Huntelaar, Marcelo, Saviola, Parejo a chance to play and rest a couple of our veterans like Raul, Heinze, and Cannavaro so they can be fresh for the cl game
here is next season all white kit for Real Madrid.. LINK
Sorry folks the internet has been up and down for a couple of days and I couldn't keep up with everything over here. If anyone wants to post something up such as a news article or a game preview or review, please let me know here or just send an email to rajab at oleole.com
Reply to Adambader:
to update you Adam.. Salgado got injured in the practice game vs Castilla and will be out for up to 3 weeks, also Metzelder is still having back pain and they have not said when he will return.. Guti and Parejo are fully recovered and will be ready to play this weekend if Juande calls them up and also Gago will be back from suspension.. VDV although is supended because he recieved his 5th yellow last week.. Palanca has been sent down to the Castilla again.. and here is the link to our new home kit for next season.. LINK
Reply to Madridista4:
Is Heinze injured?Because he thained in the gym today...if yes we might see Marcelo playing this week or Torres
Reply to Madridista4:
Lovely. That was a nice recap, thanks a lot.
The new jersey doesn't look that different to the current one, maybe the only visual difference is the yellow line. I'm setting my heart on the black one -- because I already have the latest white jersey and I love wearing black shirts. Does anyone of you wonder if there are "Real Madrid" branded suits out there? And how much are they? My college professor is a Sampadoria fan and he has a nice Sampadoria branded formal suite. It has the Sampadoria logo on the left-hand-side of the jacket.
Reply to Adambader:
Damn it. Typos and I can't edit them. I guess my comment is pretty understandable -- "suite" should have been "suit". And "wonder" should have been "know"
Reply to Adambader:
I have this years black cl jersey and it is pretty nice i love it and i have Sneijder 10 on the back.. mentinioning Sneijder hopefully he plays a great game this weekend.. and have u all seen that nice goal Huntelaar scored for netherlands in the friendly i read that Juande was happy with the goal and congratuled the player its more than likely Huntelaar will get a start either this weekend or next vs betis
Reply to Daniel:
yeah i read that he is having little discomfort with some injury and i read that he will be ready to play sunday vs sporting but i see no reason to rush him if he cant play because we do have important games coming up also and we need him fresh and also Marcelo or Torres can do the job.. Marcelo also played well for brazil as left back so we should use marcelo as a left back
just recently found this blog...i just wanna sre you that i love lass' performance against argentina...he was totally destroyed by messi...hahaha
Reply to Adambader:
Yeah,the new jersey is a fake one,maybe its made by some Hackers in the internet,actually after i pressed the link,my NOD32 found an internet virus,its clear no differnece but the two yellow lines,i prefer this season's kit,but the best kit of Real Madird was 2005/2006\.LINK
We have alot of players that are out vs sporting Robben and Sneijder still have some discomfort so will not travel, Guti has not been called up, VDV is suspended basically our whole midfield is gone.. Casillas, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Lass, Raul, Gago, Saviola, Marcelo, Heinze, Dani Parejo, Faubert, Hunterlaar, Higuaín, Miguel Torres, Javi Garcia and Dudek, Bueno.. we have Alberto Bueno called up
Reply to madridista:
Huh? Yeah, the first 10 odd minutes were bad but he was a monster afterwards. He was easily France's best player and without his dirty work they would have been torn apart. And i'm not only saying that because he plays for Real Madrid, I watched the game. As for tommorrow's match and squad list. I'm glad Robben isn't playing. We need to teach our players how to play like a team and I see this as a perfect oppurtunity. I think Juande's going to go for something like a 4-2-1-3 with Lass and Gago calling the shots in midfield with VDV playing as a playmaker and Higuain, Huntelaar and Raul upfront or he could stick to 4-4-2 with Faubert and Drenthe/VDV on the wings with Huntelaar and Higuain upfront. I'm 90% sure he's going to play Huntelaar. Hopefully we can replicate the 7-1
Hala Madrid!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
VDV is suspended for this match with 5 yellows and Drenthe has not been called up.. Bueno has been called up.. he will more than likely play Iker,Ramos,Pepe,Cannavaro,Heinze,Lass,Gago,Parejo,Higuain,raul,huntelaar.. lets hope that any chance Higuain Raul or Huntelaar get they will take advantage of it Higuain will more than likely play behind Raul and Huntelaar.. lets also hope Sneijder and Robben are back next weekend
Reply to Madridista4:
I'm quite sure it was Juande's descision to rest Robben and not take any risks since they've trained well over the last two days. Unlike Schuster, Juande is very smart and understands the game and looks to the future. It's a wonderful thing to give the lads some rest, and Robben and Sneijder were the ones who really needed it. Hopefully, Sneijder is back to his best after his rest. I'm sorry I forgot that Drenthe and VDV wouldn't be present. Looking at that, I think he's either going to use Parejo as a playmaker and 3 upfront or Faubert and Parejo on the wings with Huntelaar and Higuain/Raul upfront. Lass and Gago will remain unchanged I feel no matter what formation he uses. Hala Madrid!
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
yeah i dont believe Robben and Sneijder injury is that serious because as you said they have trained with the squad. but he did not want to risk Guti and Guti should be ready for next weekend as VDV will be back from suspension
Again...Ronaldo story..something happened last summer we don,t know..yet!!
I love Real Madrid to win the Ratmany liver
Reply to zine05:
I hope much from the bottom of Vlbi
Amin