11 Reasons Why You Should Never Write Off Madrid

All too often, early-season form sees teams hyped up beyond their capabilities in a tale that ends only in embarrassment. Similarly, other sides such as Madrid whose starts are anything short of perfection are often subject to unreasonable levels of scrutiny. Everyone loves to write off the perennial champions, whether it be Manchester United, Internazionale, the Old Firm in Scotland - whoever - and though this list highlights some shortcomings of Bernd Schuster's side, they are also sold somewhat short in comparison to their direct competitors.
 
1) Little change in the challenge
 
Is the challenge really that much stronger than last season? Villarreal have made some shrewd purchases, but still arguably lack the world-beating class to make an improvement on last year's highly impressive points tally. Sevilla signed well following the loss of key players, but are still very much the same Sevilla - leaking three goals against a Sporting Gijon side that Madrid obliterated 7-1, when they were already five up. Atletico Madrid threatened to kick on another level but, like Sevilla, have the same fundamental failings of a soft-centre that make Real Madrid 2008 look like Italy 2006. So 'the challenge' is realistically only about two teams: Valencia appointed the perfect coach in Unai Emery, who has done well to somewhat steady the sinking ship, but this is currently a side being carried by one or two players and a side who have not yet faced top quality opposition in the league. Their hardest fixture was a visit to Almeria, in which they scraped a draw. Let's not forget, this Valencia is a side Madrid ripped through with just nine men in the Supercopa.

And Barcelona? ...
 
2) Still Barcelona
 
Pep Guardiola can be compared very directly in many aspects with Unai for all the good he has done with the Blaugrana, but ultimately, they still lack an alternative up front when a team camps in their own area with more conviction than recent opponents. Samuel Eto'o's red-hot form will come to mean very little, as he has proven - through no fault of his own, as such - to be quite limited in such circumstances. If and unfortunately maybe even when Lionel Messi gets his customary injury per season, they will still have a gaping hole on the right that can only be filled by the raging runs of Dani Alves, but at a cost of defensive solidity - not unlike Madrid's much publicised use of Sergio Ramos in recent months.
 
3) Title defence with the same defence
 
Talk will never stop of Madrid's defence. Even during their best streaks last season, it was being cited as a weak point. This is the exact same set of defenders that held the best record in La Liga last season. A repeat may be unlikely, and the constant changes brought about by minor injuries has done little to help. Yes, Madrid's defence is a weak point, but erratic though Pepe may be, Carles Puyol isn't far off, and the less said about Carlos 'the Crippler' Marchena, the better.
 
4) Strength in depth
 
This may come to be the key point and will only tell over time. In defence, perhaps the options beyond the first choice lot leave a little to be desired, as they exhibit an embarrassing lack of cohesion every time they take to the pitch. There may also be a shortage in quality genuine options up front, but the vast array of versatile talent in midfield could prove to make all the difference. The wing slots are somewhat bear at the Santiago Bernabeu, but the likes of Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart supplement attack to devastating effect and Mahamadou Diarra, Ruben de la Red and Fernando Gago are similarly effective sitting deeper. All this without mentioning vice-captain Guti who, though inconsistent, still proved last season he can be the most decisive player on the pitch almost every other game. Madrid have shown they can cope without any of their star players - even Jerzy Dudek hasn't looked too bad when deputising for Iker Casillas - and that is a distinctive edge they have on their competitors.
 
5) Unrest? What's new?
 
Like the defence, talk of unrest is a stereotypical necessity when it comes to criticising los Blancos and again, it is hardly a trait exclusive to the champions. Talk of a Milan side that could barely afford Ronaldinho in the summer now making a move for Ramos is far more improbable than any of Marca's musings from over the summer, yet few are even batting an eyelid - on the contrary, they're going along with it and almost encouraging more unrest at the Bernabeu. Year-old rumours of Bernd Schuster and Pedja Mijatovic being at each other's throats didn't prevent a title win last season and there is little reason why that would be the case this time around.
 
6) They are due in the Champions League
 
Though there is far from a guarantee that this year would, for any reason, be 'Madrid's year', it suffices to say that being unable to reach the final in four years does not suddenly become a tragedy. No major team has consistently won or come close to winning one of the major club trophies throughout its history and los Merengues' hiatus from the high end of the Champions League doesn't make it unwinnable this time around. There is little to read into from the Turin loss; if they had played poorly and won there would be doubts, as it is they dominated and lost so there are still doubts - and all are legitimate - but the Champions League has only been won by a team that went undefeated twice: Barcelona in 2006 and Manchester United this summer gone by.
 
7) Raul down, but never out
 
The captain has failed to relive his fast start to last season and there are again doubts over his ability to continue at the highest level. He has, to his credit, come to accept that he will be gradually phased out of the team starting now. That aside, claiming he cannot lead the team up front defies all logic and events over the past two seasons. Many of his best performances - last season in particular - have been when Ruud van Nistelrooy has been injured, thus giving el Siete all the freedom he wants in the area. Though Ruud and Raul make a great pairing, it is often for Ruud's benefit in way of goals and subsequent plaudits. Raul is only ever seems to get the best out of his game when Ruud is not in the team, which almost suggests that they could be rotated, but for the fact the Dutchman has not been as prolific without Raul. A conundrum it certainly is, but Raul has a habit of pulling through when all the chips are down, as he did in single-handedly scraping Schuster's men a point against Espanyol and avoiding a humiliating home defeat.
 
8) The best starters
 
They may be third in the table, but there is little reason to deny that Madrid have in fact had the best start to the season, all factors considered. It is certainly better than Valencia's, for the champions have simply had tougher fixtures so far, and while Barcelona's loss came to Numancia and their draw against a Racing Santander side that have failed to recreate last season's heroics under the brilliant Marcelino, Madrid lost to a notoriously stubborn Deportivo La Coruna who they have been unable to beat at the Riazor in almost two decades and drew with Espanyol, who at the time were one of the form teams in the league, though they have since slipped down to mid-table. True, Barcelona have begun winning in more style, but ...
 
9) Fortune? What fortune?
 
There is little fortunate about a last-minute penalty that was legitimate or a last-minute counterattack goal away from home when put against the ill-fortune of some shocking calls from referees and their assistants in those very same games. But for several incorrect calls against the champions (not to suggest it's a conspiracy as Mijatovic may have you believe) many of these games almost certainly would have been over a lot earlier. The fact Real managed to turn the games around and go on to win them shows something that Barcelona in particular have lacked in recent times; when little things go against them, it tends to cost them the game. While high-scoring affairs against Numancia and Athletic Bilbao showed that Schuster's side can still get a little careless, the results still came. Despite enduring pressure against the likes or Racing and in particular Zenit St Petersburg, the devastating play that gave them the advantage and eventual wins in those games cannot be understated. They were just a class apart when it counted.
 
10) No Ronaldo, no problem ... for now
 
Without mincing words, Cristiano Ronaldo would have been a great signing for Real Madrid. He would have filled the gap on the right hand side and eased Sergio Ramos' concerns and he would have acted as another forward option in the process, lessening the need for Raul to start as much as he is and weighing in with a heavy goal return. He offers everything they need. That being said, this lopsided Madrid outfit won the title last season despite their tactical imperfections and, like the defensive situation, little has changed to reason that it may cost them this time. Robinho has gone, but it must be remembered that both he and Arjen Robben were very rarely fully fit at the same time last season, and Gonzalo Higuain, though not a winger as many have been led to believe, is only getting better. There are enough makeshift solutions to last the champions at the very least until January, but it is clear that something needs to be done - not to repair any psychological devastation suffered by those who were so looking forward to Ronaldo's arrival, but simply to fill the gap left in the team by another Manchester United number 7, David Beckham, who has not since been replaced with a player of genuine, match-winning class since he left for Los Angeles Galaxy in 2006.
 
11) ... because big-game specialists love being written off
 
Madrid could well end the season without a trophy and it is almost certain to be a tighter affair than last season, but the White House is likely to receive at least one piece of silverware this summer on the basis that not that much has changed from last season, other than the fact that instead of being top of the league at this stage, they are third and just a point off the leaders. It is cosmetic and little more; everything on the pitch looks much the same and thus a shot in the dark that they will go trophyless seems at best an act of desparation that is more likely to drive them onto success than see them crumble as their rivals have in the past. The period around the Christmas break could prove pivotal, when on December 14 they meet Barcelona, then the following week face Valencia and, first game after the winter break, go toe-to-toe with Villarreal. Last season they did the double over two of the three and the freak loss to Valencia came when many believed it had become impossible for Madrid not to win the league. Good omens? Only time will tell...