Ciao Beckham

Much love David . . . now make a goal for L. Ron

It's goodbye for Goldenballs as he begins his new career as ambassador of sock-ah (for the kids, of course) after helping los Merengues (along with Man U throwaway Ruud van Nistelrooy) to their first piece of silver in four years. In February, Fabio Capello was dead man walking, reportedly having resigned as Real Madrid's Champions League hopes were extinguished. After Becks' decision to count his fortune in Los Angeles instead of Madrid, both club president Ramon Calderon and Capello had nothing but shit to talk about the "disgraced" England skipper as he was seemingly losing pace and looked ineffectual.

Fast forward four months (with only one loss in their last 17 matches), and Becks was making a much-deserved victory lap around the Bernabeau, wrapped in an England flag as his wife watched from the stands with an elfin Tom Cruise wearing ridiculously large sunglasses (it's a night game, you schmucks) beside his vessel of Thetan spawn, Katie Holmes. Nobody seemed to care that it was the Arsenal castaway Jose Antonio Reyes, and the youth of the team that sealed the deal for Capello and Co, choosing to focus on the superstar midfielder with a penchant for dead ball magic. A wonderful build-up of play with Ruud's replacement, Gonzalo Higuian, and Robinho lead to Reyes' equalizing goal, and a powerful header from Mahamadou Diarra that bounced in off of Mallorca's man at the post did enough to silence Barcelona fans, who were watching their team thump Gimnastic 5-1. After the first goal, Mallorca sat back, trying in vain to defend a draw, a tactic perhaps more due to the overall skill level of the mid-table club than the 3M euros paid to them from Barcelona.

It's hard to see the departure of David Beckham and Roberto Carlos as anything but good for the future of Real Madrid. While Capello's future with the club may be unclear, we can see what madristas can look forward to after the last remnants of the Galictcos are gone from the pitch. While Carlos can be effective and dangerous in attack, for me, he embodied the porous nature of the Real Madrid backline, despite some big names back there. And, as soon as they move from the one-dimensional (albeit brilliant) attack of Becks, we should see the full effect of the team's youth. If Robinho, Reyes, Higuain and Diarra stick around for awhile, as well as Fabio Capello, Barcelona's got some legitimate competition in the next few years. If there's anything Ramon Calderon can do to further alienate himself from los Galicticos of Florentino Perez, it's to stick with the gaffer and allow the much-awaited youth to write another chapter for the Spanish giants.

Beckham's farewell cut short but he still departs a winner [Guardian Unlimited]
CAPELLO OUTLINES REAL COMMITMENT [Sporting Life]
Seasons in the sun: how Beckham fared in Spain [Times Online]

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Down to the wire

Goldenballs snubs the club that thought of him as just another surplus superstar left over from the galacticos era. Along with Istanbul-bound Roberto Carlos, Becks stands as the last remnant of Florentino Perez's legacy of a superstar-squad destined for greatness in La Liga as well as in Europe. Alas, as we all know, this was not meant to be, and the timing of DB's return to form is a nice way of saying "I told you so" to the Spanish giants. Of course, as soon as the former England captain returned to fitness after an injury, he showed us all that he is perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle not only at the Bernabeau, but for England as well. And this looks unlikely to change at the Hope Depot Center, as the LA Galaxy languish at the bottom of the Western table, with 6 points from 8 matches.

With Real Madrid just a win away from lifting the La Liga trophy for the first time in four years, it looks as though Ramon Calderon, president of the club, as well as manager Fabio Capello have been tucking into a massive plate of crow for he last few weeks. The major apologies seem to be coming from the gaffer, as he claims that himself and the Real Madrid board made a mistake:

"We were all wrong. We all made the decision in the sporting area, and it's
mostly my fault. Truthfully, we made a mistake with him," said the Italian coach
in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS on Monday.

A little too late, and it probably was too late even a month ago, when Becks began to show his old form, making the knackered around him look a step too slow to deal with his crosses and movement off the ball. As much as I like to downplay his gifts, I think this was the right time for him to get healthy, if not for himself and his image, but for Real Madrid and England as well. Will Becks be the guy to lead a team to glory? Probably not, but he can definitely make an impact when he's fit. Honestly, La Liga was a league nobody wanted to win and it was just a matter of time before someone was ready to stake a claim to it. Valencia and Sevilla petered out, Barca dropped points at the wrong time, but it's their performance against los Merengues this campaign that sealed their fate.

The whole Goldenballs issue aside, La Liga's dominant side is hard to pin down at the moment. A lot of this depends on the off-season moves of the big two, Real Madrid and Barcelona. With solid sides like Sevilla and Valencia always threatening (and Villareal beginning to assert itself again), but not with quite enough quality to dominate, it'll again come down to who will slip up at the worst time, and against whom.

Nothing's changed for the top three in Spain for a few weeks, as Real Madrid just needs a win to clinch the title. Barcelona only have a chance if they win and Real Madrid don't. For Sevilla, they need a win and two losses from the top two.

Beckham snubs Madrid U-turn [Guardian Unlimited]

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Madrid Hotseat: The Undoing of Fabio Capello

What is going on at the Bernabeau? Amid reports that gaffer Fabio Capello was about to resign after Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich last week, a startling discovery about a "pact" between the Italian manager and Brazilian midfielder Emerson has surfaced. Despite sitting in fourth place, a mere six points away from league leaders Barcelona, the haze of controversy and rumour surround los Merengues.

Capello, who has been the model of frustration and premature arrogance for pretty much most of this year (showing fans the one-finger salute, threatening to bench Goldenballs for the rest of the season) apparently made a pact with the oft-abused Emerson that he would sit out the rest of the season's home games due to fan abuse.

Much like his promise that David Beckham would never play in a Madrid kit, this proved to be a premature and simply stupid agreement on Capello's part. Of course, when Capello wanted to substitute the Brazilian for Fernando Gago, he refused and was forced to play Mahamadou Diarra, and it was all caught on camera, which the Spanish press had a field day with.

The question is, why on earth would a coach of Capello's pedigree, make a promise to anyone, much less a player, halfway through the season? Personally, I think we're watching the great Fabio Capello reach his boiling point. He left the Bernabeau the first time around for a reason, and that reason has been fairly evident since Real Madrid stopped winning silver, after the departure of Vicente del Bosque. Six managers in three years tells you a lot about fickleness and I'm sure if you looked up the word in a Castillian dictionary, it'd have a photo of someone in a white Real Madrid shirt.

So why is he still there, despite showing such a massive distaste not only for players and the board, but the fans as well? When you have the King of Spain, impotent figurehead he may be, asking about when you're going to leave your club, it's probably time to leave. And it's not necessarily for Capello's lack of trying, whose contract runs until 2009.

However, the sum of 16 million euros, what the gaffer is due at the end of the year, is the main reason why he remains. According to various reports, the club owe him the remainder of his contract if he leaves now, but owe him nothing if he leaves at the end of the season. So one of the coaching greats of soccer just needs to see out the end of this season for a substantial payday, and hopefully a top four finish. Unfortunately, to do so at a club like Real Madrid, can seem like an eternity.

Capello, Emerson, Mijatovic And The Bernabéu Pact [Goal.com]
King Juan Carlos asks Real Madrid about Capello axe [Tribal Football]

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The Grab: 01.16

With all the problems Andriy Shevchenko has encountered this year, this has to be the worst thing to surround the Ukrainian striker, who continues to disappoint on the pitch. If there's anything that's universally supported in the sporting world, besides various groupies and platinum wives, it's er, trust and camaraderie. [Mirror]

As much as I think David Beckham moving to MLS to make the kind of money he's going to make is ridiculous in so many subjective ways, something has to be said about Real Madrid finally getting a taste of their own medicine (Getfuckedophynol 330 mg). Not one to allow some overrated footballer/male model get away with the injustice of leaving the Bernabeau, Ramon Calderon obviously feels he needs to expand on his true feelings for the former galactico. [BBC Sport]

In perhaps retaliation toward the man who brought the former England captain to the Bernabeau, Calderon also decides to point a Castilian finger at the Florentino Perez, for apparently ruining his chances of getting the Brazilian midfielder Kaka to come to Madrid. [Goal.com]

Given West Ham's apparent unpopularity in the transfer window, they seem to be able to find players to transfer out, namely Javier Mascherano. Like Carlos Tevez, very little has been heard (or seen) from the Argie duo, but can he make an impact in the midfield at Anfield? [Setanta]

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