Tag: Real Madrid

What was Zinedine Zidane’s record in finals as Real Madrid manager?
14Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

What was Zinedine Zidane’s record in finals as Real Madrid manager?

Even though Zinedine Zidane only spent a total of five seasons as a manager - all for Real Madrid - he was so good at turning a great squad into unstoppable titans that his first stint in Madrid alone is enough to rank him as one of the best managers in the modern game. Zidane was a phenomenal player who dazzled for two elite European clubs, Juventus and Real Madrid, and shined even brighter on the international stage for France as the champion of the 1998 World Cup. At Real Madrid as a manager, Zidane three-peated the Champions League, left, and then came back and rescued a falling Real Madrid. He immediately won LaLiga in 2019/20 and set the team up for a return to Champions League dominance in 2021/22. There were so many things that made Zidane a great manager, but one of the m...
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The 3 best Real Sociedad players who could get into the 2024/25 Real Madrid squad
9Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

The 3 best Real Sociedad players who could get into the 2024/25 Real Madrid squad

After a statement-making 2-0 victory over Real Betis prior to the September international "break", Real Madrid will face another top side in LaLiga next weekend, Real Sociedad. La Real have begun the season with just one win in four games, ranking 12th in the league with four points. However, Real Sociedad are traditionally a tough opponent for Real Madrid and Champions League contenders. Plus, they will be at home this Saturday night. Real Sociedad have a number of great players in their starting lineup, but the benchmark for any player is being good enough to make the Real Madrid squad, as they are the clear defending champions of Spanish football. There may only be one player on Real Sociedad who has a legitimate chance of actually starting games for Real Madrid - even then tha...
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An early look at the 10 best candidates to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or
9Sep By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

An early look at the 10 best candidates to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or

I always find it funny how the Ballon d'Or narrative changes over the course of a year - or season, now that the timeframe of the award has changed. Like, when the 2023/24 season first started, all anyone could do was praise Jude Bellingham for taking LaLiga by storm, putting Real Madrid back on top, and scoring bangers in El Clasico to help affirm Real's return to dominance. The guy was leading the league in goals as a midfielder, and while his performances did decline a bit in the second half of the season, we are talking about a decline from being by far the best player in Europe to "just" being great. And it's not like Bellingham was bad at the Euros either. England almost won it, and he was literally the best player in the Final which England came agonizingly close to winning...
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Why Real Madrid can’t win the treble
16Aug By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

Why Real Madrid can’t win the treble

Winning the treble is seen as the ultimate feather in the cap for an elite footballing institution. Since the Champions League era began in 1992, only five teams have won the treble, which consists of winning the domestic league, domestic cup, and the most coveted prize of them all, the UCL. Those clubs are Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Inter Milan. No Ligue 1 side has won the treble and only the Premier League has more than one treble winner. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Bayern are the only clubs to have won multiple trebles in their histories, and it is this fact that Barcelona fans love holding over Real Madrid. See, Real Madrid have never won the treble. Even though they have won the most Champions League titles in history, recently picking up t...
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Real Madrid’s Best XI Since 2000
11Aug By Javier MartinezNo Comments
Analysis

Real Madrid’s Best XI Since 2000

Real Madrid, regarded as the most successful football club in history, has had the privilege of seeing numerous legendary players wear its iconic white kit. Over the past two decades, the club has enjoyed a golden era, winning multiple La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. With so many great players contributing to the club's success, it leads to an interesting question: Who are the best eleven players to have represented Real Madrid since the 2000/2001 season? Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois If no one has ever dared to say it, then I'll be the first to do so: Thibaut Courtois is not only better but he's also surpassed Iker Casillas as Real Madrid’s greatest-ever keeper. Along with being a more complete keeper than Casillas (excelling in aerial play, ball distribution, and reflexes),...
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The uniquely elite career of Pepe, a Real Madrid and Porto icon
10Aug By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

The uniquely elite career of Pepe, a Real Madrid and Porto icon

Football fans had already bid farewell to two of the best midfielders of the 2010s and early 2020s, Thiago Alcantara and Toni Kroos, as the former Bayern Munich and LaLiga icons decided to retire. Thiago's exit came after injuries robbed him of a true farewell in the Premier League with Liverpool, where he showed flashes of the player who so expertly guided Die Roten to the 2019/20 treble. Meanwhile, Kroos left world football on top, having shined as Germany's best player at Euro 2024 after conquering LaLiga and the Champions League one last time for Real Madrid as a six-time career UCL champion between the Royal Whites of Spain and the Reds of Germany. Now, world football will say goodbye to a legend on equal footing of Thiago and Kroos, with a pedigree of longevity that will ena...
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The 5 biggest Real Madrid transfer flops since 2010
1Aug By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Analysis

The 5 biggest Real Madrid transfer flops since 2010

Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world by Champions League titles, incoming revenue, and social media followers. In order to reach that level, you pretty much have to nail most of your big transfers. That has definitely been the case for Real Madrid over the last several windows, as they have brought in no-doubt world-class players like Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, and now Kylian Mbappe for free. However, before that, Real Madrid had more mixed success in the market, and that came back to bite them with a few poor seasons in the Champions League that were very un-Madrid like, such as early exits in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. Real Madrid had a few ghastly transfer errors as a result of desperate move...
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Ranking the 10 best center midfielders of the 2010s
10Jul By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Ranking the 10 best center midfielders of the 2010s

Throughout the 2010s, Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi was the most heated debate on the lips of world football fans, but as time has passed and the discussions have become more retrospective, much of the discussion has moved towards the midfield. It isn't just Real Madrid and Barcelona fans getting into it about their elite midfields that dominated the 2010s, as Premier League supporters, Serie A fans, and, of course, the Bayern Munich faithful are wondering where their midfield stars stack up. When looking back at the best center midfielders of the 2010s, it is no surprise to see that the teams that dominated the Champions League that decade - Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich - also dominate this list. It's fair to say that this observation is yet another endorsement ...
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Ranking the 11 best young center midfielders in world football right now in 2024
7Jul By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Ranking the 11 best young center midfielders in world football right now in 2024

It isn't easy for a young player under the age of 23 to make a major impact in the center midfield positions, because it's a position that requires a combination of technical quality, tactical intelligence, defensive grit, energy, work rate, veteran know-how, and all-around footballing quality. Here are 10 young players under the age of 23 who have been standouts for their clubs in midfield. To be considered one of the best young center midfielders in the world, a player must be a 6 or an 8 and cannot only play as a 10. Players who are No. 10 playmakers but have a past history of success as a 6 or 8 are able to qualify for this list, because they have shown a history of success in this role. 11. Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis Johnny Cardoso is the least-known name on this list outside ...
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Ranking the 10 best center backs in world football right now in 2024
7Jul By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Ranking the 10 best center backs in world football right now in 2024

The center back position is becoming more of a premium position in world football these days with elite European clubs trying to lock down the world's best attacking players. Here are the 10 best center backs in the world right now in 2024. 10. Giorgio Scalvini, Atalanta Atalanta star Giorgio Scalvini gets overlooked because of all the top-class defensive talent in Serie A, and Atalanta tend to get a whole lot less press than, say, Juventus or Inter Milan. Furthermore, it doesn't help that Bologna star Riccardo Calafiori is the young Italian center back soaking up all the media attention and social media fanposts. That's for good reason, but before Euro 2024, Scalvini was seen as THE young center back to watch in Italian football after putting together a second excellent season ...
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