"Hala Madrid!"
Humble Beginnings
Managing a big team like Real Madrid is not the hardest endeavour i've made in my time playing Football Manager. I can concede that my job here should be fairly simple and with the right tactics, motivation and consistency, I have every chance of achieving what I want.
The problems start with something I had mentioned above, consistency. Truth be told, I have never played with Real Madrid before but I have played with teams of the same stature. I often come across spells of complacency, where in the team might lose in an upset to a much lower team in the league, which results in a dry spell of form and can sometimes cost the league. Since i'll obviously be playing in La Liga, these dry spells of form cannot be allowed to happen, as teams like Barcelona and Valencia can make you pay when it comes to the bigger, more important games.
Like any manager, my first duty is to assess the squad, tactics I would like to play and the key players who will be essential to my game plan.
Key Players:
Cristiano Ronaldo - An absolute integral part to this team. With goalscoring ability and limitless creativity, I would be lying if I said I would not be relying on Ronaldo to carry the team in the bigger games of Europe.
Iker Casillias - The legendary goalkeeper himself. I will be relying on him to keep the clean sheets, establish a solid goal difference and make the important saves to keep us alive in games we struggle.
Sergio Ramos - Both Centre-back and Full-back positions will be covered by Ramos during the majority of the season. He will be integral to the defense, regardless of where I decide to play him.
Xabi Alonso - I'm looking for Xabi Alonso to control the midfield, bring others into play and keep the team organised. His composure in the midfield is essential. My only worry is his injury proneness.
Establishing Tactics
I will implement a 4-3-3 tactic. I will reveal what the full squad will look like after a bit of deliberation on the transfers. My intention is to be defensively secure and concede as less goals as possible. Four at the back and the two DM's should hopefully make this possible. I'm also trying to ensure the midfield and attack will link together, helping us be quick on the counter with players with pace, such as Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo and Benzema at my disposal.
Transfers
My first instinct is to get a bit more of that Spanish mentality back into Madrid. I hope eventually that some great young players from Madrid will pop up somewhere, until then, we'll focus on getting in some Spanish youth.
Players out:
Pepe - 29M - Man City
Pedro Leon - 4.8M - Getafe
Players In:
Inigo Martinez - 8.5M
Mamadou Sakho - 24.5M
Rodrigo - 9M
Pepe was one of the first players I sold, mainly because Man City actually wanted him from me. After some negotiating, they settled for the 29M, which I was surprised at. I used this to fund the signings of Sakho and Martinez. While some people might consider losing Pepe a large blow, i'm more confident in Sakho, considering the influence and ability he has at such a young age. There may be some more minor transfers to come, until then, onto the friendlies!
