Real Madrid vs Ajax

I would love to see Granero start, if he does, he will shine, no question about it...

Jese should have a nice cameo and Callejon should add to his goal tally...

I'll be most interested in Sahin out of Madrid's players (assuming he plays). I hope De Jong starts for Ajax.

Why not just play only bench/castilla players? FIFA fair play BS?

We got 1st place sealed, we should be able to play whoever we want....

^ From what I've seen...Sahin is a bit different to Xabi.

>He prefers to play short passes most of the time and tries to pick his long balls much more selectively and is nowhere near Xabi's level yet in actually excecuting them

>He is much more mobile and likes to move around the pitch much more than Xabi.

Not Sure how well he'll fit into the DLP role.....seems more like a CM to me.

Jese will come off from bench.

halamadrid2 wrote:i agree ragbir

he is very different from xabi, but tbh we honestly dont need a more mobile DM since the CM is there to help

we play two slow guys in the middle yet thats not a problem for us

what we do need though is xabi's passes, b/c when he isnt playing we have difficulty getting ideas on how to break a team down

hopefully he will learn from him to then be able to slowly replace him

a CM is more fitting since he can do everything khedira does and more

Xabi doesnt help us break team down, he helps us move the ball from deep, and make the transition from the midfield to the attack seamlessly. He keeps the ball flowing from deep, and make it seems like the team is a one single unit, as opposed to two pieces.

Sahin can do that. He is an excellent passer, and isnt afraid to try risky passes. It's not a matter of whether he can pass, he proved already that he is a midfield general with top tier passing. He is in recovery mode, so his form will improve with his confidence.

Some are expecting miracles from Sahin from his first games which is quite unrealistic.

Personally I'm confident he'll be able to be the creative midfielder we need to keep the team a single unit but he just needs time

St_Nick09_of_Goal wrote:

halamadrid2 wrote:i agree ragbir

he is very different from xabi, but tbh we honestly dont need a more mobile DM since the CM is there to help

we play two slow guys in the middle yet thats not a problem for us

what we do need though is xabi's passes, b/c when he isnt playing we have difficulty getting ideas on how to break a team down

hopefully he will learn from him to then be able to slowly replace him

a CM is more fitting since he can do everything khedira does and more

Xabi doesnt help us break team down, he helps us move the ball from deep, and make the transition from the midfield to the attack seamlessly. He keeps the ball flowing from deep, and make it seems like the team is a one single unit, as opposed to two pieces.

Sahin can do that. He is an excellent passer, and isnt afraid to try risky passes. It's not a matter of whether he can pass, he proved already that he is a midfield general with top tier passing. He is in recovery mode, so his form will improve with his confidence.

I agree.....I was just saying that Sahin is the kind of guy who will play triangles.......one two's etc to move the ball up the field rather than straight up long passes.He is kind of similar to Fabregas ( early at Arsenal), where he had good mobility and was able to start deep and advance while keeping all the play in a very controllable radius.

Xabi straight up goes for it when he sees it......Sahin strikes me as a tad more cautious.I like it though.Just hoping that guys aren't expecting him to step in thee and be a Xabi clone.

He's not at Xabi's level with the long passes yet though, I maintain.

I agree, he is not.

keep in mind as well that Xabi has to master those long passes and rely on those because he has limited technical skills and mobility. He is not going to move up the pitch dictating play all over the field.

Sahin has more tools in his arsenal from what i have seen, his passing will get better, it's not a crime if he isnt as good as Xabi with his overal passing for now. The big difference however, is the fact that Sahin is naturally better at playing through balls and trying the final pass.

Xabi doesnt play through balls, he is not the kind of play to try to split open teams with passes.

He makes direct and intelligent passes forward to break the line of the midfield and put the ball in the forwards feet; and he feeds the wing and keep it going with a very high percentage rate. that's what he is great at.

Sahin only played a single full game with us after being injured for months. You guys have to wait, how many players come into a side and play to their best from day one? no one does that. Ofc he has yet to show the true extent of his talent, that goes without saying.

Have you watched Sahin playing with Dortmund last year? because if you did, you would know that he also excels at playing those long crossfield passes.

I dont want to sound as if i am the sole knowledgeable poster about Sahin here, but sometimes you make comment about a player without knowing exactly what it is he can do on the pitch.

Last season, Dortmund was known for playing electric fast paced football, and running very dnagerous counters, as illustrated by the way the beat Bayern in their own arena. The engineer of many of those counters was Sahin, and Dortmund still hasnt figured how to replace him.

i just dont think sahin will be able to do that, i think sahin would fit in more in barcas line-up where he could be more patient and pick his pass slower than he has to do with us.

Sorry to say, but this is terribly wrong. Sahin is a high tempo player who makes the majority of his passes forward, not an horizontal footballer. Can he control the tempo as well? yes, that's an extra dimension of his game that Xabi Alonso doesnt have. Like H.A. described very accurately, he likes to play short passes, in triangle, and stay available in the pocket, with always an eye at playing the ball forward. His mobility and superior technique compared to Alonso's, allowed him to play in a way that Alonso cant, without compromising his direct style which he repeatedly demonstrated in bundesliga.

There is something sincerely wrong with posters on this board. You in particular, when you dont know a player well enough, you analyze whatever bit of game you watch him in, to draw a profound and deep conclusion about the man. And it doesnt matter if it's his first game after a 6month lay off, or his first ever game in a new side. In this case, you are drawing conclusions from the 1st ever full game he played with us, after a long term injury, and already conclude that he can't make crossfield passes and run the counter. That's ridiculous to me.

According to Cuatro journalist from Amsterdam, the line up will be like this:

_____________Adan
Arbeloa____Albiol____Varane____Coentrao
_________Granero____Sahin
Benz________Kaka________Callejon
____________Higuain

what i expected, i guess Arbeloa made a quick recovery, although im suprised Altintop isnt the one pairing Sahin. Will be interesting.

i dont understand why both benz and higuain are playing.. isnt that a bit risky seeing as we dont have any other forwards and we have el clasico in what 4 days?

Yeh that line up was pretty much guaranteed. Surprised to see Granero there.

Estrella was right

Real Madrid XI (vs Ajax): Adán; Arbeloa, Albiol, Varane, Coentrao; Sahin, Granero, Callejón, Kaká; Benzema, Higuaín

2nd half Benz and Higgy out Altintop and Jese in

Callejon starting

zomg, albitroll....

:dance: