Villarreal vs Real Madrid

Vamos equipo!

This is it lads and gals, this is the day we take back the crown. When he decides to leave RM for good Zidane will go down as the best manager in our history imo. This guy picked up a shipwreck Solari had left him and steered it a LL trophy. Absolute legend!!!!

Alright the boys did it!

How things have changed since the season started. Zizou is such an amazing manager. Wow.

in these trying times, the title is always welcome. this hunger the team showed after the return, i hope zidane keeps instilling it in the team, as we will have this same group again next season. we need that fire more than anything

Remember the "meme" banner here about Benzema being free from CR7's shackles?

Good times.

I'm gonna enjoy this title eventually. Not now as things are still weird here but I know I'll be enjoying this later. Hala Madrid.

Also, Zidane continues to fucking frustrate but yet, continues to be a serial winner of things that matter. If Sports is around, hope he comes back firing so I could tell him some choice words lol.

halamadrid2 wrote:Vamos equipo!

This is it lads and gals, this is the day we take back the crown. When he decides to leave RM for good Zidane will go down as the best manager in our history imo. This guy picked up a shipwreck Solari had left him and steered it a LL trophy. Absolute legend!!!!

Solari would be a forgotten memory. Like a bad relationship that you can't even recall because your current one is just so good.

I cannot wait till Zidane loses 2 games in row so I can ask for his dismissal

@hala; thimmy made a post in another thread, and he was right....solari, as much as i wasn't his biggest fan either, wasnt the cause of the shipwreck. ship had lost its mast, anchor, and wheel by the time solari came on. in fairness to santi, the same deck wasn't dealt for solari and zidane

What a win!!!  A weird one because of the virus, the break, no fans....  etc.  Very challenging for everyone.  But let's not discount it at all.  Everyone faced the same circumstances, we didn't play any less games, and we ended up champions.

Honestly, I didn't think we could do it.  I knew Zizou would make us competitive...  But I had serious doubts about our midfield and our attack.  Also, Hazard gave us nothing.  Think about that... nothing!  It was Benzema that carried the whole attack with little to no help at all.  Come to think of it, Ramos was our 2nd most dangerous threat on the attack lol.

The beauty of it is that the whole squad, other than Bale and James (who cares), were involved and developed.  Zizou and staff made everyone better...  not just the veterans, but the kids too.

A team win all around.  Everyone did a job and contributed.  Benzema, Ramos and Casemiro are the stars for sure...  but let's not forget Varane, Kroos and Courtois.  The later 3 were quietly extremely consistent performers.

I hope Zidane stays for a long time.  He brings calm and a sense of serenity to the club.  Did the same as a player.  Once he's not there, everything feels hectic and rushed.  It's so strange... as a player, he completely controlled the pace of the game.  He's doing the exact same thing as a manager. He somehow forces the game to be played on his terms.

Anyhow, Hala Madrid!

Not what I expected but yes, can't disagree with your post at all. Also really cannot wait for the next melt down tbh.

@Doc...  Zizou is a serie A manager through and through.  Relies on strong spine (middle of the park from keeper to striker) and a very organized defense.  It's not sexy; but it's damn effective.  Once we get Mbappe and more attacking firepower, I think he adjusts.  He's such a pragmatist.

Given we had children as wingers, Hazard perma-injured, and no backup striker given Jovic' issues... I'm not sure we could have played sexy football if we tried this year lol.  Btw, Isco and Hazard must have the same off season chef because his belly coming back after the break reminded of Hazard's when the season started.

Oh, and great to see Asensio back.  He looks good.

On to CL... I really don't think we win that btw. I don't think we get past City tbh. So having La Liga in the bank is great.

Kudos to Zidane and the whole team. Not only is Zidane an incredible man manager, he and his staff have managed to get the best out of the players and get them to be focused and well drilled defensively. He's also had to work with a complicated attacking options scenario.  

In regards to Bale, if we don't manage to offload him, I think it would be fascinating if Zidane were to try him in the Right Midfielder role that Fede has occupied this season. It would mirror Ancelotti's conversion of Di Maria as a Left Midfielder and it would suit our system to see Bale, Carvajal, and Rodrygo or Asensio triangulate in the right. It would prob suit Bale more than the RF position that Zidane refuses to use him in.

Varane, Ramos, Courtois, Casemiro, Kroos, Benzema, and recently Modric have all been imperious since the restart. We need to see more of Militao more regularly next season and Vinicius, Rodrygo, Hazard, and Asensio as winger options could realy prove well next season in a way that they couldn't this season because of injury issues and young player development matters. I think Rodrygo is impressive because of how smooth and effective he is, especially when compared to Vinicius, who probably is more talented physically and dribbling wise, but just way too messy and unrefined still. Mendy is a great defender/athlete package, and sometimes does really good attacking movements, but i find the way he positions his body to be very weird for a left back, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't a left back in his youth as if you compare him to other left backs, including Reguilon for example, you can see that Mendy has a tendency to move inside rather than push down the flank, and I think this is more down to player limitation than tactical instructions by Zidane.

Finally Fede, he needs to be more audacious on the ball and also look to be involved more the way Modric moves around everywhere. That right midfielder role where sometimes he occupies the interior space and sometimes a winger zone in between the lines is something that I don't think suits him well on the ball because of his somewhat limited nimbleness/agility when turning and orientating his body. Fede is more similar to Casemiro or Kroos in that respect, and it's no coincidence those players play in the left-center midfield zone of the pitch, which is the zone of the pitch i've always thought suits Fede more in regards to passing and movement angles.

I'd bring Odegaard back as he would offer many variables (he'll probably stay at Sociedad), loan Brahim, sell James, sell Isco (won't happen) convert Bale to a right midfielder if you can't sell him, sell Mariano (since Zidane doesn't like him), and atleast try to activate Jovic somehow next season before we inevitably sell him.

Regardless what happens in the CL I am very glad on winning La Liga what a turnaround Zidane has done with this team in one year. Hoping for more years!

I believe in this team and manager for the CL. If there was ever a manager that could steer us to a victory against City it would be Zidane

Zidane is an absolute legend

Benz-casemiro-kroos and Ramos were the key players.

Mendy and Modric deserve the due as well for the consistency in later stages.

Overall good campaign and this is the only trophy i expected this year.

This has to be the most resilient team I've ever seen at the club, maybe a bit more so since that 16/17 was so stacked with talent at its peak.

Congrats to Zidane who has managed to shut up the critics in a wonderful way, and also to the guys, especially Ramos, Marcelo Benzema, Casemiro, Varane, Kroos, Modric and Valverde - what a wonderful midfield general we have on our hands, looking forward to see him grow in that Captain role. Kid can dominate for a decade along with Odegaard.

As for the the team ...

Courtois - turned it around completely since the start of the season. might be Europe's best GK this season based on performances. a completely different GK to Keylor or Iker, but might offer more stability at the back in a team that's well-organized in defense

Carvajal - not as efficient and sharp as in 16/17, but everpresent on that right-hand side, with loads of pace and energy. Should work on his final ball in order to be at 16/17 levels

Varane - from my point of view the best defender in Europe this season.

Ramos - a colossus and our player of the season.

Militao - didn't get lots of minutes but you could see his quality - he's quick, strong, aggressive and never afraid to get stuck in. needs more experience but he has potential to become a very good center back. luckily he has Ramos and Varane to learn from.

Nacho - not as present as in the previous seasons, but as always, a reliable option all over the backline when fit.

Mendy - Zidane once again got it right, he's much better than Reguilon.

Marcelo - not as consistent as in the past, but you can always count on him for the big occasions. Here's hoping that he can get fit for City.

Casemiro - the boy has played at historical levels this season imo. much better than in Zizou's first mandate, he is more comfortable in possession.

Modric - maestro. can't play every 3 days anymore, and is not as quick off the mark as before, or as agile, but , when he gets the ball, time stands still, he can do whatever he wants with it. good season, hopefully his last one. he is our best midfielder ever.

Kroos - complete turnaround from last season but should improve his set pieces which were awful all season imo.

Valverde - best box-to-box in the world. easily. he plays as if Kroos met Vidal.

Isco - another season to forget for him. still better than the last when he was non-existent, but he needs to improve his fitness by a good margin for next season if he wants to play a part

Vazquez - in line with his usual perfomances. reliable soldier as always, but it might be the time for something new

Vinicius - our most talented and dangerous attacker. few players if any in the world combine that level of technique with such pace, but he is so wasteful and his decision making in the final 3rd leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully he can hone these holes in his game, because if he does so, he can be a truly devastating player.

Benzema - the cat with another sensational season. I can now understand where all the claims about the best N9 in the world were coming from. He is a generational talent.

sportsczy wrote:What a win!!!  A weird one because of the virus, the break, no fans....  etc.  Very challenging for everyone.  But let's not discount it at all.  Everyone faced the same circumstances, we didn't play any less games, and we ended up champions.

Honestly, I didn't think we could do it.  I knew Zizou would make us competitive...  But I had serious doubts about our midfield and our attack.  Also, Hazard gave us nothing.  Think about that... nothing!  It was Benzema that carried the whole attack with little to no help at all.  Come to think of it, Ramos was our 2nd most dangerous threat on the attack lol.

The beauty of it is that the whole squad, other than Bale and James (who cares), were involved and developed.  Zizou and staff made everyone better...  not just the veterans, but the kids too.

A team win all around.  Everyone did a job and contributed.  Benzema, Ramos and Casemiro are the stars for sure...  but let's not forget Varane, Kroos and Courtois.  The later 3 were quietly extremely consistent performers.

I hope Zidane stays for a long time.  He brings calm and a sense of serenity to the club.  Did the same as a player.  Once he's not there, everything feels hectic and rushed.  It's so strange... as a player, he completely controlled the pace of the game.  He's doing the exact same thing as a manager. He somehow forces the game to be played on his terms.

Anyhow, Hala Madrid!

@Sports, finally you and I are in agreement. I was more doubtful than you at beginning of season, but after witnessing the team after the shutdown, one can’t help but be impressed. I posted in another thread all the things that I am impressed about with Zidane. As to the squad, i think we are well positioned for next year as well as future when they do some signings. There are the 16 players (6 forwards, 5 midfielders and 6 defenders plus Courtois) he has been using plus squad players Nacho and Lucas, one of Jovic or Mariano plus backup GK plus the resident golfer. The other positive for me is with them selling off excess players, if they do them all, it will offset the loss of gate revenue meaning we will be in good financial shape after the pandemic. Then there still is the stadium sponsorship to come.

All in all things are looking good, esp. when you look at what is happening over in Barcelona.

Sports back.. is this real life? My main forum bro is here. Hope all is well man.