El Maestro - Ricardo Kaka

I met Zach once, he was the man. Such a nice guy.

lol zach

We played some really promising football against Sevilla and i was satisfied with what i saw.

The beauty about 4-4-2 is that its like the 4 - 3 - 3 which is actually an upgrade of the classical formation, only it is better and it perfectly suits the current Madrid squad. Just like the 4 - 3 - 3 formation, the 4 - 4 - 2 formation is a double edged sword; the team and the lines must work like a clock. If one individual is out of form, there will be a breach in the line and the opposition might use it as an exploit.

What are the advantages of 4 - 4 - 2 and what was missing during the game with Sevilla?

1) 4 - 4 - 2 creates traffic in the midfield, this can help in both defending and attacking.
2) If you have a talented false 9 like Benzema who is capable of creating play, it means he can track back receive the ball and move forward, unlike the 4 - 3 - 3 or the other formations where Benzema is stuck forward or plays on the left. What we saw from Benzema against Sevilla was no coincidence. 4 - 4 - 2 bring the best out of Benzema.

The bad thing about 4 - 4 - 2 as explained above is that, one bad apple can weaken the whole line, and as we saw, our defensive line suffered. Marcelo was bad, we conceded 2 goals. Pepe was bad, Madrid were down to 10 men.

I wouldnt have opted for a 4 - 4 - 2 if i didnt know that the two wings are fast and have great dribbling techniques and also can defend. those would be Lassana on the right, and Di Maria on the left. Both of them can attack and defend at the same time.

The missing piece in this formula remains a creative midfielder. What Madrid lacked against Sevilla was Kaka or Ozil. The player who can orchestrate the attack and bridge the back line along with the front lines. If kaka or Ozil were playing, the game play would have drastically improved and i would tend to think that Madrid would have avoided at least 1 of the 2 goals, and pepe would have escaped with 1 yellow card instead of earning a red, add to that the fact that we would have seen more coherent and strategic play. Basically the game would have been more eye pleasing and entertaining to watch.

I agree, playing Kaka in the CM role is something that has never been done before. Yes, i agree it is something which have not been back-tested or tried before to build on it or predict it will be working. And honestly, i am not in chosing the 4 - 4 - 2 because i am an admirer of this formation but rather because this formation is best fitting to this particular madrid team with the current squad members.

In the 4 - 4 - 2 formation; you basically need fast wings who can do both the offensive and defensive jobs perfectly (Di Maria, and Lass); a hardcore defense oriented midfielder; Alonso, and a creative midfielder with eagle vision who basically utilizes his efficiency and consumes his energy not in defending but in good positioning, and great passing. The selected game-planner should be attacking oriented, and a fast dribbler so that during counter attacks the traffic created in the back-lines can quickly change to attack. It is of utmost importance that this player avoids physical contact with the opposition players, and only participates in the defending by zone press / marking the man with the ball until back up arrives or his team-mates catch up with their positions. Again, the sweat and energy that this creative player must waste should be in game making bridging of the lines and not in defending. He should run less, be composed, and study the pitch, and the opposition and act when action is required. Defending takes time and effort. Defending is a distraction for that kind of player.

Kaka, has never played in the CM and it may sound crazy to many to play him in that position, but Kaka holds all the characteristics we listed above. He is a great dribbler, has amazing vision, a great passer, in both long and short range passing; and he can shift gears easily to switch from the CM to the AM in counter attacks. That's basically all it takes to have a great FRCM (Free Roaming CM). Moreover, he is a great shooter. Mourinho actually emphasized early in the season that Kaka and Ozil should play deeper and help in the CM cameo if your memory still serve you.

Now Ozil, i have no doubts can one day do all of the above. One day he will make us all proud, but right now he must focus on improving his game play. He should actually start as a benchwarmer, and analyze the game from his seat. Ozil has a below average stamina and he will struggle to participate in game making from deep. I agree with all of you that his game sucks when he plays in the heart of the team at the CM position. Ozil is not as good in dribbling as Kaka is, and he is not as fast as Kaka is. Remember that we do not want Ronaldo and Benzema to be left alone upfront and the CM should have what it takes to quickly shift gears from defense to offense. Ozil is not a great shooter, infact he's bad at taking shots on the goal. While his short passing techniques are impressive and perhaps one notch above Kaka, his long passing is average. Kaka gives us more options as he can produce the long ranged passes when our wingers are upfront, and he can produce the sprints and short passes when we're on the counters. He can also shoot with accuracy and with both legs.

I think this is the ideal Madrid formation, and i would like if we can play and build on it in the future.

aka fail

Lol @ Lass as winger

Kaka as cm? I WANT!
Why always so negative nick? Lass being a winger might actually work. He has the speed and agility and acceleration. Passing isint as good as natural wingers, also he should work more on hes shooting and positioning.

Kaka sucks, trolololol. OMG i am soo bad at this lol.

huntsman wrote:In the 4 - 4 - 2 formation; you basically need fast wings who can do both the offensive and defensive jobs perfectly (Di Maria, and Lass); a hardcore defense oriented midfielder; Alonso,

The formation we played vs Sevilla was still more of a 4-2-3-1.

mtfootball wrote:The formation we played vs Sevilla was still more of a 4-2-3-1.

It was genuine 4 - 4 - 2 imo

Huntsman taking over Madrid section




How the mighty have fallen due to Sportzcy's departure :lucas:

hrealmadrid wrote:

huntsman wrote:In the 4 - 4 - 2 formation; you basically need fast wings who can do both the offensive and defensive jobs perfectly (Di Maria, and Lass); a hardcore defense oriented midfielder; Alonso,

I meant to say fast wingers, We have Di Maria on the Left, he's a work horse, and he can run fast and make dangerous runs forward, also he can defend well. Lass can do the same thing. We have iron left and right sides with Lass / Arbelao on right and Di Maria Coentra on left.

The idea behind having Kaka in the middle is that he is a super fast dribbler, he can take the rebounds from our defense and make the long runs, or short / long passes depending on the situation. It is natural that he isnt as good in defending as he is in attack; a playmaker should remain composed, and he shouldnt waste his time or energy defending, in that case we have to put Alonso or Khedira with him to help in defending but i prefer Alonso because he can pass the ball.

The beauty about 4-4-2 is that its like the 4 - 3 - 3 which is actually an upgrade of the classical formation

Are you serious? 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 are nothing alike, 433 has 3 midfielders, 442 has 2

its hard to guess what formation was being played,one thing is for sure,Di Maria wasnt playing as a winger,or at least didnt look like one.

We're already kinda one dimensional with our current formation, 4-4-2 will make it worse.

huntsman please stop. KAKA is an effing FLOP

why? watch this:




In this complilation of him against Barca a week ago .. he had below average game against them, barely affecting or changing the rythm of play a WC AM should do..


Anyways you and some may agree, he's not 100% yet or he came on too late, BUT watch this:

go to 1:08 min of the video. and you will see he had a clear chance to give through ball to Ronaldo who is cutting in with a great speed from the right, expecting Kaka to put it right in front of him!!!

but Kaka's POOR vision can't even see that run, instead he wastes so much time with his slow decision making that counter attack FAILS.


That through ball... any Decent AM, CM can make!! and you want him as CM so he can f*** our team counters up even more?


NEVER!!! Canales could have done better in that game even.

Breaking news:

Mourinho sacked
Huntsman to take over real madrid as mourinho goes to manchester united.

lol

ijomer wrote:huntsman please stop. KAKA is an effing FLOP

why? watch this:




In this complilation of him against Barca a week ago .. he had below average game against them, barely affecting or changing the rythm of play a WC AM should do..


Anyways you and some may agree, he's not 100% yet or he came on too late, BUT watch this:

go to 1:08 min of the video. and you will see he had a clear chance to give through ball to Ronaldo who is cutting in with a great speed from the right, expecting Kaka to put it right in front of him!!!

but Kaka's POOR vision can't even see that run, instead he wastes so much time with his slow decision making that counter attack FAILS.


That through ball... any Decent AM, CM can make!! and you want him as CM so he can f*** our team counters up even more?


NEVER!!! Canales could have done better in that game even.

Fantastic Video, Ijomer, Fantastic!.

You have to think outside your comfort zone, buddy. I mean sure Kaka has had a very normal game during this match against Barca according to his standards, he probably ranked 2nd behind Lass in this match and earned a 7 or 7.5 from goal.com.

Let me recap quickly what we saw in this Video:

1) At 0:28 second, Kaka demonstrated how good he is with providing accurate passes / corners (long range passes) with his right foot from static positions.

2) At 04:46 you notice how three Barca players had to mark him.

3) At 0:49 to 0:54; he demonstrated his fast pace until 0:52 and again got double teamed against two barca players

4) At 1:08; he demonstrated his speed in receiving rebounds and shifting gears quickly from defense to attack in the CM cameo. His ability to handle the opposition's midfield is crying out loud as he remained composed and handled four barca players and passed the ball

5) At 1:10, he tracked forward from behind to provide support to Benz / Ro

6) At 1:14, Barca again had to double mark him; the pattern is clear now, Pepe's instructions between both halfs are clear on what to do when Kaka joins the play. Barca knows they have to kill the snake by hitting it on the head. Kaka is the head / the brain of madrid or at least he was the only one during this game.

7) At 1:15, his dominance in the midfield is very clear, first touch pass, accelerating to high speeds (shifting gears between defense and attack) and participating in the attack; providing help to the strikers.

At 1:23, again double team by Barca

9) At 1:47, receiving the ball, building play, handling three barca players, accelerating at stunning speeds and almost escaping with it.

10) Between 02:04 to 02:13, receiving, building at CM position, and accelerating

11) 02:26 Ability to score, and attack. Ability to shoot with his left leg this time

12) 02:35, Getting marked by two Barca players again

13) 02:40, receiving and creating play between three barca players in the CM

14) 02:54, The enemy congratulating him / receiving recognition on his play.


this is nothing compared to Kaka's true potentials, but at least he demostrated that he can play in the CM role.

Dont take it personel ijomer, it's just my opinion, a tactic that i would use if i were the mastermind behind Madrid's formation.

Anyway, we cant be all successful in predicting what formation is the best for every team and reading the outcomes of the games and getting the best of the players. That's why managers get sacked, buddy.

This is the stupidest thread on this website outside of the Juventus section.

I really think that kaka has a lot to produce here in madrid , we shouldnt sell him right now.

also, he is doing great when he plays , so i dont know why so many people want him out of the club.

huntsman wrote:
I agree with all of you that his game sucks when he plays in the heart of the team at the CM position. Ozil is not as good in dribbling as Kaka is, and he is not as fast as Kaka is. Remember that we do not want Ronaldo and Benzema to be left alone upfront and the CM should have what it takes to quickly shift gears from defense to offense. Ozil is not a great shooter, infact he's bad at taking shots on the goal. While his short passing techniques are impressive and perhaps one notch above Kaka, his long passing is average...

wow, so much fail. this clownish kaka propaganda is incredibly gay. apart from that i would also strongly debate that kaka is faster than oezil these days - which, in fact, makes your whole paragraph a bunch of utter crap.

omarish wrote:

borring....

Omniscient wrote:This is the stupidest thread on this website outside of the Juventus section.

Everything sounds stupid or funny when we dont understand.

BaraaTKF992 wrote:I really think that kaka has a lot to produce here in madrid , we shouldnt sell him right now.

also, he is doing great when he plays , so i dont know why so many people want him out of the club.

He has alot to offer. Alot.

Watch this clip about our new CM. Cometh Kaka! Hala Madrid.
I love how he rides and drives Madrid like he's driving a sportscar, shifting gears whenever and however required.