Exemplary former players of Madrid analyze several of the hot spots of the team today, which has started the season in an irregular way.
Mijatovic: "It has been seen that there was no plan"
Should the club sign Pogba? Was it a mistake to let Ceballos, Kovacic and Llorente go?
I have nothing clear that the arrival of Pogba had solved the problems of the team. The curriculum of a football player is not always decisive when you land in a club as big as Madrid. What has become a big planning mistake is to let players like Ceballos, Kovacic and Marcos Llorente leave when you were not sure that you were going to be able to reinforce the midfield line. The midfield has been lame. There is a lack of troops in that area. You can't let everyone I say go without making sure that Pogba or Eriksen are coming. There were no midfielders on the bench in Paris ...
Do you understand the sale of Keylor to keep Courtois?
Courtois is a great goalkeeper and at the time I understood his signing although Keylor had been incredible in the three Champions. Keylor was an age and it was logical that the club was looking for a good young goalkeeper to compete with him for the position. I think Keylor should have stayed to help Courtois grow by his side. But I fear that Keylor did not accept to keep the substitute role.
Will Hazard justify hiring?
Doubting Hazard is crazy. You can't judge a great soccer player like he is for a Champions League game. It came from a muscle injury and until it is one hundred percent physically we will not be able to see the Hazard that has dazzled us these years at Chelsea. Eden must be given time and criticism will soon be praise. I have no doubt that Hazard is going to make a difference in our team. He has arrived with a lot of pressure and we must let him adapt to the city, the club and his teammates. I trust him a lot.
How do you explain about James and Bale?
James and Bale shows that he did not have a mature sports project or a defined strategy. It can't be that there are two players like them that you don't have and that in the end they stay to be your undisputed headlines. Show that you did not know the direction of what you wanted and that you let yourself go by intuitions. There was no plan. It cannot be that James, who is an incredible midfielder, kills himself to run in a position that is not his own ...
Can Zidane refloat the situation or does a relay need to be done?
Zidane had what men have to have when deciding to return when he returned. But in the end there have been hardly any changes and they almost always play the same. I am not sure that changing the coach solves the problems. You can't just blame him. He asked Pogba as a big bet of his project and he didn't come. That changed his idea and now it has been seen that there was no plan ... But I am Real Madrid and, although it looks bad, I hope it is wrong and we win all the titles at stake.
Buyo: "I would have brought Van de Beek"
Should the club sign Pogba? Was it a mistake to let Ceballos, Kovacic and Llorente go?
Pogba is a good player, but he couldn't come at any price. The mistake is not to have consummated the other market options. Van de Beek, the Ajax, is a good footballer. When people like Ceballos or Llorente left, one more midfielder had to sign up. The workforce is weaker in that area.
Do you understand the sale of Keylor to keep Courtois?
Both are very good goalkeepers. Keylor was already made to Madrid and knew the house and his companions. The two being so good, the mistake is to let Keylor leave. Why do you stay with only one?
Will Hazard justify hiring?
Hazard is very good. It is a world top-5. Let's not forget that it comes out of an injury and is adapting. Patience with him. Surely the Belgian will give us many joys.
How do you explain about James and Bale?
The Bale and James reminds me of Zamorano and Amavisca with Valdano. I lived that. They are both very good and hopefully they are as decisive as those were. They want to please Zidane to show him that he was wrong with them and that will help them perform better.
Can Zidane refloat the situation or does a relay need to be done?
Of course, Zidane can change this negative trend. With this template, assuming the problem of the center of the field, you only need to recover the best level of the players and that they understand that they must recover the intensity to compete for everything.
Santillana: "Maybe there are many mediapuntas"
Should the club sign Pogba? Was it a mistake to let Ceballos, Kovacic and Llorente go?
Pogba would have been a great technical reinforcement, but I don't know his personality, and that is also important. The issue is that we have a very good midfield, Modric, Kroos and Casemiro, three cracks worldwide, and I didn't see Pogba as necessary. But it happens that they may not have substitutes, what comes next are more mediapuntas, Isco, James and company. But it is the template there is and you have to throw it forward. There is still a great template.
Do you understand the sale of Keylor to keep Courtois?
Keylor and Courtois are both great goalkeepers. The story is who the technician trusts most. If Zidane relies more on Keylor, he doesn't have to leave. And if you trust Courtois, then great. Keylor has done an enormous service to Madrid, I felt a little sorry that a player so professional that he has always been so correct in his statements left.
Will Hazard justify hiring?
Hazard's problem is that with the summer, changing equipment and injuries is not fit. He has not taken his level. And you have to soak up Madrid, identify yourself. But he is a great player, he will prove it when he is better. Breaks between the lines, has dribling, goal, will open spaces ... But I need to see him play more to see how far he can go, like Jovic, because it seems that they are not very integrated.
How do you explain about James and Bale?
No one has ever discussed the quality of Bale and James. What you have to see is the relationship they had with the coach. But they are great. In the end, whether they leave or not lies with the technical manager. It is he who sees them every day who must decide. And as for Bale, I imagine he will take out his pride and want to prove that he is worth and that he is good. And that is great for Madrid. Because Bale still has speed, good shot and a great header. That has not lost him. But you have to give him confidence, put him to play. But how are we going to propose a change of technician! If we have just started ... After what you have achieved, you have to give a fairly wide margin of confidence. The team can play well, has shown it at times, and sooner or later it will hit the key to make a good team. Zidane has done a lot for Madrid and Madrid players must support the team now more than ever, and that includes the coach.
Álvaro Benito: "Casemiro's position cuts"
Should the club sign Pogba? Was it a mistake to let Ceballos, Kovacic and Llorente go?
Pogba was never holy of my devotion. It is overrated. Madrid plays with three midfielders. There may be some left over in the squad and hence the exits, but I understood less the progress of Llorente. The position that is shorter is that of Casemiro.
Do you understand the sale of Keylor to keep Courtois?
I understand that the future bet was Courtois, a very good market operation for price and quality. What I am not so clear about is that Courtois is going to improve on Keylor, which is very difficult. Today the Belgian has not been seen to perform as before arriving at Real Madrid.
Will Hazard justify hiring?
Hazard is an excellent player, but if you review his numbers throughout his career, the most he has achieved was with Lille, 22 goals, and with Chelsea, 21. It is true that it generates great imbalance. Hence, to be the leader of a winning Real Madrid we speak of major words. He has to take a leap to achieve that since leading a team like Madrid is very, very difficult, no matter how good a player you are. It is another dimension.
How do you explain about James and Bale?
I explain it because Bale and James are very good. For this reason so far the problem was attitude, with 'c'. If they continue at this level for me they are indisputable. They are the best. In the end it is the field that commands. Bale has been many years and has shown a large irregularity. It has very high but also very low peaks. If you solve this, it is one of the best in the world. And James likewise, with the ball his left foot is prodigious but we know what the phase without the ball costs him. And this year he is leaving his life, and that's how everything is done. The field rules. And if he continues like this, he must continue playing.
Can Zidane refloat the situation or does a relay need to be done?
It would seem crazy to me to change technicians. A real madness. We are talking about a coach who has won three Champions. You have to be patient and let him correct what he sees, that there is time. This has just begun. Nothing has been lost. It is still early to draw conclusions although, for now, the team does not offer good feelings.