It has been a season of struggle for Real Madrid, and things have taken a turn for the worse in the last week. They were defeated by Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup final, which led to Xabi Alonso e...
It has been a season of struggle for Real Madrid, and things have taken a turn for the worse in the last week. They were defeated by Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup final, which led to Xabi Alonso ending his time as manager, before being dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Albacete days later.
The Supercup defeat has since been analysed by former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos. Speaking on Einfach mal luppen (via Diario AS), he sees his ex-club as being unable to win big matches without any chaos factor.
“I have the feeling that they need a kind of chaos on the pitch to win these kinds of games. Nothing planned, controlled or elaborated, but rather a game of back and forth. Let crazy things happen. There he can bring out his virtues. But then things happen like in Barcelona’s first goal that can’t happen.
“Why? Because you come from defending well for 30, 35 minutes. Xabi also said in a press conference that he had the feeling of having the game under control. Without the ball, but controlled. And suddenly, Raphinha has a clear one that he misses. It’s time to breathe and slow down.
“It is about interrupting the opponent’s dynamic. What can’t happen to a big team is that, 30 seconds later, they score on you because you concede space again or lose another silly ball. In those moments, those up front also have to be able to hold the ball and not take risks to avoid further losses. I have the feeling that there is a lack of a kind of feeling for the game and what each situation requires.”
Kroos: Alonso got Superclasico approach wrong
Kroos also had his say on Alonso’s decision to use a conservative approach for the Supercup final in Jeddah.
“It’s flattering that he adapts. He knows that things wouldn’t end well if he played on a one-to-one basis. That’s why he’s trying to opt for the path with the best chance of success, something that had already worked for him in the Clasico in La Liga.
Image via Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
“You can always win this way, but you’re going to lose most of the games. You can win because there’s individual quality in the squad. You could see it in Vini’s goal, but I miss elaborate plays. Teams that want to have 70% possession suffer with the other 30%. Barcelona is a team that suffers without the ball. And what do they do? Push to get it back.
“When you’re able to keep possession moderately even, the chances of beating Barcelona multiply. If you’re just going to counter-punch you can succeed with so much quality in your ranks, but the odds of winning are slim.”
Category: General Sports
