O novo Florentino Pérez: Como o projeto galático transformou nos últimos anos.

Joao Cunha

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O Real Madrid no passado comprava qualquer jogador que podia ser um “galático” até se o time não precisava. Por isso que o clube tinha Morientes, Raul, Owen no ataque em 2004-05 mas na zaga tinha Raul Bravo e Pavon. Era uma estratégia que não funcionava bem. O Real ficava com um elenco que não era preparado para ganhar títulos grandes. Entre 2003-2006 o Real ficou 3 temporadas sem títulos e foi humilhado varias veses em clássicos. Pior ainda o Real não chegou em uma semifinal da Champions nessa época. Enfim a primeira era galático acabou com um desempenho  bem fraco e com um custo enorme. Pérez saiu do clube em 2006 quando o clube tinha um dos piores jejum de títulos nas últimas décadas.

Quando ele voltou em 2009 ele começou nos primeiros anos comprando estrelas e jovens com grande promessa. O Karim Benzema só tinha 21 anos quando Real comprou ele. Varane tinha 18 anos, Gareth Bale tinha 23 anos, e o Toni Kroos tinha 24 anos. O Pérez não queria mas construir times com jogadors com 27-28 anos que era bem caro e não ia está no auge da carreira por muito tempo. Ele decidiu ir com o novo modelo de comprar jogadors que tem potencial de ser estrelas ainda sendo jovems. Real não quer mas gastar records de euros em transferência com jogador de 27 anos como eles fez com Zidane e Kaká. Agora eles compra jogador jovem para colocar no equipe para ser reserva e esses jogadors um dia vai ser o novo titular do time. Eu vou explicar essa estratégia com os elencos dos últimos 6 anos. 

Real Madrid 2011-12:

Casillas 

Arbeloa Ramos Pepe Marcelo

Khedira Alonso

Di Maria Ozil CR7

Benzema 

2013-14

Casillas

Carvajal Ramos Pepe Coentrao

Alonso Di Maria Modric

CR7 Benzema Bale

2015–16

Navas 

Carvajal Ramos Pepe Marcelo

Modric Casemiro Kroos

CR7 Benzema Bale

2017-18

Navas 

Carvajal Ramos Varane Marcelo

Modric Casemiro Kroos

Isco 

CR7 Benzema 

2018-19

Navas

Carvajal Ramos Varane Marcelo

Modric Casemiro Kroos

Asensio Benzema Bale

O Real não fez grande mudanças ao time titular cada ano. Entre 2012 até 2014 o Arbeloa foi pro banco em vez do Carvajal, Marcelo pro uma temporada foi no banco pro Coentrao. Ozil foi vendido e Bale foi o novo galáctico. E finalmente o Modric foi adicionado. Entre 2014-2016 tinha mas mudanças. Navas foi o novo goleiro em vez do Casillas que saiu pra ir no Porto. O Marcelo voltou ser titular e o Coentrao foi pro Mônaco emprestado. O Alonso foi vendido pro Bayern porque Real comprou o Kroos. Casemiro voltando no Real do Porto ganhou espaço no time até fica um titular absoluto. O cluve entre 2016 e 2018 fez quase nenhuma mudança no time titular. Só o Pepe deixou o clube para ir no Beskitas. O Varane assumiu o lugar do Pepe. Isco que era era um reserva nos últimos anos virou titular por causa das lesões do Bale. Mas em geral o time por 3 anos ficou basicamente o mesmo. Não é coincidência que essa continuidade do elenco deu grande resultados. 9 títulos em 3 anos e 3 Champions League seguidas fala tudo sobre essa nova tática do Pérez. O time esse ano tinha poucass mudanças também. CR7 saiu mas Asensio vai está no lugar dele. Se o Bale tem lesão o Isco pode ser titular. O Courtois com tempo pode ser o novo goleiro. Mas o time não faz mudanças de elenco dramática mas. O Pérez com a experiência dele no passado sabe que fazer mudanças drásticas não da resultados.

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O Zidane quebrou o record de transferencia quando Real comprou ele do Juventus em 2002. Na primera parte da presidencia do Perez foi o j0yad0r mas importante que ele contratou, Ajudou o Real ganha a Novena com um gol incrivel contra o Bayer Leverkusen. Infelizmente porque o time nao tinha um grande elenco o Zidane so ganhou mas uma La Liga, UEFA e Spanish super cups e Mundial com o Real nos proximos 4 anos.

Em 2003 o Pérez vendeu a boa parte do time e comprou o Beckham e deu chance por alguns jogadors da base. O Del Bpsque ganhou Lá Liga na temporada passada foi demitido e o Carlos Queiroz ficou o novo técnico do time. O Real tinha uma temporada péssima ficando em quarto lugar em La liga. Perdeu a final da Copa do Rei para o Zaragoza e foi eliminado da Champions para o Mônaco. Pérez sabendo disso não quer só comprar estrelas e promover jovens para ser titular do equipe. Ele está tentando construir um equipe para ganhar títulos por muitos anos. Real tem que ser competitivo não só agora mas no futuro também. Por isso que o Pérez não quer mas gastar dinheiro quando não precisa, ele sabe se o Neymar, Mbappe fica disponível ele vai ter o dinheiro pra comprar. Pérez está pensando no longo prazo e o Real vai ter muito lucro no futuro. 

Tem muitos criticando o Real pela essa janela de transferências. Real não comprou um jogador para substituir o CR7. Mas não tinha jogador que ia fazer isso no mercado. O único que é capaz, o Messi joga no Barcelona. Os otros que pode até fazer uma differenca enorme (Mbappe, Neymar) não ia ser vendido esse ano. O Hazard não era uma opção que valia gastar o dinheiro que o Chelsea queria. Especialmente quando o Real já tem um jogador como o Marco Asensio. Melhor coisa que o Real podia fazer e deixa o Asensio ser titular e espera que o Bale não se machuca. Real comprou o Courtois e foi um preço barato vendo a inflação de preços no mercado. Odrizola vai ser um bom reserva pro Carvajal. Vincius Junior pode ser um reserva esse ano em jogos da lá liga e titular na Copa Do Rei. Um dia o Vincius Junior pode até ser o galático do clube. E finalmente o Mariano vaj ser um reserva bom do Benzema. O time fez um mercado que preparou o time bem para o futuro. Kovacic, Lunin, Mayoral, RDT, e Theo Hernandez foi emprestado e no caso do Kova pode voltar no próximo ano com ótima chance de ser titular. Real está fazendo esses tipos de mercados para cada 1-2 anos colocar um jogador mas jovem em vez de um jogador mas velho que está perdendo o espaço no elenco. Com tempo o time muda completamente. Em 2018 só tem 3 jogadores que e titular do fine de 2012. (Ramos, Marcelo, Benzema) A torcida do Real não sabia a importância do Varane, Casemiro, e Asensio quando Real investiu neles. Mas no futuro esses jogadores foi importante para um futuro brilhante. Tomara que em 4-5 anos esses nomes sao Ceballos, Vallejo, Theo, Vincius Jr, e Rodrygo. Porque o Pérez não está satisfeito de montar uma equipe de Galáticos. Ele quer montar uma máquina de títulos também é pra isso ele precisa de um grande equipe também. 

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Luka Modric foi transferido no Real em 2012. Ele nao era o jogador que era agora mas o Real viu o potencial e em 2018 ele ganhou o premio The Best da FIFA. Uma das melhores transferencias do Real na historia do clube.

Se você quer saber mais sobre a estratégia do Pérez eu recomendo que você ler o livro de Steven Mandis chamado The Real Madrid Way. E ingles mas no livro explica muito bem a mudança de estratégia do Florentino Pérez nos últimos 18 anos até recentemente. Eu criticava muito o Pérez até ler esse livro mas ele realmente foi um gênio. O Real estava com dívidas que ia deixa o clube perto de falência. Ele com ajuda de agências financeiras praticamente salvou o Real de afundou numa crise financeira que ia afundar o clube em decadência sem fim. Até se você não concorda com jeito que ele lido com CR7, Del Bosqie, Ancelotti sem Pérez o Real não e força que é hoje. Sem ele Real pode ser o AC Milan da Espanha, um clube com tradição sem sucesso recente. 

A triumph of the ultimate team player: Why Luka Modric won the FIFA’s The Best award

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Luka Modric with the FIFA’s The Best trophy/ He is the first player not named Messi or Ronaldo to win this award since 2007 when Kaka won it. 

By Joao Cunha

Luka Modric’s incredible victory at the FIFA gala last night marked the end of an era. However it’s not just the end of the era of Ronaldo and Messi dominating the individual titles for a decade, but the end of something even greater. It is the end of individual awards being won exclusively on statistical merit alone. Because if stats alone had decided this award, Modric wouldn’t even make the shortlist. Griezmann, Messi, Salah, Ronaldo can all claim to have had wonderful statistical campaigns. Among midfielders you can even argue that Toni Kroos had a better season based on stats. But this award deviated from that norm and went back to its roots. It rewarded outstanding individual seasons on great teams, regardless of position and stats. Being part of great teams or surprising teams in the case of Croatia mattered again. That’s the main reason why Modric won because the criteria and the standards changed. But there’s another underlying reason why he won and it’s quite simple. People got fed up of voting for Ronaldo and Messi again. Both of these two players had dominated the last 10 years of FIFA awards winning it 5 times each but this year Messi wasn’t in the top 3 and Ronaldo lost out. It was a sudden change but a change that was coming. Both Ronaldo and Messi are two of the greatest players who ever lived. They both deserve their accolades however both players have benefited from stats being more important than team success model implemented for the last decade. If the criteria had been the same in previous years as it is now there would be no chance that they would have won 10 straight Best Player awards. I will cite some examples.

2010: Messi wins the Balon d’or and WPOTY award. His team wins La Liga but nothing else. His teammate Iniesta wins the World Cup scoring the winning goal in the final. Inter Milan’s Sneijder wins 5 trophies, scores 5 goals to carry the Netherlands to a World Cup final. Sneijder was the best midfielder in the Champions League and yet isn’t even in the top 3 of FIFA’s awards. Either Sneijder or Iniesta would have won the Balon d’Or if stats weren’t the deciding factor.

2012: Messi has a statistically absurd season scoring 50 La Liga goals and 73 in al competitions yet only wins the Copa Del Rey. Iniesta his teammate was the best player at Euro 2012 and helps Spain win another international title. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 13 less goals than Messi but won La Liga scoring the winner at Camp Nou to seal the title. In addition Ronaldo scored 3 goals and helped Portugal reach the European Championship semis when they lost on penalties to Spain. Messi wins the FIFA Balon d’or that year but if team accomplishments are taken into account then either Iniesta or Ronaldo.

2013: Ronaldo had a statistically great year but he didn’t win the golden boot in Spain, and won no trophies that season. Ribery won 5 titles for Bayern that season and was their best player in a treble-winning campaign. He helped France qualify for the World Cup with a fantastic performance in the 3-0 win against Ukraine in the playoff. Ronaldo’s absurd performance scoring 4 goals in the playoff against Sweden made the difference and he eventually won the FIFA Balon d’or. But if the team was taken into account Ribery should have won.

2014: Ronaldo won the Champions League and Copa del Rey double while being the top-scorer of the Champions League, La Liga, and won the European Golden shoe. But his World Cup was awful as he scored one goal and Portugal failed to make it past the group-stages. The German team who won the World Cup had 2 outstanding players for me. Manuel Neuer was by far the best goalkeeper in the world and had a great World Cup and helped Bayern win the double. But Toni Kroos had an even better domestic season than Neuer, he was included the Bundesliga and Champions League’s team of the season. In the World Cup Kroos led the tournament in assists and scored two goals in the famous 7-1 destruction of Brasil. Both Neuer and Kroos won the Bundesliga and German cup double as part of Bayern Munich’s team however both fell to Real Madrid in the CL semis 5-0 on aggregate. In the end Neuer finished 3rd in the FIFA Balon d’Or voting and Ronaldo won the another Balon d’Or because of his stats. Neuer or Kroos based on their general excellence in that season plus their performances in the World Cup should have seen won of them win the award if other criteria was used.

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Luka Modric holding the Golden Ball of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was voted as the best player of the World Cup due to his excellent performances in the tournament. 

Prior to 2010 these awards used to reward players for outstanding seasons irrespective of stats. Fabio Cannavaro won the Balon d’Or and FIFA award in 2006 after winning the World Cup with Italy. Ronaldo in 2002 won both awards despite having an injury-hit season at Inter because of his outstanding World Cup. Luis Figo won the award in 2000 due to his remarkable performances at Euro 2000 despite the fact he didn’t win a club or international trophy that season. In this aspect Luka Modric has done more than enough to win the award. He was the best midfielder of a Champions League winning Real side, he was the best player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup helping Croatia reach an unlikely final.

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Luka Modric lifting the 2018 UEFA Champions League. 

In addition Modric was fantastic in big games as well. His performances at Juventus and in the final against Liverpool showed the best facets of his game. His total control of the midfield helped Real dominate Juventus and ease to a 3-0 away win. His performance against Liverpool was equally outstanding, as he was able to break the press with his rhythmic passing and fantastic defensive work. In the second-half as Liverpool tired, Modric was imperious helping Real outscore Liverpool 3-1 in the second half to win a 3rd consecutive European Cup. But his most selfless performance at Real was against Bayern Munich in the crucial second-leg of the CL semifinal. He played on the right-side of the midfield almost an auxiliary right-back to help out Lucas Vasquez mark Ribery. He wasn’t at his best in terms of passing and control, but his defensive contributions were a vital in helping Real reach the final. In addition his performances against Argentina, Denmark, Russia, and England in the World Cup were simply immense. His recycling of possession helped turn the semi-final against England around. His intelligence on the ball while the English players tired was the difference in the game. His wonder-goal against Argentina helped set Croatia’s World Cup alight. He was the face and the captain of this remarkable TEAM success. You cannot look up his stats alone and say he was great. You have to watch Luka Modric to appreciate him. 2018 was the year many in the football world finally did just that and he has his reward for it.

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Luka Modric holding the 2017 Club World Cup Golden Ball. He was voted the Best player of the tournament.

But for those skeptical of Luka Modric’s importance to Real Madrid I leave you with one stat. Since Luka Modric came to the club in 2012, Real Madrid won the Champions League 4 times in 6 seasons. The years he didn’t was his first year where Jose Mourinho thought Khedira and Ozil were better options to start at Dortmund, Real lost that match 4-1. In the second-leg he started Modric and Real ran out 2-0 winners a goal away from overturning the deficit. The other year Real failed to win the Champions League was in 2014-15 where Modric was injured and didn’t play in either semi-final game against Juventus, a tie Real lost 3-2 on aggregate. Ronaldo played all 4 games in those semis anad scored 3 goals, but without Modric’s ability in midfield they couldn’t control matches or withstand pressure. Luka Modric for me has been the most underappreciated player of his generation, he has been the brains of Real Madrid’s finest side in 60 years and Croatia’s greatest ever team. But he’s appreciated now, he broke through the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly to win the Best award. This is a reward for a player who is unselfish and who many don’t notice until they realize the team is worse when he is no there. Luka Modric will now be known as the player who put the team first and unlike Sneijder, Iniesta, Ribery, Kroos, Neuer he was rewarded for his performance instead of being overlooked because of stats. Stats don’t measure everything and in the case of Modric they don’t even come close to doing this incredible player justice.

 

2018 NFL Predictions

By Joao Cunha

Here are my predictions for the upcoming NFL season.

NFC East

Eagles 1st 

Cowboys 2nd

Giants 3rd

Washington 4th

NFC North

Packers 1st 

Vikings 2nd (wild card) 

Bears 3rd

Lions 4th

NFC South 

Saints 1st 2-seed

Falcons 2nd (wild card)

Panthers 3rd

Bucs 4th

NFC West

Rams 1st 1 seed 

49ers 2nd

Seahawks 3rd

Cardinals 4th

AFC East 

Patriots 1st 2-seed

Dolphins 2nd

Jets 3rd

Bills 4th

AFC North

Steelers 1st 1-seed

Ravens 2nd (wild card)

Bengals 3rd

Browns 4th

AFC Sourh

Texans 1st

Titans 2nd (wild card)

Jaguars 3rd

Colts 4th

AFC West 

Chargers 1st

Chiefs 2nd

Broncos 3rd

Raiders 4th

Super bowl prediction: Rams over Steelers.