While two early losses for any club in any League might be seen as troublesome, the thoughts of it happening at Real Madrid mark the time to use words such as crisis. Having lost 4-2 to Real Sociedad and 2-1 to Atletico Madrid and with Cristiano Ronaldo dealing with a volatile knee injury, Iker Casillas seemingly losing his nerve between the posts and Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso now plying their trade for Manchester United and Bayern Munich respectively, Real Madrid were faced with their first crisis of the new Galacticos era.
Senior members of the squad, such as Sergio Ramos and Ronaldo, had spoken out in relation to Florentino Perez’s motives and approach in the transfer window. It only seemed like a matter of time before we were given an indication as to which direction this squad was headed.
18 goals in three games, including eight from talisman Ronaldo, with the Portugal international pledging himself to the club by stating ‘my future is at Real Madrid’ is quite the indication that Carlo Ancelotti has figured out how to set up his team to win in an entertaining fashion and all is well in the capital.
The goals, assists and inspiration still come from the same places, regardless of summer signings. Ronaldo is not yet finished with his business at Santiago Bernabeu and Gareth Bale is waiting in the wings to scoop any accolades that Ronaldo doesn’t happen to garner.
The defence is still uncertain with the back four an injury away from a complete makeover. Sergio Ramos and Pepe can flourish when Los Blancos’ forwards keep opponents pinned in their own half and the return of Dani Carvajal will only solidify the line.
One aspect of life at the Bernabeu that is set to fluctuate throughout this season and ultimately change is the goalkeeping situation. Iker Casillas is hanging on to the No.1 jersey by a thread with Keylor Navas breathing down his neck. This, however, is another possible crisis that has been dealt with excellently by the well-spoken Navas.
The patience he has displayed following his summer move from Levante is key to eventually displacing Casillas and winning over the fans. He has waited his entire career for his chance to play for Real Madrid and it appears now that he has arrived and is happy to wait his turn for the honour to be their first-choice goalkeeper.
James Rodriguez has improved but is still a sideshow to the excellent Bale and Ronaldo and Toni Kroos has been impressive without really finding his feet. Whatever happens over the course of the season, any success that comes Real Madrid’s way will rely solely on the forward unit and how many goals they can accumulate in an ever-expansive master class of attacking.
It appears that Madrid will always meander through times of crisis and harmony but the song remains the same – using world class talent to forget about their problems, at least for the 90 minutes that the team are on the field.
