The champion of debutants

Real Madrid travel to Valencia to take on Alcoyano at El Collao tomorrow evening, and while the likes of Ricky Kaka and Karim Benzema are accustomed to more than the 4,500 capacity ground the outfit have to offer, several Los Blancos players making the journey will have a alternative sentiment in mind. Youngsters such as Alvaro Morata, Nacho Fernandez and Jesus Gollado may have a stark recollection of visiting the very same ground only a year ago.

After finishing third in 2010-11 in the Segunda Division B – Spain’s third tier – Alcoyano easily dispatched Real Madrid Castilla in their play-off to make the sizable leap into the Liga Adelante. A year later the Los Blancos’ reserve set-up managed to follow them up with promotion, this time beating Cadiz by a seven-goal margin in yet another play-off. However, for several players who have since made the step up, the memories of that defeat to the Valencians may burn bright as they take to the field.

Indeed, a number of the current youth team will be back in action for the senior side on Wednesday, in a week that has seen Portuguese tactician Jose Mourinho respond to recent heavy criticism for his perceived unwillingness to otherwise experiment with youth. A handsome budget and several of the biggest names in international football has meant there has been little emphasis put on the club’s academy, mainly the Castilla outfit in La Segunda.

“The criticism I am receiving does not make sense because I am a champion of debutants,” explained Mourinho in his conference ahead of the tie with Alcoyano. His relationship with Castilla Coach Alberto Toril has been highlighted as the reason behind the lack of integration. “We have a normal relationship, we have a different system and model. They use a 4-4-2, and several of his players such as Jese Rodriguez have no position in my formation.”

More recently Mourinho’s insistence on deploying Michael Essien as a makeshift left-back instead of using Nacho has drawn attention. “Toril knows everything that I have said to you. He knows that with me, Nacho will never be a centre-back, but he has his authority.” When compared to the success archrivals Barcelona have achieved through using their second team, there is really no response to such a statement.

If history has served to demonstrate anything with the two-time Champions League winner, he strives for perfection and will undoubtedly move to correct any ‘fault’ in his managerial style. Meaning the clash with Alcoyano will be used as an opportunity to blood several youngsters, in particular prolific striker Morata.

The Spanish forward netted in the return fixture against Alcoyano after the club had been defeated 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. His strike proved obsolete, however, as the game ended 2-2 and the lowly Valencia outfit claimed victory on aggregate. Perhaps tomorrow night he can seek revenge and, alongside Mourinho, prove that the future is developing in Castilla. 

La Liga - Club News