Real Madrid finally returns to Santiago Bernabéu – La Liga Special
After a mammoth trip that spanned three continents, Real Madrid are back in familiar surroundings after 28 days. Spain’s most decorated club travelled more than 50 000 kilometres, playing seven friendly matches before finally breathing a sigh of relief at
Santiago Bernabéu.
Los Blancos must be happy with the result of their tiring endeavours as they won all seven of their matches. What makes this even more impressive is that there were no close calls as they won all their matches with breaking a sweat. With these set of results
Jose Mourinho’s men have equalled their best ever preseason run, which was set back in 1955.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have picked up where they left from at the end of last season as they set themselves on par with the legendary Real Madrid side, which included numerous luminaries like Alfredo di Stefano and Paco Gento. They will be hoping that
they are able to continue this come May 2012 to lift the league title.
It all started in United States where the Portuguese tactician took his team for preseason training. Madrid started the record equalling run with a win over David Beckham’s La Galaxy. Chivas de Guadalajara were next to taste defeat at the hands of Real Madrid,
while Philadelphia Union were the last team they beat before leaving America.
German capital was the destination of the next game as Hertha Berlin were next in line to be demolished by the attack minded Madrid assembly. They were followed by Sven-Goran Eriksson´s Leicester City, who tasted defeat at the hands of Jose Callejon and
Karim Benzema in English surroundings.
Los Blancos squad moved to China from England, continuing on their lavish tour. The Chinese clubs were unable to stand against their Spanish counterparts, as Madrid won games against Guangzhou and Tianjin Teda with six goal margins.
All in all, Real Madrid have scored twenty seven goals in the seven matches, conceding a paltry five goals in the process. With a goal ratio of almost four goals a game, the manager will be happy with the less than goal per game conceding average. French
striker continued on his red hot gaol scoring form as he led the charts with eight goals. He was followed by 2010-11 Pichichi award winner, Cristiano Ronaldo who was the runner up with seven goals.
The capital club will not face off against arch rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Real will play host to their Catalan counterparts in the first leg on 14th august. The corresponding leg at Camp Nou is scheduled for 17th August.
With Jose Mourinho bringing his men back to full fitness, Pep Guardiola’s charges still have a long way to go. They have given indifferent performances in the preseason, as they lost to Manchester United in a replay of the Champions League final. Coupling
this defeat with a resounding 4-1 bashing from Chivas de Guadalajara shows that Camp Nou outfit is still far from match fitness. The fact that Lionel Messi still has to feature in a preseason game should be a bigger troubling thought for Cules before the super
cup.
Both teams will be jaded from travelling and summer international tournaments, however from the looks of it, Real Madrid should be favoured as favourites to win in the first El Clasico of the season. However, Pep Guardiola’s men cannot be written off as
they perform their best when placed in competition. For the moment, Los Merengues will be rejoicing at returning to their humble surroundings.
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