Real Madrid still finging Claude Makelele’s replacement – La Liga Special

The ghost of Claude Makelele still haunts Santiago Bernabéu eight years after swapping the Spanish capital with the English one. Many players have been brought in to replace the Frenchman, failing dramatically in their attempts. Fernando Gago and Lassana
Diarra are two such players looking for move away from the Spanish titans, to continue their stalled careers.

Fernando Gago was brought in January 2007 from Boca Juniors as a lively 21-year-old. The diminutive midfielder found plenty of playing time in his early years, before falling victim to injuries and increases competition for first team places. Such was the
promise of his abilities that Gago made 9 assists for his teammates in 2008-09 from a withdrawn role in the midfield. There was so much more the Madridista had fascinated to come from him that have turned into sand castles rather than anything sufficient.

Things have not been well for him since then. With constant changes in the managerial vacancy, Gago failed to make a mark on the arriving coaches. Juande Ramos, Manuel Pellegrini and current coach Jose Mourinho all came to the Spanish capital with their
own artillery of reinforcements, and this has signalled an end to the stay of players like Gago.

The argentine destroyer has been linked with a return to Boca Juniors. He would like to return to the humble surroundings of Buenos Aires where he gained prominence and an eventual call-up to the national team. With established commercial relationship with
the argentine club, Los Blancos can let him leave on the cheap, who will otherwise command a transfer of 12 million Euros.

English giants, Liverpool were interested in the midfielder but chose to look at other options to reinforce their squad. Gago’s agent has been in contact with Italian giants, Inter Milan who would love to increase the number of their Argentine contingent.
He can be paired up with Esteban Cambiasso in the middle of the park and will make a dangerous partnership.

As Gago looks for new adventures, his replacement at Santiago Bernabéu Lassana Diarra is on his way out of the club as well. Diarra was introduced to La Liga by Juande Ramos, when he took over of the Spain’s most decorated team in the middle of the season.
Gago was undergoing a turbulent patch, and the new coach brought in the Frenchman as a cover. Diarra took La Liga by storm as he bullied oppositions one after another.

Nevertheless, Lass has followed the same trajectory in Spain as enjoyed by his Argentine counterpart. After successful outings in his first couple of years, he has been entrusted with a peripheral role, just like his predecessor. With the arrivals of Sami
Khedira, Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop, he has been rendered outdated, just like he along with Esteban Granero and Xabi Alonso did to Fernando Gago.

Lassana has been linked with a return to England with another London club interested in his services. Tottenham would like to procure his services, as they look to sell Honduran midfield dynamo Wilson Placios.

As these two exits Santiago Bernabéu, the backroom is busy in adding players of the higher calibre. In the current transfer window Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop have been added to the dressing room while it was Sami Khedira who was added to the roster last
year. Jose Mourinho and Co. will be hoping that they finally get an heir of Claude Makelele to aid them in their bid of domestic as well as continental domination.

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