Friday, October 12, 2007

2006-2007 Season In Review


As we are in the midst of an international break, this is a good opportunity to do a quick recap of Madrid’s last season. Later on during this break we’ll look at the 2007 summer transfer window, and how the club has fared until now.

The 2006-2007 season was a stomach turning, nerve wracking, gut wrenching experience from start to finish. Coming into the season, Madrid was entering into their fourth season without any sort of title, an absolutely shocking figure considering the team was composed of the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, Raul, etc. Needless to say, expectations were high when the team hired former Juventus manager Fabio Capello to lead the squad. Capello experienced success everywhere he went, winning recent titles in Juventus and with Real Madrid back in the 1990s.

During the summer 2006 transfer window, the team, led by new President Ramon Calderon, made some absolutely crucial moves. They strengthened the attack by picking up world-class striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, after he experienced a falling out with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. This was by far the most important move Calderon made, as van Nistelrooy ended up top scoring in La Liga. He was a pillar for the team, especially given that fellow forwards Ronaldo and Raul were far from their best (or healthy) for most of the season.

Madrid benefited greatly during the transfer window from the Italian match fixing scandal, which saw powerhouse Juventus get relegated to Serie B. One of the effects of the scandal was a fairly large exodus of talent from Juventus, with world-class talent going to other big clubs. Notable examples include defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram leaving for Barcelona, and gifted striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaving for Inter Milan.

Madrid was able to sign Juventus manager Fabio Capello, as well as buy up Italy’s World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro, right before he was handed the award for World Player of the Year. They also signed Juve’s defensive midfielder Emerson, as he was a key player in Capello’s “double pivot” center midfield alignment.

Madrid also, at the request of Capello, signed Lyon’s highly rated center defensive midfielder Mahamadou Diarra to form the double pivot with Emerson. Clearly, defense was a priority for Capello. Madrid had to pay out about 20 million euros combined to get Cannavaro and Emerson, two players that were quickly aging, and an amazing 26 million euros for Diarra. Not exactly good business, but they got the players Capello wanted to make his project a reality.

The team, with Capello’s defensive-minded approach, went on to endure some of the ugliest matches I’ve ever seen, playing some of the most unattractive football imaginable while barely squeezing out results. The team lost matches they had no business losing, against teams such as newly or recently promoted sides Recreativo Huelva (0-3), Celta Vigo (1-2), and Levante (0-1).

At points during the season, however, they played wonderfully passionate football, albeit it still lacked beauty. Memorably matches included both matches against Barcelona, which included a 2-0 victory at the Bernabeu, and an excellent 3-3 draw at the Nou Camp. The team was hanging around the top 4 for much of the season, but they did not look like they had a prayer to win the league fairly late in the season.

The other competitions went poorly for Madrid in 2006-2007, as they were bounced out of the Champions League early by Bayern Munich in the knockout stage. The Copa del Rey was equally poor, as they were defeated 1-1 on aggregate by a comparatively weak side in Real Betis.

The league title became all Madrid had to play for, and they made an incredible push starting with a 2-1 win against Valencia on April 21. They went on to win 6 out of their final 7 games, only dropping 2 points with a memorable draw at Zaragoza (which I had the pleasure of attending).

The tie with Zaragoza was a perfect metaphor for the season…it was the second to last game of the season, with Madrid sitting top of the table, through only because they had the tiebreaker with co-leader Barcelona. Madrid were down 2-1, not playing particularly well, and running out of time (88th minute). Barcelona was also winning at the time, so they were on the verge of wrapping up the title run prematurely. It was looking grim, as it would take a miracle for Espanyol to equalize against Barcelona, as well as Madrid get a draw against a strong Zaragoza side.

In a matter of 18 seconds, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a dramatic goal while Raul Tamudo became a part of Real Madrid lore by scoring the equalizer against Barcelona. 18 seconds changed the fate of Madrid, and I had the privilege of being in Zaragoza when it happened. It was drama like I’d never seen before, and it put the title within their grasp…all they would need to do is get one more win on the final day of the season.

That set up a June 17th clash with Mallorca to decide the league: if Madrid got the win, it would not matter what Barcelona did against Gnastic Tarragona, the title would be theirs. I’m happy to say I was also able to get tickets to this game, and this one was a classic very much like the game in Zaragoza.

Mallorca got off to a quick start, scoring in the 17th minute, with Madrid showing their usual dreadful start to games. They were not able to get much going, and they went to halftime down (0-1), and at that moment the title was Barcelona’s, as they were up in their match with soon to be relegated Gnastic.

David Beckham, playing his last game with Madrid, was all sorts of injured, and no matter how hard he tried he was just ineffective. That prompted Fabio Capello to make the move that, in hindsight, saved Madrid’s season. He brought in Jose Antonio Reyes in the 66th minute, and his speed made an immediate impact, as he scored in the 68th. The Bernabeu absolutely erupted. The magic that was present in the last two months of the season came back. In the 80th minute, Madrid still searching for the lead, Diarra sent a header that was deflected for an own goal. The title was within grasp, and the greatest moment was yet to come.

Jose Reyes put La Liga to bed, scoring a wonderstrike in the 82nd, providing every one of us at the Bernabeu with a moment we’ll never forget. It’s hard not to well up with tears watching this goal, as it reminds me that it was the most improbable title from a group of players that didn’t have half the talent Barcelona had. There were dozens of subplots during a season which, I have to admit, was looking like it was going nowhere, just like the 3 seasons before.


Madrid lost only once in the last 17 games, salvaging 3 out of the last 4 games in the final minutes, beating Espanyol 4-3, Recreativo 3-2, and the amazing 2-2 draw against Zaragoza. Fabio Capello cast away David Beckham at one point during the season, claiming he’d never play again for Madrid. Beckham of course came back, and it’s safe to say the title would be at the Nou Camp if it wasn’t for that decision. The Madrid fans waved the white flags during the season, asking for a drastic change. They ended up waving the white flags at the end of the season, only that this time the flags said “Campeones #30.”

You could not write drama like what was seen in 2006-2007, because no one would believe it. Madrid was a team that lacked talent, played hideous football (for a Madrid team), was left for dead halfway through the season, sold off maybe the greatest striker of all time (Ronaldo) halfway through the season and in the middle of a scoring drought. They lacked in every department, except for one: played with a great deal of heart, and they ended up winning in the most dramatic of ways.

Thank you to Beckham and Roberto Carlos, two integral greats who departed after this title. A better end I could not imagine. I’ve been blessed to be there when Madrid won the most dramatic title in recent memory, and I was blessed to see my Angels win the World Series in 2002. Now all that’s left is for Madrid to win the Champions League in 2008…

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